A fun spin on serious cosmic stuff! Wendell C. Perry has 40 years experience studying astrology and how it impacts personalities & relationships. He's written two books & published articles in astrology magazines. He's happy to share this website so that you, too, can have fun with astrology to help you in everyday life!
If the 16th century was the age of the queen (see my article, Three Queens and The Sign of the Bull, parts one, two and three,) the 17th and 18th centuries were the age of the concubine. It was a time when the king’s official wife was frequently overshadowed both in terms of glamour and influence to his mistress. We’ve already looked at the horoscopes of two of King Charles II of England’s mistresses, Nell Gwynn and Barbara Palmer, Lady Castlemaine. Now let’s move to France and talk about the most famous royal mistress of the all, Lady Pompadour.
The horoscope we have for Lady Pompadour has been given a “C” classification by Astrodatabank. This means that it is to be used with caution. It comes from a published source from the 1970s but the data has never been corroborated and its origin is unknown. So our discussion will be limited to sign placements and aspects. (Click here to see this “C” rated horoscope of Lady Pompadour.)
Even though its accuracy is questionable, I like this chart because it places Venus in the 10th House of career. This is the same placement of Venus we saw in the horoscope of Barbara Palmer and indicates a career in which beauty and charm will be of paramount importance.
Regardless of its house placement, Lady Pompadour’s Venus is in a close conjunction with Saturn. This describes a strong relationship between her sexuality and figures of authority. In Pompadour’s case that figure of authority was King Louis XV.
If the 16th century was the age of the queen (see my articles, Three Queens and the Sign of the Bull, parts one,two and three,) the 17th and 18th centuries were the age of the concubine. It was a time when the king’s official wife was frequently overshadowed both in terms of glamour and influence to his mistress. In part one of this series we looked at the horoscope of one these remarkable women, Nell Gwynn. Now let’s take a look at the chart of the woman who preceded her as mistress to Charles II, Barbara Palmer.
We are using a horoscope for Barbara Palmer (also known as the Lady Castlemaine and the Duchess of Cleveland) from the Astrodatabank which quotes notebooks found in the British Museum. The birth date differs from what is given in other places but Astrodatabank is typically a reliable source.(Click here to see Barbara Palmer's horoscope.)
Barbara Palmer was born Barbara Villiers. Her father was the Duke of Castlemaine and an ardent supporter of Charles I in his war with Parliament and Oliver Cromwell. Charles lost that war and Barbara’s family was left in dire circumstance. Eventually they joined the court of Charles’ exiled son, Charles II, in Brussels. By the time this Charles returned to England in triumph to accept the throne, Barbara was already his mistress.
Like Nell Gwynn, Venus in the chart Barbara Palmer is prominently placed. She has both Venus and Mars in Cancer at the very top of the horoscope in the 10th House of career. Venus in the 10th House is a particularly good omen for a career dependent on beauty and social grace and Palmer certainly had plenty of both. We’ll talk about Mars later.
If the 16th century was the age of the queen (see my articles: Three Queens and the Sign of the Bull, parts one, two and three,) the 17th and 18th centuries were the age of the concubine. It was a time when the king’s official wife was frequently secondary both in terms of glamour and influence to his mistress. Let’s look at the horoscopes of some of these women, starting with the irrepressible Nell Gwynn.
Nell Gwynn was a poor girl from the streets of London who took advantage of King Charles’ order that allowed women to act in plays and became a popular actress by the time she was 17. She had ample opportunity to show her gratitude toward King Charles II when the king made her one of several mistresses.
The horoscope we have for Nell Gwynn (click here to see the chart) comes from the most illustrious astrologers of the era, William Lilly, but we do not know the original source of his data. Since it is unlikely that there was any official person present to record the exact time of Gwynn’s birth, we might surmise that the horoscope was rectified from an approximate time of sunrise. (A rectified horoscope is an educated guess arrived at by careful examination of the circumstances of the person and the timing of events in his or her life.)
Assuming this was the case, we can see why Lilly settled on this chart. It shows Venus prominently placed in the 1st House. Planets in the 1st House always play a big role in the person’s life. Venus in the 1st House is indicator of beauty and charm. Nell Gwynn was noted for her prettiness but her Venus is in Aquarius, an intellectual Air sign, and what really set Gwynn apart was way the combination her physical beauty with a lively and irreverent wit.
About eight months ago I did an article on Britney Spears’ engagement. I pointed out that the announcement followed an astrological pattern similar to her last engagement to Kevin Federline. That engagement was announced short after Saturn squared her natal Saturn. Her resent engagement to Jason Trawick was announced shortly after Saturn made its return to her natal Saturn.(Click here to see Britney Spears' horoscope.)
Of course, now the wedding has been postponed and people are beginning to wonder if Spears isn’t getting cold feet. Right now Saturn is moving away from a square to her natal Venus, an indication that she is looking at her romantic life with a more critical eye. This would a challenging time for any relationship but the fact that her engagement to Trawick has thus far survived this difficult period can be taken as a good sign.
