Lucy Dacus is a Taurus sun, Gemini moon, and Sagittarius rising.
A prolific singer-songwriter, the 24-year-old has already released two critically acclaimed albums and recorded a series of holiday-themed songs including the recently-released "My Mother and I," a soft yet gutting song about body image and her relationship with her mother, who is also a Taurus. "The stars have a lot to say about women born in the month of May," she sings, each word placed with a slow, thoughtful tenderness like stitches through a hand-sewn patch. "We want love, warm and forever. We want to die...in the presence of our loved ones."
Dacus has been called "consciously unflashy;" her music "remarkably mature." And though her social media presence gives the distinct impression of a sweet and approachable person, the most intimate view we get of her is through her lyrics, poetry that reads purposefully succinct yet ambiguous. Searching for a way to dive deep into Dacus's life in the time allotted for our interview, I figured the best avenue was astrology.
I read Dacus's birth chart, and she opened up about her relationships with her mothers (her adoptive mom and the woman who gave birth to her), her evolving perspectives of self and identity, and her place in the universe.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
VICE: What sparked your interest in astrology?
Lucy Dacus: It's really come on hard in the past couple years. I wasn't super knowledgeable...I just realized that people are willing to talk about themselves in the context of their sign—not everyone, but a lot of people—and it's a really quick way to access what people think of themselves on a deep level. It's especially useful on tour when you're only in a city for a day, and it makes for something more than the weather or the shared space that you're in. It's been really helpful ever since I've taken more stock in it.
You're a Taurus sun. Our sun signs are the most identifiable parts of our chart, the zodiac sign that people can most easily name. They're meant to represent the core of who we are, our most basic nature. Taurus are earth signs stereotyped as sensual and stubborn. What are the attributes of Taurus that you most identify with?
I feel like Taureses are known to be stubborn, but I feel the essence of that is basically [that they're] willing to stand up for what they think is right and not really susceptible to peer pressure, a strong sense of self. I guess a lot of people say groundedness, and I think that that is true and it affords me a lot of really rich friendships with people who feel less grounded, like just being able to provide a sense of calm for my friends who are air signs or water signs. I even have a lot of fire sign friends, too. I know earth and fire aren't meant to get along, but I'm a Sagittarius rising as you may have found, and I have a Gemini moon, so that's like earth, air, and fire, so I feel like I can understand where a lot of people are coming from.
Your moon is in Gemini. Our moon signs represent our internal processes, the more private and emotional aspects of our personality. They can also give insight into the ways we approach nurturing and memory. Geminis are cerebral air signs and musicians with Gemini in their chart are especially known for being highly evolved, curious pioneers. Do you relate to the attributes of a Gemini?
Yeah, and I think it's weird that it's my moon sign because your moon is how you see yourself against your internal world, and I feel like I really want a variety of settings, and I know that my understanding of myself is always a work in progress and that's really contrary to what a Taurus is. A Taurus is pretty much set and understood; don't have to think about it. But I like the balance that I have between those two things, because I think my Gemini moon is what makes me want to travel and share music, or take any risks at all. And I have a bunch of Gemini friends who are my adventurous friends, and... when I'm really leaning into my Gemini moon, it's me being more willing to encounter things that are new to me.
You're a Sagittarius rising, and I tend to describe rising signs as the way others perceive you. Sagittarius is an optimistic, social, and magnetic fire sign. Do you relate to the attributes associated with Sag?
I think so...I'm a host, and I feel like the thing Sag and Taurus have in common is that they really want to take people in, and they're really social. I have dated a lot of Sag people and I think being an earth sign, I really like having fire around because it's inviting the unexpected. I have a theory about fire signs: I think Aries, they burn and they take everything with them, and Leos, they burn and then they're regarded as a light for people to be guided by. And then Sagittariuses don't burn, but they set things on fire, so they're the people that ask, "why?" Or the people that are maybe devil's advocates, which I don't feel like I identify with that as much, but I don't like to settle for someone's frame of mind.
I think [that quality is] innately hopeful. If you're a hopeful person, you have to know that everyone is capable of change, including yourself. Sagittariuses are really bent on change, and if you're a healthy Sag and you're a Sag fighting a good fight, then I feel like you are trying to change the world for good, even if it's provocative. I'm surprised that I don't have very much water in my chart, because I do feel very much emotionally in touch, and all of my friends say this, too, they always expect me to have more water.
You also have Mercury in Gemini; Mercury is known as the messenger of the gods, so the planet represents the ways you communicate. In Gemini, that means you're cerebral and thoughtful, willing to see all sides of something to try and find exactly the right way to say it. How do you feel that relates to your songwriting and lyrics?
I didn't know that until now...I definitely only have ever written songs for the give-and-take of them. I always write to learn what I think about something, and then I share it with the people in my life that I think it's relevant to, and I think that's what I did before I recorded any music. It's always been a tool to start a conversation, and definitely [a tool] to process verbally...I feel like it's a big skill that I appreciate, and that I've been trying to practice for myself to learn how to talk to yourself and then recognize that learning about yourself is learning about others.I'm trying to embrace that on the more specific skill, like I've been writing a lot of songs that are really just stories from my life, and I don't know how this could apply for anybody else, but I think in sharing them, hopefully other people will see themselves in it.
Your chart also shows that you strongly feel the impact of Venus this year. Venus is the planet of love, but on a deeper level, it rules values—not only morals that drive you, but your sense of self-worth, which are definitely themes I feel we can hear in "My Mother and I." Can you describe your process of writing that song?
Well, this happens a lot with my music, but I wrote the first line (My mother hates her body. We share the same outline...she swears that she loves mine) which was basically posing the issue to myself. I begin a song not understanding something, and I was king of ruminating on the fact that a lot of my friends and I feel like we've inherited body image issues from our mothers.
It's just something that happens as women age and they've been told to value their looks, and naturally as you age you start to deteriorate—your hair goes grey, maybe your skin is acquiring wrinkles, and mothers in general are like, "oh, I'm ugly," [or] I think fearing aging and fearing a loss of beauty, but I've had so many conversations with my friends where they feel they're going to slip into the same mindset, or they're going to age in the same ways and [arrive at the same conclusion of what] their mothers think about their bodies. My mother says that I'm beautiful, but if that is subject to change in the same way that it's been changing for her….[at the same time] I think that she's beautiful, but she won't listen to that. It's a lot, and I also have two mothers. I'm adopted, and I have my mother that gave birth to me and my mother that raised me, and I know my mom that raised me more, but I've come to build a friendship with the woman that gave birth to me.
Is this song about both your mothers?
Yeah, I feel like they both have contributed to the pattern for me.
Have they heard your songs, and how have they reacted/how did the song impact your relationships?
My mom that raised me, who I call my mom, she heard it and originally didn't really know how to take it in. I think maybe she wanted to assume that it wasn't about her and she luckily had somebody that it deflected onto. We've talked about it since, and I think she understands that beyond her, it's something that happens worldwide, and I just feel this is a really common mother-daughter issue and...I do worry. I want her to feel respected; I don't want her to feel like I'm just shouting out her insecurities, but I think she does recognize the power that the song could have for other people and she trusts me.
Your birth chart also indicates that you're in a creative peak since July 31 last year through October 23 this year— have you felt your creative practice shift or expand in the past few months, and how?
I think expanded is the right way to think about it. It's funny because I feel like around late July or early August was when we put out the first boygenius song, and then around late October is when we were wrapping up this holiday series and also recording the next record within that time period. And I also feel super at peace about the material; I've really not been encountering self-doubt recently. It's been scary because it's new and vulnerable and the songs are personal, but I haven't been fearful about it. I haven't been second-guessing about what I should be doing and it isn't easy, but I do feel assured that I'm on the right trajectory and that I can visualize or hear the next record. Like I know that it exists in me and that it will be easy to make.
Well the transition from Taurus to Gemini season will be very interesting for you. The new moon in Gemini on June 3 specifically is an important time to reconnect with yourself, a time that's about looking for answers within. What are you looking forward to; what do you hope the future has in store for you?
It's funny, I don't want to be spitting back what you've said to me, but I have been understanding myself better through the songs I've been writing, and there are still things I don't really know how to put words to. I feel like I've been finding language to talk about my queerness and my heritage through my genetic parents—who again I don't know super well—but I feel like I'm approaching that for the first time. I've never felt overwhelming curiosity, but right now, I want to know more for one of the first times in my life. That's on the horizon for sure.
Sara David is VICE's astrology editor. Follow her on Twitter.
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