{"id":59822,"date":"2012-07-31T00:01:56","date_gmt":"2012-07-31T04:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/?p=59822"},"modified":"2012-07-31T02:52:26","modified_gmt":"2012-07-31T06:52:26","slug":"all-for-one-aquarius-full-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/astro-daily\/all-for-one-aquarius-full-moon\/","title":{"rendered":"The Volunteer Spirit: Aquarius Full Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Something that’s been on a sickening increase in political rhetoric is how the American way is all about competition, and anything else is some form of socialism or communism. This concept is a form of red-baiting, at the same time it’s designed to justify greed and marginalize kindness. We are hearing this kind of reasoning a lot lately; it has become the definition of “the American way” and worse, of “freedom.” It’s rarely challenged in public, and I think it’s time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Marbletown First Aid Squad.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I have another idea: whether you’re rich or poor, freedom is the freedom to fall off of a ladder, or to trip while you’re running across your house with a wine glass while talking on the telephone.<\/p>\n

I was hanging out with my friend Karen last night, who is on the Marbletown First Aid Unit in Ulster County, NY. This is a fairly typical basic life support volunteer ambulance service, staffed by members of the community. <\/p>\n

As we sat in the Northern Spy restaurant, she was basically waiting for something to go wrong for someone somewhere, and if it did, she and her colleagues would show up at the scene, for free, with their hundreds of hours of training and a good attitude. They don’t get paid, and they don’t bill for the ride to the hospital, which could otherwise cost up to $1,000. This is a big savings to taxpayers and insurance companies — or to private citizens who might get stuck with a bill they cannot pay.<\/p>\n

Outside the cities, most of the country is serviced by volunteer rescue squads, made up of people who train for years and sit around waiting for a stroke of bad luck, or an unconscious moment. They come out in all kinds of weather, at any hour of the day or night, and fetch you to the hospital — just because they feel like doing it. There are lots of volunteer fire departments, whose members often work alongside paid, professional departments even in the same city. Once again, people helping others just because it’s the thing to do.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

To me, this sounds a little more like the American way: a civilized society where neighbors take care of one another — just because. Volunteering for the rescue squad doesn’t preclude making a big pile, having a good job, a gorgeous house or being successful in any other way. It’s a form of participation and of giving back to your community. There are lots of ways to do this. And while we may not all pitch in, we all benefit from the people who do.<\/p>\n

I mention this theme in connection with the forthcoming Aquarius Full Moon. Aquarius Moon is famous for one thing, at least: helping. My father, who is an ardent conservative and argues the tired points he hears on FAUX News, has an Aquarius Moon and would just about help anyone any way they need. This Moon has a need to be supportive of others<\/em>, or at minimum, to organize with others in a way that’s useful. The United States itself has this Moon, in the July 4, 1776 chart — the Sibly Chart. On that day, the signers said, “with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”<\/p>\n

This need can be distracted, subverted or perverted (Richard Nixon is an example) though the Aquarius Moon is in the DNA of the United States. And while everyone with this placement isn’t a saint, I’ve seen that at least there is a readily accessible capacity for decency — something that’s in the air as this Full Moon reaches its peak.<\/p>\n

The Full Moon later in the week is trine Jupiter, blending the best of the focus of Saturn (one of the two rulers of Aquarius, the other, unofficial one being Uranus) and the expansive or generous energy of Jupiter. This is an opening or an opportunity to notice the ways we’re better off with one another than we are living as if we’re personally an island. Notice the ways you can help, and the ways that you don’t — and remember, you do have the option to help out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Something that’s been on a sickening increase in political rhetoric is how the American way is all about competition, and anything else is some form of socialism or communism. This concept is a form of red-baiting, at the same time it’s designed to justify greed and marginalize kindness. We are hearing this kind of reasoning … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":""},"categories":[1734],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59822"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59822\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}