A few thoughts on astrological remediation

With a meme and concrete, down-to-earth suggestions.

[content warning for this article: discussion of religious fasting]

Photo by Katrin Leinfellner on Unsplash

A little while ago, I was talking with a friend, and fasting as a planetary remediation measure came up.

Apparently, someone was given the advice by an astrologer to fast on Mondays, the Moon’s day, in order to have more power. The astrologer justified the affirmation by saying that if the Moon represents our comfort, so if we can fast we have more control over our bodies, hence much more power.

I’ll be honest, that really pissed me off, so I decided to write about it.

[For a little bit of context, I studied planetary remediation with Austin Coppock’s Proper Care and Feeding of a Birth Chart classes. I’ve been experimenting in my personal life for a few years now¹. I don’t offer remediation services at this time because I don’t consider myself experienced enough to advise people on the matter, which I take very seriously. Giving remediation advice is a big responsibility, and I guess it is also just, not what I feel called to currently².]

Beginners off-handedly giving remediation advice is something that makes me cringe, I will admit. There are so many factors to take into account, and remediation measures can have big impacts. If ill-advised, one could get into trouble. There’s also a big difference in brainstorming ideas for remediation, sharing one’s experiences, and advising formally.

For astrologers and astrology students especially, the advice given can be taken to heart more, regardless of the actual expertise founding it — which is why I think it’s important to contextualise what we say and make sure that people will know to take half-baked ideas with a grain of salt, if needed! I’m writing this article in this spirit — these are my opinions. Some are very rigorously informed opinions, some are my own hunches. I’m open to constructive criticism, and invite you to share your own experiences in the comments if you so wish!

The main reason I’m pissed off about the aforementioned advice to fast on Mondays to “gain power” is quite simple: this is advice that is not one-size-fits-all, and it can be considerably dangerous. For many people, it is medically dangerous to fast! And this can be more or less obvious — besides various medical conditions that make food deprivation a serious thing, so many people struggle with eating disorders! I know I am not alone among astrologers who studied Austin Coppock’s class who consider fasting to be a very delicate topic, not to be broached carelessly.

So first of all, remediation advice needs to be carefully framed within a specific context! Not everyone can or wants to fast, and this applies to other remediation measures too. Some people might not be able to light incense, or even pray out loud in their own homes. There are workarounds, but it’s also important to consider that one does not need to check all the boxes — there is a variety of tools to pick from when it comes to remediation!

And to be clear, fasting is a remediation measure. It is just not the only one. And it usually has a specific purpose, which is bringing me to the second main reason this advice pisses me off. The way I was taught, fasting is a purifying measure, not a strengthening one! I have fasted on a planet’s day in the past, because it is considered³ a good first measure when you’re first trying to approach a planet for remediation: clearing the way, so to speak. Especially useful when the planet is in a difficult condition, afflicted by aspect or in an inhospitable sign, for instance. I didn’t make this a recurring thing because frankly, it wouldn’t have been sustainable health-wise and it simply wasn’t needed! Nowadays, if in need of a cleansing measure, I have other ways to go about it, too.

Other purifying approaches in lieu of fasting:

• cleansing bath with salt and appropriate herb allies

• fumigation with appropriate herb allies

• meditation, visualisation, prayer

• Florida water, Kolonía (overall, Sphere+Sundry stocks a variety of purifying Forms)

Fasting is, in my opinion, rather extreme and hardly indispensable. And, again, it is *not* a way to amp up the planet, it purifies!

For nourishing a planet and exacerbating its power, I personally would rather…

• attune to the planet by dressing in its colours and attributes⁴

• in the planet’s hour, recite the associated Orphic Hymn or an hymn of my own composition, with vigor⁵

• hang out with a tree or bush friend associated to that planet (fawning over roses is one of my favourite ways to connect with Venus!)

• include food that helps attune to that planet in my diet (hot pepper or ginger for Mars for instance)⁶

• work with fortifying Forms, such as Oils, Salves, Body Butters…

Now… fasting on Mondays doesn’t sound like a good idea to power up the Moon, in my humble opinion and experience. To fortify the Moon, I might take a nap, videochat with my mother, bake my favourite bread from scratch, apply Exalted Luna Oil and bask, among other stuff more tailored to my own personal Moon placement and whatever’s going on for me at the time.

There are many, many ways to honour the Moon, and starving yourself sounds like one of the worst possible ideas I could come up with, respectfully. Someone who has a weakened Moon by House, dignity and aspects might actually need to eat more cake, honestly! Someone with an excessive Moon might need to tone things down, but again, depriving oneself of food each Monday is unlikely to be the way to go for the great majority of people.

And if you truly must fast once a week, it sounds way more coherent to do it on Saturdays. Saturn might loooooooove that, because Saturn isn’t preoccupied with comfort like the Moon is! Control and deprivation are Saturn’s arcana, not the Moon’s. Adapting your remediation measures to the Sphere you’re engaging with doesn’t sound like a detail to me.

These are my current thoughts on remediation and fasting. If you’d like to share your own, I’d be delighted to read it in the comments.

1. I want to add that I’ve appreciated other people sharing their experiences and learning on this topic. I’ve learnt a lot from Amaya Rourke, Josh Proto, obviously Kaitlin Coppock + her formidable community, and many others.

2. My calling is very much talking about fixed stars to whoever will listen, in case you hadn’t noticed 😂

3. Per Austin Coppock’s teachings.

4. My go-to Wednesday shirt is a multicolour one with a message, and it’s made by a podcast I like. My favourite Friday shirt says “It’s a good day to support sex workers”. On Saturdays I wear black, etc.

5. There are exceptions or caveats, sure — the Orphic Hymn to Mars is one that basically asks Mars to calm the fuck down and not cause trouble, but you can work with Herakles’ one if you need to big boy muscle juice to flow.

6. Nota bene: not the only possibilities BY FAR, and again, you don’t necessarily have to modify your diet to do planetary remediation in general!