Alex's Asteroid Astrology

The very concept of awards and movies seems alien this year, after a twelvemonth of pandemic restrictions and closed theaters, but the Hollywood Dream Factory grinds on, and though it’s been delayed a month from its normal airing, the 93^rd Academy Awards will be presented Sunday, 25 April 2021, starting at 8 PM PDT in Los Angeles.  And that means it’s also time for my annual Oscar asteroid prognostication!

So let’s cut to the chase with the big announcement that the Best Picture winner will be …  cosmic drumroll, please … I have no idea.  The nominated films have titles which simply don’t have asteroid referents, so there’s nothing to evaluate by my metric.  Yes, there is an asteroid Black, and an asteroid Chicago, but these are very slender celestial reeds on which to hang the hopes for top honors for “Judas and the Black Messiah” or “The Trial of the Chicago 7”.  (But with asteroid Black conjunct the Moon, if “Judas” should win, remember – you heard it here first!)

With the acting awards, however, we’re in meatier terrain.  For the twenty actors and actresses nominated, all but two have at least one PNA (Personal-Named Asteroid) to represent them, many with exact matches.  Let’s dig in.

The late Chadwick Boseman (Levee Green in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) seems to have the buzz as Best Actor, both with the Oscar handicappers and celestially.  It’s hard to beat the combination of a bravura performance and the sympathy vote, for the African American actor who died last August at the early age of 43.  Boseman is represented by asteroid Bozeman (phonetic match), which at 27 Gemini is in a Grand Trine Kite with asteroid Oskar (for Oscar) and Jupiter (fame, celebrity, “luck”, success) at 26 and 27 Aquarius, and the Moon at 21 Libra.  The “string” of the Kite, driving its manifestation, is a combination of asteroids Actor and Yes at 24 and 29 Aries, opposing the Moon, affirming (Yes) a positive outcome (Jupiter) for Boseman (Bozeman) as the choice of the people (Moon) for the Academy Award (Oskar) in the Best Actor category (Actor).

Boseman’s competition includes Riz Ahmed (Ruben Stone in “Sound of Metal”), with asteroid Ahmed at 17 Leo conjoined the 18 Leo MC of the Awards ceremony, squared the 13 Scorpio Ascendant and asteroid Nike, named for the Greek goddess of victory, at 21 Scorpio, as well as a Mercury/Venus pairing at 14 Taurus, and opposing Saturn at 12 Aquarius, forming a Grand Cross and making Ahmed a close contender. 

Win or lose, Anthony Hopkins (Anthony in “The Father”) makes history, as the oldest-ever nominee for Best Actor, at age 83.  Like Ahmed, Hopkins has a PNA connection to one of the Angles for the event, with asteroid Hopkins at 12 Aries exactly inconjunct the 12 Scorpio Ascendant.  Hopkins is also exactly on the Saturn/asteroid Academia midpoint, exactly sextile each, with Saturn at 12 Aquarius the symbol of professional recognition and accolades, and Academia at 12 Gemini representing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which sponsors the awards.  Asteroid Antonia (feminine version of Anthony) at 20 Taurus conjoins an exact Mercury/Venus combination at 14 Taurus, and is also angular on the 12 Taurus Descendant, widely conjunct Uranus at 10 Taurus, squared the MC and the Jupiter/Oskar pairing, and opposed Nike, for a possible surprise (Uranus) Academy Award (Oskar) win (Nike) as the popular (Venus) choice (Mercury).

Another record-setter is Steven Yeun (Jacob Yi in “Minari”), the first Asian American to be nominated in this category.  With asteroid Stevens and Stevin (both variations of his first name) at 1 and 8 Cancer, conjoined Mars (also at 1 Cancer) and asteroid Stephania (a feminine version) at 7 Libra in square, there’s lots of energy to Yuen’s candidacy.   However, a major caveat can be seen in these PNA’s opposition to asteroid NOT at 2 Capricorn, a general disqualifier.  Using asteroid Yuan at 29 Aries and asteroid Yen at 28 Cancer, both for Yeun, he also taps into the Actor/Yes combination, but without Bozeman in the mix, this ceases to be a Grand Trine Kite, though it still widely opposes the Moon and forms a Grand Cross with Pluto cojoined asteroid Victoria, named for the Roman goddess of victory, at 26 and 28 Capricorn, opening the door to a transformative (Pluto) win (Victoria).  Yuan is also sextile Jupiter/Oskar, making Yeun a possible Dark Horse candidate.

Last in this category is Gary Oldman (in the title role of “Mank”, nickname of screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz); with asteroid Gary at 28 Libra, Oldman taps into the same energies as Yeun, but a bit more strongly, in that his PNA is an exact match for his actual name, though without Yen the pattern is a T-Square, not a Grand Cross.  Gary trines Jupiter/Oskar, perhaps bringing the gold statuette.

Leading the pack for Best Actress is Carey Mulligan (Cassandra “Cassie” Thomas in “Promising Young Woman”), with asteroid Milligan (closest to Mulligan) at 27 Aries and incorporated into the T-Square with Actor/Yes, the Moon, and Pluto/Victoria.

Viola Davis (as the title character in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) has two exact PNA referents for her name, with asteroid Davis at 23 Taurus in a T-Square with Jupiter/Oskar and Nike, which a looser square to the 18 Leo MC transforms into a Grand Cross.  Asteroid Viola at 2 Leo is elevated in the chart, but lacking connections to major energies determinative of the outcome. 

Vanessa Kirby (Martha Weiss in “Pieces of a Woman”) has a shot at Oscar gold, represented by asteroid Kirby at 19 Cancer, which widely taps into the Moon, Pluto/Victoria, Actor/Yes T-Square, forming a loose Grand Cross.  But asteroid Vanessa-Mae (closest to Vanessa) at 25 Pisces conjoins Neptune at 22, which rules films and acting, but is also a symbol of disappointment.

Andra Day (in the title role of “The United States Versus Billie Holiday”) has received rave reviews for her performance in a less-than-compelling film which may limit her overall chances of success.  Nevertheless, Day’s impact is clear, represented by asteroid Andree at 12 Virgo, which makes multiple exact aspects:  sextile the 12 Scorpio Ascendant, squared Academia at 12 Gemini and inconjunct Saturn at 12 Aquarius, also trine Uranus at 10 Taurus, for a possible upset win.  In addition, Andree is at station, having turned direct on April 21^st, which could mark a literal “turning point” for the actress, but the linkage between names is somewhat tenuous, thus the station effect may be limited.

Seemingly out of the cosmic running is Frances McDormand (Fern in “Nomadland”).  McDormand is represented by asteroid Francis (male version of her first name), which at 4 Aries squares Mars and T-Squares NOT, but makes no other significant contacts. 

Many prognosticators consider Daniel Kaluuya to be a shoo-in as Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Fred Hampton in “Judas and the Black Messiah”.  With asteroid Daniel at 26 Leo in a T-Square with Nike at 21 Scorpio and Oskar/Jupiter at 26 and 27 Aquarius, Kaluuya seems celestially nominated as well, but he has some competition with similar placements.

Sacha Baron Cohen (Abbie Hoffman in “The Trial of the Chicago 7”) taps into these same energies, with asteroid Cohen at 29 Taurus understudying for Daniel.  Cohen has a second PNA referent in asteroid Sasha (phonetic match for Sacha), which at 6 Aries squares Mars at 1 Cancer, perhaps fueling his candidacy, but it T-Squares NOT at 2 Capricorn, suggesting this is not Cohen’s year.

Paul Raci (Joe in “Sound of Metal”) seems like a long shot, with asteroid Paul at 14 Virgo relatively isolated.  True, it makes the same aspects as Andree does for Andra Day, but not as exactly, blurring the effect.  It’s also at station (turning direct April 29^th), and the exact match of names here could indicate a “turning point” for Raci, which an Oscar nod certainly would be.

That leaves us with Leslie Odom Jr (Sam Cooke in “One Night in Miami”) and LaKeith Stanfield (Bill O’Neil in “Judas and the Black Messiah”), but as neither has any suitable asteroid referents, we can’t really rate their chances.  Perhaps if one of them does win the Oscar, an eponymous asteroid will be following soon!

Battling it out for top honors in the Best Supporting Actress category are Olivia Coleman (Anne in “The Father”) and Yuh-Jung Youn (Soon-ja in “Minari”).  Asteroid Olivia is an exact match for Academia at 12 Gemini, perhaps making her a lock with her peers; the exact trine to Saturn at 12 Aquarius is rendered a loose Grand Trine with the Moon at 21 Libra, but the potential Kite’s string has snapped, with Actor/Yes too wide to contribute.  Asteroid Coleman at 20 Pisces conjoins Neptune at 22, possibly presaging disappointment, but it also trines Nike at 21 Scorpio, which could grant the win.

Yuh-Jung Youn’s PNAs make almost as affirmative a statement as Oliva Coleman’s, but they are not both exact matches.  If we use asteroid Yuan for Youn, then its exact conjunction with asteroid Yes at 29 Aries, combined with Actor at 24 Aries and in a T-Square with Pluto/Victoria in Capricorn and the Moon in Libra, argues for success.  Asteroid Jung at 16 Capricorn does exactly match a portion of her name, and also squares the Moon, but is too wide to join the overall pattern.

Maria Bakalova (Tutar Sagdiyev in “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”) becomes the first Bulgarian to be nominated for an Oscar, but her prospects are dim.  It’s true that asteroid Maria at 29 Sagittarius is trine Actor/Yes, but it also conjoins asteroid NOT at 2 Capricorn, a general disqualifier.

Amanda Seyfried (Marion Davies in “Mank”) steps into the spotlight with asteroid Seifert (closest to Seyfried) at 25 Taurus in a T-Square with Nike and Jupiter/Oskar, but the connection between these names is tenuous, and may not fulfill the potential for success implied by the other points involved.  However, Seyfried has a cosmic ace in the hole in the form of asteroid Amanda, an exact match for her first name, which at 13 Scorpio conjoins the 12 Scorpio Ascendant, squares Saturn at 12 Aquarius and T-Squares the MC at 18 Leo.  Amanda is also broadly cojoined Nike at 21 Scorpio, so a win here is certainly not out of the question.

Lastly, Glenn Close (Mamaw in “Hillbilly Elegy”) is represented by asteroid Close at 14 Leo, which conjoins the 18 Leo MC of the Awards and is exactly square the pairing of Venus and Mercury at 14 Taurus on the 12 Taurus Descendant, giving her angular oomph.  A T-Square with the opposition to Saturn at 12 Aquarius could indicate peer recognition and professional accolades, and the 12 Scorpio Ascendant makes this a Grand Cross. 

It might seem improbable that so many Oscar nominees are represented in the skies for the day of the Academy Awards, but that in itself is likely the cosmic reason for their nomination.  How it all plays out is anyone’s guess, but my celestial picks are Chadwick Boseman for Best Actor, Carey Mulligan for Best Actress, Daniel Kaluuya for Best Supporting Actor and Yuh-Jung Youn for Best Supporting Actress (though I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Olivia Coleman takes the prize here).

However it transpires, we won’t have long to wait…