A Look at the new Pope Francis's astro charts

by Milky Way Maid

Last March 13, at 7:06 pm Rome time, white smoke appeared, signaling that the Cardinals had elected a new Pope to head the Catholic Church. We soon found out that the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elevated to head the church that he had dedicated himself to since 1969 in such a humble and just manner.

What kind of man is he, and what can we find in his transiting or progressed charts to signal such an elevation of rank?

Pope Francis's entry in Wikipedia is very heart-warming, and gives the casual Church-watcher reason to believe that a just man has been elected. What do I mean by a just man? I mean someone who stands up for the right, instead of acting as a collaborator with the high and mighty as they crush the poor and working peoples under their feet.

The natal chart for Pope Francis (see inset) is set for his birth at Dec. 17, 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I have printed it with the speculative time of 12:30 am, a time chosen by astrologer Dave Roell, of AstroAmerica dot com fame. While we cannot confirm or dismiss this time yet, there is some reason to believe that this is a workable chart that fits what we know of the former Jorge Bergoglio.

I also calculated a transit chart for the election of the new Pope – set for 7:06 PM Rome time on March 13, 2013, and used a guesstimated chart for his progressions to age 76.5. They revealed some interesting contacts.

First the birth chart. The early birth time puts Neptune rising in the first house, suitable for such a humble person who has eschewed the trappings of higher church office, and also suitable for someone who immersed himself in religious matters. Even more interesting, though, is that this Neptune (at almost 19 degrees Virgo) is opposite Saturn (at 16 degrees Pisces), which represents The Powers That Be, the Establishment, Big Business, etc. This is a guy who has spoken up against the government in favor of the poor and working classes. From Wiki: “Oliveira described the future Pope as "anguished" and "very critical of the dictatorship" during the "Dirty War".”

Also notable is the Moon-Venus conjunction in selfless Aquarius. Bergoglio is the son of a railway worker, and his sympathies with the working people (Aquarius, representing the proletariat) have carried over into adulthood. Venus in an air sign is more objective and idea-oriented, not given so much to sensual pleasures or earthy pursuits.

Also notable are the Mercury-Jupiter (religious dialogue) conjunction in Capricorn trine Uranus (foreign languages and beliefs) in Taurus. This may account for his remarkable ability to forge connections with representatives of other religions. He has befriended clergy representing the Jewish, Muslim, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant faiths. In fact, many civil and religious leaders from the Islamic world attended his installation as Pope – as did the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople. A Saudi Arabian newspaper stated that his public call as pope for increased dialogue with Islam "comes as a whiff of fresh air at a time when much of the Western world is experiencing a nasty outbreak of Islamophobia". (Wiki)

When a Jewish Community Center was bombed in 1994 in Buenos Aires, Bergoglio was among the first to sign a petition condemning the attack and calling for justice. Bergoglio also made the Cathedral in Buenos Aires available for interfaith ceremonies. Once such event was an interfaith prayer for peace in November 2012, attented by leaders from the Jewish, Islamic, Evangelical and Orthodox Christian faiths.

There is much more that one could say about any natal chart, but let's go on to the chart for the election to the papacy. The chart for his election (not shown) has 4 degrees Libra rising, with natal Mars at 19 degrees in his first house, inconjunct natal Saturn. This reminds me that an astrologer friend insisted to me years ago that while Libra was the sign of peace, it was also the sign of war. With Mars on an angle in the election chart, I feel that he will be rather a bulldog in standing up for the poor, as he has always done, against governmental or other oppressive forces (Saturn).

The Ascendant is inconjunct natal Uranus in Taurus, opposite transiting Mars and Uranus in Aries, inconjunct transiting Neptune and Mercury in Pisces – forming a Yod with that Mars-Uranus conjunction at the release point. Mercury-Neptune speaks about ideals. Mars-Uranus can get violent – I think he is going to face some virulent opposition (literally) to some of the things he will speak out about. And Uranus in Taurus represents, I think, the working people, the “salt of the earth” types who keep everything going. We could write a book about all these influences but let's go on to the other Yod.

Other Yod? Did you say “other Yod”? Yep, another Yod is found in this chart. Look at the stuff at around 11 degrees here. We have 4 items: the transiting Part of Fortune at 10 degrees, 53' Virgo. Transiting Saturn at 11 degrees Scorpio. Natal Mercury at 10 degrees Capricorn, conjunct transiting Pluto at 11 degrees Capricorn. And transiting Jupiter is in orb at 9 degrees Gemini in the ninth house of religion. So the two legs of Saturn in Scorpio and Mercury-Pluto in Capricorn support the triangle topped by religious Jupiter in the house of religion and world views. The Yod is said to have a fated quality, and perhaps Pope Francis was always destined to lead the Catholic Church in this new millennium. 

Perhaps that is another meaning of the retrograde Mercury conjunct Neptune here – perhaps this election was in a sense, a re-do of the prior election of a Pope, the now-retired Pope Benedict. (Neptune here would represent not only religious matters but the idea of a Symbol, and the Pope is a symbol of non-material values and eternal truths.)

And finally, just a quick look at the progressions that may have brought Cardinal Bergoglio to his elevation to Pope. What I notice are the following: Mars conjunct a late Moon in Scorpio – Moon-Mars is impassioned feelings and beliefs, trine natal Pluto in Cancer, possibly denoting the vast power of the papacy giving new weight to his pronouncements. The Sun is three days shy of a conjunction to natal Saturn, but his inauguration on March 19 would exactly coincide with the enormous responsibility now invested in him. Not sure what to make of this, but the true North Node at 10 degrees, 13' of Sagittarius is conjunct is natal IC, and sextile natal Mars in Libra, square natal Neptune on one side and square natal Saturn on the other. The end of the matter (IC) is his growth into the top job of his chosen profession, the Catholic Church? And this role will put him in a VERY challenging and stressful position of balancing defense of the poor against the powers of temporal authority. This is somewhat past the natal positions of his Sun and North Node in Sagittarius.

Maybe we should all fasten our seat belts. This could be a bumpy ride.