Gemini

gemini1 Louise’s tarotscope: This month’s energy is really celebratory! However, when I sense this energy coming in, I also look to the other side, which is when we’re not feeling very fun. Recently, you may have been looking at other people, thinking, Are they more fun than me?! Everyone’s doing cool things, am I cool things? What ARE cool things?! It’s funny how easy it is to get ourselves into a panic about what we actually enjoy! I’m seeing January as an invitation to be silly and play. The older we get, the easier it is to forget about playing, so it’s our job to return to a sense of play as often as possible. Your sense of fun and what makes you laugh is unique to you. I invite you this January, sometimes a high-pressure month, to breathe and let loose. Create a space of party and collaboration, which just means gathering a group of friends to do something together. We can create community wherever we like, whether it’s an online group or a club at school. If you have an inkling to do something, there’s usually someone around you who also wants to do the same thing. Start up, say, a TV party every week where you watch the same show with friends. This month, you might find yourself beginning something that will bring you joy during the whole year.

It’s also OK not to feel full of fun: If the last thing you want to do is celebrate right now, that’s totally fine. Your only job is to notice the really tiny things that make you giggle, even if it’s something as fleeting as a dog running past with ears flapping in the wind. When you notice those tiny things that make you smile, try to get more of that into your days (to see more dog’s ears, take more walks in the park!). There’s a nice open energy and a fiery element this month, and since creativity is an expression of fire, if you’re feeling frustrated, irritated, or angry, get it out through exercise or art or dancing. Have a morning dance party, just for yourself, and shake yourself up a bit.

gemini001

Dylan’s advice: Let’s scoot back to ancient Babylon for a moment—not something I do often, but what the hell! Over 4,000 years ago, when Babylonians celebrated their new year (which was in the spring and based on the cycles of their lunar calendar, rather than on January 1 as it goes for our Gregorian calendar), they put on a festival named Akitu. There’s a lot of depth to this history: A new year’s celebration at the vernal equinox, which was also a way of reaffirming their monarchy through a sadistic humiliation ceremony (long story), and cleansing the cosmos for a new year of regeneration. Seems tight. But the immensely condensed takeaway from this tradition is this: For each 11 days of the festival, they performed a different daily ritual that was, at least on some level, about celebration as a means for regeneration.

You, too, can make like a party-hard Babylonian and commence an 11-day cycle of ritual festivities! It might be just a li’l overkill for me to draw a direct map of action based on the traditional Akitu celebration cycle (I don’t think we need to engage in any puppet battles or public shaming ceremonies to live it up this years, but that’s up to you), instead, take some inspiration from the format. Create an 11-day party plan! There’s a day in here where the king would go to a sanctuary to spend the night—perhaps a camping trip is in order, or an epic sleepover with your best friend and a Ouija board? There are also rituals to do with sessy singing and dancing; anyone want to throw a dance party to the new Jeremih? On another day in Akitu, the statues for worshipping are cleaned, dressed, and brought back into the public—what special items in your room or pieces of jewelry do you carry with you that could use in a shine on your mantle? Use a stretch of 11 days in January to light up your month with small, focused moments of joy, whether it’s walking to school with a favorite comedy podcast or throwing a party with your friends. Do you, do it big or small, and as the Babylonians would say, happy rêš šattim!!!