Zendaya's Athena in Nolan's The Odyssey
and her Astrological Connection to the Asteroid Pallas Athena
Zendaya’s upcoming portrayal as Athena in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey prompted me to take a peek at Zendaya’s chart and biography recently. Not only did she just pass through her first Saturn Return this April, her natal Pallas Athena, the asteroid of wisdom and strategic defense sits in Scorpio, in direct opposition to her Moon in Taurus and made transits to her ASC during the filming of The Odyssey.
Background
Zendaya got her big break at age 14 during her first Saturn opposition when she was cast in Disney’s Shake it Up. Many other roles followed. By 2019, in Euphoria she truly leveled up the Scorpionic depth, for which she was rewarded, as her 2022 Emmy chart shows. As the youngest person to ever win not one, but two prime time Emmys for her role in Euphoria, she proved her staying power at the ripe age of twenty-four. Chiron conjunct her natal Saturn got my attention as the film exposes the depths and intensity of addiction.
Fast forward a half-Jupiter cycle, when filming began for The Odyssey in February 2025, Pallas Athena was conjunct her natal Neptune (film). As filming ended in August, Pallas Athena crossed her ascendant. This shows a sort of thru-line or connection point to embodying this role.
One month after her Saturn Return in early April 2026, transiting Pallas Athena formed an exact conjunction with her natal Saturn. By May, Zendaya was pulling back a bit on her public appearances, and even stated in an interview on Mar 26, 2026, (though perhaps only jokingly) that she may need to “go into hiding.” An interesting tactic considering Athena’s guidance to Odysseus.
Athena essentially teaches Odysseus that to achieve a great goal, one must sometimes disappear into the background to observe the terrain and prepare for the final, necessary confrontation. Conserving your energy and picking your battles, or “hiding in plain sight,” is wise if it furthers your preservation, or intelligence gathering before taking action and timing your attack. This had me looking at Pallas Athena in my own chart in a new way, seeing where I might be able to apply some of the same preserving/withholding logic and strategy.
As she balances so many high profile roles at once with the need for personal preservation, Zendaya is an interesting generational forerunner with her natal Pluto at 0° Sag on her MC. Though its clear her acting career is off and running gang busters, time will tell if she can also truly master the Athenian art of the “strategic no.”
I created a companion video breaking down these charts, coming to you this Sunday before the movie release on 7/17 to round out these thoughts on Zendaya’s chart. Keep an eye on for it! If you go to see movie The Odyssey, let me know your opinion on it.
