Walt Disney

A friendly and kind storyteller, very American style - so was my impression of Walt Disney as I grew up in the 1940s and 50s with comic books and the animated cartoons with Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Three Little Pigs, Bambi, Snow White, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, and whatever they were called. This was before television and it was at the matinee cinemas that you experienced the joyful frolics.

Who was he then, this great storyteller of the 1900s, who could delight all the children with his hilarious characters emerging alive on the big screen?

Walt Disney - or Walter Elias Disney – was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. His father was of Irish/Canadian descent and his mother had German and English ancestry. Walt's great-grandfather had emigrated from Ireland to Canada and is said to have been a descendant of a certain Robert d'Isigny, a Frenchman who accompanied William the Conqueror to England in 1066. The French surname d'Isigny became Disney in its English version.

His father, Elias Disney, had left Canada to look for gold in California, but later settled with his parents on a farm in Kansas. In 1888 he married Flora Call, who would become Walt Disney's mother. At the time of Walt's birth his parents had moved to Chicago. They would later move on to a farm in Marceline, Missouri, and then to Kansas City. Young Walt, part of a sibling group of five children, showed early artistic talent and an aptitude for drawing. Through a classmate he also came into close contact with the entertainment and movie world. Early on, he was focused on an artistic career as a cartoonist and soon he was involved in making animated cartoons - the area in which he would become a pioneer and renowned worldwide.

It did not take long before Walt Disney was located in Hollywood, where he started an animation studio with his brother Roy. In 1925 he married Lillian Bounds, a young woman whom he hired at his studio. The marriage was to last a lifetime and resulted in two daughters.

After losing the rights to his so far most successful animated character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Disney had to replace it with a new character and this was to be none other than everybody's Mickey Mouse, which became an immediate success. The figure was produced in collaboration with Disney's assistant, Ub Iwerks, but Mickey got his "voice" and "soul" from Disney.

In 1933 came the successful and popular animated cartoon Three Little Pigs with the famous song, “Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” and soon followed all the popular Disney characters: Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto and whatever. The animated feature picture Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs became a fantastic success. Other popular movies were Pinocchio, Bambi, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella and Lady and the Tramp.

In the case of comic books, Disney himself was not personally involved in the same way as he was in the film productions. The comics were created by artists around the world under license from The Walt Disney Company. Disney had enough irons in the fire anyway, and his activities in various fields came to swell out of all the banks: in addition to animated cartoons, regular motion pictures, TV shows, music, theme parks like Disneyland ... you name it!

How about Walt Disney himself? What was he like as an individual and person? It is said that he was mostly of a quiet temperament, yet would occasionally roar up in a rage that just as soon went over. As a parent, he is said to have been caring and committed. Overall, he cared a lot for kids - his entire life's work was directed for the most part to all the children of the world. Although he chain-smoked all his adult life he avoided to smoke when youngsters were present.

Disney was an unusually imaginative, creative and optimistic person - in other words, he had himself much of the child inside, and was curious and interested in everything. As for values, he praised the American dream of freedom and success. He also loved animals and nature, which is evident by the True Life Adventure series, with acclaimed motion pictures like The Living Planet and The Vanishing Prairie. Walt Disney also got involved in creating better opportunities for young people to educate themselves in the artistic fields. The result was The California Institute of the Arts outside Los Angeles.

Unfortunately, his life was cut short prematurely having contracted lung cancer due to his heavy chain-smoking. He died only 65 years old.

Walt Disney's birth chart looks like this:

Walt Disney, 5 December 1901, 00:35, Chicago, Illinois, USA

(Source: Astro DataBank)

The most prominent signs are Capricorn (with Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Chiron in the Fourth House and Venus in the Fifth), Sagittarius (with the Sun and Uranus in the Third House) and Gemini (with Midheaven and Pluto in the Ninth House). An image emerges of a disciplined, reliable, responsible and hardworking person (Capricorn) who is also inspiring, enthusiastic, successful and has great visions (Sagittarius), all put to practice in a communicative and versatile career (Midheaven in Gemini).

The Earth element predominates, followed by the Air element. We have a practical and efficient person who is down to earth and led by common sense in his enterprises but who also has an intellectual approach to life. The Cardinal and Moving signs dominate at the expense of the Fixed signs, suggesting many ideas and much start-up but some difficulty in sticking to a particular area.

Of the houses the Third and Fourth dominate - communication, and home and family. The first quadrant (houses 1-3) is most emphasized, suggesting an independent person with the ability to map his own path in life. Of the hemispheres the northern (lower part of the horoscope) dominates, indicating that it is his own identity and his own abilities that form the basis for his external success. Family belonging and the home environment is crucial for success. The Moon is in its waning phase, reflecting a person with strong convictions.

Mercury, the planet of communication and storytelling, is in intense Scorpio in the Third House of communication and rules both the Ascendant (via Virgo) and the Midheaven (via Gemini). Not only that, it is also in mutual reception with Pluto in Gemini, ie. the two planets are in each other's sign and thus fortify and support each other. Pluto is in the Ninth House in conjunction with the Midheaven (career). Here we sense something of the driving force behind Walt Disney's pioneering work in the communication field. The Pluto-disposed Mercury in the Third House of communication rules and commands the entire chart via the Ascendant and Midheaven.

The Virgo Ascendant brings a little cautious and reserved attitude to the great film producer. Despite his enormous impact on the noisy entertainment industry, Disney kept himself constantly in the background. He was a backstage kind of man, who from his concealed position gave "voice" to his frisky figures (in the literal sense in any case to Mickey Mouse until 1947). When he appeared, it was always with the friendly "American storyteller's smile" in his face. Virgo on the Ascendant also indicates a thorough and careful orientation, as well as attention to detail. Outwardly, there is a restraint when it comes to showing emotion. Disney was careful to behave correctly and make a good impression on the environment.

Adding to the kind and sympathetic impression of course is also the Venus-disposed Moon in Libra in the First House. There is a softness and flexibility in relations with the outside world. Community and togetherness meant a lot to him. Libra is of course also about his artistry. The Second House of values, assets and talents has Libra on the cusp.

The Moon makes a positive sextile with the Sun in Sagittarius in the Third House of communication and storytelling. The Sun is also in conjunction with Uranus, likewise in Sagittarius in the Third House. This shows great originality and inventiveness - both characteristic for Walt Disney and his creative activity. The Sun and Uranus are in opposition to Pluto in Gemini near the Midheaven. The enormous success hardly came by itself without requiring much effort and constant struggle to succeed. Disney was one of the world's foremost in the field of animation and came to transform and refine his means of expression and lifting them to hitherto unimagined levels, something he achieved thanks to a unique combination of enthusiasm, great visions and extraordinary ingenuity. Pluto in Gemini demonstrates the transformative power of his life's work and the breakthroughs he achieved in the field of animation and narrative. This particular planet, as already explained, is in a mutual reception with the Ascendant and Midheaven ruler Mercury in the Third House.

Neptune, the planet of motion pictures and fantasy, is appropriately enough at the top of the sky in Moon-ruled Cancer in conjunction with the Midheaven in communicative Gemini. Neptune also stands for artistry and intuitive sensitivity. Mercury in the Third House of communication - and animation - forms a sextile with Venus in Capricorn right on the Fifth House cusp. The Fifth House is as we know of creativity and self-expression, and also of children - and Disney's creativity was directed especially to the children. Venus in the Fifth House shows creative playfulness and love for children. The planet also forms a trine to Disney's Ascendant.

That the Fourth House is so heavily emphasized in Walt Disney's horoscope indicates that family and home had a great impact on him. One senses that the home was an important base for him and that it was from there he drew much of his energy. There are both Mars and Chiron as well as Jupiter and Saturn, all in the sign Capricorn. Mars in this placement indicates strong ambition and integrity, as well as courage and enterprise. The conjunction with both Jupiter and Saturn on the one hand and Chiron on the other hand, shows a huge mobilization of force but is of course also a potential source of conflict, reinforced by the square to the Moon in the First House.

One gets the impression that this charged powerhouse in the Fourth House, via the Venus-disposed Moon in the First House and the Moon-disposed Neptune on the Midheaven, is the engine behind Disney's mega success, combined also of course with all the resources of the Third House. It seems as if it were in the comfort at home and in the private sphere that his many ideas and visions were born and got wings. Walt Disney was hardly a typical Hollywood mogul, but remained close to his center together with his family and some close friends and assistants. It was from here that his ideas emerged.

Pars Fortunae is to be found where in Disney's horoscope if not in the Third House in Scorpio in close conjunction with Mercury! Without a doubt Walt Disney's greatest joy and happiness and fulfillment lay in his communication and in being a source of inspiration and joy to others.