In light of Ellen’s announcement that she will be ending her show, I am posting a 2020 write up I did of her chart within the context of the bullying and negativity reported to run rampant on her set.
I want to explore, astrologically, what in the hell has been imploding in Ellen's life to completely reverse this "be kind" public image and replace it with an image of a person who seems to be callous, treat people poorly, and stage traps/jokes/scares for her own shits and giggles.
To be clear, I don't think there is anything inherent about Ellen's placements that suggest an ironclad route down the mistreatment-of-others road. A potent mix of power and platform can really distort planetary energies, making them rear in gnarly ways.
Let's talk about the dark side of Jupiter energy. Ellen is a Pisces Ascendant. And it feels odd, right? The sensitive and compassionate fishy capable of wrongdoing? Its ruler, Jupiter (traditionally), can manifest in problematic ways--grandiosity, hubris, dogmatic thinking, etc.
Jupiter has the real potential to proselytize, to go overboard with belief, to crusade for conversion of thought or practice, to become a zealot, moved by the "idea" of something noble versus the actual practice of it. Jupiter is also the principle of teaching others. And placed in a position of power, teaching becomes preaching. Give Jupiter a massive audience and it can really get high on its own supply. Jupiter is the televangelist.
Yes--I know Ellen was not trying to convert in the traditional religious sense. BUT--she was rather committed to this "be kind" front, performing tolerance, giving away checks and prizes, and virtue signaling--while the actual human beings employed by her were suffering (allegedly). Jupiter and Pisces so moved by the idea of compassion and kindness, creating a platform and celebrity around it (1st house), yet failing to actually practice it intentionally. It reminds me of famous preachers who do questionable and selfish things with their millions, whilst preaching every Sunday about charity to others. Much is said of the Pisces escape into substance, romance and art--but Pisces can also escape into unreality. That is where the dissonance between what you "talk" and what you "walk" creeps in. Pisces can also tether itself to spiritual superiority, which is just a front for Jupiterian arrogance.
For what it is worth, Ellen's producers are shouldering a lot of the blame about the toxic work environment, saying that Ellen was removed from the day-to-day running of the show. And that's Jupiter too--holding up a front and neglecting details. She appeared to be surrounded by Yes-men, and that too is Jupiter--a king/queen on its throne assured that the kingdom is running well.
Ellen's Jupiter (and Neptune) also trines her Pisces ASC. That means Jupiter effortlessly steers her ship. The sneaky trine! You never notice it. Like an inborn trait, a second skeleton. While this obviously made her generous, successful, a benefactor to many, it also provided a seamless route for Jupiter and Neptune delusions to creep in. Acting without accountability. Poor humor disguised as gregariousness. Misplaced enthusiasm. Arrogance. A former employee was allegdely told never to look Ellen in the eye or to say hello first, "but don't worry, Ellen won't ever be saying hello to you." Yikes.
While her producers are taking some blame, many employees have already come forward to say that Ellen's pranks and jokes created a tremendous amount of stress. With her Jupiter in Scorpio, she can use her sense of humor to provoke people, to take it all the way to the edge of what is okay. She famously scares a lot of her celebrity guests, finding out their worst fear (i.e. spiders or clowns) and using that against them for a thrill. It pretty macabre. And while a lot of celebrities have come to her defense, the laymen behind the scenes were subject to Scorpio toxicity, an environment of racism, sexism and inappropriate harassment. While Ellen cannot be blamed for all of these occurrences, some perpetuated by producers and management, it says something about her Scorpio footing--there is a sense of drama, and crisis and complexity always prevailing. Even her coming out as gay and suffering the fallout from that back in the late 90s corroborates this Jupiter in Scorpio narrative of controversy, and transforming through it.
Jupiter also rules her Sagittarius MC, and without beating a dead centaur, this really just rounds out the strength of Jupiter in her chart, and how it is performed and perceived by the public. It has a high stake in her personality and career.
Oh wait, never mind. I have to talk about Jupiter again! It is the apex of a T-square she has. It is the outlet. Her Sun and Venus in Aquarius oppose Uranus in Leo, and both square Jupiter. First, we need to give Uranus its due shout out--having this planet in her 6th house of workplace environments says a lot about the chaos behind the scenes, it further supports her need for thrills and oddball humor and deadpan arrogance. Uranus in Leo is the rogue diva. The unsuspecting diva. It also represents how revolutionary and unconventional Ellen's show is in the culture--a gay woman with one of the longest running and successful talk shows of all time. Whodathunk? It also appears to corroborate why she was "hands off" in the running of the show, as Uranus doesn't do nuts and bolts planning or management. But it's opposition to her Sun invites in a tremendous amount of character, yes, and also irritability, being high strung, impatience, being demanding, an uncompromising attitude and ruthless adherence to one's idiosyncrasies and identity. (Aries Moon doesn't help). Put all this into the body of a celebrity with a huge platform, and we can understand why in March, a tweet calling her "one of the meanest people alive" vent viral, and attracted tales from people and former employees agreeing. It essentially snowballed into the controversy she is in now. The Sun square Jupiter person also has an unhealthy integration of Jupiter archetypes into their ego, creating "immoderate actions and attitudes, arrogance, and a lack of self-control." A wheeler and dealer.
"I made one of my employees cry like a baby on today's show. Honestly, it felt good." This is a tweet Ellen wrote in 2009 that has not aged well. While we do not know for sure whether it was a feel good cry moment or not, happy tears, it provides evidence of her Uranus and Jupiter need to stoke BIG reactions out of people--the immoderate behavior spoken about above. Even though some celebrities have come to her defense, a running list of cringe moments shows Ellen's need to put people on the spot, embarrass, shame, or otherwise invite a sense of chaotic tension under the guise of humor. Her Mars in Jupiter's Sagittarius can also do the most. Limits? I don't know her. In the 10th, this plays out for everyone to see.
FWIW, the Aquarius Sun is a people person, but not a person person. They can be very vocal about humane causes, and ideals that shape humanity for the better, yet lack an emotional involvement with the person right in front of them. So the dissonance between Ellen's humanitarian and philanthropic front and her alleged mean and distant behavior on set is further contextualized by her Sun placement in the 12th.
As far as transits, why is this happening now? Uranus in Taurus in her 3rd currently squaring her natal Uranus in Leo in the 6th. Sudden communications and changes in her work environment. People becoming vocal about mistreatment (6th house as the place of employees, slaves, open enemies), demanding a change in culture on the Ellen Show. Uranus transits are confronting, triggering, and alter your path going forward. If transit Uranus is involved in a square with her natal Uranus, that means it is affecting every planet in that T-square I mentioned. Also squaring her Sun, and loosely opposing that dang Jupiter. Ellen is being forced to consider how her actions and identity have shaped her world, and is being asked to create something new in place of it moving forward. The SN in Sagittarius is also acting as a vacuum, a drain, over her 10th house of reputation. The place she held in the world is really up for review, as tenets of her public image are being stripped away.
Can she recover? Probably. Her Jupiter signatures remain strong indications of comebacks, of future success. But she can no longer spend that Jupiter energy in callous and over the top ways. Her show is coming back to air in about a week, and she plans to address everything. So we will see..
Thanks as always for reading!