A long gaze over time reveals more of a painting’s facets. So, thorough or not, consider this writing more of a snapshot.
Does anyone else find it kind of adorable that Cardi B was born with a grand cross in the cardinal signs — Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn? Cardinal signs are considered ‘instigating,’ you know, the ones that commence the seasons in many regions of the world, including where she was born: The Bronx, New York. And given Cardi’s aggressive, IDGAF musical style, instigating sounds pretty appropriate.
“I be in and out them banks so much, I know they’re tired of me / Honestly, don’t give a fuck ’bout who ain’t fond of me / Dropped two mixtapes in six months, what bitch working as hard as me?”
Feelin’ a bit of the Aries and Capricorn vibes in that lyric, for sure. [Also, people born under cardinal signs often exhibit instigating qualities regardless of how the seasons in their places of birth match up with equinoxes and solstices, or whether there are even four seasons in a given region at all, but let’s stick to the deck here.]
Anyway, the grand cross part means she was born with at least one planet or luminary (the sun and moon) aligned with each of those four (in this case cardinal) signs, like a set of aggro ambushes and staring contests between four… heavenly bodies. More on bodies later… 😉 Hey! Not fetishizing or playing ownership of a person via their demographics. We’re here to purge those types of psyche. Fetishes are cool tho.
Pictured below: Cardi B’s birth chart, displayed in Whole Sign Houses, birth time set at noon as her actual birth time has not (yet!) been made public. To start, look for Sun in Libra, Moon in Aries, Mars in Cancer, and Uranus + Neptune in Capricorn forming a grand cross. If you don’t know all the glyphs (symbols for each planet), look ‘em up. Here we go.
Cardi B’s given name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar. Her name may have nothing to do with the stars above, but it is a different flavor of spirited — Cardi’s sister’s name is Hennessy, so the rapper’s nickname comes from Bacardi. [Side note: Hennessy got her name because their father showed up to her birth drunk.] The ‘B’ stands for beautiful or bully, depending on her mood. Cardinal signs: known for starting shit. Well, not necessarily starting shit, but apparently in her case.
The woman was born on October 11, 1992 under the sun sign Libra. Although a cardinal, instigating sign, Libra is softened by the natural domicile (home) or rulership of Venus. If you’re not familiar with each planet ‘ruling’ a sign or in most cases two signs — that is, being more comfortable when aligned with said signs — get Googlin’.
Although born under Venus-ruled Libra (Taurus being the other Venus-ruled sign), Cardi was born with Venus in Scorpio, which is considered the sign of Venus’ detriment because it’s opposite Taurus. Again, if you find my language increasingly foreign, a quick search on planetary rulerships (domicile, detriment, exaltation, fall) will be immediately helpful.
The social and relationship values, the grand gesture, the glitz and glamor that make up some of Libra’s Venus type flavors… meet a touch of darkness in Scorpio. I mean, how many relationship-related riffs in any of the tunes on her “Invasion of Privacy” record sound particularly peaceful? Hell, even the name of the record kinda evokes a scorpion’s tail.
[ I really can’t pick any one lyric as a prime example of that. Try… just about any of the songs on that release. ]
We do get some Cardi sweetness on about one cut from her last album, in about two lines of it… a song called “Be Careful.” [ Yeah it’s not a threat, it’s a warnin’ / Be careful with me / My heart is like a package with a fragile label on it / Be careful with me ] … lest the pointed tail lash out. I think she meant explosive label, but hey. Can you tell I like her?
What’s more, Cardi has a pretty tight conjunction of Venus with Pluto, a planetary body associated with riches found in darkness, filth, detritus and transformation thereof Gutter stuff. Think cathartic relationship drama, think drug dealers, criminals, think her growing up in the Bronx. Think her being a legendary stripper and transforming (Pluto) her body (Venus) into her ideal vision for it, replete with teeth replacement and boosts all over her body. That’s just as Scorpio a take on Venus as it is Libra extra-ness, all being flavors Cardi shamelessly flaunts — as anyone who owns their power and sexuality should.
In a pleasant and lengthy interview with GQ back in April, Cardi B mentions her difficulty making decisions — not the first thing one might guess about someone with such, forward spitfire vocal delivery. Or for someone born with a full moon in the gusto of Mars-ruled Aries staring down her ‘indecisive’ sun sign. But human beings are complex, and Libra’s are known for fence-sitting, the Libra scales weighing each option. Can’t imagine her sitting too long before slaying it though.
“Look, they gave a bitch two options: strippin’ or lose / Used to dance in a club right across from my school”
Did I mention Libra’s penchant for glitz and glamor? Picture someone falling down a flight of stairs and standing back up, their hair still perfect. That’s one of the ‘Libra types of losing.’ Fuse that with some punchy Moon in Aries, Venus-Pluto in Scorpio aggression and, well, there’s an individual who probably won’t look like they lost, even if they did. (Sounds like she’s lost love before, and been ready to devour. Hell, I mean she got a butt-lift over lost love.)
From GQ: “With the aid of cutting-edge Millennium science, in the form of orbicular breast implants and illegal buttocks injections, America’s sudden favorite rapper, Cardi B, has built her body for optimal viewing at medium-to-long-distance range. This engineering foresight helps explain why, before she began making music history (a randomly chosen milestone from her tennis bracelet of success: she is the first rapper to have her first three Billboard Hot 100 entries in the Top 10 simultaneously), she was not just a successful stripper but a wildly successful one.”
One of the last and perhaps most fascinating things I’d like to observe — not to eschew focus on Cardi — is that both she and Kendrick Lamar have Mars in Cancer (its fallen sign) to almost the same degree, Cardi’s at 15° and Kendrick’s at 17°. Not only have they both arguably made the two biggest rises in rap over the past three years in particular, but they both have significantly fast and aggressive styles. Mars in Cancer is a very ‘hold it down for the family’ mama bear style kind of Mars placement. It can oscillate between inwardness and aggression, sentimentality and hostility with dynamic force.
What’s more, in my cultural study and client work, I’ve found that Mars in Cancer seems to be a common Mars sign among sex workers, and in my personal experience and client work among both sex workers and musicians. What’s that expression about a woman who can do both?
“I think us bad bitches is a gift from God
I think you broke hoes need to get a job
Now I’m a boss, I write my own name on the cheques (Cardi)
Pussy so good, I say my own name during sex” — Cardi B
Read more astrology by Alexander Baker at ReverieAstrology.com.
Instagram: @reverieunfold
Main image: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TIDAL
