posted June 03, 2014 04:15 PM            

Asteroid discovery chart and the chart for when the first story came out (Fantômas character "birth") coming in comments. Scroll down for background info for the non-acquainted first. Asteroid 242492 Fantomas was discovered November 10, 2004. Wiki says the centenary for Fantômas was February 10, 2011 so going by that the date it came out would've been 10.2.1911 -> date used for Fantômas chart.

My apologies if I come at this via the 1960s movie version but they're my initial touching point. The 60s version isn't as grim as the texts suggest although still the villain who always gets away with it in the end. There is a comic version that ran for some decades where Fantomas is a thief and a criminal, but also works for good as a heroic figure, all the way to saving the world and other "superhero" region things. I want to be an apologist for the figure through the later versions but the original is worse. If anything, I'm the Lady Beltham (see comments) here. Only excuse is they did use "Master lover" & "Women look him up" in the movie posters, so who am I to say no to that? http://www.mauvais-genres.com/4666-thickbox/fantomas-affiche-us- 66-jean-marais-louis-de-funes-movie-poster.jpg

Actually, my main excuse is that the chart for when the first Fantômas story came out hits me on many fronts (Valentine-Pluto conjunct my Menelaus/Horus-Moriarty? Jupiter-Fantomas-SN conjunct my Eros-Allodd? There goes that all-empowering obsessive fixation on a criminal mastermind, don't try and get in the way) - but nevermind? ;P

Perhaps it's also to some extent telling that I can't fully pin down the identity or nature of the character even here because of different versions, but that's neither here nor there for now. The 60s one wasn't horrifying unless you thought all the implications through, others may well be.

INFO:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fant%C3%B4mas
"Fantômas was introduced a few years after Arsène Lupin, another well-known thief. But whereas Lupin draws the line at murder, Fantômas has no such qualms.

He is totally ruthless, gives no mercy, and is loyal to none, not even his own children. He is a master of disguise, always appearing under an assumed identity, often that of a person whom he has murdered. Fantômas makes use of bizarre and improbable techniques in his crimes, such as plague-infested rats, giant snakes, and rooms that fill with sand.

Fantômas's background remains vague. He might be of British and/or French ancestry."

"One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appeared in a total of 32 volumes written by the two collaborators, then a subsequent 11 volumes written by Allain alone after Souvestre's death. The character was also the basis of various film, television, and comic book adaptations. In the history of crime fiction, he represents a transition from Gothic novel villains of the 19th century to modern-day serial killers."

"The Fantômas novels and the subsequent films were highly regarded by the French avant-garde of the day, particularly by the surrealists. Blaise Cendrars called the series "the modern Aeneid"; Guillaume Apollinaire said that "from the imaginative standpoint Fantômas is one of the richest works that exist.""

http://www.fantomas-lives.com/fanto2.htm

"Fantômas is the Lord of Terror, the Genius of Evil, the arch-criminal anti-hero of a series of 32 pre-WWI French thrillers written by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain. He carries out the most appalling crimes: substituting sulfuric acid in the perfume dispensers at a Parisian department store, releasing plague-infested rats on an ocean liner, or forcing a victim to witness his own execution by placing him face-up in a guillotine. Fantômas is the master of a thousand disguises and the leader of a vast army of "apaches" (street thugs). His spies and henchmen are everywhere, spreading the seeds of chaos and terror. Fantômas is anyone and no one, everywhere and nowhere, waging an implacable war against the very bourgeois society in which he moves with such ease and assurance.

Fantômas's crimes are scenes of sublime horror... Masked bandits brandishing revolvers crash a city bus through the walls of a bank, sending money flying everywhere. Under grey Parisian skies, a horse-drawn cab gallops down the road, a wide-eyed corpse as its coachman. Fantômas strips the gilded gold from the Invalides dome each night; he poisons his victims with deadly bouquets; he crashes passenger trains and destroys steamships. And he escapes justice every time.

Considering that Fantômas was created in 1911 he is a supremely modern figure. From modern terrorists to the character of the Joker in the Heath Ledger-version Batman doing just that with a bus through the wall of a bank, this is nothing that we wouldn't be seeing around now, the hundred years later. Moriarty is far better known in arch-criminals, but he doesn't do the macabre senselessness that also seems to feature with some of Fantômas suggestions. You see why the surrealists or avant-garde figures saw value in him, chaotic or not.

One thought was wanting to check how Fantomas figures in the charts of known identity thiefs, if caught. It might feature more in the ones that aren't caught given that Fantômas himself gets away with it, but we don't hear about the ones who do. He's not a public figure despite being well-known (eventually) so I'm not sure if politicians getting away with things is a good research spot or not. Anybody getting away with murder, figuratively or otherwise, seems a good place to start for checks with charts.

Apart from the disguises and his identity not being known, there's the terror and horrifically imaginative sides of some of his crimes for a second road of possible pokes at the asteroid? The writers apparently never stopped being imaginative despite writing at an amazing pace (a story per month?), hence the Apollinaire & surrealists praise from the fictional point of view. Remember, this was before the first world war. People hadn't seen a fraction of the modern-day horrors and yet what the info up there suggests, we'd still be horrified. Possibly all the more because modern-day terrors are just as faceless as him, in another way.

posted June 03, 2014 04:25 PM            

I'm going to write as if it was an actual person ("because it is") instead of a fictional figure. There is an "entity" Fantômas I'll refer to as him for the sake of ease. The subsequent movies and everything that has come since then stem from the "birth".

Fantomas the creation is an Aquarius with a Cancer Moon, early to mid Cancer degrees.

Some of the characters featured in stories are Inspector Juve, a reporter named Fandor, the mistress of Fantômas Lady Maud Beltham and lastly Hélène, originally a probable daughter of Fantômas (and a wild child bad girl at that based on what I read). The 60s version changed origin stories and natures. Fandly isn't a good match, nor Juvenalis and Juvisia or Belton but for the sake of completism I checked them.

The main thing that triggered the posts or amusement was 242492 Fantomas on the South Node of the 1911 "birth" chart conjunct Pholus, Yes and the neighbouring degree's Jupiter to lead to expansion of nothing but. Very good at what he does, no getting away from it for anything else in life? I don't know what Part suggests fully, but playing parts seems likely in this case when Part conjuncts his North Node opposite all that.

I also consider it more or less relevant that the Valentine-Pluto fall at 11-12 Taurus in the Draconic chart , near the natal NN. Draconic Sun is conjunct natal Mars.

Swindle opposite Justitia (justice), which in turn sweeps in to oppose the Sun? Lie conjunct Venus-Heracles and Valentine conjunct Pluto, maybe not exactly the best pick for a lover - although with Eros under two degrees conjunct the Venus-Heracles-Lie, trine Moon and sextile Mars-Karma, presumably a devastatingly enticing one to some.

Sun trine retrograde Neptune, more illusive qualities for him?
Pallas opposite Hypnos, 2 degree trine-sextile Fantomas
Mercury-Uranus inconjunct Pluto, inventiveness with his destructive sides?

Paris may or may not factor through the French side, but given that the daughter (or other female character) was called Hélène I keyed in Paris, Helena and Menelaus all three. Fantômas nicks married women, anyway, so the myth or characters have relevance in any case. Sun is opposite retrograde Paris and Menelaus conjunct Amor, Helena 1 conjunct Algol.

posted June 03, 2014 05:41 PM            

As for the other character that may or may not matter, Lady Maud Beltham:

"Lady Beltham: Fantômas's longtime mistress, she is also the widow of one of his victims. She is deeply ambivalent about her liaison with Fantômas but is irresistably drawn back to him each time she tries to break away."

"Lady Beltham remained constantly torn between her passion for the villain and her horror at his criminal schemes. "

How you get a Lady Beltham:

You place your Eros on the 1911 birth's Fantomas-Pholus-Yes/Jupiter conjunction trine your Amor. Make sure his Hypnos opposes your Amor and that your Pluto squares his Mars and Moon. This, while simultaneously having your Venus trine his Mars AND opposite his Eros/Venus-Lie, and your Mars conjunct his Psyche, Bonk conjunct Lust.
Add on top your Jupiter opposite his Juno and your 1748 Mauderli-Krok-Actor AND Moriarty conjunct his Cupido/Valentine-Pluto and let rip. Can we say "Oh god yes please"? Regrettably it seems I can. I saw the first of the 1960s movies as a kid and I fancied Fantômas in his mask straight off. I also never forgot the figure despite only seeing that once possibly over 25 years ago, being grateful of the opportunity to renew the acquaintance with all the 60s movies recently - leading to more looking into the history. The funny thing? I've used the name Maude for something.

My Fantomas is 18.34 Taurus so at 4 degrees wide of his nodal Fantomas and only 2 degree square the 1911 Sun. 1 square its Swindle though and 1 trine the chart's Amor. I'm presumably lucky that Fantomas doesn't feature strongly in my own chart given the nastier sides, but my fascination with the character is presumably little wonder given my synastry aspects to the original.

posted June 03, 2014 07:31 PM            

of the asteroid 242492 Fantomas hails from 10.11.2004. No knowledge of whether it was found after midnight straight off or the following evening early on but I threw in 10:10pm. Which again hits a planet for the Ascendant, Saturn this time. I've said I get weird or fitting hits when throwing in times.

Discovery chart's own asteroid Fantomas position is 19.06 R Taurus opposite its Sun, so on that front my Fantomas is conjunct Fantomas when it was found, sure. Not quite "Takes one to know one" but I'll go with it. Affinity or honing in on things.

Discovery chart's Fantomas and Sun square the 1911 chart's Sun.

1911 CHART:

If you take Krok to stand for crooks, the original chart has Krok conjunct TRIUMF so that's pretty nifty for the character as well if you like. Chaos is 1 square Nodes likewise.

Vincentina is conjunct Mars and involved because of talk of Vincent Cassel to play the part in a new version of it, although there hasn't been any sign of it since the 2010-2011 mentions online. Which looks to work in a strangely synchronous manner in any case since Jean Marais played Fantômas in the sixties and the beast of La Belle et La Bête before that - and Vincent Cassel is listed for a new version of Beauty and the Beast for this year. Here's hoping we get a new Fantômas movie as well, sooner rather than later. :/