Quaoar
and
the Primitive
The so called
KBO's
(Kuiper Belt Objects) usually carry a note of "something very primitive,
basic or fundamental in nature." Dealing as it does with "brute,
raw and primal conditions", Quaoar can however "bring the
crude and simple into a more complex state, then back to at-one-ment".
It has "the power to relate to primal or native forces and then
also draw them into a more civilized or refined state, integrating them
into the present system or society." Also we should remember that
the name Quaoar came from the Tongva tribe, which is an original native
american tribe still present in todays society. This matter of a "sophisticated
primitive or native" somehow remind me of 'Friday' in Robinson
Crusoe.
An excellent
example of how the brute conditions of nature can be approached by
someone with strong Quaoar is Gunther Gebel-Williams. Who?! Well,
read below and you'll see. He is someone who excelled in the training
of wild animals, and his approach in handling animals have many Quaoar
connotations:
- "the
realization that evolution and development take time and therefore
demand patience".
- There
is a trust that "in the fulness of time, the guiding purpose
will direct matters to their appropriate ending or consummation".
- Also
"a heightened sensitivity to relationship issues".
- "having
an ear for dialogue".
- Ability
to reconcile the wild animals that were natural enemies
- He
was an Award winner
- He
tried to understand each animal individually
- An
animal trainer is of course also a good example of the use of Virgo
energy
Gunther
Gebel-Williams (Sun conjunct Quaoar):
view
chart
Polish-American animal trainer and circus performer, billed with the
Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus as the Greatest
Wild Animal Trainer of all Time. Gebel-Williams had a twenty year
career in the U.S. training and performing with Bengal and Siberian
tigers, elephants, horses, leopards, pumas, zebras and giraffes. He
performed with his family in the Red Unit troupe with 11,697 performances
over 22 years. With his long golden hair, bulging muscles, and sparkling
sequined suits Gunther captivated his audiences with his abilities
to make wild animals obey his commands like domestic house pets. A
star in Europe before moving to the U.S. he won the prestigious Ernst
Renke-Plaskett Award, the "Oscar" of the European circus
world, three times. By his gentle treatment of his charges, he
changed the way Americans think about the circus and wild animals.
Gunther was raised in the eastern German village of Schweidnitz, now
part of Poland. His father worked as a set designer for the theater.
During WW II, his father left the family to fight at the Russian Front
in the German army. He was captured and never heard from again. Gunther,
along with his mother and sister, fled to Cologne during the Allied
bombings of the city. After the war, he worked as an usher with a
circus owned and operated by horse trainer Harry Williams and his
wife Carola. The Williams noticed the young usher's fascination with
their work and soon took him under their wing. They patiently instructed
the young man on the fine art of communicating to the animals without
hatred, punishment, or malice. He learned never to strike a horse
and that the two most important lessons in teaching animals were consistency
and patience. In 1951, Harry Williams introduced his circus to
England. During a reenactment of a Roman chariot horse race rehearsal,
Williams injured his head and died 14 days later. His wife begged
Gunther Gebel to manage the family circus and he adopted the Williams
name as his own.
In 1968, Irvin Feld watched Gunther Gebel-Williams perform in Europe.
He was amazed with the animal trainer's abilities to command the animals
without the use of whips and chairs. Clyde Beatty, the most visible
lion tamer in the U.S. always provoked his tigers into performing.
Feld offered Gebel-Williams an immediate position with the Ringling
Brothers circus but Gebel-Williams' loyalty to the Williams family
circus was stronger. Feld bought the whole Circus Williams in order
to secure his star wild animal trainer. Gebel-Williams biggest
achievement was to train horses, tigers, and elephants to perform
together since the animals naturally live in fear of each other. He
worried that the tigers would instinctively lash out and attack the
elephants during their performance. He tried to understand the personality
of each individual animal and learn the right combination of rewards,
rebukes, and reassurances that made each animals perform at its best.
Despite
his confidence in the ring, Gebel-Williams remained painfully aware
that wild animals could revert to their killer instincts in an instant
during a performance. While training the big cats, including the first
white tiger on tour, he has had 300 stitches from animal fights. In
1983, at a performance in Seattle, Gebel-Williams made a mistake by
wearing a tuxedo the tigers never had seen him in before that evening.
The animals lunged at him in the ring as an intruder. He quickly removed
his shirt so the tigers could smell his scent and recognize their
trainer. He managed to escape a bloody death.
In 1982, his son Mark Oliver participated in the family act by riding
a tame giraffe into the ring. On 11/18/1990, Gebel-Williams bid his
final good-bye to the circus world in Pittsburgh, PA, turning over
his whip to his son Mark. Over 12 million people have seen the performer
billed "America's Twentieth-Century Circus Hero."
By
NN © 2002