The relationship between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie has been extremely mysterious. An interview with Angelina Jolie that appeared in Vogue in March 2004 at the time filming on Mrs. and Mrs. Smith began says “Casting Jolie and Pitt as a married couple at odds is quite inspired. They could not seem more different. ‘It’s actually a very funny combination,’ says Jolie. ‘My opinion of marriage comes from a very cynical place, so the question ‘Do you want to kill your spouse?’ is a serious thing. And he comes from a place of ‘What a funny idea, to kill the person you’re married to,’ because he has a happy marriage.'”

You may want to read my earlier article on the couple for more details. Astrologically, Brad and Angelina are indeed very different. Although Brad is a Sagittarius which is a fun-loving sign that is very compatible with Angelina’s Gemini Sun, he has four planets in serious and responsible Capricorn. Two of those Capricorn planets are the Moon (emotional needs) and Venus (relationship needs), which shows that Brad has a strong need for a family structure that he can depend on. Brad has a “singleton,” or unaspected Sun which suggests that he has difficulty establishing an identity for himself and he is well-known for taking on the personas of the women with whom he becomes involved.

Angelina’s Sun and Mercury in Gemini gives her the ability to slip in and out of lifestyles easily and create different identities for herself. Her Sun and Mercury both are opposed by Neptune, the planet of mystical experience and illusion, which shows both a tremendous creativity but also a tendency to fall under a romantic spell and become deluded. Jupiter (expansion), the Moon (emotions) and Mars (aggression) are all conjunct in Angelina’s chart in the warrior sign of Aries. She is a tremendously independent woman with a strong aggressive streak, and her Aries planets conflict with Brad’s Capricorn planets. Angie’s Aries Moon is in square to Brad’s Capricorn Moon, suggesting that her independence (Aries) causes him not to feel safe (Capricorn) and that his need for structure and commitment (Capricorn) conflicts with her need to be in charge of her own life (Aries).

These two are a classic example of opposites attracting but then not being able to live happily together. Angie’s fire excites Brad and brings out his own Sagittarian nature which can become overwhelmed by his Capricorn sense of responsibility. Brad’s fun-loving essence harmonizes with Angelina’s, and his discipline and desire for the structure of family (Capricorn) helps to stabilize her.

But in the long run, this is a relationship fraught with challenges. Her Mars is exactly square (conflicts with) his Mars, which can be a tremendously exciting sexual connection at the beginning when that fiery energy lets loose, but over time the conflict engendered by this aspect can become exhausting. It’s interesting that their relationship began in the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which exactly embodies the essence of the square of Mars between their charts.

It has never appeared that this was a relationship inspired by romantic love. From the beginning there were reports of conflict between them over a variety of things: whether or not to get married, Brad’s family didn’t like Angie, Angie didn’t like Brad going out with his friends, Angie wanted to live in Europe. Until recently there were few photographs of the two together that exhibited any affection or touching between them.

Recently that seems to have changed; in the blitz of publicity that Angelina is doing for her new film the photographs of them have changed and there seems to be genuine affection in the body language in those photos. Another interesting development is that Brad seems to have regained his own identity again rather than adopt a mirror image persona of Angelina. Over the past couple of years Brad has been going through a powerful planetary cycle involving a conjunction of Pluto (transformation, endings, rebirth) to his unaspected Sun. This is a time of great challenge and great rewards, when we are forced to strip away from our lives anything that no longer serves us, and recreate ourselves in a new way. He has also been going through a cycle called the “Uranus opposition” that occurs at midlife and breaks up old routines and patterns. Uranus is the planet that urges us to free ourselves if we have become stuck. This cycle can be quite difficult for those with very fixed natures since everything is in flux at this time. Both of these transits are complete now, and Brad will be having a much easier time.

Angelina has also been going through a cycle of Uranus, marking a square to her Sun and also Neptune in her chart, creating an urgency for freedom and independence and perhaps heightening her tendency towards self-delusion as indicated by the Sun/Neptune combination. This difficult cycle is completing in early 2007 and she also has a much easier year ahead. Transiting Pluto (transformation) is in a harmonious aspect (trine) to Chiron (healing and wounding) in her chart, helping her to let go and heal old wounds within herself. There still seems to be an element of self-delusion as was evidenced in the interview where she said she hated her character in her film “The Good Shepherd” for stealing another woman’s husband: “She does one of the worst things a woman could do. One scene I actually had trouble shooting because I’m so against that behaviour.”

As much as we think we know about celebrities, we rarely know more than they wish to reveal; We have no way of seeing what is behind the curtain. Astrology can give us a peek behind that curtain, but can’t predict the future of the relationship. This is a couple with a strong attraction of opposites, and a relationship that will never be dull. Certainly the children are a strong bonding influence for both of them, and only time will tell if the couple will be able to make it for the long haul.