The AHS: Coven Character You Are Based On Your Zodiac Sign
Welcome to Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a New Orleans boarding house for novice witches to develop their talents and cultivate a historic sisterhood that goes back to the Salem days. The third and perhaps most-loved season of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's hit anthology series, "American Horror Story: Coven" follows the trials and tribulations of Miss Robichaux's magical class of 2013. And when we say trials, we say this quite literally — the girls must go through the Trial of Seven Wonders to determine who will replace aging Supreme witch Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange).
Contrary to her name, Fiona Goode will do bad things to hold on to her power past her expiration date. Because of this, the young witches find themselves up against a whole host of unsavory characters. From swamp psychics to voodoo queens, "Coven" covers all the witchy astrological bases, even if they may be in their most afflicted versions. On Wednesdays, we wear black and consult our grimoires to determine which "Coven" character you are, based on your zodiac sign.
Aries — Madison Montgomery
As the first and youngest sign of the zodiac, brash Aries often finds themselves in the spotlight whether they like it or not. In the case of Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts), she relishes being the center of attention, even if it might not have begun as her choice. As a successful actor — a career path well suited to an Aries — Madison's temper often gets the better of her and she takes her Aries rage to a dark place, sometimes killing people who get in her way or otherwise cross her.
Sometimes Madison's responses can be disproportionate, like when she killed a director for making her feel bad about her acting. Sometimes she's an avenging angel, like when she flips a bus full of violent, misogynistic frat boys upside down, killing all but two. Like many "Coven" characters, Madison represents some of the worst characteristics of her sign: She can be selfish, impulsive, violent, and is guilty of impatience when she's waiting to get her way.
Underneath all of this audacious energy is a well of power that is so threatening to the Supreme Fiona, she accidentally-on-purpose kills Madison to remove her threat. In classic Aries style, Madison holds grudges against Fiona and several other witches into Hell and back again.
Taurus — Queenie
Those born under the sign of Taurus have a reserve of determination that helps them get through difficult times, but it often takes them a while to achieve their goals. Unlike Aries, who can thrive on change, Taureans crave stability and creature comforts. This is definitely the case with Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe), who was bounced around foster care until she finally founds a home at Miss Robichaux's. The Taurus mind is methodical and detail-oriented — in Queenie's case, these traits emerge with her prodigy-level math skills that are so advanced she's even able to beat the devil, Papa Legba (Lance Reddick), at his own game.
Taureans also have a notable physical presence and charisma that often makes them someone others come to for support and a shoulder to cry on. Even the sadistic Delphine LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) softens after spending time in Queenie's orbit. As a descendent of the Salem witch Tituba, Queenie is a human voodoo doll who can inflict pain on others by inflicting it on herself first, a testament to the natural hardiness of a Taurus, marked by its representative the bull. A Taurus demands respect, so it's no surprise that Queenie's personal version of Hell would include people disrespecting her over and over.
Gemini — Myrtle Snow
As the first dual sign of the zodiac, Gemini has an intense need to communicate, sometimes to their own detriment. Myrtle Snow is obsessed with the truth and demands honesty at all times, which she often helps along with her particular brand of magic. But as she quickly learns, sometimes secrets need time to surface, or collateral damage like the school's butler Spaulding (Denis O'Hare) might occur — Spaulding cuts out his own tongue thanks to Myrtle's spell.
Gemini is a sign associated with extremes. We see this transformation in Myrtle as she goes from a plain young witch to a bold fashionista by adulthood, with her own unique style that she makes no apologies for. As her fashion sense grows, her nosiness, gossipy nature, and cynicism grow along with it. In so many ways, Myrtle embodies many of the more troubling sides of a Gemini, with her harping tendencies, nervous energy, and her abrasive personality, known to rub even the most patient person up the wrong way. In "Coven," we see a Gemini at their coldest in Myrtle, as she hands out justice she will later answer for in her own blood.
Cancer — Delphine LaLaurie
In slave-torturing monster Delphine LaLaurie we see a Cancer in their most corrupted and twisted state. Where a healthy Cancer uses their intuition and desire for home and family into building a beautiful life for all involved, Delphine's warped heart and soul uses these things to create a space she alone rules, a place where the vilest things occur. While she claims to love her three daughters, she keeps them as prisoners along with all the slaves she experiments on and eventually murders.
Cancer has a hoarding tendency and finds security through objects they collect. In Delphine's case, this tendency is channeled into all the human beings she has trapped in her home, alive, dead, and in between. She also uses her captives' blood on her skin, a desire to hold onto her fleeting youth. Because this sign is ruled by the moon, Cancer is moody and Delphine takes this trait to the next level.
Those born under the Cancer sign usually have a sensitivity to others' emotions that can be confusing to manage on a good day. Delphine uses this awareness to hurt people at maximum capacity. There is a desire to hold on tight by whatever means necessary — including violence in Delphine's case, which ends in her spending decades locked away in a tomb, cursed with immortality and (the Cancer's nightmare) all alone. That is, until she's freed and forced to face all her crimes.
Leo — Marie Laveau
In her book "You Were Born For This," astro-philosopher Chani Nicholas said: "A Leo unloved can be a dangerous creature." In many ways, this sentiment encapsulates Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett), the Voodoo Queen of "American Horror Story: Coven." Leos are born leaders, and Marie displays powerful leadership as Queen of this ancient magic in New Orleans. Her involvement in this world set her up for the greatest losses of her life. She lost her baby daughter to Papa Legba in a trick agreement that brought her immortality at a price she didn't agree to. Then, the love of her life Bastien (Ameer Baraka) was kidnapped by the depraved Delphine LaLaurie for one of her sick experiments — and shockingly transformed into the Minotaur.
Through the theft of the two people who would have loved her unconditionally, Marie's heart turns bitter and she spends much of her decades channeling her Leo power and fury into intense campaigns of vengeance, determined to right the scales of injustice. Where in a healthy Leo we would see charismatic leadership skills, in this afflicted version we find someone stewing in their own juices and brewing a sense of entitlement while cloaking their violence with the shade of self-righteousness. Leo's tendency to people-please in this misshapen version turns into selfishness, and that leads to Marie's demise on multiple levels.
Virgo — Zoe Benson
Virgo is represented by the virgin, and this usually means that they are marked with a perfectionist personality that needs things to be just so, both in their own lives and in their relationships with others. But in the case of Zoe Benson (Taissa Farmiga), the virgin appears like a reversed tarot card in her so-called black widow powers: Anyone she has intercourse with will bleed to death. Zoe ends up using this aspect of her power for justice when she kills the fraternity ringleader of Madison Montgomery's gang rape, restoring some balance to a misogynistic universe.
As Zoe's magic develops, the Virgo aspects come out even stronger in her ability to fix things that have been broken, destroyed, and even bring back life. Her kiss resuscitates Kyle Spencer after his body has been Frankensteined back together after the bus crash that killed most of his frat brothers. And one of her spells restores the butler Spaulding's severed tongue so that he might finally speak the truth about Fiona Goode. But, beyond these powers of Virgo's representative virgin, Zoe has a quiet discerning personality and tendency to internalize her worries, a big Virgo giveaway.
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Libra — Cordelia Foxx
Cordelia Foxx (Sarah Paulson) is one of the few "American Horror Story: Coven" characters who displays the more positive traits of her zodiac sign: Libra. While she has some serious Sagittarius energy as her arc develops from "Coven" into "American Horror Story: Apocalypse," when we first meet her in "Coven" she is the very definition of a diplomatic witch, the peacemaking mark of a Libra. As Miss Robichaux's headmistress, she is an expert at conflict resolution and mediation among the girls and staff, one of Libra's key traits. She is organized, discerning, and often sacrifices herself to keep the peace, especially when her overbearing mother Fiona is around.
Libras tend to be partner-oriented, and we see this in Cordelia's fixation on having a baby with her husband Hank Foxx (Josh Hamilton), a tension in her life as he is away so much on business. For Cordelia, a baby would secure their bond. Because Libra can be such an outward-facing sign that focuses on the needs of others rather than their own needs, it takes Cordelia a long time and a number of traumatic events — like losing her sight — to realize that she actually does have the inner strength to be the next Supreme.
Scorpio — Fiona Goode
On a regular day, Scorpio energy is enough to fill an entire room with its power, charisma, and sexual magnetism. But when we take this into "American Horror Story: Coven" territory, the zodiac sign's innate traits are multiplied exponentially by Fiona Goode, the Supreme witch of Miss Robichaux's (and one of Jessica Lange's Emmy wins for the role to boot). Fiona is in a category all of her own, directing her overwhelming Scorpio energy towards the pursuit of immortality and a forever reign as the Supreme witch.
Because the physical and mental decline of a previous Supreme triggers the ascent of a new one, Fiona lies, cheats, enchants, and murders in an attempt to hold onto her youth and power. She even resorts to harming her own daughter Cordelia. Her Scorpio jealousy finds targets everywhere as she knows her reign is coming to an end.
Scorpios tend to have an extreme emotional investment in their careers, and we see the psychological damage this can cause in Fiona when she is simply unable to accept that it's her time to move on to something else. Without healthy channels for these intense reserves of Scorpio energy, it gets contorted into the rather grotesque personality we see in Fiona, even as we love to hate her.
Sagittarius — Hank Foxx
Where his wife Cordelia displays the positive traits of her Libra zodiac sign, Hank Foxx displays the entire cabinet of the worst traits of a Sagittarius. Represented by the hunter with bow and arrow ready to fly, Sagittarius is a seeker sign that is always looking for the next adventure. But in Hank's case, he is an actual mercenary, paid to hunt down and murder any and all witches potentially connected with the Miss Robichaux bloodlines. And that's not all he does.
Hank uses the seductive nature of his sign to his advantage, bedding the witches he's being paid to kill before brutally ending their lives. Sagittarius has an innate versatility that allows them to blend into different situations depending on the conditions, and in Hank's example he ping-pongs between being a doting husband who wants a baby as much as his wife to donning whatever mask he needs to snare the next witch on his murder list.
Underneath all of this subterfuge, Hank is an agent of his family's terrible business The Delphi Trust, which would like to eliminate the Supreme and all her wards without drawing too much attention. What at first felt like a daredevil game to Hank, one that massaged his Sagittarius ego, ends in Hank's death at the hands of a witch, justice for all the lives Hank himself extinguished.
Capricorn — Kyle Spencer
Represented by the sturdy goat, it takes a lot to knock a Capricorn down and keep them there. A goat might be stunned for a second, but it'll pop right back up and get back to whatever it was doing. For "American Horror Story: Coven" character Kyle Spencer (Evan Peters), he brings that Capricorn brand of dour humor into his first moments on screen when he meets Zoe, leaving us all wondering what someone so sweet could be doing in a fraternity with such monstrous members.
Capricorns have a fierce sense of justice and are driven by a moral imperative to do the right thing, which Kyle does the moment he realizes his frat brothers are sexually assaulting Madison, breaking up the horrific incident. When Madison flips over the fraternity's fleeing bus, the one tragedy is that the goodhearted Kyle is killed in the accident. But he's not dead for long, as that Capricorn hardiness comes to the fore and Kyle is stitched back together by the witches.
Even though he's not the same Kyle he was before, eventually he becomes a loyal friend and protector not just to his potential soulmate in Zoe, but all the wards of Miss Robichaux's academy, where he replaces the devious Spaulding as butler.
Aquarius — Nan
As one of the final and most mature signs of the zodiac, Aquarius tends to be tapped into the collective consciousness of humanity, both past and present. For Nan (Jamie Brewer), this manifests as the ability to hear people's thoughts and see through the veil of whatever mask they might be presenting to the world. When not afflicted, Aquarius is a humanist sign that wants what's best for all and will do their part to make that happen.
Before her untimely death, Nan certainly used her magic for the greater good, often overlooking her own needs and desires, ignoring the ways that she might personally benefit from a mindreading power. Aquarius also tends to show itself in a quirky and unusual personality, one that displays its particular charisma in an openness and a willingness to engage with others. With her signature old-fashioned dresses and great laugh, it's this genuine kindness that draws people to Nan, including the gorgeous boy next door Luke (Alexander Dreymon), who many witches are crushing on.
This kind of ancestral power of clairvoyance combined with kindness becomes a dangerous mix to witches like Fiona Goode and Marie Laveau, who sacrifice Nan to further their own causes. When Nan returns in "American Horror Story: Apocalypse," she has lost all her lovely, humanistic Aquarius qualities and disturbingly embraces her shadow Aquarius side instead.
Pisces — Misty Day
Of all the "American Horror Story: Coven" characters, Misty Day (Lily Rabe) embodies the most positive qualities of her corresponding zodiac sign — Pisces — more than any other. Also known as the swamp witch, Misty Day is a sensitive, creative, and deeply caring person whose personality demands solitude and her own space. She needs to be free from the negative energies of the outside world. After all, having the power to bring back the dead is a huge burden to carry.
Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, and as it encompasses elements of all the signs that come before it, life can sometimes be an emotional minefield. Pisces absorb the energies of others easily, and without regular time-outs to reconnect with their cores, they get exhausted, depleted, and irritable, as we briefly see in Misty when she joins Miss Robichaux's.
Misty is often more concerned with nature than herself, and her dark side emerges only when people abuse nature for their own greedy ends, like when she reanimates two alligators to kill the poachers who illegally hunted them. This sign is known as the poet of the zodiac, and since Misty isn't necessarily a poet herself, she channels this desire into her love of Stevie Nicks songs and uses them to express the feelings she is unable to put into words on her own.