Bridgerton Astrology- Part 3: EDWINA SHARMA
It admittedly took me a minute to come up with an idea for Edwina's Ascendant, but the reason I landed on Sagittarius is because of how her Jupiter influence is denied throughout the show.
Jupiter can signify things we're 'meant or destined for', it can represent research and intelligence, it can represent positive changes or upward motion in our lives, and these are all things that were denied to Edwina.
Another signifier of her Ascendant, the way people perceive her, is the way that Kate continuously claimed she was trying to protect her. Kate wanted Edwina to marry for love, Kate did everything she could to shield her sister from the pressures her family faced, but ultimately this lie is what destroys the trust between both sisters.
The idea of 'innocence' people project onto her has been long outgrown, but it's terrifying to other people [Jupiter-ruled Ascendant] that she might come into contact with an ugly side of the world and never be the same. People became so protective of her natural sweetness that they forgot that's who she really is, and that it's not changing.
Back to what I mentioned before with Jupiter representing 'destiny', I think it all pulls back to her family demanding that she must marry an English man to obtain the Sharma family's dowry. It's not quite the same as I talked about with Lady Agatha, with how she was given no other choice but to be Lord Danbury's wife, Edwina had a set of choices in front of her, limited by the lies she had been told.
I think, at times, Jupiter can represent illusion, deception, misdirection, and because of the circumstances she was placed in, there was no chance for love to be genuine. No matter how well-meaning specifically Kate was, all the influence of other people meant that Edwina's decisions were never really hers.
I think this Jupiter influence is expressed through the perspective of the show too, with how... it's 'all about Edwina', but there's really not much focus on her. Kate claims to be influenced by her care for Edwina, but at no point is she part of the conversation, actually taking part in making decisions for her own future.
I think the reason it was hard to determine her as a Jupiter-ruled Ascendant is because she's not boisterous, demanding attention, assertive, she's caring and goes along with the word of the people she trusts.
Rather than looking outside of her comforts, fighting to explore new sides of the world, she trusts the family she was raised in, completely. Jupiter is expressed in how she only tries to be all of what the people who love her want her to be.
When it comes to her Sun, I think the Cancer rulership would easily explain her softness, the way she lost herself in the love she had for Anthony, but I also think it was heavily expressed in the way she forced Kate to take ownership of her own feelings.
Represented by the crab, the sign of Cancer is one that snaps back hard and fast, and I think this is a large part of the reason she was so quick to act on finding out everything that had been happening around her.
Another big sign of her Sun is the way people bow to her anger, completely understanding it and trying their best to focus toward what is best for her feelings- this just also happens to be the root of her disagreement with Kate.
Being in the 8H, I think this reveals the reason behind why people try to claim they know what's best for her, and why she had to be so forceful in making people realize their selfishness. It was understood she wasn't trying to hurt anyone maliciously, but she drew a line and refused to let people project any more fear onto her, knowing that she was doing nothing to deserve being turned on in any way.
I think we even see her Cancer Sun in the way she focused on honesty. There was so much to criticize in Kate's behavior, Anthony's, but what remained important to her was that everyone move forward honestly. She wouldn't get married in the face of her sister's silence, but she wouldn't call the marriage off if Kate wouldn't affirm her feelings. In many ways, the Cancer, a Cardinal sign, had to be the one to dig their heel in and force people to act.
When compared to the average interpretation of a Capricorn Moon, I don't think she fits the mold, but again, we have to consider [Moon opposite Sun] the way these placements would work together in her chart.
The reason I landed on Capricorn as the ruler of her Moon is because of the way, through all the chaos, she is actually completely forgotten. Like I said, during a time that is supposed to be all about her, she is nowhere to be seen, because all the decisions being made 'in her favor' don't really consider her feelings at all.
I think, most directly, a 2H Capricorn Moon influence is expressed in the way resources are withheld from her, given to her on the condition she marries in a way her family prefers her to. Even if she's not aware of this fact until the end, the impact of truly being excluded from her family's fortune is the only reason she lives the life she does.
For as much as she might love it, her family, for as much as she might love to travel to England in search of a husband, the need for this was entirely imposed on her by her own family.
I do think her Moon is displayed in her reaction to finding out the truth, because in people questioning her strength, she was unmoving when it came time to challenge other people.
I think, as her Moon could be understood, her soft and bright demeanor can leave people misunderstanding her ability to stand up for herself.
Looking toward her Mercury placement, I think this 7H placement in her chart would encapsulate the themes of [Mercury] people trying to find every excuse to speak for her.
While people on the outside have no issue respecting Edwina as her own person, it's the people close to her who question her ability to stand on her own, like she could not [Mercury opposite Ascendant] ever truly find someone she loves if she knew about the dowry.
I think this is what's so puzzling about her chart, is that every excuse people make to her are quickly explained by them feeling like Edwina cannot control her own emotions. If she were to know about the dowry, "her mind would be plagued", if she were to know about Kate's feelings, "her mind would be plagued", but it's the lies that left her completely vulnerable the moment it was exposed to the ton.
I think her chart naturally brings chaos, but it also naturally surrounds herself with people who want to protect her from it. As a 7H Mercury though, neither side can ever be afraid of asking or answering a question, because both sides of a relationship deserve to understand each other.
Bringing the focus back to her as an individual, I think an 9H Venus would speak to the way she was absorbed into her love for Anthony, missing 'signs' everyone else seemed to pick up on and blindly pushing forward on a marriage with someone she deeply loved.
She was understanding of the circumstances, but she was quickly ready to face whatever the future held for her, knowing that she trusted Anthony to give that life to her.
Of course, the story only shows us this one side of Edwina's life, but a 9H Leo Venus would describe someone that is blinded by love, someone who is infatuated with the idea of love itself- and I think this could also be why she becomes so matter of fact about the truth being revealed.
In all the fear people had for her, she knows and genuinely believes that she does not need help finding love. Whatever other motivations people had, she did not need help from anyone to fall in love with Anthony, and I think that... moment of disillusionment also shows how a Leo Venus can be fiercely protective of their own heart.
Like I said before, for as gentle as she is when she's in comfortable spaces, there is no hesitation to snap back against people who wrong her. She knows for a fact that she never does anything to wrong anyone, she tries to be aware and respectful at all times, so when it comes to someone lying to her, there is near no justification that can be given for it.
I think this could be one of the more obvious placements, showing [Mars square Mercury] the way people feel they can lie to her as a way of protecting her, [Mars inconjunct Venus] the way her ability to fall in love can betray her when it comes to noticing changes around her, [Mars trine Sun] the way she believes in the people she loves with her whole heart, but I think the biggest sign of her Mars placement is the way she is forced into the perfect position to unravel her family's problems.
Had she known the truth, she could have focused on finding someone better suited for her, but in every way, she only ever wanted to do what would make her family happiest.
I think having a Pisces Mars, Jupiter-ruled, shows benefit to her Venus, with how she gives in with her whole body and falls face first into love. I do think she's still able to be convinced, shown a need to change, but it's still that Pisces Mars influence that drives her toward the love she has for Anthony.
When we look to the 4H side of this influence, I think we also see the way so much chaos is created from people lying to her. While still in a difficult situation that would have been challenging for her to face, she was completely abandoned and left ignorant to what was happening around her, as unprepared as she could be for any part of it to become real.
Natal Pisces Mars need peoples' actions to match their words, they need something concrete to build a relationship off of, and as we saw, she would not marry Anthony even out of respect if it meant knowing he was holding in a lie, about his true feelings.
