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JANELLE MONAE SAYS “Q.U.E.E.N.” IS FOR THE “OSTRACIZED & MARGINALIZED”
Exclusive Interview
The ‘Electric Lady’ details her new LP’s single: “I wanted to create something for people who feel like they want to give up because they’re not accepted by society”
Atlanta R&B whiz Janelle Monae scored her highest-charting album yet with The Electric Lady, which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 this week. The album was led by the funky single “Q.U.E.E.N.,” a title that stands for much more than just a powerful female.
“‘Q.U.E.E.N.’ definitely is an acronym,” Monae explains during an interview at Fuse HQ. “It’s for those who are marginalized.” She says the “Q” represents the queer community, the “U” for the untouchables, the “E” for emigrants, the second “E” for the excommunicated and the “N” for those labeled as negroid.
“It’s for everyone who’s felt ostracized,” she adds. “I wanted to create something for people who feel like they want to give up because they’re not accepted by society.”
While the 27-year-old closes the soul track with a fiery rap section (“March to the streets / Cause I’m willing and I’m able / Categorize me / I defy every label!”), Monae says she’s hesitant to call herself a rapper. Or even a singer for that matter.
“I just like to communicate,” she says. “If the lyrics call for something more urgent, which that rap did, then I’ll take that route. I wanted to make sure, just in case, if anyone had any questions about what this song was about that I was able to bring it home with the message.”
…
http://www.fuse.tv/videos/2013/09/janelle-monae-queen-interview
Non-Taoist posting…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac181Xp2-Dg (acceptheadoverheels)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg_I8j6LrIM (judaspriestrawdeal)http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidmacdougall/2014/10/13/porn-in-the-post-youve-got-male/print/
When the Finnish post office announced it would release a set of stamps commemorating a famous artist, the images set pulses racing for more than just hard core philatelists.
Last month, the first stamps went on sale and became a runaway success, showcasing the work of Touko Laaksonen, whose homoerotic artwork is better known under the nom de plume Tom of Finland.
Tens of thousands of Tom of Finland stamp sheets were pre-ordered before issuing, from our web shop explains Markku Penttinen, Development Director at the Finnish postal service. The top five countries where most of the orders came were Finland, England, Sweden, USA and France he adds. Eager collectors in more than 170 other countries also pre-ordered the stamps.
The designs come in three eye-catching (not to mention eyebrow-raising) designs, classic Tom of Finland poses featuring strong masculine men with bulging features, and leather accessories: the uniformed man, casually smoking a cigarette, with a naked man at his feet; the view of a mans naked buttocks from behind as another man gazes at his genitals. These are the images that caught the imagination of gay America in the 1950s when they were first published in Physique Pictorial, and whose appeal endures to this day.
Tom of Finlands art is high artistic quality, strong personal touch, joy and brave, a visual feast of male beauty make his work topical again and again says Katriina Rosavaara, Vice Chair of SETA, a Finnish gay rights organisation. Touko Laaksonen, who died in 1991, has explained that he wanted to create an imagine of gay masculinity that ran counter to the prevailing sentiment, that homosexual men were foppish, weak or girly. So he drew powerful characters like policemen and soldiers, or lumberjacks from his homeland. The men were partially or wholly undressed with prominent sexual characteristics. They were an instant hit with readers in America.
Out of thousands of Tom of Finland drawings, the Finnish post offices stamp design process narrowed down the field. Putting naked bodies on stamps was not new in Finland, but it hadnt been done in a long time. In 1949 we issued sauna-themed stamps with naked womens bodies says Markku Penttinen. We also knew that this issue will raise some discussion among customers, and it did. There are customers who do not like this kind of art he admits.
The issue of gay rights in Finland is a current political hot potato, perhaps surprising in a Nordic country otherwise known for a liberal and egalitarian way of life. The combination of a conservative Christian Democrat party propping up the government, and centre-right parties relying on an older rural voting population, means politicians have shied away from giving equal rights to gay people in the current parliament. Finland is the only Nordic nation without a marriage equality law.
Over half of the Finnish people support marriage equality says SETAs Rosavaara. It is difficult to say why the issue makes politicians so uncertain, especially, since Finland is known as a model for equality. I hope the marriage law will be mended as soon as possible.
Searching on Finnish websites, its not difficult to find opposition to the new Tom of Finland stamps.
It is morally wrong and bad to use these homoerotic images to represent the country, because in the world are many countries that hold homosexuality as unnatural form to practise sex says Petri Paavola, who runs a religious website from his home in eastern Finland. Finland shouldnt celebrate gay culture on stamps, but for example, show the rich and beautiful nature of Finland (or) some famous Finnish object of nature he adds.
Tom of Finlands art is controversial on another level too. The artist Touko Laaksonen first developed his style during Finlands Continuation War (1941-1944) when German troops were stationed in Helsinki. Much enamoured with the German military uniforms, Laaksonen enjoyed trysts with the soldiers and you can see design details from their uniforms reflected in his work: peaked caps, shiny thigh-high leather jackboots, eagle insignias. With the benefit of historical hindsight, there would seem to be a disconnect between an artist eroticising Nazi soldiers as part of a gay fetish, and the knowledge he must certainly have had about tens of thousands of gay German men arrested and imprisoned or sent to concentration camps.
It could be however, that this aspect of Laaksonens art is less about the politics of pogrom, and more to do with sensuality and sexuality. Based on what I have seen, I would estimate that it is about the aesthetics and imagery of his youth says Katriina Rosavaara from SETA.
The fact that such erotic images are featured on Finnish stamps shows how far the country has come from an era when aspiring artist Tuomo Laaksonen had to have secret sex meetings with German soldiers in the Helsinki darkness even if the Finns have still not fully embraced marriage equality.
The popularity of the stamps tells something about the change that has happened in the Finnish society says Rosavaara. In the last few years, his works have more and more been presented also in Finland and thus become more widely known. The current legislative issues, that interest the LGBTI community, have gotten a lot of attention, and we have been widely able to discuss the biggest problems and bring up our own views.
The Finnish post office only issued a limited number of 200,000 sheets of Tom of Finland stamps and once theyre sold no re-prints are planned.
Homoerotic artist Tom of Finland gets the official stamp of approval.
The Finnish postal service’s decision to use the artist’s bold images on a new set of stamps will make philatelic history, but he’s not the first gay hero to grace an envelope.
cigarette a new set of three stamps, to be issued in Finland in September, are among the most daring ever seen in the philatelic world. The images are by Tom of Finland, the legendary artist who was born in south-west Finland in 1920, and died in 1991. He created an archive of erotica with a distinct aesthetic vast-shouldered men in leather, denim and knee-high boots that is said to have influenced figures including Robert Mapplethorpe, Freddie Mercury and the Village People.
The male portraits on the Finnish stamps aren’t the most explicit of the artist’s work. His art very often pays tribute to a tumescence absent in the images chosen for these stamps. The Tom of Finland Foundation has said his early process often involved “locking himself in his room, stripping naked, and stroking himself with one hand while the other hand created on paper what he could seldom find on the streets”.
Even so, they are considerably more erotic than those usually seen on any nation’s envelopes. Dean Shepherd, editor of Gibbons Stamp Monthly, says that he has never seen homoerotic art on stamps before. Erotic art more generally? “No, it tends to be nude paintings reproduced on stamps, but as far as actual erotic art is concerned, I think this is the first time.” There was a bit of a storm in the early 1930s, he says, when the Spanish Postal Authority approved some stamps featuring Goya’s The Nude Maja a woman reclining naked. The US government apparently barred and returned any mail that bore it.
Stamps represent a country, and are the most public of media, so they rarely feature strongly sexual subjects, says Matt Hill, editor of Stamp and Coin Mart. When paying tribute to LGBT culture, it’s more usual for stamps to depict gay heroes.
In 2012, for instance, second world war codebreaker Alan Turing was featured in the Royal Mail’s Britons of Distinction series, and in May this year, a stamp featuring Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the US, will be launched with a ceremony at the White House. There is currently a campaign under way to honour gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin with a stamp, and the Gay and Lesbian History on Stamps Club, founded in New York in 1982, highlights other notable gay people who have featured. These include the artist Andy Warhol, the writer James Baldwin and the poet Elizabeth Bishop.
In 2010, the Austrian Post Office issued a stamp commemorating the 15th Rainbow Parade in Vienna, but perhaps the most joyful of all stamps celebrating gay culture are those created for a kingdom not recognised by any government. A group of gay rights activists founded the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands in 2004, in response to the Australian government’s refusal to recognise equal marriage, and a post office was set up. In July 2006, nine stamps were issued, with symbols including a pink triangle, red ribbon and the International Bear Brotherhood Flag.
Some good thoughts [above and below this] that are worth considering lately, which have inspired a few questions. Will let it cook until done. Meanwhile, there’s so much that I enjoy in this, perhaps especially because I don’t know anything for certain, other than the dance of yin and yang, with an ever-finer relationship in-between, including:
Janelle Monáe – Cold War, Live @ Nobel Peace Prize Concert 2011
Cold War Peace Concert
http://youtu.be/4f99Oe8sSz4https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4f99Oe8sSz4
http://thegreenleaf.co.uk/hp/Ikkyu/00ikkyu.htm
Ikkyu Sojun was a scandal-ridden Japanese Zen master. He was quite the erotic-minded monk and was highly influential in many spheres of art. Sam Hamill wrote this about him:“…(He) was renowned his teaching and for his frankly erotic poems and revolutionary shakuhachi music. Headmaster at japan’s huge Buddhist training centre, Daitokuji, in Kyoto, he resigned after nine days, denouncing the monks for hypocrisy and inviting them to argue their differences “in the whorehouses and sake parlours” where he could be found. At seventy, he scandalized the Buddhist community by moving his lover into his quarters in the templeHis sphere of influence included the tea ceremony, Noh drama, ink painting, calligraphy, and poetry, and he founded what became known as the “Red Thread” (or erotic) school of Zen.
~
Three Zen Masters by John Stevens
Context for Metropolis illustrations: Interview:
Monáe, 24, is a diva with a little something for everyone an R&B star whos also an art-rocker, a Broadway belter and a sci-fi nerd. Set in the year 2719, The ArchAndroid is a concept album about a robot named Cindi Mayweather, who is persecuted by humans but proves to be a Messianic figure for the denizens of a town called Metropolis. Monáe dreamt up the basics of the story after watching Metropolis, Fritz Lang’s 1927 classic set in a dystopian future. “It’s a black and white German expressionist film, but it represents what were still going through,” Monáe says. “It’s about the battle between the haves and the have-nots.”
– From Rolling Stone
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/artist-of-the-week-janelle-monae-20100630#ixzz3Ip5gsdHj
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on FacebookJanelle Monáe Robinson (born December 1, 1985),[6] known as Janelle Monáe /dʒəˈnɛl moʊˈneɪ/,[7] is an American psychedelic soul and R&B singer-songwriter, composer, and record producer signed to Wondaland Art Society, Bad Boy Records and Atlantic Records. After making a mark with her first unofficial studio album, The Audition CD release, Monáe debuted publicly with a conceptual EP: Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase). The EP had limited commercial impact, peaking at number 115 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.[8]
In 2010 Janelle Monáe released her “debut” studio album, The ArchAndroid, a concept album sequel to her first EP; it was released by Bad Boy Records. This album received critical acclaim and garnered a Best Contemporary R&B Album nomination at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. The song “Tightrope” was also nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance at the same ceremony. With this industry recognition the album has also been more successful commercially, officially reaching the number 17 spot on the Billboard 200.[9][10]
Her music has garnered Monáe a total of six Grammy Award nominations. In March 2012, “We Are Young”, the song by the band fun. on which Monáe appears as a guest vocalist, reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, her first appearance in the US Top 10. In August 2012, Monáe was chosen as the newest addition to the CoverGirl spokeswomen lineup. On September 10, 2013, Monáe released her second studio album, The Electric Lady, to critical acclaim. Boston City Council named October 16, 2013 “Janelle Monáe Day” in the city of Boston, Massachusetts in recognition of her artistry and social leadership.
– Wikipedia
Every day, priests minutely examine the Dharma
And endlessly chant complicated sutras.
Before doing that, though, they should learn
How to read the love letters sent by the wind
and rain, the snow and moon. Ikkyu SojunIkkyu Sojun was an eccentric, iconoclastic Japanese Zen Buddhist priest, poet and calligrapher. Though he had a notorious reputation as an erotic poet, the practical way to spiritual life is highlighted by the Zen poem quoted above. The grounding of the mental process in what the senses perceive around them in nature is a vital component of spiritual path.
There is a story of Ikkyu Sojun which brings out the depth of his practical spirituality.
Once he stayed in a temple. The night was very cold and there were three wooden Buddhas in the temple, so he burned one Buddha to warm himself. The priest, who was the custodian of the temple, became aware that something was going on, so he looked.
Buddha was burning! — and this man Ikkyu was sitting, happy, warming his hands. The priest became mad; he said, “What are you doing? Are you a madman? — and I thought you to be a Buddhist monk, that’s why I allowed you to stay in the temple. And you have done the most sacrilegious act.”
Ikkyu looked at the priest and said, “But the Buddha within me was feeling very cold. So it was a question whether to sacrifice the living Buddha to the wooden one, or to sacrifice the wooden one to the living one. And I decided for life.”…
Ikkyu in Love
Yesterday, the Sassistas! posted some of the poetry of 15th century Zen master Ikkyu Sojun from Crow with No Mouth. In this late seventies, Ikkyu scandalized the Buddhist community when he fell in love with a blind singer forty years younger and celebrated their love in verse. Following are four of Ikkyu’s love poems:
night plum blossoms spreading under a branch
between her thighs narcissus revolves smell it?
she’d play with it almost anywhere day and night
touch it with the deepest part of herself
a beautiful woman’s hot vagina’s full of love
I’ve given up trying to put out the fire of my body
a butterfly hovers in front of her face
how long will she sleep
The love letters … are natures energies that actualizes the innate potential in the seed.
St. Paul writing to the Romans says: For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made ..Romans 1:20.
In Chandogya Upanishad in part VI chapter 12 there is discussion on the True Self between Uddalaka and his son Svetaketu. This is by far a very apt example of how Divine nature can be understood. The discussion between father and son is as follows:
”Bring me a fruit of that nyagrodha (banyan) tree.” “Here it is venerable Sir.” “Break it.” “It is broken, venerable Sir.” “What do you see there?” “These seeds, exceedingly small, “Break one of these, my son.” “It is broken, venerable Sir.” “What do you see there?” “Nothing at all, venerable Sir.”
The father said: “That subtle essence, my dear, which you do not perceive therefrom that very essence this great nyagrodha arises. Believe me, my dear.
“Now, that which is the subtle essencein it all that exists has its self. That is the True. That is the Self. That thou art, Svetaketu.…
Even if I were a god or a Buddha youd be on
my mind.
I sit beneath the lamp, a skinny monk chanting
love songs.
The fierce autumn wind nearly bowls me over
And my heart is choked with thick clouds.From Wild Ways: Zen Poems of Ikkyu, translated by Jon Stevens © 2003 by White Pine Press. Reprinted with permission.
Ikkyu could sometimes be a troublemaker. Known to drink in excess, he would often upset Kaso with his remarks and actions to guests. In response, Kaso gave inka to Yoso and made him Dharma heir. Ikkyu quickly left the temple and lived many years as a vagabond. He was not alone, however, as he had a regular circle of notable artists and poets from that era. Around this time, he established a relationship with a blind singer Mori who became the love of his later life.
Ikkyu worked to live Zen outside of formal religious institutions. However, the Ōnin War had reduced Daitokuji to ashes, and Ikkyū was elected abbot late in life, a role he reluctantly took on. This firmly placed him in one of the most important Zen lineages. In 1481, Ikkyū died at the age of eighty-seven…
My life has been devoted to love play;
Ive no regrets about being tangled in red thread from
head to foot,
Nor am I ashamed to have spent my days as a
Crazy Cloud
But I sure dont like this long, long bitter autumn of
no good sex!Three Poems on Love and Longing
Day and night I cannot keep you out of my thoughts;
In the darkness, on an empty bed, the longing deepens.
I dream of us joining hands, exchanging words
of love,
But then the dawn bell shatters my reverie and rends
my heart.IF AT THE END OF OUR JOURNEY
THERE BE NO FINAL RESTING PLACE,
HOW CAN THERE BE
A WAY TO LOSE OURSELVES IN?SHAKYAMUNI,
THAT MISCHIEVOUS CREATURE,
HAVING APPEARED IN THE WORLD,
MISLED, ALAS,
HOW MANY PEOPLE!THE MIND —
WHAT SHALL WE CALL IT?
IT IS THE SOUND OF THE BREEZE
THAT BLOWS THROUGH THE PINES
IN THE INDIAN-INK PICTURE.THE MIND REMAINING
JUST AS IT WAS BORN —
WITHOUT ANY PRAYER
IT BECOMES THE BUDDHA.TELL A LIE,
AND YOU FALL INTO HELL.
THEN WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO BUDDHA
WHO CONTRIVED
THINGS THAT DON’T EXIST?…
THUS THINK OF YOURSELF.A MIND TO SEARCH ELSEWHERE
FOR THE BUDDHA
IS THE FOOLISHNESS
IN THE VERY CENTER OF FOOLISHNESS.Wild Ways: Zen Poems of Ikkyu
Lady Mori’s Gifted TouchBeautiful Graphic Illustration: http://www.horimatsu.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/jigokudayu.jpg
My hand is no match for that of Mori.
She is the unrivalled master of love play:
When my jade stalk wilts, she can make it sprout!
How we enjoy our intimate little circle.by Ikkyu, translated by John Stevens.
The following are all from: Beyond Self: 108 Korean Zen Poems
by Ko UnTHE HERMIT
Jang Ku-Song the hermit was busy shitting
when he heard frogs croaking. It made him
reciteThe croaking of frogs on moonlit nights in early spring
pierces the world from end to end, makes us all
one family.Look, if youve had your shit,
wipe yourself and get out of here.…
A SHOOTING STAR
Wow! You recognized me.
Was it really you
I saw? Is this joy I feel
Only in a dream?
– Teishin (1798 – 1873)Have you forgotten the way to my hut?
Every evening I wait for the sound of your footsteps
But you do not appear.
– Ryokan (1758 – 1831)He [Ryokan] respected everyone and bowed whenever he met anyone who labored, especially farmers. If anyone asked him to play the board game go or recite some of his poems, he would always comply. He was continually smiling, and everyone he visited felt as if “spring had come on a dark winter’s day.”
First days of spring – blue sky, bright sun.
Everything is gradually becoming fresh and green.
Carrying my bowl, I walk slowly to the village.
The children, surprised to see me,
Joyfully crowd about, bringing
My begging trip to an end at the temple gate.
I place my bowl on top of a white rock and
Hang my sack from the branch of a tree.
Here we play with the wild grasses and throw a ball.
For a time, I play catch while the children sing;
Then it is my turn.
Playing like this, here and there, I have forgotten the time.
Passers-by point and laugh at me, asking,
“What is the reason for such foolishness?”
No answer I give, only a deep bow;
Even if I replied, they would not understand.
Look around! There is nothing but this.Your response was good, I believe, because it came from a more authentic than academic experience.
“Even if it makes others uncomfortable, I will love who I am.”
“…
We must brave this night and have faith in loveI’m trying to find my peace
I was made to believe there’s something wrong with me
And it hurts my heart
Lord have mercy, ain’t it plain to see?That this is a cold war
Do you know what you’re fighting for?
This is a cold war
You better know what you’re fighting for…”
– from Cold War lyricsJust for fun:
Me…
I’m just having some fun and working on smiling into cobwebbed dark places…
More to come: I have some questions about HT tools, views, and policies that I’m not sure (i don’t know) about.Saturn is in 26 Degrees Scorpio.
You tend to release emotional energies only very reluctantly. This is partly due to your fear of what horrible calamity might occur should they be released — your emotions are terribly complicated and intense. Try not to repress these energies entirely, however, or you will succumb to negative and destructive forms of compulsive behavior. Give yourself the freedom to look awkward or silly once in a while. The relief you feel will be quite therapeutic and the embarrassment (whether it is real or imagined) will pass quickly.Uranus is in 17 Degrees Sagittarius.
You, and most of your peers, have the tendency to think that all ideas, customs and traditions from the past are outmoded and irrelevant. You are attracted to radically new ideas, philosophies and religions that will, hopefully, cause sweeping changes throughout the world.Neptune is in 03 Degrees Capricorn.
You, and your entire generation, will idealize work, practicality and the ability to attain reasonable goals. But, because you will also stress the need to be selfless and giving, you may find it difficult to attain your goals unless you have lowered your expectations on all fronts.Pluto is in 03 Degrees Scorpio.
For your entire generation, this is a period of intense research and discovery in areas that were heretofore considered mysterious, remote or taboo. The root causes for many complex occurrences will be unearthed due to the intensity and thoroughness of the search.Metropolis: The Chase Suite-Smile by Janelle Monáe; Love Letters of Bo Juyi to Yuan Zhen
Metropolis: The Chase Suite-Smile by Janelle Monáe
Metropolis: The Chase Suite-Smile
Metropolis: The Chase Suite-Smile
Joined Delight
The Gay Love Letters of Bo Juyi to Yuan Zhen and others
Excerpts from My Dear Boy: Gay Love Letters through the Centuries (1998), Edited by Rictor Norton
Copyright © 1997, 1998 by Rictor Norton. All rights reserved. Reproduction for sale or profit prohibited.
There is a very ancient and honorable homosexual literary tradition in China, and gay love poems are contained in the country’s earliest surviving anthology. Most gay men fulfilled their kinship interests (still the major factor in Chinese life today) by getting married, but they also maintained romantic homosexual affairs. The two major tropes for homosexual love “sharing peaches”, and “the passion of the cut sleeve” come from the story of Mizi Xia who gave a half-eaten peach to his lover Duke Ling of Wei (534493 BC), and the story of how the Emperor Ai (reigned 6 BC to 1 AD) cut off his sleeve rather than wake his sleeping favorite Dong Xian. These ancient images demonstrate that male-to-male love rather than just sex was important for establishing a specifically gay identity, and how imaginative metaphors are at least as important as pejortive labels. For two hundred years the Han Dynasty was ruled by ten openly bisexual emperors, and detailed biographies were written about their favorites. During the Tang Dynasty, more records survive describing gay life and romantic friendship outside of imperial circles. The Chinese poet Bo Juyi (772846) was one of the scholar-officials who served in the vast Chinese civil service, and became Governor of Suchow in 825. His fellow bureaucrats often were sent to provincial towns in the widespread empire, and he exchanged with them poems or verse-letters which are full of the expressions of romantic love. To his friend Qian Hui he sent a poetic souvenir of one winter night they spent together. His friend Yu Shunzhi sent him a bolt of patterned purple silk as a token of remembrance, and Bo Juyi replied how he would make this gift a symbol of their friendship. His greatest love was his fellow student Yuan Zhen (779831). They were both Collators of Texts in the Palace Library at the northern imperial city of Ch’ang-an, and they exchanged intimate poetry for several decades when different careers separated them and Yuan Zhen was sent to the eastern city of Lo-yang. Bo Juyi wrote to his beloved, “Who knows my heart as I think of you? / Its a captive falcon and a caged crane.” Even after a long separation they both became commissioners in different provinces, and it could take almost a year for their letters to reach one another Bo Juyi would sometimes dream that they were still together: “Awakening, I suspected you were at my side, / reached for you but there was nothingness.” Both poets got married; Yuan Zhen loved his wife but she died after only a few years; Bo Juyi’s wife “read no books” and he seems to have had no special intimacy with her; he built a cottage near a monastery where he would go to be alone. In his poem “Night Rain” (812) Bo Juyi speaks of his longing for Yuan Zhen: “There is one that I love in a far, far land; / There is something that harrows me, tied in the depths of my heart. / So Far is the land that I cannot visit him; / I can only gaze in longing, day on day. / So deep the sorrow that it cannot be torn away; / Never a night but I brood on it, hour, by hour.” In 814 Bo Juyi sent Yuan Zhan a sum of money equivalent to half a years salary, “Not that I thought you were bent on food and clothes, / But only because I felt tenderly towards you.” They were reunited briefly in 819, when both carved a poem on the rock outside a cave; they met again in 8212 and in 829. The two men had made a pact to live together as Taoist recluses in their retirement, but Yuan Zhen died after a sudden illness before this plan could be put into effect. Bo Juyi wrote two formal dirges to recite at his beloved’s funeral and three songs for the pall-bearers to sing.…
BO JUYI TO YUAN ZHEN
Last night the clouds scattered everywhere,
for a thousand leagues the same moon color.
At dawn’s coming I saw you in dreams;
it must be you were thinking of me.
In my dream I grasped your hand,
asked you what your thoughts were.
You said you thought of me with pain,
had no one to send a letter through.When I awoke, I still had not spoken in reply.
a knock-on-the-door sound, rap rap!
Saying, “A messenger from Shangzhou,”
he delivered a letter of yours.
From the pillow I rose sudden and startled,
putting on my clothes topsy-turvy.
I opened the seal, saw the hand-letter,
one sheet, thirteen lines.SOURCE: Trans. Howard S. Levy, Translations from Po Chü-i’s Collected Works, 4 vols. (repr. New York, 1971); and Arthur Walley, The Life and Times of Po Chü-i (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1949).
Based on some additional posts of yours, my comments of “you maybe wanting to say something but being simultaneously afraid to do so” is fairly accurate. Am I right on this?
Let me tell you a little story.
When I was a small child, my grandmother told me stories about her childhood. Apparently, back then, it was considered “sinful” to be left-handed.
Some nonsense about not being in “the right hand of God”.In any case, private faith-based schools and some public schools, would actually forbid students who were left-handed from using their left hand. They would tie their left hands behind their backs and strike them with a wooden rod if they were caught using their left hand. Needless to say, it didn’t work too well. While many managed to “fake” a right-handed life, many continued to use their dominant left-hands in private when not watched, and many felt psychologically scarred from their “reparation therapy”. Needless to say, the practice was ultimately seen as barbaric and not representative of who people actually were . . . That ultimately “left-handedness” wasn’t a choice made by a child who was seduced by evil.
Does any of this sound familiar?
Replace “left-handed” with “gay”, and I think you get the picture.
Today, the idea that something is wrong with a lefty, is about as ridiculous as it gets. Now if someone notices a person writing with their left hand, it goes something like this: “oh! you are left-handed. I didn’t know that.” And that’s the end of it! Both people smile at the common acknowledgment and, if anything, it is a short one-minute bonding moment between the two people (as in “now you know something intimate about me”) and nothing more.
BUT Here we are. 100-200 years forward. Telling the same story all over again, but this time, it is sexual orientation.
Religions casting their judgments.
People blocking same-sex marriage in various states or countries.
People fighting the LGBT acceptance . . . against what has arisen naturally in humanity.It’s so sad that we as a people don’t learn our lessons from history.
But you know what the worst part is?
Where it is not “just a lesson”?Unlike the left-handed story, this isn’t about blocking dexterity.
It’s about blocking love!Love is so hard to come by.
When I say this, I’m not talking about spiritual love–or love for others in a compassionate sense–but I’m talking about romantic love between two people. Moreover, life is so typically short; it’s over in the blink of an eye. Time shouldn’t be wasted by having love blocked–either externally or internally.So if two consenting adults feel romantic love and sexual love for each other, no one should block that. To me, people who do so reflect a low-vibrational frequency of the worst kind. This is why I say “judgment on homosexuality is mainly a combination of human ego, a thinly disguised self-insecurity, and some core immaturity”
So, yes, I have very strong feelings about it.
It’s not an academic issue; it’s a human issue.
Perhaps one of the most vital.Qi,
StevenHmm . . . TWO Scorpios.
Well, *at least* TWO (since you only posted part of it).
So it seems likely that my comments about Scorpion influences were also correct. 😉
The Scorpio in Saturn is quite potent, as Saturn drives evolution . . . just as an fyi.
S
Hi Steven,
I just read this: “Oxs most abundant months are the fourth, eighth, and eleventh lunar months. Oxs most abundant days are the eighth day of the fourth lunar month and the eleventh day of the eleventh lunar month.” If you’ll note what I was up to on 11 of 11 at 11 and 11; ha…
Here is the full chart Curious:
Hi there, here is the interpretation of the astrological chart that you asked for. Thank you for visiting our web site. This report has been created especially for you. It represents your Unique picture at the time you were born and at the place you were born. If you are unsure of the exact time of day of your birth (or the date or the place), the reading will probably not seem as accurate as it could be in certain places, but other parts will seem to be very appropriate. You will notice at certain places in the reading that contradictory information seems to be given. This is to be expected, because the personality of most people is extremely complex. For example, at times we are quite shy and at other times we are very aggressive, and so forth. You will also notice that, at certain points in the reading, certain patterns may be repeated over and over, especially in a longer more detailed report than this one. This is also to be expected. This simply means that your horoscope has an extremely strong focus on this particular pattern and that you should pay extra close attention to what is said about it. Now, on with your Report!
Name: Astrolabe Customer
April 20 1985
5:26 PM Time Zone is PST
Reedsport, ORRising Sign is in 12 Degrees Libra
Very attractive and popular, your charm helps you to get your own way and prevents others from getting angry with you. “Peace and harmony at all costs” is your battle cry. You always try to ameliorate or to cosmetically hide any physical ugliness or any angry feelings between people. Flashy, but not gaudy, you prefer to dress elegantly. You generally have good taste in music, art and literature. Beware of the tendency to compromise yourself in your attempt to be agreeable at all times. A bit of a social butterfly, at times you can be vain and lazy. For the most part, however, you are gracious and affectionate, and your refined and aristocratic demeanor serves as a role model to others.Sun is in 00 Degrees Taurus.
You are known for being patient, slow moving and careful — you love to prolong and savor enjoyable times. You appreciate and need comfort, ease and warm surroundings. Be careful of a tendency to become placid and self-satisfied and to overeat (especially sweets). You require strenuous situations in order to grow and mature properly, even though you try to avoid them. Affectionate, even-tempered and slow to anger — when you do become emotionally upset, you are also slow to forgive and time must pass before your calm returns. You demand real results from any situation — abstractions are very difficult for you to comprehend. Very artistic, your hands love to mold and shape things. You portray an earthy, physical sexiness that others find quite seductive.Moon is in 09 Degrees Taurus.
Warmth, comfort, security and familiar surroundings are necessary for you to feel at ease. Very loving and affectionate, you prefer a steady, patterned way of life. Patient, calm and steadfast, you are not easily upset. Others look to you for support. You tend to be a slow starter and a slow mover — others may try to rush you, but they will never succeed. Emotionally, you are quite stubborn — your attitudes about people and things were firmly set in your youth and will change very little as an adult. You are also very cautious and conservative about spending money. It is not that you are selfish, you just need to feel secure. Beware of a tendency to become overly complacent and too self-satisfied.Mercury is in 07 Degrees Aries.
Very quick-witted, you are known for being an independent thinker. You love to debate and argue, and are excellent at repartee and battles of wits. At times, however, you act too fast on hastily formed opinions and thus waste a lot of energy defending your rash and sometimes incorrect conclusions. It is perfectly acceptable for you to defend your beliefs with your usual vigor, but try not to take the opinions of others as personal insults.Venus is in 06 Degrees Aries.
You are a very affectionate person but you hate to be tied down. You are more than willing to be the aggressor in initiating new relationships. Indeed, once you have set your sights on someone, you tend to pursue him or her ardently and passionately. But you do demand your own way in a relationship. Try to give in to your partner’s needs and desires once in a while.Mars is in 26 Degrees Taurus.
Careful, slow and thorough about all that you do, at times you are also willful and stubborn when others try to alter your course. You are definitely not a quitter — you will work long and hard to get what you want. Your possessions are very important to you. One of your continuing problems is that you tend to regard the significant people in your life much the same way as you do your possessions — you become overly attached and much too jealous. You repress your anger when you get upset and that is not healthy. Try to learn to show your anger immediately in order to avoid painful explosions later.Jupiter is in 13 Degrees Aquarius.
Your personal growth occurs when you have the freedom to do things in new and interesting ways — this brings out your natural inventiveness. You are an individualist, but you are also attracted to mass movements that emphasize social betterment and you will devote much time and energy to their efforts. Very fair- minded and objective, you have extraordinary skills at organization and administration.Saturn is in 26 Degrees Scorpio.
You tend to release emotional energies only very reluctantly. This is partly due to your fear of what horrible calamity might occur should they be released — your emotions are terribly complicated and intense. Try not to repress these energies entirely, however, or you will succumb to negative and destructive forms of compulsive behavior. Give yourself the freedom to look awkward or silly once in a while. The relief you feel will be quite therapeutic and the embarrassment (whether it is real or imagined) will pass quickly.Uranus is in 17 Degrees Sagittarius.
You, and most of your peers, have the tendency to think that all ideas, customs and traditions from the past are outmoded and irrelevant. You are attracted to radically new ideas, philosophies and religions that will, hopefully, cause sweeping changes throughout the world.Neptune is in 03 Degrees Capricorn.
You, and your entire generation, will idealize work, practicality and the ability to attain reasonable goals. But, because you will also stress the need to be selfless and giving, you may find it difficult to attain your goals unless you have lowered your expectations on all fronts.Pluto is in 03 Degrees Scorpio.
For your entire generation, this is a period of intense research and discovery in areas that were heretofore considered mysterious, remote or taboo. The root causes for many complex occurrences will be unearthed due to the intensity and thoroughness of the search.N. Node is in 18 Degrees Taurus.
It’s not in your nature to seek out many casual acquaintances in your daily round of activities. You feel much more comfortable with a small, close-knit group of people — those with whom you can relax and work toward known and clearly defined goals. Your loyalty to a person or group, once given, is forever — you’ll expend all of your quite considerable energy in seeing that the group stays together and prospers. You choose your partners and relationships so carefully that you’re bound to gain certain advantages from them, including those of a material nature. Be careful though not to let mere self-service be your motivation in establishing your connections — make sure that there’s an even give-and-take!———–
OX The second earthly branch occurs when yin chi disappears completely and is replaced by yang chi. the seed struggles to sprout and break from the earth. This determination and perseverance in struggle are Ox qualities. The second earthly branch represents January, the twelfth lunar month. January is the time of Capricorn, Oxs western counterpart. The best years for Ox abundance, to marry, have a child, or expect doors of opportunity to open are Rat, Serpent, and Phoenix years. Oxs most abundant months are the fourth, eighth, and eleventh lunar months. Oxs most abundant days are the eighth day of the fourth lunar month and the eleventh day of the eleventh lunar month. A bad day for Ox and an unfortunate day for marriage is the sixth day of the sixth lunar month. Abundance for honest Ox results from stabilizing the Water career gua, but for different reasons than Rat. Ox diligently applies much energy to completing tasks. In a competitive work environment, Ox may be overlooked when promotions are given to clever Rats and Monkeys or dynamic Dragons and Tigers. To guarantee that Ox is rewarded for hard work, a solid and balanced Water career gua is helpful. Family abundance is also very important to Ox, so the Thunder family gua and the Lake children gua should be embellished.
🙂
Hi FT,
Your other post re: Chinese Astrology was a blank page, so I deleted it.
Is the 5:26PM for your birth time during Daylight Saving Time?
You should check on this.S
Desire in Taurus becomes spiritual aspiration in Scorpio. The darkness of the experience in Scorpio becomes illumination in Taurus, for it must never be forgotten that where the pairs of opposites are concerned they gain and profit from each other, for there is a direct line of force and of contact between the two. This is a fact which is seldom recognised.
No DST on April 20, 1985. According to one interpretation, my strongest planetary influences are Venus and then Pluto. Some interesting stuff:
Mapping the Psyche Vol. II
An Introduction to Psychological Astrology, by Clare Martin
Volume II: The Planetary Aspects and the Houses of the HoroscopeTaurus/Scorpio axis
Rulers: Mars (Pluto) and Venus
Natural houses: 2nd/8th
On the Taurus/Scorpio axis we meet Mars and Venus again, although this time in their fixed, earth-water manifestations. As a fixed axis, the confrontation between Taurus and Scorpio can be particularly entrenched and unyielding. Naturally associated with the 2nd/8th house axis, the inherent conflict on this axis revolves around issues of resources and ownership, values and possessions, both personal and shared. Taurus is a gentle, peace-loving and practical sign, which prefers to stay within its own sphere of comfort. However, if this axis becomes particularly polarised on the Taurus end of the spectrum, then the simple, biological drive towards stability can become inert and stagnant. This inevitably evokes and stimulates the kind of intense crises that are associated with the sign of Scorpio, which breaks down fixed structures in the interests of growth and new life.Audience: I have often wondered why Taureans seem to have such battles in relationships. I suppose this is what happens when they are identified with the Scorpio end of the spectrum?
Clare: That’s right. When we start to think in terms of axes, then we will start thinking of a Taurus person as being somewhere on the Taurus-Scorpio axis, although we don’t know exactly where until we have explored this with them first. But this means that we will no longer be surprised if we have a Taurus client who is consumed by intense and complex emotional or relationship problems, sexual issues, power struggles, battles over money and shared resources, and the like. None of these things belongs to the sign of Taurus, which is very simple, stable and grounded, but they are not uncommon themes with Taurean clients. I am using the term ‘Taurean’ to describe a person who may not have the Sun in Taurus but could have several planets in Taurus or in the 2nd house, or Taurus on the Ascendant. In such cases, the Taurean can gradually restore their equilibrium by developing a sound sense of self-worth, providing materially for themselves, cultivating a fixity of purpose, a pride in their own accomplishments, and the courage to defend themselves, rather than engaging in power struggles which appear to be caused by the emotional demands of others.
A useful Taurus-Scorpio myth is that of King Midas, who was extremely wealthy. He was, we could say, identified entirely with the Taurus end of this axis. When he was granted a wish by the god Dionysus, he wished that everything he touched would turn to gold, and so it did. However, when he touched the flowers in his garden they turned to gold, and everything he tried to eat turned to gold, so he became increasingly hungry. Worst of all, his beloved daughter turned into gold when he accidentally touched her. Fortunately, and because King Midas was so full of remorse when he realised the consequences of his greed, Dionysus agreed to reverse the spell, and everything came to life again.Walter Crane, ‘King Midas and his daughter who has turned to gold’, in Nathanial Hawthorn, A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys (1892), British Library
We could say that he realised that, without the destructive aspect of the life-force that belongs to Scorpio, everything would become static, incapable of change or growth. The point is that Taurus begets Scorpio, retention leads to release, incorporation to elimination, to ensure that nature remains in balance and that the life force is constantly regenerated.
Audience: What happens if this axis is reversed and the identification is on the Scorpio end? Can you give us an example of a Scorpio that needs to find its Taurus?
Clare: In this case the individual may seek to find their security and self-worth through other people or other people’s resources, rather than their own. If we depend completely on others for our security and sense of self-worth, then we have given our power to them, and we naturally feel that they owe us something in return. If we have no sense of our own inner intrinsic value or worth, we have nothing to contribute to the relationship. The Scorpio client can therefore be extremely possessive, feeling that other people are their possessions and that they belong to them, body and soul. With such a great investment in the other, it is not surprising that, before long, intense feelings of jealousy, suspicion and insecurity emerge. The interesting thing about this is that possessiveness belongs to Taurus and is not a Scorpio trait at all. In essence Scorpio is where we are forced to surrender and let go. Scorpio does not hold onto things – it purges and eliminates, because everything which no longer serves life has to die to make way for new life.
The myth of Pluto and Persephone is relevant here because it harks back to the ancient seasonal rituals celebrating the relationship between life and death in nature. Taurus is springtime, celebrated in the fertility festival of Beltane at the beginning of May, when Persephone is said to make her annual return to the earth from the underworld and all of nature begins to thrive and grow. But at the opposite end of the year, in Scorpio time, marked by Samhain, the festival of death, Persephone returns to the underworld, her earth-mother Demeter goes into mourning, and everything in nature dies. Scorpio and Pluto signify the great organic processes of death and renewal. The life force ebbs and flows on a seasonal basis, since growth cannot continue indefinitely – nature has to be stripped bare in order to ensure renewed life. So the Taurus/Scorpio axis is one entire process, and we cannot really understand one without understanding the other.http://www.astro.com/mtp/mtpt43_e.htm
Mercury, Ruler of the Fourth Ray
Taurus the Bull is a powerful sign, through its indomitable will, its persistence, strength and endurance. It can be deeply materialistic and attached by its earthy nature or irradiated with light and wisdom.
The fourth ray of Harmony through Conflict is the only ray that transmits through Taurus and is the ray that rules the fourth human kingdom as a whole. Through the uses of conflict, harmony and beauty will eventually be achieved.
That conflict is bought about by Humanitys constant cry for light and illumination. Through successfully invoking a greater light and in the attempt to anchor it, a conflict arises between the existing vibration within any individual and the newly invoked stream. Gradually, through the processes of everyday living and various disciplines such as meditation, a balancing and equilibrising process is effected whereby the future and the past have been brought together in the present; that which was old has transformed into something new; it is broadly how human consciousness evolves over millions of years.
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The aforementioned struggles relate to the great duality within which Humanity finds itself. Indeed, the Buddha gained illumination through the many struggles to which he subjected himself. These dualities are expressed powerfully through the fourth ray, via the extremes of the valley and mountain experience, ecstasy and depression, black and white, feast or fast, beauty and ugliness, war and peace.
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It is also interesting to note that Mercury is the hierarchical ruler of Taurus polar opposite Scorpio, and that sign also has only the fourth ray transmitting through it. Scorpio is known as the human hierarchy or the initiates that we will all eventually become.
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Taurus: Buddha, Hitler
Althought the Buddha and Hitler were at vastly varying stages of evolution, they both expressed the Taurean force in its two extremes; they are also striking examples of the polarities of the fourth ray.
It is said that the Buddha came into incarnation in the sign of Taurus, gained enlightenment in Taurus and left the world in this sign…
The eye of illumination is also symbolised by that star of ancient renown, Aldebaran, the eye of the Bull – in the constellation of Taurus.
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When balancing the pairs of opposites within oneself, the six pairs of zodiac signs are where this process translates in the birthchart. Hence the Scorpio polar opposite would have been highly emphasised for both the Buddha and Hitler:
Desire in Taurus becomes spiritual aspiration in Scorpio. The darkness of the experience in Scorpio becomes illumination in Taurus, for it must never be forgotten that where the pairs of opposites are concerned they gain and profit from each other, for there is a direct line of force and of contact between the two. This is a fact which is seldom recognised.
http://www.esotericastrologer.org/Newsletters/48%20Taurus%20FM%202010%20Buddha%20Hitler.htm?
>>>No DST on April 20, 1985.
Strange. Usually we shift to DST in the spring, namely in early April (or now March). I would have expected that your 5pm time was in Daylight Saving Time . . . although I know a few states opt out (and have in the past).
>>>According to one interpretation, my
>>>strongest planetary influences are Venus and then Pluto.I don’t think I would agree with that, especially since I tend to apply western astrology through the lens of the Tao.
You are currently going through your Saturn return, so that suggests Saturn is the dominant planet right now. Saturn tends to be a major player anyway (from a Tao perspective) because it tends to force evolution. Moreover, Scorpio tends to act as a multiplicative factor, so I would give a lot of respect to what Saturn says, even if others say different.
At the same time, Scorpio sits in both your Saturn and your Pluto (which you mentioned), and as you know, Scorpio tends to give great importance to the mystery of life, of death, and the power of sex . . . the latter of course influences love, which is part of your Venus.
In other words, your Venus and Pluto may be big players, but Saturn is controlling the whole game in my view. When one considers the original thread about smoking and “your dark issues”, and then how one small comment in my long reply about exploring issues around sexuality and love . . . then triggered the release of all kinds of cryptic replies on your part around sexuality and homosexuality, without ever really coming out and saying how it related to you . . .
Well . . . just think about what I’ve said and read your Saturn reading from your chart again very carefully, and go back and read through the things already mentioned.
In any case, as per your original request for comments, and my subsequent reply of “be careful what you wish for”, I think I’ve pointed out to you where (in my opinion) you need to go to evolve . . . it’s just up-to-you to make the choice to do it. At this point, additional replies on my part I think are just helping to support your avoidance and is likely a repeat of what I’ve already said. Now is the time to dive in and root it out.
Hope this thread has helped you in some way. 🙂
Qi,
StevenA little bird suggested, rather insistently, that I discover and contemplate the location of the Northern Node of the moon at my birth. Wow! In light of my last post, exploring the Taurus-Scorpio axis… it’s a bit surreal. Maybe there’s more truth in natal charts than merely fodder for archetypal meditations…
My northern node is in Taurus and the 8th house; my southern node is in Scorpio and the 2nd house.
The 2nd house is ruled by Taurus while the 8th house is ruled by Scorpio.
“With your North Node in Taurus, your Soul craves peace and serenity in this life–as well as good music, a loyal lover, and picnics on the beach with good food and wine! Doesn’t everybody? Yes, but not like you—you need these things to remind your Soul that life can be good and safe and beautiful…”
– Elizabeth Spring
North Node in 8th House
“… you are here to learn self-control and discipline. You must somehow deal with the polar opposites within you stubborn determination and an emotional tendency to go to extremes.”
– Celestina
Follow your bliss, and the Universe will open doors for you when there were only walls.
If there has ever been a symbolic definition of the north node, Joseph Campbell articulated it in this timeless quote…
Sometimes you will stumble upon north node energies by accident. You will meet a person and see fireworks. Youll find a book, topic or subject area and feel a tingle or just intuitively know that this is important for you…
The importance of the nodes ruler cannot be understated. This planet, above all others will be a leading vehicle in how the souls journey manifests in this life. The sign and house placement and the aspects to this planet will be strong indicators of where the life purpose is most likely to be played out in your physical life…
The great thing about the north node is that Its always talking to you, guiding you, encouraging you to do certain things, be with certain people, go to certain places and to never give up on your search for bliss. Whenever you follow hunches or act on intuition or gut instinct, you are heeding the call of your north node. Whenever you engage fully in the energies of this point and all its subtleties you are operating from your Point of Bliss and will experience that elusive flow about which so much is written but so little is experienced…
http://www.suzeharrison.com/2011/10/north-node-your-point-of-bliss/
The Nodes are a pair. The North Node is always directly opposite the South Node. If you want to really understand them, its wise to study the 12 signs as pairs of opposites Aries/Libra, Taurus/Scorpio, and so on. Like the yin/yang symbol, each sign contains the shadow of its opposite…
Sometimes in the astrological literature, you will see interpretations that color the North Node as all positive, and the South Node as all negative. Sometimes they suggest that you should strive to move toward the North Node and shun the qualities represented by the sign of the South Node. (As if that were possible.) I do not think this is a constructive way to look at it. Your South Node indicates an area of longing, but also of massive talent and gifts…
North Node in Taurus, South Node in Scorpio:
North Node in Taurus represents a need to get in touch with your own self-worth, your values & awareness of comfort zones, what feels good, what doesnt, relying on your own talents and resourcefulness (Taurus). The South Node in Scorpio represents a longing for close bonding and mutual empowerment with another person. The old pattern is to attempt to do this by buying into another persons system of values and priorities (Scorpio). Your longing for a fulfilling intimate relationship will only be satisfied when you focus on your own strength, your own values, your own priorities. When you do so, the right people will appear to support your goals.http://www.mollysastrology.com/astrology-tutorials/nodes
North Node in 8th House
… you are here to learn self-control and discipline. You must somehow deal with the polar opposites within you stubborn determination and an emotional tendency to go to extremes.
Learn to tame yourself. Resolve to acquire only useful possessions and do not lust after anything more than what you need. Let go of old beliefs about social castes. Bond with those closest to you and take on new value systems informed by what you learn from them. Curb your sexual desires, though they are strong. Reserve some energy for the future and for your own regeneration. For the north node in 8th house, its important to not exhaust yourself in the exercise of physical union.
The pattern you must watch out for is a soaring flight followed by a crash and burn… You can become so consumed with greed, lust, or possessiveness that you come to hate yourself and in a fit of anger and spite, destroy all that is around you, only to gather an incredible amount of energy to start again. Yet the momentum you gather takes you once more to dark places, setting in motion the destructive cycle.
To prevent this negative circle of behavior to which you can be prone, it is important that you burn your bridges. You have struggled through so much, come so far. [My first poem choice posted to this forum… be the mystery] You can only continue to move forward by blocking the exits. Martin Schulman says of a native with the north node in 8th house placement, God will hear his faintest cry for help as soon as he sincerely promises not to look back. Psychological transformation is an important theme in your life; own the process consciously…
Isabel Hickey suggests that Helping others to find their resources and values is the clue to the right use of the North Node in 8th house. You will experience your greatest happiness in life when you strike the proper balance between your needs and the demands of society…
http://www.truenode.org/north-node-by-house/north-node-in-8th-house/
With your North Node in Taurus, your Soul craves peace and serenity in this life–as well as good music, a loyal lover, and picnics on the beach with good food and wine! Doesn’t everybody? Yes, but not like you—you need these things to remind your Soul that life can be good and safe and beautiful.
Having suffered too much drama and trauma either earlier in this life, or in a previous one, you’re suffering now from a slight despair of spirit and the cure for this soul sickness is to nurture yourself with the things that make life worth living. Cultivating loyal friends, enjoying nature and the physical world, and creating a beautiful home that feels like a safe harbor are all good things for you to do.
By choosing to find the “sacred in the commonplace” you re-awaken your Soul to the Divine in all things. You’re not being a materialist when you truly enjoy the beauty of a hand-made wooden spoon or pottery bowl, or take time away from your work and ambitions to watch the sun set with an old friend. By seeing into the true nature of things, you get a sense of what many of the mystics have seen–that God is here and now, and found in the ordinary/extraordinary things of this life.What do you truly value? What do you stand for in life? Something in you needs to know yourself deeper and to prove yourself worthy. The old path or habits that need to be left behind involve too much immersion in other people’s dramas…a helping hand is fine, but don’t get embroiled in dramas that aren’t yours. Power and control issues, and your ability to manipulate situations need to be let go of. Your’ve done too much of that in the past. The focus now needs to be on you, and finding what you value and what nurtures you.
This life is about finding that mystical sense of belonging to a Universe that is benevolent. No easy task! It’s a profound spiritual calling to find spirit in matter, and to find yourself in “right relationship” with others.
When your’ve come to a turning point on the Taurus-Scorpio path you’ll need to ask yourself if you’ve been able to ground yourself with a workable level of financial and emotional stability. If you can say yes to that, you’re ready to retrieve the gold in the shadow–your Scorpio South Node. There’s hidden wisdom and power there, for in your Scorpio past you deeply understood other people and had a keen intuitive-psychic nature. You might have been the detective, the shaman, the priest, or the power behind the throne—the one who could hone in on the emotional bottom line. Now if you can bring your new level of security and grounded faith in the goodness of life into your relationships with others and into your work, you can nourish others with your profound wisdom.Elizabeth Springnote: same placement as me, but with reversed houses… I “liked” her site.
This one I found greatly amusing:
A Taurus Sign North Node is paired with a Scorpio Sign South Node because they are opposites. And because they are opposites, they create a clear picture of the dualistic struggle that resides within the Taurus north node/Scorpio south node individual…
Often, the individual is unaware of the war taking place inside [see A Message to Humanity!]…
All of us have our own set of visible (or invisible) struggles to work through — obstacles that the Nodes of the Moon can help isolate and resolve while simultaneously freeing us to move forward on our destined path.
We all know that knowledge is power…and that’s why I offer a bit of it to you…to give you the strength and courage you need to not only live, but thrive.
This week I’d like to begin with a brief overview of the Taurus Sign North Node/Scorpio Sign South Node position.
To start, let’s take a look at some keywords. These words describe the polarity between these two opposing signs and can offer you a glimpse of the soul journey that the individual with this nodal position is on.
Just remember that the south node represents old patterns of being – patterns that have accumulated over lifetimes that now need to be acknowledged and let go of.
The north node, on the other hand, represents the soul’s potential – the direction of the future…the behavioral habits that will lead to greater happiness…the kind of life that will be fulfilling on multiple levels.
Here are some Scorpio Sign South Node behavioral patterns — patters that the individual must part with if he is to live an emotionally rich life:
Raging… fanatical… manipulative… withholding… secretive… too intense… loving chaos… jealous… possessive… revengeful… judgmental… caustic… distrustful… paranoid… intimidating.
Here are some Taurus Sign North Node behavioral patterns that the individual might find to be foreign at first, but ones that he will notice connect him to his true self and the kind of life his soul subconsciously needs:
Creative… builder… resolute… patient… finisher… earth-loving… sensual… warm-hearted… reliable… loyal… serene… home-loving… security-welcoming.
The journey from a Scorpio sign south node to a Taurus sign north node can be a trying one. But the promise it holds for the individual willing to step up to the challenge is equally great.
The Scorpio south node reveals a soul that has spent many incarnations dealing with power struggles, manipulation, sexual intrigue, turmoil, and chaos.
While unbalancing and terrifying, these life situations were necessary for the transformation that had to take place. Their powerful affects were needed to free the soul of outworn values so that it could proceed to create a new beginning.
As with all life-altering experiences, comes a gnawing sense of loss and bitterness. The individual is aware that progress has taken place yet somehow that understanding is not enough to quench the deep-seated desire to regain the security they once owned.
But no matter how difficult, move forward is what this individual must do. He must let go of his terrifying subconscious memories and instead refocus on building trust in life and the people in it.
He must let go of his Scorpion need for control and try to blend with his environment rather than try to manipulate it. Because if he continues to repeat these karmic tendencies, all he will do is destroy the very security he so desperately needs.
In this lifetime, belief in the earth’s abundance and its ability to give him what he needs and desires, is what he needs to develop in order to live a peaceful existence.
He must separate the past from the present and realize that his deep-seated fear of endless punishment is residue left over from previous lifetimes…a memory that now can and should be released.
His Taurus sign north node beckons him to a place of stability, contentment, and harmony – a place he needs to go if he is to live a happy, fulfilling life surrounded by those he loves.
Having said that, it would be a good idea to fill your (or your loved one’s) life, which ever one of you has the north node in the sign of Taurus, with as many symbolic representations of the Taurus Sign that you can find.
Surrounding yourself with Taurus colors, Taurus fragrances, and Taurus sign ornaments, will remind you of the soul mission you’re on and your unique path to fulfillment.
Now if it’s your mate’s north node that’s in the sign of Taurus, and you do that for your mate, well…that’s about the greatest gift that you could ever give him/or her.
Because there’s nothing like the feeling one experiences when he realizes that he has found the person who really gets him — a true friend…lover…and the irreplaceable soul companion he’s been searching for his entire life
…that soul companion who is you!
Have an adventurous journey my friend!
http://www.romantic-ideas-for-life.com/taurus-sign-article.html
“Indem ich der Menschheit eine unbegrenzte Wohlthat erweisen will, gebe ich ihr meinem Dithyramben. Ich lege sie in die Hände des Dichters der Isoline, des grössten und ersten Satyr, der heute lebtund nicht nur heute …”
-FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE,Dionysos-DithyrambenTips or ends of the blood, flesh, tendons, or bones are called dou. Hair is the tip of the blood, tongue is the tip of the flesh, fingers are the tips of our tendons, and teeth are the tips of the bones. If one tenses all these extremities, it results in a change in one’s usual appearance. Such a change can be used to startle or frighten others.
-DENNIS ROVERE, The Xingyi Quan of the Chinese Army: A Complete Translation of Huang Bo Nien’s Xingyi Fist and Weapon Instruction with Applications and TheoryOne should try to see and understand real strenghts and weaknesses of ancient Chinese culture.
These correlative schemes are very often positively not very representative.
Sorry for my broken English.
HOWDY
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