medusa

Aries: Kuebiko- A state of exhaustion inspired by acts of senseless violence.

Taurus: Mauerbauertraurigkeit- The inexplicable urge to push people away, even close friends who you really like.

Gemini: Onism- The frustration of being struck in just one body, that inhabits only one place at a time.

Cancer: Sonder- The realization that each passer-by has a life as vivid &’ complex as your own.

Leo: Hanker Sore- Finding a person so attractive it actually kinda pisses you off.

Virgo: Jouska- A hypothetical conversation that you compulsively play out in your head.

Libra: Adronitis- Frustration with how long it takes to get to know someone.

Scorpio: Exulansis- The tendency to give up trying to talk about an experience because people are unable to relate to it.

Sagittarius: Rückkehrunruhe- The feeling of returning home after an immersive trip only to find it fading rapidly from your awareness.

Capricorn: Opia- The ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eye, which can feel simultaneously invasive &’ vulnerable.

Aquarius: Monachopsis- The subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place.

Beyoncé arriving at her office building in NYC (Oct. 5) 

I am the cold whisper of wind in the deep of night, the breeze that rustles the leaves overhead and makes you shiver. I am each pinprick of glittering light on the black velvet sky in the dead of night, a distant watcher you can’t possibly know. I am the poison lying dormant in the benign wildflower and the snake hiding beneath it. I am the silent danger in a deserted alley that tightens your gut and makes your vision narrow because you know you shouldn’t go down there. I am the tightening in your chest when you stand on the edge of a cliff and look down at the water glinting far below, the urge to jump just to see what will happen.

I am the stony front standing before a warm home, the kindness never shown but to those who have proven their worth to me. I am the loyalty to a few and the ferocity of an entire army. I am the line never to be crossed, because the consequences are rarely worth it. I am the risk you take because the pros outweigh the cons, the plan formulated so long ago that the enemy realizes only when they fall that they’ve been nothing more but pawns on a chessboard the entire time. I am the knowledge kept to yourself because you would never relinquish your advantage to make the circumstances fair, the wisdom to know when is the time to be brave and when is the time to lay low and watch how things play out. I am the half-truth that works so much better than the lies, and the truths told as lies so that they will never be believed.

I am the winter morning and midnight in spring, the burn of firewhiskey and the crackling of the dying fire. I am the embers that fly into the air when a log breaks and falls, landing in the grass with the potential to grow into a wildfire. I am the blood in your veins and the one that turns it to ice in the face of fear. I am the goal that others tell you is too high to reach and yet you fight for it all the same. I am the drive that runs you into the ground, drenched in sweat and breathing hard, and the drive that picks you up and sets you back on your feet and points you straight ahead again.

I am the serpent. I am cunning, I am resourceful, I am ambitious. I am danger and a sharp tongue. A careful heart and a warm hand. I am wise courage and quiet genius, selective loyalty and venomous pride.