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elminx · 1 month ago

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Energy Update: December 2024

December is a “2” Universal Month (12 (December) + 8 (2024) =20 = 2+0 = 2] in an “8” Universal Year. Two is a movement number – things begin to balance out from the pure creation of the energy of the “1” month prior, and decisions start to present themselves. This aligns poorly with the astrology of the month, which is dominated by two major personal planet retrogrades (Mercury and Mars). In order to seek out balance or come into alignment with what is, we may need to work backward.

The Set Up

We begin the month with the Sun and retrograde Mercury in Sagittarius, Venus in Capricorn, Mars deep in its pre-retrograde shadow in Leo, retrograde Jupiter in Gemini, Saturn and Neptune in Pisces, retrograde Uranus in Taurus, and Pluto in Capricorn. This month, we will only have two planetary ingresses: our Sun will enter Capricorn, and Venus will enter Aquarius. This is due to Mercury’s retrograde, which ends on 12/15, that keeps our planet of Communication, Travel, and Technology in the sign of its exile for an exceptionally long time.

The Details

All eyes are on Mars, which will retrograde on 12/06 at 06° Leo. This retrograde will stretch into the new year; it ends in late February, but the post-retrograde shadow will continue until the beginning of May. This is the Big News Bear of the month as it will impact our entire holiday season, but it also sets the tone for 2025.

Mars

Mars gets top billing this month due to its upcoming retrograde on 12/6. This isn’t a post specifically about the retrograde (that’ll be out later – look for it in your email if you’re signed up for my mailing list), but it is significant enough to warrant a brief discussion. Mars is the slowest moving of our personal planets and tends to retrograde every 26 months or so. Because this planet dictates our modes of action and energy levels, we can expect forward motion (as a whole) and output to be lower during Mars’ retrograde periods. This is business as usual and the expected result of a Mars retrograde, but that doesn’t mean that people will be comfortable or accepting of this outcome.

Therein lies a lot of the struggles of a Mars retrograde cycle. Many of us (especially those ruled by Mars – Aries and Scorpio – or those with strong Martian placements) rely on accomplishments and consistent action to regulate our nervous systems. When thwarted, the Martian temperament can get aggressive and moody. Some types can be pushy or overtly forceful, and if one thing is for sure, it is that nothing should be forced during a Mars retrograde. Let it unfold slowly, and try to enjoy the ride.

This retrograde starts in fixed fiery Leo and ends in cardinal watery Cancer. A lot of people are going to fuck some shit up so that they can feel like they are still sitting on their throne and likely cry about it later.

It’s wise to remember that the planets aren’t here to hurt us, no matter how much our dysregulated brains might try to tell us so. Instead, if we look at planetary retrogrades as an opportunity to review, restart, realign, reassess, and rejuvenate, they can actually be valuable times of othered space. Each planet in retrograde adds a layer of the liminal to the space soup, and the more planets in retrograde at a time, the more liminal our space becomes.

It’s worth noting here that Mars’ retrograde overlaps with Mercury’s in December by five days (from 12/6-12/15). These are powerful days to slow down and assess where your life is and what you need to change to move forward. This is especially fortunate for those who celebrate the new year in January, as it is an early chance to align yourself with your goals for the year ahead.

Mars will station direct on 2/23, so this is a long-game transit – much longer than Mercury’s month-long retrogrades. Other than slowing us all down (and probably causing some significant tifts over the holidays), Mars won’t be doing much this month as – during the time when a planet stations (changes directions) they tend to hold their position in the sky for an abnormally long time. If you have a personal planet in the early degrees of the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius), you might feel the strain of Mar’s lack of movement all month. Expect things to get angsty. Expect divas to be on the very biggest tears. It is what it is; I find Leo’s energy pretty easy to walk away from if it’s getting to be too much, but your experience may vary.

Iron gate boundaries might be in order, especially with that incredibly demanding family member who never figured out that they aren’t the main character in your life. You might find that you need to do less; if you do, know you are right on time.

Mars retrogrades are almost inevitably challenging. Even if you can manage your own life slowing down (some of us even like it this way), you still have to deal with the absolute temper tantrums of those who can’t stand still for whatever reason. Stay aware of the Aries, Scorpio, and Capricorn types in your life (Sun, Moon, Ascendant, and Mars placements mostly here) or anyone with Mars in Cancer or Leo. They may be seriously losing their shit (and, if so, iron-clad boundaries, as I said), but they may also just need support as to what to do when you can’t do.

This retrograde aligns well with the season of withdrawal (lovingly called Fallowtide by some) but less well with our hustle-and-bustle holiday season. It’s okay not to do anything, especially if you are prone to low energy for any number of reasons. Take care of yourself often and early.

Our Lights: The Sun and the Moon

Our big win for the month is our two new moons – the first in Sagittarius on 12/01 and the second in Capricorn on 12/30 – which bookmark our month. Our Capricorn moon is especially auspicious because – as I have mentioned elsewhere – in 2024, we had two Capricorn new moons and two full moons. If, as I suggested, you have worked the Capricorn moons this year, this is your fourth and final chance to do so. Even though it is early from a calendar perspective, I would do any magic working or intention setting for 2025 during the hour of the new moon on 12/30. Capricorn is THE sign of long-term planning. Use that to your advantage.

We begin the month on 12/1 (always significant as the 1st dictates the energy for the month ahead) with a new moon at 09° Sagittarius in a t-square with Saturn at 13° Pisces and retrograde Jupiter at 16° Gemini. It’s worth noting two things here. The first is that Sagittarius, the sign of our lunation, is ruled by the planet Jupiter, which is currently in the sign of its exile, Gemini. Luck is on the fritz right now, and all that glitters is most certainly not gold. Additionally, this square between Jupiter and Saturn is Ascendanting meaning that the two planets haven’t actually met at a 90° angle; we are working towards this square, not away from it.

This square between Jupiter and Saturn, currently in Pisces and Gemini, will be a major player in the energy of 2025. The planets meet in an exact square on the Pisces-Gemini axis and the Aries-Cancer axis. Luck may have gone awry, but this is an opportunity to glimpse what lies ahead.

So you are saying, there is a chance. On this day the answer is almost irrevocably yes.

Our Sagittarius new moon is a 9/2 new moon. 9 (Sagittarius moon) + 9 (Sagittarius Sun) = 18 = 1+8 = 9. 9 (Sagittarius new moon) + 2 (December 2024) = 11 = 1+1 = 2.

We are in the midst of some big endings, symbolized by the “9” energy, but the “2” echoes the glimpse into the future and the choices that lie ahead. This is a day well spent in divination or pathfinding of all kinds.

Our Sagittarius Sun squares Saturn on 12/04, which should not surprise anyone. Everyone is being held accountable for their actions in some way or another. This is business as usual; the Sun squares Saturn twice a year, but I’ve always noticed that it seems to show up like clockwork when the world needs it the most. Any Sun/Saturn transit adds a lot of power to magic used for justice and to hold people accountable for their actions. The sign of the archer can be especially helpful for Justice spellwork as Sag has a natural desire toward the highest good. If you work with runes, the Tiwaz rune would be especially useful during this time.

Our full moon falls on 12/15 at 23° Gemini. It is mostly unaspected besides a square to Neptune in Pisces, which carries energy similar to a major lunation anyway. This is also the day that Mercury stations direct at 06° Sagittarius. The twofold nature of switching, Mercury in direction and the Moon in purpose (wax on/wane off if you will) can be used to enact many types of magic for change. Mars is retrograde by this point, though, so be careful how you word anything focused on movement in the physical world during this time. Think Road Opener rather than a spell to force direction.

Our Gemini full moon is a 3/5 full moon. 3 (Gemini moon) + 9 (Sagittarius Sun) = 12 = 1 + 2 = 3. 3 (Gemini full moon) + 2 (December 2024) = 5.

3 is our Manifestation number (useful for all types of magic), and 5 has the go-to-itsness to break through nearly all barriers.

Once the Sun enters Capricorn, it squares the lunar nodes on 12/23. Our lunar nodes will leave the Aries-Libra axis for Pisces-Virgo at the end of January; this is the end of the line for this cycle. Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, can work too hard to keep the peace at times; where are you saying “yes” when you really mean “no” in your life? This might be one less thorn in an old wound or pass less painfully. Cardinal signs are the most likely to notice this transit.

It all comes full circle to our new moon at 09° Capricorn on 12/30. This lunation is still in a wide square to our lunar nodes and is also sextile to Saturn, echoing the energy of that early Sun-Saturn square. Both Saturn and the lunar nodes rule something you could classify as fate or destiny. But in a less woo way than many would use the terms today. Some things are meant to be. You live. You die. A volcano erupts. A major plague races across the land. Because you took your first breath at this exact time in that exact place, you will live through these things. Because our Moon touches on both, but not in exactitude, I would expect all of us to be contemplating our place in the universe a bit during this lunation. Both where we have been – our place in this existence – and where we are going.

What can we can do to help? (Helping is the best way to actualize Capricorn energy)

Our Capricorn new moon is a 2/4 new moon. 10 (Capricorn Moon) + 10 (Capricorn Sun) = 20 = 2+0 = 2. 2 (Capricorn New moon) + 2 (December 2024) = 4.

I have to giggle at this because I consider Capricorns to naturally carry a lot of “4” energy around with them. “4” is a very balanced number; it is all about structure. What are Capricorns doing if not shoring up their world to protect it from the elements? (as is their nature, being born in the deep winter months) When considering the power of the Number 4, I would ask you to think of the older man-made structures still standing. Did the Egyptian pyramids come to mind? That is “4” energy; it grounds in all directions; it has longevity. Again, this 4 energy makes this a great day to do magic or set intentions for the new year ahead. You may wish to set an intention that will become manifest by the Capricorn full moon on 7/10/25.

Mercury

For the first half of December, Mercury will be moving backward in retrograde towards 06° Sagittarius, where it will station direct under the light of our Gemini full moon. This is notable because Mercury is the ruling planet of Gemini; this will be a day highly invigorated with Mercurial energy. We should all realize by now that Mercury retrograde is business as usual and simply a change in the expression of our “normal” Mercury energy. I’ve written more about this particular Mercury retrograde here.

It’s worth also remembering that Mercury is in exile in Sagittarius because Sagittarius is the opposite sign of Gemini, the sign of Mercury’s domicile. In Sagittarius, thoughts can be demanding, and people can become convinced that their way of thinking is the only right way. We all need to watch out for intellectual elitism and educational superiority, two bad behaviors of Mercury in Sagittarius. Every lived experience brings a different story and background to the table, and we need each to function together rather than separately. This is the first hit on this lesson, and it will take on a greater meaning as our North Node enters Pisces next month.

This retrograde cycle involves big hitters Jupiter in Gemini and Saturn in Pisces. This circles back to what I said above about Jupiter square Saturn having a big part to play in the year ahead. We often visit troublesome aspects through Mercury first. This cosmically makes some sense because when presented with a problem, to proceed, the best course of action is usually to think something through. Keep in mind that in firecracker Sagittarius, Mercury does not seem inclined to take that kind of time.

It is an oversimplification, but Jupiter brings the Go/Expansion energy and Saturn the Stop/Retraction energy. This is interesting because Jupiter gets nothing but space to expand in formless, airy Gemini, which you would think it would like, but it really doesn’t (it is the sign of Jupiter’s exile), and amorphous watery Pisces does nothing to give Saturn the form it so desperately requires. Neither giant is at its best, making them more demanding. In this case, Saturn will always be the rock, and Jupiter is playing the role of the hard place.

Mercury has to pass through this vice three times. We’ve done this once while Mercury was in forward motion and when Jupiter and Saturn weren’t in a very tight square. The second pass happens early this month between 12/04 when Mercury opposes Jupiter (each planet in its exile, a nasty untethered opposition) and 12/06 when Mercury squares Saturn. We might want to expand during this time (or just jump out of the way of the rocks rolling downhill toward us), but there’s nowhere to go. This is the hole of Mercury’s retrograde cycle; I’d bet most people fall into it somehow.

Alternatively, you could be trying to get your ball rolling, and one thing after another keeps getting in the way. This kind of aspect works both ways, sometimes both ways in the same situation, which can be extremely uncomfortable.

That the Mercury-Saturn squares goes exact as Mars retrogrades on 12/06 tells us a lot about the character of that day. Just don’t. If it’s not Essential, emphasis on the Capital E, do it another day. Things generally grind to a halt for a reason. You can force the wheels or look for a rock in the tires. The choice is, of course, up to you.

And then, just in time for Christmas, we get our third pass-through of this rough t-square between Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn between 12/24 and 12/26, this time with Mercury in forward motion. If you need to make amends for anything you said out of line earlier in the month, this is the time to come clean about it. The more you take responsibility for your own part in this mess, the less pressure Saturn will put on you. Always placate Saturn first; Jupiter is too all-important to care about turn order.

Things will feel a bit easier after Mercury’s retrograde ends mid-month, but Mercury remains in its exile all month long as it tracks its way all through its post-retrograde shadow in Sagittarius. The benefit of Sagittarius is that most Sag will tell the absolute truth as they see it. Sometimes, that includes coming clean about things, too. It should be no surprise that this will be a holiday season full of hard conversations; we can hope that at least they include honesty and words spoken from the heart. (Sag sometimes needs to be reminded they have a heart, but they will come in strong once encouraged there)

Mars will greatly overshadow this retrograde, but keeping it in the back of your mind is still important. If that person is just talking out of their ass, maybe make a snide comment to yourself, blame Mercury, and walk the fuck away. If it takes an extra two hours and a detour to get to Gramma’s house, that’s two hours less of talking to Uncle Eddie. Make sure you are sending those nudes to Tara in Sales and not Tara, your boss, if you know what I mean. Things tend to go awry during a Mercury retrograde cycle when we are on autopilot and not paying attention.

The easy and obvious anecdote to that is to pay attention. Standard Mercury retrograde advice applies: save often, double-check before you hit Send, and expect delays. Your friendly neighborhood Geminis and Virgos will be down for the count like they are every Mercury retrograde. The energy of all things communication, technology, and travel will be slower and deeper as Mercury wanders the low road. The more you can work with Mercury’s energy rather than against it, the easier your life will be.

Mercury exits its post-retrograde shadow in early January. We will have relatively smooth sailing with our planet of communication until the end of March and early April.

Venus

Venus is almost two full signs ahead of our Sun and Mercury all month long as it begins the month in Capricorn and ends it in Aquarius. It is on its own journey, which doesn’t really include stepping in to help out with the inevitable squabbles that are bound to come up all month long as both Mercury and Mars retrograde in fire signs. Venus can be pretty far out there in the fixed air sign of Aquarius and, at times, even unattainable.

Venus makes two major appearances this month. First, Venus will conjunct Pluto at 00° Aquarius on 12/07. Pluto is our outermost planet and seems responsible for the erosion of all things through the lens of time itself. Of course, in Roman mythology, Pluto was the god of the Underworld. On a long enough timeline, all things end: nations, marriages, lives, and this world.

Pluto has never before been in the sign of Aquarius when astrologers knew of the planet’s influence, so we can only surmise what this new journey will bring to humanity. But we will taste it through a Venusian lens this month.

Then, on 12/12, Venus opposed retrograde Mars in Leo. This is pretty big break-up weather, but that shouldn’t be anything to worry about if you are in a safe and secure relationship. Leo and Aquarius aren’t that different from one another (Sun sign opposites are and should be ready as a pair), but where they differ is very stark. Where Leo is a traditionalist, Aquarius is pointed straight toward the wildest of infinite possibilities. Leo wants the world, and Aquarius wants the universe. They can become aligned but often choose not to out of ego and the inability to step off their respective daises.

Fixed signs aren’t inclined to move; that much is for sure, and this will go doubly for all Martian and Leo types during this time. If anyone is going to give an inch, it will have to be Aquarius.

Although I specified break-up weather, I want to clarify that relationships do not always involve love, sex, or romance. We are in a relationship individually with each of our family members, with our best friends and our worst enemies, and with our bosses and coworkers. American culture puts a huge emphasis on love and sex, but relationships exist of all kinds. We talk about wars between nations but rarely about wars within families or workplaces. The interplay between Venus (receiving) and Mars (giving) shows us how our relationships are flowing – even international ones between nations. Together, they give us an idea of how easy it will be to get along.

Oppositions are fidgety and difficult to read, even for the most seasoned astrologer. Sun Sign opposites can differ in specific ways but are also quite similar and desperately need each other. The conflicts that will arise during this time CAN be resolved, but it calls for somebody to step down and let the other by. Neither planet looks well poised to do so, which is generally unfortunate. We still get free choice, though; that’s the beauty of how the above is reflected below: the planets dictate that there will be conflict, but WE still get to choose what we do when it happens.

What is worth fighting for? Is it worth standing up to the one you love the most? Is it worth standing up to your family? Is it worth standing up to the world?

Many of us have to grapple with this right now, and I think many people will say resoundingly, “Yes.” I’m not here to give you the correct answers because my trials and choices will differ infinitely from yours.

What I am here to say is that there is a reason (in the skies and our lives) why people are going to choose Fight this holiday season, and we should think about both how we are making those choices for ourselves AND how we should respond when someone decides they want to fight with us. The big flex all month will be to pick your fights, but we all know that will be easier said than done.

I’m choosing to discuss conflict in the Venus section for a reason. Diplomacy plays as important a part in conflicts as Action, though culturally, we often downplay this. Venus in Aquarius can be talked into looking back at the rest of us earth landers, but only if you speak to her higher nature and propose something new and innovative. Venus in Aquarius doesn’t have time for momentary peace; it wants the whole package or nothing at all. The craziest idea might be the one that is the solution all month long.

Jupiter and Saturn

Our two intermediate planets, Jupiter and Saturn, play a major role in dictating the pace of our lives. Jupiter, the planet of Luck and Expansion, quickens everything it touches, while Saturn, the planet of Time and Consequence, slows or halts. We need both of these forces in our lives. They are moving in and out of squares for the next year.

The first square happens on 12/24 with Jupiter in Gemini and Saturn in Pisces. Neither planet is at its strongest here, but Saturn probably wins out due to Jupiter being in its exile. Expect things to be slow. But that’s also indicated by our Mars retrograde, so let’s say it’s extra slow. This first square includes Mercury in Sagittarius square to Saturn and opposed to Jupiter. This is a harsh mutable t-square, which will have everyone scrambling but few finding solid ground.

You may notice this repeating cycle of three squares (one in December and two next year). If it sounds awfully like a retrograde cycle, that’s because it is. This is happening because Jupiter (being the faster-moving sign) has caught back up to Saturn (by degree) and is now going to retrograde forward and back again thrice across Saturn’s path. Jupiter and Saturn will both change signs in 2025 in synch with one another – this will put a lot of stress on the line between Gemini-Cancer (for Jupiter) and Pisces-Aries (for Saturn). We will be in this push/pull cycle for a while; this is just the first pass.

Looking Forward

Hello January! Hello 2025!

The big deals in January will be our Mars retrograde and the changing of the guard as our lunar nodes slide onto the Pisces-Virgo axis. The big deal for the year is that Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune all change signs in four months. As we move into each new sign in 2025 with our Sun, Mercury, and Venus, we are forced to confront all of our outer planets in unison. We are on the event horizon now.

The Details

12/1 – New moon 09° Sagittarius 12/2 – retrograde Mercury in Sagittarius trine Chiron in Aries, Venus in Capricorn trine retrograde Uranus in Taurus 12/4 – Sun in Sagittarius square Saturn in Pisces, retrograde Mercury in Sagittarius opposed retrograde Jupiter in Gemini, Venus in Capricorn sextile retrograde Neptune in Pisces 12/5 – Sun conjunct retrograde Mercury 14° Sagittarius 12/6 – retrograde Mercury in Sagittarius square Saturn in Pisces, Mars retrogrades 06° Leo 12/7 – Sun in Sagittarius opposed retrograde Jupiter in Gemini, Venus enters Aquarius, Venus conjunct Pluto 00° Aquarius, Neptune stations direct 27° Pisces 12/9 – Venus in Aquarius sextile North Node in Aries 12/10 – Sun in Sagittarius trine Chiron in Aries 12/12 – Venus in Aquarius opposed retrograde Mars in Leo 12/13 – Retrograde Mercury in Sagittarius sextile Venus in Aquarius 12/15 – Full moon 23° Gemini, Mercury stations direct 06° Sagittarius 12/18 – Sun in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces 12/19 – Venus in Aquarius trine retrograde Jupiter in Gemini 12/21 – Sun enters Capricorn 12/23 – Sun in Capricorn square the lunar nodes, Venus in Aquarius sextile Chiron in Aries 12/24 – Retrograde Jupiter in Gemini square Saturn in Pisces 12/26 – Mercury in Sagittarius opposed retrograde Jupiter in Gemini 12/27 – Mercury in Sagittarius square Saturn in Pisces 12/28 – Venus in Aquarius square retrograde Uranus in Taurus 12/30 – New moon 09° Capricorn 12/31 – Mercury in Sagittarius trine Chiron in Aries

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#astrology #transits #energy update #December 2024

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brian-in-finance · 4 months ago

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•••••

WHAT THE STARS ARE SAYING

Check out why so many famed actors use Backstage

Trusted since 1960

Founded in 1960, Backstage has a storied history of serving the entertainment industry. For over 60 years Backstage has served as a casting resource and news source for actors, performers, directors, producers, agents, and casting directors.

Over that time, Backstage Magazine has also appeared on numerous TV shows, such as “Mad Men,” “Entourage,” “Glee,” “Oprah,” NBC's “Today” show, Comedy Central's “@Midnight”, NY1's “On Stage,” and “Saturday Night Live,” as well as multiple mentions on shows like “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” “Girls,” and appearances in films such as “13 Going on 30,” the Farrelly brothers' “Stuck on You” and Spike Lee's “Girl 6,” and even a mention in Woody Allen's short-story collection “Mere Anarchy” and Augusten Burroughs' novel “Sellevision” – and Backstage has received accolades from multiple Academy Award-, Emmy-, and Tony-winning actors and directors. (Plus, the hit musical “The Last Five Years” even includes Backstage in its lyrics: “Here's a headshot guy and a new Backstage / Where you're right for something on every page.”)

CAITRÍONA BALFE

ACTRESS

"I still get Backstage emails 'cause I still subscribe to Backstage. [Backstage is) kind of the Bible in the beginning, which is amazing. Samuel French and Backstage go hand in hand, you know? You go there for your plays when you're in classes, and then you get your Backstage."

Backstage 1

•••••

Brian’s Note: The following story originally appeared in April 2015. Most recent update is December 2020.

The Gorgeous Determination of Caitríona Balfe

Caitríona Balfe is on the move. That's been true most of her adult life— especially the 10 years she was modeling for Victoria's Secret, Dolce & Gabbana, and others—but as she sits on the rooftop patio of a West Hollywood hotel in mid-March, she mentions that she's pulling up stakes from Los Angeles.

"It just feels silly to have an empty place for 10 months until I figure out what I'm doing with my life," the Irish-born actor says. "I've rented the same place for the last four years and now I have to give it up." Her apartment is being razed to put in condos, but her departure from L.A. is extra poignant considering this is the city where Balfe journeyed when she decided to put aside that successful modeling career and focus on the vocation she'd always wanted: acting.

Photo: Luc-Richard Elie

"I've moved so much since I was 18," she says. "I mean, l've lived so many places. New York, I lived in for almost eight years [while modeling], and that's been the longest of anywhere since I left Ireland. But L.A. is where I came and said, 'OK, this is what I wanna do with my life.' "

She refuses to think of her move as a permanent one, though. "I'll be back," she declares, "but it feels really sad. My little apartment, it's got so many memories."

Balfe's sadness is no doubt mitigated by the fact that part of her need to move is due to the precipitous rise in her fortunes. She'll soon be flying to Scotland to shoot the second season of "Outlander," which returns to Starz April 4 to conclude Season 1.

When last we saw Balfe's Claire, the resourceful British nurse who comes home after World War |I only to be inexplicably teleported into the 18th-century Highlands, she was half-naked with a knife to her breast. Don't worry: Claire will get out of that scrape, but more perils await-to say nothing of the emerging multi-era romantic triangle developing between her, the Scottish warrior Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), and her 20th-century husband, Frank Randall (Tobias Menzies), who wonders where she's gone.

Based on the much-beloved Diana Gabaldon novels and developed for television by "Battlestar Galactica" rebooter Ronald D. Moore, "Outlander" is an ostensibly lush period-piece-within-a-period-piece drama that's consistently richer and thornier than its romance-novel trappings suggest. And much of the credit goes to Balfe, who had managed small parts in films such as “Super 8” and “Now You See Me” before landing the central role in this adaptation.

In person, Balfe is far less imposing than the steely Claire, who has to weather the dangers of being a woman in sexist, violent Scotland in the 1740s. Cast late in the preproduction of “Outlander”—Moore has mentioned in interviews how hard it was to find the right Claire—she didn’t have time to consider what the role would do to her life. “I’m so bad on social media," she confesses on this warm afternoon, nestled underneath a cabana. "I had set up an account on Twitter maybe a year or so before I got this job and had, I thought, a lot of followers — 250 or something, and most of them are my friends. Within about a month or two, it was thousands of people — and my phone, I didn't know how to turn off the alerts, so it was just going all the time. That was the beginning of the awareness."

Growing up in the small Irish community of Monaghan, Balfe had considered acting from an early age. ("I was devastated that I wasn't a child actor," she says, smiling. But after traveling to Dublin to study theater, she changed course once she received an offer to model. It wasn't a secret passion of hers, but who turns down a trip to Paris? "My parents felt that I should finish college," Balfe recalls, "but l'm slightly headstrong, so l took their advice and I completely ignored it."

Over the next decade, she lived in France, Italy, Germany, and Japan, her modeling inexperience hardly a detriment. "You'd be amazed how little information or training goes into it," she says. "When I first arrived in Paris, I was told to take a bus to the office. I left my suitcase — I barely spoke any French — and someone took me across the street, helped me buy a Carte Orange. They printed out five addresses that I had to go to that day, and then they sent me off." She still remembers at 18 riding the subway alongside 16-year-old aspiring Russian models, who knew no French or English, homesick and sobbing their eyes out. "That was just the way it was," says Balfe. "You become pretty tough. When I went to Japan, it was similar: They would drive you to their castings, but the minute you got a job, it would be like, 'Here's an address, here's a map. Good luck.' They don't have signposts in English in Japan, so the map and the address are not always very helpful."

Hear Balfe recount her early misadventures in modeling and you can't help but think of Claire, who's equally thrown to the wolves once she arrives in the 18th century amid people wary of the English in general and assertive women in particular. "Honestly, l've been in so many situations in my life where you just are completely displaced," Balfe says. “You have to adapt very quickly and figure it out. I definitely think that informs Claire a lot. It helped me understand her."

Did moving to Paris at such a young age teach Balfe that she can cope in any circumstance? "I think I didn't really realize that until many years later," she replies. "I have a great knack of not thinking about things and just going for it. You learn the hard way sometimes that you're able to get through, but sometimes it's quite tough when you're in a situation where you don't know anyone and you're trying to find your way around cities. But if an opportunity presents itself and it seems like a good idea, l'm just like, 'OK, let's do it, then I'll figure it out.'”

The decision to reconnect with her acting ambitions was conducted just as boldly. Ready to quit modeling, she moved to Los Angeles because a writer she was dating lived there. He was the only person she knew, but she had read a Vanity Fair interview with Amy Adams in which she said she trained with Warner Loughlin. "I could walk to that place from my ex-boyfriend's house," she says, "so l was like, 'Well, I'm gonna go there because I can't really drive. I started from scratch. I didn't have any managers, I didn't know any agents, I hadn't acted in almost a decade." But she just kept taking classes, moving from Loughlin to the studios of Sanford Meisner and Judith Weston. "I think when I first got here, I had a nice little air of delusion: 'It's gonna work out,'" she says with a laugh. “You just don't know how."

And then came "Outlander." By email, Moore admits that he didn't know Balfe's work until her audition tape came unsolicited to his office from her agent. Once she was chosen for Claire, he made it clear how demanding the job would be. “I told her in our first meeting that this was going to be an even bigger responsibility and workload than the normal TV lead," he writes. "Because the story was being told from Claire's point of view, Cait was going to be in every scene, every day for months, which is an extraordinary amount of work, far beyond what most actors are ever asked to do."

Moore's warning didn't faze Balfe. Writes Moore, "After she met with the president of Starz... and it was clear that she was going to land the role, I walked her to the elevator and just before the doors closed on her, I said 'Your life is about to change forever,' and she gave me a grin that was both thrilled and slightly nervous. I never saw her hesitate after that."

She's never hesitated before. As Balfe prepares to say goodbye to L.A. (for now, she thinks back to her early days in the city, trying to convince casting directors that she was more than just a model. "I went on many, many, many, many auditions that were Hot Girl No. 2 — you wanna shoot yourself," she says, laughing. "But, you know, I'm very lucky that l was even getting those auditions in the beginning. And it toughens you up. At least for me, to have that fuel to prove people wrong—it definitely spurs me on and makes me wanna work harder." Then she smiles conspiratorially. "And shove it to them."

Backstage 2

Remember… I told her in our first meeting that this was going to be an even bigger responsibility and workload than the normal TV lead. — Ronald D Moore

#Tait rhymes with hat #Good times #National Actors Day #8 September 2024 #Backstage #April 2015 #Story last updated December 2020 #Instagram

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