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!
The Hunger Games is one of those blockbuster movies that can define the career of a young actress or actor. Let’s look at how the timing of this movie intersected with the horoscopes (solar horoscopes, of course, no birth time ) of its two stars: Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence.
For Hutcherson, his casting as Peeta Mellark in Apr. 2011 couldn’t have come at a better time. Saturn was square to his natal Saturn indicating that he was about to meet the first big challenge of his young adulthood and a major test of his abilities. Transiting Uranus was opposite his natal Jupiter, an aspect that brings sudden changes and good fortune, while transiting Jupiter was square his natal Mars and natal Jupiter, reinforcing the indications of good luck but adding a layer of stress and high expectations.
Hutcherson was born on Oct. 12, 1992 in Union, KY. (Click here to see a chart for Josh Hutcherson done for noon.) He is a Libra by Sun sign but, without a time of birth, we can’t know what his Moon sign is or much else about his horoscope other that the fact that he has Mercury, Venus and Pluto in Scorpio and Mars in Cancer. This tells us that he is much more emotional than most Libra people, particularly when it comes to relationships.
Jennifer Lawrence got the part of Katniss Everdeen just a couple of months after she was nominated for an Academy Award for her remarkable performance in Winter's Bones. During this period she was riding high on a conjunction of her secondary progressed Jupiter with her natal Venus, a combination that typically brings a prolonged period of good fortune. Also, in February 2011 Jupiter squared her natal Uranus, the same aspect that occurred in Hutcherson’s horoscope when he got his part in The Hunger Games.
Lawrence was born on Aug. 15, 1990 in Louisville, KY. (Click here to see a chart for Lawrence done for noon.) She is a Leo by Sun sign with Venus also in Leo and the Moon in Gemini. What is interesting about her horoscope is the fact that Mars and Pluto are in a wide opposition. This is the same aspect I’ve talked about in the horoscopes of Rush Limbaugh and Sgt. Robert Bales and this gives us a chance to see the different ways such an aspect can manifest. In the case of Lawrence, we see the “monster” qualities of this opposition played out in her portrayal of the gritty and determined heroine in Winter's Bones. The aspect indicates that Lawrence will have a long career play strong female characters.
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The Weirdness of Neptune on the Midheaven
Astrologers agree that any planet on the angles of the horoscope – the Ascendant, Midheaven, Descendant and I.C – is of paramount importance. A planet so placed, particularly on the Ascendant or Midheaven, can be just as much a factor in the personality of an individual and the Sun or Moon signs. An example of this is the horoscope of Dennis Rodman. (Click here to see Rodman’s chart.)
Rodman was born with both the Sun and Moon in Taurus and he has Capricorn rising. Rodman earned his reputation as a basketball player by rebounding and defending. There was no flash or finesse in his game. He excelled because of his strength and tenacity; just what you would expect from a double Taurus with gritty Capricorn on his Ascendant.
Of course, even though he gained his first notoriety and earned a lot of money with his hard-nosed basketball skills, it was not Rodman’s playing that brought him public attention. It was all the weirdness that came along with it, like the green hair, the wedding dress and the promise to play his last NBA game in the nude. That’s where Neptune enters the picture.
First of all I would like to thank Patrick Watson for searching out and publishing the birth date of Staff Sergeant Robert Bales on the Political Astrology website. Bales is the soldier who has been charged with going on a killing spree in Afghanistan that resulted in the deaths of 16 Afghan citizens. (Click here to see a horoscope for Bales charted for noon.)
What particularly interests me about this case is the fact that Bales has Mars opposed to Pluto in his natal horoscope. This is the same aspect I pointed out in the horoscope of Rush Limbaugh in a previous article titled Mars, Pluto and the Monster Within Us All. (Click here to see the article.) In that article I talked about how Mars and Pluto represent the dark side of human nature and how, when they get together, that dark side can get out of control.
What happens with Mars and Pluto get out of control can range from the kind of inflammatory speech that has made Limbaugh famous to horrendous acts of violence as in the cases of Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy. When Mars and Pluto are working on us we can actually enjoy crossing the boundaries of civilized behavior and taking on the label of “monster.” In Bales horoscope this Mars to Pluto opposition is especially troublesome since it forms a T-square with his Sun and, possibly, his Moon. (Without a time of birth we can only guess at the position of the Moon.)
When I first read about the Kandarhar incident I was reminded of Lieutenant William Calley and the My Lai Massacre during Vietnam. Calley also had a strong Mars to Pluto aspect in his horoscope, though in his case the aspect was a trine. This easy aspect may explain why he only served three years for his monstrous behavior. The situation in Bales’ horoscope indicates that he will not be this lucky.
Please keep in mind that the examples I have listed here are extreme. A multitude of people are born with Mars to Pluto aspects in their horoscope and never kill anyone or even call an innocent woman a slut on the radio. There are many milder and more positive ways of using the energy of this aspect. They just don’t get much play on the evening news.
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The Next Big Mars Slowdown
Several weeks ago I described how Mars was beginning a period of retrograde motion during which it appears to move backwards in the sky relative to the Earth. At the beginning of this retrograde motion Mars moves slowly. As Mars crept across 22 and 23 degrees of Virgo it wrecked various kinds of havoc in the lives of people with the Sun, Moon or planets at these locations. It also caused trouble for people with planets 90 or 180 degrees from 22 and 23 degrees of Virgo. (Click here to see examples.)
Now Mars is getting ready to start moving forward again. But, before it does, it will once more slow down to a crawl through the month of April. This time it will be at 4 and 3 degrees of Virgo and the same rule applies. If you were born with the Sun or Moon, Mars or Venus, Ascendant or Midheaven or any other important planet or point at 3 or 4 degrees of Virgo, you can expect some tough times during April. This will also be the case if you have stuff in your horoscope at a 90 or 180 degree aspect to 3 and 4 degrees of Virgo.
If you don’t have a horoscope charted for your date, time and place of birth, one quick way to know if you’ll be troubled by the Mars slowdown is to look at where your Sun is. If you were born between Aug. 27 and 29 (in any year) you probably have the Sun at or very near these critical degrees of Virgo. Watch out! Also if you are a Pisces born between Feb. 22 and 24, a Gemini born between May 25 and 27 or a Sagittarius born between Nov. 26 and 28, your Sun will be stressed by this slow Mars transit.