Yesterday, we looked at how opposites Gemini and Sagittarius managed to have
the world's longest marriage of a living couple.
So now let's look at a newer marriage of opposites: Mariah Carey (
Aries) and Nick Cannon (
Libra).
On April 30, 2008, these two shocked their fans (and critics) with a quickie marriage ceremony after dating for only 2.5 months. By all accounts (mostly theirs), this couple is going on two years of married bliss - much longer than I initially gave them (yeah, I lost a bet).
If you've ever wondered what do they see in each other, then you've come to the right place! Let's find out...
Despite the obvious outward differences in age
and income brackets, Mariah and Nick are also fundamentally different. The Aries-Libra opposition represents the me v. we balancing act that is the foundation of any relationship. Every relationship contains two separate individuals who become one team for a common purpose. Both individuals within every relationship has his or her own self-centered (Aries) reasons for wanting to be in the relationship. But if those two individuals only think of themselves and never consider The Other Person's needs (Libra), then the partner will most likely withdraw from the relationship. The opposite is true as well. Not paying enough attention to fulfilling one's own needs can lead to personal unhappiness, which is also a relationship killer. Who wants to be in a relationship with a miserable person? When people say "I lost myself in my relationship", what they are saying is that they were leaning too heavily on the "we" side of the Aries-Libra equation.
One listen to any random Mariah Carey song tells us that she's an idealistic Aries who is infatuated with relationships and finding her "dream lover". After her brief yet emotionally-draining marriage to then-boss
Tommy Mottola (Cancer), she divorced and became a serial monogamist. Her most notable relationships & flings include
Derek Jeter (another Cancer, Mariah? I guess her Cancer rising makes her a bit of a relationship masochist),
Luis Miguel (Aries), and
Eminem (Libra).
Enter Nick Cannon, Mr. Lucky Libra (whose most notable past relationships are with airy women:
Libra Kim Kardashian,
Libra Christina Millian, and
Aquarius Selita Ebanks). Libras are the ultimate relationship therapists who know how to spot the heartbroken from miles away. They love to be
boo-ed up, and are naturally adept at maintaining the balance of their interpersonal relationships.
In the early 00's, Mariah suffered a nervous breakdown from exhaustion - or a serious case of what I like to call "yes-itis". We can see from her non-stop hits in the 90's and full 10th house (Sun, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Chiron) that she devotes most of her energy towards building her career and public image. Mars rules her 10th house and Jupiter rules her 6th house. In other words, she's a workaholic. With the wrong partner and social circle, she could literally end up working herself to death because there's always something else to do in her day to help her career.
Despite Mariah's workaholic tendencies, she also has a passion (read: addiction) for romance. Her Moon-Neptune conjunction in Sagittarius is in her 5th house of pleasure, recreation, romance and creativity. This conjunction connects to her 3rd, 4th and 10th houses via Pluto in Virgo, Uranus in Libra and Sun/Chiron in Aries, respectively. Now we see why we can tell the condition of her love life from her lyrics. Romance is the only area in her life that can compete with her career and her romantic relationships greatly influence her emotional stability.
We don't know Nick's exact birth time, so I drew up a chart with his Sun as Ascendant. We can use this to see how he views relationships, the type of energy he brings to Mariah's life and how they likely interact with each other.
The first thing I notice when I see Nick's chart is the cluster of planets in Libra, which means he and Mariah have opposing values and approaches in a number of areas. Specifically, Nick's ego, emotions, sense of responsibility, and willpower are opposite Mariah's ego, communication style, relationship values and her idea of self-healing.
These oppositions don't necessarily have to mean clashes, though. Nick's extremely focused on his relationships and gains confidence from being in a partnership, especially with a beautiful, successful woman. Because of all of the Aries energy in her chart, I would say that underneath her childish, "protect me" personality (Cancer rising), Mariah is a very willful, dominant, and self-motivated person. Lucky for Nick that it's in Mariah's best
self-interests to have a happy romantic life. When indecisive Nick can't make up his mind, Mariah can come in and make the final decision. When Mariah wants to charge full steam ahead down one path, Nick can slow her down and review the different options first. This balancing act is possible if they respect each other's judgment.
Besides his Libra stellium, Nick also has a few planets in Scorpio, which adds some much-needed depth and magnetic appeal to his boyish Libran charm. Mariah's Cancer rising says she's looking for a father figure as a partner (hello Tommy Mottola!). Her 5th house is ruled by Scorpio, so she needs to feel a deep, emotional connection with her sexual partners and likely has a more-more-more! attitude about sex/love/partners. Nick's Mercury in Scorpio intuits Mariah's needs and his Mars in Scorpio is more than ready to deliver.
You need a man who will be glued to your hip, fight off anyone who messes with you, and sex you so good you won't think of anyone else? I'm your man! We may see Nick as a youngster, but Mariah probably sees him as a grown and sexy man - her knight & shining armor (see
Nick's response to fellow Libra Eminem's diss of Mariah).
Side-note: Mariah claims not to have slept with Eminem, but I doubt she's telling the truth. Not only is Eminem a Libra like Nick but he also has Moon in Scorpio - either falling in her 5th house of romantic flings or 4th house of emotional security. They definitely bonded through their genitals, which are ruled by Scorpio. Another clue is that Mariah's fued with Eminem has lasted way too long for them to have just been acquaintances (see 2002's "Clown", "Superman", 2009's "Obsessed"). Scorpio loves and hates with a passion. No in-between. If their mutual attraction turned to hate, then sex something had to have been the catalyst.
But back to Nick and Mariah. Nick's Mars-Uranus conjunction in Scorpio is conjunct Mariah's Moon-Neptune conjunction in her 5th house.
They were friends for three years before suddenly dating and marrying two months later. Nick's Libra stellium (Sun, Moon, Saturn, Pluto) is in Mariah's 4th house. His presence in her life greatly influences her emotional well-being - reinforcing one of her natal patterns. His Moon (wife)-Saturn (responsibility, security) conjunction is conjunct her Uranus in Libra (unique relationships). He has said that he immediately recognized her as "wifey material". She instantly felt that he was a solid, dependable partner who's responsive to her emotional needs. All of the activity in the 4th house indicates they feel "at home" with each other. With Uranus involved in this pattern, their "home" is unstable or unconventional - e.g. living out of a suitcase, having many different homes, eccentric decorations, etc. Some may think that Uranus injects some fickleness into a relationship, indicating spontaneous starts and stops (break-ups to make-ups, anyone?). In Nick and Mariah's case, I think Uranus just adds a nice touch of friendship and originality. They won't easily get bored with each other. (Have you seen their..um..zany coordinated
outfits/
outings?)
Potential problems could arise if one or both of them begin to feel that their relationship is getting in the way of their careers or making them look bad to the public, especially Mariah (with so much natal activity in her 10th house and Nick-related activity in her 4th house). We know Mariah is super ambitious, but it's hard to say if Nick is as career-driven as his wife because we can't tell where his Libra and Scorpio stelliums are located. Also, Saturn is very much involved in this relationship. Each of their Saturns opposes a personal planet of the other. Relationships without Saturn usually end quickly because there's no "glue" to hold the people together. This is extra necessary since Uranus is all up and through their relationship as well. Another potential issue could be inactivity. If for some reason they're stuck in one place (literally or figuratively), the amount of frustration generated could make them turn on each other.
Yes, we can learn a lot from watching opposite signs interact. Finding that sweet spot of compromise is the key to maintaining mutually satisfying and functional interpersonal relationships. For those of us who have oppositions in our charts, we can learn how to balance the needs of conflicting parts of our personalities or lives. Those of us with little to no oppositions in our chart can learn that there's some middle ground between all and nothing.
Interesting Note: Christina Millian, Nick Cannon's ex (that he cheated on), is now married and expecting a baby with singer/producer The Dream - who co-wrote/produced several songs on Mariah's latest album. Hmm....
BONUS: The Dream's demo version of Mariah's latest hit about wanting to hate an ex rather than longing after them. Hmm!
QUESTIONS: Does Mariah and Nick have what it takes to survive? Do you see something in their charts that I missed? Have you ever dated your opposite (by sign, personality or values)? What attracted you to that person? What were the challenges? Did you learn anything from that relationship? Who's your favorite "opposites attract" celebrity couple?
Related Posts
World's Longest Marriage: Opposites Attract (And Can Last!) - Part 1
Sources:
Mariah Carey
Nick Cannon
