Libra Moon is the Beauty Moon
The Grey Hair Don't Care Moon teaches us about the beauty of being ourselves.
Dear Ones,
I began letting my hair go grey in January of 2022.
I was sick of seeing that water mark of hair dye whenever my roots grew out. Sick of the way dye makes my fine hair melt like cotton candy. Now is the first time I’ve seen my natural color since I was 13 years old.
The consequence of going grey has been that I no longer get carded at bars. And, when I tell people my age (46), instead of acting surprised like they used to do, they nod, as in, “seems about right.”
As a witch with a love of the crone, and as someone who – technically – works in “wellness”. I knew I wasn’t supposed to have a problem with aging. But for the first half of my 40s – when aging starts to set in for real, when its clear that it’s irreversible and that you can run but you can’t hide… well, I admit that I ran. I hid.
I did all the things. Botox. Fillers. I mean, I am the Oracle of L.A. after all. Los Angeles is where all the most beautiful people in the world swim upstream to die. L.A. – and really our entire civilization – is a cult of youth and beauty.
To lose my youthful bloom felt like guards were escorting me to a gate from which I was going to be shoved out in exile.
But now it’s been a year and three months since I’ve dyed my hair, and while it might look ashy blonde on Instagram, in the sunlight, it’s mostly gray. And… I love it.
Without realizing it, at some point I must have crossed the threshold of the Ten of Swords, a card that looks threatening but which I enjoy because it basically means you can stop struggling. The fight is over. You “lost” – now your spirit is free and you get to move on.
In surrendering to the reality of aging, I found a new power.
Because there is power in beauty and I’m realizing that beauty is so much more than I’d thought that it was.
We’re all on our own path as far as aesthetic development is concerned. And I’m sure it seems obvious to many of you, but…
…in the slow ascent into my crone years, I’m realizing that beauty is something I get to invent for myself. I get to feel my way into it. Discover what it means from the inside out.
What happens when beauty is no longer a mould we try to fit ourselves into, or a category someone else gets to judge?
Venus is the goddess of Beauty, but patriarchy has convinced us that the beauty she favors is the kind on the cover of i-D magazine.
Yet, now that I’m “over the hill” I have a better view into the Venusian garden, and from here I can see that, in fact, the beings she loves most are the ones that have the power of Spirit in them.
My little cat Pagan, who passed away last year, was just an ordinary looking tortoise shell cat. She wouldn’t have won any Best In Show contests. But to me, she was the most beautiful cat in the world, because she had so much Spirit.
From the first moment I saw her in the crowded room at the adoption center, I knew she was my girl. It was like a light was shining upon her. Her radiance came from the fire of Spirit in her, a determination and will that defied systems of categorization or approval.
When Venus the Crone does her dance of the seven veils, she invites us to shed all the layers that obscure our true spirit.
Every year as I age, I become more authentically myself. A rarer kind of orchid.
And the more myself I am, the more I call into my life lovers, “followers”, readers, patrons and friends who appreciate me for who I am. Who nourish WHO I AM, rather than what I didn’t even realize I was trying to be.
It’s liberating. It’s gratifying. I feel safer in the world and more loving. Because there’s nothing I have to hide or keep up to be loved. I get to just be myself.
Anyway, this story is a long — but hopefully entertaining –– way of describing the spirit of the Aries/Libra dyad, coming to fruition this week on the Full Moon.
Aries/Libra describes the relationship between becoming fully oneself (Aries), and thus attracting and being in relationship (Libra) with the people who can appreciate you for who you fundamentally are.
The Aries/Libra polarity teaches us about resonance.
Resonance is the mysterious force that ensures: the more uniquely ourselves we become, the more we conjure those who resonate with us.
For example, the more bear we become, the more we belong in the woods.
On the other hand, the more we conform to the beauty standards of coloniality, the more we belong in a shopping mall in Orange County.
This Libra Moon is the full moon for finding your true, authentic beauty. The inner radiance that will only shine brighter with age.
Hope you can make it to my Full Moon ceremony this Wednesday at 6pm PST. Let’s practice shining bright so that what we love can find us.
In love and beauty,
Amanda
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Mystery Cult Event Calendar
Wednesday, 4/5/23, 6pm PST: Full Moon in Libra Ritual. A ceremony to help us shine bright so the ships of resonance can find us. Expect to do candle rituals, work with spirits to help you gain confidence in your gifts, as well as meditations and journaling. Link to join will be sent out on Wednesday to Paid Subscribers.
Friday, 4/14/23, 12pm PST: Substack Subscribers Live Chat, topic TBD.
Tuesday, 4/19/23: New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aries [Witch Guide Download]
Thursday, 4/27/23, 6pm: Essay Club. Reading – What Happened To Western Shamanism, by Chas Clifton. An essay discussing the history of shamanism and the differences and similarities between shamanism and witchcraft. (Keep in mind it was written in 2009 - if it had been written today it’s very likely that some of the content would’ve been modified). I’ve linked to a scanned PDF here, but if you’re interested in similar topics I highly recommend the book it comes from: The Paganism Reader by Chas S. Clifton and Graham Harvey.