Manifesting With The Cancer New Moon

The first New Moon of the summer occurs today, on July 9th in Cancer. This luminary is asking us to embrace our amazingness and to own our power. The caveat is that we have to heal the past in order to create the present and future that we want. 

This lumnation directly aspects the planet Uranus, which is currently in the sign Taurus. Emotions will be excitable, yet tender — particularly towards the way we care for ourselves. The fixed star Wasat aligns with the New Moon and pushes us to augment our pessimistic attitudes or feelings, due to the presence of Uranus, who serves as a transformative source of energies. 

Chiron, the healing centaur,  who is in Aries, will also lend its energy to the New Moon. This will bring unexpected and exciting emotions to the forefront of our hearts. It will urge us to discuss our sentiments with others, as well as make positive changes towards aligning ourselves with a higher vibration that can mend past wounds — even our emotional hurts that are ever present. 

The days surrounding the New Moon heighten the Venusian energy in the sky. Saturn, Uranus, and Mars (in that order) will set off tender Venus. This will motivate us to understand that we can create the loving environments and relationships that we want. But, it starts with the relationship we have with ourselves.

The first step to attaining your dreams is believing in yourself. Without the confidence and affection we feel for ourselves, then we can hinder our desires from taking flight out of fear. Letting go of 

*The Cancer New Moon occurs on July 9 at 6:16 PM PDT and 9:16 PM EDT. 

New Moon Ritual

Doing this luminary, it’s important to boost our self-esteem. Stating a positive affirmation in front of a mirror will allow us to inspire ourselves to believe that these sentiments are true (which they are). On a piece of paper, write down 5 positive and affirming statements about yourself. Repeat them twice a day at the same time for the next week while gazing at yourself in the mirror. The mirror will reflect the energy back to you and give you the strength you craze to create the positive mindset and confidence that we need to boost and heighten our inner vibration. Exhale and inhale between stating the affirmations out loud. You are exhaling the negative thoughts you have about yourself and inhaling the beautiful sentiments about yourself. Compliment yourself. Love yourself. Give yourself a smile. 

WITCH TIPS AND HOROSCOPES 10.17-23.2018

Written by Jessica Lanyadoo

We are living through a time in which we will either be transformed by acts of kindness, empathy, and unity, or we will succumb to the worst elements of society: fear, blame, and punishment. The transit of both Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn (until mid 2020) marks a turning point in humanity, and here’s a consistent component to every downturn in human history: fear. Fear of others, fear of survival, fear of judgment, and fear of difference. The only pragmatic way to battle this is by working together for a common goal, to commit to embodying our humanity, especially when scared or triggered. When we feel down, we can get stuck in paralysis, or worse, it can transform us into petty tyrants who feel entitled to everything because nothing feels good.

Don’t be that person. Don’t sink to the lowest level. If life is a game of rock, paper, scissors, rock doesn’t beat rock. In other words, cruelty doesn’t beat cruelty. Judgment doesn’t beat judgment.

 Venus is still Retrograde (October 5th-November 16th, 2018), and this means we're at a particular stage in our journey where we’re meant to look at our values, women’s rights and place in society, money, gender, and of course, love.

This week we move into the sultriest season of the year – Scorpio season! On the 23rd, the Sun moves into Scorpio and instantly forms an opposition to explosive Uranus. This means that you can expect the unexpected around this date and that the energy you experience around this date will inform what’s to come this Scorpio Season. You may feel a tension between what you want and what you possess, or you may have a conflict between the various things you're willing to do for your desires. This transit brings about excitement, distraction, and innovation, and it heightens your restlessness and impulses. If you’re prone to irritability, you may feel extra annoyed, and if so, you’re probably bumping up against limitations. This is a good time to explore the concept of freedom in your life and to make the space to be true to yourself – at least in your thinking.

When we unpack all of the details, the planets' placements distill down to this: it’s time to practice kindness in your thinking, words, and actions. Notice when you’re being a jerk to yourself by minimizing or dramatizing your situation (they’re pretty much heads/tails of the same problem). Understand that your relationship to yourself is the foundation upon which you build everything and all that you do. Be patient as you learn new things about yourself, the world, and your role in it. This is the time to take responsibility for what you obsess on and to strive to keep it constructive.

When you feel anxious, gratitude is the key. It aligns you with what you have, and the attention you affix to your abundance is what makes your life more bountiful. This allows you to be generous with yourself and others, to actively support the world around you in small or big ways.

Don’t recoil from discomfort; it’s a teacher that you have much to learn from. Your life is so deeply valuable, and you make a difference. Treat the present like the gift that it is. Honor it today, try again tomorrow, and repeat.

ARIES

March 21-April 19

The role that fear plays in your life is really important, sweet Aries. Find ways of respecting your fears without indulging them and making them worse this week. Allow space for what you don’t know to unfold, and try to parse out what feels bad from what is actually bad for you. Here’s some homework for you: ask for help when you need it, take breaks to check in with yourself, and no catastrophizing! Strive to manage your feels with patience and strength.

TAURUS

April 20-May 20

When you’ve accepted too much mixed input, it can lead you to feel confused, demoralized, and unsure of what to do with yourself. This week calls for patience, Taurus. It’s unclear what’s coming for you, and you may even be forming a new understanding of past events. When the past and the future are both out of your hands, all you have is the present. Put all of your self-care tools to work, and strive to do your best in the here and now, my love.

GEMINI

May 21-June 21

The ego needs balance. When you feel good about yourself, it’s easier to be clear about your aims, to direct yourself in a way that works, and even to be responsive to the world around you. When you feel utterly down on yourself, you can get stuck in inactivity, or worse, act out of integrity because of how bad you feel. Seek balance so that you don’t find yourself needing to work off an ego hangover. Transform that ego into a friend you can rely on this week.

CANCER

June 22-July 22

Make it your mission to find evidence of your own strength, Moonchild. You are a force to be reckoned with! This week it’s time to stop comparing yourself to others, to where you want to be, or to where you once were, and it's time to embrace the person that you are in the here and now. It’s only by embracing this moment and your place in it that you can determine which are the healthiest boundaries. This will in turn free you up to do what you’re meant to do.

LEO

July 23-Aug. 22

When you can’t figure things out, it’s often a sign to slow down. The path to growth and expansion sometimes involves retraction. In order to have the life you want to live, you have to first strive to become the person you want to be. This week is about that striving. Don’t look so far outside of yourself that you miss out on the most simple and impactful source of change – you. Gather your strength, and with it will come your sense of purpose, Leo.

VIRGO

Aug. 23-Sept. 22

Open up and let go, Virgo. There’s no stopping progress, and that’s as it should be, even if it doesn’t feel like it. This week will challenge you to become the person that you want to be, but the weight and stories of the past will try to keep you as you were. Be sincere, Virgo. Even if things move slower or in a more circuitous way than you’d prefer, this is the time to be present and to focus on your efforts and not fixate on the outcome.

LIBRA

Sept. 23-Oct. 22

When you hurt or your heart is heavy, it’s easy to lash out, shut down, or generally be out of sorts in how you relate to yourself and others. This week your job is to practice kindness and empathy. Go beyond the surface of your situation, and embody the openness and support that you believe everyone deserves to be afforded. You need to let go of something, but you don’t need to do it today. Be patient with your process, Libra.

 

SCORPIO

Oct. 23-Nov. 21

There’s no way to grow without outgrowing some things, Scorpio. As you expand into the person you mean to be, there are inevitably people, attitudes, and attachments that you will have to shed. This week is likely to bring you the chance to put into practice some wisdom you’ve earned, but it may come at some personal cost. Do what’s right, even when it’s scary, my love. You can’t lose anything of value when you’re following your truth.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov. 22-Dec. 21

FOMOS is real, but it won’t help you get very far in life. Try to not get so turned around that you lose track of what you care about and why, sweet Sagittarius. This week will present you with choices, and if you aren’t clear about your motivations, you may get overwhelmed and not know which shiny thing to chase. Stay true to your heart. Align yourself with what brings you joy and does the most good, and you won’t miss out on anything that you need.

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22-Jan. 19

Abundance isn’t about having lots of things. To have true abundance, you need to actually feel it. When you focus on what you might lose, it’s almost like you never truly have a thing. Look around your life, Cappy, and consider the bounty that you have. Be grateful for your health, the love, your possessions, or whatever you value. Next, align yourself with the knowledge that you can improve those things over time. Enjoy what you have in this moment, my love.

AQUARIUS

Jan. 20-Feb. 18

You don’t need to know what comes next, or why that thing happened yesterday; the story may be compelling, but it’s not as important as how you choose to respond to it all, Aquarius. If you can move away from thinking that things have to happen tit for tat, you can actually be more efficient with how you use your energy. You determine your actions, and you decide how you to engage with your obsessions and your dreams. Don’t look for blame, look within.

 

PISCES

Feb. 19-March 20

If you’ve been burning yourself out lately, it’s on you to name your limits and enforce them. Stop waiting for others to agree with you or see things from your vantage point. It’s OK to go your own way, even if that means walking alone for some time. You have agency, and this is the time to use it; deal head-on with your fears and hopes, both for your life and for the world around you, Pisces.

XO

Divining Through Disaster

 Photography by: Maimouna Guerresi

Written by Jaliessa Sipress

Recently, a lot of people’s realities have been turned upside-down; whether through “natural” or man-made disaster or through events that blur the line in-between. Disaster is something most of us live under the threat of everyday. It bubbles underneath our feet and seethes under our skin. It is what keeps us up at night and often impacts our day-to-day decisions. Its intensity and presence ebb and flow but the threat will always remain. Turmoil in this world is consistent but when the building pressure peaks, people start to panic, and they begin to forget.

As witches, misfortune is a part of our lineage. The fear, pain and suffering of those around us prescribed as side effects of us being privy to our own power. Our aptitude to tap into our natural abilities and form deep connections with our bodies, the bodies around us and the body of the earth are all things that make us dangerous because these acts can never fall under anyone else’s dominion. We listen and flow with the earth and her shifts and changes. We practice remembrance and manifestation in accordance with her seasons. We understand that we are of her and can harness her power and this is why we are feared. But the earth is a witch, too. She casts spells of beauty, love and abundance and she, too, is targeted for being angry and vengeful when she tries to heal herself. And this is why we must carry on. This is why we must acknowledge the power of the witch, the strength in our audacity to be our own temples and our own healers. Our abilities to make altars out of debris and never be without our magic because it lies within us.

To divine through disaster is to not ignore it. A lot of the craft is centered in the simple act of noticing. We watch and wait and participate in the art of divine timing. We are here to nurture the collapse of all that ails us, to live in harmony with our fear and loss. We must remember that our ancestors birthed our path to freedom and it is our duty to lead the way for others. Witches work is the work of the people. It is the work we do to stabilize and satiate and educate and support those who have forgotten the power within them.

During times of turmoil, it is our duty to remember and share our knowledge of how to work and heal with water, soil and ash. We must pass on ways to regenerate with what remains when human inventions fail. We are the ones who have to figure out why the world is still turning and we must take note of where our magic fits into the maddeness. We have to keep fighting, casting and believing the way we have been but with steadier consistency and ferocious fervor. Witches have to hold it down. It is our job to lead the way, to teach others how light comes from darkness and to hold onto our beliefs and our beloveds until the walls fall down around us.

Photography By  Photo credit: Maimouna Guerresi

Love Notes From The Universe: An Interview With Diego "Yung Pueblo" Perez

"Symmetry" By Hannakais Pekkala

 

There are few Instagram accounts that speak directly to our souls with daily insight and often timely Universal words of wisdom. Diego Perez also known as “Yung Pueblo” has one of them. Diego offers beautiful short poems and messages that feel as if they were left behind for you via sticky note by a divine guardian angel.  Diego is a thought provoker, wordsmith, and a conduit of such positive energy that just radiates from his work! We are  thrilled that he just so happens to have a book coming out later this year. In this interview we will discuss life, spirit, and the power of social media.

THW: Hi Diego, Can you tell our readers a bit about the man behind their favorite motivational memes?

YP: Well, I currently live in NYC, I am 29 years old, I was originally born in Guayaquil Ecuador. I write under the name Yung Pueblo for two reasons, one because Pueblo is a word used in Guayaquil in reference to the masses of economically impoverished people, so it always reminds me of my roots and where I come from, two Yung Pueblo literally means young people which always reminds me of something that I believe deeply, which is that humanity as a whole is very young, we have a lot of growing up to do, we are collectively still learning how to be kind to one another, how to clean up after ourselves, how to share, and how to not fight one another – things that I am hoping we will learn how to do well in the next 100 years.

THW: What inspired you to start writing these extremely powerful messages on instagram? Did you use any other media platforms prior to this? How has this changed your writing style, if at all.

 

YP: I started organizing and being a part of the activist world back when I was 15 years old, ever since then I was always obsessed with the idea of liberation, I wanted to know what it meant, how to attain it, and how to maintain it. From nonprofit organizing to radical organizing, I have worked with a few different groups over the years and often we were successful, but still something was missing, greed continued to drive global harm and internally I was still rife with misery, this made me keep searching. When I was 24 I did my first 10 day Vipassana mediation course which shook the foundations of everything I believed in, my experience meditating showed me that liberation needs to be internally realized to a certain extent before we can recreate the world into a place where we can all live materially well without harming one another to do so; it showed me that everyone needs to be liberated, the oppressed and the oppressors. It taught me three particularly important lessons, one is that when we harm another we harm ourselves, that when we heal ourselves we are actually healing the world, and that the chaos in our world stems from the internal chaos and misery that human beings are quietly experiencing inside of themselves every day. We are all in need of healing and that healing can only come from our own efforts, because no one can liberate us but ourselves. Moving forward I continued meditating and organizing simultaneously, and then one day my intuition clearly told me to share what I understand in the form of writing, that even though what I understand may change overtime I need to share it now so that people know that it is possible to come out of misery and deeply heal themselves, because it is the transformation of the individual that holds the secrets to truly transforming the world into something better. I took a break from organizing to focus on writing and pretty quickly I noticed that Instagram was a good fit. I started off by writing short pieces and essays or just simple thoughts as captions under the pictures I would share, but then I saw that I would be better off just taking the main ideas of what I wanted to share and placing them in a clean and readable image, that’s when it all really took off and the words started spreading widely. My writing style is definitely still evolving.

THW: I’ve read that you are currently working on a book, can you share with our readers what it’s about and when we can expect it’s release?

YP: The book is entitled “Inward” and it will be a compilation of my best work over the past 3 years. It will be a mixture of poems, quotes, and essays. I’m currently putting it all together and hope to have it out this year, I don’t want to say exactly when, but it will be out soon. It’s been quite a journey putting this together.

THW: What books are you currently reading? Can you share a few titles that have inspired/changed your life?

YP: I love books so much, thank you for asking, I’m going to go in on this question if you don’t mind. Right now I am currently reading “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” by Yuval Noah Harari and “Demanding the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work” by Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams.

Some titles that have profoundly inspired me are:

“Assata: An Autobiography” by Assata Shakur

“What Buddhism is” by Sayagyi U Ba Khin

“Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny” by Robert Wright

“Hua Hu Ching: The Unknown Teaching of Lao Tzu” translated by Brian Walker

“Great Disciples of the Buddha” edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi

“Krishnamurti to Himself” by Jiddu Krishnmurti

“The Dhammapada” translated by Ananda Maitreya & Rose Kramer

“The Bhagavad Gita” translated by Eknath Easwaran

“Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda

“The Dispossessed” by Ursula K. Le Guin

“On Disobedience” by Erich Fromm

“The Rebirth of History” by Alain Badiou

“Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse

I know that’s a lot of titles, but they all really had a deep impact in how I understand myself and the world.

THW: Who/What inspires YOU?

YP: Two ideas really drive my inspiration, one is the possibility of complete freedom from misery as an individual and the second is humanity coming together to recreate the world into the beautiful and loving place that it can be.

The stories and teachings of Gautama the Buddha and his disciples, teachers in my Vipassana meditation tradition like Ledi Sayadaw,  Sayagyi U Ba Khin, and S.N. Goenka, all really inspire me too. My family and friends really inspire me to work hard and be better as well.

THW: What do you hope to accomplish with your messages?

YP: I hope people understand that they can truly heal themselves of their inner burdens and actually build inner peace, that this isn’t something mythical or impossible, that this is real and that many people are doing it all around the world right now using different healing techniques. It is not easy, but it is definitely the most rewarding journey that we can embark on.

More so, I want to help people understand that growing their happiness, building their inner peace, and reclaiming their power are all essential things that not only heal humanity as a whole, but will ultimately help us establish a more peaceful and harmless world. Your inner peace will literally become the foundation for a future global peace. Healing ourselves will not only help us live with less misery, but it will give us a new clarity that we can use to transform the world.

THW: Social media can be a pretty awful place when it comes to plagiarism for writers, especially when sharing your meme-style motivational messages.. How do you tolerate seeing your work copied or stolen and not credited?

YP: It’s a great lesson, I do my best to not worry about it. If I’m too attached to it, it will just continue happening. Some people definitely take my name out from under pieces and then post them on their pages, but what good will it do me to be upset over it? Plus, I doubt that most people have any malicious intention when they do it. Gratefully, the vast majority do give me credit for the work I put out by linking my Instagram page underneath in the caption and tagging me in the picture, I certainly appreciate that.

What matters most is that the message gets out there. If you really think about it, “I” doesn’t exist, so is it really “my” work? Often, when I write, it more so feels like the message is coming through me as opposed to from me. I think plagiarism and copyright laws are a bit odd, no one has ever created anything completely by themselves, we are always building on each other’s work, it is all really a collective effort. Also, since words are just interpretations of how we feel, two people can write similar words but the feeling, meaning, and experience behind them can be completely different. I’m not saying that we should all go and plagiarize, we should try our best to create our own work and credit each other, but if it does happen accidentally we shouldn’t lose our peace over it.

 THW: What are some of words of wisdom that you would share with our readers on how to cultivate more mindfulness in their daily lives?

 

YP: Mindfulness is essentially being aware of the present moment, which is critically important in for our personal development. But what matters is how will you be aware of the present moment, what tool will you use to increase your awareness?

My advice to people is to find a healing technique that gives you real results, one that challenges you, but does not overwhelm you. There is a great variety of techniques out there, different types of meditations, yoga practices, energy healing techniques, and so much more that can really give us tangible benefits in our lives. What matters is that we find one that suits us and that we use it consistently.

THW:  Do you have any other projects that you’re currently working on that you’d like to share with our readers?

YP: I’m planning an event in Los Angeles this summer, which I’m really excited about, the details will be set soon. I will be reading a piece of my manuscript and giving a talk about the patterns in our subconscious that impact our behavior. I did a similar event this past March in NYC at the Alchemist’s Kitchen, so many people came out that we filled the venue, it was really a great time.

I’m currently working on a video with one of the best directors and videographers in NYC, Lindsey TJ Hall, you can find him on Instagram under @guynamedlindsey. We knew that the message was getting out to people who read, but we wanted to make something new to try and reach people who are more musically and visually inclined. The video will be about self love and its growth into unconditional love, it should be out sometime this summer.

Read more of Diego's Work by following him on instagram @Yung_Pueblo