It’s 11:11PM Pacific time on 11/11. The number one, the only one, reminds us to be ourselves. Each and everyone of us is truly one of one. :) 1/1
I haven’t felt like writing much since I got back from Japan. I was so fortunate to spend two weeks with my husband: exploring, eating, drinking, soaking, shopping, singing. There was another activity we ended up doing quite often that I was surprised by: making wishes.
Japan is a wishing forward nation. I knew that we’d be visiting shrines and holy places on our trip, but I was so happy to discover that a large part of the culture / Shinto faith was the practice of making wishes and calling in the things you want. Here’s some text about the Shinto religion from a pamphlet I got at the Meiji Jingu Shrine.
~ this is the space I’m taking in my email to address my own fear and release my own self judgment that I’m scared I’ll come off as an eat, pray, loving white girl~
Before entering a shrine, you wash your hands and rinse mouth. It’s a purification act before entering a sacred space. Sometimes there are wooden plaques, called ema, where you write your prayer, wish, and/or manifestation. The wishes you would make are sent to the deities called kami, they are the ones who receive and grant for the wishes. You could also buy omamori at the Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples, which are amulets that are different shapes and colors depending on what kind of fortune you are calling in.
I feel so much gratitude that we could take a trip and visit all these special places of wishing and magic. I am forever changed.
I felt so emotional at these spaces where people from around the world came to make wishes together. Seeing all the wooden boards, countless wishes, all collectively charged and channeling the best for our fellow humans. I fucking criiiiiiiied. I was so moved!!!!
Wishing is so vulnerable!!! Asking for what you want is brave.
I saw so many ema boards and the wishes varied:
I hope my cancer stay’s in remission and takes the burden off my family.
I will pass my exams and graduate zoology school!
To finding love in 2024!
Yes, strangers, yes!!!!!! I hope your dreams come true!!!!! On this 11/11 day I hope you can find space to make wishes with others. Together, we’re unstoppable.
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I wanted to take this space in my newsletter to acknowledge the genocides taking place in Palestine, Congo, Sudan, and Armenia. I’m sorry if there are other countries missing that I did not list, these are the 4 large scale genocides that are currently happening that I am aware of. I am a humble student and always here to learn more.
I specifically want to discuss Palestine, because the US has very deep ties to Israel, and this is the discussion that has been the loudest in our nation. I was indoctrinated with a lot of false information at a young age about Israel. I encourage being patient and understanding when informing friends, family, etc about the reality of the conflict. Unfettered allyship to Israel has been a cornerstone of American politics since Israel’s inception in 1948.
Please, please, please call your reps demanding a ceasefire and please attend protests if you’re able to.
The amount of war crimes being committed against the Palestinian people, no matter your stance on the matter, should move you to call on our government to stop funding these atrocious acts breaking international war laws. We need an immediate ceasefire. This website has information about protests / contacting reps: www.gazastrong.com/
Also I have heard wonderful reviews about the documentary Israelism www.israelismfilm.com/
Disclosure: I have not seen this film yet and normally would not endorse something I have not seen, but I am hoping to see a screening soon, either IRL or virtually. I think this piece of media will serve as a vital resource in how we speak about Israel and Palestine.
I am married into a Jewish family, my ancestors are survivors of genocide in Iran, like this shit is bringing up A LOT for me and for everyone I know. It’s disturbing to bear witness to genocide unfolding in real time. Please take action. We can’t just wish for peace. We must shelve how we’re feeling, for now, and do what we can to stop the death of innocent people.
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WHAT’S UP WITH THE SKY RN
:exhales:
The astrology weather of late was also a big reason why I haven’t updated in a minute. It’s been rough, my guys. I’ve been taking it in! Sometimes it’s fun to use astrology to look forward, but other times we just need to experience it for ourselves and use astrology as a tool to look back and reflect about what unfolded.
Mad fast recap: October was eclipse season! It was our last set of eclipses on the Taurus / Scorpio axis. On October 14 we had a solar eclipse in Libra and then on October 28 we had a lunar eclipse in Taurus.
The days between eclipses are said to be portal like…it can feel really charged or like a total blur. I highly recommend for the astro dorks out there to check out these episodes of the The Astrology Podcast, hosted by living legend Chris Brennan, about major world events lining up with eclipses.
Here’s PART 1 and then PART 2. I’m sure there will be more cuz spoiler alert: lots of crazy shit happens in the 7 days before or after an eclipse! Bravo to Chris and Nick Dagan Best for this very important astrological research.
As for right now…November is the aftermath of a lot of stirred up shit from October. I recommend, if you can, taking November to recover. The Sun is currently in deep diving Scorpio, closely connected to Mars also in Scorpio.
I had a few friends last week ask me: WTF IS GOING ON ASTROLOGICALLY!?!!?! HALP!!! and my advice right now to folks is: if you don’t wanna get into it, don’t get into it.
I’m not saying be avoidant, cuz if you know me, you know I HATE COWARDS lol but astrologically speaking now is not the time to bring up anything that feels petty or surface level because that shit might end up becoming a bigger conversation than planned.
Now look, maybe that convo is DUE so don’t try to delay the inevitable. Maybe this current weather is just what you need, if you feel like the conversations you’ve been having aren’t getting to the root of the matter. Scorpio energy doesn’t like small talk. Scorpio wants to dive into the subconscious.
Here’s an example of how this Scorpio season could steer the energy: your partner never does the dishes. You bring it up. You’re angry that the dishes are always piled up in the sink at the end of the day. You have the fight. The fight unravels into conversations about feeling unappreciated. You feel like you’re not prioritizing building domestic rituals together. Your partner feels shame and that the other ways they show up was enough. They’re hurt and confused. You finally talk about the other deeper issues that have been bothering you. It’s never about the dishes. It’s time to pop that pimple full of resentment. Yep, that’s Scorpio season teehee. My job as an astrologer is to prep you for the weather and if you are feeling like it’s time to pop the pimple, just remember it’s probably gonna scab and look even worse than just letting it dissolve on its own. But sometimes we need to pop!!!!!!
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ASTROLOGY BOOKINGS
I’m so so so excited to be opening my November / early-mid December calendar again. I LOVE GIVING READINGS AHHHH. I’m definitely going to be doing some updates in 2024 to my offerings but for now here’s what I got for ya bb: https://stevies.world/astrology
You can book a reading on my Calendly: BOOK HERE
We’re going to have our last Mercury Retrograde of the year happening in December and I plan to take that time to revamp and fine tune my astrology website, offerings, and newsletter!
I always plan to offer a free newsletter option, but I’m kicking around the idea of paywalling some bonus posts with my newsletter…I would love to know from my readers: when it comes to becoming a paid subscriber what bonus posts appeal to you?
Some ideas I had are either going very educational, for example: a subscriber only post going over each planet, aspect, sign.
OR would you want more lifestyle? Would my Japan itinerary be of interest? More recs? Pop culture musings through an astrology lens? OR ALL OF THE ABOVE?! Please comment on this post and let me know! I love writing Stevie Email’s Energy!
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WHAT I’M DIGGING
THE WOMAN IN ME BY BRITNEY SPEARS - I love Britney. Fuck how society treated this sweet angel. All she did was GIVE. Justice for Britney. So happy she can tell her story in her memoir and that all this COIN IS GOING TO HER. Also watch this throwback Britney vid for a laugh. Read her words. Stop calling women crazy.
BARDCORE - Look I fucking love the Ren Faire and I love listening to music on YouTube. Lately I’ve been all about medieval style interpretations of modern day songs. Some of my tops: Jolene, Blue (Da Ba Dee), Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, Candy Shop, Hips Don’t Lie, One More Time, and you can’t go wrong with 1 solid hour of Lana Del Rey bardcore.
MOLLY MCPHERSON’S CRISIS MGMT TIKTOK - I’m very into Molly McPherson’s TikTok account, she’s a PR expert who works in crisis management and her TikTok breaks down celebrity statements, phone notes, and apology videos following scandal all from a PR POV. J’adore. As an astrologer the art of communication is fascinating to me (maybe it's my Mercury Conjunct Jupiter in Gemini) and Molly is the pro when it comes to reading between the lines and explaining to her audience the science of public apologies. Fascinating stuff! Would love to have an astrology rooted chat with her one day, in regard to her work / pop culture musings / the astrology of how people cover their ass.
MUJI - Consider this my plea to the United States to GET MORE MUJI STORES. I guess there’s a few locations in the US, but none near me so I am sad lol. I went to the MUJI department store while in Tokyo and I mean…heaven? From cute little stationary to lip gloss, you can get lost in all the treasures. If you are needing to reorganize your office life, I highly recommend getting your MUJI on! They ship throughout the US sooo…but if you get the chance to enter one of these stores IRL it’s a MUST.
PURELY SEDONA SPARKLING WATER - A new sparkling water has entered the chat. Should I be drinking water sourced from *checks notes* Arizona? Seems wrong, but tastes so right. I think I’m still chasing the high of visiting Sedona. I’m convinced if I keep drinking this sparkling water I’ll start levitating or be able to speak to my cat telepathically.
Feel free to check out my September 2023 and October 2023 playlists. They are really good! And some songs I found while in Japan on the September one. Yes I use Apple Music, please don’t add me on there. I love having no friends on my music streaming site of choice.
Be kind, fight for peace, use your voice. Protect your energy, rise to the occasion.
I can’t wait to see you on your one on one astrology readings. I hope all your wishes come true.
4ever yours, Stevie