This case study on Britney Spears is not so much about her personal motivation and drive, but more about where we can see the manipulation and control from others in her natal chart. She is clearly a very talented, motivated, and successful artist, but this is a focus on her 10th house/MC as signficators of her father & “bosses.” Whether you’re part of the #FreeBritney crowd or not, or haven’t been following the news, there’s a lot of learnings in the chart.

I obtained the birth information from Astrodatabank and utilized her Wikipedia page for her bio. Her conservatorship drama is available through Google searches, and since they’re all fairly similar & tabloid-y, I’m not citing a specific one here.

First, let’s start with some highlights in regards to her Ascendant/ASC and the general makeup of her chart to put her MC in context.

**16-Point Scale Showing the Emphasis on Masculine, Cardinal, Air (Libra)**

ASC & Ruler

A 16-point scale analysis shows the influence of Cardinal, Masculine, Air energy, the same as her Libra ASC.
With Libra on the ASC, relationships become extremely important. It adds charm, diplomacy and a love of beauty and harmony to the personality.
The ruler of her ASC is Venus in the 4th in Capricorn. This shows the importance of home and family as well as responsibility and career. Note that this Venus is square to the ASC by sign, indicating struggle and giving us the impression that she “belongs to” the family. Add in the cardinality and that it’s placed in an angle, this Venus becomes even more impactful.
Venus is in honor of triplicity but also at the lowest point in the chart, meaning her self-esteem can suffer.
Mercury, Uranus, and Sun aspect the ASC, and even thought it’s wide, I’d consider the Moon in trine as well. In Sagittarius and Aquarius the planets become highly idealistic and I would say she could be too trusting instead of evaluating things more critically.

Venus-Saturn

The ruler of Libra by exaltation is Saturn, which we find exalted in Libra in the 1st house. An exalted planet tends to indicate something extraordinary regarding those house affairs.
Saturn is dispositor of Venus in Capricorn, and therefore the two are in mutual reception. This is a qualitative increase in the influence, but note the square aspect, cardinality, and angular placements. Again, 100% impact on her and gives us the sense of control, struggle, obligation and withheld love.

House Distortion

She actually has the same sign (Libra) on both the ASC and the 2nd house cusp, a good indicator of a money-making personality.
The signs of Gemini and Sagittarius are enclosed in the 3rd and 9th houses. Even though they’re flipped, this is the natural axis for these signs, which is significant to the way she learns, communicates with others, and how she experiences freedom.
In the archetype, you should have the same element on houses 1, 5, and 9 to effectively relate to other people (you, shared interests, and shared philosophy). In her chart, she should have light, airy Gemini on the 9th house cusp but instead has the steady, stubborn, and materialistic sign of Taurus there. With Gemini enclosed, there is no outlet for her to express the sign and she had trouble understanding those house affairs. I see this as her having trouble understanding or critically evaluating the philosophy (motivations) of other people.
Where she should have adventurous Sagittarius on her 3rd house cusp, she has secretive, emotional, and obsessive Scorpio. She also has four planets in the 3rd enclosed, like their energy is trapped. This energy is released through the dispositor, Jupiter, which is in her 2nd in Scorpio. To me, the idea is that her freedom comes with a price.

The Midheaven/MC

The MC is not only representative of her career and standing in society, but also her father and her “boss,” which can mean anyone who has a say over her career, like her record label, movie/TV studio, etc.

We see the loving and nurturing sign of Cancer on the cusp of her 10th. Huh? Sorry, does not compute, right? Well, the rulers of her MC are the Moon in her 5th in Aquarius and (by exaltation) Jupiter in Scorpio in her second. Now it starts to makes sense. They are tied to her talent/creative self-expression (5th house) and her money (2nd house).

**Rulers of the MC by Domicile & Exaltation in 5th and 2nd Houses**

In terms of Britney’s personality, the Moon in Aquarius gives someone who craves independence, and in the 5th house, there’s the idea of a unique talent that she wants to express to the group/public. Now, add the idea that this Moon’s dispositors are Uranus in the 3rd in Sagittarius enclosed and an exalted Saturn in her 1st. Uranus enclosed in Sagittarius is reliant on the dispositor, Jupiter. If we apply this to her father/boss, her talent is at the disposal of others, and of course, the exalted Saturn is all about CONTROL.

I always think of Jupiter in Scorpio as Machiavellian in a way. It’s in honor, but can become exaggerated because you’re putting the planet of expansion in an intensely emotional sign. She earns big sums of money through her work (Jupiter-Pluto), and the influence is amplified because Jupiter is also closely aspecting the MC with an approaching trine. Through exaggeration, however, it can lead to outsized emotions, intense obsessions, and an “end justifies the means” approach to problems. She had some mental health and substance abuse problems in the past, but in terms of her father/bosses, I would read this as their influence leads her to money-making decisions that aren’t in her best interest. And who’s disposing this Jupiter? Pluto in an approaching conjunction to an exalted Saturn and a hyper-critical Mars in Virgo in her 12th house of secret enemies.

**Dispositors of Moon (Saturn/Uranus) and Jupiter (Mars/Pluto)**

Not great, right? And I would argue it’s made even worse by “partners” through a difficult 7th house. By partners, I mean romantic and professional – husband, agent, lawyers, etc. — the ones you hope would be looking out for her best interests. Unfortunately, we see Aries on the cusp of her 7th and Mars in Virgo in her 12th. I would say the partners are highly critical of her behind the scenes and work to undermine her self-confidence (trine Venus in Capricorn, showing the trine isn’t always a benefit). This Mars is also in a square to Neptune in Sagittarius in her 3rd, which adds in the idea of deception and fantasy as a way to get access to her money (dispositor Jupiter in 2nd).

**Partnerships Ruled by Aries with Mars in the 12th Square Neptune and Trine Venus**

We also see the ruler of Aries by exaltation is the Sun in Sagittarius in her 3rd house, so they have an outsize influence on her learning. And here the importance of dispositors comes into play again. Both Mars and the Sun are connected to Jupiter and Pluto showing what I would say is manipulation of her emotions and talent to make money.

**Sun, Ruler of Partnerships by Exaltation with Dispositor Jupiter and final dispositors Pluto/Mars**

You may look at this and ask why isn’t she stronger to resist their influence? How did it get to the point where her father was given control over basically her entire existence? She has 4 planets in fire, an overall masculine (action-oriented) chart and several planets in high honor, including the rulers of her ASC and MC.

First, her ASC is Libra, the sign of relationships and harmony, and with Venus in the 4th of home and family in the sign Capricorn (obligations, limitations), the impression is that she’s not one to rock the boat. Keeping the peace is paramount to her. There also may be a certain expectation that others, especially her family, were going to care for her, or perhaps that they’d love her more if she behaved. Plus, if she stood up for herself, the square from Saturn (her parents) quickly tamped down any rebellion. Additionally, the mutual reception means that they’re at the disposal of each other, and while Venus in Capricorn is strong, the exalted Saturn is much stronger. I mentioned at the top that exalted planets typically mean something extraordinary and what could be more extraordinary than total control over someone’s life (Saturn in Britney’s 1st)?

**ASC & Ruler Under the Influence of an Exalted Saturn**

Side note: I don’t have much info on her relationship with her mother, but I consider her no help in this situation at all. If the father is the 10th, the mother would be the 4th. My impression is a stage mother to the nth degree who put her own ego and financial needs ahead of the safety and well-being of her daughter. This we see as the exalted Saturn in the 10th of the mother square Venus, and the Mars in Virgo in her 9th (critical outlook), which is Britney’s 12th.

Notice also that Venus (Britney) is in the 1st of the mother, almost like she belongs to her, and that the Moon, ruler of Britney’s 10th, is in the mother’s 2nd house (the daughter’s success becomes her income.)

**The Mother, As Seen in BS’s Natal Chart**

Additionally, four planets enclosed, especially when one of them is the Sun (the will), can syphon off a lot of power. The sign of Sagittarius can be very trusting as well, so my impression is that she was naïve to think she could trust the people around her when they were actually willing to say and do anything to keep the money machine running.

The relationship between the Sun and Moon is excellent, but at the lowest position of the chart and with one of them enclosed, it’s difficult to assert her own autonomy.

**Enclosed Planets and Low Position of Sun and Moon**

Lastly, I think the enclosed Gemini/Sagittarius in the 3/9 axis is detrimental to her judgement. As mentioned, the abundance of Sagittarius and Aquarius makes her idealistic, creative, and I would say too trusting of others. The influence of these heavy planets – Saturn, Pluto, Mars and Jupiter – is too much for her. They’re all connected to her, Venus in Capricorn, and destroy through exaggeration.

It’s interesting to note that Pluto, planet of destruction and renewal, will be transiting at 25 degrees of Capricorn on her solar return this year. That would put it in her 4th house of home and family, conjunct her natal Venus AND her solar Venus. See also the exact square between solar Pluto and natal Pluto and the exact trine between solar Jupiter and natal Pluto. I think we’re witnessing a reclamation of her power and hopefully a total rebirth for her. Perhaps even new music with Jupiter, ruler of her natal 10th in her solar 10th transiting her natal 5th. Godspeed, Britney.

BRITNEY SPEARS

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