When I first started writing Pluto Rising, I began with Katy's chart. Using the astrological lore that I've studied since I was a teen, I carefully drew the chart, then spent a couple of days thoroughly delineating it. I wound up with something like 20 pages of notes, but don't worry, I'm not going to dump those on you here! Instead, here's a quick-and-dirty precis of Katy Klein, psychologist turned astrologer, devoted single mother, and inadvertant crime-solver:
Okay, so the first thing we see about Katy is that she's a Libra. Now, Libra is ruled by Venus, the planet of love - but in Katy's chart, Venus is conjunct Saturn, which denotes hardship, responsibility, and difficulty. Not only that, but with the 5th house of love affairs and creativity governed by Saturn too, we see that Katy's love life tends to be fraught with challenges.
Add to this her talkative, versatile Gemini Moon, opposing an idealistic Sagittarian Mars, and you get someone who's always jumping in where angels (and anyone else with half an ounce of common sense) fear to tread. Katy's the kind of person who can't see an injustice without wanting to leap to the defense of the oppressed - which is fine, but with aggressive, fiery Mars playing tug-of-war with her chatty Moon, it's easy to understand how her "speak before you think" policy can get her into trouble. Big trouble, sometimes.
With the Moon at the highest point in her chart, Katy's relationship with her mother is one of the most important factors in her life. She sees her own mother as a verbal, mentally nimble woman, probably someone whose company she thoroughly enjoys, but whom she has a hard time pinning down sometimes. Oddly enough, this is exactly how Katy's own daughter, Dawn, sees her - but then we do seem to pass on the parenting skills we internalize in our own families, right?
Have I mentioned Katy's Virgo Ascendant, loosely conjunct its own ruling planet, Mercury? This is a key factor in Katy's talkative, analytical approach to problem-solving, especially because her Mercury-ruled Moon is also conjunct her Gemini Midheaven. Katy's got a constant running dialogue happening, whether it's internal or external, and it's often how she unravels problems that would completely stump less mentally agile souls. Her Mercury is conjunct Saturn, too, which adds a touch of seriousness to her thinking processes. This is no bubble-head we're talking about here, but someone who can get right down to the heart of the matter, who understands the meaning of life and death problems.
With her crowded 1st house, Katy can come across as a bit "larger than life". Some people appreciate this, while others feel threatened by it, but she's not the kind of person you can just ignore. With her 12th house Pluto, she's got an inner intensity that bubbles up and lets people know she's someone to contend with.
Incidentally, inventive, unconventional Uranus in Katy's 10th house of career and public image show her astrological vocation pretty clearly. And Uranus squaring the Sun indicates that she's not always completely unconflicted about that career choice. That Uranus/Sun square is another good indicator that Katy's the type to do her fair share of tilting at windmills, too. She can be counted on to do the unexpected, and it's not always in her own best interest. Stressful Uranus/Sun links also show clashes with authority - and Katy doesn't handle authority well. She takes exception when she's told she has to do anything, and she comes over all rebellious when someone says, "Because I said so."
