The Synastry of Brangelina: A Marriage of Opposites

by Victor Olliver

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (aka Brangelina) are the current Hollywood golden couple – each beautiful, rich, successful, famous, popular, family-oriented and philanthropic. Together, their bliss is beyond compare. Is such apparent perfection possible this side of Heaven? Victor Olliver analyses the synastry of the superstar duo – and discovers a fractious furnace of complementary opposites.

On August 23, 2014, Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were finally married in a $2m ceremony – with all six children in attendance along with just 16 invited guests. Her actor father Jon Voight was absent though he conveyed his best wishes on their nuptials in a press release. The bride wore white, reportedly. The location was the couple's $35m Chateau Miraval in Nice, France. And the timing was not accidental: the wedding marked the 10th anniversary of their relationship, ever since they bonded on the set of the hit movie Mr & Mrs Smith.

Hello! magazine reported: "After the wedding ceremony, the family returned to the Great Hall in the main house for a celebration lunch with 'local hams, cheeses, freshly-caught sea bass, Italian pastas and champagne, as well as Chateau Miraval rose wine' - Angelina and Brad's own brand." There were three different types of cake.

No one could accuse them of rushing into wedlock. They exchanged vows with eyes wide open after a decade of familiarity and intimacy – and still elected to commit, in cold blood, as it were. I make this point because their union, astrologically, is not the stuff of fairytale: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are sun-sign opposites (Sagittarius and Gemini respectively) making for a passionate, dynamic, vocal, volatile relationship between two driven people based in part on intriguing contrasting traits. "The sparks fly at home… I tear his shirt," Jolie has admitted.

So, this is not a Cinderella story. More, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

How each mirrors the other's (hidden or undeveloped) half - the mechanism of "opposites attract" – is key to their union.

Pitt's chart is grounded and practical (earth weighted score: 14 – fire coming a poor second with a score of 7). Saturn not only co-rules his 1st and 2nd houses – with a four-planet lunar stellium in Capricorn - but also sits in the 2nd in Aquarius: the self, finances and other material possessions are subject to much responsibility and consideration under this sober planet's wings. Yet despite apparent "heaviness", his chart reveals that with Sagittarius rising (amplifying adaptability, personal impact and extroversion) he is drawn to the more carefree/communicative/ever curious qualities of Gemini, with that sign on his descendant - the chart area which helps identify the kind of people we are drawn to or need.

In contrast, Jolie's fiery horoscope is strikingly impractical, or at least not money-motivated (even if her personal net worth is estimated close to $145m) with no planets in earth and an untenanted 2nd house (area of income and certain material assets). She is mainly fire and air, impulsive, adaptable and free-spirited in unchecked mode. She has said acting allows her to travel and have "fun". With Cancer rising, her descendant point is of course in Capricorn; one of Saturn's signs. Jolie needs a partner possessed of an essentially serious/dutiful nature and the material rigour she may lack.

Enter Saturnian Pitt.

In their synastry chart (featured) her sun on his descendant and Neptune on his ascendant accentuate both the powerful attraction of contrasts as well as a romantic, "psychic" bond that may be prone to misunderstandings or confusion. Her 2009 statement doubting that "fidelity is absolutely essential for a relationship" may have as much intrigued as puzzled Pitt.

That they find each other fun and stimulating is indicated by his Jupiter conjunct her Jupiter/Moon/Mars: all located in the 4th house of the home denotes an expansive or large family of abundance – they have, as noted already, six children, three adopted, and vast homes in LA, France, Italy, etc. His ascendant trine her Jupiter also points to a shared sense of humour and encouragement.

With her dignified Mars conjunct his Jupiter, she brings a more overtly expressed sexuality into the relationship – "He always makes me feel sexy and desirable," she has said – and greater energy to try new things (it should also be noted that she has a cardinal weighted score of 17 – a born initiator). Pitt has diversified his movie roles in recent years, such as into satirical comedy; and this may be one result of her dynamic and more playful influence.

His Jupiter sextile her Sun encourages her to broaden her horizons (such as with the large family) while her Jupiter trine his Saturn factors in ordered thinking and planning in taking advantage of opportunities for mutual expansion. For instance, photos of their twins were sold to Hello! and People magazines for a record $14m, all donated to their Jolie-Pitt Foundation.

Indubitably, they identify well with each other's career goals, with his ascendant trine her Midheaven and her ascendant sextile his Midheaven. Since Mr & Mrs Smith, Jolie has said a number of times that she'd "love" to work with Pitt again. At the time of writing they are shooting movie By The Sea together, with Jolie acting and directing.

Their shared humanitarian interests help to cement the bond. Her 11th house Sun/Mercury powers a benevolent or social activist vision, reinforced by her 9th house lunar stellium of global awareness (conjunct his Jupiter) – matched by Pitt with his own natal 9th house conjunction of Pluto/Uranus and a selfless Neptune in his 11th. In 2006 alone the couple donated over $8m to charity. In recent times, UN Special Envoy Jolie has conducted a high profile campaign to raise awareness of rape in conflict zones, and was hugely praised by UK former foreign secretary William Hague. In 2014, Jolie was made an honorary dame by the Queen for her campaign work in fighting sexual violence and for services to UK foreign policy. The Tomb Raider star was presented with the award during a private audience with the monarch at Buckingham Palace on October 10, 2014, just as her 1st house transiting Jupiter trined almost exactly her 9th house MC and natal Jupiter. Though she cannot be addressed as "dame" she can add the initials of the award after her name – DCMG.

Pitt has supported 39 charities, according to the looktothestars.org website.

The solar contrasting nature of their relationship is reflected in many oppositions and squares in their synastry chart. His Sun opposite her Mercury and her Sun quincunx his Mercury indicate a communicative relationship but the risk of major disagreements with a need to work for balance or an agree-to-disagree strategy. Even Jolie admits they argue a lot.

Their Venus-Venus opposition underlines the romantic energy between them with shared values and social interests, but emotional mirroring may provoke difficulties in maintaining harmony. His Moon (representing home as well as emotional nature) quincunx her Mercury and her Moon square his Mercury do suggest squabbling over domestic and personal matters with each viewing the other as over-critical: reports claim they've argued over red meat, the kids' nanny and Jennifer Aniston, among other issues.

Her Jupiter square his Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars can suggest joint self-indulgence (the $2m wedding being but one small example): Jolie (Jupiter) tendentiously views herself as the teacher in the union (she claims to have brought "order" to his life) while Pitt (Venus) may think she is too preoccupied with the outer world – or big political or charitable issues – perhaps to the detriment of other life areas. The square provides further astrological evidence of domestic rifts and a tendency to rash and costly acts (such as spending a reported $40m on an Italian estate). Both have to compromise to avoid meltdown.

Her Saturn in Cancer opposition to his Moon-Mercury-Venus-Mars stellium – along the financial axis of 8th and 2nd houses – is challenging: problems are likely over control of family resources leaving Pitt feeling oppressed in some way, Jolie (Saturn) viewing him as lightweight at times. Suspicions may arise of ulterior motives over money; and disagreements are likely over timing in financial or professional affairs.

In the synastry chart, her 4th house stellium square his (largely) 2nd house stellium denote possible sparks over resources and her wish to expand the family, among other things: Pitt has reportedly barred more adoptions for now against Jolie's wishes. She has complained they hardly spend time together because of parenting demands and reportedly has moaned he doesn't always pull his weight in the home. There are unsubstantiated claims that he has demanded domestic economies to her annoyance. Not all these stories can be given credence: but on the principle there's no smoke without fire, it may reasonably be inferred that the domestic environment is a lively arena of differing perspectives, generously debated.

A very important aspect in their synastry chart is Mars square Mars: this warns against either one attempting to control the relationship or risk rows. Power struggles would appear to be integral to attraction and tension, linking their private realms and personalities in constant tussles. Her powerful, impulsive Aries Mars is often synonymous with overt sexual expression while his Capricorn Mars is a lot more guarded and formal (not in the bedroom necessarily; but socially) – we may conjecture that he may at times be embarrassed by her apparent lack of inhibition. His lower-key life approach could rankle with her. It's worth noting here that Saturn-ruled Mars is compatible with his advanced interest in architecture.

Not to be overlooked is the house position of his Mars: the 1st, traditionally associated with Aries. No matter how anger, energy and sexuality are expressed, both push hard to have their own way. Their households can be stormy, noisy places.

Difficult lunar aspects shed more detail: his Moon opposite her Venus reflects their passion but feelings are easily hurt and each can lead the other into indulgence – too much partying, sexual gratification, etc. Perhaps family focus has diminished this risk. His Moon opposite her ascendant and square her MC does suggest that despite mutual support over careers, rapport can break down. Work demands clearly are a cause of friction.

Her lunar quincunxes to his Uranus, Neptune and Pluto possibly indicate irreconcilable frustrations over different energy levels or philosophical approaches: his Pluto (personal power), for instance, may not meet her expectation of expressiveness, though this is impossible to confirm. She may feel at times he underplays his part in the world.

Other irreconcilable differences include her natal detachment capability in relationships to his affectionate stability (his Capricorn Moon/Venus quincunx her Mercury in Gemini in the synastry chart) and their different ideas about responsibility (Saturn quincunx Saturn).

There's little in the synastry to doubt that the Pitt-Jolie union is a love match ("She's my soul mate," Pitt has said) and one welded by passionate feeling, a shared sense of humour, genuine shared ideals about the world and love of their large brood. However, as solar opposites, their differences in temperament and approach are huge, and their test as a couple may be in the challenge to internalise that "half" in the other that first drew them together rather than fighting its manifestation in daily life.

Image sources:
Synastry chart / grid: provided by Victor Olliver
Pitt/Jolie 2007: Georges Biard [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Jolie: Georges Biard [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Pitt: By Foreign and Commonwealth Office [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

First published in: The Astrological Journal, 2015

Author:

Victor Olliver is the editor of The Astrological Journal, published by the Astrological Association. He is also media officer of the Association of Professional Astrologers International. Based in the UK, he trained to be a barrister before becoming a magazine feature writer, and then an editor on a number of publications including magazines, newspapers and electronic media. He has two awards from the Periodical Publishers' Association for his celebrity and travel journalism. He graduated with a distinction diploma in natal and mundane astrology from the Mayo School in 2012. Victor is also the author of the annual Lifesurfing series of astrological forecasting books.

© Victor Olliver - published by The Astrological Journal / The Astrological Association of Great Britain 2015

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