Margot Velvet

Author: Margot Velvet

  • Astrology as a Tool for Enlightenment

    Astrology as a Tool for Enlightenment

    What is the purpose of astrology?

    I think most would say it is a tool to come to know and understand ourselves; it can be a path to self-acceptance and a way to more deeply understand what it is to be human. But can it also be a template?

    Is it a path to enlightenment? To being whole? To feeling… fullfilled?

    I have long been interested in astrology. Since I was young child, I was fascinated by reading my horoscope. At first I thought they were simply messages from psychics. I thought you had to be an all-knowing guru with a supernatural gift; horoscopes were divinely inspired passages from the great beyond. I am not sure when it clicked, exactly, but I have come to realize now that it is simply a skill that can be developed like any other. It is so very detailed and requires absorbing so much old and passed-down knowledge that I am positive that it is beyond me to fully grasp the concepts well enough in my lifetime to be able to craft horoscopes. What I do know is that it is much like deciphering any other language, or solving for a scientific equation. For example, if Mars moves into Capricorn and is trine to Saturn, what consequence will this have a Taurus sun/Aquarius moon? …Well, I don’t know. I could probably figure it out, but it would take a lot of consulting other sources!

    But, I digress. I am an Aries sun and I certainly encapsulate many Aries tendencies. I can be impulsive. I can leap into big life-altering decisions head-first with a defiant “I WILL make this work” attitude. I can get very angry and hold grudges. I can sometimes be blunt and hurtful if the truth needs to be told that way. (I am writing this with fiery excitement, check my vibes!) I can be overly ambitious and start big projects with good intentions … and abandon them. I can be stubborn and hard-headed, like my Ram counterpart. I am frequently a little too loud – in conversation, laughter, and don’t get me started on singing in the car. I have aptly renamed it “screamsinging”. I have toxic Aries traits, too: I deflect blame almost always (sorry, Husband!). I need to be right. All of these things are very much “me” but I am not some of the things Aries is always said to be: Confrontational. A Leader. Aggressive. Sporty. Organized. Powerful. Hmm… Nope. Can’t relate.

    Enter Gemini. (This is the whole point – forgive my verbosity.) Gemini stalks my placements. What I know about Gemini is only just beyond beginners knowledge. Gemini is a mutable sign, which may be why I never took much stock in taking notice (Ahem, *big Aries mood*). I am a Gemini moon, Gemini rising (First House), and I have Gemini in Chiron… and Chiron is also in my First House. That’s a triple Gemini whammy. What are you trying to say, Universe?

    I feel like there is a big, BIG message there, which brings me back to my initial prompt. Can astrology act as a path to fulfillment? If I intentionally nurture my Gemini nature… will I become whole?

  • Full Moon in Scorpio

    Full Moon in Scorpio

    a MoonOmens live Global Meditation ::: 5/7/2020

    “Everything I am experiencing
    right now is guiding me to the
    next level of my spiritual awakening.
    I’m becoming better, well rounded,
    and capable of anything
    I set my mind to.”

    ~ Lukas Notes

    My garden is dark and murky. Last time it was comfortable black and green and glowing teal, with seaweed-like plants waving gently in an un-felt breeze. Today the atmosphere is a muted burgundy red, like old brick. It is welcoming, just different. Still, the landscape is a soft dreamy sage. Glittering something, particulates of stardust hang like miniature cottonwood seeds, twirling just above head.

    I can see Taurus leaving, his lavender tail swishing with each step like a strap of willow leaves. I sit beside my Intention plant – what was just my Light Seed 2 weeks ago. It is small; it is only 6 inches high. It is a brighter green compared to the other smoked out grass and foliage nearby. There are no blossoms but it has long, thin leaves that stretch out and they are strong, similar to those on a corn stalk. I don’t touch it, but I put my hands in the wet, dark earth beside it and I can tell the plant is happy. It is not ready.

    Scorpio is in the garden. He is small and black and shining, reflecting the great light of the full moon. He is about 10 inches long, 5 inches wide. I was wondering when he would appear… I am filled with fear. Dread. Anxiety. Motionless, unblinking, he remains. Menacing. He chitters closer, with a pitter patter snapping tap dance of spines and claws. Danger alarms are going off within me and I want to flee but I know he is there with a purpose and he has a lesson for me. I close my eyes for a moment and a take a deep breath, taking in the sweet cleansing air of my burgundy-mauve garden, and the apprehension pours out as my body sinks into acceptance and readiness. So, then. A lesson. I am ready.

    I reach out to Scorpio and place him upon the skin of my bare thigh. I sit cross-legged in the dirt. He is prickly. His eyes are deepest black. We are quiet together and I slowly become more and more at ease with this creature that instilled such fear. And I can hear the lesson already, echoing in my own voice in my mind, “When you aren’t afraid to feel fear, there cannot be any fear at all.”

    … And I chuckle. Was that it?! All of that drama, little Scorpio? For a lesson so simple and obvious… but so needed. He almost seems to smile… for a bug.
    Relieved, I lay back in the garden and look up at the fullness of the sky and the Super Flower Moon is pink and lovely above us. Scorpio settles in my lap and we are napping before I even realize it.

    I awake back in reality. I did not get to water my Intention plant nor say goodbye to Scorpio, but I will be back soon. I need to learn more. Scorpio has always intrigued and mystified me. Knowing Scorpio is like trying to remember a dream while waking from it (I guess that explains why I married one).

  • Spirit Animals

    Spirit Animals

    I’ve always felt incredibly connected to animals and desperately wanted my own ‘spirit animal.’ I checked out countless books from the library on the subject and have done many meditations, waiting patiently for the right animal to reveal itself to me. I have waited in the misty Nothing, anxious for the fog to clear to see the animal there.

    I think of all the animals I have a strong affinity towards: dogs, wolves, foxes, deer, even shaggy highland cows and goats. Elk. Moose. Predominately North American animals that are familiar, cute and comforting.. and I long thought that the Stag, even the legendary White Stag, could be my spirit animal. I have learned that it was all forced and wishful thinking.

    Just now I was sitting on my porch and thinking about how lovely the birds were when it hit me.
    When I revisit all of the Places in my life and I draw them out in my Memory Palace, I often include the sounds of the birds to round out the picture and breathe life into it. In my childhood home there were Mourning Doves and Owls. I remember holding the remains of a hatched Robin’s egg, brilliantly turquoise and fragile, in my hands, just outside the front door. The unmistakable call of the Whippoorwills in the backyard. At our cabin, at aptly named Lake Thunderbird, the majestic Cranes and Egrets that greeted us in the swamps along the highway. There were Bluejays there, too, and they were special. Oh, and how could I forget the Ostrich farm!! You get the point. Each important Place that has shaped me includes a vivid memory of a specific bird.

    Each day when I sit on our porch (and I am not kidding when I say I am so blessed to live in this suburban wildlife paradise) I watch the birds in awe and I try to name all the ones I see: Robin, Sparrow, Blackbird, Goose, Duck, Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Canary, Woodpecker, Seagull, even a Parrot once that got loose. Then there are the special ones: the Cormorants (or Water Turkeys, as I call them), hunting in the water in groups, with dangerous cool kid vibes. Beautiful white Egrets in yoga poses… The ancient Great Blue Heron that demands attention and respect… and lastly, we circle back again to the Bluejay.

    There is something about the Bluejay that speaks to me and I know now that this little bird, small but lovely, is mine.

    A quick Google search can tell me that the Bluejay, as a totem, symbolizes curiosity, vigilance, assertiveness, intelligence. The Bluejay values truth and clarity. They are not social creatures but they are loud, and resonate with the throat chakra and communication. The Bluejay says “It’s okay to be unpopular. Make your voice heard. Stand proud.”

    This clearly needs some more reflection, as Google cannot make revelations for me… but I wanted to document it while I was stewing it over.

    Until later.

  • New Moon in Taurus

    New Moon in Taurus

    a MoonOmens live Global Meditation ::: 4/22/2020


    “I welcome the unexpected,
    and I am ready for the unknown.
    May what’s meant for me
    enter my life effortlessly.”
    ~Shawn Fontaine 


    I am in a garden, glowing dark like Blackreach. Grass waving in the breeze like seaweed underwater. The dirt is black and damp and rich. I pull out a piece of my light and plant it, bury it. I will come back here and water it, check on it, grow my light until I can harvest it, eat it, delight in it, share it’s abundance. 

    Suddenly a shadowy bull is there, Taurus. I lay on his back on my stomach and we are going somewhere important. A slow, relaxed pace. He is happiness. He is safety. Everything is glittering, luminescent, floating. Pink and purple Spanish moss hang low around us and graze my bare arms.  They are folded beneath my chin like a pillow tangled in his dark lavender gray mane. When we stop, I open my eyes and see swirling nothing, like glitter in a shaken cocktail.
     
    In real life, my arms are cold. I notice it and lift my hands to feel what seems to be a cold current of air. Curious. Is this my link to the Universe? I open my eyes. My finger tips are gently pulsing. I think of a memory: Grandma. We are sitting at her kitchen table with coffee and potato chips. I am 7 or 8. She is wearing blue and touching only her fingertips to mine and I feel them pulsing; a heartbeat, but just one beat. She smiles her jolly grin and says, “This is our heartbeat. When we touch our fingertips to each other’s, we are connected. Cool, huh?” And in bed, I am silently weeping. The world is scary and I think, “What is happening, Grandma? What is going on here on Earth? Are we going to be okay? Please tell me this will be okay…” and the cool air slowly fades… and my fingertips are void of anything extra. It’s just me. Nothing. I am worried for a moment, thinking Nothing means Something Bad and then in anger I demand, “But I need reassurance!!” 

    And it’s clear now. That’s the point. You don’t just get reassurance. You just need to go with it and trust you will somehow be okay. Or maybe you won’t be okay. But you don’t always get to know; there’s no guarantee. So I recall the mantra of the day: I am going into the unknown and I am ready. I am strong and brave like the bull. I am peaceful, like the bull. 

    I close my eyes and return to Taurus. I pat him on the shoulder and hold him lightly by the horn. We travel back from the Nothing to the garden. I inspect my plot to ensure the seeds are firmly planted. I am ready to go. I’ll come back to my garden soon. The lightseeds I plant and tend to will help me become the best version of myself and that excites me. 

  • Placements and Birth Chart

    Placements and Birth Chart

    This is my cheat sheet and reference guide. ♈︎ // ♊︎ // ♊︎

    Birth Chart from Co-Star Astrology
    Placements from Co-Star Astrology
    Placements from Sanctuary World