These zodiac illustrations beautifully represent women in all their glory

What’s your sign? More importantly, what does your sign mean to you?

Heads up: Illustrations below contain nudity.

For those fascinated by horoscopes and astrology, your zodiac sign is so much more than a name or a symbol. Whether you’re a Leo or a Libra, a Sagittarius or a Scorpio, your zodiac can open up a whole new way of understanding who you are and how you maneuver your way through life.

Chicago artist Dani Knight found a way to tap into the power of zodiac signs while shedding light on feminism, positive body image, and what it means to be a woman.

Looking through Knight’s Instagram, you’ll find an eclectic mix of sketches from adorable anthropomorphic animals to the cast of Stranger Things. At the top of her feed, you can’t miss a beautiful display of women decorated with specific zodiac signs. The women have different body types and skin tones, different expressions and attitudes, proudly but also naturally displaying body hair, everywhere.

Knight says the inspiration to create these zodiac illustrations was first sparked last December, when she drew a Capricorn — her sign — for her birthday. She says once she made Capricorn, she was motivated to make a full set of 12 female zodiac personifications.

About three months later, Knight not only had 12 illustrations but plenty of reflection on what they meant to her and possibly others.

One notable attribute for the illustrations is their nudity and body hair.

“I have a lot of feelings about body hair just because I feel like hairlessness in women is pushed as the standard,” Knight told Culturess.

Knight illustrated various body types to portray women positively, candidly, and honestly. She also worked to represent a diverse set of women. While some were fantastical and mesmerizing (Aquarius is stunning as a mermaid), Knight wanted to further her approach of including different skin tones and overall be “more inclusive” with this project.

“There’s a responsibility to make sure I’m representing women in a way that aligns with my values as a feminist,” Knight shared.

Of the illustration set, Knight is fond of Capricorn due to it being her sign. Virgo, on the other hand, had its challenges.

In the Instagram caption for a sketch of Virgo, Knight touched on how loaded the word “virgin” can be and the overwhelming amount of “sexist stereotypes/beliefs/myths/baggage in patriarchal societies about what virginity signifies.”

Knight continues:

"It was really important to me to draw a person who didn’t fit those stereotypes, which lead to me thinking about things like innocence and femininity, which lead me to thinking about gender stereotypes in general (plus @wikkinicksrecently shared an awesome video about gender as a costume that I’ll try and find and link in the comments) The final result ended up being this hella confident character, and one of my favorite drawings so far!"

You can see all of Knight’s empowering zodiac illustrations on her Instagram and connect with her if you want to nab a few prints to celebrate your sign.

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