The Astrology of Severus Snape

Severus Snape is a Capricorn. That’s it, thank you, NEXT (jk, keep reading.)

(But maybe read this first: Astrology Introduction.)

Plugging in the information we know from canon (born: 9 January 1960 in Cokeworth, England), plus some time guesswork (or: me figuring out what time I needed to get Scorpio Ascendant), and this is what Severus' chart looks like:





Capricorn Sun, sure! And Capricorn Mercury. And Capricorn Saturn. Taurus moon, too; and Virgo Pluto. A lot of Earth in this chart. A lot of solid, grounded energy.

But that's not all! There is also a ton of Sagittarius there. Venus, Mars, and Jupiter! Plenty of fire there. A specific flavor of fire. Sagittarius is a bonfire, or a campfire. A place of fun and gathering; exploration and storytelling and wisdom. It is the torch held by a seasoned adventurer. Passionate and searching, is Sagittarius energy. And that energy is found in love & pleasure (Venus), sex and violence (Mars), fortune and expansion (Jupiter.)

Sadly, the spontaneity and creativity of fire clashes with the practicality and responsibility of earth. Lose the war and you have scorched earth -- a person burnt out and exhausted. Or you lose control there's a volcanic eruption; all the hot danger of fire, channeled through the cool efficiency of earth. How do you balance energy that is so at odds?

As someone just as earth-and-fire heavy as Snape, I can tell you, I have no clue.

But in all fairness, neither does he.

 

Our man clings to control; clings to it. The sun is our core, and his core is the goat: responsible, resourceful, steadfast, reserved, practical. Capricorns have a deep sense of personal excellence that they strive for. If they have high expectations of others, they have higher expectations of themselves.

So: control. Control of the self. Control of your life, and your future. And...control of your surroundings. Control of others, even. Capricorn isn't only his core, but his ego and his pride. If he can't stay in control, he at least wants to be perceived as controlled.

His sun is also in the second house: money, material possessions. The second house isn't greedy, but desiring of material goods for the sake of security. That is where he stands, at the core of him, is that need for stability.

Then you factor in his history. The abuse, the bullying, the unending trauma...He was built for control, and his circumstances in life have him clinging to it like a lifeline.

It isn't only his ego that is colored by Capricorn, but his means of receiving and expressing information (Mercury: communication, learning.) And Big Daddy Saturn himself, planet of Discipline, is domicile in Capricorn (meaning the energy of the sign works seamlessly alongside the nature of the planet.) Severus is a man of structure, within and without.

 

Then we look at the moon, exalted as she is in Taurus. Sensual, romantic, and nostalgic...so too is it steadfast and loyal. His heart was built for affection. To share, to receive.

Worse still, his moon is in the seventh house: the house of Relationships. At the heart of him, Severus yearns for connection. There is a deep seated need to have deep, meaningful relationships.

And think about it. The few relationships he has in canon are pretty deep, and pretty meaningful, if not necessarily in the ways he might want. Think of his friendship with Lily. Their friendship meant the world to him. He was so devoted to her. His whole heart was in her hands (whether you see it as platonic or romantic is up to you.)

Then: Voldemort. He promised his allegiance in exchange for...what, exactly? Respect, maybe. Prestige. But more than that, I think. Saturn in Capricorn is telling. That placement is about law and order in some ways, and prestige in others. It was the dual need for success and righteousness. He believed in the cause, truly believed, for a time. And by committing to the cause, he was part of a community. He was given responsibility, and respect. For a time, he must have thrived as a Death Eater.

After, when he realized how wrong he was, he recommitted himself. He turned away from crime and looked towards redemption. He did so by transferring his allegiance, his obedience, to another: Albus Dumbledore. And with all of the relentless, merciless, flagellating drive of earth he gave his all to the cause. For what was right (Sun, Saturn) and for love (moon, second house.)

And what is being a spy if not connection? Not the connection he sought, maybe; not the connection he needed. But Severus is a man of control and practicality. He clings onto what he has. And he makes due.

 

I hate to tell you it gets worse, but...it gets worse.

The fire, remember? The passion! The liveliness! The creativity! All caught in the chokehold of earth's iron grip. Control, remember? But you don't control fire. You let it rage on, or you kill it.

Look at where you see Sagittarius. In Venus, the planet of love and pleasure. Mars, the planet of action and desire. Not only just sex and romance, but joy and fun. There is a spark in his heart. A raging inferno. He is made for drama, for experience! He craves a bit of adventure. It's a sign for idealism and optimism! It sounds nice, yeah?

For a man like Severus, all it means is undying hope. He clings to faith as much as he clings to anything else. In the darkest of times, in the roughest of circumstances, it keeps him going.

It's there in Jupiter, too. The planet of fortune is domicile in Sagittarius. This joyful energy entwined so perfectly with the planet of luck.

It's a lucky placement, they say, Jupiter in Sagittarius. Perhaps it's what kept him alive, what helped him succeed. It kept the spirit chained to his body when it might have fled from weaker men. Was it lucky for him? Maybe. Was it happy? Not so much.

 

We must also look at his ascendant. The mask we wear, in some respects; our defense mechanism in others. It is reactive. It is what is perceived.

And what do you think when you think of Scorpio? Dark intensity. Deep obsession. Scorpio is a curiosity. It is seductive. It is dangerous. It is the drop of water in the desert of Severus' life. But as all matters of Severus Snape, it isn't fun or pretty. Not an array of color on the ocean's surface, nor the splashing of the waves. Scorpio is the bottom of the sea. Hidden, and out of reach.

More than that, the ascendant tells us our chart ruler. Severus' chart is ruled by Pluto: planet of death and transformation.

Death is transformation, when it comes to divination. Death is change. Death is the end. Usually the end of one matter to begin another. One door closed so that another might open.

Death means cutting away the rot. Or being torn away from what we love, for our own betterment.

Death is renewal. And who has been cast through the crucible time and again? Who has walked out of the fire, shaped into a new tool, a new weapon, more times than Severus Snape?

Severus' life has been ruled by death, the way his horoscope is ruled by Pluto. The death of his time in Cokeworth. The death of his friendship with Lily, then the death of Lily herself. The death of his ideals. The death of hope. Time spent among the Death Eaters, working with and against them. Death hanging over his head like a pendulum. Death defeated in the Shrieking Shack once, perhaps twice (if you're as hopeful as I am.)

Death changed him, time and again. And time and again, he was reborn in the ashes.

 

There are pieces of Severus' chart that look so pretty on the surface. Taurus Moon in the second house. Sagittarius Jupiter in the first. In better circumstances, it might have worked well for him. In another world, he might be a prestigious potions master, lauded for his many achievements, and the envy of his peers as he lives on in domestic bliss.

He was built for it, as surely as he was built for the rest.

Instead, all of his ingenuity and courage and drive were sacrificed on the altar of the greater good. He stepped up and met every challenge. And when life shoved him down, he stood back up and kept trudging on. Driven by expectation and by courage. Torn between control and passion. Haunted by Death.

Severus never had it easy. Not from the world. And not from himself.