 As the global pandemic of COVID-19 continues to escalate, I have found myself asking the question: what is the function of witchcraft in this moment when our familiar established systems—many of which were already oppressive and exploitative, in ways we did and did not recognize—are collapsing around us in the face of cohabitation with the invisible? Pandemic or plague, this is a large-scale encounter of troubled coexistence between species, and multi-species coexistence has not been a strength of humanity for quite a long time. We are witnessing the force of the invisible, where the microbial becomes indistinguishable from the emotional, where fear of the virus spreads in waves that move with the virus itself but are also irreducible to it, where care for the living and concern for those most at risk from contact with the virus are shaping our physical realities and social spaces as much if not more than the virus itself. So what I am calling “the invisible” in this moment is both affective and biological, a more-than-human species that is living with and through human bodies as well as the legion of emotions and sensations that are shaping our lived realities as we scramble to respond well to what we cannot see. The virus is biological material but it is also a feeling—or countless feelings—that are attendant to this crisis. In a sense, affectively, we are all already infected with the virus if we consider that its reach is not measured only by confirmed physiological contraction, but also the feeling states that are surging through our systems day by day as reports circulate and events are canceled and spaces are closed indefinitely and social gatherings are prohibited, the feelings of hypervigilance and sensuality as we wash our hands again and again, caressing and stroking or scrubbing the surfaces all around us as we sanitize and disinfect, saturated with both anxiety and compassion. We are all already living our bodies differently because of this invisible virus. This is not to diminish the gravity of those who have been diagnosed with the virus, those undergoing treatment or those who have died. Rather, it is the say that the effects of the invisible are multitudinous, and none of us are the same as we were before this encounter began. Witchcraft is a sustained and ongoing collaboration with the invisible as well as the visible, the intangible as well as the material. It is the cultivation of relations—sacred and ecological, kinship relations as well as pacts and allegiances with allies and co-conspirators. For some, witchcraft is a practice of communion with the planet, the ongoing development of right-relations with the land, the sky, the waters, and all those living relations to which we already belong. For others, witchcraft is a practice of devotion to deities or demons, summoning spirits and seeking powers from beyond the human realm. It is possible that these are different words describing similar or the same phenomena. Dion Fortune said that magic is the art of changing consciousness at will, and if this is the case, then we do so by working intentionally between the visible and the invisible, the material and the intangible. We generate and sustain felt embodied states of connection and ecstasy, dissolving the boundaries between self and planet, possessed by renegade desires and fallen angels, dancing as air and fire and water and earth, speaking with the voices of Goddesses, drawing the moon down into our bodies, journeying into underworlds, becoming-plant, becoming-animal, becoming-stone. Whatever else witchcraft may do, the transformation of invisible felt states, the capacities to access other ways of sensing and feeling and being when confronted with multi-species realities—even when those realities are threatening or lethal—is what we have been practicing all along. I cannot give you a spell to prevent the microbial from entering your system or to prevent the transmission of this genetic material from one body to another. No doubt there are witches who are allied with plants and minerals capable of enhancing our immunity or supporting our recovery, and perhaps there are sorcerers who can call on spirits to perform the miraculous. But here is how witchcraft is functioning for me today: Through daily practice of intentional and attentional relating, I am affirming the sacredness of all living and dying things who are held within the relations we call this planet. We are not at war with genetic material that seeks to replicate within our cells. We are currently struggling to rediscover how to live—and to live well—as we live with that which is not exactly living without us. These are troubled relations but they are not war, and it casts a different kind of spell to structure our realities as combat or coexistence. What kind of spell do you want to cast? Every day I am communing with ancestors—the dead as well as the not yet living—including those in my bloodline but also those ancestors of possibility, the queer and gender-variant, the transcestors who lived before me and make my life possible. I reach out across spacetime to be with them in their lives and to learn from them, because surely these wise-women, these seers, and these healers have wisdom to offer from between the worlds. Every day I set out water in a glass from my grandmother as an offering to these ancestors that they may drink and be well, and each day when I return to pour the remaining water out into the plants with whom I live, some of it is gone. Yes, perhaps evaporated into the atmosphere, but how is this invisible process any different from the ancestors having drank what they needed? This is a practice of communion with the invisible, and it cultivates a different way of being with the invisible, giving and receiving in need and reciprocity, which is very different from living in constant fear of what we cannot see. Every day I am communing with the elements—air, fire, water, and earth—and offering gratitude for the early springtime rain, the muddy earth, the chilly breeze blowing through the park, the sunlight from beyond the clouds. I hold these elements in my body and honor these tangible, material ways in which I am not separate from the world around me. As we move deeper into practices of social isolation, it becomes even more important to practice knowing and feeling that while I may be socially isolated, I am not separate. I am still connected to a vast more-than-human world in intrinsic and intimate ways. I am spending sustained time with rocks and stones, sitting in meditation, listening deeply to the subtle qualities of these ancient companions. These rocks have survived millennia. They have remained present for countless deaths and dying processes. They have endured throughout immense loss. Many have undergone substantial transformations of heating and cooling or calcifying or breaking apart. Listening to their wisdom requires slowing down, existing in a different relationship to time, and becoming attentive to the gentle whispers and tremors of contact with significant otherness that I would never perceive if I were moving at the accelerating speed of this world in crisis. It is a kind of spell to slow down and to listen deeply to the subtleties of stone. This is time magic. The stones speak to the minerals within my own body, the parts of me that are billions of years old that have also survived and endured across deep geological time, and as I listen, something surrenders, something softens, and something lets go. It does not diminish the severity of this crisis to cultivate felt states other than fear, anxiety, panic, grief, scarcity, anger, and rage. We can respond effectively to crisis and also cultivate grounding, tranquility, contentment, abundance, pleasure, and joy. The spells I am casting right now include reaching out into memory or imagination or fantasy and connecting to experiences of abundance, pleasure, and joy, finding or installing those felt sensations within my body, and staying in those states for ten, twenty, thirty minutes—until my system has the opportunity to experience bringing these feelings into the present moment, feeling differently in the context of crisis. This does not make the crisis dissipate, but rather, it conjures a different body for moving with and through this turmoil. Because in the face of this plague, I am not willing to surrender the hard-won pleasures and desires and experiences of well-being that have been given to me by queer and trans communities and ancestors, by wise-women and witches who have dealt in healing magic for centuries or perhaps for thousands of years. In order to be well with the invisible, we must become practiced at perceiving and responding to what Alkistis Dimech describes as “the occulted body”—which is primarily simply the body, but more specifically the body that we do not see, the body that is hidden. In other words, the parts of one’s own body that are invisible, that cannot be seen, that must be felt—the insides, fluids, fascia, muscles, and bones, but also the images, memories, sensations, social conditioning, and desires that compose this experience we call a body. Engagement with the invisible happens first throughout our own invisibilities, feeling into our own embodied places that we cannot see, and conjuring states of being that are not seen but felt. It is from here, from working with the invisibilities of our own selves, that we can also contour the affective dimensions of the invisible virus that are shaping our social spaces and disintegrating worlds. It is possible that months from now the crisis will have abated and you will emerge seemingly unscathed by the virus, but if you have spent those months holding fear, panic, anxiety, and dread within your body’s system, something will have been lost and you will not have, in fact, emerge unscathed. It is also possible that you or I will become host to this virus, that our temperatures will rise as we cannot catch our breath, and it is possible that some of us will die. How do we want to die—saturated with fear and regret and despair, or cultivating ongoing experiences of peace and pleasure and joy? What would it mean to not only live but also die well? What I am trying to say is that as we crash into these waves of invisible forces—where the content of such waves is both genetic and affective, biological and emotionally embodied—witchcraft and magic offer tools and traditions for shaping our felt experiences, for shifting consciousness at will, for cultivating pleasure and joy throughout the occulted body, so that we might move differently through these uncertain times. Particular thanks to Sam Johnson, Maree ReMalia, and Norah Zuniga Shaw. Many of these thoughts were shaped in conversations with these loved ones.
While not making direct references, this thinking is in deep entanglement with Donna J. Haraway.
1 Comment
This is a busy day for the Moon in Capricorn as it moves through conjunctions to Mars, Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn, and a sextile to the Sun in Pisces, before finally ingressing into Aquarius. The Moon describes our instinctual needs for safety, security, and care, and this series of aspects describe a potentially tumultuous path toward meeting these needs. The conjunction to Mars can agitate our tempers, sparking conflict either with others or within ourselves as we move through a challenging situation. Jupiter offers support and relief, but from a diminished capacity; we may have access to more than enough, but we may also be challenged to ration and take care of how we utilize the resources available to us. Pluto not only intensifies whatever we are already feeling, but also turns up the pressure as our current circumstances begin to unearth traces of trauma or abuses of power from within the depths of our own bodies. We may not feel like we have an outlet for that which is getting uncovered and brought up. The sextile to the Sun in Pisces revitalizes us as we concern ourselves not only with our own needs but the needs of others as well. Sometimes we cultivate more care in our lives by offering more care to others. Saturn enforces restriction and isolation, and as we globally move deeper into practices of what we’re calling social distancing, we may begin to feel the effects of this distancing in our physical and emotional bodies. What structures or practices can you put into place to address your emotional and physical needs under these escalating conditions? Finally, the Moon moves into Aquarius, reconnecting us to the big picture and inviting us to strategize and plan for unknown futures in the making. We do not know what the future holds, so how can we begin to formulate the collective systems that we will need in order to support us as we move through such uncertainty?  Today the Moon in Capricorn makes a trine to Venus in Taurus and a sextile to Neptune in Pisces. While the Moon may struggle in Capricorn—the sign of its antithesis or detriment—Venus is strong in its domicile of Taurus. This trine offers generous support to the Moon, reminding us to prioritize pleasure and nourishing physical experiences in the midst of challenges. As many of us are facing more solitude and isolation due to COVID-19, it is even more important that we remember the importance of pleasure, (self-)touch, eating food that will support us, and staying committed to the well-being of our bodies. Under the conditions of increasing physical distancing, what practices can you maintain to invest in your erotic wellness and feeling good? Neptune in Pisces beckons us toward non-ordinary reality and altered states of consciousness. As we spend more time on our own, this aspect suggests making time for meditation and rituals practices for shifting consciousness, connecting to invisible experiences that exceed rational descriptions of the world, and perhaps partnering with substances and plant companions for experiencing our bodies in more expansive ways. Such altered states hold the capacity to dissolve what might seem like fixed boundaries, eroding our sense of separation as we connect to ancestors, sacred elements, guides or deities, the tangible and intangible world around us, and even one another in practices that fold across time and space. If you are feeling the struggle of separation and isolation, how can you use today to reconnect to your own body and pleasures, and also to shift into states of consciousness in which you are deeply connected to collectivities that cannot be undone be regulating physical contact and distance?  Today Mercury ingresses back into Pisces, the sign of its detriment and fall. Mercury is retracing the path of its retrograde, which can describe a process of integrating or making sense of the lessons that we were reviewing during the retrograde itself. That said, as Mercury moves back through a sign where it often struggles, there may be answers or information that continues to elude us. Mercury in Pisces asks us to communicate about our feelings with as much clarity as possible, but this can be difficult if those feelings are too immense or overwhelming. The Moon in Sagittarius makes a square to the Sun in Pisces, entering the waning quarter phase of the lunation cycle. As we continue to move through this process of healing, the waning quarter Moon asks us to let go of structures or practices that are no longer serving us. The Moon then ingresses into Capricorn, the sign of its antithesis or detriment but with reception from Saturn. The Moon describes our instinctual needs for safety and security, own physical and emotional needs for comfort and care. These resources can feel in short supply in Capricorn where the emphasis is on work, discipline, and accomplishment. No doubt there is work that needs to be done, but be sure that you are also investing in practices of self- and collective-care. The Moon makes a sextile to Mercury in Pisces, suggesting that one way to respond to immense or overwhelming feelings will be to focus on the body, the felt sensation of whatever is coming up for you right now. You may not be able to put easy words to the emotional experience, so what if you began by trying to describe your physical state from the inside out? As the Moon makes a trine to Uranus in Taurus, we may find that access to comfort or care comes through insisting on revolutionary and innovative approaches to asking for what we need and offering what we can to meet the needs of others.  After several days of busy skies, today the only major aspect is a square between the Moon in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces. This square challenges us to approach the world around us—the world that goes beyond our own borders and horizons—in ways that are actually in alignment the worlds we can imagine, the worlds of which we dream when we are saturated with empathy and compassion. With both planets in mutable signs, living into such worlds will require adaptation and responsiveness. In her brilliant analysis of critical pedagogies in the context of emerging geopolitical constellations of power, the assertion of a “new world order,” and the linking of the academy with the economy, M. Jacqui Alexander writes, “We are all inhabitants of this world. The question we must pose is how do we inhabit this new world order? … And yet we confront a major difficulty in reconciling desire with practice, of teaching a vision we have not yet fully lived, of moving inside and across the outlines of a map, with no guarantees … Thinking justice, teaching for justice, and living justice means that we continually challenge each other to enunciate our vision of justice. Unlike the new world order with elite ownership for members only, we all have ownership in this new vision; no single one of us stands in a proprietary relationship to it, for it is to be collectively imagined, collectively guarded, collectively worked out.” Today we might ask ourselves and one another: how do we live into worlds for which we do not yet have maps? How do we live and teach visions of justice we have not yet fully lived? How do we imagine and guard and work out collectively new visions for worlds to come? As we find ourselves living through worlds we perhaps never imagined, how do we live even more insistently into our collective dreams and visions of justice?  Today Mars in Capricorn makes a sextile to Neptune in Pisces, offering fresh inspiration and imagination to our drives to accomplish great things. The Moon in Scorpio makes a square to Mercury in Aquarius and a sextile to Saturn in Capricorn before ingressing into Sagittarius. As we move through the depths of our most vulnerable places, we may find that there are difficult truths that need to be spoken and healthy boundaries that need to be cultivated. Putting words to what has been hidden and asking for what we need can ask us to confront our own shame. Brené Brown has said, “Shame is really easily understood as the fear of disconnection: Is there something about me that, if other people know it or see it, that I won't be worthy of connection?” The Moon moving through Scorpio is reminding us, however, that in order to truly experience connection, love, and belonging, it is exactly these parts of ourselves that we have to be willing to share, to speak, to be seen. The Moon then ingresses into Sagittarius, bringing our attention back out into the wider world where we move out beyond our own borders. However, with Jupiter—the ruler of Sagittarius—in Capricorn, the Moon does not have reception here. Our focus may shift from our inner lives to the world around us, but we may feel a bit lost or disoriented by the shifting, changing world through which we are moving. Finally, the Sun in Pisces makes a sextile to Pluto in Capricorn. There are processes of regeneration that only become possible once we have moved beyond the old ways in which power has operated. What new forms of life and livability are becoming possible specifically because the old systems are decomposing all around us?  Today the Moon in Scorpio makes a sextile to its ruler Mars in Capricorn, supporting us in courageously moving through the feelings beneath the feelings arising right now. If you are encountering fear, what is beneath that fear? If you are experiencing frustration or rage, what is beneath that frustration or rage? As the Moon makes a trine to Neptune in Pisces, we may find that feelings that seem personal are shared or originate in collective experiences from which any individual experiences are constituted. The Moon then makes a sextile to Jupiter in Capricorn; both in the signs of their fall or depression, neither are in ideal conditions, but this aspect may describe a kind of solidarity or support that emerges specifically in the context of conditions that are less than ideal. If you find yourself struggling with the challenges you are facing, look around. See who else is struggling, and consider what you may be able to offer one another in the midst of these trials. The Moon makes a trine to the Sun in Pisces, reminding us to give our attention and focus to that which is life-affirming—for ourselves and for others. Finally, the Moon makes a sextile to Pluto in Capricorn, assuring us that powerful resources become available to us as the ways in which those resources have been utilized disintegrate and decompose. What kinds of power might you begin to access if you let go of your attachment to power being structured or channeled in ways that are established or familiar?  Today the Moon in Libra makes a trine to Mercury in Aquarius and a square to Saturn in Capricorn before ingressing into Scorpio. With Mercury now moving direct in Aquarius, this trine to the Moon in Libra may encourage and animate social connections that integrate the lessons of the last several weeks of Mercury retrograde. At a time when so much emphasis is on social distancing, this trine asks us to find meaningful ways of sharing and relating. The square from Saturn in Capricorn describes firm, unavoidable limits as well as the fears that diminish or foreclose our capacities for connection. As the Moon ingresses into Scorpio—the sign of its fall or depression, but with reception from exalted Mars in Capricorn—we may feel plunged into the deep end of our inner emotional worlds, but trust that you have the resources needed to bravely face whatever is hidden beneath your own surfaces. The Moon’s passage through Scorpio can describe heavy days, where the weight of our own emotional lives and the acute awareness of our own vulnerabilities can make trust and connection difficult to maintain. The Moon opposes Uranus in Taurus, which could feel like a blast that shakes our most guarded places. It may be that even beneath the armor of your most well-defended parts, sudden and unexpected shifts are happening, no matter how you try to contain or conceal them. The Moon then makes an opposition to Venus in Taurus, marking a tension or need for balance between our sustainable practices of pleasure and doing the uncomfortable or even challenging work of attending to the difficult feelings that may compromise our experiences of pleasure and well-being.  Today the Sun in Pisces makes a sextile to its ruler Jupiter in Capricorn. This is an encouraging, affirming aspect that could signal growth or expansion in how we perceive and understand our life’s purpose or direction. We make catch waves of inspiration that reassure us that in fact it is possible to live into the life toward which you are moving. The Moon in Libra then moves through squares to Mars, Jupiter, and Pluto in Capricorn. Whereas Libra draw us toward connection and cooperation, Mars in Capricorn can describe competition and the drive to differentiate and distinguish ourselves. Notice where you feel the impulse to compete or to establish the significance of your work in ways that potentially undermine or disrupt the relationships and collaborations you are fostering. As Jupiter hurls its rays back to the Moon, this is a condition of bonification, but may still require adjustment or redirection in order to experience the growth that is possible. Some of the challenges you encounter today may actually provide you the occasion with which to evolve in ways you would not have previously considered or predicted. Finally, the square from Pluto may describe confrontation or conflict with authorities or power struggles. If you find yourself struggling with or against power, remember that you are not in this struggle alone. Allow this Libra Moon to remind you of your allies, comrades, and accomplices, your friends and lovers and kin who are committed to this cause. Reach out and ask for the support that you need in order to sustain the resistance.  Today the Moon in Virgo makes a trine to Saturn in Capricorn. The Moon in Virgo draws our attention to the details of practical matters, the habits and processes we want to put into place to support us in our well-being. Saturn in Capricorn reminds us that there are some achievements and goals that only become possible through sustained discipline, through committing to the ongoing reiteration of practices that build the bodies and worlds that we need. adrienne maree brown teaches us that, “We become what we practice,” and, “How we are at the small scale is how we are at the large scale.” What are the small scale daily practices to which you might commit in order to shape change in ways that scale up across the long-term? The Moon then ingresses into Libra. In Libra, the Moon is ruled by well-resourced Venus in Taurus; however, in Taurus, Venus is in aversion to the Moon in Libra, unable to witness or offer reception. The Libra Moon excites our interests in others, in making meaningful and harmonious connections, and collaborating on shared visions that bring many perspectives together. With the ruler of Libra in aversion to the Moon, it may feel as if we know there are abundant resources available, but we aren’t clear on how to access them. Trust the body. Trust your felt sense of intuition in dialogue with the material world. Pay attention to the feeling of the changing seasons in and around your body, and listen to what these changes are teaching you. The world around us can teach us how to be well with one another if we are listening with all of our senses, as a living body in living relations with countless others.  Today the Moon in Virgo makes a trine to Mars in Capricorn and opposes Neptune in Pisces before coming into opposition to the Sun for the Full Moon. This trine to Mars offers energy and perseverance to the efficient execution of the tasks of the day, and the opposition to Neptune describes the process of dreaming big but also taking small, practical steps to give big dreams tangible form. The Full Moon—ruled by Mercury in Aquarius just hours from stationing direct—marks the culmination or peak of the processes of healing that were initiated at the New Moon in Pisces. As the Moon comes into its full visibility in Virgo, the time has come to implement and change our material practices to support ourselves and one another in living well. This lunation reminds us that healing is not a singular event but a cycle of practice. Anna Halprin writes, “A cure is an event, neither predictable nor always available. The process of healing interests me more, because healing is available to all of us, all the time … I believe healing also involves our attitudes toward our bodies and our illnesses, our willingness to challenge our values and lifestyles and points of view … When we approach healing as an ongoing dialogue with our body and our mortality, surrender to what is beyond our control, and grasp an understanding of the power we have in our own living and dying, I believe our relationship to healing, and death, will change.” What would it mean for you to put healing into practice today? How might you challenge values or lifestyles that limit the ongoing dialogue with your body and ultimately mortality? The Moon then makes a trine to Jupiter in Capricorn, receiving blessings of abundance and reminding us that so much of what we need is actually already available to us. As Mercury stations direct after several weeks retrograde, we begin the process of integrating the lessons and insights received from this period of reflection and review. Finally, the Moon makes a trine to Pluto in Capricorn, connecting us to sources of power that may have been buried or repressed but which nevertheless have the capacity to invigorate the ways we are shaping change.  Today the Moon in Leo opposes Mercury in Aquarius before ingressing into Virgo. Mercury is still retrograde until tomorrow, so this opposition may signal a need to reflect on the role you are playing within a larger system, a role that you may not yet fully understand but nevertheless is part of your effect in the world. As the Moon enters Virgo, it is ruled by Mercury; we may be tasked with managing and synthesizing details and practical processes today, but it may also be that we don’t yet have the resources available to move through this to-do list. Patience. The Sun in Pisces makes its annual conjunction to Neptune, initiating a new cycle of dreaming and visioning, the dissolution of the ego and the introduction of modes of perception that challenge our reason and rationale. The Moon in Virgo makes trines to Venus and Uranus in Taurus just before Venus conjoins Uranus, offering inspiration for assessing and implementing radical and revolutionary pleasure in our lives. adrienne maree brown writes in Pleasure Activism, “… pleasure is a measure of freedom … What would happen if we aligned with a pleasure politic, especially as people who are surviving long-term oppressive conditions? …Pleasure activism asserts that we all need and deserve pleasure, and that our social structures must reflect this. In this moment, we must prioritize the pleasure of those most impacted by oppression.” If we take seriously that pleasure is a measure of freedom and prioritize the pleasure of those most impacted by oppression, how must we challenge, disrupt, and reorganize our personal, social, and political lives? Do you believe that you need and deserve pleasure? Do you believe that those who are most marginalized in our culture need and deserve pleasure as well? What would have to change if you truly committed to these beliefs?  After several days of busy skies, today there are no major aspects. The Moon continues to move through Leo, calling us into courage and authenticity, which over means sustaining the steady burn of vulnerability. The Moon looks to the Sun in Pisces as its ruler, but the Sun is currently in aversion to Leo, unable to witness or affirm the Moon from this place. What does it feel like to stand bravely in your own brilliant authenticity and belonging when it may also feel as if you are not seen, supported, or affirmed? Brené Brown writes in Braving the Wilderness, “Belonging so fully to yourself that you’re willing to stand alone is a wilderness—an untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching. It is a place as dangerous as it is breathtaking, a place as sought after as it is feared. The wilderness can often feel unholy because we can’t control it, or what people think about our choice of whether to venture into that vastness or not. But it turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it’s the bravest and most sacred place you will ever stand.” As the Moon moves through Leo without reception from the Sun, notice where you feel the call, the pull, the urge to step out into your own wilderness, where to show up as your full self might mean showing up alone or even venturing beyond the sanction of others. As the Moon increases in its light, how can you show up more fully for yourself, knowing that doing so is not only the mark of true belonging, but also offers light to those you may not even know need to see it?  Today the Moon in Cancer opposes Saturn in Capricorn before ingressing into Leo. This opposition challenges us to consider the ways in which our lives are structured around care as well as the ways in which the structures that organize our lives and livability limit or prohibit experiences of care. What does it mean to care for ourselves and one another—where “one another” specifically centers those who are most marginalized: Black and Brown folks, Indigenous folks, women and femmes, trans and nonbinary, disabled, poor, and aging folks, as well as the more-than-human world on which we rely and to which we belong? What would it look like to structure our individual and collective lives—recognizing that any seemingly individual life is always already a life that is made possible and sustained by a collective—around care? As the Moon moves into Leo, ruled by the Sun in Pisces, we may feel the flames of our own courage and tenacity stoked by experiences of empathy and compassion. If you allow yourself to feel with another or others, what do you feel emboldened to accomplish? The Moon then makes a square to Venus and Uranus in Taurus. Venus is powerful in its domicile of Taurus, and this superior square is a condition of bonification in Hellenistic astrology. Venus in Taurus lavishes us with grounded sensuality and sustained pleasure to nourish the ways we are showing up in the world. Uranus may push us toward rebellious or revolutionary action. Together, I am reminded of Toni Cade Bambara’s insistence, “As a culture worker who belongs to an oppressed people my job is to make revolution irresistible.” Whether you belong to an oppressed or marginalized community or whether you recognize the generalized oppressions that structure our world, how might you show up today and always in ways that make revolution irresistible?  Today the Moon in Cancer makes trines to the Sun and Neptune in Pisces, then opposes Jupiter and Pluto in Capricorn. The Sun calls us toward our purpose, the places in life where we can shine most brightly, and Neptune invites us to dream, to vision, to connect with fantasy as our teacher. As the nurturing Moon in Cancer moves through these trines, you may reflect on how you might cultivate conditions that support you in connecting to your own purpose as well as dreaming into what expansive forms your purpose might take. Are there forms of care that you can offer yourself or ask for from others that would allow you to show up more fully and shine more brightly, that would allow you to feel deeply into fantasy as your guide? As the Moon opposes Jupiter, we may be challenged with feelings of scarcity, limitation, or the experience of “not enough.” Remember, Jupiter teaches abundance even when resources are limited, pushing us to make the most of that which is available rather than giving our attention and energy to experiences of lack. Finally, the opposition to Pluto may bring confrontation with authority and abuses of power—within our social context, but also within ourselves and our own histories. As Mariame Kaba shared on How to Survive the End of the World, “The real truth of the matter is that when you think about #metoo and you think about sexual violence, these things don’t live outside of us. They really don’t. They are systems that live within us, that manifest outside of us, and if we don’t really take that seriously, I don’t think we’re going to make a dent in this problem, this issue. The fact that sexual violence is so incredibly pervasive should tell us that it’s not a story of individual monsters. And so we gotta think about this in a more complex way if we’re really going to uproot forms of sexual violence.” Whether confronting sexual abuse or other experiences of harm, we must recognize and take seriously that these systems of harm are never only outside of ourselves; they are within us as well.  Today the Moon in Cancer makes a sextile to Uranus in Taurus just as Mercury ingresses back into Aquarius. Uranus may uncover or dislodge feelings that have been held deep in the body, and although Mercury is still retrograde, as it leaves Pisces, our thinking or communication may feel less burdened with the weight of our personal or collective emotional experiences. Mercury then makes a sextile to Venus in the final degrees of Aries, emboldening us to say what needs to be said in our relationships. How can you speak up for your own needs and desires while also reflecting on the big picture of what you have built together? Venus then ingresses into its domicile of Taurus. Venus in Taurus grounds us in experiences of shared pleasure, luxuriating in our sensual experiences of ourselves and those we love. Finally, the Moon in Cancer opposes Mars in Capricorn. Both are in places of dignity—the Moon in its domicile and Mars in the sign of its exaltation. Mars in Capricorn describes the drive to accomplish and succeed, the ambition and the discipline to do the work that’s necessary to achieve what we set out to do. The Moon in Cancer describes our capacities to nurture and be nurtured, to protect and to be protected. In this opposition, we may be challenged to find the dynamic balance between different priorities—the work we want to accomplish in the world and our basic needs for mutual care.  Today the Moon in Gemini makes a square to Neptune in Pisces. With the Moon already ruled by Mercury retrograde in Pisces, this square only furthers the potential for confusion, miscommunication, and misunderstanding, especially the kinds that come from failing to recognize and acknowledge our own projections. How might things go differently if you chose to move with more patience and to interact with these experiences as opportunities to learn more about your own projections than trying to fully understand or to be understood? Venus in Aries receives a square from Saturn in Capricorn. Saturn is in its domicile and in the superior position, and Venus is in its antithesis or detriment in Aries. Today our desires and longings for pleasure and connection may feel burdened or prohibited by responsibilities—those we have accepted as well as those that are being put on us whether we like it or not. The Moon in Gemini makes a sextile to Venus in Aries before ingressing into Cancer. While the sextile may be a helpful aspect, neither Venus nor the Moon have much to offer here. Perhaps the Moon in Gemini can provide some helpful analysis to comprehend the ways in which we are feeling restricted or inhibited. When the Moon finally moves into its domicile of Cancer, there is relief and release to wade back into the soothing waters of that which nourishes. After the challenging aspects of the day, how can you reconnect to the sensitivity needed to feel what you are feeling more fully as well as to offer presence and support to what others are feeling as well?  The skies are relatively quiet today. The Moon in Gemini makes a square to the Sun in Pisces, entering the waxing quarter phase. This can be a critical turning point in the lunation cycle at which we begin to act on what was planted at the New Moon in Pisces on February 23—which likely initiated a process of healing that retains the trace of the harm we have experiences and reveals how such harms have shaped our lives. As we enter the waxing quarter phase, we may be faced with a choice: do you actually want to heal? Are you ready to address the ways that harm has shaped you? With Mercury—the ruler of the Moon in Gemini—still retrograde in Pisces, the sign of its detriment and fall, we may not yet be capable of putting words to our experiences. It may be that this turning point is actually turning back into memory, doing the vital work of remembering and recovering experiences that have either been forgotten or repressed. When Mercury stations direct on March 9—the same day as the Full Moon in Virgo, Mercury’s second domicile—we may be able to express what we need in order to move toward healing.  Today the Moon in Taurus makes trines to Pluto and Saturn in Capricorn before ingressing into Gemini. The trine to Pluto affirms the intrinsic power and potential for transformation that are part of what it means to be a body, and Saturn reminds us that accessing our available power can be a matter of discipline and practice. Alkistis Dimech writes, “The body is the abiding, animate ground of our existence, our capacity to become and to transform. It is our oldest magical tool. Therefore, the phenomenology of transformation must be related to a replicable physical process, embodied techniques that harness our sensory and kinetic potential to become other.” If we take seriously that the body itself is the ground for our capacity to transform, our oldest magical tool, to what practices and disciplines are you devoting yourself in order to harness this power? Whether dance or ritual or somatic technologies, martial or erotic arts, how are you committing to connecting to your own embodied sovereignty? As the Moon ingresses into Gemini, our curiosities awaken. We may feel motivated toward learning and sharing ideas, making connections with others that allow new ideas to form. The Moon then makes a square to Mercury moving retrograde in Pisces. Mercury rules the Moon and offers reception, but does so from not only retrograde motion, but also the sign of its detriment and fall. In other words, the square from Mercury is more likely to awaken our questions and misunderstandings, bring attention to our confusion or the limits of what has been revealed. It may be that the ineffability of feelings are more available than the clear articulation of thought this evening.  After a couple of days of challenging aspects, today the Moon in Taurus makes a sextile to Neptune in Pisces and a trine to Jupiter in Capricorn. We are given the opportunity to revel in lavish inspiration and abundance of feeling. The Moon is currently exalted in Taurus, inviting us to ground into our own sensuality and pleasures. Neptune invites us to dance with our fantasies, allowing our imaginations to draw us toward more feeling and more possibility. How might your fantasies direct and connect you to more expansive experiences of pleasure? Jupiter is in its fall in Capricorn, but reminds us that abundance is not a specific quantity but rather a consciousness of more-than-enough with whatever is available to us. How might your experience shift if you were to seek out and hold the sensations of abundance and more-than-enough within your own body? How might you honor your body as a source of abundant pleasure, with all the resources you need in order to feel more and to feel good?  |
AuthorMichael J. Morris is a witch, an artist, a writer, and a teacher. Categories
All
Archives
March 2020
|
RSS Feed
Copyright © 2019