What's Your Sign?
Issue #24
The AstroTwins’ reading proves singer-songwriter Kristin Hersh was born to rock
By Amber Drea
Published: June 1st, 2005 | 12:54pm
Family life hasn’t slowed Kristin Hersh down a bit. Her latest project, 50 Foot Wave, combines Hersh’s distinctly crisp warble with hard-hitting power chords and upbeat energy à la the Pixies and Nirvana. The trio — Hersh on electric guitar, former Throwing Muses member Bernard Georges on bass, and Rob Ahlers on drums — independently released its first full-length album, Golden Ocean, which features the explosive “Clara Bow.” In the song’s video, one of her four sons dances around spastically while Hersh calmly plays her Gibson SG and sings, “With sunburned lips I can bitch / About another stupid summer.” That’s a pretty harsh sentiment — the season of her birth can’t be all bad. — Amber Drea
STATS
AstroTwins: Kristin Hersh was born on August 7, 1966 (the untamable Year of the Fire Horse), at 11:56 a.m. in Atlanta, Georgia, which makes her a Leo with an Aries moon and a Scorpio rising.
Kristin Hersh: Wowee. “Fire Horse” sounds wicked cool and much more impressive than me, to tell you the truth.
CAREER
AstroTwins: Her chart screams “freedom!” This powerhouse is not someone you want to pin down. With her brilliant Leo sun in the career house, she defines herself through her work and achievements. With powerful Pluto and rebellious Uranus in helpful Virgo and in her society sector, Hersh must do work that’s nothing short of revolutionary. She will have to watch that short fuse, though — the Aries moon can make her impatient and combustible.
KH: OK, freedom is much too important to me. I have, whadayacallit, “fear of commitment” to just about anything, including cities. If I have to stay in one place for more than three days, I get all itchy about it. Work is a very, very, very, very, very big deal. I suppose I do define myself by my achievements. That’s sad. I think I may have had a short fuse and been rebellious at one time — I have become a master of repression. Though, apparently, I have been called “difficult” in the studio. I just figured that meant “girl who knows what she’s talking about.” Is that revolutionary? I hope not.
CHARACTER
AstroTwins: Another planetary power-pack is the meeting of harmonious Venus, warrior Mars, and expansive Jupiter all in Cancer — the sign of women and nurturing. These planets are in the ninth house of higher learning and international issues. With this cosmic combo, Hersh can be an icon for women’s liberation around the world. Tapping fully into this energy will make her nothing short of a goddess/mother figure — a real-life Venus!
KH: I often refer to myself as a “real-life Venus,” as a matter of fact. Seriously, though, I am utterly obsessed with motherhood and with the people who are my children. What a fantastic way to live out your time here on planet earth and convince yourself that you're here for a reason!
CREATIVITY
AstroTwins: With challenging Saturn in her house of creativity, Hersh may have trouble concentrating. She may need to become almost “monk-like” in order to create. And she will hate structure. However, if she learns to blend artistry with discipline (no easy task for this placement), she will take her work to levels beyond her imagination. Because Saturn was retrograde (or backward) when Hersh was born, she may have had an absent father, a lack of discipline, or way too strict of an upbringing. This will play into her art in some way.
KH: I have to be alone to practice. No one is allowed to listen or even hear me through the door. It’s not so much “monk-like” as it is shy and bitchy, though. I honestly have never tried to write a song. I’ve always waited for the songs to come to me, in other words. I haven’t termed this a lack of discipline until now, and now I feel bad. But at least I can blame it on my absent father!
STYLE
AstroTwins: The one caveat is Hersh’s Scorpio rising — the face she wears to the world. Scorpio is a bit secretive (though its magnetism is impossible to ignore). With glamorous, watery Neptune here, too, she is probably quite photogenic, and can mask her fiery spirit behind a mysterious facade. At times she may be difficult for people to read and will avoid vulnerability at any cost. However, she can work the intensity of Scorpio to launch herself into a major power position. Few can resist her!
KH: This is exactly how my husband [and manager Bill O’Connell] describes me. He also adds sloppy, inarticulate, weird, confusing, and poorly dressed. Plus he says I’m “difficult for people to read” because I don’t speak English. I would argue all these points (and have), but he knows me better than I do.
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