Astrologer's Being Burned
...As Mars gets brighter and Venus/Mercury return to the sky, some glaring issues are starting show
Thank the gods, burnings in 2024 aren’t as literal as they once were, but in many ways, they can be seen to run parallel. As anyone interested in astrology knows, it’s a touchy subject to bring up around…well…most people. Even though we see it gaining in popularity within this little Renaissance we are having, there is far from a universal consensus on the ancient practice being legit by any means. Having been an astrologer for 16 years now, I’ve experienced the entire spectrum of judgments and harassment for my chosen occupation. But what I’ve experienced over the past year is unprecedented.
It all started with Mailchimp. A somewhat useful—but mainly expensive and superfluous—newsletter provider, sent me an email saying I could no longer use their platform because of both my occupation and my mention of Bitcoin in lots of the content. Ok. They are a private company and they can have their own rules, so I gladly left and then swiftly landed here on Substack. No big deal. A huge upgrade in my opinion. I’ve come to love Substack and I appreciate all your support on here…which leads me to chapter 2 of this dystopian story: Stripe.
If you choose to monetize your Substack, the only option you have is Stripe. So I signed up for an account. It’s worked smoothly for my entire first year of being on Substack until it didn’t. I was notified last week that my account would be shut down because I had breached their terms of service. It read identically to the one Mailchimp had sent me. A comprehensive list of Restricted Businesses and unique Acceptable Use Policies were laid out. And there you can see, astrology nestled right in between gun sales, sex work, and illicit finance like crypto scams. Unreal, I know. It thus opened up a fierce back-and-forth via email where I got nowhere, and then I finally—magically—got someone on the phone. They were able to help lift the restriction on my account, but still. Reason #117 of WHY BITCOIN!?
I still love Substack, but I’m clearly not a fan of Stripe. So if you’d like to support my work, the best option remains on Patreon. Not only will you have easier access to all my material, but you get so much more as well. It’s already hard enough to make a living doing astrology, but with the financial rails potentially getting shut down, what will we do? Maybe I’m being hyperbolic here, but I don’t think so. It’s happening. I suppose we will have to settle for our handy dandy, state-sanctioned, AI-astrologers to work with. Tragic.
I chose to share this story because it’s coming for all of us. It will begin slowly like it already has, and then it will be all at once. Beware of CBDC’s! Beware of those who don’t trust Bitcoin! With Mars now on his steady march into the evening sky along with the others, his brightness and proximity will correlate strongly with the election vibes, but also on these stories related to unfair censorship and blacklisting those who are involved in subjects deemed unholy by the state—or corporation (same same). To think it won’t happen to us is naive. It’s literally happening over here. I’ve heard numerous other similar stories as well. Make plan. We must protect our information, our money, and our minds. As long as we have platforms to freely share our thoughts, I’m optimistic. May it stay this way…and improve, even.
*ps. If anyone has any similar stories, I’d love to hear them in the comments below
-adam
For those of you who either missed my lecture series for the Astrology Hub last year on the Astrology of Bitcoin or are simply experiencing some intense FOMO at the moment, I have made the class available on my new site. You can also get it for free by becoming a Patron of my work:
If you missed my latest pod with Ray Grasse where we talked about his new book of essays and riffed like two Virgo rising Geminis do, you can have a listen HERE:
Deep Astrological Questions with Ray Grasse
·
MAY 30
I still have 1 slot left for 1 curious person to learn more about themselves with Mercury and myself as guides. There has never been a better time to embark than right now. It’s just begun. Click him to learn more:
The Sun Dasha class is now available for download. Teaching the Vimshottari technique has also become one of my favorite things these days. Sharing this tech has been something I’ve been dreaming up for years:
My latest piece of writing about this lunar cycle:
The Gemini Solution
·
JUN 6
I’ve also got a couple of slots to take on students one-on-one; if you are interested, you can learn more about the Apprenticeship HERE; You can also just watch the classes and learn. Certification isn’t required, though it is an option:
You can also join future classes by supporting my work in becoming a Patron HERE:
If you’d like to work with me, use PROMO CODE: FRIEND to get 25% off a single session:
Recent writings:
Magical Thinking
MAY 16
.: Mountain of the Moon :.
MAY 9
Recent Podcasts:
Constellating Cosmos: an introduction
APR 25
IMushrooms with Jonathan Fredette
MAR 28
Hey Adam sorry to hear this!
I stopped charging 4 subscriptions on my substack, instead people pay me directly with zaprite https://zaprite.com/ a bitcoin/lighting fiat company and I offer services in a different way that sustain my writing and other offerings- I also don’t define my articles under one name…
Have you tried nostr?
There is a whole other world using open source as a way to communicate
Be well
M -
Seems they may have reinstated you?