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?

I haven’t been posting on here as much as I used to.  I realized that I was spending a little too much time online, so I’ve put myself on a little restriction from the Internet.  It seems to be doing wonders for me – rediscovering creativity and working on old projects.  I’ve also been able to catch-up on reading books and doing some real writing.

I decided to take a step back from my Tarot posts – I think I am going through information overload.  There are so many things to learn, so many things to read… it was easy to get overwhelmed.

However, I am happy that at the same time, I’ve discovered a new knack for astrology.  I’m finding it easier to read charts and do some little interpretations.  I’ve been reading some very interesting books on the subject and they will definitely be parts of the discussion for future blog posts.

I plan on bringing back my Tarot posts in the future, as well as Tarot readings.  But in the meantime, I need to take a break and focus on one thing instead a million different things.  :)

A Tarot Question

I’ve been having problems reading Tarot cards lately.  Particularly for myself.  I never know what to ask the cards and often – the question that I do want to ask – I’m afraid of seeing the answers.

Then, there is the process of actually reading the cards.  When I ask my cards a question – how do I know if I am reading intuitively or if I am being biased.  For instance, if I’m afraid of seeing the answers – what if I see what I’m afraid of?  If I really want to see positive answers, what if I see what I want to see?

The joys of being a Tarot reading newbie.  :)

I’d appreciate any input on this question.  Thanks in advance!

Image courtesy of melodi2 from sxc.hu

Don't let the emotions drown everything else out.

Here is the 3 Card Focus for the week of: October 18, 2009 – October 24, 2009.
This week’s drawing revolves around the cards: 7 of Wands reversed, Ace of Pentacles, Queen of Cups reversed.

7 of Wands reversed: You may be at a position where others are feeling envious or jealous of you.  Unfortunately, with some fame or recognition, others may try and go out of their way to bring you down.  Don’t let their efforts get to you.  Move on, stay strong, and realize “this too shall pass”.

Ace of Pentacles: You have been given the raw materials of being grounded and having common sense.  You have the ability to recognize or realize what will work or what won’t work for your project.  You have a good support system and a great foundation for working towards your cause.

Queen of Cups reversed:  You may be stuck in an emotional rut.  You may be feeling like you’re on an emotional rollercoaster and maybe things aren’t going your way.  When your emotions rain, it pours.  It may be drenching those around you.

Thoughts: I see a person that has reached the top level of one of their goals.  However, it has brought on some people that may be working (behind the scenes) to “get” to this person.  Don’t let this bother you, don’t worry so much.  You have a bunch of people that support you.  Stay positive and keep working toward your cause.

Image courtesy of jander1963 on sxc.hu