Why Good Data Is So Critical To Good Astrology

It might sound strange for an astrology blog to focus on data, especially when astrology is so often dismissed by the experts as a pseudo science… yet paying strict attention to the data we use for our birth charts, or to cast charts for any event, is critically important. If the data is wrong, the interpretations are wrong and the chart is useless.

If you take nothing else from this post — always, always, always check and recheck your data. Do this before you do anything else.

Consider the most basic of all astrological studies — the birth chart. Just as our physical body is what the outside world sees of us… our birth chart (also known as a natal chart) is a picture of our inner world, taken at the exact moment we entered this world. Your birth chart shows the traits and talents and challenges

And Now For Christopher

Here’s a final version of Chris’ graduation movie… all photos and songs in place. 

So watch and enjoy… feel free to comment… that’s why the video is up here.

done

 

 

There’s Nothing To Fear… But The Media Itself

I’m as concerned about the economy, my own livelihood and the value of my home as the next guy… but the unrelenting barrage of media attention on this topic is getting ridiculous. 

I was always taught to give credit where it’s due, and the seed of this idea came to life in my own thoughts while reading a piece by Paul Greenberg that appeared earlier this week in Jewish World Review. While he makes a lot of great points about optimism, and leadership, the ones I’ll touch on here focus on the doom and gloom economic reports delivered by the nightly news and mainstream media.

Greenberg’s points would certainly take the wind out of the sails of my ever-eager local anchor team…

A Movie For Michelle

Here’s where you’ll find a final version of Michelle’s 2009 graduation video.

So watch and enjoy… feel free to comment… that’s why the video is up here.

done

In case you want them, here are the song lyrics…

Mercury Isn’t The Only Retrograde In Town

While messenger Mercury gets all the attention when it comes to retrograde motion — the appearance of moving backward in the sky from our viewpoint here on Earth — most people don’t realize that all the other planets (except the Sun and Moon) have retrograde periods as well. To understand retrogrades, it’s best to view them as a cycle that begins as a planet slows down and comes to a stop (that station) and includes the time spent moving in the opposite direction, as well as the slowdown and stopping points that send the heavenly body forward once more.

Think of the planet as the what, but the tone of the retrograde comes from the sign occupied by the planet. If you were born with a retrograde planet (or planets) in your chart, than these periods will be especially important. As for the rest of us, the influence of a retrograde will have personal meaning only if it involves a planet that’s strong in your chart… Saturn for example. You may also feel the impact of the retrograde if the planet in question is moving over another planet or point in your own chart.

Retrogrades generally are periods when you need to slow down… as the planets above are doing. They are time of change… changes in things, in minds, in

When The Messenger God Goes In Reverse

If you’ve spent any time learning about astrology, you’ve probably heard the warnings about the dreaded Mercury Retrograde, those three week periods when the planet of the messenger god looks like its going backwards… at least from our perspective here on Earth. The effect is an optical illusion… and might hold a rather large cosmic hint as to the real meaning of these often maligned times.

The first retrograde for 2009 began on Sunday January 11th (along with a potent Full Moon in Cancer) and will last until February 1st – the first of an unusual four for the year. The next Mercury retrograde of this year will begin on May 6 and last until May 30, then there’s September 6 to September 29, with the final retrograde for the year beginning December 26th and running through the New Year until January 15, 2010.

The tone of the retrograde takes on the energies of the sign Mercury occupies… now in original, intellectual Aquarius. This can be expected to play out as a

A Healthy Dose Of Perspective

Though Winter has yet to officially arrive much of the Northeast was caught in the grips of an unprecedented ice storm late last week, and as these blasts of Mother Nature usually do, the resulting carnage brought our technology driven, 21st century world to a complete standstill. No warning. No escape. Some described what happened up here as “Katrina without the water.”

We certainly had our share of declarations (National Disaster Area and State of Emergency)… our interruptions of basic services like heat, running water and electricity. At one point 92% of our town of nearly 35,000 was shivering in the bitter NH cold, heating systems unable to work without electricity to turn them on.

Shelters were hurriedly opened… cots, food and supplies gathered, while roads were impassible because of ice coated downed limbs, trees and power lines. ATM’s had no power or were inaccessible. Gas stations, if they had gas, had no electricity to pump it. Food stores had to throw away perishables like milk (white gold) and eggs, and quickly ran out of gallon jugs of water and pre cut wood. Any business that managed to be open was trying to operate on backup generators with enough juice for a few lights and a register or two.

Suggestions For Male Jewelry Shoppers

This is one that I’ve long thought overdue… men are under so much pressure sometimes to buy the “right” piece. And they don’t have a clue. They really don’t. Just like we don’t know who the all time rushing title went to in 1983;… they don’t know this. 

So, here’s a guide that I hope men find useful…

A Woman’s Suggestions For Male Jewelry Shoppers

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AJS Blog Content: Worth A Read

Anyone who knows me well knows how I LOVE fine jewelry. I’m one of those people who love to browse jewerly stores… admire celebrity bling… and never get enough of the history and lore of gemstones. I’d love, someday, to see the Crown Jewels of England for myself.

But for now, I just have to content myself with admiring from afar, and have found a wonderful blog that has all kinds of great gemstone informaiton. Check this out…

What You’ve Always Wanted To Know About Gemstone Jewelry But Were Afraid To Ask

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Colored Gemstones… Crowning Glory

While white diamonds have long been praised for their sparkle and shine… colored gemstones offer a rich and vibrant array of shades, shapes and sizes to suit everyone. In times past, vibrantly colored gemstones were used to decorate the hair, the clothing, the trinkets, the artwork and of course the jewelry of the monarch’s and nobility of the world.

In what was to be a tragic miscalculation, most, but not all, of the English Crown Jewels dating from Anglo Saxon times were lost near The Wash by John of England in 1216.  An incoming tide swept away the treasures, leaving King John to lament the loss for what was left of his life. New pieces were made