Around this time last year, I wrote an article entitled, “The Astrology of Russell Brand.” My intention with the post was simply to make a case around why I felt Russell was an essential Archetype/Role Model/Human for these times (You can read it here). Issues around addiction, shadow work, sexuality, fame, fearlessness, inequality, and revolution were all qualities I illuminated. It was an Eclipse window then, and it is now. Mercury was also about to go retrograde in Scorpio like it is now. Lots has changed since then for Russell, and for all of us.
What I would like to do in revisiting Russell’s Astrology is twofold: 1. Show you the power of particular Transits and Progressions; 2. Make a case again of why I feel he is one of the most important celebrities alive—especially for the younger generations.
You don’t need to know anything about Russell to read this, or about astrology really. I will do be best to be succinct with my explanations.
The Transits
Russell is a Gemini with a heavily aspected Aries Moon. Meaning, he is a fast thinking jester with a pioneering activist running through his veins. It also creates quite the curious cat, hungry for experience, sex, and a good fight. It’s good to know as well, he found his sobriety during his Progressed Lunar Return (Forever 27’s), which brought him to yoga and a more refined character who is much more palatable than the wild haired trouble maker staring into every camera he could through a thick layer of eye liner. Through his transformation I have come to like the guy very much, and he has much to share with us all.
Let’s take a look at his Transits:
It is the Pluto/Uranus square that we will be focusing on. Pluto is transiting his 12th house, which at the beginning of it, when it moved into his 12th house, brought him major fame (Read about it here). The 12th house isn’t just the House of Insanity or Secrets, it also relates to the Collective and how we can tap into it, to our dreams, and then watch it swell through the sea of all of our minds. If this process goes well, it no doubt can bring a good deal of attention our way. It has done just that for Russell.
See the red line stretching across the Chart pointing towards Saturn? This opposition hasn’t happened yet, but it can already be witnessed. Pluto, the energy which exposes all secrets is facing off with Saturn: The System. When I talk about Russell with people, many have no clue about his YouTube channel “the Trews.” It’s a quick, from the hip kind of show where Russell exposes the truth about news around the world. Not too different than the Daily Show or the Colbert Report, just that it’s done without a budget. And with his Aries Moon, I fear he is either going to get himself killed or start a revolution—which is the title of his new book (Check it out here or Image).
Here is a sample:
Now we look to Uranus, who has been transiting over his Moon/Mars conjunction for the past few years, with Jupiter as the next stop. The Pluto/Uranus square in the sky (if you’re not familiar, click HERE) is no joke. It’s a once in a lifetime Transit for all of us. Depending on where it is happening in our charts is where Transformation (Pluto) and Revolution (Uranus) is happening inside us. Having taken a tiny peek at the implications of his Pluto in the 12th house opposing Saturn, we look to Uranus and see what it is doing in his 3rd house. Uranus transiting the 3rd pours “out of the box,” world changing, and shocking ideas into us. This is because the 3rd House relates to Ideas and Language and Uranus brings intelligence into us from other worlds, from the gods, not too different than Prometheus’s role in Greek Mythology. For him, it has awakened a warrior activist who is taking on the whole system solo. These ideas aren’t new to many of us, and most likely not to Russell either, but he is now finally sharing them with the world in quite the radical way. This is the point of the Trews, It was the essence of his last comedy tour “the Messiah Complex,” and naturally, it is the premise of his upcoming book, “Revolution.”
That’s just a 3rd house interpretation of Uranus moving through. He also has Moon/Mars/Jupiter in Aries in this space. He has made it through the Moon transit, which related to a divorce with Katy Perry and his Mother having another brush up with cancer; He has survived the Uranus/Mars transit, which I would be curious to know how that showed up in his personal life in the form of anger, sex, and accidents (It no doubt awakened the revolutionary voice and willingness to fight); And the next step which will be the theme over the next couple years: Uranus transiting Jupiter!
Jupiter rules Russell’s North Node in Sagittarius. This is crucial. The Planet that rules our North Node facilitates our destinies, and transits to and from the North Node ruler always tend to be significant events in a person’s life. For Russell, it’s either going to make him or break him; He will either become Martyr for our generation or some strange Messiah like he jokes on about in his stand up. I say it like this, because big Jupiter transits show up in Death charts more frequently than not. I am no predictive Astrologer, but Russell is on to something, and if he keeps pushing, something strange and curious may happen to him. Or not!? Maybe it expands his ideas across the globe and the Dalai Lama asks for his presence again by his side to speak to the world in some kind of “State of the Union” address. Only time with tell….
His Progressions
Progressions are a technique Astrologer’s use to understand the slow and steady evolution of a person’s personality. Many use it for prediction purposes. I choose to utilize it for watching evolution and change in a person’s life.
The essence of them is this: Every day after our birth equals a year in the Secondary Progressed chart. For example, the Sun moves 1 degree per day, so in the Progressed Chart it will move 1 degree per year. Only the Inner planets make much movement throughout a person’s life. This is because Pluto, for instance, doesn’t move too far in 84 days (which equals 84 years in the Progressed Chart). And so we focus on Sun, Moon, Venus, Mercury, and Mars mainly. Just to be general.
One of the most interesting ways of utilizing the Progressed chart is by tracking the cycle between Sun and Moon (“the Progressed Lunation Cycle”). Depending on where in the lunar cycle you were born will depend on when you will experience a Progressed Full Moon or New Moon. If this is confusing, I point you towards Steven Forrest’s, “Book of the Moon” because it would take me a book as well to fully explain. But let’s use Russell’s Progressed cycle as an example. Maybe then you will get a deeper knowing.
Following the blue line I drew on the chart, it connects the Progressed Sun and Moon (It’s on the second wheel, and the Sun is at 20 Cancer, the Moon 17 Virgo). What this shows is that Russell is in the waxing phase of his Progressed Lunation, the Sun and Moon are nearly 60 degrees apart (a sextile), and it falls within a phase Steven calls, “The Extremist.”
Qualities include: A Drive to accomplish and experience. Hunger. Imbalance. Success at any cost. Presence. Natural Authority. Radiant. Infectious. Hope in the face of darkness.
All qualities quite evident to Russell in this newscasting phase of his life. The shadow of it all is that it is always pushing, it is not realistic, and defeat can be debilitating. Only time will tell…
The Revolution
I don’t know what it is going to take to change the world. It’s one of the most overwhelming ideas to sit with. But I have learned a few things along the way, and one of the most important is we must be kind and tolerant and loving to everyone we meet along the way. The experience of conflict and separateness is a disease that we must banish. Also, we need to be careful not to spread ourselves too thin. We must choose something. Anything! It could be saving the rare 3 winged, albino butterfly or giving crack to homeless people in a sanitary fashion (this is actually happening in SF); Whatever it is, choose something, and go deep, don’t give up, because every good deed you do will reverberate. The universe is intelligent, it is listening, and all the loving vibes we put out into it is, no doubt, going to make a difference. If you haven’t watched the Trews yet, I highly recommend it. Russell is doing just this. He is sharing truth and love without expectation of return. What if we all did the same!?
And so it goes…
Image by appolinar, courtesy of Creative Commons license.
