“We can never go back. I know that now. We can go forward. We can find the love our hearts long for, but not until we let go grief about the love we lost long ago, when we were little and had no voice to speak the heart’s longing.”
—bell hooks, Libra
from the preface to All About Love: New Visions
my dear bbs,
Today’s new moon in Libra isn’t sweet. Like licorice, it’s an acquired taste. We must savor it, divine upon it, criticize it. (Don’t scarf it down, you’ll choke.) Libra is so often written off as the sign of balance (read as: passive aggression) but there is no balance without a process of reconciliation. Libras provoke with their style. They wear their heart on their sleeve like a gaudy Gucci crossbody paired with a questionable vintage coat, daring you to question their taste. Libras love conflict but also know that most arguments are boring. Are you in on the joke?
The moon in Libra meets the sun in Libra today (October 6, 2021) at 7:05 AM ET. But today’s New Moon is about more than just the reset of the soli-lunar cycle, the recalibration of our solar melody to our lunar rhythms. Mars is in the heart of the sun and Mercury retrograde is also being consumed by solar rays (these transits go exact on the 8th and 9th respectively). This New Moon is the end and the beginning of three cycles:
the 28 day Sun/Moon cycle, which last reset at the new moon in Virgo on September 6, 2021
the ~116 day Sun/Mercury cycle, which last reset on June 10, 2021 (at the same time as a Solar Eclipse in Gemini)
the ~2 year Sun/Mars cycle, which last reset on September 2, 2019 (when the Sun met Mars in Virgo)
Nothing is clear when it’s just beginning. Take a moment and consider the tiny moments that set the course you’re currently following. What was emerging on September 6th, or on June 10th, or in early September 2019 that you’re ready to put to bed? This New Moon is ruled by Venus, currently situated in the final degree of Scorpio, letting out her final emo wails before prancing into the more joyful vistas of Sagittarius. Before you lay what’s no longer serving to rest, thank these signals for their service. What dedication would you like to intone? What song would you like to sing?
(As an example & to reference the image that began this newsletter, Mitski performed her “last concert indefinitely” in Central Park on September 7, 2019, just after the last reset of the Mars/Sun cycle. Yesterday—October 5, 2021—she released her first music video since the hiatus. From the shadows, she begins again.)
Cathartic bonfire is on the agenda. Though New Moons in general are low energy times—before we seek revenge, we must wallow in heartbreak—Mars’ presence with this New Moon makes everything more heated, prickly, spicy, aggressive, cantankerous. But in a Libra way. Subtle and sharp. Zingers that cause no harm until they really sink under the skin. Pluto ends its long retrograde today as well, making what’s being unearthed (and how we must deal with that unearthing) extremely loud and annoyingly close. As the Sun meets Mars on the 8th, we forget a grudge, forge a passion, seek a new muse. As the Sun meets Mercury retrograde on the 9th, we receive some brief mental clarity, knowing that the process is always about clearing the fog.
We can’t ever “go back” to the way things were. We can revise and revisit but we can never erase what’s already happened. Knowing that we can’t do something is different than acting like we know we can’t do something. This is a New Moon where our mind is ahead of our heart and definitely ahead of our body. Mental anguish is prevalent. Our challenge is to put our process in the present, to speak our piece, to ask our anxieties on a date. Connection: The Libra Way! We’re on a new mission but that doesn’t mean the old one is over.
Let’s meet somewhere in the middle and start a war.
But first, a dance break. (or a yell break)
“I’m not doing anything / I’m not doing anything / My body’s made of crushed little stars”
Horoscopes follow for each sign. If you know your rising sign, reading that horoscope provides 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 has started dropping.
You can also tip me here or @Jaime-Wright on Venmo. I really appreciate it if you do! My books for readings are open! I’d love to talk about what you’re moving through together. Book here.
Libra
Achievement is tranquil. Success is motionless. But getting anywhere, when you’ve started somewhere else, requires movement. When you’re gesturing toward it rather than wearing the crown at the conclusion of it all, you don’t get the privilege of a peaceful gold medal, a serene post to the grid. You’re on the path between milestones, accepting that so much of what you have to say lies in your own shadows, in what you have yet to learn. This new moon encourages you to take ownership of the process, to bathe and bask in the glorious mess of symbols that shape your dreams.
Scorpio
As much as you’d like this moment to be over, it’s not over yet. There’s still work to do if you want to break the curse. Your process is very cerebral. Thoughts are spinning, relentless, and sleep is a distant memory. What if instead of trying to file away your bad habits, you actually reviewed the evidence in detail? What if you looked your mistakes directly in the eye? Seeing your ugly side from it’s most photogenic angle reminds you that everything is complex. That energy drained to cut everyone else a break is better exhausted on self compassion.
Sagittarius
Your ambition is a system. Like a well, it replenishes. It’s also quite complicated. It suffers dry spells. It weathers cracks in the architecture. It delights in the promise of rain making its work much easier. This new moon helps you recognize which openings, exhibition curations, and co-conspirators are wasting your supply. The reset doesn’t happen overnight. Obviously. Whether you’re tipping the Libra scales or meeting them in delicate balance, grab a bucket and a mop. Engage with those who inspire you to pull the cards away from your chest.
Capricorn
“You are what you pay attention to” seems to be everyone’s mantra these days. And it’s true! You are “what” YOU pay attention to! You also are what you cultivate (and how you cultivate it). Are you tending to your precious garden? Or are you allowing yourself to get caught in someone else’s failed attempts at a “community” “CSA” “initiative”? This new moon reminds you that (1) public art is about generosity and (2) community is inherited but also must be attended. The detail work and the endless research are always reflected in the “finished” “piece.” The work is NEVER done so you might as well begin.
Aquarius
You have a healthy relationship with skepticism. But what if—just for a day—you put on some rose-colored glasses and cosplayed as naive? What if you sought out a mentor? With fervor? What if you were earnest and vulnerable in the belief of what you have to teach? Your pulpit requires zero caveats. Your trip demands zero apologies. Not everyone has to buy into what you’re selling but those who do have access to a priceless vault of knowledge. Your creativity depends on it and so does your desire. Send a prayer to Eros and skip into the divine.
Pisces
Your labor isn’t free. Neither is your wisdom, nor are your secrets, nor your intimacies. The literary portrait of you as a multidimensional, multidisciplinary, multi-hyphenate is in its final edits. Knowing how special you are, how powerful you are is the first step in finding the right collaborators. Deals with the devil happen all the time, but we don’t have to make them with the actual devil, right? Some devils are sweet, or cute, or playful. Only some have fangs and horns. Let this New Moon infuse you with a spirited quest for revenge. Your patrons have your back.
Aries
When you accept that your partnerships aren’t perfect, you can also accept that you aren’t perfect. Nothing is. This New Moon puts you at the center of a battle that isn’t yours to win. This is a place where you usually find comfort, taking on your role as a soldier, submitting to the mission in front of you. Victory at all costs. But you can’t fight dirty this time and it actually might be best if you just walk away. The healing you’re meant to do right now can be found in stillness and silence. Saying nothing often says it all.
Taurus
“I learned over and over again that there is scarcely anything more difficult than to love one another. That it is work, day labor…God knows there is no other word for it.” -Rainer Maria Rilke (Letters to a Young Poet) / Love is a commitment, and you never get to clock out. You show up over and over. Again and again. Not every day goes well. Some days are beyond frustrating. Tedious. Disappointing. Others are bliss. Today’s New Moon reignites your passion for detail and service. Why craft a love letter when you’d rather harvest your garden? Use every part of the fruit, the blossom for your meal.
Gemini
You’re in a crowded bar for the first time since the Before Times. Someone brushes your shoulder or squeezes past you thoughtlessly. It tingles. Contact. The stale draft beer was $8 but it’s cold as ice. You’re gulping, smiling, laughing. Your date tenderly grazes your waist, then apologizes. “Is it OK? That we’re touching like this?” This New Moon invites you back to the dangers of sensuality, the pleasure of breaking the rules, the torture of the long game. Your muse has arrived, the lava is flowing but you can’t sort through the rubble in one day. Why be so serious when you could just be slow?
Cancer
Commencement is for walking away. The audience departs, rushing to validate parking. The encore is already a memory. Life begins here at the end. The universe delivers some finite results with this New Moon. Ground zero. Look around you and delight in your sanctuary. Put on a robe! It’s silly to wear jeans in the house. Desire called, left a voicemail. But you can’t rush the creative flow. The tide must retreat. Allow yourself to ebb as you’ve allowed yourself to be an egg. Full of potential. We’ll never know what came first.
Leo
Though you’re not as stubborn as your fellow fixed sign besties (Taurus and Scorpio, ahem), you’re pretty stuck in your ways. Is the route of your daily walk still a non negotiable? That hot barista flirts with an extra shot along the way and you get to see that cute dog, I get it. But this New Moon wants you to adapt. Or at least start the process of adaptation. You’re making a movie, baby! It’s time you leveled this expression into a new form, translated your opus into a different language or took the less travelled path. Practice failure.
Virgo
Alchemy sets you free if you’re willing to take the bet, to cease putting your own strength (and your own stress) on a pedestal. You can’t do this alone. Some of what you’ve made is trash and that’s ok. You can burn what’s infertile and cultivate something else in the remains. Releasing this ancient folklore—songs you heard as lullabies, tales spun on a loom before you knew how unreliable narration could be—makes room for fresh energy in your space. Try keeping things sparse. Make statements with color and shape. Objects are overrated.