Mars kickin' it through Gemini

The pace of life sure seems to be picking up since Mars entered Gemini a few days ago. Of course, compared to the glacial progress of Mars through Taurus, anything would seem zippy. There were a few fallow weeks in February when many tantalizing work possibilities dangled from a lofty branch, but no fruit was actually falling from the tree; now, I'm so busy I can't think straight, and there's no way I'm going to complain about it!

I don't know what's going on in the world outside my tiny one, and not just because I'm busy. I've taken a perhaps permanent hiatus from following politics and world affairs, a withdrawal precipated by the Democrats' dismal performance during the Alito hearings. That was the proverbial straw that broke this camel's back. I now bypass Salon, Daily Kos, the Huffington Post, and Wonkette on my daily travels through the internet, no longer even watch the Daily Show. I've joined the legions of Americans who don't know what's going on and don't give a rat's ass, and I'm quite a bit happier as a result.

Oh, I catch the occasional whisp of information as it floats through the atmosphere... for instance, I gather Cheney shot someone, which doesn't seem like that big a deal given all the people he's killed in Iraq, but you know, whatever. Something something DUBAI. Yada yada AVIAN FLU. Whatever. Five years is long enough to live perched on the edge of heartbreak and insanity. Stick a fork in me, I'm done.

I guess with transiting Mars opposing my Ascendant, that's an unfortunate turn of phrase. Someone just might decide to take me up on it. Don't seat me next to Cheney at your next dinner party.

Venus and Mars are all right tonight.

Happy Valentine's Day, if you're into that kind of thing. I loathed it, of course, when I was single; none of my boyfriends were given to romantic gestures of any kind, and at the time - sitting at the office, watching my coworkers walk by with lavish bouquets from doting suitors - this really bothered me. Now that I'm married, I could not care less about Valentine's Day. Just goes to show... it's not flowers and candy and cards we want, it's simply someone to love and share our lives with.

Funnily enough, the spouse and I got engaged on Valentine's Day 1993. It wasn't terribly romantic. We sat out on the stoop of my little duplex and ate takeout Chinese (okay, so maybe there was some champagne involved), and later got to talking about the practical advantages of getting married. Before we knew what hit us, we were planning a wedding. All without the benefit of the diamond-ring, down-on-one-knee MGM version of romance... and very, very satisfying.

Well, here's to love this Valentine's Day, and with Venus in Capricorn trine Mars in Taurus, I imagine most will want tangible and impressive expressions of their sweetheart's affection. More power to you if that's what you want and what you can get. But if you're on your own this Valentine's Day, take it from an old married lady: someday you'll find someone sweet who shows their love to you every day, in a thousand small and practical ways, with real, goofy, and spontaneous affection. And chances are, you'll hardly notice Valentine's Day at all.

Leo Full Moon article posted at Big Sky Astrology

Full Moon in Leo
Sun., Feb. 12, 2006
8:44 pm PST / 11:44 pm EST
Sun 24.20 Aquarius
Moon 24.20 Leo

In honor of the Full Moon on Sunday: my latest article, The Cat and the Computer, is up at my website:

The Full Moon in Leo reminds us that all creatures want to feel special and loved, and nothing makes us feel that way more than personal attention from those we care about. Right now, with Mars moving through the last, aching degrees of Taurus, in difficult aspect to the Sun in Aquarius and Moon in Leo, there are plenty of troubles to distract us from life’s inherent joyfulness. The Sun in Aquarius naturally tilts our focus skyward for solutions, gazing into the future and into our computer screens, scanning an invisible horizon for lightning bolts of inspiration.... hen we are gazing at the stars, or into the limitless horizon of the Internet, it’s easy to overlook what’s all around us at ground level....

astrobarry is huggable.

Make with the quick clicky-clicky, and get on over to astrobarry's site, which I can only describe as... huggable. Adorable, in a completely non-nauseating way, plus smart and funny. Can one be cyber-smitten by a website? I am, friends, I am.