My Former Life as a Poolhall Junkie

05.07 Weekly Drop ✨

May 07, 2026

In today’s mix of magic + musings: Upcoming ⚡️ Energy Update + 🪄 a spell to help alchemize. Followed by 💁‍♀️ Story Time from me, 🔮 Oracle Insights from the heavens, 💕things I’m loving right now.

⚡️ Week of May 7th Energy Update:

🌗 Last Quarter Moon in Aquarius on Sat, May 9

This is a release point in the lunar cycle, where the Universe stops asking and starts deciding for you. Lately it feels like timelines are collapsing at an alarming rate, so may hit extra hard this week. Whatever version of you has been seeking approval or shrinking to keep the peace is being released. Aquarius is asking you, where have you been abandoning yourself?

The 9th is also a Saturn day, which makes this one of the most auspicious days of the week for cord cutting, banishing, or any “I’m so done with this/you” rituals.

♉️ Mars Enters Taurus on Mon, May 11

After 6 weeks Aries, Mars is moving into Taurus where he genuinely hates being (FUN). This is Mars in detriment, meaning the planet of action is now stuck in the slowest, most stubborn sign of the zodiac. Which means forcing things will not work right now, so don’t even try.

Mars in Taurus rewards consistency and embodiment. It’s about showing up daily, even if it’s imperfect.

💫This is your time to slow tf down (even if you don’t want to). Aim for one specific thing you’re letting go of and one small embodied action you’re willing to take on consistently, then roll with it.

🪄 Alchemize the Energy: Easy Banishing Ritual

Ideally done on Saturday, May 9 during the Last Quarter Moon (when she’s half illuminated and at a 90 degree angle to the sun). Last Quarter Moons are considered the peak release point of the waning moon phase (which we’re in until the 16th), making this the perfect time to banish, cleanse, and let go of whatever’s no longer serving you.

You’ll need:

a black candle
uncrossing oil (olive oil also works here)
pencil and parchment paper
dragon’s blood incense
fireproof bowl, plate, or jar

Instructions:

Light the incense to clean yourself and your space. Put on some high vibrational music and meditate on what you would like to banish. This is also the time to invoke any beings or deities for additional help.

Anoint your candle with the oil, rubbing it from the wick downward to push the energy away from you. I also like to include herbs such as

Rosemary – A powerful purifier that clears emotional burdens and stagnant energy.
Sage – Clears away unwanted energies, making room for renewal and fresh beginnings.
Lemongrass – Known for cutting through emotional clutter and promoting clarity
Bay Leaf – Symbolizes victory over obstacles and is often burned to remove negativity

Now write a list or journal on what you would like to banish ending with “for my highest and best good, harming none.” Then read it out loud (with conviction) and fold the paper away from you.

Then burn the paper in the candle flame and drop it into the bowl. Now give thanks and let the candle burn all the way down. If you’re short on time, tea lights are a great alternative to chime candles as they burn a lot faster and are a great vessel for the herbs.

“Listen, here's the thing. If you can't spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker.” - Mike McDermott, Rounders🤍

💁‍♀️ Story Time:

There’s something really fun about hanging with the underbelly of society. And I’ve had my fare share. Hanging out taco bell parking lots, after hours hotel parties, in the middle of a field or barn party, basically any place that would allow a bunch of miscreants to mill about.

When I was 20 I started hanging out regularly at a pool hall. A group of girlfriends and I went to Manny’s Billiards for Ladies Night when I caught the eye of the manager. He would later become my boyfriend and the first man I’d ever fall in love with. But after 5.5 years we fell apart. Religion drove a huge wedge in our relationship, because I wasn’t muslim and had no plans of ever converting.

His parents wanted him to marry a women of the same religion and ethnicity. I was no stranger to these expectations. When my parents first started dating it took my dad 2 years to introduce my mom to the family, because she wasn’t Greek Orthodox. While Italian Catholic was close, it wasn’t close enough. But one day it all changed and not only was my mom was fully accepted into the family, she became the favorite.

If there’s a table, I’m gonna to be at it.

I can’t even begin to tell you how many hours I spent at that place and that’s because pool halls are FULL of characters. Each one’s more colorful than the next, but what they all have in common is that they’re a bunch of degenerates. Degens are always hungry for a little action, acting impulsively despite possible consequences, with a living for today, not for tomorrow kind of attitude.

de·gen·er·ate | adjective | /dəˈjen(ə)rət/
having lost the physical, mental, or moral qualities considered normal and desirable; showing evidence of decline.

I’ve seen guys spend HOURS doing the wildest things all for a bet. Each bet would be more ridiculous than the next. Coin tosses for $50 a flip, let’s go. Foot races in the parking lot. Any and all card games, billiard games, foosball games, and let’s not forget good old fashioned street racing. Basically anything that could be turned into a competition.

The thing about gamblers is that it’s never really about the money. Sure hitting big is fun, but what they’re really after is the action. The chase of being down and getting back up. That feeling of walking in with only $100 in your pocket and leaving with a $1000.

I honestly think a big part of the allure is the banter before a game is executed. It’s the measurement of a person’s ability to bluff, bullshit, or convince another party and actually get away with it.

Just because they’re degenerates doesn’t mean they don’t have a certain code of conduct or ethics they live by. For example, It’s bad sportsmanship to win and leave. You should always give the other party a chance to win their money back.

My favorite thing about gamblers are just how destructive they are. They will literally blow up their lives for a bet. Driven by pure ego and irrationality, despite the consequences. They will lie, steal, and cheat their way to winning all in the a name of the game. Then throw it in your face and apologize later.

When you spend a lot of time in a pool hall high-risk behavior starts to become the normal. Things that once shocked you are somehow justified. It’s a slow acclimation and once you’re get to this point, nothing seems too out of pocket, because you’ve entered the mind of an addict.

After a while it became common place to hear that someone won or lost $25k in an hour. Or that someone had been pushed down a flight of stairs by a mafiosa because he was down $100k. Instead of shock and awe, it became oh of course that happened to so-and-so. Like the one guy who slept under table #9, so he wouldn’t miss a game with you-know-who. Ngl this one neverrr made sense to me. Go home ya fucking loser!

Another byproduct of spending so much time in a pool hall is that you start to get really good at playing games. Because, there’s not much else to do. I quickly became my boyfriends number one student, excelling in foosball (I only like playing a tournament table) and 9 ball (preferably on a bar box). He treated me like a prodige. We spent countless hours knocking in shots, doing drills, and analyzing players.

And I got really, really good.

What can I say, I have an eye for getting small balls in holes. It got to the point that my boyfriend would start bringing me to other pool halls. He wanted to play doubles, because I was what they would call a sleeper. And I would play as long as I didn’t have to put any money up (which was not a problem as he had what felt like an unliminited supply of funds). You see, I don’t like gambling, but I loveee winning.

sleep·er | \ ˈslē-pər | noun
Gambling: A player, team, or wagering option that is currently undervalued, overlooked, or underrated by the general public and oddsmakers but possesses high potential for significant success or a large payout.

Next time I’ll tell you about a time I DID gamble and lost to a total asshole. But don’t you worry, I got my revenge. I offered him a free tan at the salon I was working at and burnt him to a literal crisp.

If this resonated with you, tap the ❤️ so more people can find this message.
And share in the comments where you hung out when you were younger? The Taco Bell parking lot was a fan favorite in my town ;)

🔮 Oracle Insights:

There is an intelligence within you that has never once forgotten how to bloom, breathe, or belong. Yet many of you have been moving through a season of severing, where old wounds and quiet conflicts have made it feel safer to close than to open. The invitation now is to remember that you were never meant to do this alone, and that the same gentle Universe that knows when the tides should turn is asking you to trust it with the parts of you that ache. Soften the places that have grown sharp, and find your way back to love. Not because the hurt was small, but because you are a precious child of the Cosmos, and love is the truest place you have ever known.