The Astrology of Celebrity Big Brother 2018 (US)

This February, CBS gave the US their very first season of Celebrity Big Brother. Far from being just a Reality TV guilty pleasure, Big Brother is a fascinating sociological experiment. It’s an exploratory of human nature in which psychological, sociological, and astrological insight can be revealed.

What follows is an analysis of the Houseguests’ charts, and how their aspects played out in the game. In most instances, the Houseguests’ times of birth are not known, preventing us from drawing a complete chart; however we can still glean insights into their characters with just their birthdate information.

ARIADNA GUTIERREZ
CLAIM TO FAME: Steve Hardy mistakenly announced her as Miss Universe 2015.
SUN SIGN: Capricorn
MOON SIGN: Most likely Taurus.
In addition to her athleticism (Sun conjunct Mars), Ariadna’s Mercury conjunct her Venus helped her game. Mercury, the planet of communication, next to loving Venus made her charming, gracious and polite, keeping her mostly on everyone’s good side throughout the game. With the dominance of earth in her chart, she remained grounded and kept a cool head, never acting out from an emotional place. By being “everyone’s darling” while maintaining a level of emotional detachment and distance, she was able to bring herself to the final four.

BRANDI GLANVILLE
CLAIM TO FAME: Real Housewife of Beverly Hills
SUN SIGN: Scorpio
MOON SIGN: Pisces
As a double Scorpio (Sun and Rising), Brandi’s not everyone’s cup of tea — “abrasive” is often used to describe her. But it’s not malicious, so much as expressive: Brandi’s Uranus (planet of shock-value) conjuncts Venus (creativity), making her creative expression shocking; it’s her style. Success in the house sometimes requires fakery, but Brandi cannot be fake about her feelings; not only is this a Scorpio thing, but her Pisces moon harmoniously trines her Sun in Scorpio, creating a flow between her feelings and her self-expression. From the get-go, she did not like James; she accused him of being cocky and insulted him every chance she got. But was he really that cocky? I think with Brandi’s Uranus (flashes of insight) next to her Venus (taste), along with her psychic Sun and Moon, that her dislike for James was more of an intuitive response to his energy — i.e., he reminded her of someone else. Interestingly, James and Brandi’s ex-husband, Eddie Cibrian, have Leo ascendants and earth sign moons at early degrees.

JAMES MASLOW
CLAIM TO FAME: Musician and actor; star of Nickelodeon’s show and boy band of the same name, Big Time Rush
SUN SIGN: Cancer
MOON SIGN: Taurus
Being the most sensitive sign of the zodiac, Cancer, with a stellium (three planets plus his South Node and Chiron) in the 12th House of Retreat, James did damn well in the house. Someone with a packed 12th House needs quiet time alone; they are not cut out to be ON 24 hours a day. However, James also has a Leo rising which makes him a proud showman. He also has a earthy Taurus moon, which levels out his emotionality to a certain extent. Arguably the strongest athlete in the house, the physical challenges were likely James’ saving grace: they gave him an outlet through which he could channel the gazillion emotions he was likely experiencing. It’s one thing to be strong when you’re detached, but quite another when you feel things so intensely.

MARK MCGRATH
CLAIM TO FAME: Frontman of the 90s band Sugar Ray; co-host of Extra
SUN SIGN: Pisces
MOON SIGN: Libra
Just like Ariadna, Mark’s Mercury (communication) is close to his Venus, making him likeable, agreeable and diplomatic. He’s still a fighter (Mars conjunct North Node) yet his instinctual reaction is to keep the peace (Libra moon), demonstrated perhaps by his propensity to keep the house clean and provide diplomatic defense to his allies when necessary. Perhaps part of his success in this reality show was staying outside of reality: His Pisces sun (“Nothing is real to a Pisces”) and its harmonious trine to Neptune, the planet of illusion, likely helped him drift in and out of reality long enough to not take the game too seriously, and thus not be perceived as a viable threat.

METTA WORLD PEACE
CLAIM TO FAME: NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers
SUN SIGN: Scorpio
MOON SIGN: Virgo
Metta is naturally a live wire: Uranus (the planet of rebellion) conjuncts his explosive Scorpio sun (self-expression), and he’s prone to do this in physical ways (Virgo moon). Before he changed his name, this aspect show up a lot in his wild lifestyle. Now displaying a gentler side, Metta runs a basketball camp for kids, advocates for mental health and PETA, and uses his star power to help charities. All this feel-good love energy is great, but not ideal for the Big Brother game, thus Metta wasn’t especially competitive. He seemed not very engaged, wanting to go home from almost the very start. I think that Metta still has a lot of fight in him, but like many athletes, doesn’t know how to channel his competitive nature in a way that isn’t entirely physical. Plus, he may want to keep his competitive nature under wraps in this new segment of his life which is all about home and family. Perhaps it was his heart-centered priorities that made living in the Big Brother house so difficult for Metta. The six-foot-seven champion sought solace with a stuffed owl, which further shows his spiritual side: Sometimes sprit can put themselves into objects as a way to offer protection or support to people on earth. There’s no doubt in my mind that Metta’s spirit guides or angels from the other side were helping him throughout the game by giving him energy through that stuffed owl. His sign of Scorpio rules death, making him more receptive to help from those beyond this world.

KEISHA KNIGHT PULLIAM
CLAIM TO FAME: Played Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show
SUN SIGN: Aries
MOON SIGN: Virgo
Though the most competitive sign of the zodiac (Aries), Keisha wasn’t particularly driven in the Big Brother house. This was most likely because she had trouble pumping breast milk to send to her one-year-old daughter, and that was stressing her out. Keisha has a stellium (3 or more planets) in her 5th House, indicating an area of focus in her life. The 5th House rules both games like Big Brother and children. Though pre-motherhood she probably would have played a mean game, her 5th House stellium is now being activated by a child. With a Scorpio rising, Keisha is very all-or-nothing, and with her sun and other key planets now progressed into home-loving Taurus, it’s no wonder that she felt so compelled to leave the house. It’s possible that she sabotaged herself earlier in the game, subconsciously or consciously hoping to get kicked out, by aligning with Omarosa.

CHUCK LIDDELL
CLAIM TO FAME: Retired mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion; credited for making MMA mainstream
SUN SIGN: Sagittarius
MOON SIGN: Aries
The most fiery of the Houseguests (astrologically, anyway), Chuck is a dangerous enemy — but not necessarily in the Big Brother house. His fighting style is explosive with his Sun’s square to Pluto, which works well in a fight but not in the Big Brother house, where volcanic energy needs to be released carefully over the course of weeks and covertly at that. Additionally, Chuck’s Sun square Pluto indicates an overprotective personality, as if there’s something vulnerable within him to protect. Thus, the self-expressive component he needed to build trust and alliances was hindered; the Houseguests may not have trusted Chuck for no good reason at all, just having picked up on this energy. With Chuck, what you see is what you get; he simply isn’t built to manipulate. Besides, nothing pisses off a Sagittarius more than a mind-fuck; had he been more engaged in the game and more accessible to be manipulated, he might have been dangerous — which wouldn’t have been a first in Big Brother history. He probably disengaged and detached from the game early on, because its concept can cause conflict with his strongest values, those of friendship, trust, loyalty and truth.

SHANNON ELIZABETH
CLAIM TO FAME: Sex bomb from American Pie
SUN SIGN: Virgo
MOON SIGN: Capricorn
If Shannon wasn’t so damn perfect (or didn’t come across that way) she could have won the game. Shannon’s eviction may be attributed to the predominance of earth in her chart which can make one’s communications come off as staccato — sharply detached and separated. If she had more water in her chart (or incorporated more into her personality), she would have been able to move people to her way of thinking and feeling. As a double earth sign, she’s probably not comfortable with her emotions, and when the dam bursts, there’s no control, it’s humiliating, and she feels defeated. It’s heartbreaking, because Shannon tried so damn hard. As a prone-to-overcompensating Virgo, Shannon sometimes didn’t know when to get off the bus: in a competition she put together a 16-letter word while some of the Houseguests couldn’t make any. With her Capricorn moon, the word responsibilities actually sums up her emotional nature: She felt she had to do all the work for her alliance, and this backfired because her athletic and intellectual prowess pummeled and threatened the competition. Had she not taken the game (and the games within the games) so seriously, she would have been more flowy and creative, and could have won.

OMAROSA
CLAIM TO FAME: Reality TV villainess (The Apprentice); President Trump’s former Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison
SUN SIGN: Aquarius
MOON SIGN: Leo
With a nightmarish reputation preceding her, Omarosa did damn well in the Big Brother house, being part of the final five. Lady O has a Libra Ascendant, which typically means she comes across as pleasant and nice to be around. And though this really doesn’t describe her, she was more this way on Big Brother than on any other format (Ross called her a “delight” early in the season). Pluto, the planet of power, is at the exact degree of her ascendant, giving her a formidable and polarizing presence, eliciting either love or hate from others. With her Leo moon, she is petrified of rejection, and therefore would rather give someone a reason to hate her as opposed to having her heart rejected. All this withstanding, Omarosa took the plunge and at times showed us a charming, likable, “delightful” side of her which felt like the heavens opening, giving us all salvation. This different side she expressed helped her stay in the Big Brother game. She probably would have won had she been more covert about the “seeds of doubt” she planted in the Houseguests’ minds, instead of causing trouble so overtly. But Omarosa is a very smart woman; she knows she’s ratings gold, and that Leo moon of hers knows that her behavior has to be big and obvious in order to get top billing. Additionally, to have placed first, Omarosa could have created stronger emotional connections in the house; I think there’s a way she could have expressed her vulnerable side, while keeping front of mind that it was gameplay — this would have kept her, in actuality, invulnerable. Yes, she did show tears which was great, but her moments of genuinely connecting with the other Houseguests were few and far between: If she had shown that she’s just as much of a lover as she is a fighter, her star-power alone would have won the game.

MARISSA JARET WINOKUR
CLAIM TO FAME: Tony Award-winning actress of Hairspray on Broadway
SUN SIGN: Aquarius
MOON SIGN: Most likely Aquarius
Marissa won Celebrity Big Brother most likely due to her Jupiter-Venus conjunction. Jupiter expands whatever planet it touches; this not just makes one extremely likable with a kind and generous heart, but also makes one lazy: A Jupiter-Venus person loves pleasure so much, that effort can be difficult — they’d rather just enjoy themselves. And that’s how she won the game: She tried only when it mattered, and spent a lot of her time in the house coasting on Ross’ strategy without getting her hands dirty. With her Mars in Sagittarius, Marissa’s fighting style always keeps the big picture in mind i.e., she knew at the end the other Houseguests would be voting on who won the grand prize. With three planets in Capricorn, Marissa also knows (if only subconsciously) how to get others to do her bidding. She’s a genius double-Aquarius and avid Big Brother fan and, at the same time, just as sweet and pure as she comes across. At the end of the day, she had more fun than Ross (he was doing the strategizing and spearheading) and her laid-back, non-threatening demeanor worked. In part, her winning is due to personal, non-game-centric priorities: she’s a socially sensitive Aquarian who really wants to be liked by everybody. Whether it was strategic or not, she found in Ross the perfect fall guy to get her to the final two and shield her from the jury’s upset at the end to win the grand prize.

ROSS MATHEWS
CLAIM TO FAME: “Ross the Intern” on The Tonight Show; panelist on Hollywood Today Live, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and Live from E!
SUN SIGN: Libra
MOON SIGN: Scorpio
Just like Ariadna and Mark, Ross’ Mercury conjuncts Venus, though his is in Libra, making him even more charming, gracious and polite. His diplomacy and consideration of others is even further emphasized by his Libran sun. In addition to relationships, the sign of Libra also rules competition, making natives fierce yet fair competitors. Fueling this competitive spirit is Ross’ moon in Scorpio, which is not as nicey-nice as Libra. Scorpio sees life as a battle to be won, whereas Libra sees life more to be enjoyed. Scorpio is a Fixed sign, suggesting that when Ross aligns his emotions with a desired outcome—i.e., winning the game — that he will be constant, enduring and unwilling to let go. Thus, this Scorpionic intensity underneath his sweet, genuine Libran exterior made Ross a wolf in sheep’s clothing. When the other Houseguests realized this — that they’d been out-maneuvered — they were too butt-hurt to view his gameplay objectively and award him the grand prize. Even Marissa said that she wouldn’t have gotten to the end had it not been for Ross masterminding the game. For a lot of Libras, they can do everything right and still not win; that’s because they can be so damn good, that they make others feel bad. The majority of the jury felt duped by Ross, and they punished him for playing such a good game. Justice had been served, however: Ross won “America’s Favorite Houseguest,” helping him realize that he was indeed not the “villain” but perhaps the best Houseguest Big Brother has ever seen.