How to Cross an Ocean; How to Light a Fire

Pisces, as the last sign of the zodiac, represents the primal waters to which thought, action and memory return — and from which they emerge. Seawater contains traces of nearly every element, from oxygen to iron to gold. The history of humanity is contained in the world’s oceans, as rivers course through canyons and cities and carry everything to the shore.

Friend to Friend: A Bit of Quaker Astrology

Today is Christmas Eve, so I thought I would do something borrowing from an old Christian tradition. I’ve only mentioned being Quaker a few times on these pages, though it’s a significant piece of my philosophical heritage. I made this discovery as a kid, after attending Friends summer camps for five years (Quaker is old-fashioned shorthand for The Religious Society of Friends).

A Homeopathic Moment: Mercury Retrograde

eclipse of the Moon and the Northern Hemisphere winter solstice, as well as the holiday travel season. Mercury will dip back into late Sagittarius, treading in reverse over the Galactic Core, then after stationing direct make another conjunction to the core early next year. Before I get into a few other details of this astrology and what it may say about our most personal lives, I have several points of follow up on last week’s article about WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange.

The Most Wanted Man in the World

When I was teaching English 101 at SUNY New Paltz, I assigned my classes a book called  Reading the News. In its clear-headed approach to understanding how journalism works, its first chapter was titled, “Who Makes the News.” That’s a statement, not a question:  who makes the news — before what, where, when and why. We want to know about people. We want to know what they do, and we crave a window into their psyches, perhaps in search of ourselves.

December: Sagittarius Sun, and an Intriguing Solstice

The Sun is now in Sagittarius. This is such an interesting time of year, but we tend to miss the spiritual qualities because our lives are so focused outwardly — shopping, preparing for family gatherings and going a bit nuts with year-end duties, depending on what business you’re in. In the Northern Hemisphere the days grow shorter at this time of year, drawing us inward: but everything seems to be focused on others and on the world of activity. Perhaps if we could follow the calling within, the problem of holiday depression that so many people face would be far less severe.