Should you elect a horoscope for your wedding? The wedding ceremony is the outward representation of deeper spiritual connections. For the Virgos among us, the advice is often “let go and let god” and that is probably the best advice for all of us. Electing your wedding horoscope may be getting in the way of your own plan for this incarnation. You will likely choose something easy and that is not always the correct choice. The counter argument is Ronald Reagan’s horoscope for the Reykjavik Summit in 1986. This moment almost led to the entire retirement of the nuclear arsenal of the United States and Soviet Union. An astrologer named Joan Quigley elected the departure time of the trip. Reagan and Gorbachev’s meeting was the turning point in the Cold War.
Electing a horoscope is best done when you have the mindset that you will strike while the iron is hot. This is about observing the energy or astrological tools available in the period of the wedding and finding an optimal spot within those formations. Let’s start by looking at a disastrous elected horoscope from the perspective of the person who elected it. Laying the cornerstone of St. Peter’s Basilica was elected by the Pope and it is also the birth chart of the Protestant Reformation.
Family & Heirs
This is a Cancer Ascendant horoscope and this strong energy is about family and the past. The Catholic Church the protagonist in this story is represented by the ruling planet of Cancer, the Pisces Moon. A mutable moon that happens to be closing in on the sun. Things are dissolving (Pisces), changing (mutable) and its closing time (moon phase is 3rd quarter and is almost a waning crescent or balsamic moon). Still its a Cancer Ascendant horoscope, so we have powerful family energy imbued into the horoscope and this can include the birth of a child. It has a Taurus Sun so there is a need for a new heir. Some things have to be passed to the heir. Are you from a family that needs to resolve certain family issues but preserve and pass on your valuables to the next generation, this might be the horoscope for you. The Pope wanted to build (Taurus Sun) a royal basilica (Leo Saturn) but he was building something else, he was building a family with the birth of an heir. The astrologer did not know about Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and the asteroids but even without that knowledge Taurus is not just about building, wealth, and valuables its also about heirs.
“My son”, “my daughter” are the words of a Tauran parent about their heir. My own mother who was a Taurus Ascendant with a stellium in the 2nd house as just one example would say to me, her only child; “My daughter will sleep in a canopy bed.” I wanted the bunk beds but my mom’s daughter ended up with the canopy bed. Sigh. Do you need an heir, try a Taurus Moon, Sun or Ascendant. Do you want a family, try a Cancer Moon, Sun or Ascendant.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chose a wedding date and time that had some of these elements. Even though there is no evidence this was elected by an astrologer, let’s examine it.
A Virgo Ascendant chart, such as the Prince Harry & Meghan Markle wedding horoscope, has several possible meanings but it can be about release from a prison. Prince Harry’s Virgo Juno is conjunct the Ascendant. He has been carved out of his natal family by his marriage (Harry’s Juno) and the couple together are building a prestigious, public facing empire (Capricorn heavy planetary energy). They have imbued their marriage with Virgo’s strong reconstructive and reformational energy but again the horoscope has strong family (Cancer Moon) and heir (Taurus Sun) elements.
Longevity & Moon Phase Matters
Prince Harry and Meghan are creating something new. The moon phase of their wedding was a waxing crescent. His brother, Prince William, did something quite different. Prince William married under a Balsamic Moon. Its definitely closing time.
Longevity in a marriage is related to the fixed energies and moon phase. Prince William’s marriage is a Leo Ascendant, a fixed sign. This Leo Ascendant marriage is about royalty, the Taurus Sun is about heirs and the coup de grâce is the retrograde Libra Saturn conjunct the IC. At its very heart, this is the dutiful marriage (Libra Saturn) to produce a royal heir. The lack of fixed planets actually improves as the marriage goes on with the Aries planets progressing into fixed Taurus for many decades. At a certain point, it will become increasingly clear that William and Kate are committed to the royal heirs and not necessarily each other as a couple. His brother, Prince Harry, has a slightly different situation, the fixity of the planets in his wedding chart decreases over time. The Sussexes Taurus Sun has already progressed into Gemini, mutable air.
Do you want longevity in a marriage, then load up on fixed planets and think about early degrees of a fixed Sun or Ascendant (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) or very late degrees of a cardinal Sun or Ascendant (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn). Do you really want longevity because it doesn’t always mean a long and happy marriage. It just means a long one. If you can keep cardinally or mutably happy, you will last but if you think you need a ball and chain head for the fixed modality.
The inner motivation of the marriage is governed by the Moon sign and its importance can’t be forgotten. The Moon phase matters, if your marriage’s purpose is at its end once you have completed it something fundamental is going to go missing. It will be time for something new and you both will know it. That doesn’t mean you will end your marriage it just means your marriage itself may start to feel hollow.
Foundation Planet
Prince William and Kate Middleton had a foundation planet. This is a planet at the base of the horoscope conjunct the Imum Coeli. You don’t have to have one but it is the rock on which the marriage is built if you do. The planets character will continue to effect the foundation for good or ill.
The marriage of Bria Martone and Matthew Mancuso was broadcast on the Martones reality TV show. This wedding horoscope has challenges. The Virgo Sun opposes the Pisces Neptune. The couple have spoken about Matt’s drug use. One of Matt’s friends thanks Bria for keeping him in check. That theme continues in the wedding horoscope. Bria Mancuso has recently announced her first pregnancy and the Cancer Moon is trine the Pisces Neptune. This type of easy aspect between planets isn’t necessarily helpful. Anyone with a drug problem shouldn’t choose a chart that activates and highlights Neptune. This horoscope isn’t about romance and an easy life together. This is about discipline and personal growth. Uranus is conjunct the IC. The foundation of this marriage will be continually shaken by Uranus. The wedding Venus is trine Chiron. Bria’s reported birthday shows she has a Libra north node conjunct Chiron. Wounds from marriage. The moon phase is also third quarter.
If they elected this chart they have a great interest and discipline in fulfilling their spiritual goals for this incarnation but I suspect only naiveté could keep the bride and groom smiling that broadly while they willingly joined under these stars. This is exactly why an elected marriage could be a horrible idea. This would be a hard horoscope to choose and yet it suits the couple’s individual goals represented by their north nodes very well. Matt Mancuso’s transition from Jupiterian excess to dignified Capricorn father (30°Sagittarius north node also 0° Capricorn) isn’t going to be easy for his partner. With Uranus as a foundation shaking planet and a lot of wounding in store, the best chance this couple has to conclude this difficult journey is the Capricorn Ascendant.
The Capricorn Ascendant is a good choice for prestige, commitment, discipline and status. In the wedding horoscope of Queen Elizabeth II, the Capricorn Ascendant signified a disciplined marriage that meets certain goals regarding property, heredity and status.
There is a lot more to consider but determining whether or not you should elect a horoscope is the first step. If you do, then the most important things to consider are the Sun, Moon, Ascendant and Moon phase. Although I will share more in a later post, the wedding horoscope is about picking the least bad. Do not ignore the problems in a horoscope because it fits your wedding goals. Unless you are willing to wait you will need to accept a less than optimal chart. Bria Martone could have kept the Virgo Sun opposing Matt’s Neptune problem, kept the Cancer Moon but without accepting the Cancer Moon trine to Neptune on the 12th but she would have needed to get married on September 11th, no Americans idea of a day to celebrate.