Santa Cruz Good Times

Thursday
May 23rd
Text size
  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size

Leo—Lionhearted and Royal

RisaNewS

Happy Birthday, leo. Leo is the sign of friendship and fun, of children, games and self-identity through what one creates. Leo’s hair is a mane rising up from regal high forehead. The lion appears on the arms (logo) of many royal houses. Richard the Lionhearted re-captured the Holy Land. 

The heart, center of our life force, is overseen by Leo. The opposite of Leo is Aquarius, the circulatory system. Leo is the center (the heart) where all energy flows and lifeforce (blood) emanates. Leo is courageous, the lord of the jungle. Leo, the fifth sign and Labor, is fixed fire. Like a flame, Leo burns bright for a while. Later their fire burns low, an ebb and flow of life energy In the Old Testament, Leo is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. In the New Testament, the Christians were thrown to the lions (symbol of power in Rome). The fish (Pisces) later subdued and caged the lions. It’s written the Sun rose in Leo at the world’s creation. Egyptians worshiped the Leo Sun when Sirius, blue star of Initiation, appeared in the sky and the Nile rose. Egyptian temples were decorated with the lion or cat. In China, the Leo constellation is the Yellow Dragon with the royal star Regulus. The Buddha loved the lion and often rested on his right side like the lion. In the esoteric book “Labors of Hercules”, is the Nemean Lion, divine and from the moon (humanity's past to be left behind). Hercules’s Fifth Labor was (is) to destroy that past (the lion) and to keep the lion’s hide (spiritual protection) as armor (used for the remaining seven labors). The lion and Hercules, now stars in the heavens, signify humanity’s different tasks and stages of awareness. Everyone has Leo in their astrology charts. Everyone is royal.


Esoteric Astrology as News for the week of Aug 2–8, 2012 For Sun and Rising Signs

ariesAries-March 21–April 20

Do you feel divided between four ways, standing in the middle wondering which paths to pursue next? There are several past issues that need tending to, and closure before you will know how to proceed. They are being presented to you now so observe, assess, ponder, pray and have the intention to carefully and kindly complete all things unfinished. Then the next page turns.



taurusTaurus April 21–May 21

Maintain the trajectory into the future even though pressures and people pull you back. The new realities must be brought forth and each sign has the responsibility for a facet of that diamond. As Taurus you have the illumination needed for others to understand the plans and purposes of the new era. You have land to buy, a model to construct, a community to build, expansions to bring forth so that many will be saved.



geminiGemini May 22–June 20

You experience confusion when you don’t stand directly in the center of all realities. You must do this to observe both sides in order to create a triangle of synthesis, you at the apex. There are two paths outlined for you. Knowledge creates thought, which creates symbols, which reveal revelations so Right Choice can occur. Ponder upon the seven-pointed, six-pointed, five-pointed stars and a triangle and the Cross. Again.



cancerCancer June 21–July 20

A fusion and synthesis are occurring between what you were taught and what you now know and seek. Money is a concern. It will always be available. With others are you harsh, possibly critical? Careful. You may not realize your tone of impatience. The homeopath Aconite neutralizes impatience (an excess of electrical energy). At times you feel like a rainstorm.



leoLeo July 21–August 22

It’s possible that thoughts and feelings from previous relationships are being remembered. It’s possible there could be anger about the ways your parents raised you which influenced your behavior in adult relationships. It’s good to ask what you learned in each relationship. And to ask, “Did I give enough?” There’s still time. Everyone is learning from everyone else, all the time. Your self-identity changes.

 


virgoVirgo August 23–September 22

Tend to finances and ask for assistance if puzzled. Embrace the future by investing money in supplies to sustain you and others for two years. Plan on others joining you. When ongoing self-critical beliefs occur heartache results. It’s important to know the difference between good and evil, dispassion and intrusion. It’s best to use words of praise, which neutralizes mental and emotional illusions and distortions.

 


libraLibra September 23–October 22

Something profound, transformative and new has been occurring at home affecting the foundations of your life. By autumn you’ll know more. Good things are coming about in your professional life. Is family visiting or are you missing family? Are you thinking about and able to travel? Tend with care and kindness to all relationships. Your group sustains, nourishes and fortifies you. But someone’s left out.



scorpioScorpio October 23–November 21

It may feel that you need to structure your surroundings so that nothing is left to chance. Also you want to nurture and build an even growing participation in a social sphere. You wonder what to do with your money as you are offered two choices. One grows, one dims. How do you decide which to choose? Which is more sustainable?


saggSagittarius November 22–December 20

It’s time for something new in terms of relationships. Is it also time to travel somewhere you’ve been before to assess it with new eyes. Do be aware of how much work you’ve done, how hard and where you are today. In the next 18 months your usual ways of thinking and interpreting will change. Your creativity will change, too. Some of this is already occurring. Is it topsy-turvy at home with life tumbling about?

 


capricornCapricorn December 21–January 20

You asked for a playful column. I see why. Pluto in your first house of self-identity. Everything about your life is deep and profound and you need someone else to make the jokes freeing you from the Plutonian depths. Let’s not talk about money. You have enough. You don’t have enough. In between is a childhood wound. You desire to transform all environments. There is a prayer that turns your abode into a shrine.

 


aquariusAquarius January 21–February 18

There’s a new reality in your life as the old realities tumble after. Perhaps you grew up with little or enough money. Either gave you have a certain lens concerning money. And here we are today, the monetary world collapsing. Don’t be fearful. From the ashes emerge great opportunities. Ponder upon priorities considering the world situation. What must (can) you do now? You’ll come to true answers.

 


piscesPisces February 19–March 20

Things feel very complex. In your state of solitude all expectations are surfacing, informing you they must be forgotten. Disappointments, sadnesses and unrealized hopes, leading to despair, can actually make us ill. It’s important to be aware of this. Then see a holistic doctor who does astrology with homeopathy. Deep, deeper to deepest layers will be uncovered. In safety. The new psychology.


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 (1)Add Comment
...
written by Wendyleela, August 03, 2012
As always Risa you're just the best!Even with the Neptunami!

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