2007 July : Big Sky AstroBlog

Jul

27

Full Moon in Aquarius: Looking for Lightning
by April Elliott Kent

Lightning is not always desirable - but it’s always exciting! No wonder astrologers associate lightning with Aquarius, the sign of this Full Moon, and its ruling planet, Uranus. Aquarius is an astrological change agent that works quite a lot like lightning; a fixed sign, it remains static for long stretches of time, as dependable and unchanging as a placid summer sky. But even while it’s standing still, Aquarius gathers energy like a cell phone plugged into its charger. When it accumulates too much, it needs to get rid of some - and it’s anyone’s guess where it will land….. (go to article)

July 27, 2007 | 2 Comments

Jul

20

Since the second most exciting news in publishing has been totally eclipsed by Pottermania, I’ll point out here that apparently, my book “Star Guide to Weddings” (um, the title… wasn’t my idea) is coming out in February. It’s worth noting that the publisher has retained the rights to any lavish Broadway musical that may be inspired by this slight volume; no word yet on the availability of Nathan Lane or Bebe Neuwirth.

I do find it a little unsettling that I haven’t even been through editing yet and the book is already… discounted. Heh.

July 20, 2007 | 5 Comments

Jul

19

If you’ve been wondering why everything is taking about three times longer than it should these days, look to Mars in laconic Taurus, gathering static electricity as it reluctantly scoots toward a showdown with Neptune in Aquarius (July 24) and Saturn in Leo (July 31). Frustrating!

Hereabouts, I’ve been hammering away at various website projects - including a long-delayed redesign of Big Sky Astrology - for weeks now, and it’s hard to see an end in site. It’s one of those running-and-not-getting-anywhere sort of nightmare scenarios. Some days, in fact, it actually feels like I’m moonwalking backwards through time. Tedious!

Meanwhile, this morning found the normally placid Kentian household routine upended by our second annual Mars/Saturn sewer blockage. A doff of the cap to Ramon from Rescue Rooter, who appeared in record time to restore the flow through our drainpipes (unfortunately, while dramatically increasing the flow of cash from our bank account to theirs). Efficient!

The rule of thumb whenever a T-square is building in the sky - two planets in opposition, each squared by a third, and all in signs of the same modality (cardinal, fixed, or mutable) - is that the resulting energy spills into the fourth sign of that modality. And so for the rest of the month, we’ll increasingly find our attention channeled toward Scorpio space - at its best, a quiet and richly creative haven for magic and imagination; on less congenial days, a backup of raw sewage. As always when Scorpio is involved, it’s an especially energetic time for ritual, for laying our tangle of Mars/Saturn/Neptune frustrations at the feet of the Rescue Rooter gods and saying, “I give up on this mess. Why don’t you take it from here?”

# # #

Book news: As an unanticipated benefit of Venus moving through my ninth house, I received a new and (vastly) improved version of the cover art for my book, with quite a lovely illustration. Nice enough to coax me off the ledge and away from the Kleenex box, anyway. It’s anyone’s guess whether this will really be the final cover (especially with Venus about to turn retrograde), but at least there is hope that my humble tome will hit the bookstores wearing sensible clothes. Whew.

July 19, 2007 | 5 Comments

Jul

9

Lynn very kindly tapped me for the “Thinking Bloggers Meme.”

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.

Following Lynn’s tactful example, I’ll leave my fellow astrobloggers out of this, aside from tapping them to continue the memeish goodness. Let’s see… I don’t know how many of my favorite blogs make me think - and that’s through no fault of their own, because they’re all very smart, thought-provoking people; but I have to think too much when I write, and so most of my online reading is for strictly recreational purposes. Some have undoubtedly made me a little smarter, though, while I was too busy laughing or seething to notice. For instance,

Daily Kos makes me think. But mostly it makes me think things like, “How soon can I move to New Zealand?” and “Why does every single diary thread deteriorate into complete lunacy within the first four comments?” Sigh. On the other hand, DK and a bag of Doritos were my only solace in the days leading up to and following the Nov. 2004 election.

Susan Madrak, the Suburban Guerilla, is the cranky and disgruntled sister of my heart. Plus she’s always embedding YouTube videos of my favorite old singer-songwriters performing songs I’d long forgotten. Susie makes me think stuff like, “Why isn’t Susie the Speaker of the flippin’ House?” and “Man, I used to really love Emmylous Harris, but now her voice just irritates the crap out of me.” I also enjoy reading the comments section when she posts about astrology; it really pisses off her readers!

I’ve read Rob’s online writing since 1999 or so, so I’ve been one of the legions who have followed the entire journey of Schuyler’s birth and the diagnosis of her monster and his diabetes and the plague of locusts that always seems poised to envelop the Rummel-Hudson household. And like so many people, I love Rob; he’s a sassy writer and a first class smart alec. But I don’t always agree with him - there have been times I’ve given up on his blog for months at a time because he pissed me off so entirely with something he wrote. Kinda like your best friends, all of whom eventually make you think, “Why is it I like you, exactly?” Then they make you laugh, and you remember why.

The Chattering Mind blog at Beliefnet has exactly the right tone for a blog, in my opinion, and Amy Cunningham always pulls in interesting, newsy little tidbits from her online travels and in an unfailingly kind and even-handed style - kinda like Lynn, actually. And like Lynn, Amy’s prolific posting schedule leaves me thinking, “When does she get anything else done?” Followed by feelings of woeful inadequacy and an ever-accelerating shame spiral. But, you know, in a good way.

Quinn, at The QC Report, is a former child star who’s grown into an utterly delightful grownup and who inspires questions such as, “Why is Quinn so normal? Is it because she never guest starred on ‘Different Strokes’?” and “Why is Quinn the funniest writer alive and not me?” and occasionally - after, say, watching Richard Dreyfuss make an ass of himself on the Bill Maher show or something - “Why didn’t Dreyfuss’ acquaintance with Quinn leave him a much funnier, less insufferably self-important blowhard?” But probably no force on earth is that powerful.

Go forth and meme:

Jeff
Wendy
Pat
Matthew (I’ll get to you on that other meme thing, dude)
Leslee

July 9, 2007 | 5 Comments

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