April 2008

Planning & Scheduling Living in Accord with the Seasons The Sun has moved into vedic Aries, bringing movement, flirtation, light-heartedness and play. Mercury joins the Sun in Aries for the 2nd half of April, coming aboveground for some quick and progress-interested communications. Write these dates into your calendar: May 26 - June 18, Mercury is retrograde. Review, rewrite, edit, comb through for accuracy. Wait until after June 18 to initiate projects or sign contracts. Leave plenty of time to get home from Memorial Day weekend on Monday the 26th. Venus moves into vedic Aries on April 26, and stays there until May 21. Expect some exuberant and fun displays of affection, between friends, lovers, loved ones. Venus moves into vedic Taurus from May 21 - June 13, a time for sensual enjoyments. Mars finishes his unusually long (6.5 month long) soujourn through vedic Gemini, moving into Cancer for a short month and a half. You may feel a movement away from exploring all the options, and toward setting up your home and inner environments for stability - establishing a solid "basecamp." Mars and Saturn will join up in July in vedic Leo, signifying a period of pushing through to finish up a piece of work, leaving little time for cocooning. So get the cocoon set up now. Jupiter retrogrades through vedic Sag. as of May 9th, for roughly 4 months, getting us to review new understandings, implement new teachings, research new opportunities. Uranus and Saturn continue to travel in opposite signs in the sky, a dance they will do for the next 4 years or so. This represents our collective questioning of the rigidity in tradition and scrutinizing the naivete in innovation. Saturn turns direct, (after having been retrograde since Dec. 19), encouraging practical actions taken toward addressing any life limitations, obligations or losses. Neptune conjoins Rahu in Aquarius for the last week in April and the first week in May, creating an actual weather possibility around unusually strong thunder and lightning storms, and stormy seas. Maybe postpone the boat cruise?...

Broadcasting Conversations with the Moon This month, the full moon takes place on Sunday, April 20th, at 3:27am PDT, in the vedic lunar sign of Swati. This lunar sign is connected to mass distribution, of ideas, understandings, and the seeds of intentions. The full moon in this constellation brings full flowering to messages or findings that are ripe for distribution, in many forms, such as novels, news broadcasts and podcasts and webcasts, music, classes and trainings, and announcements. Creative projects receive an extra dose of momentum since this moon's ruler Venus is currently so strong. So if you have something you've been waiting for the right moment to release, and it feels fully formed, now's a time when your world is listening. For a taste of the power of this Swati full moon, download the free podcast from iTunes, of Oprah conducting a 10-week class with Eckhart Tolle, on his new book, "A New Earth." Write this day into your calendar: Monday, May 5 - the New Moon in Bharani. The weekend leading up to this new moon is an absolutely excellent time for spring cleaning.

the interview by Ani DiFranco how can one talk on the role of politics in art when art is activism and anyway both are just a lifelong light shining through a swinging prism