Wearing SPF 3000 for the ultraviolet rays
Made it to the island on the last of the outbound planes
Got a trunk full of Simone and Céline, and of course my magazines
I’m gonna live out my days
Won’t somebody, anybody, be the leader of a new regime?
Free the keepers of the burnt-out scene
Another day lost and paranoia reigns supreme
We need the leader of a new regime
-Lorde
“Leader of a New Regime” Solar Power (2021)
I want you to accept that it’s too late to start from scratch.
I want you to accept that there is no saviour.
I want you to accept that nothing you do will ever be perfect.
I want you to stop caring about how it looks / how you look / how they look.
I want you to go on with it anyway.
hallo bb,
I’m writing because tomorrow (August 22, 2021), there is a Full Moon in Aquarius. It’s the second Full Moon in Aquarius this summer. (A “blue moon” if you will) This summer’s first Full Moon in Aquarius (July 23rd) was an encounter with Saturn. This Full Moon in Aquarius is an experience with Jupiter. The shift in tone between these two moons compares to that between two recent gifts from the pop music gods: Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever and Lorde’s Solar Power.
Happier Than Ever (the previous Full Moon) is a dispatch from a dark executive chamber in a futuristic office park. Metallic, sterile, Gucci-adjacent. “Things I once enjoyed/ just keep me employed now / Things I’m longing for / Someday I’ll be bored of/ It’s so weird / that we care so much / until we don’t” Billie sings on the album’s opening track, (hilariously) titled “Getting Older.” (She’s 19.) To sustain that attention we crave, we have to keep creating. That’s the scam of Saturn. It’s a matter of daily maintenance. Happier Than Ever allows us to commune with Billie at Saturn’s temple. Like a stern father, Saturn asks, “What are you willing to show up for when things get boring?” Magic doesn’t materialize everyday. That’s what we talk about when we talk about commitment.
Solar Power (this current Full Moon) is a spontaneous beach trip. The salty ocean water laps against your ankles as you walk on the shoreline in a fresh pair of jeans. All is infinite. Much is serene. It’s off season and yes, your Birkenstocks are not on your feet, but in your hands. Pedicure decidedly not fresh but who cares? You’re sipping a Key Lime (or maybe Limoncello) La Croix because you’re “on break” from booze. Everything’s lovely until the tide picks up and in an instant your jeans are soggy. Denim caked with crusty sand. One moment you’re present, spacious, open to possibility, and the next you’re messy, overwhelmed and ready to go home. This is what it feels like to be in relationship with Jupiter. “Now if you’re looking for a saviour/ Well, that’s not me/ You need someone to take your pain for you?/ Well, that’s not me.”
This Full Moon is conjoined to Jupiter. But Jupiter is not our saviour. Jupiter is buoyant but Jupiter will not take our pain for us. Jupiter is just a cosmic highlighter. Jupiter allows us to see the full scope of a situation: the good things, the regular things and the terrible things. Jupiter is in Aquarius. This is where the theoretical meets the spiritual. Aquarius wants to know everything but that doesn’t mean it’s all going to be interesting. We tend to give Virgo the credit for “minding the details” but only Aquarius really gets into every crack and crevice of a situation. Aquarius always takes note.
This Full Moon falls at 29º Aquarius—the final degree of the sign. Austin Coppock calls the final decan of Aquarius (20º-29º) The Knot. Of this space in the sky, he’s said: “It’s a knot that isn’t easily untied. Do we try to untangle it or do we just cut the fucker in half?”
Yes, it’s a blessing to “have time” but this moon’s blessing is that there isn’t enough of it. This is a truth in our individual lives and in our world at large. July was the hottest month recorded on Planet Earth. It’s too late to fix everything. But still, of course, something must be done. Choosing one thing now doesn’t mean it’s impossible to choose another thing later. But the hope of coming up with the “best” thing? Now that’s what I call futile. Who cares? Doing an OK thing now might lead to something brilliant later. You don’t know and the clock is ticking so just do whatever you have to do to get it done. “I just wing it...I’m really bad at following directions,” offers Paris Hilton (who has the Sun & Mercury in the third decan of Aquarius): a refreshing mantra invoked constantly on her chaotic new Netflix show, Cooking With Paris.
Now, I don’t want to undersell this Full Moon. It’s about winging it. But it’s also THE BIG PRESENTATION. We can flail like Miranda July’s shirt dance in The Future; we can put the instructions in the audience’s hands like Yoko Ono’s “Cut Piece”; we can just give up and say “Wake Me Up When September Ends.”
The Sun is at the final degree of Leo. We can step into our power. Virgo season begins just a few hours after this Full Moon. We can always pick up the pieces. Even if our choice is defeat, even if our choice is “cutting the fucker in half” and leaving the Gordian knot’s mystery for someone else to solve, there are practical steps to take as we finalize the separation. On the 23rd, Venus trines Saturn: with heart-forward effort, relationships are solidified.
But I want you to wing it. If only for today. Put everything out on the table: “Sweet, crazy conversations full of half sentences, daydreams and misunderstandings more thrilling than understanding could ever be,” wrote Toni Morrison (with her Sun and Mercury in Aquarius III) in Beloved (1987). Throw everything except what’s most important away. You probably have the answer in your possession. You just need to clear the path. “I just hope the sun will show us the path.”
Horoscopes follow for each sign. If you know your rising sign, reading that horoscope may provide additional insight. Tbh, reading any/all of them will give you something. As you may have noticed, this newsletter is now on Substack! Paid subscriptions support the creation of this newsletter for $7/month. Bonus content for subscribers becomes available this Libra Season. (My Mercury is in Aquarius III and if I’m good at anything, it’s “throwing things out there” and figuring out the details at a later date.) (not recommended for major life decisions like a cross country move but newsletter is OK).
If you’re not ready to subscribe but feeling generous, you can tip me here or @Jaime-Wright on Venmo. I really appreciate it if you do! My books for readings are currently closed but I’ll be opening up again for bookings on 8/26 with updated prices and offerings for a new season of a new year in a new (old) life.
These horoscopes are meant to be found.
Aquarius
We need your vitality. It’s hard work to keep up when you’re already ahead. This Full Moon falls in your sign: the place of yourself. Through a narrow passage, you’ve missed the iceberg but the helm is for steering, even when the waters aren’t choppy. Something bright is coming for you today as you molt into the painful process of accepting your mind and your body. You trust your spirit without hesitation but can you campaign for your physical form?
Pisces
We need your metamorphosis. You wish you were finished but you’re in-between worlds. No one’s rushing your transformation but you. The Greeks called this Metakosmia—empty spaces within the infinite void where the world is being created. Creation is motion: a journey from one place to another. Before you know it the vulture’s remains have become gold. This Full Moon is for experimentation, for play, and for prayer. Your assignment is to believe in the future and keep wandering.
Aries
We need your dreams. This Full Moon is in your place of good spirit, the house where Jupiter finds his joy. Despite the ease you bring to friendship, the simplicity you bring to any conversation, you’re often quite skeptical of community. You see the brilliance and the decay in every sort of “group” so support has eluded you. But today brings an invitation to crash the party. Belonging is never a smooth landing so why not make a scene?
Taurus
We need your light. This Full Moon occurs in the part of your chart that is the most visible. This isn’t the horizon; it’s high noon. You’re not just the cartographer of your public image, you’re required to give everyone else directions. But seriously: you’re doing great. Maybe you’re not getting the reaction you expected. Maybe you’re missing some earned admiration. But the lesson isn’t about having to turn people away. Whoever walks through the door—even if ghosts appear alongside your friends— matters.
Gemini
We need your wisdom. This Full Moon falls in the part of your chart that is most concerned with authenticity. You are connected to source, to mecca, and ready to produce your greatest work. Unfortunately, you can’t always live in this space. Our world is much more concerned with success than it is with truth. So take in this bird’s eye view, connect your ideas and gush about your latest theories. How can you get the most mileage out of your romance with integrity? Keep every souvenir.
Cancer
We need your collaboration. The thought of giving up a bit of your personal dream is painful to you right now. You don’t want to join the group. You want to lead a personal revolution! But this Full Moon is reminding you that there’s nothing wrong with paying your dues and your debts or donating to someone else’s cause. Whether it’s time or cash or a beautiful creation, pay it forward. Accepting the obligation frees you up to share more love.
Leo
We need your company. This Full Moon falls in the part of your chart that deals with relationships of all kinds. Showing up for everyone else has been a major theme for you this year. This moon shows you how to honor your heartbreaks as you celebrate your commitments. It reminds you to get curious again about who’s sitting across from you at dinner. Negotiations are never easy. There’s always the possibility of getting screwed. But right now, trust that you have the information to know without a doubt when it’s a resounding “Yes.”
Virgo
We need your grit. This Full Moon falls in the part of your chart that the ancients called bad fortune. But remember that in ancient times, astrology was practiced by only the privileged and the educated (straight white men who found work to be “beneath them”). What this moon is really about for you is ceremony and ritual and committing to a goddamn routine. There’s spaciousness available in the ordinary parts of life so stop running away from that simplicity. Light a candle and take a breath.
Libra
We need your joy. This Full Moon falls in the part of your chart that the ancients called good fortune. More than most, you know that beauty is work. Pleasure is pain. Art is a job. Whether you’re fucking, floating or flailing toward your next beautiful disaster, I hope you indulge yourself today. Eat all of it. The world just makes sense when you’re sharing your messy heart. The lavender infusion is subtle but the citrus has a kick.
Scorpio
We need your stability. This Full Moon falls at the very bottom of your chart—the place of the sanctuary. This place signifies the end of things. But the chart is a circle, a cycle and things only grow from here. What’s blooming and breaking and rearranging for you isn’t making headlines or attracting any admirers. Take a note from your plants whose roots expand to the depths, making the sprouts strong. Cultivate carefully; the baobab trees will eventually take over the planet.
Sagittarius
We need your folklore. This Full Moon falls in the part of your chart where old friends and unhurried walks and become spiritual and fundamental. Most myths are just conversations between friends, you know? It’s sisters who carry that epic potential. Jupiter’s presence reminds you to take up space with your story, fill the journal and bring on the laughs. It’s the repetition that makes it meaningful. Onward with the cycle! This lunch won’t prepare itself. Tell us again.
Capricorn
We need your security. This year has taught you a lot about self worth and self awareness. A wardrobe update has been paired with a soft appreciation for your personal well of knowledge. This Full Moon is a reminder that only you can keep your treasure safe. Lock what needs to be locked and hide what needs to be hidden. Your gold watch is ticking late into the night, watching your progress and cheering you on.