decolonization

full moon + uranus musings on decolonization

colonization gets us caught up in hyper-individualism, thinking that it doesn’t matter what we do or how we do it because “the ends justify the means”. colonization has us thinking that there isn’t another way, that whiteness is our access point, that we are not sufficient and capable of creating power on our own. colonization has us prioritizing money and individual goals versus prioritizing relationship and critical attention to impact. colonization views community as a concept and transactional web (do good to get something) rather than a collection of real-time relationships where connection matters.


I believe decolonization is an internal, individual process but much more importantly, an active collective one. it is a set of personal commitments, direct actions, and communal practices. and it is important to call a thing what it is and what it is not. decolonization is a noun but the root of the word is decolonize, which is a verb.

Definition of decolonize
de·col·o·nize | dē-ˈkä-lə-ˌnīz 
verb: to free from colonial status.
-from Merriam Webster


decolonization is dismembering ourselves from these toxic power models and remembering our inherent worthiness that leads us to love one another. active decolonization is not centering whiteness or white proximity. It is rejecting personal agendas or capitalistic ambitions of fame, money, acclaim, or hierarchal power. it is refusing respectability or alignment with harmful leadership.

ultimately, we must be committed to destroying the power structures that oppress us. we need strategies that start with the micro and move to the macro- not because we have tons of time and a lack of urgency, but because we don’t. as I’ve gone through my own eternal learning and unlearning processes, I have come into clarity that work that preserves, invests into, or perpetuates the systems that are killing us is not aligned with collective liberation. I am here for freedom from the inside out, sustainable movement, and relationship-centered living.

for the freedom of Black & Brown brujas that are queer, radical, & learning to accept their selves & identities.

for the freedom of Black & Brown brujas colonized into religions not rooted in their freedom & so are afraid of their own power.

for the freedom of Black & Brown brujas who have been so deeply colonized they’ve forgotten they have ancient wisdom within.

for the freedom of Black & Brown brujas who have had to leave themselves behind to conform into white supremacist nonculture. 

for the freedom of Black & Brown brujas who weave magic everyday with their words and their love but don’t know it yet. 

for the freedom of Black & Brown brujas who are struggling to find spirituality without oppressive models. 

for the freedom of Black & Brown brujas who are forming their own path by being brave enough to take another step. 

for the freedom of Black & Brown brujas who are trying to reach back into ancestral wisdoms in order to decolonize the future. 

for the freedom of Black & Brown brujas who are drawn to astrology, tarot, & other magic but are scared to say yes. 

for the freedom of Black & Brown brujas who want to transform themselves to transform the world. 

for the freedom of Black & Brown brujas who know deep down that they are god.

I am here for all of us, for everyone, because that’s who astrology & spirituality is for. I’m not here to limit the ways source wants to channel & flow, in any shape or form. for this full moon however, on the eve of my 25th solar return, it is time to be clear about who I belong to & who belongs to me in the acknowledgement that we all belong together on this earth. (brujas including brujos and brujx)

oxo
saltwater & stars

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mermaid musings on money & receptivity

prelude: this is me sharing mermaid musings & thought experiments at the intersection of astrology, decolonization, anti-capitalism, & spirituality. I want to have this conversation so deeply but only if it is centered in an understanding of how capitalism takes from us all & how racism/white supremacy impact the access to resources people like me have. any conversation about the connection between our spiritual/energetic practice & money that isn't centered in an analysis of justice/history has the potential to be harmful because we cannot use spirituality to bypass systemic, institutional, & economic injustices. I. have. no. answers. nor all the questions. only experiments & observations. listening.

 

I was sitting in the sun yesterday in the company of a tree & from somewhere (I think it whispered it to me) I had an epiphany that there is a clear relationship between money & receptivity. the sun is in taurus so material resources are on the mind. I've emboldened the keywords in the definition below that are associated with venus, ruler of taurus. when we’re talking about a season (what sign the sun is in), we are ultimately talking about the expression of the planet that rules that sign. so during taurus season, we’re musing on venus.

definition of receptivity

1able or inclined to receive; especially open and responsive to ideas, impressions, or suggestions
2: a of a sensory end organ fit to receive and transmit stimuli
b sensory

 
something I've observed about taurus is that they absolutely will work their ass off for material security, but really they'd prefer to ease into it. this makes me think of our relationship with the earth, with nature, how we are nature. the sustenance the land is meant to give us is something meant to be cultivated, given attention to, & responded to intentionally. but never forced. it's a relationship of receptivity & response-ability. capitalism & money can try to destroy & replace this organic relationship but it is something we can actually return to, in different ways. not all of us have access to being in relationship with land/the earth in the way we might want to be- in that, I've found that changing my relationship to money has been the beginning of reclaiming a lot of the ease & trust that working with the earth cultivates. because money is the resource that provides food/water/shelter that I need & am attached to at this time. 

the relationship between money & receptivity I am seeing so clearly right now is that when you stop believing that we need to "pull ourselves up by our bootstraps" & just work hard, there needs to be something else to believe in. I've been experimenting with trusting that what I need will come. what that really means is that I center myself in believing that abundance is actually possible. then I open myself up to honoring that it may arrive in multiple known & unknown ways. I solidify my intention of being receptivity by stretching myself into being willing to ask for material support when I need it- and then allowing it in. this is energetic work that I can choose to support with spiritual/magical practice for amplification. it can be deep, painful work. when we talk about energy, we're often talking about the alignment of the mind, heart, & body.

there are so many internalized beliefs about scarcity, work ethic, and "earning our keep" that it's often hard to imagine another way. it's often hard to imagine being supported by the multiverse, by our community, by the truth that we don't need to earn access to basic human rights. and there are certainly times when we need to participate in the system more than other others because survival is an instinct that is useful when we're put in the position to have to rely on it. only you can decide when a more energetically receptive route to getting needs met or being supported is appropriate. I am not saying that we all need to stop working our capitalistic jobs & just trust. I am saying that I am experiencing what happens when I make the energetic & spiritual investment into receptivity & ask for what I need-whether from others or the multiverse. this is the essence of venus-and an element of emergent strategy- decentralization/interdependence. 

I'm a cash poor 2nd generation boricua. these systems we're supposed to rely on for material security (in the context of the USA) were never meant for me or mine. they're not supposed to work. and neither are they aligned with what I believe. so until it all comes crashing down & we ingeniously survive it, I'm going to practice trusting in other realms rooted in the power I know is available to me while doing what I need to do to be secure. I want to be receptive to the support of the unseen forces that conspire with me towards healing, liberation, & abundance. and ultimately, be receptive to the constant circulation of resources that happens among those who are interested in finding alternative ways of being in this world, in relationship with money, & in love with each other. 

oxo
saltwater & stars

fuck the kyriarchy

NEW MOON IN CAPRICORN
JANUARY 16 | 9:17 PM EST
26 DEGREES 

from my instagram: "there’s a new moon today. new awareness of needs. new layers revealed. new opportunities for recalibration, planting, hoping. capricorn—as structured, streamlined, & serious as it gets. grounded by ambition, attention, & a love for the reliable. resist the temptation to operate under pressure & urgency. instead, lean into micro-strategies & consistency. we love you." 

I've been talking a lot about micro-strategies not just because I think that it reduces the pressures of capitalistic/oppressive structures & is a more realistic approach to sustainability as human beings, but because I think it also reduces the possibilities of us getting stuck in our self-righteousness or illusions of our impact. I am seeing more clearly that righteousness acting as structure is a powerful collective tool but not necessarily something that individuals should be required to cultivate, contrary to how we've been conditioned. because righteousness is a combination of beliefs, morality, & ethics that is subjective as much as we want it to be objective. there are areas of black & white but mostly, the grey areas that we are all navigating because context is everything. these are just mermaid musings not certified observations so take it or leave it or add to it in the comments. 

I am also feeling into how this applies not only to our movements for justice, but in our relationships to truth that show up as our spiritual & religious practices. I read somewhere from someone who practices brujeria recently that they were intolerant of the "aesthetic" of millennials claiming brujeria & that they only fuck with the real shit. that's valid & it is important to be discerning. but I was struck by a discomfort because my first thought was that these young latinx/girls are making attempts to reclaim & reconnect to something that actually does belong to them. something that has been taken from them to an extent that makes it is often difficult to find a way back in. it's not just an aesthetic, it's a siren. a call, an exploration. and need we really worry 'bout those who ain't really with it? 

If we really are in a place that we feel sure of our connection to our spiritual sources, is our most natural, kind next step to ostracize or shame those who do not have guidance? I know relatively little about a lot of things that I care very much about & I cannot help myself but to share what I learn because I was that young girl that stayed away from things I knew were mine but  was scared of dishonoring. now that I am deeper into my journey, I am sad that the hierarchal structures have been so thoroughly adapted into our spiritual/religious practices because it keeps people that need it out. it keeps us thirsty & hungry & lost & ashamed.

I am specifically speaking from the context of being with afro puerto rican roots in brujeria/santeria/yoruba. my family was colonized out of our connections to that & finding my way to what always resonated most has been terrifying because we are made to feel that we can't fuck up & forgiveness is scarce (thanks white supremacy!). there is a difference between not knowing what you don't know yet seeking to learn & willfully abusing your ignorance. when it comes to folx finding their way, especially nonwhite/colonized folx, I am urged to be endlessly compassionate & become a resource as I receive from sources.

this correlates to this lusciously grounded & strong new moon in capricorn accompanied by a stellium (group of planets) of capricorn to me because I have seen saturn (ruler of capricorn) energy show up as a temptation to enforce structure by implementing hierarchies. it gives us an easy way to categorize & protect things. I'm reminded of all the laws that act as "fences" to ethics in judaism (which I was raised in). we take this very seriously in many arenas but so often our motivation is actually fear. I think capitalism/oppression is born of saturn.

this is why The Devil card in tarot is often connected to capricorn. because what would happen if everyone had access? what if structure showed up as support rather than obligation? would we really lose power? because isn't that often what we're protecting? so what if power wasn't something that belonged to you (in the context of the collective) but a source that everyone can be guided to tap into? what if our ambitions were driven by trust & openness rather than scarcity? aren't these just other prisons? 

so this jumbled ramble is what I'm thinking about as I figure out ways to practically implement my visions, my needs, my desires, my DRIVE into everyday life (micro-strategies). starting small with waking up earlier after good nights sleeps (when possible), eating what my body needs, & keeping my schedule light & full of love-giving things. this is spiritual because what I am making is SPACE for the path to show up, space for spiritual practice, & space to learn & experiment. and this is what I want us to give to each other too, in our movements & our collective pools of wisdom & connection.

I want us to give each other permission to be strategic & start small. and I am beginning to believe that this is the nitty gritty of the process of decolonization/dismantling oppression within ourselves. it starts with being willing to give up what we believe our sources of power or structure are & get that need met on a more micro level so we can be more open on macro levels. 

so, happy new moon mermaids & starlings. may your intentions be firm & your structures be clear & your ambitions delicious. commune subscribers, your horoscopes are waiting in your inbox. get in touch with me if they aren't. 


oxo
saltwater & stars