Relationships and the Cards: Bruce Chatwin and Elizabeth Chanler

Bruce Chatwin, the famous British author of the book Songlines, and In Patagonia, was born May 13th, 1940, making him a Taurus Dragon, 6 of diamonds, 10 of hearts.

He met Elizabeth Chanler, an American, when they were both working at Sothebys.

Elizabeth Chanler was born November 16, 1938, making her a Scorpio Ox, 4 of clubs, 8 of clubs, and 8 of spades.

Even though Bruce Chatwin was infamous for his sexual escapades with men, he stayed married to Elizabeth for 23 years.

What were their connections? Why did they get married? Was it for convention? Because it was expected of him? Or was something else there? Was there really love between Bruce Chatwin and Elizabeth Chanler?

Dragons get on with loads of people. Taurus dragons are known to be bizarre, and to get upset if the spotlight is turned away from them. They will make sure you pay attention to them. An anecdote about Bruce was that at one dinner party when no one was paying attention to him, he started unbuttoning his shirt and touching his chest, seemingly self-absorbed, but just waiting for people to pay attention to him again.

Oxen are steady, hard workers and never want to quit once they’ve started the course on something. They are not at all like Dragons, but they can learn to live without love, and sex, as long as their companion amuses them.

Elizabeth was really into raising sheep, and Bruce was always running around the world, and coming back with stories to tell.

Taurus and Scorpio is a lovely combination, simply because they are opposites, and contain one another.

Many people were surprised to hear that Bruce was getting married, simply because it seemed as though men were his main interest.

In the destiny cards, the first connection is between Elizabeth’s birth card, the 4 of clubs, and Bruce’s birth card, the 6 of diamonds. It’s a Jupiter connection, which is perfect for marriage. It means that Elizabeth will love to give to Bruce. And he was very good at taking, from just about everyone he met.

Their second connection is a moon connection. Elizabeth’s PRC, the 8 of clubs, is moon to Bruce’s 6 of diamonds. Because he was the Sun card in the relationship, he was the leader, and he decided how things should go. He also felt safe around Elizabeth, and she in turn provided a place for him to come back to whenever he decided he had enough of wandering.

Their third connection is from Bruce Chatwin’s PRC, the 10 of hearts, to Elizabeth’s birth card, the 4 of clubs. It’s a Uranus connection, which means that Elizabeth was quite content to let Bruce roam about as much as he wanted. They were friends first, and allowed each other their freedom. Most people could not understand why she didn’t just divorce him, since he was never around, but she didn’t need that sort of relationship with him.

Their fourth connection is between Elizabeth’s second PRC, the 8 of spades, and Bruce Chatwin’s birth card, the 6 of diamonds. This was a Jupiter connection which meant he liked to give to Elizabeth as well. And finally, the connection between Bruce Chatwin’s PRC, the 10 of hearts, and Elizabeth’s PRC, the 8 of spades, is a venus connection flowing from him to her, which means that he truly did love her, in his way.

One of the hardest things that the 6 of diamonds has to contend with is the need for love that is insatiable, due to their saturn card being the Ace of hearts. Bruce Chatwin was known to simply sleep with someone and then never see them again. His 10 of hearts nature made him attractive, but prone to lying or simply omitting the truth about his many escapades, including having AIDS.

 

As for Elizabeth Chatwin, Oxen are known for their stolid devotion and grit, and determination to get through any obstacle that stands in their way. 4s are much like oxen, in that they know they must work hard to succeed. And they are some of the hardest workers in the deck.

According to Salman Rushdie, they were the only two people he had ever known who could carry on a monologue on two entirely different topics with one another, while still tracking perfectly what the other one was saying.

The fact that Elizabeth Chatwin’s two PRC cards were ALSO power cards, the 8 of clubs (a mentally fixed card) and the 8 of spades, made her fixed in her mind and determined to hold onto her marriage with Bruce Chatwin. It also meant she was a match for him, mentally, and being an 8 of spades, as well as an Ox, could outwork him, too.

Bruce Chatwin’s first karma card for his PRC was the Jack of clubs, which meant he would love to party, and love to lie and get away with it. By all accounts he was simply an exhausting person to be around. Probably the only one who could have twisted his ear to make him behave would be Elizabeth, the 8 of clubs, and 8 of spades.

When Bruce got sick it was Elizabeth he wanted by his side, and she took care of him in the south of France because he did not want to go to an AIDS hospice, and be known to the world as a gay man and someone with AIDS. She took care of his secrets to the last.