What Does "Mismatched Star Signs" Mean In Taylor's "Suburban Legends"?

There’s a lot to unpack with 1989 (Taylor’s Version). The re-release of Taylor Swift’s fifth studio album has been making waves forever, even before the Eras Tour movie premiered two weeks prior, which means there’s been no shortage of commentary since it finally dropped at midnight on Oct. 27. The changes in “Shake It Off” and “Style” have left Swifties screaming, crying in different ways, and the vault tracks have been on repeat for hoursss. One such vault track, “Suburban Legends,” has quickly become a fan-fave for two very different reasons: 1) for its nostalgic nod toward a short-lived summertime romance (presumably with one of her famous exes); and 2) one particular lyric that references “mismatched star signs.”

The lyric goes as follows:

“I had the fantasy that maybe our mismatched star signs // Would surprise the whole school.”

While Swift’s famous for her sentimental songwriting (she is an emotional Cancer moon, after all), in recent years, she’s been known to reference her own birth chart, with song titles like “The Archer” (she’s a Sagittarius sun) and lyrics like, “Does a scorpion sting when fighting back?” in “Mad Woman” (she’s a Scorpio rising), leading many to suspect she’s fairly familiar with her own cosmic makeup. So for her to acknowledge the astrological compatibility (or lack thereof) between her and her ex-lovers in one of her songs doesn’t seem far-fetched.

Swift’s “Suburban Legends” Lyric Seems To Point To Sun Signs, Specifically

In astrology, compatibility is often determined by the element of your sun sign: fire (Ares, Leo, Sagittarius), earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn), air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius), or water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces). So when Swift mentions “star signs” in the 20th track on 1989 (TV), she’s most likely referencing her fiery Sagittarius sun and the sun sign of the ex in question.

The “*Mismatched* Star Signs” Lyric Refers To Basic Astrological Incompatibility

As a fire sign, the Grammy winner may find herself most compatible with air signs or fellow fire signs. If so, she’s not far off the mark, since your sun sign can often be the first indicator of a well-suited companionship. However, sun sign compatibility doesn’t always indicate that you’re out of the woods as far as being a mismatch.

Considering who many Swifties think the song is alluding to, ex-boyfriend Conor Kennedy, the lyric doesn’t quite make sense, since Swift and Kennedy are actually quite astrologically compatible. She’s a Sagittarius sun, he’s a Leo sun — both fire signs; she’s a Cancer moon, he’s a Pisces moon — both water signs.

Sharing the same sun and moon element with your significant other is usually a major green flag. This means that the song is either *not* about Kennedy, she’s done her digging and knows way more about his birth chart than just his sun and moon signs, or Tay could actually just be confused about the meaning of “mismatched star signs.” The multi-hyphenate always does her research, though, so it would be extremely surprising if the latter proved to be true.

TL;DR

“Mismatched star signs” usually indicate that your sun sign may not mesh well with the other person’s. However, it’s very rare that a sun sign mismatch is all it takes to jeopardize a connection. In fact, it’s probably their Venus or Mars sign that’s causing the problem. Someone, get Conor’s birth time, stat!