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Showing posts from March, 2013

Practical Astrology--What's Your Story?

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photo by Patricia Herlevi Many people still associate astrology with paganism or the occult, in which it does play a role.  However, no one needs to practice witchcraft or draw down the moon, to reap the benefits of astrology.  Personally, I don't use astrology for fortunetelling or magical purposes, but follow Liz Greene and other astrology luminaries examples of combining Jungian and mythological archetypes with astrology to create a self-empowerment tool.  And personally, with my background in the fine and performing arts, I look forward to the day when I join with others to combine astrology, archetypes and the arts. In his book, "Sacred Sounds," the late Ted Andrews, a well-known metaphysician and animal advocate, combined astrology with music.  Remember that each planet has its own key (and you can find singing bowls and tuning forks related to this), and each astrological sign has its own key too.  In his book, Andrews provided illustrations of an astrology c

In the Realm of Cancerian

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It's too early in the week for me to write my weekly Whole Astrology post, but the Zodiac sign, Cancer has appeared on my radar.  My sister had questions about Cancerians and Cancerian men in particular (though our father is a Cancer).  And last week, I saw a warning post on getting involved with Cancerian men and this scathing warning raised a red flag for me since people not versed in astrology make huge generalizations about signs based on their limited experiences of meeting people with those signs.  Mental illness and emotional problems can show up in any of the 12 Zodiac signs and often times, a person's behavior is a combination of astrological placement, the environment in which he or she grew up, and choices he or she has made and not someone's Sun sign. As a Cancerian I can say that I know this sign well.  I know how Cancer natives move through life, how they hide their hurt and vulnerabilities through a tough demeanor.  I know that what appears as cold aloofn

Musical Spin around the Zodiac (and away we go...)

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The purpose of this post is to allow you to see the Zodiac signs in action.   While I might enjoy some of the songs here, I’m not revealing my musical tastes.   Though I will say some of these performers are at the top of my A-List.   I noticed that I don’t spend a lot of time listening to contemporary Scorpio musicians.   I have no answer for this, but when I was looking up signs of my favorite musicians, none of them were Scorpio, at least not to my awareness.   I suppose if I traveled back to the Romantic Era for European classical music I would have found a few Scorpio musicians, but I didn’t travel back that far since we don’t have footage of these musicians, just footage of contemporary musicians performing the work of the Romantic Era composers with the exception of Rachmaninoff. And I don't know his sign. You will find jazz, folk, pop, and folkloric performers on this list.  Some of this music might possess healing qualities and other music here is just pure en

The Art of Aries

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Aries, Mars, Spring, Cardinal As we get ready to leave a Pisces stellium with the Sun joining Mars and Uranus in Aries, let's explore art with Aries themes.  And who are Aries exactly? Pioneers, warriors, athletes, risk-takers, fools for loves, troubadours and knights who chase after unrequited lovers, children, infants, fighters, and those people who can muster the courage to speak their truth.  While Joan of Arc wasn't an Aries, she had a warrior spirit coupled with a visionary one.  Saint Francis of Assisi was born under the sign of Libra, but his act of turning away from society and following his heart could only be called an Aries act. In the spirit of Aries and as we welcome new energy with the Spring Equinox in the northern hemisphere, here are movies, cartoons, and other scenarios that explore Aries spirit.  And as astrology expert Mark Husson told his listeners of his HayHouse Radio show, Peek Hour, "Everyone has Aries somewhere in their chart."  Look w

Quicksilver Dancin' with Mercury

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Mercury, Wikipedia The backward dance with Mercury in Pisces has just about ended and in fact, the closing ceremony happens this weekend.  Expect the smirking trickster planet to have a few more fast ones up his sleeve.  Think of Wiley Coyote or Clever Crow or the African Praying Mantis.  But really these tricks of us putting our feet in our mouths or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, have more to do with our communication skills than the quicksilver planet.  Still I feel like recapping my own experiences.  And if you have Mercury RX experiences to share, please feel free to leave comments. My mind felt foggy during the past three weeks, but most of this had to do with a cluster of personal planets plus Neptune in Pisces and not so much to do with Mercury in retrograde.  I don't know about you, but I had a much easier time meditating than when Mercury is direct in fire or air signs.  So I looked forward to my sound healing and meditation sessions.  I danced, listened

12 Stellar Ladies of the Zodiac

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After so many serious astrological posts that caused my head to spin, I decided to post the Ladies of the Zodiac this week.   I chose a celebrated or controversial woman to represent each of the signs.   My hope is that you will get a visceral feeling for the 12 signs through videos of these 12 women that represent the world of cinema, music, politics, journalism, and anthropology. Aries, Ashley Judd, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aRDKZc6Xbc Taurus, Audrey Hepburn, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urQVzgEO_w8 Gemini, Stevie Nicks, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDkKyBU7GCs Cancer, Meg Ryan, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-bsf2x-aeE Leo, Kate Bush, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1DDndY0FLI Virgo, Gloria Estefan, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww4Mil9GMJ4 Libra, Julie Andrews, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ7d4Rx7ftI Scorpio, Goldie Hawn, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co-VZiZNHfU Sagittarius, Margaret Mead, https://www.y

Book Review--Let's Get Practical

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Practical Astrology (The Essential Guide) April Elliott Kent Alpha (2011) Eyewitness Companions Astrology Julia and Derek Parker DK (2007) While I putting my basic astrology workshop together, I checked out basic astrology books from the library so that I can return to a beginner's mind.  However, even basic astrology books are packed with intermediate information so I found myself in a deeper learning mode. Practical Astrology by April Elliott Kent combines humor with a flowing narrative.  Elliott Kent starts at the beginning with the symbols, signs, planets, then moves into the houses, house systems, progressions and transits.  She comes from the synthesis school (blending the energies of signs, planets, houses), and focuses more on astrology as an everyday tool thus the name of her book.  She teaches her readers the chart basics, and even briefly how to draw a chart by hand for the more ambitious types. Like every other astrology book I read, you will find th