Santa Cruz Good Times

Wednesday
May 22nd
Text size
  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size

Obedience of the Heart

RisaNewSThursday is overshadowed by the Cancer new moon (27 degrees). There is a quote in Labors of Hercules that explains the task given to Hercules during Cancer. Hercules represents humanity (the world disciple), living on Earth, encountering life experiences, given tasks and being tested. In the Cancer task, the Fourth Labor, Hercules must make a choice.  The obedience of his heart, his discernment, wisdom and power to choose must come forth. This particular task is important to understand. The present world situation is demanding that we, too, make a choice. It determines our future. From Labors of Hercules: The Fourth Labor …“The Great One, within Shamballa, spoke to the Teacher: ‘Where is the son of man (Sanskrit for the “thinkers,” all of humanity), who is the son of God? How fares he, how is he being tested and with what service is he engaged?’ The Teacher said, ‘The third great test (Gemini) provided much teaching. He ponders and reflects upon it.’ The Great One said to the Teacher, ‘Provide him now with a test that evokes his wisest choice. Send him to labor in a field where he must decide which voice, of all the many voices, will arouse the obedience of his heart. Provide a test of great simplicity on the outer plane, yet a test, which awakens, interiorly, the fullness of his wisdom and the rightness of his power to choose. Let him now proceed with the fourth test.’” We begin the Fifth Labor (Leo), Sunday.


Esoteric Astrology as News for the week of Jul 19–25, 2012 For Sun and Rising Signs

ariesAries-March 21–April 20

hroughout the year, great changes will occur. Your outlook on life will be concerned with freedom, especially how you express and conduct yourself. Breaking from the past will also occur. You will be as one who is “awakened” from a deep sleep. The awakening will happen through unexpected events. Break this gently to people who care about you, so, as you change, they are not surprised. Cherish each moment.



taurusTaurus April 21–May 21

Unusual events happen particularly with your health. You might find unexpected difficulties almost every day affecting your well-being. How to handle these is to adapt to the realization that all patterns in your life are altering, including health. Perform daily tasks with deep awareness lest a spider or snake bite you. These are symbols for change. Have homeopaths and essential oils nearby.



geminiGemini May 22–June 20

Your friendships and social life begin to shift. You meet new people, encounter new ideas, consider group life more and more. Unusual people are attracted to you as you study unusual lifestyles and listen to alternative news. The idea of being free and free-spirited is long overdue. Vesta, the asteroid of “self as found object” is in Gemini. You must make a Vesta box. Find a box; fill it with treasures that represent your true self. This is your new artform.



cancerCancer June 21–July 20

Talents and gifts you didn’t know existed within you are coming alive and this will be a discovery that is exciting and unexpected. Your life, likewise, embarks upon several new directions and people around you begin to consider you as one who knows a lot about something very specific. You surprise everyone. They think of you as unconventional and studious. This is good. A new life story begins.



leoLeo July 21–August 22

It’s possible you will be traveling soon, if you’re not already. Travel will be curious, unexpected, out of the ordinary. The journey will not be what you planned. You will meet unusual people who help you see life in completely different terms. Nothing traditional seems available, even though you long for this. Everything unconventional is seeking you. Allow yourself to adapt to this. Your heart is stirred.

 


virgoVirgo August 23–September 22

Unexpected events or happenings occur with finances and money that come from shared resources, from investments, taxes or loans. At first this doesn’t make sense. Then as time goes by it does. Allow yourself to realize that the pleasures you pursue and things you like do cost money. For some reason you will feel you cannot depend anymore on your usual sources. Uncertainty results. You will find new paths and new resources.

 


libraLibra September 23–October 22

Some things in your relations with others and with your close associates and intimates become surprising. Should you feel loss of freedom or resistance from others, should anything feel limiting you will shake it off immediately. It may be difficult to rely on anyone. If you notice this, be sure to be the ‘reliable one’ for others. Breaking free from things doesn’t mean you need to be cruel. Be gentle and kind—always, everywhere.



scorpioScorpio October 23–November 21

Daily work, routines and agendas should include work on your health. Create new routines that include all things healthy. Each day you may find yourself disrupted. Everything becomes non-traditional and unconventional. This includes health, which you need to pay attention to. Restlessness means you need a new rhythm. You will work nonstop at times, then work not at all at other times. Alternative healing benefits your health. Slow down.

 


saggSagittarius November 22–December 20

Know that more and more you will begin to express yourself in unconventionally creative ways. You will become the “out of the ordinary” friend. Children and odd balls will love you. There will be sudden occurrences in your love life, in romance. Previous inhibitions fall away. You become freer, spontaneous, even eccentric (more so). Everything you didn’t like falls away. You become lighthearted and playful. You are happy.

 


capricornCapricorn December 21–January 20

No matter how hard you try, home is in a state of change and fluctuations happen constantly. This is good. It means no crystallizations can occur. It can also feel disruptive and erratic. Life is speeding up. Sometimes you feel if you move too fast you will make a wrong turn. You feel tested, stimulated to approach the home situation in new ways. Perhaps you will move. Sometimes you feel free. Sometimes you miss someone far away. Boredom isn’t in your vocabulary. 
 


aquariusAquarius January 21–February 18

There’s an introduction and exposure to new worlds, new people and perhaps new lands and geographic areas. New opportunities come forth to express yourself and your gifts. You like to be with the people in the marketplace. Here you feel alive, in contact, love is released, people know and rely upon your expertise. You try to make contact with family, siblings, relatives. Your personal appearance changes. Your shell cracks.

 


piscesPisces February 19–March 20

Over the next weeks and months notice your values change. All things outdated will swim away like little fishes. New values that allow for new growth of all endeavors will emerge. There will be a call for fewer material things. Uncertain and unusual circumstances will bring about unusual use of resources. Income results from future technologies, studies that are spiritual and build around community.

 


Risa is Founder & Director of the Esoteric & Astrological Studies & Research Institute, a contemporary Wisdom School in Santa Cruz, CA.

More at nightlightnews.com. Risa's email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Facebook: Risa's Esoteric Astrology

Comments (0)Add Comment

Write comment
smaller | bigger

busy
 

Share this on your social networks

Bookmark and Share

Share this

Bookmark and Share

  • Search
  •  

    Free Angela

    Political activist and UC Santa Cruz Professor Emerita Angela Davis commands the spotlight in a riveting new documentary. PLUS:  UCSC’s Bettina Aptheker opens up about the political upheavals of the ’60s and ’70s—and today. Angela Davis is not a human being who can be easily summed up in several sentences or paragraphs—books maybe, but, even then, capturing the political activist, scholar and author in the most comprehensive light is downright complex. That’s because Davis is an undeniably unique political creature, one who should be seen and heard to be fully absorbed and downloaded. Which is what makes Free Angela and All Political Prisoners, the new documentary about Davis and the turbulent political upheavals she faced during the late-1960s and ’70s, so inviting. In it, filmmaker Shola Lynch marks the 40th anniversary of Davis’ acquittal on charges of murder, kidnapping and conspiracy with a historical vérité style of filmmaking to illuminate a side of Davis few may have seen (or can recall), and captures the events that thrust the woman into one of the most fascinating orbits of notoriety and political intrigue of the 20th century.

     

    No Big Surprises

    The highly anticipated draft Environmental Impact Report for desal is finally out. Will it change anything? When scwd2, the group pursuing the proposed joint desalination plant for the Santa Cruz Water Department and Soquel Creek Water District, set up a booth at the Santa Cruz Earth Day festival in 2012, its reception was less than warm. Signature gathering for Measure P, the “right to vote” on desal ballot measure, was in full swing, as were tensions over the controversial project, which would produce up to 2.5 million gallons per day of desalinated water and cost an estimated $100 million. What were representatives of an energy-intensive desal plant doing among the recycling and conservation booths? That was the attitude Melanie Mow Schumacher, public outreach coordinator for scwd2 (pronounced “squid squared”), remembers sensing.

     

    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.

     

    Transoceana

    Danny Moriarty’s musical influences have been known to impact his life beyond his local rock band, Transoceana. “I went through two periods,” confesses the singer, guitarist and songwriter. “I borrowed Bono’s mullet look from the ’80s for a while, and then I dressed like I was from the ’70s and had big hair like Jimmy Page.” Bono and Page are also symbolic of Transoceana’s evolution as a band during their three years together.

     

    Cruzin’ for Inspiration

    Former resident pays homage to Santa Cruz with locally shot thesis film When he left Santa Cruz for the University of Southern California’s graduate film program in 2010, Christopher Guerrero had completed the film major at UC Santa Cruz in 2008 and worked on campus in the film and digital media department. It wasn’t until he headed south, that Guerrero began to reminisce about the coastal town. “It was really really hard when I moved to L.A., to acclimate and find friends,” he says, adding that—counter to the philosophical, conversational culture of Santa Cruz—he found nowhere in his new town where he could simply sit and talk about life with someone. “I didn’t really realize why I love [Santa Cruz] so much until it was gone.”

     

    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).

     

    Growing Berries Without Bromide

    Researchers test a new alternative to a controversial chemical The scarecrows perched in Santa Cruz strawberry fields do little to scare away the birds, much less the insects and fungi harbored in the soil. Everything likes to eat strawberries, which makes growing them a risky business. This predicament led UC Santa Cruz professor Carol Shennan to take an unconventional approach to pest management. Nine years ago, the fatal plant disease Verticillium wilt was wiping out strawberry plants at the university farm. Chemicals hardly phase the pathogen, and Shennan saw little improvement with crop rotation, which is typically used to treat infested fields. A visiting plant pathologist from the Netherlands recommended a little-known organic technique called anaerobic soil disinfestation, and, with so few other options, Shennan decided to give it a try. 

     

    Uniting All That Has Been Separated

     

    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.
    Sign up for Tomorrow's Good Times Today
    Upcoming arts & events

    Latest Comments

     

    The Pleasure of Süda

    Süda is a happening place. As my friend Jan and I were enjoying dinner, every table in the restaurant filled up and nearly all the outdoor seating was occupied as well. Located in the Pleasure Point area, Süda is a magnet for just about everybody hanging out in that neck of the woods.

     

    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 do you know about Monsanto?

    Santa Cruz | Self Employed  

     

    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 |

     

    Poetic Cellars

    Poetic Cellars makes the most romantic wines. With a verse or two of beautiful poetry on every label, mostly poems of love and romance, this is the perfect wine to open up over dinner with your sweetheart. I particularly love winemaker Katy Lovell’s Syrah ($28) with its voluptuous velvety textures and dark fruit flavors.

     

    The Gypsy

    French-born jazz vocalist Cyrille Aimée lives for musical freedom and improvisation Cyrille Aimée is a musical gypsy. Her sound incorporates elements of Latin American, American, Brazilian and other styles of jazz, she has recorded albums as a duet with Diego Figueiredo, she currently performs with the Surreal (same pronunciation as her first name) Band, and she is working on a new album with yet another band. As it happens, Aimée can actually blame gypsies for her love of jazz. “I grew up in Samois-sur-Seine, which is a little town in France where Django Reinhardt used to live,” she says. “Every year they have the Django Festival in his honor, and so gypsies from all parts of Europe come and honor him and play guitar. I started hanging out with the gypsies and became obsessed with their music, their way of living, their freedom. What drew me to jazz music was the freedom of it, all the improvisation, and the fact that it’s a style of music that is constantly changing.”

     

    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.

     

    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.

     

    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