Astrology in Music
By Julia Norkus
It’s no secret that modern society has been growing more and more fascinated with astrology. I noticed that some of the first questions I was asked when I transferred to Emerson were among the following: Where are you from? What’s your major? What’s your sun/moon/rising sign? To which I could only reply by feverishly checking CoStar, enough times to the point of memorization.
I’ve been thinking: since each sign has a horoscope for everyday life, do different signs have specific music tastes? I am not the first to ask this question; VICE news did an article several years ago with an astrological expert, Annabel Gat (she/her), on the signs and their favorite genres. I found it interesting, because it would make sense that something that categorizes our personalities would inherently relate with our interests and music taste.
First off, it’s important to understand what signs mean depending on their placements. It’s likely you already know your sun sign; when someone asks your zodiac sign, this is typically what they mean. That is the sign based on the placement of the sun when you were born, which changes monthly. But the time you were born the moon, the planets, and stars were in different positions (read: in different signs) specific to you - this is your chart. For now, we’ll just focus on sun, moon, and rising, often referred to as your “big three”. There are 12 signs and they can be divided into various categories to understand the differences and similarities between them. One of the popular categorizations is the four elements. The zodiac signs themselves are separated into four categories, which are the four elements, considering our world is only able to exist with all four working together.
Fire Signs: Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius
Earth Signs: Taurus, Capricorn, and Virgo
Air Signs: Libra, Gemini, Aquarius
Water Signs: Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio
The VICE news article, titled, “Your Star Sign Affects Your Music Taste in Ways You May Not Realise,” included the knowledge of Annabel Gat, where she shared what kind of music each sign/element enjoys the most. She (loosely) said the following:
Fire signs:
drawn to music that BUMPS
upbeat, pop and metal
love dancing
Earth signs
R&B, jazz, classical
Anything chill and soulful
Very against autotune
Air signs:
Love songs with meaningful lyrics
Enjoyers of EDM, techno, house
Water signs:
Very romantic, artistic, creative
Enjoyers of “trippy” or psychedelic tunes
love to create music themselves
As an expert in the field of astrology, Gat outlines what each sign/element would enjoy based on the traits attributed to each sign. But, this was not enough to convince me of its accuracy (sorry, Miss Annabel Gat). So, I decided to go out and ask someone from (nearly) every sign about what music they enjoy. There were several noticeable trends.
Those with fire signs in their chart tended to be enjoyers of indie music, and music with very chill vibes. Anyone with earth signs in their big three leaned towards funky, R&B beats. Those with air signs in their big three were enjoyers of EDM, hyper-pop. Many with water in their charts even played instruments themselves, lining up with the idea that water signs are very interested in creating music themselves.
Based on big three placements, a combination of elements in your chart definitely appears to have an impact on your music mix. Considering that I myself am a Sagittarius sun, Capricorn moon, and a Gemini rising (please be gentle with me), I noticed that I like Phoebe Bridgers just as much as both of the Sags and those with fire placements that I spoke with.
Bridgers’s big three is Leo sun, Capricorn moon, and Pisces rising. With a water sign in her chart, Bridgers is an avid creator, and her fire sun and earth moon show themselves in her works like “Moon Song” and “ICU,” avoiding autotune but balancing soulful lyrics in both and a bumping beat in “ICU,” proving why she appeals to people across all signs and placements.
Whether you’re a Capricorn sun who enjoys anything chill, or a rambunctious Sag sun who enjoys dancing, music has the ability to speak to people in different ways depending on who they are or where they came from. While your zodiac sign seems to have some say in what you’re drawn to, all genres are for everyone, and even the stars telling you to like country music have to take a back seat every once in a while.