Shirley Crain, oldest sister in the Haunting of Hill House, is a reasoned individual who appears to bury a lot within her, for others sake or for her own. As an adult, she finds a career in funeral work, however with a subtle hint that Shirley never truly learnt from her time at Hill House.
Looking at the character of Shirley, what can we say of her placements?
Capricorn Sun in 2nd
Shirley displays Capricorn energy as she is more focused on career and what is within reason than her past that she cannot necessarily explain. It is then in the 2nd house as Shirley concerns herself with comforts, as opposed to unknown knowledge (like other Crain family members). She wants to live a normal life, with a normal family and kids. In this way, Shirley’s ego is in the known comfort of the 2nd house.
Taurus Moon in 6th
This placement for Shirley is shown in the small details we get of her life. Taurus Moon in the 6th house is best defined by comfort and family time, by living where you work, by surrounding your life in every aspect with your feelings. Shirley shows us this by how she lives on the same property she works on, often teaches her children of her job, and just generally lives a very comfortable life in comparison to her other siblings: family breakfasts, drinks with her sister, etc. At the very end of the series, we see more of Shirley’s deep emotions. We see that she knows what trust, loyalty and cemented love are, showing of a Taurus Moon, fixed and venus ruled.
Scorpio Rising/Virgo MC
This combination makes sense for Shirley as her success in her career is found in a very human job. Being a funeral director embraces Virgo themes of patience, empathy, kindness, helpfulness. It requires a sense of order and routine when preparing a body, which Shirley shows us. This then links to Scorpio Rising as she has also quite a cold and closed off vibe to others. Shirley has Scorpionic walls preventing us getting deeper into her. It is also a good placement to sum up how behind those walls is a stoic, strong and wise human being, one that watches before they act.
Aquarius Mercury in 3rd
We sometimes get glimpses that Shirley has a strange personality and humour to her underneath her ‘work hard, work harder’ mentality. For instance, when in the bar and sent a drink by a random guy, she sends him back “the weirdest thing someone could order” on the menu. Her Mercury could then be in the 3rd house as she is a clear and calculated communicator, suggesting Mercury in a naturally Mercurial house, which would be the 3rd house using this suspected chart.
Capricorn Venus in 2nd
For Shirley, this is best displayed through actually her lack of interest in casual or over the top romance. Her marriage revolves around day to day life, working, being a reliable unit together. The presence of it in the 2nd house shows that being a reliable lover (romantic and compassionate) is a key value for her. We see the non-romantic side of Shirley’s love in her job, where it is her job to be professional and yet caring with her clients. This placement further shows what she see of Shirley toward the end of the series, as Capricorn Venus is a reflection of love which knows imperfection, but also knows growth.
Virgo Mars in 10th
This is another reiteration on Shirley’s key attitude. Shirley puts her whole self, life, and drive into her job and expanding her business, but with the selfless touch of Virgo. She is always offering discounts to families, and trying to do her personal best to do right by them.
And so, whilst we never get a truly deep look into Shirley, we can begin to see how these placements show in her: her surface is calm, consistent and discrete, but if she wanted to open up, we’d see this wise oak tree had vulnerable roots just like the rest of us.
Astrolofae 