2006 April : Big Sky AstroBlog

Apr

28

In honor of the Taurus New Moon - and ever hopeful of increased prosperity and other cosmic bon-bons - I decided to perform the Venus Santeria ritual that Dana wrote about this month. It sounded so simple; a piece of bread, a smallish candle, a running body of water. But it took me a bit of running around yesterday to collect the right size candle, the right shape roll. Finally, I had everything. My thought was to actually perform the ritual today, Friday, which is Venus’ day.

So just before lunchtime I wrote out my wish list and prepared my little roll (although just as I’m writing this, I realize I left out the nickel - dammit!), and lit the candle. And it took forever to burn down, so I had a good lunch and then changed my guitar strings, which seemed kind of Venusy. Finally the candle burned itself out, and we were ready to - well, roll, so to speak. The question was, where to release my Venusian offering into the wild? I had been thinking of taking it over to Coronado and tossing it into the ocean, but then I reread Dana’s article and realized salt water was out of the question.

Finally we remembered a spot down in the Valley where we might be able to get close enough to the bank of the San Diego River to surrender my cosmic muffin therein. We parked in a nearby lot, trundled down the street a piece, and found a likely - if rocky - spot. We picked our way cautiously a few feet down, where I perched on a rock and hurled the bun. At first, I was dismayed; the roll fell just at the edge of a kind of breakwater thing and just sat there for a minute. And then I noticed that the wind was blowing the water toward the breakwater, and despaired of my little offering to Venus getting very far at all.

Then, I was rescued: a group of four ducks descended on the roll, pushed it into the river, and began eating it. “That’s… good, right?” I asked Jonny. “I mean, nature participating in the ritual, and all.” “Well, think of it this way,” he pointed out. “That roll is going to get a lot further down the river in the stomach of that duck than it would have on its own.”

Now that I think about it, I guess maybe it’s a good thing I forgot that nickel.

April 28, 2006 | Comments Off

Apr

27

The New Moon today was exact at 12:44 pm PDT, at 7.24 Taurus - the Sun and Moon square Saturn in Leo. Which sounds about right. Because when you’re all up in your own petty dramas, strutting and fretting your hour upon the stage - Leo-style - Taurus is the big old hook that suddenly appears from the wings to drag you away before you can really make an ass of yourself.

Taurus is the tenth sign from Leo, and so is a sort of natural parent to our most flamboyant and self-celebratory urges. The down-to-earth mentor who let you know - hopefully without crushing your spirit - that even though you were indeed funny and talented, you might be getting just a little too big for your britches. The snarky but affectionate friend who never let you get away with your pretensions, because she infinitely preferred the real you. The loving mother who praised your talents but reminded you that there was more to you, too, if you would only buckle down and do the work that was necessary to uncover it, and then relax and enjoy it. And who assured you that, no matter what a glorious thing you made of yourself, you would never be any more beautiful than you were on the day you were born - perfect, unspoiled, equisitely unexceptional as the good earth itself.

Salt of the earth, Taurus. Rock of Gibraltar. Tender spring grass, verdant hills, and all the most luxurious treasures of the planet, unadorned and useful and utterly ravishing. No, we can never be anything better than that; no costume, dance, or song is the rival of earth in bloom.

April 27, 2006 | Comments Off

Apr

23

Mercury is careening enthusiastically, if not always consciously, through Aries. Perhaps this explains a recent spate of rather retrograde-ish scheduling bloopers around here. It goes like this.

We had planned a small dinner party for Saturday night with a few friends. On Friday evening, one of the invited rings us up. “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he apologizes. “I’m running a little late.” My husband informs him that he is, in fact, running about 23 hours and 30 minutes early. We all have a good chuckle and go about our business.

Saturday morning. The spouse and I leap from our bed at a thoroughly unacceptable hour, lash up some coffee and a couple of bagels for the road, and head over to a friend’s house to lend support for his yard sale. We arrive to find only a yard. Puzzled, we skulk home, where a closer review of his email reveals that the sale is, in fact, next Saturday.

Saturday evening, 5:30. I’m in the boudoir performing pre-party ablutions when the spouse pops his head in to let me know a guest has arrived. “But we said 6:30!” I whine, mid-coif. Except, as the friends who show up a half-hour later remind us, we actually said 6:00.

But who’s keeping track.

April 23, 2006 | Comments Off

Apr

18

Well, I’m happy to report that the Pluto Monologues went over pretty well; I truly had no way of guessing which way it would go, since it was kind of an unusual talk. But my friends and colleagues at SDAS were, as always, warm and welcoming, and endured my 90 minutes of hyperpersonal yammering with aplomb. Thanks, guys!

In any event, what a relief that it’s over with. Now I’m working my way through the mountain of work that’s been stacking up on my desk in the past couple of weeks, when all other activity more or less ground to a halt while I worried my lecture to death.

Meanwhile, Venus and Uranus engaged in an illicit tryst early this morning, 2:42ish PDT. Venus and Uranus often present as the irreconcilable tension between affection (Venus) and independence (Uranus); sometimes, though, they join forces and manifest as fabulous friends who bring delicious treats from foreign lands. Exhibit: decadent Easter bunnies from our neighbors, who just returned from Switzerland:

April 18, 2006 | Comments Off

keep looking »

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