Sigh. I’m a Marvel fanboy. And I could literally not be more excited about Avengers: Endgame, what is sure to be a climactic conclusion to the Infinity Saga. Being an astrologer, I’ve also been fascinated by some of the astrological factors at play for the production of the movies, and for the actors involved. Here are some of the basic transits at play for some of the major characters (two of which who we’re pretty sure aren’t returning after Avengers: Endgame) and for the movies as a whole.
Robert Downey Jr. – Iron Man – Uranus Opposition
At age 41-43 is when everyone experiences their Uranus Opposition, when Uranus reaches the opposite point of the zodiac from where it was before. Uranus is the planet of disruption, revolution and reinvention. For many people this can be the time of a major breakthrough, a mid-life crisis, a chance to completely reinvent themselves.
Robert Downey Jr.’s star turn as Tony Stark is so satisfying, not just for his perfect portrayal, but for what it has meant for his life and career. Before Iron Man, Downey Jr. was still known as a brilliant character actor, but deeply troubled by the destructive influence of addiction, serving stints in prison. He had gone from being nominated for Oscars to virtually being blacklisted in Hollywood as unreliable. However, it was at Robert Downey Jr.’s Uranus Opposition that he was given the second chance of a lifetime by being cast in the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man.
His casting occurred at the last Jupiter-Neptune square prior to Disney’s acquisition of Marvel at the conjunction (highlighted in blue). We are now back at the same point of the Jupiter-Neptune cycle, the last square before the conjunction. For RDJ, playing the role of Iron Man has been a complete Jupiter-Neptune cycle, from the time was first cast to what will likely be his last MCU appearance in Avengers: Endgame.
When he assumed the role, there was no MCU. The most prominent superhero films of that time were Bryan Singer’s first X-Men movies, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films and Christopher Nolan’s Batman films. Iron Man was considered a second tier hero, nowhere near as popular or known about as Marvel’s Spider-Man and the X-Men. It’s important to appreciate this because of how much Robert Downey Jr.’s performance changed this completely. Little did he know that because of this one film, it would spawn the proliferation of over 20 other movies in a sprawling cinematic universe that would bring Marvel’s stories to life in a way never thought possible by comic book fans.
Iron Man gave Robert Downey Jr. a second wind, a chance to completely remake his life to become a bonafide A-list superhero box office moneymaker, and even better, he’s been clean and out of trouble for years and appears to be permanently behind him. So I think this is an amazing example of what can be possible at one’s Uranus Opposition, to be able to leave your old life behind, reinvent yourself and start anew, even in your early 40’s. Downey Jr’s natal Mars is conjunct his Uranus which even gives us the image of the superhero he plays – a mechanically enhanced warrior.
Chris Evans – Captain America – Saturn Return
Ages 28-30 is when everyone experiences their first Saturn Return, when Saturn returns to the same point in the zodiac it was before. It’s notorious for being a challenging time, facing one’s fears, surviving a rite of initiation into true maturity and adulthood, a time of trial and hard-fought accomplishments.
Before Captain America, Chris Evans was in a few goofy comedies, stereotyped into playing jocks and jerks without much depth. He had some leading man potential, and even played the Human Torch in the much-maligned Fantastic Four movies, but it seemed he had not found a role which really fit his capabilities.
Then came the offer of a multi-picture deal, to be locked in as playing Captain America, a character that could not be more out of step with the times. How exactly do you make a flag-waving star-spangled hero appealing to an audience that is wary of or disinterested with overt patriotic displays, not to mention a global audience that is mostly not American? He worried about the commitment, and he had no guarantee the movies would be successful but he ultimately accepted and soared in the role.
Evans’ answer to the problem of portraying Captain America was to emphasize his earnestness, his universally appreciable qualities, not as an American, but as the character Steve Rogers. The studio also blunted how out of step the character was by having the character emerge into modern times directly from the 1940’s, causing a lot of unexpected potential for humor in his quaintness.
His raised profile from Captain America allowed him to pursue his career as a filmmaker, and it seems that Disney will be keeping him around as a director for other projects (and who knows, maybe an occasional MCU cameo?) In any case it’s clear that this new trajectory from his life came from his casting in this iconic role, and occurred at the end of his first Saturn cycle, beginning his next (current one).
Brie Larson – Captain Marvel – Jupiter Opposite Neptune/Saturn Return
Now with an eye toward the future of the MCU, Brie Larson has come into the role of Captain Marvel, the new flagship Marvel character after the expected departures of Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. She was cast on July 23rd 2016. It was a Jupiter-Neptune recurrence transit, because she was born close to a Jupiter-Neptune opposition, and Jupiter was just past opposite Neptune in the sky, probably closer to exact during auditions and negotiations. The actual filming of Captain Marvel took place between January-November 2018, when Saturn returned to the natal degree of her Saturn three times, due to retrogradation.
Marvel Cinematic Universe – Jupiter and Neptune
As I’ve talked about before here and here, the Jupiter-Neptune cycle seems to be relevant for the history of cinema. Jupiter magnifies and makes marvelous the illusions and deceptions of Neptune. So we get cinematic spectacles, marvelous illusions with Jupiter and Neptune. Stan Lee was born under a Jupiter-Neptune square, and he passed under the current Jupiter-Neptune square. Stan Lee comes from the same Jupiter-Neptune square that Disney started under, and so interestingly we find the following correspondences between the Jupiter-Neptune phases and the Disney-Marvel partnership.
The phases that Marvel Studios planned for its movies just happen to coincide with the main quadratures of the Jupiter-Neptune cycle. Although producer Kevin Feige has indicated that there will not be any more phases after Phase 4, that seems hard to believe especially in light of Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, which frees up Marvel Studios to reboot the X-Men, Fantastic 4 and dozens of characters which could theoretically provide new sagas of movies for decades. It will be interesting to see if the pattern continues.
The 2022 Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in Pisces will signify both a kind of peak and end . It will be a particularly golden part of Neptune’s transit through Pisces in this golden age of streaming TV, superheroes and nostalgia. It will have gone as far as it can go, and after this kind of high point it will be interrupted by the 2025 Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Aries. I have a lot more to say about that conjunction, but that’s enough for now.
Enjoy Avengers: Endgame which comes out in theaters on April 26th 2019. No spoilers!