my home for the weekend

As I write, Venus is just hours from moving into Cancer, and, more importantly for you long suffering Mercurial types out there, Mercury is virtually stationary and will turn direct in just over a day.

This has been an interesting retrograde for many reasons- most of which can be found scattered throughout the London Olympics! It is, however, nearly over.

If we are looking for a theme of the week though, it would have to go to the applying conjunction between Mars and Saturn in Libra.

Mars is uncomfortable in Libra- his methods don’t normally involve relationships and compromises. Saturn, on the other hand, is exalted in this sign, so sort of like the favoured guest that you get all the good food in for and lay out all the fluffiest towels for.

Mars, amongst other duties, defends what is ours and what we want to be ours- our territories and boundaries, if you like. Saturn represents those boundaries. This is one of those times where you will get what you want only by following established structures and patterns. To do anything else will only lead to frustrations and irritation.

This won’t be exact until this time next week, but the pressure already feels as though it is building…As a transit, it is relatively short- lasting just a couple of days- but when Mars is involved, the potential for the “red mist” to descend over your eyes and create damage is unlimited. Bear that one in mind…

Maybe I’m already feeling the Mars/Saturn energy because the Moon is now in Aries and just finished the monthly plotting session that is the conjunction with Uranus. For some reason this aspect always reminds me of Dastardly Dan from Wacky Races…or is that just me?

Anyways, La Luna is now on her way to face off against Mars and then Saturn- more reasons why that energy is so “out there” at present.

Best advice? If you feel the steam building up, sweat it out…this will be more effective than waiting it out. The energy you burn may also push away some of the inherent frustration. If, however, you are idle, the tendency is to look for some other way to blow it off- that whole “I’m bored so I thought I’d start an argument” thing. Don’t look at me like that- we all do it!

Speaking of fire, the pics below are of a bonfire down at Eucumbene on the weekend.

Part of preparations for summer and the bushfire season each year is to burn off fuel- and this is the best time of year to do that in the Snowies. The ground is moist, the air is supremely cold, the surrounding fuel is generally wet and the potential for something to get out of control is minimal. Having said that, more than the usual amount of care obviously has to be taken. This particular fire was spectacular in its’ brevity before it ran out of fuel and was doused by sleet and overnight snow.

…which brings me back full circle to Aries Moon and Mars/Saturn! Controlled burn-offs to avert destruction. Love it.

Until next time…

If you want to read more about our weekend adventures of check out the pics, I’ll be posting over on www.andanyways.com in the next few days.

before…

during…

after!

From the top of the Empire State Building. Pic by me.

This time last year I was on top of the Empire State Building & it was the coldest I have ever been in my entire life.

My friend wanted to go up for Valentines Day (a la Sleepless in Seattle), but I am more of a When Harry Met Sally type of girl and DO NOT DO QUEUING. No jokes about the fake orgasm scene either please- they were exhausted last week (apologies, that was an “in” joke). So we compromised and went up on the evening of the 13th (New York time), which was Valentines Day back in Sydney. So it sort of counted. And seriously, let me just say that if it was that cold when Meg Ryan was standing up there, no one is worth waiting for in that type of cold! But then again, I am a bit of a Scrooge Mc Love when it comes to Valentines Day.

Sure I have the whole Piscean touchy feely thing going on, but I do not want to wait an entire year before I am appreciated, if you know what I mean. Venus in Aries waits for nothing. Instant gratification is the key…but there is something very sexy in the whole drawn out dance around each other thing too…as long as it doesn’t go on too long. Suffice to say, after 20 whatever years if hubby did the flower thing on Valentines Day my Mars in Scorpio would probably be a tad on the suspicious side…I prefer the occasional bunch of unscheduled daisies (or gerberas) during the year.

Anyway, I know the rest of you out there are into the whole lurve thing, so I have jumped on the bandwagon with some posts which might hit the mark.

In the skies for Valentines Day, the Moon is still in Gemini, so communication is the key theme. But with the Moon about to move into Cancer mid afternoon (Sydney time) make sure that you mean what comes out of your mouth. For those of you in the US, and for restaurant bookings in Australia, the key to love will be through the tummy. Guys, buy the best chocolates you can & girls, a home cooked meal with love will go down well… just don’t talk babies until after the deal has been struck. Mercury is in trine to Saturn, so if you have something to say, you won’t get a better chance to do it.

For some reason Aquarius feels like the longest sign to get through- probably because my birthday is in the next sign & it is, after all, all about me!

Anyways, hopefully my 2nd last Aquarius post- Aquarius at Work for astrology.com.

© Francesco Ridolfi | Dreamstime.com My mac doesn't look anything as sexy as this mac...my mac is comfort mac.

The Moon is still in Taurus and now separating from a supportive trine to the Venus & Pluto love fest.

One other thing I should have mentioned about Pluto is compulsion and ruthlessness. Combined with the Moon in Taurus, I would like to lay money that there was plenty of compulsive behaviour in the direction of the fridge today.

So far I have resisted the temptation, but have succumbed to a glass of red wine now…purely for creative assistance, of course.

I am, however, craving macaroni cheese. I think I have mentioned before that I have enough mac cheese recipes to write an entire cookbook. It could be called something cheesey (excuse the pun) like Mad About Mac or… you get the idea. I am craving pasta, but trying hard to avoid wheat in general & gluten in specific at present, so will satisfy my cravings by proxy.

Anyway in the interest of the fact that there is nothing really interesting happening in the sky & I have a sort of semi habit of posting recipes at the Taurus Full Moon, here is another- my basic every day mac. Quantities are hugely approximated, so Virgos can put their scales away.

We serve this with oven baked potato chips on the side- fresh wedges are great, but those crinkle cut ones from the freezer soak up the cheesy sauce beautifully.

I also like to chop up some shallots & bacon (or pancetta) & fry it till it is really golden & then sprinkle it on top. One of the only times I like crispy bacon, actually. Shards of oven baked pancetta or prosciutto is yummy too.

Ingredients:
400g macaroni
About 2 cups milk, I use low fat because that is in the house
A few good handfuls of grated cheddar cheese (or bits of whatever is in the fridge)
45g butter
3 tablespoons plain flour
8 slices rindless bacon or pancetta, roughly diced
shallots

Method:
Cook the pasta in salted water.
Make a béchamel sauce in the way you normally would- melt the butter down, stir through the flour to make a thickish paste (the technical term is, I think, roux) & cook it for a few minutes over a med heat to cook the flour taste out. Stir all the time so it doesn’t catch.
Over a low heat, stir in the milk until the sauce has thickened. I like to pre-heat the milk in the microwave as it means I am not stirring for as long. Season with salt & pepper as needed. Throw in the cheese & stir through until it melts.
Stir through the cooked pasta.
Serve with chippies & bacon bits or in a bowl on its own. A glass of red cuts through the fat. Temporary relief from stress (at least until you realise how many calories you consumed… and yes, licking the saucepan out does count) guaranteed.

A bay leaf in the milk when it is heating in the microwave adds extra flavour, as does a grating of fresh nutmeg. Alternatively, for something different, a little mustard powder in with the flour adds a sort of welsh rarebit flavour.

Crystal Castle, Mullumbimby. Pic by me.

I did my first meditation class last night, and yes, I know it is a rather contradictory activity to be doing under an Aries Moon.

I have been doing Kundalini Yoga for a year or so now and love it, but have never really mastered the whole meditation thing. My excuse has always been that it’s painful sitting cross legged in that position for so long (holding your back straight in that possie is actually a great core work out on its’ own), there are so many other things I should be doing rather than trying not to think and my Pisces 12th house Mercury brain (the worst in history) is so full of monkey chatter that there would be no way I could quiet it down in any case.

But that is where I had been kidding myself.

The whole point to meditation, well, Kundalini meditation, is to dump the garbage. Let it come out, acknowledge it and dump it. And that, for me, is scary and requires a weird sort of courage…trust me, you don’t want to know what is in my head, let alone see what it looks like after it has been swirling and whirling around in there for however long! Pisces is, after all, the junk collector of the zodiac. And courage is something that is very appropriate to the Aries Moon.

The sub conscious is really a 12th house place. It’s where we hide things away. It’s where we hide away. It’s where we escape to, where the thoughts, addictions, compulsions and activities that bring us undone lie. It’s where we put our secrets and the things we simply can’t talk about.

The 12^th house is also about institutions, prisons, hospitals. The places, things and concepts which keep us locked up, away from the world or in confinement. In some cases it may be literal, in most, however, the things that imprison us are parts of ourselves. We don’t talk much about the 12^th house, it’s not a fun place, but we all have one. If you have a strong Pisces or Neptune signature in your chart, the 12^th house will be somewhere that you may be spending quite a bit of your energy on.

It is also secret enemies. Those ones who smile sweetly at you in the office but that you know are bitching and gossiping behind your back. We all have them…we all are one. There might be the girl who everyone else likes but that you are insanely jealous of for stupid reasons or the guy who seeks your advice and then uses it against you.

12^th house stuff is what keeps us awake at night. In my case, it is what makes me reach for the next glass of wine. It is what sends me running after the new and exciting and yearning to jump on a plane to anywhere to fill holes and truths that I don’t want to acknowledge.

It’s that dark closet that you keep shoving stuff into until one day you (or someone else) accidentally opens and it all comes tumbling out and whacks you on the head so you have no choice but to clean it up. And the problem with putting things into that sub conscious closet is that no matter how dark you make the room or how tightly you close the door you know that it is in there and everything you think and everything you do is, in some way, based even a little (unconsciously) about what is in that closet.

Mine opened last week and a great big virtual skeleton whacked me over the head when it fell out. But in the light of day it really wasn’t that scary. And once it was out I sort of wondered what the whole fuss had been about and spent a sleepless night worrying about the assumptions I had made and misconceptions and misunderstandings. Yet, if I had the courage to talk about it all ages ago and not poke it away it would never have become the huge black scary hairy monster in the closet that it was.  And once it was talked about it didn’t need to go back in the closet, it can sort of just…well, go.

So I decided to be brave and face whatever else is lurking- part of my mission to try and be nicer to myself, I guess. It did all make realise how tightly I control, or rather attempt to control things. Right down to this whole business about reading the last page of a book so I know what I am committing to or only watching movies that I know have a feel good factor and a happy ending. Part of my darkness is not wanting to face anyone elses’ shadow either. And that is limiting.

As long as we keep jamming stuff into the closet, we have an excuse. Exactly like when you know there is something you want to do, need to do for yourself at home, but you just know you can’t do it until the linen cupboard is cleaned out or those old books are sold on ebay or last seasons clothes are packed away. So it is with secrets or 12^th house stuff. They become reasons why we can’t be happy or have the courage to come out from under whatever rock we are living under.

Which is why I went to meditation. To see what else came out. To do a little more 12^th house de-cluttering. I will keep going. There are lots of shelves in my brain that need to be dusted off and given a good wipe down and many more excuses stored in the back corners providing reasons for me to stand still.