The Observer reported “Everybody is coming out with a smile on their face” from the David Hockney exhibition.  Accordingly, we took photos of ourselves before and after, and indeed there was a look of great exhilaration after seeing the grand and colourful landscapes, stunningly portrayed.  Of all British artists of the last century, I would venture to say his works are easiest on the eye, and I have always held the thought that I would be comfortable with Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy on my wall!  David Hockney has Sun conjunct Mercury in Cancer, so he very much processes through his emotions: even his mind processes through his emotions. The colour in his artworks is an attempt to express the emotion he feels.  In the current exhibition, his landscapes and love for his native Yorkshire are on display.  Rosie Bramley, Head of Art at local school Driffields has said: “He’s an incredibly talented observer but when he introduces colour he’s clearly capturing his feeling about a place – and I think that does relate to how we view the Wolds.”  His ruler the Moon, also governing emotion, is trine Saturn, so he is a shrewd operator, and is able to turn his emotion into practical use.  This aspect would also give him proficiency in drawing, and his artworks are very clearly delineated, sometimes almost cartoon-like.  Martin Kettle wrote in the Guardian: “It is a statement about the primacy of skilled drawing and painting in the visual arts and about the challenge of doing them with originality in the 21^st Century.” Venus in sextile to the Moon and Saturn, in between their trine, gives a feel for beauty, and this makes his paintings easier to relate to than the majority of British art arising in the last century (unless you are Charles Saatchi).  Added to this, his Sun exactly sextiles Neptune giving him a precise and intense degree of inspiration.  The trine of Mars to his Sun/Mercury conjunction accounts for his prolific output.  So overall, he has the constructive chart of someone who has been a mainstay of British art.  I am working on a separate blog about the Exhibition (which may stay as a pipe dream), but in the meantime would urge everybody to try to see it!

Aspects

As there are only 4 aspects to mention this week, I can make the U.S. and Australian adjustments to each. If one of these weeks there is only one aspect ( as did happen once) I could expand to other locations… I left my last U.K. blog at a Saturday night party, and further to this on Sunday in the early hours we have a square between mercury and Jupiter. This indicates wild exaggeration about what a business contact can do for you.  You were networking at the party, and one or the other of you made wild claims, raising expectations.  Either you continued the discussion through the night, or when you took these ideas into your dream world they became more fantastical.  Keep the excitement, but also keep your feet on the ground.  This aspect occurs on the evening of the 28^th in the U.S., so becomes more of a conscious interaction, e.g. you may be at a political fundraising event and may get swept away by a candidate’s promises, or have a vision of the future which may seem impossible at this moment in time.  If you’re in Australia it occurs early afternoon (29^th), so on sunny Bondi Beach you may need to apply extra sunscreen, as the temperature may unexpecedly rise and it could be a scorcher, if you’re a Brit on holiday.  If you’re a regular working Aussie in an office, the air conditioner could be playing up.

On Wednesday 1^st February at tea-time in the U.K. Mercury semi-squares Pluto, and you will be forced to fine-tune your business plan, perhaps involving concessions.  “Tea” could be a little tense or terse, with undercurrents, so keep it light, with not too much to digest.  Suggested lite-bite:  rice cake and tahini.  This aspect occurs in the U.S. at lunchtime, so you still need to be cautious about business ventures and calorie intake, though you may be over the original euphoria and into a more sober stage of planning.  Aussies will experience this aspect early in the working day on 2^nd, and that may entail actually calling in the workforce to mend an appliance or system, such as the air conditioning.

Aspect 3 occurs late on 1^st in the U.K., and it’s Venus opposite Mars, a battle between the sexes among other things.  In the U.K. you might be burning the midnight oil again, even though you’d planned a mundane evening of TV viewing, and even though you might have work the next morning.  For some reason, you couldn’t resist an invitation, but excessive indulgence such as drinking ginger wine may tip you over the edge, and unbalance your system.  You may take this out on your other half, or if you don’t have another half, then that means the other half of yourself.  If you need to be functional the next morning, take heed.  Our man or woman in the U.S. will experience this at tea-time, but they may not call it “tea” [please enlighten me, someone!].  So the yin and yang interaction may take place over this meal time.  If you are dining out you may be tempted to send back your meal with the waiter or waitress, as it may not be quite up to scratch.  But at the same time, work on your inner polarity issues.  Where do you feel yourself to be out of kilter?  Too much salt or sugar, not enough water…?  A slight adjustment here or there could make all the difference to the rest of your day.  And the Aussie outlook will take place late morning on 2^nd.    Whether jogging on the beach, or sweltering in the office, it’s a good time to just observe how you are doing with your nearest and dearest, and with your sugar and water levels, and make adjustments accordingly.

Last but definitely not least, Neptune enters Pisces on Friday (3^rd) at tea-time in the U.K.  This will be a very different atmosphere from Wednesday’s tea-time.  You will be much less on your guard, much more chilled at the end of the week, and possibly in the mood for a liquid evening: Soup of the day (fish soup for pescatorians) rather than tahini and rice cakes.  Neptune did dip into Pisces last year, but with a 14-year cycle through a sign, it’s a good time to take stock of your emotions, both the personal ones and your empathy regarding world level concerns – how much compassion can you encompass without falling apart through overwhelm?  It may be a fine boundary for some.  In the U.S you’ll be lunching, perhaps on a fish which is not threatened by over-fishing.  Accompany that with a watery cucumber salad dressed with watercress, if you’re feeling really virtuous, and in the spirit of the event.  It truly is a watershed moment, so make a ritual of your lunch and use it for a meditative contemplation, washed down with copious amounts of mineral water.  The questions for this moment are centred around the heart: where would you like to see your personal heart centred over the next 14 years, and where would you like to see your  impersonal heart consciousness centred for this period, or at least for the start of the journey?  If you are born around 19 February, as is the musician Seal (who has split up with his wife of 7 years, Heidi Klum), you may be suffering emotional confusion with Neptune on your Sun at 0 degrees Pisces.  Aussies in the early morning of 4^th could be planning for a barbie on the beach, communing with dolphins…But those in the continental interior may look to other sacred spaces to define this important ingress (change of sign by a planet) and to honour the Earth.  The prayer to Water of Masaru Emoto is as relevant as ever now (see under my Prayers category), and there are populations who do not have access to clean water.  We may pray about the balance of our earth and waters, for past victims of tsunamis, and hope that the effects of future tsunamis be minimized.

Website

If you haven’t looked at my website lately, it has had a bit of a revamp, with some new mandalas and a new page for “Future Lives”.

Here is the link for the main entry:

http://www.lanawooster.co.uk/

I am still working on the “Pay Pal for Dummies” and the wrinkly photo – the current one was taken when the website was first set up, six years ago!  The blog followed a year later.

Dancing on Ice

And I haven’t given up on the Dancing on Ice commentary (my Taurean Ascendant stubbornness ruling here!).  There were some superb performances again last week. Chico had a good choice of song: “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling” by the Righteous Brothers – it wouldn’t have mattered how he had skated, but he scored well.  I have now found a birth date for him, and he has the Sun conjunct Chiron in Aries square Mars and opposing Uranus, so he’s an oddball who intrigues people, and loves to live on a fast vibration, and to surprise others.  Jupiter was conjunct his Mercury at the beginning of the competition when he had just stepped in for Chesney Hawkes, so he was off to a flying start.

Sam Nixon, presenter friend of Mark Rhodes (I am gradually getting to know them…) was Kung Foo Fighting on the ice.  He is another dare devil Sun in Aries, and currently has Jupiter transiting his natal North Node (good karma), another Aries doing well.  He also has Mars in Sagittarius conjunct Uranus (an electrical energy).  As his presenting partner for his children’s TV show has now gone out of the competition (before I had a chance to blog about him) – that means I will have to make a substitute.

Andy Whyment is a third Aries male, indeed another 2^nd April with Chico!  He has a tight conjunction between Venus/Mars/Sun which is expressive, but Jupiter conjunct Saturn in Libra sometimes holds him back.  His unaspected Uranus may be the reason he keeps surprising the professionals! Jayne Torvill told him “I was shocked how good your skating was” and Katarina Witt followed with the comment “You keep surprising me”.

For our fourth, let’s look at one of the new judges, Katarina Witt herself, who we remember (if we are old enough) as an international ice skating competitor during the heyday of Torvill and Dean (circa 1984).  What a gracious lady!  She always tries to make a constructive comment, and is full of enthusiasm where she has enjoyed a performance.  She has a natal Uranus/Pluto conjunction:  a complex high energy conjunction from one born in the mid-60s, opposed by Saturn/Chiron and squaring her Sun/Mercury conjunction in Sagittarius, forming a T-square which must have been difficult for her to manage. This current opportunity in her career is shown by a trine of transiting Saturn to her Jupiter.  That’s all Folks!

The Week in Bullet Points:

• Today – Keep the enthusiasm, but don’t overdo it!
• Wednesday – Deep thoughts, but lite-bites; later male-female balancing
• Friday – in at the deep end, spiritual swimming

But it is the subject of relationships which is grabbing me, blogwise, this morning.  Television scriptwriters brought together two long term relationships  last week:  on Downton Abbey Christmas Day the writer Julian Fellowes brought together Matthew and Mary.  I for one, was relieved, because I had only just started watching it and I have a short fuse for suffering. The chart for 10.59 pm on Christmas night showed this unique television highlight as Virgo rising (emotional holding back, and perfection) close to Mars (desire) trine Moon (heightened emotion).  Pluto (power) was trine Julian Fellowes’ Saturn (restraint) – he may have felt coerced into it.  On 29th Pip and Estella were brought together on Great Expectations, Charles Dickens having produced two possible endings.  The chart for 9.59 pm showed Mars rising in Virgo again, but with an added karmic feature of the Nodal Axis squaring the Ascendant/Descendant axis plus Sun conjunct Pluto (it was a dark drama altogether).  Posthumously, the North Node was transiting Dickens’ Moon/Neptune conjunction (a karmic coercion on his sensibilities) and Pluto was squaring his Mars (more coercion – perhaps the scriptwriters did not consult him, or perhaps his original ending was just plain wrong, I mean give them a break after such difficult lives).  Meanwhile in ”real” showbiz life Katherine Jenkins (who has a difficult conjunction between Mars and Saturn natally) split up with Gethin Jones (currently questioning his love life with Neptune transiting his Venus), and Russell Brand (an astrological twin of Angelina Jolie, who is hanging on to Brad Pitt) split up with Katy Perry (a really intensely Scorpionic Scorpio).  Pluto is transiting Katy’s Jupiter, making this a really intensely Scorpionic time for her, and Saturn is squaring Russell’s Venus, bringing a sad sense of emotional loss.  What is the secret of a long term relationship?  I have been married for 38 years but I do not know the answer. I do know that sometimes my hubby and I appear to be living in parallel universes, because his setting on the toaster is fine for him, whereas it burns my toast.  You may recall that on my training in Future Life Progression (much more of that to come this year) he questioned the feasibility of travelling into the future, which is his right, as a Scientist.  The subject came up again this week, and the debate continued, with an old friend of mine telling him that time goes round in a loop…Our routine was disrupted by the festivities this week, and we found ourselves watching  re-runs of Frasier and watching for the first time an American comedy series called “The Big Bang Theory”.  Hubby Mike explained to me that at the time of the big bang, photons were released and these may have created parallel universes.  I will keep you updated on the ongoing debate, but meanwhile re-affirm  my feeling that Future Life Progression contributes to an evolutionary step forward – I am preparing a new website page on this.

Today Mercury squares Mars, a day of mild irritation.  You may not be feeling at your best as a) You drank too much last night, or b) You stayed up too late, and/or c) You were awake all night trying to assess the synaesthetics of the numbers of every year since you were born.  There were fireworks last night, which at some point fizzled out, and similarly any fireworks today will at some point fizzle out.  This is the beginning of 2012 – could it be symbolic?  I think we expect more of the year.  As the beginning of the week, it might also be symbolic of the week, because this aspect goes unchallenged until Saturday (7^th), so work to refine it: its highest potential is sharpness of mind.  On Saturday, Mercury sextiles Saturn, steadying the mind and providing the ability to lay down foundations for those New Year plans and resolutions.  This is later backed up by a sextile between Mercury and Neptune (the inspiration strangely coming after the plans are laid down by the solid foundations – it is as if you need the faith that provides in order to allow the dream to come forth).  There is a window around midday where Mercury is at the midpoint of the trine between Saturn and Neptune, when the vision of perfection can really be seen, at the midpoint of the material and the spiritual.  This vision may be your future life progression for 2012.

Live, Love, Laugh and Be Happy!

The week in bullet points:

• Today – delicate mind, a work in progress
• Saturday – foundations and dreams, seize the vision

The week in bullet points:

• Christmas Day – get into the swing
• Boxing Day – minimize the agro
• Thursday – feel your feelings, and let go of what you don’t need

Harry Judd, winner of Strictly Come Dancing 2011, is a Capricorn, with Sun conjunct Neptune (facility for dance) in Capricorn sextile Mars/Pluto in Scorpio, a bundle of energy.  He has 4 planets in Sagittarius, so has a taste for adventure, and Pluto at the South Node (which with Mars conjunct Pluto points to a darker side!  His tango is definitely smouldering…).  Pluto is currently sextile his Pluto, so he has come into his power.  The other member of McFly to win a trophy recently, Dougie Poynter who was crowned King of the Jungle in I’m a Celebrity (on 3^rd December), is two years younger than Harry, but shares some similarities in his chart.  His Venus conjunct Neptune (musical inspiration) is conjunct Harry’s Sun/Neptune, and he too has Mars conjunct Pluto, but loosely, in the same area as Harry’s, so they magnify each other’s talents.  At the time of his win, Saturn was sextile his Uranus and Pluto was transiting his Neptune (the episode in the Jungle would have been a psychological journey for him).  Harry’s North Node trines exactly Dougie’s Neptune; Harry’s Neptune conjuncts exactly Dougie’s Venus. The other two band members were the founder members of the group and have been  enthusiastic supporters (first on the dance floor to congratulate Harry last night, being shooed off by Bruce Forsyth!).  Danny Jones is a Piscean with Mars conjunct Uranus in Sagittarius (urge for excitement).  The group came to fame in 2004, when Uranus was trine Danny’s Pluto.  Tom Fletcher is Cancerian with Sun conjunct Mars (again, high-energy), Venus conjunct Chiron (healing through music).

Without further ado, let’s look at the coming week’s aspects.  I am sure you have plenty of things to do, people to see and presents to buy, and on top of that we have several aspects to negotiate.  Today, Venus squares Saturn, which would be a good day to visit that elderly neighbor or relative and take round a hot toddy or whatever they might fancy.  Tomorrow the Sun sextiles Saturn, so it is good for serious intentions, such as finishing your Christmas shopping.  Head down, you can do it!  On Tuesday (20^th), Venus enters Aquarius and you may be able to focus on the partying and socializing if you completed your Christmas shopping.  Fresh ventures are favoured, such as the annual defrosting of the fridge/freezer prior to packing it with Christmas party bites from Iceland.  Funnily enough, I can see myself doing that even though I will be spending Christmas day elsewhere – old habits die hard.  Next, the Sun sextiles Neptune, putting you in touch with the spiritual meaning of Christmas…You pass a lone carol singer, selling the Big Issue, accompanied by a dog and a blanket, and stuff a fiver in their hand with a tear in your eye.  Wednesday (21^st) brings a square between Venus and Jupiter – you are summoned to a Christmas do, but know you should be completing your Christmas shopping/icing your Christmas cake/looking for a Turkey.  So you feel a bit split, as though you should be in two or more places at once.  But Venus also sextiles Uranus, so you get into the spirit of it, and realize you can do this multi-tasking thing that the week before Christmas requires of you, e.g. you order the Turkey online on your I phone, while talking to the local vicar.  The 21^st Century has its good points.  The Winter Solstice (the Sun’s entry into Capricorn) dawns on Thursday 22^nd, and you can also do the multi-faith thing, and honour the earth as your ancient ancestors did.  Superwoman is not just a throwback to the 1980s, and neither is Superman.  Catch the sunrise, take some stunning photographs of the landscape, and say a prayer for the Polar Bear.  Stock up on more party food, just in case.  The Sun then trines Jupiter: that prayer you said for the world at the solstice comes back to you and fills your heart with the religiosity of this annual event, you feel magnanimous and any Scroogelike corners of your heart melt like the ending of A Christmas Carol.  You rush back to the lone carol singer and stuff the turkey in his or her hand and decide you will make a vegetarian chestnut roll instead and use some of the ready-rolled puff pastry logjamming your freezer.  The Sun then squares Uranus – uh oh!  A few plans may come unstuck…You realize the party nibbles are past their sell-by-date by hours, and as you are a stickler for sell-by-dates you may have to bend your own rules, just for once. [Aside: why is it that Christmas food is often labeled for before Christmas?].  Friday (23^rd) is a healing day, mark your calendar, because the Sun sextiles Chiron.  You might think you are behind on your Christmas checklist, but you suddenly realize you have caught up and can put your feet up for a few moments, with a glass of pear cider.  You are doing better than you thought.  It is all coming together…Aah…!  …zzz….Ding Dong!  No it’s not merrily on high, it’s that silly doorbell chime you had installed which drives you nuts, but never mind, it’s the cheery newspaper boy reminding you of his year long service, and that you mentally put by a fiver for his Christmas box.  Can you find it?  No.  Can he wait till next year?  No…will the loose change from your purse do?  O.K.  Back to the pouffee and the glass of mock champers…Aah…!…zzz…yes it’s a moment of pure relaxation, enjoy, all is prepared and there’s a New Moon on the horizon.  Saturday (24^th) Christmas Eve brings a New Moon in Capricorn, which is a lovely way to start Christmas, with good intentions, decks cleared, and hopes and wishes in their pristine state.   As I don’t think many will be reading this blog on Christmas morning, I will send you my Christmas wishes now:  joy and peace to you, and glory to all religions and atheists (hmm, wonder how Christopher Hitchens is finding his new surroundings or dimensions…).

The week in bullet points:

• Today – last minute chores
• Tomorrow – serious work
• Tuesday – fresh influx of social energy; spiritual dimension
• Wednesday – social gaffes, turning into social genius
• Thursday – attunement to the Earth, goodwill to all, then a possible spanner in the works
• Friday – healing
• Saturday – hopes and wishes renewed

Sagittarius New Moon Mandala painted by Sarah Berry
Line Mandala from Mandala Colouring Book by Barry Stevens
available at http://www.mandalas.freeserve.co.uk/colouringinbook.html

This is the third of an occasional series written about the expertise of each Sun Sign. I am still looking for the Capricorn who can write a guide to Ambition. The articles will be found under the category “Zodiac Masterclass” so that eventually there will be 12 such articles, e.g. “The Piscean Guide to Compassion”, “The Gemini Guide to Communication”,”The Aries Guide to Authenticity” etc. Each article will be written by someone who has the Sun Sign in question.

Here guest blogger Marion Kobylinksi writes about Optimism and trusting the wisdom of the Universe. I had to scout around for another Sagittarius to write it – I couldn’t write it myself, could I?

Marion is a well-loved Alexander Teacher who practises in Salisbury, and has been an enormous help to my family. Her piece is short and sweet!

As a Sagittarian myself, I would not be able to add anything. However cynical a sign you may be, there are times you just need to look at life in the Panglossian way of a Sagittarian.

A word about the mandala: I think you’ll agree it is stunning and beautiful. It reminds me of a Sagittarian poem or song (whose authorship I have never been able to establish):

Three rings has the circus, the color of hullabaloos, jumping Jupiter things, yellow and red turquoise bands, plus, Sagittarius! Ah, Sagittarius! Bringing laughter to the clowns, tumbling with the acrobats, telling fortunes to the gypsies. Walking with the wire-walkers, Sagittarius looks down and applauds the crowd for being brave.

The Sagittarian Guide to Optimism by Marion Kobylinski

The word optimism comes directly from the Latin optimus: best.

That quintessential optimist the Dalai Lama was speaking in the Albert Hall some twenty years ago, and his wonderful advice has never left me “Always prepare yourself for the worst and hope for the best”.

Optimism is ‘looking on the bright side’ – knowing there always is a bright side. It doesn’t mean not seeing the dark side, the possible unpleasant outcomes, it just seems more practical not to focus on them. It means appreciating that there is always more than meets the eye and knowing that everything works out for the best in the end, however bad it may seem at the time.

At least that has always been my experience all through my life. Certainly the worst things have taught me the most – and after all we are here to learn. Somewhere I have come to acknowledge that the many mistakes I have made (and annoyingly seem to continue to make) really have been, and are, blessings in disguise. Granted, the disguises can often be fairly heavy and convincing! Yet without the inconvenience, pain and suffering, I being on the somewhat obtuse side, would not have had the spur to wake me up a bit.

Isn’t it best to be as awake as possible – and perhaps not miss “the many splendoured thing”?

The Sun is always shining whether we can see it or not – when it is cloudy it is easy to forget that fact: the clouds don’t prove that the sun isn’t shining. The clouds have a vital function – they are part of this amazing creation – they hold the rivers and seas and will fall as rain to water the earth so that it brings forth food to nourish and sustain all of the living creatures on it.

The light of the Sun and the compassion of the clouds are but a reflection of the unity of things. When the optimist in us remembers the whole picture we know that all is well – or if it doesn’t seems to be at the moment it will be; that everything works out for the best in the end!

The week in bullet points:

• Today – emphasis on art, music and relationships and improving through the day
• Thursday – deep relationships
• Friday – high energy difficult to manage.  Karmically, watch the detail

Friend A: (sporting a poppy, and a plastic red nose)  “You know, it’s difficult being a spirit having a human experience.”

Friend B:  (sounding weary) “Oooh, I know what you mean.  I have trouble giving up my addictions.  Take smoking – it was O.K. in my Native American lifetime…I am really truly searching for the answer.  Do you think it’s easier to deal with addictions after you have retired?”

[We’ll meet them again later]

In fact, over the next week there will be a lot of that sort of discussion.  Even doers will become thinkers this week.  The thinking (a la Sagittarius) will be laced with humour, and if your Inner Clown has been in a closet for the last 11 months, now’s the time to dust him or her down, and take him or her out into the party season.  If Ricky Gervais can be asked to host the Golden Globes again for the third time your own Inner Clown can be welcome anywhere anytime, even if you are a shy Sun sign. Ricky is a Cancerian, and famous for his crab dance.  He has the controversial planet Uranus square natally to his ruling Moon, but is currently empowered by a transit of Pluto trine his natal Pluto, linking his life in with the Grand Trine described last week (which is currently still active).    But the Sun squares Chiron on Wednesday (23^rd) and the poignant side of the clown comes out (you might have tried the positive-thinking-only line, and the shadow comes up as a backlash).  Just adjust your philosophy accordingly, realizing that your Inner Clown is a work in progress and needs some healing and some bringing into the present.  Once the tears are out of the way that day, there are two trines to bring out the smiles.  The first is a trine between the Sun and Uranus, bringing out original creativity and inventiveness, and then Mars trine Pluto.  Mars trine Pluto affords the chance to heal past hurts, victimhood and self-harm.  It is a powerful energy, and can be mis-used, but can also be used to move on.  On Thursday (24^th) – uh oh!  It’s the bane of astrological life – Mercury Retrograde, again.  If you have been keeping that Mercury Retrograde workbook, you may have evolved your own strategies and patterns with it, but if not just keep in mind the mantra “clear communication” and keep  writing and referring to your insights.  Friday (25^th) brings us a smooth sextile between Venus and Neptune.  Love is on the agenda again, and this time it’s ideal love, and inspired expression of the Arts.

Cut to the supermarket,  next to the veggie food cabinet:

Friend C:  “Hiya!  How are you?  If you don’t mind me saying so, that red nose is a bit out of season…Oh I’m so busy these days.  Trying to choose which brand of veggie sausage is best – they’ve stopped doing my favourite.  (Sigh) Would love to find the time to do something more creative.”

Friend A:  “Funny you should say that!  It’s a point I was making to B on Tuesday.  Would our lives flow better if we were doing that, instead of being a the beck and call of errands, demands, events and duties?”.

Friday also brings us a New Moon at 2 degrees Sagittarius, more discussion of life, philosophy, freedom, and global affairs.  And finally, Saturday (26^th) Venus enters Capricorn, and we feel that we have to ground some of our ideas into reality, e.g. by becoming more politically active on behalf of society.  Start an Occupy movement, anyone?  Work your way through the charity Christmas catalogues?  Put your name down for the marathon?  Stand for your local council?  Or clear your clutter first.

Last sample discussion:

[In a railway carriage]

Friend A:  “Well if it isn’t B!  That’s twice in one year I have seen you, what a surprise! Guess who I bumped into in the supermarket the other day – C, another member of our Soul Group!”

Friend B:  [moving her luggage] “Here take a seat.  I was hoping to continue our conversation.  I was thinking over what you said, and I have decided to turn myself in at the local gym.  By the way, that purple skirt doesn’t really go -”

(to be continued…)

The week in bullet points:

• Sunday – Tread softly

• Tuesday –  Quiet catch-up; mind-broadening and heart-broadening

• Wednesday –  Healing crisis, and healing resolutions

• Friday –  Love and inspiration; new ideas

• Saturday – Getting real

Aries

This week could turn your head around.  All week Mercury will be chasing Venus but never quite catches her.  Why is Mercury trying to catch Venus?  He wants to have a dialogue with her.  Why does he want to have a dialogue with her?  The mind wants to swap notes with the heart, to co-ordinate the new-found wisdom. Many of us have experienced evolutionary shifts recently, and need to upgrade our everyday practices to match this incoming energy.  You may be finding that the new energy doesn’t sit well with your old circumstances.  Uranus this week from your sign harmonizes with the near conjunction, so you may find your words sprinkled with stardust.

Taurus

Mercury and Venus are like brother and sister in the family of planets around the Sun, and when they do meet they can catch up with family news, and you can take stock of issues in your personality development, such as the role of your ego.  How is your ego looking?  What is the state of your self-esteem?   Taureans have a tendency towards modesty and playing the supporting act, but you need now to find balance along your ego/self-esteem spectrum.  With Mercury sticking close to your natal planet all week, you will be buzzing with ideas.

Gemini

You may literally need a conflab with a sibling, or with someone who acts as a sibling for you this week.  A neighbour may pop their head over the fence at just the right moment, for instance, to lend an ear.  What happens when your ruler Mercury and Venus meet is that writing and articulation of the arts can take place.  Although Mercury spends several days trying to catch up with Venus he doesn’t actually make it.  The journey is the goal, and the thrill is in the chase.  You may need to accept that.

Cancer

This week snatches of poetry can be written,  a chapter or two of a novel,  a few brushstrokes on a canvas, and short tete a tetes snatched in cafes overlooking riverbanks;  contributions towards the major oeuvre – remember that Cancer is a literary sign.  Not a week to achieve earth shattering stuff, but stuff that makes ordinary life pleasant and harmonious, and cosy in the way Cancerians like it.  Your ruler the Moon runs the gamut of Sagittarius to Pisces this week, via Capricorn and Aquarius.  So you will start out adventurous, then draw in your claws conservatively.  In the second half of the week you’ll be networking, and then end towards the end of the week retreat into shyness and sensitivity.  Try to plan events accordingly.

Leo

Your sign is creative, and your natural art form is drama.  So you may question, in this week where writing is emphasized, whether we still have a use for poetry as an artform in this modern world?  It may yet be the best expression for the soul, I wager, and some of the best dramatists have been poets too.  Of course not everyone is even inclined to the Arts – you may have an Ascendant which contrasts with your Sunsign,  and which inclines you to have a different lifestyle and work as an Accountant say, a Scientist or an Engineer.  If so, it could be a week when the Arts could impinge on your lifestyle, and reclaim you.  Or you may have ideas that benefit the planet, and combine scientific expertise with ecological devices.   Untypically for you, you may stay out of the limelight this week and play a supportive role, like a benevolent uncle.

Virgo

Tomorrow it’s Happy Halloween, and many will favour or even seek out the scary vibe.  Any poetry written early in the week could appear uncharacteristically fanciful.  You could just let it out uncritically, in the manner of Julia Cameron (whose books include “The Artist’s Way”, “The Right to Write”),  writing for writing’s sake.  Let go of the perfectionism you are known for, and see what happens.  Writing for you tends to be a studious affair, but your sign has undeniable ability in this craft.  With Venus close to your natal planet all week, you will be involved in some warm exchanges.

Libra

A full blooded Halloween would ideally have a square from Pluto, but tomorrow’s square between Venus and Neptune can do paranoid at least.  So a paranoid Halloween to those who would like a bit of scaremongering.  For on Tuesday (1^st November) Monday’s emotional paranoia gives way to mental paranoia resulting from Mercury’s square to Neptune, or mental evaluation of the previous day’s emotional paranoia.  You know you love it.  Sometimes we just have to go through and examine the paranoia, before we can progress.  Paranoia and scaremongering are out of the natural comfort zone of Libran pleasantness, but Neptune’s square to your ruler can bring a little edge to your normal way of being.  Let out some tension.

Scorpio

The Sun is still in your sign, and you may have the other zodiac signs riveted with fascination.  They may be trying to work out how you function.  What they may not be able to connect with is that deep underground watery well of emotion, unless they have a strong Plutonian streak or another way of resonating with your nature.  You may prefer to be silent this week, not to write or perform, but just to observe life, and keep on collecting your reservoir of wisdom.

Sagittarius

Any poetry written on Tuesday (1^st November) could be incomprehensible to your fellow man or woman, very Joycian (James Joyce had Sun/Venus square Neptune).  You know that book they say is residing in each of us?  This may be the week that it almost surfaces.  Keep your pen poised, and notebook handy.  Hold off actual writing ideally until Wednesday (2^nd), when it is safe to write and the muse could come out of the closet, with Venus entering your adventurous sign.  The Sun’s opposition with your ruler Jupiter may have recently brought a power struggle and you may have lost a battle, but Pluto’s recent trine to Jupiter supports an enduring victory.

Capricorn

Are you a soft centre with a hard shell, or the reverse?  You can start to pursue a romantic ideal this week, or a love of the outdoors.  Fashion note: deerstalker hat, country brogues and Burberry jacket (unless, like me, you never wear them).  The morning activity of Wednesday 2nd will maintain a profound quality, with Mercury still in Scorpio, and those born at the end of Capricorn will be especially mentally acute.  You put judgementalism on the back burner this week.

Aquarius

In the afternoon of Wednesday 2^nd, Mercury enters Sagittarius, spicing up your taste for adventure – both for inner journeying and outward bound travel.  At close of play on Wednesday, Venus squares Chiron, so someone may criticize your fashion sense as being just too out there.  A brief healing crisis could result, but remember who you are – the original rebel!  On Thursday (3^rd) you may actualize some poetry, novel  writing or painting and surprise even yourself in the process with a fever pitch of ingenuity , for Venus and Mercury trine your natal ruler Uranus.  These aspects are also good for relationships and inventions, and higher orders of thought, while also taking in scientific invention and design.  It could be your week.

Pisces

Mercury squares Chiron on Thursday (3^rd November), so there could be some nervous tension and self-questioning, or nail-biting.  Some meditation would be advised in order to tap into the universal consciousness, and your connection with it.  If plaudits are what you seek, the Booker prize is spoken for this year, having gone to Julian Barnes…He does not have Mercury conjunct Venus, but J.K. Rowling does have.  She started writing in cafes, and so may you this week.  You may start the week confused, with your ruler Neptune playing up, but feel yourself becoming clearer as the week goes on.  Spookily, as I finished writing this blog, highlighting this week’s connection with poetry, I learned that a Poet had just become the new President of Ireland…

(Back to normal next week, including the bullet points)

Scorpio New Moon Mandala painted by Sarah Berry
Line Mandala from Mandala Colouring Book by Barry Stevens
available at http://www.mandalas.freeserve.co.uk/colouringinbook.html

This is the second of an occasional series written about the expertise of each Sun Sign. I am still looking for the Libran who can write a guide to Relationships. The articles will be found under the category “Zodiac Masterclass” so that eventually there will be 12 such articles, e.g. “The Sagittarian Guide to Trusting the Universe”, “The Cancerian Guide to Parenting”, the Taurean Guide to the Inner Artist” etc. Each article will be written by someone who has the Sun Sign in question.

Here guest blogger Jeanne Essex writes about accentuating the positive, which I think is a rebranding of Scorpio, my favourite Sun sign by the way. A word about the mandala: Sarah painted it on the last Scorpio New Moon, and it seems quite gentle and soothing in waves of green. Maybe it’s an antidote to lull those who find Scorpio energy difficult.

I have known Jeanne since University days, when she was reading English at Nottingham University, and she is an experienced writer. Her Scorpio credentials take in a square from Pluto to her Sun in her natal chart. In my life, I have always learned from Jeanne, who has taken life’s rites of passage before me and dealt with them so well.

The Scorpio Guide to: Accentuating the Positive

You want me to talk about being a Scorpio?

Hang on. Let me just put down my riding crop, come up from the dungeon and slip out of this black leather corset and these high-heeled thigh boots.

Relax, everybody! Just teasing. I simply cannot cope with the high heels any more at my time of life and with my arthritis. In addition that plus-size corset absolutely kills me nowadays.

Seriously though, it often seems to Scorpios that astrology unfairly concentrates on our dark side. How we envy those lucky Librans, of whom the worst that is ever said is that they tend to sit on the fence about issues. I mean would you rather be thought of as merely wishy-washy and indecisive or a potential sadistic serial killer, likely to have a torture chamber in the cellar?

We poor Scorpios often feel misunderstood and that does bring out our undeniable dark side, because, it is true that we can be jealous, obsessive, suspicious and resentful, but we are like that because we feel so passionately and deeply about everything. We just don’t do ‘casual’ in relationships or life in general. We are really, really deep. Okay?

The intensity of our feelings may frighten people of a nervous disposition; hell, it even scares us at times. However, because of this intensity, we are extremely loyal friends and lovers, but never, ever betray our trust, because we will never forgive or forget. Once lost, our trust is impossible to regain and we have such long memories that elephants come to us to check on what they were doing twenty years ago. This is the way that disputes tend to go in our house:

Me : “You said, in the summer of 1973 – it was a Sunday afternoon and raining at the time, I had on that pale blue dress and we were having strawberries and cream for tea – ….”.

My poor, bemused husband: “Er…Well if you say so.”

After over 40 years of this stuff, he can only ever concede the point, because he can’t even remember what I said half an hour ago. Hah! (Did I mention that another of our faults is that we need to win?)

In addition to a prodigious memory and the inability to forget a slight or betrayal, we are armed with the ability to flay with the tongue and wound with cutting sarcasm. This form of attacking defence is known in our family as ‘Scorping’ somebody and I plead guilty to having used it in the past and would like several hundred cases to be taken into consideration, although I try hard to curb it nowadays.

Some of us bear grudges to the extent that we will go so far as to try actively to get revenge, which is a very scary prospect for anybody in the path of an avenging Scorpio. This is an aspect of the Scorpio in which I have never allowed myself to indulge, but I shamefully admit to the love of a bit of poetic justice and schadenfreude about my enemies’ mishaps, when they occur in the rough and tumble of life.

Evolving

I firmly believe that the key to being an ‘evolved’ Scorpio is working hard to control the negative aspects of our character. (Ah, control! That’s another trait dear to the Scorpio heart.) For every negative there is a related positive, which Scorpios need to develop. When channelled, that famous passion can be a formidable force for good. We can get involved in causes and contribute to making real changes in society. There is never an issue that we don’t care about and we can love very deeply and faithfully.

Those negative qualities of never forgetting a supposed betrayal also have a positive side, because we also never forget a little act of kindness or thoughtful gesture and we will continue to repay for ever. Once you have our love, trust and respect, we will never let you down.

We are said to be manipulative and to set about seducing people, but those talents can be utilized positively in aid of good causes and are handy in recruiting helpers and fund raising. Because we like to win and secretly fear failure, we tend to set realistic and achievable goals and we are very flexible in our approach and willing to change direction, to adapt and overcome. Add to these qualities our resourcefulness and dynamism and we are very useful people to have on your team.

That secrecy we are famous for means that you can also trust us with your own secrets and you can tell us pretty much anything, secure in the knowledge that you cannot shock us. One good thing about being aware of one’s dark side is that a Scorpio can accept the less palatable side of human behaviour in others. Nobody knows as well as a Scorpio that given the right circumstances we are all capable of anything.

We have an ability to face up to the hard things in life and because we are in tune with the cycles of birth and death, those transitional times hold little fear for us. These qualities can be helpful in supporting other people, through bereavement counselling, for example.

To sum up, I have come to learn that I cannot stop myself from feeling twinges of jealously and suspicion, of resentment and bitterness, but I can own them and refuse to let them dominate my life or affect my behaviour. I have spent my adult life learning to let go of things, ‘accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative’, as the song goes.

In my own case, it is probable that all that intense Scorpio energy is tempered by my fluffy Cancer ascendant, but having the Cancer influence sure as hell doesn’t curb any of the emotionalism and reinforces the ability to care deeply and love unconditionally.

It does mean that after a tough session in the dungeon you are likely to get a nice cup of tea and a cuddle, though.

The week in bullet points:

• Sunday – depth and healing
• Wednesday – self-serving, and mental clarity
• Thursday – deep feelings, deep thinking, withdrawal, and mental healing
• Friday – silliness