The Spiritual Social

Author: The Spiritual Social

  • Women of Substance

    “Beauty will destroy your mind
    Spare the gory details”

    Radiohead, The Butcher

    Two movies I saw recently and stayed with me in a haunting way, were ‘The Substance’ & ‘Woman of the Hour‘. I really enjoyed both movies but they also shook me. They both deal with primordial fears: the fear of aging and dying, and the fear of being hunted and killed. And the discovery of these two movies is happening for me during a period in which I’m experiencing the transit of loosely conjunct my Piscean Sun, bringing up a lot of fears, anxieties and difficult feelings to cope with. In some way, by watching such movies I am daring myself to face a couple of fears as well as enjoying some good cinematic work. As I was blown away by the performances, I started doing some astrological sleuthing in order to understand what made these actresses gravitate towards such roles and topics. As always, I am perplexed to find an abundance of astrological details that all three actresses share in common, each with their own nuanced expression. There was a certain vulnerability combined with utmost intensity and emotional strength that really made the performances by Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Anna Kendrick stand out to me.

    Because it’s the end of Scorpio season as I’m writing this article – and fittingly the two main actresses who star in the Substance just ‘happen’ to be two Scorpio Suns themselves – I thought I would explore a little bit their birth-charts in the context of spirituality, aging and self-loathing. I’m bringing Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut into the mix as her soul pattern also falls under the sign of the Scorpion, but in a less obvious way than Demi’s or Margaret’s. Scorpio energy is notorious for embodying the vortex of human complexes and darkness, dealing with taboo, hidden or shocking themes such as: addiction, sex, death, taxes, karma, healing. Ultimately, Scorpionic energy marks the path in the development of the human soul as it grows through the zodiac, where the soul needs to change and find its power. And both of these movies and the actresses who star in them have soul themes replete with the themes of power and rebirth, each in their own unique and specific ways.

    Let’s look at Anna first, as she is not the typical Scorpio. In fact, she was born with a Sun in Leo conjunct Mars and Mercury retrograde. We do not know her Ascendant, and therefore we don’t know in which area of her life her Leonic Sun manifests the most, but she does borrow traits from Gemini and Aries energy due to her Mercury and Mars conjunctions to the Sun. This energy already makes her a natural performer with tons of energy, but it also makes her rather restless, fearless and incapable of hiding her true authenticity. See this interesting clip of Anna’s selection of interviews in which the creator discusses how Anna isn’t pretending while she is performing. Making a PR image based on awkward vulnerability, wicked humor and being a diamond in the rough, can be attributed to that Mars conjunct Sun energy in combination with a South Node in Scorpio. To add to this energy, Anna’s Moon is in the sign of its exaltation, which means that she was blessed with a stable and comfort-seeking Moon in Taurus, offering her a Venusian, loving vibe. However, her Moon is disturbed by two subtle influences: the North Node (which represents a point of uncomfortable growth) and the asteroid Lilith (or the wild feminine archetype, the OG biblical rebel of the zodiac). The next layer of intensity and darkness added to her inner planets comes from the unholy trinity of her having a South Node, Saturn and Pluto in Scorpio! And that’s where I took my cue in order to attribute her a Scorpionic Soul – Anna’s comfort zone in this lifetime is actually deeply uncomfortable, as both Saturn (the master of limits) and Pluto (the master of deep and scary change) are types of energies she feels ‘cozy’ and ‘familiar’ with.

    When things get tough in life, Anna falls back on an even tougher comfort zone. For her, being pretty, patient, wealthy and valued are qualities which represent her growth zone. All the qualities which filter through the astrological sign of Taurus show what her soul expects to grow into in this incarnation. Fittingly it was her conventional, accountant role in ‘Up in the air’ in which she played alongside George Clooney (a Taurus Sun) that brought her closer to professional recognition than ever before, even if she didn’t have the money to get dressed for the Oscars! This is why the quirky girl-next-door or supporting actress persona did not really make her stand out as much as playing darker, serious or moral roles seems to work better for her.

    Image of actress Anna Kendrick and of her birth-chart, taken from: https://www.astro-seek.com/birth-chart/anna-kendrick-horoscope

    Having a South Node in Scorpio also means her formative years, her birth and childhood were marked by hardships, drama and familial tensions caused by intense feelings that were kept secret. We can also see that with her Jupiter in Aquarius retrograde, there may have been a proliference of traumatic events in her lifetime, and shocks and surprises that had the paradoxical effect of liberating her from received knowledge such as learned helplessness or ingrained family patterns. Anna is a really tough individual and as cute and fairy-like she may seem, she is no one you want to casually fuck with, unless you want to be obliterated. I also believe that her chart markers make her a more suitable director and producer than actress, so I would love to see more movies from her as she has the potential to become one of the great filmmakers of her generation as long as she uses her talents ‘behind the scenes’ rather than performing in front of the camera. Without a doubt, she is not someone you can easily relate to, persuade or lead on. And this aspect is evident in her Taurean placements which show that her soul is growing into a more stable, highly conservative, materially abundant but also stubborn energetic imprint. We also don’t have an Ascendant for Anna, but judging by what her chart reveals so far, I would place her Ascendant in Leo, and thereby brining her Sun conjunct Mercury and Mars stellium intp the most visible part of her chart (either that of an Aries Ascendant and placing her Sun in the 5th house, the house of performance).

    Now, if we have a look at Margaret Qualley’s birth-chart we see a proliferation of planets in the sign of Scorpio! This configuration in a person’s chart is called a stellium and it often is a marker of a highly imbalanced and odd lifetime. This is because when the stellium is aspected in a harmonious way by outer transits then not much may be happening in a person’s life and life can be just enjoyed; but when squares and oppositions begin to put tension in order to revitalize the stellium then everything could come crashing down all at once in a person’s life. We are unfortunately unaware of Margaret’s birth time and therefore we are missing an Ascendant but judging by her obvious beauty, nepo baby karma (she is the daughter of actress Andie Macdowell) and choice of roles, Margaret may very well have this Scorpionic stellium parked in either her 2nd house (the area of self-worth) or the 8th house (the natural realm of Scorpio, the house ruled by Pluto) in which case this would place her Ascendant in either brave Aries or beautiful Libra.

    Personally, I’m leaning more towards Aries, since her hair is naturally curly, she has that bold and confrontational look and she seems quite impulsive and instinctual in her acting (sometimes veering on intentionally cartoonish). Margaret also has a Mars in Leo squared by Jupiter (a sign of excess and exaggeration brought on her life by men and the actions she takes on their behalf) and also squaring Venus (a sign of romantic problems and domestic violence). We also can see that with her Saturn retrograde in Pisces, Margaret is currently undergoing her Saturn return, a time of maturation in a young individual’s life that can come with added responsibilities and considerable rewards for past career-related choices. Margaret got married when Saturn began moving through Pisces, back in 2023 to a man called Jack Antonoff (whom I personally do not like at all – since he was together with Lena Dunham, he always gave me creepy vibes). He is an Aries Sun so I doubt he will gel well with all the water that Margaret has in her chart, and I’m having a faint suspicion that she may have married him in an impulsive decision to somehow prove herself to other people or because a relationship with someone she really loved had failed. This is typical of a Saturn in Pisces spiritual path, as someone needs to be sacrificed or surrendered in a deeply painful way for the Saturnian individual to fulfill their karma. Nonetheless, her career took off big-time as she appeared in 4 movies this year (!) and she seems to be quickly becoming art-house director’s Yorgos Lanthimos on-screen darling, appearing in two of his recent movies.

    Image of actress Margaret Qualley and of her birth-chart, taken from: https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Margaret_Qualley

    Coming back to her chart, it needs to be said that Margaret has a Moon in Gemini conjunct Lilith (an aspect she shares in common with Anna), and while I like to see some Air inside such a Water-burdened chart, her Moon does provoke some uncomfortable aspects to her Scorpio stellium. It is note-worthy to mention that Margaret is actually learning how to become a Scorpio in this lifetime by embodying and owning up to her inner darkness (her intense emotions) and shedding light on the darkness of those around her (we see this in her choices of roles but also I’m pretty sure there may be something lewd and scandalous that appears in the next few years about Jack Antonoff which will test their marriage and her loyalty to him).

    She will continue to be drawn to and star in roles that portray a kind of twisted sexuality (like she did in Sanctuary or Kinds of Kindness), deep transformation (like in the Substance) or roles dealing with what is hidden, taboo and occult (like in Novitiate). I personally, cannot wait to see her act in paranormal roles which will fit her like a glove! One final thing I need to add, which shows how perfect an individual’s astral energies fit in relation to the nation, family and specific time when their souls decide to incarnate, is the fact that with a North Node in Scorpio conjunct a stellium, Margaret has past life-time karma with Taurean people, as her South Node is placed in Taurus. This is a link that shows just how connected she is at a soul level to her mother, actress Andie Macdowell who was born with a Sun in Taurus! (just as a sidenote: I love Andi’s work so much, especially since she stars in one of my favourite comfort movies ‘Groundhog Day‘)

    So mother and daughter know each other from a past lifetime but Margaret reincarnated as her mother’s heavy Shadow (with that stellium in Scorpio sitting in opposition to her mother’s Sun sign) in order to change what was stagnant about her family’s (and her mother’s) solid and traditional, moral values. With both Pluto and Jupiter surrounding her Venus, Margaret is meant to create generational wealth by creating bonds with powerful individuals but she may also suffer at the hands of these powerful people, if she is not careful and discerning regarding the performers and superstars whom she interacts with (Mars in Leo).

    Image of actress Demi Moore and of her birth-chart, taken from: https://www.astro-seek.com/birth-chart/demi-moore-horoscope

    Lastly, I want to talk about Demi Moore, and her amazing comeback to the silver screen! Literally, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, Demi pulled a 360 degrees rebirth on the public, leaving us speechless with her performance in The Substance. I think this choice of role was also a little bith tongue-in-cheek and cathartic to her, since in the last decade she was pretty much a Hermit and may have had been healing from a number of alleged plastic surgeries (some of which were unfortunately botched). As I grew up in the 90s I would see her movies all the time since my parents loved ‘The Ghost‘ and ‘St Elmo’s Fire‘. She always felt familiar to me and I am in some way emotionally attached to her image and her work. When I was older, I also really liked ‘The Scarlett Letter‘ and ‘G.I. Jane‘ as some of her more controversial roles, and I thought that she was such a beautifully vulnerable, brave and self-assured woman. We can see from her chart just exactly where this bravery comes from: a stellium of planets in intense Scorpio, including her Sun, Venus, Neptune and Mercury, in combination with an exalted Moon in Taurus (sitting in opposition to her Sun, which tells me that she was born on a Full Moon, at peak lunar energy), and a Mars in Leo conjunct the North Node! I guess you can already see the many similarities between all of the three actresses’ charts: the Taurus, Leo and Scorpio vibes that all of them embody and live out in their profession. It’s also fascinating as a sidenote to reflect on divine astrological timing, as we can see that Margaret met and worked with Demi during her Saturn return, while simulateneously Demi is also having Saturn transiting through her first house – Saturn in Pisces, in the sign of film, escapism and the imagination brought them both together during an intensely karmic time of new beginnings for both of them.

    But there is another detail thrown in the mix, something which makes Demi really stand out by comparison to Anna and Margaret and I would attribute this to her Aquarius south Node conjunct Saturn and placed in the house ruled by Aquarius, the 11th house. It’s kind of ridiculous how similar Demi’s energy is both to Margaret’s but also Andie’s own energy! Demi and Andie are members of the same generation (most commonly known as Gen X), while Margaret and Anna are fellow Millennials. Nonetheless, I think that it is Demi’s weird and wonderful comfort zone in mind-opening Aquarius which helps her achieve a cinematic rebirth at 60 and start alongside someone with a generational gap and somehow outshine her. Because, I personally feel that Demi is not only the star but the heart of ‘The Substance’. Her on-screen suffering transforms a story that is in parts comical and neon-colored into something much sinister and darker, a parable for the taboo of aging in an era which seems to glorify exterior good looks over and above anything of ‘deep substance’ in a person’s character. Taking the Subtance and transforming the body is then paradoxically a fight to save whatever is left in your own interior and the movie shows in a cartoonish way by playing with a lot props and body horror themes, how society is slowly killing the idea of inner beauty (or how the idea of inner beauty is currently being butchered and transformed into something violent and sinister).

    That beauty can be something that is used against women and may lead to their destruction is also a theme prevalent in ‘Woman of the Hour’ in which Anna Kendrick’s game show character tiptoes around dating a serial killer, a topic which is even more shocking since it was inspired by real life crimes. The worst thing about the movie is that it shows how difficult it is to believe in love and trust someone you may just have met since not even dressing down, adopting a modest look or not wearing make-up can save you from being violently assaulted by a man who hates women because he so desperately hates himself. The visceral violence of the women’s last hours was what made this movie all the more intense and the escape of Anna’s character even more shocking.

    Outside the margins of comofort, I feel that you can always rely on people with Scorpio-heavy charts to shake you up from a belief that safety is real or attainable, when in reality what is truly authentic is to survive another day and live to tell the tale. And living on also allows one to embrace the process of aging and the way in which it separates one from physical beauty by granting an individual the chance to show their inner authenticity. In the current time of speed-run superficiality, in which people can’t control much except their own bodies, I guess we fear aging because once the physical facade cracks, we have nothing left to show the world. The moral of Scorpio energy is then: work on your soul, because nothing else can save you from the force of emotions as powerful as fear, emotions which may kill what is left beautiful inside of you.

    With universal love,

    Lexi

  • Making sense

    Painted American Flag is a painting by Duukster fromhttps://pixels.com/featured/painted-american-flag-duukster.html

    In light of recent political events, I feel it’s necessary to focus upon the astrological transits which are influencing them. Mostly because we are gearing up for a number of great outer-planetary transits in 2025 which will change the social landscape for years to come. The transits I will focus on in this article are those of the planets Neptune and Saturn as they are joined by the North Node/South Nodes of the Moon in the signs of Aries and Pisces; but I will also reflect on the previous transits of Jupiter throughout Aries and Pisces between the years of 2022 and 2023, since past Jupiterian aplomb laid the groundwork for the current Saturnian injection of fear into the collective.

    These transits began roughly in the year 2022 and will continue up until 2027, and the two astrological signs from which they draw energy are those which represent the Alpha and the Omega of the zodiac. This is no coincidence but a fated mark representing the building of a different social landscape than the one we have witnessed in the last century. It is evident that we are living in times in which many of our social institutions, core values, ways of relating and defining ourselves are not functioning anymore. You could say that they are ‘plastically transforming’, if this transformation wasn’t so painful for ordinary people just trying to get by.

    Aries and Pisces are the first and the last sign of the zodiac, and in the last years they have been unleashing their energies in our collective unconscious, marking the end of an era and the brisk creation of the next: the first sign of impulsive and creative primal energy (Aries) and the final twelfth sign representing the wise, compassionate elder of the zodiac (Pisces).

    On a darker note, Aries (ruled by Mars) is also the sign of war, aggression and anihilation due to Ego strengthening, while Pisces (ruled by Neptune) is about delusion, addictions and pendulating between extreme self-abandonement and extremely uplifting spiritual states. Outer planetary transits impact the collective more than any other transits, especially when they are supported by conjunctions to the karmic lunar nodes: two imaginary points on the Moon’s eliptic movement around the Earth, which represent past life karmic energy and show us where we loose collective energy (the South Node) and what we are obsessively drawn towards, where we feel like the energy is never enough and we crave more of it (the North Node). To aid in my analysis I’m hitting the books and getting some support from Jan Spiller, Liz Greene and Stephen Arroyo, three well-known astrologers who have written extensively on the deeper meaning of Neptune, Saturn, Jupiter and the nodes of the Moon.

    The first outer planet to move through these two signs was the Great Benefic, the planet Jupiter. With its natural expansiveness and enthusiasm, Jupiter led the masses into increased radicalisation and heightened religious and nationalist fervour as Jupiter moved through Pisces between 2021 and 2022, and then Jupiter put the legacy of Pisces into action by intensifying global conflicts as it briskly moved through Aries, the sign of War between the 2022 and 2023. I want to allow an experienced astrologer like Stephen Arroyo to describe the energy of Jupiter as it moved from the first through the last sign of the zodiac, so he can help us put things into a larger perspective (which also happens to be the main hustle of Great Jove) :

    Jupiter in Pisces “Keeping one’s feet on the ground may be the hardest challenge for those with this position. They can float away into dreams of personal glory (…) they can be lost in self-agrandissement posing as big-heartedness; or they can indulge themselves in exaggerated, mythologised versions of their lives. In some cases of more ordinary mortals, they can ‘go to pieces’ if their lyfestyle, marriage or job to which they have been devoted, disintegrates resulting in disorientation, escapism and difficulty coping with reality. Self-esteem and confidence for most of these people, however, slowly develops over time as they align themselves with a spiritual, social, or artistic ideal (…) These folks are usually, future-oriented people and almost invariably they have some kind of special imagination, intuitive understanding of life, or breadth of vision that can inspire themselves and others, and which they need to act upon throughout their lives if they are going to feel prosperous and succesful. As Moore and Douglas explain, “success” for those with Jupiter in Pisces has little to do with money and material goods.”

    Jupiter in Aries “This is perhaps the most fearless risk-taker of all Jupiter positions. Inf act, these people usually love risk and challenge; they crave the experience of the new and the unknown, and life quickly becomes boring without such stimulation. In fact, they sometimes live in such a way that more cautious types wonder if they are bent on self-destruction! They are naturally rash and impulsive liking to act quickly and think about it later, if at all. They are frank and honest, but others must be equipped to deal with their directness and bluntness without over-reacting to them emotionally. They don’t usually mean any harm; they are merely thoughtless at times. However, there can be a mean streak with Aries, especially if other planets are there also. And almost invariably, there is substantial competitiveness, which serves them well in their natural entrepreneurial activities. Those with Jupiter in Aries thrive on constant growth towars the new, and they may best express their potential in very independent work situations, such as being self-employed. They do not like to take orders, and in fact they are the epitome of people who can be called ‘head-strong’ (…) Yet, their intuition into the future is often strikingly apt. They invariably know their future direction, although they may impuslively change it with surprising suddeness. So many new ideas and projects occur to them that many are never pursued long; finishing things may be a problem (…) For those with Jupiter in Aries, progress and prosperity depend more on directing and channeling their innate confidence and vision than on developping those capacities. These abilities are already there, but cultivating more faith in that inner initiative and intuitive sense of what ‘I can do’ may be the next step for some individuals.”

    Jupiter’s transit in Aries also debuted the transit of Saturn into Pisces, when it concomitantly worked with it in an uncomfortable semi-sextile in March of 2023. As Saturn began to move through Pisces, it also began to slowly approach the planet Neptune, now almost at the end of it’s years long transit through the sign of its domicile. Mayans adequately predicted the end of an era back in 2012, a year which eerily coincided with Neptune beginning its transit through Pisces. So Saturn is left now to uncomfortably clean up and provide structure to the Neptunian ‘spiritual spills’ in which we have been bathing for more than a decade now. The astrological expert on everything Saturn and Neptune-related is without doubt, Liz Greene, whose profound reflections on both Saturn and Neptune in these two zodiac signs, can help us understand what exactly we have been immersed in:

    Saturn in Pisces “Saturn in the twelfth house, and to a lesser extent in Pisces is difficult from the point of view of the personality because the Saturnian energies, geared initially toward self-protection and defense against the environment, are rendered ineffectual. This may in extreme situations be through hospitalization or imprisonment for a period of time, and the man may learn through his own helplessness how ultimately impotent the personal will is against the forces of his own past which he himself has set in motion. The feeling that one is helpless and must submit to something larger and greater is frequent with this placement of Saturn, although it may occur on a very subjective level. This is a cadent house and refers to states of mind, and Saturn here often generates a vague fear that someone or something, a misty or generalised fate or destiny, is going to destroy him or control him. He may isolate himself and attempt to shield himself from contact with others at the same time that he is weighed down by an oppresive loneliness and sense of powerlessness (…) It is also often the reflection of a fear of confronting external life and a sense of impotence in being able to handle practical affairs (…) Typical Saturnian ambivalence occurs with a twelfth house Saturn too, and there are both a compulsive fascination with and a great fear of losing one’s identity and individuality (…) It is man’s defense mechanism which is necessary for a long time while the unfolding consciousness needs defending; however, when Saturn is found in Pisces or in the twelfth house, the time has come for the scaffolding to be taken down for the inner structure is nearly complete, and stripping this away is initially like stripping off one’s outer skin and exposing the raw and tender area beneath (…) Saturn in water is responsible for a great deal of loneliness and isolation so apparent at the present time. It is of some help for the individual who has Saturn in a watery house or sign to recognise that his potential in terms of inner peace, understanding, and wisdom is as great as his potential for despair if he will only turn inward to the realm of feelings and of the unconscious.”

    Now, starting from 2025, Saturn will temporarily dip into Aries for a couple of months next Spring, form a great conjuction to Neptune (just enough to give us ample material to work with) and then dip back into Pisces next Autumn, for a conclusive final act. It needs to be said, that Saturn doesn’t enjoy being in any of these two signs, since Water and Fire energies are the most resistant to any discipline, structure or grounding that this Earth Papa wants to impose on them; so these transits are uncomfortable and wounding to our personalities and only with great effort can we distill the gold inherent in Saturn’s karmic lessons. But let’s allow Liz to explain it further:

    Saturn in Aries “One of the main qualities which appear to accompany Saturn in Aries or in the first house is a lack of self-assertion of a positive kind. There is often a need to enforce one’s will and to control the immediate environment; but rather than being the spontaneous and self-confident assertion of the individual, this is more of a defensive maneuvre which sometimes attempts to attack first because it is fearful of attack. Sometimes the need for control is expressed in a subtle and indirect way so that situations are manipulated without any real evidence of aggressiveness. This is the characteristic coupling of need and fear which is so often found with Saturn. The natural shyness and stiff awkwardness of Saturn is expressed more obviously with this placement than with any other although the individual often learns during life to cultivate a smooth, cool and polished surface (…) Saturn is considered to be in his fall in Aries, and from this one might deduce that this is a difficult position for him and one which is not easily carried. Possibly the most difficult side of it is the tendency to be cut off from both the flow of outer life and the flow of inner life so that the individual is stranded in a very small and very arid area of his psyche, difficult to reach, and unable to touch the mainspring of purpose and meaning which would enable him to face the outer world with courage (…) This is because a planet in its fall must generally struggle, and it is this struggle which, if carefully tended, yields insight and eventual expansion of the field of consciousness. This is particularly true of Saturn, who when placed in the sign of his fall is often stripped of the courage and confidence – the natural gifts of Aries – which are required to tackle the problems of living head-on. Yet the thing he wants the most is the joy of being free, of being first, of exploring unknwon regions and meeting unknown challenges and revelling in the innate realization that his existence is guarantee enough of his purpose. Saturn in Aries or in the first house tends first to emphasize the fear of powerlessness because it suggests a clinging to the more superficial features of the personality and a consequent loss of contanct with the rich inner person. Eventually this fear can prod the individual into a deeper exploration of what he considers to be his identity.”

    And here is Liz’s primer on Neptune’s energy as it will make an epochal shift next year (if you thought delusions related to wars and conflicts were abundant in the collective, well next yer we may never see the end of them; at the same time issues related to personal identity and who we are as human beings will become the center of our collective concerns as AI and robots will become common-place in society):

    Neptune in Pisces “In the 12th house, Neptune comes home (…) Neptune in the 12th house is a transmitter of the richness, darkness and light of that which came before us. The 12th is the house of pre-birth and therefore also describes the period of the mother’s pregnancy, when we were contained within the uterine waters. As a medium for the archetypal themes of the ancestral collective, Neptune in the 12th is particularly attuned to feelings and images of suffering and redemption (…) It is not surprising that this house is called the house of self-undoing; if we are unconscious of this vast ancestral longing to go home, we may ensure that we are dragged home in spite of ourselves (…) Commitment to a religious or spiritual path may offer consolation to Neptune’s melancholy and world-weariness, and may provide a means of redeeming not only one’s own loneliness but the victims of the past. Neptune in the 12th may shoulder the burden of redeeming family sin and unhapiness, and is particularly prone to identification with the suffering saviour (…) One may become addicted to the creative powers of the psyche, retreating from relationships with the outer world in order to partake of the universal waters of the source. The individual may see himself or herself as a Christ-like figure, come to save the suffering world (…) The line between Neptune in the 12th as visionary, artist and healer, and Neptune in the 12th as addict, invalid or psychotic, is very fluid (…) Neptune’s eternal enemy is also Neptune’s eternal friend, and a little Saturnian realism can go a long way in assisting a 12th house Neptune floundering in deep waters – although too much Saturn may provoke the very flood the individual is seeking to avoid.”

    Neptune in Aries “Neptune in the first house poses an immediate dilemma, for the nature of Neptune is antithetical to the nature of Mars. Where Mars seeks to assert its power over life, Neptune seeks to avoid birth. Where we experience Neptune, we feel helpless abd impotent, for we are in the hands of powers greater than ourselves (…) Neptune in the 1st may secretly feel emasculated and deeply anxious when confronted with choices and challenges that require a definite decision or act of will – particularly if there is any risk of separation or loneliness. Sometimes one adopts instead a strange fatalism, as though life is unreal anyway and therefore not worth struggling with. Eschewing of personal responsibility may undermine efforts to establish a coherent life direction. Both good and ill are “meant to be” (…) Neptune in the 1st often reflects gifts of tact and subtle diplomacy, one navigates rather than shapes the outer world. The needs of others take on the shape of the redeemer; to merge with others in an ecstasy of mutual pleasing is a form of redemption (…) Neptune in the 1st has a reputation in astrological texts for blindness and self-deception (…) Every personal interaction with another individual thus becomes a potential experience of salvation; and clarity, judgement and initiative dissolve as a result. But this destructive extreme of self-effacement can only occur if there is no sense of self to balance Neptune’s longing. If one has one’s own feeligns and values, the need for others will not swallow up the outlines of the identity (…) The challenge of a 1st house Neptune lies not in any intrinsically malevolent property in the planet, but in the task of balancing its chameleon-like inclinations with a healthy dose of self-value and self-preservation. Neptune in the 1st can also be the special gift of the counsellor or healer, because of its unique capacity to enter into the feelings of others. But the individual may become addicted to those who are needy (…) The inner solidity of the personality decides in the end whether the gifts of a 1st house Neptune will lead to the waters of oblivion or the waters of life”.

    At the moment at which I am writing these reflections, Pluto is a mere 24 hours away from definitively switching from Capricorn into Aquarius; this transit will last until 2044 and it will reconfigure our social landscape. To add to this transformation wave, we are collectively feeling the energies of the North Node in Aries (red and male) and the South Node in Libra (blue and female). It’s kind of on the nose how the colours and gender associated with Mars/Aries and Venus/Libra fit so strongly with the two political party which competed against each other during the American elections at the begining of this month; similarly, the upcoming Romanian elections may also lead to a negative surprise, as the old-guard political party PSD, whose logo is covered in red may become the populist darling, thereby sealing the deal on the gradual “Russification” of Romania during Saturn in Aries’ reign (although, I pray that votes will be disparate and PSD won’t get the majority and my fears will resist to manifest; I also pray that Saturn will freeze & limit conflicts at global level).

    Because the North Node represents a point of collective obsession, and its transit usually describes what we become attached to and constantly crave more of, we would understand why Trump’s campaign which it’s fleet red caravans covering the US and it’s sexist but direct rethoric, had more success than Harris’ – people unconsciously wanted Mars-like energy, so that their personal anger would be reflected on stage, in a form of political anger that was mistakenly associated with true power. Here is how astrologer Jan Spiller describes the core traits of the Libra SN/Aries NN axis under whose spell we have been since July of 2023:

    “Aries North Node people have spent so many incarnations supporting the identity of others that in this incarnation they have no sense of who they are. On an energetic level, they are missing the insulation of a sense of identity. When a baby is born, there’s a band in its aura called “identity”, and people in other nodal groups have this. It acts as a shield against the strong energy field of others. Because of it, people can interact intensely without damaging one another (…) In this incarnation, Aries North Node people face the challenge of stregthening their sense of identity. Because they have no preconceived idea of “self”, they are open to discovering what is real and natural within themselves. It’s an innocent process. Their natural impulses validate their identity, and their identity is strengthened through their actions (…) They don’t have enough personal identity left in their “battery” to hold the “charge” for the other person. To be deeply happy in this lifetime, they must focus on developing their own identity and recharging their own battery (…) When they encourage independence and individuality in their relationships – dealing directly with the other person and supporting him or her in being strong and separate – they win, because the other person will give back in the same way, supporting Aries North Node’s independence and individuality (…) For these folks, bein drained and being overly excited are two sides of the same coin: not dealing with what’s actually happening in the moment (…) The balance lies in being consciously aware of others’ energy without being consumed by it. Aries North Nodes need to stay connected to their own power and be in touch with what they can comfortably contribute. The idea is to share their talents freely, to be of service, and to give from the heart without trying to be more – or less – than they actually are.”

    Notice the proliferance of images of ‘birth’ and ‘identity’ in the quotes I shared above. Despite the fact that most of these descriptions are referring to individual circumstances in a person’s chart, they can be extrapolated to explain the current energies we find ourselves navigating through; and the struggle to form identities in the debris of a dying world speaks volumes to what is happening to us, as human beings, on a collective level. As the nodes of the Moon will switch signs on the 11th of January 2025, and as we will move from Aries and into the North Node in Pisces, the collective obsession will turn to spirituality, dissolving, addictions and losing our personal identities in order to recover a feeling of unification; we will long for some sort of connection, with what has previously been separated in the past years, but we may also attach to that which is toxic to us and build up a Stockholm syndrome around it, also because we will long for wholeness, peace and unconditional love and forgiveness. Again, I invite Spiller to describe in her own words how the Virgo SN/Pisces NN axis will manifest in the coming 18 months:

    “The Achilles’ heel Pisces North Node people need to be aware of is their compulsive need for order (“My survival depends of everything being in order according to my view of how life ought to be and how others ought to behave”), and it can lead them into the trap of an unending search for perfection (“If only the people around me were more perfect, I could relax and trust”). But it’s a bottomless pit: Since life and other people are never in a static state of perfect order long enough for Pisces North Nodes to feel secure, their expectations can lead to continual tension and anxiety. Because life – and others – are never ideal enough for them to let go of control, they continually postpone trust and joy. The bottom line involves acepting the universe’s plan is better than their and that things are unfolding properly, regardless of how it seems. The only place they can create “perfect order” is within themselves, by surrendering to a Higher Power and trusting that everything is indeed in order. The irony is that when Pisces North Node people blindly trust the infinite and accept that everything contributes to their greater happiness, they suddenly become aware of the larger picture and begin to sense how things are working to their advantage. Then they can let go of control and be happy (…) They are filled with calm and feel in alignement with ‘the plan’ because the spiritual vision is the energy of perfection they are seeking.”

    In a period in which we may have to bite the hand that feeds so that a new system of feeding that helps all get nourishment can come into place, we may also decide to caress and allow the hand that feeds to even strike us. With both Saturn and Neptune in Aries, we may not be able to see clearly ‘the enemy’ and considering that Chiron, the Wounded Healer is still moving through Aries for the entirety of 2025, we may decide to turn our violence against the enemy within. The hardship of our coming years will stem from the fact that we may be up against forces which we will have no control over, as the changes that will follow are in a large way, fated. Each one of us will feel called to play their part, at the right moment and in order to do so we will have to rely on nothing else but the strength of our faith and the force of our convictions. Living in a world whose material foundations are shacking can be taxing on the nerves so time alone to decompress will become imperative. But at the same time, we may also allow the energy of the unknown to surprise us with what we discover, to create ripples of fun and imaginative exploration, and in this way, the dark path ahead can become illuminated by our everyday, common sense courage.

    We may need to ask ourselves ‘why are we so obsessed with safety?‘ If Pluto in Capricorn broke our souls and spirits and transformed us into pragmatic capitalists so that we could survive, we may need to revise why we do the things we do each day, in order to reclaim control over our minds and souls. At this point in time, we all crave more money but then when we manifest it we just buy shit we don’t need, thereby contributing to the environmental collapse that is defining the current limits of our lived reality. Maybe time spent dreaming, resting, saving up, trusting, fluidly going through life may help both our mental health, and the environment and allows us all to see just how deeply the two are connected.

    Looking at these transits, I have already decided that 2025 will be my year of testing the limits of my solitude. I want to own being a Hermit, to dive into the study of occult scriptures and commit to a disciplined form of mediation and stillness that may help me achieve a state of inner oceanic vastness. And whatever I will find that is meaningful I will share with you all. Who knows? Perhaps once I have made this difficult but empowering decision, life will surprise me in a powerful way by showing me just how connected I am to everything and everyone in the pit of this self-imposed, militant solitude. I look forward to the discovery.

    With universal light, always

    Lexi

  • The Warmth

    Olafur Eliasson: The Weather Project. Image taken from The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/oct/02/how-we-made-olafur-eliasson-the-weather-project

    I don’t know how else to deal with big things, except by writing about them.

    I’m sitting on a chair and talking. And as I talk something shifts in my mind. I understand. There is a logical thread now linking two disparate memories. All of a sudden a flood of warm sensations washes over my body and it feels like my frontal lobe & then my whole brain softens. I just had a breakthrough in my therapist’s office. And my body reacted to it by making me feel warm. It is this warmth I seek now, as guidance that healing is taking place & parts of me, like tectonic plates, instead of being pulled apart by hot, gushing lava, are sutured back together. A female Frankenstein, but on the inside. By making sense of the difficult experiences in my life, I release a pleasing warmth in my body, an emotional nectar that heals wounds which have been buried so deep inside of me, they seem almost invisible. However what is invisible can also be stealthily powerful in affecting our lives in mysterious ways, leading us towards self-undoing and self-harm. The warmth is then a sign that the light of my inner Sun sign is still alive, and that I am real and still alive.

    For the past two months, I have been on anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication while also undergoing therapy. I started going to art classes while also exercising my body to improve my mental mindset. Slowly things were getting better and lighter until tragedy struck in a swift moment. There is a line in Arcade Fire’s song ‘In the backseat’ that is so heartbreakingly beautiful in the way in which it describes family-related loss and grief: My family tree’s / Losing all it’s leaves. This line stayed with me since high-school when I first heard it, but it’s only in March of this year that I got to feel the full impact of these words. March is my birth month. A month in which nature comes back to life in the Northern hemisphere, where I live. A month in which we celebrate Ostara or the Spring Equinox and the beginning of a new astrological year, as the Sun shines through the 0 degrees in the constellation of Aries (the first sign of the zodiac).

    In March of 2017 I lost my grandma. I also turned 30 and passed my PhD. I was having my Saturn return. And now as Saturn is approaching a conjunction to my natal Sun in Pisces, and I turned 37 years old my father is receiving treatment for cancer and I am no longer able to talk to my parents. I don’t yet know his clear diagnostic but the word ‘metastasis’ has been passed around from doctor to doctor since he fell in the bathtub in February of this year and wasn’t able to get back up. My dad can’t move anymore and there is something sick inside of him that is spreading from organ to organ, binding his insides into a map of darkness. It’s as if one by one parts of him are deciding to shut down and welcome the night. He is tired, and every cell in his body is expressing this at the moment.

    Dad didn’t have an easy life, but neither did he make the best of it. He complied and existed. He showed up and was stoically present while also abusing his body to the extremes. This body is now giving in and we are left to witness the cellular spectacle. If anything, dad is now showing me how much I need to love my own body, and to respect it. As my karmic teacher and through this disease, dad is showing me through the power of a negative example how not to live. He is teaching me indirectly that I should combine work with rest (he almost never took time off, except at weekends), that I should eat well (his diet was atrocious), that I should stay away from toxins (he smoked and drank most of his life) and most importantly, that I should move and stretch and feel my body (he is the most passive man I know). My body and my emotions matter, and as I am strongly feeling these statements I witness how my father’s body and emotions are ending him.

    I wrote about my dad in my book ‘Fatherhood and Love: The Social Construction of Masculine Emotions’, as our difficult relationship is what inspired my interest in how fathers express their love for their children. My dad is not an expressive man. Born with a Sun in Libra, Moon in Capricorn and Leo Ascendant, he is the kind of man who would rather tell dirty jokes as he is being wheeled into a hospital bed by nursing staff than tell his daughters that he loves them. He is actually suspicious of me and the affection I show him. He endures, dissociates and remains silent through it all. He is implacable like a wall when all I am trying to do is to relate to him, to talk to him. I can understand that a part of him has never been fully expressed or developped as he grew up surrounded by women, missing a father and the warmth of brotherhood from other men in his life. So he became a wall, a stranger on ‘foreign feminine’ territory.

    This wall is something I came across many times in all of my relationships with the men I loved and from whom to this day, I have not received any clear confirmation that they may have loved me at some point. The main issue that I wanted to explore in my PhD research and in the book that emerged out of it was: Is storge love something we only feel or also something that we primarily do? I was born into a part of the world in which it was customary to show love rather than put it into words, and in Romania the way people show love or do love is mainly by using food, gifts and money to make you feel cared for. Paradoxically, this same philosophy could be found in the South Node/North Node placements of my parents, with both of them being born in the 1960s and having a South Node in Sagittarius (action) which represents their comfort zones versus their North Node in Gemini (communication) which represents their uncomfortable growth zones.

    Needless to say, I grew up in a household in which screaming matches were a thing rather than calm, considerate communication – there were moments of peace and understanding, but they were not the norm. So I learned to repress my anger in an effort to detach from these fearful mom and dad behaviours which I was witnessing daily. And exactly this repressed anger has been triggered since the North Node of the Moon switched into Aries and began a difficult nodal return in my chart. To add to the karmic unfolding I am also having a transit of Saturn to my Mercury and Sun. This means that the angry matches I grew up witnessing in my childhood are now showing up in my personal relationships, forcing me to feel and process my anger but also to feel shame for witnessing a part of my Self ‘acting like my own parents’. The paradox being: that for years, I have been so afraid of becoming like them, and now I simply cannot help becoming like them. And anger and shame are difficult feelings to go through each day.

    Now I don’t know if the anxiety and sadness I have been feeling since the year began (and for which I sought professional help) was actually premonitory in some way. Was my body telling me that grief would enter my life and therefore I should prepare for it? My intuition has been at an all time high this year and my sensitivity to things in my environment has been exaggerated. I developed misophonia and am easily triggered by loud and unknown sounds which disturb my activities. I spent most of 2024 with my ears protected by large, high-quality headphones which would block environmental sounds as it was the only way I could go within and find peace.

    For the first time in a long while it felt awkward to follow my intuition, perhaps as Saturn in Pisces is currently ‘freezing’ the organic link I had to my intuition, bringing up a lot of self-doubt. I must admit that being on medication was keeping me calm and balanced, so I could help my parents through these trying times. But in the summer of this year, I released a job and my medication after finding out my therapist was just using me for money. Moreover, when my help was misconstrued as cold self-interest rather than one of the few ways in which my parents allowed me to show love to them, something snapped inside of me and I had to introduce a boundary between us. There simply is no other way for me to cope and to keep experiencing a healing warmth when all the energy I give is being used against me. So I am now my own ‘warmth motor’ and creating, writing, reading and divinating is helping me feel at home in the world again.

    As I am living at the moment inside my boundaried existence, I also keep wondering if something inside of my own body, some sort of genetic code awakening was out of sorts because the gene pool from which I come was getting sicker and sicker? Are we telepathically & empathically linked to our parents as much as we are genetically conditioned and biologically connected to them? When the source organism gets sick (the parent) does the derivative (the child) also begin to experience physical symptoms as they both are preparing for an inevitable separation? As our relatives depart, does something depart inside of us too? Could this be why people who have lost a lot of family members develop psychological disorders?

    I can’t help but wonder. But on a spiritual level, I feel that I am slowly releasing a karmic counterpart, and I see dad’s illness as a relief from the sadness of his life. He doesn’t really enjoy being here, in this incarnation, and as afraid as I see that he now is to depart from it, I believe the departure in itself is not shocking or scary, but a blessing for him. I just don’t want him to suffer too much. Despite this, I made the conscious decision to separate myself from my family, raising a boundary between me and them for a while, as I am piecing myself into what I hope is a stronger person. Being so attached to them, unfortunately prolonged a lot of my own co-dependency tendencies and suffering, and it feels better to just focus on my own healing, as they are dealing with their own.

    Whichever outcome, I am spiritually preparing for many possibilities, trying to make peace with whatever the Universe wants to manifest. But the whole experience has been revelatory since it reminded me that feeling broken or at least broken apart by life’s shocks and experiences, is a way to help put your Self back together again in a new way. Once the pieces of your authentic Self fall into place you get to experience a deep sense of warmth. It’s as if your solar light, your Sun sign as we know it in astrology, gets to be expressed again at full light and in full energy, helping you feel again at home in your mind and body. After an ordeal and as you process it you begin exuding a comforting light for those who may also struggle to be themselves and make healthy choices during trying times. Like a lighthouse in a bleak storm, you are the centre guiding others to their destinations.

    With universal love,

    Lexi

  • The Weirdness Within

    Credit: 20th Century Fox Television. Image from: https://fanfare.pub/the-x-files-is-the-best-tv-series-ever-made-e0900e393817

    In a year in which whatever I am building and struggling to maintain seems to be actively dissolving before my own eyes, I find it strangely comforting to spend time each night rewatching the X-Files series. As a child of the 90s, I grew up with episodes of the X-files casually playing on the TV in the background of the many activities that took place in my parent’s over-crowded living room, but I rarely got the chance to sit down and watch the entire series. The collective doom-and-gloom of 2024 made me find comfort in watching two incredibly attractive people debate on the nature of belief and the truth that is out there.

    As I lie in my bed after conflict-heavy days filled with disappointments and rejection, I give my favourite TV characters, FBI agent Dana Scully (played by Gillian Anderson) and agent Fox Mulder (played by David Duchovny) my full and undivided attention and escape into a surreal landscape populated by monsters, aliens and men in black suits. I have now reached episode 16 of season 5 and I am having such a good time, as season 5 is slowly becoming my favourite so far. And because of my astrological training, I can’t help but wonder: What exactly made these two people gravitate towards these specific roles and towards each other? What in their astrology, made them the optimal candidates for the X-files? In this article, I will use my astrological knowledge to unpack these questions and come up with some tentative answers.

    I think this is timely, since the X-files – an American entertainment series created by Libra Sun, Chris Carter – is a show about the occult, the paranormal but most importantly it is about what we believe in and how far are we willing to go to uphold our belief (or lack thereof). On the topic of belief, this an opportune time to unpack it as our collective energies are centred around the loss and limits of faith brought about by the current transit of Saturn & Neptune through the spiritual sign of Pisces.

    I’ll begin by analysing Gillian’s chart since it’s only polite that ladies go first 🙂 And speaking of politeness, we are dealing here with a really fascinating astrological chart, one in which the South Node is in Libra and the North Node is in Aries (conjunct Saturn). Gillian was born to be a star, since her Sun sits in the first house and is perfectly placed in Leo, amplified by a conjunction to dynamic Mars and also conjunct the Ascendant and Mercury. This is a lot of fire in someone personal placements! What fans the oxygen for that fire to burn brightly is her airy Moon is in Aquarius placed in the 7th house and perfectly conjunct the Part of Fortune; so, relationships brought Gillian a lot of good fortune and wealth and she seems to be emotionally attached to her contractual obligations. In addition, the Moon sitting in opposition from the Sun is also letting me know Gillian was born on a Full Moon, which makes her a person who has to have other people around her, someone who thrives by relating to others. Not only that but the politeness-factor is added in her energy by the fact that she was born with a South Node in Libra in the 3rd house (so her comfort zone is that of cool and intelligent communication) and a North Node in Aries conjunct Saturn in the lucky 9th house (making her growth zone, one of faith and philosophical expansion through conflict). Talk about being destined to embody a role in which she is persistently and diligently using science to counteract blind beliefs in the supernatural.

    Image of Gillian Anderson and of her natal chart taken from https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Gillian_Anderson

    Gillian is most famous for her work in the X-files but she also made a relative comeback later on in her career by embodying the magnetic detective superintendent Stella Gibson and playing alongside Jamie Bell in the British television series, The Fall. Recently she also starred in Sex education and The Crown, in an attempt to rebrand herself as an actress with a slight British accent and pedigree. However, two of her most know roles are portrayals of tough and intelligent femininity, and I attribute this energy not only to her North Node in Aries but the additional Mars energy in her chart conjunct her leadership-prone Leo Sun. An individual with the planet Mars conjunct their Sun can be someone who is naturally charismatic, feisty and prone to aggression to get their way, but when this energy is creatively sublimated, it can appear in battle-weary roles such as being the ‘soldier of light’ who catches bad guys as a daily living, which is exactly what both Dana and Stella are doing. Using her wit, calm explanations and a formal educational training (exactly the 3rd house energy which represents Gillian’s comfort zone), both detectives are able to hunt down evil and stare it in the eyes; in the first role this being alien-evil and in the second man-made evil.

    Nonetheless, I can see from her chart that Gillian has struggled her entire life with understanding who she is and with developing an identity that is not co-dependently linked to other people whom she shares her life with – this is potentially why she is trying to forego her American roots and rebrand herself as a British Tv actress. I think Gillian is attempting this geographical rebrand also because of her age, as she has celebrated her 56th year of life this year. Appearing in European productions seems to be working for her, as European tastes tend to be more accepting of aging femininity than the American media is.

    I believe all of these changes (her move to a different continent, her switch in roles and confident and more relaxed demeanour as she is aging, her switching from television to theatre) are due to the ripening of her Saturn in Aries placement which is nearing her return placement in the upcoming cycle between 2025 and 2027. Saturn in a fire sign (especially in a retrograde placement) offers a concentrated karma around the aspect of personal identity. This means that most of life’s challenges come a lack of confidence and from other people judging your personality and the actions you are undertaking to build your lived experience of life. Gillian’s chart thus tells the story of woman who had to do some deep inner work to detach herself from how other people perceived her. She had to put in hard work into crafting a healthy sense of confidence and an enduring self-image by taking creative risks and launching herself into a variety of life’s experiences (most of which were highly visible public performances).

    As a sidenote, another interesting case-study born with this placement is Hailey Baldwin, who lived in the shadow of the famous Baldwin family and then the shadow of her husband, Justin Bieber, before she became known for her brand and clean girl aesthetic (which took years to build). Similarly, Gillian had to learn who she is and what her identity and personal brand are, after years of playing either demure ladies (see her character in The House of Mirth) or tough detectives. Not to mention that the signature fiery red hair of her character, Dana Scully, is a combined expression of her North Node in Aries destiny and her Sun conjunct Mars and the Ascendant in passionate Leo. But with Saturn in Aries thrown in the mix, this passionate fire is restrained and slowly released in time, and after many challenges. What’s beautiful to see is how this inner fire is gently supported by her intellectual, weird and spontaneously wonderful Moon placement in Aquarius or the OG alien of the zodiac.

    Now before I dive into what having a Moon in Aquarius could mean for an individual, I need to present the astrological facts for David Duchovny’s chart, as he shares some astounding similarities with Gillian, and most of what I will describe for Gillian applies to David as well. David was born a Sun in Leo, with a Moon in Aquarius and a South Node in Pisces/North Node in Virgo conjunct Pluto. Unfortunately, his Ascendant is unknown as his birth time is missing. Already, I guess you could tell how astrologically twin-like David and Gillian are: both are Leo Suns with Aquarian Moons, both are born under a Full Moon, so it is no wonder that they met and worked as counterparts, both being the masculine and feminine voice of a similar soulful experience. Unlike Gillian, David’s destined path in this lifetime is one in which he has to become pragmatically comfortable with increasing darkness (North Node conjunct Pluto), and more precisely his very own darkness, in order to take control of his energy and purify himself at a soul level (North Node in Virgo) from the messy, emotional and religious-bound experiences he brought with him from past lives (South Node in Pisces). The extent to which he was personally able to fulfill this destiny remains debatable since his quarrels with the producers of the X-Files over money and his appetite for risque sexual encounters are infamous and may have garnered him a role in the controversial series ‘Californication’, in which he plays a celebrity and sex addict (a role which has mirrored his own personal struggles).

    Image of David Duchovny and of his natal chart taken from https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/David_Duchovny

    Different to Gillian, David has a domicile Saturn in the strong sign of Capricorn and a domicile Jupiter in the blessed sign of Sagittarius and both are retrograde placements which makes them more powerful. But the organic balance given by these fortunate astrological placements is upset by the stellium that David has in his chart, a cluster of planets surrounding the signs of Leo and Virgo. A stellium can intensify a person’s energy and their life experiences, bringing an all-or-nothing type of vibe about any small activity they undertake. With David we see a Sun in Leo conjunct beautiful Venus and unpredictable Uranus, usually markers which make someone an ‘on-again/off-again’ type of lover who you simply cannot get enough of because he is so warm and fun (Venus in Leo), but can also be lazy and self-obsessed (Pluto in Virgo conjunct the North Node). Moreover, the South Node in Pisces guarantees that unless David has a creative or spiritual outlet for his emotional energy, he may lose himself in meaningless sexual and addictive practices or religious confusion. It is endearing to see how he has sublimated this energy in Fox Mulder’s character, a man obsessed with his belief who will go to great lengths to prove an emotional truth which he constantly struggles to support due to a lack of evidence.

    Related to this karmic placement, I can also see that his ex-wife, actress Tea Leoni was indeed a soulmate for him, as her Sun in Pisces conjuncts his South Node in Pisces, letting me know that they are familiar with each other from another life and married in this lifetime in order to finish some unprocessed karma. And it’s fascinating as well how I, as a Pisces Sun am carefully re-watching the series during a Saturn conjunct Neptune in Pisces transit which touches upon David’s South Node/North Node energy. Not only that but starting from 2025, both Gillian and David will be having some significant transits as Gillian will be experiencing her Saturn return in Aries and from David will undergo his reverse nodal return, as from January 2025 the North Node of the Moon will enter Pisces and the South Node will enter Virgo. Therefore, I may update this article according to the news that may appear about them in the next few years.

    I always tend to write in tangents and sub-notes, and that’s because I was born with a Uranus in Sagittarius in the 3rd house and my mind can put forth some interesting and yet fragmented thoughts. To make things clearer, I want to come back in this paragraph to the Moon in Aquarius placement and to link this back to the title of this article, the weirdness within. As we all collectively sit on the cusp of the age of Aquarius, ushered in as it is by the transit of Pluto, it is essential that we study everything Aquarius-related so we can better know how to navigate a form of energy that is by nature, unpredictable, chaotic and spontaneous. And these are exactly the words that may be used to describe both Gillian and David in their private lives. It’s hard for us, the fans and spectators, to discern how these people are in their intimate lives but that’s why I love astrology so much – in the blink of an eye, simply by looking at data, you can create a profile of an individual’s inner landscape (much like criminal profilers and psychologists do in their daily work).

    A Moon in Aquarius is a paradoxical placement since it is shows affection and attachment by being actually really detached; people born with this placement are light-hearted and funny, cool as cucumbers and erratic in how they show their emotions. One day they love you ardently, the next day they have to leave you to track mountains because maintaining intimacy at a deeper level actually frightens them. They tend to fall in love with friends and co-workers, and those type of social relationships which usually come with some in-built boundaries. Lunar Aquarians are drawn to the unusual, to the spooky and mad aspects of life. There is nothing sexier to an Aquarius Moon than knowing all the emotional and intimate rules that govern relationships and then having fun mischievously breaking them. At times, Aquarian Moons can be superficial and cold as ice, to the same degree as a Capricorn Moon, but this is what makes them honest people with a great knack for intelligent debates. In some exceptional cases and if poorly aspected, an Aquarius Moon can also indicate the gradual disintegration of a person into madness or lead one to emotional extremes. Here is how one of my favourite astrologers (and expert in all things lunatic) Donna Cunningham describes this hard-to-define lunar placement in her book ‘Moon Signs’:

    “Ordinary folks with this Moon are likely to be anything but ordinary, with unusual ideas and predilections that set them apart from people around them. Diehard modernists, they are likely to be the first to adopt a new idea, trend, fad or gadget. Naturally the minute the fad becomes popular they’re likely to reject it and move on to the next avant-garde trend. Many are rebels who like to shake you up with outrageous behaviour (…) The airiest of air signs, Aquarian Moons are put off by emotions, preferring to detach from them – if you insist on doing what they consider overreacting. They try, even harder than Gemini Moons, to be rational and talk or reason feelings away. So, cut off they may seem emotional at times, and they can wind up doing very odd, impulsive things suddenly when repressed emotions build up to the bursting point. They may break up a relationship, quit a job or hop a plane, all seemingly out of the clear blue sky (…) Many born under this Moon feel the only security is total freedom and independence. Relying on others makes them vulnerable to being left again, so they may not be prepared to settle down.”

    My argument is that this electrifying and weird Aquarian energy is precisely why Gillian and David are so good at playing the roles of detectives Scully and Mulder. Their inborn Aquarian zest for life and weirdness helped them engage with such roles to an extent that felt authentic and believable. Moreover, this energy is also what makes them investigate the paranormal and the extra-terrestrial; they can empathise with being outsiders, with feeling as if they don’t belong into the socially acceptable moulds of society. If you too share this lunar placement with them and find it hard to emotional regulate or to find emotional stability and meaning in a life that seems to have trouble finding fitting you in, you may want to re-orient your energy towards investigating the paranormal, or creating sci-fi, and using your natural cool and spontaneous energy to research the mysterious unknown and open people’s minds in this process. You were born to break emotional patterns, much like Gillian and David in their roles as Scully and Mulder are in love with each other without necessarily portraying a traditionally, romantic type of relationship.

    And speaking of romance, I want to tackle the most fun part of their astrological energy, that being their synastry aspects (or aspects of compatibility). I can only imagine what went down between the two of them on the set of the X-files, seeing as they are mirror images of each other from an astrological point of view. Interestingly enough, Gillian’s Mars in Leo touches upon David’s Venus in Leo, which is an aspect that brings instant sexual attraction but it is the woman’s masculine energy which chases the man’s feminine energy. This aspect usually exists in a synastry chart in which the woman more or less romantically and sexually pursues the man. However, Gillian’s Venus in Virgo sits in a square to David’s Mars in Gemini revealing some tensions and frustrations between the two of them that were often hard to overcome (even if both Virgo and Gemini are ruled by Mercury and carry the same intelligence and nervousness stamps to their vibration).

    Furthermore, Gillian’s cluster of planets of in Virgo (her Venus, Jupiter, Pluto and Uranus) activate David’s destined path in this lifetime, in a somewhat uncomfortable and irritating process. I have no doubt that if something physical happened between them behind the scenes, that Gillian was the one which initiated it and that David gradually become more annoyed and irascible in this situation, as he may have felt himself controlled or emasculated (also because her Mars is conjunct his Sun). I also think that David may have bothered Gillian’s inner peace with his emotional messiness as his South Node in Pisces (his comfort zone) sat in opposition to the orderly ways in which Gillian extracted fun and pleasure from her work and the wealth she was creating. He may have thought that she was too much and too aggressive with him while she couldn’t deal with his messy and obsessive sense of wounded self-involvement. If like me, you paid close attention to how the relationship between Mulder and Scully evolves in the series, you may have seen some of this energy ‘leaking out’ in their acting in rather fraught interactions (especially at the height of the show’s popularity in seasons 4 and 5).

    Finally, I wanted to add a distinct way in which we may look at their relationship, as spiritual counterparts and creative co-workers. In the spiritual community the term ‘twin flames’ exists to describe an intense relationship between two individuals who are the mirror images of each other but they are locked in differently gendered bodies; as these individuals come together the fire between the two of them burns so brightly that it cannot sustain a normal, romantic connection for too long. So, what usually happens is that twin flames meet and work on a big project together which changes the collective for the better, and then they go their own separate ways. Oftentimes they continue to maintain a deep connection even if they are not physically close to each other (almost like a red thread of energy linking them). From an occult and spiritual perspective and backed up by the astrological knowledge of their charts, I can say that Gillian and David are a very good representation of a twin-flame connection, as they both were magnetically drawn the content of the X-files series (activating their weird and wonderful Aquarian Moons) and they came together to influence the ‘Millennial’ collective. And finally, it’s important to underline that at the heart of the series, as well as within the astral energies of the two protagonists lies the constant dialogue between faith (Leo energy) and science (Aquarius energy), exploring the unknown with intuition and instinct and figuring it out with facts and experimentation, who we are as humans here on Earth (Leo) and whether we are part of a larger cosmic order (Aquarius). Therefore, it will be fascinating to see how the transit of Pluto in Aquarius for the next two decades will affect us, the two actors’ lives and the creative legacy of Mulder and Scully and the mysterious X-Files.

    To wrap up this discussion, I will leave you with a funny insight into my little life. I recently deleted my online dating profile in which I had advertised myself with one simple sentence: “Just a Scully looking for her Mulder”. Because in the end, aren’t we all just looking for a special weirdo who can help us compliment the weirdness within?

    With universal love,

    Lexi

  • Healing Paths Back to My Self

    Painting by Lo Chan Peng taken from https://beautifulbizarre.net/2022/03/01/issue-36-on-sale/

    A part of me is fearful about writing this, but I feel I need to write about what I have been going through, because my work has been inconsistent lately, and I owe it to my crew to keep in touch. So 2024 began with a focus on my health, and I have recently been diagnosed with high anxiety and mild drepression. It feels like I have just begun looking deeply within to understand what is the root cause of these dis-eases, and the root seems to be emotional. I have yet to uncover its cause.

    For years, I have practiced yoga, created lists of intentions and affirmations and followed a spiritual path as much as I was able to (and aware of) in my everyday routine. In 2020, I somehow managed to even collect and inspire a public with my inner work. Encouraged by my growing, online, soul family, I thought I was increasingly going down the route of radical self-love and self-acceptance and I was looking forward to the future and everything I still dreamt to achieve. I thrived and felt like I was becoming my best self, until I bought an apartment last year with the intention to have a solid base from which to work and to release the stress of paying rent. But when I moved into my home last year, this illusion fell apart as instead of joy and liberation, I began to feel an increasing alienation from the environment in which I found myself living in. Things don’t always feel like we expect them to feel..

    So in the past year, I have been struggling to stick to a daily routine, to feel my deep connection to the Divine, to feel like there is a sense of forward movement in my life. Admitting all these things brings pangs in my stomach as I write these words. I felt abandoned, ashamed and sick with irritation. I felt I had made a mistake I couldn’t somehow repair. And I was guilty for feeling such things which put a lid on them.

    On an obvious level, the expectations that come with my healing job is that I should help heal others. And even if doing the kind of spiritual work I am doing can provide a helpful energy exchange between me and those I work with – a string of energy which heals them as I also heal – something felt jammed up in the pipe of our spiritual communications lately; only with some effort could I muster up the energy to do what I love. And this state of affairs angered me. I find myself immersed in a typical Saturn transit to the Sun problem.

    And yet in spite of how I was feeling, all throughout 2023 I got up each day and participated in all the things I used to do that brought me back into balance: I cleansed, I prayed, I saged, I cut chords, I used tarot to heal and understand my patterns, I relied on my knowledge of astrology to make sense of what I was going through, I published work and uploaded videos, I helped others as much as I was able to. And while these things helped to keep me on track, towards the end of the year I was not feeling alive inside anymore. I felt buried and forgotten. And I stoically carried this feeling until the threshold of New Year’s Eve when a random flu made my body stand still and deal with the realization of what I was carrying. After a string of unpleasant conflicts with my neighbours, I had to stop running from my symptoms and go ask help from my family doctor. I realized I needed a different type of support and I was determined to do the best I could to bring my whole Self back to myself.

    As always, my incredibly intuitive family doctor, a Scorpio Sun, gave me a ticket to go and see a psychiatrist but she also put me in touch with a shamanic therapist. On some level, knowing what is happening to you rationally has the potential to calm you down when you encounter difficulties in your life, but it does not protect you from feeling all the feelings that come with such difficulties. So I took my feelings and my vulnerabilities and I went to see the psychiatrist. I talked to him about the irritation, the helplessness, the melancholy and the heigtened sensitivity I was experiencing. He advised me to intervene with both therapy and medicine and I agreed since I want to come at this issue with all guns blazing. Irrespective of the difficulty I find at the moment to live, I am stubbornly committed to my healing process. I am now on medication which has regulated my sleep patterns and am seeing a cognitive-behavioural therapist who is helping me with practical strategies to manage my anxiety. The light is slowly coming in…

    I also felt intrigued by the shamanic therapist that my family doctor suggested and so I visited her and I have to say that she left the strongest impact on me. I felt like being welcomed into the beautifully lit and colourful den of a crone, who held all the magic and potions neccesary to treat my weary soul. After years of giving back to others, it felt so good to be seen and understood at that level and to find someone who understands the language I speak (although she specializes more in Chinese astrology and Mayan magic, while I follow Western astrology and Romanian magic).

    But this article is not about my encounters with these people – it is a way to tell my crew something I have been carrying in my heart for a while now, ashamed that I would lose support if I disclose what I was going through. Sadly, I realised I was stripping myself of authenticity, and this did hurt my overall growth and the passion I was able to put into my work. So I am choosing to be open and frank here. And I hope I will be understood. I also wanted to share with you all, some of the things I have been doing to heal myself, and to let you know that if you are also struggling there is so much help available should you decide to heal and stay determined. There is hope.

    Recent events haven’t shaken out of me the belief in the beauty and validity of energetic work, nor have they taken my faith in my angels and in Spirit. On the contrary, this experience is refining it and helping me expand and grow in a less obvious way than before. I always thought that science and spirituality need to combine in order for wholistic healing to take place and I am now experimenting with both. To develop this inner attention and inner growth, I have been practicing a soften, slower form of yoga, called Yin Yoga and one of my favourite teachers of this modality is Devi Daly. You can easily access her videos for free on Youtube:

    After a couple of years of practicing Yoga with Adrienne, I felt the need for something slower and more focused and Devi’s channel just materilized in my feed one day when I was having a panic attack. I practised with her throughout January and it helped me come back to my center. I also love how her message is about ‘how yoga feels not how yoga looks’ and I am increasingly moving towards this belief. I find her inner peace so radiant and her composure and energy aspirational. Devi, much like my shamanic therapist, helps me look forward to ageing and continuing down this spiritual path, even as I will inevitably switch from the adult/mother stage to the crone stage, and am worried about how I will be perceived by the public.

    Because I live in a neighbourhood in which there are constant construction noises and in an apartment-building in which there are strange or sudden loud noises and things that take me by surprise, my nervous system became increasingly compromised in the last year. And I was desperately seeking something to calm the irritation I was picking up on, with my ears (I had the transit of Saturn conjunct Mercury throughout most of 2023, and this is an aspect known for causing hearing problems and hearing damage). Playing soothing music helped but it wasn’t enough, until I got some noise-cancelling headphones and I discovered Yoga Nidra. Again, my angels spinned the Youtube algorithm & helped me with a recommendation, and this is how I discovered Ally Boothroyd’s channel:

    In the past three months, I have been doing her soothing yoga nidra meditations and I have to say that it calmed me enough to adapt to the stressful environment I live in and not have some damaging anger-outburts (Uranus is at the moment perfectly conjunct my natal Mars in Taurus, increasing irritation). Yoga Nidra enhances your capacity to pay attention to what is going on in your body, and by doing it regulalrly you begin to feel a sense of deep inner calm, even when in the middle of a chaotic social event. To a large extent, I believe that this is the reason why Spirit is testing me in this period, it is to help me build inner strength and to find ways to seek resources to cope from within my Self.

    Understanding my body better and how my nervous system works has been monumental in helping me reach a level of calming awareness about some ticks I developped as a consequence of prolonged stress. I started bitting my lips more often than normally and in addition, I have been a teeth grinder all my life, but only in this period have I started to seek ways to control my jaw movements and diminish the rate at which I grind. The advice I could find from Dr. Ginger Garner and Dr. Sukie Baxter have been practical and helpful. I learned how to massage parts of my face and spaces behind my ears, I never paid attention to before. I’m also learning about the massive importance that the vagus nerve has in the stimulation of well-being in the human body, as well as how important it is to do daily stretching to extend the knotted fascia that can often give us leg pains and back pains too. In this process, sound comes into play again and I find the work of Irene Athanasiou to be very calming and grounding for vagal relaxation:

    My therapist told me that I am in the process of building a new brain, since the one I am currently running on is rattled by past pain. And because of this my body is somatizing years of hidden pain. The symptoms are just ways in which this energy is finally asking to be acknowledged and released, so I can begin my new life. I liked the metaphor and I am taking it literally. And to help this process I am not only using sound and movement but also exercise and nutrition. I started working out each day for 30 minutes at my local gym not to look good but to keep sane. Moreover, I eat at least two meals a day and they are either bought from places which have good quality ingredients or I cook my meals at home. I drink plenty of tea, coffee and cocoa, and I sometimes take adaptogens like Schisandra and Ashwaghanda (but I avoid to take them together with my prescribed medication).

    Recently, I started adding sea-buckthorn, mango and honey smoothies to my diet and aside from the delicious taste, I feel like there is actual sunshine entering my system and it energises me. Whenever I get lonely, I go out and watch movies by myself at the city cinematheques (which we are so lucky to have, seeing as Cineplexes could’ve taken them completely out of business) or I work from cafes in the center of Bucharest (where I find myself right now as I am writing this article).

    The final thing I do is that I go and visit my family whenever I feel the need for a hug, to see how they are and help out or play with the family cats (between us, my parents and I share 7 cats in total and the family may still be growing). I am however trying not to appeal too much to this solution, since it can lead me down the path of co-dependency on them (and suffocating situations of which my Libra South Node knows too well). There is still so much to heal in my relationship to them, even if I am more understanding and calmer about our shared history, at 36 years of age than I was in my past.

    Whenever I can’t spend time being physically close to other people, I end up spending time with the minds of others, through reading. Reading has always been my main source of comfort and therapy in life and it is part of my karmic labour in this existence (I have a natal Saturn in Sagittarius). Two books on the topic of healing which I read recently and I highly recommend are Gabor Mate ‘When the body says no’ and Kelly McDaniel’s ‘Mother Hunger’:

    And I am going to end this article with this: both therapists – these two experienced, inwardly beautiful and educated ‘Amazons’ of different ages and working in different modalities – had a moment in our separate conversations when they each took my hand in theirs and asked me to love myself more, to remember that I as a individual matter to my deep Self. This struck me so deeply. Here I am, sharing love and light in the online community and believing I am actually practising self-love, when in reality I seem to have taken some steps back in this process. But whatever has been pushed back is, by nature, meant to come to its initial state or pull forward. And armed with all this knowledge, help and support I am really looking forward to my energetic come-back! Thank you so much for being part of this journey with me x

    With cosmic love,

    Lexi

  • A Map of Occult Places & Artifacts To Track Down

    The hall of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. Image taken from https://thirdeyetraveller.com/scottish-national-portrait-gallery/

    If 2024 excites me about anything, it is about the opportunity to begin to travel internationally again. Since the outbreak of the 2020 pandemic I stayed low and quiet on the ground, refusing to get on a plane. I worked on growing The Spiritual Social, I gathered resources to purchase a home, I spent time with my folks and raised two strays into plump and happy cat-ulhood. But this year, my biggest wish is to travel internationally again. And not just for the fun of it (although that is a serious enough reason to explore the world), but to ‘hunt down’ some occult gems!

    If you grew up watching Indiana Jones movies and playing noir, detective object finding games, than you may also have a surreal obsession with tracking down ancient artifacts. In my line of work, these artifacts happen to be imbued with occult knowledge. As I am learning and growing as an occult practitioner, as an astrologer and tarot reader, I am finding out all sorts of beautiful things just waiting to be explored in our weird and magnificent world. The list below is just a draft and I am hoping that by presenting it here I could spark your interest in visiting such places or maybe contributing to the list and adding some hidden gems you may have found. The book Atlas Obscura also helps in tracking down some of these occult gems, although not all places and artefacts contained in the book are astrology or tarot related.

    Some of the places listed below are places I haven’t travelled to yet, and others I have already seen but they left a mark in my heart. Others have been places in which I actually holidayed a couple of times or got to live there (!) but my interests were vastly different at the time, and I just glossed over seeing some of the occult treasures contained.

    1. Old Jaffa’s Zodiac Streets, Fountain & Wishing Bridge, near Jerusalem, Israel

    This is a place I randomly discovered during my honey-moon, way back in 2010. As I was exploring Jerusalem with my ex-husband, we somehow wandered into Old Jaffa and got lost on its ancient looking stone stairs carefully guarded by sleeping, stray cats. The streets had many hidden artist’s shops and the walls had markings with astrological symbols which made me feel right at home. Highly recommend visiting the zodiac bridge as well, which has a beautiful view to the sea.

    2. The Ceiling of Astrological Constellations at the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland (but just as a sidenote, the entire city of Edinburgh is a precious occult artefact! God bless the souls of the witches who continue to protect it. I lived there for 7 years and it was my favorite place in the world to work. Too bad it is so cold and dark for most of the year, because otherwise I don’t think I would have left this gorgeous city.

    3. The Zodiac Pillars of the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, IL, USA

    In 2019 I was so close to visiting Chicago for work. I was supposed to live there for 6 months and interview lawyers, prosecutors and judges for a social study on emotions in the courtroom. Unfortunately, I had a disagreement with my boss and the trip was cancelled. Looking back, I feel like I would have really enjoyed seeing Chicago even for a couple of hours and if I had some hours to spend I would definitely take a trip to Adler Planetarium, a public museum considered to be America’s first planetarium.

    4. The Dendera Zodiac (the first in the world) at the Musee de Louvre in Paris, France

    I was gobsmacked when I found out that the world’s first zodiac can be seen by the public in the Louvre Museum in Paris! It felt foolish since I had travelled to France several times in my life, as one of my best friend’s lived in Paris for a couple of years and on one occassion I spent a romantic New Year’s eve celebration together with an ex-boyfriend. But all the time I was weary to enter the Louvre since there were such long lines and I couldn’t muster up the enthusiam to see Mona Lisa. And now I am kicking myself and looking up flights to travel and witness the glorious magnificence of the Dendera zodiac.

    5. This one is more about the history and excitement of card reading and slinging, The Vanderbilt University’s Library Card Gaming Collection in Nashville, TN, USA

    In the Autumn of 2019, I was priviledged to be able to spend 3 months in Nashville, working on the campus of Vanderbilt University. One evening, I saw a sign about the Story of the Tarot, which was a presentation followed by a short reading session. Naturally, I went and I got introduced not only to the history of the tarot described in really funny anecdotes but I also found out that the Vanderbilt Library has access to the largest collection of playing cards that exists. If you visit the Vanderbilt Library Special Collections section, an elderly lady with a gentle smile and gloved hands can show you the collection.

    Beautiful hand-painted 17th-century Minchiate Tarot cards. Minchiate is a special form of Tarot—as well as a card game—that developed in Florence in the 15th century. This deck is part of the Clulow/United State Playing Card Co. Gaming Collection at Vanderbilt University.

    6. The Museum of Sorcery & Witchcraft in Holmavik, Iceland.

    This is a completely new discovery and I am amazed it exits. It looks small but it also had some pretty terrifying artifacts. I would love to see it one day, although I do not drive and apparently you can only reach Holmavik by car. For weeks I have been dreaming of Iceland, almost as it something is summoning me to be there. So I plan to visit Reykjavik in the near future so perhaps I would get a chance to drop by the sorcery and witchcraft museum, if the stars align.

    7. The British Museum is a whole treasure trove of occult artifacts with a spiritual essence taken from many different cultures from all over the globe. I can proudly say I spent some memorable hours within it, constantly feeling I missed something I had to observe, it’s just so rich in resources. Notable astrological works are those such as The Atlas Celestis from 1660 (see below) but there are many sculptures and statues of tribal and ancestral gods and goddesses that are worth seeing.

    I’ll leave this list open ended and may add to it, as I find out about new interesting occult places. Feel free to leave your recommendations in the comments section below. It would be great if we could make an occult map together!

    With universal love,

    Lexi

  • The Meaning of Malefic Planets in Astrology

    Saturn, the greater malefic, in his chariot. Maarten de Vos (1532-1603)

    The Ancient Malefics of Astrology

    You may wonder what malefic means in the context of astrology, as this word tends to be often used by older, more experienced astrologers especially those who tend to predict world events or who interpret the charts of infamous murderers and criminal culprits. The Oxford English dictionary lets me know that in mid 17th century Europe the Latin term maleficus was used and its root was created from a combination of the word male ‘ill’ + -ficus ‘doing’. So malefic can literally be translated as the doing of ill. Traditionally, the malefic planets in astrology are Mars and Saturn, much like the dictionary definition clarifies:

    malefic

    /məˈlɛfɪk/

    adjective: malefic

    1. LITERARY causing harm or destruction, especially by supernatural means. “She was hypnotized by the spider’s malefic eyes”
      • ASTROLOGY relating to the planets Saturn and Mars, traditionally considered to have an unfavourable influence.

    Another attempt to understand how the word ‘malefic’ came about and how it is used in astrology, can be found on The Astrology Dictionary website:

    This is derived from a convention in ancient Greek texts where these two planets were referred to as “bad-doers” or “evildoers” (kakopoios), because they were viewed as providing negative or destructive significations in an astrological chart.

    This is contrasted with the two “benefic” planets, Venus and Jupiter, which were referred to as “good-doers” (agathapoios), because they were viewed as providing positive or constructive significations in a chart.

    https://theastrologydictionary.com/m/malefic/

    For some reason, Saturn is given more negative weight than Mars in astrological interpretations, almost as if it is symbolically mirroring the mass of each planet a Saturn tends to the bigger planet (5.683 × 10^26 kg) compared to Mars (6.42 x 1023 kilograms). In his foreword to Liz Green’s book ‘Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil’ (2021), Robert Hand writes:

    (…) all three traditional forms of astrology [Hellenistic, Jyotish, Medieval] held that there were “good” and “bad” planets, which later came to be called benefics and malefics, one of which was Saturn. Benefics “caused” good destinies, malefics evil ones (…) Saturn was called the “greater malefic” (Mars being the “lesser”). Being the worse of the two traditional “malefics”, Saturn makes it clear that this could be done with all the symbols of the chart.

    p. xvi & xxii

    The unfavorable nature of Mars and Saturn in someone’s natal chart is also given by the mythological dimensions of these planets. Mars, the red planet and one of Earth’s neighbors, is symbolically associated with the Greco-Roman God Mars/Ares, the God of War, Pillage and Destruction. Armed with a short temper, irrational amounts of lust and a deeply selfish nature, Ares appeared in the mythology of Mount Olympus as a ruthless, unforgiving and angry God. But he was also attractive and filled with passion and vitality, having been endowed with a lot of strength and energy. So the presence of Mars in someone’s natal chart indicates exactly that: how you use your energy to create life and movement around you, how you act out in anger, how you destroy, how you initiate, how you have sex and how selfish can you get.

    On the other hand, Saturn the planet that used to be considered the ancient border of our solar system, is associated with the Greco-Roman God Saturn or Chronos, the God of Time, Karma and Limitations, the one who famously ate some of his children. Saturn is depicted as a controlling force, a stern disciplinarian, but also an inwardly anxious God, ambitious and deeply concerned about his image. Because of this extreme self-consciousness & status-sensitivity, Saturn was constantly worried he may be replaced or dethroned. In an effort to avoid his fated demise, he tried to get rid of his offspring. The symbolic meaning of this unnatural act of Saturn therefore shows how someone who is overwhelmed by fear (especially a fear of the future & of death) may lead to the destruction of present opportunities in their life. Because of this myth which depicts an old man losing his mind to fear, falling prey to an ambition that steals his humanity and the fact that the actual planet Saturn borders the solar system due to it’s widespread and concentrated, rocky rings, Saturn is therefore seen as a limiting, restricting and harsh influence in someone’s natal chart.

    Because ancient astrologers whose works have survived until our days, were attached to an understanding of the world organized around the Christian values of ‘good’ and ‘evil’, the Gods Mars & Saturn and the subsequent planets they baptized, were considered to be ‘evil’ when described in terms of lust, selfishness, control, ambition and anger, aspects more normally associated with demons rather than angels, so with bad rather than with good. But in time, and especially due to the pioneering works of Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung, astrologers began to adopt a psychological understanding of the meaning of planets in someone’s natal chart; and from the viewpoint of exploring a person’s unconscious world and deep emotions, the influence of Mars and Saturn appears to be psychologically complex, rather than simplistically divided into ‘good’ & ‘bad’.

    The Progressive Malefics of Modern Astrology

    Some argue that the development of these psychological tools to understand human beings and their fated destinies were also linked to the discoveries of the newest members of our solar system: the planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Out of the three it seems that Uranus and Pluto joined ‘the bad reputation gang’ of astrology due to the complex nature of the problems that they can bring up in someone’s life. It also didn’t helped that when they were first discovered, the planets Uranus and Pluto unleashed into the collective a string of chaotic events that helped human beings come to terms with their unhinged and destructive nature. For this reason, they are associated with the modern malefic energies present in someone’s natal chart. During the Great Depression, on the 18th of February 1930, the American astronomer Clyde William Tombaugh discovered the planet Pluto. So just 14 days after his 24th birthday, an Aquarius Sun astronomer discovered the planet Pluto during Aquarius season! Poor Clyde, he must’ve rolled in his tomb when Pluto got demoted from the status of the 9th planet of our solar system, to that of a dwarf planet in 2006.

    Images of Clyde William Tombaugh (left) & William Herschel (right)

    During the American Revolutionary War but on the other side of the conflict in Europe, on the 13th of March 1781, a German-British astronomer and composer William Herschel, discovered the planet Uranus through his homemade telescope. It’s significant to note that during the year in which the rebel planet Uranus was discovered the Articles of Confederation, the document which served as the United States’ first constitution went in force as well as the siege of Yorktown. Returning to Europe, William Herschel was credited as being born on the 15th of November 1738 in Hanover, Germany. It’s interesting that the planet Uranus was discovered during Pisces season by a Scorpio Sun astronomer and composer. I want to draw your attention to the divine synchronicity at play in their discoveries, which is kind of spine-chilling, if you take a moment to think about it: a Scorpio Sun discovered Uranus (the planet which rules over the astrological sign of Aquarius), while an Aquarius Sun discovered Pluto (the modern ruler of the sign of Scorpio). This is an indication of mutual reception!

    As excited as I am about these facts, I need to mention as well that you won’t find many astrologers who consider Uranus and Pluto as directly ‘malefic’ planets in someone’s chart. This is a personal viewpoint of mine which comes from my own astrological practice as well as what I learned and observed from the proceedings of the Romanian Astrological Association. I’ll write more on the progressive malefics with some interesting examples in another article, after I will finish reading ‘Uranus: The Constant of Change by Eric Meyers and revisit my notes from devouring Donna Cunningham’s book ‘Healing Pluto Problems’. Until then, let’s explore the classic malefics and see if they may actually be unfairly typecast in astrology, as ‘the bad guys’.

    Some Examples of How ‘Malefic’ Planets Can Act like Benefics

    I was surprised to find out something quite unique about the destinies of the Fanning sisters, two remarkable, young, American actresses who share some strong Sun-Saturn placements in common. Dakota Fanning born on the 24th of February 1994 is a Sun in Pisces in the 11th house (conjunct a stellium), a Moon in Leo in the 4th house and Taurus Ascendant (conjunct her South Node). Her sister, Elle Fanning born on the 9th of April 1998 is a Sun in Aries in the 2nd house (conjunct a stellium), a Moon in Virgo in the 7th house (conjunct the North Node) and an Aquarius Ascendant (conjunct Uranus and loosely Neptune too). Aside from these interesting markers, you can easily spot that for both of them, their Saturn placements are linked to a stellium (a cluster of planets in one zodiac sign) containing important personal planets, and thereby intimately affecting their energy. Dakota, the bigger sister, is a Pisces Sun conjunct her Venus and Saturn in Pisces. The conjunction between her Sun and Saturn is almost perfect as the solar luminary is placed at 4 degrees while the other planet is placed at 3 degrees. In direct relation to this placement, Liz Green explains that: “Blockage on the level of the feeling nature is symbolized by Saturn in a watery sign or house, and true to form the psychic energy which would ordinarily seek release through expression of feeling must take another channel of expression – frequently through the physical body or through certain kinds of events (page 12)”.

    Image and natal chart of American actress Dakota Fanning taken from https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Dakota_Fanning

    I think that for Dakota, this expression is given by her acting; her profession allows her to express emotions she otherwise would’ve have been deprived from experiencing and understanding. It is by putting in the effort to build her characters’ emotional world, that Dakota gets to feel her own feelings, even if in the process she may not feel as if these emotions are hers anymore.

    Although in families there are often similar planetary placements between each family member’s natal chart, usually indicating affinities and karmic binds, it is rare that siblings share such perfect conjunctions. Elle, the younger sister, is a Sun in Aries conjunct Mars, Mercury and Saturn. Her Sun-Saturn link is less tight than Dakota’s as her Sun is placed at 19 degrees and her Saturn is at 22 degrees. Moreover, her Saturn is in detriment while her Sun is exalted in the exuberant sign of Aries. About this strange occurrence of Saturn obscuring the exalted placement of a Sun in Aries, Liz Green writes: “The Sun is exalted in the sign of Saturn’s fall, for the conscious personality is strengthened by its contact with the larger self (…) These two opponents, who sometimes take the guise of God and the Devil, perpetually circle each other about the ring whether they are in actual aspect on the birth chart or not. They are two faces of the same basic principle, and in the individual’s psychology they are related to the conscious personality and the shadow and unconscious personality.” (p.88)

    Image and natal chart of American actress Elle Fanning https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Elle_Fanning

    In Dakota’s case, it’s her Venus that is exalted in the beautiful and soft sign of Pisces! Dakota’s beauty, femininity and worth (Venus) as it is integrated into her personality (the Sun) is karmically tested by harsh Saturn in this lifetime. She must work hard to purify the nastier and more superficial aspects of Venus in order to be able to love and feel loved, to amass wealth and genuinely find a way to enjoy it. Her relationships to women and to beauty in general are long-lasting but trying and often may seem boring and predictable. She also must wait in order to access her financial resources or to find wise ways to invest her hard-earn money; some may say that because she worked as a child, her capacity to live out her girlhood was stunted, as she stepped into the role of the father, the provider by acting so small, which is again another aspect of Saturn aspecting Venus.

    As an important sidenote, at the moment at which I am writing this article in January of 2024, Dakota is going through her Saturn return, a time of great pressure, responsibility and tests in someone life, often called ‘the dark night of the soul’. But for Dakota this transit may not be so intense as for others due to the fact that she worked for the majority of her life and seems to have a solid occupational focus. On her IMDB page you can see for example a generous career retrospective for someone who is just 29 years old. But the personal and relational themes of her Venus-Sun-Saturn conjunction are underlined even more in her life at the moment: she may get married by the end of this transit or separate from a long-term boyfriend; she may receive the role of her lifetime or quit acting altogether to become a mother. As Liz Green described, with Saturn’s energy it’s a toss of a coin and you may end up on any given side of fate. This interesting stronghold that Saturn provides around Elle’s exalted Sun in Aries and Dakota’s exalted Venus in Pisces is chill-inducing and fascinating to write about. But what is Saturn doing that is good for the two progenies, because both sisters are talented, beautiful and successful in the film industry, each in their own unique way?

    Liz Green goes on to describe the inherent duality of Saturn and how it stands for someone whose destiny veers between complete confidence and utter anxiety all blending into one : “There are many other references to this deliberate duality which is unlike the natural instinctive duality or flexibility of the mutable signs. One is the Roman God Janus, god of gateways, for whom the predominantly Capricornian month of January is named and who was possessed of the remarkable attribute of two heads – so that he could look backwards and forwards, ostensibly, guarding where one has been as well where one is going, but also because he was, figuratively as well as literality, two faced” (p.13) In this original description, we see how Saturn seems to offer someone the gift of acting. This is because being able to switch between experiences, emotions and behaviors with skill and precision is the job description of any good actor or actress.

    And here is my point: Saturn conjunct the Sun of both Dakota and Elle makes them natural actresses! Saturn also strengthens and purifies everything it touches, as much as it can weigh heavily on someone’s psyche and bring about depression and self-doubt. And we can see the almost angelic-like energy that these two actresses represent, given also by their privileged role in American society as White, middle-class and educated women. But as a public, we may not be aware of the personal setbacks and hardships these girls experienced in order to reach the career heights they are currently on. One thing is for sure, they had disciplined childhoods which may have prevented their opportunities to discover who they really are and what they want to live for.

    In the author’s book, the placement of Saturn in a Fire sign is explained in the following way: “Saturn in the fiery signs or houses tends to suggest a barrier between the conscious personality and the intuitive perception of the self as it ordinarily is experienced by fire. This often precipitates a loss of the sense of one’s innate purpose and significance in the broader context of life. Saturn in fire may appear to produce problems which are more philosophical than real in nature (…) Saturn’s effects in the fiery signs and houses may aptly be described as ‘spiritual constipation’ which is observable in ordinary life as a lack of spontaneity and self-expression, lack of vitality and inner confidence, and a feeling of purposelessness” (p.87, 89)

    With a Saturn in Aries, Elle Fanning’s karmic inheritance is a duty to understand and develop her will and sense of purposeful activity without veering into megalomania and working only with the purpose to crush her competition. While with a Saturn in Pisces, Dakota Fanning’s karmic bearing is to become aware of the unconscious emotional frustrations which lie behind her actions; unlike her sister, she cannot achieve this alone, since Saturn in a Water sign requires another person’s objective viewpoint to help guide the native through the maze of her own feeling nature (this guide may be a parent, a lover, a hired professional or in her job, a director or a script-writer). Another interesting thing is that immediately upon the completion of Dakota’s Saturn return, Elle will begin hers in 2025! I hope that this tough, astrological maturation experience for both of them will strengthen their sisterhood rather than set them apart. In some cases, separations between siblings are psychologically necessary, especially when the siblings grew up feeling close to each other, but it is always emotionally difficult to lose a sibling, even if just on an emotional level.

    In this article, I have mostly written about Saturn, the greater malefic, because I found these examples to be so compelling and also because I am currently reading Liz Greene’s book. I will have to create a part 2 of this article in which I focus on the lesser malefic, Mars. The delay is because I have just ordered “The Mars Book” by Donna van Toen, one of the few resources on this topic which I am eagerly awaiting to read. Hopefully, I may stumble upon a couple of compelling examples of how Mars may work in a benefic way in someone’s chart and thereby correcting the stigma against these two resilience-building planets. Therefore, if you enjoy my articles then I recommend you follow my website to be notified when that article comes out. In the meantime, if you feel inspired to order a birth-chart reading in order to figure out what Mars and Saturn are doing in your own natal chart, then I would be happy to help you with a personal analysis here.

    With cosmic love,

    Lexi

  • Three Love Movies to End 2023 With

    Movie still from Love Steaks (2014)

    In 2022 I signed up for a Mubi film membership in order to watch a movie called ‘Transit‘. A year passed and I still couldn’t view that movie as it never became available. Sadly, that was part of the reason why I had to cancel my membership in November of 2023, but before I did that I watched 3 love stories which were intense, surprising and beautifully acted. The people at Mubi recently reminded me of theses movies in an email retrospective. Clicking through their list I was impressed by the fact that I seemed to have forgotten about these 3 movies, deemed as ’emotional’ watches. It may well be that my brain is shielding me from deep emotional memories to protect me from an emotional breakdown, as 2023 was an outwardly successful yet inwardly harrowing year for me. I lost contact with two high-school friends, I lost a relationship with someone who was romantically promising, and I realized just how doomed a reconciliation with my sister is. I spent most of 2023, alone and having random, spontaneous arguments with neighbors and the rough & violent people in the community I just moved into. As a consequence I developed physical issues and a constant pain running through my body. To calm my nerves, I worked, listened to music and watched movies. So let’s talk about these movies, and what I especially enjoyed about them.

    The first movie I watched back in May was The Fire (El Incendio), a 2015 Argentinian movie about the suffocating intimate life of a couple who decide to buy a house together. Their plans to acquire the house in the same day when the movie begins are slightly thwarted and they have to wait to complete the transaction. What follows is a couple of days of intense pressure, in which their class and gender dynamics are intertwined with their intimate breakdown: Marcelo is the wealthier one of the two, works a more relaxed job and is still emotionally supported by his relatives, while Lucia comes from a poorer family, works an intense job in a restaurant and has a difficult connection to her estranged mother. Paradoxically, and as the movie slowly reveals, despite the fact that Lucia is disadvantaged in every way in this relationship, she is the strong core of their relationship, holding it together even as Marcelo begins to fall apart.

    Movie still of Pilar Gamboa & Juan Barberini from The Fire (2015)

    The problem is what happens to them once the transaction is complete and they finally get the key to their house, which is a stylish new-build, situated at the basement level of a building? I’m not going to tell you what happens, because the movie has a powerful psychological ending, but I need to say that this movie offers some of the most intense and passionate couple of performances I have seen in a while. The screen was literally electrified by their arguments, love-making and inevitable moments of deep powerlessness and vulnerability. This movie certainly deserves more attention as it has two highly underrated performances from Pilar Gamboa & Juan Barberini, but it is clearly not something for those weak of heart who are triggered by raised voices. A movie that gets you to truly think about the meaning of ‘toxic love’.

    The second movie I watched in July, was 10,000 km, a 2014 Spanish movie about two lovers who are forced by circumstances to have a long-distance relationship for the span of one year. Natalia Tena plays Alexandra, an artist who receives the chance of her lifetime to create some artwork in Los Angeles. Supportive of her dreams, her boyfriend Sergio initially urges her to go. But as time passes they get increasingly frustrated with not being able to have a physically intimate connection and they begin to emotionally unravel, as the longing to be together becomes too intense & Skype doesn’t help to keep them together. The movie felt strangely personal to me, as I also had a year of a long-distance relationship with my ex-husband when we met back in 2007. That year eventually ended with me travelling to Germany to move in with him, as I had just completed my degree and he was continuing his teacher-training. So for us, the technology really helped to keep us together especially as neither of us came from wealthy families and travelling often would not have been economically possible for us. But this movie seems to portray a different and (I felt) more traditional understanding of love being broken apart by distance, professional goals and technological detachment, which is something I don’t necessarily agree with.


    Movie still of Natalia Tena & David Verdaguer in 10,000 Km (2014)

    The emotional problem that the movie posed is that only one of the two lovers sees this distance as something painful, while the other one relishes it, enjoying the space. So the movie keeps you watching because all you can think about during it is: ‘What happens when they come back together again, physically in the same space? Is their relationship the same? Is physicality really that important to maintain love, or are love relationships mostly lust-zones for consenting adults?’

    And the third movie is probably my favorite. The reason for this being is that it was a fierce, funny and creative watch. So the final love story I saw in September is called ‘Love Steaks’, a 2014 German movie with two lesser-known actors in the leading roles of Clemens and Lara. The story begins like a dirty joke you would tell your friends: a cook and a masseur fall in love in a luxurious hotel; the rawness of love ensues, as you can’t tell if they like each other or if they want to kill one another. The movie is filled with embarrassing dialogues, in which people constantly correct each other. As I kept watching, the German word ‘peinlich’ constantly kept popping up in my mind. At some point there is a scene in which Clemens gets sexually groped by an elderly client and the scene is treated in the most hilariously painful way to watch. But the movie also shows the tender and playful side of the relationship that Lara shares with Clemens. Both of them struggle with something: Clemens is weirdly co-dependent and a little bit of a doormat, while Lara is an alcoholic who occasionally self-harms by starting arguments with people. The most shocking part of the film is definitely its ending, which I can tell you right now you won’t be able to guess. And that’s what makes the movie so charming. As soon as it ended I was tempted to re-watch it, constantly thinking ‘What the eff did I just watch?!’ It also made me laugh a lot.

    Movie still of Franz Rogowski & Lana Cooper in Love Steaks (2014)

    As I am writing this article, I feel like my Mubi experience is coming full circle, because I just realized that the leading actor in Love Steaks, Franz Rogowski – a man whose face is something fascinating and unique to look at – is also the leading actor in ‘Transit’, the movie I initially wanted to watch on Mubi. I just checked his birthday and I can see that he is an Aquarius Sun, born on the 2nd of February 1986. With Pluto beginning to transit over his Sun from next year and for the next two decades, it will be interesting to see him rise to stardom and what other films he may play in.

    Anyway, I hope you can give these three small, intimate and crazily underrated movies a try soon. And let me know what you thought about them. In the last two decades, love movies have been few and far in between and were mainly cast aside in cinema in order to promote blockbuster superhero movies. So I am actually grateful that these small love stories were created for our viewing pleasure.

    In the meantime, thank you for reading my articles in 2023! I sincerely appreciate the support of each and every one of you who comes here and decides to spend time reading my thoughts, while bearing through some of my many spelling mistakes 🙂

    Happy New Year and I’ll see you all in 2024!

    With universal love,

    Lexi

  • Is This Man, Taylor Swift’s Romantic End-game?

    Image from People Magazine: https://people.com/travis-kelce-friends-think-taylor-swift-relationship-real-deal-source-exclusive-8407037

    Let’s begin with a disclaimer because I am aware that Taylor Swift’s fans can get intense. I’m not sure if any of them will wander in my part of the Internet but just in case they do: Please take this post in a light-hearted way. I wouldn’t conceive writing it in any other way. I don’t particularly fan-girl over Taylor, nor do I hate her. Personally, I’m kind of ‘meah’ about her public image and music, even as I am aware that for generations of women, she represents a role-model. For this reason, my analysis will be fun & respectful and will mainly represent my honest, astrological views of her relationship to Travis and a little bit about her ex (Joe Alwyn).

    I’m writing this piece due to popular demand, as I received messages from you curiously inquiring about the long-term prospects of this relationship. Many people are currently rooting to see Taylor finally dressed in white & walking down the isle, but is Travis Kelce the man to do it?

    Special thanks to my crew on Instagram for messaging me about this couple back in October and for determining me to quickly express some of my views regarding their birth-chart synastry. But I felt like I covered the topic a bit too quickly and superficially, at the time. So here’s my in-depth analysis.

    Taylor had an eventful year, romantically speaking, as she began 2023 breaking up with her boyfriend of 6 years (the English actor, Joe Alwyn who is a Pisces Sun) and seems to end this year by celebrating Christmas with her father as they both cheer and watch Travis Kelce – an American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs – score some goals for the nation. Now, I need to mention that unfortunately, we have unreliable birth-chart information regarding both Taylor’s & Travis’ charts (so strange how they share the same initial to their names too). On some websites you may find her Ascendant as being in Capricorn, while on others it appears to be Scorpio (although if you take a closer look, the reputable astrotheme.com has rated her birth-time accuracy as poor).

    As an astrologer this leaves me in the uncomfortable position to choose a chart. And I will go for the Scorpio one as it seems this is the latest astrological data available online and also because I noticed something interesting in how Taylor carries herself: she has the infamous Scorpionic hunch, a self-protective way of carrying her tall and slender body, which makes her look like she is ready to retreat at the slightest hint of an external threat (just for the record I’m not judging her, just stating my impression; I also have this physical marker seeing as my natal Pluto in Scorpio sits cozily in my first house, deforming my Libra Ascendant).

    I enjoy the chart in which her Ascendant is in Scorpio because this places Taylor’s Capricorn stellium in the 2nd house, of money, resources and self-worth. For a billionaire like Taylor, who’s net worth is estimated somewhere around 1.1 billion dollars, this is an optimal placement. In addition, based on this chart version I also share another thing in common with her (and arguably the bane of my mortal existence) a Saturn in the 2nd house placement. This means that no matter how rich and beautiful Taylor is naturally, everybody is able to see this about her, except herself. She can be very harsh on herself if something happens in her career. Saturn in the 2nd house pressures an individual’s body into submitting to a lot of hardships and long periods of having to endure (thirst, famine, extreme heat, a gruelling work schedule, tight dance outfits, repetitive performance drills, dry spells in terms of love and sexual pleasure etc).

    With Saturn here the body has to be routinely controlled and disciplined, otherwise it breaks down much quicker than for other people. The benefit of this placement is that it keeps one naturally thin and it emphasizes the bone structure of an individual; the native grows to look more attractive and becomes wealthier and more valued by others, the older they grow (see Meryl Streep and Drew Barrymore who share this placement in common with Taylor).

    Photo of Taylor Swift and the first version of her chart with a Capricorn Ascendant, taken from https://www.astro-seek.com/birth-chart/taylor-swift-horoscope
    Photo of Taylor Swift and the second and latest version of her chart, taken from https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Taylor_Swift

    A Scorpio Ascendant would also explain why some people either really like her and her music, or completely dislike her and think she is corny. This is because a Pluto-ruled Ascendant tends to polarize people. It would also account for the army of obsessive fans that Taylor has amassed through the years who are incredibly protective of her and often use the snake symbol to indicate fake media friends, betrayal and power plays. And finally, the last argument I make in defence of her Scorpionic Ascendant is the theme of Taylor’s songs and focus of her work, which is love and relationships. By comparison, we see a Capricorn Ascendant in the case of Lana Del Rey (whom I personally consider a superior singer in terms of quality of voice and lyrics) but Lana experienced a lot more criticism, backlash and setbacks in her career than Taylor has; so again, I am all for the Scorpio Ascendant theory, since it makes a lot of sense if we examine her life and public image.

    Taylor’s big threes are a lucky Sun in Sagittarius, a domicile Moon in Cancer (conjunct Jupiter, which adds to her good luck in life), and a Scorpio Ascendant (conjunct Mars, Pluto and Lilith, the Wild Feminine Archetype – a powerful trifecta that smashes her competitors). I guess that after years of looking at photos of Taylor with a pale Englishman by her side, her fans are thrilled to see that Taylor is now in a relationship with a red-blooded American (who occasionally wears misogynistic clothing in his downtime). Don’t get me wrong, the second type of masculinity does seem more fun and less restrained and I think fans are rooting for Taylor to just be happy, seeing Taylor built a whole career around singing tongue-in-cheek and heartfelt songs about romantic disappointment and feminine becoming.

    To be honest, Joe did have some massive flaws such as presumably cheating on her after 6 years of being together and also feeling quite ashamed of being together with her and Film Cooper on Youtube did a really sweet and sad breakdown of all the times that Taylor and Joe had spoken of each other in public and how they did it. Moreover, being together with a more traditionally masculine partner does seem to fit Taylor’s second house placements, but does it match her Venus and Mars placements? In a person’s chart these two planets indicate how a person feels desire and acts on it, basically how they get turned on and erotically culminate (Mars), while Venus shows among other things how someone gives and receives affection, whom they love, what they find attractive and how they style themselves.

    Before I explain certain issues with their compatibility, let’s have a look at Travis’ chart and what pulled them in together in the first place. Travis is a Sun in Libra, Moon in Sagittarius and (?) mysterious Ascendant. Ok, we’ll need to guide ourselves by his Venus and Mars placements next since we don’t have access to his astrological house placements. His Venus is in Scorpio conjunct Pluto and his Mars is in Libra conjunct his Sun. So, there are some powerful links between them: first of all, they have the spouse link, indicated by a Moon-Sun conjunction, but sadly it isn’t mutual. Travis’ Moon in Sagittarius supports Taylor’s Sun in Sagittarius, in a gentle and reassuring way. This is both a wonderful aspect which shows that he intuitively understands how to praise her and that he has unconditional support for her work goals and her natural, vibrant energy, but this one can lead in time to some big resentments, if the man holds on too tightly to his traditional role.

    I think it’s fair to say that out of the two, Taylor is the more famous and the wealthier one. If Travis is ok with this, they can make it work. The problem will arise when Travis will want to shine as radiant as Taylor in their connection and may withdraw affection as a way to dim her light, vitality and energy. The common issue with a man’s Moon supporting a woman’s Sun is that the man ends up feeling emasculated in the relationship and since Travis is active in a profession which promotes hypermasculinity, this will be an issue down the line. Now another problematic aspect is that her natal Moon in Cancer is not at all supportive of his Libra Sun which means that in time he may find her too sensitive for his taste. She may initially laugh at his macho jokes and entertaining, rough-handling of her body, but in time, Taylor needs someone artistic and gentle to share her private world with. After all this is the woman who created Folklore, an album so far removed from Travis’ competitive and aggressive world of American football, that it would be almost like the Sun was touching Pluto by mistake.

    Photo of Travis Kelce and his natal chart taken from: https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Travis_Kelce

    It could be that Taylor’s lunar conjunction to Jupiter protects her in some way from being overly shy and sensitive, since a Moon conjunct Jupiter in Cancer acts a little bit like a Sagittarius Moon. But it looks to me like Taylor just got out of a long relationship with her ex, Joe, in which she felt hurt and unsupported by her partner, and she wanted a solid, protective guy who can take her mind off the sadness she endured in that connection. She really wanted a fun man who could be ok with her exuberant, optimistic & also quite sexual Sagittarius Sun energy and she manifested him! But will it last?

    Let’s continue with the analysis. Now I can see that Travis definitely makes her happy as his natal Jupiter is exalted in Cancer and it touches upon her Moon and natal Jupiter, also in Cancer. I guess being around these two feels heady and addictingly optimistic, seeing as they are both powerhouses of manifestation for wealth, popularity and good luck. I would say that even if they decide to break up at some point they will remain close friends, but I am a little bit restrained in making that affirmation since they have an explosive whammy in their Venus and Mars placements: they have a conjunction in Scorpio, equally amped up by Pluto and Lilith.

    This is the ride-or-die aspect, the kind of love that Hozier was singing about in his Work Song, of having your partner crawl out of the grave to be with you one more time, it’s that super-cheesy Ghost kind of romance, of feeling your partner from miles away, of being haunted by them, and if shit hits the fan also killing for them. It’s 9 and half weeks meets The Batman 🙂 So, no I don’t think they could end up being just friends with this intense sexual chemistry.

    A Venus-Mars-Pluto-Lilith combo is passionate and intense to an extreme. It is also secretive and stealth. This is certainly not the domestic, white-picket-fence kind of energy (see my Marina Abramovic astrological analysis, who shares certain placements in common with Taylor, including this Venus in Scorpio placement). However, I am more relaxed when I see that they share an Airy Venus-Mars combo in their synastry, this being her natal Venus in Aquarius trined by his Sun and Mars in Libra. This much needed oxygen in their attraction, helps them understand each other with a dose of rational detachment. This is a friendly trine, a supportive and harmonious energy which tells me that Taylor enjoys the way he courts her, and how he flirts with her and initiates sexual intercourse. I would say that in spite of how he comes across in the public’s eyes, Travis is behaving in a polite and sweet way with her, since Libra energy is about being well-groomed and respectful, attentive to social norms and sensitive to etiquette.

    In contrast, she is the one who pursues him in a more intense way, seeing as the Mars in Scorpio placement appears in her chart. I am worried about this, since I believe that a lot of the attraction that Taylor has for Travis is related to the fact that he pursued her and is supportive of her goals, but Taylor may try to hard to impress him and suddenly the roles between them may change: she may end up doing the hardcore supporting of his work, while he begins to just take her for granted (and thereby activating the squares between his Sagittarius Moon and Libra Sun and her Cancer Moon). Because Taylor has her natal Uranus, Mercury, Neptune and Saturn in Capricorn in the 2nd house, maintaining this long-term connection will be a test of self-worth and endurance for her. And it may end up grating on Travis’ nerves seeing as his natal Libra Mars and Sun sit in tension with Taylor’s stellium.

    Within this stellar incompatibility, they also have two aspects which concern me a lot: his Mars at 10 degrees Libra sits in an almost perfect square to her Saturn at 13 degrees and Neptune at 11degrees in Capricorn. This is worrying to me, because Mars square Saturn is an aspect which indicates cruelty and physical control and punishment, while Mars square Neptune indicate consuming substances (alcohol, prescription drugs or hallucinogens) and cheating. In combination, such energies may bring up a lot of issues in their private life. If initially Taylor falls in love with a disciplined man (Saturn-Mars) who seems to be a dream come true (Mars-Neptune), as time goes by he may begin to resent her fame and sensitivity, may see that they have very different emotional goals (her domestic Moon in Cancer sits in tension with his freedom-loving Moon in Sagittarius).

    One final thing I would say is that they do share a common destiny and they seem to have a similar past-life energy as well, since they share the same North Node in Aquarius & South Node in Leo. They are meant to have an unorthodox and untraditional relationship, and they are both learning how to prioritize the interests of a group over and above their own desire to steal the limelight and be the only leader. The problem is that Travis’ North Node is conjunct Taylor’s Venus, so they way in which she loves him and shows her affection may seem uncomfortable and far too detached for him.

    If they can work together as a team, and adapt to some of the difficult aspects between them, I think that this relationship has chances of thriving. But I do need to say that I have a personal reticence in seeing them as a ‘match made in heaven’, when they are both individuals who love to be the best in the eyes of the public and may end up ruthlessly competing with each other as time goes by. In this process, Travis’ team-mates and Taylor’s fanbase may play the dangerous role of gradually breaking them apart, as soon as Pluto begins transiting over their point of destiny – the obsessive and often-times malefic, North Node in Aquarius. This transit will begin next year from the 20th of January and continue for roughly 22 years, and I believe it will be something epic to watch, especially as Pluto in Aquarius will form squares to their natal Venus-Mars-Pluto-Lilith combo in the emotionally volcanic sign of Scorpio.

    Lastly, if you feel inspired by my interpretation of Taylor and Travis’ astrological charts, and would like to have a similar analysis done for yourself and your crush/partner, then feel free to get in touch with me for a birth-chart reading or a synastry report.

    With universal love,

    Lexi

  • The Unlimited Performance: Marina Abramovic & her Badass Natal Chart

    For Sagittarius season, I thought I would explore the intricate planets, points and aspects in the chart of a daring, Sagittarius Sun pioneer, the Serbian artist Marina Abramovic. Although sticking true to her freedom-loving and boundary-breaking Jupiterian energy, I assume that she would recoil at such categorizations of her personality. Marina just is and she just creates. And in the process she opens our minds by awakening us to the deeper nuances of human nature. As you get to know her from reading her memoir “Walk through walls” (2016) Marina doesn’t distinguish between life and art. Her work is her life, and her life is her art. This year, Marina turned the noble (and numerologically blessed) age of 77 years old. In her book The Secret Science of Numerology author Shirley Blackwell Lawrence describes the energy of the number 77 as “the number of the Christ-consciousness because CHRIST has 77 as its full number, and Jesus was the 77th in his line of ancestry (…) 77 is the analytical thinker. True 7’s are spiritual. The more spiritual, the more they radiate that spiritual-quality, an intensification of inner wisdom”.

    So for Marina, we can see that 2023 is a highly spiritual year. And perhaps because of this, or maybe since I am naturally drawn to Sagittarians as I carry a stellium of planets in this sign in my own natal chart, I felt compelled to read her memoir and write this article about her. For years, Marina has been an artist I only knew off in passing, since I grew up in the Eastern-European part of a territory nearest to the Balkans, and she often appeared in news-pieces in this part of the world. I remember when I was a teenager that I got scared seeing some images of her Rhythm series among the art textbooks I was perusing on a weekly basis at the French Institute’s library in Bucharest. In my teenager’s mind, she was someone who looked statuesque, unapproachable and somehow scarily strange but someone who I felt could teach me a lot about human nature (my natal Saturn and Uranus are in Sagittarius). Recently, I got back into my fascination with her life, work and unusual beauty by randomly being recommended a video from a Youtube Channel I follow, Blind Dweller. In a two-part documentary style analysis, Blind Dweller presents her brutal and yet empowering spiritual and artistic journey through life

    However, as I picked up and began reading her book, I was surprised to see that most of the things described in this Youtube docu-series were the first chapters from Marina’s memoir. So if you want to know more after having watched the clips, I highly recommend you read the book. It’s a riveting account of a life lived to extremes, the extremes of work, love and real estate. Yes, Marina has the Midas touch with buying property. For example, there is a phenomenal account of how after her painful separation from her twin-flame Ulay, Marina purchased a 6-stories house in the center of Amsterdam for just 40,000 guldens, a house that she later sold for 4 million euros (!) and a place which initially was inhabited by some 35 junkies; she actually helped one of them put his life back on track as they continued to live together despite having no romantic connection. And as I was reading this part of the book I kept thinking of her chart placements and her blessed conjunction between the planet Venus (value, money) and Jupiter (wealth, growth).

    So even though, Marina has a Venus in Scorpio – a position which is considered by many astrologers to be a detrimental factor for love, money and harmonious relationships – her Venus is nonetheless helped by the Great Benefic, Jupiter. Marina describes how she was born into a family of war heroes, who saved each other’s lives during World War II only to enact domestic violence upon each other as they entered a suffocating marriage. While her upbringing was replete with violence and arguments, her Jupiter constantly attracted towards her romantic and sexual opportunities, got her to love art, form relations to wealthy individuals and celebrities, gave her a magic touch in real estate issues and helped her pull in the sums of money she needed to accomplish her goals. She often supported the people she loved (such as her second husband, Paolo Canevari), which is another generous characteristic of this aspect.

    Marina was born on the 30th of November 1946 in Belgrade, Serbia. Unfortunately we don’t have the time of Marina’s birth, so her Ascendant will be missing and in consequence, my astrological analysis will be rather limited. Despite this, we can see by opening Marina’s chart that there are a couple of heavy-weights sitting together and squaring each other – squares being aspects of tension and deep inner conflict in a person’s chart, that have the benefit of making a person’s life eventful and dynamic.

    Photo of the Serbian artist Marina Abramovic and her natal-chart taken from astroseek.com: https://www.astro-seek.com/birth-chart/marina-abramovic-horoscope

    The first interesting pair is the one formed by the conjunction between Saturn and Pluto in the strong sign of Leo, the next is the Sun sitting together with Mars (a masculine presence that incites violence), the South Node (an aspect denoting past life karma) and the asteroid Lilith (the Wild Feminine Archetype). Furthermore, there is also a cluster of planets in the most intense sign of the zodiac, Scorpio, as Marina has her natal Venus, Mercury and Jupiter bundled together. The asteroid Chiron – the Wounded Healer Archetype and an indicator of deep and unquenchable pain in someone’s chart – is also nearby this darkened Scorpio stellium. With such powerful Water and Fire energies, I am happy to see that her chart is also made lighter by the air it receives from her natal Neptune in Libra, her Moon in Aquarius and her North Node conjunct Uranus in Gemini. It’s noteworthy to mention that this final aspect between her North Node and Uranus is the marker of Marina’s destiny as a controversial & original performance artist.

    One important thing to notice is that Marina’s chart is devoid of Earth energy! Which is incredible for someone who manipulates matter to serve the spiritual development of society (an artist). But this absence of Earth also helps Marina maintain her exploratory courage and gets her to disregard conformism in any of its forms. With a Sun in adventurous & blunt Sagittarius, a Moon in prophetic and innovative Aquarius and a stellium in transformational Scorpio, I wouldn’t have imagined Marina living a mundane 9 to 5 life, tending to domestic matters and raising a traditional man’s children. If she would have had such a life, I’m sure that it would’ve been just a front to cover her real occupation, potentially that of an international spy. I say this because judging by the energies contained within her chart, secrets, transcendence and extremism are meant to flavor her life. And she is also meant to develop a light-hearted and detached approach to such life themes, as her North Node is Mercurian, ruled by the sign of the divine trickster, Gemini.

    This shows someone whose comfort zone is conflict, drama and passion (South Node conjunct Mars in Sagittarius), someone who is learning from violent and creative episodes how to let go of her Ego (South Node conjunct Mars and the Sun in Sagittarius), and someone who is gradually replacing independence for inter-dependence, and action with thinking. Her thinking can indeed be surprising and innovative and many have challenged her because they were just not on that extreme level that her natal Uranus conjunct the North Node is constantly pushing Mariana to reach towards. The way to reconcile this exclusionary energy is to use humor (Gemini), and indeed having read her memoir I have to say that I laughed out loud at her dark, Balkan comments and the jokes she sprinkled throughout her text.

    Let’s now look deeper into the aspects made by her natal planetary placements, because if the Ascendant data is missing I cannot discuss the influence of the zodiac houses in her life. The first aspect that stands out to me is the opposition between her Mars (conjunct Lilith & the South Node) and Uranus (conjunct the North Node). A Mars-Uranus opposition is described by astrologer Sue Tompkins as “a very decisive combination, and having decided, Mars-Uranus will usually let nothing stand in their way”. She adds that this is the aspect indicative of “great extremism” in someone’s chart and that it can make the native have a “talent for generating great sexual excitement”.

    The second aspect is a triple one, as her Moon is squared by Mercury, Venus and Jupiter. Again Sue Tompkins explains that a Moon squared by Venus makes one “over-adaptive” & “someone who seems to get hurt and bruise very easily” and gives one “a strong urge to create a pleasing home” and a propensity towards artistic endeavors, while a Moon squared by Mercury makes one work hard to bring their “instinctual, gut feelings into alignment” and can make one prone to worry and gossip and to “fleeting moods and fleeting opinions”. Finally a Moon squared by Jupiter adds a sense of “affectionate greediness” into the native’s life. The author describes how “The Moon-Jupiter person often comes from a background where the maternal figure was rather dramatic and may themselves behave quite instinctively in a larger than life kind of way”. And indeed Marina recalls how her mother was honored for her military efforts and was also an individual who enjoyed art and owning beautiful things, but she was also in the habit of randomly and suddenly slapping Marina for the basic things, like not cleaning her room or sitting on the couch with spread legs while she was reading. One can imagine how a person learns to hide inside of their body if they grow up in an environment where drama and violence may suddenly spring up on them. For Marina the healing and catharsis came through her transcendent performances.

    You may think that these aspects by themselves are not really that bad, however they are all squared in turn by her Saturn and Pluto conjunction. Coming back to Sue’s words, a Saturn squaring Venus gives a person “strong issues here about self-valuation” and this is in part because “those with Venus-Saturn contacts come into the world feeling unloved”. Such an individual may not bother so much with physical appearances, and struggles with money until they understand how to use it for their benefit; often, a Venus-Saturn person may try to “buy affection”, and could feel awkward giving and receiving love, especially without any strings attached. While a Pluto squaring Venus shows someone who “can become involved in tense, highly charged relationships”. She goes on to add that the Venus-Pluto person is “not able to let go”, “seems to need deeply intense but quite short bouts of relating” and can “drive their partner into a frenzy of desire” from which jealousy and possessiveness are not excluded. So, Marina has some heavy energies flanking her capacity to not only love herself but also to love others, however both of these energies helped her transform her relational and romantic pain into art, by increasing her sensitivity to what actually matters in love. And she got better at her art, making money, owning property, having famous friends who supported her and receiving awards, but with time. Her memoir ends with her still struggling to truly love and accept herself, as she was healing her broken heart with the help of shamanic experiences in the Amazonian rainforest.

    From her work, I think the performance that stayed with me the most was her Balkan Baroque one from 1997, for which she won a Golden Lion in Venice. In this artistic piece she stayed for a couple of days in the airless basement of a building, dressed in white and for 6 hours each day she cleaned the meat off the bones of dead cows with a toothbrush, while singing Serbian lullabies. In this grueling and rank environment she was breaking people’s hearts reminding them of the physical horrors endured especially by women and children during the terrifying Yugoslavian conflict which changed the geography of the Balkans in the 90s. The visual and felt impact of mass pain is immediately felt in this performance.

    Image of Marina Abramovich performing Balkan Baroque in Venice, 1997. Taken from https://arthive.com/artists/92199~Marina_Abramovich/works/635192~Balkan_Baroque

    Her ritual, the mourning, the repetition of cleaning, the smears and stains that cannot be washed away or forgotten, all fall heavily within the psyche of a Saturn-Pluto individual, a person who has the capacity to bring up collective wounds to the surface and heal them in a public way (Leo). I remember very briefly how my mother and grandmother used to switch the television channel whenever news of the conflict reached Bucharest from time to time, so that me and my sister wouldn’t hear of the atrocities which were committed, and I also remember the influx of refugees we got during the 90s, most of which were displaced Albanians. As a sidenote, Marina had Pluto transiting over her Sagittarius Sun when she created this piece. And when she was deeply in love with Ulay, her twin soul and artistic collaborator, she had the transit of Pluto crossing over her Venus, Mercury and Jupiter. Their love story is fascinating and I may focus on it in another article dedicated to real twin-flame couples.

    Photo of young Marina and Ulay taken from https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/ulay-appears-front-marina-abramovic

    There is so much more to say, but I’d rather you read her memoir or watch the beautiful Youtube analyses done about her life. If you feel inspired by my interpretation of Marina Abramovic’s astrological chart, and would like to have a similar analysis done for yourself, then feel free to get in touch with me for a birth-chart reading here.

    With cosmic love,

    Lexi