Spiritual Thinkers: Mother Theresa

Mother Theresa is an outstanding role model for fulfilling the destiny of one’s Sun sign. She was born in Macedonia on August 26, 1910, under the sign of Virgo, which rules service. As a Roman Catholic nun and missionary, she dedicated her life to helping the poor, the sick, the hungry, “all those people,” she said, “who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.”

At age 12 she knew she would enter religious life as a missionary. Before her death in 1997, she was operating 610 missions in 123 countries. In 1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work. However, not everything in Mother Theresa’s chart points to a natural inclination for sacrifice.

Poverty
On the one hand, the Sun-Mars-Mercury trio in Virgo gave her the will and humility to serve. It prompted her to leave the convent and live among the destitute in India. During her first year as a missionary, before she received permission from the Vatican to start a congregation, she resorted to begging for food and supplies because she had no income. She experienced firsthand the suffering caused by poverty.

Conflicted
On the other hand, such a life was completely at odds with her Moon in Taurus. Above all other Moon placements, Taurus craves physical and emotional comfort. Familiar surroundings are usually a necessity. As she reported in her diary, the initial difficulties and loneliness of her work made her long for the comfort of her former order. She saw this longing as a temptation. In an intriguing twist of fate, and helping to squelch this temptation, she also had Saturn in Taurus. Saturn is the planet of duty, karma and deprivation. It gave her the discipline to forgo creature comforts and material belongings so she could get on with her faith-based work. It also gave her a head for handling money, a valuable talent when heading a large network of charity organizations.

Lion heart
Another contradiction in her chart was her Venus in Leo, which would normally crave not only comfort, but luxury. And romance, no less – somewhat inconvenient for a nun. But here comes Saturn again – it forms a close square to Venus, which erected a karmic barrier against personal love and materialism. Such a challenging influence (for the rest of us, at least!) only helped to strengthen her purpose.

Earth mother
Mainly, the powerful Earth element in her chart, as indicated by Virgo and Taurus, says that Mother Theresa was not only a religious woman, but a deeply practical one, with a core of steel. She could also be incredibly stubborn and, some would say, short-sighted because of her traditional and religious views. Still, she had the unique ability to combine faith with practicality to help the needy. And there was a physical component to her work that was indeed “earthy.” She didn’t sit in the ivory tower of a convent and make decisions about the poor. Instead, she got her hands dirty, so to speak, and lived among the poor to ease their suffering.

The diplomat
During the Siege of Beirut in 1982, Mother Theresa joined the Red Cross in evacuating dozens of children from a war-zone hospital. To do this, she first had to negotiate a ceasefire between the Israeli army and the PLO. The diminutive nun’s Earth-power was obviously at work, as was her Jupiter in Libra. Jupiter rules faith and fortune, while Libra rules relationships, fairness and cooperation. It’s the ultimate mediator and a valuable asset if you find yourself at the center of a battle.

What began as a small congregation became the Missionaries of Charity, which grew into a worldwide organization that includes hospices, soup kitchens, counseling programs, orphanages and schools. All started by a nun with a “Virgo” mission, who clearly fulfilled her destiny.