2009 August : Big Sky AstroBlog

Aug

28

Our ancient Toyota is at the mechanic’s this week, getting a much-needed tuneup. My husband valiantly resurrected it, Lazarus-like, to begin what must be at least the sixth or seventh of its nine lives; and as you’d expect from a zombie vehicle, it’s running a little rough. Meanwhile, we’ve summoned a repairman to investigate the mysterious failure of our much-less-ancient refrigerator to keep food sufficiently icy. My spouse is battling programming gremlins, the CD player that lulls us to sleep each night is cutting in and out, one of our cell phones won’t hold a charge, we keep losing things, and now we have a freezer full of expensive food that is slowly but inexorably defrosting all at once. (It’s going to be 100 degrees here again today, and I really don’t feel like roasting a chicken.)

Taken together, these seemingly random events can mean only one thing: The upcoming Mercury retrograde period (September 6 – 29, but we’re currently in the shadow period) is going to be a whopper.

In other news, Mars entered Cancer on Tuesday and promptly began an opposition to Pluto that has proved pretty unpleasant. It would appear that I’ve reached that crossroads of middle age where you find yourself going to more funerals than weddings, and on Wednesday I found myself hurtling along the 5 North to attend a memorial service for a friend. This was a rather shocking death, a relatively young person; and although we hadn’t stayed close over the years, the grieving throngs, grim reminders of one’s own mortality, etc. left me heartsick and blue. Days later, I can’t quite shake the mood.

Not exactly helping: The invitation I received this week – to my 30th high school reunion. I have declined this generous invitation. Like most people, I really didn’t have a good enough time in high school to want to relive it, even for a single evening. And I could do without yet another reminder of my encroaching decrepitude, thanks, let alone a reunion with classmates who recall that even in my youth – my alleged prime – I was a bit of a mess. But who knows – maybe I’ll get lucky and prove to have as many lives as my old car. With any luck at all, I’ll live them more gracefully than I did my high school years.

In summary: Everything eventually gets old, gets lost, breaks down. So back up your hard drive, get an extra set of keys made, cross your fingers, hope for the best. Don’t put off reunions with old friends, and leave no words of love unsaid. It’s perfectly okay, however, to avoid reliving a youth that you didn’t much enjoy the first time around. And now is probably not the time to restock the freezer.

August 28, 2009 | 5 Comments

Aug

19

I have a confession to make: I’m in love with my iPod.

Before I fell victim to this obsession I never quite understood the hubub about podcasts. Frankly, they seemed like a bit of a bother. But since iFell in love with my iPod, I never take a walk, iron a shirt, or perform any other distasteful task without the soothing sounds of Terry Gross, Ira Glass, or Sandra Tsing Loh in my ear.

This forbidden passion – combined with tomorrow’s New Moon in my 9th house, conjunct the North Node and Uranus – has prompted an experiment: I have produced my first podcast, cunningly entitled “This Astrological Life.” My tentative plan is to offer it at each New Moon, but depending on how much I enjoy it I might try to work in the Full Moon as well… and from there? Well, we’ll just have to see.

This episode is entitled Leo New Moon: Many Little Birds

Each of us longs to be recognized as the special and unique creation that we are. We spend our lives seeking work, relationships, and other successes that allow us to express our visions and viewpoints, to share our hearts, to exchange love; and it hurts to feel like just a cog in a wheel, screaming silently into a void…

I have to apologize a bit about the sound quality; I’m working on it, and hopefully it won’t sound so tinny next time.

How to Listen

If you’re baffled by the world of RSS feeds and subscriptions and the like, just go here and download the mp3 player or listen using the imbedded Google Player.

The RSS is here, if you want to subscribe. I use iTunes myself, and the podcast is not yet registered with Apple. For now, if you’re an iTunes user and would like to subscribe that way, here’s what you do:

Open iTunes
Under Library, click on Podcasts
From the Menu at the top of the page, select Advanced > Subscribe to Podcast
In the URL dialog window that appears, enter: http://www.bigskyastrology.com/podcast/rss.xml

August 19, 2009 | 8 Comments

Aug

10

For those who missed the bat signals I sent out to my mailing list, on Mooncircles, or on Facebook: I’m undertaking a research project about the astrology of Mars and women. I want to hear from women about their experiences with the red planet – so if you’re female and would like to subject yourself to a rather lengthy and slightly invasive questionnaire in the name of research, do drop me a line.

The results will eventually be published as either a book or a personalized report, and participants will get a deep discount on either. I’ll also write an article summarizing the project. All of which will happen quite a ways down the road – I’ve got a lot of work to do!

August 10, 2009 | 6 Comments

Aug

3

The Light at the End of the Tunnel
What if you’ve failed to see past the illusion of what you think you should want, instead of recognizing what will make you feel truly alive? It’s not too late to redeem the promise of this eclipse cycle, and it’s important to do so. Otherwise – without a clear sense of self – you will be hobbled as you move forward to the work of the next eclipse cycle, in Cancer and Capricorn. That’s a cycle that asks us to pull up stakes and move ahead to the next stage of life – to act upon what we’ve discovered about ourselves, and to build the home and career environments that will nurture us and make use of our special gifts. To convert our true souls into societal and vocational currency, and to invest that currency into a future we can believe in….
(read the full article)