Hello Dear Readers,
I am writing to you from my new place, my first solo place, a desire of mine punctuated by Zoe Kravitz’s role in the High Fidelity TV series, where she plays records and languishes around her apartment in solitude and contemplation.
I knew I was moving last year when it became clear all my other roommates were going to move out by the beginning of 2023. It took all that time to pack up my things, solidify my plans and find a place that would suit my needs (old building, central location, cat-friendly, second floor so no one can spy on my vibe seshes). I’ve been enjoying exploring my new neighborhood and all the places that are suddenly walkable: my favorite parks and cemeteries; food carts and bars; the 7-11 so I can amble through town with a Slurpee in hand. It’s not lost on me that Mars, ruler of my house of home and real estate, was languishing in Gemini for those six months, and that I moved in not a week before Mars finally changed signs.
Your Feelings Are a Mirror
One thing I appreciate about astrology is that it gives me permission to feel what I’m feeling— especially if it’s crunchy or some part of me thinks I shouldn’t be feeling it. I love being able to provide relief to my friends by telling them that’s it not just them, but the stars match their experience. The transits of the planets in our solar system often have insight into our internal experiences.
So I want to provide some solace for you, dear reader, as well. Here are some things that may be brewing within you and the astrological reason why.
If you are feeling disorganized, bogged down by details, unable to plan: Mars just spent six months in Gemini, where it plunges into the minutia and detritus of life. It has been moving extra slowly, in addition to going backwards for a few months, meaning our sense of action and drive has been a bit more wayward and non-linear. Give it time. Tie up loose ends, pay errant bills and mail what you’ve been meaning to mail. Movement is beginning again
If you are feeling, sensitive, touchy, “crabby”: Though the red planet has left its retrograde shadow, Mars is now in Cancer, where it doesn’t always have the best time. In the sign of the crab, the fiery, action-oriented quality of the red planet can get bogged down in vulnerability, the desire for safety and the fogginess of feelings. People may be more snippy or we may take things more personally. Though not the best time for forward movement (remember crabs move side to side), it’s a great time to check in with your “petty” grievances: what deeper wound or need is calling out to you? What soft things in your life need defending?
If you feel like everything is changing: Two slow-moving planets changed signs this month. First Saturn, which spends ~2.5 years in a sign, moved into Pisces on March 7th while Pluto, which has been in Capricorn, moved into Aquarius for the first time since 2008. While it may take a while to understand the quality of these changes, if you are feeling like much is up in the air or shifting, then it’s true. Let your life unfold beyond the bounds of the known.
If you’re feeling extra embodied, self-sufficient and surrounded by beauty, you have Venus in Taurus to thank. Venus, planet of intimate pleasure, value and beauty, is like a wild flower garden; beautiful, growing organically and self-sufficient while still connected to the earth. Food may taste better, pleasure more accessible while also not requiring someone or something else to access.
If you want a more detailed accounting of how you and the heavens are meeting my books for April are open!
I currently offer a year-ahead reading geared towards attuning with your cycles and current becoming. (and P.S. discounts code are always available if you click through the intake form!)
A Dale Cooper Love Letter
The last transit I want to talk about is the Sun’s ingress into Aries, which took place on the 20th of March, also known as the beginning of the astrological New Year. It also marks one of the peaks of the Sun’s power. Think of the feeling of spring: day is now equal to night, and growing. Heartened by the light of the sun, plants begin to display new growth and flower buds appear. Here in Portland, the shift has been deeply felt. The winter rain has begun to recede. I wore a light jacket yesterday for an evening walk for the first time this year.
A quick reminder that astrology often shows up quite viscerally in our outside world! It’s not just Out There, but deeply intermingled with our intimate In Here experiences.
It makes sense, then, that the Sun is considered to be exalted in Aries. Exaltation is a quality that strengthens a planet and its outcomes. Some liken it to an honored guest in a house, or balancing the excess and deficiencies of a planet in the most beneficial way. The Sun is about the identity, visibility, leadership, wisdom. It’s the center of our ego and our most divine self. In Aries, a cardinal fire sign, we infuse our deepest sense of self into our actions. This is the conquering hero turned ruler; the Queen who rules not just in name but in decisive action.
I also see Aries Suns catching a lot of negative stereotypes: aggressive, impulsive, boorish, impatient. While that may be the case in some instances, it’s important to note that the astrological tradition would actually suggest the opposite. The above traits are often evidence of an ego that has not been properly fed or given its due. A strong Sun has a quiet confidence, the ability to wield authority when necessary but the inner illumination to let other sources of wisdom speak.
One of my favorite Aries figures is Dale Cooper,1 FBI detective in David Lynch’s TV show “Twin Peaks”. When the homecoming queen of a small Washington town is found murdered, he arrives as the outsider to assist the local police in solving the case. He moves and speaks with confidence, making it clear to the chief of police that his authority supersedes his, but then immediately afterwards excitedly asks him what types of trees surround the area, showing a clear reverence and attention for the place in which he had just arrived.
Later on, he will advise Harry, the Twin Peaks police chief, to treat himself everyday:
Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. It could be a new shirt in a men's store, a cat nap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee.
He will dream of Laura Palmer, the murder victim, and use these dreams to help solve the case. His power and authority, in other words, does not negate his collaborative kindness, his dreamy curiosity about the outside world. To me he shows what a good identity should be like: sure of its own purviews and able to assert itself while also aware of the pleasure of yielding and shining a light on others.
There’s a gentleness and a playfulness that Dale Cooper embodies that I’ve always aspired to myself. This Aries season, consider what a good ego really looks like, versus what we are taught power is supposed to look like— often domineering, rigid and self-serving. Cooper shows us that something else may be even better and more aligned with the Sun in the first place.
That’s something I want to impart to my readers again and again: our authority comes not through complete control but through yielding to higher truths; our greatest becoming is often a collaboration between what we desire and what spirit, the Great mystery, the earth, asks of us. This surrender need not be scary or disempowering but can be a relaxing into truth.
If you are ready to step more deeply into your power, which the world so sorely needs, book a consult with me now:
And for now, I leave you with this favorite poem of mine by one of my favorite Aries poets, Frank O’Hara.
My Heart
Also, if you haven’t yet partaken in the gospel of Depeche Mode, may I offer you a gateway drug?
Until next week, when I return with a deep dive into embodying Venus,
Love,
Chloe
and yes, he is canonically an Aries
Beautifully written, thank you