Getting Reacquainted

SUN IN LIBRA
The sun has just entered the seventh sign of the zodiac, Libra, sign of balance, harmony, and relationships. Libra is currently sitting in the 7th House, the House of Partnerships. We should see a deliberate shift of focus from the quotidian minutae of Virgo to the more social, outgoing nature of our connection-centric selves.

It has been nigh a month since I last wrote and apologize for that. Things have been quite busy, not the least because of Mercury's decision to travel retrograde. Still, Libra brings relationships and balance to the forefront, so I return to connect with my readers.

A focus on relationships doesn't necessarily mean romance. And with Mercury in retrograde, there's high possibility for miscommunication and misunderstandings. Still, in examining our relationships, it's important to take a look at what benefits each of us in our connections with others, be they friends, family, or even foe. Yes, believe it or not, you have a strong relationships with your enemies too; consider the emotion involved. It's the acquaintances you have to examine in depth, since they are the ones you don't have such a deep emotional involvement with!

Sun-in-Libra is an special time for me because my natal sun is in Libra, meaning my birthday is coming up. Yes, I am a Libra; I admit it! I am charming, shallow, vain, and relationship conscious. We just can't help it. One of the hardest things for most Libras to deal with (besides making a decision) is handling the anger or depression of others with regard to them. Libras are a balance-oriented breed and the thought that someone could be upset with us is highly disturbing. We don't like to fight or argue and unless there's a strong water or earth streak in the chart, we don't hold grudges very well. The only time a Libra will come out swinging is if there is a question of fairness. We are sticklers for fair treatment - it comes from being able to see both sides of the story, which is a curse and a blessing.

Recent events have brought to my awareness the way that different people deal with issues of injustice, unfairness, and hurt. I have many friends who are able to close a door. Some of them slam it shut. Do not get on their bad side for you will never recover from it. They encourage others to do the same, seeing former friends who have hurt them as a cancerous element of society that they prefer to cut out. With the power of "defriending" someone on Facebook, there's an added way to make the point.

Others are more willing to forgive. My parents taught me that in every relationship, you start out with 100% trust. Once that trust is broken, you go down to 0% and you have to work your way back up. I've adopted this theory because I like to believe that people are basically good. They have their faults, of course. Everyone has their baggage. It's whether we can handle the baggage that matters. I want to be a forgiving person who understands that people make mistakes, but there comes a point where you have to recognize that no matter how much you may understand their side of the story, you still ended up hurt. Self-preservation has to play a part at some point, doesn't it?

One of my friends subscribes to the adage, "Forgive, but don't forget." This is becoming increasingly sensible as I watch the events around me. I'm studying to be an educator, after all. Understand that people make mistakes. Know that they will. Expect it. Students are encouraged to try and not be afraid of failure. Intention should count for something, even though the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Still, if something is not meant to be malicious, I can usually understand it. Even so, learn from it. Don't forget. Forgetting dooms the victim to repetition. Learn and be guarded next time. Go into things with eyes open. "Forgive, but don't forget," seems to embody the balance required by a Libran Sun. We must remember that people are not always out to get us, that they might see things in a different way and it can be misconstrued, that they are acting on their behalf - then so must we. Learn from the situation, and move forward.

The sun continues to shine and there are more relationships to be explored.

Happy Equinox!

Casey Feldman: In Loving Memory

MARS AND VENUS IN THE 8TH HOUSE
Both the planet of passion (Mars) and the planet of beauty (Venus) lie in the Eighth House, the house of regeneration, death, and rebirth. There will be change, especially with regard to relationships or passionate endeavors. Perhaps you'll be changing idea of what you want.

Unfortunately, this is a rather negative post. Upon exploring my Facebook, I saw a post that one of my former students had joined the group: In Loving Memory of Casey Feldman. Completely shocked, I immediately went to the group, but since it was a locked group, I requested admittance and headed over to her page where I found a number of RIP messages from her friends. I checked the pages of other students and saw posts and pictures in her honor. Determined to find out what happened, I Googled her name and came across one article that finally told me that she was hit by a vehicle while crossing the street in a crosswalk. She was rushed to the hospital where she passed five hours later. There is also a Fordham blog in her honor.

I realize that there are many who did not have the pleasure of knowing this young woman. Casey was a former student of mine who I directed in my high school's production of The Laramie Project back in 2004. She was a bright, vivacious girl who went on to work in journalism. Working with her made me laugh. She had an infectious smile and incredible enthusiasm for the work. She showed wonderful promise when I worked with her and though she was never able to realize her full potential, she made fabulous progress before she left us.

I am devastated to experience my second loss of a friend almost within a year. My roommate was killed the same way last year. Although death is a change, it is an incredibly radical change and extremely hard to deal with when it's so personal. And so young. Jen was taken from us at 29; Casey, at 21. One of the hardest things is watching others go through the same thing. Seeing them deal with death at such a young age is heartwrenching. No one knows what to say when something like this happens. Nor would I, given the same situation.

One friend offered this: Some people are meant to sit under the stars and some are meant to be them. My Casey's star burn bright and watch over all of us.

I wish to send all love and warmth to those who deal with deaths in their own lives and especially to the family and friend of Casey Feldman. My heart grieves with you.

Memorial Day With A Twist

ARIES IN THE 4TH HOUSE
Aries, the sign of new beginnings sits in the 4th House, the house of home, of belonging. Time for spring cleaning, for making the home a place for you to live comfortably in again. It's time to revamp and get rid of the old. Packrats, beware!

This is a continuation of the previous post: Memories. After all, I did tell you that a cleanse was just around the corner.

Checking Facebook today (yes, I'm addicted...don't judge), I saw so many status updates about spring cleaning that I sat up and took notice (okay, i didn't actually sit up; it's a turn of phrase - if you keep interrupting, we're never going to get through this). I didn't actually get to do spring cleaning of my own, and believe me, I have quite a bit of cleaning to do. That's tomorrow's project. Still, if you're anything like me (and i certainly hope you're not), you're a packrat who keeps many things out of sentimentality. There's no practical purpose for them. The hard part of cleaning my room is that everything has a memory attached such that it takes forever to clean even the smallest corner of the room. I suspect that's what led to the rush of memory-oriented status updates on the old FB.

In the same vein, while I was addressing wedding invitations (don't go getting excited; they're for a friend), I threw on an VHS tape with shows taped from the 1990's. Wow. Not only did I see Buffy episodes from season 3 (Faith rocks), but there were commercials that I'd forgotten existed. Like Sean Hayes in a Doritos commercial! So random. Granted, this has no sentimentality, but it certainly takes me back to a simpler time in life. No, wait - I was in senior year of high school. It was highly complicated. Why did I want to go back there?

Cleansing is a ritual of life and we need the routine cleaning in order to make a new space for our creation. In a way, we cause death within our own lives in order to bring about new life. It's extremely hard to throw out that old sweater that you wore on your first date back in middle school, but unless it still fits (and boy, i hope it doesn't), get rid of it so that someone else may wear it to their first majorly awkward date. Don't worry, there'll be other sweaters and other awkward first dates. The memory of that first date is going to far outlast the sweater anyway, and really, isn't that the point?

Tomorrow, I create a small death in my own life. I'm getting ready to move and I have to get rid of a number of items so that I move with more simplicity. I already know that as soon as I begin to pack, I'll shake my head in wonderment at the amount of crap that I've accumulated while I was in this apartment. You don't realize it until you have to put it all into boxes. Should be an interesting exercise.

And so the cleaning begins.

Stupid Pervasive Annoying Mischief

RETROGRADE MERCURY TAURUS/GEMINI
Mercury, perceived to be spinning backwards, straddles the fence between Taurus and Gemini, creating an odd energy across the monetary/technology cusp. Ebay, Amazon...all shopping online should be carefully considered for there is a great possibility for mixup and mayhem. Mercury is, after all, a trickster planet and when retrograde, anything can happen.

Today, I opened my email to see that a new person had commented on the Guestbook on my website: www.starchildtrilogy.com. Imagine my surprise to see the following message:

Interested in Brunette celebritys? Right place for it! [and proceeded to list a website]

Besides the obvious spelling error (shudder), who in the world thought to spam a guestbook? I had no idea that this spamdemic had reached the guestbook world. Can you imagine if this happened in the physical world? You're at a wedding and you look down at the guestbook to see that someone had written a note inviting the bride and groom to visit a site that boasts shemale pornography. Unless that's a theme of the wedding (and seriously, what flowers would go with that theme?), most would consider it highly inappropriate.

"But Jared," you say, "your website is hardly a wedding. It's barely an event, let alone a formalized black-tie affair." Well, reader, you're right. Though hardly the momentous occasion that heralds the incipience of matrimonial bliss (can you think of a more cumbersome way to describe a wedding ceremony?), my website is dear to me and holds great importance in my mind. After all, it's a way for me to communicate an aspect of my being in the form of a novel, which, by the way, has absolutely nothing to do with brunette women with extra appendages (just in case you were wondering).

Curious, I decided to take a look at that infamous "spam" folder in my various email accounts. Within one email, I had pharmacy news (i don't take any medication, although those of you reading my blog probably think i should; member enlargement pills (yeah, thanks for the self-esteem blow) that brag about the pleasure I'll be able to give a woman (check the demographic); an ad to lose weight (again, thanks for the therapy session); and the offer of a relationship from someone named Wendy who claims to be the best thing that could ever happen to me.

It pervades other areas. Twitter has it (in fact, spam has its own profile - www.twitter.com/spam). Myspace has it. Some would consider the numerous quizzes that are found on Facebook to be spam. Even cell phones have spam nowadays. I've received calls from phone numbers that I didn't know and I let them go to voicemail and it's just gibberish. It's amazing to think that spam has moved in and shares a common law marriage with technology.

Ah, but it started long before that. Remember chain letters? That's old school spam. Not even emailed chain letters (although those are a high annoyance as well); snail mail chains. "Count the number of letters in your last name. You must send this letter to that many people within the number of days that equals number of letters in your first name or else you will ripped apart by a purple bear in an overcoat." Oh, please. Like the real chain letters were any less ridiculous? At least Internet spam is ecofriendly.

Bottom line: Spam is annoyingly pervasive and seems unavoidable.

Or perhaps it's just Mercury's sense of humor.

Memories...

SUN/MOON OPPOSITION
When the full moon rises, it rises in the sign opposite of the residence of the sun. In this case, the sun is in Taurus while the moon is in Scorpio. This opposition shows odd contrast between the two influences. The focus on money and possessions with intense emotionality. The sun, a traditionally masculine association, sitting in the 10th House, the house of ambition and career. The moon, a traditionally female association, resting in the 4th House, the house of belonging and home. Working hard for a living to earn those things that remind us of our own experiences.

Nostalgia, anyone? This combination of possessions of emotions brings about a sentimentality that's natural for any packrat. Keeping items of no value because they take us back to experiences that we enjoyed and want to remember. Why is it easier for some people to close the door and others cling to the familiar? I, myself, am a notorious packrat. I've had to do thorough cleansings often and what I consider thorough, many would say is average. Cards, stuffed animals (don't judge), clothing, papers, playbills (far too many of these), etc. There are so many items that remind me of wonderful moments. Scrapbooking is a pasttime that I took up at one point, but with Facebook and Photobucket, it seems to make this pasttime a thing of the past.

Especially since this is the perfect time for spring cleaning, how do we decide which are the items that must be disposed of? While sentimentality is a vital part of life, at some point, you have to draw the line (unless you have unlimited storage space). Does this apply to other aspects of our lives? Is it time to clean out your buddy list and get rid of the people that you don't talk to? What about all the Facebook "friends" that are there to boost numbers?

Perhaps now is the time to go back over the things that make us remember the good times in our lives. Indulge your nostalgia. Just remember that there's always a cleanse just around the corner.

For now, happy memories.

New Beginnings

SUN in ARIES
Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, from March 21 to April 20th (approximately). It's a sign of youth, of initiative, of drive, of sexuality, of courage and it starts on the vernal equinox (beginning of spring). And the sun is a planet of vitality, of energy, of our basic natures. So Aries is roaring high with the Sun's support.

Are you an Aries? Learn more about having your Sun in Aries here!

Makes me think about new beginnings, especially since I'm starting this blog. Why not? This year has been a year of new projects and it's only April. There are so many things I feel that I can write about with a generalized topic like beginnings, but this blog is probably the best focus for a first entry. And not just blogging, but expression in general.

Who knew that blogging would become such a trend? I used to have a blog back when we called them LiveJournals. I was doing a 9 month gig at Amish Acres, a national historic site in a one-light town in Indiana. I would write all about the adventures I was having so that people back home could see what I was up to without having to constantly call each person and update them. Needless to say, I didn't have a great deal to write about, but hey, the family liked it.

Nowadays, it seems like everyone has a blog. Whether it's on Facebook, Myspace, IMVU, or here on Blogger, blogging is the new black. With everything that's going on in the world, it seems like a lot of people are able to express themselves; a vital outlet for frustrations, excitement, and opinions. Journaling has been taken to a new level. The difference is that many of these are public and if you're entertaining enough, you develop a following. People rely on you for entertainment. Some people have a gimmick, like Aaron Karo's RUMINATIONS or pinkisthenewblog.com. Others are able to offer advice or insight to those who might be searching for information on certain subjects, such as Kristin Nelson's PUB RANTS. Some people just want to express themselves, and I think it's a great idea.

For those who prefer something more immediate (and let's face it, in today's society, who doesn't want immediacy), we've got Facebook, Twitter, Myspace (if people still remember Myspace), and, going back to the Jurassic period, Friendster. It started back at Friendster as a networking tool. That moved to Myspace where we added backgrounds and the like. Twitter is a new site for me. I'm "following" a few people on there with their "tweets" but I still don't understand the importance of learning that my friend is showering or eating eggs or dancing around their room naked. I don't really need the constant updates on the lives of my friends, but I can't help reading them.

Facebook opened a whole new world and now that they've updated, you can not only find out the status of your friends, but you can find out what Musical they are, what their inner Animal is, even what their power Color is and what that means. I'll admit that I enjoy the quizzes, even though they clog my live feed, but when I found out what type of BACON my friend was, that was almost enough to make me quit cold turkey. On top of that, Facebook has a million apps, complete with those that cost money. Then there are the Notes with surveys. It's a full time job to keep up with Facebook. A few weeks ago, a friend asked me if I was attending her birthday party and I asked her if she had emailed me about it. Scandalized, she responded, "No, I Facebooked you!" This is what life has become. If you're not on Facebook, you might as well not exist. And yet, somehow, my sister managers to work and have a social life and a healthy relationship without a FB account. I admire that. I don't know that I have the strength to give it up. Besides, there are so many wonderful addictions to play with on FB. Similar to Twitter, FB offers the status update, though people tend to post slightly more abstract ideas instead of what they are doing at that moment. Depending on the post, each status update my be a Rorschach Test of your friend's emotions based on your interpretation and how well you know them. But of course, you know every one of your FB friends intimately, yes?

Recently, I discovered LinkedIn, a networking site for professionals. I've worked in two major fields - Writing and Theatre. Both rely on who you know, so sistes such as this are essential for my professions. I don't know of many fields that don't consider networking a vital tool. Perhaps taxidermy, but then, not many animals are Twittering about their deaths. I'm still discovering the secrets of LinkedIn, but I have to admit that there's an excitement to see my network grow.

IMVU takes it one step further. You have a profile there, but it's for a virtual self that can then explore a virtual world and chat with other people. You create an avatar and shop and earn badges. It's Myspace or Facebook meets SecondLife. Definitely takes profiling, blogging, and networking to a new level.

Now, with the iPhone and its colleagues, we can stay in touch at all times. There are many benefits to these connections - our world is getting smaller by the day - but I remember the days when you had to wait until you got home before you heard a message from someone. And then, there's AIM, the precursor to the FB status, with its away messages. It's still there, but I don't see as many friends there anymore. As more and more networking systems emerge, we leap to keep up. It's exciting and frustrating and addicting.

And as Aquarius is the sign of innovation and technology, one might say that we are truly experiencing the Age of Aquarius. :)

Stop back to check out what's happening in the stars and what that might bring up for discussion!