NewJeans & Ashwini Nakshatra
*NewJeans (or NJZ) is a South Korean girl group that debuted July 22nd 2022 at 12:00 AM KST with “Attention.” The group has Pushya Sun, Bharani Moon, and Aswini Rising.
Last year, I received an ask about how NewJeans’ career would proceed in 2025 and I felt uncertain about answering it. However, as of today, I am sure that the NewJeans story is all about rebirth, conveyed through the myth of Ashwini Nakshatra! Visually, NewJeans has many Aswini traits (fresh faced, babydoll-esque looks, minimal traits.) If you look at NewJeans early perception, they were considered refreshing, authentic, natural, and friendly. There seemed to be something undone, spontaneous, and honest about their style despite the fact that they operated in an industry notorious for its artifice. Sonically, NewJeans also took inspiration from RnB, drum and bass, and jersey club (all established genres) but applied them in ways that were new/innovative to the fourth-gen K-Pop landscape. Finally, their rise to fame is incredibly Ashwini coded. There wasn’t even much of a rise, from the beginning, they were one of the biggest groups in K-Pop, domestically and internationally with their EP becoming a classic. This correlates with Aswini being the first nakshatra, breathing energy and spurring impulsivity. Ashwini is also signified by the horse and the bee (swift arrival, rapid nature, quick action) which makes sense considering how quickly NewJeans appeared on the sphere (Music video drop sans teasers or promotion).
However, the issue or perhaps, advantage, of Ashwini is that there is an instability, a lack of consistency. As quickly as they arrive, they disappear. This occurs often with Ketuvians where they participate in quick, drastic reinventions. Michael Jackson (Magha Sun) made an abrupt change from child prodigy in the Jacksons to world-famed superstar. Madonna (debatable Magha Moon) is also commended for sonic and visual shifts over several decades. And notably, Beyoncé (Ashwini Rising)! One thing I’ve noted about Beyoncé is that she is praised for surpassing her former RnB contemporaries due to her willingness to take creative risks. Even choosing to stick with RnB during the peak of EDM pop can be considered a creative risk. And she also surprise-dropped her self-titled album in 2013, changing industry standards, establishing a new image, and providing a look on her personal life. I don’t see it as burnout but rather a passion that must have multiple vessels and venues for creation prompting the desire to reinvent and change one’s style.
Returning to NewJeans, I think that they were always meant to shed the NewJeans image. No one could have expected in 2023 where they would be today, but I think NewJeans would always have to go under periods of intense transformation for the sake of art, unpredictably and beautifully.