2009 Top Five
Celebrity Profiles
... NeptuneCafe presents ...
the astrology of glitz and glamour
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DWTS postscript: On May 11 in week 10, Marini scored a perfect 60 out of 60 for his waltz and salsa. On the May 19, 2009 season finale, he was the runner-up to Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson. Tom Bergeron stated that the difference separating the two was less than 1%.
Gilles and Cheryl Heading for the DWTS Finals
NewsScope; April 6, 2009; Last week the French-born actor Gilles Marini and his DWTS partner Cheryl Burke scored a perfect 30 for their sizzling Argentine Tango. Their performance was praised by the judges for its passion, dramatically shifting tempos, and thrilling choreography. Because the two were so in sync, a swooning Carrie Ann Inaba said, "You couldn't tell who is the professional and who is the celebrity."
Gilles Marini was born with his Sun in cool Aquarius (January 26, 1976; Grasse, France; time unknown), which is part of a Grand Trine with Mars and Pluto. The strong Mars influence found its first professional expression when Gilles joined the French army after graduating from high school. His Mars is challenged by an opposition to Neptune, which led him into modeling and then acting.
Michael Jackson, Moonwalker
NewsScope; June 29, 2009; Was it just a coincidence that Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcet, and Michael Jackson all died within days of each other? Such phenomenal transitions surely point to an underlying metaphysical reality, and give credence to the value of astrology. On June 22nd, the exceptionally transformative New Moon opposite Pluto aligned with the U.S. Venus, the natural ruler of celebrities, leading to these simultaneous passages.
Of the three, Michael Jackson (August 29, 1958; 7:33 pm*; Gary, Indiana) has had the most worldwide impact. Born with a powerful Sun-Pluto conjunction, he was able to project his talent and charisma onto the world stage from the age of five, with a little help from his ambitious father (Saturn conjunct the Midheaven). Pisces Rising fostered his image as an illusionist.
* Michael Jackson's birth time is unknown. Numerous times have been put forth by astrologers, but these are all rectified. The time used here is from Vedic astrologer Chakrapani Ullal, who reportedly was Jackson's astrologer in the 1980s. The descriptions used in this article help validate the 7:33 pm time used by Ullal.
Neptune, the ruler of his Pisces Ascendant, is conjunct Jupiter, the ruler of his Midheaven. This combination gave him a natural showmanship and flair for creating illusions, plus uniquely united his professional career (Jupiter) with his projected image (Neptune). Jackson achieved the pinnacle of his career between 1982 and 1985 when Thriller topped the charts. At the time, Jackson's progressed Jupiter was exactly conjunct his Neptune.
Jackson's Moon is conjunct the Pisces Ascendant, naturally tuning him toward "moonwalking" as a signature move, as well as describing his continually shifting appearance. Jackson's moonwalk debuted on March 25, 1983 in a live television special. At the time, his progressed Ascendant was in pioneering Aries where it formed a perfect trine to Mercury, the natural ruler of walking. Jackson's progressed Mars turned retrograde in January 2000, marking his reclusive slide into neuroses.
Gilles' Mars also squares Juno in Virgo, which is currently a major dynamic: Juno in Virgo represents his loyalty and duty to his marriage partner Carole, while his Mars in Gemini enjoys interacting with new people. His professional dance partner Cheryl Burke (May 3, 1984) has multiple planetary connections to his Mars, which energizes all her forces. "I've never had such good chemistry with a dance partner," she gushed.
Over the last few weeks, transiting Saturn has passed over Gilles' Juno, testing his ability to fully embrace Cheryl while his wife Carole watches from the audience. Transiting Saturn turns direct on May 16 while exactly squaring Gilles' Mars, which keeps the pressure on him right up to the final week. This kind of tough Saturn influence stimulates ambition and perseverance, and most likely will bring home the mirror-ball trophy.
Meryl Streep as Julia Child
NewsScope; Aug 10, 2009; The hottest actor in Hollywood these days is Meryl Streep, having successfully turned The Devil Wears Prada into a huge hit earning $327 million. Then came Mamma Mia!, which wasn't so big in the U.S. but worldwide earned an astonishing $603 million. Over the weekend, Julie & Julia opened to critical acclaim, with Streep giving a fascinating portrayal of the iconic chef Julia Child.
Meryl Streep was born with a quirky Sun-Uranus conjunction in Cancer (June 22, 1949; 8:05 am; Summit, NJ), a dynamic combination that bestows an innovative, progressive, and often ingenious personality. The Sun-Uranus type enjoys experimenting, and with a favorable sextile to Saturn, she also has the discipline
and common sense to not get too carried away with her creative imagination.
Her most angular planet, and therefore the archetype that she most strongly personifies, is Jupiter in Aquarius, which is located right on her Descendant. Jupiter here represents the engaging, dramatic characters that she assumes in her various screen roles, and the occasional larger-than-life roles that Jupiter so fondly embraces.
Julia Child (August 15, 1912; 11:30 pm; Pasadena, CA) has the same over-the-top set-up with Jupiter sitting right on her Descendant.
Meryl Streep was previously profiled in NewsScope on February 25, 2003.
Meryl's Mercury-Mars conjunction is right on Julia's talkative Gemini Ascendant. In Julia Child's career, she became famous for her chirpy, cheerful commentaries. It would have been so easy to lampoon her, but Streep gets it just right, not too exaggerated but unusual enough to make us laugh and reminisce. Transiting Pluto opposite Streep's Sun-Uranus brings these psychological insights, and most likely, another round of fame and fortune.
The Fearless Taylor Swift
NewsScope, Nov. 16, 2009; At last week's Country Music Awards, the omnipresent Taylor Swift stole the show by taking home four awards, including Entertainer of the Year. The young singer is on the cover of this week's InStyle magazine, and just finished hosting Saturday Night Live. A Newsscope reader wants to know how she "can inspire us all to express ourselves and manifest our dreams."
Taylor Swift was born with her Sun in adventurous Sagittarius (December 13, 1989; Wyomissing, PA; time unknown) and her Moon dignified in Cancer. Her Sun happens to be aligned with the U.S. Mars, so that her best-selling album Fearless rings true as an American expression of the Inner Warrior. Taylor's Mars in Scorpio provides extra courage, especially with its trine to Pallas in Pisces, which gifts her with a keen sense of poetry and imagery.
Taylor was born during a spectacular outer planet alignment in Capricorn, which corresponded geopolitically to the end of the Cold War and was most poignantly symbolized by the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Her Mercury in Capricorn receives the ideas (Uranus), hopes
(Neptune) and need for secure structures (Saturn) presented by conjunctions with these outer planets which represent collective urges that she's heard since she began writing songs at age ten.
Taylor Swift's love life is under stressful conditions since her Venus and Vesta in Aquarius square her Juno in Scorpio, pitting her need for space and friendship against her need for commitment and intimacy. Since her Juno happens to be exactly conjunct the U.S. Scorpio Ascendant, her scorned-lover side gets played out in public. She accomplishes this by writing songs about how she was done wrong, as in the case of ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas in "Forever and Always."
NewsScope; Nov. 30, 2009; Woods was lying in the street drifting in and out of consciousness when medics found him. His wife, Elin Nordegren, reportedly freed him from the locked SUV by smashing the back window with a golf club after he ran over a fire hydrant and crashed into a neighbor's tree. Police say that alcohol was not a factor, so what was really going on?
Juno, the marriage asteroid, is all over the place in this incident. Tiger Woods (December 30, 1975; 10:50 pm; Long Beach, CA) was born with his Mars near the Midheaven, a logical place for the world's richest athlete. His Mars is challenged by an opposition to his Moon and a square to Juno in his 12th house of secrets. Both his Juno and Moon have been under severe stress lately.
Transiting Juno and Uranus have been traveling closely together over the last two months while straddling Tiger's Descendant, the critical partnership angle. The emotional crisis over relationship status is evident from this combination since Uranus is turning direct while precisely squaring his Moon (orb 0º19'). Uranus in this position often leads to divorce.
In a man's chart, the Moon is often played out by his wife. Uranus is
associated with chaos and breakthroughs, which gives credence to the tabloids' story that Elin was chasing him with a golf club over an alleged secret affair. Woods' progressed Moon is now at 16º Pisces and over the next month will oppose his Juno and square his Mars. We are likely seeing cracks in a very troubled marriage.
Tiger Woods' "Traffic Accident"
Ranked by reader feedback, news value, and astrological interest, here they are as portrayed in NewsScope:
