June: Want the Change
Change is happening. So much is shifting in small and momentous ways across the planet right now—particularly in the United States, where we greet you from a decentralized uprising for the preciousness of black lives. The experiences, voices, and actions in the public eye right now are more numerous than the leaves swirling through this month’s image. Some voices ask for a return to normal and call for peace, longing for the stability and comfort they previously enjoyed. With this spell, we say loud and clear: there should be no return to the “normal” that is anti-blackness and state violence. The “comfort” we imagine returning to only belongs to some of us, and it isn’t what it masquerades itself to be—underneath the seemingly calm waters swim huge sharks of shadows, shackles, and shame. The “normal” we imagine returning to is killing black and brown people, killing trans people, killing whole species and ecosystems. It is killing our future.
Many of us are ready for this change, so ready for this global uprising against an oppressive status quo. But to really want this change, we are all going to have to learn how to be in it, how to sustain it; we must come into a deeper relationship with change within ourselves.
In this image, a snapshot of a passing instant, we’ve immortalized a moment where the wind is more powerful than gravity. That is what is happening in our world right now—the movement for justice, repair, and deep systemic change is overpowering the status quo. This image exists to help create the alignment we’ll need to keep this going. Currently, this wind of change is powered by the murder of black people—the cost has always been this unforgivably high. This month’s spell is about generating our own damn wind turbines, cultivating and sustaining our own momentumtapping into the parts of our spirits that know our liberation must be collective and complete.
About this Spell
If you look inside and find places of hesitation, if you have doubts and fears about the changes that are long overdue, this is a spell for you. If you doubt your ability to open up to huge changes, this spell invites you into your heart. If you’re alarmed by the current chaos, this spell invites you to see the beauty in the dance of the leaves, the interplay between harmony and disruption. If you are feeling so eager to enact this change that you may sabotage your own intentions, this spell invites you to stay right here, in time, where we can help each other build the skills we need to make this change last.
It can be hard to stay centered when the wind is this strong, even for those who have been ready for this change. Centering, here, can mean aligning with the steadiness of this stone, holding onto integrity, rituals, discipline, and core values—or, it can mean opening yourself fully to the explosion of joy, grief, and anger that is inside of you. If you are exhausted, please hold down the important work of resting until you are ready to rise again. If you have energy but feel afraid of participating, now is the time to learn the steps in the dance of this movement, and make them your own. Please, learn to dance at a pace you can keep up for a long time. Small, positive changes are needed as much as bigger ones. We’ll know we’re learning the right steps if the goodness we’re bringing into the world is flowing directly toward those who need it most right now.
Meditation on Want the Change
For this meditation, please find a place where you feel able to go inward. Recognize the moment you are in and settle into it. Let your breath fill the moments and swallow your attention for a time. Now, if it feels good, imagine that you are that central stone in the midst of this image. Can you feel the cool skirting of mist around your legs—the flurry of leaves and wind on your skin? Can you feel the ancient earth beneath you—see if you can feel that this earth is a part of you. Spend a moment—or many moments—immersed in the sanctuary of this grounded place, steady and solid as the wind blows powerfully around you. If you feel open to it, you can start to explore some recent memories of pain, grief, anger, or fear… Notice the images and stories that bring up these feelings. Where does the change happen in your body with these thoughts and feelings stirring inside? Throat, stomach, gut, head… Heart, shoulders, groin, thighs… what is changing - what is happening? Take a few deep noticing breaths and then come back to being a stone, firm and steady. Settle your system as much as possible. Then, imagine the feel of that wind again. While breathing steadily, try to focus on the wind...let your breath become like wind and take it into your lungs, your blood, your heart. Feel this breath wind enlivening your experience even as you stay deeply settled, like a big strong stone.
And now, if it feels ok, try to conjure the big emotions again—where do they move through you, and where do they get stuck? As you notice whatever strong energy is moving through, watch it move as the stone watches the wind move leaves through the air… As you notice whatever strong energy is getting stuck inside of you, bring your breath to that place, gently introducing some vital wind to that place in your body. Practice this as much as you’d like - as much as you can. Let your body be your medicine for big feelings—grounding and allowing; breathing and encouraging. Let your mind learn that it’s okay to feel… it is what we are meant to do. Stones are great messengers of groundedness and presence, but we are not made of stone. Wind is a powerful messenger of transformation, but we are more than wind. We are bodies of feeling that use those feelings to instigate, respond to, and navigate change.
About the painting:
Corina: As an astrologer, I knew this year would have momentous change, and we had a sense this month that with two eclipses would be a catalyst for it. One joy of doing this kind of work is learning in time what the spells we channel actually mean. For this one, I remember seeing such dazzling joy and swirling energy that felt both chaotic and exhilarating. I remember wanting to show disruption to a pattern (leaves swirling in an artificially regular way) that was itself the joy. As we worked on this, I remember wondering about the standing stone and its role in this story. It’s not as simple as an either/or—there’s something about the heavy stability of the stone that balances the leaves. For this political moment, I think that’s about remembering to stay in our bodies, to pace ourselves, and to commit to slower processes of relationship building and healing that are just as necessary as the bolder actions happening on the streets right now.
Jocelyn: Oh, this image is so close to my heart -- practically a self-portrait. I remember one winter day when I was young, looking out the window from our home on the north side of Chicago. The wind blew and I watched it pick up and swirl some dusty snow off the ground. It occurred to me in a striking moment that, because of the snow, I could see the wind! It felt like some kind of sacrament. The wind as some greater agent of collaboration… Being able to see the wind has never stopped fascinating me—the tops of trees, long blades of grass, leaves waving on their branches, autumn leaves flying through the air—always there’s magic afoot when the wind becomes visible. For this image, as we were brainstorming the spell, the words that kept coming to me, quite strongly, were: The Wind is Not Irrelevant in This Context. The message was so firm and serious, but I always laugh when I think of it—I often come up with obtuse spells that Corina helps us translate into something more people will understand. This one translated perfectly and, as the protests began, I’d look over at June’s image and get chills.
This month:
If you missed it, here is a link to a phenomenal resource to guide the development of anti-racist work. Huge thanks to Anna Stamborski, Nikki Zimmermann, and Bailie Gregory for compiling these resources.
As always, you can follow our shenanigans at @abacuscorvus on Instagram. And you can find out what each of us is up to by following @corinadross and @jocelyncorvus