Archive for February, 2011


Ask Black Witch

Filed under: Ask Black Witch, Spells & Potions — 2 Comments
February 25, 2011

“Just read your entry. VERY interesting. love your sense of humor. How do u come up with spells? How do u know they will work?”

– Daé (via Afro-Punk)

I come up with spells depending on the situation, what I want out of it and what feels right to obtain it. I don’t use spell books because they’re not personal to me but I know I can make something because I already know how to create a spell.

Spells do have a way of showing they have or have not worked but not always in the solid manner that everyone is fairly accustomed to. For example, if you charge your cell phone, you know when it is fully charged because there’s at least one indicator (light, the battery symbol changes or move, etc) to let you know that the phone is currently charging, about to die or finished charging, otherwise it would all be a surprise or potentially unfortunate guesswork. Magick is a bit more subtle than that since you’re modifying already existent energy to bend to your favor. A good way to find out is if the situation turned out as close to your desired result as possible and to continually analyze the situation to make sure that it was magick and not simply going through the motions that brought about change. In my experience, it’s usually the more unlikely the string of events or improbable the outcome, the more likely it was magick.

This is a pretty big question often gotten when it comes to practicing witchery so there will be a column for it in the future for certain.

Now, what’s this whole Fandom and the Fan thing that I’ve been going on about? It’s my first ever Black Witch series exploring fandom primarily within the music business. It’s not entirely as it seems. Fans are important to the industry but not all are the same and how much of the love to the musician is created by the fan or just persuasions of the industry? And is the musician really as big as they live or what percentage is smoke and mirrors with a little hype?

All this and more will be explored in Fandom and the Fan, with the help of a friend of mine, Angela, a radio dj who really knows her stuff when it comes to the industry. The whole series will run throughout March every Friday, everything from the columns to the installments will circulate around this subject. I’m making an aim and effort to run a series every March that may or may not be related to being Black or Pagan (okay, this one won’t but the next two will, mainly Blackness). However, because I waited so long to get out my three initial series (Fandom and the Fan was written in August, Black Witch started in June), there’s going to be three series squeezed in between March 2011 and March 2012, starting with Fandom and the Fan.

As for the installments, they will be modified as I have mentioned above. The Arts will be a surprise (even to me too, seems like ideas are constantly happening) but Ask Black Witch will be modified for the series. That means if you have any questions about fandom and the music industry, they’ll be greatly appreciated. If you ask any Black Witch questions, they’ll be answered too but mainly if there’s not enough Fandom and the Fan questions to answer. Otherwise it may have to wait ‘til April’s Ask Black Witch.

See you in March! (Oh, and have you checked out the Lupe Fiasco Lasers giveaway that I’m currently holding? Win a free copy of Lasers on Black Witch.)

Nota Bene: Sorry for the short notice but I’ll be in NYC on Sunday for the free Lupe Fiasco concert. Gonna be there? Lemme know!

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Travelin’ Light: Lasers Giveaway

Filed under: BW Announcements, The Arts — 2 Comments
February 22, 2011

Hey, remember when I wrote that BW PSA about the Lupe Fiasco protest aptly called Fiasco Friday? Well, Atlantic Records heard the many voices, saw the many signatures and were convinced to finally release Lasers. It makes me very happy to see that there is still movement and trust in the power of the people and especially in an industry that relys so much on sedated ears and rather treadmill thinking – but that’s for Fandom and the Fan.

Wanna listen to some of the tracks? Here you go: (Edited so you can listen to them here. WMG is such a drag)

The Show Goes On ( I love how they used Modest Mouse song “Float On” as the loop.)

Words I Never Said

All Black Everything

Want more? Try your hand at getting a copy of Lasers on this here column. I will be picking the winner on the date of Lasers drop date, March 8th, all you have to do is send me an email with “Travelin’ Light: Laser Giveaway” in the subject line with your name and email. The winner will be contacted for their physical address and have the copy of Lasers shipped to them.

Don’t wanna wait so long for a Fiasco album? Lupe’s hears you, here’s a QR Code he’s provided

And you may use Red Laser but here’s a bunch of other QR readers for smartphones and non-smartphones alike!

And did you guess correct? Travelin’ Light is a Billie Holiday song. If you’re a Lupe Fiasco fan, she should sound familar because she was actually referenced to in “Superstar”: “I need a holiday like lady who sung blue”

Be blazin’.

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The Arts! Savage Love, Shihan, Black Superheroes

Filed under: The Arts — Leave a comment
February 18, 2011

It’s The Arts! in Feb, oh how lovely! Let’s get on with the features! – But first! Some individual picks for those who bemoan Valentine’s as Singles’ Awareness Day, I spotted these a while back and they’re great for a chuckled no matter whether you are spoken for or not.

Get Busy Committee – I Don’t Care About You

I love short films and I thought this one was incredibly cute!

The Grinch Who Stole Valentine’s 

And here’s a small love bug plug: Feeling lonely? Adopt a pet from your local shelter!

Now that those are out of the way, let’s begin:

Savage Love
Weekly in the Baltimore Citypaper would I read the bodacious sex columnist who is not one to mince words. Living in the inner city, just about any perspective on sex is either not healthy, inaccurate, more myth than fact or a combination. It’s nice to hear or read outside perspectives on sex and not by those with an agenda. Dan Savage, the writer of Savage Love, makes for appealing reading and perspective. Be forewarned, he’s pretty raw with his wording but his no-nonsense, direct approach to the variety of questions he gets was so noteworthy to me that I learned to adapt said no-nonsense approach when I would do divination for others because, hey, what’s the point of sugarcoating?

In addition to being a great columnist, Savage is also an outwardly gay columnist and big on fighting homophobia and challenging hetrosexist perspectives. Recently, in effect of the rash outbreaks in gay young adult suicides, Dan Savage created the youtube program, “It Gets Better” for those to make videos of personal testimonies to console closeted and out-of-the-closet gay young people that the problems that they are currently going through may be bad now but it will get better in the future. It may not be 100% perfect but it is getting better the more people are aware that treating someone cruelly based on their sexuality (or skin or religion) is not alright and is not tolerable.

Wanna read his column? It’s right here on The Stranger. He’s also has a podcast that you can listen to and even call in on his site. Read and listen!

Shihan
It isn’t oft – okay, isn’t at all – discussed on the column but instead of being a columnist all these years, I actually was a writer and poet. I really love poetry and spoken word so it’s really nice to see something like Def Poetry and all the performances it featured. Shihan’s was very remarkable, especially in a subject that usually makes me roll my eyes when it comes to poetry: love. Here, listen:

I thought it was very touching indeed! I really got into his stuff and he really is talented! Here’s another, titled “The Auction Network” (caution, the n-word is used but wait till the end, you’ll get why. I don’t use the word myself but this vid is one of the few that use it smartly)

If you want to see more of his work, here’s where he’s easily reachable: his website!

Shihan’s Back

Black Comic Book Convention/Black Superhero.com
*gasp* It’s so purdy.

I am very excited to discover (more like rediscover) Black Superhero.com, the online museum of every Black superhero ever made! Think they would have a tiny list? Nope! There’s a slew of Black superheroes from well known to little known ranging from Marvel, DC, online comics and more! A fun way to embrace Black history and Black nerdom alike!

And guess what I found! That for the past ten years there has been a Black Comic Book Convention and I didn’t know about it! Here’s the flyer (click for a bigger picture):

 

It shall be awesome and I shall be there in my lolita terrorizing the locals. Will you be there? Visit the website, Black Superhero.

That’s all The Arts! for today. Next week is Ask Black Witch, send in your questions! Also, next month starts the Fandom and the Fan series. What’s it about? Wait ‘til next week and you shall see!

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Love Potion No.9

Filed under: AfroPunk/The Establishment, Divination, Pagan Life, Relationships and Dating, Spells & Potions — Leave a comment
February 11, 2011

The Establishment (Afro-Punk) Version

Ah, oui, l’amour. Such a wonderful thing love is. Whether you get it from your kitty, your fish, your kids or your loved ones, love is a pretty nice thing. The world would probably be a happier place if the nasty people in it got a hug once in a while (some of them, preferably from a strait jacket). Everyone wants it and works hard to get it: go to the gyms, ask advice columnists what went wrong, wonder what that special gal or guy is like and will they ever meet The One.

Valentine’s Day is a day to show that love or it just stands out as Single Awareness Day where you want to shoot down all the heart shaped balloons, ship Cupid to a war zone and be the Grinch that hates Valentine’s. A lovely – albeit incredibly commercialized – holiday, it’s a day that everyone is a little more dreamy – or miserable.

How do Witches and Pagans celebrate Valentine’s Day? Meh, just like everyone else. Either we’re happy in love or sneering at those who are. While we cherish or suffer, we just get more people asking us if there’s any way they could get a love reading or even spell to see what their luck’s like in the world of hearts and cuddles. Ugh, walking reminders of whether you’re dating or not.

Love readings are sometimes a pain to do but mainly because they have a high chance of opening a can of worms (I learned that the hard way). Everyone, me included, wanna get the details on the who, how, when and where of the one person they are bound to spend the rest of their life with. Divination being such a fickle thing when it comes to love, it can be easy to be unsatisfied with what you get. It may not be the right time to know about who you’re going to end up with, you could wind up missing your chance by avidly looking for it, you may learn that it’s going to be a pretty long ways off before meeting anyone worthwhile. Having a particular idea of what kind of person you want (not always the kind of person that will work well with you) and then learning about your true love can prove vexing.

Before I go on, I would like to clarify that I believe true love is different from soul mate. A true love is someone who you are bound to spend your life with as a love partner for the rest of your life that you live and grow with in sync whereas a soul mate is just that, a mate for your soul to advance itself. That can be anything from a stray cat to the one co-worker that seems to always get you to the best friend you have.  Since I believe in reincarnation (a lot of Pagans believe in reincarnation but not all do), I believe that a true love is constant throughout the lives you live but it’s not a promise that you’ll meet them in every life because not every life has the goal or room for the pursuit of true love. Plus, it may not be right or the perfect time for them themselves to meet you.

Continuing on, I used to do this reading I would call the “true love” spread. In reality it was not one spread but a series and I used to do them for anyone that would ask. I didn’t really think much of it because, hey, everyone wants to know when that special someone is coming, why not? Yeah there was the chance that the person could find out that there’s no one for them this life but, hey, they asked. I have faith that my divination is pretty on point (I’m very rarely wrong) so I didn’t see much wrong with it. I would do a yes/no spread just to get it out of the way, a signification  spread to find out what kind of person the guy or girl will be and then a spread for the timing.

Y’know, it seemed not so bad at first – until people got really antsy about these readings. You see, when I first started doing divination for others, I thought that I would get a plethora of divination requests from jobs to life to love to general questions. I would set up my tarot spread request page on Mystic Wicks and wait for the diverse requests to come sliding in. What did I get? A bunch of love spread requests. Does so-and-so like me? Should I stay with this one guy who totally doesn’t make me happy but buys me lots of stuff? Will this random guy I keep seeing in the gym and I have a future together though I haven’t even said hi to him yet? All these love spread requests and they were my least favorite requests because I’m not really super lovey dovey and some, if not a lot, of the questions were a bit no-brainers. I guess I fell into creating my own love spread series because I wanted to kinda shut these people up in the first round if I needed it. I would of course do the spread they asked (I have a series of questions to ask when I do spreads just to get most of the trouble out of the way first) but if they would press on, hey! Why not do the true love spread! I would get it out the way and the end result would be a happy (or unhappy) person. I was in my late teens and impatience is a visible personality trait of mine so that didn’t bug me in the least bit. I didn’t do it super often though, plenty people were happy with the readings they got, not often did I need to go further. The True Love spread mainly came from trial and error instead of a perfectly polished product from the start.

The problem with love readings (spells and pretty much anything to do with matters of the heart ) is that people are very fixed on finding The One and have pretty idealistic views about who that person is supposed to be. If it isn’t what they imagined, something must be amiss or if there isn’t one at all, someone is not happy because let’s face it, everyone wants to be loved by someone. That means if they know someone who can give them the details (or close enough details), the requester sticks to the diviner like glue. That’s no fun. Consistent contacts, asking for a new reading every few days or couple of weeks, etc etc. That’s one reason why I don’t do True Love Spreads anymore, I like my breathing room and my inbox not flooding full with people who think I’m a genie or something.

Then I got kicked in the derriere myself with these readings. I always said I would never want one or get one but I guess I got wrapped up in doing so many love readings, I thought I should do one myself. Extremely long story very short, that was a total doozy and an experience I never want to relive. Like I said, I was impatient so I made all the mistakes that folks who asked me for love readings made: did my cards over and over again, wonder way too much what kind of guy my true love would be, where would I meet him and when. It got me into a lot of trouble, embarrassment, agony and serious heartache stretched over a few years that I really could have avoided. It was a Pandora’s Box – one of the biggest reasons of all why I don’t do the readings anymore. I got to sit in the recipient’s seat and saw it really was a nasty piece of work to be thrown in.

As for spells – if readings were tricky, spells certainly are. They’re one of the few kinds of spells that get a solid “Don’t Do It” from practically everyone in the Witch and Pagan community. No one minds spells casted for self-love or to heal from a break-up, not many find issue with casting a spell just to get a nice date for Saturday night but just about every Witch, Pagan and Wiccan I have met are staunchly against the stereotypical “make him/her come back to me” love spells. Why? It plants itself firmly in the field of manipulation, a big no-no regardless who you talk to.

Any Witch with sense wouldn’t do so but the average person doesn’t always see the harm. I just had to talk to someone who wanted to cast a spell to bring their ex-boyfriend back. There’s even a search term someone used to find my blog “I want a spiritual witch doctor to bring back my ex-boyfriend.” I believe I joked on Twitter in response, “Bring back an ex-boyfriend from the dead or bring him back into a dead relationship?” because while I understand how grave it must be to the inquirer, it’s a little silly and concerning to me. The reason being is that if the relationship is dead, it’s dead. There’s always a possibly for a relationship to bounce back but not for everyone. To cast a spell to make a lover come back even if they don’t want to and much rather move on is the exact equivalent of being an controlling spouse that will physically, emotionally and/or psychologically bar someone from leaving the relationship, no matter how much that tired partner wants to. A little Witchy rule of thumb: if it’s wrong through mundane means, it’s probably (read: 98%, leaving room for potential exceptions) wrong through magickal means. The same goes for casting spells on people that you like and want to make them love you back. Love has to happen on its own, not when you pretty much zombie someone’s will. That’s not love, that’s really scary.

Love is a beautiful thing but it can just as easily drive someone up and down the wall frustrated with the idea that in a world of six billion plus people, there’s got to be their perfect match out there…right? It sometimes seems like a sporting event for the gods: how many times can you bark up the wrong tree/date the wrong person/have enough broken hearts before you say “Forget it?” and become a spinster or hold out hope as long as you can ’til you find the right one who will make your heart sing – and for how long? It isn’t fair and no one is really alone in the matter, the idea of finding true love is a timeless topic. If only there was simply one database that everyone in the world could subscribe themselves to and find eternal matches that way, maybe lots of people would be happier. Finding love is important but what I think is often lost is the idea that the perfect person should be perfect for you and your quirks and shortcomings. Someone to grow and consistently modify yourself with and vice versa. I believe many forget that relationships are supposed to be balanced somehow and not in the 60/40 or 90/10 or 100/0 or 150/-50 way because that’s not a good relationship but one doomed to fail because both sides can’t grow together and possibly not individually either. No one is perfect so it would be foolish to assume that the perfect person that comes into your life will be too. It just means they’ll be perfect for you: know just the right way to work your nerves to finally clean up after yourself or know exactly how to piss you off in less than a minute over absolutely nothing – but also know how to make you happy and feel like all the time you spent on them is totally worthwhile. Relationships aren’t perfect, just like the people in them. All anyone can do is be honest, meet people, figure out what works versus what doesn’t and hope that someday you may have someone to spend the rest of your life with.

But if you need love that bad, visit your local animal shelter and adopt. You’re not the only one who wants to be loved.

Next week: The Arts! Who will be featuring:
– Savage Love
– Shihan
– Museum of Black Superheroes/Black Comic Book Convention

Don’t forget to send in Ask Black Witch questions! You know how to get them in: email, tweet, fill out the Ask Black Witch submission form, ask on the Black Witch fan page or simply comment.

Now, in case anyone is wondering why I don’t have up any special posts for Black History month, my answer is fairly simple: There’s no need. To explain for those who are probably making a frown or a look of horror, I feel that albeit Black History Month is something indeed important to highlight the multitudes of greatness for the Black race, I don’t believe that the expression of Blackness should ever reside in one month but all year round, Black is forever. I already am Black, I mean – even the column’s name is titled Black Witch, I shouldn’t have to necessarily dig out anything incredibly Black for the month of February when it already has a high likelihood of getting posted up here anyways because of that very fact, this is a Black blog after all. For this very reason, that is why there isn’t a special Black history month column up here on Black Witch. There’s a whole year and the rest of time to dedicate to the pursuit, successes and tribulations of the worldwide Black race. However, if there is someone special that you, my readers, want me to highlight or even consider, let me know.

There will be a series dedicated to not exactly or not only Black history but also modern day Black culture and society in March 2012 called “Comin’ Straight Outta Your Monolith”. The month-long series will discuss what it is and isn’t to be Black, the narrowness of the Black monolith and mainly the outsides of the Black monolith such as Blacks who are into cybergoth or simply those who do not want to become a stereotype. In addition, there will be a series in September 2011 titled “Black Diamonds and Pearls” which highlights Black girls (and guys) in Lolita fashion. These two are very exciting for me because these series allow me and others (a main feature of my series is that there will be guest writers and other voices besides my own) to examine the different sides of Black culture, Blackness, how do we perceive it, what are the flaws in our current perceptions, how we validate or don’t validate particular ideas of Blackness and what is it truly to be Black. This is why I’m not putting up anything particular for Black history month; we have all year ‘round.

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More Than Your Sun Sign

Filed under: AfroPunk/The Establishment, Astrology, BW Announcements — 4 Comments
February 4, 2011

The Establishment (AfroPunk) Version

I’ve mentioned in my earlier column Baby, the Stars Shine Bright! that I’m a bit of an astrologer – as in, I study astrology, its functions, astronomy and the background of why things are the way they are. (Also, I would like to plug the free Android app Google Sky Map for all your astronomy needs!) Now, I love astrology, even if I can be a bit derpy sometimes in remembering the signs in perfect order after learning pretty much all else about them.

An astrologer pet peeve of mine – my deco’d soapbox, so to speak – are horoscopes and people who judge everything on sun signs (the sign you’re asked when someone goes, “What’s your sign?”), otherwise known as pop-astrology. Goodness, is it stupid to hear someone go “I’m an Aries! I’m fiery and a natural leader!” because often it means: “I’m a complete jerk and you all have to deal with it because this flimsy fact I read on Twitter gives me complete and total license!” Also, the very same people who may ask me for my sign and decide they know all about me jump at the very mention of divination and witchcraft or better yet, their eyes glaze over when I talk about actual astrology.

“Alright, astrology isn’t a cake walk, I get it,” you may say. “Seems easy to me tho.” Don’t it? Well, in learning astrology kinda seriously (or seriously enough to go beyond spitting some “I’m an Aries” nonsense) here’s what you need at least some of a grasp of: astronomy, mythology, psychology, sociology, a healthy bulls**t radar, skepticism and a little history wouldn’t kill you either. There’s a reason Cancer is considered a crab, a turtle and even a cat and why it is seen as a water sign and cardinal. Also, there’s a reason every person invested truly in astrology rolls their eyes and lament providing an explanation every time Ophiuchus gets mentioned. (Such as my last Ask Black Witch, complete with links.) In addition, it is perfectly healthy to wonder if people are acting within their signs because that’s what they’re told or if their sign actually describes, not define, them. The recent Ophichus flare-up should cue you in when you hear someone go “I’m not a Cancer anymore? Am I still sensitive and emotional?” (Yes, dimwit, you are. It’s called a “personality”; astrology is usually reflective, not determinate.) These people should help you out and I would tell you how to really mess with them but that’s probably not very nice of me.

Compatibility, work, whatever, can’t be told by one planet which demonstrates only one thing and one thing only. It can’t tell me how you are with your family, money or future. There are whole planets and houses (fractions of the sky and pie slices on a natal chart) spelling all that out. And that’s even if you resemble your sun sign, some people don’t because of something else that’s going on in their natal chart.

This takes me to horoscopes. I personally can’t stand horoscopes because A) people eat it up like candy and then relay said nonsense to me B) It’s so broad and incorrect how could you take such a thing correctly or seriously?  Makes me wonder.

Alright, lemme try something. I’m a sun in Cancer so lemme try my horoscope from three places and we’ll sum them up, yeah? On this day of January 29, 2011, here’s my horoscope:

Astrology.com: Coworkers need your help today — even if you’re miles from the office. It’s one of those times when you can make a huge difference just by checking in. They are sure to think you’re a mind reader!

Horoscope.com: Information received through dreams and visions could trigger sudden psychic revelations of solutions to problems you may have been mulling over for weeks. What you realize is likely to clear up any difficulties and pave the way for success. The emotional release could have you feeling like a heavy weight has been lifted off your shoulders. Obey your impulses, and get to it.

MSN Astrology: (They asked me for my birthdate) Daily Planetary Overview:
The Moon in Sagittarius conjuncts Venus this evening, bringing a happy, optimistic feeling to relationships. If you’ve given up hope of ever meeting anyone or have doubts about a current relationship, now is the time to get back into the swing of things. This planetary combo is perfect for partying!

Your Horoscope – Today, Jan. 29, 2011
Fundraising activities of a group with which you’re affiliated are generally going very well, but today you’re likely to find that things seem to be stalled. Checks may not come in the mail, important people don’t return your phone calls, someone doesn’t show up to do the job at hand. This situation is frustrating, but it probably won’t last past today. By tomorrow you should all be your busy selves again. Hang in there!

Lookin for sites that have horoscopes was actually harder than I thought. I haven’t checked my horoscope since God/dess knows when so when I started, it was very much a moment of, “Alright! Find my horoscope! Easy as pie!…Uh, where do people read their horoscopes?” I thought of some pretty good basics such as MSN horoscope and astrology.com. After asking friends, thinking for a bit and then using Google, I found Horoscope.com. All the sites I went to basically were girly with big letters, vibrant layouts, filled with cute and adorableness. It’s like they’re practically hardball pitching to girls…ick. Almost made me feel bad for guys who read at those spots because it kinda insinuates that only girls concern themselves with the stars, very ditzy girls at that. It’s very hard to take these sites seriously. I know I don’t but I’m sure there are plenty out there who do.

How did these readings fair? None were the same exactly. Astrology.com looked at me from a worker’s perspective (concern only my “workplace life” not my life as a whole), Horoscope.com pitched at the “intuitive Cancer” perspective, MSN Astrology attempted to be personal but still refer to my work life and some of my social life. Were they right? Not incredibly:

Astrology.com: Did I check in? Nah, I slept in and the sky hasn’t fallen yet. Who am I? Mama Bear? Ah, no. I don’t care if folks think I am a mind reader or not, if people want my help, they know how and where to hit me up. This reading plays on the fact that Cancerians are suppose to be very familial with those that they work with, are social with, live with and interact with. Not always true for every Cancer. I do like to help people but there’s no “S” on my chest anywhere.

Horoscope.com: I am intuitive, yes, buuuuut these people make it sound like my life is an episode out of Medium. I had a few weird dreams but I think they had more to do with the fact I was watching music videos late at night while eating nearly a bucket of cookie dough ice cream (my favorite) and being completely distracted by my computer so I guess I wound up taking my busy mind to bed with me. What did it make me realize? Stop eating a near quart of cookie dough ice cream at near 6 AM in the morning and dear God does modern day music videos suck. But that wasn’t a psychic revelation, it’s a revelation I always had and usually ignore when I feel like it. Nothing groundbreaking here, just some bedhead and a tummyache.

MSN Astrology: How nice of them to take down my birthdate and use that…I think. If they’re going to talk about how the current astrological forecast is going to affect me, they should keep in mind my actual natal chart. I’m not going to simply go out and party because of a momentary positive placement between two planets. A placement between moon and any planet is not going to last long so why should I care about this one? Plus, relationships? Um, I have a Venus in Gemini but what about my Cancerian Mercury in retrograde and the fact I like quiet when I want quiet and loud when I want noise? The planets are always moving, I’m not going to concern myself with this one.

I’m not doing any fundraising stuff, either. Unless Afro-Punk is doing something I don’t know about, this is a stretch. So far, everything is its normal self, including any waiting period I am going through right now but part of that stems from my laziness.

Staying on the same track of Cancer being maternal, emotional, feminine and perhaps needing a cake to keep sane, these sites are generalizations of Cancer.  See, I am a Cancer in three planets (Sun, Mercury, Mars) but I’m not exactly motherly always – I’m quite a prickly shoulder to lean on sometimes. I am pretty emotional and intuitive but I have heard of this awesome counter balance called “Logic”. Cancer is a work zodiac (a zodiac that is affiliated with business and money) but these readings never really hit home for me or what I’m currently dealing with. The only way to connect with these horoscopes is if I were working with others, taking a closer look at my dreams (and if I were a total noob with dream interpreting, wind up making a mountain out of a mole hill) for the key to the problems that I supposedly have and reach quick success thereafter, and to look for all the current discrepancies in my life. In other words, I’d have to play along, even if I have to use some make believe.

A good horoscope reading looks at the natal chart and the current astrological weather but that’s a really hard job to do because it’s so personal and horoscopes have to satisfy crowds, not individuals. That means you need a version of astrology that’s really dumbed down and easy for mass consumption. What comes out of it? Pop astrology and people running around thinking they know the zodiac when really they know a very infinitesimal amount and barely any of it truly applicable.

For example, a good horoscope reading would make mention that my Jupiter is returning (I’m a Jupiter in Aries, 8th house) and that this is probably a good year to start things because the current Jupiter is in not only a cardinal sign but the start of the zodiac itself, which works positively with the expansiveness of Jupiter, not to mention it is a natal return for me. A good horoscope would include my houses, keep my retrogrades in mind, remember the placements of my birth chart and how it all applies to the placements, houses and retrogrades of now. The only way to get that really is with either a really good computer program, have a personal astrologer on speed dial at all times or eyeball what the astro-weather of today will hold for me – which is what I do when the feeling moves me and I decide to amble over to alabe.

What about other folks who follow horoscopes religiously? Don’t take them so seriously – or better yet, don’t read them at all. These horoscopes can’t truly help you with your life because it’s not geared specifically for you, your problems, your life or even your temporary situations. Life is going to be life, these astrologers are just throwing out ideas but there’s no promise any of these ideas are going to help you, that’s why horoscopes are regarded as entertainment only in some publications. If you feel the need to look to the stars for answers, just learn astrology for yourself and know that just because you know your Mars sign finally doesn’t mean life will be any easier to control. It’s good to have guidance but live life for itself.

 As some of have attended or are aware of, I had an impromptu Black Witch Ustream chat last Friday. It was really fun but it also was not recorded so I am very sorry for those who missed out. I still plan to have two official yearly Ustream chats for the column, one for Halloween and the Black Witch anniversary, but I think these random Ustream chats are certainly fun! I can’t promise I’ll be recording each and every one, only when the mood strikes me, but I can promise you that they will be random and unpredictable in timing. I’ll advertise on Twitter, the Black Witch Fan Page and on the Black Pagans group at Afro-Punk at least twenty minutes to a half hour before broadcast time. Be there or be square.

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