Avoid the Valentines Day Rush; Come to My Lecture about Astrology, Love, Sex, and Romance

If you’re dreading chocolate fondue, come really get something out of Valentines Day evening. I’ll be lecturing on what astrology has to say about sex, love, and romance which involves almost a third of your chart. No prior astrology knowledge is required but you should at least know your sun sign. Here’s the link where you can sign up. See you there! Best, Dan

Purchase Valentines Day Astrology Gift

Venus’ path around the sun that forms Pentagram. From Arielle Guttman’s website. She has pioneered an extraordinary reinterpretation of Venus.

Valentines Day 2019 is the Year of Love Ambition

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*Couple or Duo Session for Price of

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Skincare in the Age of Aquarius

Image from fresh.com

Fresh is one of the few cosmetics companies to use astrology in their product development and marketing. One way they’ve applied this technique is to name their famous lip treatment after the signs. For example, my husband recently received an e-mail about an Aquarius lip treatment. Aquarius is the sign of the future, and the formula matches the sign. They include a smart ingredient called Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate that is an oil soluble version of Vitamin C. Since the lip treatment is largely comprised of deeply nourishing oils, this is a futuristic, technologically advanced ingredient that will yield long term results, like the sign Aquarius! It also contains sunscreen to protect from future damage, another Aquarian theme. 

I remember first trying the Fresh lip treatment over a decade ago and was impressed by its unique texture and moisturizing ability. All of these years later, I still believe it to be one of the best. I guess Lev and Alina, the founders of Fresh, were thinking about the future all along, and honoring their Aquarian vision as the water bearers that they are. Purchase this wonderful product.




The Astrology of Romance Writing: Interview with Anyta Sunday

I was recently engaged to give a talk to romance writers on the topic of astrology. In fact I will be giving a talk on the evening of Valentine’s Day the topic being astrology’s take on romance. All of this romance talk prompted my husband to suggest I reach out and interview a favorite writer of his, Anyta Sunday, who uses astrology in her romance novels. Below is the interview with links to her books.

Trumpeting Spirit

My father visiting the Central Synagogue and Museum in Germany

Son Trumpeting

My father recently entered the magnanimous Philosopher King phase of his life. He is trumpeting his spirit and I had also trumpeted for many years in the medium of classical trumpet playing. What is a son but an extension of the father? Below is a brief meditation he wrote.

As a young boy I was interested in music featuring the trumpet and the shofar. I remember going to High Holiday Services looking forward to hearing the Shofar Blasts. Rabbi Kaplan always visited the youth service looking for volunteers to blow the Shofar. I always raised my hand. I wanted to blow the Shofar at the High Holiday Service, but it was a yearning I kept to myself. Coincidentally

I received an email from Rabbi Gerber saying he had heard I could blow the Shofar and our synagogue was in need this year. I had studied the trumpet and still possessed a Shofar my parents purchased when they had visited Israel. While I was interested, playing the Shofar at home and playing the Shofar on our holiest day in front of fellow congregants was a wholly different matter. I asked the Rabbi if we could meet for an audition and proceeded to tell him the background of my playing. I told him I was about to retire partly due to a successful heart operation that had me looking at the miracle of life differently. I had gone through a personal process of discovering my priorities—family, health, faith—and was trying to keep them in a positive perspective. Retiring is a scary phase in one’s life. I was also looking for a new purpose when the email from Rabbi Gerber came.

So on the second day of Rosh Hashanah I stood with our congregation and proudly blew the Shofar. My heart raced and I was extremely nervous. It felt like when I was called to the Torah in the same Synagogue in September 1969, 49 years ago. I was able to take my new found purpose and perform this time honored ritual so important to our faith. 

My brother in law Rabbi Novoseller of Beth Tovim then asked if I could play the final Shofar blast at Neilah where my family celebrates break the fast, and so I did. 

I did not realize the importance of the Shofar, until so many people came up to me saying that they thoroughly enjoyed the sound of my playing. I felt honored.

After the High Holidays I then traveled to Munich where my wife Leslie and I toured the The Central Synagogue and Jewish Museum. A part of the museum featured a Shofar to teach the Jewish Rituals. I asked our German guide if I could blow the Shofar and he immediately said “please do.” The sounds echoed through the Museum, and I can now say I am an international Shofar player.

As I finish my career I am starting to re-define my purpose which now includes playing the Shofar.

 

The Best Planetary Shift That's Happened as of Late

One of the most watched events in astrology is when a planet, especially a planet that appears to move more slowly, shifts into a new sign. Jupiter spends about a year in each sign. When a planet moves into a new sign you can look for some kind of shift, event, or change. Jupiter is the greatest of all benefics, expanding anything he touches generally bringing luck and good will. Jupiter embodies philosophy, religion, belief, spirituality, and higher learning so with Jupiter moving into his home sign of Sagittarius, look out for a big shift for the better. Astrology is only as good as what you do with it as suggested through the psychological underpinnings of the great body of work of Alan Leo. Incidentally he was friends with the composer Gustav Holst who wrote the famous piece The Planets one of the most famous movements being his Jupiter movement. Also Mozart wrote a Jupiter movement. Both pieces are upbeat, optimistic, and especially with the Holst, spiritual. Look below to see how you can think about benefitting from Jupiter this next year or so, but don’t think too much. Jupiter does not like to think; he believes.  

Aries: Expect a shift for the better with higher learning, travel, and spirituality.

Taurus:Look for an expansive succession of deeply regenerative sexual experiences and also get lucky in the area of your financial contracts with others.

Gemini: Expand in your area of partnerships, relationships, and how you intersect with the public. 

Cancer: Watch your health and daily working conditions improve this year.

Leo: You ride high on your creative, erotic, and romantic spirit. 

Virgo: Things get better for you on the home front.

Libra: You’re able to expand in the area of communications and your relationship with your siblings gets a boost.

Scorpio: You get a boost in your finances this year.

Sagittarius: You yourself are on fire so strut your stuff. 

Capricorn: You retreat to a monastic space this year and expand there.

Aquarius: You expand through your friends and social networks this year. 

Pisces: Your career jumps this year. 

Feng Shui for your Sun Sign

Everyday Yin and Yang Astrology. Original Link

Many identify with your sun sign, but how is the sun understood in astrology? In Western astrology the sun is the self, will, and purpose, the driving force in one’s life. In the West this is seen neutrally as there are many cultures that have sought to harness the sun’s energy namely in the Mediterranean region and in remote arctic regions. In other areas the sun is seen as a malefic planetary body too hot that burns a hole through everything upon which it casts its rays. I perceive the sun as a blend of both, a driving force that can be harnessed but must be tamed in order to function productively. Interestingly I’ve been experimenting with Feng Shui with regard to harnessing sun as human beings are the element of fire, the element of the sun. Using different elements to harness that fire, your sun sign, is a fun way to dress yourself using Feng Shui principles. Below are some suggestions based upon your sun sign as to how you can look at your closet from a different vantage point through Feng Shui.

Aries: You are the fieriest of the zodiac. Therefore you need the element of water to tone down your fire. You do best to wear clothes with darker undertones to cool off. Reflective surfaces work well such as crystals and glasses. Fluid shapes are recommended. 

Taurus: You are woody earth benefiting from the bounty of the spring. The trees, plants, and flowers that thrive in this season anchor your earth. You do well with blues, greens, browns, and flower prints. Metal and mineral colors help tend to the flowers, plants, trees, and weeds that spring from the earth.

Gemini: You are fiery air, as you wax towards the most sun of the year and are the bubbly twins of the zodiac. As Feng Shui means wind and water, you need earthly structure to tame your changeability with some water thrown in to cool you off. Browns, greens, and yellows are suggested as are clothes with darker undertones. 

Cancer: You are earthy water as you traverse both land and water. A good dose of earth and fire will do you well by donning reds, pinks and oranges will some yellows, blues, and general earth tones. 

Leo: You are earthy fire as your reign supreme prowling over the Savannah. You need wood and water, so lengthy clothing like pants and long-sleeved tops are recommended with dark undertones and floral prints.

Virgo: You are airy earth therefore you need wood the most. Blues and greens, florals, plants and trees and all wooden colors do you well. 

Libra: You are metallic air as your scales are metal and you sit high on your judges’ perch contemplating lofty ideas. You need a bit of fire to harness this metal. Reds, oranges, pinks, and the natural triangle shape of your scales helps. Pictures of animals and human beings help too.

Scorpio: You are stinging, fiery water. You need wood and earth to ground you, so yellows, blues, greens, earth tones, flowers, rectangular shapes, and general earth tones help. Avoid fiery colors and colors with dark undertones. 

Sagittarius: You are airy, earthy, fire, the human who combines with animal spirit and gallops over the earth. Water helps you most as you are not a camel who can retain water. Fluid shapes, dark, undertoned colors, and reflective clothing help. Metals can also aid in your efforts to hold that water, so grays and metallic colors are recommended as well. 

Capricorn: You are watery, airy, earth, as the sea goat and the mountain goat, depending on the astrological interpretation. You’re going to need wood and fire on your journey, so reds, oranges, pinks, and triangular shapes coupled with rectangular shapes, flowers, plants, and blue and green colors.

Aquarius: You are watery air as the water bearer. You need earth to stay grounded with some fire and wood to keep you warm as you are the sign situated in the dead of winter.  Earth tones and yellows; for wood to feed the fire, blues, greens, column shapes, and floral and plant prints.

Pisces: You are water, plain and simple. Thus you need earth to keep you grounded. Rectangular and square shapes, yellows and earth tones, and imagery of landscapes and wide portraits of nature.

 

 

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. 

Which House System Do You Use? All of Them

Original: https://tinyurl.com/y87jea2v House divisions here on earth create property disputes just like house system disputes in astrology.

Anyone who veers far enough into the art of astrology will eventually confront the question of which house system to use. Houses are divisions of space and time in the sky that denote various sectors or topics in one’s life, for example money, partnerships, career, etc. They are usually divided into twelve sections around the wheel of the zodiac using different methods. Which system do I use? All of them.

When I became a serious student of astrology, I began by using the Placidus system as do most astrologers. Not understanding the seemingly convoluted system of house cusps and unwieldy visual aesthetic, I was attracted to using whole sign houses which emphasize the signs and functions of the planetary bodies. However, I didn’t want to abandon Placidus while learning about other systems such as Equal House. As it stands now, I use a combination of whole sign and Placidus house systems, inspired by an approach based upon the French astrologer Morinus. I also stay flexible with the use of other systems. Let me demonstrate.

I had a client recently, a very successful creative professional. She’s a Scorpio Rising, with classical Mars rulership, and her Mars is in the fifth house of creativity. Right off the bat this seemed a fitting aspect for a creative professional, and her fifth house is dominated by Pisces. This further buttressed her basic makeup as a creative person. Her work is very “Piscean” fluid and colorful with a spiritual bent. In the course of her session she expressed that often times she feels like a servant to her work duties. In that moment of this session I realized that Mars rules her sixth house of work and daily conditions, being dominated by the sign Aries. In whole sign, Hellenistic astrology, Mars finds its “joy” in the sixth house. She had a day chart, so Mars can be troublesome during the day, but being below the horizon, functions a little bit better. This seemed to fit being that she has success in her daily conditions, but she is a servant in her work, Mars finding his “joy” in the sixth house being a positive and negative. If I were to interpret her sixth house activity using a more Placidian framework, I might have interpreted her sixth house as having a driving, active quality which also fits as well, as her work is very active and physical, with a little bit of self-undoing thrown in as Mars in Pisces is the twelfth sign and ruling planet of Aries. Nevertheless, it was the client, the moment, and the use of two house systems at once that led to these insights. 

Astrology is the contemplation and interpretation of the heavens, but that star stuff lives on in each human being. Coming to understand a client through each moment as a creative and revelatory process can yield great results if one is open to the practical application of different methods, including various houses systems. It is my hope that the field of astrology can avoid the property disputes that come with debating the different pros and cons of different house systems and instead adopt a more flexible, practical, and creative approach in the application of the largesse of techniques we now possess in the modern era. 

Makeup and Kosmos

From Beaumiroir https://tinyurl.com/y7hb3u7g Bite Beauty

Many people ask “How did you become an astrologer?” It’s the most salient question as there are only a few schools dedicated to the study of astrology, and astrology itself is not an explicit part of everyday culture. Yet it permeates the thoughts and feelings of many creative persons and intermittently captures the imagination of most people. Before I was an astrologer, I was a makeup artist and cosmetics consultant, and some note the “makeup” of the name “Inner Makeup” my astrology practice. While I found the work of aesthetics gratifying, most clients enjoyed my presence more than my makeup artistry. Many makeup artists are true craftsmen of aesthetics whereas unbeknownst to me, I was engaging in Kosmos, “ordering and adorning” human beings, the root of the word cosmetic.

What does it mean to adorn a person in the classical sense of Kosmos? It means bringing forth structures perceived as harmonious and beautiful without creating rigid, stifling structures that befall the worst of the makeup arts. It means unearthing hidden, beautiful shapes in the space of a resonant, authentic expression of oneself.  

Cosmetic companies are catching onto the power of astrology, as I’ve noticed Estee Lauder and Fresh creating products with Susan Miller that reflect the heavens. But for me, the work is now invoking and adorning that which comes from within, star stuff that lives on in each one of us. 

Waning Moon in Aquarius

Sign I saw at a local health clinic

Astrological symbolism is everywhere if you’re open to it. I saw a sign that featured a rough approximation of the symbol of Aquarius coupled with a waning moon in its balsamic phase. I feel the moon struggles in Aquarius, suffering from the intellectual, rigid, and futuristic character of Aquarius that contrasts with the moon’s waves of emotion that build over time. Also, the waxing and crescent phases are so “close” to the sun that it becomes what is called combust, and the moon loses her power, except when she is exactly in the new moon phase. I’m curious is to how the feel of the health clinic matches the character of the astrological symbolism.

Is it Fate or Free Will?

I recently gave a lecture at the American Italian Cultural Center in NOLA, the topic exploring the spiritual dimensions of three major Italian films. For all of you astro buffs out there, there was a massive amount of transiting 9th house activity in my astrology chart, the area concerning travel, both literally and figuratively, and higher knowledge and learning. I was struck by the complex and paradoxical nature of the directors’ spiritual and faith orientations; for example, Federico Fellini was a lifelong Catholic yet consulted the I-Ching, an ancient Chinese system of divination, and also recorded his dreams dogmatically. He, under strict supervision, took LSD to gain insight into different realms, yet learned through some of his dreams that though he often played the part of a rebellious child, he appreciated the check of the church on his creative machinations.

What ultimately interested me, though, was Fellini’s admonition that one shouldn’t always consult such tools as I-Ching or astrology, and if one did, he ran the risk of being paralyzed by an idle, overactive mentality. Interesting, in astrology, the 12th house, arguably the most spiritual of all, symbolizes isolation but also spiritual freedom from the material world; so, perhaps confinement isn’t always so bad. Yet Fellini had an inarguable point, namely the intent, and perhaps even the spirit of consulting a higher, mysterious power has as much to do with the act of divination itself, whatever the method.

Which brings me to the greatest of all the questions: is our existence governed by fate or free will? This question has animated virtually all cultures over all time. It seems the more ancient you go, the more a culture believes in fate. But with the rise of Western civilization, science, and modern religion, and the subsequent discovery and reinterpretation of the laws of nature (notice I did not say mastery of nature), many of us lead incalculably more comfortable lives than those even one hundred years ago. But the questions still remains, what is fate, and what is free will?

The author of the famous Moment of Astrology believes that astrology as the Queen of all systems of divination allows us to negotiate with the heavens. We might not ultimately decide our fates, but we do get to negotiate. I take this a step further and submit that the reason (pun accidentally occurring) we get to negotiate is because we accept chance and fate in the form of things like astrology. One is born at a specific time and place, the heavens transfixed in a moment, the seed that ultimately flowers into one’s existence. Yet coming to an astrology session means a momentary suspension of one’s supposed free will agency and that by consulting and asking a different, oblique, and arguably higher power for guidance, one gains free will agency. I’ve been holding as of late that it is no “I” as an astrologer who performs astrology, but I is “I” who learns and studies astrology and in the moment of an Inner Makeup session, performs a reading. This is akin to a musician who learns his craft through practice and then performs a piece of music or an actor who studies his lines and then recites them in a play. This is certainly not the egoistic “I” of free will.

Yet again, by suspending one’s self, the self actually becomes empowered in a circuitous turn of events, akin to a suspension of disbelief during the witnessing of a performance or work of art, a momentary slip of the inquiring mind, and the gaining of insights that come from within, or somewhere else, that lead to a transformation of the self. 

Might Fellini have been onto something? That how we approach such matters is just as critical as the matter itself? As the poet Rilke famously asked of us, Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.

This theme led me to recall an old episode of the Twilight Zone, Nick of Time, now available on Netflix where a young, newly-wed couple becomes stranded in a small Ohio town and discovers a “Mystic Seer” machine/napkin holder in a local diner. We are introduced to the wife who brandishes a confident, striding attitude whereas the husband (a young William Shatner) fashions a much more brooding, anxiety-laden attitude towards everyday affairs. The husband is up for a promotion at work, and after consulting the Mystic Seer, who spits out a slip “it has been decided in your favor,” he hurriedly rushes to a pay phone to call his employer. He learns through the grapevine that he has received the promotion, fulfilling the prophecy of the oracle. The husband consults the oracle obsessively over a variety of matters with varying degrees of ambiguity and accuracy, but nevertheless the couple comes to believe in the oracle, that is until they decide it is better not to consult it rather than consult it and to follow the wife’s initial buoyant “take life as it is” attitude vs. the fatalistic, fearful attitude of the husband. The episode closes with another couple who apparently consults the Mystic Seer machine habitually and are portrayed as addicted and entrapted, in astrological terms by twelfth house matters. 

Which brings me back to Fellini’s charge that one shouldn’t consult methods of divination too much and that intent has a lot to do with the outcome especially where self-fulfilling prophesies are concerned. But this still leaves open the question of fate vs. free will. We like to think, think being the operative word, that we have free will. But the material sciences, and/or spirituality, have taught us that within and outside of ourselves there is much more going on beneath the surface. Regardless, does the mind, especially our conscious perceiving mind, have the ability to govern fate? I believe yes, but the percentage is small. Also, as Carl Jung noted, when the conscious ego becomes inflated, when we try to become gods controlling fate, we are invariably slapped back down by nature via tragedy. Yet this does not imply an entirely deterministic existence.

If we have the ability to freeze phenomena, like an individual’s birth as symbolized through a natal chart, through the art of astrology, at least for a moment, we are gifted a glimpse into something beyond space and time because a birth chart, and any astrology chart, is a snapshot in time—but it doesn’t stop time. It is a chance to reflect and glean new insights garnered from a process largely governed by chance. This is where I’ve struggled a bit. Is chance deterministic? Is there a set order of numbers, directions of particles, and movement of light that is destiny? Yes and no, because we know that when we look at something, the observer effect, we change it. However, that does not mean we receive a blank check for free will, and regardless of our perspective, massive forces forever flow beyond our control.

So again, it goes back to Fellini, who started as a gag writer and artist, and in his words, ended up a philosopher. In astrological terms, this progression would look something like Gemini to Sagittarius, curiosity to knowledge. The only question is, what are your questions? And will you love them enough to believe in them and hopefully receive divine revelation? Or, will you fearfully seek the answers that may never come? 

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. 

Is a New Moon in Gemini a Potential Undoing?

Gemini Factory

Every day as I cross the Crescent City Connection bridge, I notice a factory that features a Gemini symbol and two smokestacks. Gemini is a binary sign and the duality of the smokestacks curiously mirrors and emphasizes this. As we are experiencing a new, invisible moon in the sign of Gemini, I decided to take a closer look at the factory. I was told by a gentleman that the factory used to be a sugar refinery, fitting for potentially candy-loving Gemini, the childlike, extroverted, and communicative sign. However, when I pass the factory, I always wonder, “What went wrong?” Perhaps astrology, from an acausal standpoint, can provide an answer.

Carl Jung famously called synchronicities, or meaningful coincidences, the “acausal connecting principle.” I draw a connection between the Gemini moon phase and the factory, that Gemini is the twelfth sign of moon-ruled Cancer, thus its potential undoing. Signs are relative to each other, and the last sign that precedes each sign is its potential undoing, as the twelfth or last sign is an ending. For example, Leo is the twelfth sign of Virgo if you go around the zodiac. 

With this new moon in Gemini, the moon wants to be in its home sign of Cancer, but it isn’t. It’s in its twelfth sign of Gemini, emphasizing a glib childishness that could spell disaster. What are you to do? Examine the pleasure-seeking, game-loving parts of yourself and make sure they aren’t your undoing, perhaps like a factory that got ahead of itself seeking sugary success. Or, bring those impulses out into the open so they can be expressed healthfully rather than repressed. The moon is new, so it is a ripe time for wishes. Just make sure they’re the types of wishes unlike the Gemini-like curiosity that killed the cat. 

I’m Dan Beck, a spiritual consultant and astrologer based in New Orleans, LA, and I provide a variety of offerings for your spiritual longings. To book an appointment or select one of my offerings, click here.

The Future as the Past, in a Moment

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Moon Messages Week of June 4, 2018

 

Most astrology focuses on the Sun—Your Will and Purpose

But what about the Moon?

 

The Moon is the Embodiment of Communication, Emotion, and Spirit

The Goddess

Opposite God

 

What is the Moon’s Message to You?

That is the Will and Purpose of This Column

Published Every Monday, which means Moon Day

This week, the future reigns, both in spirit and mind. The problem with the future is that it isn’t this moment, rather, the future occurs after a series of moments. What brings you to this moment?—the past. The past depletes the future but propels you forward. Only by standing in this moment, limited, grounded, and awakened, will you arrive at the future you dare to envision. To this end it is critical that you verbalize and think about the future, thoughts and words culminating this Tuesday when will-power and speech climax. You are able to take up arms, courageously, and proclaim your invisible dreams of the future that dramatically come to pass.  

Interpreted lunations and aspects: Mars conjunct south node in Aquarius trine Sun cazimi Mercury in Gemini. Moon emphasizes this with a pass by Mars in Aquarius. Mars square Uranus in Taurus. North Node in Leo. Saturn in Capricorn trine Uranus in Taurus. 

Aries, Born 3/21-4/19: There are great gains to be had for you, but only if you awaken to your future visions via the watery realms of dreams. This may be difficult for you, as dreams sometimes don’t come true, but when you have your vision, there is no stopping headstrong Aries.

Taurus, Born 4/20-5/20: There is extraordinary energy available to you for the building of your dreams. However, dreams don’t happen overnight, or are even visible to you, unless you unearth them little by little, every day.

Gemini, Born 5/21-6/20: You are positively brimming with your usual chatty communication this week. There is awesome power in this, but be careful that your career curiosity doesn’t kill your career cat.

Cancer, Born 6/21-7/22: Dreams matter, but so does the time it takes to make them come true. Give them the proper love and attention while making the necessary changes, and you will expand your horizons greatly. 

Leo, Born 7/23-8/22: There’s a subtle, spiritual energy available to you right now, but you must put the words to these esoteric thoughts. It will powerfully enhance your career, but you must trust your intuition. 

Virgo, Born 8/23-9/22: The moon is opposite you this week. Somebody colorful and dreamy might come into your world, and let them. You could get out of your head and dream a bit every once and awhile. 

Libra, Born 9/23-10/22: There may be some adjustment required in your daily working conditions, and even health. The best course of action is to make the difficult, necessary adjustments, letting the things that don’t serve you fall by the wayside. 

Scorpio, Born 10/23-11/21: Your creative juices are flowing this week, but make sure to find a middle ground between dramatic shifts and reckless abandon, giving love to the middle ground of your higher mind. 

Sagittarius, Born 11/22-12/21: Home is emphasized for you this week, and it’s not necessarily easy. It is dreamy, however, and if you make some long overdue changes you can feel much more grounded in your home space. 

Capricorn, Born 12/22-1/19: Though you like to stay grounded, your communication and thoughts take on a dreamy tone this week. This is not a bad shift for you, and if benefits all of the social sectors of your life. 

Aquarius, Born 1/20-2/18:You may experience some difficulty with your finances this week related to your past actions that were overly futuristic. Endings turn into new beginnings, so look ahead again, this time with a more strategic, analytical approach. 

Pisces, Born 2/19-3/20: It dreams as usual for you, just make sure that you alternatively stay fixed and steady as you harmoniously experience greater gains in your love life and higher mind. 

I’m Dan Beck, a spiritual consultant and astrologer based in New Orleans, LA, and I provide a variety of offerings for your spiritual longings. To book an appointment or select one of my offerings, click here.

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