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Tasha's Astro Planner for August 2017

The most important aspect we have this month is the total eclipse of the Sun on August 21, with the New Moon and Sun in Leo, and as it happens also conjunct Mars in Leo. An eclipse is a powerful signal of change. One astrologer friend described it thus: The curtain comes down on one stage setting and when it rises there is a different setting on the stage. We can look for change depending on which house or section of our charts it takes place. Here are some hints.

"Never forget that life can only be nobly inspired and rightly lived if you take it bravely and gallantly as a splendid adventure in which you are setting out into an unknown country, to meet many a joy, to find many a comrade, to win and lose many a battle." ~ Annie Besant, early twentieth century mystic.

 I grew up reading my father's boyhood books--pirate stories, adventure tales, and exciting classics by Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson and Alexander Dumas. Long summer days of my childhood were spent pretending to be an adventurer exploring the wilderness and discovering treasure.

Donald Trump's chart is quite typical of the man and his behavior. To begin with, he has Leo Rising. In my experience this means that he is not interested in ever being told what to do. I never knew a Leo rising who was. One acquaintance with that configuration used to occasionally give me a ride. When she did not know the directions, I would need to tell her via suggestion only where to turn. If any directions were put as a direct statement she would sail right by instead of turning where I said.

 In addition Trump has Mars in fiery Leo in the 12^th house just three degrees from his Leo ascendant. His impulsiveness is well known. This again is unsurprising because not only is he impulsive but he is also forceful. However one nickname for the 12^th house is the house of self undoing. Another is the house of karma, the house of "what goes around comes around." As Mars represents the POTUS's actions, so it also means that whatever he does, good or bad will sooner or later return to him. 

When I was growing up I lived a couple of miles from a small seaside town on a large property that belonged to my Great Aunt Alice. I didn't have any siblings until I was almost nine. Virtually an only child, I was surrounded by busy adults and often told to stop bothering them and find something to do. A voracious reader, when I wasn't nose deep in a book, I played games of pretend, making believe I was someone other than a lonely child in an isolated neighborhood with only herself to rely on for amusement.

This week I received a loving card in the mail from one of my three dear daughters. In it she expressed her thanks to me for what I had given her as well as for what I continue to give her. She lives at quite a distance from me so we do not see one another often. We do however do our best to keep in touch with mail and emails. It was a precious card and it was even more precious to read her acknowledgement of the little things I do for her as we continue to communicate and to share our lives together.

Although I cannot write her a letter or call her on the phone, I began thinking about what I might be grateful to my late mother for. There is a long list beginning with how she always insisted on my wearing a hat on the beach and cover up as well to protect my skin from the sun. Today, with the prevalence of skin cancer among my contemporaries and even those younger than I, I am especially grateful for her good advice. It is thought that the early exposure to excess sun is a precursor to skin cancer. She had a permanent tan on her back from her teenage years of sun exposure in Cuba where her German father was in the diplomatic service; later she had numerous bouts with skin cancer.

          In my life I have been fortunate to have some remarkable women friends who in certain ways could be considered in the light of mothers. Their age had little to do with it. It was their warmth, their acceptance, their caring and their love that helped to create the part they played in my life. I loved my late mother dearly, however there were aspects of her nature that were difficult for me to deal with, and while she was well meaning and did her best to be a good mother, she could not be everything I would have wished her to be. In my adult life the physical distances between us through the years also created a problem.

The depth of her compassion and acceptance were a special feature of one of the women who served my needs in a way my mother could not. We shared many of the same interests and in a climate where I had little support, she was very encouraging to me in my efforts to learn and to grow.  She would frequently invite me to lunch and we would spend many hours in conversation about a variety of subjects. She had a wide range of knowledge and very little prejudice. She was also warm in a way my mother was not.