Waymaking the Transits Cohort: mars retrograde in cancer edition.
a guidebook + container for magical thinkers and the Story-obsessed.
mars retrograde in cancer is one of the most dreaded transits of 2025.
put mars in an uncomfortable place (the sign of his fall) and make him go backwards (retrograde)?? oof. to be honest, it’s not looking great on paper.
but if you’re anything like me, you just don’t have the energy to dread it anymore. and you certainly don’t have the bandwidth for a workshop or lecture that teaches you how to mitigate or work with this transit.
that’s why for the first time ever, i’m sharing my own personal process for dealing with bad astroweather: Waymaking the Transits.
i’m increasingly convinced that astrology is best used as a way to be with problems rather than solve them.
not everything needs to be about sElF dEvElOpMeNt and growth. sometimes we just need a buffer to be with the hard stuff.
this mars retrograde in cancer, you’re invited to an experiment in making fiction, not sense.
instead of breaking down every single astrological aspect of this mars retrograde in cancer, we’re going to tell stories about it. we’re going to make those stories as hypersubjective as possible. we’re going to fictionalize our astrological understandings to help us be with the transit, rather than try to make sense of it.
you may have heard of Waymaking in reference to my 12th house work. what you may not know is that Waymaking can be centered on anything in the chart, not just the 12th house.
Waymaking is about laying down delineations on the imaginal altar, and asking them to appear before us in the form of Story. Waymaking uses the good bones of astrological technique as building blocks for imaginal doorways: we step through the astrology into a Story that is alive and breathing.
you don’t have to “make up” this Story because it’s already there. Waymaking is not about animating astrological symbols the way a child plays pretend with dolls, and it is not a “choose your own adventure” game or exercise. instead, Waymaking contends that:
the adventure has already chosen you;
we go to meet it.
Waymaking is about meeting the Story inside your chart: your planets are characters with unique roles and motivations, and your houses are unique settings and backdrops. this Story is unfolding in real time, running parallel to your life. every single transit is a chapter or arc in your personal Story.
discovering this adventure-that-has-chosen-you is like reading the perfect novel at the perfect time, where the protagonist faces challenges that feel parallel to your own. by reading about their courage, you feel a little more brave in your own life. by reading about their trials, you feel less alone in yours. and by being immersed in the synchronicity of the experience, you feel reconnected to the awe and wonder of living in an enchanted world.
the Story in your chart is always the perfect Story for you to read.
Waymaking naturally puts us in a posture of curious observation. it’s hard to catastrophize about a transit when your mind is in this open posture because in a story, anything is possible. instead, we want to know what happens next—not because we’re worried or stressed, but because the Story itself is a page turner.
what if you could watch your personal mars retrograde Story arc like a movie?
what if instead of bracing for impact, you were genuinely curious to see the next plot twist?
what if fictionalizing your transits could help you be with the problems without overthinking or catastrophizing about them?
what if you had a support group of fellow magical-thinkers committed to letting Story lead?
that’s exactly what we’re doing in this Waymaking the Transits Cohort: Mars Rx in Cancer Edition.
how it works:
THE COHORT:
from january 8 to may 2, we’ll gather in this experimental container to see where our Stories lead us. here’s what’s included:
the guidebook: the spine of this container, the Waymaking Mars Rx in Cancer Guidebook is a 40-page pdf that helps you shift from delineation to Storytelling with instructions and prompts to help you stay with your Story.
the talk-throughs: for the audio/visual learners out there, it’s everything that’s in the guidebook but in casual listenable and watchable form. includes bonus examples and anecdotes.
the discord: if the guidebook is the spine of this container, the discord is its heart. part support group and part talking shop, we’ll gather to discuss prompts, bounce ideas off each other, and bear witness to each other’s Stories.
this is not a conventional workshop or class. while you’re likely to learn something while you’re here, i will not be standing at the proverbial podium lecturing while you sit below me at a desk. instead, picture the coziest living room:
there is a fire on the hearth casting a warm glow on your skin. you are seated on a well-loved chair that has retained its perfect combination of firmness and yield, and it is angled as all other seating is: toward the center, where everyone’s voices mingle as the fire crackles behind. i take a seat beside you, offering you a hot beverage—you discover it’s your favorite as you inhale deeply. “so, what did you find today?” i ask, sipping from my own mug. you share your experience, ask questions, and we naturally fall into a reciprocal rhythm as others chime in on the conversation.
i will act as facilitator and participant in this container, meeting you in the vulnerability of sharing our Stories. while i have a lot of experience facilitating the Waymaking process, i do not have more experience of being a human being than anyone else. i will be doing the exercises in the guidebook, responding to prompts in the discord, and being with the transit together with you.
your group participation level is totally up to you. there’s no schedule and no homework here, just fellowship to the degree that feels good to you. this is an experimental and not-formal gathering designed to help us feel less alone in the moments where our Stories get rough.
signups end february 4.
THE GUIDEBOOK:
not sure if the group thing is for you? you can get the Waymaking Mars Rx in Cancer Guidebook on its own. if you change your mind and decide you’d like the support of the talk-throughs and community, you’re welcome to join the Cohort later with the price of the Guidebook deducted.
who is this for?
an intermediate level of astrology experience is recommended for this guidebook and cohort. if you’re confident in your understanding of planets, signs, houses, aspects, and planetary rulership, you’ll be good! this project is also for:
magical thinkers, chaos magicians, animists, jungians, meaning makers
storytellings, yearners, romantics, creatives, poets, artists
folks who love an immersive, exploratory experience
the intellectually exhausted who want to feel something instead of analyzing all the time
book nerds, movie nerds, story nerds
the folks whose favorite protagonists from teen years still live in their hearts as companions
those who are willing to go into the unknown and bear witness to whatever they find
who is this not for?
if you’re new to astrology or would describe yourself as a beginner, this may not be the guidebook or container for you. if you feel okay with planets and signs but struggle with things like houses, planetary rulership or putting it all together, the Empty Houses Guidebook is a great support to help you enjoy this project! this project is not a good fit for:
those who insist astrology is a science and we must follow every rule about it
folks who think fantasy and fiction are silly, immature, or unintellectual
those who believe beyond all doubt they are doomed by unfavorable placements or transits
those who want to be given the answers without having to go out looking for them
those who would rather stay safely uncomfortable than risk relief by going a new way
pricing and availability:
the Waymaking the Transits Cohort is priced on a no questions asked sliding scale.
please pay what you can comfortably and honestly support:
SUPPORTIVE TIER: $90. the Cohort is automatically priced at the Supportive Tier.
NORMAL TIER: $80. use the code NORMAL10 to pay this price.
SUPPORTED TIER: $70. use the code SUPPORTED20 to pay this price.
a 2-month payment plan is available for all tiers: ex: if you use the code SUPPORTED20 plus the payment plan, you will pay $35/month for two months.
the Waymaking the Transits Guidebook is $25. if you change your mind and decide you’d like the support of the talk-throughs and community, you’re welcome to join the Cohort later with the price of the Guidebook deducted.
your world is already enchanted. everything you speak is a spell. your Story is alive and breathing, waiting to meet you. it’s time. are you ready?