6 planets are in Capricorn right now FYI!! This is A LOT of earth energy. Capricorn can get things done and also can be so tuned into the rules, what one is ‘supposed to do’. There can be a sense of being subject to laws much bigger than us, which can be comforting but if there is any resistance to this (and there usually is, it seems to be a big part of how growth happens) it can be hard! So in the spirit of going with and not resisting, this continuing exploration of self-esteem (see last week's post) is accessing and utilizing a Capricorn approach, an Earth approach - which is focused on physicality, embodiment, manifesting and results.
It’s so important, I cannot emphasize this enough, for us to remember to include gentleness in our lives, with ourselves, especially right now. It has to be gentle, as in, that is the only way to transform the hardness of self-criticality, which is a major obstacle to self-esteem.
Capricorn can take the form of a hardness of societal rules or laws, or it can take the form of the beautiful connectivity embedded in the laws of nature. The laws of nature keep us connected! We can access comfort in this earth principle of connectivity - the literal, physical reality of sharing air, sharing earth in the form of food and materials which make our shelters, the shelters of our bodies, the laws of day and night, etc.
SO then, when do you feel spacious?
When do you not notice yourself?
Not in a neglectful way, not with any effort, but when do you find yourself absorbed in life in such a way that self-consciousness is not present? In such a way that questions about self-esteem aren’t present? This is an approach I invite you to take with me, toward self-esteem and its development. Take time to ask yourself these questions and listen to the answers. What feels expansive, what feels contracting? This might not feel like a direct way to cultivate self-esteem, but mostly I think we need to bypass the intellect when it comes to developing this, because usually our minds have developed very deep runnels of exhausting and complicated and untrue thought around self-worth.
So once you identify things that feel expansive to you, practice them on a regular basis. This might be a way to practice self-esteem even when you don’t know how to get it, or feel like you don’t have enough of it.
Suggestions for practicing self-esteem:
STILL EVERYONE EAT ORANGES
also try out existing without a purpose for short periods of time
also try out not needing to justify your existence with "productivity"
also try out not using free time to ‘get things done’ (Magic doesn't usually happen on a to do list)
also try out spending time with a plant, ask the plant questions about its self-esteem
The horoscopes this week are all body based, in honor of this celestial Earth predominance. They are all body practices and herbs / foods that intuitively feel connected to the needs of the signs.
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Question - What’s happening with your third eye right now? How open is it? How closed? What feels best?
Meditation - Intention.
Assignment - You can choose how open and closed your energy centers are. They are yours. It just involves intention. You have permission. Consume some lemon and hot water. Put your legs up the wall. Changing your mental and emotional state involves a series of unglamorous acts, and yet all the glamour and magic becomes available when you put faith in these unglamorous acts. It’s very simple.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
Question - What is constant even in movement?
Meditation - Skipping, jumping, bouncing!
Assignment - You tend to be rooted and slow to change, so practice body movements this week that help connect you to an experience of gravity. You can experience gravity when you move in a way that reveals it! Children experiment with this all the time - they’re super into gravity. Move your body in an unusual way. Then let yourself be comforted by the gravity you notice when you move! Eat light and flowy herbs, like parsley.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
Question - When do you notice the ground?
Meditation - Hey, the ground exists!
Assignment - Drink tea, dandelion root. Drink all the roots in fact! Lie on the ground. Get as much surface area of your body in contact with the ground as possible. This assignment will probably be part of your horoscope more than you want it to be. That’s the job of a horoscope sometimes you know?
CANCER (June 21-July 22)
Question - Where is the emotion held in your body?
Meditation - Floral foods and drinks and tinctures.
Assignment - Be with flowers. Consume Jasmine tea, and introduce flower scents into your daily life if they aren’t already. Especially in winter! Explore the relationship between smells and emotions and the past - a relationship that runs deep for Cancer.
LEO (July 23-August 22)
Question - Where does your body feel lubricated? Where does it feel dry?
Meditation - Hydration.
Assignment - Consume olive oil. Put oils on your body at the end of the shower. Hydrate with water, but also with the magic of plants! Especially on your feet. Touch your own feet. Put oils on your feet. Soak your feet.
VIRGO (August 23-September 22)
Question - What happens in your body when you consume different foods?
Meditation - Eating as nourishment.
Assignment - Take note of your digestion, what helps your body thrive and what contributes to it contracting this week. Try anise or other herbs and teas that contribute to digestive health. Rub your own belly, connect to the magnificent system that works for you every moment of every day to process nourishment.
LIBRA (September 23-October 22)
Question - How much time do you spend in psychically cleared spaces?
Meditation - plant smoke as a purifier.
Assignment - Use smells and incense like sage to attend to the spaces in your life. Clean out corners, psychically and physically. Be bold, just let yourself get weird and notice the effects when you give yourself permission to clear out the spaces you’re in.
SCORPIO (October 23-November 21)
Question - What’s happening in your lower legs?
Meditation - the joints of your body.
Assignment - Connect to your own joints, pay attention to them. Consume ginger often. Meditate on your joints every day this week, moving from your head down to your feet, thanking each joint for its work, its existence.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21)
Question - How does your spine feel right now?
Meditation - Your spine is supporting you.
Assignment - All the labor of the back. Its symbol as a connection between the head chakra and the root chakra - the spine! It’s a thing of magic. Attend to it. Breathe into it. Let it live. What gestures of care can you enact toward it this week? I want to tell you to consume cumin - the warming and energizing minerals, vitamins + more in this spice.
CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19)
Question - When do you remember your body is made of water?
Meditation - A body of water.
Assignment - Plants are also bodies of water. Borage is a home for bees, its flowers taste like cucumbers. It’s light and sturdy at the same time. Consume some borage. Drink some water. Connect to the water cycle as it occurs in a flow of water moving in and out of your own body.
AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18)
Question - When does your body feel rooted?
Meditation - pelvic bowl & root chakra.
Assignment - Drink turmeric. Eat it. Smell it. Connect to roots and your own body as rooted, not as defense or reactionary stubbornness, but as vitality. When you breathe, imagine that the air comes up through your feet and your pelvic bowl.
PISCES (February 19 to March 20)
Question - How often are you letting your belly be loose, available to fill with food and air?
Meditation - The belly as the center of life!
Assignment - Connect to your belly, the home of so much vitality. When you consume food and drink and air, let them fill your belly, and let them tell you the story of their nourishment of you. Put yourself close to lavender. Smell it, drink it, eat it. Sturdy herb flowers. Be in relationship with them, their smell, let your belly be soft and full of this energy of nourishment.