Every now and then I have to use astrology for fun, like to peer behind the curtain and find out what in the world is going on with Brad Pitt. Taking up with Angelina Jolie, admittedly probably the most fascinating but unusual woman in the public eye, adopting her children but not getting married, Pitt has had lots of change over the past few years and I wanted to find out why.

Brad Pitt has a Sagittarius Sun and Sagittarius rising – light hearted, generally optimistic, intent on enjoying life and seeking adventure. Sagittarians are hard to pin down, and generally seek a great deal of freedom in their lives. Interestingly, his Sun makes no aspects to any other planet (we say it is “unaspected”), a phenomenon that is fairly rare. Unaspected Sun people tend to operate alone – they may be in relationships with others, but they don’t form attachments easily and often feel isolated. His Sun falls in his first house of personality and identity, showing us that developing his persona and expressing his own reality is his mission. This is someone whose radiance shines best unadulterated by inteference from others.

On the other hand, he has four planets in Capricorn, the sign of responsibility, hard work and discipline, including all of the personal planets: Mars, Mercury, Moon and Venus. On the other, he is a “double Sagittarius) (Sun and rising sign) with its associated need for freedom and adventure. Jupiter in his chart, his chart “ruler” since it rules both his Sun and rising sign/ascendant, falls in Aries and squares Mars which it rules. This is a “double whammy” associating the the search for meaning and ones innate faith in life with the god of war (Aries/Mars), demonstrating an individual who has a courageous nature, and whose desires and drives (Aries/Mars) are expansive and tends to be impulsively expressed. Jupiter is in the fourth house of the home and family, showing Brad Pitt’s desire to build a home both literally and figuratively.

Pitt has an exact opposition (180 degrees) of Chiron (the wounded healer) to Uranus (electromagnetic energy) which is also conjunct Pluto. The Uranus/Pluto conjunction of the early 1960s brought about a tremendous shift in the power balance between men and women, blacks and whites. Those individuals born during that time bear that challenge within them of integrating the revolutionary urge of Uranus with the need to establish a strong power base of Pluto. Adding the opposition of Chiron opens up another dimension of thought and the potential of wisdom, but also a tendency towards nervous issues.

Balancing all of these differing influences can be quite difficult: he has a strong need for commitment (Capricorn) in order to feel emotionally secure (Moon), he has a strong drive (Mars) to be successful and achieve something lasting (Capricorn), he is a practical and detailed thinker (Mercury) and he longs in relationships (Venus) to be responsible to his friends and romantic partners. Yet he also feels a need to be free, to avoid being tied down.

Brad Pitt started filming Mr. and Mrs. Smith with Angelina Jolie in the fall of 2003. By March 2004 filming had to be stopped because both stars kept coming down with the flu. (Chiron conjuncted his Moon and Venus in February and throughout the spring of 2004, bringing up emotional issues (Moon) which can easily turn into health problems. The pressure of Chiron on Venus also would have brought out any unresolved problems in his marriage to Jennifer Aniston and exacerbated the difficulty inherent in keeping any on-screen romance from turning into reality.)

In August of 2004 and throughout the spring of 2005, Saturn opposed Pitt’s Moon and Venus, adding even more pressure to the relationship realm. It is during this period that Brad Pitt separated from his wife and began openly dating Jolie.

Also in early 2005 he entered into one of the challenging “midlife crisis” transits, the “Neptune Square” where transiting Neptune makes a square (90 degree aspect) to Neptune in the birthchart. This can be a very disorienting time, where your view of reality becomes shaky and it is very easy to become caught up in illusion, delusion and confusion. Neptune casts a glamor on us and while it brings us great imagination and creativity, it can also make it difficult to determine what is truly real in our lives. During this same period (from May of ’05) he went through the next of the midlife crisis transits, the Uranus opposition, where transiting Uranus opposes Uranus in the birthchart and creates within us an urgent need to break free of the routines that are keeping us from following our life’s dream.

What’s in store for Brad Pitt in 2006? The conjunction of Pluto (god of death and rebirth) to his Sun could create tremendous transformation in his life. This is a period where we become turned inside out and recreated from within. It can be a tremendously exhilarating time if we are able to let go to change, but it can be difficult as well. It is not unusual to encounter death during Pluto periods, such as the death of a loved one or family member. At the same time Uranus will oppose Pluto in his chart, another intense time of emotional shifts and change.

If Brad has approached these changes over the past couple of years with conscious attention and awareness, the next year could be an incredible time of personal growth and realization of his inner dreams. But if as I suspect he has impulsively left his past behind in a stubborn insistence of a new reality, he could be heading for a fall over the next year. Only time will tell!