Is there an astrological chart for the brand Volvo? Is it a coincidence that the first Volvo car was born under a sign of Mars? What can such a chart say about the mission and values of the company?
As stated in a previous article (the Astrology of Brands), brands can have their own astrological charts. Normally, the chart is cast for the physical birth of the brand: the day when the product was ready to be consumed for the first time; or the moment it was sold to the market for the first time.
Just like with human beings, the name can precede the real birth but the baby only is fully born after crying out of the womb, and crossing the “dangerous” gate of life and death. Henceforth, the astrological chart is cast for the actual birth of the baby not for the time the parents decided his/ their name.
THE BIRTH OF VOLVO
The same happens with the name Volvo that already existed before the physical birth of the first car on 14 April 1927 in Gothenburg around 10 a.m..
This was the official time when the creators of Volvo, the engineer Erik Larson and the economist Assar Gabrielsson got out of the assembly line with model OV4. Since then, the 14th of April is celebrated as the official birthday of the company.
The Mars logo was chosen to be in the frontline of the car, over the radiator, because it is the alchemical symbol of iron and steel, one of Sweden main industries at that time. The symbol carried an idea of strength and steel: a very resistant material.
But in fact, the first cars were planned to be ready long before that day. And so the Mars logo was not intended to match a particular astrological date. It was a pure “coincidence” that the car was born when the Sun was crossing the astrological sign of Aries, traditionally ruled by the warrior planet – Mars. There was a chance of 1 out of 6 (16%) of this happening out of pure luck.
THE NATAL CHART OF VOLVO
Fortunately, the hour of birth was recorded but this is not the case in most brands where an actual time of first release is not known or documented.
For many reasons, the following chart can be used to understand better the brand Volvo. It fits perfectly its long time values and name.
Natal chart of Volvo –
10 a.m. – 14 th April 1927 – Gothenburg – Sweden – Rodden Rating B
(stated in Volvo’s group website)
- THE NAME
The name Volvo means “I roll” in latin, and is interesting that the ruler of the Ascendant Cancer, the Moon, is located in a house of the past (the 4th house) and in a sign of languages (Virgo). And so, this is appropriate for a name that came from an old language.
Rolling or circulating are also trademarks of the fastest planet of the traditional astrological system: the Moon, that revolves around the Earth.
The 4th house is known as the house of the Father. In this case there were two male fathers and Virgo is considered a double bodied sign (signs that represent things coming in pairs like twins). The creators were an engineer and an economist, careers ruled by Virgo.
In many latin and germanic languages, Virgo is also the only astrological sign that starts with a “V” letter.
The Moon, ruler of the chart, is related to the letter “L” and it is not a coincidence in most languages when something is connected to the moon we say “L”unar. The central letter of the brand is L in the middle of VO L VO.
However, the Moon is disposed by Mercury – the natural ruler of transports like cars – placed in a very strong house, near the Midheaven.
The strongest planet of the chart, nonetheless, is Jupiter in Piscis. This planet rules freedom, faith, hope, high travels and compassion.
Jupiter in a double-bodied sign – Piscis – is connected to the double letter of the name “O” (and the only vowel of the brand) since it is the natural ruler of this vowel.
Like in any astrological chart the Sun is the heart of the system, a strong energy and identity of the being. Is this case, the Sun plays an even more important role since it is squaring the Ascendant. As explained before, the Sun in Aries is ruled by Mars, the planet carved in Volvo’s logo.
Mars is also in a double-bodied sign, Gemini, and for this reason we can say it correlates as well to the other double letter of the name, the “V”, of victory and volcano, Mars words.
Therefore, the testimonies are strong enough for a radical chart, which means a chart that truly represents the identity of the subject.
A simple word (only 5 letters) correlate to simple signs – cardinal signs of Aries and Cancer – but the mirror name and double letters connect more easily to the 4 mutable sigs – Virgo, Piscis, Gemini and Sagittarius – that are strongly present in this chart.
2. THE LOGO
The Mars symbol was already explained. Many people identify more with their sun-sign than with their lunar or Ascendant Sign. The same happens with brands- the ruler of the Sun is always a very important feature of the brand. In this case, Mars in Gemini, the sign of cars.
But why blue-silver and not red, orange or green?
It make senses that blue, the colour of water signs like Cancer and Piscis (the signs in the Ascendant and Midheaven) could fit more easily with the values of the brand. Safety is the main concern of the brand, and safety is a value of Water signs.
Silver is a colour traditionally ruled by the Moon and so it is also very appropriate for the main colour of the logo, because it is the planet ruling the ascendant.
3. THE VALUES
The core values of the brand are safety and quality. Along its history, Volvo contributed heavily to innovations that changed the automobile industry forever.
One of these innovations was the three-point seatbelts in 1959. Since then, it’s estimated that over one million lives have been saved as a result of Volvo Cars waiving its patent rights so everybody could benefit.
Recently, Volvo has targeted a goal of zero deaths and serious injuries in new Volvo cars by 2020.
Safety is an attribute of Cancer, the rising sign. Quality is an attribute that we can correlate to Virgo, the sign of the rising sign ruler, the Moon.
Volvo was also one of the first automobile companies to build specific and safe child seats and to introduce environmental friendly technology. These are as well traces of a Cancer-Virgo signature, very adequate for a company specialized in high-quality and practical family cars.
The endurance and reliability of the cars are also represented by a strong Venus in Taurus and especially by the Aries Sun.
4. MILESTONES
Apart from the safety and environmental innovations, one of Volvo’s marketing milestones was the publicity achieved from 1962 to 1968 with the TV series “The Saint”, where Simon Templar (represented by actor Roger Moore, future James Bond) stole the rich and corrupt to help the poor.
Templar’s car was a Volvo sports car P1800 that was immortalized in the series.
This symbolism adjusts very well to the “Saint” in a “Templar Saint” sign – Jupiter in Piscis – on top of the chart, an area of public success. The timing of this success coincides also with the astrological noon, the Sun reaching the Midheaven, by symbolic techniques. But what does this mean for the company?
It means that social values such as contribution for the poor classes or countries should be more clearly embodied in Volvo’s corporate communication, for the brand to achieve an even higher success. And also the fact of wanting to “save” lives.
Piscis, the sign of oceans, in the public house is connected as well to the main event sponsorship of this company: Volvo Ocean Race, the world’s premier offshore race.
In 2018, as the Sun reached the rising point of the chart, Volvo achieved record breaking awards such as the World Car of the Year, Model XC60. This was the first time that one manufacturer has collected four major car awards in one year.
CONCLUSION
In this example, we showed how an astrological chart of a brand can work, showing features of its products, values, name, logo and history.
In case of Volvo, an astrobranding consultant could enhance the importance of its original values but pointing out unexplored dimensions of the brand, opening gates to more efficient marketing strategies. Clearly, the Piscean dimension of the chart is not enough explored, since Volvo’s cars are still connected to elites and rich families, with no particular social concern or an image of “saving” people.
Environmental restrictions in the automobile energy are also a major opportunity for the brand’s expansion since it is part of its core and original values.
The Blue Mars logo of Volvo is a striking case of an Aries-Cancer brand, one of the most spectacular examples of Astrology silently working inside the corporations.
Lisbon, 17th April 2018
João Medeiros
Sources:
http://www.volvogroup.com/en-en/news/2012/apr/news-121753.html
https://group.volvocars.com/company/vision
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_Cars
