Mary J. Blige went from the mean streets of New York to the top of the music charts with the drive of her Capricorn Sun. But the soul in her songs comes from the infinite emotional field of her Moon in Pisces.
Mary J. Blige is a no-nonsense Capricorn born January 11, 1970 in the Bronx, New York. The singer has sold over 25 million albums, paving the way for other women in the male-dominated world of hip-hop. It took the well-known persistence of her earthy Sun sign to make it happen. She was with her record label for almost four years before her first album was produced. A young executive at Uptown Records, one Sean "Puffy" Combs, oversaw the creation of 'What's The 411?,' a success that set her career in motion. While the stellar support of Puffy was certainly helpful, Mary's three planets in Capricorn would have probably found another route to the top if this one was blocked. Along with the Sun, she was born with Mercury (the planet of the mind) and Venus (the love planet) in this hard-working sign. All Capricorns don't achieve their goals, of course, but Mary's talent and toughness made her unstoppable.
The other side of Mary is much more tender and vulnerable, though. She was born with the Moon in hypersensitive Pisces. The earth's satellite symbolizes emotions and feelings, the ways in which we instinctively receive and react to the world around us. Pisces -- the last sign of the zodiac -- is wide open, a psychic sponge able to pick up on subtle energies most people rarely sense. This can be a great gift for an artist like Mary, since it plugs her into a bottomless well of imagination. Yet the exquisite beauty reached by a person with the Moon in Pisces can also lead to exquisite pain. The boundaries that Capricorns erect so carefully around themselves are often eroded by the uncontainable emotions of Pisces. This combination of hard-edged Capricorn and soft Pisces works well for an artist like Mary. She's got both the feeling and the force to make it to the top. Discipline and dreams, as well as imagination and application, worked together to make her a star. But she's also battled alcoholism, an all-too-common means of escape for sensitive individuals like those with the Moon in such a wide-open sign. The 411 in the title of Mary's first album refers to her earlier job as a directory assistance telephone operator. But as a singer, she's done more than connect a caller with the right number -- she's connecting millions of fans with the passion of her music.
About the Author
Jeff Jawer is the co-author of Barnes & Noble's 'Your Astrology Guide 2006.' A professional astrologer since 1973, his articles have appeared in astrology journals and magazines and Web sites around the world. He holds a B.A. in The History and Science of Astrology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and teaches and lectures both in the United States and abroad.
