Big Sky AstroBlog

Jul

2

When last we checked in with April and Jonny’s bed, it had been mobilized by Mars in Cancer into a particularly savage display of aggression. Today, a new and apparently fatal development in the battle of the bed: Jonny perched on the edge of the mattress this morning to don his socks, and the bed’s frame gave way in a characteristically dramatic (SNAP!) (CRASH!) - and apparently irreparable - fashion.

That’s it. This bed is a toxic mixture of weakness and vengeance, and it must be replaced.

The irony is this. Today I was scheduled to participate in an experiment my friend Simone is conducting, exploring the intersection of astrology and feng shui. Her theory is that one might note the house of the horoscope where the New Moon falls, and perform a ritual to strengthen the Gua of one’s home that fits the symbolism of the astrological house. Today’s New Moon (at 11.32 Cancer) falls in my 8th house, the house of shared resources - a house of wealth, so my assignment was to perform a ritual in the wealth Gua of our home. Which is - you guessed it - the master bedroom.

I’m not sure breaking the bed is what the Gods had in mind. But this will certainly have an impact on our shared resources; replacing this bed won’t be cheap.

Bagua

Where does today’s New Moon fall in your chart? Consider strengthening the relevant area of your house as part of your New Moon observances (New Moon exact tonight at 10:19 pm EDT). From the perspective of your home’s front entrance, superimpose the bagua onto the rooms of the house.

Simone suggests the following correlations between the houses of the horoscope and your home’s bagua:

First House: Career
Second & Eighth Houses: Wealth
Third & Ninth Houses: Knowledge
Fourth House: Family
Fifth House: Creativity & Children
Sixth & Twelfth Houses: Health
Seventh House: Love & Partnership
Tenth House: Fame
Eleventh House: Helpful People

Report back in comments, and I’ll pass on your results to Simone!

July 2, 2008 | 4 Comments

Jun

23

On Saturday afternoon, in the middle of the first witheringly hot weekend of the summer, I dutifully donned a demure pink blouse and presented myself at a Borders store in Carlsbad for what my publicist obliquely referred to as “an event.” Having never done one of these things I had no idea what to expect. Would I have to give a talk? Answer questions? Stock shelves and clean the restrooms? As it happened, I was given the choice of a short talk set up in the back part of the store, or a simple signing at a table near the entrance. I went with the latter, since after four months I’m pretty sick of hearing myself talk about this book. I ducked into the restroom to freshen my lipstick and check for cleaning supplies, then took my place at the table.

I’m sure you’ve had the experience of walking into a bookstore and spying some lonely looking person perched in front of a display of her books, smiling a wan smile. As always when I’m presented with naked desperation and profound unease, my custom in these situations is to tactfully avert my gaze and hurry past the doomed author. I figured this is pretty much what everyone else would do when they walked in and came face to face with several racks of a pretty little book and a pudgy, middle-aged woman. Surprisingly, most people paused to figure out what was going on, made eye contact, and smiled. Many stopped for a chat. A darling few allowed me to foist a copy of the book on them, and even asked me to sign it.

In the meantime, a couple of dear old friends I hadn’t seen for years dropped by, and several bosom chums who I see more often also paid exorbitant gas prices to make the trip and offer moral support. It was a rather festive event, the staff were lovely, and I must say I enjoyed myself. Overall it was much, much easier than giving a lecture or workshop.

And obviously, much easier than cleaning the restrooms.

June 23, 2008 | 3 Comments

Jun

17

rebel without a pause Buckle up, folks – it’s going to be a bumpy ride. This highly volatile Full Moon period pits the Sun and Venus against the Moon and Pluto, all in contentious aspect to combustible, unpredictable Uranus. The Sun/Venus urge to make nice is struggling against the Moon/Pluto compulsion to bluntly testify to one’s convictions – and there stands rebellious Uranus in the middle of it all, impatiently fingering a lighted match and a stick of dynamite….

(read the full article here)

June 17, 2008 | 5 Comments

Jun

4

I’m at an interesting crossroads with my writing, as may be evident in my lack of output in recent months. At first I was burned out from having written the book. But I finished the manuscript about a year and a half ago, so I think that excuse is probably getting a little worn out. Then I thought, well, maybe it’s the forms that are stale; I’ve been writing about the New and Full Moons, and writing my blog, for many years now, and maybe I’ve just run out of things to say about the Moon and my cats.

But it’s not exactly that, either. Occasionally I looked back at some of the old pieces I’ve written - usually with an eye to rerunning them in my regular slot at MoonCircles when I can’t come up with anything new - and mostly I’m sort of immodestly dazzled by them. They seem so insightful, so well-crafted - like something that sprang fully-formed from someone else, and not painfully midwifed by me at all. But it’s getting harder and harder to relate to the woman who wrote them. She was so introspective… and, between the lines, so unhappy. It all made for good writing, but not a terribly enjoyable life.

I’m happier now, I think, than I’ve been for many, many years. I’m more sociable too - that progressed Moon in Aquarius, I suppose. And I find that I don’t really know how to write about happiness, about contentment. It’s something I’ve rarely allowed myself, going back to that terrible day in 1970 when my father died and the rug of my life was pulled out from underneath my happy little feet. The legacy of that event is that I’ve always had a hard time trusting and enjoying the good times in life; they feel transitory, a fleeting aberration from the self-absorbed gloominess that seems to have become my default setting. No one likes to feel like a fool - and when my father was killed, I felt like a fool for having believed life was a certain way, for harboring certain happy expectations about the way the world worked.

Always a shy but remarkably sunny child, I came, overnight, to identify with Saturn: “to do is to be.” By doing, and performing - and most importantly, by never letting myself get my hopes up - I could gain some measure of control over my circumstances.

It’s taken a very, very long time to get past that… but lately, I feel it’s beginning to happen. Call it transiting Jupiter getting ready to cross my natal Saturn. Call it the silver lining to the black cloud of middle age. Whatever it is, I’m content right now. And as a writer, I’m not exactly sure what to do with that. I have found neither the words to describe it, nor the faith that my general sense of well-being is an interesting topic of conversation.

I sort of long for the unexamined life - at least until my progressed Moon moves into Pisces.

Are you good at being happy? And are you just as creative when you’re happy as when you’re miserable?

June 4, 2008 | 14 Comments

Sign of Leo

Moon sextiles Mercury at
4:20 pm on Jul.5, 2008

Moon opposes Neptune at
5:22 pm on Jul.5, 2008

Moon trines Pluto at
3:05 am on Jul.6, 2008

Moon goes void of course at
3:05 am on Jul.6, 2008

Moon enters Virgo at
4:04 am on Jul.6, 2008

Moon conjuncts Mars at
9:19 am on Jul.6, 2008

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