On August 29th, 1949, an astronomer in South Africa discovered asteroid 2651. This asteroid was later named “Karen” by a member of an astronomical society in the United States after his sister-in-law and fellow physics major from college. From an astronomical perspective, there is nothing particularly spectacular about this asteroid. But its name has gained an interesting amount of attention within general culture in recent years. For those living under a rock, the name Karen has become a symbol for the middle-aged, self-absorbed, and entitled white woman who needs everything her way and will complain and throw a temper tantrum if she does not get it, regardless of how minor the inconvenience may be. This characterization gradually popped up here and there over the past couple decades, but appears to have officially reached general consciousness sometime around December 2017. It was during this timeframe that a poster formally characterized this personality on Reddit with various memes. The memes lampooned the “Karens” of the world who always seem to be demanding to speak with a manager…while annoying the hell out of everyone else. The characterization resonated and quickly went viral and then exploded across many other areas of general culture. The expansion of this derogatory connotation became so ubiquitous that the name Karen went on to experience the most significant drop for newborns over the past couple years. No one is naming their baby Karen anymore.

We may find these shenanigans amusing (or disappointing), but it is clear there is something else going on here. The Karen phenomenon has become some type of strange zeitgeist. It is possible that there is something archetypal about the energies associated with this characterization. While we do not have the charts of the two original Karens that this asteroid was named after, we do have the specific date when it was discovered. With that we can evaluate correlations between the dynamics in the (untimed) chart of its discovery and the general characteristics of the Karen archetype.

The Chart for the Discovery of Karen

All three of the bi-wheel charts below contain the natal positions for the discovery of the asteroid Karen within the inner wheel. When evaluated, there are multiple astrological characteristics that offer insight into this personality archetype that has been awakened to mass consciousness.

1. Karen – Saturn Opposition.

I guess the best place to start this analysis is with the asteroid itself. Saturn can be quite the task master and its placement in Virgo can manifest as an individual who will hold people accountable for falling short of perfection. With this placement, Saturn can be exacting and demanding with the details. With an opposition to Karen in Pisces, Saturn sees disorganization everywhere and is compelled to step in to direct how things should be handled or at least escalate to the authorities (Saturn again) when Karen is not meeting Saturn’s demands. Also, Pisces is a sign expression that can be very idealistic. So, this may also symbolize Saturn striving for an ideal that is illusory by enforcing every minor detail around her. This opposition clearly needs balance by relaxing some of its stringent demands on perfection.

2. Saturn – Sun Conjunction.

Relaxing will be a challenge because the characteristics referenced in #1 are integrated into the core sense of self. They are a part of their personality, their ego. This is who they are and are like this about everything. Since both Saturn and the Sun are disposited by an anaretic Mercury, the individual may believe that if they do not say something then no one will. For them, every minor problem is automatically amplified to be a huge problem that triggers everything else into action.

3. Sun – Chiron Square.

Chiron’s placement in Sagittarius can manifest as challenges in being able to see the bigger picture. The square to the Virgo Sun typically represents someone who struggles with being able “to see the forest for the trees.” The individual is not able to understand that in the grand scheme of things these issues are kind of insignificant not worth their time or energy.

4. Jupiter – Mars Opposition.

Jupiter’s placement is key because it rules both Karen and Chiron. It is debilitated in Capricorn, so her sense of the larger picture lies in hierarchy and achievement. This may represent some of the “privilege” and “entitlement” that is often connected to the Karen archetype. They may feel like they are someone important who has achieved a certain degree of success, so they should be respected and not bothered with inconveniences. The opposition to Mars reflects the anger that develops when this does not occur. The problem is that Mars in Cancer is debilitated as well so this anger can be quite whiny and bitchy.

5. Moon – Mars Mutual Reception.

This dynamic is a bit more speculative because this chart is untimed and the Moon is at the beginning of Scorpio. But given the nature of this archetype, I think a Moon in Scorpio is much more probable than a Moon positioned in the prior sign, Libra. If I am correct, then we may conclude that the discovery of this asteroid occurred sometime after the early morning when the Moon changed over to Scorpio. With a Scorpio placement the chart gains mutual reception with Mars in Cancer. Usually, mutual reception is a beneficial condition, but the Moon is also debilitated. This “double debilitation” exacerbates the connection between the bodies, amplifying their manifestation. An upset or angry Moon in Scorpio has the potential to become emotionally vindictive. The feedback loop a between these two can result in temper tantrum that can get really out of hand.

6. Pluto Opposite the Midpoint of Karen/Jupiter

This is where things start to become visible. Pluto in Leo has been one of the more widely criticized placements for the Boomer generation. While its manifestation offers many positive characteristics, its problematic expressions really stick out like a sore thumb. Leo is hard to ignore. If the Karen archetype is envisioned as being selfish, egocentric, loud, abrasive, and bullying then Pluto’s expression through Leo and in hard aspect to the midpoint of the Karen asteroid and its dispositor are probably ground zero. Here, if Pluto does not get what it wants it is going to make a big scene in the restaurant, grocery/retail store, PTA conference, whatever. It really does not matter where it is. Pluto is the most important person in the room (to which the needs of the dispositor Sun delineated in #2 offer rationale), Karen’s problems are the priority, and everyone else to needs to stand down while she gives it to some poor middle manager.

All these dynamics and characteristics offer a fairly accurate correlation to the general meme that has circulated over recent years, but we need more. Let us look at the transits, secondary progressions, and solar arcs for the middle of December 2017, the month when this meme/archetype arrived on the scene.

Transits (Chart #1)

From what I can tell, Karen appears to move a little slower than Jupiter so its transiting conjunction to natal Sun – Saturn for the middle of December is probably safe regardless of the actual day when the original event on Reddit occurred during that month. The timing of this transit highlighting the significance of many of the natal dynamics above (especially Sun – Saturn) is not a coincidence. And when we add transiting Neptune’s partile conjunction to natal Karen, it seems clear that the set of events that occurred was also not an accident. Neptune has a weird way of elevating archetypal dynamics to an almost iconic status. The explosion of memes coming out of Reddit for this event was probably a good expression of Neptune’s work.

Secondary Progressions (Chart #2)

The very slow retrograde secondary progression from Karen in partile opposition to natal Sun and secondary progressed Mars reinforces the themes to the same core natal dynamics that were highlighted by the transits. Specifically, Mars’ involvement emphasizes the anger and aggressive nature of some of the Virgo pickiness. The tight square (orb of two minutes) from secondary progressed Chiron to natal Saturn is in play here as well. This square reflects a need to punish others over minor details because of an inability to see the big picture.

Solar Arcs (Chart #3)

Solar arc Uranus’ partile opposition to natal Karen reflects the rowdiness and irreverence involved from those who generated this meme as form of rebellion against dynamics that many have observed or experienced. This tight aspect is strengthened by solar arc Pluto’s partile square to both sides of the natal Jupiter – Mars opposition, creating a t-square configuration with Pluto at the apex. Of course, this highlights the sense of entitlement and temper tantrum offered by Mars – Jupiter, but it also foreshadows how the memes during this timeframe would indelibly transform our general culture.

Final Thoughts

Obviously, the transits acted like a trigger for the slower developing movements under secondary progressions and solar arcs. The fact that they all impacted the same natal components at such a tight orb of exactness strongly infers that all of this, even down to the chart itself, happened for a reason.

So, what should we take from this? I am sure there are many Karens out there who are sweethearts and do not deserve the profiling that their name has attracted. Just because you are named Karen does not mean that you are a pain in the ass. But all of this was not arbitrary so we cannot ignore the potential lessons or awareness that need to be considered. In regards to the problematic manifestations associated with this chart and the asteroid; we should analyze our own chart to see how Karen is manifesting. Where is it located? How is it aspected? What have you noticed in its manifestations from transits, progressions, and solar arcs? When we observe behavior that appears to align with the characteristics in this chart (whether in-person or via online social groups) is the Karen asteroid involved? As impossible and strange as it may be, we now have a legitimate astrological body to analyze when observing this archetype. So next time you see someone making a public scene over something trivial and demanding a manager, go ahead, pull the chart. The Karen archetype is probably manifesting and slightly out of control.