Little Treats
Little Treats
Why your pleasure and astrology consults are works of art
Make your Pleasure Sacred Again
Today, I put on an Outfit just to walk to the art supply store and the grocery— it was all black, a long, liquid skirt and a short top with a zipper in the front so my many necklaces could dangle over my bare skin.
Today, I put on Amen Dunes’ “Through Donkey Jaw,” in the morning, when I was making calls and shuffling up and down to the laundry room. I played Sean Paul in the afternoon, getting psyched up and pulling tarot cards to fill my cup. I play Tori Amos in the evening, now, as I am ready to write something to you.
Today I laughed at the random assortment of groceries I had chosen: mini marshmallows, smoked trout, Szechuan peppercorns, pizza bagels. I am going to make a broccoli reuben, a potato-lox tart and crab rangoon throughout the week, simply because I want to and can.
I have long held to the adage that how you do one thing is how you do everything. If I speed past these mundane portals of enjoyment, this tendency reflects in my work and my creative life. As I continue on my “Artist’s Way” Journey, I feel supported in this belief. In addition to random assignments that increase your pleasure— buy yourself a favorite food of yours from childhood (that’s what the pizza bagels are for), make adjustments to make your room more stimulating to you, call a dear, encouraging friend— you are also tasked with taking the time out each week for a solo date whose sole point is to do what you enjoy.
What I find pretty funny about this whole process is how much my mind tries to resist these pleasures. They’re frivolous! It will waste your time. I could spend my whole life listening to the voice that tells me not to have fun. Who would care if I don’t?
Just before writing this, a friend texted the groupchat a link to this radio segment called “Girl Math,” where someone calls in with an exorbitant purchase that they want justified. The hosts will then speak of the money you save seeing Taylor Swift four times because, with the recordings you take, you’ll give yourself endless free concerts. An expensive Dyson hair dryer that prevents fly-aways saves you from spending on endless products to do the same thing without also drying your hair. They’re funny and ridiculous, but also speak to the part of ourselves that want to enjoy things, but still need some logic to justify doing so.
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Because valuing yourself and your pleasure is part of being an artist. They very act of doing so is transgressive when we’re constantly told to grind, make productive use of our time which usually translates into revenue. Now I’m all for making money and not spending beyond your means but you need not blow your paycheck to make your life a work of art. You also don’t need to justify what you do simply for your enjoyment. That is reason enough.
Because the way you treat yourself, and thus your world, in between creating things, bleeds into the finished product and its process. Julie Cameron tells us “As artists, we must learn to create our own safe environments”.
The world is already harsh as it is. Why does this idea that tough love and emotional scarcity will yield strong and healthy blooms persist?To give ourselves the space to create, you have to trust and cultivate ease. This means a certain sort of befriending yourself. Julie Cameron puts it this way:
“Practice being kind to yourself in small, concrete ways. Look at your refrigerator. Are you feeding yourself nicely? Do you have socks? An extra set of sheets? What about a new house plant? A thermos for the long drive to work? Allow yourself to pitch out some of your old ragged clothes. You don’t have to keep everything”.
These little acts of care also show our capacity to imagine, to manifest our desires even if it’s just for a pop tart or a walk around the park. Those are little moments of creativity, to me. They set us up for the bigger moves too.
Astrology as Art for Two
I have a pretty expansive idea of creativity because it necessitates such space. Why limit the times that the divine can pass through me, inspiring me to some poignant action or idea?
I feel this especially so in astrology consults, where an astrologer takes all the facts and knowledge they have of the subject and turn them into shared meaning. Then, we have to do it in front of another and hope that our meaning lands with their own life. It is a creative act, interpreting the stars in a way that can make any person feel something.
It is also an art form that inherently needs an audience. For natal consults, the point is for the chart interpretation to be witnessed by the native. Though you can do that via written report or voice recording, there’s something specifically thrilling about meeting a person face to face, giving voice to their chart and seeing how they respond. Astrology consults are magic, poetry in motion.
Consults, for me, thrive when they are conversations and the seeker is engaged and contributing their own wisdom to the chart. They make me feel electric, like a conduit passing its charge back and forth between self and other.
Because you know your chart more intimately than anyone else. You live it. Your wisdom shapes what the astrologer says, how the spirits move through them. And those spirits do not want you out here doing the bare minimum for yourself. It can feel weird or selfish or uncomfortable to listen to the god that sits inside you, telling you to buy pizza bagels because they’re your favorite. Or go to the botanical garden just because. But it also feels like faith to dare listen to your own pattern, which makes room for more stranger and precious parts of yourself to shine through.
You can accomplish this by treating yourself similarly, tenderly, sweetly. Protect your free time and pleasure. Follow what feeds you. Take long drives, buy a watercolor set, imagine you are the star of a movie on the bus. If we aren’t going to bring forth the meaning in our own lives, who will?
I specialize in helping people have confidence in their unique way of being and that the world needs it too. If you feel like you need some help cracking out of your shell or remembering why you’re needed, my consults are currently open. 🌸 🐚
I would be honored to create with you.
In the meantime,
You can look at this photo of Laura Dern and Nicholas Cage on the set of David Lynch’s “Wild at Heart”
Until next week,
Love,
Chloe
Julie Cameron, “The Artist’s Way,” p. 32
ibid p. 38
Little Treats
Chloe, I want to thank you for your incredibly thoughtful writing. I always look for your posts and newsletters. Be well, Peter