Raised as far away from organized religion as possible, my personal view on life and the world around us is that we’re inhabiting a universe built on vibrations emanating from a master source, strung together across infinite planes of existence. So, to a large degree, it’s no wonder that I believe that the exact placement of the planets and stars around our sun are indicative of unique personality traits based on the day of our birth.
Born on a Full Moon during Mercury Retrograde, my lifetime long obsession with horoscopes, astrology, numerology, tarot, rune stones, and the like makes infinitely more sense. As a child, my parents unwittingly fanned my medium-esuqe flames. They let letting me run rampant in used bookstores and gifted me ‘The Secret Language of Birthdays‘ when I was still in Middle School. Fast forward to High School and I was handed down my first tarot deck -a beautiful Ryder-Waite deck from the 70’s. All of these events grotesquely shaped my view on the spiritual and physical worlds and I’m eternally grateful that I’ve discovered a bevy of resources for my metaphysical mind to wrap itself around.
Though I’ve considered myself Sagittarius through and through, the older I get – the more I realize that sun signs are only one piece of your complex, personal puzzle. To get the entire picture, you’ll want to delve into the entirety of your natal chart. Plain and simple, your natal – or astrological – chart gives you keys to unlock and understand key personality traits.
To get a look at your natal chart you’ll need your birth place and birth time – an approximation will do, but exact is always the best. Astrolabe is currently my favorite online resources for natal charts, and even better – the basic chart is free. For the cosmically curious and astrologically enthused, I suggest snagging a copy of Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Astrology – it’s the perfect introductory reader, and you’ll learn tips and tricks, including how to compute a natal chart by hand.
Beyond your sun sign, you’ll discover your moon sign – an emotional, and feminine energy that plays into your shadow self and subconscious behaviors. If you were born on a Full Moon like me, it’s a pretty easy formula: our moon signs directly oppose our sun sign – my sun is in Sagittarius, and my moon is in Gemini. In parallel with the moon sign, the moon phase when you were born equally indicative of deeply ingrained personality traits; if you don’t know the moon sign for the day you were born, you can calculate it here.
The more I delve into my own natal chart, the more I answer unasked questions about my personality and inherant behavior. Do you notice anything divine about the way your stars align?
This Friday, the stars are aligning in the most beautiful of ways. First and foremost, Spring will finally be sprung! Living in California, we’re a tad spoiled with the weather – but with Spring comes Festival Season, which makes me all sorts of giddy like a kid on their first day of Summer Camp with the best snacks in their lunchbox and a stuntin’ new do. Spring means love blossoms from the heart like flowers from the bud, that the happy humans and beautiful brains of Los Angeles will be out and about, spanning rooftops, lounges and underground affairs while enjoying laughter and a light evening breeze. The Spring Equinox is more than ushering in the new season with the idea of rebirth, regeneration and growth. Known as the Vernal Equinox to some, it’s also the time of year when the suns shines directly on the equator of our slightly shifted home planet – giving us hypothetically equal amounts of day and night. Derived from latin roots, equinox translates into ‘Equal Nights’ but that isn’t always so. As it turns out not only does your attitude depend on your latitude, as Kanye muses, but your equinox does, too. Depending on where you’re sitting on the Earth’s axis, you’re going to have your equinox at slightly different dates surrounding the equinox. The closer you are to the poles, the closer you are to celebrating the equinox on the ‘Equinox’ – our actual equinox in Los Angeles was on the 16th; so good news for us, the days are just going to keep getting longer! But no matter, at 3:45 PM in LA, 22:45 UTC, the First Point of Aries will usher in the Spring Equinox in sweet, serene style.
A point of balance in the world, the Spring Equinox brings with it a beautiful time to lay plans into motion, forge a new friendship or enter into that romantic relationship you’ve been tip-toeing around. Spring is a time to expound upon chances and effectively be reborn within yourself. Go start a new project, follow your passion and add a bit of spark to your life and watch your world shine. This equinox occurs with the moon at one of of it’s closest points to Earth’s atmosphere, making it a ‘Supermoon‘!
Not only does the 20th mark our Spring Equinox, but we’re all about to get an incredibly special treat. In a monstrous celestial celebration for all of Earth’s creatures (and maybe a few on Venus and Mars as well), on Friday we’ll be treated to a rare bird: the total solar eclipse. In fact, it’s been almost a year and a half since the last total eclipse back in November of 2013. If you want your brain to explode just slightly, try this on for size: it’s been over 350 years since there was a total eclipse during the spring equinox! The last time these two celestial events coincided was supposedly all the way back in 1662, and it won’t be happening again until 2034! The next time they appear simultaneously will thankfully be within my lifetime, but noting the odds – that’s a bit of luck as well!
Unfortunately for those of us in the Americas, we’ll have to live vicariously through our brothers down under and the lads across the pond in Europe. The next time we’ll get our gander at an eclipse of any sort in the US will be August 21, 2017. Mark your cell phone calendars and etch it in your mind, it’ll be a day to remember.
If you’re lucky enough to live in an area where you can see the Solar Eclipse – please, please, please: take precautions with your eyes! The sun is a powerful ball of energy, bursting with life and just because the moon is passing over it doesn’t mean you should stare into it. If you want to appreciate the full glory of the eclipse, there are special shades you can buy – and special lenses for your camera if you’re in the mood to get a stellar snapshot.
For more details on Friday’s Eclipse, these two infographics from NASA and Space.com sum it up very nicely:
I wasn’t raised religious, nor have I ever considered myself the religious type but as far as my families go that’s a relatively recent development. My mom’s Grandmother was a devout Christian Scientist who didn’t believe in the use of Western Medicine; she was Type II Diabetic and had her legs amputated without any anesthetic. On my dad’s side, my Jewish Grandmother’s family fled to the United States from Lithuania in fear of religious and socio-political persecution. My mom was raised Lutheran and my father had the first Bar Mitzvah in Corvallis, Oregon. But after college, they both shifted to the belief system that they were ‘scientists‘ and that I wasn’t going to be raised in a church, or a temple, until it was my choice.
Growing up, my bedtime stories came from books of African and Native American folk tales; to boot, I was always encouraged to question everything. The older I got, and more I understood the world – the more I was mesmerized by the magic of the everyday. Between the repeating geometric patterns found deep seeded within Mother Nature – like with crystals, foliage, seeds and animal spots, the use of irrational numbers such as Pi and Phi in everyday life, Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity paired with the plausibility of hidden (‘God’) variables – it was easy to slip into seduction with spirituality.
In middle school, my first Tarot book and deck was handed down to me. By the end of high school, I’d been given three decks and now am the proud owner of five. In high school, and thanks to the help of my best friend, I dabbled in and around Wicca and was champion of my fair share of events that cemented those feelings down to my core. Through various seances and meditations, I was granted brief yet unprecedented access across and into the next dimension of life and my perception of ‘reality‘ hasn’t been the same since. Thanks to gifts from friends, some treasure hunting and assorted road trips to Zion – my crystal and gem collection has grown considerably, as well. And now that I’ve moved in with Danny and our Catripod-mate Gio, we have two of the most beautiful shrines I’ve ever seen in the apartment. It’s easy to lose myself in each single piece, let alone their big pictures; and every time I do, I walk away feeling so intrinsically blessed for the life I’ve worked for.
Tonight being a Full Moon, and a Total Lunar Eclipse at it’s a wonderful time to reminisce about the last twenty eight days, and the intentions you set during the new moon; it’s also an excellent night to get out your crystals and let the moonlight wash over them. Starting early this morning at 2:15 AM PST, the eclipse will commence and we’ll be treated to an unprecedented second Blood Moon of the year. While April’s Blood Moon brought somewhat tumultuous changes into our lives and unruffled truths that we might not have wanted to confront – tonight’s will bring resolution and resolve. And remember, the effects have both been around for several days prior and will linger for a few days after. Give yourself a few moments of reflection and meditation on who you’ve become over the last six months, and then focus your thoughts on your active evolution towards that goal; it’s a beautiful thing.
As for the light show we’ll be receiving from above – the reason the moon manifests into a reddish hue is due to the Earth’s positioning. Because the Earth rests precisely between the Sun and Moon, the only light that reaches the Moon has been bent around us by the atmosphere. By scattering the blue light, the Earth’s atmosphere emits a red hue that causes the moon to appear red. If you happen to be seated on the opposite side of the planet, don’t fret – there’s a live stream just for you.
As far back as I can remember, I’ve had more than an affinity for certain colors – cerulean blue, bright neon pink, rustic oranges, moving mahoganies; you name it, I’ve loved it. If there’s one thing that we, as humanity, can agree on it’s that there’s an unspoken bond between the colors of our world and our feelings towards it. Colors affect your emotional state on the regular and lately research has even proven that colors can have a physiological effect on the body, giving them emotional control of our brains by altering our hormonal balance. Without a single noise, taste or smell – the introduction of color can completely alter the course of your day, your life or even your business proposal.
Back a few years ago when I was first hired at Walt Disney Studios they had a few of our departments pair up for a ‘Color Coding Workshop‘ to determine the best way to communicate with each of us in an office setting. There are four options for colors – white (peaceful, logical), yellow (fun, attention seeking), blue (emotional, intimate) and last but not least red (powerful, productive). At the start of the workshop, we filled out two separate surveys and score ourselves; once we finished we received a dominant and a subordinate color – which for me was blue and white. Though I was intrigued by the results, my assigned colors for the workshop weren’t my important takeaway: once we finished reviewing our results, I got to thinking about my coworkers, colleagues and superiors.
The goal of the workshop was to demonstrate the best ways we can relate to our peers and, on the flip side, be understood by them in a constructive environment. I went through the litany of associates on my email chains while thinking long and hard about the people I continually butted heads with. I took the time to consider their views for a second – to see what it meant to come from a world where your own personal rule book is run on finding fun or pushing for power – and attempted to translate my learnings into action. Almost immediately I was witnessing results! There’s one coworker who I had continually fought against to the point that I almost quit my job – on no kidding three different occasions. After the workshop, I picked up the office phone for fun and rang to his cube – I had a question about a movie promotion and was curious how much better we would be at communicating. I’d determined that he was a red by color coding standards, so – I wanted to play into his sense of respect and power. Instead of whimsically explaining what needed to happen, I let him get on his pedestal and go through, step-by-step, how we were going to manage the promotion. For the first time in our work relationship, we came to an agreement, and an affable one at that!
My cats color code themselves.
Now, the more I grow up the more I’ve observed firsthand the role that color plays in everyday life. From the color of my hair to the colors in my closet; we’re unconsciously affecting our lives on the daily with the way we choose to paint our individual worlds. I’ve always had an affinity for things that sparkle and shine; thinking back to when I was a little one it always seemed like the blues of the world took my breath away. The sky, the sea, my dad’s eyes -they were absolutely (and peacefully) beautiful to me. The older I’ve become, the more frequently I’ve been attracted to deep colors at times of passion and light pastel yellows and greens when I’m feeling free. There are three places that colors play a dominant role in my life: my closet, my nails and on the walls of my apartment. If we take a trip down memory lane, you could actually see that the dominant colors in my life also dominated my wardrobe: going back to high school, pink was the highlight of my wardrobe; once I moved away to college blue soon replaced it. I’ve gone through a wicked black phase and tried to counterbalance that with all types of greys; the end result is a cacophony of color and a rainbow on hangers. Like you would really expect anything less though, right? Sometimes, it’s the neon colors that get me and others it’s the faded pastels that float into my world – but lately, and so strange to me – I’ve been mulling over this almost bright pastel yellow and it makes me calm and connected. The irony for me is that though I’ve never done a personality “Power Color” test – for fun, I started playing around with one on Seventeen magazine’s website and – voila – I actually tested as yellow:
Yellow is the color of happiness, mental clarity, optimism, cheerfulness, and energy.
It is also a color that stimulates appetite, the brain, and memory, leading to confidence
Yellow is a practical color, it makes one more analytical, as it is mainly perceived by the brain, and a lot lesser by the heart
On the flip side of our color based personalities, is the idea that behind every astrological sign there’s an appropriate color to don. Being born in early December, in tropical astrology I fall under the reign of Sagittarius. I’m ruled by Jupiter, was born with a travel bug, I have a knack for being open and interested, love being on the move and hate feeling constrained. As far as colors are concerned, we’re ruled by light blue, royal purples and rich maroon; moody, emotional colors which are almost as outspoken as we are as a sun sign. For being such a fun loving (yellow) sign, the colors give us balance. Astrology signs are ruled by colors as well as birthstones – and I think the later is equally important to mention. The Sagittarius birthstone is Turquoise, our soul stone is Tourmaline and our heart stone is bornite (peacock ore). All are beautiful in their own right, and all grant so much energy when you hold them – especially if you leave your gems out during a full moon like last night.
– the more I realize that sun signs are only one piece of your complex, personal puzzle. To get the entire picture, you’ll want to delve into the entirety of your natal chart. Plain and simple, your natal – or astrological – chart gives you keys to unlock and understand key personality traits.
Yellow is the color of happiness, mental clarity, optimism, cheerfulness, and energy.
The Bouncy Kitty 
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