Ghost Ship in a Bottle

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🌀Weekly Weather Report with Ember

From behind the toilet portal

Ember

Oct 15, 2025

Sidereal vs. Tropical Astrology

Let’s start here: Tropical astrology is tied to the seasons, not the sky. Aries season always starts around March 21st — not because the Sun moves into Aries then (it doesn’t), but because that’s the Spring Equinox, and tropical astrology locks the zodiac there.

Sidereal astrology, on the other hand, uses the actual constellations in the sky. That means Aries season starts about a month later, when the Sun actually moves into Aries. This system reflects the movement of the stars and planets as they really appear above us — which is why I use it for more accurate predictions.

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You may also notice:

Tropical horoscopes are usually based on Sun signs — why? Because newspaper astrology took off when most people didn’t know their birth time, and your Sun sign is based on your date of birth.

Sidereal astrology is based on Rising signs — your rising sign is the sign of your body, path, and the natural energy you move in. It should lead the way.

Quick breakdown:

The Sidereal Zodiac gives us a different frame to see ourselves through — a secret, forgotten story about someone who’s been waiting to be seen.

I grew up thinking I was a Capricorn. I tried to be like a mountain — goal-oriented, stable, serious. But I kept forgetting my goals as soon as the wind changed. I wasn’t grounded. I wasn’t focused. I was confused, constantly shifting… and constantly failing at being who I thought I was supposed to be.

And then I found my Sidereal Rising Sign: Libra.

Cardinal Air. Light. Breezy. Relationship-focused. Music-obsessed. Desire-driven. It all clicked. I wasn’t the world’s worst Capricorn — I was actually a natural Libra.

Libra Season Is Coming

In just a few days, the Sun moves from Virgo into Libra — bringing fall colors, longer nights… and the existential dread of the Sun entering its least favorite sign.

Libra is a beautiful sign — ruled by Venus, full of grace and thoughtfulness — but the Sun is in its “fall” here. That means this season often comes with an unsettled energy. The veil thins. Time feels strange. Kids put on masks. The world shifts toward sleep.

Venus leads us softly into the dark. This is your cue to:

Weekly Field Report

Field Report from Idaho

Ember

Mar 26, 2026

Boring

This is day 1 million 845 thousand 91 in Idaho. Only 7,046 more to go.

I have been in Idaho discovering what it is to live life without stress. I am doing a workshare. 30 hours of work a week in exchange for room and board, a generous weekly grocery budget and enough money to comfortably cover my bills.

I have been helping to establish a new ranch in the Owyhee foothills, taking care of four dogs and a loverboy of a horse and cataloging baseball cards. It’s mindless, sometimes tedious work. A perfect contrast to the strange and exciting year before it, where spirits spoke too loudly and every song was a message.

Now I am boring. Not like uninteresting, though I feel like I am that too here, but boring into the ground. Into myself. I am taking root in the mundane. No longer worried about if I can make my bills or where I will be living next. I’m getting to do the tedious work of living as myself when everything is quiet.

It’s easy to be yourself when times are loud and chaotic. You get to ride the wave of excitement— be carried on the winds of adrenaline. But that has settled and I am just— present. Nothing required besides dogs and horses and a new ranch. Time to keep myself properly fed and to sit with the memories of a wild year.

I have written compulsively and deleted every file. I am writing for myself. For my own entertainment, in service to my own growth. And I think that has been some of the most important work I have done here. Created for myself. With no pressure, with no audience. Just me and four dogs and a lovesick horse.

Yeti & Tater (& also Bonnie, eventually)

Yeti is a Tennesse Walker. A horse almost as wide as he is tall. He is one half of a bonded pair, but Bonnie is still stabled. They were separated. Her love had turned obsessive and violent. She wouldn’t allow anyone to touch Yeti, and if he was moved out of the paddock she would pitch the biggest fit known to horses. And so Yeti came home alone.

Yeti doesn’t like to be touched much. And so I usually just stand in front of him, feeding him apples. He puts his nose on my cheek, rests his chin on my shoulder and nibbles at my clothes trying to groom me. He always had a certain sadness about him. He was always moving, never settled…. Until… Tater came into his life.

Tater belongs to the dog trainer getting ready to move to the new ranch in the Owyhees. And until the horse area gets built, he is sharing Yeti’s home.

They became fast friends. Yeti’s demeanor changed. He started getting comfortable and even laying down during the day. After they had a couple days to acclimate, I took Yeti on a walk. At first Tater seemed fine, but when we moved past the paddock, she started whinnying. Softly at first, but the further we went, the loud she got. Yeti was doing his best to ignore it, but his ears were giving him away— he was concerned. I looked back and saw Tater raging. Screaming in horse, going full rodeo in the paddock. And Yeti lost his composure. He lifted his head, turned around and moved as quickly as an obese Tennessee Walker can muster. When he got back to the paddock he put his head over the fence and nuzzled Tater until she calmed down. And then he went back to grazing just outside the paddock.

And then things took a dark turn. This is the point when I realized, maybe Bonnie wasn’t the one to blame in their situation. Maybe Yeti is a horsy narcissist, knowing exactly how to emotionally manipulate the mares. He walked quickly past the paddock and waited for Tater to start her protests. And then he ran back to soothe the discomfort he caused.

I can’t say for sure if Yeti is an evil mastermind or if horses are just kinda dumb. But I do know one thing, Yeti is setting himself up for one helluva love triangle when he, Bonnie and Tater are all together at the new ranch.

Ember's Weekly Field Report

Ember

Oct 11, 2025

🌒 Field Report

This week has been full of Libra risings, being a Libra rising myself, this made me very happy. Here’s a quick run down on Libra vibes.

Libras are the sign of balance and harmony in relationships. They want everything to be beautiful, to feel beautiful and to sound beautiful… and when it doesn’t they tend to do anything to try and fix it… including making themselves smaller, depriving themselves from their space or giving up their own needs to maintain the peace. This is one of THE key issues a Libra has to figure out in order to walk steadily in this life. And from a Libra who has been there done that, once you figure it out… your life changes.

🌕 Astro Moment of the Week

This week, Venus moved into Virgo.

Dun dun DUN…

That doesn’t sound so bad, right? I mean, Venus is the planet of love and harmony and art… and Virgo is the spirit of the forest…

What could possibly go wrong?

Well. Have you ever actually stepped into a forest?

It’s not harmonious. It’s not balanced. It is chaos.

Last year’s leaves are still rotting on the ground (seriously, Virgo… ever heard of detritivores?). And the noise?? It’s not one beautiful song — it’s blue jays, wrens, owls, mourning doves, crickets, frogs… all screaming over each other.

There’s mud and dirt. Thorns and burrs. Half the things are poisonous, the other half will miraculously heal you — and good luck telling which is which without a degree in faery botany.

Of course Venus is overwhelmed here.

So what does this mean — and what can we do?

Keep an eye on your finances. Don’t make impulsive money decisions, and be prepared for unexpected expenses. This is par for the Venus-in-Virgo course.

Notice when it all feels like too much. Especially around service, health, pets, and responsibilities. If you feel like you’re being pulled in ten directions (like Venus lost in the briars), don’t panic — just acknowledge the overwhelm.

Make beauty anyway. Listen to music. Sing. Create. Let something beautiful come through you to remind both you and Venus of your power.

This is just a phase.

In November, Venus moves into Libra — one of her home signs — and all will be right in the forest once again.

Until then: try not to buy five herbal tinctures you don’t understand. And maybe don’t text your forest ex.

🔮 Ritual / Reflection / Practice

This week’s challenge, if you choose to accept it…

Set aside time every day to commune with spirits.

Light a candle and set the intention — say something like:

“To any spirit aligned with my highest path, this is a time for us to hang out.”

Then do whatever feels right: sit down, lie down, pace the house, stare into space like a poetic raccoon. Talk to the spirits you just invited in. Say what’s on your heart. Then — get quiet.

And listen.

Is it your imagination or your intuition?

Yes. It’s one of the two. Possibly both.

It doesn’t matter right now.

What matters is that you trust yourself enough to try. Over time, you’ll learn to tell the difference between imagination and intuition — but only if you stop judging yourself before you even begin.

Feel for shifts in the energy around you.

Listen for words, songs, images, or sensations that rise inside of you.

When you’re finished, blow out the candle, thank the spirits for spending time with you, and come back again tomorrow.

Rituals like this create containers for relationship — a time and space where the spirits know you’re open, and you know when to listen.

Through the Toilet Portal

You can find me in person in the back room, through the bathroom (yes, really) at:

The Raven, The Hare and The Scroll

285 Derby St. — Pekin, IL

Or — if you’re a ghost, time traveler, or just someone with internet access —

I’m available virtually anywhere in the world.

✨ Book here (in-person or online):

calendly.com/embracingexpansiveness

🔍 Current Offerings:

🎁 FREE Rising Sign Readings (for new clients)

Dip your toes into the chart pond — let’s see what flavor of cosmic chaos you’re running.

💫 $20 Mini Reading (15 min)

One story. One question. One retrograde.

Or one confusing thing in your chart that’s been screaming at you in dreams.

🌀 $60 Deep Dive (60 min)

Who you are. Where you’re going.

You’ll leave with:

Multiple dates to watch for

Possible joys

Probable nonsense

At least one spiritual plot twist

✨ SPECIAL: Grab Bag Astrology

Pay me whatever you want — $3.33, $6.66, $11.11, $69.00 (no judgment)

and I’ll send you a surprise video reading with:

Want help decoding your current celestial nonsense?

I’m taking bookings for October.

Click that little link above. You know the one.

Random Transmissions

Manmade Lakes

And sagebrush... There's always sagebrush.

Ember

Mar 29, 2026

Today, in an effort to have a good attitude about Idaho, I went to a wildlife preserve.

When I got there I found out it was a manmade lake.

There were several short trails through sagebrush (it’s always sagebrush out here),

A dam, and a beach.

I saw a baby bunny (oddly, the first rabbit I’ve seen since I’ve gotten here) about 50 coots and two mallards.

There were very few trees.

It felt sparse and exposed.

I walked the dam and read the placards about the creation of the lake and the agriculture made possible by its irrigation system.

And it made me feel even more disconnected. None of it was natural. It was all constructed.

It made me miss home.

My own forest that I know. Fourteen miles of trails through prairie and woods.

Full of water and deer and squirrels, foxes and bobcats. I even saw a mink there once.

I miss places that I know. Places that know me.

I miss being held by the Earth in forests I don’t just visit, I tend.

This time of year I generally going into the woods to pick wild garlic.

It is wildly invasive and easiest to pull when it starts sprouting.

Four more weeks and I will get back home.

This time with more appreciation for what I have.

And with plans. Big plans.

Keep your ear to the ground and your eyes on your email…

You don’t want to miss what’s coming!

If you go to the forest and listen close, you might hear some whispering about it…

Snowstorms in Spring

The Grove is cold, the winds are blowing strong. The clouds are close to the ground with the smell of promising snow blowing around us, promising feet, not inches.

I set the shovel out on the porch. The flowers that prematurely bloomed droop their faces to the ground. False spring gets them every time. Nature has a cruel sense of humor.

Inside the cabin Radio Head is playing from Pulse’s room. I am starting a simmer pot to try and shift the energy while I listen to Sleeping at Last. There is no simmer pot strong enough to balance out the return of a winter day once spring has started.

You think the hard days are past. You think it will be easy sailing, sunny days, flowers blooming. And then you’re right back into it. In feelings you thought were behind you. Stuck for another day in issues that seemed like they were resolved. And then— feet, not inches.

Mutable energy. Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo, Pisces. The energy that transforms by changing. Back and forth. Spiraling around. Taking us out of a situation and then dropping us right back in it when we thought for sure we were over it.

It’s not malicious. It is thorough. This storm is a reminder of what we are leaving behind. A dramatic goodbye to winter. One last chance to feel the full force of the snow before spring sticks. And we have nothing to do but feel it. And maybe make some snow angels.

A Tribute to My Friend

May You Know Peace

Ember

Oct 22, 2025

A friend of mine passed on recently.

He was kind and gentle.

He was weird and quirky.

He had a sense of style that boldly announced who he was.

He saw the world a lot like I do…

Mythical. Archetypal. Layered with secret meaning

and divine whisperings.

People like us aren’t designed to survive the systems that are in place.

We are meant to struggle our way out.

We are meant to find ways to exist parallel to PTO’s and Overtime

without being distracted by it.

Unfortunately, we don’t always figure it out.

We have been isolated.

We have been taught that individuality is more important than community.

We have been taught that our vision is mental illness

And that our wandering is lack of vision.

The world can be unkind to people like us.

Which is why we need community.

Which is why we need each other.

To remind each other that our faith is our vision.

To remind each other that our imagination fuels our becoming.

To remind each other that we are loved, cared for and held,

Even when we are messy…

Especially when we are messy.

When I think back to the times we spent together

I am struck with awe for his transparency.

I think about his art

How he captured majesty in a thistle

And vulnerability in lions.

We shared moments of profound joy

Moments of fall

Moments where imagination collapsed in on itself….

Moments that were lovely, spiritual, and terrifyingly human.