Think pink, channel your Ken-ergy and strap on your roller skates my babies, we’re in the midst of a Barbie summer.
Greta Gerwig’s hotly anticipated fantasy comedy “Barbie,” premieres July 21 with Cancer queen Margot Robbie playing the titular role alongside Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Emerald Fennell, America Ferrera, Will Farrell, Dua Lipa, Helen Mirren and Ryan Gosling as the hot, hapless, beach venerating, Ken.
In honor of the film’s release and six decades of the doll’s domination we are taking a look at Barbie’s birth chart.
Standing pert on tip toes with the modern equivalent of a Mona Lisa smile, Barbie, full name Barbara Millicent Roberts was introduced by Mattel Inc. at the American International Toy Fair in New York City on March 9, 1959.
Fun fact; astrology applies not only to human beings but to global events, animals, the incorporation of cities, and the introduction of iconic toys. In effect, our girl B was born to the world on that hallowed Monday in March, making her a DOUBLE Pisces with both her sun and moon in the illusory, mutable waters of the last zodiac sign.
Interestingly, Robbie, who plays the role of Barbie, is a fellow double water sign with both her sun and moon in the cardinal tide pools of Cancer.
Read on to learn more about the stars behind this most famous effigy and make sure to check out our list of what Barbie most aligns with your zodiac sign.
Double water, double fantasy
Pisces is ruled by Neptune, the planet of dreams and fantasy. Apropos of this, Barbie exists as the plastic canvas upon which the hopes, ire and assumptions of others are projected.
Pisces is ruled by Neptune, the planet of dreams and fantasy. Apropos of this, Barbie exists as the plastic canvas upon which the hopes, ire and assumptions of others are projected.
Barbie was born EXACTLY on a new moon. New moons are the darkest period of the lunar cycle and as such are a summons to dream, project and initiate. The energy here is pure possibility, a spirit built into Barbie from the jump.
As Cindy Eagan, author of “The Story of Barbie and the Woman Who Created Her,” reminds us “Before Barbie, pretty much the only dolls that were available at that time were baby dolls — because most women at that time only became moms, With Barbie, girls could play-act their futures not as mothers, but as career gals.”
How unbelievably on par that a symbol of unattainable female beauty standards who was built for role play and modeled after a gag gift should have two major planets in the sign associated with dreams, fantasies, illusions, projections and the currents of the cultural collective.
The brilliant astrologer Alice Sparkly Kat writes of this double water sun/moon combo: “Though your ideals may sometimes seem broad, your dedication towards envisioning them gives you enough for others to trust in your authenticity.”
She continued, “When you are cynical, it can be easy for you to simply go along with what others seem to desire from you, to embody their hopes and fears completely…This gives you a blurry presence, one that seems full of good will but without the specifics that truly inspire action.”
Broad and blurry? Could there be a more fitting description for an inert symbol of collective hope and fear, desire and aspiration? No my dudes, no.
Astrology 101: Your guide to the star
- The 12 zodiac signs
- What are the astrology houses
- Here’s what each planet represents
- Sun, moon, and rising signs: Get to know your Big 3
Venus in Aries
Venus is the sign that governs love and money, beauty and possession. Barbie was born when Venus was in the fire breathing sign of Aries. Venus in Aries natives are active, artistic and enthusiastic if a bit impulsive.
They are, if you’ll excuse the expression, a party in a box. Venus in Aries is cardinal, initiating, first move, first blood energy. People born with this placement prefer, neigh demand, to take the lead, wear the pants and blaze the proverbial trail.
Venus in Aries is also the sign of the fevered lover who may need to divest their flames into myriad passion projects and people, a quality expressed in Barbie who has reinvented herself as everything from an astronaut to Athena herself and prefers to keep it cas when it comes to romance, keeping a bright eye fixed on the next best thing.
As M.G. Lord, author of “Forever Barbie,” told The Post. “She encouraged girls’ not just sexual autonomy but financial autonomy, because from the get-go she always came with some sort of equipment for earning a living.” Built for speed and self sufficiency, pure Aries.
Jupiter in Sagittarius
In an inversion of the Genesis creation myth, Barbie was born first and Ken emerged after and in her image, presumably to keep her company and hold her purse.
Jupiter is the planet of expansion and abundance, luck and levity. In Barbie’s birth chart, Jupiter has home team advantage in the sign of Sagittarius and thus able to express itself fully, truly and freely.
Jupiter in Sag folks like Barbie are idealistic, sunny side up types that crave novelty and new horizons in travel, personal experiences, outfits and vocation.
Seekers and shakers these people are ever trying to swell their minds and skillsets and Barbie, who has worn upwards of 150 career hats, is no exception.
There’s a dream big, take a chance, let it ride, philosophical versus practical energy here, made evident in the fact that our girl’s feet never fully touch the ground nor do her doe eyes ever close.
Uranus in Leo
Barbie was born with Uranus, punk rock planet of radical change in the limelight hungry sign of Leo. Uranus in Leo folk tend to be bold, creative and wildly unpredictable with a preternatural need for their extremes to be seen and their high flare for drama appreciated.
This placement is apt when we consider the revolutionary effect Barbie has had (for better or worse) on standards of femininity. From the unattainable, to the inclusive to the appropriative, the doll and her myriad incarnations are ever a source of aesthetic intrigue and upset.
Leo is the domain of the inner child and children are a great source of interest and inspiration for Venus in Leo folk though they sometimes resist having them and or struggle to connect with them.
True to form, Barbie has been keeping company with kids of all ages since her inception and while she exists to them as a rope to the imagination she is, by static doll default, incapable of expressing anything like affection to them.
Since Leo rules the heart and matters of it, Uranus in Leo suggests an unconventional approach to love relationships.
We see this expressed in Barbie’s romantic dynamic with Ken. In an inversion of the Genesis creation myth, Barbie was born first and Ken emerged after, in her image and presumably to keep her company and hold her purse.
Barbie’s entanglement with Ken, her glorified accessory, continues to be a talking point of feminist discourse.
And there we have it my friends, the planets behind the plastic and the stardust behind the cellophane.
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Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers, as well as extensively chronicled her experiences while traveling. Among the many intriguing topics she has tackled are cemetery etiquette, her love for dive bars, Cuban Airbnbs, a “girls guide” to strip clubs and the “weirdest” foods available abroad.
