The twelfth house placement of Jupiter, his ruling planet, encourages and amplify's the charity, compassion and desire for spirituality. This would explain why he was known for giving away expensive jewelry and even new cars to complete strangers. Unfortunately, the planet of expansion, when found in the twelfth, also lends itself to a greater deal of self-indulgence, seclusion and the desire to play a role. If Elvis were our client we would be amiss if we didn't discuss the concept of moderation because this chart doesn't seem to have much moderation in it.  Elvis, like the rest of us, appears to be who he was  due to his rising sign, ruling planet and the aspects to his ascendant from both Mars and Neptune. They indicate a real problem with over indulgence, over compassion and of course the drugs that eventually took his life. Sounds pretty much like the the guy we all grew up knowing about doesn't it? As always, his rising sign easily revealed how he appeared to others. But, what is, or was, his true nature? Who was he really? To understand that we need to examine the Sun and Moon in his chart.
 
However Elvis may have appeared on the surface, (ones rising sign) he was far more ambitious and status seeking than you would at first suspect. The Sun in Capricorn and the second house is very ambitious. It equates a sense of self (the sun) with self worth. (second house)This makes him very ambitious but drives him to make and spend money.  It also indicates that authority figures (Cole Tom Parker) would aid in his desire for money and possessions. (the sun in the second house) Music and film (Sun trine Neptune) could be at his true core. The Sun is also aspecting Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Pluto and the midheaven. So, with Sun square Mars Elvis must have had a temper, and was prone to sudden outburts and would be quick to act and react to stimulus. He would naturally be able to communicate (Sun conjunct Mercury) in a pleasing, artistic and friendly manner. (Mercury conjunct Venus) In fact, those who knew him say that Elvis could sell anything to anybody. Not surprising now that you know that he had a Mercury Venus conjunction. He was also born with a strong religious sense, (Jupiter was his ruling planet) a strong spiritual side and more than a passing interest in music and film. (Jupiter in the twelfth house along with the Sun trine Neptune in the ninth house of religion)  I find it no great surprise that gospel music was his personel favorite. He would stay up almost every night singing old hymns and gospel songs. He once said that he knew every religious song there was. He even practiced healing by the power of prayer and the laying on of hands with members of his band. He wore both a cross and a star of David so that he wouldn't be left out of heaven on a technicality. Yes, Elvis was a very religious and surprisingly spiritual person who had a deep personal relationship with Jesus. I believe that if he had lived he would have gone on to involve himself in spiritual or gospel music on a scale unachievable by any current artist. His over the top, "all or nothing" desire to reinvent himself is indicated by the oppositions aspect to his Sun from Pluto.  Throw in some excessive energy from the Mars square that needs to be expressed and consider the trine of his Sun to the midheaven and we have a guy who is going to reinvent himself from humble beginnings to become the king of rock and roll. He would start early in life (Sun trine Midheaven) and rise far. We also know that Elvis was moody, sensitive and a bit artsy. (the Moon in Pisces conjunct Saturn and sextile Uranus) This tells us that he was born with a strong memory for emotional hurts and would never forget his roots. A powerful inner need for a solid home and strong family ties were his anchor (Saturn) against the world. In fact, Elvis got rich, bought Graceland, moved his mom and dad right in and then left home only to go to work. With a Moon Saturn conjunction, he was the ultimate homebody and mommas boy. The Moon Uranus aspect tells the astrologer that although his basic nature was somewhat desirous of status and authority, (Sun in Capricorn) he also had a natural feeling for anything unique or futuristic and could use them in a responsible and practical (Saturn) manner. It also indicated that his home and family life would always be uniquely his own. (Ever been to the jungle room in Graceland?)  In addition, the women in his life would at first seem stable and responsible (Moon Saturn) but would soon show a unique blend of independence and individuality. (Uranus) His relationships with them would  begin and end suddenly and unexpectedly and with the Moon conjunct Saturn this would be emotionally devastating to him.
 
As you can see, just the rising sign, ruling planet, sun and moon are all that is really needed to gain a basic understanding of the heart and soul of any horoscope.  Now let us see if astrology can also be used as an effective predictive instrument.  In this exercise we will use the popular Solar Arc Directions method of progressing his horoscope. In Solar Arc Directions the astrologers moves the positions of the natal planets the same distance that the Sun moved in the corresponding number of days after birth. So, if the astrologer wants to examine the 21st year of life he or she would move the natal planets the same distance that the sun had moved in the 21 days following birth. Want to know about your 27th year of life? Simple determine the distance the Sun moved in the 27 days following your birth, move all your natal planets that exact distance and compare their directed positions to their natal location. Below is the chart of Elvis directed to May 1, 1967 the day he married Priscilla.  The Directed planets are placed on the outside of the natal chart. What do we see?

On Aug 16, 1977 Elvis permanently left the building leaving behind a legacy of over 30 movies and more hit records than anyone in history. Irrespective of his accomplishments, Elvis was more than a movie star or a recording artist. He was Elvis.  Today, more than 30 years after his passing, he is still considered the King of Rock and Roll and continues to break records. Did you ever wonder what was going on in the heavens on that cold and frosty morning  of January 8, 1935 in Tupelo that would herald the birth of the future king of Rock and Roll? I did.  Check out his horoscope. Can you see the man credited by his peers as the greatest entertainer of the 20th century? Let's apply

Elvis Presley
Born January 8, 1935
 at 4:35 AM in
 Tupelo, Mississippi

By May 1, 1967 his Directed planets had all moved 32 degrees and 52 minutes from their natal positions. That means that Venus, the planet of love and relationships has move from the second house to the third house and was now exactly conjunct his natal Moon. A Moon Venus conjunction is interpreted as "a time of love unions." The concept of love and romance (Venus) has arrived to join hands with ones emotions and the desire for a home and family. (The Moon) Marriage, or at the very least, an over powering relationship, dominates the life at that time. This explains why on May 1, 1967 Elvis felt the urge to marry the woman he had been living with for the past eight years. Pretty neat huh? But look up in the ninth house. Pluto, the all or nothing planet of transformation  and devastation,  at 27 degrees and 59 minutes of Leo is only four degrees away from forming a destructive opposition aspect with his Moon. Four degrees is about four years on the calendar. What happened four short years later? Just what Pluto promises.The destruction of his home and family life. This is when Priscilla suddenly decided she had enough of his antics and left him for another man. With his Moon Saturn conjunction he was emotionally crushed and totally devastated. In fact, after their divorce he never really moved on. He tried to maintain their relation and sulked. Six years later, at the ripe old age of 42, he died of a broken heart aided by his extensive drug use.

some basic astrology to uncover the life and times of Elvis Presley. We will examine Planetary Patterns, the Rising sign, aspects to the ascendant, his ruling planet, the Sun and Moon and a predictive technique called Solar Arc Directions. Nothing too dramatic. Just simple, basic astrology. So, are you ready? Then put your walking shoes on and let's take a stroll through the horoscope of Elvis Arron Presley.
 
At his birth the ever changing cyclic motion of the planets had formed what Marc Edmund Jones called a Splay Pattern which reveals a "persistent emphasis on individuality". It is marked by "a rugged resistance to pigeon holing." Well, if there is anything you can say about Elvis it would be that he was the ultimate individualist. In all the world there was only one Elvis. He was who he was and would never, ever be pigeon holed into being anybody else. In fact, personal restriction and censorship were two concepts that had no part in the life of Elvis Presley. Saturn in Aquarius fears restriction to its independance and originality. This planet is conjunct the Moon making it very personal to him.  With Sagittarius rising Elvis would appear to others to be idealistic, enthusiastic and blunt. He would cherish his freedom, was not afraid to take a chance and would be quick to recognize an opportunity. He could easily seem spirited, generous and optimistic and probably needed to become just a bit less self-indulgent. He would prefer variety and adventure but actually needed to learn to follow through and complete his projects before becoming bopred and moving on to other adventures.  The position of his ruling planet, Jupiter, adds a great deal of compassion, optimism and a bit more self-indulgence to how he appeared to others while the aspects to his ascendant gave Elvis sex appeal and energy from Mars, a degree of sensitivity and compassion from Neptune and a boat load of charisma from the combination of the two. So, on the surface Elvis seems to be a spirited guy who is both enthusiastic and optimistic, eager to take a chance, move on and have some fun. He could also project charisma and easily apply his energy, sexual or otherwise, (Mars) to his projects. But, Neptune square the ascendant is a two edged sword. It adds to his charisma and talent for music (it also rules film) but it leans itself toward illusion, an overly erotic nature, issues with drugs and or alcohol stemming from a desire to experience an altered state of conciousness, and compassion to an extreme.

A natal report with Solar Arc Directions
 that predict his marriage and divorce

musical talent, charisma, sexual appeal and compassion. A man who routinely gave away new cars, expensive jewelry and even  new homes to complete strangers.  A man with a powerful inner need for a home and family. A man with music and film flowing through his veins along with a moody, artistic nature. He had serious drug issues that eventually took his life but always displayed a strong religious and spiritual nature. Sounds pretty much like Elvis to me and we are only just beginning to reveal his horoscope. In class we take it much further. We even learn how to look into the future, study our future conditions and make the proper adjustments to maximize our positive cycles and minimize our negative ones. Do you think if Elvis knew that four years after his marriage he would be prone to divorce that he might have changed his behavior and not lost the love of his life? We can all take control of our futures just as soon as we realize that we can and are willing to take the proper steps to make our dreams come true.

The point of this story is that reading only the rising sign, ruling planet, Sun and Moon and their major aspects will always revealed ones essential nature. In this case we discovered an ambitious guy with a great deal of