Alex's Asteroid Astrology

Coronavirus received its first celebrity “spokespersons” on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, when actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, announced they had tested positive for the virus. Thankfully, the couple was in Australia for the filming of Hanks’ latest movie, giving them access to adequate testing facilities unavailable in the US. Both had been feeling unwell, tired and achy, with Ms. Wilson also experiencing chills and slight fever.

The pair makes a good case study for coronavirus susceptibility, as Tom Hanks has an asteroid actually named for him, while both Rita and Wilson have exact asteroid matches. Born just three months apart in 1956, their charts display some similar aspects. Tom Hanks was born 9 July 1956, 11:17 AM PDT in Concord, California; Rita Wilson was born 26 October 1956, 9:03 AM PST in Los Angeles, California (both Rodden Rating AA).

Both have natal conjunctions of asteroid Koronis, our placeholder for the coronavirus, with asteroid Lachesis, named for the mythic Greek Fate who determines the span of life, which could suggest that the virus will have an effect on their longevity. Tom Hanks’, at 7 and 14 Aquarius, opposes his 9 Leo Moon, ruling health matters generally. A T-Square to asteroid Asclepius at 10 Taurus, named for a Greek god of healing, suggests that recovery is likely.

Tom Hanks played an AIDS patient in 1993’s “Philadelphia”; now a real-life contagion threatens him, with transit asteroid Tomhanks, named for him, conjunct natal asteroids Koronis and Lachesis, ruling lifespans

Rita Wilson’s Koronis/Lachesis falls at 1 and 7 Aquarius, also opposing her Moon at 2 Leo but additionally incorporating her Sun, the vital center, at 3 Scorpio by T-Square. This brings the virus more powerfully into her celestial health/vitality circuitry. Both also have Uranus in the mix, conjoined the Moon (Hanks’ at 1 Leo, Wilson’s at 6 Leo), indicating the shock to the system from the virus and a potential for unexpected outcomes, with Wilson’s Moon further compromised by asteroid Australia at 5 Leo, suggesting the venue for Koronis’ emergence.

Both also have stationary asteroid Osiris, named for the ancient Egyptian god of the dead, conjoined Mars, ancient ruler of contagion, an indicator of infectious disease as a possible cause of death. Tom Hanks’ Osiris at 20 Pisces turned retrograde 11 days after his birth (but still at that degree), and conjoins Mars at 17 Pisces, on the 21 Pisces Descendant. Rita Wilson’s Osiris at 6 Pisces turned direct 3 days before her birth, and is conjoined Mars at 14 Pisces. Mars is also angular, on the 21 Pisces IC, though Osiris is too wide to be considered conjunct. (The couple has a shared Angle at 21 Virgo/Pisces, Hanks’ as the Ascendant/Descendant, Wilson’s as the MC/IC.) Both placements were within orb of the transit placement of Koronis, exactly conjunct Achilles (showing vulnerability or weakness) at 10 Pisces, when they revealed their status. Additionally, the transit Sun at 21 Pisces was exactly angular for both.

Actress Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks’ spouse, seems at greater risk, with transit asteroid Rita exactly conjunct Pluto and asteroid Wilson at station, opposed Mars

When the announcement was made, Rita Wilson appeared to be in the more precarious position celestially, as reflected in her more advanced symptoms, with asteroid Rita at 24 Capricorn exactly conjoined Pluto (ancient lord of death, indicating dramatic transformation) and exactly squared asteroid Australia at 24 Libra, where the testing (and possibly infection) occurred. The transit Koronis/Achilles more closely impacted her natal Osiris/Mars, and was trine her natal Sun as well. Additionally, asteroid Wilson at 17 Cancer was at station, having turned direct just four days previously, implying a “change of direction” for her, and opposing transit Mars (contagion) at 16 Capricorn (with Wilson also exactly conjoined her husband’s natal Sun). Transit Wilson is also bracketed by natal asteroids Requiem (named for the funeral mass for the dead) and Anubis (named for the Egyptian deity governing funerary rites) at 13 and 18 Cancer. This could indicate that the change in direction (station) for Rita Wilson (Wilson) includes some level of lethality (Requiem/Anubis).

There are inherent risks for Tom Hanks as well. Transit asteroid Tomhanks at 13 Aquarius conjoins his natal Koronis/Lachesis at 7 and 14 Aquarius (as well as Koronis in the virus’ discovery chart, at 15 Aquarius), placing him front and center as the global “face” of the virus. The transit Koronis/Achilles conjunction isn’t as closely aligned with his natal Osiris/Mars, though it does oppose natal asteroid Nemesis, that source of undoing and ruin, at 14 Virgo.

Married in 1988, both Rita and Tom were born in 1956, and have conjoined Moons, conjoined Mars placements, and squared Venuses, with asteroid Rita and Tomhanks also conjunct in both charts

The couple’s shared domestic and romantic compatibility can be seen in the conjoined Moons, at 9 and 2 Leo, and the square between Venus placements, at 22 Gemini for Hanks and 23 Virgo for Wilson; the shared Mars conjunction adds sexual spark and sizzle, but may not always be easy to live with. Asteroids Rita and Tomhanks were running together in 1956, with the conjunction at 5 and 9 Capricorn in Hanks’ chart, and 12 and 17 Cap in Wilson’s, prefiguring their marital union some 32 years later. Additionally, Hanks’ natal Wilson conjoins his Moon from 14 Leo.

Here’s hoping them both a swift and complete recovery.