The artist this week is Kenojuak Ashevak. Ashevak’s creative focus was vast: sculpture, engraving, painting, drawing, beadwork, sewing and design. However, she is best known for her graphic prints where she joins her skills of carving, drawing, and printing. As Ashevak explains, “There is no word for art. We say it is to transfer something from the real to the unreal.” Ashevak pulls the images of animals, humans, and spirits from her living world and transfers them to a non-living phase. However, Ashevak’s work by her choice of color and flourish seems to bridge the concepts of real and unreal. We see life, movement, and vividness in her work.
In Innuit culture “art” was usually conjoined with function. However, Ashevak was an outlier. Even though she used her work to help her family finically that aligned with the functionality of art in her culture, she also promoted art for art’s sake.
“I just take these things out of my thoughts and out of my imagination, and I don’t really give any weight to the idea of its being an image of something…. I am just concentrating on placing it down on paper in a way that is pleasing to my own eye, whether it has anything to do with subjective reality or not. And that is how I have always tried to make my images, and that is still how I do it, and I haven’t really thought about it any other way than that. That is just my style and is the way I started and the way I am today.”
This concept of allowing ourselves to engage in non-judgmental, non-goal-oriented pleasure, i.e. play, is a skill a focus we all should incorporate into our lives at any age.
Your pondering for the week: Drop your self judgement and allow your imagination to just play. See what comes from it.
Solar System highlights
The moon begins in Virgo so a pleasant organize way to start the week. On Tuesday it moves into Libra – where harmony and relationships come to the forefront. Then on Friday through the weekend it is in Scorpio – play time with your passions.
Mercury (communication and knowledge) is in Taurus (grounding) and in retrograde – this period is useful to reflect, review and redo especially within the aspects of how to be calm and focused as you convey your thoughts and intentions.
Venus (beauty and harmony) is in Gemini. Last week to dive into gratitude and working with the positive nurturing aspects of all your relationships (this includes your relationships with all living things and your environment). Mars (action) is in Cancer. It is best to let your heart run the show until May 21st. However, at its worst we can get emotionally charged and overreact, and at its best we can consciously act on what our heart needs.
Jupiter (growth) is in Aries until May 16th – great for manifestation, expansion, and action. And Saturn (structures) is in its two-year stint in Pisces to make sure our structures are elastic and responsive to change. The challenge is our boundaries can get too bendy or have gaps, so we need to work on being flexible but resilient, think like bamboo or jellyfish.
And lastly Pluto (the hidden, death, wealth, and shadow) is in Aquarius until June 11th, giving us a taste of what the next 20 years will bring. Pluto is considered a generational planet and takes its time doling out its challenges and treasures. Pluto is bouncing back and forth from capitalistic Capricorn to socialistic Aquarius, so politics, technology and societal whims should be interesting to watch during this time.
***Signs with an * it is a big week for you. Taurus this is a perfect time to get an Astrological Tarot Reading for your coming year. And Virgo it is your halfway mark for your birth year, so if you need a Planetary Reading for a check in now is the time. and I have a new tip jar if you want to leave a gratuity for the weekly forecasts.
May light be on you, around you, and within you.
Nina
Aries
Ten of Air – It seems the friend-connecting you did last week will be valuable, for you will need your friends in dealing with the potential dramas this week. Whether that is your tendency right now to engage with negative thoughts or if the world around you is throwing spears and curve balls, your friends will help you avoid the worst-case scenarios.
Taurus
*Empress –The Muse of Life is an energy that you all work with your entire lifetime. Also, it makes sense that it not only comes up during your birth month but also as we collectively experience an eclipse in the Scorpio/Taurus pairing, May 5th and prepare for Jupiter’s move into Taurus on May 16th. Life is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy transformation, and reproduction. Your work for this week, maybe throughout this year, is to identify those capacities in yourself, and the how and why you walk on this earth while doing them. And then how you plan to nurture those qualities to further abundant growth in yourself and within your reach into the world.
Gemini
*Sun – The Muse of Optimism would like you to radiate some of this energy into the world. You all are one of the most charismatic signs in the zodiac and this muse would like you to use this superpower this week. Whether that is a smile or a compliment to a random people you encounter or a deep dive of support to someone close, this week is made for you to shine by illuminating the good in others.
Cancerian
Queen of Air – The Muse of Perceptivity comes to help you create ease in your plans and is perfectly aligned with Mercury in retrograde. She reminds you that details and cleverness are the focus this week. So, mottos like the “devil is in the details” and “work smarter not harder” should be in the forefront of your revisions in planning the future.
Leo
Nine of Air – Ok this week has a bump in the road potential stopping the past two weeks’ energy pushing Adventure. That bump is your worry and anxiety. The Muse of Unease advises to switch “I am worried about this negative outcome” to “I hope for this positive outcome.” When you think about it, useful worrying helps us prepare for bumps in the road by deconstruction, and beneficial hoping helps us prepare for bumps in the road but by construction. When done properly they both want the same thing, a positive outcome. So why not prepare this week through a hopeful outlook and lay down the swords of worry.
Virgo
Page of Earth – This week is abundant for learning opportunities. The Muse of Knowledge will point out areas of study for you. Whether that is a new skill set you need to integrate or an area of ignorance you find that needs updating, this week is meant for learning.
Libra
*Fool – The Muse of New is wanting you to branch out and do something that you have never done before. Whether to take an art or dance class, try a new restaurant or go on a spontaneous adventure, this muse wants you to expand your horizons.
Scorpio
*Hanged One – Last week the Muse of Momentum wanted you to spend this retrograde period in contemplation of what needs changing that only you can do and then make a road map to get there. Self-reliance, a destination, and ambition are the key elements that you need to muster. Now the Muse of Upside-down wants you to flip some of your ideas on their head to see them from an alternative perspective. She counsels by doing so you will get a more holistic picture. This week put things on hold or postponed until after May 16th . So you can take the time you need to see things from “both sides of the coin”.
Sagittarius
Eight of Fire – This week is full of messages. Since Mercury is in retrograde, the challenge is they are not all for you. And the ones for you are also jumbled or missing content. So, the muses advise to take your time with sorting out the ones for you and hold on answering them. For as the week progresses more information can come in to change your perspective or perception.
Capricorn
Two of Water – The Muse of Love is here to get you to find time and slow down to hang with your significant other(s). When this muse comes, she does so because your intimacy cup needs sustenance. Reciprocity of emotions and daydreams need to be exchanged to integrate more love and hope into your future.
Aquarius
Six of Water – During this retrograde time of review and revise the Muse of Memories would like you to recollect what brought you joy and fulfillment from your past. Then she challenges you to make plans on how to create the same feelings without recreating those past events. So, this is an exercise in seeing the arc and maturation of your emotional fulfillment. And how to keep it evolving and growing.
Pisces
Three of Air – The Muse of Breakthroughs would like you to spend this retrograde week looking to heal, at most, three wounds from the past. She does this by setting up scenarios that trigger a heartache response. If you feel sad or angry, these are the areas she would like you to do a deep dive on. This is not to meant to have you relive it, but you do need to still work on healing it.
Four of Earth – The Muse of Resources comes when you need to pay attention to yours. This muse governs the resources of time, money, and space. This is a great time to save or replenish these resources. The challenge is you can spend but be careful not to over-spend. Think quality over quantity.
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