Losing Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and Yayoi Kusama between two eclipses...
I was on my way to the airport at the end of my (first) Mary Magdalene pilgrimage when I saw the news that Dolly Parton had returned to stardust, leaving us an unrivaled legacy of creative achievement, feminine autonomy, and abundant generosity — in addition to a trove of songs we all get to hear, play, and sing for the rest of our days.
Growing up in Texas, Dolly was a staple on our country music and pop stations, a Southern belle whose generous bosom, big hair, glamour, sweet drawl, and sparkly smile disguised her as a polite, upstanding Christian woman who was indeed devoted to God, and indeed knew the book of Southern manners by heart.
But if you listened closely, Dolly showed you that she transcended Christian institutions by loving truly everyone and choosing her own path — not making herself subservient to a husband or feeling bound to have children. She would not keep herself in any box but the boundaries of her own heart and integrity. She showed us what it looked like for a woman to know and claim herself fully.
Dolly Parton performs live for fans at Vector Arena on Feb. 7, 2014, in Auckland, New Zealand. Sandra Mu/Getty Images AsiaPac
It was a sad, but cosmically fitting end to a weekend immersed in the messages of Mary Magdalene, who referred to god as The Good, who affirmed that feminine receptivity is a perfect vehicle for experiencing the divine, who taught that sin doesn't live in the body but in the separation from Spirit, from the renunciation of the soul that comes from attachment to ego. Mary preached that each one of us is fully human and fully divine. Dolly embodied this utterly.
The evidence of this is abundant, but we can see it exquisitely in the way she lived out her astrological chart with such fidelity and enthusiasm. She's one of the greatest Capricorns of all time (if not THE GREATEST!), and Capricorn was her 5th House of creativity, home to her Sun, Venus, and Mercury.
Dolly Parton was born on January 19, 1946, at 8:25pm in Pittman Center, Tennessee.
Creativity WAS HER WORK, and she gave her final performance the year before she died, working her craft her entire life. With a Capricorn stellium (three or more planets in a sign), of course she wrote the most well-known anthem we have about labor, critiquing the demands of capitalism, particularly on women, in a catchy song that became the centerpiece of a film in which women team up to put a toxic boss in his proper place. (My partner's daughter, also a Capricorn, will perform this fall in a high-school production of Nine of Five, and I can't wait!)
Dolly's Venus in Capricorn meant she worked at beauty — aesthetically and spiritually — becoming one of the most Venusian icons of modern times. She told her family she wanted to buried in a bed of soft cotton, having dressed herself in polyester and sequins, high heels and sparkles for decades.
Venus (the planet of art) in the 5th House of creativity demands creative commitment, and her Sun at the final degree of Capricorn gave Dolly the full potency of a sign that will never stop working to build toward a larger vision.
Dolly's Moon, representing the body that channeled all that creative energy, sits in the early degrees of Virgo, connected to the Eight of Pentacles, the card where we see a craftsman laboring with devotion, perfecting his work through repetition, concentration, and commitment.
Dolly's Moon is nearly conjunct her ascendant, the point in the chart that gives our identity direction — in the earth sign committed to refinement, discernment, discipline, and service. Virgo's constellation is the maiden, the virgin. But before “virgin” meant “sexually pure,” it described a woman in full possession of herself — Dolly 1000%.
Like a proper Virgo-rising, Dolly wrote every day. She knew how to direct her creative energy in a singular direction, developing an artistry that reinforced itself over and over. While she made music and performed in films like Nine to Five and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (sex work is very Venus in Capricorn!), each of Dolly's creative acts became another tile in the mosaic of Self she channeled and constructed.
Wikimedia Commons
Dolly loved animals and the entirety of the Earth — she gave generously to animal support organizations (funding a bald eagle rehab center) and spoke about the devastation of climate change as "being ugly to your mama." She built a train line that allowed people to travel through and enjoy the untouched beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains she called home.
Dolly donated millions of books of children across the country, investing her hard-earned dollars in the ability of future generations to dream, imagine, and engage in the magic of story. Dollywood became the largest employer in its county, providing thousands of jobs over decades. She gave millions to neighbors who lost their homes and livelihoods to wildfires in 2016. Her donation to Vanderbilt University made it possible for all of us to get Coronavirus vaccines sooner. Thank you, Dolly!
“I just give from my heart,” Dolly said in 2022, when accepting the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in New York (reported by The NY Times). “I never know what I’m going to do or why I’m gonna do it. I just see a need and if I can fill it, then I will.”
Dolly's Mars — the planet that motivates us, propels us forward, and teaches us how to fight for what we desire — sits in Cancer in the 11th House of social networks. Her songs and performances were driven by the Cancerian energy of love, and she spoke publicly in solidarity with Black Americans and the LGBTQ community. She invited drag queens to perform at Dollywood, and our local NPR station reported this week about a Dolly drag performer who received a surprise guitar covered in rhinestones from the real Dolly.
That Mars in Cancer is exactly conjunct Dolly's Saturn, the planet of boundaries, the planet that rules her potent Capricorn 5th House, lending it added strength, and empowering her to construct clear, solid boundaries rooted in love for herself and others.
Dolly built her own production company so she could own all of her work, and in 1974 she turned down Elvis' manager when the “The King” wanted to cover “I Will Always Love You” because he insisted that Elvis retain 50% of publishing rights.
But Dolly was steadfast in her commitment to her creative work. She cried all night after turning him down, but two decades later, Whitney Houston picked up the song, earning Dolly millions in royalties, which only enhanced her ability to invest in herself, her many projects, and the causes she cared about.
With her Chiron (the wounded healer) and Jupiter (the great expander) in her Libra 2nd House of money, Dolly went from dirt poor in rural Tennessee to one of the highest-earning artists of all-time, spreading her wealth among so many others struggling to make ends meet, as her family did when she was growing up.
With Uranus (planet of disruption) and her North Node (the point of lifelong seeking) in her Gemini 10th House of visibility, Dolly cultivated an image that reinforced stereotypes in order to subvert them, destabilizing binaries and categories and making it impossible to see or hear her, and turn away. “I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb…” she said in an interview. “And I also know that I'm not blonde.” (That Capricorn wit!!)
Dolly gave us an example of what it can look like to live out one's purpose, to live spiritually and practically, with the recognition that we are all connected, and we're all here to help each other get through the challenges of being incarnated souls on planet Earth.
Her passing fell between two eclipses, which bring significant endings, including the added losses of actor Tim Curry and visual artist Yayoi Kusama (who passed on August 14, two days after the solar eclipse in Leo).
Dolly, Yayoi Kusama, AND Tim Cury all had Mars in Cancer — fierce love that will not quit! I'm also deeply fascinated by the fact that Kusama checked herself into a psych ward and lived there for 49 years so she could have all of her daily needs met and devote her time to making art, a process she called self-obliteration. Here's a little video about her psychedelic / spiritual / artistic awakening and her life's work (in brief). And — of course — a Sagittarius moon (Tim Curry) would title his memoir Vagabond!
It's hard to lose these creative icons, especially all at once, and especially when we would rather see a few other prominent figures de-incarnate right now.
But we can't ignore the fact that all three of these incredible humans WERE CREATORS. That's a message from the Universe FOR US and TO US.
What kind of world would this be without people like Dolly, Tim, or Yayoi?
We don't have to reach their level of skill, fame, or success, but their deaths are, in my opinion, a clear directive to follow our creative callings as fearlessly as we can. To do otherwise is to live a life of denial, to turn our backs on the creative force that keeps tugging at the heart, nudging you to write, paint, dance, sew, and construct YOURSELF creatively in accordance with your soul's direction, whatever that may be.
Because I spent a weekend immersed in Mary Magdalene's teachings, I'm able to take solace in the fact that: in the realm of love, nothing ever dies. We have Dolly's and Yayoi's and Tim's art forever. The fierce love that transmitted through their art remains with us. We are indelibly changed by it, whether that change is subtle or profound.
In your grief, I hope you will also connect with the spark inside you. I hope you will read these losses as a divination crying out: make your art!!! Because no one else will make it for you. And you can only make it while you're here on Earth.
As Yayoi said: If there's a chance that in 100 years' time there will be just one person who looks at my work and is touched by it, then I must continue to create for that person.
Thank you, Dolly! Thank you, Yayoi! Thank you, Tim! May your spirits fly free, and may we carry on your legacy in our own corners of the world. ✨✨✨
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