I don’t usually like horror films* and I haven’t been to an actual cinema since the pandemic but Demi Moore’s new release – The Substance – is ultra-enticing. (Scroll down for the trailer)
Caveat: I have not seen this yet. However, it revolves around A-lister celebrity fitness instructor Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) who on the verge of turning 50 – yes, Chiron Return! – is about to be rendered redundant by the cabal of sleazebags she made wealthy.
A particularly douchecore television executive (Dennis Quaid) tells her over lunch that: “People always ask for something new….it’s inevitable and at 50…well, it stops.”
Sparkle then decides to take an illicit anti-aging elixir that promises to restore her “younger self” and the story flows from there. Obviously the sex, death, money, power and transformation themes are all present and correct but The Substance is a scorpionic film for reasons beyond that.
I think that the writer/director – Coralie Fargeat – is an astrological genius. This is not hyperbole.
Consider this: the film features Demi’s character locked in an existential struggle with a DNA-alchemized version of her younger self, played by Margaret Qualley.
For a sense of this, imagine having to co-exist with your 19 year old self. Or more weirdly, being semi-possessed by this character?!
So Demi is a multiple conjunct Scorpio – she has Mercury, Neptune, the Sun and Venus conjunct in the sign.
Margaret Qualley, the actor cast as her ‘younger self’, has the Sun, North Node, Venus, Jupiter and Pluto in Scorpio conjunct Demi Moore’s Scorpio array.
Not only that – Demi’s Mars is 14 Leo and Margaret’s is at 10 Leo – this is a wild synastry.
Mars in Leo people compete – they can’t help it. Rivals motivate them and they like trophies.
I cannot believe that for this specific role the director has just randomly selected such genius astro-synergy. If you simmer it down, it’s like they’re ‘the same’ but they’re totally going to compete.
There’s more: both Demi Moore and Coralie Fargeat have Mercury-Neptune conjunct – what better way to ensure a good creative synergy than selecting someone with the same style of mediating everything from glamor to consciousness?
Fargeat is a triple Sagg – Sun-Mercury-Neptune with her North Node in Scorpio conjunct Margaret’s Sun and Demi’s late Libran Lilith.
Sorry but there is no way she could have spontaneously conjured this dimension of astro-synchronicity up without being a powerful astromancer or sorceress, really.
Or could she? Will you see this movie? Thoughts?
*To be ultra-Moon in Libra about this, one of the things I’m drawn to with this film is the cinematography and lighting – I love whatever the term is for this level of luxury and color-saturation, like a Miles Aldridge or Nadia Lee Cohen image.
I suspect that even the most horror-film hating, serenity-revering Libra Moon people can happily sit through the scariest melodrama if the styling intrigues them. I enthused about The Neon Demon before realizing it was widely not just panned but reviled. Sorry but the lighting was sublime.
This may also apply to Libra Sun, Ascendant and even Venus of course. I know a triple Libran who became obsessed with a particularly lurid Spanish soap opera series – to the point that she was a finalist in a television quiz about it, despite not speaking Spanish – because of the aesthetic.
I saw this in theatres and LOVED IT. I am a Libra stellium and I was fine. It’s not horror. It’s body horror. So yes blood and guts and injections which I did close my eyes for, but it was so good. I do have my Libra everything in the 8th house and then a Scorpio moon so…that might explain my fascination. But even my totally chilled out Pisces beau really enjoyed it. Everyone should watch it.
Apparently it is not for the feint hearted.
But it seems like it needs to be watched, especially the last 30 mins.
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/the-substance-film-watch-demi-moore-b2621218.html
This movie was highly disturbing. 😳 One watch was enough (for me)
I haven’t seen it. what was the last 30 mins like?
Oops I forgot about the spoiler alert. Still curious 🤨 though.
I’ve been considering more lately that, like fate, astrology is just going to astrology and those we are meant merge and create with will naturally just sync up. Maybe we don’t have to intervene at all but watch as it unfolds. This is a tough thing to swallow for so many of us hoping to predict or find the answers, we want to game everything, but I’m thinking at best astrology is simply its best at helping understand the synergy of what simply is going to be — or possibly so.
Love this and completely agree.
The difference between porn & sensuality? The lighting! Yes it certainly is a moon in Libra thing, have done some crazy things to light bulbs to create effects besides it controls the 3rd eye is my belief.
Can’t figure what Demi has done to her cheeks & lips, something but beyond my ken of aesthetics. Ah the relaxation of ageing sans the desire for facework or worrying or minding accumulated lines, happiness no horror show when looking in the mirror or is it the lightning in my bedroom :-).
Some excellent cinematography in this movie.
Margaret Qualley is Andie McDowell’s daughter? Spaces between front teeth are turn on.
The difference between EROTICA & porn not sensuality…
This looks awesome!
This looks amazing – My Scorpio Moon & transit Pluto on my Ascendant def wants to see this – I do love horror – more the psychological stuff rather than the visceral splatter stuff but I’ll aim to see it on the big screen.
I read at least 2 articles about this on the weekend so this is the 3rd & I love your insights Mystic.
my antenna really twitched though with the comments that Demi & Margaret are quoted as saying –
this is from an interview with them in the SMH on 17th.
Fargeat wrote her movie, she says, “to make a political statement to the world: we should be done with this shit”.
So do Moore and Qualley share the director’s anger about all this?
“I do not,” says Moore unequivocally.
“No, I do not,” says Qualley.
“I mean, I really understand it, I really have compassion,” Moore qualifies. “And I know culturally the level of judgment and repression that women have experienced. I just choose not to buy into that as my reality. And I feel like I don’t hold men as the object of my discontent.”
Seriously Demi? “I choose not to buy into that as my reality” says the woman who looks like she has partaken of a fair bit of face & body work of the non-natural kind.
I have enormous respect for her taking on this role and giving it her all, but to then personally distance herself from a reality she knows better than many of us seems delusional at best or self-preserving at worst (as in I may never work in this town again if disrespect the powerful status-quo by sounding too man-hating)
Stand with the creator/director Coralie Fargeat who has given you a lead role and a really meaty part after a decade of not a lot of film roles.
But how interesting is their reaction – in unison.
because we’ll never be done with “this shit” until we all stand together. something which I suspect is not likely in Hollywood.
hmm. I’d argue (in a discursive sense, not to be a s-head) that there are levels to this.
“I mean, I really understand it, I really have compassion,” Moore qualifies. “And I know culturally the level of judgment and repression that women have experienced. I just choose not to buy into that as my reality. And I feel like I don’t hold men as the object of my discontent.”
I get this. and while I am a bone-deep feminist, I also largely agree with her. her position doesn’t exclude compassion, solidarity or insight. To me, going under the knife, and this particular POV, can coexist and not be in conflict. hating men because of patriarchy is exhausting and it can also be radically unfair. Scorpios are also really tough.
mystic’s oracle has a great answer to one of the questions: many a scarecrow makes a roost for the enlightened crow. it’s one of my fave lines hehe
I’m trying to get your point, Sam, but no one is talking about having to “hate men” to get shit done. That’s just taking the topic at hand to a radical binary argument, which should not be the case here – and which is a schtick used by the patriarchy to vilify feminism even more. I also don’t think anyone at this stage can deny the reality of a deeply ingrained patriarchal system – even if they “choose not to buy into it”. Reality is non-transactional – some people might be able to afford to ignore it, or to “not buy in to it” like Moore disingenuously says – but it is the reality – even hers. If she was truly compassionate she would not put herself above the vast majority of women who simply can’t choose their reality – nor willing to go under the knife to remain a player in Hollywood – unlike men – and no matter what arguments there are to justify everybody’s choice to do whatever they want to do their own body … blah, blah – the fact remains that it’s mainly women who feel compelled to go under the knife to disguise their age – like 86% are women. How is that OK? It’s not. It’s now become a social psychosis, especially with younger women. Anyway, rant over, but I find she contradicts herself.
Yes Skarab, social psychosis with so many young women for sure, ‘cosmetic tourism’ is highly lucrative business in several countries, hideous!!
hi S~ i have a whole-ass reply that I think actually agrees with you at a higher level but still taking a different angle or defending my point in places. plus an extra take on cosmeti-crap. but it’s bedtime and I’m writing this on my phone. (bizarrely I am also working really hard to contain some kind of de-escalation fawn response so what the hell is that about ugh.)
anyway I saved it somewhere to re-read in the cool light of day first. 🌞
Sam, I feel i know you well enough (many yrs of reading your comments) to know how you stand on the relentless thrashing women get by the beauty-pharma industry – we are pretty much on the same page on that i think, judging from previous comments on posts on the topic; Also that you are a bone-deep feminist; And one of your wonderful gifts is to write very thoughtful & nuanced arguments – as you did above – even if i don’t agree with some of it – specifically in regards to Demi Moore’s words. They just seem hypocritical to me. At least Joan Rivers was honest & had the right attitude about her many cosmetic interventions. I’m truly sorry that i sounded so aggro – it’s not personal, believe me. DM’s words really pissed me of, but I should have been more careful & specific.
*Lesson for moi: never respond straight away on blog when triggered!*
This whole thing has been a point of contention for me lately because more & more, every time i leave the house i’m seeing SO MANY otherwise once gorgeous young women practically deformed by cosmetic surgery, with so many looking like blow-up sex-dolls. Freaks me out.
And i do love that quote, too. … my time for zzzs … xxx
ohhhh no apols k skarab it’s not you it’s me. we should never not be utterly free to express ourself how we need and want to in the moment (this blog a safe space yeah? hopefully lol) it’s a scorching hot topic innit. I agree about the cookie cutter looks. it saddens me at a, like, cultural level (lol my phone autocorrected to ‘sculptural level.. also true).
ahh the absolute kah-ween Joan rivers… her savage comedy cut through on the MOST sensitive PR topics oh my god I adore her… because she also understood what she was saying and lived it.. also Dolly! less savagely of course (the Capricorn v Gemini energy).. now I’m contrasting Demi .. ok so different generations and parts of the entertainment industry … still. holy shit that’s the real body horror in this society: looking one’s age. lmaooooo crepey necks are dead! long live crepey necks. too gross? whatever. if we can turn women into glossy monsters then we can turn them into the Worst Thing Ever Imaginable: her real self
I am surprised by Demi Moore’s answer – though she has been extraordinarily ambitious & a fighter & might not want to admit she was driven by anger. Someone who was abused by her mother & men during her childhood as she claims must be driven by some force. Maybe for Scorps admitting to anger is like admitting to defeat or weakness – because something actually got to them?
As for Qually, i’m not entirely surprised by her answer – she has had the opposite upbringing to Moore; she is of a different generation & was brought up as a wealthy, white & privileged nepo baby who’s never *really* had to fight for anything – talented as she may be. She’s also reaping in the benefits that were so painfully fought for by not so lucky & angry women before her. On this note, I also want to express my dislike of the vilification of “anger” as if it’s some kind of moral & spiritual weakness – anger is the first step to the recognition of prejudice or a deep imbalance in the state of things, and it is a great motivator for change. One should own it & manage it. I agree with you – i think they are sending out weak & mixed messages.
Ugh it looks so loud & garish!! I have scorp moon & I loath horror, maybe it’s my neptune, my only Libra.
I have venus 9th house & I looove movies, esp foreign arty & psychologically complex (but not psycho)
I will definitely watch it! was tempted to go on tuesday for my birthday, but apparently it’s a splatterfest and lately I’m finding myself too psychically vulnerable to the effects of horror films and even thillers (a fave genre normally). have to say I’m quite unhappy at the moment, so I’ll have to wait until I feel good enough. btw, I love scorpio actors and actresses. venus, neptune and mars in the 5th here.
Hope you feel better soon, Isa.
Are your Venus, Mars and Neptune all in Scorpio (which could explain your fondness for Scorpio actors/actresses)?
By the way, It seems to me that Hollywood has a soft spot for Scorpio actors and especially actresses. Julia Roberts, Demi Moore, Jodie Foster, Emma Stone, Anne Hathaway, Winona Ryder… The list is impressive
hi calcifer, thank you for you kind thought <3. yes, all in scorpio. yes, indeed, and such beautiful women too! as for scorpio actors, I don't really find them sexy, but I do find them very intriguing, sort of smouldering – the first ones that come to mind are joaquin phoenix, matthew mcconaughey and ryan gosling, and tom cruise too (I mean, he's a cancer, but personally it feels that the scorpio rising overrides the crabbiness and sends out the same type of vibe)
Ah, that explains your love for the Scorpio actors and actresses. I myself have Venus and Neptune in Scorpio, so I very much agree with you. Also love your description of the special charisma of the male Scorpio actors as ‘intriguing and smouldering’, that is indeed their magic ✨
definitely! with me intriguing and smouldering (and sometimes downright ugly) is much more attractive than conventionally or just perfectly beautiful, even though I do acknowledge the perfectly beautiful as a value by itself. this is something that applies to objects too (iphones and ieverything give me the creeps, and until I was about 35 I had serious issues with symmetry – to me it smelt of death/lack of life).
also you guys. look at that vacuum cleaner 😮
it’s surely a nod to congealed toxic ideals of women’s work etc.
(statement of the obvious 😬)
😄
Scorps really know how to bring the drama! This looks hysterical revengeful and lilith crone inspired 🖤🖤🖤
I WILL be watching this but from the comfort of my sofa in my bath-robe with a close girlfriend, cats, a glass of red wine, a remote control to mute it if freaking out, calming aromatherapy blend…
I will definitely watch this film. It is reportedly a body horror genre – more like Cronenberg or Lynch. I also liked the Neon Demon.
I’m a Moon in Libra horror movie hater, but still watched Midsommar and The VVitch for the visuals. Semi worth it.
Hooked by the trailer and the colour-saturation, question is who will I take to the theatre not my little scorp he’d rather surf or fish. Maybe my uber glam aesthetician, dump truck driving, Cancerian baba. With her twist of paranormal inclination, I think she will be hooked too.
She has Mars and Venus conjunct Gemini 11 th house, when Jupiter transited this 2 months ago she kicked her booze lovin BF of 3 years out realising she was worth more and couldn’t change his habits no matter how fabulous she was. She didn’t tell a soul, she thought it might impact her best friends imminent wedding preps and she said she needed to digest it and be “ready” (strong enough) to tell people. She is ready to be “me”…Go gurl power.
I immediately thought of my older aquarian friend who I only watch psychology dramas with. ..could not watch alone.
Looks amazing
Also: wonderful that Scorpios Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley come together in this film with Plutonic themes.
By the way, in the Plutonic 80’s and early 90’s Demi also starred in films with very Scorpionic themes, like Indecent Proposal (Moore as the young wife of an out of work architect, who agrees to spend one night with a rich billionaire for an indecent amount of money) and Disclosure (Moore as a powerful business woman who sexually harasses an employee).
Also GI Jane (loosely) based on the story of the first female Navy Seal. And Ghost, a supernatural tale of love with Whoopi Goldberg and Patrick Swayze.
The more I think about it, it seems like so many of her blockbuster film successes connect to her embodiment of Scorpionic themes.
Absolutely. Also Scarlet Letter (loosely?) based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel about the puritans. The scarlet letter was the “A” for adultress they branded on women’s foreheads. Male adulterers just went on with their lives I guess. I remember liking the movie but it was the mid-90s. I think I alse liked Ace Ventura.
Yes, Astrogeek! Demi must be one of the most prominent examples of an actress expressing the themes of her Sun Sign through her roles. I think it helped that Pluto was transiting over het placements in Scorpio when she was at the peak of her career, everything lined up to create the perfect circumstances for her to embody the Zeitgeist! By the way, back in the day I always thought that she and Burce Willes (Pisces) had an almost perfect marriage in the early 90’s. Only recently I learned that apparently, Willis told Demi Moore circa 1990 – after 3 years of marriage – that he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to be married anymore. ‘While Willis wanted the security and stability of a family, “he also craved excitement and novelty … Basically he wanted to do whatever the f–k he wanted,” she wrote in her memoir Inside Out. “He was 36, throw in celebrity and money. You do the math.”‘ (via Page Six)
She was at her most stunning in St Elmo’s Fire with most of the Brat Pack of the time.
Very stunning she was in the early 80s, a hazel-eyed ‘dusky’ beauty with a husky voice 🌟 That being said have always found her beautiful, even with, or in spite of, the cosmetic enhancements
Mystic, I love, love, LOVE this piece of writing!!! Film and astrology are my biggest passions, there is nothing more interesting to me than the combination of the two. I routinely look up actors’ astrological charts to see how these find expression in the iconic roles they play and it is SO fascinating and instructive to see astrology in play this way. I would say there is almost no better way to learn about astrology than this 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
any standouts in your research calcifer? 🙂
for me it was looking at the relationship chart between Matthew McConaughey and the release of Dazed and Confused, and also (separately) the film Carrie. but I didn’t look at any other actors
Hi Sam! Hope you are well!
I recently watched a series about Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, both Aries women with Pisces and Gemini influences. They were always in competition with each other (very Aries), both were also very independent working women, and both were single mothers with difficult relationships with their children (both had Neptune in Cancer, symbolizing idealization of – and disappointments through – children). They finally worked together in the film Whatever happens to Baby Jane about two aging sisters (Gemini), both former actors (Pisces), who live together in a run down house. All their lives they have been competing with each other (Aries) and now they are still making each other miserable (both had Pluto in Gemini, sign of siblings). The film was a huge hit and revived the careers of Crawford and Davis. I think this case is a good example of actors choosing roles which express themes in their astrological charts. And also a great example of the way they find other actors to work with, who match exactly these themes.
I can recommend the series, it’s on Disney+ and it’s called ‘Feud: Bette & Davis). Susan Sarandon plays Davis, Jessica Lange plays Crawford.
wow, that’s cool. adding to list!
It’s kinda cool to be old enough to remember seeing their movies at the cinema, loved them both, read their life stories. As an only child with a fully employed family living in the heart of the CBD, movies were my babysitter with 6 cinemas within 200 metres.
They still are 🙂
Thank you for sharing your lovely memory of a childhood enriched by movies and movies theaters, Pegasus!
I grew up in a provincial town with only two small cinema’s and my parents did not really take me to the movies until I was 12. Then, my mother took me to see Tess of the D’Urbervilles with Nastassja Kinski. It was love at first sight, going to the movies in general and this film in particular 🌟
more looking forward to watching Lee tonight…whoop!
📸📸📸
I’d watch it, because contemporary, and also it appeals to my Eris placement and Jupiter-Lilith placement. Lilith wants equality even if it costs her everything, Eris wants the system to cannibalize itself and take no prisoners. (not sorry for the mixed aphorisms).
I agree mystic in a film made by a woman about Women (TM) – the concept, applying deeper astro resonances to a film is a genius move & would surely give it extra clout as a statement at a cultural level
if the astro was not applied, at depth or consciously or otherwise, then it at least shows that the film maker’s intuition is kind of amazing.
can we add Dennis Quaid’s astro to the mix too, as the hateable antagonist 🙂
(my own take on the deities btw)
I just watched the trailer yesterday and was equally thrilled! That synastry is insane, dying to know if it was planned..