The Astrological Dinner Party: A Great Holiday Gift and Fun Way to Kick Off the New Year

What better way to spice up your parties than by adding a little bit of stardust? Star the New Year off with a new way to entertain; the astrological dinner party. It is a wonderful new way to do a potluck that will not only assure a great variety of foods but hours of conversation as guests compare their choices with their chart signs. Invite some friends over and ask them to bring a dish that epitomizes their Sun sign*. They do not have to be astrological wizards. Everyone knows their sun signs and knows something about the energy they emit. Have them bring the food in a brown bag, with no outside markings. No one is to peek at anyone else’s’ offerings. Invite your guests to have some wine and snacks in the other room while you get the dinner ready. Remove the food from the original plates and place them in your own service. This will eliminate people knowing who brought what by recognizing someone’s china. Once you serve the dishes, have everyone guess who brought what. That healthy quinoa salad has to be from the Virgo while the Capricorn probably came armed with a chicken potpie or something else of great substance. If there are two people of the same Sun sign it is no problem. There are many traits exhibited by each sign and it will be interesting to see how they express in each person. Of course, I would encourage you to have my cookbook on hand to answer any astrological questions that might arise. If you prefer to cook the food yourself and surprise your friends with their own personalized Sun-sign dishes, you can prepare any number of meals from my cookbook. There are at least ten recipes for each astrological signs “In Signs of the Tines.” For your Libra friend create a surf-and-turf to keep them in balance. For the Aries, the warrior inspired Mongolian Hot Pot. If you are stuck with the age-old question, what should I buy for everyone this Holiday season, why not prepare an astrological meal? It is fun, personalized and something they will always remember. What greater gift can you give then to prepare a dish just for them handpicked by the stars? *For the more astro-savvy crowd ask them to cook for their rising sign! That will really spark discussions. “Signs of the Tines: The Ultimate Astrological Cookbook” is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and www.signsofthetines.com. For chart readings me Joan at Joansastrology@gmail.com. Download my podcast Astrological Cooking at http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/astrological-cook/.

Pluto Leaves Retrograde!!!!!

The long astrological nightmare is soon to be over... to paraphrase Gerald Ford. Our poor beleaguered little planet is finally pulling out of those big planet retrogrades - Uranus, Pluto, Neptune and the asteroid Juno. A retrograde is the phenomena that makes a planet look like it is going backwards in the sky. This is a trick of the eye because of where we are on the ecliptic and where they are. Astrologically, when a planet is in retrograde the energy that it is sending us is "garbled." We have to search for it. If you are born with a planet retrograded, you need to go inwards, and rework that energy. Therefore, people with Mercury energy may not learn "normally" or have speech issues - they need to work that energy in a new way. We have all been under a retrograde of these "big guys" for several months and boy have we felt it...fighting, anger, feelings of being stuck...well hang on - the first one, Pluto, will station direct and start moving forward starting September 20th. Take advantage of this by putting some change that you have been contemplating into motion. Pluto rules the world of change - transformation and rebirth. So what have you been procrastinating about? Do it - do it now. Pluto will burst forth with energy on the 20th, which will help you. Be sure to check my new podcast on webtalkradio.com http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/astrological-cook/

International Day of Peace - Sept 21

With all of this talk of war and bombing Syria I find it a bit ironic that we are coming up on the International Day of Peace. This was established in 1981 by the United Nations. According to their website: In 1981, the United Nations General Assembly, by unanimous vote, adopted Resolution 36/67 establishing the International Day of Peace (IDP) which stated in part, “…to devote a specific time to concentrate the efforts of the United Nations and its Member States, as well as the whole of mankind, to promoting the ideals of peace and to giving positive evidence of their commitment to peace in all viable ways.” The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982 on the opening day of the General Assembly. In 2002 the UN General Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent annual date for the International Day of Peace. It sounds terrific and a hopeful respite to the constant conflict we Earthlings always seem to find ourselves in. There are two hopeful astrological signs that day. One is the Pluto will finally be out of a retrograded position! YIPPEE - finally - maybe we will stop spinning our wheels and get out of that collective rut we have been in. The other is that Mercury will be in the sign of Libra - the sign of the mediator and it is in the 11th house - the house of group activities. Wouldn't it be nice to utilize that energy even if for a day! So remember to think peace on Sept. 21- and beyond. Speaking of peace and mediation check out a new book, "The Bridges of Death" by M.C.V Egan!

Diana Nyad - a Lion in the Water

I HAD to do this chart today! Diana Nyad, who at 64 years old has successfully reached the Florida shore on her fifth attempt to swim from Cuba to Key West. I have been trying to find her birth time but that doesn't seem to be public information however, we do know that she was born on August 22, 1949 in New York City and while her rising sign, which is contingent on knowing the time of birth, is unknown there is a lot to be gleaned from her chart. The thing that is cracking me up totally right now is that she was born with a South Node conjuncting the planet Neptune, God of the Sea! While there is absolutely no astrological correlation between past lives linked to Neptune and swimming ability it does make me smile. All you need to know about this gutsy woman can be found in the stellium of Sun, Pluto, and Juno all in the fixed fire sign of Leo with her Leo Moon hanging on close-by. Signs fall into three categories, the fixed signs that are the stubborn folks, the mutables who are the go along and get along people and the cardinal signs - the leaders. She has her Sun, her Juno (the goddess of loyalty), her Moon and Pluto all clustered together Leo - which as I said is not only fixed but fire! Nothing was going to stop that determination especially with Pluto the planet of transformation and change kept her glued to that goal with determination. What do I mean by fire? Well, again the signs fall into categories, the water signs are emotional, spiritual and deep, the earth signs are sturdy and stable, air are mercurial and intelligent and fire people are seeking prominence - they have to make an impact. Diana is all fixed fire! If that wasn't enough fuel for her, check out her Saturn, Pallas conjunction. Saturn is the task master, the planet of "doing things right and following the rules." When it is combined with Pallas Athena, the androgynous warrior goddess a person has a "pit-bull mentality." Her North Node, where her soul is intending to go in this lifetime, is in Aries, the uber-determined, cardinal and yes, fire, signs. It is ruled by Mars which in her case is in Cancer - another cardinal sign. No matter her chosen career she would have exceled and exceeded. So congratulations Diana - you certainly used your planetary "gifts" to the maximum today!!

Juno the Loyalty Goddess in Retrograde

First I want to thank the people at "Dell Horoscope" for their wonderful review of "Signs of the Tines: The Ultimate Astrological Cookbook," which can be read on my website wwww.signsofthetines.com - under "press." I have written a lot about the "big" retrogrades we are under right now - Pluto, Neptune, etc. The big boys and girls. We do have a fairly prominent asteroid also in retrograde, that is, Juno, the goddess of loyalty - the consort. When she is strong in a birth chart - and hovers around the 7 - 8 houses the person will be looking for a committed relationship - sometimes to a fault. I have seen many strong Juno's cause a person to stick with a highly unfavorable mate because they are stuck on that need to be committed to someone no matter what! However, what does it mean when Juno, like now, is in retrograde? Well this is a time to find fault in relationships - to want to tear down and analyze what isn't making us tick. Someone born with Juno in retrograde will have to work harder to find that "one and only" and to make it work for all parties. Right now Juno is retrograded in the rebellious planet of Uranus. Depending on where Juno is in your natal chart - you can be doing a lot of questioning about the relationships that you are in. Remember it is Juno - don't make any rash decisions! I wonder if the little "tiff" in the Republican Party has something to do with Juno. There are the rebels our "Tea Party" - ah pals - who are questioning the loyalty of what is left of the normal GOP. I for one love watching what is going on and thank Juno for stirring up a wee bit of trouble. :)

DOG DAYS AND BLUE MOONS

As a kid I always remember hearing about the “Dog Days of Summer.” I didn't have a clue what it meant but it ws hot and humid and the dogs were panting and lying down more than usual so it must have something to do with it - so I decided dog days are hot summer days in August. Little did I know that, of course, had roots in ancient astrology. It is the time of year when the star Sirius (called Canis Major, or the Dog Star) can be seen in the eastern sky just before dawn. Dog Days! Of course!  Well we are now in the dog days and watery days they are. 

All the big slow guys,  Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune in water signs and will be for the foreseeable future. You know water loves to delve deeply into the emotional issues and with Neptune being in retrograde - you can expect those emotional issues to be backing up on you - particularly if you are not getting in touch with them. Use the time to assess emotional issues - don't keep pushing them under the rug. 

OK now August 21 is going to be a hum-dinger because Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto will be in a t-square  - that is a bunch of oppositions - Jupiter - Pluto and then a square to Uranus. Emotions will be ragged - oh and did I mention that Pluto is also retrograded. You will feel "picked on" and judged and can find yourself and others lashing out at each other for reasons that are not the real ones. "You made the door slam again could be a cover up for "Why don't you ever listen to me?" on the 23rd and 24th Venus and the Moon get hung up in this mess. Oh great the goddess of love and the one of emotions in a vast, difficult square with the watery big guys. Everyone remember to count to 10 please! 

It might not be a good time to tell you this but there will be a "Blue Moon" on the 20th - the second full Moon of the month it that unique and rebellious sign of AQUARIUS.  Yeah folks - hold on to your wigs - this is going to be a bumpy week. Better go outside and play with the dogs! 

The Tale of Two Leo Presidents

Two recent Presidents were born under the Sun Sign of Leo. But just to show you how little the Sun Sign means to a full chart analysis let's look at these two men, President Clinton and President Obama to see how that Leo energy manifests in their chart.

First, President Clinton whose birthday is later this week. His Leo Sun is in the eleventh house, the house of group and social interactions - well yes, he does excel at that, don't you think? However, look at his first house, the house of personality. It is opened by Libra - the sign that demands interaction with other people  - it is a people sign and Libra rising people can even exhibit co-dependent traits. Libra loves human interaction! Mars right on the ascendant! Holy Cow - the god of war - the raw energy of Mars also in the sign of "other" - and one degree away from his rising sign.  I have to make myself heard and seen not only in a crowd but to everyone. Love me please, love me! (Chiron also in the first,  the wounded warrior shows how much he really needs to be love and accepted by others.)

Neptune sits on Mars - well you know Neptune - the obfuscater - that helps that President well shall we say distort his version of things from time to time! Adding Venus to the mix - the goddess of love and romance - oh let's not rehash that. You get the picture.

All in all he has a stellium - more than 5 planets and asteroids in Libra in or bordering the first house. Even if his talent was in shoe sales and not politics he would be the town's best known, most affable and most avuncular show salesman. He can't help it. Is a a person who needs people.

President Obama, also a Leo Sun, has a vastly different first house. His rising sign is not people loving, people needing Libra, but aloof and cool Aquarius. Aquarius loves all Mankind but he isn't too interested in getting down and dirty with people every day - he feels your pain but doesn't want to learn too much about it. Where Libra is all about other - Aquarius is a very cerebral, very detached sign - they are smarter than the average bear - know what needs to be done and expect everyone to just do it without any fuss or muss. 

His Sun is in the 6th house the house of work and service. So he firmly believes if he keeps his head down and keeps working the noise will dissipate. Unfortunately, the noise of opposition  is too determined to just go away but since they are illogical to the Aquarius mind he just doesn't imagine that he has to address them as serious. 

President Obama's South Node is in the first house - and like Clinton, the Chiron, wound issue. (I wonder how many people who carry a deep wound in the first turn to politics for acceptance?) So he is carrying a lot of deep issues inside him that are just below the surface - which again translate to caution.

To Leo's - two Presidents - vastly different men!