Big Sky AstroBlog

Aug

23

Vacation was fantastic… restorative, refreshing, all that. But I cannot tell a lie: my full 9th house notwithstanding, I’m glad to be home again.

Partly it’s because I came down a pretty dreadful flu the minute we hit Wellington, and spent a good deal of our last week in New Zealand in bed, watching the Olympics. Not the worst way to spend four days - certainly not an indulgence I’d have allowed myself had I been at home - but not remotely the way I’d hoped to spend the last part of our trip, and in one of my favorite cities too. I’ll catch you on the flipside, Wellington.

I barely caught any news coverage while we were away, and read almost no blogs or news websites, so I’m still trying to figure out what all I missed. I was sad and shocked to read about the death of Bernie Mac, for instance - I’d missed that one altogether. (He died between two eclipses - one in aspect to his natal Uranus, one in aspect to natal Venus, ruler of his Sun/Jupiter conjunction. ) As for politics… eh. Getting away was fantastic from that point of view. Mostly I read and heard about New Zealand politics, which don’t seem substantively different from politics here, to be honest; but since it’s not my country, the usual parade of scandals and strident idealogues failed to resonate with me.

I’m still working my way through my inbox, so if you’re waiting for an email from me about something, please be patient with me. I hope to have returned my seat and tray to their full, upright positions by Monday - and hopefully, to be moving with a little extra speed and sparkle after my break. Or at least, to be fully conscious.

August 23, 2008 | 1 Comment

Aug

11

paradise Look where I spent my birthday.

Think it’s gonna be a good year? Yeah. Me too.

Had a fantastic time catching up with old friends in Coromandel (Little Bay pictured at left), then headed down to Tauranga for mini-reunions with both sides of Jonny’s family. Back up to Auckland for a full-day workshop yesterday with the wonderful people of AFI (the first time I’d looked at transits practically since we left) and dinner with another friend. Tonight we’re on the east coast in Napier, a place I’ve been curious about since I wrote a paper for geology class about the big 1931 quake that pretty much wrecked the city. Got here late so can only comment so far on the fish and chips (superb) but will get a bit of a look at the place tomorrow before taking off for Wellington.

What a fantastic trip and a complete change from our usual routine, as a good vacation should be. A bit tired of winding roads (the price of admission to NZ’s natural wonders), but otherwise I remain utterly enchanted with the place. Remind me to tell you about the pies, the milk, and the cows… everyone talks about the sheep but there are cows absolutely everywhere.

August 11, 2008 | 3 Comments

Aug

3

Fortunately the huge storm that battered New Zealand last week had just passed by the time we landed on the 1st, after a long but entirely uneventful flight on beleaguered Qantas. (By far the best food and nicest staff of any flight I’ve ever been on, by the way.) My friend Jeannel’s jet lag advice was a winner - I haven’t had a touch of the ‘lag, though I’ve never quite caught up on the sleep I lost the night before we left and the night we spent on the plane. Fortunately the coffee here is omnipresent and uniformly spectacular. Spent a little time north of Auckland, then a night in an enchanting seaside suburb called Devonport in a grand old Victorian hotel, the Esplanade, in a room with a rather chi chi harbor view and a frontside seat of Storm II: First Blood, which is trying to pick up steam but has mostly resulted in just a few spirited squalls here and there.

Spent most of yesterday running around trying to figure out how to get copies (sorry - photocopies) made of the handouts for my talk, and then last night met up with the incredibly cordial folks of the Astrological Foundation Inc., regaling them with tales of the joys of eclipses, including Barack Obama as an example. Because I’m a typically insular American I had no idea that the candidate for the opposition party in the upcoming NZ elections, John Key, was born just five days after Obama. Both have the Sun/Neptune square, of course, and the tight Saturn/Uranus quincunx, and the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction. Key has the Moon in Cancer opposed Saturn, though, in contrast to Obama’s Moon/Pluto square. Their politics couldn’t be more different, but they’re both ambitious guys who grew up without fathers and have caught the imagination of a nation seeking “change.”

Off today to Coromandel, one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, where I’ll celebrate my 47th birthday tomorrow - hopefully, after a really good night’s sleep. Missing home but happy to be here, if you know what I mean.

August 3, 2008 | 1 Comment

Jul

28

leaving First things first. My friend Robert McDowell has just released his new book Poetry as Spiritual Practice. I don’t know much about poetry, and what I do know, I mostly don’t like; but Robert’s a wonderful soul and a soulful writer who has made a believer out of even a poetry curmudgeon like me - so join me in celebrating his achievement. And if you buy a copy of his book online from Amazon or B&N, you can participate in his special promotion and gain access to fab bonus gifts from participating partners such as moi-self. More here.

Secondly. Lisa Finander, the fine soul who, as an acquisitions editor, helped me midwife my book and get it to the publisher, has launched her new website. If you’re struggling with a writing project and looking for an enthusiastic coach to help you bring it all together, Lisa’s your gal.

And finally, yes: I’m finally leaving for vacation. But naturally enough (because yes, the upcoming eclipse falls in my 9th house - quel delight!), the road to good intentions has been paved with hell. Getting ready to go on vacation is always so ghastly that it makes one doubt the veracity of the entire premise. Irony alert: Nervous traveler that I am, I chose Qantas for our flight because of their excellent safety record. And of course on Friday… this happened. And today, this. Thanks, guys. Helpful. (As if I weren’t nervous enough about that transiting Uranus opposition to my natal Mars.)

But you’ll never hear an unkind word from me about the Passport Office.

Last week I realized that my passport - which would not actually expire until two weeks after we’re due to return from our trip - needed to be recharged, since New Zealand (and most countries, apparently; who knew?) insisted I have at least three months left on my passport after my intended date of return. My nerves already on edge about this trip (did I mention that I really hate to fly?), this put me into a tailspin. A couple of hours later I determined that I could in fact trek to the regional passport office in Los Angeles and do the renewal in person, and actually be able to make this trip.

So off we schlepped to LA the following day, and everything at the passport office went amazingly well. The lovely little Lisa Loopner look-alike who processed my application looked at my departure date, then at my San Diego address, and then at me. “Well, I want to get this processed for you today.” And bless her, she did: by 1:20, after killing several hours in Westwood, I picked up my fresh new passport.

In any event, tomorrow is given over to packing and last minute madness, and on Wednesday we finally leave. So tonight the auto responders go on my emails, and the next time y’all hear from me I’ll probably be writing with a New Zealand accent. Send good energy and safe wishes my way! And if you should find yourself in Auckland on August 3 (a lecture) or 10 (a workshop), you can catch up with me through these nice folks.

July 28, 2008 | 5 Comments

Sign of Leo

Moon opposes Neptune at
10:14 am on Aug.29, 2008

Moon trines Pluto at
8:44 pm on Aug.29, 2008

Moon goes void of course at
8:44 pm on Aug.29, 2008

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