The concept of the iceberg entered literature as a comparative term from nature: a massive ice mountain towering in the ocean, with an equally vast space beneath the water. This word can be applied to people when it is impossible to gauge the depth of their personality or predict their actions, just as it is impossible to foresee the underwater life of an iceberg. History has many personalities to whom this term applies, but two icebergs, like Scylla and Charybdis, strike one as twins: Giacomo Casanova (April 2, 1725, Venice at 21:00) and George Clooney (March 6, 1961, Kentucky, USA).
The openly libertine 18th-century figure and George, a talented Hollywood actor, did not gain fame through his adventures and, unlike Casanova, who had 48 children in his lifetime, has none at all. George belongs to the Fox totem in Chinese astrology: in China, the fox is an animal-shapeshifter, a representative of the otherworldly forces that only outwardly resembles an ordinary animal. The fox is a contradictory sign. It gives a tendency toward sociability and amiability but simultaneously leads to quarrels, discord, intrigue, and sorcery. Foxes communicate with the otherworld, possess extrasensory abilities, foresee the future, and have excellent intuition that allows them to extricate themselves from many misfortunes. They are extraordinarily beautiful and refined, intellectual, with deep emotions. They succeed in high society, appear cheerful, and boastfully present themselves to others. They change their appearance and behavior according to circumstances and, although they demonstratively emphasize their honesty and sincerity, they inspire distrust. They are suspicious in relationships, especially with the opposite sex, and possess immense sexuality.
In 1996, People magazine named Clooney among the “50 Most Beautiful Men in the World,” and in 1997, he was called “the sexiest man alive” and “the best-dressed TV star.” Indeed, little is known about the personal life of sex symbol and star George Clooney: for a long time, he dated actress Kelly Preston, Jodie Foster’s sister Didi, Denise Crosby, Kimberly Russell, Lucy Liu… His 18-month marriage to actress Talia Balsam ended in divorce in 1992. The actor himself does not like to talk about his passions, convincingly motivating this by saying, “If you publicize your personal life, it ceases to be personal.”
What leads to the idea of similarity with Casanova? Of course, the cosmograms and the initials of the names (twins can be different not only in dates but also in vocation). Love and creativity in astrology belong to the same aspect; they are interconnected, and a person can achieve fame either through creativity or through love. Giacomo could have been an excellent actor, and Clooney could have been an excellent lover (if he wanted, of course!).
The synastry of the two heroes is interesting in that it features a conjunction: Clooney’s Sun in Pisces conjuncts Casanova’s Mars (sexual activity), the South Node with Chiron (past incarnation) in Pisces conjuncts Casanova’s Jupiter (worldview), and both Saturns in Scorpio in a wide conjunction with Casanova’s Ascendant. In terms of planetary equivalents, they are quite resonant; they simply lived in different eras and different societies. For Clooney, being a fantastic womanizer would not be difficult, but the American mentality inclines him toward social achievements, unlike the Italian libertinism of the 18th century. Clooney preferred creativity over love!
Casanova’s large cluster of planets in Pisces reveals him as an iceberg of a person. Outwardly, he was lonely, and his manifestations were entirely unexpected; in his youth, he was unlucky with women, and luck was also not on his side. Clooney had similar tendencies in his early life. At 16, he tried to make it onto the Cincinnati Reds team, but as a beginner athlete, he lacked both experience and technique. Disheartened, George enrolled in college. What did he do there? “Drinking and girls,” Clooney reluctantly admits. “After three years, I was still flunking my first year. Then I got so sick of it that I realized if I didn’t leave, I’d completely ruin myself!” A failed athlete and an unsuccessful student decided to become an actor. This choice was not as unreasonable as it might seem at first glance: George had some connections in Los Angeles. His aunt Rosemary’s husband was actor and director José Ferrer, and their son Miguel was also involved in film. At 21, the young man dropped out of college and headed to his aunt’s for summer vacation, hoping to stay in Los Angeles permanently. After moving, George immediately asked for advice on how to break into the film world. Miguel, who had a good grasp of the behind-the-scenes aspects of show business, helped Clooney a little with auditions, but initially, Clooney was catastrophically unlucky. One day, he realized that a year had passed, and his dream of a film career was still just a dream.
George moved in with actor friend Tom Matthews, who provided him with lodging… in a large built-in closet. “I still can’t figure out how George managed to bring girls there!” Matthews recalls with a laugh. “What do you say to a woman to convince her to sleep with you in a closet?!”
What Casanova said to the women he seduced remains a mystery, but one thing is clear: he seduced them eloquently! Eloquence was the stumbling block for both. Casanova had Mars in detriment (the planet governing mentality, speech, and contacts), while in Clooney’s chart, Mercury is retrograde at 25° Aquarius (anarchism, recklessness, “no king in his head,” fortune in business, immense talent, and intuition). Casanova felt complexes that manifested through his Mercury, which was in the magical 28th degree of Pisces (the ability to extricate himself from any situation). He used magic: he never lost at cards and later successfully applied magic in seduction. Judging by his memoirs, it was important for him to attract a woman through eloquence, from which he derived pleasure—this was the result of his afflicted Mercury, not a genuine need for love.
The main stimulus for his adventures was Mercury; if it had not been in Aries, it would not have led to Don Juanism. A planet in detriment always provides an impetus for development, a desire to grow through suffering. Meanwhile, love itself (Venus in Pisces) is in conjunction with Mercury and Mars, indicating self-sufficiency; the need for love came in waves, ebbs and flows, and always involved analysis!
George’s love (Venus at 26° Aries in the degree of cunning and great patrons) is in square to Jupiter and Saturn in Capricorn, preventing Clooney from emotional and romantic dependence. Despite the wide separation between Mars and Venus, which indicates heightened sexuality, Clooney’s subconscious is focused on Jupiter—achieving fame and satisfying ambitions (his Moon in Scorpio implies a drive for power by any means).
Mid-1980s. George had no money, no Screen Actors Guild card, no home. All he had was hope. Almost every day, he rode his bicycle to another audition. Then—to work: digging ditches, helping builders or movers—in short, wherever he could earn a few dollars in a few hours. “I bombed every audition,” Clooney recalls. “Miguel, trying to calm me down, advised me to take life more lightly.” Eventually, fate gave him a chance, and George Clooney was able to seize it. Once, arriving for an audition at ABC, he chose to read a scene that required a bed. John Crosby, head of the acting department, waited with amused curiosity to see how the actor would handle the situation. “Go ahead!” Clooney shouted, and four of his friends, whom he had tipped off in advance, carried a bed into the room! “Crosby’s jaw dropped,” Clooney recalls. “Where did the bed in the office come from? But that was the secret.”I will tell you only that on the same day I signed a contract with ABC.” True fame came to George Clooney with his role in one of the most popular series – “ER” (1994), when Clooney was 35, though Jupiter conjunct Saturn in Capricorn suggests power and ascent after forty… In the spring of 1996, the film “One Fine Day” was released. “It turns out you can get used to it,” he says. “Although tabloid reporters were very disappointed – they expected me to start a romance with Michelle Pfeiffer, but I didn’t have the energy for that. After filming, all I wanted was to get to bed and fall asleep as quickly as possible. In short, we fell asleep. In short, we sang off the set like vultures.”
Casanova, at one time, also created: he was a good writer, and Clooney may well take up writing in his later years. For now, he merely dabbles in screenwriting, wins Oscars, and sometimes secretly meets with Teri Hatcher (the heroine of “Superman” and “Desperate Housewives” – her Lilith is in Libra, as is George’s Lilith, though it can also bring disappointment… Now Clooney can afford to choose: his current fee level never drops below $10 million. Moreover, since the late 90s, Clooney has been trying his hand at producing.
If a survey were conducted in any American city to find out who their favorite actor is, most answers would likely be the same: “Of course, George Clooney!” No wonder that for American women who have outgrown their infatuation with Brad Pitt, George has become the embodiment of the best qualities a man can have. Long live, Hollywood Casanova! Valentina Wittrock
