Hi, if you’ve read my last few posts, you might be concerned with the state of my mental health. And you would be right, it’s been shit. However, we are finally moving out of January’s shadow and I refuse to let that energy define the next year of my life.

The best day of the year, aka my birthday, is officially 4 days away and to celebrate I am indulging.

One of the things that became a pandemic hobby to help me disassociate from the world was diving way too into astrology and birth charts. Not wholly by choice either: the TikTok and Instagram algorithms continue to feed me the content. Although, I have to admit I did get into a rabbit hole on the basics as a 14 year old once upon a time.

Now, ground rules: am I serious about believing what the stars say as the end all be all? No. The human race has been trying to find meaning out of signs and symbols since the dawn of time and I believe we will always be trying to figure out the mysteries of how God is working in the world. However, it’s a fun rabbit hole to go down as way to test your self-awareness.

Now that my ground rules are set, let me briefly explain birth charts. Most people know their sun sign, but that doesn’t paint the whole picture of a person. A birth chart is basically a snapshot of the sky when you were born. The thought behind birth charts is that each planet and each sign (depending on where it falls in your chart) has a meaning and influence in your life. That usually explains why maybe you don’t feel like a Pisces because maybe your sun sign isn’t a prominent influence in your chart. There’s a lot more to the whole theory behind it but I’ll spare you the details to look them up if you’re so inclined. The main point for the purposes of this post is that there’s different planets and signs that influence parts of your personality.

Now, I’ve memorized my own birth chart and I’m not gonna lie to y’all, there’s some instances where I can, as Bad Suns says in their new song “Apocalypse Whenever”, “blame everything on astrology.” (Lol did you really think I was not gonna mention the new Bad Suns album here? Do you even know me?) So as I celebrate another year around the sun, let’s talk about some of my prominent placements:

Aquarius Sun – Hurricane by Panic! at the Disco

First of all, happy Aquarius season y’all. I have a natural affinity for this season because I refuse to let the shadow of January ruin my birthday. Second of all, when you really get to know me, you’ll see I’m definitely an Aqua gal. What that means is that inherently, there is something in me that’s attracted to changing the world for the better. My Aquarius sun falls in my 9th house of travel/philosophy/higher education which basically means I’m a nerd, but a cool nerd. This Panic! At the Disco song really gives off that Aquarius “let’s start a revolution” energy that I have and the total tone shifts I’m capable of: I mean what is the end of this song but a moment of disassociation? Idk but I feel seen.

Libra Moon – Adore You by Harry Styles

It has come to my attention how naturally flirty I actually am and I think that correlates with my Libra moon. Libra is a sign ruled by Venus so that points to beauty, balance, and diplomacy. Mine falls in my 4th house of family, which means I try to be diplomatic in the way I present my emotions in family circumstances. In the worst ways, that’s led to me being a people pleaser. But in the best ways, I’m full of love and look for beauty everywhere I go. So, I gotta use a song from my fellow Aquarius sun/Libra moon combo: the one and only Harry Styles. We just want to adore and be adored, ya feel?

Cancer Rising – Swimming in the Moonlight by Bad Suns

Now this placement makes a lot of sense to me. On first impression, most people sense a nurturing aspect to me and I think that correlates with my Cancer rising. Rising signs dictate the way each of the signs influence your birth chart’s houses and since my first house of self/appearance is in Cancer, that means I have a very mother-like presence and a very moon-like appearance. And c’mon, this wouldn’t be my musical birth chart if it didn’t have a Bad Suns song in it. This one’s an all time favorite. What does it have to do with Cancer risings? Well whatever planet rules your rising sign, also rules your birth chart. So yeah, I’m the moon. Also this song WILL be playing immediately after my wedding’s first dance to “When You Were Young” by The Killers one day. That’s a non-negotiable for my future husband so: sir, you better love this song or learn to love it.

Capricorn Mercury – Be Sweet by Japanese Breakfast

Eden’s boyfriend Nick coined the word “she-eo” to describe me and her. And that’s on us having earth sign Mercury placements: we’re here to make things happen. Mercury is the planet of communication and thinking and as much I love spontaneity in most places, I prefer working with a structure in communication. Heck, even when I spontaneously went to Maui last year, I had my own itinerary by the hour. I had a clear purpose. I find myself really growing in communication these days and learning to be more straightforward, almost commanding respect like this absolute bop by Japanese Breakfast. The chorus in this song really hints at the way I want people to practice what they preach and follow through. I want to believe the best of people, but I will always be watching out for patterns that don’t line up.

Pisces Venus – Here, There, and Everywhere by The Beatles

As much as I’ve been in an “ew it’s Valentine’s Day” kind of mood in my recent years, I’m really such a dreamy romantic at my core and that’s Pisces Venus to a T. I have such a weighty view of what falling in love is. Some things that explain that: I believe that compassion is one of the most beautiful traits of humanity’s reflection of God, it’s a goal of mine to write a really beautiful love song one day, I want a big beautiful and deeply symbolic wedding, and simply put, I love love. My favorite Beatles song of all time communicates how I believe unconditional love is beautiful and aspirational and yet, so simple. Leave it to my actual grandfather Paul McCartney to just get me on that level. Also, another non-negotiable for my future wedding I will be walking down the aisle to an instrumental of this song. Preferably a string quartet.

Aquarius Mars – New Shapes by Charli XCX ft. Caroline Polachek and Christine and the Queens

Ah yes, the Aquarius influence continues. Since Mars is the planet of aggression and energy, this placement suggests I’m aggressively independent. That’s kind of true for a few reasons: 1) I tend to need a lot of space in my relationships, 2) I don’t like being told what to do, and 3) as I’ve been realizing the fact that I’m not here to be all things to all people, I’m learning to own up to saying “what you want, I ain’t got it”. A minuscule illustration of this energy in me: I’m no stranger to going to concerts alone and for a while, that had been my preferred way to go. I’m realizing lately that it’s gotten kind of lonely being so independent. It’s one of those, “good to know I can do it alone but I don’t always have to” kinds of things.

Capricorn Jupiter – I Want It All by COIN

I hope y’all remember the absolute thirst trap of a post I did where I laid out how I’ve been feeling inspired by the femme fatale trope. Well, I feel her in my Capricorn Jupiter, strategically placed in my 7th house of relationships and partnerships. Capricorn is a sign that means business and when it comes to my relationships, I mean business. I’m very conscious of the “you’re a mix of the 5 people you spend the most time with” adage so I’m very careful about who I let get close to me. Just like my Aquarius mars, I’d rather be alone than in bad company on an instinctual level. I like to think that’s a big reason I’ve never had a proper boyfriend: there literally has not been anyone who has come close to my standards. Is it harsh of me to close myself off like that? Probably but I’m not here to mess around because I want it all.

Sagittarius Pluto – Generation of Me by Tor Miller

So apparently one way people separate the generations is by whatever Pluto sign people have. By that rule, my Pluto in Sagittarius means that I am, in fact, Gen Z. Yeah yeah yeah, I can remember a time without the internet and I can tell you about floppy disks just as well as I can tell you about Flappy Bird. I’ve grown up with the internet and it’s been crazy how used to technology I am. What makes me feel Gen Z is all the struggles that this song describes. Good ol’ temptation of self-absorption! This song feels like the Gen Z version of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. Also, I love Tor Miller and you all should too.

Libra Chiron – Amsterdam by Imagine Dragons

Ugh, I guess this is another post tainted by my trauma. Well, in a birth chart, Chiron is an asteroid that basically refers to a pain point you might have in your life. Remember how I said my Libra moon is in my 4th house of family? Well my Chiron which is also there says that my family relationships are my pain point. It’s pretty on the nose. I do have a hard time relating to my family because of this constant need to be the high-achieving golden child. I don’t want to let anyone down and I feel like I carry the trauma that my parents have both suffered through because they’ve yet to find peace with their pasts. Obviously, therapy has been a big help but there’s still so much work to do. This song really captures the emotion I feel when I think about my family struggles. I can remember sobbing along to this one in college as I thought of it all.

Pisces Midheaven – Save Rock and Roll by Fall Out Boy

One of the most audacious things I’ve ever said was when I was a senior in college. I was interning at the band KISS’s management company as a marketing intern and as I told some of my college newsroom friends, I said out loud: “I can’t decide if I want to save news media after I save rock and roll.” Now, was I thinking about this Fall Out Boy song when I said that? Absolutely and my Pisces midheaven is the validation stamp. Midheavens are placements that show a correlation to what you might be interested in career-wise. And let me tell you, only a Pisces midheaven would have a music blog dedicated to processing life and finding healing through music.

What songs make up your musical birth chart?