Bouy With Love
Libra: Mirror Season, Cultivating The Relationship Within To Experience The Divinity Without
I was unsure of how to start my Libra Season’s reflection, I wrote the title first as a play-on-words of Boy with Luv by BTS x Halsey, as I was listening to it endlessly at the beginning of the season. I knew somehow the theme of this write-up will be anchored by Love - as an abstract concept, as a revolutionary act, as a devotional practice. The season went by quickly with moments that shocked my nervous system, especially with the sudden passing of my beloved Uncle Man on the Aries Full Moon night. There were also moments of deep love witnessed through the intimate celebration of my siblings’ birthdays - 3 of them to be exact. Statistically-speaking, it is bizarre that I have 3 Libra Suns among my 6 other siblings, they have their Suns in opposition to my Aries Sun while being in conjunction with my Ascendant Ruler: Jupiter. Based on my interpretation of the zodiac archetype: Libra is where and when our soul encounters and reflects on the Divine Mirror, we relate with another through our soul’s lens, filters, and projections. Libra is ruled by Venus, a planet associated with connections and relationships amongst other “beautiful” things. Libra deeply knows how to be liked as they are bestowed with the gift of discerning social dynamics and applying the communication skills needed within their one-to-one relationships. Arguably, some Libra natives have “pretty privilege” which I shall not delve into here XD. They would and could mirror your thoughts, your emotions, your ideals, and your projections, perhaps even to a fault. Hence, in traditional astrology, the Sun is considered to be in Fall in Libra because when one’s self-actualization mirrors another’s, it loses its sense of soul(ar) individuality and creative vitality. However, Saturn, a planet of boundaries, conditioning, and karma, is considered to be Exalted in Libra because the mirroring process translates well in terms of cause and effect, and equality and justice - an eye for an eye moment.
In reflecting on the Libra archetype, I was somehow reminded of Yohji Yamamoto’s quote, a fashion designer I admired. Fashion is a deeply Venusian performative field with a sprinkle of Neptunian glamor magick. Yohji said:
“Start copying what you love. Copy copy copy copy. At the end of the copy, you will find yourself.”
With that said, this Libra Season reflection approach will be a copy of what I love, or more aptly an homage, of Syar’s reflective tarot-inspired format from her Record of Year newsletter which said it’s goodbye/hiatus recently. Please read the newsletter archives she recommended as they are gems for tarot-lovers!
I pulled 3 tarot cards for my Libra season reflection, a card to represent something to leave behind, a card to represent something rooted within me, a card to represent something to embrace moving forward. It’s a helpful classic tarot spread when going through any situations and particularly resonates with the Libra glyph: The Scales.
I am leaving behind the Six of Chalices (Cups), a card that resonates with the Inner Child archetype. I am not literally leaving behind my Inner Child, that’s not the message of the card. The word that came into my mind is “Victim Mentality” and it reminded me of the Karpman Drama Triangle which I learned recently by reference, from learning more about The Astrology of Chiron with Melanie Reinhart through a podcast. The Karpman Drama Triangle posits a framing of life roles limited to The Victim, The Rescuer, The Persecutor - where we interchange these roles in our lives in order to survive certain situations. It is a toxic dance of equilibrium where power and privilege, and the lack thereof, are weaponized against each other. In processing our roles, we are not invalidating or shaming our past experiences, which perhaps were indeed oppressed, abused, and victimized in certain relationships and power dynamics. A more meaningful perspective is to assess the present role of where we are in processing those past traumas. Melanie Reinhart explained that “people who wound, do so on the back of their own wounding which could be unconscious and undoubtedly dangerous, especially for unprocessed suffering.” Similarly, Sabrina, my astrology teacher, recently posted an insightful framing on “editing victimization out of our self-concept” which resonated deeply with where I was at, and what I was intentionally trying to leave behind: victimization. The tarot card’s illustration speaks to this as well with the confrontation of two beings, the long-haired merfolk floating with one hand spread open against the other being’s heart area, and the other person are clothed in an armor-style top while holding a sword or a sharp rod with their left hand. The merfolk is looking at the other person’s eyes while the other figure tilted his gaze downwards. There is an inherent vulnerability with the nudity of the merfolk and 6 fishes surrounding his hair, with a suggestion of hurt and remorse witnessed through the eyes of the sword-yielding person - like something violent had just happened in the scene and the crowned merfolk (which felt like our higher-self) came to give an alternate perspective. As a tarot-enthusiast, though this card is in the suits of Cups, it feels deeply Swords-like. I am releasing any residual feelings of victimization through my past and present situations.
For a card to represent something to be rooted deeper within me, I pulled The Empress and I giggled “OF COURSE!” The astrological correspondence for The Empress is Venus, and I LOVEEE the representation of The Empress in the Star Spinner Tarot: the big hair, the cape with a heart-shaped necklace and golden chains attached from across the shoulders, the adorned eleven stars around their hair outlining an invisible crown, the maroon dress with golden buttons outlining the bosom edges, the golden yellow crop-sculpted staff she is holding effortlessly, and the same wands making a golden fence surrounding their portrait. Most importantly, the loving smile and intimate gaze she has for the spectator, for me. You could put any affirmations to the card and feel like The Empress is directly conversing with your heart space. They said: DEAR, YOU ARE SOOO LOVED, YOU ARE CAPABLE OF CREATING MORE LOVE REALITIES, YOUR NEEDS AND DESIRES ARE BEING CARED FOR & NURTURED EVERY SINGLE DAY. CULTIVATE IT WITHIN YOUR PRACTICE. If you’ve been following my journey through previous posts or Instagram, you would probably know Self-Love is something I am intentionally working a lot more with this year. I suddenly remembered my tarot reading by Dhiyanah, who told me that: Self-Love could just be Self-Care 101, including gratitude practices of what we have in the earthly and unseen realms. As an Aries Venus native, Love feels like a battlefield because Mars is the dispositor planet. In traditional astrology, Venus is Exiled in Aries and Scorpio, which are both the “home” of Mars. Imagine Venus is supposed to be the connector planet but she was given a passionate flame (Aries) to build a beautiful bridge between two worlds rather than the relational intelligence (Libra) to figure out the ideal methodology for both parties. There is an inherent need to prove oneself for an Aries Venus, as our Love is often action-oriented through passion when Venus, as an archetype, has a lot more to do with receptivity and reflection. I’ve been collaborating with Venus through my use of rose quartz crystals (I used to loathe at the idea of having rose quartz), my recital of Orphic Hymn to Venus/Aphrodite (while dancing in my room sometimes), and my more intentional indulgence of food and beauty routine. Believe it or not, Aries Venus native tends to inhale their food rather than experience them. Embracing bodily pleasure (Taurus) is the most Venusian thing you could for yourself since the joy of social pleasure (Libra) would require more than just you!
Four of Wands is the card representing something I need to step more into during the season. For me, the card usually represents a portal or gateway towards something new and exciting or our resistance towards the newness - an upgraded version of Ace of Wands where the soulful joy is deeply felt from the experience. There are 4 star-shaped wands in the backdrop with two small faeries holding a single flower together, in the far-left background there is a castle. The card represents the blessing of a journey we are making, whether that journey is about coming home to the castles of our passion or leaving home for an unknown adventure that feels right. What blessings do we need to feel validated for our choices? Is it from the people around us or within us? From our past-selves? Are we able to step into the portal of new realities without having people celebrate us for it? Are we comfortable with being physically alone in the process? Those are some of the questions I asked myself when I pulled the card. Undoubtedly, we are already living these moments in our lives through the songs in our Spotify playlists, through the choices of our everyday outfits and the colors in our closets, through the choice of binge-watching Emily in Paris on Netflix. We have already engaged in choices in our “mundane” world with some form of intentions and celebrations. Thus why would bigger choices be judged or blessed any differently? If the impact or consequence matter, why don’t the same amount of scrutiny is performed in our “trivial” choices since those too cumulatively take up energetic space and time? With the Four of Wands, I have learned that I don’t need permission or validation to do something that brings my soul the joy and excitement they deserve.
Libra season has taught me that making the choice to show up for my Love first is almost always how I will experience Love through and with other people in my life. Here is the Orphic Hymn to Aphrodite:
Heav’nly Venus, illustrious, laughter-loving queen, sea-born, night-loving, of an awesome mien;
Crafty, from whom necessity first came, producing, nightly, all-connecting dame:
‘Tis thine the world with harmony to join, for all things spring from thee, O pow’r divine.
The triple Fates are rul’d by thy decree, and all productions yield alike to thee:
Whate’er the heav’ns, encircling all contain, earth fruit-producing, and the stormy main,
Thy sway confesses, and obeys thy nod, awesome attendant of the brumal God:
Goddess of marriage, charming to the sight, mother of Loves, whom banquetings delight;
Source of persuasion, secret, fav’ring queen, illustrious born, apparent and unseen:
Spousal, lupercal, and to men inclin’d, prolific, most-desir’d, life-giving., kind:
Great sceptre-bearer of the Gods, ’tis thine, mortals in necessary bands to join;
And ev’ry tribe of savage monsters dire in magic chains to bind, thro’ mad desire.
Come, Cyprus-born, and to my pray’r incline, whether exalted in the heav’ns you shine,
Or pleas’d in Syria’s temple to preside, or o’er th’ Egyptian plains thy car to guide,
Fashion’d of gold; and near its sacred flood, fertile and fam’d to fix thy blest abode;
Or if rejoicing in the azure shores, near where the sea with foaming billows roars,
The circling choirs of mortals, thy delight, or beauteous nymphs, with eyes cerulean bright,
Pleas’d by the dusty banks renown’d of old, to drive thy rapid, two-yok’d car of gold;
Or if in Cyprus with thy mother fair, where married females praise thee ev’ry year,
And beauteous virgins in the chorus join, Adonis pure to sing and thee divine;
Come, all-attractive to my pray’r inclin’d, for thee, I call, with holy, reverent mind.
With Radical Rebirth, Still, I Rise
Shahir
20201101 @ 1515
In the previous post, I wrote about honoring our ancestors during the Pisces Full Moon, my personal interrogation of the Virgo-Pisces axis, and what it means to be of service as a person with a Midheaven in Virgo.
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