Happy Birthday Dolly!

Happy Birthday Dolly!

In honor of her next trip around the Sun I am sharing my astrological musings on her life and chart.

Photo by Wes McFee on Unsplash

Dolly Parton is truly an angel on earth. I was blessed by her brilliance a few years ago when she came to town to perform. This stripped down performance was filled with laughter, heart, and a crowd as diverse as a gay pride parade marching down Main Street in small town America. From aging cowboys to fabulous drag queens, Dolly united the crowd around her message of love and inclusivity.

Dolly was born with the Full Moon rising in a small one bedroom cabin in Tennessee. Individuals born under Full Moons have a radiant, outgoing quality to their personality. The Moon is, among other things, our innermost self. With the Moon rising just over the eastern horizon, we see someone who lives with their heart on their sleeves. The Moon in Virgo has an innate desire to help. Virgo is the archetype of the selfless servant. We see this energy expressed in her years of philanthropy giving back to her beloved community. Virgo is a boots-on-the-ground type of giving. She has contributed so much money and support to improving the lives of others by giving them the tools and resources to build better lives through educational scholarships and job opportunities.

Mercury is the ruling planet of her chart and lends a communicative glibness to her more serious Sun in Capricorn. She is a master business woman above all else. Capricorn is determined, ambitious, and dedicated to climbing the mountain of success (whatever that may looks like to the individual). For Dolly with the Sun in the 5th House, the peaks that she is climbing are the mountains of creativity and artistic self expression. As a prolific songwriter and multi-instrument musician she is living out this potential on the grand stage of life.

Sometimes seen as a caricature of femininity, she lovingly refers to herself as a Backwoods Barbie. Venus combust by her Sun imparts a beauty and a grace to her expression. She is unapologetic in how she presents her ideal of beauty. Venus is also the ruler of her 9th house associated with religion, philosophy, and travel. The Backwoods Barbie persona is clearly a ruse. Underneath her outward appearance is a brilliant thinker who is deeply spiritual and highly educated by her experience of traveling all over the world.

She was born with the Sun and Venus separating from a frustrating opposition Mars and Saturn. As rulers of her 3rd and 8th houses, this may have shown up around difficulties with early education and learning, fighting with siblings, and brushes with anxiety, fears, and maybe death of loved ones. With Saturn ruling the 5th and 6th house this could also show difficulties around health and fertility.

These types of challenges can be used to push us to find better ways of living and force us to rise up and out of the stressful circumstances that we were born into.

Mars imparts a willful impulsiveness needed to courageously go after one’s dream while Saturn gives a slow, steady determination. This Mars/Saturn configuration doesn’t take “no” for an answer. This would likely have manifested as challenges in her early years around topics of finding one’s own voice, standing up to authority figures, and even facing one’s own anxieties, fears, and grief. Now after 55 years in show business, this aspect speaks to her longevity and cross generational appeal. Dolly's star burns brighter than ever.

Do you have a favorite Dolly Parton song? Let me know in the comments :)