vol. 2 episode 15
Greetings,
Woot, woot! With Episode 15 you are in for a real treat, friends.
If you’re a fan of Off the Charts! A Stellar Newscast, chances are you also a “news junkie”, as Elisabeth calls fans of her forecast.
Beyond that, in addition to your love of astrology, you probably are also passionate about politics, or at least keenly interested in them. That’s why I promise you that this interview with BIPOC astrologer and author, Alice Sparkly Kat, will be one of the most memorable and provocative conversations you will have ever heard about these topics together.
Alice, who prefers to be called Ace, is the author not only of my most favorite non-technical book I’ve ever read about astrology, but one of my all-time favorite books about astrology, policymaking, and politics, period.
Published last year by North Atlantic Books, Postcolonial Astrology: Reading the Planets through Capital, Power, and Labor, is the kind of leading-edge treatise on how astrologers can actually help push a post-Capitalism paradigm forward with every consultation they sit, that I hope we see more of.
It’s also one of the influences I drew upon last year as I put together a talk called, “Astrology as Activism”, an idea I am still developing as I consider the future as a place where knowledge of the stars, a firm grasp of history, and an open mind about how to read and trust the cosmic cycles of Nature – not just “sustainability”, but the omnipotence of Nature – will be applied to mundane concerns, and in particular, policymaking.
Although I speak for myself and not for Elisabeth when I put forth such a bold idea, Elisabeth’s weekly forecast is another of my influences.
When I think of Capitalism, I think of the status quo. And when I think of the status quo in terms of astrology, it is to Capricorn (my personal Sun sign), and its ruler Saturn, that my attention is drawn. That’s why, as Mercury is stationing retrograde at 8 degrees of Libra, the sign that exalts Saturn (as I explained last week), it is only fitting that I would (re)post this interview with Ace. I say “re-post” because it originally aired as part of my other weekly newsletter, docu-mental: mapping the american states of mind. And as a bonus, there is a video of the conversation at that link, too.
Some of the ground we cover in this interview (explored far more deeply in the book) is that if astrology is to be relevant in a post-Capital world, what has to happen in the field first? Do we need to re-examine our nomenclature of the Gods and their temples? Do we need gender? Do we need to settle the ideas put forth by Hellenistic v. modern astrologers? Does the moon have to mean what we say it does? How do we keep the integrity of astrology’s inherent logic if we change the meanings of all our symbology?
But there is a lot more, including how can astrology help us see and navigate what is, to me anyway, the obvious end of Capitalism as we know it, and prepare for what is next. Here’s the link again to the original interview, including the video.
Thank you for your continued support and interest in this podcast, specifically, and in the Ensouled publication overall. It has been thrilling to witness your enthusiasm for the notion that astrology and astrologers deserve the same respect as any other specialty and its experts. That can only happen if the coverage of what astrologers are doing is done well.
That is what makes Off the Charts unique. Where else will you find a real journalist (me) who brings years of experience covering the health sciences, policy, and economics, who not only takes astrology seriously, but seriously understands it, and asks the kinds of probing questions journalists are supposed to ask, with the respect and thoughtful preparation due any expert in his or her field?
Where else will you find the same kinds of economic, socio-political, and domestic trend punditry offered by professional analysts who don’t think astrology is “cute” or “edgy” but real, and helpful?
The answer: nowhere else.
That’s why I am asking that you consider becoming a material subscriber.
Doing so will help make this kind of unique and serious paradigm-shifting journalism and commentary possible. It also gives you access to a growing library of essays, outtakes, and behind-the-scenes conversations that sometimes get heated, sometimes get silly, and sometimes show us for the probing philosophers we like to think we are. It also gives you access to
Thanks for being there! You’re a star.
We’ll be back with later this month with Episode 16, when we take a look at all these retrogradations…and whether or not my prediction that the Equinox will have us finally admitting, if only to ourselves, we don’t really want to believe the lies anymore, even if it means we have to take the hit to our self-image in the process of getting real as a nation, as individuals. (Oh, but wait! That’s also covered in this interview with Ace! How fab!)
x Whitney (and EG)
Astrology as activism: