Tender and Succulent
As you might know, I sometimes offer succulents to the denizens of Raging Universe. They are not edible, although a Gemini might try one.
Succulents are not fussy about soil. As long as excess water drains out and the sun shines, they are happy. They multiply like rabbits in a fabulous variety of forms. Succulents should be fertilized occasionally. They respond gratefully by plumping up and getting much larger than expectedIt always piques my interest how some things in nature, humans included, seem to be destined for an easy life, while others struggle with every step. Echeverias have no complaints. But my petunias are very unhappy at the moment. It's an imperceptibly broad spectrum and each one finds a place. Luck?
Jewel Box Garden
Photo: David McDonald
posted by jm at 3:35 AM
29 Comments:
omg, gorgeous!
Yes, I struggle with that thought often - that some folks seem to breeze through life, and others seem to walk on glass shards to the bitter end.
Sometimes, I tell myself the first set earned their present good fortune in other, virtuous lives, with the reverse holding true for those who suffer. Other times, I wonder whether the lucky ones of today are digging a huge pit for themselves in the afterlife (or lives), and those struggling are liberating themselves by penitentially burning off karma.
But ultimately I am left with the idea that, if this life is all there is, it is quite perverse and unfair (there goes my Capricorn Moon) and that is rather intolerable.
Because I hate injustice. I hate hate hate hate hate it. Even more than prejudice. I hate injustice.
I wish they'd just go ahead and issue a cosmic public service announcement that God's love - if it exists - has very little to do with ours.
That's why I feel that pantheist religions, with a multitude of deities, are far more rational in their approach to the Supreme Being(s): simultaneously benign and malefic, nurturing and destructive, granting order and chaos. All and everything.
Now why is that so hard to grasp?
I guess if it weren't, most of the problematic observations about the world's apparent injustice, and some people having it easy and others not, would fall into place.
Ahem, sorry for the rant. 'Tis late, and it's been a rather difficult day, monitoring the lack of improvement in my poor grandmother's battle with a severe (and persistent) Staph infection. Ugh.
Back to succulents, though. The ones appearing in your latest post, JM, are beautiful. My thanks.
Yes, I struggle with that thought often - that some folks seem to breeze through life, and others seem to walk on glass shards to the bitter end.
I'm not generally a big fan of Ayn Rand, but one of the things that struck me from reading Atlas Shrugged was the idea that inherited wealth isn't of much value to an individual if that person would not have had the capacity to create it themselves. For me this has been an empowering idea. We should be able to start from zero and obtain what we seek. We can and will if we are equal to it. The character building needed to start from limited means and achieve your dreams creates the consciousness that enables true wealth (monetary or otherwise). One need only look at the lives of celebrities to see that the rapid rise to wealth and ease can do.
I wish they'd just go ahead and issue a cosmic public service announcement that God's love - if it exists - has very little to do with ours.
You've done it again, ninth immortal. I do think we connect sometimes, though. Most has selfish motives. If for once people would admit to this, the other would have a chance to enter. The word "love" certainly has been bandied about carelessly, at least the human to human kind. I lovecilantro. This is certain. The other.... ?
I wonder whether the lucky ones of today are digging a huge pit for themselves in the afterlife (or lives), and those struggling are liberating themselves by penitentially burning off karma.
One thing leads to the opposite in everything. A joyous moment leads to despair and vice versa. The more I go, the more I try to adjust to the natural movement. I have often thought about this in terms of karma and came up with my theory. It's better to be a victim than a perpetrator, since the victim is off the hook, buying good time, and the criminal will be paying. I always think hardships are buying good time if used well. I think this is the cornerstone of my good disposition.
I also have strong feelings about injustice but I belive in ultimate justice. I call it karma or the law of equal and opposite. The only thing I can do about it all is fair action in my own life. Sometimes people look at injustice around them and miss their own misdeeds. The trouble with watching politicians, who are like cartoon characters in their exaggeration of hideous human interaction.
Grandmothers can be problematic. The breakdown of the body. I think it's often harder for the spectator.
I love the idea of the succulents responding to care more than what is usually witnessed. This creates their good karma, perhaps.
I am fascinated by Ayn Rand regardless of personal feelings about philosophy.
The character building needed to start from limited means and achieve your dreams creates the consciousness that enables true wealth (monetary or otherwise). One need only look at the lives of celebrities to see that the rapid rise to wealth and ease can do.
It's all character building for me. I completely agree and this is probably the reason for our celebrities. The fatal flaw you talked about so eloquently parading nonstop in front of us revealing truth about our search for riches.
"But ultimately I am left with the idea that, if this life is all there is, it is quite perverse and unfair (there goes my Capricorn Moon) and that is rather intolerable.
"Because I hate injustice. I hate hate hate hate hate it. Even more than prejudice. I hate injustice.
"...'Tis late, and it's been a rather difficult day...."
:-( Wanna hug? :-)
Thanks kad, (manly) hugs gratefully accepted :D ! Especially as I've just found out the online newspaper I work for is folding end of September. Bah.
Heheh. Well, I look like a man (last time I checked), so manly hug it is. ::Big hug!::
Uh oh! The job hunt. :-/ Maybe the hug will give you a dose of luck! :-D
But ultimately I am left with the idea that, if this life is all there is, it is quite perverse and unfair (there goes my Capricorn Moon) and that is rather intolerable.
This makes me think of Prometheus, chained on the mountaintop, and all those who would bring the fire of their genius to this world.
Whenever I think of Prometheus chained on the mountaintop, I imagine him beseeching the stars to bear witness to his suffering and free him, of prayers addressed to the fabric of the cosmos.
Wow, what an image. You guys are stirring up echoes of latent memories in me.
Prometheus' name means forethought or foreknowledge. He knew the risks.
I wonder what happened to Prometheus after he got unchained. Let me see.
"Zeus had made the decision that Prometheus would be tied in the rock for eternity. This could never change, even if Zeus himself wished it. Finally, a solution was found. Prometheus was invited to return to Olympus and was given a ring by Zeus which contained a piece of the rock to which Prometheus had been bound. Prometheus liked this ring and decided to wear it thereafter for eternity. According to some myths, Hercules was told by Zeus to tell Prometheus the solution."
So, cosmic prayers answered. From Zeus came Herakles, and the loophole, leading to resolution.
I like the "liked the ring" part. Makes the loophole more meaningful and evocative.
And then the story ends. Or continues, open-ended again.
Hey jm, I have a totally random question for you, blame it on my Gem rising, I don't care...
I was reading about how all planets are connected to their corresponding houses. Aries-first, Virgo-sixth, blah blah... So what would happen if someone was born with all of the planets in his natal chart positioned in their corresponding house. would that person be god?
Jesus ninth, no wonder you get the blues.
Prometheus is one of my favorites, and I just thought of a connection. He got his liver pecked out nightly. Faith and hope, tying in to the above post on healing. The regeneration of the liver and faith is told in this tale.
According to my sources, he was freed, but this is interesting:
In deference to the fact that I'm using Chiron, I also count the myth that says Prometheus accepted immortality in Chiron's stead when a poisoned arrow was dropped on the centaur's foot (by the self-same Hercules who freed Prometheus, surprise surprise), saving him from the alternative of eternal suffering.
So what would happen if someone was born with all of the planets in his natal chart positioned in their corresponding house. would that person be god?
Ha ha!! Couldn't happen, since venus travels next to the sun. Sun in the 5th would put venus in the 4th, 5th, or 6th. No gods among us!
"The regeneration of the liver and faith is told in this tale."
Aha. Perfectly fits the larger arc of the story, too, doesn't it? Very good.
I just read that the Greeks knew about the liver's properties. Supposedly, they named the liver hepar after a word that means "repairable".
Wow! This is fantastic. Does this not suggest an element of immortality in keeping with the tale?
I'm finding a connection with Pluto right now and Jupiter just turning direct for the last time in Sagittarius headed back across the USA Ascendant.
The repair factor is verifying everything I'm thinking.
This ties in with your Sagittarius 4th house, ninth eye, and the underlying emotional repair always available to you. Pluto leaving shortly is significant. Joyousness is not always what it appears to be.
Yes, I've felt Pluto in Sag (my 4H) has done a great job of dismantling my family in our respective roles toward each other. So, hopefully, now it'll do the same with my Capricorn 5H.
Incidentally, I'm a little worried about Pluto going into Cap. My father is a Capricorn. This doesn't mean he's going to die before Pluto moves on to Aquarius... Right? I mean, I guess it could signify that. But it doesn't have to, correct?
Absolutely not. The planets signify the kind of death, not if it is destined. My father died on a Uranus transit. Freedom. Jupiter is very often the planet of death. Long journeys. What will happen, and this is at the end, will be the death of the mother in your own psyche when Pluto gets to your Moon. You can prepare for this. I'll be back on the subject momentarily, since I just went throught it.
Death of close ones is unpredictable and the experience is not as bad as you think it will be.
I'm in on this as well, being a Cap Moon.
The Pluto-Moon transit is going to be very important for both of you in entirely different ways, since you have the opposite nodes.
For ninth, NN in the 4th is developing the emotional body, so however the mother prevented the flow of natural feeling will be addressed. Blockage in this case with Saturn in Cancer as well. Ninth expresses a lot of sorrow, but this is good considering the Cancer elements. The longing and sadness of Cancer. The substance of poetry. Maybe there are fears around expressing the full extent of this sadness. Moon in Capricorn is the stoic.
On the other hand, joe is moving away from emotionalism to more of the stoic response, within limits, of course. So the transit to the Moon will develop emotional discipline, which he says his mother already does. So maybe his father is too reactive for joe's tastes. This will be clear when Pluto gets there and he sees how too much reaction can hamper accomplishment. Too much self-pity and pity for others. There are healthy limits for a NN-Moon in Capricorn.
A 29 Capricorn Moon is a great weight to carry. The woes of the world, the despair, and the impossibility of resolution. I think the 29 is ready to let go of the burden in this incarnation knowing it's hopeless. The sorrow can then be turned into creative expression (Moon in the 5th). The knowledge will never leave but the burden can. Carrying everyone's despair is too much for an individual. You've got to lay it down at some point.
"Jupiter is very often the planet of death. Long journeys."
That's very interesting. I just pulled up a chart on my cousin who passed away years ago. (It was the only date of death of someone I knew and for which I had a record.) He died during his Jupiter return. Pluto was conjunct his Neptune.
It really was a release for him, because he had been troubled and ill for most of his life. Actually, it felt to me as if he had graduated from a difficult grade or course of study.
It's always a release. I celebrate every one.
That's a great way of putting it, kad. The graduation. There are often good transits.
When my father died, I had Uranus going, but my two siblings had Pluto. I stopped my life to spend time with him at the end, and my siblings were in close proximity but didn't respond to his sorrow after my mother died. So it was a more painful parting for them, even though I was the closest one to him emotionally.
It seems that death and all its mystery purposely hides itself in the chart. It has always been hard for astrologers to read. There is a whole book on it, The Astrology of death with a complicated system but I looked through it and found I wasn't interested. I've known no one that was prepared anyway. Not consciously. Subconsciously, I think we're entirely prepared. It's the right time for all involved.
"Does this not suggest an element of immortality in keeping with the tale?"
And it's quite funny that the name, hepatatis, of a disease descends from a word meaning "repairable". ;-)
"Subconsciously, I think we're entirely prepared. It's the right time for all involved."
Intuitively, I'm inclined to agree. What a drama, though!
Oh my god, what a drama! And a moment of truth.
It's deep, no doubt, but somewhere in the chip we're always prepared for the experiences of life. One of the first and strongest sensations in death for me is the feeling of renewed life they leave. It became much more important for me to get the most out of my own life and appreciate it to the fullest. I know my parents wanted that. They trust us to make it without them when they go, so I see it as a vote of confidence. The type of death says everything about what they felt about us. It's a vivid memory that stays with forever. The way they leave.
I was awe struck like never before when I witnessed my first close death. I know it's a great experience for us. The release/ecstasy we could never get before. Life is worth it.
"It's deep, no doubt, but somewhere in the chip we're always prepared for the experiences of life."
Like Prometheus, bringer of fire, I think we knew what we were getting into. ;-)
Bringer of fire, inventor of crafts, and patron of human civilization: Prometheus is also the name of one of Saturn's moons, I just remembered.
"The type of death says everything about what they felt about us. It's a vivid memory that stays with forever. The way they leave."
Hmm, I haven't heard that expressed quite like that before. I like that idea.
"Life is worth it."
Heheh. Even though we get all complainy sometimes.
Like Prometheus, bringer of fire, I think we knew what we were getting into
I think so. Yes I do. I really like the association we made today between Prometheus and regeneration. I never quite connected his liver dilemma with this factor before, even though it grew back every night. The connection to Chiron just happened after mpk posted. Very good stuff.
Could we be the livers in this society??? :-)
All compainy??? Naw.
I think deaths reveal an immeasurable amount of truth. Much much information is suddenly transferred. I think the dying communicate things they couldn't while alive. The way they wished they could have guided us but were restricted by human limitation and social complications. Maybe they reach the realm of the gods at the very end. My mother did.
So the type of death speaks volumes. Some have an ugly painful lingering death that haunts the survivors, some have a quick one that invigorates. Some are clean, some are not. Some are agonized, some are quiet. A lot is transferred in this experience that is the last reminder of them. My mother's death was particularly beautiful. so was the death of an aunt of mine who was a wonderful artist. Her death was a work of art.
The type of death says everything about what they felt about us. It's a vivid memory that stays with forever. The way they leave.
Definitely something to ponder. My first love died in a house fire when she was 19. She was a gifted writer, who I had not seen for several years. When I heard the news, I barely came out of my room for an entire week. I think that is when I felt the Promethean image first.
The last snippet of writing I have from her was this poem:
the drifting sea,
the drifting sea,
what shall i say when it is gone?
a piece of you,
i felt it breathe,
to where in me does it belong?
i try to search unknowingly,
i always seem to find,
a haunting shadow showing me,
the music that your love had chimed.
that poem was accompanied by a picture of her lying on her back on the beach with the ocean behind.
Then, as I've already told of, another former lover died of a drug overdose several years after we parted ways.
I've always loved intensely, but I realized I needed a very strong partner who could handle it. I know the fire of my love has seared . I feel a great deal of responsibility to grow in strength and wisdom so that I will never betray it.
A house fire. That says a lot right there. Not feeling at home on the earth maybe. Sacrificing, like Prometheus. Now I see why your character is what it is. The connection with Prometheus is unusual and I find this mythological feeling about life is impressive and a sign of spiritual advancement, possibly, when it is instinctive like this early on.
The mythological seems to be missing from most people's lives and could be why they plug the empty hole with all the trash. The stories they follow in their celebrities looking for this connection.
I can't remember a time when I didn't see the symbolism in everything and rarely have I been able to share it, at the same time sensing something big missing from what the others were following. Following the young stars reminds me of this, speaking of maturing artists.
I know the fire of my love has seared
I think that's part of the sensation others seek. The fire element is always potentially this way. People have to find their own distances to know how to be protected from the burning since spirit is carried in the flame and it must have the searing element. I think spirit is released through the burn.
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