Sun Jam: Aquarius
Sun Jam, curated by Marisa Vito, Emiliegh Tena, and Gabriela Rodriguez Conliffe, is a poetry-focused astrology series reflecting on how to exist within the astrological seasons. Influenced by the solar sign and ruling planet of the time, we’ll share poems, cosmic interpretations, visual art, sounds, and more as the wheel of the year turns. This Sun Jam celebrates Aquarius season and Black History Month. Happy solar return, Aquarius!
Never to Dream of Spiders
By Audre Lorde (Aquarius Sun)
Time collapses between the lips of strangers
my days collapse into a hollow tube
soon implodes against now
like an iron wall
my eyes are blocked with rubble
a smear of perspectives
blurring each horizon
in the breathless precision of silence
one word is made.
Once the renegade flesh was gone
fall air lay against my face
sharp and blue as a needle
but the rain fell through October
and death lay a condemnation
within my blood.
The smell of your neck in August
a fine gold wire bejeweling war
all the rest lies
illusive as a farmhouse
on the other side of a valley
vanishing in the afternoon.
Day three day four day ten
the seventh step
a veiled door leading to my golden anniversary
flameproofed free-paper shredded
in the teeth of a pillaging dog
never to dream of spiders
and when they turned the hoses upon me
a burst of light.
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Happy Black History Month! Audre Lorde’s power to speak up and speak out, in life and in poetry, centers the signs for Aquarius season. With February being a month where all the planets are visible in Aquarius, we have entered a strange time of needing to find balance. As the world continues to try and to cope, it is important to be reminded of our connection to ourselves and our universality.
“but the rain fell through October
and death lay a condemnation
within my blood.”
In Lorde’s poem, the speaker states “death lay a condemnation/within my blood.” as they sift through the seasons of history, the self, and the space they are surrounded with. The speaker has felt death: metaphorically, emotionally, and physically through the violence suffered around them and the death of those before them. Yet, as we turn to the end of the poem, the speaker says, “and when they turned the hoses upon me/ a burst of light.” As we draw to the end of the poem, the speaker portrays violence with potent duality. Violence brings to the speaker clarity and outrage; the balanced feelings of understanding the realities of the problematic structure of living in American society. Balance brings us into thinking about Aquarius season with its magnets of intentional change and recognition.
“my eyes are blocked with rubble
a smear of perspectives
blurring each horizon
in the breathless precision of silence
one word is made.”
While Capricorn season ushered in change, Aquarius season asks to think about balance. How do you balance your life? How do you want to balance your universal connection to others? Additionally, Aquarius season encourages the idea to reach beyond what you have always known. How can you balance knowledge and making space for growth? “A smear of perspectives/blurring each horizon” depicts the speaker’s breakage of self, allowing for them to absorb the memories and feelings of those around them. In Aquarius season, it is time to let go of the rotting parts of yourself in order to open yourself up to the possibilities of community, connection, and the search for harmony.
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Poetry Tea Ritual by Emiliegh Tena
One of my favorite things about brewing tea potions is how the five elements are perfectly blended; this makes our intentions stronger and casts a sort of circle for this ritual. We call upon earth through the use of leaves, roots, flowers, and fruit. We make a medium of water, a canvas. We welcome air through the steam and fragrances rising and fire through the warmth of our hands holding our cups. We connect with spirit through the blending of all of the above and the act of drinking our tea. Below is a simple ritual but one that yields(with the precise amount of presence and will) a powerful effect.
I like to brew this tea after journaling in the morning before I sit down to write with more intention. Feel free to take what works best for you and leave what doesn’t.
*(the magical herb properties below are a reflection of my own interpretation & studies)
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Creativi TEA (inspired by the ever-inventive Aquarius)
1 teaspoon yerba mate
-Known in South America as the drink of the gods. Increases energy, insight, creativity, and clarity.
1 teaspoon lemongrass
-Known as a road opener of sorts that breaks down creative blockages. Inspires creativity and brings good luck in communication.
1 teaspoon fennel
-Said to be an herb that corresponds with Aquarius. Imparts courage and protection in your endeavors.
Brew at minimum 5 mins, thereafter to taste.
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Collage by Gabriela Rodriguez Conliffe
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Marisa Vito is a California-based poet who has pieces published in Crab Fat Magazine and the Los Angeles Magazine. She graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in English Literature/Writing. When not reading or writing, she enjoys cooking/baking, learning more about gender theory, and interpreting people’s natal charts.
Emiliegh Tena (she/her) is a pansexual writrix that self publishes her work on her blog (etemaginary.com) Born in New Mexico, raised in Colorado and now hailing from the Hawaiian Islands, you can find Em slinging coffee @ a local cafe, working as a Licensed Massage Therapist or playing in the ocean. When she's not pouring over poetry and books, or spilling her heart out on paper, she is furthering her knowledge on the effects and healing of trauma, bending her body into shapes, practicing witchcraft, and searching for the truth through creating.