I was born with Venus in Aquarius.  The sign in Venus determines how we interact with others and express our love.  As Aquarius is an air sign, I admit I become distant when somebody wants to develop a closer relationship with me.  I am a pretty private person.  If somebody asks too many personal questions, it will make me flee.

However, in the past few years, my Venus has progressed into Pisces.  Venus in Pisces.  It’s a beautiful thing, really.  I’m in love with love.  I adore the colors red and pink.  My daily wardrobe usually consists of something pink.  I think that part is amusing, considering I didn’t wear girly colors or things in the past.  Also, I like Valentines’ Day because of all the hearts and pretty colors.  And I just love everybody.  (Note: This could also be because my progressed Venus is conjunct with my Sun!)

I mean, what has happened here?  Has anyone had any interesting experiences regarding progressions? I’d love to hear them.  I don’t know a lot about progressions, but Venus in Pisces is the one thing that I definitely notice.

I also want to give a shout out to my beautiful friend, Alicia, who has Venus in Pisces natally.  Check out her site and tell her I said hello.  :)
Image courtesy of mduarte from sxc.hu

I’m back to writing Wednesday’s Waking Moments for the Astrology Creeps and Tarot Freaks blog.  But now, it will be on a bi-weekly basis.  This may change, depending on requests for dream interpretations.

For this week’s post, I’ve written about tips for keeping a dream journal.  I’ve written these from my personal experiences with keeping a dream journal.  I hope that it will help anyone that is interested in analyzing their own dreams.

As you all know, one of my favorite things to blog about is Mercury retrograde.  It will actually end on September 12th.  The shadow period ends on September 27th.  I’m taking a little risk by traveling next week.  I booked my flight last week…and now, I find myself hoping that the line of hurricanes won’t disturb my travel plans.  :)

Have you had any issues with Mercury retrograde? I love to hear about everyone’s experiences.  I used to dread it, but despite the technical issues that I usually have, I find Mercury retrograde to be pretty productive for me.

Also, this is the 100th post for Taurus Rising.  The site’s one year anniversary was actually in May, but I forgot to mention it.  I can’t believe that this site is still around…I think I’ve come a long way with it, too.  Anyway, it’s a happy milestone and I just wanted to share that with you all.

Decisions, decisions...

As a person that has Mercury and Venus in Aquarius along with a Libra moon, it is amusing for me to even be writing a post about flakiness.

I admit, I have problems with decision making. In fact, often, I wait until the last minute to decide.  I like to think, “it can go either way”, while I know that this probably annoys the person (or persons) that need to know what’s up.

I’ve heard that our “weaknesses” is one of the negative things that we notice in others.  It’s funny how all of that works!

Let me list some personal examples:

Going out to eat and trying to decide where to go. This is a typical discussion with a friend or my significant other:
Friend: “Where do you want to eat?”
Me: “Oh, I don’t know, where do you want to go?”
Friend: “Well, what do you want to eat?”
Me: “I’m not sure…what do you want to eat?  You know what, why don’t you decide? I won’t be able to make up my mind.

Along with deciding where to eat, let me tell you–I’m not a big fan of menus with a huge selection!  Often, I have to get recommendations from others.

Friend:  “I want to go out and do something.”
Me: “Okay, let’s go and do something.”
Five minutes later.
Friend: “Nevermind, I don’t feel like going anywhere.”
I can’t say a lot about this, I am completely guilty of doing this as well!

Those are just a few examples that immediately come to mind.  What are your experiences with astrology and flakiness?

Image courtesy of vikush from sxc.hu

I wrote in my last entry about Chiron transiting out of my 10th house.  As it has moved into Pisces, it is now in my 11th house (house of friendships).

So, what does Chiron in the 11th mean?  In my experience so far, I’ve noticed some “healing” in past friendships.  Aquarius rules my 11th house, and I admit I can be pretty flaky.  (Add the Venus in Aquarius influence – I have the tendency to flee away from closeness!)

In the last months, I’ve found myself reconnecting with old acquaintances.  These are people that I rarely talk to anymore.  I’ve found myself apologizing for the way I’ve treated them in the past.  Perhaps it’s a “healing” thing for me.  Of course, I don’t expect any forgiveness or anything, but I guess it’s a way of my moving past things.

I’ve been working on other projects, so I haven’t had a lot of time to work on astrology or dream-related projects.  With that said, I haven’t been keeping with what’s going on in the sky.  Today, I decided to take a peek at my birth chart and transits on astro.com and noticed Chiron squaring Chiron.

Chiron has always been a fascinating planet (asteroid?) to me.  It’s also known as the “wounded healer”.  In Greek mythology, Chiron was a healer who could teach others to heal – but could not heal himself.

Along with Taurus rising, I also have Chiron rising in my chart.  The 1st house is the “house of self”.  First appearances.  First impressions.  The mask/costume that people see upon their first meeting with you.  Saying that, it makes me wonder if I look like a giant bruise to others.  :)  (It’s funny to mention, that my skin really does bruise easily!).

Squares make rather difficult aspects.  But, if you know it’s there, then there’s the advantage of knowing the areas where you may need to work harder.

Chiron is transiting at the edge of my 10th house.  The 10th house is associated with public image, reputation, and career goals.

I’ve been having conflicting issues regarding how I would like to be perceived as well as conflicts in career goals.  This is something that has resurfaced in the last few weeks, so will be interesting to see how things will become as the Chiron square gets tighter.

Where is Chiron transiting in your chart?  Where do you have it natally?

Image courtesy of gokoroko from sxc.hu

Leo rules the 5th house

I mentioned in my last post (Taurus Rising is back!), Saturn has entered my 6th house.  My 5th house, ruled by Leo, is now housing Mars retrograde until March 10, 2010.

Although, Mars retrograde is transiting through 5th house, my 5th house is free from the restraints of Saturn.  Saturn is a planet that teaches lessons, such as how to survive within certain restrictions.

Saturn‘s transition from one sign to another lasts around two and a half years.  In the last two years, my life has undergone several changes.  The 5th house is the home of self-expression, children, and sex!   As Leo is the natural ruler of the 5th house, I believe that Saturn’s power was amplified.

Some of the changes in my life (mostly things that were out of my control), put a restraint on my “me-time”.  With Saturn’s move into my 6th house (the house of daily chores, scheduling, health, and fitness) , I feel that I’m managing my time better.  I have been “scheduling” time for creative projects.

Now, Mars is the planet of ambition and vitality.  It represents what “drives us”.   With Mars retrograde, the energy is focused inward.  As I said in my previous post, this may be the cause of inward aggression.  Anger.  The key to dealing with Mars retrograde is to channel that energy into something other than anger (Mars is also the god of war!).  For me, I have been focusing this energy into creativity – art, music, and writing.  Self-expression!

Although it sounds odd, I believe that Saturn has taught me about the lack of self-expression.  I had been prone to writer’s block and often avoiding art and music – even though they were things that I wanted to work on.  I am grateful for Saturn transiting into my 6th house – teaching me that even though I still have restrictions, there is a way to balance things (how appropriate with Saturn being in Libra!).

Image courtesy of josecarli from sxc.hu

Hello, loyal readers!

I’m back!  It’s been three months since my last post.  I can’t believe that it’s been that long.  Also, I cannot believe that we’re in a new year – 2010!

Looking back, 2009 was a great year!

I “rediscovered” my interest in astrology.  I picked up my first deck of Tarot cards.  For a while, I was also in the habit of meditating daily.  I began doing dream interpretations for others.  It was a wonderful year for getting in touch with my spiritual side.

I made a lot of amazing friends through Twitter – something that I didn’t expect.  I have learned masses and masses of information through these talented souls.  If I hadn’t networked with them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.  And for that - I am very grateful for crossing paths!

As for Taurus Rising, we’re cruising into 2010 with a new layout!  I did a few CSS and widget customizations, so there may be some bugs lingering around.  If you spot any glitches on the site – please contact me or send me a tweet on Twitter. (Note: I haven’t tested the site out on IE or Safari, so I expect that there will be some issues in those areas.)

I anticipate 2010 to be an even better year!

We are going through a Mercury and Mars retrograde.  I thought about holding off on “re-opening” Taurus Rising, but then I thought, this blog has always been a work-in-progress.  I’m not starting a new project. The most important things to remember while being in a Mercury retrogrades is to be patient and expect delays.  I anticipate this and will do my best to work with what I’m given.

As for the Mars retrograde in Leo… what can we expect?  When a planet is retrograde, usually this means that the energies of the planet are more introspective.  Mars is the planet that symbolizes war, aggression, and what drives us.  The sign Leo is a very creative, authoritive, and a little arrogant.  What could this mean?  Putting this information together, I see inner aggression, frustration, and perhaps anger due to dissatisfaction with ego trips.  What I mean by that is – setting high expectations for ourselves, and falling short.  There is also the need to channel those aggressive energies into positive outlets.

How do you interpret Mars retrograde?

For Taurus Rising, I believe that means to write, write, write. Previously, I set some very high expectations for myself – that was very difficult for me to meet.  At least, during that time.

Right now, I have Saturn in Libra transiting through my 6th house.  The house of work and the daily grunt stuff (health, also).  Libra likes to balance things.  I hope that this will help me build a better foundation for my career aspirations and the Taurus Rising blog.  I also hope that it will assist me with balancing work with my personal life.

Taurus Rising will be one of my biggest projects for the year.  Although I know that it may be a lot of work, I embrace the opportunity.

It’s good to be back!

Now… what are your aspirations (career, health, personal, etc) for 2010?

The AstroCreeps and TarotFreaks Forum

I’d like to take some time to talk about one of my newest projects: The AstroCreeps and TarotFreaks! The AstroCreeps and TarotFreaks is a new astrology, Tarot, and mystic forum.  This was created through a collaboration with my partners in crime: Jan (aka astrogrrl), Suzi (aka starcana), and Theresa (aka The Tarot Lady).

This forum was created with the intent of friendly and intelligent discussions for astrology, Tarot, and mystic enthusiasts (dream interpretations, numerology, the paranormal, etc)- for beginners and professionals alike!  Meet and network with other like-minded souls!  Registration is required to participate in discussion, but you can still browse the boards without creating an account.

Links of Interest:

• The AstroCreeps and TarotFreaks Forum: http://www.astrocreepsandtarotfreaks.com/
• The AstroCreeps and TarotFreaks Blog: http://astrologycreepsandtarotfreaks.blogspot.com
• Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/astrocreeps
• Become our Fan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Astrology-Creeps-Tarot-Freaks/158131738840
• Add us on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/astrocreepsandtarotfreaks

With love and gratitude to the astrology and Tarot community on Twitter!

I decided to do another post for the #thankfulthursday meme on Twitter.  Today, I want to express my gratitude for all of the people I’ve crossed paths with through this medium.

I have Mercury in Aquarius, which has influenced my personality in the way of my millions of different interests (exaggerating slightly!).  These interests ranging from cooking to painting, watching sports to computer coding… Throughout the years, my interests have varied from week to week, but the one thing that has always stuck with me is astrology.

Unfortunately, with my passion for the topic, I never had anyone to really discuss it with.  I had a few friends that had some interest in astrology, but they were only interested in the Sun sign aspects.  Anything past the Sun, they weren’t interested.  I wanted to learn the inner workings of astrology.  I wanted to have a conversation with someone about it, without them wrinkling their noses at me.  But through my early years, I never attempted to look outside of my circle to find new friends interested in astrology.  My passion remained, but I decided to focus my efforts elsewhere.

After a while, one of my friends did a few monthly Tarot readings for me and kept telling me that it was time to get in touch with my spiritual side.  She said she kept seeing this need in my cards, so in late April 2009, I decided to pick up my first Tarot deck: the Universal Waite.  I bought some books about learning Tarot.  I was able to get basic knowledge on how to read the cards, but then I thought about how it would be more engaging to learn if I could talk to someone about it.

Soon after, this blog (Taurus Rising) came to life in May 2009, with the intent of using it to notate all of the things I learned.  The blog was meant to be a personal reference for myself, yet at the same time, sharing whatever I learned to whoever stumbled across my blog.  Eventually later down the line, I wanted to take the path to reading Tarot cards professionally.  However, since I didn’t feel confident with my skills or knowledge, so I sought out to learn from those that were already at that level.

I joined Twitter as @taurusrising in May 2009.   My intent was to network and learn from professional Tarot readers.  Since I created my account, I’ve met a variety of people. A diverse crowd – people spaced across the globe, waltzing in from all wakes of life, filled with different levels of knowledge.  I was fortunate to “tweet” with others in the field. I met professional readers, hobbyests, and others wishing to break into the field.  Not only did I meet Tarot readers, but I also rediscovered my passion for astrology.  As I went on my quest for Tarot wisdom, I decided to pursue astrology wisdom as well.

Fast forward to now, I’ve been on Twitter for around five months.  My knowledge on astrology and Tarot has dramatically expanded.  I am constantly learning new things every day.

In astrology, I finally have reached a comfort zone outside of Sun/Moon/Rising signs.   I understand the planets and houses better than I did five months ago.  I am at the point where I feel comfortable looking at an astrology chart and pulling out basic information from what I see.  Had it been a year ago, my brain would have exploded just from trying to figure out what everything meant.

In the world of Tarot, I am learning about different ways to interpret cards.  This is an on-going process, as I’ve come to find that no two readings are alike.  I am also amazed at how I was able to pick it up, especially since before April 2009, I never read Tarot cards at ALL.

Through all of this, I would like to thank the astrology and Tarot communities on Twitter for their support.  I enjoy tweeting and networking with everyone.  I’ve learned so much from you all, and I would not have gotten to THIS point without each and every one of you!  Much love, gratitude, and positive vibes to all of you on Twitter! :)

Image courtesy of CLUC from sxc.hu and stockxpert.com

Mercury Retrograde - it can do some nasty things!

Mercury Retrograde.  Oh yes.  It’s here and it’s going to be here until September 29, 2009.  Can you feel it?  I’ve heard so many people grumbling and mumbling about the Mercury Retrograde.  It’s the time when we expect things to break, things to fail, or delays in general.  But, I mean, we were all expecting him to show up unexpectedly for dinner, right?

Of course, I’m probably testing Mr. Mercury just by writing this post.  This week, so many things have gone wrong or “unexpected” – that I can’t help but laugh to myself.  Electronic things going haywire?  Mental fogginess?  Yes, these are a few influences during a Mercury Retrograde.  Also with this retrograde being in Libra, a few people from my past have came by to grace me with their presence.  Not necessarily bad things – just time to revisit old relationships and if needed, work on their “unfinished business”.

So far with this Mercury Retrograde…

• My DH’s job “lost” his paycheck.
• Forgot to pay rent for this month.  This is crazy because I’m pretty insane when it comes to paying bills.
• My camera stopped working.  I went somewhere and wanted to snap some photos, but my camera stopped working.  It’s a digital camera and the display wasn’t showing anything. After I left this place, I decided to fiddle around with the camera but alas, it was mysteriously working again.
• Message board woes!  I posted on a message board by e-mail, however when it posted- it was showing up as post from a text message… from somebody else!  The funny part was that this person didn’t even have a cell phone.  I had to change some settings on my profile, then it was posting like normal.  It was probably some silly error on my part, but funny nonetheless.
• This guy from my past reappeared right after Mercury went retrograde.  Mainly, he wanted to tell me that his wife had left him and he wished he pursued me instead of her… errr, what?
• Another guy that I hadn’t talked to in a while… he messaged me to just “say hi”, but I knew that it was more than that.  How often do you get people that haven’t talked to you in years or months, messaging you to just say hi?  Ahh, I don’t that often… but it turns out that he was having problems with his woman and needed advice.
• On another Libra/relationship note, there was some family drama.  It really upset me, but I was able to calm down my Scorpio stellium (including my wonderful, Mars in Scorpio).  Around this time, you really have to realize that this retrograde may influence some more than others.  This means that people will blurt out things- sometimes hurtful- (clouded Mercury communication!) without thinking.
• Cell phone problems.  The signal has been on and off.
• My Internet connection has been flaky, as well.

Of course, these things could happen any other during the year… they just happen to fall on the Mercury Retrograde.  So, whenever something happens, I can’t help but laugh.

Mercury Retrograde is also great for creativity!

On the positive side, this is what the Mercury Retrograde has helped me with…

• It’s given me time to reflect on things.  I’ve been able to slow down and take a look around at everything going on.  It’s helping me understand what’s working and what isn’t working for me.
• I’ve had time to do some cleaning – and not just house cleaning (if you follow my Twitter account, you know what I mean!), but thinking about the people that I surround myself with.  Along with the reflection, I’ve felt the need for a “spiritual cleansing”. This has helped me weed out negative people/influences in my life.  This is something that I’ve needed to do for a while.
• I’ve also felt a wonderful wave of creativity.  Although I have slowed down on some things, I feel like my creativity is in high gear.  I love it!

—

Now, my question to you is: What has Mercury Retrograde done for you so far? Please post your answers in the comments.  I’m interested in seeing what everyone else is going through.

Image of “breaking down” courtesy of BeverlyLR on sxc.hu
Abstract image courtesy of ba1969 on sxc.hu