Happiness

EARTH TAKES OVER
Half of the major planets are sitting in Earth signs. Venus and Mars (love and strength) in Taurus (stubbornness), Moon and Saturn (hidden emotion and limitations) in Virgo (health), and Pluto (power, AND retrograde on top of it) in Capricorn (ambition). The one quality that all Earth signs share is practicality. They are the grounded signs, the ones who hold to stolid, steadfast logic.

Happiness is finding a pencil, knowing a secret, telling the time...

Happiness is fragile, isn't it? It drifts in and whispers in your ear and the corners of your mouth twitch. Your lips stretch into a smile; the quintessential sign that someone is happy. There are so many kinds of smiles, though. There are sad smiles, fake smiles, smug smiles, concealing smiles. There is so much meaning behind a smile and yet, we assume that when someone is smiling, it means that they are happy.

Yet, happiness itself can be a lie. It is fleeting. Only a word or a gesture and the feeling is gone. And we fear that. Even the Funny Girl tells us, "Don't rain on my parade!"

Life is so harsh. It forces us to be practical, even negative at times. There's the fear that someone will burst your bubble. And it takes so little, doesn't it? It's very often with respect to love. New relationships bring so much happiness, but have the potential for so much heartache. It may be ourselves that brings about the fatal pinprick. There's a tendency to watch everything we say for fear of breaking the euphoric trance that we're in. Relationships can be like a drug; they bring incredible highs and tremendous lows and we struggle to find the right way to achieve the fix that we felt at the beginning. Is that possible? Was that true happiness? Or does true happiness lie within the latter parts of the relationship?

What is true happiness? And in finding it, does it contain within itself the seeds of its own destruction, usually manifesting in fear? Can we recognize it when we have it? Hey, everyone, if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands! Clap and you get to save a faerie, for when a baby laughs for the first time, it becomes a faerie. So says J M Barrie. Clapping has been tied to happiness since we were children.

It's so hard to find this elusive element of life and yet, when you find a small pocket, you want to stay in its warmth forever. This is not always tied to relationships. There are many areas of life that may bring incredible happiness. Sadly, even then, it is a breakable quality and it usually takes something to small to douse the flame. Some way to "bring someone back to reality" that forces the happiness out, which begs the question, is happiness diametrically opposed to reality? Is it unreal? Surreal? Insane? Is ignorance really bliss?

This was explored somewhat in the previous blog Reworking Rene, but where that was a study of mind vs. heart, I want to know why happiness is so hard to pin down. Does the practical element of Earth have its own measure and method? Is its stolid take on life a weight that prevents those who attempt to soar from achieving flight? Or does it protect us from the Icarian fate that awaits those who soar too far?

I don't know these answers, but I do know that I shall cling to that sliver of insanity, that attempt to soar. As is said in Jeffrey, "How dare you not lunge for any shred of happiness?"

So I lunge. Don't rain on my parade.

Poker Face

MOON IN CAPRICORN
The emotional planet in the sign most known for it's aloof nature. Capricorn's calculating nature is going to show up in subtler ways. The moon is going to push some of Capricorn's hidden emotions to the surface, forcing the iceberg sign to reveal some of what's going on below. Trying to keep feelings buried is somewhat futile during this time, especially as this combination is taking place in the 1rst House, the house of self, of individuality.

Poker face. We've heard the term before, usually in reference to the card game. It's quite the asset in cards and is often considered to be an advantage in tense situations. It's also a theatrical convention known as deadpan. For a classic example of deadpan, look to Bea Arthur on any episode of Golden Girls (usually in response to Betty White's character).

For those of the Lie To Me contingent, there is great advantage to facial control. In the context of the show, they explore "microexpressions" that reveal certain emotions one may be trying to keep hidden. For those that wear their heart on their sleeve, this might not perturb them, but for those who are more secretive with their feelings (as a generalization, Earth signs), this may be a terrifying prospect.

How careful you are with your expressions may reveal more about you than you want it to. Those who keep a cool, blank expression often earn a reputation for being uncaring. This may be unfair, but it is the hard view of a society which values openness and honesty. We're encouraged, especially in America, to express ourselves, and we can be very distrustful of those whose motives and feelings remain hidden from us.

Still, do these aloof creatures have the right idea? Usually, we give a great deal away from the simple lift of an eyebrow, a slight smile, a narrowing of the eyes. In the theatre, an extremely expressive world, it's not uncommon for one to have to wipe the slate. The phrase "check your face" is one that I've heard said to actors when another actor sings a wrong note. It's not a deliberate affront; just the world that we live in. In order to keep a colleague from being hurt, we must hide the feelings that would otherwise be clearly written across the face. Maybe we can learn something from those who are able to keep things inside. There's power in quietly kept emotion.

I've noticed, from working in various offices, that the business world is much more cautious with their feelings. They keep everything very even keel (unless they're screaming in anger). "Losing one's temper" is viewed as weak; sentimentality becomes vulnerability. The interesting part is that it becomes very jarring when a boss figure is suddenly demonstrative emotionally. Depending on the subordinate and how the emotion is portrayed, the authority could strengthen or weaken. For a culture that values expression of feelings, in certain situations (especially the business world), it can be seen as a loss of power. Keeping the poker face demonstrates; enables power.

I believe true power lies in effective expression. We may give away more than we desire, but who doesn't love a gift from the heart?

Retro Virus

RETROGRADE SATURN IN VIRGO
Saturn, the planet of limitations and health, is floating around in Virgo, the sign of health. Royal pairing, right? Perhaps, except for Saturn being retrograde; meaning, it appears to be going backwards from Earth's point of view. Unexpected results can happen when a planet is in retrograde and in this case, it's health related. Swine flu, anyone?

Virgo qualities can be found here.

Yes, I'm caving in and talking about the porcine pandemic that's sweeping the world just like the Furbies did in the late '90s. (I think they were bigger than the Y2K scare.) Today, the illness-du-jour is pork. Kosher diet's looking better and better, huh? For those who just became alarmed, you can't get it from eating pork, so don't worry. Ham sandwiches and crispy bacon are a go. Thank goodness I didn't know about swine flu until after I got over being sick. Of course, now everyone's asking me, "Oh, did you have the swine flu?" Yes, it was delicious, thank you. No, of course not.

The terror that erupts when a new illness hits the streets is almost as infectious as the illness itself. It's all over the papers, in the news, on TV...even on that infamous source of important knowledge, Facebook. Everyone is convinced that the tiniest sore throat or cough is a symptom of the new disease and quarantine must happen immediately. It didn't really hit me how frightened people get until I saw someone walking down the street wearing a face mask to prevent germs. Is this person smarter than others or paranoid? There's a fine line there. (In case you hadn't noticed from previous blogs, I have a major curiosity when it comes to drawing lines.) People have died from this illness and others have been afflicted throughout the world. So at what point do we panic?

In other health news, the weather is changing. Stop rolling your eyes. Of course you knew that. With the weather unable to make up its mind (it must be a Libra), our bodies are left to fend for themselves and we don't have a great arsenal when it comes to meteorological indecision. Especially with the onset of spring, which last weekend was somehow bypassed for the 90 degree weather of summer. Pollen count jumps up and the air mischievously delivers all kinds of allergens to cause itchy eyes, sneezing, and other fun activities as our bodies try to defend themselves. With our bodies fighting so hard to stave off allergies and weather attacks, is it any wonder that so many people are getting sick, pig-oriented or not?

Add to that the fact that Mercury, the mind-planet, is in Gemini, the multitasker, which is going to have our minds moving faster and concentrating on a lot at once. That's not going to be the best for resting, which adds to the weakened body state. Hopefully, with the weekend coming up, everyone will get a chance to calm down a bit. Try to use the grounded energy of Taurus and make lists of things that you want to remember or explore later. It might help your mind quiet down if it knows that there is something to refer to at another time.

As for swine flu, be careful, but don't panic. Do everything you can to keep yourself in good health, including mental. Meditate if you have to. Do yoga. Wash your hands. Take your vitamins - pills before swine. And of course, if you're feeling sick, unless you're heading out to see a doctor, stay home. It's better for you; it's better for everyone else. Your immune system is down and opening yourself up to all the bacteria and other lovely bugs out there is probably not the best idea. So stay home. Others will probably thank you for it.

Just be glad it's not bird flu. At least pigs don't fly.