today's lunar eclipse - balancing our sails and scales now

We have a lunar eclipse (moon passes directly behind the sun) today at 5 degrees Scorpio on the fixed star Gacrux.

The Crux constellation signifies guidance in general and it will be rather an important eclipse for many - its effects last for 6 months - and will be reactivated 11/1 when there is the final Uranus square Pluto hit.

So, what the hell does this mean?

Lunar eclipses bring endings or culminations of matters at hand. There is an emphasis on the things we leave behind - a little sadness connected to loss here.

(solar eclipses on the other hand - we have one in a  couple weeks - are all about birth and of courses, births bring on endings, too - but usually with births we are so focused on the new that the old can slip away easily and unmourned - with lunar eclipses there is some mourning going on; sometimes a whole lot of mourning)

If we know where this eclipse transits our birth chart (this can help you figure it out) - we can sometimes make the transition a little smoother. This particular lunar eclipse, because we have that Crux (crossroads) can make the ending even more acute.

The cross also represents balance.

During the next six months, it is important to find a balance in our lives between work and rest. If we have been working too hard then we need to schedule time for rest and replenishment. If we have been resting too much our bodies (or bank accounts) will require change.

The house where the lunar eclipse falls in our chart will show exactly where we need to make a change and will take something away that forces us to adjust our sails/scales and bring things into balance.

We are always reconstructing ourselves choice by choice.

Know that any losses we experience now (and by now I mean 2-3 weeks plus or minus the eclipse) is not a punishment but simply a re-balancing.

There is also some universal connection going on with this eclipse. Neptune would like the stars and planets to connect all of us - no boundaries. But Saturn reminds us we are still on earth, there are only so many hours in the day and the line has to be drawn somewhere - where is the balance missing in our lives?

back to the real world ....

cat and geo vaca - north captiva island




10 Things I Learned on Our Florida Vacation

1.  I MUST get a golf cart

(there are no cars allowed on this island and the golf cart
was wicked fun - I don't want to learn to play golf
and can't support all that green grass watering -
I just want to  drive the flippin' cart/car - what is it called?! - 
SO MUCH FUN)

2. Never wear flip flops when hiking

(I lost mine in wild rushing water - day 1- 
and had to hike 2 miles over hot sand and through dense brush
in just hubby's socks - I will never make 
fun of his socks with sneakers again - I think they saved my life)

3. Everything tastes better cooked on a grill

(even stuff I make, I knew this already, but forgot somehow)

4. The new Harry Potter land at Universal
(yes, we spent one day in Orlando)
is highly overrated

(I convinced hubs we needed to make a 
3 hour drive to Orlando to see Harry -
we had to check out of our beach house on Saturday
and our flight home wasn't until Monday morning 
and we had to drive 3 hours back
to the airport the next day -
I really wanted to experience
what many are calling "the best amusement park ride evah"
I got instantaneous motion sickness
and spent the ride flying from dementors
with my eyes closed, trying not to puke
and missed the whole thing)

5.  I am not afraid to swim in the ocean 

many better swimmers are - for some reason I'm not
maybe because we saw dolphins everyday and I think where
there are dolphins there are no sharks 

(I passed this info on to a few people on the beach 
before realizing it was probably not a good idea
to spread this around since it is most likely that I made it up)

once the dolphins were only about 25 feet away from me
they told me they prefer Pottery Barn to Target,
Trader Joe's to Whole Foods,
and they wish to God we'd stop peeing in the ocean.

6. Next time I will bring half as many clothes
and twice as much food

(don't be scared - I won't be wearing half as many clothes
at one time - I will just be wearing the same things
over and over again because that's what we did)

7. Never buy your first smartphone
right before your vacation

because you will not know how the hell it works and will be
asking 13 year old strangers to help you

8. (this one is hubs lesson not mine)
When new becomes normal, it stops being made of magic

(he got a little bored - although this could be due to the horrific sunburn he suffered
on the very first day - pic is from day 4, yes it was even worse than it looks here)

9. When hubs says he has put on sunblock -
he has not put on sunblock

10. Beach vacations will always
end the same way -
me clinging to the boat and screaming
that something is wrong with the calendar -
it is really only Tuesday and
I have 4 more days ...
and then of course the Island Police,
handcuffs, fingerprints and some crazy woman
demanding of the officers 
"DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!"
 - not because I'm famous of course, but just
because my memory is so bad ....

always believe ... keeping our ears (and heart) open

by tina blue shoes



It feels right to put some words of wisdom and magic out there before I get on the plane tomorrow. I am a nervous flyer and have to get up at 3am for the 6am flight out of Atlantic City (I am so not complaining) - the acupuncturist has a cure for nervous flyers that involved some chinese herbs that look like bb's (yes, the "you'll shoot your eye out" kind) being taped into my ears. I decided the idea of that made me a little more nervous than the actual flight so will be flying ears (and heart) wide open -
have a wonderful weekend everyone!