Who is Orbiting – Issue #0
an introduction
Orbiting is an indie online zine inspired by late 90s and early 2000s magazines. A passion project by nostalgia-driven individuals who miss flipping through magazines. Orbiting covers social commentary, fashion and beauty, astrology, the music industry, as well as many more. Published slowly & binded monthly.
The creation of Orbiting
The endless noise of the online world made me want to lose my mind. I knew that the never-ending, constantly worsening state of the world would eventually drive me insane. I mean, it was constantly reminded to me every time I picked up my phone.
Suddenly, it made complete sense to me why people have been collectively drifting back toward analog. I kept seeing people online say they want to create more than they consume this year. While that sounds fantastic, it isn’t always realistic or accessible. People have jobs, school, responsibilities — and not a lot of free time.
I started thinking: wouldn’t it be nice to have a space that allows us to consume, but does so gently? A space that doesn’t overwhelm, that maybe even inspires us to make room for our own creativity to flow.
Reducing the consumption of constant tragedy and closing the curtains on strangers’ lives does wonders for your psyche (believe me, I tried it). And yet, the brain-eating, brain-rot worm keeps whispering in my ear, convincing me not to give up my online presence entirely.
And honestly, it’s right!
We live in a world where we’re so intertwined with the digital space that craving it after stepping away feels almost inevitable. So why not let it offer us the same calm, nostalgic feeling as reading a book, listening to CDs, or flipping through an old magazine?
The idea of a late 90s/early 2000s magazine — without the judgment, cruelty, ED culture, or homophobia — came to me almost randomly. I was feeling nostalgic, so I looked up old columns from teen magazines of that era. I fell in love with the look and the vibe. They feel like a time capsule I never want to close.
However.
When I actually read them more closely, I was quickly reminded of everything that’s wrong with them. They aren’t very inclusive, and they can be deeply cruel. That’s when I thought: how incredible would it be to flip through a magazine with the same energy, but without the bigoted messaging?
That’s how this idea was finally born.
The theme of Orbiting is cunty, gaggy, fun, educated, politically aware — and, did I mention fun?!
I love writing politically charged, serious essays with undertones of female or queer rage. Don’t get me wrong. But I’ve realized that I also need a more creative, less heavy outlet for my thoughts. And this feels like it.
What you can expect
Reoccurring columns of Orbiting: Orbit Log, Fragments, The Archive, Frequency, The Atmosphere & Iconography. Here’s what they all mean:
Orbit Log
Editor’s Letter (or the core anchor of the zine) – This serves as status report from the Orbiting team.
Fragments
This column will include random think pieces or articles focusing on pretty much anything that is currently relevant, or related to the issue. Fragments can include any culturally meaningful topic, from movie reviews to social commentary. You can never be certain of what to expect from it, and honestly, neither can we.
The Atmosphere
The Atmosphere is an astrology focused column, it usually covers the current zodiac season.
Iconography
This column focuses on different cultural icons in each issue.
The Archive
The Archive covers historical topics, forgotten things; such as old beauty trends, significant historic moments and events that shaped our present.
Frequency
This one is a music-focused column. It includes coverage of different musicians, music genres or song analyses.
Parts of the zine will come out gradually here on substack. After a month of slowly publishing individual articles — the magazine will be announced here, and published on Heyzine.com.
