Some icons live forever.
August 31, 2022 will mark the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death. Loved for her indomitable spirit, staggering honesty and unwavering generosity, the gravity of the loss of the “People’s Princess” is still felt today.
In honor of the woman she was and the fascination and dedication she continues to inspire, we look at Diana’s birth chart and study the aspects that challenged her and the stars that made her.
Born on July 1, 1961, Princess Diana, or Diana as she was more commonly known, fell under the zodiac sign of Cancer. Cancer rules the fourth house of home and ancestors and natives are known for their great empathy, nurturing abilities and acute sensibilities, qualities distilled in the famous charitable Diana.
Sun in Cancer / Moon in Aquarius
Ruled by the rapidly changing moon, Cancers are oceanic in their emotions and prone to moodiness and melancholy. Diana, who suffered from depression, was no exception, what made her exceptional was that she was one of the first royals to speak openly about her struggles with mental health, a revelation that speaks of her moon placement.
Diana was born with her moon in Aquarius, the sign of the subtle revolutionary and the great humanitarian. A Cancer sun and an Aquarius moon marry the personal and the universal and suggest a progressive form of care. Here the archetype of the mother is presented for the benefit of the collective.
In Diana’s birth chart, we have fearless and deep compassion, coupled with an understanding of her own power to change the perception of others. We see the combined effect of Diana’s sun and moon in her choice to be filmed shaking hands with an HIV patient in 1987, a time when fear mongering and false information about the disease were rampant.
Diana dispelled the rumor that touch could spread the disease, and in a single gesture reminded the world that compassion is not just what we are capable of, but what we as humans must offer each other. Journalist July Wade argued, “Shaking hands with an AIDS patient is the most important thing a royal family has done in 200 years.”
We see the same energy at work in 1997 when Diana walked through a living minefield in Angola to attract the world’s attention and call for an international ban on landmines, a trek that honors her youngest son Harry a quarter of a century later. would make of her.
Diana’s ascendant was in the seeking, adventurous, good-willed sign of Sagittarius. There is an optimistic and unabashed energy for those with this ascendant and as she described herself and in turn everyone who shares this ascendant, “I like to be a free spirit. Some don’t like that, but that’s how I am.” Sagittarius up-and-comers laugh easily, ruffle feathers naturally, and prize freedom above all other pursuits.It’s telling that Diana omitted the word “obey” from her wedding vows.
Mars in Virgo
Diana had Mars, planet of action and will, in the clever sign of Virgo. Here, Mars is service-oriented, highly observant, highly analytical, and prone to paranoia. This is a position of power for Mars and the only thing a person with this placement fears, gets caught or fooled, fears we see expressed in Diana, who was weighed down by the belief that she was under surveillance, not just by the constant onslaught of the press, but through the watchful eye of the royal family. We also see her refusal to let the wool pull under her eyes or the mistress in the direct, bossy way she confronted Camilla Parker Bowles at a birthday party.
Venus in Taurus
Venus is the planet of pleasure, of aesthetics, art and attachment. Diana’s Venus was in the sensual sign of Taurus. This placement supports her boldly made and remembered fashion choices. Lady Di’s first sartorial statement came in 1981 when she wore a black strapless dress on her first outing after the engagement. According to British Vogue, “Emanuel’s design made headlines for its color (black, a symbol of mourning, was not considered suitable for an evening function) and its silhouette (close-fitting and off-the-shoulder).”
In hindsight, the breakup of their marriage, perhaps a symbol of the morning was a bit of a hunch from the highly intuitive Diana. Evidence of the cooperation of Diana’s service-minded Mars and permissive Venus can be found in her auction of 79 of her dresses to support cancer and AIDS just two months before her death.
Saturn’s Influence
Saturn represents structure, hard-earned wisdom, punishment, the status quo and typical daddy vibes. Diana’s Saturn was in her first home in Capricorn, indicating that she was forced to grow up quickly. Indeed, her parents divorced when she was six and a bitter custody battle ensued. This coupled with her sun in Cancer speaks to Diana’s desire to start a family of her own and provide the kind of maternal support she needed, but was never supplied herself.
Diana grew up privileged and tormented, a combination that prepared her to enter the gates of kingship, Saturn’s influence gave her traditional appeal, but in the end that was a sort of brilliant bait and switch. Once inside, she could begin, on her way to undo that machine by becoming wholly and unrepentantly herself.
Diana’s first and only return to Saturn coincided with the end of her marriage to Prince Charles. Everyone who lives to see thirty lives to see their Saturn return and often this astrological event coincides with an irrevocable life change associated with authority or previously established life structures; in Diana’s case, her return was focused, public, and involved her break with the royal family and subsequent loss of her title and establishment of herself as an independent entity.
Diana’s Saturn in Capricorn squared her Venus in Taurus, a difficult aspect that indicates that natives suffer from feelings of unworthiness, especially when it comes to love and self-acceptance. Diana’s brother spoke of this when he praised his sister at her televised funeral: ‘Diana once explained to me that it was her deepest feelings of suffering that allowed her to connect with her constituency of the rejected. And here we come to another truth about her.
Despite all the status, the glamour, the applause, Diana always remained a very insecure person at heart, almost childlike in her desire to do good for others so that she could free herself from deep feelings of unworthiness of which her eating disorders were only a symptom. . The world sensed this part of her character and cherished her for her vulnerability, while admiring her for her honesty.”
Indeed, the square aspect, sustained by the compassion of her sun sign and the determination of her moon, enabled Diana to use her own suffering as a channel to connect with and advocate for others, a force that continues to this day. resonates. Nearly three decades after her loss, Diana is remembered as she always hoped she would be; not as queen of a land, but of the hearts of her people.
Astrology 101: Your Guide to the Stars
Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports on planetary configurations and their effect on each constellation. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers and extensively documented her experiences while traveling. Among the many intriguing topics she has tackled are cemetery etiquette, her love of dive bars, Cuban Airbnbs, a “girl’s guide” to strip clubs, and the “weirdest” foods available abroad.