Gritty, serious, talented. Ridley Scott has been responsible for some of the biggest box office films of our age, Blade Runner, Alien, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down & American Gangster. Sure, he has one or two less successful films, but then again, tell me a director who hasn’t? It is rumoured that he will be making another Blade Runner film to follow up the 1982 masterpiece which starred Harrison Ford. A good enough reason for me to dip into the mind and motivations of one of Britain’s foremost filmmakers.
Ridley was born on 30th November 1937 in South Shields, England. As yet I do not have a birth time which is a shame. If anyone does know Ridley’s time of birth, please could you let me know and I will add to the article. He is a Sun sign Sagittarius which unusually is peregrine. Unconnected to any other planet. Luckily the Moon was in Scorpio all day on the 30th so we have a confirmed sign for it. The Sagittarius Sun dominates this chart. It gives a wide expansive look on life, as if there are no boundaries. Ridley would have a thirst for knowledge, and a need for space, Sagittarians can suffer horribly from claustrophobia. Alien I think deals with Ridley’s Sagittarian fear of claustrophobia, being cooped up in a spaceship unable to escape & being hunted by an unknown, dangerous enemy. Out of all the signs, Sagittarians need a constant challenge, they need to be doing something, testing themselves. That is one of the reasons why at age 73, Ridley is still making and planning films. He won’t stop, until he drops.
The Sun is in conjunction to the North Node, a direct sign that Ridley was very close to his mother. The reason can be seen by the fact that Saturn is retrograde. Saturn retrograde always says that the love of the father was missing in some way. In Ridley’s case, his father was in the army, and thus away on duty for much of his upbringing. That Saturn is crucial to the whole chart. Through this one planet we see Ridley’s motivations permeating throughout his life. It connects to every planet on the chart except Pluto. Saturn’s primary function is to administrate, but in Pisces it can also reduce the self-confidence. As a boy, Ridley would have been very shy and inhibited, he would have worried about his role in life, but as you get older, your confidence increases. Saturn has a galvanising effect over time, honing the skills you do have so that you can use them when you are ready. The skill Ridley had in abundance was great imagination. Pisces is ruled by Neptune, the planet ruling dreams, inspiration, vision, creativity, films and filmmaking. After graduating in Art studies, working in set design with the BBC, he set up a film company in 1968, started filming TV commercials and finally directed his first feature film, the Duellists in 1977 at age 40. Sometimes Saturn makes you wait…
Mars is semi-square to Saturn, he will get a bit irritable if he can’t get his way on things, but it does give him a purposeful attitude to his work. Mars is in Aquarius, so he is socially aware and able to work with people – he is very much a team player. He will be innovative in the way he works, using new techniques to forward his career. Mars in Aquarius is erratic though, so sometimes he will be nice as pie, and sometimes a real handful, impatient and rebellious.
Saturn is sextile to Jupiter (which is personalised through the Sun) – this gives stamina and the ability to see projects through from the start through to completion, this is a lovely positive and realistic sextile which will give him a good reputation. Jupiter is in Capricorn, giving him stability and a wonderful work ethic. Ridley is not one of those people who will think he his higher than anyone else. If a menial job needs to be done, he will do it. He will have no airs or graces, he is down to earth just like the tough North East of England background he hailed from.
Saturn makes a square to Mercury in Sagittarius and an opposition to Neptune in Virgo forming a powerful t-square. This is a mutable t-square, and this type of configuration seems to effect the mental processes. At the point of the t-square is the planet ruling the mind, Mercury. The Astrologer Bill Tierney wrote that this type of formation is like a windmill in a gale, and you can see the ideas and images in Ridley’s mind whirring around at high speed. This is the formation that drives his creative processes. Saturn in Pisces as I have already explained, Neptune in Virgo adds the detail, perfection and skill to the filmmaking process, he will have an eye for detail, the visions (Neptune) he sees in his mind (Mercury) will be painstakingly transferred into solid form (Saturn) and then communicated (Mercury) around the globe to a wide audience (Sagittarius). Here we have the Sagittarian influence again. Ridley is known for epic blockbusters of wide scope. Neptune makes a mini grand trine with Jupiter and Venus. Here Ridley has a love of beauty, creativity, colour, mysticism, idealism, a generosity of spirit and a compassionate nature.
Saturn makes a trine with Venus in deep dark Scorpio. Have you noticed how the women in Ridley’s films are often strong of character? Venus in Scorpio is the answer – controlling, powerful, sexual, manipulative, confident in their own abilities. Think of Sigourney Weaver in Alien, or Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in Thelma & Louise. Ridley will not be into superficial relationships. He will be very cautious about giving his heart away, but once he does find the right partner, he will be true to them. Ridley will not be overly romantic, rather simple in his tastes and humble in his desires. Strength of character to him would be far more important than sheer looks.
Saturn makes a trine to Pluto in Leo and with Pluto making an opposition back to Jupiter, this makes a wedge formation with Saturn at the point. This is a very fortunate combination. It gives determination, wisdom, ambition, the potential for huge success and the chance for making a huge impact on society, something that Ridley hag grabbed with both hands. From a difficult childhood from a deprived part of the UK, he has risen to become universally known. Pluto also connects with Mars via a quindecile. This is very aggressive focused aspect and very transformational in nature. Many of Ridley’s films have dealt with death and destruction, or military subjects – very much associated with these planets. GI Jane featuring Demi Moore featured the idea of the first female to undergo US Navy Seals training. Again the strong woman appears in Ridley’s creations. Black Hawk Down was very dark and violent, and Body of Lies starring Leonardo DiCaprio dealt with the CIA and jihadist terrorists.
The final formation on this chart is another t-square between Uranus in Taurus, the Moon in Scorpio and Mars in Aquarius at the point. The Moon in Scorpio is very deep and dark. Ridley will be quiet, secretive, rather reticent to let his emotions show, giving him a rather dour edge to his personality. Under the skin the emotions bubble; however once the temper comes out, it comes out in a rage. This is a volcano like combination of planets, unpredictable, erratic and possibly violent. The Moon in Scorpio need to delve under the skin of everything going on, Ridley will want to know everything about everything. He will be prone to jealousy and he will not accept laziness by anyone working with him – he will be a rather hard taskmaster. Uranus in Taurus shows the creation and use of new technologies in society; this is one of the themes in Blade Runner. This is a very restless and impulsive t-square and with the accent on Uranus and Aquarius here, you can see the attraction of science fiction and times in the future beyond our imaginations. Alien and Blade Runner depict all of the aspects on this t-square, dark design, austere sets, violence, action films set in futuristic worlds.
Ridley Scott would always struggle to make small, intimate films about subtle emotions. It is not his style and the expansive Sagittarian influence on this chart pushes him to be bigger and better, grand in scale and grand in budget. Sometimes we need someone who can see the big picture for what it is. Certainly when it comes to war & action movies, to science fiction and imagination on a wide scale, few directors these days come close.
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