StarIQ Home
PlanetPulse describes the daily astrological patterns as they affect all of us, much like the changing weather.
 




 Home

 
 
 Listen to the
 Daily Audio
 Planet Pulse


 Article Search
 
StarIQ Article Search





 

In 1987, Keanu Reeves’ breakthrough performance as dim-witted dude Ted Logan in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure made him a star, but at the same time it created a space cadet image the actor has found hard to shake. The blank look on his face and his goofy demeanor during interviews don't do much to dispel the image.

Career wise, Reeves has bounced like a Nerf ball from mega-hits like Speed to bombs like The Replacements. But with The Matrix, he may have tapped into something so big that even he isn't fully aware of its significance. As one showbiz columnist once asked, "Is he a gifted actor or just a lucky moron?" His horoscope provides some interesting clues.

Astrology Horoscope: Keanu ReevesKeanu Reeves was born on September 2, 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon, with a tight gathering of four planets in his chart, including Mercury, the Sun and the generational planets Uranus and Pluto, all together in Virgo. Let's examine this powerful planetary formation, known as a stellium, piece by piece.

A Different Way of Thinking

Mercury, the planet of communication, was retrograde, or appearing to move backward, at the time of Reeves’ birth. When a person seems a bit different in the way he thinks and expresses himself, one of the things that usually shows up in the horoscope is a retrograde Mercury. During retrograde periods, Mercury's energy flows in an inward direction, and the mental processes of a person born at that time function opposite to the way of most other people.

On the plus side, this gives Mercury retro folks the ability to come up with some pretty original ideas, but on the minus side, it can also lead to reinventing the wheel. On top of that, they frequently find it pretty difficult to get anyone else to understand what they're saying.

Reeves’ retro Mercury points to a subjective turn of mind. Mercury's conjunction with the Sun indicates even further subjectivity, and his thinking may be somewhat self-absorbed since the Sun represents the self.

Uranus, the planet of individuation, adds a dimension of uniqueness, independence and perhaps eccentricity. The proximity of Mercury to lightning-fast Uranus is also an indication of a potentially brilliant mind, but it's sort of like having a hand calculator linked up to a giant computer. Mercury may have trouble processing all the data.

Pluto is also a part of the stellium. Pluto is known as the planet of power and transformation, but it is also secretive. When Pluto is prominent in an individual's chart, as it is here, it often imparts a degree of inscrutability to the personality. Sometimes these people employ a deadpan, almost blank expression as a defense in order not to let others know what is going on in their minds.

The Shadow of Saturn

This package of planetary energy bundled up in Virgo gives Keanu a somewhat humble, if not self-effacing, attitude. Those with many planets in Virgo tend to be perfectionists, and very critical of themselves. In interviews, Keanu is self-deprecating, calling himself a "meathead," somebody who knows nothing. Is Keanu’s “interview style” just a humble Virgo act, or is it possible he really sees himself this way?

Having a Virgo stellium is not necessarily an indication of a poor self-image. But in Keanu's case, Saturn, the planet of limitations and blockages, is casting its shadow across the Virgo planets from its position in the opposite sign of Pisces. Saturnian hangups are said to be the result of the psychological impact of the father. Shortly after Keanu was born, his mother and father split. His mother took him to New York and later Toronto, where there were three more marriages and three stepdads. A strong, consistent father figure to provide a male role model is obviously missing from Keanu's life story, and may have left its impact in terms of his self-image.

The Excellent Adventure Begins

In high school the only things that interested Reeves were acting and hockey. After he dropped out of school, his real-life excellent adventure began. In 1986, actor Rob Lowe was in Canada filming Youngblood, a movie about hockey. Jupiter, the planet of excellent adventure, was moving through Pisces, a sign associated with film, first conjuncting Keanu's Saturn (work) and then opposing his Virgo planets, and he got a bit part. He found himself doing the only two things he really cared about—acting and hockey. This prompted a move to Hollywood, where he got a role as a messed up teen in River's Edge, followed a year later by Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

A Pop Culture Symbol

When “personal” planets such as the Sun and Mercury conjunct “generational” planets like Uranus and Pluto as they do in Reeves’ chart, it can indicate that the individual may become identified with generational issues. In 1999, Saturn, the planet that opens and closes the major chapters in our lives, was in Taurus in a favorable trine aspect to Reeves’ Virgo stellium, including his Uranus and Pluto.

Key words for Pluto and Uranus in conjunction are "powerful revolutionary." In The Matrix, Reeves played the leader of a revolt against a future society in which humans are enslaved by technology. The film was hugely successful, and Reeves’ image was suddenly transformed. Saturn, contacting his stellium, crystallized the potential in his chart to become a pop culture symbol for the current generation's love-hate relationship with technology.

Currently, as Saturn passes over Jupiter in his chart, Reeves seems to be everywhere. He has two films, Sweet November and The Gift, screening simultaneously in theaters, and The Matrix 2, coming in 2002 when Jupiter will be transiting in his Cancer Moon sign, promises to be a major cinematic phenomenon.

He seems to be enjoying his success, and is happily involved in a relationship with his co-star in Sweet November, Charlize Theron. As for his self-image, let's hope Reeves doesn't forget the slogan of the future utopia that Bill and Ted helped create: "Be excellent to each other!" The best place to start practicing that philosophy, especially for a Virgo, is with oneself.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John M. Whalen is freelance writer, astrologer, and editor of a business publication based in Washington, D.C. He writes about film, TV, music and travel for various magazines and newspapers. He contributed a chapter on the life and films of director Sam Peckinpah to the new book, The Astrology of Film: The Interface of Movies, Myth, and Archetype.

Send an email to the author.

For more information about John Whalen, click here.

Other StarIQ articles by John Whalen:

  • Astro-Zen   3/10/2012
  • Astro-Zen   9/10/2004
  • Polarized Politics   8/20/2004
  • Saturn and the Vanquishing of Illusion   11/3/2003
  • The Grand Illusion   1/9/2003
  • Two Degrees of Scorpio   10/10/2002
  • Venus Elements   2/14/2002
  • Timothy McVeigh: The Day of Judgment   5/9/2001
  • Kevin Spacey: A Mystery Wrapped in an Enigma   4/9/2001
  • Steven Soderbergh: Putting the Cuffs on Oscar   3/5/2001
  • The Christmas Eclipse: Bringing Your Heart's Desire   12/25/2000
  • Robert DeNiro: Master of Form and Essence   11/18/2000
  • Sylvester Stallone: A Fallen Star, Rising Again?   10/28/2000
  • Yasser, Ehud, Can We Talk?   8/31/2000
  • Alec Guinness: Reluctant Jedi   8/19/2000
  • Human Genetics: O Brave New World!   8/16/2000
  • Survivor: Candid Camera Runs Amok   7/8/2000
  • Samuel L. Jackson: Shaft for the New Millennium   7/1/2000
  • Jackie Chan: Fearless Aries with the Comic Touch   6/23/2000

    Email this article to a friend.
    Printer-friendly version
    Submit your feedback on this article
    View feedback on this article.




     
    Copyright © 1999-2023 StarIQ.com, Inc.