Here we are approaching the final days of summer, as the golden light of Virgo season exhales over fleeting afternoons and wilting wildflowers. The last month of the season is full of honeyed sweetness, abundant harvests, endings and beginnings. The Wheel of the Year is turning. The sun isn’t climbing as high in the sky, and these golden days will eventually give way to crisp autumn nights.

Every zodiac sign from Aries to Virgo is about self; when we enter Libra season and the equinox, we turn to the other. We see ourselves as part of a greater whole. When winter comes, we can’t do it alone. But before we sign the contracts and commit to worldly plans, we have to figure out our own stuff. That’s where Virgo comes in. Maybe you’ve identified things that simply can’t continue. Maybe you’ve created new and healthy routines. Maybe you’ve taken the time to prepare, declutter, detoxify, assess, and research new interests. Maybe you’ve made time for the sweetness of the present moment, for the cyclical beauty of the seasons, for reconnecting with your support system.

And then the Pisces full moon enters, and suddenly we’re swept into an ocean of memories, dreams, and possibilities. Pisces brings endings — it is the last sign on the Wheel of the Year — and it creates waves in the realm of emotion. It’s a momentary glimpse away from the SHOULDS and into the WANTS. I said before, when winter comes, we can’t do it alone. We will also struggle if we deny our emotions and desires in the process. As we begin our descent into the dark — gathering our belongings, solidifying our plans, making those final healing adjustments — we’ll also want to pack our dreams for the journey. Because what is life without imagination, pleasure, desire, and feeling? Where will we get the life force energy to make it through the coming months without the fuel of passion to light the flames?

It’s no coincidence that autumn brings the colors of fire: the reds, oranges, and yellows bringing us back to our lower chakras, to the body — to vitality, health, movement, strength. I call this last full moon of summer the Moon of Attunement, because we have the capacity, like a tuning fork, to bring it all back into balance and create the conditions for physical, emotional, and energetic alignment. This full moon IS an eclipse, so the endings and beginnings may be more unexpected, more acute. If you’ve been debating about something, going back and forth on a decision or movement or change, then let this moon bring some finality to the situation. Let the uncertainty be a thing of the past.

Season of Ancient Magic

Taurus season comes to us in the very heart of spring — a season of growth, life, joy, transformation, and magic — swirling with the energy of all the elements. Taurus is fixed earth as the airy east brings winds of change. Beltane ignites the sacred fires, and the spring rains cleanse and nourish the soil. Everything dances together in this season of richness; it is a time to connect with our desire energy and let the truth within expand and flourish.

Everything is growing and everything has the potential to grow. This is the season of the most pure and ancient magic. Do you want to create prosperity? Abundance? Love? Pleasure? Cast your wishes into the heart of this season and watch them grow like anahata (heart chakra) green transforming the earth. Christopher Renstrom writes that Taurus is the living embodiment of the law of attraction. “You don't have to go after what you want in life, because it often comes to you.”

Read the full forecast (for Patreon members)

Includes:

• Taurus musings, poetry, and practices

• An invocation to summon material wealth and flow

• Free access to my seasonal workshops

• Seasonal crystal and essential oil correspondences

• Reading recommendations

• Spotify playlists

I wanted to write this post to demystify some of the attention given to what’s known as the “rising sign” or the ascendant in the birth chart. Typically, when you cast a chart for someone based on their birth date, time, and location, there are what’s known as the “big three”: the sun sign (your main zodiac sign), the moon sign, and your rising sign. In simple terms, the sun sign represents your soul self and the energy you are meant to embody and shine out into the world. The moon sign represents the emotional realm, your subconscious, your comfort zone — basically the person you are when no one is watching. The rising sign represents your outward appearance and the perception of your personality.

I say the perception of the personality, because the rising sign is not who you are. In fact, I think the zodiac placement of the rising sign is probably the least interesting thing about a person’s chart from a personality perspective. What the rising sign DOES indicate is where the planets are located in your natal chart, which is what astrology is all about — the planets.

Read the full post (for Patreon members)

What I cover:

• How astrology determines personality

• How the rising sign is calculated

• Why (in my opinion) the rising sign is sometimes given too much emphasis and isn't the key factor in true authentic expression

• Spoiler alert: it all comes back to the sun and planets

• Example chart to learn more

• My recommendations for casting a chart

• 20% coupon code for a natal chart reading

We begin in the east. With the life-fuel of breath. With the voice of our sacred song. Inspiration. The untamable spirit. The air.

We begin with not knowing, with surrendering to the unseen and unpredictable. We begin with our ability to imagine possibility from nothing. We begin with the warrior, the eastern sun, the initiation of the Aries flame.

We begin with inspired action, independence, and the confidence of having an idea born from divinity. We begin when we incarnate into a blueprint of sacred fire. When we listen to the inner voice and trust in the process of personal awakening and evolution.

We begin when the music of Spirit is too beautiful to ignore, when the wonder of nature offers her infinite prosperity, when we trust in the embodiment of fire into self. Of life-force into activation.

We begin when the burning of bliss becomes an invitation to fly. When we realize we have wings. When we are not afraid to jump. We begin the moment we realize that we can never fail at being ourselves, but we have to face the fear of being known.

We begin when we become leaders of our own story, our own ideas, our own process, our own outcome. We begin where we are. We begin with love. We begin.

There’s a shift in the air.

This is probably the most mentally restless time of the year. The end of winter stirs up everything we kept hidden in hibernation. It awakens new possibilities. Rekindles old feelings. Asks new questions. We may find ourselves unable to settle for the day, to choose something, to find a direction. Old ways of thinking create agitation, tell us that we’re being careless, distracted, irresponsible. (How easy it is to forget that we can let the old ways go.) Are we really meant to hang on to the same way of doing things for all eternity? How does that work in a reality guided by time, seasons, and cycles? It doesn’t.

We are cyclical beings. We grow, we change, we evolve, we shed old skins and step into new seasons. Time gives us the magic of possibility. We arise anew every day.

Agitation is just an energy that can’t find a direction. Restlessness is just an energy that seeks to create. Distraction wants to try something new. Can we channel the wisdom of this season into an ever-flowing and shifting stream? Can we harness our own cyclical nature and remember that everything has its season? This upcoming season of Pisces is a reminder that water never holds its form. It’s mutable. It may be a still lake or a raging waterfall. It’s melting ice and dense fog. It pours like heavy rain or floats like weightless snow. The river is never really still. It’s always seeking the larger ocean.

A human being, a creator, doesn’t have one mode, one system of doing things. Everyday your body changes and your mind adapts. Let the energy of the season flow through you and guide you to something new and inspired. Not every idea will work out. Not every interest will last forever. But maybe it’s all part of the spiralic, cyclical path that is leading you to where you want to be. For now. Because everything is always changing.

And so we begin the shortest day in the North, in the realm of scented pine and weathered ash. We arise as the sun rises in the northeast, a dim day with a new beginning. And while the candle flames dance for the longest night and the hearth warms our cold winter bones, we tell tales of Fate and Destiny…

We celebrate and embrace in winter’s womb for the sun god’s rebirth and a new year of possibility.

We rekindle words left unsaid and the laughter that we sheltered under smooth lines and the guise of responsibility.

Perhaps we pray to Desire herself to align with Destiny’s path — allowing her to paint vibrant colors on our many disciplines and devotions.

Perhaps we let Fate whisper secrets into the dreamtime.

Perhaps our memories and magic inspire Time to soften his hard edges, so that every resolution and karmic unfolding become a story written from the heart.

But, perhaps, just for now, we stand beneath the sun god’s low winter light and simply affirm, in this season and the next, I will love you.

We have entered the depths of Scorpio season in the northern hemisphere, where the transformation between summer and winter quickly unfolds. The cool winds from the West now have a sharper edge that gets into the bones. Shifting temperatures bring thick fogs and gray clouds. Our bodies adjust accordingly with the shorter days, and, for many, the decreasing energy and productivity can create the fear that we're not doing enough. But when I listen to the indigo twilight evening, I am reminded that nature is always enough. There is a deeper wisdom in the spacious night and in the quiet contemplations of our soul's journey. And sometimes our dharma is to rest. Sometimes the pause is a call for healing. Sometimes we just need to give ourselves space for the transformational process to unfold.

The truth is, we all change. We all grieve. We all have insecurities and fears. We all have moments of shame and guilt. We all make mistakes. We have all experienced illness or dis-ease. We all have karmas. We all have "shadows" that we keep hidden, because we think we are alone. But we are never alone. We live on a planet of 8 billion people -- all navigating the human journey.

When I contemplate the human experience, I realize that none of us will ever truly achieve perfection. And it's too stressful to try. What we CAN aim for is beautiful imperfection. We can celebrate every awkward conversation, every mistake, and every unmet expectation as a hug from the divine creator expressing through us. And we can do our best to wish happiness and peace for every being -- human, animal, plant, dust -- also expressing through their beautiful imperfection. For me personally, when I can do that, it's very difficult to feel alone. It feels like we are all one.

And here we stand at the threshold between worlds, in the liminal space between day and night. Here we watch as the sun rises into a new season, as the cold Libra winds from the east bring shifting temperatures amidst darker days. And to the east, we say thank you.

It is here, in this moment at the doorway that we fortify our lasting strength. Here we receive the life force of the south, in crackling fires and the warm fruits of our abundant summer harvest. And to the south, we say thank you.

It is here in the realm of autumn, in the mist-filled golden hours of both dream and dreamer where creations unfold. Here we experience the beauty of transitions in the vibrant colors of the west, her radiant sunsets on every fallen leaf and moss-covered stream. And to the west, we say thank you.

It is here on our changing earth, in the hibernating forests, in the magnificent ecology of the Gaia-force where we land and receive. Here we enter the nighttime realm of our ancestors of the north, where the veil becomes more permeable and the trees whisper secrets of the old ones who never left. And to the north, we say thank you.

Thank you.
And so it is.

Time is our most valuable possession. It can’t be earned, achieved, or claimed. It just is. We choose in every moment how to use this finite resource. And how we spend our time is a strong indicator of what we prioritize and value.

Astrology is and can be a measurement of time, the cycle of the Cosmos, and the blueprint of this finite experience. It’s a beautiful map that I love to study and translate — like a language or a piece of music. But it’s not meant to be absolute. It’s not meant to take you out of the present moment, or to micromanage time, predictions, and outcomes. I have witnessed this tendency in myself to want to control time through astrology, to “crack the code” of the future and the events of my life and the collective. While astrological predictions can be very accurate, they don’t change anything except to take us out of the present moment. Astrology is meant to empower you; it’s not meant to have power over you.

So I asked myself some time ago: am I experiencing my life? Or am I trying to control it?

Every day can be an important day, a portal of opportunity, a chance for growth and transformation. Most people have no idea what the planets are doing and are perfectly fine. But if we give all of our energy to something, like a “Pluto return” (which you won’t personally experience unless you live to be over 250 years) or astrology apps that are designed to hook you, then we can create a reality, an energy, or a “portal” that may not have existed before.

Again: These tools are meant to empower, not to create fear, stress, or addiction.

I love astrology. I love connecting people with their charts. I love to watch the movement of stars and planets. I had so much fun last year watching Jupiter and Saturn come together, and then geeking out on the night sky on 8/8 when the earth had an actual portal directly in between these two planets. I love to witness and feel the cycles and placements of the moon, because it’s a part of the earth and we feel it on a very physical level. But I don’t feel the need to know what my chart is doing every day, or if some abstract moment in time is experiencing a major transit. And I don’t see any value in stressing about the transformational aspects everyone experiences as they approach a certain age. (Honestly I barely even care about or remember my own age.) My only concern — in this moment in time — is the reality and energy of THIS moment.

When Saturn (the ruler of time and astrology) speaks to me now, he tells me that we can spend our entire lives trying to control time, only to realize that we wasted it. To master any energy, we cease to let it have power over us.

We can micromanage life, or we can simply enjoy it.

I am the daughter of sun and fire. Born on the longest day of the year in the North where the sun never set. It’s difficult for me to rise before the sun. It’s nearly impossible to be productive after it fades to dark. Even my golden hair becomes murky auburn in the darker months and my eyes fade to a seafoam gray. There’s a mute coldness in my belly and inspiration comes in quiet waves. Winter is hard.

And yet, the roots of my pagan ancestors stir me to enchantment even in the coldest months. From the ancient Norse year to the Celtic sabbats to the shores of Avalon and the great wheel of the Cosmos. The medicine found in nature can still take my breath away — in crusty melting snow, dried branches, and colorless skies. Because I know there’s a time for fire and a time for dreams. A time for action and a time for rest. Winter’s last breath is the stirring within the cocoon that makes me shiver with anticipation. I can only imagine the beauty of the emergence when it comes.

And now, in Pisces season, the last month of winter, we see the melting ice flow to streams and waterfalls, rainbows in the freezing dew, pockets of rain and snow in all moods and temperatures. Hope, despair, grief, and joy ebb and flow like the changing waters and impatient clouds. I become sleepy, because Dreamtime beckons and my body aches to prepare. The fire grows brighter — from a flickering candle flame to a steady warmth. Flowing water, cool air, and softening earth give me permission to heal. To watch and wait.

Here, now — slowly awakening in the cocoon to breathe the last of winter’s breaths.

Cancer. Cardinal Water.

Water is not soft like we assume. It takes enormous power and strength to break through barriers, flow around and through obstacles, surge from the earth by the strength of its own flow.

Water knows itself. Water protects itself. Water protects you. The great mother will wrap you with love in her nourishing goddess-force. She will hold you to her heart as long as you need her.

She will refuse to let you go unless she believes you’re ready.

Tread lightly when you encounter the one who births worlds into being. Don’t underestimate her strength, her ability to love, her ability to destroy that which prevents life. She may keep you comfortable for a time, but that is not the ultimate intention.

The goddess is not the shell you see and accept, it’s the life force within the shell. It won’t reveal itself unless you fully disarm the stories you’ve told yourself since childhood. She will not (forever) accept your false beliefs. She will not (forever) accept your games. She will hold you to your promises.

She sees and knows more than you can perceive or understand.

You may think you know the divine feminine, but you won’t truly know until she emerges from the safety of long-held belief systems and cries out for your awakening like a mother calls for her child.

The comfort of the womb draws you in, but by entering, you agree to be birthed into form.