Lavender Brown's personality and an unaspected uranus on her astrological ch

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 184269

yak asked:
> > In chapter 13 of Book 4, Professor Trewlaney sets the divination
class at constructing charts that show the position of the planets at
the moment of each student's birth, to show how this influences the
life of each of the students. During this activity, Lavender Brown
states that her chart includes an unaspected planet, the identity of
which Professor Trewlaney confirms to be Uranus.
> > 
> > What does the influence of Uranus mean, in astrology? What does
Uranus' influence mean when it is unaspected? How do we see these
traits/qualities in the personality of Lavender and in the things that
happen to her throughout the series?
> 
Sarah responded:
> From everything I've been able to search (I'm no astrologer),
unaspected Uranus seems concerned with individuality, rebelliousness,
and an appreciation for aesthetics.  I'm not sure about the rest, but
that last sounds like our Lavender.
> 
> I always thought it was just there as an opening for Ron to make his
off-color joke about it.  Which I would add, he reprises in OOTP, but
this time with Harry as the subject.

<snip>

> I think all the Uranus stuff is just a running joke.

Carol adds:

First, I agree that the Uranus references are a running joke that JKR
apparently thinks will appeal to slightly older kids than all the
bogey references in the earlier books. (Anyone remember the movie
"E.T.," in which young Elliott doesn't get an older boy's Uranus joke?)

But also I think it helps to understand what an unaspected planet is.
Not being an astrologer either, and not finding any readily
intelligible definitions of "unaspected" planet online, I decided to
find out what "aspected" meant. I found this definition for "aspect"
at Merriam-Webster Online:

"Main Entry:
    as·pect <snip>
Pronunciation:
    \as-pekt\ 
Function:
    noun 
Etymology:
    Middle English, from Latin aspectus, from aspicere to look at,
from ad- + specere to look — more at spy
Date:
    14th century
1 a: the position of planets or stars with respect to one another held
by astrologers to influence human affairs; also: the apparent position
(as conjunction) of a body in the solar system with respect to the sun"

Aside: Interesting that the word "aspect," which we generally use to
mean a particular part of a question or issue ("that aspect of the
question") actually comes from astrology!

At any rate, based on this definition, an unaspected planet would
apparently be one that wasn't aligned with the others and yet appears
on the person's chart. (Maybe all planets appear on the chart, but the
unaspected planet doesn't line up in any way with any other planet.)  

Here's a link to more information on unaspected planets in relation to
natal charts (birth charts), FWIW:

http://www.astrologyclub.org/articles/unaspected/unaspected.htm

The most important sentence appears to be this one: "Usually it [the
unaspected planet] is indicative, according to the planet, sign and
house involved, of characteristics or a feature in the life of the
person which it is difficult, or perhaps not attempted, to integrate
with the rest of the nature or life-pattern."

An unaspected planet in Snape's chart, for example, might be said to
account for his love for Lily and loyalty to Dumbledore when
everything else in his chart indicated that he should be a Death
Eater. (I'm making this up; choose your own illustration if you don't
like mine.)

At any rate, I suspect that Lavender's unaspected planet is even less
important than Trelawney's prediction that the thing Lavender dreaded
would happpen on October 16, or whatever the date was. Lavender (who
must be a Half-Blood to have such a pet--I originally thought that she
was a Muggle-born) gets the news that her baby rabbit has been killed
by a fox. That incident, of course, is a set-up for Hermione's
skepticism but also, maybe, a hint that Trelawney has some sort of
predictive powers despite being to all appearances an old fraud. IMO,
it has less to do with Lavender herself (except to show her
girlishness, her friendship with Parvati, and her somewhat
antagonistic relationship with Hermione) than with Trelawney, whose
predictive powers will play a role again with regard to the
lightning-struck tower.

Carol, thanking yak for introducing a topic that, IIRC, hasn't been
discussed before, or at least, not frequently