writing – Kongo Kosmo 7

08/04/201908/04/2019

12th House Leo Chest

Leo’s energy has always been challenging for me to articulate because I could never really grasp what it is. Like it’s polarity Aquarius, Leo is very vast, far-reaching, spilling across multiple arenas and boundaries. Leo is akin to the chest, and the heart that circulates blood vitally and repetitiously. After Cancer season has cracked the shells of our chests, Leo is the exposed heart, beating to a lively rhythm.

People often mistake Leo’s engagement with power as cockiness or self-centered, but Leo holds reservoirs of power (power of self as it begins to relate to the other), and Leo also manages the ways power should be displayed. What often seems like superficiality is Leo deciding how they should most efficiently display their power to the outside world, while being conscious of how to show their power in the most efficient, kind manner as possible. Leo rules the 5th house, the area of big hearted, sunshine, children, liking. The 5th is the first articulation away from the 4th house, which is the ancestral root of the chart. In a sense, this is the space where children and ancestors connect, and this rush of power from the ancestral realm begins to be articulated and circulated effectively through next generations. All this occurs in the Leo-ruled 5th house.

But, as for me and my house(s)! Leo serves as the 12th house ruler. Maybe that’s why it’s always been challenging for me to grasp what Leo energy is, because the 12th is the space of subconscious, intuition, dreams, secrets, what Susan Miller references to as “the self-undoing.” I can only speak on this present astrological current through my own understanding of Leo, especially since Leo is my 12th house ruler.

So, during this self-deconstructing season that is Leo, I’ve learned that power is not meant to be guarded. It’s meant to be activated. It’s easy to interpret Leo energy as guarding power and shaping discourse around power in a way that only benefits their Self. Remember that the Leo-ruled 5th is fresh from the ancestral soils of the chart, so Leo is really the articulation of the Self through the Others who have come before me. Once we stop conflating guarding power with activating it, we realize power strives toward unity, a true balance of the Self and the Ones who have come before us, the Ones around us: a literal circulatory eco-system of beings.

Leading with the heart space, we must have conversations about power, how can we all bask in sunlight, without shading the lights of others but also being honest about what makes us feel empowered.

For the readers of this post, I pulled a Card:

Corona Borealis depicts the crown Dionysus gave Ariadne on their wedding day. It represents triumph after sacrifice and new beginnings. Being willing to learning about sacrifice is the beginning of navigating how to use your power. Whatever “new” thing that comes in your life next, lead with your heart space, be willing to be open and honest about how power should be regulated around you. Despite brokenness and heart matters, love finds healing, but you can’t guard your power: there has to be a way for healing to come in.

12/29/201712/29/2017

Cosmological Reflections

The vastness of astrology and astronomy makes it overwhelmingly difficult to ground cosmic energy into words at times. But Mercury has gone direct and now Saturn entering Capricorn, so I want to reflect on my journey with the stars, planets, asteroids, and luminaries and how they have several insights in the way I process cosmology. When I engage with the elements of the cosmos, several things come to mind.

✨Tangible vibrations

Through the process of gazing at the heavens, I feel the vibrations of the planetary motion and the totality of the universe has a very physical effect on my body, and it grows stronger. I don’t check transits on a daily basis honestly, but there are certain patterns that have gained recognition through distinction. The distance in which the cosmic bodies moves and aspect each other outlines certain harmonic beats or vibrational pitches that permeate throughout the universe. For example, during my last solar return, it felt like the sun was vibrating on my skin, prickling in waves of light that spilled into the room that on that day. So, in a way, wherever the planets and luminaries are in the universe, they have a tangible expression that affects how energy is articulated at the very moment of contact. This vibrational astrology makes us aware of our material connectedness to the wholeness of the universe. It all depends on degrees and the harmony that the cosmic bodies create as their material bodies vibrate through the solar system.

✨Decans’ Flavoring

Image result for decans in astrology Decans are the divisions of each sign equaling 10 degrees. Each zodiac sign is divided into 10 degrees and, and each division signals the intra-elemental progression of each sign. For example, because I was born when the sun was in 13 degrees Libra, the sun was in the 2nd decan of Libra, which is Libra-Aquarius (assumed to be the most balanced of the zodiac since we are right in the middle of the wheel!) Of the Libra decans, the first is Libra-Libra and the third is Libra-Gemini. Notice that the elemental indicator (air) does not change, but the elements work in stages of progression within themselves. Each decan brings a distinct coloring or flavor to the nature of any cosmic body, as they travel through the Libra section of the zodiac. All in all, decans help us read the energy of the sign to know how the cosmic bodies are expressing themselves in our lives. No sign is singular; every part of the zodiacal wheel works in unity through constellated connections. Decans help us see energies below the surface of consciousness because they allow us to understand a deeper level of energetic positioning. So, because my sun is in the second decan of Libra-Aquarius, I understand that Aquarian energy informs my Libra sun through its patterns of otherworldly innovation and collective worldbuilding.

✨Nodes of the moon- Cycle awareness

When reading most Western birth charts, its shape is a 360-degree circle (12 signs x 30 degrees per sign). Right off, the circle represents cycles that occur as the cosmic bodies orbit throughout the zodiacal wheel. So, when gazing upon circular patterns, we gaze upon karmic cycles as well. Most astrologers believe that the soul has lives pasts, and the cycles of karma and dharma attached to it as well. The north and south nodes of the moon are mathematical points in astrology that speak directly to this cyclical awareness. Simply put, the north node represents the present trajectory of our karmic paths and the lessons we came to the planet to learn in this lifetime, while the south node reveals the karmic weight (and benefits) we bring into this life from our past lifetimes. Understanding where the north node falls in a natal chart is key to knowing what energies should open up and what energies should be placed on hold. Cycles from past lives come to stifle growth in the present life due to elements of comfort. We must walk the path of our north node in order to understand or reap the benefits from our past lives. For example, if a person’s north node is in Gemini, their soul’s past life may have been very reclusive and inverted as they sought to understand a deeper philosophy of life. However, north node Gemini energy calls the person to be more open and communicative in this life, bridging social and spiritual realms in a pursuit of collective wisdom. The nodes have a way of revealing the shape of our destiny by informing us of which energies need to grow more freely.

✨Card(s) Pull ✨

I pulled two cards for this post: Caelum (Death) and Telescopium + Reticulum (upside down):

This new year brings to mind tools of creation that must be accessed in order for the right configuration and refinement to take place successfully. Reconfiguration requires a broader perspective, a cracking open of the mind’s eye in order to discover your support. Renounce all unsupportive energies to death. Observe your surroundings with a more discerning eye. Saturn’s transits for 2018 includes a long period of retrograde. This transit is the dominant force that serves a driving mechanism causing major shifts and reconfigurations. In a sense, there are cosmic stairs that must be travailed so that you can understand the building blocks of cycles (and methods of breaking cycles). Boundaries should be placed; build spaces that speak life and that explore the meaning of becoming. A broader picture removes any covering that constricts growth as the cosmos shows us what it means to discover the Self, to become the Self, and to refine the connections of the Self. And when some signs and symbols come before you to assist you in your journey, don’t overanalyze everything. Searching the meaning of every little thing, when sometimes you should simply observe. Allow it to be. The meaning will come; don’t force messages. Open the window and just look, listen, and sit with the energies.

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Peace and light ✨✨✨

10/21/2017

reflection on libra sun 29°

Be it

The stillness that comes
By gazing at crumbling leaves, trees, and limbs
Grounded
In the soiled treasure of mother earthing
Whispers gently with certainty
That I my self
The soul with uprooted, upchanging chaos
Can be planted once again.

The way the trees go every whichaway
Crooked with purpose and presence
Raw
Reaching claws first out of the creating One
Births in my deeper parts
The wisdom of my material body,
My vessel that flows, bulges, jigs, trembles,
My staying power.

Sunlight liquid spilling over all that is present,
Shining on and in, one and inside
Every god created thing that dares to die and become
Reminds me with thick memories of
The warm between my thighs made from moving
Bringing Light to the dim spots caused from friction.
I am the light, the still, the dark parts of the sun.

10/04/2017

Libra: Mirror of the Soul

Libra season always comes in like a mental breath of fresh air. Connections become more laxed as we begin to recognize our social habits and the things that we should shut down and pick up as we balance rest and passion after the equinox. Being a libra has taught me many things about interaction with my environment because the energy is very atmospheric. It’s not just about connecting with people but it’s about the position of objects, the swaying of trees, the beauty of rolling clouds, the way the corners of a lover’s eyes crinkle when they smile- it’s about presence. Because I’ve come to the planet under a libra sun, imbalance is the very thing I must resist and revamp, as the vibrancy of atmospheric pressures could easily lead to disharmony.

I’ve come to see the energy in a way that mainstream astrology tends to exclude. And each solar return my experience is radically different. This year I see libra’s balance with the nodes of the moon as energetically significant. As we know, the sun doesn’t particularly enjoy transiting in this zodiac sign because it is the beginning of its death, autumn’s grip slowly sinks all warmth as this part of earth turns away from its fiery luminary. Libra energy is about the “other,” not the self/the sun, but about the things outside of the self, while seeing the self through the lens of the other, the expression, not the initiation, of growth. This season is the sun’s last inhalation before its energetic rest. Libra is the initial knowledge of the intimacy and beauty of release and transformation.

Since libra is about balance, the sun is beginning its fall in this sign, but the north node of the moon is rolling about in leo. Here is the balance, the mirror of the soul. This node represents one’s soul path, away from the karmic cycles of past lives, and onward to territories and internal space that the soul has never experienced. Because the north node of the moon is in leo currently, our destiny is in the light or in accessible conscious awareness while the sun transits toward the dark, or the depths of the inner self. So, during this particular libra season, the sun and the north node are functioning as a mirror of the soul, striking balance between past and future, death and rebirth, cacophony and symphony.

10622716_1542475986070210_7672790111790547557_n — Saint Michael, detail – Carlo Crivelli (about 1430/5-about 1494)

This year has been drastically transformative for me on many fronts. I have begun a shamanistic journey led by Reverend Joyce of livingjoyfulnow, and I have connected to my dark and light realms in ways I would have never imagined. Being a shaman awakens one to see the things that are in plain sight, things that seem to have been hidden before but are now brought into conscious awareness. The atmosphere becomes enlivened with meaning and patterns that mirror the soul. I feel that I can explore the darkness and light of the balance without fear, a trait that the libra must acquire to find true harmony. All in all, this energy is just that: bringing light to every dark place in your being without fear, without judgment, without hatred. To simply look at the self and to know peace are the lessons that the setting sun brings to mind.

The card pull for this post is: Nebula

This card speaks directly to the darkness of the soul that the libra sun wants you to acknowledge. Made from dust, hydrogen, helium, and remnants of supernova explosion, the nebula is literally the growth after a storm, the incubation of newness and creativity. The same duality that exists in this season is found in nebulous creativity: a dark womb of beginning and the intelligent light of intentional growth. Now is the time to stock up for the journey ahead, as you look into the mirror to see youself as present and sentient and worthy of serenity. From the depths, hope bursts forth, just like a volcanic overflow of being.

Note: For libra season, I am offering special $7.77 readings. You can order here.

Much light and peace.

08/21/2017

eclipse reflections

06/29/201706/29/2017

Mars and Mercury in Cancer Conjunct: the Armor of God

06/21/201706/21/2017

Dreaming of Cancer Sun 🌙

Oh cancer season. I want to share a few scattered thoughts about this energy.

Planets behave as we behave. The emotional nature of the moon is manifested most openly through cancerian energy. The birth of the emotional element of the zodiac brings to mind the things required of us to be whole, knowing the inner and outer layers of consciousness and subconsciousness. The sun casts its shadow on the surface of the moon, so our conscious awareness is ultimately connected to our emotional responsiveness.

What instantly comes to mind when I think about cancer energy is that scene from Belly (1998) of Keisha (Taral Hicks) laying across the bed in utter comfort and deep dark blue aesthetic:

This! Pure cancer aesthetic right here. The fittedness of the blue wavy texture. The darkness of the room, the snugness of the bed, the feeling of sinking into comfort. The sensation of slipping into a place of faithful stability. The depth of durability of uncovered skin.

The summer solstice of 2017 began with the moon in Taurus, waning crescent, in the sign of its exaltation. Powerful, adorned, relieving, like the exhalation after an emotional moment, the moon’s season commences with a discernment of the soul. The dream-like state we feel when gazing at the moon. We gaze at this liminal space between the sun and the moon, murky as a trance.

PIA12663_hires — Saturn’s moon Dione | The Cassini spacecraft | Jan. 27, 2010

I had a dream last night about being in a new house. The ideas of warmth and centeredness made me feel secure and whole. Cancerian energy is just that: the protection and security of arguably one of the most vulnerable parts of your composition—the soul. A house warming gathering of souls. The impression of pushing your heel downward into soft soil. Where wounds go to find healing salves.

The cardinal creator of the embryonic fluid. The stark awareness newborns have when they have learned how to control their necks. The elongation and celebration of the sun, knowing that emotions within rules the actions without.

Soul lurking Cancer.

The card I pulled for this post is: “Pictor” (Temperance) Air.

This card represents the artist’s easel, a small tool used to make their work. Cancer season/summer solstice is the time to create. Whatever creative project or work that defines the self should be initiated during this season. The card speaks to love and support in the atmosphere from people around. If there are any negative energies stunting creative growth should have been cut off during Gemini season. Now is the time to create from whatever state one is in, and the very act of creation will bring the emotional balance needed to feel secure. The card has a small canvas and a simple paintbrush stroke in the center. The summer solstice is a time of regeneration, a blank canvas to create a personal masterpiece. Opening the heart to unknown opportunities, although it feels vulnerable at first, will be met with divine assistance and prosperity, only when the movement to create begins. Creation is a practice of healing and being the full self.

05/13/201705/28/2017

Words are Spells

To begin, I am thinking about words, and my love for them, and their power to bring life and deadness to our realities. My journey as an English professor and astrologer has brought me close to the weight of words. Our psychological connection to language is the very foundation of our existence here on earth. People are looking for that one word, uttered from their depths, that would shake their foundation and grant them the freedom (or control) they desire. In my experience, I notice how folks interact with words and use them to define their persona, hide their insecurities, and feed their demons. Students worry about finding the correct language to fulfill a prompt. Astrology clients are concerned with the cosmic word, language to define their astrological body. The foundation of our cosmological and physical manifestations quite literally rests within the word.

Not to make this post to English teacher-y, but I want to define a term that has led me to believe that words are spells (prayers, a beckon to manifestation, a constant definition of desired reality) and that words have a very physical presence when we speak. And it is with this understanding that I teach, I read the astrological charts of others, and I work my own magic. Coming from a “name-it-and-claim-it” Pentecostal church background, I think there is a wealth of information concerning words and manifestation embedded in Black American spiritual discourse already. I want to tease the fact that speaking words is the same as casting energy and calling desired forces into your purview.

The term I want to define is “metalinguistic awareness.” It is the ability to objectify language as a process as well as an artifact. Simplified, we use a different lexicon of words depending on the audience who receives them. We are aware of how we speak, and we change our language according to our audience. Some of us would never speak to a parent the same way we speak to our friends, so we are aware of the impact words have. We indeed have the ability to objectify language, or make words into physical objects that alter reality. Words then become objects that we use, play with, transform, and silence in order to receive the desired result. Language is always evolving (process), but it can be recorded as a historical document (artifact).

So, how do we get “words are spells” from metalinguistic awareness? It is the very act of prayers/spell casting/incantations/meditation that our metalinguistic awareness is employed and heightened. We know the prefix “meta” means to “go beyond”- so in metalinguistics we are going beyond linguistics (language). The speaker knows that words are indeed mean more than the words themselves. Spells and prayers are nothing but our ability to speak meta-vibrational patterns into our present narrative and co-create (co-writing with vibrational patterns around you) speaking into the objectified structure of everyday reality. Words are vibrational patterns that have a metaphysical effect on our narrative. Once we realize that we are not stuck in our present situation (we are not disconnected from the words that define our existence nor from the words that other objects radiate), then you can speak the language of higher vibrational patterns to change to present waves. You are now objectifying surrounding vibrational patterns into the objects of language (language as the system we use to give meaning to this earthly experience). By knowing that words that are structurally defining your energy, we must begin the process of choosing which words we are allowing to define us.

With the kind of upbringing I had, I can’t get away from the bible when it comes to making sense of spirituality (I’ve literally tried running to atheism, agnosticism, and many belief systems, but I’ve settled on a pantheistic version of spiritualism). John 1:1 reads, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The word has the foundation of creation. Logos, information, and the Divine were intertwined with and in each other. There was an original word that sparked consciousness. As Zora Neale Hurston said, “six days of magic spells and mighty words and the world with its elements above and below was made.” We have the power to use words in manifestation because words are the very mechanisms for such actions.

I’d like to pull a card from my lovely Cosmos tarot deck to go with this post. Here is the card I shuffled and chose:

Lmao, of course, the deck would bring up the “Gemini” card for this post. How original… Who else would understand the deep magic of words and lilt-like connectivity than the energy of Geminis, ruled by the planet Mercury (the God-messenger, wing-footed owner of our ability to fix things in our minds mentally only to manifest those thoughts into words)? But, this air sign card makes sense since this post is about words and manifestation. The Gemini twins represent the duality that exists when using your metalinguistic awareness in this realm to create higher vibrations in the spiritual realm. On the card, the man on the left has sparks of light coming from his head: that’s a divine connection to the metaphysical. The man on the right has a strong back and a darker appearance: that’s grounding our words on earth in manifestation and building a solid foundation. We must have both because words lead to materialization. The phrase “words are spells” is just a mystical way of letting you know that your words manifest your own reality.