The Dome

The Dome is the title of Stephen King's new book. It is a very thick book indeed. A small town in Maine has an invisible dome suddenly appear and no one can get in and no one can get out. King uses the terrible accident he had in which a driver hit him while he was walking down the side of the road in this novel, he was prescribed Percocet for his pain. Someone in the novel contemplates suicide with Percocet, another becomes addicted to Oxycontin. The man in charge has become rich selling meth, "Big Jim". He has more money than a person could spend in 1 lifetime in an account in the Caymen Islands, but he doesnt' want to retire and sip Margaritas in some tropical local no sir. This little town is his town and has always been his town and he cannot stand the idea of someone else running it. He kills two people in his office with his own hands. Of course you know this is a King novel and that murder and insanity is sure to follow, but there is little magic except of course for the existance of the Dome itself. As for the writing itself I find it is about middlin' folks, middle of the road stuff that we have come to expect from King, which is on a higher level than most writers. King tells us about the motivations of these people and of the awfulness of people quite clearly.

For a writer who writes so much about the unlikely and the never gonna happen in a million years kind of stuff King paints a very clear picture of reality. For his people are real, and just as bad and as spiteful and as mean as they are in everyday life. Being lower middle-class or downright poor as King was in his childhood means knowing how bad people are, and that is a lesson I myself have learned. When people have nothing or very little, their natures are not improved for it believe me.

For all of that I enjoyed reading it, enjoyed a writer putting into words what I myself find so difficult to say. I enjoyed the way Karma has of catching up with the bad guys, now I wish that was a part of reality that I know also.

For life isn't about friendships or love or romance or any of that stuff for most people. It's about power. As the pirate says, "It's what a man can do or what a man cannot do" in Pirates of the Caribbean. I hear it in people's voices and in the way they stand and the way they say the things they say, I hear how much security they have in the world, and how much power. I am pretty much powerless, but I read the fantastic to hear the real so much more. In my own head when I read, I am just reading, just reading.

Scorpio Rising

Having recently realized that my birth certificate was incorrect and I am actually a Scorpio rising, I am pointing fingers at my silly self for taking so long to figure it out. Called the "Razor's Edge" ascendant because it is so very difficult and makes for a difficult life. Having worked once in Labor & Delivery I know they often put the birth time as whenever they get to sit down and write in the chart, which may be as long as 20 minutes later. Also, people tend to round numbers up, so 2:51 becomes 3:00. Also, the stars have moved after a couple of thousand years and the stars in Aries are now in Taurus. However I think the signs still valid. It has been remarked that these Aries stars being in Taurus has made them more peaceful and generally cooled down, which makes a sort of sense when you think about it.

However when you look up your fixed stars on the site Constellation of Words then the stars are where she says they are, (generally one sign away from where ancient people saw them).

The Rising Sign is important because it's ruler is the ruler of your chart. With a Sagittarius rising my ruler was Jupiter, with a Scorpio rising then my ruler is Mars as the ancient ruler or co-ruled or ruled by Pluto now in modern times. To make things more confusing the ruler of your part of fortune is said to rule the chart. Okay.

There was research that showed that the planet that was the closet to the midheaven influenced choice of career, but I understand that planet has to be 8 degrees or less away from the midheaven point. The midheaven is that dark line at the top of your chart. If there is no planet 8 or less degrees away then you go with the ruler of the 10th house. Mine is Virgo so the ruler is Mercury. It is amusing, if you have a toddler or a young one at home, to look at their chart and think of what they might be when they grow up. I am still waiting to grow up myself and still waiting on that career in communications that was foretold for me by Mercury, but even astrology cannot overcome serious screw ups such as myself. Venus at the midheaven fortells a career in something that gives pleasure and is female oriented, artistic careers usually. Jupiter foretells that whatever the career is, it will be big, big, big, 'cause Jupiter means bigness and if Jupiter is close to the midheaven astrologers say you're going to have good luck with your career for forever you lucky person. Even a bad planet at the midheaven isn't bad, 'cause the nobility of being there is transforming to Mars or Saturn. They are improved the stronger they are in astrology, if that makes any sense. A Mars in his home sign of Aries is a happy Mars, or in his exalted sign of Capricorn. (No one can figure out how Mars is exalted in the cold sign of Capricorn, the ancient astrologers say it is so. Like so much in astrology, we don't understand how they figured this stuff out.) Robert Hand is an astrologer who spends a lot of time looking up ancient writings and translating them. I was amused to see him finally on television commenting on, of all things, Nostradomus.

Einstein had Hamal in his chart, this star is known for making people independent. Einstein certainly went against convention in his math, which nobody cared about except other mathmeticians. Einstein couldn't believe how many people were interested in his work and in himself, when they couldn't possibly understand his equations. Other children were born at the same time as Einstein, and they didn't become Einsteins. That is true. I think it is our nature being made in the stars, not our intelligence. My 16 year old has Hamal at 6 degrees of Taurus on her Moon, and independant she certainly is. She works part time and buys her own clothes and stuff. It remains to be seen how being independant will show up in her life.

Fireflies by Owl City

Thank My Space for Fireflies, 'cause that is where this song came from. Electronic pop with fantastic, fanciful lyrics.
Adam Young wrote music in the basement of his parent's house in Owatonna, Minnesota. In the song he sings,
I get a thousand hugs
from 10 thousand lightning bugs
I'm much to tired to fall asleep
Adam Young is young, he is only 20 years old and "Fireflies" made it to #1 on Billboard's top 100 songs. Owl City is a musical project with Adam Young and so called "synthpop" music. On my daughter's computer, this song is called "electronica". It is kind of Disney like to me, like a cartoon, except when the chorus comes in strong with a kind of rock feel you realize that it is a rock n' roll song. On the Owl City site there are free songs along with Fireflies to listen to, one is called "Strawberry Avalanche" and "Hot Air Balloon". In the first song he sings, "this is a world of dreams and reverie". In "Hot Air Balloon" he sings, "We will stir the stars around...thinking of the weekend we were in love."
I think I know what he is singing of in Fireflies, it is that magical moment when you drift off to sleep. It is the doorway between being awake and your dreams in which magical and whimsical thoughts may occur to you. At the end he sings, "I fall asleep."
My 16 year old daughter was playing this song on our computer over and over and I thought it perfect for a 16 year old, not realizing at the time that the rest of the world loves "Fireflies" too.

Algol the Demon's Eye

Algol seems to be a star associated with catastrophes but also feminine energy that brings creativity to people. Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones has his Moon on Algol. He wrote songs like "Under My Thumb" and "Stray Cat" that were not very nice towards women at all. The Stones have never wrote songs about romantic love. There is one song titled "Stupid Girl". A previous member of the Stones who died in their early years was Brian Jones, who had Uranus on Algol in his birth chart. Jones, who Richards says really made his mark and that he knew of 15 children at the very least that Jones had fathered, was always going from one relationship to another. Johnny Depp has his Venus on Algol and I don't know about his love life. There are also some scientists who were brilliant with planets conjunctioning Algol. Uranus is the planet of genius and when it is on Algol it is an indicator of genius, but of genius so great they may be rather freakish. All of this doesn't go with the idea of Algol being bad luck always, it may not be a bad energy, rather one that is intense and hard to handle. It appears to be a creative energy in the chart.
Diana Rosenberg has written a book about stars which I want to own badly says,
"Some of the fixed stars are harsh, yes....stars confer tasks upons us which, if comprehended and accepted offer great rewards of power and creativity." John Lennon had a planet on Algol, and his violent death is often associated with his having a birth planet on Algol. Also the star Facies is in his chart, a star it is said means a violent death. Well I have Facies, so if I die a violent death I am a believer for sure.
What I read about the stars I take the information with the proverbial grain of salt. Some things even professional astrologers seem to get wrong. I mean it seems to me that something is going on with these stars, that Algol makes one creative may be the only thing I can say for sure.
I must add one thing, I got interested in Algol because my hubby has his Sun on Algol in the 1st house. Now the 1st house represents the physical body, and Algol here on the Sun means a lot of accidents. I read an ancient text translation that said, "If the Sun be with Algol and Mars is also with Gemini, the hands and feet will be cut off." Strange, my husband had his foot amputated after a load of posts fell on him. He also injured his back vertabrae. He is always damaging his hands, but then he works with his hands so perhaps that is reasonable. It gave me a shiver to read that, it was close enough to what had actually happened in his life. His Mars is in Gemini. It also says if the Sun be with Algol then you have this ability to conquer your enemies. He has this amazing ability to win arguments and come out ahead I must say. Now Taurus is called Taurus the builder and my hubby has the ability to build anything, he uses wood. People bring him old wood all the time. He is well liked and people give him things, it seems to me they do so partly because of a sense of compassion. They just kind of feel sorry for him. Sorry he has had such a lousy life and that he is an amputee. Algol is in Taurus so if you are a Taurus then you might have this star on your Sun. It is given a 5 degree orb because it is a powerful triple star. Oh yeah, his Lot of Acquisiton is in Pisces, that most compassionate of signs ruling the lot of how you acquire things. He gets things because people have sympathy for him. Astrology just has these amazing predictions that happen to be correct. He also has me, who supports him. I went out with him because, yeah, I felt sympathy for this man who had lost a leg.
Also things miss, like my Lot of Acquisition is in Aries and Mars is there in Aries which means I should take in quite a bit. I don't. Anyway, Mars here means you get what you get by robbery or sports. Or it can mean the things you get, like you collect sports memorabilia and weapons. Mars is the God of War after all. Or it could be as Ms. Rosenberg says when she writes that a planet conjunct a fixed star takes on the qualities of that star permanently, from birth to forever. My Mars is conjunct a Mercurian star which rules the mind. So maybe that explains how I am more likely to collect books than I am to collect guns.
My chart also says I will be famous and perhaps rich, still waiting for that one.
My powerful Mars may have a lot to say about why I take something no one likes and defend it, like say for instance, astrology.

Predicting the Future

I have been bushwrangled and sidetracked by Astrology from other things I should be doing, but I don't think it has been a waste of time at all or anything like that. Personality, temperament and abilities seem to be shown by astrology very well and I have not been interested in it's alleged ability to see the future and uh....fortune telling.

I was astonished that my future may actually be bright after all, since I've studied triplicity rulers and the Moon will rule my life soon. I can't help but feel hopeful. To study your chart is to see those things that are good for you through the planets and what you need to stay away from. If you were born in the daytime Mars is the villian, if you were born at night it is Saturn. Mars seems to create enemies and Saturn seems to cripple you in some way. Say you have Mars ruling the 12th house (which is in Aries), a Mars that is in the 10th house. The 10th is our reputation and our career. The 12th represents jails, hospitals, things that are hidden, things done in solitude. I am talking about the horoscope of Mae West, who had Mars like this. Her vaudeville act was so obscene that she would be thrown in jail, she had enemies. This being thrown in jail damaged her reputation. Later in life her triplicity ruler became Venus instead of Mars and that was when she became famous. (I got this from "The Five Pillars of Fate" book by A. Garth.)

The 10th house is very important, it is our career and our reputation. It is a very lucky house. The house that is 10 houses away from your Lot of Fortune is very lucky and has to do with the same things, career and reputation.

I will tell you about myself (which is all I know at this point) and that is that when Mars ruled my first 28 years I got bad will from others because Mars rules my 12th house. Nevertheless I was born at night so Mars is not a bad planet for me, what was bad was that it ruled the evil 12th house. I seemed to only make friends with bad people, jealous or manipulative people all the time. I despaired of ever meeting a nice guy too.

When Venus became my ruler I was 28 years old and I still had the same job I'd had for years-but I started to hate my job. I quit and couldn't find anything except work as a waitress. My boss treated me badly. Venus rules my house of work and servitude, the evil 6th house. My triplicity ruler was ruining my work life. I applied for jobs all over the place but could not get a good job. I work now at a poultry plant, which is the best job I've had I am sorry to say. The thing is, the 6th rules small animals like chickens. I find that amusing. The 6th is like how are you a slave? I am a slave in that I have to do this job and they are a little rough on you. The 6th speaks to you of servitude and enslavement, it might be good and it might be bad but it will be in bad spirit. The 6th is a evil spirited house. For some the evil spirit will not be even noticeable, for me I notice it. Also my 6th is the 12th house from my Lot of Fortune, so it is kind of double curses on me.

My Moon is in the 8th house. The bad houses are the 6th, 8th and 12th. The planets that rule a nighttime birth are the Moon, Mars and Venus. My planets all rule bad houses, houses with bad spirits as Mr. Garth says. But I cannot say my life isn't worth a jar of poo dug up at midnight from a graveyard at All Hallow's Eve. (Joking!) All of us have these houses and all of us have some bad spirit in our lives, but we also have good spirit in the 5th and the 11th. The planets position in your chart can tell you a great deal, are they in good houses or not?

So all of this leads me to believe in some kind of luck, not like gambling luck where you will always eventually lose and the casino will get rich but not you, but luck that is fate. Fate as in no matter what you do you cannot change it, fate as written in ancient texts by ancient Greeks, fate as in I should forget some things because no matter what, and I don't know how or when or why, some things are just bad.

I have Saturn in conjunction with the Sun. Astrologically, this means I doubt myself. Confidence is something I don't know what it's like to have. I have attempted to change this in the past, now I believe it is fate. I have always been like this, I am always going to be like this and so what? I write like someone whistling while they walk past a graveyard, in defiance of a constant feeling inside that what I write ain't worth that check you get in the mail made out for a million dollars. I live and pretend it ain't so. I get by okay.

I write because I have gotten praise for it and it delights me more than ice cream with whipped cream. I need it like breath. With astrology I can say that Saturn is here, it explains the unexplainable and it does it so beautifully. Fate is hugging me tight and squeezing the breath out of me.

On every life falls a graceful note so it hardly seems fair of me to complain. I've got a real appreciation of things other people don't even understand, an emotional base from Venus and the Moon. I can love things, be crazy about things like Tori Amos. She is great. She carries me away to addresses not in the phone book.

I think there is balance. You get bad and you get good in a balance in life. I got a lot of bad in one area because I got a lot of good in another I believe. I can look at my chart and what I see that is good are the aspects between the Moon and Venus and Neptune. This is my magic, all these trines and quintiles aspecting these 3 planets. The planets of artists and musicians very often. They present their good faces to me because of their good aspects. There is fate and there are some things you can change and some things you cannot.

The Moon receives and is passive.

The Sun gives and is active.

I am a Moon person because I was born at night and because the Moon aspects every other planet except Mercury. I think it may be that most of our fortune can be told, it appears so to me.

So I guess I'll wait on the Moon, she will be my chart ruler. I am interested to see what may happen.

Playing with the Wolf

My friend Sherry and I once wrote poems about the proverbial "wolf at the door". You have to survive first, even if it means hunting like the wolf. My poem was about basically ignoring the wolf and Sherry's was about inviting it inside and playing with the wolf. Playing with the wolf would never have crossed my mind, the horrible things that happen to us when we don't know what we are going to do; when we lose our job, when our family throws us out the door or when an illness threatens to leave you homeless or your car breaks down and you are thinking about walking to work. This, to me, represents the wolf and it did to Sherry too, it's just the way she thinks. When faced with horrible people she often found herself working with as a waitress she played with them, I ignore the low class people I work with. Two different styles of living.

In astrology Mercury rules the tongue and it is a rule that Mercury is inclined to be negative. Mercury itself is neutral, it belongs to neither the day or the night and is neither male nor female. In our interactions with one another we are inclined therefore to be negative, to gripe when we are having a bad day, and like the wolf the bully tends to go for the one who is weakest, just as the wolf goes for the baby elk or the wounded elk to chase and tire down for the kill. These people often remind me of David Letterman, these people often have no talent or abilities of their own, (in fact, Letterman offers scholarships to "C" students as that was what grades he made in school himself), this super criticalness and making fun and being ready with a joke when anyone slips up, this mocking. I knew someone very much like Letterman and he spends evenings reading encyclopedias, alone. When younger I thought him so clever, so cool. Now I see him and wonder how I ever let his lashing comments burn, why did I become so hypervigilant whenever he was around to be extra "cool"? I, once I realized how much this old friend was like Letterman, was never able to think of him without this comparison in mind. He is like a wolf. We need people who nurture us, who are not wolves.

Then there is the question of why we need wolves at all.

Why did God make it where we come to these dead ends, where we end up hungry or cold or at the end of our rope? How can you think of God's grace or of beautiful things or what is possible when you haven't even had anything to eat or are freezing cold? Why must we have these experiences? I've accepted reincarnation but even so, it doesn't explain this.

It is said the real world is an illusion and our job is see past that.

For me, I just don't talk when I really feel bad, though complaining is something I do as a sort of pastime with others. When it comes to close to the heart, complaining just makes my heart bleed more. I've learned to be careful about what I say, the sayer forgets them but the target may never forget. I remember things people said to me from years ago. The wolf makes people like animals, they don't care they are so focused on themselves. We should try to remember the wolf isn't the people we live with, the wolf is at their door as much as he is at ours.

Triplicity Ruler

Every 28 years of your life is ruled by a planet, a triplicity ruler. Okay, first you have to know what planet rules your chart. If you were born in the daytime then the Sun rules your chart. If you were born at night then the ruler is the Moon. I was born at night and my Moon is is the water sign of Cancer. My life is ruled by the Water triplicity. Here is how it works:

Fire = Sun Jupiter Saturn

Air = Saturn Mercury Jupiter

Earth = Venus Moon Mars

Water = Mars Venus Moon

Please be sure to check my work before taking it to heart as I can make mistakes, I am a fan of astrology but not an astrologer.

I was amused to see that my first ruler was Mars, as I grew up with a family at loggerheads with one another. My father was violent and my birth chart says I have a likelihood of being physically hurt by another because I won't back down. With my father that was a likelihood to say the least but I survived. At 29 I entered the rulership of Venus. Now the astrologer I have been reading says to see the strength or weakness of your ruling planet to see what these 28 years will be like.

Mars for me is in the 4th, the 4th represents secrets, mysteries, things underground, family. It is said by this astrologer to represent things that go up and down. It was a big secret that my father was beating my mother and it was a mystery why he (or anyone really) would want to do such a thing. The 4th is about the most powerful parent, which would be my father. But a planet symbolizes many things and Mars was me asserting myself, breaking free from the bonds and the promises to my mother to always keep this secret. (She would always protest she loved my father). You see, this sadistic beating of someone else in secret and that person agreeing with and not fighting against them, almost an S and M thing is subterranean, something underground. It was almost as if my mom wanted to be beaten, and then asked for sympathy and help from other people when it was her fault it was happening in the first place! (I don't give to those charities that help abused and battered women, it wouldn't suprise me if a great deal of them don't encourage and like it)

Then at 29 Venus rules my life and I am very interested in becoming an artist or a writer, I am loving music so much now. I always loved music, I think Venus just made me love it more. Now Venus is in the 12th house for me, the 12th is a BAD house traditionally. It represents things that are hidden, things about you the world does not know. Venus represents artistic talent and my talent is something that is hidden. Those who know that I've published belittle it, don't think much of it, and most often are not interested enough to read it at all. Now Barbara Streisand has Venus in the 12th so it doesn't mean the world won't love you, I do get published but I get precious little praise at home. So it has not been such a great time, Venus is a beneficial planet but she is full of bad spirit because she rules the BAD 6th house and she is in the BAD 12th house. It is hard for me to get inspired, to get to do my writing, to get people to think it important enough for me to allot time to it. However, once my writing gets to an editor I often get praise. Once a New York editor called all the Stubbs in my town until they found me on the phone to tell me how much they liked my story and to advise me I should buy a computer. (I was typing on an old Royal typewriter and using a ton of liquid paper.) So the 12th represents the public, the collective unconscious.

It is interesting.

Hitler's Chart

I was suprised that we knew the birth time of Adolf Hitler and could do his chart. He is lacking in an element and that element is Water. It is thought this made him lack compassion for others, but also his Venus was in the middle of 2 malefics. By orbit Venus would square and then conjunct these 2 bad planets for his whole life, and Venus rules his Libra Ascendant. In fact Hitler fancied himself an artist and made a meager living painting postcards in Vienna I have read. He died at 56 years of age. Astrology studies extremes just to understand if perhaps the planets can say why we are as we are, it seems the planets create a leaning towards something rather than saying "this is how you shall be". Still, in the currents of time if we drift this leaning towards can be very powerful.

Heaven's Sense or College and the 9th House

The 9th house is about college, and the ruler of the 9th (as with all houses) is more important than planets actually "in" the house itself. How this ruling planet sits in your chart is what happens concerning higher education.
Turning to myself as an example as I always do, the 9th for me is Leo so the ruling planet is the Sun. My Sun is in conjunction with Saturn, giving me loads of self-doubt. So there is me thinking I am just not smart enough to go to college, in fact I did go for only a very brief time. But Leo is where we play so wouldn't I be partying it up in college? Well, no. The 9th is the house of philosophy, higher thought, abstract concepts are what I play with and moral issues are what I think about. But, and this is a very big but, I resent using my mind as anything other than a toy and only think about what I want to think about.
My mind is my toy.
The 9th is the house of the mind.
Astrology is really simply laid out really. The 9th is a Universal house. (I think about the world)
Houses 1-4 are personal houses.
Houses 5-8 are social houses
Houses 9-12 are universal houses.
The 9th rules publishing because it rules the public expression of ideas. I want to be a writer and it is a work of love. My 9th is ruled by Leo. When Leos are workaholics they do so out of love, loving what they do. Social acceptance, validation and applause are what Leos seek. Leos don't need to look for love, they love themselves already very much thank you.
It is interesting to note these 3 classifications of houses in relation to oneself.
For instance I have Mars and the Moon squared in the social houses and nothing else. (Well I do have the part of fortune in the 7th) Anyway, this is how I deal with other people, with aggression or with the Martian love of competition or with the Moon's emotions.
I find this interesting because it is so true.
However, the degrees in the middle of a sign, the 11-20 degrees, are the working degrees. The planets here are the ones you'll use the most. I only have Mercury which is the planet of communication in these degrees. Once again, truth.
So I am somewhat thinking what I want to think merrily forgetting any knowledge I don't like learning and there is this urge to communicate it to someone else. I find myself telling my hubby astrological things he has told me time and again he has no interest in.
That is because he doesn't believe in astrology.
I just don't care.
I remember and tell myself to shut up.
My hubby is a "meat and potatoes" guy, like let's talk about the here and now and the real and not about possibilities and not about abstract concepts. He is a simple man. Reality is his playing cards and what is likely to happen, he is not suprised at thoughts but rather by things that actually happen. I think poverty made him that way. One must be vigilant after all, to keep the hungry wolves away from one's door. I find that as long as I am warm and well-fed today I can forget about tomorrow. Primitive man, after all, had the same concerns but still found time to make dot to dot pictures of the constellations in the sky and think about what the stars might mean.

NaNoWriMo Anyone?

November is write a novel in one month month, that is if you are participating in NaNoWriMo, (Can't see any link to Mork & Mindy and the alien who said hello by saying NaNoNaNo.) I did see a link to Tom Robbins, that author of "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" and "Another Roadside Attraction" His advice on writing a novel is to forget all advice and write the darn thing. Hmm...interesting.

He says that novels are compelled into being, that they come with naviete. I can be naive I think to myself hopefully as I read....I can forget things like advice too!! I have a feeling there is more to it than that but never mind, NaNoWriMo is about writing at roughly the speed of light, to write so quickly that perhaps you silence those internal censors and that part of you screaming, (it sucks, it sucks bogwater!)

Birth Chart of United States

There is a constant argument over the birth chart of the United States, many feel we have a Sagittarius Ascendant. That means that right now Pluto is in the second house of money which could mean bad economic times for the country. Of course, bad times are already here and it can take over 12 years for Pluto to transit a house. It is said things must die so that other things can live, Pluto represented decay and destruction. I actually have not been following Pluto transits being fairly new to astrology but what I think Pluto as well as Saturn do when they plow through the houses is give you a dose of reality. The second house of the U.S. is Capricorn which is an earth sign so that means reality also. If the U.S. had an air sign in the 2nd house it could well mean the way we think about our possessions could undergo a drastic change, but with our 2nd house in Capricorn and this sign representing institutions like banks and governments then it may be our eonomic situation is going to get a great deal worse before it gets better I am sorry to say. Pluto in Capricorn opposes Venus, Jupiter and the Sun and that is not a good aspect, the opposition meaning things that are out there for everyone to see. (A square is something hidden).
I think that the economic push is required for change to take place, and that is why it is taking place. (Resisting Pluto and change brings about destruction astrologers say). Hilary Clinton tried hard for health care reform but I guess the government wasn't ready, there is strong resistance they say in beauracracy and any change is unwelcome. (I quite like Hilary who is charming in interviews and could never understand why the men in my life cannot stand her)
They say we are a consumer society, I know that my house is full of things that I have bought and then wondered, "Why did I buy that?" There is a joy in owning something and a righteous joy, I just think we ought to, just sometimes, find joy in something else.

Regina Spektar

"Far" is the name of this CD and I enjoy listening to it although the lyrics very often can't be stretched in any way to make sense such as "we made a computer out of macaroni" but with a little more time she might be great. She is after all, very young and so talented. She reminds me of Tori Amos and not because she is a red-haired piano player who has a lot of words in her songs, (well, that doesn't hurt for Tori is all those things). She was on Good Morning America and the comment was made that she was as "cool as a cucumber" which meant I suppose for one so young she seems so very confident. She wore a turtleneck that fit her loosely not tightly and a skirt that was knee length so she in no way resembled pop stars who flaunt a sexy body, she was dressed in regular clothes. When told she was marvelous she grinned and laughed, I suspect she felt the compliment too much and embarrassing. This is how we treat creative people on television let us hope it doesn't turn this young girl's head. She plays with words with a sense of humour, I can't wait to pick up more of her music.

Looking for Pisces

Within every sign are lessons and wonder, Pluto's polarity point for me is Pisces so I am looking for Pisces. My evolutionary path is compulsive crisis in order to bring about change, inner emptiness that only spirtuality can fill up again, but that's just me. There is a consistency in me because the archetype of Pluto in Virgo is also the thing going on with the South Node in the 6th house, corresponding to Virgo. This is criticizing the self and being masochistic or sadistic as the person may be, depending. The polarity point for me is Pisces, and my North Node corresponds to Pisces in the 12th house. The 12th house North Node is about forgiving one's self and about faith. We want to grow, we want to dissolve old patterns of behavior. Terrible things happen when we do not. Pluto retrograde is about withdrawing from society's norms, so here enters Astrology for me.
So the polarity or opposite point of Pluto and the North Node are the future, or what we are evolving towards. When we are born with the parents that we had, this was our karma. This karma is often worked out by the age of 28 to 30 and then we strike out on our own. This desire to grow, even if it is extremely painful, is what we are doing deep inside. We can look back after many years and see our wrong thinking, the things that were not true.
It is interesting to look at Aries, the first sign in evolution. Not at all less important is Aries or with any less to give, there is instinctive learning through action. Self-discovery means one needs to be independent of relationships, to stop dependencies. To stop dependencies is a supreme form of giving because we are teaching others also to be equal in relationships. Since we are all on different paths then what I experience is different from you, what I need to learn is in a different classroom with a different teacher.
These ideas come from Jeffrey Green, who has written books about Pluto.
The ideas have the feeling of truth, although reincarnation is not an idea I embrace. I know that there are things that we do not know which are difficult to quantify. I cannot say if these ideas are true or untrue, only that they are interesting.
I was amused to Shirley McClaine in a recent T.V. interview and she was asked,
"How do you know that these things are true?"
She replied, "I don't know that they are true."
I have read of Jess Stern, who tried to prove reincarnation and every time he could not.
Reincarnation explains things beautifully, however I wouldn't want us to be like India, where people accept cruelty to the lower classes because they deserve it don't they? Otherwise they would have been born in a higher class if they did not, wouldn't they? Religion has brought them to this cruelty, how awful is that?
The signs themselves are loose fitting clothes, different for every person.
I remember the joyfulness of Leo and the pattern of self-expression. The sense a Leo has of being special and of special purpose. The 5th house is Leo for us, ruled by the Sun as Leo is ruled by the Sun. You cannot deny, knowing one, that Leo is a Leo for they shine brightly.
I cannot deny Taurus as my hubby is one, that this is a real thing. It is said that Taurus seems glued to their chairs just as they are to their opinions! I laughed when I read that, for it is just too, too true. This inertia seems to be an effect of Sun in Taurus. He is in no way less himself for being a Taurus, he does in fact have a Moon in Aquarius. He clings to certain patterns and disregards others for an Aquarian Moon just like his Mars in Gemini is about new ideas and he doesn't embrace new ideas at all. These undercurrents of our being confuse us and repressed they come to light in strange and unusual ways. I am like his shadow self and his North Node is the same degree as my Sun in Sagittarius. It is said the Nodes are about relationships in some mysterious manner, there is some fate in our knowing each other I cannot see.
So my past is about being hard on myself and as the South Node position is easy to do. Life seems to be pushing me hard by being critical of myself to force me to defend myself. To be so hard on me, to punish me so severely, that I try to grow past feeling worthless.
As for Hubby's shadow self, he has 2 children who are Aquarians and one who is a Leo. The future is stamped on an Aquarius and self-discovery is stamped on a Leo. His shadow self is constantly emphasized by his family. If we refuse to grow we become increasingly dissatisfied and unhappy, we don't know what we want but we want it badly. We want to grow. Traumatic experiences force growth on us and we may unconsciously seek trauma and crisis, forcing growth on ourselves when we refuse it. Happiness is supposed to be around the bend after we go through these terrible things. I hope so.
I try to understand why things have happened to me, to think that there is a reason is very inspiring to me.
It is a fact that there are people who kill thier own success, thinking themselves undeserving. They say Neptune represents these unconscious judgments we make of ourselves. While we seeks success and pay lip service to how great we are outside inside we may be planting landmines in our path we know we are going to step on.
For if astrology is right then life is just school, and we are all in a classroom.

Creating A Crisis if You Don't Have One

What I have learned, I know this much is true.

The 8th house represent crisis, and with the Moon here it represents one crisis after another. You could say it is in your nature to live with crisis. You could say that it is your world and if you ain't got one, you go out and make one. Any planet in this Pluto ruled house is trying to transform I read. I get it. The Moon is emotional, so here is our emotional landscape and we are creating as well as being created. A Virgo midheaven strives to analyze and understand, and we think we are done once we understand something. Unfortunately, understanding does not necessarily solve problems, it just means you understand the problem that you have. This is, after all though, the basis for psychotherapy. You are supposed to holler Eureka! and everything fall into place! Oh, I felt guilty 'cause I wanted my dad for myself or some other foolish nonsense. (Or not so foolish, what do I know?)

A midheaven or the 10th house with Pluto sitting there in your chart means you want to transform your job and have the career that will make you happy. What I do is get so unhappy with my job that I quit, sometimes quite suddenly, without knowing what I am going to do to support myself. I force this crisis on myself so that I have to transform and find something else to do for a living.

Possible blog readers, this ain't so smart.

Besides almost starving to death and having anxiety attacks, these attempts to transform just don't work, but now I understand myself much better.

And understanding something, like seeking a crisis, is something I want to do.

What we Don't Know

What we do not know is difficult to quantify and it is how we are that we try to. A truly smart person is the person smart enough to know how stupid they are and if that is true then I must be highly intelligent. If the South Node is what we do know then the North Node is what we do not know. Each of the houses the nodes are in show the area of life of what we know/don't know.

Elizabeth Spring has a wonderful site about the Nodes of the Moon by the way.

Since the 12th is about the unconscious and the collection unconsious, magic and deeper realms not reached by reason, then it stands that my North Node cannot be reached by reason or thinking about logically. Darn. As much as I want to connect the dots here it is not possible for me to do so it seems. However nodes still help me when doing the charts of other people.

My joy is in doing creative things so there is 12th house Nodes and Venus. They've got to do their secret and hidden 12th house things as this house symbolizes. Sometimes truth is not being smart, but rather just listening for the high notes.

The Polarity of Pluto and What You Already Know

I was reading Evolutionary Astrology: Pluto and Your Karmic Mission by Deva Crystal Green, parts of this are online. What a great book this is! This is the sort of deeper astrological knowledge I long for. What interests me here (out of many interesting things) is the truth of how the South Node is what you already know. Since all I really know with confidence is myself, then it is myself that I look for. Okay, so I have South Node in Taurus in the 6th house. Here, the text says, the left brain is very developed. I understand a left brain ability is that of language. The book says "the ability to organize information in a linear manner." whatever that means.

If you have your birth chart done and you see the North Node but no South Node, the South Node is directly opposite the North in your chart. So with my North Node at 28 degrees Scorpio I know my South is at 28 degrees of Taurus.

The 6th is the house of servitude. There is a focus on self-improvement. I am that way! Here we learn humility, and I have had a double dose of humiliation in my life so I must have humility. Okay so we know where we have been and with the North Node, we know where we are going, or what we are growing towards I guess.

What we are growing towards is also Pluto's polarity point, or the point directly opposite Pluto.

My polarity point is Pisces and my North Node is in the 12th house, corresponding to Pisces and ruled by Neptune.

The North Node, and the planet ruling the North Node can transmute you to new levels of expression says this wonderful book.

We transmute when we travel from childhood to adulthood, we are ourselves but forever changed. I think that is what transmute means, (maybe).

I would guess, that since astrology is so much about balance, that I need more spirituality in my life and that is what I am supposed to be striving for.

Mercury is said to show in what area of life this striving takes place, so mine is in the 2nd house of what you hold dear, possessions and what you possess. Okay, I am going to take a wild guess here in regards to myself and what I think this means. I was not thought well of by others as a child, I was teased and mocked a lot. My self-esteem has taken a horrible beating in my life. I would guess my karma is getting some of this self-esteem back and thinking more of myself than I did before.

For in psychiatry, there are triggers for depression. These main triggers seem to be humiliation and loss. In the human mind, humiliation is as powerful as loss. We need to think well of ourselves it seems. When being humiliated is as soul destroying as losing a loved one, that makes it very bad. We need a certain amount of confidence to be able to do things, and if we cannot do anything then we are in a terrible condition. Part of the draw of astrology for me is to say Yea! I have talents just like anyone else and I am just like anyone else, strange as it sounds. I have been standing outside looking in, astrology tells me I belong inside with everyone else. I have been somewhat isolated, and though I enjoy being by myself a person still needs to be a part of things.

It is interesting that if Pluto squares the Nodes then we have skipped vital steps in our development. I have this aspect. Pluto rules transformation and the 8th house. We are running back and forth between the North Node and the South Node with Pluto squaring the nodal axis. Growth as children actually happens this way, with leaps forward and leaps backward so this seems rather a natural thing to me.

This is a great book and I have a deep desire to own it and have it on my bookshelf. It may be astrology can help us become better than we were before, with an understanding and who we are and what path we walk upon.

Sabian Symbols

The Sabian symbols were created in 1925 and are widely used in astrology. The clairvoyant Elsie Wheeler who was in wheelchair for much of her life was the one receiving these images. Marc Edmund Jones was the author of the book but it was Elsie Wheeler who saw the images in her mind's eye. She had clients and was tired of the same old questions such as how do I get rich or when will I meet the love of my life? She wanted to make a more lasting contribution. She said herself that on some of the symbols she felt she had lost focus, so these symbols are be taken as something that may or may not be true. They are to inspire you and if they don't, discarded as useless.

The Sabians were an ancient race living in Mesopotamia, where astrology is said to have originated. The ancient Chaldeans then took up astrology.

Each degree of the zodiac has a Sabian symbol. If your degree is exact at 15 degrees 0 minutes then you read the 15 degree symbol, if it is 15 degrees one minute then you read the symbol for 16 degrees. I found this on a site on the internet, hope this is right!

For example, the Sabian symbol for 15 degrees of my Mercury is, "In a hospital, the children's ward is filled with toys." I think this reflects how words, and a love of language, is healing for me. It links the childlike wonder and the powerful imagination of children at play with their toys with the planet of communication. Reading books was my way out of a terrible childhood, it was like removing myself from the pain of my world into another.

My Mars has the Sabian symbol, "A man expresses himself in 2 worlds at once." To be sure, I have loved books about entering other worlds such as Narnia, the Amber books, and Lord of the Rings.

The planet of inspiration is Uranus and mine has this strange Sabian symbol that seems to sum everything up.

Uranus 7 degrees: The wonder of the constellations of stars in the night sky.

Nodes of the Moon

The nodes of the moon are called the Dragon's Head and the Dragon's Tail. They are mathematical points in space where the Sun's path crosses the Moon's orbit. This brings up reincarnation because it is said the North Node is where we need to grow towards, and the South Node what we already know all about from past lives.

The Moon has some associations I don't understand. The Moon is said to be a lot about memories. The Moon also represents the public, like if your Moon is at the midheaven you will be famous. The Moon is our emotional response. The Moon is how we nuture others. The Moon represents motherhood and the feminine. The more aspects other planets make to the Moon, the more likely you will be famous.

If a planet in your birth chart is in the same degree, the same place as your North Node then this is showing your special ability or talent. Lunar power is flowing through this planet. Transiting nodes hitting a natal planet can magnify that planet in your life. The transiting nodes are telling you where you are going.

There is some tie with relationships with the Nodes of the Moon. It is thought the North Node is important in synastry, or the comparison of romantic partners.

I have North Node in Scorpio and South Node in Taurus. Now this can be considered to be about money, for Taurus is always accumulating things and money. Taurus corresponds to the 2nd house of money. It could also mean in past lives I did everything myself and need to learn to work with other people. Now this is contradictory because my North Node which is telling me to work with others is in the 12th house of doing things alone. I have stars that say I enjoy solitude and a Venus in the 12th also to make sure that I do enjoy being alone. Then Jupiter is in the sign of partnerships, Libra. And then my part of fortune is in the house that corresponds to Libra, the 7th house. My Moon is in the 8th house of how others see me. (The 4th house is how you see yourself) Somebody, call me in a real astrologer!

Okay, so maybe my chart is telling me that no man, (or woman) is an island. We do need other people. I don't know why, but we do.

And yet Taurus is so much more than money and the security they crave and try to satisfy by accumulating money. A Taurus is capable of working so hard for those they love and can sacrifice everything for others. I know Taurus so well, I don't understand Scorpio. Maybe that is the meaning of the Nodes for me, to learn what Scorpio has to give.

Sirius The Brightest Star in the Sky

Sirius is the brightest of all stars, brilliant white and yellow in the constellation of the Greater Dog. At -1.46 magnitude, it is given a 5 degree orb because of it's power. It is said to correspond with 12 degrees of Cancer. In ancient times it marked the hottest time of the year, which we still call today the dog days of summer. It makes it's natives custodians and guardians says it's star page. Ptolemy gave this star the nature of Jupiter and Mars. The Mars part of the star causes problems especially if this star is in conjunction with Mars. It can be too strong an influence if on the Ascendant. The dangerous passions of Mars I understand can come from outside of you also, as in someone trying to kill you. That could be considered bad luck I say but Sirius is considered fortunate. It brings passions, resentment, devotion and honor.

In astrology the left side of the chart represents self and the right side represents others. One way to read a chart is to see how many planets are on one side or the other. This is revealing in my case. It is the Moon and my Uranus that comes to the fore, the planets on the right side of my chart, in my dealings with other people. I have an emotional response first of all, and others inspire me.

The brightest of all my stars at the same degree as my natal planets is Bungula or Toliman. It is conjunct my Venus in the 12th house. Now the 12th, 8th and 6th are considered "unfortunate" houses. Venus is the bound lord of every planet in my chart as she rules my impudent Mars and with a more powerful star to boot. According to which tradition of astrology you follow, these houses are very bad or not bad at all though. Venus at 2 degrees away from the Ascendant, is she considered powerfully on the Ascendant or not? That depends on who you ask also.

The 12th represents things that are hidden, all things like artistic talent and sensitivity and all things beautiful are ruled by Venus. This star itself gives friends, musical and artistic abilities. Who would've thunk it? I've friends I've not realized I have until something bad happens to me and I need help and I find I do have friends. My ability to write well doesn't show up when I talk, in fact I stammer and stumble over words. I talk badly in fact. I can write well only when alone, it is a fact that most writers must be alone to create. I express myself badly in public, I find I am misunderstood a lot. I don't dress well, reality doesn't agree with my inner vision. Somehow people think of me in a lot of different ways it seems. I guess it depends on what mood I am in when they meet me. First impressions often seem to be permanent impressions. As the Moon constantly changes so things the moon touches in our charts constantly changes. (My daughters have the Moon in the 2nd house of money, I am terrified their finances will be up and down like the phases of the Moon) I have a Moon in Cancer, the sign the Moon rules and it causes one to have constant shifts in temperment. A bad mood or a good mood either one doesn't last long, and sometimes these moods overlap each other. A Moon in Cancer is extremely sensitive, mine in the 8th house of others means I am sensitive to other people. I feel other's disapproval almost like a force striking me, like a gust of wind. Weird. I can feel other people too darn much. When someone is in the same room as me when I write, I can feel their mood and it influences my writing. Not a good thing, as I want my writing to be pure me and no one else. The Moon rules my chart too.

There are ways that astrology is not true also, for all I write about how it is. For instance the 6th house is supposed to be about our health and illness and I find little about the 6th to be about this. (Much more sure is Saturn, Saturn lames. Mine is in conjunction with my Sun in the 1st, so I guess it is my conscious will that is lamed and to be sure, no one has more problems than me asserting myself or making up my mind) Another astrologer and I cannot remember who, is on the internet saying the same thing. My Taurus in the 6th rules the throat, and my throat is fine so far in my life thank you very much.

Still, so much is eerily true. That so much is true is still amazing.

Sadalsuud, Luckiest of the Lucky

What is the luckiest star in the sky? It may be Sadalsuud at 23 degrees of Aquarius. According to a fixed star book, this star culminates at 26 degrees Aquarius which is where my asteriod Pallas is and where my Arabic part of Luck is. Cooincidence? Ancient texts say that the part of fortune at 9 degrees of Gemini indicates loss and poverty so that is not so good for me, as that is where my fortune is in my chart. I have wondered if I would find poverty in my chart as it seems no matter what I do my financial state is a sorry one. I do seem to get by, just barely sometimes.

So why look at stars? The difficult mathematical formulas are beyond me, you must do longtitude and latitude and other things I do not know how to do. I don't know why I study stars, I need something to occupy myself I suppose. Regulus is a star close to the epileptic, whatever that means, so it is more certain it resides at 29 degrees of Leo and is a star of the 1st magnitude, very bright and powerful.

The star that is a Rock Star is Vega or Wega. It makes people it influences refined and inclined towards music and intellectual pleasures but also wantonness and shamefull indulgences. Doesn't that sound like a rock star? A star prominent in the chart of Shelley the poet, astrologers say this star shows up more in the charts of writers than any other occupation. In spite of the danger of gluttony Vega is called a fortunate star. It resides at 15 degrees Capricorn.

At my midheaven is Zosma which is unfortunate, sort of. It gives an alert mind but unhappiness and melancholy. The native receives benefits through disgrace. It is the star of victimization, one might be a victim oneself or do charity work with those who are victims. It gives sympathy for those that the establishment makes powerless. I do indeed have a great deal of sympathy for people in dire straits, but then I am often one of those people myself so can be of little help to them other than the sympathy I can offer. I understand how someone can be so confused and so hurt emotionally that they do foolish things, and how working a dead end job can take away one's self-respect. I don't understand how my own disgrace can benefit me, that is for sure. This star resides at 11 degrees of Virgo.

My lucky stars reside at my Mercury, Neptune and Venus, and those themes play out in my life for sure. A strong Mars makes me sometimes combative and want to argue and intolerably frustrated when I cannot get anything done. I feel like I could explode sometimes. A strong Mars is supposed to give one confidence, but the only surety I have is in my writing. I have a perhaps unreasonable belief that my writing is great. Someone can tell me it sucks (and they have) and it doesn't bother me one iota. I have a love of language that is pure music to my ears when I see it on the written page. I wrote a poem about this once called "A Good Ear" and it ends:

and moving fast like whirlpools in my mind

all because of a good ear,

and it may be all I ever need.

The Five Pillars of Fate

A new book by Antoine Garth, and he is offering classes too. The pillars of fate are the Arabic lots of fortune, spirit, basis, exaltation, and the lot of Acquisition. The Lot of Fortune is calculated at astro.com, however I did my calculations of my Lot using the directions at Aquamoonlight. This site gave me Gemini as my Lot of Fortune and Gemini rules writing so no suprise there. Garth is researching 2nd century astrology and they used the lot of fortune as the Ascendant in a new chart. This gives a new horoscope. Your new 11th house is the Lot of Aquisition, which tells you how well and by what means you earn money. Jupiter in this house is very good, or Venus. Mercury is considered neutral. When they say planets such as Saturn and Mars are malefic or bad they are talking about the tendency of these planets to cause trouble. They may not cause you any trouble at all. My Lot of Acquisition is Aries and so is ruled by Mars. Mars it says means I will get money by sports or by robbery! This is when I guess it is good to know your fixed stars and how these stars are a permanent blend with your natal planet when they are in conjunction with them.

I believe the star Algenib in conjunction with my Mars has caused a tendency towards mental gymnastics rather than physical. A Mars in Aries such as I have is a placement of atheletes and people who are very active. I am mentally active rather than physically active. This is okay, this is the Mars drive expressed differently. I have a drive to learn things, to be constantly learning something new that I didn't know before. My Mars has been permanently changed and will forever have that Mercury or mental slant to it. Mercury rules the mind.

For the part of fortune is said to be an unseen force, the path you are forced to walk upon by fate. You didn't choose it, it chose you.

The part of Spirit is that which animates us, ourselves walking the path.

The lot of Basis is said to be the foundational motivation. Can you hold onto what you gain?

The lot of Exaltation I think is where we may be exalted, or raised to higher standing.

This new chart with the fortune as the first house will have a new 10th house. This tells you what social role your occupation serves. This is the job we are supposed to be doing, of course, not what we are doing for a living. Mine is in Pisces, the most sensitive and compassionate of signs, which I suppose means I am supposed to help those less fortunate than I.

These lots are said to tell the fate. There is some interesting videos on Youtube about this new book, not a lot of views though!

For Merury rules Gemini and so rules my part of fortune but my part of Spirit is ruled by Venus. That most important of houses, the 11th holds a Mercurian star. The 11th is said to be the most fortunate of all the houses, representing help from friends and what you gain and what money you make from your career. It is Dreams Coming True.

My husband's chart is dominated by 2 stars that represent him very well, Algol and Procyon. He has the most evil star in the heavens in his 1st house, representing the physical body. He has had a lot of accidents and has had one leg amputed after a car wreck. He prefers older people, he likes them very much. Almost all of his friends are older than him and they help him a lot. The star Procyon says "help from elderly friends" and no, I am not making this up. These stars say "quick to anger" and he is that way. When a young girl ran into him while talking on the cell phone he lectured her so thoroughly about her carelessness that she cried and was shaking. He said he did it for her own good. The poor girl probably turns her cell phone off now!

I am trying to make sense of my lots and this new chart. I think it is interesting stuff. My husband having the awfulest star conjunct his Sun has not ruined his life at all, it seems that even Algol is just a bit of bad luck run into along the way.

The star Procyon says, "help from elderly friends".

Midpoints

This is a Hubble image of the star Mira.

The midpoint is exactly what it sounds like, the exact middle point between 2 planets. It is important when a planet is at the midpoint. I've read to use a 3 degree orb. If a planet is within 3 degrees of a midpoint then it is at the midpoint. People who are interested in astrology usually want to know about their love life. So the Venus/Mars midpoint is of special interest to them. Venus being the feminine and Mars the masculine principal. You can go to Astro.com and get a natal chart for free and then there is a site on the internet that will calculate midpoints for you. It is easy to do. If Mercury is at your Venus/Mars midpoint then you are always talking about, and thinking about relationships. If Saturn is there then you will have frustrations and difficulties and constraints on your relationships with the opposite sex. Some of us don't have a lot of midpoints in our charts, I think I have only 2. The midpoint of my Mars/Venus is the asteroid Juno. Juno represents our marriage partner. I tended to look at my romantic partners seriously with a thought for the future. I was thinking about possible marriage all the time, or if the relationship had a chance or if I was wasting my time basically.

Noel Tyl writes great stuff about midpoints at his site. The midpoints of these planets can be, he says, interpreted like this:

Saturn + inner planets = Frustration, Inner Criticism or Self-Mastery and Achievement

Mercury or Jupiter + Saturn, Uranus or Pluto equals intellectual gifts, communication skills.

Mercury, Venus or Neptune in any combination equals Idealism and Perfectionism

Saturn + Outer Planets (Uranus, Neptune or Pluto) = Harsh Realities Shape the Life

Of course, when you know very well the meanings of the planets and you know the midpoint is a blending of the 2 energies then understanding will come to you.

I have my Sun at the midpoint between Mercury and Saturn, so communication skills for me!

I have Jupiter at the Sun/Moon midpoint so I'm kind of stuck with positive thinking, like I have to do it, which is somewhat limiting. If I don't think positive I absolutely cannot do anything. I think that is the problem with this midpoint.

Also interesting is that what you talk about is Mercury. It appears that if you look at aspects to Mercury you can see what comes out of your mouth. The only aspect my Mercury has is to Venus, this planet wants everything to be beautiful and pleasing and this is the semi-square. This is not a major aspect but I'm told it counts.

Also interesting are Egyptian bounds, and if I follow my bound Lords I find that Mars is the Lord of both my Sun and my Moon, but Venus is the bound Lord of Mars.

I have found a puzzle to work with in astrology and if I put it all together perhaps I'll see a picture of myself. I find it to be an uplifting thing to do.

There were various "hooks" along the way which hooked me on Astrology. Each thing I learned verified astrology for me, this is true, yes, this is so, and seeing myself in the planets. Chiron and how it represents wounds and how the 3rd house represents siblings and elementary school and how my brother and constant teasing in school hurt me. This is truly my wound. Astrologers say that your wound is how you can help others, that this is your task. I don't know how to do this. Jupiter is telling you where you have the most room to grow by it's house position. Neptune is telling you where you don't see things too clearly. Venus tells you where you love to be, and Uranus tells you where your purpose and talents may lie. Pluto could be telling you where your personal power is. Mercury tells you how you communicate and what you like to talk about. All of this is potentially very useful information and can lead you to think about yourself.

As one of the ancient Greeks said (which one was it?) "The unexamined life is not worth living."

Virgo the Virgin

Virgo is Latin for virgin. There is a certain cleanliness of the mind when you consider a Virgo. My father was a Virgo, he never told a dirty joke, and never laughed at one either. He would smile and nod to be polite but I knew he was displeased inside. Virgo is an earth sign but it is a very mental and hard working sign. Virgos lack spontaneity and may be overly critical. My father was obsessed with details, things had to be just so. Virgos may make you feel inferior but inside they feel humble and want to help others. Unlike air signs Virgos have a great deal of common sense. There is a certain objective detachment to Virgos. My father was an engineer who built bridges, exacting mathematical work. It is work right up a Virgo's alley you could say.

Any planet in Virgo in a chart will act like it is oppressed. I find this strange but true. Perfection is not something that exists in the world and perfectionists are never completely happy. Restricted by the bonds of Virgo, Pluto will not be so powerful nor Jupiter so abundantly expansive. In emergencies Virgos can stay cool and calm and rational, and who doesn't need that, in an emergency anyway.

As a child I was often annoyed that I had to tie up the loaf of bread tightly and keep the water jug in the refrigerator completely full, but now I know that my father was a Virgo and could not help himself. Still whenever I needed help I knew who to call, and who would know exactly what to do and be completely calm even after I wrecked the family car. I love you Dad.

Leo, where we play

It is amusing how you can find the area of life in which people play by looking at their charts. Leo is the natural ruler of the fifth house of games and play and love life too. The fifth house is said also to represent our first child. My hubby has Leo ruling his 6th house of work, and he does love to work. My youngest has Leo ruling her 7th house of partners and she does have high times with her love life and also partnering up with her best friend. Mine is in the 9th of higher education and I do like reading books and ideas. I love to think, and maybe that is what Leo ruling the 9th house is, I don't know. My eldest has Leo ruling her 12th house, that house that is so hard to figure out. The 12th is said to represent our subconcious. It is also said to represents institutions like schools and hospitals. My eldest wants to be a teacher. Maybe that explains where she plays is the 12th's tie to any institution. As for the 5th representing your first child, mine is in Aries and I fail to see what that means. One thing I do know is that we have an awful lot of the same points in our charts. Her Saturn is at 26 Sagittarius where my Sun is. Her midheaven is 9 Gemini which is my part of fortune. Her Ascendant is 10 Virgo which is my midheaven. I think this is significant. (Maybe not, 360 degrees and 10 planets, after all) I can't do the math on that one as to the likelihood of sharing the same degrees.

Anyway where Leo is in our charts may be where we are at our happiest, and though we might know that already, isn't it wonderful that the stars can tell us again?

J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien and I both have Saturn on the Ascendant. This is supposed to make a person be very strict either with themselves or with others or both at once. He was a strict Roman Catholic. Saturn tests us and makes us wait. Saturn rules old people and when you get older Saturn is supposed to be easier on you. Delays and frustrations of all kinds happen with Saturn transits and an earthy understanding of the house it has just transited. Yet Saturn is often strong in charts of the musicians and the old classical composers, the thought being that Saturn represents structure and organization and that is needed for creative endeavors. It appears that Tolkien's Saturn didn't hurt him in writing great fantasy novels.
For Tolkien fans every detail of his life is of interest.
The first part of the Lord of the Rings that was written was when Gandalf visited Bilbo and told him his suspicions about the ring that he had might be the One Ring.
Authors are often told to keep their work secret until completed, Tolkien often met friends at an English pub and read to them parts of his work in progress.
Tolkien said he first started writing with no idea any of it was about religion, and said it didn't need religion added to it, it was already in the symbolism.
Tolkien could read at the age of four.
The first language he learned, besides English, was Latin.
Extremely talented at languages, he made up imaginary languages just for fun.
He was assistant lexicographer of the Webster English Dictionary.
He suffered poverty when he was a child.
Fans can quote entire passages of these novels, so can I.
We owe publication of The Lord of the Rings to a man named Rayner Unwin. His father was in publishing and at the age of 10 he read The Hobbit. As an adult he became a publisher and was presented with The Lord of The Rings. No one else wanted to publish it, but he did. It was thought that the publishing company would take the loss that the book would surely be. Pirated paperbooks were made in 1965 and by 1968 the books were a huge success. Tolkien was suprised that the books were successful also.
Tolkien used to call rude people, "orcs".
The name "Middle-Earth" came from an ancient poem he translated.
Tolkien insists that the One Ring does not represent nuclear power.
As a child he was bitten by a spider.
My fav, when Frodo turns to Sam and says,
"I wanted to save the Shire and I did save it, but not for me. It is often that way Sam, that some people must give something up so that other people can have it."
I like to think that Middle-Earth exists somewhere, that Tolkien came from there.

Vesta

Vesta is an asteroid in astrology said to show where you may be dedicated. I think Vesta shows where you can focus your energies for the greatest benefit. My Vesta is exactly where my Mercury is. It is in the 2nd house of resources. The meaning couldn't be more clear, my talent for communication is my greatest resource.
Vesta is the Roman goddess of the hearth. Vestal virgins I read swore a vow of chastity for 30 years. A sacred fire burned in the temple that was never allowed to go out. A lot of people I've done charts for have Vesta in the 6th house of work, which means you should work hard at your job.
People interpret this asteroid differently but I think she is a clue to where in life is your place and your way to make your contribution in this life.

Pallas

Pallas is an asteroid in astrology named for the Greek Goddess Athene. She was a goddess of war and often shown with a lance and a helmut, but she was also the goddess of peace strangely enough. Goddess of wisdom too, she is often depicted with an owl. In astrology Pallas is how you solve problems and your ability to see patterns. I became interested in Pallas because I was doing the Arabic parts and so many of them gave me a result of 26 degrees Aquarius which is where Pallas is in my birthchart. The Arabic parts or lots are a point in your chart for different things, like Luck, Daughters, Father and the Lot of Fortune. The Lot of Fortune is considered the most important. My Arabic part of Art is Pallas, and Luck too. There is even a lot for your own death and I am not calculating that one thank you very much.

I read that Pallas shows where you solve problems, if she is in your fourth house then you solve problems best at home. In the 5th house of creativity and games she depicts your winning strategies and helps artistically. Einstein had Pallas in the 10th, this is where you solve problems best at your job.

The houses show where and the signs are your style of doing it. The houses are different areas of your life and the most important house is your first house. I would guess that just as planets in the first are influential over your whole life that someone with Pallas in the first would be a great problem solver, mathmetician or fashion designer.

I can tell you what I think Pallas does for me. I have Pallas in 3rd Aquarius. This is someone who thinks of solutions no one else thought of, Aquarius is where you are unusual. The 3rd house rules short journeys and the day to day things you do. This represents someone who solves problems by taking a walk and I actually do this. The third house is represented by Gemini and ruled by Mercury. I solve problems with words. I write things down and make lists and this is how I solve problems. Gemini rules writing. I do recognize the influence of Pallas in my own life.

When I blog about astrology I am taking information from many sources and seeing patterns.

Now these things are conscious, I think to myself that I'll take a walk or write it down. I mean that I know now what I was doing before instinctively.

It has been written that someone with Pallas in the 12th would suppress their talent. Any planet in the 12th is hidden away they say. The 12th is a mystical house as is the 4th and the 8th. Somehow I think that this is not always true at all, I have a planet in the 12th, Venus. The 12th house can be a terrible place it is true, but also a great place. It is said the 12th has no boundaries. What this means to me is that Venus is in every area of my life quite frankly.

Astrology does not predict the future in my opinion, neither does it mean that you can do nothing to change the future. I myself don't look at transits, and even for professionals they sort of see things in hindsight when they do see them. In my humble opinion of course.

I see it like this, every planet has 2 faces, good and bad. Good aspects can help bring out these talents you have but you have this potential. Every person is a treasure within, I am looking for mine.

Planets that Take Over the Chart

Astrologers sometimes find a planet with so much influence that it literally takes over the chart. This planet becomes the star of the show. There are 3 or 4 reasons for this.

A planet that has no aspect with any other is called wild and it expresses itself in a unique way.

If a planet is conjunct a star it can have great power, Regulus is the most powerful star in the sky. Some stars are so fortunate they are called protective stars 'cause they literally protect and help you. Spica at 22 degrees Libra is one. A planet all by itself on one side of the chart is greatly emphasized, just like Uranus in the chart of ballet dancer Isadora Duncan. (Isadora was always shocking people flying into the face of convention) Another way a planet takes over is when it is the only planet you have in one of the 4 elements, air, earth, water and fire. They call planets like this Singletons. Astrologers say these planets "suck up" all the energy in your chart. In my case it is a beautiful thing.

A planet at the exact middle between the Sun and the Moon will take over a chart. Eleanor Roosevelt has Venus here, and she was loved by everyone. Boxer Muhommed Ali has Pluto here. Mother Teresa has Neptune at Sun/Moon. This one planet characterized these people very well. For other people who we are is not so obvious, as in the case of Marilyn Monroe. She was all air, she was not a sex goddess at all. She was a Gemini. (A sex Goddess would have to be earth and water).

Yods are when 2 planets sextile one another and both are 150 degrees (give or take 5 degrees) from a 3rd planet. This 3rd planet, it is said sucks up the energy from the other 2. I heard of one person with a horrible childhood who used their 3rd planet to overcome it. This planet was Jupiter, the planet of abundance and all good things. This Yod saved his life you could say. Yods are not well understood, they are mysterious. I know that they can take over a chart.

I have Jupiter as a Singleton, it is my only planet in an air sign. Libra is an artistic sign. It is also the sign of partnerships, marriage as well as business, as well as friendships. All my energy goes into artistic pursuits, either enjoying it or doing creative projects. I always want someone to enjoy these things with me, Libra again!

Here I am reading and writing or talking all the time and living life on a mental plane. I live my life like an air sign. Jupiter in Libra is who I am, Jupiter has taken over my chart.

Every sign and every planet is in our charts, there is always a way to understand one another. If we want to. There is always an "out" from terrible experiences. There is always a door to open. You can fly above things that try to crash and burn you, like James Taylor sings in his song, "All My Golden Moments"

And all I really needed was the proper point of view.

How You Are Supposed to Make Money

Astrology tells us not what we are doing for a living, but what we are supposed to be doing. Your money houses are the second, eighth and eleventh and planets there are clues, also aspects to the midheaven. The fifth house rules creativity, so the sixth house represents money made from creative projects. I have no planets in the 6th, which I suppose means I will never make a living writing books. I don't stop writing or trying to publish because of it though. The fact is that a chart is never simple nor easy to understand and there are exceptions to every rule. That doesn't make astrology untrue, like heaven above us we don't understand it, that's all.

It is a fact that we enjoy doing what we are supposed to do, so Venus the planet of what pleases us is a clue to career. My Venus is in the 12th house, which means I enjoy solitude and working alone. (Sounds like a writer to me) Venus also quintiles the midheaven. Mercury, the planet of communications trines my midheaven. (120 degrees away) My midheaven is in Virgo, but as Virgo obsesses (usually about their health, this is the sign of the hypochondriac) astrologers say that a Virgo midheaven might only mean that you are obsessed by your career. The element of the sign at the midheaven is a very important clue to oneself, a earth sign wants to see real results for their efforts, an air sign might work just for the mental challenge, a fire sign might work just for spiritual rewards or to be a leader and in the spotlight, a water sign wants an emotional tie to their career as water signs are all about their emotions. Virgo is earth, and the biggest thrill of my life is seeing my name on something I've written or a check for something I wrote. To be paid money for what I write means that it has value, and the money I've made writing means more to me than any other money I've ever made.

For me the biggest clue was Neptune, the planet of dreams in the 11th house. The 10th represents career, so the next house is money made from your career.

A writer could be called someone who makes money from their dreams.