DADAstrology: American Beauty with Martha Fearnley
new podcast episode + writer/performer/astrologer, Martha Fearnley, TALKTALKTALKS growing up in Hollywood & writing about the movies
My first experience with Martha Fearnely was watching her play a 12th house Moon in Virgo, tucked away in a dark corner of the Philosophical Research Society, jotting down anxious thoughts onto an oversized notepad. This wasn’t a one-off occurrence.
Martha regularly plays the Moon — although not always in the sign of Virgo. She’s part of the clown group, Planets Planets Planets, whose shows center around acting out the astrological chart of the performance. This particular show took place in the wake of the recent solar eclipse in Aries, dramatized by the Sun’s ego death. I have never identified more with a piece of astro-commentary. As someone whose natal Sun was eclipsed during this cycle, I now have a new understanding for this experience. April shall forever be remembered as the month of mass ego annihilation.
Back to Martha, whose writing I was introduced to by my friend, Katherine, with the preface, “I don’t know anyone who thinks about astrology like she does.” Martha writes about astrology and movies in her Substack, Hollywood Star Tours. What gives this series life is her strength as a storyteller and unique ability to create mythology around cultural moments through astrology, film and personal narrative.
We recently recorded an episode of DADAstrology around American Beauty, a film that is way more fucked up than I remember. Big insights were had. Also, Kevin Spacey is trash.
The following interview is a followup to this podcast.
Vivi Henriette: Let’s start from the current moment. Earlier this week, we recorded an episode of DADAstrology, exploring the planets, Mars and Venus, through the film, American Beauty. Why this movie?
Martha Fearnley: I wanted to choose a movie that worked with the symbols of Venus and Mars in the signs of their domicile in a way that felt complicated and desirous, not just representative. I’m really fascinated by the wave of 90s movies that American Beauty is a part of, specifically the late 90s when the country was in this strange accelerated globalization/peacetime era post Cold War and right before 9/11 and the explosion of the internet. There are so many films from around that time that deal with the angst of consumerism and desire (Venus), and perceived lack of masculinity or free will under a conformist society (Mars). Fight Club and Eyes Wide Shut are other examples.
“The way my Mom’s family speaks is through movies. They remember old neighborhoods by the AD who lived on the block; they remember eras of their lives based off of the sets they were working on or the movies that came out around then.”
Vh: You have a Substack called Hollywood Star Tours where you write about film and astrology. Which is a good concept, but you have this way of telling stories and weaving in your own personal narratives that makes it something special. I don’t watch movies (often), and I never feel like I’m missing out when I read your writing.
How would you describe Hollywood Star Tours? What was the intention?
MF: I would describe HST as a film newsletter about astrology and an astrology newsletter about film. Relating to horoscopes and astrology this way, through talking about film, brings in accessible images and tropes as ways to explain transits. Basically I’m doing it this way so I don’t have to say stuff like “work will be hard this week”, instead I can say “this week is the printer smashing scene from Office Space”.
The intention was to find a way to bring together the two things I think about the most, which are 1) movies & popular culture as reflections of cultural eras and their values, and 2) astrology. I’m a third house stellium so The Things I Think About are important to me. I also wanted to find a way to translate astrology to myself and to others in a way that could feel relatable and also fun and explorative, and I think ultimately astrology and film are similar mediums of reflection so they end up working very well together. They’re methods of meaning-making that work from two different directions — astrology works outside in, film works inside out.
Vh: In the podcast, you mentioned you grew up in a house where people were always discussing film. Tell me more. What was that like?
MF: I grew up around my Mom’s family who are/were all industry involved in some capacity and have been in LA for a long time. My grandfather was an actor turned TV movie producer, my grandmother was an actress, mother was actress turned TV movie producer, Uncle was an actor/director/writer. The way my Mom’s family speaks is through movies. They remember old neighborhoods by the AD who lived on the block; they remember eras of their lives based off of the sets they were working on or the movies that came out around then. I spent countless hours with them at the Hollywood Arclight growing up (RIP). I always found it enchanting and sweet and like a shared language I could rely on to relate to that side of my family.
Vh: Was there an expectation you’d work in film?
MF: Only the natural expectation I placed on myself as an LA kid who grew up close to the industry. Coming from a family of so many actors I think there was a huge amount of healthy skepticism around what it actually means to work in film or TV. It’s an insane way to try to make a living.
Vh: What’s your current relationship to film? Professionally? Abstractly?
MF: I love it as a way to relate to the world and other people. I love it as a vehicle for poetics and emotionality, it’s easily the medium that has held the most power over me as an artist and a person. Less abstractly I am currently writing scripts and I’ll definitely try to make one at some point.
Vh: The other way I know you is through the clown group, Planets Planets Planets, where you play the moon. How has embodying the planets in this way informed your relationship with astrology? Specifically, the moon.
MF: I think performing with Planets has shown me that there are so many ways to work with astrology that go beyond just interpretation or readings. It really is a very alive and present thing that you can harness and experience physically if you want to. Playing the Moon makes me funnier and kinder and more grounded in the performance, and I’m very grateful.
Vh: What role does astrology play in your life? Has it changed your career ambitions?
MF: Working with astrology has given me a lot more patience with myself and with the world at large and its timing. I’m by all measures a late bloomer and I think the idea of a “career” has always felt strange and ambiguous and oppressive to me. Astrology has made me much less ambitious and ironically given me a stronger sense of purpose and a more interesting vision for myself and my life.
Vh: Do you have any favorite astrological themed movies?
MF: The Golden Compass from the His Dark Materials book series (and now movies) was extremely formative for me growing up, and I now realize it’s literally about a girl who learns to read charts.
ABOUT MARTHA
Martha Fearnley is a writer, performer, and astrologer with a background in improv comedy and devised theater. She can be seen monthly with house improv team PONY at UCB Franklin and intermittently with astrology clown group Planets Planets Planets, where she is currently playing the moon. She writes about the overlap between astrology and film at her Substack, Hollywood Star Tours.
FOLLOW Martha on Instagram + SUBSCRIBE to Hollywood Star Tours on Substack.
ABOUT VIVI
Vivi Henriette is an LA-based astrologer and tarot reader whose collaborative approach to divination weaves in storytelling and mythology to create a container for her clients to explore their personal narrative.
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