First Horoscopes in 2020

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Once upon a time, humans engaged with the possibilities of the future through omens, prophecies, and oracles. The art of astrology evolved out of these practices and now emphasizes your moment of birth, the celestial reflection of who you are. This combination of your birth chart and the usage of that document to divine the past, present, and future is here for your taking. Astrology offers the LGBTQ community a chance to reclaim a space lost to modern science and religion. Ancient pagan cultures venerated divination and celebrated what we now recognize as modern gay elements. These horoscopes are for your entertainment, so let’s start the party that will take us to the stars!

The most important astrological events of the beginning of 2020 are the lunar eclipse and the coming together of Saturn and Pluto. They don’t literally bump into each other in space but do appear next to each other from the vantage point of earth, although Pluto is not visible. Saturn is the Roman equivalent of Chronos, father time, and Pluto is the equivalent of the Greek God Hades, Lord of the Underworld. Around two millennia ago the concepts of the Gods became embodied in the planets, a move that formalized spirit into planetary form. Now we view the movements of the stars and planetary bodies as a clock through which we can understand ourselves in relation to the universe. 

But what specifically can these astronomical phenomena tell us about ourselves and the events yet to come? I believe it is the heralding of the death of cold, calculating ambition in favor of the structures that truly serve ourselves and each other. Too often are ambition and success treated as God. This eclipse and Saturn and Pluto coming together indicate the letting go of that striving part of ourselves while maintaining the security that ambition and structure grant. Family and friends are where we make karmic gains giving further credence to the old saying, “it’s lonely on top.” 

There are more images than ever flooding the screens before us, appropriating true human connection that gives deep gratification. These images are blinding and chaotic but lead us, if we are attuned, to the reality that why each of us is trying to triumph is because deep down we seek love. 

Aries: March 21 - April 19 

You take up arms for your beliefs this year. Understand these ideas take on a rebellious nature. You will probably engage in some battles. Choose your fights wisely, and make sure you enlist a mentor who has learned to tame his demons in the service of wisdom worth fighting for. 

Taurus: April 20 - May 20

You have a stupendous social year this year. You attend many social gatherings where the food and drink are excellent. However, this can only happen if you don’t think too conservatively about yourself. Getting out and having fun might not seem important but in fact it is the key to your success.

Gemini: May 21- June 20

The structuring of your investments come to the fore this year. Some of the conservative moves you have made will do you well, but others will topple. You will need to discern which is which. The way to go is to see this as a juggling act with long term rewards and value what gives you psychic relief above all else. 

Cancer: June 21 - July 22

I’ve been writing about this for a while but the karmic gains you’ve hopefully made come to a culmination through this eclipse. You will feel the effects of this through the first half of the year. This has to do with you personally. Relationship wise you’re due for some change, and when you open your mind to balancing relationship and self, you achieve more than you thought possible. 

Leo: July 23 - August 22

Your daily life has taken on a very ambitious tone in recent months. You have a lot of pots on the stove and have big plans. But how do you feel about all of this? If you don’t process your emotions and protect yourself, it will be your undoing. 

Virgo: August 23 - September 22

Ever the worker bee, you have been loving your work more recently. You are also very determined to succeed creatively. However you truly make gains amongst the friends and social networks that nourish you. There you can really confide in others your hopes and wishes and allow spirit to help make them come true. 

Libra: September 23 - October 22

This year, like Taurus, you also have a great social life. However there is a subtle difference. You bring some insights that you’ve gained recently to the larger group. Ultimately the lessons you learn individually are best expressed to a wider group. Otherwise, that wisdom exists in a vacuum. And because you’re Libra, it is your will to relate to others.

Scorpio: October 23 - November 21 

Your pocketbook grows this year, but only if you take some calculated risks. Lean on a wise mentor who took some risks and at some point and suffered the slings and arrows. You’ll be able to avoid those same mistakes but make great gains in the process. You’ll also be put in a position to give back some of the wealth you’ll accrue.

Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21

You’re on fire this year, even more so than usual. Watch out that you don’t burn yourself out. Your mind and body are in a compulsively aggressive state. A good way to burn off this energy, and make psychic gains, is in the bedroom. 

Capricorn: December 22 - January 19

More than any sign, you’re the planetary star of the zodiac this year. With so much emphasis on yourself, you’ll need to rely on a relationship or partnership to nourish you emotionally. Too much focus on the self will have you crippled. You make gains when you put yourself in a state of mind of letting things go that you can’t control. 

Aquarius: January 20 - February 18

This started last month, but you have gotten into a loving mood. This is wonderful. The trick is to put this energy into your daily life. It can be hard to see, but how do the daily pleasures in life bring you love? When you open up to this, you value the things that matter more than the sheer brute force of materiality. 

Pisces: February 19 - March 20

This eclipse screams romance for you. Though your emphasis in the coming year will be on friends, you have to make sure romance and creative expression don’t get washed out. In fact it’s being washed away that will lead you to a mad romance that will do you well. Just make sure to protect yourself along the way.

Thanks for reading. I’m Dan Beck, #1 Astrologer in New Orleans. Contact me for readings, parties, events, corporate trainings and more at dan@innermakeup.net or by calling 504-313-8706. Visit http://www.innermakeup.net. 

Fellini's Astrology Chart? He Was "Born a Liar"

Fellini earned income writing gags and jokes early on in his career symbolized by Gemini sitting on his 2nd house of money.

The filmmaker Federico Fellini has been on my mind since I gave a lecture at the American Italian Cultural Center. After doing some research I found a quote where he said he started off out as Marc’Aurelio and ended up Marcus Aurelius, meaning beginning as a gag writer, prankster and ending up a philosopher. 

In Fellini’s words, he became the philosopher Marcus Aurelius over time symbolized by strong activity in Sagittarius on the 8th house of the personal unconscious where he derived much of his knowledge later in life.

Fellini lying to us?

There is some controversy about his birth time, egged on by Fellini himself, but after exploring his life I find that the chart which has him as Taurus Rising seems to fit. It puts Gemini on his second house of materials and money, and he did draw his income from his gag writing even after he became a “serious” filmmaker. He was deeply interested in Carl Jung’s ideas regarding the personal unconscious, exploring this realm deeply with others through drugs, analysis, dreams, and sex. This I find symbolized in his 7th house sitting in Scorpio where his north node of karmic future is located, and his chart ruler Venus located in the eighth house of dark sexuality and being deeply drawn towards others. His 8th house is ruled by Sagittarius, the sign of knowledge and the seeking of profound knowledge. Even though Fellini lied to us, astrology is a powerful tool to shed light upon the unknown. 

There’s a Major Lunar Eclipse Coming Up. This is How You Can Harness It

There’s a major lunar eclipse set to occur on July 27that 4:21 PM EST, the largest such eclipse of the century. It will not be visible in the U.S, but it is most certainly happening. Much is being made about this eclipse, namely that it might be catastrophic, but I often choose to reflect upon the basic symbolism of an eclipse as a clue to how it might function, rather than engaging in doomsday scenarios. Ultimately, the symbolic resonance on your individual level is more important than world events coinciding with this eclipse. 

To interpret astrological symbolism, one must first analyze what is happening astronomically. A solar eclipse is when the moon moves exactly between the sun and the earth. A lunar eclipse is when the earth’s shadow created by the sun eclipses the moon. The latter is what we will be experiencing. 

I’ve always felt that a solar eclipse places the primacy of the moon above the sun; simply put, it is the moon blocking the sun, and traditionally, the moon has been the feminine body of spirit, nurturance, personality, and what one needs. Thus, in a solar eclipse, the moon asserts herself. However, this eclipse will favor the sun, the planetary body of driving will, purpose, ego, and the compulsive force of one’s life. So how will this eclipse pan out?

Each planetary body, at any moment, occupies a sign and takes on its garb and character. For example, in this eclipse, the sun will be in Leo, its preferred, regal home, radiating the warmth of the lion. The moon will be in the opposite sign of cold, technological, yet social Aquarius. This immediately sets up a polarization of dramatic self-expression (Sun in Leo) with emotional futurism (Moon is in Aquarius). A lunar eclipse is the sun opposed to the moon. The lunar nodes are always at play in an eclipse, lining up with both the sun and the moon, and the south node, or your past karma, happens to be in company with this moon. The north node, or karmic future, happens to be conjoined with the sun. Also in close company with the moon is fiery, aggressive Mars.

I interpret this south node as future visions that have not come to pass and hopes that may never come to materialize, yet you still may want to fight for. This could happen in the space of social media and the realm of communications, but moves in this direction, though you may be tempted, are ill-advised. Past karma is where do best to hang and ruminate, not move. It’s the caboose of the train or the tail of the dragon—along for the ride.

Alternately, the north node, or head of the dragon, is situated in Leo with the Sun, a more fortunate position. You are favored when you express, an apt word for Leo, your golden, royal, dramatic self rather than the heady, cold, moon and south node in Aquarius also coupled with  driving Mars that can potentially cause trouble. 

There is a final option for you—that of the belly of the dragon, between the fire breathing north node and the tail of the south node. Instead of acting, be aware of the motives of others, and adjust—Scorpio;  and, take ownership of that which you value—Taurus. Those are the two signs that sit in the middle of the eclipse, splitting the difference between fiery self-expression and cold, calculated futurism. The choice is yours as long as you submit to a negotiation with the heavens, neither fearing fate, nor challenging destiny.  

How can you harness this eclipse and other celestial phenomena? Book an Inner Makeup session to find out.

Venus' Return, and a Birthday Party for Inner Makeup

This past weekend I celebrated Venus returning to the exact point she occupied when I was born. Today, I also celebrate the birthday of Inner Makeup, the astrology business and ever evolving spiritual practice I founded two years ago. What do returns mean in astrology, and what do birthdays mean in astrology? Returns do not mean what they do in finance, a profit from an investment, rather, a return in astrology is a recapitulation of a theme, albeit slightly different, as the planetary bodies are constantly in motion. Similarly, a birthday is the exact point where the sun returns when a person or event was born, with slightly different planetary configurations.  The theme of my Venus, and her return, is drama, occupying the expressive sign of Leo; thus we endeavoured to celebrate the sweetness of Venus, the brightest “star” in the sky with a grand party where I sang the celestially-themed East of the Sun, West of the Moon. This heavenly configuration also featured the North Node of Karmic Future and Mercury, the planet of communication, in close aspect in the creative sign of Leo. Venus is also a particularly social sign, so harnessing all of this Venusian and Leo energy was paramount. Similarly, the birthday chart of Inner Makeup also featured Venus prominently, with a similar prominence in the chart emphasizing Venusian energy. But besides the sweet indulgences of Venus, how does one go about celebrating astrological phenomena?

In Western astrology, the signs symbolize the seasons, which is a wholly different conception of astrology from Indian astrology, or even NASA, whereby the signs as constellations take precedent. Western astrology is based on the sun, the amount of light shed throughout the year, and its subsequent creation of the seasons as experienced on earth. Thus, we endeavoured to offer seasonal delights for our guests to celebrate each sign, or season. Take a look below to see our interpretation of each dish as embodying each season. 

Aries, The Ram

The Sun is exalted in the sign of Aries, the fiery, powerful manifestation of spring's awakening, the spring equinox. For this, we selected spring lamb, a robust, aggressive choice paired with chimmichuri sauce.

Taurus, The Sitting Bull

If Aries is the violent burst into spring, Taurus is its beautiful flowering. For this spirit, we chose earthly tri-colored carrots paired with cumin creme fraiche. 

Gemini, The Twins

Gemini are the children of the zodiac, and exhibit a sunny, airy, playful, curious, and mischievous duality, embodying the sunniest time of the year. Confetti cookies were the natural choice!

Cancer, The Crab

Perhaps the easiest selection of the bunch, Cancer is the ancient crustacean. For this we spruced up the ceviche with a Thai-style crab. 

Leo, The Lion

The sun finds its home with the lion, the fixed, lazy days of late summer. Sweet tomatoes are to be found, and we prepared a dramatic roasted cherry tomato tart.

Libra, The Scales

Libra is literally the fall of the sun, the autumnal equinox that sheds equal day to night. Yet the fall, like love, is beautiful, and we prepared an apple pie cake to symbolize this most beautiful time of the year. 

Scorpio, The Scorpion

The most intense sign of the zodiac, where the beautiful leaves of autumn are undertaken by the sting of the scorpion, we sought to create the most daemonic dish, a dark chocolate ganache with amareno cherries. 

Sagittarius, The Archer

To capture the blunt, forward spirit of Sagittarius's arrows, we offered antipasto spears.

Capricorn, The Goat

The grounded, conservative nature of Capricorn was captured in roasted cauliflower with tzatziki and harissa sauce.

Pisces, The Fish

Along with the crab, Pisces was somewhat easy to embody, the fish. Last but not least, we prepared smoked salmon on naan bread. 

Apologies to Virgo and Aquarius, as we missed photographing you. Virgo was a virgin rose and Aquarius was an innovative orange blossom spherical ice cube drink. How are you reflected in the seasons and signs of astrology? Contact me to book an Inner Makeup session to explore your personal astrology.