Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt yesterday. Rumors have been flying for years in the celebrity press about his excessive drug usage, her rages, affairs on both sides but in public they appeared to present a united front leading many to express shock at the breakup.
The astrology of Brad and Angelina
When the two first made their relationship public I wrote:
Brad and Angelina are totally different astrologically – each offers the other what is lacking in their own chart. Brad Pitt is a Sagittarius and has Jupiter in Aries which conjoins Jupiter in Angelina’s chart, giving them a sense of opportunity and fortune when they are together. However, Brad has a stellium of planets in responsible earthy Capricorn which can feel heavy and burdensome and Angelina’s fire provides stimulation and excitement. All that earthy Capricorn helps to ground Angelina and gives her a sense of security that she lacks in her own chart. However, all of Angelina’s Aries planets square (conflict with) Brad’s Capricorn planets, creating an environment that is passionate and exciting but could ultimately be destructive. Mars represents our drive and desire and gives a clue to sexual compatibility. Angelina’s Mars is in Aries, which is all fire energy and no body–Brad’s Mars is in Capricorn which is all body and no fire. Their Mars are exactly square (conflict with) each other, which creates a very dynamic sexual attraction but doesn’t hold up over time without a great deal of effort and communication.
The saying “opposites attract” is true in astrology, but we often see that although opposites attract initially, it is difficult to sustain that attraction over time. Quite often in relationships we are attracted to traits in others that we lack, but that isn’t always effective in long term relationships. Angelina has Mercury in Gemini, which is flighty and doesn’t like to be tied down and Brad has Mercury in Capricorn, which is practical and very disciplined. This could lead to communication (Mercury) issues along the way.
The way that each individual’s planets interact with the planets of the other provides lots of interesting information when analyzing relationships. For example, Angelina’s Saturn (limitation and restriction) in Cancer, which squares (conflicts with) the Aries planets in her own chart, also conflicts with the Capricorn planets in Brad’s chart, causing Brad to feel restricted and limited by Angelina.
The astrological beginnings of the relationship
When Brad and Angelina first cemented their relationship, Angelina was going through her first Saturn Return, the period of moving into adulthood when we recognize that time is short and we need to begin to do something worthwhile with our lives. At the time their relationship became public transiting Saturn was sitting right on Jolie’s Venus, preparing her for commitment.
During this same period Brad Pitt, who was married to Jennifer Aniston at the time, was going through two stressful cycles affecting his Venus. Venus is the planet that inspires affection and describes the way we relate to others and what we need in our relationships. Transiting Saturn (disappointments, restriction) was opposing his natal Venus, which was putting pressure on his relationship and perhaps bestowing a sense of confinement. At the same time his progressed Venus was opposing Pluto in his natal chart. Pluto is the Great Transformer, and only the strongest of relationships will survive a cycle like this. During any Venus/Pluto cycle we are likely to attract a relationship that hits us like a thunderbolt, and that appears to be what happened in this situation.
The composite chart (the chart of the relationship itself) shows Uranus (planet of radical change and personal space and autonomy) sitting right on the Libra ascendant. So while the relationship (Libra) is important, it will always have to have a unique flavor that plenty of personal space between the two.
Their current cycles
For the past six months Uranus, that planet of rebellion and change, has been challenging the Moon (emotions) and Venus (relating) in Brad’s chart, likely triggering resistance to confinement and commitment. At the same time Angelina, who has Uranus in a challenging square to Venus in her own chart and requires a great deal of freedom herself, is undergoing multiple cycles of both Uranus (triggering a need for change) and Pluto (drastic transformation of everything in her life). In addition, she is in the beginning stages of what I call the “midlife crisis transits” – several challenging planetary alignments (Pluto square Pluto, Neptune square Neptune and Uranus opposite Uranus) that cause us to rethink everything in our lives including the direction in which we are headed.
I could write for many pages about the astrological dynamics of these two – they have been a very interesting couple to study. It’s sad for the seven children that the family is breaking up, but to this astrologer the breakup does not come as a surprise.
intresting. is any one of them having a pluto square moon transit now?..
very sad…
Lilith – yes, Angelina has Moon at 13 Aries and Jupiter at 17 Aries and Pluto began to square her Moon last fall. Brad Pitt has Moon/Venus at 23 Cap and this was hit by Uranus starting in May.
AND they have a yod in their composite! Pulling them together fiercely. And their Mars square Mars, Mars opp Pluto in synastry, pulling them apart…
So here’s a question, based on their composite — many couples who find the element that they’re missing in the other do make it, but not Brad and Angelina.
So I’m seeing their desire to split, instead of be happy that each is their opposite, in their composite Ascendant, Libra, which is fixed. Is this correct? And that Ascendant’s ruler, Venus, is also in fixed Libra (and in the first house). Correct?
You are correct, but there are a lot of Mars and Uranus interactions here that create a lot of drama but can be difficult to integrate in a marriage. Not impossible, but difficult. I always say that compatibility is not a predictor of relationship success – we come together as couples to grow and to evolve and for that we need a certain degree of tension.
You are correct, but there are a great deal of Mars/Uranus contacts between their chart that create drama and sexual tension but are difficult to sustain. Not impossible, but difficult.