Marie Antoinette’s Natal Chart
Astrology blows my mind. I found myself with a quiet moment on this holiday weekend, so I dug up the birth time of Marie Antoinette and ran her chart. She was born on November 2, 1755 at 8:30pm in Vienna, Austria. Her chart reveals some telling things about her life and a few about her death. This post does not contain a full chart analysis. I’m just going over the first few things that jump out at me.
Marie Antoinette was queen of France from 1774 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1792. Born in Austria, she was the youngest daughter of Maria Theresa. She married Louis Auguste at the age of 14 and became queen at the age of 19. She was executed by guillotine less than three weeks before her 38th birthday on October 16, 1793
Sun Neptune Square
For some people, this can be a fun, dreamy kind of aspect. Marie Antoinette has the Sun in her 5th house of creativity, children, joy, and games squaring Neptune in her second house of earned income and finances. Her need for amusement was constantly at odds with her wealth. It was well known that this queen loved to gamble, which caused her to burn through her resources faster than she would have otherwise.
Venus Neptune Square
This is very similar to what’s above. Venus in her 5th House is squaring Neptune in her 2nd House. Because Venus is in fall in Scorpio and under the beams of the Sun, it takes on more of the Sun’s attributes. Essentially this is a double whammy of the Sun squaring Neptune.
Saturn in the 7th House
Marie Antoinette has Saturn in Capricorn, in the 7th house. Because she was born at night, Saturn is the out-of-sect malefic, meaning that Saturn is going to cause the most trouble in the chart. The 7th house rules marriage, and other relationships governed by a contract. With Saturn here, in a night chart we might expect a difficult marriage. Marie Antoinette did not have a difficult marriage, but it also wasn’t easy. Her husband was intimidated by her Austrian heritage and was afraid to spend any time with her, in fear that he might be manipulated. Eventually, they grew fairly close and Louis Auguste is notable for being the only French monarch to reign without a mistress.
The 7th House also rules open enemies, (unlike the 12th House which rules secret enemies). Without a doubt, Marie Antoinette had more than her fair share of haters and detractors. As France got closer and closer to revolution most of the population would have called themselves an enemy of the Queen.
Neptune quincunx Uranus
This might be one of the worst aspects in her chart. A quincunx (150°) is a complicated aspect. This is not an aspect of free-flowing support like a trine, and it’s not an aspect of tension like a square. The aspect does not unite the planets into a cohesive idea, nor does it lock the planets into a singular struggle. Instead, the quincunx sets out two, irreconcilable differences. Any quincunx forces the native to hold two, incompatible truths within themselves simultaneously. These aspects are rarely comfortable.
In the chart at hand, Marie Antoinette has a quincunx between Uranus in her ninth house and Neptune in her second house. The expression of leadership or individualism must coexist with delusions regarding finances and self-worth. Marie Antoinette was notoriously bad at managing her funds. She spent copiously on wigs, clothing, parties, gambling, and also gave generously to certain charities. She wanted to be seen as fashionable, and generous which shows us her individualism, but she also failed to properly account for her spending. Instead of being seen as a trendsetter, she was seen as “Madame Deficit” and blamed for France’s economic downturn.
