Like many people I have always been fascinated with Marilyn. She died in 1962, her glamour and innocent vulnerability buried amidst a cloud of mystery. Her legend lives on in our imaginations, and the question remains as to who was the real woman or girl inside Marilyn Monroe? So what does a character study reveal about the life of Marilyn Monroe and how would you classify her archetypal type remedy? The remedy is archetypal because it represents a primary life lessons predominant on a soul level. This remedy ideally could be used on and off again within one’s lifetime. Marilyn’s astrological chart illuminates many moon and mother issues in need of attention and a flower essence remedy.

The lack of the Mother archetype and nurturance clearly continued to influence Norma Jean throughout her short lifetime. The deprivation resulting from abandonment, sexual abuse and neglect scarred her relationship to the feminine. She felt unloved and unwanted throughout her adult life as a result of her early childhood experiences.
It could be suggested that Marilyn’s type remedy is Mariposa Lily. The patterns of imbalance that would apply to Marilyn include feelings of childhood abandonment or abuse and alienation from mother. In astrology the moon represents the mother. The remedy would correspond with the moon representing the following qualities: mothering nurturing, early childhood years, habits, unconscious, feminine, home, ancestors and menstruation. Marilyn’s chart shows her moon in Aquarius. The moon sign often indicates the type of mothering one received as a child Aquarius is an air sign representing a mothering style concerned with freedom, independence, progressiveness and friendship. This is not one of the more nurturing placements for the moon; furthermore, Marilyn’s moon is squared by Neptune and Saturn. Squares present challenges and limits. Moon (mother) opposite Neptune (intuition, illusion) can indicate possible emotional distress with the mother. Confusion, rejection and hurt through misunderstandings may occur with this placement of Neptune. Mariposa lily could have helped to heal the scars from her relationship with her mother.

Another place we find the influence of the mother is in the fourth house of the chart. This is the playground in earth school representing home and family, similar to the moon’s qualities. Saturn (lesson or limit) in the fourth house of mother/home and is square (challenge) her moon (mother). Individuals with this placement often need constant reassurance from others that they are loved. There is a strong need for them to reevaluate emotional security. The Saturn could also indicate the lack or absence of a father figure which was true in Marilyn’s case and intensified her feelings of abandonment. She never knew her father. Her mother had a nervous breakdown and was institutionalized when she was five so she rarely saw her after that. She spent most of her childhood in and out of foster homes.

This placement of Saturn in Marilyn’s fourth house creates two squares relationshis or in astrology what’s called a t-square. These squares create a frustration that can only be resolved by action. Saturn (lesson) is the base squaring (challenge) the Neptune (illusion) and Moon (mother). This relationship between the square of Neptune/Saturn and Moon/Saturn represents an imbalance and stress, but also a motivation toward soul growth. Sometimes, the empty space or missing leg of 4 sided square is used as an escape from problems or overemphasized. In Marilyn’s chart this missing leg is found in the tenth house of career; hence her need to develop her talents in the areas of recognition, reward, fame and professional ambition. The relationship amongst Marilyn’s astrological planets; Neptune and Saturn created considerable stress on her moon. Without a strong 4th house base and inner sense of safety from within one often has a difficult time withstanding the pressures required in the professional world. All this stress on Marilyn’s moon combined with the tension from the t square involving Neptune and Saturn suggests Marilyn’s need for the mother archetype, Mariposa Lily.

If Marilyn had lived perhaps she would have had an opportunity to heal her moon matters in time. Mariposa lily could have opened up a connection to the feminine and archetypal mother. The return of the warm, loving feminine within could have eased her cravings for security and stability through relationships with men and helped to develop a healthy sense of self. Perhaps another remedy mixture would have been created had it been selected for the person of Marilyn, not the archetypal image projected upon her by others. Marilyn would be 79 this year. She continues to be a part of the public’s consciousness and will probably continue to live on in us. In pondering her image we attempt to understand our own inner feminine and feminine paradigm of her time.

Appendix: Marilyn Monroe’s astrological natal chart based on the following birthdata.
June 1, 1926, 9:30 am, Los Angeles, California

Author's Bio: 

Karen Hansen, PhD, LMHC, CPC is a licensed psychotherapist, humanistic astrologer and certified flower essence practitioner. She blends spirituality with a Jungian transpersonal perspective. Phone consultations available at (425) 361-3908 or www.transpersonaltherapy.com