Is Astrology Moving Out of Fashion? And Why Maybe That's A Good Thing.
A few unhinged notes on why you should come to my astrology festival
Earlier this week I found myself captured by a clickbaity anti-astrology piece. I won’t bother mentioning it, or go into too many details, because quite frankly it was lazy reporting that suffered from the same cultural insensitivity it accused astrology of, but it did make a point worth sitting with: that astrology is limiting and unjust.
From this person’s perspective, astrology is a system for determining and profiling people’s personalities, moods, and destiny.
Now, while this may not be my working definition of astrology, nor yours, for anyone who’s ever found themselves obsessed with their sun sign horoscope, that’s a pretty accurate summary.
The example this author cited was a coworker tearing down their potential partner because he was a Gemini, a theme so pervasive in pop culture that it’s the title of one of astro’s greatest meme accounts, Not All Geminis.
But, I can hear you screaming into your computer, that’s not real astrology! We all know sun sign astrology is garbage! But do we? Ok. You know what else is garbage? Chani, the educated astrology app, telling me that “June is the luckiest, most abundant month of the year” because of Jupiter and Venus in Cancer.
Try telling that to someone who woke up after that benefic kiss with pink eye (me) or a black eye (my colleague) or is now spending tons of money on costly surgery for their dog’s goopy eye (another colleague). Try telling that to someone who is facing an emotional breakdown or who recently lost a loved one. (Fun fact: when the sky gets pretty, people start dying. My mother died as Venus crossed my ascendant. It can be beautiful, but that’s subjective. Anyway, look around. Take stock.)
You know who got lucky on this transit? Elon Musk. While big astrology was busy telling us which signs are going to find love this year, that fucker was just anointed the world’s first trillionaire. And you know who’s going to suffer because of it. All of us.
Back to the 9th House
It was only days after reading this takedown that I heard Chris Brennan point out a historical pattern: Saturn-Neptune conjunctions in Aries consistently herald new waves of astrology skeptics.
And I was relieved.
Maybe this will be the push that clears out all the garbage astrology, the punch in the gut that awakens people to the damage of compulsively checking their astrology each day, sometimes multiple times a day, refreshing their feeds for the latest cosmic news that promises to deliver the goodies or end their suffering.
Selfishly, the part of me that wrestles with maintaining a public persona as an astrologer was finally given permission to just stop and accept the fact that no matter how popular our profession becomes, it will always be an outsider’s discipline.
Astrology does, after all, inhabit the 9th house of the zodiac, a cadent place, fallen from the angle of popularity and profitability, a part of life where one’s studies and hard work aren’t promised public accolades.
I will audaciously argue that astrology has grown bloated. Not only is the skepticism expected, but, as astrologers, it is our duty to be skeptical of the voices that do more harm than good.
Perhaps we are going into a period of decline. One where we can gestate and hone our craft outside of the public’s glare.
Astrology has always gone in and out of favor, but you can’t erase the study of time. You can’t erase the human desire to struggle with what it means to be human. While I wholeheartedly believe astrology is for everyone, maybe it’s just not for everyone, and that’s ok.
All things come in waves, and as the wave of astrology falls into the shore, maybe that’s our cue to return to the darkness, where we’ll continue to light candles and debate beneath the stars for a few hundred or thousand more years. To take our time with the big issues, so that we can surface every now and then to share a few well-formed thoughts that will, hopefully, provide some wisdom.
Now Come to My Astro Fest. LOL
It’s not lost on me that my sun is at zero degrees Aries, the point of the Saturn/Neptune conjunction, or, as I shall now see it, the mark of the skeptic.
Nor is it lost on me that I’m both welcoming the public downfall of astrology and giving my time, energy, and resources to organize a public astrology festival.
My skepticism, you see, is a form of devotion. I am devoted to creating ninth house spaces for astrologers to share wisdom and struggle and debate over ideas, big and small.
All the ad copy’s below, but I’ll leave you with this: if you’re in Los Angeles and you really truly, deep in your heart, want to attend LA Astro Fest, but can’t swing the ticket price, reach out to me personally. While we’ve priced tickets to sustain the event, I don’t want cost to be a barrier for anyone who could gain from the experience.
And if you can afford a ticket, please do so. Your support is helping someone else struggle in the dark.
About The Fest
Four days. A constellation of astrologers and storytellers.
Come see some of the most exciting voices in astrology this day in age. The 2nd Annual LA Astro Fest is a full festival experience spanning conversation, movement, performance, and the kind of connection you only find when astro people gather IRL.
Featuring Ali A. Olomi, Blair Bogin, Cameron Allen, Evan Nathaniel Grim, Gemini Brett, Marval Rex, Michelle Tea, Naha Armády, Rachel Lang, Sri Sita Dass, Vivi Henriette, Planets, Planets, Planets & more!
If you’re looking for a group of likeminded astro seekers, Club Astro is your place!
We meet weekly to explore the sky in real time and make sense of what is unfolding in our lives and in the collective. This is your chance to ask me questions about your chart, share stories, and connect with a cohort of fellow astrologers.
Club Astro members also get exclusive perks:
Discounted astrological readings & mentorship
Secret invites
Discounted tickets to the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the LA Astro Fest.
Our next gathering is Thursday, June 18h, at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT.