The Astrology of Christian Dior
“I’m a mild man, but I have violent tastes” - Christian Dior.
We often think that remarkable people must have remarkable nativities. While that isn’t always true, it certainly is the case for Christian Dior.
The son of a well-to-do bourgeois family established in the North of France, he became a legendary fashion designer whose name is still synonymous with the most prestigious and glamorous spheres of haute couture. But the path to his success was for from obvious…
What I love about Dior’s chart is the prominence of malefic (Mars & Saturn), and the general “loudness” of his planets: you can tell that there was a clashing of the Gods at the time of his birth! Let’s explore this fascinating life story together.
Let’s start off with a prophecy: at the age of 14, Dior went to a fair close to his home where he met a palm reader who allegedly told him that “women would be his benefactors, and that he would succeed through them.”
There are two interesting things about this: first of all, as we now today, this prediction revealed to be true as Dior revolutionised women’s fashion, but also made strong female allies and friends, muses and mentors who helped him build his the house of Dior and were key in his success.
In his birth chart, there are two major indicators of that: first, Venus is very strong in Pisces (the sign of her exaltation) and in the 5th house where she finds her “joy” (a term used to describe the preferred places of the planets). Venus is also the benefic of the sect in favour here, meaning that she’s the planet most capable of granting a native with the “good stuff” in his life.
Venus is in the 5th house of leisure, pleasure, creation and the arts. She also rules the 7H of close relationships, and the 12H of secret enemies and ailments, which indicate that Dior did not only have a lot of resources and talent for artistic things, but also most likely few enemies working against him and succeeding (the 12H) and a lot of close female relatives and friends to count on (Venus is a traditionally female signifier, her ruling the 7H can be associated to close and positive female influences in his life).
The second major signifier of this prophecy is the Moon: in her own domicile and decan (third face) of Cancer, she sits in the 9th house of travel, wisdom, foreigners and magic. The Moon, another signifier for women, is also particularly strong here since she makes a positive trine by sign to both the ascendant and Venus, another indicator of strong female support.
Funnily enough, divination and psychics became a central part of Dior’s life: every key decision that he made were first taken to his trusted astrologer, Madame Delahaye. The influence of the Moon is key there, as its position in the 9H indicates a predisposition for all things spiritual and magical (in ancient delineations, the 9H was the house of scholars and astrologers, among other things). Even though Dior became internationally renowned and interacted with foreigners and internationals his whole life (another signature of this strong 9H Moon), the first manifestation of this placement happened through his father’s insistence that he became a diplomat.
Foreign affairs are signified by the 9H, and diplomats and ambassadors themselves are ruled by the 5H (the 9th house from the 9H, using the derivative method). Since Dior’s 9H & 5H are both strong, this career path could also have made sense, but his artistic abilities were stronger. At 18, during a 7H protection year where his 5H Venus was activated, he became a student at the Paris Institute of Political Science, but left it three years later with no diploma.
Now, let’s talk about the other major influences in Christian Dior’s chart: Mars and Saturn, the malefics.
With Dior’s 5th house Venus ruling his 12H, it’s not surprising that the latest and biggest exhibition of his work in date was named “Christian Dior, Designer of Dreams”. This luxurious, eerie image of his work often overshadows the more complex and dark aspects of his life and, by extension, of his birth chart.
Dior has two very angular and strong malefics: Mars, which rules his ascendant, is two degrees from it. It is in Scorpio, the sign of his rulership, but also has dignity by triplicity, term and face. To put it more simply: Mars has a lot of resources there and is LOUD. But it is also in a night chart there, which is a good position for Mars as it tempers its more destructive effects.
Dior was known to have an even temper: I believe that a well-positioned Mars in Scorpio mitigates the brash impulsiveness of this planet in some cases. Although some natives with Mars on the ascendant are known for their bursts of anger, Dior seemed to display the more calm, introspective and profound control over sudden emotions that Mars can give. He was also known to be generous and funny, probably a mark of his well-ruled Aries Jupiter.
We often think of Mars as destructive, a force to be feared as it can quickly make things turn sour: we often forget his protective and strategic nature. Dior’s life was marked by a determination and serenity in his actions that made him able to adapt to most situations in life. It is no coincidence that his name and very identity (1H things) became an integral part of his legend. I also like that his Mars ruled his 6th house of servitude, work and health as he was an employee working small jobs until he was about 42, and that he still gracefully adapted to his tasks. Strong Mars things! (and Jupiter in the 6H).
Now, to the other malefic: Saturn. In this chart, Saturn is also extremely prominent: in the 4th house of ancestral roots, lineage and secret things, the planet is close to the degree of the IC point (which makes it extra potent), in his own domicile of Aquarius. Saturn sure has a LOT of resources to do its thing there too, and with an exact trine aspect to retrograde Pluto (at 20° Gemini in the 8H), it is also a loud one.
But being in a night chart, Saturn is more challenging. It is interesting to note that Dior has his Midheaven in the Leo 10th house of career, ruled by a debilitated Sun in the 4th, applying to Saturn. Dior’s father was not a very artistic or delicate man, and was often restrictive of his ambitions. The Sun, in his detriment in the sign of Aquarius and ruling the 10H, does not have a lot of resources, and is averse to Venus: basically, Christian’s home was not a favourable environment for him to develop his artistic abilities, and he developed a timidity and lack of drive to pursue his true motives when it came to his career.
Saturn represents delays and rewards that come overtime, after much effort and suffering: the weak Sun ruling his 10H applying to a conjunction with Saturn in the 4H shows how his father (Sun) and general family environment (the 4th) actively undermined his efforts to pursue a career in what he was interested in, something that only came to happen later in life. Christian Dior is the stereotype of the late bloomer: he only became a fashion designer at the age of 42, after wish rapid success ensued. Saturn, especially if prominent in a night chart, can make his worst effects felt in youth before become more constructive as the person grows and matures.
After leaving the diplomatic track chosen by his father, Dior opened an art gallery that exhibited painters who would become internationally acclaimed by the posterity, such as Salvador Dalí — but the gallery closed in 1934, as sales declined in the aftermath of the 1929 economic crisis and his father became unable to support him as his family was ruined, too. That year, Dior’s Saturn return became exact - this activated his natal Saturn-Pluto trine between the 4th house of family and real estate and the 8th house of financial and shared resources, indicating serious financial problems which resulted in selling their family home.
Uranus was also completing an exact conjunction to his natal Jupiter at 22° Aries, in his 6th house activated by profection. Jupiter rules the 2nd house of finances and 5H of creativity in his chart, which also added onto the signification of his finances (ruled by Jupiter) being damaged by way of artistic matters (5th house) in a brutal, unexpected way (Uranus in Aries).
As you can see, Saturn brought about more complicated and long-term challenges for Dior. This incident marked the beginning of a more difficult 10-year period during which he became an illustrator, and mostly lived with the help of his friends.
Christian Dior’s fashion “breakthrough” happened in 1947: Dior was in a 7H profection year, activating his exalted Pisces Venus in the 5H of arts and creation, as well as his 7H Part of Fortune. He was rapidly met with immense success after his first runway, when his revolutionary collection was presented. His now-infamous first line was nicknamed “New Look” after Carmel Snow, the then editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar praised its freshness and innovation. Dior’s style became popular because of his embracing of openly chic and elegant femininity, which was put aside during the austerity of World War II — what’s more Venusian than this, I don’t know!
A visionnaire, Dior rapidly opened a store of his own on New York’s Fifth Avenue, which featured a special collection that was designed to be “designed for the American woman”, as opposed to a simple replica of the designs in his Parisian store. This was a success too, as his strong Cancer Moon in and ruling the 9H is likely to have brought him success with foreign women.
Dior’s Aquarius Sun ruling his 10H made his famous through his sole name: it is said that, when presented with the opportunity to open his own store with the help of an investor’s generous donation, he consulted a medium who encouraged him to do so. His 10H of career was finally rewarded by the efforts, patience and work typical of a Saturnian Sun.
A last word on Dior’s passion for divination: he had a 3H Capricorn Mercury exactly opposite his 9H Neptune (also co-present with the Moon). Both these houses indicate an interest for, or an involvement with spiritual, devotional and magical practices. With the planet of illusions and mysticism so closely configured to his Mercury, it would make sense that Dior was so invested in these practices. Mercury is also close to Uranus in his chart, indicating the unusual aspect of such a passion in the circles he lived in at the time (although Mercury, ruling his 11H of friends, could be seen as an indicator of his artistic entourage influencing his taste for divination!).
Christian Dior was a fascinating figure and legendary designer who profoundly influenced the world of fashion and contributed to the international influence of French haute couture to this day. Just 10 years after the beginning of his career as a designer, he died at the age of 52 of a sudden heart attack after finishing his last collection. As late as success came, Dior had a beautiful life surrounded with friends, and I hope you take my interpretation of his chart as a sign that you are never too late when it comes to doing what you truly love. For Christian Dior, it was art, fashion and making women feel beautiful — if you get to fill even one person’s life with a bit of beauty, then it’s worth it.