Psychological Astronumerology Case: Alexander Graham Bell

    Alexander Graham Bell (March 3rd, 1847) was the inventor of the telephone. He has his ascendant in Pisces, the ascendant ruler Neptune in its own house (12th), along with the Sun, Saturn and Mercury in Pisces gives a very strong Pisces/Neptune/ 12th house flavour to this chart. This indicates that the needs of those at a disadvantaged place in society would be very important to him and he would try to help them in any way he could. Pisces is a compassionate and empathetic sign. They can feel other people’s emotions, even if that person is from a different background and walk of life. In his case, people with the disability of being deaf took a special place in his heart as his mother was nearly deaf. He did important work on Visible Speech for the deaf. Pisces has a mind that is creative and imaginative, it can think of possibilities no one else ever dreamed of. It works in circles rather than straight lines and can think out of the box to come up with innovative and unusual solutions to problems. In his case, from an early age (around 12) on passing a mill and seeing the slow process of husking the wheat grain, invented a device that would more efficiently do the same.

    The house of inventions, discoveries and futuristic thought is the 11th house. The 11th house also represents wishes, dream fulfillment, friends, and gains of all sorts. A strong 11th house will usually grant one or both of these things. In Bell’s chart we see Mars exalted in Capricorn, it has strong ambition, drive and motivation to achieve objectives and fulfill goals. Like the Mountain goat, it is capable of immense persistence, determination and will to succeed in the face of mounting obstacles. In numerology, his personality number is 9, vibrating with Mars. Number 9 has stamina, endurance and drive when they set their mind to something. He spent many long days working on the harmonic telegraph and was fascinated with the idea of voice transmission. As is characteristic of the 11th house, collaborations with friends become important, Bell found an appropriately skilled partner (Thomas Watson) to help turn his visions into reality. Together, they both filed a patent on the idea of voice transmission. On March 10, 1876, the telephone was devised as it is said that Bell knocked over a container of transmitting fluid and shouted, “Mr. Watson, come here. I want you!” From that point, they began to do presentations for a wide variety of audiences. On July 9 1877, the Bell Telephone company was founded. His company was constantly growing as more and more people started using the telephone.

      A career connected with communications is strongly evident in Bell’s chart. Perhaps the most obvious is Jupiter the ruler of the 10th house of career is placed in Gemini- sign of communications. In this chart, Jupiter is in its detriment in Gemini and Mercury is in its detriment in Pisces, these weaken their position. However, Mercury and Jupiter participate in a mutual exchange. Mercury rules Gemini and Jupiter is the traditional ruler of Pisces, therefore they are greatly strengthened and behave more like they are in their own signs. Moreover, Jupiter is conjunct the 3rd house cusp by 1 degree from the 2nd house, the 3rd house is Gemini’s natural house and represents communications, so this placement is especially fortuitous. He was born on Wednesday which is Mercury’s day, Mercury is the ruler of Gemini and Virgo (his moon sign) and represents the way one communicates their message to those around them. He was born on the 3rd, which vibrates to Jupiter. The influence of the 3 gives the creativity and love for communicating one’s message into the world. It also enhances the desire to travel and he indeed travelled many places to promote the phone. As well his aerial company built planes designed for foreign travel. The travelling connection with career is also shown as Jupiter rules both the 9th and 10th houses. Number 3 enhanced his sociability and talent for collaborating with others in his inventions. Perhaps of most help to him, number 3 because of its connection to Jupiter gives a boost of luck wherever it is found. In his case he narrowly was awarded the patent for the phone over his rival and managed to overcome all the lawsuits against his company.

We can see that the 10th house of career is connected with the 11th house of inventions in multiple ways:

1. Jupiter at 8 degrees Gemini is square Saturn at 4 degrees Pisces, ruler of the 11th house by 4 degrees. By traditional rulership, Jupiter would also be the dispositor of Saturn.
2.Jupiter is quincunx the 11th house cusp at 11 degrees Capricorn by 3 degrees
3. Jupiter is biquintile Mars at 14 degrees Capricorn exact
 
     Thus we can conclude that 11th house themes played an important role in his career, in his case he became a famous inventor and was known as a futuristic thinker. His inventions were usually developed with others (this is partly the 11th house influence and partly due to the Moon in the 7th house, both show a desire for collaboration and partnership). In addition to inventing and publicizing the telephone with Watson, he formed the Aerial Experiment Association with Glenn Curtiss and other colleagues. The group of them developed the silver dart which was a seminal powered flying machine in Canada. He developed the Volta laboratory so that he could continue to make new discoveries. The 11th house is also associated with humanitarian efforts and in 1890, he established the American Association to Promote Teaching of Speech to the Deaf. The connection of teaching with his career is also revealed as Jupiter rules both the 9th and 10th houses (9th is higher education) and is tightly conjunct the 3rd house representing scientific learning.

     The Moon takes on a special importance in his chart as it is the only planet on the Western hemisphere, therefore the chart shape is a bucket with handle planet Moon. The Moon is 24 degrees Virgo and is tightly conjunct the Vertex at 26 degrees Virgo in the 7th house. The Vertex is a highly fated contact, representing situations and opportunities that are destined to occur. The 7th house represents one on one relating. Virgo as a Mercury ruled sign has a focus on communications as well. Typically we use the phone when we need to communicate a message to a specific person. Perhaps this aspect speaks to his destiny in allowing people all over the world achieve a greater degree of connectedness by more regular contact even if living far away. The North Node in Libra in the 7th house also speaks to the fact that his growth and evolution was in the direction of improving relationship skills. The Moon-Vertex conjunction tightly squares the MC and the North Node makes a sextile to it, showing the connection with career and public standing.

      There are no hard and fast rules for fame, however certain chart features can help in that regard. Notably, Bell’s core numerology chart contains the 1-8-9 pattern that is frequently found in powerful people. His expression and soul urge number is 1, his life path is 8 and his personality is 9. Two number 1s speak to his passion for discovery, exploration, pioneering spirit and independence and creativity. Number 1 vibrates to the Sun and we find that although the Sun is in the 12th house, it is conjunct the ASC by 4 degrees. In his case the 12th house may represent the disability of being deaf and his becoming famous for his work in improving their quality of life.

​     The 1st house represents the self and people with many planets in the 1st house are given an extra chance to shine and showcase their personality and skills. We find Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Pluto here. Mercury allows his intelligence, thinking style, and communication skills to be prominent. Venus is conjunct the Aries point at 0 degrees Aries which contributes to publicity or fame. Uranus in Aries in the 1st house is a perfect aspect for an inventor. Uranus is the planet of discoveries, future oriented thought, innovative ideas, scientific research and exploration. Uranus challenges us to think in highly original, unconventional ways. Aries is independent, loves to discover and is bold with regards to thinking up new ideas and presenting them. This placement in the first house is exactly the personality Bell showed to the world. Pluto in the 1st house showed his personality is one that became very powerful and transformed the way we communicate globally. Aries is intercepted in the 1st house, means that although Pisces traits are important in how he comes across to others, Aries also plays a big role, even more so because three planets are intercepted in the 1st house in Aries. This resonates with his personality as an adventurer and original, independent thinker, unafraid of taking risks.

     The 1st and 10th house rulers being connected help one become well known in their career or social circle. In his case, the ruler of the 10th house Jupiter squares the Sun in the 1st house by 4 degrees. Pluto in the 1st house makes a 1 degree trine to the MC. Mercury in the 1st house makes a 1 degree square to the MC.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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