Aries 4° (March 24)

Very strange night of sleep. Had this one dream where we were outside during a kind of picnic. Was more like the back field in Harwichport. Suddenly the sky went dark and there was a massive hail storm. And these people on skis begin to fly by, like ski jumpers caught be the strong wind but not unlike the wicked witch flying by. One of the ski jumpers flew around in a semi circle so we had to look in the opposite direction as she landed which she did with grace. She was this tall dark haired beauty in a black long gown the bodice of which created a criss cross and she had a white shirt under it. She had the look and power of a lovely raven haired goddess. It was very cool, as the hail still blew all around the sky, like a March sky, was at once dark and stormy and sunny and bright. I was awake for quite a while in the night which is no longer a surprise. I’m not sure why I had such a dream of beauty. The night before I had close encounters with two deceased friends which left me feeling very disturbed indeed. This is the new day one and of course it entailed getting yet another case of delivery. No matter. I am not swayed today. I am an even one-eighty which is a good metaphor for where my directionality is coming from. We have two regular clients today for whom I am very grateful. Someone asked about the festival and I responded: 

It is not easy with Ptown I hear you. We won’t know until May really who gets to perform where if at all. Right now Art House is trying to stay afloat and only some artists are indeed willing to perform on season (many aren’t) and they are looking to optimize in an environment of reduced capacity etc. If performances can happen at all Art House may still want to push Afterglow into the Fall and try to keep making as much bank through September as they can. So the simple answer is we have no idea LOL. We are acting “as if” keeping expectations low! Miss you and hopefully we can see our full vaccinated selves in the flesh once again.

On that note I will write a few sentences. Dear Friends. If you are receiving this email you are valued advisor, sponsor, artist (or all of the above!) and a valued member of our Afterglow Festival family. Last year at this time we were in a state of shock and confusion and denial about our 2020 season which was to be our tenth annual, hopeful and operating “as if” all would be safe come September for presentation at Provincetown’s Art House, who was going ahead full steam with their summer season. Until they weren’t. Within weeks, it was clear there would be no indoor performances for any venue, and Afterglow immediately pivoted its focus from performance festival to provider of artist-relief funds.

Although we raised just a fraction of our usual yearly financial support, we nonetheless channeled money immediately into the pockets of a dozen performers, commissioning them to create new works which could hopefully be presented at a later date, while helping them make ends meet and keep their artistic flames alight. Our efforts were immediately cited as inspiration for larger non-profit partners in New York and New England and we have consulted these institutions on how to successfully pivot as well so to become an agent of much needed aid for artists, who have been most in danger of being lost in the financial fallout resulting from the pandemic. As paradox goes, this past year has been among the most rewarding years for Afterglow to date; and we could not have made even the slightest difference without the combined moral and financial support of you now reading this.

As we have witnessed a change in political climate, and the rollout of vaccines is well underway, like many non-profit arts enterprises, we still face confusion and uncertainty, and yet we are preparing for any combination of outcomes. To be specific, most Provincetown venues are planning to operate at half-mast this coming season, but nobody will really now the score for summer until May when the powers that be fully weigh in. Many top name performers who typically appear in summer have declined to do so, and for-profit venues are trying to draw top talents while facing limits on audience numbers. Our own host venue will likely extend their season, which, should there be an Afterglow in 2021, would push us further into the Fall, which is fine. But again, with so many variables and state and municipal decisions still months away, nobody has a definitive crystal ball. 

We are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to present a program of artists and put on an Afterglow Festival in celebration of our tenth anniversary. Failing that, we are poised once again to function as a purveyor of artist-relief funds and to commission artists continuing to help them stay afloat until we reach more promised shores. As you might imagine, we already have a waiting list of artists who raised their hands for aid last year and we are preparing collateral for outreach to new and veteran, emerging and experimenting artists whom Afterglow has always sought to foster.

I am now in my seventh year of writing this Blague. Year six, I went through the first five years, and excerpted from five Blagues per day, as a way of taking inventory of what came before. If there are any blocks of text following this paragraph that would be from the corresponding day last, the sixth, year.

To view the original Sabian Symbol themed 2015 Cosmic Blague corresponding to this day: Flashback! The degree point of the Sabian Symbol may at times be one degree higher than the one listed here. The Blague portrays the starting degree of for this day ( 0°,  for instance), as I typically post in the morning, while the Sabian number corresponds to the end point (1°) of that same 0°-1° period. 

Typos happen. I don’t have a proofreader. And I like to just write, post and go! Copyright 2021 Wheel Atelier Inc. All Rights Reserved. Get your HAUTE ASTROLOGY 2021 Weekly Horoscope ebooks by Starsky + Cox.