Asteroids are a topic I’ve been interested in for a while now, but I’ve found limited information on them so far. Most of the available literature is on the major asteroids, Juno, Vesta, Pallas, and Ceres (which is more of a dwarf planet than an asteroid). I am hoping to use some of my own findings to draw some conclusions on smaller asteroids and their implications in astrology.
Today, I would like to focus on Sirene. There is precious little about this one that I have found. Typically, most articles/posts discussing asteroids that mention Sirene, describe it as the energy of luring someone astray, to their doom even. I understand the reasoning, due to the mythology of Sirens as dangerous creatures that would lure sailors with their beautiful songs, and cause shipwrecks. So when a lot of people talk about using the asteroid Sirene in a reading, their go to is that person uses deceptive/convincing words on other people.
Typically, what I see with most minor asteroid research online, is that most astrologers use only asteroids that are conjunct a personal planet. They might also include a minor asteroid conjunct an outer planet IF that planet is also tightly aspecting a personal planet in that chart as well. For example, a minor asteroid such as Sirene conjunct Uranus in the birth chart, and Uranus squares the Moon. Or, if Uranus is the chart ruler, it becomes a personal planet as well, and so would not even have to be aspecting another personal planet for the asteroid conjunct to be considered significant. The same astrologers that follow this rule typically keep the orb for conjunctions to minor asteroids tight, at 3 degrees or less, though this can vary a little between astrologers and I’ve seen some go as wide as 5 degrees.
Anyway, onto Sirene. I was thinking about it a while back and wondering about the musical/vocal aspect of the myth this asteroid is named for, rather than just focusing on the negative connotations of deception and misleading others. A big trait of the Sirens is that they have beautiful voices. Is that something we could apply to a birth chart reading? Is there a correlation between the vocally talented and aspects to this asteroid in the birth chart? What about having a really “annoying” or abrasive voice? Would Sirene come into play there?
My first thought was to look at the charts of some famous pop singers to see what Sirene was doing there. I did find aspects from Sirene to personal planets in the charts of many of them, including the divas with cult-like fan worship such as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Judy Garland, Beyonce, and Adele. I also found aspects from Sirene to personal planets in the charts of Pat Benetar, Victoria LeGrand of Beach House, Celine Dion, SIA, Bjork, and Angel Olsen. Sometimes it was an aspect to the Sun, sometimes the Moon, sometimes Venus, Mercury, or Mars, and sometimes it was hitting multiple personal planets at once. In almost every case (except Celine Dion and SIA) the aspects were hard; conjunctions, squares, and sometimes oppositions. Celine Dion and SIA only had soft aspects to personal planets, though Celine did have Sirene conjunct outer planet Neptune (which makes sense, given Neptune is considered to be associated with music).
I found similar trends with modern male singers, including Prince, James Mercer of The Shins, Curt Smith of Tears for Fears, Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria, and Freddy Mercury.
The issue of course being that music is such a highly subjective topic, and what one person finds aurally appealing another person may not like at all. For the most “objectively talented” vocalists in terms of traditional technical singing ability, I checked the charts of several famous opera singers. I found aspects from Sirene to personal planets in the charts of Ettore Bastianini, Enrico Caruso, Julia Migenes, Tito Schipa, Ruggero Raimondi, Beniamino Gigli, Maria Callas, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Birgit Nilsson, and Joan Sutherland.
Other impacts of Sirene on vocals
I also checked the birth charts of people who are/ famous for just having generally unique voices, for better or worse. I think most people would agree these people moreso fall into the “for worse” category: Gilbert Gottfried, Kristen Schaal, Jennifer Tilly, Fran Drescher, Kim Kardashian, and Paris Hilton also all have aspects from Sirene to personal planets. Roseanne Barr has Sirene conjunct Chiron, and while Chiron isn’t a personal planet, he is associated with pain, and I do think people generally find Roseanne’s voice painful to listen to.
This is all just preliminary research on my part, and a larger sample size should be studied before drawing any conclusions. However, it’s interesting that out of the vocalists I looked up, only 2 had no major aspects in their chart coming from Sirene (those being Shakirah and Elvis Presley). In most cases, the orbs are 3 degrees or less, but in some they are a bit wider (typically 5 or 6 degrees for the wider ones, and these aspects are often to the natal Sun, which tends to get a wider orb allowance than other planets in general).
Also, I am not attributing aural talent or vocal uniqueness solely to Sirene. As with anything in a birth chart, it needs to be considered holistically in conjunction with other factors in the birth chart (Neptune placement/aspects, Venus, Mercury, Pisces/Taurus/Libra, 12th house, etc.). This asteroid is just another tool in the tool belt that one might use.
And again, I can’t stress enough how subjective this matter is. While one can be technically musically talented, having a unique style and being able to successfully emote and elicit emotion from one’s audience is at least as important as technical ability (a bit more so, in my opinion). For example, people hail Mariah Carey for her singing talent, and while she does have great range and can do a huge variety of things with her voice, I personally don’t care for her music at all. Instead of being tone deaf, I find her emotionally deaf, her singing feels hollow, empty, and flat to me. How a singer feels is more important to me personally than how he/she sounds.
The Takeaway
Sirene does seem to have some effect on the voice of people who have it in aspect to personal planets in their chart, in a way that grabs the attention of the listener, much like the sirens in myth.
Are you a vocalist (or aspiring vocalist) who’s interested in seeing how Sirene might impact your vocal style?
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