The Prince

I'm old so I remember Prince. I remember when Prince changed his name to, well, to nothing. He became a symbol that had no pronunciation, a combination of a Venus Sign and a Mars Sign to indicate that he is a, well, he is a Gemini, sign of the Hermaphrodite. I remember at the time it appeared to be a overblown publicity stunt. Instead, according to his entry on Wikipedia, it was an Abdication from Power due to squelching and controlling behaviors on the part of his Record Company. He gradually disappeared from sight.

Prince Rogers Nelson
b. June 7, 1958 6:17 pm Minneapolis, Minn.

Sun 17 Gemini; ASC 17 Scorpio; Moon 2 Pisces; MC 30 Leo

You'd expect a Gemini to have a bunch of names. He plays a bunch of instruments and performs in a bunch of different styles. Noel Tyl says that names are ruled by the Ascendant, though. They represent how you come across in the World. Prince has Scorpio Rising and there is a very strong blend of Gemini and Scorpio ruling his Sun, Rising and MC so this is very interesting the whole thing about his name, and the changing of his name, and the changing back to his old name from his non-name.

The First House is ruled by Aries and Aries is ruled by Mars and Mars in Prince's chart is extremely strong as it's in its own sign of Aries right on the Aries Point. Record Company bugs him, he bugs Record Company back, simple. What's really interesting is that his actual Ascendant has no Ptolomaic aspects in his chart. It inconjuncts the Gemini Sun from the 8th house cusp. This is really weird to say because his dress is so flamboyant and he's a Rock Star but maybe his Image isn't all that important to him. Obviously, compromising isn't important to him.

On the other hand, his MC, what he's known for, is very strongly aspected. Pluto conjuncts Regulus and MC, how appropriate for a guy named "Prince" -- doubly compounded by a Scorpio Rising that deals with Power Control Issues and a Sun that is placed on the 8th house cusp. Pluto, ruler of Prince's ascendant opposes his Chiron in H3 and his Moon in H4. Deep currents of feelings, the opposition shows a projection, maybe drawing others into the current.

"Prince" is his real name, given to him by his Mother; I would have assumed it was a Stage Name. Seem to remember that the artist Basquiat used to paint Crowns in his paintings because his mother had told him he was King. Mommies with their little boys, tsk, tsk. Women, don't you know that someday some girl is going to have to do damage control on what you've created?

Anyway I'm scattering, how Gemini.

In 1993 when Prince changed his name to (that symbol), "the Artist Formerly Known as Prince" "TAFKAP" "The Artist", whatever it was, what-ev-errrrrrrr, Pluto and the North Node would have been traveling through his First House. Chiron and Saturn were straddling his MC and IC axis. His whole public vs. private persona was in crisis. He sort of had to "kill himself off" and start over. His progressed ASC was within 3 degrees of his 2d house cusp and his Value System was also under seige. He was not in the mood to be merchandised (2d house) so he took control (Pluto-NN in Scorpio, first house) and withdrew his name from the World Stage.

Interesting that when he changed his name back to "Prince" on May 16, 2000, Jupiter and Saturn were conjunct his Descendant. This shows a change in a business relationship. He changed record labels, signed a new contract. His progressed Sun was exactly conjunct the transiting North Node in his 9th house in Cancer so he maybe felt both liberated and emotionally released. It looks as if his value system would have been in deep crisis over the next year, however, as Pluto and Chiron were conjunct on his 2d house cusp, then later on the Pluto-Saturn opposition would have occurred on his Sun-Saturn opposition in Houses 2 and 8. He stuck to his guns, followed his own set of values.

The world almost forgot about him until last week's Superbowl Game. He's going through several very important transits and progressions that look a little lighter and more in line with being an Artist. Progressed Mercury (ruler of Sun Sign) c. n.MC-Pluto (ruler of Chart); prog. Sun squaring n.Neptune-NN opposite n. Venus (His Art comes forth); prog. Moon and Transiting Jupiter conjunct 2d house cusp opposite his Natal Sun.

Natally, he has a trine between Saturn (h2) and Pluto (h10). Saturn-Pluto trines can bring intense waiting periods due to willfulness and also from a deep need to maintain a strong ethical value.

Billie and Ella

Hopefully will do a comparison on these two Legends some day. I was initially attracted to their charts, though, because I thought they were born within a couple of weeks of each other and was hoping there would be some incredible answer for this through astrological means.

I just erased what I wrote because Ella Fitzgerald was born in 1917, not 1915, as I was using due to incorrect source matter.

But, look at Billie Holiday's chart anyway. She has Aquarius Rising with Uranus and North Node in the First House and there was a pre-natal eclipse (Solar I think, New Moon, is that right?) right on the North Node in February before she was born. I think she has a Kite configuration involving her ASC and MC, a sign of good fortune. The conjunction of Saturn and Pluto over the Gemini-Cancer cusp which is an Aries Point would account for bringing her talents and tragedies (Saturn and Pluto like to troll the lower realms after all) to the public. Especially in the entertainment field, because the conjunction is in her 5th house. The conjunction is sesquiquadrate to her Uranus, an aspect related to a feeling of agitation. These three forceful planets working together are thought to cause earthquakes if also aspected by Mars. This matches the effect that Jazz can have on a listener, the syncopation, the sophisticated harmonies that are often more like dissonances. The strong melodic line in her singing, of course, would be due to her Aries Sun and Capricorn Moon along with the Saturn-Pluto need to resonate. Well, and 5 planets in Pisces in the 2d house, as strong a signature for a singer as you can probably find. And, yes, her 12th House Capricorn Moon is out of bounds. The Drugs problem shows up all over her chart.

Billie Holiday
b. April 7, 1915 2:30am Philadelphia, PA

Sun 17 Aries, ASC 3 Aquarius, Moon 23 Capricorn, MC 25 Scorpio

Ella Fitzgerald
b. April 25, 1917 (no time) Newport News, VA

Sun 5 Taurus

Well, I'm going to give up on this unless or until I can find her birth time and since I couldn't even get her birth year straight I'm not feeling too optimistic about that. There is one fascinating point. Her Moon, may, just may, I can't be sure, be in Gemini or Cancer bridging the same Gemini-Cancer cusp in conjunction with her Pluto. That means that the Aries Point is perhaps involved. This is also where Billie Holiday's Saturn-Pluto conjunction is. Also, she has 4 planets in Taurus: Sun 5 Taurus, Venus 5 Taurus, Jupiter at 15 Taurus, Mercury at 26 Taurus. The significance of a great singer having an exact conjunction of Sun with Venus in the sign of the melodious voice is pretty nice. She also had Mars in its own sign of Aries and Uranus in its own sign of Aquarius. North Node in Capricorn trined by Jupiter, pretty nice. Saturn is in Cancer (not c. SN) and inconjunct Uranus.

Both Singers had bowl shaped charts. Billie's bounded by Moon and Neptune, boy was she doomed to have a problem with drugs or what?. Ella's bowl was bounded by Uranus and Neptune.