on eclipse season, crafting new rituals, and going down into the dark
yes, we can have nice things // 13
You’ve reached Cosmic Kudos, a newsletter about self discovery, spiritual expansion, astrology, and how the creative process relates to the making of our own personal mythologies. Plus, specially curated recommendations and cultural criticisms delivered straight to your inbox 💌
If you’re new here, welcome—and if you’re not, welcome back! This week’s edition of Cosmic Kudos is part of a twice-monthly “running list” of reasons why we humans can have nice things. A space of both positivity and the reframing of things that may not at first seem positive, it features poems, stories, art, podcast episodes, articles or (good) news items, ritual practices, signs from the Universe, and more.
Hi friends,
October! A time when even nature espouses liminality, when vibrant colors dance on the trees and that gorgeous but nearly-indefinable autumnal scent is ever-present, and when all manner of ghouls and beasties are welcomed by cover of the night. And this is a spooky season where we’ve been gifted a Friday the 13th—how cool is that? 🖤
I’ll hold to that, because we are also in for an upcoming Aries/Libra eclipse season that I’m sure will be a personally transformative one. The first, an annular (or “ring of fire”) solar eclipse, takes place with the new moon in Libra October 14, and the season culminates with the full moon in Taurus lunar eclipse on October 28. Eclipses typically occur in pairs (and rarely in trios), creating a portal of immense energy—a kind of window when accelerated change occurs and swift growth is possible.
This is a particularly strange one for me, mostly because I’m in such an unfamiliar place in my life—one where I have no idea where “home” is. I don’t feel I belong in the Bay Area anymore; I’m not ready to make a big move elsewhere yet. I want to pick up and travel extensively again, but at the same time part of me misses having my own space to return to. Missing my glorious array of Halloween decor, especially!
When I look at my chart, my 4th house of home is ruled by Libra, and as an Aries sun, ideas of identity are never far from my mind. Plus, Aries rules my 10th house of career, and of course this is where I’ve been redefining myself entirely. It makes perfect cosmic sense that these issues are top of mind for me, but still—strange times indeed, my friends.
Pay attention to what’s coming up for you now, and feel free to share in the comments! You can take a look at where Libra and Aries sit in your chart to decipher what may be a focus for you at this time. (Charts is an easily navigable and great little app to use if you’re unsure where to begin.)
**Edit: Slight typo above, as the eclipses on the Aries and Libra axis aren’t both “upcoming”—the Aries eclipse that started off eclipses on this axis occurred on April 20 of this year.
A little housekeeping: As I edited this newsletter the “near word limit” notification popped up enough times that I’ve decided to shorten these editions of Cosmic Kudos. Below, I share 9 items instead of my usual 13 (loathe as I am to give up that wonderfully witchy number!). Maybe I’ll shorten nice things. even more, or consider changing up the format. Thoughts and suggestions are welcome.
Anyway, before I hit the max word count again… lots of autumnal goodness ahead. 🖤
1. A wonderfully thorough breakdown of the month ahead from Seasonal Living with Victoria Harrison, the below is packed with plenty of gems. As I wrote above, I, too, am enamored with the not-entirely-definable autumnal scent that makes up this season. Is it the woodsmoke? The scent of the natural world decaying? Pure spooky-witchy magic?
More like all of the above…
2. This short-but-sweet piece about crafting magical and inspiring rituals before sitting down to write is so resonant, especially as I wrote about creativity as a spiritual practice—and consistency in creativity as a love language—last week. I’m stunned I didn’t discover Theresa Reed’s The Metaphysical Author’s Confidential sooner, but it’s fast becoming one of my new favorite Substacks.
3. Because I, too, need to hear this— via writer and artist of Steal Like an Artist fame,
, whose weekly “10 things worth sharing this week” missives are always great fodder for inspiration. I loved this quote gleaned from Oliver Burkeman’s last column for The Guardian, “eight secrets to a (fairly) fulfilled life”:“When stumped by a life choice, choose “enlargement” over happiness. I’m indebted to the Jungian therapist James Hollis for the insight that major personal decisions should be made not by asking, “Will this make me happy?”, but “Will this choice enlarge me or diminish me?” We’re terrible at predicting what will make us happy: the question swiftly gets bogged down in our narrow preferences for security and control. But the enlargement question elicits a deeper, intuitive response. You tend to just know whether, say, leaving or remaining in a relationship or a job, though it might bring short-term comfort, would mean cheating yourself of growth. (Relatedly, don’t worry about burning bridges: irreversible decisions tend to be more satisfying, because now there’s only one direction to travel – forward into whatever choice you made.)”
4. This is an older essay, from Zadie Smith’s 2018 essay collection, Feel Free. 2018! Feels like a different era entirely, though I maintain that the poems, stories, essays, articles, and books we need to read come to us when we need them.
Reading Joy was—well—nothing short of one. (Sorry, couldn’t help myself.) You can read it free of charge here.
5. If you are looking for inspiration to stay true to your Self and your own vision, this is IT: The Courage to Be Yourself: E.E. Cummings on Art, Life, and Being Unafraid to Feel, an essay penned by Maria Popova for her endlessly inspiring newsletter, The Marginalian. I simply can’t get over this insight from e.e. cummings, echoing the words of poet Laura Riding:
“A poet is somebody who feels, and who expresses his feelings through words.
This may sound easy. It isn’t.
A lot of people think or believe or know they feel — but that’s thinking or believing or knowing; not feeling. And poetry is feeling — not knowing or believing or thinking.
Almost anybody can learn to think or believe or know, but not a single human being can be taught to feel. Why? Because whenever you think or you believe or you know, you’re a lot of other people: but the moment you feel, you’re nobody-but-yourself.
To be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.
6. I deeply enjoyed this episode (recorded live for YouTube, if you’re more of a visual person) of the Know Thyself podcast, hosted by André Duqum and featuring Hitomi Mochizuki. Hitomi is a “conscious creator” whose YouTube content ranges from spirituality and reclaiming sexuality in an empowered way to healing trauma, shadow work, and staying grounded while she travels the world. André connects with all kind of spiritual teachers, leaders, and gurus for Know Thyself—it’s a wildly fascinating podcast. Not that I’m currently hyper fixating on it or anything 🤓
7. On inner child healing… this poetically penned call to “go down into the dark, and feed the creature you find there”, gave me full body chills.
Yes, yes, yes, I’ve been hearing that quiet but determined voice. Via
for her newsletter, small magic:8. Our poem this week is none other than Joy Harjo’s A Map to the Next World, because this poem does things to me. Every. Single. Time. I read it. Hear it. Shed a tear over it.
One of my all-time favorites.
9. And last, our witch tip of the week:
Craft a new ritual for yourself for the season. Whether it’s adding something new and nourishing to your morning (or nighttime) routine, making an autumnal simmer pot, trying out one of the writerly rituals shared in the recommendations above, or adding new offerings to your altar, I’d love to know what you choose to get into. ✨
xx, Kimia
If you enjoyed this week’s nice things, I hope you’ll consider forwarding this newsletter along to a friend. If you’re reading this on Substack, I’d love if you shared or restacked it. This helps new readers find my work!
i'm so glad my post resonated with you! wishing you an expansive (and happy, too... would be nice to have both) eclipse season. 🖤