Johnny Depp - Glimpses into the Actor's Turbulent Soul
by Julian Venables
Johnny Depp in 2020, Berlinale
Source: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Horoscopic micro-analysis through midpoints and synastry (with the actor’s former wives and girlfriends) sheds further subtle light on the Pirates of the Caribbean Hollywood star whose public court fight with ex-wife Amber Heard in Virginia astonished the world this year.
Johnny Depp has had quite a year of it, what with his extraordinary defamation battle with ex-wife Amber Heard in the Fairfax County Circuit Court (Virginia), featuring torrid and conflicting testimonies of physical abuse all publicly aired on global TV. He broadly won the case though she achieved a victory on her defamation counterclaim. The judicial outcome is the subject of appeals by both parties as I write.
When US judge Penney Azcarate announced her decision, the world learnt that Depp had nonchalantly left US soil and was in the UK on a rock tour with guitarist Jeff Beck. He continues to branch out into rock music, writing songs, guitar playing and singing. He has recorded a new album (apparently this is what he always wanted to do, and why he originally moved to Los Angeles). Not only all this, but he recently made $3.6 million from the sale of his debut artwork featuring painted portraits of major stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Bob Dylan.
The defamation trial trended hugely on social media for weeks with – fairly or not – much popular support for Depp against Heard.
So, this is a timely moment to get to know Depp the Hollywood A-lister a lot better – star of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise, among many other hit movies. Here I examine his midpoints, aspects of his birth chart and present some insights into his synastry as well as other points that might not so easily be noticed.
Depp’s fixed stars
It is my observation that Hollywood ‘stars’ tend to have natal planets or angles close to powerful fixed stars that give them an added celestial attractive quality, helping them to be discovered and put into the limelight.
Depp’s two most prominent fixed stars conjunct planets with 1-degree orbs are:
- Mercury in Taurus (25°17’) conjunct Algol (which in 1963 was at 25° Taurus 38’).
- Moon in Capricorn (13°48’) conjunct Vega (14° Capricorn 48’ in 1963).
- North Node at 20° Cancer 38’ conjunct Castor at 19° Cancer 43’.
- Neptune at 13° Scorpio 24’ conjunct Zuben Elgenubi at 14° Scorpio 34’.
- Pluto at 9° Virgo 37’ conjunct Zosma at 10° Virgo 47’.
- Depp’s Sun in Gemini is in between Rigel at 16° Gemini 18’ and Bellatrix at 20° Gemini 25’,
Depp’s Moon is in its detriment in Capricorn, but conjunct the lucky and powerful star Vega which, according to Ptolemy, has the nature of Mercury and Venus. It so happens that his Mercury and Venus are in Taurus, the exaltation of the Moon, and therefore must answer to the Moon; both planets are also conjunct Algol, a star known for its malefic as well as its protective qualities, which according to Ptolemy has the nature of Saturn and Jupiter.
Algol is associated with losing one’s head. It is interesting that earlier in his career, Depp played the lead role in the film Sleepy Hollow with Christopher Walken as the headless horseman – who specialises in decapitation of victims.
Furthermore, Depp has natal Saturn square Venus, both in their domicile. An interesting reception of dignity, enhanced by the fixed stars? This helps to explain why he appears to attract considerable good luck in his career and remains one of Hollywood’s most popular stars despite revelations about his life that would have brought down just about anyone else.
Depp’s Sun/Moon and Ascendant/Descendant midpoints
His Sun/Moon midpoint falls exactly on the Aries point: 0° Aries, the Vernal Equinox, the beginning of the tropical zodiac by celestial longitude. This is a totally irrepressible, energetic combination.
Sun/Moon: This is your point of identity awareness. Look to the characteristics of the sign to discover how to describe your combination of spirit and soul or vitality and feeling.
Depp’s Ascendant/Midheaven midpoint falls at 22° Gemini 54’ which is reasonably close enough to his Gemini Sun, but it is his Sun/Midheaven midpoint at 25° Taurus falling exactly on his Mercury/Venus conjunction in Taurus, that really is, I think, the power point of his success. It is his relationships, what or who he fancies and attracts, and how he communicates to them, that is very important.
Sun/Midheaven: This point represents your goal or life objective. Look to the characteristics of the sign for more information on how to create your best progress or advancement.
Synastry: Depp’s friends in rock music
Alice Cooper, natal, 4 February 1948, 10:33 pm, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
Source data: Astrodatabank
Source photo 2006: Thomas Brodbeck, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Alice Cooper and Hollywood Vampires
Since 2012 Depp has been in rock band Hollywood Vampires fronted by Alice Cooper (the infamous rock star who features the guillotine and head-chopping in his stage act. (Remember – Depp and his prominent Algol.) Depp has collaborated with Cooper who happens to have a Mercury/Saturn midpoint at 25° Taurus – see above).
Hollywood Vampires has released two albums and extensively toured. The name fits the band as Cooper has Pluto at 13° Leo conjunct Depp’s Ascendant at 12° Leo. A perfect synastry relationship to transform Johnny’s outlook and identity from film star to rock star. It’s a win/win. And Alice Cooper’s legendary status is bolstered and continued as his Sun/Moon midpoint is at 18° Capricorn conjunct Depp’s South Node.
Jeff Beck and new album 18
Jeff Beck, natal, 24 June 1944, time unknown (noon chart), Wallington, England.
Source data: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Beck
Source photo 2018: Egghead06, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
In 2022 Depp collaborated with Jeff Beck, the virtuoso blues rock guitarist, who has carved his own unique path through rock ’n’ roll. Their album 18 was released in mid-July of this year.
Beck has (in a noon chart) his Moon at 15° Leo, Mars at 19° Leo and Jupiter at 24° Leo, all inside Depp’s 1st house. Maybe Beck is guitar tutor to Depp as well as a fellow collaborator and player?
Interestingly in the midpoint structure, Jeff Beck has his natal Saturn at 0° Cancer, Venus at 1° Cancer and Sun at 2° Cancer. All these make strong 4th harmonic aspects to Depp’s Sun/Moon midpoint at 0° Aries. Clearly a case of a strong motivation to do something together and take the initiative.
Saturn = Sun/Moon: You might experience problems and difficulties in relationships. Any emotional inhibitions can be offset by dedication to your professional life or career. It’s probably an effort to understand others and might be easier to be a loner.
Venus = Sun/Moon: You can express love, attraction and affection. Marriage, partnerships, and relationships come easily. A good balance of aesthetic and artistic tendencies can lead to success and a magnetic social life.
Depp’s wives and girlfriends
As a Gemini Sun sign, with ruler Mercury conjunct Venus in Taurus in the 10th, Depp has had several notable girlfriends and been through two marriages to date and a lengthy partnership with French singer Vanessa Paradis.
His second marriage, to Amber Heard, became a violent and toxic battlefield ultimately played out in ferocious court cases in the UK and US. Let’s have a look back at some of his previous relationships and see if his partners shared or linked to any powerful points to his angles or midpoints.
Winona Ryder, natal, 29 October 1971, at 11:00 am,Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Source data: Astrodatabank
Source photo 2012: Larry Richman, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Winona Ryder (Depp relationship: 1989-1993)
Stranger Things star Ryder had an important relationship with Johnny Depp that lasted around four years. She was 17 and he was 25. In 1990 they starred together in Edward Scissorhands. It’s arguable that her career was launched through Depp because she has her Sun/Moon midpoint at 5° Capricorn in a square to her natal MC in Libra. Aside from that, the other midpoint that jumps out is her Moon/Venus midpoint conjunct Depp’s natal Moon in Capricorn. It was possibly, in retrospect, an ambition-helpful love for both. The sense of destiny they felt to be together was because in synastry, her nodal axis stretches right across Depp’s Ascendant/Descendant axis.
Moon/Venus: This point represents love feelings for others as well as how you love yourself. Look to the sign placement for style of affection, artistic tendencies and how you express your joy for living.
Kate Moss, natal, 16 January 1974, time unknown (noon chart), Croydon, England.
Source data: Astrodatabank
Source photo 2019: Crooked House Films, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Kate Moss (Depp relationship: 1993-1998)
Depp was 31 and Kate 20 when they met. We only have a solar noon chart for Moss, but her Venus/Jupiter midpoint is conjunct his Descendant in Aquarius, and quite possibly, her Moon/Mars midpoint connects to his Ascendant/Descendant axis as well.
Johnny has a couple of powerful Scorpio midpoints: Moon/Mars at 8° Scorpio, and Moon/Pluto at 11° Scorpio. This means that Johnny has a Moon/Pluto = Ascendant in his natal chart.
Ascendant = Moon/Pluto: Your general approach to life might cause upsets and upheavals due to an inclination to act impulsively and with extreme emotional expression.
Moss’ natal Moon approximately falls into that Scorpio zone, and her natal Mars opposes those two midpoints.
The power of passion ruled these two, as there’s quite a lot of Mars involved!
Moon/Mars: This point represents excitement and impulsive feelings where you feel urges to act. Look to the sign placement for how you express energy or fighting spirit and release inner tensions.
Moon/Pluto: This is the point where you express extremes of emotion and feeling. Look to the sign placement for more information on how you experience emotional outbursts and impulsive actions.
Venus/Jupiter: This point indicates the joy and happiness of the love experience. It’s the point where you like to have a good time. The sign placement gives more information on the style of your popularity, sociability and how you harmonise with others best.
Vanessa Paradis, natal, 22 December 1972, at 05:10 am,St.Maur des Fossés, France.
Source data: Astrodatabank
Source photo 2007: Benoît Derrier, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Vanessa Paradis (Depp partnership: 1998-2012)
Vanessa Paradis is the mother of Depp’s two children, and they lived together mainly in France. Reportedly, they remain friends.
Their relationship is much enhanced by the Sun/Moon midpoint; Vanessa’s natal Sun at 0° Capricorn is exactly square Johnny’s Sun/Moon at 0° Aries. Depp’s natal Sun at 12° Gemini is trine Vanessa’s Sun/Moon at 12° Libra; furthermore, her Sun/Moon opposes his natal Jupiter in Aries, and as an extra boost, her Moon/Venus midpoint is opposite his Sun/Moon.
Jupiter = Sun/Moon: You have optimistic and enthusiastic self-expression. Life could be about discovering the true nature of self. In general, you’ll have good fortune, success and expansion but be wary of over-exaggeration and over-inflation.
Jupiter also plays a big part in their relationship as her natal Jupiter (and North Node) conjoins his natal Moon in Capricorn.
Lastly, her natal MC is conjunct his natal Mars and her natal Moon in Cancer sextiles his natal Venus and Mercury.
The overall shared synastry is very strong, enough to keep them together for almost 14 years.
Amber Heard, natal, 22 April 1986, time unknown (noon chart), Austin, Texas, USA.
Source data: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_Heard
Source photo 2018: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Amber Heard (Depp’s second wife: 2015-2017)
Aquaman star Amber Heard has no official birthtime. But if we use a noon chart and some prominent midpoints, we can get a better insight into her.
Her Uranus/North Node is at 26° Aquarius which makes a square (4th harmonic) to Depp’s Mercury-Venus conjunction in Taurus. A relationship destiny that was exciting, though short-lived, disruptive and unexpected.
Mercury = Uranus/North Node: You are very intelligent and make rapid quick-fire decisions that can involve others. You can tune into the thoughts of the group and be a conduit for information. You might be critical.
Venus = Uranus/North Node: Your affections can be erratic, and you can be turned on as fast as you can be turned off again, too. Your feelings are affected by the group you’re with and you might fall in love quickly, changing the direction of your destiny.
Her Venus/Saturn is at 1° Pisces opposite Depp’s natal Uranus. Dreams of a steady marriage were shaken up by a number of perceived (or alleged) instabilities in both parties.
Uranus = Venus/Saturn: Love relationships can cause you to be tense and want to break away suddenly. You might change your relationship status very quickly: either by falling in love or by separating.
Her Venus/Uranus is at 8° Pisces in opposition to Depp’s natal Pluto in Virgo. ‘Crazy’ love expression with no boundaries led to dominance and control issues (and en passant, this is the midpoint that could resonate with the poo-in-the-bed allegation which gave rise to the cruel social media nickname ‘Amber Turd’).
Pluto = Venus/Uranus: You can get excessively excited by love and act out your feelings in extreme ways.
Her Venus/nodes are at 12° Leo and 12° Taurus, and her Mars/Jupiter is at 12° Aquarius. These three midpoints strongly activate Johnny Depp’s natal Ascendant and Descendant at 12° Leo/Aquarius. A love match that is under pressure, particularly to do with resources and money.
Ascendant = Venus/North Node: You have a pleasant and affectionate nature and are cordial and polite in your behaviour. This brings good contacts and lovers into your life.
Ascendant = Mars/Jupiter: Your general approach to life has a successful and ambitious quality about it that encourages other people to work well with you. You are known for making lucky and fortunate decisions.
Furthermore, since they both have natal Venus on 25/26° Taurus, it is this midpoint combination that brought her into Depp’s sphere of relationship.
The most obvious synastry is probably Heard’s natal Mars conjunct Depp’s Moon which has a sort of ‘executive’ quality to it: the Capricorn combination was clearly going to need a law court to sort out their differences. However, Amber might not have been aware that her Saturn retrograde in Sagittarius squares Depp’s Pluto in Virgo. In a court of law between two people with that aspect, who do you think might win? And, with those planets in mutable signs, is it a good idea to keep going or to change tack and position as was claimed during the defamation trial? Heard also has Chiron in Gemini square Depp’s Pluto (in her untimed natal, Heard has Saturn opposite Chiron). This is a challenging aspect, to say the least.
Another acutely important synastry aspect is Heard’s natal Sun at 2° Taurus opposite her natal Pluto at 6° Scorpio; this rides over Depp’s natal MC/IC axis. The result is, of course, a global battle around reputation. Her natal Pluto powerfully stirs his natal roots and foundations, and can lead to extreme results, as we were all witness to in trial exchanges and depositions.
The other ‘obvious’ synastry aspect in their natal, is that they both share the same Venus-in-Taurus, and Heard, possibly unwittingly, activates Depp’s Venus square Saturn natal aspect: she probably perceives him as cold and unloving or alienating of her.
Depp’s relationships: conclusion
Astrologically, Depp inclines to women who display power (Mars). His natal MC/IC is 3° Taurus/Scorpio, and so Winona Ryder’s Sun at 5° Scorpio (ruled by Mars in old astrology) is conjunct that axis; Kate’s natal Mars at 8° Taurus is conjunct his axis; Heard’s natal Pluto in Scorpio opposing his MC. The ‘winner’ is Vanessa Paradis because her natal MC is conjunct his Mars whilst quietly trine his MC/IC – this resulted in her keeping him long enough to raise a family.
Johnny Depp’s relocated chart to the UK
Johnny Depp’s natal Venus in Taurus is the planet in its best condition in his natal chart. It so happens that if he moves to the UK, his natal Venus sextiles his relocated MC (which is at 25/26° Cancer) on longitude 00W24’, and in support of that, his natal Sun in Gemini also sextiles his relocated Ascendant/Descendant (18° Libra/Aries). With transiting Jupiter in Aries currently going through his natal 9th house (as I write), an extended (12-year cycle?) stint of living in the UK, would be most agreeable and beneficial to him, favouring his career and his relationships. His working musical relationship with Jeff Beck could develop nicely, and he might well find happiness living to the west of London, or around the Welsh borders and south-west of the UK.
He could also enjoy living in a large Scottish country estate as he has a Moon/Venus paran running across Scotland at 57N13’ through Loch Ness. He might also like to try visiting Snowdonia National Park in Wales, and the uniquely eccentric art town of Portmeirion as he has a Venus/node paran at 52N41’.
Ireland might also hold much appeal and potential for his personal growth and expansion, as his Jupiter Descendant lines runs right down the western side of Ireland, taking in Galway and Tralee. The same Venus/node paran also runs through Limerick.
Note:
The midpoint summaries in italics are by Julian Venables, part of work he created for Esoteric Technologies Pty Ltd, and now used by Astrolabe.
Published by: The Astrological Journal, Sep/Oct 2022
Author:
Julian Venables is currently working on a book about midpoints. He is a Faculty diploma holder and Chairman of the Brighton Astrology group. Visit his YouTube channel Julian Venables astrologer and website Londonastrologer.com. He has completed his first ground-breaking astrology book, bridging traditional and modern psychological approaches. Email: julestheastrologer@gmail.com.
© Julian Venables, 2022
