The zero point reset

Hey AFTR Queens!

I’ve been celebrating the Lunar New Year for almost thirty years now, long before it became trendy or algorithm-friendly, and long before people casually referenced zodiac animals without understanding the ritual beneath them. For me, it has always felt like the true beginning of the year. Not January 1st, when we are collectively exhausted, overextended, and trying to force clarity out of cold air, but this moment, when something deeper actually shifts.

The preparation alone tells you everything about why it matters.

Before the Lunar New Year arrives, you clean your entire home. Not casually. Intentionally. You sweep the corners you’ve ignored, you clear clutter that’s accumulated quietly over months, you take out the trash, you settle open tabs, you fix what’s broken, you cut your hair, you pay your debts, you close energetic loops. The act is symbolic, yes, but it’s also psychological. You are making space. You are signaling readiness. You are preparing your physical environment to receive prosperity, health, clarity, and momentum.

And then, on the day itself, you stop.

You do not clean. You do not sweep. You do not take out the trash. You do not wear black or white. You do not use scissors or cut anything. You do not remove. You receive.

That distinction has always fascinated me, because it assumes something radical, that abundance requires stillness as much as effort, and that once the clearing has been done, you must trust what is entering rather than obsess over what is leaving.

This year feels amplified.

We have officially stepped into the Year of the Fire Horse, an energy that is bold, kinetic, and unapologetically forward-moving. We’ve just moved through a powerful eclipse in Aquarius, stirring collective awakening and disruption, and this week closes with Saturn and Neptune meeting at zero degrees Aries, the literal ignition point of the zodiac, where reality and vision collide and a new cycle begins.

Zero degrees Aries is not reflective energy. It is initiatory. It is the cosmic equivalent of striking a match.

And almost poetically, we watch institutions wobble, reputations unravel, even a Prince being arrested, titles and illusions meeting consequence in real time. Whether you follow astrology or not, it is hard to ignore the symbolism of old structures dissolving and inherited power being re-examined. Saturn strips fantasy from form. Neptune dissolves what cannot hold integrity. Aries begins again anyway.

What I keep asking myself in the middle of all of this is simple: what if this is our zero point too?

What if everything we have been cleaning out, the outdated roles, the identities that no longer fit, the relationships that drained us, the narratives we inherited about age and ambition, has been preparation? What if the first weeks of January were merely rehearsal, and this is the real threshold?

And that is why this year does not feel like a pivot. It feels like ignition.

Which is also why featuring Sheila Johnson this week feels so aligned. She built something iconic, exited, endured public unraveling, and then built again, differently, intentionally, and on her own terms. She did not treat her first success as her final identity. She understood what zero point power requires: the willingness to stand at the edge of what was and author what comes next.

The Lunar New Year has always reminded me that cycles are not linear. They spiral. They expand. They ask us to clear before we claim and to pause before we proceed. And maybe that is the real lesson of this moment, not to frantically cut and sweep and optimize ourselves into exhaustion, but to recognize when the clearing has already been done.

Perhaps the only thing left now is to stand still long enough to receive what is arriving.

💋
— Robyn Cohen
Founder, The AFTR Edit

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🖤 Sheila Johnson

There are women who build something iconic, and then there are women who build something iconic, walk away from it, survive the unraveling that follows, and build again in an entirely different arena without asking permission to do so. Sheila Johnson is firmly in the second category.

Most people first came to know her as the co-founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), which she launched in 1980 alongside her then-husband, Robert L. Johnson. At the time, the idea of a cable network dedicated to Black culture, music, and storytelling was both visionary and necessary, and what began as a bold experiment evolved into a media institution that reshaped representation in American households. When BET was ultimately sold to Viacom in 2001 for approximately $3 billion, it marked a historic moment in media and business, creating the first Black female billionaire in the United States and cementing her place in entrepreneurial history.

But what is often overlooked in narratives about massive exits is the deeply human complexity that accompanies them. The sale of BET coincided with the unraveling of her marriage, and Sheila Johnson has spoken candidly about the emotional toll of both the divorce and the public scrutiny that followed. It would have been understandable, even expected, for her to retreat into board seats, philanthropy, or quiet wealth. Instead, she chose reinvention.

Her second act did not replicate her first. It diverged from it entirely.

She entered the world of luxury hospitality, founding Salamander Hotels and Resorts, a collection of high-end properties that reflect not only financial investment but aesthetic sensibility, strategic discipline, and long-term vision. Hospitality is not a vanity industry; it is capital-intensive, operationally intricate, reputation-sensitive, and deeply experiential. To move from media into luxury real estate development requires both courage and competence, and she demonstrated both.

And as if media and hospitality were not expansive enough arenas, she also stepped into professional sports ownership, becoming the first Black woman to hold ownership stakes in three Washington, D.C. professional teams, including the Washington Mystics, the Washington Wizards, and the Washington Capitals. Sports ownership is one of the most exclusive financial ecosystems in the world, historically dominated by generational wealth and entrenched networks, and her presence there represents more than investment; it represents access reshaped.

Layered into all of this is her work as a film producer and philanthropist, including founding the Sheila C. Johnson Foundation and supporting education, arts, and social impact initiatives. Her creative involvement in documentary storytelling, particularly projects centering on social justice and historical reckoning, reveals yet another dimension of her influence, one that extends beyond profit into narrative power.

What strikes me most, however, is not simply the scale of what she has done, but the sequencing.

She did not allow her first act to define the ceiling of her ambition. She did not internalize the idea that success is singular or that reinvention is risky once you’ve already “won.” She leveraged capital from her first empire to build a second one that aligned more closely with who she had become, and in doing so, she modeled something rarely discussed openly: that the most powerful chapter of your life may begin after the one the public applauded.

In a cultural moment where titles are being questioned, institutions are being tested, and power is being redefined, Sheila Johnson represents a version of authority rooted not in inheritance but in authorship. She built. She exited. She endured. She built again.

That, to me, is what zero point energy looks like in real life, not erasure, but initiation. Not starting over, but starting from experience.

And if there is one thing Sheila Johnson’s arc makes clear, it is that ownership, of capital, of narrative, of identity, compounds when you are willing to begin again.

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What we’re loving this week; curated, practical, elevated — AFTR-style:

🧥 Billie Blazer by AS by DV in Coco Red: Bring on the heat in our Billie Blazer. Made with our decadent wool Crepe in our classic Coco Red shade. This piece is unbelievably tailored with a cinched waist and exaggerated shoulders - you’ll wish you could keep it on 24/7.

💍 Puffy Ring by Jennifer Fisher: The Puffy Ring is your new statement staple. Available in sleek silver or luxurious gold, this three-dimensional, hollow ring is crafted for effortless, all-day wear. Elevate your style with this essential piece, perfect to wear alone or create a stack with mixed metals for more impact.

👜 Italian Leather Triple Compartment Weekender by Quince: Head into your next getaway stress-free. Our triple compartment weekender comes equipped with three zippered compartments plus pockets to stash everything from toiletries to jewelry to flip flops. And since it’s made with 100% top grain Italian leather (with a cotton twill lining), you’ll look great no matter how you decide to tote it along.

👟 Campo Sneaker by Veja: Chrome-free leather and contrast logo details define a streamlined sneaker with clean, sporty appeal. The low-top style features soles made from wild Amazonian rubber and a sustainable lining made from recycled polyester and organic cotton.

🕯️ Bamboo Reed Diffuser by Nest: Create the aroma of a welcoming garden with this bestselling fragrance, Bamboo. This Reed Diffuser features the iconic scent’s blend of white florals with an abundance of lush green notes and hints of sparkling citrus. 

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Until next week,