Affinities

Alain-Fournier, Sun in Libra

"Libra seems to be the hope rather than the Sagittarian faith that there is some more perfect, spiritual mode of existence." (from The Literary Zodiac by Paul Wright) 

Can a book you read in youth retain its magic many years later?  If the book is The Wanderer  (in French Le Grand Meaulnes) by Alain-Fournier, (also known as The Lost Domain) there is a good chance it will. 

Le Grande Meaulnes is a highly romantic tale about fantasy and youthful love. The book has a Dante-Beatrice theme. The protagonist Augustin falls in love with a beautiful young woman at first sight, and after a very short conversation. This occurs at a fete that he stumbles upon in his travels. It is intended to be a wedding party, all are in costume and the children are in charge. The sister of the groom, Yvonne de Galais, represents Venusian perfection to Augustin. The brief encounter sets in motion a lengthy search to recapture that lost moment. 

The story was inspired by a real event in the life of Fournier. Even the conversation he had with his muse in life is part of the novel. 

When you look at Fournier's chart, it is easy to see how he would be susceptible to a coup de foudre.  He has Virgo rising, with Venus in Virgo on the Ascendant, trine Neptune. Virgo is perfection, and Neptune is dreaminess and illusion. Those with Venus in aspect to Neptune tend to be die hard romantics. 

The Sun is conjunct Uranus in Libra, with Mercury conjunct Jupiter in Libra, all in the first house. Mars is in Scorpio (adventure) oppose Neptune in the 9th house. His Moon is in Sagittarius in the 3rd, speaking to both his writing skills and the Sagitarrian tendency to be always in search of something.

From Wikipedia, the story of Fournier's encounter with his muse. 

On the first of June 1905, while he was taking a stroll along the banks of the Seine, Henri saw Yvonne de Quièvrecourt as she was walking in the other direction. He was amazed and followed her aboard a river boat and in the streets, to the house she was staying at. He came back there a few times in the following days, hoping to meet her. Ten days later, on 11 June, he finally had his chance as she was going out on her own.

What was going on in his chart on this fateful occasion? He had Jupiter by transit quincunx his Moon in the 3rd, and progressed Moon sextile Jupiter. His progressed Moon was also square Uranus. Also operative that year was his Solar Arc Venus conjunct Mercury in Libra. 

Sadly, this was his only novel, as he died in WWI in September 1914, never having met a woman who lived up to the perfection of that encounter. He had many fans. John Fowles called the book "The greatest novel of adolescence in European literature."

One thing I have noticed in my adventures in reading is that my chart often shares an affinity with the author's chart if the book I am reading really captures me. Like Fournier, I am a Venus Neptune person, and like him, I have a stellium in Libra. His Venus/Ascendant in Virgo conjuncts my Moon. His Sun Uranus is exactly on my Ascendant.