The Astrology of Friends

The cast of Friends

I recently had the opportunity to record a couple of fun episodes of the Starzology podcast with a couple of excellent guests, exploring the speculative astrology of two classic TV shows, Friends (1994-2004) and LOST (2004-2010). You can listen right now to the Astrology of Friends, featuring me, my mother Sionanne O'Neill and our good friend, Bo Wutzke. Check back in a couple of weeks for our episode on the astrology of LOST.

Why Friends?

Why indeed... Besides being one of the most popular and enduring shows of all time, a cultural touchstone and practical encyclopedia of pop culture references, lexicon, slang, inside jokes and an endless list of guest stars from Brad Pitt to Kathleen Turner? Friends has been off the air for more than 20 years but somehow never seemed to go away. With the untimely death of Matthew Perry last year, it seems we can't go a day without seeing some Friends meme or memory popping up on social media. But more important than all that, for our purposes, the cast of characters is intimately familiar to almost everyone in the world, so it's perfect for an astrological deep dive... or a shallow paddle? Either way you look at it, it's fun to speculate on the astrology of these characters we know and love like extended family.

For our purposes, we touched on a few of the characters' birthdays as they were mentioned in the course of the show (Phoebe is the only one with a specific date, February 16, making her in canon as well as archetype, an Aquarius). Other tidbits include Rachel being born some time in the spring, but when she was stopped by a cop, saying she was an Aquarius (Jennifer Aniston is an Aquarius in real life, so this could have been an inside joke/Easter egg). Joey is said to have a birthday in the winter, which fits with our speculative sign of Sagittarius, and Ross is said to have a fall birthday, which works with his real life sign (David Schwimmer is a Scorpio) as well as his speculative sign, Libra.

The girls of Friends

The Girls

Monica Geller Played by Courteney Cox (June 15, Gemini)

Aries sun, Virgo moon, Capricorn rising If you're inclined to google such things, popular opinion insists that Monica is a Virgo because she's an anal retentive neat freak, but our panel agreed she's definitely more aggro at heart, taking the reins as the boss in both social and professional realms, like a fiery Aries with an obsessive-compulsive Virgo moon. She's also practical, enterprising and ambitious, and often has a hard time connecting with her emotions. Combined with her dark hair, pale skin and angular features, we see Capricorn rising.

Rachel Green Played by Jennifer Aniston (February 11, Aquarius)

Taurus sun, Leo moon, Taurus rising Popular opinion usually pegs Rachel as a Taurus and we agree. A loyal friend and lover, she's the most feminine and materialistic of all the Friends, and from her very first appearance in a wedding dress, she's the most preoccupied with relationships. A textbook Taurus who even turns her love of fashion and shopping into a career. We think a double dose of Taurus is in order here, for her rising sign as well. But she's also got a bit of fire at heart, and an ego that can easily be wounded. She loves to be the center of attention and then there's that famous mane of hair, emulated by legions of women in the 90s (I was there, I saw it firsthand!). Leo moon.

Phoebe Buffay Played by Lisa Kudrow (July 30, Leo)

Aquarius sun, Sagittarius moon, Aquarius rising Another double sign here, Phoebe is such a classic Aquarius that everyone on our panel and most of the internet agrees. She's also the only character with an actual canonical birthday, February 16, which makes it a consensus. She's quirky, offbeat, eccentric and often seems out to lunch, but everybody loves her. She's also loyal, playful and absolutely fearless, so we think there's undoubtedly a fiery, adventurous, fun-loving Sagittarian moon at the heart of her personality, sandwiched between her Aquarius sun and rising sign.

The guys of Friends

The Guys

Joey Tribbiani Played by Matt LeBlanc (July 25, Leo)

Sagittarius sun, Aries moon, Leo rising Three of the six actors who played the Friends are Leos in real life, but Joey is the one character who actually is an actor, so we think Leo rising is more than appropriate. He's all fire; dramatic, bold and cocky on the surface, with a playful, boyish, flirtatious (but never threatening) Aries moon to compliment the brash Leo ascendant. But, as my mother points out in the podcast, there's a bouncy lightness of spirit that suggests a more complex sun sign; he's also an incredibly soulful and empathetic friend, with hidden depths of emotion that anchor the Aries-Leo combination. We're thinking Sagittarius sun, which matches his best friend Chandler's Sagittarius rising and soul sister Pheobe's moon.

Chandler Bing Played by Matthew Perry (August 19, Leo)

Gemini sun, Pisces moon, Sagittarius rising We all readily agreed that sarcastic, always-joking Chandler has to be none other than Gemini, with the worldly, wise-ass intellectual edge provided by Sagittarius rising. Underneath the unerring wit and the constant barrage of withering punchlines, though, beats the tender heart of a Pisces moon, too sensitive for his own good but just sympathetic and deep enough to make him a cast favorite (for everyone except Bo! lol). Pisces moon also makes him a trusted confidante to all his friends and a perfect love interest for Monica, whose Virgo moon would be a magnetic pull for the opposing moon.

Ross Geller Played by David Schwimmer (November 2, Scorpio)

Libra sun, Scorpio moon, Virgo rising Last but not least, after some debate, we pegged Ross as a Libra because they are second only to Capricorn in seriousness and career-focus. As a Venus-ruled sign, Libra is also expressed in his lovelorn, undying obsession with Rachel and his complicated relationship with his lesbian ex-wife, her acerbic partner and the son they eventually co-parent. He's also the character everyone else makes the most fun of; he is painfully self-conscious but can't seem to get anything right the first time, so we think meticulous, socially awkward Virgo rising makes perfect sense (no shade, I'm a double Virgo myself!). He's also a paleontologist (bones!), deeply emotional and jealous, so we see a Scorpio moon, which creates an opposites attract dynamic with Rachel's Taurus sun and rising.

Starzology Podcast

Listen to the Astrology of Friends episode to hear all our opinions, rationales, debates and caveats!