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Tag: ask a witch

  • Ask a Witch: I Like Him, but Long-Distance Scares Me—What Do I Do?

    Ask a Witch: I Like Him, but Long-Distance Scares Me—What Do I Do?

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    Ask a Witch is StyleCaster’s advice column offering sage advice and practical magic for modern problems. Every Friday, our resident witch Roya Backlund will answer your most vulnerable conundrums through the lens of astrology, Tarot, and spirituality. Submit questions to askawitch@stylecaster.com, along with your birth information—date, time, and location—as well as birth information for other parties involved, if you have it. Hex what vexes you: Ask a Witch.

    Dear Roya,

    I broke up with my boyfriend of two years about a month ago, because I started to realize I only had platonic feelings for him. I recently met a guy who also just got out of a two-year relationship, and we clicked in a way I’ve never felt with anyone. We have the same sense of humor, the same upbringing, and the same values and priorities in terms of family and independence.

    We met through a mutual friend who introduced us specifically because we’d both gotten out of long-term relationships and only wanted to have casual fun. So keeping things low-key was implied from the beginning. But over the past few weeks, we’ve had conversations about how we feel—and ultimately, both of us have caught feelings. We’ve talked about how our situation no longer feels like a “no strings attached” thing, and we’ve started going on dates and spending way more time together.

    Although we’ve both expressed our feelings for each other, neither of us wants anything serious right now. I’m attending college in Tallahassee and he lives in Miami, and long-distance isn’t something I’m ready for. Any advice on how to go about this and not get my heart broken?

    Sincerely,
    Cautiously Crushing

    Photo: Alexander Bemis. Design: Sasha Purdy/StyleCaster

    Dear Cautiously Crushing,

    Being a young college student will always be one of the busiest and most emotionally intense periods of your life. Yes, you’re officially an adult. But you’re also experiencing many adult things for the first time, such as moving away from home, having sex, going to bars, and of course, falling in love. And while all these big and overwhelming feelings are happening, you’re juggling schoolwork, internships, and day jobs. Any wise elder would advise you to keep it light during this time—to think of your college experience as a sampler of all that adulthood has to offer. Why make major commitments when you’re still trying to figure out what you even want to do with your life in the first place?

    But here’s the thing—you can’t avoid heartbreak without hurting yourself in the long run. To avoid heartbreak is to avoid living your life. Every time you set out to achieve your desires, you are taking a risk with your heart. Whenever you love something enough to become passionate about it, you’re putting yourself in a position to feel let down, disappointed, or worse—rejected. Does that mean you should board up your house, delete your contacts, and protect yourself from ever getting hurt? Hell no. When you’re 80-years-old and looking back on your life, you want lessons to share, wisdoms to impart, and stories to tell. You want to have lived a life that’s filled to the brim with trial, error, and the beauty of getting it right. You know who doesn’t have good stories to tell? People who have never had their heart broken.

    Upon looking at your birth chart, it makes immediate sense why you’re concerned about things getting “too serious” with your new and unexpected love interest. You were born with your rising sign in Gemini, a mutable air sign that craves the freedom to explore and the curiosity to keep their options open. With this placement, you could easily spend many years without being in a relationship and have the time of your life, especially during your college experience. (Learn more about your rising sign.)

    Being a Gemini rising means your birth chart is ruled by Mercury, planet of communication. And in your case, your natal Mercury is in Scorpio, a fixed water sign known for intense passion and a strong emotional desire to merge ideas and probe for deep-seated details. In other words, you’re a much deeper Gemini rising—someone who needs emotional chemistry in order to feel interested. Like it or not, you are someone who wants to get down to the nitty gritty and really get to know someone. But once you do get to know someone, it becomes so much harder to separate from them. And yet, you still want to plumb the depths of someone’s soul. Your natal Mercury in Scorpio is also sitting in conjunction with your South Node of Karma, which represents what you’re still carrying from your past lives. This makes you nostalgic, loyal, and someone who doesn’t easily forget. The past weighs heavy on you. And that’s one reason you’re pretty damn certain you don’t want to get too attached! You know what happens when you do. (Learn more about your Mercury sign.)

    Even though you’re still a super young adult, you’re no stranger to how painful heartbreak can be. You were born with your natal Venus—planet of love—in Virgo, situated in your fourth house of home and family. This makes you someone who really plants roots when you’re in love. You want to see them every day—not every few months because you live far away from each other. And because your natal Venus is in an exact square to your natal Pluto—planet of creation and destruction—it may feel as though there’s always a sharp object chafing against your sweet heart. Your natal Pluto is also sitting in your seventh house of partnership, emphasizing the impact this has on your love life. There’s always a fear of getting hurt lingering just around the corner of your relationships. And sometimes, that fear can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, especially if you’re more afraid of getting hurt than simply accepting the universal truth that nothing really lasts forever, not even a relationship with someone who lives across the street from you. Eventually, our bodies will part ways from each other, but our spirits remain intertwined for all eternity. (Learn more about the 12 houses of astrology.)

    All of this is to say heartbreak is not something you should fear, because it’s inevitable. It’s simply a part of life. Of course, you can—and should—learn from past mistakes so you don’t overlook red flags in the future and waste your heart on someone who doesn’t deserve it. But do you really want to say you didn’t fall in love during college when you had the chance? Even if it doesn’t work out between you two, does that mean you will have “hurt” each other? Contrary to popular belief, two people can come together, fall in love, and decide to part ways without betraying or disrespecting each other. Ask yourself—do you think this is the type of man who can go through a breakup without stooping to low blows?

    Regardless of your answer to that question, it’s understandable that you’re both so attracted to each other. He was born with his sun in Sagittarius, which is your seventh house of partnerships. This essentially means that he represents your vision of an ideal partner—someone who has all the qualities of that you’d want your future husband or “better half” to have. He was also born with his moon in Libra, which is your fifth house of love and pleasure. This indicates that there is a deep romantic connection between you and that being together makes life feel more exciting. He completely understands and relates to your idea of “fun.” However, that doesn’t mean keeping the spark alive will be easy. His natal Venus is also in your sixth house of service, which can be a sign that your relationship would also require a lot of work and maintenance. That doesn’t mean it’s not possible, but that it would require effort on both of your parts. (Learn more about your Venus sign.)

    Whether you want to or not, I do see you falling in love with someone, especially after your 20th birthday later this year. Your birthday—aka your “solar return”—is always a momentous occasion in astrology, as it can tell you all about how this next year will unfold. In your solar return chart, Venus will be in your seventh house of partnerships, forming a positive sextile to your natal Jupiter in your romantic fifth house. This indicates a major love story, but one that may be fleeting rather than lasting. After all, your solar return chart also has Venus in a tough square with your natal Uranus, which brings sudden changes, independence, and rebellious energy into the mix. Even if this relationship starts off hot and ends cold, it might be easier to sever ties from it than you think, thanks to this influence from unpredictable Uranus.

    Even if it does eventually end on a bitter note, the pain could inspire you to try things you never thought you could do. You see, heartbreak is important because of what it inspires us to do. Getting one’s heart broken is often the inception story for the greatest and most successful people in history. Let your heart get broken, because it means you cared about something. In order to achieve your dreams, you have to be the one who cares more than anyone else in the room. Give yourself permission to care, even if it means falling flat on your face. Because you will! Over and over again. But you will eventually pull yourself back up, becoming more ten times more powerful in the process.

    Dreamily,
    Roya

    About Roya

    Roya Backlund is StyleCaster’s Senior Lifestyle & Astrology Editor and a professional witch. Born in Los Angeles on May 26—the same day as Stevie Nicks—she’s been obsessed with the zodiac since she discovered she was a Gemini as a child. Her interest in mysteries and the occult began in the metaphysical section at her local Borders. If you’re a fan of astrology, spirituality, and witchcraft, you’ve probably read her horoscopes and lifestyle articles, which have appeared elsewhere in Elite Daily, PopSugar, Astrology.com, and more. Whether you want to delve deeper into your birth chart or interpret signs from your spirit guides, Roya’s got you covered.

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  • My Husband Is a Manipulative Addict—Why Do I Still Love Him?

    My Husband Is a Manipulative Addict—Why Do I Still Love Him?

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    My Husband Is an Addict & I Still Love Him: Advice Column

























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    Roya Backlund

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  • Ask a Witch: I’m Still Not Over My First Love From 30 Years Ago—Why?

    Ask a Witch: I’m Still Not Over My First Love From 30 Years Ago—Why?

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    Ask a Witch is StyleCaster’s advice column offering sage advice and practical magic for modern problems. Every Friday, our resident witch Roya Backlund will answer your most vulnerable conundrums through the lens of astrology, Tarot, and spirituality. Submit questions to askawitch@stylecaster.com, along with your birth information—date, time, and location—as well as birth information for other parties involved, if you have it. Hex what vexes you: Ask a Witch.

    Dear Roya,

    I’ve reached a breaking point in my life.

    I’m in my 50s and have always carried a torch for my first love. We fell in love in our 20s, and it ended when he left me. I think our relationship ended because he wanted kids and I didn’t. I had just started my career, and he got a job in a neighboring state, so we went our separate ways.

    We continued dating long-distance for a while, but he ended up meeting someone else. On paper, they seemed more compatible than we were, but in my opinion, he didn’t marry for love and regrets his decision. After him, I had another long-term relationship, but it never reached the same depth as my first love.

    30 years later, I was still thinking of him, so I decided to reach out to him online. To my delight, he confessed that he never forgot me and still loves me! However, he’s married, so we haven’t met up in person.

    The main obstacle to us being together isn’t his marriage, because he says he’s unhappy and would divorce his wife. He can’t move forward because his family has recently gone through a truly terrible tragedy, leaving him spiritually broken and consumed with anxiety and depression. It’s become impossible for him to make any changes in his life, even if he wants to.

    We’ve been talking online for a year, and I can’t seem to let him go. I cannot seem to feel the love I feel for him with anyone else. No one else even interests me or comes close to making me feel what he does.

    I feel so lost and hopeless, and everyone around me thinks I should just be able to move on, but I can’t. I’m certain—to the very core of my soul—that he’s is the person I was meant for. We’ve started referring to each other as “the love of my life” and naming each other as soulmates. In 30 years, we have never forgotten each other, but it also feels too complicated.

    Why can’t I get over my first love?

    Sincerely,
    Timeless Timing

    Photo: Alexander Bemis. Design: Sasha Purdy / StyleCaster

    Dear Timeless Timing,

    Oh boy. You have a heart that blocks out all reason, which makes life feel technicolor when you’re in love. How do I know this? Because I can relate. You and I are both Cancer risings, which makes us deep feelers, hopeless romantics, and incredibly private individuals. Cancer risings are sensitive to even the most imperceptible energies, which means we often feel what others cannot feel and see what others do not see. The truth is that being so porous to energetic vibrations can be an incredibly isolating experience. Anyone who has an ascendant in a water sign—Cancer, Scorpio, or Pisces—will always feel somewhat remote from the rest of the world. (Learn more about your rising sign or ascendant.)

    When you explain your situation to others, they probably don’t understand it. You were together 30 years ago—why is it so difficult to move on? Cancer risings can’t just “move on” from something—or someone—they loved with every fiber of their being. Like me, your fifth house of love and pleasure is ruled by Scorpio, the zodiac sign of passion, intensity, and emotional investment. This part of you that yearns for deep, transformational love is emphasized by the fact that your natal Venus, Mars, and Jupiter are in Scorpio, living in your romantic fifth house. You crave magical, exalting, and out-of-this-world love or nothing at all, which makes it hard to let go when you’ve found someone who actually makes you feel something. The timing may be off, but it doesn’t change how you feel about your first love.

    It’s not easy when your natal Venus is in Scorpio. In fact, Venus—planet of love—hates being in Scorpio. In Scorpio, Venus has to do a lot of work to feel loved, which means Venus in Scorpio people either have their hearts completely shut off or wide open, letting everything inside. There is no in-between. For you, love has been marked by effort, making it feel like it’s never been easy to satisfy the yearnings of your heart. Your birth chart also shows your Venus opposing your natal Saturn in Taurus. Because Saturn is the planet of karma and restriction, it has brought many delays to your love life. It’s no surprise that it’s taken 30 years for you to reconnect with your soulmate, and yet, the timing still feels off. (Learn more about your Venus sign.)

    When I look at your relationship synastry with your first love, I see that he looks up to you and feels emotionally validated by you. However, I can also see that he loves you in secret. Your first love has his Venus in Gemini, and it’s situated in your 12th house of unseen energies and self-undoing. This means you share an incredibly deep connection in which you know each other completely, but the rest of the world has no idea. Love affairs live and breathe in the 12th house, but it can be arduous for that love to remain pure in public when on display for other people’s judgment. (Learn more about the 12 houses of astrology.)

    Sometimes, people from our past get under our skin, and they’ll always remain with us. I can also see that you and your first love have a deep, unbreakable bond that will always be part of you. However, it will probably always hurt on some level. In your birth chart, Chiron—ruler of your deepest wounds and healing abilities—forms an exact conjunction with your first love’s natal Saturn. Because Saturn is the planet of boundaries and longevity, this binds you together forever. You feel a heavy responsibility to each other, as though you are supposed to be together. However, because Chiron is the planet of healing, it may always feel like you have a painful wound together that must be healed. Your first love is going through a major life tragedy, and your comfort and support is helping him through it. You will likely always be brought together by tragedies, showing up in each others’ lives during times of crisis.

    You’ve been reconnecting with your first love for the past year, and during that time, these lifelong relationship dilemmas have been reactivated. Jupiter—planet of abundance and expansion—has been moving through Taurus, opposing your Venus in Scorpio and increasing your desire for love. And right now, it’s approaching an exact conjunction to your natal Saturn in Taurus. Not only do these restrictions in your love life feel more prominent, but so do your desires. Your heart is yearning for your first love in a way that makes these obstacles seem completely pointless. It’s making you want to overcome all odds and find a way to be together, even if the facts point otherwise.

    The emotions you feel toward your first love are only getting stronger, and by late April, they are bound to reach a breaking point. Right now, Jupiter is careening toward a once-in-a-lifetime conjunction with Uranus—planet of revolution and sudden changes—which will be exact on April 20, 2024. This has the power to topple some of the structures that have held you back in your relationships, and while I don’t know how things will turn out for you and your first love, your perspective of the situation could change in some way within the next few months. And one thing is for sure—it’s teaching you a powerful lesson. (Read your 2024 horoscope for each zodiac sign.)

    Even though it feels like everything is standing in the way of what you want, astrology shows us that we are also engineers of our own problems. You can’t control the circumstances surrounding your first love, and the impossibility of your situation is increasing the passion and intensity. In a way, what’s holding you back from finding love is also what’s inspiring you to find it. Love is just as much an action as it is a feeling.

    As you continue to process this relationship, you may ask yourself a lot of questions. Should you be patient for the promise of love? Or do you need to be honest with yourself about what you’re willing to wait for and settle for? You have been given a link back to your first love, but you haven’t been given full access to him. It’s as if the door handle has been turned, but the door has not opened completely. And you’re still waiting to see if you’ll ever be able to fully enter his world. Is the passion leaking through that crack in the doorway enough to satiate you? Or are you simply choosing a form of love that feels familiar to you—a love that always feels held back?

    You were born on a full moon, Timeless. People who were born on a full moon have lives marked by intensity and inner conflict, as the moon (ruler of your inner self) and the sun (ruler of your outer self) are in exact opposition with each other. To further complicate things, the ruler of your birth chart is your Gemini moon in the 12th house of subconscious energies and self-undoing. You’re someone who feels comfortable with secrets—someone who is good at keeping their cards as close to the chest as possible and putting on a front in order to protect your sensitive nature. Chances are, what makes you happy will not always align with what other people think “happiness” should look like. You’re not someone who easily fits into conventional ideas of love, existence, and partnership. You are someone who’s used to sacrificing themselves for the sake of someone else—someone who is willing to give up being “seen” for the sake of being “loved.” (Learn more about your moon sign).

    Even though the people in your life are telling you to move on—that this isn’t good for you—only you understand what’s good for you. But the way your desires unfold may also keep you in a perpetual cycle of having to hide your true feelings. Maybe that works for you, and you need to make peace with the fact that not everyone will understand it. But if there’s a part of you that feels you need more than a love affair shrouded in secrets, the intensity of your relationship with your first love is simply bringing you to that realization.

    Over the next year, you’ll peel back more layers of this conundrum, and as you continue your soul-searching, more answers will follow. Jupiter enters Gemini on May 25, 2024, and on October 9, 2024, Jupiter will station retrograde at 21 degrees (the same degree as your moon in Gemini). This will reveal major truths about who you are, what you want, and what you need to heal until early 2025. Only time will tell how you decide to proceed with this love story, but instead of focusing all your heart on your first love, his tragedy, and helping him heal, remember that your needs matter too. Even though it has always felt like your options are limited—especially when it comes to love—you need to know that you have agency. As Jupiter blesses you with continued personal growth, it will become harder and harder for you to suppress your true needs for the sake of your wants. The more you evolve, the harder it becomes to fall into familiar patterns.

    This story’s ending is not necessarily about whether you and your first love will be together, but whether the paradoxical parts of yourself can find a way to align. All the obstacles standing in the way of you and your first love are also a reflection of your inner contradictions—the parts of you that can’t seem to agree with each other. In a way, this relationship is a manifestation of your own inner conflict and the way you’ve always kept parts of yourself a secret. As you continue to find common ground between your inner self and your outer self, you’ll be able to see your situation with your first love more clearly. And eventually, you’ll make a decision that’s right for you.

    Dreamily,
    Roya

    About Roya

    Roya Backlund is StyleCaster’s Senior Lifestyle & Astrology Editor and a professional witch. Born in Los Angeles on May 26—the same day as Stevie Nicks—she’s been obsessed with the zodiac since she discovered she was a Gemini as a child. Her interest in mysteries and the occult began in the metaphysical section at her local Borders. If you’re a fan of astrology, spirituality, and witchcraft, you’ve probably read her horoscopes and lifestyle articles, which have appeared elsewhere in Elite Daily, PopSugar, Astrology.com, and more. Whether you want to delve deeper into your birth chart or interpret signs from your spirit guides, Roya’s got you covered.

    Submit Your Own Question

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    Roya Backlund

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