Hi! Thanks for being here. I did not want to write about the election, so I didn’t! I’m keeping my good takes and my bad takes to myself, in part because I’ve read so many already and I imagine you have too.
Here’s a collection of takeaways and faves from Scorpio season this past month (Oct 22nd - Nov 21st). Sagittarius season starts tomorrow, and you can find an overview of some of the upcoming astrology at the end of this newsletter. If you haven’t subscribed or would like to upgrade your subscription, you can do so below.
On Scorpios: I never know how they feel about me. I have a couple of Scorpio friends and it’s the one sign where I’m like, does my friend like me and consider me a friend? I want to believe so because I had a lovely bday catch-up call and also got invited to a party that I had a nice time at. But like, I think Scorpios need to tell people what they’re feeling more. Unrelatedly, the last time I tried to hook up with a Scorpio, they somehow forgot they had a Zyn in their mouth. We were making out and my lips got more and more tingly until I pulled back and was like, uhh, my mouth is going numb?? I was pissed when they realized why that was happening, and left very soon after with a headache and intense nicotine cravings. And that’s how I found out firsthand what Zyns are and that I do not like them.
On (not) winning at polyamory: A few weeks ago, I wrote about how people seem to like to end things with me but not with the other people they’re seeing. Well, guess what happened again only a week after I published that piece. lol!
On cake baking with your ex: I have a joke about being a lesbian — I heard it from my ex who’s also my colleague I share an office with and best friend I text every day. I helped her bake a red velvet cake the other day for her daughter’s birthday party. We had to run to the store when the dry ingredients were half mixed in to get more natural food coloring because the batter needed to be redder. I wasn’t able to eat the cake because it had regular flour and three forms of dairy, but it looked great and apparently it was yummy too.
On sex with your ex: I [redacted] and sometimes [redacted], even though [redacted] now.
On a surprise filling that involves two hours of numbing and drilling and male fingers in your mouth, on November 6th of all days: Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad.
On Simple Mills fine ground sea salt almond flour crackers: Delish! A recent discovery that edged out their seed flour crackers for the spot of fave gluten-free cracker. They’re salty with a good texture and a subtle but satisfying amount of garlic and onion flavor. They’re kind of expensive for a small box but like, what am I going to do, not get a snack?
On Pluto moving into Aquarius yesterday: Let’s fucking go.
On mending a hole in your cardigan: Use more string than you think you’ll need, especially if you don’t need to be stingy with it anyway and you’re like me — not great at mending.
On the ScreenZen app: I’ve tried using a flip phone. I’ve tried using the iPhone app limits and focus settings. I’ve tried turning my phone off, leaving it on the other side of my room, and removing the Instagram and Twitter/X apps from the home screen. These have all helped — I’m not on my phone as much these days, and I generally feel like I have more control over mindless social media scrolling. I found this app though that lets you limit the number of times and the length of time you can use apps in a day before it blocks them. It silences notifications from those apps when they’re not in use too, and there are several other settings to play around with as well. I’ve been using it for a week and I like it! I just lowered the limits for those social media apps from 5 minutes x 7 times a day to 5 minutes x 5 times. We’ll see if it sticks.
On (analog) cruising by Leo Herrera: I enjoyed this book, and I’m a bit jealous of gay men because I wish lesbian cruising were more of a thing. (Maybe if I didn’t live in a smallish city I would be admitting to a skill issue here.)
On Wintering by Katherine May: This is the (fall and) winter that I finally read this book. It was on my mind recently, and later that day I found a copy prominently displayed on a shelf at a thrift store nearby. I sat down with the book once I got home and discovered this inscription that someone wrote inside:
On The Language of Letting Go by Melodie Beattie: Starting to read a seasonal book with monthly sections made me want to find a book of daily reflections too. I considered options and ended up picking up a copy of this book, from the author of Codependent No More. I don’t think of myself as a woman who struggles with codependency, so I wasn’t expecting these daily meditations on codependency to resonate with me as much as they do. Maybe that… means something? The recovery language works for me though, and it’s been helpful to reflect on my relationship to myself and others through this lens. Also, I cackled when I saw the name of the meditation for my birthday: Revenge 😈
On book clubs with your friends: Some friends and I are reading The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister together. I haven’t been in a book club before and I’m stoked. Now I just have to actually start reading the book.
On moviegoing: I know a local, independent movie theater hates to see me coming. I saw both Conclave and Anora recently and really enjoyed them both. I’m glad to live near a good theater. Somehow, heartbreak does feel good in a place like this.
On “Spinning” by Pom Pom Squad: I like her new album overall. The poppier feel to it is fun, and this song is a standout for me. The music video fits it very well, imo.
On “Big Picture” by Grace Gardner and buffchick: “What if you wanted to cheat on your girlfriend?” - a question more songs should ask. These two artists sound good together and I like the guitars in this song a lot, especially the solo over the pedal steel at the end. Also, I found out Grace Gardner has a newsletter on here, and I like her longform writing too.
On AA service positions: Recently, I was unanimously elected to become my home group’s treasurer. There was some drama with this and the transition of power was not as peaceful as it should’ve been. I kind of loved it. I considered a coup against the lame duck treasurer, but decided instead to accept the things I could not change and change the things I could. There’s a surprising lack of drama in AA, so when it happens you’ve gotta get some mileage out of the gossip — anonymously, of course.
Sagittarius season astrology: Nov 21st - Dec 21st 🌠
Nov 21st - Sagittarius season starts 🏹 2:57 pm (EST)
Nov 25th - Mercury retrograde (until 12/15) ⏪ 9:42 pm
Dec 1st - New moon in Sagittarius 🌚 1:21 am
Dec 5th - Mercury cazimi (conjunction with the Sun) in Sagittarius 🌞 9:17 pm
Dec 6th - Mars retrograde (until 2/23/25) ⏪ 6:33 pm
Dec 7th - Venus → Aquarius ♒ 1:14 am
Dec 7th - Neptune direct (retrograde since 7/02) ➡️ 6:43 pm
Dec 15th - Full moon in Gemini 🌝 4:01 am
Dec 15th - Mercury direct (retrograde since 11/25) ➡️ 3:56 pm
Dec 21st - Winter solstice & Capricorn season starts 🐐 4:21 am
Thanks for reading! I hope you’re hanging in there this fall.
𝒞 🩷
My fav piece I wrote this past month (that no one actually got mad at me for!):
And here’s the previous astro season newsletter:
That inscription is everything