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In this episode of the Astrology Hub podcast
In this special Christmas episode, Christopher Renstrom dives into the timeless classic Miracle on 34th Street and reveals the astrological interplay of Jupiter and Saturn through the film’s characters and themes. Drawing parallels between planetary archetypes and human experiences, he highlights how belief, skepticism, and magic shape our lives. Tune in for an insightful exploration of how astrology weaves into art, culture, and the holiday spirit.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
🪐How the dynamic between Jupiter and Saturn manifests in Miracle on 34th Street.
💫The significance of the 2024 Jupiter-Saturn square in Gemini and Pisces and its resonance with the movie’s themes.
☄️Insights into Jupiter’s archetype as the planet of optimism, generosity, and faith.
🔍An exploration of Saturn’s archetype as the planet of realism, structure, and reserved energy.
✨The role of belief and magic in transforming human experiences and relationships.
🏛️How Miracle on 34th Street reflects the intersection of astrology, culture, and storytelling.
Transcript:
00:00:00:03 – 00:00:20:08
Christopher
Hello, my name is Christopher Renstrom and I’m your weekly horoscope columnist here on Astrology Hub. And this time, I wanted to share with you a very special Christmas episode for Astrology Hub.
00:00:20:10 – 00:00:44:24
Christopher
This time I wanted to talk to you about one of my favorite Christmas films. Miracle on 34th Street. The wonderful thing about astrology is that astrology is taking place in our lives all of the time. We’re used to thinking of astrology in terms of the planets above and the sky and the different, aspects that they make to one another in the sky, and how that impacts us down here on Earth.
00:00:45:01 – 00:01:15:19
Christopher
We’re used to think of astrology in terms of blogs or of columns or even books and magazine articles. But astrology, as I said, is happening around us all the time. And astrology has not only been communicated to us through the generations, through different books or teachings or pamphlets or things along those lines. But astrology has also been, transmitted to us down through the generations and our cultures.
00:01:15:21 – 00:01:45:01
Christopher
I often talk about how astrology appears in churches and synagogues and houses of worship. How astrology has been associated to a calendar. And that’s where the figures representing the different seasons spring, summer, autumn and winter also appear in the zodiacal circle, as represented by the different satirical symbols. But astrology has also been passed down through our art. Astrology has also been passed down through our culture.
00:01:45:03 – 00:02:09:24
Christopher
And if we look at certain things like, oh, I don’t know, books or films, we can see the astrology speak to us pretty clearly. The reason I wanted to talk about one of my favorite films, which is miracle on 34th Street. Part of the reason to one of my favorite films is because I lived in New York City for 28 years, and miracle on 34th Street was filmed in New York City.
00:02:10:03 – 00:02:38:01
Christopher
So it’s wonderful to see all the different areas that that the characters walk through. But one of the reasons it’s my favorite film, it’s one of my favorite films, is because it really talks about the relationship between Jupiter and Saturn. This is a very powerful relationship that these two planets have to one another. We’re used to thinking of Jupiter and Saturn as being two sides of the same coin.
00:02:38:03 – 00:03:00:09
Christopher
That same coin being the coin of fortune on the Jupiter side of that kind of fortune, we have good fortune. We have a planet that’s very expressive, a planet that’s very welcoming. Planet that has a youthful quality that never really leaves. And a planet that really brings good fortune and higher purpose to all the lives that it touches.
00:03:00:11 – 00:03:30:06
Christopher
Jupiter in astrology will often represent goodwill. The flip side of that coin fortune is Saturn, Jupiter’s father. And where Jupiter is very welcoming. Saturn is very withholding. Where Jupiter is very warm and congenial. Saturn has a tendency to be more remote and cold and austere. And that’s because Saturn is the ruler of the two zodiac signs of winter.
00:03:30:08 – 00:03:58:11
Christopher
The third one being Pisces. But the first two zodiac signs of winter, of course, are Capricorn and Aquarius. So Saturn was seen as being the most distant planet in the original pantheon of seven planets of astrology. It was the slowest moving, the most faded light, and it represented old age and decrepit people. People who were sort of seen as ill tempered and grumpy and curmudgeonly.
00:03:58:13 – 00:04:24:13
Christopher
And, you know, a bit miserly or always complaining about aches and pains and things like that. Jupiter. However, Jupiter talks about people in their prime. There was always a robust energy to Jupiter. There was a generosity of spirit to Jupiter. There was a natural bonhomie. Jupiter didn’t dwell on the negatives. Jupiter wasn’t sarcastic or cynical or sardonic.
00:04:24:15 – 00:05:01:08
Christopher
Jupiter was spirited. Jupiter was optimistic. Jupiter believed in belief. And Jupiter had faith in faith. In this particular year, which is 2024, and on Christmas Eve, which is December 24th, 2024, Jupiter and Saturn will form a square in the zodiac. Signs of Gemini and Pisces. And I saw this as being really a lovely, wonderful fit with the film miracle on 34th Street, because with the Jupiter Saturn square, what you really have is a conflict.
00:05:01:10 – 00:05:34:07
Christopher
You have a conflict between belief and faith, effervescence and magic and disbelief, doubt, cynicism and an unwillingness to believe anything that cannot be easily explained as a fact or a state. As you could imagine, that’s Saturn’s camp. So here in this particular year or 2024, we have Jupiter in Gemini and Jupiter in Gemini is very Santa Claus. If you think about it, I mean, there’s a twinkle in the eye.
00:05:34:12 – 00:06:03:24
Christopher
There is an eternal youth for quality. With Jupiter in Gemini, there’s a magnanimity. There’s an abundance of generosity. There is good humor. And there is a child’s sense of curiosity and wonder. And then we have Saturn in Pisces, which is forming a square to Jupiter in Gemini on December 24th. And here we really have a child that never had a childhood.
00:06:04:01 – 00:06:29:22
Christopher
As I mentioned before, there’s a sort of remoteness or an austerity to Saturn in Pisces. Pisces, which is a zodiac sign that’s so full of wonder and that’s so full of magic, is left without those qualities when Saturn is here, either because those qualities never took root. They were never seeded, they never took root, they never flowered.
00:06:29:24 – 00:06:56:24
Christopher
Or because those qualities of magic and wonder were perhaps crushed by difficult life experiences or challenging circumstances for people who were born with Saturn in Pisces. There’s often a feeling of having been, I don’t know, an orphan who was left at the church doorstep. And they can be they can have been raised in the most loving family ever.
00:06:57:01 – 00:07:22:06
Christopher
You know, they might have had parents who doted on them and siblings who simply adored them. But people with Saturn and Pisces have a tendency to feel very apart, very like they don’t belong to a family. They don’t belong to a group of people. They have a hard time feeling loved. They have a hard time feeling appreciated. It’s this sense, even if it never even happened, that they were abandoned.
00:07:22:08 – 00:07:58:20
Christopher
Church doorstep, that they weren’t really wanted, that they weren’t really appreciated. And so this theme of the eternal child, you know, Jupiter, Jupiter and Gemini, as, as embodied by Kris Kringle and Saturn. Saturn in Pisces, as embodied by the six year old girl, Susan Walker. This is how we begin our description of miracle on 34th Street. Miracle on 34th Street was filmed in 1947, two years after the end of World War Two.
00:07:58:22 – 00:08:22:01
Christopher
Two years into what was really a prosperous cycle that was beginning in the American economy, coming out of the Great Depression, as the beginning of the film, as the, and as I said earlier, it is filmed entirely on location in Manhattan at the beginning of the film. You’re watching this figure from behind. And it looks like it’s a dapper figure.
00:08:22:02 – 00:08:47:20
Christopher
You know, he’s wearing a hat and a coat, and he’s also, carrying a cane. So you realize that he’s a he’s an older gentleman, and he’s walking through the different neighborhoods of, midtown Manhattan. And as he’s walking through these different neighborhoods and stories, he stops at this one store and he looks down, in the window, and he sees this, younger fellow who setting up a window dressing.
00:08:47:20 – 00:09:18:03
Christopher
He’s setting up a window dressing for Christmas. And in this window dressing on this, on this, shelf. And I think it’s a store that’s maybe selling jewelry or something like this. There’s Santa’s in a sleigh, and, the fellow, is setting up the different reindeer, that pull Santa’s sleigh. And so the camera pans back to the older gentleman, and we see that he bears a more than just passing resemblance to Santa Claus, to Kris Kringle.
00:09:18:08 – 00:09:41:02
Christopher
He’s not dressed in his Santa Claus regalia. But he, is very dapper. He has a long white beard. He’s a little bit on the portly side, is a bit on the portly side, and he’s looking down, you know, scrutinize. He’s saying the arrangement of the reindeer in this in this store window. And the fellow sort of looks up because he realized that someone’s looking at him.
00:09:41:04 – 00:10:02:04
Christopher
And the older gentleman taps on the window with his cane and he says, no, no, no, no, no. You’ve got the arrangement of the reindeer all wrong. Dasher, it’s my favorite reindeer. He’s the fastest of all the reindeer. He’s not going to be in the back next to me in the sleigh. He’s going to be leading the rest of the reindeer and Blitzen.
00:10:02:04 – 00:10:25:10
Christopher
Blitzen! You should know which one is Blitzen. Blitzen has an extra horn on his antler. He doesn’t have the same antlers that all the other reindeers have. And you’ve got him on the right. And he’s always on my left. And and. Well, you’ve gotten Dancer and Prancer confused. Everyone confuses dancer and Prancer. Dancer goes over here and Prancer goes over there.
00:10:25:12 – 00:10:46:10
Christopher
The seller’s looking up at this elderly gentleman and he’s like, okay, all right. You know, and the older gentleman being all sorts of irritated and this is taking far too long and begins tapping the at the door of the, of the store itself, and it says closed. And the fellow says, we’re closed. And, you know, we don’t open until Monday.
00:10:46:10 – 00:11:07:18
Christopher
And he’s like, you know, but but you have to turn these around. He’s like, sure, sure, that’s fine, old man or whatever. And he’s like, and finally, the older gentleman says, just trying to help you out. And he continues on his way. And the younger gentleman, you know, sort of looks at him oddly, because he does happen to look just like Santa Claus.
00:11:07:20 – 00:11:27:12
Christopher
And he goes back and begins to sort of rearrange the reindeer in the way that, Kris Kringle had originally directed. So we follow this older gentleman, and we don’t really know who he is yet, but you know who he is. And he’s walking through the streets of Manhattan, and he comes upon the Thanksgiving Macy’s day parade.
00:11:27:17 – 00:11:51:13
Christopher
Okay. And, he’s come to the end of the parade. The parade has just started. It’s snaking through the streets of Manhattan, just like it does today. You know. And we know that it always ends by going past Macy’s, 34th Street. But but he’s but, the older fellow who is up here on the Upper West Side, you know, where where which is the end of the parade.
00:11:51:15 – 00:12:16:04
Christopher
And he happens upon the Santa Claus, who been completely drunk. He’s completely intoxicated. And he’s like, you know, are, are you supposed to be playing Santa Claus? And and like, you know, Santa is like, I’ve had a few to drink, and the fellow’s like. Yes, I can see that you have, you know, how are you going to do a proper performance of Santa Claus if you’re, if you’re intoxicated like this?
00:12:16:04 – 00:12:46:13
Christopher
And he’s like, I need another drink. I need to stay warm. You know, and Kris Kringle is like this awesome Bob. And he goes, and he looks for the event director. The event director of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And the event director’s name is Doris Walker. She’s played by Maureen O’Hara. And he says to her, listen, I don’t want to be a bit of a snitch or anything like this, but, your Santa Claus is completely drunk, and I don’t think he’s going to be able to perform.
00:12:46:15 – 00:13:05:24
Christopher
And, you know, Doris’s response is like, oh, no, not again. You know, like, this happens every year. Evidently. But there’s Santa Claus. And, he’s like, yes. And so they walk on back and Santa Claus is fallen off the sled all together, and he’s like, you know, pays for first on the, on the street, you know, face plant on the streets.
00:13:06:01 – 00:13:28:05
Christopher
And, Doris gathers him together and says, listen, you have to get on up there. And he’s like, of course I, you know, and he’s like, I can find my way up in the sleigh. And Doris throws the older gentleman look and she says, I know you’ve heard this several times before, but has anyone said to you, you have to look exactly like Santa Claus?
00:13:28:05 – 00:13:49:16
Christopher
And and the fellow responds, yes. And that’s because I am. And she’s like, you are. And he’s like, yes, my name is Kris Kringle. Pleasure to meet you. And she says, my name is Doris Walker. Pleasure to meet you. Now, can I go ahead and ask you a tremendous favor. And he’s like, And she’s like, is there any way that you could put the Santa Claus outfit on and be our Santa Claus for today?
00:13:49:22 – 00:14:12:09
Christopher
I mean obviously you can see the our Santa Claus is, is very indisposed. And he’s not going to make it. And you would be helping out Macy’s and you would be helping out the kids. And Kris is like, of course. I mean, like, already breaking into action. He’s taking off his suit and his hat and, you know, kind of like investigated this Santa Claus costume, which which she, you know, finds kind of repulsive.
00:14:12:09 – 00:14:35:11
Christopher
But he’s sporting and he’s putting it on. And so he, he climbs aboard the sleigh and is ready to go on down, the avenues, you know, down to, 34th Street. And so, Doris, you know, now that she’s gotten her Santa taken care of in the parade, it’s all taken care of. She’s saying goodbye to everybody, and, she’s heading back down to her apartment, which is on 34th Street.
00:14:35:13 – 00:14:55:02
Christopher
It’s around the store, and she wants to be there with her daughter, Suzanne, who’s about six, so that they can watch the parade together. And so she arrives at home and she’s looking around for Susan. Susan is nowhere to be seen, and her maid says, well, actually, she’s, across the hallway at that, fellow, apartment.
00:14:55:02 – 00:15:16:13
Christopher
The one who just moved in, I think his name is Fred Gailey. And she’s like, oh yes, yes. And, and she’s like, well, what is she doing over there? And she said, well, Mr. Gailey came on over and asked if Susan wanted to see the parade from his apartment because it looks down on the street and, you know, she could see all the floats and things, and she’s like, oh, okay.
00:15:16:13 – 00:15:37:19
Christopher
Well, I’m going to go and collect her. And so, Doris heads out and over to Fred’s apartment. And so in the apartment, we see Fred and, Susan talking and visiting with one another, and Fred’s like, oh, look at that balloon. Look at that float. You know, he’s an attorney, is a defense attorney. And and, and he doesn’t have a girlfriend.
00:15:37:19 – 00:15:57:11
Christopher
He doesn’t have a wife. He doesn’t have a child. He’s just moved in. He sees a six year old kid, and he’s like, you know, you want to come and see the parade. And she’s like, sure. And, Susan actually is a bit of a critic of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade because, her mother plants them every year, and her mother probably talks about them every year.
00:15:57:11 – 00:16:18:22
Christopher
And so she’s giving Fred the rundown on each of the blooms and and the, people who are being represented at the parade and things like that. So, so, Fred has learned rather quickly that Susan’s not a typical six year old girl, and she’s not taking them by the water, the parade. And she’s actually doing a critique of each one of the features as they walk by.
00:16:18:24 – 00:16:38:03
Christopher
And he says at one point he’s like, oh, look at that balloon. That’s a balloon of a giant. I bet they’re there are giants who aren’t half as big as that balloon is, you know, and Susan, being six, responds, well, Mr. Gailey, as you know, there are no such thing as giants in the world. And he’s like, no such things as giants.
00:16:38:05 – 00:16:57:12
Christopher
Of course there’s such things as giants. It’s just like, please don’t more don’t bother me. Or it’s more like, please don’t condescend to me or patronize me. There are no such things as giants in the world. And that’s a balloon. That’s not a very good depiction of a giant, at at that. And he’s like, well, do you know about giants?
00:16:57:12 – 00:17:16:17
Christopher
And she’s like enough to know that they don’t exist. And he’s like, well, haven’t you ever heard fairy tales like, like, do you know the story of Jack and the Beanstalk? And she’s like, no, no, I don’t you don’t know the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Well, it’s a story where. And he’s about to tell the story when Doris comes on in and she’s like, oh, Mr. Gailey, what a pleasure meeting you.
00:17:16:22 – 00:17:36:19
Christopher
I’m here to collect my daughter. I hope she hasn’t been to impossible. It’s like, no, no, she hasn’t been impossible at all. We’ve been enjoying the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and oh, look, look, there’s Santa Claus, you know? And so, they go to the window and Doris’s like, oh, that’s a whole story. You know, itself. That’s our news Santa Claus today.
00:17:36:19 – 00:18:03:02
Christopher
And oh my goodness. And what she notices looking out the window is that there is an extraordinarily large crowd of people that have gathered around Santa Claus. I mean, now that the parade is coming to a close and it’s reached 34th Street, where Macy’s is, all of these people are filling the streets. They’re looking out the windows, they’re waving them, they’re calling out to Santa Claus.
00:18:03:02 – 00:18:26:14
Christopher
And he’s an enormous hit. I mean, nobody can get in and out of 34th Street because Santa Claus has arrived and everyone is just so taken with Kris Kringle. He’s so charismatic. And so there he is, waving to people almost as if he were a president in a limousine that was going down Fifth Avenue. I mean, he’s just sort of waving to everyone, and everyone is so delighted and things like this.
00:18:26:16 – 00:18:49:01
Christopher
And Susan, the little girl, Susan looks over and she sort of sniffs, you know, mom, that’s actually a really good Santa Claus that you got this year. I mean, the one from the past couple of years has been absolutely horrible, but he’s terrific. And she’s like, he is, isn’t he? And Fred turns to Doris, Susan’s mother, and says, so Susan doesn’t.
00:18:49:01 – 00:19:17:12
Christopher
And Doris has belief in Santa Claus. Oh, of course she doesn’t believe in Santa Claus. We all know that Santa Claus is a fiction. And he’s. And, nowadays with Macy’s, he helps to sell toys. But no, no, Susan. Susan has never believed in something like Santa Claus. And so what we have a very strong sense here of is really kind of the Saturn versus Jupiter element of what’s going on here.
00:19:17:12 – 00:19:50:23
Christopher
I mean, obviously Jupiter is going to be embodied in Kris Kringle, who’s Santa Claus, who’s very popular and everyone’s coming out to to applaud him. But do we also see a Jupiter, an element in Fred? Fred is kind of taken aback by Susan not believing in Santa Claus, you know, or Susan never having heard a fairy tale or any sort of story that that Susan has this very sort of realistic look at the world.
00:19:51:00 – 00:20:20:00
Christopher
But it’s it’s a child who hasn’t been allowed to be a child. So it’s, it’s an adult child, basically. Or really, I guess what we could say a child’s version or an understanding of an adult. So Susan naturally pokes holes in all these sorts of things. She doesn’t believe in Santa Claus or fairies or giants or anything along those lines, and she’s happy to join her mother to go on back across the hall to their apartment.
00:20:20:02 – 00:20:43:21
Christopher
And what we really sort of take into account here is that her mother, Doris, is a single mom. She’s a career mom. She’s gotten very far in Macy’s. If she’s the event director for the, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. That she’s that she’s a very ambitious woman. We never learn anything about Susan’s father. We never learn anything about Susan’s background.
00:20:43:23 – 00:21:10:13
Christopher
But we do know very quickly that Susan is more than just a sophisticated child. She’s a child who isn’t really a child. She’s like a miniature adult. And that Fred is taking note that she’s missing. She’s missing something from her life. She’s missing the magic of childhood. Anyway, that doesn’t keep Fred from, having coached Susan to say to her mom,
00:21:10:15 – 00:21:36:00
Christopher
Oh, could Mr. Gailey join us for Thanksgiving? He doesn’t have a place to go in front of Mr. Gailey so that Doris has to answer. Yes. And then Susan turns to us and says, Mr. Gailey, did I do that just right? Did I do it according to how you coached me? Things like, yeah. Yeah, kid, you know, and Doris is like, okay, she’s like coming over for Thanksgiving dinner and he joins them for Thanksgiving.
00:21:36:02 – 00:22:07:15
Christopher
Now, what happens is that not only is Kris Kringle very popular at this parade, but the Mr. Macy of Macy’s has seen him on, on the streets and heard so much about him that he immediately hires him to become Santa Claus, the Macy’s, Santa Claus for the entire month of December. Okay. That he definitely wants this, this, this, this man to be the, face of Macy’s for for Christmas.
00:22:07:17 – 00:22:28:13
Christopher
And, of course, no sooner does he sit down and start to listen to the children than children line up. You know that they they line up, you know, not only around the area of Santa’s workshop, but they go down, they go through the floor, they go down the escalators. They, you know, the line goes out of the escalators, through the ground floor, out into the street and around the block.
00:22:28:13 – 00:22:53:15
Christopher
I mean, this is a huge sensation. Every child wants to come and talk to the new Macy’s, Santa Claus. And of course, Doris is doing paperwork for, for for, Santa Claus, for Kris Kringle. And so she asks him his name, and he says it’s because it’s Kris Kringle, and she’s like, okay, know your real name.
00:22:53:15 – 00:23:21:23
Christopher
And he says, it’s Kris Kringle. And she’s like, okay. And, where do you reside? The the North Pole, you know, and he says, no, I reside at the Brooks Memorial Home for the aged, okay. Which is in a suburb outside of Manhattan. And she’s like, oh, okay. And so she takes down that address and she fills out all of his information for her and things like that for for him to get a paycheck.
00:23:22:00 – 00:23:48:16
Christopher
And what’s really brilliant about the way that the screenwriter has set up miracle on 34th Street is that we’re introduced to someone who you know, clearly, for all looks and appearances of Santa Claus, he has that jovial Jupiter, spirit. Okay. But he gives his address as a home for the aged. Okay. And and so we also get a touch of the Saturn as well.
00:23:48:18 – 00:24:13:24
Christopher
Saturn, as I said before, ruled over the elderly. And it ruled over, the decrepit. It ruled over people who weren’t seen as contributing members of society anymore. In fact, Saturn ruled over people who were seen as burdens on society. The elderly were regarded as burdens on society. There was a period of time when the elderly elderly were revered.
00:24:14:01 – 00:24:38:22
Christopher
But at the time of this film, which is 1947, we have old age homes, which is where you park, you know, your, old dad or your old mom and so Kris, at this old age home where he lives, they contact the head of the old age home, and he shows up and, she said, we’re just trying to get some background information on him.
00:24:38:22 – 00:25:01:20
Christopher
He’s around children all day, and, you know, what do you like as a person? Do you know anything about his family or whatever? And the head of the old age home says, actually, what’s funny is that we don’t know anything about Chris. Other than he calls himself Kris Kringle, and he’s been there since I can I can remember, and, he’s very genial.
00:25:01:20 – 00:25:29:00
Christopher
He’s very friendly, as you can see. And she said yes. Yes. And and I think he’s wonderful around children. I mean, he would never be a threat or anything to worry about. And, you know, I can’t recommend him enough. I mean, when he’s there at the home, he just has such a spirit and a welcoming energy and everyone, you know, I mean, even though it’s a home for the elderly, they’re all sort of transformed to determine, again, when they’re around him.
00:25:29:02 – 00:26:00:24
Christopher
And I’m sure he will have the same effect here with, the children who are visiting Macy’s coincidentally downstairs from this interview that, Doris is having with the head of the, home for the aged. At the same time, Brad has brought Susan to see Santa Claus. Okay, he’s not giving up on Susan yet, so he’s brought Susan to see Santa Claus, and it’s like, isn’t there something that, you know, you want to ask Santa for Christmas or something?
00:26:00:24 – 00:26:23:19
Christopher
She’s like, oh, no, no, nothing’s so silly and ridiculous as that. And it’s like, are you sure? I mean, look at all the different children that he’s, you know, granting wishes to and things like that. And she’s like, oh, he’s just going to say what he needs to say, to make them feel good. And he’s probably going to push a bunch of toys that you know, can’t be sold, on onto them.
00:26:23:19 – 00:26:46:24
Christopher
You know, I mean, he’s kind of like a merchandizer. Mr.. Mr. Gailey. I mean, that’s that’s who Santa Claus is. But nevertheless, Susan is taken by him, and she watches him from from one of the wings where he’s, sitting with children, and he’s talking to each of the children, and and it’s very clear that the children are, you know, really, really happy with him.
00:26:47:01 – 00:27:09:06
Christopher
A very funny thing happens, before a more miraculous thing happens. But the funny thing that happens is that, there’s a little girl that’s, asking for something for Christmas. And, her mother, who’s played by some of our fabulous, the girl wants this toy, and Santa says, oh, absolutely. I could bring you this toy.
00:27:09:06 – 00:27:26:14
Christopher
You know, you can have this toy, and the mother’s like, you know, did you have to tell her that I’ve gone to a million stores and I can’t find that toy anywhere, and Macy’s doesn’t carry it. And all you’ve done is that you’ve gotten her hopes up. You know that. Don’t do that. You know, that’s you’re just making more work for me.
00:27:26:14 – 00:27:45:08
Christopher
And I’m a working mother. And Chris says, oh no, you can get this this toy that she wants at this particular department store. And he rattles off the address of it and he’s like, and they’ve got, you know, a large variety and she’ll be very happy with. And it’s very affordable too. And so the mother was kind of taken aback.
00:27:45:08 – 00:28:02:11
Christopher
She’s like, that store has it. And he’s like, yes, no, I absolutely know this to be true. And she’s like, oh my goodness, you know. So she departs with her daughter and while she does, she walks by, one of the managers of the store, and she says, I want to thank you. And the manager of the store is like, oh, really?
00:28:02:11 – 00:28:21:11
Christopher
For what? She’s like, my daughter really wants this toy, you know? And, I couldn’t find it anywhere in your store. And he’s like, yes, well, we’re sadly out of stock. And she said, but do you know that your Santa gave me the address of where I could go to get this toy and for this price, isn’t that wonderful?
00:28:21:13 – 00:28:42:08
Christopher
And the manager is like he did. It’s not supposed to do that. And and the mother, having not heard him, said, I want to thank you so much. I mean, for you to show that kind of confidence in your store and that kind of generous at Christmas time, all the other department stores. It’s not about the kids. It’s about, you know, selling their merchandise and product.
00:28:42:08 – 00:29:03:18
Christopher
But the fact that you’re Santa told us where we could find this and that it wasn’t, and that it wasn’t here at Macy’s, that you would have that kind of generosity of spirit, that you would be that invested in a child having a wonderful Christmas. I just can’t tell you. I’m going to shop at Macy’s for now on all the time, because I just think you’re so great.
00:29:03:20 – 00:29:24:06
Christopher
And the manager is like, okay, yeah, fine. Wonderful. You know? But he starts to hear from more and more patrons about how Kris Kringle is directing them to other stores. But what a wonderful thing it is that Macy’s is doing it, and it’s getting like a little nervous about it, but it kind of realizes, you know, this might actually be a good thing.
00:29:24:06 – 00:29:48:15
Christopher
So why don’t I think about this for a moment? The moment that really piques Susan’s interest, though. She’s watching the kids go in and out, is that there is a girl that is brought to, Kris Kringle, and she sets up on his lap and, the mother says, listen, her name’s you know, Alice or something like this.
00:29:48:15 – 00:30:09:11
Christopher
And, she doesn’t speak any English. Not much English. We she’s a war orphan. We adopted her, and we just. We just got her and, she really, really wanted to see you. I mean, when she saw that you were here at Macy’s, you know, she was saying Father Christmas, Father Christmas, and she wanted to see you.
00:30:09:13 – 00:30:36:12
Christopher
And if. And and she doesn’t speak any English. But if you could just sort of say something encouraging or listen to her, that would be great. And Kris Kringle is like, absolutely. You know, and so the girl sits on his knee, and, he addresses her in Dutch. He just addresses her Dutch, and she goes from looking very forlorn and sad to her eyes brighten up, you know, and she, like, speaks Dutch back to him.
00:30:36:12 – 00:30:56:20
Christopher
And he speaks Dutch to her. And she, you know, clearly she’s describing the joy that she wants, and he’s describing how she’s going to get this and things like this. And he’s asking her different questions, maybe about her family or background and, and her eyes are brimming with tears and she’s smiling and she’s just she’s so ecstatic and she’s so happy.
00:30:56:22 – 00:31:26:18
Christopher
And Susan’s watching this, this little six year old Susan’s watching this, and she realizes he’s talking to her in her language, that she’s completely understanding him. And that’s not not something that you get with a typical department store. So Susan’s like, she’s impressed and she’s moved very deeply. And Fred is very happy that he brought Susan. To see Santa at that day.
00:31:26:20 – 00:31:54:07
Christopher
So here we have this Jupiter magic which is being worked on the Saturnian, you know, remoteness and closed ness of this child. But we have to remember that Susan is a child that didn’t really have a childhood. Okay. Her mother had to work for a living. You know, who knows if she had been commented on by the other kids at school?
00:31:54:09 – 00:32:25:19
Christopher
And, And so she’s reserved and keeps to herself. She doesn’t really talk to other children, but she’s taken in by Kris now, Fred, that night, hearing that Kris, stays at, an elderly home that’s out in the suburbs outside of New York City and has to make the trek every day into Manhattan. And Doris is talking about that and kind of like, you know, trying to think of what kind of living arrangements or something because Kris is so popular, he he’s he’s there right?
00:32:25:19 – 00:32:47:11
Christopher
When the doors open, he’s there right when the doors close. And so Fred’s like, well, why doesn’t he just bunk with me? You know, he can be my roommate. He can stay with me here in my apartment. And Doris is like, really? And he’s like, sure. And so they all have dinner that night together. Fred and Kris, who’s delighted to be, roommates with with with Fred, and Dawson.
00:32:47:11 – 00:33:21:07
Christopher
Susan. And after dinner, Chris and Susan are talking. And what’s so sweet is that Chris is taking an interest in Susan. He’s he’s noticed that she’s very shy around him, that she doesn’t really approach him. So, you know, he’s he’s not trying to, you know, make a big point of introducing himself or anything like that. But but Susan sort of comes and talks to him after dinner and, and she sits down with him, you know, planning on having an adult conversation and, Chris asks her, you know, how her day went or whatever.
00:33:21:07 – 00:33:42:23
Christopher
And she said it was nice, except that, you know, there was this bad incident with the kids in the building. Not really bad, but but something that, you know, made her feel kind of uncomfortable. And it’s like, what is it? And he’s like, well, we were all playing, the kids wanted to play zoo, and so everyone had to come up with an animal and he’s like, oh, that’s wonderful.
00:33:43:00 – 00:34:05:11
Christopher
You know, what animal did you come up with? And she’s like a human being. I mean, we’re not animals, we’re human beings, and we’re supposed to be reacting an animal. I just thought the whole thing was entirely silly, and it’s like you thought it was silly. And she’s like, yes, it was ridiculous. And so the kids didn’t want to play with me and and it’s no big deal.
00:34:05:11 – 00:34:26:00
Christopher
I didn’t want to play with them either. And he’s like, well, what animal would you be if you could be an animal? She’s like, stop. And he’s like, but animal, would you be there? They’re not here. It’s just me. And she’s like a monkey. And he’s like, why would you be a monkey? And she’s like, because they’re fun and they’re mischievous and things like that.
00:34:26:00 – 00:34:52:16
Christopher
And he’s like, do you know how to act like a monkey? And she’s like, and so what he does is he begins to scratch himself and act like a monkey, and he gets her to do the same thing. And this is just such a wonderful Gemini thing. This is what Geminis do. Not only are they natural icebreakers in terms of conversation and things like that, but there’s this playful quality that people born in the zodiac sign of Gemini have.
00:34:52:18 – 00:35:19:16
Christopher
And here in our in our telling today, we’re working with the idea of a Jupiter in Gemini. He starts playing monkey with her and she starts playing monkey back and he wins her trust. They become primates. They become buddies, and they really enjoy one another’s company. And so what happens as he goes? And he’s Santa Claus during the day, he comes up and he has dinner with Doris and Susan at night, usually Fred’s there as well.
00:35:19:18 – 00:35:46:21
Christopher
And, he and Susan become closer. So one night he asks Susan, does she want anything for her Christmas? And she’s like, no. It’s like, have you ever wanted anything for Christmas? It’s just like, no, Santa Claus doesn’t exist. I don’t believe in him. It’s like, all right, but if it did exist and you did have a wish, what would you wish for?
00:35:46:23 – 00:36:12:11
Christopher
And she’s like, well, it’s not anything I can have. It’s like, all right, well, maybe you’ll let me be the judge of that. And and she’s like, well, it’s it’s this. And she goes to her, bureau and she takes out a magazine and she opens up the pages and she shows Kris Kringle a house. And it’s like, that’s a lovely little house.
00:36:12:11 – 00:36:34:08
Christopher
And and she’s like, it’s my house. He’s like, oh, it’s your house. And she’s like, it’s my house. It has a swing in the back and it has a bedroom that could be mine, all mine, and it would be on the second floor, and it would look over at the beautiful backyard. And I just know that it exists out there for me.
00:36:34:10 – 00:36:54:13
Christopher
And and that’s what I would want for Christmas. And it’s like, okay. And she’s like, I guess that’s too much to ask for. I mean, you know, you’re Santa Claus, so. So I guess that’s too much to ask for it. It’s like it’s a tall order. And she’s like, listen, you don’t have to pretend to be my friend.
00:36:54:15 – 00:37:15:11
Christopher
You don’t have to pretend to be Santa Claus. I know you can’t grant this wish, but you asked me, and I felt like sharing it with you. And it’s like, okay. And she’s like, are you really Santa Claus? And he’s like, I don’t know. That’s a that looks like a pretty fake beard that you’re wearing. And he’s like go ahead and pull on it.
00:37:15:11 – 00:37:35:09
Christopher
She’s like could I really. And I was like sure. And she pulls on it really tight. It’s like you know and she’s like wow. It’s real. It’s like I’m just like Santa Claus is. And she’s like, well, I think we can agree to disagree on that one. And so they both go to bed that night in their separate rooms and apartments.
00:37:35:11 – 00:38:00:24
Christopher
So what happens over a period of time is that Kris Kringle becomes even more popular than Macy’s had predicted. His policy of recommending other stores where parents could get toys for their kids takes off. It brings in more customers than ever get. There’s newsreels done about it, you know, it gets around town. Competing department stores are also coming up with their lists of other stores.
00:38:00:24 – 00:38:26:11
Christopher
You could go to get it because they’re trying to compete with Macy’s, which is clearly the reigning department store for the Christmas season. For that particular Christmas season. But it does come back that Chris Days is, that Chris is a resident at an old people’s home. And there are questions in, air about, you know, what’s his real name?
00:38:26:11 – 00:38:54:17
Christopher
He keeps saying it’s Kris Kringle, and he’s at this old person’s home and, you know, and so they make arrangements for him to have, to see a psychiatrist. And this psychiatrist is very annoyed with Kris Kringle. You know, he’s too optimistic. He’s too bubbly. He’s so irresponsible the way that he talks about things. And so this psychiatrist really has it in for, Kris Kringle, and, and so he’s he’s kind of plotting his record.
00:38:54:17 – 00:39:27:12
Christopher
He’s saying all these, damaging things. And people begin to have questions. I mean, because after all, this is someone who’s around children all day, and, there’s one moment where Kris loses his temper with the psychiatrist. Because the psychiatrist says something that’s really, really hateful and awful. And, you know, he loses his temper and the psychiatrist takes a note of it and, says that he wants to, give Chris an examination of mental competency.
00:39:27:14 – 00:39:55:06
Christopher
And at that point, when he hears about this examination of mental competency, he also hears from the psychiatrist who’s been fraternizing with Doris, that Doris doesn’t really believe that he’s Santa Claus and that she has her reservations about him. And he reports that to Chris in a very poisonous, toxic way. You know, even Doris who who, you know, is your neighbor and a supporter of yours, she has doubts and she doesn’t really think that you’re.
00:39:55:08 – 00:40:19:06
Christopher
And so he feels very Chris feels very dispirited, which is a very Jupiter Korean thing. I mean, Jupiter, when it’s full of faith and confidence in itself. Oh, it’s like it’s it’s magnificent. Okay. It’s the planet of of of faith. It’s the planet of belief. And you see this show up in people born under Sagittarius and Pisces all the time.
00:40:19:08 – 00:40:47:19
Christopher
When they believe in something, they absolutely believe in it. When they describe it, it excites you. It moves you. You can you can see these images in front of you, you know, and there’s no dispelling that belief. But but if someone close to them questions that belief, or they hear of someone who’s like, oh, you know, my opinion of this person is actually contrary to what I’ve led this person to believe.
00:40:47:21 – 00:41:11:15
Christopher
There was no sign that can be so easily wounded. You know, then a Sagittarius or a Pisces, you know, to hear of, of of a beloved friend or a loved one speaking ill of them. I mean, they’ll get angry, you know, that’s you know, it can have sagittarians and patients can have a stormy temperament. But but there’s a wound, you know, they they they don’t laugh it off.
00:41:11:16 – 00:41:40:15
Christopher
They don’t explain it away. They don’t say like, you know, well, maybe it’s because you’ve got this problem or something like that. No. They take it very personally. This lack of faith, this lack of belief in them. And Chris responds the same way he’s hurt. That Taurus who has really subscribe to common sense. All right. Just kind of finds the whole idea of a Kris Kringle.
00:41:40:17 – 00:42:12:14
Christopher
Something that you indulge for an old man who has no friends and who has no family, which is pretty much how it’s put to him. And so, Kris, when he takes this psychiatrist’s test given by this evil psychiatrist, he deliberately fails it. He fails it because he’s so hurt that Doris doesn’t believe in him. He’s so hurt that this little family that they had formed was really not real.
00:42:12:14 – 00:42:44:16
Christopher
Was it really authentic? And he feels wounded. And so he deliberately flunks the test. And as a result, because of the machinations of this psychiatrist, he is immediately, installed. He is immediately, interned, at Bellevue Hospital, which is a hospital for the mentally ill. He’s he’s immediately institutionalized. And so, Macy it’s Macy who’s been making all of this money off of Kris Kringle is all of a sudden like, where did my Santa Claus go?
00:42:44:16 – 00:43:10:02
Christopher
You know, don’t show up for work today. And the psychiatrist is because he’s mentally unfit, and he’s a danger to children and to other people around him. And I thought it best to institutionalize him and Macy’s, like, institutionalize him. How could you do that without telling me? I mean, he’s the best thing to happen in the store. And the psychiatrist is I have a responsibility to the psychological health of the other employees and and culture and environment to whatever.
00:43:10:02 – 00:43:33:24
Christopher
And RH Macy basically yells at him, you know, he’s furious, but he can’t get Kris out of Bellevue because he’s he’s been properly, admitted. And they can’t just bring him out again. Another person who’s outraged by what’s happened is Fred, you know, he’s lost his beloved roommate, you know, and and basically his roommate has been abducted and taken to Bellevue Hospital.
00:43:33:24 – 00:43:57:22
Christopher
Well, Fred is a defense attorney, and he’s going to get Chris out. And so he immediately starts applying himself to, getting getting Chris out of this mental institution. But, of course, what’s keeping him in the mental institution is that he had failed this, this psychiatry test. So Fred has to sort of go one step further. All right.
00:43:57:24 – 00:44:24:01
Christopher
He has to actually prove that Kris really is Kris Kringle. And Fred’s like, I’m going to do it. You know, this is the guy who was talking to Susan about giants and fairy tales. This is the guy who took Kris in as his roommate. This is the guy who took Susan to see Santa Claus and see the miracle of Santa speaking to that little Dutch girl.
00:44:24:03 – 00:45:02:03
Christopher
And so he’s like, you know, he’s kind of impulsive and carried away. And he’s like, I’m going to prove that Kris Kringle is Santa Claus, you know? And so he throws down the gantlet. And of course, no sooner does he say that than it gets around town that, not only, you know, the story goes from, you know, maybe a page story of, you know, Macy’s Santa Claus Institute to Bellevue Hospital, to front page story, you know, there’s this law firm that Fred works for is out to prove that Kris Kringle really is Santa Claus.
00:45:02:03 – 00:45:21:07
Christopher
And these are the court dates and show up if you want to see a good show, you know. And so it turns into that. Now, Doris, during this period of time is really two minds about what’s happening. She works for Macy’s, so she wants to make sure that, Kris is a great success with Macy’s and things like that.
00:45:21:09 – 00:45:49:04
Christopher
But at the same time, as I’ve mentioned before, Christmas around children and other people, and if there is something about him that is iffy when it comes to his psychological makeup, she doesn’t want to put him in a situation where he’s going to be a danger to other people and to himself. So when Fred comes in declaring that he’s going to defend Kris and prove that he’s Santa Claus, she’s like aghast.
00:45:49:05 – 00:46:09:22
Christopher
Now, during this period of time, clearly, as you could probably already guess, Fred and Doris have started dating. You know, they’re getting very serious with with one another. Fred is the lawyer and the great dreamer. But but, Doris has great ambitions for him. He’s smart. He’s really good and skilled at law. So she could see him going places.
00:46:09:24 – 00:46:29:03
Christopher
And now he’s come home to say that, he’s going to defend Kris and prove that he’s Santa Claus. And she’s like, well, what did your firm have to say about that? And it’s like, oh, who cares about the firm? She’s like, what do you mean who cares about the firm? They’re they’re paying you as a lawyer. And he’s like, oh, I can represent Kris on my own.
00:46:29:05 – 00:46:44:08
Christopher
And she’s like, are you? And he’s like, yeah. And she’s like, in the firm. And it’s like, oh, they’re not behind it. I mean, they were like, you know, this, this crazy. I mean, if you’re going to do this fool’s errand or something like that, you’re on your own. And I said, fine, I’m on my own. Then that’s what I’m going to do.
00:46:44:10 – 00:47:04:03
Christopher
And she’s like, but is that practical? And he’s like, of course it’s not practical. It’s not practical at all. But it’s the right thing to do this. You know, Chris is Chris, you’ve spent time with him. You know that he’s a good and wonderful person. And who’s to say that he’s not Santa Claus? And I’m going to go ahead and prove it.
00:47:04:05 – 00:47:27:05
Christopher
And she’s like, I can’t condone this. And he’s like, what do you mean you can’t condone this? You know, and with all that sort of Saturnian energy coming forward, you know, she’s like, you’re jeopardizing your career. You’re jeopardizing the future of our relationship. How could you be? So how could you be so cavalier? How could you be so silly about this?
00:47:27:07 – 00:47:50:05
Christopher
And Fred looks at her and he’s like, how could you not believe in him? You’ve spent time with him. We’ve we’ve had dinners together. How could you not believe in him? How could you not believe in me? And is this who you really are? You have these kinds of doubts. You don’t believe in people. And she said, that’s not the argument here.
00:47:50:07 – 00:48:13:01
Christopher
I’m worried about you getting disbarred. I’m worried about your future. And Fred’s like, why don’t you let me worry about my future? And she’s like, it’s just not normal. It’s just not. And then Fred says to her, the best line of the movie, I love this line. It’s faith is believing things when common sense tells you not to.
00:48:13:03 – 00:48:37:03
Christopher
All right. Think about that. Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to. And it’s amazing. I mean, how many centuries have we spent, like, what is faith? What is belief? What is prayer? You know, but for him to just sort of size it up like that, faith is believing in things when common sense says not to.
00:48:37:05 – 00:49:07:21
Christopher
And this is the difference between Jupiter and Saturn energies. You know, Jupiter is the faith. It will always be ruled by its faith, its belief, its enthusiasms. And Saturn. Saturn, by the way, is not the great naysayer that everyone makes Saturn out to be. Okay, Saturn does come down strong on the side of common sense. It is a planet which is about practicality and being able to take care of yourself.
00:49:07:23 – 00:49:34:09
Christopher
And that’s because Saturn, being a winter planet ruler of the two winter Saturn’s Capricorn and Aquarius, is very scarcity sensitive. You know which? Let’s face it, Doris is on her own in 1947 with a child and no husband. What kind of ostracization has she received socially? The fact that she was able to get a job, that she’s making her own money.
00:49:34:11 – 00:50:09:18
Christopher
You know, this really speaks to the determination of a Saturn type of personality. It speaks to the sacrifice. It speaks to the hard work, to the discipline, and clearly her unmoving approach to the world in terms of seeing the world as realistic. Okay, that’s clearly based on pain, and it’s clearly based on things that didn’t work out in her life and that have left her with a very, deep sense of disappointment and maybe even sorrow.
00:50:09:20 – 00:50:31:21
Christopher
So here she’s opening up to a fellow, and she’s watching him throw it all away to prove, I mean, how many of us would be like, okay, now prove that this old man that everyone gets along with him is really sweet is Santa Claus. You know? I mean, like, we would be like, I believe in this person. I want to encourage this person in his belief of himself and his journey of authenticity.
00:50:31:23 – 00:51:07:08
Christopher
But how many of us are really going to go and say he’s Santa Claus? Okay, so that’s the step that is taken that Doris can’t take. But Fred leaves her with that thought. Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to, and that stays with Doris. What also has an impact on Doris is that that night, Susan comes to her and she says, I want to write a letter to Chris, you know, in Dorset, of course, you can write a letter to Chris.
00:51:07:10 – 00:51:30:19
Christopher
And she’s like, I want to tell him that I believe in him and that I love him, and that I hope that things work out because he must feel very lonely, mother, where he is being held. And what’s that place called? Bellevue. Bellevue? And having all these people ridicule him, he must feel very lonely and bad. And I want Chris to feel good.
00:51:30:21 – 00:51:52:08
Christopher
I want Chris to know that I love him and I believe in him. And so she writes a letter and it’s very moving. She writes this letter to Chris and Doris at the end of the letter. You know, she she reads the letter. Because they’re going to fold it up and put it on envelope and send it to the courthouse.
00:51:52:10 – 00:52:01:04
Christopher
Doris reads it and she writes at the bottom of it. Dear Chris, I believe in you, too.
00:52:01:06 – 00:52:33:21
Christopher
And so they fold this letter up and they send it to the courthouse. Kris Kringle at, you know, whatever the I forget what it was the New York courthouses address. You know, that was the all the time in law and order. Okay, that they send it there. And, what happens is that the letter gets taken to a post office, and, there’s a postal worker who sees it, and he’s like, hey, Joe, you know, Joe, his manager, I guess, comes on over and he’s like, there’s a letter here addressed to Santa Claus, you know?
00:52:33:21 – 00:52:53:04
Christopher
And, Joe was like, yeah, right. Like a million of them that we get every year. And he’s like, yeah, but this one’s got a real address. And it’s like, what do you mean? It’s got a real address? It’s addressed to the Manhattan courthouse. And Joe was like, oh, and it’s like, are you thinking what I’m thinking? And Joe’s like, I sure am.
00:52:53:04 – 00:53:10:05
Christopher
And he’s like, all those dead letters that we have that have been addressed to the North Pole. Hey, if there’s a guy named Kris Kringle and he’s on trial, haven’t you seen it in the newspapers? What? It’s been on page one that you know that Macy’s had a Santa Claus, and he’s on trial, and that’s where he is.
00:53:10:07 – 00:53:45:11
Christopher
Well, then let’s that’s where we’ll send all these letters that we’ve been sitting on to Santa Claus, to the North Pole. Why send them in the North Pole when we can send them to the courthouse in downtown Manhattan? And that’s exactly what they do. What follows is this trial, and, and and it’s a wonderful trial. I mean, it’s it’s it’s really one of the great parts of the movie is, is how this trial unfolds with, with children testifying that that’s Santa Claus and the district attorney’s own child, like, you know, looking at this father, like, how could you not believe he’s Santa Claus?
00:53:45:11 – 00:54:14:22
Christopher
It’s hysterical. And it’s very funny and it’s very loving and it’s very warm hearted. But at the end of the day, Fred cannot technically rules that Kris Kringle is Santa Claus, and that’s that’s what he needs to do. If he’s going to get Kris out of Bellevue, you know, if he’s going to get him released under his own recognition or cognizance or whatever they call that, and he’s losing hope.
00:54:15:02 – 00:54:35:23
Christopher
You know, he’s been doing the sideshow with the kids and, and people, like, of course, the Santa Claus and R.H. Macy’s is like, of course he’s Santa Claus. If he says he’s Santa Claus is Santa Claus. Even Gimbels has come forward and said, Is Santa Claus, you know? But they can’t technically prove that someone calling himself Kris Kringle, who stays at this old age home, you know, like in Queens or something, is actually Santa Claus.
00:54:36:00 – 00:54:56:11
Christopher
Until Fred hears from the post office. It’s such a great moment. I mean, it’s the moment of the movie. Okay, so the trial isn’t going well. Fred can’t prove that Kris Kringle is Kris Kringle. He’s asked to step outside the courtroom for just a quick moment, and he says to the judge, you know, can I take this message?
00:54:56:11 – 00:55:28:12
Christopher
And the judge like, sure, sure. And he does. And he comes back in and he’s like, okay, I have proof that Kris Kringle, Santa Claus. So the judge is like, okay, we’ve only been doing this for a few days. Why is Kris Kringle Santa Claus now? And what he does is that the post office has delivered all of the mail, which goes to Santa Claus of the North Pole, to the courthouse, and so they come in, you know, and you see the court clerks coming in with, you know, 1 or 2 bags.
00:55:28:14 – 00:55:48:12
Christopher
Others are coming in with 1 or 2 bags, three bags, four bags. All of these bags mail. Come on in. Because finally, the post office has somewhere to deliver them. All right. And so, the judge is like, what are the what are those? And it’s like letters to Santa Claus, letters to Kris Kringle. And so they’re poured out on the judge’s desk.
00:55:48:12 – 00:56:12:15
Christopher
And, of course, you know, it’s a heap of notes and things like this. And many of them are now being addressed to the to the courthouse itself, you know, and, and, there’s this outpouring of support, this outpouring of recognition by children in New York and actually around the country who are now writing Kris Kringle at the courthouse, along with all the letters that went to the North Pole.
00:56:12:17 – 00:56:41:11
Christopher
And so Fred’s case is that if the U.S Post Office, which is a branch of the U.S. federal government, believes that Kris Kringle is Santa Claus to the extent that they are delivering mail to him because they couldn’t get him otherwise. And and here they’re delivering mail this is the post office recognizing that Kris Kringle is indeed Santa Claus.
00:56:41:13 – 00:57:06:05
Christopher
And, you know, it would be a felony for the post office to deliver mail to someone who wasn’t who they were. You know? And so Fred uses this as the counter top. You know, he uses this to prove that Kris is indeed Santa Claus. And, the judge finds that he’s lost. Everyone believes it, and they applaud. And that’s that’s the end of the case.
00:57:06:05 – 00:57:32:05
Christopher
He is free from Bellevue. What I love about this, and it’s such an it shows the craft of a really great screenwriter is that, you know, he leaves us always questioning whether Kris Kringle is really Kris Kringle. And here on a technicality, he proves that, you know, he makes the case for Kris Kringle in the guise of Fred.
00:57:32:11 – 00:58:03:17
Christopher
Fred Gaily who’s who’s who’s who’s, who’s defending Kris and saying that Kris is indeed Kris Kringle. So here you sort of see this intersection between Jupiter and Saturn. Yes, the technicality was used, but if that technicality is seen as authenticating someone, you know why wouldn’t it be used? And it’s just so wonderful. And of course, everyone’s delighted. They’re all kinds of happy.
00:58:03:19 – 00:58:36:04
Christopher
And Kris invites, Kris invites Fred, Doris and Susan to come celebrate Christmas at his home. And so Kris. Kris invites Fred, Doris, and Susan to come celebrate Christmas the next day. You know, the trial is adjourned on Christmas Eve, of course, and Kris invites, Fred, Doris and Susan to come celebrate Christmas with him the next day at the Brooks Memorial Home for the aged, which is in a suburb outside of Manhattan.
00:58:36:06 – 00:59:02:17
Christopher
And so they go and, you know, Chris’s nattily dressed, you know, and, and everyone at the home is so happy to see him back. And, and they knew all along he was really Kris Kringle, you know, so so it was never in question. And they’re so happy to see him back. And they have this lovely dinner and everyone has a wonderful time except for Susan.
00:59:02:19 – 00:59:25:03
Christopher
Susan’s looking a little bit sour, and she’s looking a little bit disappointed. And, you know, Christmas dinner, you know, back then was usually like, about 12 noon. And so, they’re cleaning up after Kris Christmas dinner, and, Kris sits down with Susan and said, you know, I got your letter. It’s just like you did and said, I did.
00:59:25:03 – 00:59:43:20
Christopher
I got your letter. And I read what your mother wrote to endorse, just like you did. And he’s like, yes, I did, and I can’t tell you how important that was for me. That gave me the faith to keep on going when I thought that everything was lost. And I want to thank the two of you so much for that.
00:59:43:22 – 01:00:09:02
Christopher
And Doris, it’s like, oh, of course, Kris, we always believed in you. You know, Susan’s like, yeah, we did. And Kris is like, Susan, are you upset about something? And she said, yes, but I don’t want to be upset about it. Chris is like, okay, what are you upset that you don’t want to be upset about? And she’s like, it’s stupid.
01:00:09:04 – 01:00:27:13
Christopher
And it’s like, what is it? And she says, my stupid wish. And it’s like, what wish was that? And she’s like, I know you couldn’t do it because I know you’re not really Santa Claus and you don’t have to be Santa Claus. You’re Kris and you’re Kris Kringle, and I believe in you, and I love you. And then.
01:00:27:19 – 01:00:49:09
Christopher
But at the same time, I know you couldn’t do it. And I know you couldn’t give me my house. And Kris is like, her house is a pretty big thing to deliver. And a sleigh pulled by reindeer. And she’s like, it was dumb. It was dumb of me to wish for it. And Kris said it wasn’t done for you to wish for it.
01:00:49:11 – 01:01:14:07
Christopher
You know, you may get it one day. You never know. There’s nothing wrong with wishing, and wishing is how things eventually materialize in our lives. And she’s like, I know. And it’s like, and you should never give up believing. She’s like believing in what you said, believing in your house. Never give up believing in that. That’s something that you want.
01:01:14:09 – 01:01:42:16
Christopher
That’s something that you believe in and never stop believing. She’s like, it was dumb. And it’s like it wasn’t dumb. And she’s like, like that. And so Chris is saying goodbye to to the different guests who’d come and, and then he says goodbye to, to, Fred and Doris and Susan. And he’s like, listen, I know that you’re heading back in Manhattan, and it can be a little bit dodgy driving back from here.
01:01:42:18 – 01:02:02:06
Christopher
So I’ve given you some directions, and if you follow these directions, you’re going to avoid traffic altogether, and you’ll get back at Manhattan, like, you know, as soon as that lickety split. And they’re like, thank you so much, you know, because that have been out here before and they don’t know where they’re going. He’s like, follow these directions and they’ll take you right back to the city and you’ll get there.
01:02:02:07 – 01:02:20:23
Christopher
Look at his flat. They’re like, great. And so they pile onto the car and they drive back to Manhattan and Susan’s in the back, and she’s just kind of like, looking gloomy and depressed, you know, and and her mom, Doris, is trying to make light of it. And Fred’s like, wasn’t that a wonderful Christmas? And she’s like, I guess.
01:02:20:23 – 01:02:44:21
Christopher
And and she’s like, but you know what? I do believe. And they’re like, what? She’s like, I believe, I want to believe. I don’t know if I believe, but I believe and they’re like, believe in what? Nothing. It’s dumb, it’s stupid. But I believe, I want to believe. I’m going to believe. And so she’s having this sort of monologue where she’s she’s reciting the word believe and believe.
01:02:44:21 – 01:03:03:20
Christopher
Believe again and again and they’re driving through the different neighborhoods, you know, because they’re taking an alternate route back to Manhattan. And suddenly Susan is like, stop the car. And they’re like, what if she’s like, stop the car, stop the car, stop it right now. And they stop it like, Susan, what is it? She’s like, is it there?
01:03:03:20 – 01:03:28:12
Christopher
It’s there. And they’re like, what? And Susan opens up the door. She goes, right out of the car and like, Doris and Fred are like, go get that girl. And she’s like running down the, you know, she’s running up a hill towards this house which has a sign in front of it that says For Sale. And this house is exactly the house that was published in this magazine.
01:03:28:14 – 01:03:44:14
Christopher
Susan’s house, you know, so she goes running into the house and it’s for sale. She opens up the door and she goes running upstairs and they’re like. And Doris is like, Susan, this is someone else’s baby. Come on downstairs immediately you get, what are you doing up there? She’s like, it’s true, it’s true. Everything he said is true.
01:03:44:14 – 01:04:04:11
Christopher
She’s like, what did you say was true? It’s a bedroom, mommy. And it looks over the backyard. Just the way that I said it was going to be. And she’s like, Susan, please come on downstairs. And she goes running to the window. She’s like, and there it is. She’s like, what’s what’s there? My swing, my swing. And she runs out into the backyard to find her swinging.
01:04:04:11 – 01:04:30:18
Christopher
And Doris’s like, what am. And Fred’s like, I guess maybe this is what she wanted for Christmas. Doris is like the Fred and he’s like, well, well, we were, you know, talking about getting serious and looking for a place and the last time I checked, there was a for sale sign in front of the house. And Doris is like, oh, Fred, please.
01:04:30:20 – 01:04:59:02
Christopher
That’s ridiculous. Things don’t just happen like that. And Fred’s like, I don’t know, sometimes they do, you know, and, and they’re sort of they’re mulling things over and Susan swinging on a swing and she’s all kinds of delighted, and their gaze comes over to the fireplace of the house and next to the fireplace in this house is a cane.
01:04:59:04 – 01:05:23:17
Christopher
The exact same that Kris Kringle has been carrying with him throughout the entire movie. There’s a cane just sort of propped up. They’re almost kind of in a Tiny Tim sort of way. This cane is propped up next to this fireplace, and they look at each other and they’re like.
01:05:23:19 – 01:05:46:21
Christopher
And of course, that’s the end of the movie. I love this movie. I love this movie so much. And it’s Natalie Wood’s first role. I believe she plays Susan. The six year old Susan. Natalie Wood was six when she played Susan and that house. By the way, that house is still there. Okay. It’s I think it’s in Queens or something like that, but you can go and see it.
01:05:46:21 – 01:06:46:04
Christopher
The house is still there. And, you know, it’s had some adjustments and things like that, but still the same house. But what I love about this is that there’s always this belief and doubt. Belief wanting to believe. And my fooling myself when I believe. It just really raises these questions of the relationship between belief and doubt. You know, a lot of times, particularly when we’re talking about Capricorns, that doubt covers the fact that Capricorns are actually closeted believers, okay, that not only do they want to believe, they do believe, but Capricorns have such a deep spiritual life, such a deep, soulful life, a deep belief in things that they don’t talk about it because
01:06:46:06 – 01:07:11:24
Christopher
it’s sacred. You know, believing in something truly is sacred to a Capricorn, which is why they don’t really talk about it that much. It’s something that they hold inside in a sacred space, in a safe space within. What I love about this is that it’s always being called into question, you know, if he’s Kris Kringle or not, and you end the movie and it doesn’t matter.
01:07:12:01 – 01:07:48:18
Christopher
What matters with that came propped up against the fireplace is the Jupiter Korean maxim of pay it forward. If someone does you a good deed in your life, you do someone else a good deed in their life, not because it’s reciprocal or you’re giving back, or you’re paying back a favor. A complete stranger can do you a good deed, and the expectation is that you then go and do a good deed to another complete stranger.
01:07:48:20 – 01:08:17:03
Christopher
Kris Kringle is both familiar. We all know who Santa Claus is and a stranger. Could it really be? You know, he has to prove his identity as to prove who he who he is. It’s proven. There’s still question, you know, because it was proven on a technicality. But that’s the wonderful magic of it, because that gets us to step away from proving whether there’s a Santa Claus or not.
01:08:17:03 – 01:08:47:09
Christopher
And it gets us entering into the materialism of this house, the materialization of this home. And what I love about that. If you’re familiar with planetary dignities, Jupiter, Jupiter is exalted in one zodiac sign only, and it’s exalted in the zodiac sign of cancer. And cancer is the zodiac sign of the home. The hearth, family and the cane at the end of the movie is propped up against the hearth.
01:08:47:09 – 01:09:19:09
Christopher
It’s propped up against the fireplace. It’s propped up against the place where stockings are hanging with great care, and hopes that Saint Nicholas will soon be there. And so he gives Susan her belief and home. And he gives Doris and Fred a belief in family, and it’s up to them to make that happen. Which, again, is one of the most beautiful things about Jupiter in astrology.
01:09:19:11 – 01:09:51:22
Christopher
Jupiter isn’t about wish fulfillment. It doesn’t just make your dreams come true. I mean, that’s how we understand the power of wish and the power of visualization. And, you know, Christmas time. We we make requests for gifts and we get them, but we get them in a season of peace, of joy, of wishing good tidings upon other people, of wishing good things for the people that we know and love in our life, and wishing good things for the people that we don’t know in our life.
01:09:51:24 – 01:10:20:01
Christopher
You know, who may never even enter into our life. It’s a time of year that celebrates the humanity of humanity. And here what we see is that that spirit of Jupiter, Orion, welcoming of that Jupiter Orion Hospital Tality that thing that the planet does, which is create a place at the table for people who didn’t have a place at the table.
01:10:20:03 – 01:10:59:00
Christopher
And if all the places are taken up at that table, it goes and gets another table and another table on another table out of that until you have a banquet hall, which is very to Patreon. But I love this film. I love this film because it really shows the different guises or the different levels of Christmas, and then it ends with this beautiful image of hearth and home and a hope for a future with this beautiful Jupiter and message of love and peace and goodwill, and that we are the agents of goodwill in this world.
01:10:59:00 – 01:11:26:04
Christopher
We are the people who make goodwill happen. And it’s also a lovely reminder of that line that I just adore. And it’s such a Jupiter and Maxim when we are faced with the steep challenge of showing goodwill, of showing belief, of showing faith in a world that doesn’t often act that way, we are reminded of Freds line that that beautiful line.
01:11:26:06 – 01:11:44:07
Christopher
Faith is believing things when common sense tells you not to. It’s a wonderful message to live by. Happy holidays and I hope you have a lovely and a blessed New Year.
01:11:44:09 – 01:12:08:10
Amanda
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01:12:08:12 – 01:12:18:03
Amanda
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