Birthday Predictions for Tom Cruise: Wedding On or Off?

As promised, in honor of his 44th birthday on July 3, I checked out the solar return chart for Tom "Cuckoo Crazy" Cruise, proud papa to baby Suri (who may or may not exist) and eager fiancé of Katie Holmes (whom he may or may not ever marry). See Tom Cruise's birth chart (Astrotheme)

The solar return chart is calculated for the moment the Sun returns to the point it's at in the person's birth chart, and represents the year ahead. So it may be able to provide some insights about what's going on inside that crazy head of Tom's and whether his relationship with Katie is headed for the altar.

In the solar return chart, two-faced Gemini is on the Ascendant, with Venus in Gemini rising. This could represent the false face Tom is currently presenting to the world and/or the fact that he will spend this year figuring out how to do an about face on his relationship with Katie and back out of the marriage.

Also in the solar return chart, Chiron and Neptune flank the Midheaven in Aquarius, suggesting pain and deception around his career goals, related to the media and public perception. The mask Tom has been wearing in public is starting to crack. He may be deeply wounded (Chiron) by the public's disillusionment (Neptune) with him and the downturn in his image.

Opposing Chiron and Neptune in the solar return chart, Saturn and Mars in Leo straddle the cusp of the 4th house of home and family, signifying hardship and conflict in the household. Ego and drama (Leo) may be at play in the family dynamic. With Saturn right on the 4th house cusp, there is a strong will to control the family.

This theme is echoed by power-thirsty Pluto in the solar return/transit chart on Tom's natal 4th house cusp, and squaring his controlling Virgo Ascendant. Tom is all about micromanaging his loved ones right now—his reported obsession with Katie losing her baby weight for the wedding, for instance, is a freakish indicator of the extent to which he wants to control her.

Solar return Mars on his natal Venus in Leo (hey, just like Lindsay Lohan's solar return chart) is another indication that Tom is determined to have his own way in relationships and capable of getting aggressive or at least freaking out if anyone tries to stand up to him. Mars opposes Neptune, suggesting his temper may be caused at least partly by the pressure of keeping up an illusion.

So, will Tom marry Katie this year? There are some indicators that point to a wedding. With Venus, again, rising, and binding Saturn on the IC (4th house cusp), a committed relationship could be in the cards. But Venus is weak in fickle Gemini, and weakened further in Tom's solar return chart. Taurus, one of the signs it rules, is intercepted (stifled) in the self-destructive 12th house while Libra, Venus' other sign, is in the unromantic 6th house of duty and health. In other words, this will be the kind of wedding that people are forced to get in shape for due to contractual requirements, not exactly a spontaneous outpouring of love. And with Venus in changeable Gemini, things might just get called off at the last minute, with Tom making a "She knows what she did" declaration a la the Nicole sitch.

In the short term, Tom's deceptions may just get grander as transiting Jupiter conjuncts his natal Neptune this August. But with transiting Pluto knocking at the door of Tom's 4th house for the entire coming year, his home and family life are undergoing deep-seated transformation. His foundation may be about to be rattled to the core. Let's just hope Katie and Suri (if she exists) won't find their own lives shaken up too badly in the process.

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Related:
• Does Suri Cruise Really Exist? (6/22/06)
• Just How Screwed Up Will Suri Cruise Be? (4/21/06)
• Whither TomKat? (2/17/06)
• No, Really, What's Up With Katie's Belly? (1/23/06)