THE HOODWITCH: WITCHTIPS & HOROSCOPES 1.24-30.2018

Written by Jessica Lanyadoo

Witch Tips

Strap yourselves in, Puppies, this week is gonna be quite a ride! It kicks off with an exact conjunction from Mercury to trans-formative Pluto on the 24th through the 25th. This transit intensifies (Pluto) the tempo of your thinking (Mercury). Mercury rules over your thoughts, communication in general, your friendships and work relationships. Your thoughts are likely to be deep, intense, and compulsive, which is great if you have to do a research project or some other task that requires serious concentration, but it’s pretty rough if you’re just trolling social media or dealing with the complexities of other people. What you say now is important because you run the risk of speaking out of pettiness, but once it’s out there, you can’t take it back. If you have a serious need to defend yourself, get to it, but chose your battles wisely. Your petty parts want blame, but your soul wants peace, and that never comes from acting out. This can be a transformational time, but you need to be willing to sit with the intensity of your mind. Watch your compulsions run themselves ragged without trying to convert them into wisdom by justifying their presence.

From the 24th-26th, Mercury will form a dynamic sextile to foot-in-the-mouth Jupiter. The upside of this is that it will help you to make connections and see the whole picture. These are the days for making sense of what happened during that Pluto/Mercury transit. The downside is that it can extend the impulse to cyber stalk, compare your progress to others, view things from an all or nothing lens, and jump to conclusions. The key here is to seek the truth but not just your truth. We all exist in our own reality, each with our own point of view. Make space for all of it so that you can objectively decide what you’re wiling to work with and what’s out of alignment for you. When all you do is focus on what others are or aren’t doing, you’re evading your responsibility to yourself. Everyone makes mistakes. If you make a habit of calling people out and don’t also spread love and appreciation around, you’re participating in the worst of call-out culture. It takes takes less spiritual energy to applaud than it does to boo; comes from the well of your soul, so chose your actions with care.

Finally, from the 26th-28th, Mercury will form a square to reactive Uranus. If you haven’t been doing your homework all week, you’re likely to fly off the handle or make rash judgment calls. This is a time for new information being revealed but not so much for making sense of it. Expect to feel dogmatic, restless and nervous, or to deal with someone else who's acting from that place. This energy is likely to make you accident prone because it’s reactive and distractible. This energy is inventive, dynamic, and progressive too – as long as you can stay present without attachments to what happens next. We are at the precipice of a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse on the 31st, so you can expect emotions to be running high, making the goal of patience and presence a hard one to achieve. Here’s a Pro Tip for this week as a whole: instead of seeking the cracks, seek the light pouring through them. Letting go of what doesn’t serve you is an act of self-healing. Forgiveness will set you free, and we all need to get free of our own b$llsh$t so we can do what we came here to do.

ARIES

March 21-April 19

Peace isn’t a single point of perfection; it’s a state of mind. If you can make subtle adjustments that allow you to flow with your situation without losing your center, you can maintain inner calm, even in stressful situations. It’s when you allow other people or situations to determine your wellness that you lose track of what’s real and what’s of value to you. Don’t figure out what to do before you figure out what your truth is this week, my love.

­TAURUS

April 20-May 20

There’s never enough to make you feel safe if you’re fixated on what you don’t have. What you chose to believe in will either bolster or negate your sense of self this week. Do your very best to see the potential in your limitations, the lessons in your failures, and the joy in the little things. This isn’t so that you’ll magically no longer have problems but so that you’ll have the inner resources you need to deal with them gracefully. You’ve got this, Taurus.

GEMINI

May 21-June 21

Stay here in the present, Twin Star. You run the risk of losing precious energy by obsessing on things past or trying to figure out what others are thinking or feeling. You don’t need a psychic – just ask people questions! You don’t need to time travel – just let go of what happened in the past. Take control of this moment by focusing your attention on what you can improve, my love.

CANCER

June 22-July 22

Be careful what you say, Moonchild, because once it’s out there, you can’t take it back. There’s a lot of tension in your relationships, and while it would be easy to assume the worst of others, it’s not wise. Give the same grace and compassion to others when they make mistakes as you wish to receive, but you shouldn’t lie down and take poor behavior, either. Take the time you need to decide which of your feels to respond from and which are better suited for your Dear Diary.

LEO

July 23-Aug. 22

You set the wheels in motion some time ago, and now it’s time to reap some of what you’ve sewn, Leo. This is an excellent time to get grounded by first getting present, and then from that place, review the past several months. You’re likely to now be feeling the consequences of what you initiated in the past four or so months, so look back to that time to see what was going on. You can’t change the past, but you can shift your attitudes towards it and let it inform your understanding of what’s happening now.

VIRGO

Aug. 23-Sept. 22

If you make decisions in a moment of panic, you’re going to be acting from a shaky foundation. You don’t have to take on anything new, my love, and if you do, you can have boundaries with how you do it. It’s important that you give yourself permission to focus on the things that bring you life instead of only things that make you feel like you’re proving yourself. It’s not enough to just get there, Virgo. Get there full and whole as well.

LIBRA

Sept. 23-Oct. 22

Placating people is fine in the short term, but if you want true intimacy, you’ve got to be honest, Libra. Show up as your full self this week, even if that makes things more complicated. It’s time to figure out the art of having hard conversations; this will require you to have kindness for yourself and others in equal parts and to treat people with the trust that they’ve earned. If you don’t know what to say, you’re always entitled to say just that. Try your best, my love.

SCORPIO

Oct. 23-Nov. 21

You can shake in your booties, or you can get to work. Once you determine what the problem is, it’s time to get practical, Scorpio. What actions can you take to best support yourself when you get stressed? What expectations are you holding that get in the way of allowing something greater to flow into your life? This is your life, your road to travel; don’t let your fears and projections compel you to miss out on all the beauty along the way.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov. 22-Dec. 21

Things are changing, and it’s unclear what you want from it all. Instead of jumping to conclusions as a way to take shortcuts, try slowing it down, Sagittarius. This week you’re likely to have things revealed to you in pieces; try not to make any heavy commitments or sweeping judgments quite yet. Tune into your heart, and make sure that what you’re doing is in alignment with what you find there.

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22-Jan. 19

Where you allow your attention to go is what you’re feeding, Capricorn. You can do your best and even be the best, and that doesn’t mean that you’ll get what you want. In truth, you may not even want the right things. If you choose to pour your heart into your disappointments, they will grow before your very eyes. The trick this week is to seek the opportunities in your troubles and to manage your pessimistic thinking with gentle but persistent TLC.

AQUARIUS

Jan. 20-Feb. 18

I’ll let you in on a little secret: gratitude is an anxiety buster. You can make your worst fears come true if you persist in looking for them. The trick is to commit to seeking at least as much good as you seek bad in the world, Aquarius. You don’t need to be a Pollyanna; just try to find a balanced approach to the truth. You stand to gain far more by allowing yourself to celebrate your successes and those of the people around you than by disparaging yourself or anyone else.

PISCES

Feb. 19-March 20

When people are weird to you or awkward around you, it’s tempting to take it personally – but it’s only personal some of the time. This week, it’s a bad idea to take things at face value because everyone is going through it. the good news is that it’s an excellent time to practice embodying the emotional boundaries that you’ve been working so hard to perfect! You don’t have to be perfect, but when you feel off, try naming it and watching it instead of shrinking or advancing in self-defense, my love.

THE HOODWITCH: WITCH TIPS & HOROSCOPES 7/19-25/2017

Artwork by Pierre Kiandjan

Written By Jessica Lanyadoo

Witch Tips

The Sun and Mars enter playful Leo early this week, and that means that it’s time to let the light in, lovelies! Before that solar shift happens, we have one more kick in the pants from the Sun in Cancer though; watch out from the 19th-21st as the planet that governs our sense of self forms a challenging Square to disruptive Uranus. This transit will bring about sudden changes, upsetting conditions, and unexpected shifts in power. This is a great time for exploration and creating reform but a terrible one for making things more secure. Be open to learning something that you didn’t think was true, and keep your gossiping to a minimum as it’s likely to come back to haunt you.

These days can also trigger restless anxiety, so make sure that when you’re feeling nervous, you try to get grounded and breathe into the present moment as much as possible. My two favorite anti-anxiety Witch supplies are lavender for the nervous system and amethyst for protection and calming the mind.

Amethyst & Lavender are both available HERE

The big news this week happens on the 23rd with the New Moon at 2:46 am PST. This New Moon in Leo is the first of two New Moons in the sign of play and creativity this summer – the second one will be the Great American Eclipse on August 23rd. It’s rare to have two New Moons in the same sign – we usually only get one per year. Trust that whatever comes up now will be extra meaningful and  intense. None of this is made more chill by the fact that passionate Mars is sitting pretty much on top of this Moon. Be open to learning about your ego, lovers. Leo can be self-involved and arrogant, and the Moon has a hard time seeing other people’s experiences when it gets too emo. How you assert yourself, how you evaluate your own or others' merits, what you feel entitled to take, or the priority you place on getting yours is likely to be staring you straight in the face this week. Instead of devolving into defensiveness, embrace the fullness of what you are and how you do! Embrace the work of directing yourself where you want to go, even if it seems like it’ll be a lot of work.

TBH the Universe has got you in a corner because from the 23rd-25th compromising Venus will be opposite rigid Saturn. This will further the need for you to make sure that that your actions are an accurate reflection of your values. Saturn can make you feel lonely and hyper-critical of your looks, your relationships, and how you come across to others. Your best course of action is to get aligned with yourself and not worry so much about what others do or don’t think about you.

ARIES

March 21-April 19

What you want and what’s in your best interest are not always the same thing, my love. This week your impulses will be zinging, and it would be easy to jump to conclusions and get deeply invested in something that you don’t yet fully understand. Instead of looking outside of yourself for answers, practice checking in with what’s underneath your feels, Aries. By better understanding your impulses, you can make better, more effective choices.

­TAURUS

April 20-May 20

This is it, Taurus. You’re in a powerful state of manifestation, and that’s either going to be a very good or a very bad thing for you this week. Where your emotions are fixated is where you’ll see results, so get real about what you’re resonating with. If you’re on a diet and eating healthily but focused on how much you hate your body as it is, you’re likely to manifest more of your pain. Get your feels and your thoughts on the same page, my love.

GEMINI

May 21-June 21

What you value is not a theoretical thing – it’s reflected in your actions on the daily. This week is likely to bring about an encounter with your choices that crystallizes a reality you’ve been avoiding, Twin Star. Instead of defending your behavior or justifying your right to do as you please, first make sure that you mean it. This is an excellent time to face facts and redirect your life. Confront the truth; you’ll be better for it, I promise.

CANCER

June 22-July 22

It’s essential that you’re honest, Moonchild. You don’t need to fix anyone’s feels, you just have to show up. Be honest with yourself about what you’re feeling and why. Then you’ve got to share that truth with the people you trust. You’re not right or wrong, good or bad – you’re a complex and layered person. It’s OK if things are messy and you have contradicting feels. Own your perspective because the truth is true, whether you want it to be or not, my love.

LEO

July 23-Aug. 22

On July 23rd, we have a New Moon in your sign, and it’s related to the upcoming New Moon in Leo, also known as the Great American Eclipse on 8/21. (You usually only get one New Moon in your sign per year!) This is not the time for messing around, Leo; this is a special time in history, and a meaningful time for you, personally. How you show up and who you chose to be are extra crucial because of this unusual lunar activity. If you allow yourself to be emotionally present, you will discover profound heartfelt truths.

VIRGO

Aug. 23-Sept. 22

As the world around you changes, you must change too. This week isn’t meant to be stable, it’s meant to be a time of expansion. Maintain your self-care without attachments, Virgo. what I mean to say is that you shouldn’t try to direct the flow of your life this week because new data is coming in that will help you change or expand your perspectives. You can’t benefit from this if you’re not open to seeing things differently though. Open your heart and your mind, Virgo.

LIBRA

Sept. 23-Oct. 22

Things are gonna come at you real fast this week, so now’s the time to address your ambiguities, Libra. If you don’t know what you want, you may buy into a plan that is great – just not great for you. Cultivate the kind of self-reference that supports you in knowing the difference between a crush on a person or situation versus a crush on their crush on you. All that glitters is not gold, my friend. Use your discretion, and don’t be scared of saying no this week.

SCORPIO

Oct. 23-Nov. 21

Instead of seeking to avoid problems, embrace them, Scorpio. This is an excellent time to get things done that you’ve long been putting off. This may not be an easy week, but it doesn’t have to be bad either. Identify the material limitations you’ve been feeling blocked by, and write a three point plan of what you can begin to do to tackle them. You don’t need to fix anything, but you should set your sites on proactive steps to improve your life this week.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov. 22-Dec. 21

Feeling lonely is the pits. It’s a restless place to be, but in truth it’s important to be able to take a step back from people and really be with yourself. This week you may feel a bit off when it comes to your relationships, but there’s a big picture reason for it; you need you. If you’ve become caught up in other people’s opinions, you’re likely to have lost track of your own. Reconnect with your inner world without needing to get attention to validate your efforts, my love.

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22-Jan. 19

Things aren’t supposed to stay the same, Cappy. You are meant to change and grow, and as you do, you’re inevitably going to outgrow some things that you’ve come to rely on. This week may be challenging because you’re on call to do things differently and you only theoretically wanna. Allow space for your heart to drag behind your head if you need to; just don’t leave it in the dust.

AQUARIUS

Jan. 20-Feb. 18

The New Moon on the 23rd in your relationship house is an important moment for everyone, but you’re likely to feel it in an extra sort of way. This week your relationships will come into focus for you, so ready or not, it’s time to cope. Who you chose to invest your energy in and what you consent to participating in are on you. Be the friend, partner, child, or neighbor that you want to be, even if it takes bringing greater intention into all of your interactions this week.

PISCES

Feb. 19-March 20

At the end of the day you need to like yourself. It’s really easy to get caught up in what you think others want, or your projections into what others think about you, or what’s even possible for you to do based on other’s opinions. But it’s all a fool’s errand. Make sure you believe in the direction of your life, be damned what anyone else says. Commit your actions in the direction you need to so that you like the person you are in the here and now, Pisces.

The Hoodwitch: Witch Tips & Horosocopes 6/28~7/4/2017

Written By Jessica Lanyado

Witch Tips

What do we really know about the sign Cancer, other than that it’s got an unfortunate name and that it’s a hella emo sign? Cancer is strong. It’s a sign that’s represented by a hard-shelled crab, and while it may move towards things sideways, it comes equipped with weapons and can throw down if it has to. Planets in the sign of Cancer are concerned with their safety. The way that they assess it is by either referring back to their internal experience or checking in with what other people seem to think or feel – and this is where things get complicated. When dealing with heightened sensitivities, it’s wise to have a system of evaluating your own experience; otherwise, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by emotion and act defensively. This can cloud your judgment and encourage attachment to people, situations, or things that are not actually a part of your true security. This week, Cancer vibes are going to be strong.

Things are likely to be extra, so make sure you’re as grounded as you know how to be. On the 27-29th, chatty Mercury will be sitting on top of agro Mars. That’ll make everybody eager to jump to conclusions, feel hecka irritable, and quick to get defensive. Try to sit on your reactions and allow for more info to come through before you engage in fights, especially petty ones. On the 28-30th, Mercury will sit opposite Pluto, and that combo of these two transits can be downright explosive. You’re likely to obsess on things that make you feel bad, so be mindful of where you let your thoughts go. This is a great time for working hard to uncover the truth, but try to go at things directly, lovers.

Artwork by Ken Herman

If that wasn’t enough, it doesn’t end there; on the 1-3rd, Mars in Cancer will sit opposite Pluto in Capricorn. These two planets govern war and the need to be recognized as ‘right’. The combination can make you feel defensive and paranoid, so remember this: once a thing is done, it cannot be undone. Be humble in your strength, even if you feel like proving yourself at all costs. Other people may slime you with bad vibes, or you can spread around crappy juju if you’re not careful around these dates. 

Every witch needs black Tourmaline to help stave off negative energies, so make sure you’ve got some in your pocket this week. The greatest challenge from the 28th-3rd is to act with integrity; don’t do as the biggest jerk in your circle would; act in ways that make you like the person you are.

By the time the 3-5th rolls around, Mercury in emo Cancer will be forming a square to Uranus in individualistic Aries. The truth will come out around this time, so you better hope that you were playing it clean earlier in the week. This energy can make it hard to sleep because it stimulates your nervous system, and it can generate anxiety for the same reason. This is a great time for innovation but a lousy one for stability, so don’t seek it! Strive to grow beyond your limitations, and especially beyond your fears this week.

ARIES

March 21-April 19

Things are not meant to stay the same, and that’s a fact. Instead of holding on to what you thought you wanted, try being open to new ways of patterning your life. This week it’d be a mistake to get caught up in the details when there are big-picture shifts trying to take place in your life. Don’t hide from your own best interests by getting caught up in pettiness that you don’t need to be a part of. Focus your energies on getting where you want to go with your integrity intact, Aries.

­TAURUS

April 20-May 20

Your friendships are a meaningful reflection of the person that you choose to be. Pay attention to the dramas and very real dynamics at play with your friends, pals, and contacts this week. There’s a live wire humming through all of your communications right now, and it would be easy for a poorly placed word or an unintentional tone to set off trouble. It’s important that you air out your thoughts – just choose an appropriate and reliable shoulder to lean on this week.

GEMINI

May 21-June 21

Your ruling planet, Mercury, is on fire this week, and that can go in any direction for you. Stay grounded so that you don’t get swept up by other people’s dramas or become an unsuspecting player in one. When you’re stressing and fearing the worst, it’s extra hard to see things clearly. Take the space you need to be able to manage your feels; you risk getting so caught up in what you fear that you miss the potential inherent in your situation, Twin Star.

CANCER

June 22-July 22

This week may find you irritable, overwhelmed, and done with it all. There are no wrong feelings, just difficult ones. Find healthy ways of off-gassing your anger and agitation so that you don’t get into power struggles masquerading as meaningful issues. If you’re gonna get into it (and you may just have to), don’t get caught up in the details. By sticking to the big picture, it’ll be easier to avoid picking fights. Be intentional about what you do and how you do it, Moonchild.

LEO

July 23-Aug. 22

Pay close attention to your dreams this week; your sleep may be poor as your subconscious works out some heavy stuff. You’re likely to feel really flooded, and the way to handle it is to be willing to let go. Just because a thing is difficult doesn’t make it deep, Leo. It isn’t necessary to keep on reliving the same lessons – you’re allowed to walk away. Don’t process with people you don’t trust, and don’t waste your precious energy on played out dynamics this week.

VIRGO

Aug. 23-Sept. 22

If you don’t have confidence in yourself, every part of life becomes difficult and hard to navigate. So here’s the million dollar question, Virgo: are you worthy of trust? Do you generally act in your best interests and in ways that reflect your values? Do you stand up for yourself when you feel wronged? Do you take yourself out of situations when they prove to be bad for you? If your answers are “no,” this is the time to start being a better friend to your lovely self.

LIBRA

Sept. 23-Oct. 22

This is a time of great striving for you, Libra, and that’s not comfortable. When life is not stable, it’s tempting to assume the worst, but it’s not wise. Uncertainly and change are not synonymous with problems, my love. Be strong enough in your convictions that you can let people, situations, or attitudes go when they need to. In order to have a fantastic life, you don’t need things to come easily (though it would be nice); you need to be free.

SCORPIO

Oct. 23-Nov. 21

Things are complicated in your relationships, but that doesn’t mean that there are any hard and fast rules about what should come next. Avoid the desire to come up with a tidy answer to make a messy situation less complicated. Life is complicated. You don’t need to have it all together or to know what comes next in order for you to be doing the right thing for you in this moment. Act with honesty, and invite the consequences that this incurs, my love.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov. 22-Dec. 21

If you allow other people’s beliefs and opinions to corrode your confidence, they better be pretty compelling. This week, others may harsh your mellow with their fearful expectations and negative projections. Your job is to parse out the Negative Norberts from those offering wise counsel. While you don’t get to know what will happen next, you do know how you want to participate in the here and now. Let fear guide you away from danger, not forge your life plans.

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22-Jan. 19

If you don’t like the way things are, you’d better change them. The problem is that you’re unlikely to be able to see positive solutions when you’re obsessively running over everything that could go wrong. Repetitive thoughts and actions are like prayer, and they amplify whatever it is that you’re focusing on. Be careful of what you sew this week because your actions will be backed up with extra power. Make sure what you do is creative, or it’ll feel powerfully destructive, my love.

AQUARIUS

Jan. 20-Feb. 18

There’s only so much that you can do at once without feeling over it all and quitting. Pace yourself through everything that you have to get done this week, as it may feel like too much. There are heavy shifts happening deep within you, and if you aren’t present for them, you may just miss a golden opportunity to let go of baggage. There are some things that you’re totally done with but habituated around; prioritize the places and people that make you happy this week.

PISCES

Feb. 19-March 20

This week is all about finding opportunity where you feel stuck. This may require you to step outside of your comfort zone or to take pains to better secure some parts of your life. Whatever happens, if your attitude is that of a person with a sign, a stand, and a bunch of lemons, you’ll be alright, Pisces. Preparation doesn’t require that you control things, only that you are a good steward for them to grow.