Marie Antoinette

Queen Marie Antoinette, who was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution, was born as Maria Antonia on November 2, 1755 in Vienna, Austria. She was the second youngest child of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and her husband Francis of Lorraine, the Holy Roman Emperor.

The young Maria Antonia grew up at the Habsburg court in which she - as the afterthought she was - probably was a bit spoiled and where she would rather devote herself to music, dance and art than other - and sadder - studies. She is said to barely have been able to read and write even in their native language German.

Early there was arranged a marriage - for political reasons - with the young French heir to the throne, the future Louis XVI. She was only 14 years old, he was 15. The young Maria Antonia quite reluctantly was transformed into Marie Antoinette, the consort of the French throne heir, with the task of giving birth to a future heir to the throne of France.

It would take seven years before she became pregnant. The delay was due to the future king's difficulties and disabilities (which he probably found it hard to talk about). Only after a foreskin surgery - after seven years of marriage - was he able to "complete the marriage”!

During the long wait the young Marie Antoinette became increasingly frustrated and restless and did open rebellion against the court rules which she hated. Along with young court ladies she amused herself incognito in Paris' entertainment world in the theaters and masquerade balls. Soon, by the court slander, she had a stained reputation and many enemies at court that behind her back disdainfully called her "the Austrian."

It is known that she had a close - if not how close - relationship with the Swedish diplomat Axel von Fersen, which later tried (unsuccessfully) to help the royal family to escape the revolution.

In 1774 the French King Louis XV died and the young couple became the new king and queen. In 1778 Marie Antoinette gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Marie Theresa Charlotte, the only member of the royal family who would survive the French Revolution. After her came three more children. As a mother the queen quieted down her lifestyle and took good care of her children. But her reputation was already damaged.

After the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 the royal family left Versailles and established themselves in the Tuiliere palace in Paris. A few years later, in 1793, first the king, Louis XVI, was imprisoned and executed, and later that year also Marie Antoinette, accused of high treason. During her detention, trial, and execution she was reported to have behaved with stoic and sublime calm.

What, then, does her horoscope look like?

Marie Antoinette, 2 November 1755, 19:30, Vienna, Austria

(Source: Astro DataBank)

Even a cursory glance at Marie Antoinette's horoscopes makes the pieces to fall into place. The Ascendant is in Moon-ruled Cancer (sensitivity, maternity), while the dominant Fifth House (self-expression, creativity, pleasures, passions, as well as children) in Venus-ruled Libra is filled to the brim with planetary energies - the Sun and Venus in passionate Scorpio plus the Moon and Jupiter in sociable Libra.

The Tenth House with the Midheaven in Pisces (uncertainty, sacrifice, loss) includes the South Lunar node in conjunction with revolutionary Uranus, both in this mutable Water sign. It shows the many upheavals in Marie Antoinette's life (the betrothal with the French throne heir, the queen-ship, the dethronement and finally the execution) as well as uncertainty (Pisces) on her role as French queen, hated and despised by many.

A large Water Trine connects Uranus with Mars in Cancer in the First House and the Sun/Venus conjunction in the Fifth House. This might give a hint to the Queen's ability to "juice up" the French court life (which led to excesses and extravagances that were not seen with benevolence by the representatives of the revolution).

If we consider the spread of planets in the horoscope, we see that the northern and western hemispheres (the chart's lower and right part) are best represented, reflecting the importance of her own identity and her own resources in the interaction with others.

The marital and sexual problems are reflected by Chiron (wounds, pain) in Capricorn in the Seventh House of marriage and Saturn (restriction, inhibition, delay) in the same sign in the Eighth House of sexuality. Chiron squaring the reveling Venus-disposed Jupiter in the Fifth House of pleasure, recreation and "love affairs" suggests that the young Queen compensated for the lack of marital bliss (at least during the first seven years) with a busy and vibrant nightlife.

The Fifth House conjunction between the Sun and Venus in Scorpio tells of strong passions and intensity (especially by the trine to Mars in the First House), as well as an ability to create drama around her person. At the same time it shows the courage (Mars in the First House) and the ability to confront (Scorpio).

One gets the impression that queen Marie Antoinette really was a very creative and artistic, maybe musically talented person, although she unfortunately probably never had the opportunity to concentrate on developing her talent to the fullest. Court life and duties as queen demanded their toll. Pluto in the Sixth House (daily routines) forms a square to the Lunar node axis between Pisces (South node in the Tenth House) and Virgo (North node in the Fourth House). This certainly reflects a troublesome part of her life.

The Ascendant and horoscope ruler, the Moon, in Venus-ruled Libra in the Fifth House, is of course about sociability and friendly charm. But the square to the Moon-disposed Mars in the First House also adds a good dose of temper, impatience and aggression. A square is formed similarly to Saturn in the Eighth House, revealing feelings of dissatisfaction and insecurity.

The Moon-ruled Ascendant in Cancer shows that Marie Antoinette faced life with strong inner feelings and that she cared for family and children. It also means that she was sensitive and easily hurt. Independent Mars in Cancer in the Moon-ruled First House, along with the Moon and the other planets in the Venus-ruled Fifth House, illustrates how she let restore and make her own a mini castle in Versailles, Petit Trianon, where she could retire and spend time with her dear friends among the courtiers and where even the king had to have an invitation to gain access.

The IC/MC axis between Virgo and Pisces, and the Lunar nodes in the same signs, strikes the theme of sacrifice and Marie Antoinette were several times in her life to experience how everything was taken away from her - her Austrian background, and initially at least even the marital happiness and finally the queen's crown and - worst of all - the beloved children. Yet it is said that she met all this with courage, dignity and a stoically exalted quietness. How was it possible to carry all this suffering, all this self-sacrifice? Maybe her inner strength came from the T-cross with the Moon in Libra squaring Mars in the First House and Saturn in the Eighth?

Her death - by decapitation - is implied already in the birth chart, shown by the opposition between Mars in the First House (her head, body, and violence) and Saturn in the Eighth (death).

Pars Fortunae in Cancer in the Second House, to round off, suggests that her happiness above all was to nourish and take care of herself and her loved ones (Cancer) and in building a stable set of values (the Second House). The square to the Moon and the opposition to Saturn shows how this happiness was ripped away from her especially when incarcerated and deprived of her children (the Moon in the Fifth House) and when she was taken to the guillotine (Saturn in the Eighth House).

© Mats Bergman 2013