I’ve woken with a sore back. Again. It’s my hip- it’s out. Again.

Fortunately I have a good chiropractor. I have to- I have a scoliosis in my back- my spine isn’t straight and needs good support to stay upright. I’m suffering at the moment from a few months of laziness and lack of routine last year where I didn’t train as I should have, and completely neglected any work on my core. I’m attempting to remedy that now- I need to in order to stay upright.

At the risk of heading into too much information territory, my ankles are also hyper flexible- it’s the ligaments. It’s sometimes as if my feet are floating at the end of my ankles. It’s possibly a little appropriate given the extent of my Neptunitis. In any case, they need support as well.

In the body, Saturn rules the bones, the skeleton and the connective tissue ie ligaments. It also rules the hair, nails and other parts of the body that bring structure, form and boundaries.

In my chart, Saturn is in the 1^st house, and it’s weak. The 1^st house represents the body. You work it out. The way this has manifested in my body is textbook perfect.

It possibly wouldn’t be this way if I had more planets in earth signs. But I have only Uranus and Pluto- the generational planets…and these, in my mind, don’t really count…well, maybe just a little.  To be honest, in the face of the amount of water that is in my chart, most Earth is washed away.

Earth is the stuff that the real world comes from. It’s physical- we can touch it. It has substance- we can hold it. It has a structure and it provides structure.

Earth is the building block of life. Food is grown in it, it provides a base for us to stand, materials to give us shelter and foundations for our homes and places of work.

When the element of Earth is balanced evenly in the chart, we are practical and stable, in touch with reality, have a mature and strong sense of responsibility…and our physical and metaphorical boundaries are in good shape.

It is, however, heavy, dense and unyielding in it’s nature and requires other elements to provide movement, to shape it. So when we have excess Earth in the chart, it isn’t necessarily a good thing.

The body might by stocky in shape, heavy in build and sluggish in nature. You may not be inclined to exercise, you may be prone to melancholy or depression and you may be insensitive to the feelings of others. Relatively speaking, of course.

Excess Earth is also associated with stubbornness, a resistance to stray from existing habits (good or bad), and over concern with material things (money, possessions, titles) and you may be slower to perceive new ideas. Again, relatively speaking.

All is not lost.

To balance an excess of Earth, you need to bring in some Fire. You need to move. Exercise of any type will help- a lot- as will spices in your foods and the colours of fire around you. Wear or live with orange, red, yellow and you can’t help but stimulate your appetite for life and brighten your outlook.

Too little Earth and you might be like me- unstable (both physically and metaphorically), as if your feet aren’t on the ground and as if you’re not in touch with your body. You may live in your head, are idealistic, yet unable to manifest your full potential. There is so much that you could do if you could only set your goals, stick to routines, and not ignore your own needs.

Again, all is not lost.

Any activity that brings you back in touch with your body will help- massage, aromatherapy or other bodywork. Any outdoor activity or hobby that uses all your senses will bring you into an awareness of the physical.

Whole grains, food from the earth, green leafy vegetables…the colour green…these will all help bring Earth into your life.

Above all, routine is paramount. Set a routine (and that includes mealtimes) and stick to it. Flying by the seat of your pants might be fun and exciting, but ultimately won’t get you to wear you need to go.

Oh, and take the time to enjoy life’s pleasures…now, that’s one remedy I’m happy to try!

What about you? Do you find that you are unconsciously doing some of this remedial work? If you have an Earth based chart, have you surrounded yourself with Fire or Air types? What about if you’re lacking Earth? Have you brought Earth people into your life?

Check out the other posts in this series

Burning Up

Finding the Missing Link

Elementary, My Dear Watson

At this time of the year in Australia, it’s hard to ignore fire. Especially this year, it’s all around. The heat is all around.

This isn’t the sort of heat that you dream about in the middle of a Northern hemisphere snow fest when the cold and the grey seeps into your bones. This is way too much- it’s way too hot, way too dry.

Fire is like that.

A little is warming, generous, welcoming, stimulating.

In balance, Fire ensures that your digestion works well and that your body burns the fuel it needs in the right way. It purifies your body and pushes out the nasties that do it no good. It regulates its own temperature through perspiration.

In balance Fire provides energy, optimism and courage. It gives you the confidence and cheer to think that you can do anything, create anything, inspire anything… and anyone.

That’s what Fire does. In balance.

Just the right amount is a warm, sunny day after a cold winter.

A spark is potential, candle light is romantic, a hearth fire is welcoming, and a camp fire convivial. But what happens when fire gets out of hand, when it loses its boundaries?

It blazes, it burns through everything in its path. It destroys, it kills. It leaves nothing in its wake.

When there is too much Fire in the chart, things start to go wrong.

That confidence can become aggression, courage becomes violence and cheer turns into anger.

Too much fire in the belly can bring heartburn, ulcers and other tummy problems.

The fire of purification can cause skin rashes, fevers and inflammation.

Just like a destructive bushfire, excess fire in the body needs balancing.

But how?

We do it through colour- surround yourself with blues, greens, the colours of the ocean.

We do it though food- cooling foods, salads, whole grains, vegetables, fruit. Foods that are more alkalizing than acidifying in nature.

We do it by immersing ourselves in water.

What about when there’s no Fire?

Now we have winter.

The cold seeps into our bones, turning our extremities blue. The body becomes stiff, our muscles lose tone and vitality. Our mood and our confidence turns as grey and gloomy as the skies outside.

When we are despondent and melancholy, when our energy is low and our muscles are weak, it seems like any task is too hard. The couch in front of the telly seems a much better idea than the gym.

When there is no fire, our metabolism is slow, our digestion is off, our tummy is upset and we are unable to rid ourselves of the toxins that make us unwell.

So, how do we bring fire into our lives? How do we leave winter behind and embrace the joy of Spring? We fake it.

We stimulate heat and warm our core through exercise- aerobic exercise that gets our heart racing and the blood coursing through our veins.

We stimulate courage by pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones, by pushing our own boundaries, little by little.

We stimulate digestive fire by eating warming spices such as chilli, cinnamon, cayenne, garlic, curry, spicy foods.

We stimulate cheer by wearing and surrounding ourselves with the colours of fire and the sun- reds, oranges, yellows.

We stimulate confidence and body image by building muscle tone.

The other way we bring Fire into our charts, is when we merge with another- when we bring fire people into our lives. I have one very good Aries friend who I turn to whenever I’m feeling down, low, lacking in confidence. Not because he pats me on the head and tells me that everything will be ok- often what I get is a well deserved kick up the bum. No, I turn to him because just being with him makes the world a little brighter, makes the impossible a little more possible. He cheers me up.

That’s the other thing about Fire- it can’t exist in isolation.

The spark of creativity needs fuel to burn (Earth) and oxygen (Air) to move. When it threatens to get out of control, the boundaries provided by Earth keep it contained. The cooling effect of water produces steam that provides another kind of energy.

Too much Earth can smother it and too much water can douse it- and life with no Fire is a cold and barren landscape.

Fire Signs: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius

Fire Houses: 1^st, 5^th, 9^th

Other articles you might like:

Finding the Missing Link

Elementary my dear Watson

How to Cast a Chart

This is a post for the Astro Basics page…so for non Astro peeps, this comes with a long post and technical post warning!

Every Sunday night I cast an experienced eye over the height of my ironing basket and make a judgement regarding the approximate number of glasses of wine required to get to the bottom of it. A good week might be a 2 glass ironing load, a bad week could require the consumption of a half bottle.  

Another ironing staple is a decent movie to do it in front of. Which is why I was standing there with tears running down my cheeks as I watch Maria (for about the hundredth time) run back across the lawn to the children as they have tried and failed to make themselves feel better with a rendition of “These Are a Few of My Favourite Things.”

It isn’t just movies that get me going. Certain songs do it every time as well.  Agnetha singing “The Winner Takes It All” has me in tears every time- and not just for the unblended blue eye-shadow, but the part in the video where her voice breaks in the last verse “and I understand, you’ve come to shake my hand”…. how the hell did she sing that??? And anyone sitting beside me on any Qantas flight coming back into Sydney will do well to turn their head as I sob silently to “I Still Call Australia Home”.

Emotions absolutely dominate me and it isn’t just because my Sun happens to fall in Pisces. Sure, that is pretty dominant, but it is also because of the number of other key planets which I have in water signs. It is at this point that we are going to get a little technical, so bear with me- this is important.

Each sign is comprised of is a combination of element and modality. This is what makes each of the signs individual. Check Out Astro Basics for more on this.

In most cases, the energy in your birth-chart will be spread across a number of signs. You may have your Ascendant in one sign, your Sun in another and your Moon and other planets in others. This generally means that you are a combination of all different elements and energy levels. The balance or otherwise of elements in your chart influences how you operate.

If you have one element which dominates your chart, regardless of the sign that your sun is in, you will display the characteristics of that element and/or modality. Looking just at the elements, if your Sun is in Scorpio, but many of your other planets fall into Air signs, you will still essentially be Scorpio, but you will probably be substantially more communicative and (dare I say it) sociable than Scorpio usually is. Likewise a Fire Sun with the majority of other planets in water signs will be more sensitive and empathetic than fire signs tend to be.

So, how do you know whether you are predominantly one element over another? There are a number of different methods out there and every astrologer swears by their own. Whatever works for you is the right one. I include the Ascendant sign as this is how you meet the world. I also use the sign that the Midheaven falls into. Most astrologers do not use this point, however this is the birds eye view of you that the world has, so I do consider it important- but not as important as the Ascendant. Anyway, this method works for me:

• Score 2 points for sign of the Ascendant, Sun and Moon. These are the most dominant factors in your chart.
• Score 1 point for each of the other 7 planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
• Score 1 point for the sign that the Midheaven falls into.
• This will give you a maximum of 15 possible points if you include the Ascendant and Midheaven, and 12 points if you don’t have an accurate birth time.

I have demonstrated this calculation below in relation to my chart.

• In Fire signs I have: Venus (1), Saturn (1), Midheaven (1)
• In Earth signs I have: Pluto (1), Uranus (1)
• In Air signs I have: no planets
• In water I have: Ascendant (2), Sun (2), Moon (2), Mercury (1), Jupiter (1), Mars (1) and Neptune (1)
• Out of a possible maximum 15 points:
• I have 3 points or 20% in Fire signs
• I have 2 points or 13% in Earth signs
• I have 0 points in Air signs
• 10 points or 67% in Water signs.

Some astrologers recommend using just the traditional 7 planets plus the Ascendant and Midheaven. This method also has a lot of validity. In my case, the mix would be altered only slightly, but definitely portrays a pretty good picture of my essential make-up:

• Fire- 25%
• Water- 75%

From an elemental viewpoint, I am very heavily weighted towards water and relatively unbalanced elsewhere. I am motivated heavily by emotions and feelings and am extremely sensitive to my environment, yet have problems with setting goals, and naturally have relatively low and unstable energy levels. I have always been quick to start something new and when physically fit, my creativity really flourishes. I am also a lot more competitive than the average Fish. As for organising my thoughts? Well, the heart rules the head every time. Although I have 2 planets in Earth signs, I have enormous problems setting practical goals and often feel as if there is no ground beneath my feet.

Some astrologers recommend using just the traditional 7 planets plus the Ascendant and Midheaven. In my case, this would alter the mix only slightly, but definitely portrays a pretty accurate picture of my essential make-up:

Fire- 25%

Water- 75%

Try it out- what do your elements say about you?