Saptarishis Astrology’s Newsmaker Whitney Houston by Joni Patry

Article by Joni Patry

When  someone leaves this world we pay tribute to their lives. Celebrities who live their lives under a microscope can give us our greatest insights into the perils of life of being rich and famous. Whitney Houston was the most awarded female act of all time. She was a singer, actress, model and producer. But most of all, she was noted for her exceptional voice.

The 2nd house is the house of the voice, face and our ability to make money, and I would say she did exceptionally well in these areas. She has Jupiter and the Moon in Pisces in the 2nd house. Jupiter rules Pisces so it is exceedingly strong here. The fact that it also rules the 11th house (Sagittarius) denotes even more power to bring in riches because the 11th house is great wealth and the combinations of the 2nd house and 11th house mean “big” money.

Jupiter in the 2nd house aspects by trine the 6th and 10th house indicates a strong work ethic and career. With her Sun and

Venus in the 6th house in Cancer Jupiter aspects them tightly, giving her work opportunities and success. Her mother was a famous singer and her cousins were Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick. Her godmother was Aretha Franklin. The powerful Sun and Venus in the 6th house reveal her famous cousins from her mother’s side. The 6th house is known to be aunts and uncles because the 6th house is the 3rd house (siblings) from the 4th house (mother).

Aside from Whitney’s beautiful voice, face, extraordinary wealth, money and fame she suffered profoundly with addictions. You wonder how could anyone with such talent, beauty and money be so unhappy. With a closer look at her chart the psychological troubles that keep her from happiness are revealed. Her ascendant is Aquarius which is ruled by Saturn; and although very strong and powerful in Capricorn, is retrograde in the 12th house.  The 12th house has a hidden secretive side that no one sees or knows about. It is the house of our own undoing, meaning self destructive. And the Moon which rules the mind on first glance is conjunct Jupiter but it also receives aspects from malefic Mars, Saturn and is at the midpoint of Rahu/Ketu. The Moon reflects our moods, mind and emotions. And she was definitely tormented.

Her ascendant ruler Saturn is in the nakshatra Shatabishak, which many times has a connection to drugs and alcohol, or specifically healing around addictions. And Saturn which is placed in the house of solitude and secrecy (12th) is in nakshatra Dhanishta. This nakshatra’s symbol is a drum and denotes timing as in music, and labeled “the richest one”- indicating great wealth. Dhanishta is one of the nakshatras ruled by Mars and her Mars is in the 8th house, which is one of the most misunderstood houses. The moksha houses that refer to spiritual liberation are the hardest to understand in this world.

The moksha houses are 4, 8, and 12. These houses pertain to the spiritual world and cannot be understood completely from the material world. The 4th house is our past, heritage, genetics, soul and represents where we return as in the end of life. The 8th house rules control, power and death- ways that we control and manipulate others is through money, sex and death. These are the most powerful controlling agents on earth. The 12th house is the last and final house indicating endings or the final frontiers. All these houses attach themselves to the emotions of death, dying and endings in life. They represent the veil of this world into the unknown or unknowable worlds and dimensions beyond this existence. These houses rule the unknowable and inconceivable. They cause the most difficulty in life, therefore are the portals to spirituality. After great difficulties we are forced to seek the deeper essence of our truth, which is the spiritual dimension of our soul.

As Whitney has Mars in the 8th and Saturn in the 12th house, she wanted to escape the unfulfilling world of illusion and manipulation of this ephemeral world. One very specific difference about the 8th house concerns the need to feel in control in a place where control is never possible. To feel controlled or to control others is unnatural for our innate need is to feel free. The more out of control one feels the more they struggle to be in control. This creates all the dysfunctional behaviors associated with addictions and the 8th house.  Guilt, shame and disgrace are the culprits of dysfunctional behavior and addictions. Planets in the 8th house will give rise to the discovery of this profound journey to discover freedom, and the ultimate freedom comes from surrender and can mean the death of this world.

As Mercury is in her 7th house of relationships and partners it is conjunct both Pluto and Uranus setting up an explosive combination for radical events. Both Mars and Rahu are in signs ruled by Mercury. Mars is in Virgo and Rahu is in Gemini pointing both back at her troubled Mercury which is in her house of marriage and relationships. Her greatest torment came from her relationships which feed her addictions from issues of control.

As to her drug use and problematic behavior Whitney was trying to escape searching for something beyond this world. The real problem is we have to face our issues because life is truly about doing the work, of facing that which we don’t understand or like in ourselves. It means getting clear and facing our fears. Once we have come to terms with our fears they seem to dissolve instead of mounting into the exaggerated scenarios we create in our minds.

As to the events that lead to her untimely death she simply gave up on doing the hardest work of all, facing herself. Mars, the planet that rules her 3rd house of will power, is currently transiting retrograde depleting her will to live, plus her natal Mars is in her 8th house of death. The night she died Saturday February 11th 2012 transiting Mars was 26 degrees, exactly aspecting four of her natal planets, Saturn, Jupiter, and Rahu and Ketu. As transiting Mars is retrograde making it slow and deliberate in movement, its aspects have more intensity. It is precisely 6 houses from natal Saturn and 8 houses from Jupiter resulting in an accidental death. But in reality, was it really accidental or was it an unconscious suicide? She gave up and didn’t want to do the work of facing her addictions. And there is danger when transiting Mars is in the 7th house affecting Jupiter by full 8th aspect in the 2nd house, both the 2nd and 7th houses are maraka houses and pertain to death.

I think Whitney Houston is a prime example that all we seek such as money, fame, fortune, talent and beauty are ephemeral and cannot give the satisfaction, love or happiness we believe it will provide. But what will give us our joy, happiness and completion is facing the truth and doing the work, to come to terms with our truth. Facing our fears within ourselves and discovering that we made the illusions of our guilt something to fear. Addictions are so deep and misunderstood, and the mind which is ruled by the Moon and Mercury can sway us in disillusion until we discover the truth which will give us our ultimate freedom which involves surrender. Whitney may have escaped her fears temporarily but she will still inevitably have to come back and do the work.

About Author : Joni has been a practicing astrologer and teacher for over 30 years, and founder of the “Galactic Center” in Dallas. She has been an online Vedic Instructor for the Online College, for the American College of Vedic Astrology’s Online program, is a faculty member for ACVA (American Council of Vedic Astrology), and served as the executive secretary for CVA (Council of Vedic Astrology), where she published and distributed the International CVA Journal. As a writer, she has published three books and many articles and research in Vedic astrology. Her book Eastern Astrology for Western Minds is a complete manual of Vedic astrology. Joni has organized international symposiums and is often a keynote speaker for national and international conferences. She has been on national television and radio programs as an authority on both Western and Vedic astrology. Her clientele includes the Who’s Who of America, including Hollywood celebrities. Her web site, www.galacticcenter.org, has a good deal of information for all students of astrology. She can be contacted at joni@galacticcenter.org