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 12th house is
connected to spirituality and the 9th house is religion, it is to the 8th house we look to find the occult (which simply means hidden). With the 8th 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 8th 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 8th 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 (8th 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

25 COMMENTS

  1. This is really fascinating. Thank you. I don’t know where my Black Moon Lilith is in my chart but my chart is very similar to Margot Adler … how might I learn where mine is?

  2. hi, very interesting, some how i am believing too, i will be happy to hear more. how could know my chart which may play with witchcraft ? Thank you

  3. Thank you for this post, Leah ?? Defitnitely a subject I will dive more into!
    I have sun conjunct uranus (0 orb) in Scorpio, vesta conjunct chiron in 8th house Taurus trine jupiter conjunct NN in 11th house and BML conjunct moon (and close to saturn) in my 12th house and also pluto in my first house Libra. Do you have any suggestions where to read more? Much love, Freja

  4. Hi Leah, Thanks so much for this, what a wonderful and incredibly insightful piece of writing. I would absolutely agree with everything you say about Nepune/Pisces, but at the same time I’m wondering about the role of Mercury (probably not least because my own 10th house Cancer Mercury is very tightly (i.e. within less than 20 minutes) conjunct both Isis and Hypatia, I’ll have to admit). Mercury does come up in your sample charts, and it strikes me as an essential force in anything ‘witchcrafty’ – to work with energy is a form of engagement and communication, after all, isn’t it. How do you feel about Mercury in this context? ?

  5. Hi Birgit
    Thanks for your comment. Glad you liked the post. In my other post on spirit communication in the chart, I did talk talk about how Mercury-Neptune can indicate the ability to communicate with the unseen world (or with the Gods). But yes as psychopomp then yes a strong placement in connection with other ‘witchy’ placements would certainly add to the picture. Thank you for your input <3

  6. Hi Freja
    Thanks for reading. I don’t think a lot has been written about this topic so I don’t have any suggestions right now. I think the best way would be to work with your chart, meditate on the placements and the planets/asteroids involved and see what comes up intuitively. It is a subject I will be working more on as it’s really caught my imagination.

  7. Thank you, Leah. I am subscribing to your Patreon, and I hope you open your calendar for readings soon, because your content is always really inspiring and unique. I had never seen anything on this topic anywhere and it elucidates a lot for me! 🙂
    I am also a solo practitioner and explorer of different traditions (I live in Latin America, where syncretism is very common). Pisces / Scorpio Rising, Pluto conjunct Vest on House 12 (in Scorpio), Lilith conjunct Venus/Eris/Mars/Vertex (in Aries) in trine with Uranus, Hekat and Moon on House 8, and Ceres conjunct North Node. Do you think Ceres should also be taken into account regarding the ability to deal with Gaia energies? Or that is not the case? Best, N.

  8. Interesting post 🙂 I have Pluto in Scorpio in the 8th House. Venus square Pluto. Black moon lilith conjunct South Node by 1 degree. Vesta conjunct sun. Vesta square Chiron, Neptune. Vesta opposition mars and Vesta trine Jupiter. All within 3 degrees. Not sure if any relevant? but fun to look. Thanks for sharing. How can I find you on Patreon? X

  9. Very interesting; I have Pluto, Saturn and Vesta in scorpio which is also my south node and I always wondered if that combo was witchy vibes esp maybe associated with past lives or ancestors. Lilith is conjuct my north node and opposite pluto but trining neptune. My son has mercury conjuct neptune.

  10. Hi Nadia
    Thanks for your comment and also for joining my Patreon 🙂 Absolutely yes, Ceres can be a factor too. I mentioned briefly in the article that I thought that it might be more prominent in charts, especially those who are deeply connected with the Earth Mother.

  11. what a timely post! i’ve always been drawn to witchy/esoteric/supernatural stuff. i have a t square with my sun/nodes/moon/lilith with the sun/nodes being the crux. unless you count both nodes, i guess it’s a grand cross really. i have uranus conjunct the MC in scorpio. i determined that these were my ‘witchy’ placements, but never considered vesta, which is exactly conjunct neptune. i also recently got into exploring hekate and it’s square my ASC/ceres, opposed pluto and widely conjunct my sun. i am really glad you wrote about this! it’s something i’ve been thinking about as well. i always dabbled in numerous ‘witchy’ things but i am gaining more confidence in my explorations and this is another sign that i am on the right path. i love your posts, thank you 🙂

  12. Huh. I don’t know how witchy I am in reality, but I’ve always been drawn to it. Black Moon Lilith is conjunct my ascendant in Pisces. (And Mars, and Pallas thankfully).

  13. Hi, I’ve just read this and found it fascinating! I added Black Moon to my chart, and this is a list of the aspects…
    I have Black Moon:
    Conjunct Neptune in 9th
    Square Moon in 12th house
    Square moon nodes
    Trine Saturn in the 1st
    Trine Uranus (r) in the 5th
    Sextile Venus in the 11th
    Semi square Chiron in the 11th
    Inconjunct Pluto (r) in the 4th

    I am a Pisces Sun, Gemini Ascendent and Gemini Moon.

    I have just got an accurate birth time, so this is a whole new chart for me (I’m 45!) I have lots of very confusing aspects, which means I haven’t looked further than the main planets…until just now. I’m genuinely a little surprised to see all this in my chart. But then I’m also kind of not.
    I would genuinely appreciate any comments!!

  14. This is fascinating . Just came across this post and witchcraft is something I feel SO strongly connected to in my life and karma. I have a stellium CONJ in LIBRA/9th house with PLUTO, MERCURY and LILITH asteroid and Lilith CYBEL all there. I have CIRCE conjunct my ascendent. I have MOON in scorpio. I have SUN in virgo 8th house and ISIS and DEMETER conjunct my SOUTH node. I also have CERES conjunct my MARS. and VESTA is in PISCES conjunct my black moon lilith ;with PISCES in my 2nd house.

  15. Lilith/Pluto/Mars conjunct, square Venus/Asc

    Eris exactly opposite Lilith

    Pluto is on my Sun/Moon midpoint, and exactly Septile each.

  16. I have been fascinated with this article all weekend. I am a double Sagittarius with Moon, Venus, and Neptune conjunct in Scorpio (a stellium) in my 11th house. I have Cancer on my 8th house, making her the ruler of that house. Sun in the 12th (natural house of Pisces).

    Black Moon Lilith in Capricorn in my 1st house, sextiles Venus in Scorpio in my 11th.
    Asteroid Lilith in Aquarius in my 3rd house
    Hekate is in Libra in my 10th house.
    Diana is in Libra in my 10th house.
    Vesta in Pisces in my 4th house
    Aset is in Cancer in my 7th house.
    Demeter in Cancer in my 7th house (Incidentally, Artemis is in Cancer in the 7th also.)
    Pluto and Uranus conjunct in Virgo (along with Mars–another stellium) in my 9th house.

    I didn’t cast for Circe, but I did cast for Pan (not all witches are female). Pan is sandwiched between the Moon and Venus in Scorpio in my 11th house.

    The Moon & Venus in Scorpio trine Vesta, while the Sun squares her.

    Uranus conjuncts Pluto (and Mars–another stellium) in my 9th house. Pluto and Uranus sextile Moon and Neptune in Scorpio (but Pluto squares Sun. Jupiter trines Pluto).

    Hekate trines Lilith. She sextiles Juno and squares Ceres. Finally, my north node trines her. (The north node conjuncts Demeter.)

    Diana sextiles Sun.

    Aset trines Pluto, sextiles Uranus, and trines Venus and Moon in Scorpio.

    Vesta and Chiron conjunct in Pisces and trine Aset.

    Pan in Scorpio sextiles Lilith, trines Vesta (in Pisces) and Artemis and Aset, and sextiles Lilith.

    I gather from your article that you were looking for strong connections between these asteroids and Scorpio, Pluto, and the 8th house?

    I was particularly interested in Sybil Leek’s indicators. I cast a few extras in her chart including Diana, Astarte, and Urania (goddess of astrology/astronomy) in Aries in her 5th house, and Sybil (asteroid 4679) in Taurus in her 7th house. Interesting that Hekate and Vesta and so many others conglomerate in her 3rd house of communication. And Sybil trines her Mercury.

  17. Initially, I only looked at major aspects. I was disappointed that Hekate only seemed to aspect other asteroids plus my north node. So I took another look, this time considering minor aspects. (I don’t know if that makes any difference, but here goes:)

    Hekate semisextiles Neptune in Scorpio, and quintiles Mercury in my first house. Something I forgot to mention yesterday is that Mercury conjuncts Black Moon Lilith.
    Jupiter, my chart ruler, inconjuncts Hekate.

    Diana semisextiles Venus in Scorpio. (As I mentioned yesterday, she sextiles the Sun.) She squares Lilith.

    Sun squares Uranus, Pluto, and Vesta (and Chiron).

    Pan semisextiles Sun, conjuncts Venus and Moon in Scorpio (as mentioned yesterday), sesquisquares north node, sextiles Lilith and trines Vesta (as mentioned yesterday also).

    Today, I added asteroid Merlin (2598), and didn’t really expect to find much, but surprisingly, he’s in Scorpio and conjuncts Neptune in Scorpio also. He opposes Jupiter, and semisquares Lilith. (You might consider adding Merlin and Pan when looking at the charts of other male Witches.)

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