*☾ Written on July 15, 2024 at the first quarter; published July 21, during the Full Moon in Capricorn*. I'm feeling themes of flight in my life and in the ether this week. On Monday, Uranus was conjunct Mars and as Chani Nicholas mentions in her podcast [*Astrology of the Week Ahead*](https://open.spotify.com/show/7hpCJfE2JItPqOj8AgONCp) the last time this happened – October 2023 – Twitter changed ownership and eventually its name to become X. At the time, I was just starting a job focused on transforming social media and found myself deep in the personal-political-professional work of what it means to transition, to migrate, and to grieve – whether it's a role, a social network, a community, a software, a relationship, or a life. I left that job at the beginning of June; transitioning out of that role is/was a longer arc. A metaphor we often use for growing, coming to maturity, and leaving home is a baby bird leaving its nest. For flighted birds, this developmental stage is called *fledging*. It's the stage between birth and flight, where the bird develops feathers and the wing strength to become capable of flight. A bird is at risk both of leaving their nest 'too early' and 'too late', often because of predation. They might leave their nest 'too early', with a shorter wingspan or less strength, and not be able to fly well. They might leave their nest 'too late' and draw predators' attention to the nest. There is a balance of mortality on each end. I am not a bird, but the question of when to stay and when to go is an animating one; one I've grown through in this time. I learned that to stay can mean other things than to be stuck or stagnant. To go, can mean other things than to run away. We can stay in ways that keep us rooted, grounded, committed, devoted. We can go in ways that keep us moving and even running toward. We can allow ourselves the joy of flight and flow. Like water, like wind, we remember where to go. We can feel the currents and allow ourselves to be held by them. Allowing ourselves to be held is also a kind of participation. *May the wind be at your back and under your wings.* ![[blessing-plate.jpeg]] An Irish Blessing plate hanging in time on the wall of my grandparents' place. # Poesis ![[a feather is a pen, is a word, is a promise.webm]] ## *A feather is a pen, is a word, is a promise* I learned to fly early up and out of my body to become [a stranger to myself](https://valariekaur.com/books/see-no-stranger/) to be visited in dreams I'm listening now sensuality is [everywhere](https://extraextramagazine.com/talk/rebecca-solnit-on-courtship-growing-up-in-the-bay-area-and-the-consumption-of-eroticism/), in our beloved landscapes isn't it tragic? isn't it [romantic](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9LWVFrPORa/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)? the dinosaurs extinct beings are still among us we call them [birds](https://www.instagram.com/p/C9YUY3bu-TX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==) and they assemble in the [treetops](https://www.seedaschool.com/treehouse) who have born witness to their many forms and [songs](https://www.thebirdsongproject.com/for-the-birds) that [tell time](https://www.audubon.org/marketplace/singing-bird-clock) speaking of flight of flight [etiquette](https://www.instagram.com/p/C9cb3U4IkqZ/?img_index=1) (of [rawdogging flights](https://open.spotify.com/episode/19dMchfmhqlmlq7veGwUEf?si=413780ea08d64f33)) I'm burning my golden ticket I'm collecting the ashes in an inkwell and going down to the river, with the [ducks](https://www.poetryproject.org/publications/footnotes/tracing-political-commitment-a-writing-workshop-with-corina-copp/sitting-ducks) to scatter them we're writing [new terms and conditions](https://abcglossary.xyz/questionnaire) there we're writing new stories to nourish our languages with spiral-bound, [sea-faring tales](https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/of-wings-waves-and-winds/) that travel between [layers](https://jods.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/issue3-brand/release/2) (of) what once was a [murmuration](https://rss.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1740-9713.2008.00288.x) in my heart is now a [poet-warrior](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ois%C3%ADn) cry I'm learning [to fly](https://assemblagebabysbreath.substack.com/p/octavia-butler-opened-parable-of) ## Community Corkboard *Do you have something to celebrate, to mourn, to ask for help with, or to offer? Do you want to share it with this community? If you do, send me an email at hellosarahingle at gmail.com with the subject line "Community Corkboard: (Your title)", a brief description, and any information or links that you want to include. I'll typically reply within a few days, so if you don't hear from me, please feel welcome to follow up.* **Ways to help grow my practice <3** This is a seedling practice and I want to nourish it with all of the love, resources, and feedback it needs to grow. If you feel moved by something you've received here, please share it with a friend! And, if you're able, consider becoming a paid subscriber on [Buttondown](https://buttondown.email/mediatrix) or giving a PWYC [gift](https://buy.stripe.com/3csaI7dwvcWHfg4001) here to help sustain my practice longer-term. Many thanks and full-moon blessings! ## Collage I'm starting to collect the links, images, and other sources from this letter in an [Are.na board](https://www.are.na/sarah-ingle/cosmic-radio) so they can be re-used/re-circulated. It's an open channel – join me there and add your own sources :-) ![[waxing-moon-blue.jpg]] A blurry waxing moon floating between tree branches in a cornflower blue sky. My own image (2024). ![[bird-clock-reddit.png]] "What time is it?" / "Quarter 'til Canada Goose." - u/TrustMeImLeifEricson on [r/Nostalgia](https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/a506qt/who_else_remembers_seeing_this_audubon_bird_call/) (2018). ![[oceanus-3.png]] Jeremy Caplan discussing the oceanographer Phil Richardson's research on albatross flight in "Of Wings, Waves, and Winds" in [Oceanus](https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/of-wings-waves-and-winds/) (2011). ![[oceanus-1.jpg]] ![[oceanus-2.jpg]] A spread on marine debris and its impact on coastal wildlife in the Fall 1988 (!!!) issue of Oceanus. Images of materials from my library. ![[pace-layers.png]] Pace layers of change from Stewart Brand's "Pace Layering: How Complex Systems Learn and Keep Learning" in the [Journal of Design and Science](https://jods.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/issue3-brand/release/2) (2018). ![[free-palestine-bird.jpg]] Free Palestine. Sticker on a telephone pole in Waterloo, ON. My own image (2024). ![[octavia-butler-parable.png]] [Pages](https://assemblagebabysbreath.substack.com/p/octavia-butler-opened-parable-of) from Octavia Butler's *Parable of the Sower* and a digital flower pressing in Kay Brown's beautiful newsletter – [Assemblage: Baby's Breath](https://assemblagebabysbreath.substack.com?r=z91o) (2024). ![[kjr-octavia-butler-hypertext.png]] [Kameelah Janan Rasheed](https://kameelahr.com/) on her hypertextual research, art, and archival practice in [The Creative Independent](https://thecreativeindependent.com/people/kameelah-janan-rasheed-on-research-and-archiving/) (2017). --- If you want to quote, share, or otherwise reproduce something you've received here, please remember to cite me – Sarah ingle (they/them) – and whoever's work I am referencing. Please cite, please hyperlink, please hypertext generously. In particular, [Cite Black Women](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jFikTrZ8fw8oSCnC0pR3lPX49OP29Phh/view?usp=sharing). Thank you to [Kay Brown](https://assemblagebabysbreath.substack.com/) and [Ravon Ruffin](https://www.instagram.com/citation.studio/) whose deeply and widely rooted citational practices are inspiring.