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I write regularly at jessicashepherd.substack.com — soft, human words on healing, astrology & intuition:
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Aquarius New Moon: The Rebel and The Victim
We have two New Moons in Aquarius this year, an oddity for this oddball sign. This New Moon falls at practically the very last millisecond before the Sun enters Pisces. These are two very different signs holding very different realms of experience. Yet each connect to the other, through two archetypes: the Victim and Rebel, two energy patterns I've been exploring in excruciating detail in my own life, thanks to hardball Uranus-Pluto transiting my Aries Moon. The Rebel needs oppression,...
This Is Love
The newest love of my life is named Magnus. Magnus is a dog - a puppy, to be precise. This morning, far away from the cuddles and licks I’m greeted with every morning in my own bed, I am missing Magnus and our morning ritual. 1. Magnus, patiently waiting for me to rouse from sleep, then joyously, eagerly bouncing around the bed like a fox bouncing through deep fluffy snow 2. Followed by copious licks, cuddles and kisses 3. Then, Let’s eat breakfast, Mom! He ignores the puppy chow and awaits...
Songs For Venus Signs
As a writer, I've always been inspired by song lyrics. The writing many of us enjoy reading often has a special lyricism to it, and I aim for a similar sort of harmony and symmetry in my own work. If a piece feels off-balance, or it can be made more lovely through the use of another word or expression, I try my best to correct it. Writing, for me, feels like craftsmanship. The process of writing Venus Signs felt particularly musical. I channeled or downloaded a lot of it -maybe from Venus...
Leo Full Moon: Shine On
Who in the hell d'you think you are? A super star? Well, right you are. - John Lennon This weekend, I took a walk down the block to visit a new friend. She served me tea, peppered me with questions about myself and soon enough out my reindition of "How I Met My Husband" tumbled out, which quickly led to other topics like: manifestation, healing from past relationships, spirituality and more. A half hour into the conversation, she sat back and looked at me for a moment, genuflecting, "I don't...
Aquarius New Moon: Liberation Moon
When I think of the spirit of Aquarius, I think of the Nile River. Every year in ancient Egypt melting winter snow flowed from the Ethiopian Mountains into the Nile, essentially flooding the city surrounding. Since it was their only water source, a small flood or no flood meant famine, so they depended on this annual cycle for the following years crops. Change wasn’t easy. Each year they had to plan on the potential that their home and livelihood might be entirely wiped out. Yet to this day,...
Saturn in Sagittarius: B* Slapped By The Unfamiliar
Last night I was bitch slapped by Saturn. Specifically, by Mars in Pisces, transiting my fifth house of risk, performance and self-expression, squaring Saturn in Sagittarius, now located in my second house of self-esteem. What comfort zone was I pushed to face? I threw myself directly into the fire of my fears and went to a “speaking circle”, a way of being with an audience through“relational presence” (It's not public speaking, the founder told me, it's having an intimate conversation with...
2015: New and Continuing Trends
It's a New Year! Welcome! In 2015, some trends are continuing, while some are radically different from 2014. Here's my very brief overview of what's happening. A FRESH LOOK As of 12/23/14, Saturn is now in Sagittarius until 12/25/17 (Saturn will retrograde in Scorpio from 6/16-9/17/15), giving Sagittarius planets the cosmic push to accomplish something important. Saturn is the difficult but effective teacher who knows how to get results, and eventually rewards us for our persistence, patience...
Cancer Full Moon: Computers Don’t Have Hearts
Thoughtless, heartless, unkind, cruel...these were some of the words used by the author of the blog, Algorithmic Cruelty, and in the reader comments, to describe what it felt like to have his Facebook “Year in Review” feature a picture of his dead 8- year-old daughter with the caption “It’s been a great year...” Immediately, the blog went viral, commenters and author alike accusing the code writers of insensitivity and prompting a public apology from the Product Manager at Facebook. Clearly it...
Saturnalia Ritual Spell: Inhale Your Authority Back
Saturnalia was a Roman festival involving presents, revelry, and a little bit of bad behaviour. First there was a radical reversal of the established social order, when for a brief period of time slaves would become masters, and masters would become slaves. Another cool aspect of the celebration involved a statue of Saturn, bound in straps -symbolizing the restrictions, responsibilities and limits of our lives. At the festival, these strictures were untied as revellers lightened their load,...
Capricorn New Moon: The Tower and the Touchstone
Every year as Capricorn season arrives with bells on, so does our awareness of the passage of time, along with just how tightly we’ve scheduled our self, how pressured we feel by our numerous commitments, and how many hungry mouths and empty bank accounts we’ve got to satisfy. This sobering influence, on the holiday known for its generosity and good cheer, creates that unique schizophrenia characterizing "the holidays". I don’t know about you but many of my childhood Christmas memories involve...
