Using various Billboard rankings, I’ve cobbled together a short list of recognizable songs that I believe correspond quite nicely to planetary archetypes, both in obvious and subtle ways. Music has been a profound source of human storytelling since time immemorial. The planets are like characters, each coming forth with a different set of motives and messages. Songs therefore become narrative. We can not only find our stories reflected back to us in the most pervasive of pop hits but can also learn of and relate to the stories of others. What does it sound like when Mars is singing versus when Neptune is? What do these songs say about our collective experience with these archetypes? I invite you to tune into the messages of the planets by listening to some or all the songs below. You probably already know them. Of course, this is in no way exhaustive. If you are a music fan, I’d encourage closer listens of all your favorite songs, or even a playlist of your own! Who knows, maybe a planetary archetype is lurking.
Sun
Staylin Alive by the Bee Gees. The Sun is the source of all life. This song is a celebration of ego and existence but not because of vanity, rather, because of challenge and circumstance. The proverbial Hero’s Journey, and how, despite obstacle, we all fight to stay alive. The lyrics were specifically written about life in New York City, the city that never sleeps. A city where people go to find themselves, make it big, or strike out on their own. A city bathed in the energy of individualism. This is solar energy.
Lyrics of note: “Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother, you're stayin' alive.”
Royals by Lorde. While this song takes a more sobered stance against inflated personalities and flashiness, satirizing it even, Lorde does a great job of cementing her identity as other or anti which is still a strong solar statement—to not be some way. In demonstrating her humbler roots, Lorde wishes to establish a different kind of rulership but to still rule and take center stage regardless. Think Aquarius versus Leo.
Lyrics of note: “That kind of luxe just ain't for us, we crave a different kind of buzz. Let me be your ruler, you can call me queen bee.”
Moon
No Woman No Cry by Bob Marley and The Wailers. In this song, Marley tries to soothe the heart of a woman by helping her remember the good times in life. Nostalgia, the past, memories of a comforting nature—these are all lunar attributes. But so is the fundamental act of supporting or being with someone emotionally. Marley mentions an old yard and a bowl of porridge, rhetoric that conjures comfort. In 2012, the Wailers bassist stated that this song is about the strength of women.
Lyrics of note: “I remember when-a we used to sit in the government yard in Trenchtown, and then Georgie would make the fire lights, I seh a log wood burnin' through the night.”
Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys. This song is about vibes before the modern proliferation of the word. To suss out a vibration requires the intuitive qualities of the Moon. It is also about a woman, which shares lunar commonality with the Bob Marley song above. Both songs share a softness. Also, how could I not include a song by The Beach Boys when talking about the Moon? Mover of the waves and ruler of beach-dwelling Cancer the crab.
Mercury
Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. Mercury is information oriented. In this mega-pop hit, the refrain is all about communication. To hope for a call, to spark a relationship through the simple act of writing your number down—it’s all Mercury. I find it fascinating that in the music video, Jepsen is crushing on a next-door neighbor, a similar Mercury-tinged theme of familiarity and locality. Plus, a vintage car is featured prominently.
Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. This song is all about how information moves from person to person, like a game of telephone. But Gaye also admonishes all the confusion that misinformation and gossip can cause and pleads with his lover to just tell him the truth. There are also a lot of open questions comprising the narrative arc of the song, and its perfectly like Mercury to be curious.
Lyrics of note: “People say believe half of what you see. Some and none of what you hear. But I can't help but be confused, if it's true please tell me dear.”
Venus
Let’s Get It On by Marvin Gaye. This is the ultimate love-making song. In the most basic way this represents the Venusian archetype of cohesion, to bring things together. But when you read deeper, Gaye is advocating for this brand of togetherness by saying that life is to be enjoyed while we are here, so why not? It also plays within the Venus theme of desire, to want, to ask, to implore understanding. It’s a soft song, with sweet words, and a gentle tempo.
Gold Digger by Kanye West. On the other side of things, Venus can be materialistic and build relationships based on status, image, and superficiality. Regardless of where you stand on West or this song, it’s effective in laying out all the complications of coupling up with someone who is just in it for the money and prestige.
Lyrics of note: “She was supposed to buy your shorty Tyco with your money. She went to the doctor, got lipo with your money. She walkin' around lookin' like Michael with your money. Should've got that insured, Geico for your money.”
Mars
Eye of the Tiger by Survivor. Even before the lyrics dawn, this song has such an iconic, pulsing, and driving guitar riff, reminiscent of the sharp, forward focused, and confident nature of Mars. It’s all about rising to the occasion of challenge, and the unwillingness to back down. Mars finds a “thrill” in battle, and in becoming singularly focused on a goal. Motivation is the name of the game with this one. Also, Mars rules tigers.
Lyrics of note: “Rising up, back on the street, did my time, took my chances. Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet. Just a man and his will to survive.”
Let’s Get Physical by Olivia Newton-John. Like the song above, this one gives you a pep in your step, and the music video is essentially a workout routine. I love this song for Mars because Mars is physicality, the way our bodies talk, the way we gravitate towards bodies we find attractive, and then do something about it. This song is straightforwardly about physical intimacy but also the underlying animal passion that compels us into action.
Jupiter
Aquarius by The 5th Dimension. Of course, a song about Astrology belongs to the high-minded Jupiter! Even better that Jupiter happens to currently be in Aquarius. Boy, is this song an epic journey, complete with a tempo and key change, stoking a sense of Jupiterian adventure and joy even through melody. The message of the song is one of hope, inspiration, and togetherness in a broad sense. It also lays out an ideal vision of the world, which is something Jupiter is good at even if the follow-through never comes.
Lyrics of note: “Harmony and understanding. Sympathy and trust abounding. No more falsehoods or derisions. Golden living dreams of visions*.”
*sidenote: what the hell is a dream of a vision? Get it together Jupiter…
Happy by Pharrell Williams. A room without a roof? Say less. Jupiter is all about expansion and eliminating self-imposed limitations. Jupiter is also generally a happy planet. But what I like best about this representation of Jupiter is the way the music video and song itself spread like a wildfire across the planet, sparking joyous iterations of all kinds. Jupiter is the archetype of long-distance travel and what is foreign, but also ultimately what still connects us all despite our geographical or cultural differences.
Saturn
End Of The Road by Boyz II Men. This song is about the pain and frustration of a strained and dying relationship. I chose this for Saturn because of its allusions to time, death and loneliness—some of the harder-hitting themes of life. Saturn is all about limitations, restriction, and the foregone conclusion of all things—death. Saturn rules things that endure but is also the planetary function of stripping away or breaking down. See also: breaking up. Two things this song does well is acknowledge that a boundary has been crossed (cheating), and acknowledge that something is over, both Saturnian virtues. Even the name boys to men represents Saturnian maturity over time.
Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie. This song’s is meaning is pretty obvious. It’s about stress, fear, pressure—all integral to the DNA of Saturn. Saturn can also represent the practical grit needed in order to maintain life, and how over time, all of that maintenance becomes exhausting and uninspired.
Lyrics of note: "It's the terror of knowing what this world is about. Watching some good friends screaming let me out!"
Uranus
Le Freak by Chic. What an electrifying song! This is another obvious choice. Between the use of the word freak and asking listeners about the new dance craze, a clear line can be drawn to the radical independence, innovation, and excitement of Uranus. Disco is Uranus. Think: discord. The genre came to prominence as the collective consciousness was reaching more towards inclusivity and equality, standing in direct opposition to the prevailing social norms of the time. Writer of the song, Nile Rodgers, said the lyrics came to him in a “light bulb” moment. Uranus is all kinds of sudden sparks and insights. It is also the breaking free moment that comes after Saturn.
Lyrics of note: “All that pressure got you down, has your head spinning all around. Feel the rhythm, check the rhyme. Come on along and have a real good time.”
Play That Funky Music by Wild Cherry. Wild Cherry is actually a rock band but created this song in response to the increasingly popular disco genre of the time. Mixing unconventional elements is an act of Uranus. The song was clearly a success, which came to the Uranian surprise of everyone involved.
Neptune
Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke. This song has not aged well. Neptune certainly blurs the line, makes things confusing, idealizes the mundane. Neptune also has a lot to do with glamour, all things gauzy and pretty. The music video is evocative of this, with supermodels parading around in full designer glam. But even outside of its lyrics and visuals, the song was shrouded in controversy regarding its originality and the blurred line between Neptunian inspiration and straight up infringement.
I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston. This is the beautifully sacrificial and compassionate side of Neptune. Even though you love someone, and will continue to love and wish them well, you know you must leave for them to really flourish. This is unconditional love. Even though all the songs in this write-up were/are impactful, this one is truly iconic, and associates itself with two larger than life legends (Dolly Parton & Whitney Houston). Its earnestness and purity can bring one to tears. To strike a chord in the zeitgeist is in and of itself a signification of Neptune and its broad cultural reach.
Lyrics of note: “I hope, life, treats you kind. And I hope, you have all you've, dreamed of. And I wish to you joy and happiness. But above all this, I wish you love.”
Pluto
Every Breath You Take by The Police. Surveillance is a key Pluto archetype. As is obsessiveness and becoming enraptured by another, thinking you are entitled to them or own them. Sting himself said he was thinking of Big Brother when he was roused in the middle of the night to write this song about a man trapped in “his circular obsessions” about an old love. Sting has also used Plutonic words like “sinister” and “possessiveness” when interviewed about this hit. The song conjures a certain chill inside of the listener, a foreboding. It also represents the sordid ways people can deal with loss-- unlike Saturn’s natural acceptance of endings, Pluto seeks to control and hold on.
Lyrics of note: “Every move you make, and every vow you break. Every smile you fake. Every claim you stake. I'll be watching you.”