What Do The Stars Say About the 2011 Oscars?

by Milky Way Maid

The Academy Awards are scheduled to be handed out in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011. Who will be the big winners, and are there any surprises in store?
To answer the last question first, there are always some surprises on Oscar night. A performer who had been thought to be a shoo-in, goes home empty-handed.
What does the chart look like? The awards show generally begins about 5 pm Pacific Time, still daylight, in fact, when the stars walk down the red carpet and wave to the adoring crowd.

So I will use that time for the chart. This renders an ascendant of zero degrees Virgo. Virgo is actually a strong sign in the natal chart of Los Angeles. A forgotten writer of an old article on Tinseltown pointed out that Virgo is very apt, and is reflected in the many technical trades that are behind every film ever completed.

At any rate, the Ascendant is inconjunct Uranus in the eighth house, with Jupiter only a few degrees away. The inconjunct sometimes denotes an upset of some kind. Events that transpire are not quite what the audience expected to see. The ascendant is also sesquiquadrate the Moon (public) in Capricorn. Moon in Capricorn is good for formal fashions, but is rather dour for a gala event like this. Yet the sesqui aspect denotes that the public will have a difficult time accepting these fashions. The Ascendant opposes Mars in Pisces in the seventh house (with the Sun and Mercury nearby), and also opposes Neptune in the sixth house of work and health. Neptune is films in general, and Mars nearby is health issues. Perhaps the mental health and speech therapy themes of the films Black Swan and The King's Speech will be highlighted that night. (Neptune also rules afflictions, and illnesses with unknown or mysterious causes.)

The Ascendant is sextile the South Node in Gemini at the cusp of the eleventh house – the eleventh house probably denotes the guild that conducts this awards ceremony. Does the South Node denote a repeat winner?

The Midheaven is 26 degrees Taurus, which happens to be conjunct the evil star Algol. Wonder if anyone is supposed to get their head chopped off in the special effects category?

The Midheaven is trine Venus in Capricorn in the fifth house of entertainment. It is sextile Uranus in the eighth house, and square Neptune in the sixth. Neptune, as we said, is film in general. Perhaps the fact that Neptune is in the sixth house will put more focus on the technical trades and skills that give form to the writers' and director's vision.

Transiting Saturn (honors, or the experts' pick) squares the Moon (the public). It seems that the public may not like who the honorees are this year. This is not the People's Choice awards, after all. This is who the members of the industry think that the public should see. This may apply to the most talked-about film of the year, The King's Speech. The public is accustomed to seeing stuttering played for laughs, like in A Fish Named Wanda. Here it is treated seriously and with sensitivity as the Queen helps her husband overcome stuttering so that he can fulfill his duty to deliver speeches.

OK, on to the performing categories. We will treat the categories, Best Actor, Best Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress, and Best Director.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: (favorite: Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech; some buzz for Melissa Leo for The Fighter)

Jacki Weaver of Animal Kingdom has weak aspects; Saturn is inconjunct Mars, and Pluto is inconjunct Mercury. Maybe this is the beginning of a period of career growth. Melissa Leo of The Fighter has weak aspects plus a very negative aspect in Venus square the Moon. (Whew, the public will NOT like her dress that night.)
The Italian-born Amy Adams of The Fighter has interesting contacts. Saturn is opposite the Moon, so I do not think she will get the award, but her Mercury is conjunct the show's ascendant. Will she make a presentation, or accept for another performer? Hailee Steinfeld, nominated for True Grit, has favorable Mercury sextile the Sun, Saturn inconjunct the ascendant, and most powerfully, Neptune trine the show ascendant. If anyone has a chance to spring an upset, it is young Hailee.
The favorite, Helena Bonham Carter, has very strong multiple contacts to the Oscar night chart. Her Sun-Mercury is square Mars, powerful Jupiter is trine Mars, Saturn sextile Venus, Pluto trine the Moon, and her North Node is near the show Midheaven. Strong aspects involving the North Node (personal growth and recognition) and Jupiter (ruler of actors) are awfully hard to beat. It's like she has four aces in poker.

SUPPORTING ACTOR: (favorite: Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech, tho there is a lot of buzz for Christian Bale for The Fighter)

The supporting actor category is very difficult because several nominees have strong contacts to the Oscar night chart. Christian Bale (The Fighter) has Saturn trine Neptune and Neptune square the Sun; Neptune rules film in general, so strong aspects involving Neptune are a positive. John Hawkes of Winter's Bone has Jupiter opposite the show's midheaven, Saturn trine the ascendant, and the North Node inconjunct Mars. The opposition to the MC is not the best place for Jupiter, but the Saturn trine is excellent.

Jeremy Renner (The Town) has a frustrating Sun square Saturn so he will probably not win. Mark Ruffalo (TKAAR) has Sun square Neptune, Mercury trine Mercury, and a powerful Jupiter opposite Mars; I like this set of aspects the best. Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech) has Venus square Neptune, Mars opposite Mars, Saturn (honors) conjunct Venus (recognition, compliments, gifts), Pluto trine Pluto and the North Node trine the North Node. This is a powerful set of aspects, especially the one with the North Node. I think it is between Misters Ruffalo and Rush, with the edge going to Mr. Ruffalo.

BEST ACTRESS: (favorite: Jennifer Portman for Black Swan, altho Annette Bening is getting some buzz, too)
Annette Bening (TKAAR) has Venus square Venus (possibly an anti-glamor look for the night), Pluto trine North Node, North Node sextile North Node, and Sun sextile Jupiter. I think these contacts to the North Nodes portend another phase to her career, possibly transitioning from a romantic lead to character parts. Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole) has only the Sun trine Neptune (a very glamorous look for the night), and North Node sextile Mars. This Mars aspect may mean that she starts taking more action roles, or initiates more film projects. I have no birth data on the favorite, Jennifer Portman, natch.
Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone) has only Jupiter inconjunct the North Node (favoring a change in her career path), and Pluto sextile the Moon (giving her greater appeal among the mass audience). Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine) has Mercury opposite Uranus, Mercury square the North Node, and Mars inconjunct Jupiter. All of those are strong contacts for giving a speech, and a funny one at that, plus expressing her unique style in the acting trade. But I think that Annette really has a strong hand here, with the double contacts to North Nodes, and a Sun-Jupiter aspect. Without knowing what Ms. Portman's birth data is, I would pick Annette to win.

BEST ACTOR: (favorite: slam dunk for Colin Firth, The King's Speech)
The first actor to be-nominated for Best Actor in a Spanish-speaking role is Javier Bardem for Biutiful. This actor has his Sun conjunct Mercury, and Neptune square Neptune. This is very intriguing, for not only might he have an opportunity to speak (Mercury), he he is undergoing a Neptune square, a lesser-known transit but one that may be key for an actor. Perhaps a door is opening to him now to crossover to Hollywood-financed films.
Jeff Bridges, last year's winner and nominated this year for True Grit, has Sun square Mercury, Moon square Mars, Jupiter inconjunct Oscar show Ascendant, and Neptune conjunct Saturn. The latter is the most powerful, I think; it can be interpreted as filmwork receives honors.

James Franco (127 Hours) has several minor aspects but most regretfully his Mercury is opposite Saturn; his desire to speak is frustrated.

Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) has several interesting transits. His Sun is inconjunct Mercury, Venus is trine the North Node AND opposite Neptune, Mars opposes Mars, Jupiter trines lucky Jupiter, Saturn trines Mars, Neptune is inconjunct the midheaven, and Pluto is trine Neptune. Just being nominated was a huge stroke of luck for him, and it is just about inconceivable that he could beat shoo-in Colin Firth for the Oscar. But if any set of transits could do it, it is the Jupiter trine and the Venus-North Node-Neptune contact.

Last but not least, Colin Firth is nominated for The King's Speech. Co-stars Bonham (who played his Queen), and Geoffrey Rush are nominated in Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor categories. Firth has his Mercury trine the midheaven and Venus, creating a grand trine in earth signs. This is powerful stuff. Also Venus is inconjunct the Sun, Saturn (honors) is sextile Mercury (speech), Neptune is sextile Pluto and inconjunct Jupiter, and his North Node (personal and career growth) is trine the Moon (the public). Firth is the heavy favorite, so I am not risking anything here, but with that grand trine he is sure to take home the award. Slam dunk city.

BEST DIRECTOR: (favorite: David Fincher, The Social Network, altho this category is more open than most of the others)
The Best Director category is very difficult. Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) has his Moon square Uranus, possibly denoting being upset at not winning. Yet Jupiter is applying to his natal Venus, Jupiter squares Pluto, Neptune squares Neptune, and Jupiter has already passed his North Node. Joel and Ethan Coen are nominated for True Grit. Joel's Mars and Pluto are square the midheaven, Uranus opposes Venus, and Jupiter squares the North Node. While Ethan's Mercury opposes Mercury, Venus trines the Sun, Mars trines Venus, and a frustrating Saturn squares the Sun. Saturn is honors, but in this case squares usually deny them.

David Fincher (Social Network) has Mars trine Mars (would be better for an athletic event), Jupiter conjunct the Sun (very lucky), Neptune trine Mercury, Pluto opposite the Sun, and North Node trine Jupiter. Unfortunately I have no birth data on Tom Hooper (The King's Speech). I know, this is terrible; that makes two faves who I am flying in the dark about.

David O Russell (The Fighter) has Moon trine Mercury, Mars inconjunct Saturn, and a lucky Jupiter square Venus.

I think I have to pick the favorite, David Fincher, even though it is not a slam dunk. He is described as being a perfectionist, and with the ascendant of the Oscar show start time in Virgo, it would seem apropos.