“It is true that Astrology has a lot to offer to Psychology through the interpretation of the

Archetypes common to both arts and their reciprocal relationships” (C. G. Jung - in a
letter to A. Barbault)

Who was Il Gattopardo?

By Nestor Almada, Dip. Mayo S. Astrol (UK), Cert. Vedic Astrol. A.I.V.S. (USA)

Il Gattopardo is a novel that covers a Palermo, Italy (Data and Chart from
precise period of history from May 1860 Astrodienst Online).
to May 1910. It has as background the
invasion of Garibaldi and annexation of
Sicily to the kingdom of Italy and the
end of the monarchy of the Bourbons.
Il Gattopardo not only depicts the
decline of an aristocratic household. It is
also a precise subtle and talented
description of the time and psychology
of the characters. It is a balanced
combination of history, fiction,
individual memory and autobiography.

There is a strong indication that the

Italian author Tomasi di Lampedusa,
Duke of Parma, and Prince of
Lampedusa was the Leopard himself.
Luchino Visconti believed that Tomasi di
Lampedusa was himself il Gattopardo,
because of his critical observations, his
life style and for his attachment to the
past, and that he was hiding under the
skin of Don Fabrizio Corbera , Prince of
Salina. The Character of Don Fabrizio
Corbera was inspired in Giulio IV di
Lampedusa, his grandfather.
Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi, the adoptive
son of Tomasi di Lampedusa and
Director of the Italian Institute of
Culture also agree that "Lampedusa was
identified with Prince Salina".
Also, oblivious to the uninitiated, there
is intriguing astrological evidence that
both, Tomasi di Lampedusa and Il
Gattopardo are the same person.
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa was
born on the 23 December 1896 at 9am in
The Ascendant (his attitude to life), the
Sun (his self-expression) and Mercury
(his rational thinking) are all located in
Capricorn. Saturn, the ruling planet is in
its own house, the 10th house. This is a
very strong position for Saturn.
Lampedusa was both a Capricorn and a
Saturn Type.
It is interesting to notice that Il
Gattopardo was according astrology a
typical Capricorn. He was a
scientifically minded snob,
philosophical, skeptical, and distrustful
of mankind and disappointed of life in
general.
Catholic intellectuals rejected its
pessimistic outlook and anticlerical
views and Italian Marxist believed that
its historical vision was too narrow.
Tomasi di Lampedusa often uses animal
imagery, to compare men to animals. In

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more primitive societies it was common
to give names of animals to people to
indicate their rank or position in society.
Kings and chiefs are animals too,
generally Lions or Leopards. Vestiges of
this custom are still seen in some more
traditional and close to nature societies
where more literally such titles must be
taken. . For instance, former emperor of
Ethiopia, Haile Selassie was named ‘the
Lion of Judah' and the honorific name of
Dr Hasting Banda, was 'The Lion of
Malawi'
Tomasi di Lampedusa uses animal
imagery to draw a distinctive class
separation. The nobility is compared
with noble animals; ".si illuse di essere
un gattopardo imponente del pelo liscio
e perfumato che si preparasse a
sbranare uno sciacatello timoroso.."
(P149). On the other hand, common
people are compared with the 'lower'
animals, "...dopo sara' diverso, ma
peggiore, noi fummo I Gattopardi, I
Leone: chi ci sostituira' sarano I
sciacalleti, le iene' (p219)
The snobbery of this astrological sign is
described by Carter, in his
'Encyclopaedia of Psychological
Astrology'; "Capricorn is conscious of,
and a believer in, class distinction, but is
quite ready to pay each man his due
according to his own view of what ought
to be accorded to a man in such a
position. This belief in the value of caste
is part of the love of orderliness which
Saturn (the ruler of Capricorn) gives;
there is a feeling that everyone has, and
should has, his right place in life, and
should keep there, unless he can rise
himself by worth, expressed in such
terms as Saturn can respect. He have a
well-marked sense of status and pay
what he consider to be due regard to the
claims of age, position, knowledge and
wealth". Often Capricorn loves to look
down on their fellows, insects in the
distance, with profound sense of
superiority. They think that their eternal
criticism is superior discernment, and no
one measures up to their own standards.
In their secret hearts, everyone else is
greatly beneath them. Constantly pity
them for being thus afflicted with the
small minds around them. Il Gattopardo
is aware of his lineage and social
position and says to the Piedmontese
emissary Chevalley "The significance of
a noble family lies entirely in its
traditions, that is in its vital memories"
The Prince of Salina believed to be
himself a 'superior being' and that his
descendants will only be Salina in name;
'they will be of a coarser stuff ', he said.
Even when describing his own death, the
Prince of Salina felt superior to others
who busied themselves in the process of
living, "on other occasions, more
frequent, he had felt a kind of pride at
being the only one to notice this
continual escape (of his life force), while
no one around him seemed to sense it in
the same way, and this had made him
feel a certain contempt for others, as an
old soldier despises a conscript who
deludes himself that whistling bullets are
just harmless flies".
The snobbishness of Tomasi di
Lampedusa appears to be emphasized by
Saturn in his 10th house which indicates
his concerns over human values and his
persisting trueness to his own nature
under the impact of social compulsions.
This house also indicates his social
realization or sensitiveness to the social
environment and focus on his honor or
reputation as an expression of position in
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life, showing authority as administered
over inferiors, and the moon is in Leo is
the quest for authority.
The planet Saturn was personified by the
ancient Romans as 'Saturnus', a mythical
God reputed founder of civilization and
social order.
Recurrent symbols about death are
common in the novel. The death of the
young soldier is one of the four principal
recurrent symbols. At Donnafugata
Fabrizio's tenants present him with six-
slaughtered baby lambs. The rabbit
killed by Fabrizio is gloomily described
"the animal had died tortured by anxious
hopes of salvation, imagining it could
still escape when it was already caught,
just like so many human beings."
The last example of this recurrent
symbol occurs as Fabrizio leaves the
ball; "A long open wagon come by
stacked with bulls killed shortly before
at the slaughterhouse, already quartered
and exhibiting their intimate mechanism
with the shamelessness of death".
When Fabrizio Corbera passes someone
in death agonies on the way to the ball,
he gets out of the carriage and kneels in
prayer on the pavement. Tancredi
understand the Prince's deepest yearning
when he remarks with subdued irony,
"uncle, you are courting death"
Scholars explain these scenes of deaths
as recurrent symbols of the decline and
death of the Salina's dynasty. When
Fabrizio fascinated with Greuze's 'Death
of a just man" asked himself 'if his own
death would be like that', is often
interpreted as a symbolism of the last
spasm of the moribund aristocracy.
However this may not be the case.
Negative thinking is a natural
characteristic of Capricorn. According
the Blackie's English Dictionary, the
word 'saturnine' supposed to be under
the influence of the planet Saturn,
"which tended to make people morose;
of a gloomy temper"
Astrologers agree that in general
Capricorn and Saturn types are
pessimistic and gloomy:
"Frequently despondent (unhappy or
melancholic due to disappointments) and
apt to look on the dark side of things.
Often moody and pessimistic and prone
to self-pity, especially if he develops a
'lonely and misunderstood'
complex"(Tucker). "Saturn in the world
of feeling he rules over fear and grief,
sorrow and pain, and all emotions that
are deep and prolonged" (Alan Leo).
"Because Saturn rules Capricorn, the
natives has a tendency to be melancholic
and, at times, lonely' " They behave on
the principle that the world is a place in
which every man is for himself”
(Sakoian & Acker).”Melancholy,
fatalism, or an attitude of despair or
indifference. Capricorn prepares for the
worst. He cannot help thinking it all
much uncalled for. He is essentially
disillusioned and plans everything
accordingly. Saturn gives neither faith
nor hope"(Carter)
Those recurrent symbols of death in Il
Gattopardo may means that the author
just wanted 'to share' his negative
feelings, since is natural for a Capricorn
to has a depressing effect upon others.
In the Prince's balance sheet of his life,
'happy moment's are no more than
'golden speck's on the immense ash-heap
of liabilities' (P294)
The experience of true love appears to
be absent in the novel. Lust turns into
disappointment. "Quelli furono i giorni
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migliori della vita di Tancredi e di
quella di Angelica, vite che dovevano
poi essere tanto variegate, tanto
peccaminose sull'inevitabile sfondo di
dolore"
Human love is to be found debased as
'deviant sexuality' when Tancredi and
Angelica in secret apartment find a whip
of bull's muscle. In ancient mythology,
the bull is a common symbol of man's
animal nature. The following day they
enter the apartment of the Saint-Duke.
This time they find another whip, used
by the Saint-Duke to scourge him. A
symbol of 'repressed sexuality'.
True love avoids Concetta, the Prince's
daughter. Her father sacrifices her to the
'necessities of the time'. The prince
approves Tancredi, his young nephew's
desire to marry the daughter of a newly
rich rogue, Calogero Sedara. "I fear
Tancredi will has to aim higher, by
which of course I mean lower"
Human love is denied in marriage and
expressed in debauchery. The Prince
trapped in a marriage, which he
considered as a part of the inherited
scheme of life, seeks escape from reality
in sensuality with Marianina.
Perhaps the 'reality' created by
Lampedusa may well be the expression
of his true inner nature. Being
standoffish prejudiced and severe, the
natural Capricorn is often deprived of
love. Its basic nature is selfish and in the
pure state, the type is austere, super-
critical, fault finding and overbearing.
They can find something to criticize in
everyone.
“In the majority of cases, wrote Alan
Leo, it makes him very narrow and
limited, giving rise to mental attitude of
antipathy and indifference”
"Capricorn is too cautious for their own
good, being emotionally indecisive,
these people fear loneliness but all too
often attract it by reason of alienating the
affections of partners, or friends that
wish to cultivate. Often lonely, indeed it
seems to be part of their psychology to
feel everyone with whom they come into
contact misunderstands them. They are
capable of undue severity towards their
fellow men. They crave love, yet being
exceedingly self-centered they often fail
to realize that the sentiment of love must
be reciprocal (Tucker)".
The 'Capricorn' Prince only trusted the
stars and his dog. "They (the stars) are
the only truly disinterested, the only
really 'trustworthy creatures', and
rubbing the dog's big head Fabrizio says,
you Bendico' are a bit like them, like the
stars, happily incomprehensible,
incapable of producing anxiety"
"In the human kingdom, Saturn
represents also the divine ascetic, from
the humblest puritan to the Sanyasi or
Yogi. A hard taskmaster, he exacts to the
utmost those qualities which produce
self-control and self-restraint; and thus
he 'individualizes' every virtue, each
becoming the permanent possession of
those who come under his influence. The
higher the mind is risen above the
purely, concrete and objective, the more
will the native incline towards
comparison, discrimination, judgment
and tact. Saturn is the planet that
chasten. Capricorn is conscientious in
action and in a rather narrower sense, it
represents the stern, uncompromising
sense of duty and conscience, that we
connect with the puritan and even in
selfish matters it tends to act
methodically, erecting a standard which
it steadily endeavors to uphold" (Alan
Leo)
Lampedusa also use animal imagery to
contemptuously describe those 'living at
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the level of their most basic instincts'.
Fabrizio, after an affair with his mistress
in Palermo consider himself "un porco e
niente altro". Tancredi courting Angelica
is described as "innamorato come un
gatto, ma anche bagnato come un
ranocchio, sudicio come un cane sperso,
e affamato come un lupo" (P178).
Appalled by the ugliness and frivolity of
the Sicilian upper class, Don Fabrizio
compared them with frogs, " un stagno
fitto di ranocchie" (P261). Here
Capricorn reveals the ultimate critical
genius of Lampedusa and especially
indicates his power of analysis in
question of morality and ethics.
"Capricorn actions centers on things
material, which is why we usually find
the minds of natives of Capricorn filled
with ideas of services and its rewards.
Physical splendor holds a great
fascination for the Capricorn born, and
their ideals in this direction are usually
very strong developed. Rarely
conspicuous for energical endeavors,
preferring to rely upon tactics based
upon caution, which mainly consists of a
sitting on the fence, awaiting
opportunistic chances to cash in upon
developing situations rather that to
create opportunities for themselves by
adopting a positive and vigorous
policies. They are quick to size an
advantage, since fair play is not one of
their virtues" (Tucker).
Like many Capricorns, "Don Fabrizio
lived in perpetual discontent, watching
the ruin of his own class and his own
inheritance without ever making any
move toward saving it, without
reacting". At the same time, the Prince,
in the hope of recovering some of his
wealth and influence, approves
Tancredi's desire to marry the daughter
of a newly rich man.
The words "Se vogliamo che tutto
rimanga com'e', bisogna che tutto
cambi" (Things must change so they can
remain the same), summarizes the
typical Capricorn expediency.
In the chapter 'Relics' which is set in
1910, the three unmarried and now
elderly daughters of Il Gattopardo are
engaged in excessive acts of devotion.
But an agent of the church tells them that
most of the relics they have been
venerating in the chapel are bogus are of
no value at all. Form an astrological
point of view, this scene could well
symbolize a Capricorn 'value system'.
Here the natural expression of human
affection is undervalued, while at the
same time, external material objects are
overvalued.
"Psychological Earth gives them a sense
of concrete reality", says Carter. And
perhaps this skepticism and clear
understanding of material values lead
Lampedusa to 'despiritualize' the myths,
whereby the old myth become just an
outward form without any significance.
"The gods and demigods of the myth and
legend are reduced in IL Gattopardo to
serving decorative functions and their
stature has been decreased by being
confined to the limits of art of the
mural". The Prince believed himself to
be a God in human form and was
convinced of being capable of
influencing the heavenly motions; "Bati
dire che in lui orgoglio e analisi
matematica si erano a tal punto
associati da dargli l'illusione che gli
astri obbedissero ai suoi calcoli" (P11).
Practical judgment does not strengthen
any truly mystical, spiritual or genuinely
religious experience, but rather leads to a
demand for a complete conformity to
normal expectations in life.
5

"Renunciation in the sense of retirement
from and forsaking the world arises from
different motives. Capricorn generally
withdraws either from necessity,
disappointed ambition or deep
philosophic conviction" (Carter)
Disappointed, Fabrizio Corbera lost
interest in the world and his love for the
stars symbolizes his longing for eternity
"Fabrizio longs for an appointment with
Venus in her own region of personal
certitude. He calls astronomy his
morphia, his path to sleep and
forgetfulness; he merges into its tranquil
harmony and lives the life of the spirit in
its most sublimated moments". For the
Prince, the stars are the intangible and
the unattainable. According to the
ancient myths, all the Gods abandon us
so that we can discover ourselves.
Tomasi di Lampedusa style appears to be
strongly influenced by his own values
and his own ideas that have their origin
not in objective data but in his own
subjective foundations. Far from seeing
the 'reality' as it is, he instead prefers to
have a 'correctness of judgment'
concerning what is observable.
Our birth chart is something like a
photograph of our psyche and it reflect
the planetary energies and the archetypes
transmitted throughout the planets. The
stars provide the essential elements for
the psyche and continue to operate
within our minds and determine its
working whether we acknowledge them
or not.
Il Gattopardo, describes more than
decline of an aristocratic household. It is
a psychological novel. It is also an
autobiography where the main character,
Don Fabrizio Corbera and the author,
Tomasi di Lampedusa appear to be the
same person, since both of them share
the same astrological archetype.

References

Carter, C.E.O. - "An Encyclopaedia of Psychological Astrology" - The Theosophical Publishing

house, London (1976)
Eskin, S.G. - "Animal Imagery in Il gattopardo" - Italica v 39 (3) September 1962, (pp189-194)
Folly, P. - "The New Astrology" - Pan Books, London (1985)
Frawley, D. - "From the River of Heaven" - Passage Press, Salt Lake City (1990)
Frawley, D. - "The Astrology of the Seers" - Passage Press, Salt Lake City (1990)
Gilbert, J. - "The Metamorphosis of the Gods in Il Gattopardo" - Modern Language Notes n0. 81,
1966 (pp22-32)
Henderson, J. - "Ancient Myths and Modern Man" (Man and his Symbols) - Aldus Books Ltd,
London
Jaffe', A. - "Symbolism in the Visual Arts" (Man and his Symbols) - Aldus Books Ltd, London
Jones, M. - "Astrology. How and Why it Works" - Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd - London (1977)
Kroiz, E, - "Horoscopes" - Tophi Books, London (1987)
Leo, A. - "The Art of Synthesis" - Astrologer's Library- New York (1983)
McSweeney, K. - "Lampedusa and the Hour of Death" - Southern Humanities Review 12, 1978
(pp213-220)
Mayo, J. - "The Planets and Human Behavior" - L.N. Fowler & Co, London (1973)
Meyers, J. - "Greuze and Lampedusa's Il Gattopardo" - Modern Language Review 69, 1974
(pp308-315)
Meyers, J. - "Symbol and Structure in The Leopard" - Italian Quarterly, v9 1965 (pp50-70)
Oken, A. - " Alan Oken's Complete Astrology" - Bantam Books, USA (1980)
Sakoian & Acker - "The Astrologer Handbook" - Peter Davies Ltd, London (1977)

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Simone, M. - "Astrology" - Magna Print Books, Yorkshire (1975)
Tucker, W.J. - "The How, What and Why of Astrology" - Astrological Publications, Delhi (1969)
Tucker, W.J. - "Study by the Stars" - Astrological Publications, Delhi (1975)
Tucker, W.J. - "Destiny, Cybernetics & Astrology" - Astrological Publications, Delhi (1974)
Wales, B. - "Il Gattopardo- a Modern Cautionary Tale” - ConVivio vol 4 No.2 October 1998
(pp144-148)

Copyright Nestor Almada 2005

Nestor Almada was born in Cordoba, Argentina. He studied astrology with the Mayo School
of Astrology (UK), Vedic Astrology and Ayurveda with Dr David Frawley, founder of the
America Institute of Vedic Studies and Homeopathy and Biochemistry with the Grace
Medical Mission (India).
Other Studies: University of New England, Dip in Modern Languages (Italian).
Macquire University, Crt in Lang. (French).
University of Melbourne, Grad Dip in Information and Communication Technology Ed.
Hawthorn Institute of Education, Grad Dip in Education.
Universidad Tecnologica Nacional (Argentina), Degree in Engineering (Electronics).
Worked as an engineer in Europe and South Africa and as a teacher and Linguist in
Australia.
Presently studying Psychology at Monash University