Over the next six days Hyper Functional, Ultra Healthy explores the concept and practice of wellness through a series of artist-led workshops, guided meditations, talks and performances. Watch this space as we provide updates throughout the week including daily readings from Astrology for Artists, and a series of exclusive film shorts.
Sun, Venus, Pluto and Saturn in Capricorn
"As 2018 begins some major planetary bodies have now aligned in Capricorn. The Sun, Venus, Pluto and Saturn are now facing the breathtaking challenges that we are going to overcome during 2018. We are motivated to move mountains...oh yeah! But this long term Capricorn plan must start by shaping boundaries that will strengthen our creativity, and cultivate healing, self-care and care for others. This is a time when the self is deeply connected with the most pressing political questions of meaning and cultural capitalist value. We are interrogating the limits of subjectivity as we push and rethink the boundaries between us and the other - as body, as image, as human experience. We are in a once in a lifetime shift, with these four planets in Capricorn forming a very precise hard working horizon for the next three years."
Words by Madeleine Botet de Lacaze, Astrology For Artists.
Self Optimization
Somerset House Studios Artist Marija Bozinovska Jones will respond to INTELLECTUAL WELLNESS discussing ideas of self and its preservation in our technological age.
Resistance Training
Artist Phoebe Davis will respond to PHYSICAL WELLNESS leading a physical training session for Hyper Functional, Ultra Healthy with sports specialist Alex Bowmer exploring resistance and competitiveness through collaborative movement, team / pack mentalities and collective strength.
"With Pluto (ruler of Scorpio) in Capricorn there is a urgency to disrupt structures of oppression and to rethink hierarchies."
Today's horoscope reading by Madeleine Botet de Lacaze, Astrology For Artists.
Moon, Mars and Jupiter in Scorpio
"The Moon changes to the sign of Scorpio today - launching an investigation into our body’s resilience and survival instinct - joining Mars and Jupiter who are already deep into Scorpio territory. Mars in Scorpio wants physical endurance and competitiveness while Jupiter in Scorpio wants to go beyond superficial teaching or political spin. Today with the Moon, Mars and Jupiter in this sign we want to face and feel the raw truth. With Pluto (ruler of Scorpio) in Capricorn there is a urgency to disrupt structures of oppression and to rethink hierarchies . Consider the Scorpion, a creature that generates plenty of fear. There are 1300 species and many can survive for months without eating. They are nocturnal and seek dark, isolated places in which to live. The secretive sign of Scorpio has an enormous strength - emotional and physiological - a huge capacity for self control, will power and stamina."
GRWM: i wish i was a ghost! a narrator! a disembodied voice!
This evening Zarina Muhammed responds to SOCIAL WELLNESS with an intimate new public reading that explores the gap between the conscious self and the physical body via the phenomenon of the youtube beauty vlogger.
"Yesterday i was making dinner and grating that rly weird plasticy vegan cheese n it was rly quite laborious so i wasn’t paying a attention; so i grated a bit off the top of my finger, right above the nail. it like sliced off a whole bit of my actual finger. it was truly so so gross; n i didn’t expect to but all of a sudden i fainted bc i saw my own blood seeping to the surface. bc i’d cut so deep that it went all the way down beyond the skin to like the white flesh underneath. i’ve never seen under my skin. i didn’t know my flesh under it looked like that and i literally couldn’t handle what i saw, MY flesh, MY body;;;;;"
Uranus last degrees in Aries
Today's horoscope reading by Madeleine Botet de Lacaze, Astrology For Artists.
Breaking down to break through. A week ago Uranus began moving direct - and now is travelling forwards through the last few degrees of Aries before entering Taurus in May. Uranus has been activating our urge for liberation and individuation, through change and unexpected personal and global disruption. Uranus rules new inventions, especially in technology and yes - the digital revolution has been major. Social media, YouTube, selfies - the pioneering individualistic spirit of Uranus in Aries and the public’s hunger for extraordinary heroes has been happening in the digital world. This is our very last chance to integrate Uranus’ radical lessons learned during the last seven years of complete upheaval - as Uranus will not be in Aries again for the next 84 years!
Breathe Imperative
Artist collective Bad Vibes Club will respond to OCCUPATIONAL WELLNESS presenting a guided meditation for the contemporary workplace, taking you from exhaustion to exuberance and beyond.
Seething resentment; imposter syndrome; work-life balance; discrimination; office politics; Slack channel bitching; rotten food in the fridge; coffee grounds in the staff room sink; micro-management; glass ceilings; cubicle farms; open plans and hot desks.
And breathe....
Mercury enters Capricorn
A horoscope reading by Madeleine Botet de Lacaze, Astrology For Artists.
"Today Mercury - the planet that rules communication - moves into ambitious and solid Capricorn making it five planets in this earthy sign; this won’t happen again for at least 250 years! Mercury has been adventuring in Sagittarius - where our thinking and discourse were philosophical, idealistic, in search of meaning and new visions. But today our thinking changes - it becomes sharp and goal-orientated, career-driven and starts planning to make things real. Our mental power is strong as Mercury pushes us to achieve. Our mind focuses and our thought patterns become logical, practical, methodical and well organised. This is a great time to start thinking about the professional seeds for the New Moon in Capricorn on the 16th of January. We need to be careful of becoming too rigid or narrow minded in our thinking; it’s important to keep the mind resilient, flexible and moving. Some meditation would be ideal..."
inner u
sara sassanelli, ben bishop and will coldwell bring inner u to Somerset House to respond to EMOTIONAL WELLNESS exploring the idea of nightlife as a form of emotional self care, by creating an environment in which dance is transcendental and music is hypnosis.
Moon in Sagittarius
Horoscope reading by Madeleine Botet de Lacaze, Astrology For Artists.
Today the Moon enters into the expansive, adventurous and optimistic sign of Sagittarius. With most of the planets now in more grounded Capricorn this Moon arrives for us to have fun, laugh and be extroverted. Sagittarius is a Fire sign - emphasising the passionate, idealistic and creative dimensions of life.
Because the Moon describes our natural and instinctive responses to things - and where you feel at home - we are likely to feel most comfortable roaming free, exploring our world and expanding new horizons wherever possible. This Moon in Sagittarius wants us to express our emotions with freedom, nurture our beliefs and philosophies with passion and inspire positive energy with love!
MERCURY CONJUNCT SATURN
Horoscope reading by Madeleine Botet de Lacaze, Astrology For Artists.
"Today as Mercury gets closest to Saturn I want to write about the strength and importance of our voices and our collective dialogue. Our creative and political voices. Our healing and spiritual voices. Astrology is a bridge that connects the stars with the Earth and our voices express and communicate this inner magic. This sacred dance between the movement of the planets is showing us a path and we walk this path in different rhythms, each to their own time, searching for different things. Each voice is unique and needs to be heard. We should listen to each other and embrace this diversity of voices because the dialogue can shape and embody the change we are facing. And in today’s socio-political climate this is a serious matter. We need to incarnate our voices and make them heard."
On the final day of Hyper Functional, Ultra Healthy Madeleine Botet de Lacaze (Astrology for Artists) will be facilitating a workshop focusing on our creative voice as support, as a vital force, as a shared moment, as an act to build a different reality. And later this evening astrologer Chani Nicholas will be in conversation with artist Linda Stupart.
