ask jeanna: breaking the wheel of the year

the wheel has issues

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Before we get into this month’s question from a paid subscriber, a quick reminder that it’s that time of year again. I host a(n) (totally free) annual lunch hour Q&A exclusively for LGBTQIA+ writers, and I’m thrilled to announce that my rockstar (also queer) agent Dana Murphy of Trellis Literary will once again be joining me this Thursday, May 23rd at 12pm Eastern.

The event is totally free (and also free of a deck or sales pitch), but registration is required just so we have an estimate of how many folks to prepare for. Please note that this is exclusive to the LGBTQIA+ community, so that particular concerns we face in traditional publishing can be discussed. You can register here! Come hang, whether or not you have questions.

the wheel of the year

This week’s question was born out of a Discourse in the paid subscriber-only Discord.

Q: Thinking a lot about your comments about the wheel of the year being bullshit and I feel like there’s been light talk about why here and there, but I’d love to know more about it! I know you mentioned it being a relatively young concept held up as an older one too.

Whoo boy, the Wheel of the Year. Taking this question feels like lighting a match near a powder keg, although as the question asker notes, I’m very vocal about the Wheel in the [paid subscribers-only] astrology for writers Discord. I also want to preface that we all start somewhere, and this is not intended as a criticism of folks who are new. My hope is that in discussing the decidedly not historical origins of and colonial issues with the Wheel, folks who didn’t previously know can learn and make a more informed choice about the kinds of information you share and accept as Truth. 

To be clear: the Wheel of the Year is a 20th century Wiccan intervention in the neopagan world.