Colin Bedell - Queer Cosmos: The Astrology of Queer Identities & Relationships

QUEER THEORY: A QUICK CHRONICLE

S ince this book investigates astrology from a queer angle, an early summation on queer studies is helpful here to empower you to apply these ideas to astrological ones.

Queer studies in American academia dawned in the 1980s, as a challenge to the use of identity-based knowledge. Identity-based knowledge refers to the idea that the identities assigned to us at birth based on our genitalia somehow contribute to particular types of knowledge and characteristics fundamental to these assigned gender identities. Queer studies also challenged the male/female gender binary, an idea born of preexisting work by gender and sexuality academics that determined essential characteristics and expressions of the feminine and masculine.

Queer studies scholars examine the relationship among gender, sex, and sexual orientation. Contemporary thought on gender, sex, and sexual orientation is still complicated, dynamic, and flexible, since we are all in stages of unlearning falsehoods from a patriarchal system. As each of us have our highly individualized astrological charts, each of us have our highly individualized understandings and expressions of gender, sex, and sexuality in our lives.

Gender is a socially constructed conception of peoples roles based on traits like masculinity, femininity, a hybrid of both, or a total rejection of both. Pisces Sun theorist Judith Butler in her 1990 work Gender Trouble deduced that masculinity and femininity are performances. They are not inherent qualities of our personhood, like, say, handedness or eye color. Gender is something we do because its a socially constructed performance built on our cultural norms. Like the notion that all men are emotionally stoic or all women are maternal. Meaning, the concept of male or female is a jointly constructed understanding born of shared assumptions about reality.

If all of gender is performance, we must sharply question those beliefs held by people in our culture about what is real regarding gender.

Referring to ones sex is speaking to ones physiology their genetics and hormoneslike XY chromosomes in male biology and XX chromosomes in female biology. Its important to note that genitals do not determine ones sex, and that intersex individuals could have a variety of sexual organs and/or varying levels of hormones.

Sexual orientation speaks to attraction and arousal on a romantic and physical basis. Ones identification of their sexual orientation communicates what the speaker is romantically and/or sexually attracted to. Words like pansexual, lesbian, bisexual, gay, and asexual, to name a few, are all applicable ways of describing sexuality, since the speaker is identifying their preferred identity or the preferred identities of their romantic and/or sexual partners.

While examining gender, sex, and sexuality, queer scholars aim to facilitate dialogue across the schools of social sciences and humanities in order to update existing models about the relationship between all three. Additionally, to queer a school of thought is to inspect it for heteronormativity, which is defined as of, relating to, or based on the attitude that heterosexuality is the only normal and natural expression of sexuality. With that in mind, how do queer astrologers resist the regime of normal that is present is the current dialogue? I dont consider astrology an inherently gendered or heteronormative metaphysical system. But I do think its practitioners are influenced by the patriarchal structures and conditioning that raised them. So queer astrologers can resist normalized assumptions on gender, sex, and sexuality in our field through questioning the norms and demonstrating the alternatives. I spoke with Sagittarius Sun Danny Brave, a writer and spiritual healer who identifies as gender transcendent and whose preferred pronouns are ze/zim/zir. Brave said, If we are resisting or even rejecting the norm, then what are we saying yes to? What are the choices in relation to gender identity, expression, sexuality, etc., that are a result of the questioning? What does astrology that is queer say yes to?

For example, we can actively reject monogamy as the best relationship model, giving it no hierarchical value above any other relationship model, like polyamory, for example. We can question the interpretation of a cisgendered Cancer woman as more, say, inherently maternal or of an Aries cisgendered man as more direct and confrontational. Though well make space and support both if they arrive. I believe queer Astrologers can say yes to the multitude of gender expressionsfrom Venus, Mars, Mercury, Moon to Uranusnot only within the chart but within the lived experiences of our community.

No matter ones gender, race, sex, sexuality, or spiritual identification, all normalized assumptions accepted as inherently true are a straitjacket. Take one of the most popular assumptions as an examplevulnerability is weakness. Many of us believe this as inherently true, which is why we try actively to avoid any expression of vulnerability. Yet according to Dr. Bren Browns research, there is no single practice of courage that doesnt have vulnerability at its bottom line. So vulnerability isnt weakness at allit is the prerequisite of courage, and of the experiences that determine our quality of life. Is it not courageous and vulnerable to say, I dont identify with the gender assigned to me? Is it not courageous and vulnerable to own our stories and practice shame resilience, to resist negotiating our worth or value for others?

For the purposes of this book, we have to examine cultural assumptions on sex, gender, sexuality, and other experiences of the human condition as shames favorite feeding ground. These unspoken, I thought it was just me mythologies of the inner world are where shame can take shape, morphing into perfectionism, people pleasing, improper boundaries, and inauthentic gender performances. With that in mind, let us not forget that shame can multiply affects those people who are discriminated against not just because of their sexuality, but because of their race, as they are exposed to overlapping systems of both gender discrimination and racial discrimination. Danny Brave explains, And so it oppresses trans people, queer people, people of color, and queer trans people of color disproportionately.

We will use astrology and its beautiful embodiment of universal spiritual values to detangle the knots in our hearts tied by shame, heteronormativity, racism, and patriarchal conditioning. Ive also encouraged my clients who were born into abusive and/or highly dysfunctional families to allow astrology to reparent them, and to see the sky as their home. Michelangelo wrote, I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set it free. You could liken your astrological inquiry to carving away the heavy marble within so your angel can take flight. Within you is a divinity ready and willing to take the skies. Takeoff starts now.

QUEER CONSTELLATIONS: HOW DOES ASTROLOGY WORK?

G iven astrologys esoteric origins, one of the most rightful criticisms of astrology is its inaccessible language and bewildering techniques. I take this critique very seriously, since I believe identities on the fringes are the ones who need to know astrologys alternative possibilities the most.

Astrology is built on accessibility, acceptance, and understanding for all. So long as you have a birthday, you have a seat at this table. You matter. You belong. Therefore, the teachings on astrology should meet every reader where they are, with accessibility and practical solutions that help all of us navigate our personal contexts with universal wisdom in service to success. Like this anonymous quote reminds us, If its inaccessible to the poor, it is neither radical nor revolutionary.