Anatomy of a Princess

By Mari Garcia
race Kelly, actress and Americas fairy-tale princess, went from Hollywood aristocracy to European royalty. She was beautiful, elegant and impossibly glamorous, born into a wealthy family in Philadelphia whose members boasted a Pullitzer prize winning author and an Olympic Gold medalist. Her fairy tale romance and wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco saw her exchange a Hollywood lifestyle for a more courtly and royal existence. This year, 2013 marks the 84th year of her birth and in astrological terms this is her Uranus return and it is no coincidence that we see her story evolving from legend to myth. But like all legends, the veneer often hides a different story and it is in the transition from legend to myth that the shades have started to fall away and we start to glimpse the other side. Interestingly, a controversial bio-pic starring Nicole Kidman is due to be released later this year and has already drawn the ire of her son, Monacos Prince Albert and his sisters Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie. They have denounced the new film as pointlessly glamourised and historically inaccurate in a scathing letter attacking the project.1 What does the natal chart reveal of her real story?

Father
Let us start by looking at the Father figure as Grace Kelly was known to have worshipped her father. The Greek astrologer, Vetius Valens tells us that: The matters concerning the father, then, are taken thusly: by day, the Sun will be consulted and the zoidon upon which the Sun stands; [by night] the lord of the zoidon upon which Zeus stands and the zoidon welcoming Zeus2 In short, we must consider the condition and placement of the Sun for a daytime birth or Jupiter for a night time birth. Grace Kellys chart is a night time chart because the Sun is below the horizon i.e below the Ascendant and it has not yet risen. In this case, we will look to Jupiter as the significator of the father. Firstly, Jupiter in the chart is out of sect as it a diurnal planet and is placed in the opposite hemisphere to the Sun. Jupiter likes being with the Sun and this is a serious flaw. Jupiter is also retrograde in Gemini, the sign of its detriment and is situated in the 8th house. The retrogradation,

detriment and placement in the 8th house further debilitates or distorts Jupiter, suggesting that the father is damaged, difficult and frustrated or frustrating. This is a Jupiter that is vulnerable to excess and zealotry, its two major flaws. These are highlighted by Jupiters lack of dignity both by sign, direction and house placement. A planet that is corrupted acts in a detrimental manner and brings outs the detrimental side.
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Additionally, a planet in detriment will not produce the best of what it signifies and Jupiter, the great benefic is unable to bring the bounty it promises. Finally, apart from the separating square which the Moon makes to it, there are no other aspects. Therefore, we can say that Father causes her great difficulties, and although he may be inspiring and forceful, there is something about him and his actions which are alternative, different and could be destructive. Grace Kelly was born into a wealthy Philadelphia family and her father Jack Kelly, was a tough man, an uncompromising moralist, who expected excellence and propriety from his daughter. According to the biographer, James Spada: Graces motivations were inspired by her almost pathological need for her fathers approbation her father complex also left her with an obsessive attraction to older, accomplished, authoritative paternal figures.3
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Grace grew up in a family where competition was paramount. As an Olympic champion, the son of an Irish immigrant, and a self-made millionaire, Jack Kelly instilled a sense of steely resolve as well as a competitive edge in all his children. Here we see the difficult Jupiter that instead of being generous and broadminded is instead fanatical and limiting. She went against her parents wishes despite his

brothers' occupations (they were both actors), her father viewed acting as a slim cut above streetwalker. Grace Kelly decided to pursue her dreams of a career in the theater.4 For most of her life, Grace Kellys love life revolved around older men, who played the twin roles of mentor/lover. She was also determined to win her fathers approval for her career choice. Graces motivations were inspired by her almost pathological need for her fathers approbation, wrote James Spada in Grace: the Secret Lives of a Princess. Her father complex also left her with an obsessive attraction to older, accomplished, authoritative paternal figures.5 But her fathers demands for demure obedience backfired and Grace rebelled against the heavy-handed moral strictures forced upon her and became sexually promiscuous, claims Spada.6 This is an interesting expression of this debilitated Jupiter because as astrologers, we would be looking for the Saturn statement of heavy handed morality. But Jupiter is much more the zealot than Saturn could ever be. Also, the role of mentor is a Jupiterian one, where experience and wisdom as well as a level of protection are extended to the neophyte. Jupiter alone is not responsible for Grace Kellys sexual proclivities however, but what we have is an image of a father who is bigger than life, wealthy, moralistic and also benevolent, when it suits his moral compass. When Grace was engaged to Prince Rainier, it was stipulated that her dowry would be $2 million, which Jack Kelly handed over. What we see is the picture of this Jupiterian figure in her life, inspiring and generous yet also moralistic and zealous and it took the form of her father.

Primary Motivation
Next let us look at the Ascendant. The Ascendant describes the individuals primary motivation, the innate drive that propels the person forward. In Kellys chart, Scorpio rises and the motivation of a water Ascendant is emotional need. Grace was driven by the need for emotional security and this was realised through the Ascendant ruler, Mars. We find Mars in Scorpio, in rulership, conjunct the Sun in the 1st house. A powerful placement as it has both essential and accidental dignity : rulership and placement in an angular house, giving it prominence, effectiveness and strength. The condition of the ruler of the Ascendant describes how well Grace can achieve her primary motivation. At first glance we can say that yes, she achieves it with no problem as Mars is in such good condition. But we must be wary of such strong planets as Robert Zoller tells us. We must constantly ask the question, For whom, does the planet benefit? and To what degree does this planet benefit?7 He means who is getting the benefit of this power as it may not always be the person. Looking a bit closer we see that Mars is combust, that is within 12 degrees of the Sun and therefore burnt.8 Combustion suggests that the quality of Mars is affected. Al-Biruni explains that combustion affects planets in different ways according to their nature: as e.g. heat may become increased and moisture diminished, consequently the injurious influence of combustion is less with some planets and greater with others. 9 The nature of Mars is that it is hot and dry and with combustion, these qualities are heightened and as such the destructive quality of Mars then becomes a problem. Mars is known for its haste in
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movement and separation to stand out. Grace Kelly realised her primary motivation for emotional security through the agency of Mars. Whilst she could be incredibly focused and energetic in her pursuit of her ambitions, she also expressed her Mars via a rampant sexuality. Her promiscuity saw her involved in affairs with actors Ray Milland, Gary Cooper and Clark Gable, singers Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, fashion designer Oleg Cassini, film director, John Ford and many others. The writer, Gore Vidal was heard to quip, Grace almost always laid the leading man. She was famous for it.10 Interestingly, Mars is also in a grand trine with Pluto and the Moon, bringing together the appetites (Moon) and the adrenalin rush (Mars) with the obssessiveness of Pluto. Alfred Hitchcock, the famous film director who had worked closely with Kelly summed her up in this way: Shes seductive without being sexy. Under an icy surface, she seems to burn with an inner fire. 11 And it is the inner fire of the dignified Mars coupled with combustion that is at the heart of it.

The Ascendant
The Ascendant also describes how we come across to others and how we interact with the world. It describes our beginnings and our outward behaviour. Scorpio on the Ascendant is a water sign and water has the qualities of cold and wet. The cold quality suggests slow or deliberate movement and the wet quality implies cohesion and connection. Together they make for actions and attitudes which are slow to form, reserved, deliberate and remote. However, once established and formed the connections, opinions and attitudes are steadfast and consistent. What we see with Grace Kelly is someone whose faade was cool and elegant, protecting the intense and sensitive individual. The Scorpio Ascendant is protective of the rest of the chart and with the ruler, Mars sitting in the first house, she had a strong sense of survival.

Planets in the First House

The other side of the Grace Kelly image which was demure, poised, well-spoken, generous and kind. She was adored by colleagues on both sides of the camera. How do we reconcile this picture with the previous one? Let us look at the other planets in the 1st house as these will also be significant in colouring how she comes across to others. We see the Sun and Mars in the first, in Scorpio which one can say is the steely resolve that many have described and then we also see Mercury conjunct the Ascendant, giving her both the poise and astuteness when it came to media interviews, selecting scripts or negotiating contracts. Mercury also squares the Leo MC describing her ability to articulate and express both her personal and professional aspirations. Mercury rules the 8th and the 11th and so her vulnerabilities which cause crises (8th) and her hopes and wishes (11th) are the underlying motivation for the expression of this Mercury. Additionally, Mercury is also conjunct the South Node, adding another layer of meaning.

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The Nodal Axis

The house axis emphasized by the Nodes describes the internal map of the life where a person blends the instinctual (South Node) with the learned processes (North Node) of life.12 With the Nodal axis straddling the 1st - 7th house axis we see the importance of relationships. Her North Node in the 7th suggests that the learned process involves developing cooperation, companionship and healthy competition while the instinctual, the South Node in the 1st, suggests that there is an avoidance or denial of pain or crisis, a tendency to insist on self-sufficiency regardless of circumstance, a rigidity of outlook.13 This nodal axis tells us that for Kelly, relationships and partnerships are the defining goals in her life and would continue to be important in every facet of life. That she would strive to form relationships and when they failed to meet expectations, she reverted back to the instinctual patterns described by the South Node. What is additionally interesting is that the planets that rule her Taurus-Scorpio Nodal axis are Venus and Mars, which as a pair describe issues of desire, fortitude and cooperation. Venus is in rulership in the 12th and is sextile to Saturn. Venus rules the 7th and 12th houses, suggesting that the relating energy of Venus is underpinned by hidden fears (12th) and cooperation/competition (7th). Mars on the other hand rules the 1st and the 6th and so the roots of Graces instinctual passions are herself (1st) and her own toil and labour (6th). For Grace Kelly spent the first part of her life looking for the perfect partner. After her many liaisons, most notably with older and married men, she became guilt-ridden about her promiscuity at the ripe old age of twenty-six. Grace was a rest- less, dissatisfied and unhappy woman desperate to win legitimacy in a good marriage, claims biographer James Spada.14 When she married Prince Rainier of Monaco she believed that she had found the perfect husband. But the marriage did not provide the balm to the Nodal urge to look for partnerships which provided stability and emotional satisfaction. She once confided to her hairdresser: I know my husband has affairs with other women. Thats very frustrating to me and makes me very unhappy.15 She herself continued to have affairs with others for several years afterwards. What we see is the Nodal axis activated by a need for partnerships and the realization of this via the Martian lens of sexual activity. Again, the Mars is called into action as it is the most readily available planet as it sits in the 1st house, rules the instinctual processes (Scorpio South Node) and is easily the most powerful planet in the chart by dignity. Yes, the Mars got what it wanted but what did all this sexual activity do for Grace Kellys own satisfaction? Possibly in the short term it did provide some satisfaction however it was an aching need that seemed to be always just beneath the surface of the cool, elegant exterior.
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The Moon
Finally, a look at her Moon to determine just what Grace Kelly needed to feel safe and secure. We find the Moon in Pisces in the 5th house ruling the 9th house. Her emotional needs were about feeling connected and creative. The involvement of the Moon in the grand trine with Sun, Mars and Pluto suggests emotional power struggles as well as the need to possess. When she was younger, this was

fuelled through her many love affairs. When she married, it was directed towards her children. But when the marriage to Rainier started to fracture in the early 1960s and she was so disillusioned, she planned to flee back to America, where she has been offered $1million to star in Marnie, a new Alfred Hitchcock thriller. The money did not attract her; it was the opportunity to flee Rainiers tyrannical rules. An interesting point here, she fled her father (represented by the difficult Jupiter) only to flee into the arms of one just like him! The Moon is in square to Jupiter. Also, the ruler of the Taurus 7th house is Venus, in rulership in the 12th, the house of fears and sorrow. She often referred to her marriage as her gilded cage an apt description of her life in Monaco. In a scene in the soon-to-be -released bio-pic, Kelly asks a friend what would happen if she accepted the Hitchcock role and sought a divorce? The reply, Your children will suffer most,..Youll be lucky to see them again. I suppose the world will also hang its head in disappointment.16 It is this that is the deciding point. With the Moon in the 5th, her children were the pinnacle of creativity and the possibility of the threat or loss of them was almost too much to bear. As the Moon rules the 9th house of beliefs, the realization of these is in the 5th house of children and creativity. She settled for what she felt was ultimately her most precious achievement and tellingly, the script ends with the line : Grace Kelly never acted again.17

Summary
While Grace Kelly will continue to live in the collective memory as the cool and elegant celluloid princess, that image now recedes from legend to myth which will continue to surround the legacy of her films, only eleven of them however, what we have started to see is the revelation of the person behind that myth. The person that was Grace Kelly was a dreamer, determined to realize her dreams and driven by emotional need, she sought comfort in many relationships. Her drive, passion and desire fuelled both her ambitions and her need for emotional security. What we must remember is that as astrologers, our job is not to pass judgment on a life but to examine it. Information on the techniques mentioned in this article can be found in Scala Coeli or in the Astro Mundi courses. Check the website at www.astromundi.com Mari Garcia Copyright 2013.

References
1

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Monaco royals slam Nicole Kidman's Grace Kelly biopic at News.com.au Sourced at http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/monaco-royals-slam-nicole-kidmans-grace-kelly-biopic/story-e6frfmvr1226555553419#ixzz2IBsjfA4L [18/1/13] 2 Vetius Valens Anthology Book II, Part I, Chapter 32 3 Spada, James Grace: the Secret Lives of A Princess as quoted in Grace; the Untold Story. 29 January 2013. Express.Co.Uk http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/313542/Grace-The-untold-story Accessed 24/1/13 4 Grace Kelly as quoted in Wikipedia sourced at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly. Accessed 24/1/13 5 Spada, James Grace: the Secret Lives of A Princess

Ibid. Zoller, Robert Medieval Astrology Course 8 For more on the condition of combustion see Scala Coeli: the Ladder of Heaven M Garcia & J Usher (Adelaide: Astro Mundi, 2012) page 237. 9 Al-Biruni The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology, trans, R Ramsay Wright, 481. 10 Sheridan, Peter Grace; the Untold Story. Express.Co.Uk 29 January 2013. http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/313542/Grace-The-untold-story Accessed 24/1/13 11 Ibid. 12 Garcia, M The Dragons Path: the Moons Nodes in Astrology in Scala Coeli: the Ladder of Heaven. M Garcia & J Usher (Adelaide: Astro Mundi, 2012) page 237. 13 Ibid. 14 Op.Cit. 15 Sheridan, Peter Grace; the Untold Story. Express.Co.Uk 29 January 2013. http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/313542/Grace-The-untold-story Accessed 24/1/13 16 Churcher, Sharon Grace Kelly Marriage Claims anger Monaco Royal Family. Daily Mail UK, 26 January 2013 sourced at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2268816/Grace-Kelly-marriage-claims-anger-Monaco-royal-family.html accessed 27/2/13 17 Ibid.
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The Author
Mari Garcia is a consulting astrologer who has been involved with astrology since 1990. She has lectured widely both in Australia and the USA and has published articles in Australia and overseas and writes for several local and national publications. She runs a consulting practice in Adelaide and is co-principal of ASTRO MUNDI, which offers a four year course in astrology, a Traditional Astrology course as well as special interest workshops and Master Classes. Mari can be contacted on 08 8563 9182 or check out the website at www.astromundi.com. Keep abreast of developments at Astro Mundi on Facebook.

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