WITCH TIPS & HOROSCOPES 08.08-14.2018

Artwork by Manzel Bowman

Artwork by Manzel Bowman

WITCH TIPS

Written By Jessica Lanyadoo

This week has it all: the chill, the sad, and the transformational. Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are all still retrograde, and it’s forcing us all to reflect and rely on our inner resources. On the 8th the Sun will meet Mercury in the sky, making it a fantastic time to get intimate with your Dear Diary, to talk to people you enjoy, and to review your plans. On the 9th tender Venus will form a challenging square to perfectionistic Saturn, and that’s where things take a turn for the uncomfortable.

This transit can make you feel like there’s not enough – like you don’t have the stuff, the resources, the love, or the attention that you want. It can make you feel lonely, or it can confront you with the very real differences between you and others. This may mark a time of some heavy energy, but its not for nothing. Explore the truth about your relationship to vanity, to your finances, or to the people you’re connected to. Try to use what you learn to improve those things, not to punish yourself. All good growth needs pruning from time to time, so don’t worry about having to cut some things back.

The Solar Eclipse in Leo on the 11th is the big news this week. We are in a major shift of energy, and this – the third and final eclipse – marks a powerful opportunity to grow and change in the name of love. Leo can get preoccupied with the trappings of power instead of true power itself; one is all about dominion, while the other is rooted in self-reliance and a well-adjusted ego. If your ego isn't strong, you can’t bear to collaborate or share the stage, but when it is in a healthy place, collaboration and sharing are reflections of that strength. Work on your relationship to self-worth this week. The Venus/Saturn transit will have you asking questions and will confront you with the potential of failure. Instead of allowing your fears to stop you from trying, remember this: failing is instruction. It teaches you what to do next time or alternatively, what to avoid. It isn’t punishment, and it isn't a life-sentence. It teaches humility and a healthy ego. Every time you stumble or fall, you can become more resilient and more empathetic towards other.

Now is the time to stop waiting for life to happen to you and to instead become an agent of change. It's time to find something to love and to let the force and inspiration of that love motivate and drive you. Don’t fear it. Don’t hide from it or even hide it from others. Embrace the wholeness of you, the wholeness of others. There are a million ways you can hold any one life event; choose to hold your struggles with strength, kindness, and courage.

 Say yes to your life, even when resentments, fears, or distractions would have you say no. Embody love in all it’s power and messiness.

 

 

ARIES

March 21-April 19

It’s a lot, Aries, and it’s OK if you’re overwhelmed. Try not to make your moves from a place of burnout, which can unintentionally create more drama to deal with. Investigate what’s behind your reactions instead of taking your feelings at face value this week. You’re ready to make meaningful changes in your life, so work hard to make sure those changes are improvements. You’re almost at the end of a cycle that you’ve worked hard to get out of; don’t screw it up now.

 

­TAURUS

April 20-May 20

There are many paths in front of you but only one major theme. Instead of allowing yourself to get distracted by anxiety and unknowns, take a minute to get grateful, Taurus. Align yourself with all the beautiful, inspiring, and pleasing things in the world around you. Take time to receive the joy that the sensual world has to offer you. Soothe yourself before you do anything else, but don’t get it twisted; pleasure is the wind beneath your wings. It’s you that’s gotta choose to fly.

 

GEMINI

May 21-June 21

The role that fear plays in your thinking is super important. If you allow yourself to obsess on what can go wrong, how will you catch the signs when things are going right? Practice self-control this week, Twin Star. The kind that allows you to prioritize being your most productive, peaceful, and happy self. Cultivate the strength of character you need to be able to know when to forge ahead and when to hold back this week.

 

CANCER

June 22-July 22

This week it’s time for you to mobilize. There’s a lot of upsetting stuff that could easily get you down and hold you back right now. The amazing thing about fear is that it is singularly motivating or utterly demoralizing. Try to let the problems that plague you be your inspiration. As unpleasant as these feelings are, anger and ego energy are valuable inner resources that can help you through difficult times. Leverage your energies with integrity, Moonchild.

 

LEO

July 23-Aug. 22

This week’s Solar Eclipse in your sign is meant to be a huge jumping off point for you, Leo, but in a very personal way. Your worthiness is on the line, but the only one who can determine it is you. Sit with your anxieties and your hopes. Know that you are not them. You are more than this moment or any singular accomplishment. Locate and reinforce the ways in which you are your own BFF. If you haven’t been a loyal and caring friend of late, now is the time to kindly change that, my love.

 

VIRGO

Aug. 23-Sept. 22

Struggle is a creative force for change. Even if you would rather not be engaged in it, there is so much to be gained from what you're battling with this week. Try to distinguish distractions from what you truly care about, Virgo. There is so much chatter and content pulling you in a million directions, but only a small amount of it is what you’ll remember when all is said and done. Align yourself with your truth, and let everything else work itself out in it’s own time.

 

LIBRA

Sept. 23-Oct. 22

What other people want is important, but when you allow it to take up more real estate in your head than your own desires, you’ve got a problem with balance. All things do not have to be perfectly equal all of the time in order for them to be healthy, but when there’s an ongoing imbalance, you’re inevitably going to have problems. It’s your time to turn it around, Libra. Strive to maintain your sense of self as you engage in your relationships this week.

 

SCORPIO

Oct. 23-Nov. 21

There is strength in your willingness to move slowly and with intention, Scorpio. The changes that you’ve been going through run deep, and if you rush to make things material right now, you’ll end up dragging some messiness into this new phase with you. Be still; sit with your feels and the whole sum of your hopes and fears. Allow yourself the space you deserve to be ambiguous or excited or whatever else you feel and also for clarity for your next steps to organically emerge from there.

 

SAGITTARIUS

Nov. 22-Dec. 21

If you can act without attachment to what happens next, you will have more peace but not much else really. Doing the right thing doesn’t promise you good results, but it does promise that you’ll be good with yourself. Prioritize your inner life above any pressing or petty desires this week, Sagittarius. You’re on the way towards some meaningful achievements. Don’t let the time or compromises it takes to get there deter you.

 

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22-Jan. 19

When you work hard to act in ways that reflect your integrity, you get results. This week you will be dealing with consequences, but not exactly the way you might think. If you’ve been doing your homework, you’ve been working to bolster your inner world so that you can more gracefully handle the inevitable highs and lows of life. Prepare to feel the fruits of that labor now. Rejoice in your successes, and learn from your mistakes, Cappy mon Capitan.

 

AQUARIUS

Jan. 20-Feb. 18

What you don’t know is eating at you, and that’s no way to live, Aquarius. The Eclipse in your relationship house on the 11th is kicking up all kinds of feels, and there’s no amount of analysis that will rid you of them. Try to relax into your worries. I know this sounds counter intuitive, but your resistance is exhausting you before you can even figure out what you’re actually so scared of. The truth is true whether or not you want it to be; spend less time worrying and lean in this week.

 

 

PISCES

Feb. 19-March 20

When faced with power struggles, it’s easy to wanna play possum (aka roll over and play dead), but it’s not always wise. Remember that you have choice: you get to decide how you participate, even if you don’t always get to decide with whom. Instead of automatically “giving in”, explore what it would look like to be firm and clear about what you need. A compromise can only be made if you’re willing to give the other person a head’s up as to where the middle actually is, dear Pisces.