Astrological Signatures of Witchcraft

We are now deep into spooky season and Samhain will soon be upon us. As I have been sharing some magickal content over on my Patreon, a couple of my patrons asked whether there was any way of seeing whether someone has a predisposition to witchcraft in the chart. So, in this article I’m going to explore some ideas around this.

To be clear, when I say ‘witchcraft’, I mean the modern spiritual (and mostly Pagan) practice of working with energies, spellcasting and (for some) connection with personified deity. When I first stepped onto the path almost 40 years ago, it was easier to say that all witches are pagans but not all pagans are witches. But as we continue to evolve, I keep my definitions fluid to be inclusive and welcoming to those who don’t necessarily ‘fit’ into those categories. For myself, I define myself as a Pagan witch. I’m old school eclectic and a solo practitioner. What I write here is from my own perspective but it is certainly not intended to lay down any kind of laws about what is and isn’t a marker of the craft in the chart. Witches are as unique as everyone else but, generally speaking, there are some commonalities – and that is what I want to explore here.

Before casting any charts, I had a think about which bodies and parts of the chart might connect to witchcraft. No one aspect, planet or point can be said to make one a witch or indicate such. And in the making of a witch, we must always look to the chart as a whole to see how the path itself might unfold or the meaning of the path for the individual. No doubt there are other players in all the charts but I specifically wanted to look for common themes, so I narrowed it down to a few points to explore.

My first thought was Black Moon Lilith. Lilith is deeply connected to matriarchy and a rebel against patriarchy. She left the Garden of Eden rather than be treated unfairly by Adam and from there she was demonised throughout history. Witches too have been much maligned for their practices – in modern times ridiculed, in olden times tortured, murdered, burned. Lilith herself knows the name of God, therefore revealing her own divine magic and yells ‘hell no’ to the rules that try to suppress her potent energy. She is symbolised by the owl, a creature of powerful insight and age-old wisdom. Just as Lilith has arisen in astrology, so too has interest in witchcraft and astrology grown. She is a feminist figure, and, in the craft, most often witches turn to the divine feminine. I find myself curious to know whether Lilith stands out in well-known witch’s charts. I will look for both Black Moon Lilith and asteroid Lilith. I imagine the former might have a greater part to play as she has more of an air of mystery given her disembodied state.

I also think of Uranus, the rebel, asteroid Circe (a witch in mythology) as well as Hecate, Queen of the Witches (note that the asteroid is spelt ‘Hekate’). Cybele also comes to mind given her title as ‘Great Mother’. Lastly, I also think of Vesta, the ‘Priestess’ given her action which is about devotion and dedication which is part of the witch’s path. There are of course many deity names given to the asteroids as well as the planets themselves. But for now, it’s these that I will focus on. As far as houses are concerned, whilst the 12^th house is
connected to spirituality and the 9^th house is religion, it is to the 8^th house we look to find the occult (which simply means hidden). With the 8^th house involvement, perhaps we can also posit a strong Pluto placement or Scorpio presence which could also draw one into this world.

So, below are some quick references to the charts of modern witches and esoteric practitioners. There is so much more I could say about each chart, but I am looking specifically to see whether the signatures I identified above are present. Unfortunately for some we don’t have a time of birth but still, I will offer the insights we can glean from what we do know. For small asteroids (Hekate, Cybele and Circe) I am using a one-degree orb. Black Moon Lilith I have given a three-degree orb. Vesta has a five-degree orb.

Margot Adler
Grand water trine with anaretic Mercury in Pisces (12th house), Black Moon Lilith in Scorpio (8th house) and Mars in Cancer (4th house).
Mercury is also widely opposite to Neptune and conjunct Cybele
Uranus conjunct North Node

Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki
Scorpio Rising
Sun, Mercury, Vesta conjunction in the 8th house tightly opposite Black Moon Lilith
Black Moon Lilith trine Moon, Mars and MC

Raymond Buckland
Vesta in the 8th house square Black Moon Lilith.
Black Moon Lilith is also conjunct Pluto and Mars
Hekate conjunct Uranus

Rosemary Buckland
Uncertainty over time of birth
Black Moon Lilith square Pluto
Hekate conjunct Pluto

Starhawk
Black Moon Lilith conjunct Vesta opposite Chiron
Venus conjunct Pluto

Sybil Leek
Scorpio Rising
Black Moon Lilith opposite Venus and Uranus
Pluto in the 8th house

Francis Desmedt
Black Moon Lilith opposite Uranus. This opposition is conjunct the Nodal axis
Mercury conjunct Pluto

Jacques Coutela
Note that this man has a very unpleasant history but he started out as Wiccan so this is why I have included him.
Scorpio Rising
Vesta in the 8th house
Black Moon Lilith conjunct Neptune and opposite asteroid Lilith
Hecate at 29 Leo in the degree of the Nodes

Judith Anodea
Black Moon Lilith square Sun
Uranus opposite Venus
Hekate conjunct Pluto

Maria Simms
Sun, Ceres, Mercury in Scorpio
Pluto conjunct Chiron 8th house
Pluto square Black Moon Lilith
Asteroid Lilith conjunct Venus

Scott Cunningham
Pluto conjunct Ascendant (12th House)
Uranus opposite Black Moon Lilith square Vesta
Vesta is anaretic

Silver Ravenwolf
Vesta conjunct Saturn in Scorpio square the MC-IC axis
Hecate opposite Vesta
Cybele conjunct Mercury

Janet Farrar
Time unknown
Black Moon Lilith conjunct Mercury
Sun conjunct Uranus
Vesta 8^th House sextile Sun-Venus
Circe conjunct Venus

So, I’ve looked at thirteen charts so far and it seems abundantly clear that Black Moon Lilith is a common factor as are Scorpio/8th House/Pluto links, Uranian links, and Vesta. My idea of Circe and Cybele didn’t really play out but Hekate has come up several times. However, we can’t ever say that a chart that is lacking in such features would mean someone isn’t or couldn’t be a witch. Also, whilst scooting through all these charts, I have noticed that many of these witches have other Goddesses conjunct main points in their chart – such as Ceres/Demeter (understandable given that witches are often connected to Earth Mother deities), Diana and Isis. Hypatia too has caught my eye. Whilst Hypatia wasn’t a goddess or witch (that we know!), as a philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician she was a true wise woman and great woman of her time. She was also pagan and in modern times has become an icon for woman’s rights and feminism. Now I want to do some more work on her!

There are other features also that strike me – stories of Neptune and Pisces. I think this is perhaps inevitable given that the nature of witchcraft is working with otherworldly energies. We speak with the Goddess in our dreams. We travel astral realms. We train our imagination to visualise clearly to create spells. We work with the subtle body and energy and perhaps practice healing. We use divination tools. There is some fluidity to be expected here and I would anticipate perhaps that those drawn to this path might also have certain aspects that speak of communing with the ‘other side’. Check out my article ‘Ghost in the Chart – astrological signatures of spirit communication’ to read more on that. And whilst we’re there, you might also enjoy Ghost in the Deck which speaks of how Spirit communication comes up in tarot readings.

Okay, so let’s have a little fun and see whether any of these witchy astrology connections I identified earlier come up in the charts of actors who have played famous witches. Often actors who become famous characters have certain aspects that strongly reflect the characters they play.

Ruth Connell
Rowena on Supernatural
Time of birth is uncertain, but she has said that she has Virgo Rising.
From her Instagram postings, it seems that Ruthie has a genuine interest in witchy practices.
Sun opposite Uranus (in Scorpio).
IF time of birth is accurate, then it’s possible that her Sun is in the 8^th house (occult and mysteries) too.

Black Moon Lilith conjunct Jupiter opposite Pluto. Lilith the witch is magnified by Jupiter! Ruth herself may be tiny in stature, but she is a big (Jupiter) and powerful (Pluto) witch of modern mythology! In the show she is an antagonist initially which would perfectly describe the Jupiter (good) – Pluto (bad) opposition. Remember Zeus is the Great Sky God and Pluto is the Lord of the underworld (hello King of Hell – SPN fans will get that!). There’s a heaven and hell dynamic here symbolically speaking. Yet the witch (Lilith) is conjunct Jupiter which demonstrates how her character ultimately becomes a force for good.
Vesta conjunct Mars – This catches my attention because as a dancer as well as actor she has clearly devoted herself to developing strength and courage. It is also another wonderful description of a red-haired (Mars is the red planet) priestess (Vesta) of magic. Lilith herself too was often described as having red hair in mythology. Along with her anaretic Sun in hot and fiery Aries, no wonder Ruth has flame red hair and some of the characters in SPN refer to Rowena as ‘Red’. And yes, given my extended notes here, you can deduce I am a Supernatural fan 🙂 If you are a fan too, you might enjoy my article on the Astrology of Supernatural 

Shannon Doherty
Prue in Charmed
Pluto conjunct Ascendant
Moon in Scorpio
Sun square Vesta

Alison Hannigan
Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayor
No time of birth
Black Moon Lilith square Chiron
Sun opposite Pluto
Moon opposite Vesta
P.S. Off topic but Alison also has Eris conjunct her Moon – how perfect for Willow as the Big Bad with Pluto also opposing her Sun! Asteroid Hel is also conjunct her Black Moon Lilith too. I digress – sorry not sorry, I’m also a Buffy fan.

Amber Benson
Tara in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
No time of birth
Sun conjunct Cybele opposite Vesta

Melissa Joan Hart
Sabrina, The Teenage Witch
Black Moon Lilith conjunct Venus opposite Pluto
Vesta conjunct South Node
Hecate conjunct North Node in Scorpio

Elizabeth Montgomery
Samantha Stephens in Bewitched
Sun-Venus-Uranus conjunction square Pluto
Black Moon Lilith (8^th House) trine Moon

Kat Graham
Bonnie Bennett in The Vampire Diaries
No time of birth
Possible Moon conjunct Pluto
Vesta conjunct Uranus

So then, out of 20 charts I have looked at so far, sixteen (possibly seventeen) of the charts contain a Pluto/Scorpio/8 house signature. Sixteen charts also have Black Moon Lilith (asteroid Lilith is in two) strongly present. Thirteen charts show a strong Vesta aspect. Ten of the charts contain a strong Uranus aspect.  Of course, there are many other charts I could explore but for now, it seems as though Black Moon Lilith makes her magic felt alongside Pluto, ruler of mysteries, secrets and hidden places. As a practising, witch for almost 40 years with Black Moon Lilith directly conjunct my Sun, it doesn’t surprise me.

WOULD YOU LIKE MORE WITCHY CONTENT?

I’ve created a special series of posts over on my Patreon if you would like to know more about witchcraft and Samhain. Clicking on the links below will give you to option to join my Patreon. If you decide to join, ensure you select the tier that you want to join in your membership. Higher tiers automatically have access to everything posted on the lower tiers.

Samhain Altar Tour 2021
30mins altar tour plus 10mins talk about the Samhain chart for this year

Guided Meditation – Meeting Hecate 
16mins Meditation which guides you to Hecate’s temple

Speaking with the Dead and Other Stories
Audio Recording 48mins – My experiences as a natural medium and ideas for connecting with those who have passed over

Altars, Ritual and Deity
Audio recording 42 mins – An exploration of why we use altars and what to put on them and touching on working magically with astrology and deity

Samhain Altar Tour 2020
Video 39mins – A tour of my altar and discussion on altars, ancestor working and celebrating this sabbat

Samhain – Roots, Rites and Practices
Written 1970 words – The history and practice of Samhain as well as altar suggestions and ideas for celebrating