Our practice.
The paper began, as many things worth doing began, with a small annoyance. There were, in every direction, either mystical horoscope columns that made large predictions about your career, or clinical astrology sites that read like a medical form. We could not find a paper that treated the reader as an adult — someone who has been loved and left, who has read enough books to know that a sky map is not a diagnosis, and who was, quietly, still curious about the language.
So we started to write one, one essay per moon. We are two editors, four regular contributors, and a small circle of astrologers who consult on the technical accuracy of what we publish. We fact-check the ephemeris, we date-check the transits, and then we ask the actual, difficult question: what is this useful for, in the room you are sitting in?
Our principles.
One. A chart is a starting sentence, not a diagnosis. Every piece we publish assumes the reader has more agency than her sun sign.
Two. Slowness over speed. We would rather publish twelve essays a year that repay a second reading than a daily horoscope you forget by noon.
Three. No shame theatre. We do not write in the language of "toxic Scorpios" or "toxic anything." We are talking about grown people who are trying, and we treat them accordingly.
Four. Adjacent to therapy, not a substitute for it. If you are in trouble — the kind that has weight — please talk to someone with a licence. We will still be here after.
Five. No paid readings; no upsells; no products. The paper is free, and it is quiet. Our only ask is that you read us with your phone face-down.
The editorial masthead.
Nadia Solberg — editor. Trained as a linguist; astrologer since 24; married to a man whose Ascendant is Aries, which was inconvenient at 22 and correct at 34.
Rae Antonelli — deputy editor and field-notes writer. Married to a Scorpio for eleven years. Believes love is a shift, not a ceremony.
Ines Lorca — practising astrologer, technical adviser on transits. Reads charts for a small, fixed roster of long-standing clients; does not accept new ones.
Micha Deleon — copy and pace. Formerly of an old newsroom; would like everyone to be more patient with adverbs.
A disclaimer, said plainly.
Astrology is not medicine. It is not psychiatry, therapy, or financial advice. Nothing in Purple·me should replace a conversation with a licensed professional in any of those fields. We publish essays about a symbolic system that has been useful, for some readers, in noticing patterns and choosing differently. We are not, in any sense, telling you what to do.
The moon-phase and ephemeris data displayed on our pages is approximate — computed for the reader's local device, using widely-published formulae. For precise astronomical calculations, please consult a reputable observatory or ephemeris.
Write for us.
We accept a very small number of pitches per issue. If you have an essay in your head about astrology and relationships — one that would be true even if the reader did not believe in astrology — write to editor@purpleme.co with the first three paragraphs and a small note about the frame. We answer, kindly, in one lunation.
The partnership.
Purple·me is published in editorial partnership with Dear Jane, a private community for grown women. Our essays are our own; the partnership underwrites the editorial time it takes to write slowly.
Purple·me was founded on the new moon of an ordinary February, in an ordinary apartment, with an ordinary kettle boiling. That is roughly the level of drama we can commit to.