It an classic story the protagonist is the hero or person who stands up and moves forward towards his goal. In Cinestrology there are basically there are three types of protagonists. The most obvious are CARDINAL SIGNS (ARIES, CANCER, LIBRA, AND CAPRICORN) as they are the true heroes, in a classic sense, because they initiate. They fight for what they believe in. But even here the energies of each sign, wether they are MASCULINE or FEMININE and what planet rules them, will affect their obvious heroic qualities and how they manifest.
Certainly ARIES is the most QUINTESSENTIAL HERO. He is BRAVE, FEARLESS, AGGRESSIVE, DIRECT and COMFORTABLE IN WAR, because he is ruled by MARS the planet of war, which also rules the weapons he wields, because they are made from IRON, the metal of his planet. Hence, GUNS, KNIVES, CARS, MOTORCYCLES and SWORDS are all within his domain. Heath Ledger, Steve McQueen, Russel Crowe, Christopher Walken and Marlon Brando show this quality, as do many in this sign.
When we get to CANCER it’s a much different story. Certainly there is a LEADER quality to CANCER, but CANCER being the sign of the MOTHER is the SOFTEST CARDINAL SIGN. She being ruled by the MOON is INTUITIVE and NURTURING. She initiates SUMMER and brings it into being, and so is BAREFOOT IN THE SAND, as summer is an easy time. But make no mistake. She has the force of will that can sometimes change from the nice persona of a Tom Hanks into a Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford or Michell Rodriquez, but this also is the exception to the rule. CANCER leads the SPIRIT and Chiwetel Ejiofor is great exmaple of this. He’s strong but his intention is usually to help people.
LIRBA can be tough when it needs to. It is MASCULINE and a LEADER, but it too is ruled by a planet that softens it to a certain extent and that planet is VENUS, the planet of LOVE and BEAUTY. It also deals with relationships and aesthetics. So LIBRA will often become the protagonist who’s fighting for SOCIAL JUSTICE, or to bring a situation into BALANCE. As a hero, KNIVES and SWORDS are his weapons as they are associated with AIR. SWORDS represent AIR in a card deck and the tarot. But all things being equal he is less of a bad ass than ARIES and more of a bad ass than CANCER. But that doesn’t necessarily mean CANCER won’t win against them, as WATER overcomes FIRE and AIR as does EARTH, if it is a literal translation. Will Smith, Hugh Jackman, Matt Damon, Alicia Vikander and Tim Robbin in THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION reflect these qualities.
CAPRICORN, as is it the sign that initiates WINTER, is SERIOUS, as winter is a dangerous time and CAPRICORN survives it through its understanding of STRATEGY, and its knowledge of how to WORK WITHIN LIMITATIONS. It is hard working and tough because it hides or COMPARTMENTALIZES ITS EMOTIONS, so when it goes into battle it appears cool and confident. This is the hero who deals with heavy burdens and dwells in situations and landscapes that have SUFFERING, MISERY and RESTRICTION. He or she is a SOFT HERO, but one with the attendant SERIOUSNESS that makes them often them appear harder. Denzel Washington in THE BOOK OF ELI, Mel Gibson in MAD MAX, Kevin Costner in THE POSTMAN, Jeremy Renner in THE HURT LOCKER, Maggie Smith in HARRY POTTER and Ralph Fiennes in pretty much anything he’s been in should give you an idea of this cool serious character. They say if you want to survive a zombie apocalypse you can count on a Capricorn.
So now that we have covered LEADERS, let’s look at the second most likely PROTAGONIST, the FIXED SIGNS. If we think of the CARDINAL SIGNS as the ones most likely to attack a fort, then the ones who would have the will to stay there and defend it would be the FIXED SIGNS. The are fixed in their trajectory in the heavens and in the way these signs manifest here on Earth.
As TAURUS was the first sign to say “no”. They are the originator of the fixed position of stubborness and since they rule the throat, they are the ones with the ability to speak the words in the first place.
They are generally not playing the hero with the same direct, erratic excitement as an ARIES, who creates his own luck by just going for it. TAURUS is a PLANNER. He or she would be the one who says, “No, were are not leaving! We will stand our ground!” and then use their great talents and understanding to create. They would produce a defense that would withstand the siege. Or we might see them in an AUTONOMOUS or personal story of personal fortitude. TAURUS/Daniel Day Lewis is certainly one of the greatest living actors, who uses his WILL, DISCIPLINE and PLANNING to create amazing portrayals. But for my money, he was miscast is THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, because that role is more suited to a CAPRICORN, who has the quietness of EARTH, like TAURUS, but there is true LEADERSHIP along with it that TAURUS doesn’t naturally possess. They are not the classic hero. They are some of the finest actors, and have an almost unparalleled range, but they are not the duke it out on the hill types. VENUS which rules them, gives them more elegance than that. Al Pacino, Kate Blanchet, George Clooney. Rene Zellweggar, Djimon Hounsou to name a few, possess an easiness and elegance to them. Certainly a lot of TAURUS play heroes, but there are other factors that allow that just as their over all chart. One being who’s casting and what kind of films are popular at the time. TAURUS was probably at it’s peak in classic Hollywood, because it was a slower time.
LEO is the SUN KING. But unlike TAURUS which is EARTH, they are a FIRE SIGN and so would stand in for the HERO more than TAURUS or SCORPIO, because the dynamic of FIRE is all about excitement, and so there are more LEOS playing the classic hero than the other FIXED SIGNS. The original TERMINATOR comes to mind as both PROTAGONIST and ANTAGONIST are both LEOS, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Beihn. And just to make things interesting it was also directed by LEO/James Cameron. Jason Momba in AQUAMAN, Chris Hemsworth in THOR. Kate Beckinsale in the UNDERWORLD films, Jennifer Lawrence in THE HUNGER GAMES, Evangeline Lilly in the ANTMAN films. LEO like the SUN is big. It’s performances are BIG and BOLD as it plays KINGS, HEADS OF STATE or larger than life characters.
SCORPIO is the sign with the most DEPTH as they have immense spiritual latitude. SCORPIO like TAURUS is kind of chill, while hiding its SECRET INTENSITY and has the best potential as a romantic leading lady in the zodiac, because she is SEXY and DEEP and if she is on one of her surrounding CUSPS like many SCORPIO women in the industry are, she will also have great charm and/or playfulness. Like TAURUS they have great range and great rage. So they can play a myriad of characters, from the lowest to the highest morality as they are the sign of EXTREMES. And certainly they are warriors, but they are FEMININE WARRIORS who do things in SECRET, so tend not to play over the top heroes. You will not see SCORPIO running around a lot. It’s too superficial for them. They need to get obsessed in a role and deep into it, and it’s hard to get deep into running around. A great example by way of comparison are the SHANGHAI NOON and SHANGHAI KNIGHTS films with ARIES/Jackie Chan and SCORPIO/Owen Wilson. Jackie as an ARIES is the natural hero, running, jumping, kicking and fighting off his enemies with anything that’s handy. He kicks ass, whereas Wilson is kind of zen and deep and chill and pretends that he can kick ass. As I have mentioned in other posts, SCORPIO often plays it’s most negative roles in Hollywood and so is often cast as the OBSESSIVE ANTAGONIST. As a protagonist they often have a bit of a scoundrel in them, or can play the NICE GUY. Ryan Reynolds, Owen Wilson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Matthew McConaughey, Gerard Butler, Julia Roberts, Ryan Gosling, Sam Rockwell, Jodie Foster, Meg Ryan, Demi Moore, Goldie Hawn and Anne Hathaway. And did I mention that SCORPIO probably the most prolific sign as an actor in Hollywood, because Hollywood is a SCORPIO. As antagonist, check out my SCORPIO OVER LORDS OF THE UNDERWORLD post and HOLLYWOOD IS A SCORPIO.
AQUARIUS being AIR is the lightest of the FIXED signs brings with it, the duality of AIR and a copious amount of ambivalence. In other words, although AQUARIUS is a FIXED sign, it is the MENTAL FIXED SIGN, and so doesn’t carry the weight or commitment of TAURUS or SCORPIO, or even LEO as FIRE is heavier than AIR. AQUARIUS is a cerebral protagonist. He is a thinker, who uses his sense of FAIRNESS and his GENIUS to help the GROUP, while maintaining his or her own individuality. This is a man or woman who will use their cerebral power to find their way through, but will not say “no” as much as they will say, “we have to look at this a different perspective and find our own freedom” If we look at the consolidated work of actors like Christian Bale, John Travolta, Freddie Highmore Gene Hackman, Paul Newman, Jennifer Jason Leigh or Laura Linney you will begin to see the picture. I encourage you to go on a site like IMDB and look at the list of AQUARIANS or any other sign and you will glean the essence of that sign.
Now that we have covered CARDINAL and FIXED protagonists, let’s look at the MUTABLE signs.
MUTBLE signs are the default politicians of the zodiac, they are the least likely to play the hero of pure bravery or the one who stands up and says “no” as they are the signs of “maybe”, or more correctly the signs of expansion. CARDINAL initiates, FIXED creates structure and language and MUTBLE signs expand and refine. And although it is beyond the scope of this post, almost always when we see a FIXED or MUTABLE sign as the “hero”, their RISING SIGN (How people see them) is in a LEADER sign. (i.e. AQ/Paul Newman has CAPRICORN RISING, SCORPIO/Leonardo DiCaprio has LIBRA RISING and in five other positions. I’ve see this over and over again. People see Clint Eastwood as quiet and intense, and that sure as heck isn’t GEMINI!, which is what he is. It is his SCORPIO, RISING SIGN, while not CARDINAL, is still intense and menacing. So the point I am making is that there are some onscreen heroes that are MUTBLE, but they are acting it through how people see them. The one exception to that is SAGITTARIUS, which although MUTABLE does, as the Centaur does, carries a weapon and so brings with it some warrior tendencies, as it is FIRE.
Generally speaking MUTABLE signs get what they want by giving people something they want. They are the most aware of give and take. And certainly if the story is about such a person they are perfect. Don Cheadel in HOTEL RUANDA comes to mind. A hotel manager hero, who is also SAGITTARIUS, becomes the hero through political adroitness.
And certainly and more importantly as pure masculinity is frowned upon these days, more MUTABLE signs are making it to the big screen. A great example is where you had the aggressive and erratic ARIES/William Shatner playing Captain Kirk in the Star Trek series and it’s first films, is replaced by VIRGO/Chris Pine. ARIES is a true hero, and generally a VIRGO would be faking it, because it’s FEMININE and MUTABLE. To his credit Chris Pine is on the CUSP of LEO, but one only has to look at his chart and see that there is not much heroic about it.
GEMINI rules the arms and lungs and is the first part of the body to divide into the two sides of duality, and it is also the first sign of “maybe” and the lightest sign in the zodiac. Therefore it by itself is also the least deep. But it is also the sign with the most pure mental processing power. MERCURY isn’t called quicksilver for nothing. That being the case they are also the fastest talkers, especially in men as was easily witnessed when GEMINI/Tom Holland took over the reigns of Spiderman from quiet and introverted CANCER/Toby Maguire, and suddenly he’s a chatter box! As GEMINI is a MASCULINE sign we do find the occasional hero type in someone like Colin Farrel but he has CAPRICORN RISING, Chris Evans has SCORPIO MOON AND RISING as does previously mentioned Clint Eastwood. Johnny Depp has been made most famous as an anti-hero who talks a lot, but he has FIERY LEO RISNG and ARIES MID HEAVEN (how the world sees you), Mark Walhberg has LEADER CANCER RISING and Angelina Jolie has 10 placements in LEADER SIGNS including RISING MID HEAVEN, MARS AND MOON and many of them in ARIES. Conversely, Michael J. Fox is quintessential GEMINI. He’s TAKING and ESCAPING all the time, but he has hardly any leader stuff except his MOON which rules emotions. A GEMINI protagonist uses his or her mind, it is great at social things, being part of the group and great at escape, which is a theme that is clearly in most of the above examples.
VIRGO is the sign of ANALYSIS. So whereas MERCURY planet mate GEMINI uses it’s mental power, VIRGO SCRUTINIZES On its own is not a leader sign. It being MUTABLE and FEMININE it is also the sign of SERVICE, FASTIDIOUS and NERVOUSNESS. In it’s most sedate state, VIRGO is the LIBRARIAN or ACCOUNTANT. VIRGO is not the person with a glint in their eye who keeps his or her eye on the mark, nor do they compartmentalize their emotions and maintain their cool like a CAPRICORN. They are the sign of SERVICE. So even though Keanu Reeves became famous as an action star, his best known films (THE MATRIX series) are about SERVICE TO MANKIND. A role originally intended for CHRIST CUSP — Will Smith who is a LIRBAN on the CUSP of VIRGO. So he has the more obvious LEADERSHIP. To his credit Reeves still has his MARS, MOON, and VENUS in CANCER, but when you look at his work he really doesn’t read as a hero. He does seem like a nice guy though. Other VIRGOS are Salma Hayek, Adam Sandler, Chris Pine, Idris Elba, Paul Walker, River Phoenix. Michael Keaton can play an intense guy, but has SCORPIO MOON. VIRGO is best at playing true SERVICE like Peter Sellers in BEING THERE.
Like I said, of all the MUTABLE signs SAGITTARIUS has the most ability to play a heroic character, as they are what I call the leader of the mutable signs. Brad Pitt is a good example, but he is also born on the 9 of MARS and on the CUSP OF CAPRICORN. Milla Jovovich can bring it, Samuel L. Jackson is also on the CUSP OF CAPRICORN, as is Jake Gyllenhaal. SAGITTARIUS amplifies things, which is why Marisa Tomei can make her emotions so large like JUPITER. This is another reason why SAGITTARIUS are the kings of comedy. They are big and natural DEBUNKERS and ICONOCLASTS, and love popping mental balloons with their arrows. This is why we see actors like Ben Stiller, Woody Allen, Jamie Foxx or Richard Pryor kill it in comedy.
They say that there is an actor in every PISCES, because being WATER and MUTABLE they can morph like no one else. They are also at the end of the zodiac, so they have already been all the other signs, and have a lot to draw on. At the same time they are MUTABLE AND WATER and are the most FEMININE SIGN. They are the SAVIORS of the zodiac, because they have the most EMPATHY. Someone like Dakota Fanning exemplifies this perfectly in her early work, as she is saving people and animals. And with the huge bulk of MUTABLE signs, most famous PISCEAN lead heroic actors are are either on the CUSP of ARIES or have large amounts of LEADER SIGNS in their charts. Bruce Willis — CUSP of ARIES, as is William Hurt, and Kurt Russell. Daniel Craig who reads like an ARIES in the James Bond series has his MARS and MOON in ARIES, along with the intensity of SCORPIO RISING, but he still always plays off WATER SIGNS romantically, mostly CANCER.
PISCES is at its best when it does what is most natural and that is to EMPATHIZE, LOVE, NURTURE and SAVE. For it is the sign that doesn’t know where it ends and you begin. It gets it.
© Ian Boyd 2021 (All Righs Reserved)