I saw the Barbie movie on opening night and have been obsessed ever since. I think it’s important to note, though, before I jump down this rabbit hole: I didn’t really even play with Barbie’s as a kid. I had some Barbie dolls, but it wasn’t really my thing. That said, femininity and how we are meant to express ourselves as women has been on my mind a lot lately. I have been leaning more into a feminine expression whereas in the past I have avoided it because I felt “better” than it. There is this idea socially that as women if we reject certain feminine routines we are in some ways better than other women, which just isn’t true. There is so much pressure to act a certain way - not too this but not too that - when in reality we as women are all special regardless of how we present. So, if you’ve seen the movie you are probably already piecing together why it was so impactful for me. The movie is a reminder that we as women are worthy ALL of the time, regardless of whether we are deemed worthy by society, our boss, our friends or our partner’s standards.
Ok, now that I have set the tone for you in terms of where I am coming from I want to talk a little about the response that the Barbie movie has gotten - the good and the bad.
Barbie herself is a Pisces, a double Pisces actually with her sun AND her moon in Pisces. On the surface, this speaks to the imagination itself, something you need when playing with a doll, but it also speaks to the ethereal nature of Barbie. She represents this alternate reality where life is perfect and beautiful, but the reality is that, for a lot of women, she also represents what women are supposed to be or supposed to look like, regardless of the original intent. Barbie also has her Venus in Aries which can be a provocative place for Venus. Venus here isn’t afraid to ask for what she wants and can be sassy instead of sweet. The movie itself is both ethereal and provocative. There is this sense of perfection within Barbieland but the reality is, it represents the absolute opposite of the true reality. This is startling for Barbie.
I have been thinking a lot about our current transits and what might speak to this movie and the response it has gotten. On the surface, the Venus retrograde in Leo speaks to so many of the themes that Barbie brings up. We are reassessing femininity and how women are meant to
express their feminine nature as well as themes of body image and how these things pertain to our values, which are all in the domain of Venus. Retrogrades send us into the past and dig up old stories and lessons in order for us to revisit and reassess them. If you look back through the Venus in Leo retrogrades (which happen every eight years!), you can see the connection that this movie has to this retrograde cycle from the actual production of Barbie to the charts of the cast members and director Greta Gerwig. All of that said, Venus retrograde in Leo didn’t feel like it totally encompassed the movie and the response to it for me, even though it is compelling, I wanted to dig deeper in to longer term transits and themes.
Right now in our society, at least in the US, most of us find ourselves in very polarized positions. The collective can seem to take anything and create a divide over it. This is absolutely true for the Barbie movie, like most things in our world right now the response is very black and white. There are groups of people who absolutely love it and there are groups of people who despise it (and they’ve wasted no time letting us know this). It’s such an interesting dichotomy that I was having a hard time finding it reflected in the astrology UNTIL a lovely client pointed something out to me which unlocked so much… (if you’re reading this, hey girrrrl)
Saturn has been in Pisces since mid March 2023. Saturn and Pisces have nearly opposite meanings: Saturn represents all that is structured, rule oriented, and traditional whereas Pisces is expansive, dreamy and limitless. I find this placement so interesting and can see it represented in the response to this movie. So many people have left the theaters over the last week with this raw, emotional experience, whether good or bad. This emotion has felt very expansive - the response amongst most people who have seen the movie has been talking about it and let it be known they’ve seen it. Whether it's to their friends, partners, on social media or they've posted
hours of content bashing the movie (hey Ben Shapiro), it seems that the energy of this movie has seeped into us and our worlds. This response feels very Piscean. I think about the way the waves continually but slowly move up farther when the tide comes in and the ocean slowly takes over the beach. The movie has crept up and is currently taking up space in our lives. Saturn, as I’ve mentioned, is much different. Saturn brings structure and represents our traditions. The response to this movie is so much about our traditions, whether you’re looking to uproot them or keep them intact. The patriarchy is something that is so ‘normal’ in our society that some reject it even exists. But those of us who recognize its existence and the problematic nature of it appreciate how it’s recognized and called out in the Barbie movie. There is this dual experience of so many of us wanting to break free from this patriarchal tradition and so many wanting to maintain this status quo.
I think it’s also worth mentioning that Pluto, who is currently finishing his last stint
in Saturn’s sign, has broken down soooo many traditions and structures within our society over its 15 years in Capricorn. We have seen so many of our systems begin to crumble (I could name them but honestly if you name it, it’s crumbling) but the last year or so of Pluto’s time in a sign is always the most notable. This movie brings attention to some of the systems, specifically the patriarchy, in our society that aren’t working for us. There is a desire to cling to this system, which is part of why the last year or so of Pluto’s time in a sign is the most significant, but the change is inevitable. As Pluto shifts into Aquarius, we will have a new outlook and begin to piece together some of the remains from the destruction from it’s time in Capricorn.
It’s funny to me how I can take a movie about a doll and bring it to this dark, deep place of how it reflects the struggles within our society. And honestly there is sooo much more I could say about this movie, I could probably spend hours talking about it, but for now I will leave it here. All in all, I think we can all agree that Barbie has been significant for those of us that have seen it, and my hope is that we as a society can begin to integrate some of these lessons.
Xoxo,
Lauren
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