Star Wars’ George Lucas
By the end of the first act, his aunt
and uncle are roasted by the Imperial
stormtroopers. We eventually learn that
Luke’s father has been transformed into
the evil Darth Vader, his mother is dead,
and his sister, Leia, is a princess yet
unknown to him. The family, in short,
has been destroyed. Throughout most
of this first film, Luke is emotionally
upset, angry, and impatient with people
around him. He is warned not to give in
to the Dark Side, which feeds off negative
feelings – fear, hatred, anger, and
revenge.
At this point in the story, Luke embodies
an unintegrated Moon-Pluto opposition.
Obi-Wan Kenobi cautions him, “Don’t
give in to hate or anger; they lead the way
to the Dark Side”. The message is clear:
certain kinds of feelings are dangerous;
you must learn to integrate and control
them or they will possess you and turn
you into an evil thing, as they did Darth
Vader.
Vader, too, embodies an unintegrated
version of Moon-Pluto. His pain mirrors
Luke’s. In fact, Luke and Vader represent
two poles of the opposition. Both are
equally unintegrated at the beginning
of the film. As 10th-house authority
in the empire, Vader is singularly evil.
He represents the Dark Side of the
Force, “the quick and easy way”, and
has a ruthless and seductive power that
appears invincible. Cloaked in black robes
and body armour, a mechanical monster
stripped of his humanity, his true self
remains hidden, a dark secret beneath
flickering lights and an artificial respirator
that keeps him alive. He hasn’t even a face
to betray a glimmer of kindness. Here we
have the perfect symbol of Moon in the
10th opposite Pluto; Darth Vader is “Dark
Father”, a powerful man who is wounded
in his feminine side. He seems devoid of
any capacity for feeling or caring. Recall
that Vader’s mission is to subjugate the
rebel planets of the empire into a single
family – albeit, a family that is controlled
through force and intimidation. This
itself is a grim expression of the devouring
mother, the caretaker that would sooner
kill you than allow you to separate from
her lethal embrace.
Luke Skywalker, on the other hand, is the
wounded Moonchild, seeking to recover
that which he lost long ago – a home
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Sep/Oct 2015 The Astrological Journal
Star Wars’ George Lucas
and family free from the evil and tyranny
that Vader symbolises. The Moon-Pluto
conflict heightens when Yoda tests Luke
by having him enter a cave “strong with
the Dark Side of the Force”. Shivering
with apprehension, Luke asks, “What’s
in there?” “Only what you bring with
you”, is Yoda’s cryptic reply. Luke
descends into the cave and immediately
we see symbols of Pluto – a damp dark
underworld inhabited by slithering
snakes and assorted reptiles. He moves
deeper into the cave and suddenly Darth
Vader emerges out of the shadows. In a
dream-like sequence, Luke engages in a
light sword duel with his enemy, whom
he decapitates. Vader’s mask breaks away
and reveals Luke’s own face. Later, when
he battles the real Vader, we are able to
understand the apparition. Just as Luke
is about to be slain by the Dark Lord,
Vader tells him with horrifying certainty,
“I am your father”, and tempts Luke to
join with him and the Dark Side of the
Force.
the negative feelings that threaten to
possess h