Virgo

Virgo~The Virgin
Traits: Modest and shy
Meticulous and reliable
Practical and diligent
Intelligent and analytical
Fussy and a worrier
Overcritical and harsh
Perfectionist and conservative
Likes: Health foods
* Lists
* Hygiene
* Order
* Wholesomeness
Dislikes: Hazards to health
* Anything sordid
* Sloppy workers
* Squalor
* Being uncertain
Animal: Dove
Color: Brown
Planet: Mercury
StarStone: Sardonyx
Element: Earth


Your True Sun Sign ( With Pics )
brought to you by Quizilla

Leo

Leo~The Lion

Traits: Generous and warmhearted
Creative and enthusiastic
Broad-minded and expansive
Faithful and loving
Pompous and patronizing
Bossy and interfering
Dogmatic and intolerant

Likes: Speculative ventures
* Lavish Living
* Pageantry and Grandeur
* Children
* Drama

Dislikes: Doing things safely
* Ordinary, day to day living
* Small minded people
* Penny pinching
* Mean spiritedness

Animal: Lion

Color: Gold

Planet: Sun

Star Stone: Ruby

Element: Fire

Your True Sun Sign ( With Pics )
brought to you by Quizilla

Cancer

Cancer~The Crab

Traits: Emotional and loving
Intuitive and imaginative
Shrewd and cautious
Protective and sympathetic
Changeable and moody
Overemotional and touchy
Clinging and unable to let go

Likes: Hobbies
* Romance
* Children
* Home and Country
* Parties

Dislikes: Aggravating situations
* Failure
* Opposition
* Being told what to do ;)
* Advice (good or bad)

Animal: Crab

Color: Silver

Planet: Moon

StarStone: Pearl

Element: Water

Your True Sun Sign ( With Pics )
brought to you by Quizilla

Gemini~The Twins

Gemini~The Twins

Traits: Adaptable and versatile
Communicative and witty
Intellectual and eloquent
Youthful and lively
Nervous and tense
Superficial and inconsistent
Cunning and inquisitive

Likes: Talking

Novelty and the unusual

Variety in life

Multiple projects all going at once

Reading

Dislikes: Feeling tied down

Learning, such as school

Being in a rut

Mental inaction

Being alone

Animal: Wolf

Color: Yellow

Planet: Mercury

StarStone: Moss Agate

Element: Air

Your True Sun Sign ( With Pics )
brought to you by Quizilla

Venus~Goddess of Beauty and Love

Last May I celebrated my 50^th birthday. Entering a new decade is always a milestone, but turning fifty was unlike any other and as I thought about what this meant to me and just what I’d like to do with this time in my life. I was surprised at what I discovered, as I’d never really considered myself an artist. Writer? Yes. Photographer? Yes. Lover of all things beautiful? Definitely, but did that make me an artist? In searching my heart for a creative idea around which to organize in order to make my fifties an inspiring adventure in my mind and my life, this is what I wrote:

I am dedicating my fifties to Beauty—Beauty and Love--to living more fully as the artist I am, at heart. I’ll seize these precious moments and make it my mission to focus on the qualities of beauty, love and joy! Joy is of the essence and the natural child of beauty and love. Joy or enjoyment is confirmation of alignment with one's higher purpose. Joy is my True North.

In the eleven months since, all kinds of miraculous things have occurred to naturally move my life forward in new and joyful directions that allowed me to easily explore and express more of my creative, visually artistic self. Over the last few weeks I’ve begun to see just how much the act of consciously dedicating this time in my life to one idea has opened my eyes to possibilities and attracted opportunities through which to live my heart's desire.

When I step back and look at it, I have whole-heartedly embraced my artistic self this year. Beauty and love are ongoing themes for me, whether in my awareness of their absence in certain situations or in the realization that my world has always been full of beauty and love. Only as I began to focus on those qualities did I see how prevalent they are. Now, I’m amazed that any of us is able to keep from noticing beauty and love.

All this talk of Beauty and Love of course is related to this month’s astrological theme, Taurus and the planet associated with it, Venus, the Goddess of all things beautiful and lovely. Venus has been moving through Pisces, the sign in which she expresses her compassion and imagination in a spiritual and creative manner.

On May 3^rd, Venus enters the sign of Aries where she gets down to business. Finished with the dreamtime idealism of Pisces, Venus in Aries wants what she wants when she wants it. This is the period in the annual Venus cycle when we may feel more enthusiastic about taking action on our desires; impulsively and instinctively initiating something new and if it’s exciting, so much the better. Under this energy we may be more inclined to feel impatient, or “see red” (Aries’ color) if our efforts are frustrated or denied this month. Don’t get mad, get busy. If you find your actions thwarted when moving in one direction, back off and proceed in a new way.

What do you find beautiful and lovely? What actions can you take to include more of the gifts of Venus in your life in the days and weeks ahead? May all your Venus inspired acts bring you joy.

Taurus~The Bull

Taurus~The Bull

Traits: Patient and reliable
Warmhearted and loving
Persistent and determined
Placid and security loving
Jealous and possessive
Resentful and inflexible
Self-indulgent and greedy

Likes: Stability

* Being Attracted

* Things Natural

* Time to Ponder

* Comfort and Pleasure

Dislikes: Disruption

* Being pushed too hard

* Synthetic or "man made" things

* Being rushed

* Being indoors

Animal: Bull

Color: Orange/Pink

Planet: Venus

StarStone: Emerald

Element: Earth


Your True Sun Sign ( With Pics )
brought to you by Quizilla

Taurus~The Heart of Our Feeling Nature

In honor of the Sun's recent entry into Taurus, I created this image to represent the Taurus coppery-orange, second chakra, passionate, emotional, feeling energy.

Ruled by Venus, Goddess of Love and money, beauty and balance, self-esteem and worthiness, value and values, the territory of Taurus includes sensuality, body awareness, deliberate action, our posessions and earthy beauty.

As a fixed sign, Taurus tends to hold on for the purpose of creating stability, but too much holding on hinders one's ability to flow energetically, particularly when it is emotional material (second chakra issues) we are holding.

Taking a deep breath and connecting with one's heart and inner being in any moment can serve us in remembering our true value lies in expressing our unique perspective and individuality. Our value has never been dependent on how we do or don't feel or what we do or don't have.

Taurus represents the journey to experiencing the one who lives in the body and experiences life through the senses. Indulge in the beauty, color, sounds, textures and tastes you love this month and watch your spirit come alive.

Aries

Aries~The Ram

Aries~The Ram

Traits: Adventurous and energetic
Pioneering and courageous
Enthusiastic and confident
Dynamic and quick-witted
Selfish and quick-tempered
Impulsive and impatient
Foolhardy and daredevil

Likes: Action

* Coming in first

* Challenges

* Championing Causes

* Spontaneity

Dislikes: Waiting Around

* Admitting Failure

* No opposition

* Tyranny

* Other people's advice ;)

Animal: Ram

Color: Red

Planet: Mars

StarStone: Diamond

Element: Fire

Your True Sun Sign ( With Pics )
brought to you by Quizilla

Mercury's Meandering Journey Through Pisces

The planet Mercury, Messenger of the Gods, ruler of the signs of Gemini and Virgo, represents the mind; our connection between spirit and matter. Mercury symbolizes the power of communication and our ability to interpret and make sense of what we perceive and experience.

This year Mercury is in the sign of Pisces from February 8th-April 16th. Since Mercury usually moves through an entire thirty degree sign in about three weeks this extended journey through Pisces is notable. You may already have seen or felt the effects in your life.

Mercury, has just completed the first of three retrograde phases of its cycle for this year. Mercury “goes retrograde” three times a year for approximately three weeks before resuming forward motion. During the retrograde cycles we revisit the ground covered in the recent and distant past. Anything with the prefix re- is favored, return, reconsider, refinance, retreat, realize, restore, recapitulate, remind, remember, respond, reply, responsibility, reward, etc. People and things return to us under Mercury retrograde cycles, lost ideas or incomplete projects are up for reconsideration. It is time to pick up the dropped threads and either weave them into the tapestry of our lives or decide to cut them and be done with them.

Mercury has been floating through the spiritual, imaginative, twelfth and final sign of the zodiac, Pisces, since February 8th dissolving old, outdated thought processes, and ways of communication. While in Pisces, Mercury’s natural logic and analysis give way to more nebulous right-brain activities. You may find you are more prone to daydreaming and flights of fancy, now. Imagination is stimulated and fantasy reigns supreme as cold hard facts are hard to pin down in this spacey atmosphere of the ideal and the surreal.

During Mercury’s recent three week retrograde cycle in Pisces (March 3rd-25th) you may have gained insight into some of the things that once were true and valuable for you but no longer offer the same benefits because either you have changed, the situation has changed or your life is calling you in new directions today.

While Mercury is in Pisces, we are more apt to consider having a sense of purpose and meaning in our lives a priority and are more inclined to release old concepts and ways of communicating that no longer work. It is easier now to see that which we value and can embrace with compassion. Looking at where we've been in order to integrate past experiences, clean up loose ends, and catch up with the activity of the recent or even distant past is indicated. Now that Mercury has resumed direct motion, we are ready to move forward with greater clarity, present in the moment.

Happy Equinox

Today is the first day of spring.

Time to consider which seeds of potential you'll plant in the garden of your life as this growing season begins.

May the beautiful signs of spring stir and spark your creative fire!

Pisces~The Fish

Pisces , The Fish
Traits: Imaginative and sensitive
Compassionate and kind
Selfless and unworldly
Intuitive and sympathetic
Escapist and idealistic
Secretive and vague
Weak-willed and easily led
Likes: Solitude to dream in
* Mystery in all its guises
* Anything discarded to stay discarded
* The ridiculous
* like to get 'lost'
Dislikes: the obvious
* being criticized
* feeling all at sea about something
* know-it-alls
* pedantry
Animal: Fish
Color: Sea green
Planet: Neptune
StarStone: Moonstone
Element: Water


Your True Sun Sign ( With Pics )
brought to you by Quizilla

Love is...

Love is the truth of who we are
Wise and gracious
Love knows better
Than to bend to fear or doubt

Love is inclusive and kind
Transcending all obstacles
Love bows to the beauty it knows
In all that is

Love is forgiving and expansive
Magnificent in its expression
Love is quiet as the morning dew
Sparkling silently as it blesses the earth
And her inhabitants with its rainbow of light

Love is music, magic and muse
The shining truth of all that is
Love is...

Valentine’s Day 2006
(c) 2006 Jodi Flesberg Lilly

Aquarius~The Water Bearer

Aquarius~The Water Bearer
Traits: Friendly and humanitarian
Honest and loyal
Original and inventive
Independent and intellectual
Intractable and contrary
Perverse and unpredictable
Unemotional and detached
Likes: Fighting for Causes
* Dreaming and Planning for the Future
* Thinking of the Past
* Good Companions
* Having Fun
Dislikes: Full of Air Promises
* Excessive Loneliness
* The Ordinary
* Imitations
* Idealistic
Animal: Dolphin
Color: Turquoise
Planet: Uranus
StarStone: Turquoise
Element: Air

Capricorn~The Goat

Capricorn~The Goat
Traits: Practical and prudent
Ambitious and disciplined
Patient and careful
Humorous and reserved
Pessimistic and fatalistic
Miserly and grudging
Likes: Reliability
* Professionalism
* Knowing what you discuss
* Firm Foundations
* Purpose
Dislikes: Wild Schemes
* Fantasies
* Go-nowhere jobs
* Ignominy
* Ridicule
Animal: Goat
Color: Black
Planet: Saturn
StarStone: Onyx
Element: Earth


Your True Sun Sign ( With Pics )
brought to you by Quizilla

Chiron and The Dawn of 2006

The circumstances under which something begins, whether considering it from an astrological perspective or a more mundane point of view, reveal the atmosphere and conditions under which it will develop.

In paying attention to the energies at play as the year begins we can choose to engage these energies, to 'catch the wave' and benefit from the natural momentum by focusing on projects that are harmonious with, naturally graced and blessed by the current conditions.

2006 dawned with the Moon, setting the emotional tone, universally, in Aquarius, sign of progressive, visionary pursuits; equality; humanitarian endeavors; evolution; and science, meeting up with Chiron, The Wounded Healer and Venus, The Goddess of Love. The Moon rules our needs, family, the unconscious and emotions. Venus rules love and money, our desires, relationships, fair play and aesthetics. Chiron, activated on New Year’s Day by the feminine principles of Moon and Venus, points to women, nurturing and love as initiating energy foretells a year of healing the Divine Feminine within us all, through humanitarian activities, out-of-the-box thinking and progressive methods

Chiron in Aquarius, shows us the path of healing for this period until 2010, which will include healing through or within groups, alternative medicine, energetic healing, healing through technology, healing through networks, and unconventional, innovative, cutting-edge healing methods. Conversely, we can also experience wounding in these realms.

Chiron has a fifty-year cycle, spending a little more than four years per sign, so many of the issues that are beginning to arise today, had their genesis in the people and circumstances born in the mid to late 1950’s. Those of us born between 1955 and 1960 were born with Chiron in Aquarius, and may be the ones to lead the healing charge during this period as the issues inherent in this cycle are those we know intimately and are reviewing as Chiron returns to the place it was when we were born.

Chiron’s message is that we are only as strong as our weakest part; once that has been addressed and attended to we become more aware and stronger in those places, able to offer the benefit of our experience to others. At that point our perspective and our reality improve greatly. Freed of old pain we are liberated and able to more easily create that which our heart desires.

January always begins with the Sun in Capricorn, the sign of taking care of business. However, this year along with all the new activity in Aquarius on New Year's Day, the Capricorn Sun was in a favorable relationship with Mars, The Warrior of the zodiac, (initiation, pioneering and taking action) now moving through the sign of Taurus (money and values). The Sun (mass consciousness) working positively with Mars creates an environment in which it is easier to establish and maintain a maximum stride. A true atmosphere of cooperation is possible under these circumstances, wherein everyone's energies are more likely to be in synch so that the whole system functions well and all are supported in their part of the process.

Here's to a most auspicious 2006!

New Year Dawning

Blank calendar page
Invitation to the new
Time draws us ever on

********

Storms rage, wash away
Trees sway, their branches bowing
Blessing Mother Earth

*********

New day, a new way
Tomorrow's promise calls forth
Bold inspiration

'Tis The Season

Christmas music playing everywhere you go; colorful festive decorations on houses, buildings and street lights. Wherever you are in this country, whatever your beliefs, the lovely spirit of Christmas is in the air. One week after Christmas we begin a brand new year, believe it or not here it comes. It reminds me of a cartoon I saw once of a daily desk calendar with the day pages being torn rapidly from their holder, illustrating what it looks like when time flies.

Today, we are not the same as we were just a year ago but we may not have a clue how to express the inner changes we can no longer deny. It can be challenging to know whether it is the road we walk that has changed or if our shift in perspective over recent months has allowed us to see the road a new light.

Until December 21st, the Sun continues its journey through Sagittarius, the expansive sign of philosophy, Truth, intuition and publishing. Jupiter, the ruler of Sag, traveling through Scorpio, until late 2006, the passionate and mysterious sign of sex, death and rebirth—in charge of psychology and transformation, power and control. This transit of Jupiter through Scorpio may be calling out long-buried memories and the emotions we’ve kept under wraps, with them. This holiday season we may feel more inclined toward solitary retrospective and introspective pursuits and intimate gatherings than toward attending the big, glamorous parties of previous Decembers.

Those of us who are not doing time with the ghost of Christmas past this year (probably because we’ve already been there and done that; everybody does, sooner or later) may find ourselves offering our listening heart to family and friends who are feeling the backlash of the secrets they’ve kept and lies they’ve told themselves and held onto, thinking it was better that way. Scorpio, sign of the phoenix, rising from the ashes, is in charge of purifying that which is toxic and rebuilding, restoring, remodeling us to a whole new lease on life.

The Winter Solstice, in pagan cultures, has long been celebrated with lights, evergreens, and festivities. Today, regardless of your beliefs, whether pagan, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, etc., or none of the above, we all have the same focus at this time of year. We are celebrating the light, the lights, The Light.

Christmas, in particular, is a symbolic reminder to celebrate the Divine Child who lives within each of us, the spark of heart light that gives life to our bodies and purpose to our lives. It is a celebration of the love we so often take for granted. The Divine Child in us is not afraid or weak so it never grows cynical or defended, it’s the part of us that knows love is the truth of who we are, and the best thing we each can do in our life is to shine our personal light of love. As we do, everything in our world becomes a little brighter and it becomes easier to discern between which activities and experiences simply drain our life force and which are truly life-enhancing.

May the Light and Love of the season guide you safely and joyfully to the New Year.

Gratitude

December has begun in California with days of bright blue sky and sunshine uninterrupted by even a single cloud. It could almost be spring if not for the fading leaves on the trees and strewn in random bunches on the ground. The early sunset makes quick work of my springtime fantasy with its reminder that it is winter that’s coming. Still, I am grateful for the sun while it’s shining, for the natural beauty and abundance in the world that surrounds me, for the love I have been offered and the love that surges through me as I learn to live more often aligned with my heart.

Lately I have been considering the power of gratitude. Expressing it opens the heart, creating greater receptivity and ability to acknowledge and experience the good in our lives. Meister Eckhart said that simply saying, “Thank you” is sufficient to align us with our good. I do this frequently as I walk back home after my morning run. One recent morning I looked at the beauty all around me with new appreciation and said, Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. A moment later I heard my inner guidance respond, “In your gratitude you will find your grace.” In that instant I understood grace as I never had.

My friend, Stacey Robyn, has just begun an experiment in practicing gratitude and is looking for one million people to participate in creating a global wake of gratitude.

I know the difference practicing gratitude has made in my life and I've seen Stacey take it to a whole new level with her brilliant creative ideas and writing on this project. She is such an inspiration, I’m posting her link here for those interested in taking part in this innovative, life-enhancing project.

There is nothing to buy and much to gain, so if this appeals to you, you may check it out at http://www.givemethemasterkey.com/.

I Believe

I believe in the power of Love
I believe grace is everpresent
I believe in the creative spirit
I believe in the strength of goodness
I believe beauty uplifts and supports
I believe music is the great balm and healer
I believe kindness creates a bridge of light that provides hope
I believe true commitment comes from the heart, or not at all
I believe the grace of friendship is magical and miraculous
I believe the light shining in our eyes is divine
I believe Love changes everything
I believe all is well

And so it is.