Clare and Rose on the set of Clare’s solo show Twinless
Rose Tapsell is one of the key people who led me deeper into astrology. We’ve always discussed bigger picture things, and explored tarot, numerology and astrology together. It was through our discussions that I developed the confidence to explore and learn more.
Our friendship has a kismet quality to it…we first met when we were both studying in Wellington, then again in Nelson just before I moved abroad, and finally in Auckland when we both participated in a performance lab at the Basement theatre in 2018.
We both feel a kind of kindred spirit energy with each other. In fact, the first thing I ever wrote for this website was a reflection on dramaturging a performance piece of Rose’s.
Rose and I always have deep conversations. We’ve been each other’s counselors, witches, and knowledge sharers in so many ways. We’ve attended church together, lived together, created art together, worked out together…I feel like I’m forever looking for ways to collaborate with Rose.
I want to share some of Rose’s thoughts here, as they are someone who influences me in many ways, and I find Rose and the work they do utterly fascinating. For a bit of background, Rose grew up in Auckland, and pursued a career in dance that has led to some extraordinary work. Rose has also been on a spiritual journey, as many creative folks are, and shifted away from dance for a while as they felt more drawn to bodywork. They are trained as a PT and contact care practitioner, and they’ve been undertaking their masters degree exploring “how their dance practice shifts through orienting to the mana of te reo Māori reclamation within their whānau.”
We bond over our shared performance background, and our longing to connect with something deeper and bigger than ourselves.
Rose, what led you to explore astrology?
I had a very surface level understanding of it for most of my life, informed by sun-sign horoscopes in magazines, etc. Probably what led me to dive deeper was entering into my Saturn return period. I was going through a lot at that time and I met a number of people who mentioned it as an important transition, so I followed the leads! I needed all the sense-making help I could get. Your journey with it was also a big influence, it was fun learning from you as you learned, and geeking out about it, and still is.
What’s your ‘big three’ and/or which aspects of your chart are you currently resonating with?
Virgo rising, Sun in Taurus, Moon in Cancer.
I’m getting a lot from following the movement of Mars at the moment, my time-lord this year.
What other spiritual practices have you explored?
Ah dear, a lot. I grew up in a fairly agnostic family environment, open-minded to there being poetry in life but not latching on to any specific spiritual language. When I got to my late teens I really needed a way to make meaning out of experience…I felt like I was going to get swallowed by nihilism otherwise…a friend introduced to me Mindfulness in the context of Zen Buddhism, via Thich Nhat Hanh, that was a really profound thing to learn about for me at that time.
I kept exploring Buddhism for a bit, then when I went to Wellington to study at Victoria University I took religious studies papers, and became interested in mysticism. I learned about Christian mysticism, sufism, Daoism, and found resonance in many different places. When I did my tertiary training in contemporary dance my spirituality shifted to focus much more on learning from my body.
I trained in Yoga in my early 20s and read the Yoga sutras as part of that. Wairuatanga informed by my Ngāti Whakaue and Raukawa whakapapa has also always been there, though it’s only been really in the last seven years that that has come to the forefront more, partly through experiences dancing/collaborating with other Māori artists who’ve been tuakana and strong influencers to me, and also as I’ve become more comfortable utilizing reo and concepts from Te Ao Māori to describe spirituality. This has increased again in the last few years as I’ve engaged more with whānau and hapū activities and with learning in te reo Māori.
In the last few years, since 2021, I feel like I’ve landed in something that is right for me and where I can dig deep. I work with a teacher whose work focuses on Western Mysteries practice (Western esoteric traditions) and who also has a deep background of training in Tibetan Buddhist lineage. Connecting with her practice space felt like arriving home, finding something that makes sense in my body, because it works with the body in a really potent and satisfying way. In it, I’ve come to find more ease in myself being queer and culturally plural. The practice honours animate forces in nature, and also does not shy away from politics and sense-making with the realities of our social worlds and histories. It’s important for me that spiritual practice connects to responsibility in the world and in community.
What are you spending most of your time on right now?
Reverberating from handing in my Masters thesis a couple of days ago, learning heaps and adapting to a new role co-teaching a paper at the University of Auckland, performing a roaming dance work, Errant, (by Amit Noy) at the Auckland Art Gallery over the next week, finding work in the fitness industry, taking care of my dog and scheming new training plans for her… scheming with my flatmates about garden projects, scheming about art projects, activism, contemplating all the family members and friends to catch up with and visit now that Masters final push is done…Bit of a transition space at the moment!
Rest is needed and I’m finding nooks and crannies for it, but for the next week at least there is a hell of a lot of irons in the fire – it just works out like that sometimes in freelancing, dry periods and then it pours. Lots of new learning, new people to communicate with and new information to share here and there…very Jupiter in Gemini one might say…and Gemini is my 10th house of career and public facing life…
What questions are you wrestling with at the moment?
How can I surround myself with reminders to slow down? (and accountability systems that make sure I listen to the reminders…)
What do you do for fun?
Hanging out with my friends and geeking out about things and enjoying really good food, hanging and playing with my dog, kitchen boogies to disco music, gardening and doing make-shift DIY things in the garden, doodling with felt pens or paint pens, various body practices, listening to podcasts, being in water or sauna.
Where can people find out more about you?
Hmmm, well I have very little in the way of social media going on at the moment, and I am currently contemplating whether I can keep getting away with this or whether working in the fitness industry will require I break the ice…currently I’m contemplating ways to do so…and I am getting plenty of inspiration from @hungrymoonastrology!