Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan was born as Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota. He took himself the artist name Bob Dylan at the beginning of the 1960s when he appeared with his acoustic guitar and harmonica rack as a "folk singer" in New York's Greenwich Village. Having released his first couple of albums he came to use his unique poetic talent in the years that followed to give voice to the entire 60s youth rebellion!

His career has continued uninterrupted in varying shape and over the years with an increasingly gritty voice. If ever there was a living legend, it is Bob Dylan. His career has undergone a number of transformations. First was the revolutionary - and visionary - period with songs like "The Times They Are A-Changing," "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" and "Blowing In The Wind". Then followed a more hectic and surreal period with suggestive lyrics - songs like "Gates of Eden," "Highway 61 Revisited," "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Desolation Row". The acoustic guitar and harmonica had by now been replaced by an electric guitar and a rock band.

A motorcycle accident on July 29, 1966 put an end to much of the hectic life and also resulted in a musical turning point. The music became serener and more relaxed, which is evident in albums like "John Wesley Harding," "Nashville Skyline," "New Morning" and "Self Portrait", where the music is heavily influenced by country music.

Dylan's career has since then continued in its meandering way with powerful force and in 1988 he began his "Never Ending Tour" - a touring which is still ongoing.

Bob Dylan's birth chart looks like this:

Bob Dylan, 24 May 1941, 21:05, Duluth, Minnesota, USA

(Source: Astro Databank)

The predominant signs are Taurus and Gemini in the Fifth and Sixth houses, which already describe the celebrated rock poet very well - stable and sustained (more than 50-year career - so far!), down to earth and quite stubborn with strong values (Taurus) while still versatile and flexible, curious, social and humorous (Gemini). One should not let oneself be fooled by Dylan's legendary bored and blasé attitude when confronted by journalists. In fact, he is a very social person.

The Air and Earth elements dominate the chart as a whole. Dylan is objective and philosophical, but also down to earth, he looks at life from an intellectual perspective, but is still very present in his physical life. There is a strong sense of justice. The characteristic of him is that he is both stable and sustainable (Earth) and mobile and flexible (Air). Moving signs predominate in the horoscope: Gemini (Sun, Venus and Mercury), Sagittarius (the Ascendant), Pisces (Mars and the South Lunar node in the communicative Third House) and Virgo (the North Lunar node and Third House ruler, poetic Neptune).

That the creative and expressive side has a very prominent place is evidenced by the many planets in the Fifth House in Venus-ruled Taurus. Here we find the rebel and the unconventional, self-reliant, avant-garde and eccentric artist: the Moon, the Sun, Jupiter and Saturn - all are in conjunction with Uranus - the arch-rebel - which in turn forms trines both to the poetically sensitive Neptune in Virgo in the Ninth House and to the North Lunar node in the same sign and house.

The conjunction between Neptune and the North Lunar node shows how his fate is linked to the ability to express his artistic and creative talents. Their trine to Uranus in the Fifth House suggests a lot about Dylan's original and creative expression.

The Ascendant in Sagittarius indicates a person who meets life with enthusiasm and idealism, for whom life is a continuous adventure (or an ongoing tour). It also reflects something of his ability to see the big picture along with firm determination.

One may wonder how come Dylan's horoscope can have so much emphasis on the western hemisphere, when he is so independent and always seem to go his own way (characteristics of the eastern hemisphere). The answer may lie in the fact that his "specialness" is all the time in relation to other people (the western hemisphere). His independence, especially as expressed through Uranus' central role in the Fifth House, is perhaps in a way only apparent. In reality Dylan is completely dependent upon communication with his environment. This is very much what the Fifth House is all about - the artist and his audience. For what is the artist without his audience?

In the eastern part of the chart, in the First House, we see a solitary Pars Fortunae in Capricorn. It shows that Dylan's greatest satisfaction and self-fulfillment lie in building a stable self-esteem and realizing his own inner value. It also shows that he can achieve success through independence and autonomy.