don't be afraid to disappear

presale ending // ✨ scholarships ✨

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Michaela Coel’s 2021 Emmy acceptance speech for her limited series, I May Destroy You. I didn’t even watch the Emmy’s that year, but the speech, which Coel explicitly directed to writers, went viral on Book Twitter (RIP), and I began returning to it when I needed a pep talk. (start at 3:33)

I just wrote a little something for writers, really. Write the tale that scares you, that makes you feel uncertain, that is uncomfortable. I dare you. In a world that entices us to browse through the lives of others to help us better determine how we feel about ourselves, and to, in turn, feel the need to be constantly visible, for visibility these days seems to somehow equate to success. Do not be afraid to disappear, from it, from us, for a while, and see what comes to you in the silence.

— Michaela Coel

How contrary this wisdom is in the age of the now-Rapidly Multiplying Twitters, of Blueskys and Threads and the FOMO that comes of missing out on an opportunity to be “seen.”

Do not be afraid to disappear.

See what comes to you in the silence.

This is how the decidedly non-productivity focused 6-week container, Roses & Thorns: A Venus Retrograde Cloister for Creative Recovery emerged.

She came to me in my own silence, birthed out of my own creative need; I am in a period where I am radically shifting my own creative direction, and I’ve learned that such changes, for me at least, require tenderness and incubation rather than strict deadlines and startup-like efficiency.

It is in the slow-down, and in the attentiveness to the body, to the mind, to the spirit, where we awaken.

In (seeming to) “disappear” to the world, we become profoundly present to Ourselves — and the creative energies around us.

This is all to say:

The pre-sale (in which you can register for Roses & Thorns at a reduced price) ends tonight at 6pm Eastern. After this, the price increases to $888 (a 3-part payment plan will be available.

The cloister is thematically organized around the story of the Descent of Inanna, who is a Sumerian goddess and mythological ancestor of Venus:

Week 1: Desire (Sat July 22-Sat July 29)

Week 2: Descent (Sun July 30-Sat Aug 5)

Week 3: Doorways (Sun Aug 6 - Sat Aug 12)

Week 4: Death (Sun Aug 13 - Sat Aug 19) featuring special guest and my dear friend, astrologer Diana Rose Harper

Week 5: Rebirth (Sun Aug 20 - Sat Aug 26)

Week 6: Renaissance (Sun Aug 27 - Sun Sep 3)

This is designed to be Choose Your Own Adventure: do what feels best and most restorative for you

Daily 

• A Discord server that I will monitor and participate in

• Mary Oliver poems will be shared with the group daily (a la my “have a mary oliver” tweets, except one every single day)

Weekly

• Pre-recorded messages connected to the week’s theme, at least 20-30 minutes long

• Accompanying journal prompts for weekly themes/messages

• Astrological guides for each week, geared to creative rejuvenation

• Live 45-minute open “office hours” on Zoom once a week to check in with each other in person

Super Duper Optional, Group: 

• Summer Book Club

  • Those who so choose can join me in reading Millennial YA favorite Ella Enchanted together, with open threads in Discord to discuss each chapter and one final live book club discussion over Zoom at the end of our cloister where we discuss the book and what revisiting it brought up. Great for inner child work and fairy tale lovers.

Super Duper Optional, Solo: 

• The Venus Rx Artistic Syllabus  (with Discord channels for discussion)

  • Music playlists, curated by Jeanna

  • Recommended albums 

  • Recommended reading

  • Recommended ~art~ 

• The Venus Rx Witchcraft Syllabus (with Discord channels for discussion)

  • Suggested tinctures/herbal supplements

  • Recommended astro resources

  • Suggested Sphere & Sundry materia

  • Suggestions for Venus altars and devotions 

ALSO ALSO ALSO!

I am excited to announce that I am able to fund two scholarship spots for BIPOC, trans/non-binary, and/or disabled folks.

Recipients will be selected at random on Wednesday, July 19th; you can fill out a very low-effort Google Form (no personal details required) here to enter.