Riding high on the back of the success of the wonderful film Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio has been the highest grossing film star of the past year, increasing his bank balance by a cool $77 million. I delve into the horoscope to find out the hidden motivations of the somewhat reclusive star to see what make Leonardo tick.
Leo is a Sun sign Scorpio, born on 11th November 1974 at 02.47am in Los Angeles and his Moon and Ascendant are in socially savvy Libra, the Moon sitting in the first house. You notice straight away that all of the planets are based in the eastern hemisphere of the chart except one, Jupiter. This suggests someone who is concerned about the self, with a me first attitude. There is one big exception to this which I will expand on a bit later.
The Sun sits in Scorpio the 2nd house of personal possessions and self worth closely conjunct to Venus. This conjunction continues into a wide stellium connecting Mars also in the 2nd house through to Uranus and Mercury just into the first. The Sun in Scorpio is quiet, private and deeply emotional in the 2nd. Leo will have great faith in his own abilities and very tied to wealth and his personal possessions. He will have a very unassuming nature, being kind and thoughtful and will want to lead a comfortable life of luxury. With an interest in economics and finance, one would assume had you not known this chart of an actor, that this would be the chart of a businessman. I suspect Leo sees his acting career as a vehicle for financing a luxury life for himself. The Sun and Venus make trines up to Saturn in the 10th showing that Leo has controlled ambition & will set himself achievable goals. In relationships, Leo will attracted to loyal stable women. I suspect that superficiality will be something he will not seek in a partner, he would rather be with somebody who stays true and has nothing, rather than someone who owns the world, yet plays around. Difficult to find in the Hollywood bubble, and as such he remains a very rich and eligible single guy.
Mars in the 2nd in Scorpio shows he will have a rather reckless attitude to spending (although he can afford it) and a very passionate nature, yet extremely private. Here is someone who once he wants something will go to all extremes to get it. Leo will also be a person who will from time to time suffer with jealousy. Mars in Scorpio is very vengeful (I know as I have this position too) and he will want to get even with anyone who wrongs him. All this will boil underneath the surface, only noticeable to those closest to him.
Moving around the stellium, we reach Mercury and Uranus in the 1st house in Libra. Leo has a very independent air about him. Sharp, intelligent, wanting to do his own thing he will take his own time in choosing what projects he wants to support. Sure he will have a social side to his choices (Libra is a very social sign) in knowing what his public wants, however he will always be drawn to doing something a little different, more against the grain, challenging the normal perceptions people have of him. Uranus conjunct Mars likes to test oneself and push one’s abilities to the maximum. Those on the set will know a temperamental man, edgy, restless, straight to the point and very frank and honest in his views.
Also in the the first house we find Pluto conjunct to the Ascendant and conjunct to the Moon. Moon/Pluto people are very deep, intense, driven to do their own thing and wanting to control their own lives. They feel to the very core of their being and when they are passionate about a cause, they will move heaven and high water to achieve their aims. I think this is the key to Leo, the passion and dedication he throws into his work. He quite literally lives the parts. Note all the aspects from the Sun, Moon, Uranus, Mercury and Pluto up to the Midheaven – here is a flood of energy being directed at his career. It is interesting that Moon Pluto is very subtly manipulative as a combination. Leo will have the ability to bring others around to his way of thinking, just through the power of his convictions. Mind control was the main subject of his latest film Inception, it fits doesn’t it?
Pluto conjunct to the Moon always hints at a controlling and rather strict mother. Leo’s parents split when he was just one year old and so he had to grow up in a broken family. Looking to two of the two planets I haven’t yet looked at we see the proof. Saturn sits retrograde in Cancer square to the Moon. Saturn retrograde always indicates a lack of love received from the father in the growing up process and the square aspect shows that he had a difficult relationship with her. A difficult one, but a close one.
Looking to the North Node, the maternal axis, we find it closely conjunct to Neptune. It was his mother who pushed young Leo into the creative world of acting and TV (ruled by Neptune) at just 5, confirmed by the fact that Pluto lies 5 degrees from the ascendant. Those first baby steps in front of a camera were to change his life path. Neptune lies in the 3rd house of the local environment and in Los Angeles, TV and Hollywood was his local environment. The 3rd house is the house of communication, and through the medium of film was the intensely private Leo’s preferred way of getting his message out. Neptune sits in Sagittarius square to Jupiter in Pisces. Here are planets in mutual reception, they work together beautifully. The film industry helps Leo to travel and experience new cultures (Jupiter) and his notoriety and success helps him in his other passion, eco conservatism. This is the one side of Leo that goes against the more self-centred side of his personality. Jupiter sits in the 6th house, traditionally ruled by Virgo; an earth sign. People with powerful placements here are often fond of the countryside and of nature. This Jupiter is part of a grand trine, with Mars in the 2nd and the Midheaven in Cancer. Leo will use the money he earns from his films (Mars in 2nd) to give generously (Jupiter) to conserve and protect (Cancer) plants and animal species.
Just recently, Leo has been starting a new 28 year cycle of growth. His Saturn is now starting to progress through his first house so the success of Inception which happened as Saturn transited his ascendant has now passed. This probably means that we will not see so much of him in the coming years, maybe making fleeting appearances in films he feels worthy to do. Saturn as it transits through the first to 3rd houses always means one takes a lower profile in things. It doesn’t mean that we won’t see much of him this year and into next, as a lot of work is already in the can. Transiting Jupiter will oppose Sun and Venus in March 2012 around Oscar time, so it is quite possible Leo will be only adding to his list of filmic achievements. I suspect afterwards, in a couple of years time as Saturn hits the second house of finance and making things, he will start to take an even more active role in his conservation interests, maybe spending time abroad and building on the work that he has already done. Also, watch out for some type of news with him involving women in the next month or two which will affect his public standing as transiting Saturn conjuncts his natal Moon affecting in turn his Cancerian Midheaven. The exact hit will be in early September 2011.
