Goodbye Forever, Cheerios. Just Say No to Glyphosate!

Though I am a Leo, my chart is chock full of Virgo. Years back the grain turned on me, that is to say I developed a very strong gluten intolerance. My genes don’t show any evidence for Celiac disease so I am in the somewhat new category of ‘non celiac gluten intolerance’.

I avoid all gluten and dairy which seems to keep migraines, joint pain and all kinds of malaise and brain fog at bay. But in the back of my mind I always wonder, why is this so?

This week I think I have finally found an answer that makes sense. It makes so much sense in fact, that it has awakened a somewhat dormant side of my Virgo energy. It has awakened my genuine care for agriculture, and an awareness of how closely this ties to my future and the future of humanity.

Her name is Dr. Stephanie Seneff. For the past several years she has dedicated her time to researching and exposing the dangers of the world’s most popular pesticide, Roundup. Roundup’s active ingredient is called glyphosate and it deals a deadly blow to plants by disrupting an important enzyme and pathway. Monsanto has assured this to be safe for humans because they state that we do not possess this pathway. But Dr. Seneff points out that our gut microbiomes do have this enzyme, and we use this enzyme to make essential amino acids that are incredibly important to many biological processes in our bodies.

This spoke loud to me.  The Virgo in me was all ears.  Of course this makes sense.  We are part plant. We are more microbe than human. There is no divorcing our lifeline from the earth. If we poison the earth we poison ourselves. The question becomes, where do we draw the line?

We are in fact more plant than human. Microbes outnumber human cells 10 to 1.

Glyphosate is implicated in the rise of these strange gluten and dairy intolerances, drawing attention to the smoke not the fire. This nasty chemical causes leaky gut by destroying the integrity of the intestinal lining.

GMO foods are engineered to resist the roundup, therefore they can be soaked in this poison and not die. What we are left with is poison on our plates and on our children’s plates! If the GMO food was grown organically this wouldn’t be so bad, but the problem is they are made to resist this weed killer, and therefore they get saturated in glyphosate.

Cheerios was the innocence of my childhood breakfasts, and that of my son’s. After reading that it consistently tests sky high for glyphosate in the trash it went. The innocent breakfast world of Cheerios went with it. The innocent Cheerio breakfast world was a place where our government cares about healthy breakfasts for our children. I realize now that in this country, that world is a lie.  Despite countless lawsuits against Monsanto for the many maladies associated with Roundup (autism and cancer to name a couple), the government is doing nothing to stop this. How many more lawsuits will it take before it will be labeled a poison like lead?

Virgo’s strategy is simply to respect the earth and our bodies which are of the earth. Eating organic food is not only the answer for your health and the health of your family, but it is also the answer for the health of the future of humanity.  As informed individuals it’s time to turn our backs on these toxic farming methods.. ‘Big pharma’ walks hand in hand with ‘big farma’. Our health in the US should be far better than it is, with all the money that goes into it. But we are poisoning ourselves. We are buying poison at the store and serving it up.

If I can help spread the word with this post it will be the least I can do.

As my son and I seek out small independent organic farms near us on our drives I am reminded of another Virgo gift: leisure, that is to say the simple leisure to be drawn out of going about our daily affairs.  We dole out the old fashioned basket. We drive along sleepy roads with autumn leaves fluttering in the sunlight. I now feel more connected to the food, through flavor and meaning. My microbes no doubt feel this too.

Next year I want to finally try and grow something myself. Because now, I finally have the perspective I need to truly listen to my gut, and honor its wisdom.  

Cheerio, Cheerios! Hello dirt!

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Timing is Everything; Virgo’s Magic

Metaphorcast for 9/6-12, 2021

Listen to this episode here

Labor Day comes this year on a New Moon in Virgo, a sign that like no other, knows the magic of timing.

If it weren’t for timing, no one would have ever figured out how to grow things from the ground.  Plant seeds at the wrong time and nothing will happen, harvest at the wrong time and the bounty is lost.  Through her diligent observation of nature’s timing, Virgo flourishes alongside her craft.  

Some say that timing is everything.  Miles Davis famously said, “Timing isn’t the main thing.  It’s the only thing.”  Some credit their success to being in the right place at the right time.  

One thing is for sure: nature has certain right times and right places.  What is also true is that human nature has the right times and places as well.

Rightness is embedded in our very anatomy, as feelings inform our moral reasoning.  It has been said that Pythagoras believed the entire cosmos to be constructed of right triangles.  

Time is cumulative, like character, like meaning.  It builds upon itself, like good music.  Just as a crowd can’t help but join in on the chorus, sometimes a time becomes so ripe that one can’t help but join in on its promptings, sing along, jump into a strong moving current, do that thing that your nature is screaming at you to do.  

Everyone longs for those right moments, when the stars align and things go right.  As a matter of fact, on Labor Day 6 planets will be in trine aspect, an aspect that favors easiness, smoothness, even luck!

Virgo has another key to the puzzle, however. In her natural humility she does what is so often forgotten to be done.  She listens.  Just like the original farmers listening to the land, she listens to what her surroundings are relaying to her own nature.  The right angles of the cosmos are the right angles of her body’s feedback.  The sphere of her surroundings include the cosmos.  The growing circle of her timing, which may also be called a spiral, includes what Emerson called “the cumulative force of a whole life’s cultivation.”

It’s not so much that she prays for luck, or right timing, but rather she enjoys a certain interplay; between the motions of her surroundings and how they speak to the motions of her inner life.  Her dance partner is the arena of life.  Her own control comes with her dominions over time.  She makes a humble pledge to cultivate timing, and thus cultivate her life, her character.

Timing is alive in the present which is beyond description. 

Timing is at your disposal at any moment.  Pause even a word in a sentence and you can  change a whole meaning, as any actor or comedian knows.  

There is power in timing, but it won’t come without listening.  True power is relational not dominating.  True power comes with listening as much as acting.

By Friday Venus will move into Scorpio where she will travel until October 7th.  Venus relates and in Scorpio she relates with power.  Use the gifts of this Virgo New Moon, and remember the power of timing.  A power that comes with listening- to the promptings of your surroundings as much as the promptings of your mysterious nature.  

If timing is everything then you must be timing too!  

From one timing to another,

Happy astro pondering   

Virgo: what a difference a day makes

Each sign of the zodiac has it’s guideline-oriented gifts as well as it’s “watch outs”.  The gifts are often ignored in poor Virgo, so today we are going to explore them and give them there full dues!

Always smart to begin in the body.

Virgo is associated in the small intestine (the gut).  This is the central location of the MICROBIOME, a truly fascinating subject.

Microbiota are the trillions of bacterial organisms that live within our body.  The whole community of these bacteria is called the microbiome.

These microbial cells even outnumber our human cells, so we might be MORE microbe than we are human!

The weight of all of these microbes together weighs about 3 pounds, the same amount as our brain!

The microbial genes in our body outnumber our own DNA genes by 100 to one!

We are covered head to toe with these microbes, but the vast majority of them are in the gut.  The gut-brain is truly a second brain as it’s many neurons that are embedded in the lining of the gastrointestinal system are influenced by the same neurotransmitters of the brain itself.  The brain influences the gut-brain and vice versa.

For example a nervous though that arises in the brain can cause butterflies in the gut.  On the flip side the gut will majorly influence the brain’s mood as it’s microbes produce many neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and GABA.

So how is the archetype of Virgo so important with the human microbiome?

For starters, Virgo is associated with diet.

The word “diet” is derived from the Greek word “diaita”, which means “way of living“.  It points more towards a daily way of life than a strict code of food groups.  Hence, Virgo is also associated with daily work and routine.

Here is what I find interesting:

The average lifespan of a microbe is only 20 minutes.  Each day, each meal, each food we eat is an opportunity to nourish our humble microbes.

Most people are familiar with probiotic foods such as yogurt and sauerkraut that encourage gut health, but less familiar is the very important prebiotic food group.

Prebiotic foods, like bananas, onions, leeks and asparagus,  are a type of starch that doesn’t break down as quickly and thus survives further down the digestive track to nourish the beneficial bacteria.

Interestingly enough, wheat, the grain always depicted with the Virgin, is a prebiotic food.

In North America, wheat makes up 70 percent of a person’s prebiotic food intake.

With wheat feeding the microbes and the microbes being what we mostly ARE, the phrase “staff of life” begins to take on a deeper resonance.

The Greeks and the Romans knew Virgo as the goddess of wheat, or the harvest.  This is a humble goddess who dutifully tends to the needs of the land.

What needs to be tended in order to grow good crops?  The soil of course!  And what do we find in the soil?

Our friends the microbes!!

There is a saying that real farmers grow soil and not crops.  The microbes in the soil help decompose organic plant matter and then recycle them to be used as plant energy with nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen.

Chemical fertilizers cause bacteria to die and supply the nitrogen and phosphorus directly.  Biofertilizers, as used in organic farming, do not supply chemicals in favor of using our live microbial friends to do natures work.

With modern agriculture techniques such as chemical fertilizers and genetic engineering, the healthy microbes of our soil has taken a beating.  The soil of the earth is the same concept of the lining of our guts.  Both need healthy microbes to be honored as they truly do run the show.

The grains that used to be the staff of life are turning on some of us (myself included!) and causing all sorts of immune issues.

No wonder gluten free diets are becoming so popular!

But we can still turn to the Virgin for guidance in these matters.

Virgo is humble and would never seek to dominate her sacred soil with the use of chemicals or genetic engineering.

So for those of us who seem to react poorly to modern wheat we must strive a little harder to incorporate the dietary lessons of the Virgin.

Virgo needs us to respect and nourish our humble microbes!

Incorporate prebiotic food everyday as a way of life!

Get dirty as it improves our skin microbiome!

A little food each day that nourishes are microbes.  A little prebiotic food everyday goes a long way to improving our health.

Improving the gut improves our mood and improves our brain which improves our decisions which improve our lives!

Virgo takes small steps.

Until next time!

Visit my website for a reading!

https://www.astrologybytess.com

The Virgoan Mind of Howard Hughes

Today we are going deep into the astrological makings of a very complex man.  Ladies and gentleman, I give you Howard Hughes!

This man claims to have been born on Christmas Eve but his baptist records put him on the more mundane date of September 24.  With balanced features like his (not to mention all the women and the charm) it is no surprise that he is in truth, a Libra.

Note: this is an equal house chart (where each house is an equal 30 degrees).  For anyone that is strictly Placidus or whatever else I say don’t worry!  The big themes of a chart always find a way of making themselves known no matter what system you use..  I am not insistent on this house-system I just find it the easiest to understand.

The first thing that really draws my eye into his chart is that Mercury at the very bottom of the chart.  It is in Virgo (the ever over-analyzing, perfecting and exacting scrutinizer) and it is under some serious pressure.

DiCaprio gave a very compelling performance as Hughes in Scorceses’ “The Aviator”.  Here he gives us an excellent glimpse of Hughes’ Mercury in Virgo (extreme focus on precision).

But uh oh.  Here it is again

Howard Hughes seems to have acquired the brunt of his OCD from his mother, who used to scrub him clean all through his childhood and teach him to be afraid of germs.

His Mercury is found at the bottom of the chart right on the 4th house cusp.  This is the place in the chart that is associated with the Mother and early childhood (because it is the house that is connected to the sign of Cancer).

Mercury is the planet associated with our thinking.  It is always listening and responding to our environment (like DNA!)

The caduceus (symbol associated with Mercury) look like the double-helix of DNA.  Information in and information out.

Hughes Mercury (thinking) is under pressure from both Mars and Pluto via the square aspect (an aspect of 90 degrees).  So let’s meet the personal “bullies” of Hughes’ mind!

Hughes’ Mars is in the expanding and daring fiery sign of Sagittarius.  His masculinity and motivations (Mars) are tied to travel and spirited adventure (Sag).

Like no other sign, Sagittarius says “Go big or go home!”.  This picture of his highly ambitious “Spruce Goose” sums that up pretty well.  It still remains the largest airplane made to date.

Here he goes big again with a specialized bra for MAXIMUM exposure of Russell’s large bozooms!

Hell’s Angels cost more money than any other movie made during that time. Going big baby! Mars in Sag!

Mars is energy!  It is motivation and stress.  The stuff that propels life along.  Hughe’s Mars is located in the 7th house of relationships.  It’s a common know fact that Hughes did “go (very) big” in the dating field.

Hughes was infamously entangled with a bevy of beautiful starlets.  The glitz and glamour would satisfy his Venus in Leo as well as his Moon in Leo.  Venus for a man will point to something he is drawn to in a woman.  The Moon points to an emotional hunger that we yearn to satiate. This is also connected to the mother and early life.

It’s interesting to think of all of that OCD doting that his mother did for him was still a form of constant attention.  Hughes was known to be a hypochondriac in childhood to secure the constant attention of his parents, both of whom died within his later teenage years.  Hughes went to court and bought out the rest of the family for the inheritance and became a billionaire.

This side of him points to his Saturn in Aquarius near the top of the chart.  Ambitious (Saturn) eccentricity (Aquarius).

Ok, so back to the pressure on his Virgoan mind.

Let’s meet the next “bully”, the ever secretly-up-to-something Pluto.  And as a side note, these “bullies” are not inherently bad, they are just motivators.  The aspect of the square suggests that it’s a bit more challenging for Hughes.

Hughes has Pluto in Gemini (the sign associated thinking) and it sits in his first house of personality right near the Ascendant (amplifying it’s noticeable presence).  His free-wheeling Mars is off gallivanting with women (in the 7th) and putting off a big public image (7th) but when we are looking at just Hughes (1st house), without the public, without the starlets, something else emerges.  Something we can see here in his eyes.

Pluto is the deep water.  For Hughes the deep water is noticeable right off the bat because it is so close to his Ascendant (the way one “dawns” on others).

His Pluto is in Gemini, the thinking sign.  The depth that comes forth from Hughes is very mental.

Pluto motivates in a very hidden way.  In Gemini this may take the form of always seeking mental stimulus, and variety of thought.  It lies opposite of the Mars in the 7th house of relationships so we can expect to find a lot of variety there too (and there sure was!).

Pluto is like a rabbit hole.  It’s job is to constantly renew us and purify us through emotional purging.  Hughes’ rabbit hole was so very mental, so full of variety and choices.  For a mind that is suited towards precision and order (Mercury in Virgo) this influx of variety might have been a bit overwhelming.

It would have been nice to see Hughes’ Virgo mind take the Virgoan modest approach to these heavy-weight bullies.  To humbly (Virgo) take things in stride and be aware of his own tendency to over-worry (Virgo pitfall).  We can bring so much peace back to our psyches with a bit of awareness.  This is the department where the horoscope truly shines as a tool.  It serves us to give ourselves a break and be on the lookout for unhealthy habits!

Like saving our pee in glass bottles.

Until next time!

Visit my website for a reading!

https://www.astrologybytess.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Venus, with love from Italy

I recently was in the mood for a chic flic type of evening so I settled on Eat Pray Love starring Julia Roberts.  While I wasn’t wild about the movie as a whole, it did leave me with one eye-opening lesson.  A Venus lesson as it turns out.  Seek Venus (even through a chic flic!) and ye shall find!

So here is a question:  Do you have enough sweetness in your life?  And here is another: Do you do enough of nothing?

Introducing an amazing Italian phrase..

Translation:  the sweetness of doing nothing

Maybe this is something that already comes naturally to you and if so, great!  But for other people, myself included, doing nothing usually is accompanied by some sense of stress, like I should be DOING something more productive.  If I am on vacation I might let myself “do nothing” but in daily life?  Not without that subliminal stress.

Venus is here to say:  there’s a new kind of sherif in town!

And he looks like this!

The next thing I know is I am getting SO much more out of my down time.  What used to feel like procrastination now feels like Italian savviness.

Venus in the natal chart can give us clues into personalized ways in which we prefer to “do nothing.”

Not everyone wants to just lay on a hammock.  Some people might to read (Venus in Gemini?) or play sports (Venus in Aries?) or watch old movies (Venus in Cancer?).

Jane Fonda’s highly enviable motivation might really be more like leisure to her with Venus in fiery and sporty Sagittarius.

I have Venus in Virgo, which might tend toward healthy-minded routines and analytical studying.  I also have Mars in Virgo almost conjunct my Venus.  I realize that I am often trying to relax by reading and contemplating a book, but all too soon my Mars tries to turn the time into something productive.  And the next thing I know I feel like I am not studying/ cleaning/ doing enough.

My Venus wants this..

But my Mars turns it into this!

Sabotage!  What is nice is that if I let my Venus do it’s thing, like read and highlight a book for fun, my Mars becomes gently coaxed.  The next thing I know is that I am feeling very naturally motivated without force.  “I think I will start that writing piece!” instead of “I should really be writing”.

What sign is your Venus in?  How does it relate to your Mars?  When was the last time you enjoyed IL DOLCE FAR NIENTE? 

Visit my website if you would like a reading!

https://www.happyastropondering.com/

Venus and the Virtues of Negativity

Ladies and gents we are about to explore the mysterious functions of Venus, a.k.a Aphrodite.  Alchemically she is linked to the metal copper.  Her reputation revolves around love and beauty.

All aboard!

First stop, the human body, specifically the circulatory system.

Hmm.. strange first stop but okay.  In this picture of the human circulatory system we see that we are all red and blue inside.

In the last post we talked about how Mars, a.k.a iron is what makes the blood red when it combines with oxygen (iron as hemoglobin).  It is this oxygenated red blood that travels through the arteries and nourishes all of our organs.

What is all the blue then?

Quite simply the blue blood is now WITHOUT oxygen because the organs have used it all up.  It now travels through the veins back to the heart where it will become oxygenated again through our breath (and that hemoglobin!)

Ok but where does she fit in?  This is a post about Venus?

Let’s start with her name, Venus.  Quite similar to the word VEIN is it not?  And for that matter Mars sounds more like ARtery.

In the same way, Adam uses Mars’ letters and Eve uses Venus’ letters

Ram is practically the word Mars backwards (as well as it’s zodiac-associated symbol)  And EWE is Eve with a small middle letter adjustment!

Eve, ewe and now ELE.  ELEctricity is conducted most often through Venus’ signature metal, copper.

MAgnetism is found in MArs’ signature metal iron by means of the magnetized iron ore attracting to it more iron.

Back to the blood..  it seems to be an intuitive understanding that Mars and red blood go hand in hand.  Less intuitive is Venus’ blue blood, the blood that is WITHOUT oxygen.

ELEctric lightning produces NEGATIVE ions in the air.  Negative ions are said to produce numerous health benefits mostly by relaxing the body and bringing it back into balance

Ah.. back into balance.  This is beginning to sound like me.

Water falls and infrared saunas are other places where negative ions are found.  Can you not feel the affects just by looking at this image?

Venus is introducing the principle of PASSIVITY and RESTORATION (negativity without it’s bad connotations).  It seeks balance by being passive.  It trusts in nature and knows there is an order more divine here than anything we could actively cook up ourselves (leave that to Mars!).

Let’s talk a little more about it’s signature metal, Copper.

Here is our Lady of Liberty displaying copper in all it’s beauty when it oxidizes in salty air and turns green.  For the Ellis Island immigrants she looked shiny and bright copper-colored.

So some of Copper’s themes have to do with electricity, and this rather pretty light green tint.

Therefore we can see her strange and mysterious signature here in the Northern Lights.  Mars’ lodestone will point towards this.  Mars being attracted to Venus.

Here she is in a firefly

Venus points to the blue blood and the green color that copper turns.  Where else do we see blue and green?

Everywhere on our home planet Earth!

Earth demonstrates magnificent beauty especially when it’s left alone (Venus).  National Parks are an excellent example of this.

Venus doing what she does best: nothing.

Venus knows how to let nature BE her order.  She knows to listen, to notice, to meet and behold.

She knows how to befriend by not imposing any will upon the other.  This photo is from Argentina’s extreme and controversial petting zoo.  In 2 decades there have been no reports of the animals lashing out to the humans.  The zoo owners claim that all they do for these animals is make sure they are comfortable and well-fed.

Our bodies are constantly sending electrical messages from our brain to various body parts.  Electricity is needed to make anything happen, from blinking our eyes to making ourselves a sandwich.  Electrical signals happen when the cells switch from a negative charge to a positive charge.

The natural resting state of your cells is negativity, a.k.a Venus.  Leave the action to Mars (positivity)

Once again I will bring in the Wizard of Oz because I simply can’t help it.  The Emerald City looks a lot like the northern lights married the Statue of Liberty.  Not only that but like the North Pole, it serves as center of attraction of which our heroes and heroine are pulled towards.

We’re off to see the Wizard!

But what happens when they get there?  What does the Wizard say?

He tells them they already have what they are looking for.  They don’t need to do ANYTHING except realize it.  Venus has spoken.

In closing, Venus teaches us the virtues of negativity and how non-doing can restore and bring back balance.  It is a side of life that is often ignored, especially in our fast paced modern society.  We can consciously feel the blissful effects of negativity by sitting by running water and soaking up those negative ions, or noticing the peace that is felt after a rainstorm.  Another fun tip, beeswax candles also emit negative ions.

To the bees, thank you for being a friend.

 

 

 

 

The close relationship of the heart and mind (Sun and Mercury)

I have a simian crease on my dominant hand.  For those who don’t know, that is one line across the palm of the hand instead of two.  It’s a blending of the head and the heart line.  Every now and then I zone out on it and certain questions start to percolate.

The simian line

Does my mind blend well with my heart?  Do my feelings always match my words?  It’s a lovely idea that the head and the heart should be so entwined.  I would guess that life would feel like a waltz that you knew all of the steps to.  In astrology the Sun rules the heart and Mercury rules the mind.  It’s interesting that Mercury is never 28 degrees farther away from the Sun.  Therefore many people have their Mercuries in the same sign as their Sun.  Is it easier for these people to find that happy balance between mind and heart?

Mercury, aka Hermes is the winged messenger in mythology. Does a healthy balance of mind and heart result in a genuine lightheartedness?

Babies don’t have their minds working enough yet to struggle with that imbalance so they are naturally light-hearted.

The challenge is to get from being a light-hearted baby to here, after all that life throws at you.

My Sun is in Leo but my Mercury is in Virgo and I definitely feel the little tug of war between these energies within me.  I have an early memory that echoes through my soul where I was so eager to show off (Leo) that I knew the word that the teacher was writing on the board.  “I know what that says!  I know what that says!”  and the teacher said “Tess, don’t—” because she wanted the other kids to sound it out, but I didn’t heed her warning and blurted out “JILL!”.  The teacher let out a sigh of frustration and that’s when my Mercury in Virgo took over.  In my head I was mortified at my know-it-all behavior.  Where’s my humility??  My Virgo mind needed that I maintain humility but my Leo heart wanted to go for the gold!  This is a theme that has repeated itself many times over in my life.

These guys want peace not war!

Mercury also rules the lungs.  This ties mind into speech as well as connectivity with all living things.  The air we breath today is the same air that was breathed by Nostradamus and Shakespeare.  In the human body the lungs and the heart are VERY intimately connected just like the Sun and Mercury.  As I learned in my Medical Assistant training class,  the blood is blue when it enters the heart’s first chamber because it has no oxygen.  After it fills up the first two chambers of the heart it goes directly into the lungs where it becomes oxygenated and RED (!) then back into the heart’s last two chambers where it is sent through the aorta to deliver this oxygen to the rest of the body.  Pretty amazing…

The veins bring the blue blood back into the heart, where the lung dance happens and the arteries deliver the red blood back through the body.

A closer look at the blue and red heart. The pulmonary arteries and veins connect the heart and lungs. Major organ intimacy!

Is your natal Mercury in the same sign as your natal Sun or in a different one?  If understanding these relationships better can help facilitate a lighter heart, I think that is reflection well spent.

Here comes the Sun: Knowing your life energy. Part 1- Earth.

Your Sun sign keys you into understanding the fundamental energy that you run on.  There are four basic different categories of this energy: Earth, Water, Air and Fire.  Start with understanding your element and then move on to understand it’s specific qualities within your sign.

Today we take a quick look at Earth energy.

Earth energy is practical and sensual.  It is naturally tuned into solid reality.  It is also more body conscious.  With Earth energy comes a likely ability to stay grounded in the face of chaos.  There is often a need to make things manifest on a physical level.  Like Water, Earth is Yin, so there is a natural inwardness to it.

Earth is physical, tangible, and everywhere we look.

Breaking the Earth signs further down into their modes we get:

Cardinal Earth: Capricorn.  Cardinal INITIATES.  Think of the above description of Earth energy and add the concept of INITIATION to better understand Capricorn.

I will give examples with some “doubles” below (Sun and Moon in same sign).  Doubles are fun to study because the archetype of the sign is often made more visible.

Double Capricorn James Earl Jones has both these planets in the first and Saturn on the ASC (Saturn is the planet associated with Capricorn). His identity (first) is composed of authoritative, self composed energy (Capricorn).

Fixed Earth: Taurus.  Fixed signs MAINTAIN.  With Earth energy now add the concept of MAINTAINING to better understand Taurus.

Sex-kitten dancer/actress, Ann Margaret has everything in sensual, body oriented Taurus and in the 12th. She seeks an ideal (12th) in celebrating her body and her physicality (Taurus)

Mutable Earth: Virgo.  Mutable signs ADAPT, CHANGE and REFINE.  Add these concepts to Earth energy to better understand Virgo.

Like Jones, Sean Connery also has Saturn on the ASC (authoritative identity) but his Sun and Moon are in Virgo and in the 8th. He has been very valued by others (8th) in playing the most iconic of all the James Bonds with his appealing and unassuming (Virgo) style that embraces neatness and precision (Virgo)

In the next post we will explore the Sun signs that run on Water energy.

Lauren Bacall’s sultry third house Virgo Sun

When you think of Lauren Bacall what is the first thing that comes to mind?  You might say Bogart, sure.  You might say extraordinary beauty of course.  But MIGHTN’T you say THAT VOICE?

Impossibly low and sultry, smooth as ice cream, when she says that famous line “You know how to whistle right?”, we KNOW it is sending Bogie’s stomach into knots because it is doing the exact same thing to ours.  And it’s all in that voice.

Bacall has her Virgo Sun (energy oriented towards exactness, humility and perfection) in the third house (the house of communication).  Not only that, but she also has her natal Mercury (communication needs/style) in Virgo as well and also in the third, further highlighting this anchoring in her voice.

Bacall’s chart

They say that something around 90% of communication in nonverbal.  Putting that powerful voice aside for a moment let’s take a look at her one of her infamous mannerisms: her chin held down when she spoke.  Such a gesture truly embodies humility, letting her essence shine through (Virgo Sun).  The best part is- this mannerism was born because she had such a crush on Bogart that early on (while filming “To Have and Have Not”) when they shared dialogue her head would shake.  The director finally coached her to hold her head down.

Bacall’s signature look with her head tilted down

But don’t be fooled, Bacall is not all humility.  This energy serves a 10th house Aries Moon.  Her emotional needs (Moon) are to be the best (Aries) in this big world of ours (10th house).  She embodies a much needed at the time new female archetype.  One that asserts, and is brave, and ready to jump into the danger (all Aries traits).

She was raised by a single mother to whom she credits a lot of this determination to (the mother is reflected in our Moon’s sign and placement).  “I grew up believing that women had the upper hand, got things done, and were listened to” she is quoted.  “It’s women I admire more for character, honesty, daring, courage.”  Aries Moon in the tenth.

It was hard to say goodbye to this humble ball of fire this year.  We were lucky to have her.

Below are a few more examples of third house Suns and their powerful voices.

Marley’s third house Sun shines bright in the very humanitarian sign of Aquarius

Brilliant astrologer, Noel Tyl has rectified Cleopatra’s chart putting her Cancer Sun in the third. She is rumored to have the most seductive voice in history.

Jim Carrey’s loaded third house includes his earthy and body oriented Capricorn Sun as well as his Mercury Jupiter conjunction (voluble speech) in strange Aquarius.

Mick Jagger’s third house Sun is aflame in Leo and conjunct Jupiter and Pluto (making it bigger and more powerful)

The wonderful 8th house Scorpio Moon of Jimmy Fallon

Again and again when I tune into The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon I am struck by the magic that happens between him and his guests. There is a true sense of child’s play, like they are actually getting lost in the fun- something you just don’t see ordinarily.

Fallon’s chart

With a Virgo Sun in the 7th, (as well as just about everything else) he is naturally tuned into the balance that takes place during social exchange.  This is highlighted by a very strong Venus on the 7th cusp.  The Virgo energy settles into an comfortable groove of humility and makes sure to not waste anyone’s time. Add in his Scorpio Moon and we have all of this precise social energy fueling the emotional need to merge with others, to get deep together.

His Scorpio Moon is in the 8th house which pretty much puts the word Scorpio in neon lights because it is the natural ruler of the 8th. Opposite the 2nd house (what I have) the 8th house is what WE have. With Fallon, it’s what he AND Jake Gyllenhaal have when they play a card game of war where the winner gets to dump a glass of water on the loser. It’s what he AND Blake Shelton have when they go face to face in a karaoke battle.

We are watching delightful social alchemy (another 8th house word). And it’s interesting to see such lightness in a moon sign/placement so commonly associated with dark and brooding characteristics.

His Sun/Moon blend is a double yin- earth and water. I see this reflected in his tendency to not have to LEAD his guests too much. He is more about REACTING to them, and RECEIVING their energy, not dominating it. There is a real natural relaxation that is brought forth this way.

“Evolution of Hip-Hop Dance” with Will Smith

Somersaulting with Heidi Klum

Taking selfies with Stephen Colbert

He seems to truly love his guests. It’s a far reaching non judging open armed kind of love. Very fitting to his Jupiter in Pisces on the Ascendant. His own personal reward (Jupiter) being ignited in expressing (Ascendant) all-accepting love (Pisces).

Clearly I’m a fan of the show.