Brad Pitt - Undoing the Karmic Knot

At first glance, the big story in Brad’s chart is the huge pile up of planets in the 2nd house in Sagittarius.  Certainly this shows a huge concentration of energy awaiting to be expressed.  What makes this even more intriguing is the presence of Ketu, the South Node of the Moon alongside them.  The Lunar nodes are powerful points of the sky that magnify, amplify and take on the qualities of the planets they join and the houses they occupy.  Rahu, the North Node, and Ketu, the South Node show the places in our lives where our soul needs to evolve and are always in exact opposition, forming tension which is likened to a karmic knot. Brad Pitt’s success and longevity of his career is what we will look at in particular through the story the nodes tell us.

Rahu is the Ascending Node and shows our fascinations and attachments. Rahu is where we feel a sense of lack, and we are continually looking to satisfy a hunger indicated by Rahu’s placement.  Brad’s acting career began in 1987 during his Rahu-Rahu dasa, when Rahu became very active. Rahu is in Gemini showing that from the beginning, despite Brad’s obvious pretty boy looks, he was determined to not be typecast as such, willing to take on roles that were dark and sometimes bizarre.  Rahu is in the 8th house, having to do with making money due to other people’s resources, which is a good way to describe an actor who makes a living from how the public responds to you and your work.  The 8th house also shows how the values of other people impact your life.  There is a certain idea in the public about what constitutes sexuality and being sexy (also 8th house qualities), and Brad’s looks and demeanor certainly fit the bill.  

Rahu is in Ardra, which is quite an intense Nakshatra since it is also ruled by Rahu.  Ardra can bring chaos and destruction, but if the storms are handled properly, it can clear away the destruction of what holds us back, leading us to something higher.  Despite having two failed marriages, custody battles, substance abuse play out in the public, Brad continues to be thought of in high esteem.  Rather than allow the spotlight to destroy him, he has used his fame to put the spotlight on the humanitarian projects he supports, and the natural disasters he has donated money towards.  For instance, in 2007, he appeared on Time Magazine's Time 100 list, a compilation of the 100 most influential people in the world. The magazine credited Pitt for using "his star power to get people to look [to where] cameras don't usually catch. There is a lot of "false hope" that can happen with Rahu, but it seems that Brad has been able to take the positive that comes with his celebrity and use it for the good of others instead. 

Ketu is the Descending Node and shows our disgust and aversions.  Often there is deep pain associated with Ketu, along with a feeling of “been there, done that.”  Likened to the disapproving parent within, there is a critical eye placed on what is happening surrounding Ketu.  Whereas in Rahu, there is an obsession that can never be fulfilled, with Ketu, there is a feeling of discontent that we can never be good enough, no matter what we do.  Ketu in the 2nd house shows past experience and deep hidden pain surrounding comfort, tradition, self worth and resources.  Let’s look at the planets which are with Ketu in the 2nd to get an idea of how this has been playing out in Brad’s life.

All of these planets are in Sagittarius, which is a masculine, changeable, fire sign.  It is ruled by Jupiter, which is optimistic, expansive and often inspiring.  Any planet in Sagittarius will be influenced by the sattvic nature Jupiter, orienting the person towards doing good in the world.  But if Jupiter gets off balance, especially by the influence of the nodes, this can turn into applying unrealistic expectations towards ourselves, and bringing up feelings of hopelessness.  Let’s look at how the planets are operating in Sagittarius in the 2nd house.

Moon is the indicator of connection, our inner life and heart, with a distinct innocent quality.  Its placement here shows Brad’s feelings towards others are quite expansive and idealistic. It also shows potential for a lot of financial comforts in life.  Being in the nakshatra of Uttarashada, “The Later Victory,” shows what he builds in his life will not diminish as time goes on.

Mercury is the indicator of intelligence, our willingness to change, inquiry, fun and playfulness.  Its placement here shows Brad understands the power his words hold.  Because he lives in the public eye, he knows what can happen to his career (and therefore his money) if he is misunderstood.  Thus, he thinks well before he speaks, and wants to come across as wise and just.  Because it is in Purva Ashada ruled by Venus, he often speaks in a way that is strong, yet pleasant for others.  The playfulness of Mercury here also strengthens the Rahu in Gemini quality which gives him the ability to not be typecast as simply a pretty boy sex symbol.  Throughout his career he has had the ability to play a wide variety of roles and have them be favorably accepted by the public.

Mars is the indicator of personal strength and the ability to control our actions in the moment.  This is an especially important placement for Brad since his ascendant is in Mars ruled Scorpio.  This indicates wealth, and also the ability to control as well as expand it.   Being in Venus ruled Purva Ashada, it shows he is generous, and also shows he understands by acting this way in the world, it helps his relationships with others.  

The Sun is the indicator of our confidence and our most authentic expression of ourselves.  Here the Sun wants to become bigger and wishes to light up the world.  Brad is also aware that his actions have the power to make him very wealthy.  Being in the nakshatra of Mula, ruled by Ketu, we are at the beginning of how Ketu is having an influence on him.  Ketu wants to find the hidden meaning of things, and he is wondering how is it that he is the recipient of so much attention and money, because he is not sure if he truly deserves it or not.

If it were just these four planets here, Brad’s story would play out much differently.  However, with Ketu extending his influence, Brad experiences these energies in a way that he doesn’t fully embrace.  As we have discussed previously, Ketu is hyper critical and it wants to reject the things surrounding him.  In the nakshatra of Purva Ashada, Brad is quite surprised at all the wealth he has accumulated, and he could possibly even feel embarrassed by it.  Even though there is a desire to take this wealth and use it for something greater than this world, this is not enough.

 

But yet, with so many planets alongside Ketu, especially ones so pivotal to his core identity (Sun, Ascendant Lord) he is rejecting so many facets of himself.  Rahu is on the other side of the axis, there pushing him forward into being a person others want him to be. There is a desire for him to be authentic, but is he being authentic to himself or to ????  When what you are striving for is living life through the lens of others (8th house), a deep sense of self (Ascendant, Sun)  is required.  But when your actual identity is constantly being even more deeply scrutinized by yourself (Ketu), how do you reconcile the two?  

The good news for Brad (and for anyone) is that there is a path through the karmic knot of the Rahu/Ketu axis.  The way to reconcile the tension of the obsessions of Rahu and the disgust and withdrawal of Ketu is to find something that is in common to both ends.  The technique is to count houses from each node.  This means that if we count 2 houses from the 2nd house and 8 houses from the 8th, they will both land in the 3rd house.  By looking at the 3rd house, where Brad’s Saturn and Venus are in Capricorn, we can see how this polarity is balanced.  

Brad began his Saturn dasa in 2019, making this knot-undoing area of his life light up.  Saturn is in its own sign of Capricorn, so there is the discipline available to do whatever he chooses to do.  It also shows he has developed healthy boundaries so he can operate with ease, and with less interference from the desires of others (all the Rahu energy of the 8th house).  It is also in Dhanistha, ruled by Mars.  Since Brad has Scorpio rising, it makes Mars his ascendant Lord.  This can mean his identity has begun to become more grounded in the more stable, earthy energy of Capricorn.  

Another part of undoing this knot began when he became a father.  Brad's first child was adopted by him in 2005 during his Jupiter/Saturn dasa.  Jupiter is the indicator of children, and Saturn in the 3rd house was also lit up as part of the cycle.  

In 2026, he will begin his Saturn-Venus dasa putting the activities of the 3rd house even more on the forefront.  There has been speculation that Brad may decide to leave Hollywood behind, as he is looking at “semi-retirement.”  Considering the 3rd house is where we carve out our own ego through a variety of interests, and the fact that Brad’s natal Saturn and Venus are not a part of his Rahu/Ketu axis, this could certainly this may be the time when Brad can finally undo the tension coming through this karmic knot.  Instead of basing his life on what others think of him (even though they are generally favorable), perhaps he will finally have the courage and curiosity to be free and finally feel like he can express his most authentic self.