Despite being located in Indonesia, the official religion in Bali is Hinduism- but a different sort of Hinduism to what is practised in India. I won’t get into details here (mainly because I’ll probably get them wrong!), but is has to do with what the Balinese worship in addition to Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. They also worship (with thanks and credit to Lonely Planet) ancestral gods, village founders, gods of the earth, fire, mountains and water; gods of fertility, rice, technology and books; and the demons who live in the world beneath the oceans.

Being Hindu, the cow is revered in Bali. On my last trip to Bali I asked our driver why this was so. He explained that the cow is the mother- it is the source of milk for babies and the giver of life. He said the cow was identified with the mother of gods.

The concept of mother is seen also in Gunung Agung- Bali’s highest mountain (and volcano) and the temple Pura Besakih 1000m up the mountain. The mountain is said to be the “mother” and the temple the “mother temple”. In any case, it is the spiritual centre of Bali, with the peak thought to house ancestral spirits. The mountain harnesses the rain from the west to provide nourishment for crops.

As for the volcano herself? She is usually shrouded in clouds and rarely seen. This too is about “mother”- you know she’s there, her presence is comforting, sometimes (as in the case of an eruption) fearful, and sometimes a great big guilt block in the road of the stuff you want to do, but do you ever really “see” her? Do you ever really know what’s going on inside of her?

With this many references to “mother” and “ancestry”, I can only be talking about the Cancer Moon. Specifically, the Full Moon in Cancer- which is what we will have Friday evening (Sydney time) at 9.21pm.

The Full Moon in Cancer casts the spotlight very clearly on the struggle between the competing themes of Cancer (home, family, food, sensitivity, nurturing, history) with Capricorn (work, goals, achievement, authority, experience, respect).

As with all signs, Cancer has more in common with her opposite Capricorn than you might think. Cancer is not always the shy, mothering type. There are not always apple pies on the table and a warm hug. Cancer can also be one tough mother, so to speak, with the whole concept of “you’ll thank me for this one day” or “I’m doing this for your own good.” And, sometimes, tough love is what is required.

Cancer has the same ability as Capricorn to dig deep in times of hardship and provide nourishment and security for her family (think metaphorically here…). Despite the pain of her lessons, Cancer provides support and structure within which we can grow and then leave to function independently.

Cancer can be as ruthlessly ambitious and no nonsense as Capricorn- it is just that the motivation may be different. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this either.

Capricorn, on the other hand, runs into her shadow when she loses track of goals and wallows in a mire of “what could have been” or “poor me.” Capricorn can fear success in the same way that Cancer fears emotional vulnerability.

Both the sunshine and the shadow become important at the Full Moon. For every achievement there must be something sacrificed. In the case of Cancer/Capricorn, what have you sacrificed in terms of home, family, emotional ties, whatever in order to achieve, progress, attain your goals? What is the cost of your hard work? What are the rewards? Are they worth it? What has been the impact to your emotional health?

Think about the premise in the movie I Don’t Know How She Does It. (As an aside, I preferred the book, but regardless of this, still enjoyed the movie…). The character of Kate represents this dichotomy beautifully. She is a mother. She is also ambitious. She has the same protective instincts towards her job as she does towards her children. Every day is a question of balance. Investment in one area means payback in the other. Sacrifices in one, bring rewards in the other.  It is a constant and exhausting see-saw. Outwardly she has it all together, but at what cost? At what point does it all fall apart?

Look at your own chart- where does 7 Cancer/Capricorn fall? This is the area of life under the spotlight for you. Do you have any planets or chart points between, say, 5-9 Cancer, Capricorn, Aries, Libra? These points will be especially sensitive.

Pluto aligns with the Sun, so an element of emotional de-toxing will be required. Think seriously about any habits that need purging, any people that are no longer helping you and any ego attachments that need to be eliminated…and do it.

Uranus is at the apex of a T square, so whatever happens now, whatever decisions you make, ensure that authenticity is at the heart of them. You must be true to yourself.

In any Tsquare, we look for the point of release- a planet that is in easy aspect to one of the 3 points. In this case, that planet is Saturn. You will be well served to make the changes required under stable structures, and with measured, focused intent.

What about you? Where is this playing out in your life?

What needs to be nurtured more? Do you need to step back from work a little and re-connect with your family? Do you need to stop using your family or your past as an excuse for not achieving in the present? How vulnerable are you prepared to make yourself? Do you fear success in this area and are tempted to crawl back into your shell and wallow in self pity and seethe with resentments or do you have someone in your life with enough tough love to kick you up the butt and push you out of your nest/ off the couch/ away from your comfort zone? Is it possible to find balance? Can you really have it all? How many question marks can go into this post?

We haven’t had a recipe for a while, so, with the Moon in the last couple of degrees of Cancer, here is one- ideal for a Sunday evening in.

This is one of those classic recipes that you can posh up a bit by serving the chicken and sauce separately, with some fresh pasta and a salad. Naturally you would then call it L’estragon poulet. Or you can do it as we will be tonight- in bowls as a soupy thing with lots of fresh crusty bread to dunk.

I have been cooking this recipe for years. It originally came from Scottish chef, Nick Nairns’ Wild Harvest. I re-discovered this book (which used to be one of my favourites) the other day when I was searching for inspiration and a potato scone recipe. I needed to replenish my brownie point bank account with my Scottish hubby & given that I refuse to prepare haggis (and yes I have hunted one of those wee beasties down in the past) or black pudding (eeeeeuw) potato scones are the most palatable of the culinary options available to score major points quickly. If you’ve never tried one, potato scones, that is, they work a treat with smoked salmon & a drop of sour cream for brekky. As an aside, I am of the opinion that whisky was invented to allow the swallowing of the haggis…with all due respects to my Scottish readers of course, och aye.

Anyways, I now complete this recipe in the slow cooker, which gives a different, but just as satisfying result.

Ingredients

Chicken- preferably free-range. I use a combination of thighs and drumsticks. I prefer the skin off as it keeps the fat down, but keeping the skin on gives you a moister and more luxurious result.

2 tablespoons oil for frying (I use rice bran, but sunflower is fine)

50g unsalted butter

1 large Spanish (ie purple) onion, peeled and sliced into gorgeous little half moons

1 garlic clove crushed (I usually throw another couple of unpeeled cloves into the pot for a tad more flavour)

15g tarragon leaves (you will need the stalks, so don’t throw them away)

165g button mushrooms, cut in half

300ml white wine

600ml chicken stock (I always make my own and have it in the freezer. Any good commercial stock is fine, but please not powdered stocks for this recipe.)

few drops of lemon juice

salt, pepper

What you do with it:

Heat a large pan until hot & add the oil.  Fry the chicken until golden. (Note, I use the slow cooker and remove the skin, so only sear my chook). Keep aside. If you are using a slow cooker, pop the chicken in.

Heat a large saucepan or stove top friendly casserole pan. Add the butter, then garlic, onions & tarragon stalks (the ones I told you to hang onto). Cook for about 5-10 minutes until they start to colour. Add the wine & reduce the liquid by about 3/4 .

If you are finishing on the stovetop, add the chook, mushies and the stock. If it needs it, add just enough water to make sure the chicken is covered in liquid. Add a few drops of lemon juice. Bring to the boil and immediately lower the heat. Simmer gently with a lid on for an hour- skimming & stirring occasionally.

If you are finishing this in the slow cooker, do the same, but with the slow cooker & let it do its thing while you enjoy Sunday afternoon. I let it wallow for a few hours.

Remove the chicken and set aside. Increase the heat & reduce the cooking liquid by half. Remove the tarragon stalks (and any stray garlic cloves which you threw in), pop the chicken back in & add the tarragon leaves- that you have had the foresight to chop up.

Naturally if you are doing this as a soupy in the bowl with lots of juices thing, don’t stress too much over the reducing.

Plonk it in the middle of the table with mash or pasta or whatever it is you are using, and let people help themselves. Too easy.

Port Macquarie Breakwater. Pic by me.

Over the weekend I thought a lot about messages.

Hubby and I had left the mansion and dependents in the capable hands of the palace guards and choofed off up the coast to Port Macquarie. With the Moon in Gemini, it was a perfect couple of days for catching up- something that has been difficult with both of our schedules this year. Hubby has his natal Moon in Gemini, so was well in tune with the chatty vibe.

On Saturday afternoon we went for a wander with my camera down to the beach and along the breakwater. On the breakwater we read messages that had been left on the rocks. Messages of love, of loss, of friendship, of messy nights and memorable holidays.

On the beach I wrote messages in the sand that would be taken away by the tide within a few hours. Much less permanent than the messages on the rocks, but no less meaningful- just writing it made it real to me.

Port Macquarie Breakwater. Pic by me.

That was Gemini Moon energy. La Luna has now moved into Cancer and things may feel very different over the next couple of days. Emotions seem somehow closer to the surface and possibly even under threat.

If you are a Lunar type or find yourself unable or unwilling to deal with whatever gets brought up for you at this time, you may find yourself indulging in a little emotional eating. If this is you (and you know yourself best) take some pre-emptive actions:

• If you are the snacky type, keep a stock of relatively guilt free snacks in the fridge/cupboard. And yes, I know that sometimes the healthy stuff just doesn’t cut it, but natural yoghurt with berries or vegie crudites with some macadamia or other nut paste (just make sure it’s sugar free) will have that creaminess that you may be craving.
• Build up a “bank” of calories at the gym first- the benefit may be that you work the emotion out in the sweat. Now this isn’t something that I recommend for all the time (what am I talking about? I am sooo the worlds biggest “do what I say not what I do” hypocrite), but when you just know that there are danger signs ahead, a little extra credit in the sweat bank allows a little lunar indulgence without the subsequent beat yourself up sessions.
• Think about comfort foods which nourish and warm the belly- broths, spicy Asian warm salads (for some reason I find I can’t eat anything cold at this time), poached chicken, and teas made with the warmth of ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and other spices

If that doesn’t work, write it down. If you are a journaller whose habit has slipped, pull that tattered moleskine back out. If you have never tried, let your imagination (and emotions) run free. But with Mars in Virgo, take care not to edit yourself- that isn’t what this is about.

that would be telling... pic by me.

Milford Sound, Pic by me.

Blisters are painful. I know- my feet are currently cut to pieces as I try to break in a new pair of shoes. And yes, I hear you ask, they are the right size, it’s just that the strappy bits press into a different part of my foot than other strappy bits do.

For me it’s an occupational part of the advent of summer- getting used to strappy shoes and having to recondition the scar tissue. You would think that I would learn and would either buy softer leather, wear more sensible shoes or deal with the whole stocking thing in the middle of summer. But then again, I am a Pisces- and apart from having the type of feet that function best in Italian, common sense is not one of my strengths.

Blisters, scar tissue- it’s all a little eeeuw really, but I guess it serves a purpose for toughening the tootsies. Which is sort of apt moving into stinger territory, a taste of which we have over the next couple of days with the Moon in Cancer, and our instincts to protect ourselves and our families are a little stronger than normal. As the Moon moves to oppose Pluto over the next few hours, a deeper Scorpionic undertone will abide.

And all this before the Sun even moves into Scorpio to join Mercury and Venus.

In stinger territory there is often an impulse to attack before we defend. Sort of like scar tissue in a way. But this year under Scorpio, I’m on a mission to expand on the positive and healing side of the Scorpion.

So, in the lead up to the Sun moving into Scorpio, here are a couple of sayings which turn it all around. The first was posted by one of my favourite Facebook Kiwi readers (thanks Kerry), whilst the 2^nd was also posted on a friends Facebook wall (thanks Sybilla).

The only people with whom you should try to get even with are those who have helped you.

Holding a grudge is letting someone live rent free in your head.

If you have more, let me know. In the meantime, my FB friends (special shout-out to Nicole) have been suggesting Scorpio songs.

The list so far:

I wanna do bad things things with you, the theme from True Blood

Every Breath You Take, The Police

Spies, Coldplay

No Regrets, Robbie Williams

For now, I am off to Brisbane for the next couple of days to do some cleansing and de-toxing Pluto work, ie clean outs and demolitions.

So, let’s quickly talk some more about the Cancer Moon. This couple of days is notorious for good old emotional comfort eating. This sort of makes sense as you shore up your defences- and sometimes it is easier to swallow your feelings and fill your tummy with warmth than it is to munch on a lettuce leaf.

The trick is to do both- fill the tummy with nutritional (because that is what is really nurturing) warmth that makes you feel comforted without the excess calories. Tonight we’re doing a variation on thai green curry chicken- one of my favourite feel good meals. This one involves steaming the chicken for extra tenderness without the fat, and lightening the curry sauce with reduced fat coconut cream and a garden worth of herbs for green goodness. If you are interested, here is the link to the recipe.

And finally, to bring in some sunshine through all the watery gloom, here is a pic I took back at Easter of Milford Sound in the late afternoon sunshine.

Neptune is now retrograde- and as usual, that has taken me by surprise. But then again, I am naturally illusional & delusional…. say nothing!

For some reason I almost miss the Neptune retrograde every year- which is weird given that Neptune is the modern ruler of Pisces, so (with Jupiter) jointly rules my chart. Anyway, Neptune is currently stationary and will be retrograde until the beginning of November.

But what does this mean? Key words we associate with Neptune are intuitive, deceptive, fantasy, dreamy, highly sensitised, escapist and delusional. Yep Pisces characteristics all wrapped up in a single planet.

During the retrograde period, Neptune becomes more Neptunian. Your intuition will be heightened and you may suddenly get insights into something you have been struggling with. Seeing things clearer, you may no longer be able to deny truths that you have been…well, denying- something that I personally do an awful lot of. Sometimes it can be hard to listen to what we need to listen to- and that is where the escapist nature of Neptune may also come into play. During the retrograde period you may be more inclined to run away into whatever is your favourite way of escaping. Not a great idea- you will have to emerge from the self induced alcoholic haze (or is that just me) at some point & see reality for what it is.

Who is affected? Pisces, Pisces, Pisces. Anyone with a Pisces Sun, Moon or Ascendant will become even more essentially Piscean. At this point I should issue a general warning for anyone & everyone who knows me! Also impacted are anyone with lots of planets in the 12th house and especially people with planets at around 29-24 degrees of Aquarius, Leo, Taurus and Scorpio.

The Moon is currently in Cancer- a time of the month where Moon types (in particular, and others to a lesser degree) turn their attention to the comforts of their home & the fullness of their tummy.

In line with that sentiment, rather than going out tonight the neighbours & us are doing one of our special pantry combo dinners. Essentially this is where none of us can be faffed going out or even to the grocery store, so we have the mother of all invention tests.

My contribution is my fabulous fruit crumble- which I can only eat the fruit bit of at present, but thems the breaks!

Anyways, here is the recipe:

For the fruit:

I use about 455g of mixed fruit- whatever is in the freezer eg frozen berries, & usually a few chopped apples. I toss through a touch of lemon juice & some cinnamon. As long as berries are in the mix, any extra sugar is overkill.

I don’t cook it off at all, but rather just throw it in the bottom of my favourite crumble pot.

For the crumble:

225g plain flour/traditional oats- any combo of the two

115g chopped cold butter

90g soft brown sugar

Pulse the crumble mix together in a food processor & spoon on top. Cook in a pre-heated 200C oven for about 30 minutes or until it is all golden brown & bubbly.