a reclamation of power
through artistry
yesterday morning i was listening to alex g and painting the living room which ended up being more yogic than anticipated. bending over in forward fold to dip my brush into the can on the floor, swirl the paint around then gracefully climb objects reaching high as i can to brush smooth, calculated strokes just underneath the ceiling. working with urgency, cleverly, before creme brûlée paint drips down on me from the overloaded creamy brush above.
tell me you are Venusian without telling me you’re Venusian by describing the art of painting a living room ever so sensually.
“venusian” according to the way the cosmos were situated at the time of my birth
today, apparently, venus (planet of love, connection, pleasure, beauty) is being bathed in light by the sun, amplified ! a cazimi, they call it ! and in libra, no less. i am a taurus sun, libra ascendant. both of these signs are ruled by venus. some have dubbed this the most romantic day of the year. i’m not a very romantic creature. did i mention my venus is in aries…? there, venus is known to be in “detriment”, they say. yes you read correctly, i’m ruled by a “damaged” venus and i love her very much. you’ll get to meet her when i finally write about the relationship anarchy i’ve been contemplating lately. if you’ve ever dated me you’ve already met her..
if all of this sounds like a foreign language to you- never fear! just know that only venus, that sexy slut, can make a task as daunting as painting a dark dusty living room delicious and sensual.
and in that delicious state for which i am allegedly damagingly made, i found a moment of flow. with intermittent thoughts entering, of course. i’m sure there was more thinking than flowing but i can only really remember thinking about
my people as artists shaping the world
or in a less mysterious way i could say—
mexicans as artists
but “mexican” isn’t really what i mean
that’s a label my people have been given but i’m not interested in adherence to nation-states especially as a way to classify and control something as omnipotent as a human being.
in an attempt to “classify and control something as omnipotent” it is crucial for the One Who Seeks Control to label and weaponize others. the narrative needs heroes and villains and a lineal story line of victory through extraction or domination and all those other things western storytelling glorifies so much.
the old world game of violence and domination is boring (to me) and dying, though not without kicking and screaming. things are crumbling ! we can rejoice ! irreparable damage has been done but i am here to reclaim power.
i am not who i am in relation to you (or some State). i am who i am.
i am multitudes
i am ever-shifting
i am everything and nothing
i am cheesy
in relation to lines? i am southern— buttery. salty. spicy.
The South
soufside atl
“south of the border”
what have you…
my grandma, the woman who raised me, lives in a “nation-state” to which she was not born. she demands we cremate her, burn her body to ash if we can’t bury her next to her daddy down south, there and only there. my people have a special relationship with Death. we honor and celebrate the dead. Día de los Muertos— one of the largest celebrations.
many believe that under no circumstance should they be buried above the Río Bravo…
my people are intimate with Death
i think they are wise to believe this.
toltec wisdom says that all human beings are artists and life is a dream.
my people as artists? (see above, also below)
the builders, carpenters, painters, landscapers, farmers, cooks, cleaners, caretakers, healers
my people are world builders
and this surviving capitalism in a nation that has been, to put it generously, less than welcoming of their existence.
anyway,
these artists are also potters, poets, cobblers, curanderas, shamans, seamstresses, teachers, weavers, singers, dancers, candle makers, brujas, providers, protectors, survivors, alchemists …
and as i was humming away transforming the heavy darkness of my living room to light i was reminded of my place in all of this. an artist, of course, and a change-maker, a shape-shifter, a transmutator, an integrator, a bridge living between two worlds
i am here to reclaim power
and whatever else i feel like doing
there is no pretty bow because the story is far from over. in a way it feels like it’s only just beginning.
witches’ new year/samhain/dia de los muertos/etc. is upon us and i’ve been painting and cleaning and cooking and farming and growing and preparing and changing like the “mexican” artist that i am. that we all are.
remember, artists shape the world.
🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰 🌰
