To quote Master of Ceremonies Neil Patrick Harris, Hollywood’s “best and whitest” assembled at the Dolby Theater on Sunday, 22 February 2015, to honor and acknowledge the best performances in film during the prior year. Harris’ jibe was aimed at the list of nominees, which famously ignored performances by minority actors, granting only a token nomination to the civil rights epic “Selma” for Best Picture (which it duly lost to “Birdman”) and Best Original Song (which it won).
But within those parameters, some truly wondrous performances were tapped for recognition by the nominating committee. And no surprise, as things transpired, the winners were easy to see in advance, as the contending nominees’ PNAs tussled in the heavens.
But to begin at the beginning, the day was appropriately tinged with a cinematic flair, with the transit Sun at 4 Pisces conjunct Neptune, ruler of movies, fantasy and illusion, at 7 Pisces. Planted firmly in the Fifth House, ruling entertainment, the celestial atmospherics were perfectly aligned for the occasion. Adding to the aptness was asteroid Academia, for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the presenter of the awards, which at 2 Capricorn was sextile Sun/Neptune; and asteroid Actor at 2 Scorpio, in trine.
A chart set for the 8:30 PM kick-off in Hollywood, California shows the Uranus/Pluto square angular, with Uranus at 14 Aries on the 10 Aries Descendant, and Pluto at 14 Capricorn on the 10 Capricorn Nadir. Despite this angular emphasis, there weren’t a lot of shocks or surprises, Uranus-ruled, nor a great deal of that crackling, sparkling energy we often associate with Uranian happenings. But the Hollywood power players were in evidence, as indicated by Pluto’s prominence, and a constant parade of star presenters illumined the stage, including a knock-out performance by Lady Gaga (in a princess gown that must have seemed to her like being in drag) of a medley of “The Sound of Music” show tunes, this year celebrating its golden anniversary.
The surprises were even less extreme for any astrologer with a curious eye to the sky, tracking the placement of Person-Named Asteroids (PNAs) to see who might win the coveted golden statuette. First off, Neil Patrick Harris’ emceeing of the gala can be seen clearly in a plethora of PNAs representing him, and all in significant aspect to the moment. There’s no “Neil” asteroid, but Neally, a close phonetic match, closely conjoins the 10 Libra Ascendant from 8 Libra, marking Harris as the public face of the show. Asteroid Harris at 20 Leo conjoins transit Jupiter at 15 Leo, a perfect fit for the jovial Master of the Revels, while asteroid Patricia (for “Patrick”) at 5 Leo is closely inconjunct the Sun/Neptune pairing, showing a strong identification with the events of the day.
In searching for suitable matches for Neil Patrick Harris’ name, I also came across asteroid Neilpathak, which kind of sounds like “Neil Patrick” rendered with a slight speech impediment. Intrigued, I plugged it into the chart, and was not a bit surprised to find that it exactly conjoins asteroid Oskar at 13 Taurus, thus cementing Harris’ fitness for his position (whatever critics may say about this somewhat lackluster performance).
Moving on to the nominees, we find a crowded field for Best Actor. Both asteroid Michelle (for BA nominee Michael Keaton) and Carelia (for BA nominee Steve Carell) appear at 27 Aquarius, within orb of Sun/Neptune, but asteroid Eduarda has a slight edge over these at 28 Aquarius, one degree closer, giving the nod to Eddie Redmayne’s performance in “The Theory of Everything”. Additional support for his win was offered by asteroid Redman (for Redmayne), which at 12 Capricorn not only conjoined power player Pluto, but also the IC for the show’s airing.
Born 6 January 1982, Redmayne’s 15 Capricorn Sun is currently being transited by Pluto, showing major changes on the way, and a route to self-empowerment. Redmayne’s path in life was perhaps set by the PNAs in his chart, with asteroids Eduarda at 11 Sagittarius and Redman at 25 Sagittarius linked via natal Actor at 16 Sagittarius and Academia at 24 Sagittarius, with cinematic Neptune close by at 26 Sagittarius.
The Galactic Center is in this mix at 26 Sagittarius also, and as always, contacts here indicates the potential for global impact or notice, a potential fulfilled that night by the Academy (academia) Awards. The icing on the celestial cake was a temporary transit Grand Trine from asteroids Nike and Victoria, respectively the Greek and Roman goddesses of victory, which at 24 Leo and 23 Aries joined the natal Redman/Neptune to grant Redmayne the win. Incredibly, both natal Nike and Victoria are bound up with the Sagittarian stellium, with Nike exactly with Actor at 16 Sag, and Victoria just down the road at 26 Sag, conjunct Neptune and the GC.
It’s often the case that an actor’s winning roles come from portraying characters whose names are also strongly placed in their nativities, and Redmayne is no exception [see my article, “Of Asteroids and Oscar Winners” in the March 2011 Daykeeper Journal for further discussion of this]. His portrayal of physicist and ALS-sufferer Stephen Hawking is foreshadowed by a pairing of asteroids Stevens and Stephania at 23 and 27 Scorpio, with Stevens exactly conjunct natal Oskar, and asteroid Hawking (named for the scientist) at 11 Pisces, in exact square to Eduarda and sextile the Sun.
If anything, Julianne Moore’s win as Best Actress for playing a victim of an early-onset Alzheimer’s victim in “Still Alice” was even more of a celestial lock. With asteroid Juliana at 4 Virgo exactly opposing the Sun, and asteroid Moore at 17 Cancer on the 10 Cancer MC and opposing powerful Pluto, her victory was all but assured. There was a cosmic chance Moore could have been upset by an out-of-the-box choice of Marion Cotillard, with asteroid Marion exactly conjunct Actor at 2 Scorpio, or Felicity Jones, with asteroid Jones at 15 Aries part and parcel of the Uranus/Pluto square, but Moore’s stars were too strong (and when was the last time the Academy gave the nod to a subtitled performance like Cotillard’s?).
Born 3 December 1960 at 5:53 PM EST in Fayetteville, North Carolina (Rodden rating AA), an Oscar win at some point in Moore’s career was perhaps inevitable, given the exact pairing of asteroids Juliana and Oskar at 8 Pisces, conjoined the 5 Pisces MC, in the Tenth House of career. With the transit Sun/Neptune conjunction straddling this zone on the day the awards were presented, this was clearly Moore’s year.
Juliana/Oskar is also exactly opposed to natal Pluto at 8 Virgo, conjoined by transit Juliana for her Oscar win, suggestive of an increased role as Tinsel Town mover and shaker in the years to come, based in the win. Natal Juliana/Oskar squares the natal Sun at 11 Sagittarius, itself broadly conjunct asteroid Moore at 2 Sagittarius. Another exact union, of Mercury and Academia at 24 Scorpio, suggests a favorable vote (Mercury) from the Academy, and with transit asteroid Nike in exact square to this pairing when the awards were presented, Moore’s time had finally come (the actress had been nominated four times previously, including a double nomination in 2002, for both lead and supporting roles). The moment itself spoke to Moore’s success—the Awards’ 10 Libra Ascendant is an exact match for her natal Nike, while natal Victoria at 15 Capricorn hugged the IC and was conjoined by Pluto.
Both JK Simmons, who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for “Whiplash”, and Patricia Arquette, who took home the Best Supporting Actress award for “Boyhood”, are also represented in the skies of the day. The “J” initial in Simmons’ name stands for “Jonathan”, and with asteroid Simmons at 0 Libra inconjunct to Sun/Neptune, and asteroid Jonathanli at 19 Taurus conjunct transit Oskar at 13 Taurus, his win was not unexpected. As with show emcee Neil Patrick Harris, asteroid Patricia at 5 Leo is also inconjunct the Sun/Neptune combination, so Patricia Arquette was also tapped by the cosmos for the honor. Together the winners of Best Supporting Actor and Actress form a Yod, or Finger of Destiny, with the leading factor of the day.
Simmons, born 9 January 1955, sports two conjunctions predictive of success in films—natal Oskar at 29 Libra conjoins Neptune at 28 Libra, and Victoria pairs with Academia at 13 and 15 Gemini. Although these groupings were unaspected at the time Simmons won his award, transit Victoria at 23 Aries was squaring natal Jupiter at 25 Cancer, granting increased prestige and reputation from the win, and transit Nike at 24 Leo conjoined natal Pluto at 26 Leo, enhancing his personal power.
Arquette, born 8 April 1968, sports a natal conjunction of Oskar and Victoria at 18 and 21 Pisces, with natal Nike at 0 Pisces conjoined by the transit Sun. Transit Nike at 24 Leo conjoined natal Academia at 22 Leo and natal Jupiter at 26 Leo, while transit Victoria at 23 Aries had just passed her natal 18 Aries Sun and closely trined Academia/Jupiter. Natal Saturn at 15 Aries, ruling career, was receiving the tender caresses of the Uranus/Pluto square, as well as being conjunct the Awards’ Descendant.
The 87th Academy Awards may have fallen a bit short of drama and sizzle in the estimation of many, but for the seasoned sky-watcher, they didn’t disappoint.
Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, whose website AlexAsteroidAstrology.com offers a trove of info on the role of asteroids in personal and mundane astrology. He is the author of The Black Hole Book (available on Amazon.com) and The Urban Wicca, former editor of “The Galactic Calendar,” and past president of The Philadelphia Astrological Society. His pioneering work with Black Holes in astrological interpretation began in 1991, when his progressed Sun unwittingly fell into one. Alex’s books and writings are available on his website. Alex can also be reached for comment or services at .
So when you do the charts of actors, better check their Oskar and Academia asteroids in advance, to see how well they will do in their careers. Intriguing article, Alex.