Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale's Synastry and Composite Astrology Part II

Well, well, well. Back for more, are we? I don't blame you. If you read any post on the Internet about celebrity astrology, this should be it. We can learn so much about love, relationships, and commitment from studying Gwen and Gavin. 

In our first installment, we looked at the astro dynamics that went into setting Gwen and Gavin’s hearts aflame all those years ago in New Orleans. But today? Today, we are wading into the deep, dark waters of this couple’s past life connections, Saturn-forged bonds, and relationship karma.

Let’s trace what brought these two to the altar at St. Paul’s Church Covent Garden in 2002, shall we?

Gwen and Gavin’s composite chart shows Sun conjunct Moon (in Libra). When these two decided to pursue a full-fledged relationship (which probably happened quickly), Gwen and Gavin felt like they were ONE, meaning their instincts and emotions blended harmoniously. 

Whatever they were looking for, both Gwen and Gavin felt like they got what they needed from this relationship in a lot of ways. This conjunction shows a definite flavor of “fusion” that probably made it hard for either of them to break free from the other (despite all the drama), and certainly came with its own challenges. 

When we have a Sun conjunct Moon in the composite chart, we see a couple that is tremendously sensitive to each other’s moods. Whatever Gavin was feeling, Gwen was feeling and vice-versa. Yes, they felt like a natural pair, but emotional objectivity was not their strong suit, everyone. Another downside to this aspect is complacency. This aspect blessed Gavin and Gwen because it helped smooth over other astrological difficulties between them, but Sun conjunct Moon in the composite chart can feel so effortlessly good at times that Gavin and Gwen probably found themselves pushing the “snooze” button on emotional growth over and over again....until one day they woke up and realized things had turned kinda stale. 

Their composite also has a beautiful Sun conjunct Venus (in Libra), which shows that Gwen and Gavin, despite their differences (more on that here) are tremendously attracted to each other and flat out adore each other. No matter the friction, no matter the scandals, no matter WHAT-they wanted to be with each other because of the strength of the love between them.

I love Gavin's interview below because he explains their essential “blendability” (Sun/Moon conjunction in composite) and simple love for each other (Sun/Venus conjunction in composite)...

With composite Sun conjunct Mercury (in Libra), communication was central to Gwen and Gavin’s bond. Again, it may not have always been peaceful communication, but these two probably were always, always in touch (talking on the phone, texting, checking each other out on instagram, etc.) regardless of the low-lows they were going through in their courtship and marriage.

I’m almost positive this aspect helped them maintain their connection while they were long-distance on tour and, actually, made it imperative that they go on tour with their respective bands SEPARATELY.  Sun/Mercury conjunct in a couple's composite chart makes it super-extra important that each person does their own thing and Gwen has talked about how she thought it was what kept them together all these years 

Something else that’s interesting about this aspect is that it gave Gwen and Gavin a kind-of telepathic link! Not only could Gwen and Gavin finish each other's sentences, but Gavin did not need to say much for Gwen to know that something was up and vice-versa. No wonder Gwen could not stop wondering (and writing music about) what the hell Gavin was hiding! 

"I had to work really hard at marriage, all the time, like everybody, but ours was extra hard, when you add that we're from different countries, both of us being in music, and celebrity -Gwen Stefani

20 years is a looooong time, so what kept Gwen and Gavin coming back for more? I’ve got one word for you: Saturn.

The planet Saturn in synastry teaches us about discipline, practice, and commitment when it comes to relationships. Lord Karma (Saturn) rules time and if we have the emotional maturity and wherewithal to learn from Saturn’s wallops, he has the capacity to reward us for our efforts like no other planet. Pretty nifty, right?

When it shows up in synastry, this planet makes people stick together, by hook or by crook, until they each learn their karmic lessons through the relationship  It is so astrologically appropriate that Gwen wrote the bulk of “Return of Saturn” while struggling through her own Saturn Return AND wrestling with her breakup from Gavin. Saturn features prominently in Gwen and Gavin’s birth charts, and I think Lord Karma showing up in their synastry and composite charts is no mistake. 

One of Gwen and Gavin’s major life lessons this time around is to heal their wounds around family and feelings of unworthiness. This might explain Gwen's obsession with getting married and becoming a mama. If there was ever a visual/musical collage of what it feels like to be a Moon in Cancer plagued by Saturn issues, it's the Simple Kind of Life music video. Highly recommended!

Gwen and Gavin both have Saturn conjunct IC in their birth charts.  The IC (4th house) rules the home and hosting Saturn in the “heart” of their birth charts means that Lord Karma is challenging each of them to develop emotional self-sufficiency by conquering the feelings of isolation, inadequacy, and hardship that they may have experienced in their early years. 

We know that Gavin was scarred by the loss of his mother when his parents divorced (more on that here), so it makes sense that Saturn is pushing him to face his fear of abandonment in family life. But what gives with Gwen? When your family seems picture perfect, what does Saturn on the IC represent? Even if things were great, Saturn could just mean that Gwen’s deep emotional need for nurturing was never quite met. Her parents seem super sweet, but I wonder if they ever really “got” what Gwen needed emotionally and whether that contributed to her crippling feelings of personal inadequacy symbolized by Saturn on IC. It could also be a warning that her home life was always going to be a WIP that would take lots of heavy lifting to keep afloat.

When we have certain placements in our birth charts, they can show up in our composite charts too. Sure enough, Gwen and Gavin are challenged to heal their 4th house Saturn issues together because their relationship chart also features this placement! 

Did you know that Gwen and Gavin were pitched to star in a reality show a la Keeping Up With the Kardashians back in the day? They quickly put the kibosh on that one, so we will never really know what their home life was like, but Saturn in their composite 4th house hints at a home life that may have lacked that warmth, togetherness, and emotional safe haven we all dream of when we start a family. 

Done right, Saturn in the 4th house gave Gwen and Gavin’s home life strength, structure, security and staying power--built to last Capricorn-style. I’d say they embodied that by having a family and lasting for 20 years. 

However, theirs was not a cozy home, bursting at the seams with good vibes and supportive feels. I wonder if Gwen and Gavin’s decision to keep cameras out of their home was fueled both by the desire for privacy and to keep their not-so-perfect home dynamic under wraps. 

With Saturn conjunct the IC in the composite chart, on their darkest days, Gwen and Gavin’s home life probably felt like a basket full of burdens and restrictions. Working in the music industry, Gwen and Gavin both alternately spent a lot of time away from home, and I wonder if the fragmentation of their time and attention left a gaping hole where their home life should have been. Gavin admitted in an interview that he had to submit his tour schedule to Gwen for approval, so we know keeping their home life together took real work on his part too. Did being mega-watt celebrities enhance or detract from learning how to handle Saturn in the 4th house’s karmic lesson? 

This aspect also hints that Gwen and Gavin may have felt like they were never really on the same page when it came to the type of environment they envisioned raising a family in. Taken further, there may have been judgment about how the other wanted the house to be run! In this interview, Gavin mentioned that although they had planned to have their family in England (he owns a house in Primrose Hill), Gwen decided to stay in America to be closer to her mom (Moon in Cancers need their mamas, everyone). We will never know how well Studio City stacked up against Primrose Hill in Gavin’s mind, but this would be an example of being on “different” pages re: what defines “home” when Saturn conjuncts IC in a couple’s composite chart. Nevertheless, these two were driven to marry in order to build something that would last forever, even if they had conflicting styles of how to make that happen!

I promised that Saturn has his stick-with-me-forever hands all over Gavin and Gwen’s charts, didn’t I? 

Let’s start with the warm and earthy Moon/Saturn connections between these two. Gwen’s Cancer Moon trines Gavin’s Pisces Saturn and Gavin’s Capricorn Moon trines Gwen’s Taurus Saturn. Did you know that when Saturn is working well, he works hand in hand with the Moon? The natural pairing of mama Cancer and Papa moon is extremely yummy and can make couples VERY touchy feely. According to one person at their wedding, “There was ridiculous amounts of smooching, but they always do that. They can never keep their hands off each other.” (ahem, their Moon/Mars conjunction in Capricorn probably also helped)

These Moon/Saturn aspects tell me that Gwen and Gavin’s emotional loyalty to one another ran extremely deep, people. Since the aspect occurs both ways, they took turns being Moon (seeking compassion and a safe place to store their vulnerabilities)  and Saturn (managing feelings in a mature, don't-worry-I'll-protect-you manner). Pretty wonderful! 

Remember when I said Saturn has a tendency to come on a bit too strong in the “learn your lesson or else” department? Well, here’s where he starts landing some punches: In their synastry chart (the day to day interactions between a couple), we see Gwen’s Taurus Saturn opposing Gavin’s Scorpio Sun and Gavin’s Pisces Saturn opposing Gwen’s Virgo Venus. 

With Gwen’s Saturn opposing Gavin’s Sun, Gwen (Saturn) really challenged Gavin to “man up” in their relationship. As the authoritarian Saturn, I could see Gwen feeling as if she knew what Gavin needed to do in the way that a parent or teacher might “know best”. As the Sun, Gavin probably saw Gwen (Saturn) as someone who he could learn from: a woman who was steady, disciplined, and mature in her ways. 

Approaching marriage, I am sure Gavin (Sun) felt like the responsibility that Gwen (Saturn) expected of him was what he needed to mature. Gwen probably also realized that it helped their dynamic when she kept the criticizing and nagging (Saturn is just trying to help you be better, ok?) to a minimum. These two both felt a responsibility and duty to instruct and mature, and we have Saturn to thank for that. 

Did you think Gwen’s Saturn was done straightening Gavin out? Not yet, my friends! Not yet...

Gwen’s Saturn in Taurus is conjunct Gavin’s Descendent in their synastry chart. Your descendent can offer clues to who you are drawn to partnering with in this lifetime, either in business or relationships. With Gwen’s planet of Karma sitting on top of Gavin’s Descendant, Gavin’s lesson (which he chose to accept when he married Gwen) was to learn about commitment, responsibility, and staying power in relationships. You can bet your sweet a** that Gwen (as Saturn) superimposed her will on Gavin: She expected him to be a monogamous, honest, and all-together upstanding gentleman of a husband, and rightly so! As the descendant person, Gavin felt like he needed to learn this karmic lesson from Gwen, however difficult it may be! 

Gavin’s Moon in Capricorn is a placement that feels its best when it has truly earned something, preferably through hard emotional labor and self-sacrifice. In that way, I wonder if answering Gwen’s call for commitment on her very strict Saturnian terms, however back breaking it may have been at times, made Gavin feel completely worn out and also oh-so-deserving of winning Gwen’s heart (people with strong Capricorn placements know what I'm talking about).

Basically what I’m saying is this: Gavin needed to put on his big boy pants to marry Gwen. But, what about Gwen? What karmic lessons did Gavin challenge her to finally face in this lifetime?

Well, Gavin’s Saturn in Pisces is opposite Gwen’s Venus in Virgo. This is a steel trap of a bond that can endure any assault (well, almost anything--ultimately it’s Venus who decides how far this will go and we saw that in Gwen’s decision to divorce). This aspect also points to a sense of karmic fatedness between Gwen and Gavin. As Saturn, Gavin sort of melted when he was around Gwen’s hot, steamy Venusian qualities. Gwen’s beauty, warmth, love, joy, and appreciation for Gavin made him (Saturn) want to give her stability and all the benefits of his hard work. 

Sounds good to me, so what’s the catch? Well, have you heard the story about Svengali? He seduced, dominated, and exploited his love to turn her into a star. Now, I’m not saying Gavin did this to Gwen, but the Svengali-vibes are there with Venus opposite Saturn. Whether we saw it or not, Gavin (Saturn) probably had a lot of influence over Gwen (Venus), guiding her with a steady (heavy?) hand in the realm of Venus-ruled stuff, like aesthetics, personal tastes, and what is and is not ok in terms of romantic expectations and expression. 

Case in point: Did you notice Gwen’s sophisticated style evolution throughout her relationship with Gavin? Yes, she is a true style icon, but something about her was a bit more “buttoned-up and polished” after a few years with Gavin, right? I remember a Rolling Stone interview where the reporter noted that Gavin sent Gwen clothes on the road in the manner of a stylist because, according to Gwen, Gavin “hated her clothes”. Gwen’s Venus in Virgo (in its fall, so not super strong and open to well-meaning advice) probably liked Gavin’s "fatherly" advice about how to look her best--up to a point. 

So, Gwen and Gavin were both strapped into this thing from the start, from home to family to clothing choices, apparently. They had enough Saturn lessons to keep them going for multiple lifetimes. But there’s more, my friends. 

Let me introduce you to the wee minor planet Chiron, son of Saturn. Like his dad, Chiron calls upon us to reveal and heal our deepest wounds in relationships. Now, Chiron doesn’t knock us about the way that Saturn does. No, no. Chiron whispers to us in the middle of the night.  

With Gavin’s Chiron opposing her Venus, Gwen probably spent more than her fair share of sleepless nights wondering: Why do I feel so inadequate in this relationship? Why does everything Gavin do have me questioning my value? What is wrong with me?! In the same way, Gavin probably spent many evenings staring at the ceiling, asking himself: Why do I keep hurting Gwen if I love her so much? I never mean to! What’s my problem?

Gavin’s Chiron touching Gwen’s Venus exposed all Gwen’s hidden insecurities and super-secret fears around love. And with her Venus in Virgo, Gwen probably had quite a few. Venus in Virgo never feels good enough, picks herself apart, and can be easily intimidated by her partner’s previous experiences. Not the kind of stuff you want to put on display! However, something about being with Gavin (Chiron) let all of Gwen’s love ghosts out of the closet. With his Chiron opposite her Venus, Gavin loved Gwen intensely, but this aspect shows two things A. Gavin (Chiron) was struggling to show it due to his own unresolved love wounds and B. they both gave and received love in totally different ways. No wonder Gwen probably felt left out to dry love-wise at times with Gavin! 

With Venus opposite Chiron in the synastry chart, both Gwen and Gavin were looking for romantic healing in their relationship, but probably felt like their most painful, sensitive love wounds were being activated in their search for it in each other.

The upside to all this is that despite the pain, Gwen and Gavin probably found it damn near impossible to live without each other. By marrying, this couple found a way to embrace the pain of Venus/Chiron and keep growing to help heal their deepest hurts around love.

If it hasn’t been made abundantly clear, let me spell it out for you: s*** was deep between Gavin and Gwen. These two had multiple karmic/past life ties and were drawn together to heal themselves and each other through marriage, family, and love-- no matter what storms may come. 

So, why the divorce? Astrologically, I think it came down to Gavin’s unresolved mama issues. We will take a look at Gavin’s wounds and the Gavin-Mindy Mann-Gwen triangle in our last installment.