Pop Culture Witches Astrological Archetype
The Archetype Archive is an opinion-based exploration of astrological archetypes for educational, commentary, and entertainment purposes. All characters, images, and intellectual property belong to their respective owners.
All across the world of fantasy and entertainment, we find magical and mystical women. Witches. Witches remind us that there is more to the world than what we can see. They encourage us to look for magic in unexpected places, trust our intuition, and occasionally question whether reality is quite as solid as we think it is. While there are certainly some malicious and downright evil witches out there, there are just as many who serve as mentors, protectors, healers, and some of the kindest characters you'll ever meet.
AANYWHOOODLES, this one is all about the witches that I think best represent the zodiac archetypes. As always, let me know in the comments if you agree. Who would you change?
Let's get into it.
Aries: Marnie Piper
Marnie is the kind of person who already knows herself before anyone tells her who she’s supposed to be.
She’s always poking at her mom’s boundaries, pulled by some internal magnet toward everything Gwen tries to hide. Long before Marnie learns she's a witch, she already feels connected to that world. Most people would eventually accept the explanation and move on. But not this chick. She's gonna do what she's gonna do.
We see this "let's just do it" spirit when she blatantly leaves for Halloweentown despite her mother's warnings. On the surface, it looks rebellious. But I don't think rebellion is really the point. Marnie isn't sneaking onto that bus because she wants to break the rules; instead, every fiber of her being is screaming, "There is something important over there." Her mother says no. Marnie hears the no. She understands the no. Then she proceeds to ignore the no with an almost impressive level of commitment.
There is a part of Marnie that simply refuses to let other people have the final say over her experience. She has a habit of running directly toward things while everyone else is still discussing whether running is a good idea. Sometimes it gets her into trouble. Sometimes it saves the entire town. Either way, standing around waiting for something to happen was never really Marnie Piper's thing.
Potential Placements: Aries Moon, Aries Ascendant, Mars conjunct the Ascendant, Mars conjunct the Moon, strong 1st house, prominent Mars.
Taurus: Elaine Parks
Taurus is often associated with stability and holding on to things, but Elaine takes that instinct and cranks it to an extremely unhealthy level. She isn't looking for a fleeting romance. She's looking for a love she can keep, preserve, and live inside forever. It’s giving a touch of Pisces Venus or Ascendant mixed with a strong Taurus archetype. The problem is that real people keep getting in the way of the fantasy.
Throughout the film, Elaine falls in love with the idea of being in love. She creates elaborate rituals, love potions, outfits, and romantic scenarios, sex magic, all designed to produce a very specific emotional experience. Unfortunately, human beings are messy little creatures who rarely cooperate with such plans. The spells work so well that some of the men don't make it. Oddly enough, Elaine is getting something remarkably close to what she claims to want, and she's still unsatisfied. Because what she really wants isn't attention, it’s permanence.
At one point Elaine tells someone, "You think I'm sick because you've never loved like I have." That might be the most Taurus-coded line in the entire movie. Elaine never questions whether her expectations of love are realistic. In her mind, the problem isn't that she's holding on too tightly. The problem is that everyone else keeps letting go.
Elaine is so fascinating and so terrifying. She doesn't see herself as obsessive. She sees herself as devoted. She doesn't realize she's chasing an impossible fantasy. The further she drifts from reality, the more convinced she becomes that she's the only person who truly understands what love is supposed to look like.
Potential placements: Taurus Moon, Taurus Ascendant, Pisces Venus in the 8th house, Venus conjunct the Moon, Venus conjunct the Ascendant, strong 2nd house.
Gemini: Endora
Endora treats rules like decorative throw pillows. Nice to have around, but mostly for show. In Bewitched, she spends a remarkable amount of time doing exactly what people tell her not to do. What makes her feel like a Gemini archetype to me isn’t just the wit, though she has plenty. It’s the duality. Endora spends half her time causing a ruckus and the other half cleaning it up. Underneath all the sarcasm and mischief, she’s the kind of person who would do anything for her family.
One thing I’ve always liked about Endora is that she refuses to leave well enough alone. The moment everyone thinks they’ve figured something out, Endora shows up to poke holes in it. While Samantha is trying to keep two worlds balanced, Endora is there to point out how ridiculous it all is. She looks at what everyone else accepts and simply asks, "Why?" That's a type of intelligence that can't really be taught.
That’s the Gemini archetype. Not just in the talking, but in the curiosity and unconventional intelligence. Endora isn’t interested in doing things a certain way just because that’s how it’s always been. Most of her troublemaking starts with a simple question:
"Yes, but what happens if I do this?"
That's what makes her so likable. Endora can go from being the problem to being the solution in the span of a single episode. Both sides of Endora are completely genuine. That's the magic of the character.
Potential Placements: Gemini Moon, Gemini Ascendant, Mercury conjunct the Moon, Mercury conjunct the Ascendant, strong 3rd house, prominent Mercury.
Cancer: Sabrina Spellman
Sabrina Spellman is dealing with an awful lot of Cancerian energy throughout the series. Aside from the rather obvious fact that she's separated from her mother, Sabrina spends much of her teen and young adult life trying to figure out where she belongs. She's caught between the mortal world and the magical world. More than once, we catch her asking some version of, "Why me?" She wants her family, her friends, Harvey (until she wants Josh), magic, and a shot at being normal. She wants it all to fit, preferably without having to pick sides.
Unfortunately, life keeps reminding her that it doesn’t work like that. Not even for witches.
Sabrina learns the way most of us do. Making a mess of shit. Harvey breaks her heart. Josh makes things complicated. Libby is basically a test of patience and endurance. But every disaster leaves Sabrina a little bit wiser than before.
This is classic Cancer archetype territory. Cancer feels everything, but not just for the drama's sake. The emotions are there to teach. By the end, she's the same quirky Sabrina. But all those heartbreaks, disappointments, awkward mistakes, and magical catastrophes start adding up to something that can never be taken from her. Wisdom.
Just don't give her pancakes.
Potential Placements: Cancer Moon, Cancer Ascendant, Moon conjunct the Ascendant, Moon in the 4th house, strong 4th house, Moon in the 12th house.
Leo: Fiona Goode
Only a Supreme could fill the shoes of the Leo archetype. Fiona Goode practically oozes Leo energy. She walks into a room as if she owns it, assumes she's the most important person there, and, to be fair, she's not wrong. Fiona doesn't put on confidence. It's woven directly into her DNA.
A good bit (okay, almost all) of Fiona's motivations are self-serving. Much of the series revolves around what Fiona is willing to do to maintain her Supremacy. Bargain with the enemy coven? Check. Turn Marie Laveau into a maid? Check. Murder Madison? Check. Frame Myrtle Snow? Check. Lie to her own daughter? Big check.
The thought of becoming irrelevant terrifies Fiona far more than death itself. There is no line she won't cross and no measure too drastic if it means holding onto her crown a little longer.
Beneath all the glamour, power, and larger than life presence is someone desperately trying to outrun the reality that every queen is eventually replaced. The crazy thing is that the cub this lioness spent so much time underestimating ends up being the one who drains her in the end. Fiona spends so much time doubting Cordelia only to discover that the future she feared was standing right in front of her the entire time.
To her credit, we do occasionally see flashes of loyalty toward the coven. They're rare. Sometimes suspiciously timed. But they're there. Fiona isn't completely heartless. She's just Fiona first, everyone else second. Fiona is selfish, dramatic, powerful, charismatic, occasionally monstrous, and somehow still impossible to look away from.
Potential Placements: Leo Moon, Leo Ascendant, Rahu in the 10th house, Sun in the 8th house, Pluto conjunct the Sun, prominent Sun.
Virgo: The Grand High Witch.
The Grand High Witch has a solution for everything. Unfortunately, most of those solutions are completely insane. Need to get rid of children? She has a plan. Need to organize witches across an entire country? She has a plan. Need to turn children into mice? Disturbingly, she has a plan for that too.
Now, I know this is the villainous side of Virgo. Virgo can be a healer, caretaker, and someone devoted to helping others. The Grand High Witch just happens to devote herself to an absolutely terrible cause. She doesn't simply say children should be eliminated. She develops an entire strategy. Every child must be destroyed. One child a week isn't enough. She wants results.
She gives detailed instructions. She bankrolls the whole operation. She tells her witches to quit their jobs, buy candy shops, lure in the kids, and get to work. Honestly, she could teach a masterclass in evil project management. Formula 86 is her solution, she's spent who knows how long developing. Once the Grand High Witch identifies a problem, she immediately shifts into analysis, planning, and implementation.
This is peak Virgo energy. The unstoppable urge to optimize. The only issue is that her idea of optimization is turning children into rodents. Not exactly what the self-help books had in mind. As it turns out, being detail oriented is not automatically a virtue.
Potential Placements: Virgo Moon, Virgo Ascendant, Scorpio Mars in the 6th house, Mercury conjunct Saturn, strong 6th house, Virgo stellium.
Libra: Glinda
Glinda might just be the only person in Oz who can drop life-changing advice and look like she’s barely even trying. Throughout The Wizard of Oz, she’s the ultimate gentle guide. She never really shoved Dorothy down the Yellow Brick Road. Instead, she just gave her a little nudge and let her figure out the rest. It’s almost rude how effortless she makes it look.
Libra understands that people learn best when they arrive at conclusions on their own. Like any strong Libra placement, Glinda rarely dominates a situation. Instead, she creates the conditions for growth. Despite being one of the most powerful witches in Oz, she spends very little time proving it.
We also see this in the way Glinda handles conflict. Her first instinct is almost never confrontation. It's diplomacy. She seems to understand that a well placed word can often accomplish what force cannot. Glinda knows exactly how to solve Dorothy’s problem from the start. She could have wrapped up the whole movie in about thirty seconds flat. But instead, she lets Dorothy take the scenic route, because some lessons just can’t be handed over. You’ve got to live them. Her role isn't to walk the path for Dorothy. Her role is to hand her a map and trust she'll get there. That's a very Libra approach.
Potential Placements: Libra Moon, Libra Ascendant, Venus conjunct Jupiter, Venus conjunct the Ascendant, strong 7th house, prominent Venus.
Scorpio: Nancy Downs
When we first meet Nancy in The Craft, she's carrying a mountain of anger and resentment. Years of being treated like the school’s resident outcast have left her with a chip on her shoulder the size of a boulder. So when she finally gets a taste of real power, she doesn’t just sip it, she chugs the whole bottle. For the first time in her life, she isn't the victim. At first, we’re rooting for her. Who doesn’t want to see the underdog finally bite back?
The problem is that Nancy has spent most of her life in a state of learned helplessness. Suddenly, she’s handed the keys to reality itself. Moderation? She’s never even met her. Control? That’s a foreign language. Of course, she goes overboard.
Nancy isn't really searching for power. She's searching for safety. Control is just the vehicle she chooses to get there. The power doesn't just change her behavior. It changes her psychology. She ends up developing a god complex and thinks the rules no longer apply to her. Sadly, all that unlimited power doesn't erase her insecurities. It amplifies them.
The manic power eventually leads to her demise. Sarah’s not out to get Nancy, but try telling Nancy that. Nancy's paranoia is just old trauma wearing a new costume. What makes Nancy such a strong Scorpio archetype is that her story revolves around trauma, obsession, transformation, and self-destruction. The wounded outsider becomes the feared outsider. The victim becomes the aggressor. The powerless girl becomes the most dangerous person in the room.
Potential Placements: Scorpio Moon, Scorpio Ascendant, Rahu conjunct Pluto, Scorpio stellium in the 10th house, Mars in Scorpio, prominent Pluto.
Sagittarius: Elphaba
Elphaba's entire life changes because she asks one very dangerous question: "What if they're wrong?" Elphaba has a nasty habit of paying attention. Sagittarius is often associated with truth, but the uncomfortable part of that conversation is that truth doesn't always make life easier. Sometimes it ruins everything. Truth. People love it in theory. They love it a lot less when it starts costing them something.
The Wizard offers Elphaba exactly what most people spend their entire lives chasing. Status. Recognition. Influence. Acceptance. For someone who has spent her whole life being judged and excluded, that's an incredibly tempting offer. All she has to do is look the other way. She doesn't. Most villains are corrupted by power. Elphaba is condemned by principle.
Classic Sagittarius problem. Once they think they’ve found the truth, good luck getting them to play nice with a lie. Sometimes that’s brave. Sometimes it’s reckless. Sometimes it’s lonely. Most of the time, it’s all three.
What makes Elphaba such a compelling character is that she pays the price for her convictions. The irony is that the person trying hardest to do the right thing ends up being remembered as the villain. Maybe that's why her story resonates with so many people. Deep down, it's not really about witches. It's about what happens when your understanding of the world changes, and you realize you can never go back to believing what you once did.
Potential Placements: Sagittarius Moon, Sagittarius Ascendant, Jupiter conjunct the Sun, Jupiter in the 9th house, strong 9th house, Sagittarius stellium.
Capricorn: Winifred Sanderson
Winifred Sanderson has spent centuries chasing the same thing. Not years. Centuries. At some point, you'd think she'd stop and ask herself if it's worth it. Nope. The crazy part is that she already has the thing she's actually looking for. Her sisters. They follow her through every ridiculous scheme she comes up with. And yet half the time, Winifred seems more emotionally attached to Booooooooooooooooook. (And yes, you should read it just the way she says it.)
We never really learn what happened to the Sanderson sisters' parents, but we do see Winifred stepping into a caretaker role at a very young age. That is a very Saturnian theme. That's a heavy burden for a child to carry. When people are forced to grow up too quickly, they often become attached to control because control feels like safety. Looking at Winifred through that lens, her obsession with power starts to feel less like greed and more like compensation. If she can become powerful enough, maybe nothing will be taken from her again.
When she's finally forced to choose between unlimited power and her sisters, the answer becomes obvious. Winifred is such a strong Capricorn archetype because her story revolves around ambition, responsibility, attachment, and, eventually, perspective. She spends all that time climbing a mountain only to realize the treasure was at base camp the entire time, running "Amok! Amok! Amok!" Even though they make her sick, she ends up enjoying an unlimited number of glorious mornings with her sisters.
Potential Placements: Capricorn Moon, Capricorn Ascendant, Scorpio Sun in the 10th house, Saturn conjunct the Moon, strong 10th house, Capricorn stellium.
Aquarius: Myrtle Snow
I know the Aquarius archetype usually ends up being labeled "the weird one," but that's never the intention, although I do see it as a bonus. Myrtle is what a real Supreme should look like, in my opinion. She isn't driven by ego or the need to prove she's the most powerful witch in the room.
Unlike Fiona, who spends most of the season asking, "What do I want?" Myrtle is almost always asking, "What's best for the coven?" That's a huge difference. She's thinking generations ahead while Fiona is thinking about making it through another year. I actually think Cordelia ends up resembling Myrtle far more than Fiona. Myrtle teaches her that leadership isn't about being the most powerful person in the room. It's about making decisions that outlive you.
Myrtle innocently walks to the stake like an absolute icon. Her last word is "Balenciaga," and somehow she manages to make being burned alive look like performance art. We never see her beg. She doesn't suddenly abandon her principles because they're inconvenient. Even more interesting, when she returns, she never tries to get her lick back at the people who wrongly took her life.
I've never bought the idea that Myrtle was jealous of Fiona. If anything, I think she saw right through her. Fiona was obsessed with being the Supreme because she needed everyone else to believe she was extraordinary. Myrtle never had that problem. She already knew exactly who she was, and she never needed the title to prove it.
A Q U A R I U S. All. Day.
Potential Placements: Aquarius Moon, Aquarius Ascendant, Ketu conjunct Uranus, Ketu in the 11th house, Aquarius stellium, prominent Uranus.
Pisces: Sybill Trelawney
Poor Sybill Trelawney. Nobody in the wizarding world can decide whether she's a gifted Seer or a complete whack job. I think she's kind of both. Every once in a while, Sybill stops acting like Sybill. She slips into a genuine prophecy, predicts something that changes the course of wizarding history, and then has absolutely no memory of saying it?
Sybill Trelawney is basically the human embodiment of being in two places at once. Half of her is in the staff room, the other half is floating somewhere between the astral plane and the bottom of her teacup. Most people struggle to keep up with one reality. Sybill seems to experience two at once, and she never knows when they're about to overlap. She's wrong often enough to sound ridiculous, but she's right often enough that nobody can completely dismiss her.
The books also hint that Sybill develops quite a relationship with cooking sherry. It's easy to play that off as a joke, but I actually think it says something about her. Pisces has long been associated with escapism because sometimes reality feels like too much. If your day job involved bouncing between alternate dimensions and being called a fraud by your coworkers, you might need a little something to take the edge off, too. Reality is exhausting when you never know which one you're waking up in.
I do think that she lives in the in-between well. Most people mistake that space for madness because they are unable to reach her level. Every now and then, though, the veil parts just enough to remind everyone that the "crazy lady" has been telling the truth all along. She's such a fun expression of the Pisces archetype.
Potential Placements: Pisces Moon, Pisces Ascendant, Ketu in the 12th house, Neptune conjunct the Moon, strong 12th house, Pisces stellium.
*****Archetype Archive is a collection of opinion-based character assignments using Astrological archetypes. These are not claims about a character's actual astrological chart. They are symbolic interpretations based on emotional motivations, psychological patterns, desires, fears, and recurring themes within a story. The goal is not to be objectively correct. The goal is to explore archetypes, spark discussion, and look at familiar characters through a different lens. To learn about Vedic astrology and other mystical content, visit the main blog page.
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