I need you to understand that I am not a performer.
I have no formal training in theater, stand-up, or hosting. In fact, the formal training I do have, a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, reinforced my natural fly-on-the-wall tendencies. Careful observation, curious inquiry — these are two of the most important skills in my line of work. I’ve developed them through years of watching others command the stage from a comfortable distance.
I do, however, have my natal Moon in Leo, a sign heavily associated with drama, performance, and the creative arts. A Leo invented jazz hands, probably. I identify with my Moon placement in some ways — for me, words of affirmation aren’t a “love language”; they’re a necessity — but it mostly makes for a lot of inner turmoil. Is the Moon debilitated in Leo? No, but something about this ethereal luminary of the night hanging out in fiery, Sun-ruled Leo just feels off.
I’ve described the experience of navigating life with this placement as being a wannabe Leo. I’m enough of a lion to understand the appeal of live performance. It also scares the hell out of me.
Once you start studying astrology and paying attention to transits, it’s kind of impossible to fully tune out. Alice Sparkly Kat has described astrology as a language, and they’re absolutely right. It has a unique cadence, a series of reliable rhythms. I studied French in high school, so it’s been almost eight years since I’ve uttered more than a coffee order en français. I can still clock a French speaker in a busy restaurant or crowded subway car almost immediately.
But unlike French, astrology is a language of the cosmos. Astrologers draw correlations between cyclical celestial movements and real-world events; by definition, astrology is bigger and more nebulous than any human construct. We don’t fully understand how or why it “works,” but it does, and it’s working its energetic magic constantly. This is true regardless of whether we’ve attuned ourselves to its frequency.
I’ve been busy as hell at my day job for the past month, so I haven’t been as attentive to the current transits as I usually am. Needless to say, I was not hyper-aware of the astrology of the moment when my girlfriend, a part-time nightlife professional, asked me to join her onstage in one of her acts.
Remember, I am not a performer. She is, and a damn good one at that. I understood the magnitude of her invitation. She wasn’t just asking for an assist; she was inviting me into her most sacred space, her temple of rhinestoned push-up bras and glitter-tinged sweat. It was the ultimate declaration of trust.
This was about a month ago. I mulled over my girlfriend’s pitch for a few days before finally and firmly saying yes.
“How’d she rope you into doing that?” a coworker joked when I told him I’d agreed to it. Truthfully, I didn’t have a good answer. The ask involved a number of things I openly dislike: being half-naked in public, dancing to a choreographed number, and worst of all, performing live in front of a packed crowd.
Every square inch of my stubborn, Taurus Mercury brain screamed no. But my fiery, attention-seeking, Leo Moon-ruled heart? Something about the prospect lit it up from the inside, and goddamn it, I was in.
The event didn’t have a confirmed date, so it wasn’t until a week or so later that I learned when I’d be taking off my clothes onstage: February 16, 2022. The day of a Full Moon in Leo (a cosmic spotlight on all things performance, creativity, and drama) and a Venus-Mars conjunction in Capricorn (super-charged lust, romance, and sex appeal within the confines of a predetermined structure).
The astrology was so spot-on, I laughed when I checked my transits a few days beforehand. I also let out a long, deep exhale of relief. Even if I wasn’t consciously tracking the current transits, I could feel them — in my body, in my desires, and in my actions. You could call this embodied attunement the astrological equivalent of achieving fluency in a foreign language.
The stars, it seemed, were finally on my side. Perhaps they had been all along.
Astrology of the moment: Pisces season is in full swing, and Jupiter back in Pisces, its domicile, adds an expansive quality to the season’s dreamy energetic signature. Now is a beautiful time to indulge your imagination. Pay attention to your dreams, and if you catch your mind wandering during your waking hours, let it roam. Your thoughts are fertile ground for creative or spiritual endeavors. Venus and Mars traveling together in nearby Capricorn, a cardinal Earth sign, provide a boost of pragmatic but initiatory vibes. Pisces placements are known to struggle with setting and maintaining boundaries, and Neptune’s co-presence in Pisces is no help, so do be selective about where you funnel your energy. On the flip side, don’t be surprised if a passion project you pursue during this time takes on a life of its own.
Favorite astro content: I loved Chani Nicholas’s reflection on the combination Leo Full Moon + Venus-Mars conjunction.
Also, major news for me and my morning sanity strolls: My favorite astrology podcast is back for Season 3! Kirah Tabourn absolutely nails it with The Strology Show, and last week’s episode on the water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces) was no exception.