Astrology and Astronomy

Ever look up at the night sky and wonder "what else is out there"? Are there aliens out there? Or are we the only creatures in the known universe?

Me? Personally? I've been pondering things like that since I was a kid. Back when my dad and I had a decent relationship he had a telescope that I loved to look through. It wasn't uncommon to hear me ask on any given night that I was with him "can we get the telescope out"? So we'd sit and look at the stars. Then a big chuck of years where I didn't get along with him intervened and I forgot about my interest in the planets and space until I was around 16 or 17. By the time I reached my junior year of high school I realized I had a deep love of learning. Anything and everything I could get my hands on. So while on summer break from school I thought "what can I teach myself"? I glanced out at the night sky where my eyes met a full moon. By this time in my life I had dabbled in other interests and learned that the moon had a 28 day cycle where it went from full to new to full again. And that there are actually 13 full moons in a year, meaning that at some point we have 2 full moons in 1 month resulting in the blue moon. The moon reminded me of my love of outer space. So I thought: "Ok, I'll teach myself as much about astronomy as I can". And so the first thing I set off to learn was the planets, their symbols and such so that when reading astronomical notes I could identify what they meant without having to hunt down a website to 'decode' it for me. For example the symbol for Jupiter looks like the number four. You're all familiar with the typical symbols for Mars and Venus of course.

I learned various fascinating facts like: did you know that Jupiter takes 12 earth years to orbit the sun once?? That means that if we lived on Jupiter a couple of my second cousins would only be 1 year old!!! I would only be 2 1/2! And the rings of Saturn? Not really rings! They are actually bits of ice that orbit the planet like we orbit the sun. Pluto anymore isn't really a planet, it's an asteroid and now we have Chiron-the planet beyond Pluto. Jupiter has so many moons including Ganymede to name one. I loved learning all this stuff!! And it was so rewarding to teach myself something. I decided right then that I never wanted to stop learning. And to this day I'm still teaching myself stuff. Actually what I'm 'studying' right now I found through my love of astronomy. It's astronomy's sister subject: Astrology.

Most people think of their horoscopes when they think of Astrology. The common question is "what's your sign?" For those interested mine is Sagittarius. I don't particularly use Astrology and what I'm learning in it to try and tell the future. Astrology unites two very strong interest points for me: astronomy and psychology. Early psychologists used Astrology and the birth chart as another way to learn more about a person. By knowing that I'm a Sagittarius you can tell that I'm a passionate adventurer with a love of animals and that I will always seek to find the truth. Yes, knowing my sun sign (the sign you're all familiar with) tells you all of that about me. And that description is accurate too! But that's not the only sign that matters in astrology. Your rising sign (the sign that's peeking over the horizon at the time of your birth) is the mask you wear for the world, it's what the world sees. Mine is Libra. This indicates that I can be indecisive, that I weigh everything before making a decision, I have a love of beauty, and I'm able to see all sides of an issue. Put the two together and you get: A cautious adventurer that will take time deciding where to go. The destination is likely to have beauty and some spiritual or intellectual significance to it. Yup that's me. There's so much more to Astrology but that's what I've learned so far. I am NOT a person to check her horoscope everyday, matter of fact I can't tell you the last time I read mine.

What I think about the future is hard to explain. I know we all have one but I think that it is ever changing. I think every little decision we make, no matter how small, alters it in some way. And for this reason trying to predict the future is something done in vain. Can I tell you that if I squander all my money away today that I'll then have none tomorrow? Yes but even that can change. The other day I found a $20 bill on the ground. Can I say that if I use my free passes to a movie today that I won't have them tomorrow? Yes but then if other people in the movie are disruptive and I let the manager know they aren't actually watching the movie he could give them back to me. (That did happen by the way-I had gone to see Watchmen and some people just wanted to talk and add their own commentary).

Life is ever changing. Nothing stays the same and trying to predict anything is almost impossible. I love the unpredictableness of life. I don't like things to be routine, I like change. Something else that's very true for a Sagittarius since it's a mutable sign (just means I do good with change).

Want to know more about your birth chart? You'll need to know three things to get a totally accurate one:

-where you were born (city and state)

-your birth date

-your birth TIME (saying it was around 4am doesn't work here-mere minutes will make a difference in finding your rising and descending signs 3:59 will mean one thing while 4:15 will mean something completely different).

Visit this website: www.astro.com It'll give you your birth chart for free plus I think it'll explain a few things about Astrology. Right now I'm getting most of my information from the book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Astrology".

All that learning about Astronomy I did is helping alot. I already know the planetary symbols (which are used on your birth chart) and that the planets were named after Roman gods and goddesses which tells me a little about their influences in the different parts of the chart. For example: Mars was the Roman God of war (men are from Mars...they do like to argue and fight). Venus was the Roman Goddess of love and beauty (perhaps that's why women always want things to look beautiful)? Although, I must toss out there that, like Aphrodite (the Greek Goddess of love and beauty) Venus wasn't beautiful to attract men. She was beautiful to celebrate herself. The only men she was ever intimate with was the ones who met her high standards. As for the others...Mercury was the God of communication, Jupiter was king of the Gods, Neptune was the wrathful God of the sea, and Pluto was Lord of the Underworld. You can imagine what influences these people might have on your chart!

And as for the question "is there other life out there"? In my opinion: MOST DEFINITELY!!! There is no way that in all these planets in all these solar systems that we are the only life. They may not be humans and they may not be as advanced as us but somewhere out there I know there is more life. It could that it's just single celled prokaryotes. Regardless that's still life. Or it could be that it's so advanced that they can mimic us and infiltrate our society without us even knowing it (think Roswell [the tv show] type thing).

Who ever said that aliens had to have the same living conditions as us? Yes perhaps we are the only planet at this particular distance from the sun but...who said another living being (an alien) couldn't surive on Mercury? Or on Uranus? Ever see the Nickelodeon show "Space Cases"? It was about a group of kids that were sent out on a spaceship. I forget what their mission was but they were from all of the different planets: Mercury, Uranus, Earth, there was one from the galaxy Adromeda, Saturn. The girl from Saturn eventually accidentally switched places with her friend from another plane (no I didn't mean planet). I loved both those shows: Roswell and Space Cases...both of which are now cancelled. However at the Watchmen movie (which was very good but definitely not for kiddos) the other day I did see a preview for a Star Trek movie coming out in May. You can bet I'll be going to that. My dad hooked me on that as a kid. And Yes I love Star Wars as well.

Totems and Native Americans

In Native American mythology a 'totem' animal is an animal that watches over the tribe. There can be several of these animals thus you get a totem pole. To look at me I don't look anything like a Native American. Naturally blond hair (though it's died dark brown/black) and fair skin (though not super pale like gothic looking or anything) with blue eyes. However trace my family line back and you'll find that my ancestors were Native Americans. Hopi tribe I believe. Totems do not have to be fierce ferocioius creatures.

If I had to choose a few animals to be my totems they'd probably be...the butterfly, the river otter, black bear, and raccoon. Those may not be the typical totems you would think of on a totem pole since tyically there's an eagle at the top but those are animals that I've always liked and been drawn to. (This list is not including any mythological animals/creatures that I have fascination with like dragons or mermaids).

The otter is playful, the butterfly starts as one thing and transforms into something else (we all go through transformations), and I'm not real sure why I've always been drawn to the black bear and the raccoon. The bear probably because I'm generally a very protective person myself...it doesn't sit well with me when someone hurts somebody I love and I will retaliate on their behalf if I need to. The raccoon is...well...the masked bandit. He's sociable and very curious. I may be a bit of a loner at times but I do enjoy some human interactian and no word describes me more than 'curious' does. I love to read and learn anything and everything I can.

Totems are not to be confused with spirit guides which according to wikipedia:

According to theosophical doctrine, spirit guides are persons who have lived many former lifetimes, paid their karmic debts, and advanced beyond a need to reincarnate. Each is assigned to watch over an incarnate person, not only on this Earth, but on many other planets throughout the universe. Many psychics believe that spirit guides are chosen on "the other side" by us and God(s) before we incarnate and that they guide us to follow our life's plan because we want them to.

This is copy and pasted directly from wikipedia. Although I will note that in Christian theology there is a spirit guide: The Holy Spirit.

I personally have always found just about any aspect of Native American life interesting. I loved studying them back in school, trying to memorize the different tribes and where they were located. Course back then the Hopi was not a tribe we learned about. The main ones were Delaware and (of course) Cherokee.

Florida and Mermaids

When I first created this blog I went on the hunt for other bloggers that I might enjoy following and I stumbled upon this one: http://seaweedandgardenias.blogspot.com/ (I think that url is right). Anyway because of her interest in mermaids I've been reminded of my own fascination with them.

Back when I was younger I used to visit my grandparents in Florida every year for Spring Break. They lived within walking distance of the Gulf of Mexico. I used to swim in it every year, always fearless never afraid of the undertow or anything like that. The year the Disney movie "The Little Mermaid" was released was the first time I was exposed to mermaids. I was obsessed with that movie and watched it over and over again. I always liked the part where she was the actual mermaid the best as opposed to when Ursula gave her legs and she went on shore to find Eric, her true love.

One year just before we left I had fought with my mom about something. I don't remember what now since I was maybe 6 or 7 at the time. Before we boarded the airplane that would fly us down there I told her I was going to swim out to sea and find Ursula and have her make me a mermaid. I was a total water rat when I was kid so that seemed like the perfect solution to my problems. I could be free, see pretty sights all the time, and stay in the water always. (something I dreamed of as a kid).

Well I never did even try to find Ursula, good thing because obviously she doesn't exist. (tell that to a 6 year old though). However I still love the idea of mermaids and anything like that. I'd love to be able to swim everywhere and collect pretty shells, have fish friends and various things.

My grandpas death in 1996 pretty much stopped all travel to Florida since my grandma stayed up here in the snow and ice instead of going down for beautiful warm weather and sunny beaches. But I still dream of the mermaids and they will always hold fascination for me. I've since learned to draw them (sorta-I kinda suck at it) and although I haven't really read any lore or myths about them I still like to imagine them as the beautiful free-spirited creatures I knew them to be as a child.