Welcome to 2017: Let’s Slay

Opening a new year can feel a bit like opening a present. Full of excitement and wonder, hopes and giggles, maybe even a bow or two.

Yet, creating a year (or a life for that matter) doesn’t just mean receiving. It means crafting with incredible intention. So while 2017 remains vitally young, and still in a honeymoon period, let’s stay in the place of possibility.

But let’s also be real about what that possibility entails.

I wish I could say to you that 2017 is finally the year we enter the golden age, where drama evaporates alongside war, environmental degradation, gender inequality, and racism.

And that finally you will have an unobstructed path to your deepest, most heartfelt desires.

Unfortunately, though, that’s not in the stars.

A change in the year does not equate a magic pill.

As an astrologer, the question I am most often asked, especially this time of year, is when will things get easier. When will life start to feel easy?

The truth is—it won’t. Sorry.

Despite resetting the clock, life—as it always has—will continue to provide us moments of immense beauty that bring us to tears, as well as gripping pain that makes us fall to our knees.

Life doesn’t get easier. We just get better. Until we are humbled (yet again) and have to integrate a whole new set of lessons.

And this also means that we can’t wait on the stars. We have to show up! Through years of doing this work in a 1:1 capacity with clients, I’ve learned that even with incredibly aligned astrological support of benefic forces, we still need to step up to the plate to ensure our own grand slam. Very rarely do things manifest on their own. Even more curious, I have also found that some of my clients who have had the absolute hardest aspects (malefic) have shot out of cannons in success.

Conclusion: Sometimes friction does us good. And often ease is overrated.

Despite all the challenges and gifts, we still have every single opportunity to live with immense love, depth, richness, and profound power. We live in painful times, yet at the same time, we live with extreme abundance, opportunity, and hope.

I know, this dose of tough love might not be what ya thought… and certainly not what ya want. But, the beautiful thing about the truth is that it sets ya free.

So with that in mind, let’s get on with freedom! Let’s get ready to slay.

Looking back on 2016, one of the things that surprised me the most about the year had to do with a love affair I had with Beyoncé. (I know, this is a strange segue, but bear with me on this one.)

You have to understand I am an avid music lover, yet I grew up a total tomboy. While I see dozens (if not more) of live shows every year, I usually attend shows where the ladies room does not have a line, and the men’s room line coils like a snake.

So, falling in love with Beyoncé certainly didn’t strike me as likely. Yet, Lemonade (her visual album) hit me in every way and gave me all the feels.

I ended up at a stadium in Philadelphia in the pouring rain to see her sing her heart out in crazy ass boots, a leotard, perfect hair, on an extremely wet stage.

As I stood at the Formation Tour, drenched beneath a crinkly plastic poncho, I felt immobilized by her insane presence.

She belted lyrics addressing her haters, claiming her power, while making a political statement.

“Get what’s mine. Take what’s mine. I’m a star. I’m a star. ‘Cause I slay. I slay.”

With an uncomfortable dampness resting upon my skin, and a stadium singing in unison, it hit me: this chick slays, indeed.

So as I step into 2017, I bring a bit of Beyoncé with me. I invite you to do the same.

I don’t anticipate it to feel easy (nor should you), but I do anticipate holding my power close to my chest, and using it (as needed) to annihilate my obstacles.

I intend to slay.

Let’s slay together, shall we? After all, isn’t that what feminine power is all about?

Here’s to our rising. Game on.

All my love,

Jenn

P.S. “You just might be a black Bill Gates in the making, ‘cause I slay. I just might be a black Bill Gates in the making.” —Beyoncé

Photo via Beyonce.com