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.

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.