When Viola Davis, sculpted and strengthened after months of training, first stood in the garb of the Agojie warrior women, with her bare feet in the African soil, it was the apex of not just the seven-year push to produce The Woman King, but of a lifelong battle to fully express her warrior nature.
“Whenever you’re doing anything new,” Davis told the AP News, “it requires the warrior spirit.” As both producer and star of the popular film, now on Netflix, this included going to battle. “”You’re fighting for actors,” she said. “Fighting for the director, the writer. You’re fighting for the budget. Fight, fight, fight.”
A $50 million action epic set in 1820s West Africa, The Woman King is about the real-life, all-female army of the Kingdom of Dahomey. Made largely by women and featuring an almost completely Black cast, it’s unlike anything Hollywood has ever produced (though it does benefit from the success of the two Black Panther films.) The Woman King’s uniqueness may explain in part why it was roundly snubbed at the recent Academy Awards – despite its masterful fusion of profound emotion with live action spectacle. Though I haven’t yet seen Everything Everywhere All at Once, which swept the Oscars, Viola Davis as Nanisca would probably still have gotten my nod for Best Actress – though she wasn’t even nominated.
A fiery, take-charge Leo, Davis was born on August 11, 1965 at an Aquarius Full Moon. She grew up poor in Rhode Island, with seemingly impossible dreams of success in the movie industry. And now – on the cusp of her second Saturn return – she is fully engaged in making them come true.
What big dream are you ready to fight for? The Aries New Moon (March 21, 10:22 a.m. PDT), which falls on the heels of the Equinox, or astrological New Year, is your call to action. This New Moon at zero Aries features a powerful lineup of planets and other bodies in the sign of the warrior, including the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Chiron, Jupiter, Vesta and Eris. This headstrong council is putting their heads together, preparing to take action. Wherever the sign of Aries lies in your chart, you’re being urged to get clear, make a plan, and act on it. To help things along, the Sun and Moon make an out-of-sign square to Mars (the Aries ruler) at 28 Gemini, bringing an additional dose of instinctive action and fierce determination.
Only two days later, on March 23, Pluto enters Aquarius for the first time since the French, Haitian and American revolutions in the late 1700s. This intense transit should again prove revolutionary, especially in terms of technological breakthroughs and old systems crumbling to make way for a (hopefully) better future. Seasoned warriors will be needed. Pluto will sit at zero (there’s that “babe in the woods” degree again!) until it retrogrades back into Capricorn in June. We’re sure to get glimpses of the future over the next few months, though false starts are also possible. Once Pluto returns to Aquarius in January, it will spend the next 20 years empowering and agitating the sign of freedom and community.
Meanwhile, in the Northern Hemisphere, that cluster of planets in fresh-start Aries is announcing that spring has sprung, while in the Southern Hemisphere the gorgeous colors of autumn also bring their message of change. A shift of season brings a shift in energy, along with a call to trust your instincts. It’s worth noting, as well, that we will have two Aries New Moons in a row for the first time since March-April of 2004. The first is on March 21 at the zero degree and the second, a solar eclipse on April 19, is at the 29thdegree. This is a final kicker for whatever begins around the Equinox. Perhaps a venture will be shaken a bit to see if it can stand the test of time. Just keep your warrior flame alight, even as Pluto blasts away the past to make way for what you’ve dreamt of. You might not be undergoing a grueling regimen of weight lifting and fight training to perform your own stunts in a film, as Viola Davis and her fellow actors did in The Woman King, but you’ll still be blazing a new path in your own unique way.
Great read as usual. It’s sounds like an exciting time ahead. I’m going to have to check my chart (the one you did for me) to see where Aries lies for me. I have been working on a couple of “dreams” and hoping this time will give me more clarity.
WOW! i must watch the movie – I had heard of the Dahomey warrior women but don’t know much. Happy Aries new moon(s) everyone. Simone, I hope all is well with you now health wise. Cheers, Karen
Thanks, Karen. The doctor has ordered some tests to investigate the origins of the heart attack. I’m quite fatigued but otherwise feeling fine. I do recommend the Woman King! I watched it twice, so inspiring…
Thank you for the Warrior Spirit reminder. I agree about Viola Davis, the role was fantastic and a nomination should have been forthcoming.
Happy Green Day, Hillary
Same to you, Hillary! And you’re so welcome for the reminder.
Best of luck with your dreams, Mikey! Nothing like an Aries New Moon to light a fire under them!
Thanks for this Simone! I’m definitely feeling this shift in energy – willingness & plans to make changes seem much more possible now. There’s a documentary on another female warrior (Nan Goldin) on HBO – All the Beauty & the Bloodshed x highly recommend. Looking forward to watching this film too!
Yes I’m feeling it too ! A super dynamic forward momentum into new spheres. 🙂 I’m sure you’ll like The Woman King – the one you mentioned sounds great too, wish I had HBO! Plutonic blessings to you…