Sophie Garcia
Pluto In Aquarius: How I Won a Grant to Make A Youtube Video
Pluto In Aquarius: How I Won a Grant to Make A Youtube Video
Hi! Whether you’re a small creative or an astrology nerd, you’re going to want to read this! I’m going to break down exactly how I won a grant to make a short video and then I’m going to put the transcription and link to the video below. For context, I’m in a Slack collective with tens of thousands of Gen-Z creatives across the globe where we get to share networking opportunities and resources. Sometimes they’ll put out a series of monthly creator grants with prompts – such as climate justice. Last October they had the prompt: In The Future. As a professional astrologer I knew it was my time to shine (literally.) They had different grants for writing, photography, and a “Wild Card” one. While I was originally going to apply for the writing grant, I landed on the filmmaking one because I had the sudden idea to design a set and dress up like Walter Mercado. So let me get into what I did right to land me as the winner of the grant.
I first checked the Slack channel to see what they were looking for from grant applicants. Usually if you’re unfamiliar with an organization’s values and mission you can simply borrow bits of their language to show them how you fit into their culture. While there was very little said on requirements for the grant, I was already familiar with the collective and was absolutely sure that this was my moment,- my proposal was just a matter of describing my vision as clear as possible.
They asked me to provide:
a brief bio of yourself your idea references & examples explanation previous work (for reference)
Breaking Down My Sweet and Simple Grant Proposal
“I would love to film myself on a cosmically enchanting set sharing my perspective as a professional astrologer who looks towards the future for a living, about the astrology of the near future, more specifically Pluto in Aquarius from 2024-2044 which many of us astrologers believe to be a time where the fights for climate justice, women’s rights, Black liberation, and other collective movements will see tangible, long-term wins reflected in our governance structures. This is a time where education and information will no longer be gatekept, and spirituality will become more mainstream than it already is. I will pay tribute to Walter Mercado in my makeup and styling, which is timely as it is Latinx Heritage Month.”
What I did here was open with an exciting hook. “a cosmically enchanting set” is something one doesn’t hear often but would want to know what that even means or looks like. The next thing I did was establish credibility by modestly weaving in “..as a professional astrologer who looks towards the future for a living” which served to both pose myself as an authority on the topic and repeat the grant theme “Into The Future” which gets us off to a great start as the right candidate. I then go into the details of my project. By choosing to focus on one singular transit I am setting myself up for success to produce a short video with a limited duration. I’m likely to create feasible results and impact on a wider, astro-curious audience of all levels. With all grants, but especially those funding smaller projects you don’t want to risk being too vague or trying to speak towards too many subjects at once as this may worry the decision-makers. Which brings me to my next choice. Now is my chance to demonstrate my skills in what I seek to do in my video: break down an astrology transit. I put my all into writing a cohesive, human-centered, and inspiring mini-prophecy of what Pluto entering Aquarius means. Finally, in closing this inital paragraph I provided the answer to a very important question…
Few grant applications ask it directly but all of them are being read by committees pondering the same question, “Why Now?”
Why is right now the moment to tell your story, to take this project to the next level, for us to work with you? This final sentence also helped introduce my style inspiration and the references they asked for. I understood this collective really valued racial justice and nostalgic icons and aesthetics so this sentence was me feeding two birds with one scone. I continue to drive this point home in the following paragraph:
“This offering is necessary because capitalism has interrupted the possibilities inherent to astrology in its simplifying and catastrophizing for purposes of commodification. Often in the spiritual world, we’re pushed to use and take from plants and planets alike rather than be in a deep relationship with them. As a young indigenous astrologer, my heart would yearn for accessible astrology education and businesses run by QTPOC. Now that I’ve found many to learn from, in briefly citing and crediting them as part of my astrological lineage – I hope to empower watchers to self teach and / or invest in other forms of learning outside of the gatekeeping, tokenizing, and overwhelmingly white / cis astrology community, as that is exactly what the future calls for.”
By now I have completely summarized the reasons this project is important. This paragrah begins with a bird’s eye view on the greater purpose: reclaiming astrology from the clutches of harmful systems. I then zoomed in on my personal motivations from the point of view of my younger self: the one who didn’t have access to resources like the one I sought to create. In marketing this is considered gold. This POV is that of people who you wish to “convert” into supporters. It is often used to better define the need your offering meets, for yourself and your audience. This need can also be described in marketing as a “pain point.” The implications that meeting one’s needs is wrought in pain and that painful vulnerabilities are the place from which industries manipulate people into buying products is something that deserves it’s own blog post. But I bring this up to show that by sharing my own vulnerability, my own traumas if you will – I point to a wider need for this kind of accessible astrology education. I finish this paragraph strongly with a manifesto-reminiscent sentence that both reiterates why my video is needed and references the grant theme “Into The Future.”
“With the intention of introducing astrology as a liberating compass to all levels of astro-education, I’d like to offer hope and insight into the astrology of the future.”
“In my political lens it’s possible for us to hack reality through storytelling and gaining the confidence stolen from us by colonial atrocities as we apply our gifts and reclaim abundance together. We are often told that change is slow, but we have seen politicians bail out celebrities in days and send troops to defend pipelines in hours. I’d like to remind the change-makers that yes in fact, the stars are in our favor and are conspiring for an abundant future and ease. To close out, I’ll show viewers how to find Aquarius in their charts and invite them to imagine what gifts they can start to hone in and practice offering to the collective fight for change – now in this moment that Jupiter and Saturn are there. I’ll offer my house system for activists (pictured below) as a framework for possible meanings for their Aquarius House.”
As one writes more grants, artist biographies, and interviews one finds themselves recycling similar language and quotes. This paragraph begins with a hodge-podge of some of my favorite phrases that were carefully refined and constructed in a way that made sense. This is why I don’t get too mad at grant rejection because at the end of the day, my creative vision only got stronger. By the next time I pitch it, it can only get better so work smarter not harder and don’t be afraid of using old material to your advantage! Speaking of, the sentence “I’d like to remind the change-makers that yes, in fact, the stars are in our favor” was not only a really nice way of sharing my abundant hope for the future but a great transition into my supportive material – my workshop on Astrology for Activists. This past work not only points towards a trajectory of expertise on this topic but will also be used in the project as a relevant and practical tool for audiences to apply in their lives.
Here’s a youtube video I’ve made discussing the astrology of skincare for reference.
Here’s a reflexive documentary I made about my hopes for our collective future.
Here is my Astrology for Activists lecture for context on the house system! (coming soon for digital download on my shop)
These and other photos of Walter Mercado were my references and that about sums it up. Thanks for reading, this was the first grant I’ve ever won. It wasn’t huge but it is still an accomplishment and took me one step more towards becoming a full-time artist and astrologer. I hope this was helpful to you and may your path also be filled with abundant opportunities!
If you’d like to watch the video I’ve attached it below!