Jeff's Tumblelog

Jupiter-Neptune Conjunction and Facebook’s Recent Change in Privacy Policy #astrology

Facebook has recently rolled out changes in its privacy policy, recommending that users, by default, share their status updates with Everyone - meaning that status updates will eventually be indexed by Google and other search engines. The Director of Corporate Communications and Public Policy at Facebook recently shared the following with ReadWriteWeb: “By making the world more open and connected, we’re expanding understanding between people and making the world a more emphathetic place.” This is Jupiter-Neptune in Aquarius in action: expanding one’s reach on the web to build a sense of connectedness and foster empathy among people.

Why I Don’t Write About Astrology Much Anymore

Not that anyone’s been begging me to blog more, but as I read the occasional astrology blog post outside of Sasstrology, I realize that it’s not that I don’t believe in astrology - because I do - but that I just don’t have the curiosity anymore. Sure, right now I could be looking at Tiger Wood’s chart, but I just don’t care enough.

Frankly, I don’t care to become a better astrologer anymore, and I don’t feel motivated to prove my worth to the reading public. I labored for years, over the course of three astrology blogs, to earn the respect of my peers (or at least those peers whom I value).

Right now, all I care about is making enough money to support my family. I have chosen to pursue the path of self-employment, after having acknowledged to myself that I do not like working at a traditional job. (Never mind that right now I’m working even harder than I did at any job, for a much smaller salary; when I do make a decent living, I will know that I did it by working my ass off on something that I genuinely care about, using my skills and talents.)

I have accepted that part of my karma is that I am not a client-attracting magnet of an astrological counselor. I believe I “give good reading,” but I never bring in enough income from consultations to ever think it could be a significant source of income. Rather, I am a publisher and editor.

Nearly a whole Jupiter cycle before I even started studying astrology, I was working on my high school literary magazine. And then in college I saved a floundering second-rate literary mag as editor-in-chief, managing to publish one issue before I graduated. After I dropped out of my first Phd program, I strongly considered working in San Francisco media, only to be discouraged by how difficult it was to even get a proofreading job.

The point being that this is something I believe I do well, and that it was my first passion. (Along with music, but I quickly accepted that the life of a touring jazz pianist is not for me.)

So there it is. Maybe I just have my head below the water, and once I’m no longer in survival mode, I’ll feel driven to analyze charts again. But I make no promises!

Last night I learned that one of the mothers of my daughter’s primary school friends is in a coma, and due to brain damage it’s likely the doctors will pull the plug. This news has thrown my family members into a loop. I find it disconcerting that one’s consciousness (let alone physical body) can change for the worse so suddenly (Uranus notwithstanding). You can’t really depend on anything; life is so unpredictable.

I feel that all I can do (as a “take home”) is keeping doing what I feel passionate about. Yet I feel so anxious about a new project I’m pursuing that I feel very little serenity in my life right now. More like an urgency combined with insecurity, supplemented with a dash of conviction that I’m doing the right thing. I have no idea if it will be successful, but I know that if I don’t try I will be letting myself down.

Mercury conjunct Saturn in my First House = Getting serious about my health

I’m having to reluctantly accept that coffee, alcohol and chocolate have to be cut from my diet. Not in a 100% abstinence kinda way — I don’t think I could survive — but in a “If I don’t make some major changes in my diet I’m going to run my body into the ground.” Simply put, I have some health problems that would be significantly reduced if I just cut down on what practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine call “heat-producing foods.”

It sucks, because sometimes I feel it is these substances that get me through the day, either to stay alert or to calm down. Instead, I need to drink more tea, and then relaxing herb teas in the evening (although beer is more “cooling” than other alcoholic beverages because it is grain-based, so maybe I can get away with a few).

Ideally, I’d make lifestyle choices that help me deal with my stress. But I already do yoga every morning for 45 minutes, and I dance my ass off usually twice a week. I don’t like sitting meditation. I’m sure I’d be less stressed if I were at a cushy, well-paying job, but I’ve made decision to forge my own path, which is inherently insecure.

So, now that I’m having some serious (Saturn) thoughts (Mercury) about my health (Virgo in the First House), I’m hereby making a commitment to change my diet.

I watched ep. 3 of #Glee this morning when I ought to have been working. I’m not as excited about it as I was when the pilot debuted a few months ago. Corny as it sounds, I wanted to watch them singing “Don’t Stop Believin’” numerous times.

But now, I feel that the musical numbers are over-produced. There’s nothing raw, or even a cappella, about the arrangements.

And what’s with the boy band crap?

Right now I hate the Beatles. I’m sitting at a cafe in my neighborhood because I’m too restless to work in my home office all day, yet too impatient to actually jump on a bus or train just to go to a better cafe. So I have to listen to early Beatles in this very square cafe. I’ve tweeted and facebooked about this earlier this week, and I feel like I’m complaining, but jeezus why did we move to Windsor Terrace? I liked Park Slope better, even though we didn’t have a backyard or, you know, ROOM. But there is absolutely nothing cool in this neighborhood. The only sushi place closed because it wasn’t patronized enough .. and it was GOOD.

This is a concession I’ve made for family life. I can live with it. And I can occasionally trek to Clinton Hill or wherever.

But please, can this stupid cafe change the music without me having to make the request???