Rihanna

Rihanna first dyed her hair bright red in June last year. I looked on the net for when reports appeared about this new daring look she was sporting. When she first coloured her hair, she had it cut short and it was shaved at the back. Rihanna’s hair is longer and softer now, and it’s a brave style, to say the least. I might be one of the few that actually likes her hair this way. The style change is such a bold and dramatic transformation, and I feel we often make strong statements about our changing values, personality and new found freedom through our choice of clothing, hair styling and accessories.

Britney shaved all her hair off when she split with Federline. The Toxic singer was under some heavy Pluto transits at the time of her transformation, although I always felt it was a hasty bid for change, and the real process takes much longer. However, it's undeniable that after a break-up we all want to feel like a different person, make ourselves more attractive, regain self-confidence and start a new life. I could probably think of a whole 12 step healing process which begins right with Aries - Identity. It's like we go right back to the beginning when a relationship ends, but this can present us with an exciting new adventure, and new chapter in our lives. 

I was wondering what was hitting her chart for such a shocking (Uranus) and bold reinvention, and she definitely stands out as an individual. Last summer we had the Jupiter conjunct Uranus transit in Aries, and astrologers around the globe predicted revolutionary change, progression, and excitement. Aries rules the colour red, independence, courage, boldness and daring. However, the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Aries has fallen wide by 13 degrees of Rihanna’s natal Venus in Aries. Still, Venus rules beauty, self-worth, and happiness and through expressing these individual qualities she feels more beautiful. I looked on Astrodatabank for Rihanna’s chart and they don’t even have the star’s birth chart, so it doesn’t seem likely there is any birth time available for the Barbados singer.

The web site Libra Rising is voting for a Leo or Sagittarius rising, so they are going for a fire ascendant. However, if she had an Aries Ascendant, it would put Venus in the 1st house in Aries and Pluto in Scorpio in the 8th house (taboos, abuse, and darkness). This chart is just pure speculation, and this exciting look could be inspired from the close vicinity of transiting Uranus edging closing to Venus in Aries. Rihanna has had an eventful couple of years in the public eye. The domestic abuse which occurred early in 2009 happened under the transit of Pluto over the singer’s Mars, Saturn, and Uranus conjunction in Capricorn. Rihanna’s personal will and assertion (Mars) is sometimes thwarted and controlled (Saturn), but her rebellious, original and wilful side (Uranus), breaks away from controlling forces.

Capricorn energy represents self-achievement, sufficiency and mastery. The transit of Pluto over Mars is often violent in expression and so themes of abuse, aggressive and dangerous situations may be prevalent. It can also represent a darker (Pluto) sexuality (Mars) coming through, as we have seen on her previous album, Rated R. When transiting Pluto passes over Saturn it signifies a feeling of powerlessness, stressful conditions, and external pressure. I have seen this contact in charts when some form of bullying has occurred in the individual’s life, it can be through a partner, boss, neighbours, siblings, companies, or colleagues. The house/s need to be assessed to see where this will happen.

I don’t consider myself a blindly optimistic astrologer, and sometimes there isn’t much one can do under such transits. All you can do is learn how to weather the storm, until it dies down, but it can put an individual under a tremendous amount of burden. Only afterwards can we see the positive benefits of such change. I have known very few people who welcome such transits with open arms, but the task at hand is to transform ambitions and goals. Pluto transits force growth upon the individual and they often signify irrevocable change.

Rihanna’s chart has many planets placed in the cardinal signs (Aries and Capricorn) and so when both transiting Uranus and Pluto enter the cardinal signs (Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn) it represents both revolutionary progression and transformation in her life, but especially in relationships. Rihanna's inner resources and feelings of self –worth, happiness and empowerment are affected. An exciting energy is running through her close relationships when transiting Uranus conjuncts Venus in Aries, so there will be sudden attractions and new innovative partnerships happening in her life at this point, and this energy will be at its most active from the beginning of 2013.