Chaucer and Astrology

My friend, Art Grant, found astrological references in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales: Prologue to Wife of Bath’s Tale:

Gap-toothed I was, and that became me well;
I had the print of holy Venus’ seal.
So help me God, I was a healthy one,
And fair and rich and young and full of fun;
And truly, as my husbands all told me,
I had the silkiest quoniam that could be.
For truly, I am all Venusian
In feeling, and my brain is Martian.
Venus gave me my lust, my lickerishness,
And Mars gave me my sturdy hardiness.
Taurus was my ascendant, with Mars therein.
Alas, alas, that ever love was sin!
I followed always my own inclination
By virtue of my natal constellation;
Which wrought me so I never could withdraw
My Venus-chamber from a good fellow.
Yet have I Mars’s mark upon my face,
And also in another private place.

I confess, I don’t know if a gap between teeth is “Venus’ seal.” And what is “Mars’ mark” on her face? Probably a scar. But in the below quote there is no doubting that the author is talking about planetary detriment and exaltation:

The children of Mercury and of Venus
Are in their lives antagonistic thus;
For Mercury loves wisdom and science,
And Venus loves but pleasure and expense.
Because they different dispositions own,
Each falls when other’s in ascendant shown.
And God knows Mercury is desolate
In Pisces, wherein Venus rules in state;
And Venus falls when Mercury is raised;
Therefore no woman by a clerk is praised.
A clerk, when he is old and can naught do
Of Venus’ labors worth his worn-out shoe,
Then sits he down and writes, in his dotage,
That women cannot keep vow of marriage!

So, was Chaucer interested in astrology? Well, it sure looks like it: http://colfa.utsa.edu/chaucer/ec22.html

Venus in Pisces: February 2010

You notice how prosaic love has become? Think “love” and you think relationships, obligatory gifts on Valentine’s Day, and all the attendant headaches of figuring out equality between the sexes. Love is many things for many people, but what it is not for Venus in Pisces folk is prosaic, ordinary, run of the mill, down to earth… You get the picture.

Pisces is a water sign ruled by the trident-bearing God of the oceans, Neptune. Neptune dissolves boundaries and is vast and undulating like the sea. Deep, full of mysteries and reflecting the myriads colors and moods of the sky. Venus, the planet ruling love and beauty is exalted in the sign of the Fish. Which makes sense because like the Neptunian waters, love is also vast, defying shape and form, boundless, ever changing yet never changing.

Too poetic for you? Well, that’s how it is with Venus in Pisces. Love and romance for them are poetry, mystery, the-longed-for-yet-never-seen. Venus in Pisces is always in love, their hearts break for the little boy who doesn’t fit in with his contemporaries, for the bag lady with her mysterious past, for the man who broke the law and is being carted off to jail… Their love and compassion are limitless and given without judgment. You did something bad? The Pisces Venus will forgive you; will understand that your act of depravity was born out of a wound that still needs healing.

The world is a better place because of the Venus Pisces compassion. Better for everyone who meets them. But if you have this placement, you need to exercise care that you don’t fall for every hard-luck story you hear. Love might be endless, but your personal energy and material resources can only stretch so far. The Neptunian vibe experienced through Venus can make you fall for people who need rescuing in some form. Since the role of the martyr comes easily to you, you need to be especially wary of such scenarios. But if you can grasp the fact that the deepest need of your heart is to love and to give and if you can express these needs in healthy ways, everyone wins, including you.

Love that is formed by the blending of Venus and Neptune is what inspires poets and stabs all our hearts with a nameless longing. Neptune is also the higher octave of Venus and together these planets raise love to beyond the ordinary. They take love to a realm which we cannot see but which we can faintly perceive with our hearts. Venus in Pisces inspired Gibran to write: “When you love you should not say, ‘God is in my heart,’ but rather, ‘I am in the heart of God.’”

Drew Barrymore with her Sun, Jupiter and Venus in Pisces, is a good example of this energy. All these planets are placed in her very public tenth house and define her image in the world.  She is known for her run-ins with controlled substances, her multiple marriages and her roles in romantic comedies. But she is also known for her compassion and sensitivity. Her inner wisdom and light is evident in these quotes from IMDb, “Life is very interesting. In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths.” And, “When I lay my head on the pillow at night, I can say ‘I was a decent person today’. That’s when I feel beautiful.”

Venus moves into Pisces on 11 February, and then goes on to form a rather uncomfortable quincunx with Mars in Leo and Saturn in Libra on Valentine’s Day. Perhaps, a deeper understanding of the essence of femininity and masculinity can save the day. And whatever you do, play fair. Venus’ sextile to Pluto is operating around the same time, so romantic feelings will run high and seek an outlet. Use the energy wisely.

Don’t look glum, because this quincunx is followed by Venus’ conjunction to Jupiter on 16 and 17 of February. This is a better time for romantic demonstrations than Valentine’s Day this year. The vibe is optimistic, effusive and since it’s happening in Pisces, it’s a bit dreamy, too. Great day for being social, hanging out with your friends and if it’s closely connected to your chart, who knows what goodies might drop in your lap?

The first few days of March see Venus dallying with Uranus in an electrifying conjunction. Physics talks about “strange attractors” and if you’ve been wanting to break out of your cage, color your hair an electric hue and give in those strange attractions this is the time for it.

For all you Sun in Pisces people out there, Venus transitioning through you sign while Jupiter and Uranus are already there promises many happy surprises. Go on, put on those glad rags, this is your time to have some fun!

Humor: Astrologers in love

• If the horary doesn’t say what you want it to, you change the house that signifies them.
• You sigh over the conjunctions and gloss over the squares.
• Ptolemaic aspects are obviously not enough; you also look at parallels, asteroids, Arabic parts and anything else you have ever heard of.
• Not only do you remember their major planetary degrees, you also know their cusps by heart.
• You think south node conjunctions indicate that it was meant to be. You also think this about anything else that catches your fancy.
• If you don’t have their verified time of birth, you’re willing to devote a lifetime to learn rectification, so that you can finally do their chart. 
• If you meet someone who shares the same degree as their sun, you are instantly prepared to like this person. But only after you find out their sun degree.
• You cast an event chart of the time they asked you to pass the salt.
• You play soppy love songs as you pour over synastry aspect grids.
• When you encounter a new astrological theory that indicates strong synastry between you, you’re more likely to think that there is merit in it. Merit? Huh! It’s a work of genius!
• You don’t think they’re capable of lies and deceit, you think it’s because your charts have hard Neptune contacts.
• You’re blinded by the Venus-Mars contacts and brush the other aspects under the carpet.
• You spiral into self-pity because of your Venus placement. If only your Venus was better placed, they’d love you more.
• You do progressions and figure that in, say, 40 years their progressed chart will find your progressed chart irresistible.

Happy birthday, Norman Rockwell!

Mr. Rockwell was born in 1894 on this day: 3 February. Google is celebrating his birthday and I’m glad they’re doing so. Although I’m familiar with his name and have seen one of two of his paintings, I haven’t really gone out of my way to explore his work. Well, I did today and I loved what I saw. There is no doubting his technical expertise. But his work is more than just expertly executed, it’s evocative. It evokes simpler times when life was less complicated and, perhaps, people were good. But it’s not just nostalgia for a romanticized past that make his work so gripping. It’s the wit. I’ve been looking at his paintings and you know what? They’re witty. Whether it’s the mother with a book on child psychology with her beloved little hellion about to spanked; or the two black children with a pet cat looking curiously at their equally curious new neighbors, white children with a pet dog; his work is more than just pretty pictures. It’s also a social commentary on the human condition.

I looked at his chart. It is the chart of a social communicator as his Sun and Mercury in Aquarius in the third house show us. Mercury rules his tenth house and Sun rules the ninth. His Venus is exalted in Pisces and its square to Neptune does make him a wistful dreamer. Was life really this simple way back in the past? Is life ever simple? Perhaps, he wished it was and with his Mars in fiery Sagittarius, he painted or drew what he longed for. (Neptune, the ruler of his IC, is conjunct Pluto. Now what did happen in his home when he was growing up?)

His chart has more trines than it does squares, but the squares are there, allowing him to channel his inherent talent into work that created magic. He captured USA with his vision. Hardly surprising that. His Capricorn Moon trining his sixth house Taurus Jupiter expressed itself in images that glow with the love of the common people, of home, of family, of simple, ordinary things that come together to make simple, ordinary but happy lives. Not only would the country’s Cancerian soul resonate with that, but with his Sun and Mercury conjunct USA’s IC*, his work really spoke to the souls and hearts of his countrymen. And still does.

*I use the Scorpio rising chart for USA: http://www.neptunecafe.com/ScorpioRising.html

Astrology: A Labor of Love (Part III): Chart Signatures

I just read an article about a child prodigy. You could say he was born to paint. I wonder what his chart would show us. Some months ago, I interviewed some of my astrologer friends and one of the questions I asked them was, “What aspects, house/planets in your chart indicate that this is the chart of an astrologer?” Were they born to be astrologers? 

Astrologers are so often busy looking at other people’s charts, I thought it would be interesting to get them to look at their own and share what they saw. Uranus is the planet most commonly associated with astrology. But here Dane Rudhyar proposes Neptune for this role. He makes an interesting case for it, too. Rudhyar himself had prominent Uranus and Neptune aspects in his chart. 

I’ve been talking to Dr. O’Grady, and he told me that in traditional Western astrology, we look at the ninth house and Jupiter as signifiers of astrology. And recently, I think I saw someone associating Chiron with astrology. On the whole, though, the astrological community generally bestows this ownership to Uranus. 

Personally, I’d like somebody to formulate a couple of hypothesis, examine charts of astrologers and see what they find. But in the meantime, here are the results of the interviews. These interviews were born out curiosity, love and a sense of fun. They should be read in the same spirit. 

Julie Demboski: I don’t subscribe to the idea that any particular placements indicate an astrologer, since I think there are many ways to approach the material. I would say that the best astrologers I know are intuitive without allowing feeling to override evidence (Neptune and Saturn both strong?), that they have a great ability to organize material and to reconcile what might be conflicting information into a singular picture (again Saturn and Neptune, possibly Virgo, and a Mercury that isn’t too hampered by other factors). An astrologer must be capable of clear and concise thought (and I believe that’s reflected in clear writing/ communicating). Uranus is the acknowledged symbol for astrologers, though I’m not sure how prominent it needs to be. And a well developed Moon and Chiron (by that I mean, energies that have been worked with and matured) are also essential, in my estimation. 

Jeremy Neal: Essentially, the 27 Leo – Aquarius axis (more generally 22-27 degrees of the fixed signs) seem to indicate astrological ability. This was noted by Alan Leo and actually was one of the first indications that I picked up on that I might be pre-configured in the right way to have a knack for astrology. Leo had Saturn on the Ascendant at 27 Leo. 11 Pisces and Virgo, 17 degrees of the mutable signs are also astrologer’s degrees. Uranus rising too is quite prominent in astrologer’s charts. I have Jupiter conjunct Pallas conjunct PoF at 27 Leo, Urania (the astrologer’s asteroid, muse of astrology) at 11 Pisces and Uranus rising. I wrote a post on it once if you’re interested: http://chirotic.wordpress.com/2008/06/16/the-astrologers-degrees-a-study-of-the-evidence/ 

Frederick Woodruff: Sun widely conjunct Uranus and square Neptune I think; but tempering that is Venus in Gemini trine Neptune in Libra — that’s the Sufi part of me that loves the poetry of astrology. Gosh, Mars in Pisces in the 8th, too. It’s been said that Uranus ‘rules’ astrology, but I’m a good case for Neptune being the governor. 

 

Kingsley: The aspects in my chart which describe my potential for astrology are:

• Moon and Chiron in Aquarius in the 3rd house
• Sun trine Uranus in the 3rd house     
• Mars and Mercury in mutual reception (rulership)     
• Fixed Star Fomalhaut at Midheaven
• Ascendant ruler trine Uranus

   

Matthew Currie:  An awful lot… someone actually listed them out for me once, and I was surprised. I suppose though that having the rulers of my 5th and 8th conjunct in Virgo makes me enjoy demanding tough (and detailed) answers from The Universe… 

Michael O’Reilly:  Uranus, the natural ruler of astrology, co-rules my Ascendant. It’s found in the sixth house of work, where it trines the Midheaven, and trines the North Node and Ceres in the 2nd house. Uranus is also conjunct Sirius which brings favors from the Gods and Goddesses.

 

Fern Feto Spring: Mercury conjunct Pluto, Uranus and the asteroid Urania in the 12th house, all sextile Venus in the 10th and Moon in Aquarius and Sun in the 11th.

 

Raphael Simons: Mercury is the ruling planet of my chart. It is in positive aspects with the majority of the other planets in my chart. I have Mercury in a stellium in the 9th house. It is parallel Uranus and Saturn in the 9th house; Uranus and Saturn are the universal significators of astrology.

 

Lucy Goldstein: I’ve never thought about that before! I think a big indicator of an astrologer in my natal chart is my Moon exactly conjunct my Ascendant in Gemini. This aspect has multiple interpretations that all describe me perfectly (fluency in talking and writing about my emotions, over-identification with my mother, being overly stimulated beyond my control by my environment, having a really young-looking face and obscenely extreme T&A like an early-blooming twelve-year-old), but only recently I was told that this kind of a Moon makes me quite psychic. I’ve always been hesitant to use the “P” word, but I can say for certain that I’ve frequently had prophetic dreams and weird senses about imminent danger, which everyone writes off as paranoia until the person I dreamt about is in the hospital or someone’s car gets broken into. Another telling aspect is that this Moon squares my Sun and Mercury in Pisces in my 10th House. Making sense of boundless human possibility is something I want to do for both myself and others, and I want to do it to my and everyone else’s absolutely fullest potential.  

 Britt ‘Tejas’ Luneborg: Mercury Sesquiquadrate Pluto, Uranus in Scorpio in 11th house and Neptune Sextile Pluto.

Beth Turnage: Actually, according to the research done by Terri McCartney my chart does not show the markers of an astrologer. This is what she found. This information used to up on Lois Rodden’s AstroDatabank. However, now that Astrodienst took it over her article disappeared:
 
Terri found:  

• 38% had the Sun in Scorpio, Sagittarius or Capricorn and these placements were found in the astrologers charts twice as often as they were found in the control group. 
• Sun, Moon or Mercury was found in a fixed house for 70% of astrologers and Venus, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn were placed in an air house for 71%. (Okay, my sun in the tenth in a fixed house, there!) 
• 63% of the astrologers had the ruler of the eleventh house direct. (Nope, Neptune Retro all the way) 
• None of the astrologers tested had a mutual reception between Sun and Uranus. (But I do. And this is considered traditionally as a signature of an astrologer.) 
• Pluto, Chiron or the North Node was placed in one of the Gauquelin power zones in 66%. (OK, my Chiron is in a power zone)
• Uranus was found aspecting the vertex in the control group more often than it was found aspecting the vertex in the astrologers’ horoscopes.

 Nothing was found in 100% of the astrologers’ charts.
 
I think my tenth house Sun in Aquarius in mutual reception to Uranus in Leo is the thing that drives me towards astrology, despite Terri’s research.

Rodney Smith: Tough question. I would have to assume that your astrology is similar enough to mine to see what I see in my own chart. Mercury and Uranus conjunct the MC are a pretty strong indicator no matter what astrology you do… even without the modern planets, Mercury hugging the MC so tightly, and ruling the 10th and 7th places from the ascendant suggest that understanding systems is paramount to any career I chose, and any relationship to which I commit.
 
The number of planets lacking essential dignity suggest that my life’s work won’t be found within a socially acceptable path. (I might otherwise be a systems analyst or strategist.) I am not one who is disposed toward success in the mainstream. That leaves non-mainstream, and a keen talent for math and analysis brings us back to astrology.
 

Evelyn Roberts: Aquarian, Saturn/Neptune in the 10^th. And you could make a case for everything, as in truth, my life and nature is what brought me to it.

Gavin Carruthers: First of all, I’m not sure that there is such a thing as “the chart of an astrologer”, mostly because astrologers are so different in what they do and why they do it. That said, here are some thoughts about elements in my chart. My Virgo Sun gives me good analytical and organizational skills, Mercury in Libra (sextile Uranus) gives me good language skills and intuitive thinking, Jupiter conjunct the Sun adds a positive focus that is one of the trademarks of my practice, Mars in Pisces on the MC gives me the one-pointed focus to be an astrologer that I have had for 35 years, and along with my Cancer ASC gives an ability to empathize with my clients and allow them to open up.

 The Mars also makes me comfortable with improvization, to go with the flow in a reading rather than being overly structured. I also have Venus conjunct Uranus which means I like to meet a variety of people and enjoy getting quite intimate very quickly with strangers.

My Saturn Scorpio square Pluto means I have little interest in the events level of astrology and much more in the process level, supporting people to work on deep levels to transform their lives. I very much believe in free will, at least within the parameters of certain choices we make as a spirit, so I make no predictions at all for my clients, because in my experience most predictions are made by astrologers for ego-based reasons that have little to do with helping the client and more to do with making the astrologer look good. I am more interested in helping my clients to create a reality that they can enjoy and thrive in, rather than me “being right”.

And, maybe another Mars/Pisces thing…..I never “sell” readings to anyone. I never tell anyone they should get a reading with me, or push for anyone to do so, because that feels too self-serving. So all of my business comes from word-of-mouth, and I may be less rich as a result, but it’s what feels right in my heart. My N. Node is in Sag in 5th, and seems to have to do with my love of teaching astrology and spirituality. 

April Elliott Kent: I really don’t know, and I imagine you’ll get an interesting range of answers on this one! Maybe the North Node in Leo, conjunct Uranus (ruler of the South Node)?

Basil Fearrington: I don’t think there is such a thing. Astrology is an idealistic and innovative subject. I have Neptune squaring a stellium that includes Mercury, and Uranus is conjunct Mercury. The 27th degree of Leo is supposed to be important for astrologers and that’s where my Sun/Moon midpoint is. But I doubt that anyone could look at a horoscope beforehand and say, “This person will be an astrologer or is an astrologer.”

Eileen Nauman (© Eileen Nauman 2009):  I haven’t done research on this to know. However, people drawn to medical astrology do have some similar planets/signs. Pluto is almost a given to be a medical astrologer. Pluto is the ultimate detective and, in medical astrology, digging for the core or source of why a person is out of balance and has health issues is necessary. A strong 12th or 6th houses with planets in them. Either house gives a person an interest in health issues. Signs of Virgo (opposite polarity Pisces) are helpful as well. Virgos are well known for their attention to detail and there’s a lot of that in medical astrology.

Nick Dagan Best: I have a Taurus Moon conjunct my Midheaven, and this reflects the part of my nature that collects and sorts out information, which is one of my main practices in doing astrology.

 To be continued…

P.S.: I also interviewed Donna Cunningham and Claire-France Perez for this series. But those were phone interviews and I have to transcribe the notes. Once that’s done, I’ll be updating these posts with that data.

Note to Self: When I started this post, the ASC of the event chart was conjunct the degree of my natal Sun. When I was ready to post it, the event chart had the degree of my Sun on its DSC and the degrees of my Moon and NN on the MC! Venus was on the cusp of the sixth as I finished the fine-tuning, a labor of love indeed.

An evening with Pluto

Saturn is slowly retrograding and its square to Pluto will be exact in some time. Jupiter is breezing through Pisces and applying a sextile to Pluto. And the fickle Moon will soon quincunx the Dark Lord.

My evening has been rife with Pluto peeking at me: a non-astrological reference in a conversation, a poem that kept whispering in my ear and then a chance click on a link that led me to another very Plutonian poem.

Oh, and Salinger is dead. The full moon today opposes his natal Mars exactly. Franny, Zooey, Buddy, Boo Boo and her little boy, Seymour, and all the people in the other stories: we love you.

Death, darkness, desire. Yes, very Pluto. I believe he was the inspiration for these poems:

The Sick Rose

O Rose, thou art sick!
The Invisible worm,
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,

Has found out thy bed
Of Crimson joy;
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

- William Blake

 ***

Death the Leveler

The glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armor against Fate;
Death lays his icy hand on kings:
Scepter and Crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.

Some men with swords may reap the field,
And plant fresh laurels where they kill:
But their strong nerves at last must yield;
They tame but one another still:
Early or late
They stoop to fate,
And must give up their murmuring breath
When they, pale captives, creep to death.

The garlands wither on your brow,
Then boast no more your mighty deeds!
Upon Death’s purple altar now
See where the victor-victim bleeds.
Your heads must come
To the cold tomb:
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.

- James Shirley

But running parallel with all of this is Paul McCartney’s very sweet Hope of Deliverance. And then, there is the Leo Full Moon…

Fellow Neptunians, lend me your ears…

I’ve been thinking about disillusioned Neptunians. Well, really about disillusioned and bitter Neptunians and this comes to mind:

Lilies that fester, smell far worse than weeds.
-Shakespeare’s Sonnet XCIV

The Bard has something for everyone, no? I don’t know the nitty-gritty of the iambic pentameter or the blank verse, but that hasn’t hampered my enjoyment of Shakespeare. His soliloquies in Hamlet and Julius Caesar contain gems: not just because of their wisdom, but because he makes love to your mind with words.

But I love his sonnets the best. Here’s one of my favorites:

In faith, I do not love thee with mine eyes,
For they in thee a thousand errors note;
But ’tis my heart that loves what they despise,
Who in despite of view is pleased to dote;
Nor are mine ears with thy tongue’s tune delighted,
Nor tender feeling, to base touches prone,
Nor taste, nor smell, desire to be invited
To any sensual feast with thee alone:
But my five wits nor my five senses can
Dissuade one foolish heart from serving thee,
Who leaves unsway’d the likeness of a man,
Thy proud hearts slave and vassal wretch to be:
Only my plague thus far I count my gain,
That she that makes me sin awards me pain.
- Sonnet 141

I just looked at his chart on the Astro-Databank and it shows his Venus in Gemini was conjunct Neptune. Not only that, Neptune very obligingly trined his Moon in Libra. Not for him the song that goes, “You say it best when you say nothing at all…” This Venus in Gemini, he loved the way Geminis do, through words.

Let’s clear away some of this Neptunian fog of love and romance and poetry (and possibly cigarettes) because I have something to tell you. The Astro-Database also shows that his chart has the Rodden Rating of “XX.” That means, “Data without a known or confirmed date.” Another song comes to mind, “He’s a mystery to me…”

P.S. If you haven’t already done so, check out Julie Demboski’s new ezine Eclipse. I’ve been going through it this evening and, I believe, we have a winner here. Not only does it list information on the coming new moons and full moons, but it also has some excellent astrology articles. I’m going to subscribe and save every copy.

Grounded by Saturn!

This morning, I deleted my Twitter account and temporarily deactivated my Facebook account. Perhaps, it’s related to the mid-January eclipse that fell in my 11^th house and made hard aspects all over my chart.

Of course, the Facebook deactivation is temporary. FB is such a wonderful resource and I’ve met so many astrologers because of it. One of them is Dr. John P. O’Grady. You might want to check out some of his astrological writing here.

It was from Dr. O’Grady that I learnt about the Timaeus software. This is what the website says about it, “This program monitors the sky for changing astrological conditions and reports your ‘daily horoscope’ based upon aspects to natal positions.  It is also capable of sounding audible alerts when a planet/degree crosses an angle.  It displays the current planetary hour glyph in the system tray.  Timaeus is a ‘real time’ monitor of astrological events, but can be used to research future or past dates.” What I like best about it is the real time chart I have access to at the click of a button. I’ve downloaded the 30 day trial version and it’s pretty cool. I will eventually want to buy it, but I just bought Solar Fire, three e-books from Donna Cunningham and donated to one of my favorite astrology blogs, so I’m calling it a halt for this month.

Saturn's apprentice

Among other things, the eclipse opposed my Saturn and activated a natal T-Sqaure. Saturn is a demanding taskmaster, you know. He’s been on my case about my flitting about on Facebook and Twitter and not doing any real work. Can’t argue with him when he’s right: so for the next few weeks, I’ll be getting my act together, hitting the books and hopefully, doing some more writing. I want to do a review of Michael Lutin’s excellent book, SunShines, a post on Alice in Wonderland to please a Gemini friend and, of course, write about the Venus ingress into Pisces for NeptuneCafe.

And then, perhaps, as a reward for my good behavior, I’ll be allowed my Facebook privileges again!

P.S. ::Writtern many days later:: I caved in and reactivated my FB account. The event chart showed 3 degrees of Leo on the ASC…

Kreative Blogger Awards

Jamie and Marina of Funkastrology were kind enough to nominate Astrology Expressed for the Kreative Blogger Award. They’re doing some cutting-edge work on their site, you might want to check it out and join the debate. It’s always good fun to stretch a mental muscle.

First things first: If you’ve been nominated, here are the rules: 

• Copy/paste the Kreativ Blogger Award picture onto your blog
• Thank the person who awarded it to you and post a link to her/his blog
• Write 7 things about yourself we do not know
• Choose 7 other bloggers to award
• Link to them
• Notify your 7 bloggers of their award

It’s never easy to pick only a limited number of blogs. There are so many good ones out there. My favorites can be found on my blogroll. But recently, I’ve found some new blogs that add to my day. Here they are:

1. The astrological world owes a lot to Donna Cunningham. Although she is now retired from active work as an astrologer, her books still help many. I bought some myself recently. Plus, she is a prolific and active blogger. Check her out at Sky Writer.

2. I first came across Michael O’Reilly’s work a decade ago. And even now, my week is not complete without his NewsScope. You can find him at the NeptuneCafe.

3. Are you familiar with Dawn Bodrogi’s work? I stumbled upon it recently and for astrology readers, it is nothing short of a gold mine. Her very impressive blog is called The Inner Wheel.

4. This is how Alice describes her blog, “A novice’s take on a life suffused with astrological themes.” She’s very good and she’s very funny. Click here if you want to go to AliceStrology.

5. How is it that astrology attracts such fine writers? I don’t know; I’m just glad it does. You want something a little different, a little dramatic and yet astrologically sound? Then you want Dark Sun Astrology.

6. You know, I don’t worry too much about the future of astrology. Because there are some very fine minds working in this field. Nick Dagan Best, Chris Brennan and Patrick Watson, you do us all proud. They have more than one blog, and you should really look those up. The Celebrity Astrology Blog is just one of them, I’ve linked with here because it’s the most fun.

7. I do read non-astrology stuff online, but there is only one non-astrology blog that I follow faithfully. The writer has dedicated it to “writing and bad habits.” It’s hard to resist, you know? Meet BWoz Daily.

***

Oh, boy! I almost forgot! Seven things about me you don’t know? I think there should be a stipulation that one be drunk when one writes these. The apple juice I’m having doesn’t quite cut it, you know? ::takes a sip:: Well, here goes:

• I’m five feet tall. Or five feet short, if you want to be mean.
• I hate contact lenses. I have a box full of them that I never use.
• I carry half a kilogram of makeup in my bag. I never use that, either.
• I judge people by how stimulating their conversation is.
• If you’re a cat or a yellow flower or a man with a dulcet voice, chances are I’m going to want you.
• Illness brings out the best in me, I should have been a nurse.
• O Fortuna from Carmina Burana is my favorite piece of music.

Jupiter, Astrology and Helping Haiti

With Jupiter’s recent ingress into Pisces, he’s on everyone’s mind right now. Everyone likes Jupiter, because he gives. Freely, joyously. Everyone likes that. I’m waiting for some Jupiter action myself. But even as I sit here dourly waiting for it to finally come out of my twelfth and hit my ASC, I know that sometimes instead of waiting for Jupiter to come give us, we have to don his mantle and give others. 

The recent tragedy in Haiti has brought out the Jupiter in the astrological community. Here are some links where you can buy Donna Cunningham’s excellent astrology e-books and Molly’s 2010 astrology calendar. The sale proceeds will go towards helping the people of Haiti. And Wendy Guy is donating half the cost of astrology readings, for two months, to this cause.

•  Astrology e-books by the excellent Donna Cunningham
•  Molly’s 2010 astrology calendar
• Wendy Guy: personal astrology reading

Scientists have been saying for a while now that altruism is healthy. Even without, that it’s never a one-way flow. The universal law of giving promises that you will get three times what you give. But even more enchanting than that is the soul-expanding experience of giving.