the full moon in aries for writers
First, I want to share a bit of good news, which you may have seen on Twitter. I GOT A BOOK DEAL, ‘tis official!
Astrology is obviously going to be a part of the book, as it’s been a key component of my own healing practice and found spiritual community over the last few years. I am so excited to be able to share this with you all — thank you, as ever, for your support.
And now, for the actual newsletter!
Today’s Full Moon in Aries arrives at 5:05 PM ET. Boldness is the order of the day. Aries is the ram, known for its hardheadedness; if life were an action movie, Aries would be the warrior on the team who makes the entry.
However, this call for an almost Wonder Woman kind of energy comes at a difficult moment. I don’t know about you, but this week, while filled with some bright moments, has also been tough. Tough tough. This moon arrives on the heels of the second Mars-Saturn square, a moment of incredible friction from earlier in the week that likely brought up themes from late August. It arrives as Saturn has stationed direct, bringing our responsibilities and the life structures that need tinkering back to the forefront. It arrives in the midst of life: with an election here in the United States mere weeks away, tensions rising, social media an endless source of doomscrolling (as Karen Ho puts it). A particular kind of war-mongering, anger-stoking Aries energy is readily available to us, right now.
This moon is also conjunct Chiron, the minor planet of the wounded healer. With both Chiron (our historical pains and wounds) and Mars (conflict, anger, and war) being directly lit up by a rather emotional Full Moon in Aries, we are all being tenderized — but more in the fashion of getting hammered by a meat tenderizer than gentled by a therapist. Who doesn’t have some wounds around harsh words or work rejection, around body image or love gone wrong? Those fault lines may feel especially fractured.
So, this full moon — a release, a culmination, a celebration, a realization — also has much to do with working through wounds, with addressing conflict, with allowing those roads to lead us toward a bravery that may feel so very distant from where we are right now. Look back to the New Moon in Aries that dawned on March 24 of this year. Whatever you were seeding then may be coming up now.
That is the astrology of the moment. When it comes to the writing of it all, I think of Hamilton’s “Hurricane.” (There is a lot to critique about that musical, but goddamn, when it comes to songs about writing, there are some gems in there.) The repeating line of the song is, “I’ll write my way out,” about writing in and through the eye of life’s metaphorical hurricanes.
Hamilton is talking about writing himself out of personally fraught situations, and there is wisdom there for the rest of us writing in the midst of personal and/or collective hardship. This is an Aries moon, sitting with Chiron and Mars: the stick your courage to the screwing place energy it inspires in us.
Your work doesn’t have to be big. Cut your to-do list in half. Don’t have “finish my novel” on your calendar for today. Bit by bit. Little by little. Paragraph by paragraph. Process, heal. Then process and heal again.
Write your way out, write your way through, and give yourself the time and space to find that fire within that reminds yourself why you do this.
Writing Prompts for the Full Moon in Aries
What old stories have been coming up for you about your writing, creativity, or identity as a writer, especially the ones you tell yourself about yourself? Make a list. Now, rewrite it to reflect what you know to be true. (Fake it til you make it!)
What new project, idea, significant work relationship, or other creative spark was seeding itself around March 24th (the New Moon in Aries) this year? How has it been affected by the pandemic and/or other things in your life? Where are you at with the project or idea now, or has it totally shifted course? Has a new one taken its place?
P.S. The Writer’s Guide to October’s Astrology — which runs through all of the notable transits of the month for writers and breaks down all the best dates for pitching, revising, staying off Twitter, self-promoting, and more — will be going out by tomorrow to paid subscribers only.