1. aries. baby of the zodiac. he is wide-eyed and curious with a heart of burning flames. it is his first among twelve, and though he seems self-sufficient on his own, there isn’t a doubt that the most courageous warrior could use a guardian angel.
was there ever a hero who died happy? achilles had questioned. he claimed to be the first.
was there ever a hero who was reborn & reborn again? did he ever die happy? once? twice?
does aries know of the journey he will face? lifetime after lifetime, breath and shaking breath, crimson pools and blue veins.
blood drips down the forehead of aries, but there’s no wound to be seen. the war god mars tells him: there will be more battles.
2. taurus. aries passes. he carries the lessons he had brutally acquired rooted in his soul to the life of taurus. the sudden brashness and vibrance that had killed him was replaced with a new mind. patience. strength. will. success happens after you stand your ground–even if it is shaking beneath your feet.
they will want to change you. but don’t move, taurus. don’t move, don’t move, don’t move, don’t move, dont move, dont move dont–
3. gemini. the soul is a child yet again. the sky peers above his mortal self like a curtain that always seemed to remain an indescribable blue. his laughter was music, echoing from the tips of trees to the pits of the ocean, and all of nature fell silent to listen to a boy prince.
what was a rainy day to a gemini?
4. cancer. but perhaps there were more important things to a soul. a yearning tugged at his heartstrings for what seemed like eternity. the signs are clear–surely this must be worth his life.
cancer longed for the water. she had whispered love poems to him in his sleep, each verse drawing him towards her like a tide. it was her ocean of love he wanted to swim in. the seas that kissed gently at his ankles. promises of true love, affection, security–but all beneath the surface.
it is common sense: if you spend too long underwater, you will drown. the water cannot love you back.
he drifts unconscious into the deception of love that overwhelmed him. but if you ask me, i don’t think cancer really minded.
the death of cancer is new beginning.
5. leo. his cheeks are dusted with gold from the kisses of gods. scarlet, honey, king of the wildflowers. they rise to meet him like the sun.
6. virgo. why didn’t you finish your biology project? when will you eat? you’re so thin! did you really sleep all day? your eyes are bloodshot, why didn’t you get any sleep? now why are you crying? you’re so sensitive! you love drawing, what happened? they’re not laughing at you, they don’t even know who you are. you think way too much! stop overthinking. just think happy thoughts! why don’t you talk to anyone? how come you never have fun like you used to? i wish you would just open up! you’re such a downer. we’d probably be better off without you. honestly i forgot he was he was even here!
virgo: crush their words with both fists, until they are nothing but isolated letters and bloody broken vowels.
he asks, when does it end?
mercury responds, you’re halfway there.
covering his organs in yellow paint didn’t make van gogh happy. that girl in your class who filled her insides with pills didn’t end up happy–she ended up in the hospital. i know your uncle drowned his lungs in alcohol, but did you ever see him happy? likewise, making room in your heart for people who will only let it rot won’t make you happy.
8. scorpio. does he remember the fire? the massive flames had burned down his walls of concrete, wrecking every barrier he had built. the structure that intimidated and towered from above at those who dared to intrude.
but what lied behind these seemingly unconquerable walls? a beast? a kingdom? perhaps nothing at all. maybe just barren land, and the only things that lived were the rumors themselves.
the flames know secrets. it’s something worth much more. it was the king’s delicate heart, his fragile mortality.
when the red storm silenced, nothing remained but the pulsating organ.
the flames grasped it with a firey fist, and squeezed. the thing scorpio spent his life trying to protect became one with the ashes.
but scorpio will sweep every last bit of it into the hollow dustpan of his chest. he will swallow every shattered piece of concrete and glass until the kingdom he once considered invincible was nothing but vacant land. of course scorpio will remember the fire, it’s impossible to forget.
he is reborn. his fingers are bloody from picking up the broken shards, but scorpio will manage through–
9. sagittarius. a sewn-together heart, yet stronger than ever. they say the heart is a wild thing, and for sagittarius, this is no exception.
it’s the last quarter, but there is so much to do and see and read and hear. how disappointing would it be to miss out on such small adventures? sagittarius’s heart is a wanderer.
10. capricorn. 8/13/2016 - to do list:
study for your physics final
finish your paper on saturn’s rings
prepare notes for monday’s debate
capricorn, please give yourself a break. i know you want to be the best. i know you want to conquer all. but you are destined for something greater than anything on this planet.
“this world is not yours.”
research paper topic: how is a star born?
11. aquarius. this life is your second to last. are you frightened? anxious?
no, i don’t think aquarius is afraid. for a reason unknown to him, he is fascinated with stars–the way they come and the way they go.
elements of light are compressed from the pressure of gravity in interstellar gas. a fusion reaction in the nuclei. outward pressure. a star.
this is what they teach in science class.
a life reborn. growth in each. a new lesson learned. aries to pisces, one to twelve. at the end of it all, the burden of your lives weigh down on your glowing soul like gravity. a star.
12. pisces. death was an angel who arrived in a hazily ecstatic dream // and he welcomed it.
—there is a new star in the sky tonight. {j.f.d}
