Updated and Backdated

Quick medical update first: The oncologist and the radiation oncologist I saw earlier this week on follow-up appointments both gave me a thorough "going over", declared me good for a while longer - well, anyway until my next appointments with both I guess; that will not be for 2 months. Perhaps I'll not be shuffling off before then, barring accidents and the unexpected, fingers crossed!

The temporary stand-in oncologist advised, with regard to pills for my pain-while-walking, that I can try using a double dose of the the minimum dose extended release morphine tablets, prescribed in July by another stand-in oncologist. The pills as prescribed had had no effect on my pain, so I just didn't take them and relied on the previous pain pills I'd been using. I'm now trying this new regime, with my old pain pills available for "break-through pain". I'm still not overly impressed with the morphine, the effect so far isn't as beneficial as my usual pain pills, but maybe lasts a little longer. I shall give it a longer testing and experimenting time.

I'm not sure how much longer Learning Curve on the Ecliptic will survive, in view of the fact that I shall have to buy a new computer before January 2020. Windows 7 operating system, which I use, will no longer be supported by Microsoft after that; this old computer has a hitch in its sound system so needs replacing anyway. I'm posting much less frequently than in years past. Survival of Learning Curve, at all, will depend on how compatible I find myself with Windows 10 once I've replaced my old faithful machine and operating system.

It was around this time of year in 2006 that I first jumped into Blogger and tried my hand at blogging. For many years I posted daily, initially about astrology, later on a variety of topics. In 2015 a kind commenter suggested that I should write some posts telling a little about my life. I was wary of doing so at first as it seemed particularly self-indulgent. Ah well, a bit of navel-gazing has never hurt anyone, so I began a weekend series of posts on my own life story. By the end of the series I found that I had actually enjoyed those backward glances.

Thinks: With a bit of filling out, this post could stand for the full week ahead, so...below is a list of links to the 8 parts of that self-indulgent story of my life mentioned above. Any stray passing reader might be brave enough to sample an episode - or two - or perhaps just take a look at the pictures.

Self Indulgence - episode 1
Self Indulgence - episode 2
Self Indulgence - episode 3
Self Indulgence - episode 4
Self Indulgence - episode 5
Self Indulgence - episode 6
Self Indulgence - episode 7
Self Indulgence - episode 8

"Watch Yourself!" (Zeus to Narcissus)

Not a day passes when I don't read at least a handful of questions at Quora relating to narcissism. For example :

Are relationships with narcissists doomed to fail?

Does a narcissist know they are a narcissist?

Do narcissists know when they are wrong? Mine never admitted he was wrong and never apologized.

Why is there so much unreliable, erroneous and opinionated information about narcissism on Quora?

Narcissism. Can we lay blame on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others, names of which escape me? People use those tools because they are like mirrors - all about them, their need for an audience . Blogging filled that need for some people, for years. Blogging was but the overture to the full-blown symphony!

Is blogging a symptom of chronic narcissism? Is using Twitter and/or Facebook et al a sign that the disease has become acute?

Blogging, for me, is and has been simply a way to experiment with a girlhood dream of being a writer or a reporter or journalist. Maybe there is some retro-narcissism going on.

I've always found Facebook a wee bit creepy, though was never quite sure why. I opened an account early on and almost immediately deactivated it, re-opened it years later, then deactivated it again. As for Twitter, I can see that for some people it could feed incipient or rampant narcissism (and that is a very awkward word to type, I'm finding). Looking in on Twitter has, very occasionally, led to information I'd have otherwise missed, but beyond that, I'm not enthusiastic. If Twitter is a narcissistic pastime, I fear I'm not doing it right!

Here's a ponder-worthy topic on which to close: is perusing one's astrological natal chart the ultimate in narcissism?

Saturday & Sundry Thoughts on Blogging

What am I doing here, blogging still in mainly empty halls? Am I trying to re-create a Tinkerbell (or Tinkerb-log) Effect keeping alive the belief in blogging by... clapping blogging?

As long ago as 2009 I was lamenting the decline in personal blogs; seven years down the road and, though my own blog, now over 10 years old, is limping along and lonely, many more have gone to the bloggy internet graveyard to rest in peace. In allegorical terms I guess one could say there has been an ever-widening pandemic - of blog flu - better known as Facebookitis, with side effects known as Twittering or tweeting.

In 2009 I wrote, among other things:

"...Perhaps blogging, as practiced by The Great Unwashed, has now passed its peak. Each new internet activity tends to do so with increasing rapidity these days. Message boards, though not completely extinct yet, are much less used than they were a few years ago. Blogs aren't likely ever to disappear completely either, but the number of small, personal blogs is certain to shrink in future, with other enticing options now available.

Facebook and Twitter have been upstaging blogs to some extent. Internet communication is evolving ever more rapidly as equipment becomes slicker and possibilities more exciting and inviting. Bloggers, too, are evolving, having honed their skills over two or three years, they may be feeling now that it's appropriate to post less frequently in order to maintain quality level, or so as to leave time for newer interests. "

Among a number of comments (yes this blog did, once upon a time, have commenters!) was one from my husband "anyjazz":

...This is a thoughtful observation on the direction of blogging and the web in general. I don’t know the culprit either but I bet it is a combination of several elements.

The original ambition wanes when realization sets in that having something pithy or indeed anything to say on a regular basis is really difficult. We are faced with the fact that we are not as deep, not as multidimensional, not as funny, as we originally fantasized; what we say is somehow not as interesting to every one else as it is to ourselves.

The shorter moment-to-moment systems have a broad appeal now. It is the convenient, instantly gratifying, worries free, one shot, conversational, language-crunching, grammatical disasters of Twitter, Face Book, texting, et al, that seem to be emerging as the popular communications mode. Communicate more, think less.

Maybe there is some good in everything. Granted, it is hard to see here. With humanity seemingly headed for disasters on several levels, (climate, religious and/or ethnic wars, pandemic disease, grand-scale greed and political implosion, for just a few examples) perhaps we are experiencing close-up an evolutional movement so grand we don’t recognize it.

The key to all of our human foibles is communication. If not the total solution, communication is at least the first step in any solution. Think of solving any problem, from vacation schedules at work to saber-rattling between continents that can be sorted out without communication.

Perhaps we are headed for a communications level heretofore unimagined in our world.

Another, from old blog friend from early days, Anthony North:

I think a major problem is people are realising what hard work it can be building up a readership on a blog. Social networks seem to offer a faster growth of readership. I think the future should be a merging of website, blog and social network, thus satisfying a whole package in one.

Another blog friend, Ron Southern, who has since died wrote, with regard to encroaching Facebookers:

Will it be as hazardous as a shiny black Cadillac going North moving over into my southbound lane? I just hate it when that happens......most writers in the world burn out after a while. Only "the great authors" want to die with a pen in their hand or their fingers on the keyboard! And, lately, I'm not so sure about them!!!

From Sparrow Chat blogger RJ Adams (link in sidebar) occasional commenter in 2009, and still in 2017; he and Mrs RJ have since "upped sticks" from the USA and moved to France. In 2009 he wrote:

I'm guilty of this myself, I'm afraid. Sparrow Chat is nowhere near so prolific as it used to be. Partly, because the demise of George W Bush and his not-so-merry band left a vacuum - the arrival of a sane US President being less newsworthy, even if the the rest of government still stinks to high heaven - but mainly due to other interests crowding out the blog writing. I've been very busy of late on other projects and keep promising myself I'll return to SC as soon as the pressure is off. Unfortunately, it never does. Meanwhile, I'm truly attempting to maintain at least one post per week.

And from the gals, in 2009, for whom I sadly have no photographs:





Elsa (astrologer and astrology blogger (link in sidebar). Elsa was first to welcome me to astrology blogging, back in 2006):

I've noticed the same thing. I chock it up to harder times myself. I think we are going to be paying for content more and more, going forward.

Tuikku said...

I have a history related blog I haven't been updating for months. Life has been hectic, true. Also, I've had Saturn on my Mercury, so expressing my ideas in writing hasn't been that easy. I'm still on someone's blogroll though, so I guess I should make an effort to start writing again.

Wise Webwoman (of The Other Side of Sixty blog - link in sidebar) wrote:

I haven't noticed this, T, maybe my blog buds are sticking to the knitting. I did drop a couple in the last few months, not updated since May in both cases. I do write them to see how they are but never a response....
Disturbing.

From Jennifer:

I loathe Twitter. Really, being able to write one sentence at a time is THAT FABULOUS? Really really? I feel like people are going to lose their interest/ability to write anything longer and thoughtful, and it pisses me off.

So...as 2017 continues to unfold, what will I do with Learning Curve on the Ecliptic? Carry on carrying on, or put the blog to sleep forever? Tinkerbell survived, maybe this blog, and a few others still extant, can survive too. I'll continue logging on and blogging on...until I don't.

Self-indulgent Saturday-Sunday #9 ~ Regarding Astrology

Astrology has played some part in my life for over 50 years. For the greater part of that time my knowledge was sketchy at best. I strained to understand a world beyond Sun signs, which I knew existed, but had difficulty accessing. In my younger years things were very different from now. The Astrology Bandwagon proper had not yet started to roll, it had not been fuelled by the spread of home computers and the internet.

I lived in England in a small town where the library and book store carried no books on astrology. I would scour magazines and newspapers for articles expanding on the scanty Sun sign columns which were carried then. Astrology, at its most seminal level, was with me though, sketchy or not. Where my very first "feel" for astrology came from I can only guess - I suspect it emerged from a big door-stopper of a book owned by my maternal grandmother. I think its title was something like "Encyclopaedia of Superstitions". From that volume I still clearly remember going to a section about what I now know to be geomancy. I think, perhaps, that there might have been a section on astrology in that volume, and that would have been my first ever introduction to it.

As the 1950s morphed into the '60s then the '70s, things began to look up for astrology.
Hippies, their culture, and Hair the musical with its hit song The Age of Aquarius brought astrology into focus, more people began to take an interest. By now I'd moved from small town Yorkshire. I'd married and awaited divorce. I puzzled over the fact that my marriage to a Libra Sun person had failed dismally, when Aquarius and Libra were thought to be such an excellent match. I started reading more books and any specialised magazines I could find. Nothing I read enabled me to get much beyond Sun sign astrology. I was hampered by my blind-spot in mathematics. Trying to calculate a natal chart from written instructions with nobody to ask for advice was too daunting a task.

In the early '70s a new relationship began in my life - with a Sun Taurus guy. According to all information Aquarians and Taureans are not a good match. In spite of our Sun signs the relationship lasted for 33 years, until his death. With a more stable emotional background, a new home base in the northern city of Leeds, new job in the civil service, a new era for me began.

Among colleagues in my new job were 3 who shared my interest in astrology. Glory be! Barbara, a lady nearing retirement who first taught me my job, Pat who was originally my immediate supervisor, and Mike, who eventually married Pat. These three friends opened the doorway into astrology a wee bit wider for me. Pat sorted out my Moon sign, and Mike introduced me to tarot cards, and a strange shop in Leeds called The Sorcerer's Apprentice where I bought tarot cards, books and an enormous pile of back issues of Prediction magazine.

I bought my first "proper" astrology report sometime during the 1970s, answering an advert in one of the Prediction issues. The British astrologer, Patrick something or other, was quite well known then. The report was expensive, and took a long time to arrive. It was produced on a typewriter which had seen better days: uneven type, fading ink upon three foolscap sheets of good quality blue paper. I remember its appearance, but no longer have it. It was lost along with all of our possessions in a disastrous fire in 1996. This report on my natal chart told me, at last, something about natal positions of other planets. It was confirmed that Moon was in Aries, as Pat had calculated. The astrologer estimated my ascendant to be in Leo, from the birth time I had given, which later proved to be inaccurate. I laboured for years under the misapprehension that I had Leo rising (rather than my 99.9% likely Cancer ascendant). Most of the other content of that report has faded in memory, except that the astrologer said I'd be likely to experience disappointments in dealings with the opposite sex. I reckon that's true of any human on planet Earth! I still haven't worked out what in my chart prompted him to write that. As it turns out, I've been luckier than most in my relationships.

Later on, other office colleagues shared my interest in astrology. We'd swap books and information, but much was still beyond my understanding. We were like kids playing blind-man's buff. My copy of Linda Goodman's Sun Signs did the rounds of our office a few times, and eventually disappeared.

Astrology columns in newspapers and magazines had become common by this time, improved in both quality and quantity. Russell Grant's, in the Daily Mirror, a tabloid which Bill insisted on buying for sports coverage and because it was the only left-wing newspaper then, apart from the rather snooty Guardian. In those days Russell Grant was doing well as a popular newspaper astrologer, he'd often come up with bits and pieces to which I could easily relate. I felt his style gradually changed though, as he began to concentrate more on becoming a "celebrity."

I don't remember exactly how or when I discovered Jonathan Cainer's columns. Perhaps it was in a popular magazine for women, or in a Sunday newspaper. I immediately felt that this was the one to watch. We couldn't bear to buy The Daily Express, even for Jonathan Cainer's column - that newspaper was far too conservative! I'd beg or borrow copies, and buy any other publication I could find where his writing appeared. Then he took over from Russell Grant in The Mirror! His page there was interesting and entertaining. In those days it carried all kinds of information as well as Sun sign forecasts. Later he moved to The Daily Mail, and we moved to The Mail too. (Link to his website is in my sidebar.)

I can't say exactly why I was so keen on these Sun sign columns. I knew that there was much more to astrology, yet these columns presented something to hold on to, something regular, day by day. At some point, probably in the late 1980s, a friend had given me a book on astrology containing, as an addendum, a very cut-down version of ephemeris-type data. This opened the astro-window a tiny bit wider, but it was really those newspaper columns that helped to keep astrology alive for me. Perhaps I was holding on instinctively, intuitively knowing that someday I'd reach a point from which I'd be able to discover more. That point came, at last, with the purchase of a home computer in late 2001. I discovered astrology message boards and read them regularly. Then, in my early years in the USA, I bought astrology software. WOW! I could now produce a natal chart! Because of everything I'd absorbed, knowingly and unknowingly over 50 years or more, learning enough to fill many of the gaps in my sketchy knowledge came with comparative ease, assisted by a huge collection of astrology text books bought on E-bay, late property of an astrologer. I also bought an instruction course, with lessons, prepared by American astrologer Zipporah Dobyns. I continued reading, learning from, and occasionally contributing to several astrology message boards online.

I don't recall how, or why, I felt tempted to try writing an astrology blog. Maybe astrology message boards had grown stale for me, blogs were overtaking them, just as Facebook has now overtaken blogs.

It was in the fall of 2006 that Learning Curve on the Ecliptic was born, shortly after our return from a wonderful vacation among Colorado's Rocky Mountains. Blogger, back then, offered a fairly limited selection of fancy blog backgrounds with help, if required, to get started. I chose a background, concocted that over-long blog title, and got started. After a year or so I was able to customise a different, simple, background for the blog - the format it has retained, with occasional tweaks to the main title font.

Learning Curve on the Ecliptic was a solitary experiment for a while, an internet backwater nobody ever reached. I have to thank several established astrology bloggers for helping me along, with encouragement: Elsa of Elsa Elsa Advice Blog was the first, then Jeffrey Kishner, now of Sasstrology, Julie Demboski and April of Big Sky Astrology - they're all linked in my sidebar. If it hadn't been for the acceptance of these astrologers I'd almost certainly have given up within a few months.

After some six years writing about astrology and related subjects I diversified a wee bit, broadened the blog's scope to take in politics and more general topics. This blog has never attracted a wide readership, even before Facebook began leeching the life out of blogs in general. From time to time, over the years, some loyal regular readers and commenters have appeared, travelled along with me for as long as they could, and become welcome friends.

I suppose I really should wade into the waters of Facebook, as so many other bloggers have done, but doubt that I shall do so, unless perhaps Google were to decide someday to take Blogger off their menu.

Miss Lindeman's Class of '47 & New Blogger GUI

On Thursday Blogger forced its entire blogging community onto their new, supposedly improved, interface. For the past few months we've had the option of retaining the original interface, which, by the way, many have found to be vastly superior to the new version. Anyway - an apology in advance for any ragged looking posts with spaces in the wrong places and images askew which might ensue as I try to wrangle the new clunky slow-slow-slow, it hangs, it hangs, it freezes Blogger GUI (graphical user interface).

As an initial experiment and trial exercise I've copied an old journal post of my husband's (with his permission), so that I can "mess around" with the new layout etc. without having to curse and compose something sensible at the same time.

So: GUEST POST by "anyjazz", aka my husband~~~

Miss Lindeman's 4th Grade Class, 1947

“What kind of music do you like?”
“Do you play an instrument?”
“When do you find time to play all your records?”
“What started your interest in music?”

It’s a long story.

In fourth grade Miss Lindeman told the class, “Listen and see if you can hear the horses. Listen to this and imagine a gypsy dancing. Listen for the raindrops and the storm starting.” And we did.

It probably falls back to the trite old adage: “One must listen, not just hear.” Or something like that.

Lots of people hear music without really listening for the raindrops and the call to arms. Miss Lindeman told us to listen. She taught us that there was something in addition to the melody or the words. Treasures were hidden in those sounds.

So for those of us who really listen, we hear a painting, colors and feelings. The composer gathers his thoughts or the musician speaks to us. We experience layers and textures, emotions and ideas.

Most enjoy hearing music. Some only enjoy certain areas, country, jazz, classical. The Listener likes anything musical. Anything Musical.

Many people enjoy hearing songs with words so they can identify with the singer or the story being told. But for the Listener, it is a deeper experience. A Listener hears the music and sometimes knows the brand of the guitar playing, or when a breath was taken in a solo phrase. We know how hard a clarinet is to play. We know when a jazz artist has borrowed a bit of a solo from an old scratchy record. We hear the emotion coming from a breathy saxophone solo or thrill at the coda in a violin concerto.

Some hear a classical opus and find it quite satisfying. A Listener knows when a favorite classical overture is being played by a different orchestra or maybe led by a different conductor: a note held longer here, a cymbal a bit louder there.

Miss Lindeman taught us how to listen. Thanks, Miss Lindeman.


Dad had an old 78RPM record changer perched atop the refrigerator. It couldn’t be reached by six year old hands. He played a Benny Goodman record, “Sometimes I’m Happy” and said, “Listen to the sax section.” And a six year old listened not knowing what a “sax” was, let alone the mysterious “section.”
Listening began.
Thanks, Dad.

Blogging, astro or otherwise, is like a game of cards...

Thumbing through a women's magazine at the hairdresser's, bored with all the usual articles: advice about losing weight, refurbishing the kitchen and how to declutter everything in sight, a short piece, Poker and Life drew my eye. I know diddly-squat about poker, but as the piece was written by a well-known female actress, how boring could it be? (Hmmmm?) Her article proposed that the many lessons she has learned from playing poker could equally be applied to life in general. Her points made a lot of sense. I later looked for an on-line version of the article, didn't find it, but found a different one, just as good, perhaps even better. This was by Mark McGuire at Timesunion.comblog, called Life and Poker.

As Mr McGuire points out in his opening paragraph

"Saying “(fill in the blank) is a lot like life: …” makes for easy bumper-sticker psychology. We can draw parallels and insight and metaphorical significance from a host of sources, whether it's kindergarten or a movie or crossing a busy street."

In the world of astrology though, saying "astrology is a lot like life" seems superfluous, redundant. Blogging, then? Astrology blogging, blogging in general?

" Blogging/Astrology Blogging is a lot like life" - that might work. Since I first posted a version of this post some 5 years ago the blogging world has shrunk considerably. The advent of Facebook has thinned out many half-hearted bloggers and readers. Even so, a few stalwarts remain, clinging to the wreckage. And the same applies in many areas of life during these uncertain days. Maybe it's a bit like poker - a player with a doubtfully useful hand of cards remains in the game - hoping against hope.

Anyway - back to the article: I'll take 5 points from Mr. McGuire's piece and apply them to blogging/astrology blogging. They work! I'm wondering though, whether what this actually tells us is that blogging is a bit like poker!

"You can be the most talented and get crushed … or be out-classed and still come out a winner. Nothing is guaranteed, and there’s no such thing as a sure thing."(In blogging the enthusiastic amateur has as much chance as the professional to interest an audience - sometimes).

"Sometimes you have to ignore the averages and go with your gut. Intuition may be the most valuable sense next to common". (In choosing what to blog about, and how - and what to leave alone.)

"Nothing is sometimes something if you just stay in. We often have a better hand than we think." (When bloggers doubt themselves because nobody comments and the hits are few, it's worth hangin' in there - things can change rapidly.)

"Opportunities are rare; you must recognize them. Picture a little Robin Williams on your shoulder whispering “Carpe Diem,” until he gets so annoying you have to swat him with a card rack. Then it’s too late; the opportunity is gone. Curse you, Robin Williams." (In blogging - pounce on a news story, article, real life or astrological event - capitalise on it quickly before it gets stale.)

"Everybody wins, everybody loses. Don’t get too high or too low. You’re never as good or as bad as you think." (In all things!)

Let's see how astrology blogging/blogging in general fits in with a couple of quotes from quotable writers:

Poker (astro blogging/blogging) is the game closest to the western conception of life, where life and thought are recognized as intimately combined, where free will prevails over philosophies of fate or of chance, where men are considered moral agents and where - at least in the short run - the important thing is not what happens but what people think happens. ~John Luckacs


The poker player ( astrology blogger) learns that sometimes both science and common sense are wrong; that the bumblebee can fly; that, perhaps, one should never trust an expert; that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of by those with an academic bent. ~David Mamet.

That works too!

Blogging - Astro and Otherwise.

While searching for something else I came across this piece, The Blogosphere 2.0 written in mid-2009, discussing the way the blogosphere has evolved during the last decade or so. The piece refers mainly to blogs several levels of "ooomph" above my own; the basic points put forward should hold good for any blogger at any level though. Updates were added and, along with comments are all interesting and worth investigation.

I've noticed a distinct change in bloggery out in the wider blog-world, but this hasn't affected astrology bloggers quite as much, which is good. As is mentioned in the linked piece or comments, niche areas seem to be where independent blogging survives best. Astrology is nothing if not "niche"! As my own view of astrology isn't always in line with others, I'm a bit of a niche within a niche, I guess.

Learning Curve on the Ecliptic receives many more hits/visits than I'd expect, often just over or under 1000 per day, but a good percentage of these is accounted for by hits on illustrations or archived posts, rather than on what appears on the current page. If anything I've posted in the past assists anybody out there in their studies or interests, then it's all good! I'll continue to write about aspects of astrology as I see it until I run out of steam. In order to conserve what steam there is available, there might well be some slowing down from time to time.

I don't read as many blogs these days, and I guess other people could be following the same pattern. As a break from astrological matters, to "clear the palate" as it were, I do still like to trawl through a scant handful of the type of blogs I think of as "hit-and-runners", where no great concentration is needed - just a quick look, a chuckle or a hmmmm! or ahhhhh!... and away again....these for example. A couple of them are rather clever marketing ploys (I suspect), but as long as they offer interest or humour - fine!

http://catalogliving.net/
Quirky bite-sized fun takes on catalogue photography/home decor. (Thanks to Wisewebwoman for having pointed me towards this one).


http://nerdboyfriend.com/
I don't know why I find this fascinating, but I do. They take an old photgraph of a movie star/celebrity (male) then find current versions of the exact clothing he's wearing, and where to obtain it today, linking to relevant websites.....just in case some bright spark wants to ape that vintage "certain style".

http://www.sexypeople-blog.com/
Another "hit-and-runner" - no long blocks of text to wade through, just pics. In this case photographic portraits from past decades. I enjoy the facility available via links in the sidebar to view the portraits in groups/categories: by nationality, or by relationship, siblings, styles, hair-dos, etc. etc.


http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/
I've mentioned this one before. It's the blog of a professional photographer, who shoots real-life fashion as he comes across it in the streets of various cities, on his travels throughout the world.

http://theoasisofmysoul.com/
More to read on this one. Travel by motorctycle in the USA, gorgeous photographs, beautiful words, and a spot of spirituality,

Blogging ~ Surprise "Hits"

Blogging, especially astrology blogging, can be, to use an expression beloved by British soccer fans, "a funny old game". Some posts, often those I've especially enjoyed researching, writing - and even reading and re-reading (narcissist!) cause little interest, while a few I've written with some reservation, thinking "Hmmm - nobody'll want to read THIS!" have proven to be constant "hit-getters" over a long period.

The four posts linked below, some posted as long ago as October 2008, still garner views, occasionally gluts of views, for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the person or topic featured may be in the news, or linked to someone in the news; or perhaps there have been links to an archived post on forum message boards, not necessarily astrology forums, resulting in a spike in the statistics.

Linda Lovelace - A Star Is Porn

Are We Human or Are We Dancer?

A Libran Exception - Irma Grese

Black Moon Lilith

A post this week racked up more hits than I've ever seen before:
Monday's post with just a simple mention of Adam Lambert brought lots of visitors from a Fan Forum. Evidence of Adam's burgeoning popularity, and on that score, if little else, I can now say "Told ya so!"
(Other Adam Lambert posts can be accessed by clicking on his name in the Label Cloud in the sidebar).

The posts which spark most interest do not do so, in the main, due to their astrological content. Astrology is still a fringe interest, even though its popularity has increased over decades since the 1960s. I always hope that readers landing, via a link, without any interest in astrology might notice its relevance and leave with the thought at the back of their mind - "well, perhaps astrology isn't as far fatched as I'd thought". This may be a forlorn hope on my part, but it's partly what keeps me inspired enough to spend time blogging.

The Astrology of Blogging

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As I cast around for ideas, drafting outline posts for the next few days, a comment relating to a post from way back in December 2006 arrived for moderation: "The Astrology of Blogging". I skimmed through the old piece, updated and edited it - I reckon it can stand a re-airing. Comments from 2006, as well as the recent one are included.

What astrological factors would incline a person to become a blogger? The words 'blog' and 'blogger' grate on me, I realise they are contractions of 'weblog' and 'weblogger', and we're stuck with them, but I don't like them. For me they have an unattractive vibe, but no doubt I shall learn to love them - in time. (I have learned!)

Mercury has to be the foremost influence in blogging, as in any form of writing, and communication in general. We all have Mercury somewhere in our charts, but those with Mercury aspected by Saturn and/or positioned close to one of the angles would be more inclined to write for the love of it. Mercury will come through loud and clear in Gemini, Virgo, or in 3rd, 11th, or 7th houses where the planet is most "at home". That in itself might not incline a person to writing, especially to writing a blog. There is need for a certain amount of Saturnian discipline to sit at the computer and write on a regular basis, with no incentive other than the love of doing it, or the satisfaction of receiving comments. Carrying adverts might offer monetary gain, but I'd guess this is not substantial, except in the case of a small minority of expert or celebrity bloggers.

All blog topics and styles will have their individual astrological influence, in addition to the parts played by Mercury and Saturn. Politics, the arts and entertainment, religion, travel, pictorial, family, straightforward journal entries about life in general - all will have received a kick-start from some astrological factor in the blogger's chart.

Does this theory work in my own case? I have Mercury in Capricorn (Saturn's influence) and close to the descendant angle giving the planet strength. So far, so good.

I felt most inclined to write about astrology. Sun in 8th house can incline one towards occult interests (astrology is not the occult, but it's in the same ballpark). Mercury in my chart is trine Neptune and Uranus. Neptune inspires creativity, Uranus is said to have links with astrology, so writing about astrology was a good choice for me. I include art, authors, entertainment, politics and travel in my blog from time to time, try to keep topics varied, because my own interests are varied, as befits my "splash" pattern natal chart.

What differentiates the act of writing for one's own amusement, from writing a blog though? Publishing. Only the lucky, rich or very talented are likely to have their words or pictures published for the potential delight (?) of others....unless via blogs.

Jupiter rules publishing, due to the expansive nature of that planet. Publishing = expanding readership. In my own case Jupiter is in Pisces (its traditional home) and very close to the midheaven angle making it strong, and maybe producing an urge to publish?

There are no boundaries, no deadlines in blogging. The blogger is their own boss, editor and censor, which is wonderful for a freedom-lover like myself.

Comments - First two from 2006, third from 2010:

Neat entry! Found you via Jeffrey Kishner's Lunar Tunes blog. I've been blogging away (yes: it's not just an annoying noun, it's also an annoying verb!) for two years now, along with my other writing, and I can support your Mercury / Jupiter thesis. I've got Mercury (in the 9th) opposed Jupiter (in Aquarius) and Saturn, and Aquarius ruling the third house, so I suppose blogging was my destiny. Or my curse. Or something! (April)

April is at http://www.bigskyastrology.com/

Here comes another confirmation!
I blog on astrology and have Saturn in the third house trine Mercury in the 7th. Jupiter is in the 6th house of Gemini(ruled by Mercury). My ascendant is Sagittarius so that comes into the picture as well. Uranus is in Virgo trine Mercury and opposite Saturn. This explains why I keep rewriting my posts, there is a need to be perfect here.
Bye and keep your blog going!
(Have you considered looking at all the air planets, houses and signs to explain weblogging too? I am writing on a piece from that point of view. Talk to you later)
Miriam

(Unfortuntely,Miriam's blog is no longer at the address given in 2006).

(My reply)Yes, I'm sure the air signs and houses play a big part in our pastime of blogging, allied with Jupiter the publishing planet - without which we'd just be scribbling in our notepads! I think the air signs/houses give us the itch to write, and communicate, but Jupiter leads us to communicate WIDELY (or at least the hope that hope we do!) :-)

I am a Gemini rising with retrograde Mercury on my IC, just inside the third house. Love writing, love word play. I reckon the moon in Leo in 3rd also makes me a bit of an attention seeker, lol!
Alex
http://alextrenoweth.blogspot.com/

Hi Alex ~~~ Ha! Thanks for popping in and commenting on this old post.
Yes, you fit the blogging bill well! I'll resurrect an edited version of the post later this week.

Falling Blogs

While they're not dropping off quite as fast as the autumn leaves, personal blogs sure seem to be slowing down these days, if not to a complete standstill, then to a crawl. Every blogger has his or her own reason, but I do see a generally changing pattern.

Perhaps blogging, as practiced by The Great Unwashed, has now passed its peak. Each new internet activity tends to do so with increasing rapidity these days. Message boards, though not completely extinct yet, are much less used than they were a few years ago. Blogs aren't likely ever to disappear completely either, but the number of small, personal blogs is certain to shrink in future, with other enticing options now available.

Facebook and Twitter have been upstaging blogs to some extent. Internet communication is evolving ever more rapidly as equipment becomes slicker and possibilities more exciting and inviting. Bloggers, too, are evolving, having honed their skills over two or three years, they may be feeling now that it's appropriate to post less frequently in order to maintain quality level, or so as to leave time for newer interests.

I'm not sure whether there's any astrological reflection of this changing pattern. The only slower-moving planet changing signs soon is Saturn, moving from Virgo into Libra. Saturn has been in Virgo, ruled by Mercury, planet of communication since September 2007. Before that Saturn transited Leo, the public performer's sign from the summer of 2005. Blogs were around before then, but in fewer numbers. Leo and Virgo, being emphasised in succession by a slow-moving planet such as Saturn which represents discipline and work, would facilitate growth and popularity of blogging. Saturn's move into Libra shouldn't dampen things down. Libra is Cardinal Air sign, mentally based, not unhelpful to bloggers I'd have thought.

It'll be interesting to watch how things unfold.

I'll carry on doing what comes naturally, blog-wise... until it doesn't any more.

Noblesse Oblige ? Are you kidding?

Fellow-blogger, R.J. Adams of Sparrow Chat, has done me the honor of presenting me with a "Noblesse Oblige" award. It's very gratifying when a guy as talented as RJ considers me worthy of an award which someone has also presented to him! Paul Simon's lyrics spring to mind: "I would not be convicted by a jury of my peers...." -or at least by a jury of one of 'em! RJ and I would probably find it hard to consider ourselves very "noblesse" (i.e. possessors of nobility), socialistic left-wingers that we are. But that's splitting aristocratic hairs.

This genteel award doesn't come free. There's no such thing as a free lunch, or a free award! I am obliged, by the terms of the award, to comply with the following:

1. -Create a Post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige Award.

2. -The Award Conditions must be displayed at the Post.

3. -Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved – preferably citing one or more older posts to support.

4. -The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions.

5. -Blogger must display the Award at any location at the Blog.

The first requirement has been complied with. Second requirement: to show Award conditions (presumably so that readers can see what the award is all about):


Noblesse Oblige award is for the following:

The Blogger who manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervade amongst different cultures and beliefs.

The Blog contents inspire; strive to encourage and offer solutions.

There is a clear purpose to the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding of Social, Political, Economic, Arts, Culture and Sciences and Beliefs.

The Blog is refreshing and creative.

The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.

Well, on a good day, and with a following wind, I might manage to rise to a couple of those challenges - but all at once - a tall order! Let's just say I'm taking this as a carrot to urge me on to do better. Maybe once in a very blue moon I'll have a "Bingo!" moment and manage to check all of the boxes above.

For the award's third requirement, my thinking cap needs to be firmly in place:..."a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved – preferably citing one or more older posts to support."

I opened this blog in the Fall of 2006. At the back of my mind was a vague notion of writing about astrology, but in a style which might appeal to people who know nothing much about the subject, as well as to some who do know the basics. It was an extension of my girlhood fantasy. I'd wanted to be a journalist, writing articles for magazines.

A bog-standard Blogger template sufficed as a start. Later I learned how to customize it to its current style. Slowly gathering confidence, I registered the blog on a few networking sites; soon some established astrology bloggers kindly lent me their support.

Fantasy turning to reality?

Then came statistics software. "This'll be useful(not)", I told myself, "how difficult is it to count to four?" After a while daily blog statistics began to climb, but painfully slowly. On a very good day the blog would rack up 40 hits. I'm guessing that Google gathered up Learning Curve on the Ecliptic around this time. A sudden spurt of hits hauled numbers above 100, occasionally to 200 some days. I don't, and didn't, pretend that every "hit" equals a reader, but if 5% or 10%of hits represent readers, I'm more than happy within my fantasy, and look upon it as an achievement of sorts.

It's hard to say exactly "what the blog has thus far achieved", other than in statistical terms which, when you get right down to it, is fairly meaningless. In terms of my own satisfaction, I'm satisfied. Some kind commenters have indicated that they've enjoyed what I've written. The blog has achieved that much.

A further surprising statistical spurt came from what has turned out to be my most visited post of all: "Are We Human or are We Dancer". It's a post about a song. There's a stray mention of astrology in it, but it's not really about astrology. That post alone continued to garner upwards of a hundred visits a day for many weeks, and still, even after more than 6 months, brings in over 30 a day and the occasional comment. The post comes up on Google second only to Wikipedia's entry about the song.

A lucky break indeed!

Blog statistics are now on a gently descending curve, as visits to the "Human" post decrease. Numbers remain well-boosted by other Google searches though, which is pleasing.

Two tasks remain: To display the award - it'll remain permanently in the sidebar.

And...finally, I have to award "Noblesse Oblige" to one or more bloggers of my choice.

This is the part I really shy away from. I dislike singling out one or two from a body of people who all do such terrific jobs, and are unpaid at that! With the "unpaid" bit in mind, I'm nominating only non-professionals. I do enjoy reading blogs written by professionals, of any ilk, but for this particular purpose I'm sticking with non-professionals. I like to think that blogs originated to give anybody and everybody their chance to write, and show off a bit; professional astrologers already had that chance.

Without more ado, I'm offering this award to two astrology bloggers whose blogs fit the award requirements. Whether the two bloggers decide to participate fully in the "Noblesse" scheme is entirely up to them. I'm implying no obligation whatsoever, and offer it with sincere admiration.

GEMINI and... Blog
Out the Comet's Ass Blog

How Did I Get Here?

That recent question at Plinky Prompts had me digging around in the archives. I'd written a post, some years ago, about what brought me to astrology blogging. I took the long way around - not always the pretty way - but it got me here in the end.

Some of what follows is a condensed post from 2006, my earliest blogging days, brightened with the addition of a few pics, edited and dusted down.

MY JOURNEY INTO ASTROLOGY (from 10 November 2006).

Astrology has played some part in my life for over 50 years. For the greater part of that time my knowledge was sketchy at best. I strained to understand a world beyond Sun signs, but had difficulty accessing information. In my younger years things were very different from now. The Astrology Bandwagon proper had not yet started to roll - no computers, no internet. I lived in England in a small town where the library and book shop carried no books on astrology.

As the 1950s moved into the 60s then the 70s, things began to look up. Hippies, their culture, New Age, and "Hair" the musical with the song "The Age of Aquarius" brought astrology into public focus. By now I'd moved from small town Yorkshire. I puzzled over the fact that my marriage to a Libra Sun person failed dismally, when Aquarius and Libra were thought to be such an excellent match. I started reading more books and any specialised magazines I could find. Nothing I read enabled me to get much beyond Sun sign astrology. I was hampered by my blind-spot in mathematics. Trying to calculate a natal chart from written instructions with nobody to ask for advice was too daunting a task.

In the early 70s, with a new relationship, a stable emotional background, home base in the northern city of Leeds, and a job in the civil service, a new era for me began. Amongst colleagues at work were 3 who shared my interest in astrology, and tarot. At last I had someone with whom to share ideas.

I bought my first astrology report in the early 1970s, from a an advert in an astrology magazine. The report was expensive, and took a long time to arrive. It was produced on a typewriter which had seen better days - uneven type and fading ink upon three foolscap sheets of good quality blue paper. I remember its appearance very clearly, but no longer have it - lost along with all of our possessions in an horrendous fire in 1996. That report gave me my very first information about the other planets in my natal chart. The astrologer estimated, from the vague information I'd provided, that Leo was rising at my birth. I laboured for years under the misapprehension that I had Leo rising.

Astrology content in newspapers had increased by this time in both quality and quantity. Russell Grant had a column in the Daily Mirror - a tabloid which my partner insisted on buying because it was the only British left-wing newspaper then, apart from the rather snooty Guardian. In those days Russell Grant was doing well as a leading newspaper astrologer, and I enjoyed his writing.






I don't remember exactly how or when I discovered Jonathan Cainer's column. Perhaps it was in a women's magazine, or a Sunday newspaper. I immediately felt that this was the astrologer to watch. When he took over from Russell Grant at the Daily Mirror I was overjoyed ! He later moved on to the Daily Mail, we moved to the Mail too.



Just why I was so keen on these Sun sign columns, I'm not sure. I knew that there was much more to astrology, yet the newspaper columns presented something to hold on to, something day by day helping to keep astrology alive for me. Perhaps I was holding on instinctively, until I reached the point of being able to discover more for myself.

That point of discovery came with my first home computer, purchased at the end of 2001, and later with the acquisition of astrology software. By then my life had changed. I'd married Himself and moved to live in the USA. Because of everything I'd absorbed, knowingly and unknowingly over 50 years, learning enough to fill the many gaps in my knowledge came with comparative ease, with the help of a brief course, and lots of secondhand astrology books.

That's how I got into astrology. Blogging followed. I'd grown bored of contributing to astrology message boards, and wanted to try my hand at a spot of writing, without expecting many - or any - readers to find my blog. Initially I simply wanted to practice writing about a subject which has always fascinated me, and wrote just to please myself. I still write, primarily, to please myself, but it's a very welcome bonus to know that somebody else reads what I've produced.

It was through the kindness of the (then) small band of existing astrology bloggers that I was gently shepherded in to the group. Jeffrey Kishner, Elsa, April and Barbara all generously welcomed me into the fold. And here I've stayed, aiming to write daily for exercise, experience and discipline. The discipline part must come from Mercury in Capricorn - Aquarius Sun enjoys freedom much too much to be disciplined!

I'll always feel grateful to my blogging colleagues for their early encouragement. Grateful too for readers who pass by, either regularly or accidentally, and find anything of interest here.

Awards (and something completely different.)

I thank blogging colleague Anthony North of Beyond the Blog for his beyond kind award to this blog as a "Brainy Blog". I've added the little graphic to my sidebar. I am embarrased, but also appreciative of the kind gesture. I comfort myself that in a literal sense this blog is "brainy": see brain in small header sketch, drawn by my husband.

I've never nominated any blog for any award - not because I don't rate any as deserving - all those I read regularly (and you know who you are) deserve any and all awards I could possibly find to bestow upon them.

All the astrology bloggers in my link list , and any who are missing from there, are all Brainy Blogs, in my estimation - without exception. It'd be a big job to go around them all though, so I choose not to name any blog individually. I'll just say here a simple thank you to all of them, astrological and others for the informative and entertaining, thought-provoking, and only occasionally aggravating ;-) offerings. A big thank you too, to any who regularly read my own scribblings - you also deserve an award - for bravery!

The idea for the Brainy Blog award originates at Mommy Brain Reports


"Mommy Brain Reports is on the lookout for some Brainy Sites! Do you know of any?

Perhaps they have some really interesting ideas, super cool content, or they have some incredible posts that make you really think… Maybe they are your inspiration, or they have helped you out in your quest to be an awesome blogger yourself. Are they someone you can turn to at a moment’s notice for help or advice? Maybe they’re just someone who has encouraged you to be.. well.. You!

In any case, you have to know someone who you would deem a Brainy Blogger! You should let them know how you feel!!!

THANK THEM FOR BEING BRAINY!
Think of at least 5 bloggers that you believe to be “Brainy Bloggers”
Post it on your blog for all to see! Let them know you’ve awarded them by email, twitter, etc or via a comment on their blog!
Share some linky love and link back to both the person who awarded you and back to http://www.mommybrainreports.com
Come back to the Brainy Blog Headquarters".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT (something I could not resist)

Gemini v. Aquarius & Bloggers v. MSM

A friend and family member who occasionally comments here, screen name TNPOTUS, is a professional writer and journalist, and unsurprisingly a Gemini Sun. I'm flattered that he even spends time reading my amateurish drivel. We share a broadly liberal outlook politically, but the primaries found us on different sides of the Clinton/Obama divide. He has vast knowledge and experience of American politics, I have only gut feelings and native Aquarian logic. I remain unabashed in my preference for Clinton and distrust of Obama. Sorry, TNPOTUS! In his Sunday column, in our local newspaper this week, he slipped in the following paragraph:

"So you don't trust what you hear and see from mainstream media (which these days includes FOX news), but you do put credence and trust in some self-proclaimed, uh, reporter or commentator in the blogosphere? That's not only curious, that's dangerous."

I realise that the above paragraph is aimed at his wide readership, and not at yours truly, even so, I feel a response coming on - a battle of the Air signs : Gemini versus Aquarius. Who would win in such a mythical contest? The wide ranging knowledge, lightning quick mind and easy communicative ability of Gemini, or the logic, analytical ability, rebelliousness and humanity of Aquarius? It's very hard to say. Aquarius is a Fixed sign, stubborn and determined. Gemini is a Mutable sign, changeable, adaptable, more apt to compromise.

Back to the issue raised by TNPOTUS. Why do I, and millions of other net-surfers choose to trust political blog-writers more than we do mainstream media? Easy answer for me - the mainstream media is owned, bought and paid for, by corporations, who seem to be the true owners of this country, and will allow it only to evolve in ways which are helpful to them. Bloggers, some of whom are professional writers, some have personal political experience too, have their own axes to grind - that much I'll accept. They write hoping to convince others of their own views, the best of them offer documented proof for their propositions and reasoning. When I read a political blog, I know which side of the left/right divide the writer is coming from, Republican or Democrat, whether the author is a Clinton, Obama or McCain supporter. Bloggers do not pretend to be impartial, they do not set themselves up as reporting straightforward news. We know we are getting slanted commentary.

Just this morning at Liberal Rapture, I read this, in the post headed "Fight On", describing the way many of us feel:

"I believe we are seeing the true power of the Internet in this election.......
We are on offense. How many of us even watch CNN or MSNBC anymore? We've moved on from Moveon. Some of us have left the Democratic Party. Many of us haven't made up our minds about what we're going to do in November but we've all agreed we're not voting for Obama.

Without the Internet would we have heard of Rezco or William Ayers?............. Would we know that Senator Obama made an off the cuff remark in San Fransisco belittling voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania? Or how about Michelle Obama's thesis? Would we be able to pull Obama's statements on FISA from February to compare what he's saying now? Would we be able to do the work that reporters used to do?........"

Mainstream media, however, supposedly reporting straightforward news, slants and spins it in such a way as to brainwash viewers/listeners/readers. A good proportion of the public remains innocent and unaware of what is being done.

And where have all the investigative reporters gone? Investigating only what their masters tell them to investigate, I guess. Other matters, which could prove to be important, are ignored.

I trust just a handful of political blog-writers. There are certainly some wolves in sheep's clothing in the blogosphere, best avoided. In contrast, I trust no political commentator on TV, not even Tom Brokaw, who is the best of a very bad bunch. Nor do I trust any writer in mainstream media (local newspapers don't qualify as mainstream media of course!)

"Dangerous" to put trust in bloggers you say, TNPOTUS ? I cannot agree. Mainstream media is dangerous, manipulatory and, these days, corrupt.

Returning to the astrological theme - Gemini versus Aquarius, in a contest of words and ideas, would almost always finish tied. Gemini versus any other sign - not as easy to call, but would likely be victorious. Aquarius versus any other sign (wink): all bets are off!

2007, My Year of the Blog

2007, my third full year in the United States of America is coming to an end. I'm out of the "another-fine-mess-I-got-me-into" stage, and into the "this- could-be-so-good-if-only-more-people-woke-up-and-voted-differently" stage. And, it was my first full year of blogging (I still find that word ugly).

Transiting Uranus conjunct my natal Jupiter, at 6* Pisces and close to natal midheaven could be credited with irritating my blogging-itch, in late-2005. Whether that itch will ease and disappear as Uranus(ruler of my Aquarius Sun)moves ever further away from natal Jupiter, the publishing planet, I don't yet know.

At the start of each week I've felt doubtful that inspiration would stretch to fill a week's blogs, but most times, as if by magic, it has done so. Perhaps I should credit this to the fact that transiting Neptune (imagination) has been hovering very close to my re-located ascendant at 22 Aquarius.

I'm doing something now that I couldn't have visualised, or even considered that I could do, 5 years ago. Blogging is the result, for me, of a slow development. My first home computer, in 2001, was the springboard. Neptune was then conjunct my natal Aquarius Sun. How about that! Uranus and Neptune have been taking it in turns to tease me.

Yesterday, a late commentor to one of my posts from a few weeks ago said that I should "move on", spend time on something with "solid results", why spend my time on "this"? My reply was "because I enjoy doing it, and to me each posting is a solid result that pleases me." If passing readers find anything of interest or amusement, it's a surprise bonus.

It was brought home to me, as I read Christmas letters from old friends in the UK, that not everyone of my generation has embraced the computer. Two friends expressed extreme distaste and unwillingness to even try using one. "I don't even know what a blog is", said another." I'd taken for granted that everyone would be as besotted with the opportunities offered by the internet as I am. HeWhoKnows and I are a matched pair though, he's been "at it" (in various ways), for much longer than I have. I guess it takes one to know one.

Good Astrology Bloggery (+Benazir Bhutto).

Tom Coates, an early blogger, in 2001 re-discovered an old newspaper column by Keith Waterhouse, in which he had listed his own rules for good column writing. The article can be accessed via the link above. Tom Coates considered that some of Keith's 25 points are as helpful in blogging as in column writing.

Keith Waterhouse was a favourite newspaper columnist of mine, back in the UK. He's seen below (left) with Peter O'Toole, doing what journalists love to do.



I chose 9 points from Keith's list of 25, and added minor modifications and comments, in red. Not only is astrology blogging different from newspaper column writing, it's also different from straightforward blogging - but these points still gave me some useful insights.

The body of this post was drafted a few days ago. Yesterday's dreadful news, of Benazir Bhutto's assassination, highlights some of Keith's points, as well as the sterling work of our astrologers and bloggers who commented on the tragedy, using a variety of astrological references.

(i) It's not so much what you say as the way that you say it. Your column(blog) must have a distinctive voice, to the extent that if your byline(blog name) were accidentally dropped, your readers would still know who was writing. If your style isn't instantly recognisable, what you have there is not a column(blog) but a signed article. (I think he meant "un-signed"?)

(ii) The fact that your column (blog) contains no facts does not mean that you need not have checked them like any other journalist. In other words, you must be sure of your case. You are allowed to generalise - "Our children are the worst educated in Europe" only if your wild generalisations, when tamed, can be substantiated.We should make sure it's possible to "tame" generalised remarks, such as...erm..
"there are more geniuses born with Sun in Aquarius than any other sign". (I do remember seeing that in print, more than once, over the years!)

(iii)Avoid kneejerk reactions. You don't necessarily have to produce a paragraph every time Fergie(or Bush) does something stupid or a politician's wife announces that she's standing by him. If the readers can predict what you're going to say, there's little point in saying it - and even less in their reading it.This one could apply to astrology bloggers, except that sometimes, what happened to a well-known individual might serve to illustrate an astrological point.

(iv) Let the bandwagon roll by. Even if every columnist(blogger) in the land is commenting on the mother unjustly sent to prison or the teacher who handcuffed the child to a radiator,(or a comet, or eclipse, or a celestial peculiarity), you don't have to jump aboard unless you have something to say that the others haven't already said.Same applies here as in (iii).

(iv)On the other hand, although it's not always necessary to write about the main news event of the day, there are times when the occasion demands it. Given a Hillsborough (for those in the US, this could read "New Orleans") disaster, for example, there is no point in writing about anything else since nobody will be talking about anything else.New ideas or a different astrological perspective would ensure readers do actually read, not just glance, at your hard work though. It may still be best to desist, after a brief mention of the topic, unless fresh inspiration presents itself..

(vi)Don't ever try to fake it. Nothing is so transparent as insincerity - pile on the adjectives though you may, false indignation has the ring of a counterfeit coin.This applies to all writing, I guess. If we don't have confidence in a particular astrological method or process, it's best not to try to write about it sounding as though we do..

(vii)Do not expose your spouse to the glare of the public - especially not by the whimsical name of Him Indoors or She Who Must Be Obeyed. The same goes for the misadventures or quirky comments of your family and the daffy behaviour of your family's dog.Ooops! Here's one I'm guilty of. ("HeWhoKnows" = my husband). The internet is somewhat different from newspapers, and bloggers are in a different situation from newspaper columnists. Anonymity is commonplace in internet communication of all kinds, for a variety of reasons.

(viii)There is no real need to mention that you have been on radio or television again. Your readers no longer regard it as any big deal.Any astrologer or blogger who manages to get themself in front of a radio mic or TV camera - heck - shout it from the rooftops! Astrology needs all the exposure it can get.

(ix) Should you wear a hat, do not ever offer to eat it. Predictions are for astrologers. If you do make a prediction and you are wrong, as you are almost certain to be, don't start your subsequent column(Blog) with the words "All right, so I have egg on my face". Forget it. Your readers already have.This one speaks for itself to astrology bloggers, and especially to me in view of yesterday's tragic news about Benazir Bhutto.

Although I didn't actually try to predict anything in my blog post about her last summer HERE, my comment that "nothing but good can come of her return to Pakistan" was most unwise. I finished the posting with one of her quotations: "You can imprison a man, but not an idea. You can exile a man, but not an idea. You can kill a man, but not an idea." I hope her ideas will not die with her.



R.I.P. Benazir Bhutto - the world could ill afford to lose you, especially at this point in history.