The train wreck that is Britney Spears’ personal life has been in the news for quite some time now, with her first, 55-hour-long marriage in 2003, the stormy relationship with fellow pop icon Justin Timberlake, and the tumultuous second marriage to rap artist Kevin Federline (2004-2006), with its subsequent break-up and custody battle over their two infant boys. Throughout 2007 her behavior became increasingly odd, including shaving her head, inviting paparazzi for sleep-overs and to accompany her into fast food restaurant bathrooms, her embarrassing MTV Movie Awards performance, a misdemeanor hit-and-run incident, and an abortive 24-hour stint in a drug rehab facility. Early in 2008 matters seemed to come to a head, when after an altercation with police while refusing to surrender custody of her children to Federline’s representatives, Spears was admitted for psychological observation to LA’s Cedars Sinai Hospital. Britney’s mother, Lynne, reportedly asked noted TV psychologist Dr. Phil to intervene and visit her daughter in the hospital, but he was allegedly rebuffed by an indignant Spears.

Recently Britney’s younger sister Jamie Lynn Spears, star of Nickelodeon’s popular Zoey 101, revealed that she is pregnant at 16, and plans to keep the child. There is some controversy as to exactly how far advanced her pregnancy is, and whether the actual father is her 19-year-old live-in boyfriend or a much older producer for her show.

What to make of all the hoopla? Galactics may help to sort it all out.

Born 2 December 1981, 1:30 AM CST, Mahon, MS, Britney Spears has some very dramatic galactic contacts, evocative both of her initial success on the pop charts, as well as the apparent breakdown recently. At 10 Sagittarius, her Sun exactly conjoins a Black Hole, indicating a chameleon-like ability to adapt herself to others’ expectations and fill a void in their lives by projecting an image they long to possess or emulate. Some Black Hole Sun natives have difficulty distinguishing among these varying personas in the kaleidoscope of images they present, which can in extreme cases degenerate into multiple personality disorder. There is a deep reservoir of energy, but Britney can also be very high maintenance and extremely fickle, unstable and hard to predict. Implosion at some point in the life is not uncommon, when internal pressures build to an unsustainable level.

This Black Hole Sun is reiterated somewhat by a conjunction of her 3 Libra Ascendant with the supermassive Black Hole at 1 Libra. This also draws in others magnetically, and particularly suggests frequent image changes, in the way she presents herself to others. This is the source of the somewhat dizzying set of hair colors and styles Britney implements, from blonde to brunette and back again, with shaved head interspersed. There is an inveterate desire to remake herself at regular intervals, extending also to the somewhat bizarre “disguises” she occasionally adopts to elude/entice the press.

Spears’ natal Mercury says much about the success of her music career. At 5 Sagittarius, it not only conjoins a Black Hole at that degree and a Pulsar at 6 Sagittarius, but is also enmeshed in a Galactic Grand Cross comprised of an opposition to the Maser at 7 Gemini, and squares to the Black Hole at 6 Virgo and the Quasar at 6 Pisces. Mercury on a Pulsar indicates a close connection with the media, an ability to disseminate one’s message, and a tendency to attract attention which is further reinforced by the Quasar square, promoting visibility and success. The Quasar square suggests being well received, and achieving notoriety, for her vocal output or communications, whether they be written, spoken, or in her case, sung. The Black Hole contacts have the power to draw others into Britney’s orbit, as well as to acquire vast amounts of capital; she draws others’ energies as moths to a flame. Essentially, she is a mirror for others’ projections, and their interest in her can become acute. The Maser contact often manifests initially as an electric, charismatic persona, which then degenerates into controversy and debilitation or breakdown. Its energies are chaotic and uncontrollable, albeit at times vibrant and magnetic.

Britney began her career on Disney’s The New Mickey Mouse Club in 1993, at age 11 (where she co-starred with fellow pop icon and later boyfriend Justin Timberlake, and Christina Aguilera). She quickly turned to music, and her 1998 debut single “Baby One More Time” was an instant hit, selling nine million copies worldwide, and coming in twenty-fifth on the Rolling Stone/MTV list of the “100 Greatest Pop Songs of All Time.” Her album of the same name went Diamond, selling 25 million copies worldwide, and rocketed her to international stardom, although the critical reviews were mixed at best. Her second album, “Oops!...I Did It Again” premiered at number one in 2000, shattering the record for most sales by a solo artist in its debut week, with 1.3 million units sold, eventually also going Diamond with 30 million copies purchased worldwide. In 2002 Forbes magazine ranked her as the world’s most powerful celebrity.

Bypassing the traditional route for performing artists, who normally premiere with eponymous albums, it was not until 2003 that Spears released “Britney,” her third effort, which inaugurated a slide in her career. Its first week sales, an ordinarily impressive 750,000, were barely half that of the second album, and the singles did not perform as well, although the album still sold 13 million copies worldwide. 2003 was also the year that controversy began to dog her personal life, with the much-publicized break-up from Justin Timberlake and her whirlwind 55-hour marriage to childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander. Her fourth album, “In the Zone,” slumped yet further, although its initially popular reception granted her the distinction of being the only female pop star ever to have her first four albums debut at number one, and its single, “Toxic,” earned Spears her only Grammy to date.

In September 2004, Spears married rap artist Kevin Federline, known as K-Fed, after an acquaintance of less than six months. She announced a career break to start a family, and was as good as her word, giving birth to her first son Sean in September 2005 and her second son Jayden almost exactly a year later. Less than two months after the birth, Spears filed for divorce from Federline. The couple came to a settlement agreement in March 2007 and the divorce was finalized on July 30, but a bitter custody battle for their children continued. In September 2007 Spears was granted joint custody with Federline on condition that she submit to random drug and alcohol testing and attend parental counseling. Her failure to comply led to the awarding of sole custody to Federline on October 1. Spears’ visitation rights were suspended in the wake of the police and hospitalization incident in January 2008. Her most recent album, the unfortunately named “Blackout,” was released in October 2007.

Additional galactic contacts are confirmatory of Spears’ situation. Saturn at 19 Libra is exactly square the Black Hole at 19 Capricorn, indicating a great deal of energy funneled into career and work matters, and also the likelihood of dramatic swings, up or down, in the career life. Many Black Hole Saturn natives are extremely successful, but often have short-lived or disruptive careers; inordinate highs and lows are common. This square is also reflective of Britney’s problems with authority figures and accepting responsibility for her actions, as in defying a court order and thereby losing custody of her children.

Honing the specifics of her career still further, we find Neptune at 24 Sagittarius, exactly conjunct a Pulsar and within orb of the Galactic Center at 26 Sagittarius. This identifies music as pivotal and powerful for Spears, a point which she can develop and use to expand her horizons. The Pulsar contact ensures media attention, and the Galactic Center promotes universality or global exposure, anticipating the success and popularity of her albums worldwide. Neptune here may also account for her brief flirtation with Kabala in 2004-2006, which she explored as an outgrowth of her friendship with Madonna; Neptune on the Galactic Center can take a more universalist approach to matters of spirituality, being more open to trying alternate disciplines rather than remaining mired in early training. There may also be substance abuse issues with this placement, and although Spears’ recent hospital stint showed clean toxicology results, her rehab treatments indicate that this has been an ongoing problem for her.

Mars at 23 Virgo squares this Neptune, and is also conjoined the USA’s own Neptune at 22 Virgo. This adds a sexual overlay to the tone of her music, seen in such areas as her provocative midriff-baring schoolgirl outfit, at barely 17, from the “Baby One More Time” video which inaugurated her music career, and the infamous on-stage French kiss with Madonna at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. The conjunction of natal Mars with the USA’s Neptune establishes her firmly as a sexual icon in the nation’s psyche.

Possibly the most telling placement is her Moon, which at 12 Aquarius exactly conjoins a Black Hole and opposes the Maser at 13 Leo. Black Hole Moon can be emotionally unstable and subject to violent swings of emotion, possibly tending to bipolar disorders. This placement additionally represents not only the domineering, pushy “stage mother” parenting style of her mother Lynne, but also the enforced abandonment of her own children, and the rather irresponsible, sometimes bizarre, ways in which she parents them. Black Hole Moon can manifest as an overly controlling, overwhelming mother, or as one perceived as absent or vacant in some sense, and in Britney we see both archetypes played out in past and future generations of the Spears family. The Maser opposition promotes the controversy regarding her fitness as a parent, but could also suggest that she may have issues controlling her anger in domestic situations relating to the children.

Pulsars conjoined both the 25 Capricorn Venus and the 3 Aries Descendant ensure that we’ll hear all about her relationships, which are always deemed newsworthy. Black Holes on the 3 Cancer Midheaven and the 3 Capricorn Nadir are indicative of turmoil in both the career and domestic life, with vast amounts of energy and resources expended and swift, unexpected reversals common (Federline claims to have been taken totally unawares by Britney’s divorce filing). Again, Black Hole energies connected with Saturn or the Midheaven can convey sudden, startling career success, but it is often impermanent, and followed by devastating setbacks and loss.

Younger sister Jamie Lynn has her issues as well. Born 4 April 1991, Jamie Lynn is a full decade younger than her more famous sister, but mamma managed to push her into the limelight as soon as Britney’s career took off, even at the tender age of ten. She premiered on big sis’s coattails in Total Britney Live in 2001, followed by a Pepsi commercial and a bit part as a younger version of Britney’s character in the movie ‘Crossroads’in 2002. Following this with two seasons on Nickelodeon’s kid-centered variety show “All That,” in 2005 Jamie Lynn landed the starring role in that network’s “Zoey 101,” playing one of the first female students at a formerly all-boys boarding school. The Emmy-nominated series is hugely popular with the 9-14 crowd.

On December 18, 2007, OK! Magazine broke the story that Jamie Lynn was twelve weeks pregnant, with plans to keep the baby and raise it in Louisiana, where it can have a “normal life.” The ostensible father is long-time, live-in boyfriend Casey Aldridge, 18, but rumors have dogged Spears since the previous summer that she was pregnant by one of her show’s producers. Legal issues have intruded upon the blessed event, as Jamie Lynn is underage. If the father is her 18-year-old boyfriend, under California law the sexual intercourse is a misdemeanor, as Aldridge is less than three years older than Spears; if it is the unnamed producer, the crime is statutory rape, a felony.

Jamie Lynn also sports a Black Hole Sun, but unlike Britney’s powerful, overwhelming exact conjunction, her 14 Aries Sun opposes the Black Hole at 13 Libra. Her Sun also opposes the Quasar at 15 Libra, indicating that she may be the more talented member of the family, and ultimately the more successful, but that it may take others (the opposition) to realize her potential (such as the early boost received from Britney’s fame). Neptune squares this polarity from 16 Capricorn, forming a T-Square; Jamie Lynn is a natural actress, able with the Black Hole’s help to assume varying characters and guises effortlessly, and attracting the sort of glamour and creative recognition which Neptune elicits. Uranus conjoins Neptune from 13 Capricorn, thus also squaring the Sun, adding an additional level of unpredictability and an attraction for shocking others with what is deemed inappropriate behavior.

Natal Mars at 0 Cancer is in the midst of a triple Return inaugurated by the recent Mars retrograde over that degree, an appropriate moment for a pregnancy, at whatever age. Pluto’s upcoming opposition from 0 Capricorn guarantees a uniquely transformative experience, and a reversal of decision resulting in termination of the pregnancy is not unlikely. From its natal degree, Mars squares the supermassive Black Hole at the center of Galaxy M-87, the largest anomaly of its type of which we are aware, an incredibly powerful point which holds some 130 galaxies in its thrall. Mars is also within the event horizon, or orb of influence, of a second Black Hole at 4 Cancer. Sex is a very strong driving force with this placement, one for which the native may become noted, perhaps even notorious.

And what of the mother that spawned these wayward children? Lynne Bridges Spears, born 4 May 1955, shares the family trait of Sun bound up with Black Hole energies. At 13 Taurus, it is within orb of the Black Hole at 16 Taurus, tightly squares another at 12 Aquarius and exactly squares a Maser at 13 Leo, additionally forming a Galactic Grand Cross with an opposition to a Pulsar at 14 Scorpio. This conjunction is not as compelling as the exact one which daughter Britney inherited, but its position in a Fixed Grand Cross is incomparably more complex and challenging. In Taurus, its acquisitive nature is obvious, as is Lynne’s; Black Holes naturally accrue vast amounts of energy and substance to themselves, and the Taurean focus reiterates an emphasis on monetary gain. Greedy and never sated, overly concerned with comfort and never satisfied that it has achieved security, this avaricious Sun is adept at manipulation of the media (the Pulsar) and not beyond employing its own flesh and blood as useful and convenient counters on the board. The Maser square evokes a volatile, brittle nature, one which can be extremely aggressive and agitated, but the square to the Aquarian Black Hole suggests an inordinate degree of detachment and coolness, even to the point of emotional isolation.

Lynn’s Mercury atop the Maser at 26 Taurus further indicates a volatility of speech, the likelihood of angry outbursts when stressed, and an entrenched stubbornness that refuses to allow of dissenting opinions, but digs in its heels and insists on doing things its way. True to Maser form, controversy dogs this Mercury; in October 2007 Lynne announced the spring 2008 release of a book authored by her on, of all things, parenting! The release date was quietly postponed when the news of her underage daughter’s pregnancy broke in December, but Lynne can console herself with the $1 million she reportedly received from OK! Magazine for exclusive rights to Jamie Lynn’s story.

Venus at 11 Taurus both conjoins her younger daughter’s Sun and trines Britney’s; there is affection in this combination, especially for Jamie Lynn, but Venus’ position on a Quasar reinforces the acquisitive nature of the Taurus Sun, ensuring that Lynne’s desires are met and realized through the medium of her daughters’ lives. This Venus craves visibility and notoriety, hopefully with a huge pile of cash attached, but it could also be the marker of a powerful creative expression, if it was channeled in that direction instead of fame for fame’s sake.