In 1999 "Vanity Fair" magazine ran a story about Siegfried and Roy entitled Married, with Tigers. The couple doesn’t acknowledge being homosexual but according to Linda Rapp in "Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Culture", it is “widely perceived that they are.”

You’ve probably seen photographs of Roy holding up baby white tiger cubs. “The first voice they hear is mine,” he said in an interview in 2000 for his book Siegfried and Roy’s Gift for Ages. “The first touch they feel is mine, first human face they see is mine.” Roy Horn is talking about babies and babies that are his. [Ibid.]

“Siegfried and I have spent every waking moment with our animals,” he continues. “We watch and observe. We talk to them, take walks with them. Day by day, we learn about each other. But you must have patience and respect for Mother Nature. Because when an animal gives you its trust, you feel like you have been given most beautiful gift in world.” [Ibid.]

But this trust was not trustworthy. Saturn in Cancer poses question, “Who am I safe with if not my own family?” The betrayal of trust in bond between Roy Horn and Montecore may actually prove to be a greater wound for Roy than physical ones. Montecore came into his life when Saturn was on his Moon seven years earlier.

Immediately after attack, Horn reportedly said, “Don’t harm cat.” Montecore was quarantined, checked for rabies and then released.

Siegfried Fischbacher says tiger was trying to save Roy after he fell on stage. Jonathan Kraft, who runs Keepers of Wild in Arizona, and many other big cat experts disagree. Kraft commented to Adam Goldman of Associated Press, "The cat wasn't trying to protect him. [It] was going for jugular. That was a typical killing bite." He added, “I admire guys, I just think they are sending a wrong message. The message needs to be: These are wild animals.” There are several conflicting stories as to events which led to Roy’s fall and Montecore’s aggression.

Siegfried once mentioned how amazed he was that Roy was allowed to participate in birthing process of white tigers at Secret Garden. “I think this is incredible when you consider an animal like this can kill their own mate over young ones,” he said. “And to think that [the tigress] accepts Roy to be a part of experience is a miracle.”

A miracle? Or an illusion? Siegfried and Roy bill themselves as magicians, masters of deception. The audience thought mauling was part of act but greater illusion may be costly and damaging one Roy had about his “family”.

One week later, controversial bear advocate Timothy Treadwell, who has been featured on Leonardo diCaprio’s website, was killed and eaten by a grizzly bear. As I often remind my students, stars don’t cause these things. They are related on vertical plane as synchronistic events. Perhaps it is time to look once again at our beliefs about creatures with whom we share this earth and our ways of relating to them.

Our hearts go out to Roy and Siegfried. For them this is a personal and family tragedy.

Roy’s Saturn Return will complete December 17 through 28, 2003 and May 14 through 22, 2004.

Beginning astronomy students are taught to start from Ursa Major and "follow arc to Arcturus"; then "spin on to Spica". Arcturus is second brightest star in spring sky, a fortunate star of zodiac, while Spica is considered luckiest star of all. Are you lucky enough to have a planet at 23 Libra? Email me at parklanenancy@hotmail.com and I’ll let you know.

Mizar and Alcor have a love story in American Indian mythology. Not everyone can see Alcor, but she is 7th sister of Pleiades, youngest sister, who fell in love with a mortal man. One night Windsong lifted him up into stars for her His name is Mizar and they have been together ever since. All cultures speak of Seven Pleiades, but that is why you can only see six of them.

Astrologically, constellation Ursa Major is said to give a "quiet, prudent, suspicious, mistrustful, self-controlled patient nature, but an uneasy spirit and great anger when roused". Much like a bear, I suppose. The name Ursa Major (the Big Bear) comes from a myth about Zeus, king of gods. Zeus raped a young nymph named Callisto. Callisto gave birth to a son named Arcas. Zeus’ wife was so angry she turned Callisto into a bear. Callisto roamed woods for 15 years. One day she ran into her son, who had become a hunter. As he drew his bow to shoot her, of course not recognizing that she was his mother, Zeus took pity on Callisto and turned her son into a bear as well. Then he took them both by tail and swung them up into heavens which is why their tails are so long. Zeus’ wife became furious again and drug a promise out of ancient ruler of sea that these two constellations would never get their paws wet. To this day they do not set below horizon of sea as other constellations do.

The constellation has had other meanings. In Arabic, Mizak and Alcor are called horse and rider. The rest of constellation is seen as a funeral procession ... perhaps because of slow and solemn motion of figure around pole.

The Babylonians saw a chariot in these stars and Romans, seven oxen. In Ireland constellation is called King David's Chariot; in Denmark and Sweden Stori Vagn or Chariot of Thor. Similarly Vikings, Poles, Germans and Medieval Christians saw it as a chariot for their gods.

The Plough, as it is called in UK, is bucket shaped figure on back of Bear, outlined by stars Merak, Dubhe, Phecda and Megrez. The Three Horses pulling plough are located in tail.

Ursa Major has also been called Wain by Welsh, short for Charlie Wain or Charlemagne, while Arcturus refers to King Arthur.

The stars do not compel any more than there are chariots, bears and funeral processions in skies. Most individual stars have Arabic names while constellations in our northern hemisphere have names derived from Greek and Roman mythology. There was a time 2000 years ago when these worlds were all one -- when shepherds sat alone on hilltops at night and stared into sky. There was a time when desert caravans followed star maps reliably across sands and sailors cried “By Jiminy!” to constellation of twins to keep them safe at sea. There was a time when astrology and astronomy were twins as well and I’m one astrologer who likes to return to those times every now and then.