The Other Side of Thanksgiving. (No astrology)

As a secular harvest festival, I enjoy the idea of Thanksgiving. When I delve into the background history of the holiday's origins, I'm less enthusiastic.

The Puritans who travelled, under great difficulty, to these shores from my own old homeland, England, were not a set of people I'd feel comfortable with. I pity the Indian tribes who first encountered them. The English Puritans were religious fundamentalists of the worst sort. They disagreed with the rituals of the Church of England , and were victims of bigotry themselves, in their own homeland. But as abuse begets abuse, so bigotry begets bigotry, and they became, if possible even worse bigots than their abusers.

Following many false starts and difficulties, a group of Puritans set sail for America in 1620, after first travelling to the Netherlands and living for some time in the more broad-minded atmosphere there. As it turned out it was far too broad-minded for the strait-laced Puritans.

They believed in the imminent occurrence of Armegeddon in Europe and hoped to establish in the new world the "Kingdom of God" foretold in the book of Revelation. They diverged from their Puritan brethren who remained in England only in that they held little real hope of ever being able to successfully overthrow the King and Parliament and, thereby, impose their "Rule of Saints" (strict Puritan orthodoxy) on the rest of the British people. So they came to America.

The Puritans/ Pilgrims saw themselves as the "Chosen Elect" mentioned in the book of Revelation. They strove to "purify" first themselves and then everyone else of everything they did not accept in their own interpretation of scripture. Later New England Puritans used any means, including deceptions, treachery, torture, war, and genocide to achieve that end. They saw themselves as fighting a holy war against Satan, and everyone who disagreed with them was the enemy. This rigid fundamentalism was transmitted to America by the Plymouth colonists, and it sheds a very different light on the "Pilgrim" image we have of them.

This, by Mather the Elder, is an example of their views. He gave special thanks to God for the devastating plague of smallpox which wiped out the majority of the Wampanoag Indians who had been the Puritans' benefactors. He praised God for destroying "chiefly young men and children, the very seeds of increase, thus clearing the forests to make way for a better growth".

So, I'll continue to look on Thanksgiving as a simple harvest festival, rather than pretending to celebrate something connected with a group of people whose attitudes I consider odious. I'll feel thankful for all that Mother Nature offers us, every day, in spite of our careless mistreatment of her.

See Thanksgiving Information for sources.

An Astro-Meme-ish Day

In the archives of Sunday Stealing,
a blog where the speciality is finding, stealing (with credits) and modifying meme-ish items from other blogs, I found "Sassy Meme" (January), see original at link. My own version of Sassy Meme, is much different from the original - that's evolution for ya!





Sassy Astrological Meme + my tongue in cheek responses in purple.

1. If you could say anything you wanted to say to a person with prominent Scorpio in their astrological makeup, what would you say?
....Lighten up. They are NOT out to get you!

2. If you had to be the parent of a Sun in Gemini with Gemini Moon and rising or a Sun in Pisces with Pisces Moon and rising , who would you choose and why?
Pisces, because a triple Gemini would wear me out and compete too energetically with my Aquarian clever-clogs mentality.

3. Is there a planet that you wish had a more, or less, prominent place (stronger or weaker by position) in your natal chart? If so, which one?
I would like it if Pluto were out of my first house where it opposes my Sun, and probably cramps my style.

4. A fairy taps you on the shoulder and tells you that you can have either Scorpio magnetic eyes, gorgeous Leo hair or a slim wiry body like Gemini for the rest of your life. Which do you choose?
Decisions, decisions! If I choose Gemini body do I get ratty hair and crossed eyes though? I'll stay as I am and put up with it, I might be worse off - and that's saying something!

5. If you could have been born with Sun in any sign of the zodiac different from your own, which would you choose? I'd like to have Sun in Sagittarius.

6. If you could go back and visit one astrologer who is now dead, and ask one question, what would that question be?
I'd visit Grant Lewi and ask him why his interpretation of Aquarius Sun with Aries Moon is so crappy, and what did someone with those placements ever do to upset him.

7. If you had the choice to age forward (like we are now) or aging backwards (think Benjamin Button) which would you choose and why?
Age forward, but with the ability to fast-forward a few decades then come back again. I'm very curious to see how things will turn out after I'm gone.

ZODIAC SIGN SAGITTARIUS

We've moved into the zodiac sign of Sagittarius (November 22 - December 23 give or take a day, as it can vary year by year).

If I had to pick a favourite sign, this would be it.
Sagittarius the sign mind you, not "A Sagittarius" the shorthand form for a person born with Sun in Sagittarius. Such a person might well be an embodiment of all that's best in the sign. Then again, they might have conflicting astrological input bringing in a whole different tone. That particular Sun Sagittarian might seem like a stranger in a strange land.

Sagittarius, the sign, seems to have all the advantages with none of the negative draw-backs other signs seem to suffer from. One slight problem though is its neighbours. Intense Scorpio on one side and strict disciplinarian, Capricorn on the other. This means that natives of Sagittarius land - those already mentioned, born when the Sun was in this sign, might find themselves with Mercury and/or Venus in Scorpio, and/or Capricorn. This would put a distinct damper on their general 'Saggie' air of bonhomie and devil-may-care.

My aunt Lil was the only Sun in Sagittarius person I've known well, and I wrote about her last year. This year I'll borrow a brief description of Sun in Sagittarius from a British astrologer of long ago, Llewellyn George, as set out in his book "Student Chart Reader" (1934).

In Sagittarius the Sun gives a jovial, bright, hopeful, generous and charitable nature: self-reliant, active, enterprising, frank, outspoken, honest, ambitious, persevering and not easily discouraged. Loves liberty, freedom and out-of-doors sports; dislikes a master and will not be driven. Generally has a strong will and is sincere, honorable, earnest, aspiring, energetic, and what he says goes right to the mark. Shows reverence for philosophy and science, has good calculation and foresight and is usually prophetic as to the outcome of movements or enterprises.
Jupiter is planetary ruler of the sign Sagittarius.

Those are all admirable qualities aren't they? The only one I'd question, just a wee bit, is "persevering and not easily discouraged" - which smacks more of a Fixed sign, whereas Sagittarius is Mutable. Perhaps in Sagittarius' case this trait springs more from optimism than doggedness of purpose, as it does for Fixed signs, Aquarius, Taurus, Leo and Scorpio. Interest in religion is part of Sagittarius which in the above brief assessment was probably covered obliquely by "reverence for philosophy".

I see quite a few similarities between Aquarius and Sagittarius. Sagittarius is a Fire sign though, warm, physical and outgoing in general whereas Aquarius is cool and reserved, mentally oriented. Otherwise I think they are probably more alike than almost any other two zodiac signs. But that's just the way I see it - others would probably disagree.

English professor and novelist C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Space Trilogy, as well as many other works, was born with Sun, Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Uranus in Sagittarius. Religion, Christianity, played an important part in his life. Its values were fed to his young readers in easily accessible form, though perhaps often unrecognised as such. (Look - there's Sagittarius, the centaur in the illustration below!)



A quote of C.S. Lewis which sums up, for me, the optimism of Sagittarius:

This is one of the miracles of love: It gives a power of seeing through its own enchantments and yet not being disenchanted.

MUSIC MONDAY ~ Tom Waits. Adam Lambert.

Tom Waits, born 7 December 1949 at 7:25 am in Pomona, California. (Astrodatabank).

This singer, songwriter, composer and occasional actor doesn't immediately strike me as a Sun/Mercury Sagittarian with Sagittarius rising. His demeanor, his broken-down, hard-lived-in crackly voice, and the unrelenting melancholia seeping through his songs seems far too downbeat for bright and breezy, extravagant Sagittarius.






Neptune (creativity) sextile Sun is a helpful link for a song writer/composer. Jupiter, his Sun's ruler is in Aquarius conjoined with Venus, planet of the arts . Perhaps an Aquarian penchant for the unusual and unexpected is playing into the picture via his stage persona. Aquarius can be sensed in some of his more socially concerned lyrics too. This article refers: "Tom Waits and the Return of the Political Ballad"

Mars conjunct Saturn (a rather difficult combination of two planets often seen as having negative connotations) in Virgo form a challenging square (90*) aspect to Tom's natal Mercury, planet of communication. This Mars/Saturn link could well account for his draw towards the downbeat of life. His natal Moon in sensitive, moody Cancer just five degrees from Uranus, planet of the unexpected and rebellious echoes the peculiarly dismal impression Tom Waits projects.

The best way I can think of to describe Tom Waits' singing, to anybody who hasn't heard it, is "like the sadder, darker side of Louis Armstrong". Yes, unexpected!

I recall once, back in the UK, when my husband was staying there with me, we came across a recording on-line of Tom Waits singing "Somewhere" from West Side Story. We were fascinated! The husband copied it at once, sent it to his son (a graduate music major) with a note saying "You've never heard this song sung like this before!" I've found that one on YouTube, as well as my favourite from Tom Wait's repertoire:

"Tom Traubert's Blues"



"Somewhere"







MUSIC MONDAY UPDATE

We watched (well, semi-watched) the AMA Awards last night, toggling back and forth between the Awards and MASH repeats. I only really wanted to see Adam Lambert's performance, which closed the show, but we saw bits and pieces of the rest during commercial breaks. Not a lot to interest us, although Lady Ga-ga's number was fun, and as Himself said "It's so bad it's good and I like it!" Adam's number, "For Your Entertainment" was way over the top, risque - verging on "nasty". His voice didn't come across as the powerhouse it really is, and although I enjoyed hisnumber as a bit of fun (and that's what entertainment is supposed to be) I think he can do so very much better. The audience didn't seem too enraptured, and he flipped a finger at the end of his number. Not good. He's getting a lot of bad press today, I do hope he hasn't blown it (no pun intended).

Well - that's Aquarius/Aries for ya.

I note that Saturn in early Libra was opposing his Aries Moon yesterday - not exactly at the time of the show, but near enough to symbolise a bit of bother. He's appearing on Letterman's show tonight and promises to show us a different side of himself in the number he will sing.

Funny thing I've just noticed - Adam Lambert has Aquarius Sun & Aries Moon, so do I, and so does Alan Alda of MASH . One of 'em was watching t'other two last night.

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT ~ Ancestry

The dear husband noticed me looking bored and blank at the computer, devoid of inspiration. Helpful as always, he invited me to partake of his subscription to Ancestor.com. "You're part of the family", he reminded me. Yes indeed! I'd have been the last of my line if I'd tarried in Yorkshire, a childless gal and an only child myself. Now, by marriage I'm part of a chain again - albeit a link late and loose - a link nonetheless.

I began with some misgivings, for my father's side of the family I'm missing essential information. I'm not sure exactly where my paternal grandfather was born. Never mind. I made a start on the easy ones, two fairly unusual surnames from my mother's side made tracing back to the early 1800s and late 1700s fairly painless, though a little confusing at times. They had such big families in those days, ten and upward was the norm. Common first names tend to be repeated a lot in families too (John, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, Edward, Charles.....) It's very easy to get into a muddle. A sad sidelight was how many infant deaths there were. One family line I noticed had three successive offspring marked "died as infant".

Nothing very exciting emerged though. Nobody famous or infamous, apart from two men with my maternal grandfather's fairly unusual surname shipped to Australia on a prison ship for "machine breaking". My ancestors were sons and daughters of the soil, the lot of 'em, at least until my grandparents and their offspring found their metaphorical feet from the mid 20th century on. Still, as a researcher into one of my family names quoted:

"Whoever could make two ears of corn or two blades of grass to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together." (Jonathan Swift)

My forebears came from Hampshire, Wiltshire, Yorkshire, and possibly Suffolk, not a townie among them. Agricultural workers, ploughmen, grooms, labourers, domestic servants, cooks, farm manager, and a flour miller. Offspring from my parents' generation changed all that though. As far as I know, not one of my many cousins is still engaged in farming, instead there's a doctor, a couple in teaching, secretaries, an actuary, a couple of government workers. Improved opportunities in education and better health care for all after World War 2 in the UK were instrumental in opening wider opportunities to the Great Unwashed (eg: National Health Service, free higher education, nationalised public transport and utilities.) Scared of socialism anyone? It worked well then, for us.

Others have been researching their family history for years, in depth. Some can reach as far back as the Middle Ages in England. One of my family's surnames belonged to a rather swisher class, way back - landowners and Lords of the Manor types. I think my particular branch of that clan must have peeled off onto a side road somewhere and got themselves seriously lost!

One individual of the same surname as my paternal grandmother had gone as far as having his genome analysed. Apparently the Y chromosome he carries (it's carried only by the male line) links back to some of the original farming tribes of humankind. I'm more than a bit wary of this, to be honest, but dutifully did a little more research.

Cambridge DNA Services has an interesting website explaining in simple terms background information on DNA, Mitochondrial DNA, Mitochondrial Eve, Y chromosomal Adam, and Ancient Migrations. The slideshow of maps tracking early migrations is particularly fascinating.

It's pretty mind-blowing to consider that we've all, every one alive on this planet today, descended from a relatively small group of humans. It's useful to keep in mind though, when we start investigating and magnifying our differences.