your creative business and the astrological generations | feeding your customer's Pluto - Part I

paradise peak by plavi demon

If you have a creative business you have probably done an "imagining your ideal customer" exercise where you determine you are selling to "Sue from the city - a 42 year old childless exec who needs to look polished and professional, has no time to get herself looking polished and professional and really, really needs your thingamajig".

Or maybe your ideal customer is "Debbie from Dallas (no, not that Debbie from Dallas) - a mom who prioritizes her children's homeschooling, supplementing her family's income with minimal sacrifices to family time and yes, still having great Texas hair (and I'm from New Jersey and not judging, yes, hair still matters)."

Being a definite square peg, I have never been much for pigeon-holing people - on the other hand this type of exercise is often strangely effective. With everyone seeing different things now - gone are the days of three TV channels and one local newspaper where sellers/makers/businesses knew where they needed to be - we need to know who we are making our thingamajig for or selling our thingamajig to, so we can try and figure out where they will be looking. So we can be there.

One way astrology can help with this process is by allowing us to look at the generational needs of our customers. The three outer planets - Neptune, Uranus and Pluto - most greatly impact collective energy over time. I'm writing this with an eye on the United States since it's the country I am most familiar with, but the same energies apply everywhere.

We've all heard of the Greatest Generation, the Baby Boomers, Generation X and Y - is there a Z or are they the Millennials? I'm not sure and I don't know exactly how they determine the birthday cut-offs with this stuff. The dates I've seen would make Obama a Baby Boomer and that doesn't feel right to me.

I think astrology is a good way of looking at generations if we analyze the natal placement of the planet Pluto. 

Pluto is a slow moving outer planet. The furthest planet from earth (yes, Pluto is a planet, don't get me started!) and represents karma and the "soul".

We experience a compulsive attention to matters related to the sign where Pluto resides when we are born.

NOTE - Pluto moves in and out of a sign as it retrogrades, stations and moves direct so a person born within the first couple years Pluto is in a sign may be more in tune with the previous sign and a person born in the last two years more represented by the following sign. And of course each person has their own individual chart with many aspects and placements including the energy of Pluto's house that may work against this collective energy - still, this way of looking at generations will be helpful when we think about our customers as a group.

nurture locket by polarity and shira sela

OK, let's start with the oldest generation alive today - the Pluto in Cancer generation (born 1914 - 1939) is ruled by the Moon. 

This is the 'Greatest Generation'. The United States is a Cancer Sun country so that name is probably pretty applicable. They fought for home and country and pretty much crafted the nuclear family and Norman Rockwell image of America.

Cancer is the sign of the mother, nurturing, fertility, security, patriotism, community, family. They are protective, moody, intuitive, secretive. Cancer is a cardinal sign ushering in a new season - think 'starting' here. Cancer is a water sign. A water sign needs to be balanced by rationality, groundedness and decisiveness.

Pluto in Cancer gives this generation a connection with the past, a strong sense of 'what was'. Change is/was hard for them. They like and honor history. They hold on to things. They gave up everything for their families. They are loyal and once they have 'bought into' something, it is hard for them to change. They might buy the same products they have always bought, even though things that are better for them are out there now. They do what they have to do.

If your creative business services this group - think about some of these Cancer buzzwords. Think about how this collective energy would feel merging with the energy at play today.

(today Pluto is in Capricorn - Cancer's polarity sign, so he is opposite this generation's natal Cancer - they can see things differently now - they can see both sides of the story and what they didn't want or couldn't hear before they can be more open to now)

What do they need/want now? Remember this is mature energy - they have worked through a lot of this stuff already, but their basic nature is still probably to hunker in; to protect. The best way to work with Pluto in Cancer people may be to offer nostalgia, a connection with something already familiar to them, security, less complex choices, etc. More than any other group, it is probably very hard for this generation to have the structures they have relied on their whole lives falling apart as they are now. Keep this in mind.

royal locket by polarity and solocosmo

The Pluto in Leo generation (mid 1939 - 1957) is ruled by the Sun. This is the hippie, rock 'n roll generation that brought us government protests, make love not war, women's rights, African American rights, basically turned everything on its ear.

They get blamed for mostly ending up conforming to society, but with the Leo archetype representing the "king", this was always more about "self realization" than group think. Lots of people were born during these years, so there was, and is, a lot of this energy for the universe to work with! Yes, they are self-absorbed (especially in comparison to the Pluto in Cancer generation), but also incredibly self-expressive. They were willful children, became willful parents and raised more willful children!

(in 2023 Pluto will move into Leo's polarity sign of Aquarius and the age of Aquarius begins)

They came here to be bigger than life (Sun) and make things better. They have the Leo lion's courage "We can do anything!". They took center stage. They took charge. They wanted/want to show the world what they can do. This energy is still running things, although the next generation, Pluto in Virgo, who is cleaning up Leo's mess (change is messy and wanting to be special has its drawbacks) is slowly taking over.

Ruled by the Sun and ruler of the 5th house - Leo is a fixed sign; stable and dependable. The energy is dramatic and creative. They are generous and proud. They are natural leaders. They are the most self-concerned generation, took therapy to new heights partly because they love to talk about themselves, but mostly because they are here to break through the barriers of the ego (Sun).

If your creative business services this age group - think about some of these Leo buzzwords. Think about how this collective energy would feel merging with the energy at play today. The structures they railed against in their youth are collapsing, but they have come to embrace these same structures - so what does that feel like for them? What do they need now?

Again this is mature energy - they have worked through a lot already, but their basic nature is still to "shine". The best way to work with Pluto in Leo people might be to offer them a feeling of being special, a way to be center stage, a place at the head of the table. They want thingamajigs that make them look and feel good. Think luxury, royalty, boldness, color. Think about "what's in it for them".

Next up what your Pluto in Virgo and Pluto in Libra customer needs :)

Astrology Forecast for Creatives | Week of December 14th - the crossroads ...the price we are willing to pay

crossroads by xeneras

On Monday, our Sagittarius Sun squares Jupiter (in Virgo). This aspect could provide a "lucky" opportunity for success but comes with something like a test of character. Big head = big bust with this kind of thing.

The key to working with this energy is not to get too far ahead of ourselves. In its position square to our Sun, Jupiter is testing our ego. Too much of a good thing is still too much. Focus on the groundwork now. We'll channel grandma and let our mantra be "all things in moderation".

We'll plow toward Friday when the same Sagittarius Sun squares the North Node (in Virgo) as he prepares to exit Sagittarius (sniffle) - events will carry us toward a crossroads.

Let's allow this week to play itself out before we make any big decisions if we can.

This is really all about the dream we are building now. Virgo (north node) is our way forward which means we need to move from what is hazy, vague and general toward what is structured, grounded and precise (Virgo).

Mercury (in Capricorn) is out of bounds this week. There will be an element of a lack of control or things, particularly Mercury ruled things (like communications) will be out of our control. Some rules may go out the window. The inmates will be running the asylum. The cat will be away.

We might be able to get away with some rule breaking now, but we will still have to pay the price for our decisions. Our decisions (and dreams), yes, we're back to that crossroads, can go either way now. Boundaries are weakened. We can buckle down and do the work or we can walk away. And so can other people. There are no easy (or correct)  answers.

There is energy this week around "the cost" of what we want and "the price" we will have to pay. These words will probably be floating around us on multiple levels. This will be part of our crossroad/decision making as we decide what we really value now.

In the outer world we have the climate change talks - a decision made, a cost to be paid - we arrive at a crossroads. What do we really value?

The decisions we make in our own lives influence this energy. 

What do we value now? What path are we taking? Are we willing to do the hard work our dreams require? 

As we make the choices now about our own values we impact the same energy that influences worldly events. It can't not influence them. We really are that powerful!

At the end of the week, Venus (in Scorpio) is inconjunct Uranus (in Aries) this could bring a surprise or maybe some kind of pressure around Venus ruled stuff - money, love, women, art - (the things money can buy and the things it can't) - the things we value. The next day Venus trines Chiron (in Pisces) so probably whatever comes up will work itself out somehow or lead to some kind of healing or clearing of the air. We won't be able to have everything we want ... but when have we ever, right?

xo all - will try to do a few dailys as we move through this busy week!

UPCYCLED Christimas Ornaments | Wine Corks and Wire Hangers = Yoga Love | Tutorial

Here's an easy-peasy wine cork tutorial you will love.

You will need two wine corks

(yes, this will require you to drink the wine - you can thank me later .. or just fall asleep, that's what I do)

2 large eyehooks

(I used 1-15/16" - you can also use the wire hanger wire for the heads if you are feeling particularly strong - maybe do this before you drink the wine) and 1 wire hanger.

You'll need some tin snips or pliers to cut the wire, something to bend the wire around (I used a nail in a board clamped to a table), a hand drill and glue.

1. gather your supplies

2. mark a center hole and screw in your eyehooks - you will see when you do this why I love to work with this nice, soft wood (of course, my arms and shoulders are still a mess, so go figure)

3. cut corners of wire hangers for arms - the sizing isn't as important as consistency, so just make them both the same size - bend as needed around your nail using two sets of pliers, bend hands - work carefully the wire will be sharp

drill arm holes and glue in arms

4. cut straight wire for legs, bend as needed for knee and both feet, drill holes, glue in legs

My lotus pose (sitting) wine cork ornament's legs were a little wonky, but here is a closer look. I used the top folds of the wire hanger. Just make yours more consistent than mine! But you can see perfection is not needed with these little guys - have fun with it. ---->

NOW drop and give me ZEN :)

being a better spokesperson of our own views ....

conversation by aegis illustration

With the Moon joining Mercury in Capricorn and going void after a trine to Jupiter (in Virgo) this would be a good weekend to think about the future, our choices and what/how we are communicating. 

Saturn is in Sagittarius presenting us with practical realities. 

We might find we have to pull in the reins a bit on our ideological stances. We can take a breath. We can count to ten. We can listen to the other person. It is probably best now to be moderate in sharing our principles with others. This is more respectful of them.

Instead of unloading against their view - it's important to be a better spokesperson for our own view. 

Then we take full responsibility for the success or failure of our communications. We don't put it on other people to understand us. This is the important part. That's not our job. The essential word for Saturn in Sagittarius is "truth". The better we can articulate our own"truth", the more our clarity will make us understandable. Others do not have to agree with us. If we need "agreement" to win maybe we have already lost .... xo all

New Moon in Sagittarius | what we do about what we believe

winter by Si3art

Today's New Moon is at 19 degrees Sagittarius. With the Sun and Moon both in Sagittarius we have lots of fire energy - the best kind for universal kick-starts.

(we may not have kickstarter funding but we can use magic!)

The days of the New Moon are dark and we are literally 'working blind'. This allows us to most easily feel our way into new situations and out of old ones. Our other senses are heightened now.

The challenge of working with our instincts during a fire Moon is that since instincts are pretty much habit, we could get caught up in the exuberance of the Moon and recreate the same situation we are leaving. Focus. Get clear. Remember that what is seeded at a New Moon will grow and with Sagittarius we are dealing with the 'big picture'.

The best use of this New Moon energy is to set intentions for Sagittarius ruled themes.

Sagittarius is a fun-loving sign that rules travel, freedom, adventure, legal stuff, higher education, good luck, faith, religion, prayer, optimism, problem solving, truth seekers, boldly going where no man has gone before, the quest  -

it also rules carelessness, taking shortcuts, thinking we are right, making assumptions, throwing pink paint on problems and hoping they will go away, overconfidence, impatience and superficial fluff.

Sagittarius is a mutable sign. The mutable signs prepare us for the change into the next season.

Mutable signs are service signs and Sagittarius is in service through the exploration of Truth - this could be legal truth or political truth but its most especially spiritual truth - its highest purpose is enlightenment and expanding what is known. The lower level energies rule religious wars, legal battles and political bullshit.

Sagittarius is a fire sign like Aries and Leo.

Fire signs like action - their reasons for taking action are different though. Aries energy wants to climb the mountain, first because it's there and second because there is a competition going to see who can get there first.

Leo energy wants to climb the mountain because they have heard there is a film crew waiting at the summit :)

Sagittarius energy wants to climb the mountain to see what the hell it feels like to climb a mountain and how it feels to reach the top. They want the adventure; they want the quest.

(they could be unprepared and throw their back out 100 yards from the summit, too, then they will turn their convalescence into a party for the sherpas and make THAT the adventure)

This is the energy any new intentions set now will step into. What part of our life can use a little adventure? That's the space to use this energy most effectively! The real gift of Sagittarius is the freedom to be who we really are - how are we going to use this gift?

As always, write your New Moon affirmations down - I sometimes use strips on paper and bowls of rice, so I could jiggle them around now and then - but again this month I am feeling the urge to burn them and just know they are done. You don't have to make stuff happen with this, you just have to see what comes up and then take the action that feels right on that.

Trust the process. We have cast our spell.

People always say that affirmations "only work if you take action". And this is true, but not in the way most people think because the affirmation is action.

It sets the energy in motion. Words are not just words. If done properly, in the right frame of mind, it lines us up energetically with the thing we are seeking. The new moon is a time of darkness but there is lots of hidden action in the dark.

(yes, even that kind, all creation starts in the dark after all)

Look at what kind of experiences have been coming your way lately. How have you called them into your life?

My car has been in and out of the shop for weeks. Yesterday I finally got it back. I was happy to find I had to pay nothing at the service center since the repair was totally related to a recalled part. I high fived the dealer, drove home, grabbed Olive and my bags of packages to ship out and backed up in my driveway. I do this turn around thing in the grass, since it's hard to pull out due to traffic. And I backed right into hub's truck. Damage to both vehicles in one swoop. Not little minor scraping damage either. And I knew the energies yesterday said "go slow, be cautious". Expect the unexpected. And I pulled this exact same move (different car, different truck) maybe 15 years ago, except then it was more minor. Now, he rarely parks in this spot (although more often than every 15 years), usually he pulls up next to me and moments before the accident Olive was about to run into the road and I had to yell at her and grab her and my heart was racing (she never does this). I need to think about this. If anyone has any 'backing into myself' thoughts let me know.

Also the entire time my car has been breaking down (pretty much since our trip to Maine), my entirely unearned good health has been stalling out, too (which metaphysically speaking makes total sense). On my last trip to acupuncture - the acupuncturist asked me how much water I drink, told me I seemed a little dehydrated. What she actually said was, "how much water do you drink? how often do you go to the loo?" - this had me screaming WATERLOO - in my own head, of course.

Anyhoo, back to New Moons. There is often a wave of resistance that arrives when we begin stepping into our power. This resistance can manifest as physical health problems, relationships that mirror our shadows, self-sabotaging "mistakes" or when it seems like “fate” intervenes and creates road blocks or sends us  back to “feeling and playing small” - back to square one.

This "upper limit" thing, set by familial programming and energy patterns that is so common when we are in the process of shifting our self-definitions and expanding our influence and responsibility. Something gets in the way, often something that appears to be outside our control - this is all illusion of course, but how do we work through this? How do we move outside our energy patterns?

One thing we can do right now and it sounds like a small thing but there are no small things - is to set a few affirmations (some astrologers recommend 10, 11 feels even more Sagittarian to me) within the energy of this New Moon - it will just take you a few minutes of concentrated effort. Do it tonight.

Today's Moon is in a T-Square with Jupiter (Sag's ruler in Virgo) and Chiron (in Pisces). Since Sagittarius energy is about freedom and the big picture - we might be feeling stuck in the details and the "work" now. Health matters have cropped up. Saturn, hanging out in Sag, too, for the next couple years is making sure nothing comes easy now. That's OK - we will value it more later this way. Uranus (in Aries) is in a positive aspect and can help us get unstuck and move into something new. 

xo all