I’m Miss American Dream since I was 17 . . .

Britney Spears was 17 in 1998. At that time, the astrological planet Pluto, the planet of transformation which rules Scorpio and the 8th house, was at five degrees of Sagittarius, closing in on Spears’ sun in 10 degrees of Sagittarius.

Pluto had already made a shadow over her Uranus at one degree of Sagittarius and Mercury at six degrees of Sagittarius.

Pluto rules Scorpio, the fixed water sign associated with intense feelings up to and including sex. Sex is an appropriate manifestation because in sex we give away a piece of ourselves. When we love someone and make the choice to send a piece of ourselves floating away, it’s good (hopefully the other is sending a piece back and we feel whole). When we don’t make the choice to give others our energy, it is a violation.

The “American Dream” for Spears was a Plutonian experience, a transformation which had elements of destruction and violation.

That doesn’t sound like a dream. Pluto isn’t about beginnings, it’s about endings. Pluto tears down a 19th century factory to make a new, modern high-rise. Erecting a building takes years; tearing one down, minutes; cleaning up the mess, many more years.

Fame, then, for Spears was the tearing down of her dreamy, pre-fame youth. Sagittarius is a dreamer (as is Spears’ Aquarian moon – more on that later) so the reality of fame was more than a spotlight in the eyes. It was the violation of a rigid ideal.

Spears’ fall from the pedestal of fame means that she stood high on it. She probably came to the stage with a true innocence and trust.

Astrotheme places Spears Sagittarius in the 3rd house of communication and experience. Sagittarius travels far to find the new experiences. Experiences that take us above a humdrum world are the most delectable. Fame for Spears was probably like a practical joke where someone gives you a sweet, hard candy that after a few minutes turns exceedingly sour.

You want a piece of me?
You want a piece of me…

Fame, for Spears, became a nightmare of being chased by the paparazzi trying to get a piece of her. The paparazzi is trying to get a piece of every famous entity, no?

Why was it so hard on Spears?

She has four planets in Sagittarius with moon in Aquarius. While Sagittarius and Aquarius are people signs, they are not commitment signs. Combined there is a love of freedom and a tendency to run away from stagnant situations.

Neither sign is emotional. Throw a weird idea at Sagittarius and Aquarius and you have a friend who will ring doorbells at midnight with you. But don’t ask them to sit next to you all night at the dance because you hate to sit alone. Sagittarius and Aquarius have people to talk to – everyone. Both need to move around and be surrounded by air and spirit, not clinging water signs or boring earth signs.

If you hate suffocating individuals, imagine how constricted you’d become surrounded by a horde of the clinging.

Fame seems like life – giving and taking – but in extreme. If you are Spears, you are receiving love from thousands of people at one time (such as a concert). The giving, then, must be in proportion to balance the scales.

Possibly this is why the famous, including the paparazzi-hating George Clooney, take to humanitarian causes. It is a way to give back in relation to what is being offered. It’s a way to give the love back, to be a conduit from those to have to those who need. It’s a way to be of service in the midst of abundance, in the midst of a thousand people who will bow to your needs.

I’m Mrs. Lifestyles of the rich and famous
(You want a piece of me)
I’m Mrs. Oh my God that Britney’s Shameless
(You want a piece of me)

Mars in Virgo combined with moon in Aquarius in Spears chart make for a perfectionist. Virgo is perfectionist to avoid criticism and Aquarius is perfectionist because of a fixed, idealistic nature.

For all the sexy attire a singer must wear, Spears might be stunned to be seen as shameless.

Virgo doesn’t like being shameless yet Sagittarius, in square to Virgo, along with the air Aquarius are prone to actions meant for shock value. Tell your Sagittarius and Aquarian friends not to put their arms on the table while eating and you will have elbows in your macaroni for the rest of your life.

I’m guessing Spears has a conflict of “let’s shock them” followed by “now I feel dirty that they made me do that.”

I’m Mrs. ‘You want a piece of me?’
Tryin’ and pissin’ me off
Well get in line with the paparazzi
Who’s flippin’ me off
Hopin’ I’ll resort to some havoc
And end up settlin’ in court
Now are you sure you want a piece of me? (you want a piece of me)

At the time “Piece of Me” was released in 2007, Pluto was passing over Spears Neptune in Sagittarius. All ideals of fame and fortune possessed by Spears were finally released into the ashes of infinity.

After this major Pluto experience came the Saturn transit of Libra experience which broke off a lot of relationships. With a natal Pluto conjunct natal Saturn in Libra, Spears Saturn return involved learning a lot about control – control of others and control by others.

While the paparazzi and Entertainment Tonight might have seen Spears as an out-of-control famous spoiled girl, astrologers can recognize the intensity and difficulty of her experience.

If there were a “You Survived Major Pluto and Saturn Transits” award, Spears would have earned one. We all go through these transits in lesser or greater intensity, but to go through it in public must be even more difficult.

I’m Mrs. ‘Most likely to get on the TV for strippin’ on the streets’
When getting the groceries, no, for real…
Are you kidding me?

Pluto is now transiting Capricorn and in about five years will pass Spears natal Venus in Capricorn. By then she will have a whole new crowd.

Neptune is transiting Pisces for about 15 years. Pisces is square to Sagittarius and opposes Virgo. The mutable squares aren’t as tense as the fixed or cardinal but are still squares. For Spears, letting go of some of that Aquarius moon rigidity will help in understand the feelings and emotions of those around her.

Sagittarius, like all the fire signs, can be somewhat self-absorbed. It may take this Neptune-in-Pisces transit to make some sense of the Pluto and Saturn transits of the last ten years. Pisces is a water sign and Spears has little water in her chart, only Jupiter in Scorpio, which is currently being hit by a Saturn transit. People still want a piece of Spears and she is still having issues with it.

Spears best solution may be to share a piece of herself through sharing her personal experiences. If she looks over the heads of the paparazzi, Spears may see people who want to understand and provide support.

Maybe for Spears giving back involves a little sharing of deep personal experience, something difficult for moon in Aquarius to do. There are still some difficult transits ahead for Spears (Pluto square natal Pluto/Saturn) – the first half of her life is full of them – the second half of her life will be calmer. Sharing may relieve the stress that comes with a life of fame. The famous are still a minority, regardless of social media making us feel otherwise.

When you have difficulty in an experience few share, what do you do?

I’m Mrs. she’s too big now she’s too thin
(You want a piece of me)

When I heard the lines, “she’s too big now she’s too thin,” it reminded me of some female relatives. I’m imaging two individuals in particular and thinking of what it would be like to be hounded by those two times one thousand. That’s what Spears must be experiencing.

But I don’t know that. I won’t know what it’s like until Spears shares a piece of that experience.