Hi everyone,
In case you missed it, the much-requested self-paced version of Astrology for Writers: How to Make Your Writing Work for You is now available! (It makes a great holiday gift, and the good news is that it’s digital so no shipping delays.)
Also: as this New Moon happens to be falling on my love’s solar return, I would be remiss if I did not encourage you all to check out her work. If you aren’t familiar with Meg Jones Wall (whose article on Stripe discriminating against witches you may have read, and who you may follow as 3am.tarot on Instagram), might I strongly recommend checking out everything she has to say about tarot and spirituality?
I say this as someone who benefits from Meg’s wisdom daily, and who benefited from her friendship for years before we started dating. Subscribing to her Patreon or signing up for her newsletter makes for an excellent birthday gift. (She also has a fucking brilliant tarot book, Finding the Fool — the kind of book I wish had been around when I first started reading tarot — coming out next fall, which you will absolutely want to pre-order!)
And now: let’s talk about the New Moon.
Xx,
Jeanna
This New Moon in Scorpio arrives at 5:14p ET. It opposes Uranus, the rabble-rouser of the cosmos. This is probably not going to be a quiet moon; the possibilities for internal bedlam or even revolt are rife. Or it may simply be that what we’re seeding may come about in an unexpected way. Moon-Uranus connections are unpredictable like that.
The central stage for this activity is Scorpio. Anyone who has taken a class with me knows that I most often paint a picture of Scorpio as a well.
In the depth of autumn, we find the decaying leaves grazing the top of the tepid water. The kind that beautiful women with swords rise from. The kind that fairy tale children drown in. The kind that you cast a wish into, when the odds do not seem to be in your favor.
In this well, some things die, and some things are born again.
*
This memoir, which I have been working on full-time for nearly the past year, and working on part-time for 4 years before that, has pushed me to the edge of myself, past where I thought I could go: mentally, emotionally, spiritually, even physically. The book has inspired me to take care of my body, mind, and spirit in new ways.
Someone in my life, I can’t recall who, told me that writing a memoir isn’t just about being willing to commit to finishing the book — it’s also about being willing to be changed, in turn, by the book itself. By the process of telling your story.
Pour enough of yourself into the well, and see what comes back out.
*
While this New Moon is a little unpredictable due to the Uranian influence, it is significantly helped by the fact that its ruler, Mars, is back in its home sign of Scorpio. Mars in Scorpio, as I wrote in the writer’s guide to october’s astrology, is “the spy, the strategist with a long memory that never forgets a slight.” Mars in Scorpio lends a weaponized edge to this moon, an ability to plan for the long-term, helping the potency of what you’re planning.
*
Right now, this book feels like the best I can do on a craft level, and I am proud of that. And also: I hope it’s not the best I ever do. I hope I keep growing. I hope by the time THIS I KNOW: A MEMOIR OF HERESY comes out next year, I will already cringe at some of my choices, having already known I would make different ones. (And also: I hope for some grace for this current version of myself, who is literally at her breaking point with revisions.)
I want to keep getting better. I want to want to keep getting better, no matter how many years pass, no matter how many or few books are sold. May the curse of complacency, of hyper-attachment, to my work never settle upon me.
Happy New Moon in Scorpio.
Writing Prompts for the New Moon in Scorpio
What in your writing life/routine/practice is dying — and being reborn? Or, more conventionally: What are you wanting to begin right now?
What transformational experiences has 2021 brought to your creativity? Have these been welcome changes, or unfortunate surprises? How have you grown along with these shifts and fault lines in your life?
If you read this newsletter and want to help it grow (and support my work!), consider becoming a paid subscriber. The subscription includes a detailed guide to every month’s upcoming astrology — such as November’s! — and how it impacts writers. Best days to pitch or revise? It’s all in there. It also includes specialty newsletters on planetary events like major ingresses, Mercury Retrograde, Year Ahead 2022, and more.