The Bowl

The Bowl chart occurs when the planets occupy half of the horoscope wheel. People with a Bowl shaped chart can be just as stubborn as those with a Bundle. The difference is that while Bundle people seem self-contained in their own little world, Bowl folks are very aware of others and frequently try to compel recognition. In other words, when two thirds of the wheel is empty, you don’t care. When one half is empty, it seems to give painful recognition that something is missing, that there is an area of existence from which they are excluded, and the entire life may be spent trying to fill that void. This is why those with Bowl horoscopes frequently seem to be on a mission. And they do have a tendency to get involved in causes.

As with the locomotive chart, the planet that leads the others around the wheel gains in strength. You find it the same way, by putting your finger in the empty space and going counterclockwise. The first planet you hit is the leader.

Candice Bergen is an example of the “something is missing” trait of the Bowl. She is probably the only person in history who had a case of sibling rivalry with a ventriloquist’s dummy (Edgar Bergen was her father and Charlie Mc Carthy her wooden “sibling”). Interestingly enough, Pisces, the sign of illusions, was on the cusp (beginning) of her 3rd house (brothers and sisters).

The “rim” of the bowl is not exact. Mercury is at 27 degrees of Aries and Jupiter is widely opposite at 19 degrees of Libra. But they are both in Cardinal Signs, signs of action.

She tried dramatic roles and even gave up acting for a while to become a photographer before she made a hit with “Murphy Brown.” Nine planets are on the right side (the “Western” side) which means that she has to have other people involved in order to get anything significant done. Jupiter on the Mid-Heaven gives “luck” with the career and is a show business indicator.

Cheerful Jupiter may be at the top (her public image and career) but Saturn, planet of discipline, difficulties and delays is singleton since it is the only planet in a water sign. That means it has a strong effect on her emotions and Saturn is not exactly a light-hearted influence. Ironically, since Saturn shows where things tend to go wrong in our lives, the place where we have the most problems, it is the planet of “Murphy’s Law.”

Goldie Hawn has a bowl chart with Uranus and Mercury forming the rim. They are in mutable signs and Uranus is the lead planet. Mutable signs like to keep things light, and Goldie does comedy roles almost exclusively. Again, Jupiter is on the Mid-Heaven, the planet of “luck” affecting career. Personally, I think that the reason successful show business personalities have Jupiter aspecting their Mid-Heaven (career and public image) is because when you are in show business, you need all the luck you can get.

Sally Struthers also has the rim of the bowl in Mutable Signs. Again, the specialty is comedy. Bowl people tend to get involved with causes. She also was involved with the Christian Children’s Fund.

Woodrow Wilson had the rim in Cardinal Signs. He was more concerned with the crisis of World War One. His cause was making it the “war to end all wars.” Jupiter was his only planet in a fire sign and Neptune was his only Mutable Sign placement. These made him too idealistic and unrealistic. He couldn’t even get the USA into the League of Nations, which he was responsible for forming. That was partly his own fault. Wilson had nine planets on the right side of his horoscope meaning that he had to have other people involved in order to get anything done. Not only did he try to do this on his own. He tried to do it against the opposition of Henry Cabot Lodge. As a result, he fell flat on his face.

The moral of the story is: When you have a right-handed chart, your motto should be “Why should I do it myself? Isn’t that why God created other people?”