Cosmos and Cocktails: Pop-up Astrology Sessions in NOLA

What do the stars have in store for you for the second half of 2012?  The most intense astrology of our lifetimes starts this June, so it’s time to find out what’s going on in YOUR chart. It’s not the end of the world – but you’ll need guidance for the brilliant, powerful new beginning right around the corner.

Join the Saturn Sisters (Stefanie Iris Weiss & Sherene Schostak) and Stephanie Gailing (of Planetary Apothecary) for cocktails at the LOA Lounge on Friday, May 25^th between 5:30 and 7:30 pm. The Loa is located in the International House Hotel at 221 Camp Street, New Orleans, LA, 70130)

Our stellar meet-and-greet over lovely LOA libations will mix general astrological guidance with mini-chart readings (available by appointment on our websites). Come with your questions, and we’ll be there for some mind-expanding celestial chat!

About the Astrologers:

The Saturn Sisters tell it like it is. Elle UK resident astrologers Stefanie Iris Weiss and Sherene Schostak are not your typical, crusty, cosmic advisors — they provide down-to-earth advice that you can use in the real world. When it comes to dating, breaking up, breaking down, and putting yourself back together again, the Saturn Sisters have been there and done that, and want to share their wisdom with you. Forget what you know about astrology and get to know the Saturn Sisters, the authors of Surviving Saturn’s Return: Overcoming the Most Tumultuous Time of Your Life (McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books) and Fate of Your Date (Chronicle Books). Bust Magazine told its readers to “let Weiss and Schostak crack their can of sweet zodiac whoop-ass on your Cosmo’s Bedside Astrologer.” Take it from the Sisters’ readers and clients — you’ll be ever so glad you did.

Stephanie Gailing combines her knack for astrological insights with her background as a nutrition/wellness consultant, guiding clients towards self-awareness, personal empowerment, and optimal well-being. She’s the author of Planetary Apothecary: An Astrological Approach to Health and Wellness (Crossing Press). Her daily blog, Planetary Apothecary, and Elixir newsletters provide readers with wellness suggestions and a periscope into living life in sync with the natural cycles. Very involved in her professional communities, Stephanie is the President of the Washington State Astrological Association, on the Editorial Board of the Astrology News Service, and a founding member of Canning Across America.

For more info, contact Stefanie or Sherene at http://saturnsisters.com/ or Stephanie at www.planetaryapothecary.com

You can also RSVP on the event page on Facebook.

Rethinking Our Choices:
May 15 to June 27, 2012

The planet of beauty, love and relationships goes into her rare retrograde state (approximately once every twenty months for right around the famous 40 day trial period) on 15 May in the “double your pleasure” sign of Gemini. The sign of the Twins is known for all kinds of duality, bipolarity, changeability and other mercurial tricks. It is also a sign of extreme intelligence when the higher octave of the constellation is developed. The lower level reveals more of the “all over the map” A.D.D. side of The Twins. Gemini is also known as the archetype of the Lovers in Tarot constellating life lessons around integrating the masculine and feminine sides of our psyche. So when the goddess of beauty and love expresses herself through this airy, dual and mental realm you can imagine there will be plenty of back-and-forth confusion in the relationship department while our minds attempt to sort out thoughts, notions, concepts and words that may be in complete contradiction to our heart. Good luck. Can you embrace the inherent paradox, contradiction and oppositions that your relationships bring in order to expand your consciousness and move you beyond “black and white” thinking? Gemini is about flexibility, variety and novel solutions so if you can apply these gifts of Gemini into your world of dating, mating and relating, you’ll reap the benefits of this powerful phase.

“Nothing is more exciting and bonding in relationships than creating together” — Stephen R. Covey

Expect heaps of the usual retrograde: “re” activities: re-thinking, re-vamping, re-leasing, re-doing, resting, retrospection, realization, renovation, retiring, rebooting, renewing, etc. Now apply them to the Venus areas: love, beauty, money, values, relationships, women, luxury, sweetness, and harmony.

Next apply the re-dos to the Gemini arenas: choices, thought patterns, words, speech, communication, writing, discrimination, details, duality, flexibility, variety, transmission of information, messages, logic, logos etc.

Should I Stay or Should I Go Now

Many will instantly enter into the “there goes my relationship” panic the minute you utter Venus and Retrograde in the same sentence, but think of this phase as more of a litmus test. Which relationships, contracts, associations, partnerships and investments are truly of value to you?

Those are the ones that will survive this testing phase of Venus. With Saturn also retrograding in Venus-ruled Libra; and the Sun and Jupiter in Venus-ruled Taurus the domination of Venus-ruled themes is quadrupled. Add to this the upcoming eclipse in the same sign of Venus (Gemini) and you can see that the cosmos are basically pulling out all of the big relationship guns at this time. Yep, consider this one big cosmic conspiracy to put our relationship skills in check. You can expect every fear, insecurity and projection of failure to surface (actually these fun little feelings have been getting stirred up since the shadow period in early April).

“Do not blame the circumstances and do not blame others. Remove your own weaknesses.” — Amma

This period is about revealing the ways we can harness our mental faculties, discrimination and “choice” making abilities to better cope with relationship trials and tribulations rather than run from them. If you were ever under the naive belief that relationships should be easy or they are the wrong ones, then perhaps you chose the autopilot mode for this incarnation. Or as the classic scene in Woody Allen’s iconic relationship flick, Annie Hall goes:

(Woody Allen’s character, Alvy Singer stopping a couple that looks like they have just walked right out of a Cialis commercial):
Alvy Singer: Here, you look like a very happy couple, um, are you?
Female street stranger: Yeah.
Alvy Singer: Yeah? So, so, how do you account for it?
Female street stranger: Uh, I’m very shallow and empty and I have no ideas and nothing interesting to say.
Male street stranger: And I’m exactly the same way.
Alvy Singer: I see. Wow. That’s very interesting. So you’ve managed to work out something?

In fact, relationships can be our greatest mirror and tool for self-knowledge so one would expect the most valuable ones to provide their fair share of inherent challenges. The reason “choices” are so challenging during this period is that we are hyper-aware of just how many factors and details are involved in any given situation and how there are always two (often polar/contradictory) sides of our mind at work. Put seemingly insoluble relationship questions, issues and quandaries into the mix and voila, you’ve got a recipe for a good 40 days and 40 nights of insomnia ruminating over whether you should commit or quit.

“Never idealize others. They will never live up to your expectations. Don’t over analyze your relationships. Stop playing games. A growing relationship can only be nurtured by genuineness.” — Leo Buscaglia

Look to where 24 degrees Gemini or other mutable signs fall in your chart and this is where your greatest Venus challenges will arise. Are you willing to tough it out and confront your relationship differences without running, looking for the next cute distraction or taking the easy way out? Will you use your highest level of discrimination or — default to the smells like teen spirit aspect of Gemini and adopt the “here I am now, entertain me” defense? Just remember more than ever: wherever you go, wherever you run — there YOU are. We grow through challenges not short cuts. Cut yourself plenty of slack during this period because it is more challenging to feel “related” than normal. Remember it takes two and the feeling of disconnectedness is pervasive.

What are Venus Rx Challenges?

During the Venus retrograde we are really challenged to look at how much or how little we value ourselves. It is said that we train people to treat us the way we either consciously or unconsciously expect to be treated and this is based on our own feelings of self-worth. This is a time to look at what we base our own value system on in our relationship to our own self love. Where do we deprive or deny ourselves of esteem by not seeing our true worth? What do we value in ourselves and others? Where have these values come from? Are they a product of the mind or of experience? Gemini is guilty of “concept” without or prior to “experience” until the opposite sign of Sagittarius is integrated. With Gemini there is a danger of projecting some of our mental “notions” about the “other” (often an unconscious aspect within us) on to the partner. Depending on how much or how little we value ourselves will often reveal how much we are able to value our partner and our relationships. One cannot compensate for the other and the Venus Retrograde will often painfully reveal where we are trying to cover up for our own insecurities and weaknesses by playing them out in our relationship conflicts.

It’s common to feel unloved, unappreciated, undervalued or disappointed in our relationships during this time but that is often just a way to bring us back to the root of our own insecurities. Perhaps the relationship is indeed mirroring our own inability to receive or a way we undervalue ourselves. We may choose partners that keep playing this out until we realize the pattern and break it by first treating ourselves with the kind of love and respect we would wish to receive from another.

It’s true that we will be more prone to evaluating the differences in our relationships during this time when Venus is under the sign of Gemini but not to worry. This can actually be helpful if we don’t split off into “good” and “bad” or other unsophisticated mental categories. There is so much grey area and “both-and” ground that needs to be honored during this period. This is a time where we are all searching for the bridge between our inner male and female sides: like the classic image depicted in the 6th Major Arcana of the Tarot: The Lovers: (see image above): where the Archangel Gabriel is healing and blessing the union of the male and female (in Jungian psychology: the Hierogamos: God and Goddess united in the Holy Marriage).

Rx for the Venus Rx

“Only what you aren’t giving can be lacking in any situation” — A Course in Miracles

If you want to preserve the love and beauty of your current relationships: do not underestimate the power of communicating (Gemini) your love, appreciation and gratitude (Venus) for all that your partners bring to your life. Never take the other for granted. Don’t assume the other can “read” your mind even if they proclaim to be psychic. Communication is key under this heavy Gemini transit. Engage in plenty of writing, journaling and dialogues with self before launching into any kind of tirades of projection against others. Go beyond the “surface of appearances” now as they are apt to be misleading. Know your own value instead of looking to others to prove it to you. Own your own weaknesses and insecurities instead of projecting them onto the other. Think with your head, but feel with your heart and remember that both are necessary in relationship. Get clear about why you choose or have chosen the relationships that have been primary in your life. What do they reflect about your value system? Where do you need to make higher choices? Where do you need more discrimination in your choice of relationships? How could you give more instead of focusing on what’s lacking?

“The most wonderful of all things in life, I believe, is the discovery of another human being with whom one’s relationship has a glowing depth, beauty, and joy as the years increase. This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvelous thing, it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of Divine accident.” — Hugh Walpole

The following guest post was originally published on the blog Empowering Astrology and is written by Katie Sweetman, manager of SaturnSisters.com and a member of the Saturn Sisters family. To learn more about Katie and Empowering Astrology, click here.

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On April 4th 2011, Neptune quietly slipped into its home sign of Pisces for the first time in a century and a half. I say quietly because Neptune’s ingress didn’t pack the punch of Pluto’s entry into Capricorn nor Uranus’s into Aries. No, gossamer Neptune transitioned into Pisces like a gentle breeze announcing a shift in the direction of the weather. You’d be forgiven for not noticing. We get a part two of this energy on February 3rd 2012 as Neptune, after having retrograded back into Aquarius, re-enters Neptune for a 14-year stay in its home sign.

Don’t be fooled by Neptune’s hazy nature; this transit is a big deal not only because of the length of its transit through Pisces, but because no one alive has experienced Neptune in its home sign. The years 1847 through 1862, when Neptune was last in Pisces, correlated with photography becoming an everyday element of the then modern world, the rise of the temperance movement, wars in China over the opium trade, and the advent of spiritualism. These are all Neptunian concepts — an image snatched from the ether and fixed into form via a chemical process; the use or abstinence of alcohol and drugs; and a peering beyond the veil via mediums and seances.

So what can we expect during this transit? Well, one of the main concepts behind Neptune is a dissolving of boundaries. When Neptune was in Aquarius, we saw a dissolving of boundaries between individuals in the collective via the likes of Facebook and other social media. Now with Neptune in Pisces we can expect a dissolving of boundaries between individuals and spirit. I believe, especially as more and more people are experiencing awakenings, that psychic phenomena will become less fringe. Humanity will realize that it is not alone and will seek to communicate with others in non-traditional ways or communicate with spirits, guides, angels, animals, and plants. Neptune also rules compassion and we will be learning lessons over this period on what it truly means to open our hearts.

One can’t explore the high minded, rose colored glasses side of Neptune without acknowledging the deleterious reality of the “blue-green vapors” (to quote Marguerite Manning). Let’s be honest, Neptune rules drunks and illusions as much as it does pie-in-the-sky spiritual visions. Are we going to be singing Kumbaya into our cocktails for fourteen years? Maybe, just maybe. Think “double rainbow” as you pour yourself a drink.

Learn More about Neptune in Pisces:

Listen to evolutionary astrologer Dena DeCastro and I talk about Neptune in Pisces and other aspects in a podcast episode titled Demystifying 2012.

I also recorded a segment on Neptune in Pisces for the Astrology Show, episode no. 13. Click below to listen.

More Neptunian/Piscean Concepts:

Anesthesia • The Subconscious • Hypnosis • Altered States • Photography • Movies • Glamour • Cults • Psychics • Hospitals • Things that Literally and Figuratively Imprison Us • Mediums and Channels • Spirituality • Deception • Con Artists • Illusions • Poisons and Toxins • Alcohol and Drugs • Oil • Oceans • Divine Oneness • Compassion • Unconditional Love • Martyrs • Meditation • Selfless Service • Devotion

Full Moon in Aries: October 11, 2011

Occupy Urgency

By Sherene Schostak

This is the Now Moon! Do you feel the sense of emergency in the air? Occupy Wallstreet is such an awesome representation of this Aries-Libra polarity. The way of the peaceful warriors: fighting for justice with a fierce sense of urgency and cooperative simplicity.

What injustices from ourselves or others must we face in our personal lives? Where have we been too complacent?

This is our annual reminder to face life on life’s terms but with the spirit of a boxer—not as a wimp and certainly not as a victim. In other words, not “yessing” life while secretly grumbling and bitching that we aren’t getting what we want. There’s no side-stepping, half-stepping or pussy-footing for that matter while the Moon rages full in Aries. Putting off action for a later date is courting disaster. Love relationships get heated and crisis erupts like a house on fire when egos flare. If we feel we’re being treated second class—time to pull out the big guns. And if the need for immediacy is met with laziness and complacency, the war is on. This is a time for action. A sense of urgency can be felt all around. Patience is in short supply so don’t push buttons or promise things that you aren’t ready or willing to act on immediately.

See you–See Me:

Are you a lover or a fighter? Either way, having it out with the one you love can be the most bonding necessity at this time. It’s always the couples that never fight that end up in the War of the Roses divorce battles when all that was suppressed for years comes raging to the surface. Mr. and Mrs. Nice Guy will not be invited to the Full Moon in Aries party. Passive-aggressiveness will not only get you nowhere but will probably be punished— violently. We will all feel like we’re reaching our boiling point and enough is enough. It’s time to sever the cords with those that refuse to take our best interest into consideration. Co-dependency is just ugly and repulsive at this point in our evolution as a species, so don’t even go there. Uranus in Aries won’t abide by losing your authenticity just to be liked or to have someone to go out to dinner with. This Full Moon demands that we look after ourselves and stop hoping there is someone out there that can do a better job at it. This is the great Hall of Mirrors Full Moon. Who is the real enemy?

Love is a Battlefield:

The battlefield is usually with our own ego and vanity issues that need to be resolved from within. No matter how many thousands of times or sources tell us we’re good enough, smart enough and goshdarnit people worship us—we’ll keep on comparing and despairing in the name of self-doubt until we reach the point of self-possession. Aries says: if we can come home to our deepest “I AM’ principle and get clear on who we are and where we’re projecting our best on to others, we still stand a chance. And let’s face it: Aries loves a good fight. As Dylan Thomas said: we must rage against the dying light— and on a daily basis. Honor the Aries essence by making every day, every interaction a thrilling new creation.

Take a break from the imminent Mercury Retrograde and come join ELLE UK astrologers The Saturn Sisters in the Hamptons this August! We’ll be doing on-the-spot karmic readings at the La Louche booth from August 5-7th. We’d love to see your beautiful faces at this summer’s best party in the universe: the Escape to New York festival. There will be brilliant music, life-changing art, fashion, local/organic food, and things yet to be discovered.

Even better, we’re offering our loyal and lovely readers/clients a friends and family discount (for a limited time). Your code is “woodbury”. This code is only good for 50 tickets so gather your friends, hop online and visit the following sites to buy your tickets before they sell out:

Friday Tickets for Friends and Family

Saturday Tickets for Friends and Family

Sunday Tickets for Friends and Family

Weekend Passes for Friends and Family

Nearly every problem in life can be solved by inhaling and exhaling . . . with awareness. –Buddha

Freedom is not doing whatever we want, but really wanting to do what we must.
–Nietzsche

Trying to control the mind is like trying to dry out the ocean or catch the wind. –Amma

* Disclaimer: Sagittarius Full Moons bring out the preacher in all of us so please forgive any pushy lingo ahead of time. Look to where 25 degrees Sagittarius-Gemini-Virgo-Pisces falls in your horoscope for arenas of greatest change.

This eclipse is a glaring reminder of the urgency to take our meds before someone gets hurt. Ideally in 2011, the meds would include first and foremost some form of meditation and deeper breathing. We’re forced to confront our own paradoxical nature as well as our dualities and contradictions–as painful as it is. Where do we say one thing and do another? Where do we talk out of both sides of our mouth and still feel clueless about where the real truth resides? You know those conversations or emails you have with an ex where you feel the need to both love and hurt at the same time? That’s where the Sagittarius eclipse comes in: we are forced to confront the cross your heart and swear to die level of truth.

Getting Brutally Honest:

Confronting inconvenient truths and eclipsing convenient lies. Write down the three biggest lies you are still telling yourself or others about yourself? And then ask yourself what it will take to change your story. This is an excellent time to monitor current self-chat. If it includes any of the following: ugly, fat, stupid, lazy, or loser—take lotus position at once! We can’t afford to keep running the same self-abusive thought patterns and expect our relationships, health and lives to flourish. Gemini-Sagittarius eclipse points remind us of the power of words and intentions. It’s not just what you say—it’s the thought and more importantly the energy of the intention behind the thought that leads to the words spoken. And the words lead to the actions that create the karmic seeds for the next round on life’s great Wheel of Fortune.

A.D.D. & Me:

Feeling more distracted than you ever thought humanly possible?

“There was a time when we loved people and used machines . . . now we love machines and use people.” says Amma. I don’t know about you, but my brain is starting to organize itself in 140 characters with hash tags as subtext. Cannot even begin to describe the agony and anguish that is going into forcing myself not to just turn this into a quick fix Tumblr post, status update or 5 Tweets (which would probably be the smarter idea considering there may only be a handful of people left on this earth with the attention span to actually focus for an entire paragraph and they probably aren’t following, liking or thumbs-uping.)

This eclipse highlights how the immediacy and boundary-exempt reality that our high tech world provides has paradoxically ripped away our ability to be present, focus and appreciate that the good things in life take time. As Amma says: if we try to force open a flower before its time to blossom, we will destroy all the fragrance. And the same happens when we lose patience for the process and kill all the beauty because we reverted again to iCrack urgency mode and couldn’t download the app or the relationship fast enough.

Look around and see how easily people channel Satan the second the speed of the Wifi connection slows down or they have to wait for their side of Ketsup. And if you really want to witness a demonic possession—disconnect someone’s modem, or put them on hold for more than 50 seconds.

No Doubt:

Three D’s that destroy us when we stop evolving: doubt, depression and denial.

They kill our ability to trust ourselves, trust life and trust that actually everything is going to be all right. Sagittarius is the sign of faith, optimism and truth. When we go into doubting mode, what happens? We run around collecting second opinions, abusing our oracles and going into feedback overload in a vain attempt to alleviate our fears. We don’t trust and we begin a frantic search for the answer out there. We revert to our Gemini minds looking for the immediacy of reassuring sound bytes the mind can attach to. This is when we need to sit down, stop running at the Gemini mouth, power of the iCrap and ground back into the body. Mantras and affirmations are excellent to replace negative mind grooves. Actually many of us have mantras already that we’re using but sadly they are more like the rants of an abusive partner beating us down to make sure we’ll never leave them, or some insane preacher speaking in tongues.

Change the Channel:

We easily become our mental habits. What is the story you tell yourself? Where do you spend most of your mental energy? What do you regularly obsess about? Just a little time of sitting in meditation will reveal the answers to these questions. And most importantly what feelings are you avoiding by obsessing about something else?

This morning in meditation class, the Swami said that the moment we start to think our spine bends. Sagittarius is about expanding our mindset. Opening the mind is easier said than done which is why Sagittarius is associated with travel. By changing the details of our daily routine, we can change our thinking. Childhood wounds play a huge part in the negative side of the drama we create in our mind and spin out into our reality. Look to where you keep recreating the same scenarios that only serve to reinforce limiting beliefs about yourself and the world.

Our Minds Need Maintenance:

Amma says we need alarms of awareness and discrimination before negative thoughts have a chance to destroy us. Especially anger. When we’re angry we release poisonous vibrations into our cells and the atmosphere. After a huge fight, doesn’t your body feel like it’s suddenly contracted every form of Cancer and autoimmune disorder known to humankind?

Don’t Believe the Hype:

The trickster is making several appearances compliments of the Sun, Mercury, Venus and the South Node in Gemini. Words can be mighty deceiving so try to see beyond all of the details and get back to the bigger truth, bigger picture. Don’t believe the gossip or buy into the cheap version of the story. Sag says we must do the research. Words are the swords in the Tarot for good reason. They can easily harm, distract and put us in the defense zone. Marianne Williamson has a teaching on this. When we feel we need to defend something we give it power and make it more real than if we had ignored it altogether. Just let it go. The other teaching is: do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?

Jupiter & The Wheel of Fortune:

Sagittarius is ruled by the planet Jupiter and is associated with the Wheel of Fortune archetype in Tarot. While we’re still riding the wheel of Samsara, if we hold fast to the center we can avoid the feeling of getting dragged through the inevitable ups and downs of karmic cycles like a dead animal stuck to the rubber of the tire instead of rambling on with the flow like the shiny chrome in the middle of the hub.

Sagittarius is the big-breakthrough sign. Sag likes everything big. This eclipse can spark a tremendous six-month period filled with moments of deeper self-realization and unexpected fortune. The Fortune archetype says: if miracles aren’t happening in your life, something is wrong. What does fortune mean to you at this point in your life? What’s standing in the way? Make a list of all of the mental obstacles and obstructions that prevent you from believing that something miraculously huge could happen in your life. And then keep your eyes open for unexpected gifts and possibilities. Speak your peace. When you own your truth, there is no need to manipulate or be manipulated. Think Free Bird, baby!

“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs it is the rule.”
– Nietzsche

What is Chiron? An asteroid, and a pain in the ass mythological figure also known as “the wounded healer.” Chiron bids farewell to the constellation of Aquarius after spending seven years (Feb. 21, 2005 and Feb. 8, 2011) triggering every social, group and friendship wound we’ve ever felt. The Chiron in Aquarius finale packed a series of punches on the collective since 2005. Sorting out the needs of the group versus the needs of the individual is never a simple affair.

Do we lose ourselves in groups — devolving into sheep, girls gone wild or conformists? Or do groups inspire, give us strength in numbers and sense of belonging, and unify us around a kindred theme? Are we prone to the horrible disease of “group think” where we suddenly lose the ability to make rational, individually informed decisions? Or do we succumb to the lowest vibration or caveman denominator in our midst? We’re no strangers to group contagion, the stupidity of trends and “Lord of the Flies.” Chiron in Aquarius at its worst: Super Bowl Sunday and Facebook.

“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer …”

In our social circles, networks and other such collectives, the shadows of competition, rivalry, backstabbing and envy often loom heavy. During the final days of Chiron in Aquarius we would expect to see these issues to reach a fever pitch. Chiron in Aquarius has been dubbed the “wounded community.” Where have our associations with groups, families, and bigger collectives been healing? Where have they only served to open up old wounds?

Usually it’s a combination of both, but with Chiron transits there’s the feeling of pouring salt into the wound in order to bring our attention to it. Aquarius rules our friendships, so it’s not surprising to hear people lamenting, “I don’t know who my real friends are anymore” or “Who can I trust?” Chiron in Aquarius taught us that true friends are precious, extremely rare and perhaps a dying breed.

Look to the placement of Chiron in your natal horoscope to see where your psyche contains the deepest wounding from childhood and consequently needs the most healing. But this is the kind of healing that one must give to oneself. Only through our own efforts, life experience and wisdom gained can we heal the depth of our Chiron wounds.

The lessons typically culminate in some sort of integrated fashion around the age of fifty during the Chiron Return provided we’ve done the work. Every seven years we have the opportunity to work an another layer of healing, similar to Saturn cycles. With Chiron in Aquarius, we were given the opportunity to honor and hopefully embrace our unique, eccentric, rebellious qualities despite the pain of earlier experiences of not fitting in, or feeling like a freak for being different.

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” — Crankydragon from Dr. Seuss

The following guest post was originally published on the blog Empowering Astrology and is written by Katie Sweetman, manager of SaturnSisters.com and a member of the Saturn Sisters family. To learn more about Katie and Empowering Astrology, click here.

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Last week the world freaked out when a Minnesota astronomer sent out a press release stating that the zodiac signs had shifted over time and, surprise, you’re not the sign you thought you were. Even more shocking, there was now a new zodiac sign — Ophiuchus.

Thanks to the power of the internet, the press release went viral and people whom I never thought would care about astrology were suddenly losing their stuff. Mainstream American news like CNN and MSNBC even devoted prime time to this allegedly new revelation. Well known astrologers like Susan Miller breathlessly went on air to refute the ill conceived press release. I fielded emails from friends and colleagues who wanted to know if it was true.

The Saturn Sisters were quick to point out in their great post on LifeScript.com that this was a myth, but the damage was done. People were confused and indignant. And like the head of a hydra, more and more media outlets propagated the myth of the 13th sign despite attempts to clarify by the astrological community.

“So now I’m a Pisces?” an Aries sun sign incredulously asked.

First of all, it’s not true. IT’S NOT TRUE! Your sun sign has not changed. Ophiuchus is a hoax. Astrologers have known about the precession of the equinoxes since the 2nd century AD. I could explain further in detail, especially how this myth pops up every few years, but frankly I spent all my energy last week calming the panicked masses. Instead I will defer to the following excellently written rebuttals:

“Attention All Astronomers — The World is Flat” by Eric Francis of Planet Waves

“Ophiuchus puts his foot in it but it’s Cox who sticks the boot in” by Deborah Houlding at Skyscript

“Ophiuchus – the 13th Sign of the Zodiac” by Deiter Koch at Astro.com

Second, an astronomer shouldn’t be making definite statements about astrology without understanding what it is. After all, I don’t write press releases about quantum physics and cosmology. Just sayin’.

Once the dust settled, I had a realization. More people were emotionally invested in astrology then I would have previously assumed. Curious.

It’s not that I don’t think astrology has a place in prime time discourse, but it was a telling barometer of how many people followed their sun sign. It also made for a surreal moment when really talented and erudite astrologers were on cable news to explain exactly why western astrology doesn’t follow the precession of the equinoxes.

In short, this was astrology’s biggest moment in the spotlight since former First Lady Nancy Reagan was outed in 1988 for consulting an astrologer.

Okay, the world asked, if western astrology doesn’t follow the precession of the equinoxes and doesn’t shift the signs, then what does it do? What is astrology?

Now that’s a big question to ponder. How does one distill astrology into a short soundbite?

• Astrology is a language that conveys the human condition.
• Astrology is the study of the heavens as an archetypal reflection of our inner selves.
• Astrology is the understanding that we are are one with the universe.
• Astrology is a tool used to unlock the secreted parts of the soul.
• To study the stars is to study ourselves. To look at the stars is to pull back the curtain and see the inner workings of Source.
• Astrology is the study of natural cycles, whether it be day to night, spring to summer, or the planets in shifting relations to each other. To study astrology is to respect the natural timing of life.

In the words of astrologer Steven Forrest in his book The Inner Sky:

“Astrology is just a finger pointing at reality. Like any other language, it only provides a way of ordering our perceptions. At its best it aids us in seeing ourselves more honestly. At its worst it drops a wall between us and the rawness of our own experience. To be of value it must not only reflect the actualities of living; it must hone the cutting edge of our growth. If astrology does not give the mind the sharpness of a laser and leave the heart an open nerve, then it has failed.”

Although the glare of the spotlight is fading, we still have a chance to be ambassadors for astrology in the face of misinformation and ill informed skepticism. This is astrology’s big moment. Let us teach the world that as above, so below. The macrocosm is the microcosm. We are the stars.

(This blog originally appeared on Lifescript.com.)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Take a deep breath. Your zodiac sign has NOT changed. You’re still the sign you thought you were when you woke up this morning. Don’t hang up your bull horns and pretend you’re not stubborn, Taurus. Don’t trade in your sexy black negligee just yet, Scorpio. No reason to be meek, Aries. You’re still an adventurer, Sagittarius. But if you were duped by this morning’s “OMG you’re not the sign you thought you were!” story that’s gone viral on the web, consider yourself in plenty of company.

This is merely a false meme that rears its head every few years. (See this story from 2007). Sometimes, bored editors dig up conspiracy theories to draw traffic — that’s what’s happened here. Amazing, with all the important stuff happening in the world (massive floods, fishes and birds falling from the sky, attempted political assassinations, etc.) Thanks to Twitter and Facebook, the current incarnation of the myth is burning up BlackBerries worldwide.

Without overloading you with a bunch of jargon, let’s try to break down why and how your sign is still relevant to your life. Western astrology, the kind we practice, relies on the seasons and position of the Sun for its data – it uses something called the tropical zodiac.

Vedic astrology or Jyotish (practiced in India) uses the sidereal or fixed zodiac. Your sign in Western astrology is very often different than your sign in Jyotish, because the two systems don’t look at the cosmos in the same way. Jyotish relies on fixed stars, and Western divides the zodiac into twelve segments starting at the vernal equinox.

So although the exact positions of the signs of the zodiac have shifted in the last few thousand years, according to Western astrology, an Aries is still an Aries, and so on, and so on. Not that one system is good or bad — they’re both great. Although we study and teach Western astrology, we always encourage our clients to check out Jyotish too, for another perspective. (Want more details about all this crazy tropical/sidereal stuff? Click here.)

The other really important point to keep in mind is this: Astrologers from different cultures have been collecting data based on people’s birth dates for millennia. They’ve been noting the native behaviors and psychological profiles of their subjects, which is where modern astrologers get their basic information from.

In the last one hundred years ago or so, astrology has had an amazing renaissance, in part fueled by computers, which make our jobs much faster and easier. Mined from this rich history and contemporary advances, we can tell you who you are, what you like, whom you’re attracted to, and why. And based on the current positions of the planets in relation to your natal birth chart, we can give you insight into how your life will change, what kind of challenges you’ll face and how you’ll grow. (Also, when you might fall in love, break up, get a new job, have a child, etc.) We look at patterns and archetypes, and help you understand your own inclinations and motivations. And we think that’s pretty down-to-earth.

So, friends, the sky has not fallen. While we’re at it, we’d like to remind you that the world isn’t going to end on December 21st, 2012. But that’s a blog for another day . . .

In the stars,
xoxo The Saturn Sisters

Catch up with Lifescript Astrology Experts The Saturn Sisters at SaturnSisters.com, and on Twitter and Facebook.

Click here to check out your 2011 forecast in love, health, career and more!

The Saturn Sisters wish you the most auspicious, magical year you’ve ever had. As we embark on the challenging territory of 2011, you’re probably wondering when all the chaos is going to end. With birds falling out of the sky and fishes dying en masse in rivers worldwide, there’s seemingly something apocalyptic going on on planet Earth. We’re only one year away from the massive transformations that begin in 2012. There’s no reason to worry, however, because the Saturn Sisters are here to guide you.

During the whole month of January, we’re offering a special bonus Body & Soul report with all private consultations ordered through the site. You can even order a private reading for yourself and give the Body & Soul report to a friend as a gift. Feel free to order your reading now and book it for any time during the next six months, if you want to save it for an upcoming occasion like your birthday or anniversary.

And all new for 2011, we’re offering three tiers of sessions, one for every budget. Check out all the options here:

saturnsisters.com/consultations

The Cardinal Cross that started last summer will again hit each of us at a unique place in our chart during the coming year. Book a session with us today, and learn where the karmic points are in your chart; both where you may experience major challenges and breakthroughs. The world is changing, and you must change with it, but it can be amazingly empowering to learn how. Freaking out and having a breakdown is so 2010, darling. We’ll help you keep it together.

xoxo

The Saturn Sisters