“The Crow” (1994) - The Karma Beyond the Grave
TW: This post contains spoilers
“The Crow”(1994) is one of those movies that feels like a dark poem and is the perfect ground for themes such as tragic romance, revenge and karma. It’s drenched in gothic atmosphere: rain, shadows, and a constant sense of grief. The movie is centered on Eric Draven (played by the Shravana Moon and Sun, Purva Ashadha Rising late actor Brandon Lee), a musician who is brutally murdered along with his fiancée. One year later, he is brought back to life by a mysterious crow, becoming an almost supernatural force driven by love and vengeance. Brandon Lee’s performance gives the film an almost haunting authenticity, especially considering the tragedy surrounding its production (Brandon lost his life during the filming sadly). The Crow is not just about revenge, it’s also about love that refuses to die and the story of a man that brings justice by coming back from the dead to “make things right”. The trope of the vengeful spirit is normally attributed to Bharani, but Venus’ intensity is present in all three Nakshatras it seems, thus Brandon’s potential to play a vengeful spirit is easily recognized through his Purva Ashadha Rising.
He does achieve his peace in the end after getting rid of the men that destroyed his and his fiancée’s life.
Eric’s power source is linked to ONE animal: The Crow; an animal that is often linked to the dead, known for following marching soldiers that go to war (to eat the “scraps” after the battles). Crows and Ravens seem to have very similar roles spiritually so I will list them bellow:
Guides on the other side for the departed
Messengers between the realm of the living and the realm of the dead
In Vedic Astrology, crows and ravens are associated with the planet Saturn (this is why a lot of saturnian men have raven like features), making them carriers of the energy of Saturn. Even though the protagonist is not a Saturnian, his moon and sun rasi lord is Saturn, which combined with the feminine and spiritual Moon, gives the perfect deliverer and “undertaker” if you wish.
The rest of the characters have spiritually inclined placements. His fiancée and the girl they “adopted” are both jupiter ruled (and mars ruled), while the detective that handles the case and seems unimpressed by the fact that he’s talking to a ghost is a rohini moon and has his sun in mula, conj Ketu.
The Soundtrack of the Movie
Burn by The Cure is the defining track. It plays in the moment of Eric’s resurrection and discovery of the events after his passing. It captures the essence of the whole film, because it feels haunted, like something unfinished. The lead vocalist of The Cure stated that he composed the song in 2 days, which honestly amazes me.
Something else I’ve noticed is that a lot of the musicians that composed the music for this movie have either solar or ketu influences: take Robert Smith from The Cure (krittika moon, ashwini sun) or Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails (krittika sun, mula moon) for example. Krittika goes hard among the creators of this movie, lord, the director himself, Alex Proyas, is a Krittika Sun (and anuradha moon). The presence of Krittika (sun nakshatra) and Ketu is understandable since both of those have something to do with destroying, burning to the ground, literally.
Fun fact: Apparently Brandon Lee’s grave is often surrounded by crows. People have reportedly seen crows gathering when they visit his resting place. I find it so poetic yet so tragic at the same time. The universe really has its ways to keep legacy alive…
Hope you enjoyed this post! I highly recommend watching this movie because it’s a literal GEM! Not sure if it hit me this deep because I also have a special connection to crows or it was just the overall energy. The movie has some graphic scenes so keep that in mind.
