I have an interest in some aspects of social psychology and have noticed to two themes emerge in the field that smack of Pluto’s transit through Capricorn. One is the current interest is the study of who achieves.
Continue reading Pluto In Capricorn: Parenting And A Legacy Of Success

“This book says it takes 10,000 hours of practice to get good at something,” I told the soldier regarding the book, Outliers: The Story of Success.

“It said the same thing in, Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else.

“Oh. That must be the new factoid. It made me wonder if I have 10,000 hours of blogging in.”
Continue reading Practice, Practice, Practice

Monica wrote on Making Heads Or Tails Of A Planet…

‘When you have a “calling” it’s usually apparent to you, right?’

kashmiri responded and since we’re talking the Sun in astrology, I thought I’d add my two cents. First, the Sun in astrology shows the vocation.

vo-ca-tion
1. a particular occupation, business, or profession; calling.
2. a strong impulse or inclination to follow a particular activity or career.
3. a divine call to God’s service or to the Christian life.
4. a function or station in life to which one is called by God: the religious vocation; the vocation of marriage.

Liz Greene wrote a fantastic book on this subject, Apollo’s Chariot: The Astrological Sun. If you’ve not read it, it is of particular interest to artists because keep in mind the Sun rules creativity.
Continue reading The Sun In Astrology: Various Paths To Finding Your Calling and Victoria Beckham

satori writes:

I’m skimming through Barbara Hand Clow’s book, Chiron: Rainbow Bridge Between the Inner & Outer Planets and I came across something that made me think of a fab metaphor for what happens at an outer planet square/opposition/return. She mentioned that it was the fact of having this tremendous energy available to you, that if you weren’t ready to utilize it it was a missed opportunity. She said that when people were ready later to make a change they just didn’t have the energy available to push it on through.

That totally reminded me of those goofy Back to the Future movies. Marty and the Professor had to get the time travel car hooked up to the power source right at the exact moment or they couldn’t get where they were going. BUT it’s not like anything horrible would happen to them if they didn’t get “back in time.” they certainly could have lived out other existences wherever they were. they just wouldn’t have been their PEAK existences. Interesting.

Do you make good use of the energy available to you?

Becca writes on the Pope blog aka my decoy Catholic-ness:

“Didn’t the Soldier think you were Catholic too?”

Becca – Yeah. And then there was the family who gave me an heirloom ring (on the assumption I was Italian, therefore Catholic and going to reform their son). When they found out otherwise, they took the ring back and I mean it came right off my finger.

“We want that ring back. You get that ring and give it back to us….”

The man came to me and told me his mother wanted my ring back so what can a person do? I took it off my finger and gave it to him.

Remember disappearing gifts video? Well here it is again and this video is in line with another thing we’ve been discussing lately, the use of other people’s energy and the concept of putting your own energy out there in trade.
Continue reading Elsa P the Decoy Catholic On Giving, Using Other People’s Energy And the Venus Neptune Phenomena Of Gifts That Disappear

Turns out around here at least, the Mercury Pluto opposition (along with the Moon in Scorpio) rules the day. Talk of sex, hidden knowledge various things stimulating and disturbing.

The soldier had me read a passage in a book this morning, one that he’s mentioned and referenced many times. I got the book months ago but if you’ve been reading here awhile you know I don’t open a box just because he sends it. At least not right away I don’t. I have to let this stuff cool off and that’s what this book has been doing sitting next to the bed for the last six months.

In whatever case, today he put it in my hand to read after reading it himself as I bootled (wrote the last blog).

“Just read this part right here,” he said with his fingers grasping a 10 page section.
(swearing below the break)
Continue reading Disturbing Reading, Thoughts, Words And Messages: Mercury Opposite Pluto – Poll

I got a book over the weekend from one of the regular readers here, Jilly Dybka. Y’all know her, she is always kind.  She has never gotten in a skirmish of any kind on this blog. She’s just nice that’s all so you might imagine my surprise when I opened her book of poetry and found myself in tears reading the very first poem on the very first page.

I felt enormously humbled. I just can’t believe the quality of the group that gathers here. I have Capricorn feelings about it – What do these people see in me?  It’s not that I don’t know the answer to that it’s just that well…

Well check out, Jilly for yourself and maybe you’ll see what I mean. When people who can write like this read your writing it boggles the mind.

Jilly writes:

Continue reading Jilly Dybka – She Boggles The Mind

‘Well, I figure this is the situation,” I told the soldier last week when he started looking for a job. “I’ll tell you because I doubt you have perspective. People are going to look at your resume and they are either going to know what it says or not. I mean a lot of people aren’t going to know what all that military stuff means, do you know that?”

“Yeah. Maybe I should take it out.”

“No, it’s too big a chunk of your life. I figure you will be hired because of it or not hired because of it so leave it in. Because anyone who knows what that says – they are going to want to work with you. But say someone does not like the military and there are plenty who don’t. Some people hate the military… they hate military people. They don’t want to be around them so if you get one of them, forget about it. You won’t get hired but you would not want to work with someone like that anyway. You’d want to kill them in a day, I am sure.”
Continue reading Relationship And Job Search Advice Via Astrologer, Grant Lewi

Awhile back I put up a blog asking everyone to recommend astrology books for beginners and came across this one, Breakthrough Astrology: Transform Yourself And Your World by Joyce Levine that belongs on the list.

If you are studying, this is a top notch “cookbook” on the aspects and planets in the houses and signs. The writing is flawless. It is modern but not campy and the interpretation excellent all the way around. Most importantly the material while advanced is accessible to the beginner.

I don’t know Joyce but you can meet here here: Joyce Levine. You can also watch her here: Boston.com and witness her manner. This is someone you can learn astrology from for sure. Enjoy!

Venus is in Pisces today, the sign of it’s exaltation and I thinking on my cross trainer this morning how few people really know how to give a gift. For example any gift with a string attached is not a gift but something grotesque in my mind. It is far worse than giving nothing so I wanted to state this… my opinion and also update what happened with the 2 books I mentioned on the video, Venus, Neptune, Giving, Leonard Cohen and Stephen Arroyo

I wound up getting the the Stephen Arroyo book from regular reader here, mega Libran, Becca. Becca is a librarian and somehow this enhanced this for me. Something about getting a book bought for you by a librarian who generally loans books, don’t they? Want a book? Go to the library, damn it! But she made sure I got that book which I enjoyed very much and I intend to write about it first chance I get.

Now the the Leonard Cohen book, I no longer have. I thought I would have it forever as much as it meant to me but in fact I gave it away some months ago.

What happened was the soldier’s son sent an email from Iraq. He was asking for certain things. Things like mouthwash and dental floss and books of course. And being on the road the soldier could not do much to get something together so he asked me to do it for him and I did.

I was stressed and out of time and money at the time so I put together some of everything he asked for, surprised I had everything on the list already onhand in some form.

I then looked around for some books and decided to send him the Energy Of Slaves when I realized it was the best thing I had. So what else would I give him, hmm? I sent that thing and I don’t miss it at all.

Do you know how to give a gift?