Biz Astrology for Tuesday August 5th - work like a captain, play like a pirate

bs custom designs

Venus aspects Neptune this morning which could make everyone a little thin skinned especially for people like me whose epidermis already resembles onion peel.

Our Moon in Sagittarius wants us to speak from our hearts this afternoon (which could lead to tears this evening for some).  

The moon trines Jupiter in Leo and makes for a day we can expand through playfulness and laughter.

The best universal biz advice for today would be to do what you have to do with a light heart and make it fun - but again do what you have to so. Makers could have some real progress to show for effort put forth now by week's end.

*If you are looking for a day to play hooky this week - today's energy may be your best bet. xo all

(am finishing up a course that requires me to do a daily horoscope, so will likely post it over here this week, too - although general I hope someone finds something useful)

she's gonna sing ....

It's November 21, 1934 and a skinny, 16 year old high school drop out, orphan and dancer named Ella Fitzgerald is called up on stage at the famous Apollo Theater during amateur night after her name is randomly drawn from a hat.

The announcer probably says something like, "And now ladies and gentlemen our next contestant is Miss Ella Fitzgerald and she is going to dance for us tonight".

Maybe the audience shifts in their seats. Certainly ice cubes tinkle against the sides of glasses and cigarette smoke fills the room.

Maybe Ella tugged on his sleeve or maybe she whispered in his ear.

"Hold on now everyone", the announcer suddenly continues, "Miss Fitzgerald has changed her mind. She's not gonna dance. She's gonna sing."

(she then goes on to do three encores, win first prize ... and change music forever)

NOTE - many years later during an interview with NPR, Ella admitted she switched from dancing to singing that night after deciding she didn't measure up to the talented dancers in the act that preceded hers - she even admitted she flubbed the first couple lines and the announcer had to step in to calm her nerves and protect her from what he thought would be a jeering crowd ... then she started AGAIN and brought down the house ....

Here's to following our hearts right now.

Biz Horoscope for Monday August 4th - the early bird catches the worm

rachel lewis - sleep late

We start the week with a LEO Sun, a SCORPIO Moon, the Moon conjunct Saturn and Mars firing hot or maybe mis-firing.

(if we have something we fired off in haste over the last few days we need to make amends for or correct, maybe wait for the Sagittarius moon later in the week when cooler heads will prevail - today's Scorpio Moon makes it a great time to dig deep and figure out how we got to this place though)

If you have a business or a life that requires you to get down to business today - get stuff done early. Saturn rewards a good game plan. It's not the best time to wing it. The moon turns void of course in early evening so don't start anything new then. And if you feel a bit un-ruddered yourself tonight, just call it a day. Sleep fixes everything (truly, we build a new body while sleeping and wake up a new person - we can reinforce fast life change by sleeping on a different side of the bed, moving our alarm clock and changing our morning routine!).

We have a lovely Moon/Venus trine that rewards the creative biz working from a place of personal integrity with popularity now.

This is a great day to:

Work hard
Be the early bird (of course, the opposite strategy works best for the worm - if you have already overslept just consider yourself a wise worm and get to work!)
Plan our next move - think strategy with this
Have some fun (this is still summer after all - but get your work done first or you will not enjoy your fun as much)
Skip any kind of manipulation - don't do it or allow it
If we have done something impulsive or "misfired" somehow - this is a good day to figure out why we did it
Have an emotional connection with our creativity - what calls to your heart now?!

 xo all
(am finishing up a course that requires me to do a daily horoscope, so will likely post it over here this week, too - although general I hope someone finds something useful)

when there is no 'away' ....

 
In my early craft show days with recycled jewelry I had a sign in my booth that read:  
don't throw it away - there is no "away"

I found the sign this morning, a decade later. Today I not only can't throw anything away - I can't look away, get away with it or run away either! Life has definitely pushed me into the here and now and rooted this formerly rootless girl to the ground I stand on.

Maybe the whole idea of "away" is going away!

I had an astrology teacher who regularly said "during this time of apocalypse"

note - the word apocalypse is often used to describe a great devastation, but the actual, literal meaning (ancient Greek) of apocalypse is an unveiling or revealing.

She freaked us out at first, but over time we got de-sensitized to the word and could feel gratitude to be living at a time when the truth is being revealed to us - even as we fight daily to stay grounded at its unveiling on both personal and global levels.

The internet is the physical manifestation of revelation after all.

With the Sun in Leo right now there is an emphasis on courage and confidence, celebration, somber awareness, and of course, powerful creativity.

I have a friend who recently accepted a new job. After giving her two weeks notice at her old job she realized she would not get a vacation for many months (and she hadn't had one in her old job for almost a year). She then delayed the start of her new job (with the help of a white lie) by a few days so she could get away. She rented a little cottage in the woods, but with the white lie and new job 'hanging over her head' she could not enjoy herself.

This is kind of how the energy of the next couple weeks of Leo may feel to many people.

When Mars moved into Scorpio on July 25th, whatever we held back for the last 8 months while he passive-aggressively worked his way through Libra- turned into active aggression (we see this in world events, too), truth will sting, we will be much more productive and since Mars is joining Saturn - the breakthroughs and struggle can lead to a new stability.

For me, personally, with a Scorpio ascendant (first house of self) - the extra fire/heat made me physically sick and I am still working through it. I should have seen it coming and now have to work harder to rebuild my immune system - the warning signs of illness come as “permission” to slow down and recharge - we ignore them at our own peril.

xo all

welcoming august plus a backyard update

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer months!

My visiting family flew home yesterday (sniffle).

During their visit I somehow managed to end up in urgent care (with what I thought was strep throat, but turned out to be a sinus infection) just two weeks after my emergency room visit which was one week after my 'sliced my leg open' injury, so am hoping I am done with medical emergencies for awhile.

On the bright side the strange left leg rash I have been trying to avoid thinking about for the last two years has miraculously almost disappeared. Is this all TMI? I agree ... I just can't help myself though.

We finished the semi-inground pool just in time - hopefully in September we will figure out what to do about that concrete block wall under the ground and open area (yikes) next to the pool wall before someone gets a foot stuck in there!

The extra depth in the middle of the pool (it is 5' deep in the center) was well worth the extra money - it makes the pool feel so much more like an in-ground than above ground. I highly recommend it to anyone planting an above ground pool in the ground like we have.

New post over on my other blog - the Armchair Astrologer today if you are following the stars. Now it's time for me to get back to business (my retail has been open, but my wholesale peeps have been extremely patient with me this July!) - it would have been nice if hubs and I had taken an actual vacation for us, but hopefully we will have a few evenings in the backyard pool in August that make up for all this summer work. As my grandma would say I am bone tired, folks! xo all

Jupiter Moves into Leo - do you feel LUCKY?

Jupiter changes signs on July 16th; moving from Cancer into Leo. Jupiter loves drama. Leo loves drama. The drama will be IMMENSE - pull up a chair (yes, a recliner) and make some popcorn (not the kind with the fake butter though)!

Jupiter takes about 12 years to circle through the zodiac so spends a little over one year in each sign. He is masculine energy and rules both Pisces and Sagittarius; the 9th and 12th houses.

If your age is divisible by 12 (24, 36, 48, 60, etc) you were probably born with Jupiter in Leo (check your natal chart HERE) and this year will be even more special for you - it's your Jupiter return, you lucky duck!

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system - in fact if we put all the other planets and the moon and all the asteroids and all the meteors and comets together on a scale - mighty Jupiter would still outweigh them. Astrophysicists believe he was almost our second sun (and he definitely thinks so, too).

Jupiter graciously generates more heat than he receives from the sun - and is associated with expansion, generosity and abundance.

Jupiter is the space that views our life as a journey of prosperity and expansion - from the moment we are born he is widening our vista, nudging us toward new horizons and whispering shouting in our ears GROW dammit!

So we have the planet of abundance and more moving into the sign (Leo) of abundance and more!

This is an especially powerful year for Leos (sun, ascendants and moons - they need only be brave to have Jupiter with them every step of the way) and also the other fire signs - Aries and Sagittarius (and the air signs, too) and everyone will find the house in their natal chart holding Leo expanding in a good way with this transit!

Read more about this on my Armchair Astrologer blog.