The Astrology of the Spice Girls
WHO’S READY FOR SOME GIRL POWER? This episode, we break down the astrology behind pop culture icons the Spice Girls. We breakdown their Big Threes, the Venus conjunct Mars in Gemini transit that is the most literal thing ever for the “Wannabe” single release, the New Moon in Gemini that accompanied the moment when Geri peaced out, Geri’s profections, Uranus and Neptune in Aquarius and what is means for Girl Power, and more!
Transcription
Elyse: Hello and welcome to allegedly Astrology. Each week we break down the astrology that happened during some of the biggest scandals and events in history.
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can visit our website allegedly astrology dot com to learn more about us and the show in the book of Reading with me dana and also check out some charts and transcripts from other episodes with that.
Elyse: Let's get into today's very lighthearted topic, Dana, what are we covering today?
Dana: We're talking about 90s icons. The spice girls.
Elyse: Normally, when we say lighthearted topics, we don't mean it, but this time we actually do um if you are unaware of who the Spice Girls are, they are a British Pop group of five women — Mel B., Mel C, Geri, Emma and Victoria. All household names around the world. So if you were born in the late 80s or early 90s, they might have even been your first concert Dana Sarah, were they your first concert?
Dana: I think Yes, they were mine.
Sarah: Mine too.
Elyse: Both your first concerts?
Dana: Like the week before I went and I was convinced that I was gonna have them sign my cast. We were like a huge, what's it called, amphitheaters arena like.
Elyse: But they were going to single out Dana and sign her cast. What color was it?
Dana: Green.
Elyse: Oh, interesting. I thought you were gonna say pink.
Dana: No, I didn't like pink because I thought it was like a tomboy.
Elyse: My first concert was the beach boys because I'm a 60-year-old woman at heart. But since forming the Spice Girls have sold a 100 million records worldwide, they're the best-selling female group of all time, They've received tons of music awards and they are considered be the most widely recognized group since the Beatles. So let's get the girl power going and learn more about how this magnificent group came to be.
Sarah: So in 1993, two dudes Bob and Chris Herbert who were a father and son duo wanted to make a girl band to compete with the British boy bands at the time. So they put out an ad for a female pop group in a magazine and they knew the vibe, they wanted, they wanted five very different girls who could appeal to different types of audiences and in response, 400 women descended upon dance work London to audition. So what was going on at the time of the edition?
Dana: This was on March 4th, at dance works London and we have mercury conjunction Mars in Aquarius, which is like making plans to, I don't know, penetrate the zeitgeist. Mercury is technology and like how we think and mars is the planet of like power and penetration. Also, this conjunction is square the North node, Jupiter and Pluto in Scorpio and squares are aspects of tension, Jupiter is the planet of faith, hope and beliefs and the North node is like what's trending or increasing in society at a given time and then Pluto is like the major planet of like power struggles or like perversion or transformation and in Scorpio is going to relate to a competition, sex appeal sort of like maybe like changes in sex, like, you know, girl bands instead of the Beatles. Um also like just generally being a dark horse. That's what Scorpio is also really good at. Um Plus the moon is in Sagittarius, which is, you know, arguably the sign of the pop star. We love that.
Elyse: Also hilarious that they just like put an ad out in a magazine.: Like if you were going to form a girl group now you would just like go on Tiktok I guess, I don't know, but this is very 1994, but after two auditions it was Geri, Mel B., Mel C., Victoria and Michelle Steverson were chosen for the group then called Touch, which like terrible name. But it seemed like the rest of the girls didn't really like Michelle that much and didn't really think she was committed. So she was replaced with Emma and the group's name was also changed to spice. Not much better than Touch but definitely better than Touch. And so now that we have the five girls together, let's learn about each of their big threes.
Sarah: Okay, so first we have Melanie brown, Aka Mel B aka scary spice. And she was known for her curly hair being loud saying zigzag ah and their song wannabe and wearing lot of Leopard Print.
Dana: Okay, Mel B was born on May 29, at 5:59 pm in Leeds England and she's a Gemini sun, an Aquarius moon and a Scorpio rising.
Elyse: So I really see that for her though.
Sarah: The person says that it was just because she's loud. People are like, oh, you're going to call like the one woman of color scary and all the rest are like, Yeah.
Dana: Yeah, I mean so yeah, I do think it was probably racist, but as well if we're going to spin it in any sort of cool way. Cool way. I think it would be. Is that like, she inspires some sort of emotion. Whereas the rest of them are just sort of like an adjective that's flat. So she's a Gemini sun, like me very cool. Um So she's like a real performance artist, like from what I remember, she was also like the most outgoing, outgoing and gregarious one, although I guess ginger was pretty gregarious too, or she's outgoing when she was more sultry, but she also has an Aquarius moon which will make her like friendly but also more aloof yet still relatable, like since Aquarius the sign of the collective and then her Scorpio rising makes her cool and alluring. Her guard’s like always up this could also maybe be why she's you know, scary, although there are many like very um silent Scorpio risings among us. Oh yeah, Scorpios like an especially vulnerable sign and she acts like kind of invulnerable with her Gemini sun and Aquarius moon, which are both air signs and like, so she gets away with being silly and I think protects herself through that sort of like, it's like a shallow but like fun way to interact with people, you know? Yeah, she always seemed like like the prankster kind of, I was always her when, when I played the Spice Girls with my friends. Yeah.
Sarah: Speaking of that, I was going to say, what was your guys favorite Spice girl? I was ginger. She was always my ride or die.
Elyse: I flip flop between posh and sporty.
Dana: Mel B.
Sarah: Something though about Mel B that I learned recently is that she was in like a really like fucked up relationship with Eddie Murphy.
Elyse: I know I forgot about that. She has a baby with him.
Sarah: Yeah, well was like a complete freak.
Elyse: Sarah, we were only supposed to talk about girl power this episode, Men doing shitty stuff, but maybe we'll save that for a bonus episode because I absolutely did not know that. Alright, well, up next, we've got Melanie Chisholm Aka Mel C aka Sporty spice. Mel C was always in breakaway pants. God, those were so cool. A tracksuit something sports-related. She also had a gold tooth and she was the one that was belting out the vocals, arguably she had the best voice.
Sarah: Yeah, I loved her gold tooth to like in her barbie doll, I had all those Spice Girls barbie dolls, but hers, I was like, man, that gold tooth is fucking killing it.
Dana: Nice detail. That's very nice.
Elyse: So let's find out about her.
Dana: She was born on January 12, 1974 at 9 32 PM in Witness England, or like, probably like Wine England knowing how they pronounce things over there. Um She's a Capricorn sun and then a Virgo Moon and a Virgo Rising. And so like, what do we know about Capricorn suns? They're super hardworking right? It's just very fitting that she was always
Elyse: in track pants and a sports bra. Not just because it's practical, but also because it's a uniform and Capricorn just like fucking love uniformity. Also though Virgo Moon and Virgo rising. Virgo is a sign of health. So like fitness falls under this category and she was like very athletic. And so also Capricorn and Virgo are both just like productive and exacting earth signs and I feel like she was, I mean her voice was kind of earthy, you know, it wasn't like an ethereal noise, it was like, if you listen to it, you can feel the earth. She probably seemed the most committed to singing in general. She could do a flip-flop. She was very multitalented. She always nailing the vocals.
Sarah: But I do love the Virgo for her because it's like, oh yeah, you would be wearing like workout clothes all the time.
Dana: Pre Athleisure.
Sarah: And then we have Emma Bunton, who, for me, that's who when ginger, when Geri left, um that's in the like kind of when we played with my cousins, like I was ginger but and my cousin was Emma, but then when jerry left, we had to kind of, well I just bullied everyone and I was like, no, I'm Emma, your posh and then my youngest cousin Kristin, like would just be whatever the scraps were left. So I don't even know what she was most of the time, but like I remember that shift where it was like, oh shit like Geri’s gone, we have to figure out who plays who in spice world, but anyways back to Emma Emma Bunton is baby spice. She's the youngest of the group. She was blonde, She wore her hair in pigtails pretty frequently. She wore these like cute little dresses and sometimes she sucked on a lollipop which now thinking about it is just like sexualizing a grown woman.
Dana: I’m not even gonna pretend, I don't love it. I think that self-sexualization was freaking awesome. I happen to like pigtails and also those chocolate lollipops were really good. I had like a whole thing of that I got, I call them sure at all what they were, I just used to get them at Claire's, they were everywhere in every mall in America. I had um like a whole, I think I had like the Giant one, I think I got it for Christmas that you could never possibly eat, but it was a novelty that we all had to have. Anyway, she was born on January 21st at four am in Finchley England and she has an Aquarius sun of Virgo moon and Sagittarius rising and Aquarius Suns are freak shows by choice. The sun is in detriment in Aquarius which can make people like with Aquarius Suns and we feel pressured, inherent pressure kind of like stand out and identify themselves among the masses and Virgo moons are sweet and critical and the moon is also emotions. Your body and Virgo is the sign of like the purest and nothing is more pure than a child. So maybe this is why it has helped to inspire the sort of like oh I'll stand out by being you know a baby. Um And then also she's a Sagittarius rising which is like just very fun and gullible. So like even if she was you know obviously playing a part which they all were like, she's still like the sweetness and enthusiasm is like I think very real.
Elyse: There's a lot of Aquarius and a lot of Virgo in just the first time that we've seen. So we're seeing a lot of air and earth right now.
Elyse: Um Well that brings us to our next spice girl and that is Victoria Adams you might know her now as Victoria Beckham AKA posh spice. She was known for like a blunt bob haircut wearing stilettos, very chic black dresses. Didn't have a lot of time for anyone smiled, never smiled very cool.
Dana: She was born On April 17, 1970 four at 10:07 am in Harlow England um varies queen no wonder I liked her so much because you guys look like. But yeah, she's an Aries Sun. Aquarius Moon and Aquarius rising and so the sun is exalted, which means Victoria knows exactly who she is and like who she wants to be but her Aquarius moon and rising is like what gave her that icy cold veneer and like Aquarius is like the only sign fully contained in winter. So they can be as cold as they want or just like aloof to you know which I mean. She was, she was like well and also victoria's just like known for not smiling, which it's just very winter, you know.
Elyse: Another Aquarius. This is crazy, very curious to hear about this.
Sarah: Our last spice girl is last but not least my personal favorite Geri Halliwell aka Ginger Spice, which I recently learned she's married to um.
Elyse: Yes, Christian Horrner from the Red Bull Formula one. She's in drive to survive. I screamed when I first saw her on it. Basically, I mean I love formula one now but she's definitely part of that. I love that for her.
Sarah: Okay, literally so many people like it. Like I hear they watch that show and they are now committed Formula one fans.
Elyse; So I'm obsessed with it. If you guys don't watch drive to survive already you have to.
Sarah: Back to Geri. So Geri had red hair. She was famous for wearing this Union Jack dress. Even if you don't know what that is like you know what dress it is. She was always really bringing the girl power and she's also known for leaving the group suddenly. So that's Geri. Dana tell us about Geri.
Dana: She was born on August 6th, 1972 at 2:30 p.m. in Watford England and she is a leo. Sun cancer moon and a Scorpio rising interesting
Sarah: Probably why I love that bitch. Cancer Moons unite United.
Elyse: But she has a very this is very different than the others.
Dana: It is. So I could see why she might have felt more alienated from the group. So the Sun’s at home in Leo and can be especially susceptible to vulnerabilities of fame because any placement in Leo like already feels like it's on display or always feels like it's being watched, which is related to why it's like the performer of the zodiac or like what makes it that way? You know like the origin story, but like this can also probably like get exhausting, especially if you rise to fame like they did. Um and her moon is also at home in cancer, but this is like could have a similar vibe to her leo Sun except instead of being watched, like maybe she just feels like really like emotionally exposed. Um both placements are like great for like an artist because you know, it's just like dramatic and vulnerable but um then she's like a Scorpio rising on top of all of this, which she will just make her like I mean Scorpio is a sign of trauma. So this is just going to make her sort of like defensive and sort of like she could roll with the punches, but I think that this would be this Big Three does the best planning themselves like solo maybe even though she was such a an integral part of the group,
Sarah: Spoiler. her solo career she like crushed it, she had like a million number one singles even after she left. But anyway so spice’s together they're co-writing their music which I feel like is a big deal to note like they were a girl group, a lot of people think, you know they had some like max martin bullshit behind them. Um but they were writing songs together, they just didn't play instruments. Um but they're doing a lot of musical showcases for record labels but they're honestly not really like feeling that great about it because they've just been like nonstop like practicing and performing all the time but they didn't have a contract and they also weren't really liking the direction their management team was taking them in.
Elyse: So they left their management team which is a Baller move. Like I feel like a lot of bands of that era were very much like taking advantage of their managers and like couldn't get out of it. So kudos to them. But to make sure they kept control of their work, they allegedly stole their master recordings which is a bad pass and then they signed with a new manager, Simon Fuller and by this time people in the music industry had been hearing about these quote unquote crazy girls.
Sarah: So eventually they get asked to sign with Virgin Records and around this time they realized that a rapper had the name spice so they were like fuck and people in the industry and all their showcases had started referring to them as the Spice Girls. So they just changed their name to that instead because copyright infringement and on the day they're supposed to sign their contract, they sent five blow-up dolls in their place to virgin records. So they had their like driver be like the Spice Girls are here and then they just like rolled in these like these blow-up dolls. Um And then eventually the record people were like what the fuck is wrong with these women And then eventually they're like we're like ha ha JK it's us now sign our contract. Yeah. Um So they signed with Virgin Records. So what was going on this day?
Dana: Well I love that so much. Okay so this was July 13th, 1995. Um and Saturn was in Pisces opposite mars in Virgo like exact and Saturn and mars are the malefics of the zodiac. Um And oppositions are aspects of like awareness and relationship. Virgo and Pisces is the access about healing and humility. So I feel like this is big for girl power energy. Like they're disrupting an industry as corny as that sounds right. But also it sort of like purifying the culture in a way that's like clownish which is because like so like jupiter is ruling Saturn right? So Saturn is the planet of like discipline. But Jupiter in Sagittarius which is the clown of the zodiac is like squaring it. So it's like challenging, sort of like, like oh you're so serious, like you can heal with jokes too. Um And so they're just like being fun girls girl power girls girls being fun girls being fun.
Elyse: I'm surprised there isn't. All right, Somebody make the Spice Girls documentary please. I'm sure there's like documentaries that have covered the Spice Girls were probably in like a larger cultural context. Not like just about them, but who knows. Um So from this point on the group was writing recording and touring nonstop, they were just trying to get their name out there because they were like up against a music industry dominated by old rock, hip hop, and R&B. So they released their first single Wannabe, Oh my God, I want to be honestly when you get like the moment you say wannabe, you just here, I'm like dancing and dancing,
Dana: If you wanna be my lover, you have to get with my friends.
Elyse: Sarah, keep talking. So dana doesn't have to sing.
Sarah: That was like funny in the last episode, when you were like if you couldn't tell by dana's perfect tone and pitch. So no joke wannabe changed the course of pop music and truly catapulted the spice girls into the stratosphere of pop culture. The song went straight to the top of the British singles chart and stayed there for almost the whole summer. So like A straight-up banger and then it went to hit number one in 37 countries and the video made them an international sensation. So what was happening the time that wannabe hit the airwaves?
Dana: So it was released on July 8th, 1996 and this is my favorite chart we've seen so far. So we have Venus conjunct Mars in Gemini opposite Pluto in Sagittarius. venus is the planet of love and harmony being lovers. Um And mars is the planet of like sex and penetration and like you know getting with people and in Gemini it can relate to like your friends also it's too so it could be like you know poly or whatever. I mean if we want to like be artistic with it, it could be like if you wanna be my lover you have to get with all of my personalities as Gemini also sometimes and also venus stationed direct in Gemini five days earlier and like what do we know about stationary planets? They're super strong because they appear to be like stationary or still and also closer to earth in the sky. So like it's like vibrational e it's like louder so we have all this like loud venus energy and Gemini is a clown right? So it's like clowning around and like you know wanting to get with all of its friends a bunch of women clowning around trolling men because like, can you imagine telling a guy, like if you want to get with me, you have to get with all my friends were like, what the fuck? Why are you doing this to me? Like we're a package deal sir, so, deal with it.
Sarah: So this is like a very interesting fact or at least something I didn't know. So like most things, the Spice Girls became iconic for their looking image, were all unintentional. So most girl groups at the time had always dressed alike, and the Spice Girls actually tried to coordinate their outfits for the wannabe video, but it just like was not working. So they were kind of like fuck it like we'll just dress like however we want for it.
Elyse: I love that. So this was around the time that the Spice Girls got their nicknames and this really wasn't planned on, they say. So um Mel b had said they got their famous nicknames from a lazy journalist that couldn't be bothered to remember their names, so he just gave them nicknames. And so the magazine they were talking to Top of the Pops explained the reasoning behind the nicknames, and this is like so sexist and stupid, but here we go. So according to Top of the Pops Victoria was posh spice because she was wearing a Gucci style minidress and seemed pouty and reserved. Emma wore pigtails and sucking on a lollipop. So obviously she was baby spice Mel C spent the whole time leaping around in her tracksuit. So we called her sporty spice, I named Mel B scary spice because she was so shouty shouty and Geri was ginger spice simply because of her hair. Not much thought went into that one. You remember all those details, You can remember their names. Yeah, talk about he is a lazy ass journalist, honestly was bouncing around, it's like, okay, shouty.
Sarah: They remembered everything they were doing and what they were wearing, but could not remember their names.
Elyse: They're very easy names, which, you know, two out of five would have been Mel. two of them have the same name, it's not that hard, pretty common name.
Sarah: But anyways, the Spice Girls were working their assess off, they released two more singles, like one right after another, say you'll be there and two become one honestly, two become one. Such a creepy song, but amazing.
Dana: Singing it in my head right now.
Sarah: And they did the two become one in the music video, like was like the peace signed the one finger and these songs along with Wannabe, got a ton of airplay And they eventually became three of the top five biggest selling singles in the UK in 1996. So they were like crushing the charts and they released their album Spice and it is, becomes insanely popular and at this point, people are like, oh my God, these girls are insane. Um and people started comparing them to the Beatles. So it's like Mania for the Spice Girls.
Elyse: we'll look into doing the Beatles and the Spice Girls first album Breakout charts. But back to Spice Girls, 1997 is a huge year for the Spice Girls. Well for their success and their nonstop work schedule. Their debut album, Spice is released in the US and becomes a best-selling album. They released a book and it sells out right away. They film and promote their movie, Spiceworld, which oh I've watched that. So probably that in titanic are the movies I've watched the most in my life.
Sarah: Spice World is so good. Amazing. It's so campy.
Elyse: It’s actually even better I think as I was older, better because there's more jokes we didn't get, which you know, that's what a good movie is.
Sarah: But then they released their second album, also called Spice World at the end of 1997, which they had to write and record while filming the movie and during this time they fired their manager. So this was like a very very hectic year. And I think that's something that I didn't realize Because I think we were like eight or nine at the time when they became popular, but they basically did everything that they're famous for within the course of like one year and a half.
Elyse: That's so nuts. I mean yeah, we were little but also I feel like they just took up so much space in the pop culture ether. That like, I just assumed looking back they would have been around for a lot more time.
Sarah: Yeah, the timeline is actually like insane. Um so over the course of one year, you know, they had released two albums that were insanely successful and the movie, Spice World, Not to mention, they also did things like travel to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela and he said it was like one of the best moments of his life.
Dana: I wonder what his favorite song was.
Sarah: He said that quote, that meeting them was like an amazing moment for him.
Dana: Imagine him singing wannabe in his cell.
Sarah: And then, um they also met Prince Harry and probably gave him his first boner. Like it's a famous picture of like Geri , I think she kisses him on the cheek or something. Yeah, the reddest ginger of the land. Um, and then, so, you know, with a band that's like this crazy what's next? And obviously it's a world tour.
Elyse: So up until this point, the Spice Girls had only done one Off performances or awards show, so which is wild, but like, like Sarah said, it's all their success was like condensed in this really tight timeline that it wasn't like, they, they honestly didn't even have time to schedule a tour, but naturally they had their first concert in Istanbul, which why? Because Pepsi was sponsoring the tour and they said they had to launch their tour in a country where Pepsi out-sold coke. And so apparently that's Turkey. Um the concert was an 8000-capacity basketball arena, featured pyrotechnics, lots of choreography, a miniature roller coaster. So it was honestly pretty great. And so what was going on with their first concert?
Sarah: Remember how cool Pepsi seemed like growing up? Like, I feel like because like Britney Spears did. Pepsi Spice Girls had Pepsi and I remember being little and being like there's no difference between Pepsi and coke, but like as I got older, I was like there's 100%, there's a clear difference between Pepsi and coke.
Dana: But they have really good marketing until Kendall Jenner.
Elyse: They had great marketing, she ruined it.
Sarah: She cursed him and with one hand off of a can ruined an entire brand Back to the first concert.
Dana: The first Concert was on October 12, 1997 in Istanbul, Turkey and the sun was conjunct Mercury in libra. On this day opposite Saturn in Aries. And so this is like right like a day before Mercury Cazimi in libra and so Mercury cazimi is like purify the mind like individually and then also sort of collectively and libra is all about like harmony and groups and its opposite Saturn in Aries and Saturn is not Saturn it does not like to be in Aries. So like Saturn, the planet of um lack and like discipline and in areas that can be like a little narrow-minded, like Aries is the individual and Saturn in areas that can really get sort of like tunnel vision um and like struggled to see outside of itself, but oppositions are aspects of like awareness and relationship and the Sun and Mercury are putting the spotlight on how much Saturn can accomplish when like the United a group in Girl power and then also Pluto, Venus, and Mars are in Sagittarius. And Pluto, again, the planet of power shifts, Venus is aesthetics and mars is like what's yours? And like it's just like taking all of it in Sagittarius and making it fun. And then also this like sextiles the Cazimi, so it's sort of all like really working together in a way that's harmonious and like you know, I just love this girl power in this libra.
Elyse: While the Guardian called the concert the sort of pop show, they don't do anymore. And because British media is merciless, the sun called it competent and capable with plenty of room for improvement, which is insane, like why don't you try doing a choreographed pyrotechnic show, Sun reporter. But anyway, regardless of what the press said, people were just obsessed with the Spice Girls, they literally could have done nothing and people would have been so obsessed them because their music was just banger after Banger, Oh my God, yes,
Sarah: So then after that 1998 rolls around and they start the Spice World tour, which is a tour that will go from Europe to North America back to the UK. So fans are just freaking out over this news. But at this point the media started to hate on them because it was just kind of like a lot of over-exposure, you know, keep in mind they were everywhere. They had two Top 10 albums and one thing I didn't realize, but we already kind of inadvertently had been talking about is that the Spice Girls like, love to like license the fun out of things and put their name on like everything.
Elyse: Yeah, I feel like they were one of the first musical artists that were truly like also a marketing phenomenon. Um, and they became the most merchandise groups in music. They had tons of sponsorships and within the first two years of their career, they put their names and more than 100 products ranging from chips, lollipops, and chocolate dolls. It's estimated they made between 500-800 million on licensing alone by May of 1998.
Sarah: I love love that so many things. I had like a Spice Girls ring that said spice on it. It was purple and glittery like why did I need that? I didn't not care. I had all their dolls, but it's like anything that had Spice Girls on it. Like I feel like you wanted to buy. So everyone is tired from being overworked. Everyone being the Spice Girls. But the tour goes on and then one day the girls get to the show and see a note that says Geri is sick but the tour is just going to like go on as scheduled. So they're like weird. Um But anyway, whatever, we'll keep working so they keep making appearances and performing without her. They're kind of like, where's Geri? Then nine days before the U. S. Leg of their tour is about to start, Geri announces that she's leaving the Spice Girls, which that would have been the concert. We were at Dana.
Elyse: So you didn't see her?
Sarah: No, only four of them were there. A core memory of mine. Besides like the opening of Wannabe is the Spice Girls had this song called Naked. Where in which they would sit, they would take a chair, turn it forwards and then they would like look like they were naked and then you would just see like their arms and legs coming off the chair. Um which also was weird when you think like the majority of their fans were like Children. So I was like, what? What was going on? But anyways there was there was just four of them and I remember thinking Geri should be up there in this moment. Like there should be five.
Dana: I remember like pretending that I wasn't disappointed, like coaching myself. Like you're not disappointed. You're disappointed.
Sarah: I was always hoping she would appear like I'd be like, I think Geri’s gonna come and my mom's like, okay.
Dana: So this was on May 30 1st, 1998 and six days earlier, there was a new moon in Gemini conjunct Mars which was square the north node. The nodes in Virgo and Pisces with the north undergo this is like the new moon is close to the degree of the venus and mars conjunction that occurred when wannabe came out. So it's sort of like signaling a shift in that group dynamic. Um and also like, you know, it's separating a group, right? It's the mars in the Gemini, it's sort of like you got it with my friends and now my friends are all, you know, coming apart also would score the normal access, which is like super tense, squares are tense right? So whenever um whenever you hear like a planet is like square the nodal axis or like at the bending of the nodes, this is going to be like tense and like maybe a day where you like kind of want to, you know, sit in the fetal position, it's just like painful and like maybe representative of awkward or like awkward fated events I guess ones that have to happen, but like aren't, you know exciting usually sometimes they're probably exciting though. bet a lot of people could prove me wrong. Not today.
Sarah: Not today. Today a somber moment.
Elyse: News of Geri leaving was one of the biggest entertainment stories around the world that year. And at first, Geri said her reason for leaving was that she wasn't getting along with other members of the group and they're definitely had been reports of the Spice girls having heated arguments. But this was very specifically between Mel B aka Scary Spice and Geri aka ginger spice. So what's there by wheel?
Sarah: Like just remember um a biwheel for those of you that are unaware um Is when we take two charts, we overlap them and from that we can see the relationship dynamics.
Dana: Okay, so they're both Scorpio rising and they both have venus in cancer and that is what I am focusing on for a feud because like you people don't always get along with like the same sign in placement. You know, like you might not, not every sign has affinity maybe with that sign. And this is especially true for like maybe you know Scorpio and Cancer. They’re water signs their emotional but they're also both like defensive by nature. Think about what a scorpion isn't like what a Crab is. They're both like shell creatures like one hides in its shell or like tears off its arm and like runs away Sideways and then the other one like squirts poison if anyone gets too close and so also getting too close can look like just being a lot like you, right. Especially, you know like recognizing sort of um, the likeness. So yeah, I believe it was real.
Elyse: But years later, Geri would say that she was depressed and had become very disillusioned and exhausted from their very hectic schedules. She said that she just didn't feel like she belonged there anymore and that they didn't need her. So she kind of gave in and threw in the towel and remember this was before like mental health was really like widely spoken about. Um, and especially in the UK, if you've listened to our royal family episode, they just don't, they don't like to talk about mental health. And so it just was something she probably didn't feel like she could just like talk to the group about.
Sarah: She was just like, you know what I'm out. And the last straw for her was when she received an offer to give an interview about breast cancer because as a teen, she had her like a breast cancer scare. But the band said that they didn't want her to do it because it was like Geri giving an interview alone as opposed to like the whole group doing an interview.
Dana: That's all that Aquarius influence No, together we do it together. And then she's a leo so she's like, no, can I just give it?
Elyse: She's the only one that doesn't, she probably did feel like a little ostracized from the group just based on even like their charts, they had much more of a collective. This was a really rough time for Geri. So what was happening with her perfections?
Dana: Okay, so she was in the second house here and she has Sagittarius in the second house and Jupiter was her Time Lord. And so the second house relates to things like salary possessions as well as like general stability and even food. So like if you're on tour, like maybe your diet is not, you know, being maintained, which would be something that could, you know, contribute to or like just pile on, sort of like being overworked and also second house years can be like, since it relates to salary, they can be at times when like people just see career changes, like maybe they get a raise or maybe they get fired or maybe they leave their job sort of thing like that. Um And also I guess it could just be like her feeling, you know, like no longer feeling like herself in the group, right on the day that she left Saturn was in areas at 29 degrees trining her natal Jupiter in Sagittarius. And so Saturn is the planet of like slowing down. And Jupiter is the planet that's like sort of like the life you bring to the party, right? It's, it's also like Sagittarius is very loud with Saturn in Aries, even though it's in areas and a fire sign, it's sort of like Saturn trying to um aspects that enable, so it's sort of like enabling her to maybe finally slowed down after however long she like maybe wanted to or needed to. Yeah, and again Jupiter’s her time lord. It was like a significant aspect.
Sarah: Fans were obviously shocked at her leaving. Um and like I was saying like, I feel like a lot of like your favorite Spice Girl had to kind of shift. Like all the Geri fans had to pick another girl to cosplay basically. Um But the four remaining Spice Girls carried on and finished their world tour. Then they released an album Forever, which didn't do so well. Um but in December 2000, the girls announced they were going on an indefinite hiatus, which is crazy.
Elyse: Like probably not that many people saw all Spice Girls performed together.
Sarah: No, that's what I realized.
Elyse: Though fans were not getting Spice Girls music, they were getting a ton of solo projects from them. Mel B released a few albums. Emma released three albums, Mel C. released eight albums. Geri went on to have a super successful solo career. She released three albums and held the record for most number-one songs by a British Female Solo Artists for 14 years and Jerry.
Elyse: Yeah, so she was like the Harry Styles of like One Direction. She they all tried to have the solo thing. But yes. Um and even Victoria released a solo album even though she like barely ever sang, but she was like, well if everyone else is doing it.
Sarah: That's why when Geri left like Victoria wasn't like excited, but she was slightly happy because it meant she got to sing on wannabe like. To me, Victoria was very much like Kevin Richardson from the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls, like someone who's just there to harmonize. You know, you’re not gonna get a lot of like one-off mic moments.
Elyse: I also weirdly like Kevin, you guys, maybe I'm just, I did weirdly like Kevin, I'm not gonna lie. He wasn't my favorite, but I liked him.
Sarah: So back to the Spice Girls. As we know, Girl Power does not die. So in 2007, the world went feral when the Spice Girls announced they were coming back for a world motherfucking tour. And they even had a musical. But it sucks, which I find that hard to believe. So I went to um so it didn't last very long.
Elyse: So if anyone has like dreams like go write the Spice Girls musical because maybe this time around it will do well.
Sarah: Um And then after that tour, they came back again in 20 19 for another reunion and each of them got honestly, they made so much money except for Victoria who had fashion obligations and she did not perform So at this tour, Geri even apologized to everyone for leaving, which is awesome. And the reunions, even won them billboard, live music awards.
Dana: God chills so excited about this.
Sarah: So what was happening when they announced these tours?
Dana: So in the 2007 chart there's a mercury Cazimi in cancer and mercury is retrograde and cancer is like the sign of the woman, right? And sort of like going back and like shining a light on girl power and the moon. It's ruled by the Moon conjunct Jupiter in Sagittarius just sort of like, again, there's like pop star sort of like enthusiastic, you know, women can do it vibes as well as the nodal opposition in Virgo and Pisces. So we have, you know, the 9-year eclipse cycle as well as just like the happen happenstance Mercury cazimi in cancer. And then on May 24th, 20 19 There's a mercury cazimi in Gemini, which is conjunct the new moon when Geri left. Wow, it's so crazy how this works, right? And so it's sort of like and mercury’s direct which rules the sun in Gemini. So it's sort of like it's the glue. It's like, you know, they're back together and then we have the moon in Aquarius, which is obviously an important sign for all of them. And also Jupiter, it's Jupiter return, Jupiter is there in Sagittarius. So anyone wondering how to like track your long-term life, 12 years, your Jupiter Jupiter Cycle the Zodiac every 12 years, and the nodes are opposed to each other every nine. So think about that.
Elyse: Besides leaving us with tons of straight-up bangers, they taught an entire generation of girls born in the mid to late eighties, aka us who were relatively young about girl power and how to stick up for yourself. And this was during a time when a lot of girl groups were supposed to just like shut up look pretty, wear the same outfit, you're not unique, yada yada. A lot of pop culture critics credit the Spice Girls for bringing feminism back to the mainstream. You know, other people say it was like a bullshit marketing tactic, which like maybe whatever it worked.
Sarah: I know regardless girl power took over the world and young girls like us learned about feeling empowered being yourself and the importance of friends. So what was going on when this girl power wave was happening, Dana?
Dana: What I would like to attribute this to is like the um Pluto entered Sagittarius, like right in the middle of the 90s. So I feel like that's if we're gonna do a blanket, like a generational shift that's like sort of taking Pluto from like the dark depths of Scorpio where it's like, you know like why our generation is like the first generation that's like what we all have trauma. Um and sort of like putting it into like, you know like we can have fun too and then um Neptune entered Aquarius in 1998 and Uranus was in Aquarius the whole time that they were popular. So we have Neptune and Uranus together in Aquarius and Aquarius is significant for all of them, but also it's significant for like changing, you know, the zeitgeist like Uranus is like what disrupts or like divert sort of the attention or like, I mean an individual or sort of like, you know the collective and then Neptune like just sort of obliterates or like dissolves uh boundaries and like Aquarius is like very boundary but when Neptune is in Aquarius, it's sort of like made, I mean like a lot of technological, you know, advancements happen, but also like a maid boundaries that maybe we're up for, you know, groups of people like women I guess like um you know easier to get over. Um and then I also kind of wonder if this is like more of a theory but Saturn in Aries. I feel like um a lot of times when planets are in fall um it could be like follow detriment. They are thought to be like not working as well, but I wonder sometimes if that could work better if they can work in favor of like the non-dominant group in society, right? And sort of like let them take over and then also Aries is like a dominant sign, right? And Saturn is one of the malefics so it slows areas down, but they also sort of like, I don't know, I just I'm making any sense.
Sarah: It's like almost like sit down sir like and make room for like other people, other people being the Spice Girls.
Elyse: Yeah and they just like you could find something to relate to in all of them and I think that was super important because if you look at the other pop stars of the time, it was like just blonde skinny girls and like of course you had that in baby Spice but like they're just was such a broader range of women and I think they were really the first ones to allow yourself to like wow, like they like I can just be myself and be around my friends who are different than me but we can all just like proudly share our interests and accomplishments instead of like hiding behind you know, this like sugar, sugary pop facade, so we gotta give them props. But this is not the end of the Spice Girls. Mel B wants to get back together with Victoria in 2023, so we will be anxiously awaiting until then. But next episode is our season finale, we're not going to tell you what it is, we're gonna keep it a secret because we also have another secret announcement, we're going to be um letting you guys in on next week, so very excited for that. Um, but until our season finale, I'm Elyse.
Dana: I'm Dana.
Sarah: And I'm Sarah.
Elyse: And this is allegedly astrology.
Dana: Girl Power.