astrology – Studio Ānanda

Decolonizing Astrology with Alice Sparkly Kat

Posted on 2021-09-022021-09-05 by studioananda_vvxgqu

SA
From Vedic to I Ching, Evolutionary to esoteric, there are so many different practices of astrology. Astrology is essentially a tool for transformation. A recognition of one’s connection to the Universe and everything in it allows us to do better by ourselves and the world around us. What is the most popular/ easily accessed form(s) of astrology in the west and what are ways these practices replicate oppressive structures?

A
The type of astrology that is most popular in the west is modern astrology. When we deal with modern astrology, we have to understand that it comes from modernity and modernism. Modernity was a movement that was all about erecting these neoclassical ideals through modern materials, with glass panes and steel structures. Modernism was patriarchal reordering, where Europe extracted cultural stuff from its colonies while treating the people in those colonies as less than human. The two “grandfathers” of modern astrology—Alan Leo and Dane Rudhyar—were part of modern and modernist movements. They cited India as a source, didn’t cite any Indian astrologers, made up their own ideas about caste structures to reinforce Europe’s race supremacy, and saw Europe and the colonies in this weird, binary gendered dynamic.

So, it’s not just that western astrology uses Roman names and deities and reinforces white supremacy in that way. It’s that this use of Rome is anachronistic—it comes from the 1930s. It’s part of a larger movement in which Europe was trying to revive itself using neoclassicalism, much like how fascists were looking to Rome to unify Germany but then were also appropriating swastikas. If you look at the history, western astrology tends to revive when there is a perceived sense of white loss because it is understood through this neoclassical aesthetic. It became very popular in the American South after the Civil War as well.

SA
What does it mean for BIPOC to decolonize astrology? How do we as displaced people, settler colonists living inside the structures of white supremacy, capitalism and the patriarchy begin to even think about this move?

A
The first thing that we have to understand is that decolonization is not a hashtag. It’s not a purely cultural movement. Decolonization of astrology, of how we understand ourselves and our environment, has to happen with land reparations.

Astrology is about orienting yourself to the world. The language of astrology is completely founded upon cultural belonging. In western astrology, planets that are “dignified” are “at home” and planets that are “in detriment” are “in exile.” This language is not apolitical. If you look at the history of settler colonialism, who was defined as settling and who was defined as transient was racial. White people settled. Indigenous, black, Mexican, and Asian workers were transient and were criminalized for transiency. That isn’t to say that relations among BIPOC are equal—they’re not. It just means that settlerism, citizenship, and cultural belonging don’t come from a question of whether or not you were born on the land that your ancestors come from (indigenous people are also criminalized for being “foreign”) but come from power—white power.

What we have to understand about modernity and also whiteness, since whiteness is often conflated with modernity, is that white people were not the ones who built it. How could they? Settlers did not move to America or Australia to do any labor. They were here to own. The labor that built modernity is slave labor, coolie labor, and indigenous labor on indigenous land. Navajo women used their ancestral weaving technologies to design our first circuit boards. New York City was built by Africans who came with woodworking skills that they learned in Africa. All the interfaces that we use to access the digital world today are made by Asian women. All of the materials that construct modernity—cotton, steel, oil, sugar, tea—are extracted from stolen land and exploited labor. All of the technologies that make modernity come from people of color. Whiteness is not something that was forced on us from the outside but something that we were forced to build.

We built and continue to build modernity. So much of the meanings without modern astrology, with Venus getting its sexual associations through what sex work has historically meant, Mars being wrapped up in the enemy or foreigner or terrorist, or Mercury dealing with the extraction of labor, has people of color already in it since modernity is something that can’t exist without people of color. Nothing in modernity can exist without people of color, not sex work, not labor, not the military industrial complex. We’re already living inside of every modern language, including modern astrology. White astrologers might be able to pretend that there’s a direct line between Rome and the modern West but we know that’s not true due to the stories we hear from our elders and ancestors. We understand that our histories of survival are complicated inside of anything that is modern, including modern astrology.

To decolonize, we have to completely rethink cultural ownership and belonging. The people who are thought to own modernity, to have contributed the most to it, did none of the productive labor and only owned enterprises, plantations, and corporations. These people have the privilege of belonging or settling, even in places outside of the West thanks to globalization. As people of color, we have to figure out how we want to belong and how we want to own. We can’t mimic the vocabularies of white people since they will just perpetuate the same problems. This is the work of decolonizing astrology—it’s the work of decolonizing how we relate to the world, whether that’s through belonging or owning or something else. We have to do this work with the direct action and with reparations. The material and cultural work have to happen at the same time, since neither can happen without the other.

SA
Decolonization is a lifelong process that begins with the individual and is applied to all varying aspects of life. Once on this journey that is undoubtedly not an easy one, we begin to foster a self awakening that allows us to heal past traumas buried deep within us. How has committing to a decolonized practice of astrology and wellness in general allow for an enhanced sense of your own Self?

A
Astrology is kind of a weird, niche language. The best thing about it is that a lot of queers and a lot of people of color are actively participating in it right now. That’s the best thing about it! There’s nothing inherently liberating about astrology. It’s just as supremacist and capitalist and patriarchal as a lot of other languages, such as art or theory or psychology.

But! We’re here. We’re using it, misusing it, remixing it, and abusing it. We’re making sure that our stories get heard and that we listen to each other using it. When I think about what’s going on with astrology, I think about how there’s so many lesbians in the K-pop boy band fandom. We use these random cis men as our barbies or literary drag skins to turn each other on and comfort each other. K-pop is very much a queer space, of transpeople, nb, and femmes loving other transpeople, nb, and femmes, even though all the images are of cis men. What queers do with K-pop—that’s what people of color and queers are doing with the pseudo-Roman figures in modern astrology.

The best thing about astrology is that I’ve been able to develop a practice where I get to heal members of my community on issues of racial trauma, sexual trauma, displacement, loss—there’s no readymade vocabulary within a lot of therapeutic language to talk about these issues. A lot of the vocabulary that we have to address mental health goes back to Rome (paranoia, anxiety, depression all being Latin words). I chose to use astrology and not counseling because you don’t have to go through the institution to become an astrologer. What you have to do to become an astrologer is to commit to community work. You have to learn your perspective through people and I’ve been lucky to have work where I develop relationships with immigrant elders and kids that I learn through. That’s the only way you’re going to develop your language and your practice. Because this is the way astrology works, I’ve been able to feel supported.

is a queer, PoC astrologer. They use astrology to re-chart a history of the subconscious, redefine the body in world, and reimagine history as collective memory. Alice offers sliding scale astrology options

The Power and Purpose of Astrology with Emmalea Russo

Posted on 2021-09-022021-09-05 by studioananda_vvxgqu

SA
Hi Emmalea! How are you?

E
I’m okay. How are you?

SA
I’m good! There’s been a gap since we’ve last talked but I feel like I stay connected to you through everything you’re offering—like your classes and newsletter. Can we talk a little about Arthouse Astrology first? Can you tell me what led you to create this astrology portal?

E
Yes. Our connection feels related to us both being poets who are interested in making astrology a dynamic part of daily life, yes? I started these Arthouse Astrology classes almost immediately after quarantine as a way to connect with people and consider this new reality we found ourselves in through a cosmic lens. It was important to me that the classes were not only financially accessible, but also that they exist in an environment that felt connective, real, fun — the deinstitutionalization of knowledge, as bell hooks has said. Cosmic Edges was the first class (and I thought it would be the only one), but we’ve done five. I wanted to open up a discussion around how astrology, like art, is about ways of seeing and being. And in quarantine (or even when we feel quarantined) we lose certain kinds of light/sight while gaining others. We looked at hidden or sequestered or more dimly lit regions of the sky.

I started the Arthouse Astrology newsletter/blog a few years ago as a way to think out loud re: astrology, art, pop culture, film — to think critically and electrically about it — beyond astrology as a psychological roadmap. I’m a writer first, which is inseparable from my astrology practice. The planet/god Mercury rules astrology and also writing, poetry, travel, communication. Fascinatingly, these are all ways of moving between worlds, staying curious, playful, translighting light. Staying nimble. “Cosmic rigor” is a phrase from Artaud’s writing on theatre, but I love it for astrology, too.

SA
I agree we are similar in many ways! I think I once mentioned this to you, but years ago I read charts as a way to make money. This was in 2013/14/15 and I wasn’t really making any money off of writing. It was depressing, and I was stubborn so I didn’t want to get another job. So I found that it was reasonable to make money (albeit not a lot) through “beautifully written charts” by me. I think, in a way, I was also doing it as an offering because I love this idea of making astrology more accessible, and not this mystical abstract thing as it once. It informs so much of my writing as well, so I think we’re both coming at in different but similar ways. One of the reasons Arthouse Astrology is such an important thing to me is because it allows people that very foundational understanding of astrology, but in a really poetic way. Reading you always shows me how much you enjoy writing/reading—you quote Hélène Cixous, Marguerite Duras and June Jordan to name a few—it’s so wonderful. What made you create “Cosmic Edges”?

E
“Beautifully written charts” is lovely. Astrology is the “word of the stars.” So, how we deliver or brainstorm the cosmos is a major part of the art — the word, or Mercury — moving and divining. Reading and writing is how I process reality. As you say, I cite writers and thinkers like Cixous, Duras, June Jordan — lots of poetry, current happenings, and film alongside planets and transits — informing each other. Astrology charts are written, read, and interacted. So, living. I like to see them first as visual information, too. We live in a culture of images, for better or worse, and I like the idea of learning to read astrology charts and themes alongside of/in conversation with the images that we’re met with constantly in daily life via instagram, google, whatever. We’re flooded by images! It’s essential to be able to decipher them, think critically about them, practice.

Astrology is, as I mentioned, a Mercury-ruled situation. And Mercury is a psychopomp — an androgynous messenger god who escorts souls between the heavens and underworld. This means Mercury, in its purest essence, is non-judging, playful, and a professional amateur. Curious, curious, curious. Mercury’s allegiance is to information. This is why astrology is not a religion/belief system or a science. There’s nothing to “prove,” which is easy to forget, because we like “proof.” I think we’re living in a time where it’s easier to be a fan or a detractor rather than a critical thinker or reader. Internet culture means it’s easier to “like” or “not like” rather than pausing, thinking, making connections. We lose Mercury.

Cosmic Edges (I thought maybe 20 people would sign up; 120 people did!) was also a way to enter astrology from its “edges” — to find unexpected ways into the cosmos via poets like Cynthia Cruz and Louise Gluck, Prince’s music, qualities of light at different points of the sky, and planets as entities with their own agendas and interests.

In her work, bell hooks talks about how love is antithetical to dominance culture, and sadly, we live in exactly that. This translates, of course, to how we see astrology, ourselves, each other. I tend to really emphasize the importance of forming relationships with the planets, with the/your sky. This makes room for love and subverts the whole dominance-submission predicament. As you probably know, the tendency can be (even if we don’t realize it) to want to dominate the stars (what can these planets do for us, how can we use them to our advantage?) or feel frightened that they’ll dominate us (fuck, what are they going to do?) How can we form relationships with these planets? Call them directly? Make dialogue? Relate based on love?

I taught a 7-week Venus retrograde class called Venus Daze, as you know. It was so fun — a space for devotedly looking at/thinking about Venus’s maneuvers while connecting her with our own lives, revolution, politics, art, etc. We talked about phoning the planets direct: 1-800-VENUS. Someone in the class even made a postcard that said 1-800-VENUS over a photo of Venus as the evening star. When I got it in the mail, I got teary! How we regard the planets can be a school for how we treat each other. How can we be more human(e) in these really device-drenched, techy times?

SA
Gah! You said so much I want to touch on, but firstly: “word of the stars.” Wow. I had no idea. I guess this segues into my next question, what have you seen that has been gained by this experience for yourself or even the folks that have participated so far? As you said, you’re pastiching disparate ideas, but bringing them together in such artful ways while making them accessible—for me, that’s such a beautiful act of service. With Studio Ānanda, that’s been the goal, to make healing information accessible and fun to anybody who wants to know more. All this information has been stolen or appropriated by whiteness or capitalism, so giving it back to the people is definitely a mission of mine. Everyone should have access to these things! So, I want to hear first about what kind of immediate impact you’ve seen though Cosmic Edges. You obviously see the value of people knowing more about their charts and learning about astrology and it excites me to know that so many folks (120!) just want to know and learn more.

E
On the last day of our Venus Daze workshop, someone asked me if making these classes has changed me. The short answer is: yes. I’ve learned so much about holding digital space and creating artful, slow, interesting classes instead of “content.” Or, just creating for the sake of having something to sell. I see these workshops and writings as part of my artistic practice. So, in one way, they’re part of a very long and large unfolding process. In another way, they’re about connection — which is the true nature of love, of Venus.

Two things come to mind. First: the ethics and nuances of where and how we direct our attention. These spaces (zoom, social media, etc.) are not neutral. They really prize guru-ization. Instagram, as a capitalist tool, is built for audiences, not community. In these classes, which are always experimental, I really strive for community. Example: I center the chat feature. The conversations have become quite epic — hilarious, wild, smart, dynamic — with something like 7,000 words on average per class. People supporting each other, affirming, going deep. How can we prioritize connection over audience or “engagement” and not be transactional, not turn everything into capital, especially when we live in an attention economy?

Second, everything is more generative and aerated when we don’t center our own astrologies. This means that while we all have certain qualities, fates, and sky atmospheres, we’re also all connected — part of one cosmic situation. So, I like to focus first on the seeing, the discerning, the play — at least in the workshops, rather than our own individual charts. Obviously, 1-1 sessions are a different animal. And I love them! I love divining and chatting about individual astrology. However, I am really devoted to astrology as a slow art. I think this transactionality is everywhere in this white supremacist captialist patriarchy we live in. Divination is not transactional.

SA
This ancient information, that in practice should be accessible to all, rarely is. It’s so powerful to hear about anti-capitalist reclamation of healing modalities such as astrology, because I think what you’re saying (and what I believe as well) is that astrology is an incredible tool for healing. Of course it’s all interpretative, but I think there’s something immensely powerful in surrendering to divination methods. The more I’ve done that, the more I’ve helped my anxiety or fears. I’m not kidding, I think understanding myself astrologically has made me love myself more, and therefore lend that care to others as well. We’re obviously in the middle of a pandemic and global revolution for Black liberation—how do you think folks can use astrology to benefit themselves and the work for these times?

E
I like how you say that the more you’ve surrendered to divination modalities, the less fear you have. That’s totally beautiful. And it’s why I got into this whole astrology thing in the first place. Less about “curing” and quick fixes and way more about sensing, seeing, learning. I remember the first time I really studied my chart and learned about where my Venus is located and what it’s going through in my sky, I felt seen in a way I had never felt in therapy or university. I love therapy and school, so that’s not a dig. I actually get chills when I talk about it, even now — feeling witnessed/mirrored by the sky in that way. But astrology is another way into the self, and therefore the world. And it’s not necessarily about fixing, which we aren’t used to in these times. We like solutions, formulas. Astrology teaches about cycles of time — historically and also via different planetary speeds (the moon moves quite differently than Mercury, for instance).

Re: your very important question about using astrology to benefit people during this global pandemic and movement for Black liberation — I think, again, it’s about seeing. When we can find different points of entry into our situations, we start to think about justice, love, and equity in new ways. We need new ways. The system, as they say, is not failing. It’s working quite well. And that’s frightening. Capitalism, which is inherently tied to systemic racism and all kinds of oppression, is tricky — because it has a way of recuperating even subversion and transgression back into the machine, making them trendy. Think of the wellness industrial complex. Healing modalities have been co-opted and made consumptive instead of accessible or revolutionary.

When we work with astrology, art, etc. in ways that are engaged in critical discourse and not about groupthink or greed or “getting stuff” out of each other or the planets, we start to subvert our own systems. We begin to look at each other and ourselves as citizens. These times have a way of depoliticizing….everything. Astrology is not apolitical. Ditto wellness. How we care for each other and ourselves, what we choose to center or relegate to the edges is deeply political. What happens if we see ourselves as citizens who are responsible to each other instead of merely individuals on a path? Somewhere along the way, healing modalities started being about self-care at the expense of community care.

SA
Precisely. I think what’s so cool is that in order for us to truly be anti-Capitalist, we are realizing that we have to address and face ourselves. That there can’t just be supplementary pleasures that fill those gaping holes anymore. I’ve realized in 2020—almost more and more as the year goes by—s that I need to completely align with myself, politically, spiritually and physically (as in how I embody those two things in my human form) so that means if I’m saying I’m anti-Capitalist, I’m not trying to surreptitiously hoard money or you know placate my shopping addiction. Studio Ānanada and everything we are trying to achieve, is creating an alternative language for cultural exchange, on multiple levels.

I think a lot of folks often say you can’t be perfect like an adage, but I’m sorry this is so diabolical, but recently I’ve been wondering what would it mean to try to attain perfect spiritual standards? Of course those are subjective, but I’m curious about the possibility. What astrology offers is just another way to familiarize ourselves with our truths so that we can attain spiritual highs/heights. What are ways you’d direct folks who want to know more astrology who want to go deeper?

E
This makes me think of that Barbara Kruger piece: “I shop therefore I am.” Shopping brain applies to everything, right? The way we interact with each other, the world, art, astrology. Being against capitalism while in a capitalist system is a real mindfuck. Mark Fisher writes about how the danger of capitalism is its pervasiveness, the fact that there appears to be “no other alternative.” I like how you say “diabolical.” Shopping for happiness is diabolical, and often we don’t even know we’re doing it. Freaky.

In “Love as the Practice of Freedom,” bell hooks writes: “Acknowledging the truth of our reality, both individual and collective is a necessary stage for personal and political growth.” I see astrology as a way to acknowledge “the truth of our reality.” Of course, like anything, it can be an escape hatch. It’s all about how we engage. I wrote about astrology as a love practice here.

I was listening to a James Hillman lecture a while back and he was, I think paraphrasing someone, but he said something like: “By the time you’ve figured out what part of yourself the homeless person represents, you’ve already walked by the homeless person.” That beautifully and disturbingly sums it up. To really see each other’s predicaments and beauties, there has to be some kind of unhooking from the attention economy, from selfie mode, from shopping for truth. Humor helps, too.

SA
What future astrology excites you, if any?

E
I’m psyched by the fact that so many people are into the stars, tuning into astrology in dynamic ways — queering it, radicalizing it, going to the root and history of it, applying it to these times. I feel most excited by critical discourse — creating space for really asking questions, making mistakes, fucking up, coming together, laughing. Astrology as art, astrology as a way to be more human(e)! I’m excited about the houses — an often misunderstood or glazed-over part of astrology. I’m doing a special series called Strange Mansions for newsletter subscribers in October.

Specifically: the Saturn-Jupiter conjunction on December 21st. Vibe change.

SA
Any last thoughts you’d like to share?

E
I adore you! I love this work you’re doing. Thank you.

My website: https://emmalearusso.com/

My newsletter: https://emmalea.substack.com/ (the main way to stay in touch, get this work daily is to subscribe, as I’m taking a long break from classes!)

Readings: https://emmalearusso.com/bookreading

Classes to download: https://emmalearusso.com/arthouse-downloads

Personalized astrology write-ups: https://emmalearusso.com/skyoracle

Instagram: @arthouse.astrology

SA
And if you want to create a soundtrack to the 10 planets, what would they be?

E
AH! I love this question. I actually create playlists for Arthouse classes because music sets such a mood, creates a container. We’re all pretty into them.

Here’s one for

Here’s one for the WORKSHOP

My list for

Sun: Celebrity Skin by Hole / I Want to See You by Alice Coltrane

Moon: Swim Good by Frank Ocean

Mercury: All My Little Worlds by The Magnetic Fields / Wreath by Perfume Genius

Venus: The First Wave Birth of Venus by Suzanne Ciani

Mars: Little Red Corvette by Prince

Jupiter: No Sleep Till Brooklyn by the Beastie Boys

Saturn: The Disintegration Loops by William Basinsky (all four albums!)

Uranus: Technologic by Daft Punk

Neptune: Dreams by Fleetwood Mac / Heroin by The Velvet Underground

Pluto: When the Man Comes Around by Johnny Cash / Love Song for a Vampire by Annie Lennox

The Quietest Revolution with Amber Khan

Posted on 2021-09-022021-09-05 by studioananda_vvxgqu

SA
Hi Amber <3 So lucky to have just talked to you. How are you?

A
Hey! I’m great! I’m so happy to have spoken to you.

SA
I have so many questions. But firstly, what first drew you to Tarot?

A
When I was a sophomore in high school I had to do a demonstrative speech for class and I hadn’t done the assignment. Naturally, I told the teacher and he told me I would fail. So, I went down to the locker room in tears and a friend of mine handed me a deck of cards with an instruction booklet inside. The assignment was to teach the class how to do something, so I learned the spread in five mins and taught the class how to do a reading. The teacher didn’t buy it and demanded that I do an actual reading and show the class. I did so and just went off what my gut told me the cards meant. The girl (who had given me the cards) was my first reading and I nailed it. When I got down to my locker there was a line of girls waiting. I guess you could say I fell into it.

SA
Talk about fate… one one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you is (well, it should be said for the readers, you’re my go-to Taroist/Astrologist) there’s something that’s so obvious to me about your connection to source. You speak in such profound ways, such profound truths. To hear the genesis of how you ~ came to be ~ makes so much sense. Do you feel like that’s accurate? Your connection to spirit?

A
So, when my mom was nine months pregnant, she fell in Mecca in front of the Kaba on her belly. There was quite a loud cracking sound and then I didn’t move at all for days. Everyone thought I had died, but she refused to go to the hospital, two days later I started moving again. I fell again when I was three in the bathtub (I slipped) and was out for an entire day. I think I learned in the womb how to leave and come back and have a tendency to do so quite a lot. It feels like the more disconnected you are from the body, the easier it is to travel and become a live wire – a connector of sorts. It’s not like I know what I’m going to say, ever. There’s no dialogue in my mind. I just say things, so I know I’m tapping into a running current of knowledge, it’s not my own.

SA
Your life is so poetic, but I find and see my own life as such… how things just fall into place, and things are gathered so effortlessly. As a Muslim, I’m so grateful for your existence because you navigate both Islam and the intersection of other worlds so gracefully. Sometimes you’ll say Inshallah or Mashallah in a reading and I just feel so seen. How have you cultivated this space where you can just be and harness all those intersecting (and to some maybe oppositional) spiritual practices and meld them together?

A
Well, it’s worth remembering that the first computer was created from the study of the iChing which led to the creation of binary math. The iChing is a divination tool that’s made modern computing possible. So, for me there isn’t much of an issue with using another tool of divination because it’s not something rooted in the occult for me. It’s like a quantum computer before those words existed. A series of pictures of broken and unbroken lines that reads the simulation at any given moment and shows you where your energy is at. I also shy away from predictive astrology for the most part. Sure, this transit and that card mean something, but your fate is always within your own hands. These tools are just a guide to help you understand yourself better so you can actually create the future you want not be tied into something that’s inevitable. I believe very deeply in my religion and I believe that a big part of my appeal is that I give people control over their own lives. Knowledge shouldn’t hurt you, it should guide you. There are many who may see my work as blasphemous, I’m aware. But there are many trenches and many ways of bringing people to faith. The most desperate among us look to the dark corners where judgement doesn’t prevail. I like working in those corners.

SA
Absolutely, this makes sense. Is this a reason why you’ve dedicated your life to this work? There’s something about the information you give, with tenderness, sometimes with sternness, that feels like such an offering and salve. I’m sure you hear this so much, but personally for me it’s been life altering… and I can’t help but feel like you are serving your purpose by giving so many people across the globe this reprieve… but how do you view and sit with this offering? Is it hard?

A
Not at all. The thing about tapping into a stream of information and energy is that I’m not a vessel. I don’t get drained or need to be filled back up. (Gemini shit) The only thing I know how to do in life is help people, I can’t bear suffering and cruelty. Wherever I see it, I have to do or say something. And because I seem to be able to offer information that soothes people and eases their suffering, I just keep doing it. There is no deeper thought process, so I don’t ever feel like it’s difficult or a burden. Someone appears before me and they’re hurting, they need some understanding, some hope, some information. I blurt it out, they feel lighter, better, more hopeful and then I’m gone. LOL That sounds bad but it’s pretty accurate.

SA
No, it sounds like a miracle! I know I’m so corny but you’re an angel ~ this is so selfless and beautiful. I also relate. I feel this work is so necessary, and I wish more of us took the time to create space to listen and heal with others, so thank you. Thank you for everything you do. Many things you said earlier in our reading moved me, but one thing that really struck me is “internalized parenting…” When you said that, I felt it in my bones because of course we create patterns to govern and control ourselves via how or what we learned from our parents and upbringing. Pivoting here a little, but can you talk to me a bit about how Tarot / Astrology has potentially healed you… For me, they’ve completely transformed my relationship with myself but also my familial and interpersonal relationships, and I’m curious to know how and if it’s affected yours?

A
The first book about astrology I ever received was The New Astrology by Suzanne White. I was a kid and I had no idea what I was in for… but suddenly I knew I was a Gemini Snake and it defined me so perfectly that I started carrying it around and reading to people out of it. And every person would just sit there with their jaw on the floor. I saw right away the power of understanding and validating the self. The more I do this work, the more people come to understand and love themselves, the more healed I become. May sound trite, but whatever pain I may have had in my life has healed itself as I busied myself with the healing of others. I see so much of my own experiences in other’s trauma and with every word offered to them, my inner self is listening as well. Freud first coined the internalized parent in his work and when I first learned about it, I was in shock. The idea that we carry a miniature version of our parent’s worst qualities around in our mind to “keep us in line” was shocking. But of course, it resonated. However, the more I learned about my own chart and transits, I realized that internalization had nothing to do with the real me. When it didn’t make sense anymore, my mind just discarded it. I think without realizing it, many people have this same experience. Tarot and Astrology bring them closer to the “them” that existed before the learned behavior took over. It’s been the same for me.

SA
Uff, the “them” that existed before the learned behavior took over… What I always learn from you is a) your deep wealth of knowledge, how much you know is truly astounding b) your ability to synthesize and see humans so clearly. I think I find it so remarkable as well because in many circles folks still assume that Astrology and Tarot is anti-intellectual… but you merge these worlds together in your work. You weave story, history, information with the moon and the stars. How do you navigate people who are perhaps uncomfortable with these worlds? What do you do to convince them of this real technology?

A
Well, first off as Carolna Casey says the proof of Astrology is in it’s persistence. It refuses to go away and the stars continue to have deep and meaningful effects on our lives… so I never try to convince. My strategy is this: doesn’t matter if you believe or not, you don’t have to. You can scoff at it, belittle it… that’s okay. But if the information helps you, heals you, gives you insight into self, makes you a better you… then does it matter how legitimate you find it? I’m also not one for allowing any sort of snobbery in my life, so those intellectual circles that would look down on these arts should remember that their favorite physicists, scientists, philosophers were astrology buffs first, and professionals after. Whenever I meet someone who loves Newton’s work but laughs at Astrology I am there to remind them that he spent most of his life studying the stars and much less time creating the laws by which we still define the Universe. There is a dangerous form of dogmatic thinking that exists in scientific circles at the moment and it saddens me. We’ve only come as far as we have because the great minds of the past understood that the metaphysical was just as important as the rational. I actually feel a bit sorry for people when they cut themselves off from such a rich source of knowledge.

SA
Isaac Newton was also Capricorn Sun/Cancer Moon!!! This makes sense, and I also agree. The ways in which we limit our own mind… is just incredibly sad. I’ve been thinking a lot about how trauma creates limiting beliefs and affects our own imagination and conception — the very possibility that there are worlds and systems that we might not fully understand — and I believe white supremacy/ colonization has done similar things, as well. Yet, we code things between a binary of rational versus irrational.

What’s some advice you’d tell someone that perhaps wants to get more into Astrology and Tarot, but is overwhelmed by the plethora of information out there. How should one vet it and find the right fit?

AK
The simplest way is to start with what you’re most curious about. If the alignment of the stars at the time of your birth is intriguing, have your chart read. If you have an immediate issue that you cannot see yourself solving, use the iChing (which is basically a very sophisticated way of teaching various strategies of patience). If you’re wanting to try your hand at interpreting yourself, get a deck of cards. I’m a big believer in trusting yourself first. There’s no need to look outside if you trust your gut completely. Any of these tools (outside of the chart read) can be done by you, interpreted by you… but it involves truly trusting yourself. So, that’s where I always start. What’s keeping you from trusting your own instincts? What makes you believe that your intuition isn’t right? That’s always rooted in a deeper pain, once you find that pain, everything opens up. You don’t need anything out there to help you understand yourself. But it’s nice to have the resource.

SA
What a beautiful reminder to trust ourselves first. I don’t think we are told that enough by anyone, I know I’m not. Looking toward the next few months—and moving into 2021—is there any planetary or intuitive guidance you feel like people should move with?

A
We have a few tranists coming up in 2021 that have to do with this very specific Gemini energy which most people find very difficult to navigate. It starts with the Lunar Eclipse at the end of November and continues into next year. The thing with transits through Gemini is that you’re tapping a raw nerve. It doesn’t care one bit about your feelings, it just wants to give you information (sometimes information that doesn’t seem at all relevant). When you’re inundated with all this seemingly useless detail, there’s a tendency to get overwhelmed and not face anything. But we can’t do that. The way to deal with it is this: accept your faults, let your ego sleep for a few moments and receive the information as purely as you can. It will sting, it will hurt, it will seem completely unnecessary but the purpose is much more esoteric than it seems. The eclipses of 2021 show you what needs to change immediately. There’s no more time to waste, the evolution train is leaving and you’re running to jump on. You can’t run with baggage. So, first the eclipses rob you of the useless weight, then they make you run to catch the train, then you finally get moving… it’s terrifying, way too fast, where are we going anyway? The point is, you don’t know but you trust it, like you do a Gemini friend who meanders through a story and then suddenly it all makes sense. Giving up control and trusting yourself becomes a real life exercise in 2021.

SA
I could talk to you all day, but I am mindful of your time, so I want to ask you once last question. You are such a beacon of light and knowledge, when you’re a seer like you are, how do you care for yourself? How do you aid your heart and rest? Are there rituals you do to protect yourself?

A
Absolutely. This is where my faith comes in. Every morning, I’m up before the Sun, praying. Then I play Quranic recitations throughout the house while I burn rosemary. I ground myself with bare feet on Earth or sand. I bathe twice a day. Meditation and yoga are a huge part of my life. But more than any of those very valid and important practices, I never let a toxic person in twice. I’m extremely protective of myself. If someone shows me they can’t be trusted with my energy, they never see me again. It may sound harsh, and it is. I’m very strict with who I allow in my presence or in my ear. I’m also celibate, which a lot of people find surprising but it makes all the sense in the world to me. There are games that people play with each other once sex is involved that can make it a very dangerous enterprise. So, if I’m not madly in love, there’s nothing going on in that area of my life. Also (just one more thing) my priorities are simple and again, very strict. My religion, my family, my tribe… everything else is a distant 4th place.

SA
I’m hanging onto every word. Thank you for your wisdom, may Allah protect you 🧿🧿🧿🧿🧿 Thank you for your time, beloved.

A
It brought me to tears to see your beautiful face. I’m so proud of you and the work that you’re doing. It means so much to so many of us. We love you kid.

SA
I’m crying now… Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.

A
Anytime, like I said, I’m always here if you need me. ❤️