Paul Gauguin: Study of a Nude (Suzanne Sewing), 1880 {{PD}}

Aspects perfecting today ask us to assess our personal level of dedication to those things we say or believe we are committing our life energy in service of; a big part of this assessment will involve discerning whether what we say we serve is what we actually serve. It’s a matter of thinking, perceiving, and processing honestly (Vesta in Gemini). Our capacity for truthiness comes into play, and likely involves some formula using the quincunx of Vesta to Pluto (our personal bullshit detector, tuned to sniffing out anything that threatens our highest values and most important commitments) and Jupiter in Virgo, which is square one and trine the other (affording us the ability to critically examine the intersection of ‘the facts’, our beliefs, and the social sphere in which we move). Knowing how close we are to our intended mark requires being honest with ourselves, and being able to do something about what we find requires internal flexibility, the capacity to admit we were wrong or that our beliefs were distorted, without dissipating our energy in pointless anger at ourselves, rather than in taking needed action.

We may also see a clash between individuals, each of whom believes the role of leader or authority should fall to them; in the end, you (and they) may see that neither is correct in that idea. We may feel isolated in some way, and as well tempted to undermine authorities or weaken our own or others’ empowerment through thinking that springs from stressful cooperative or partnership situations; it’s our ideas about how the partnership or cooperative effort should go that cause issues. Here, perspective is key, as is the realization that most of the stress is from skewed expectations, not the situation itself. Take a step back, and think and speak with real care (Vesta T-sq Nodes, Mars qnx Ceres, Merc sesq Juno)

Today’s word image is a little dog dressed in human-style clothes. Something that’s been ‘dogging’ us (or something that we are the caretaker of or responsible for the welfare of) is being dressed up inappropriately; that is, either we’re seeing it as something it’s not, or it’s being presented to us as fundamentally other than it is. Strive to see its true nature, and you will.

“Saimi in the Meadow” by Eero Järnefelt 1891 {{PD}}

We find the way to dream realization, living ideals, creating and communing through our connection to Nature, and through those roles and that power we hold in the real world. Responsibilities point directly at our areas of empowerment, and show us the forms and manner of materializing our ideals and dreams. It’s a tidy loop that may confound with its simplicity; some will be loathe to see it as so direct, because complicating things removes the need to acknowledge how much power to affect things they truly have (Perfecting today: Neptune nov Ceres)

Today’s word image is a red cuckoo nesting in the bright yellow nest of another bird. Now I knew that cuckoo’s had something to do with the nesting of other birds, but when I saw this symbol I had to go investigate the cuckoo’s real-life behavior in order to make sense of it. It seems the cuckoo is known for laying its eggs in other bird’s nests; this from Wikipedia: “The common cuckoo is a brood parasite; it lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. At the appropriate moment, the hen cuckoo flies down to the host’s nest, pushes one egg out of the nest, lays an egg and flies off. The whole process takes about 10 seconds. A female may visit up to 50 nests during a breeding season.” And this is accompanied by a roughly 66% acceptance in the host nest of the cuckoo’s offspring as its own.

From plates by Louis Agassiz Fuertes {{PD}}

The colors of the image also speak, the red of aggression and perhaps passion, the yellow of the mental and of intelligence, and so possibly refers to intellectual energy, property, or ‘space’. Are we the cuckoo, inserting ourselves out of anger or enthusiasm into someone else’s space? Are we perhaps expecting to ‘piggyback’ our efforts or creativity largely off of someone else’s energy and assets? Or are we aggressed against, dealing with the intrusion of someone’s ideas or expectations as to how we should use our energy? This isn’t a pretty picture, but does refer to something that can happen quite easily when our boundaries are not what they should be, or when our own passion for something causes us to ignore the right of others to make their own choices.

Here’s a little more on the consequences of allowing someone else to put ‘their eggs in your nest’

Enjoy your Thursday!

Aleksander Gierymski c1894 {{PD}}

Aspects suggest we may learn some startling things today, at least some of which may illuminate our pain. If we are open to it, what we discover, uncover, realize, or finally understand may obliterate the concept of pain as we currently know it–or at least show us why and how we ache as we do. Unusual, innovative, or revolutionary thinking may express in clever ways that highlight our uniqueness, or may align us in beneficial ways with the group. Accepting what’s new and modern serves us, as does setting aside the ego in order to express compassion through exercise of creative or spiritual gifts, especially those related to your natal Chiron placement (Merc nov Uranus, Sun sq Chiron)

Today’s word image is a cocoon. Not every idea, project, or impulse is immediately ready for expression. Let that thing you’re anxious for develop and present itself in its own time.

EXPO Station, one of the most futuristic and trendy subways in Singapore, according to photographer Willian Cho 2008 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

Much of what we discussed yesterday is still in effect, so you might want to give that a gander, as well 🙂

Those who fix their psychic gaze firmly on the future will benefit most, simply by their acceptance of the need for (sometimes drastic) change. Those who also do best put Collective or group well-being and interests ahead of their own, at least when it comes to expressing personal power, making choices, or taking action, as a too Self-oriented viewpoint will guarantee conflicts over ambition and desire fulfillment; that is, if we’re ‘out for ourselves’ we will run up against obstacles and denials, while if we plan our moves with our own and the greater good in mind, we will find the way much smoother. Too, don’t let the past intrude on the present, and know that modesty in the face of authority, and when under scrutiny ourselves, goes a long way toward getting others on our side (Pluto sq Zeus and trine NN, Merc qnx Ceres, Sun sxt Uranus and qnx Mars)

Photo by Jebulon Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication

Today’s word image is a sewing machine. If you have training in how to use it, it will stand for a specific skill you possess; if you don’t know how to use it, it may stand for something you’d like to learn to do, or it may represent work or skills you see others as having. Sewing is the kind of activity we all may have judgments about, possibly seeing it as an impressive skill, as ‘woman’s work’, as a basic for an aspiring designer, as menial labor, as something that belonged to mom or grandma and that you don’t think about, as an activity only performed by slave labor in the third world, as a mechanical means of achieving what for thousands of years could only be done by hand, or you may have personal associations with a sewing machine that come from your own experience. Whatever you associate with a sewing machine speaks to a current attitude you carry toward a skill or a means of creating/ achieving; seeing the attitude through the symbol may offer enough distance to illuminate a troublesome or useful factor that can help you move forward. Or, in the most general sense, it may be about ‘putting it all together’.