There was an article in the The Times today, which reported that Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is facing a lawsuit, accusing her of plagiarism.
To be more specific, the estate of deceased writer Adrian Jacobs is claiming that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was substantially based on his book The Adventures of Willy the Wizard: No 1 Livid Land.
It’s an accusation that doesn’t seem very reasonable, particularly in light of J.K. Rowling’s horoscope.
Born on July 31 1965, she has the Sun in Leo, and to me she personifies a Fire sign working at its best. Fire can be extremely intuitive, and can be in touch with high level forces that other people just aren’t aware of. Her description of how the Harry Potter idea came to her, while taking a train ride from London to Manchester, seems to fit this very well. The concept arrives quickly, and isn’t laboured or contrived.
To be a writer, one probably has to have an introverted streak. How else would you have the discipline to keep writing, day after day? And this introversion doesn’t fit in with the attention-seeking Leo that’s so often described in astrology text books. So J.K. Rowling reminds us that we need to think harder about the real meaning of the twelve star signs.
It should nonetheless be pointed out that she has a lot of Virgo planets in her horoscope. She has the Moon in this sign, as well as Venus, Uranus and Pluto. She might also have Mercury here, but as I don’t have her time of birth I can’t tell for sure.
Virgo is a sign that’s hard-working, that’s also able to focus on the detail. So in a sense Virgo brings down to earth the inspirations of Leo.
Going back to the plagiarism lawsuit, it raises an interesting philosophical question about whether any of us, as individuals, can be truly original. Whether someone is a writer, an artist, a scientist or an inventor, they will, at some level, get inspiration from what has come before them. In other words it’s difficult, if not impossible, to create something out of nothing.
Also, we’re connected to a wider Cosmos, and what happens in the Cosmos will also affect us, down here on Planet Earth. Indeed all of us are part of the Cosmos. So the first spark of inspiration doesn’t necessarily come from our own brains. Instead we might be acting as lightning conductors, picking up on wider trends.
One short-term trend that J.K. Rowling might want to consider is Mars’ movement through Leo, her star sign. It’s been in Leo since last October, and it stays there until early June.
Mars can be an aggravating influence, and it’s a time when many Leos will have to deal with annoyances and frustrations. I don’t know whether this includes tiresome lawsuits.
Copyright © 2010 Archie Dunlop
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