A Roll in the Universe

What do you make of a girl who has Jupiter rising? The astrology books say a lucky person, a generous, gregarious, jovial person. In Capricorn, these qualities may be toned down, and the person gains her luck by working hard. But oh, dear, Jupiter in Capricorn is in its fall! Any good fortune for this native will be difficult to come by! Well, that's what the books may say. Jupiter, the gas giant, keyword "expansion", named after the ruler of all the gods, does confer its blessed spirit on me. It does it in a Capricornian way. It is subtle, it is revealed slowly, in time, and it stays with me, and the blessing is mostly about understanding the Capricornian (or Saturnian) side of the nature of God (or the gods): This life we lead in these bodies, limited or helped (your pick) by time and space, stuck on this Earth plane. Except I don't feel stuck. I feel very much at home on this planet. Jupiter rising (approaching my Ascendant from the first house) literall

I haven't done this in years. I awoke, in my own bed, and haven't a clue how I got there. Yes, I've been to a party (a retirement party for a co-worker who started at our company at age 16 and now is taking early retirement at age 64). Yes, I drank and ignored Grandma's advice not to drink after midnight. Somewhere around 3 AM, I left with the other two stragglers and made my way home. I just awoke around 8:30 AM. In my bed, in my bra and panties. I can't remember how I got there. I don't remember coming home and undressing. I remember getting into a taxi and that's it. Obviously, at the time, I remembered where I live and told the driver, but I can't remember getting out my purse and paying. And I can't remember fishing out my keys, letting myself in and getting myself to bed. At all. I still had on my jewelry when I woke and took them off. I called for my cat. She answered. Curled up in the bed next to me, were my watch and nightshirt.

I attended a funeral today. The funeral was for a woman I befriended at work and who ended up being a wonderful travel companion and friend. Her name was Elsa and she was born in 1929. The birth was so difficult, they didn't think she'd make it, so they ran and got the minister and had her baptized immediately. I was thinking about this, about God's child returning to Him (as today's minister said), about the fact that Elsa did survive childbirth and a world war and touched several lives. Elsa and I never lacked for conversation. As a travel companion, she was extremely easy-going and sensible. She smoked and one could say that smoking was what killed her. I have my own theory, though (more on that in a minute). The smoking gave her a characteristic cough which helped me find her in a crowd on a few occassions. When we travelled, we always had separate rooms. That made travelling much easier on both of us. We could retreat and we could suit ourselves if we wan

Jeg følger med på brannene i Sør-California, siden det jo er der jeg er fra og har bodd. Vil du se "hjemstedet" mitt? I brann? (Er et stort bilde, ca. 5 MB.) http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/earth/pictures/2003/1027cafires/California_Wildfires.jpg (Merk at bildet er fra tidligere i uken.) Hvis du begynner med øverste brannområde (det med en kjede øyer utenfor), og går til høyre til neste brannområde (i en fjellkjede), så blåser altså røyken fra sistnevnte rett over Los Angeles. Du ser en bukt mellom de to brannområdene; det er Malibu og strendene i Los Angeles. En bitteliten halvøy kan skimtes gjennom røyken i sydenden av bukten, og der ligger flyplassen, ikke langt fra der min far bor. Selve havneområdet til Los Angeles (og mitt fødested, Long Beach) er helt tildekket av røyken. Den aller nederste brannen på bildet er i Mexico. Hvis du ser til høyre og opp for den brannen (på andre siden av fjellene ved innsjøen), så kan du se hvor grensen går pga. bebyggelsen på USA

Lately I've been yearning for the spiritual, for uplifting, non-material parts of life, for inspiration, enthusiasm and even magic. Lately I've become keenly aware of my own psychic abilities. Nothing like knowing the answers to specific questions or telling someone their future. More a sort of ESP, a telepathic connection to those close to me. It happens through my body. My gut feeling is not just a feeling; it's actual received information. And lately, I've been able to communicate the other way, to my cat. Lately, I've felt the need to fill myself up, to do something about my own, personal emotional and spiritual needs. Everything's all right in my world, health-wise, family-wise, money-wise. It's time to feed the spirit. I'm looking for shades of purple, the color associated with the psychic, the Neptunian, the crown chakra, the spiritual. I haven't actually sought out the color itself. I'm drawn more to its baser expressions of

Finally, the day had come where I just had to take my cat, Sammy, to the vet's. She didn't act like anything was wrong, really, but her breath had started to stink. I had the day off and a good friend of mine was willing to chauffeur us, so a little after 9 am, we were at the vet's. I talked to the vet about my cat's reaction to the anasthesia. My cat reacts badly. She wakes up so slowly from it and is psychologically really ill from it as long as it's in her body. The vet gave her a new type and a wake-up shot. Sammy had a cyst at the side of her mouth; no big deal – just needs to be drained every so often. She had her teeth cleaned, and she had ear mites, quickly handled, and medication given to me to give her. So nothing unusual or serious. When I got Sammy home and let her out of her carrier, she instantly started moving around, even though she didn't have much control over her hind legs. Every time she tried to navigate a door jamb, she'd lose

I like to read palmistry books. I can't read a palm worth a darn, but I do like to read about hands. (My moon in Gemini, perhaps? Gemini rules hands.) I came across a book on palmistry that features features I haven't seen in other palmistry books. Like what about all those little lines in my hand that I always thought just meant I was a nervous wreck? This author says it shows someone who has had a lot of past lives and so has brought a lot of knowledge/experience into this life. This person should not try to do so much, but simplify life and contemplate on the spiritual. Well, here I am, trying to declutter my home, give myself routines, enjoying the joy of a tidy kitchen and a place to eat breakfast in peace. Astrologically, I have the Sun in the 12th house, which shows someone not interested in the outer world, but prone to have spiritual interests and to enjoy solitude. So my hands match my chart, that way. A friend of mine with solid square hands with clear and few l

Da jeg bodde i USA var Halloween favorittdagen min, både som barn og som ungdom. Elsker alt det mørke, ondskapsfulle, magiske, levende døde. Som barn var jeg alltid utkledd som heks. Det skulle være noe skremmende, noe fra "det hinsidige". Jeg fant ikke igjen kostymen min på skolen et år og ble sminket til indianer. Jeg hylte av skuffelse. Dagen var så til de grader ødelagt! Men andre Halloweener ble tilbrakt i lekre, hjemmesydde heksekostymer. Min mor var flink med nål og tråd, og jeg var veldig glad som skjønn liten heks. Likte tanken på å ha magiske krefter. Som tenåring oppdaget jeg at det var blitt mer vanlig med andre kostymer enn de skremmende. La gå at en Nixon- eller Reagan-maske (og nå Bush) kan være "ekkel", men klovner? Prinsesser? Cowboyer? Helligbrøde! (Om man kan si det om Halloween.) Nå til dags ligner feiringen mer på karneval med folk som er utkledd som engler eller James Bond. Det blir rett og slett for mye farge (og for få masker). Det skal

Finally. I know I have a lot to say and yet finding the energy to say it hasn't been easy. It's because it's all so emotional for me and there's so much, I have to think about organizing my thoughts. What follows is obviously from my point of view. Just want to make sure you keep that in mind. The Arrival My mother came to visit on the 19th. She came to visit her mother who's been in the hospital (see Sept 18 blog ) as well as me. Grandma said to me earlier this summer, "I'm going to ask you something and I hope you don't get upset." She wanted to know if I minded her inviting Mom over from the States. I didn't. But the fact that Grandma asked in that manner should clue you in as to how things are in my so-called family. Grandma didn't get around to calling her daughter herself. Once again, she fell and ended up in the hospital. I e-mailed my mother and relayed the request. My feelings have been mixed: A part of me was loo

Woke up this morning to the news that it is Chile's Independence Day. Which instantly took me back a year , to a nurse I spoke to outside Grandma's room at the nursing home. What a year! Grandma hasn't been home much. She was in the nursing home for her birthday (the 22nd) last year because she'd broken her arm. That was the longest stay, ever. She's fallen three times this year, and had a couple of infections, so she's seen the inside of the ER and the hospital a lot, too. So have I. And we are back again. I never worry once she's in the hospital. They take good care of her at Haukeland Sykehus , the region's main hospital (and when it was new in 1978, Northern Europe's largest). Not once have I met an uncooperative nurse. It's the nurses I talk to about Grandma's condition. The only doctor I've spoken was the guy who read Grandma's X-rays last year and the cheerful young doctor at the ER. I've never spoken to the doc

Så har jeg gjort det. Deltatt på en tegneseriemesse, nærmere bestemt Raptus . Dette har jeg gjort, men ikke fordi jeg er spesielt tegneserieinteressert (selv om jeg kjøper flere humorblad hver måned). Jeg dro ene og alene for å treffe en tegner som jeg har korrespondert med via e-post siden han brukte meg i en av adventskalendervitsene sine. Så nå har jeg dykket inn i en verden som jeg hittil bare har hørt om: Verden av samlere, av fans av tegnere, av folk som står villig i lang, ordnet kø for å få en lite tegning av f.eks. Will Eisner eller Dan Piraro (to av årets gjestetegnere). Alle som har bidratt til bladene "Rocky" og "Gorilla" fikk lange køer av fans foran sine "tegnebord". Etter en del SMS-er med min tegneserietegnende e-postvenn, Knut A. G. Hauge , fant jeg i hvert fall rommet. Så fant jeg stativet med alle Mille-kortene. Da spurte jeg damen ved bordet der hvor mannen bak kortene befant seg. Og han befant seg bak et annet bord bak meg. Jeg sn

It's worrisome, having an elderly and sick relative. I'm my grandmother's only relative here in Norway, and I speak the language (she never learned to), so the nurses talk to me. And I have to be the sensible one. Wednesday evening, a nurse called from the hospital, wanting to talk to me about Grandma's condition. By now, Grandma's been in and out of the hospital and the nursing home enough for both her and I to know what's what. It's not all great. I also didn't like discussing my grandmother's condition without her present. Not an issue like placing her in a nursing home. So I asked if I couldn't talk to someone at the hospital during my visit the following evening (yesterday). Reluctantly, the woman agreed. So, while waiting for the bus yesterday, my mind was racing, trying to figure out what decision exactly I should make on my grandmother's behalf. She wants to stay in her own home, however infirm she gets. ("Infirm",

It may very well be that Mercury Rx in Virgo may very well have something to do wiht general energy levels. But I'm wondering that only because both a friend of mine and I have been feeling tired earlier in the evening this week. To any clutterbugs out there, FlyLady works! But she's not kidding about the baby steps. I finally gave up and started doing exactly what FlyLady herself did: Nothing but shining the kitchen sink. Basically, not so much shining as doing the dishes every evening. I have been able to that, with only a couple of missed evenings, since August 18th. No more piles of dishes in the sink. And I've noticed the same effect that FlyLady noticed: It made me want to clean off the counter next to the sink. I've wiped down the stove a bit more often than before. I felt like wiping down the cupboard doors. I finally pitched a lot of plastic containers, washed and stacked on my counter for months, in the recycling bin. Other benefits: I remember to take

Sometimes I wonder if I suffer from ADD/ADHD or something. I am amazed at how easily I can be distracted. I never could work slow and steady. I always look forward to the break or variety. One symptom (of many) of ADD is an inability to start (and complete) a project on time – like housework. Or constantly showing up late for work (I've been doing that since I started working.) And I do have to get my guest room in order since my mother is coming to visit later this month. After years of being where the clean laundry and miscellaneous stuff I don't know where to put is dumped, it's time to put everything away and uncover the bed and turn the room back into its original charming self. And this'll take time and effort, so trying to get my blog archives, etc., together just isn't a priority right now. Hope you don't mind.

What can I say? Now that I can publish my blog again via Blogger.com, and its brand new interface, I have to explore further. Astrology: Mercury has gone retrograde. The planet of communications and agreements and contracts now appears to be moving backwards from our point of view. The astrological interpretation of this REtrograde motion is one of REdo, REthink, REwrite, REassess. So I find myself REexploring Blogger and REstarting my blog at this site. So Mercury Retrograde (or Rx, for short) is not necessarily a bad thing, but do REcheck information and agreements, just to be sure.

Once again, trying Blogger. This time I thought I'd let my blog be hosted by Blog*Spot but discovered that astroblog.blogspot.com is already taken. So, I'll host my blog myself.

I had set a timer for 15 minutes. I just felt like writing. Grabbed my iBook and sat out on my balcony for a bit. It's been a Douglas Adamsy week for me. Saturday, I bought his post-humous book, "The Salmon of Doubt" , and have been reading it since. He was not only intelligent and witty, but also enthusiastic and philosophical. And he's making me want to read Richard Dawkins now. Adams became awestruck by Dawkins' take on evolution; I'm curious about what impressed Adams so. Some other Adamsy things: Watched the movie "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (MST3K) and laughed myself silly. Really want to get the TV-series (yeah, all 11 seasons of it). An astrologer friend of mine calls it Sagittarian humor. No wonder I enjoyed it! Both Adams and MST3K are giving me some philosophical and even spiritual experiences. About how the universe is put together and about laughing about your experiences. About laughing at the absurd and stupid, instead of bein

(Another one of those 3 week absences. I think it may be a pattern.) In one sense, I have a bit to blog about, but I'm not happy with Blogger's handling of archives and I really want to change the layout on my website but just haven't settled on anything yet, so nothing's happening and I'm a bit uninspired, but here it is: I've had a week of ups and downs. Mostly downs. Didn't do me any good to see my aging grandmother not get out of bed, nor to read on Usenet about the death of another poster's cat. A friend has told me that a lot of people she's talked to have felt stymied this past week. Maybe something to do with Saturn entering Cancer on June 4 and applying to a trine to Uranus now in Pisces. Don't know why, unless it's the fact that Saturn is now in a sign at odds with its own expression. Touchy, feely vs. logical, practical. Uranus in Pisces is also at odds in the same way: Intellectual, sudden vs. emotional, dreamy. I partied heart

Some random thoughts: Eurovision Song Contest: Less gala, more outrageous. The Norwegian participants looked rumpled in comparison, but (as usual) get compliments from other Norwegians that they look "folksy". Well... ESC is an interesting peak at what the other nationalities look like and what they think is good entertainment. The Baltic and Balkan countries impress me. Saw a documentary on Discovery about the private person Adolf Hitler. He definitely suffered from some sort of personality disorder. I'm waiting for history to reveal the same about George W. Bush. Blogger has updated its software. Maybe now my archives will stay in place. Michael Moore is my hero. I have just finished reading his book "Stupid White Men" and it lived up to the blurb on the cover: "Furious and funny."

Course completed! My friend Hope says she gets goosebumps when she is saying something that is completely accurate. That happened to me last night while reading the cards for another classmate: I got goosebumps. However, when I got home and laid out a spread, I couldn't remember one thing about any of the cards. Anyway, the interest is there. Since I don't have a deck of cards on me, I have rediscovered free online Tarot readings, like www.facade.com/tarot/ .

Another frustrating day at the café. Nothing to do, not feeling "at home" or appreciated. A customer came in and wanted to a reading. The woman on duty at the café kept telling her all the psychics were booked and none were "in today". Drily I said, "Except the astrologer." That woke her up and she remembered why I was there. (!) So I got one paying customer, a very nice woman, though I wasn't happy with myself after the reading. I felt rusty again. And that makes me wonder and think. I feel frustrated at the café. I was shocked to see how little effort they make at marketing their own "psychic café". My friend Hope, who reads the Tarot there, told me she suggested all the "marketing" they "do" for her there (sign in the window, a binder with information about the Tarot and Hope). She also told me that she thought the new locale they want to move into would be much more suited to us who give readings, and that the café o

I came across this site, pagannews.com . I'm not into witchcraft or paganism, really, but the front page has some interesting stuff and changes every day. Scroll down for things like Tarot card or Rune of the day and the current moon phase. The reason I mention the site today is because I just tried the Craftname generator. I don't know what a craft name is, but I sure like the result I got: Silver-Leaf Fox.

I feel much better and I did get some housework done this weekend. That was actually thanks to you, my invisible reader. I felt like I couldn't make a "promise" like I had Friday and then not follow through. It was odd being motivated by an unseen person's opinion. However, it did the trick. I got off my ass and followed FlyLady's crisis cleaning routine . That kept me on track. I have to laugh at myself, and at the same time stand in awe of my own process of self-discovery. I never thought of myself as unable to organize or follow through on a project, and yet, in my wake are many abandoned projects. I just thought I didn't have the talent or something. Turns out, I am too easily bored and I also need concrete rewards/milestones. So it actually helps me to set a timer for 15 minutes. I won't have time to get bored before that timer goes off. And the other thing is, that timer makes me compete against myself. I go real fast with my little kitchen timer ti

My mood has definitely improved. Firstly, I found out that Grandma just got a cut, and needed a few stitches and would be coming home today. I was there to meet her and we had a pleasant afternoon together. Secondly, I had a nice "chat" via SMS with a good friend who is also interested in astrology, and he gave me more food for thought. I started brainstorming on how to get Norwegians interested in more than what seem to be straight yes-or-no questions. If I reach any conclusion, I'll let you know. Thirdly, my home has been badly neglected – and that means I'm neglecting myself. I want to be able to invite friends over on impulse and I don't want to constantly be looking for things. I've decided to turn the stereo on loud this weekend and get some housework done, and then start maintaining . I hope to follow FlyLady's routines. Focusing on my home, my immediate environment, is also an attempt on my part to nurture myself. I've discovered that I&#

I have not been in a good mood this week. I blame PMS because it started with that, but I think it's more than that. Doesn't help that today started off badly, with a phone call from the home nursing staff, telling me that my grandma fell last night and cut her head. She's been admitted for observation at the hospital. My first reaction was utter irritation, then panic. Then I told myself that Grandma had not lost consciousness, she herself had asked the nurses to notify me, and she's still a tough old bird, though "old" is getting more weight than "tough". But I just don't feel up to it. I haven't felt down in a long while. Depressed. Now I can feel it sneaking up on me, and I don't think it's just the PMS. Little stuff is starting to overwhelm me. I'm feeling lost – and lonely again. More later.

Bergen (hvor jeg jo bor) var velsignet med mye flott vær i april – og tørke – og gressbranner. Derfor ble jeg så glad lørdag da regnet kom. Og det regnet enda mer i dag, derfor dette, eh, diktet: Det regner. Regn som du kan høre, der det treffer vinduet. Regn som renner og plasker. Regn som samler seg i hundrevis av dråper på gesimser og trær. Regn som gjør alt vått. Regn som nærer vårblomstene og løvspretten. Regn til å være innendørs i. Regn til å tenke i.

I take comfort in that Blogger doesn't seem to blog any more often than I do. I am so impressed by those who have something to say every day. Well, I do, but nothing that I consider important or worth sharing at least. It's not enough that it tickles my mind; I like to think it should tickle yours, too. This post is just thinking out loud. And about how things work out. I give astrology readings every second Saturday at a café in town. Twice now I've had no customers. This past Saturday, when I woke up, I really didn't want to go in. I asked Myself why not, and Myself answered, "I'm not an astrologer." I got no where in attempting to find out what Myself thought she is, if not an astrologer. It was all an intellectual exercise; I wasn't able to get at my feelings. So, I went to "work", not able to really focus and not interested in saying an affirmation for paying customers (as my good friend who reads the Tarot said I should). Instead, I

A co-worker was walking down the hall past my office this afternoon. She was hunting a scent, a pleasant scent. Somewhere in my vicinity she had smelled something she liked. It turned out to be my office. I had no explanation. I don't wear a lot of perfume and when I do, it's nothing heavy. Today I wasn't wearing any perfume at all. That lead to trying to sort out what possibly could be the source. I have no items in my office that smell. It was almost like filling out a questionaire. Do you know the exact name and scent of your deodorant? Or shampoo? I read the label the first time I buy a product and use it and note the name only if shopping for a replacement. My brain operates on a need-to-know basis only. I impressed myself by actually knowing what products are on my body. They were more than I realized. I started with shampoo and shower gel, but then remembered the deodorant and hairspray. Just please don't ask me what brand of toothpaste is currently in my bat

Et sikkert vårtegn for meg er linerla. Jeg synes den vesle trekkfuglen med sin grafiske fjærdrakt og konstant vipping på stjerten er så morsom å se på. Det er overtro forbundet med første gang man ser linerla om våren: Får du øye på linerla på bakken, blir det et rikt år. Står fuglen på steingrunn, blir det et magert år. Er fuglen på vingene når du ser den, møter du kjærligheten.

Been a while. Again. Well, since last I wrote, I had a night out on the town. Sometimes you just have to immerse yourself in something else besides the usual and it had been a while since I had gone dancing or drunk anything stronger than coffee. So, some friends and I went to an 80's show, and got all nostalgic for the era of mullet hairdo's (hockeysveis, på norsk), hot pink and black clothes, pointy shoes and drum machines. The bartender was a jolly Black man from St. Louis, Missouri, and he was as magical with his hands as Tom Cruise in "Cocktail". I get so fascinated I end up drinking too much. Well, on the dance floor, we were rocking to old favorites and "head-banging". I gave myself a slight whiplash! And before we even made it to the nightclub, we were playing 80's tunes and drinking wine and dancing on the living room floor at my friend Lise's. I know it doesn't sound like much, but I had a great evening. Good friends and good music mak

Det er blitt den årstiden som det er vanskeligst å kle seg for. Man går i vinterklær fordi det fortsatt er kaldt – men plutselig bryter solen igjennom og den varmer forbausende godt, og man går ettermiddagen i møte med altfor mye klær. Jeg håper jeg klarer å finne en løsning i år på dette.

I woke up thinking about two stupid men today. Two men who are willing to risk the lives of hundreds or thousands of their citizens – because they're, well, stupid. My view as I type is of two still-naked birch trees. No. 1 is closest to my living room window, No. 2 is behind it. In No. 2, two magpies are building a nest for the first time. Magpie nests are made out of longish twigs and have a couple of entries/exits and a roof. Quite elaborate and can withstand storms, though it just looks like a mess to human eyes. I watch the busy couple constantly gather twigs, and put them in place according to some blueprint only they know. One magpie had also found a large piece of bread, and just managed to escape to the safety of the tree only a couple of tail-lengths ahead of a seagull. Seagulls can't sit in trees. The magpie got to keep its prize. I enjoy watching this little drama (and promise) of life, rather than thinking about two stupid men. That nest is starting to look big.

My thoughts on my New Age Fair experience (March 7–9) are now up, on their own pages, both in English and på norsk .

I just love this. I'm supposed to blog in order to say what's on my mind. Sometimes my mind has nothing at all on it that can translate into print. These past couple of days, everything I do is to the theme from the TV-series "L.A. Law". I have not been lazy, just not blogging. Today I gave a couple of astrology readings at a café in town, Molino Kaffebar . I will be doing that every 2nd Saturday. I feel a bit knocked out now (like I need a nap) and I wonder if that's from doing the readings. This week I've been enjoying the start of spring and lovely weather. I made a web page of some pictures I took . I'm also in the process of writing about my New Age Fair experiences, in both Norwegian and English, and will post a web page about that soon.

What greeted me this morning around 9 am, when I went to shut my bedroom window. I just love the way the sun shines through the trees, leaving long shadows. I'm done with the New Age fair and I had more fun than not. I will be writing about my experiences, but for now, there is a photo album at www.geocities.com/astrolog_fox/ (my Norwegian astrology site – new, so there's not much there yet.)

Since I last checked in: The trees have begun to bud (pics next week). The weather is decidedly milder. The New Age Fair starts tomorrow. Have to set up our stands tonight. I've been offered to give astrology readings for pay at a local café (did I mention that already?). I've had my bangs trimmed. My grandma is doing better. I fiddled with CSS and made an astrology page for my "professional self" in Norwegian. Astrologi- (og messe-) interesserte kan kikke her: www.geocities.com/astrolog_fox . I will get around til CSS-ing the rest of my pages and especially my blog page. :-) Have the week off work next week. Nice! My health is good. My friends are even better. I've panicked, fretted, regretted, loved, enjoyed, been tickled by my decision to do the astrology. Most importantly: The Universe has been backing me all the way. I have asked for help and opportunities and have gotten everything I asked for and more. I feel blessed.

I got busy. Work got demanding (got busy), I am trying to get together a couple of websites: One for the Bergen Insurance Club and one for my own astrology work. I'm also trying to learn CSS and come up with some design ideas. Today I dozed while the CEO talked about last year's figures and this year's figures. No, he wasn't boring, but we were treated to a large and delicious meal just before the meeting and I had dessert, too, and I got drowsy. So I stared at my tan shoes and when I closed my eyes, I could see this deep turquoise and I thought, "Oh, that's a pretty color scheme!" and right now you're thinking, "After two weeks' absent this is what she comes up with?" Sorry, my head is focused on a lot of Real Life stuff right now (which includes tan shoes) and my writing energy and creativity has been targeted towards the New Age Fair next weekend. Be grateful I have a friend who nags me when I've been silent too long. ;-) Anyway,

Another yahoo: I finally figured out what went awry with the automatic archives for my blog and I've finally acted on it. (Yeah, I'm waaay slow sometimes. ;-) )

Big yahoo!!! Wednesday I was asked to give astrology readings at a local café! Paid readings! On my day off from work. Yes, I accepted! I read on the newsgroup alt.astrology.moderated that the Magi society's brand of astrology claims that Chiron transitting Saturn comes in years when something the native does "breaks up the relationship or marriage of another". Now, Saturn represents things that are the most permanent in nature. Saturn rules bones, rocks and time. Where Saturn is in your chart is where you have the most permanency, where things are long-term. This is why a good astrologer will look for Saturn contacts to see if a relationship will last. The longest relationship in my life so far has been with my current employer; I have Saturn conjunct the ruler of my midheaven (MC), which means career. I will have been with the company for 20 years come April. That sort of permanency is very unusual for me, and has been totally unplanned for. So what happens when Ch

A co-worker mentioned today that daytime now is 3 hours longer than it was at the winter solstice. I have my own little marker: When the sun climbs high enough in the sky to still be above the horizon by the time it clears the building in front of mine. I then get the Return of Sunset. I get rays of sun again on my living room wall. I took a picture of them, too, to show you. With a flash. I didn't realize the flash would drown out the soft sunlight. Duh! But I have a picture of the sunset. :-) Enjoy!

I feel good lately. Could just be transitting Venus crossing over my ascendant. Could be due to having something fun and self-fulfilling to look forward to and focus my energy on: The New Age fair in Bergen in March. I also have Chiron (keyword: Wounded healer) going through my first house, and it will be conjunct my Saturn exactly just a couple of days before the New Age fair. I haven't studied Chiron much. The Wounded Healer is based on the mythology of the immortal centaur Chiron. He was a healer and assisted the gods. When he was mortally wounded, he couldn't die, because he was immortal. Instead, he had to keep living in pain, but continued to be a healer and teacher. Supposedly, where Chiron is in our chart, is where we are deeply wounded, but also where we have great resources. So I'm curious about having Chiron transitting my Saturn. Saturn rules career choices and karma. It's in my 1st house, so my karma is really about my personality, just simply who I am. Wo

A friend sent me this link to a page at innerself.com that compares the chakras to astrology. What got my attention is that the second chakra, the spleen chakra (right below the belly button) is associated with Jupiter, which is my ruling planet (seeing as how I'm a Sagittarian Sun and ascendant) and also is the planet closest to my ascendant. That got my attention, because I have a large, heavy ceramic "plate" showing the six-petalled symbol for the second chakra, Svadisthana . I once heard a story about a woman who had seen a landscape painting for sale. She loved everything about it except for a little millhouse. After some deliberating, she did decide to buy it, only to find that someone else had beaten her to it. The seller told her that he had another one just like it, but, he apologized, it was without the millhouse (!). She got her painting exactly as she wanted it! That story has been with me for some 20 years. It was told to me as a lesson that if you really

Hva jeg gjør akkurat nå? Ser på naturprogram om mår sammen med katten min. Måren beveger seg jo som katter, og det samt alle fuglene og fuglelydene gjr at programmet som går akkurat nå på NRK er ypperlig familieunderholdning for både tobeinte og firbeinte. Pus følger veldig godt med. Hun har ypperlig utsikt til TV-en fra toppen av salongbordet. :-)

I got a correction about my Mercury retrograde post from my good friend Julie . Here's what she had to say: "Just a note about ME Rx in your blog – planets are closer to Earth when they are retrograde. The outers (Mars [on] out) need to be 120 degrees or more ahead/[after] the sun to be retrograde, otherwise they are direct. Makes oppositions more interesting, I suppose – any planet has to be retrograde to be at opposition. (Which leaves out Mercury and Venus, funny thing!) "Mercury and Venus are, of course, the exceptions. But I take exception (!) to your assertion that Venus is retrograde 3 [times] a year, I don't think that's the case. I can remember only one Venus Rx in the past 3 years, and from a cursory look at my planetarium software, it isn't Rx for this whole calendar year..." She's right. Venus was retrograde (Rx) only once last year (October/November) and not at all this year. Since what Julie says may be difficult to visualize, I fo

I'm crying over the news of the space shuttle Columbia breaking up and disappearing in midair. I surprised myself by crying so much. And I realize it hurts because everything is so wrong and difficult these days for America. I've always been a big fan of the space program, the one huge expenditure of the government that brought the people together and let us dream together, instead of huddling in fear together. Damn. Another thing that makes it sad is that Columbia was the first space shuttle. NASA's page about Columbia .

One of these days I'm going to have to see if there's an astrological reason why I sometimes go days without blogging. I know Mercury was retrograde for a while and it seemed to effect me by making me lethargic. The moment the planet went direct, it felt like I got new energy. What's retrograde, you ask? Or maybe you're asking, where'd I leave my beer? (Where were you doing just before you sat down to read my blog? That's where your beer is.) For those of you who are able to focus and remember the retrograde question (and where you put the beer), NASA has an explanation here . Basically, retrograde means a planet appears to be moving backwards relative to our vantage point, just because of the way orbits and distances from the Sun and stuff is. Astrologically, it means the planet's expression takes a more indirect route than usual; it also means going over old ground. That means a Mercury Retrograde period is great for getting rid of paper clutter (I did do

Did you know the Sun is green sometimes? Apparantly, it can flash green at sunrise and sunset. A search on Google for "green flash" will turn up a lot of information about it. This site explains the phenomenon and has pretty pictures. I myself have never heard of this before and have never seen it.

Some stuff rattling around in my head: Chinese medicine groups the body's various parts differently than does Western medicine. We group according to type of tissue – bone, nerve, muscle, etc. – whereas the Chinese group according to function. In their system, the gut, lungs and brain are all grouped together because they all are similar in function (i.e. nutrition in – waste out in the same movement). In Western astrology, Mercury, the planet that rules intellect, also rules lungs and intestines. I have also always trusted my gut instincts. They rarely steer me wrong. These rattlings come together in this article about the body's second brain: The gut.

I asked a friend : "What did you have for dinner?" Then he sent me these pictures. It's anyone's guess...

There is a fact of life, that applies to all of us (women, too) and that is farting (or passing gas or flatulence). I was directed to this educational and funny webpage answering all kinds of questions about the gas we pass. By the way, it's good to fart, though you may still not want to do it in public. :-)

Some things about living in Norway: Norwegians don't decorate their houses with Christmas lights American-style – yet. They do do lights that mark Advent and that are kept up until the 13th day of Christmas (Jan 7) or sometimes 20th day. The picture of the snowman who appeared on New Year's Day this year, shows two types of lights commonly displayed for Advent: An eight-pointed star and a seven-armed mock candelabra. (This is the view from my living room window. My apartment building is similar-looking.) I went to do a little bit of shopping this evening. A large number of grocery stores stay open until 9 pm (21:00) now. But in Norway, the sale of alcohol (which means beer) has to stop at 8 pm. Like that makes any sense. There are still powers in Norway that want to hang on the old way of thinking, which means Alcohol Is Bad. (Curiously, one of the senators in the US who suggested Prohibition, was apparantly of Norwegian descent.) I'll bet you're thinking all Norwe

Magic! This new moon has been full of good news for me. On my way home tonight, I looked up at the light-polluted skies above what I call home, and found Orion, looking much paler than I remembered from the darker nights of my childhood. And then I saw it: A shooting star – streaking very fast north to south right above me. I was so happy to see it. I had no wish to make. My wishes seem to be coming true, anyway. I thought the shooting star was a confirmation of that. It made the evening – in fact, the whole start to 2003 – feel magical.

My spider's back! Not dead! Probably just temporarily relocated – for whatever reason spiders relocate. My little spider is back on my bathroom ceiling, hanging over my shower. (I have arachnephobia – a fear of spiders; as long as the spider is small, not black, and doesn't go moving all over the place, I'm OK.)

Happy New Year, everyone! It's officially Januar 1 2003 in all of Europe. And it's snowing in this part of the continent. It's been snowing and blowing all day. Large flakes are coming down and currently it looks like we've got 4 or 5 inches of snow and not much visibility for the fireworks. In Norway, small fireworks are sold for New Year's Eve and folks set them off themselves. I've been watching my neighbors tonight. Sparks have literally flown through the air, most upwards and high, some directly at buildings and bushes. I took my picture of fireworks through my living room window. I watched some kids mess around with what I assume were some of the cheaper types of firecrackers. Light a firecracker in your hand Toss it a good 20 meters Watch nothing happen Light a firecracker in your hand Hold it a bit longer, make a friend yell "Throw it" at you Throw it See a red dot light up in the snow (kinda cool) Make a small mound of snow Light a firecra