scorpio

– take a handful of something dirty and place it in a big enough container.

– add enough water to fully submerge the dirty thing and stir viciously for as long as you need to with a knife (or your hand). try work up a sweat.

– carefully slow down your stirring as you contemplate the poetic mechanisms behind the physical action of dissolving.

– stop stirring and stare at the water until you see something either beautiful or hopeful, give this thing a name and tie it around your neck.

– (optional): find a fire and use your transmuted dirty water to put it out.

sagittarius

– find two of the BIGGEST words you can think of and lay them on a table.

– create a sentence out of one word that reminds you of liberation, then create a sentence out of the other word that reminds you of responsibility. write these sentences down.

– hide the sentences somewhere (eg. in your jeans) so you can stumble upon them accidentally around solstice time (or any time).

– now look again at the two BIG words you chose and re-arrange the letters until they land in something that makes perfect sense a way that is entirely nonsensical.

– (optional): don’t look for an answer (yet).

capricorn

– set a timer and spend three minutes thinking about who you were in 2008. then write a very short and incomplete description of that person.

– now bake your past self a cake, even if you really do not fucking feel like it. consider how separate ingredients become something tasty with time and heat.

– enjoy the cake with a trusted friend. let them know this is part of a cryptic spell or game and if you want, describe the person who you were in 2008.

– as you enjoy that cake, let your past self be digested.

– (optional): take a nap to reward yourself for all this work that you might not think is work (but it is).

aquarius

– use found materials to fashion yourself some kind of mask. make this process almost unbearably simple, quick and easy.

– put on the mask, take a selfie. take off the mask, take a selfie.

– as you consider the selfies, let your discomfort become entirely fascinating. do not delete the selfies.

– drink some tea or make some toast. while you do this, think about the difference between the words “power” and “energy”. look at their etymology.

– (optional): burn the mask or anything else that can facilitate an appropriate sensation of rage or destruction.

pisces

– select the finest stones and rocks you can find and arrange them in the shape of a recent dream you had.

– describe the dream to an imaginary friend over a cup of tea. let the words come out all wrong and trust your friend will comprehend its poetry.

– now cover the arrangement of stones with an ordinary towel, place your body on the stones and wriggle around while you let weight and tension impress meaning upon your being, as the shape of the dream-stones collapse and obscure themselves.

– (optional): wait twenty four hours and then say the word “trust” outloud between ten and one thousand times.

aries

– light a candle, blow it out.

– pick up a stone, throw it away.

– fill a cup of water, pour it out.

– take a deep breath, exhale.

– now, shake it like a polaroid picture.

– next: find a little bag that you can keep on you at all times, and collect your anger by screaming/shouting/heaving into your little bag whenever you need to and is (mostly) appropriate.

– be sure to regularly empty the bag in a safe place.

– (optional): write your own conclusion to this recipe/spell/game.

taurus

– prepare a space that can get wet and a bit messy, and place a mirror in that space (a bathroom might be a good option).

– ceremoniously fill up a goblet of water, then look at yourself in the mirror and pronounce the following words: i am willing to be surprised by life.

– then throw the water dramatically at your reflection, like the mirror just cheated on you or something. repeat until it becomes fun.

– after drying and cleaning up, make an inventory of surprises that have brought you pleasure.

– (optional): take it to the next level and ask a friend to catch you by surprise and randomly throw a glass of water in your face before the year ends.

gemini

– spin around in circles until you get very dizzy then try to walk backwards until you fall down or bump into something that forces you to stop.

– as the world spins, slowly take a moment to reorientate yourself, feeling as vulnerable as you need to.

– recall what it’s like to be a child who enjoys the potentials of play and the risk of falling over.

– now go and look for a pinch of salt, solemnly place it upon your tongue as a promise to seriously observe how mistakes and mishaps make life more flavoursome.

– (optional): write a letter that is also a pep-talk to yourself using only verbs.

cancer

– take one pop-song about a break up and put it in the group chat with no context.

– collect any responses to your unsolicited song, then rework the responses into a love poem. (if no one responds, send another song. keep sending until someone says something.)

– write out your love poem, then secretly deliver it to members of the group chat. do not let them know it was you.

– put a reminder on your phone to go off on 7 december, reminding you about your secret experiment. then listen to the original song whilst dancing tragically.

– (optional): burn an actual love letter from an ex.

leo

– take one hot chili and one sharp knife. place them next to each and come up with three different words for the word “pain” (in any languages).

– cautiously place a bowl over the chili and knife. imagine the bowl is a feeling that you want to contain your pain (eg. kindness, strength, etc).

– leave the bowl to sit there for a bit. during this time, go do a sporty thing that makes you sweat and struggle. if you can, yell.

– drink 500ml of water in one go.

– come back to your bowl. then chop up the chili and use it in a meal or make a chili oil of sorts.

– (optional): do this entire process with a friend.

virgo

– stare at a wall for as long as it takes for you to mentally go through the list of everything you have to get done.

– let out a large mournful wail for the sorrows of the world.

– make a list of all the things you absolutely do not have to get done (feel free to invent ludicrous tasks).

– let out a large gleeful laugh for the absurdities of the world.

– find out a way to give yourself a treat for every time you or someone else is late.

– (optional): revisit an old archive (diary, playlist, photo album) and enjoy nostalgia.

libra

– absent-mindedly build a little tower with stones (or any solid objects). let your hands tinker while you try to keep your mind soft.

– now knock the little pile over and observe what position the stones land in.

– invent a constellation for the pattern and position of the stones. invite a friend or family member to help you or do it alone.

– give the constellation a name.

– now invent a myth behind that constellation, make the myth connected to something that happened to you this year, make it inspirational.

– (optional): ask AI to help you write the myth.