Things are not so “Breezy” these days for Chris Brown.
The controversial musician dropped his tenth studio album, “Breezy,” on June 24, 2022 and outrage has followed close behind. Many fans are denouncing not just Brown, which is par for the course, but Normani for collaborating with and grinding upon the troubled star in the video for their song “WE (Warm Embrace).”
Brown is no stranger to chilly receptions, court rooms and the court of public opinion. He pleaded guilty in 2009 to assaulting then girlfriend Rihanna and has since been accused of battery and harassment by multiple persons as well as rape, hit and run, assault with a deadly weapon, falsifying community service hours, driving without a license, violating the terms of his probation and illegally trafficking a pet monkey named Fiji. The father of three has also famously feuded with the likes of Kanye West, Drake, Tyler the Creator, Frank Ocean, and Offset.
In an attempt to understand, but never excuse the challenging nature and alleged violent past behavior of Brown, we’re taking a look at how the stars align and misfire in his birth chart.
Born on May 5, 1989, Christopher Maurice “Chris” Brown is a Taurus sun with a Taurus moon and a royally entitled Leo rising meaning all three of his ‘big three’ fall in fixed signs, the most unyielding of the bunch. On the upswing fixed signs are steadfast, grindstone types that don’t shy away from hard work. On the downturn, these people can’t help but commit to beliefs and behavior patterns, even and sometimes especially, when they are dangerous to or for them.
In terms of the physical body, Taurus rules the throat and natives typically possess notable necks and pleasant voices. Indeed, Brown’s sound all but drips honey though the sweetness of his harmonies belie some of the darker expressions of Taurus energy.
Taurus is associated with the second house of values and possessions, and at best bulls seek placid pastures, financial security and the regular indulgence of their animal natures. They want the finer things in life and to roll about in the sunshine eating cake and having orgasms. All fine. At their wallowing worst, bulls are incorrigible and covetous, suffering from a lack of self-worth and the nasty habit of treating the people in their life as possessions. Tauruses like Brown are notoriously stubborn and most would rather eat shoe leather than apologize or take accountability for their actions.
Mars in fall, anger in action
Brown has Mars, planet of action and aggression in Cancer, which coincidentally is a placement shared by table flipping Taurus Teresa Giudice and Tommy Lee who has also been accused of intimate partner abuse by his ex-wife Pamela Anderson. Mars is said to be in fall in this sign, meaning its ability to express itself is critically hindered. This hindrance can manifest as passive aggressive energy, heightened defensiveness and an inability to process pain or anger in a direct or appropriate fashion.
Cancer rules the fourth house of home and ancestry and this Mars placement suggests that natives were raised in abusive environments, as Brown admits, and/or capitulate that aggression in their own lives, as Brown has continued to do. In a bit of a blessing/bane, Brown’s Mars in Cancer opposes his Uranus in Capricorn. Uranus is the unruly planet of provocation and dissent and this aspect lends itself to an unpredictable energy that can be dynamic or dangerous depending on how it is wielded.
This opposition brings a defiant, unapologetic, attention seeking, damn the man, buck the system vibe. When someone with this opposition feels their freedom or selfhood is compromised, they wile out, often anticipating or instigating conflict when no conflict is called for. The lesson for Brown is to channel this provocateur energy constructively and to challenge, rather than reinforce systems of oppression.
Mars conjunct Chiron; the wounded healer at war with himself.
Brown’s Mars is further compromised by the conjunction it forms with Chiron, an asteroid related to woundedness. This aspect imbues Brown with a shaky sense of self and the desire to overcompensate for his feelings of powerlessness through excessive aggression. Quick to anger, his guttural response to any slight, regardless of how slight, is to engage and explode. Not a fun time for anyone and an escalation that harms not just the bystanders in Brown’s orbit, but Brown himself.
Because Mars relates to sexuality, Mars conjunct Chiron often indicates childhood trauma related to sexual abuse or physical violence and Brown admits to losing his virginity at eight years old and recalls in his documentary “Welcome To My Life,” witnessing his mother being abused by his step-father on a near daily basis.
Mars represents masculine energy and in aspect to Chiron, indicates a wounded relationship with masculinity and the notion of what it is to be a man. While this affliction is acute in Brown, it is not exclusive to him, emblematic as it is of the ongoing crisis facing men and grievously affecting women. An issue Eva McKend raises in her oped “Can You Forgive Chris Brown?”
In order to reconcile this wound within, Brown must honor the feminine and integrate it more fully. This is a rough, life long lesson to learn and pain to overcome, yet the beauty of Chiron is that if and when we heal what is unresolved in ourselves we are capable of delivering that same medicine to others. This suggests that if Brown chooses to dig deep, lay bare, atone fully and revolutionize his own concept of masculinity he will serve as a beacon of what is possible when change is welcomed.
As the Gemini poet and philosopher Criss Jami maintains, “It is not true that everyone is special. It is true that everyone was once special and still possesses the ability to recover it.” In this sense we hope that Brown will find redemption through, and purpose in, his journey to rescue himself.
Astrology 101: Your guide to the stars
- The 12 zodiac signs
- What are the astrology houses?
- Here’s what each planet represents
- Sun, moon and rising signs: Get to know your Big 3
Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers, as well as extensively chronicled her experiences while traveling. Among the many intriguing topics she has tackled are cemetery etiquette, her love for dive bars, Cuban Airbnbs, a “girls guide” to strip clubs and the “weirdest” foods available abroad.
