Another important UK energy born at a Uranus-Neptune conjunction, 170 years after Queen Victoria, was the pop singing sensation, the Spice Girls. An astrological chart can be drawn for the moment of a person’s birth, but astrological charts can also reflect the “birth” of a business, a country, a relationship, or an entity, such as a group of pop singers called the Spice Girls. Astro.com, a reliable source for birth information, cites March 4, 1994, at 11:00 am in London, England, as the moment the Spice Girls came into being. The Sun was in Pisces, shining high in the sky, bringing the energy of glamour, idealism, imagination, and artistic gifts to the group. Pisces is a kind of melting pot, where people do not see boundaries and find a way to transcend together. Venus was also shining near the Sun, the planet of beauty in the sign in which it is considered “exalted,” because it can tap into a higher consciousness to create something of beauty. Success was assured.
Also in Pisces, however, was Saturn, more of a patriarchal energy, rather stern and controlling. The Spice Girls were originally a corporate creation, a group manufactured to rival the boy bands so popular in the era, and the girls would have to wrest control of their music and their agency from the “suits” running them as a business. This is shown by a powerful Jupiter and Pluto in the sign of Scorpio, working well with the Pisces Sun and Venus. It is interesting that Geri, “Ginger Spice,” was born with her Sun in Scorpio, showing that she was very much the engine that powered the group towards self-determination.
There is also so much playful energy in this chart. The rising sign is Gemini, indicating a youthful curiosity and an openness to new experiences – and a love for jokes and pranks – that the girls displayed in the early years of their fame. Mel B, “Scary Spice,” with her Sun in Gemini, had a special ability to convey this sense of joy and fun. The Gemini rising could also give the Spice Girls an ever-young quality which keeps them drawing fans to their concerts as they perform in their 40’s.
The moment the Spice Girls emerged into our collective was also a very dynamic time in the world. The planets Uranus and Neptune had come together (which last occurred in 1821-22) in Capricorn, indicating we were at the dawn of a new era. The planet was being crisscrossed with wires which would link us all to the World Wide Web, popular culture transcended international boundaries, and corporate entities, ruled by Capricorn, went global. The Spice Girls would ride this wave of technological boom in entertainment to become the most recognized – and top selling – band in the world. Mel C, “Sporty Spice,” a Capricorn herself, would be most tuned in to this energy and able to understand how the group was creating a sound that reached an international audience – and to use this ability to be a phenomenally successful solo artist as well.
The planets Mars and Mercury in Aquarius in this chart show the group members’ need to follow the beat of their own drum. Aquarius likes to individuate, so a Mercury in Aquarius would avoid groupthink and form its own opinions, and Mars in this sign strikes out on its own and needs to get out from under the pressures of the group. Emma, “Baby Spice,” is an Aquarian, someone who has had a varied and interesting career away from the Spice Girls as an actress and radio and TV presenter. The strong Pisces Sun and Venus draw the group members back into the creative entity of the Spice Girls from time to time, but they have all learned to create an identity as unique artists on their own.
The one group member whose Sun sign does not connect strongly with the Spice Girls’ chart is Victoria, “Posh Spice.” An independent Aries, who likes to initiate her own passion projects, her energy falls in the aspirational area of the chart, indicating that being a Spice Girl would help further her own ambitions, yet she would never be “all in” as the other girls were. She could have served, however, as someone young girls looked up to and admired, so her role cannot be dismissed.
I cannot leave this chart without looking at the Moon in Sagittarius, which is adventurous, truth-seeking, and optimistic. In spite of their global appeal, the Spice Girls were part of the “Cool Britannia” movement in the 90’s, expressing the hopefulness felt in the UK after the long and difficult Thatcher years. In a way, they were expressing this same energy for everyone in the world at this time, post-cold war and pre-911. It is interesting that the group went on a long hiatus at the end of 2000, and would not appear as a group again until 2007-8 (the year leading up to the election of Barack Obama in the US, another hopeful time). I think we continue to “chair dance” to their music and we YouTube Spice Girls videos when looking for a lift in mood, and people continue to flock to their concerts to recapture that old good feeling. Individually, Mel B, Mel C, Victoria, Emma, and Geri are lovely and talented ladies, but together, they make our hearts sing.
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