✨AQUARIUS SZN✨

Aquarius szn kicked off on Saturday and will run until February 19! Ruled by Uranus, this air sign is unique. As a forward thinking innovators, those who are marked by Aquarius are visionaries. Let us commemorate this sign by shouting out some creators and gifts.

INNOVATIVE INTELLECTUALS: AQUARIUS AUTHORS

This sign claims dominion over the following notable authors: Lord Byron, Kate Chopin, Colette, Langston Hughes, Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, Gertrude Stein, Edith Wharton, Virginia Woolf, and more.

Below you’ll find some information about Julia Prinsep Stephen and Miranda July — two women’s whose dedication to their work is commendable.

Julia Prinsep Stephen - February 7, 1846:

Julia Stephen is remembered as the wife of Leslie Stephen, and mother of six children, including writer Virginia Woolf and painter Vanessa Bell. Julia died at the age of 49 and her premature death was a huge loss for her family. For the entirety of her life, Woolf would draw inspiration from her mother. In fact, Mrs. Ramsey embodies many of Julia’s characteristics in To The Lighthouse.* But, Julia was more than just a mother and wife. She was also a model, writer, and philanthropist.

Born to an Anglo-Indian family in Calcutta, Julia’s parents were well-connected and interested in the arts. The family moved to England when Julia was two years old. She spent a lot of time at the “bohemian” Little Holland House, a salon run by her aunt Sarah Prinsep. This home was a beacon of arts and culture where Julia met many writers and painters. Known for her charm and beauty, Julia was photographed over fifty times by her other aunt, Julia Margaret Cameron. In addition, Julia was a prominent Pre-Raphaelite model. She was drawn, painted, and sculpted by artists such as George Frederic Watts, Frederick Leighton, Edward Burne-Jones, William Holman Hunt, and Baron Carlo Marochetti.

A certified baddie, or as bad as you could be in the Victorian era, Julia received two marriage proposals at the age of 18 from Hunt and the sculptor, Thomas Woolner. She turned them both down. Her final husband Stephen would gossip that Hunt only married Edith Waugh (his second wife) because she looked like Julia! She was known for her height (5’6) and her large hands (lol) which were described as having "the lovely filbert nails which are the pride of many."

At the age of 21, she wed Herbert Duckworth. They had a happy, loving marriage with three children.** Unfortunately, tragedy struck when Duckworth died at the age of 37. They couple had only been married for three years. Devastated by this loss, Julia would later tell Stephen she had felt as if she was drowning: “I was only 24 when it all seemed a shipwreck, and I knew that I had to live on and on ... And so I got deadened.”

She turned away from religion and devoted herself to caring for the sick. It is around this time she begins studying Stephen’s agnostic writings and developing a friendship with him. He was also mourning the loss of his first wife who had died in childbirth. As their friendship progressed, he fell in love with her and proposed marriage. She declined, but would changer her mind in a few short months.

Even while married to Stephen, and raising the many children between them, Stephen continued to model and nurse. She spent a lot of her time travelling across London to care for the ailing. In addition, she took care of the sick members of her family including her mother, her uncle, and her husband who was prone to depressive episodes. She transferred her experiences on illness and health care into a collection of writing called: Notes from Sick Rooms. She also wrote a series of children’s stories and essays on miscellaneous topics that can be found here.

Miranda July - February 15, 1974:

Director, screenwriter, performance artist, actress, author! What can’t she do?! As Miranda July is the most contemporary figure I have ever featured, we’re going to do some rapid fire bullet points on what I find to be most interesting about her:

• Born Miranda Jennifer Grossinger, she began using the name July at the age of 15. She then, in her 20s, legally changed her name as a feminist act.

• At the age of SIXTEEN she wrote and directed a play called the The Lifers.

• While procrastinating on a screenplay, she began to read LA’s classified ads. She decided to meet these people. Her encounters with these strangers are the topic of the book It Chooses You.

• She’s good friends with Sheila Heti and Lena Dunham.

• On writing:

  • She said about her first draft: “It was just such bad writing but the amazing thing was, after that was done, I had a book. Then I was just re-writing from there – and that, I loved. To me, it was like editing a movie but with the endless ability to re-shoot scenes for free. I love editing. That’s my favorite part of making a movie.” (Guardian)

  • This, in regards to a different project, made me lol: “I wrote it at the kitchen table, or in my old bed with its thrift-store sheets. Or, as anyone who has tried to write anything recently knows, these are the places where I set the stage for writing but instead looked things up online.” (The New Yorker)

Her sophomore novel, with a publication date of May 14, is about a 45-year-old mother and wife who is looking for freedom in a motel. The novel is called All Fours.

THE ULTIMATE AQUARIUS WISHLIST

Look to the below wishlist as an ideal gift(s) for the interstellar, galactic Aqua in your life.

• There’s something very spacey about this sign. As such here are a few otherworldly items that would tickle an aqua’s fancy:

  • Ottolinger’s Twisted Sunglasses in an icy blue hue

  • Extra-long, metallic quilted oven mitts

  • Gold cloqué jacket with faux-pearl accents

  • A sculpture by Grotto Piece made of recycled aluminium

  • A cauliflower candle made by an Italian company that has been producing candles in Bari since 1840!

  • A ring, the XL Pink Neapolitan or Lavender Ring, by Seb Brown

  • Handmade in London out of recycled 925 silver, the Starr Hoops by Louise Konrad are cool and rugged.

• A travel friendly device that allows them to type their manifesto sans wifi! (Unfortunately, the Ghost version sold out so we must all contend with the other options. Don’t worry, I’ve emailed to see if they’ll restock it.)***

• In the last few months, there has been some discourse on how The Row’s Margaux bag is the next Birkin. A big, bold statement to get the content creators all riled up! And, though I can’t make a case for this claim, the bag has grown on me. I’d prefer a velvet iteration, but I’m sure the Aqua in your life will be partial to the sleek black.

• As a sign that is future-thinking and technologically inclined, might I suggest the 1992 novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson? This novel first presented the metaverse. (It is also on my tbr.)

• I’ve tested almost every flavor of Kin Euophorics. The packaging is cute, the marketing fun, and the flavors? Well, they certainly are something. From what I’ve tried, Actual Sunshine is my favorite. Despite the mixture of pineapple, lemon ginger, saffron, turmeric, a slight touch of caffeine, and more… It just taste like pineapple juice and who doesn’t love that?

• Finally, a fountain pen! The Sailor Pro Gear Slim Shikiori in Harusame (Spring Rain) is v Aquarius imo. It also comes with a 21K gold bi-color nib and we just love to see that.

*Not monetized
**Leslie Stephen, after the death of Julia, would look through her letters to Duckworth, and felt sad because Julia probably loved her first husband more than him. Stephen really loved Julia. He said she had replaced the Blessed Virgin for him.
***Just before hitting send, I checked my email and received word - there are no plans to restock but if they did it would be eoy. So, I’d suggest pencilling in a reminder to check their site around 11/1 in your notebook/agenda/diary/journal/etc.