The Sun joined hands with Venus in Aries this weekend, and the waves of anticipation came rolling in. You know something big is coming because you have called it in. You, of all the zodiac signs, know that slow periods are just a build up to the big show. It happens incrementally and then all at once. As the current picks up the pace, you might be tempted to imagine that you know exactly how it’s gonna go and the best way to navigate it. It would serve you to take a breath before you dive in and make sure that you’re approaching what’s before you with a clear sense of what’s behind you. All the insights you’ve acquired during your time of respite are a part of you now — they can’t be left at the shore in favor of a hasty good time.
Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
You’re not one for rushing into new situations, at least not characteristically. But, you are not above rushing to judgment and sometimes even conclusions. Especially when it comes to scenarios that feel familiar to you and your way of being. While your approach is probably right because you’re usually right, you might find that upon further reflection, the judgements you feel coming up aren’t necessarily reflective of what you currently believe. Not only has the past year changed you, it’s taught you the many ways human beings fail at seeing the complexity of others. You’ve learned that supporting others sometimes necessitates staying in your lane. This week try to remember that the people who have inspired you to grow were rarely the ones who made your progress their business. Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
As we begin a new year of battling COVID-19 — yes, even those of us who are vaccinated — we also move into another year where we must negotiate what it takes to feel in community even as we are barred from practising it in the ways we once did. Acceptance of our limitations, it seems, doesn’t cancel out the pain of them. Not just a yearning for closeness, but a yearning to feel and sense the world that you’ve spent years building for yourself. A world of friends with tight hugs and gathering spots that feel as familiar as your living room. It’s okay to miss what you had and to grieve it. When you’re ready, when it feels right, you’ll find that you’ve had a new role to step into this whole time and a new self to share with the ever-changing world you’re building.Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
If you’ve spent a long time intentionally or unintentionally siloing off the erotic parts of yourself, if you’ve felt yourself collecting a debt of sexual attention — especially a debt you owe yourself — this week will prove the stack of notices harder to ignore. Of course, such personal matters will hardly announce themselves in the form of bills although we all know that sexual energy and money energy sleep in the same deliciously depraved bed. More likely, you might find yourself receiving exciting new invitations or visitors trying to cash in on a flirtation you sent out when you were feeling bold. If this week has you struggling to physically feel your way into the space your imagination has built, begin by giving your erotic self slowly back to the whole of yourself. Only you know what that looks like for you, and every way you do it is right. Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
It’s true that many of our beliefs about the world and our place in it develop in relationship to our upbringing. Yet those beliefs aren’t necessarily the ones we use to build our lives. Rather, they tend to serve as the foundation upon which we build and interact with new ideas and ways of being. The more risks we take, the more we push ourselves past our comfort zones, the wider we study, the more we are tasked with not only transforming the foundation we began with but how we understand ourselves in relation to it. The work, it turns out, is always double-fold, but you, dear Leo, are more than equipped to handle the load. What’s more, you’ll find that despite the arduousness of the effort, the work gives you a feeling of lightness. You can’t control where you begin but you have a say in where you’re going. Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
It’s true that doing something right often requires focus, but just because you’re pulled in two or more directions doesn’t mean you’re bound to do it wrong. In fact, there’s something about the current moment, the tension of it, that seems to be feeding your sense of accomplishment. You might have been spreading yourself thin but you’ve also been spreading your wings and testing your limits. If you’re tired, you have a right to be tired, but you also have a right to be proud — and that sort of feeling wants rewards. A Virgo is a devotional creature and all acts of service require a blessing. Since the mechanisms are well in place and what needs doing is getting done, this week should be the perfect time for you to replenish the well. No reason to stay parched when you have so many ways to quench your thirst.Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
Well, birds do it, bees do it, so you know it’s only natural that humans do it, too. It’s natural but it’s complicated, as all human endeavours are. We’re rarely only in it for procreation’s sake, after all. There’s play too, and play is the most natural thing of all, but sometimes we grow out of it or we believe the people who tell us that being powerful means being serious and strong at all times. When intimacy feels like play it’s a clear sign that you feel safe, that the birds inside you get to sing whatever songs feel good to sing. This week, whether you are spending time with a beloved or by yourself, experimentation is key. Sometimes the best kind of touch is a light touch, sometimes not taking yourself so seriously can seriously open some new doors.Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
You might not have been raised to believe it, but you’ve certainly raised yourself to understand it: To feel secure in yourself is to feel free. While the story of growing up continues to be a story about finding stability in partnership and life’s meaning in relationship, the reality of growing up is another story. But, are freedom and relationship really so antithetical? Is it possible that re-writing the story, at least for yourself, is only the first step toward a world of relationship structures? Sometimes, the tower needs to be knocked down before we’re able to imagine other ways to live. On the other side of ruin is transformation, and transformation is not always a phoenix rising. Sometimes it’s a small bird in migration, seeking new signs of life, new ways of living.Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
Whoever said “do what you love,”must have had some sort of trick up their sleeves. Surely, they didn’t live in a world of unanswered invoices, under the pressure of constant content and clickbait, equipped to always be available and somehow underpaid. If these sentences don’t describe your experience exactly, don’t worry. The quandary can be simplified to something as plain as the state of being invested in what you do in the world, but recognising that the methods you’ve chosen are untenable for your mental and physical stability. There’s no easy solution and maybe there doesn’t have to be. You’ve simply explored one path to the very end and now it’s time to look for a foothold or a friend so you can climb out and look for another way. Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
If you need permission to “be baby” from time to time, then you can have it. Not that you’re the kind to ask permission, especially since the rules seem to be your favourite part of any game. Babies love rules just as much as adults do, and while children might reject our rules, they are more than ready to make up their own. If you don’t believe me, listen in on a game of CandyLand. The truth is, being baby can be just as powerful and as vital as being charged with responsibility, especially responsibility to others. Responsibility is a weight and while you bear it well, you still bear it. What if you shrugged it off a bit this week? What if you made up your own rules this time just to see who notices? What if messing up only means pouting until someone sends you a pint of ice cream that soothes your sorrow?Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
If this past week involved taking some creative risks, if you’ve tried your hand at something new or a new way of doing something old, then this week should see the rewards of these risks. Of course, rewards aren’t always big grand things like promotions and trophies. Sometimes, rewards can come piecemeal in the form of validation, recognition, a new connection, an invitation to apply yourself again, because while the materials might have missed the mark — you yourself left an impression. Do your best, dear Aquarius, to keep an eye out for good signs of this nature because they’re easy to miss in hard times and consequently all the more important. Whenever you feel affirmed, even by a flower, write it down. These outside affirmations will serve to steer you, but, most of all, they will bring you joy.Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
You’re wise enough to know that not everything that feels good is good for you, but you have a right to seek comfort and security just as much as the next person. Who could it hurt if you buy a few more CBD bath bombs or an expensive body salve? You’re not really the type to hem and haw about spending money on sensual delights — and, good for you! What do we have left except pleasure? Better to invest in what makes you feel good and cared for and has tangible results than invest time and energy trying to teach someone else how to take care of you. You know how tempting it is to hold the mirror up to someone else, especially when it means not having to look at it yourself. But, why teach someone something they’re not asking to learn when you can just treat yourself?Illustration by Stefhany Lozano
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