I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Keanu Reeves has turned into something of a spiritual/inspirational figure within online groups recently. Over the past couple years, I don’t think a week has gone by where I have not encountered some meme or post celebrating Keanu’s wholesome, nice guy image. His quotes about life, caring for others and showing empathy have become a ubiquitous feature of daily online life. In fact, the general media has gotten wind of this as well. Google up “Keanu Popularity” and you’ll find a wealth of articles trying to wrap their head around this interesting phenomenon. And while some of them do a great job in analyzing the reasons for his popularity, none of them address the critical question: Why now?

Keanu didn’t just morph into a nice guy overnight and it isn’t a secret that many people in his industry hold him in high regard because of his concern for others. But sometimes the timing of things is just as important as explaining the “thing” itself. That’s why these types of “zeitgeists” are perfect for the application of astrology. So let’s get to it!

According to one source (https://www.vox.com/2019/8/16/20694479/keanu-reeves-in-2019-revival-memes-history-explained), it appears that Keanu’s image, personality and career started to go on the upswing around 2019. This is significant because this was the year that Keanu began to experience some major positive interactions between the planetary bodies in the sky to those within his natal chart. The tri-wheel (transits – outer wheel, solar arcs – middle wheel, natal chart – inner wheel) is below.

1. Transit Neptune’s ingress to the 7th House. Sometimes, this transit can introduce some stress. The 7th house represents our significant relationships and Neptune can represents things that may not be seen correctly or things that may not be presented as they actually are. But, Neptune is also a spiritual planet that enhances empathy because of its ability to remove the “barriers” between us and the the rest of the world. With Keanu’s situation, it is quite possible that Neptune’s presence here has infused his relationships with a flair of spirituality because of the enhanced empathy between others and himself.
2. Neptune trine natal 11th house Cancer Stellium. Neptune’s transit through the 7th is particularly hot right now because it has arrived at a trine aspect with Keanu’s natal Venus and Mars. Because Mars and Venus represent THE male and female archetypes, their conjunction usually correlates with a certain degree of harmony in relating to others. With Keanu, this conjunction is in Cancer so this tips us off that this harmony is based upon taking care of others. Also, this Cancer energy is placed in Keanu’s 11th house. The 11th represents areas life that include our friendships, acquaintances and groups. For many astrologers, the 11th has been extended to the internet as well due to its ability to connect with people and groups all over. Trine relationships reflect an easy flow of energy amongst the bodies involved, so Neptune’s affiliation with spirituality, image and empathy flows well with Keanu’s natural sense of nurturing. Most importantly, this “flow” is occurring in an angular house (7th) so this manifestation is quite visible. And while the 7th has a general connotation with “others”, this relationship with the 11th explicitly infers that these others have a heavy involvement with online groups and social media.
3. Solar arc Jupiter and transit North Node both aligned with natal Mars and Venus. Solar arc alignments are some of the most powerful in astrology and conjunctions from the North Node are typically beneficial. Here, an amplified Jupiter by solar arc is expanding the nurturing dynamics associated with Keanu’s Mars-Venus (detailed in #2) while the North Node is giving that expansion an opportunity to shine, bring growth and be received positively by the general public. AND, all of these dynamics are dovetailing nicely with the Neptune trine (again, #2) as well. Whenever solar arcs team up with transits to natal planets the manifestation is usually surreal. Here, they are largely responsible for much of the manifestation we are seeing.
4. Nodal Return. It should also be noted that the transit North Node eventually went on to align with Keanu’s natal North Node. Nodal returns are some of the most auspicious milestones a life. They can be overwhelmingly positive. With Keanu’s return occurring in the 10th house of career (another angular hit), this timeframe also resulted in his resurgence in films as well as being responsible for his strong popularity with the general public.
5. Solar arc Neptune and Moon aligned with natal 12th house stellium. Keanu’s natal 12th house stellium could be connected to his empathy for those who may considered “underdogs” or victims. The solar arc trine from Neptune specifically amplifies the manifestation detailed under transit Neptune. Neptune’s movement through the natal 4th house shows another hit coming from an angular house, making visible Keanu’s general nature as a caring person who is worried about others.
6. Solar arc Mars’ and Venus’ ingress into the 1st house. The archetypal dynamics detailed in #2 are front and center here as these planets move in Keanu’s 1st house of self. With this last hit, we can show that all four angular houses are being activated positively during this timeframe. Here, Keanu is projecting forth his natural ability to find harmony with others through his concern for their welfare. Combining this with all of the other measurements shows that Keanu’s presence, image and personality is somewhat omnipresent in the larger general culture, but in a good way.

So, this is a lot! Others have jokingly commented that Keanu should start a religion or has become something of a religion over the past couple years. As funny as this may sound, these measurements show that there may actually be a little truth within the punchline.

Astrology is strange in that there tends to be a heightened focus on the events and manifestations that are challenging or downright horrible. And while these things usually have a strong correlation to astrological dynamics, it is refreshing to see manifestation that is an overwhelming force for good. With everything that Keanu has gone through in his life, I think he deserves this moment in the Sun. For the rest of us, it may offer some insight into the balance and karma sometimes at work within the world around us.