If you don’t know who Billie Eilish is, I’ll assume you’ve been hiding under a rock.
Since her discovery in 2015 Billie Eilish has has conquered music-industry mountains, becoming the first artist born in the 2000s to have a No. 1 album in the United States, and the youngest female ever to have a No. 1 album in the United Kingdom.
Vanity Fair conducted a unique experiment interviewing Billie Eilish on the same date over the space of two years, initially on October 18th 2017 at a point where Billie’s career was sky-rocketing. They have since recorded a third interview.
During this time Saturn moved over her disciple-worthy Sagittarius stellium, sextiling her ultra–unique Aquarius stellium.
At the same time paparazzi-planet Neptune has been whipping up a frenzy of fascination, creating viral appeal during a period of career-defining transits.
Billie’s Heavenly Stellium
Billie Eilish has Sun at 26° Sagittarius, Moon at 12° Aquarius, and a 17° Pisces Ascendant.
The name Eilish is of Irish origin meaning pledged to God. Interesting when you look at her natal chart: Sun, Venus, Pluto in saintly Sagittarius, and Mercury (out-of-sign in Capricorn), scraping the heavens of her natal chart .
Vanity Fair
There are so many things to say about the video below! Most people pick up on how depressed she sounds in the 2018 interview compared to 2017.
At around 15 years old we undergo our Saturn opposition. For Billie this definitive transit occurred at the most visible point of her chart, dominating her career point and bringing with it heavy responsibility and a sense of duty.
Saturn was also approaching her Sun (which is on Galactic Centre) at the time of the first interview. During the second interview, Saturn (in the sign he rules) sits on her natal Mercury placement in Capricorn colouring Billie’s communication style with a sullen and down-beat spin.
Is it any wonder she sounds as though she’s got the weight of the world on her shoulders?
When moving across the MC, Saturn leaves a lasting impression on the image, perception, and judgement that an individual faces publicly. One might say character defining. On the MC reputation is formed.
Eilish’s Apprenticeship
We undergo a serious apprenticeship with Saturn and graduate with the tools and knowledge required to achieve our goals.
But don’t be fooled: Saturn brings hard, heavy, responsible work. It can present as depression and a bleak outlook. To someone with a Sagittarius Sun and Aquarius Moon, Saturn dampens the spirit and can feel claustrophobic as it restricts freedom of movement and expression.
Billie may have travelled the world with her art, but when and where she goes is totally dictated to her – she is unable to just up and leave whenever she wants, which is the type of freedom a Sagittarius–Aquarius truly craves.
Saturn also opposes Billie’s natal Jupiter in family-oriented Cancer. Jupiter is the dispositor (the planet that oversees) all her Sagittarius planets and her Pisces ascendant by traditional assignment, making Jupiter an extremely important planet in her natal chart.
Billie talks about not wanting to categorise her self-expression type-casting her to one genre – the Piscean and Aquarian aspects of her personality detest predictability and definition.
Kicking back against the limitation of Saturn as he moulds her into a product of the pop-industry is symbolic of the struggle most teenagers experience as they rebel against the rules of their parents.
Her natal Saturn placement is in the third house in Gemini, both the sign and house of communication. This indicates a maturity and melancholy in her self-expression, as well as potential difficulties she may face when communicating. She might feel isolated and misunderstood, she could also feel as though the things she say’s aren’t taken seriously. During her interview on Hot Ones Billie mentions her ideas are often vetoed by older brother Finneas who insists his creative perspective is more valid.
In addition, Billie has been diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome which is well known for its unpredictable ticks and outbursts. She’s also revealed she has synesthesia which is a perceptual and cognitive processing phenomenon.
No Escape
When talking about public recognition and her loss of anonymity in 2018 Eilish states
“I’m kinda jealous of Billie from a year ago”
Billie Eilish
By transit, Saturn sits on Eiliesh’s MC, squaring her Pisces ascendant at the same time boundless and intrusive Neptune moves over her ascendant from the diffuse 12th house. During the interview Eilish clearly expresses her personal boundaries and privacy are becoming harder to maintain and recounts her experience when attempting to sneak through a crowd, escalating into a full-scale stampede pretty quickly. Reflecting upon the danger she put herself and many of her fans in, you can see she understands the sacrifices she has to make, and the position of responsibility her elevated status comes with.
Continuing to make statements which describe the need to implement boundaries during invasive Neptune’s transit across her window to the outside world:
“If anyone has a picture of you they’ll use it against you… don’t share everything you think on social media and don’t share how you feel. Just don’t do it.”
Billie Eilish
This statement is saddening. It’s obvious trust and betrayal have already been a huge issue during Eilish’s short time on this planet.
Vanity Fair Parts 2 & 3
In the second comparison interview you can see how much Billie has matured. There’s a loss of innocence as Saturn moves further over her stellium, crystallising her status as a mega-star.
As her Instagram following quantum-leaps from 257K in 2017, to 6.3M in 2018, to 40.7 MILLION FOLLOWERS in 2019, her image as a unique and undefinable new sound in music is, um… defined!
Billie Eilish will continue to be a fascinating one to watch for many years as Saturn approaches her Aquarius stellium comprised of dreamy Neptune (the ruler of her ascendant), her quirky Moon (and dispositor of her important Jupiter placement), and unpredictable Uranus —ruler of all her Aquarius planets— who isn’t keen on being bossed about by know-it-all Saturn.
Billie Eilish’s World Domination
Saturn’s transit to her stelliums from 2015 to 2020
Quotes and dates from Wikipedia & Vanity Fair (VF)
2015: Serious Connections
October: Saturn semi-sextile Mercury
Eilish recorded the song “Ocean Eyes“, written and produced by Finneas (her brother) originally for his band, after her dance teacher asked them to record a song for a dance routine. They released the song on SoundCloud, as they had already done with a couple of songs they wrote.[10][18][17] The record and Eilish received praise and promotion from various media outlets and marketers, including radio stations and music supervisors such as Beats 1, KCRW, BBC One, Zane Lowe, Jason Kramer, Annie Mac, and Chris Douridas.
👉The name Soundcloud is so Uranian–Aquarian/Jupitarian–Sagittarian
December: Saturn opposite natal Saturn (3H)
Saturn in Sagittarius in her 9th house opposed her natal 3rd house Saturn generating interest from serious contacts with global appeal.
2016: Transformation of Worth
March: Saturn conjunct Pluto (Part 1)
Billie’s single “Ocean Eyes” (err, hello Pisces Ascendant!) was released exactly when Saturn moved over her natal Pluto placement triggering an intense transformation. This is also indicative of the level of hard work and intense focus that was required in order to transmute her inspirational gift into a marketable product.
August: Saturn retrograde opposite natal Saturn
Eilish signed to the record label and artist management company, The Darkroom.
👉The name Darkroom sounds so Saturnian!
November: Saturn conjunct Pluto (Part 2) & Saturn applying to Venus by conjunction
A video of Eilish performing a dance to “Ocean Eyes” was released and the song was re-released worldwide through Darkroom and Interscope.
2017: 257K Followers | Getting Real
January: Saturn to MC (Part 1)
Eilish released an EP with four remixes of “Ocean Eyes”
March: Saturn conjunct Sun (Part 1)
Eilish released the track “Bored” as part of the soundtrack to the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.[34] Apple Music also showcased Eilish at the South by Southwest music festival.[25][21]
May: Saturn retrograde conjunct Sun (Part 2)
During the VF interview, Billie states she was
“…in a horrible place mentally”
This statement epitomises the bleak and oppressive impact Saturn can have on an individual when transiting their Sun. The volume of work released over the next couple of months shows just how much pressure she was under, likely working to very strict and exhausting deadlines.
June: Saturn retrograde conjunct MC (Part 2)
Eilish released the single “Watch“[35]
July: Saturn slows down to station on MC
Follow-up single, “Copycat” released, along with the announcement of her debut extended play, Don’t Smile at Me.[36] Each Friday in July, another single to the EP was added. These singles included “Idontwannabeyouanymore” and “My Boy“, both of which were certified gold by the RIAA.
👉A period of hard work concentrating on her career and public demand
August: Saturn turns direct on MC (Part 3)
Don’t Smile at Me was released in The EP transformed Eilish “from pastel pop star to dark pop artist.”[9]
👉Another Saturnian sounding reference, and a public-image upgrade, extending her appeal to mature audiences as Saturn forces us to ‘grow up’.
December: Saturn conjunct Sun (Part 3)
Collaboration with American rapper Vince Staples titled “&Burn” released.
2018: 6.3M Followers | Definitive Milestones
January: Saturn conjunct Mercury (Part 1)
Saturn moved from 1° to 4° in plan-ahead Capricorn, pressurising Billie’s natal Mercury placement (the only planet she has in the sign of heavy obligation). During the VF interview she describes being shown the schedule for the whole year during a January meeting:
“I sat there, totally silent and tears just streamed down my face. It was very overwhelming and I was in a really bad place.”
Billie Eilish
February: Saturn conjunct Mercury (Part 1)
Eilish embarked on the Where’s My Mind Tour
👉Mercury is the planet which rules the brain, thoughts, the mind.
June: Saturn retrogrades back to Mercury (Part 2)
In the VF interview Eilish sadly states a friend of hers passed away. Saturn often teaches us of mortality through his transits.
October: Saturn conjunct Mercury (Part 3)
Eilish was featured in Vanity Fair‘s “73 Questions” rapid-fire questionnaire video series by Joe Sabia who revisited a previous interview from October 2017. The resulting video was a side-by-side time capsule of both interviews showing her growth in popularity over one year.[52] She also signed a talent contract with Next Management for fashion and beauty endorsements.
December: Saturn opposite Jupiter (Part 1), Sun conjunct Venus
Defined as “StreamBait” Genre in The Baffler.
2019: 40.7M followers | Crowning Moments
January: Saturn opposite Jupiter (Part 1), semi-sextile Moon
Eilish’s EP Don’t Smile at Me reached 1 billion streams on Spotify, making her the youngest artist to top 1 billion streams on a project.[9] That month, Eilish released “Bury a Friend” as the third single from her upcoming debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?,[58][59]
March: Saturn sextile ascendant (Part 1)
“Wish You Were Gay“, her fourth single from the album, was released and debuted and peaked at No. 31 in the US and was certified platinum by the RIAA.[64]
Spotify launched a “multi-level campaign behind the album”, creating a multi-media playlist and “new product features”. Spotify set up a “pop-up enhanced album experience”, which included different artwork and a “multi-sensory” experience of each track for fans.[25][9] The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as well as on the UK Albums Chart, making Eilish the first artist born in the 2000s to have a No. 1 album in the United States, and the youngest female ever to have a No. 1 album in the United Kingdom.[66][67]
August: Saturn retrograde opposite Jupiter (Part 2), sextile Ascendant (Part 2)
Bad Guy peaked at No. 1 in the US.
November: Saturn in direct motion opposite Jupiter (Part 3), sextile Ascendant (Part 3)
Tour concludes in Mexico City.
👉You can feel the Jupitarian sigh of relief as Saturn blesses her ascendant, and entire outlook with his gift of a well earned rest after a period of extremely hard work.
Eilish was nominated for six Grammy Awards including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Bad Guy” as well as Album of the Year and Best New Artist. At age 17, she became the youngest artist to be nominated in all four General Field categories.[81] In the same month, Eilish was crowned 2019’s Billboard Woman of the Year.[82]
2020 & Beyond
In 2020, Billie Eilish became the youngest person to feature on Forbes‘ annual ranking of the 100 highest-paid celebrities in the world, with earnings of $53 million.[93]
👉A true Saturnian crowning moment: the reward for hard work under the rule of Saturn (god of the material realm) is often reflected in material wealth.
Like so many others on planet earth, coronavirus disrupted Eilish’s schedule. However as the live-music industry recovers from Covid-19, Eilish has already made tsunami-esque waves and will continue to do so in her promising career.
Confident through her years of experience and mastery of the music industry, and still only the tender age of 17, Elilish states
“Success is not how well people know you, it’s how you’re looked at”.
Billie Eilish
In December 2020 Saturn enters Aquarius and over the coming years, will make contact with her Aquarius and Sagittarius stelliums by conjunction and sextile, respectively.
Will Billie Eilish reinvent herself and the music industry during this new technological-paradigm of streaming and live-music?
👉 The way things are going, we won’t have to wait long to find out!
Image: Billie Eilish at 2019 Pukkelpop Music Festival which take place in Kiewit, Hasselt, Belgium.
© Lars Crommelinck Photography BillieEilish #Pukkelpop2019
Artwork: Stefanie James