# - Rowling, J.K.

each with a hand drawn natal chart on white paper, double-sided typescript on yellow card providing a detailed interpretative reading, including of the sun sign, ascendant, ruling planets, significant conjunctions and oppositions, and their effect on character, personal strengths, possible careers, emotional and erotic characteristics, and compatibility with other signs, and a cover illustration depicting the chart's key astrological symbols in pen, ink, and coloured pencil laid down on coloured card, one horoscope loose in a plastic folder, the other two with hole punches and ribbon ties, one in a plastic folder the other with illustration and chart backed onto thick card with plastic covers, 33 pages, folio, [mid-1990s], tears at hole punches to two leaves in one horoscope

"...Human destiny may be deciphered by the planetary rays..." (Professor Trelawny)

unpublished illustrations and writing dating from when j.k. rowling was writing harry potter and the philosopher's stone, and a wonderful insight into the creative mind behind harry potter. These horoscopes, of three members of a single family group, provide a fascinating example of Rowling's prose. It is possible to detect in these short pieces some of the characteristics that were shortly to bring Rowling's prose such extraordinary success: a great and varied sense of humour, flights of fancy underpinned by an internal logic, and - of course - a mingling of the everyday world with the strange and magical.

The horoscopes show Rowling to have a detailed technical knowledge of Western astrology. She is at ease explaining the significance of having one's Moon in the First House but peppers her interpretations with quotations from P.G. Wodehouse and Cold Comfort Farm and wryly amusing comparisons ("...Napoleon Bonaparte was a sun sign Leo with a Capricorn moon and he lived up to his horoscope admirably...") Rowling refers on several occasions to the fifteenth century work The Kalendar and Compost of Shepherds, but in general the astrologers that she cites tend to be popular rather than academic; Derek and Julia Parker and Louis MacNeice's Astrology are cited frequently.

The first horoscope is that of Kate, a Leo with strong Capricorn influence ("...there is definitely something of the grande dame about this chart...") She is, says Rowling, a strong but sensual woman, a gifted manager with creative flair in the domestic sphere, lacking any air signs in her chart. Her partner Roger is a Libra with Ascendant Leo and Jupiter strongly placed in the First House; he is a natural humanitarian who could perhaps make a fortune with a whimsical idea for a mechanical gadget. Rowling embarks upon an engaging flight of fancy when discussing the couple's compatibility:

"...If ever you are thinking of being kidnapped by vicious international terrorists it would be advisable to make sure that Kate and Roger are two of your fellow hostages. Within a week, Roger will have negotiated wall to wall carpeting for your cell, well cooked meals and a twenty four inch colour television. Kate meanwhile will be providing Cancerian sympathy for those who are showing signs of strain and dispensing Capricorn put-downs to any whiners. In her spare moments she will be ... widening the air vent to use as an escape tunnel..."  

The third horoscope is of their young son, born on the cusp of Aquarius and Pisces. He will enjoy school, perhaps be accident-prone, (like all Pisces) could be prone to alcoholism, and (perhaps like us all) may well fall in love with someone totally incompatible. The chart apparently suggests that the boy will have great literary talent ("...the planet of fantasy and imagination meets a sign frequently associated with bookishness...") Rowling wonders whether his "ability to weave a good yarn" could perhaps bring fame and fortune, before deciding that becoming a film director would better suit his talents. Apparently wishing for some small slice of fame for herself, J.K. Rowling wonders if the boy would perhaps at least mention her in his Oscar acceptance speech ("...This peculiar woman my mother knows predicted I would be standing before you today ... of course, my parents laughed at the time...")

Rowling's knowledge of astrology has undoubtedly played into the Harry Potter books. Harry himself is a Leo (sharing his birthday with J.K. Rowling herself), whilst the meticulous worrier Hermione is naturally a Virgo. An important influence on Harry in the first book is Firenze the centaur, a star-gazer who helps and teaches him before his first encounter with Voldemort. Sybill Trelawney, Professor of Divination, makes an appearance in later books; she is considered by many a fraud (and is a fine satire of New Age fortune tellers) but her predictions frequently come true in unexpected ways. On a deeper level, an issue that goes to the heart of astrology is the apparent conflict between free will and fate, and this is one of the central themes of the Harry Potter series.