Oscar Predictions II: Best Actor

Time for Best Actor. To recap, I'm comparing the birth chart for each nominee with the chart cast for Oscar night (5:00 PM PST in L.A.).

Philip Seymour Hoffman
Born: 7/23/67, Fairport, NY; no birth time
Data source: IMDB
I think part of the reason PST's chart isn't even on Astrotheme is that he was born on a cusp day, and without a birth time, it's not even possible to tell what sign he is. How extremely irksome! Still, to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, we go to make Oscar predictions with the charts we have, not the charts we wish we had. So, I can safely say that Venus at 0° Aquarius is opposing Philip's Sun regardless of what sign it's in, while Saturn is retrograding back toward it. Chiron in Aquarius opposes his natal Jupiter in Leo, while transiting Jupiter stopped just short of a conjunction with his natal Neptune to turn retrograde. Uranus opposes his Venus, which could go either way. That Saturn retrograding toward his Sun suggests to me that the Academy may feel recognition is overdue for PST.

Terrence Howard
Born: 3/11/69, Chicago, IL; no birth time
See Terrence Howard's horoscope (Source: Astrotheme)
This was definitely an amazing year for Terrence Howard, but his chart for Oscar night does not show the kind of eye-poppingly wonderful aspects that would augur him pulling off an upset. Pluto could be on his Moon if he was born early in the A.M., before sunrise. But I'm not liking his odds.

Heath Ledger
Born: 4/3/1979, Perth Australia; no birth time
See Heath Ledger's horoscope (Source: Astrotheme)
It's funny that Heath Ledger's Venus is almost exactly opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman's, which pretty well describes the way they have been pitted against each other in a presumed two-man race for the trophy. Heath has a couple of major transits taking place that could really go either way. If you are wicked good at information retention, you'll recall that Philip Seymour's Venus is being opposed by Uranus, so you'll doubtless by now have concluded that Uranus is conjuncting Heath's Venus. (Yes, this will be on the test.) This could mean either unexpected good luck or a reversal of fortune for Heath. Furthermore, Saturn conjuncting his Jupiter (which, interestingly, is conjunct Philip Seymour's Sun) could put a damper on his hopes, or it could represent the recognition of the Academy. It's hard to say, but given the way things have been going in Heath's life, it would hardly be surprising for the luck to break in his favor. Something about the fact that he's having his exact Mercury return on Oscar night (when Mercury returns to its exact position at your birth), and both transiting and natal Mercury are retrograde in Pisces, makes me envision him giving an adorably nonsensical speech.

Joaquin Phoenix
Born: 10/31/74, San Juan, Puerto Rico; no birth time
See Joaquin Phoenix's horoscope (Source: Astrotheme)
As faithful readers know, I consider The Awful Truth's Ted Casablanca to be my gossip guru; the validity of his utterances about celebrities are on a par with what the planets tell me. So I can't help but think of Ted's portrayal of Joaquin as sullen and ungrateful about his fame when I see that Saturn in Leo/Chiron in Aquarius opposition forming a T-square (a T-shaped aspect between three planets) with his Scorpio Sun/Venus/Mars. My thought is that the Academy does not want to reward J.P.; they would like to teach him a lesson about the consequences of not playing the fame game. (Although, in fairness, with all those Scorpio planets, one can hardly blame him for being Broody McSullenton.) But Uranus is right on Joaquin's Jupiter, which could mean an unexpected change of luck either way, so he can't be totally counted out.

David Strathairn
Born: 1/26/1949, San Francisco, CA; no birth time
Data source: IMDB
David who, now? This guy is not even Hey! It's That Guy-level as an actor. I almost wouldn't even bother to do his chart, if not for what I prefer not to remember as the Shizuka Arakawa Incident. But in the name of due diligence, I have plugged in his data. It's actually not a bad set of aspects. The transiting Moon/Mars on Oscar night is trining his Sun, and Neptune is right on his natal Mars/Mercury in Aquarius. However, with transiting Chiron sitting right on his Sun, opposed by Saturn, he's also in the middle of learning some painful lessons about fame and recognition. All these aspects need to be seen in light of his current status; even more so than with Keira Knightley (see the Best Actress predictions), an Oscar nomination itself represents a huge raising of his profile and status.

Conclusion: So not fair that Philip Seymour Hoffman is an enigma wrapped in a riddle right on a cusp. His aspects do look good, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Heath Ledger's Venus being conjuncted by Uranus is more likely to yield good luck than is PST's Venus being opposed by Uranus. No matter which one bags the Oscar, with their Venuses opposite each other, plus Heath's Jupiter on Philip's Sun and Philip's Venus on Heath's Saturn, these two actors would have great chemistry together. I hereby predict that next year's Oscars will be completely swept by a movie in which Heath and Philip play gay lovers.

More Oscar predictions: Best Actress | The Oscar Night Astrological Chart | Best Picture