Aries Ingenuity

Jilly asked to see this device my Aries made for stretching out the lumbar area of the spine. A friend had one on loan from a chiropractor and he measured it carefully before making this one. The materials are almost all salvalged from what we had on hand, cut to fit and painted. My contribution were the cushioned parts.

How it works: you straddle the area between the two cushions, lean forward on the black cushion and hook your knees around the round yellow one. You grasp the two extensions below the black cushion and pull your self forward. The whole top portion tips forward and you end up with your upper body hanging down and your lower body resting on the black cushion with your knees preventing you from sliding off. This way the weight of the upper body gently stretches out the lumbar spine. Naturally this works better for most men because they usually have more weight in their upper body.

This is the work of two people with Mars in Scorpio, both of whom do a lot of careful work with their hands. We both consider ourselves "jack of all trades and master of none" types - very good for our rural, frugal lifestyle.

Moon conjunct Neptune “Ah Ha” Moment

I know I keep saying it but Neptune’s influence can seriously fly under almost everyone’s radar, and just this past week I had another reminder of how this works via my natal Moon-Neptune conjunction in Libra.

Along with many, many others, this has been a very tight year financially for us and I have been seriously worrying about our lack of income. Only, as Elsa P showed me, my chart is not that of someone who worries about money! She pointed to my Libra stellium with Venus, Libra’s ruler in bountiful Sagittarius along with Sagittarius on the cusp of the second house. For the better part of my life I have always managed to live comfortably though very simply, finding work largely through personal contacts and being in the right place at the right time. In other words, through a large measure of Sagittarius luck and Venusian charm.

Even though I have no earth in my chart, I was brought up to be frugal and follow the rule of not spending money I don’t have. Something I have noticed that dismays those earth sign types who know me, is my lack of attachment to worldly possessions or real property. What good are they if you can’t sell them when the need arises? Ha!

However . . . my spouse has spent more time working around here than on a job somewhere since last fall, often due to people backing out on him at the last minute. He has been very concerned and when someone with a Mercury-Jupiter-Moon stellium in Aries worries, it’s LOUD (spoken or not).

The Moon in Libra is very much focused on the “other” and their needs. Add Neptune’s boundary issues to a Moon already tuned into another person’s emotions and the result is the absorption of the other’s emotional turmoil. In essence, my worries about money had less to do with me and everything to do with my spouse. Being on the empathetic side is more of a pain in the arse often as not.

It took another astrologer asking what the heck was going on because it didn’t fit my profile for me to wake and see what was happening, or I would still be wandering around in the Neptune fogbank. This is not the first time this has happened to me and probably won’t be the last. This is a great example of how easy it is to miss clues with Neptune involved.

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Life continues to be extremely busy around here. My Aries spouse is gradually improving but is slowly beginning to recognize it will continue to be slow going. This is not the first time he’s injured his back. He fell off a roof in 1996 and ended up spending time in physical therapy. He also built himself a simple traction device, using the weight of his upper body to stretch his lumbar spine. He does the exercises the physical therapist gave him then every day. Gotta be Mars in Scorpio in the eighth house square Pluto plus all his Aries planets that keep him going. The man is tough!

Image: Another beautiful sunset sky. This time of year I do not see as many dawn skies because I'm not awake . . . :-D

Look what the Eclipse brought in

Just want to post a quick note so those of you who stop by my blog will know why my posts may be few and far between for awhile. My Aries spouse got in a serious accident last Thursday and totaled his pickup. He emerged with “minor” injuries (cracked ribs, deep bruising, etc) for which I am deeply grateful. However, my days are now truly not my own. In addition to the usual seasonal chores, I am helping with irrigating our pastures and the garden.

Friday when the Moon in Aquarius was conjuncting Jupiter, Chiron and Neptune, I was taking him from one doctor appointment to another, talking to insurance agents and collecting what tools we could carry in my small pickup from his smushed pickup to bring home. This week will bring more of the same. We are both self-employed and that translates into no sick pay – if we’re not working, we’re not getting paid. Ironic, isn’t it, that when we could really use any income I could generate, I have no time or energy to spare for writing reports. This sure feels like transiting Pluto conjuncting my progressed Sun in my natal second house – cutting life back to the essentials.

I will do my best to post the occasional update but if you don’t hear much from this neck of the woods, that’s why.

Image: This was taken earlier this summer during a more peaceful time. I love the delicate lavender shade of these siberian type iris. BTW, to prefer to rest the eyes on beauty while dealing with chaos is very typical of this Libra/Scorp person.

Monday Morning Potpourri

Taking a few moments to let everyone know I’m alive and well if somewhat overwhelmed at the moment. We have started into serious harvest time and from now until mid-September [yes, when Saturn and Uranus make their next exact opposition] I will be one busy lady. We are enjoying all the fresh vegetables and berries immensely but getting the produce from the garden to the freezer or shelf is time consuming. There is a very good reason most people prefer to go to the local grocers or farmer’s market . . .

One thing I did get done was my post over on Real Astrologers on the July 7 lunar eclipse. That eclipse and the solar eclipse on July 21 are going to break some of us out of our “stuck” places, especially cardinal sign types. It will also help to have Jupiter pulling away from Neptune after July 10. Don’t know about anyone else but Neptune & Co have thrown up such an effective fog bank, it just dawned on me I have been marching in place for months! Duh!

I was reading through the latest ebook I got from Donna Cunningham, "Astrological Analysis," and came to the chapter on the hazards of predicting for yourself. All those incredible insights we as astrologers have on the behalf of others just does not happen for ourselves. By the way, this also applies to doing chart comparisons for ourselves . . . it is NOT possible to be objective, period! End of story. And even if our friendly astrologer tells us that relationship is going to suck, there is a far greater likelihood we will completely ignore them if we are “in Love”. However, I am also a firm believer in my own inability to make judgment calls for someone else because that experience may just what the individual needs for an important breakthrough in awareness.

One of the joys of blogging is meeting new people out here in cyberspace. Deb Steinberg, another Libra with Mercury in Scorpio, has a great blog. She is funny with a decided edge, hiding a kind heart. A definite plus is her husband’s contribution – the Financial Loft. Check them out!

One of my favorite fellow astrologers, Lynn Hayes, is doing her usual excellent job of providing great stuff for all of us who visit her blog, Astrodynamics. She is now doing a radio broadcast on astrological subjects. I’m impressed, as always, with Lynn’s energy and enthusiasm.

Finally found the best description of the Jupiter, Neptune & Chiron in Aquarius again! It was on Lucy Looking Upward blog. She has a biting sense of humor and makes me laugh . . . a gift for sure!

And don’t forget to stop by and see what Elsa P is up to on ElsaElsa. Her dedication to helping all of us astro-bloggers to keep our boats afloat with AstroDispatch is much appreciated.

Now I need to get back to whittling down my to do list!

Image: This photo of the half moon is slightly out of focus . . . just like me these days. But I like the affect anyway.