Pope Francis I

The cardinals have chosen their new pope. Jorge Mario Bergoglio has become Pope Francis I, naming himself after St. Francis of Assisi. He was born on 17th December 1936 in Bueonos Aires, Argentina. No time of birth is available so his chart is set up for noon. [Edit - see below for update 23rd March as correct data and chart added.]

And what an interesting chart it is visually. A zig-zag linear set of aspects looking like giant legs striding forward, intersected by one complete aspect pattern - an Irritation triangle.

In the chart set for noon it is positioned horizontally, but be aware that it would be in a different position if his correct time of birth was known. Pinned by Mars, Saturn and Neptune, and composed of green and red aspects, the Irritation triangle acts like a small green dagger which comes out and unexpectedly "stabs" by giving vent to something which has irked the individual. It may be that they speak out vehemently about injustice - in the case of Francis this is unlikely to be a personal injustice that is felt and could be far more likely to be about gobal rights and wrongs. I only speculate here....but it's something to watch out for. He comes into office with a record of being refreshingly humble and connected with the outside world. The pinning planets in this figure suggest an ability to stand up for himself (Mars and Saturn) but also to stand up for his faith and for inclusivity (Neptune).

Might there be a sense of humour at work too? His Sagittarian Sun is conjunct Jupiter but is also conjunct the North Node - as a spiritual figure we might expect that he's well aware of fulfilling his personal destiny, but we don't know in which area of life, according to his chart, as we don't know his birth time which would put his Node in the house/area of life which he'd need to develop.

His overall inner motivation shows two modes of behaviour - mutable and able to adapt using the triangular shaping (the Irritation triangle) and cardinal (pardon the pun) and restless, making him potentially edgy and initiatory using the disconnected linear aspects.

For more on how to spot motivation in aspect colour, chart shaping and aspect patterns, see my co-authored book The Cosmic Egg Timer.

Update 23. 3.2013
My thanks to Giovannina Celeni who has contacted me (see comments), saying: The birth time is 21h (9 PM). An hour ago, the Argentina astrologer Claudia Rizzi has sent a copy of the birth certificate. The pictures of it are on the Astro-Databank page. This gives the data the highest AA rating of being accurate.

Chart with correct birth time of 21.00

The updated chart for Pope Francis shows the main features discussed above still in place, but with an additional semi-sextile between Moon and Mercury, giving him an almost-but-not-quite-complete Small Learning triangle. This pulls his Moon/Venus conjunction into a more direct working and ongoing learning relationship with Mercury and Uranus. 

The correct birth time shows some very interesting features. A few initial thoughts on these: 

• Uranus is the highest planet in the chart, in the cardinal area of the 10th house; already he is establishing his own approach and is refreshingly different. He's already shown he has a mind of his own when it comes to pomp and ceremony.

• Neptune is now at the bottom of the chart, very strongly placed on 3rd cusp. Francis is reputed to be a man of the people, and more humble and "ordinary" than his predecessor.

• The new birth time places the Irritation triangle on the 3/9 communications house axis, where he can use it to speak out ( see what I previously wrote about this aspect pattern).

• Saturn is stressed before the 9th house cusp. Will there be issues about control, organisation, protocol, tradition?

• His Sun in Sagittarius is on the Balance Point of the 6th house, where it will find ease of expression in his calling

• The chart direction/motivation is a mixture of horizontal and vertical aspects - good for making contact with others and good for asserting his individuality as a leader.