🌸 My Books are Open for April 🌸
I am struck by how many clients I get just by talking about the astrology of the day. It usually begins with a question: Why do I feel weird? Are the vibes off? And, invariably, there’s always some void moon or harsh transit to describe their feeling.
From there, if I know their chart, I'll explain how they may notice a lot of aggression around them or perhaps the difficulty is coming from their partner or workplace. They’re often not looking for a solution. Just knowing it’s not just in their heads is enough.
When going through harsh circumstances, I’ve found most people want to be witnessed.
Being able to tell people that there’s nothing wrong with how they feel and that there’s some outward reality that corresponds to your inner feeling or experience is such a gift.
It is liberating to be allowed to feel into all of ourselves, to find a place for it all. By witnessing ourselves, we give ourselves choice over our actions and that choice brings freedom.
Paradoxically, by staying with the immutable facts of our lives, we can find space for change.
If you need help joyfully witnessing the contours of your life, making space for your transformation, my books for April are open. Book a natal, timing, fixed star or creative practice consult by clicking below
Sympathetic Magic, or How to Handle Inevitable Difficulty
This past week has especially invoked the question of the non-astrologers around me, namely: what the fuck?
Though there are many stories of people traveling to witness the total eclipse in Aries this past week, I am witnessing just as many stories of upheavals, tumult and difficulties, all of which I associate with the force majeure that is an eclipse.
Just know you are not alone: this last week was brutal. On top of an eclipse, which, experientially, is like being simultaneously cleansed and knocked over by a crashing wave, we also are in the midst of Mercury retrograde, so our communications, travel and technology are all being negatively impacted by the trickster planet’s backward step. My dear friend lost an essay she had been working on for six hours because of a software issue. I had to cancel a session because my computer was malfunctioning. On their own, these vagaries would be difficult.
And then we have the Saturn and Mars conjunction of it all. As the two malefics, or subjectively difficult deities in the astrological pantheon, whenever these two conjoin we have an amplification of the harsh aspects of our lives.
Venus, our bringer of pleasure and intimacy is also in detriment in Aries so our ability to feel into the intricacies of our lives is also hampered during this time.
Luckily, the worst of it has passed. Expect a slow, steady climb out of the depths over the next few weeks as we enter Taurus season on the 19th.
But in the meantime, you may have wounds and dilemmas to sit with. I wanted to offer you some sympathetic magic or ritual actions you can take to assuage some of the difficulty coming at you right now.
As I have witnessed again and again, we may not be able to change the Big Picture of our life, but we can attend to the details and find liberation there.
Sympathetic magic comes from the adage, “as above, so below”. It presupposes that the bigger energies of our lives can be concretized and symbolized by smaller, mundane actions, i.e. putting a rose, a Venusian flower, on your altar, helps you draw down the presence of Venus.
One of my favorite examples of sympathetic magic comes from Tarot teacher and author T. Susan Chang. Whenever she pulls the 10 of Swords during her daily pull, she goes to the store to buy ten sewing needles, thus satisfying the archetype in a contained, harmless way.
Sympathetic magic can be quite useful for difficult periods because it allows the challenging energy to be invited in intentionally, in a hopefully tamer way, thus precluding a more chaotic or harmful manifestation.
If you are really feeling this Saturn-Mars activation, here are some actions you can do to channel the energy more productively:
Get a piercing or a tattoo: Mars loves needles and Saturn loves longevity so getting a painful and permanent body modification is certainly up their alley
Pay off a debt: This advice applies especially if one of these planets is in or rules your 8th or 2nd house. If it hurts a little, all the better, but only if you can still pay your bills!
Perform a task you’ve been putting off: It can be small, like rotating your tires or sending an email. But doing something kind of unpleasant out of necessity is what the malefics are all about.
Eat something spicy or funky: Mars and Saturn like food that may seem gross to an unrefined palette— hot peppers of all kinds, bitter and fermented foods— but are actually just *acquired tastes*. Bonus points if you try something new to you or something you’ve been afraid of for a while.
Wander by yourself: Saturn and Mars both rule exiles and outsiders— those somehow out of step with consensus society. Try taking a solo trip or hike in a new area and see what this intentional isolation brings in.
Astrology need not be heady or over-intellectual. We can embody it in our mundane actions and practices.
For now, I leave you with this article by Sam Adler-Bell on giving up, interdependence and what is really means to be held.
Here is an excerpt I’ve been rolling around in my mind:
Until next week,
Love,
Chloe