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And a Woman shall lead us

I am getting tired of the worldview that a certain movie or book is a chick flick or chicklit and others are for Men Only. Poppycock! One of my main concerns is that all of us will continue to support the myth that men are from one planet and women another. Balderdash!

You would have to be living under a rock not to know that I believe that we are all the same when you factor in the power of and overshadowing by the shadow self or invisible partner and the part it plays in how we think, love, legislate and worship.

Scott and I just returned from a quick trip to Lake Como, Bellagio, Italy—which was terrific—gotta love those Italians—and my book of choice to help get me across the Atlantic was one recommended by my client and friend Mary from New Jersey, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, read this book! I was so touched by The Kite Runner—still am (it will probably be nominated for an Oscar as Best Picture)—but I am equally as blown away by this woman and her book.

I tried to reach her, unsuccessfully (when you’ve been on Oprah and sold a zillion books, your life changes forever) to interview her for this column, but I will attempt to tell you why I love this book which a lot of people will call “a woman’s read”. If you have ever been in love and had that love show up in divorce court, guys, read this book.

Elizabeth Gilbert’s book is divided into three parts: Italy, India and Indonesia. It is a travelogue, of sorts, where our zany, wild and emotionally-loaded heroine is going through a divorce, and after crying her regrets and remorse out endlessly at such a bad never-ending separation and divorce, Gilbert tries to eat her way into a different “her” in Italy, and then seeks comfort and freedom from her ex- in an ashram in India—finds God through a painful odyssey in dark meditation caves and Texas Richard—who is full of hillbilly homilies that lift her and help change her. Her pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is found in Indonesia.

Where this woman gets her way of saying things, I will probably never know. But what I can do is recommend that everyone whose eyes read this, buy this book and give a copy to those who are open to their own pain as expressed by a fabulous woman who refused to quit a minute before the miracle blew through all of her angst and unhappiness.

And may I say in the interest of affecting the demographics of her readership, men buy three copies and give the other two to buddies who think that men don’t cry or eat quiche—poppycock!

I don’t care what time of the year it is or what transits are doing what to whom, November and December are always good months and perfect times to Thank God for all your blessings as well as life challenges that make you a better person. Kabbalah teaches that you don’t want anything removed from you until it has taught you what you need to learn. I agree with that ancient wisdom.

Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd the Moon will be in Taurus all day long and we know that no one loves food, especially cakes and pies and divinity and pecan clusters like you Bulls. Since the Sun will go into Sagittarius that morning, a good time will be had by all—even the over-eaters and the sour pusses. Sag never lets you stay in the dumps for very long. Also, the Moon will make a good aspect to Saturn, which means that you might not eat as much as your dark side suggests!

The problem planet for the next few months is going to be Mars in Cancer, which went retrograde at 12 degrees of Cancer on November 16th, and will go direct in Gemini on January 30th, 2008. Mars rules fiery Aries and seems to be more troublesome in the water sign of Cancer. My caveat is that tempers could boil over. Just when you think that all is right with your world, someone or something will come around to cause your emotions to explode. Forewarned is ammunition not to let your temper get you into hotter water than need be. This warning particularly applies to Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn.

Nothing is retrograde until December 20th when Saturn seems to go backwards at 08 degrees of Virgo. The up side to retrograde is that it lessens the harshness of a planet’s influences. All mutable signs, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces, and Gemini will have an easier time with the life lessons that Saturn has come to teach.

Don’t you just love astrology? It makes a lot of sense to know that within each of us is a miniature astro-world and it is either in synch or out of joint with the bigger than life planetary movements. All of us have to change whether we like it or not. And if we don’t change then we pay the consequences of doing the same old things expecting different results. You know, insanity!

I will rush the season since some of you want to know about ho-ho-ho Christmas (or Happy Holidays), December 25th. The Moon will be Void of Course—nothing seems to gel and the dinner will seem like there are a lot of foreign languages being spoken all at once—but the other aspects will smooth out any wrinkles in times. (Don’t forget that Mars in Cancer will be conjuncting the Moon that day in Cancer. Oops, here comes trouble!

Best wishes to all of you celebrating Kwanzaa, a week-long Pan-African festival honoring African-American heritage. It is observed from December 26 – January 1 and was first celebrated December 26, 1966. The Jews will begin celebrating Hanukkah on December 5th, which is an eight-day Jewish Holiday celebrating the re-kindling of the Temple menorah at the time of the Maccabee rebellion. The Festival is observed in Jewish homes by the re-kindling of lights on each night of the Holiday—one on the first night, two on the second, and so on.

My Holiday Wishes now and in December are the same always: Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with you. And we can see peace if we remember to receive to share.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all! 

Sagittarius (November 22 - December 20)

Since you are coming to the end of the run for Jupiter in your Sun sign let’s give you something for the Holidays that you will love: a Thanksgiving and Christmas you will remember a long, long time—buy a boy toy or a girl thingamajig because life is going to get good, better, best, real soon. As Pluto slithers into Capricorn in a couple of months, get ready to celebrate with a “get out of jail” card in the Monopoly deck. The lesson you should have learned the last umpteen years with Pluto on top of you is that it ain’t all about you—it’s about all of us.

Capricorn (December 21 - January 19)

Did you ever wake up thinking, “Wonder what I can get rid of today? What can I live without—good riddance?” Well you Goats are about to find out how to lighten your load the hard way. Whatever you need to eliminate from your life—at home, work and on the playground—the planet Pluto will snatch it out of your hands if you hold onto something that is not serving your highest good. Speaking of higher good, let’s talk about the High Self—the voice of intuition that can steer you in the right direction. Turn off the television and shut off the radio and channel a new messenger—Godspeak!

Aquarius (January 20 - February 17)

The Full Moon on November 24th will hold you in good stead. Being the King or Queen of the Think Tank, your ideas are about to get a lot better and more profitable. Under the New Moon at 18 degrees of Sagittarius on December 9th you will be flying higher than a kite and with a song in your heart because whatever you have been chewing on for the last few weeks is about to come to fruition. Being the most independent cuss in the Zodiac you might have to consider all the players in the game and make sure all voices are heard, particularly at home. Life’s getting real good—and you deserve it!

Pisces (February 18 - March 20)

No sign loves the fairyland atmosphere of Thanksgiving than do you Fish and your anticipation for Christmas makes you feel like a ten year-old again. With Uranus in Pisces for awhile longer and Saturn opposing you, more than likely you’ll have a few surprises this month and next as well as being able to put a bit more discipline in your routine—like weighing less and enjoying the new lighter side of life as well. You know the old saw, “What doesn’t kill you…,” certainly fits you and your stars at this time of year. All in all, when these restructuring cycles are over you will be glad they did what they were designed to do.

Aries (March 21 - April 20)

Well for those of you still playing the stock market and acting like ‘what Aries wants, Aries gets’ had best be warned that the world is moving toward a new slogan that will be in vogue for a long time and you are its cheerleader: “You get what you deserve, and you had better work for what you get.” Saturn is about ready for its perfect storm—a silent but powerful transition—in Capricorn, upsetting your applecart as it moves. The best laid plans take careful consideration so you had best change your spots because your wild and wooly, devil-may-care attitude is about to be gone with the wind.

Taurus (April 21 - May 20)

If I can make a firm suggestion with a touch of spiritual undertones, as Saturn in Virgo lifts your prospects for a better mousetrap in all areas of your life and Pluto does the same with its move into Capricorn, don’t dump all your well-earned profits into booze and fatty foods. It would make your long-term financial picture rosier if you considered my favorite advice for how to live a better life: Receive to share! Bulls are known to flourish when they know where the grass is greener. As you have the run of your life remember the less fortunate and double your donation to help others.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20)

Did I ever tell you that what I love about a Gemini is that you never know which Twin is going to get out of bed on any given day—wrong side or hale fellow well-met? Now that I have your attention, do not ignore the news from Saturn in Virgo that you mental types need to clean out the emotional over-load between your ears. For the first time in a long time, your ideas are going to begin to sound like a party we can join with a platform that can win. I know you wrote the best line ever written, “Laugh and the world laughs with you,” but lets roll up our sleeves and work our way out of “clear and present danger” and into a field of four-leaf clover—change you to help us all be better.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22)

If you have had that killer pounding in your head and a lot of dribble from your lips and everybody is fleeing from the wake of your unsteady boat, it’s because Mars is causing troubled waters under your bridge. If you don’t want someone to clobber you with a drumstick at Thanksgiving and if you want more than a sack full of ashes at Christmas you might consider pounding a pillow or going into the woods and screaming at leafless trees because you are definitely in emotional overload. The good news is that this Martian transit will eventually be over; the bad new is not until the end of May 10, 2008 when it goes into Leo. Pray and meditate. It will help you hear the voice of reason better.

Leo (July 22 - August 22)

If you can hold out ‘til Christmas you kids at heart will have a Merry and Bright time because Thanksgiving will be a bit of a downer with the Moon in Taurus making it harder for you to shine like an actor on the stage of life. Also, you had better take a cues from Aries and begin to act like you’d rather save than spend because the good times are about to screech to a halt. Pluto in Capricorn is going to make all signs of the Zodiac pay attention to their p’s and q’s and dollars and cents. Not all is lost of you bigger than life Leos, however. Remember how Scarlett O’Hara pulled those curtains from their rods and sashayed her way into better time? Make more with less.

Virgo (August 23 - September 22)

Some folks might confuse you with Twisted Sisters with those grimaces on your face and the sorrowful sounds of ‘poor little ole me’ coming from your lips. If anyone of the twinkling stars in the sky can pull themselves up by their bootstraps it is you Virgos. You were made for high drama and digging into your bag of tricks for a better roadmap. Some of us have been wont to say for years that if our boat starts to leak, look for a Virgo to patch it up and get us to shore. I know you think that Uranus opposing you for a few more years and Saturn sitting on top of your head are more than one can bear—but Saturn in Capricorn will make you better than having won the lottery. Trust the process!

Libra (September 23 - October 22)

We are all looking to you balanced types to make some sense of this rollercoaster ride we are all on. Just when you thought everything’s hunky dory, the markets slump and you watch your fortunes dwindle; just when you thought you were married to the perfect lady or gent, she or he moves in the middle of the night with no forwarding address. I have a perfect solution for your topsy turvy world: turn it over to someone who can help you accept whatever comes your way. My source says that ‘wife or no wife, job or new job,’ things will right themselves if we trust a Higher Power.

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21)

By the time you read this you will have either had the best Birthday month of your life or you are still shaming and blaming everybody else for the troubles you’ve got. My suggestion to you is that you try to see what someone else needs; who else needs to be heard? Who could use your unlimited and deep resources to make their life better? You are both healer and destroyer; you can rule and be unruly. What I like most about you and what’s up ahead, no one amongst us can forgive and make an incredible homecoming with those with whom we have been estranged. Prediction: You’ll end up smelling like a rose for the changes you’ve made in you.

‘Tis the Season to be Thankful

The days and months seem to be ticking by faster than the speed of light.  There aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish everything on the list.  Too much work and not enough play.  And those feelings tend to only get worse during the ensuing holiday season.  But is it really necessary?