#21: Do you know who steers your ship?
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It feels insane to write about anything that’s not the genocide in Palestine. I decided to still send a newsletter and to still write about the astrology and spiritual things that I am thinking about and they ended up dovetailing.
Practical action: a reminder to call your elected officials every day and show up to actions where you can.
Some sky happenings in the next week: Honestly the astrology doesn’t bring a ton of change from the past few weeks. We’re still working with a sad, pinched Venus in Virgo putting pressure on our relationships and Jupiter in Taurus is about to be demoted to an evening star as the Sun slides forward through Scorpio.
Jupiter’s move from being a morning star to being an evening star demotes the things Jupiter signifies, softens them in our day to day. This is an interesting moment for us to consider how we interpret things and how we act on those interpretations. On the one hand, Jupiter represents capital-J Justice, which we need … pretty badly right now. On the other hand, Jupiter can represent those in power, the “kings” of the world who don’t consider the downsides, who act from devotion to their own ideals over what is real and in front of them. They could stand to be demoted right now.
Without digging into much deeper astrological technique, I couldn’t tell you which way the chart of this week skews, but it’s a good invitation for us to consider justice and power. Who defines justice (who defines a war crime? who defines self-defense?) and are they proclaiming their decision from the chair of the oppressor or the oppressed? People hold varying degrees of those identities shifting in any given moment, but one clarifying thing to consider is to look at who has a gun and who’s been starved, dehydrated, evicted, and isolated.
I’ve been thinking a lot again about a point that Arielle Angel makes in this piece in Jewish Currents, about how when you dehumanize other people you dehumanize yourself. We can all fall prey to it and I think we should all try, really try, to see even the worst people as complicated humans. And, again, it’s worth noting who is holding the gun. There’s a lot more in it, so if you haven’t read that piece, I found it useful. Challenging and expansive and as complicated as it is to hold grief, a hope for peace, and to recognize that sometimes defense is violent.
The brightest reprieve in the sky is on Thursday late afternoon and evening (eastern time) when the Moon is able to peek over and see both Jupiter and Venus by sextile, giving them a supportive wave from her home in Cancer. An invitation to collectively find ways to give support to Palestine.
The Moon in Cancer leaves me thinking about the destruction of homes—obviously the loss of life and the simple, gross injustice of these attacks is front of mind, but also the expulsion and flattening of what should be protective, safe, loving spaces is haunting. If you can use it to motivate your commitment, as a place to send your love and prayers and care and action, I’d recommend witnessing these two videos from Palestinians Mosab Abutoha and Ameera Harouda. I’ve got complicated feelings about the way tech companies are making money off the spectacle of this atrocity, but, lacking viable news access, this is one way to stay in touch.
Who steers your ship in life?
The week ahead portion above is heavier and longer than usual, so I thought I’d focus on something more tactical and personal in the rest of today’s newsletter. Do you know which planet steers your ship?
If you read this newsletter you probably know your Rising Sign, also called the sign on your Ascendant. If you don’t, just reply to this email and I’ll help you find it! Once you find your Rising Sign, you can identify the planet that “rules” that sign. In astrology, we think of that planet as one of your “ruling planets”. Its internal dynamics, its movements, and its relationships are core to how you move through the world, shaping the way that your Rising Sign shows up and how you move toward your aspirations.
The framing that this planet “steers your ship” comes from Demetra George (she gets it from the source, ancient astrologers in the Mediterranean) and is shared by Chani Nicholas in her book, You Were Born for This, a great primer if you’re getting more into astrology. Here I’ll give just a short intro to what the ruling planets are for each sign and how that might manifest for you. Remember that the placement, aspects, and sign that planet lives in adds a lot of context, but this is a good place to start.
Aries Rising: Your ruling planet is Mars. Mars has a tendency toward action and confrontation. It’s a hot, dry planet that tends not to put self-care in the front and center. Not the most social planet, but definitely aware of others, even if just to avoid them, get around them, or not do what they’re doing. Aries is Mars’s daytime home, a place where there is not comfort in secrets. Here, Mars wants it all to be out there so we can deal with it.
Taurus Rising: Your ruling planet is Venus. Venus likes connection and pleasure, leaning more into the sensual, stable, self-aware in its relationship to Taurus. Venus is a cool, wet, soft planet, and is socially inclined. While Taurus is a slow, stubborn place, part of the stubbornness comes from a desire to enjoy what’s happening rather than to avoid what’s coming. Venus’s Taurus home is sexy, honestly.
Gemini Rising: Mercury rules Gemini! Mercury is slippery, quick, and tricky, especially as it pertains to Gemini. Mercury as Gemini’s lord is extremely social and cerebral, interested in hunting down as many threads of ideas and connections as possible. This Mercury sees all the different sides of situations and keeps seeing them, spinning ideas around and around. Very much a fan of the hyperfixation, of many different hyperfixations.
Cancer Rising: Cancer is ruled by the Moon, the closest planet to us and the one who translates all the messages from the other planets to us on the Earth’s surface. The Moon is the glue that holds things together and Cancer Risings can often play that role in their lives. The Moon is moist and cool, a protective and safe place for herself and her people. There’s some variability we expect for Cancer Risings due to the Moon’s many phase changes. Everything comes in cycles, and Cancer knows that.
Leo Rising: The Sun rules Leo, which makes sense based on the stereotypes of Leo: being the star (the main star in our sky), bright, shining light on everything, intense at points, can burn you, etc. The Sun is a hot and dry planet in astrology, can burn up other planets nearby but can also charge them up with more energy when they’re in its cradle. We expect a Leo Rising to have a certain glow, to light up their people, and, in my experience, to identify strongly with their Sun sign.
Virgo Rising: Virgo is also ruled by Mercury! In this case, we see Mercury acting in an earthy material context, following those threads of ideas down and deep rather than far and wide. Virgo is known for discerning between the wheat and the chaff, sorting the truth from the bullshit, and keeping track of what’s important. Mercury as the representative of this space is keen on noticing and is keen on adapting to keep things in check. Also known to tend toward stomach issues, so, if this is you, get that checked?
This was getting long, so I’ll do the rest of the signs next week. Let me know if this resonates with you or absolutely does not if your Rising Sign is one of the above!
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Always a lot of credit goes to the people who have been my teachers, both directly and through their freely shared knowledge, and so many books.