Britney Spears

Britney Spears has been in the news this week: firstly for a documentary “Framing Britney”, which is yet to be shown in the U.K., and secondly, for winning a court case against her father.  “Framing Britney” was initially released in the U.S. on 5th February and documents through interviews and film her years of “captivity” in her father’s guardianship, and the recent  #FreeBritney movement.  On Thursday (11th) her father was denied conservatorship rights over Britney’s estate, which he has held for 13 years, since her breakdowns.

Birth Chart

Britney has half her planets (5) in the mutable signs.  Could that mean that she is malleable to others in her life?  Her Sun is conjunct Mercury in Sagittarius in the 3rd House, so primarily she is a communicator, but she does so through song and dance.  Her Moon is in Aquarius in the creative 5th House, so her emotion is on display in her performance.  Mercury is conjunct Uranus, so she is mentally independent and innovative; it seems that it is in relationship that she compromises, and that is where her singer-songwriter Libran Ascendant comes in.  Relationship is all-important to her, so she may sacrifice much of herself.  The sensuality of her Venus closely trine Mars is evident in her provocative performance.  Romantic disappointments and harsh experiences in her life may be seen in Venus square Saturn/Pluto in Libra in the 1st House.  With Venus exactly conjunct her South Node it is very likely that musical talent developed from past lives, and she showed talent from an early age: “I found out what I’m supposed to do at an early age”.  She has Mars in Virgo, and some of her problems may stem from perfectionism.  She has remarked that motherhood has helped her anxiety:  “My boys don’t care if everything isn’t perfect. They don’t judge me.”  Her Mars (ability to assert herself) is complex: it squares Neptune exactly, sextiles the North Node, and is involved in a Grand Trine in Earth with Venus.  She has a powerful conjunction of Jupiter and Pluto, which is tempered by Saturn close by.  Jupiter closely trine closely her Midheaven in Cancer in the 10th House brought success at an early age.  Uranus in the 2nd House of Money has brought fluctuating financial fortunes, certainly in terms of who controls them.

Early Life

As a child star, no one can deny that some of her troubles may have stemmed from that period.  Accounts of her childhood tend to involve her mother’s influence and encouragement, e.g. starting dance lessons at the age of 3, and later being moved to New York to pursue performing opportunities.  Her mother Lynne has the Entrepreneur Archetype in her chart, Jupiter exactly conjunct Uranus.  Britney was aged 11 when she began to work on the Disney Mickey Mouse Club show, and obtained a recording contract with Jive Records at the age of 15, in 1997.

Justin Timberlake

She was already beginning to be known as an artist in her own right, through touring with the group ‘Nsync, and confirmed that she was dating the lead singer Justin Timberlake in 2000.  They were actually well matched in some ways astrologically, with their Venuses exactly conjunct, and his Mercury trine her Jupiter.  But his Venus was exactly square her Pluto, and the relationship lasted only three years.  He revealed they had slept together when she was asserting that she was saving herself, in accordance with her religious beliefs.  Timberlake subsequently released his hit “Cry Me a River” in December 2002.  And since viewing “Framing Britney”, he has apologized to her.

Success

On 12th January 1999 Britney released her first album, “Baby One More Time”, and achieved the fame she had desired.  The album was a best-seller.  Pluto was transiting her Sun at the time: her life was changed, out of all recognition.  The spring of 2000 saw another iconic hit, her second record “Oops!…I did it again”.  Both songs were written by a Swedish songwriter called Max Martin.

Oops

Britney has had a string of relationships in her life, and an overnight marriage in January 2004 illustrates an aspect of the Sagittarian character.  She married a childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander on 3rd January and the marriage was annulled on 5th January.  She labelled it as a “joke that went too far.”  Jupiter and Sagittarius are known for taking a joke too far, and at the time Jupiter was trine her natal Chiron in Taurus in 8th House, Uranus was trine her natal Jupiter in Scorpio in 1st House (an Opportunity), Uranus was square her natal Uranus (the Trickster Transit) and Neptune was on her natal Moon in Aquarius in 5th House  (confused emotions).

Knee Injury

On 8th June 2004 she sustained a knee injury, and subsequently put her career on hold.  Her transits at the time included:  Saturn (knees, and delays) sextile her natal Midheaven, and Uranus (accidents) opposite natal Mars in Virgo in 12th House.

Kevin Federline

The next relationship in line was with Kevin Federline, a backing dancer.  They married on 18th September 2004, under mixed transits for Britney.  This relationship was karmic (her South Node was conjunct his natal Mars) and they were destined to bring two children into the world.  Apart from a trine between her Uranus and his Sun, there was quite a lot of tension in their synastry (astrological compatibility).

Babies

Britney gave birth to her first boy, Sean, on 14th September 2005, by Caesarean section; and their second boy, Jaden James Federline, was born a year later on 12th September 2006 (note that they were both Virgo, and she has Mars – boys – in Virgo).  Having two children so close together must have been a strain on Britney, and before long she was in meltdown, partly through post-natal depression.  When Britney and Kevin divorced on 30th July 2007, they came to an agreement to share joint custody of their children.

Breakdown

On 16th February 2007, she entered a beauty salon and asked to have her hair shorn.  Her transits at the time were not particularly alarming: Mars was trine her natal Mars, and Neptune was trine her natal Saturn.  A few days later, she booked herself into a rehabilitation centre for alcohol and drug dependency.  She had also recently lost a beloved aunt.

Custody Battles

She lost a custody battle with Kevin Federline in October 2007.  Neptune was square her natal Chiron at the time in Taurus in her 8th House.  The following year, she refused to relinquish custody of her sons on one occasion (while under the influence of a substance), and this was when the court placed her under a conservatorship led by her father.  And so, now, thirteen years later, she is trying to regain control over her life.

She more recently made a statement about that time in her life:  “I think I had to give myself more breaks through my career and take responsibility for my mental health. […] I wrote back then, that I was lost and didn’t know what to do with myself. I was trying to please everyone around me because that’s who I am deep inside. There are moments where I look back and think: ‘What the hell was I thinking?'”

Father

Enter the father, Jamie Spears, in her story (apparently he was largely an absent father until this time)…

Her mother describes Britney’s relationship with her father as “Toxic” (coincidentally the title of one of her successful tracks).  She has Mars exactly square Neptune in her chart, which can sometimes lead her to be a prey to toxicity.  In her synastry with her father, his Neptune (toxins) sits on her Saturn (her control over her life).  He has an exact conjunction in his chart between his Sun and Uranus in the sign of Cancer, which may be read as control over a child.

The control over Britney became more complicated when a relationship with Jason Trawick deepened, and he became a co-conservator with her father, in April 2012.  You can see the Ascendant in Libra at work, and the Neptune square her Mars, in her inability to say “no” to the men in her life.

Fast-forward to 4th January 2019, when her father Jamie had a ruptured colon, and she announced another break in her career.  Mars was transiting her Descendant, the point in the birth chart which indicates close relationships.  She was stressed by this, and in March, she again booked into a psychiatric facility.  But her father was dictating that she should take her medication, and at this point, the #FreeBritney movement was born.  Celebrities have joined the movement (such as Cher and Miley Cyrus), as has the American Civil Liberties Union.

An evaluation of the conservatorship was under way, and in September 2019 Kevin Federline obtained a restraining order against her father after an altercation between Jamie and one of his grandsons.  Britney formally requested that her conservatorship be changed to”reflect her current lifestyle and her stated wishes.”

Sam Asghari

Britney’s current relationship with Sam Asghari stems from March 2017, and he seems supportive enough.  He is a personal trainer.

In April 2019, he made the following statement regarding another of her stints in a mental health clinic:

“It isn’t weakness, It’s a sign of absolute strength, people should only be inspired by this, at least I am”.

They have good astrological chemistry, e.g. Venuses in sextile, and her Mars trine his Neptune (which helps to heal her Mars-Neptune square).

Current Transits

Britney’s response to the film “Framing Britney” was:

“Remember, no matter what we think we know about a person’s life it is nothing compared to the actual person living behind the lens”.

Her transits this week are:

Mars on her Chiron (a wound exposed); Jupiter on her Moon (some emotional uplift), Neptune sextile her Mars (some sensitivity), Pluto on her Venus (relationship soul-searching), Pluto square her natal Pluto (huge changes) and Pluto on her South Node (a time of karmic change).

With other issues to be settled, the next hearing of her case has been scheduled for 17 March.  Let us hope for the best for her future.

“The same quality that made her famous – her  inability to mask her true self – was perhaps also the thing that devoured her.”

~ Leah McLaren, The Observer (today)

Aspects

Happy Valentine’s Day!  The planets are indeed happy today.  Mars was sextile Neptune in the early hours of this morning.  This can be a soothing influence on Mars types (Ariens), or enlivening on Neptune types (Pisceans).  for the rest of us, it is conducive to refined and spiritual actions, meditations and exercises.  Yoga and Tai Chi are recommended under this influence.

In the evening, another congenial aspect occurs, this time a conjunction: Mars conjunct Jupiter at 13 degrees Aquarius.  This normally favours learning and education, communication and good news, sales and transport, though under present conditions some of these activities are a little subdued in their expression.  Aside from that, there should be plenty of enjoyment and philosophical awareness around.

Wednesday (17th) brings an important heavyweight aspect, Saturn square Uranus, at 7 degrees Aquarius and Taurus respectively.  If you have a planet in those positions or their opposite (7 degrees Leo or Scorpio), you may feel this more than most.  Saturn likes to preserve the age-old order (but is in a sign of progress) and Uranus likes to rock the boat (and is in a sign of entrenchment).  It may be difficult to come to an agreement over an important negotiation.  Climate-wise, it can bring earthquakes.  Whatever your current issues, try to look at the widest perspective you can muster, and if several people are involved, try to look at the issue from all angles.  Whatever the outcome, there is likely to be an element of progress.  The well-known phrase or saying “You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs” comes to mind – to which I always reply “But you can try!”

The Sun enters Pisces on Thursday (18th) morning:  Although healing issues will look clearer, the general tone of life will become more soft focus.  We become more introspective and aware of our deeper emotions with the Sun in Pisces.  We also become more aware of the sentience and oneness of all life, especially the plight of the creatures of the ocean and the state of the waters.  This is the last stage of our winter introspection before the coming of the spring, and hopefully some easing of lockdown.

Friday (19th) is more lively, with a square between Venus and Mars, literally the battle of the sexes!  This square loosens the inhibitions, but may result in unwanted or inappropriate overtures.  Cue #MeToo and #FreeBritney.  If you are creative on an artistic or musical vibe, you may introduce a little cheekiness into your work.

The week in bullet points:

  • Today – A Happy Valentine’s Day
  • Wednesday – Huge struggles
  • Thursday – Introspection and Emotion
  • Friday – lively and cheeky

 

Date: Feb 14th, 2021 · Comments RSS · Tags: Celebrities