Lunar Eclipse in Pisces: Coluche & The Political Spectacle

I’ll stop talking about politics when politicians stop making us laugh.

Michel Colucci, famously known as Coluche, has been dead for almost as long as he lived, and the legacy that he leaves behind is an unexpected one.

The French comedian and actor, who rose to fame in the 1960s, did not lead an easy life. His father died when he was very young, leaving his mother to raise two children on her own. He grew up poor and dropped out of school at the age of 14, drifting between various jobs until he joined the army at age 20. Throughout his life and career, he faced various addictions that collided with his professional goals and his relationships on more than one occasion. He broke a world speed record on a motorcycle at one point, and even ran for president, just to prove a point to the French political elite. His sudden death in 1986 was (and still is) rumored by some to be premeditated, for political reasons.1

Despite all of this, or perhaps because of it, Coluche remains a beloved figure in France to this day, with murals and statues commemorating his life and celebrations often thrown on the anniversary of his death. Plus, the charity organization he founded just a year before his death has not only continued to operate, but has grown exponentially over the last 4 decades. So why is he so beloved? And what does Jupiter have to do with it?

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Coluche’s natal chart (Rodden rating: A) has Taurus rising at 24 degrees, the sun at 5 degrees Scorpio, and the moon at 25 degrees Pisces—the same degree as the lunar eclipse occurring tonight. His chart ruler, Venus, sits at 7 degrees Sagittarius. Opposing Coluche’s natal moon is Jupiter, at 19 degrees Virgo, in his 5th whole sign house. And while this placement is not particularly active in Coluche’s nativity, it becomes incredibly significant in terms of his legacy, which I will get to in a minute.

Coluche’s natal chart. Rodden Rating: A

Another configuration of note in Coluche’s chart is the Mars-Mercury conjunction at 10 degrees Scorpio, forming an exact trine to retrograde Saturn at 10 degrees Cancer. Coluche rose to fame as one of the first “politically incorrect” comedians—he was not afraid to take shots at any group of people in his routines2, and was one of the first people to regularly speak profanities on nationally broadcast television in France. This particular style of humor may not seem all that shocking to a modern audience, but six decades ago, it was breaking new ground, and his style had much more shock value back then than it would if Coluche arrived on the scene today.

However, where Coluche really focused the majority of his ridicule was the ruling class, namely politicians. The sharp, cutting, and even vulgar nature of that Mercury-Mars conjunction is supported by the trine to detriment Saturn: Coluche poked fun at obvious holes in the structure of politics and society, and he wasn’t afraid to hurt anyone’s feelings in the process, it seems.

He also was decidedly average, despite his out-of-the-box comedy persona. He embodied some combination of a jester, an outlaw, and an everyman. Coluche was one of the masses, a comedian for the people, and he was not going to let you forget that, even as he entertained you. One of the more famous quotes attributed to Coluche is “Je ne suis pas nouveau riche; je suis un ancien pauvre,” which translates to “I’m not new rich; I’m old poor.”

Coluche, through his continuous mockery of the political class, intended to point out its “disconnected and ruthless” nature, which sunk into the hearts of the French public as he delivered his scathing critiques with painfully relatable punch lines. He was quick to point out that many of the social issues facing France at the time were easily solvable by the government, which was usually met with condescension and hand-waving by those whose inaction he made a mockery of.3

Dressed like a clown and often treated like one, Coluche proved himself to be correct in assuming that at least some social issues had simple solutions, when in the course of one radio broadcast in September of 1985, he set in motion a legacy of his own. In a now-famous speech, Coluche begins with “J’ai une petite idée comme ça…” which means, “I have a little idea…”

That “little idea” was a solution to widespread hunger and food waste: why can’t the restaurants of France work together to distribute their unsold food to those in need? Thus, Restaurants Du Coeur was born, and a mere three months later would deliver their first free meals to folks in need.

No one knew Coluche would be dead just a year after founding Restos du Coeur, but what’s even more surprising is how the foundation has grown to an impressive scale over the last several decades and now boasts tens of thousands of volunteers every year. Remember, Coluche’s natal moon is in Pisces, in his 11th house. Thinking of creative ways to meet the material needs of the people was baked into his nativity, but with that moon ruled by a detriment Jupiter in Virgo, it follows that his creative ideas for solving problems would be waved away by those who hold actual power to enact said ideas.

Planets in detriment or fall always have to do things the unconventional way, and they often have to do them without much assistance, at first. Coluche himself was just one man, and though he had ideas about how to solve the problems he saw affecting his fellow humans, he couldn’t solve them on his own. In the case of the twin issues of hunger and food waste, Coluche’s one “little idea” blossomed into a massive force for good—mostly without his involvement.

In 2004, a Swiss astronomer named Michel Ory discovered an asteroid and decided to name it after Coluche (170906). Now, if you’re an astrologer, this should be intriguing news to you, because astrologers know that asteroids can be plugged into charts to illuminate myths and themes we perhaps wouldn’t be made aware of elsewise. So naturally, I had to plug this asteroid into Coluche’s natal chart to see where it landed, and it landed at 7 degrees Aquarius, in his 10th house.

How interesting, I thought, that his namesake asteroid would fall in the tenth house of legacy and public reputation. Seems a tad literal—I love it when astrology is literal. But here’s where it gets really juicy: on the day of Coluche’s famous radio speech, where the seed was planted for Restos du Coeur, these were his transits:

The little green guys on the outside of the circle are the transits

Notice anything interesting? Transit Jupiter was at exactly 7 degrees Aquarius, conjunct Coluche’s namesake asteroid in his natal chart. But where it gets even more wild is that transiting asteroid Coluche was also conjunct his natal Jupiter. So here we have an asteroid that is clearly an indication of the legacy attached to Coluche’s name, and on the day when he laid the foundation for his most impactful legacy to date, we have these huge Jupiter activations. Coluche was also 40 years old on this day, which would place him in a 5th house profection year, further activating his natal Jupiter.

Tonight’s lunar eclipse at 25 degrees Pisces is occurring only 3 degrees away from Neptune in Pisces, and is ruled by Jupiter in the sign of its detriment, Gemini. Neptune may rule over illusions, but Jupiter ultimately decides what’s right and what’s wrong4—and one way Jupiter communicates these rules is via the political spectacle.

Coluche is remembered fondly, even as a controversial figure in French culture and history, because he brought attention to what he saw was wrong about the society he lived in, and he did it in a way that simultaneously endeared him to the working masses and made him a target for the political elite. But Coluche was not necessarily a gleaming representation of Jupiter’s gregariousness and charm, even at his most popular in life; his legacy is also one of abuse and death.

As mentioned previously, Coluche experienced addictions to both alcohol and cocaine during his brief lifetime, which resulted in him getting kicked out of more than one comedy troupe and eventually disintegrating his marriage to his wife, with whom he had two sons. When he ran for president in 1980, to make an example of the ruthlessness he saw in the parties vying for candidacy, the end result was not only death threats for Coluche himself, but the actual murder of his theatrical manager. On an even darker note, Coluche once gifted a .22 rifle to his friend Patrick Dewaere that Patrick ultimately used to take his own life after Coluche convinced Patrick’s wife to run away with him.

Yikes.

So, here we hold the micro and the macro of Jupiter: Coluche being a man who exhibited great complexity in terms of his ability to bring both good and harm to others, and the greater political spectacle that Coluche himself was a vicious critic of, the stage upon which “right” and “wrong” are decided for the collective.

Jupiter experiences a reduced amount of dignity in Virgo and Gemini, so it’s natural during the greater benefic’s transits through those signs that the political spectacle may be even more misleading or confusing than ever. In our current epoch, under late-stage capitalism, it seems the concepts of “right” and “wrong” have dissolved (thanks, Neptune) to the point where it no longer matters if something is right or wrong, it only matters who profits from it. Every election is a matter of selecting the least harmful candidate, rather than the most helpful one. We are no longer seeking solutions, but rather trying to avoid further catastrophes.

What would Coluche think of our hyper-consumerist society today? How much would he mock the proceedings of global and national politics, reducing painstakingly-researched political image campaigns to rubble with one or two cutting jokes? And what role can humor play in critiquing our current world as we simultaneously create a new world?

Laughter is a Venusian action, but it requires Jovian vision to make people laugh at the horrors—and seek solutions at the same time. It takes a bit of Mercurial absurdity—which you can access through Jupiter in Gemini—to find a punch line amongst the ruins, and even more trickster energy to subvert the horrors in a way that feels entertaining, not threatening, to those who have less and less to lose. Perhaps it’s about finding cleverer and cleverer ways to communicate to the people the messages are intended to critique and to the people they’re meant to inspire to action, at the same time. An inside joke can be a powerful political weapon.

Thank you for reading.

To learn more about Jupiter’s role in anti-capitalism, check out my new course, Anti-Capitalist Astrology. Join the waitlist to learn more about what’s included and how to gain access to early bird pricing.

What even is anti-capitalist astrology?

I’m not the first anti-capitalist astrologer to label themselves as such, and I certainly won’t be the last. However, whenever I do search Google or other academic sites for “anti-capitalist astrology,” not a whole lot comes up. A lot of the time, what I can find are delineations of the astrology of late-stage capitalism—Uranus in Taurus, Pluto in Capricorn, and such. Those delineations are certainly valuable, especially on a mundane astrological level, but they are hardly what I mean when I say “anti-capitalist astrology.”

It’s quite simple to find resources and teachers and content in the world that explore astrology through the lens of queerness, social justice, disability justice, worldbuilding, feminism, and a variety of other progressive viewpoints, and there are many astrologers who identify as anti-capitalist or capitalism-critical, but there isn’t as much easily accessible content or frameworks out there for astrology in service of anti-capitalism.

So, what is it?

We’ve already established that astrology is a neutral tool that can be co-opted by those in positions of power—or who wish to be in positions of power—to insert whichever ideologies serve their aims and steal the valor of the stars to appear cosmically ordained. The most evil and extreme version of this was seen with the Third Reich, but astrology as a reality creation tool is available to anyone with any ideology or worldview, and that includes anti-capitalism.

In Thailand, for example, it is quite common for high-ranking officials in both the monarchy and the military to seek out the advice of astrologers and other mystics in order to plan auspicious times for events such as royal decrees, military coups, and other political actions. Divination, in this sense, is not merely an oddity but a political tool for the monarchy and military to reinforce their own power and legitimize their rule.

However, in recent history, youth-led political movements in Thailand have begun to co-opt this practice, subverting astrology’s authority to elect auspicious times or protests and other strategic actions. They have even gone so far as to perform rituals that are intended to weaken their political opponents, utilizing the same Buddhist cosmology and divination that the monarchy and military use to claim divine sanction. This inversion symbolically strips the monarchy and military of their cosmic legitimacy, reframing them as vulnerable to the same forces that have propped up their rule. The message is loud and clear: divination and astrology are not just practices for the elite, they are tools of the people.1

Anti-capitalist astrology is not quite mundane, but not quite psychological. It’s not wholly predictive, but it’s not entirely horary either. It can be used as a type of electional tool, but it’s also a worldview and a philosophy. Anti-capitalist astrology is a method of approaching the planets. It is animist and strives to be non-exploitative toward the stars and our own nativities. It eschews the idea that one must identify with their birth chart, or any parts thereof. Anti-capitalist astrology is a way of practicing astrology that asks you to examine the mythologies you’ve been associating with the planets, signs, or houses, to see if and where capitalism has seeped in. It’s not your fault, but it is your responsibility to do something about it when you notice capitalism getting its claws into your astrological practice—or the unique worldview you inhabit which is influenced by astrology.

Inside Anti-Capitalist Astrology, I'll help you build your own framework from the one I've developed to do a check for the "internal capitalist" in your astrological practice--whether you see clients regularly, or strictly do astrology for yourself. The first part of this framework is (temporarily) resisting the urge to identify with your chart and instead look at it for what it is: a moment in time.

The moment of your birth was monumental indeed, but when astrology isn't about describing people, it's about describing time. And capitalism has influenced so much of the way we perceive and experience time. As previously mentioned, systems of power claim their own authority based on the timing of certain events, claiming the alignments of the stars as their own source of legitimacy and right to rule. Nobody can ever harness the planets and configure them in the alignments they desire; they must wait for the designed alignment to occur on its own. Time is the great equalizer, because none of us can wait forever.

Some astrologers say the stars are in alignment for the end of capitalism as we know it; but if that’s the case, we still can’t just sit and wait for the tides of time to change our reality. We must consciously create it. Anti-capitalist astrology is a framework, an ideology, a worldview, and most importantly, a tool for building a better future—a future that supports life instead of oppressing and exploiting it.

In order for anti-capitalist astrology to “work,” and I’m so dead serious when I say this, you have to believe in astrology. I know how trite that sounds, but what I mean is this: you have to engage with astrology as more than just myths and stories and allegories. It’s become popular to talk about astrology with a detached attitude, claiming not to be too invested in the idea of the stars having an influence on mere earthlings, but simply interested in the self-exploration and introspection astrology offers through the various mythologies and figures represented in it. This watering down of one’s attachment to any one ideology is likely a symptom of late-stage capitalism, ironically enough, because it’s hard to structure your life or your thoughts around a belief system when you hardly know if the planet you’re living on will survive a few more decades. Divination is about the future, after all.

I would expect nothing less from an astrology article on LinkedIn, tbh.

Anti-capitalist astrology is also about the future. We need to learn from the past, and astrology helps us do that, but ultimately, anti-capitalist astrology is about evaluating the quality of time as it continues to march forward, and relating to the movements of the stars from a non-extractive, non-exploitative perspective. I used to think I was going to create a book or a course on this subject from the perspective of working with one’s own placements to “be more anti-capitalist,” but eventually I realized this approach was capitalistic in and of itself, because the impetus to change was still placed on the individual and their actions. Plus, the truth is, you already have everything you need within yourself to resist capitalism—especially if you’re still reading this.

If you are still reading this, I would love to invite you to check out my upcoming course, creatively titled Anti-Capitalist Astrology, to see how you can learn more about anti-capitalist astrology and incorporate it into your own worldview or astrological practice.

Anti-capitalist astrology isn’t necessarily a movement, but I do feel strongly about its ability to be a potent and powerful tool in the hands of anti-capitalist astrologers, witches, neurodivergent folk, and business owners who believe in a world post-late stage capitalism. It’s also part of a responsible practice as a human being to continuously review parts of your life or business for symptoms of capitalism. Nobody is perfect and everyone is capable of doing harm, whether they intend to or not, but a self-compassionate stance that is willing to look inward and simply apply new approaches when something isn’t working will serve you well in these precedented times.

Thank you for reading.

Astrology has a capitalism problem.

Astrology is, first and foremost, a tool. Some people treat it as a belief system, others as a type of data science project, and others treat astrology as a type of worldview, a lens through which they process and derive meaning from their lived experiences. All of those groups are correct in their aims, and yet at its very core astrology is still simply a tool. It’s a form of technology—timekeeping technology, to be exact—and just like any other tool, astrology’s effectiveness depends entirely upon the aims (and skill level) of the user.

It’s no secret that astrology has been used by monarchs and billionaires and politicians alike, for various purposes ranging from avoiding assassinations (sometimes unsuccessfully) to thwarting coups, down to electing the precise moment a bill should be signed into law. But what may be a secret to some is exactly how much of a hold the occult has had on politics—particularly right-wing politics—since at least the 19th century.

I’m not here to ascribe capitalism to any political party, because capitalism transcends the power of any one faction, so this isn’t about how capitalism is right wing and bad and anti-capitalism is leftist and good. It’s simply not that binary. According to Lucian Staiano-Daniels, astrology functions similarly to political ideologies because it is a way for participants to “articulate meaningful narratives about the world and their place in it.” Astrology most certainly has evolved into a participatory culture, but part of its uniqueness is due to the fact that it is simultaneously a participatory culture and a consumer culture, despite these two concepts’ opposition to one another. And, like most other things happening on our planet right now, astrology has a capitalism problem.

Whether you interact with astrology on a minimal and lighthearted scale, via magazine horoscopes and astro meme accounts, or you’re a professional astrologer who spends more time looking at charts than you spend looking at your friends & family, you’ve likely noticed this problem. Capitalism has gotten its claws into astrology and commodified sun signs to a degree (no pun intended) that has never been seen before.

The reason astrology can exist as both a participatory culture and a consumer culture is partly due to this commodification. Participants in astrology contribute to the culture in the form of published works, such as memes or Substacks or books or workshops or podcasts or YouTube videos, and in turn, capitalism contributes to the consumer side of astrology by giving us something to purchase that easily signals to other folks that you are a participant in the culture.

While there’s not necessarily anything wrong with identifying with all or part of your natal chart, the problem with astrology as a tool for self-identification is that it becomes a tool into which anyone can insert their own ideologies. With enough influence, astrology and occult practices in general can be just as effective in perpetuating harmful ideas that benefit oppressors.

Heinrich Himmler, one of the key Nazi leaders, was deeply involved in occultism and astrology. Himmler’s SS incorporated rituals and astrological symbolism to reinforce the racial and mystical ideals of the Nazi state. His personal astrologer, Karl Maria Wiligut, played a crucial role in creating the SS’s occult framework, making astrology central to their vision of an Aryan empire.1 By tapping into spiritual and astrological beliefs, the Nazi leadership could claim a kind of supernatural or preordained authority, which they believed would bolster their hold on power.

It goes even further: the use use of astrological symbols, like the swastika (originally an ancient symbol of fortune), was co-opted into Nazi iconography to suggest the divine or cosmic destiny of the Aryan race. This built an ideological framework that linked the Nazi agenda to something larger than politics, giving it a mythic, almost religious aura.

In Nazi Germany, astrology and the occult were used to distract from the political and social realities of fascism, while in capitalist societies, personal spirituality or mysticism can be used to distract from critiques of capitalism itself, focusing on personal development or cosmic destiny over collective liberation.

These particular critiques of astrology are hardly anything new. In 1952, Theodor Adorno, a German musicologist and social theorist, argued that horoscope columns and astrology in general actually reinforce the status quo and encourage followers of astrology to take a passive role in life’s problems, or to focus on self-adjustment rather than questioning or changing one’s external conditions. He also warned against the outsourcing of one’s own judgment to the assumed authority of a columnist, or the stars themselves. Adorno’s arguments aren’t without merit, and it certainly doesn’t make a good case for astrology as a tool of liberation—quite the opposite, in fact.

The Commodification of Astrology

To commodify something means to turn it into a product that can be bought and sold. You may be thinking, “astrological services have been bought and sold for multiple millennia, since way before capitalism, so how can this be a new thing, and why is it a bad thing?” which are perfectly valid questions. For the purposes of this piece, what I’m specifically talking about is the commodification of sun signs and pop astrology, via things like horoscope columns and psychological astrology and capitalist tales of heroic individualism. What I’m talking about is the base-level, widespread interpretations of only one planet in a person’s entire nativity, altered 12 times to fit 12 archetypes and expected to apply to scores of humans, whether or not they read their horoscope. What I’m talking about is the belief that rather than a natal chart telling the story of an individual lifetime, an individual simply is their birth chart and each of the stories contained within—placements, aspects, and the like—are facets of a person, like personality traits. This is also referred to as psychological astrology.

Before I go any further, it’s important to note that I am not disparaging psychological astrology itself, but rather illustrating the connection between this particular branch of astrology and the rise of capitalism in the 20th century specifically. I would never discredit the work of the many talented psychological astrologers I know and have worked with, so I hope nobody reading this takes what I’m saying as such. It’s not the fault of psychological astrologers that this branch of astrology became so heavily commodified by capitalism. Now that we are all on the same page, let’s establish what I specifically mean when I’m talking about this branch of astrology.

Psychological astrology emphasizes self-knowledge, individual potential, and the use of astrology as a tool for personal development. Rooted in Jungian concepts such as archetypes and synchronicity, psychological astrology suggests that the natal chart is a map of someone’s inner psychological landscape and all potentialities contained within. At first glance, this seems empowering—after all, who wouldn’t want to better understand themselves and their path in life? However, within the context of capitalism, it’s easy to see how psychological astrology becomes easily co-opted to serve the very structures it could potentially critique.

Capitalism thrives on individualism, particularly now, in its late stages, where the focus is on personal achievement, self-optimization, and consumerism as a path to happiness. The narrative of individual responsibility is central to this system, reinforcing the idea that success or failure rests on the individual's shoulders, ignoring larger systemic issues such as inequality, exploitation, and injustice. Psychological astrology, with its emphasis on the individual’s personality and inner world, provides a perfect framework for this capitalist narrative. It encourages people to look inward, to focus on personal traits and potential, rather than to question the external forces shaping their lives.

By turning psychological astrology into a product—one that promises personal transformation and self-understanding—capitalism commodifies a deeply introspective practice and repackages it as a tool for personal improvement. This reflects the broader capitalist trend of turning everything, including spirituality, into something that can be bought and sold. Astrology apps, personalized readings, and horoscopes are marketed as ways to "unlock" your potential, emphasizing a notion of individual destiny and control that fits perfectly into the capitalist ethos of self-reliance. You’re just one Venus remediation away from finding the love of your life, don’t you know?

The Lie of Individualism

This commodification serves to reinforce the capitalist lie of individualism—the idea that individuals exist in isolation from larger systemic structures, or that every outcome in a person’s life is entirely due to their personal choices and can thus anyone’s material circumstances can be revolutionized simply by a change of mind. The lie of individualism also suggests that self-understanding through astrology will lead to success or fulfillment without acknowledging that many of the challenges individuals face are not personal failings or astrological destiny, but are instead the result of living within a capitalist system that is designed to keep people both eternally suspicious of and in competition with one another, rather than in solidarity.

The commercialization of “pop astrology” has reduced the complex, multifaceted nature of a person’s entire astrological chart into a consumable product, often focused on a single sun sign. This simplification reinforces the capitalist tendency to reduce people to their marketable parts, much like it reduces workers to their productivity or consumers to their buying power. If you view yourself as a collection of planetary placements that represent fixed personality traits, and you’re also viewing yourself through the lens of what is individually possible for you to achieve or accomplish through your own will, then your relationship with the planets (and with astrology itself) also begins to imitate the relationship between capitalism and the masses: extractive & exploitative.

This kind of pop astrology removes the study from its context and waters it down through memes and satire that oversimplify the signs, which capitalism tends to do.

Gabes Torres2

This is the same point Adorno was making in his takedown of the Los Angeles Times astrology column 70 years ago, though he was not quite as concerned with the reaches of capitalism (or at least, not explicitly): capitalism feeds the idea that self-optimization is the key to success, that your planetary placements are merely helpers in your grand cosmic destiny, perpetuating an endless cycle of consumerism—whether through astrology apps, books, or personalized readings—all aimed at helping people "fix" themselves or remediate “bad” placements, while the real issues, rooted in capitalism itself, remain unaddressed.

And again, I must insert the caveat here that I’m not saying there is anything inherently wrong with doing any of this, or using astrology in this manner; I’m simply pointing out the way capitalism has taken these actions and assigned greater cultural meanings to them, however subtly or overtly. The same way that the Nazis understood that co-opting occult practices meant they could appear to be divinely ordained to carry out their will, capitalism and the ruling class continue to flourish when we all keep our most critical eye turned inward, attempting to fix ourselves individually in the face of issues that cannot be created or solved individually.

Astrology as a Response to Powerlessness

In the 20th century, astrology was re-introduced by capitalism as a response to capitalism’s failures. Astrology has famously fallen in and out of the general public’s favor throughout history. In the 1910s, the earliest published horoscopes arose in the form of birthday horoscopes for famous people, such as President Woodrow Wilson, or daily horoscopes directed at folks who were born that day. The one that “went viral,” however, was a 1930 horoscope by R.H. Naylor for the newborn Princess Margaret. Naylor’s horoscopes, which were purely mundane at that point, gained popularity as several of his predictions proved to be true.

It wasn’t until 1937 that Naylor began writing horoscopes for each of the 12 sun signs, but it’s hardly a coincidence that the rise in the popularity of horoscopes occurred at the same time as the global Great Depression, which began in earnest in 1930 and resulted in widespread poverty and unemployment throughout the entirety of the decade. Whereas astrology throughout the teens and twenties was more of an eccentric entertainment mostly focused on the stars & celebrities of the era, the advent of birthday and sun sign horoscopes turned astrology into more of a personal affair, and this is where we see the beginnings of the commodification of astrology via the treatment of astrological placements (or specifically just the sun) as categories of identity, as pieces of oneself to be examined and embodied.

But why were more people open to astrology during a time of economic crisis? How can these things be related? Simply put, it’s about control. But on a deeper, more spiritual level, humans have always relied upon myth and storytelling to define reality, and when reality seems uncertain and unpredictable—especially the future—it’s a simple choice to turn to astrology because it’s a time-based data information system based on symbolism and mythology.

For archaic man, reality is a function of the imitation of a celestial archetype. Events, actions, even the process of becoming must follow the structure of celestial paradigms.

Mircea Eliade, The Myth of the Eternal Return

Can astrology’s capitalism problem be solved?

While the seeds of late-stage capitalism were being sowed a century ago, astrology’s popularity began to rise as both a response to collective feelings of hopelessness and as the first stages of the commodification of astrology by capitalism. Valid criticisms have been made of the way astrology is used to placate the masses with magical thinking, self-determination, and perhaps a fatalistic attitude toward world events. But here we are in 2024, and more people than ever believe astrology can be a tool for radical social change and progress toward liberation. More than ever, folks are convinced of astrology’s efficacy in creating a new myth, a new world, and yet the critiques of horoscope columns from seven decades ago also hold truth today.

The reasons for this belief are many-numbered and many of them have to do with reclaiming one’s power of self-expression and self-exploration from a dominant system or structure, such as Christian hegemony. Astrology is also a deeply indigenous practice and is centered around the earth itself, which offers an alternative perspective to the rationale of capitalism, which sees the earth as merely a tool and exploits its natural resources for as much profit as possible. Revolutionary astrological thinkers such as Chani Nicholas and Alice Sparkly Kat (as well as many others) have already been doing the work of framing and contextualizing astrology within a more liberatory and post-colonial framework.

As I said at the beginning of this article, astrology is a tool, and a highly effective one. Whoever wields it correctly can use it to achieve their own aims—or at the very least, convince others to join their cause. And perhaps that’s what’s missing in this equation: numbers. People. The more people who are using this tool toward building a future without capitalist exploitation and rampant climate abuse, the more powerful it becomes.

I’m launching a course next month called Anti-Capitalist Astrology, and it will be a comprehensive look at the planets and houses through an anti-capitalist lens. Paired with historical context and guidance from me, this course will help you begin or alter your own astrological practice to become a tool in your anti-capitalist toolkit.

Sign up here to receive updates about the course as they come out.

Thank you for reading.

What is "capitalist time" and why should you care?

For some reason, every time I open my mouth about capitalism on the internet, people get really riled up in the comments. I’ve grown used to it, and even leveraged that rage to grow a following on Threads, but for the longest time I was amused and slightly befuddled by this behavior.

As I’ve educated myself more and more on capitalism and its roots and how it has taken shape to become what it is today, this behavior has become less confusing to me. Because one of the core ideologies underscoring capitalism is the concept of forever.

The absolutism that comes with capitalism and its demands is very, very certain that things can last forever—including capitalism itself. Capitalism also relies upon claims of what “human nature” really is: greedy and violent and always seeking more. To pursue profit by any means necessary is to be human, according to capitalism.

So if I say that this thing that we’ve been culturally and systematically indoctrinated to believe is the ultimate system (ultimate in its truest sense here, as in “the last”) which most accurately reflects and supports mankind’s very own essential nature, of course that’s going to threaten some folks’ views on reality.

But what got me thinking even further was this concept of forever and absolutism and totality and ultimacy, and how effective an ideology like that would be in removing the steam from anyone’s search for an alternative system. If capitalism supposedly supports the best and most enterprising facets of humanity, who would dare oppose it?

If you know anything beyond the surface level about anti-capitalism, you know that this movement isn’t necessarily brand-new. But the shapes it’s taking definitely are. And in a world where our time has become increasingly commodified, it’s worth exploring the ways that “capitalist time” influences our scope on reality.

What is capitalist time?

For the purposes of this piece, when I refer to ‘capitalist time,’ I’m mostly referring to the globalization of time and timekeeping as a result of colonization and the advent of train travel. Historically, this shift took place in the 19th century, in tandem with the first inklings of the Industrial Revolution. As train travel became increasingly popular in the continental United States, it became clear that a more unified system of timekeeping was required in order to coordinate train schedules.

Prior to this, clocks and timepieces were considered a frivolity, or an oddity mostly for the rich to amuse themselves with; they weren’t necessary for everyday life. Time was localized, and determined by things like sundials and other instruments, so “noon” was dependent on wherever you were when the sun reached its apex in the sky.

Examples of “alarm clocks” made out of nails stuck in the side of a candlestick. When the candle burns low enough, the nail falls off and the sound acts as an alarm.

When time zones were established in 1883, it was not only for the sake of train conductors everywhere, but also for the purposes of allowing colonizers to coordinate global shipments and simultaneous conquests of indigenous populations’ natural resources in different corners of the globe. Capitalism’s profit doctrine renders colonization & conquest inevitable, because resources & labor must both be continually exploited to maximize profitability. It’s around this time that I personally demarcate the shift into ‘capitalist time,’ although certainly the roots of it can be seen peeking through in various pockets of history.

Beyond standard time, the subtler impact of railroads was their invention of the 21st-century concept of a career. The word itself comes from the French “carriere,” meaning a racetrack. To achieve its modern meaning, however, work required an element of vocational progress... And so, the industrial economy invented the very concept of a modern career, making the passage of time a materially significant matter for turn-of-the-century workers.1

What are the qualities of capitalist time?

It’s worth noting here that capitalist time isn’t the first time humans have created systems for timekeeping. That has been going on since the dawn of humanity, most notably with astrology, the oldest known timekeeping system. The cycles of the planets have been tracked for thousands of years, and what all ancient calendars have in common are the lunar cycles and the rhythms of the seasons—essentially, the sun and the moon.

Indigenous Peoples from the Americas have been tracking time since they arrived[.]  Their solar calendars are the most exact calendars. Their lunar calendars accurately determined ecosystem cycles and, since seven thousand years ago, agricultural cycles too. Their precise recordings of Venus as morning and evening star affirmed their ever-cyclic relationship with the cosmos above them and the underworld beneath.2

Time, according to these peoples, was not used to measure never-ending forward progress, but a rotating series of earth’s cycles. Rather than depending on a calendar date to know when a season had officially begun, or when it was the best time for planting seeds, they depended on the cycles of the planets and the rhythms of their geographical surroundings to tell them what “time” it was. In an agricultural sense, a farmer’s almanac is the most accurate calendar.

There are also many different types of time, outside of “civil time,” which is what you and I use every day, and “universal time” is the time of all clocks in Greenwich, England, and is used, amongst other things, for precise timing of astronomical (and astrological) events. As far back as ancient Greece, there were thought to be two different types of time: Kronos and Kairos. Kronos (or Chronos) describes what we know as chronological time, which is more quantitative and moves in one direction. Kairos, on the other hand, is more qualitative, and describes the depth with which one experiences time.3 You can also think of this as “horizontal time” (Kronos) and “vertical time” (Kairos).

What I find in Chronos is not comfort but dread and nihilism, a form of time that bears down on me, on others, relentlessly. Here, my actions don’t matter. The world worsens as assuredly as my hair is graying, and the future is something to get over with. In contrast, what I find in Kairos is a lifeline, a sliver of the audacity to imagine something different. Hope and desire, after all, can exist only on the differential between today and an undetermined tomorrow.4

What differentiates capitalist time from pre-capitalist (or anti-capitalist) time are a few things:

1. Homogenous and standardized - the same for everyone in the same time zone, regardless of latitude or season

2. Reliance upon clocks to ‘tell’ us the time

3. Time is linear and moves forward only, instead of in cycles, spirals, or rhythms

4. “Forever” as a measurable, attainable goal

5. Time is a commodity that can be bought and sold and “maximized” for productivity

Let’s go through these, shall we?

Capitalist time is homogenous and standardized

What determines a “second,” for you? Is it the length of an inhale? The space between heartbeats? If you’d never heard the ticking of a clock before, how would you know what a second or a minute or an hour feels like? Prior to the advent of clocks and timepieces, the keeping of time rarely had any need to be so precise. There was sunrise, when the day began; sunset, when the day ended; and mid-day, when the sun was at its highest point in the sky. For many people, and especially for indigenous cultures that were colonized by capitalist pursuits, time was inextricably linked to place and people.

Indeed, indigenous concepts of space, and perhaps more obliquely of time, sit uneasily with dominate linear perspectives held in the west; where there is a clear “future” just “ahead”[…] In the Amazonian Amondawa language and culture, time is not based not on countable units, but on social activity, kinship and ecological regularity.5

After the invention of Coordinated Universal Time, the length of a second, minute, hour, and day was standardized. As long as you are in the same time zone as somebody else, it’ll always be the “same time” for both of you, regardless of what’s happening with the sun and the moon and the land and the people.

Capitalist time relies upon clocks to ‘tell’ us the time

When time became standardized, it was no longer necessary to rely upon the angle of the sun or the amount of dew drops on the grass to know what time of day it was. It actually didn’t matter anymore what the quality of the time was, just the quantity of it: I wake up at exactly seven hours after midnight, regardless if that particular 7 am greets me with bright sunshine (in the summer months) or total darkness (in the winter months).

When all of time is standardized, and everyone’s clocks agree on the time regardless of what part of the year they’re in, then it’s much easier to know exactly how much work you’re getting out of your employees, and to punish them for “wasting” time. When the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, an increasing number of people’s livelihoods no longer relied upon them waking up with the sun to feed the livestock and tend to the crops; it relied upon them showing up at the factory at the designated time every single day—or face the consequences.

Interestingly enough, it was farmers who resisted the implementation of Daylight Savings Time, although it’s commonly believed that farmers came up with the whole idea. It was actually retail business owners who supported the proposition and advocated for more daylight hours in the darker months so they could conduct more business.6

Capitalist time is linear and only moves forward

One of the hallmarks of capitalist time is the way it is perceived as linear, existing as if on a horizontal line, constantly barreling toward the future. For capitalism specifically, this horizontal line represents a “timeline based on progress,” which is an ideology that sprung out of liberal ideals of mankind’s endless self-actualization.

The idea of modern progress establishes a civilizing tendency of development in history that prioritizes the future and rejects the past. The linear time conceives of traditional constitution of life of the oppressed people of the past as obsolete and old, and associates ‘modern’ behaviors in order to establish a bourgeois and utilitarian relation with nature devoid of metaphysics and myth.7

One of the chief shortcomings of this conceptualization of time and human history is the inability to look backward, a failing primarily influenced by “a bourgeois conception of history that, in fact, disables the capacity for revolution, instead of promoting the kind of progress that is needed for creating an actual world-transformative revolution, because it closes off the opportunity to look backwards to the past and the possibility of historical redemption.”8

As mentioned previously, many pre-colonial, indigenous conceptualizations of time were markedly non-linear, as the cycles of the earth and nearby planets could be seen as clues, referencing the past in order to determine not just the linear location of time, but the quality of both the present and the future.

Mayans handled this knowledge exquisitely: indeed, the future was recorded in the past. Because the past was known and visible, it was in the forefront of their understanding of time[…] According to their cosmovision, the agents of change were celestial bodies, because it was in their cyclical re-emergence that knowledge-holders understood how changes of time correlated with changes of climate and other associated natural phenomena.9

While capitalism doesn’t necessarily ignore the past (there’s always gotta be a YTD to beat, right), the liberal philosophy of linear time certainly views the past as a series of bookmarks on the road toward that ineffable, inevitable ideal, progress.

Capitalist time views “forever” as an attainable goal

Consumerism’s most glittering prize is the promise of immortality itself: an earthly paradise of never wanting, never needing, never lacking for anything imagination can dream of.10

Temporality is part of nature: everything dies. None of us are immune to it. But the demands of consumerism, driven by capitalism’s interest in endless growth, would very much like it if you believed differently. Think about it: if a person can be convinced that they can stave off aging and control the length of life through personal choice alone, then it’s very simple to convince that same person to buy things to “guarantee” a longer lifespan or a younger-looking visage.

But on a deeper level than that, the endless growth doctrine of capitalism says profit is king and a business is only thriving when it’s creating more profit than it did at any point previously, which then means capitalism is doomed to become a monster that eats itself from the inside out. Marx argued that this drive to accumulate sowed the seeds of capitalism’s downfall, because surplus capital would consistently be funneled away from the working class and into the owner class, which would result in economic crisis and collapse.11

Emily Dickinson, who died just a few years after the creation of time zones and the international date line, wrote this poem, titled “Forever,” which captures a sense of time felt by someone who very much existed during a turning point in the commodification of time itself:

Forever is composed of Nows -
’Tis not a different time,
Except for infiniteness
And latitude of home.

From this, experienced here.
Remove the dates to these.
Let months dissolve in further months.
And years exhale in years.

Without certificate or pause
Or celebrated days,
As infinite our years would be
As Anno Domini’s.

Capitalist time is a commodity: it can be bought and sold

The Industrial Revolution ushered in a need for more control over time, and not just one’s own time, but that of others—specifically, the ownership of people’s labor-hours by the wealthy ruling class. As I mentioned previously, showing up to one’s shift at the factory at the correct time and clocking out 12 hours later quickly became the way most of the working class made their money. With this came a desire for employers to have greater control over their employees’ time while “on the clock,” so they could maximize their production levels, exploiting the labor-hours they were paying for.

After all, it is something inherent in the very structure of capitalism, present in its original etymology: its root, caput, has the dual meaning of “head” and “total amount of working hours”.12

I know what you’re thinking: “But Sam, hasn’t employment existed since way before capitalism? Surely there must have been bosses throughout history who wanted to squeeze all the juice out of their employees’ time,” and the answer is… yes and no. For the majority of human history, with a few exceptions, labor was not something you bought and sold—it was something you took by force through domination, colonization, serfdom, and/or debt. For example, labor was expected of those who became "subjects" of a lord or noble, and in exchange they received food and shelter, but never currency or raw materials.

What changed was that slavery was eventually abolished, and suddenly ownership over a person had to be replaced by ownership of people's labor power. This is necessary because the primary purpose of production under capitalism is profit, rather than subsistence—producing just enough to meet the needs of one's family or village. Profit makes no sense to a farmer, because it would simply mean more work. People worked until they had enough, plus a small surplus in case of emergencies or tough times, and then they stopped working.13

Because colonization resulted in indigenous peoples having their control over their land stolen away from them, they had no choice but to sell their labor to the people who took their land from them. The same went for former slaves, now free, but left with no alternatives but selling their labor to the people who previously owned them.14

Fast forward to the Industrial Revolution, and the maximizing of employees’ time is turned into a science—one that Henry Ford would use so much in his factories, in tandem with the brand-new technology of the assembly line, that he became the most profitable car manufacturer of his time. No longer was work about finishing a product or gathering a bounty—not for the employees, anyway—but rather about squeezing as many repetitions of a single task as one possibly could into a 12-hour shift.

The latest workplace rage was scientific management, which involved motion and time studies to determine the most efficient way to perform a work task. In 1911, Frederick Winslow Taylor wrote a seminal work on the subject—The Principles of Scientific Management—which suggested that greater workplace efficiency can be achieved by training employees to do a single job, such as opening mail, inspecting ball bearings, performing accounting tasks, or selling products. Taylorism pushed the division of labor to its logical extreme but did not take into account worker satisfaction. Similarly, in 1913, Henry Ford instituted the assembly line into his Ford Model-T car manufacturing plants to boost both efficiency and production.15

For the modern worker (most likely you), the idea of maximizing one’s time on the job is not foreign, and in fact, has grown more insidious and demanding than ever. Much like ol’ Freddy Taylor, the C-level executives of today do not take into account “worker satisfaction” when implementing these systems of surveillance.

Decades after the 40-hour work week was hard-fought and won for workers across America, today’s employees must contend with things like digital forms of micromanagement that track everything from key strokes to eye movement (and are used much more frequently on minimum-wage employees who work from home). The irony in this “virtual micromanagement” is that while employers and executives seem to be very concerned with how employees manage their time at home, employees who work from home report heightened productivity levels.16 It’s almost as if… having agency over how they spend their time, rather than mindlessly filling hours with repetitive and superfluous tasks to satisfy a minimum… makes people more inspired to do their best work. Huh.

So, why should you care?

Capitalist time, along with other facets of liberalism and late-stage capitalism, feels inescapable because by nature, it does not want to be escaped from. There are many opportunities to commodify your time and profit just a tiny bit more on your most precious resource, but that means there’s also a multitude of ways to resist the urge to maximize your time’s ability to make you money (if you’re in survival mode, I love you and I’m with you, but I’m not referring to you in this instance).

While there are certain realities of capitalist time that you can’t escape, like paying bills every fucking month, what is available to you are many other ways of relating to time, experiencing vertical time (Kairos), and even disconnecting from time altogether. Have you ever been to the movie theatre, and even though you only spent a couple of hours in there, you came out of that experience feeling as if many days, months, or years had gone by? You were engaged in vertical time while immersed in an experience of art. Hello??? That’s what being a human is all about!

Maybe that’s just me. But I doubt it. Time is malleable, and it doesn’t just run on a horizontal track: it has a vertical dimension, too, that you can practice feeling deeper into in moments of stillness or waiting. I call those moments my “buffering” moments. Instead of maximizing your time for profit, try maximizing it for depth—of sensation, of emotion, of clarity, whatever the moment calls for. See how you feel after a little while of doing that.

Another thing you can do to relate to time differently is to keep track of what happens to you and when (aka journaling), and attune your mind toward finding patterns and cycles in your life. Astrology can help immensely with that, but it’s not the only way.

Tomorrow I’ll be hosting a free workshop, “Breaking The Clock: Defying Capitalist Time”. I’ll be discussing the different qualities of time in a little bit more detail and giving you more ideas for how to connect with the vertical dimension of time. If you haven’t already, you can register for it here, and even if you can’t attend live, you’ll be automatically notified when the replay is up.

In what ways do you engage with non-linear or vertical time? How do you experience capitalist time? Did you learn anything new? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thank you for reading.

The Magic of Neuroemergent Time

I have been following Marta at Divergent Design Studios for a handful of years now, and it delights me to see everything she's done and the community she's created (which I am officially a member of, as of today). If you have ADHD and/or autism and you don't know Marta's work yet, I highly encourage you to download her free e-book on neuroemergent time, because I'm going to be referencing it in this post.

What does neuroemergent mean?

"Neuroemergent" is a term Marta created as an alternative to "neurodivergent".  "Emergence," in this sense, is defined by the word of adrienne maree brown, who describes emergence as "fractal, adaptive, interdependent & decentralized, non-linear & iterative, resilient & transformative, justice-oriented, creating more possibilities." To apply this to my non-neurotypical experience of life and myself and the world was... honestly, such a game-changer for me. As Marta so beautifully states, "I've been looking for a word that describes what I am, rather than what I diverge from." While there's nothing necessarily wrong with the term neurodivergent, what "neuroemergent" does is describe a way of being that exists on its own, not in opposition to another way of being.

What is neuroemergent time?

"Neuroemergent time" is how Marta describes neuroemergent brains' experience of time. As opposed to industrial time, neuroemergent brains experience time as spiralic or elliptical instead of linear and straightforward. What I find particularly validating about Marta's work is how she describes the necessity of slow periods, or periods when you "slip out of time." While neuroemergent brains can accomplish a lot in a very short period of time in the on the other side of the elliptical, it's not sustainable to perform at that level constantly, and people with ADHD and/or autism especially need time to spin out in space and lose themselves in their mind palace.

Why neuroemergent time and astrology go so well together

Astrology, if you wanted to reduce it to simple terms, is a study of the spiralic nature of time. When Marta was describing elliptical time that functions not like a perfect circle, but more like an oval, I couldn't help but think about the elongated orbits of certain planets and asteroids. I can't help but think about astrology, period, when Marta talks about neuroemergent time. Astrologers are keenly aware that time moves in spirals and that certain themes or events can find themselves repeating throughout time in a fractal-like nature, each small piece of meaning containing the structure of the larger meaning. We understand that, from our viewpoint here on Earth, the planets have their own cycles of speeding up and slowing down and even coming to complete stops. I find this to be incredibly encouraging. The planets work on neuroemergent time, and they're the most natural things I can think of, so how can the way my brain works be considered unnatural or wrong?

Simple answer: it's not. More and more these days, I truly believe that astrology was formed by neurodivergent--or rather, neuroemergent--brains. And there's something truly potent about the flexibility of time, both as it is proven in the universe by physicists and as it is experienced by neuroemergent brains.

The connection between neuroemergence and money

We've established that for most folks with ADHD and/or autism, our experience of time is vastly different than that of our "neurotypical" counterparts. If the phrase "time is money" is to hold any relevance still, then what does that mean for our experience of money? I feel that neuroemergent time is the reason why so many Au/DHDers find themselves incompatible with traditional forms of employment and income creation. The relentless grind of industrial time--eight hour workdays, weekends, "sick time," et cetera--is incompatible with our planet as a whole, in my opinion, and it's absolutely incompatible with the bendiness of time as Au/DHDers experience it.

Industrial time wouldn't be so terrible, perhaps, if it wasn't the only option. Imagine a world where you can choose your experience of time, completely disconnected from the imperative to sell your labor in exchange for the necessities of living. It may feel like a pipe dream, but there is a path forward that can allow you to get closer to this ideal, and it's the path of passive income (don't forget that I have a handy free guide on getting started with that). When you have the ability to create income for yourself outside of the bounds of industrial time, then money can appear in your bank account overnight--or, perhaps more importantly, when you haven't done any work in weeks because you're in the "gathering stardust" phase of neuroemergent time, as Marta calls it.

Final thoughts

I'm excited to explore these concepts further with you all, but for now, I just wanted to share my thoughts and get your gears turning about how we can better relate to time and money through our own neuroemergence. If you're interested in learning more about the history of money, we are currently reading Sacred Economics by Charles Eisenstein in the Anticapitalist Book Club. Join The Speakea$y for more information on the book club and how to get Sacred Economics for free.

The Magic of Financial Freedom

In the world of finance, money is often seen as a mundane and predictable force. We use it for transactions, to pay bills, and to secure the essentials of life. It's the unyielding backbone of capitalism, driving us through the daily grind. Over time, many have figured out that beyond the mere utility of money lies a path to something more profound. It's a realm where financial freedom and security can work true magic, bending time and transforming your life in ways you've never imagined.

In our hidden realm, we understand that money isn't magic itself, but a key that unlocks doors to your dreams. It's not about amassing wealth for its own sake; it's about realizing the profound potential it carries to grant you a life beyond the ordinary. Money holds the energy of your intentions, and when respected and harnessed correctly, it can bring you the financial freedom and safety that can change your world and give you true autonomy over your life.

As a neurodivergent person, navigating money can be even harder, because many of the norms of capitalism rely upon a much higher level of executive functioning than most ND people have, particularly if you have ADHD or Autism. However, humor me for a moment: imagine having the means to escape the constraints of financial worry. To live life on your terms, pursue your dreams, take your time, explore your own interests, and face the future without the fear of instability. It's not just about managing your finances; it's about becoming a steward of your own destiny, securing a future where you can focus on what truly matters to you.

With this power, you become a co-creator of your own narrative, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. It's not magic in the supernatural sense, but a practical magic, a transcendence of the limitations that often confine us.

However, this magic comes with a sacred pact – you must be both a steward of wealth and a cherished member of a unique community. Money isn't an end in itself; it's a means to an end. It's a force that can make your dreams come true, but it requires your integrity in return.

In The Speakea$y, we don't just uncover the secrets of financial magic together; we also educate, uplift, and support each other. There, you can learn to become a co-conspirator in the spellbinding art of income creation. The Speakea$y community is a sanctuary, a refuge for money misfits and neurodiverse business owners who aren’t afraid to look at the esoteric side of money, while also maintaining a practical approach.

Your unconventional thinking, unbridled creativity, and unique perspectives aren't just welcomed in The Speakea$y; they're celebrated. Your neurodiversity is a gift, a perspective that enriches our collective journey. It's a key that unlocks the deeper layers of money magic, and you bring a new dimension, one that challenges the conventional norms, opens doors to fresh ideas, and adds richness to the tapestry of collective experience.

And there's one more secret hidden within these hallowed walls: an anti-capitalist inclination. While we explore the magic of financial freedom, we also recognize the limitations of a capitalist world. We question the rules, challenge the conventions, and seek alternatives that promote social and economic justice.

It's a quiet rebellion against the established order. We stand authoritative in our beliefs and inviting in our approach, beckoning those who share our quest for a fairer, more equitable world.

So, if you dare to venture beyond the ordinary, to explore the depths of the magic of financial freedom, I extend a silent invitation. Step into our world and unveil the secrets, transcend reality, and honor the sacred pact that can transform your life beyond your wildest dreams.

Join The Speakea$y and embrace the true magic of financial freedom, where enchantment meets rebellion, and neurodiversity reigns. Together, we will rewrite the script and uncover the hidden truths they don't want you to know. The journey begins here.

Join The Speakea$y

Getting Started With Affiliate Marketing? Here’s What You Need To Do

Do you have a blog, or an active and engaged following on social media? You can make money whenever you talk about or share a product or website you're passionate about through affiliate marketing, generating passive income through increasing your reach and influence. The concept of affiliate marketing is simple: you "advertise" for a company by talking about their product, and when somebody makes a sale based on your recommendation, you receive a percentage of that sale. Everybody wins.

Even if you don’t have a following or have never attempted to build one, you can still get started today and begin generating income through consistently showing up to your target audience, educating them on the benefits of the product, and growing your following to increase your chances of making affiliate sales. While many influencers participate in affiliate marketing, affiliate marketing is not the same thing as influencer marketing. You don’t have to try and market yourself—you’re marketing products and services. This isn’t like multi-level marketing, where you’re trying to find people to sign up underneath you, but you can also earn money by referring others to affiliate programs you’re a part of—very meta, but can become lucrative down the line. For example, Impact is a site I use to apply for brand partnerships, and if you click that link and sign up for your own Impact account, I would get a percentage of the money you eventually make through your brand deals.

The best part about affiliate programs, in my opinion, is that you aren’t taking additional money from the customer, and you’re not scraping off the earnings of anyone who’s signed up for an affiliate program through you. The money that is paid out to affiliates usually comes from a company’s marketing budget, and there’s literally millions of dollars waiting to be tapped into.

With an active online presence, affiliate marketing can really add up to a lot of passive income from all of the sales being generated from your links. You can try to make a bunch of small affiliate sales through sharing discounts or deals, such as through Amazon or Target, and you can also make a handful of big-ticket affiliate sales (Hubspot and Shopify pay out huge commissions) by acting strategically and choosing to speak about companies that pay out more to their affiliates.

Here are some steps you should take right now if you are thinking about beginning your affiliate marketing journey:

1. Sign up for a website to begin building your email list, and create a sign-up form that you can easily link on other pages. This is the single most important step in any online business, IMO. Email marketing is extremely effective when compared to other forms of marketing (like social media or print advertising), and a great way to build trust with your following, which is vital for marketing products and services to them. Websites I recommend for this step are ClickFunnels and Aweber if you’re into simple, text-based emails with high levels of automation, or Flodesk if you’re into making emails that are a bit more aesthetically focused. Flodesk also offers gorgeous checkout pages, which I am a fan of if you also sell digital products or webinars, but it can also be a bit pricey for the full package ($29-59 a month). This link will get you 50% off Flodesk, if you are interested in a discount.

2. Once you have created your mailing list, the next vital step will be building email sequences, which are sometimes referred to as funnels or workflows.

   • This is the key that will allow your affiliate marketing business to eventually run on auto-pilot and generate you commissions without you having to do any extra work. This can also seem like the most tedious part of your entire business, and you may be right, but passive income creation functions like that in the beginning. A person should be able to find you on the internet, and within a matter of minutes, be able to identify what you’re all about, what you’re marketing, and how they can get more content from you (ie, joining your mailing list or subscribing to your channel). If they can be led to making a sale, even better.

   • Once they are on your mailing list, they should be initiated immediately into a series of spaced-out emails that communicate even more about your story, your brand, the product(s) you’re marketing, and how that product will benefit your reader. This isn’t about writing spammy sales emails; this is about storytelling. Earning your readers’ trust is paramount as an affiliate marketer, and it’s also easier for people to trust you when they know at least a little bit about the human behind the screen. You don’t have to tell you entire life story, but include something in your introductory emails that opens up your reader to who you are and why you do what you do.

   • Email marketing is powerful because you can segment your audience based on their interests or how they found you, and market to them in an even more personalized manner. Try setting up a few different sequences that each talk to a specific audience about a specific product—even if you have to make up a fake product to practice with. This is called copywriting, and while it may not be a skill that comes to you naturally, that doesn’t have to mean you are doomed to fail at affiliate marketing or email marketing.

   • If you are stumped on how to begin copywriting or introducing yourself to your readers, don’t be afraid to use AI as a resource. ChatGPT is fabulous for taking your ideas and giving them more form, structure, or a clarified tone. Just remember to always use AI as a starting point, and customize the ideas it provides you to make it authentic to your voice and mission. At some point when you can afford to hire a copywriter, it’s well worth the investment, but when you are just beginning and you need to get scrappy with it, it’s alright to rely on technology to fill in the gaps.

3. You may be wondering how you can allow people to find you online in the first place—and do you have to pay for advertising to do it? The short answer: no. This is where some decisions must be made—one, which market or “niche” you’re going to be marketing to, and two, which platforms and media content you are going to use to reach new people.

   • The word “niche” has been beaten into the ground in terms of digital marketing in the last decade, so I don’t want you to read this and think you have to dedicate your life or your business to one thing and one thing only. However, it is absolutely more strategic in affiliate marketing to not market to an audience that’s too broad. If you’re really into, say, travel, then you can talk about travel all day, but how can you get a little more specific with it? Maybe you want to reach people who are Millennials, without children, who have an interest in making their travel as environmentally responsible as possible. Maybe you want to talk to young queer people who are traveling on a budget and recommend them affordable, queer-friendly vacation spots around the world. Maybe you want to talk to parents of young children who want to travel to resorts that offer both free childcare and open bars. The possibilities are limitless, and though it may seem counter-intuitive, it is true that the more specific you are, the more likely you are to reach an audience that is engaged and trusts your recommendations. This is a goldmine for affiliate marketing and will have the added effect of making you more desirable to companies that you may want to begin marketing for.

   • Once you know who you’re going to be speaking to in your content, what you are going to talk about, and which types of products or services you’d like to market, then you have to decide which form of media you want to market with. There’s a huge emphasis on short-form video content right now, such as TikTok or Instagram reels, and that can feel overwhelming or uncomfortable if you aren’t interested in putting your face or voice at the forefront of your business (which is TOTALLY okay, by the way, and plenty of people make bank doing it that way). You can still create video content that utilizes stock footage or faceless videos of you using the product(s) you are marketing, accompanied by text and/or captions describing the benefits of the product. If you aren’t interested in making videos, don’t worry—you can still generate organic traffic (meaning you didn’t pay for any advertising) through text-based content, such as blogging. Pinterest is a wonderful platform for generating traffic to your website or blog, seeing as it is a search engine, and you can link basic graphics with some summarizing text on them straight to your blog or website, from your Pinterest profile. The key when you are just beginning to create content for affiliate marketing is to not overthink it and resist the urge to overproduce your work. Just get the word out, be honest and transparent with your audience, and be genuinely enthusiastic about whatever it is that you’re advertising. Focus on growing your reach and influence, because those are two of the most important metrics that companies will look at when they are considering you as an affiliate.

4. Speaking of companies, a huge part of beginning your affiliate marketing journey, before you ever post your first piece of content on Youtube or Instagram or TikTok or Pinterest, is actually applying for affiliate programs and getting accepted to them.

   • Go ahead and sign up for Impact right now, because it is an affiliate network that many brands will require you to have an account with in order to join their affiliate program. Impact is also great for searching through brands that have affiliate programs you may never have heard of before. It’s a great way to discover new products and services within your niche so you can decide if you want to try them out and begin advertising for them—but be wary of programs that accept everyone automatically, and never advertise something you aren’t confident about. PartnerStack is another affiliate network platform that allows you to become an affiliate for companies that are a bit more SaaS (software as a service) focused.

   • A general rule for affiliate marketing is that you should apply for a brand’s affiliate program before you ever start advertising for them, so you have plenty of time to let the application be processed (typically takes 2-5 days) and have your affiliate link ready to go when you begin posting and driving sales to that company. Don’t be afraid to Google search “[company name] affiliate program” any time you are even considering talking about a company on your platform; you’d be surprised just how many companies offer an affiliate program.

   • It can often feel disappointing and discouraging when you are first building your audience and you are rejected by brands you apply to. Don’t take it personally; this is a business contract after all, and companies want to make sure they will benefit from a partnership with you. You can always re-apply when your web traffic, conversions, and/or readership numbers have improved. The phrase “no free advertising” gets thrown around a lot, but sometimes you have to do a bit of free advertising to establish trust with your readership and with companies you wish to advertise for.

5. If you don’t have the ability to build and host an entire website right away, don’t fret. Plenty of people run hugely successful affiliate marketing careers without ever having their own website. While it can be useful to have your own website if you are marketing through methods like blogging, it’s not immediately necessary to build a successful business. What is important is that you have a convenient place where people can find out everything they need to know about your business.

   • LinkTree is a hugely popular platform for digital marketers and creators to keep their most pertinent links in one place. I would not recommend simply posting affiliate links in your LinkTree—unless you are running a promotion and directing your audience there—but rather, linking to an opt-in form for your mailing list or taking them to your other social media platforms. Treat it like a hub for all the ways to connect with you, not necessarily a place for selling things.

   • LinkTree is free, but if you are willing & able to invest a bit of money into something that’s not quite a website and not just a collection of links, then Stan is a platform I highly recommend. Not only can you share your links on Stan, but if you’re doing affiliate marketing in addition to digital products & offerings, you can also sell your products, webinars, run a membership, and even book 1:1 sessions directly on your Stan page, and it processes payments directly through your Stripe account. You get a free trial with Stan, so it’s really easy to use that time to generate the $29 a month you’ll need to maintain your subscription. That’s just one sale of a $30 e-book or one $30 commission every month, and your costs are covered—this is the magic of combining affiliate marketing with other income creation methods, but that’s a talk for another day.

6. Choose your definition of consistency, stick with it, and don’t lose hope. This may seem like really cheesy advice, but the process of creating a business or generating passive income is always the hardest at the beginning. The compound effect works in mysterious ways, but it’s like a vehicle that requires you to put gasoline in it (in the form of creating content for your audience) in order for it to take you wherever you want to go. If sharing a TikTok about your niche every single day sounds impossible at first, aim for once a week. If you aren’t always inspired to sit down and create content for your blog, bank some posts while you are feeling inspired and schedule them to be posted periodically. Strategy will come in handy with affiliate marketing, but more than that, you need to have hope that it can work for you. You don’t need everybody in the world to care about what you’re doing or to give you their money in order to achieve the lifestyle you want. You simply need to reach enough of the right people, and the more dedicated you are to refining that message and providing value to your audience with your recommendations, the better off you will be.

Want to learn about more ways to create passive income when you’re neurodivergent or can’t vibe with traditional employment? Download my free guide here.

This post contains affiliate links.

They Don’t Want You To Know It’s Possible To Have Too Much Money

This might be my spiciest take yet, but when CEOs are making half a billion dollars a year, it needs to be said: it is possible to have too much money.

This is something I brought up a couple times in my girlboss past, to my upline in my MLM, when they were going on about endless abundance and how good people "deserve" more money so they can "do more good." I would say, you don't think it's possible to have too much money? And I would receive generic responses about how there's always more than enough to go around and wealth is my birthright and if I have too much money, I can always tithe it (lol) or give it away.

But really... what kind of a marketing strategy is it to tell people that there's a limit to how much money any one person needs? I understand why people don't talk about this. The manifestation girlies don't want to talk about it, because that would be a "limiting belief." The MLM recruiters don't want to talk about it, because if the people under them stop striving for more, then how will they keep making more? The online coaches don't want to talk about it, beacuse if people realize they have enough and they don't need to hire another grifter--I mean, mindset coach--to feel content with their life, then so many people's businesses disappear overnight. And your boss most certainly doesn't want to talk about it, because if your boss realized that they're being exploited on the same level you are for only slightly more pay, then their authority over you, however manufatured, dissolves.

I'm not here for the endless growth doctrine of capitalism. I am not here for the idea that the only way to avoid feeling the pain of capitalism is to amass your own pile of money and sit on it. Once we release ourselves from the idea that happiness will occur at a million dollars a year or whenever you hit that $10k month, once we release ourselves from the obligation to keep earning and spending and consuming at larger and larger scales until we die, we might actually look around and realize that we already have enough--or we're closer to enough than we thought.

The idea of "enough" is like a termite in capitalism's structure. Imagine what would happen if people could realize when they have enough, when their business is generating enough, when they can safely operate under capitalism and use their resources to support doing the things they actually love? There would be a lot less needless spending and a de-pedestalizing of shows of obscene wealth. Celebrity culture would probably fall apart (it's already on its way there). Cost of living could go down across the board when landlords and grocery store CEOs aren't artificially inflating the prices of these basic human needs, because they're also scared and trying to amass their money pile to feel "safe." Imagine if those people realized they had enough.

There's a real number that exists, and it's the number of dollars you need to have enough. It's not the same number for everyone, but they all fall within a certain range, and I can tell you it is nowhere even close to $498 million (the annual salary of David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros). What if you had a resource, a hub, a group of like-minded folks who are also striving towards their version of "enough?" What if you had tools at your disposal to figure out what your number is AND how to achieve it? All of these things are possible within The Speakea$y, my new membership site for money misfits.

Inside the Speakea$y, you will find:

• Weekly financial horoscopes for the rising signs

• Semi-regular free and discounted workshops for Speakea$y members

• Full moon money rituals

• Forums for sharing resources, money wins, and support with other magical money misfits, neurodiverse entrepreneurs, and financial astro nerds

• 1:1 astro-financial coaching (for highest tier)

• Access to my library of money-related resources (which is growing by the minute!), including guides, workshops, and discounts on some of my higher-priced offerings

• More to be announced in the future!

Sign up to receive updates via my mailing list. Doors open August 1st.

Why Financial Astrology?

As a neurodivergent individual and an astrologer, I have always been invested in alternative ways of looking at time and money--two things that are innately connected to your natal chart. While astrology is a valuable tool for inhabiting time in a more neurodivergent-friendly way, it's also an extremely powerful method when applied to your money. There are many, many clues about the nature of your relationship to resource and how that has shaped your financial decisions throughout your life, all hiding in plain sight within your birth chart.

Even if you are new to astrology, or have never considered applying astrology to your finances before, you can learn about how you approach money in general as well as the income-earning methods that are the most suited for your particular celestial makeup. Keep reading and I will show you how to get started.

If you've never pulled up your birth chart before, you can generate an accurate birth chart on a myriad of websites--just make sure you find a site that generates circular charts, not just a square list of placements. The sign following your ascendant (also called your rising sign) is your second house, and this is the primary place in the birth chart where you can find information about how you relate to money.

The sign in your second house (and the planet which rules that sign) is indicative of the types of attitudes, beliefs, patterns, habits, and concepts about money that you formed early on in life. It's also indicative of the ways in which you approach and handle money as an adult, whether consciously or subconsciously, and it illustrates the nature of your relationship to self-worth--AKA your self-image. But mostly, the second house is the main part of the birth chart that you look to when you are beginning an exploration of personal financial astrology.  

So, once you're equipped with this information, what can you do with it? Each planet has a financial “strategy,” or a word that best describes how you can invoke them in your financial matters. These strategies came to me through careful observation while giving more than 60 financial astrology readings in the last year. For example, the primary financial strategy of Mars is preparation, so if you have Aries or Scorpio in your second house, your money is best utilized when you're being proactive with it. The primary financial strategy of the Moon is maintenance, so if you have Cancer in your second house, your money is best utilized when you're using it to nurture recurring needs.

If you want to learn more, I offer a couple different ways to get in touch with the financial secrets of your natal chart: live Astro Finance Initiation readings and pre-recorded Two Cents readings. Astro Finance Initiations are for you if you're ready to dive right into the details in a live conversation to get your questions answered and get specific with money in your birth chart. Two Cents readings are a bite-sized excursion, accessibly priced, aimed at getting straight to the heart of your question.

Navigating money as a neurodivergent person means being willing to try unconventional methods to achieve your goals, and although astrology has exploded in popularity in the last few years, it's still not commonly utilized in personal financial planning and decision-making. Much of how astrology gets applied to money is on a wider scale, looking at market trends and crypto fluctuations. This is a different breed of financial astrology; here is where it gets intensely personal.

They Don’t Want You To Know Making Money Can Be Ea$y

Have you ever examined your core beliefs around money? This concept isn't new, and it's maybe even been beaten into the ground by countless financial coaches on the internet, but it still has merit. Examining the subconscious ways you relate to money is hard work, but worthwhile, as it can help you get to the root of unhelpful patterns and overall improve your quality of life, IMO. 

One belief about money that I held for the longest time (and still grapple with, if I'm honest) is that making money is hard. I had absorbed this belief, through years of influences both subtle and overt, and through my own my own firsthand experiences with money--and it was affecting my money in an awful way. I had no hope, so I didn't make sound choices with my money. Nothing matters anyway, and I'm never going to be financially comfortable, so who cares if I spend my last $10 on Starbucks? It's not like I can invest that, or use it to buy a home, so it's better off spent on this momentary joy.

Sound familiar? 

If you've ever had similar thoughts or held similar beliefs about money, I'm not here to tell you that you're wrong and need to change immediately. What I am here to tell you is that core belief, “making money is hard,” serves a purpose--but not for you or me. It benefits the ruling class of the wealth-hoarding elite when we give up on achieving prosperity for ourselves and submit to a life of barely staying afloat and squandering our meager earnings on little pleasures. Now, don't get me wrong, you deserve little pleasures, but if the thought process behind your small, pleasurable purchases is always something like the one I described, then it's ultimately not having a net positive value on your life, and your money is being fed back into the machine that keeps you miserable in the first place.

When you realize that making money can be easy, and that there are so many avenues available to you for experiencing that ease, your nervous system starts to relax. When you experience the feeling of being in control of where your money comes from, and not having your income tied to the number of labor hours you can perform, suddenly you are empowered and equipped. Suddenly, you can think about your future and make financial investments in the life you want to live. Suddenly, you aren't so easy to control. 

Navigating money and neurodivergence and capitalism is hard, no matter what, but the magic act of making money appear from thin air isn't such a fantastical idea; the ultra-rich do it every day. Now, I'm definitely not suggesting that we should aspire to be more like the ultra-rich, but just imagine how your life could change if you simply adopted and truly embodied the belief that making money is easy. What if you put the effort in to find that magic spell for you, that sweet spot where your ability to make money is not dependent on exploiting your own labor, but rather celebrating and honoring your labor while being financially supported by it? What if you had a community of other neurodivergent entrepreneurs, money misfits, and magically inclined folks who could share in your experiences and dissolve your money-related shame through the simple act of being compassionately witnessed and validated? What if there was a place for like-minded people to share resources on financial freedom and making money online, without the social media sales tactics and pyramid scheme vibes? 

The Speakea$y is all those things and more.

Things you can expect to find in the Speakea$y:

• Weekly financial horoscopes for the rising signs

• Semi-regular free and discounted workshops for Speakea$y members

• Full moon money rituals

• Forums for sharing resources, money wins, and support with other magical money misfits, neurodiverse entrepreneurs, and financial astro nerds

• 1:1 astro-financial coaching (for highest tier)

• Access to my library of money-related resources (which is growing by the minute!), including guides, workshops, and discounts on some of my higher-priced offerings

Sign up here for updates on The Speakea$y. Doors open August 1st.

Ready to take back control and start generating income for yourself on your own terms? Download my free guide to passive income here.