Spinning Threads.....

Today, 7 January, used to be known as Distaff Day, or in England St. Distaff's Day (there was no St. Distaff though - the name was, for them, a joke). The distaff was a tool used in the spinning of flax or wool fibres; these are first wrapped around the distaff to keep them untangled before heading for the spinning wheel. The term distaff eventually came to be used in reference to the female side of a family "the distaff side".

Distaff Day was the first day after the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas and marked by women, because their work at the distaff was then meant to be resumed. "The duty seems to have been considered a dubious one, and when it was complied with, the ploughmen, who on their part scarcely felt called upon on this day to resume work, made it their sport to set the flax a-burning; in requital of which prank, the maids soused the men from the water-pails." See HERE.

Following the thread....to a song, it is Music Monday:

Spinning Wheel, written by Canadian vocalist David Clayton-Thomas, of the band Blood, Sweat & Tears. He described the song, released in 1969, as being "written in an age when psychedelic imagery was all over lyrics...it was my way of saying, 'Don't get too caught up, because everything comes full circle.'"

What goes up, must come down
Spinnin' wheel, got to go round
Talkin' 'bout your troubles it's a cryin' sin
Ride a painted pony,
Let the spinnin' wheel spin

Ya got no money, and ya
Ya got no home
Spinnin' wheel all alone
Talkin' 'bout your troubles and
Ya never learn
Ride a painted pony,
Let the spinnin' wheel turn

Did you find a directing sign
On the straight and narrow highway?
Would you mind a reflecting sign
Just let it shine, within your mind
And show you the colours that are real.

Someone is waitin' just for you
Spinnin' wheel spinnin' to
Drop all your troubles by the river side
Catch a painted pony
On the spinnin' wheel ride...

Vocal David Clayton Thomas, arranged by saxophonist Fred Lipsius, and produced by James William Guercio.

Still following that thread, those lyrics brought to mind a quote from the late, and still greatly lamented, Bill Hicks:

The world is like a ride at an amusement park. It goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and it’s very brightly coloured and it’s very loud and it’s fun, for a while.

Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question: Is this real, or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, they say, “Hey – don’t worry, don’t be afraid, ever, because, this is just a ride…” But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok.

Jesus – murdered; Martin Luther King – murdered; Malcolm X – murdered; Gandhi – murdered; John Lennon – murdered; Reagan… wounded.

But it doesn’t matter because: It’s just a ride. And we can change it anytime we want. It’s only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings and money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one.

Here’s what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money that we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.

AMEN. From Distaff Day, via spinning wheels, carousels and fairground rides, to arrive at those words from an individual not of the female aka "distaff side": "The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one" reminds that there's another facet of The Feminine - a facet we all have within us, whatever our gender.

Blogging... following threads.....it's a funny ol' game!

THE RIDE

Below, a favourite quote of mine from the late Bill Hicks (Born 16 December 1961, died 26 February 1994). I never tire of reading this, it's almost poetry.

An archived post on Bill's natal chart is at http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2007/08/bill-hicks-anger-with-humour.html

"The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly colored, and it's very loud, and it's fun for a while. Many people have been on the ride a long time, and they begin to wonder, "Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?" And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, "Hey, don't worry; don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride." And we … kill those people.

"Shut him up! I've got a lot invested in this ride, shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry, look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real."
It's just a ride. But we always kill the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok …

But it doesn't matter, because it's just a ride. And we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love.

The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one. Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace."

What would Hicks and Carlin say?

Surveying the currently erratic economic scene and hurly-burly surrounding the rapidly approaching US presidential election, I'm wondering, "What would Bill Hicks say? What would George Carlin say?" They'd have plenty of fodder for their gags, that's for sure! I wonder also, "How can anybody ever fill their shoes?".

I wrote a little about Bill Hicks and his natal chart last year : "Anger with Humour".

Any fan of Bill's with a basic knowledge of astrology will appreciate the fact that his close cluster of 4 Sagittarius planets (Sun, Mercury, Mars and Venus) are an exact fit for his angry philosophising about politics and religion.

His following quote is probably something near to what he'd be telling us, once again. I often re-read this quote - it's almost poetry!

"The world is like a ride in an amusement park. And when you choose to go on it, you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and it's very brightly coloured and it's very loud and it's fun, for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time and they begin to question, is this real, or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, they say, "Hey - don't worry, don't be afraid, ever, because, this is just a ride." And we kill those people."

And that other, sadly missed, comedian whose Gemini Moon with Mercury conjunct Uranus brough forth such ascerbic wit and wisdom - George Carlin - what would he be saying now? It would, quite possibly, be unrepeatable on a family blog! The following, all-purpose Carlin quote fits well enough though:

"When you’re born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you’re born in America, you get a front row seat."

Bill Hicks - anger with humour

A few words about the late Bill Hicks will fit in well this week. I must be under the influence of the current Mars/Jupiter opposition! I've blogged about angry writers, the Johns Steinbeck and Osborne (here), about how anger is integral in human nature (here), another Aries/Saggittarius character, Van Gogh, yesterday, and now I'm looking at a chart with Sun plus 3 planets in Sagittarius closely conjunct Mars, the chart of a wonderful, angry comedian. None of this was planned, by the way. I'm just "doin' what comes naturally"!



(12 noon chart - no birth time available).


When I first came to the USA I'd never heard of Bill Hicks, in spite of the fact that he had made some very successful appearances in the UK . Surprisingly, HeWhoKnows hadn't heard of him either. So when we rented a DVD of his, out of curiosity, soon after I arrived in the US, we were impressed - well HWK was impressed, I was well and truly hooked. We were puzzled that at the end of the DVD there was an implication that Bill Hicks was no longer with us. Searches on the net informed me that he had died in 1994, aged only 32, of pancreatic cancer. What a tragedy!

Just this week we listened on-line to an excellent BBC programme about Bill's life.(HERE). I often think about him, his views and his jokes. What would he be saying about the current situation in the USA and the world ? The air would be well and truly blue!

"Bill was part social critic, part comedian, part preacher. As he himself said, he was Chomsky with dick jokes. Hicks stripped away the lies and deceit our governments have woven for us, laying bare grim truths, laced with his biting, trademark wit. Bill's humour though sometimes harsh, was not intended to upset, more to bring people together: "The best kind of comedy to me is when you make people laugh at things they've never laughed at, and also take a light into the darkened corners of people's minds, exposing them to the light. I thought the whole point of it was to make you feel un-alone." "http://sazmatazz.users.btopenworld.com/

Bill Hicks was born 16 December 1961, Valdosta, Georgia, USA.

Four personal planets in Sagittarius, three of them very closely conjoined. Jupiter, ruler of Sagittarius in Aquarius (within minutes of my own natal Sun, by the way). You could hardly concoct a better astrological line-up to match the description above ! Add Saturn, at home in critical Capricorn and you have "the full set"!

The chart shape is "funnel" or "bucket", with the spout or handle at Moon in Aries - all that Sagittarian and Aquarian energy channelled through an impatient restless, often aggressive, Moon in Fire.

When Bill died on 26 February 1994 Uranus and Neptune at 24 and 22 Capricorn lay just 3 degrees from his natal Saturn. Those outer planets would have been hovering there throughout the time between diagnosis of terminal cancer and his death.

Another side of Bill:

The Bill Hicks Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of orphaned and injured wildlife, predominantly in the Austin hill country area -- an area that Bill loved. Many people think of Bill as a bitter cynic, but nothing could be further from the truth. Bill loved wildlife and was a strong advocate of fighting the overpopulation crises that threatens all of our existence.
The Bill Hicks Foundation for Wildlife Rehabilitation gives us a way to make a difference, in a place that Bill loved, and we can still belong to the "People Who Hate People Party." http://www.billhicks.org/billandanimals.html

There are several video clips from his performances on YouTube. Many are not for the delicate of ear or faint of heart! Here's a link to one that I especially enjoyed - I think it's from one of his UK performances back in the early 1990s. The more things change, the more they remain the same! Bill Hicks

Some quotes from the man himself:

"So there, we have figured it out, go back to bed America, your government has figured out how it all transpired. Go back to bed America, your government is in control again. Here, here's American Gladiators. Watch this, shut up. Go back to bed America, here's American Gladiators. Here's 56 channels of it. Watch these pituitary retards bang their fuckin skulls together and congratulate you on living in the land of freedom. Here you go America, you are free... to do as we tell you. You are free, to do as we tell you."

.........................

And my favourite:

"The world is like a ride in an amusement park. And when you choose to go on it, you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and it's very brightly coloured and it's very loud and it's fun, for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time and they begin to question, is this real, or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, they say, "Hey - don't worry, don't be afraid, ever, because, this is just a ride..." And we... kill those people.

"We have a lot invested in this ride. Shut him up. Look at my furrows of worry. Look at my big bank account and my family. This just has to be real. Just a ride. But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok. But it doesn't matter because: It's just a ride. And we can change it anytime we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings and money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one.

Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money that we spend on weapons and defences each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace. Thank you very much, you've been great."

Bill Hicks December 16, 1961 -- February 26, 1994.

I say again - what a tragedy!