Written In The Stars

It’s in our nature to star gaze. We’ve spend years looking to the night sky searching for a meaning and answers. We mapped them into constellations, told stories about gods and monsters. We depicted the lunar cycles as long as 25,000 years ago, and the ancient Egyptians based their calendar on the rising and setting of stars and constellations. Eventually we linked them to the intimate blueprint of our personalities and fates: astrology.

But beyond horoscopes and birth charts, the zodiac has long been a source of artistic inspiration — a kind of cosmic palette for creators who see myth, mystery, and magic in the movement of the skies above. Artists have turned to astrology not only as a theme, but as a philosophy: a way of channelling something larger than themselves.

Let’s take a look at some of those artists paint what is written in the stars for them.

Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939)

Alphonse Mucha, known for his elegant poster designs and ethereal women, created one of the most iconic zodiac artworks: “La Plume Zodiac” . This circular composition places a radiant woman at the centre, surrounded by the twelve zodiac signs — each one a delicate ornament in an ornate, harmonious whole.

For Mucha, the zodiac was not mysterious and esoteric, but lush, feminine, and decorative. His work captured astrology’s connection to beauty, cycles, and nature, especially through the lens of Venusian aesthetics — fitting for the Art Nouveau era.

Hilma af Klint (1862–1944)

Hilma af Klint was a pioneer of abstract art, her otherworldly paintings explore the spiritual evolution of humanity. She believed her paintings were dictated by higher spiritual beings and astrological energies. In her “Dove” series, she includes orb-like forms resembling ringed planets, while the 14th and final piece in the series features astrological glyphs in each corner—Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. These ancient symbols, serving as abstract stand-ins for traditional imagery, aligned naturally with af Klint’s pioneering vision of non representational art.

 Hilma’s work is a beautiful reminder that art can be divination and an act of surrender to the stars.

Nolan Oswald Dennis (1988-)

Rooted in the political and spiritual legacies of Black, Indigenous, and queer liberation movements, Nolan Oswald Dennis’ work rethinks the structures that define space, time, and knowledge.

One of Dennis’s most compelling ongoing projects, Black Liberation Zodiac, re-imagines the constellations by replacing traditional zodiac symbols with imagery drawn from global Black liberation histories.

By replacing the standard zodiac system, the “Black Liberation Zodiac” offers a new way of understanding global and universal relations, grounding it in Black and African experiences. The project challenges traditional Western ways of looking at the stars by putting African and diasporic perspectives front and centre, mapping the sky from the southern hemisphere and offering new ways to think about the universe.

Art and astrology both speak the language of symbols, archetypes, and intuition. They invite us to look beyond the obvious — to tune into something older, wiser, and beautifully irrational. Today are re-imagining zodiac archetypes through fresh lenses. They aren’t just making pretty visuals — they’re building new mythologies, reclaiming identity through astrology, and offering cosmic insight through aesthetics.

The stars don’t dictate what we make — but they just might help us understand why we make it.

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