These excerpts are all from letters to my mother. My mother is a double Aquarius and you can see the Aquarian themes here. He is making sure she knows he is no impinging on her freedom…and “friendship” is an Aquarian concept.

Henry was born in 1900, so it is easy to track how old he was when he wrote these letters. He is 55 when he can walk on his hands, for example.

Letter to my mother June 14, 1954 (My mother is fifteen here)

“…I thought you might want to visit your mother while they came over. I am not telling you what to do, just asking for information; you just do what you want to do.”
Continue reading Henry In His Own Words: Double Capricorn, Desert Philosopher and Authentically Interesting Person – Part 2

For the new Moon in Capricorn… Meet my grandfather. Henry. Here is a partial list of his claims to fame:

- Spontaneously standing on his head in grocery stores to demonstrate the benefits of a healthy diet.
- Climbing the same mountain 127 times, over a 50 year window, last assent at 83 years old.
- A vegetarian, from the early fifties until he died
- Attending flying saucer conventions
- Oldest person in the 20 mile walkathons year, after year, after year
- Taking me to meet Peace Pilgrim
- Living in a three bathroom, no bedroom house.
- Building an underground house.
- Coaxing the #2 ranked ping pong player in China to his house to play a few games on his homemade adobe ping pong table.
- Having his truck stolen by me.
- Keeping a carbon copy of every bit of correspondence he wrote for more than 50 years, personal or otherwise.
- Never raising his voice, and I mean never.
- Being first in line to volunteer when the first organic food co-op was opened in the city, and being at least 40 years older than anyone else there.
- Sleeping outdoors in front of his house in the desert, ten months a year
Continue reading Henry In His Own Words: Double Capricorn, Desert Philosopher and Authentically Interesting Person – Part 1

Dear Elsa,

Caretaker

Caretaker, that’s a good question and I don’t think there is a single “right” answer. The old adage says we are chosen for the path because we can handle it however my personal belief is that we choose our lives as much as we are chosen for them. For example you are able to derive a benefit from what many would view as an oppressive situation so perhaps you chose this path because you wanted this benefit?

The fact I grew up hard is inarguable however I would not change a thing about my childhood because I also like the hand it’s left me with so you get the idea. I take this whole concept beyond being “chosen” by a force outside the self to another scenario where the individual is both responsible for and empowered by their life.

Anyone else?

Submit your own open question

Last night in the bathtub the soldier and I were talking about Einstein and his brain. We were talking about his remark around the idea a person should be able to explain something to a small child if they really understood it and soldier who has studied Einstein extensively said that he himself failed at this.

“Yeah, he tried it. He tried to explain things to the kids in his family but they didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. They just acted like they did because their parents told them to.”

I laughed but here was the interesting thing…
Continue reading The Soldier And P And Einstein And His Brain

Snapdragon asks on The Day The Police Came To Get Me also around the bad things that tend to happen to me.

“Elsa, do you believe in past lives? (not sure that I do) I’m just wondering if you chalk it up to your chart, or to karma, or what?”

Continue reading Astrology And Philosophy: Rotten Things Happen – Is Your Past Life / Bad Karma To Blame?

I am working with a gal right now, via email. I have been working with her on and off for months on the phone and otherwise. At times during some of these months I have been in such crisis with my daughter I could not do the work she wanted me to and though I am pretty sure that conditions that extreme have passed, this gal is still conditioned to asking me if I can do x,y, or z, rather than assuming I will be able to accommodate her.

So this will serve as notice to her that things are not as difficult and restricted as they were but also something hit me. She wants me to examine something very closely for her. It is a time demand and she asked me if I were willing.

Well, I have worked with her extensively and I am not about to quit on her now so I posted back, “In for a penny, in for a pound.”
And it occurred to me this is a good philosophy to apply to love relationships in that if you’re going to love someone then love them!

This reminded me of what the soldier said he intended to tell Vidroid when he got around to asking. “Kiss the girl you like. No sense kissing the girl you don’t like. Find the one you want and put everything you have into it…” He’s been this way his whole life and I think it has served him.

“In for a penny, in for a pound.” What do you think?

Heather M. writes on the Fix Yourself bit:

“I thought that people should shore up their weaknesses until the past month has passed and specifically the last 48 hours. Because my weaknesses have been highlighted in major ways recently and I am so f*cking tired of feeling bad about myself because of them.

So I am completely inspired by this idea that you don’t *have* to. It’s so simple but like a news flash to me and it makes me feel relief and relaaaaxed.”

I think some people are born to specialize and I am one of them. If your chart is bunched up, this would be strong indication of this.

Am I really interested in anything other than sex and psych, relationships and philosophy? I’m not! So why would I learn to read a horary chart? Surely someone is going to be (naturally) better at that than I am so why not leave this work to them?

Meanwhile if you’re stressed out of your mind, bleeding from every orifice, you should probably come see me because I can speak that language and not only will I not blink, I will most likely have you patched up and back on the road in no time. You may even laugh through your surgery, so I think specializing makes sense for many.

Degas could paint and sculpt but most of us do have something we are good and fare well if we stick to it.

Are you a specialist of a jack of all trades?

This is another post, its sole purpose to reassure.  About 25 years ago I was leaving the city where I grew up for a small town of 35,000 people. I had some concerns over finding people I could relate to in such a small pool but the Aquarian I was dating at the time reassured me in this way: (This is from my book by the way)

“You miss me? Then why do you think I should go?”

“So you can be happy,” he said.

“There won’t be anyone there like you. How am I going to laugh? I’m not going to have any Capital F F fun.”

“Elsa, that’s not true. Of course you’ll have Capital F F fun. You are Capital F F Fun. I’m going to be stuck here with Cousin…”
Continue reading Wherever You Go… Your People Are There

This will be an experiment. Last year the soldier and I really started drifting together and eventually the thing gained momentum and then became magnetic the way it is now.

We are both pretty sure once we get together there will be no separating us. I am committed but he thinks this will be true for many, many lifetimes and also that we have nothing to say about it. (A Pisces Perspective)

I don’t know but can’t say I disagree considering I am willing to clobber anyone who gets near him and I am not sure how that feeling would ever stop it is so strongly constellated.  If we had met when we were 4 and 5, I am sure I’d have been kicking sand in the sand box, threatening people with my pail.

Continue reading Astrology, Synastry, Philosophy, Life Experience… Astro-Cartography

Dear Elsa,

I’ve read a lot of books on spirituality and find that there’s a lot of passivity that comes with this whole idea around new age spiritualism. There’s a lot of “be the bigger person” and “everything is a mirror to teach you something” which are really “turn the other cheek” re-written and delivered with a peace sign and stick of incense;-)

Continue reading Open Question: Must You Fight To Have Peace?