We all know that bad energy need not be disastrous for relationships. The gentle art of persuasion, empathy and compassion, even bribery and bargaining: any number of techniques can prevent potential volatility blooming into outright nastiness. 

Then there are the Gallagher brothers. 

With news this week that Liam and Noel’s band Oasis will be reforming to tour through 2025, attention has returned to one of the most enduring and spectacular feuds in rock and roll history. Some edited lowlights, according to reports. In 1994, Liam apparently threw a tambourine at Noel’s head. A year later, Noel supposedly hit Liam over the head with a cricket bat. In 2000, they brawled in Barcelona after Liam questioned the paternity of Noel’s daughter. When Oasis was booked to play MTV Unplugged in 1996, Liam sat in the balcony heckling his brother instead of performing. Liam, who in recent years has repeatedly called Noel a “potato” on social media—“Because he looks like one”—told LA Weekly in 2011, “I’d rather eat my own s— than be in a band with [Noel] again.” Meanwhile Noel has allegedly refused Liam permission to play Oasis songs live, and coined one of the most celebrated take-downs in history when he described his brother as, “like a man with a fork in a world of soup.” Describing his decision to call time on Oasis in 2009, Noel said, “I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.” In 1995, a 14-minute recording of the brothers arguing during an interview, entitled “Whibbling Rivalry”, reached 52 on the UK Singles Chart.

Even independently, the respective energy matrixes of both brothers suggests potential for controversy. 

Noel Gallagher - Gemini Sheep - Cerebral, Adventurous, Nervous

Elder brother Noel Gallagher (05/29/1967) has a combined sign of Gemini Sheep, mixing the cerebral, adventurous, and identity-focused character of Gemini with the eternally sensitive artistry of the Chinese year of the Sheep. The Sheep personality can be as charming and creative as any in the Chinese zodiac, but they are extremely sensitive to tensions that could knock them off balance. Indeed, both the changeable nature of Gemini and the fragility of the Sheep make this combined sign vulnerable to controversial outspokenness, spitefulness, and a tendency to overreact—if they are not given the freedom and peace they need for the intellectual creativity they crave in their deepest selves. 

Other Gemini Sheep notables born around the turn of May into June include actor John Wayne (05/26/1907), who as well as being an Oscar-winning titan of US cinema notoriously expressed racist and homophobic views in interviews, and the acclaimed rapper Azealia Banks (05/31/1991), who has been described as “[getting] more attention for her public feuds than she does for her music.” The environmentalist Rachel Carson (05/27/1907) spun the Gemini Sheep’s propensity for controversy into confronting the use of dangerous pesticides, and is widely credited with a formative role in the environmental movement thanks to her book, Silent Spring (1972). The celebrated actor and politically conscious star of The West Wing (1999–2006), Richard Schiff (05/27/1955) has said he believes he was the only White person at the first Black Panther meeting in New York in the 1960s: “That was my influence. Mainstream politics seemed ridiculous to me.”

Liam Gallagher - Virgo Rat - goal-focused, reflective, determined

Liam Gallagher (09/21/1972), on the other hand, embodies the combined energy of Virgo Rat, which brings together the goal-focused, reflective and determined energy of Virgo and the shrewd, sociable, and strategically-minded Chinese sign of the Rat. Of course, on the Western side, Liam is born right on the cusp with the judicious and multi-faceted Libra. Cusp energy always implies an inclination towards rebelliousness, resistance to convention, and instability—and the shift in energy from the more single-minded determination of Virgo into the endlessly inquisitive Libra can produce a highly versatile yet ambitious kind of individual. Meanwhile the energy of the Rat is both creatively impactful and craving of stimulation. People born under this sign tend to be inexorably drawn to power, wealth, and leadership, and their most compatible signs—the Ox, Dragon, and Monkey—personify the strongest and most dynamic energy in the Chinese zodiac. 

Famous individuals born on the Virgo/Libra cusp in a Rat year include Jim Henson (09/24/1936, Libra Rat), who revolutionized children’s television through his puppetry creations on The Muppet Show (1974–1981) and Sesame Street (1969-present). The tendency towards provocation and contentiousness of this combined sign is perhaps more obvious in the examples of writer George R.R. Martin (09/20/1948), whose massively successful Song of Ice and Fire series (televised as Game of Thrones [2011–2019]) has been alleged to glorify sexual violence, and multi-award-winning British actor Jeremy Irons (09/19/1948), who as well as being one of the most celebrated actors of his generation has become embroiled in controversy in relation to comments about same-sex marriage, sexual harassment, and abortion. 

But are the individual natures of Noel and Liam Gallagher sufficient to explain the seemingly endless conflict between them? Quite simply, no.

The Most Explosive Fraternal Energy Match in the Zodiac…?

The energy match between the Gallagher brothers is as troublesome as any in the combined Western and Chinese horoscopes. It combines one of the most difficult combinations in the Western zodiac—the Square energy between Gemini and Virgo—with one of the most feared matches in the Chinese zodiac, that between the Sheep and Rat. The directness of Virgo tends to butt heads—figuratively and literally, as the Gallaghers demonstrate—with the naturally enigmatic energy of Gemini. And because these are both Mutable energy signs, drawn to consequences and implications rather than directness and actualization, there is little chance of avoiding confrontation. Given more favorable energy on the Chinese side, the potential for this Square tension to translate into personal growth and self-knowledge can be enriching for both parties, even if relationships ultimately settle into more distant arrangements than close intimacy. 

But arguably the real danger of this combination lies on the Chinese side. Where Liam Gallagher’s Rat sign usually possesses the vigor and quick-wittedness to meet any challenge head-on, Noel’s more fragile Sheep sign can be deeply disturbed by what they perceive to be the Rat’s manipulative or power-hungry behavior. Meanwhile, Liam’s Rat sign tends to see the Sheep as weak and unpredictable, not to mention an incorrigible spendthrift. Sadly, the most difficult aspect of this fourth degree axis energy is not even the risk of direct confrontations or inconsistency—it is rather the festering nature of the incompatibility, which tends more towards resentment and grudges than explosive outpourings. 

Whether the Gallaghers will be able to maintain civility long enough to sustain what could no doubt be an extremely lucrative tour, should it go ahead as planned, is at this stage anybody’s guess. No matter what happens, what is to come on stage or behind the scenes is bound to make headlines.