Athletic prowess
Mighty Mars, the planet of aggression, figures strongly in the charts of athletes, who are statistically more likely than non-athletes to have Mars within striking distance of either the Ascendant or the Midheaven.A Mars/Midheaven conjunction appears in the charts of Muhammad Ali, a Capricorn with said conjunction in Taurus; Tiger Woods, a Capricorn with the same conjunction in Gemini; and Lebron James, a Capricorn with a Mars/Midheaven conjunction in Pisces. And then there’s the astonishing Simone Biles, a Pisces. She has a Mars/Midheaven conjunction in Virgo, the sign of perfection.
Mars can also be prominent in other ways. It could be well-placed by sign — in Aries, the sign it rules, or in Capricorn, the sign of its exaltation. It could be well-placed by aspect. For instance, it might be conjunct the Sun, as in the charts of swimmer Michael Phelps and soccer player Megan Rapinoe. It could be prominent because it connects with almost all the other planets, like Roger Federer’s Mars, which aspects every planet except Neptune.
Strangely enough, Mars can even be dominant because it makes no aspects whatsoever. Such a solitary body, unhampered by other planets with competing agendas, operates without interference and can, consequently, be the most powerful planet in a chart.
I don’t want to suggest that Mars is the only planet that affects athletic ability. A well-placed Sun gives vitality. Mercury lends quickness. Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto confer power. Athleticism, like other talents, is an amalgamation of many factors.
Finally, although gifted athletes are born under every sign of the zodiac, fire and earth signs are slightly more common among them than air and water. Athletes, like artists, benefit from a touch of Leo — not because it advances athletic ability but because it stimulates the love of performance. And that is definitely part of the game.
Beauty (or the power of attraction)
Just as Mars promotes athletic ability, Venus amplifies beauty and the ability to attract, particularly when it is- Conjunct the Ascendant, the Sun, the Moon, the Midheaven, or the ruler of the Ascendant.
- In the first or tenth house.
- In Taurus or Libra, the signs it rules.
Venus also shows up near the Midheaven in the charts of beautiful people. Examples include Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Nicole Kidman, Kim Kardashian, Victoria Beckham, and David Bowie. Standards of beauty may change. But this is one area where Venus will always have the last word.
Not everyone with a prominent Venus boasts a gorgeous face. What they do have is even more valuable, for Venus confers the power of attraction.
“You made me love you,” sings Judy Garland to a framed photograph of Clark Gable. “I didn’t want to do it.” She couldn’t help it though, and neither could anyone else. He has Venus right on the Ascendant.Celebrity appeal
Pop artist Andy Warhol is known for his paintings of Campbell’s soup cans; his silk-screened portraits of Elvis Presley, Jackie Kennedy, and hundreds of other people; his high-profile celebrity life; and his prescient statement, “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.” Well, that was easy for him to say. Here are the ingredients that celebrity appeal requires (see the following figure):- Planets conjunct the Midheaven and/or in the tenth house.
- Planets conjunct the Ascendant and/or in the first house.
- A touch of Leo.
He had Jupiter, the planet of expansion and good fortune, conjunct the Midheaven, along with Mars, Chiron, and the North Node in the tenth house.
His Sun was closely conjunct the Ascendant, and he had two planets — Venus and Neptune, the guardians of art — in the first house.
His Sun, three other planets, and the Ascendant are in Leo. Fame was his birthright.
Andy Warhol’s birth chart. He got his 15 minutes and more.Healing hands
Doctors, nurses, acupuncturists, podiatrists, dentists, and others with the desire to heal share certain astrological characteristics:- By sign: Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces, the water signs, promote empathy. Virgo encourages an intellectual curiosity about health and healing techniques. Aquarius heightens humanitarian concern.
- By planet: Research has shown that doctors often have Saturn conjunct or opposite the Ascendant or Midheaven. Pluto, the planet of transformation, and Mars also figure heavily in the charts of healers.
- By house: The most crucial placements related to health are the sixth house of health and service; the eighth house of surgery, research, death, and rebirth; and the twelfth house of secrets and hospitals.
A house is powerful if it holds one or more planets, but even an empty house can be more important than it looks. If the ruler of that house is conjunct the Sun, Moon, Ascendant, or Midheaven, the matters of that house will always be vital.
In the 1950s, Dr. Jonas Salk, who developed the first vaccine against polio, was more than famous. He was revered. In those days, polio was a plague. In 1952 alone, 58,000 people in the United States contracted the disease, many were paralyzed, and over 3,000 died, most of them children.After the Salk vaccine became available, those numbers plummeted. By 1994, there was not a single case of polio in the western hemisphere. The number of lives he saved has been estimated in the millions.
So, where does that healing force come from? His chart shows precisely the qualities enumerated earlier in this section (see the following figure):
- By sign: He has planets in all three of the water signs. His Sun is in Scorpio, along with Mars, Mercury, and the Ascendant. His Moon and North Node are in Pisces. And his Saturn and Pluto are in Cancer.
He also has Jupiter and Uranus in Aquarius, showing his enthusiasm for humanitarian causes and his interest in science.
- By planet: He does not have Saturn conjunct or opposite the Ascendant or Midheaven. But his Saturn is prominent anyway as part of a tight Grand Trine linking the Sun, the Moon, Saturn, and Pluto.
- By house: Salk was not a clinical doctor who saw individual patients in his office. So it’s not surprising that he has nothing in the sixth house of service. Instead, as his Sun in the twelfth house suggests, he worked behind the scenes. Three planets plus the Ascendant in Scorpio indicate his interest in research, as do Saturn and Pluto in the eighth house, an inspired placement for investigating matters of life and death.
Dr. Jonas Salk. His polio vaccine saved millions of lives.Business savvy
How are Fortune 500 CEOs different from you and me? Here’s how to spot executive ability:- By sign: Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn are the preeminent signs of business. Equally important is Scorpio, the sign of power politics, covert operations, and self-control. In business, as in other areas, you might also expect to see a little Leo. That’s because Leos long to be on top, and they’ll happily put in hours — make that years — of overtime to achieve that goal.
- By planet: Saturn, well-situated by sign, house, and aspect, grants organizational ability, Mercury provides skill in communication, and Mars fuels the competitive drive.
- By house: Look for planets in the tenth house of reputation, the sixth house of work, the second house of money, and the eighth house of investment. Those houses support executive ability. Also, planets in the first house can bestow charisma, which is often the defining trait of a successful CEO.
- By sign: With planets in all three earth signs, plus a Capricorn Ascendant, and the Sun in Scorpio, Welch shows clear organizational ability.
- By planet: Saturn rules his Ascendant and is therefore his ruling planet. Mercury is conjunct his Midheaven. But his most notable planet is his commanding Mars. It’s angular (in the first house), closely conjunct his Ascendant, well-aspected, and in the sign of its exaltation, all of which makes him exceptionally competitive and aggressive.
- By house: His Sun is in the tenth house of career and public life and is conjunct expansive Jupiter, which is an indication of public prominence and another mark of leadership ability. His Moon is in the eighth house of investments, along with two other planets. His chart ruler, Saturn, is in the second house of money.
Ability to make money
These are the traditional markers that point to the ability to amass money and material goods, whether through your own efforts or through sheer good luck:- Planets in the second and eighth houses.
- Powerful, well-aspected planets ruling the second and eighth houses.
- A well-placed Jupiter. If you’re lucky, it will connect in some way with the second and eighth houses. Maybe it will be placed in one of those houses. It could form a strong aspect with the ruler of one of those houses. It could be rising. Or it could be sitting at the top of the chart like a crown.
Jack Welch’s birth chartHe has four planets in the second and eighth houses, including Saturn, the ruler of his Ascendant.
The planets ruling his second and eight houses are well-placed. Neptune, the ruler of his second house, is conjunct the Moon in the eighth house. Mercury, the ruler of his eighth house, is conjunct the Midheaven.
As for Jupiter, it’s powerful by sign (because it’s in Sagittarius, the sign it rules); by house (because it’s in the tenth house of reputation); and by aspect (because it’s conjunct his Sun).
Activist capability
In troubled times, it sometimes takes a visionary activist to galvanize public opinion. Activists often pay a steep price for taking a stand. Yet they are unwavering in their commitment and energetic in their actions. Here are a few astrological indications that encourage activism:- Planets in cardinal signs. If you want to start a movement – or anything else – planets in Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn are essential, with special emphasis on fiery Aries, the high-energy sign of the warrior, and earthy, ambitious, get-it-done Capricorn, the sign of structure.
- Planets in Aquarius, the freedom-loving, humanitarian sign of the future, or in the eleventh house of friends, community, and society.
- A prominent Mars, the planet of action.
Or consider the chart of climate activist Greta Thunberg. I don’t know what time she was born, so her chart has been calculated arbitrarily for dawn and constructed, for convenience, using “whole sign” houses. But please ignore the houses: without a birthtime, house divisions are meaningless. Signs and aspects, on the other hand, are full of information. Like Gloria Steinem, she has all the markers for activism:
She has four planets, including the Sun and Moon, in pragmatic, goal-oriented Capricorn, a cardinal sign. She was also born under a new moon — a promising indication.
She has two planets in Aquarius, which is a signature of her generation.
And she has Mars in Scorpio — a sign it rules — conjunct Venus, giving her passion and staying power. But Mars also makes a few stressful aspects so it won’t always be easy. Watching her is going to be interesting.
Greta Thunberg, climate activistPsychic ability
Whether you call it extrasensory perception, clairvoyance, a sixth sense, or plain old intuition, psychic ability isn’t as rare as you might think. Here’s how to find it:- By sign: Pisces, Scorpio, and Cancer bolster psychic ability. Sagittarius can also support a tendency in that direction.
- By planet: Neptune and the Moon keep the channels of reception open, especially if they’re conjunct. A prominent Uranus can generate flashes of insight and understanding. Aspects between Pluto and the Sun, Moon, Mercury, or Ascendant boost the powers of perception. None of this is guaranteed to make you psychic. But if your powers of observation are acute enough, no one can tell the difference.
- By house: The twelfth, eighth, and fourth houses carry the most weight.
- By sign: He had the Sun, three planets, and the North Node in Pisces.
- By planet: He had a Moon/Neptune conjunction in the ninth house, Uranus rising, and a prominent Pluto at the top of his chart.
- By house: His Sun was in the eighth house.
Edgar Cayce’s birth chartInterest in becoming an astrologer
Becoming a skilled astrologer has nothing to do with psychic ability. Astrology is an accumulated body of knowledge — not the mystic ability to intercept messages from the spirit world. Anyone can learn it. But you’re more likely to be interested if you have some of the following in your chart:- A prominent Uranus.
- Activity in Aquarius and/or an active eleventh house.
- Activity in Scorpio and/or the eighth house. Scorpio is subtle and incisive. It feels at home with contradictions and hidden motivations, and it loves to ferret out a mystery — and that’s what astrology is all about.
Writing ability
It’s astonishing how many people fantasize about writing. Here’s what it takes to be a success:- By sign: Great writers are born under every sign of the zodiac but Gemini is often haunted by the urge to write. Having the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Ascendant, or Midheaven in the sign of the twins stimulates writing ability and facility with language.
- By planet: Becoming a successful writer requires a robust Mercury. Mercury is strong if it rules the Ascendant or Midheaven, if it’s in Gemini or Virgo, if it’s in the third, sixth, ninth, or tenth houses, or if it makes strong aspects to other planets. Don’t worry if it doesn’t do all of those things. And don’t fret if your Mercury is retrograde. That placement is so common among the authors I admire that I’ve started to wonder whether it’s actually an advantage.
Saturn, the planet of self-discipline and structure, is essential for a writer, especially if you’re working on your own.
Neptune can be pivotal in writing poetry, fiction, song lyrics, film scripts, or anything that’s primarily imaginative.
The Moon is arguably the most important planet, as the researcher Michel Gauquelin discovered. He found that creative writers are more likely than non-writers to have the Moon in one of the so-called zones of power: either overhead (that is, in the ninth house or conjunct the Midheaven in the tenth) or rising (in the first house conjunct the Ascendant or in the twelfth house of secrets and solitude).
- By house: Look for activity in the third house of communication, the ninth house of publication, and the fifth house of creativity.