Whitney Houston & Bobby Brown

[Jim Eshelman]

Houston, Whitney. August 9, 1963, 8:554 PM EDT, Newark, NJ (AA).
Brown, Bobby. February 5, 1969, 5:21 AM EST, Boston, MA (AA).

A relationship of enormous passion in the best and worse sense - and two AA birth times - seems worth a study. By all accounts, there was enormous love and attraction between these two, as well as violence and shared self-destructive behavior.

Surely one astrological dynamic worth, by itself, hours of study alone is the 0°19' opposition between their Suns, his in bad-boy Capricorn and hers in crafted Cancer. Likely their Sun-sign traits alone - in the similarities and great differences - would disclose much about the relationship. Sun-Sun oppositions have the usual Sun-Sun core traits of (1) having the potential for great identification and understanding of each other and (2) having the sense that there isn't room in the universe for the two egos to exist in the same spot. Additionally, the opposition intensifies the opportunity for projection - for acting as each other's mirrors - making more or less everything hinge on the drama of their innate similarities and innate differences within the clear, strong connection.

Also, Whitney had serious "daddy issues" (see biographical notes): Her Cancer Sun opposed Capricorn Saturn at birth. Bobby embodied that Saturn father imago and, to boot, had his Sun conjunct her Saturn. (Again: Lots there! This includes the shared self-destructiveness; but the reciprocal mirroring or echoing of the paternal factors is so strong in this.)

And we're not done with that aspect yet! Bobby's Capricorn Sun squares Mars in Libra. His Mars squares her Saturn within 0°20', an aspect of struggle and, frankly, poison for close relationships. (It also is in orb of square her Sun. I imagine some of their shared ferocity - in the best and worst sense - was epic.)

His Sun makes lesser aspects: It is widely opposite her Venus (friendship), square her Neptune (see the aspect notes).

His Moon squares her MC, while her Moon exactly squared his Ascendant - aspects of strong attraction (they responded powerfully to each other). I won't quite say his Venus opposed her Mars (it's wide), but in synastry even the Pisces-Virgo placements (opposite by sign) is nearly as strong as a geometric aspect. Bobby has Venus opposite Jupiter closely, so his Jupiter is also near her Mars - pretty close - so he has a double indicator of bringing pleasure to her Mars side and "enhancing her physicality." His Venus-Uranus opposition is even closer (partile), so there is a little effect (just a little) of his Uranus on Whitney's Mars.

They each have malefic planets conjoining and afflicting the other's Jupiter. I'm not sure which way this came out - whether it just hurt their reputations or hurt them financially. It does suggest that they had satisfaction and positive-payoff for hurting each other.

Whitney's well-aspect Neptune (square Venus) was exactly on Bobby's Midheaven. In a nutshell, that's a bit emotionally crazy. In ways known perhaps only to them (but probably his "very wicked bad boy" image against her strong Biblical indoctrination), he somehow embodied the secret, wicked temptation in her Garden of Eden - a temptation she had absolutely no interest in resisting.

[Jim Eshelman]

A hint for further study: Each of their Noviens brings close, strong malefic contacts to the other's chart.

[Jim Eshelman]

Progressing Whitney Houston's nativity to the moment and place Bobby Brown was born, the quotidian angles immediately show the intensity of their connection:

0°23' Vir - t Pluto
0°41' Vir - SNQ Asc

Progressed Moon isn't as expressive (given what I know about the relationship): p Moon squared t Jupiter 0°54'.


Regressing Brown's chart to Houston's birth, his Sun opposite her Sun (19') will within 1° (her Sun just over 1°) from SNQ Asc - also squaring his progressed Mars. It's quite descriptive.