Celebrity Focus 3: Why Marilyn Monroe Became the Sex Symbol of an Era

AI translated from the original Chinese.

From "Famous images of Marilyn Monroe: do you know the stories behind them?"

Last time we talked about Monroe's childhood of being shuttled from place to place. Today, from her Zi Wei chart, let's talk about why Monroe could become the sex symbol of an era.

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Straight to the transformation:

Monroe's main star 太陰 (Tai Yin) in 子

1. 太陰 is a romance star to begin with; Monroe had romance built in.
2. 太陰 and 天同 (Tian Tong) are both Water, and the 子 Palace is a Water palace too; each enhances the other. This is the foundation of a sex symbol.
3. 太陰 in 子, stem 庚: 太陽 (Tai Yang) becomes 化祿. 太陽 is also a romance star; transformed auspiciously by 太陰's stem, 太陽 in the 寅 Palace lights up, increasing its romantic quality.

That's from Monroe's main star. Next let's discuss 太陽 and 巨門 (Ju Men) in her 寅 Palace.

太陽 and 巨門 in the 寅 Palace

1. 太陽 is a romance star; the 寅 Palace is strong for it.
2. The 寅 Palace carries 3 化權 of its own, so we can focus our discussion there.
3. 太陽 and 巨門 are flanked by romance stars: 紅鸞 (Hong Luan) in 丑 and 咸池 (Xian Chi) in 卯, which naturally draw out 太陽's romantic quality. For a woman, an emphasis on 太陽 generally speaks of being very popular with men, and of course this is an important reason she became a sex symbol.

巳, 酉, 丑: the double-star 殺破狼 (Sha Po Lang)

1. On 巳, 酉 and 丑, the double-star 殺破狼 has Ji stars concentrated. But is concentrated Ji really bad? Look at these three palaces: they see 昌曲 (Chang Qu), 文昌 and 祿存 (Lu Cun), with no malefics interfering. So here the concentrated Ji speaks of early struggle and effort that isn't easily rewarded.
2. Although Ji stars concentrate on 巳, 酉 and 丑, the 酉 Palace carries 2 化祿 of its own. Add just one more Lu star on 巳, 酉 and 丑, and the auspicious image of the double-star 殺破狼 is ignited.

In sum

Monroe's 太陰 represents her romantic nature; her zodiac sign is 寅, seeing 太陽 with 3 Quan, which also carries popularity with men. The double-star 殺破狼 has Ji but no malefics, waiting for its moment; once 巳, 酉 and 丑 are ignited, extraordinary achievement follows.

We know Monroe entered Hollywood at 19 and reached the peak of her career only at 29 (East Asian reckoning). Why 29? Let's walk through the major periods of her Zi Wei chart.

Second major period, ages 15–24, the 亥 Palace, stem 己

1. 己 makes 武曲 (Wu Qu) become 化祿, activating the double-star 殺破狼. 貪狼 (Tan Lang) in particular is the star of performance, so developing her career in Hollywood fits the chart's direction.
2. The three sides and four directions of the second major period in 亥 see the stem 癸: 貪狼 becomes 化忌. It's this 化忌 that held back Monroe's image of becoming hugely famous; she needed to keep waiting for her moment.

Third major period, ages 25–34, the 戌 Palace, stem 戊

1. The 戌 Palace's stem 戊 directly ignites 貪狼, the star of performance. Compared with 武曲, 貪狼 化祿 suits performing work better.
2. The stems of the third major period's three sides and four directions: 庚, 壬, 甲, 戊. Except for 壬, which damages the 丑 Palace, all the stems help 丑. Moreover, the stem 壬 is in 辰, with 天梁 (Tian Liang), 天姚 (Tian Yao) and 地劫 (Di Jie). 天梁 governs unexpected joy, 天姚 triggers romantic qualities, and 地劫 softens the ill nature of 壬's 武曲 化忌, turning it instead into an image of great rises and falls.

Conclusion

Monroe became the sex symbol of an era, yet died suddenly at 37 by East Asian reckoning, leaving only regret. I imagine some people would like to know how her sudden death at 37 can be seen in the chart. But our school, taught by Master 紫雲 (Zi Yun), has three things it doesn't predict, one of which is matters of life and death. So we won't discuss why Monroe died suddenly at 37. Friends who are interested might reflect on the reasons in the Zi Wei chart themselves.

Next time, let's talk about Monroe's health: her endometriosis and gallbladder problems.