Apologies for the click bait title. This post is about the astrology of LGBT, particularly transgender. I am an ally.
Sometimes, the study of a chart reveals something so serendipitous and unexpected that I just have to run with it. This is one of those times. I’m completely neutral in my opinion of Bruce Jenner. I’m not a fan, nor do I dislike him. I’ve never met him, and know practically nothing about him. I don’t watch reality TV, and have never seen a single minute of the Kardashian family drama. In general, I’m not usually impressed by people who are famous for being famous, and am revolted by the self-celebratory vanity that has transfixed our attention and seized the egos of our children.
My estimation of him is that of an Olympic gold medalist who pretty much fell off the radar of public awareness from 1976 until he married into the Kardashian clan somewhat recently on his personal timeline. I had no clue that he is an aviation entrepreneur, but it makes sense with his chart. Aviation is ruled by Uranus and Aquarius which are big influences in his life.
A chart is only as good as the data. The 06:16 time of birth for Bruce Jenner with which I began this study is from the Clifford collection of data that came installed on my Solar Fire software. It is also the time given the double approval rating by the diva of data herself, the amazing Lois Rodden, who made it her life’s work to collect accurate records. According to astro.com, which references the Rodden data, she retrieved it from Ed Steinbrecher.
Ed Steinbrecher was a highly respected second-generation astrologer. Remember the scene from My Cousin Vinny where Marissa Tomei testifies, "My father was a mechanic, my mother’s father was a mechanic. My three brothers are mechanics, four uncles on my father’s side are mechanics…?" Steinbrecher was raised at the knee of the astrological elite. Practically everyone in his extended family was an astrologer. Like his colleague, Rodden, he was a meticulous collector of birth data. If he said it was accurate, you could take it to the bank. He also alleged that there are special people in the world who are aliens.
Bruce Jenner has two such mutual receptions: the moon in mutual reception with Uranus, and the sun in mutual reception with Pluto.
According to Steinbrecher, who crossed over in 2004, the aliens began to awaken on November 21, 1974. Either through study or personal experience, Steinbrecher understood the aliens as "needing more help than most in fitting into a social or family structure still operating in the old ways of perceiving reality." He thought that humanity is confused by all the new planetary energy we must each learn to deal with in our current incarnations. For ordinary humans, some of whom are protectors of aliens (such as Kim K), our history and ancestors serve as guidelines of what we "should be," and hopefully, what we should not. But as prototypes, aliens have no such previous examples from which to learn. Their natural ability for self-analysis is weak, so their evolutionary progress is slow and a quantum jump may be necessary to set them on the proper path. Gender reassignment could certainly be considered a quantum leap.
Aliens feel as different from humans, said Steinbrecher, as apples born into a world of oranges. His premise was that all aliens experienced life in a consistent pattern, as follows:
- They awaken from their spell-induced slumber with certain gifts and abilities that they take for granted just as "normal" humans take for granted that when they awaken from sleep that they will see and hear.
- When the body that aliens inhabit have lived for about a quarter of a Saturn cycle (seven years), others who think they are too different and weird suddenly reject them. "Normal" humans are as frightened of them as of little green men (remember that Steinbrecher wrote this decades ago, when most of the world was still incredibly homophobic).
- Then comes their reaction to this rejection: "There must be something wrong with me. There must be something about me that I’ll have to change in order to be accepted. There must be something wrong with my gift, so I won’t use it anymore. I’ll live as an imposter and pretend to be like everyone else, to seem normal, to fit in, so I can be liked and accepted." It’s common for aliens to suffer from depression and suicidal tendencies. Angst is what we used to call it back in the day.
- And finally, they succeed in transforming into something "more acceptable," but their sense of alienation grows.
Steinbrecher also said, "Many gay men are looking for something outside themselves when they should be looking within themselves and creating this incredibly satisfying inner man. You're not going to find it at all unless you go within and do the work of consciousness." [1]
Yes, Steinbrecher was a member of the LGBT community. Do you feel differently now about all that you just read? We are all just drops in the ocean of the collective unconscious; we all feel unique at the same time that we are one with each other.
I was fairly far along in my study of Jenner’s chart when I discovered that another respected astrologer, Isaac Starkman, has rectified Jenner’s birth time, and claims it is more likely to have been 05:52:45. And after looking at the harmonics, I am inclined to agree. It doesn’t change any of the conditions explained in the chart that you have just read about.
Hospital records are not an exact science, to which anyone whose gall bladder instead of appendix has been removed can attest. It has been observed that hospital personnel often put off paperwork until they get a quiet moment, or the end of their shift approaches. Then they check their watch, and that’s the time they record. Someone who recorded the birth of my niece got the whole day wrong, making her an Aries instead of a Taurus. Good thing her astrologer aunt was paying attention.
For now, I’m starting over with charts based on the rectified time, which changes Jenner’s ascendant from early Scorpio to 28 Libra, and his midheaven from 9 Leo back to 3 Leo.
Libra rising is the sign of a person trying to find balance.
When I examine a chart for the first time I try to zero in on the heart of it. Jenner’s chart has an Aquarian signature because there’s a preponderance of planets and points in fixed modes and air signs. This over-all way of being harmonizes perfectly with his inner child, intuition, emotional needs, inherent responses and instinctual habits represented by the moon, which is the single Aquarian planet in his chart. Aquarius isn’t emotional in a capricious way like Leo, or sentimental one like Pisces. That’s not to say Jenner doesn’t have feelings. Of course, he does. But Aquarius is an intellectual, cerebral sign of science and objectivity, so it’s as if he holds his feelings at bay until he can examine them to see if it’s what he "should be feeling." Aquarius often feels alienated.
Aquarius marches to a different drummer. They are quirky, eccentric, shocking, just plain crazy and don’t care what you think. You’re not their daddy. They are rebellious, revolutionary and independent. They’re all about freedom and change. They’re fine with the agreement, "You do your thing, and I’ll do mine." Aquarius alienates itself from anything that might impinge on his ability to do exactly as he pleases. Uranus-ruled Aquarius seeks both detachment from others and acceptance by them. Uranus gave birth to social media where we are together, yet alone. It allows us to feel we have friends, when in fact, we might not, and that we are spending time with them, when in fact, we aren’t. It's particularly difficult for Jenner to give expression to his lunar qualities because his moon is not only intercepted, but also rules an intercepted sign. It's seems like a metaphor for "the woman within struggling to break out."
Aquarius is associated with friends, groups and organizations. Some of the groups associated with it are "the fringes of society," "outsiders," "misfits," and "aliens." Aquarius is about being true to who we are in all our weird, diversified, freak-flag-flying ways. It evokes a ‘60’s bohemian idealism where "I'm Okay, You're Okay" was cool, man. We accepted people in all their unadulterated, unadorned glory. There was (ostensibly) no bullying each other about who we were, or superficial judgments about what we looked like. There was no mocking those who were different. That was not cool, man. It was the era that shaped Jenner’s emotional development as he came of age. But there is so much more to his lunar story because the moon is in mutual reception with Uranus in Cancer, one of the indications of being an alien, and this plays out as a major theme in his life.
Moon in Aquarius, Uranus in Cancer
In mundane astrology, what happens when planets are in mutual reception is that their energies are blended and inseparable from each other, whether for good or ill. We judge them by which planets are involved and how strong or comfortable they feel in the sign they occupy. We have to take into consideration whether or not they are in aspect to each other, and which houses they inhabit and rule.
We have looked at the emotional distance and objectivity of the moon in Aquarius, now let’s look at its brother from another mother, Uranus in Cancer. Independent Uranus, which we’ve learned is representative of friends, groups, associations, networking, broadcasting and social media, works through the sign of Cancer, the epitome of home, mom and apple pie. Cancer is about family. It’s about group photos and family vacations. It’s about our roots and where we grew up and where we’re from, our childhood, beginnings and foundations.
The moon in bohemian Aquarius gives us a "family of friends," a social network and support system. With a Uranian-influenced house of home and family, Jenner’s relationships with family members are more like friendships. Home feels like a college dorm or frat house with people constantly coming and going, and true to the Aquarian nature, everyone is welcome. It may even have a groovy, ‘60’s kind of vibe. Jenner’s chart isn’t paternal whatsoever. Even his authoritative planet of discipline, Saturn, is in the 11th house of friends.
The rising sun, ruler of his midheaven, is in an almost perfect trine with his Uranus in Cancer. This means there will always be an easy fellowship and mutual benefit between his personal identity (sun on the ascendant) and the family of friends indicated by the mutual reception of the moon and Uranus.
Sun in Scorpio, Pluto in Leo
A second indication of being an alien is shown in the mutual reception of the sun in Scorpio with Pluto in Leo. This is the stronger of the two themes because both planets involved are dominant, occupy angular houses, and the sun also rules the midheaven representative of his direction or path in life.
Jenner was born a little before sunrise, which gives his sun a Martian quality – competitive, athletic, impulsive, and masculine. His sun, representing his ego and the outward projection of it, is in Scorpio, which on the most fundamental level represents transformation and transcendence. It encompasses the myth of Persephone and Hades, and is associated with abduction and rape. It’s the little death of orgasm and the final Big Sleep. It’s reincarnation, resurrection, renaissance, rebirth and reinventing oneself. Scorpio is the sign of surgery, taxidermy and slaughter. It’s transformation by knife and trial by fire. The phoenix rises from the ashes of destruction and the imago emerges from the long winter’s chrysalis. Pluto’s transformations are permanent. There's no going back.
The sun in mutual reception with Pluto indicates that the outer identity represented by the sun is so integrated with the irresistible compulsions of Pluto as to be inseparable, one from the other, forever more. It gives strength and adds importance to both planets.
Pluto gains yet more power by being the most elevated planet in the chart, occupying the 10th house of career and reputation. When we blend these combinations together, it says that a personal identity (sun) transformation (Pluto) will receive public attention (10th house) in dramatic (Pluto in Leo) style. Baby boomers were the first generation to believe that each individual had a special and unique destiny in life, and may have unwittingly imposed obsessive vanity and superficiality onto the current generation.
Pluto is the energy that transforms coal into diamonds and dinosaurs into oil. It represents the caves and coal mines of our psyches, where our oldest soul memories reside, the most deeply hidden, the most frightening, the most urgent and potentially explosive. It represents leftover memories and failed or incomplete lessons from previous lives that are reappearing to be resolved in this one. Pluto frackin’ dredges, purges and excavates. It’s life-long, intense, relentless pressure to change, to metamorphose. As always with Pluto, one has to run the distance, and there is no turning back. A quantum leap may be required to fulfill the soul’s mission. Sex reassignment surgery would surely qualify, I think.
Jenner’s permissible "anything goes" Aquarius moon is in conflict with his obsessive sun in Scorpio. Scorpios are usually introverted and private to the extreme, but with a rising angular sun and attention-seeking Leo on the midheaven, his private life is lived on a world stage of his own making. There’s a fair amount of narcissism inherent in this combination.
People who have square aspects between their sun (outer identity) and their moon (inner identity) live with a constant feeling of conflict between the two sides of themselves. If only we could integrate our calm enlightened inner being with our 9-to-5 dog-eat-dog corporate side. If only our actions matched our words. "If only I could be the real me, the me on the inside," we think. "If only people could see who I really am."
Some of my readings can reach 75 pages or more, and I’m pretty sure that unless it’s about you, your attention span isn’t going to reach that far, so I’ll end the natal analysis here because I want to move on to the transits currently affecting Jenner. The thing that hooks so many on astrology is the way our lives mirror the planets so clearly. As above, so below.
Since June of 2012, transiting Uranus, the same planet that Jenner has in mutual reception with his moon, has been square dancing with transiting Pluto, the planet he has in mutual reception with his sun. Squares force action. They force us to stop thinking and talking an issue to death and start doing something about it. This combination has been a global influence in a myriad of ways: personal, political and financial, being the most obvious.
Uranus is the planet of change, often sudden and unexpected. Gusting in like a tornado, it huffs and puffs and blows our house down. We then have to replace that which has outlived its usefulness with something new that will freshen our lives and enhance our growth.
Pluto is the planet of transformation, usually slow and imperceptible – unless we decline to make the transformation. Refuse, and he will pull the rug out from under us and drop us straight into hell. Ignore his subtle urging and he becomes atomic, volcanic and seismic. He will permanently alter the landscape of our lives. We will rise from the ashes, but we will never be the same again. Some part of us has to die so that we can be reborn for a new purpose.
While Uranus and Pluto have influenced all of us for the past three years, those who have a natal planet, point or angle aspected by this dynamic duo respond to it the most. Jenner is one of those people, not only because of his mutual receptions, but because the final square of the seven that formed culminated with aspects to his natal moon’s nodes.
The inner wheel above is, of course, the natal chart of Bruce Jenner. The outer wheel shows the transits for April 24, 2014, the date that his interview with Diane Sawyer will be televised. You can see that transiting Uranus has come to conjunct his north node, and Pluto has come to square both nodes (as well as natal Neptune, and will soon aspect his natal Mercury). The moon’s nodes in our charts represent turning points and milestones in our lives. According to James Braha, [2] the effect of the Uranus / Pluto aspect is "undergoing sudden, uncontrollable disruptions and changes in life … it is time for obsolete features of life to end … an attitude of surrender will make life easier during this transit … no matter how hard he tries, he cannot overpower the forces of nature … lessons to learn, and important restructuring of life must take place … difficult or demanding circumstances arise, and he must deal with them appropriately, whether he likes it or not." Braha wrote that description of this aspect in 1993. Uncanny, isn’t it?
Robert Hand, whose astrological education rivals Steinbrecher’s, has this to say about the aspect: "The effect is to sweep away all the old and outworn structures … the combination creates a total revolution in the life … many elements of the past no longer serve any useful purpose … they are getting in the way of continued growth and must be cleared … the events that occur now will force this change upon you, if you have not already begun to change voluntarily… Pluto’s forces do not operate suddenly. They are deep psychological forces that operate very slowly over a long period of time … they throw off the old and make you enter new ways of living … these forces have built up to a critical point and must be released … Uranus provides the trigger … a sense that a powerful force is emerging in your life that you have been dimly aware of for some time … not really a surprise … hoping the force would go away if you ignored it, but it didn’t, and now you have to deal with it … the drastic changes you encounter now may be the result of social and economic forces beyond your control … you may feel like an unfortunate puppet moved by historical events but they play a vital role in your individual development … allow the old order and the old ideas to pass away … this will pave the way for your rebirth into a new way of life, where you will have the opportunity to be more alive.
Hand published that in 1976. [3] And some people claim astrology is bunk!
Notice that the transiting moon’s nodes are closing in on a square to natal Uranus and will become exact in July, then immediately trine and sextile his midheaven.
Jenner’s natal Neptune is also getting a workout from the Uranus / Pluto square. Neptune is the planet of illusion, delusion, deception and confusion. We see things that aren’t really there, and don’t see things that are. Nothing is clear; everything is veiled and surrounded by doubt and illusion. This is the planet of fog and precipitation. But it’s also rose-colored glasses, imagination and the muse of musicians, artists, actors and dancers.
Neptune is accidentally dignified in the 12th house, its own natural home in the zodiac. This house is often referred to as the house of “secrets, sorrow, and self-undoing,” but that is over-simplifying it. This is the house of intangibles, of things that exist, yet can’t be seen with the eye nor held in the hand, like the conscience, subconscious and collective consciousness. It represents vast, wide-open places that we have yet to fully explore like oceans, space and our own souls. It’s the house of confinement and isolation and represents hospitals, orphanages, convents, abbeys, monasteries and jails. Or simply loneliness, seclusion and fear.
When Pluto, the planet of excavating, squares Neptune, chunks of submerged subconscious material float to the surface of the mind, and demand to be dealt with. Long-buried secrets are revealed. While this process can be disorienting, and the exposed material confusing or uncomfortable, we own it. It is as much a part of us as our hands or feet. It’s a legitimate aspect of ourselves and isn’t intrinsically dire; it’s trying to repress it that’s bad. Pluto leaves nothing unscathed. The old order and ideas must pass away. We can keep shadowboxing, or we can accept it, as Jenner is doing. He really has no choice in this matter, and is a brave soul to share his highly personal transformation with the public so that we may be educated by it. He will surely inspire other aliens who are awakening now. It’s a shame that not all of them will be able to afford their own transformations.
If I could make one suggestion to Jenner, it would be to seek a spiritual reading to learn how his recent past lives are forcing this change in him now.
From now on, I'll refer to her as she.
[1] Ed Steinbrecher in Mark Thompson, ed., Gay Soul (San Francisco: (HarperSanFrancisco, 1994) p. 204
[2] James Braha, Transits of the West Dasas of the East How to Predict Your Future, (Hermetician Press, 1994) p. 267
[3] Robert Hand, Planets in Transit Life Cycles for Living, (Whitford Press, 1976), p. 414
