Joni Mitchell

 by Liz Houle

Published in Winter 2004 Geocosmic Journal

“I think at 21 I was quite old . . . ‘Both Sides Now’ is like an old person reflecting back on their life.  My life had been very hard.  I had gone through a lot in life. When I wrote ‘Both Sides Now’, Chuck Mitchell said to me, ‘Oh, what do you know about life, you’re only 21.’  But I knew a lot about life.  I’d gone through a lot of disease and personal pain.  Even as a child.  I’d had three bouts with death.  I was not unaware of my mortality.  But somehow, still, I was very young for my age, in spite of my experience.” [1]Joni Mitchell

Rows and flows of angel hair

And ice cream castles in the air

And feather canyons everywhere

I’ve looked at clouds that way

Joni Mitchell was born Roberta Joan Anderson at 10:00pm on November 7, 1943 in Fort Macleod, Canada.[2]  Her father was a grocer, and her mother was a schoolteacher.   The dasa that a person is born into is significant and Joni was born into a Jupiter dasa.  Jupiter is in the 3^rd house of the fine arts of music, hearing, and one’s own efforts. Jupiter is also afflicted by Mars and Saturn.  At the age of seven she began to take piano lessons.  Joni had the prodigious ability to play the songs by ear and as a result she didn’t bother to learn to read the notes.  She would try to improvise during her lessons by pretending to read the notes as she played but the teacher would always catch her.  In adulthood Joni would remember, “I was constantly rapped on the knuckles at piano classes because I’d listen to what the teacher played and I’d remember it.  So I never learned to sight read properly and she’d bust me on it . . . That kind of killed my interest in piano for a good 15 years or so.”  ¹ 

But now they only block the sun

They rain and snow on everyone

So many things I would have done

But clouds got in my way

“At the age of 9, along with many other children at that time, Joni contracted polio. As she convalesced, she says she truly developed an artistic sensitivity; ‘A great sorrow hath humanized me.’ Thanks mostly to her mother's loving attention, she recovered from the often fatal disease, and returned to her life in Saskatoon.”⁴

In 1952 she was in her Saturn/Ketu dasa/bhukti.  Saturn is placed in her 1^st house indicating it’s strong influence on her body and life in general.  Saturn is a malefic and rules the 8^th house of chronic illness and 9^th house of gifts from a past life; therefore, it has the dual effect of good and bad influences.  Ketu is placed in the 8^th house of chronic illness so it is clearly indicated that during Saturn/Ketu dasa/bhukti she would suffer from some illness but also realize her God-given talents. The fact that she would have the strong love and support of her mother is shown by Joni’s 4^th house which holds benefic rajayoga Venus (r-5th in 4th); and the dispositor of the 4^th, Mercury, receives the influence of Venus by being mutually disposed to it.  It was while suffering from Polio that she began to form her life’s mission that would bring her to world prominence.

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels

The dizzy dancing way you feel

As every fairy tale comes real

I’ve looked at love that way

Joni’s career took off in 1968 after she wrote the song “Both Sides Now” which she put on her album “Clouds” that became a huge success.  Her first Grammy Award was soon to follow.  This was during her Mercury/Venus Dasa.  Mercury and Venus form two raja yogas as rulers of 1 + 5 and 4 + 5 in Parivartana Yoga or mutual reception. Venus being in the house before the sun also creates a Vasi Yoga reassuring success.  Saturn as ruler of the 9^th in the 1^st house forms a third raja yoga and Venus ruler of the trikona 5^th in the Kendra 4^th forms a fourth.  Raja Yogas are known as “King Making” combination of planets.  They indicate success in life as the result of good karma from past lives.  Raja Yogas give the person special gifts which may or may not include financial rewards.  The gifts may be extreme intelligence, talent, or prominence in a certain sphere of life.  A chart like this one, with multiple Raja Yogas, assures greatness.   The Parivartana Yoga between Venus and Mercury also resulted in the dual life long passion of Joni’s: her love of painting and her love of writing music.

In the 1970's “Ladies of the Canyon” sold even better than “Clouds” on the strength of the single "Big Yellow Taxi" with the instantly recognizable lyric “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot” that is a hit to this day having been redone many times by various artists over the years.  Later, Joni would say, “That is a powerful little song . . . I turned on the TV one day and I saw a woman . . . She picked up a guitar and she sang ‘Big Yellow Taxi.’  And this little rainbow of kids, little yellow kids and white kids and black kids and brown kids started singing my song, in grade three.  And they knew all of the words.  And I wept.” ¹   The fact that Joni would create such powerful songs can be partly explained by her ascendant (26 degrees Gemini) in that nakshatra of Punarvasu.  When the name Punarvasu is broken down: Punar means  “to repeat” or “again” and vasu means “a ray of light” or “a gem.”  The nakshatra is ruled by Jupiter and Mercury and gives prominence in communications.

Her album “Clouds” also included her song "Woodstock," a major hit for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young that quickly became an anthem for the times. 

“Still, the commercial and critical approval awarded her landmark 1971 record “Blue” was unprecedented: A luminous, starkly confessional set written primarily during a European vacation, the album firmly established Mitchell as one of pop music's most remarkable and insightful talents.” ³

Many more such acclaimed albums would follow in the years to come; but even with all of the successes under her belt she still suffered from some deep insecurities, including her formal education or lack thereof. 

But now it’s just another show

You leave ’em laughing when you go

And if you care, don’t let them know

Don’t give yourself away

In a 1972 interview she said:

“’It’s like I came through the school systems completely unscathed in a way, and completely unlearned in another way.  Which makes me feel terribly ignorant.  I find that the most common phrase in my vocabulary is . .  . I DON’T KNOW, I just don’t know.’”¹  

The words of a young woman in angst or a philosopher pining for the truth?  The ninth house ruler of higher learning is located in Joni’s first house so searching for higher knowledge would be a central theme of her life.  Since the ruler is Saturn, it will always be a crux to bear for her.  However, having the 9^th ruler in the first house does form a Raj Yoga and ensures that she would encounter wise mentors who would enrich her life.  Not coincidently, she dedicated her first album to one of her high school teachers - Mr. Kratzman - who taught her to “love words.”  He told her once that if she could paint then she could also paint with words.  This piece of wisdom made a huge impact on Joni.  After high school, she attended the Alberta College of Art in Calgary, but left her painting studies after only one year to pursue her singing and songwriting career.  The fourth house rules obtaining educational diplomas, so even though Joni would obtain some great mentors, she would still have trouble completing her courses of study.  This is because the fourth house ruler (mercury) is combust a fallen sun in Libra and in her Chandra lagna the fourth house from the moon holds a malefic Saturn which rules the harmful 12^th house. 

She was dirt poor and an unknown folksinger when she gave birth to a daughter on February 19, 1965 and subsequently gave her up for adoption. Mitchell didn’t tell her parents that she was pregnant.

“’ The scandal was so intense, ’she recalls.’ A daughter could do nothing more disgraceful.  You have no idea what the stigma was.  It was like you murdered somebody.’”¹   

Her pregnancy was very difficult as was the birth.  Joni worried for years about the child’s health because of the difficult nature of the pregnancy. She had her daughter at the very beginning of her Mercury/Mercury Dasa/Bhukti.  The fact that she would lose a child in some way is clearly indicated by Venus in the 4^th house (12^th from the 5^th house of children) indicating loss of children simultaneously Venus rules the 5^th house of children and the 12^th house of losses. Venus is also in a Parivartana yoga (mutual reception) with Mercury which means that they strongly influence each other.  Mercury is in the 5^th house of children, combust a fallen sun in Libra, so problems with having and keeping children are plainly shown.

Tears and fears and feeling proud

To say I love you right out loud

Dreams and schemes and circus crowds

I’ve looked at life that way

Marriage would prove to be of mixed blessings.  Saturn in the first house throws a malefic opposing aspect onto Joni’s 7^th house of marriage.  Her first marriage to Chuck Mitchell dissipated quickly.  The three-year-old marriage ended in 1967 leaving her penniless. She was forced due to her circumstances to give her daughter up for adoption, and then she decided to move to New York City.  This all occurred in her Mercury/Ketu dasa/bhukti.  Ketu is 4 houses away from Mercury showing a change in residence at that time.  Also in 1967 transiting Saturn was in her 10^th house, conjunct her moon ruler of the 2^nd house of money – leaving her in financial dire straits.  Besides conjuncting her moon, Saturn sent harmful rays to her 7^th house of marriage on top of the natal Saturn aspect causing an already troubled marriage to end.  Saturn transiting the moon causes a difficult phase of life called Sade Sate; this is considered an unfavorable time in general but can also bring about improvements in life.  Sade Sati occurs every 30 years (Saturn return) and it would be exactly 30 years later when she would be reunited with her daughter.  After losing her baby in a poverty stricken state she would be reunited with her in wealth and fame.

Not that Joni would feel so comfortable with world fame.  

“I really enjoyed playing clubs for about 40 people . . . That I could handle.  When it got to the big stage I found that I didn’t enjoy it.  It frightened me initially.  I had a lot of bad experiences, including running off many a stage. . . That kind of attention was absurd.’” 1 

Saturn in the first house made Joni uncomfortable with being in the limelight. Her natal Moon is waxing and bright in the tenth house so along with all of the raja yogas mentioned previously her fame was assured.  Many famous artists have the moon in the 10^th house as it gives them sensitivity to what pleases the public.  But the moon is alone in the 10^th house and aspected by malefic Saturn, this makes Joni feel a bit alone and uncomfortable in the world and unable at times to deal with all of the attention.  She announced her retirement from the music business in 1972,

“. . . I just quit.  I built a retreat up in the Canadian bush and swore I was never coming back.”¹ 

After two years she returned to her musical career and compromised by taking breaks periodically from her touring schedule.

During one of her respites she married for a second time on November 21, 1982 to a bass player and sound engineer named Larry Klein.  This second marriage occurred just as Joni started her Ketu dasa.  She was in Ketu/Venus/Rahu when they exchanged vows.  Ketu is 10^th from the moon showing a change in social status and Venus the karaka of marriage is 7^th from the moon highlighting marriage and relationship issues.  The marriage lasted over 10 years.  Joni’s 7^th house of marriage is aspected not only by Saturn but Jupiter and mars as well.  This gave Joni more than one marriage and difficulties staying together with one person.  The ruler of the 7^th house, Jupiter, is in the 3^rd house of entertainment so it showed that she and her husbands would perform together, and they did; but the third house is not a favorable house to have the 7^th ruler so it harms marriage.  Also, Jupiter is aspected by Mars and Saturn, which harms the longevity of married life.  Jupiter, placed 6 houses away from the moon, creates a difficult Sakata Yoga which indicates a strong soul that has many lessons to learn and must face many ups and downs in life.  Also, it is not favorable to have a benefic ruling Kendra houses (7,10) so Jupiter becomes a functional malefic even though it is a natural benefic.  Lastly, in her Navamsa or marriage chart, she has Rahu in the 7^th house which is a malefic and causes upsets in partnerships.  On the positive side, Venus is 7 houses away from the moon so it shows happiness and benefits from marriage.  She did receive a lot of love and support from both her husbands and they helped her further her career.

But now old friends are acting strange

They shake their heads; they say I’ve changed Well something’s lost, but something’s gained

In living every day

In 1997 Joni was reunited with her 32-year-old daughter, Kilauren Gibb.  This was during Joni’s Venus dasa and because Venus rules the 5^th house of children the dasa would center on them.  Rahu was the bhukti lord and is located in the 2^nd house of family members.  Also, Rahu is in the 5^th house from the moon so in the Chandra Lagna it again points to issues surrounding children during the Venus/Rahu dasa/bhukti.  The raj yogas that Venus forms also resulted in more honors for Joni, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame that same year.

An individual’s life can be surmised by looking at the Kendra or angular houses and Joni’s chart is not exception. Looking at Saturn, Venus (with Mercury’s influence) and the Moon, one sees hardships, sorrow, beautiful music, art, and fame.  Jupiter ruling 2 Kendra houses indicates prolific work - she would produce 22 albums in her 30+ year career and earn the most prestigious awards.  Her chart is complex with many very positive and negative influences working simultaneously.  From learning more about her life story, one can begin to appreciate how the strong benefic and malefic influences result in a life of extreme ups and downs.  Fortunately, she has always been able to turn her difficult experiences into beautiful works of art and since she is still in her Venus dasa until 2009 –one can safely bet that there will be much more to come from her in the near future.

I’ve looked at life from both sides now

From win and lose and still somehow

It’s life’s illusions I recall

I really don’t know life at all

-"Both Sides Now"

Music and words by Joni Mitchell

[1] The Joni Mitchell Companion by Stacy Luftig  Ó Schirmer Books 2000 ISBN: 0028653335

2 Lois Rodden Astrodatabank Rating: A

3 Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide; © 2003 AEC One Stop Group, Inc. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of AEC One Stop Group, Inc.

4Joni Mitchell’s Official Website; www.jonimitchell.com