Full Moon Facts

The sky at night: 50 things you never knew about the full moon

So it’s not just a matter of superstition. According to a police study, the lunar event coincides with an increase in hooliganism. Jonathan Brown and Rebecca Bowle shed some light on the celestial phenomenon

1 The full moon is a lunar phase occurring when the moon is on the opposite side of the earth from the sun and all three bodies are aligned in a straight line. Viewed from earth, the near side of the moon is fully illuminated by the sun giving it the familiar circular appearance.

2 It is only during a full moon that the dark side of the moon – the hemisphere on the opposite side to the sun – is completely dark.

3 Lunar eclipses – caused by the passage of the earth’s shadow across the illuminated hemisphere – only occur during a full moon. However, because of the angle of tilt of both bodies the moon normally passes either north or south of the earth’s shadow.

4 The chances of being bitten by a dog are twice as high during a full moon, according to a study at Bradford Royal Infirmary, which reviewed 1,621 cases of dog bite between 1997 and 1999. However, a study at the University of Sydney in Australia concluded there was no identifiable relationship between the state of the moon and dog bites.

5 Gervaise of Tilbury, a 13th-century canon lawyer, was the first to link the full moon with the transformation into a werewolf. Writing in his Otia Imperialia he reports cases in the Auvergne, below. The philosopher Gottfried Leibniz described the popular work as a “bagful of foolish old woman’s tales”.

6 The full moon occurs every 29.5 days – the duration of one complete lunar cycle.

7 The female menstrual cycle has long been linked to the full phase of the moon. One theory is that prehistoric men were more likely to go hunting during their womenfolk’s period because of taboos associated with blood. The most profitable time to hunt was during the full moon and the best way to convince the men to return with food was with the prospect of sex.

8 Neo-pagans, including followers of Wicca, hold a monthly ritual based around the full moon called an Esbat. The term has been linked to the writings of the controversial anthropologist Margaret Murray.

9 The second full moon occurring within a calendar month is called a Blue Moon. The latest was seen on 31st May 2007. Far from being a rare event this phenomenon occurs once every three years on average.

10 “Blue Moon”, which was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934, became a standard ballad and was recorded by singers such as Frank Sinatra and Bob Dylan. The most famous version was recorded by the doo-wapp band the Marcels, above, in 1961, selling more than one million copies.

11 The world’s tidal ranges are at their maximum during the full moon when the sun, earth and moon are in line. Sailors know the effect as the spring tide – a reference to the leap in the water level rather than the season of the year.

12 The only month that can occur without a full moon is February.

13 Farmers refer to the harvest moon, the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, which normally occurs in September. It is also called the elk calling moon or the wine moon.

14 A full Moon is considered unlucky if it occurs on a Sunday but lucky on Monday or moon day

15 According to superstition a male child is more likely to be conceived at full moon.

16 In October 1939 in Springfield, Missouri, the full moon appeared to fall from the sky. The event was reported in the local newspaper but was later revealed to be a plunging weather balloon.

17 The Gregorian calendar dates Easter as the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon – the first to occur after the vernal equinox. It is also known as the egg moon.

18 The Chinese Lantern Festival, dating back to the Han dynasty, is staged on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month after the new year. Chinese communities celebrate across the world by lighting lanterns and feasting on glutinous rice.

19 The Lunar Society, which included Erasmus Darwin, James Watt and Josiah Wedgewood, took its name from the practice of holding monthly meetings on the Monday nearest to the full moon. Members referred to themselves as the Lunatics.

20 A three-month psychological study of 1,200 inmates at Armley jail in Leeds in 1998 showed a rise in violent incidents in the days either side of a full moon.

21 Scientists have long battled to explain the “moon illusion” – whereby the full moon appears to be larger the closer it is to the horizon. The phenomenon is understood to be caused by human perception rather than the magnifying effect of the earth’s atmosphere.

22 Timber harvests in South America and South-east Asia are avoided during the full moon because it causes the sap to rise in trees, which in turn attracts deathwatch beetles which can devastate crops.

23 Thousands of revellers gather each month on the beach at Koh Phangan in Thailand, below, to celebrate the full moon and dance the night away.

24 The native American Algonquin tribes in New England give each full moon of the year a name such as the beaver moon, the sturgeon moon and the strawberry moon.

25 The next full moon will occur on 30 June 2007.

26 The full moon may appear round, but is actually shaped like an egg with the pointed end facing earth.

27 The dark spots on the full moon that create the nursery-rhyme man in the moon image are actually basins filled up to five miles deep with basalt, a dense mineral. Other facial features are actually “seas” of frozen lava and sharp, rugged mountains.

28 In China, the dark shadows forming the man in the full moon are seen as a toad. The toad is considered one of the five poisons of yin. It is believed that eclipses occur when the toad in the full moon tries to swallow the moon itself.

29 The Moonlight Sonata, by Ludwig von Beethoven, left, is probably the most widely recognised classical work associated with the full moon. The name comes not from the composer but from a critic who compared the piece to the effect of moonlight on Lake Lucerne.

30 The innuit of Greenland believe the full moon is a hungry god, Anningan, who is intent on eating his sister, the sun goddess, Malina. Their cat-and-mouse sibling chase follows the cycle of the day, with Malina rising as Anningan sets and the cycle of the moon, with the chase waning when the moon is full.

31 The RAF used the moon to launch its first successful attack on a German city when planes attacked Lubeck in 1942.

32 Wesak, the most important of the Buddhist festivals, left, is celebrated on the full moon in May. It celebrates the Buddha’s birthday and, for some Buddhists, also marks his birth and death.

33 The full moon is the brightest object in the night sky. It has an apparent magnitude of -12.6 compared with the Sun’s of -26.8.

34 The Slovakian psychiatrist Eugen Jonas created a method of birth control and fertility based on the full moon.

35 An analysis of the birthdays of 4,256 babies born in a clinic in France found no relationship between the full moon and fertility.

36 A study by Tübingen University, Germany, claimed that police reports for 50 new and full moon cycles showed that the moon is responsible for binge drinking.

37 A telescopic drawing of the full moon by the English mathematician Thomas Harriot, right, from early August 1609, is the first on record and preceded the Italian physicist Galileo’s study by several months.

38 Renaissance artists traditionally depicted the moon as a crescent rather than in its full phase.

39 The full moon is said to be at perigee when it is full at the same moment its orbit brings it closest to the earth. However, the moon appears imperceptibly brighter at this time.

40 The Great Moon Hoax of 1835, above, was perpetrated by Richard Adams Locke for the New York Sun. His story claimed that the eminent scientist Sir John Hershel had spotted furry winged men resembling bats on the surface of a full moon.

41 The full moon is at its highest altitude from the Earth during the winter seaaon.

42 Some insomnia sufferers claim to sleep worse during a full moon; although others say they sleep more soundly.

43 It is a common misperception that the first Apollo landing occurred during a full moon. This did not occur until more than a week later.

44 The moon is 10 times brighter when it is full than when it is in a quarter phase.

45 Pagans believe the most mystical time at Stonehenge is when the full moon wanes leaving the earth to be reunited with her lover, the sun at dawn.

46 The honeymoon is named after the full moon in June. As it fell between the planting and harvesting of crops this was traditionally the best month to get married.

47 The oldest lunar calendar, showing the full moon was discovered in caves at Lascaux in France. It dates back 15,000 years and marks the phases of the moon, with a series of dots depicting the days in the cycle.

48 In 2001, the first test match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe had to be postponed by one day due to new Siri Lankan government rule, which bans playing sport on a full moon.

49 The Californian grunion only spawns on the three or four nights after the highest tide associated with each full moon. The fish come ashore to lay their eggs.

50 In a study of 1,000 tonsillectomy operations, 82 per cent of post-operative bleeding crises occurred nearer the full moon than the new moon, according to the Journal of the Florida Medical Association.

http://www.independent.co.uk

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The Brownies Among Us

The Brownies Among Us by Anne MacGregor

The north winds are coming and there are Brownies that would like it very much if you were to invite them into your household before the snow flies. As with most spirit beings, interacting with a Brownie is both complicated and simple at the same time. Brownies are often called the Nis, Kobold, Shellycoats or Goblin, depending on the part of northern and western Europe they live. (There are also the Asian cousins, but that is another story.)

Before you invite a Brownie to live with your household, make certain you know how to care for and and behave around a Brownie. First to find a Brownie. In this country, Brownies often live in the hollows at the bases of old trees in cemeteries. When our ancestor immigrants came to this country, the household Brownies boarded the coffin ships with them to sail to their new homes. Unfortunately, in many cases the descendants of the immigrant families forgot about their family spirits, and the brownies were left to wander, or they moved into the hollows of cemetery trees to be near the dead of their adopted families. If you know of an old cemetery, often times referred to an an ‘immigrant’ cemetery, find the oldest part in the cemetery and then find the oldest trees. The open hollows at their bases are many times the Brownie doorways. If anything has collected around the base of the tree – from trash to old leaves, this is often a good clue to a Brownie’s presence, as they like to collet all sorts of stuff. Sit by the tree and very casually, talk out loud about how you would like a Brownie in your household. Describe your house, your household members, any pets you have. Tell them about your kitchen and garden if you have one. Most importantly, talk about the problems you are having with your garden, your house plumbing, cooking, car, computer, or other such things that are happening. Don’t whine about it, just relate the problems. Remember, make it seem as though you are just ‘talking out loud’ and not to them in particular. A very important thing to remember, DO NOT ASK a Brownie to come home with you. No Brownie will take your offer. In fact, they will be quite offend. Another place to look is an old, ruined, abandoned house.

Brownies have rules. So should you come upon such a spirit, and are willing to ‘play by the rules’, the presence of a Brownie in your home is delightful, But be warned, attempt to change the rules, and the Brownie will probably disappear.

As a personage, Brownies are a small and wrinkled. They are often covered with short curly, brownish-red hair. They are both male and female. They wear a brown mantel with hood. Brownies are quit industrious. They will work the land, the garden, household work and work with the domestic animals. Do not ever attempt to bargain, pay, or heaven forbid, bribe a Brownie. If you wish to offer recompense for work done, do so in a genteel, delicate and secret way. Offer a piece of bread, a cup of drink, a new piece of clothing and the Brownie in turn will reject it with a sniff and much stomping of feet as they leave your home. Instead, casually leave a bowl of cream, or fresh honeycomb in a private corner, as if random, and alongside, casually leave the new coat, or coin bag as though you had forgotten it, or it is of no consequence. The Brownie will, in the darkest of night, abscond with the cream and honey, and new new coat or coin bag, and nothing more be said between you and Brownie.

On old rhyme from Scotland is a good reminder:

Gie Brownie coat, gie Brownie sark’
Ye’s get nae mair o’Brownie’s wark.

Brownies prefer to be invisible and only rarely show themselves to the mistress or master of a house. Never attempt to trap a Brownie, nor attempt by any means to make him or her visible to you. This will guarantee no Brownie help will ever come your way.

Be nice, be generous, though no obviously so. Invite them in, by making an inviting home. Talk with them, but expect no reply. You must not mind sounding as though you speak only with your self. Offer no payment or bribe, but leave casually strewn about things they may like. Remember Brownies can have roughish ways about them, and do not take offense. By all means, never have them baptized; shudder the thought of the repercussions you may experience.

So forewarned, good luck!

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The Houses…Astrology by Anne Morgan

THE HOUSES

Practical Astrology for an Imperfect World 1.10 by Anne Morgan

Houses 1 through 6 (the bottom hemisphere) are your exports—what you are offering.
Houses 7 through 12 (the upper hemisphere) represent your imports—what you are seeking.

Like countries, people trade and exchange for what they want or need. Ideally, barters take place easily, with each party recognizing and supplying the needs of the other.

In reality, this is not the case. Exchange of resources creates risk. One party may decide that trading is too dangerous. The United States, for example, would not want to trade nuclear secrets with Iran, for doing so would be dangerous for us and our allies. Legal contracts, be they national treaties or marriages, imply that the two parties expect to be stronger, safer, happier when joined.

Another danger inherent in formal exchange is over-closeness and dependence. Loss of autonomy. No entity wants to admit it is weak or incomplete. Normally, a contract specifies the conditions and terms under which the parties will do business. Each side agrees to offer the other certain of his resources. As long as both parties abide by the agreement, things remain pleasant. Both parties know, whether it is spelled out or not, that default means all bets are off, and the arrangement ceases as normal. Countries go to war when one side takes by force what it has been unable to get in trade.

Now, this business-like approach to human relations may seem a bit crass, but we make social contracts with friends, lovers, children, and neighbors. In marriage, each party agrees to be faithful exclusively to the other and to share resources, until death do them part. The penalty for breach of contract is divorce, the splitting and separating of resources. One or both parties has decided that continuing the relationship is more painful than continuing it. Making the marriage bargain cost them, and terminating it costs some more.

A few bad bargains, early in life, usually ending painfully, will sometimes lead a person to decide to never enter into the same sort of bargain. A rejected marriage proposal may lead one to vow to never risk proposing gain. It may lead the rejected party to withdraw and become a spinster, or it may lead one to become cavalier, dating but never again committing.

Successful bargains, on the other hand, enhance our self-esteem. We choose a good marriage partner. Our partnership is beneficial. We take pride in our family, our joint incomes, our lives together.

Are you a natural bargainer? Or have you learned to bargain after some bad experiences?

Astrology can help. Love is represented by the 5th House. The 5th house represents the love you offer. The 11th House describes the love you seek.

We all need and seek love. To get the love we seek, however, we must be willing to offer love in return. Some people require more love than others. They place a greater value on love than other commodities. Other people have a lot of love to give to others.

The more planets in a house, the greater the emphasis—and thus the greater need—perceived by the person. With several planets in the 11th House, for example, the person feels a stronger need for the love of others than a person with no planets in the 11th House.

How the person with multiple planets in the 11th house goes about getting the love he or she needs can be described by the planets inhabiting the 11th house. Mars, for example, in the 11th House would make the person aggressive in pursuing love. Venus would make the person able to wait for it. Neptune in the 11th would view love as something spiritual and idealistic. Saturn would harbor fears that would have to be overcome before he’d allow others to love him.

Look at your 5th and 11th houses. Are there planets in these houses? Think about assets like love, children, vacations, hobbies, what you think of as the ‘good life.’ What brings you enjoyment and happiness? What are your romantic desires and needs?

The 5th-11th House bargain is “Love me and I will love you.” What do you want fromm others regarding love? What do you have to offer? (If your self-image is healthy and in balance, your list of what you have to offer will be longer than your list of wants.)

To be continued…

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The Subjective Houses

Practical Astrology for an Imperfect World. 1.13

The lower hemisphere of a chart, Houses 1 through 6, are the subjective Houses. They represent matters that are personally oriented. Using Robert Jansky’s methodology, they represent what we have to offer (export) to trade for what we want or seek or need. The more planets in a house, the greater the emphasis—and thus the greater the need—perceived by the individual.

The 2nd and 8th houses are the pair of houses that reveal an individual’s need for possessions and the physical sharing of herself with another person. Money is often the commodity that is being exchanged. The bargain? I’ll offer you some asset I possess in exchange for some asset you possess.

These houses also relate to sex. We all have a physical body. This physical asset can be given, bartered, or withheld to get what we need from others. This does not mean that we all prostitute ourselves, but you probably have heard of someone who used sex to get a promotion (more income). People engage in sexual acts hoping their partner will value them, and come to love and support them.

We are attracted to partners whom we believe are capable of providing us with (or helping us get) what we think we need or want.

The 2nd house describes your values, your attitude toward money and possessions, your capacity to earn money—and what you do when you have (or don’t have) it. The sign ruling the 2nd house cusp, and planets in the 2nd house, explain how you give and receive.

The 8th house describes your 7th house partners’ resources. It describes how you handle these resources, and what you are willing or able to do to get them. It reveals if you are likely to receive an inheritance, which brings in the subject of wills, which stem from the matter of death.

Aries ruling the 2nd house indicates you go and get the possessions you want. Single Aries’ 2nd people should pay cash, for they may not naturally have the patience to pay off a credit card or loan. But bring in a Libra partner, and this partner will have to agree to back up the spur-of-the-moment, I-need-this-right-now purchases that Aries makes—in exchange for a partner who makes a decision, rather than endlessly debating the options of couch colors.

Taurus ruling the 2nd House describes an individual who clings to his or her possessions. He is a stable, stick-to-the-job person. Scorpio on the 2nd house cusp means the native prefers to be secretive about his or her income. He manages finances and budgets, and will probably put every penny he inherits towards joint finances; he handles the details internally and may resent a partner’s need to discuss matters.

Gemini ruling the 2nd also means Sagittarius rules the 8th. This person talks about money, writes the checks, and delivers payments. His Sagittarian partner is happy to have these day-to-day necessities done so he can work behind the scenes, focus on deeper issues, and think long-term. Reverse significance for a Sagittarius on the 2nd chart.

Cancer ruling the 2nd House describes a person who values emotional security over material needs. She embraces her partner’s emotional needs, and trades this for the structural security offered by a Capricorn (her 8th house). A Capricorn on the 2nd person would trade his or her organizational skills in finances, possessions and self-worth for an emotionally focused Cancer. Now, the partner could be an emotional dependent, which could lead to an unhealthy relationship. Or the Cancer could be emotionally supportive and aid the strong, tough Capricorn to be in touch with his feelings.

Leo on the 2nd values his possessions and money. He attracts partners who have strong Aquarian natures, for these people are not threatened by Leo’s ego. They can be equally strong minded. Aquarius on the 2nd House indicates a person who shares what he has—as long as those he shares with defer to his vision.

Virgo ruling the 2nd House signifies a person who knows how to shop. He discerns value and hype, and manages his assets to care for those he loves. Pisces in the 8th may be needy and vulnerable, or bring home those who are needy and vulnerable—stray animals or foster children, for example. Pisces on the 2nd can be swayed by circumstance, and seeks a partner who can attend to the details of daily living.

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Destiny Cards…an Intro by Cheryl Gordan

Destiny Cards: Introduction

Have you ever really thought about a deck of playing cards? Most of think they are for card games or gambling. What if I told you that that little deck of cards we take for granted is really a way to see into the future? The deck of cards we know was once known as “The Little Book of Destiny” and has the capabilities to show us what influences, experiences and even people we will encounter in our lives? This information was kept secret until Olney Richmond wrote a book in 1894 called “The Mystic Test Book”. This book talked of the cards as way to predict the future. Since then Edith Randall and Florence Evylinn Campbell wrote “Sacred Symbols of Ancients” in 1947 which explained even more thoroughly the mystical meanings of the cards. More recently Robert Lee Camp has published several books on The Destiny Cards and is the modern day expert on the science of the cards.

If you just take a look at the cards you’ll notice something. There are four suits. They correspond with the four seasons. A deck has 52 cards. Our year has 52 weeks. 5 + 2 = 7 which are the number days of the week and the number of visible planets. If you take the value of all the cards of the deck Jacks worth 11, Queen worth 12, etc. you have a grand total of 364. But wait there are 365 ¼ days in our year. A little known fact, the value of the joker is 1 ¼. The value of the joker comes from the fact that he is all the four suits plus himself, making him worth 1 ¼.

So how does a deck of playing cards predict our future? Each calendar day of the year is assigned a card called your Birth Card. Starting with January 1 assigned the King of Spades and ending on December 30 assigned the Ace of Hearts and December 31 the Joker. The cards are not equally distributed throughout the year. There are nearly twice as many Club and Diamond birthdays as there are Heart and Spade birthdays. From this Birth Card is where we find information about you and the influences in your life. We can look at everything from what is going on with your money, health, relationships and more!

Who knew that there is so much to that little deck of cards! Next time we will talk more about Birth Cards and the meanings of the suits!

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What the Planets “Mean” by Anne Morgan

Practical Astrology for an Imperfect World 1.9 by Anne mOrgan

Robert Jansky described human life as a balancing act between ‘Import and Export.” We look outside of ourselves for what we do not have within us. We ‘import’ what we need from other people or groups while ‘exporting’ what those people need in return.

We do this from the moment we are born. As babies, we cried when we were hungry, cold or wet. As we grew, we learned to do things in return for getting what we want. We bartered. We made deals. Naturally, we tried to get the greatest return for the least amount of sacrifice.

Under the best circumstances, people around us cared about what we needed, and supplied it freely, out of love. At some stage, we resented our dependence; we proclaimed our autonomy. We distanced ourselves from parents, and looked to friends, partners, teachers, leaders to supply what we lacked.

Success depends on knowing what our strengths and weaknesses are, for whatever we attempt to import, we must be willing to export something in return. A good chart reading can spell this out with clarity.

The Sun represents the core of our individuality and the space we occupy. The more we take in, or import, the more space we require to hold the imported material. (Think of the size of a fertilized human egg, then think of the space an adult occupies. As we grow, we need more space.)

The Moon shows, by sign, degree and house location, how we decide to occupy more space. Its decision-making process is conditioned by past experiences and events, habit patterns, cultural and family traditions, feelings, emotions, memories, etc.

Venus symbolizes our ability to enjoy the space we occupy. It shows how we appreciate what we already have.

Mars describes the actual struggle to hold what we occupy, how we defend it from attack, and how we expand our space.

Mercury is our awareness of this human struggle for more space. It describe how we plan (reason) to acquire more personal space, and defines the pleasure each increase in our holdings will bring us. It is how we bargain, barter, or trade for what we need and want.

Jupiter shows where and how we reach out into our environment to find what we feel we lack. This process results in expansion and growth.

Saturn represents the price we must pay for this expansion and growth—what we must give in order to get.

Uranus symbolizes the voluntary relinquishment of elements of our space. We give up in order to gain.

Neptune represents the dream we have for ourselves, the ideal in the achievement of all of the space we could need or want and its ideal usage once occupied.

Pluto represents the elimination of all the junk presently occupying our space that prevents us from fully enjoying it and developing it.

Now look at your horoscope. Houses 1 through 6 (the bottom hemisphere) are your exports—what you are offering. Houses 7 through 12 (the upper hemisphere) represent your exports—what you are seeking.

Think about this this week. We will continue this topic next time.

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Back to Back New Moons in Cancer & Solar Eclipses

by Anne Morgan

As you know, I welcome questions from readers. This week’s query is:
“What is my take on the back to back new Moons in Cancer and the upcoming solar eclipse?”

June’s New Moon (Lunation) was at Cancer 1 degree 30 minutes on June 22. On July 22, the New Moon falls at Cancer 29.27. This New Moon is conjunct and parallel the Sun. thus creating a solar eclipse.

Solar eclipses occur twice a year. They affect the Earth’s electromagnetic (near cosmic) field. During total eclipses, birds fly about excitedly, night creatures come out of their dens, predators howl, roosters crow, diurnal animals go to sleep, flowers close their blossoms.

Eclipses mark emphasis and crisis—in world astrology and personal horoscopes. The most important factor in personal delineations is in which of the twelve houses the eclipse falls. The eclipse emphasizes matters ruled by that house, and tends to bring them to a crisis stage.

What house(s) in your chart contain Cancer 1.30 and Cancer 29.27? Crisis does not necessarily mean bad. Crisis means simply that you will be required by events in your life to devote more time, attention and energy to some matter(s) than usual.

The January 2009 solar eclipse was at Aquarius 6.38. A meditation for that eclipse is: ‘The emergence of a new type of human being according to the great rhythms of the cosmos.’

The impulse of the January eclipse offered each of us the opportunity to become new. We can evolve, transform. We can be fresh projections of the creative spirit, free from patterns of local culture or racial tradition.

Rolling that information into the current Jupiter-Neptune retrograde transit, stressful events occurring now are showing us what, where, and how we need to change our personal natures to become transformed Spirits, in alignment with the Planetary Whole. What an opportunity! Not to be feared, but celebrated.

Now, wisdom cycles a new Solar eclipse in the final degree of Cancer. A meditation for this eclipse is: ‘Choosing a path that embodies and glorifies a new structure that is built on the struggles of the past.”

What have you been struggling with? What encounters have taxed your composure? Stressed your wallet? Threatened your security? What bombs have you lobbed—ostensibly in self-defense?

Think on this. Starting his week, and lasting until the next solar eclipse in early 2010, is the cosmic time to set up a new system of personal rules, to codify things in a fresh, new way. Be reborn.

Look to the houses that are hosting the eclipses, and Aquarius 23 to 26 degrees. Refer back to my description of matters governed by the houses.

Everyone is responding to the planetary energy. To what degree of consciousness is up to you.

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More on the Signs by Anne Morgan

Practical Astrology for an Imperfect World 1.7

Fire Signs are Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. The fiery element brings self-assertion and active manifestation. People with predominate fire signs (Sun sign, Moon sign, rising sign) tend to be positive, forceful, self-confident, and aggressive. They are inclined to faith and optimism; fond of good living, sport, exercise, company or adventure. They are generally ready for what is new. They are willing to take chances and accept changes.

Overly fiery people are ceaselessly energetic and exuberant. They can be extravagant and flashy. They can be reckless gamblers; they can be thoughtless or careless; they can be arrogant or coarse in nature. They feel little sympathy for those who are weak.

Lack of fire in a chart brings a lack of enthusiasm. The native seldom feels a joy for living. He is overly serious, hum-drum-ly tedious, or boring. He does not know how to play.

Water signs are Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces. Water is the opposite element of Fire. Fire snaps into action; water flows and seeks level. Fire consumes itself with frenetic activity; water holds back and protects itself. Fire acts without deliberation; water embodies prudence and forethought.

Water nature people are sympathetic and protective—of self and others. They desire to shield and protect, to soothe and nurture. They tend to be the last to leap, and are perfectly content to let everyone else go first. They’d rather let others break down the doors and test a new environment. They are the pools of water that extinguish fiery people.

Individuals with an excess of planets in water signs can be too timid, very suspicious, overly distrustful of self and others. All water signs are sensitive, and tend to keep their feelings and thoughts to themselves.

Fire and water are largely primitive and instinctive. They deal on the level of spontaneous emotion and impulses, rather than with deliberately planned ideas.

Earth and air are mental and purposeful. Air designs, Earth builds.

Earth signs are Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. These signs represent the mind applied to material ends. They are the craftspeople, the builders, the practical scientists. These are the people who built the structures of our civilization. These are stable personalities, lovers of order and rules. They dot the ‘I’s’ and cross the “T’s.” They value practicality over idealism, tradition over change, concrete over abstractions.

Overly earthy individuals tend to be materialistic. Sordid, commonplace, utilitarian in a narrow sense. They are slaves to routine, law, and order. Earth can be a limiting element, and makes the personality dry, the approach to live mere matter-of-fact, the general outlook circumscribed.
Lack of planets in earth signs means the individual will have difficulty bringing forth tangible or useful results.

Air signs are Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. People with many planets in air signs are intellectual, refined, thoughtful. They think in abstract terms and quote theory. They seek truth and ideal. They tend to be co-operative, unitive, and harmonious in action.

A preponderance of air planets tends to make the individual be divorced from what is real and practical. She spends her time day dreaming, prefers to work with ideas, rather than concrete objects. The artist or musician appreciates art and music, but does not have the inner stick-to-it-ness to create works of art or musical composition.

When the elements of a chart are in balance, there is considerable power for both planning and carrying out great/good works. There is the will force to get started—and to finish; there is the intellect to design around the sensitive appreciation of the needs of others.

Look again at your chart. Tally the number of planets in fire, earth, air, and water signs. Add one point for the element of the Ascendant (rising) sign and one point for the Midheaven sign. What element has the greatest number? Which is the lowest?

There is no bad ranking. Understanding is what we’re after—the ability to look honestly at yourself—to ‘Know Thyself.’ Your horoscope describes you as you came (willingly) back to earth, into your body and your life. You are a fine and worthy human being.

Since you were born, you have learned to compensate for weaknesses and capitalize on your strengths. Is there something you could consciously do (or not do) to bring more balance to your elements? You have the knowledge now to do that.

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The Signs of the Zodiac by Anne Morgan

The Sign of the Zodiac…Let’s skip to the Signs of the Zodiac for a while:

The Zodiac lies like a belt around the earth. The Sun, Moon and planets orbit in this ‘belt.” We can track their movement through the zodiac through the calendar year by observing the night sky.

We recognize the signs of the zodiac:
Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer
Leo
Virgo
Libra
Scorpio
Sagittarius
Capricorn
Aquarius
Pisces

It is very useful to learn each sign’s quality, or modality –cardinal, fixed, and mutable;
and element– fire, earth, air, and water. You will notice that each sign has its own ‘signature.’

Aries cardinal fire
Taurus fixed earth
Gemini mutable air
Cancer fire water
Leo fixed fire
Virgo mutable earth
Libra fire air
Scorpio fixed water
Sagittarius mutable fire
Capricorn cardinal earth
Aquarius fixed air
Pisces mutable water

Cardinal signs are driving, initiating, forceful. They stand for acting, or doing. They produce energy, push, and enterprise. Cardinal people are leaders, people of action, people with a goal and purpose in life. If afflicted in a chart, cardinal signs reveal restlessness, the inconstant busybody or interferrer, always beginning new projects, but soon abandoning them in favor of something new. An absence of planets in cardinal signs causes lack of initiative and lethargy.

Fixed signs are stable, stubborn, determined. They are more concerned with feeling and the ‘pleasure-pain’ aspects of things. Thus, where a Cardinal person would ask, “What does something affect what I want to do?” the fixed person would ask, “Is it pleasant or disagreeable.” Fixed qualities are conservative, set in one’s habits and opinions, strong in their likes and dislikes, and obstinacy. They seldom change, but when they do, the transformation is often dramatic. Lack of planets in fixed signs reveals an absence of principle, ballast and consistency. People with a predominance of planets in Fixed signs often own or manage businesses. They can also be in lifetime public service—people who ‘occupy’ positions, especially those involving the administration of authority, and the upholding of rules and regulations. As a general rule, they do not try to find ways to make things better; they embrace the status quo.

Mutable signs are yielding, compromising, adaptable. They stand for Thought and the impartial attitude toward things, the seeking to understand without bias. Mutable people are usually clever, mentally quick and alert, changeful, possibly ‘mercurial.’ They represent those who study and write about the actions of others, rather than themselves trying to ‘make history.’ Mutable people are often agents, go-betweens, students, inventors, writers, commentators and chroniclers, philosophers and teachers and thinkers.

Look now at your horoscope. Count and record the number of planets in Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable signs. Are you balanced? (3,3,4, or something similar)? Or are you lopsided? (0,1,8)?

Think about your personality in terms of astrological quality. It should fit you (if you are honest. There is no good or bad balance. Just reality.)

If it really does not seem to fit, recalculate your chart. If you come up with the same chart, describe to an adult family member the qualities of cardinal, fixed, and mutable. They will probably peg you just as the numbers add up.

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The Scoop on Poop

The Lowdown on Pet Poo

With over 160 million dogs and cats as pets throughout America, the environmental paw-print left by your pet is something to take seriously. Take your pet’s poo, for instance. If left behind, it can get washed from the lawn into a storm drain and the bacteria can cause water pollution. It can also spread disease to other animals and, when stepped in by humans, can cause beaches and parks to ban pets from those spaces.

But what can we do with all that poo? From “Oops I pooped!” biodegradable bags to flushing it down the toilet, check out six ways to ‘green’ your pet poo:
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/green-pet-poop.html

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