Royal Wedding (July 29, 1981)

The History

Diana’s appearance as she walked up the cathedral steps to the cheers of the crowd more than justified the verse composed in her honour by the President of Zimbabwe, the Rev. Canaan Banana:

It was worth waiting for the one most fitting/ It was worth sweating for the one most soothing/ It was worth living for the one most loving…

‘The Trumpet Voluntary’ sounded; it was time for the bride to start her procession down the aisle, and it seemed less that she was on the arm of her father, Earl Spencer, than that he, shaky after the stroke he suffered in 1977, was drawing strength from the tall, triumphant daughter beside him. Her prince stood waiting for her beneath the great arch of the cathedral dome.

‘Dearly beloved,’ intoned the Dean of St Paul’s, and the marriage service had begun. It was relayed by loudspeakers to the crowds outside, and as the couple pledged themselves to one another, great roars rang out. When the bride said, ‘I will,’ the whole cathedral seemed to shake with the vast joy outside and, as she heard the roar, Lady Diana smiled.

“I pronounce that they be man and wife together,’ declared the Archbishop of Canterbury. Lady Diana Spencer was now the Princess of Wales. Outside Buckingham Palace the crowds were listening on their radios, and at the Archbishop’s words they rose to their feet and cheered.

Miller, Christopher. At This Point in Time: Charting the History of the Human Spirit (pp. 32-33). BookBaby. Kindle Edition.

[This chart is time corrected to 11:20 am, which changes the position of the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction to the 12th House. Mars is now in the 9th House conjunct the Midheaven.]

The Human Spirit

As Penny Thornton in her book, Synastry, so aptly points out, the links between the Royal Wedding chart, the composite and the natal charts of the Prince and Princess of Wales are quite staggering. Many astrologers have speculated that the date and time were chosen astrologically. I agree, even if this choice wasn’t made consciously by Charles and Diana.

For example, this chart’s Sun at 6° Leo conjoins Charles’ natal Ascendant and the couple’s composite Venus and opposes Diana’s Jupiter. This same Sun is also sextile the Royal Wedding Jupiter-Saturn-Ascendant conjunction. As we have seen before, Jupiter and Saturn, combined, seem to represent Britain, so this truly is a royal union. Even though Mars is square to this powerful conjunction, the marriage should be strong and binding. Venus is at the midpoint of the Sun and the Jupiter-Saturn-Ascendant combination, which signifies success in love. And, as a further bonus, the Sun stands at the midpoint of Venus and Mars – the archetypal signification of marriage and the successful physical union of male and female.

Another striking feature of this chart is the abundance of planets in the Tenth House. The Tenth House represents, in a Mundane Figure, the Chief Executive, as occupying the control-tower of the nation. Because the Moon resides here in this chart, ‘Mother’ figures strongly in the ‘job’. Someday, Charles will take over her role as ruler of Great Britain.

Wouldn’t we all like to offer (retrospectively) some advice to the married couple, especially about the bridegroom? Here’s what I would say: You want to be a person of some importance and, if possible, a leader. Even when you were young, you played this role whenever possible. (Sun in Leo) As you grew older, you trained for an occupation in which you could be your own boss or at least have quite a bit of independent authority. Your relationship with your father is very important. You are greatly influenced by his ways, although you occasionally disagree with him and try to rebel. (Sun in 10th) At times success will seem to fall into your lap without any special effort, which may cause you to think that the world owes you a living. (Sun Sextile Jupiter) You like to be either alone or with serious persons like yourself. (Sun Sextile Saturn) You are also quite sociable and outgoing, fond of getting around and meeting people. (Sun Sextile Ascendant)

You may play the role of parent to many people later on in life. (Moon in Cancer) Your mother has a great influence upon your life, shaping your basic attitudes and, even more important, your ideas of what values are significant and what is worth doing in life. This position is very good for a career in politics, or any career that puts you before the public, because you can win people over and get them to agree with your ideas. This position also means that you may be interested in farming. (Moon in 10th) You are likely to have quite a temper and fly off the handle easily. However, if you get in the habit of suppressing your angry feelings, they can build up to quite a fierce level and even become destructive in your life later on. You may react to threats that are more imagined than real if an innocent remark or action triggers off any angry reaction in your mind. (Moon Conjunct Mars) Your mother may have more to do with the career you choose than your father. (Moon Conjunct Midheaven) You are bored by fads and much more concerned with proven ideas. (Mercury in Cancer) You may be attracted to a career in traveling, communications or transportation or to a job that involves much public speaking. You are quite good at expressing opinions that you share with others. (Mercury in 10th) You may be attracted to offbeat subjects such as the occult or psychic studies. Others consider your views very strange, but you work with your ideas until you get as much as possible out of them. This is because you are really interested in these ideas, but also because you enjoy surprising or even shocking others. (Mercury Trine Uranus) You should always have a quiet place where you can be alone with your thoughts. (Mercury Inconjunct Neptune) You have to be careful about how you talk to people, because they may feel that you are trying to push them into an opinion or point of view that they don’t agree with. You may do this without realizing it until people react to what you say with great hostility, even though your words are innocent. (Mercury Square Pluto)

You must learn not to reject everything and everyone that does not live up to your high standards of beauty or of duty in relationships. And you may be overly critical of your friends. (Venus in Virgo) You are an excellent team player in any activity you get involved in, whether it is sports or work projects. (Venus in 11th) You are not attracted to people who do not share your love of intense experience or who seem afraid of life. You find less active people quite frustrating. (Venus Sextile Mars) Sometimes this aspect is a sign of artistic ability, especially if other areas of your chart reinforce this theme. Even at worst, you have a strong sense of beauty and a love of beautiful objects. (Venus Sextile Midheaven)

What you do depends on your moods to an unusual degree. When you are feeling positive and cheerful, you act confidently and assertively. But when you are depressed, you are more retiring and much more irritable. Also you may keep your anger in to the point that you begin to feel a permanent grudge against the other person. You work very hard to preserve a value from the past that you respect, because you are conservative in the best sense of the word. (Mars in Cancer) [When you are older, you may look for a cause that you can defend. You are much more likely to fight for an ideal than for yourself, so you must be careful about the cause you choose. (Mars in 9th)] This is usually a very positive aspect, but you must develop some self-control. Otherwise you will take foolish risks that cannot possibly work out, even physical risks that could lead to an accident. (Mars Square Jupiter) Anger and irritation are often a problem with this aspect, because the action of Saturn inhibits the action of Mars. Be careful that you do not let your anger build up so far that it takes over. You don’t lose your temper easily, but when you do, you do it spectacularly. But bitterness can distort your vision and make the whole world look bad. It also causes you to withdraw from others and become unreachable. Sometimes the effects of this aspect surface on the physical level as a tendency to break bones easily. (Mars Square Saturn) This aspect either leads to frequent disputes and disagreements with people or to feeling frustrated or futile if you try to hold in your anger and resentment in everyday contacts, leading to a feeling that it is you against the world, unless you find out what you have in common with others and how to cooperate with them. (Mars Square Ascendant)

One final word with respect to the Mercury-Neptune Inconjunct:

The challenge of this aspect is to make your thinking and communication with others much clearer; otherwise you will have a lonely life.