2008 May : Big Sky AstroBlog

May

26

pink1 Only slightly less well known is this: Don’t buy a computer when Mercury is retrograde. Not even when it’s irresistibly pink, and on sale. And having been sick for so many days that you completely lost track of the current transits is no excuse. When we got home this afternoon and I realized what I’d done, I should by rights have tendered my astrologer’s badge; instead I laughed. What are you gonna do, right?

And it is beautiful - it’s half the weight of my beleaguered and decaying Compaq, and unlike the Compaq it has a lid that opens without a crowbar and doesn’t have dozens of vertical lines scattered across the display. And come on, folks - it’s pink! There was, of course, a catch: The dreaded Vista operating system that it came with cannot be replaced with XP, though it can on the models with slightly smaller screens. Why ask why? Fortunately it appears all my weird specialized software will run with hideous Vista, and when you change the interface to Classic view it’s not quite as disorienting. So I’m sticking with it. Kinda glad I got the extended warranty, though.

Looks like I’m gonna keep on thumbing my nose at the conventional wisdom about retrograde Mercury this week: the brakes on the car have started to squeak a bit, so I’m off to see our mechanic, Mark. Maybe he’s got some flashy, pink brakes for me.

If someone out there has a contract for me to sign, I can go for the Mercury Retrograde Taboo Trifecta.

What about you? Breaking any Retrograde Rules?

May 26, 2008 | 13 Comments

May

24

I’ve been fighting off a really nasty cold/semi-flu thing that tackled me on Wednesday… ghastly. Fortunately it hit me during a relatively light week, work-wise, so I’ve spent the past few days on the couch, watching episodes of Bob Newhart and Arrested Development at Hulu.com. Presumably planetary stuff has been going on too, while I was laid out. The Sun entered Gemini, I think, and squared Saturn (which would traditionally herald my back going out for a few days, but since I’ve been flat on said back thanks to the cold, all is well in that area), and maybe Venus did something similar at some point. I dunno. I’ll get back to you on that.

There is definitely some kind of disturbance in whatever portion of the sky rules highly infectious viral diseases, because it seems half the people I’ve spoken with in the past week have got some variation of what my mom used to call “the creepin’ crud.” Rest up and force fluids, people.

May 24, 2008 | 1 Comment

May

15

Here’s an appropriate topic for this Moon in Libra Thursday. I had an email this morning from a reader who was disappointed that my wedding astrology services do not include gay unions. Following is my response to her; I hope folks will weigh in and let me know if you think I’m being hidebound about this or if there’s anything you think I’ve overlooked.

# # #

Let me offer an explanation, which I assure you has nothing to do with a desire to exclude or discriminate against gay folks (you’ll find few more avid proponents of gay rights in general, and gay marriage in particular, than I!) and everything to do with a rather hidebound and didactic approach to astrology (of which I’m certainly guilty; Pluto in Virgo!).

If a gay friend came to me and asked me to choose a date for his or her union, I wouldn’t hesitate. “You bet!” I would say. In fact, even if they didn’t ask I would give them my opinion. I’m obnoxious that way.

But. Now, stay with me and remember that I mean no offense - I’m just reporting the facts. A union, however well intentioned and sincere, is not a marriage. Which is, of course, why many in the gay and straight communities insist that gay marriage should be legally recognized. From a personal point of view, I make no distinction whatever between gay unions and legal marriage (other than a profound gratitude that my gay friends have never forced me into a tacky bridesmaid dress). But from an astrological point of view, the situation is a little sticky.

Marriage is not just a covenant between two people; it’s a legal relationship and a pact between those two people and the society in which they live. Sadly, our society - with few exceptions; I have hopes for California’s Supreme Court today - does not recognize legal marriage between same-sex couples. And since the centuries-old traditions of electional astrology on which I based my research into wedding dates, and on which I base my work, was never faced with this distinction, I don’t have quite the hard and fast tradition on which to base electional work for non-legal unions as I do for marriage.

An example from the world of heterosexual couples will illustrate this quandary. Many times I choose wedding dates for a couple and for whatever reason it proves inconvenient to use them for their wedding ceremony (even though, mind you, I ask them in advance what months, days, and hours are acceptable; but don’t get me started on that). They’ll come to me and plaintively ask, “But can’t we just go out in a field at the astrologically acceptable time and exchange our vows, and then have the regular ceremony for everyone else later? Doesn’t that count? What matters is our commitment to each other!” Well, no, it doesn’t count - at least, not as a wedding. It may be an honest declaration of feeling and even a solemn promise of intention - but it is not a legally binding relationship. The rules - and the ramifications for breaching them - are not necessarily the same, either personally, legally, or astrologically, as those ruling legally-binding marriage.

Now. Gay couples in the U.S., with few exceptions, do not have the option of legally binding marriage. And to be honest, astrologically, the rules are probably pretty much the same for unions as for marriage. For a union I might give less emphasis to Mercury, the ruler of contracts. I might read Saturn, the ruler of society’s norms, a bit differently. But the interpersonal stuff - good aspect between Sun/Moon, Venus/Mars, all the rest - is probably about the same. This would be the basis of my work for a gay friend who was getting hitched.

But do I feel confident enough in that to offer that as a service and take people’s money for it? I don’t think so - not until I’ve satisfied myself with some research that the rules can be applied in the same way to unions as to marriages. My fervent hope is that this will become a moot point before I ever have a chance to do this research.

If you do wedding electional work, do you offer services for unions? Am I just being an astrological tight-ass? Share your thoughts.

Update: Late breaking news from Susie in comments - California’s top court overturns gay marriage ban!

May 15, 2008 | 10 Comments

May

12

Mars in Leo I don’t know about y’all, but Mars finally entering Leo last Friday - after that looooong, sulky passage through Cancer - certainly seems to have kick-started my energy level. Last week nearly did me in; much work to get finished, guests to get ready for (including the divine Kelly), and a lecture to finish preparing for the San Diego Astrological Society. It’s not that I don’t enjoy speaking; I was a friggin’ Communication major, after all. I just don’t do it often enough to be as smooth as I’d like, and I’ve had to prepare new talks for the purpose of promoting this book. So, it’s a lot of work. And I wasn’t getting a lot of sleep, which added to the delight.

But Kelly’s visit was a real treat. If you ever get a chance to meet this lady or, in particular, to see her present a lecture or class, don’t pass it up. She knows her stuff, she’s poised and articulate, and on top of all that she’s fun, fun, fun. So we goofed off and ate chocolate and pizza and I gave her a three point whistle-stop tour of San Diego, and basically it kept my nerves from getting over-jangled for the Friday talk. In the end, the lecture (just hours after Mars switched signs) went well, I sold some books, and a good time seemed to be had by all.

The divine Kelly left us on Saturday, en route to UAC, and yesterday Jonny and I spent the day shopping, hiking by the river, and taking the trolley downtown for an impromptu lunch. Thus relaxed, restored, and fortified, I greet the week ahead with more energy than I’ve had in ages. Good thing, too: I’ve got lots of catching up to do, a workshop to plan for next month, and the next round of guests arrives on Friday.

How about you - feelin’ frisky?

May 12, 2008 | 4 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