This week’s artist’s is Lubaina Himid.  Himid is one of those seminal artists in art history.  What makes a pivotal artist?  First a bit of context.  Seminal in this framing means not the first artist to touch on this art form and/or concept, for there are many steps/people before said artist, but this is when all of it comes together to shift societal awareness and/or expands its view to influence other areas or perspectives.  An example of this on a large scale is pointillism.  It changed the way artists and viewers looked at the world.

Himid’s art is around black identity and how people of color are underrepresented in history and art as a whole.  What makes it pivotal is her art creates a jumping point for communicating holistic concepts of belonging, identity, communal history, and representation.  And she technically often takes the painting off the wall into a 3-D form.

As she says in the SLEEK article, That’s why I sometimes make work on ceramics or on fabric, because everybody knows what a plate is, and everybody knows what a cloth is—it’s more approachable. However, when you get near the issues in my work, they are complicated.  It’s about communicating and dialoguing, and a collective strategy for changing things. There is no use in me doing what newspapers do or what political activists—in the true sense of the word—do better than me. I’m a painter, that’s what I do. I think survival is about hope. In some ways, it’s not so much celebratory, but it is about coming up with strategies. It is optimism. It’s [saying], “This was an incredible trauma, but we survived this far. How can we make it work?” 

So, I ask you to ponder as a world collective we have all gone through the traumas of Covid, systemic racism, poverty, political divisiveness, gender equity, mental health issues, to name a few.  And they are all hard topics with deep histories however, it is up to us to find strategies, to make it work.  The only way we can start is by communicating.  And half of communication is about listening and being truly present in someone else’s story.

Planets:  Mercury is in Gemini until July 11^th.  This is a place where it loves to hang so lots of evolutionary conversations can happen.  Venus is also in Gemini helping with the good vibes.  Jupiter (expansion) is in Pisces until July 28^th giving you a heads up what Lastly, eclipse season starts next week so make time to recharge your batteries and let go of old karmic patterns in the coming weeks.

P.S. 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 Scorpio it is your halfway mark for your birth year, so if you need a Planetary Reading for a check-in, now is the time.

May light be on you, around you, and within you,

Nina

Aries

*Chariot – I hope that last week you got to find that quiet place where you could hear yourself think to find perspective and solutions.  For this week, the Muse of Self Momentum is here lighting a fire under your chassis.  Yep, for movement to happen it is all up to you.  On the good side you have totally control, but on the challenging side it is only up to you to make things go.  Your motto:  I guide my destiny and sail into an abundant future.

Taurus

Seven of Pentacles – For your coming year, the Muses to work with are equity, relationships, dreaming, and creation.   These Muses will challenge you to make sure there is equity in what you do, and in your relationships.  And ask you to dive deep in too your closer relationships with lots of heart to hearts and talks of your aspirations.  They also ask if you could dream a world, what would it be?  And lastly this all will take work, so are you set up environmental and energetically to do it?  In these last couple of days with the Sun in your sign, ponder and set intentions in these areas.

Gemini

Three of Coins – Last week the Muse of Tests asked you to look at this past birth year and asked: Where were you tested/challenged?  What did you learn from it?  If the situation/problem came up again, how would you handle it now?  With that in mind, the Muse of Collaboration is here to help you call in some help for the coming year.  Not only is this in creative collaborations but can be as simple as find a good plumber.  Look at areas where you need help and put out the word, so your flock can start congregating.  Also a great time to send out invites for safe birthday celebrations.

Cancer

*Judgment – After your three-week journey into the shadow realm working on old karmic patterns and finding wisdom in awe, silence, and synchronicities.  Now the Muse of Metamorphosis is asking you what/how you want to evolve.  Take this week to rearrange your new “genetic Dharma.”  What will the new you be and what will you do in this new form?

Leo

Three of Cups – The Muse of Friendship is asking you to get out of your shell and go find some good companionship to re-fill your cups.   Your energy is running low, and some friendly banter and beverages is needed to refresh your outlook.

Virgo

Page of Wands – This Muse of Inspiration is here.  This muse usually shows up when you need to re-fresh the awe in your life.  She tells you to go outdoors and commune with nature or got to a concert/museum to get out of your head and ignite your soul.   Your song for this week:  Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen

 

Libra

*Temperance – The Muse of Moderation and Balance is working with you this week. This energy shows up when something is off kilter.  The gift of this card is that you do not need major rebalancing these are tweaks, but they are vital.  This Muse wants you to ponder why am I not doing that one thing or doing that one thing more?   This can look like adding in one more exercise session into your life, ending your workday at 5:00 instead of 7:00, or having one beer instead of two.

Scorpio

Three of Swords – The Muse of Grief has come to help you release some past pain that is lingering in your psyche and holding you back from truly healing.  She holds your hand as you confront something that has hurt you.  This is not about letting it go but going in deep. Acknowledging that you were hurt but are ready to heal and move past it.

Sagittarius

*Hangman – The Muse of Reflection has come to get you to stop and review a part of your life and/or work.  It is not that this part of your life is totally wrong, but you are needing to look at it differently by going through the exercise of Socratic thinking.  This deep reflection will either have you re-thinking about what is the priority/purpose, or through this questioning have you more firmly set in the reason you are doing it a certain way.

Capricorn

Seven of Cups – The Muse of Dreams is setting up space for you to dream bigger.  Somewhere you are stopping yourself in your imagining.  This energy reminds you imagination is where creation begins.  Dreaming is just sending out possibilities in the Universe.  The only challenge is not to hang all your hopes on a single outcome. Diversification equals options.

Aquarius

Knight of Coins –Your pace of life is being challenged for some of you slow and steady is the way to work.  For others quick sprints with long intervals of rests in between works better.  Either way designated breaks are needed.  Working without a rest stop makes jill/jack a dull and tired person.

Pisces

Knight of Wands – You are in the right place doing the right thing.  Your timing is perfect this week even if it feels like things are moving to slow or fast.  The challenge with this energy is not doubting it.  If you, do you, it will work out.