Welcome in Love,

Of course I’d pull The Plot Twist oracle card for the week of a full moon eclipse…

Using The Bibliophile Oracle Deck, I asked for an inspiration card for this week’s Refill. When I saw The Plot Twist card had fallen out, I laughed and said, “Of course.”

That means we might all be shocked by something. For your Flavor of the Week, I share how you can meet this surprising moment feeling empowered and even hopeful.

I’m also very excited to tell you about my Atlanta dream come true, which included a shocking plot twist too…

Join me this Saturday, August 29th at 5:00pm at Kindred Thoughts Bookstore in Bridgeport, CT for an author talk, Q&A, and book signing. Details and RSVP here.

Well, we could have guessed that there would be a plot twist this week with a full moon, that’s also an eclipse, that’s also connecting to Uranus, the planet of shocks and surprises. To then pull The Plot Twist oracle card on top of that leaves no room for doubt that something unexpected is highly likely to happen. But…

Unexpected things are always happening. There are always unplanned or surprising things happening, big or small, welcomed or unwelcomed. Sometimes other people surprise you, or the universe surprises you. And sometimes, we are the surprise factor for someone else. Sometimes we’re the ones who decide to take initiative and shake things up in our own lives.

There’s literally always something happening that we did not expect or plan for. And, of course, the only constant is change. So on some level, this is just business as usual, and we might carry on with our life as we do on any given day. So what might make this week different enough to summon The Plot Twist oracle card?

I think there are a couple of characteristics of a plot twist that set it apart from an ordinary surprise or unplanned event: 1) It’s a shocking revelation that has a direct impact on what happens going forward, and 2) The revelation drastically changes a primary assumption about what was really happening the whole time.

The second feature means The Plot Twist not only changes what we think will happen, it also completely changes our understanding about everything that has already happened. We thought we knew what was happening. The Plot Twist reveals that we actually had no idea what was really going on.

Oftentimes, the clues and the foreshadowing are not obvious at first. It might be something that initially seems quite small and un-surprising that winds up changing our lives in unexpected ways.

Maybe six months ago there was a clue. Perhaps a year ago you learned something, met someone, or sent out an application. Perhaps 18 months ago you ended something, planted a seed, said yes, said no, went to the party, or stayed home…

In some area of your life this week, you might see the truth of that situation. You might understand it differently in a “rejection is protection” kind of way or in a “right place, right time” kind of way.

So how can you meet this moment feeling empowered and even hopeful?

You don’t have to fear anything in astrology. Not even eclipses! Now, for some of you, that statement alone just might be the plot twist of the week, LOL.

Astrology does not cause anything to happen. It reflects or traces what is already unfolding.

Astrology is a tool that you can use like a sign or signal directing your attention to different areas of your life so that you are aware and present for what’s already unfolding, and so you can make decisions about how you want to engage or disengage, co-create or dismantle, readjust or double down on your actions. What’s already happening always includes opportunities to make choices.

When there’s a high probability of a plot twist in the week ahead, you can make informed choices, like keeping your schedule as flexible as possible, not making rigid and final judgements until you have all the information, being more open to new ideas and new experiences, or simply choosing an attitude of optimism in an area of life that has been feeling hard or disappointing.

You choose.

Over the weekend, I kicked off my national book tour with Atlanta as my first stop! Atlanta is one of those cities where extraordinary experiences happen for me. Since 2023, I’ve been at least 3 times and always feel like a celebrity when I’m there.

I was traveling solo and preparing to solicit support from various folks to help me document the events. I was meeting a few longtime friends, a cousin, and a couple of new people who have already been lovely additions to my social network. Kimberly, for example, is someone I’ve only known for a few weeks, yet in that short time, she helped me get a book signing table at Barnes & Noble in Atlanta. And we bonded over our love for music and rocked out to Olivia Dean on the way to lunch.

So on Friday, I’m meeting my cousin for lunch. She calls to tell me she just got to my hotel and that she’s got her daughter with her, just FYI. I was excited because I hadn’t seen her daughter in a few years. I walk up to my cousin’s car, wave at the backseat where I assume her daughter is sitting, and then slide into the passenger seat.

When I turn around to say hello to her daughter, I’m shocked by how big she’s gotten. And when she pulls her hood down, I notice blonde locs that I don’t expect her to have, blonde locs that look quite familiar…

What I expect to be my young cousin’s face morphs before my eyes into my SISTER’S face!!

Now mind you, I had just spoken to my sister on the phone minutes before, and she claimed to be in the carpool line at my nephews school, lol.

Plot twist, indeed!

My trip went a whole lot better after my sister showed up! I’m so glad for so many reasons that Atlanta was my first book tour stop outside of NYC. It was an Atlanta dream come true (swidt 😉). I will be talking more about book tour stuff, so stay tuned!

During my Atlanta book tour trip over the weekend, there was a big Olivia Dean concert happening not far from where I was. My first introduction to Dean was her song “Lady Lady” by way of someone’s Instagram post, and it’s still one of my favorite songs of hers.

In addition to the Atlanta theme, this song reminds me of The Plot Twist because Dean speaks of unexpected change to things that she’d become accustomed to. And she says that change to what she’d gotten used to, now creates room for something new. She ends the song by saying she’s “growing on, growing into it,” whatever it might be.