The Astrology of Billie Eilish and Finneas

On Leos and Sagittarians being soulmates

Billie Eilish and Finneas at the 2020 BRIT Awards. Via: Getty Images.

I can’t get Billie Eilish out of my head this week. I did a deep dive on her Instagram after the Grammys and serendipitously was on her page seconds after she posted a selfie of her new blonde hairdo. The photo rocketed to one million likes in under six minutes (a second blonde selfie did the same—actually they might not even be selfies, who knows) and is now the third most liked photo on Instagram. Two days later, Royce and I watched her Apple+ documentary Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry. A week later, I’ve had my favorite track off her album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? (“my strange addiction”) on repeat. strange addiction, indeed.

My budding fascination with Billie and her brother Finneas has only grown since looking up their astrological signs while I was watching the documentary—Billie is a Sagittarius born December 18 and Finneas is a Leo born on July 30. I’m obsessed with the relationship between Sagittarians and Leos not only because my best friend is one, but because 80% of my close relationships in Los Angeles are Sagittarians. My grandmother who raised me is one as well, and she shares a birthday with my niece. It’s an important sign in my life, so when I pointed out to Royce, “that’s us,” it was fortuitous that I was, in a way, right.

It might be the most Leo thing to ascribe my relationship with my best friend to one of music’s current superstars, but this also comes on the heels of a recent tarot reading where my reader Melissa honed in on my relationship with Royce and how it would eventually lead to a fortuitous creative relationship. She’d also told him the same thing a week earlier, without knowing that we were close friends. I’m not sure we will have that same relationship of creating whatever we create in my bedroom, like Finneas and Billie do, but it’s always nice to have confirmation that the relationships you’ve cultivated in your life will lead you to creative heights you never expected to reach.

This visceral connection to the documentary and its mirroring of our relationship reminded me of the book we always pull out whenever we have guests over. Gifted to Royce by a mutual friend of ours and one that I’ve bought multiple copies of since, it’s Gay Love Signs: The New Astrology Guide for Men Who Love Men by Michael Jay. Ignore the subtitle, because the book has served us well in talking to friends who are not gay men. All you need is an intense connection to the person you’re giving a reading to and, well... we’re emotional fire signs who do a lot of drugs and cry at pop songs.

We’ve scrutinized our own relationship based on the book before, which is why I realized that I could loosely apply the same text to Finneas and Billie in order to gain some insight into their relationship as siblings and prodigy artists. As a co-writer and producer of nearly all Billie’s songs, Finneas could have gone the route of the members of Sade. For those of you who don’t know—much like I didn’t for my adult life—Sade is the name of a band as well as the name of one of the greatest singers R&B has ever known. Sade was named after lead singer Sade Adu and, in another world, Billie Eilish could’ve just as well become the name of a two person duo. 

It is unsurprising that a Leo like Finneas  would also make sure he was as front and center as a performer as his sibling: while wearing matching custom Gucci suits, while on the cover of British GQ, or while breaking down his process on Pitchfork. “She’s incredibly generous about it. It’s crazy and cool to me that people are so aware of the creative circumstance,” Finneas said to Variety about being credited and introduced at concerts by Billie as “my big brother and best friend.” Which is to say, yeah, we care about each other deeply but let’s also remind people of how our songs are actually created. It’s not a knock against his sister, who he clearly adores, but as the artist who has had songwriting drilled into his brain (Billie says he hates songwriting in the documentary) and has also launched a solo career while producing for Selena Gomez and Camilla Cabello, Finneas is very clearly familiar with the spotlight that Leos crave.

On the flip side,  it’s interesting to see howBillie is deferential to her brother’s talents because he can parse her emotions in a way that other people can’t, and how that is tantamount to their relationship. In his book, Jay describes Sagittarians as the “wanderer of the zodiac, symbolized by the mythical Centaur’s restless search for existence.” When Billie is in her head, when she needs to deliver the actual album to the label, that’s where Finneas’ austerity when it comes to recording is useful. Sagittarius is the lucky sign of the zodiac, “and Leo believes in luck.” It is incredibly lucky that their song “Ocean Eyes” went viral and launched their careers, and it’s also lucky that a gorgeous songwriter like Finneas found the perfect vessel for his songwriting in his sister. 

If you’ve often wondered how a brother and sister can manage to work with each other so closely—or maybe I just do because I prefer that my sister lives in Florida, far from California—it’s because a common goal or a project is essential for a Sagittarius and Leo relationship to prosper. Billie has talent and Finneas has wisdom (which doesn’t take away from his talent, but it’s the wisdom and knowledge of music history that lets him draw inspiration for their songs). Finneas has tact and Billie has candor, clearly evidenced by how she speaks her mind as most teenagers do.

In his book, Jay writes: “When [a Sagittarius] announces a great idea or new realization, [a Leo] might say, ‘That’s very interesting. You know, I used to think that!” I find that’s often the relationship I have with my close Sagittarius friends. My friend Rae who taught me to analyze television in a way that investigated characters’ emotions and intentions (mostly for reality TV, but also for The Good Fight!). My friend Sam who taught me how to dress in a more flattering way. My friend Martin who helped me become self-sufficient as an adult. My friend Chris who taught me that the weird and funny ideas in my head are funny to him and to other people as well. Leos learn from Sagittarians, and always want to be their best around them. The urge to impress them is strong. We all look for reasons why we love the  pop stars we love, and, sure, the reason Finneas and Billie’s bond is so strong might be because they’re siblings and that’s how they were raised. But I’d like to believe that it was a relationship destined in the stars. Not just brother and sister, not just producer and singer, but soulmates.