Rising
Nakshatra
Masculine Nativities
Jyeztha
Kita * Thrikketta
BPL commentary
For Jyeztha births of a masculine valence, the condition of conversational, discursive, explanatory, instructional, argumentative, commercializing, evangelical
Kumara may considerably affect the outcome. For those born into the
Budha-ruled paradigm of Varta, siblings, cousins, schoolmates, bandmates, team-mates, entourage, ensemble, neighbors, managers, cohort, coterie, collaborative group,
publishers, messengers, merchants,
commercial agents, reporters, writers, scripts, plans, schedules, instructions, radio-television-internet, news-media, conferences, committees, discussions, travel itineraries,
and texts may be especially influential.
Instructional guidance is provided by emissaries from the civilizations of Antares.
Their purpose is to communicate a forceful,
dynamic, healing regeneration cycle via
sexual energy transfer and discovery of secrets.
Penetrating Communications
Budha-ruled Jyeztha gentlemen
are typically outspoken, incisive and decisive, competitive, descriptive, and
authoritative communicators. Thrikketta-born maintain a deep sense of mental seniority. Capable writers,
Ketta men are quick-witted and skilled in handcraft. Articulate and
pro-active to the point of verbal aggression, they find a ready audience on topics of a mysterious, hidden, or forbidden nature.
Thriketta fellows may be handlers of
secrets of a sexual, psychological, political, military,
engineering, or financial nature.
Masters of verbal control and manipulation, Zakra chaps are often found in politics.
Due to the influence of nakshatra-pati Budha, often Jyeztha-born use words to manage an ever-transforming experience of power.
In the process of channeling these mysterious and compelling
kinetic
energies, Thriketta men may engage in sexual intrigue and dangerous liaisons. Ketta-born
are natural psychologists., and they can become
transformative healers when their sexual energy consciousness
evolves.
Themes of verbal contest, sexual energy transfer, and
healing discovery may contextualize Jyeztha's
terrestrial experience.
Also applicable to
Chandra in Jyeztha-Antares |
QUOTATION from Shil-Ponde. (1939).
Hindu Astrology Joytisha-Shastra .p 85
"A dark and sensitive nature ... On the surface they are respectable, law abiding citizens, ostensible church-goers,
Smooth, oily, and suave to all appearances,

Charles Baudelaire in 1864, age 43 |
|
Biographical events matched to the
Vimshottari Dasha Calendar
Guru Mahadasha * age birth until age 11.5
09-Apr-1821 Earth-birth
in Paris, France * Guru-Shani bhukti Feb-1827 (CB age 6) grieved
decease of father * Guru-Zukra bhukti * Budha-yuti-Zukra
* Budha activates 7th-from-Surya
Nov-1828 (CB age 7) mother's remarriage to a military commander-general.
CB feels a terror that he no longer holds a central place in his mother's
world * Guru-Surya bhukti **
Shani-yuti-Surya
* Shani activates 8th-from-Chandra sudden change of mothe
Shani mahadasha * age 11.5 until age 30.5
Apr-1839 (CB age 18) expelled from Lycee-Louise-le-Grand for acts of
impropriety, indolence, and indiscipline * Shani-Budha bhukti * Budha activates 8-sudden release 1840 (CB age 19) started law school, but did no studying *
Shani-Ketu bhukti Jun-1841 (CB age 20) purported voyage to Kolkata,
India, cut short when Charles jumped ship in Mauritius * Shani-Zukra
bhukti * uttama-Zukra activates 12-distant lands Feb-1842
(CB age 21) After relaxing in the islands, knowing that his inheritance was
imminent, CB returned home to
Paris * Shani-Zukra bhukti * uttama-Zukra activates 4th-from-4th homecoming Apr-1842 (CB age 21) receives large
inheritance from his father's estate * Shani-Zukra bhukti *
uttama-Zukra activates 7 legal trusts 1843 (CB age 22) within 18 months,
Baudelaire had squandered more than half of his considerable fortune *
Shani-Zukra bhukti * uttama-Zukra activates 12-dissolution
1845, 1846 (CB age 24-25) publication of critical essays "Salons" garnered favorable
critical attention * Shani-Chandra bhukti * Chandra-8 activates 9-literary arts,
celebrated intelligence, fame
Budha Mahadasha * age 30.5 until decease age 46
1856 (CB age 35) much-praised publication of Baudelaire's translations of Edgar Allen Poe *
Budha-Zukra bhukti * nichha-Budha-yuti-Zukra-uttama
* Budha publication ++ Shani-yuti-Zukra
Shani activates 3-translations 1857 (CB age 36) publication of his seminal work, symbolist and
modernist, Les fleurs du mal. Depending upon the
social class of the critic, this controversial text was acclaimed either as a brilliant
masterpiece of modernist genre or as unwholesome trash. More than
160 years later, the text remains in print, still studied in university
literature classes as an exemplar of the Symbolist genre. * Budha-Zukra
bhukti * nichha-Budha-yuti-Zukra-uttama
* Budha publication ++
Shani-yuti-Zukra-uttama
= Shani activates 3-translations
1866 (CB age 45) massive stroke followed by paralysis * Budha-Guru
bhukti * Guru-yuti-Shani * Shani seizure 31-Aug-1867 (CB age 46)
dematerialization via syphilis * Budha-Shani chidradasha * Shani-yuti-Zukra
maraka rules-7
* Shani-yuti-Guru
maraka activates-2
posthumous 1871 decease of
mother |
|
Distinctive features of the Nativity
Surya *
pitri-karaka (father) * jyoti-karaka (light)
Atmakaraka
uniqueness, centrality, drama, glitter, romance
- Surya-Meena * Bhaskara * the illuminator * brightly charismatic confidence of Center-stage Surya radiates through the expansively visionary rashi of Brihaspati
- Surya in bhava-5
* svabhava
* center of sparkling entitlements * poetic romance * literary-artistic intelligence * splendid speculations * radiates brightly
political
celebrity * focus on glamour * genius for dramatic entertainments * eye on
smart gambling * brilliant in games * bright center of creative
performance * father may be a dramatist-speculator-politician
- Surya-yuti-Kuja
* confidently progressive * bright warrior * moves in alignment with the spiritual rays of the Sun * creatively intelligent brother-figures * self-reflexive political pursuits * champion of brilliant ideals * competitive father-figure * entitled to conquer * focused on winning * radiantly pioneering
- Surya-yuti-Budha
* confidently conversational * bright messenger * entitled to discuss * creatively intelligent sibling-cohort * discursive father-figure * gestures conduct the spiritual rays of the Sun * radiantly descriptive * articulate in drama * skillful game-player * self-confident announcements * talks about ideals * narrative of power-politics * recites love poems * describes divine romance
- Surya-yuti-Guru
* confidently expansive in drama * generous in games * smart children * multiple father-figures * brightly self-referential teachers * charitably manifests the spiritual rays of the Sun * creatively intelligent doctrine * entitled to philosophize * inclusively idealistic in romance
- Surya-yuti-Zukra
* confidently harmonious * brightly creative bargainer * uniquely intelligent feminine-figures * entitled to pleasures * aesthetic expressions align with the spiritual rays of the Sun * financial politics * graciously creative * dramatic promises * radiantly diplomatic * self-reflexively attractive *
father may be artist-broker-arranger
- Surya-yuti-Shani
* confidently lawful * bright regulator * entitled to impose order * politically intelligent authority-figures * radiantly systematic * sober hierarchical strict father-figure * cautiously orderly expression of the spiritual rays of the Sun * limited entertainments * creatively disciplined
FATHER
Dad = a complex person as demonstrated by the FIVE graha accompanying
pitrikaraka Surya-Meena.
Papa was a disavowed priest, a high-ranking civil servant in the capital city of
Paris Surya in bhava-5
politics,
an artist Surya-yuti-Zukra-uttama,
a poet, a musician, a creative personality.
CB's father was 34 years
elder to his mother. Dad had compounded a significant financial estate
before he died, and little Charles was bequeathed a large financial
inheritance.
Step-Father = 8th-from-Surya = bhava-12 Thula
When little Charles was seven years old, his mother remarried a strict
disciplinarian retired military officer . = Shani transit to
Mithunaya-8 + Sade-Sati
+ Shani drishti to 10-2-5
CB's step-father was
said to have prevented Baudelaire from
squandering his paternal inheritance (which Charles spent frivolously
and wildly in his 22nd year) by intervening through the lawcourts.
Baudelaire wrote that he despised his stepfather for his disciplining,
constraining ways, and for taking his mother's attentions.
However, most
observers recognized that his stepfather was a force of balance (Tula)
and order [Shani] who acted in a paternally responsible fashion in
regard to the inheritance money.
Chandra *
matrikaraka (mother) * garha-karaka (village)
-
Chandra-Mithunaya *
comforted by messaging * settled into rhythmic communications *
needs to talk
- Chandra in Punarvasu-Aditya * soothed by restoration of abundance * protectors of sensitive wise instruction * needs descriptive explanation
- Chandra in
classroom-8 * comfortable with crisis * familiar with catastrophe * feels the pulse of cyclical rebirth * soothed by secrecy * revolutionary sentiment * accustomed to frequent upheaval * seeks deeply rhythmic initiation
* acculturated to exploration * occult sensitivities * needs eruptive energies * nourished by non-disclosure * emotionally attuned to trauma * undulating shakti-shocks
CAREER - CHANDRA
Chandra activates fortunate, philosophical, artistic, celebrated
Karkata-9 = Arudha lagna
MOTHER
Chandra dharmesha
Following her first marriage to a
wealthy civil servant 34-years her elder, Mom had a fortunate life
(9). Next, mom remarried to a pensioned
retired military commander. She represented the philosophical
influence in Baudelaire's life. In the Paris of the 1840-50's, Maman
was a muse and a guide to CB. Mom cared for CB without interruption. Despite
his political, literary, and sexual antics, Mom accepted her only child
in whole. CB died in mom's arms, age 46.
MARRIAGE partnership support expectations
7th-from-Chandra-8
- no ceremonial wedding
- bhava-2 bhava-5 creativity, romance, celebrity, games,
performance art, intelligence
- Dhanuzya worldview ruled by Guru-5 romance
- Guru-5
shows the adventurous complexity of his multiple romantic liaisons
Kuja *
bhratru-karaka (brother) * virya-karaka (virile)
- Mangala-Meena
* vigorous pursuit of intuition * warrior in the Dreamworld * energetic action behind-the-scenes * proactive envisioning * push toward private prayer * vitally active imagination * invisible impact * indefinite impulses * pursues clairsentient roles * sound-healing engineer * conquest within walled enclosures * champion of sanctuary
- Mangala in bhava-5
* drive toward creativity * pursuit of games *
pioneering speculation * dynamic style of flamboyant display * competitive
children * energized by romance * political conquests * productive intelligence
* push toward celebrity * champion of romance * promotes choice-making *propulsive genius * actively charming
- Kuja-yuti-Surya
* kinetic creativity * glorious innovator * high-energy confidence * dynamic genius * dominating force joins willful charm * competitive politics * brilliant winner * physically active father-figure * vigorous theatrical display
-
Kuja-yuti-Budha
* proactive communications * energized signaling * dynamic reporting * clipped speech patterns * abrupt announcements * masculine messaging patterns * pushes toward direct
commands * forward thrusting gestures
* incisive speech * forceful
writing
- Kuja-yuti-Guru
* multiple competitions * many brother-figures * energized growth * dynamic generosity * masculine force joins optimistic expansion * champion of philosophy * potential for aggressive preaching * promotes broad worldview * indoctrinating actions
- Kuja-yuti-Zukra
* dual sexuality * energized bargaining * dynamic trading * masculine force joins feminine allure * kinetic sensuality * productive arrangements * sweetly harmonized with competitors * champion of equality
-
Kuja-yuti-Shani
* repressed movements * constant tension between sexual energy vs
social rules * dynamic structuring
* competitive force must cooperate with
disciplined hierarchies * potential for punitive
reactions to change * required containment of natural
forces * military officer * musculo-skeletal
challenges.
CAREER - KUJA
Budha * jamayah-karaka (sibling) * sandeza-karaka (message) * zisya-karaka (student)
- Budha-Meena *
nichha
* intuitive communications * articulation of private spiritual guidance *
imaginative pronouncements * explains the astral patterns * abstract conversations * symbolic information * foggy thinking * psychic instructions * meditative messages * describes visionary procedures * fuzzy logic * hands-arms-shoulders send dreamlike gestures
- Budha in bhava-5 *
narrative of splendid signaling * discusses
entitlements * self-referential conversations * describer of divine intelligence
* explainer of
romance * delivers political instructions * writes poetry * proclaims
love * defines creative literature * plays games * discusses fame * lectures about idealism
* debates with royalty * chats with children * publishes unique opinions *
articulator of artistic performance * declaims with radiant confidence
- Budha-yuti-Surya
* amusing explanations * entertaining chatter * central roles in communication * brightly clear descriptions * dramatic enunciation * confidently delivers instruction * articulation of radiant certainty * political messenger * talkative father-figures
- Budha-yuti-Mangala
* competitive communications * scripted actions * impatient conversations * potential for sexualized messaging * penetrating explanations * direct instruction * signals forward action * pioneering movement * outspoken opinions * talkative brother-figures
- Budha-yuti-Guru
* explainer of ideology * descriptive preaching * professorial explanations * theoretical discourse * instructs in sacred doctrine * articulation of charitable generosity * optimistic messages * expansive scope of documentary reporting * inspirational media communication * numerous specific announcements * detailed guidance * verbalizing paternal figures
- Budha-yuti-Zukra
* explainer of balanced arrangements * diplomatic conversations * parity-seeking discussions * manual adjustments * enjoys words * sweet descriptions * delivers instruction about relationships * articulator of equity in agreements * message of fairly bargained contracts * skilled in songwriting * talkative sister-cousin-cohort * detailed lyricist * attracts chatty partners
- Budha-yuti-Shani
* explainer of rules * dictates about system requirements * regulatory roles express communication skills * lawful planning * slow scheduling * conventional conversations * message of institutional order * mature management * makes necessary announcements * cautious gestures * talkative elders
CAREER - BUDHA * nichha-Budha-yuti-Zukra-uttama
Guru *
dhava-karaka (husband) * bahuta-karaka (variety)
- Guru-Meena
* much sleep * theoretical understanding * broad inner guidance * optimistic imaginings * inspirational dreams * intuitive beliefs * doctrine of esoteric understandings * expands the scope of contemplative awareness * multiple prayers * permission to envision
- Guru in bhava-5
* much creativity * many intelligences * many entitlements * numerous games
* diverse entertainments * many romances * extensive self-glorification * children identified with paradigmatic beliefs * expansion of political display * development of drama *
optimistic in speculations * patron of creative performance * in a wifely
nativity, husbandly-companion may be a game-player
- Guru-yuti-Surya
pitri-karaka * multiple father-figures * abundant confidence * much radiance * believes in light * widens the scope of theatrical display * permission to be the center of attention * humanistic political philosophy * large-scale dramatic radiance
- Guru-yuti-Mangala
bhratri-karaka * multiple brotherly-figures * permission to compete-and-win * expansive conquests * progressive philosophy * large-scale invasive actions * vigorous champion of optimistic belief
- Guru-yuti-Budha
yukta-karaka * multiple sibling-teammate figures * permission to deliver information * abundant conversational messaging * believes in detailed communications * expansive dialog * many announcements * wide scope of evangelism * talks about philosophy * optimistic viewpoint in discussions
- Guru-yuti-Zukra
sodarya-karaka * multiple feminine-figures * permission to make deals * abundant pleasures * blossoming treasures * expansion of art * inspirational music * optimistic diplomatic philosophy * large-scale alignments * broad scope of partnerships * diverse financial arrangements
- Guru-yuti-Shani
atta-karaka * multiple elder-figures * permission to hold respected positions * abundant structure * numerous law-makers * expansive hierarchies * tolerance for diverse systems * optimistic philosophy of social regulation * large-scale responsibilities
CAREER - GURU Guru activates Meena-5 Karakamsha
Guru-5 creativity, romance rules wise, inclusive Dhanuzya-Guru in 10th navamsha
Zukra * svadu-karaka (sweet) *
kalatra-karaka (wife)
- Zukra-Meena *
uttama * appreciation of music * likes fantasy * often looks beautiful * envisions harmony * prefers an imaginative partner * attracted to dreamy artists * intuitively balanced designs * sensual feet * bargains for sanctuary * enjoys symbolic clairsentience * contemplative aesthetic
- Zukra-5 *
seeks pleasure via refined gaming * enjoys center-stage beauty * creative feminine-figures * pleasing children * talented students * delights in financial speculation * political grace *
aesthetic designs to adorn the heart * graceful solar plexus * dramatic
relationships * sweet celebrity romance * delights in fine arts * appreciation
of entitlements
- Zukra-yuti-Surya
* balanced roles in drama * appreciation for political display * pleasantly charming * self-focused diplomacy * radiant bright beauty * self-reflexive bargaining * sweet entitlements * negotiating father-figure * self-directed arrangements * focus on trade exchange * solipsistic romance * idealistic contracts * enjoys the game of deal-making * prefers self-confident partners
- Zukra-yuti-Mangala
* sweetened conquests * gracious competition * appreciation for pioneering innovation * aesthetic of sporting interactions * proactive negotiations * musical brother-figure * competitive contracts *
accommodating sexuality * prefers relationships with energetic partners
- Zukra-yuti-Budha
* sweetened messages * gracious explanations * talented in singing-songwriting * articulate negotiations * advocates for reasoning process * talkative feminine-figures * pleasant conversations * bargaining for business * sibling-cohort communicative harmony * enjoys the company of students * detailed contracts * prefers logical arrangements
-
Zukra-yuti-Guru
* sweetened expansions * gracious diversity * appreciation for philosophical doctrine
* adjustable catechism * numerous negotiations * humanistic agreements
* generous beauty * balanced patronage * arrangements according to priestly paradigm of belief
* prefers relationships with generous partners
-
Zukra-yuti-Shani
* sweetly serious deal-making * mature relationships * graciously
responsible * beautiful bones * appreciation for neutrality * strict
negotiations * pleasant legal mediation * rigorous bargaining *
enduring agreements * regulated contracts * architectural elegance *
pragmatic design * lawful arrangements * realistic finance * prefers relationships with orderly partners * in a husbandly nativity, preference for a
seasoned, class-conscious wife
CAREER - ZUKRA
Zukra activates
- 7-relationship, equity, fairness
- 12-private rooms, meditation, clairsentience, dreams,
imagination
Flowers of Evil 1821-1867 symbolist poet
Charles Baudelaire
enjoyed the company of prostitutes. The great love of his life was an African lady of the night whom he adored as
Black Venus * Vénus noire . Like most of his lovers, CB died of venereal disease.
Shani * duro-karaka (endurance) * jara-karaka (years)
- Shani-Meena *
heavy old dreams * socially responsible imagination * fear of vast waters * mandatory dreamwork * aging affects the bedroom * structural compression upon aching feet * strictly imposed sanctuary * endures proletarian prayer * slow elder diviners * limited access to ancient ancestor guides * pragmatically constrained intuition * must sustain the astral vision * scarce contemplative resources
- Shani in Bhava-5 * steady time-structured intelligence *
heavy responsibility for children * pessimistic in romance * cautious financial speculation * resists ceremony * limits special entitlements * obligatory entertainments * dreads
political games * tightly disciplined creativity * mother's family often rigidly conventional *
blocked heart-and-spine * subdued sparkle * performance fatigue * intolerant of time-wasting
amusements * elders maintain ordinary rights
-
Shani-yuti-Surya
* social resistance to individual creativity * pragmatic politics * class-conscious father * limited unearned entitlements * delayed (but not denied) romance * conventionalized theatrical displays * restrained flamboyance * disciplined intelligence * cautious willpower * socially-approved expressions of divine brilliance
-
Shani-yuti-Mangala
* social resistance to competitive action * pragmatic pursuits * cautious innovation * limited pace of progress * delayed (but not denied) championship * physical discipline * constraints on instinctive movement * conventionally regulated sports * tension from contradictory push-pull impulses.
-
Shani-yuti-Budha
* resistance against signaling * materialistic siblings * responsible for maintaining lawful commerce * pragmatic coupling * limited interaction * disciplined messaging * structured announcements * speaks plainly * proletarian instructions * regulated business * constrained communication * conventionally regulated conversations
-
Shani-yuti-Guru
* social resistance to generous expansions * slow elder teachers * pragmatic philosophy
* limited scope of understanding * doctrinal discipline * constrained
growth * conventionally regulated beliefs * optimism limited by
resistant old structures * faith in the rule of law
* class-hierarchical ideology
-
Shani-yuti-Zukra
* resistance against equity * limited luxuries * orderly feminine figures * pragmatic finance * contractual discipline * socially constrained harmony * conventionally regulated pleasures * trust in age * mutuality over time * class-structured arrangements
CAREER- SHANI
Shani activates
- bhava-3 writing, publication, announcements, scripted
communications
- bhava-4 culture, roots-race, mother, security
Rahu * rajyalobha-karaka (ambition) * picchala-karaka (slippery)
Rahu-Kumbha
(svakshetra) * shimmering
illusion of profitable webworks * over-reaching friendliness * mirage of
knitted netting knotwork *
fabulous marketplace associations * extraordinary electro-magnetic connections * intriguing
ecologies * mask of
lawfully interlinked systems * fascinating achievements * culturally
mixed social networks * seeks special
importance via apparent (but perhaps not
authentic) attributes of scientific futurism * extravagant assemblies * finds
opportunity in economic distribution * craves community-linkage * seeks privilege via
socialite-roles
Rahu in bhava-4 * passion for prestige property
* unusual home routines * exotic roots * in svabhava of Comforting Chandra, the Shadowy Specter seeks homestead advantage * outsider who cleverly insinuates into the local settlement *
culturally-mixed kitchens * fascinating vehicles * extraordinary ships * glamorous guardianship * important infrastructure * irregular land-use *
over-reaching protectionism * exciting real-estate * expedient nationalism * instrumental environmentalism * unorthodox parenting * trespasses customary limits * disrupts habitual agriculture * over-extended fencing * strange traffic
on roadways * craves a showcase home * marvelous gardens * desires comfortable shelter * ambitious mother * social mobility via patriotism
Ketu * * kavandha-karaka (headless) * chidra-karaka (gaping) * vasana-karaka (vacuum)
Ketu-Singha
* brightly dissociates from creative performance * fragmented entitlements *
eccentric intelligence * peculiar brilliance * not limited by celebrity roles
* ignores restriction on political opinion * releases a sparkling crimson cloud of
divine charisma into the misty abyss
Ketu in
classroom-10 * disregards social rank * no barriers in class-pyramid *
fearless toward regulations * absent from officialdom * irrelevance of government protocols * ambivalent toward public
opinion *
surrenders high positions *
ignores hierarchical ordering rules * abandons elite authority * unless other graha
in 10, may prefer to live free from heavy leadership duties
|
Wonderfully concise Excerpt from the biographers at
http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Baudelaire,_Charles
QUOTATION"French poet tormented by religion and the struggle between good and evil in man, suffused with his deeply Catholic sense of sin and remorse. His "Flowers of Evil" was condemned as immoral in 1857, confiscated by authorities for offending public morals. He was a Catholic and a Satanist, a
debauchee and mystic, cynical sensualist and yearner for purity. Sexually morbid and a sadist, he sought the unbathed women "of the streets." In his extraordinarily complicated life, he had a
suffocatingly intimate relationship with his bewildered mother, who lovingly nurtured and then callously ignored his lifelong dependence on her which reached classically Oedipal proportions. He was the son of a lapsed Catholic priest , a
... cultured epicurean who passed onto his son his love of art. After his dad died in 1827, his mom married Col. Jacques Aupicki, a dour career diplomat who, disgusted by his high-strung stepson's eccentricities, tried to impose military standards of discipline and conduct, values that Baudelaire disavowed in a rebellion that lasted the rest of his life.By the time he came into his inheritance from his birth father in 1842, he was already exorbitantly precocious and foppish, squandering over a half of his considerable fortune in 18 months. His taste ran to elegant fashion, and he would have gone through the entire amount had not his stepfather brought the spending spree to a halt with legal intervention. Much to his humiliation, Baudelaire was then forced to petition an attorney for his funds, cap in hand, living on a meager monthly allowance. His spending spree was the only time in his short and miserable life that he was ever without financial stress. His writings were not only scandalous, but paid poorly, and he once remarked that his income for years was the equivalent of the price of two cigars a day. He lived in dilapidated fleabag hotels, eking out a precarious existence as a poet, art critic and translator of Edgar Allan Poe. He changed his address in Paris about 30 times during his adult life, once moving six times in a single month in 1885, seeking to evade creditors. Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs du Mal" came out in 1857, unleashing a fire storm of criticism and nearly a century of acrimonious litigation. Addicted to ether capsules and laudanum (opium), he sought to numb himself to the ravaging effects of syphilis , contacted in the Paris Latin Quarter as a young man. He was a cynical voluptuary, an amoral aesthete who shocked his friends by dying his hair green and sprinkling his conversation with non sequiturs. He referred to "the
intoxicating pleasure of displeasing", as he refused any semblance of conventionality but formed a lifelong liaison with Jeanne Duval, the "Black Venus" of his "Fleurs," a mixed-race drug-addicted prostitute. The first signs of insanity appeared in 1862. In his final years his skin was discolored and his joints affected. He collapsed in March 1866 while admiring an architectural point of beauty with friends in Belgium. He returned to Paris in a private railroad car some months later and over the next 12 months suffered a slow death from syphilis (GPI). By early 1867 he scarcely remembered his own name; by April he had lost his will to live; and on 8/31/1867, he died in his mother's arms in Paris." |