“What’s your sign?”
Have you ever been asked this question? If so, you probably answered with the zodiacal sign the Sun was in on the day you were born, otherwise known as your Sun sign.
Mine is Pisces by the way. And so is model, actress, and social activist from Down Under, Ruby Rose Langenheim! However, we are two very different people who have lived very different lives. If astrology “works”, how could this be so?
Like many Americans, I first encountered astrology by reading my horoscope in magazines. I didn’t think much of astrology at the time because those horoscopes seemed either completely irrelevant or too vague for me to care. With early experiences in astrology such as this combined with centuries of misinformation and misunderstandings, is it any wonder that this complex art and science, which has so much to offer us, faces such cultural criticism in the Western world?
Astrology columns in magazines and newspapers are usually based on an astrological technique called Sun Sign astrology. Like any other form of astrology, this technique can be practiced skillfully or unskillfully. There are benefits to working with Sun Sign astrology, and there are limitations. One of the benefits of working with Sun Sign astrology is that an astrologer can calculate a chart without the native’s birth time or location. However, with no birth time, the placement of the signs, angles (the Ascendent, Descendent, MC and IC), houses, and celestial bodies and points in those signs and houses are difficult to discern and must be done through a highly detail-oriented process called chart rectification.
For better or worse, the only relationship many Americans have with astrology is solely based on their Sun sign. The Sun represents certain qualities and characteristics that reflect earthly phenomena. It tells us something about who we are and our lived experience that is best understood in the context of a unique, complex horoscope called a birth chart. Our birth chart is like a picture of what was happening in the sky at the precise moment we are born.
In astrology, our natal Sun represents our identity and sense of self. Astrologer April Elliot Kent says our Sun signs indicate our goals and how to achieve them, as well as how we can feel good about who we are and live joyfully.
In his book, Astrology and the Lives of People, Joseph Crane discusses the Sun sign in terms of “the stories we tell.” Consider the people we tell stories about…. Who are our heroes? Who do we admire, and how and for what do we wish to be admired? Our natal Sun sheds its light on the answers.
Demetra George says that the Sun indicates the link between the human and Divine mind. It answers the age-old question, “What is my life’s purpose?" According to George, the sign our natal Sun was in the day we were born tells us about the way in which our soul’s purpose wants to be expressed. However, it is its house placement that tells us what area of life this purpose will manifest. House placement can only be determined with an accurate birth time.
One way we can explore the natal Sun and how it manifests in people’s lives is by studying “date twins.” Date twins are individuals who are born on the same day, but not necessarily at the same time or place. I learned a lot about my Sun sign by studying my own date twin, Ruby Rose.
Ruby Rose was born in Melbourne, Australia on March 20, 1986 to 20-year-old struggling artist and master’s student, Katia. After leaving Ruby Rose’s father, Katia and her then two-year-old daughter moved in with the child’s maternal grandparents. They had little money and eventually were able to rent a house from a local church at a reduced rate.
Bullied from an early age, Ruby Rose describes her younger self as “super unpopular.” She explored gender through androgenous and masculine dress. At twelve-years-old, Ruby Rose came out as a lesbian to a supportive mother but vicious schoolmates. She experienced such extreme bullying that her mental health suffered even to the point of attempting suicide. Ruby Rose changed schools after a bullying incident so terrible she was hospitalized.
Ruby Rose began taking acting classes at Victorian College. She worked various jobs after school, including modeling. In 2007 Ruby Rose was hired as a VJ for MTV. She even hosted Australia’s Next Top Model! However, Ruby Rose did not really want to be a presenter. She moved to the United States to pursue her career in acting.
In 2014 Ruby Rose released Break Free, a short film she has described as her “passion project”. This film explores gender roles and is the project of which Ruby Rose says she is most proud. In 2015 she was cast as Stella Carlin in Orange is the New Black. Since then, Ruby Rose has starred in action films and shows such as Resident Evil (2016), John Wick (2017), and the CW’s Batwoman (2018).
Through her body of work as an actress, Ruby Rose has done much to further the acceptance and appreciation of the LGBT+ community. However, that is just the beginning of her activism! She has been part of a LGBT+ youth organization called Minus 18 since she was 15 years old and is now an ambassador! When it comes to activism, Ruby Rose is inclusive and encourages union among the LGBT+ community and supporters. She is not interested in the drama around activism. She is more concerned with the issues, such as the anti-activism harming trans people.
We can deepen our understanding of our truest self and life’s purpose from considering the Sun in our birth chart. Ruby Rose’s natal Sun is in Pisces. If that is all we know about Ruby Rose, we might describe her as a compassionate individual who tries to bring people together. Or we would think of her as an emotional, creative person with a tendency to drift through life. We might even say she is a nurturing but easily emotionally overwhelmed empath.
Compassionate, emotional, creative, nurturing, emotional, overwhelmed, non-committal…. These are qualities many magazine or newspaper horoscopes use to describe Pisces. Technically, that is a fair assessment of this mutable, lunar-polarity, Jupiter-ruled water sign. However, not every individual with the Sun in Pisces behaves this way and even those who resonate with these qualities express them differently. Why is that?
Let’s consider Ruby Rose’s Pisces Sun as an example. When looking at her birth chart, the first important thing I notice is that her Sun is above the horizon, which is indicated by the line between the Ascendent and Descendent. Because the Sun is above the horizon in the chart, it is a daytime chart. What does the Sun like to do during the day? SHINE! In a daytime chart, the probability that the individual will be seen or have a public presence, even for a sensitive sign like Pisces, is more likely.
I, too, was born on March 20, 1986. However, I was born a few hours before Ruby Rose. My Sun is below the horizon in a nighttime chart. Ruby Rose and I share some Piscean qualities, such as empathy, sensitivity, and compassion. However, how we express our Piscean Sun sign is quite different. Being born at night when the Sun was below the horizon, mine shines more softly than my “twin’s.”
One thing my Pisces Sun and Ruby Rose’s have in common is that Jupiter was also in Pisces on the day we were born. This is significant because Jupiter is the ruler of Pisces. When a planet is in rulership in a sign, using the whole sign house system, it also rules the house that sign is in. When a planet occupies the sign it “rules” it is like a monarch their castle. The sign/house ruler makes the rules, sets the tone, and any other planets in this sign and house take direction from it.
Jupiter is known as the “greater benefic.” In a daytime chart, Jupiter is even more fortuitous when it is above the horizon with the Sun. In Ruby Rose’s chart, this makes Jupiter especially strong. As the Sun’s ruler in this chart, that makes her Pisces Sun stronger, too!
Another key factor in the relationship between Ruby Rose’s Sun and Jupiter is that they are in the 11th house. Jupiter “finds its joy” in the 11th house- a factor that makes a dignified Jupiter even stronger! The 11th house is a fortunate house. It encompasses friends, service, and fellowship. Activism, social groups, and shared ideas are also associated with this house.
Considering Jupiter’s strong placement and support of the Sun in a house associated with friendship, one would think these qualities would be reflected in Ruby Rose’s relationships. However, we know she was severely bullied as a child. How can this be explained?
Aspects describe the relationship between celestial bodies or points. Some relationships between the planets feel easy and comfortable, others tense and difficult. Ruby Rose’s chart shows some potentially challenging aspects between her Sun and other planets.
By its very nature, a conjunction can be a tricky aspect. It requires the energies of two planets to merge and work together. Ruby Rose’s natal Mercury is conjunct her Sun. Because Mercury travels so close to the Sun, this is not at all an unusual phenomenon, particularly in a birth chart. Mercury is associated with how we think and communicate. One of its jobs is to be a messenger for the Sun. It can take time, in addition to trial and error, for Mercury to discover the most effective way to do so!
Another difficult aspect in Ruby Rose’s chart is the square between her Sun and a Mars/Uranus conjunction in her eighth house. A square relationship is one where there is friction between the energies of two -or in this case, three- celestial bodies. Successfully working with a square requires patience, self-knowledge, and, particularly in a birth chart, time. When faced with a challenge, it takes time to learn what to do with it. Do we ignore it, overcome it, or integrate it?
When we ignore a situation that requires us to grow or in some way face something we would rather avoid, that situation is not likely to pack up its proverbial bags and walk away. In fact, it usually becomes even more extreme. Our resistance to make the changes to successfully work with a square is part of what makes them feel so stressful!
Many of us have the experience of having to face the same sort of frustrating repetitive themes throughout our lives. As we grow older, and hopefully wiser, we may notice that we become more skillful in how we cope. Sometimes, our issues can be resolved and overcome. There are also times when we will not receive complete closure in a painful or difficult circumstance, such as a long-term illness or personality defect. Rather, we must learn how to integrate it into our lives. This is the sort of work a square asks us to do with the qualities symbolized by the planets involved.
Ruby Rose experienced a tremendous amount of trauma from her classmates as a child! She has faced opposition and criticism for doing what she believed was right in her professional life. Ruby Rose is an inspiring person because she used the challenges she faced to uplift others and amplify the voices of the LGBT+ community. She did not want other people to suffer as she had. Ruby Rose found a way to communicate her message with the world through writing, acting, her film Break Free, and the many other ways she works as an activist and advocate. She continues to face often unexpected challenges, and perhaps always will. However, she has grown from those challenges. As they cycle in and out of her life, she has found ways to successfully work with them. Rather than diminishing Ruby Rose’s Sun’s ability to shine, they only make it brighter!
Believe it or not, there is so much more that we could explore regarding the Sun in our natal chart. Studying “date twins” is an excellent way to examine how the Sun in the same sign can behave differently and why. This also helps shed light on why one-twelfth of the population does not share the same experience on any given day, as one might assume would be the case given the average newspaper horoscope column.
If this much information about life and purpose can be gleaned from just looking at the Sun sign, imagine what would happen if we looked at the entirety of the birth chart!
Resources:
Image attribution:
Ruby Rose, interview with Adweek, 2019 CW Upfront.png. Retrieved 23May2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Rose.
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