why queer astrology?
Astrology reflects culture.
Unfortunately, culture, at least in the mainstream, is imbued with hegemony, patriarchy, cisheteronormativity, white supremacy, capitalism, ableism, and so much more. It often centers these things.
And these things are exhausting to live under. They are meant to keep those of us who claim identity outside of those cultural “norms” from accepting and living our power and authenticity. It is exhausting to have to determine whether your authentic self will be welcome in a particular space. Whether that Self, the true Self, will be allowed to be expressed, or be held back by conditioning and fear. To enter a space, knowing there may be people present who wish to strip your power from you.
Most astrological teaching has been erected under these oppressive structures. It is our responsibility as practitioners of this ancient language to actively queer astrology to work for everyone, especially the most marginalized among us. Queering astrology opens the practice to those who cannot see their authentic selves represented in mainstream culture and teachings.
An example - in many synastry books, the concept that “Jupiter represents the husband in a woman’s chart, Venus represents the wife in a man’s chart” is often present. If you are not heterosexual and/or cisgender, this presents an immediate problem. Do you use your birth sex or your authentic gender? What about if you have a gender that is neither “man” or “woman”? What about a partner who doesn’t fit those definitions? This framework doesn’t work for everyone, and leaves those who don’t fall into these neat categories wondering where to go from there.
In a sense, planets in “detriment” or “fall” are inherently queer. They are Different. They are Odd. They do not fit into the box of what society at large sees as the correct expression of the planet’s inherent archetype. “Undignified” planets defy the status quo. The Moon in Scorpio starves for connection and safety and is met with adversity because they don’t play by the rules of softness and gentility. Mercury in Pisces doesn’t want to communicate via a pros and cons list, they need to understand their thoughts in a more abstract way and would sooner express themselves with movement over words. The Sun in Libra knows that individualism doesn’t work, yet it is “admirable” to be completely independent and self-made. Fallen planets and planets in their antithesis (detriment) know that things aren’t so simple.
Dignified planets know how to play the role that’s expected of them. They do their job, do it well, and don’t ask questions. Until, eventually, they burn out from these expectations. Domiciled and exalted planets have always had the tools to do society’s work, but what about when you start to discover you don’t fit into these archetypical boxes laid out by mainstream culture either? What then, when the Sun in Aries realizes they too need connection and interdependence? When the Moon in Taurus recognizes the difference between safety and comfort and strives for both? When Mercury in Virgo wants to get out of their head and into their body?
Domiciled and exalted planets have the hardest time breaking out of these conditionings, but when they do, the transformation is staggering. Recognizing your conditioning is an integral part of self-knowing. And the same can be said for queer people as we embrace our authentic, queer, “different” selves.
Astrology is a language with which to say "FUCK NO!” to the people who expect your response to be “Yes sir.” Astrology has the capacity to remove the word “should” from our vocabulary and replace it with aligned desire.
To be able to see yourself in the grand scheme of the cosmos is freeing. It releases the pressure to fit in to the oppressive society that dominates mainstream culture. Astrology used to be for kings, nobles. and nations. Now it’s for the gays. We can find ourselves in the planets. Astrology shows us that even that which makes us different or outcasted makes us stronger. It makes us more resilient.
It is liberating to speak of the self in this sort of “code” that astrology provides. We know ourselves because we know the world around us.
We need astrology as a queer liberatory language because if we don’t speak for ourselves, WHO WILL? Knowing your conditioning is the first step in breaking out of it. Knowing how you inherently defy the status quo is the first step to smashing it. As above, so below. As within, so without.
My astrology is queer because I am. I queer astrology to see myself and my community and our beauty in the language of astrology. Queerness, and astrology, can be magical, radical, authentic transformation.
If you want to work within a post-binary astrological framework, book a consultation with me. Let’s take this magical journey together!
