by Dru Ish
Written for BINADW 2017
No matter how we identify or present, no matter where or when we are born throughout history, humans share the same curiosity: who am I, and why am I here? It is this curiosity that lead me to astrology, and the desire to seek these answers has been both a matter of survival and an insatiable calling.
Being Sagittarian, raised by two Sagittarian parents, I had many questions early on about how we could all be the same sign, yet so different. Having an inquisitive mind and psychic sensitivity, astrology gave me a framework with which to understand all of the information coming to, and through, me.
As a youngster I was free to fly my tomboy flag off the back of my BMX without question. The liberty in being raised free-range meant that by age 10 I was bold enough to cut my own hair in an attempt to look like Elvis. What it didn’t offer me, however, was a readiness for the harsh reality that my presentation would eventually lead to assault, refused entry, and division in my community. I was not prepared for the multi-layered violence, and I never want to get used to the constant undercurrent of survival.
Presenting as I do and seeking to understand the world through an astrological lens has forced me to be aware of where inside and outside actually intersect, how landscape shapes us, and what it all really means, if anything.
I am forever grateful to the butch who first shaved my baby-dyke head in Melbourne, 1994 (thanks, “Soft” Sue). It’s a time in my life that I cherish in hindsight. When I realised that I can’t hide, that my insides and outsides are one and the same, I understood that my entire life – from the food I eat to the paper I wipe my arse with – is all political.
Looking through the lens of astrology we remember ourselves as part of nature; cyclic with ebbs and flows, unique yet part of a species, an integral part of this lived mystery. It aligns us with our own personal seasons and rhythms. It’s not surprising that astrology has been suppressed throughout history; like coming out it gives us agency.
My practice of astrology is centred around celebrating our uniqueness and unapologetically living it. While not everyone has that privilege or ability, co-creating a world is as much a part of my practice as decoding the sky.
After studying via experience, observation and devouring translated texts for the past 20+ years, I find myself leaning deeper into the compassion astrology offers. In today’s world where life is defined by chasing peak experiences, where narcissism and gaslighting are normalised behaviours, astrology offers us a steady place to stand in ourselves, wrapped up in our complexity and contradictions, with a gentle reminder to not abandon ourselves.
Nothing we do goes unnoticed in the Cosmos. Nothing is by accident. We all have a birth chart that is a profound and mysterious map of the terrain we venture through this life, and my intention when offering a reading is to remind you that it’s impossible to not be valuable.
Read more from Dru – Astrology and the importance of queer spirituality – Archer Magazine, 2017
