A Modern Genius

I use the Fibonacci Numbers in my compositions, including the Golden Ratio. I'm sure you will be highly pleased with the sound.

It must have been moo...nglow
Way up in the blue
It must have been moo...nglow
That led me right to you
Illustration by Loretta Krupinski from Mouse of my Heart

It's Really Weird

I think grapes are gorgeous. Yet I do NOT like eating them. Bleeecckhhh!! Then again, I love raisins. Wine? So-so. Some I like. Some I really like. Odd.

I had forgotten how the frogs must sound
After a year of silence, else I think
I should not have ventured forth alone
At dusk upon this unfrequented road.

I am waylaid by beauty. Who will walk
Between me and the crying of the frogs?
Oh, savage beauty, suffer me to pass, that I am a timid woman, on her way
From one house to another.
Edna St.Vincent Millay 

The Natural World

The Bronze Dragon

Maximum Height..... 10 feet
Maximum Weight..... 160,000 pounds
Maximum Wingspan.... 80 feet
Breath Weapon.... Cone of repulsion gas, line of lightning
Favorite foods.... Aquatic plants; some seafood (shark is a preference)
Habitat..... Near water, and warm temperate climates preferred
Enemy..... Evil sea creatures
Favorite possessions..... Pearls, coral, intricate shells, and gold.

He's magnificent. I wonder if he's as dangerous as people say. According to my sources, the Bronze dragon is perhaps the most social of all the dragons.
From the Practical Guide to Dragons

This is One Smart Chick

She started reading fairly soon out of the egg, and the family noticed something peculiar. She soon progressed to higher mathematics, solid geometry being her area of expertise. She speaks French, Italian, Spanish, and Chinese, and is now learning Arabic and Swahili.
Several universities have accepted her, offering large scholarships. She intends to become an astrologer and physicist. Very impressive.

The Beginnings, Now, and Iraq

These mobile discs divided and inscribed in Hebrew were made by Jewish scolars around 1300 for use as a perpetual calendar by rotating the inner and outer discs according to a code inscribed in the bands around the edges.

'When Caliph al-Mansur founded his new capital, Baghdad, in 764, he called in the Jewish astrologer, Jacob Ibn Tariq (who was believed to have obtained star tables from India) to help him set up a school of astronomy. They employed another man, Mashallah, as court astrologer. The Baghdad school became famous. The first major Muslim philosopher, al-Kindi, taught there and followed the Greek example of treating astrology as a branch of the sciences.

Contests of ideas between thinkers who preferred to follow a rationalist path, based on the writings of Aristotle, and their more mystical opponents, taking inspiration from Plato, raged as fruitfully among the Jews as among the Muslims. The majority of Jewish scholars accepted the reality of astrology in greater or lesser degrees. In these first centuries AD, scholars and philosophers continually engaged in the debate over free will and determinism in astrological thinking.'

It's no mistake that complete chaos is descending upon Iraq now as Jupiter transits Sagittarius and Pluto heads toward the Galactic Center.
This area is known as the birthplace of our modern civilization and was once a great center of knowledge, Baghdad one of the most magnificent cultural centers of all time. As the human destruction escalates, so does the communication of understanding that exists in the ancient memories of the Middle East. Of the whole world, really. And visions of the never before are in the mix, as well. Choices are being offered and decisions will be made by the time Pluto leaves Sagittarius in 2008.

This historical debate among astrologers about free will and determinism is once again aroused. It's clear to me that this event is outside of anyone's control. It's not about George Bush, Richard Cheney, and the Neoconservative Movement, and never was. The moment Hussein was deposed it was out of human control. Probably even well before. Societies have dictators for reasons. They can't govern themselves, so they resort to iron-fisted techniques. I think when dictators are overthrown normally, an equally authoritative government replaces them. This case was unique. No one stepped in to quell the pandemonium. Naturally I perceive the influence of a cosmic hand. Who drew whom into whose karma has always been a mystery. I tend to think all are responsible. And I expect the knowledge gained from this transit to eventually emerge from the ashes.

Several lessons are on board.

The United States of America will return home wounded, humiliated, and weakened after the last series of failed military ventures, this being the climax. Very unlikely that she will attack anyone for a long time.

The failure of our three dominant religions, Mohammedanism, Judaism, and Christianity is clear to the world. Killing other humans is prohibited in all of them, and this massacre is revealing the full extent of the hypocrisy and futility of the action. It will continue around the world but I'm sure faith has been shaken fundamentally. No better place than in the birthplace of these failed systems. Yet astrology, entwined with all of them, is alive and well.

The necessity of carving out a personal destiny within an uncontrollable flux of circumstances is paramount. One based on real morals, real ethics, and real acceptance of the possibility of an improved world.

I'm not exactly sure how much determinism is involved in this geopolitical event. I do know that free will to some extent is my choice and I intend to exercise it.
More will be learned when Pluto comes back next summer for the last time to the Galactic Center, turns around, and proceeds to the next phase. The lessons of Baghdad should be revealed and the success that naturally follows failure will be on deck.
The astrological orchestration is a phenomenon to behold.
And, of course, education never stops.

On The Road

Remember the Burma-Shave signs? I wonder if they're still around.
We traveled by car a lot.... me, my parents, and my brother and sister, visiting family members and joining the endless celebrations and reunions. That covered a lot of territory between the two large clans.
I was prone to car sickness being jammed together with my family in such a small space, cigarette and cigar smoke wafting continually. My greatest moments of relief were the Burma-Shave signs and counting Fords and Chevrolets with my brother.

In later years, I loved traveling alone with my father and I never ever got carsick. He was quiet and the best driver in the world. The feel of the road and the pastures and woods rolling by soothed me then, and the memories still do now. He was a great traveling companion.

As Jupiter rolls in, new excursions might present promising adventures for many people. Maybe visiting places they've wanted to for a long time but couldn't get motivated. Gas is down at the pump, but still whirling mightily in the giant planet's domain. The lure of expansion on many levels will be around for the next year. The spring and summer will surely entice many enthusiastic trippers to the trails. If anyone sees a Burma-Shave sign, do let me know. 

Have You Seen Neptune?

It must have been moonglow
Way up in the blue
It must have been moonglow
That led me straight to you.
We seemed to float right through the air
Heavenly songs seem to come from everywhere

And now when there's a moonglow
Way up in the blue
I always remember
That moonglow gave me you.

I don't know. It looks like a lovely romance on the river, but don't those look like snakes' posterior sections coming out of the back of her head? I'm prone to flights of fanstasy though.
Words and music by Will Hudson, Eddie de Lange, and Irving Mills.1934. Illustration by Nicoletta Ceccoli.

Gonna build a ship of silver and the finest gold
Sails of silk whiter than you've ever seen
Gonna leave this world behind me, leave it all alone
And sail forever on the sea.

I'm gonna sail away
Sail away
Sail away
Sail away
Gonna build a ship and sail away.

We'll Cross That Bridge

One of the symbols I always associate with Jupiter and Sagittarius is the bridge. The name pontiff from the root word pons (bridge), is given to the Pope and bishops of the Roman Catholic Church to signify the bridge between man and god. It certainly has been apparent these last years that people worldwide have been struggling with religion and belief in this entity, trying to bridge the gap. As Pluto comes into the center of the Milky Way and Jupiter enters Sagittarius today, there is no doubt in my mind that some will be venturing onto this passageway.

It's no mistake that the Pluto ruled Scorpio consolidation just took place to prepare for this stretch of the journey. Elimination of dead weight holding back movement. Jupiter will guide through his home territory, the trip ahead promising in many ways.

Sagittarius is the beginning of the transpersonal part of the wheel of life after the deepest interpersonal bonding is reached through Scorpio. Now a person is ready to start the relationship with the universe at large, and search for an understanding of her part in the play.
Not to underplay personal dilemmas, but Sagittarius is the juxtaposition of the mundane with the other worldly. Many will see that the daily goings-on in their lives have greater significance. To me, this is the most generous gift of Jupiter. The added dimension.

Astrology and the other metaphysical sciences work beautifully to map this systemic orchestration and to reveal the logical progression of events, none of which can be eliminated, that lead to destinations. Luck and misfortune come automatically. The joy is seeing the benefit of it all.

This is ahead for those who want it. The bridge to the knowledge of an influence outside of mundane control. And the center I understand is a source. What could be contained in that galactic center?

To add to the fascination, Pluto will return to this point one more time before leaving for 250 years. Next summer he will not only pass through, but will change direction, spending over three solid months in our Milky Way's pivotal spot. Opportunity galore, if Jupiter and Sagittarius have their way.

Similar to the Centaur

As another T Day draws to a close, I thought I'd tie it in with the Jupiterian grand exit and entrance.

Thanks to the human being for his never-ending imagination! And his expertise in mathematics....one plus one equals One!

Stuffed Turkey Blues

Got turkeys in the kitchen and turkeys all in the hall
Got turkeys in the kitchen and turkeys all in the hall
Even gotta picture
Of a turkey on the wall.

Dam da da dum da da dum bumpum

Mamma stuff that turkey with sweet cornbread and such
Mamma stuff that turkey with sweet cornbread and such
I went and done it
I done stuff myself too much.

Dam da da dam da da dum pumpbum

Every year it's the same no matter what I do or what I say
Every year it's the same no matter what I do or what I say
'Bout this time
I never wanna see another Turkey Day!

Dum dada dum dada dum bum pum ......puuuummmm.

We are the notes in the music of the universe. The music plays us forever.....Michael Fitzpatrick.

Here. I found it.

I've decided to take a little jaunt myself!

I'm breaking my 30 year moratorium on flying and taking to the air to celebrate Jupiter, life, and Thanksgiving.

I've got an exquisite vintage wine from Borneo I've been saving and a new song I've composed for this very special occasion.

See you when I arrive!
Illustration by Jane Kay

My word. I've found it.

And Jupiter Rides Out

Horses have been galloping through Raging Universe all day. The Gasman/King/Cosmic Traveler is here!

Happy New Moon in Scorpio conjunct Jupiter!
 Illustration by Loretta Krupinski from Mouse of my Heart

A Toast to Uranus Direct!

My friend Mitzi and I are going out for drinks and fun tonight. This is one gal you'd love!
Sun and Venus in Sagittarius. Moon/Uranus conjunction in Leo. Gemini Rising.
I met her at a Foods of the World charity event benefiting Third World children in Asia and Africa, and we've been best of friends ever since. I see her whenever she's in the country and she has lots of exciting tales to tell about her adventures around the globe. She's got a new beau in Iceland and I'm waiting to hear all about him.
I told her I couldn't stand her stockings, being the prude I am, so in a moment of generosity, she told me she wouldn't wear them tonight. I love her! 

The Wheel and Trouble

Who ever could have imagined that this contraption would lead to so much trouble? Man has wheeled and dealed himself into quite a predicament.

The human capacity for inventiveness dazzles, but equally amazing are the consequences of these creative outbursts. You'd think this ingenuity could easily beget another kind of power generation in this miracle machine that would wheel us successfully into infinity. But then, who knows what consequence would meet us there?

I'm telling you.

Cure-Alls With a Kick

To draw the line nicely, and fix definitely where the medicine may end and the alcoholic beverage begin, is a task which has often perplexed and still greatly perplexes revenue officers.
Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 1883

'When Johnny came marching home from the Civil War, he was likely to have suffered from one of the so-called camp diseases. He was also likely to have treated himself with a patent medicine, such as Radway's Ready Relief, claimed to have cured some dosed troops from the 8th Main afflicted with dysentery.
Johnny carried the home remedy habit into civilian life, thus giving a great boost to the patent-medicine industry.'

In the period 1870 to 1900, virtually every ailment had its own ready cure:
Indigestion....Hostetter's Celebrated Stomach Bitters
Chronic fatigue....Ayer's Sarsaparilla
Aching muscles....Barker's Liniment--"Joy to the world, relief has come!"

There were elixirs for those who felt they lacked sex appeal. Egyptian Regulator Tea would bring graceful plumpness to flat-chested girls. Rengo medicine would turn fat into muscle for flabby men.

When a fiftyish Massachusetts housewife marketed her cure for "female weakness" the public responded so warmly that Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound grossed $300,000 in 1883, just three years after Mrs. Pinkham sold her 1st six bottles for $5. A handsome leap indeed.

There were, of course, two fundamental facts about the whole patent-medicine business. It was a fraud. And second, virtually all the most popular patents were loaded with either hard drugs or alcohol.'

Do you think this might have something to do with this society's present condition? Mental wacko.

Oh my word! I've found it!

A Return to the Return

One thing about the Net and the communities that have formed is the oppportunity to find people I have things in common with and the freedom of the 24 hour discussion forum where I can discourse in my own time frame. The ultimate in freedom to me and the chance to think things through thoroughly in a unique way before responding. The luxury of time.

I returned to my computer today to find this gem from Neith....

It occurred to me as I was getting ready for bed last night that you & I were sitting here cheerfully chatting & speculating in an upbeat way in defiance of the general astrological predictions of doom & gloom for the evening. Saturn was sq the Sun yesterday evening . . . and my ASC almost exactly! There are layers & layers of benefits to this whole Second Saturn Return. I'm going to continue to observe this process while Saturn is squaring that most personal of points . . . the ASC.

Neith and I are both having a Saturn return in Leo as we struggle to conquer the fear of self expression and find genuine self confidence. What I like about the above statement is the realization that we have some say in our destinies and that a Saturn transit is a valuable tool even in tense hard aspect, contrary to what some others insist upon.

The difficulties are natural to all progression, a sort of cramp and release in the journey through life's digestive tract. People get sick and willingly endure the ordeal of sometimes painful treatments knowing they will heal. Why not with Saturn...or Pluto...or the other feared entities? Embrace the squeeze and advance.

I've always perceived the characters behind the planets as allies, never trying to purposely hurt me. I consider them my teachers so it is in their best interest that I succeed. It's a gold star for them. I don't feel victimized by a square, even if it involves Saturn and Mars, which it will next week! And even when it hurts. A square represents an unstable condition trying to find balance and harmony. It intends to move but while it's around, it provides a unique moment of interplay necessary to one's evolution. Naturally fear is involved. It always is.

So Saturn as a teacher of self control and mastery is the character I embrace. With Saturn in Leo now, everyone is gaining some knowledge of their personal significance as our failed leaders and icons are in Saturn's shadow and we are encouraged to consult our own light and self leadership, squares, quincunxes, sesquiquadrates, and semisquares be damned!

Venus Has Arrived

The first one of the pack to enter Sagittarius.
She's taking off for grand adventures, unknown ports, and exotic dimensions with her 1000's of friends. She's got a little cash on her and some time, so I expect she'll be enjoying herself quite a bit. If any of you plan to travel with her, and knowing her love of romance and pleasure, coupled with the famous Sagittarian distaste for marriage, I do feel I must issue a slight warning.

May I present......

Eros in Sagittarius.

An Afternoon Snack

Planet Earth? Calling Planet Earth! Uranus to Earth!

We think space travel, alien creatures, and all out futuristic weirdness is something new? Well this photo from 1965 tells a different story, speaking of hair. I'm just drying my hair, ma'am. I have a hot date tonight. I am NOT taking off into outer space. I want to marry the guy, settle down, and have an ordinary life.

Our lovable planet of surprise and eccentricity, Uranus, is about to turn around and go direct. No telling what's ahead. We can already see a sudden shocking shift in our country's political landscape. I'm sure there's more to come.

Written in our chip is this urge for advancement. Travel into the unknown. The REALLY unknown. Dramatic at times and impossible to prevent. "Sudden upsetting events", the astrologers always say being unable to predict. Well I'll bet the farm that you can't tell if even they will be upsetting.

There is no end to this magician's creativity. He governs the nervous system and the connection to the universal mind somewhere out there beyond our earthly cognizance. Whatever we have planned, the opposite will happen. Uranus even spins on its side, the opposite of all the other planets.
Progress is a given with this marvelous entity, so get into your space vehicles and get ready for the exciting ride with this Great Galactic Explorer!

Uranus makes me laugh. 

Fashion Statement ..... Chapter 6

He started life with a quantity of short, fine, gold-colored hair, which curled up at the ends, and went into loose rings. He had big brown eyes and long eyelashes, and a darling little face. His manners were so good that it was delightful to make his aquaintance.
Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett.1886

For small boys, the period posed a problem of identity. By nature, the normal youngster saw himself as Tom Sawyer. Mark Twain had drawn his hero from memory. But the mothers of many small boys preferred to recast their offspring as Little Lord Fauntleroy, a fictional golden-curled child who called his mother, "Dearest", wore spotless velvet suits, and discussed world affairs with the corner grocer. As a result of the motherly fascination with the doll-like Fauntleroy, many unfortunate sons had to face the streets coifed and dressed as in the style above. Naturally there were hoots and sneers from youngsters who had escaped such maternal excesses. And just as naturally, there were some hard knuckled confrontations with those of the Tom Sawyer persuasion. Metaphorically speaking, hopefully.

Great Rivers of the World.....Chapter 1

The legendary Danube loops among the limestone hills of southern Germany near the river's source in the Black Forest. Europe's second longest river (after the Volga) wanders 1,760 miles, bordering or passing through eight countries on its way to the Black Sea -- 'a Schicksalsfluss'. A River of Destiny.

Stone Age hunters roamed the Danube's wooded banks more than 20,000 years ago. Farmers and herders from Asia Minor, migrating through the Balkans, settled its fertile plains and valleys around 8ooo B.C., and introduced to Europe wheat, barley, sheep, goats, and cattle.
Metalsmiths, brewers, and salt traders set up a thriving commerce with the Mediterranean region along the length of the Danube and many of its 300 tributaries.

Ancient Greeks knew the lower Danube as the Ister. The Romans called it Danubius, after a river god, and wrested an empire from the Celts and restless Teutonic tribes that lived in the area.

Its castles, cloisters, and crumbling ruins make a setting for elves, sprites, gods, and heroes -- the fateful route of the Nibelung warriors who journeyed to destruction at the court of King Etzel, as recounted in the German epic saga of the Nibelunglied.

Our planet's rivers never cease to enchant me as they have all mankind throughout history. The practical benefits are impossible to count, but the added joy is the arousal of imagination that has created the magical body of poems, songs, stories, and legends from these great veins of the earth. Long may they flow and nourish.

The 110th Congress of the United States of America

This is for all you astrology lovers.

With four planets in Cancer it's no wonder that this country's politicians are immature, overemotional, and prone to nursery school shenanigans. All while 300 million people are in need of governance.

After Jupiter transits wild and fun loving Sagittarius, and the pandemonium of next year subsides, some very very interesting developments are coming up astrologically for the 111th Congress and the election season of 2008.

Next November Mars is going retrograde. A big event. It will be in Cancer, exactly on the USA Cancer (babyhood, immaturity) stellium. It will go back to Gemini and oppose Pluto in Sagittarius at the final 29th degree in January 2008. Then Mars will go direct and be back in Cancer just in time to meet Pluto at 0 degrees Capricorn in March. I'm watching this closely. This is part of the bridge to the new era and will influence the next election a great deal. Letting go of the immaturity, incorporating the Sagittarius lessons, and getting ready to face the serious adult Capricorn years ahead.

Will the United States grow up? I'm taking bets now.
Illustration by Carey Armstrong-Ellis.

Terror and Trust

Natural to the human is an urge for protection. Thrust into a vast universe at birth, we cling to our parents for our first sense of security. As we travel on we form an intricate web of personal relationships. We marry and have children of our own to provide comfort and safety. We have doctors to protect us from illness, and lawyers to extricate us from the consequences of our wrongdoings. Somewhere along the line, we become aware of something beyond the interpersonal. An unknown unseen entity. Another protector, to some the greatest one of all.

This is Sagittarius in astrology. Our first connection to the metaphysical. As Pluto heads to the center of our Milky Way galaxy, the collective is grappling with faith.

The United Sates of America has been under a siege of terror for several years, but in some ways this is the most terrifying moment of all. The people are suddenly thrust from their reality as they knew it into an unknown landscape. The terrorists have suddenly vanished. Another birth comes. Prediction is useless. It's for each person to witness.

Each individual will decide whether s/he forsees a better future, more of the same, or a worse destiny. This is a test of trust, a questioning of who/what is in charge. Pluto has gone deep to uncover the hidden treasure of faith in cosmic guidance now that we are temporarily without the leadership of men. Whatever is decided, it's clear that we are at a bridge.

Soap Be It

You got to keep it clean
Oh yeah, you got to keep it clean
Everybody loves it
When it's good and clean.

'At times it appeared that the most menacing threats to the national well-being were bad breath, unpleasant body odors, pink toothbrush, and poor complexions. Out of delicacy it seems, even one's very best friends hesitated to mention such intimate afflictions. Fortunately for unwitting offenders, the producers and promoters of toiletries and cosmetics felt no such compunction and proclaimed the unmentionable, without reserve, to a nationwide audience.'

Omnipotence

Do you think God's jealous?

A New Dawn

I ate too many baked nacho cheese tortilla chips (they were delicious) at a party last night, so I might not eat too much for breakfast today. A tiny taste of this lemon cake would be wonderful though. Please help yourself.

I was delighted to find that instead of weariness after this six year trip through hell on earth in this country, that the people were inspired, chattering about the future, and deeply interested in the things we can do to improve our government as soon as possible.

A light breakfast, some deep rich dark coffee, a relaxing Sunday, and I'll be ready to face the future with enthusiasm. Looking forward to it.
A great week to everybody!

As the Maiden Forms

In the sunset of my pre-pubescence, when those famous fleshy protuberances began to sprout, I couldn't wait to get my first brassiere. It was called "Littlest Angel", by Maidenform. It had no cups, just a nylon stretchy fabric for the nascent buds.
But when these aforementioned buds began to get serious I graduated to a bra exactly like the one pictured above, in AA size, called "The Pirouette". When I got to A I knew I was really in luck.

Adolescence is something.

Back in the game

Apparently they just did some stem cell experiments in some foreign country that partially restored sight to a blind mouse.

The American medical research community is ecstatic!

A Few Words

It's just beginning to sink in what an amazing thing just happened in this country. We're lucky to be here, a part of it.

So many things will be changing over the next couple of years as Pluto transits into Capricorn when government will be taken seriously by the people. The potency of this election is a rare occurrence and will have long reaching effects. The sensation of vitality can be carried over for the long haul ahead.

Pluto in Capricorn will be going after the excessively wealthy and they knew it. This is why they grabbed for everything they could now.
What has been constantly overlooked in all the terror and paranoia is the concentrated energy in Aquarius and Pisces working steadily to start returning power to the lower classes, and to idealists, such as environmentalists, who long to make a better world.
The conservative extremism had to come out from under cover and be exposed to the full light of day where it was demolished. There is too much force propelling us into the future now. The backward religious fundamentalism taken care of by Pluto in Sagittarius.

It will be fascinating to see Pluto, newly diminished, transit the evolutionary outer planets in the next years.
All of this will effect us on a personal level and move us forward to realize some of our own futuristic visions.
Hopefully terror will recede and I expect environmentalism to be catapaulted into the forefront in a big way.

It's a magnificent opportunity and it would be wise not to let the crybabies, constant complainers, and backward moving groups pull the whole thing down. I know they are afraid of life and can't help themselves. And in some ways we have to pull them along. Revenge is unnecessary. It's already happened. Aligning with progress is the best thing to do now.

Onward and forward we go.

A Uranian Chicken On Neptune

You will not believe this!

Zelda, Myrtle Rae's chicken, is on a Neptune transit and lo and behold! She's laying eggs in all the colors of the rainbow. My aunt is having a ball and distributing the eggs among the family. I'm getting purple. My favorite color.

You can all put your orders in. Just let Myrtle Rae know what colors you want.

What a Relief

I've got an alcove in the barn where I'm going to take a nap with the sweet scent of hay and a soft breeze wafting through. It's time for a little peace and relaxation after a hard job well done.

The most difficult part is over, the purge successful. Soon there will be joyous celebration, so in this in-between, I'm going to reflect on the recent past and think about what I've accomplished in this great letting-go. But primarily, I'm going to catch some zzzzzz's. Or maybe leaf through a magazine.

Sweet.

The Best Ass

CONGRATULATIONS DEMOCRATS!

Hurry Hurry!

I don't have time to talk right now. Gotta get to the polls by 7 o'clock!

Addition

The palace of the arithmetician in charge of counting the votes.

Choice

Midterm Election November 7, 2006.
One of the most outstanding aspects dominating tomorrow's election is Saturn in Leo trine Pluto in Sagittarius. It is very close....24/25. You couldn't have a better aspect for strong, inspired leadership. This indicates that no matter what majority emerges, tomorrow there will be some talented men and women elected all across the country in local government, and hopefully, a touch in the national. We don't know who they are yet. They've been campaigning in towns and cities outside of the national media glare. And there are many newcomers.

Extreme ideology has had its day. Final Act. Pluto in Sagittarius. What these times have brought is a modicum of honesty to the political process, although it's impossible to see right now. It will reflect in tomorrow's vote. People are beginning to realize the importance of philosophy and policy and are taking the first baby steps to conscientious voting, with even the courage to break longtime party loyalty.

The alluring Scorpio stellium is squaring the Saturn in Leo but lo and behold....the ruler, Pluto, is in that beautiful trine.

This is a very auspicious aspect.

In case you're wondering who will Win the House, Aunt Isabelle and little Zoe are just about to turn the card and find out.

Illlustration by Claudia Maurner

The Future

This just came up and I had to share it with you.

The geography of democracy. A study of Red and Blue in Colorado.

Bellwether: The word is derived from the shepherd's practice of placing a bell around the neck of a sheep that leads the flock. In politics it describes a smallish geographical region that tends to reflect the voting trends of a larger region.

The 2000 census gave Colorado an extra seat in Congress and, unwittingly, a chance to play the role of bellwether in the 2006 midterm elections.
Pundits have shined the spotlight on Colorado's 7th Congressional District since spring because of what it says about politics in the rest of the nation.
It ends up, in terms of voting outcomes, right in the middle because it represents a wide range, critically, ideologically, and demographically. The middle voter in the district looks a lot like the country as a whole.

A Denver District Court judge drew boundaries in 2002 to create a district that was perfectly balanced among Democrats, Republicans, and Unaffiliates. The vast district loops in old suburbs and new communities, heavy industrial businesses, and cutting-edge research groups.
The district is educated, though not overly (57% have a college degree). It is neither too old nor too young. The district is mobile and about 23% speak a language other than English at home.

The 7th Congressional District represents a cross section of America.

Interestingly, this bastion of extreme conservatism has a Democratic legislature for the first time in 60 years and is about to get a Democratic governor. This is the bellwether of the changing West and a portent of our political future as ideologies are debated and local governments transform all across the country.

America was built from bricks of potential and mortared by innovation. In the 7th district, great towns sprang up from bootstrappers who saw beyond the gold rush and flourished with new ideas from decades of newcomers. America is a country founded on the concept that everyone's political voice should be heard. The 7th takes in neighborhoods that walk in conservative lockstep that holds hands in liberal unity.

Meet the 7th Congressional District and you meet America.
From the Rocky Mountain News, November 5, 2006

Confidence

It is evidently known, beyond contradiction, that New Orleans is the cradle of jazz, Jelly Roll Morton would write in 1938, and I, myself, happened to be its creator in the year 1902.

Morton was only 12 years old in 1902, and to many of those who remembered him, it then seemed like just the latest in a series of outrageous boasts. Said Pops Foster...He claimed he invented a lot of things he didn't. If you listened to him talk long enough, he's say he invented the piano or anything else that came to his mind.

Jazz had no single creator, of course, but Morton's claim had more heft than it seemed at the time. "He could back up everything he said," claimed Omer Simeon, "with what he could do." Morton was among the first to play jazz, its first theorist and composer and master of form, the first to write it down, and the first to help spread New Orleans music across the country.

He was born Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe in New Orleans on October 20, 1890, but eventually changed his name to Morton for "business reasons". When 14 years old, his mother died and he and his two sisters moved in with relatives. The following year, wearing long pants stolen from an uncle's closet to fool the policemen who had orders to chase away the boys in short ones, he began venturing into Storyville, the 18 square block of vice in this raucous city. It was a place like no other in America, a magnet to people from every stratum of society, all intent on pleasure. Here Jelly Roll Morton forged his highly successful career as a piano player and composer. A jazz legend.

After hours, Morton haunted the back room of a place called the Frenchmen's.Everything in the line of hilarity was available and all the piano players in the District hung out. We had Spanish pianists, colored, white, we had Frenchmens, we had Americans. We had'em from all parts of the world. New Orleans was the stomping grounds for all the greatest pianists in the country.

Showmanship was always central to his style. The pianist James P. Johnson remembered seeing him work in california.

He would take his overcoat off. It had a special lining that would catch everybody's eye, so he would turn it inside out and, instead of folding it, he would lay it lengthwise across the top of the piano. He would do this very slowly, very carefully and solemnly, as if the coat was worth a fortune and had to be handled very tenderly. Then he'd take a big silk handkerchief, shake it out to show it off properly, and dust off the stool. He'd sit down, hit his special trademark chord, and he'd be gone! The first rag he'd play was always a spirited one to astound the audience.

Everywhere Jelly Roll Morton went, New Orleans music went too, and jazz musicians will always remember him as a musical giant and great innovator. Confidence helps. And so Jelly says....

A lot of people have the wrong conception of jazz. Jazz music is to be played sweet. Soft, plenty rhythm. When you have plenty rhythm with your plenty swing, it becomes beautiful.... You can't make crescendos and diminuendos when one is playing triple forte [loud]. You've got to be able to come down in order to go up. If a glass of water is full you can't fill it anymore, but if you have half a glass you have an opportunity to put more water in it, and jazz music is based on the same principles.

Yeah, Jelly. And isn't that a Libra for ya?
Bottom photo: Louise Monette, the mother of Jelly Roll Morton

A*OK

Hmmmmmn....
Let the whole town say you're bad
Everyone you've known should be glad
Just to know for a moment
The pleasure of you

Please try to forget because your past
Is over and done
And your future with me has just begun

Let the whole town say you're bad
Everyone you know should be glad
Just to know for a moment
The pleasure of you.

And so the Moon reaches its fullness in pleasure, peace, and beauty loving Taurus. The opposite of our planets digging deep into struggling Scorpio and releasing us from bondage to what we no longer need.
Taurus is growth, Scorpio decay. The two go together and as always, this time of year when natural death is occurring and pain surfaces in our emotions, it's a true pleasure to be reminded of why we repeat these cycles and what rewards lie ahead. The moment of peace always comes.

Remember that it will all unfold as it will .....
Neith.

And Martin Schulman has this to say about my North Node in Taurus exactly where this Full Moon is locating....

As he reaches his Taurus North Node, he is reaching at last for stability. He can stop chasing all he has ever felt cheated of by seeing all that is now offered to him. Ultimately, he is destined in this life to reach a state of contentment as the seething volcanoes of Scorpio melt into the blue spirit waters of harmony in Taurus, where Gautama Buddha left his blessing. Truly this is the transition from lifetimes of war into a garden of peace.

Sounds wonderful.

Peas to everyone.

THE DIEBOLD DRAGON

This woman is about to vote.
Voting is important. I wouldn't let a monster scare me. The buttons are located on the bottom right between the first and second claws.

GO GIRL!!!!!!

Hey!!

How'd that sheep get in the house? I told you kids not to leave the gate open!

Facing Reality

I had to do it. I finally faced the truth. I realized I needed help, so I hired a cleaning man to come once a year. His name is Hector Guiterrez Cohen and he's fabulous! I highly recommend him if you need some help around the house. he does electrical work too.

Illustration by Mercer Mayer.

Crystal Balls

Let my fortune be told

My future unfold.

For one more silver coin I'll tell you who's gonna Win the House.