January 2024 New Moon
Read Sarah Gottesdiener's January 2024 New Moon in Capricorn essay and ritual from the 2024 Many Moons Lunar Planner.
Interview with Diego Basdeo
Diego Basdeo is one of my favorite writers and if you've read anything he's written on his site, or for Many Moons you'll know why. Simultaneously tender and no-bullshit, practical and cosmic, his words resonate with a specific type of intimacy. Last year, I was lucky enough to get a reading with him and some bizarre and specific predictions he made ended up occurring.
For this volume of Many Moons, Diego ended up writing concise and potent Astro scopes for each sign. In the following interview we talk Astrology, Moons, and intentions.
Can you give a tip or two for those just starting out with learning about their charts/astrology that you wish you'd known?
Astrology is one of those things that nobody “believes” in but everybody’s got an opinion on how it should be done and how much it should cost. It’s fascinating how people are pretty against it until they learn a little bit about it and then all the sudden they are texting you in all caps about “mercury gatorade” at 3am. There will ALWAYS be haters and haters are going to hate until they get a Uranus or Neptune transit and then they are clients.
When I was starting out I was eager for a teacher. I was working hard at learning something that was framed in a really colonial heterosexist lense and I couldn’t swallow half the shit I was reading. I needed to process it with someone. I’ve found a lot of disappointing relationships in the astrological community. A lot of fake ass wannabe prophets, trust fund spiritualists, and social status gurus under the guise of esoteric intellectualism. Luckily I fell in with a really great circle of teachers who encouraged me to make astrology mean something to me and not the other way around. Be careful with who you learn from. Find many teachers and put astrology together the way it resonates for you.
Name things that Astrology is great for.
SO MANY THINGS. Fun, introspection, political speculation, apocalyptic anxiety spirals, party tricks, self - validation, prejudice, public dragging, memes, giving passive aggressive unsolicited advice, understanding personal cycles of behavior, recognizing the diverse and beautiful karmic paths on this earth, to name a few.
Name things that Astrology is not great for.
Starting a religion, side hustles, determining who you are, what your life means, and your every waking decision, controlling your relationships, or basically being a good and kind human. Astrology can be spiritual, but I do not think it is a spirituality.
This time around, you wrote scopes for every sign.
Do you have any current, universal messages for the collective?
It’s difficult to say because I don’t know who’s reading this. I wouldn’t say the same thing to everyone. I think the only thing I can say right now is try to act in your highest integrity. Get really honest about your values, which is to say, make sure what you believe in is something you can stay true to no matter what happens (at least most of the time). If you believe in free speech, know what that means and what it doesn't.
Last time I asked ya, you said your favorite moon phase was New. Is it still? Is that when you were born?
I was born on a closing square moon. I still love a New Moon more. Having a Sun Moon square is torture! I think I love a New Moon most because it gives me a fantastic outlet for the tension of the closing square.
Closing squares can be very critical. It's their job to understand the flaws in structures, to see how things can be done better. A New Moon allows for tremendous possibility. It's a good opportunity for someone like me to move that energy and put it into action. Who doesn't love a fresh start?
What was your experience writing for the book— what do you hope that readers take away from this project, or your piece?
I typically don't write horoscopes. I hate the tedium of weeklies. I'm all about the larger themes, the cycles, and how to get the most out of them in your day to day. I chose to do a horoscope style Astro snap shot because I felt like it needed to happen for this half of the year. There is something very magical about this book, the people it brings together, and the way messages get transmitted. When I hear a message about the book I literally cannot ignore it. I think this is a powerful project and I hope the energy and intention that goes into this translates to the readers.
Name one thing: writer/poet/singer/park/theory/hair product etc. that you are super jazzed on at the moment.
Black Salt Collective, Southerners on New Ground, and Irma Thomas. <3
Find more about Diego here, including how to book a reading with him.
