Andy Warhol, America’s great Pop Artist of the 1960s, might have been born on August 6,1928. That is his "widely accepted birth date", according to the book, Andy Warhol In His Own Words and other references. Since there is no recorded birth certificate, we shall take it at that in creating the great Pop Artist’s horoscope reading.
During his nearly six decades of life as a 2nd decan Leo, Andy Warhol’s Astrology chart shows that he recognized his great talents and did everything he could to promote and express them as much as possible. Those like Andy Warhol, born in this decan of Leo, are driven to achieve fame and fortune. Often it’s because they feel fame is necessary to meet other people’s expectations; sometimes it’s because, as a Leo, they always like to lead and be The Best. This quest for fame means people born in this decan are likely to call attention to themselves any way they can; sometimes by dressing dramatically; sometimes by creating an entourage (The Factory). People born in this Leo period, also are likely to become masters of their chosen fields. They will sacrifice love for a life of celebrity. This Sign produces people likely to have a deep, intuitive understanding of others’ needs, although sometimes this can lead to cold manipulation. Also on the down side, people born in this Leo period, like Andy Warhol, are likely to ignore their health, much to their detriment. This fame-only focus can allow for a certain aloofness and a rather secretive strangeness (which might, in turn, anger people, as it did for Andy Warhol, when he was shot multiple times, in 1968, by a woman on the fringe of his group).
As a free, independent thinker, Andy Warhol’s chart shows someone who had the ambition and talent to veer off the expected path in order to express strong intellectual ideas. (Andy Warhol furthered the idea of mechanical art; the repetition of the same image, he believed, rendered all art as equal).
Andy Warhol’s Moon Sign is Aries. This Sign explains the force of nature And Warhol became - painting, film-making, acting, publishing, collecting people, plastic idols (which he loved), and image-making. The Aries Moon gave Andy Warhol the power and the fire to promote his art, because he understood, instinctively and practically, that promotion was the key difference between success and failure. Given how Andy Warhol’s Pop Art movement helped transform the1960s, and how greatly valued his art is today, we can see just how well he understood the currency of fame.
Most people are familiar with Andy’s quote "In the future, every one will be famous for 15 minutes." Here are some other more obscure Andy Warhol quotes that help define what he believed. Some, I believe, are equally applicable to today. I call this The Wit and Wisdom of Andy Warhol:
- I never have time to think about the real Andy Warhol. I’m just so busy …not working, but busy playing, because work is play when it’s something you like…
- A lady friend once asked me, ‘ what do you love most?’. That’s how I started painting money.
- Energy helps you fill up more space
- All of my films are artificial, but then everything is sort of artificial. The artificial fascinates me, the bright and shiny.
- My paintings are just about entertaining people. I’m surprised it’s lasted so long.
- No matter how good you are, if you are not promoted right, you won’t be remembered.
- Whenever people and civilizations get degenerate and materialistic, they always point at their outward beauty and riches and say that if what they were doing was bad, they wouldn’t be doing so well, being so rich and beautiful…
Although Andy Warhol died, unexpectedly in 1987 following gall bladder surgery, he likely would not have been surprised by the downward turn of events that seemed to have started with 9/11, resulting in our current difficult economic situation. Andy Warhol likely would have memorialized 9/ll with a series of silkscreens, showing different images captured on film during those times. I think he also would have captured the horrors of Katrina with silk-screens or documentary film. In my mind’s eye, I can see these iconic image-silkscreen paintings filling up Museum walls. Perhaps the seemingly endless recession also would have prompted Andy Warhol and his followers to create new art mirroring and displaying the frustrations and impatience many of us now feel. His art would portray the fabric of our lives, circa 2009 - our fascination with velocity: fast food, quick fixes, speed dating, instant messaging, and so on.
I now wait for new artists to emerge and reflect our pop culture. They will likely shine some light on the dark days of the past and offer the glimmers of hope for the future. The 1960s gave us a burst of creativity, with Andy Warhol clearly front and center. It is well good time for another creative burst.
To read more Andy Warhol quotes, check out, Andy Warhol In His Own Words by Mike Wrenn (shown here) and Shoes, Shoes, Shoes, Andy Warhol with quotes / illustrations, ( also shown here). Andy Warhol’s original illustrations can seen in Amy Vanderbilt’s vintage Complete. Cookbook, (here). 
09.06.09
