You’re So Venusian, You Probably Think This Post Is About You

Take any person who is mainly known for one event and there’s a very good chance they will have been going through a major Pluto / Sun transit at the time.

This is quite spectacular considering they come around once every 60 years on average and last for 2 – 3 tops.

So the chances of this happening are no more than 5 %.

If we ask what are the chances of such a thing occurring when the person has Pluto not only forming a major aspect to their Sun, but their Moon as well we naturally get to 0.0125 %.

For that Sun and Moon to be involved in an eclipse we are talking 0.002%.

Which is interesting because the remaining 99.998 % would be the expected number of people over the age of 60 who would instantly respond with the words ” You’re So Vain ” if you mention the name Carly Simon.

Carly Simon was born on a lunar eclipse with the Sun in Capricorn and Moon in Cancer forming a T square with an apex Neptune.

We don’t have a birthtime for her but so often the Universe compensates for this by providing a noon chart that really hits the nail on the head.

The Sun in the 10th and Moon in the 4th reinforces the Cancer / Capricorn tension and the additions of Saturn in conjunction with the Sun and the South Node with the Moon would have added extra layers of drama.

A 10th house Cancer Sun would undoubtedly mean a significant family boost to her own career which was certainly true as her father was the co founder of the publishing house Simon and Schuster and her older sisters were singers who helped to launch Carly’s career with the Simon Sisters.

The opposition with the 4th house Capricorn Moon was evident from an early age too.

When she was 7 years old, Simon was sexually exploited by a 16-year-old boy. An abusive relationship continued until she was about 14.

When she was 15 her father died.

These dates are significant because of progressions and transits.

At 7 her progressed Moon would have formed a Grand Cross with her T square from the 7th house of relationships.

Her transit Saturn would also be square to her Sun.

When her father died, her progressed Moon was conjunct her Saturn.

Her transit Saturn was also in the 4th house opposite it’s natal placing.

Another factor that reinforces this noon chart is Jupiter rising which would help to explain how successful she became.

Another one is that the apex Neptune is ruler of her 7th house which would describe her colourful relationship history.

Carly Simon’s dating history reads like a Who’s Who and this gave considerable fuel to the question of who was the subject of her No 1 hit.

The very week You’re So Vain was released Simon was having a Progressed Moon return.

Transit Pluto was also in her T square very closely square that Sun and Moon.

Jupiter was in there as well, conjunct her Moon.

Pluto of course was exactly on her Neptune adding to the intrigue as to the subject of the song.

Perhaps we can use astrology to help work it out.

The Libra stellium seems to be saying something.

Venus conjunct Pluto and Mars conjunct Uranus in that sign must be alluding to the mystery lover particularly given that Simon’s own Venus and Mars are conjunct in the goddess of love’s other sign Taurus and her Mars is square to Pluto.

Most of my 16 year old class mates at the time were sure it referred to one person in particular.

You would be very hard pushed to find a better symbol of vanity than a Sun / Jupiter conjunction in Leo.

Mick Jagger ticked the Venusian box as well with the Moon and Mars in Taurus.

Mick’s Mars was conjunct Carly’s Mars.

Speaking of which, 16 year old me would feel its important to point out that Marianne Faithfull had an exact Sun / Mars conjunction.

In 1983, Simon said the song was not Jagger although he did contribute uncredited backing vocals to it.

However she also said the name had an A, E and R in it.

One who was convinced it was about him was Warren Beatty.

Simon herself said “I have confirmed that the second verse is Warren. He thinks the whole thing is about him. Now, that doesn’t mean that the other two verses aren’t also about Warren, it just means that the second one is.”

Beatty also fits the astrological profile with his Venus in Taurus conjunct Simon’s Mars and in the same 8th house as her noon chart.

Carly Simon actually married James Taylor 5 days before the record came out.

Taylor’s 7th house Sun is exactly on Simon’s noon Descendant.

But its also exactly square to his 10th house Uranus indicating that this songwriting / marriage partnership was never going to be an easy one.

According to Simon “Our love became bipolar, switching from love to hate, lust to loathing, and back again, sometimes within a day.”

The pair have cited a number of reasons that led to the end of their marriage, with their parallel careers being a large contributing factor.

One challenge was Taylor’s heroin addiction. Simon admitted she hadn’t understood “the extent to which James was addicted or needed drugs” when their relationship began.

Taylor’s Moon / Neptune opposition would have told her that.

These two major chart patterns combined and their marriage disintegrated as Neptune transited through Taylor’s T square and they divorced in 1983 with it conjunct his Jupiter.

James Taylor had Venus in the same degree of Taurus as Warren Beatty but with a Pisces Sun he’s much less likely to have been the subject of You’re So Vain, a fact confirmed by his wife.

Another candidate put forward by the media was David Bowie.

A Leo Moon in the 7th house might point a little in that direction but the fact that its conjunct Saturn and a Capricorn Sun means we can dismiss the Bowie candidature.

Another David had Mercury in Carly’s Venus range but nothing else that would finger him for this vanity project.

Cat Stevens Ascendant is closely conjunct the song’s Venus but that’s about it.

Kris Kristofferson has the Moon in Leo but no significant synastry with Vain.

Jack Nicholson’s Taurus Sun and T square apex Venus does show interest in being the subject of the song.

Carly Simon has said that Vain is a combination of three different people. Given that it might appear that a heavy duty triumvirate of Jagger, Beatty and Nicholson formed a veritable bonfire of the vanities.

Perhaps we should consult Simon’s true soulmate.

In 1987 with her progressed Venus conjunct her Sun, Carly married Jim Hart. They stayed together for 20 years.

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to get a birthdate for Hart but he wouldn’t have been around in the early 70s.

However Jim said he was sure that the song was not about anyone famous.

In the book Girls Like Us, there’s a detailed account of Simon’s love affair with musician Dan Armstrong, suggesting that he was the inspiration for “You’re So Vain”.