Leah Wellbaum is a musician, artist, and writer living in Los Angeles, CA. She is the principal songwriter, guitar player, and unrepentant aesthete of the band Slothrust, and also has a side project called ANMLPLNET. On the upcoming Slothrust album, Parallel Timeline, Wellbaum constructs a luscious, ethereal cosmos perforated with wormy portals and unexpected magical iconography. She is a lover of all things mystical and absurd. When she isn’t on the road, she offers lessons in music and creativity. You can find her art at www.leahwellbaum.com.
Wow wow wow wow wow! So, this article is certainly a touch late this month. Slothrust had a big West Coast tour and it dominated my mind, body, and spirit, as touring does. But the Sprinter van wasn’t the only thing driving my tepid chaos this month. Aries season has been serving, and serving hard for a couple of weeks now. As I mentioned in my Pisces article last month, I cried one million tears into tiny vials that you can now buy on eBay. Just kidding about eBay, but tear jars are a real thing, and next year I will consider purchasing some for Pisces season because, damn, that shit hurt, and there is something to be said for capitalizing on your pain. Or not! My Libra moon is not yet sure, classic bogus.
Anyway, things stopped hurting so bad and started to burn off. I don’t know exactly when or how, but with each day we deepened into Aries season, I felt my insides zip themself back into place with a renewed sense of do as you will. Aries is a young fire sign and it burns and burns for better or worse. But after how soaked we got during Pisces season, it feels pretty good! Where I was once absorbing my spill of emotions with a sketchy Super 8 motel towel, I am now being like, where the matches at? Let’s see if we can touch the blue part of the flame without losing the use of our hands. I don’t know that this is possible, but impulsive Aries energy will indeed swing the bat.
Sometimes I think about this sign as being oppositional and defiant. This is not a sign that is easily manipulated or controlled, so be mindful of how strong suggestions might be received. Where Pisces might accept a couple of kicks to the stomach, Aries will grab the foot that kicks and flip the being attached over. They will then walk away, and move onto the next thing. It’s a good month to stick up for yourself and to recognize your true needs. But do be careful, because the archetype associated with this sign is the ram and it has two very sharp horns. Aries can be quick to anger, so it is a good time to be mindful of your manners. It can be all too easy to get carried away and accidentally injure someone with your horns, which you might come to regret.
Spring has officially begun and being on tour again has renewed my sense of purpose. It’s a fulfilling and exhausting lifestyle. The comparison to a rollercoaster at a pop up county fair hardly suffices. But after a month of the weepies, I was ready for the ride and Aries certainly offered me a sturdy horn to grab onto. Aries is a clever and youthfully ambitious sign, which are valuable traits on the road. Aries contains a specific type of divine confidence. They initiate new projects, and are immeasurably passionate about the projects they care about. They won’t always finish what they start, but they aren’t afraid to plant that initial seed and take action when inspired. Where Pisces might sit back passively, Aries will happily take the wheel. They are bold and risk-taking, sometimes leading you to that which you desperately want to manifest but are scared of, and other times wrecking the car completely but walking away from the accident laughing.
This time of year asks us to take stock of our priorities and to be honest with ourselves. Aries encourages us to follow our hearts and to be true to ourselves. It recognizes that without self-tending, you won’t be able to serve the world to the best of your ability. It’s a lot of pressure, but luckily Aries isn’t too concerned. It simply burns on and keeps it moving.
The fruit I associate with Aries this month is the dragon fruit. This is a fruit that eluded me for quite some time, but we purchased a bunch of them for the “Strange Astrology” music video shoot and I finally got familiar. This fruit comes in bold, slightly intimidating packaging. The inside of a dragon fruit is sweet and soft, and full of a galaxy of black seeds. Sometimes its sky is white, and other times it’s hot pink. It is a fierce baby of a fruit, full of possibility. Its guts are both inviting and intimidating. They look as though they contain all the possibilities of the universe, wrapped in a soft magenta shell with deceptively soft floppy spikes.
These stills are from the “Strange Astrology” music video. Here is in its entirety for your viewing pleasure.
This is the video that inspired this monthly column. It’s a video that I knew not everyone would enjoy or understand. I stayed away from the word “God” for a long time, but the truth is that this video is, more or less, about exploring the search for exactly that. It’s an attempt to try to make sense of an often fleeting higher consciousness. Fruit and all its strange glory continuously reminds me of how little we understand and restores my faith in the concept of divine organization, and colors beyond our imagination. In a world where abstract faith gets shook on the daily, it’s grounding to have such a physical, gorgeous reminder. Fruit forever, please!
Here’s an Aries playlist to burn alongside for the next couples of weeks –
As always, here is the Slothrust ~*Mind Your Mood*~ Astrology horoscope-playlist generator. What are you leaning into today?
Be bold but mindful these next couple of weeks. See you soon for Taurus season!
Your freaky fruity friend,
Leah
