Let it Burn
Why fire is your friend right now
It’s Getting Hot In Here
No, it’s not just you. The roof is, in fact, on fire.
But not just the roof. The very foundations of our society.
And that’s as it should be. This roof, these walls, this system was not built to keep us safe, as we’ve been led to believe, but to keep us caged.
We know the situation is untenable. It’s written in the stars, or at least the planets in constant revolution around our star: transformation is not just imminent, it’s already in progress.
Reading the Signs
As bone readers, Sister Spike and I often notice trends, patterns that appear repeatedly in our readings at specific events or certain points in the lunar and solar cycles. Last weekend, at the Lughnasadh / Lammas PNW Witches Market in Kirkland, WA, we couldn’t help but notice that two bones showed up in just about every reading: Fire and the Crossroads.
Both of these bones represent Transformation energy.
Fire is Transformation we don’t control: a raging, all-consuming energy that takes down everything in its path and burns everything that tries to stop it. It also sparks new creativity, ideas, and passions, and leaves rich, fecund soil for new growth in its wake.
In tarot terms, it’s your Tower moment: the building has collapsed, and now you have a pile of free bricks, ready to be rebuilt into something more authentically yours.
The Crossroads is Transformation we do control. It’s what comes after Fire burns away what is not for us: the choice point where we look at that field of ash, that pile of bricks, and steer ourselves in the direction we genuinely wish to go. Not the path of least resistance, not coasting on momentum; the Crossroads is our opportunity to pick a path that feels truly aligned to who we deeply desire to be.
Translation: If you’ve been searching for your Crossroads, the place where aligned opportunities open up and you no longer feel trapped in the momentum of your previous choices, it’s time to stop trying to smother the flames. That’ll only burn your hands and delay the opportunities desperately seeking you.
Eclipse Season Cometh
September is right around the corner, bringing us a second round of eclipses in this already-volatile solar cycle. Remember March? That’s when the fire was lit, and now it’s reaching its culmination, burning a hole in the very fabric of our reality to allow us to reach into the void and pull out what’s truly for us.
Translation: If it’s on fire right now, it’s meant to burn. Let it.
Instead, redirect your energy toward helping to collectively birth the world you deeply desire to live in. The one that feels authentically aligned to your inner self, the you-est you.
Rejection is Protection
I do realize how much easier said than done that is.
Last month, I applied for a position I thought was a perfect fit for my unique skill set. I nailed the initial interview and genuinely connected with the interviewer, a fact that was obvious to everyone in the in-person group interview that followed. More than one person noticed our rapport and commented that, regardless of the outcome, we’d both made a new friend.
So, although I was a bit surprised when they decided to go in a different direction for the role, I wasn’t upset or disappointed. I was genuinely delighted to be connected to the organization in general, and its leader in particular, and trusted that the universe had something even better in store for me.
I immediately replied to her very kind, very professional rejection email with an invitation to get together for a chat sometime, including a calendar link for easy scheduling.
A day went by, then several days, a week, and then a month.
No reply.
Maybe she’s just super busy with work, and my email got lost in the shuffle, I rationalized. Knowing she dabbles in magick, I decided to put myself out there one more time and sent her a short text inviting her to the Seeker Salon, a fun divination exchange meetup I’d organized later this month.
Still no reply. Le sigh.
I confess, I’m having a much harder time seeing that rejection as protection. It feels personal, pointed, like I must have done something wrong, but I have no idea what it could be.
I mean, I get it. I used to dread confrontation and take it very personally when people would set a boundary with me, so I understand the hesitation to communicate whatever it is that’s holding her back from connecting with me. But as I’ve grown, I’ve come to see boundary-setting as a compliment, an invitation; it means they like me enough to want to keep me around long-term, and they’re letting me in on the fact that what’s currently happening is not sustainable for them.
Ghosting, on the other hand, tells me they’re either too cowardly to be real with me, or my presence in their life is not valuable enough to them to be bothered with setting a boundary.
So when I tell y’all to “let it burn,” know that I do understand and empathize with the grief that so often accompanies that process. I also know it’s worth it, and we are not being asked to go through this alone.
Luna’s Journey
As we navigate this conflagration of all that stands in the way of what we most deeply desire, we are guided via intuition and emotion. And like an enormous sky-lamp, Luna is leading the way.
This month, our moon is making her way through a parade of planets, many of them retrograde, as we re-evaluate everything before making our order with the universe next month.
First, she’ll pass by Jupiter and Venus in the warm, welcoming waters of Cancer, helping us gather luck, love, and emotional fortitude for the journey, just as she comes into fullness on August 9th, just on the other side of the fiery 8/8 Lionsgate portal. That’s an ideal time to do a ritual burn of anything you know is holding you back, or that’s already on fire, and you want to make sure it burns quickly and cleanly to make room for what’s next.
From August 9th until August 12th, when Venus and Jupiter come into their tightest embrace, I champion you to notice and appreciate all the blessings in your life that have not burned down, all the love and luck that is still here for you. Embrace them, remind them how much they mean to you, and let your appreciation be the beacon that signals to the Universe, “More like this, please!”
Next, she’ll meet Neptune, the planet of imagination, and Saturn, the planet of structure and routine, currently cohabitating in the fiery realm of Aries. This is where the major transformations are taking place: not only are our systems and structures breaking down, but the stories we’ve been telling ourselves about those systems and structures are evaporating, leaving room for new stories and realities to be co-written.
Just when you think the emotional chaos of those transformations has reached its peak, Luna will encounter Uranus, planet of rebellion and disruption, near the Pleiades in the air sign of Gemini. This revolutionary energy will help you reframe that chaos into intentional change and dive deeper into radical trust. Mid-month, I champion you to follow your intuition, even (or maybe especially) when it seems to make no logical sense, and get curious about what follows.
Finally, on August 18/19, Mercury joins the party, bringing new clarity around where we’re headed and how to articulate it. On the morning of the 18th, when this entire parade of planets will be visible in the sky—Mercury near the horizon, Venus, Jupiter, and Luna in a straight line heading upwards, plus Uranus higher up, and Saturn and Neptune huddled together in the southwest—we’re being offered an ideal opportunity to make our order with the Universe.
Order Up
Before Eclipse season hits, I champion you to clarify what it is you wish to bring into this reality that does not currently exist here. What kind of world do you want to live in? What energies and emotions do you want to feel, experience, and share more of? What systems and structures would best support the birthing of that world and those feelings?
Start brainstorming lists of energies, emotions, resources, and anything else you believe will support your value-aligned mission in the coming 7-year cycle now. You’ll thank yourself when eclipse season comes and you know exactly what you want to pull from the void.
So what are you waiting for?
Go make magick!