Pic by me.

There is this part in recruitment situations when they ask those “tell me about your weak points where we all lie (except for me, of course) and say something like “I can be a little too tenacious” or, “I have a problem letting go of an issue”.  We say the types of things that are really supposed to sound like strengths that we are spinning into semi weaknesses.

In actual fact, if we were being honest (which obviously everyone other than me is not) we would pick the shadow side of our sun, or the shadow side of our Saturn, even.

I’m not going through them all for the following reasons:

• I don’t want to offend anyone this early in the week and
• I plan to write about it as part of my semi serialised career semi series.

Mine would be, aside from the Piscean need to escape and an in-built abhorrence for detail, (please let there be no prospective employee reading this- if there is, I can do detail when the situation warrants…)I have a tendency to tune out when all I am hearing is blah blah flipping blah.

Whilst my Aries Venus loves a good dose of drama, I also quite simply do not do complications, and seriously, some people have this inbuilt need to complicate the uncomplicated. As my favourite tradie in Brissie has been heard to say “save me the labour pains and give me the flipping baby.” Actually, he didn’t say “flipping”, but you get the picture.

I don’t know about you, but since Mars has been in Virgo, there has been so much energy spent on detailing the flipping detail that I reckon I can see the sap dripping from the trees, but have absolutely no idea what the forest looks like or if there are any pretty birds in there.

Sure it could be that mercury retrograde has slowed even the most basic communication into something that needs extensive proceduralisation (and yes, I just made that word up), but enough already!

Interestingly, when Mercury goes retrograde, I often find that my impatience with the speed of messages gets worse. People take longer to get it. Maybe it is because my Mercury is natally the 2^nd worst possible Mercury in history (retrograde in Pisces in the 12^th) and it seems that everyone else slows down, whilst I stay the same. Does anyone else with a retrograde Mercury feel that at Mercury Rx times?

Anyways, the Moon is in Aquarius, so I am allowed to say this stuff and get away with it- Aquarius being free-thinking and all that. And the above mentioned Mercury is retrograde is in Sagittarius- the natural breeding ground of foot in mouth disease. So, I can blame all of the above.

The Moon is in Aquarius for all of tomorrow as well, with a little Piscean influence and dreaminess creeping in when La Luna has her monthly Woodstock like love fest with Neptune. Other than that all the really cool aspects don’t perfect for another couple of days. Will talk about these tomorrow…whatever.

For now I have a deconstructed Chicken Caesar Salad to prepare- complete with my BMFs super secret super special dressing recipe. I could tell you, but…

The pic today was taken last week in Perth. It is there to bring some calmness and coolness into the maelstrom that has been today…and is especially for my hubby- even though he doesn’t read this, but the thought counts.

Lake Tekapo. Pic by me.

Every so often something happens that reminds me why it is that I do this.

The astrology, that is. I know why I do the blog- quite simply because I love to write, and the blog has been a brilliant way to not only get me in the habit of doing this writing thing regularly, but also to help me find my voice.

The astrology thing, though, is very different.

I don’t do many readings- mainly because life is way too busy and I don’t think it is fair to ask people to wait until my schedule is clear, nor do I think it is fair to me to say yes when I really should be spending the time in either doing the wife thing or the mother thing or the paid work thing or the friend thing or the relative thing or working on the manuscript which time forgot.

But today I did do a reading- my favourite type, with a lovely person over a cuppa. And, it was done for the right reasons- my client wanted to understand herself better, to know her talents, her challenges, her deal-breakers, her motivations.

I like the proactive side to astrology, the pre-emptive side.

I get that we often want to know why when things aren’t great, but what about when things are OK, but understanding who we are, what makes us tick and what turns us on or off can make OK stuff even better and crappy stuff sort of more bearable. It’s not about gazing into a crystal ball or making everything better or having something to blame. It’s not about bitching about your job or your relationship, its about understanding the part that you play in that. It’s about opening the door to other possibilities and stepping out into the sun.

Todays reading reminded me of why I do this. It’s the whole idea of limitless potential that continues to amaze me. It’s a pretty powerful thing to have this information. Empowering.

Anyways, enough with the sentimentality and onto the skies.

The Moon has just moved into inquisitive Aquarius, and is about to square off against more is more and less is never ever enough Jupiter. The urge to over indulge will be strong…as will be the urge to shake things up just a tad thanks to a sextile across to an impatient Uranus.

Elsewhere, Venus is closing in on an “interesting” hookup with Pluto. For a refresher on this, check out this post- written the last time these planets got together.

Until next time… I have a Thai Beef Salad that I need to be doing the domestic diva thing to.

And the title? It’s a Pet Shop Boys song, not a direct translation- I’m not that clever, but the lyrics are pretty cool.

Photo credit: bobey100 for dreamstime.com

Today I hoisted the white flag of surrender.

I’m not sure whether it is just that I have let my vitality drift a little low over the past 3 weeks, whether I am struggling for energy and positivity or whether I just no longer find the sheer variety of spam in the least amusing, but today I have decided that the spammers have won…at least for now.

For the last few months, actually, probably the last 6 months, spambot attacks have been sufficient to close my site down for hours on end- regularly. Unfortunately, because my provider doesn’t let me know when it is down (something that needs to change, along with may other things, over the next few months), I usually only find out when I see super sharp dips in stats- like 2 visits for 8 hours during Sunday (traditionally my heaviest traffic day for the week) or zero visits between 12am and 2am- my heaviest traffic stats for the day.

Most days I clean out anywhere between 20-60 spam comments. My provider has switched servers, with no discernible results, I have blocked “users” and reduced comment “open” times with short term results only. Whilst this is a wordpress blog I am unable to activate akismet for reasons I can’t be faffed going into now.

So, I have made the call to close down the comments completely. Stick the earplugs in and hear the silence. Feel free to comment still via email jo@jotracey.com.au or via Facebook or Twitter. I’d love to have the auto click through to my email, but that also brings out anyone and everyone who has a penis enlargement, dental scheme or insulation offer to sell me.

In the skies, the Moon is well into Capricorn, which goes a long way to explaining the melancholia- it can’t possibly be anything else causing it. It also explains the practicality. Uranus is also gathering momentum for his turnaround on 10/12. My Saturn is in the 1st degree of Aries, and that is where Uranus is currently slowing to a stationary position. Personally I feel as if structure is about to be blown wide apart, but more on that as it occurs.

Venus has also moved into Capricorn- shifted in over the weekend while I was in Canberra doing pre Christmas family things. How very appropriate. I posted last years Venus in Capricorn blog this morning- check it out, if you haven’t already. The link is here.

Photo Credit: © Jimmy Lopes | Dreamstime.com

Many, many years ago I participated in the odd protest march. Protect the Daintree, Let the Franklin Flow, Hiroshima Never Again…plus a few more which are raising their ugly heads again and therefore won’t be talked about on this blog. Every so often though, the old placards get dusted off- these days around corporate “principles”…and I use the word lightly. So, without any further ado (and, by the way, I think I might start a campaign to have that phrase used properly rather than the all too often heard “without any further adieu”) here is the link to my latest post for Your Career & the Cosmos- all about Sagittarius at work.

And for now…so long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, goodbye…adieu, adieu to you & you & you…is that how you spell it???

© Aleksey Klints | Dreamstime.com

I want a girl with a mind like a diamond
I want a girl who knows what’s best
I want a girl with shoes that cut
And eyes that burn like cigarettes

Venus in Capricorn means business. She is serious about how she appears. She is serious about her reputation. She is serious about her relationships. She is also serious about material security. And before you all write to me, this doesn’t mean that she is mercenary- far from it- just that she takes a practical, possibly business like attitude to love, life and pleasure.

She adorns herself in simple, quality, classic pieces. Her jewellery is under-stated and rarely over done. This is not a Venus that does bling. In the work place, she does professional like no other, whereas for casual wear she may opt for simple separates and natural fabrics. She is sexy in a very natural, yet quite powerful way.

She will rarely make the first move and will instead wait until she is sure that her feelings are reciprocated so as not to appear to be embarrassed. When she does commit within a relationship, it is only when she knows herself to be serious about you and vice versa. Caution is important to her.

This Venus knows all about boundaries and self control. She knows when to stop, when to hold back and when she has had enough. This Venus does not over indulge her appetites. (Note to Venus in Sagittarius & Venus in Pisces…you can learn a lot from Ms Capricorn…)

Yet, like all Earth signs, she is sensual rather than sexual, tactile rather than social, contained rather than demonstrative, faithful rather than verbally expressive. If she loves you, she will show you more than she tells you- in the things that she does, in the help that she gives you, in solid grounded useful ways.

All Earth signs need a solid love, the type that will stand the test of time. She doesn’t need the dramas, fantasy, romance or passions of other Venus signs, but, like her fellow Earth signs, she does like sex in all its earthy, raw energy.

Venus in Capricorn understands that it is as easy to love someone with money as it is to love someone without. Stephen Arroyo in Relationships & Life Cycles says it best when he remarks that “many of them stay married for money if they’re in a bad marriage and there would be financial uncertainty if they broke up; they’ll often stick it out for 30 or 40 years of hell just for that material security.” Venus in Capricorn may put duty and security above personal happiness- although she may justify it for other means.

And, let’s be honest, Venus in Capricorn is not the only sign who will hang onto a relationship well past the best before date for reasons other than happiness. Other examples- Cancer will hang on because of shared history & children, Pisces will stay usually because she feels empathy, sorrow or is stuck in a victim mentality, whilst Scorpio will hang on because, well, possession is all important.

Naturally this all applies to men with Venus in Capricorn as well. As we know, the position of Venus in a mans’ chart often shows what he looks for in a woman. In this case, he wants someone with Capricorn characteristics. She may be businesslike, she may be able to assist him in some practical way, she may be older than him, she may be able to help him climb the corporate ladder. She will dress conservatively, or at least appropriately. She will be well maintained, but not necessarily high maintenance. She may have Venus in her chart aspecting Saturn.

If you are a Capricorn woman, have Venus in the 10^th house or Venus aspected by Saturn, you may well see similar traits in your own relationships. You may be more cautious with affection, and be drawn to those with whom you can share a mutual responsibility or effort. When you do love, it will be with loyalty, solidity & commitment…and a lifetime guarantee.

I want a girl who gets up early
I want a girl who stays up late
I want a girl with uninterrupted prosperity
Who uses a machete to cut through red tape
With fingernails that shine like justice
And a voice that is dark like tinted glass

I want a girl with a short skirt and a long jacket

Lyrics from Short Skirt, Long Jacket by Cake. Check out the Youtube clip here. As always, full copyright to the artists.