The Lure of Life
Feed the grape and bean
to the vintner and the monger;
I will lie down lean
with my thirst and my hunger
I remember vividly when as a young child I got into a grape-making phase. I'd take wonderful woodsy-smelling clay and roll it into little balls with my delicate fingers, carefully lining them up in perfect grape clusters. Oh they were luscious. Oh! To be a sculptor. But then I would have ended up with my normal adult artistic angst, so I'll leave my memories intact and be satisfied. My mother was creative and my childhood was filled with pride and joy in all the little constructions we made together. My adult life, sans my mother, is also filled with these objects of genius. I do love to play. to the vintner and the monger;
I will lie down lean
with my thirst and my hunger
The strange thing is .... I can't stand to eat them. Grapes, that is. I won't touch one. Similar to a pig and a cucumber. And you know, I don't even like wine that much. But raisins I absolutely adore. Life is funny.
Excerpt from Feast by Edna St. Vincent Millay
posted by jm at 3:41 AM
57 Comments:
It's really funny and kind of endearing -- the hysteria about the void of course moon. Everyone trying to sculpt it into their fantasies of the future. They're so serious with their interpretations. It's not in the moon kids. Don't worry. By the time you figure it out the future will have already happened.
This administration? Good and bad and probably not terribly successful. That's all right. A slow rise is best. A long slow simmer so the ingredients can blend to perfection, and later, when we're ready, some good changes in society.
I watched the sunset and reflected a bit. Things are always right in my view - we see in retrospect. I think this insane worship of the man is the perfect beginning and the prelude to a much larger realization. It couldn't happen otherwise. The idolatry will find some sort of resolution, the fall will come, and with that I think a genuine somber look at ourselves as Pluto in Capricorn helps us mature.
We don't need a leader yet. We don't have one now. He's got Neptune transiting his 1st - not a leader, a follower. You know. Neptune. A beautiful shimmering lure on the surface. Nothing wrong with looking at it, really. It's pretty. I don't really believe the crowd will bite. I'm an optimist.
He's following us. We should do our best.
I have confidence.
Not so oddly, 10 minutes ago I drew the Moon ....
The meeting with Hecate, the moon-goddess, is a confrontation with a transpersonal world, where individual boundaries dissolve and the sense of direction and ego are lost. It is though we must wait submerged.
The card of the Moon illustrates a period full of confusion, fluctuation, and uncertainty.
The journey of personal development is only a small fragment of a vast unknowable life which spans millennia and which remains eternally fertile yet eternally unformed.
Liz Greene: Mythic Tarot
You just can't predict.
The meeting with Hecate, the moon-goddess, is a confrontation with a transpersonal world, where individual boundaries dissolve and the sense of direction and ego are lost. It is though we must wait submerged.
Ah, a sweet memory of where so many of us met, once upon an astroworld, in a discussion around Hecate - and others.
And just look at how in these few short years, we who met have stuck, and somehow mirror the journey in the card.
Neptune will soon be at my Ascendant and then into my first, hitting my North Node. How interesting that may be Neptune following and North Node leading. Well, well.
OK stuff we love. Inspired by your post, i decided to pull a card from the tarot too. The Moon.
Eclipse coming right up.
Freedom of Information Act has returned from the grave!
Al Giordano has the joyful news.
I thought of that. Hecate and our meeting. What a convergence that was. An explosion really.
We "have stuck" or we "are stuck"?!!
But he NN is in Pisces! There's no direction to bother with.
The eclipse. I'm going to take a peek. You know something extremely odd? Every time I've drawn the Moon in my life I've been upset. Maybe it's the three-headed dog, I don't know. It's been disturbing. But today for the first time, I felt pleasure. Could that mean a willingness to give up control and brave the good and bad together? No fear of being disturbed? Uneasy? One can hope. One better hope or else. Orders.
Well. The new moon eclipse is conjunct Jupiter for another dose of hope if I can stand it - or a darkening, I never know.
The full moon eclipse falls on my Saturn. Probably nothing of note.
The only eclipse that affected me was the one in Katmandu when I was playing guitar and singing one night in the tea shop. I got up and went outside and there, on the horizon, was a huge golden moon with a big bite out of it. It was beautiful and eerie.
No one knew. We didn't have television in the Himalayas at the time and the Nepalis failed to tell us.
ha, I don't like grapes (unless made into wine) or cucumbers either. must be all the water content. not staunchy enough (er, starchy enough?) for taurus NN? hee!
HA HA! Good ol' Taurus starch! I do love it. I'm the Carboh Queen.
My farmboy told me that pigs eat everything but cucumbers. I knew pigs were smart.
You have a fine memory SB. That deserves some attention when we have a moment.
I was thinking about the once upon an astroworld story and Hecate. So many many many many threads in cyberspace and once in a great while a truly remarkable and memorable one comes along. That was it.
I remember that the crowd was waiting for something terrible to happen to Karl Rove in their usual absence of imagination when that glorious conversation erupted. It's as if the cosmic directors sent us there all at once.
I think the genuine joy of it all was being liberated from watching the public arena and letting them dictate the drama. Suddenly it was our show and we leapt from the fires of fierce longing. Our brief chance to express ourselves and be the shimmering stars we know we are. We were punished, of course, for thinking we could rise so high, but we recovered. We're used to that.
It was a moment for the scrapbook and as a result of the explosion, the seeds of self scattered and here we are in our separate but together worlds.
Life is good. Everyone is important.
Silver tongues and golden throats. Copper tendons. They're everwhere. The chattering birds that bat loneliness away and bring down messages along those lines you mentioned. Whoever's in charge of the switchboard is doing a fabulous job. We should offer praise. I am.
OH MY GOD IN HEAVEN!!!!!
The BEST NEWS in the universe!! And I thought I was through with joy!
Portions of Colorado's 2 year old smoking ban could be in jeopardy under a bill expected to be introduced soon.
When smoking started to be outlawed in bars I was enraged and very very nervous about the coming Pluto in Capricorn transit. People don't quite comprehend what's behind this. Snatching the cigarettes from bar patrons is dangerous, below the belt, and smacks of prohibition and the drug law crap designed to hurt minorities and the common man. Laws invading bodies are not good. It was unheard of in America at first - considered unconstitutional.
The smoking ban kicked the small businessman off the block. Many went down in my town. Establishments that had been there for decades. Hmmmm.... any wonder here?
People need the bar rituals and they provide a much needed social release preventing a lot of trouble. Non-smokers don't understand. It's so deeply personal. Bars are very important. They are closed and if people object to smoke they don't have to go in. That kind of governmental control goes elsewhere quickly. So I thought licensing was the solution.
Under the bill. the tobacco bars have to apply for a special license, ban anyone under 18, and post signs that smoking is allowed. No more than 25% of the space in most casinos could be a smoking area
Now that's democracy!
This is wonderful. While the feds close in, the states can balance it with sensible control. This would be ideal and could make the Pluto in Cap transit easier to bear. Especially in hard times, when people need these recreations. These are the small justices that make a good society.
I am happy. Omg, so very happy.
Finally, Some deep, real, hard rock good news. I'm so glad the joy is over so the real joy can begin. I just wish I weren't so optimistic! Can't seem to beak the habit.
Gosh, I thought you were happy about journalists now being able to dig up the documentation of BushCo crimes.
Ah, well. Diff'rent joys for diff'rent folks ...
Sounds lovely. And don't steal my joy!!!!
Joy is a pie. Don't me mad for too long. I get my slice too!
Yeshe. Relax a minute and listen to me. I don't think you grasp the significance of this development. There's a documentary made by the History Channel called, Hooked: Illegal Drugs and How They Got That Way, which describes how the government has used drug laws to control society. If you have a heart it will break but it's a good education.
The reversing of the smoking law is a good sign for several reasons. It's a blend of corporate will and the people's. The casinos lost 12% of their revenue and thousands of small businesses closed so this is grass roots democracy in action and a marriage of both sides.
The licensing will increase the tax base which will help the city and the people. The cigarettes will be sold by the small businesses, making up for the tax losses and sharing wealth with the corporate stores. The bars will stay open and will ensure cash flow in the community. We have a troubled economy and there are small ways in which we can get together and fix it. It will help more for the moment than punishing George Bush, which would cost a lot of money unable to be utilized to care for the people. I want to see immediate attention paid to society's urgent problems.
The joint effort of big business and little is one thing encouraging about this.
I get no feeling of joy going after George Bush. This is not at all to say that you shouldn't feel pleasure. It just doesn't do it for me.
The crimes of the last administration are a continuation of previous ones and many of them will be continued in the next one. We have created the government together and until we get to the source of why we elevate these people we will not be able to solve it. We can punish the entire Republican Party if you really want to and be ruled in a dictatorial society by the Democratic Party. I fear you would be disappointed as they, too, engage in the same practices. I am against one party rule of any kind.
I feel partly responsible, as a citizen of this country, for the war and all the crimes of the past which is why I'm involved now. So blaming it on George Bush is something I can't in all conscience do. And I am not foolish enough to believe that it would make it all better. I see crimes committed every minute by everyone. They all add up.
Many of you are lucky enough not to be hurt by the sinking economy, but others are suffering. It would be nice if everyone had the leisure time to continue the political game of crime and revenge, and to be led through the rose garden by the beautiful new leader, but other realities are present. Someone has to do something or social problems will increase. If tackled now, maybe some of the difficulties can be prevented. But people have to care.
Funny thing about smoking: they banned outdoor patio smoking in my city recently. So a local venue (a big one) was forced to close their smoke pit...and guess what happened?
yup.
everyone smokes inside...see before people smoked weed in the venue and got away with it (it's BC people, half the population is high)...so the ciggie smokers have joined in. The whole thing is beyond stupid to me. It's not like bars are spas!!
oops i should have mentioned this is not a bar, exactly, but a music venue. i miss smoking in bars. i never really knew why, but you've helped me understand it i think.
Beautifully put chris!!! Really stupid. Inside or outside? Geezeus. Sounds like fun up there.
We are so Taurus! What's with this fear of pleasure? You really described it perfectly. Weed is legal here too.
My trade is in bars so I am overjoyed. I got scared when they started closing and for the first time ever I'm having a hard time finding work. This is an age old important ritual especially for the working classes.
At first I couldn't believe they were snatching the cigarettes - man has been smoking since Neanderthal days - and I knew they'd come back. Then they didn't and the bars got so depressed, then closed.
There is a sterility without the smoke that is sad and the interference of government with personal habit is terrifying. Getting into the body. So unnecessary when people can just walk past the door.
Here, they all started smoking outside in front of the joints. Same smoke! Nice image for the places.
It's ridiculous. Smoking when we're murdering Muslims? Smoking people off the planet? Colorado is a bellwether state so I hope this is a portent. I was praying for this and had given up.
It's just smoke. And only a teeny tiny bit of fire.
One more thing on the smoking laws because my heart's into it.
I grew up in a working class town. Nothing fancy about it and the simple pleasures were all we had. I know the plumbers, garbage collectors, street sweepers, jackhammer guys on the roads, painters, bus drivers .. all the people that make you able to survive and live in comfort. Often what they want at the end of a hard day's work is to go to their neighborhood bar, sit for a couple of hours with their friends and smokes, and unwind before going to work again, not hurting anybody. I think society owes them that much.
Well, here in Minneapolis, the city council has decided to ban trans fats. Sure enough, an editorial asked, "What's next?" Sure, trans-fats are bad for the human body since it doesn't know how to deal with them, evolutionarily speaking. But it's just a step away from banning butter or anything else someone chooses to consume or use.
Exactly joe. Invasive. That's what the documentary covered. How shocking it was to the people at first since what they did with their bodies was protected by the constitution vigorously, but they gave in.
I haven't commented on the Gaza situation but this was to be expected.
Now we can see why Obama kept silent on Gaza while Bush was still in the White House: because he held precisely the same views as Bush on the subject. There is nothing in Obama's statement that could not have been said -- or was not actually said -- by Bush.
I think everyone knew this was how it is and I have no idea what it all means in the long run except that for now, foreign policy remains the same. Again, I expected no change. Here are Obama's words today:
Let me be clear: America is committed to Israel's security. And we will always support Israel's right to defend itself against legitimate threats. For years, Hamas has launched thousands of rockets at innocent Israeli citizens. No democracy can tolerate such danger to its people, nor should the international community, and neither should the Palestinian people themselves, whose interests are only set back by acts of terror.
Even if people go after Bush, his legacy remains. The war on terror continues just in a more discreet fashion. He said in his speech, "We will defeat you." Same exact threat as the guy before. Maybe it's needed, I just don't feel like getting all euphoric about oneness, goodness, and love of humanity under the circumstances.
A lot of good things are being done at the moment, but my uneasiness at continuing the US domination through killing disturbs me, particularly this dramatic fight with terrorists. It's masking something else and the karmic cycle remains the same, with people being hypnotized into submission, not that the crowd has any reason to stand up.
Maybe things will change in time and there is one hopeful thing about this. It's clearly out in the open. I think this new guy should get out of politics if he wants to truly take the moral high road, or at least not pretend now.
I don't think it will matter anyway with the direction the economy is going.
There'll Be a Change in the Weather
the enduring greatness of the American people
This stance has me concerned, too, at this juncture, but Pluto should be helping soon enough. Humility was mentioned as I recall.
It's just good to keep in mind that he's a puppet, but then, so are the puppeteers. That's probably the good part. No one's in charge. My greatest comfort.
Hmmm....
I just got a call inviting me to a town hall meeting. The topic: the financial situation nationally and locally. There's a panel of local bankers speaking. ?
"Let me be clear: America is committed to Israel's security."
This subject makes me unspeakably angry because the distortion of the many issues is so widespread, and the resulting ignorance is rampant. If Americans knew how much funding is diverted from their own needs to support that country...
The only good thing about the Gaza massacres is that Israel's behavior is exposing the problem to scrutiny and widespread revulsion. And it's really elementary: you make friends by being friendly, and you make enemies by being one, especially one that whines about victimization every time a bottle rocket whizzes overhead, and then responds with massacres of babies and women, and rains down chemical weapons on civilians, all the while claiming "self-defense."
It's mass psychosis, is what it is.
It's mass psychosis, is what it is.
Huge round of applause Brother Joe!
"Let me be clear: America is committed to Israel's security."
This subject makes me unspeakably angry.
Me too Brother. So cocky and arrogant, when he has nothing to do with the decision. He's doing what he's being ordered to do, another obsequious servant. I just wish the masses wouldn't fall on their knees in such Heavenly togetherness. Killing in the name of THE ONE. I thought we just did that. Oh the mass manipulation.
I'm sick unto my duodenum.
And it's really elementary: you make friends by being friendly, and you make enemies by being one.
I find that elementary.
I knew this war was going on exactly as was. I have an interesting article for you. I'll post it in a sec.
It's interesting to watch the rationalizations around the Prophet as the Clinton machine gains more and more traction.
"Oh he just said that and when he gets in he's going to reverse it."
"Wait."
"He really loves us and is humble, sacrifical, and extremely spiritual."
"Some asteroid said he is a prophet."
"Wait."
Problem is, he's being led by others as I mentioned above. And the others? Well ....
He might get there but not until later. Much later. This is lesson time for the Prophet and we the people. We really have to wean ourselves from them. I can't abide my country killing behind lies and phony promises. I just want the truth.
I voted for: "the defining moment in history"
"together we will change the world"
"change the mindset that got us into the war"
"hope"
"The American Dream"
"believe"
And all that other gobbledygook. My votes are precious and the lies prevented me from casting them before. No wonder.
Best to pay Attention and Stay on the Toes
It's so easy to be led down the garden path. This new guy is a pacifier for the public.
I imagine the freedom to go after Bush is one part of the pacifier and meant for the journalists and publications to make money. Do you really believe these folks are going to spend money that could be going into their tax shelters on justice? Especially since they were/are involved in the games. Your very cabinet members now. These are war profiteers.
And how 'bout a tax evader being excused and put in charge of our economy so he can keep stealing from us? It's habitual with them. Is he suddenly going to change? Rehab anyone? He made a mistake. A mistake? A little blooper??? What if I made that mistake? But the crumbs will be tossed to pacify. That is, if there are any crumbs.
The supposed closing of Gitmo is another tranquilizer. And watch the supposed date do a dance. This is from the arsenal of narcotics they use to dupe the public, not a hard thing to accomplish, especially when the masses are down on their knees in supplication.
Torture will continue in one place or another, and many of the hideous practices will just be pushed further under cover with the promise used as a lure. This young man does not have power over the system. As I've said, his Saturn retro in Capricorn in the 12th tells the story of his personal battle. Ideally, his struggle really is ours, but we have to recognize where we stand and do our part. The magic wand act of the last couple of days is not going to change it.
As Pluto commences his journey, a lot might change, but wouldn't it be wise to catch on now and contribute to that "transformation"?
No one is innocent or completely guilty. It's just the system we're working with now.
"Some asteroid said he is a prophet."
ROFL When you put the stress on the first syllable of that word asteroid, it makes it sound like a medical condition.
JM
nice note under the grapes.
Only one word for me to sum it all up: Heyoka.
And the remedy, we each can be the sacred clown too. Roll up our sleeves and become the mirror of a different reflection.
Joe.:-)
hehe Joe.
Here we are the Hecate group!
We pulled the moon.
Joe if you have a tarot deck maybe you should randomly select a card too.
SB, the heyoka introduction has been a gift from the copper lined boxes. I love it so.
What a wise statement. A different reflection. How can we do that?
What an image. The two mirrors beckoning. Giving anyone the choice. We do have our work cut out for us. But somehow I feel closer to revelation.
What a thought. Hecate and us. Continuing in a rhythm.
The Moon really carries us from day to day with fluctuation and rhythm, staying just long enough in one place then off in her whimsical way.
Some of us wonder why it took so long for others to see behind the illusion. What was Neptune up to when this election cycle got started? Neptune | Saturn, you wouldn't think so...
It's coming to me.
The Moon. The New Moon eclipse in Aquarius. Uranus ruling Aquarius. Just days before the next Uranus-Saturn opposition. The perfect mirror.
What a great great question tseka. Oh my. I love this one.
One thing is Uranus in Pisces and the Uranus-Neptune mutual reception adding to the illusory.
Neptune-Saturn can work many ways. In the beginning, Saturn can solidify the illusion rather than bring realistic vision. But now as the long Saturn station quincunx US Neptune is underway, the real picture is coming into view.
There is reason behind the madness. I think we had to go full tilt on the illusion to get past the gate and also to come crashing to reality in a way that penetrates. That has just begun as Pluto takes the reins.
The Heyoka has Mars conjunct US Neptune so the whole journey is going to be one of grappling with illusion. The beginning had to be extreme. I've been absolutely stunned in the last few days. Watch as wild fluctuations mark the path. From god and prophet to sinner and penitent. Back and forth. Eventually some might come to prefer reality as a result.
Nothing will work out. Not for some time. Neptune will trine the Cancer stellium later and that will change things. Progressed US Sun just went into Pisces. I really don't see a solution until Pluto finishes its transit of Pisces.
Ah ha, the mutual reception.
AND now Saturn gets to go with Uranus all exchanging the info again with a different tilt.
What an interesting idea, toss in the nodes having been involved the entire time.
found the boxes btw
Some of us wonder why it took so long for others to see behind the illusion.
This is such a great question and why collective unity is impossible in its details. Every single human sees it differently. Not all are ever at one time supposed to see reality. And watch how some who see it now, change their minds. It's in constant flux. It would be totalitarian if everyone saw it the same. That's what disturbed me in the last few days, but it will pass.
So what do we do? The ones who see it want to take the shades off the blind. The blind lead us to important truths, too. We need illusion.
So we're left with sort of letting it be. Some basic surrender.
Yes! The nodes the entire time. SN in Leo for the negative celebrity worship.
This is so beautiful. I knew it. The truth, I think, surfaced quite well today as the Moon is just in Capricorn and Mercury just got there too. A wave of reality that feels oh so good.
How to be the mirror?
I think the Saturn | Uranus of the 60s gives a clue. There was a lot of experimentation then of alternatives. Some were really good. Like the free women's Health Clinic i was involved in - which still exists, free legal aid. Communal living didn't suit me but a lot of the ideas of sharing space and "stuff" is about to return in a new way.
For myself it meant homeschooling at a time no one was and becoming an alternative medical doc. with a strong opposition from society.
Joe, if i remember correctly, is involved in advancing good food and eating.
You support and participate in art, music, this blog is amazing.
It seems overwhelming, until i look. My son got a terrific education, my parents are healthy in their 80s and take no pharmaceuticals, same for many friends.
This is not a small thing. It is the explosion of the seed pod, scattering and growing, first the roots need strengthening. We absolutely need to support each other. Buy local, from artists, make the commitment to participate, whether that is as the creator or as the audience both are equal.
I think the point and end result is confronting the addiction to mesmerization, the narcotic effect that is behind this nation's worship in general. They can't pull themselves away from the Heyoka and by the end, I think they will furiously, then joyously want to get away and back to themselves and their own reflections. Too much is far too much.
This is not a small thing. It is the explosion of the seed pod, scattering and growing, first the roots need strengthening. We absolutely need to support each other. Buy local, from artists, make the commitment to participate, whether that is as the creator or as the audience both are equal.
Beautifully said.
Maybe the Saturn-Uranus opps are the explosion, so Pluto can begin the warm long germmination and eventual growth, as destruction proceeds around us.
Support one another I know we will.
I think maybe people are sensing the difficulties, the destructions ahead, and that's why they are so afraid. We were supposed to be liberated and everything was going to work out right in the new Promised Land. I always felt they knew better.
But who knows if we all didn't take a baby step into that land after all at some point? Or maybe we always are, alongside the mundane reality that dogs us and will forever be problematic.
Well, there were all those books, movies, new age gurus setting it up. I'm sorry I don't remember the titles, and a recent spate of "if you only believe you will make it so" the power of positive affirmation.
Good things get twisted. I have seen so many people who feel guilty for being sick, it gets complicated and overboard.
As your wise papa says, Enough is too much...
I never got into affirmations and all that. I think they will soon be useless in the new chapter since believing is wonderful, but not quite enough for Capricorn. Aries couldn't care less about la la land, she wants in, right now. Tear up the joint and live! There's no later. No nether. It's right here baby! Don't even have to like it.
Anyway, all this hope and promise were lovely, but now it's here. If only the economies of the world weren't crashing, but hell! We've been through that before and worse.
I've come to believe that money is perhaps the biggest illusion of all.
Fiat money.
Money as a utility, barter, fair trade this makes sense. As a utility it only works when it moves. Hold on to it, it stops working.
It would not surprise me if Pluto in Capricorn revolutionizes money, our monetary system.
I agree. It's in a place now I don't comprehend. They talk about billions and trillions and I can't figure out where it is. Maybe the whole thing is being made up. Just passed about in the air. Probably the only ones aware of it are those on the bottom with so little. A dollar is a lot to me.
Hold on to it, it stops working.
I think so.
It could get very interesting. People now know the illusion as their portfolios disappear.
You know, I really don't think there's a whole helluva lot to be that worried about. All this anxiety about what's going to happen an' all, and who these strangers are that determine our destiny. Pretty soon real fears will likely replace these fluttery fears of the future and all will be well. Real things to look at. The nuts and bolts of living. Not the crazies!
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