What will February hold for the collective?

We're being tested:

I don't know about how all of you have been feeling lately, but this last week in January has been a doozy on the energetic and current events front from where I sit - on both a personal and macro level. The level of chaos that has been stirred is disheartening and enraging all at once. I became flooded with emotion and drained in an almost simultaneous fashion. It felt quite like the little Dutch boy jamming his finger in the dike in an attempt to save his country, only for another hole to materialize under the pressure.

Back to the subject matter at hand, after my morning meditation I decided to pull a couple cards for the collective energies for February. I felt a sense of relief at the outcome, explained below:

The card to the left, from my Moonology Oracle Deck is New Moon in Aries. Aries is all about action, strength and fortitude. It's about not backing down in the face of adversity and its timing is immediate. Now is not the time to give way to apathy or inertia. We are to meet the oppressor(s) head on. This can be applied to whatever area of your life that resonates with you. On a personal level, it applies to the attacks our federal government is aiming toward the LGBTQIA+ community, other minority groups and underserved communities.

The card to the right, from my Spellcaster's Tarot Deck, is the Empress card, which is one of my favorite cards in tarot. As a major arcana card it signifies larger universal energies, events and impact. Empress energy is one of the most grounded energies in all of tarot - an energy to aspire to. She is about achieving one's goals and manifesting through creation; but unlike her counterpart the Emperor she does so in a way that is self-assured, nurturing and comforting rather than being bombastic, controlling and unyielding (which is the shadow side of the Emperor card).

That these two cards came out side by side given their relative positions in both tarot and the zodiac is truly incredible. The Empress is the 3rd card in the major arcana and the Emperor is the 4th card in the major arcana in tarot. The Empress is associated with Taurus in the zodiac and the Emperor associated with Aries and are next to each other in the zodiac. From a timing perspective, both are associated with Spring which is literally and figuratively a time where seeds sown show signs of life. What does that mean for the collective? For those in the face of oppression?

It means rather than meeting might with might, anger with anger, hate with hate, we boldly move forward in our authenticity and make our voices heard through acts of creation, through words of affirmation and acts of service to one another. To strengthen our connections on the micro scale, weaving a tapestry of community strength through the arts, in whatever medium that means for you. I've had the privilege of becoming immersed in such an incredible musical and queer community + allies over the past 3 years. I'm witnessing an emergence of authenticity that is undeniable and beautiful. And you know what? It terrifies the living sh*t out of those who are inauthentic - and their response is typically to overpower, get louder, think smaller and become even more narrow and fixed in their thinking doubling down on their own malarkey. Let them.

Meanwhile, we'll be over here creating beautiful things and shining and doing so with love.