Send Your AI Boyfriend Flowers: Horoscopes April 20-26, 2026

Even aside from the harms to artists and the environment, I have a hard time with the creepy way AI communicates. There’s being nice, and then there’s wanting to wear someone’s skin, and I always get the feeling that AI and the people who use it want to wear my skin.

Having said that, this week is start to what is likely to be a major escalation in technology innovation. I tend to be someone who believes change is evolution and therefore essentially something I am in favor of, but also in experience it is not something I love.

And, at the same time, often innovation and evolution in humans centers weapons, violence, and environmental destruction. With any new technology comes new responsibility, but this week puts more focus on centering what is new. So, send your AI boyfriend flowers, but ask him if he can please use less water and contribute to environmental repair instead of destruction.

Photo by Aman Pal on Unsplash (EVE robot surrounded by flowers)

For horoscope principles this week, I am primarily looking at the following celestial events:

• Mercury in Aries goes conjunct Saturn on Monday, April 20, 2026, at 4:22am Pacific. What lessons have you learned and what structures do you want to take away from last week’s transformations? The god of communication and the god of discipline team up, and this aspect asks you to create structure out of the transformations you experienced last week.

• Venus goes conjunct Uranus in Taurus on Thursday, April 23, 2026, at 6:58pm Pacific. This is a last sweet visit of the goddess of relationships and beauty to the space of biggest change and instability in your life. Since 2018, Uranus has been traveling through Taurus, a fixed space that does not like change, and just as Uranus moves into Gemini, Venus pays one last visit of blessing to this area of great and uncomfortable change. This can also bring a need for freedom in relationships and surprising changes.

• Venus goes into Gemini on Thursday, April 23, 2026, at 9:03pm Pacific. Relationships don’t have to be hard! Sometimes they can just be light and fun. Venus in Gemini can see all sides to the relationship and can’t be tied down to one way of being or she feels crushed and stuck.

• The Sun in Taurus squares Pluto in Aquarius on Saturday, April 25, 2026, at 9:32am Pacific. This aspect can trigger our survival-level fears and even create obsession or rumination about survival. The transformation and revolution Pluto is creating in Aquarius makes a tense aspect with our sense of self and overall identity. In these signs, it can bring up fear of change, inflexibility, and defensiveness. When your survival mechanisms are triggered, how do you care for yourself?

• Uranus goes into Gemini on Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 5:51pm Pacific. This transition is likely to mark exponential growth in technology. Uranus is much more comfortable in Gemini than Taurus, and so the areas of change for you this transit sparks will likely feel more natural than they were in Taurus. At the same time, when Neptune was last in Aries and Uranus was in Gemini, we saw U.S. Civil War and World War II.

• Venus in Gemini sextiles Neptune in Aries on Sunday, April 26, 2026, at 10:42am Pacific. This supportive aspect allows you to play with the dreams, imagination, and ideals Neptune is offering to your Aries house. This would be a good transit for a romantic date, confessing a crush, or doing something beautiful for yourself (even a spiritual practice). Your idealization is unlikely to go to far or come back to bite you.

• Mercury in Aries squares Jupiter in Cancer on Sunday, April 26, 2026, at 11:33am Pacific. This tense aspect between the god of communication and the god of expansion can make us likely to stretch the truth and exaggerate in our communications and thinking. Remember, nothing is black and white, all or nothing, either/or. Check your thoughts and communication to make sure they reflect shared reality.

These are the principles to consider for the week of April 20, 2026. It is worth taking a look at both your rising and sun sign horoscopes (visit astro.com to find your rising sign):

Aries: Utopian socialism was widespread in the late 1800s, which was another time when Pluto and Uranus were in air signs. Utopian socialist societies envisioned a collective in which members cared for each other through mutual aid. This birthed what we now see as democratic socialism. The deep transformational work you are doing around how you see social groups, combined with the inspiration you are stepping into related to close community make you a key visionary in how we create sustainable community. Make sure the technology you use to create a new and better world aligns with your values.

Taurus: Technology is different than science in that the relevant question for technology is whether it works and the relevant question for science is why it works. In this way, you may be stepping into new technology related to your money and values and find it works (or does not) work in ways that you can’t explain. The relevant test for you is whether your values and money create lightness and ease, and you can come up with the explanations about why later. The transformations you’re experiencing in your career provide depth to the changes to your values.

Gemini: At the Stonewall protest, the official chant was, “Say it loud, gay is proud!” However you find yourself on the spectrum of queerness (including if you’re totally straight), this week invites you to say it a little louder and prouder and queerer and freer. The transformation in your ideals that started in early 2025 is getting charged up by who you are in both your most private, subconscious space and your most front-facing area of life. This is a long process, and the destination is being fully free to be yourself. Why not teleport to that destination now? You’re allowed.

Cancer: Witchcraft teaches that everyone has psychic skills in the sense that everyone has sensory perception that reaches beyond the 5 senses. Whether you have long practiced your psychic perceptions or have avoided that topic, your extra-sensory flair is in for a boost starting this week. Your role as the grounded, reliable one in social groups may put this in tension, and that is something to consider. Ultimately, you are allowed to test new ways of being out and consider what is safe and inspiring for you.

Leo: Therapists sometimes talk about holding people in different rings of friendship, from most intimate partnerships to friendly acquaintances. Astrology does something similar, dividing spheres of life into intimate partnerships, close community, and social groups. Who you are in social groups is getting a super charge of change and may even be likely to become more tech focused than it has been. We’re all tired of zoom rooms, but if you get invited to an eco-friendly VR party, maybe try it out! (I don’t know how we tech socialize, so talk to the kids for details.)

Virgo: Most futuristic novels are dystopian, as far as I have seen, and too often these dystopian novels have called into being some fresh horror we are facing now. (No blame on Orwell and Collins, but stop it.) If there were ever a time for you to write the great utopian novel, it is now. The transformation you’re experiencing in your daily habits supports your use of technology in your public facing life to create a better world.

Libra: Astrology is ancient math, first appearing around 1800 BCE; democracy was created around 507 BCE; democratic socialism was created in the late 1800s; and human design is a system downloaded in 1987. I say this because systems that work can be old, new, or in between. This week starts a process in which your ideals and higher learning can be downloaded through bursts of inspiration. The transformative process your creative projects are going through supports this. They can be new and still just as effective as ancient math.

Scorpio: Hollywood Medium Tyler Henry emphasizes that mediumship is about validation that our loved ones are still with us beyond their passing. Often, however, understanding our psychic gifts happens without validation at first. You have the cosmos’s support for stepping into a new experience of receiving downloads and bursts of insight. Sometimes this comes in the form of mediumship, though you are in charge of this whole process and your boundaries around it. Listen to what is safe for your body as you experiment with the information you receive.

Sagittarius: Love requires a balance between trust and freedom, and the spectrum of how each of us strikes that balance is vast. Your appreciation of freedom and change in partnership is getting a jolt of electricity and a kiss of beauty this week. Embrace the weirdos in your life. The way you handle partnerships is starting a long-term change process, and it is best to welcome that, knowing that freedom to change, in itself, can be a core part of your partnership orientation.

Capricorn: One of the threats of dystopian technology that some people think of as a utopian ideal is the ability to download consciousness into a computer. If that opportunity presents itself, and you think living outside of your body sounds great, just consider that it’s a terrible idea. Your assignment is to live inside a human body in this life, not to have your consciousness absorbed into social media or other tech. And, if your daily habits of caring for your body could use a boost, rely on medical advice that is grounded and trustworthy.

Aquarius: The BDSM community requires consent to be specific, enthusiastic, and clear. Within those parameters, two consenting adults can choose how they express their sexuality. In astrology, how we express creative sexuality and how we create in general are often interpreted together. For you, how you create is getting an electrical bolt of change, mixed with some beauty from the goddess of relationships. If things get queer, celebrate it!

Pisces: There is a difference between being changeable and being unreliable. Your reliability has gone through a process of consequences, and if you have not followed through, those consequences may have felt harsh. Don’t let this scare you from embracing change and evolution. Your home is a space where you need freedom to try new things, and this week starts a long process of that need for freedom at home becoming more important than ever.

Thanks for reading and fulfilling your natal promise! If you like these horoscopes, don’t forget to hit the like button and share them with someone who might get something out of them.

If you or someone you know would like to dive into their natal chart and learn more about their personal contract with the universe, sign up for a natal chart reading here.

The Fire Chrysalis: Horoscopes April 13-19, 2026

I saw this info graphic about how dragonflies emerge from their “nymph” stage, and it was quite dramatic. It described the dragonfly larva as a black insect, living in the mud and water. Then, it climbs out of the water and breaks free from its shell, emerging as a beautiful dragonfly.

While dragonflies do not create a chrysalis, like butterflies do, but instead just burst free of their black shell, the intense Aries energy this week creates something of a fire chrysalis for all of us.

Is the insect truly a nymph or, at its core, a dragonfly? Is it truly a caterpillar or authentically a butterfly? Maybe every insect is both and rather than being one or the other, each insect, like each person, is metamorphic.

This week, the amount of discomfort you experience is directly tied to how willing you are to transform. If you are willing to transform, you will reduce the suffering of the process.

Photo by kalai venthan gopal on Unsplash (dragonfly)

For horoscope principles this week, I am primarily looking at the following celestial events:

• Venus in Taurus sextiles Jupiter in Cancer on Monday, April 13, 2026, at 1:20am Pacific. This is the most auspicious aspect happening while Venus is in Taurus, but it does come right on the heels of Mars conjunct Neptune the night before. Venus sextile Jupiter is a supportive aspect for beauty, comfort, and connection, and the Mars/Neptune conjunction reminds us that boundaries and authenticity are an important component to love and connection.

• Mercury in Pisces sextiles Uranus in Taurus on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at 10:10am Pacific. This is an interesting aspect because Mercury is uncomfortable in Pisces and the fogginess and ambiguity of Pisces makes communication and thinking difficult, but support from Uranus brings a bright moment of clarity.

• Mercury goes into Aries on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at 8:21pm Pacific (I am taking this as a personal birthday present because this is my birthday, and I’m soooo ready for Mercury to be out of Pisces). Yesss! Finally! Mercury goes into a sign of bluntness, truth, courage, and even brutality. I’m so ready for the ambiguity and passive aggressiveness of Mercury in Pisces to pass!

• The Sun in Aries goes conjunct with Chiron on Thursday, April 16, 2026, at 8:10am Pacific. This is a vulnerable aspect in which the part of the sky representing our conscious identity, bumps up against our wounding. This tests our ability to be present with vulnerability and share our wounding in order to help others.

• Mars in Aries sextiles Pluto in Aquarius on Thursday, April 16, 2026, at 11:55am Pacific. Note that this happens as the Sun is conjunct Chiron. This brings a profound and tangible, though very likely not comfortable, transformation.

• Mercury in Aries goes conjunct with Neptune on Thursday, April 16, 2026, at 7:01pm Pacific. While this brings Mercury back to a space of confusion, it also can ask us to think beyond what we understand with our five senses. What information does spirit offer you that might support the transformation you are experiencing.

• The New Moon in Aries happens on Friday, April 17, 2026, at 4:51am Pacific. This New Moon is conjunct Chiron and copresent with the other transformative aspects of the 16th. A New Moon is a time to set intention, and this New Moon creates a profound space to consider how your woundings around what it means to show up authentically as yourself can heal others.

• Mercury in Aries sextiles Pluto in Aquarius on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 1:34pm Pacific. Lest you thought the profound transits of this week were over, think again! This is a supportive aspect for deep thinking and communication about deep issues. The transformation happening in your Aquarius house is ready to take form in your communications. Write, chat, or otherwise communicate about what this transformation means.

• Mars in Aries goes conjunct Saturn on Sunday, April 19, 2026, at 3:43pm Pacific. Is the action you are taking aligned with who you truly are or are you taking action to prove something? Either way, this aspect will show you the consequences of your actions. Consequences are neutral (we love them if they are what we wanted, and we hate them if they’re not, but those reactions are ours.) Take this as information, even if it’s frustrating. How can your actions become more aligned to who you truly are?

• The Sun goes into Taurus on Sunday, April 19, 2026, at 6:39pm Pacific. Time to get springtime cozy, plant your garden, get a pedicure, have a fight just to out-stubborn someone. Taurus is practical, deliberate, earthy energy, and after all this action in Aries, we’ll probably be ready for a little stability.

Thanks for reading Fourth Cup Astrology’s Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

These are the principles to consider for the week of April 13, 2026. It is worth taking a look at both your rising and sun sign horoscopes (visit astro.com to find your rising sign):

Aries: A spark of flame never pretends to be anything other than what it is, but it always takes a flexible shape. In the same way, your enthusiasm can be a light in a dark room, a warm fireplace on a cold night, or a forest fire. This is wonderful, and also sometimes people think you are a forest fire, when you are actually giving candle. That misunderstanding tells you something about how your social groups are transforming, not how you need to conform. When people project their limitations onto you, you can still deeply know who you are, whether or not you communicate it to the other person.

Taurus: Spiritual abuse happens when one person uses spiritual authority, usually given to them by in institution, to diminish or extract from someone else’s spiritual experience. You are sovereign in your spiritual experience, and that includes the space you occupy. While people will likely find you charming on the outside this week and be magnetized to you, under the surface you are undergoing a profound spiritual transformation. Being authentic in your spiritual experience is as important as being authentic in your external life.

Gemini: When you light a candle, all of the ingredients matter, but without a wick, there is no candle. This is an analogy for how you might want to handle your social groups this week. You are the wick that makes the candle what it is, and if you aren’t healthy, the whole candle does not burn. So, when people need your time and energy, check in with the core of yourself first. If it is healthy for you, even if it is vulnerable, let the candle burn (meaning say yes to your people). And also, that does not mean you need to let yourself be absorbed into the group. Maintain your integrity as a separate person with your own boundaries.

Cancer: A parasocial relationship happens when we feel close to someone (usually but not always a celebrity), idealize who they are, and attribute a sense of closeness to them based on who we imagine them to be. A parasocial relationship is a fan, not a friend. I say this because you may be having this kind of experience in your career or public facing life, either where you are idealizing someone or something or they are idealizing you. The antidote to toxic parasocial pressure is authenticity and vulnerability and that is only possible with boundaries. Practice saying “no” to parasocial pressure at work and say “yes” to what is authentic to you.

Leo: Our ideals are typically formed by the cultural context we live in, but there is a component of what is purely us to what we idealize. You bring a level of innocence, and maybe even literalness, to your ideals, and when life does not conform to your ideals, it can feel like abandonment or betrayal. This week, pay attention to wounding you have experienced in your ideals. This area is going through metamorphosis and the vulnerability of your wounding is part of that process. In the end, if you allow the process, your ideals will be even more authentic to who you truly are or you will see consequences you don’t like in your external life.

Virgo: Our closest accomplices and partners are ideally a support system we can lean back on. For you, though, you may have the tendency to blindly trust others will support you and leap before you look, expecting support to be there. This week brings a vulnerable metamorphosis around your boundaries related to other people’s support and your integrity in how you interact with other people’s money and values. The best you can do is be vulnerable and authentic, understanding that your closest accomplices may have different (and also valid) values than yours.

Libra: Honest and clear boundaries allow us to be more vulnerable, they do not push people away. The woundings you have experienced in your closest accomplice and partnership relationships are going through a metamorphosis this week. On the other side, it will become clear where you are enforcing boundaries out of authenticity versus where you are trying to impose control or accrue attention as substitutes for safety. Being the center of attention is your birthright in your partnerships, and also when you are safe enough to be vulnerably authentic, it is truly you who is the center, not a fictional character you created.

Scorpio: Acknowledging a health issue and receiving a diagnosis is only the first step toward healing; it is not healing in and of itself. Your birthright includes centering yourself in your health, daily habits, and routines, and this week the wounding you’ve experienced in those areas undergoes a metamorphosis. Listen to your body for what you need rather than losing yourself in the expectations of other people. Abandoning your health and body, even if you do so in order prevent other people from abandoning you, guarantees abandonment. Centering your health lets other people do that too.

Sagittarius: In entrepreneurial circles, they say you have to “climb cringe mountain” in order to build a business. This speaks to how the creative projects we put into the world are often build on failed experimentation and you have to make embarrassing mistakes in order to find out what works. The same is true in non-entrepreneurial creative projects, and even with children. What you put out into the world is vulnerable, and you have wounding related to that. This week asks you to transform that wounding into something authentic that serves other people. At the end of the week, your external results will show you how authentic you have been.

Capricorn: The cliche says that home is where the heart is, but for you home is where you are the center of attention and the most able to show up as your authentic self. The woundings you have experienced around home and family are going through a metamorphosis this week. The results you get at the end of the week have a direct relationship with how much integrity, vulnerability, and authenticity you show in your actions and in how you handle boundaries.

Aquarius: The word “coven” was likely not used until 1921, when Margaret Murray coined the term in later-discredited and exaggerated descriptions of a European “witch cult.” Nevertheless, it is common for pagan circles to refer to close-knit affinity groups as “covens,” which derives from the Latin word for “covenant.” Whether you identify as pagan or not, you likely have close community. In that area of your life, the woundings you’ve experienced are undergoing transformation this week. The results you see at the end of the week or next week will show you how authentic you have been in your closest circle, especially related to your boundaries.

Pisces: This maybe sounds kooky, but I like to say that when you find yourself in scare-city, you should take the bus to curio-city instead. Get it? Scarcity to curiosity? So clever if I do say so. This week, your wounding around money and what you truly value is undergoing metamorphosis. The more authentic you are related to your boundaries around money and your values, the more you will see results that are correct for you at the end of this week and into next week.

Thanks for reading and fulfilling your natal promise! If you like these horoscopes, don’t forget to hit the like button and share them with someone who might get something out of them.

If you or someone you know would like to dive into their natal chart and learn more about their personal contract with the universe, sign up for a natal chart reading here.

Thanks for reading Fourth Cup’s Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

The Fog of War: Horoscopes April 6-12, 2026

The concept of the “fog of war” goes back centuries. It refers to the experience, in conflict, of pressure to make urgent decisions without important information and with confusion. The documentary The Fog of War, by Errol Morris, is a beautiful and infuriating interview with former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara about modern warfare. If there were ever a time to watch that documentary, it is now.

The thing I always remember from that interview (admittedly, it has been years since I watched the movie) is McNamara talking about how the U.S. decided to get involved in the war in Vietnam based on a complete misunderstanding of the terrain and culture. But, because the U.S. was committed to its own narrative about the history of wars in Europe, the misunderstandings compounded, leading to the slaughter of our soldiers.

This week, the main activity in the sky is happening related to Mars, the representation of action. Mars goes from Pisces, a space of slowness and confusion to a conjunction with Neptune, the planet that rules confusion. Remember, anger and violence are two different things. Passion does not require action. Courage asks for clarity. Go slow to go fast.

Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash (Headstones in fog)

For horoscope principles this week, I am primarily looking at the following celestial events:

• Mars in Pisces sextiles Uranus in Taurus on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at 9:11am Pacific. Now is the time to take action on any residual changes you need to make in the Taurus area of your chart. This supportive aspect between Mars and Uranus invites changes to happen quickly. Although both planets are in signs that tend to be slower moving, the conversation between the two planets is conducive to helpful change.

• Mars goes into Aries on Thursday, March 9, 2026, at 12:36pm Pacific. If it has felt difficult to get traction in the actions you’re taking, or even if you’ve felt sluggish and stuck, Mars going into his home sign of Aries offers movement.

• Mars conjoins Neptune in Aries on Sunday, April 12, 2026, at 10:40pm Pacific. If we thought the movement was ready to start (see note above), hold on a second because Neptune slows things down again. Neptune is the modern ruler of Pisces, and so just as Mars thought he was out of the foggy depths of Pisces, he runs into the ocean ruler. Mars goes back into the fog until around April 16, 2026.

• Pluto continues in Aquarius. Jupiter is still hanging out in Cancer. The Sun, Saturn, Neptune, and Chiron are in Aries. Venus is in Taurus, and Mercury is still in Pisces until April 15.

These are the principles to consider for the week of April 6, 2026. It is worth taking a look at both your rising and sun sign horoscopes (visit astro.com to find your rising sign):

Aries: The best way to understand what you truly value is looking at your actions. Over the past month or so, how have you spent your time? What have you prioritized in terms of your actions? This is what you value. If shifts need to happen to align what you value with the person you want to become, now is the time to make those shifts externally. At the end of the month, re-evaluate whether you have shifted your actions to more accurately reflect the person you want to be.

Taurus: The only constant is change. You are a different person than you were eight years ago, and the process you have gone through of shaking off restrictions and limitations that do not serve you has been a once-in-a-lifetime, though lengthy, process. Now, you have the opportunity to be direct in your social groups about who you are and potentially to shake off the last vestiges of anything that confines you. Just remember that the results of the changes and how you communicate them may not become clear until the end of the month.

Gemini: Who we are internally and who we are at work are often different. But, you are invited this week to take action in your work and social groups that reflect the changes you have made in your thinking and how you relate to your inner child over the past eight years. Confusing conflict brings this to the forefront, so do not expect clarity right away. And, keep in mind that loyalty and boundaries are both important for healthy relationships, at work and at play. Boundaries are a form of loyalty, not a threat to loyalty.

Cancer: Confusion, pressure, and urgency are all common signs that it is time to take a step back and learn more, rather than taking reactive action. In your personal life you have a nurturing and loyal side, while at work and in your public life, you can come across more blunt and focused on results. This week, if you run into confusing conflict in your public life, try out waiting and learning more before you take action. Urgent is not always fast. And, do not hesitate to communicate your ideals to your social group because that is an area where you likely have clarity.

Leo: Sometimes, it is difficult to understand the difference between our own ideals and the values other people impose on us. This space is particularly nebulous for you right now, and it can seem like adhering to other people’s values is important for your survival or like their values are your ideals. Generally, the way to tell the difference between the two is to check in with your body and look at your actions as though you were taking data. The actions you take this week will send some clarity to the changes you’ve been making in your career as well.

Virgo: Traveling internationally is often a shortcut to rethinking our ideals. In astrology higher education and long-distance travel are linked by their impact on our ideals and relationships to institutions. For you, activity or conflict with your partnerships is supportive of the transformation you are experiencing around your ideals this week. It may seem difficult to disentangle your partnerships from your partners’ money and values, and so wait to take action related to your partnerships until clarity comes later in the month.

Libra: Benjamin Franklin said that in a world of uncertainty, the two things you could count on are death and taxes. But, that has not been true for you for the past eight years, and instead those have been areas of particular instability for you. This week, activity in your daily life and habits informs changes in how you handle death, taxes, and your partners’ money. When things are clear, take action, but if the fog rolls in, wait until you find clarity before you try to make changes.

Scorpio: Boundaries define where you end and another person begins. What you create in the world has a particular quality of service and focus on the collective, while your daily habits and health are a space for you. This week, action in what you create aligns with changes in how you handle partnership to bring sudden clarity. Then, as Mars goes into Aries, you are invited to define the boundaries of your daily habits and health. What do you do that is for you every day and what do you do for others?

Sagittarius: Health and home are two foundational intimate spaces that are vital to survival. And, in the U.S. at least, these are spaces where we have very little safety net (if any). The strategies you have developed to encounter instability in your health and daily routine are activated by conflict or action in your home and family this week. This action transitions into your area of creative projects and children, where confusion might interfere with what you want to get done. When clarity comes, it is not through effort, but through willingness to pause and notice the right timing.

Capricorn: Traditionally, actions the government took needed to consider the impacts on future generations. I say that because action in your local community this week aligns with changes that you have experienced over the past eight years in your area of creative projects and children. Things may become confusing in your home and family later in the week, so wait for more information and clarity before you react.

Aquarius: Money doesn’t solve all problems, but it doesn’t hurt. Whether you treat money with value or something else, what you value is in line with changes in your home and family this week. This may also inspire you to create something that supports you within your community. It may be confusing how to be authentic in showing up for your closest community, but with healthy boundaries, clarity will come.

Pisces: A few years ago, a number of anti-racism instructors said we should only trust white people who understand that dismantling structures of white narcissism is not charity, but instead is for the survival of white people. I say this because if you feel the need to express who you are or take action to show who you are this week, it is aligned with the transformations you’ve seen in your closest community. Being you and having boundaries around what you value is important to your whole community, even if that feels confusing right now. You know better than anyone that we are all connected.

Thanks for reading and fulfilling your natal promise! If you like these horoscopes, don’t forget to hit the like button and share them with someone who might get something out of them.

If you or someone you know would like to dive into their natal chart and learn more about their personal contract with the universe, sign up for a natal chart reading here.

Dig Deep to Dream Big: Horoscopes March 30-April 5, 2026

This week asks you to dig deep into who you authentically are and use that to dream big about the new world we can create together.

And, within that, it is okay to lose a little touch with reality, but too much disconnection from reality will make the return to earth tough.

You live in a body, and you also have a mind and spirit that see beyond your body’s experience.

Both are important this week. The world changes through small courageous acts, not through saviors. What small courageous act is waiting to emerge from you this week?

Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash (Headstones in fog)

FFor horoscope principles this week, I am primarily looking at the following celestial events:

• Venus goes into Taurus on Monday, March 30, 2026, at 9:00am Pacific. Taurus is one of Venus’s domiciles, meaning that it is the space that she owns and runs and that is designed to her liking. Venus is in Taurus until the night of April 23, so she is not there for long! Take advantage of this sweet placement. Taurus is a space of fixed earth, and the symbol of Taurus is the bull. Taurus cares about beauty, comfort, and reliability. Having Venus in Taurus is like having the tarot Queen of Pentacles on her throne.

• The Full Moon in Libra happens on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, at 7:11pm Pacific. In a full moon, the Sun and Moon are opposite each other, making this tense energy between the identity of the moment and the emotions of the moment. In this instance, the Sun is in Aries, which is the place of the Sun’s exaltation. The Sun is comfortable in Aries, which brings energies of authenticity, courage, and self-centeredness. The Moon in Libra makes it feel like connection to our partners is an important safety issue. So, here there can be tension between being ourselves and compromising our truth to maintain relationship.

• The Moon is Void of Course from Thursday, April 2, 2026, at 1:55am to Friday, April 3, 2026, at 5:10am. A void of course moon is a time for rest. This is a time when, even if you try to get things done, nothing will come of them. Some say this is a good time to submit your taxes or say things you’re afraid to say because no disputes will come of it. I normally don’t follow void moons terribly closely, but when they last for more than 24 hours, it is unusual and worth watching.

• Mercury in Pisces trines Jupiter in Cancer on Friday, April 3, 2026, at 4:28am Pacific. This is a time where you have a boost of big-picture thinking. We all need to dream up a new world that protects the most vulnerable and supports thriving for all life, and so if you want to do some dreaming about that topic, this is a great day for it.

• Venus in Taurus squares Pluto in Aquarius on Friday, April 3, 2026, at 3:37pm Pacific. This is a tense aspect between the ruler of relationship and the ruler of revolution, transformation, and the underworld. This aspect can bring obsessive or even manipulative urges around relationship. If you are considering engaging in any kind of covert or coercive relationship, this aspect might make it sound seductive, but that does not mean it will result in comfort. Sometimes clandestine relationships result in our positive transformation, but other times they just result in heartbreak. Pulling truth into the light and expecting the best for yourself can bring you through this type of tense aspect.

• The Sun in Aries squares Jupiter in Cancer on Sunday, April 5, 2026, at 3:22pm Pacific. Although squares are tense aspects, the tension between the Sun and Jupiter is still expansive (and ultimately that is the tension). This can make us feel either like we are larger than life or like we should be larger than life, then when reality kicks in, there is a disconnect. But, floating in expansion for a minute doesn’t hurt. This is a good day to dream up a new vision of life for yourself. Just have patience if you don’t live in that reality yet.

• Uranus continues at the last degrees of Taurus. Mars and Mercury continue in Pisces (and Mercury is direct, yay!).

These are the principles to consider for the week of March 30, 2026. It is worth taking a look at both your rising and sun sign horoscopes (visit astro.com to find your rising sign):

Aries: Stability is a floor, not a ceiling. You value consistency, reliability, and trustworthiness, and, at the same time, it is becoming more and more important to you that your friend and social groups reflect your humanitarian issues in an authentic way. If you have the inclination to start a relationship with a revolutionary in your social groups, that relationship will be more in service of your transformation than your stability. If expansions in your home and family life feel in tension with you being fully who you authentically are, remember that your needs are part of your family’s needs and the needs of your friend group. Express yourself and honor what you need from those closest to you.

Taurus: All love of other people starts from inside our bodies. Whether that love is shown in action or communication, those external experiences are a reflection of or natural growth from our internal state. In that way, love of others starts with the willingness to experience love in and for ourselves. The transformation you are experiencing in your public facing life and expansion you are experiencing in your local community trigger your experience of loving yourself this week. Allow this trigger to deepen your commitment to experience the range of self-love.

Gemini: All external expression of who we are starts with the unconscious. Whether our unconscious is created by biology, childhood experiences, past lives, or the Matrix, it matters. The beliefs we tell ourselves to accept, and our unconscious acceptance of those beliefs are two different experiences. Your unconscious beliefs and your conscious ideals are both undergoing transformative processes. This week your authenticity in your social groups is supercharged by your expanded values. If you feel tempted to compromise your self-love in service of your ideals, push pause and wait for the urge to pass. Choose yourself first, before you ask how you can serve. When you know exactly what to say at work this week, don’t hold back.

Cancer: After we’ve experienced betrayals and instability in our social groups, sometimes we can feel suspicious when things get easy again. This week is mixed in that area for you. While your area of social groups is experiencing a much needed visit of beauty and harmony, you may be tempted to subvert your needs to other people’s values, especially those of your partners. Being fully who you are means you are not better or worse than anyone else, and your needs have value like everyone else’s.

Leo: The value of your life and your contributions is non-negotiable. If you feel inclined to be seduced by flattery, that is nothing to judge yourself about, and you probably deserve the flattery. This week, relationships built on flattery or boosting your self-esteem will ultimately be sources of transformation for you, not stability. And also, you will likely experience flashes of brilliance out of the blue. Your authentic and vulnerable contributions to work and partnership do not need to be the best in order to be valuable. Let yourself be who you truly are, rather than using ideal versions of yourself as punishments.

Virgo: As someone who has had a decade long career related to illicit affairs at work, I’ll just say they’re risky. You have gone through a major transformation since 2018 in how you view institutions, and you have started another transformation in your daily routines and health. This week might invite you to see someone in your church, university, or other institutional or international space differently. If that happens, it is for your transformation, not your security. Be authentically you when it comes to other people’s values and your social groups, and your ideas and communication will be expansive. Being you means you are no better than anyone else, no more right than anyone else: you are just yourself.

Libra: Our internal experiences of who we truly are and the external reality rarely match. The ability to be authentically yourself in relationship is essential to who you are, and at the end of this week, it may feel in tension with the expansion you are experiencing in your career. Both are true though. A similar tension exists earlier in the week related to the comfort you experience from other people’s values and money and the transformative process your creativity is going through. If you can sit with these tensions without being reactive to them, that tension and the brilliance you receive in your daily life will give you insight into who you are without sacrificing yourself to others.

Scorpio: Often the most creative and profound art we have experienced in the world comes from heartbreak. The profound transformations you have experienced in partnership, family, and home may inform creative projects you work on this week, especially related to your ideals and dreams for how the world could be. You may feel an unconscious pull to compromise who you are, but being authentically you is a daily practice that is not up for debate. If you feel a survival level pull related to family or partnership this week, wait for it to pass before you make decisions, rather than romanticizing it.

Sagittarius: Just because other people love you, that does not mean you have to do what they say or create what they want. You may be having luck related to other people’s values and money, and also fully expressing yourself in your creative projects is still non-negotiable. This Full Moon creates tension between your desire to create harmony in your social groups and your need to express who you fully are in your creative work. If you feel a survival level pull in your local community, wait to make decisions about it until you return to neutral. Seduction to abandon yourself abounds, but you know who you truly are and how to release that into the world.

Capricorn: Protest does not stop when the speakers go home. The insights you have around how to communicate the transformation the world needs flow at the end of this week, especially from your partnerships and accomplices. Not everything needs to be deep in order to be beautiful, though. Your career and public life does not need to be in harmony in order for you to be who you truly are in your most private spaces. When these ways of being feel in tension, pause and listen to the people closest to you. You can’t win or lose authenticity. You can just offer truth.

Aquarius: Sometimes the truth of who we are one day is different than the truth of who we are another day, and both are authentic to who we are. I am a very different person than I was 10 years ago, and yet both are me. Much of your nature is humanitarian and idealizes harmony and equity (compliment), and also this may feel in tension with your need to be seen for who you truly are by your local community. Both are true and authentic. This week beauty in your home and family may feel at odds with your deep transformation, but both can be true. Listen to the messages you get about your values and use that to inform the balance in these tensions.

Pisces: Sometimes we learn about who we are through expressing sentiments or using our creativity in ways we did not know we could. Sometimes we discover who we are at the same time other people do. This week is a good opportunity for you to use art and creative projects to discover what abundance means to you. If you feel inclined to look to other people’s values, rather than your own, take some time alone to do a messy project that is yours alone. What you authentically value and what abundance means to you may be different than your partners’ version of abundance, and that is beautiful to know.

Thanks for reading and fulfilling your natal promise! If you like these horoscopes, don’t forget to hit the like button and share them with someone who might get something out of them.

If you or someone you know would like to dive into their natal chart and learn more about their personal contract with the universe, sign up for a natal chart reading here.

Causation and Correlation in Astrology

I know someone who periodically tells me, as though he is disclosing a secret that will devastate me, that he does not believe in astrology. This is always a funny thing to respond to because to me it is like telling me that you don’t believe in hammers or in WiFi.

Like, are you saying you don’t think it exists? Because I’m sorry to break it to you, but it does exist. Or, are you saying that you are not willing to try it out because you’ve heard it has adverse effects? If that is the meaning, then fair enough, but it does limit your life’s experience. Or, are you saying that you are not willing to devotionally follow an astrologer’s interpretation of your life, setting aside your own life experience and authority, like many religions would expect you to do? Because if that’s the case, then good for you. You should not do that.

Astrology is the study of the correlation between celestial events and earthly events. At its origins, astrology was math, and it is part of how humans developed math and astronomy. It was only when humans moved toward commodification that we started de-valuing the philosophical, psychological, and spiritual components of early math. We started seeing things that have “value” as things we could sell and commodify, and so we de-valued subjective, lived experience and internal processes because more uniformity equals more sales. And, yet, the subjective, lived, internal experience continues to be core to how humans (and, in my view, other animals) actually experience life. Internal experience may not be everything, but it is a lot.

Photo by Joseph Barrientos on Unsplash (picture of a ship’s helm, which looks suspiciously like a zodiac wheel … hmmm.)

In early astrology, the astrologers saw each of us as leading the ship of our lived experience (our “nativity”), from the helm of our ascendants, as our other parts of self work through their dramas. Now, we describe this same thing through Jungian archetypal shadow work or Internal Family Systems Therapy. But, if we can look at our astrological and human design natal charts, we can often gain awareness over our internal parts, especially the parts we might be inclined to ignore, somewhat more quickly than we can in therapy (and, this is no slight to therapy, which is an amazing and crucial service).

In astrology, seeing parts that we would otherwise ignore is about perspective. If you imagine yourself sitting on your ascendant line, at the helm of your ship, and looking toward your descendant line (the cusp of your 7th house in most house systems), some areas of your chart may be out of your normal view (in early astrology, because of early geometry, these were the houses that were not in aspect to the ascendant, so the 2nd, 6th, 8th, (sometimes) 9th, and 12th houses). The same can be true for each planet. When you sit in your Sun energy, for example, what are the spaces that Sun cannot see in your chart? These are spaces that you are less likely to have conscious awareness of as part of your identity.

Below is a chart from today, where I have circled the spaces I’m talking about in red so that you can compare this to your natal chart if you’d like. The ascendant is to the very left of the chart, and the descendant line is to the far right. I circled the 9th house in purple because it is not as commonly considered an invisible house.

In ancient astrology, the invisible houses were considered “bad” houses, but in modern astrology we have a much more nuanced approach to this. If you think about it, without psychology or support systems for our overall health, it makes sense that the ancients would generalize the invisible as bad. Now, we can access supports that make this less true. For example, in my personal chart, almost all of my planets are in “bad” houses, and issues I have struggled with, including health issues, would have killed me in 400 A.D. Now, we have other technologies that have offered me successful supports.

The invisible is often visible now, and astrology is one of the technologies that makes what was previously invisible visible.

Is astrology pseudoscience? I struggle with the designation of astrology as science. Is a hammer science? Is WiFi science? They are more technology than science, and that is true for astrology as well. If you use a hammer on something that requires a screw driver, you may not get the best results. If you use astrology to solve a problem that requires a medical doctor, you likewise will not get the best results. This does not mean the technology has no merit; it means that like all technologies, it does not have universal application.

I have tested out the technology of astrology for around 25 years and found it to be helpful and supportive in ways that other methodologies have not reached. I have tested out human design for less time, maybe around 8 years, and have likewise found it more enlightening than many business coaches and other supports. This is not to say I only use these modalities. I have a medical doctor, a therapist, an acupuncturist, an energy reader, friends, and many other valid supports that are amazing. Just because one support works does not mean you abandon others that also work.

Ultimately, I think with any technology, we run the risk of using it against ourselves. You can use a hammer to build yourself a cage or you can use a hammer to build yourself a house. From the outside, it might not look that different, but from the inside, you know which you are building. In the same way, we can use horoscopes and chart interpretation to tell us what our life is and relinquish all responsibility, or we can use horoscopes and chart interpretation to support us in becoming more of ourselves, while still maintaining our own sovereignty over our lives.

The stars do not decide how you live your life or cause the events you like or dislike in your life any more than the weather decides how you live your life. But, the energies do make a difference in my experience. Understanding the energies of the cosmos can help you relate to both the comfortable and uncomfortable parts of human experience and thereby live a fuller and more conscious life.

Be Deeply, Vulnerably You: Horoscopes March 23-29, 2026

I say this with the most love and support possible: This is a time that asks you to have integrity between your words and your actions.

It is one thing to say you care about children, and it is another thing to take action to protect children in your community.

It is one thing to say you support your neighbors, or to want to be thought of as a good person, and it is another thing to put your social, financial, and privilege currencies on the line when a neighbor needs support.

Not every person needs to take every action to create a better world. AND taking action that has integrity with you makes a difference. You have power and that matters!

Photo by GG on Unsplash (plants growing above ground and roots growing underneath)

For horoscope principles this week, I am primarily looking at the following celestial events:

• The Sun conjoins Saturn in Aries on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at 1:55am Pacific. Aries brings energy of authenticity and focus on the self. The Sun is also associated with the conscious identity. Saturn is the energy of discipline and consequences. With these three energies together, all of the spaces where we are being inauthentic or acting outside of who we truly are face consequences. The same is true for the spaces where we are authentic. These are not punishments, but the natural results of the actions we have taken. Where you are authentic, you will meet rewards that correspond with who you truly are.

• The Sun in Aries sextiles Pluto in Aquarius on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at 11:16am Pacific. This happens the same day as the Sun conjunction to Saturn, and so early in the week builds to both of these aspects. Pluto in Aquarius brings deep energy of social change and social revolution. This sextile is supportive of releasing areas in your life that do not align with your social justice commitments.

• Venus conjoins Chiron in Aries on Thursday, March 26, 2026, at 3:44pm Pacific. This is a sweet moment of beauty visited to the spaces of wounding we’ve experienced related to our authenticity and commitments to ourselves.

• Saturn in Aries sextiles Pluto in Aquarius on Saturday, March 28, 2026, at 3:10pm Pacific. This is the planet of discipline in a supportive aspect with the planet of revolution. This is a great time to put organizational structure for long-term success into your revolutionary and social justice activities. Get out and organize! No Kings!

• Jupiter continues in Cancer; Uranus continues at the last degrees of Taurus. Mars and Mercury continue in Pisces (and Mercury is direct, yay!).

These are the principles to consider for the week of March 23, 2026. It is worth taking a look at both your rising and sun sign horoscopes (visit astro.com to find your rising sign):

Aries: Integrity, as you probably know, means alignment between your inner world and your outer world. It means wholeness of being that includes all parts of who you are. What you do mirrors what you say. If your social groups do not support the wholeness of who you are, take that seriously. This is a good week to release the groups you belong to that do not serve you or enforce boundaries in those groups. If it feels confusing or vulnerable to identify what this means, look to your external results to determine what is in integrity for you and what is not. What results in health?

Taurus: Sometimes our brains are our abusers. Often, our abusive thinking mirrors abuse we have heard in the external world, but that does not justify turning against ourselves. Abuse has never made us better, whether it is internal or external. This week the revolutionary changes happening in your career or public-facing life are supporting you in being realistic about your mental health. If your thinking is healthy and supportive, you are more likely to see healthy and supportive results in your external world as well, especially in your career and partnerships.

Gemini: Strong and clear boundaries make safe and healthy connections. You have been working on your boundaries around work for about 15 years, but especially over the past two to three years. Now you are starting a process of doing the same related to your social groups, where being authentic to yourself is particularly important. This week, your external results will show you how that process is going. Take notes. Your ideals provides support for the data you get. How well do your social groups match your ideals around social justice and queerness specifically? Could valuing your authenticity create more alignment?

Cancer: For most of us, work takes up the majority of our waking life. Although many of us have the tendency to downplay the importance of doing work that is in integrity with who we are, this week the results you get have a strong relationship with how authentic you are at work. It may feel vulnerable to dig into what it means to be truly yourself in your public facing life, but that vulnerability offers rewards. While you might be experiencing survival-level experiences this week related to inheritance, taxes, or partner resources (or even how you engage with sex), these are supportive of you being deeply and authentically yourself in your career. Acknowledge the survival-level concerns, but focus on the results you see in the external world.

Leo: The words “higher education” are usually applied to college, but if you think about it, that phrase refers to the spaces in which we learn ideals and higher vision for our lives and the world. Whatever this means to you, it is a space where authenticity and honesty is important to you. Your higher education is going through a process in which structures you have relied on dissolve, and this week shows you the direct results of acting in integrity or compromising your authenticity. The transformational stripping your partnerships are going through is supportive of you stepping into more clarity and authenticity, even when it feels vulnerable.

Virgo: When I have worked with clients as a lawyer to strategize around healing toxic work environments, I looked at both legal leverage and currencies. Currencies can be money, but they can also be privileges and freedoms we culturally have and they can also be social regard. Your eighth house, where other people’s currencies and values live, is the space this week where you will see quick consequences this week. Where you are authentic, you will see consequences that are correct for you; where you compromise integrity, you will see consequences that reflect that. Transformations you are experiencing in your health and daily life also support you showing up in integrity related to other people’s currencies and values.

Libra: When we are not authentic in partnerships, we are asking the other person or people to partner with a mask of ourselves. Then, when the mask inevitably slips, they feel betrayed, and this is not really their fault. While authenticity is crucial to you in relationship, your tendency to want to see the other person’s side of things can put this to the test. This week, where you are authentic, you will see external rewards, and where you compromise your integrity, you will also see natural consequences. This is vulnerable, so be patient to yourself and watch the external results without shaming yourself. The transformative process you are going through related to your creative projects and sex support your authenticity.

Scorpio: Our bodies are the first and most important connection to the earth that our spirits have. They are like a first pet, first partner, first landing place, first love. For you, having an authentic connection to your body and your daily habits and routines is crucial right now. Whether you are authentic or compromise your integrity related to your health and daily routine, you will see quick results this week. Digging deeply into what is authentic to you in your daily habits is supported by the transformation you are experiencing in your home life and family.

Sagittarius: Almost nothing we create in the world is an exact replica of the vision we had for it, no matter how hard we try. And, still, expression is important to being human. Being authentic to who you are is especially important for you in the fifth house of children, creative projects, and sex. This week the authenticity you show in this area, or the compromises you make to your integrity, will have quick results. Where you compromise, you will likely not like the results. Especially be careful if you have the urge to compromise around wearing condoms in sex or otherwise devaluing your own boundaries. Stay true to your own expression and needs.

Capricorn: Our intimate spaces like family and home are usually the spaces where we are most ourselves, whether we want to be or not. This week, your ruling planet, Saturn, is showing you the results of the ways you have held your integrity, or compromised it, related to your home and family. Your values are going through a major transformation, and this supports you in seeing beyond the surface of the results you get. The more you understand the values, the more you can show up with integrity with your family and home.

Aquarius: The true revolution happens in how we rebuild resilient and nurturing local community. What it means to be truly you and show up in the world is going through profound transformation, and this week offers insight into the external impacts of that transformation. The more you are authentically yourself related to your local community this week, the more you will like your results. Part of being authentic is having boundaries around what is correct for you and what is not. This can feel vulnerable, but it is worth it.

Pisces: The currencies we value are not always money. Sometimes, they are social connection and other times they are freedom and flexibility. Right now, the universe is asking you to get in touch with what you authentically value. When you use your currencies (financial, social, or privilege-based) to invest in what has integrity with who you are, you will see direct results from that. When you compromise your authenticity, you will also see the direct consequences. The transformation your mental health is experiencing, supports you stepping into authenticity with what abundance honestly means to you.

Thanks for reading and fulfilling your natal promise! If you like these horoscopes, don’t forget to hit the like button and share them with someone who might get something out of them.

If you or someone you know would like to dive into their natal chart and learn more about their personal contract with the universe, sign up for a natal chart reading here.

Caricatures in Astrology

But I don't identify with my sign. Maybe astrology doesn't work?

Have you ever read a horoscope or meme about your astrological sign and thought, “That sounds nothing like me”? If so, you are definitely not alone, so I want to talk a little about those experiences and what they tend to mean.

First of all, I posted on social media a couple of videos I think are funny styling the characters from Ted Lasso as zodiac signs, and you get the pleasure of watching them right now (CW: these clips that are about 2 seconds long each that are caricatures of the signs, so if you are sensitive about your sign being lightly mocked, beware):

If you are bummed that Scorpios are Rupert or about any of the other signs, listen, I get it. Scorpios are awesome and get a bad rep.

However, the bad rep each sign gets is there for a reason. With each sign, there is a way that sign’s energy manifests that is a whole and healthy representation of the energy. Also, there is a way the energy manifests when it is repressed, an that way is not so healthy.

Scorpio is a sign associated with intensity, depth, and sexuality. Dominant culture trains us to repress basically all three of those qualities, and so it is common for Scorpio energy to come out as shadow energy, or energy that pops up in a way that is out of integrity with who we truly are. Scorpio is a fixed water sign, and fixed water is ice, so Scorpio can feel icy to those on the outside.

Also, every person has Scorpio in their chart. So, if you don’t like the Rupert energy, it’s time to integrate your Scorpio energy in a healthy way to prevent it from coming out like that.

We all have all signs in our charts, and astrological charts are much more complex beyond that. Astrologically speaking, you have much more than the cast of Ted Lasso that makes up who you are. Awww.

Ultimately, when we do not identify with an astrological description one of three things is happening (at least, and sometimes it can be all three):

1. It might be a goofy meme and just wrong. If someone interprets your chart wrong, you’re the one who knows who you are. Take it as information to consider, but no astrology interpretation should rule your life. This is true of other advice that is spiritual or borders on spiritual. You are sovereign in your experience of life. If someone is wrong about you, you don’t have to make them right.

2. It’s possible that you’re only looking at your sun sign and not at the rest of your chart. Looking at your sun sign is like reading a book about your body that only talks about your eyes. It might be right about your eyes, but you are a lot more than your eyes, so it’s usually going to sound wrong if you’re trying to apply it to your feet. We are complex beings with all astrological signs (and much more than that) in our charts. Reading about your sun sign does not even scratch the surface of the information available, and it’s honestly fairly common for people to identify much more strongly with their moon sign than their sun sign.

3. It’s possible that your birth time is wrong. Much of astrology relies on an accurate birth time, and an inaccurate birth time can change a lot. Double check your birth certificate. I had a client recently come to me and say she had discovered her birth certificate and realized her birth time was wrong. This is so exciting! It is like getting a whole new chance to try on a new chart interpretation! The new time in her chart did not change much, but what it changed was pretty significant. I, too, had this experience when I first learned about astrology. I completely calculated my chart wrong and thought the system didn’t work. Turned out it was my math that didn’t work.

Getting a natal chart reading is like having someone hold a mirror up to the back of your head and describe what they see that might be invisible to you or something you catch in the mirror sometimes. Just because you get the interpretation does not mean it needs to rule your life. If someone held up a mirror to the back of your head and told you they didn’t like your hair, you don’t need to get a haircut just because of that. But, you might get a second opinion.

At the same time, I’ve had many experiences where something in a chart or energy reading did not resonate at first with me, and then a week, month, or even year later, it suddenly clicks. The information that is right for your growth tends to stick around.

One of the biggest values of chart readings is validation. Who you are matters. Another value is the ability to integrate energies that we might have repressed because culture told us they were bad. Hopefully, someday, Rupert gets a chart reading.

Out of the Undertow: Horoscopes March 16-22, 2026

If you’ve felt like you’re in a swamp of misunderstandings or caught in an undertow of confusion, this week should dry things up.

In some ways this means things will get better.

In other ways, the wet kindling drying makes it ready to catch fire. When we get out of the ocean, we feel the sunburn and the bite of the windy beach.

This week offers us the opportunity to set intentions for creating something new in areas where we have learned difficult lessons about boundaries over the past 15 years.

Photo by Mac Gaither on Unsplash (dog on the beach with a towel as a scarf)

For horoscope principles this week, I am primarily looking at the following celestial events:

• Venus in Aries squares Jupiter in Cancer on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at 9:08am Pacific. Although squares are tense aspects, traditionally aspects between Venus and Jupiter, the benefic planets, are always positive and supportive. If anything, this is a tension between needing to be heard, seen, and authentic in relationship and loyalty to the community. But, these planets provide blessings wherever they are, and although Venus is uncomfortable in the house of Mars (Aries), the aspect with Jupiter gives her a boost. When Jupiter and Venus aspect, it is like they are looking across a crowded room at each other, saying, “We’ve got this.”

• The Sun in Pisces sextiles Uranus in Taurus on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at 1:20pm Pacific. This is a supportive transit that can allow the jarring and disorienting changes of February to find some resolution, if not healing.

• The Pisces New Moon happens on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at 6:23pm Pacific. This is the first lunar event in a while that is not an eclipse. Yay!! Sigh a big sigh of relief with me! I cannot emphasize enough how excited I am to be through eclipse season. This is, in my opinion, a lovely moment for a ritual to honor the losses we have had during Pisces season, and to welcome in the new growth of spring. If you tend toward perfectionism in ritual, remember that this one is about connection and has positive aspects for connection. This New Moon is sextile Uranus, which offers support for changes, especially related to our ideals and belief systems around what it means to partner.

• The Sun ingresses to Aries on Friday, March 20, 2026, at 7:47am Pacific. The solar ingress into Aries is an indicator of the year ahead and acts as a New Year. This is the chart for that ingress using whole sign houses:

• This chart has significant emphasis on confusion and deception around identity, patriotism around the home space, and hidden enemies. The hidden enemies component can also relate to the spiritual and unconscious identity. Uranus in Taurus in the second house of this cart speaks to shaking up financial institutions and values systems. Pluto in Aquarius in the eleventh house says that the way we think of social justice and community groups is undergoing massive transformation and revolution (to say the least!). Mercury is stationing direct in Pisces, and this indicates slowness, stagnation, and imprecision in thinking. The Moon is applying to a conjunction with Chiron, which invites us to consider that although we have been wounded, there is still opportunity to offer healing to others.

• Mercury goes direct in Pisces on Friday, March 20, 2026, at 12:32pm Pacific. Another win for those Mercury ruled or emphasized people. In the next three weeks, you’ll likely discover mistakes you made while Mercury was retrograde (and the consequences of those mistakes), but the rule is to have compassion and remember that humans make mistakes. You can recover from the technical difficulties you run into.

• Mars in Pisces trines Jupiter in Cancer on Saturday, March 21, 2026, at 5:00pm Pacific. This is a positive aspect between the planet of war and the planet of expansion, and so this can either mean mitigation of the conflicts we are seeing, or, unfortunately, it can mean a smooth path to making them bigger.

• The Sun conjoins Neptune in Aries on Sunday, March 22, 2026, at 4:18pm Pacific. This is a good day to take a nap. Neptune brings dreaminess, confusion, and even tiredness. The Sun is the energy that powers us. Having these two together can, if we push it, mean misunderstandings, deception, and delays. If you’re willing to rest, it’s a good time to do that.

• Pluto continues in Aquarius. Uranus continues in the last degrees of Taurus. Saturn continues in Aries. Jupiter continues in Cancer.

These are the principles to consider for the week of March 16, 2026. It is worth taking a look at both your rising and sun sign horoscopes (visit astro.com to find your rising sign):

Aries: Even when you are at your darkest inside, you may feel like you need to shine bright on the outside. This New Moon is an opportunity for you to heal the unconscious parts of you that feel deeply, and that hold uncomfortable feelings, before stepping into Spring. I would recommend having a play date with your inner child (not the inner child who delighted everyone, but the version of you that cried too much and disappointed adults). As you step into Spring, invite your sensitive inner child to some play dates that offer comfort.

Taurus: Losing the authenticity of who we are in social groups or even local community often seems supportive of the people around us. But, hiding or repressing who we are is deception, and ultimately an honest “no” is more of a gift almost always than a resentful “yes” or a “yes” with no follow through. This New Moon gives you an opportunity to heal some of the woundings you’ve experienced in social groups over the past couple of years. If you organize a coven for your New Moon ritual, don’t forget to invite the most authentic parts of yourself.

Gemini: You are a thinking person, and the separation between thought and spirit is less definite than it may seem. Our thinking may come from cultural conditioning, education, experience, and other nurture factors. It may be hardwired in our biology. It may be a connection to the collective unconscious as a sort of spiritual internet. Incorporate the indefinite origins of thinking into your New Moon ritual this week, and expect recognition, money, or other blessings from your friends and social groups. Watch for what you do want in the world, rather than getting hung up on imperfections.

Cancer: Our ideals live beyond the physical realm, while our values are anchored in reality. This New Moon asks you to consider magickal, spiritual, or otherworldly ideals. Let yourself dream, knowing you are creating dreams, of what the world could be. Use this New Moon ritual to expand your vision of what is possible for yourself, as well. Look to your most unique and independent friends to support making this vision a reality.

Leo: In witchcraft, there is a concept called the river of blood, which is related to our incarnation as humans. The spiritual self meets the river of blood, which includes ancestry, physicality, and everything that connects us to the animal and earth. Our incarnation is the middle experience of the unity between the spiritual self and the river of blood. This New Moon connects you to spirituality, and anything you do in your public facing life that is unique, independent, or alternative is supportive of this. And, that is also connected to your ancestry and the river of blood. Spirituality is not dissociation, but instead connection.

Virgo: It is possible for something to be new and old at the same time. Each year, we may plant a spring garden, and while the garden is new, the land is old. Whether you are partnered or not, this New Moon invites you to do a ritual related to partnership. The universe has asked you to be more clear, definite, and responsible around your boundaries in partnership over the past 15 years, and this New Moon offers you the opportunity to plant a new seed about what it means to be in partnership with boundaries.

Libra: Sometimes a routine is a daily activity, but other times, it is a moment of tending and awareness. Our routines can include what we avoid as much as what we habitually do. Scrolling social media to avoid work can become a routine, just like brushing our teeth, journaling, or giving ourselves a hug. This New Moon asks you to plant the seed of a desire to create your daily life around what serves and nurtures you. Even if things feel confusing or muddled right now, think of your daily life as tending to a seed that will grow.

Scorpio: Most of us dream of being discovered for something creative or some authentic talent or value that belongs only to us. Romance and superhero stories alike feed us these dreams. But, what they don’t focus on is the moments of creativity and choosing that are in our control, leading to the discovery we hear about. This New Moon is an opportunity to plant a seed related to your creative projects that should be discovered later. Lean on your most independent, unique partners for support.

Sagittarius: Giving to our family and home without boundaries creates harmful codependency, but investing in creating a family and home that nurtures you cares for the most sensitive parts of yourself. After the lessons you’ve learned around boundaries with family and home over the past 15 years, this New Moon asks you to plant the seed of intention for what a truly nurturing and safe family and home life would look like to you. The changes in your daily life will support following through on creating this.

Capricorn Rising: Building strong local communities is the path to building a new world. With the violence happening all around, locally and internationally, it is easy to get overwhelmed and feel helpless. This New Moon gives you a unique opportunity to plant the seeds of what a healthy local community model could be that the rest of the world could eventually follow. Whether this is creating a coven, book group, or protest schedule, set the intention for what you want to see.

Aquarius Rising: I’m not sure if people still do this, but it used to be that when someone started a business, they would frame the first dollar bill they made. Because things are so electronic now, we might have lost some of the symbolism of that. This New Moon invites you to create a money bowl, anoint your wallet with money potion, set your money intentions, and get in touch with what you truly value. Money is an energetic symbol, usually of freedom, safety, and thriving. Set an intention to welcome abundance, with boundaries, into your life.

Pisces Rising: We are made up of parts, and no person is a monolith. You have been going through a 15 year long process of learning about boundaries around what makes you an individual and separate from the people you love. Part of you may still feel conflict around that, but this New Moon invites you to do a ritual honoring yourself as a separate, but connected, person. What makes you you? Lean on your most free, weirdo friends and chosen siblings to give you inspiration.

Thanks for reading and fulfilling your natal promise! If you like these horoscopes, don’t forget to hit the like button and share them with someone who might get something out of them.

If you or someone you know would like to dive into their natal chart and learn more about their personal contract with the universe, sign up for a natal chart reading here.

Horoscope Principles for the week of March 9, 2026

The purpose of a horoscope, I would argue, is not to brace yourself for bad times and hope for better times.

It is to learn to work with the energies of the universe that exist outside of our control. The most effective way to work with these energies is, on some level, to befriend them in ourselves.

Every person has all signs and all planets in their chart. They are just arranged in different orders with different impacts. In this way, all of our subjective experiences matter, and also we are all connected.

That’s why it is important that we are all here to create a better world than one that exploits the vulnerable and looks to violence and dominance as solutions. In embracing the wholeness and power of who we are, we will be more effective in shaping a world that centers and cares for the vulnerable.

This week, there is room for fighting, room for confusion, and room for misunderstandings. And, still, come back to what truly matters to you. And by room for fighting, I mean, end military violence now. If that feels like a contradiction, welcome to the week ahead.

Photo by Sachin Mittal on Unsplash (hippo coming out of the water with its mouth open)

For horoscope principles this week, I am primarily looking at the following celestial events:

• Venus in Aries sextiles Pluto in Aquarius on Monday, March 9, 2026, at 11:52pm Pacific. This asks us to look deeply at our relationships, the beauty we create in the world, and how we view romance. This is a supportive aspect for embracing the depth of what we value.

• Jupiter goes direct in Cancer on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at 9:29pm Pacific. I normally would not include this event because outer planets are often retrograde or direct, and this does not have the same type of impact as inner planets. However, in the midst of the instability we have seen, this seems relevant. The planet of expansion is moving forward, which can bring luck, but it can also just bring more of whatever we have. Cancer is associated with loyalty to the community, and this may give us clarity on what it means for us to be loyal within our communities outside of toxic patriotism.

• Mars conjuncts Mercury, which is still retrograde, in Pisces on Sunday March 15, 2026, at 1:07am Pacific. This exact aspect happens in the middle of the night, but we will likely feel the impacts of this throughout the week. It is also happening very close to the North Node, which may give this experience a fated quality. Mercury is in a place of confusion and mistakes right now, and combined with the god of war, this invites disputes based on misunderstanding. Confusion in communications will likely lead to anger and resentment. Take a pause and reread the emails. Ask more questions before you fight. It’s fair to express yourself, but consider that communications are not clear right now.

• Mercury is retrograde until March 19, 2026.

• Pluto continues in Aquarius. Jupiter continues in Cancer. Venus is separating from her conjunctions with Saturn and Neptune in Aries. Uranus continues in the last degrees of Taurus.

These are the principles to consider for each rising sign in the week of March 9, 2026 (visit astro.com to find your rising sign, and if you don’t know your birth time, it is fine to use your sun sign, but maybe check out the horoscope for signs that might be your rising because one might resonate with you):

Aries Rising: When showing up as yourself gets results you did not want, that does not mean anything about you as a person, but it might be a chance to re-evaluate your actions. The fighting words between Mercury and Mars this week are in your 12th house of the unconscious, and so you may experience some internal battles or even self-shame this week. Test out how your communications and actions land. You may want to change your actions if you are not getting results you want, but this does not mean you need to change yourself.

Taurus Rising: Your intentions, mantras, and pieces of wisdom that drop from your unconscious give you an anchor point that is both practical and mystical. This week you may see arguments and misunderstandings in your social groups. Treat them as something to ponder and invite wisdom about, rather than something to solve.

Gemini Rising: No matter how tempting it is this week, arguing about details or specifics will only bring struggle this week. If you, instead, can look at the desires and intentions underneath the confusion, especially at work, it will give you a clue about your future. You are in a process of experiencing the consequences (good, bad, or neutral) of the boundaries that you’ve enforced (or not enforced) in your social groups. What you see there may also give you information about your career direction.

Cancer Rising: The expansion of self that you are undergoing, and the flashes of insights you have around your career, are more important in light of international terror, not less important. You are personally not responsible for violence on the national or international level, and you do not have the personal burden to solve it. However, the more you take seriously becoming an expanded version of yourself, listening to the mystical wisdom you are getting access to, and enforcing your boundaries around your career, the bigger impact you will have in creating a better world.

Leo Rising: Our beliefs are the thoughts we think all the time, and the parameters of that are deserving of both inspiration and boundaries. This week the expansion that your unconscious is undergoing may be activated by ancestral experiences, including misunderstandings around inheritances, or by experiences your partner is having around values or money. There may be a gift in this around the how you engage with boundaries and inspiration in your personal beliefs and ideals.

Virgo Rising: Conflicts are resolved because one person decides to focus on an outcome they want, not because one person proves themself right. You may be inclined to argue with your partners and accomplices about details or specifics this week, but consider that misunderstandings abound right now, and proving you are right may not be worth the sacrifices. You do not need to be perfect to receive what you want and need. Neither do your partners.

Libra Rising: When things work out, give yourself credit for the boundaries you’ve learned to enforce in partnership. That is hard work, especially for someone inclined to connect rather than separate. At the same time, if you have the urge to haggle over specifics in conflict around your health, daily habits, work, or routines, this week, watch that inclination and learn from it, rather than letting it take over. It is okay to argue for argument’s sake, but consider whether the effort is worth the confusion. You don’t need to prove yourself to get what you need.

Scorpio Rising: If a creative project becomes quicksand, lean on your daily habits and routine for insights into the underlying lesson. The conflicts you experience this week have a relationship with the future of your creative projects or children, but the confusion around them muddles the message. On the other hand, your daily habits and routine are receiving a depth of meaning and beauty that makes sense. Return to yourself and how you care for your health when things get confusing.

Sagittarius Rising: You are not what you create, including that your children’s experiences of life are theirs, not an extension of your identity. Conflicts related to family and home this week are filled with confusion and misunderstanding, but this does not undermine the depth of insight and connections you have around your creative projects and children. The conflicts may also trigger insights around inheritance, including ancestry, or your partners’ money and values.

Capricorn Rising: Understanding what you truly value goes beyond what works for other people or what connects you to family. But, the deep insights you are experiencing around what you value help bring connection in home and family this week. In the meantime, there may be conflicts that involve misunderstandings in your local community or with siblings this week. If you are too focused on specifics and details, this conflict may overshadow the insights and connections you feel around family. Focus on the outcomes you want, not validation.

Aquarius Rising: What we consider abundance and what dominant culture values are often quite different. If you experience conflicts and misunderstandings around money this week, ask yourself what abundance truly means and what you value. Who you are is crystalizing, but this does not necessarily mean that your values need to change or that you need to experience loss of abundance. Look to your local community and workplace for insights and support.

Pisces Rising: If what you say comes out wrong or more aggressive than you intended, push pause and check in with what you truly value. Your unconscious programming is ready to be rewritten and unlearned, and that unlearning may give you deeper insights into what supports your connection to abundance. Explaining yourself or convincing people to listen will not work this week, but pushing pause and doing an art project around what abundance means to you might make a difference.

Thanks for reading and fulfilling your natal promise! If you like these horoscopes, don’t forget to hit the like button and share them with someone who might get something out of them.

If you or someone you know would like to dive into their natal chart and learn more about their personal contract with the universe, sign up for a natal chart reading here.

Horoscope Principles for the week of March 2, 2026

Sometimes healing is a huge shift, and other times it is a small moment.

Sometimes reconciliation or resolution of a conflict looks like a major moment of enlightenment or change. Other times, it is something that builds in daily habit changes and shifts.

This week, despite the unstable eclipse energy, offers some moments of healing or alignment after weeks of tension and instability.

Take advantage of these moments to envision an ideal future for yourself and your community. Remember when things go smoothly in the cosmos, they go smoothly not just for you, but also for people causing harm. Use this moment of harmony to refresh the continued work toward a better future, not to justify complaisance.

Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash (child sitting in a field of daisies)

For horoscope principles this week, I am primarily looking at the following celestial events:

• Mars moves into Pisces on Monday, March 2, 2026, at 6:15am Pacific. Mars moves from the cool air sign of Aquarius into the emotional water sign of Pisces. Mars in Pisces brings intensity of emotion and flexibility in conflict. Sometimes, this flexibility can bring new perspective, and other times the flexibility can be willingness to bend or break the truth. This puts the god of war in a sign of spirituality, and so it can also represent activity or even conflict around spirituality and religion.

• The full moon eclipse, with the Sun in Pisces and the Moon in Virgo, happens on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at 3:37am Pacific. A full moon puts emotion and ego at odds with each other, and an eclipse brings instability into the mix. The Sun in Pisces brings sensitivity, spirituality, flexibility, and emotion. The Moon in Virgo brings precision, analytics, and an emotional experience that is sometimes perfectionistic and other times healing and helpful. The earth sits in the middle of these two polarized experiences, feeling the tension and blocking the light, at least temporarily.

• Venus in Pisces sextiles Uranus in Taurus on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at 8:40am Pacific. This is a supportive aspect that brings some healing to the space where change created tension in relationships early in February. This offers an opportunity for innovation to bring a new perspective in relationship.

• The Sun in Pisces trines Jupiter in Cancer on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at 9:13am Pacific. This is a transit of expansive outlook and even luck. This transit offers you perspective on the overview of your life and the opportunity for harmony and expansion.

• Venus goes into Aries on Friday, March 6, 2026, at 2:45am Pacific. While Venus is exalted in Pisces (exalted means that Pisces is not her palace, but it is a palace that honors her and where she is particularly comfortable), Venus is in detriment in Aries. Aries is ruled by Mars, and so it is the goddess of beauty and relationship in the palace of war. Uncomfy. Venus in Aries is direct, authentic, and sometimes takes action without considering the consequences of the action, including being somewhat egocentric.

• Mercury retrogrades into a cazimi (conjunction) with the Sun on Saturday, March 7, 2026, at 3:01am Pacific. In traditional astrology, a Mercury cazimi was thought to be a time where you experienced great insight or clarity in the midst of the confusion and snafus of the Mercury retrograde. I have not personally experienced that, but I think this may be more significant for Mercury ruled charts (charts with Gemini or Virgo rising). However, Mercury is still in Pisces, where it is not comfortable, so you will still need to practice allowing and making friends with mistakes and redos.

• Just after that, Venus conjuncts Neptune in Aries also on Saturday, March 7, 2026, at 3:27am Pacific. This is a dreamy time of idealism around relationships and romance. With Mercury retrograde in Pisces and Mars in Pisces, this is quite a romantic and other-worldly experience. Enjoy this romantic time, but double check your reality before you make any major decisions or later you might find that the ideal doesn’t match the reality.

• The next day, Venus conjuncts Saturn in Aries on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at 6:39am Pacific. This shows you the consequences (good, bad, neutral) of the decisions you’ve made and allows you to shift from idealism into lasting plans. Because Saturn and Neptune are so close together, Venus’s visit to them is also a good time to break down relationship structures that do not work in order to build structures that do work.

• That night, Mercury in Pisces trines Jupiter in Cancer at 10:23pm Pacific. This brings broad-minded thinking and communication (and maybe even some hope) in the midst of the retrograde. Jupiter is the planet of expansion, and so it might also mean that if you are asked to talk about a topic, you suddenly have a lot of words, rather than a short sentence. You might want to journal about the ideal vision you have for the remaking of the world.

• Mercury is retrograde until March 19, 2026.

• Pluto continues in Aquarius. Jupiter continues in Cancer. Saturn is separating from its conjunction with Neptune in Aries.

These are the principles to consider for each rising sign in the week of February 23, 2026 (visit astro.com to find your rising sign, and if you don’t know your birth time, it is fine to use your sun sign, but maybe check out the horoscope for signs that might be your rising because one might resonate with you):

Aries Rising: An attack only happens if someone else is coming into your space, not if they are behaving in ways you don’t like, but it does not come into your space. Mars (your chart ruler) and Pluto are both in your 11th whole sign house of friends and groups, creating profound disruption and change in that area of your life. The Mars square to Uranus in your second house of money and values may feel like an attack this week, triggering the transformation your values have had over the past 8 years. Consider, though, what is really in your space and what is not. You have the right to set expectations for the space you are in, and if you are an adult, to leave any space. But, you do not have the right to control other people or force them to conform to your personal values.

Taurus Rising: Protecting your peace and restoring your energy does not mean checking out. The human brain has not yet adapted to watching genocide from an epsom salt bath or scrolling between human trafficking evidence and furniture ads. But, I think the important word there is “yet.” Our ability to tolerate and build capacity for two contrasting experiences, even if they happen at the same time or close together, is part of learning how to have empathy and integrity at the same time. This week you may feel confusion, shock, and ease all at the same time. Let it expand you instead of shutting you down.

Gemini Rising: There is a meme about ADHD that applies to you this week (I’m not sure who originated it, but if you know, let me know): “It doesn’t have to get done, it just has to be perfect.” Your chart is ruled by Mercury, who is the duck swimming backwards in the ocean while lightning strikes this week. You are not particularly comfortable with re-doing your work or getting bogged down in reworking plans, but consider that the ability to slow down and rework is a skill that is worth developing. It’s not supposed to be comfortable, but revisiting the details as though you had all the time in the world will get you better results this week (especially in your career) than putting time pressures on yourself.

Cancer Rising: Rest is not privilege; enjoying your life and your body is not privilege. Privilege happens when culture grants us benefits based on our identity but puts barriers in place for others based on their identities. Also, privilege is not bad, it is just a position where you have the opportunity to use your power to contribute to creating equity. I say this because Jupiter is expanding who you are, while he has friendly conversations with Mercury and Venus, granting you personal graces and even luck. In the meantime, you are watching disruption, violence, and suffering in the people around you. Refusing to restore your energy or torturing yourself does not help others, so use this time of luck to benefit yourself and also offer healing to those around you.

Leo Rising: I am no martial artist, but to my understanding, most martial arts teach that if someone is attacking, it is better to lean with them into their attack than to present a flat surface for them to strike. The Mars square to Uranus this week is happening in your 7th house of partnership and 10th house of career, which are spaces of your life where you have fixed energy and where it is challenging for you to be flexible. You may be open minded in these spaces, but flexibility is different. It is the willingness to bend with another person’s (maybe closed minded or uncaring) attack. You have already been through a number of transits like this over the past month, and this one is the final challenge to bend with the attacking energy so that it does not break you.

Virgo Rising: Life is meant to be experienced, not perfected. If you are living outside of your body, analyzing how you can perfect it or how you can make sure everything you do is perfect, you are not experiencing life. The reality is that we are not always safe, what we say doesn’t always make sense, and sometimes our most deeply held beliefs are the ones we need to release in order to live in integrity. I do not mean to minimize the discomfort of these experiences, but only to say pay attention to what puts you inside of your body and what dissociates you from it. The imperfect results you get from experiencing life have more impact than the theoretical perfection you impose on life and yourself.

Libra Rising: Peace is not a necessary precursor to pleasure. Your chart is ruled by Venus, who is coasting by in Pisces where she is revered and exalted. Your Libra influence might tell you that you need everyone around you to be happy and peaceful before you can enjoy what you know you are enjoying this week, but that is not true. Sometimes, pressuring others to experience peace is not equitable or good partnering. Sometimes, sacrificing yourself for what you think will make someone else happy is actually manipulating them for your comfort. The conflict this week asks you to be flexible in places where you are rigid and empowered in places where you are devotional. You are allowed to import flexibility and power into all of these spaces, just as an experiment, whether or not it is typically your nature.

Scorpio Rising: Family may be biological or chosen; partners and accomplices are chosen (typically, at least). Your 4th house of family and home and your 7th house of partners and accomplices are both areas of your chart (like your 1st house of self) that are fixed and have trouble changing. Yet, you have been going through a number of transits that have been forcing you to bend or break. At the same time, you are experiencing flow in the way your creative projects and children and the institutions you align with relate to you. Tension is not bad and flow is not good, per se, but if you want more flow in the spaces of conflict, you will need to bring flexibility and integrity to them.

Sagittarius Rising: The truth according to our five senses may not be a flexible thing, but almost always more than one truth exists at the same time. This is especially true when you consider the value of subjective experience and that the concept of objectivity is usually used to reinforce patriarchal and white narcissism. This week, Mars, the planet of war, is in your 3rd whole sign house of local community and siblings, in tension with Uranus in your 6th house of health and daily routine. Mercury retrograde is causing confusion in your 4th house of home and family. All of this can create stress if you are too committed to promoting one truth. But, if you can be flexible and allow multiple perspectives, you may be able to offer some healing advice to yourself and others.

Capricorn Rising: Approach this week like a scientist, taking data on the direct consequences of your actions (including your words), instead of judging the results or defending yourself from other people’s judgments. Consequences can be positive, negative, or neutral, but they always stem from our actions. Your chart ruler, Saturn, is just now separating from Neptune in Aries, a sign and aspect where he is especially uncomfortable. At the same time Mars, the god of war, is in your 2nd house of money and values, in tension with Uranus, the god of lightning, in your 5th house of children and creative projects. This is another space where conflicts may erupt in a surprising way. If you track the data like a scientist, though, you can find where your actions participate in the results you are getting.

Aquarius Rising: Ideally, social justice has two components: the interconnectedness of humans (social) and the return to balance, harmony, and healing of our communities (justice). I say this in part because your values and your local community have both been experiencing a breakdown of the structures or expectations you’ve relied on in the past, and this is likely to continue to create discomfort. But, interconnectedness and healing are not institutional, they are personal. Who you are, who you call family, the values you hold: these are all personal, not institutional. If you experience discomfort, change, or even wounding or trauma in these areas, come back to who you truly are and what really matters to you for healing.

Pisces Rising: We are always either offering energy or restoring energy. I’m open to the idea that sometimes we are doing both, but I’m not fully convinced of that. This week, if you find your brain beating you up, take action. You’ve gone through a process of consequences and disintegration of the structures you usually rely on to understand yourself, but this week offers some luck and how you show up is likely to be better received than it has in the past. Just because your brain offers you criticism or pushes you to overextend yourself does not mean you should listen to it. Rest, restore your energy, and receive the luck and positive responses when they come.

Thanks for reading and fulfilling your natal promise! If you like these horoscopes, don’t forget to hit the like button and share them with someone who might get something out of them. It boosts the algorithm and so more people might see them!

If you or someone you know would like to dive into their natal chart and learn more about their personal contract with the universe, sign up for a natal chart reading here.

Horoscope Principles for the week of February 16, 2026

If the past couple of weeks have been destabilizing, this week asks us to deeply question what is real and what is superstition.

Intuition is never based in fear or anxiety.

Insight never asks anyone to compromise their integrity or safety.

Test out the results you get when you are in a space of personal sovereignty, versus when you are acting out of superstition and fear. This week starts eclipse season and Saturn conjoins Neptune in Aries. Unstable boundaries and belief systems fall. When in doubt listen to what your body needs right now.

Photo by Jongsun Lee on Unsplash (solar eclipse)

For horoscope principles this week, I am primarily looking at the following celestial events:

• Mercury in Pisces trines Jupiter in Cancer on Monday, February 16, 2026, at 1:31pm Pacific. I’m sorry to say this because I think this phrase is used to do a lot of harm, but this transit is a good one for capturing the power of positive thinking and communication. If you know what you don’t want, how can you turn that into a list of what you do want? Write down what you do want to manifest and speak it into being.

• The solar eclipse in Aquarius takes place on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at 4:01am Pacific. The Sun is also separating from a square with Uranus in Taurus in this eclipse. Eclipses are like walking into a room with the lights on, when suddenly the power goes out. You might hit your shins on the bed or bang your head on an open cabinet. Pause your spells and manifestations and listen to what your body needs right now.

• The Sun goes into Pisces on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, at 7:51am Pacific. The Sun in Pisces contributes to the overall sense of blurred lines between what is real and not real. Pisces is connected to spirit and the collective unconscious, but not necessarily to the facts of ugly reality.

• Saturn and Neptune go exactly conjunct (finally!!) in Aries on Friday, February 20, 2026, at 8:53am Pacific. This breaks down any unstable institutions and boundaries. Is it AI or is it real? How do you tell? This conjunction is associated with the Satanic panic and McCarthyism. Before you fall into paranoid fear, check in with your neighbors. Get to know the people around you. Not everyone is in the Epstein files, even if it seems like it.

• Mars in Aquarius sextiles Chiron in Aries on Sunday, February 22, 2026, at 8:13am Pacific. Healing takes rest, and healing also requires action. The planet of action is in a supportive aspect with the planet of the wounded healer. This may poke at our wounds, and that poke asks us to use them to offer healing to others.

• Venus in Pisces trines Jupiter in Cancer on Sunday, February 22, 2026, at 12:01pm Pacific. This provides some very needed softness and beauty to the instability around us, like a lotus flower growing out of the mud. Finding joy, even in the midst of horrific information, gives us a direction for the new world we want to build.

• Pluto continues in Aquarius.

These are the principles to consider for each rising sign in the week of February 16, 2026 (visit astro.com to find your rising sign, and if you don’t know your birth time, it is fine to use your sun sign, but maybe check out the horoscope for signs that might be your rising because one might resonate with you):

Aries Rising: You are not better than anyone else; you are not worse than anyone else. The boundaries of who you are and what you have relied on for your identity may feel like they are crumbling. Anything that is breaking down now was never truly part of you, but only a cage you were living in and mistaking for a home. Your real home is expanding, and that expansion might include connection to your ancestors. If this feels scary, check in with what your body needs. Things may feel unstable with your friend groups early in the week, but that should calm down later in the week.

Taurus Rising: If you are punishing to yourself, you will be punishing to other people; if you are kind to yourself, this will show in the external world as well. The Saturn/Neptune conjunction is taking place in your 12th whole sign house, which is the house of the unconscious, so the barriers that are broken in this transit may not be immediately obvious to you. But, they still matter. How you treat yourself when you are alone matters. Your local community and social groups are experiencing relief and beauty after a couple of years of grief and difficulty. How do you treat the friend you love the most? Apply that to yourself too. Early in the week is destabilizing for career, though, so wait until the Sun goes into Pisces for major career decisions.

Gemini Rising: Boundaries are meant to keep you safe and promote healthy, interdependent relationships. Any boundaries in your friend and social groups that are punishing or bureaucratic are likely to crumble during this time, and this may feel unstable or even scary. It is hard to tell where your real supports are. This breakdown is meant to test the soundness of your structures so that you have boundaries that are authentic to you. Look to your career and public facing life, as well as your personal values for hope and joy when this process feels confusing. Not a good week for long-distance travel, though.

Cancer Rising: When you struggle in an undertow, you drown. Your boundaries and supports in your career are being tested right now, and any time you spend focusing on what has harmed you or feelings of helplessness will create more of that. Rigid and unyielding boundaries are likely to fall away during this time, but the boundaries that are important to you, the ideals and dreams you have about your career that truly resonate with you, will last. Spend some time dreaming about what you do want the world to look like this week. You’re more likely to create it that way. It’s also a good week for long-distance travel for you, but not a good week to finish up your taxes.

Leo Rising: Most of the time reality is more trustworthy than dreams, but sometimes, dreams have more insight and peace to offer than reality. This week, the eclipse is taking place in your 7th house of partnership, square Uranus, which has been disrupting your career since 2018. This may accelerate changes, but it also could bring misunderstandings with your partners. If you are frustrated and agitated, take a pause and a nap. The barriers you have lived in related to higher education, ideals, belief systems, and long-distance travel are crumbling, but your unconscious and connection to spirit have insight to offer about what is next.

Virgo Rising: Boundaries are healthy whether or not times are stressful. Boundaries are not revenge against someone for doing things you don’t like. This week you get some reprieve from the confusion and consequences you have been facing in your partnerships, but that does not mean it’s time to drop all of your boundaries or enmesh with other people’s trauma. Your daily routine or health may experience some disruption and trigger the tension between your ideals or your love of long-distance travel and your health and routine. This will pass, but be cautious and take extra care of your body at least until after the first week in March.

Libra Rising: Make beauty a habit; make caring for your boundaries a skincare routine. Any boundaries or rules you have built around partnership that do not feel authentic to you will likely collapse under the Saturn/Neptune conjunction this week, but they were not built to stand. The eclipse is happening in your house of children and creative projects, which could mean you run into technical difficulties or that what you create feels overshadowed by your emotional processing. If you incorporate into your creative projects the woundings in partnership you’ve experienced, you may be better able to get momentum.

Scorpio Rising: Healing requires action, not just time. If there are adjustments you can make to your home or within your family that serve your daily habits and health, this is a good week to do this for yourself and also for other people. Your home and partnerships have a rocky start to the week, and so this may require you to acknowledge your impatience, and also take a break. Looking beyond your local community to broader ideals, higher education, and long-distance travel brings expansion to the beauty and healing happening in your 5th house of creative projects and children.

Sagittarius Rising: What benefits your partners benefits your home and family. While your home has been going through a major time of confusion and consequences, this week brings some healing and beauty in that area of your life. Check in with your siblings and local community to make sure your people are safe and healthy, as that area of your chart is taking some hits, and the eclipse can bring disruption and difficulties. You have healing actions to offer in your local community from wounding around your creative projects and children.

Capricorn Rising: A home built on a firm foundation can withstand a hurricane. And this week, it may have to. The Saturn/Neptune conjunction is happening in your 4th house of home and family, a space where you like things to be straightforward and simple. This conjunction is anything but simple, and it is here to force you to consider what structures in your home life are authentic to you, and what are rules you made up for the sake of it. Don’t let feelings of scarcity overtake how you handle your money and abundance this week. Use the woundings you’ve experienced in your homelife to provide guidance related to your money and values. Your partnerships, siblings, and local community are spaces of beauty and abundance this week, so when all else fails, lean there.

Aquarius Rising: If you need a nap, take a nap. You can’t outsmart tired. This is a good week to be careful if you go out to protest, make sure you have followed all of the recommendations (take a gas mask, memorize a safe person’s number, write other numbers on your arm, bring water and snacks, etc.). This is a great week for you to contribute to tearing down unjust systems in your local community. Do so in a way that serves you, not in a way that fuels the mechanisms of oppression with your anger. When in doubt, trust your values to give you guidance.

Pisces Rising: If your past work on budgets and managing your money have not been authentic to you, you will know that this week. That is not a failure, it is just an invitation to bring more authenticity to what you value and your money. How you show up this week as a person is graced with some luck and beauty, and this is some needed healing after the work you’ve done around the boundaries of who you are. If you experience sleep disruption or anxious thoughts, ask yourself what their gift is and allow them to pass without debating them.

Thanks for reading and fulfilling your natal promise! If you like these horoscopes, don’t forget to hit the like button and share them with someone who might get something out of them. It boosts the algorithm and so more people might see them!

If you or someone you know would like to dive into their natal chart and learn more about their personal contract with the universe, sign up for a consultation here.

Out of the Broom Closet, into the Fire

Saturn and Neptune into Aries and Protection Spells

Yesterday, Saturn joined Neptune in Aries, which marks a time of structural collapse and confusion around what is real and not real. The last time Saturn and Neptune were conjunct was in 1989. Most notably, this was when the Berlin Wall fell. Saturn/Neptune conjunctions are also associated with spiritual panic and witch hunts (the McCarthy trials and Satanic panic happened under this conjunction).

For many of us, Neptune’s transit through Pisces (2011-2026), has been a time of embracing spiritual sovereignty, whether that means deconstructing Christian and capitalist narratives; embracing personal relationship with spirit through tarot, astrology, or witchcraft; diving into the otherworldly magic of science and technology; or any number of other esoteric and magickal practices.

Massive amounts of people, including me, have come out of the broom closet, outing ourselves as witches.

Photo by Charlie Harutaka on Unsplash

Then, the transit into Aries tests our authenticity. Are our spiritual practices cute and fun or are they part of who we truly are? Are we grounded in their personal meaning for us or are we superstitious and acting out of fear?

Saturn is angry in Aries, perhaps even impatient, and so the planet of consequences brings them quickly. If you act in integrity, you get consequences in line with that integrity, but if you act outside of it, Saturn lets you know right away through your body’s signals and your external results. Aries is a fire sign, and there is no need to touch the stove a second time before learning that it burns.

Photo by Tobias Rademacher on Unsplash

I am in a group online where I have seen a number of posts about “spiritual warfare,” something that I grew up thinking a lot about. The concept of spiritual warfare means that there are unseen threats that might undermine us, and through adherence to certain spiritual practices we can fight those threats.

In my view, this is an essentially misguided concept at least in part because it positions spirituality as potentially threatening, and outside of us, and offers solutions that feel tricky.

Truth is never tricky.

The unseen is only drawn to you if it corresponds with you. And I do not mean that as pressure to raise your vibration or pretend to be positive. Instead it is an invitation to deeply learn what corresponds with you, what is correct for you, and release anything that is not.

This requires boundaries and understanding who you are, which is harder than it sounds and completely worth it.

Healthy boundaries protect us from what is not correct for us, whether it is in the 3D reality or outside of it.

Here are a few ways to craft a basic protection spell to get started.

Protection Spells

Energetic boundaries:

• Find a space that both is safe in reality and also feels safe to you. This can be your bed if that is a safe space.

• With your eyes open or closed (whatever is comfortable and safe for you), pay attention to how the space feels on your skin. Your skin is the boundary between the inside of your body and the external world. Energetic boundaries are like skin but for your energy body.

• Picture or feel roots growing out of the lowest part of your body and into the ground.

• Picture or feel the bubble of the space around you. Notice how far your senses can perceive the space around you. If you close your eyes, can you sense what is happening in the room around you? Can you sense what is happening beyond the room you are in?

• Picture or feel the bubble of space around you becoming an actual bubble or an egg shell. What is inside the egg shell is yours, what is outside of it belongs to the universe. Your guides or the bubble itself evict any energy that is not the right fit for you.

• Now, picture or feel the bubble filling with whatever color your body and spirit crave.

• Sit inside that energy like you would a bath.

Communication Boundaries:

• Think of the person who most challenges your boundaries, comes into your space, or expects energetic or emotional labor from you.

• In your mind or out loud, say to that person three times, “No,” “Leave,” “Ew stop,” or “Go away.” Imagine yourself walking away from that person without inviting a response from them.

• Notice any objections that come up in your mind. Are there spaces where your mind thinks it is dangerous for you to enforce a boundary? Are there spaces where your mind thinks you need to comply or compromise your boundaries in order to be safe? Journal about the objections that come up or talk through them with a trusted person.

• What would the benefits of enforcing a boundary be for you?

• Do those benefits make it worth enforcing your boundaries despite your fears? Why/why not?

• If you choose not to enforce your boundaries, how can you take responsibility for the consequences to yourself and others?

Circle casting (attribution goes to the Cabot Kent Hermetic Temple for this):

• Find a wand, which can be a stick or kitchen spoon, but should be wood the length of your inner elbow to the tip of your longest finger. In a meditative state, tell the wand that you clear it of all positive and negative energies and forces that may come to do you harm. Then, tell the wand that you charge it to catalyze your thoughts and deeds to your will.

• Walking clockwise in a circle, say, “I cast this circle to protect me from all positive or negative energies or forces that may come to do me harm.”

• Walk two more times clockwise, and on the final turn, say, “The circle is cast. So shall it be.”

• Inside of the circle, do whatever magical or personal work you want to do. You can cast a circle before you go to sleep if you have disrupted sleep, too. The only problem here is if you have pets, they may break your circle and make it less effective.

• When your work is done, walk counterclockwise in the same circle and say, “The circle is open and remains unbroken. I send it out to the cosmos to do my bidding.” When I do my morning thought work and cast it as a spell, I say, “I send it out to the cosmos to contribute to healing myself and the collective unconscious.”

Protection potion (I follow Laurie Cabot’s protection potion from her Book of Shadows):

• 1/8 Ounce of Almond Oil

• 10 Drops of Patchouli Oil

• 10 Drops of Frankincense Oil

• 10 Drops of Myrrh Oil

• ¼ Teaspoon of Mandrake Root

• ¼ Teaspoon of Sea Salt

• Pinch of hair from your familiar

If you do not have these ingredients, you can use salt water as protection potion in a pinch. Tell the potion that its job is to provide protection for you and all it touches.

Boundaries and Harm. The principles of witchcraft say that you should do what you want, provided it does not cause harm. Sometimes people believe that if we enforce our boundaries and make choices that are healthy for us, it harms them.

This can feel confusing because we do not want to harm anyone, but it is also not appropriate to comply with harm to ourselves.

In that way it is important to remember these rules:

1. Suffering creates more suffering, but safety creates more safety. You being safe does not cause harm to someone else.

2. Putting energy toward someone who causes harm supports that harm.

3. You may have a duty of care to someone vulnerable, like a child or animal, but a caregiving relationship has inherent power imbalance. Caregiving relationships are not mutual or romantic. Most often caregiving relationships with peers cause harm on both sides.

4. From a space of safety, you are better able to offer support to others. Your safety is your responsibility and your first duty to your body.

Thanks for reading and bringing your magick to the world! If reality feels confusing and consequences feel unfair, ground into your energy and the information you get from your body. What is one safe thing you can do today?

Horoscope Principles for the week of February 9, 2026

This week, continuing the energies of last week and even the recent months, tests how we handle chaos.

When we struggle against chaos, it creates more chaos. Then, chaos acts like an undertow, sucking us under the waves because of our struggle.

The fifth Hermetic principle, the principle of rhythm, says that everything ebbs and flows, and chaos is no different. This week tests when we release control and when we struggle. What results do you get with each?

Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen on Unsplash (waves over roiling water and rocks)

For horoscope principles this week, I am primarily looking at the following celestial events:

• Venus goes into Pisces on February 10, 2026, at 2:18am Pacific. This brings some healing and beauty to an area of life where Saturn and Neptune have been breaking down institutions.

• Mercury in Pisces goes into its pre-shadow on Wednesday, February 11, 2026 at 2:12pm Pacific. Mercury goes retrograde usually two or three times a year, and this is a time when physically, if you astronomically look at the sky, it looks like Mercury is going backwards. The pre-shadow marks the point that Mercury will return to when it goes retrograde. What happens now may indicate issues that will come up once Mercury goes retrograde, but we’re also experiencing disruptions related to Uranus, so there’s a lot of blame to go around.

• The Sun in Aquarius follows the path that Mercury and Venus took last week, sextiling Chiron in Aries on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at 5:46pm, and then squaring Uranus in Taurus on Sunday, February 15, at 9:01pm Pacific. The sextile to Chiron offers some healing energy to a space where you’ve felt wounded, but sometimes offers of healing themselves can be triggering. The square to Uranus causes overall disruption, tension, and instability.

• Saturn goes into Aries on Friday, February 13, 2026, at 4:11pm Pacific, getting ready to conjoin Neptune on Friday, February 20. This tests what is real and not real. What spiritual truths are more real than the material world? What that we perceive with our five senses is more important than spirituality? This conjunction is at the first degree of the zodiac, breaking down old institutions and, hopefully, allowing something new to download.

• Pluto continues in Aquarius, and Jupiter continues in Cancer.

These are the principles to consider for each rising sign in the week of February 9, 2026 (visit astro.com to find your rising sign, and if you don’t know your birth time, it is fine to use your sun sign, but maybe check out the horoscope for signs that might be your rising because one might resonate with you):

Aries Rising: Superheroes only need to exist in a world where we center harm and violence. While you may, like me, be someone who loves superheroes, this week think about what you love about them. If you could create an ideal world, what would the coolest version of you look like? Would that world include violence if it did not have to? This week your social groups are at odds with your changing and evolving values. The boundaries of who you are are shifting. Rewrite your future as the story of a superhero in a world without violence.

Taurus Rising: Integrity means that the parts of who you are come together to make a whole. This week how you show up in your public life is in tension with the changes you’ve experienced around your overall identity since 2018. While your social groups get some much needed healing, you are moving into a phase where your engagement with spirituality and the unconscious experience tangible consequences. Consequences are not inherently bad or good. They just are the tangible results of our actions, including our unconscious thinking.

Gemini Rising: Fast thinking is no better than slow thinking. Chaos is no better or worse than stability. These are just ways of being. You may be someone who prefers quick, witty banter and action, but because your chart is ruled by Mercury, the next couple of months asks you to slow down and even examine what it would be like to value your dreams as much as your reality. Don’t lose the thread on the real world, but examine what mistakes and misunderstandings bring up for you. You are entering a period where you will need to make decisions about what you tolerate in your friend and social groups. Dreaming about an ideal life and making friends with mishap might be a way to start that process.

Cancer Rising: Every person has the capacity for psychic perception, but not every person wants it. You are in a time period that asks you whether you want to limit your understanding to your five senses, or if you want to trust intuitive and psychic abilities beyond your five senses. If you hesitate to use your perceptive abilities out of fear, just remember that you are sovereign in the space you occupy. Seriously study energetic boundaries and personal sovereignty. If you lean in to the invitation to trust your intuition and perception, just remember to validate the information you get spiritually with the material world to the extent you can. If you call in an object, does it come? If you get information about a person, can they confirm it? Trust and verify.

Leo Rising: Institutional betrayal is a term coined by Dr. Jennifer Freyd to describe the experience of reporting harm to an institution and having the institution respond by victim blaming. You are entering a season where the higher education or spiritual institutions you belong to are crumbling, and it is hard to know what you can trust in terms of your ideals. The instability and changes you have faced in your career and public-facing life since 2018 continues to be activated this week. If you lean into the expansion you are having related to your unconscious and spirituality, there are gifts and beauty available there.

Virgo Rising: Good communication requires curiosity and openness, not perfection. You have been experiencing confusion and the breakdown of boundaries in your partnerships for the past couple of years, and that is changing. This week offers some healing related to that, and also avoid the tendency to be overly optimistic in your communications. If you’re not sure you understand someone else, ask the extra questions. Write things down if you’re not sure. This area will clear up after a couple of months, but until then, go slow to go fast.

Libra Rising: You can have nice things. This week your creative projects may be in tension with your partners’ resources, or how you think about and enjoy sex may be in tension with instability in how your partner or partners handle sex. That period of instability will start to pass after February. If it feels confusing to know what is real and not real in your partnerships, look to the external results. You are visited this week by some beauty and sweetness in your daily life. Even if other spaces of your life feel chaotic, it is okay to appreciate what is beautiful and sweet.

Scorpio Rising: This may sound like bullshit to you, but it is through giving up control that we find the spaces we can truly influence. There is tension between your home and family life and the changes you’ve been going through in your partnerships. Much of that may feel chaotic and out of your control. The tighter you cling to rigid rules and expectations, the more likely things are to break. If you can ease up and lean into some dreaming around creative projects and beauty, you might be able to find spaces of influence.

Sagittarius Rising: Paintings never look like our imagination; books never quite capture the dream of the author; movies are a shallow reflection of the stories that inspire them. And, yet, these are some of the greatest sources of beauty and joy we have in the world. You are entering a phase where boundaries are torn down in the area of your creative life and reality becomes unclear. If you are using AI in your creative projects, research the consequences of that choice first, not just to the environment but also to your ownership of your projects.

Capricorn Rising: Good boundaries create healthy relationships. If you have been compromising your boundaries at home or idealizing your home life, you are about to enter a phase of life where you experience the consequences of that. Your money and values continue to be in tension with your creative projects and children this month. But, if you see some beauty and peace in your local community, enjoy it.

Aquarius Rising: Sometimes transformation is not changing from one thing to another, but uncovering something that was already there. The transformation you are going through and how you show up in your everyday life is in tension with the changes that have happened in your home and family. This may feel like you are the trigger of chaos or like you are the victim of it, but really this process is uncovering something about who you are and have the potential to be.

Pisces Rising: A budget is meant to be a structure that supports your most thriving financial success, not a prison for your money. Likewise understanding your personal values is meant to be a way to put language around the beliefs you hold most deeply. You are entering a time that asks you to hold ideals and boundaries around your money and values. This requires being able to dream and also being able to pay attention to the practical reality of those dreams. If people are drawn to you this week, take it as a sign you are on the right track and release any self-sabotaging thoughts.

Thanks for reading and fulfilling your natal promise! If you like these horoscopes, don’t forget to hit the like button and share them with someone who might get something out of them. It boosts the algorithm and so more people might see them!

If you or someone you know would like to dive into their natal chart and learn more about their personal contract with the universe, sign up for a consultation here.

Animal Communication

A week of instability, connection, and animal communication

Last week saw Mercury and Venus aspecting Chiron and Uranus, and this brought out release of additional Epstein emails (even though we still haven’t seen all of them) as well as racist and sexist ranting from people in power.

While shifting the way we treat girls and how white people handle the narcissism of other white people are absolutely key to creating safe community, this week in my life, the issue of what happens when the government kidnaps our neighbors was front and center.

I was walking my dog, Pema, on Wednesday, when we came across a very sweet pup, who had no collar and ended up coming home with us. You might remember, last week I had a dream that featured a very stable dog, and so it was interesting to come across one.

EDIT: We found Cleo’s family soon after this! They are a sweet family who loves her! They call her Justice, so either my animal communication needs work or her full name is Justice Cleo. I like to think the latter.

Picture of the visitor pup lying down and looking wistful.

I asked the sweet pup what her name is, and in my mind I heard, clear as day, the name Cleo.

I took her to be checked out at the vet. When the vet tech was examining her, she said, “Come here, Cleo,” and Cleo responded right away. The vet tech asked, “So you know for sure her name is Cleo?” She was confused because I had told her Cleo had no collar and we confirmed she was not chipped.

“No,” I said, “I just made it up, but she seems to respond to it, so I think it’s the first confirmation I have that I’m a pet psychic.”

The vet tech looked at me like I was a ghost, “She sure does!” she said. “Let me know if you make that a thing because I have some animals that could use communication.” So, I might take her up on that.

The vet who checked her out for me says that she has clearly been loved. When she got to me, she had some scabbing from fleas and was very hungry and thirsty, so she was likely out for at least a couple of days before we found her. It made me think a lot about what the circumstances of her family might be.

Meanwhile, Pema is not thrilled to have a friend staying over, but I think it is a growth experience she needs.

Picture of Pema sitting on the couch and looking at me like I’ve disappointed her, while Cleo lies on the floor being completely mellow. My piles of books are in the background.

While it is fun to work on my pet psychic skills, on a more serious note, it has occurred to me, and maybe to you, that Cleo’s family may be unhoused or undocumented. You don’t have to be a pet psychic to look at her face and notice that she’s looking sad and serious. The vet’s comment that someone has clearly loved her, combined with Cleo’s very obedient and easy nature, leads me to believe that her separation from her family was not voluntary.

While the displacement of pets is not as graphic as the murders, rapes, and child abuse that we are seeing from the government kidnapping people from the streets, Cleo’s appearance in my life has made me think about the ripple effects of imprisoning people related to identity and status. I do not know whether her family is unhoused or undocumented, but assuming they are, their situation may be more harsh and their experience of loss more profound than Cleo’s right now. We send thoughts, postcards, calls to representatives, and every other action toward their safety and health.

Cleo cuddling me on the couch and giving you an intense look as if to say, you should make sure your neighbors are safe right now, regardless of their housing or document status.

I am just starting my animal communication journey, and right now I mostly communicate with them using my voice, not my psychic skills. And, I am also somewhat persuaded that most, if not all, people may have access to communicating effectively with animals if we want to use that skill.

One way to practice psychic animal communication is to wait until the animal is away from you in another room, then imagine sending them a picture showing them to come to see you. If they come to you, that is some evidence that it worked! If it doesn’t work, that does not necessarily mean anything other than to keep trying in different ways. And, as always, take the data!

Horoscope Principles for the week of February 2, 2026

I had a dream last week that involved visiting my family, who had a dog that was just completely reliable, stable, and reassuring. While I was sitting with my family, I looked outside and realized someone had put the room we were in on a semi truck and were driving us away. When we got where we were going, I was annoyed because all of our things were in a warehouse mixed with other people’s things, and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find the dog.

When I went to the warehouse, though, the dog was right there, looking reassuring, and wearing a fancy collar. He was not worried at all. There was a woman who was throwing people’s possessions away, some of them mine, and I started singing a song to her about how much I hated her. In the dream, the song I was singing was a TikTok jingle, and she sang the last line back to me because we both hated each other.

I say this in part because I encourage TikTok jinglers to create a song I can sing when I hate people. I would be forever grateful.

In part, I say this because this week is one that invites us to change our minds and relationships. It brings shifts and invites us to acknowledge the very real, life altering, and harmful instability so many of us are experiencing who are being deported, sent to concentration camps, or attacked by federal agents. In my dream, I had the privilege of being unattached to stability and being present with the dog I cared about. And, still, I hated the person disrupting and disrespecting my life.

In my dream, there was nothing shameful or violent about my hatred. It was normal and natural. And I knew I could be flexible with change.

Photo by Liam McGarry on Unsplash (capturing a dog that looks almost exactly like the dog in my dream)

For horoscope principles this week, I am primarily looking at the following celestial events:

• Mercury in Aquarius sextiles Chiron in Aries on Monday, February 2, 2026, at 4:32pm Pacific. Then, Venus in Aquarius sextiles Chrion on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at 2:23pm Pacific. These bring some healing and kindness to the spaces where our woundings have been very triggered over the past couple of months, especially around communication and relationships.

• Uranus stations direct at 27 degrees Taurus on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at 6:33pm Pacific. Then, Mercury squares Uranus on Thursday, February 5, 2026, at 4:13am. Finally, Venus squares Uranus on Sunday, February 8, 2026, at 1:48am. Uranus is associated with social change, queerness (only ever used here as a compliment), and instability. Uranus is coming to the end of its time in Taurus, where the most rooted, grounded, stable areas of your life have experienced earthquakes since 2018. Mercury and Venus are both in Aquarius which is also a fixed sign and can be rigid in pursuit of innovation. Mercury asks you to allow your mind to change, rather than engaging in endless mental debate. Venus asks you to feel beyond the expectations of what you’ve been taught it means to be in relationship. Uranus goes into Gemini in April this year, and so this is the last of the Mercury and Venus squares to visit this space in your chart for the rest of your life. Make the most of allowing change in these fixed spaces of your chart.

• Mercury goes into Pisces on Friday, February 6, 2026, at 2:48pm Pacific. After some high-speed thinking, this slows our thinking and communication way down and can create confusion. Later this month, Mercury will go retrograde in Pisces, which brings even more communication and travel snafus. Mercury in Pisces is connected to the intent and the collective unconscious connection behind communication, not the specifics. It’s an uncomfy space for Mercury, but if we are willing to allow misunderstandings, give ourselves second chances, and trust our understanding of the deeper meaning behind communications, we can flow with the transit instead of drowning in it.

These are the principles to consider for each rising sign in the week of February 2, 2026 (visit astro.com to find your rising sign, and if you don’t know your birth time, it is fine to use your sun sign, but maybe check out the horoscope for signs that might be your rising because one might resonate with you):

Aries Rising: It is not necessarily selfish to have standards and know what you like, but it is selfish to hoard in service of scarcity. In your social life you may be drawn to weirdos and creatives, which causes some tension with your stable, and maybe even traditional, standards around what you value. Just remember that this is not an either or. There is room for weirdness and stability. You can be a fancy punk if that is right for you. And, also, consider the impact your values have on the people around you. Tolerating others is not the same as supporting them. Taking risks to fit in does not actually create more stability.

Taurus Rising: Being a completely new person is different than knowing how to communicate who you are now. You are a different person than you were in 2018, but that does not necessarily mean you know how to express who that new person is publicly or that your relationships have caught up with your changes. Your relationships and communications in your public life are in tension with who you have become this week. Use that tension to serve your ongoing evolution rather than to stifle it. You know what you are saying, even if other people haven’t caught up yet.

Gemini Rising: Beliefs are the thoughts we think all the time. Church is the safety ritual that brings us back to our bodies. Prayer is an ideal we hold in our hearts for a better future. Your ideals, beliefs, and philosophical systems are causing some tension with the rigid ways you unconsciously find comfort. But, that tension is an invitation for you to find comfort that is more reliable. It is not a threat. The way we find comfort as a child does not always serve us as we get older, which means we can be open to more reliable comforts, not that we need to be anxious all the time. If you could invent a new comfort for your unconscious brain, what would it be?

Cancer Rising: There is inherent instability in seeking stability; inherent attachment in the concept of non-attachment. You have a fixedness in how you see the comfort of your social groups and your expectations of your partners, and there is tension this week between those two areas of your life. This tension is an opportunity to consider a new version of what true stability is in your social groups. There is more comfort available in allowing the new than clinging to the old standards that did not work.

Leo Rising: The Nuremberg Defense describes the defense, “I was just following orders.” In the Nuremberg trials after WWII, the courts held that each soldier was responsible for the harms they caused and that they could not use this defense. Accountability means you are responsible for actions you did take, whether or not you thought they were right at the time, but you are not responsible for actions you did not take. Career is a place where stability is important to you, and partnerships are a place where you gravitate toward somewhat hierarchical standards. Both of these spaces are going through dramatic change in your life right now and those changes are in tension. Relationships and communication do not need to be bad in order for change and accountability to be necessary.

Virgo Rising: If you are willing to change your mind when you hear an idea that is better than yours, you are never wrong. Your belief systems and ideals are coming to the end of a major renovation, and this is experiencing tension from your health and daily habits. You gravitate toward comfort and stability in the area of your ideals, and you are going through chaos, activity, and major change in your health, daily life, or habits. This can lead to feeling like everything you’ve relied on is wrong, which is not the case. Just because you need to open your ideals to something better does not mean that what you believed before was wrong.

Libra Rising: Do it weird, do it queer, do it new, do it you. Sorry I had to rhyme there, but it was necessary [for the children!]. How you communicate and build relationships around what you’ve created are in tension with other people’s values or the resources you get from your partnerships this week. And, that is meant to help you build something more stable, more comforting, and more unique to who you are. The instability and change related to your partners’ resources and other peoples values exist regardless of your creative projects. Be you and let the dust settle as it will. You’ll find stability again after this passes and stifling your creativity will not create stability.

Scorpio Rising: Chosen family and chosen partnerships provide more stability and comfort often than obligation family and partnerships in part because of their flexibility. You are wrapping up a time of major changes related to your partnerships and accomplices and starting a time of major changes related to family. These are areas of your life where you likely hate change, and so I’m sorry about this. And also, tilling ground allows plants to grow. Wind blows out smog. If the changes related to home and family are triggering your partnership changes, that can feel like a lot. If you allow the changes, you will grow into a new version of yourself; if you struggle against them, it exhausts you but does not prevent their impact.

Sagittarius Rising: It’s time to start wearing gas masks if you go protest. Your health and daily routine are a place in your life where you tend to be stable and solid, and this has gone through major changes and instability since 2018. The changes in your local community right now, including protests and counter protests, will likely trigger this instability in your health and daily routine. Be safe, and also express yourself (in ways that contribute to the safety of the community)!

Capricorn Rising: Michelangelo is said to have explained about his sculptures, “The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.” You have been going through a chiseling process related to your children or creative projects since 2018, and this week initiates a final round of edits that may come in the form of communications around money, values relationships, and beauty. If your children or creative projects feel at odds with your values, remember that they get to tell you who they are. If your values are too rigid, it harms you, but it does not change them.

Aquarius Rising: As the great Madonna said, “Don’t go for second best baby … express yourself.” Who you are is inherently both open-minded and hierarchical, changeable and certain, and also you are beginning a major revolution of who you are, just as you are wrapping up a major time of change in your home and family life. Part of you idealizes innovation and the urge to express your changes may be strong right now, which is worthwhile. This may trigger some of the tension around instability in your family and home life this week, though. That isn’t bad. It is just a sign that these fixed areas of your life are ready to bring a new version of comfort and stability. Going back to the outdated version is not an option anyway.

Pisces Rising: Ignoring something does not make it go away. You have hidden parts of you, or shadow parts, that are innovative, open-minded, change oriented, and have a strong sense of what is cool and uncool. You have likely felt more and more pressure to express this side of yourself, and it may surprise even you. Writing down your thoughts, needs, and opinions can give expression to this side of yourself that the universe is compelling you to look at. This may trigger some tension related to the changes and instability in your local community or with your siblings over the past 9 years, but that is no reason to silence yourself. Those changes are happening no matter what.

Thanks for reading and fulfilling your natal promise! If you like these horoscopes, don’t forget to hit the like button and share them with someone who might get something out of them. It boosts the algorithm and so more people might see them!

If you or someone you know would like to dive into their natal chart and learn more about their personal contract with the universe, sign up for a consultation here.

Imbolc, Brigid, and Healing the Collective Unconscious

Happy Imbolc to those who celebrate!

Imbolc is the Celtic celebration of the goddess Brigid (pronounced “BREED”), who is the goddess of the hearth and fire, healing, smith work, and poetry. Imbolc comes in the middle of Aquarius season, associating Brigid with the energies of Aquarius (happy birthday to those of you with this Brigid energy!). Aquarius energy is associated with social healing, change, and innovation, as well as creative endeavors like poetry. During the time of Aquarius, we move from the depths of Capricorn winter, when structures like homes and social institutions that provide food and warmth are crucial, into the stirring of spring and the hints of newness. At this time, questioning institutions is as important as acknowledging their power to protect.

In one story, Brigid, is said to have lost her son in a battle and gone to the battlefield to keen over his death. This is said to be the first keening over loss of a loved one. In some ways this story is very true to the transition between Capricorn and Aquarius. Capricorn is the good soldier, who upholds the institution, while Aquarius sees the broader picture and the social change necessary for the community to serve the most vulnerable. Aquarius has learned that being a good soldier is not always the answer and often causes the harms it is trying to prevent.

Photo by Haley Owens on Unsplash

The Sun will be in the middle of Aquarius (15 degrees) this year at 12:02pm Pacific on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, and this can be a good time to celebrate Imbolc. It is sometimes considered the astrological moment of Imbolc. This is the chart, using whole sign houses, for the moment when the Sun goes to 15 degrees Aquarius in case you follow astrological charts:

Thanks to Astrotheoros for their beautiful charts!

This puts the Sun between two femme deities very aligned with Brigid: Vesta, the goddess of the hearth, at 12 degrees Aquarius; and Venus, the goddess of beauty and poetry, at 21 degrees Aquarius. These celestial bodies are in the 9th house, the house of higher education, ideals, and belief systems. This moment on February 3 offers us a time to sit with our ideals and belief systems and how they can contribute to healing the collective.

The Full Moon in Leo happens on Sunday, February 1, 2026, at 2:08pm Pacific, and this is another marker of energy relevant to Brigid. This Full Moon happens with the Sun at 13 degrees of Aquarius and the Moon at 13 degrees of Leo, so this Full Moon is almost exactly conjunct the midpoint of Aquarius as well. Aquarius brings energy of innovation, social justice, and the collective; Leo brings energy of the self, being in the spotlight, and personal identity.

The Leo Full Moon represents a tension between being ourselves and serving the collective. If I want to be me, is it selfish? If I want to serve the collective, does that mean I have to go against my nature? Now is a very relevant time to ask ourselves these questions.

And, they are the wrong questions. In some ways, there are no bad questions, but in other ways, the questions we ask ourselves matter a lot. They both reflect the path we are on and allow us to choose a new path. These questions assume the Leo/Aquarius polarity is all there is. They assume that it is either me or the collective, and any time we get stuck in that kind of either/or thinking, we’ve gone into Pluto territory. Pluto has been in Aquarius for the past year, so this polarized thinking is all the rage right now and may continue to be for some time.

Healing the Collective

As a poet, healer, and representative of Aquarius, Brigid is a wonderful symbol for our abilities to heal the collective. I come from the (admittedly very Aries) belief that it is through being fully ourselves that we best contribute to healing our communities.

Being fully ourselves means having integrity between our minds, bodies, emotions, and spirits (our four cups, if you will). And, at the same time, when we only focus on our personal healing, we indulge in narcissism. We are individual humans living in communities, both in terms of our physical communities and the collective unconscious. So, both are true. The Moon’s Leo energy of embodying the self and being the best co-exists with the importance of protest, social justice, and envisioning a better world.

In order to heal the collective, we have to ask better, less superstitious questions. Here are a few to ask yourself over this Imbolc season. You can talk these through with a friend or get out a journal or sketch pad and write or draw through them.

What are ways I find it easy to be my full self while I am with other people?

In what ways do I find it challenging to be my full self while I am with other people?

If I assume that being myself contributes to my community, what are some of the ways I’ve seen that happen or heard people say they have seen that? (This is not a time to debate whether being yourself contributes, but a time to see ways it does.)

What is a block I am willing to release in order to be more fully myself so that I can help heal the collective?

I am thinking about offering some ongoing notes about the ritual work I do every day to contribute to healing the collective unconscious. This work does not exist on its own as a substitute for engaging with community, but I find it impactful for myself and the coaching and remediation clients I work with. Let me know if notes about this sound helpful.

Collective Healing. As an example, one shift that I believe is quite straightforward for many people right now is around the thought, “I’m not contributing enough.” This thought sounds like it would motivate us to do more, but if you sit with the thought, understanding that it is not an observation, you may notice that it actually makes you feel helpless. It does so for me at least. When I feel helpless, I actually give up, rather than doing more. So, the thought “I’m not contributing enough” actually makes it more difficult for me to contribute. I call this a sabotage spell because it creates what it is trying prevent.

Instead, if we want to heal our communities, we have to ask, What actions can I take to contribute to healing my community? Then, make a list of activities you might be able to engage in. The next question is, What feeling would motivate me to engage in one of those activities? For me, the feeling may be belonging. Then, a thought that might contribute to feeling belonging is, “I love my community and am willing to do one thing to contribute to its healing.”

The more of us who are willing to heal our thinking in this way, the more the collective unconscious heals and the easier it is to see evidence of healing in our communities.

Thanks for participating! If you or someone you know would like to dive into their astrology and personal magic, sign up for a consultation here.

Horoscope Principles for the week of January 26, 2026

War is destructive, not glorious. Violence is harmful, not noble. Using power to control is abuse, not safety.

Keep these principles in mind as we enter a new 14 year time period of Neptune in Aries, starting Monday, January 26, 2026. This type of time period is marked by idealism and propaganda around what it means to be a good soldier and fight for what you believe in. While fighting for what we believe in sounds noble, this time also creates confusion about what we can believe in and trust.

To have reliable beliefs, and know what we can trust we have to build connection and integrity between our minds, emotions, bodies, and spirits. Most of us have experienced some form of disconnect of one or more of those, whether it is from high control religion, academia, trauma, or other cultural conditioning.

This time invites us to define the boundaries around who we truly are and what we stand for.

Also, I literally watched another person get murdered by the police as I was writing this. And you will probably wonder which one it was because there have been so many. We need to know where our boundaries are and act on them.

Photo by Tsuyoshi Kozu on Unsplash

For horoscope principles this week, I am primarily looking at the following celestial events:

Neptune ingresses into Aries on January 26, 2026, at 9:34am. Neptune was first in Aries in March-October 2025, and so that gave us a preview of this 14 year transit. Neptune is associated with spirit, boundarylessness, idealism, and confusion. Aries is a cardinal fire sign, meaning it initiates passionately and sparks situations to life. Aries is ruled by Mars, the god of war, and time periods of Neptune in Aries tend to be marked by idealism around war and soldiering. For example, during the American Civil War, Neptune was in Aries, and during early battles, people had such unrealistic ideas of war, that families were bringing their children and planning basket lunches to watch the fighting. Soon, the nightmare of war set in, and disillusionment followed. The shadow side of Neptune’s illusions is the disillusionment of reality.

• Last week, the Sun, Mercury, and Venus conjoined Pluto in Aquarius. This week, on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at 3:01pm Pacific, Mars conjoins Pluto. This is the god of war and the god of the underworld colliding, and it is marked by extreme power struggle. Around the globe, protests are happening right now over tyranny, and the Mars/Pluto conjunction asks us to look deeply at our shadow and capacity for violence. Whatever anger we have repressed is likely to come exploding to the surface if we do not invite it intentionally into our awareness.

• Mercury and Venus go conjunct in Aquarius on Thursday, January 29, 2026, at 2:17am. This asks you to not just think about, but also communicate what you appreciate about your community and the progress your community has made. This is a good transit for writing or calling your representatives to tell them what you care about (or sending a loved one an early Valentines card).

• The Full Moon in Leo is happening on February 1, 2026, at 2:01pm Pacific. This is also Imbolc, the holiday that marks the transition from the dead of Winter into the emerging Spring. This holiday honors the goddess Brigid (pronounced BREED). Brigid is associated with hearth and warmth, healing, protection, inspiration, and creativity. This time is associated with the shedding of the serpent, a symbol of transformation, and the welcoming of spring. At this full moon, the Sun will be in Aquarius, opposing the Moon in Leo. This shines the spotlight on tension between the self and the ego and the needs of the collective. Honoring Brigid during this time can allow for flexibility and newness in how we encounter that polarity.

These are the principles to consider for each rising sign (visit astro.com to find your rising sign) in the week of January 26, 2026:

Aries Rising: When we ignore or minimize truths that are available to us, we are responsible for that internal cover up, even if we are not responsible for the truth itself. For example, this week and last week deep and shadowy experiences in your friend and social groups have been popping up like zits that need to be popped. If you ignore them and shove them down, they are likely to keep bubbling up, each time more poisonously than the last. It takes courage to face the truth, admit you were wrong about a friend or a group, and change your mind. You have that courage.

Taurus Rising: Release all fragility your ego has nurtured around your public life and career or you’ll be crushed by it. Our egos are what define our preferences and who we are as people. They are healthy parts of our identity. When we have over-inflated or fragile egos, we can become reactive and punishing to other people, and this is a problem, but having an ego is healthy, and we all have them. You are going through transformation in your career, and this week it puts your ego to the test, pushing up any repressed wounding in that area. If you can step back from reactivity, care for yourself and your ego, and allow the pressure from the universe, you can uncover wounds you repressed that deserve healing. True healing of our egos is not repression. It respects who we are and our boundaries, while also being respectful of other people and their boundaries.

Gemini Rising: First, if you travel this week … don’t. Second, if an institution is not loyal to you, that is the first sign that it does not deserve your loyalty. You may have a certain sense of freedom, progress, and community service related to the institutions you align with, and that does not need to change. But, this week unearths anything that may be buried under justifications, excuses, or “I’ll look at that later” thinking. While it may not have felt like repressing problems at the time, this week puts intense pressure on anything below the surface. If there is anything you’ve set aside or put into shadow, this week it will emerge from the shadow lit on fire. Some intentional digging into your belief systems, institutional loyalties, and how they fit your integrity may help reduce the destruction.

Cancer Rising: Safety first. If you are going out protesting, or even going on a date, memorize a safety person’s phone number and make sure the people you love know where you are. Your transits don’t necessarily mean anything bad will happen, but you, as a Cancer rising, know that it never hurts to be safe. Your transits can indicate explosion or unearthing of secrets around sex, other people’s money, or inheritance. This may also relate to idealism you have around your career or public-facing life. You have enormous luck related to being who you are right now, though, and rather than using any explosions this week to shut yourself down, ask how they can help you become more nurturing to yourself.

Leo Rising: The more you push a beach ball down in a pool, the higher it jumps out of the water when you release it. Any repressed or unspoken conflicts in your partnerships are likely to bubble (or explode) to the surface this week unless you are intentional about excavating what you have put into shadow and bringing it into light. While any of us bypass problems, you may have a tendency to be open minded in partnership, rely on your open mindedness, and not realize that you actually have pretty established standards of expectations until they get to an explosion point. You can be open minded and still have standards. In fact, open mindedness without standards is codependency.

Virgo Rising: Mask up. Take your health seriously this week, and don’t take any unnecessary risks around your daily routine and physical safety. Anything you’ve been avoiding related to your physical health is likely to come to a boiling point this week. Even if you need to consult multiple experts about a health issue, listen to the experts. Take your medicine and vitamins. Go to the ER right away if you get hurt. Listen to your body. If you and your partners are having trouble communicating about money, do it in writing, and read what they say to you multiple times to avoid confusion.

Libra Rising: We can’t share secrets if we hide them from ourselves. We can’t equip the next generation with wisdom if we are not willing to experience the discomfort of truth. You started to experience a stripping, unearthing, and transformation in your fifth house of children and creative projects in January 2025, and this week power dynamics in that area are activated. As Gloria Steinem said, “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.” If your creative projects or children are demanding truths from you this week that are triggering, give yourself some space to be pissed off before you pressure yourself to engage.

Scorpio Rising: Pushing problems in your home life under the surface is like taking poison and expecting it to fix the leaks in your roof. It’s just not how physics works. While you may think of yourself as open-minded when it comes to your home life, you actually do have set standards that you follow and expect others to follow. If you are able to intentionally identify expectations that you have not acknowledged, you may still experience conflict at home this week, but it may ease some of the pressure so that the lid pops off, rather than exploding. This week initiates a time of idealism related to your physical health and daily routine. One way to channel this in a productive way is to intentionally incorporate spiritual practice into your day. Don’t let idealism make you skip your doctor appointments.

Sagittarius Rising: Make your protesting and your sex safer by following the boring guidelines and not indulging in over-optimism. Sorry to be a downer. This week, clashes in your local community come to a head (I wish I meant that as a euphemism, but I mean it literally). Memorize a trusted friend’s phone number before you go out, and if you want to blow off steam with a sexy revolutionary, use protection. Smoothing things over with open mindedness can help in some situations, but this week, practical reality will catch up with you if you have bypassed protections.

Capricorn Rising: Balance your checkbook rather than ignoring your bills. Ignoring them doesn’t make them go away, and when you know damage has happened, you can start to heal it. If a drain on your abundance or damage to what you value happens this week, it is likely that last week gave you a hint of what is coming. That doesn’t necessarily make it less shocking. If you experience harm from this, sit with what that means for you and get support. This experience is in service of transforming your values and how you see abundance not just for yourself, but also for how you engage with community.

Aquarius Rising: When we confuse ourselves for our egos, we get trapped in a room with no exits. Our egos are what define who we are and our preferences. A healthy ego is important to being able to connect with ourselves and others. And also, how you see yourself and the face you put to the world is going through an intense transformation. The ego wounding you experience this week can show you where this transformation needs to focus or secrets you’ve been keeping from yourself about who you truly are and the standards you have for yourself and others.

Pisces Rising: What you say out loud sometimes gives more insight into what you are thinking than meditation or journaling. For you, try all three this week. If there are secrets you have kept from yourself, like most of us do, about how you feel, what you think, and who you are, this week will trigger those. If you struggled with mental health last week, this week is likely to intensify that. Say your thoughts out loud, write them down, look at them as though they were completely separate from you. Your thoughts are not observations about life, they are just a byproduct of your brain, which is an organ like the others in your body. With thoughts, you might not be aware that they are lies until you say them out loud or see them on paper. Be skeptical about what your brain tells you. Thoughts are most often lies given to us by dominant culture.

Thanks for reading and fulfilling your natal promise! If you or someone you know would like to dive into their natal chart and learn more about their personal contract with the universe, sign up for a consultation here.

Astrological Resourcing Under Fascism

What do the stars say about where you fit in the resistance?

Protests are happening around the world right now, in the midst of governments and militaries, led by dictators, committing atrocities. I live in the U.S. and so a lot of the focus I see is on federal agents brutalizing people in U.S. neighborhoods, schools, and businesses, but these events are happening around the world. A lot of people I see in the U.S. are feeling overwhelmed in figuring out where they personally fit into helping their communities survive through this darkness and how to hope for and build a better future.

I come from a fundamental belief that we all, collectively and individually, hold responsibility for our actions and inactions that contributed to bringing us to this place. I say that not because of blame, but because of power. When we understand that, even though power is disproportionate and unfair in the world as we know it, we each still have power, we can use it intentionally. And, I believe that it is in each of us showing up with our full power and accountability that we shift to a better future.

Someone said to me recently that if he inherited some of his father’s traits, it did not make him a bad person. This is similar to white people believing that because we inherited an unjust, racist system, but did not create it, we are not “bad.” It may be true that we are not “bad,” because that word does not have a lot of meaning. But if we are adults, we are still responsible and accountable for our actions and inactions that perpetuate violence and violent systems through our actions or our inactions.

While each person’s contribution may be different, each person’s decision to contribute, or ignore harms, matters.

I want to talk a little bit about my background related to this, and then I want to go through an overview of astrological placements that you can look to in order to consider your place in the resistance.

Photo I took in a 2025 protest of a sign with Princess Leia and the words “A woman’s place is in the resistance”

Law, Government, and Tyranny

I have been a civil rights lawyer for a little over a decade. In my third year of law school, I took a class called Federal Jurisdiction, which sounds dry but was actually one of my favorite classes in law school. We had an amazing professor, and much of the class focused on the balance and separation of powers between the three branches of government in the U.S.

One day, as we were finishing up studying the cases around the Nixon and Clinton presidencies, I remember having a realization that there are no guaranteed protections for citizens in the U.S., despite our rhetoric and propaganda about freedom, bravery, and civil rights.

Law students kind of learn this in other classes, like when we read Marbury v. Madison in Constitutional Law and find out the Supreme Court interprets the Constitution because one early justice said that was its job. But, it wasn’t really until I studied the separation of powers at the level of Fed. Jur. that I realized how bleak it was. I remember our professor bringing home to us that if one branch of government decided not to follow the constitution, namely the executive branch, ultimately law enforcement and the military, controlled by the executive branch, would decide what the law is in the U.S., like they do in other militarized countries.

It has only been during times in which we are reluctant to openly engage in violent conflict that we have not been in this type of battle. And, honestly, I am not persuaded we have ever had such a time throughout U.S. history. If you pay attention to the history of Black, Native American, and immigrant communities, I believe it bears out that we have consistently been under militarized rule, though white communities have been trained to ignore, comply, and carry water for that system, calling it Rule of Law.

All Life Has Value, But Not Equality

Most of us in the U.S. have been taught the famous aspirational lines of the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal . . . .” This phrase intentionally left out women, just as the U.S. Constitution clarified that only “free,” or in other words white, men were considered “persons,” explicitly saying that Native and enslaved people had less value at the time of the forming of the U.S. government. Even upon the drafting of those lines, the founders of the U.S. government did not envision all people as equal. In fact, the patriarchal and racist narcissism of dominant culture at the time explicitly held that humans had different value based on what their skin looked like and whether they had internal or external genitalia.

We may aspire to equality, but unless we acknowledge and correct inequality, we will never attain it.

It is obvious to see that people are not born in equal circumstances or with equal natures. Much of U.S. culture is built around gaslighting people into believing that if they have worse circumstances than a billionaire or better circumstances than someone who does not live in a house, it is because of their work ethic.

This trickles insidiously into teachings about working harder at our spirituality or mindset in order to chase expectations that we be rich and skinny. And, chasing those goals tends to benefit people already holding power.

In working with astrology, it becomes clear right away that each person is different and brings different perspective, personal strengths, and personal challenges to our communities. It is in our difference that our value is most obvious.

The resistance needs organizers, activists, protestors, artists, poets, writers, mediums, astrologers, speakers, knitters, bakers, massage therapists, and all other forms of community care.

I say this to acknowledge the injustice of the circumstances we are in, and to say that your contribution or lack of contribution matters.

So where do you fit in?

Astrological Placements

In order to sit with where your strengths are in contributing to community survival and care, consider your entire natal chart (you can get yours at astro.com). First, I will generally go through the signs, and then we can talk about a few placements that may bring some insight.

Signs. This is a brief overview of how each sign may support the resistance and the challenges you may want to watch for and counterbalance. You have each of the signs in your chart, though how your chart engages with the energies of each sign is different from the people around you.

Aries brings courage, drive, speed, and action to the resistance. Aries should watch for getting too stuck on their way being the only way to make change. It is possible to be courageous, lead, and listen, even when it slows you down. If you mess up, take accountability, don’t let it shut you down, and get back out there.

Taurus brings stability, consistency, practicality, and dependability to the resistance. Taurus should watch for needing things to be completely safe and stable before taking action. If protesting in the streets is not the right thing for you, make financial contributions to local organizing, and organize food delivery to your neighbors who might be afraid to go out right now.

Gemini brings quick thinking, writing and speaking abilities, and lightness to the resistance. Gemini should watch for getting distracted by things that don’t matter and using this as an excuse to not take their work seriously. If you were in a protest sign competition, and the prize was the vacation of your dreams, what protest signs and chants would you write? Set a reminder to call representatives every day and use your chat power for the collective good.

Cancer brings care, loyalty, and intuitive understanding of the community’s needs to the resistance. Cancer should watch out for burning themselves out doing emotional labor for people who are not mutually contributing to the resistance. Take your emotional wellness seriously and model what a thriving life looks like for the rest of us. If you have medical or mental health training, be intentional with where you offer it, and think about whether you have room to offer low-cost support to resistance organizers.

Leo brings drive, passion, and the ability to lead to the resistance. Watch out for making the resistance about you and allowing ego wounds to interfere with effectiveness. This isn’t sportsball, but if you are motivated by competition (ummm, you are if you have strong Leo), then make it a competition and also remember that it matters. Organize your local community. If you see people doing it wrong, ask for their consent to do it right. Get buy-in from other people, but don’t let approval-seeking hold you back.

Virgo brings a critical eye, ability to analyze and plan, and organization to the resistance. Watch out for turning criticism against yourself or expecting things to be perfect before you take action. If it’s messy, then it’s a good thing you’re there to make it more clear and tidy. If being out in the streets does not feel safe to you, organize behind the scenes. Write postcards to people making decisions, telling them how to do their jobs better. You can’t completely know the impact you’ll have ahead of time, but the one guarantee is that if you silence yourself ahead of time, you have no impact.

Libra brings a strong sense of justice, ability to communicate with people who are different, and beauty to the resistance. Watch out for worrying about what your family and loved ones think about you over what you need and believe. Use your strong ability to understand others with purpose in order to persuade them to believe we could have a better world. You don’t owe your MAGA relatives your attention. Also, put extra glitter on your protest sign because it is possible to resist and look amazing while you do it. That does not disrespect the seriousness of the issues.

Scorpio brings an intensity, unity of purpose, and effectiveness to the resistance. Watch out for letting personal revenge distract you from the most effective use of your skills (instead use it in favor of your ultimate goals). You know what needs to get done for the power to shift. Instead of ruminating about it, go make sure it gets done.

Sagittarius brings understanding of the big picture, leadership, and adventure to the resistance. Watch out for getting too focused on your personal freedom or the truth as you see it, and missing important input from the people around you. If you see a better future for us, what does it look like? Share your vision with those around you and use your leadership skills to get us there.

Capricorn brings structure, understanding of systems, and caution to the resistance. Watch out for letting your pessimism or rigidity give you an excuse for not participating because you are not willing to be wrong. Plan the speakers at your local protests and organize the rules and resources for people joining. If you had to write the resource guide to create an equitable society, where would you start your research? No time like the present to get that research compiled.

Aquarius brings freedom, invention, and collectivism to the resistance. Watch out for needing group approval before you take action or assuming that your way is the only or best way. If there is anyone who could dream up a better world, it’s you. And don’t let the dream be a substitute for taking action to make the world what you want it to be now. Get out and protest, even if your friends aren’t. Write a utopian novel, instead of a dystopian one. Have a difficult, but honest, conversation with a family member or friend that has the potential to contribute to creating the practical reality of the dream.

Pisces brings spirituality, flexibility, and imagination to the resistance. Watch out for overly flexible thinking that leads you to justify the harm and dehumanization other people commit. You have tremendous access to the collective unconscious and spiritual insight. If protesting does not feel right to you, organize a prayer group, healing circle, or other spiritual circle to send healing energy to those on the front lines and those who have been harmed by fascism. Offer the physical or emotional healing support you are qualified to offer to those in your community who are afraid right now. If you are white, offer to pick up groceries for those in your neighborhood who are afraid to shop. Challenge yourself to have an honest conversation about harm with a MAGA relative.

Planets. Each of the planets, as it shows up in your chart, has the potential to contribute to the resistance, and here are some ways they can do that:

Pluto informs power impacts our lives, including oppression and resistance to oppression.

Neptune informs where we are idealistic and have work to do on our boundaries.

Uranus informs where change, innovation, and freedom are important to us or impact us in a challenging way.

Saturn informs how structure, karma, and rules impact us, and also how we punish ourselves, if we do.

Jupiter informs spaces where we expand and allow ourselves to be big (or where the universe pushes us to be big).

Mars represents how we relate to conflict and how we take action.

Venus represents how we relate to connection, intimacy, and beauty.

Mercury represents how we communicate.

The Moon represents our first, emotional response.

The Sun represents our overall self.

The Ascendant or Rising Sign represents the face we put to the world.

Houses. The houses are the slices of the pie on your natal chart, and they represent areas of life. For considering where you fit into the resistance, I recommend looking especially to these houses:

Third, Fifth, and Eleventh Houses: These inform how you protest, speak out, create, and care for your local community and social groups.

Second, Sixth, and Tenth Houses: These inform your values, habits, and public life and how they may contribute to making the world better.

Eighth, Ninth, and Twelfth Houses: These inform how you spiritually and idealistically participate in healing the collective unconscious.

First, Fourth, and Seventh Houses: These inform how you replenish yourself and build your personal life as a model for a better world.

Overall Takeaways

Each of us has important value to bring toward collective care. It is crucial that we start to see caring for the most vulnerable among us as central to thriving community. Neither equality nor equity are competition, and we have to acknowledge inequity before we can build toward equity.

In order to see where you personally fit into the resistance, keep in mind that the contribution of all the signs are important. Particularly look at your Third and Eleventh houses for how you can best protest as well as offer and receive community care. What signs are in those houses and what clues do they give toward how you protest fascism and build a better world?

Thanks for participating! If you or someone you know would like to dive into their astrology and personal magic, sign up for a consultation here.

Horoscope Principles for the week of January 19, 2026

What is the difference between faith and superstition?

What is the difference between innovation and destruction?

What is the difference between intimacy and boundarilessness?

What is the difference between propaganda and journalism?

This week, and the era we are in generally, asks us to answer these questions for ourselves and test out the practical impacts of our answers. Here are some suggested principles for this time:

• Faith is a solid sense of reality, on which you base your actions. Superstition is a fear of tricky punishment or sabotage. I have faith that I am sitting on a chair, and this invites accountability. I sit down and know the chair is there or that it is not there. And I want to know. Some have superstition that if I don’t put my body into certain water or say magic words, a vengeful and fickle deity will sabotage me. Some have superstition that if they talk about harm, a vengeful and fickle deity (or person) will bring harm to them.

• Innovation builds toward a vision. Destruction focuses on the thing it wants to undo and thereby often replicates that very thing.

• Intimacy expects both trust and freedom. Boundarilessness says that if I am uncomfortable, you must change your actions.

• Propaganda targets your fears and oversimplifies the benefits you get if you buy into a particular solution to them. Journalism tells you the five-senses reality of an impactful experience, whether it fits into a neat narrative or not.

These are just my answers though, and this week invites you to find your own. Never take my word for what you can test out and find for yourself.

Among the many necessary protests happening around the world, not just the US, this week the frog protests stand out to me because they ask you to question what is real and what is not. Just because someone in power says something is true, does not mean it is true. Probe deeper. Find out what is a hallucination and what is in alignment with you.

Photo by Alicia Lozano / NBC News

For horoscope principles this week, I am primarily looking at the following celestial events:

• We are coming off of the intense Capricorn New Moon on Sunday, December 18, 2026, at 11:51am Pacific. The Sun and Moon are at the last degrees of Capricorn, in between Pluto and Mars, as Neptune is also at the last degree of Pisces. As we start the week, this may provide some support for idealism, even in the midst of global conflict and likely personal stress and even conflict. Is the idealism a good thing? Time will tell.

• Monday, January 19, 2026, is the busiest astrological day, so go easy on yourself. These are the aspects happening that day:

  • The Sun in Capricorn sextiles Neptune in Pisces, both at the last degrees of the signs, at 1:54pm Pacific. Then, the Sun goes into Aquarius at 5:44pm Pacific.

  • Venus and Pluto go conjunct in Aquarius at 8:04pm Pacific.

  • Saturn in Pisces sextiles Uranus in Taurus at 9:18pm Pacific.

  • Mars in Capricorn trines Uranus in Taurus at 9:56pm Pacific and then sextiles Saturn in Pisces at 10:01pm Pacific.

Two words: conspiracy theory. Don’t do them. Even if they feel good, and even if the AI video about them seems true, resist the urge. There is not one magic cure that will make you feel good for the rest of your life. There is not one person or practice that will solve all of your problems. Those don’t exist because if they did, it would not be good for you. You are here to feel the range of human emotion and test out what is right for you, personally, not to fit someone else’s mold of perfect. This is a day when you might feel fixated on a particular relationship or feel inundated by change. Let those feelings come, and ground yourself in reality. Touch scratchy fabric, put your body in water, and wait for the obsession or conspiracy theory to pass.

• Mercury in Capricorn sextiles Neptune in Pisces on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at 6:34am Pacific. This is a supportive transit for creating a vision for insight into your personal ideals or visions, but Mars is right on the heels of Mercury, and so that will likely create disruption and impatience. If the visions come, let them, but watch out for the instinct to fight about them. Right after that Mercury goes into Aquarius, and then on Wednesday, the 21st, at 7:48am, it exactly conjoins the Sun. This is called a cazimi, which is associated with flashes of brilliance, but I don’t tend to personally have that experience. Then, on Thursday the 22nd, at 7:48am, Mercury conjoins Pluto. This tends to bring all-or-nothing thinking. Remember that life is full of spectrums that are marked by polarities. Either/ors, especially doom-related ones, are lies.

• Mars in Capricorn sextiles Neptune in Pisces on Thursday, January 22, 2026, at 10:39pm pacific. This is one of the transits we are stepping into that relates to an idealism around violence or war. At its best, though, it could give you insight into actions you can take to create the world you want.

• The Sun conjoins Pluto in Aquarius on Friday, January 23, 2026, at 2:28am. This is intense. It happens once a year, and it signifies a depth of personal and revolution and rebellion against oppressive systems. Pluto represents both oppression and rebellion, both burning down the house and the new plans to rebuild. How you show up matters during this time.

These are the principles to consider for each rising sign (visit astro.com to find your rising sign, or if you’re not sure, it’s okay to use your sun sign) in the week of January 19, 2026:

Aries Rising: Rejection is protection. Your friend groups and social groups are undergoing a profound change right now. So are your values and how you see abundance. If the social structures and value systems you have relied on seem like they are blowing up in your face, bend so that you don’t break. These are two of the most rigid places in your life, but even rigid internal systems need to grow or else they decay. Let yourself feel the grief of change and loss, without glossing over it. Acknowledging the harm allows you to accept the change.

Taurus Rising: There is no prize for most open minded person. While you may want that one particular person to see all of the work you’ve done on yourself and become as obsessed with you as you are with them, your grounded self knows that you’ll never be satisfied with that. The work you’ve done and transformations you’ve made are for you, and you will experience the benefits of them, just maybe not today. If you think you should be getting more social credit than you are, take yourself on the date of your dreams and buy yourself the flowers and jewelry you deserve. If you feel tempted to fall into compromising your boundaries or becoming manipulative to get the credit or intimacy you want, remember your freedom matters just as much as your connection to others.

Gemini Rising: In order to know what you believe, you have to check in with your body, emotions, mind, and spirit. You can’t out-think your body’s wisdom. Your belief systems and unconscious thinking are undergoing a profound change right now, and for better or worse (hopefully better!), you will never be the same. This week, you may be tempted to get fixated on what other people believe and experience some rigidity of thinking. If your crush believes it, does it make it true? No. Your body, heart, mind, and spirit all have to be on board. If you feel confused about fake AI videos, propaganda, and social media chatter, take a step back. Check in with your true values (the ones that haven’t changed since you were little). What do they say about who you are becoming?

Cancer Rising: Keep it in the sheets, not on the streets. Proverbially! Actually, maybe take it to the streets too. You are in the midst of profound change related to your social groups, as well as one related to other people’s money and values, and sex. This week may invite you to become obsessed with someone you have a sexual encounter with or whose money or values influence your life, but listen to your higher self if you start experiencing fixated thinking. You may have some grief to process related to changes in your social groups, but no one person will solve the experience of loneliness. Humans experience loss, loneliness, companionship, intimacy, and the whole range of the interconnectedness. Codependence that comes from fixation on one person’s feelings is less reliable than healthy boundaries.

Leo Rising: If you were going to become obsessed with divorce, and you had to sell it to other people, what would be your top three selling points? I ask because the conjunctions to Pluto this week are happening in your seventh house of partnerships, and especially the Venus conjunction to Pluto is associated with obsessive and intense love affairs that center around forbidden desire. When divorce is easy and sexuality is celebrated, desires lose their forbiddenness. It is only repression and stigma that makes relationship secrecy necessary and even alluring. Now, I’m not saying you’re going to have an affair, but check in with your boundaries in your partnerships. Are there problems you think you need to keep secret? If so, consider airing the problems before you explode the partnership through rebellions you think are hidden.

Virgo Rising: Hypochondria doesn’t have a medical degree. Don’t take medical advice from it. This is a great week to follow up on your medical appointments, get your annual exams, call a nurse if you have symptoms, and get a second opinion. Just because you’re worried about it, doesn’t make it true. On the other hand, if you want to ignore it, that doesn’t make it go away. You are undergoing major changes related to your health and your personal belief systems, and this may involve grief about your body and your major belief structures changing. Check in with experts and then check with other experts before you let fear rule your decisions.

Libra Rising: Intensity and intimacy are not the same thing. You are in the midst of a long-term a personal revolution related to sex and generativity. This week may invite you to obsess over a creation, sexual partner, or sexual experience, and while the depth of intensity may feel compelling, honoring your personal boundaries and freedoms is also important. Wait for intensity of feeling to pass before you make any life-changing decisions. All-or-nothing thinking is always a lie, and the truth exists somewhere on the spectrum between those two answers. I don’t say this to make you afraid though, and when inspiration strikes, lean into your creativity, trusting that you know how to protect your freedom and boundaries.

Scorpio Rising: We often experience betrayal in a similar way to grief, and it is deserving of a similar mourning process. There is a stereotype of lesbians as having “u-haul relationships,” meaning that they meet and immediately decide to move in together. You are in the midst of a personal transformation around your home and partnerships, and whether you are keeping secrets or you are suspicious someone else may be, too much forced intimacy or too much secret keeping can create betrayal that cuts deeper than difficult conversations. U-hauling with a dream of intimacy does not promise a follow-through of trustworthiness. Clinging to relationships long dead does not bring them back to life. If you allow the transformation to happen, and minimize your obsession over finding the ideal family or moving to the right place, healing will come.

Sagittarius Rising: When in doubt about how to contribute to creating a new and better world, focus on local community. If you take to the streets to protest the murder of Nicole Good this week, remember the hundreds of kidnapped, disappeared, or murdered people of color and their families whose lives have been forever changed by government takeover of our neighborhoods. You are going through personal transformation around local community, siblings, and your daily routine. While this may sound boring or mundane, these are the areas that have enormous impact on the rest of our lives. Don’t fixate on one right answer and release rigidity about your personal routines. The long-term transits you’re experiencing are designed to have a profound impact on the rest of your life.

Capricorn Rising: If God is love, God isn’t also trying to trick you into missing out on your best life (or heaven) just to be a petty bitch. Your values are undergoing a profound transformation right now, and this is an area of life where you may have historically been somewhat rigid and idealistic. You can’t perfection your way into knowing yourself, what matters most to you, and what abundance means to you. You may feel the pull toward all-or-nothing thinking related to values this week, and you may validly feel appalled by people who callously cause harm to their neighbors. That is tremendously fair. It is also true that there is a long history of fascism around the world, especially in the United States. Right now it is more visible, and you are being called to dig deep to understand how you want to encounter it. All-or-nothing thinking will not serve you in this, but taking action based on your real, grounded integrity may go far.

Aquarius Rising: You are allowed to be a new person every day if you want. There are no rules about how many times you evolve or how many new ideas you embrace. And, if you focus on transformations that serve you and uncover depth in who you truly are, you will be better served than if you try on disguises to cover up what resonates with you. The best way to find out who you want to be when you grow up is to start small and see where it leads you. This may be contrary to your visionary and expansive way of being, but the wise man can see a universe in a grain of sand, etc. Does the chair you are sitting on resonate with you today? If not, change seats. Does the drink you have taste great? Send it gratitude if it does. If you notice small preferences, it can lead to more freedom in your personal transformations. Then, change your mind tomorrow if you want. It’s allowed.

Pisces Rising: You are not your thoughts. If you find yourself focused or even obsessed about a certain person or experience this week, interrupt that thinking. If you need to 988 is a great resource for mental health support, whether or not you are in crisis. Your thoughts may feel particularly difficult to interrupt right now, and if this is the case, write them down, don’t repress them. Say them out loud to someone. The more you try to cover up obsessive or repetitive thinking, the more it becomes a pressure cooker. These thoughts are not necessarily something you need to take action on, and they are more about your internal transformation than external reality. If you don’t already have mental health supports, now is a really, really great time to find mental health support that works for you. Cognitive therapy can help you intentionally manage your thinking and somatic therapy can take you out of your mind and anchor you into your body. The important thing is that you understand thinking is just a body process. It is not who you are.

Thanks for reading and fulfilling your natal promise! If you or someone you know would like to dive into their natal chart and learn more about their personal contract with the universe, sign up for a consultation here.

How Full Are Your Cups?

Quiz: How Full Are Your Cups?

Thanks so much to those of you who have been following me in this project! It means so much to me, and it has been a true personal revolution to give myself the freedom to dig into horoscopes and spells each week. It means a lot to me that you read and share and comment, whether you do it directly to me or on the apps. So, thank you! Please continue to like and share, if you feel so inclined! <3

I made a short quiz (click on the image below to access it), which should take less than 5 minutes to access. It asks you some questions to get you thinking about the four cups in your life. Are they overflowing or stagnant and depleted?

The quiz is totally free and just meant as a check in. I don’t get access to your answers, and no sign up required. Access it below or at my new website (eep!) https://fourthcupastrology.com.

I am using the name Fourth Cup for my emergence into more public astrology because in the fall of 2025, when I pulled Tarot cards, the Four of Cups came up for me over and over. Alright, rude, I thought. But, it came up enough that I had to sit with it more.

This is the traditional Rider Waite image, where a young person sits, pouting, and staring at their three beautiful cups, believing they do not have enough, while they ignore the universe handing them a fourth cup:

This is the version in one of my favorite decks, the Chris-Anne Muse deck, which shows another young person, looking like a woman, who is also bummed about her three cups. She has three great cups, but are they enough? Why doesn’t she have more? And she doesn’t see that she is sitting inside of her enormous energetic cup, surrounded by her spirit guides.

Each of these examples show how we can use our individual correspondences and what resonates with us personally to draw out a protest spell. Some of us may protest in groups, on streets, at home, or in cookies. All of this matters.

For the most effective protest-spell casting, we can craft intentional spells, and I’ll go into examples of that below.

Superstition Versus Intention

One of the most important steps in making our protest intentional is to understand the difference between superstition and intention.

Superstition is essentially fear about technicalities. This can keep us stuck and self-scrutinizing. When we are vigilant that we might do something wrong, we are not taking action and this means that we are not protesting or creating the lives we want. This is the most basic way we let oppression win.

We can honor the power of the spell casting that we are already doing, understand that the spells we cast have impact, and also release superstitious fear.

Intention is a unification of your mind, body, and spirit toward a purpose. This means that your conscious self sets a direction for all of your parts to follow. If your body or spirit is not aligned with this direction, you will experience dissonance, and this gives you the opportunity to do personal alignment work, which is honestly both liberating and devastating to the institutions that keep us oppressed.

Banishing and Welcoming

Whether you are protest spell casting for yourself, another person, or for your local community, the most effective protest spells include what you are welcoming, even if you are primarily casting a protection spell.

So, for example, “fuck ICE” is essentially a version of a banishment spell. It is not the most clear language because we use the word “fuck” to mean so many things in English, and so “abolish ICE” is clearer banishment language, but I don’t think Spirit is confused by what we mean when we say “fuck ICE.” Getting too caught up in particulars like that can be an example of superstition fear taking over.

In witchcraft we typically say, “I cast this circle to protect us from all positive and negative energies and forces that may come to do us harm.” That is too long for a protest sign, maybe, but the sentiment is similar to banishment. Essentially, “should you bring harm to this space, that harm will be visited on you instead” or “this space is sacred and surrounded by safety” or “I’m rubber and you’re glue.”

Most protest focuses on banishment AND the most effective protests also remember to include what we want to see in place of the oppression we are banishing. For example, most protests remind us of neighborhood solidarity, music, dance, art, safety and support, diversity, belonging.

So, when you are creating your protest signs or casting your spells at home, what do you want to bring in? That is just as important, if not more important, as what you want to banish and protect against.

Protest-Spell Crafting

These are the steps I recommend for crafting a protest spell. You can talk these through with a friend, write them in a journal, or think them through in voice memos to yourself (whatever works for you):

1. What do you want to banish from your life or environment? What are you protesting? (e.g. “I want to banish violence” or “I want to banish government intrusion on my community.”)

2. What are ways that you might benefit from status quo? (e.g. I don’t like change, I want people to follow the rules as I see them, I don’t like seeing people upset, I don’t want to disappoint people, etc.). The more honest you are about this one, the more effective your spell will be.

3. If you imagine the banishment completely successful, and in its place, you find the ideal outcome for you, what would that be? (e.g. safety for everyone in my community, thriving business, supportive friendships, equitable and supportive leadership, etc.)

4. Be honest with yourself about whether you are willing to release the ways you benefit from status quo in order to welcome the ideal outcome for you. This is uncomfortable, but ultimately so is status quo. Be brave!

Now, write your spell. “No” is a powerful spell if it is paired with what you do want. So if your spell is a protest sign, it may look like “No violence” or “violence” on one side and then, “Safety for All” on the other side. If you’re good at creating fun slogans, you can get creative with this, but clarity is important.

If your spell is for you at home, I suggest writing it like this (just as an example you can adjust to your answers above), “I, [name], release violence from my life. I release attachment to status quo and resistance to change. I welcome safety for all in my community.” Then, light a candle to honor your intention or integrate this into your other altar practices. I like to burn spells like this (safely) because fire witchcraft is important to my practice.

Because the human brain does not hear the negative, and positive statements are more effective, it also works, especially for protest signs, to only include the statement of the ideal result you want. For example, it is more effective to tell someone “Please walk” than to say “Don’t run” because the human brain just hears “run.” Take this into consideration in your spells, but in my experience clear banishment in the form of a simple “no” can be helpful and effective.

Sabotage Spells

A sabotage spell happens when we speak into being the future we do not want to see. For example, many people say, “Voting doesn’t matter” or “It’s all fucked anyway” or “Things will never change.” Because the people who say these things usually want the opposite of what they’re speaking into being, these are sabotage spells.

Sabotage spells are something we all do, so there’s no need to fall into superstitious fear if this happens to you, feel bad if you catch yourself doing this, or suffer from the self-righteous expectation that you may be immune from this. If you accidentally speak into being a sabotage spell , all you need to do is bring that vision of the future or statement to your mind and then imagine a putting a white X over it. This neutralizes it so that you can move toward being more intentional with the spells you cast.

As Within So Without

One of the Hermetic principles that we follow in witchcraft and astrology is “as above, so below” and “as within, so without.” Spells are meant to transform us, align us, and magnetize what we do want to bring into being.

While spells have power in our outer environment that power primarily comes from the transformative power they have inside of us.

So, for example, a spell to try to control someone else’s karma or fate will bounce back to you in an unpleasant way that draws your attention to the issues you have around control. (For example, I did an ill-advised spell to try to welcome into being the Harris presidency and spent six months with rashes on my arms, which taught me a lot about control, ideals, and my relationship with my body.) Learn from me and don’t fuck with other people’s fate or karma.

Another example of this is that in an earlier post, I offered a hex on white supremacy. I highly recommend this to anyone, and also the spell is primarily meant to cleanse us of the infection of white supremacy within, so that we also heal our external environments. For me, my experience of this spell was like an exorcism of perfectionism from my body. Intense and incredibly liberating. And (did I say this already?) intense.

I say this because as you think about what you want to bring into being, consider your internal world and your body. As you cast a protest spell, you will receive the conditions to create that result within yourself, and sometimes that is hard.

Get support! Access therapy, coaching, yoga, basketball, or whatever modality supports you. Reach out if the modality for you is astrology!

Thanks for participating! If you or someone you know would like to dive into their astrology and personal magic, sign up for a consultation here.