Beyoncé’s Pregnancy Photos May Be Full of Secret Messages

Beyoncé may be the queen of subtle symbolism. Or maybe Beyoncé’s rabid online fanbase, the Beyhive, has too much time on its hand. Maybe it’s a mix of both. Whatever the case, whenever Beyoncé announces something, the internet goes into a frenzy looking for any accompanying symbolizing or any hints the singer may have left along the way leading up to her big reveal. Remember how any picture Beyoncé posted of lemons or anything even remotely lemon colored in the year before the release of Lemonade become proof positive that she had long been teasing us about the visual album?

Her pregnancy announcement was no different. Fans went back into the Bey archives looking for clues she may have dropped. They also dug deep into any perceived symbolism dropped into the photos, helmed by artist and photographer Awol Erizku. Is her wardrobe choice a secret gender reveal? Are there callouts to little Blue Ivy? Is Beyoncé situating herself as a goddess and mythical figure. Yes, yes, and yes, according to Twitter.

Here’s a rundown on all the conspiracy theories and potential symbolizing that may or may actually be intentionally included in the photoset.

Theory #1: Beyoncé’s underwear choice reveal she’s having a boy and a girl

Beyoncé posed in an aubergine Agent Provocateur bra adorned with a pink ribbon and a blue pair of knickers, which people are taking as a secret message that she’s having a boy and a girl. Which wouldn’t be unlikely if the twins are fraternal (statistically, half of all fraternal twins are of different sexes). Still though, we assume Beyoncé is beyond the increasingly retrograde tradition of assigning color to a baby’s gender. Her first daughter is named Blue after all, not Pink.

Theory #2: Beyoncé dropped a hint about twins all the way back in December.

Around Christmas time, Beyoncé uploaded a slideshow of images from her celebration to Instagram. In one shot she holds up two fingers. Some people might take this as a peace sign (notably, it was followed by a heart sign as well, so maybe it was just a message of “peace and love.”) Others, however, are pretty sure this is Bey informing the world of how many children she’s about to have.

Theory #3: There’s a secret call out to Blue Ivy in the original image.

Beyoncé announced her pregnancy with a picture of her kneeling before a wreath outside. Her first daughter is named Blue Ivy. The sky during day time, as you may well be aware, is blue. The wreath is made out of plants. Ivy is also a plant. Hence people think that means it was a direct shout out to Blue Ivy.

Theory #4: Beyoncé is representing Virgos as a nod both to her own zodiac sign and her due date.

Theory #5: Beyoncé is symbolizing the African Goddess Oshun, who according to tradition, gave birth to the first set of twins.

This seems actually spot on, as Beyoncé did include a shout out to Oshun in the announcement poem on her website. Oshun is a diety in the Ifá and Yoruba religions. In the religion, she’s believed to be the mother of the first ever set of twins. However, common folk treated her as a witch because until that time only animals gave birth to multiple babies at a time. Oshun is also frequently associated with the river and the colors gold and deep yellow.

Theory #6: Beyonce is referencing her own zodiac sign, and perhaps hinting at her due date.

Virgo, Beyoncé’s zodiac sign, takes its name from a Greek myth concerning a pregnant woman who was thrown into a river. Which, ok, yes, Beyoncé is pregnant and underwater in some of these pictures. Some have speculated that this may mean her still unrevealed due date indicates the children will be Virgos too, but Virgo season doesn’t begin until August 22nd. The timing there might be a bit off. Mothers, let alone famous ones, rarely announced before they enter the second trimester.

Theory #7: Her green veil represents fertility

Yes, green is often associated with fertility, but a noticeably pregnant stomach is also a universally recognized symbol of fertility as well.

Theory #8: Beyoncé is a member of the Illuminati.

Um, y’all haters corny….

Theory #9: Beyoncé was trying to cut off fake pregnancy theories from the start.

Thanks to Wendy Williams and a lot of people on the internet with too much time on their hands, Knowles-Carter’s first pregnancy was plagued with conspiracy theories that she was faking her own pregnancy with a body pillow and Blue was instead being carried by a secret surrogate. Of course, Beyoncé’s belly is on full display in these new sets of image, thus cutting off any similar conspiracies at the source. Sure, that might make some sense, but just let Beyoncé live without getting up into her gynecological issues. In fact, maybe she did insert a bunch of hidden messages into these photos just to throw the amateur Nancy Drews a bone and put their attention on something else.

Watch behind-the-scenes footage from a Beyoncé photoshoot: