Lola Montez. She understood that her life path was that of Cinderella.
It is not worth attributing fatal qualities to all women, but some of them clearly possessed a magnetic force that allowed them to influence even the most powerful people of the world.
It would seem that kings and princes had access to any beauty, and often it was indeed the case: the Sun-king housed a “deer park” at the Palace of Versailles, biblical kings indulged in carnal pleasures provided by a vast number of concubines. However, there were cases when the ruler of a state encountered that one unique enchantress for whom the crown was cast aside…
Women who opened the “gates of paradise”
Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, known in history as Lola Montez, was born in Ireland on February 17, 1818. She lost her father early and soon married an officer of the British army, Thomas James. Lola was not destined to become a keeper of the hearth—it held no appeal for her. She craved miracles, celebrations, fireworks, brilliance, transformations, love, and adoration… She dreamed that the stage could give her all of this. She was graceful, striking, light, and graceful—why not? Lola tirelessly rehearsed, and upon returning from India in 1843, she made her debut on the stage of an opera house—as a dancer of Spanish dances.
Fate did not reward her with talent in this regard, but her helpless dance numbers were compensated by her refined femininity, slender legs, and magnificent bust. It was this “bait” that ensnared one of the princes of Thuringia, who invited Lola to visit him. The “visit” did not last long, but the very fact! And then she realized that her life path was that of Cinderella.
Any astrologer would assume that Cinderella’s horoscope must have a well-aspected Chiron—the planet that brings “miracles in a sieve.” However, in Lola’s cosmogram, there was no harmonious aspect to Chiron. Perhaps, if she had been strong in astrology and aware of this, she would not have taken such risks. But the machine of temptation had already been set in motion—Lola, like a comet, rushed into the world of crowned heads. After “practicing” with the Russian prince Paskevich and the king of music, Franz Liszt, she directed her charms at the king of Parisian press, Dujarier. Paris could not believe its ears: the womanizer Dujarier married! Spring of 1846 arrived, and the incomparable Lola was to become a lawful wife for the second time. But the unexpected happened: Dujarier, who had turned into a raging jealous man, challenged one of Lola’s admirers to a duel and was killed.
It seemed that the bloody denouement buried Lola’s rainbow hopes. She felt inconsolable as a widow. And suddenly, her former husband, who had learned of the incident from the press, made his voice heard. Lola was comforted by familiar embraces, and the couple, to avoid public outrage, hastily left Paris and headed to Germany.
The Munich theater was also not bad. Soon Lola managed to attract the attention of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. And the king’s attention is worth a fortune. In February 1847, the Minister of Foreign Affairs received a decree signed by the king, granting Lola Montez citizenship and adding the title of countess to her name. Of course, Ludwig had a wife and nine children, but his passion for Lola was a reality.
Unlike his father, Ludwig I was hostile to Napoleon I, yet from 1806 to 1809 he commanded the Bavarian division in the wars against Prussia and Austria. After the war with France ended, he mostly lived in Würzburg and Aschaffenburg, frequently traveling to Italy. He surrounded himself with writers and artists, supporting their work. In private life, the king was surprisingly frugal but spent vast sums on art collections, theater support, and more.
His political views were somewhat liberal. Above all, he sought to turn Munich into the “second Athens.” He built various houses—in Greek and Italian styles. Particularly famous is the “Valhalla” he constructed, featuring busts of all famous people of Germany, except for Luther and Reformation figures (Ludwig was a devout Catholic). At the same time, he was a poet and writer. Several books were published, but the king’s works, distinguished only by an affected, archaizing language, left no trace in German literature.
Born under the sign of Virgo (August 25, 1786), Ludwig I was distrustful. At the time of his birth, the Moon and Sun were in Virgo; the conjunction of the luminaries indicated eccentricity in his character. One of his quirks was his love for the “Spanish dancer.” It must be acknowledged that Lola had something captivating in her character: on one hand, absolute unpredictability and freedom (the analytical and pragmatic Ludwig could never understand her), and on the other, a strong maternal instinct. His Moon in Cancer pointed to his vulnerability, sensitivity, and emotional nature.
If we combine the cosmograms of the lovers, Ludwig’s South Lunar Node conjuncts Lola’s Moon—a clear indication in Vedic astrology of a past-life connection. Moreover, not just any connection—Lola had been the mother of Ludwig in one of her incarnations! Perhaps this bond explained the strength of Lola’s influence over the King of Bavaria. She managed, as they say, to “defeat Loyola,” meaning she overthrew the clerical ministry of Abel and later the moderate ministry of Maurer. In its place, a so-called “ministry of Lola” was formed. She established connections with the business world and drafted state papers under the signature “maîtresse du roi”—the king’s courtesan. Undoubtedly, the reaction could not be positive. The general hatred toward Ludwig was expressed by Heine (in “Zeitgedichte”), who sharply ridiculed both Ludwig’s patronage and his poetry, as well as the influence of his mistress on him.
“Cherchez la femme”—seek the woman—say the French. Lola was the beginning, and the end was the demand for freedom and a change in the electoral system. In tears, Ludwig decided it would be wiser to part ways with the woman who had opened the “gates of paradise” for him. Seated in a royal carriage, under the guard of soldiers, Lola left Munich. But this did not ease the situation in the country: the Bavarians demanded the monarch’s abdication, and Ludwig removed the crown…
Disheartened by this turn of events, Lola sailed to America. She married three more times, and at the age of 42, she died of pneumonia and was buried in a New York cemetery under her maiden name, Eliza Gilbert.
Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, King of Great Britain and Ireland, Emperor of India for ten months, yet never crowned. Their love is attributed to touching romance and sacrifice.
The heart wants what it wants
Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, King of Great Britain and Ireland, Emperor of India for ten months, yet never crowned. Their love is attributed to touching romance and sacrifice.
Wallis was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 19, 1896. Her father was a successful businessman. At twenty, she married naval aviator Winfield Spencer. The brave aviator turned out to be an alcoholic with sadistic tendencies, which forced Wallis to leave him. Later, in China, they tried living together again, but he drank again, and the marriage finally fell apart.
Wallis then married divorced businessman Ernest Simpson and moved to London. There, the couple befriended Thelma Furness, mistress of Prince Edward of Wales. On January 10, 1931, Thelma invited the Simpsons to her country estate in Melton Mowbray, where they met the heir to the throne—solemnly and nobly. And in 1934, a romance began between Wallis Simpson and Prince Edward.
Events unfolded in an interesting way: on January 20, 1936, King George V died, and the Prince of Wales became Edward VIII. Shortly before that, foreign media reported on the relationship between the Prince of Wales and Wallis Simpson. The government instructed the British press not to cover their relationship. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin advised the king to consider the constitutional issues that could arise from his marriage to a divorced woman. Edward VIII received political support from Winston Churchill and Lord Beaverbrook, but he was well aware that his decision to marry Wallis Simpson would be unpopular in British society. The Archbishop of Canterbury was also firmly opposed to this union. The government also took into account that Wallis Simpson had connections with other men, including the married car dealer Guy Trundle and Edward Fitzgerald, Duke of Leinster. Moreover, the FBI believed that Simpson had a relationship with Joachim von Ribbentrop, the German ambassador to Britain, and that she passed secret information obtained from King Edward VIII to Nazi Germany.
In any case, on December 10, 1936, King Edward VIII signed the abdication. The next day, he delivered a radio address to the nation, saying he abdicated because he found it impossible to fulfill the duties of a king without the help and support of the woman he loved.
The news of the abdication became a global sensation. According to Time magazine, Wallis Simpson was named “Person of the Year.” The new king, Edward’s younger brother George VI, granted him the title of Duke of Windsor. However, under pressure from the British government, the addition of the prefix “Royal Highness” to the title of the new duchess was refused. Nevertheless, the duke and duchess were denied many things, including family picnics and meetings.
Losing the crown was not a concern for Edward: if we look at the king’s cosmogram, ruling was a burden for him.
Edward was born on June 23, 1894, in Richmond, England. His Sun is in Cancer, his Moon in Pisces — soft-hearted, affectionate, and forgiving. Mars is at the first degree of Aries — the “goat’s degree.” The South Node, Chiron, and Saturn in Libra indicate paradoxicality, marital issues, and legal problems.
If we combine the cosmograms of Edward and Wallis, we see that in the duchess’s chart, the Moon in Libra is in conjunction with her husband’s Saturn — this suggests that emotionally, Edward suppressed her. However, the pressure was within reasonable limits because the conjunction in the synastry of their cosmograms has only a positive aspect to the duchess’s Mercury and Neptune — the planets of temptation. Wallis’s Mercury is retrograde, meaning her thinking was slightly sluggish, and it seems she, though a skilled manipulator, followed her husband’s ideas.
By the way, there are no tense aspects in the synastry, despite suspicions that Wallis had an intimate relationship with Ribbentrop. The duchess’s Mercury is retrograde and conjunct Pluto and Neptune; the characteristics of these degrees do not favor her chastity: Mercury at the 17th degree of Gemini — weak will, erasing traces, the degree of the mentally ill, neurotics, and perverts. Pluto is at the 13th destructive degree of Gemini — deception, intrigue, lies, and unfavorable surroundings. Neptune at the 19th degree of Gemini — weakness, lack of character, loneliness in old age. Wallis’s Sun is at the 29th degree of Gemini — eternal dissatisfaction. Jupiter (the planet that brought her to the Olympus) is also at the destructive 10th degree of Leo — giving the owner of this degree pride, pessimism, and depravity. Mars at the 22nd degree of Aries foretells misfortune from the opposite sex.
After World War II, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor lived in France. Reports emerged that she continued her promiscuous affairs; she had romances with Jimmy Donahue, the grandson of a multimillionaire, and the owner of Woolworth stores.
It is worth remembering that the husband’s Mars is at the “goat’s degree,” and Edward’s father, King George V, scolded his son for his relationships with married women even before he was married to Wallis. The duke’s Sun is at the third degree of Cancer — the Don Juan degree, which also indicates misfortune from women. His Jupiter in direct conjunction with his wife’s Neptune at the 19th degree of Gemini — lack of character. It would be strange not to notice that Pluto, the planet of masses and catastrophes, is at the 11th degree of Gemini in the duke’s chart — the degree of exile. There are also two degrees of violent death (6th and 9th degrees of Libra, while the 19th indicates violent isolation). However, the 12th degree of Scorpio, where retrograde Uranus is located, suggests that fate kept him safe, though the owner of this degree still experienced all kinds of horrors. What horrors are we talking about? Perhaps these are just rumors. Wallis has the 13th — royal degree, where retrograde Saturn and retrograde Chiron are located — this degree ensures that a person succeeds in the most difficult circumstances. The blame is placed not on the owner of the degree but on someone else. So the duchess always managed to “get off scot-free.” The well-known date of the Duke of Windsor’s marriage to the “beautiful American” — June 3, 1937, near Turin, France — is notable. On the day of the wedding, the transiting Moon was in Pisces. This is the most favorable position of the Moon for family life — sacrifice. It seems that this word was key in Edward’s life; his natal Moon in Pisces also emphasized his natural self-sacrifice, and his death from throat cancer also indicates his inability to express himself and assert himself as an individual.
In 1956, Wallis Simpson published her autobiography titled “The Heart Has Its Reasons.” After the death of the Duke of Windsor on May 28, 1972, in Paris, Wallis remained in France. She died on April 24, 1986, and was buried next to Edward VIII in the royal mausoleum in Windsor.
Valentina Wittrock
