I have been a Bob Dylan fan since I was 11 years old. There was a point in the late 70’s he started writing, God music. Now I like, God music and I liked Dylan’s, God music but people went absolutely nuts. They had a way they liked to see Dylan and they did not appreciate his moving outside their paradigm one damned bit.
Dylan has a stellium in (mutable) Gemini and he is going to morph whether people like. But maybe you can see the Saturn / Uranus energy here.
Dylan was experimenting (Uranus) and the people rejected him (Saturn) in an attempt to control him (Saturn) and make him stop (Saturn) progressing (Uranus).
What’s curious is these same people if you asked them, would probably have told you they were progressive. Er… they liked his protest songs, see?
Ha ha ha. Just nobody actually progress!
Why is it that people have such a hard time with people growing?
Maybe it’s because it reminds them they are not growing. 🙂
💯👏👏👏❤️
Funny thing is, I cannot remember this Dylan phase, and I was a fan too. I had not started smoking pot yet, so I can’t use this as an excuse. I was realy into his mid to late sixties music when I was till a kid. Dylan really sparks some controversial opinions though. There tends to be an either you love him or you don’t factor. Elsa- Could you feature one of the songs from this Dylan period?
spinner, yes I can because I love some of that stuff and went and saw him play it actually. But I have to do some other stuff first!
Great! I am looking forward to the other stuff too!
This reminds me of a young man I met who had the “correct” progressive values, but was as bigoted as any right wing extremist, with a very shallow, although broad, intelligence to boot. If you replaced everything/everyone he spewed his frequent negativity against with something more politically incorrect e.g. hating on homosexuals or open relationships, I know everyone would immediately recognize him as a prejudiced bigot with a penchant for snap judgements and little to no ability to accept others’ differences in values. Yet he had a reputation for being quite the open minded, progressive fellow. At least most conservatives can admit to how conservative they are lol.
Thanks for this posting, Elsa, it feels and sounds very familiar, not only from my own experience, but the same thing happened to Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Al Green and who knows how many others? And I think your response to Heather is right on: I agree that someone’s growth into a new direction reminds some of us that we are not doing the same thing with our lives and time here on this earth.
“May your hands always be busy … may your feet always be swift … may you have a strong foundation … when the winds of fortune shift … and may you stay … foreeeever young”
My favorite Dylan song.
This is an interesting post. This is especially interesting: “They had a way they liked to see Dylan and they did not appreciate his moving outside their paradigm one damned bit.”
I want to say I understand how people felt about Bob Dylan because I instinctively know it. Because, though people can move in any direction, it does matter WHICH direction they move in. Bob Dylan’s Christian move seemed inconsistent with his earlier work (though he did a lot of changing prior to that like going electric). It expressed his earnest beliefs and the progressive types were offended by them because they wanted to believe in his sanity and consistency. I guess beliefs change. I’m beginning to see your point.
Have you ever seen the documentary called F**K? It’s basically one long love letter to the word fuck, and it really illustrates the whole dynamic of disrupting/being disrupted. As I pointed out to my then boyfriend, who brought me to the movie to defend his liberal usage of the word “fuck”..say it all you want. But I hate it when it’s used as a weapon for manipulation and hostility. I.E. I am fucking angry. (fine). This is fucking awesome! (fine) What the fuck do you want (not so fine). I appreciate disruption when it’s a genuine expression of who you are. But I’ll reject it everytime if it’s merely used as a weapon to attack at will. Anyway, check out the documentary, it really is a hoot.
“Maybe it’s because it reminds them they are not growing”
GREAT answer!
Sometimes I think I’m my own worst enemy. I notice other people get uncomfortable around growth but so did I. I’m all, wait, but I thought you were doing this, now it’s this? . . . it’s all growth, but sometimes it’s sccaaarrryy… 🙂
Great answer indeed! So I guess I’ll keep right on growing and they can stagnate all they want…now where was that kevlar?
and another thing… 🙂
sometimes when that growth is not consistent with what’s been going on, yeah, then what.
i think my insistence on “consistency” or “keeping with the plan” impedes the growth. and there’s a natural tendency for other people to want to keep you where they know you. it’s safe, comfortable, y’know?
Saturn/Uranus–defending the right to innovate and individuate!
I love this approach because, quite frankly, I’m beginning to despair over the “Us Against Them” writings I’m getting at some of my favorite astro blogs. Nothing like setting up and then defending to death a highly irrational dichotomy to show off one’s ass!
Where’s the love, man?
And Dylan–wow, Slow Train Coming is a beautiful album. He really got the point of grace, which in reality, is the only way a person isn’t gonna end up enslaved to one person, position or point of view. “You Gotta Serve Somebody” is Total Truth. Perhaps that’s another lesson of Saturn/Uranus–freedom to choose our boundaries helps us decide who we’re gonna serve and who we won’t serve.
It’s the illusion of total freedom that leads to bondage.
Bob has some music for everyone. Why people can’t just say some I like and some I don’t is beyond me. It must be Uranus that invokes this love/hate response.
My husbands favorite!
He sometimes wears a T-shirt that our son River bought him at a concert.
I have a Saturn/Neptune connection with my only daughter.
We have had unexpected separations throughout our lives together. She lives 2000 miles (approx) from me. It’s been over 5 years since I’ve seen her but we are in touch at random times and love each other very much.
I need to look at her chart again.
By the time he got to the God music he had already been roundly rejected for plugging in his guitar. The folk music fans were not having it. He was already a seasoned contrarian.
Very true. I just thought this was a good example of this phenomena – the forward thinking person becomes the oppressor.
I didnt mean to take anything away from the Gemini analysis—and the penchant for morphing. just thought I would add some background. He was a very young man when he got booed for plugging in. Not an easy thing to risk new found fame but he persisted. 🙂
I had never noticed that about him, or else I’m just forgetting.
Jana you are so right. He risked when it wasn’t easy. He never seemed to choose the easy way.
I really love some of his songs.
What a fitting time to bring Dylan up. For me this reminds me of my first husband who “just wanted me to stop changing.” Oh man😏
Uranus sextiles my 8th H Mars-Saturn (traditions) conjunction from the 6th House (health and forms of work)Sudden revolution has long been my solution.
At my age I call him St Bob. Hope he truly is a Christian as I’ve became at 58. But his artistry rules! Go Zimmerman. Thanks for the post as always Elsa, your input lightens & measures my day.
In the year 1982 I went to a Lou Reed live concert in Frankfurt/Germany – on my hubby’s birthday that was… 6 April. There were a lot – A LOT – of US military guys at this gig (who were stationed in the area) and Lou wanted to play his new album. Into the 2nd song they began to ‘BOO’ – he asked them politely to listen. At the 4th song they began to shout and throw stuff at the stage (while we made our way to the back of the hall). He asked those who did not want to hear it to be quiet or leave. Some of the guys jumped on the stage, others threw chairs… Lou went backstage and said he’ll come back when they stop. They started to kick each other, fistfights – those who wanted to hear and those who didn’t. We watched from the sideline. Police came in – Lou was escorted away from the hall in a police car – for his own safety. They started smashing the equipment, lights, instruments and all. We were all weary of US military guys whether in a pub, disco or on festivals but this was a standout event.