Hello all! Just wanted to put in a quick weather report that for the next few weeks we have some interesting transits.

Bad/neutral news first: Saturn is in retrograde in Pisces, and will be for a bit longer. Saturn is in charge of boundaries and hard lessons and endurance and is currently swimming against the tides of Pisces, a dreamy creative no boundaries kind of place. I liken it to watching the tides destroy your carefully built sandcastle. This weather can help us consider the impermanence of all things, the things we hold on to too tightly, and how to manage these tough feelings.

Maidens of the 12 Houses: Exploring Virgo Through Myth and Popular Culture was the original title for the private talk I gave. It was more bent toward astrologers, but I wanted to bring this to the average person — which means it needed a better title. What we are looking at today is who Virgo is and what sort of stories she facilitates in each astrological house.

It’s probably best to start by defining terms. If you’re new to astrology and don’t have all of the technical jargon down, this part is for you. If you’re already experienced, you’ll want to skip down to my take on Virgo, and then read through whichever houses catch your fancy.

Even more than astrology, Tarot is a language. It has 78 symbols, and each symbol is densely packed with meaning. We use spreads to give grammar, or context, to each symbol, and our job as readers is to learn as much about each card as possible to give the most accurate interpretation to our clients.

If learning the cards and reading for yourself feels overwhelming, I offer readings! I like to book by time rather than by card count, as I am naturally nosy and will pull cards until we both feel satisfied. I recommend 15 minutes for a straightforward question / problem, or 30 minutes for Big Issues or general readings about your whole life.

It is not a secret — you can, and should, look at your own natal chart. I recommend using astro.com, which is free and very accurate. Sign up, add your birth data, and select Extended Charts. It will by default show you your Placidus chart. You can choose a different chart style — I’m a Hellenistic reader, so that’s the one I look at, and select that under Chart Drawing Style. Use the chart that feels good to you.

The first answer is that I love candles, I love creating custom scents, and I love astrology. My creativity needs bounds, and the 7 traditional planets come with both a reasonable scope for a collection and millennia of correspondences to herbs, flowers and trees.

The second answer is a little more mystical. Planets are big spirits, and magical folks have been trying to connect with them for a very long time; you can look at complicated rituals from the Arbatel for examples. Planetary magic is an old thing, and whether you are looking to petition the spirits, try some remediation or just align yourself with the energy, candles often play a part.