for those about to walk

#20: pisces season (2025)

Mar 19, 2025

Hi, this is my 50th post! Slay. Here’s a link to the archive if you want to go back and read more of what I’ve written the past year and a half. Regardless, thanks for being here, reading this latest one.

Here’s a collection of takeaways and faves from Pisces season this past month (Feb 18th - Mar 20th). Tomorrow is the first day of spring and the start of Aries season. You can find an overview of some of the upcoming astrology at the end of this newsletter.

First, the moon!

I took these pics of the lunar eclipse last week and I’m proud of them. Picture me at 3 am, underdressed for the chilly middle of the night, propping binoculars up on the open door of my car with my phone aligned just right up to one of the lenses, holding both very still for the zoomed-in, longer-exposure shots. I was at it for a while which honestly left me a little sore the next day. It was worth it though.

I know tripods exist and that would’ve made everything a whole lot easier, but if you’re getting a tripod for binoculars then you might as well get a telescope. And that just feels like a big commitment, plus I don’t know if I have the space for it.

Anyway, here’s another pic!

On the subject of the night sky, these retrogrades are retrogradinggg, like omg. Venus has been retrograde for a few weeks and Mercury just started backtracking over the weekend too. The communication blunders! The technological errors! The breakups! I’ve heard about so many breakups, and several of them have happened in longer or more committed relationships too. I hope you’re hanging in there through all of this, on top of everything else. And if you’ve had a breakup, ~~I’m sorry to hear and hope you’re taking good care~~ call me ;)

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Lately, I’ve been trying this thing where I take better care of myself. I’ve mostly been trying to eat more and sleep more — so, umm, the basics, as you might know. Weirdly, it’s been helping.

I’ve also been going for more walks. I’ve actually walked almost every day since the beginning of February. I wanted to see if I could go for a walk every day in February, and aside from the day I felt too sick to and the days it snowed here, I could!

On March 1st, I told my roommate — who walks more than anyone I know — I wished I hadn’t enjoyed this as much as I do because now I feel like I have to keep making time for a walk every day. And then I headed out the door to go on a walk.

These things don’t feel like an effort to optimize or level up; they just feel like establishing a better baseline of caring for my body, my self. The desire to do so now feels related to this eclipse season, and specifically the lunar eclipse in Virgo.

Virgo being an earth sign, with earth having its relationship with the physical, embodied realm. Virgo being my Sun sign; the Sun sign representing one’s self, basic traits, personality, and ways of seeing the world. The south node — one point on the axis of the opposing zodiac signs in which eclipses take place at a given time — currently passing through Virgo; the south node symbolizing letting go and releasing, and the areas in which you may be doing so.

Astrobabble, sure, but it can be a helpful lens. Tell me this doesn’t make sense.

Maybe the recent focus on the physical form I have a tumultuous relationship with is related to all of this; maybe it’s an astrological helping hand around betterment and embodiment that I can use if I wish.

Back to walking though: you won’t believe the dramatic changes I’ve seen from making it a more regular practice! My health has never been better, I’m literally glowing, and my butt is noticeably bigger.

… Yeah, jk. I’m actually having more health problems (although I don’t think that’s related to the walking), and my butt is the same as it ever was. I am glowing though ✨

I’ve definitely noticed an improvement in mood however — big surprise there. Turns out people were right that going for a walk can help. (Lauren McQuiston’s list of ‘100 things to support your mental health that aren’t go for a walk and drink more water’ has a lot of other suggestions I like though.)

It’s also felt really good to move my body more, get some sunlight and fresh air, take a break and have a daily change of scenery, be out in nature, and listen to music in a more focused way. It’s been a nice activity with friends too! I’ve walked with a handful of friends, new and old, and with an ex as well, of course.

I believe a case could be made for starting to walk — or run (if you’re a freak like that), or bike, or otherwise move and groove — in any season. Here’s one for late winter:

Feeling the weather start to get warmer, without any of the humidity that sets in in late spring (here in the south at least). Noticing the sun setting later little by little, and then even later by an hour. Coming out of winter hibernation — as close as one can get to it under late capitalism anyway. Getting some more endorphins when they’re especially needed. Feeling the way that movement warms up the body. And of course, seeing flowers beginning to bloom: daffodils, crocuses, dandelions, violets, hyacinth, hellebores, forsythia, redbuds, cherry blossoms, and more.

Unfortunately as a Virgo, I can be hard on myself even about taking care of myself. It’s very counterproductive. There’s a part of me that isn’t kind to myself about how this hasn’t always been as regular of a practice, and how I could probably be walking for longer. But I’m trying to ignore that voice and just enjoy the stroll, the steps, the sauntering, taking it all one walk at a time.

faves ♡

🎵 “Wildflowers” - Nao

Jupiter is such a good album — truly no skips for me. It does feel like a sister album to Saturn, like how she’s described it. Maybe the older sister who’s really been through it and came out the other side more settled and assured. (Relatable!) This album is sunnier, groovier, and catchier. I’d been looking forward to hearing the rest of it since I came across “Wildflowers” several months ago, and it’s become my go-to for when I don’t know what else I want to listen to in the car. And on that note, I found out recently that this album makes good background music for a handsy car make-out, as they described it. So, keep it in mind.

🎶 “The Giver” - Chappell Roan

I didn’t know I needed a lesbian country song about topping, but baby, she delivered. This song’s an obvious fave. I like the choice to debut the song on SNL, and you bet I went back to listen to it there a handful of times before it was released. The promo, which ended up being the content of the lyric video, was fun! She gets the job done. Shout-out to Chappell for the dental dam representation: they “aren’t just for dentists!” one promo poster reads. It’s true, and dykes do really use them. I know because I’m a dyke and I do sometimes — safer sex, babes! I’m looking forward to more of Chappell’s new music. I went and read back through the piece I wrote about her album this time last year, and I still stand by my song ranking.

📕 Stag Dance - Torrey Peters

Stag Dance surprised me — the titular story especially. A 19th or early 20th century western about lumberjacks is not something I would’ve wanted to pick up outside of a story collection like this. And honestly, I wanted to put it down a little ways in because the suspension of belief I felt I needed to have around several aspects of the story was taking me out of it. But then I got hooked, which was not my experience of reading her novel, Detransition, Baby. I don’t know why that book — exactly the type of novel I go for — wasn’t one I wanted to finish, but these stories that spanned genres I don’t typically read felt compelling. I love reading experiences like that though, and I’ve been liking this book more the more I’ve thought about it. I liked how across all of the stories, she explored what thoughts and feelings around gender can look like for characters who don’t have the words to express them in the ways many people do nowadays. I’ve been on an unexpected nonfiction bender this year, so these stories were an enjoyable change of pace from that and from the type of fiction I generally read.

🏒 PWHL hockey game

I went to a women’s hockey game with some friends and it was so fun! Hockey is one of only like two sports I’ll go out of my way to watch, along with soccer. I come from a hockey family but hadn’t watched or been to any games in a while. And of course it turns out I like it more when there are women. One of the teams was clearly better than the other, and I heard a guy behind me explain to his friend that there’s a bigger skill gap between teams because the league is so small (only six teams). Maybe he’s right about that, idk. Regardless, we had a great time and there were so many other queers there. And speaking of queers, the DJ played not one but two of Chappell’s songs during intermissions. Hearing an arena of people singing “God, what have you done” at a sporting event? A surprise and a delight.

🍦 vanilla bean paste simple syrup

A last-minute addition because I just made another batch this morning. I started making simple syrup for my morning coffee earlier this year, as if making an iced, half-caff pour-over with freshly ground beans every day weren’t fancy enough. (Ex-barista here.) The syrup is sooo much yummier with vanilla bean paste than vanilla extract, and I wanted to share the simple recipe for this simple syrup because it’s worth trying:

½ cup water, ½ cup sugar, and ½ tablespoon vanilla bean paste. Dissolve the sugar in the water over medium heat on the stove, then add the vanilla and stir until it’s evenly mixed. Pour in a jar and store for up to a week in the fridge.

The recipe scales up easily but this amount lasts me a week. Vanilla bean paste isn’t much more expensive than vanilla extract, and it’s a worthwhile upgrade because of the richer flavor, plus you can use it in anything you’d use the extract in (like girlfriend brownies, for instance). Go make some for yourself or for a friend! Who doesn’t want life a little sweeter, a little more full of flavor?