Big Sky AstroBlog

Aug

19

I’m writing another book. Because yes, I am that crazy, thank you. This one is tentatively titled “The Essential Guide to Practical Astrology,” and it’s an intro-to-astrology book that I’m writing for Penguin. I have until October 22 to write about 350 pages. Of which I’ve completed about 50 so far.

See? Crazy.

Needless to say, meeting this deadline means suspending most my other work (and everything else in my life; I’m considering hiring someone to take over my respiratory duties – a ghost-breather – so I can save all that time I spend breathing in and out) for the next two months. You’ll still see me on Facebook, I’ll take a few wedding date clients, and I’ll continue selling automated reports. But my twice-monthly essays will mostly be reruns, full wedding date reports are out, etc. And I’m still on a break from doing regular readings, which I originally took with the hope of finishing my Mars report/book.

Fate intervened, however, and here I am, up to my ears in remedial astrology. Oddly enough, I’m enjoying the writing. Any astrologer can write a basic astrology book – it’s stuff we know as well as our ABC’s. The challenge is in presenting it in an engaging and useful way – a challenge I think I’m meeting only intermittently at this point. Reclaiming beginner’s mind is a challenge, but one I’m enjoying so far.

Wish me luck, friends, and I’ll keep you posted on further developments. Meanwhile, keep an eye on the “Progress Report” widget in the right-hand margin to monitor my word count (initially, I’ve set this for the goal I have to reach by September 14), cheer me on, and laugh loudly yet compassionately at my struggle.

August 19, 2010 | 18 Comments

Aug

8

When the Moon entered Cancer and Venus entered Libra on Friday, the astrological world held its collective breath. These two fast-moving celestial bodies were, we felt, the catalysts that would galvanize the slow-building and long-anticipated cardinal t-square (Jupiter conjunct Uranus, opposed Mars conjunct Saturn, and all of them square Pluto) into what is popularly (and, let’s be honest, a little naughtily) known as the Cardinal Climax. What would happen?

Well, Venus hasn’t yet finished with Jupiter or Pluto – that’s on the agenda for tomorrow, along with the New Moon in Leo – but the world, such as it is, is still standing. Still, it’s not as though nothing has happened. Here in the U.S. alone, California’s controversial Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriage, was ruled unconstitutional by a district court, and the nation’s highest court seated its fourth woman justice (the first time in the court’s history that three women are serving at the same time). Around the world, natural disasters threatened China (avalanche), Pakistan (flooding), and Russia (fires).

I’m sure there was more of note, but to be completely honest I’ve spent much of the past few days celebrating my birthday and haven’t paid much attention to the news. What I can report is that the spouse and I took a lovely little mini-vacation that included lots of great food and visiting with family and friends. It’s been an almost entirely cheerful and enjoyable few days for us – no rioting in the streets, not even a spirited quarrel with our ideologically incompatible relatives. And mind you, we’re people with birth charts that are getting their share of hits from this cardinal thingamie.

So while I’m not quite declaring victory here – I’ve got another tough week ahead, work-wise, and I’m pretty tired from all that celebrating – I really can’t complain.

What about you?

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Also of note, I’ve posted an essay and podcast for Monday’s New Moon in Leo, which you can read here or listen to here:

Drawing a Circle
Leo prefers to be himself, thank you; if Leo were an actor he would be John Wayne, who was always pretty much John Wayne, no matter what role he was playing onscreen. And so during the annual Leo season we are normally concerned with fortifying the traits and creative impulses that make up the boundary between us and other, and define our identities. Learning to be more ourselves can be a joyous process, but surprisingly often, it also feels like hard work….(read the full article)

August 8, 2010 | 7 Comments

Jul

16

A couple of years ago, many of you were kind enough to participate in my survey about marriage. The results of the project can be found in my article “When Will I Get Married?”, which appears in the Aug/Sep 2010 issue of The Mountain Astrologer magazine. I share the top five astrological significators of marriage, and offer an example chart of a survey participant’s journey to the altar. It’s 3500 fun-filled words and numbers, sprinkled liberally with dazzling charts and informative tables:

And so, I seemed to have become a wedding astrologer. And yet I still didn’t feel completely confident answering the question, “When will I get married?” So, a couple of years ago I decided to conduct an informal study. The focus was simple. I didn’t ask the participants why they got married, whether the marriage lasted or was happy, or even whether it was the first, second, or any other number of marriage. I only wanted to know one thing: Which astrological factors seem most likely to get you to the altar?

Thanks again to all who participated! And let this be a beacon of hope for the intrepid ladies who filled out my Mars questionnaire last summer: it may take me awhile, but I eventually get around to doing something with this stuff.

July 16, 2010 | 5 Comments

Jul

9

Vacation

The July 11 Cancer New Moon is a Solar Eclipse, a response to the call of the unsettling June 26 lunar eclipse in Capricorn. For many, the shock of losing jobs and homes and retirement savings has left us feeling as adrift as a crab that’s lost its shell. But others have lives that look relatively placid on the outside, while inside them there is an almost wild sense of having outgrown that shell. Eclipses mark lines in the sand, lines that indicate where one chapter of your life ends and another begins. Sometimes, leaving behind what’s safe and familiar is the only way we’ll learn who we are… but it makes us afraid that we’ll never find our way back home….

(read the full article)

July 9, 2010 | 1 Comment

Sign of Leo

Moon sextiles Mars at
6:39 pm on Sep.6, 2010

Moon opposes Neptune at
9:53 pm on Sep.6, 2010

Moon sextiles Venus at
1:18 am on Sep.7, 2010

Moon goes void of course at
1:18 am on Sep.7, 2010

Moon enters Virgo at
2:54 am on Sep.7, 2010

Times given are
for Pacific Time

wedding astrology with april elliott kent

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