Theresa May: Living embodiment of Saturn? 

Remainer or Leaver, Tory or Labour voter, Marmite-lover or hater, in a nation torn apart by deep division, there is one thing most of us can agree on - Theresa May’s resilience is so astounding, it’s hard not to admire her stubborn tenacity in clinging onto power.

Like her or loathe her, the Prime Minister’s resolve to push through her Brexit deal, or something akin to it, is indisputable. But what is less clear, in the face of so much hostility, is what exactly drives her, when she could have handed over the reins, and instead gorged on her favourite TV cooking shows? Much has been written of Mrs May’s dutiful nature, attributed to her upbringing as a vicar’s daughter - but there must be more to it. For someone who holds such a public office, remarkably little is known about her, so I decided to look elsewhere for inspiration - the planets.  As a journalist who studied astrology in part to disprove it, I have found that it can help make sense of the unfathomable, or at the least offer some entertaining food for thought - and Mrs May’s birth chart does not disappoint.

Unsurprisingly, given how carefully she guards her privacy, Theresa May’s exact birth time is unknown, but we do know that she was born on 1 October 1956, in Eastbourne. This makes her a Libra Sun sign, but the clues to her psychological make-up lie elsewhere - while it’s true Librans are known for indecisiveness - and many might agree with Patrick O’Flynn MEP's description of her as a 'dithering Doris’ - they are chiefly known for their charm, their sociability, their easy-going manner and popularity, so whatever else her qualities, it would be hard to argue that Mrs May is a typical Libran (There’s not much I have ever agreed with Nick Clegg about, but had I ever spent time with Mrs May, I suspect I would have to agree with his description of her as ‘a bit of an ice maiden’, who is ‘very rigid’ and has ‘no small talk whatsoever’.) 

No, forget Theresa May’s Sun sign, it’s what Saturn says about the PM that’s where it’s all at! It’s only when you look past the superficial fun of zodiac signs that astrology comes to life, and Mrs May’s birth chart is a prime example. Saturn may be famed for its beautiful rings, but astrologically it’s one mean beast. Saturn represents all the tough stuff in our lives. It’s about self-doubt, restrictions, frustrations, self-control and responsibilities. It’s about having to slog your guts out to get anywhere. Saturn puts obstacles in your way, teaches you lessons and puts you through the wringer, and just as you’re coming out the other end, it frustrates you some more. A bit like Brexit, really!

Theresa May is the living embodiment of Saturn. Who can forget her 'strong and stable' mantra during her disastrous election campaign? Strong and stable could not be more Saturnian words - and Mrs May’s birth chart has Saturn stamped all over it. Even without her precise birth time, the astronomical data for 1 October 1956 shows Saturn lining up against the Moon, Mercury and Venus at specific, tight angles (we astrologers call these ‘aspects’). Depending on the degrees involved, they can cause easy-flowing energies in an individual, or more challenging ones. Mrs May's Saturn is challenged by both the Moon and Venus.  

Astrologically, the Moon dictates our emotions and everyday moods. When it’s in conflict with restrictive Saturn, it produces the controlled, restrained emotions epitomised by Mrs May.  The PM launched her Tory leadership bid in 2016 with the acknowledgement:  “I know I’m not a showy politician. I don’t often wear my heart on my sleeve,” whilst last December she said: “I am not the sort of person who naturally loses their temper.”  When Saturn and Venus meet, it also produces emotional resilience, a quality Mrs May needed in abundance when she lost both parents within months of each other when she was just 25. And since the disastrous election in 2017 she has shown unflinching emotional resilience.

Saturn is also about convention and conservatism, with a small c. It's about following rules - and Theresa May, a devout Christian, is certainly no rebel without a corset! She once admitted that at school she “probably was Goody Two Shoes”, whilst asked by ITV’s Tonight programme to confess her 'naughtiest' moment she struggled, before revealing, as if she’d stepped straight off the pages of an Enid Blyton book: "I have to confess, when me and my friend, sort of, used to run through the fields of wheat, the farmers weren't too pleased about that”. 

People who have Saturn strongly featured in their chart also tend to have an awkwardness about them. Theresa May rarely looks fully at ease, there is a woodenness about ‘The Maybot’ (typified by that dancing at last year’s Tory party conference) , her voice often falters or cracks, and she tends to stoop. But, in perfect Saturn style, she always looks purposeful and earnest.

What of Theresa May’s Saturn-Venus friction?  Venus represents love, beauty, relating and sociability - how easy we find it to express ourselves, and to mingle. So with cautious, gloomy, purposeful Saturn weighing down on Mrs May’s Venus, it’s easy to see why she might find it hard - or pointless - to engage in small-talk.  Simon Danczuk, the former Labour MP for Rochdale who worked alongside Mrs May when he set up the Westminster child abuse inquiry,  recalls her coming across as “quite cold”, echoing the views of many who have met her.  But she is unconcerned about what people think of her:  “It’s not a popularity stakes, being prime minister,” she told Vogue in 2017, and she has a mug in her office proclaiming ‘Proud to be a bloody difficult woman’, referring to Kenneth Clarke’s overheard comment about her.  She wears the observation like a badge of honour. 

Venus is also about what we value and what we desire - and in Leo, king of the zodiac, it suggests a love of being the boss, of being in charge.  Mrs May may insist she is staying put for the good of the nation, but her chart very much points to an individual who enjoys being at the centre of the action - and in command.  In recent years, Theresa May has worn her collars turned up, creating a regal air that very much shouts ‘I demand your respect’.  This is amplified by her Sun, which stands alone in her chart, unaspected by any other planet - it indicates someone with a fierce need to be recognised, and someone who is able to stand alone. As she has found herself increasingly friend-less in Westminster, her lonely Sun will have served her well.

Elsewhere in Theresa May’s chart, sober Saturn links with Mercury, the planet of the mind and communication, emboldening her powers of concentration, and reducing the likelihood of verbal outbursts. This planetary pairing is powerfully evident in her controlled, precise manner of speech. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister has always sounded like she is reading from a script, even when she is not. It has not helped Mrs May connect to the public, or convince them that she means what she says - even before her red lines turned pink.

Mrs May has been accused in recent months of blaming others for her failures in office - but as the grey suits close in on Downing Street, perhaps she can console herself in the weeks ahead by blaming Saturn instead.

THERESA MAY’S FLAMBOYANT FASHION SENSE

Venus also says something about an individual’s fashion sense. Mrs May has a passion for fashion, and listed a lifetime’s subscription to Vogue as her luxury item on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. She is 'serious' about fashion, with Saturn's weighty energy linked to her Venus.  And whatever the flashes of colour and individuality in her outfits, for her daytime Prime Ministerial duties, she largely wears understated but authoritative suits that very much shout 'I am in charge', along with her high, up-turned collars that give her a regal air. But there’s no denying she has a love of flamboyant, glamorous clothes - she likes to show off her body shape - suits are usually cinched in to show off her waist, and for evening functions, she enjoys flashing her flesh in feminine, daring outfits.  She chose leather trousers for one of her early photo shoots as Prime Minister, and as Home Secretary she frequently sported leather skirts and leather jackets. That’s not Saturnian. It’s because Theresa May’s Venus is situated in glamorous, attention-grabbing Leo. This is especially evident in Theresa May’s choice of footwear - famous in recent times for her animal-print kitten heels, before becoming PM, she wore Leopard-print boots to announce new proposals to combat human trafficking, and sported patent black leather thigh-high boots for a meeting with the Queen. Whilst Leo is clearly at play here, the absolute passion - and sexy nature of her footwear - can be attributed to Mrs May’s Mars (the planet of sex and passion) being situated in Pisces, which represents feet!