William and Catherine - A Fresh Perspective on Their Union

by Natalie Delahaye

Now that the author has discovered the actual birth clock-time of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, a more accurate assessment of her character and destiny, as well as her relationship with Prince William, is possible. What are the intriguing dynamics of their “emotionally transformative” marriage, as identified in their synastry and Davison composite charts?

In April 2011 I was commissioned by a friend of Prince William and Catherine Middleton to produce a compatibility chart as a wedding gift to the couple who were married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey, London. Because Catherine’s time of birth has never been officially released, and there is no record of the clock-time on her birth certificate, I was very privileged to be given this information in circumstances that involved no intrusion, or any breach of privacy or trust. Despite being under no contract of confidentiality, I made the decision to wait a few years before sharing it with the astrological world.

Birth time is that golden nugget of information for astrologers, essential for very particular chart calculations, but of little relevance or interest to the rest of the world.

Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born at 7 p.m. on 9 January 1982 in Berkshire, England. Her rising sign is regal Leo. Isn’t that mane of hair a giveaway? This makes her Sun the dispositor of her chart, falling in the 5th house where it is exalted in its natural home. Traditionally, the Sun in a woman’s chart is indicative of the marriage partner. In her case, a prominent man of royal lineage. 

Her sense of uniqueness and identity is met through creativity and children: Catherine’s 5th house is of course a fertile place for the bearing of royal children. Catherine studied History of Art at the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland. She has a love of fashion, and as the world knows, she first caught William’s eye in 2002 when she strutted down the catwalk in a revealing dress at a St. Andrews’ charity fashion show. 

Catherine’s chart has the markings of tradition, with her Sun in Capricorn and Moon in Cancer, echoing the UK 1801 chart. She was born on a Full Moon (lunar eclipse), and William was born on a New Moon (solar eclipse). They have been crowned as the solstice king and the lunar queen. Their first baby, Prince George – a ‘super moon’ child, born under a rare six-pointed star (grand sextile) on 22 July 2013, at 4:24 p.m. in London, UK – carries on the British tradition with his Sun in Cancer, like his father’s, and Moon in Capricorn, like his mother’s Sun.

Kate has Saturn sextile her Ascendant, giving her a conservative, responsible vibe, bestowing an air of maturity that makes her seem older than her young years. She has a cardinal t-square formed from her Sun-Moon opposition, with Saturn as the apex planet in the 3rd house. This chart segment points the area of tension in her life – the media. The ever-intense focus on her by newspapers, magazines and gossip websites is reflected in Pluto’s conjunction with Saturn. It’s very much a “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”-kind of aspect.

The Saturn Return is a pivotal karmic rite of passage for all, but especially so for a Saturnian type such as Catherine. She married in her Saturn Return year, just six months prior to transiting Saturn uniting with natal Saturn in Libra – the sign of relationships. So the timing of her wedding was exquisitely appropriate for life-long commitment.

In September 2012, William and Catherine – still very much in their honeymoon phase – were taking a three-day break at a private chateau in Provence, southern France, when the paparazzi captured shots of her sunbathing topless while William massaged sun-cream onto her back. At the time, transiting Saturn conjoined her Pluto, and the Pluto (exposure) Uranus (shocking) square was aspecting her natal Venus (feminine) which rules her 3rd house (media).

At time of writing, William is demanding €1.5 million (£1.3m) in damages in the French court for this distressing intrusion. The whole experience must have evoked painful memories of his late mother Diana and the harassment she suffered at the hands of ruthless photographers. Jupiter (planet of justice) recently conjoined William’s Mars, heading towards a conjunction with his Saturn, just short of exact when the 4 July [2017] court verdict was expected. However, this was postponed, and the court is now expected to give judgement in September of this year.

Catherine’s Capricorn Sun is conjunct South Node in the 5th house, opposite Moon in Cancer in the 11th house. This describes her service to the public, how she nurtures and relates to the masses on a global level, with her Descendant in Aquarius. She has a tightrope to walk between personal life and her public royal duties. Her Moon is in its home sign of Cancer, like William’s: a great value for the homeland, family and tradition. Moon is opposite her 5th-house Sun, oozing public appeal, and seated in the 11th house of global consciousness and brotherhood and sisterhood, conjunct North Node. William’s Sun falls there, lighting up her nodal royal path.

Super-driven to accomplish on a grand scale, Catherine is set the life lessons that are concerned with navigating power in a focused way at the right gear. Planet of enchantment, Neptune, trines her Ascendant, suffusing her with a magical aura that could be described as “fairy tale princess”. Not knowing her birth time, some astrologers have speculated that she must have a glamorous, Venus-ruled Ascendant; this is understandable given that Taurus is on her Midheaven – the point that tells us of the public persona she projects onto the world. Also, as already noted, Neptune – the higher octave of Venus – trines her Ascendant. Jupiter is on the cusp of the 4th house: the palace doors have opened wide to her. 

Prince William was born on 21 June 1982. He has a pronounced lust for life, amplified by his Sagittarian Ascendant and the solar eclipse. However, despite the enthusiastic urge to initiate, there is always the danger with New Moon-types that they can lack the drive to complete what has been started, especially if they’ve made their mark on the world at a young age. This is where Catherine, born six months after William on a lunar eclipse, comes to the rescue. She is the Full Moon-type whose strengths lie in bringing what has been set in motion to a natural fruition. In their synastry chart, her Ascendant falls in his 8th house and his Pluto sextiles her Ascendant and squares her Moon. There is no doubt that at a deep level this is an emotionally transformative partnership. 

Catherine’s Moon is on William’s North Node, a strong indication of a soulmate connection. Theirs is a supportive, fated relationship that’s heading in the right direction. She has a grounding, healing effect on him, evinced by her earthy Sun in a friendly trine with his Venus-Chiron in Taurus. Her Jupiter also trines his luminaries: she has empathic gifts and a cheery influence on his lunar sensitive moods. 

They were friends for a while, before embarking on a romantic relationship. Kate’s natal Venus is in Aquarius while William’s is dignified in Taurus. The planet – the ‘Goddess of love’ – expresses herself in different ways according to the sign of placement, and Taurus and Aquarius are totally different realms. While fixed Taurean love is rooted in the terra firma of earth sensuality, fixed Aquarian love is elusive, transpersonal and ethereal, as its air element suggests. His archetypical woman is a motherly, strong, goddess-like woman. Interestingly his late mother Diana’s Venus was in Taurus, too. There are ample opportunities for accommodating different values, and expressions, within their marriage. Their Venuses may not be flowing with harmony (maybe she is torn between city life and their country home whilst his love lies in the country) but her Venus trine to his Libra Mars (the latter closely conjunct her Mars) is a pointer to a successful union.  

So what role is Saturn – the planet of binding longevity in a marriage – playing? William’s Saturn conjoins her Saturn in Libra and falls in Catherine’s natal 3rd house of communication and intellect, as we have seen. This is where her t-square Saturn tension is felt. William helps to carry the task-maker’s karmic weight of responsibilities, as he has been groomed to do so from an early age, as part of royal duties and his role as future king. William’s Saturn squares Catherine’s Sun: he gently disciplines and teaches her with his natural sense of authority.  Catherine’s Saturn falls in William’s natal 9th house: she is his mentor as he is hers, in another sense. Her Saturn is sextile his Sagittarian Ascendant.

The Davison relationship chart

This variation on the composite chart was devised by Ronald C. Davison in the early 1970s. It’s a chart that describes a relationship as a whole. It provides insight into the reasons why a couple has been brought together and the karmic lessons to be learnt by each. It also describes the dynamic of the relationship, revealing the essence and the resonance of two merged energies/people. The chart is calculated by using the natal date, time and terrestrial midpoint coordinates between the birth dates and times. [The Davison chart is an option on many astrology software programmes, and is available free at Astrodienst, astro.com.]

The essence of the William-Catherine relationship [see their Davison chart], as shown by the composite Sun’s sign in dynamic fire sign Aries, is to boldly take on action and challenges in a pioneering, highly individual way. Interestingly, the Venus of their wedding day chart conjoins their Davison Sun, with committed Saturn in perfect opposition, amped up by their Davison Mars. Their Sun falls in the karmic 12th house of the soul; the growth and learning takes place through dedication to selfless action and devotion to a higher ideal. Being of service is an important theme in the royal couple’s chart, as would be expected, given their public duty positions. Their 6th house is the most occupied. William’s Sun is conjunct the North Node, while Kate’s Sun is conjunct the South Node. Some might see this as a continuation of what was begun before in another lifetime.

William and Kate’s Davison Moon is in its home sign of Cancer, as are their natal Moons. Moon is squared by the Sun: what they want and what they need are in conflict. Their home, family and security are of paramount importance to them, but just as (or even more) important is their path to fulfilment (as well as their karmic contract together).

Ruler of the Davison chart is Mercury in Aries. Mercury is at the critical, solstice point of 0°. There is a freshness and power to it. 0° is a prominent feature in many royal charts; for example, William has his Sun at 0° Cancer, and his son Prince George has his Venus at 0° Virgo. Communication is raw, direct and vital. Mercury is in trine to Uranus, indicating that they have an electric, mental connection, stimulated by progressive and original ideas.

It’s interesting that, as transiting Uranus conjoined their Davison Mercury in June 2010, it was announced that William and Catherine would be living together. This marked a breakthrough in their relationship after a few hiccoughs. Kate stopped working and devoted her time to William and her new role within their relationship. After several false alarms, wedding bells were finally on the cards, with their engagement finally announced in November 2010. Princess Charlotte, the royal couple’s second child, was born in May 2015, just as Saturn was moving into the couple’s composite 7th house. This underscores the increased responsibilities and duties of having a second child, deepening their commitment to each other.

The Davison Sun’s dispositor Mars is in peaceful warrior Libra. William and Kate also have their natal Mars in Libra. Libra, the sign of relationship, is in fact the most emphasised sign in the chart. However, their role is far from easy, shown by the composite t-square with Mars, Sun and Moon. While Kate and William are natural peace-seekers, who need time to think before they act, the fiery warrior Sun sign calls for quick decisions. There’s no time to sit on the fence when calls to action are a constant. 

The bedrock of Will and Kate’s love is friendship, with Davison Venus in Aquarius in the 11th house, complementing William’s Sun which falls in her house of friends, too.

Davison Uranus in Sagittarius in the 7th house marks theirs an unconventional relationship, thriving on openness, honesty and spontaneity. The Saros series of eclipse on which Prince William was born started in AD 792, very approximately around the time of the start of the British monarchy – Egbert (born 770 AD) was crowned Saxon king in 802, recognised as the first sovereign of all England. This Saros series, which ends in 2036, is linked to transformation in the monarchy and a possible moving away from established traditions, which most likely will be replaced with a new set of foundations. (1)

Since May, the North Node is to be found in Leo where it will stay until November 2018. The karmic shifts and destiny of the British monarchy are likely to come to light during this time. And it will be interesting to see what August’s [2017] lunar eclipse in Aquarius and solar eclipse in Leo trigger in subsequent months.

Last June, Prince Harry spoke frankly about his life and confessed that nobody in the Royal Family actually wants to be king or queen anymore. He went on to say that many royal members want to modernise the British monarchy, not for themselves, but for the greater good.

William and Catherine make a thoroughly modern royal couple, part of the Facebook generation, carving out a new set of values, roles and images for the future, in the hope of transcending the old Saturnian rigidity and traditions of yesteryear. Royal aspiration no longer demands an interbreeding of bluebloods. The freedom now exists to make partner choices outside the narrow gene pool of nobility.

References:
1. Predictive Astrology, The Eagle And The Lark, Bernadette Brady, pp 234-236

First published by: The Astrological Journal, Jan/Feb 2009

Author:
Natalie Delahaye learned astrology at the Faculty of Astrological Studies and is now a consultant practitioner and writer. She has made several media appearances, such as on CNN World News to talk about the birth chart of Prince George. Her background is in complementary therapies, specialising in aromatherapy, massage and energy work, and she has visited Asia to further her spiritual development. She read English and American Literature at university. Her website: http://nataliedelahaye.com

Image sources:
Charts provided by the author/AA Journal
Couple waving: By Robbie Dale (Flickr: All smiles) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Kate Middleton: By Ricky Wilson [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Prince William: By USAID/Vietnam [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Wedding, balcony: By The_royal_family_on_the_balcony.jpg: Magnus D derivative work: Blofeld Dr. (talk / cont) (The_royal_family_on_the_balcony.jpg) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

© Natalie Delahaye - published by The Astrological Journal / 2017

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