A life well-lived

Leo 2021

Leo season – a time for the heart rather than the head. As I write, the tragic events unfolding in Afghanistan are filling media outlets. And there is suffering everywhere. As if Haiti didn’t have enough to be going on with, the latest earthquake has brought even more heartbreak. And of course, Coronavirus issues have brought untold hardship and pain.

Last month, in my post about the Moon, I discussed the need to balance the two opposing signs of Capricorn and Cancer. It’s the same issue with the signs of Leo and Aquarius. The need for balance in all the sign pairs affects all of us — not just those with the signs strong in their horoscopes.

Leo – the heart

Leo can be a warm and generous sign. It is ‘hearty’ and leads from the heart. The sign is ruled by the Sun. I often say we should follow our astrological Sun, our true heart. Embracing your ‘sign’ can lead you to a good, happy and fulfilled life. For me, the Sun represents our calling, our vocation. The world needs our happy hearts!

But …  oh dear, the shadow of Aquarius

Aquarius is a mental, fixed sign. A lot of the turmoil I see occurring in the world today is caused by a fixed viewpoint. An unwillingness to change from a particular way of thinking. Aquarius is safe when there is a model. I am aware of this myself, as being an Aquarian, I know that having a model for how the world works — astrology — is my security blanket. I feel calmer when there seems to be an explanation and I can find a way to understand something. God knows, we all need something that helps in this mad world today.

The Taliban and COVID

However, I try not to push my views onto others. This is not the case for the Taliban. Their strict ideology causes pain to many, particularly women, but also to the many families who have had members killed or persecuted for having different ways of viewing life.

And take the COVID measures. As I wrote in my post on narrative control, we are only allowed to hear about one method of dealing with it. There is one approved model. And modelling comes up in all the discussions about appropriate measures. These models have often been woefully inadequate! Any opposing views are simply ‘disappeared’.

Instead of looking at what would be a loving way to cope, the decisions are all ‘head’ based. Don’t get me wrong, I would hate to be having to make decisions for a country. But much of it seems cold and heartless. And too ruthless for what is happening on the ground. Did people really need to die alone or give birth alone? When Aquarius is detached from heart energy, it can be extremely harsh and uncaring.

Technology

Aquarius is a sign associated with technology. Haven’t we got totally out of balance with that? The thought of being tracked by our phones (and it is becoming mandatory to have a mobile phone), vaccination passports or anything else, should scare us. Not to mention our dependence on technology. And the development of biotech and gene techniques, although magnificent — scientifically speaking — can and will end up in the hands of people who don’t have our interests at heart, if history is anything to go by.

The use of a brilliant mind to make money can be a big factor in overriding our humanity. Again this is Aquarius dominating Leo.

Climate change

It’s the same on issues involving the climate. We are allowed one narrative. In fact, the latest IPCC report that came out this month, states pretty much that everything is our (humanity’s) fault. It is a ‘code red for humanity’. Now I know very little about the subject, but I do know that dissenting opinions on climate change very rarely see the light of day in media terms. There are qualified scientists who believe we are heading for cooler climes. And that Aquarian phenomenon, modelling, an inaccurate science at best, but sometimes all we have, is involved here too. But where are the open-hearted discussions on these views? Aquarius never likes to admit that it is wrong!

Head vs. heart

In my Leo post last year, I wrote of collective trauma. We don’t need another hero discussed what this might be for Leo, and how following our own hearts can be a Leo remedy. However, we also need to address the opposite sign of Aquarius, which I feel is way out of balance in its dominance. The heart is far away from many decisions being made today on the global stage.

Equilibrium

So what would this pair look like if there was equilibrium? A heart and a mind in unison? Fun and innovation. Both Leo and Aquarius are very creative signs. Leo inspires and Aquarius innovates. Pairing ‘off-the-wallness’ with playfulness is the way to go. Aquarius can stop Leo doing anything really dumb. Leo can bring Aquarius back to childlike wonder. We need to check our ideas with what we feel in our hearts. Love vs. cleverness-because-we-can. Leo dares — Aquarius thinks. We need both. Do our innovations lead to better lives for everyone? Aquarius is for the group – not for the Leo ego.

The powers that be

There is still a lot of blaming going on. Our fault on the climate. Our fault on COVID – not sticking to the script and the rules. Biden blames the Afghan army. We are posting disinformation! We are using too much plastic and we are eating too much meat. We are eating junk. Sure — we need to take responsibility for some of this. But most of this blaming just makes us feel like we should be doing better, that we’re not good enough. It’s all quite depressing. Most of us want to feel we have lived a positive life, but many who don’t care about leading a good life are those calling the shots and implementing their models.

If you do care …

You need to be aware of dominant narratives, otherwise you will be living a life full of fear, and that is never conducive to a life well-lived. It leads only to death-bed regrets. We need to have brave hearts to follow our true calling. That leads to the Aquarian quality of feeling free and special, and to Leo pride.

Climate change

The current narrative is supposed to scare us, but to what end? I don’t care if the climate is cooling or warming, as I feel I can’t make that much impact on it. But we really need to treat the earth and all her creatures better. There are people who could have a considerable impact on that, but many of them just don’t care. However, I can, in my small way, do something about it. My favourite goddess Ceres would like that, as she wants us to wake up to how much damage we are causing our fellow creatures.

The earth will survive I am sure, whatever we do to her. The way we are treating her will affect her creatures more than it will her, and that includes us! So what advice can Ceres give us? I think what Ceres is doing in your horoscope can provide some tips to help and maybe that can make you feel better about doing your bit for the planet.

Some examples

Ceres in …	Ability and example
Aries or with Mars	Defending and lobbying for the earth. Greta Thunberg — eco warrior.
Taurus or with Venus	Doing something practical for earth’s creatures. Jane Goodall.
Gemini or with Mercury	Writing or speaking about the earth or the environment. Or Ceres:) I have this one.
Cancer or with the Moon	Using and promoting sustainable healthy food. Jamie Oliver has Ceres in Taurus with links to the Moon. Boyan Slat, the Dutch inventor of an ocean clean up device – protecting water.
Leo or with the Sun	A figurehead for the environment. David Attenborough.
Virgo or with Mercury	Using pure food for health and Ceres is associated with bees – interesting that Beyonce has beehives on her roof to take advantage of healing honey.
Libra or with Venus	Showing the beauty of the earth and making us aware of it  – Eddy (see below) had this one.
Scorpio or with Pluto	Using your power to transform views on animals. Russell Brand has Ceres in Taurus with an aspect to Pluto – he uses his powerful platform to show his love of animals and the fact that he is Vegan.
Sagittarius or with Jupiter	A philosophy for the earth. Rachel Carson’s book ‘Silent Spring’ was instrumental in the environmental movement. She has Ceres in Cancer together with Jupiter (strategy and philosophy) and wants to protect us from pesticides.
Capricorn or with Saturn	Building environmentally friendly structures. Frank Lloyd Wright has Ceres in Scorpio next to Saturn. His buildings fit the landscapes they are placed in and have very organic forms.
Aquarius or with Uranus	Telling the truth and speaking out on environmental issues. Michelle Obama has Ceres in Sagittarius (politics) with links to Uranus.
Pisces or with Neptune	Protecting water – Leonardo DiCaprio has many aspects with Ceres in Pisces – clean water access is just one of his ideals.

A life well-lived 

This month, I attended the funeral of a wonderful photographer. Eddy was a very successful, well-known and well-loved photographer here in Amsterdam. I think he enjoyed his life, even though he said he wasn’t ready to leave this wonderful world at the age of 90.

Although I didn’t know him well (I met him through his wife) I had heard some of his fascinating stories around the kitchen table and of course seen his work — at home and in exhibitions. The funeral was a heart-warming celebration of his life with a lot of humour, befitting of a true, curious Gemini.

I think Eddy followed his Gemini heart by telling stories in word and image. And he also had a way with words. He was quoted during the funeral as saying “Fotografie is keihard kijken’. It’s a bit difficult to translate but kijken means ‘to look’ and keihard means ‘as hard as nails’. It’s a wonderful way of expressing what he means about what makes a good photo. Goede reis, lieve Eddy.

Faye Blake

Interesting websites

Some of Eddy’s work can be seen on the Fotomuseum site

Quote of the month

A very Aquarius – Leo quote from the film Braveheart.
“Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it.” Malcolm Wallace