|
Album Profile for
The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
Released 10/24/06
Sun and Moon in Scorpio
Mars, Venus, and Mercury, Jupiter in Scorpio
Scorpio Themes: Creative force, Power of Self Expression, Death and Rejuvenation
My Chemical Romance could not have chosen a more Scorpio day for the release of The Black Parade! Interestingly, Scorpio is the sign of death and transformation and is one of the signs most connected to the afterlife. My Chemical Romance has taken on that topic exactly by composing an album entirely focused on death. The Black Parade is the story of The Patient, who faces cancer, chemotherapy and mortality. In the process of writing and recording, the band members themselves appear to have gone through their own transformations, including physical ones like Gerard’s platinum hair, Mikey’s newfound eyesight, and evidently some weight loss for Bob. Gerard’s stage antics have morphed as well, and he is honing a Broadway-like style, also reminiscent of front men who came before him, like Freddie Mercury and David Bowie. The Scorpio theme of regeneration is now the prevailing theme for a band that earned enormous success with their first major label release “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge”. Following up a near perfect rock record like that one requires incredible inspiration, a risk taking attitude, and a willingness to do some shape shifting. MCR bravely took that challenge head on and created a “Monarch butterfly” of a record while allowing for Scorpio sentimentality to shine through as reflections of their earlier songs live on in certain lyrics and riffs.
So The Black Parade is a Scorpio baby, full of extremes. Such a strong Scorpio, the album is characterized by intense need for self-expression and a desire to explore the unknown, in this case death and the afterlife. Venus in Scorpio is passionate, beautiful and sensual, while Mars demands loyalty and is unafraid to be confrontational or controversial in this sign. The album does follow this pattern by not playing it safe. MCR explores new territory, varying from the cookie cutter mentality of much of today’s popular rock music. Where they had few slow songs previous to this record, they include 3 or more on this one cd, but don’t let that fool you into thinking they’ve gotten soft. The titles “Disenchanted” and “Cancer” need no further explanation. “The End”, “Dead”, and “This is How I Disappear” all reflect Scorpio’s dark and spiritual connections in the more familiar MCR style of the last two records. Yet while the themes are Scorpio, the songs can be deceiving, as talk of death is masked in powerful melodies, exemplifying the Scorpio tendency to take things to both extremes. “Mama” is a great example since it sounds like a show tune, happily announcing that, “Mama, we’re all going to hell…Mama we’re all going to die”!
Astrologically as well as symbolically, what does this uber-Scorpio release mean for the future of The Black Parade? Well, Scorpio is a stubbornly fixed sign, driven to succeed or die. There is no middle ground for a record like this. The band could take their career to new limits with The Black Parade, and there is already talk of presenting it somehow in a visual medium, like film or theater. In addition, Scorpio is deep and serious, so My Chemical Romance will most likely not take success lightly and will not give up artistic integrity for popularity. Scorpio would rather die than give in! Jupiter in Scorpio, so close to the Sun and Venus, almost assures the record’s success without compromise, regardless.
Finally, the connection of sex and death is also likely to “come out” somehow as the we get to know the record and its story better, though at this point I hardly have a guess as to how or why. Scorpio is a supremely sexual sign ruling the genitalia and organs of the lower abdomen. Perhaps the Patient’s cancer resided there?
For comparison
I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love is a Cancer with Sagittarius Moon (Changeable, leaving home, breaking out) released on June 23rd 2002. My Chemical Romance had only been otgether for a few short months and were exploring their identity as a band.
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge is a Gemini with Aquarius Moon (Visionary, Global Message) released on June 8th, 2004. This record connected with rock listeners in a big way! Message received.
Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance
April 9, 1977
Sun in Aries
Mars in Pisces
Gerard Way has the inherent Mars influence all Aries are born with. Ruled by fiery Mars, Aries is the first sign and the child of the zodiac. Like a first born, the Aries is often an initiator, ambitious and headstrong. With Venus near the Sun at the time of his birth, Gerard is most inclined to use those more aggressive traits in his art and close personal relationships. The Sun and Venus conjunction, with a strong talent for self-expression, manifested first as Gerard explored the visual arts. He studied art and was employed as an illustrator before getting serious about music, and is the creator of the characters and designs for much of the cover art and My Chemical Romance merchandise even now.
Mars, Aries ruling planet, exerts a contrasting influence in Gerard’s birth chart however. The planet of aggression and action occupies sensitive Pisces. This is a vulnerable place for such a dynamo of a planet. Mars in Pisces drives the imagination, and the planet of confrontation, sexuality and even anger turns all that energy inward to the most feeling and subconscious place in the self. It certainly makes for a talented artist or musician under the best of circumstances. Mars in Pisces also gives uncanny intuition and emotional complexity. Psychic and dream experiences are an integral part of this Mars personality and can fuel all kinds of creativity. In fact, creating is Mars in Pisces’ best medicine, though Gerard, like others with strong Pisces tendencies, can be strongly attracted to and affected negatively by drugs and alcohol. A Mars in Pisces experiences this for two reasons. One is because the temporary effects give a great sense of self-confidence in an otherwise private, or even reclusive, individual. Another is that the Mars in Pisces is empathetic and compassionate to the extreme and may seek help to deaden some of the pain he perceives in the world around him. In the worst of scenarios a Mars in Pisces person lives in sorrow, confusion, and self-destruction. The Aries Venus/Sun conjunction Gerard is blessed with bestows energy and charm and helps him fight back.
For a rock star, Mars in Pisces gives an incredibly magnetic aura. Pisces is romantic and tragic at once. In love and sex, the Mars in Pisces person tends to go for all or nothing. The audience gets this sense of true feelings and emotion in contrast to the playboy/groupie prototype that many rock stars typify. The connection between Gerard and his fans has a different quality of depth and shared experience. He sings for them in the ultimate way, using performance as catharsis not only for his own creative warrior, but for the hurt, the angry, the intense in all of us. This ability to express combined with Mars in Pisces imagination and penchant for escapism may also propel Gerard into acting as his career develops. Mars in Pisces is the shaman, a shape shifter, who can morph into character and appear to become the character he plays.
The themes of My Chemical Romance music are strongly tied to Gerard’s Mars influence. Consider that his energy is with Neptune, mythological God of the Underworld, guardian of dreams, poisons, death and the afterlife. As front man and lyricist, Gerard Way sings of the deepest and most fragile of human experience. Take "Helena", the opener of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, inspired by his deceased grandmother who he names as a profound influence in his development as an artist. The cemeteries, cyanide, ghosts and even angels of MCR's music come from Pisces' Neptunian domain.
Mars, the aggressor, in Neptune’s home connects to the dark and magic. Hence, the suicidal thoughts, vampire images, and message of despair versus hope in the music, not to mention Mars color, red, splattered as broken hearts and spurts of blood through out his artwork for his band. Mars in Pisces is not of this world. It is spiritual and ultimately artistic. With his Aries Sun helping balance his dark Mars placement, Gerard Way can effectively channel his aggressions and empathy to create through music, film, visual media or whatever form he embraces.
Frank Iero of My Chemical Romance
October 31, 1981
Sun in Scorpio
Moon in Sagittarius
Stellium in Libra
You guys voted! Frankie won with about 35% of the votes, making him my next subject for Rock Astrology. You made it easy for me since I wrote some of this as part of a band profile I did for them back in 2005. Frank is a Halloween baby, which makes a ton of sense considering the scorpion tattoo on his neck and his place in a band whose imagery contains cemeteries, vampires, and cyanide, a Scorpio album (The Black Parade) and an album titled for one of Scorpio's less desirable tendencies-REVENGE.
Frank is a Scorpio Sun sign, but he has a stellium in Libra involving Saturn, Mercury, Jupiter and Pluto. A stellium is a powerful concentration of energy in one area. Libra rules music, so it's not surprising he's a talented and successful musician. Libra is also the sign of partnership, balance, beauty and charisma. With a string of planets including mercury and Saturn in Libra, Frank is very committed to his partnerships and is unlikely to get involved in disputes unless he strongly believes something is unfair. In that case, he's more likely to be a mediator or neutralizer between opposite sides. Riffs between others are really hard for this type of personality to take, and with a Scorpio Sun like Frank has, loyalty means everything. Once he cuts ties with someone, it's most likely to be forever and the bonds he forges are destructible only if he feels deceived.
Back to the Libra stellium… Libra is ruled by Venus, the muse, goddess of love and beauty. A string of planets in Libra often indicates abilities in music or dance. Libra is a sign ruled by the air element, and Libra energy likes to be a little bit out of this atmosphere. Another lineup of Frank's planets occurs in Sagittarius, the explorer. Both signs are philosophical and thrive on seeing new faces and places. Frank may be restless and will always find a way out of boredom. He's likely to fill his free time with some hobby or obsession. The big ideas and questions are important to someone with a chart like Frank's. He needs friends and companions who are intellectual matches and are willing to discuss philosophies of life and death and sometimes agree to disagree. Frank is likely to be very introspective at times and is an observer and excellent judge of character. Frank has Mars in Virgo, which ties him to Mikey Way, his band mate,, who has a string of planets in that sign. Mars in Virgo is analytical and ambitious. Preoccupations or a tendency to worry about health matters comes with Mars in Virgo. Frank may also be very picky about his romantic partners, but more in terms of their habits, thoughts and beliefs than any physical attribute they do or don't possess.With such a concentration of planets in one hemisphere of his chart, Frank Iero is an individual of loyalty and intensity. The partnerships he pursues are destined for success with the luck of Jupiter and strong planetary support. His band's career so far is excellent evidence that he's astrologically blessed.
~ Rock Astrology ~ Robin Ivy ~
|
