Lil Wayne was born on September 27, 1982 in New Orleans, LA. Since his exact time of birth is unknown, we will use a noon (12:00 pm) chart as an approximation. Due to the approximation of birth time, I will refrain here from interpreting the Ascendant and house placements of the planets, as house tenancy and sign rulership are highly dependent on an accurate birth time.
The first thing to notice is the Sun, Moon & Rising sign, also known as the Ascendant. These three components form the basic energy of the personality. Here we have Libra Sun, Aquarius Moon, and Sagittarius Rising. Even if we assume the Ascendant is inaccurate, both Mars and Uranus are in Sagittarius, forming a supportive angle to both the Sun and Moon.
Source: https://www.astrotheme.com.
The first thing to notice is the Sun, Moon & Rising sign, also known as the Ascendant. These three components form the basic energy of the personality. Here we have Libra Sun, Aquarius Moon, and Sagittarius Rising. Even if we assume the Ascendant is inaccurate, both Mars and Uranus are in Sagittarius, forming a supportive angle to both the Sun and Moon.
What Makes a Genius?
The Libra-Aquarius-Sagittarius combination is a harmonious blend of energies; the Libra-Sagittarius and/or Aquarius-Sagittarius sextile (60° angle) is a highly creative aspect, often found in the charts of famous classical composers like Mozart and Schubert.
We can also see right away that the chart is vaguely kite-shaped. A kite formation is made from a grand trine (see the blue triangle above), two sextiles (green lines), and an opposition that cuts across (red line). This particular pattern is somewhat rare, producing very talented individuals with a patent self-destructive streak. Whitney Houston had a kite, to give one example.
There is a “giftedness” about these individuals and there is tremendous drive. Lil Wayne is not only incredibly intellectually gifted, as will be discussed shortly, but possesses a highly original creativity as well as a drive to produce.
Air Signs & Intellectual Abilities
First, there is intellectual ability, of which Lil Wayne is in no short supply. His natal Sun is in Libra, forming a trine aspect (120° angle) with the Moon in Aquarius. Libra and Aquarius are both Air signs, and the disposition of anyone with these signs predominant in their chart will be likely to approach the world through an intellectual lens.
By this I mean specifically that there is an emphasis on abstract, conceptual thinking; speaking, talking, and communicating are of particular importance to Air signs, and there will generally be a talent for networking (Libra & Aquarius are never usually lacking in friends).
With all factors considered, this chart is heavily Aquarian in tone. Air energy is conceptual and intellectual, but often too quick for its own good, and the physical body finds it difficult to keep up (“high strung” is putting it lightly). Because Lil Wayne was born during a Mercury Retrograde period, most of this “talking” manifests in the form of a never-ending internal chatter. It’s simply a feature of a mind that is constantly at work. In short, the chart indicates an extremely overactive mind. And a highly conceptual one at that.
Many Aquarians spend their entire lives trying to figure out how to resolve the discrepancy between the incredible speed of their mental processes and the need to slow down and rest their physical bodies, which usually cannot handle it all. Even making time to sleep and eat is a challenge for Aquarians, who are notorious neglecters of basic bodily functions.
Communication and all manner of verbal expression is where Air signs feel most comfortable—where their natural abilities lie. This is particularly the case for Lil Wayne, with his natal Sun conjunct (next to) Mercury in the Air sign of Libra. Sun conjunct Mercury people are reminiscent of Gemini in their talent for speech and language play, and are notoriously long-winded (Teddy Roosevelt had Sun conjunct Mercury in Scorpio).
One of the caveats of genius is the tendency to narcissism. Aquarians are often obsessed with their own ideas and despite all social adeptness can display aloof “loner” tendencies. Air signs tend to bottle anger. While useful when sublimated into creative or artistic pursuits, when there is no available channel anger is released primarily in expressive bursts of verbal assault.
Libras are notorious for their issues with anger, as they have the most difficulty expressing it in a healthy way. I can only wonder how Lil Wayne manages to integrate his impulsive anger with his Libran predisposition to avoid conflict at all costs. Perhaps he rationalizes any outbursts as displays of masculinity, any resulting alienation being simply the price one must be pay in order to keep up the masculine mystique.
Mars Conjunct Uranus: Impulsivity
Another aspect of genius that is plentiful in this chart is creativity. Not only does the kite formation lead to a highly creative individual, but in this chart we have the apex of the kite pointing to a Mars-Uranus conjunction in Sagittarius.
Now, this is a highly significant aspect. Not only is it relatively uncommon, this energy is indicative of a literal firecracker. Uranus (ruling planet of Aquarius) is the planet of revolution, genius, eccentricity and change. In the sign of Sagittarius, this conjunction (the most powerful of all aspects between two planets) adds conceptualism and originality to the ideas. Mars (ruling planet of Aries) represents war, action, aggression, anger, assertiveness and our drive to initiate and is highly enterprising.
His Sun-Moon trine in Libra-Aquarius gives a tendency to think abstractly, but by itself does not signal creative output. But when you add the Mars-Uranus in Sagittarius, forming a double sextile to this trine, the result is a creative genius that pours out uncontrollably, oftentimes without warning. This is the person who comes up with the most genius idea seemingly out of nowhere. There is an unstoppable flow of intellectual (verbal) creativity, a pioneering, revolutionary instinct, and a stubborn determination to see projects through.
Not only is this configuration relatively uncommon, Mars-Uranus symbolizes a literal firecracker. The obvious upside is the creative energy. The downside is that the physical body suffers under the weight of all this erratic impulsivity. Sagittarius is philosophical and creative, but is also, well, clumsy. This aspect is where the whole shooting yourself in the foot (literally) thing comes in, not to mention the blurting.
With this aspect in his chart, the intellect feels “trapped” in the body. The physical body is seen as the enemy, and there is considerable frustration when the creative power of Mars-Uranus meets the physical limits of the body. Drugs and artificial stimulation are seen by the person as the only way to keep the manic creative energy of Mars-Uranus functioning.
Similarly, while Mars-Uranus generates excitement and bursts of creativity that generally attract others’ attention, its energy is also impossible to harness, leading the person to bouts of extreme combativeness. In other words, this person is a “hothead.” Anger is expressed impulsively, erratically, and can come seemingly out of nowhere.
Libras are notorious for their issues with anger, as they have the most difficulty expressing it in a healthy way. I can only wonder how Lil Wayne manages to integrate his impulsive anger with his Libran predisposition to avoid conflict at all costs. Perhaps he rationalizes any outbursts as displays of masculinity, any resulting alienation being simply the price one must be pay in order to keep up the masculine mystique.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Haste makes waste. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. These adages would be worth repeating to oneself daily if one should find oneself born under a Mars-Uranus conjunction in Sagittarius.
Venus Square Neptune.
Venus has much to do with love and relationships, and is highly significant in this chart, as Venus rules the sign of Libra (generally speaking, the ruling planet of the person’s Sun sign is always going to be significant in interpretation). Venus symbolizes our romantic nature, but also relates to artistic ability and our ability to be social and adapt to our environment in a more general sense.
Venus in Virgo is at a 90° angle (also called a Square) to Neptune. It is the only square in the entire chart, so this aspect will have a profound impact in defining the type of crises the person is prone to.
Venus in Virgo tends to be quite fussy and is usually a perfectionist. And with Venus in Virgo square Neptune in Sagittarius, we have a highly creative person, but also one who is beyond idealistic about their output.
Astrologer Charles Carter says that people born with tense angles between Venus and Neptune display “a divine discontent, and a constant restless seeking for an ideal which is not easily realizable on earth” as well as “a persistent dissatisfaction both with things and persons.” I find this to be a particularly apt characterization of the Venus-Neptune plight.
This ontological sense of dissatisfaction can be a powerful catalyst to creative genius, as it pushes the person to continually transcend their own creative limits. However, it can also lead to problems of adjustment and acceptance of reality, of personal limits and boundaries.
Yet there may be such high expectations for his creative work that disappointment and disillusionment ensue, the result of extreme perfectionism fueled by idealistic fantasies of success.
In romantic relationships, there is a similar trend: no one is ever good enough, and romantic ideals are so lofty that he would probably have extreme difficulty dealing with the more mundane aspects of a relationship.
Venus-Neptune: Financial Deception
Neptune indicates deception, in a general sense. It is impossible to tell without speaking to the person whether they would be the victim of deception or the deceiver, but both are distinctly possible.
Duplicitousness of a romantic or financial nature is the most obvious example for this combination, even more so with the involvement of mutable signs (Virgo/Sagittarius). This is trouble for a Libra, for whom relationships are like oxygen. There may be considerable suffering due to the tendency to experience the world and relationships in a perpetual fantasy state.
Venus square Neptune also indicates financial loss through friendships or intimate relationships, or through gambling. With this aspect, it is imperative that Lil Wayne be careful in borrowing or lending money, as impulsive promises made to friends or intimates would be the source of financial downfall.
Despite appearances, romance is a dominant theme in the chart. Romance is like oxygen for Libras, and both Aquarius and Libra prefer to be in a steady relationship, because it allows them to spend more time pursuing their ideas. The chart as a whole shows a very romantic type of individual, and fantasy is clearly a strong motivating force.
It’s difficult to reconcile the energies of Mars-Uranus with Venus-Neptune. The Mars-Uranus combo is difficult for sexual relationships, because this person is continually looking for thrills, gets bored easily, and tends to run roughshod over the feelings of others.
Venus-Neptune, on the other hand, is excessively involved in fantasy and overly sensitive. Thus difficulties come from disappointed expectations and excessive idealism mixed with the tendency toward boredom and aloofness.
Taken together, my guess would be that the major difficulty in romantic relationships would be the expectation that the object of affection remain monogamous while he retains all sexual freedoms. Add on the typical Libra masculinity issues (which I don’t even have time to get into right now) and things start to get very messy.
Saturn Conjunct Pluto: Imprisonment
Saturn takes a full 29 years to complete a full 360° orbit, and Pluto takes 248. But even if you were born around this same time, it is doubtful that you would feel the influence of Saturn-Pluto unless it was making a significant angle to a personal planet or point of note. For Lil Wayne, this conjunction affects him personally, as it falls in Libra (his Sun sign), with Saturn loosely conjunct his natal Mercury. Needless to say, given its rarity, Saturn-Pluto is an aspect of heavy karma.
When a Saturn-Pluto conjunction does touch a sensitive point in a chart, it often represents imprisonment. In one chart I interpreted with a prominent Saturn-Pluto conjunction was of a woman born in Central America whose father was largely absent in her life due to his involvement in the drug trade, for which he spent time in prison.
Saturn-Pluto is noteworthy in Lil Wayne’s chart because of its proximity to one of his personal planets—Mercury. Those with Mercury conjunct Saturn tend to be very serious thinkers, often leading to depressive thoughts. Mercury rules the mental processes, how we think, speak and communicate. So Saturn-Pluto conjunct his Mercury to me spells “mental imprisonment”—and/or a powerful indication that this person would be imprisoned for their verbal expression.
The fact of Lil Wayne’s arrest and time spent at Riker's Island is a fairly obvious manifestation of this configuration in his chart. But intelligent as he is, it seems to me that he may’ve unconsciously imprisoned himself, if only to get away from the pressure to outperform, out-earn, and outdo himself.
Chiron in Taurus: conquering Self-Doubt
The point where his chart comes together is with Chiron in Taurus, which forms the base of the kite formation. Chiron is an asteroid, not a planet, but still has profound meaning in the birth chart, especially if it is placed at a focal point in a larger planetary configuration.
Chiron represents a wound in need of healing, and until the individual gains self-awareness in this area, he may compulsively repeat negative actions symbolized by Chiron over and over without knowledge of the pattern being repeated.
Taurus is one of the two “money” signs, so with Chiron in Taurus there is a deep insecurity around money which manifests as obsession with defining his creativity in dollar amounts.
Chiron in Taurus shows a crisis of self-worth and of personal values. With Chiron in Taurus in direct opposition to Wayne’s Mars-Uranus—the seat of his creative power—he has a distorted sense of values that constantly undermines him.
Thus his Chiron placement reveals a deeply-rooted insecurity about his own talent and ability to perform, resulting in a desperate drive to prove to that his creative work holds literal value—i.e. in the form of cold hard cash.
Chiron & the Self-Destructive Impulse
This distorted value system leads to self-sabotage in more ways than one. Given the prior analysis of the Mars-Uranus conjunction, with an opposition from Chiron in Taurus there is not only an excessive attempt to define oneself financially, but considerable difficulty existing within the limitations of the physical body.
The opposition is generally considered a passive aspect, meaning that the planets opposing each other signify events that happen to the person, or rather, the person experiencing the events feels that they are passive in the face of “circumstances,” which take the form of someone who challenges them.
Taurus in particular rules the throat and the voice. With Chiron in Taurus, psychological difficulties with self-expression often take the form of ailments that make the person unable to physically speak.
This type of physical paralysis mirrors what is going on internally, but with the opposition, it can feel to the person that these things “happen” to them, without any thought to what is going on underneath. In Melanie Reinhart’s book Chiron and the Healing Journey, she cites an example of a man with Chiron in Taurus who repressed all his emotional sentiments towards those closest to him only to develop chronic sore throats later in life.
The logic is that if he doesn’t keep it going, how will he prove his own creative genius (to himself). This is a self-destructive logic driven by fear of being worthless and therefore has no truth. Because without the body (or in this case, the vocal cords), there can be no creative product. In other words, he needs to learn to embrace the limitations of the body and cultivate feelings of self-worth.
Repressed anger would pose the most difficulty for someone with Mars-Uranus opposing Chiron in Taurus. There is a tendency for violent “accidents” to befall the person with Mars-Uranus opposing Chiron, and this is doubly true if the intellect is given free rein, without consciousness of the emotions bubbling under the surface.
Highlighting the Chiron theme even further is a Yod formation that overlaps with the kite. A Yod is a rarer type of astrological pattern forming an isosceles triangle: two planets at a 60° angle, with these same planets forming two 150° angles to a third planet or point.
In the Yod we see in this chart, the focal point, again, is Chiron in Taurus. What does this mean? That that the key struggle of Lil Wayne’s life involves an inner crisis of self-worth.
And so the keynote of this chart is: crisis of self-worth must be overcome for full creative genius to be realized.
