The Sandman

An Exploration of the Virgo-Pisces Axis

On average, a human spends a third of their life dreaming, yet, we have only ventured in the universe of dreams through theories, concepts and personal interpretations. Luckily, today, I am not interested in understanding dreams through a rigid scientific lens, but through an astrological and personal interpretation inspired by the release of the Netflix adaption of Gaiman’s The Sandman.

A little bit about me and dreams

If you have interacted with me before, you would know that I hold a lot of importance to my dreams. I have always been a very “active” dreamer, meaning that I always was aware of the sequence of my dreams. It was when I turned 14 that I ventured into Lucid Dreaming, and since then it has basically been a ride. Unfortunately or fortunately, I used lucid dreaming as a way to escape my reality as I had been challenged by my mental health a lot as a teenager. As I grew older and matured, I started using my dreams as a way to know myself better and even make life challenging decisions. The only way to interpret your dreams is by knowing yourself, facing yourself and your shadows. You can skim through every dream interpretation book, and still you would not reach a clear conclusion if you do not skim through your consciousness first.

Today, I see my dreams as an extension of my life, and not just a separate universe that I have no control over. This is essentially what brings me to explore The Sandman through the Virgo-Pisces axis.

The Sandman

Whether you have read/watched The Sandman or not, you may have guessed that the protagonist rules over the sleeping realm. The Sandman is essentially the anthropomorphic personification of Dreams thus making him the ruler of that universe, maintaining order over the realm to grant the exploration of this realm to Humanity. Morpheus is not driven by status or control but rather a need for balance and purpose from him to humanity and from humanity to him. Naturally, the plot revolves around him fighting against villains to restore and keep the equilibrium in both realms. The villains are not inherently good or bad, and neither is he, but it is his selflessness that puts him apart from his nemeses. He understands that dreams are vital for humans; “If dreams disappear, then so will Humanity”.

Pessimism, Misanthropy and Scientific supremacy

The Golden Age of Science has restructured our human philosophy. Since the 1940s, the Western World has been divided in two realms; science and everything else (that is not science). This rigid dichotomy initially aimed to open new doors of hope for Humanity after the wars, but unfortunately, this divide brought us to reject the concepts that are the driving point of collective hope. Everything that does not fall under the scientific method is now “pseudoscience”. The more we reject our multidimensional essence, the more pessimistic we become, and the more we create a society built on misanthropic sentiments.

This is essentially the philosophy behind the Mad Scientist archetype. In the Sandman, John Dee, the main villain, also known as Doctor Destiny, bears this honorary archetype title. His morals are strictly defined by self-limiting logic, and his goal is to “make the world better” by robbing Humanity out of their dreams, literally and figuratively. John Dee views everything that defies logic as “dishonest”, and this mentality is unfortunately not uncommon in our current society as well. You may have acquainted many people who reject any form of knowledge that is not of the material realm, that does not make them a villain (it could) but it makes them insufferable individuals.

The 6th House in Tropical Astrology: Where Duty Starts and Ends

As mentioned in the title, my commentary of The Sandman seeks to expand on the Virgo-Pisces axis and its significance in our philosophies as humans. This is essentially because Virgo and Pisces are both defined as humane, although operating at different levels.

The 6th House of Virgo finds itself at centre of the zodiac wheel. It is commonly described as the house of services, routine and health/hygiene. Although these associations are all correct, they oversimplify it. The 6th House primarily is the “divider” of the wheel, the breaking point between the “practical” and the “conceptual” houses. It opposes the 12th House, the house of dreams, the subconscious and spirituality. Both exist on different realms but they are crucial to our lives, as they influence each other and seek to find balance. Just like in The Sandman, the realms of dreams and reality have to coexist and Morpheus is responsible to keep them close yet distant, one cannot overpower the other. When the duties in our 6th House become too overbearing, we lose sight of our dreams and our personal connection to the universe, and when our dreams become unhealthy escapes, we lose sense of our material world and responsibilities. This was consistently shown throughout the show, when the characters become trapped in their dream world to escape their waking one. The storyline continuously reminds the characters and the audience of the importance of maintaining a healthy balance between what is and what could be.

The shadow sides of both houses are thoroughly personified, like John Dee representing the negative aspects of the Virgo side of the axis; science as the only honest answer. He is only motivated by his sense of duty, his duty to save the world. However, in trying to save the world, his execution brings humans to self-destruction and crimes thus bringing in Morpheus to save humans, giving them back their dreams, their imagination and their hope, that allows them to maintain the collective compassion that defines us.

From the Seventh Seal (1957)

The 12th House in Astrology : Dreams and Delusions

On the other hand, we have the 12th House, finding itself at two endings; the end of the second part of the zodiac wheel, that defines the abstract signs, and the end of the integral cycle of the 12 houses in astrology. This is also why the sign is depicted as a pair of wish, and described as a “dual sign”. This reminds us of the depth of the 12H, that there is balance within balance, and there is the unknown within the unknown.

In The Sandman, the depth and the multidimensionality of the 12H is also shown through the personification of characters. The most obvious conceptualization of the duality of the 12H begins with the existence of Dreams and Nightmares. Neither is fully positive nor negative in nature, but it is how they are used (purpose/duty of the 6H) that defines whether they are good or bad. Dreams can become a source of positive escapism for individuals living in a harsh reality. In the show, it is the case of Jed Walker, who has dreams of him being a superhero, because his legal guardians are abusive towards him. When we have nobody to look up to, we look up to our higher-selves and to our dreams. In this way, dreams can help us suffer us and work through our shadows outside of the waking world, when the shadows become too heavy to deal with consciously. However, when we completely reject reality for the sake of dreams, and completely detach ourselves from reality, then we also face the shadows of that realm. This is even the case of Dream at the beginning of his mission, defining himself only through his attachment for the Dreaming. This attachment has caused him to resent humans and seclude himself. It is only when he spends time with Death, who is constantly interacting with humans, that he begins to have more compassion or at least understanding toward Humanity and their complexity. He ends up finding balance between his spiritual purpose and his responsibilities.

The Virgo/Pisces limbo

On the other hand, when the 6H and the 12H mingle and become too close, the shadows can also creep in; that is often when dogma resurges. Duty and spirituality are both the fundaments of organized religions, and when the lines are blurred out, we witness atrocities throughout History. When we impose limits to one house or the other, we also face limitations in our Purpose.

Johanna Constantine, in the Netflix adaptation, is the character who is not entirely operating against one or the other realm, she is an exorcist, a necromancer, an occultist, which puts her in limbo between two worlds. She is morally grey, for sure, but she is also motivated by her own shadows and nightmares. The choice of her name is not purely coincidental either, she is christian-coded, a feminization of John and Constantine the Great. This makes her the perfect example of the power struggles between the 6H and the 12H, the quest to make a personal spiritual experience a collective duty and truth to be followed. She does not know whether she is responsible for her own dreams or the dreams of others, thus pushing her to be haunted by nightmares.

Capture of Johanna Constantine in The Sandman (2022)

Pax et Somnia

In the end, The Sandman, just like the Virgo-Pisces axis teaches us that the most humane thing we can do is reminds ourselves that we are humans with limits. Our imagination may be endless, but our responsibilities are not. By finding peace and balance between what is and what could be, we allow ourselves to grow closer to humanity and our dreams as a collective and as individuals.

“Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” - Carl Jung

Peace and dreams,

Floesie