We were the first people there, followed by another couple of parents and their children.  As we sat waiting for the others to arrive, I heard one of the children say “I want my sticker. When will we get our sticker?” It turned out that children got a sticker for ‘listening well’ to the stories and ‘joining in’ on the singing.

You might think “That’s great, children love stickers, what a brilliant idea to get them to behave well and participate!” Or you may wonder, like me, “Why on earth are they getting stickers for doing something that they love, and which they will most likely enjoy anyway?” You may even be worried, like me, that this will have an impact upon their learning and enjoyment of such activities.

This type of incentivisation in childhood worries me, mainly because of the implications it has for motivation and learning.

Absorbed in reading

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/apr/25/children-books-advice-for-parents)

Many studies have been carried out, including a couple of meta analyses (studies which look at the findings of many studies). These clearly show that incentives undermine motivation and performance, not only of children but of adults too (unless the incentives are for very boring or simple tasks) and especially when the tasks require creativity. See here for a recent review of the decline of creativity in young people.

In the case of rewards for young children, researchers have carried out a study which looked at what happens when you reward children for doing a drawing.  They took fifty-one 40-64 month olds and measured their initial interest in drawing, by observing how long they spent on the activity.

Children were selected into one of three groups: those who expected a reward after the drawing; those who did not expect an award but received one, and those who were given no award.  Then a couple of weeks later the drawing activity was reintroduced and researchers observed. What they found was those who had been aware that they were getting an award showed a decline in motivation and perseverance. They had less interest in drawing than those from the other two groups. Rewarding children in this way made them less fond of the activity they once loved.

Psychologists believe the reason this happens is that children overplay the importance of extrinsic motivators, believing that their behaviour is influenced by objective rewards rather than their own internal resources and motivation.

There are, however, times when extrinsic rewards are necessary but this is usually when intrinsic motivation is low to begin with, not as in the case of singing and story time for 1 – 3 year olds.

Considering the wealth of information around, I was  surprised to see the reward system in action, and at such a young age. Especially because California specifically has been targeted for such bad practices in the past.

Introducing extrinsic motivations so early in life, for things that young children enjoy, is a sure way to stop them enjoying those things. It will undermine their motivation to explore the interesting possibilities that life offers. Let’s encourage young ones to have a curiosity for life and cultivate a love of learning, rather than trying to get them to do what we want via stickers and rewards.

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600 words copyright Emily Cutts/Anne Whitaker 2010
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

"Jupiter meets Uranus" by Anne Whitaker (2009)

(for more information, click HERE)

Those of you following the  “Jupiter Meets Uranus” section of this 4-part site will know that I have been writing a series of preparatory articles, orienting readers toward the 2010/11 Jupiter/Uranus conjunctions, since the beginning of the year.

Last month I selected 12 volunteers strongly “plugged-in” to the late Pisces/ early Aries energy of the new conjunction. Then I sent them preparatory notes, followed by the first of six Questionnaires. They obligingly sent back varied and colourful feedback, and I hope now will continue to do so right through until next Spring 2011, by which time the new Jupiter/Uranus cycle will have become established.

By next Spring, then, through following the unfolding of those 12 lives, we should all have a better grasp of just how many branches can spring from the same recognisable core of the Jupiter/Uranus combo. Seeing this vital, unique essence shining through all 17 of the varied lives of my 1997 researchees made the slog of doing the research worthwhile then.

Having now stopped banging my head off the wall, moaning “Why, why, WHY am I doing this?” (Saturn/Pluto, anyone?) I am now surfing that unique wave of enthusiasm, excitement and anticipation of the new (and probably weird) which Jupiter/Uranus brings at its best.

Do join me and a great band of volunteers in following their unfolding drama over the next few months. Installments One (6.8.10) and Two (13.8.10) are now out there!

Check out

Jupiter/Uranus 2010/11: “Tales from the Wild Ride” Part One

AND

Tales from the Wild Ride ii) : Jupiter/Uranus 2010/11

And finally, I leave you with a trenchant observation on the ups and downs of the unique, turbulent energy field we are all currently moving through – from one of the volunteers, “Fiona”:

‘ I feel like the scales keep falling from my eyes on any number of fronts. But off we go – into the wild blue J/U yonder…..’

By the time I had completed that project, my friends, family and students were so fed up with my Jupiter/Uranus obsession that they began crossing to the other side of the road when they saw me approaching(I exaggerate, but only slightly!)

However, so compelling has been the interest in the 2010/11 Jupiter Uranus conjunctions in Aries and Pisces across the Web, and so persistent my emailers, commenters and volunteers, that here I am, at it again. Am I mad or what??!!

Of the many volunteers, I have had to restrict my group to 12. It would not have been realistically possible to take on more, given the demands on my time and restrictions imposed by eyesight problems which I hope will not get much worse over the coming months.

(For those of you Virgoan types who are interested in more detail re how the project is set up and structured, I have created a special page in which I have posted some of the ‘boring but necessary background stuff’. Click HERE if you want to check that out. NOTE: I am allowing a wide orbital range of 22 Pisces to 5 Aries. This is five degrees applying to the 27 Pisces – 0 Aries ‘hot spot’ where the conjunctions take place – and five degrees separating.)

But now, on to the first of those Tales from the Wild Ride, which will now unfold on a regular basis until next Spring 2011. A great big ‘thank you’ to those volunteers prepared to share their unfolding stories with the rest of us. Apart from some minor editing, you are reading their own words.Through them, you will be able to observe the transformational impact of the turbulent unpredictability of Jupiter/Uranus, held in a matrix of darkness, delay and difficulty brought by Saturn/Pluto – so obvious ‘across the map’ of the spring-autumn period of 2010 in our individual and collective lives….

The New Moon - a cycle just beginning....

In the beginning…..

1) April and May 2010 (build-up period to conjunction on 8.6.10):

Five subjects’ feedback :

Personal Life

Did you experience anything significant of an inner/outer nature during this period? (Bear in mind that any planetary energy can strike a ‘dumb note’ with you, but be vividly observable in the life/lives of family or and/or friends and/or significant others)

(Please indicate which of the following 4 categories applies)

Very much so: 4/5
Moderately so: 1/5
Mildly so: 0/5
Not at all: 0/5

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Alicia Aged 53

( Asc/Desc 23 Virgo/Pisces – included  to see the extent to which a wide orb ‘delivers’ )

Alicia Aged 53

Very Much So

In a nutshell, everything broke.  My laptop (which I depend on for my livelihood) had to be repaired not once, but twice, and spent the whole period in the shop (Uranus rules my sixth).  My fridge broke down.  The wiring in my house kept shorting things.  Lots of frustrations with things electronic.

I have a Moon/Uranus conjunction in the 11th—my best friend had a major rift with her son (still not mended), and my mother had one with another family member…..

Sometime around Easter, suddenly fell out of love with someone I’d been in love with for more than three years…..

Intellectually, creatively and intuitively, this period was very intense and rewarding for my astrological work.  I broke a lot of new ground in these months—particularly in researching psycho-sexual development and relating it to the asteroids…..

There has been a major breakthrough, for me, in understanding the way sexuality develops and the ways it can manifest differently in different people.  I’ve come to the conclusion that we’re still in the dark ages about understanding sexual orientation.  I relate this to the (Ed. Jupiter/Uranus) energy falling in my 7th house and to the general Aries/Libra stimulation….. I’m looking forward to where this is going to take my work.

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Julia Aged 37

(Venus 26 Pisces conj Sun 01 Aries /8th House)

Julia Aged 37

Very Much So

Yes. From March onwards, escalating across April and May I experienced one of the most difficult and stressful periods in my life….

The problems of this time came down to the fact I’ve been pioneering a radically new concept and while it’s been gaining a great deal of support and significant progress has been made, the first six months of this year and in particular March, April and May, were periods of great difficulty and set backs.

My experience of this period was one of extreme contrast – finding that on the one hand extremely powerful people and organisations were lining up by my side to support my project, but on the other hand traditional societal and economic models were working against my endeavors and at times making it feel as if I’d set my heart on an impossible task.

……I felt acutely aware of the fact that two opposing sides were in a showdown, both holding their ground, the innovators raising the bar and pushing harder than ever to bring new ideas and approaches to the fore, as the traditionalists pushed against them, being as obstructive as possible.
During this period I was very much aware that I was not the only person feeling frustrated and at times angered at the scenarios unfolding around the world. Many friends and colleagues were feeling similar emotions and feeling at the end of their tether; sick and tired of the status quo and feeling like something has got to give.

The period was mainly one where I worked exceedingly hard behind the scenes, maneuvering around a multitude of obstacles that relentlessly presented themselves, finding plans got delayed and just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

However, ……the delays caused by the obstacles during March, and to an even greater extent April, which came to a climax in May, have led to better opportunities in the long run. New opportunities started to present themselves during April and May, some from external sources, others because I tried some new ways of doing things…….  I think I came out of that period stronger and braver than when I entered it.

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Kathy Aged 54

(Mercury 01 deg Aries widely conj Sun 9 Aries /9th House)

Kathy Aged 54

Long Easter week-end in Barcelona. Because of lack of resources have not been able to travel since 2000. First time for 15 years to travel to a new place. Like coming home. Blown away by Gaudí. The trip resulted in many well-received articles for my blog.

The friend I travelled with had never been abroad in her life (63 years of age). Two weeks after Barcelona she won a free trip to Florence, Italy in October. Also suddenly she has had a lot of contacts with foreigners which in her everyday environment is not normal.

Sudden death of a dear friend, my family doctor from Cyprus (16 April).

An out-of-the-blue phone call from my Cypriot male friend on May 28th. His Sun/Moon is on 29°53’ Pisces. We met May 1988 (I was living on Cyprus then), had no contact 1993 – 2005 (I moved back to Finland in March 2000). He got in touch via common friends in 2005, we met briefly in January 2007, had a long week-end in Berlin March 2009 and have been in touch ever since. He was my travelling-companion on the Greek odyssey I just returned from. An extremely challenging relationship but difficult if not impossible to put a lid on.

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Harry Aged 41

(Sun 0 Aries conj NNode 0 Aries conj Chiron 2.5 Aries/8th House)

Harry Aged 41

Moderately So

Much of what I experienced in May (April was fairly quiet, I believe) –  beginning May 10th, in fact — was done so through my partner, someone with a 7 Libra Sun.

An opportunity to work — and subsequently live — overseas, one that had been bubbling on a back burner since late-October (when Saturn was Direct and first moved into opposition with my Sun and was conjunct my natal Jupiter/Uranus), suddenly picked up a great deal of steam.  We once again found ourselves seriously considering the probability of making this move and how it would change our lives, etc and so on.

In a way, with Uranus ruling my 7th House, this kind of makes sense.  This Uranus/Jupiter conjunction in opposition to my natal Jupiter/Uranus and conjunct my Sun/North Node could certainly manifest in the lives of those I share my life with.

I also learned that a dear friend of mine, another Libra who has this Uranus/Jupiter conjunction on her Ascendant, landed a sizeable role in a big Hollywood movie in LA at the same time she learned her Mother might possibly need bypass surgery in NYC (Pluto is moving over her Midheaven and through her 10th House).

Like I said, most of the events I’m witnessing are happening to those I consider partners or close friends.

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Caroline Aged 58

(MC 1 Libra/IC 1 Aries)

Caroline Aged 58

Very Much So

Themes of family and home predominated my thoughts and feelings. April I returned to live and work in the US after 10 years living abroad. I am without a home, job, or money. I am new born, vulnerable and exposed, temporarily living with friends who are as close as family.

I felt disoriented in my new, unfamiliar environment. I had trouble connecting with the community and spent most of this time at home on my own. Feeling like a fish out of water.

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To read the whole “Tales from the Wild Ride” series now unfolding from August 2010 to March 2011,  click HERE:

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IMPORTANT

All comments/shared experiences most welcome! If you have enjoyed this first of the Tales from the Wild Ride, it would be great if you could send the link around your networks, so that as many people as possible can follow the series and see ‘astrology in action’!

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1600 words copyright Anne Whitaker/Participants in 2010/11 Jupiter/Uranus Research Study
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

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Uranus went retrograde on 5 July, Jupiter does the same on 23 July. Late July sees the Saturn/Uranus opposition repeating, joined by transiting Mars shifting from Virgo to Libra at the end of July/start of August, triggering that opposition and the whole Cardinal Cross once more. Another stress point then.

I felt like writing something along the lines of  “Well, what do you think of the show so far?” and was looking for an angle to take. As usual, I was helped by one of the many emailers/commenters to this site, Clair, who last commented on 14 July 10:

‘….I’m still trying to figure out if this transit is positive or negative. It will be interesting to see your findings! As I have 3 planets in late Pisces, I think that Uranus conjuncting has turned my whole life upside down from relationships, home, work and friends. This may be positive or negative, time will tell and I’ll let you know…..’

She gave me my angle!

Jupiter Meets Uranus

Last  May 2009 I was interviewed by the American Federation of Astrologers, during which the following question came up:

(AFA Interview: Jupiter, Uranus and the Purple People from Planet Zog….)

” AFA: Do you see Jupiter-Uranus as positive or negative change, or does it represent something else?

AW: Without the unimaginably destructive act of creation, the Big Bang, which as far as we can surmise began our universe, we would not be here to observe our world’s wonders as well as its terrors. Positive and negative energies are two sides of the same coin, wherever we look. I hope I have conveyed that unity adequately in ‘Jupiter Meets Uranus’. “

Today I want to look at some key collective impacts of this first phase of the new conjunction, bearing the above clearly in mind. You might make a different selection. The following stood out for me.

Science:

As I make clear in my 2009 book on Jupiter and Uranus, this combination of planets very strikingly co-incides with ‘great leaps forward’ in the restless questing of the human spirit via great journeys of discovery. For example, the first landing in the USA in 1513 by the explorer Ponce de Leon, near what was to be called Cape Canaveral, took place with Jupiter and Uranus exactly conjunct in Aries.

As the 2010 conjunction approached exactitude at 0 degrees Aries, on 20th May 2010 it was reported that Craig Venter’s company has created the first artificial living cell – using highly sophisticated computer technology.

On 7 June 2010, I received this comment:
‘Here is an exciting piece of news from MSN: Chinese scientists have been able to “teleport” data over long distances using quantum entanglement. Perfect Jupiter/Uranus symbolism!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37556750/ns/technology_and_science-science/ ‘

On July 7, 2010 this report appeared: PAYERNE airport, Switzerland (Reuters) – A giant glider-like aircraft has completed the first night flight propelled only by solar energy: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=aircraft-completes-first-solar

First Solar Powered Flight

And my own mind-blowing personal favourite of this first phase appeared in a whole page article in the UK’s Sunday Times, on 11 July 2010,  headed

WHAT THIS AMAZING IMAGE TELLS US ABOUT CREATION

Thanks to  the Planck satellite, we now  have ” a new picture of the universe (which) will give vital clues about the Big Bang that (we think) started it all….” ( Richard Woods)

To see that stunning image and accompanying article, go to: http://creation.com/planck-sees-big-bang

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Planet Earth, Big Oil, Angry Humans:

For  99 per cent of us humans who can read/see tv/get on line, the biggest event of the first phase of the new Jupiter/Uranus cycle has to be the world’s greatest oil disaster, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill which happened on 20th April 2010 and still continues, as the now universally hated BP struggles to contain it, locked head to head with the USA government and especially a very angry President Obama, whilst the devastated human and animal populations of the affected area continue to suffer untold economic, social, physical, emotional and spiritual harm.

In the AFA interview already mentioned in May 2009, I was asked about my thoughts regarding the energy field of the upcoming conjunctions in 2010/11. Having cautioned that when you are dealing with Uranus, if you can exactly predict it, it isn’t Uranus  – and that the upcoming conjunction would be held in a matrix of darkness, difficulty and delay provided by the accompanying Saturn/Pluto square – I made the following comments:

(AFA Interview: Jupiter, Uranus and the Purple People from Planet Zog….)

” The Jupiter-Uranus predilection for seeing no limits, leaping before it looks and challenging the established order expressed through the filter of the rash, angry impetuousness of Aries and locked with the harsh, power-driven determination not to budge of the Saturn-Pluto square, offers a difficult and dangerous picture ….

….Also suggested is fiery eruption disrupting the very fabric of the Earth itself…..”

It is fascinating from an astrological viewpoint that the oil eruption generated by human arrogance, rashness and the placing of profit before safety, took place when the forming conjunction was still in Pisces, and conjunct the fixed star Scheat whose connection with disasters at sea was correctly pointed out by several astrologers prior to the Gulf of Mexico disaster – most notably, Theo White of  Global Astrology Blog and Jamie Funk of  FUNKASTROLOGY. Check them out!

Then, of course, there was the ‘fiery eruption’ of the Icelandic volcano on 16 April 2010 immediately preceding the Gulf of Mexico event. And we are still nervously awaiting the possible eruption of a second, much bigger, Icelandic volcano……

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These, then, are my ‘picks’ from our collective life over the last few months, as the drama of a new Jupiter/Uranus conjunction – and beginning 14-year cycle –plays out within the structure of  the Cardinal Cross. How can we possibly separate out a polarity of ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ from that weave?

No doubt those wonderfully ‘boldly going’ scientific leaps forward will prove to have their shadow side. Those universal human urges of greed and the drive for profit regardless of ethics are no doubt already beginning to hitch a ride.

I don’t know about you, but it usually takes my being hurled against the wall a few times before I begin to understand where and how I need to change my patterns….

We humans need to change our patterns in the way we live on Planet Earth. Maybe the terrible shake-up and wake-up call provided already by events in the Gulf of Mexico will at last force us all to take responsibility for the consequences of our addiction to an oil-powered lifestyle?

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COMING NEXT : feedback from the front line, as my individual Jupiter/Uranus researchees send in their first questionnaires. Watch this space!!

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1100 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2010
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

1. on “Writing from the Twelfth House”

Articles on writing, in-depth astrology, positive ageing, experiences of oneness: Guest Slot: Book Reviews, Favourite Quotes, two new Cartoons….and who knows what else! Just keep dropping by – and do leave a comment now and then!

Read Latest Post :(29.7.10)

Desperately Seeking Annie: Swimming in a secret sea (iii)

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2. on “MoreBitsFallOff.com”

Read Latest Post : (30.7.10)

Places of healing: the Orkney Isles

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3:

Excited about the new Jupiter/Uranus 14-year cycle which began in 0 degrees Aries on 8th June 2010? Wondering what may lie ahead as the conjunction repeats in autumn 2010 and winter 2011? Curious about the impact of the conjunction on the lives of those “plugged in” to late Pisces/ early Aries? Want to read Anne’s definitive new book on Jupiter/Uranus conjunctions?

Check out her popular site  3.  “Jupiter meets Uranus” - recently included in Best Astrology Blogs – to read Anne’s whole series of in-depth articles on the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction – the most left field combo of the whole zodiac….

Read the latest post :

Jupiter meets Uranus April 10 to mid-July 10: what do you think of the show so far?

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4. on ‘Wisps from the Dazzling Darkness – a sceptic’s take on paranormal experience’

Read Latest Post : (23.7.10)

Beware the noonday sun: uncanny events in Lecce

(Note to those readers who used to follow this serial on “Writing from the Twelfth House” – I have at last caught up with myself on the new site, and from 4.6.10 will be posting new material !)

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I feel fortunate to have lively and challenging commentators!

The first two public comments and my answer follow a clear theme: the relationship between theories – in this case astrological theory re how the Jupiter/Uranus combo should play out in action – and empirical observation ‘on the ground’…..

8 June 2010 Jupiter/Uranus Conjunction

18.6.10

Hello Anne,
Well, I’m getting rather confused and frustrated. I have never gone through this transit without seeing an impact on my personal life…and yet, this time, nothing. I realize Jupiter/Uranus will conjunct twice more, but I usually have significant “hints” in the area of activity by this point. Any ideas?
from Sherry

and….

20.6.10

Sherry, I feel similar to you. I’ve had Jupiter and Uranus in the 5th house and it has been fun (lots of party invitations) but nothing life-changing YET. Keep in mind that there will be a lunar eclipse on the 26th-27th. So that could be the turning point needed for the conjunction to take full effect. We’ll see…

from Shana

Anne replies….

Hi Sherry and Shana

apologies for delay in reply. I have had one of my periodic switch-offs from computing – necessary to preserve tendons and sanity!

Your feedback clearly shows why we should do research as astrologers.

We only have to look at scientific theories to realise how marked the human tendency has been historically to take a theory as the truth – and not wish to contemplate contradictions. Look at what happened to Galileo in the 17th century when he challenged via his empirical observations the long-held Ptolemaic theory which endorsed the Catholic Church’s view that the Earth was the centre of the solar system!

My research on the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction in mid-February 1997 at 6 deg Aquarius, showed that of  17 researchees, 12 experienced inner/outer manifestations of the conjunction’s energies which supported the theory of what SHOULD happen, around the time of the conjunction: but five of them did not. Yet by the end of the research period of 1997/8, most of them reported very significant life changes in line with astrological theory. The stronger the Jupiter/ Uranus natal signature, the more dramatic and unexpected were the life changes.

So you can perhaps see from this why we need to take notes on what happened, if anything– or nothing – around the days preceding and following the conjunction; and at times when it is triggered off. Shana is right to identify the upcoming lunar eclipse – also, times when the inner planets trigger the three conjunction periods should be significant.

Eg tomorrow the Sun moves into 0 Cancer, squaring the conjunction and setting off the whole Grand Cross pattern. The UK tomorrow will hear its emergency budget delivered by the new coalition government (in itself a Jupiter/Uranus political shock!) which has been described in advance as the most radical and toughest budget of a generation.

But we also need to be patient and take the whole year from late Spring 2010 when the conjunction first began to come within orb, until early Spring 2011 when it finally separates for the third time, and Jupiter moves on. Only then will we be able to evaluate its essential impact both collectively and personally.

I will be writing to you researchees soon. Keep taking notes!

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To buy “Jupiter meets Uranus: from erotic bathing to star gazing“, described in a five-star review by Leah Whitehorse as “a page-turner of the astrology world”, click HERE

UK buyers, click HERE

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My main site is Writing from the Twelfth House, a popular magazine-type blog which has  been included in prestigious and prolific USA blogger Jude Cowell’s Top 10 Astrology Blogs 2009. ….and in  Kreativ Blogger Awards for 2010.

Interested in a sceptic’s take on paranormal experiences? Then check out my new site

“Wisps from the Dazzling Darkness”

750 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2010
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

The spray can of heavy duty industrial oven cleaner parked on the kitchen floor is a dead give away. Peel off those rubber gloves, stop pretending that your family will drop dead of food poisoning tonight if you don’t clean those charred meal residues insulating the inside of the oven right away. Follow me. Yes, just as I thought. The study door is ajar. I can see the laptop screen from here. Closer….yes, that’s it. Don’t die of embarrassment, it won’t help. A new document  is open on screen. A title?

“ (NB – provisional ) Of authorship and toads….”

artwork by Paul F. Newman

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And ? I suspected this. One paragraph indentation, and the word  “The”……can that really be all ? Oh. There’s a new line.

“ F— this, I might as well be cleaning the oven!!!!”

I have two words to say to you. Pay attention, they really will help, I promise:

Natalie Goldberg.

Some time ago, I visited Glasgow Buddhist Centre in search of a meditation stool. Yes, you’ve guessed, I had an article which had to be in the post by 5pm. I was distracted from the article by the stool, then distracted from the stool by Natalie Goldberg. Her book ” Wild Mind : Living the Writer’s Life” drew me like a lure. What a wonderful writer! What an inspiring book! Did the article get to the postbox? I’m not telling you.

Natalie Goldberg is an American writer  and creative writing teacher. She is sharp, witty, compassionate, lateral….and tough. She has bottom lines and is not afraid to state them. She has rules. My guess is, if you follow these rules on a regular basis, you’ll rarely be distracted by oven cleaning or any other form of housework ever again.

She is fanatical about writing practice. “ If you learn writing practice well, it is a good foundation for all other writing.” We need to do it as regularly as possible, she says.

“When you sit down to write, whether it’s for ten minutes or an hour, once you begin, don’t stop. If an atom bomb drops at your feet eight minutes after you have begun and you were going to write for ten minutes, don’t budge. You’ll go out writing.”

In essence, writing practice is a technique for cracking open the confining grip of our conscious, rational mind – and flying free into the big blue sky of what Goldberg calls “wild mind”.

Here, briefly, are Natalie’s rules:

(She also thinks they mostly work for hang gliding, tennis and sex.)

1. Keep your hand moving. If you stop your hand, you stop the creator’s flow and give the editor in you an opportunity to interrupt.

2. Lose control. Just say what you want no matter how inappropriate. Just go for it.

3. Be specific. Don’t write flower, write narcissus.

4. Don’t think. Stay with the first thing that flashes into your mind.

5. Don’t worry about punctuation, spelling, grammar.

6. You are free to write the worst junk in America ( or in your case, could be anywhere in the world ! )

7. Go for the jugular. Whatever comes up, no matter how frightening or disturbing, write it down.

There you are. Begin writing practice today. Next step, buy Goldberg’s books on the writers’ craft. They are a wonderful investment. I’m doing well with my writing practice, by the way. I’ve bought two new notebooks. Still can’t decide which one to start….

(slightly edited – first published in the Women Writers’ Network Newsletter June 2004)

600 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2010
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

Anne Whitaker has written in one context or another all her life, having had many articles and essays published in recent years in contexts as diverse as The Mountain Astrologer (USA), Kindred Spirit (UK) and Scotland’s Sunday Herald. Based in Glasgow in Scotland, she is now focusing on writing, and on running her popular website for writers and readers : “Writing from the Twelfth House.”

Her first book “Jupiter meets Uranus” was published in April 2009 by the American Federation of  Astrologers. It is a research study of the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction of  1997, set in its mythological and historical context. She is currently  seeking a publisher for her second book, which is now being serialised on its own website : “Wisps from the dazzling darkness – a sceptic’s take on paranormal experience” .

Contact email: contact.anne.w @googlemail.com

Annie would like to thank Anne for stepping in today. She is busy cleaning the oven writing her submission for the new Chinese Whisperings Anthology over the next three weeks.

Anne has a history with the Great Conjunctions of Jupiter and Uranus, two planets lining up now for their first conjunction (June 8th) at 00Ari18. Uranus at Aries Point places the disruptive planet in range of opposing earthy Saturn again, and Anne is in-the-know about Summer 2010′s Cardinal Cross and titanic T-Squares which involve her expertise, the Great Conjunctions of Jupiter and Uranus.

You might even apply to take part in a study she’s undertaking concerning Jupiter/Uranus, if you wish, so click to read Anne’s ‘ash report’ from the British Isles and find out what she and Ian did to counter their disappointment about switching destinations.

Personally, I think they made an excellent trade and I hope they manage to dodge ‘ash storm 2010′ altogether!

~:~

Read more on Jupiter conjunct Uranus June 8, 2010.

(Article link provided below.)

Well, Jumpin’ Jurassic Park DNA Dinosaurs! Just because they can, does it mean they Should?

With the Jupiter/Uranus Cycle, there are approximately 14 Years from ‘New Moon’ conjunction when the cycle begins as the two planets ‘meet’, to the end of the cycle – in this case, June 7, 2010 is the last full day of the Feb 1997 cycle when the planets’ 1st precise conjunction occurs on June 8, 2010 @ 00Ari18; their 2nd and 3rd conjs occur in Pisces in Sept 2010 and Jan 2011 tying in 2011 with the Jupiter/Uranus mystique of ‘breakthroughs’, ‘new discoveries’, and ‘bright ideas and solutions.’

Besides the end of May 2010′s ‘Uranus = Aries Point’ transit indicating a period of Scientific Breakthroughs in any and all manner of disciplines (including Astrology), we have the upping and expanding power of abundant Jupiter added to the mix on June 8 next – at US natal IC of Domestic and Security Concerns – the Homeland. Due to orb of influence, of course, Jupiterian principles are already being brought into collective consciousness in such areas as Religion, Philosophy, Ideology, Financing, Publishing, Higher Education, Travel and Flight, Space, Legalities including SCOTUS, and so forth…9th house concerns.

But there is also unpredictable Uranus’ ‘rebel-revolutionary-radical’ role to consider as The Awakener officially arrives in America (Uranus to n IC) for a disruptive, restless, yet exciting, sojourn.

Yes, the Jupiter/Uranus combination of energies is in large part about Science and Exploration. Reinhold Ebertin says it describes ‘inventors, organizers, adventurers, and fortune-hunters’ and Michael Munkasey focuses on its ability to catalyze change, either for its own sake or to satisfy discontent with legal, religious, and phiolosophical matters. America, my America!

Speaking of Jupiter/Uranus conjunctions, you may wish to check out Anne Whitaker’s excellent book Jupiter Meets Uranus, if you haven’t yet. Anne strolls with us through Jupiter/Uranus history, plus, she astutely interprets the important Jupiter/Uranus Conjunction @ 5AQ56 on February 16, 1997 (Clinton adminstration.) NAFTA? Do we hafta? Why, yes, because the US government, now completely usurped by one-world-gov types, only listens to the contrary American people once in a blue moon because their elitist goals are best promoted by using one-tracked vision and determination toward global dominance…and a whole bunch of patience.

And listen they did not at what we-the-people said concerning the 2008 election/selection of ‘peace candidate’ Barack Obama, because, as it turns out, he too is snug in the pocket of the very same international power elite!

Yes, I believe that US presidents are ‘selected’ by higher powers, not elected by the people. Yet our urge to listen to and applaud the cult of personality which a candidate charismatically commands is the quality recommending him/her to the power elite as one who can play “president” – someone who can ‘make the medicine go down’ a little tastier, as they think.

(The top Oval Office job is as George W admitted early in his outrageous presidency: as “a propaganda catapulter,” so perfect a task for a former cheerleader – bully pulpit and all that.)

Well, as you know, ’6AQ’ happens to conjoin America’s natal South Node so we as a nation have been lugging it around since 1776 and, being human, we tend to fall back on it out of laziness, apathy, and misguided attitudes that no longer serve us well in the present moment…in part, it’s the Head Against Brick Wall syndrome we exhibit when we become mired in places like Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan — President ‘Out-Of-Iraq’ Obama. I’m lookin’ at You. You’re the one I suspected would follow Bush’s misdirected warpath as the presidential ‘baton was passed’ on Jan 20, 2009. And in that sense, you do not disappoint while completely disappointing, you paradox, you.

’6 AQ’ a Hot or Sensitive degree:

Neptune was @ 6AQ on 9/11/01 and I have previously asserted (yet am not certain any other astrologer agrees with me) that ’9/11/01′ was basically a Neptune Return for Islam, a religion founded when mysterious Neptune was in that degree.

Then Along Came a Solar Eclipse:

The January 26, 2009 Solar Eclipse @ 6AQ30 (which on this blog is called the ‘New President Eclipse’ – see sidebar) further increased to the degree’s sensitivity. Yet it’s not always easy to say how an eclipse will affect a person’s or an entity’s chart but there are clues based on the principles of the planet/s contacted. For example, on one level, Sun/Neptune is about identity issues and we hear much about ‘is Al Qaeda scattered and tattered? Does it have the capability to strike mainland US again?’ and so on. (Did it ever? Perhaps. With help. Don’t get me started.)

Now it would seem that certain Islamists have enough Neptunian veils cast over them as it is! Veils can secrete against your enemies, yes, but they often cause fuzzy vision and outlooks at the same time. Sun/Neptune contacts may also bring along phobias and fears of having one’s Sun squelched or negated…

1997 Jupiter/Uranus = 2001 Neptune: guided by false impressions; a lack of prudence and far-sightedness; unearned gains; a fortunate turn after having had losses. (Islamists? And/or Bush-Cheney installed by SCOTUS and enabling or perpetrating the attacks of 9/11 in order (for one reason) to legitimize a deceitful presidential election outcome? Yes, Neptune was very very busy in December 2000 with a “new Pearl Harbor.” jc.); (midpts: Ebertin.)

So! Feel the freedom of Jupiter/Uranus and ignore my political ramblings, if you will, but do check out Anne Whitaker’s amazing book linked above to discover what Anne has to say about the 1997 triggering of ’6AQ’ and much much more. Get ready for 2010 is a Year of the genius duo, brilliant Jupiter/Uranus!

And here’s your link to Anna-Cristal’s excellent article displaying the Atom Smasher horoscope. It’s quite a doozy.

Now let us consider the Sun Aries/Moon Libra combo’s ‘Image for Integration’ in effect during the LHC’s activities of March 30, 2010 – for I’m hearing the sound of the smashing of atoms playing in the background…and right in tempo with an ‘uplifting’ Jupiter/Uranus symphony as it’s updated and performed in 2010 for the edification of the world…

‘A conductor leads an orchestra with passionate conviction and a vibrant, pulsating organism of musical perfection is created to the ecstatic uplifting of the audience.’

(‘Image’ is from ‘Sun Sign-Moon Sign’ by Charles and Suzi Harvey. Sheesh! I must have sold a few of their books by now! And I’m not certain that I’ve ever reviewed the book on Amazon as I have ‘Jupiter Meets Uranus’ because the gracious Anne Whitaker of Scotland asked me to and I was very happy to do so. jc ;p)

(i)

Grandpa Donald

It was a very stormy day, as is frequently the case in the Outer Hebrides in winter. The ferry was tossing alarmingly, the passengers were very scared. Some were lying being sick in the toilets. Others, white faced, were on the cafeteria floor, clinging to the table legs for comfort and support.

Grandpa Donald’s nerves were steady. Despite being over seventy, he was  dapper, and had never lost the sea legs he developed sailing between South America and his native island before the First World War. He made his way with a calculated stagger into the cafeteria full of screaming children and whimpering adults, serenely advancing to the serving area. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance of a cup of tea?”

He was on his way to South Uist to do a spot of lay preaching, and saw no reason why a force nine gale should come between him and his afternoon cuppa.

Donald died when I was eleven and he was eighty three. Typical of the man, chasing hens up the street was the last thing he did before taking his leave of this world, serene in his faith that he would be re-united with his departed loved ones in the Life to Come.

He used to babysit for me. I have no memory of those occasions, but according to my mother he used to say, every time my parents returned home, “My goodness, that child. What questions she asks, what questions!”. About the stars, and God, and where we all came from, and what life was for, apparently.

I do remember his serenity and good humour, and his kindness. I adored him and was devastated when he died. Donald had always made me feel safe, secure and valued. No one else in my childhood years had done this for me in quite the same way, as I struggled to grow up and get away from my parents. They loved me, but were too damaged in themselves and their unhappy relationship to support me in the ways that I needed.

After Donald died, I asked questions only of myself and my books.

Night Sea Journey

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The next episode will be

(ii)

Seeking

Where does the longing come from?

Early memories may carry clues – tucked up in bed, cosy and warm, safe and sound, I would listen to the winter North wind tearing the world apart. This could go on night after night after night. Other nights were clear – cold and still. I would stand on the concrete garden path, gazing at the luminous  sky above the roofs of the houses at the top of Anderson Hill, awestruck with delight at the blaze of radiance dancing in the heavens. The Northern Lights, heavenly dancers….

to be continued

(note: inspiration for the title of this series of posts was taken from a book which I read a very long time ago but whose haunting title I have never forgotten: “Swimmer in the Secret Sea“ by William Kotzwinkle)

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600 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2010
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

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It is my intention from time to time to publish some extracts from the memoir, provisionally titled “Swimmer in a secret sea” on this site.

In the meantime, here are some of my musings from the Introduction to that memoir, as I reflect on the great significance of those first thirty formative years in all our lives.

(Although this post is intended for the general reader, those of you who are astrologers will recognise this archetypal thirty-year point as the first Saturn Return.)

If you are approaching turning thirty and finding it hard going, take heart! I have come across many people amongst my counselling clients, students and astrology clients for whom the period of 28-30 was very, very tough. They were certainly hard years for me. But most of us can look back and say “well, that was when I really began to grow up – life is much better now!”

The Diamond Soul

‘ We truly are unique, each one of us. Only one person can live out your or my particular story. But there are certain archetypal experiences which most of us go through in the vital thirty years where we lay the building blocks for our future development as useful adults.

Inspiring people – if we are lucky, members of our own family as well as those met along the road – appear. Experiences which wake us up to new realities come our way. There are challenges or tests which we cope with as best we can. There are questions which are seemingly unanswerable, but will not go away. The longing to feel part of something greater than ourselves tugs at many of us. Deaths of loved ones in early life mark us deeply.

Intense love affairs can turn out well or badly. Friendships are forged which can deeply sustain and comfort us, in which we can show the best as well as the worst facets of who we are. Relationships with parents are revealed in varying contexts, leading us to a more realistic perspective on both sides.

We begin to realise that our most valuable educational experiences probably take place outwith academic institutions. We develop ambitions and set about trying to fulfil them. We deal with the raw joy of being alive, as well as the depths of its pain. We encounter the love that nurtures us, and the wounds that may make us wise in time.

From this long, testing and often painful process of submerging our dreams, questions and ideals in the acid bath of life as it actually is, hopefully we emerge with a good enough balance of optimism, resilience and mature realism to enable us slowly to begin to separate out from what we are never going to become. In this way, we begin to grow more fully into who it is we actually are, having taken a step further towards what the Buddhists call ‘forging the diamond soul‘ …”

NOTE!

USA’s  bi-monthly The Mountain Astrologer magazine is recognised as being one of the world’s best quality astrology publications. They will shortly be producing and selling a CD featuring the Editor’s Choice of the best articles which The Mountain Astrologer published during the 1990s. I am pleased to say that the article I wrote in 1998, which features an astrological perspective on life’s thirty-year cycles: “The Cycles of Saturn: forging the Diamond Soul”, will be appearing in that collection. Those of you readers who are astrologers or astrology students, keep checking the site for details! As far as I know, the CD should be available from March 2010.

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UPDATE: the CD came out on 13 October 2010. For details, click on link below!

An autumnal treat from ‘The Mountain Astrologer’ magazine

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……and the memoir, “Swimming in a secret sea” is now published. Click HERE to read it.

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700 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2010
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

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Although I dislike the pigeon holing of genre based writing, it would appear from readers’ feedback, that my writing success lies within my descriptive narrative; specifically that of a setting. Anne contacted me a little while back to ask if I might write on whether one’s earliest memories of environment influence one’s main style of writing.

In particular she was interested in my experience within the bush and my love of nature writing. Noticing minute detail is important to a writer building a realistic and believable character or scene – and to country folk relying on specific information in order to diagnose sick animals, fix machinery or identify an area in danger of bushfire.  The latter are skills which seem to be ingrained from an early age.

Rural life taught me the zen of chicken taming, the aikido of sheep handling, the philosophy of cattle herding and the oneness felt between a rider and horse on a long dusty road. With our modern society bent on cotton padding every bump, growing up in the bush taught me to take and make risks, be proactive, inventive and constantly seek answers both from within and outside. Valuable lessons for any writer.

Nature writing binds characters to the natural wealth and expanse of the wilderness with words of respect, admiration, and empathy.  It marries up the divorce between nature in the plastic world and  reminds us in every phrase, that nature has its eventual dominant place. Growing up as I did, instilled this belief deeply within my soul.

Annie - contemplative mode

The eldest of six children, born to a shearer and housemaid who subsequently set themselves up within the fine wool industry, I lived my first seventeen years within the Australian bush on a mixed produce property . My primary school had up to twenty students enrolled; the nearest town boasted a population of nearly five thousand people.  Despite only living half an hour to town, modern living and experiences such as going to the movies or having a milkshake (in fact any sort of fast food) was something I didn’t indulge until I left home and went to University in the big smoke (our capital city). I believe this extended innocence has given me the opportunity to look at situations with unsullied eyes and the ability to twist things to a different perspective.

Daily childhood experiences involving the stark reality of drought, flood and bushfires, the brutal honesty of the cycle of life and the truth in death  colour my writing.

Memories cutting deeply into my psyche include droughts where the piles of carcasses grew daily. Bullets were too expensive to waste on the dying; so children were sent to cut throats and drag bodies behind utes. (Ed: a type of pickup truck) Memories, too,  of bushfires devastating vast expanses of land, native animals and farm equipment – caused by the careless flick of a cigarette from a passing car, or the malicious act of bored teenagers from town. It is through these eyes I am able to ‘cut to the bone’ of a story, revealing its inner strengths without being distracted by sidelines or flattery.

Seasonal chore aged 5 - Annie plucks turkey

My childhood days would start with a seasonal chore, such as fruit or vegetable harvesting, mustering animals or milking with the children saved only by the need to get changed and catch a battered bus to go to school. Far from thinking this was a prison camp, in no way would I change a single memory or experience. Indeed, I would wish a similar childhood for my own children.

Imagine a wondrous childhood where over three thousand acres of land lay to be explored on horseback? Where it was safe to leave after breakfast and not come home till dark? Where at anytime your pet list included a half dozen chickens, up to twenty motherless lambs or calves, horses, ducks, goats and dogs?

My first paid job was as a roustabout for a shearing team when I was thirteen. Here, I met some of the outback’s true characters; a deeper appreciation for humour, regardless of the situation, was born. I feel privileged that my parents pulled us all out of school (just before my final year exams) so that we could go droving for a month. I joined the likes of Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson on horseback; those were hours of staring at the moving masses of animals ahead, and the great silent expanses of the open road. You cannot but be provoked to poetry, music or creative writing when surrounded by the palette of moving scenery and blissful solitude.

I was unaware that stories of my childhood sounded straight from a film set, naively believing that the majority of people understood the fine balance we humans hold with the land, animals and the gift we call life.  Folk from the bush tend to be quieter, more reserved; but in no way should that be perceived as less intelligent. With the stillness and quiet comes a deeper understanding of and connection to the fragility of life – of the inner sanctuary of strength of character, and appreciation of friendship and community bonds.

As writers, our anthropocentrism runs deep. Blinded by the politics and theatrics of human relationships, we forget that a piece can be just as interesting without the people, as dramatic simply by utilising the environment and the landscape. Caught by the busyness and artificiality of their surroundings, many writers forget to indulge in the quiet inner space, or of the peace which can be attained by noticing the delicate details etched in any leaf, blade of grass or flower. I feel blessed to have been exposed to the harshness of the outback life, now able to harness the solitude and imagery it has gifted me as a writer.

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Annie Evett

Annie writes a weekly column for Write Anything  (http://writeanything.wordpress.com ) and Type A Mom (http://www.typeamom.net/mom-types/suburban-moms.html) , is coauthor of an online adventure series Captain Juan (http://www.captainjuan.com) and has written a survival guide for parents – Reclaim Sex After Birth. (http://reclaimsexafterbirth.com) Continue your discovery of her writing at her site ( http://annieevett.com)

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1100 words copyright Annie Evett/ Anne Whitaker 2010
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

It bestows the inestimably joyful gift of awareness that we are all woven into some vast, meaningful pattern – in which the tiniest of individual threads ( you, me….) is a key part of the weave. It contributes a significant lens to the many through which we limited humans  attempt to expand our vision and comprehension of both the collective and individual patterns of life on this tiny, precious planet of ours.

Astrology can also raise fear and apprehension: it provides very accurate timings so that we can know exactly when certain energy patterns are coming to their peak. But our attempts at predicting precisely how those energies will manifest – both collectively and individually – have ranged historically from considerable accuracy to being way off the mark. As a critic wryly observed not long ago, if astrologers could consistently predict accurately they would all be millionaires by now.

The myth of Prometheus, who stole the gods’ fire in order to use it for humanity’s enlightenment and was savagely punished for his hubris, is a salutary one to contemplate as we think of astrology’s double edge. Fire warms us, lights up the dark, protects us – but it can also burn the hand that bears it. All illuminating knowledge, everything which takes humans a step forward into the light, also casts a dark shadow.

And here we are, as another year and decade end, contemplating one of the astrological calendar’s most dynamic and exciting cycles. The fourteen-year cycle of Jupiter and Uranus, which last took place at 5-6 degrees of Aquarius in February 1997, is coming to an end. The new one zaps zero degrees Aries with its lightning bolt in June 2010.

And the myth of Prometheus, powerfully connected to the planet Uranus,  becomes once again startlingly relevant.

Prometheus

In my new book “Jupiter meets Uranus: from erotic bathing to star gazing” published by the American Federation of Astrologers, (April 2009) the results of my extensive research project conducted during the 1997 Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Aquarius are revealed.

The research includes both mundane events and the conjunction’s effects in individual lives, as I explain in AFA Interview: Jupiter, Uranus and the Purple People from Planet Zog first published in May 2009 by the AFA Newsletter.

I also offer insights into the upcoming Jupiter-Uranus conjunctions in Pisces and Aries in 2010/11, an extract from that interview.

It has been terrific to see the amount of interest generated to date, both by the book and by the above articles which appeared recently as posts on this site.

Next year, I will take some time to reflect on what the upcoming conjunction may mean in essence for individuals “plugged in” to the dramatic energy field of zero degrees of Aries/Libra/Cancer/Capricorn – the cardinal cross triggered by the upcoming Jupiter/Uranus conjunction.

Now, though, I feel it is time to return to first principles, to address those thoughtful individuals who understand that grasping the core meaning of  any combination of planetary energies is a fruitful way to proceed – prior to indulging in speculation regarding what branches may grow from that core!

The following is an edited series of extracts from Chapter One: Introducing Jupiter and Uranus, taken from   “Jupiter meets Uranus: from erotic bathing to star gazing”

” ……Jupiter and Uranus form a conjunction in the heavens  every fourteen years. Why should the prospect of such a  meeting generate excitement, and anticipation of “fresh woods and pastures new” ?  How  did astrological Jupiter and Uranus acquire their individual names and meanings? Why are their energies in combination regarded as being so dynamic,unusual, disruptive?……

Planets’ symbolic meanings to date have been derived over time from the astronomy of the planet which is linked to the name, from the mythology associated with the name of the relevant god or goddess, and from empirical observation of the links between  planets’ movements by transit  and corresponding manifestations at both an individual and collective level of earthly life.

Jupiter

Jupiter King of the Gods

Thus, from a weave of the above factors, astrological Jupiter came to be known as “the great benefic”, the planet  bringing opportunity: personal wealth, political prominence, high social position, professional success – “kingship”of various kinds as befitted mythological Jupiter’s role as king of the Olympian gods…..

Psychologically, all forms of  over-confidence, inflated sense of one’s own importance, arrogance and hubris were assigned also to the realm of Jupiter. These represent the shadow side of Jupiter’s undoubted blessings of robust faith in life’s essential value and goodness, the longing to know and to grow in wisdom, and the ability to have fun and inspire other people.

Just as Jupiter the king in Roman myth ( Zeus in Greek myth) was the law giver, so Jupiter the planetary symbol came to relate to those laws, principles, perspectives and ethics which set a context for a larger vision of life than one would have without the prompting of this powerful, fiery force of nature. In its shadow face, those dimensions become distorted into that within human nature which imagines itself to be above the law, able to annexe God to its own side, always able to justify action no matter how dire and inhumane.

The restless drive to grow, to expand, to live a life rich in meaning, to push the boundaries of knowledge and experience as far as  possible, lies at the core of astrological Jupiter. So does its shadow; restlessness which cannot and will not accept the limits set by age and time, the domain of Saturn….

Uranus

Uranus with Rings

Uranus appeared in 1781, seriously upsetting  the orderly cosmic structure upon which astrology was predicated. William Herschel had not expected his exhaustive telescopic sweep of the heavens to yield another planet, but it did: the first to be discovered since prehistoric peoples began to scan the heavens….. The name finally settled for from Roman myth was Uranus, following the same mytho-logic which had named Jupiter, then Saturn…..

Astrologers also adopted Uranus as the new name, but there is just one problem. Empirical observation, as already noted, is the third strand in the weave of confirming a planet’s symbolic meaning. However, as Richard Tarnas points out in his masterly essay Prometheus the Awakener.…there is a consensus amongst modern astrologers, based on empirical observation since its discovery, regarding the core principles associated with the  planet Uranus. However, the mythical figure most clearly evoked by those principles is not Uranus/Ouranos!

What are those core principles? Here I quote  from Tarnas:

“The clear consensus….is that the planet Uranus is empirically associated with the principle of change, rebellion, freedom, liberation, reform and revolution, and the unexpected break-up of structures; with excitement, sudden surprises, lightning-like flashes of insight, revelations and awakenings; and with intellectual brilliance, invention, creativity, originality, and individualism. In addition to the occurrence of sudden breakthroughs and liberating events, Uranus transits are linked to unpredictable and disruptive changes…Uranus is regarded as signifying the individualist, the genius, and the rebel.”

Tarnas points out that these observed qualities bear little resemblance to the mythic Uranus/Ouranos, there being nothing in his character to suggest rebellion, genius or the impulse for change….“….the mythological Ouranos not only diverges from but contradicts the meaning of the astrological Uranus.”….

It would seem from this,  that  the logic which allocated to the new planet the name of the next god in the mythical pantheon, broke down when this particular planet’s behaviour was subjected to empirical observation. It seems rather apt, given its reputation for contrariness, that the planet should be Uranus!

Which mythic figure best expresses the core principles manifested by astrological Uranus ? Tarnas links the planet clearly with Prometheus, a towering, unforgettable character from Greek myth. Prometheus was a Titan, descended from Ouranos, who rebelled against the gods, helped to overthrow the despot Kronos, tricked Zeus, and stole the divine fire of ultimate knowledge from Olympus in order to liberate humanity from the power and domination of the gods…..

Astrological Jupiter and Uranus together – the dream team ?

A first reaction to the combination of those two ‘masculine’ energies, fire and air, rulers of Sagittarius and Aquarius, tends to be positive and enthusiastic. Exploration and innovation, the quest for meaning allied with the drive for revolutionary change, are attractive facets of the human journey. What harm could come from them?

We certainly need the enthusiasm and exuberance of fire, and air’s spirit of enquiry. We need fun, adventure, learning, information and dialogue: life without them would be desperately dull and stagnant.

But deeper investigation can lead to a degree of disquiet! Again, reflecting on the Greek mythology of …. Zeus and Prometheus can help to build a picture which has dark as well as bright shading….

Prometheus had been Zeus’ ally in the Titans’ uprising against Zeus’ father Kronos. But Zeus (Jupiter in Roman myth)had a short memory for a favour, and showed no mercy towards Prometheus when the theft was discovered. He had him chained to a rock for eternity whilst a griffin pecked out his liver each night. Zeus’ harsh behaviour showed him to be  more interested in maintaining his superior position, than in sharing what the gods had for the benefit of both gods and humankind.

Prometheus at first glance appears the more enlightened and progressive of the two. Yet he displayed considerable arrogance in deciding what would benefit humanity without, presumably, consulting a few of their representatives to see what the general feeling was! In concentrating on what humanity could become, he was too far up in the airy realms of theory to think of what the repercussions of human beings having godlike powers might be. Compassion for the impact of mind-expanding theories on the lives of ordinary individual mortals was no concern of his.

There are other rather unsavoury aspects to Zeus and Prometheus which it is well to bear in mind…..

To put it bluntly, the mythology shows us that we are in the company of two archetypal figures who between them have a sweeping and bright vision of how humanity should conduct itself,  and what it can achieve. At the same time, however, they are prepared to be ideologues, hypocrites and thieves who can be motivated by greed and opportunism as well as idealism in the pursuit of their vision.

Light and shadow : current times

In the West at least, we have all  benefited from advances made possible by the restless brilliance of the human mind and spirit, that precious gift of divine fire symbolised in myth. The rapid development of our scientific and technological knowledge and expertise from the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century onwards has been particularly stunning.  Interestingly, these advances greatly escalated from the appearance to our view of the planet named Uranus in the revolutionary decade of the 1780s,during a time known in Europe as the Enlightenment.

But  the shadow side of that gift is becoming increasingly evident as our Earth becomes more and more obviously damaged by our drive to better ourselves. Further dangers now loom as our expertise in genetic engineering and cloning technology grows. We are increasingly able to take apart the very fabric of life, and weave it to a highly conjectural new pattern  unknowable in its ultimate results…..“

I do hope that this edited extract has two effects!

One, to enable the reflective reader to gain a clearer core picture of  the combined planetary energies involved as the Jupiter/Uranus energy field of 2010/11 takes form. (Using a wide 10 degree orb, the conjunction begins to apply in March 2010,  finally separating in March 2011)

And two, to stimulate interest in

Jupiter Meets Uranus

To buy “Jupiter meets Uranus: from erotic bathing to star gazing“, described in a five-star review by Leah Whitehorse as “a page-turner of the astrology world”, click HERE

UK buyers, click HERE

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Any comments on this post are welcome

2000 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2009
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

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Anne Whitaker’s main blog is Writing from the Twelfth House, a lively and popular magazine-type site, set up in the summer of 2008   “….for those writers and readers – and fellow astrologers! – who share my preoccupation with questions of mystery, meaning, pattern and purpose….”

If you are looking for information, education, entertainment and inspiration, check it out !

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STOP PRESS!!

May 2010

To read John Townley’s – and The Mountain Astrologer’s – generous review of ‘Jupiter Meets Uranus’, click HERE

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Monday 16th November 2009

Jupiter meets Uranus

Jupiter meets Uranus - from http://www.cainer.com

While I was away last week, I did a lot of reading. I’ve found a fascinating book by Anne Whitaker, called ‘Jupiter Meets Uranus’. Although it’s published by the American Federation of Astrologers, Anne is actually a Scottish author who has made a special study of this powerful event that happens once every 14 years or so. It last took place in 1997 so we’re due for one next year. She thinks that, based on trends observed to date, it will bring much social change, scientific innovation and renewed optimism. I’m inclined to agree.

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http://www.cainer.com/

JONATHAN CAINER’S SITE SUPPORTS:

Inspiration Foundation UK, Stand with Tibet, Freedom for Burma, Campaign to End Slavery, The Hunger Site, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Save the Rainforest, Friends of the Earth, Chicken Shed Theatre Company, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

260 words copyright Jonathan Cainer/Anne Whitaker 2009
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

I read “Jupiter Meets Uranus” in one sitting. Anne Whitaker’s writing style is so engaging, her research so fascinating that a lot of the time the book reads more like a novel; a page turner of the astrology world.

I have to say that I’ve never been hugely interested in mundane astrology – much like I have never been one to watch the news or engage in any kind of political thought whatesoever. At school I loathed the history of the industrial revolution and the interminable time spent on ‘Peat Bog Man’. What we learned seemed out of context and I felt no relation to it. Perhaps it is my Aquarian Moon and my overwhelming 9th house that pushes me relentlessly to look to the future.

So it was with these thoughts in mind when scanning the content of the book that I felt I would probably find the personal experiences of the the author’s research subjects more interesting than the collective experience. I was wrong. Both were engaging in their own ways. Anne Whitaker achieved for me what my poor history teachers at school never managed: to show history in context of its cycles and give me a sense of meaning and belonging to the great over-arching stories that manifest over sometimes centuries in our collective experience. Where before there had only been boring facts and figures, now there were archetypal stories being played out on a grand scale, synchronicities beyond explanation.

The book covers the history, myths and legends behind each planet giving the reader a wonderfully full picture of the energy of each. She then moves into generally exploring the cycles of the collective planets before turning to a more concentrated overview of the Jupiter-Uranus conjunctions. A meticulously researched section on the mundane happenings of when Jupiter and Uranus touched on the ‘hotspot’ in Aquarius that the author had identified kept me completely enthralled and also reminded me of long gone headlines that had managed to stick in my mind. For example – whatever did happen to the Raelians and their supposed cloned children? The connections that Anne found during her time of research were fascinating and sometimes staggering almost beyond belief yet there in black and white. It certainly stimulated the desire in me to look more closely at mundane astrology.

The often sparsely edited answers from Anne’s research subjects found me strangely touched. Here they laid out their lives in their own words, from death and disaster to love and goals achieved. From heartache to heart’s desire I felt moved by many of the insights and feelings expressed. One in particular who described much of his experiences through dreams captured my attention. I think I felt moved perhaps because it is not often we stop to think about our own lives and look through a long-view lens. Reading the unfolding stories of those who had responded to the author’s questionnaires over a period of time made me think a lot about my own story, the over arc that bridges what can seem like a time of devastation to a time of completeness. It is easy to forget, lost in the details of daily life, that there is a bigger story happening.

After a close look at the effects of Jupiter conjunct Uranus during 1997, the author then moves on the explore this in connection with the greater cycle of Neptune as the mysterious planet activated the hotspot point between 1999 – 2002.

Reading Jupiter Meets Uranus has left me with many tantalising questions. The author doesn’t spoon-feed the reader. She presents the charts of her subjects and their words and leaves it up to us to look further into it. Woven into her writing are quotes ranging from Shakespeare to Milton and some excellent recommendations for further reading. Certainly this book has given me a thirst for research and shown how much potential there is for further research into planetary configurations and cycles.

Anne Whitaker is a talented writer who stimulates the imagination of the reader whilst given them a wealth of information. You will be astonished by synchronicity and amazed at the astrological connections between for example  Dolly the Sheep and Mary Shelley or the discovery of America and the Moon landing. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Jupiter meets Uranus

To buy “Jupiter meets Uranus: from erotic bathing to star gazing“, described in a five-star review by Leah Whitehorse as “a page-turner of the astrology world”, click HERE

UK buyers, click HERE

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Anne Whitaker’s main blog is Writing from the Twelfth House, a lively and popular magazine-type site, set up in the summer of 2008  “….for those writers and readers – and fellow astrologers! – who share my preoccupation with questions of mystery, meaning, pattern and purpose….”

If you are looking for information, education, entertainment and inspiration, check it out !

800 words copyright Anne Whitaker/Leah Whitehorse 2009
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

I am delighted to be publishing this topical article by prestigious and prolific USA fellow blogger, my friend from Georgia, Jude Cowell. During that season of three weeks (07-29/9/09) when the ultimate planetary trickster, Mercury, turns retrograde and challenges us all with communication conundrums, Jude poses and answers a few mercurial conundrums of her own…

“ Having astrology’s trickster planet, Mercury, or Mercury-ruled Gemini or Virgo, associated with one’s natal twelfth house can be quite a ‘tricky’ proposition for anyone to manage.

When one considers the unconscious nature of the twelfth house and Mercury’s rulership of our thinking and communicating processes, the picture becomes fraught with possibilities for confusion, doubt, and awkwardness.

In fact, in similar fashion to this blog’s creator and author, the gracious Anne Whitaker, I am communicating with you from the twelfth house right now with sixteen degrees of a mercurial sign directing the show from behind the curtain.

As you know, repressed energies of the twelfth house (12th h) are identified by planets posited there, and by those which are connected by sign and aspect to the house of Self-Undoing and Karma, the 12th h of the Unconscious.

But when fleet-of-foot Mercury is involved, we can be certain that unbidden thoughts will frequently float up into consciousness from the watery depths of the Neptunian realms of the unconscious – some useful and to be acted upon, others not as useful and to be disregarded.

A 12th house Mercury may give a tendency to talk to oneself, and the old caution that it’s ‘okay as long as one doesn’t answer back’ may be moot with Mercury involved in the house of the Unconscious – for talk back the trickster will, and often out loud at the most inappropriate times or in awkward ways.

“Foot-in-mouth” syndrome is a common manifestation of the predicament of having connections between the Unconscious psychological 12th house and our thinker-communicator planet.

Plus, ‘The Fool’ card in the Tarot deck illustrates neutral Mercury’s brash characteristics quite well as he/she haplessly opens mouth to insert foot – and usually at the worst of moments…the ‘speak first, think later’ tendency.

Yet that is where Astrology can aid us in understanding these mercurial 12th house dynamics and learning to make productive use of them so that we don’t mistakenly shoot ourselves in the very foot we placed in our mouths. Now that would be a definite ouch!

Directing mercurial 12th house energies outwardly into the wider world may produce a writer or other type of artisan who draws upon knowledge from the collective unconscious and expresses it on behalf of mankind, while remaining the private sort of person that a mercurial 12th house requires.

But before projecting them outwardly, it’s important to replace self-defeating attitudes (such as the repeating loop in our heads of mother’s old discouragements: “oh, you can’t figure that out,” or “what would you know about it?”, etc.) with a more positive attitude; for after all, neutral Mercury can ‘go either way’ – so why not take the high road? Especially since we know that decision-maker Mercury, in his Hermes disguise, is the mystery guide at the crossroads of life, isn’t he?

So aspects to planets in, or associated with the 12th house (or its cusp), show us how and where to use these repressed, unconscious energies to best advantage by ‘tricking the trickster’ and turning them into the talents they truly are.

And developing our verbal and non-verbal creative work is one of the better ways to manage these unruly mercurial scamps of the 12th house while benefiting the collective simultaneously; attempting to push these energies further beneath the oceanic 12th house surface only causes them to fester and become even more distorted than they were from being stifled during childhood by the adults around us who had their own 12th house issues to deal with. And perhaps they didn’t manage it as well as we, with Astrology’s instruction, may now.

So rather than setting ourselves up for subliminally undoing ourselves from the unconscious 12th house, I say: let the 12th house trickster breathe freely, romp with the other kids, take up his quill or paintbrush, and reveal mercurial insights for the benefit of all! “

(Written for Anne Whitaker to use, with Jude Cowell’s  permission)

700 words Copyright Jude Cowell 2009

Check out Stars over Washington for Jude’s outspoken astrological and political commentaries on USA’s current affairs….

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Jude Cowell

Lifelong artist Jude Cowell is a native of Athens, Georgia and an Astrology novice since 1996. She attended Atlanta College of Art in her younger years where she studied Fashion Illustration, Layout, and Design, and has exhibited her artwork in Athens, Augusta, and Atlanta, Georgia. She now displays her colored pencil drawings exclusively online.

Operating several blogs on Political Astrology, Art, and a combination of the two, she allows her astrological studies and universal considerations of the collective to inform her Cosmic, Moon, and Fairy Art.

Jude is a Saturnian astrologer who sees in horoscopes heredity rather than past lives, and though she no longer consults on a regular basis, is always open to the possibility when time permits.

Her blog list includes:

http://starsoverwashington.blogspot.com

Stars Over Washington, a Political/Mundane Astrology site since 2005:

http://judecowell.wordpress.com

Jude’s Threshold, a tapestry blog of Art, Astrology, Politics, and Current Events:

http://2hrsyulnvrgetbck.blogspot.com

Two Hours You’ll Never Get Back, a tapestry blog of Art, Astrology, Politics, Environmental, and Family Concerns:

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Here it is!

Those of a slightly squeamish disposition might be advised to read the first section or two of ‘ My hero the villian’ with their eyes closed – remember “Lord of the Flies?” and how savage children can be ? Those who are over fifty will be reminded of some of the sexist attitudes to girls which prevailed in the middle decades of the last century ! And all of us who have ever been children will remember that one of the sad but necessary entrance fees to the adult world is loss of innocence….

'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding

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Archie’s mother was out. The radio was on, blaring out Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel”, his latest hit. I hate it. Archie says it’s because I’m  too young to know heartbreak; he is twelve, but I’m only nine, and a girl. I was suggesting digging to Australia during our holidays. He was sitting with his feet up on the kitchen table, cutting lumps off a slab of butter, rolling each lump in sugar, tossing it in the air and trying to catch it in his mouth. Swinging his feet down, he nodded.

“Yeah, that’s a great idea.” He made for the door. “Come on! We’d better pick a good site before it gets dark.” It was two o’clock in the afternoon. I followed him, gratefully. Out the kitchen door we hurried, down the concrete path, not even stopping to hurdle the dustbins. We jumped over the wire netting fence separating the vegetable patch from the jungle of weeds and willows where his dad, a budgie breeder, laid dead birds to rest.

What a good time we’d had in the budgies’ graveyard last summer holidays! Unfortunately, my father saw us shooting arrows at dead budgies hanging from the clothesline. Fathers have a habit of putting a stop to fun. We were banned from the bottom of the garden for the rest of the summer. I still don’t see what all the fuss was about….they couldn’t FEEL anything….

“Hey Deirdre!” Archie had vanished into the weeds. “How about here?” I followed his voice, picking my way through the nettles. He was sitting on a sheet of rusty corrugated iron, pulling the wings off a butterfly.

“This is perfect,” he said, throwing bits of butterfly over his shoulder for luck. “Sit down here.” I sat down, carefully. “Now look at the house.”

“I can’t see the house from here, Archie.”

“Exactly!” He grinned at me. “You’re slow on the uptake! If you can’t see them……”

“They can’t see us!” I was delighted. “When will we start?”

“Tomorrow morning,” Archie said. “I know a place where I can get a couple of spades.”

“I haven’t seen any spades, Archie.”

“Huh…. girls never notice anything.” Hurt, I said nothing.

“OK, I’ll tell you. But keep it a secret?” I nodded. “See that old air raid shelter, across the cornfield ?”

“Yes”.

“The spades are hidden inside, away in a corner among some nettles. I’ll sneak them up here later on today.”

“How did you find them? ”

He winked,  rubbing what was left of the butterfly into powder between his palms.  “I’m smart,” he said. “Hadn’t you noticed?”

2.

Digging that hole was hard work. We had two bottles of lemonade from our larder, and a packet of biscuits stolen by Archie from the shop across the road.

“My geography teacher said that if you started digging from Scotland you’d get to Australia if you kept going long enough” I said to Archie, looking at the growing pile of earth. “D’you think that’s true?”

“Course it is” he replied,  taking a long swallow of lemonade. “If David Livingstone could do it, why can’t we?”

“But ….” I said puzzled. “But he DIDN’T ….”

“Oh shut up!” Archie said impatiently. “Let’s get on with it.” We worked all day, stopping only to go home for our dinner.

“Where on earth have you been?” asked my mother. “You’re filthy!”

“Oh–nowhere. Just out playing.”

“I wish you’d be more like a girl,” she sighed. “You wouldn’t get so dirty.”

“Can I have some more mince, please?” I asked. I had eaten the two hills, the roads and there was no gravy left for the river. She gave me some. My mother would like it if I wore a skirt and a ribbon in my hair. But I don’t like girls. They’re boring.

3.

“What are we going to do with these worms, Archie?” We were digging up the longest, fattest worms I had ever seen.

“Seems a pity to waste them, doesn’t it?” he said, scratching his head and thinking very hard.

“I know! Just you wait here.” He went off to the shed and came back with a hammer and some nails. “Right, pick up a few and bring them over here.” He walked towards the willow trees. I had never picked up a worm in my life. Closing my eyes and trying to think of something else, I collected about ten of them. They were slimy and clammy and they squirmed in my hand.

“We’ll have a laugh here,” said Archie. “Hand me one at a time.” I watched him as he nailed them to the trees. Wriggling and jumping, they oozed slime and worm blood. Archie grinned at me. “They don’t take long to die.” Feeling sick and dizzy,  I forced myself to watch. At last they just hung there, limp.

“That’s my good deed for the day,” Archie said. I looked at him, trying not to show my feelings. “Well” he said. “The birds. I’ve given them their dinner.” I couldn’t say a word. Archie picked up his spade. “Come on, Deirdre. We’ve a lot of digging to do.”

4.

It was Saturday morning. I was lying in bed eating a bacon sandwich, and drinking the  tea my mother had brought me. I was thinking about the hole; it was getting deep. What would we do about the water?

“Deirdre!” Oh blast ….she would be wanting me to go into town.We’d be held up with the digging. “Deirdre! Come and see your uncle Angus – he’ll be off in a minute.” That was different. I liked my uncle Angus a lot. He always looked as if he was just about to have an adventure. I didn’t know what his job was, but I had overheard him talking to my father. It was something to do with nets and seals and the police. Jumping out of bed, I pulled on my jeans and a jersey, and ran downstairs.

There he was, leaning against the kitchen sink, rolling a cigarette. My mother glared at me. “You scruffy little tinker! Why haven’t you brushed your hair?”

“Oh, Anna, leave the girl alone!” said uncle Angus, lighting his cigarette and winking at me. “She’s a free spirit.” He grinned. “Am I right, miss?”

“Of course,” said I, not looking at my mother. It was worth the row later. I wanted him to like me.

“Come here!” he said. “Shut your eyes and hold out your hands.” I obeyed him. “Right! Open your eyes.”

I could hardly believe what I saw. Four half crowns! Ten whole shillings! It wasn’t even

Xmas or my birthday. I stared at him, not knowing what to say.

“Angus!” My mother sounded shocked. “She gets one shilling a week. That’s quite enough for a child her age.”

“Rubbish, woman” replied uncle Angus. “We all deserve a wee treat once in a while.” He turned to me. “Right–no banks, no savings, nothing sensible. Go straight out and spend the lot today on whatever you fancy. O.K.?”

“O.K.” I didn’t say anything else, just winked at him. He winked back. My mother glared at me as I made for the door.

“Be back here in time for your dinner!” she called. I stopped .

“What’s for dinner, then?” Grinning, uncle Angus  pointed to the draining board.There lay two huge silvery salmon.

“Away you go” he said. “See you the next time.”

5.

Out of sight of our house, I sat on a low wall. I needed to think.

Archie would be working on the hole. He would be so angry if I said I was going down town. He thought I was less stupid than most girls. I didn’t want to make him mad. But I loved having all this money.  If I didn’t spend it today it might fall down a drain.

I looked at the four half crowns. One was very new and glinted in the sun. Archie could have a share! I could give him a shilling…. or even one and six. But I knew Archie. He wouldn’t be happy. I put two half crowns on the wall, then the other two, whilst making up my mind. Half shares each! That would please him, wouldn’t it?

Archie was busy. He straightened up when he heard me coming. “Where have you been, you lazy little runt?” He was really mad. Just wait till I told him!

“I’m going down town this morning, Archie,” I said. “Are you coming with me?”

“Down town? With all this work to do? Clear off. Go yourself.” He turned his back and carried on digging.

“Look what I’ve got, Archie,” I said, taking the half crowns out of my pocket. “I got a present today.”

“Very nice, I’m sure,” he said in a nasty voice. “Some of us aren’t so lucky. Away and spend it, then.”

“You can have a share.”

He turned round, very quickly. “How much?”

“Half.” He was out of that hole like a shot!

“Deirdre, you’re a real pal,” he said, giving me a big smile. “You’re the best pal I ever had.” He wiped his hands on his jeans and grabbed my arm. “Come on, let’s go. Will we walk or take a bus?”

I felt really happy. “Let’s walk,” I replied. “It’s such a lovely day.”

6.

What a time we had! We got a big ice cream each from Cabrelli’s. In Woolies, we bought a matchbox car each, and new pencils with rubbers on the end. We bought marbles and plasticine. Archie bought a water pistol; I bought a lead cowboy whose hat and gun clipped on and off. Archie called me a swot when I got a bottle of ink for my new fountain pen. We were thrown out when he frightened one of the assistants with his new plastic jumping frog; but the money was mostly gone, so it didn’t matter.

We stopped at the corner sweet shop to spend our last few pennies on sherbet fountains and lucky potatoes, eating them on the way home. I should have got a Five Boys, I thought; my favourite chocolate, you could bite the Boys’ faces off one by one, leaving the smiling one to last. But I had no money left.

Fry's Five Boys chocolate - once the most famous confectionery bar in the world

As we walked, we tried to decide what to do about the water coming in the hole.

“It’s getting serious,” Archie said. “I keep getting wet feet, and I’m running out of stories to tell my mother.”

“Perhaps we could use a tin can as a bailer, like my father does in his boat?”

“Trouble with that,” Archie replied, “is that the water would still come in, and we’d spend half the time bailing it out.”

“True enough.”

We walked quietly for a bit, thinking. A short way from his house, Archie brought a bar of Five Boys out of his pocket. Removing the wrapper, he began to bite the Boys off one by one.

“Where did you get that?” I asked. “I thought we’d spent all the money.”

“In Woolies,” he replied. “When you were getting your ink.” There were only two Boys left.

“Can I have one?” I asked. “The smiling Boy at the end?”

“No. You can’t. I bought it with my money, not yours.” I watched him slowly biting into the smiling Boy, chewing it and swallowing it. He licked his lips. “MMM. That was nice.”

Suddenly I felt sick. “Must get home for my dinner” I mumbled, not looking at him. As we reached his gate I started to walk really fast.

“Cheerio, then,” he said. “See you this afternoon.” I didn’t answer.

7.

That night I dreamed about Archie. He was in the hole, digging.The water began to rise. It rose very quickly.The hole was too deep for him to get out. He started screaming, and calling to me for help. He couldn’t swim. I did nothing and said nothing; just sat and watched until the surface of the water was calm.

(winner of a Highly Commended  award in the Jo Cowell international short story competition UK Autumn 04)

2200 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2008
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

Jupiter meets Uranus

Her research includes mundane events and the conjunction’s effects in individual lives, as she explains in this interview, first published in May 2009 by the AFA Newsletter. Anne also offers insights into the upcoming Jupiter-Uranus conjunctions in Pisces and Aries.

AFA: How often does a Jupiter-Uranus conjunction occur?

AW: Every 14 years. There were eight during the 20th Century, with two in Aquarius–one on March 4, 1914 at 9 degrees, 32 minutes of Aquarius, and the other at 5 degrees, 55 minutes of Aquarius on February 16, 1997.

AFA: What is its essential meaning?

AW: In brief, it is a combination of energies regarded as dynamic, unusual, disruptive, expansive, unpredictable – breaking down the old order, stimulating breakthroughs to new levels of expression and understanding, individually and collectively. The Aquarian conjunction is the one most powerfully connected to radical and disruptive social, political and technological shifts, for reasons which are explored in the book.

AFA: Few astrologers are doing research, and you may be the first, at least in many years, to undertake such a massive project linking both mundane and personal astrology. Why did you decide to do this research project?

AW: It feels as if it decided to do me! Seriously though–I have long been fascinated by the link between micro and macro levels of existence. I began to practice as an astrologer under the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Sagittarius of 1983, around that time hearing my first ever lecture on mundane astrology given by the late Charles Harvey. He inspired an interest in exploring the links between individual and collective life via astrology. By I996, I was excited by the prospect of doing some original exploration of a planetary combination which had been present at the birth of my own astrological career.

AFA: Describe the project.

AW: It is a research study of the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction, set in its mythological and historical context, including a very broad tracking of the pulse beat of the conjunction through the four elements from 500 BC to 2500 AD, which identifies some interesting correlations with broad historical changes. It then narrows down to an exploration of mundane and personal life during the Aquarian conjunction of 1997-98, extending to 1999-2001 when Neptune transited the 5 Aquarius 55 Hot Spot where Jupiter and Uranus met on February 16, 1997.

AFA: What mundane events occurred?

AW: Lots! The major event–just 10 days after the conjunction occurred–was the announcement to the world of the existence of Dolly the Sheep, the first ever cloned animal, created by scientists based in Scotland. Over the weekend of the conjunction, February 15-16, the crew of USA’s shuttle Discovery effected repairs to the Hubble space telescope, completing five five space walks to do so. Chapter five in my book tells of many more happenings.

AFA: What are some examples of monumental recorded events that have occurred during previous Jupiter-Uranus conjunctions?

AW: Let’s take the theme of exploration. Explorer Ponce de Leon stepped ashore near Cape Canaveral (thus named by the Spanish some years later) on the morning of April 3, 1513, when there was an exact Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Aries, to claim the New World later to become the United States of America. Precisely 33 Jupiter-Uranus conjunctions later, on July 20, 1969, there was an exact Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Libra when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon’s surface, the first human to do so. The spacecraft on which the astronauts traveled was launched from Cape Carnaveral. . . .

AFA: How many people did you track during the project? Who are they? How did you find them?

AW: Seventeen individuals took part in the first phase of the research from February 1997 to January 1998. I had a sudden inspiration while being interviewed for a magazine in late 1995, to ask readers whose birthdays fell between January 24 and 26 of any year (when the Sun would be transiting 5-6 degrees of Aquarius) to contact me before February 1997 so that I could follow developments in their lives that year. Out of the response came three serious volunteers, to whom I added three clients and 11 of my astrology students. Six participants knew no astrology. All 17 had extraordinary years.

AFA: Was the participant feedback surprising or was it what you expected?

AW: I set out with as open a mind as I could muster, bearing in mind Liz Greene’s wry comment in one of her seminars: “ If you can predict it, it isn’t Uranus! ” A big surprise was the male client, “Frank” (see chapter six in my book). He depressed me by answering all the questionnaires with monosyllabic negatives, then in his summing-up provided a vivid picture of his “amazing year.” The biggest surprise was the “Jupiter-Uranus effect” showing up so clearly in all their lives. I hadn’t expected that.

AFA: Were you able to validate any astrological precepts such as the influence of hard and soft aspects or orbs?

AW: Yes. All participants reported disruptive, unpredictable, expansive life changes. But those with a strong natal Jupiter-Uranus signature went through more radical disruptions and breakthroughs to new levels than those whose natal Jupiter-Uranus signature was absent–or weak, i.e., minor or soft aspects, wide orbs.

AFA: What differences did you observe between contacts from retrograde and direct planets? Were the stations outstanding in any way?

AW: Yes. Just one example: Questionnaire 2: Summer/Autumn 1997  asked if the period of October 13-15 was significant; Uranus turned direct on 5 Aquarius then. Almost everyone reported left-field Uranian happenings. The most markedly Jupiter-Uranus person in the study, Lucia, led a deprived group of inner city youngsters through a powerfully life-changing artistic event involving the spontaneous use of her astrological knowledge, October 13-15, 1997. The book also details striking collective effects involving retrograde and direct planetary motion.

AFA: Why did you continue the research beyond 1997-1998, the year that the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction was operational?

AW: From April 1999 until the end of 2001, the planet Neptune transited the observational band of 4-7 degrees Aquarius which I had set as the boundary for observing the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction’s impact. I was curious to discover whether Neptune’s crossing would reactivate the “Jupiter-Uranus effect” I had demonstrated in collective and personal life in the 1997-1998 part of the research.

To my great surprise, given the diffuse nature of Neptune, it did. This was an affirmation of the astrological precept that powerful planetary meetings on particular degrees of the zodiac “charge-up” those degrees thereafter with the flavor of their meeting.

AFA: Were there any striking observations regarding house rulerships?

AW: Yes. It was clear, for example, that the houses or angles ruled by Neptune as it traversed the observational band mentioned above, were the areas of life most up for disruptive, expansive, unpredictable changes for individuals during the stated time period.

AFA: Do you see Jupiter-Uranus as positive or negative change, or does it represent something else?

AW: Without the unimaginably destructive act of creation, the Big Bang, which as far as we can surmise began our universe, we would not be here to observe our world’s wonders as well as its terrors. Positive and negative energies are two sides of the same coin, wherever we look. I hope I have conveyed that unity adequately in ‘Jupiter Meets Uranus’.

AFA: What can we expect in general terms from the upcoming 2010 Jupiter-Uranus conjunctions in Aries and Pisces?

AW: in essence, the unexpected! And this question needs a whole article, not a few brief paragraphs. The Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Pisces-Aries-Pisces comes into orb (10 degrees) at the end of March 2010, and separates (10 degree orb) in mid-March 2011. Fasten your seat belts! The human community and probably the natural world are in for a bumpy ride.

This Jupiter-Uranus conjunction will arrive at a turbulent point: joining the last Saturn-Pluto square since its conjunction of the early 1980s, and amplifying the first Uranus-Pluto square from its conjunction which dominated the 1960s: that decade of the Vietnam war and its protesters, political assassinations, women’s liberation, musical revolution and the beginning of the micro-technology metamorphosis which has utterly changed our world in only a few decades.

In common with the 1997 conjunction that linked in an astonishing bowl shape with Mars, Saturn and Pluto (Jupiter Meets Uranus, p. 40), this will be no “ordinary” Jupiter-Uranus event: Jupiter conjunct Uranus at 0 Aries will form a T-cross with Saturn at 28 Virgo and Pluto at 4 Capricorn. Mars at 1 Virgo will trine Pluto, opposes Neptune and link back to quincunx the Aries Jupiter-Uranus conjunction.

The Jupiter-Uranus predilection for seeing no limits, leaping before it looks and challenging the established order expressed through the filter of the rash, angry impetuousness of Aries and locked with the harsh, power-driven determination not to budge of the Saturn-Pluto square, offers a difficult and dangerous picture in the realm of international politics, for instance. Misuse of technology by angry, militant fanatics convinced they have God on their side and that the old order must be overturned, is a picture which arises from this.

We can also await more disruption and turbulence on the economic front, but I leave further speculation on this issue to those much better qualified to comment than I!

Religion is not going to diminish in impact; the Piscean backdrop to much of the conjunction will see to that. We may well see an inspirational “messiah”-type figure emerge with challenging and disruptive effect socially and politically in the Aries phase.

(NOTE: 19.9.10: little did I think (it being Uranus of whom we speak) that we would have an ‘anti-messiah’, that self-styled High Priest of the Militant Atheism persuasion, Richard Dawkins, and his plan to arrest the Pope, during 2010….) ( ….and  Autumn/Winter 2010….Julian Assange, anyone? The “messiah” of  uncensored openness?)

Also suggested is fiery eruption disrupting the very fabric of the Earth itself. On a more positive note, the urgency of the accelerating environmental crisis may give birth to great leaps forward in the pioneering of new technologies, e.g., for harnessing solar power and reducing environmental damage.

The challenging pattern I have described, set against the cardinal backdrop of the natural zodiac (which I used for most of the Jupiter Uranus conjunction charts in the book) also links in with the Super Galactic Centre, currently at around 0 degrees Libra.

A picture arises from this of major scientific breakthroughs in our understanding of the Universe or Multiverse, of which our tiny solar system is a mere blip of ephemeral matter. Perhaps the CERN Large Hadron Collider will work this time, and we’ll find the Higgs Boson particle at last . . . or maybe it really will blow us all to bits! There is a most interesting article bringing the CERN particle accelerator and the Super Galactic Centre together, at http://cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/29853. Check it out!

AFA: Do you have a particular area of interest where you expect the 2010 conjunction to deliver, as it were?

AW: One of my own special interests is in genetics and cloning. The 1969 conjunction in Libra saw a Harvard medical school team identify the first gene (see p. 93 of Jupiter Meets Uranus). The year after the 1983 conjunction in Sagittarius, a British scientist developed genetic fingerprinting (p. 93). In 1997 with the Aquarian conjunction, we had the announcement of the first cloned animal, Dolly (p. 43).

The conjunction in Aries in 2010 suggests the next stage, which could well be human cloning, currently illegal where the creation of a complete human is concerned. Maybe a defiant, pioneering male doctor/scientist is prepared to pit himself against the established order and rule of law to do so? There are “maverick doctor” rumblings in the press about this already. . . .

AFA: Do you have a special wish for the human community for something uniquely helpful which could emerge from this powerful and disruptive energy field?

AW: Yes. I would love to see science fiction fantasies over many decades become fact with the arrival on Planet Earth of small but fabulously evolved purple people from Planet Zog to teach us how to mend our ways. Now THAT would be unexpected!!

AFA: As an astrologer, what did you learn from the project?

AW: I began to study astrology more than 25 years ago as part of my quest to try and prove to myself that we do not live in a random, meaningless universe. Time and again, on the large and small scale, astrology has offered that proof, enriching my life and I hope in some measure, the lives of my clients and students along the way. This research has affirmed very powerfully that the personal and collective lives of humankind respond in the same core way to the great music of the spheres, played throughout space and time by the planets in their cycles.

AFA: Finally, a question on YOUR horoscope. Is Jupiter-Uranus prominent?

AW: Well, how did you guess?! My chart is an eastern bowl shape, with Uranus leading from the tenth house, bi-quintile Jupiter which closes the bowl from the third house. My Ascendant, on the Jupiter-Uranus midpoint, was squared by transiting Pluto during the whole research period. . . .

Click here to order ‘Jupiter Meets Uranus’ by Anne Whitaker; $23.95

Click here to link to the AFA website Astrology Shop

Jupiter meets Uranus

To buy “Jupiter meets Uranus: from erotic bathing to star gazing“, described in a five-star review by Leah Whitehorse as “a page-turner of the astrology world”, click HERE

UK buyers, click HERE

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Anne Whitaker’s main blog is Writing from the Twelfth House, a lively and popular magazine-type site, set up in the summer of 2008   “….for those writers and readers – and fellow astrologers! – who share my preoccupation with questions of mystery, meaning, pattern and purpose….”

If you are looking for information, education, entertainment and inspiration, check it out !

2200 words copyright Anne Whitaker/American Federation of Astrologers 2009
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

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Interview between The Know It All Astrologer and Scottish astrologer Anne Whitaker

Anne W

What transit always shows up for you in surprising ways?

They all do, especially the long-lasting ones. The deep challenges that force our growth lurk in the realms of the unconscious, just waiting to hitch a ride on the nearest really tough transit. For example, I didn’t think that ten years of Neptune transits was going to involve an enforced descent into the Underworld for most of that period! However, the good news is that I have now emerged, much improved (unless you ask my husband….!) with enough notes to keep me writing for a further ten years.

What is your funniest transit or retrograde experience?

There are several, not all of which can be aired publicly! The one which comes immediately to mind is the occasion, in March 1985, when Saturn turned retrograde on my 28 Scorpio IC. In the middle of lunch with an old friend who at that time was a bank manager, without warning, I passed out. Just then, a friend of his, who was also a bank manager, was passing by the restaurant window. I came round and insisted on going home – very groggily, with a bank manager holding me up by each arm. Very Saturn in Scorpio, don’t you think?!

Would you rather be ruled by Uranus or Jupiter? Why?

What a question! Both those planets are strong in my horoscope, Uranus in the tenth house leading an eastern bowl shape, with Jupiter in the third closing the bowl, and the two in bi-quintile aspect. My Ascendant is also on the Jupiter/Uranus midpoint. However, if forced to choose I would go for Jupiter, provided the aspects weren’t too difficult. My reasons are probably dictated by the stage I’ve got to in life: that disruptive, eccentric, unpredictable, stubborn individualism characteristic of a Uranus-ruled life feels too tiring to contemplate now!

Jupiter’s boundless energy and optimism, ability to inspire others and be inspired by the more positive dimensions of  life, and willingness to be open to a sense of meaningful connectedness to that which is greater than oneself, are especially attractive to me at this point.

What advice would you give to someone learning how to read their own chart?

One, there are dozens of ways of evading personal responsibility – resolve at the outset never to do so by blaming your horoscope or your transits for your difficulties in life.

Two, realise that objectivity is something to be aspired to, which can never be achieved by mere human beings. This being the case, try to recognise that you can be most objective and therefore most helpful by reading the horoscopes of strangers, provided you have appropriate training and supervision. When approaching your own horoscope, or those of your loved ones, you will inevitably colour the planetary picture before you with your own hopes and fears.

Three, the illuminating light which is gradually cast as your understanding of  the symbols in your chart grows, will be wonderfully helpful in shedding light on your gifts, pains, motivations and aspirations. But bear in mind that possessing astrological knowledge has a shadow side – for example, I have never known anyone including myself who didn’t look at upcoming transits, especially of Saturn and Pluto, without a certain amount of fear. To help my astrology students with this,  I used to point out that 99.9% of the human race from the beginning of time has managed to stagger through life without the aid of astrology! So – enjoy the fascination of  deciphering the astrological map of your life. But don’t get too precious about it – and be aware that this wonderful knowledge has a double edge….

What astrology books do you re-read or use the most?

The two astrologers who have most inspired and educated me have been Liz Greene and the late Charles Harvey, with both of whom I was fortunate to study – unofficially from the mid-1980s and formally between 1995 and 1998. As reference books for my interest in mundane astrology, my three favourites are: The outer planets and their Cycles by Liz Greene,  Anima Mundi – the astrology of the individual and the collective by Charles Harvey, and Mundane Astrology by Michael Baigent, Nicholas Campion and Charles Harvey.

My copy of Stephen Arroyo’s Astrology, Karma and Transformation , that wonderful in-depth companion on the ‘stormy journey of the soul’ is now so well-thumbed that it is starting to fall to bits – and when I feel like some outrageous, light-hearted, funny, but deadly accurate astrological analysis I turn to Debbi Kempton-Smith’s Secrets from a stargazer’s notebook.

Biog:

Anne Whitaker has been an astrologer since the 1983 Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Sagittarius. She also has a long background in adult education, social work, counselling and supervision. Anne holds the Diploma from the Centre for Psychological Astrology where she studied with Liz Greene and Charles Harvey (1995-98 London, UK), an MA degree, and postgraduate diplomas in education and social work. Based in Glasgow in Scotland, she is now focusing on writing, and on running “Writing from the Twelfth House” which has just been included in the prestigious and prolific USA astrology blogger Jude Cowell’s Top 10 Astrology Blogs 2009.

(permission to re-publish this interview, first posted on 18 June 2009, has been given by The Know It All Astrologer)

900 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2009

Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

**********************

Interview between The Know It All Astrologer and Scottish astrologer Anne Whitaker

18th June 2009
*********
What transit always shows up for you in surprising ways?

They all do, especially the long-lasting ones. The deep challenges that force our growth lurk in the realms of the unconscious, just waiting to hitch a ride on the nearest really tough transit. For example, I didn’t think that ten years of Neptune transits was going to involve an enforced descent into the Underworld for most of that period! However, the good news is that I have now emerged, much improved (unless you ask my husband….!) with enough notes to keep me writing for a further ten years.

What is your funniest transit or retrograde experience?

There are several, not all of which can be aired publicly! The one which comes immediately to mind is the occasion, in March 1985, when Saturn turned retrograde on my 28 Scorpio IC. In the middle of lunch with an old friend who at that time was a bank manager, without warning, I passed out. Just then, a friend of his, who was also a bank manager, was passing by the restaurant window. I came round and insisted on going home – very groggily, with a bank manager holding me up by each arm. Very Saturn in Scorpio, don’t you think?!

Would you rather be ruled by Uranus or Jupiter? Why?

What a question! Both those planets are strong in my horoscope, Uranus in the tenth house leading an eastern bowl shape, with Jupiter in the third closing the bowl, and the two in bi-quintile aspect. My Ascendant is also on the Jupiter/Uranus midpoint. However, if forced to choose I would go for Jupiter, provided the aspects weren’t too difficult. My reasons are probably dictated by the stage I’ve got to in life: that disruptive, eccentric, unpredictable, stubborn individualism characteristic of a Uranus-ruled life feels too tiring to contemplate now!

Jupiter’s boundless energy and optimism, ability to inspire others and be inspired by the more positive dimensions of  life, and willingness to be open to a sense of meaningful connectedness to that which is greater than oneself, are especially attractive to me at this point.

What advice would you give to someone learning how to read their own chart?

One, there are dozens of ways of evading personal responsibility – resolve at the outset never to do so by blaming your horoscope or your transits for your difficulties in life.

Two, realise that objectivity is something to be aspired to, which can never be achieved by mere human beings. This being the case, try to recognise that you can be most objective and therefore most helpful by reading the horoscopes of strangers, provided you have appropriate training and supervision. When approaching your own horoscope, or those of your loved ones, you will inevitably colour the planetary picture before you with your own hopes and fears.

Three, the illuminating light which is gradually cast as your understanding of  the symbols in your chart grows, will be wonderfully helpful in shedding light on your gifts, pains, motivations and aspirations. But bear in mind that possessing astrological knowledge has a shadow side – for example, I have never known anyone including myself who didn’t look at upcoming transits, especially of Saturn and Pluto, without a certain amount of fear. To help my astrology students with this,  I used to point out that 99.9% of the human race from the beginning of time has managed to stagger through life without the aid of astrology! So – enjoy the fascination of  deciphering the astrological map of your life. But don’t get too precious about it – and be aware that this wonderful knowledge has a double edge….

What astrology books do you re-read or use the most?

The two astrologers who have most inspired and educated me have been Liz Greene and the late Charles Harvey, with both of whom I was fortunate to study – unofficially from the mid-1980s and formally between 1995 and 1998. As reference books for my interest in mundane astrology, my three favourites are: The outer planets and their Cycles by Liz Greene,  Anima Mundi – the astrology of the individual and the collective by Charles Harvey, and Mundane Astrology by Michael Baigent, Nicholas Campion and Charles Harvey. My copy of Stephen Arroyo’s Astrology, Karma and Transformation , that wonderful in-depth companion on the ‘stormy journey of the soul’ is now so well-thumbed that it is starting to fall to bits – and when I feel like some outrageous, light-hearted, funny, but deadly accurate astrological analysis I turn to Debbi Kempton-Smith’s Secrets from a stargazer’s notebook.

Biog:

Anne Whitaker has been an astrologer since the 1983 Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Sagittarius. She also has a long background in adult education, social work, counselling and supervision. Anne holds the Diploma from the Centre for Psychological Astrology where she studied with Liz Greene and Charles Harvey (1995-98 London, UK), an MA degree, and postgraduate diplomas in education and social work. Based in Glasgow in Scotland, she is now focusing on writing, and on running her popular website for writers and readers :  “Writing from the Twelfth House” which has just been included in the prestigious and prolific USA astrology blogger Jude Cowell’s Top 10 Astrology Blogs for 2009.

Jupiter Meets Uranus

To buy “Jupiter meets Uranus: from erotic bathing to star gazing“, described in a five-star review by Leah Whitehorse as “a page-turner of the astrology world”, click HERE

UK buyers, click HERE

**********************

900 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2009

Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

I’m now looking into the capabilities of different blogs to see which is the most suitable for her needs. She’s looking for a multi-page blog so she can write to different sections with different subjects.

So far it’s looking like wordpress is a winner but I’m still looking.