Santa Cruz Good Times

Saturday
May 18th
Text size
  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size

Full Moon, Mercury Retrograde, Labor & Evolution

Monday, 31 August 2009 19:03 Risa D’Angeles Columns - Astrology
 E-mail
Risa200Friday is the Full Moon (Virgo/Pisces, 12 degrees, 9:03 a.m. Pacific time). Join the New Group of World Servers by reciting the Soul and Great Invocations at the time of the festival. Each of the twelve signs in the zodiac has a task to perform for humanity. Virgo’s task is to “shield, nurture and finally reveal the hidden spiritual reality within matter and within our lives. Virgo is represented by sheaves of wheat and corn in one hand (representing our spiritual food). Her other hand holds a lamp signifying the Soul shedding light in the darkness. The lamp also represents that within matter (mother, Virgo), gestating quietly and silently, is the Holy Child, the Light of the World, birthed at winter solstice.
As all signs except Leo stream through specific planets before reaching Earth, Virgo streams through Mercury. And so, this week, on Saturday, Sept. 6, Mercury turns retrograde (at 6.13 degrees Libra) until Tuesday, Sept. 29 (at 21.49 Virgo). What actions do we assume in retrogrades? We return to past situations, reviewing them, making corrections—altering, improving, rectifying, modifying, amending and adjusting our thinking, communication, inter-relations and relationships. We do not purchase large items such as houses, cars or large appliances or technical equipment, especially no phones

Labor Day is Monday. In this Mercury retrograde, let us remember and give gratitude to all those who labor for and serve us

In the playas of Nevada, at Black Rock, the 2009 Burning Man community and Art Festival are taking place (burningman.com). The theme this year is Evolution. The “Great Turning” (things to come) we are beginning to experience, is part of our “evolution.” (Read more at www.nightlightnews.com.)

ARIES (March 21-April 20) Speak carefully and harmoniously to loved ones. Realize you may be more critical, including self-criticism. Allow others the benefit of understanding. Always ask for an explanation and listen carefully. What you know is best and what you feel emotionally (frustration, anger, etc.) may be at odds. Choose the right course of action. Then your consciousness, awareness and love expand. Your heart opens.

TAURUS (April 21-May 21)Events happen and people are contacted that extend your future Beware of anything you or others do that steps across boundaries where uncontrolled power may be an issue. In all communications bring forth Right Relations within yourself so that the Right Relations of others can be summoned. In all endeavors maintain the highest of ethics, morals, values and intentions. How one begins a project is how it ends.

GEMINI (May 22-June 20)You find you must change or shift your values and day-to-day ways of being. You find you must reach out to friends and loved ones and speak with them from your heart. You find you must alter your habits and ways of living so that health can be regained. You find that everything must change and it is good. Each day many are supporting you on inner levels. There is great love.

CANCER (June 21-July 20) New ideas are presented from all parts of your life. You are learning at an accelerated pace, as if you’re in a school but actually it’s that you’re concentrating on the here and now. There’s extra energy also being offered to you from Mars, the planet that lead us to actions. You are strong, resourceful, intuitive, and actually an excellent gardener. You teach us.

LEO (July 21-Aug. 22) Let us spend a few moments in recognition and praise of you. Venus has asked us to honor you a bit more. And so you’ve become more attractive and at times alluring. You’re glowing and flowing with generosity. You offer support when the need arises and tend to those more vulnerable than you (for you understand vulnerability). You keep secrets, love to work alone, and is that an affair coming down the road?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)The words given to Leo soon apply to you. Not the affair, though. However, the Sun is shining on your gifts and creative abilities and all you’ve wanted to do now can come true (slowly, here and there). And you have everything you need in terms of energy, resources and time. Whereas much has been external, notice as you begin to withdraw into yourself. It will be a time of composure and peace. For a while.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) You feel the need to be more social and find yourself at times in groups where everyone recognizes and loves you. And then there are times when you feel out of place, the odd one, not heard, seen, listened to or understood. During the month you will assess your self-identity, see if you’re the same person from before, and realize new needs. In between, you’ll assess your stability and tend to all things practical. Tread (act, speak) carefully at work.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) There may be conflict and collisions with other people’s ideas. There may be difficulty communicating and/or being understood. Before speaking, think first of your words, intentions and tone, root yourself in goodwill, and never make any situation worse than it is. These are important values to remember and uphold. I wouldn’t travel at this time. If you must, be cautious and take no risks. It’s not a good time to gamble, either.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 20)   During the month traveling about here and there, you consider your base of operation, what your true foundations are, and how your family heritage has given you an identity that propels you forward into unknown territory. Do not be concerned if chaos becomes a companion. Chaos is the first step toward a new, higher harmony. Chaos harbors the seeds of creativity, provides excitement and experiences and shreds outworn ways of being. Is your walking stick ready?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 21-Jan. 20) Subtle shifts and changes will continue in your life, growing ever more present as the days unfold. You are being gently and quietly transformed to become the person you were born to be. Tend to all things financial. Don’t think there are unlimited funds available. A serious schedule must be applied to money earned and spent. You will notice a return to previous realities. But only for a month or so. To assess, review and be guided to your next endeavors. Create disciplines with family. They sustain.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 21-Feb. 18) You may feel that all progress is stalled, movements forward take two steps back, and previous roads walked are tread again. This is not failure on your part. It’s simply a review, revisiting and revision that must occur. It’s also the umbrella under which you experience the coming autumn season. Prepare for this. It’s a time of solitude, retreat and contemplation.

PISCES (Feb.19-March 20) Something comes to rest and perhaps a completion in the coming weeks. You will then prepare for new actions and activities that define the rest of the year. Notice your thoughts, impressions, ideas and intuitions providing subtle signs and information concerning your next steps. Interactions with loved ones will be loving yet disciplined, kind yet structured. Eliminate all that’s unnecessary for soon it will be time to move on.

Comments (0)Add Comment

Write comment
smaller | bigger

busy
< Prev   Next >
 

Share this on your social networks

Bookmark and Share

Share this

Bookmark and Share

  • Search

    •  

    Bring Your Own Bag

    Single-use plastic bag bans are underway Shoppers in Capitola, Watsonville, the City of Santa Cruz, and the unincorporated parts of the county are, by now, becoming accustomed to the absence of plastic bags. On Sept. 20, 2011, Santa Cruz County became the first local jurisdiction to pass an ordinance that banned single-use plastic bags and implemented a fee for paper bags, which took effect last spring. Watsonville, Capitola, and Santa Cruz followed suit with similar actions: Watsonville’s ordinance went into effect last September, and, as of last month, the bans in Capitola and the City of Santa Cruz are now in place.

     

    The Maya-Ixil Move Forward

    Local nonprofit works to educate and create opportunity for indigenous communities in Guatemala In an isolated region of the Guatemala mountains called Ixil, the indigenous Maya population was devastated by a civil war between the government and leftist guerrilla factions that spanned 1960 to 1996. During that 36-year war, the Guatemalan military eradicated entire Mayan communities. In what amounted to genocide, soldiers burned Mayan farmlands and homes, raped and tortured the people, and scattered families. By the end of the war, 200,000 Mayans had been killed, 7,000 of whom were Maya-Ixil.

     

    Public Thinking

    Watsonville teens host TEDx event Santa Cruz County is no stranger to the TED brand. TED—which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design—talks have come to the area through independently organized events 10 times since 2011. This month, the gathering returns to the county with a new twist, thanks to the Watsonville Youth City Council. TEDxYouth@Watsonville, which will take place Sunday, May 19 at the Henry J. Mello Center for the Performing Arts in Watsonville, will feature only speakers younger than 19 years old and will traverse topics from racial stereotypes and renewable energy to traditional Mexican dance.

     

    The Tilt

    Although Jesse Malley, lead singer of the outlaw country, blues and rock ’n’ roll band The Tilt, no longer lives in Santa Cruz, she was born and raised here and this is where her love of music and performance began. “My dad worked at The Catalyst for 27 years, so I got to see a lot of music acts come through town,” she says. “Music always seemed to me to be such an incredible way to express yourself that I just stumbled upon my voice and jumped into it.” That jump eventually led to Malley heading down to San Diego to pursue a music career, and her band The Tilt has just released their full-length debut, Howlin’.

     

    Whole Lotta Blues

    The 11-piece, husband-and-wife-led Tedeschi Trucks Band headlines the Santa Cruz Blues Festival Guitarist Derek Trucks and vocalist/guitarist Susan Tedeschi, the husband-and-wife team at the helm of The Tedeschi Trucks Band, have learned that in a band as well as in a marriage, the best way to keep things running smoothly is sometimes to take a step back. That’s especially true when you’re dealing with an 11-piece group that, in addition to its namesakes, features two drummers, a keyboardist/flautist, a three-piece horn section and two harmony vocalists.

     

    Beck to the Future

    In celebration of Beck’s solo acoustic show at The Rio, GT explores Song Reader, the alternative rock icon’s most ambitious interactive art piece yet. Here’s an odd little paradox of the digital revolution: The more sophisticated our technology gets, the more our musical milieu begins to resemble that of a bygone era, when song ideas were passed around from musician to musician, perpetually taking on new twists. Dozens of different YouTube users might try their hand at setting somebody’s rant about cats or double rainbows to music, or you might hear the Belgian musician Gotye turning the many and varied covers of his song “Somebody That I Used to Know” into a virtual orchestra (see below).

     

    Land of Lions

    New research provides foundation to look at protecting mountain lions, particularly when it comes to Highway 17 An adult male mountain lion called simply “Number 16” by the Santa Cruz Puma Project led a scientifically interesting life for the more than two-year period he was tracked by the UC Santa Cruz-based research project. According to Chris Wilmers, associate professor of environmental studies at UCSC and head of the Puma Project, the group initially caught and collared Number 16 in Loch Lomond. He then proceeded to cross Highway 17 several times, where he was eventually was hit, but survived. In an unusual move for an adult male, Number 16 then shifted his home range to the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. Recently, the lion’s tracking collar went on “mortality mode.” The day before Wilmers spoke to Good Times, the researchers found his skeleton.

     

    So Sleep (Pralaya) Does Not Overtake Us

    Sunday is Pentecost, a festival of the Holy Spirit (Ray 3 of Divine Intelligence). Pentecost is the name given to the descent of the Holy Spirit as tongues of fire appearing above the heads of Christ’s (Piscean World Teacher) Disciples (students) in an upper room (plane of the Mind). Pentecost is not a simple bible story. It’s an actual experience for each individual as the Light of the Soul begins to direct the personality with spiritual gifts and virtues – wisdom, understanding (all ideas, all hearts), knowledge and Right Judgment (directing the intellect), wonder, fortitude/courage and respect/reverence (directing our willingness to serve).

     

    Legal Battles Drag On

    More than a year after the 75 River St. occupation, four defendants remain embroiled in ongoing case  More than a year and a half since a group occupied the former Wells Fargo building on River Street in an act of protest, felony charges linger on for four of the original defendants and a trial may be imminent. Gabriella Ripley-Phipps, Brent Adams, Cameron Laurendeau and Franklin Alcantara were scheduled to begin trial May 13 in connection with the late 2011 protest. That trial now has been pushed back to September due to scheduling conflicts. The four face a felony charge of vandalism and a misdemeanor for trespassing.

     

    Bringing the Message Home

    Former mayor and UCSC student recap their experiences at the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women While traveling to New York for the 57th United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), seasoned local activist Jane Weed-Pomerantz had a notion of what to expect. But, with the vast scope of worldwide women’s rights violations presented at the commission, she knew she would still be taken aback at times. “I was worried because I had a feeling I would be finding out what I did find out about women and girls in the world,” says Weed-Pomerantz. “I was trying to brace myself for the knowledge of the reality, because we are really very protected in this country.”
    GTemail_tileTomorow's GTW Today.
    Sign up for Tomorrow's Good Times Today
    Upcoming arts & events

    Latest Comments

     

    May Day in the Alps

    When my daughter returns to Santa Cruz from her new home in Los Angeles, she comments on how quiet it is here. It was even more so during a trip to Ben Lomond, when we set out for a sample of her second favorite macaroni and cheese. Sitting at the front of the Tyrolean Inn restaurant, the green tarp with plastic windows kept out the chill as well as the noise of an occasional passing car. A new draft beer celebrating the German spring, Maibok ($6) was refreshing, served in a hefty glass stein, but specialty cocktails are unique as well.

     

    The Power of Conversation

    Local author Cecile Andrews emphasizes importance of community engagement in newest book Cecile Andrews, author of the new book “Living Room Revolution: A Handbook for Conversation, Community and the Common Good,” probably wouldn’t get along too well with Larry David’s character from HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, known for hiding his face and avoiding communication with anyone he runs into on the street. Andrews is a longstanding part-time Santa Cruz (part-time Seattle) resident who says something that’s struck her about this town over the years is people's willingness to participate in a practice she’s dubbed the “Stop and Chat”—which is exactly what it sounds like.

     

    What are you a total sucker for?

    A cold beer after a long bike ride, gossip, and fighting over politics. Kyle McKinley Santa Cruz | Lecturer

     

    Best of Santa Cruz County

    The 2013 Santa Cruz County Readers' Poll and Critics’ Picks It’s our biggest issue of the year, and in it, your votes—more than 6,500 of them—determined the winners of The Best of Santa Cruz County Readers’ Poll. New to the long list of local restaurants, shops and other notables that captured your interest: Best Beer Selection, Best Locally Owned Business, Best Customer Service and Best Marijuana Dispensary. In the meantime, many readers were ever so chatty online about potential new categories. Some of the suggestions that stood out: Best Teen Program and Best Web Design/Designer. But what about: Dog Park, Church, Hotel, Local Farm, Therapist (I second that!) or Sports Bar—not to be confused with Bra. Our favorite suggestion: Best Act of Kindness—one reader noted Café Gratitude and the free meals it offered to the Santa Cruz Police Department in the aftermath of recent crimes. Perhaps some of these can be woven into next year’s ballot, so stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy the following pages and take note of our Critics’ Picks, too, beginning on page 91. A big thanks for voting—and for reading—and an even bigger congratulations to all of the winners. Enjoy.  -Greg Archer, EditorBest of Santa Cruz County Readers’ Poll INDEX | Shops | Food & Drink | Arts & Entertainment | Health & Fitness | Professionals | The Rest |

     

    Vine & Dine: Pine Ridge Vineyards

    Chenin Blanc + Viognier 2012 On a recent trip to Palm Springs, I came across Pine Ridge Vineyards’ Chenin Blanc + Viognier at a new downtown restaurant called Lulu. Superbly decorated in Hollywood-esque style and with a very hip vibe, this California bistro is one of the hottest new dining spots—and the Chenin Blanc was just the right wine to pair with some of Lulu’s Happy Hour tapas-style food. And eating outdoors in the desert’s warm night air makes a chilled white wine taste even better.

     

    Making Sense of Soul

    Allen Stone wants to give R&B back some of its depth Whether fairly or unfairly, R&B and soul music often get typecast. Much of the music is groove-inducing and has an overtly romantic, sensual or sexual side to it, and the suggestive lyrics only reinforce this mood. That is fine and well, but for R&B and soul singer Allen Stone, it is not enough. “I love music that’s about love, and I love R&B songs, but I also like songs that have influence on culture,” Stone says. "I believe that if you’re given a microphone you need to use it in a positive way, and I feel like pop culture, more often than not, doesn’t. I think that [pop stars] are very bad stewards of the microphone they’ve been given, and the voices they’ve been given, and they tend to talk about pretty futile and shallow things, rather than subjects which uplift the children in our culture, or the teenage culture, or the young adult generation. If you’re given a microphone, you should say something that’s deeper than, ‘I’m going to the club and I’m going to drink cognac.’”

     

    Step on up to the Bar

    Here in Santa Cruz County, we are privileged to have farm-fresh greens year-round. Making a nightly salad at home is a snap since the emergence of pre-washed greens, and vinaigrette dressing is made easily with your favorite vinegar and small spoon of Dijon mustard whisked with a bit of olive oil.

     

    Exposed

    David Cay Johnston’s new book explains how big companies rob us blind In his late teens David Cay Johnston started to ask questions. “Why do we have these guys in uniforms with guns driving around in cars all day?” “Why is the Santa Cruz County Courthouse being built in such an unusual shape?” He wrote an article, while still living in his hometown of Santa Cruz, proving that the off-kilter courthouse building, which officials had promised would save money, actually cost more than a conventional building.

     

    Do you unplug often enough? Or do you need help?

    Santa Cruz | Caregiver