That Big Fat Royal Wedding, and Whether William will Ever be King

by Milky Way Maid

By now everyone's probably got their royal tea towels with the faces of the lovely bride and groom printed on it, so now we can all sit down at our respective couches and discuss the royal wedding, the succession, and whether our favorite prince will ever reign. In the paragraphs that follow, I will not be referring to any other articles than the ones from AstroAmerica; I did not want my interpretation to be colored by that of other astrologers. I respect the work of many other astrologers, but I just did not want my thoughts to get muddled and confused by those of others.

The impetus for this article is the two-parter that appeared in Dave Roell's AstroAmerica newsletter on May 3 and May 10 of 2011. To read those, just go to his newsletter page at http://www.astroamerica.com/newsletters/2011-june14.pdf, and when the newsletter page comes up, click on 'Archives' to pull the desired past issues. I recommend printing out the articles to make it easier to refer to key passages and to the charts themselves.

The Data: The royal wedding was final at 11:30 am BST, April 29, 2011 in Westminster. Prince William was born at 9:03 pm BST on June 21, 1982, in Paddington. The new bride was born at 11:33 pm GMT on Jan. 9, 1982 in Reading.
One of the main contentions of the article by Mr. Roell is that no astrologer would have chosen that day for an important wedding. For one thing, the Moon at 26 degrees Pisces is void-of-course. (making no more aspects until it changes signs)
Second, Saturn at 12 degrees Libra opposes Venus almost exactly, and opposes Jupiter by sign. Venus also squares Pluto at 7 degrees Capricorn.

I am not concerned by the Saturn-Jupiter opposition, which is very wide anyway. The two planets are SEPARATING, meaning that the influence of the aspect will tend to fade away over time. I AM more concerned about the Saturn-Venus opposition, which is APPLYING and will intensify for the first two years of the marriage (as progressed Venus reaches the exact opposition). This is the more troubling aspect. More problematic is that the wedding Saturn is conjunct Kate's Mars, making her feel very constrained inside the royal goldfish bowl, where her schedule (another Saturn word) is tightly controlled with hardly a minute to herself. Venus-Saturn aspects often come into play when a relationship is formalized (another Saturn word). Duty and affection can combine into a happy blend. Be happy in your work, to coin a phrase.

Venus is well past the square to Pluto and as with the Saturn-Jupiter opposition, as far as I am concerned it's history.

OK, on to the issue of the voc Moon. I have some personal experience with a voc Moon, having starting a job with that aspect. I held that position for six years until I left of my own volition. The job formally began on May 15, 2000 although I had begun performing that job a couple months earlier while still in the training phase. (I think the start time was 6 pm, if you are interested in trying to run a chart for this thing --- in Milwaukee, WI.) Six years is an eternity this day and age, and this job was the longest I've held any one position, second only to one that lasted about five years. So I think this assumption that this marriage is doomed solely because of the voc Moon is a mistaken one. They may elect to end it or not, but if so, it will be strictly because they choose to do so and not because of any complaints about third parties. Another key factor in evaluating voc Moons is whether the last aspect it made before going voc was positive or adverse. The last aspect to an actual planet was a semi-sextile to the Mars-Jupiter conjunction --- so they are out of the woods on that one. The Moon did square the nodes, also at 26 degrees, and it squared the Part of Fortune before that, at 24 degrees Gemini in the eleventh house (hopes and wishes). That may reflect all the good wishes tossed their way from the moment they announced their intention to marry.

Dave mentioned that the couple rushed through their vows. Well, with so much cardinal energy in the chart, it's a wonder they didn't finish before they started. Five planets in Aries, one in Libra, and one in Capricorn. Wow. They may be very rash to careen into this wedding, despite the fact they have lived together for some time. Cardinal energy jumps the gun in the rush to be first, or whatever it is. Besides living together, haven't they also jumped the gun in starting their family? I thought I read that Kate was pregnant when they made the engagement announcement. Or was that only a rumor? Only time will tell.
As least the succession will be secure.

So let us look again at the wedding chart and see what is good and strong about it. Mars is strong in Aries and conjunct Jupiter, near the midheaven. Yes, William dressed like a toy soldier in red. It also says to me that the rashness of Aries will be protected by Jupiter --- and it may be that William really needs it.
The Sun is at 8 degrees Taurus in the tenth house. (BTW Grandma is a Taurus, as is England supposedly.) This is significant because 8 degrees of a fixed sign is a critical degree. Much is riding on this wedding and the crucial Sun is very strong at 8 of Taurus. Taurus is a fertile sign, again, crucial to a royal marriage. The moon is in a fertile sign, Pisces. Well and good.

The North Node is in the fifth house of children, crucial to a royal wedding where the succession is the overriding concern. However, it squares the Moon at 26 Pisces. The fact that the Moon is voc is to me secondary to the fact that it squares the Nodes. Having children will be an issue that tries them within an inch of their sanity. Assuming that the bride is already pregnant, it could be that she loses this first pregnancy. Hoping I am wrong about such a trying event, but it could happen. We already suspect that the first two years are going to be difficult, because Venus is applying to that opposition to Saturn.
Once they get that behind them, they should be alright.

The wedding ascendant is two degrees off of the critical degree at 8 degrees of fixed signs. It may be activated, or it may be out of orb. We shall see. Likewise with the Midheaven of 15 Aries, which is also 2 degrees off the exact critical degree of 13 cardinal. Possibly progressions will contact these points, so keep these in mind for future reference. Critical degrees do work in progressed charts.
So in conclusion, with regard to the wedding or marriage, I see a difficult first two years or so. Other than that, I think the couple can survive and prosper.
Moving into the topic of synastry, Mr. Roell laments that there is so little resonance between the charts of the bride and groom. They were both born hours after eclipses (she after a lunar eclipse and he after a solar eclipse). That is extraordinary. It suggests to me that they are part of a new cycle, a new dynasty perhaps.

But there is something else about these charts that I notice. According to the Magi Society people, Chiron is often activated in the charts of married couples. In fact I believe that they used the charts of Diana and Charles as an example of Chiron aspects. (I don't know where to begin looking for that article, folks, but I swear that I read it.)

Charles' Chiron would be about 26 degrees Scorpio, near his Sun. Diana's Chiron would be about 6 degrees Pisces. Diana's Chiron opposes Charles' royal Saturn at 5 Virgo, trines his Mercury exactly, and is inconjunct his Neptune. Only Mercury is neutral, Saturn and Neptune are traditional malefics --- and look what happened. His infidelity (Neptune) was disclosed (Mercury) and led to the termination (Saturn) of the marriage.

Now here is where it gets a bit spooky. William's Chiron is about 24 Taurus; it is inconjunct Kate's Pluto at 26 Libra, and inconjunct Kate's Neptune at 25 Sag. That forms a Yod, suggesting that their alliance has a fated quality. We don't know yet what the saga of William and Kate will sound like or what twists and turns they will have to walk, but it may be a soul-growth experience that they signed on for before their births.

The next step I wanted to cover was critical degrees in the charts of William and Kate. The critical degrees are zero, 13, and 26 of cardinal signs; 8 and 22 of fixed signs, and 4 and 17 of the mutable signs. Planets at these degrees will be strong, and house cusps activated by progressions, for instance, will see more eventful years. For example, Diana had Neptune at the critical degree of 8 Scorpio. She will forever be famed not only for her glamor and charisma, for her charitable work, but also for being the victim (of a deceptive husband as well as of a car wreck), and even more importantly for her great compassion for victims of AIDS, cancer, and other illnesses.

So now let's see what critical degrees William has. His Sun is at zero Cancer, exactly on a critical degree. He has been in the public eye since the moment he was born not only because he is a royal, but because of his great resemblance to his mother. I think that he will become a key figure in British life, that he will institute changes through his efforts in public as well as behind the scenes. His views and his suggestions will be taken up. He will initiate (that's a key cardinal word) all kinds of programs or policies. Recall how he suggested to his mum that she auction off her dresses for charity, a venture that was quite successful.

Next is his North Node which is at 14 degrees Cancer, one degree off the exact but I'll take it. Again, we have a cardinal energy. The North Node suggests that his own spiritual growth will have a great effect on others around him. Then there is Saturn, two degrees off the critical degree of 13, at 15 degrees Libra. I am not sure if I can stretch these critical degrees this far, but certainly the issues of marriage and partnership are going to be key matters to him, coming from a broken home like he does. Even if the marriage went kaput, the manner in which he conducts the relationship is key to him.

Next up is Kate. Her Pluto at 26 degrees Libra is right on a critical degree. I feel that Pluto has to do with the generative powers. Queen Elizabeth's Pluto is at 12 degrees, 42 minutes of Cancer, on a critical degree, too. I think that Kate will succeed in producing not just one but several heirs to the throne, just like her mother-in-law.

Kate has Jupiter at 7 degrees Scorpio, exactly square Venus at 7 Aquarius. They are both just one degree off of the exact critical degree of 8 degrees of fixed signs. Venus is not necessarily weak just because it is retrograde, it just means that she has some lesson to learn about Venus as a result of past life experiences. Granted, the Venuses are not very strong; wedding Venus is not at home in Aries, and her natal Venus is weakened by being retrograde. BUT her natal Venus is strengthened by being at or near a critical degree. The square to Jupiter is troubling; perhaps she will prove to be a spendthrift.

Then she has Uranus at 3 degrees of Sag, just a degree off from the critical degree of 4 mutable. A strong Uranus finds one's own way of doing things, honors one's own uniqueness. She may be a bit of a rebel and with all the palace protocols to follow, she will find plenty to rebel against. The fact that she is a commoner married to the heir to the throne is unique enough.

Is Kate's Sun weak due to the conjunction to the South Node? I have read that this aspect means that the men who are attracted to you tend to reject you as 'not good enough' for them. So that is the most astonishing thing about Kate. IN ANY OTHER CENTURY, an heir to the throne would have rejected her for being a commoner. She would have been used and tossed away with the trash, like Anne Boleyn's sister.

Lastly the issue of whether Charles or William will reign. Mr. Roell thinks that neither one will reign. But I am going to look at their Saturns for a hint about that. Just as when we evaluate presidential candidates in this country to see if they have an elevated Saturn, I am going to take that as a cue to check the Saturns of both. Charles has Saturn in his second house (5 degrees Virgo), well below the horizon. By contrast, William has his Saturn at 15 degrees Libra in the ninth house. Fifteen degrees of cardinal signs is the world point, isn't it? And the ninth house is suitable for global politics. The bad part is that his Saturn squares his nodes at 14 degrees of Cancer and Capricorn. Saturn rules kings and kingdoms, royalty and the tremendous responsibilities that come with a crown.

When might he reign? If we take Mars as the ruler of his tenth house representing the father, then Mars progresses to his natal midheaven at age 46 or 47. But if we take Jupiter as the ruler of his grandma the queen (Sag being the fourth from the tenth), then it might come a couple years earlier. I am looking at the transits from his birthdate and counting a day for a year. Only time will tell if this interpretation comes through.

Mr. Roell's May 10 issue has some interesting notes on the contacts between Kate's chart and that of Diana. Of course it is a truism that men marry their mothers, but this is a bit spooky. Example: Diana's Sun is conjunct Kate's Midheaven. Read the whole article by Dave to learn more.

Well, I have rambled on enough about this. One could write whole books but let's wait a bit till we see how things are going for them. Wishing them the best,

Yours Truly,
Milky Way Maid

Venus Can Also Mean 'Lost Money'

by Milky Way Maid

Venus, aka the lesser benefic, is often portrayed as the bestower of gifts, door prizes, compliments, flowers, sometimes cash, and other smallish 'feel-good' surprises. However, some transits of Venus can denote lost money. I am going to delineate one specific transit that can mean lost money, and that is when it contacts the critical degrees.

I was first put on the trail of this interpretation by a very experienced and locally-popular astrologer who was fond of using critical degrees for many of her forecasts. She maintained that the transit of Venus over critical degrees can denote losing money, especially if it contacted or made angles to other planets in your chart. For example, when the stock market crash began in September of 2008, both Mars and Venus were at 13 degrees Libra (a cardinal sign) and square Jupiter at 12 Capricorn (another cardinal sign). Jupiter magnified the effect of the other planets at the same degree. Neptune was also at a critical degree at 22 Aquarius, which possibly underscored the evaporation of material assets.

First, let me list the critical degrees. You may have heard of some of them before, such as zero degrees of the cardinal signs since they are world points. I list them all below.

THE CRITICAL DEGREES ARE:
Zero, 13 and 26 degrees of Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn)
8 and 22 degrees of Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius)
4 and 17 degrees of Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces)

Below is a list of dates in 2010 when Venus will contact a critical degree. Please check with your software to verify that these contacts are accurate for your locality. Eight degrees Scorpio is really gonna get hit at the end of the year because Venus goes retrograde; it will grind over 8 degrees Scorpio three times. So Scorpios, tighten your belts and keep your eyes peeled for scam artists and other slick characters.

JAN. 5, 13 degrees Capricorn. Jan. 15 at 26 degrees Capricorn. Jan. 25 at 8 Aquarius.
FEB. 5 at 22 Aquarius. Feb. 14 at 4 Pisces. Feb. 25 at 17 Pisces.
MARCH 7 at zero Aries. March 18 at 13 Aries. March 28 at 26 Aries.
APRIL 7 at 8 Taurus. April 18 at 22 Taurus. April 28 at 4 Gemini.
MAY 9 at 17 Gemini. May 20 at zero Cancer. May 31 at 13 Cancer.
JUNE 11 at 26 Cancer. June 21 at 8 Leo.
JULY 3 at 22 Leo. July 14 at 4 Virgo. July 26 at 17 Virgo.
AUG. 7 at zero Libra. Aug. 20 at 13 Libra.
SEPT. 3 at 26 Libra. Sept. 20 at 8 Scorpio.
OCT. 23-24 at 8 Scorpio (Venus is retrograde Oct. 8 to Nov. 18, 2010).
DEC 14 at 8 Scorpio. Dec. 30 at 22 Scorpio.

Planets in Late Degrees -- What Do They Mean?

Sometimes I refer to planets that are at the very end of a sign as having an extra oomph. It certainly seems like people who have their Sun in the last couple degrees of a sign are all packed and ready to go in this lifetime -- meaning that they have an unusual ability that could not have been developed only in this lifetime. Maybe they have spent several lifetimes, in fact, perfecting how to play a violin or mastering the laws of science.

The fact is that the royal fixed star Regulus is believed to be at 29 degrees of Leo and whose prominence in a birth chart promised a life lived among the socially prominent. This only adds another layer of energy to the late degree phenomenon.
So let me lay out some information on what you can expect from seeing a planet in the late degrees of a sign. A strict interpretation of ‘late degrees” means the last degree only. But practically speaking, the last three or four degrees are almost equally potent. If you see a Sun, Midheaven, Part of Fortune, or chart ruler in those degrees, then the career should have a measure of fame. But any planet in a late degree is going to throw more weight than you might otherwise expect from the placement or aspects.

ARIES -- People with a Sun or other planet in late degrees of Aries are often explorers and pioneers of some kind. Maybe they are inventors, or they push their entire profession in a new direction. Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, had his North Node at 27 degrees of Aries. Shaquille O’Neal has Venus at 29 degrees of Aries; Venus is expressed in his fondness for personally handing out toys at Christmas and Aries is expressed in his graduation from a police academy and being sworn in as an officer in Los Angeles and Miami; Aries rules police.

TAURUS -- People with a Sun or other planet in late degrees of Taurus are sadly often the victims of financial ups and downs. Maybe they even go through a bankruptcy. A friend with Venus in late Taurus has not been able to save much money due to periods of unemployment in between periods of working very hard and at long hours. Galileo had Mars at 28 Taurus sextile Jupiter and Saturn in late Cancer. His enormous scientific contributions netted him a moderate income from publishing his books, yet he died poor, in ailing health, and under house arrest, too.

GEMINI -- People with a Sun or other planet in late degrees of Gemini are often famous writers or dancers. Julia Child had Pluto at 29 Gemini and her first French cookbook revolutionized American cookery. Billy Joel with Uranus at 28 degrees Gemini, is a prolific writer/performer of rock music (Uranus) tunes. Jay Leno has his Part of Fortune at 28 degrees of Gemini; Gemini excels at comedy because they have great timing.

CANCER -- People with a Sun or other planet in late degrees of Cancer have often inherited property, or they gain wealth through property development or the hotel business. Donald Trump has Venus and Saturn in late Cancer. JFK had Saturn at 27 degrees Cancer, representing his inheritance of the Kennedy name above all else, as well as a “family business”, national politics. He also had his Part of Fortune at 29 Capricorn.

LEO -- People with a Sun or other planet in late degrees of Leo are often famous because they were born into the aristocracy (or infamous for scandals), or involved in entertainment. They rise to positions of command. Winston Churchill had his natal Moon at 29 degrees of Leo; the Moon probably signified the lasting influence of his beloved nanny, Elizabeth Anne Everest. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf had natal Sun at 28 degrees Leo. One woman tarnished by scandal was the famous Amy Fisher, the Long Island Lolita; she had her Sun at 29 degrees Leo. Saturn’s transit thru the last degrees of Leo last spring and summer triggered a rash of scandals involving sports and entertainment figures.

VIRGO -- People with a Sun or other planet in late degrees of Virgo often gain fame for work in design and especially dress design. Virgo rules textiles even tho Leo rules high fashion. Christa McAuliffe had Mercury at 29 degrees of Virgo, flanked by Saturn at 28 of Leo and Mars at 29 of Libra. Virgo is also the sign of the schoolmarm; she was a beloved teacher who planned to teach her class while in space. Roy Horn, of Siegfried and Roy fame, has Mercury at 27 degrees of Virgo. He supports the College of Magic in South Africa with a grant.

LIBRA -- People with a Sun or other planet in late degrees of Libra gain fame as dancers, judges, or other positions in the law field. Or for their marriages. Princess Grace Kelly had natal Venus at 28 degrees of Libra on her ascendant; while her early fame was for her great beauty and her film career, her main claim to fame is her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco. Brigitte Bardot was another famed beauty, with Jupiter at 27 degrees Libra; she was possibly the most photographed woman in the world at that time. Famous Libra dancers include Ben Vereen, Fayard Nicholas, Arthur Duncan, and Juliet Prowse.

SCORPIO -- People with a Sun or other planet in late degrees of Scorpio are known for their passions or dedication to goals. Or a life identified with just one thing. Gangster “Lucky” Luciano had Uranus at 29 degrees Scorpio sextile the North Node at 28 degrees Capricorn. He had total control (Scorpio) of New York brothels (working the prostitutes 60 hours a week) and made the drug trade an international business by establishing the “French connection”. Capricorn ties in because his legacy of narcotic racketeering outlived him. Author Gustave Flaubert had Mercury at 29 degrees Scorpio, expressed in his masterpiece novel “Madame Bovary”, considered a very realistic depiction of adultery. That it was at first condemned is seen in Mercury’s trine to Pluto at 27 Pisces. Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung had his Midheaven at 29 Scorpio; plumbing the depths of the human mind was his life’s work. Scorpio also rules the occult; famous witch Sybil Leek had her Part of Fortune at 27 degrees Scorpio.

SAGITTARIUS -- People with a Sun or other planet in late degrees of Sagittarius are often religious or spiritual leaders, athletes, actors, or lucky gamblers. Pluto has been grinding away at the latter degrees of Sag and that is one reason we have had scandals affecting the Catholic Church and many actors and athletes. Al Gore’s Jupiter at 28 degrees of Sag probably accounts for the spectacular lost election of 2000; Sag and Jupiter both rule national politics.

CAPRICORN -- People with a Sun or other planet in late degrees of Capricorn often build a business, one that may outlive them or be passed on to family members. See Lucky Luciano under Scorpio, and JFK under Cancer. Princess Diana had her North Node at 28 Leo, which would account for all the scandals she brought to the House of Windsor -- but she also had Saturn at 27 degrees Capricorn. This leads me to believe that her son William might be her greatest legacy; only time will tell if he proves to be a good king.

AQUARIUS -- People with a Sun or other planet in late degrees of Aquarius are mental detectives. Marie Curie had Jupiter at 28 degrees of Aquarius and her research into the properties of radium introduced us all to the atomic age. She also had Mars at 29 degrees of Scorpio, another sign of great researchers, detectives and investigators.

PISCES -- People with a Sun or other planet in late degrees of Pisces are nicknamed the “weeping tree”. Their favorite phrase might even be “a river of tears” or the weeping willow. Their lives seem like one disaster after another although somehow they survive them all. Some say that 22 degrees Pisces is also known for this. Jack Kerouac had his Venus at 29 degrees Pisces; tho his Mercury was well aspected and brought him fame for his writing, he became disillusioned with fame and withdrew from life “On the Road”. Queen Victoria had Pluto and Saturn at 27 and 28 degrees of Pisces; the one thing she is best known for is her lifelong garb of black “widow’s weeds” after the early death of her beloved husband. That the British Empire also started to unravel is almost a footnote. On a more upbeat note, Clara Barton had Pluto at 27 degrees Pisces and worked hard to clean up the image of nurses as well as distribute medical supplies to the front lines of the Civil War.

Other notables: Tiger Woods has Venus at 28 degrees Scorpio and Mercury at 26 degrees Capricorn; his Tiger Woods Foundation gifts (Venus) money for golf clinics, grants and scholarships. I have no doubt that this foundation will be a legacy that lives on after him (Capricorn).

Stars Over Angelina Jolie -- Death and Life and Motherhood

Happy Birthday to Angelina Jolie, who turns 33 this year!

The number one actress over the past decade has been Angelina Jolie, who is known only by her first and middle names. She has fascinated all audiences, not just men, and it is interesting to follow her life arc from a gothic wannabe to a wife, mom, and globetrotting representative for the United Nations (as well as Oscar-winning actress).

Angelina was born in Los Angeles on June 4, 1975 at 9:09 am. Her ascendant is 29 degrees Cancer. Let me give her planet placements in case the chart does not load on this platform correctly. The Sun is at 13 degrees Gemini, Moon 13 degrees Aries, Jupiter 17 Aries at Midheaven (in 9th House), Mercury 22 Gemini, Venus 28 Cancer (just above Ascendant), Mars 10 Aries, Saturn 17 Cancer, Uranus 28 Libra in the 4th House, Neptune 10 Sagittarius retrograde in 5th House, Pluto 6 Libra in 4th House, the Midheaven is at 17 Aries.

From first glance, it is clear her chart is dominated by the stellium of planets in Gemini-Cancer around her Ascendant, with Venus most closely conjunct and just above the horizon. Venus or Moon on the angles are commonly found among actresses who become sex symbols, and natives with those placements are successful at embodying, portraying, and expressing the most feminine archetypes. Her chart is doubly activated in this regard (befitting a Gemini) because not only is Venus on her Ascendant, but the Moon is at her Midheaven in Aries.

A Cancer rising with an angular Moon (ruler of Cancer) gives her a face that is a photographer’s dream. Several famous actresses have had a Cancer Sun or Moon -- such as Greta Garbo and Meryl Streep. Their faces express their feelings without any script necessary, and are often lit by an inner luminosity. Stop and notice her face’s rounded outlines sometime.

This stellium is further activated by a Moon-Mars-Jupiter placements in Aries, squaring her Saturn in Cancer. From all I have read about astrology and about Angelina Jolie, I feel this is the key driving force behind her personality and her professional ambition. Saturn squaring these personal planets gives an unusual somberness to her as a young person, as she suffered through a youth without a father -- (her parents separated when she was only a year old) -- but it also gives her the discipline to achieve her career goals. Her Saturn in Cancer shows the emotional wounding and rejection that she felt deeply growing up without a father at home, and possibly made her emotionally needy in her youth. It also tends to make one feel like an alien in one’s own family, and to create a new family based on one’s personal connection to others rather than a blood relationship.

A Mars in Aries is extremely high energy, extremely independent, refuses demands put on her by others, and can be abrasive if not raised to practice normal social etiquette. A Moon in Aries is also very independent, to the point where the native might prefer living alone rather than risk stating one’s needs and try to work out one’s differences. This Moon also is not very comfortable expressing emotion unless in control of the situation -- a dynamic that fits perfectly with expressing only as much emotion as is called for in a script, in a film where she gets no rude surprises from others’ emotional outbursts. Her Jupiter (ruler of actors) in Aries in the tenth house of career expresses perfectly her great luck as an actress, especially considering that Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter, is her fifth house of creativity and rules the stage, acting -- and children.

One factor that jumps out at me is that her Moon is her ruling sign, due to her Cancer ascendant, it is not only placed near the Midheaven, but it is at a critical degree -- 13 degrees of Aries, a cardinal sign. [I will have to write an article on critical degrees sometime soon to explain more about this, but the critical degrees are: zero, 13 and 26 of the Cardinal signs (Aries Cancer Libra and Capricorn), 8-9 and 21-22 degrees of the Fixed signs (Taurus Leo Scorpio Aquarius) and 4 and 17 degrees of the Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo Sagittarius Pisces)]

This puts an great emphasis on the things ruled by that planet in her life and career. Her acting career utilizes her feelings and memories, and what is unusual in a female sex symbol is that many of her roles have been action oriented, befitting an Aries placement.

Look at some details of her teen years, look at some of the roles in her career, that seem tailored to express a Moon-Mars in Aries square the Saturn in Cancer -- at 14 she wore black, adored the gothic look, and considered a career as funeral director; a criminal’s moll in ‘Playing God’, a dying drug addict in ‘Gia’, a police officer coping with her father’s suicide in ‘The Bone Collector’, a sociopath free-spirited friend in ‘Girl, Interrupted’, another criminal’s moll in ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’, the action hero of ‘Lara Croft’, a mail-order bride in the thriller ‘Original Sin’, a dying TV reporter in ‘Life or Something Like It’, another thriller role in ‘Taking Lives’, an adventure role in the sci-fi film ‘Sky Captain’, an ACTION-comedy film ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’ where she plays a hit-woman, a CIA wife in ‘The Good Shepherd’, the wife of a kidnapped and murdered reporter in ‘Mighty Heart’. I mean, these are not your typical frothy sex symbol roles.

Is it any wonder that she at one time had a tattoo of the Chinese character for death? In keeping with her transformation into a mother figure, having adopted children from every continent and about to give birth to twins, she has had that tattoo removed. As an archetype, she has gone from being a 'Tomb Raider' to being 'The Cradle of Life'.

As her progressed Sun moved thru her chart, it eventually entered the sign of her Ascendant, Cancer. When it hit 6 degrees Cancer, it triggered a square to her natal Pluto at 6 degrees Libra. Pluto is concerned with death, it’s true, but it is also part of the intergenerational legacy bequeathed by one generation to the next, whether it is property or DNA. Pluto is evolution and survival of the species. Pluto in Libra in particular is convinced that it can transform the world and bring about greater cooperation between nations. She is building her own little United Nations in her growing brood, with children representing every continent. Her personal progression to Pluto must have spawned the desire to leave a personal legacy that meant something to her. Not only does she work as a U.N. ambassador, but she also leaves her DNA encoded in her daughter Shiloh and the twins expected any day now.

Pluto was further activated by her filming of the first Lara Croft film in Cambodia; ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’ was released in 2001 -- in August of that year, Maddox (the child she would later adopt in March of 2002) was born and she was also named a U.N. Ambassador. She willingly ditched hubby Billy Bob Thornton, whom she had married May 5, 2000, when he preferred a life unencumbered with babies. In 2005, she both released a big hit co-starring Brad Pitt with ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’ and adopted Zahara. She and Brad have obviously been an item ever since, and gave birth to their biological child Shiloh, another Gemini, born in Namibia on May 27, 2006. Her brood grew again when she adopted Pax from Vietnam in 2007.

What is it about all these foreign babies that struck the motherhood chord in her heart? Her Moon is in the ninth house of long trips and world affairs. And Aries’ ruler Mars is there, too. Her fifth house of children is Sagittarius, the ruler of that ninth house; Sag’s ruler Jupiter is at the top of the chart in the tenth, suggesting that children are her second career.

Let’s back up a bit and look at her marriages. Not everyone knows that Jolie first married on March 28, 1996 to J Lee (Lonny) Miller in Los Angeles. What stands out about that chart? It has a lot of Aries energy with Mars, the Sun, and Mercury there. They trine Pluto in Sagittarius, and sextile Uranus in Aquarius. They also trine her North Node and Neptune in Sagittarius. Venus trines Neptune in earth signs, but this does not resonate with Jolie’s chart as her chart is a bit unusual in that it HAS NO EARTH PLACEMENTS. The wedding’s Moon is in Cancer, which ought to have helped her feel nurtured and nurturing, but they divorced three years later. The Moon was applying to a trine to Saturn in Pisces, as well as an opposition to Neptune; progressions to an event Saturn can predict the end of the situation, so it did not take long for the Moon to progress to an exact aspect and end it.

Next up, the aforementioned celebrity wedding to Billy Bob Thornton on May 5, 2000 in Los Angeles. This one is interesting because of some Pluto-Neptune aspects. Her natal Sun was opposite event Pluto as well as natal Neptune; the event Pluto trined her Aries stellium, and event Neptune trined her natal Pluto. She may have had some kind of Gothic romantic idea about theirs being a fated love, involving a romantic notion (Neptune) of transformational alchemy (Pluto).

At any rate, the wedding had a stellium in Taurus, with Venus, Mercury, Sun, Jupiter and Saturn in the sign of the bull. All that fixity was just not Angelina’s thing. Having no earth placements in her own natal chart, I don’t see how she could adapt to living in just one place and putting down any roots. And with the Sun applying to a conjunction to Saturn, it could not have lasted more than four years and in fact it began to splinter under these heavy-duty energies very quickly. They were divorced in May of 2003.

What’s in the stars for Angelina Jolie this year? The New Moon in Gemini the day before her birthday puts a lot of energy into the Gemini energies of her chart. This Moon is also sextile Mars in Leo, which in turn is trining her natal Aries planets. I see a happy and healthy addition to her family; she is reportedly carrying twins which is befitting a Gemini New Moon. One twin should be a boon companion to the little Leo member of the brood, Maddox, and also to the Arian, Pax. These twins will I predict grow up to be more like friends to Angelina than children.
The New Moon Saturn in Virgo will square Angelina’s Nodes, so the babies may be more of a burden or may require closer attention than the other kids for awhile. Angelina’s progressed Mars entered Taurus a couple years ago, which is probably also a factor in making her more nurturing and stable, and that Mars is trining transiting Saturn in Virgo. This enhances her discipline and ability to work hard and attend to detail this year. It also gives her a tie between her natal chart and some earth planets, so I look to hear something about her and Brad establishing a main home base or tying the knot.

The lunation Neptune is trining her progressed Mercury (and possible Moon), making her feel that her ideals and daydreams are being realized at last. It also enhances her ability to empathize and understand others, and aids in any form of communication. The lunation Jupiter is squaring the progressed Jupiter, so I expect her year will be pretty hectic and she will spread herself too thin with too many commitments.

Happy birthday, Angelina Jolie, and Best Wishes for a great solar return!