In the last few days you’ve most likely seen your Instagram stories transformed into a bingo hall, but instead of trying to mark off numbers you’re marking personality traits. The astrology bingo series is the brainchild of 24-year-old writer and amateur astrologer Miranda Feneberger who’s creation recently went viral. In Miranda’s series astrological traits are made extra relatable; she has Scorpios admitting to lowkey stalking, Aquarians only dating artists and Leo’s shhh-ing people. We got in touch with Miranda to find out just how the series came about and how on earth she knows us all so well.
Firstly, we have to ask what are your signs?
Oh my gosh — so intimate. Okay for my main three I am a Taurus sun, Pisces moon, Libra rising. And my Venus is in Gemini.
Have you always been a big fan of astrology?
Totally. I started getting deeper into it during high school. I’ve always loved learning about mythology and ancient belief systems and for me astrology is an extension of that. Magical things have always interested me.
How seriously do you think people should read in to it?
It’s up to the person! In my opinion, astrology leaves a lot of room for free will. Your chart doesn’t predetermine your actions or anything. I think of it as a way to become more self-aware and to be better at understanding other people. Everyone likes talking about themselves and being able to describe themselves in a way that feels right for them. Astrology just gives people more terms and ways to talk about themselves and engage others. And obviously it’s lowkey accurate or people wouldn’t love it so much.
How did you come up with the idea for the astrology bingo series?
I actually first posted them in March back when Instagram story templates were first starting out. I basically just wanted to jump on the bandwagon. It was like 3AM on a Sunday night and I decided to make one for Taurus — which is my sign. I had seen other bingo memes floating around and thought I’d try my hand at making one. I ended up making them for all of the signs and people loved them for some reason! I actually started up a whole meme account after that just to make astrology memes (@mirandasmemecastle). Last week, I decided to revamp and redesign the originals. I changed up some of the squares and the rest is history! One piece of advice I have for creative people is to launch their projects over and over again. I think going viral is really just about hitting peoples’ feeds at the right time. If you don’t quite make it the first time, try again!
Did you write all of the bingo slots yourself?
Yep! My old, decrepit brain came up with these jokes. Of course, I took inspiration from a lot of other memes, tweets, and funny things I’ve absorbed over the years, but I’d definitely say the content is my original work.
How quickly did you find that they travelled online?
So fast. It’s kind of scary. I’ve seen them posted by celebrities, porn stars, people who didn’t look twice at me in high school — you name it. It’s honestly awesome but I’m just happy someone thought I was funny for once. My little sister is really funny so I’ve always been the humor runt of the family and now I can rub this in her face forever.
I’ve been seeing them everywhere, did you have any idea it would be so successful?
Not at all. I made them at 3AM when I couldn’t sleep. I actually fell asleep halfway through and had to finish the rest the next day. I really thought maybe three of my six friends would share them. Turns out everyone loves bingo!
Any plans for a follow up series?
I’m not sure yet. Season two is never anyone’s best work. I might try to adapt or evolve the idea into another form, though. We’ll see where the Instagram wind takes me. Maybe Vine 2 will emerge and I can finally shoot my shot as a Viner.
How does this project fit in to your broader creative work?
Generally, I write about the things young people like. I try to elevate the stuff that teens and young adults care about because I think mainstream media sucks at taking young people seriously. It just sort of worked out that I love astrology and so do a lot of other people. Instagram has always been my favourite social medium (besides Vine of course), so it felt right to put these out on that platform. I think I’ll keep doing work there, but I do want to expand it into other areas. I’d love to work with young people in a more direct way. At the moment, I’m not exactly sure where I’m going, but I’m sure the stars will guide me in the right direction.
Check out Miranda’s astrology bingo series on her Instagram @mirandafen.