Upon conjuring up what eternal sunshine looks like, we may visualize that scorching, glistening beam of yellow strung together in the day’s sky. Of course, we’re talking about summer’s darling, the sun. How its rays hit our shoulder blades, exposed skin showed off by spaghetti straps and cropped material. Its icy poles and flings and happiness. However, to diehard Jim Carrey fan Ariana Grande (also going by the screen name of JimCarreyFan42), the only thing that seems to represent sunshine visually is the gold of her trademarked ponytail. She appears on the album cover leaning on her scrunchie-tightened twin, their surroundings shadowed by darkness.
Symbolically, though, it’s a whole other story. Of course, when we throw Jim Carrey’s name into the mix, we also think of his film project of a similar name: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The 2004 sci-fi branded rom-com, if you’re masochist enough to slot it into that genre, examines the idea of ridding a past love from our consciousness. Would you do it? A part of Ariana Grande believes so as she carries out the act during the music video for ‘we can’t be friends (wait for your love).’
At first glance, this concept is so deeply rooted in love loss. It also perceives the idea of purging a relationship to connect more deeply with our inner child. Yeah, you’re now getting it! Hence, two Ariana’s are on the cover album. She also finds a new, promising love at the end of the music video as her life path with her ex becomes parallel.
Oh no, it’s so much about your relationship to yourself. That’s mainly what I mean. For me, I was like, oh, I’m not listening to myself, I need to start listening to my … Why am I doing this? It’s not protective to ignore these feelings. It’s actually counterproductive. It’s actually more harmful to not.
Ariana Grande to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1
“Rearrange All The Cosmos…”
There’s another clue to this purging theory, too. In one of those three-track dream sequences that you’d most likely find in a quote tweet on Twitter, Ariana starts with ‘Saturn Returns Interlude.’ She then takes us to the final chord disconnect between her and her ex in ‘eternal sunshine.’ Then, a cosmic love shakeup occurs in ‘supernatural.’
This sequence is inevitable as it comes from Ariana’s mind and Max Martin’s, one of the album’s producers. He’s like one of those pop enigmas where when you peel back the fancy, bubblegum pink curtains ala The Wizard of Oz style (yes, we had to), you find him. Simultaneously, through this track run, Ariana transitions from one love to another. She’s also letting her old, toxic self die to come into something healthier.
The eternal sunshine Anthem To Your Saturn Return
What exactly is a Saturn return, and why does it perfectly suit this theme? To people who aren’t carrying around tarot decks, it’s essentially an existential crisis. It’s when the planet of Saturn returns to the same astrological house and degree point it was first at when you were born. This happens around every 29.5 years—Ariana Grande is 30, to put this into perspective. So, the ringed sphere comes, inevitably causing an event that makes you rewire your belief system.
What’s more interesting is that depending on what astrology sign Saturn sits in when it comes back around, what area of your life this coming-of-age moment occurs through. For example, the tissue boxes on the ready signs that they are Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces, who fit into the elemental sign of water, are more prone to have heavier feelings during this time. Fun! Therefore, there’s a different eternal sunshine anthem for everyone.
Fire Sign
You’re likelier to believe that a fire sign (Aries, Leo, and Sagitatturus) will win a breakup due to its feisty nature. And usually, you’d be right if Saturn didn’t tamper with the competition, of course. Their Saturn return is about considering other people’s feelings and counting them into their decision-making. It thus creates a more relaxed atmosphere than the fast-paced hustle culture they’re more used to, going from a me-attitude into thinking about the collective.
Therefore, we’re passing over ‘i wish i hated you’ to make the transition easier. On the celestial track, where its production feels like a tiptoeing waltz, Ariana realizes that despite how sour a note they ended on, she could never hate her ex.
Water Sign
You have to learn what tools work for you and how to befriend it, how to shine a light on all your little monsters and see them and look at them and say, “Okay, I see you. How can we live together? How can we survive together? How can we get through what we need to get through and work on this together?”
Ariana Grande to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1
Cancer, Scorpios, and Pisces, we’ve already dabbled into your Saturn return pool. So, you’ll have some understanding that this time in your life is all about developing what you already have, which is being deeply intuitive thinkers. Except it’s more about teaming that up with emotional maturity. One will be able to control their emotions rather than being stuck in the feeling of it.
Though the music video for ‘we can’t be friends (wait for your love)’ proposes what it would be like to scrub someone from your memory, the lyrics present another interpretation. While it is about that moment when you realize it’s the end of the road, it’s also about wanting to accept the idea of not hating each other. Exes can be friends, right? Or at least amicable. Ariana tells her ex, “You cling to your papers and pens.” Aka, the animosity that’s between them as they sign divorce papers. But as her emotional maturity kicks in, she waits for the day he’ll understand her side of the story.
Earth Sign
You Earth signs, known as the group’s Taruses, Virgos, and Capricorns, have studied all up on Saturn returns, right? And probably have a great deal of understanding of exactly what you’re getting into. That’s all because you’re the astrological teacher’s pets, if you will, except for in a Saturn return when you develop a sense of authority.
Queue ‘true story.’ With its perfect harmonization and 90s rnb dips as the chords progress, this is the anthem to put on when channeling your inner villain. Wanna own your truth? Put this track on.
Air Sign
I always record my Nonna when I’m with her because you never know what she’s going to say, and she’s the most hilarious person in the world. I had this 30-minute voice note of her and her friend, Shirley, talking. It was just right smack in the middle of it, and I said, “Oh my God, that’s the answer.”
Ariana Grande to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1
We promise not to keep you as an airy fairy, air signs. In fact, for Geminis, Libras, and Aquariuses, Saturn returns are usually when you become a tad more logical. This time in your life provides wisdom!
And what can get more wise than a feature from Ariana’s 98-year-old grandmother, Marjorie Grande? Who we now all happen to want to be, as she’s become the oldest person to chart on Spotify. Can’t we zip around on electric scooters while also going to the top of the pops? ‘ordinary things’ answers the question of how to know when you’re in the right relationship.
If you’ve reached this point and aren’t an astrological girly like Ariana, then you’re probably wondering how exactly one figures out their elemental sign. Well, first, you’ll have to whip out that birth chart with your date and time of birth. Then, allow sites such as Cafe Astrology to work it out for you as they create a comprehensive chart. Know where your Saturn return lies now? Great, we’d love to know too!
Tweet us @thehoneypop with the exact eternal sunshine song you’ll hit replay on to help you get through all those icky, complicated feelings of outgrowing your previous lovely self. Then, if you need extra help, munch on your favorite yellow snack, like peanut M&M’s, while you watch Zane Lowe’s Apple Music 1 interview with Ariana!
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