The Astrology of Martha Stewart’s Solar Return in 1976

In 1976, the US was a couple years past the heart of an economic downturn, and Martha Stewart had recently ended her stint as a stockbroker on Wall Street. She and her family had moved to a dilapidated farmhouse in Westport Connecticut five years prior, the furthest commuting town from New York City*. She spent those five years renovating, re-building, gardening, homemaking and hosting lush dinner parties for the artists whose books her husband published. In that house Martha honed her chops at homemaking.

1976 was the year that Martha Stewart started a catering business in the basement of the farmhouse at the end of Turkey Hill Road. It quickly  became successful. She was creating elaborate, fanciful, artful catering for her friends’ parties with 200+ strong guest lists, which quickly evolved into catering events for MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum, Sotheby’s cocktail hours for 700 people, and on. 

Notably, for the purposes of astrological analysis, Stewart had a business partner, Nicole Collier, who parted ways with the business soon after its inception. She alleged that Martha was domineering and that she was taking catering jobs on the side. 

1976 was a stand out year for Martha Stewart becoming what Martha Stewart is known for today. Below is an analysis of her Solar Revolution, also known as a Solar Return (SR), for the year 1976, when she was 35 years old.

Triplicity Lord – Triplicity lords govern over a particular third of an individual’s life. Its condition in the SR indicates the overall condition of the year. Triplicity lords also always indicate support when they are shown in a favorable condition in the chart. 

Martha’s triplicity lord, Jupiter, has stepped up in dignity in her SR as compared to her natal chart. It’s now found in the angular first house, suggesting that her prominence, public perception, esteem, image and reputation all grow in a positive sense as a result of her own efforts this year. The clients for whom she creative lavish catering were probably connected to some extent with both the connections she made hosting in her own home in the early 1970’s, and with those that arose from her husband’s position as the head of a prominent art publishing company.

Modality of the Ascendant – This indicates the timing, durability, and quality of events of the year. The natal sign rising in the SR indicates what is preoccupying the native’s mind in this year. The guardian of the horoscope, also known as the the ruler or custodian of the horoscope, shows the influence through which the entire year filters through. 

The ascendant is in fixed Taurus, suggesting that events of the year will remain constant throughout the entirety of the year. The natal house that is rising in the SR is the 7th, meaning that relationships, partnerships, contracts, agreements are foremost in her mind in this year of her life. 

The guardian of the horoscope, or the ruler of the horoscope, is Venus in Leo. Leo expresses its will in a dynamic, radiant, generous, grandiose way. In this year Martha was creating these opulent gorgeous spreads for many catering events. In the recent documentary about her life, Martha, she says that she was very much inspired by the still lifes of the Dutch masters, depicting a lush display of berries, cheeses, vegetables. So, in this year connecting through making art of food, and making connection through food is shown in the rulership of Venus here. Interestingly, the sign of Taurus also thematically encompasses agriculture. It seems notable that Martha’s work created beauty from the bounty of the earth, and that she was very much involved in processing and transforming raw materials to create refinement and enjoyment in art or relationship related spaces – even if the experience was ephemeral – effortfully created but quickly passing.

Midheaven and Cardines – How and if the natal angular planets move to angular houses in the Solar Revolution.

The Sun moves from the natal 10th house to the SR 4th house, moving the locus of the attention of one’s own self-identity from the public sphere to intimate matters of home, family, property, and legacy. Here the Leo Sun expresses its radiance and finds self-affirmation at home and springing from the sphere of the home and domesticity. But there is thematic overlap here with the Sun and public image, as the Sun in Stewart’s chart is located in the 10th natal house (the house of public perception), and was receiving a strong transit from Saturn during this year.

Condition of the Moon – The Moon provides an overall sketch of the year. It shows the emotional and conditional health of the individual. It shows the way the person interacts with the year itself. 

The Moon in the SR chart is in Scorpio. Martha’s general and emotional health is somewhat challenged here. Both health and home may have recently been an areas of intense focus. We know that she spent several years fixing up the house on Turkey Hill Road.  The Moon here is in the 7th house, in watery Scorpio, suggesting an intense focus on self-preservation, and consistent, stubbornly held attitudes and emotions. Scorpio Moon in the SR suggests Stewart is interacting with the year itself in a baseline way of super-focus, passionate and dynamic emotional responses. Some things experienced or thought may be secretive or held close to the chest. In a departure from perhaps her typical MO, she seems to want to make things work through partnerships in this year — by going into business with a friend, and taking on a role as manager of the Market Basket in the mini mall, but these things don’t last or fizzle out because of disagreements – likely suggested by the Moon’s fall in Scorpio.

The fixity of the Moon underscores the fixity of all the key features of the chart; the grouping of planets in fixed Leo, the ascendant in fixed Taurus with Jupiter rising in Taurus.. All the angles are fixed. The only planet that differs is Mars in Virgo. This speaks to Martha’s tenacity and perseverance. Double-bodied Mars as ruler of the Moon in the house of “others” is like it’s saying, the soirees and occasions may change in face and location, but that there are soirees and occasions will not. The platters, spreads, and themes might vary, but that there are these things will not, and neither will Martha’s destiny to bring these events to life. 

Other Considerations

Transits

In this year Saturn crossed the Sun by transit in Martha’s natal chart, signifying a time when she was redefining her identity. During this period she crystallized the key forms her self expression would take, solidified what she would become known for, and eliminated those things she would not become known for – like a stockbroker, or the manager of a store in a mini-mall. 

Saturn was transiting the 10th natal house, where her natal Sun is located. This is an important transit to an angular house that has to do with themes of public identity, career, and potentially fame, success, honors, and achievement. During this 2.5 year transit, she took on the increased responsibility of catering highly visible events that often had several hundred people in attendance, finding both success and enjoyment in the course of doing so. She had the opportunity to display the experience she had developed in both in her youth as a child and more recently her years renovating the farmhouse on Turkey Hill Road.

Venus under the Beams

In the SR chart, Venus is under the Sun’s beams, and would not have been visible in the sky at the time of the SR. Venus is separating from a conjunction with the Sun, indicating that the individual is recovering from a time of overwhelm or ill health and their condition is improving. 

Martha Stewart moved to the house on Turkey Hill Road in Westport Connecticut after resigning from being a stockbroker. She expressed that she felt burnt out and needed a break from the demands of that world and that role. She took refuge in renovating the farmhouse and entertaining the menagerie of clients under the banner of the publishing company her husband headed. Venus’ hiddenness from visibility may have something to do with her former business partner’s allegation that Martha was doing deals on the side, as well as the flimsiness of that union.

After 1976, Stewart had several other years with well documented prominent events. I will be sharing further astrological assessments of the Solar Returns of those years as well. 

Notes:

* I asked my husband, a Connecticut native, if Westport is the furthest stop from NYC on the Metro North. He said it isn’t. I didn’t dig into it but I’m not sure why Martha Stewart says that Westport is the furthest commuting town from NYC.

* All life events described here are from the Martha Stewart Wikipedia page or the recently released, highly enjoyable documentary about her on Netflix, Martha.

* Martha Stewart Chart Data, Rodden Rating AA: https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Stewart,_Martha

* This method of SR analysis comes from the Medieval Islamic astrologers, as elucidated by Dr. Ali Olomi in this lecture: https://www.patreon.com/posts/lecture-of-years-79251505