ro's reveries ~ July '24
5 things I'm reading, watching, listening to this summer
How has your summer been darlings?
After a few months of traveling and working remotely, my travels unexpectedly crash landed me at my parents’ house in Toledo, OH. My summer has been slow, quiet, and pleasantly enjoyed outdside to the tune of birdsong and slow breezes.
This season has given me the luxury of time - to rest, to read, to get lost in thinking art. Here are a few pieces that have stood out from the rest:
Mysteries of the Dark Moon
A no-nonsense, beginner-friendly breakdown of the Dark Goddess
I’m endlessly fascinated by our historical relationship to natural phenomena, in this case our relationship to the moon.1 This text expertly weaves history, anthropology, science, spirituality and an examination of the Dark Goddess in our psyche.
It inspired this Somatic Yin Yoga class I’ll be hosting this Thursday August 1st at Alchemystic Studio. $15 drop in, use code UNITY for QTBIPOC. Sign up here.
Medea the Cunning Sorcerres
Looking more closely at the myth of Medea, the infamous murderess witch
I’ve been indulging in a lot of fiction this summer, taking advantage of the proximity to the local library I grew up with 🥹 So cute. The enduring genres I've gravitated towards my whole life are feminist witchy romance and subversive retellings of myths. Medea is a text that sits squarely in this intersection so I ate it up.
Greek sorcerress Medea is infamous for killing her ex-husband’s new bride and her own children for revenge. Who was Medea? Why did she make these choices? This epic retelling puts us in Medea’s psyche, we see what she sees, we feel what she feels. Medea means cunning, or pondering. She’s weird, introverted, sharp, but she’s driven by her ocean-like heart. Her story as told by Eilish Quinn is epic and un-put-downable.
Honorable Mention: Witch of Wild Things (this one is both easy breezy and deep, with characters doing complex ancestral healing work together as they fall in love. it’s wild, fantastical, utterly charming).
Hacks
A self-aware and provocative comedy on HBO
Written and produced by Broad City writers, On the surface it’s a comedy about a pair of crass female comics begrudgingly collaborating; one washed up, one up-and-coming. But it’s so much deeper than that.
Hacks is about women’s ambition, creative chemistry, the role of comedy in reflecting our political context, the crone and the maiden learning from each other. This season as Deborah vies for Late Night, we get an inside look at the politics of how culture is made.
It’s won a bunch of Emmys and the third season continues its streak of excellence with charming sincerity. The stakes are higher, the lessons deeper, hilarious as ever. Watch on HBO MAX.
Where do We Go Now
Lebanese Tragic Comedy
I watched this film on a flight and it’s earned a spot on favorites of all time. A group of Lebanese women creatively and comically try to ease tensions between the Muslim and Christian men of their community. You can rent on Youtube or Amazon.
Serving Cunt is an Act of Somatic Healing
My favorite thing I read on Substack this summer was written by
. Her substack essays are delectable, and so is her digital recipe book for feeding your menstrual cycle.
I’d love to hear what you’ve been listening, watching, reading this summer. What should I should add to my list?
If you’re curious about Mad Liberation, last week’s issue is a must read:
