Thursday, January 22, 2004
The Year of the Monkey
Happy Chinese New Year! If you're a Monkey like me, the New Year kicks off a powerful period of growth, opportunity, and expansion. Fellow Monkeys (those of you born in 1956, 1968, and 1980) will feel enthusiastic and psyched about going ahead and making their dreams come true this year. So get out there and grab some bananas!
Monkey years are times of increased communication and sometimes, frenetic energy. People of all of the signs (especially sensitive Rabbits and hard-working Oxen) should be careful not to hyper-extend themselves in any way. We're all going to be feeling like we want to get extremely busy, and we can take on too many commitments if we're not careful. Don't expect to find the cure for cancer, adopt a Cambodian orphan, and start a home-based business all within one year. You'll feel like Superman (or Wonder Woman,) but remember that you still have a "mortal" side that needs sleep, food, and time off.
A sense of play and an increased appreciation for friends and aquaintances will also come into focus for everybody throughout this Monkey year. It's a great time to check out new social settings, clubs, or causes that will put you within the orbit of interesting types. Join a llama wrangling organization or sign up for the local Bigfoot Society. (I know that Pennsylvania has one. It's the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society.)
Most of all, this is a year for rapid changes and shifts in direction. Expect your mindset about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness to go through some intriguing changes.
Sounds like fun to me.
astrologywriter@comcast.net
Happy Chinese New Year! If you're a Monkey like me, the New Year kicks off a powerful period of growth, opportunity, and expansion. Fellow Monkeys (those of you born in 1956, 1968, and 1980) will feel enthusiastic and psyched about going ahead and making their dreams come true this year. So get out there and grab some bananas!
Monkey years are times of increased communication and sometimes, frenetic energy. People of all of the signs (especially sensitive Rabbits and hard-working Oxen) should be careful not to hyper-extend themselves in any way. We're all going to be feeling like we want to get extremely busy, and we can take on too many commitments if we're not careful. Don't expect to find the cure for cancer, adopt a Cambodian orphan, and start a home-based business all within one year. You'll feel like Superman (or Wonder Woman,) but remember that you still have a "mortal" side that needs sleep, food, and time off.
A sense of play and an increased appreciation for friends and aquaintances will also come into focus for everybody throughout this Monkey year. It's a great time to check out new social settings, clubs, or causes that will put you within the orbit of interesting types. Join a llama wrangling organization or sign up for the local Bigfoot Society. (I know that Pennsylvania has one. It's the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society.)
Most of all, this is a year for rapid changes and shifts in direction. Expect your mindset about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness to go through some intriguing changes.
Sounds like fun to me.
astrologywriter@comcast.net
Friday, January 16, 2004
The Hounds of Winter
I've always loved that gloomy song by Sting called "The Hounds of Winter." It's on his Mercury Falling album. With a wind chill factor of something like 30 degrees below here in New Jersey, I'm starting to hear those hounds bay. Or maybe it's banshees. Or it could just be an old farmhouse that isn't exactly airtight breaking wind. (This house was built some 100 years ago.) Anyway, I'm hearing stuff.
Since our seven cats are craving extra body warmth, it's more like "The Cats of Winter," anyway. My upstairs office has no heat, so felines are more than welcome. I get less work done with the cats pressing "delete" or leaving the caps lock key on for me, but hey, at least icicles aren't growing on my nose anymore. I'll take whatever warmth I can get.
The brutal cold seems to carry a spiritual component with it, too, and many people are feeling burned out, run down, and just generally peeved about now. Between the worsening of the situation in Iraq, staggering unemployment numbers, and an abundance of flu germs going around, everybody seems to be under the weather, one way or another.
I'd say it's a time for all of us to take extra care of ourselves and each other. Kindness doled out in generous portions can do much to warm the heart and the body.
Jupiter went into retrograde on January 3, where it will remain until early May. Jupiter is the planet of expansion, luck, growth, and anything "big." When Jupiter is pulling back like this, you can expect a corresponding pull-back in the economy. Indices like the NASDAQ and the DOW are likely to stay lower during this time. A lot of big companies might announce bankruptcies. People will generally find that they are more strapped for cash than they expected to be. The best thing to do is to keep a careful count of those pennies and not to do anything extremely extravagant until spring.
Buy that diamond ring for your honey in May. Wait to purchase that Porsche Boxster until the warm weather kicks in.
That's not to say that this can't be a time of progress, because it will be - especially for Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. With success planet Jupiter in Virgo for most of the year, all Earth signs will receive a nice "tweak" on the financial and success fronts. By the end of the year, most Earth signs will be on the move, either into a new residence, a better job, or a more powerfully shaped role at their current workplace. Think bigger, not smaller, but don't be in a hurry to get there. Things might not fully take off until May. In the meantime, you're on the launch paid. May is when that lottery ticket could finally hit gold, Hollywood will call with an offer you can't refuse, or a relationship could move ahead in surpising and wonderful ways.
In the meantime, it's best to snuggle in, bundle up, and refine those big plans to take over the world.
They'll happen.
Just be patient.
astrologywriter@comcast.net
I've always loved that gloomy song by Sting called "The Hounds of Winter." It's on his Mercury Falling album. With a wind chill factor of something like 30 degrees below here in New Jersey, I'm starting to hear those hounds bay. Or maybe it's banshees. Or it could just be an old farmhouse that isn't exactly airtight breaking wind. (This house was built some 100 years ago.) Anyway, I'm hearing stuff.
Since our seven cats are craving extra body warmth, it's more like "The Cats of Winter," anyway. My upstairs office has no heat, so felines are more than welcome. I get less work done with the cats pressing "delete" or leaving the caps lock key on for me, but hey, at least icicles aren't growing on my nose anymore. I'll take whatever warmth I can get.
The brutal cold seems to carry a spiritual component with it, too, and many people are feeling burned out, run down, and just generally peeved about now. Between the worsening of the situation in Iraq, staggering unemployment numbers, and an abundance of flu germs going around, everybody seems to be under the weather, one way or another.
I'd say it's a time for all of us to take extra care of ourselves and each other. Kindness doled out in generous portions can do much to warm the heart and the body.
Jupiter went into retrograde on January 3, where it will remain until early May. Jupiter is the planet of expansion, luck, growth, and anything "big." When Jupiter is pulling back like this, you can expect a corresponding pull-back in the economy. Indices like the NASDAQ and the DOW are likely to stay lower during this time. A lot of big companies might announce bankruptcies. People will generally find that they are more strapped for cash than they expected to be. The best thing to do is to keep a careful count of those pennies and not to do anything extremely extravagant until spring.
Buy that diamond ring for your honey in May. Wait to purchase that Porsche Boxster until the warm weather kicks in.
That's not to say that this can't be a time of progress, because it will be - especially for Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. With success planet Jupiter in Virgo for most of the year, all Earth signs will receive a nice "tweak" on the financial and success fronts. By the end of the year, most Earth signs will be on the move, either into a new residence, a better job, or a more powerfully shaped role at their current workplace. Think bigger, not smaller, but don't be in a hurry to get there. Things might not fully take off until May. In the meantime, you're on the launch paid. May is when that lottery ticket could finally hit gold, Hollywood will call with an offer you can't refuse, or a relationship could move ahead in surpising and wonderful ways.
In the meantime, it's best to snuggle in, bundle up, and refine those big plans to take over the world.
They'll happen.
Just be patient.
astrologywriter@comcast.net
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
A Reader's Winter Solstice Resolutions
Note: The energy of the winter solstice is still with us for another couple of weeks, so it's not to late to do as John is doing, making some sweeping changes in your life.
Dear Jennifer,
In your Dec. 22 "Cosmic butt-kick" weblog, you wrote:
"The winter solstice is a great time to figure out what we need to release from our lives. Magicians and shamans use this time of year to perform banishing rituals, where cords are broken that connect them to unhealthy relationships, or bad habits or unhealthy attitudes are consciously released. This is the perfect time to let go of stuff that you have outgrown.
We can take a cue from those who are still attuned to the true energy of this time. Make a list of what you want to release from your life, and meditate, invoke your guides and angels, or pray on these things. You'll find that some surprising insights will come to you, and you'll feel clearer about moving away from things that no longer suit you."
I found this remark so ironic and timely. It was quite warm for January in Kansas City, and I spent most of the afternoon hauling 20 boxes of junk I haven't looked at in four years to the trash. After I made the third trip to dumpster, I truly felt like a 100-pound weight was lifted from me. Here's what else I'm going to release in 2004:
1. The 60 extra pounds I've been carrying around for years to protect myself from being attractive to other men and keeping me from doing many of the things that I want to do. It no longer serves any purpose, and I'm going to get rid of it.
2. The intimidation I feel when I'm around my father (still, at age 46!)
3. The regret I have for poor decisions I made in the past.
4. The fear and discomfort I feel around strangers that limits my social life.
5. The fear of success and self-sabotage that keeps me from working on my creative writing projects. (The treatment and early draft of a screenplay I wrote was warmly received and reviewed over a year ago by a successful Hollywood screenwriter. His enthusiasm, oddly, stymied any additional work on the project!)
I think that's good enough for now. I'm going to work on envisioning placing these five things in boxes and hauling them to the trash. I may even write them out on slips of paper, put them in small boxes, and literally take the boxes to the trash!
Thank you for the inspiration. Happy New Year!
John
bulldogbeeff@kc.rr.com
Dear John,
Great resolutions! And I love that you're imagining taking boxes of each of your fears out to the trash. . . this is a powerful visualization. If you want to write them down on pieces of paper and burn them, that's good, too. The energy of fire transmutes stuff, and, since you're old enough to play with matches, I'd recommend a little fire ritual to help banish those fears and blockages!
Best,
Jennifer
astrologywriter@comcast.net
Note: The energy of the winter solstice is still with us for another couple of weeks, so it's not to late to do as John is doing, making some sweeping changes in your life.
Dear Jennifer,
In your Dec. 22 "Cosmic butt-kick" weblog, you wrote:
"The winter solstice is a great time to figure out what we need to release from our lives. Magicians and shamans use this time of year to perform banishing rituals, where cords are broken that connect them to unhealthy relationships, or bad habits or unhealthy attitudes are consciously released. This is the perfect time to let go of stuff that you have outgrown.
We can take a cue from those who are still attuned to the true energy of this time. Make a list of what you want to release from your life, and meditate, invoke your guides and angels, or pray on these things. You'll find that some surprising insights will come to you, and you'll feel clearer about moving away from things that no longer suit you."
I found this remark so ironic and timely. It was quite warm for January in Kansas City, and I spent most of the afternoon hauling 20 boxes of junk I haven't looked at in four years to the trash. After I made the third trip to dumpster, I truly felt like a 100-pound weight was lifted from me. Here's what else I'm going to release in 2004:
1. The 60 extra pounds I've been carrying around for years to protect myself from being attractive to other men and keeping me from doing many of the things that I want to do. It no longer serves any purpose, and I'm going to get rid of it.
2. The intimidation I feel when I'm around my father (still, at age 46!)
3. The regret I have for poor decisions I made in the past.
4. The fear and discomfort I feel around strangers that limits my social life.
5. The fear of success and self-sabotage that keeps me from working on my creative writing projects. (The treatment and early draft of a screenplay I wrote was warmly received and reviewed over a year ago by a successful Hollywood screenwriter. His enthusiasm, oddly, stymied any additional work on the project!)
I think that's good enough for now. I'm going to work on envisioning placing these five things in boxes and hauling them to the trash. I may even write them out on slips of paper, put them in small boxes, and literally take the boxes to the trash!
Thank you for the inspiration. Happy New Year!
John
bulldogbeeff@kc.rr.com
Dear John,
Great resolutions! And I love that you're imagining taking boxes of each of your fears out to the trash. . . this is a powerful visualization. If you want to write them down on pieces of paper and burn them, that's good, too. The energy of fire transmutes stuff, and, since you're old enough to play with matches, I'd recommend a little fire ritual to help banish those fears and blockages!
Best,
Jennifer
astrologywriter@comcast.net
Saturday, January 03, 2004
A Reader's Tale of Mercury Retrograde in Action
Hello Jennifer,
Congrats on being published in Philly Weekly. I live in Philly but work in the burbs (what a concept!) and I don't get Philly Weekly every week, but I was glad to read your column.
Now here are two of my many Mercury in retrograde stories:
#1- My daughter came home from UPENN on 12/19/03, plugged her cordless phone into the outlet which controls the modem for my home computer, and an electrical surge occurred, knocking out connection to the net. I just got connected tonight by some Dell representative in India. Nice lady, but very hard to understand. Communications!
#2 - This is the big one! On 12/24/03, I tried to be timely by paying a bill electronically. The monthly amount was $110.00. I pressed a wrong button and the entire amount due of $1,329.16 was zapped from my checking account. Many conversations and trips to the bank later, this is still being resolved. Communications!
I also understand your observations about the effect of the solstice, too. A few things have happened around those Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall change-overs. I' m just glad to know someone else knows...
Well, Happy New Year! 2004 will be the year of the Monkey. How about that?
Good Wishes,
Cynthia
CYNBRADLEY@aol.com
Cynthia,
Thanks for sharing your stories. I'll be writing more about the upcoming Year of the Monkey at the time of the Chinese New Year, later this winter. Monkey years are when your social circle can change, and they are also years when there is a lot of coming and going. Expect travel, surprises, and lots of parties during a Monkey year!
Jennifer astrologywriter@comcast.net
Hello Jennifer,
Congrats on being published in Philly Weekly. I live in Philly but work in the burbs (what a concept!) and I don't get Philly Weekly every week, but I was glad to read your column.
Now here are two of my many Mercury in retrograde stories:
#1- My daughter came home from UPENN on 12/19/03, plugged her cordless phone into the outlet which controls the modem for my home computer, and an electrical surge occurred, knocking out connection to the net. I just got connected tonight by some Dell representative in India. Nice lady, but very hard to understand. Communications!
#2 - This is the big one! On 12/24/03, I tried to be timely by paying a bill electronically. The monthly amount was $110.00. I pressed a wrong button and the entire amount due of $1,329.16 was zapped from my checking account. Many conversations and trips to the bank later, this is still being resolved. Communications!
I also understand your observations about the effect of the solstice, too. A few things have happened around those Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall change-overs. I' m just glad to know someone else knows...
Well, Happy New Year! 2004 will be the year of the Monkey. How about that?
Good Wishes,
Cynthia
CYNBRADLEY@aol.com
Cynthia,
Thanks for sharing your stories. I'll be writing more about the upcoming Year of the Monkey at the time of the Chinese New Year, later this winter. Monkey years are when your social circle can change, and they are also years when there is a lot of coming and going. Expect travel, surprises, and lots of parties during a Monkey year!
Jennifer astrologywriter@comcast.net
