Our celebrity this month is one of the most successful singer/songwriters
to ride in on the second wave of ‘grrrl’ rock in the mid-’90s.
Born on June 1, 1974, she and her two brothers were raised in Ottawa,
Canada, by French-Canadian and Hungarian parents. By the age of 10, this
precocious gal had landed a role on the Nickelodean TV show “You
Can’t Do That on Television” and recorded her first single,
“Fate Stay With Me.” She spent most of her pre-pubescent years
performing throughout Canada, singing “O Canada” at sporting
events and even making the de rigueur appearance on “Star Search.”
At the young age of 14, Alanis Morissette was offered a recording contract
with MCA/Canada. Her debut, Alanis, a collection of dance-pop songs,
was released in 1991 and went platinum in Canada. That year, she won the
Juno award (Canada’s Grammy) for Most Promising Female Vocalist.
Her sophomore effort, 1992’s Now Is the Time, was recorded
and released before Morissette graduated from high school.
This Gemini has a dramatic Leo rising and fiery Aries ruling her tenth
house of career, which makes for a powerful, determined, somewhat changeable
and unpredictable performer. I think those words describe Ms. Morissette
rather accurately. The Sun rules over Alanis’s younger years, so
it’s no surprise that at the age of 14 she was offered a recording
contract. The year was 1988 and transiting Jupiter crossed her Mid-heaven
(career sector) and conjoined her natal Venus in the 10th house. When
Jupiter crosses the Mid-heaven in our charts, we can experience a rise
in our career status. Her natal Venus in Taurus in her tenth house makes
an opposition to her natal Moon in Scorpio in her 4th house. This position
gives her songs a raw, emotional quality. She experienced strong, emotional
struggles at home, so it should be of no surprise that over the years
these emotions would be expressed in her songwriting.
After high school, Morissette moved to Los Angeles where she had the good
fortune to hook up with songwriter/producer Glen Ballard, known for his
work with Michael Jackson, Paula Abdul and Wilson Phillips. During that
period, transiting Uranus made a beautiful trine to her natal Venus–which
rules her home and resides in her career house–giving her the spark
to move to L.A. and begin an extremely creative writing collaboration
with Ballard.
The resulting demo tape that was born out of her writing sessions with
Ballard was shopped around to the major labels, and Madonna’s recording
company, Maverick, eventually signed Alanis. Jagged Little Pill
was released in the summer of 1995 as transiting Jupiter made an opposition
to her natal Sun, bringing this lion into the limelight. This Top 10 album
reached platinum status, and ultimately sold 28 million copies worldwide.
This is another example of how the abundance of Jupiter exhibits itself.
About the songs on Pill, Alanis states; “Most of the songs
are, in a roundabout way, actually addressed to myself…there’s
a certain aspect of the songs that's very confessional, very unadulterated...It
was a very unfettered, spiritual experience.” With her natal Neptune
in opposition to her natal Sun, most, if not all, of her songs are born
of a Spiritual experience. I once heard her mention in an interview that
one day while she was on sabbatical from her music, she sat at a piano
and began to “channel” new songs. There’s no doubt that
most, if not all, of her songs are born of a ‘channeling’ experience.
Very profound, this one - on a spiritual/songwriting level that is.
Grammy’s for Album of the Year, Best Female Rock Vocal Performance,
Best Rock Song and Best Rock Album followed in 1996 as Jupiter made a
trine to her natal Venus and sextile to her natal Moon early that year.
In November 1998, she released her much-anticipated follow-up, Supposed
Former Infatuation Junkie, on Maverick, which has sold over 7 million
copies worldwide.
Her
latest creation, So Called Chaos, was released on May 18 (I
had the fortunate opportunity to attend the listening party at New York’s
China Club, photo right), and a tour will follow as the next half
of 2004 unfolds. Transitional Pluto will trine her Mid-heaven for most
of the year, and a Full Moon very close to her birthday can push her career
further along the path of fame that she has come to enjoy.
For more about Alanis' career, please
visit:
www.alanis.com
©2004 Raymond J. Sette
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