Dan Mathews

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Animal Rights Activist, Campaign Director for PeTA

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"... I have no shame. Shame is not a very productive emotion." -- Dan Mathews.

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astrology chart, profile, links

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Leo Ascendant, Scorpio Sun, Gemini Moon, Mars Rising

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Dedicated animal-rights activist, Dan Mathews -- the Director of International Campaigns (and pin-up boy) for animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA) -- often appears in the news due to his colourful actions and radical statements in the name of animal liberation.

With drama-queenish Leo Rising (ruled by the Sun in the 3rd House) and Moon in Gemini, Mathews was born to be a versatile performer. His mother's an Aunti Mame-ish character who worked as a blackjack dealer in Reno (motherly Moon in Gemini disposited by Mercury in Scorpio conjunct dramatic Sun and Neptune), and his father's a restaurateur (Pluto, ruler of 4th House of the culinary arts, semi-sextile and ruling fatherly Sun). His parents separated when he was seven (progressed Pluto -- ruler of 4th House, conjunct Venus, ruler of 10th House), with his mother subsequently raising Mathews and his two brothers in the ultra-conservative region of Orange County, California.

As a teenager, Mathews flipped burgers at McDonalds but was fired for dyeing his hair bright green. By 16, he had given up meat entirely (progressed Chiron at 0° Aries quincunx Sun, the ruler of his Ascendant and outlook on life). In his teens, he also worked as a Christmas tree at the annual Xmas pageant at Disneyland. Moving to Rome in 1983 to study history, he supported himself by working as a model and actor. With his dark (Leo-rising) blonde mane and six-foot five-inch (195-cm) frame (his Gemini Moon suggested lankiness), Mathews landed a role in a Fiat commercial, acted in music videos, and played a break-dancing albino Indian in a Spaghetti Western! He also came out as gay around this time after a roommate introduced him to the gay scene (progressed Uranus at 1° Libra semi-sextile his Sun and square his Moon).

With all three Fire planets prominent in his chart (Jupiter on his Midheaven, Mars on his Ascendant, and the Sun ruling his Leo Ascendant), Mathews is a spirited and livewire activist (known for his highly-sensitive and incendiary comments!). His triple Scorpio stellium explains his endless passion for animal rights causes, particularly as Pluto (the ruler of this stellium) is in earthy and animal-loving Virgo. A committed Scorpio, Mathews has been jailed many times for standing up for his beliefs. Moreover, Pluto is also conjunct Venus in Virgo which rules moralistic Jupiter high in the sky (which further fuels Mathews' strong sense of ethics when it comes to defending animal rights). Jupiter in Taurus on the Midheaven makes for a very happy-go-lucky and loving type of person, and as Chrissy Hynde has said, "He's able to create an incredible sense of joy in life."

Mathews began at PeTA as a receptionist, working his way up to the position of director of international campaigns (a Scorpio with his Sun ruling his Leo Ascendant would probably not settle for any less commanding a position!). Militant Mars rising in Leo and ruling his Ninth House of long distance travel indicates a globe-crossing and pioneering career, and indeed Mathews has staged various campaigns around the world such as those in which red paint was thrown over fur coats to symbolise the bloody suffering animals must endure during the murder committed to make them into expensive fashion items. With hard-working and fame-seeking Saturn in egalitarian Aquarius in his sociable Seventh House (involved in a Grand Trine with his Sun and Moon), Mathews has managed to gain the support of famous people (e.g., Morrissey, Pamela Anderson) for PeTA's campaigns, and in turn, has become well-known himself.

With compassionate Neptune ruling his Eight House (of death) from the base of his chart (in a Mystic Rectangle with its ruler Pluto, Chiron and his Midheaven), Mathews is a self-confessed "bleeding heart" when it comes to protecting animals from torture and murder in the name of meat and fashion, and he reclaims activities associated with Neptune (such as advertising and glamour) to help ensure their welfare.

Neptune is also the planet most associated with music, and (with Neptune opposite retrograde Jupiter, the ruler of his Fifth House of leisure activities,) Mathews in his spare time enjoys searching through thrift shops for retro offbeat vinyl recordings. Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory and Tallulah Bankhead's "acting instruction album" are part of his collection.

To find out more about Dan Mathews, check out his autobiography Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir which was released in April 2007 (as Jupiter trined the Sagittarian decanate of his Leo Ascendant).