Celebrity Horoscopes: Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier

Photo {public domain} via Wikimedia Commons

Here are Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier in 1948 during a visit to Australia posing as a happily married couple! Well, as most marriages will, they had their ups and downs and in fact, Vivien's natal chart denotes a moody light-vs-dark kind of gal with emotional depression issues especially after she suffered a tragic miscarriage due to a fall while filming Cleopatra (1944).

Yet when she was feeling up she sparkled and her Sun Scorpio-Moon Aquarius personality blend denotes a very magnetic personality. Plus, as you see in her horoscope (below), sexy Sappho is in charismatic Aquarius (1:11) at Midheaven (MC, the Career Point @00AQ52) near genius Uranus (in its own quirky sign!) and her feminine Moon (goddess Luna!) there as well. Asteroid Vesta (The Vestal Virgin who keeps the hearth burning--kind of like Scarlett did for Oh Ashley!) conjoins natal Moon and her Part of Fortune (17AQ21) is there in 10th house as well. No wonder the young beauty Vivien (nee, Vivian) was noticed and put in moving pictures! And wonder why she makes a cameo appearance in our Neptunian tribute to Hedy Lamar?

Cupid's arrow found its mark when Vivien's good reviews for The Mask of Virtue in 1935 (London's West End) gave her confidence to introduce herself to another West End thespian, Laurence Olivier, after which they collaborated in films and in romance. Later in life, Vivien contracted tuberculosis and was also diagnosed as manic-depressive but this tribute is meant to concern her better days yet a word or two must be said.

Vivien Leigh: Glamorous Neptune Rises with Goddess Star Sirius!

In her chart powerful gold-hoarder Pluto is at one of the four Cardinal Points of Fame and Recognition (00Cancer) suggests that her worldwide fame could have factored in to her troubles in some way, perhaps through a lack of privacy (she became more isolated later in life). And both Saturn and Pluto are considered karmic planets by which I mean that consequences of past behavior took years to develop and manifest for we all must reap what we sow and may suffer deep feelings of guilt, shame, and regret over the past. Actually, Gemini is the sign that tends to obsess over thoughts even on a good day and may worry incessantly about whether it's 'going crazy'. Temper tantrums alternating with black moods may occur (and OCD may be evident). Plus, having the two actors' planets, Jupiter-Neptune, in quindecile aspect (165 degrees = obsession-compulsion) hints that the actress was creative and artistically sensitive (obviously!), tended toward constant dissatisfaction (dream of The Ideal), was unconsciously driven by idealism, escapism, indulgences, and addictions, and may have used deceit and illusion to gain advantage. (The Quindecile, Ricki Reeves).

Please enlarge for a closer look at the natal horoscope of the very beautiful British actress Vivien Leigh, nee, Vivian Mary Hartley, born November 5, 1913 at 5:16 pm LST Darjeeling, India; Hour of the Sun; an unaspected Pluto (unattached from her other planets), and Mercury out-of-bounds of the earthly plane with the conditions of both planets suggesting themes of a lack of connection with one's sense of power, and mental isolation. Note that 'Mary' is also a goddess reference and her family was Roman Catholic, a church that venerates and idolizes Mary via statues and graven images.

A brief bio and her natal chart are available at astro.com; birth data rated B for biography/autobiography.

Leigh's Venus is strong in its own sign of Libra where she may meet partners at work (6th house) along with her intense, sexy Scorpio Sun. Mercury, planet of communication and thinking processes, is in Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius, sign of The Seeker, and in the 7th house of Partnerships and Marriage so she thought and spoke about relationships a lot. Enlarge her chart to see the asteroids clustered around Mercury, and goddess Isis conjunct intimate Amor and nurturing goddess Ceres in the 8th house of Sex. Now another thing about her Venus, goddess of love and beauty, is that Venus is chart-ruler (via Taurus Rising) and makes only one applying aspect to other planets: a square to Mars, planet of desire, which for Vivien is placed in Moon-ruled Cancer (touchy feelings, easy to anger!) if the birth data's 'B' rating is accurate.

A Venus-Mars square denotes strong desires, unbridled passion, and an emotional temperament that exasperates men (Pelletier). Plus, her Mars conjoins glamorous Neptune, planet of the Silver Screen, an 'actor's planet' (as is Jupiter) which in this case, can be said to represent Laurence Olivier on the level of desire and magnetic attraction. In addition, a conjunction of Mars-Neptune is glamorous all by itself!

Yet the creatively inspired Mars-Neptune conjunction indicates that Vivian tended to ignore reality and the feelings of others (like Scarlett?) when asserting herself, and she was prone to disappointments (Neptune) in romance (Mars). However, the magnetic conjunction didn't disappoint her in 1938 when she won a Best Actress Oscar for Gone With the Wind! Perhaps her proud Sun Scorpio-Moon Aquarius personality blend aided her with its deep need to achieve and its magnetic effect on others--she appeared in almost every scene of the film and few if any in a worldwide audience could take their eyes off her.

Now let's complete this astro-portrait of Vivien Leigh with some odds and ends chart factors: her North Node of the Moon, a Jupiterian point of public contact, is in creative Pisces in the 11th house of Groups, Associations, Hopes and Wishes. Also in 11th house is wounded Chiron in compassionate Pisces denoting her reliance on mentors and/or gurus, plus, a wound that is spiritual. Thespian Jupiter is in the 9th house of Foreign Lands and Travel showing that much of her money and income (Jupiter) came from abroad (America, for one) and that this intelligent lady was something of a philosopher and a student of life.

Her Uranus-Neptune opposition is generational and though out-of-sign (Cancer/Aquarius) denotes that her year of birth (1913) was a period when large scale conflicts were heating up politically as leaders prepared to wage a tragic war (WWI) and the masses were too self-indulgent, apathetic, and/or busy to notice.

Vivien's Pre-Natal Solar Eclipse Saros Series ('PE', in her 6th house), the 5 New South, manifested @6Libra and has themes of peak experiences such as falling in love (in Libra, sign of relationships!), good news, joy, and long lasting benefits (Predictive Astrology, B. Brady).

Now here is a marked-up natal chart of her very practical husband and brilliant actor, Sir Laurence Olivier; please enlarge for better reading:

For biographical notes on the life of Olivier and another look at his natal chart (RR: AA) visit astro.com.

Astro-Portrait: Elizabeth Taylor (Cleopatra!) and a 'BUtterfield 8' trailer

Studio publicity still (Dr. Macro) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Elizabeth Taylor: a Pisces with a Sparkling Venus-Uranus and Cosmic Links to Cleopatra

by Jude Cowell

Splendid, isn't she? One of my favorite Hollywood beauties from her days in National Velvet, Elizabeth Taylor's natal planets show her Sun closely conjoined with thinking and communicating Mercury, both @7Pisces, a sign of creativity, inspiration, and illusion because of Neptune's sub-rulership. One of the actor's planets, Jupiter, is the primary ruler of mystical Pisces. Rising is lucky Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter, and the sign of horses--perfect for her early film role of an equestrian young lady. Of course, Sagittarius is also the sign of the traveler, the foreigner, and The Seeker on a Quest.

Horoscope: Elizabeth Taylor February 27, 1932 (Saturday) 2:00 am UT Golders Green, UK; data rated B for biography sourced. Hour of Mars, Mutual Reception (friendliness) between Moon and Pluto, and Mercury and Neptune; Disseminating (communicating); an unaspected North Node of public contact, with NN in Pisces, sign of The Collective; unaspected, her Nodal axis gave her extraordinary popularity with no input or interference from her planetary energies.

And though her Sun-Mercury conjunction denotes a very subjective self-centered 'idea' person who likes to have the last word and leave an impression, the conjunction in watery, soft Pisces may have softened such egoism a little along with her watery Moon (emotions) inconjunct (150 degrees) her Venus-Uranus conjunction in Mars-ruled Aries (see below). Two conjunctions at same degrees emphasizes those degrees and indicates a strong personality. Venus-Uranus reveals her sparkle and joie de vivre approach to life that gave impetus to her quickly found path to worldwide stardom--though it also indicates relationships entered into suddenly and impulsively and a tendency toward separation.

In Taylor's 10th house of Career and Public Status is a trio of asteroids of a romantic-glamorous nature and they are linked by degree to stars of success, Spica and Arcturus: seductive Lilith @21Libra, Cupid's Arrow aimed by Cupido @25Libra, and goddess Isis @2Scorpio (conjunct 11th cusp 2Sco22). Erotic Eros @4Pisces falls perfectly between her Sun and Mars, planet of desire with Mars in Pisces indicating one who may use subterfuge, secrecy, or passive-aggressive actions in relationships and be somewhat unreliable or inconstant. Sexy Sappho @12Gemini is in the 7th house of Partnerships and Taylor's Descendant (7th house cusp) @7Gem26 holds three midpoints, two of which relate to acting, pretending, playing roles (Sun-Neptune and Mercury-Neptune); the third is Jupiter-North Node (NN of the publicity-seeking Moon) denoting good fortune in contact with the public.

And speaking of Luna, the intensity of her Scorpio Moon was on display in her darker, more sultry roles such as John O'Hara's BUtterfield 8 (1960) and Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). If you're a fan, you can certainly think of other sultry examples especially with ravishing Pluto in 8th house of Sex! Pluto is at a critical degree in Cancer (the magician!) and conjoins starry Castor, a creative indicator but the star also relates to loss and death. One example you may remember is her early shock due to the tragic loss of husband Mike Todd in a plane crash.

So what better acting role is there to show her brooding Scorpio Moon's ruthless desire for revenge and all that Pisces negative escapism than 'Martha' in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) as she screamed at and slurred with her two-time husband Richard Burton? Academy award winner that film was!

But let's put glamour aside for a moment, for another asteroid played an important role in the life of violet-eyed Elizabeth Taylor and that's Hygeia, a health indicator, conjunct and thus expanded by a close connection to Jupiter in 8th house. Elizabeth's many medical crises and surgeries are well known and naturally her negative escapism urges only added to her health problems (by which I mean alcohol and other drugs).

And we know that Miss Taylor's life did not lack for scandals which in part may be seen via scandal-prone, secretive Neptune opposing natal Sun and Mercury across the Virgo-Pisces (victim-savior) axis of the Zodiac. Yes, Neptune added glamour, masks, and disguises to her personality (Sun) and expression (Mercury) but it also weakened her sense of identity. My suspicion is that the midpoints at Descendant reveal a tendency to role-play in real-life relationships, not just in front of a camera. And with a Sun-Neptune opposition, she may have defied authority, been doubtful of her talents at times, felt suspicious of others, and failed to gain an accurate perspective of reality during her childhood--an issue that may be laid at the feet of her parents.

Then with nebulous Neptune opposing Mercury, a definite streak of inspired creativity remains evident on the Silver Screen to this day though unrealistic dreams and paranoia may have caused personal problems for Elizabeth. She may have imagined conspiracies against her and had some amount of trouble distinguishing fact from fiction--perhaps a useful trait for an actress but not very helpful in relationships. Plus, a suggestion of secret assignations arises...

As for her primary paramour, Welsh actor Richard Burton, his natal Sun-Saturn conjunction @17Scorpio aligns with Elizabeth's natal Moon @16Scorpio. Sun-to-Moon is one of the best relationship links in Astrology, in fact, Sun-Moon is marriage and Burton's Sun conjoined her Moon. Unfortunately, karmic planet Saturn joins the happy solar-lunar couple and though Saturn provided longevity to their union (they did marry twice and never really got over each other!), old devil Saturn also brought loss and depressive emotional influences that interfered with their partnership, This can be felt via Burton's melancholy temperament (Saturn squares Neptune in his natal chart and psyche). so again we see that drinking great quantities of alcohol was precisely the wrong antidote for them both, separately and together, emotionally, psychologically, and physically.

Now penned on the chart in 10th house you see 'PE" which is the Pre-Natal Solar Eclpse Series in which she was born, the 5 New South, which manifested on October 11, 1931. 5NewS themes seem quite appropriate for the events of her life: joy, good news, benefits, and peak experiences like falling in love (Brady). Elizabeth was great at falling in love and with her Moon-Venus inconjunction, tended to cater to or pamper her partners and friends, and with her Moon inconjunct Uranus, she was excitable, impulsive, and spontaneous. Adjustments (inconjunct) may have been made, plus, inconjunctions may denote strains upon one's health.

Well, that's my brief peek at the natal planets of Hollywood legend, Elizabeth Taylor. There are other chart factors of interest if you look further into her chart and I hope you will. Meanwhile, please enjoy the following videos and look below for a few of the cosmic links between Miss Taylor's and Queen Cleopatra's natal planets:

For more movie clips, visit or subscribe to Movieclips Vault.

And here's an interesting 12-minute+ video Hollywood Fashion Machine - Elizabeth Taylor - Part 1 if you're curious or how about a wonderful tribute to Taylor including biographical info and great photos! One pic is of her in costume for her starring role in the 1963 film Cleopatra (see Amazon link, below), now in the Library of Congress.

Astro-Links Between Elizabeth Taylor and Queen Cleopatra

Did you know that the natal chart of Cleopatra is available? Born January 13, 69 B.C., her chart is presented by astrologer Noel Tyl who has rectified her moment of birth via the timing of well known events in her life. This allows us to set up a natal horoscope for the last in a long line of Egyptian pharoahs. As we might expect, there are centuries between their births and yet there are cosmic links between the planets of Cleopatra (69 BC) and Elizabeth Taylor (1932):

Both natal horoscope are weighted on the side of the Water element denoting deep insight and fine intuition. Politically savvy Cleo's natal Jupiter @8Sag conjoins Taylor's natal Ascendant (a fortunate connection) and amazingly the natal Saturns of both women conjoin precisely @00Aquarius (perhaps their fathers had ambition and extravagance in common?)

Then, Cleopatra's Mars @8Libra conjoins Taylor's natal Midheaven (MC = The Goal; Career Point), and Dame Taylor's natal Jupiter @15Leo (royal Leo!) is quite near Cleo's natal MC @18Leo (with her natal Midas upon it--her goal to rule--Leo-- and amass wealth--Midas). As you know, Queen Cleopatra purposely identified herself with goddess Isis and had herself depicted on coins as such. Goddess asteroids are often mentioned here since actresses of great beauty were often depicted as goddesses and idols for the public to worship.

(Curiously, Elizabeth Taylor's Moon opposing priestly Chiron describes one who 'must propitiate the White Goddess (Nolle). A film role for Miss Taylor?)

Plus, the planets in both charts are configured into a Seesaw pattern indicating temperaments that always acted under opposing views with sensitivity toward antagonistic potentials (M.E. Jones). A Seesaw (like a teeter totter) person exists in a world of polarities such as we find exemplified in a horoscope: 1st house opposite 7th house = Self and Other, etc. Unique achievement is possible with a Seesaw temperament particularly if a tendency to waste time and energy in unpromising situations and relationships is avoided.

How well each queenly lady managed to do this I shall leave up to you to decide!

~:~

Astro-Note: you may wish to check out Elizabeth Taylor's natal horoscope at astro.com since it uses 2:30 am as her birth time and rates the chart AA for BC/BR in hand. The chart shown above is from my Solar Fire Gold software v9, the latest version.

As usual I am way behind with my book reading list but if I ever catch up I'd like to read Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend by Egyptologist Joann Fletcher.

Film Note: a restored version of the 4-hour+ 1963 film Cleopatra is available on Amazon for rent or purchase. Or, simply watch the trailer. That may be gracious plenty unless stilted acting is your thing.