OK, it’s confession time.
I try to be a person who focuses on the positive, without denying life’s difficulties and challenges. I try to be broadminded and tolerant--even tolerant about other people’s intolerance.
Even so, I’m human. Like the next guy, I have pet peeves, and sometimes I feel like screaming about one of my pet peeves.
At the moment, my most raging pet peeve is when people judge the value of an astrological forecast by how well it predicted what happened in their lives. You’ve probably read or heard such comments. “February was just like you said it would be. You were spot on!”
I know, I know. When I come across such comments, sometimes I tell myself, “Different strokes for different folks.”
Sometimes I say, “Well, you know, self, for one reason or another, the sort of people who make such comments probably use astrology to rationalize not taking primary responsibility for making their lives whatever it is they say that they want them to be. It’s not easy to claim such responsibility. It can be scary to do that, and not everyone is in a place where they’re inclined to do that.”
Sometime I even manage to think to myself, “Why can’t everyone else just live by MY values?” and I laugh at myself.
Nonetheless, if and whenever I write another astrological forecast, if you ever want to compliment me on it, please tell me that it helped you make wise choices. Assuming that you truly believe that, that’s the sort of feedback that’s music to my ears.
Now then, since I’ve been so terribly honest, how about you?
When it comes to astrology, what’s one of your pet peeves?
Superior-sounding, self-indulgent bloggers ;-) or...what?
Friday, May 4, 2007
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Aspect Alert for May
In the past, I’ve been known to post some sort of monthly (if not weekly) astrological forecast on occasion. Currently, I’m still leading a discussion about weight loss on the Astrology Zone board, so I’m not able to devote time to writing a real forecast. However, I thought I would give you a quick heads-up about a couple of transits that are exact this month.
NOTE: If any major points in your birth chart (i.e., the Sun, Moon, Mercury, ..., Pluto, Ascendant, or Midheaven) lie between roughly 14 degrees 53 minutes and 21 53 of any signs, then you’ll want to take note of these transits. This is especially the case if any such points fall in any of the mutable signs (i.e., Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, or Pisces).
First, on May 6th, Jupiter exactly trines Saturn while Jupiter is at 18 degrees 23 minutes Sagittarius and Saturn is at 18 23 Leo.
For example, in my birth chart, Saturn lies within the affected degree range of Aquarius. Therefore, on the 6th, not only will Jupiter and Saturn both continue to trigger my Saturn but they will also form an exact trine with each other. (Jupiter sextiles my Saturn for a number of months, while Saturn opposes my Saturn.)
Secondly, on May 10th, Jupiter exactly squares Uranus while Jupiter is at 17 56 Sag and Uranus is at 17 56 Pisces.
NOTE: If any major points in your birth chart (i.e., the Sun, Moon, Mercury, ..., Pluto, Ascendant, or Midheaven) lie between roughly 14 degrees 53 minutes and 21 53 of any signs, then you’ll want to take note of these transits. This is especially the case if any such points fall in any of the mutable signs (i.e., Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, or Pisces).
First, on May 6th, Jupiter exactly trines Saturn while Jupiter is at 18 degrees 23 minutes Sagittarius and Saturn is at 18 23 Leo.
For example, in my birth chart, Saturn lies within the affected degree range of Aquarius. Therefore, on the 6th, not only will Jupiter and Saturn both continue to trigger my Saturn but they will also form an exact trine with each other. (Jupiter sextiles my Saturn for a number of months, while Saturn opposes my Saturn.)
Secondly, on May 10th, Jupiter exactly squares Uranus while Jupiter is at 17 56 Sag and Uranus is at 17 56 Pisces.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Full Moons and Lunar Types
Have you noticed that anything tends to be different for you around the time of the full Moon?
I've noticed that I tend to feel more on edge, more emotionally keyed up, at such times, especially during the two days or so leading up to the full Moon (such as today), though I haven't tried to research this is any particular (much less rigorous) way.
It's at times like this that I think about Donna Cunningham's book, "The Moon in Your Life: Being a Lunar Type in a Solar World." Cunningham defines a "lunar type" as someone who has any of the following: the Sun, Moon, Ascendant or several planets in Cancer; the Moon within 10 degrees of the Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven, or Nadir; a heavily aspected Moon, especially a Moon that is part of a major configuration (such as a T-square or grand trine); or several planets, the Sun, or the Moon in the 4th house.
Based on that definition, I would be considered a lunar type because I have a 4th-house Moon that is within 10 degrees of my Nadir and that has seven major aspects. It's part of both a T-square and a grand trine.
Are you a lunar type, too?
I've noticed that I tend to feel more on edge, more emotionally keyed up, at such times, especially during the two days or so leading up to the full Moon (such as today), though I haven't tried to research this is any particular (much less rigorous) way.
It's at times like this that I think about Donna Cunningham's book, "The Moon in Your Life: Being a Lunar Type in a Solar World." Cunningham defines a "lunar type" as someone who has any of the following: the Sun, Moon, Ascendant or several planets in Cancer; the Moon within 10 degrees of the Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven, or Nadir; a heavily aspected Moon, especially a Moon that is part of a major configuration (such as a T-square or grand trine); or several planets, the Sun, or the Moon in the 4th house.
Based on that definition, I would be considered a lunar type because I have a 4th-house Moon that is within 10 degrees of my Nadir and that has seven major aspects. It's part of both a T-square and a grand trine.
Are you a lunar type, too?
Saturday, April 28, 2007
How to Comment on What You Read Here
To comment on any post that you read, simply do this...
1. Scroll down below the post, and click on "O comments" (or whatever else it says, if someone else has already posted a comment).
2. If you've already registered with Google, then enter your email address and password. (Otherwise, enter that information as prompted.)
3. Then fill out the form to create your message.
If you have any questions about how to do any of this, just let me know. You can always email at proudphoenix@pobox.com
Brian
1. Scroll down below the post, and click on "O comments" (or whatever else it says, if someone else has already posted a comment).
2. If you've already registered with Google, then enter your email address and password. (Otherwise, enter that information as prompted.)
3. Then fill out the form to create your message.
If you have any questions about how to do any of this, just let me know. You can always email at proudphoenix@pobox.com
Brian
Learn How to Interpret Your Birth Chart
Are you new to astrology?
Do you want to know how to interpret your own natal chart?
And are you willing to put some effort into learning?
If your answer is "yes" to all of these questions, then here's how I recommend you get yourself off to a successful start.
1. Get a Copy of Your Birth Chart
Do this for free at www.astro.com. (You'll need your birth time.)
2. Get a General Overview of Astrology
Read the beginner series from The Mountain Astrologer. It includes:
• Signs
• Modes and Elements
• Planets
• The Birthchart as a Map
• Houses
• Rulerships/Dignities
• Aspects
• Cycles
• Transits and Progressions
• Lunations, Nodes and Eclipses
• Chart Synthesis
• Applications and Types of Astrology
• Special Q&A section
3. Read a Book/Take a Class
If you want an understandable, inspiring first book about growth-oriented natal astrology, read “The Inner Sky” by Steven Forrest.
If you want to take a class, try that. Some classes are taught in person, and some are taught online. I have taught a Natal Astrology I class online in the past, but I have no idea when I’ll teach it again, and I don’t know whose class to recommend at this point. However, you might use the syllabus from my class to help you decide whether to take a particular course. When I taught that class in the past, I used “The Inner Sky” for the textbook, and if I teach the class again, I expect to continue using that book.
4. Have Fun with It!
Astrology is part memorization and part creativity. As you spend time learning material and committing it to memory, don't forget to include your more poetic, right-brained side. Keep your learning fun. Use your whole brain.
Use your logical left brain to memorize the important basics, and use your imaginative right brain to apply them creatively. Two halves of your brain are much better than one!
Draw on whatever types of sources help the symbols come to life for you.
If you're familiar with myths, draw on those.
If you're familiar with popular songs, draw on those. (For an example of how to bring the planets to life through the use of popular music, read “Singing with the Planets”) If you're familiar with famous figures from literature or history, then draw on those. For instance, suppose you want to wrap your brain around an aspect in your birth chart: the Sun in Scorpio in the 9th house trine the Moon in Pisces in the 12th house. imagine your Sun in Scorpio in the 9th house as an international spy. Imagine your Moon in Pisces in the 12th as a hippy from the 1960's. James Bond meets Janis Joplin, say. What happens when the two talk to each other?
5. Start with Your Sun, Moon and Ascendant
To understand your birth chart, start with these three. I consider them the very core of your natal chart. Look at the Sun, what it represents, which sign your Sun is in, and which house it's in. Do the same thing for your Moon. Then look at your Ascendant (or rising sign).
6. Look at the Rest of Your Chart
Look at your Mercury, its house and sign, and aspects to your Sun/Moon/Ascendant. Repeat this for all the planets.
If your Sun, Moon and Ascendant combination suggests one approach to life, and another part of your chart suggests a different approach, emphasize the first approach more than the second. However, all of your chart matters. We all have some contradictory interests and needs. Try to satisfy all of yours, to one extent or another.
7. Bounce Your Interpretation Off Someone Else
Post a message on a message board. Pair up with someone else who is at the same level, and trade off time looking at each other's charts. Unfortunately, I have made my own message board read-only until I am ready to replace it with a higher-quality one, one that will prevent hacking and spamming. However, to post messages, you might start at the Astrology Zone board. And you want to explore other such boards, too.
8. Look at Transits to Your Birth Chart
Transits (predictive symbolizes of astrology) trigger the creative and destructive potential that your chart indicates. First get a solid feel for your chart. Then look at transits to it. If you skip the natal astrology and try to go directly to the predictive astrology, it will not make much sense. Do first things first, and you'll come out ahead in the long run.
Do you want to know how to interpret your own natal chart?
And are you willing to put some effort into learning?
If your answer is "yes" to all of these questions, then here's how I recommend you get yourself off to a successful start.
1. Get a Copy of Your Birth Chart
Do this for free at www.astro.com. (You'll need your birth time.)
2. Get a General Overview of Astrology
Read the beginner series from The Mountain Astrologer. It includes:
• Signs
• Modes and Elements
• Planets
• The Birthchart as a Map
• Houses
• Rulerships/Dignities
• Aspects
• Cycles
• Transits and Progressions
• Lunations, Nodes and Eclipses
• Chart Synthesis
• Applications and Types of Astrology
• Special Q&A section
3. Read a Book/Take a Class
If you want an understandable, inspiring first book about growth-oriented natal astrology, read “The Inner Sky” by Steven Forrest.
If you want to take a class, try that. Some classes are taught in person, and some are taught online. I have taught a Natal Astrology I class online in the past, but I have no idea when I’ll teach it again, and I don’t know whose class to recommend at this point. However, you might use the syllabus from my class to help you decide whether to take a particular course. When I taught that class in the past, I used “The Inner Sky” for the textbook, and if I teach the class again, I expect to continue using that book.
4. Have Fun with It!
Astrology is part memorization and part creativity. As you spend time learning material and committing it to memory, don't forget to include your more poetic, right-brained side. Keep your learning fun. Use your whole brain.
Use your logical left brain to memorize the important basics, and use your imaginative right brain to apply them creatively. Two halves of your brain are much better than one!
Draw on whatever types of sources help the symbols come to life for you.
If you're familiar with myths, draw on those.
If you're familiar with popular songs, draw on those. (For an example of how to bring the planets to life through the use of popular music, read “Singing with the Planets”) If you're familiar with famous figures from literature or history, then draw on those. For instance, suppose you want to wrap your brain around an aspect in your birth chart: the Sun in Scorpio in the 9th house trine the Moon in Pisces in the 12th house. imagine your Sun in Scorpio in the 9th house as an international spy. Imagine your Moon in Pisces in the 12th as a hippy from the 1960's. James Bond meets Janis Joplin, say. What happens when the two talk to each other?
5. Start with Your Sun, Moon and Ascendant
To understand your birth chart, start with these three. I consider them the very core of your natal chart. Look at the Sun, what it represents, which sign your Sun is in, and which house it's in. Do the same thing for your Moon. Then look at your Ascendant (or rising sign).
6. Look at the Rest of Your Chart
Look at your Mercury, its house and sign, and aspects to your Sun/Moon/Ascendant. Repeat this for all the planets.
If your Sun, Moon and Ascendant combination suggests one approach to life, and another part of your chart suggests a different approach, emphasize the first approach more than the second. However, all of your chart matters. We all have some contradictory interests and needs. Try to satisfy all of yours, to one extent or another.
7. Bounce Your Interpretation Off Someone Else
Post a message on a message board. Pair up with someone else who is at the same level, and trade off time looking at each other's charts. Unfortunately, I have made my own message board read-only until I am ready to replace it with a higher-quality one, one that will prevent hacking and spamming. However, to post messages, you might start at the Astrology Zone board. And you want to explore other such boards, too.
8. Look at Transits to Your Birth Chart
Transits (predictive symbolizes of astrology) trigger the creative and destructive potential that your chart indicates. First get a solid feel for your chart. Then look at transits to it. If you skip the natal astrology and try to go directly to the predictive astrology, it will not make much sense. Do first things first, and you'll come out ahead in the long run.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Uranian transits: (Be)Come as you are
If you’re interested in Uranian transits, then you might want to read an article by astrologer and psychotherapist Elizabeth Spring at StarIQ.com.
In her article, Spring talks about the transits from Uranus that we each experience at certain ages: the opening or waxing square (at age 21), the opposition (at 42), the closing or waning square (at 63), and the conjunction or Uranus return (at 84).
While we’re likelier to feel compelled to respond to Uranus’s calling during those transits than we are during other Uranian transits, we might also consider other events involving rowdy, rousing Uranus: the waxing sextile (at age 14), the waxing trine (at 28), the waning trine (at 56), and the waning sextile (at 70).
Spring sprinkles several quotes by herself and by other people throughout her article. Besides the quote with which she opens the piece, my favorite is this one, from Thoreau: "We are constantly invited to be who we are."
In her article, Spring talks about the transits from Uranus that we each experience at certain ages: the opening or waxing square (at age 21), the opposition (at 42), the closing or waning square (at 63), and the conjunction or Uranus return (at 84).
While we’re likelier to feel compelled to respond to Uranus’s calling during those transits than we are during other Uranian transits, we might also consider other events involving rowdy, rousing Uranus: the waxing sextile (at age 14), the waxing trine (at 28), the waning trine (at 56), and the waning sextile (at 70).
Spring sprinkles several quotes by herself and by other people throughout her article. Besides the quote with which she opens the piece, my favorite is this one, from Thoreau: "We are constantly invited to be who we are."
Venus: The Pleasure Spot in Your Chart
You probably already know your Sun sign. But how about your Venus sign? Do you know what it is and what it means?
When you say, “I’m a Virgo,” you’re referring to the zodiac sign which contained the Sun, based on the time and place of your birth, when you were born. Your Venus sign, then, is the zodiac sign which contained Venus, based on the same things. Your Venus sign may be the same sign as your Sun sign, or it may be a different sign.
Each of the bodies in a chart--the Sun, the Moon, Pluto, and the seven planets other than Earth—symbolize a certain aspect or element of our consciousness, of our functioning, whether it’s our inclination to build and maintain relationships with others (Venus), that part of us that wants to make a mark on the world (Pluto), or something else. Each one teaches us which kinds of experiences we need to develop, satisfy, and integrate various "parts" of ourselves.
Whereas our Sun signs represent what we need in order to feel vibrant and alive and to respect ourselves, Venus represents how we create and respond to harmony. Venus is that part of us that wants to get along well with others. She also represents our aesthetic tastes and perceptions or how we feel moved when we see beauty, such as the beauty found in nature. Venus rules inner peace and what sorts of experiences can help us calm down when life jostles and jars our sensibilities. She’s how we relax and have fun. She represents the appealing qualities with which we attract others to us, whether they are beauty, gracefulness, politeness, an elegant way of speaking or moving, or something else. In addition, Venus indicates how we form and maintain supportive relationships.
If you’d like to read my brief interpretations of each of the 12 possible Venus signs, as well as some comments about birth charts (what they are and what they represent) and about my philosophical approach to astrology, click here.
When you say, “I’m a Virgo,” you’re referring to the zodiac sign which contained the Sun, based on the time and place of your birth, when you were born. Your Venus sign, then, is the zodiac sign which contained Venus, based on the same things. Your Venus sign may be the same sign as your Sun sign, or it may be a different sign.
Each of the bodies in a chart--the Sun, the Moon, Pluto, and the seven planets other than Earth—symbolize a certain aspect or element of our consciousness, of our functioning, whether it’s our inclination to build and maintain relationships with others (Venus), that part of us that wants to make a mark on the world (Pluto), or something else. Each one teaches us which kinds of experiences we need to develop, satisfy, and integrate various "parts" of ourselves.
Whereas our Sun signs represent what we need in order to feel vibrant and alive and to respect ourselves, Venus represents how we create and respond to harmony. Venus is that part of us that wants to get along well with others. She also represents our aesthetic tastes and perceptions or how we feel moved when we see beauty, such as the beauty found in nature. Venus rules inner peace and what sorts of experiences can help us calm down when life jostles and jars our sensibilities. She’s how we relax and have fun. She represents the appealing qualities with which we attract others to us, whether they are beauty, gracefulness, politeness, an elegant way of speaking or moving, or something else. In addition, Venus indicates how we form and maintain supportive relationships.
If you’d like to read my brief interpretations of each of the 12 possible Venus signs, as well as some comments about birth charts (what they are and what they represent) and about my philosophical approach to astrology, click here.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Weight loss
Since last month, I've been leading a discussion about astrology and weight loss on the message board at Astrology Zone. In the discussion, I analyze eight participants' birth charts, one by one, based on my interpretation of the symbols and in light of their comments about their weight loss- and -maintenance-related experiences.
If you'd like to read some of the messages in the discussion, click here and then scroll down until you get to the message that I posted on March 12. That's when the discussion started.
Brian
If you'd like to read some of the messages in the discussion, click here and then scroll down until you get to the message that I posted on March 12. That's when the discussion started.
Brian
Welcome!
And so begins my particular spin on blogging.
Are you already familiar with The Proud Phoenix? If so, great! If not, I hope you'll check it out. And either way, I'd like to hear from you.
What sorts of topics would you like to see addressed in this astrological blog?
Thanks for dropping by.
Are you already familiar with The Proud Phoenix? If so, great! If not, I hope you'll check it out. And either way, I'd like to hear from you.
What sorts of topics would you like to see addressed in this astrological blog?
Thanks for dropping by.
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