Written by Jessica Lanyadoo

Witch Tips

So… last week I forgot to tell you something really important (classic Mercury Rx blunder; --I’m so grateful that it’s finally over!). On September 1st Mercury Retrograded back to the degree of the Solar Eclipse on the 21st and will stay there until the 9th. This transit brings up some pretty intense feelings as the issues that got triggered by the Eclipse crystallize more clearly in your mind (Mercury). This energy is infuriating, energizing, and triggering at worst, and at best, it's revealing, confrontational (not all confrontation is bad!), and generative. Strive to be interested in your feelings and relationships. Mercury is at it’s best when it’s exploring, so resist the urge to jump to conclusions at this time.

This week, the big news is the Full Moon in mystical Pisces on the 6th. Pisces is a sign that knows about the interconnectedness of all things, and this can be a powerful gift or burden. Full Moons mark the end of an emotional cycle, and this cycle has been a biggie for most people personally, and most certainly for the world as a whole. 

So let’s get spiritual! Wanna know what the point of life is? It's really simple. It's love. 

Wanna know what it's biggest enemy is? It's fear, in all its crappy forms. 

There are two kinds of love. There's Personal Love -- you love your fam, your sweetie, your cat. This is the kind of love that is familiar and doesn't much challenge your world view. Then there's Impersonal Love - loving all the cats, all the suffering, or all the people in your social media feed that you've never met IRL. This kind of loving gets to thrive without the messiness of intimacy.

Generally, people are better at one or the other. And that's okay! 

But being a good friend doesn't entitle you to be a dick to people who you don’t know, any more than championing the rights of strangers entitles you to be a jerk to your fam. Being good at one form of love doesn't absolve you of needing to practice at the other. Love is a muscle that needs practice so that it can get stronger.

Show up for love in all its forms, especially when it's not convenient or easy. Fear will tell you a million reasons not to, and it can be confusing; fear will tell you the sky is falling, but it will also tell you not to play in traffic. How’s a person to know when to trust it and when not to?

Lanyadoo's Pro-Tips for Decoding Fear

Feeling scared is awful, and it’s a very human response to recoil from it. The trouble is that you’ve got to stay with the feels, or you’re abandoning yourself in your time of need. 

• Feel your feelings
• Locate them in your body
• Breathe into your feelings. 
• Don’t chase the thoughts!
• When you’re in a state of fear is not the time to figure things out if you can help it. 

Just love yourself enough to stay with the feels. Show yourself kindness, and when you can’t do that, forgive yourself.

 

Choosing love requires courage; learn to sit with your fears so you can know if they're wise counsel or b$llsh;t. 

The world needs your best self now more than ever, my love. Show up through it all this week.

 

 

ARIES

March 21-April 19

You get what you put out there, and sometimes that’s a mixed bag. This week your desire to be recognized is battling with your desire to be left alone, and it’s kinda hard to have both at once. The ego is a tricky thing; it tells you you’re the best, or it tells you you’re the worst. When you have too much self-obsession, you lose sight of what’s truly right. Take a step back and develop largess of spirit so that your actions and goals better reflect your truth, Aries.

 

­TAURUS

April 20-May 20

Just because you feel good about a thing doesn’t mean that everyone else is on board. This week you may have to deal with some unintended consequences to actions that you felt totally good about making. Instead of jumping to defend yourself, your best move is to investigate your motives. You may need to be humble, Taurus, but if you truly believe in your actions, show up for the consequences this week.

 

GEMINI

May 21-June 21

Take the things that aren’t working, and turn them into motivation, Twin Star. This week is an excellent time to motivate yourself to move ahead with the stuff you’ve been putting off. Instead of lamenting the bad, get up and take positive steps to make it good. Whether you need to get busy with getting things done or you’re still at the stage of forging plans, this truth will remain the same – you’ll feel anxious if you don’t do something. Hop to it, my love.

 

CANCER

June 22-July 22

Even though there’s an emotional Full Moon this week, it’s time to get objective, Moonchild. You’re likely to be feeling stressed and ready to act out but not sure which direction to go in. Reach out to your most levelheaded friends for help in seeing your options clearly. Regardless of how you feel, your actions will have consequences that you may not be thrilled about. Say what you want others to hear, not just what you want to get off your chest.

 

LEO

July 23-Aug. 22

If you stare at a thing for too long, it ends up looking funny. You need some space from a thing that you’ve been obsessing over, Leo, whether you feel like you’re not done yet or not. This week you’re likely to find yourself waist-deep in a self-destructive behavior before you realize that you’ve gone off the deep end. Allow space to process your feels, even if it’s exhausting. It’s more important that you handle yourself with grace than with speed, my love.

 

VIRGO

Aug. 23-Sept. 22

There are no happily ever after’s. Life is complicated and it’s messy and it takes work. Stop looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, and start aligning with the light within you. This week’s Full Moon in your relationship house is likely to kick up intense feels; be willing to look at the ways in which your idealism is bumping up against your sense of futility. Acceptance is the foundation of true intimacy. In other words, confront reality as it is, Virgo.

 

LIBRA

Sept. 23-Oct. 22

When you don’t have confidence in your own perceptions, it’s hard for anything to feel right. It’s time to regroup, Libra. Something in your life isn’t going the way you want, and it’s throwing you for a loop. Try to be interested in the things that are blocking you so that you can see the potential inherent in your problems. You‘re being slowed down for a reason; this week, be strong enough to step into the vulnerability of finding out why.

 

SCORPIO

Oct. 23-Nov. 21

The truth will set you free, but what is freedom, really? Your freedom is hinging on your willingness to yield it, Scorpio. Making use of your choices can be a radical act when your anxieties, situation, or relationships tell you to be less intense or more OK with something that you’re absolutely not feeling chill with. Validate the truth of what you feel this week so that you can both make the best possible choices and also sustain the efforts they require from you.

 

SAGITTARIUS

Nov. 22-Dec. 21

You’re seeing things as they really are, and it’s intense, Sagittarius. This week you don’t have to jump into action, even though you may be plagued by the feeling that you should. It’s time to digest your feels, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sit with your emotional responses without jumping to conclusions or seeking fixes. You’re on the precipice of making the kinds of internal changes that can end up shaping your outsides in a major way, my love.

 

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22-Jan. 19

It’s time for a little retreat, Cappy. You’ve extended yourself pretty far out there, and it’s time for you to take a step back and take a break, do some integration, or just have a mini vacay (with or without donuts). By the week’s end, you’ll have more to do, and you’ll need your vibrancy to get ‘er done. The work of relaxing and taking care of yourself is essential if you want to sustain the quality of your labor in the long run. Get to work, my love.

 

AQUARIUS

Jan. 20-Feb. 18

If you aren’t willing to change, the Universe will try and change you anyways. It’s time to go with the flow, Aquarius, even if it takes you in a very different direction than you planned. The Full Moon in Pisces on the 6th is trying to bring up your feelings so that you move from that place. Don’t let your ideas of how you or your situation “should” be stop you from exploring how they could be. Try on new ways of being this week.

 

 

PISCES

Feb. 19-March 20

With the Full Moon in your sign, you’re likely to be filled up and bursting with emotion. This is a good time for endings. Quit your broken habits, change your attitude, let go of expectations of that person you’ve been complaining about for the longest time. You don’t need to manage anyone’s feelings but your own, and you don’t need to move at any particular pace. The Moon is full in your sign but once a year – make use of this powerful shift.