astrology – Blog From A Hermit Dot Com

Coming as comic relief from all this week’s mayhem and natural disasters is the “news” that (with the use of their more accurate tools) astronomers, in an attempt to help the astrological community become more scientific ( huh?), have come up with a new astrological grid and added a 13th Zodiac sign to help us get more accurate about the stars’ impact on our personalities. Of course, the Internet has upped the volume of this unlikely twain between astronomy and astrology.

I did a post awhile back about my birth date having placed me on the Libra-Scorpio astrological cusp, which made for fun and frivolous dialog in my dating years (the highest value I’ve ever placed in astrology and astrological predictions). But I’ve always enjoyed a good laugh – so I thought I’d run a bit with the impact of the new grid (which theoretically takes the earth’s wobble into account).

Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16.
Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11.
Pisces: March 11-April 18.
Aries: April 18-May 13.
Taurus: May 13-June 21.
Gemini: June 21-July 20.
Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10.
Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16.
Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30.
Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23.
Scorpio: Nov. 23-29.
Ophiuchus: Nov. 29-Dec. 17.
Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20.

Suddenly, not only am I no longer a Libra-Scorpio cusp – but in the new “more scientific astrology,” I’m not even a Libra anymore. (Makes me feel all out of balance in some mysterious way.) I’ve apparently fallen backward into the previous birth sign – Virgo. Does this mean the stars – or my stars – have changed so much that I’ve suddenly become someone else entirely? Or maybe you get to keep your old sign if you’re over 50 and were a Libra at birth back when the stars were all somewhere else.

And who decides when the stars have changed enough that I’m not who I used to be – the astrologists or the astronomers? Very scary, either way. But nowhere near as scary as the fact that both NBC’s nightly news and our local evening news ran this non-story as news, neither with any reference to the “new” astrological schemata as an interdisciplinary jab not a done deal. The local news even included it as one of their three “top story” headliners. (I will give NBC’s Brian Williams and our local anchor people credit – at least they delivered the story somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Williams even had the grace to look embarrassed.)

Since a little surfing demonstrates that mate-seeking is the arena that sells the most astrological “readings,” let’s see what happens with Griz and me on the new grid. Back when I was a Libra-Scorpio cusp, I was, theoretically, particularly compatible with any Sagittarius-Capricorn cusps that happened my way – and behold – Griz was one that happened my way about 30 years ago.

But now what will happen? At what point did Griz’ and my stars become so misaligned that the outlook for the success of our relationship has tumbled to this level (addition of the new Ophiuchus sign keeps Griz a Sagittarius).

Virgo Woman and Sagittarius Man
The basic personality of a Virgo woman does not match with that of a Sagittarius man. In fact, both are poles apart. He is untamed and lives a life full of excitement and adventure. She, on the other hand, is very serious towards life and prefers to stay away from any kind of experiments. He will not be able to fulfill her needs of security and safety. In fact, he is more probable to make her feel anxious and apprehensive. She believes in loyalty and he has a flirtatious nature. He will grow tired of her predictability and excessive carefulness. – astrology/compatibility

Predictability and excessive carefulness? Naw, don’t feel any of that coming on. (The fact that I’m actually doing another astrology post should provide some verification.) Well, maybe I’m a little more careful about some things than I was in my youth – after all, this body’s not quite as flexible or quick to recover from trauma. But I always thought that particular change was the result of normal wear and tear from living many years in planet Earth’s gravity. Had no clue it might be because my stars had completely realigned.

Just goes to show – if you live long enough – the universe will realign around you whether you’re working at it or not. Not to mention that entertainment will become news and news will become entertainment.

Never doubted either of those for a minute.

According to one friend, my October Balance post was a clear expression of my astrological sign: Libra. Well – perhaps. Personally, I file astrology under occasional Libra fun, entertainment – and maybe an attractive piece of jewelry. I’ve never had my chart done, I rarely invest more than a passing thought or occasional glance at my horoscope; but today, for some reason, I decided to do a little follow-up research on a comment from my youth (by a hopeful suitor). After all, the vast annals of Astrology.com are just a few clicks away now.

My birthday means my sun sign is not simply Libra. Having been born near the change date from one sun sign to the next, I’m actually a Libra-Scorpio Cusp. According to my suitor (way back then): “Libra-Scorpio Cusps are well-balanced sex maniacs.”

My reply: “If one is going to be a sex maniac, it’s probably best to be well-balanced about it.” Whether this fellow and I further explored this interesting label is none of your business, and whatever happened was billions of years ago anyway.

My online research today was a quick check to see if there is any astrological basis at all for the sex-maniac comment. (I’ve long been aware of the Libran balance part of the equation.) Here’s Astrology.com’s initial paragraph about Libra-Scorpio Cusps:

Libra is the seventh sign of the zodiac; Scorpio is the eighth. After Libra’s intellectual exploration of other people, Scorpio’s interest is in discovering other people’s emotions and how they respond to the world around them. Scorpio is the sign of sex and death, the beginning and ending, and they explore these ideas from an emotional standpoint. Libra/Scorpios strive to create balance and harmony between self and other through investigation and probing. They are often strongly intuitive and penetrating. They have a need to be liked.

So since Scorpio is the sign of sex and death, and Libra goes for balance and harmony, there is some astrological legitimacy to my date’s synopsis. Of course, I might be a well-balanced death maniac – but that was less relevant to my date’s objective. No, I do not remember what his astrological sign was, so who knows if we were astrologically compatible – which probably didn’t really matter to either of us. I also don’t remember his name – take that little nugget of information off to wherever you wish.

Like most healthy human beings, there was a phase of my youth in which hormones and curiosity combined to rank sex quite high on the motivational priority scale of my life. I don’t think I was ever particularly maniacal in its pursuit, though. I think my sexual philosophy was then and is still quite well-balanced:

Best when pursued within the context of a caring emotional bond, though not without its merits as an emotional-bond initiator and cultivator.
Enjoy fully (both physically and emotionally). Sex is a celebration of life. If you aren’t incorporating a fair amout of smiling and laughing (well, at least giggling) into the exchange, you may be taking sex (and possibly life) too seriously.
Not worth risking your life over.

I don’t think I’ve ever been particularly maniacal about anything really: not sex, death, money, love, politics. I lean toward the well-balanced side of the cusp – which is undoubtedly astrologically verified by the fact that my birthday’s on the Libra side of the cusp not the Scorpio.

Astrology.com”s “need to be liked” sentence seems a little off. Sure, I like to be liked, but I think my love of solitude takes me at least one rung down from NEED.

Ah-hah! Maybe I’m maniacal about solitude?

Nah – I’m even a balanced hybrid in the hermit arena.

My wanderings into astrology today confirmed that the descriptions are general enough to apply to (and flatter) almost anyone who’s curious enough to follow the path – a worthy choice for an hour’s entertainment. I am not passing judgment on those who are serious astrology buffs. I realize there is much more to the whole deal than simple sun signs and birthdays. If that’s where your interest takes you – go for it.

An interesting curiosity surfaced though: one of the most astrologically compatible mates for a Libra-Scorpio cusp is a Sagittarius-Capricorn cusp.

Coincidentally, my true-love, Griz, is a Sagittarius-Capricorn cusp. How about that? Worth a ponder…

“In the magical universe, there are no coincidences and there are no accidents. Nothing happens unless someone wills it to happen.” – William S. Burroughs