Tomorrow is Mothers Day, and I posted something about Mothers Day and the Moon and Mum etc yesterday.

The day is about our kids, the 5^th house- but not just the snotty nosed fruits of our loins (naturally my gorgeous 14 year old is no longer snotty nosed)- appreciating those who created their privileged existence and brought them kicking and screaming into reality. The 5^th house is about everything we give birth to and take a risk on- in both a creative, literal or figurative way.

Think about this one. You’ve written a book (oh no, wait, that’s me…), you’re growing a business, you’ve created a new enterprise. Each of these involves nurturing, and each involves taking a risk, or two. In each case you have taken the idea from a mere glimmer in the eye and given birth to something new and pretty damn special.

Traditionally astrologers would look to the 5^th house for fertility- the sign on the cusp, the condition of the ruler, aspects with the Moon, planets within that house.

Of all the signs, the water signs are said to be most fertile. The presence of Jupiter and easy aspects to the Moon would enhance that. But before you rush away and look at your charts, there is much much more to using astrology as an indication of fertility. Much more. Likewise the whole thing about Jupiter and Moon aspects and breast size (that one I have found to be right, but we aren’t going there. Ahem).

Conversely, contrary to popular opinion, Saturn in the 5^th doesn’t mean that you will never have children but rather that you either may delay it and/or take the responsibility of kids very seriously (as indeed we should). I have one friend with Virgo on the cusp of the 5th, Saturn within the 5th and four children. As I said, there is a lot more to it.

Fertility doesn’t necessarily mean children. It may mean that you are highly creative, or have other more metaphorical children that you develop and then set free into the world.

As an example, I have Cancer (a very fertile sign) on the cusp of my 5^th house, Jupiter within it in mutual reception to my Moon in fertile Pisces. I have one child, and didn’t give birth to her until I was 31. That one really threw a lot of astrologers when I was training. I was once asked by one whether I was sure about that. Ummmm, yes. Really? Yep, just the one.

I am, however, for want of a more appropriate word, prolific when it comes to creative output. This is where I take risks, and this is also where I wrap my babies (my books) up in the cotton wool of my very stylish mac computer- just in case someone out there says something nasty that will hurt their feelings.

So, this Mothers Day, celebrate your own 5^th house- and let whatever little buggers that lurk within nurture you for the day.

Oh, and the title of this post is an Abba song that always makes me cry, especially when I think about just how quickly my own little snot rag is growing. Awwww…..She just says (when I tear up)….”whatever”.

OK, a little shameless promotion for Sydney readers:

My friend Kira Sutherland is teaching a 1 day Medical Astrology Seminar in at Moore Park. The blurb is below.

Kira is a brilliant teacher and this is a fascinating subject, so if you are in Sydney or can be in Sydney at the end of April, it would be a great day of learning.

This one day seminar presented by Kira Sutherland will introduce you to the world of modern medical astrology.

Kira will cover the basic principles of how astrology and the body are connected.

• The basic rulerships of astrological signs, planets and houses
• How this all can be applied to one’s health and wellbeing
• What foods, herbs, flower essences and daily activities are best for your astrological makeup

Some info about Kira Sutherland: Kira is an experienced Naturopath, Nutritionist and Astrologer. She divides her time between writing and lecturing for colleges, magazines and corporations on health, wellbeing and astrology. Kira is known for her vibrant, straight forward teaching style and has lectured in medical astrology across Australia. In private practice for over 15 years, Kira combines her knowledge in Naturopathy with her passion for Medical Astrology into a wonderful mix of mind / body medicine.

No astrological knowledge is necessary for this class but please come with your Natal chart printed out. If you need to do this you can go to www.astro.com and enter your details to print your chart for free.

Investment for this workshop is $175

Would you like more information?

call 0450 179 145 or email gaiasgalleria@me.com

It’s wine o clock on a Friday afternoon here in a very soggy Sydney.

I am sipping on a glass of pinot gris from the Yarra Valley, and inhaling the fumes from fresh enamel paint. The Moon is in Pisces, Mercury is about to wheel and deal his way out of Capricorn and I have just committed to the challenge to end all challenges.

This time next week my tipple of choice will be a sparling mineral water, in a wine glass with a touch of lime. You see, I am doing “FebFast” and sending grog on a month long holiday.

Here in Australia, we don’t have a great relationship with alcohol- many of us are just a tad to attached to it, some have real problems and some are just plain ugly with it- as anyone who has witnessed the bronzed Aussie in all his glory somewhere on a beach holiday in Asia over the summer holidays.

Whilst I think the cause is a brilliant one, my reasons for doing this are purely selfish- the funds that are raised are a by-product:

• After way too many Bintangs in Bali (see my earlier comment about the Aussie abroad) I came back from holidays the heaviest I have ever been. Beer and I love each other dearly, but he is not a great influence on either my resolve or my tummy.
• One of my resolutions this year is to challenge myself and push myself outside my comfort zone. As a triple Pisces sometimes the sheer emotional weight of the stuff I feel sends me to the fridge and temporary escape. Whilst all my Pluto means that I am too much of a control freak to ever lose control, I do need to learn how to confront the things that scare me.
• Another of my resolutions is to spend the next few months getting healthy again, and this fits into that beautifully.
• Neptune is about to move into Pisces. I figure this will add even more Piscean-ness to my Pisces and water overload. Now is probably a time to add a few more boundaries, (Ok, a few boundaries) to my life.
• I’ve made a bet with someone, accompanied by comments like “how hard can it be?” and “reckon I can last longer than you”.

Now, before you go thinking that I will become born again, I do not intend abstaining for longer than the allocated month.  My Trainer rather unkindly suggested that people who do FebFast do it because they can’t manage the extra few days of Dry July. He has a point.

For medical astrologers, Neptune rules alcohol, as it does other chemical poisons such as nicotine. Alcohol deceives the body into thinking of it as a sugar substitute and, in the process deceives our metabolism and trust me, my metabolism doesn’t need any more deceiving.

The worst part of this, from my viewpoint, is that the body uses ethyl alcohol (fermented sugar) as an energy supply before it uses glucose (its’ preferred energy source) and before it uses stored fats. This means that my daily workout is pretty well just burning off the previous nights drinks and not much else.

After reading Sweet Poison by David Gillespie early last year, I gave up sugar. The research was overwhelming. The culprit is fructose, the sugar that occurs naturally in fruits, and less naturally in pretty well anything we eat that is processed. When I first read this I was thrilled to see that wine, spirits, champagne and beer are low in fructose, but the toll on the liver is heavy.

More recent research is showing that the metabolism of ethanol (fermented sugar) is actually much the same as the metabolism of fructose after all. That same research is also showing that the brain recognises artificial sugars (also ruled by Neptune) as being sweet, so sends the same messages out for insulin.

I had very little problem with giving up sugar (presumably because I actually don’t eat much that is processed or sweetened and also because I continued to drink my wine). I suspect, though, that I may struggle more with FebFast.

The Moon rules our habits and mine is in Pisces, trine Jupiter in the 5^th and also trine Neptune in the 9^th. My habits have as few boundaries as does my life.

In any case, if you want to read about it, here is the link to my page. A girlfriend and I have committed to form a team of 2, so wish us luck!

Flinders St Station, Melbourne. Pic by me.

After months of deliberation I finally booked my place at the FAA (Fed of Australian Astrologers) Conference in Melbourne during January. If you want the link, it is here.

I faffed around not because I didn’t know if I wanted to go, but, with the partition job and regular paycheques behind me (as at yesterday), I didn’t know if I should be going. Then I figured that this writing lark and this astrology lark is now my business, so I had better start treating it as such. Plus, there are some really great people coming along to lecture. And, I am a Melbourne tragic.

I have a real interest in medical astrology and traditional astrology- so will be booking in to see those particular lectures. Medical and nutritional astro, in particular, is a real passion of mine- regular readers of this blog know I am working on a large work on that subject, but it isn’t something I write much about here. That is possibily because I want to save the words for the book or because I am learning as I go or whatever. But that is seriously one of the coolest things about astrology- you simply don’t stop learning. I

Medical astro uses traditional techniques- influences and methodology which has really stood the test of time. So, I can’t wait to see Jane Ridder-Patrick present. If you don’t know Janes’ work, she is a Scottish Astrologer who aside from authoring A Handbook of Medical Astrology (amongst other books), is also trained in pharmacy, naturopathy & herbal medicine…so knows her stuff.

If you are going to FAA, give me a shout, it would be great to meet some of you. If you can’t make it to FAA, but will be in Sydney in early February, nutritional astro pal Kira Sutherland is arranging a day long workshop at Naturecare College. The day will be spent looking at the elements and the roles they play in personality, health etc. This is real back to nature, real life astrology stuff. Details are below.

Date: Saturday 4 February 2012

Place: Nature Care College, 46 Nicholson St, St Leonards

More details? Email Kira at kira.sutherland@gmail.com

and here's the flyer...

Warning: Medical Astrology stuff ahead…some of this can be relatively advanced, but Medical Astro is an area I am hugely interested in, so please bear with me for a bit!

Photo credit: ThomasVogel for istock

This week I have been laid relatively low with a bout of late winter asthma. As asthma bouts go, I wouldn’t call this one an “attack”, and on the scale of things would rank it relatively mild.

Having said that, it has been bad enough to cause all those wonderful problems that accompany asthma- the humping in the ribs from the effort to breathe, the inability to do my “running” training (and yes, I know there should be other things I am thinking of) and the residual loss of lung capacity that will have to be built back up again when it is over.

I used to get it quite badly as a kid- at least until we moved away from Sydney to the country. But in the intervening 30 years, can count the number of “attacks” on 1 hand, and the number of episodes like this one on 2, hands, that is.

It has been one weakness in life which was used as a reason why I couldn’t do the things I wanted to do when I was younger (eg running), and something which took me to the one sporty thing I have always been good at- swimming. Asthmatics often end up swimming.

From a medical astrology viewpoint, asthma belongs to Gemini. The lungs fall under Gemini, as does inhaled breath and the oxygenation required to keep the mind alert.

While I have no planets in Gemini, the root cause for me is likely to be found elsewhere on what is called the “mutable cross” ie Pisces-Virgo, Sagittarius-Gemini.

Pisces is known as “the junk collector” in the zodiac, and has a naturally sluggish lymphatic system and an immune system that is often weak (arguably the weakest in the zodiac) and usually easily compromised (especially when, and this happens a lot, they forget to look after themselves in the way that they should)…and we’re not just talking about medical stuff here!

As such, Pisces can be subject to pretty well any of the usual afflictions that Sagittarius, Gemini and Virgo have, in addition to their own tendencies. This tendency can be doubled if you also have a Pisces Ascendant…hmmm I have the Moon there in the 1^st house too…

So, taking this one step further, the lymphatic system (Pisces) supports the immune system (Pisces) by filtering the crap out of the lymph fluid. Where the actual filtering happens is in the chest Gemini) and breathing (Gemini) is what pushes the lymph along its merry way. If the immune system (Pisces) is weak or compromised (addictions are also ruled by Pisces), there is a tendency towards invasion of bacteria or whatever which may trigger asthma (Gemini) or food allergies (Virgo). There’s heaps more on this stuff, but you get the general idea.

Regardless of the root cause, the result- a reduced ability to breathe and talk at the same time, or indeed a reduced ability to do anything but breathe, or at its worst, an inability to get enough oxygen into the body- is at best inconvenient and at worst, extremely dangerous.

I haven’t done enough research on my episodes to determine what, if any, trigger points there are in my chart. The last 2 involved Saturn and Uranus as the main transits:

• April 2008: Uranus conjunct Pisces Sun, Saturn opposite Mercury and sextiles Mars. That one was triggered suddenly following a work trip to Hong Kong, a mega kick in the guts ET (emotional trauma),  the construction of a new kitchen & was the first such episode in about 15 years.
• October 2009: Uranus conjunct Pisces Chiron, Saturn and Mercury opposite the Moon.

This time around there is nothing obvious happening from a chart perspective. As they say, sometimes shit just happens. But I do know that I have been running myself pretty hard for most of the year and been wired beyond belief for the last few weeks, so perhaps this is just a reminder. There has been so much recently that has taken my breath away, metaphorically speaking.

Anyways, whatever the trigger, I am on the mend and, with just 3 weeks to go before I have to face this 10km “run” am way behind on my training. Will hit the treadmill this morning, and get a better indication as to what I now need to claw back in terms of lung fitness before I can even think about the distance. I dare say I will be walking more of that course than I originally targeted to walk.

If you are interested in Medical Astrology, here are a few of my favourite reference books- but there are plenty of others out there:

Astrology, Nutrition & Health by Robert Jansky- Just brilliant for nutritional info especially

Introduction to Medical Astrology by Wanda Sellar- This is where a lot of the info I used in todays post came from. A great reference.

Medical Astrology by Eileen Naumann- the definitive source