Today is the birthday of Mata Hari…This is a review of a Mata Hari biography
“Femme Fatale’s central contention is that “it is difficult to imagine a woman less likely . . . to be able to engage in clandestine activities than Mata Hari.” She was a star, and “while she was certainly seductive, which might be viewed as useful for a spy, she was never on any occasion invisible”; in fact, she was “a ridiculous candidate for a job that required clandestine behavior.” Yet her persecutors “believed firmly that Mata Hari was guilty because she slept with many men and traveled widely in wartime. Such a woman must be a spy.” A kangaroo court agreed, and on Oct. 15, 1917, at the age of 41, she was executed. Shipman reports that many years later, the prosecutor, Andre Mornet, talked to a writer about the case and said “with a supreme indifference, ‘Between you and me, there wasn’t enough [evidence] to flog a cat.’ “
There’s more mystery about the woman than about the charges that cost her life. Shipman probably is right that “she was convicted not for espionage but for her lack of shame,” but how she got that way — defiantly, exuberantly, spectacularly — simply can’t be explained. ”
Oh well was Leo & not only that – a Multiple Conjunct Leo – Sun, Mars, Mercury, Uranus and Midheaven all Leo. Squared by Pluto in Taurus. I cannot think of a worse combination for a spy, the poor thing. Moon-Saturn in Pisces conjunct North Node.
Tags: defiant exuberance Leo, Femme fatale, Leo, Leo spy, Leo woman, Mars, Mars in Leo, Mars square Pluto, Mata Hari, Mercury, Mercury-In-Leo, midheaven, Multiple Conjunct Leo, seductive Leo, Sun, Sun in Leo, Sun Mars Mercury Uranus Midheaven conjunct, Sun square Pluto, Sun-Mars-Mercury-Uranus conjunction, Uranus
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i’m just suprised that picture shows her sans armpit hair circa the Edwardian era. has it been shopped?
Altho, maybe MsTripleLeo was avante garde avec depilatory regimes……
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Interesting to compare bodyshapes then & now. Wasn’t it strap razors then? Underarms would have been difficult to do alone.
Wonder when the first double blade razor was invented?
Love those little rounded bellies & boobies.
She was waay ahead of her time. her death is a horrid example of jealousy of women’s power by
men.
Didn’t she bring her ‘exoticness’ from Indonesia when the Dutch were all over the place there?
She would be at my dinner party for peeps long past.
There’s a cheque in the post Myst, have just put ‘Pegasus’ on the back.
Anything to prevent ads. -
OMG, I share my birthday with Mata Hari. How ’bout that???
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Happy Birthday Ms M! Hope you are doing something fabulous – spoil yourself
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Have a fab birthday Ms Motown! I’m going to blowdry my hair BIG this weekend in honour of all Leo BDs.
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Happy Wonderful Leonic Birthday to You. x
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Groove on Up Ms. Mo, all the best and blessings on your Birthday!
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Happy Birthday Ms Mowtown!!!!! I’ll bet you’ll be blasting out the Marvin Gaye and giving flamboyant leonic perfomances to all your loved ones, who will…of course, love you for it. x x x x
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Me & Mata Hari & u too MS M !!! happy birthday !
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birthday drinks tomorrow night. Lord Newry Hotel in Brunswick St North Fitzroy. All bloggers welcome1
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haha, I am in East Bruns!
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Come along! It would be fun to meet you. any time from 7. Kids will be there for the first part of the sesh…
Helen
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Awesome. Will see how we go. I have littlie with me too so would be an early piker but would be grand indeed. Tani.
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Read a book about her and the trial not too long ago, left me with the feeling that she was innocent.
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I didn’t know there was a whole other story re Mata Hari and this has made me tetchy enough for another Lilith inspired rant. i.e. Once again a woman demonized and executed for being gutsy and having a sex life, while the true murderous warmongers went on to live fat long lives.
And WHAT a beautiful, sexy woman she was…Yes, Pegs, a brilliant guest for the seance/dinner party.
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Isn’t it just another excuse? Uber you are so not alone on this vibe!
Harriet Harman has been all over the UK papers what with her “the financial crisis was brought on by male bankers” statement. Listen I don’t know the woman’s politics, but I can’t say she’s too far off there. Wall Street in fact has a habit of recruiting and hiring from engineering colleges because they like the analytical bent of graduates from such, and of course, once in the lap of luxury and money the desire to build or design wanes away.
I know people have talked about slavery, the Holocaust, and all sorts of oppression…but do they realize women as a group have been oppressed for centuries, albeit in varying degrees?? And yes, I do believe that most unenlightened men tend to inherently bear a fear of women – not in the sense of being cowardly, but simply that we truly are such a creative power (physically even) that instinctively, I feel men seek to come to terms with that.
Do they protect us? Coddle us? Or has emancipation made that passe? Just demonstrating that to many men, women are complete riddles, and yet they need us, as we do them.
I think that the corporation in its different forms, the all male club, the circle of knighthood etc. – has really begun to breed psychopathic behavior, not saying that men are, just the behavior. It can be easy to forget one’s self, regardless of gender when steeped in that kind of culture.
I really do feel a result of that is the collective condemnation of the feminine, the sit-down-shut-up-you’re-being-a-harpie reactions – it gets accepted because the people saying it are wearing ties (even the women) we forget that this is all just a veneer. That beneath the expensive trappings, the so-called degrees we are still subject to our natures.
And for men, that is to achieve, to perfect, to compete, to win at something. Hopefully in a way that is fulfilling and positive to all. I think if this were given a healthy venue, and channeled correctly, we can give a healthy voice to who we really are, and meant to be to each other, as well as to this world.
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Well said FA…you… you…powerful woman you. And Uber too…
Lots of truths in your posts…
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Oh. Just realized I’m raving…think the eclipses have done me in.
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No, you made me want to stand up and clap as felt you at a podium giving the most wonderous speech…
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You ARE a sweetpea! I suddenly had this vision of me clambering up a clapboard soapbox going “AND ANOTHER THING”… haha
Honestly, don’t get me started – I think it all started with the whole Adam & Eve debacle. hee hee
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Here Here FA.
The thing I am noticing at the mo is how it is crap for us westie chicks, but for the women of the rest of the globe it is a disgrace!
The peeps who got the shop next to me have mocked me and laughed in my face when doing various illegal activities (in the sense they don’t get building or food permits etc). They believe they can mock me because I am a single white female, with a kid no less. The women are just as bad as the men because they believe I am powerless too (as is the case often in the west).
Makes me sick in my tummy. And I can tell you that Mohammad would not approve, as a bloke he was all for equality, but as is always the case, the nutso’s went and made out that women are evil and repressed them and sold them and owned them and blamed them for everything.
Watched 300 last night. Like a gory comic book, but it was nice to see the Queen being boss and her hubby being totally supportive and vice versa.
One day I am gonna meet a fella like that.
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