Sun Sign Astrology & Why it is Wrong for Relationships

 Astrology is a quite well known and popular. We see horoscopes in the newspaper and magazines all the time. One often hears; "astrology is nonsense", "those weekly horoscopes are never right", or "I am nothing like my sign". Well, that is because what is being taken as 'astrological fact' is only part of the bigger picture. The weekly/monthly horoscopes in the paper are based on just the placement of JUST the Sun and there are all kinds of other factors that go into getting an accurate horoscope. There are all kinds of sources that talk about what sign is the best match; again, based ONLY on the Sun sign. This is, who your best match is, who you are and your potential is all based upon the WHOLE astrological chart.

For example, I am a Capricorn Sun. The sign in its most pure state is diplomatic, practical, ambitious, cautious and organized. On the flip side, they are also nervous, conceited, jealous, selfish and gloomy. I am certainly diplomatic and practical, but I am not conceited or a jealous person. I am more ambitious than most, I am organized only half (or less) of the time and I am not selfish, quite the opposite. Capricorns are also known to be "cold". I do give off this vibe not because I am, but because I do not show my emotions. Well, what would be more accurate is that I do not have an emotional reaction to things. It is not that I am unfeeling, I have learned how to process my emotions internally. I used to be hypersensitive.

So where do all these SUN SIGN ONLY tid-bits go wrong? They do not consider the rest of a person's astrological placements. We are not the sum of our Sun sign.

• The Sun is only attributed to the inner-self, the ego. This is the bit of ourselves that is at our core. All the other placements play upon the Sun and each other.
• The Ascendant (rising) is the public self, the external personality and our demeanor. 
  
• The Moon represents our emotions and needs.
• Mercury is how and what we learn, communicate and think
• Venus is what we find joy and beauty in. She is the planet of pleasures.
• Mars is the action planet. This is how and why we do what we do.
• Jupiter is a a teacher planet and expresses the potential for our 'fortune'.
• Saturn is also a teacher planet and expresses the limitations and challenges we face.
• Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are generational planets and while they factor into the whole, they are less notable. They make more impact if they are prominently placed or aspected. 

So you are looking for the best match for you astrologically. You will want to look at the whole of your chart. If you have a current love interest, a synastry chart can be very telling as to the compatibility.  One can also do a composite chart; this chart expresses the 'personality' of the relationship dynamic.

If you do not have a love interest you can still take a look at what would be good potential, but it is still not 100%. There are afflicted charts which lends to afflicted personalities. There are charts that have A LOT of favorable aspects that while favorable aspects are great to have, they fall into the category of 'too much of a good thing' that leads to very scattered energy.

So what to look at and consider when using astrology for romance. The Sun, Ascendant, Moon, Venus and Mars. Those placements tend to be found in most all different approaches to relationships. There is the Moon and Venus in a Man's Chart & Sun and Mars in a Woman's Chart camp. Moon and Venus are the two feminine personal planets and Sun and Mars are the two masculine personal planets. Then there is the Moon, Venus, Mars Camp; Moon is our emotional expression, Venus is what we find attractive and Mars is how we like to 'get down and dirty'. There are additional attributes as well: The houses, 5th House is the house of love affairs and the 7th House is marriage/partnerships. In my studies I stumbled upon the Sun Moon Midpoint. This was said to signify the signs (2) that we have magnetic energy with. This does not say if that the attraction is good or bad, but it is still an attraction. I have found this mid-point to be very useful when talking about astrology and relationships as it can be very telling.

MASCULINE/FEMININE CAMP 

*note: I understand that this is limited to the Male/Female dynamic; I am in no way intending to exclude those that live outside this specific duality. If you would like specifics for who you are and how you identify ~ I am more than happy to have a chat with you because you are all more unique and there is no 'astrological recipe' for you like there is for those male/female combos. You can also look at the MVM camp below, as that applies to everyone

• In a woman's chart one looks to the placement of the Sun and Mars ~
• In a man's chart one looks the the placement of the Moon and Venus ~

These placements are said to describe the ideal partner. Someone is either sharing signs: her Sun is in the same sign as his Moon, or his Venus is in the same sign as her Sun, and so on. Now, I approach astrology with more focus on the Moon and Ascendant. So I throw the Ascendant into the mix when looking at compatibility. 

ME THREE CAMP

As said above,  Moon is our emotional expression, Venus is what we find attractive and Mars is how we like to 'get down and dirty'.  This approach uses more of the synastry in chart comparison.  Where one Moon is in relation to the other person's planets and signs is going to determine if the potential partner will be a good listener or not, if they have the right sort of compassionate, or tolerant, or aloof response to an emotional outburst of their partner.  Since Venus is the planet of what we find beautiful and what brings us joy; then it is the sign that our Venus is in that (supposedly) expresses the type of person in looks and character that we find most attractive. The sign that Mars is in is the how and what we do and want between the sheets.

The Ascendant; this is a big part of who we are. Along with the Sun, this the other half of the Self. This sign will be what attracts another, is the other person's Venus in the same sign, what about Mercury for that 'mind-meld' connection? This sign will have a personality that understands the inner workings of the partner with the same Sun sign. This is the sign that compliments 'itself'; meaning the risings between both people will be in favorable aspect; are the ascendants in the same element (Trine aspect)? 

The Sextile aspect is also favorable and there are minor aspects that are also favorable.

How these personal planets Sun to Mars are in relation to the teacher planets and that expression will also play into the whole. Will their Mars be a test to your Saturn? Will your Venus sing with their Jupiter?

So... you see that just this glimpse into the compatibility demonstrates that the 'compatible signs lists' are faulty. There are all kinds of things besides what is covered in this already long blog post that goes into compatibility in astrology.     

 

What IS that Creepy Feeling?! - First Encounter With a Ghost

I have had many 'unexplainable' things have happened to me in my life and from those events it seem to be that I have an odd connection with death and the dead.  I will not go as far as to say that I am a medium, not even close.  Not sure I would want that responsibility.

While not my first 'bump' into the dead, my first (known or remembered) meeting a ghost happened when I was in high school.  My parents bought the house and it was in the first week of being there that IT happened.  I was in my room, was not all that late and I was not home alone but I suddenly got this really creepy feeling.  The overall feeling is a bit difficult to explain.  Most of us are probably familiar with the feeling that someone is watching you, and you find that someone actually is.  And then there is that feeling when someone is standing next you, sneaking up on you, and you feel it even when you don't see them.  It is a mix of that and more.

It freaked me out a bit, not scary, more uneasy as it was just new to me.
My first thought was, "It's a Ghost", and I was not really afraid.
I have an innate fascination with spirits and knowing there is more to this world than what we can see and touch, so I was already open to these sorts of things.  But, Boy did it catch me off-guard!

I could feel this energy hovering over me as I was in bed.  I thought about, 'oh it's your imagination; remember scaring yourself with imagining the two creepy guys living under the bed when you where little?  Regardless of the cause for the feeling, I had to do something.  Assuming it was a ghost, or assuming it was my imagination, I proceeded to tell 'the ghost' that it was making me uneasy and I was not here to push him out.  I told him that I respected his 'space' and asked him to respect mine.  The feeling stayed there for a little while longer and then 'exited' by way of the closet. I say 'he' because I did get the feeling that it was a man.

Again, one could say it was imagination, or whatever, and that I talked myself out of it.  And I would go with that theory all the way... BUT.... as time would have it, the ghost made his presence known to others in the house.  My mom had her experiences and I had mine.  My step dad he was skeptical.

Both my mother and I would see him sitting on the couch looking out the big windows of the front room.  It was a beautiful view, who wouldn't?.  I would see him there often.  At first I thought it was 'eye trickery'.
My real dad was a scientist and taught me to first seek a rational and logical explanation.  Just like my bedroom experience, and just like my step-dad, I was skeptical but more of a believer.  Too much was adding up that could not be explained any other way.  So at first, I had two thoughts, ghost or eye trickery until one morning when I was having breakfast at the 'bar' and saw my mom do the exact same thing that I had done the first time I saw him sitting on the couch...  go back and forth, look, don't look... as you could only see him out of the corner of your eye.  She paced back and forth and kept turning her head.
She did not know I was there until I giggled.  I startled her and when she looked at me I said, "You see him don't you", more as a statement than a question.  She replied "YES!" That's when both mom and I knew each other really knew. Mom had talked about 'weird' stuff happening in the house, but never anything that specifically pointed the "it was a ghost" finger.

What sealed the deal in the ghost hypothesis came from the experience from the #1 skeptic in the house, my step-dad.

In the garage there was several doors that would lead to different places and things.  One of those doors went into a little room about the size of a small walk-in closet. Now, this door had no door knob.  The only way the door would stay closed is by turning the key in the deadbolt.
Let me repeat that (and provide a visual) because this is important.
THIS DOOR ONLY FULLY CLOSED BY TURNING THE KEY IN THE DEAD BOLT LOCK.

From the picture you can see this would not be able to just 'pop' open. 

And then there was another door!
In that room was a door that was a submarine-bank vault-like thing. Spinning wheel to turn all the hooks around the door, a round thick glass window. Beyond that door was another 'room' about half the size of the previous one. This is where the previous house owner kept his gun and sword collection.

All the time, again, all the time, this first door with the deadbolt lock would be open.  Because both my mom and I stored stuff in those rooms, we would get 'scolded' by my step-dad about leaving the door open.  Now mom and I can both be a bit spacey at times and it would be something that we would do.  Go down and get something and then forget to close the door.  We teasingly even blamed it on the ghost.  We accepted the reminding of our forgetful ways and would try and not forget to shut the door when we went down there.
But then it got to be too much, and at times when we had not gone into the room.  Now we were getting a little irritated with the blaming and that's were we, my mother and I really started to point the finger at the ghost.  Getting my step-dad to believe that, not happening.... until one day... well, more like a week.

My mom was gone for almost two weeks and I was gone for a week.  My step dad would go to work and come home. He parked on the side of the garage that had this door.  The garage itself had doors that opened with the remote.  So there was no way anyone could get into the garage. There are no handles on the doors and no other entry doors.  On the day we left, he had to close that door. Of course thinking one of us left it open.  A couple days later when he returned home, the door was open.  Now he knew we could not have done that. There was no other explanation for that door to be open.  We had no cleaning service, we had no yard or garden service.  And as mentioned earlier, no way to get into the garage without the 'clicker'.

You could say thieves, but that house was broken into twice and neither time did they go into the garage. Now before you think OMG, what sort of hell did you live in that your house was broken into twice. It was on the edge of a super rich neighborhood and both areas got cased by thieves A LOT, so it is not like we were in the crappy part of town, quite the opposite.

So once my mom and I were both back from our trips. We got told the story about the door and we got an apology as well. At this point, we all agreed, hands down, there IS a ghost in this house. My step-dad then went on to learn more about the previous owner.

It turned out that the owner was the only owner of the house and he was the one that designed the house and had it built. It was his dream house. So it stands to reason that the guy really did not want to leave his home. I can't say that I blame him. This was one of my favorite houses that I have lived in.

Red and Green Cup Craziness

I just could not help myself with this one. 

Disclaimer: I am not attacking any religion, it's body of followers, or corporations. 

Warning: I am pointing out utter ignorance and insanity.

Home from work and not feeling well, I see on the news about some pastor being offended by the colors of a Starbucks cup.....in my head is a big WHHAAAT???

What is this madness? You can't be serious!?

I go online to check my email and of course the infamous social network feed, and I am bombarded with this cup color crisis.

Anti-Christian the pastor states. Says that Starbucks has made an anti-Christian statement with their choice of the seasons design, or as some are saying specifically, 'lacking Christmas iconography'. 

This is where I start to laugh. Apparently this guy (and others) really failed at thinking things through before they cried 'war'.....not one bit of thought what so ever....(giggle)

I also came across support of this opinion coming from GQ....really?....or was that just a joke, I'm so confused!....I just don't know; it's so hard to tell these days any more. Some things are such a waste of energy and completely stupid that I have a hard time believing that someone is actually being serious about it.

So let's take a look at this cup controversy and the cry that it is an offensive anti-Christian statement.

What is there in all this madness that supports this guys outcry.

Item #1 - Cup is red and green (and white). These colors have been associated with the holiday Christmas for generations. It is so embedded in our culture that these two colors dominate the decorations, wrapping paper, and other holiday gear. No one has ever made a stink about these two colors being anti-anything before. 

Verdict- Does not support

Item #2 - Cup is void of any and all common holiday symbols. The only symbol is the company logo. In years past there have been snowflakes, reindeer, ornaments on tree branches, people and pets sledding, snowmen and carolers. I don't associate any of those with the birth of Christ. Yet they are well known and apparently acceptable iconography for the holiday. If the lacking of these symbols are anti-Christian, what is a snowman? Why wasn't Starbucks called out when reindeer adornd the cups, or a tree with ornaments. Those are associated with the pre-Christian festivities and traditions of Winter. To be more specific, they are historically pagan. 

Verdict- Does not support

Item # 3 - Some 'Christians' are manipulating the employees of Starbucks, in protest, to write 'Merry Christmas' on the cups by using that as their name. I found a timeline of past cups, none had any sort of holiday phrasing. At most, ornaments had single words such as, hope, joy, peace. Those words are fitting on any given day. So to my knowledge, Starbucks has never 'catered' to any one religion with their cup designs. Now correct me if I am wrong, protests are supposed to hurt the intended target. How is boosting the profits of a corporation (buying a drink just so 'Merry Christmas' will be written on the cup) supposed to hurt?

Verdict- Does not support

As is said, any publicity, bad or good is still publicity. Starbucks is getting a fine kickback from this protest.