Meet the Knight of Cups (IRL) - Fred Rogers

Ok, so I am a MAJOR Fred Rogers fan. Growing up in the Pittsburgh area, I watched so much "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" at my grandparent’s house.

Rogers was born on March 20, 1928, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He was a Taurus rising, with an 11th House Pisces Stellium including his Sun, Moon, Mercury, and Venus. He also had an Aquarius Mars and is, without a doubt, our Knight of Cups (IRL).

Rogers was an only child until his family adopted his sister when he was 11. After high school, he attended Dartmouth for a short time before transferring to Rollins College in Florida. He was a skilled piano player, and he graduated with a degree in music composition (very Piscean - Neptune and Pisces placements often denote musical talent).

In 1952, he married his wife, Joanne, and they had two sons together.

Rogers was fascinated by television and landed his first job in the industry as a floor manager for a television music program on NBC. Years later, he moved into programming at WQED in Pittsburgh. This was where he got his start in children's television. Rogers was a skilled puppeteer who enjoyed being able to bring some of his favorite puppets from home to be included in the shows, something he later did on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

The first introduction of Mr. Rogers, the character, was in the early 60s in Canada. But, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," as we know it today, didn't air in Pittsburgh until 1966. The program always started with Rogers putting on a sweater. Fun fact, all of the sweaters he wore during his time on the show were made by his mother.

The show had a massive impact, and PBS picked it up in 1968. It touched on subjects that no other children's programming was dealing with at the time. Rogers sought to teach children that the world wasn't always an easy place. He sang to children about what to do with anger and sadness. He validated their feelings and encouraged their healthy expression. He exuded empathy and compassion. The show also hosted guests who touched on serious political topics such as race and gender inclusion, divorce, and even war. Rogers taught children how to deal with big feelings such as anger and jealousy. He left his mark on the world by talking to kids about real problems, and he did it gently at their level.

We’ve also discussed Pisces Season as a sort of liminal space, and ROgers famously valued and used silence in his work. It feels like time stands still in his neighborhood. If you watch old episodes of the show, there is so much silence - silence while he’s showing us how to change a lightbulb, silence while he’s feeding fish, silence while he makes a pyramid out of paper cups. He also routinely asked people to take ten seconds of silence to “think of the people who loved them into being.” Rogers understood the power in silence and liminal spaces and modeled it for all of us.

Rogers' life's work was helping children, and his influence spanned wider than the long-running PBS show (1968-2001). In the late 60's he became a chairman of a White House forum on child development. You can see videos of him in action on youtube today, and they are some of the most moving speeches. I can't watch them without tearing up. During the Nixon era, pbs funding was massively being cut, and there were hearings for the network to appeal to the US government as to why it should continue being funded. Executive after executive spoke to an unimpressed senator pastore with no luck. Finally, Fred rogers spoke. It’s incredible. You watch this stern look melt off of Pastore’s face as ROgers reads “What do you do with the mad that you feel?” and then after a moment of silence, Pastore famously exclaims, “well, I think it’s wonderful! Looks like you just earned the 20 million dollars.”

Shortly after filming his last episode, of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ in 2001, Rogers was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He passed away in his home in 2003 with his wife, Joanne, by his side.

Fred Rogers received too many awards throughout his life to name here. He's received multiple Emmys, Grammys, philanthropic Awards, and nearly 50 honorary degrees. In 2002, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor.

His legacy continues to live on via the Fred Rogers Company and the various philanthropic organizations created in his honor which are still operational today. In fact, Our King of Cups (IRL), Tom Hanks, recently played the role of Fred Rogers in 2018's "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood," a biographical drama based on Rogers' life.

Rogers taught us how to be good neighbors. He was a friend and helper to many people he would never meet. he taught generations of children about emotional intelligence, and he spread a heartfelt message reminding us to show compassion for one another, and that’s precisely what makes him our Knight of Cups (IRL).