(Side note, Olivia has a rounded time of birth from memory and it’s 0° of Capricorn but I feel like that kinda suits her so crossing my fingers it is right).
Venus, Moon and popularity
The first couple of things that strike me is Olivia’s Moon and Venus – not only the Moon is right on her MC but it squares her 1st house Venus pretty much exact. Now let’s back it up a bit, I actually saw an interview with her a while ago where she said that her grandpa was an astrologer and said that she’s going to be a performer. Honestly, I don’t see this in her chart – or at least it’s not a blatant thing that just pops straight at you when you look at her chart – but what I DO see right away is popularity and being well-received thanks to venusian aspects: being polite, being well put together, being gracious. This is exactly thanks to her Moon and Venus positions. Moon in the 9th, 10th or sometimes 11th – and especially in Libra – is the popularity aspect already, not to mention when it’s slapped right on the MC. Venus in the 1st house and in the earthy ever-growing Capricorn is elegance and allure – she’s probably going to age beautifully. Have Moon and Venus in an exact aspect and you get someone like Olivia Rodrigo. Obviously a trine or a conjunction would be better but all Moon-Venus aspects are linked with being popular – it’s the idea of America’s sweetheart. The only difference is, with a square there might be issues with other girls – like jealousy, gossip or constant comparisons (whether self-imposed or coming from the public). And I mean, I don’t know much about young celebrities but I do know about the supposed rivalry with Sabrina Carpenter or the accusations of Olivia copying songs from other female artists – both cases fit perfectly into the Moon-Venus square theme. It’s like whatever she does, she’s being dragged into the typical catfight narration. The Venus-Moon square also makes her choose topics that are related to relationships and heartbreak – especially with her Venus being so close to Chiron – she’s talking about the pain and struggles associated with loosing love in a very therapeutic way, which makes her relatable in the eyes of her peers and fans. On top of that, those very relationships are in turn a big part of her being in the spotlight with her 7th house ruler (Moon) sitting at the highest, most visible part of the chart (MC).
The gossip-y feel may be accentuated by her Mars chillin in the 12th house and opposing Saturn exact. A malefic energy in the 12th house does talk about people being hateful towards the native. Mars rules her 11th house of friends, groups and also fans so there might be some unhealthy treatment coming from the entitled part of her fanbase or just people on social media in general. The Saturn opposition is a tricky one cause that’s not an aspect one would want, especially in the 6th-12th axis cause that’s just bad for the person and their health. But apart from that, it’s either an aspect of short-lived enthusiasm and having trouble with motivation orrr – which I think seems to fit her better – being a workaholic who’s very hard on themselves. A Mars-Saturn opposition often forces the person to constantly do something productive once they get into a habit of that. It’s also going against the grain, which she might showcase a bit with her more alternative and rock-ier influence that she’s trying to sneak into her image through the themes of teen angst and spunk – although with Venus and Moon so significant in her chart, her music still remains very glossy and poppy.
Knack for words
Another elephant in the room is the Mercury-Jupiter opposition. First of all, Mercury is in a pretty close applying conjunction with Neptune, which paired with the artsy Sun in Pisces, can give a lot of creative ideas and love for poetry. Blow it out with a Jupiter opposition and you get huge potential for self-expression, especially through words and knowing how to use… well… big words. Jupiter itself, which is the dispositor of her Sun, is in the creative and extravagant sign of Leo, which shows finding luck on stage and thriving when being recognized for anything really. THAT can be a performer aspect for sure, it’s just not too obvious since it’s tucked away in the 8th house.
And speaking of her career and songwriting skills. We know 5th house is the house of creativity but I always say, 3rd house is often occupied by planets in the charts of creative folks who work with communication is some way. So, great lyricist or simply people who need to express their feelings through words and tell stories often do have some 3rd house activity. Well on top of her Mercury being pretty busy, her Sun is in the 3rd house – that adds to the songwriter aspect, it’s where she shines. I believe she was also pretty active in her school years when she learned most of her skills (singing and piano lessons) – and a 3rd house Sun shows that clearly.
Career highlights and transits
Now what seemed to work positively for her as a Capricorn rising and Venus was the 2020 great conjunction in Cap (Mars-Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto). I’ve found this quote from her: “The last day before the world shut down because of COVID was a very, very fateful day. I met my producer, Dan Nigro, and also my label, Interscope, for the first time that day.” It would be much more helpful if she said the actual date because I’m not sure what day did she meant exactly? Lockdowns didn’t start at the same time in all countries and the pandemic was announced a bit earlier on the 11th. But I’m eye-balling it for the middle of March and the cluster of Capricorn planets was very much present during that time. Interestingly, I glanced at her solar return for that year, just a few weeks earlier, and Moon was with that stellium as well. See? Ominious-looking transits can actually bring you breakthroughts and power.
She released “Driver’s Licence” in 2021 right as Venus ingressed into her first house, which helped her be well-received by the public – that surely did boost her natal placement of Venus. Looks like the co-presence of Saturn with Jupiter on her Aquarius planets didn’t mess with the benefic power either as she was abruptly gaining public’s interest. Both planets also opposed her natal Jupiter in Leo and I think this shows the polarity of fame and recognition and the saturnian themes of her lyrics but also, on the other hand, some hate that she received that was the result of gaining quick popularity.
And speaking of ingresses of benefics… As she released her debut album, Jupiter just went into her sign of Pisces. Her Sun is right at the 1°, so it got hit with luck and fame right away.
This year’s Saturn ingress into Pisces didn’t seem to phase Olivia when it comes to her career. She released the first single from her sophomore album on June 30th, on a Mercury-Sun conjunction that received a nice trine from Saturn as well as a Venus-Mars conjunction. She did manage to fit in with the release just before Venus hit retrograde. She still seems to roll with the influence of Jupiter as well as it squared her natal Leo placement.
That influence was very much present during the release of the album “Guts” as well. A freshly post-retrograde Venus was right on her natal Jupiter. The saturnian influence is still not doing much damage as the great malefic hovered over her Sun at that time (and still does). As a Capricorn-influenced person she might actually be a bit immune to its damaging power.
Saturn may as well in this case just show her publictly digging into her pains and traumas that she explores in her music. She said “I feel like I grew 10 years between the ages of 18 and 20” and that could as well be Saturn speaking. It’s the constant retrospection and knowing where you stand after going through some hardships and treating everything as a lesson. Then, on the other hand, we have her Piscean impact of having an artistic vision around how said experiences will be expressed and how she’s going to present them to the world.