Mirror of Aphrodite

Experiences With Sagittarius Male

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:48:00 +0000

Sagittarius, the sign of the adventurer. What’s around the next corner no one knows, but Sagittarius is sure to be the first one to go have a look see. These guys can be lots of fun and spending time with one, most likely, you’ll be exposed to new things and generally, you’ll have a great time. However, it’s been my observation that Sagittarius men can fit into two completely different opposite ends of the spectrum. The sign of Scorpio has been known to have three specific phases to its growth and to be honest, I feel much the same about the sign of Sagittarius.

But in reality, it probably breaks down more like this: you have your “progressed” Sagittarius male and then you have your “unprogressed” Sagittarius male. Translation: Some Sagittarius men are enlightened, displaying their best qualities, while others are at the complete opposite end of the spectrum and have their feet stuck in the primordial soup, so-to-speak. One is of the mind, while the other is generally about the experience.

And depending on which one of these guys you’ve encountered, you may find your enjoyment of your time spent with a Sagittarius male to be of two opposite ends of the spectrum as well.

The Sagittarius Male

Here’s a quick example to bring the point home. Here are two Sagittarius men at complete opposite ends of the spectrum – one of the enlightened mind, one of the primordial experience: Nostradamus, the great seer - and Nikki Sixx, the rocker of Motley Crue.

Both are Sagittarius males and each couldn’t be more different that the other. One is displaying the signs higher mind tendencies while the other is displaying the signs love of adventure and unadulterated experience. No real surprise as Sagittarius is one of the “mutable” (i.e. changeable) signs of the Zodiac. They are also ruled by the planet Jupiter, the planet of expansion, they have a love of the color purple, and they are associated with the 9th House, that of the “higher mind.”

Regardless of their status in life, this is an extremely intelligent group and you will find that some Sagittarius men put their intelligence to good use while others tend to use it for nefarious purposes.

An example of a cunning Sagittarius man putting his intelligence to use in nefarious ways would be Ted Bundy, the serial killer. He used his intelligence and charm to disarm women and ultimately turn them into unsuspecting victims that experienced horrific acts of violence and sadism at his hands.

Other Sagittarius men tend to use their intelligence in varied, much more positive ways and you will find that many a Sagittarius man tends to be a jack of all trades, master of none. Sagittarius men in general tend to know a little about everything. Many can repair a vehicle without ever being a mechanic, solve a computer problem without ever studying technology, or remodel a bathroom without ever being a contractor. While others spend, or dare I say waste, their intelligence on experience instead by taking adventurous trips of the mind so-to-speak.

The Sagittarius Darkside

To explain that a bit further, simply take a look at some of those that fall under this sign: Jimi Hendrix, Greg Allman, Keith Richards, Nikki Sixx, Billy Idol, Richard Pryor, Ozzy Osbourne and Jim Morrison. What’s the common thread that’s starting to come to mind as you read through these names? You got it: heavy drug use. Do they enjoy using drugs? Surprisingly, no. But they do enjoy what the drugs have to offer, which is a wild experience. This group o’ fellas likes to jump down the rabbit hole to see what they can see.

And let me tell you, when you've encountered an unprogressed Sagittarius man, you’re in for a real ride so hang on tight – or better yet, jump ship. The depths that these types of Sagittarius males will sink into is generally beyond our realms. They’ll dip into territories that honestly, you don’t want to be in. Don’t believe me? Read Nikki Sixx’s book, “The Heroin Diaries” and then come back and tell me what you think about his adventures. Chances are, these aren't the types of experiences that you bargain for when dating, unless you’re an absolute fool.

Pair up with a Sagittarius man like this and you’ll be like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz – trying to follow the yellow brick road home. All the while, he’ll be trying to pull you down into those depths with him. This type of Sagittarius man loves nothing more than to corrupt. But you see, he does not view exposing you to these experiences as corruption. Rather, he views himself as an honorable tour guide on a wild ride and he’s looking for a partner, a gal pal, to jump on board so he can show you things you've never seen before. You see, Jupiter, his planetary ruler, the planet of expansion, is skewing his view. He thinks he’s expanding your world in a positive manner by introducing you to experiences other guys wouldn't dare and in his mind, this makes him a special kinda guy.

"Stick with me babe and I’ll show you things you've never seen before.”

Run Toto, run.

The drama, the surprises, the sheer shock and pain that this type of Sagittarius male can, and will, bring into your life could honestly change it forever. Much like Alice who, during her trip down the rabbit hole in Wonderland – found that she came back to real life afterwards forever altered.

The unprogressed Sagittarius male motto has to be, “I’ll try anything – TWICE.”

This Sagittarius man isn't necessarily the type to learn from his mistakes as they find the experience in and of itself quite gratifying. It doesn't seem to matter if it all ended up a complete and total disaster as the outcome isn't what was important – the overall experience is what it was all about. This Sagittarius man tends to enjoy having been to places where others fear to tread.

Sagittarius Enlightenment

This brings me to the other end of the spectrum, to the enlightened or progressed Sagittarius male. And ladies, this type of Sagittarius man can be a real catch as he seems to highly value the experience of achievement. There’s nothing this man won’t conquer and win and spending time with this type of Sagittarius male can expose you to some of the most wonderful, enlightening moments of your life.

My father is this type of Sagittarius man. There’s nothing he won’t tackle and beat down into submission. A leaky faucet, a squeaky wheel, a computer problem, a broken electronic – you name it. It doesn’t matter if he’s ever encountered it before. He will research and educate himself, another nod to that higher mind, to no end to achieve success and successful he will be. This type of Sagittarius man is a good provider and a loyal spouse and places value on success.

Here are a few examples of the enlightened Sagittarius male: C.S. Lewis, Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, Walt Disney, Harry Chapin and Stephen Spielberg. As you can see, this is a group of great minds – visionaries and writers.

Dating this type of Sagittarius male can be a real joy. They are true gentlemen, they’ll always pick up the tab and they’ll be proud that you’re accompanying them. They open doors, literally and metaphorically, and will lift you up in life. This type of Sagittarius man cares. He cares what you think and he cares about whether or not you’re having a good time. You’ll hear this Sagittarius man asking, “Are you having fun” quite often and checking in with you periodically throughout the date to make sure that you continue to have a good time.

And if you’re not, he’ll quickly change it up (a nod to his mutable, changeable quality) to steer it in a positive direction again.

Sagittarius Male in a Nutshell

You see, when it comes to the Sagittarius male, a lot of it has to do with experiences, good or bad. This sign has a love of adventure and many enjoy a good degree of risk taking. Those nut jobs that you see base jumping off bridges or into deep canyons, many of those men are in the ranks of the Sagittarius.

These are mavericks that can appear reckless at times. A Sagittarius man’s displays of affection are over the top in love and relationships and they will always be the man in the room unafraid to approach the beautiful woman that the other men are intimidated by. Most times, you’ll find this happy go lucky chap leading with humor to win the ladies over and limitations do not exist in the Sagittarius man’s world.

Whether you’ve encountered the unprogressed or the more progressed Sagittarius male, both wish to turn his mate into an equal of himself - it’s a gal pal that this breed seeks. And if a Sagittarius male should happen to encounter a failure, he will harness the energy of the experience and channel it into his driving force. Inflicting an emotional wound on the archer will only cause him to think, “I’ll just have to do it better next time.”

But ladies, be prepared for some antics, especially when dealing with the darker of the two. Disappearing acts and bold faced lies, this one doesn’t like to answer to people. He’s on his own trip here and if you can’t take the heat, get outta the kitchen. And if you’re in the kitchen and the heat is getting to you, don’t bother complaining as it will have no bearing whatsoever on his experience or the path he’s currently on. “What do you mean? You’re not having fun?” They’re horrible liars but they do it anyway because confrontation sends them reeling as does a stagnant situation. And when it comes to dealing with reality – what the hell is that? This one’s always living in his own little utopia and it won't matter if you view it as his own private hell.

And when it comes to dating, if you’re the type of woman that likes doing her own thing, that’ll do just fine as many Sagittarius men need their space to drift off into from time to time. “You do your thing, I’ll do mine and we’ll meet at nine.”

Just make sure that you’re the one they’re circling back to. The unprogressed Sagittarius male can be especially sketchy, so be forewarned, secrets will abound and there won’t be just a few. You’ll find that many of them are quite shocking to be honest. Imagine the sign of Sagittarius like a tree, with beautiful green lush life thriving above the ground, and a dark, tangled, dank web of roots underneath - the dark and the light. I’ve had some of the most absolutely miserable dating experiences of my life with Sagittarius men who drove me nuts – and I’ve had some of the most wonderful experiences, too.

My advice to you: when faced with a Sagittarius male, do your homework. Don’t dive in head first. Size this one up and figure out which one you’re dealing with first - the dark or the light. Trust me here, ladies. Take your time, ask lots of questions and listen closely to the answers or you could be one of those women on an episode of “Who the Bleep Did I Marry.” You saw the light and you thought you won yourself an awesome catch. Everyone in your family said, “What a great guy!” Then one day, the earth cracked and you found yourself in a quagmire of lies, deceit and shocking secrets. That’s when those around you will be whispering, “But I thought he was such a nice guy!”

You see, the Sagittarius male is dying to experience life to its fullest in every aspect of the word. With these chaps, anything goes and most times - Sagittarius male goes right along with it.

Cooking For Zodiac Signs: Astrology Cookbook

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:58:00 +0000

Dating a Scorpio, Aquarius or Sagittarius? Is your Pisces girlfriend joining you for lunch? Or maybe your in-laws are coming for dinner and they're a Capricorn and Virgo couple. Then comes the big question, "So what's for dinner?"

According to "Lobster for Leos, Cookies for Capricorns" written by Sabra Ricci, you can make your next luncheon or dinner event a big hit simply by focusing on the Zodiac signs of your guests. This creative astrology cookbook can help you design the perfect meal by tapping into some age-old astrology insights.

Jenny McCarthy is a big fan, she wrote the forward for the book. So let's dive in and take a peek into what makes the perfect astrological stew for all you would-be witches and warlocks out there.

What I Liked About This Book

The first thing that impressed me about this astrology cookbook was the size. It's not one of those giant hardback books with 500 pages that becomes incredibly overwhelming when you go to actually put it to use. This is a nice, compact yet incredibly comprehensive astrology cookbook that gets right to the point. You'll locate all of the signs, food selections and recipes with ease.

The next thing that impressed me was the way Sabra went about choosing the food selections and recipes, which is via the body rulership of each Zodiac sign. For instance, Aries is ruled by the head. So what better way to approach cooking for an Aries than via their mind. Scorpio rules the pelvis, therefore, logically aphrodisiacs are the way to go. Cancer rules the stomach, so it's best not to serve them dishes that can cause embarrassing digestive issues.

Your Zodiac Sign in the Kitchen

Next, Sabra, whom you can find on Twitter @Mauichef and on Facebook at Sabra Ricci, covers a bit about the tendencies of each of the astrological signs in the kitchen:

". . .you have to know that if your Aquarius friend ever wants to have a dinner party, you must volunteer to help. Or maybe you should just take charge. This is not to say that Aquarius doesn't like to entertain and serve a wonderful meal to a wide group of friends. It's just that they can't seem to focus on all those pesky details long enough to make it happen on their own."

So for all of you residing with roommates, live in lovers, husbands and wives, you receive the opportunity to gain insight into their behavior and culinary tendencies in the kitchen. For those of you residing with an Aquarius, now you're on notice (that is, if you haven't already recognized this tendency about them) - you're assistance is needed when it comes to preparation, planning and details.

Your Zodiac Sign As A Guest

The book then moves into the area of guest by zodiac sign:

"You should serve sumptuous dishes prepared for a king, exotic, flavorful dishes anyone would expect to find served at a palace. Be sure to save the head of the table for your Leo guest, where they will be the center of attention.

When Leo is truly in his element, he can't help but be gracious and your other guests won't even realize that the limelight isn't focused on them."

To me, this is perhaps the most insightful part as well as the most helpful when entertaining. Throwing a fabulous dinner party can create lots of excitement along with lots of anxiety.

Sabra takes all of that anxiety away by exploring what each of the Zodiac signs is like as a guest in your home so that you know what to expect.

Foods By Zodiac Sign

This part was a nice inclusion due to the fact that you can either choose one of the many recipes provided in the book for each sign of the Zodiac or you can pick a few food items recommended for each sign and then simply create your own concoction.

So if you're not good at following directions or you don't have all of the ingredients for a recipe on hand and it's a "last minute" type of event, you can easily toss something together using one or more of the recommended food items and still leave a big impression on your guest.

You might not have been prepared, but your guest will be none the wiser.

Recipe Suggestions by Zodiac Sign

This is my favorite part. The minute I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, it just so happened that I had a conversation with a Pisces girlfriend that same afternoon about recipes of all things. I decided right there that I wanted to test Sabra's suggestions in the real world.

I explained briefly to my Pisces friend that I received an astrological cookbook for review and then threw out two of the suggested recipe titles for the sign of Pisces, "Crab Cakes with Julienned Mango and Red Pepper Aioli" and "Zesty Chile-Cheese Cornbread."

I wasn't sure what her response would be because the first recipe sounded a tad "involved." Surprisingly, she didn't hesitate one moment and her immediate response was:

"Wow, that's right up my alley, that's so me!"

So you see, there's something for everyone here. And what may seem like or sound a tad involved to one, is music to another's ears.

Which leads me to my next point about the book, another one that I really liked, is that Sabra thought of everything. She doesn't just provide one or two recipes for each sign, she provides many. Some are simple recipes while others are meant to be a big hit outta' the park. So the choice is yours. If you don't feel like necessarily going all out for your guest, you can choose one of the simpler recipes. However, if you're finally dating that Virgo guy you've been gunning for for over a year now and there he is - sitting at your dining room table - you can choose one of the more impressive recipes and hit a home run.

And the same goes for other types of guests in your home. If you've got a Scorpio mother-in-law coming over that's stung you recently, you can simply set out a tray of "Triple Ginger Chocolate Shortbread Cookies" and call it a day. However, if you've managed to get through that tough outta shell of hers and she's welcomed you into her inner circle, you can go all out and serve "Asian Honey Chicken Kabobs."

And did you notice the cookie mention there? Yes folks, desserts and cookie recipes are included as well.

An Appetizer Preview For You

Aries: Honey Walnut Shrimp

Taurus: Zucchini Bread with Toasted Brazil Nuts

Gemini: Cantaloupe, Tomato and Basil Salad with Feta Cheese

Cancer: Green Tea, Pineapple and Ginger Martini for Two

Leo: Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

Virgo: Grilled New York Strips with Portobello Mushrooms and Horseradish Sauce

Libra: Cranberry Pistachio Scones

Scorpio: Malpeque Oysters with Ginger Mignonette Sauce

Sagittarius: Chocolate Dipped Coconut Biscotti

Capricorn: Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Glazed Apples and Cloves

Aquarius: Chicken Katsu

Pisces: Chipotle White Bean Grilled Chicken Chili

DISCLOSURE

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for review. However, my opinions of this book are not tainted by the fact that it was free. For those of you who may not know, I'm a Taurus female with four planets in the sign of Aries, a woman on the Aries/Taurus cusp. If I don't like something, you'll know.

Experiences With An Aries Male

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:09:00 +0000

I'm a female Taurus and I'll be honest, every new friend, male or female, I seem to make over the years is . . . you guessed it, an Aries.

It's a funny thing and many say that Aries, in particular, seem to be inexplicably drawn to Taurus folks. Anyone who is versed in mythology knows that Ares (Aries), the God of War, and the Goddess Aphrodite, a.k.a the Goddess Venus (planetary ruler of Taurus), bore a child together - Cupid. Being familiar with the Aries personality, many times I can't help but think it's because they underestimate the Taurus personality and tend to think Taurus is someone who will put up with them - and their giant egos, both male and female.

Anyone who truly knows the Aries personality realizes that I didn't just insult them there. Many an Aries will readily admit that it's all about them and this is especially true for the Aries male.

A previous post about experiences with a Taurus male has generated so much interest and discussion that I thought it'd be fun to explore the world of the Aries. But first, I'd like to note that I'm going to tread into some murky waters here and before all you Aries that are in denial begin to bash me for it, let me just say that I know plenty of wonderful Aries, men and women both. So as you continue to read this, please keep that in mind.

The Aries Male

The Aries male is a "mans man" for sure. A macho type that perceives himself as a knight in shining armor. If you ever hear a damsel in distress wailing for assistance, you can be sure that the men charging towards her are going to mainly consist of the Aries breed. And why is this you ask? My opinion is that it's because of their inflated sense of self. In their mind, if they rescue that damsel, she'll be so thankful for him having done so, she'll place him on that pedestal that he feels he so deserves.

You see, Aries men love nothing more than to be the center of someone's universe. Err, let me correct that. The Aries man loves nothing more than to be the center of - the entire universe. And for those of you close to an Aries male, I'm sure you can agree with that statement and your Aries man, most likely, will too. Aries men carry quite the sense of entitlement and many will readily admit to "deserving" things. Especially anything that they feel they've worked hard for. And work hard they do. The Aries male is no slouch. They like to enjoy the finer things in life and they aren't afraid to work for them. As a result of this tenacity and determination, the Aries man is generally a successful man - and they aren't shy about that. They love to hear themselves talk - about themselves and their successes.

You know the old Charlie Brown cartoons? Remember how it would sound when the teacher would speak? "Wah, wah, wah." That's what the Aries male generally hears when others are speaking - nothing but background noise. But when it comes his turn to steal the floor, and steal the floor they will, the spotlight comes on.

If dating an Aries man, on his good days, you'll encounter quite the gentlemen. He prides himself on this but watch out ladies! Aries men are quite the charmers. He'll be happy to have you by his side, he may lather you up with plenty of wonderful compliments and he'll always pick up the tab. After all, he's "the man." The Aries male will watch out for you, he'll defend your honor, and he'll open doors for you. But there's a price to pay for all of this - and that is that you will be his and only his.

Aries men can go so far with this entitlement behavior that you may find yourself unable to have a friendly conversation with any other male on the planet - ever. Psychopathic behavior and furious rage may ensue and when it does, don't make the mistake of confusing this with jealousy. It's about the competition and beating rivals, it has nothing to do with you. And beware, many an Aries man loves to compete with his best bud for a gal, especially if his best bud really likes her. When this happens, once again, it's not about the gal, it's about the competition. It's simply to prove who the better man is and many Aries men can be downright man-whores.

And ladies, when the Aries male rings your phone, you'd better answer and you'd better make yourself available to him. You could be meeting with the Pope and it wouldn't matter - your Aries man had better come first. These guys need lots of attention, from you and from the rest of the world. You see, he's the superstar in his universe and you'd better be his biggest fan at all times, or someone else will move into your worshipping position and right quick.

And my last point leads me into those murky waters I referenced earlier. What's worse than an Aries not receiving the attention that they feel so deserving of? Absolutely nothing!

Being the first sign of the zodiac, you can liken the Aries personality to the babies of the zodiac. Watching an irritated Aries man act out is like watching a two year old throw a temper tantrum. It's like that old saying, "The bigger the man, the harder the fall." This is particularly true for the Aries male.

Aries Male Game Playing and Story Telling

Which leads me to my next point concerning the Aries personality in general, male and female alike - game playing. Just as children love to play games, so does the Aries persona. As a matter of fact, it's admittedly one of their favorite ways to pass the time. It's almost as if the world exists simply for their entertainment and everyone in it is a character that can be easily manipulated by them for their own enjoyment. Many times, without giving any thought to the fact that these people they're toying with are human beings, with real feelings. They don't mean to be mean, it's just that they're so caught up in their own world all the time, they don't ever seem to take much time to consider others.

All the Aries head games we're about to delve into won't come as a shock if you understand astrology. You see, their body rulership is that of the head. Eyes, ears, mouth, brain. So it comes as no real shock that head games are so intriquing to them. And one interesting observation is that many an Aries male keeps his hairdo top o' the list. Many sport the "jar head" look - a crew cut or very finely tuned crisp cut, a military look of sorts. I'd venture to guess that Aries men visit the barber twice as often as the average man.

I have a great example of their zany game playing that's just for kicks. I met this one particular Aries male about 5 years ago during a business encounter. He was from the neighborhood so I was somewhat already aware of his background. I already knew what he did for a living and, as is typical of Aries men, he had a great job and a successful career. You'd think that'd be enough to tout about, right? Wrong.

This chap happens by my house one day and we get to talking on the front porch. Nothing heavy, just friendly small talk. And out of nowhere, he says to me, "I used to be a DEA agent down in Chile." (Really? That's funny because I already know that you were a trouble shooter for a big company nearby.) Before I can get one word out, he's elaborating on this fib and watching my reaction closely. Me, being a Taurus, I chose not to call him on his ridiculousness that particular day. I just let him dig himself deeper as this story of his became more elaborate and dramatized by the minute.

But before I go on, let me back up here a minute. I actually hired this fella to do some work on my home. (Hmm, an undercover DEA agent that moonlights as a contractor - interesting, LOL.) Anywho, the day he showed up to do the job, it was about 58 or 59 degrees out, a breezy Spring day. I saw him go up on the roof, fully clothed, and about an hour later, he was knocking at my door, clipboard and invoice in hand - shirtless. Yes folks, shirtless and half naked on a 58 degree day - in the clients living room. He's standing there with a big grin on his face and when he sees me approaching, he lets himself in, in typical Aries fashion, before I even make it to the door. And I swear, when he stepped inside the house it was like the Flight of the Valkyries was blaring in his head. "Da, da, da, da, DAH - da, da, da, da, DAH." It was like he saw himself as the lead character in his own movie about to perform his Oscar winning performance. Needless to say, we were never involved other than business and my friends and I now affectionately refer to him as "the naked contractor."

Ok, now back to the DEA story. At a later date, he ended up boppin on by again - another infamous Aries male trait - coming over when they're not invited or expected (to spy on you). Only this time, I decided to confront him in typical Taurus fashion about the DEA bit. I said, "Tell me again what you do for a living?" (Aries translation: Talk about yourself more.) His response? A big smirk began to display across his face, he looked down at the ground like a little boy kicking stones (awe shucks), and said, "I was a trouble shooter." And he just about cracked himself up over the whole thing.

You see, it was all for kicks, a game, and he was gunning for a big reaction to stroke that giant ego of his. "Oh wow! Really?! You were a big, bad DEA agent in another country (which doesn't even make sense in and of itself) - oh boy!! You must be the worlds most interesting man alive!" That's what he was shooting for anyway. That isn't the reaction he got from a Taurus, however. We rarely ever play our cards on the first few rounds.

The Aries Male Dark Side

That particular story is one that relates to playful Aries games. However, they do have a darker side, as do we all, and believe you me, they love nothing more than a good skirmish with someone. A girlfriend of mine that was involved with an Aries for more than 40 years claims that a heated debate can be much like foreplay to them. Like one of those scenes in the old fashioned black and white movies where the woman's telling this guy what she really thinks of him, she's really letting him have it - and then he suddenly and unexpectedly grabs her and lays a long, passionate kiss on her. That's the stuff of Aries mens dreams. If you want to see an Aries man come alive, start a heated debate.

But a hurt Aries male and the games that will ensue afterwards are something of an entirely different nature indeed. Ladies, beware. These guys can be downright cruel, especially during a breakup. The Aries male motto concerning love and relationships just has to be, "All is fair in love and war." And to the Aries male, love IS war.

I've seen many an Aries man, within days of a breakup, strut another woman in the previous womans face - and with great delight, like they just won the World Cup. I've seen them come up with ways to make the previous woman jealous that you wouldn't believe, gunning for that big reaction. You know, the kind where the woman just looses her mind and goes all crazy ape on the guy. An Aries man won't be put off by that behavior, he'll be thoroughy entertained by it and he'll be sharing that story with his buds. "You shoulda seen her, she went nuts. It was great! I wish you could've seen it!" Yes ladies, these guys will "stoop." They'll play dirty and throw all the rules of etiquette right out the window - and into your face.

Speaking of games, other favorite dating past times of the Aries male include doing silly things like sending a slew of texts and then - poof, disappearing for hours once they get you to respond. They also get a big kick out of making plans and then cancelling at the last minute. Much of this is to test your emotional strength. Will you go ballistic? If you do, they got your number - let the games begin! If you don't, you're a challenge. Again, let the games begin!

Maybe some of the above has happened to you and, dare I say, you seek revenge on an Aries. If so, play it careful, ladies. Once you engage these fellas, it's on.

Aries Male In A Nutshell

Are you getting what I'm throwing down yet? See the theme developing here? Games, challenges, conquering and warrior like behavior tinged with worship. It's even better when it all ends with a "rescue" of sorts. The Aries male is a true gladiator and when you think things may be going badly, chances are - he's having the time of his life. This one loves a good bit of drama. Which I believe is the reason you see so many Aries/Gemini pairings. We all know the Gemini personality tends to be a split personality of sorts. The continued drama, worry, nervousness and indecisiveness of the Gemini persona seems to keep the Aries interested and continually challenged over the long haul.

Drama, drama, drama and a pure love of the thrill of the chase. So much so, that once they catch you - all too often, they then quickly disappear. Why behave like this, you ask? It's about the challenge. If that disappears and they've figured you out, as much as I hate to say it, you become boring to them. If you're gunning for an Aries male, my advice to you if you'd like to snag him would be to run in the other direction. Just run, run and then keep running from him. He'll chase you like there's no tomorrow and he'll love every minute of it.

What woman is the woman that usually captures the Aries man's heart? This is funny, but most times, a woman that's been with an Aries man for a while will tell you, "When I first met him, I didn't like him." And he knew it - and that's when the chase began, he stumbled - and then fell in love. These chaps are funny, the more you dislike them, the more they like you and the harder they set out to change your mind. And don't let the macho masculinity of this sign throw you - they love a woman that speaks her mind and isn't afraid to put them in their place every once in a while. You may think you're going to upset them by speaking frankly, but the fact is, they'll be thoroughly entertained by your tenacity and find you even more intriquing.

All that being said, generally, you can always count on the Aries male, regardless of your history together, friendship or otherwise. And once all the game playing and worshipping comes to an end, 90% of the time, you can look back on it together and have a laugh. When you've reached that point, feel free to poke fun at the Aries male for all his zany behavior and crazy story telling - I do it all the time with my Aries friends, male and female alike, and they can, indeed, laugh at themselves.

And then eventually will come the day they actually admit to "the game" - and they'll be quite sad it's all over.

"For Zeus wept when there were no worlds left to conquer."

Occupy Movement: Are You In or Out?

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:08:00 +0000

It’s on the television, it’s being discussed in forums, on social media sites, in newspapers and across the Net. And one thing shocks me about all of this discussion – that many people are ridiculing and mocking the protesters.

I hear people like Newt Gingrich saying silly things like they need to “get a job” and “take a bath?” Seriously, Newt? They WANT jobs, that’s part of the movement. So you tell me, where can they get one? At McDonald’s? Or maybe the local gas station?

And take a bath? Wow, you really left yourself open for this one, Newt. You know who needs a bath? Some of our filthy dirty politicians, that’s who. To ridicule American citizens that just want to be able to put food on the table just goes to show you the arrogance and elitist attitude of people in positions of power nowadays that are unaffected by the conditions of our economy.

Another thing I’m hearing repeatedly is that these protestors are on private property. Newsflash, folks. Public parks are not private property. There are only two privately owned parks in the entire city of New York and if you have a right to be there, so do they. Many are saying the same thing about the students at UC Davis University that were pepper-sprayed by police. Again, newsflash. That is a taxpayer funded institution, they were on taxpayer property.

Frankly, I’m amazed this movement didn’t start years ago when the American taxpayers bailed out large corporations and financial institutions that then proceeded to reward themselves for a “job well done” with gigantic bonuses. Bonuses that were taxpayer funded. And when it was all said and done, collectively, these institutions made $13 billion (yes, I said billion) that they freely pocketed from the bailout. If you're somewhat confused regarding what the movement is about or what some of their complaints are, check out this video that explains the "robbery" that took place by the 1% from the bailouts and see what the Feds didn't want you to see:

Regarding the Occupy Wall Street movement, I’m glad those people are out there bringing attention to the unethical trading behavior that has taken place which, ultimately, brought the housing industry to its knees. One of these behaviors took place within Goldman Sachs. Let’s take a look at this one example. Goldman played both sides of the fence with sub-prime mortgages.

Here’s how it worked: Goldman Sachs underwrote CDO’s which are securities created from pools of sub-prime mortgages. When they began to plunge, Goldman’s customers suffered some serious losses. However, in the year 2007, Goldman’s itself made millions and boasted $4 billion (yes, I said billion) dollars in profit.

How did they do this? Here’s the kicker – they bet AGAINST you paying your mortgage. They bet AGAINST the sub-prime mortgages they themselves underwrote. While Goldman continued to peddle CDO’s as profitable investments to their customers, they themselves BET AGAINST them – they placed bets, just like in Vegas, that you would fail at paying that loan. And the financial institutions began issuing mortgage loans to people that they knew really couldn’t pay them back because either way, there was money to be made. And when that happened – voila!

Millions in the pockets of Goldman-Sachs:
“Goldman's mortgage department underwrote collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, complex securities created from pools of subprime mortgages and other debt. When those securities plunged in value this year, Goldman's customers suffered major losses, as did units within Goldman itself, due to their CDO holdings.

The question now being raised: Why did Goldman continue to peddle CDOs to customers early this year while its own traders were betting that CDO values would fall? A spokesman for Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the issue.“

How is this all legal? You’d have to pose that question to our government, particularly the Clinton administration. They lifted all of the restraints on the operations of large financial institutions:
“An agreement between the Clinton administration and congressional Republicans, reached during all-night negotiations which concluded in the early hours of October 22, sets the stage for passage of the most sweeping banking deregulation bill in American history, lifting virtually all restraints on the operation of the giant monopolies which dominate the financial system.”

Legal, yes. Ethical, no. Which begs me to ask the question, why is it that ethics do not play a part in business in this country? Clearly, many people are “in bed” together here and the corruption runs deep. And the answer to my own question: The reason ethics do not play a part in business in this country is because too many people in positions of power are making too much money by separating the two.

And for those of you who do not see that our government is threatened by this movement, those of you mocking and ridiculing it out there, just an FYI – The Huffington Post reported that one of its editors spotted two Homeland Security vans observing the movement:
“A Huff Post editor said he saw two Homeland Security vans parked near the Brooklyn Bridge during Thursday night's march.”

Our leadership doesn’t want American citizens speaking up, they want them to shut up and just “drink the Kool-Aid.” An example of this is the treatment of the UC Davis students that were pepper-sprayed while enacting Freedom of Assembly and Freedom of Speech on taxpayer property. That’s what leadership thinks about your Freedom of Speech.

And a little known fact about this particular incident, not only did they spray peaceful, unarmed American citizens at point blank range – they pinned several of the students down and forced them to ingest the toxic irritant by spraying it directly down their throats. One student was coughing up blood some 45 minutes later.

Is this how you want your children treated on a college campus by our authorities? Umm, can anyone say Kent State? There is now a full investigation taking place and the police chief along with two officers on the scene are now on leave.

For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, I would advise you to watch the documentary titled “Inside Job” which Matt Damon narrates. Even if you don’t back the Occupy movement, I ask you to give it a watch anyway:

And a freaky video started going viral recently by an anonymous group. It’s somewhat bizarre, but the message is clear. They’re calling for a world-wide revolution against the powers that be. Not sure what I think of this one, but I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

One more thing. Many have been claiming that the businesses surrounding the areas where these protests are taking place are against it. I have a friend of a friend that actually works on Wall Street – and she’s FOR the movement. She works there and she sees what takes place there. And she has personally witnessed many of the restaurants in the area supporting the protestors by giving out some free food and drink to them.

And now we have former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Procter & Gamble director Rajat Gupta facing criminal charges. Gupta allegedly leaked confidential information about Goldman and P&G to hedge-fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, who was convicted of criminal insider-trading charges in May.

I again ask Newt Gingrich – who needs a bath? American citizens protesting and exposing men in positions of power behaving nefariously? Or could it be that the men in positions of power need that bath just a little bit more, Newt?

So now I ask you, regarding the Occupy movement, are you in or out? Or are you taking a big ole’ chug o’ the Kool-Aid right now?

Natural Disaster Cell Phone Outages

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:03:00 +0000

Don’t ask me why, but this is a topic that I feel compelled to write about. Strange, isn’t it? Cell phones and natural disasters – you’re probably thinking, “What?”

I’ll get right to the point here. It simply amazes me at how many people are completely, 100% relying solely on their cell phone for communication. Many people no longer have access to a landline in their home. And I get it – why pay two phone bills, right?

Well, there are several things to consider here and one good reason, especially:

Natural disasters.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to begin running around like Chicken Little here, screaming that they sky is falling. And as far as the apocalypse is concerned . . . I feel that the “end of the world as we know it” will mean just exactly that. The end “as we know it,” meaning that with which we are familiar with. Not an end to mankind, but an evolutionary leap forward into a new, more aware, more evolved way of living.

Ok, enough of that. Now that I’ve got that out of the way, let’s face it – we may have been living through the apocalypse for the last 10 years or so and just didn’t know. Ever consider that? Tsunamis, earthquakes, rampant large scale wildfires, hurricanes, civil unrest, mistrust of political leadership, financial crisis, terroristic attacks, flooding on grand scales . . . sounds apocalyptic enough to me.

Ever notice what the first thing to go in one of these scenarios is?

You guessed, it – cell phone service.

One minute into a potential large scale crisis situation and BAM – service crashes. Sometimes for hours, sometimes for days on end. So for those of you relying solely on cell phone service as your mode of verbal communication, you may want to rethink that.

I realize landlines may crash in the event of a grand scale disaster, but you may at least get in touch with a family member or two first before it happens. If you’re relying on a cell phone to do so, chances are – you won’t reach ANYONE.

We recently had an earthquake in Pennsylvania if you can believe that. And a fairly significant one. I believe when all was said and done, it was deemed a 6.1. A friend of mine lives in Virginia, which was much closer to the epicenter. I tried contacting them immediately. No go. Within moments – absolutely no service whatsoever. In the end, she was without service for hours that day, unable to reach her spouse who was in Washington, D.C.

And when the Twin Towers fell on 9/11 . . . I don’t need to remind you that cell service was down immediately and for quite some time afterward. Most of the people getting through to loved ones that day were the ones telephoning home via office landlines from inside the building.

And there are other scenarios to consider as well. Cell phones need charged. What if your cell is low and God forbid, you’re the victim of a home invasion? As much as we hate to think it’ll happen to us, these things do happen, folks. What if someone is attempting to break into your home and you forgot to charge your cell? What if someone has broken into your home, and you’re in a room where the service is sketchy for whatever reason and calls tend to drop? What if you’re hiding under the bed or in the closet in this dreadful scenario? Does your cell receive a signal from there? The answer may be “no” – but I bet your cordless landline does.

It’s a sign o’ the times . . . and if you ask me, these are some very uncertain times we are living through. It stinks to have to think like this . . . but to think otherwise is unrealistic to me. And to think it can’t happen to you is. . . well, arrogant. Bad things can, and do happen, unfortunately.

Once again, just some food for thought, folks.

But I’m curious, have any of you experienced any of these scenarios and perhaps thought better of relying solely on cell phone service as a result? How many of you have experienced cell phone service outages in a crisis situation?

I think this could be a topic for some interesting discussion . . .

GoDaddy CEO: Guns Down Elephant

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:52:00 +0000

I, along with many others, am outraged at the latest antics of the GoDaddy.com CEO, Bob Parsons, who is very unapologetic about his nightime slaughter of an elephant. Bob seems to think that the end justifies the means here - hundreds of villagers were fed. However, upon further investigation, another video has been uncovered that features Bob gunning down a leopard. And I highly doubt the leopard ended up on anyone's dining table.

Apparently however, there is hope for mankind as Bob's slaughter has caused some 20,000+ people to leave GoDaddy.com. Could it be that justice will be done here once it hits ole Bob in the pocketbook? One can only hope. It's almost as bad as Sarah Palin, who gunned down a mother bear with two cubs trailing behind her from a helicopter. Wow, that's some real feat there, Sarah. She saw the two cubs, shot the mother - and then the cubs were gathered and sent to a sanctuary. Gee, thanks Sarah. You've taken two wild bear cubs and relinquished them to a life of captivity. You can see Sarah's love of nature here.

I don't know about you, but I am outraged and what is taking place on our planet. After all, this is MY planet, too. I am a member of the NRDC and I have just recently been notified, along with thousands of others, that Congress has recently behaved nefariously regarding the gray wolf population here in the states. Somehow, in the dead of night mind you, Congress managed to override the endangered species act and opened up the gray wolf population to slaughter.

Additionally, the buffalo population near Yellowstone National Park has also come under fire as well as the wild mustang population out west. They are now rounding up hundreds of buffalo that wander outside the sanctuary of the park and slaughtering them. They have also just rounded up some 400+ wild mustangs and sent them to China. Their future? Dog food.

Again, reminding everyone that this is OUR PLANET, too . . . do the people not have a say in this senseless slaughter beginning to take place in this country and elsewhere? Personally, I do not have any children, however, if I did - I'd like for them to see wild buffalo, wild mustangs and wild gray wolves roaming free. Do you not want the same for your children?

And for those complaining about damage being done by these creatures, which they feel somehow justifies their slaughter, might I mention that if we did not continually encroach and spread like cancer across this planet into these creatures free roaming territories - we might not have this problem. If you're going to farm in gray wolf territory . . . why do you feel that you should not have to deal with the gray wolf repercussions of that? Why is it the wolves fault and not the fault of man? Why are the wolves bearing the sole responsibility instead of man - the one's encroaching upon their territory?

It's a sad day when wild, free roaming creatures that have every right to be here, just as we do, are being slaughtered to make man's life easier. Not only are they being slaughtered, they're being forced to live their lives in very small territories where it's safe - which is usually park lands.

You know, there once was a day when the buffalo roamed the entire western territories free. There once was a day when witnessing wild mustangs frolicing on the prairie took your breath away. There once was a day when the gray wolf roamed free and wasn't on the endangered species list. And who is responsible for all of these devastating changes? Man. Plain and simple. Mankind. If it's in our way, if it's hindering us and our cancer-like spread over this earth, if it's creating any kind of problem - we simply do away with it. We don't look for remedies for everyone and everything to live in harmony - we simply push the delete button.

I firmly believe that it is possible for a society to live as one with nature and I can only hope that I live long enough to see that day come. And again, I don't know about you - but I am sickened by all of this. If you'd like to make a difference, please consider joining the NRDC as they fight the good fight to keep man and this planet in balance. And for those of you that believe that money is necessary to do so, well in many cases, you're correct, donations are needed.

However, YOUR VOICE is sometimes all it takes. Speak up, be loud, be heard - power to the people, folks.

Our power is in our numbers and our voices can rise above the din. I've included this video in a previous article, however, it seems fitting to be included here as well. Power to the people . . . stand up and be heard.

Leave The Dark Age And Enter The Light

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:30:00 +0000

Last night, I was enjoying my first issue of a new magazine subscription I just received, Shambhala Sun, and in it, there was a piece that struck me titled, "Just Leap!" written by Sakyong Mipham. The first sentences read:

"This current Dark Age, to put it very simply, has come about by people not properly being on the spot. We have ended up in a distracted, mindless state . . . "

Something about those first four words really resonated with me - "this current Dark Age." To be honest, it was somewhat of an "Ah ha!" moment for me. Yes! We are in a Dark Age. Finally, that's it! That's the perfect phrase to describe exactly what I've been personally observing of mankind.

We are in a Dark Age, folks.

And by that, I mean this - as a race, Sakyong is correct, we've lost our focus. What gives us the greatest pleasure in life is to love, accept and assist your fellow man. I mean let's face it, we are a social species. We need acceptance, we need to love, we need to be loved, and we need to assist and be assisted by others. Yet those necessities seem somewhat further out of reach than they ever have before. We have a lot of technology that keeps us "social" and connects us with others. But is that really the type of connection that feeds our souls? Do you feel all warm and fuzzy when connecting with an avatar in a social forum? I'd say, no. It's an impersonal connection at best and a virtually anonymous connection at its worst. It's what I term a "superficial social."

And when it comes to support, love, assistance and acceptance – I wonder, is that really even possible these days? That's a tricky one because some would say that they do find those necessities in the real world and the virtual one. But how can someone really support, love and assist you via your laptop or mobile device? Isn't a face-to-face connection really required to “feel” for someone in a genuine manner?

In the real world, frankly, it just seems that such matters are relatively unimportant to most people these days. Everyone’s more worried about getting the next best gadget or updating their Facebook page than they are about how people perceive them, or how they can help, support and assist others, or things such as integrity, reputation, compassion, kindness - those somewhat esoteric concepts that they cannot grasp or feel in their hands. Those are the concerns of days gone by. Matters that held much more importance with previous generations, but not much weight with today’s society.

Remember the days when someone’s word was everything? It wasn't that long ago.

These days, people are busy, they're in a hurry, and they're generally focused on "self" instead of "others." Add to that a need for instant gratification, which makes everyone a tad more selfish, abrupt, arrogantly expectant and thus, ugly and somewhat cross in nature.

In the real world, this all creates a mentality that's somewhat of a, "Hurry up, tell me what you can do for me. . . I don't have much time." An abrupt and somewhat cross type of attitude. Many people sense this type of overall “disgust” mentality so they withdraw from it and plug into their electronics and settle for "superficial social" bonds instead. There they can find an instant superficial connection that they really don't have to invest much of themselves into.

Let’s face it, making bonds and forming satisfactory relationships in the real world is much more difficult when compared to the virtual world because you have to actually make investments into those relationships. You have to be present, you have to be available, you have to be understanding, you have to be supportive and you may, at times, even have to do things that you otherwise would not choose to be doing simply to make the other person happy and balance the bond.

Give and take is required. People love to take but giving proves a bit more difficult these days. None of that is required in the virtual world. There, you make an instant connection, you are instantly accepted, you receive instant support in the form of texts, tweets or emails, and you're not required to be physically present. It's a lot less work. It's the easy way out. Besides, when you've used up that connection or you just don't want it anymore - it's much easier to get rid of someone in the virtual world than it is to stand in front of their face and reject them or push them away.

I’m a child of the 70’s and my teenage years were spent enjoying the headbanging days of the 80’s. We didn't end friendships or break off relationships via text or email or by changing our Facebook status from “In a Relationship” to “Single” or by “unfriending” someone. Me and my peeps spent just about every single day together, hanging out, conversing, enjoying life and each others company. Because of that, many of my friendships extend back some 35 years - to my first day of kindergarten. The bonds are so strong that to this day, many of us are in touch regularly, still get together and the children of my peeps are now forming those types of relationships with one another. What you could call a “second generation” bond has resulted from those earlier bonds created.

I wonder, will today’s youth be able to experience those same types of strongly bonded, long lasting relationships and friendships? The kind that possibly even get passed onto the next generation? Hmm . . .

Real relationships require real work. Whether it's a friendship, a romantic connection, a neighborly connection, a working relationship - it doesn't matter, real world relationships take real work. And in the end, they are the much more satisfying type of "social" that we seek. So why are so many people investing in "superficial social" relationships rather than doing the work required to maintain a real world relationship?

Why are so many people living in the dark?

Let's be honest with ourselves, this really isn't our finest hour:

• We're polluting our planet at a previously unseen rate of destruction;

• we're placing the important people in our life on the back burner because there's always something more pressing;

• we're not spending quality time with our children because we're too busy, (that's what daycares and grandmothers are for);

• we're quickly judging people at a superficial face value rather than investing the time to get to know them on an inner level;

• we're moving through life at the speed of sound and making quick, erroneous assumptions all over the place;

• we're not volunteering our time to those in need;

• we don’t give things such as compassion, integrity, reputation and character much value;

• we prefer superficial, unsatisfying social relationships because real world relationships require too much time, effort and understanding – too much work;

• we're generally ignorant to one another, even though we don't realize this and it's not our intention;

• if we do a favor for someone, it’s a big damn deal that’s really put us out, it’s not the kind courtesy of assistance anymore;

• we're behaving as cowards who cannot seem to face one another directly;

• we have very little compassion or patience for one another;

• and the only connections we're investing in are those that can benefit us somehow.

Indeed, it is a dark age for mankind.

Many of you may disagree with my observations above and you're certainly entitled to do so. If you're finding that being "superficially social" is working for you . . . well then it works for you. But in that case, I'd have to ask that you read through the above bulleted points and ask yourself, "Can I identify with any of these?" I bet you find that the answer to that question is, "Yes."

Turn on the light and pull yourself out of the dark.

None of this makes us bad people perse'. . . it just seems that we've lost our focus and we've forgotten what this life is for – for living, interacting, loving and experiencing – both the good and the bad. Instead of "we" many are coming at life from a perspective of "me." That thinking needs to be reversed if our species is to survive and evolve further. That arrogant mentality is the type of mentality that exists right before a great fall – just ask the Romans if you don’t believe me. Abundance, luxury, self-importance, lack of compassion, and a false sense of security.

When you focus too much on yourself and your superiority, your narrow lens doesn't allow you to see your downfall rushing towards you.

Web Bot: Latest Report Flood Warnings

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:30:00 +0000

For those of you hungering for more information regarding the Web Bot Project, created by Cliff of Half Past Human, you'll be happy to hear that the next ALTA report will be available for purchase on January 25, 2011 for a minimal fee of $10.

While interpreting the latest report, Cliff was asked a question by a reader in Australia about the current floods there - so he decided to take a closer look at the immediacy data sets. Cliff explains that the immediacy data sets are:

". . . effective from 3/three days out to 3/three weeks (more or less), and as a rule contain some of the higher level emotional linguistics to be found, which are frequently the most freakishly accurate."

Here's a tidbit regarding what Cliff discovered about the floods:

"Our data sets over the past year have had lots of instance of descriptors for the kinds of flooding activity that is now overwhelming the humans and animals and plants in Australia.

The damage has already reached serious and impacting levels. The nasty part of the forecasts from both 2009, and 2010 relative to [floods in places that NEVER flood], is that we had also seen references within those same data sets for [dams failing]...and also curiously, for a [dam saved].

This last set included specifics going to [at the last minute], and [through (close/detailed) attention]."

And he further states:

". . .the data suggests yet more [torrents] will be forth coming."

To read the full disclosure of Cliff's findings on the Australian floods, visit his latest post titled, "Oy! Mate! Look over there....!"

And be sure to visit Cliff's site on January 25, 2011 for the next Web Bot ALTA report titled, "The Shape of Things to Come (2011) - Issue Nine (9)."

And, as always, please be advised that the Web Bot ALTA reports are, as Cliff states, "Not For Children of Any Age."

2011 Horoscope: Personal Growth

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:53:00 +0000

The skies are indicating that this is the year for major leaps and bounds of personal growth for many of the signs. Jupiter (luck) and Uranus (surprises) are on the move and in the picture bringing along with them some surprising good fortune.

And when it comes to horoscopes, I know that many of you are seeking the love and relationship aspects above all else. Therefore, I've decided to touch on the love and relationship patterns trending for each of the signs in the year 2011.

So without further adieu, let's get on with it!

Aries

The pattern of stagnation that Aries has been in the past few years is going to lift. Kick off those cinder-block shoes, Aries! All those foundations you've laid? This is the year to build upon them. There are big and very fortunate surprises in store for your career this year as well as love and relationships. However, nothing is for free and you will need to learn to slow down, think things through and take notice of others around you - taking their feelings into account as well. If you want the big payoffs that await you this year, you have to take the big risks involved in attaining them. That means opening up to others, revealing your true self, and acting with good will and honesty as your guides. Challenges will appear in the early part of the year and the key to overcoming these challenges will be to work things through - not to bolt and run for the hills as you normally do.

Taurus

Friends are key this year for support and encouragement. And the good news is that this is the year for Taurus to shine! Taurus is entering a "golden phase" in June of 2011 that will be one for the history books. Love and relationship matters will be flourishing at an all time high. You are now acutely aware that success depends upon your ability to open up and connect with your partner and trust is critical to this matter. It's time to begin trusting, Taurus. The key to overcoming this challenge will be to take it slow. Remember, a bull only moves when it wants to. You can't push it, pull it or run it over. Slooooow. Plenty of new faces are headed your way this spring so steady and ready yourself for the influx. Be prepared to shake some old faces to make way for new ones. This year, the choices will be yours as you now take control of your destiny rather than grazing and waiting for what comes along. Use all that you have learned, to make wise decisions for yourself.

Gemini

Decisions, decisions. . .isn't this familiar territory for you Gems? Indecision abounds and fretting may be the name of the game this year as you ponder pros and cons. In the early part of the year, there are pangs for major transformation but what to do? Stress will run high but every cloud has a silver lining. Friends and family provide great support and it's high time you take notice of it. Try something drastic and invest in these relationships. Stop daydreaming in unrealistic manners, life isn't a fairy tale. You have all the love you need right in front of your face. If you take notice of that this year and learn through those relationships how to invest yourself genuinely and show your appreciation - your other relationships will follow suit.

Cancer

Please hold on to the bar! The first part of the year will have it's fair share of challenges. If you've been trying to repair or breath new life into a deteriorating relationship, stand back! It could all blow up in your face. Your reactions are the key to overcoming these challenges. The measure of the man/woman is not by how he/she acts, but how he/she reacts. Capish? And if you want true love, you've got to make a large and risky investment to see that it happens for you. This is the year to toughen up, soft Cancers. Life will seem intriguing and slightly scary at times, however, if you shine up that hard shell of yours and place your bets appropriately - the rewards reaped will have been well worth the risk taken. Come out, come out, wherever you are Cancer!

Leo

Mirror mirror on the wall, whose the fairest of them all? Tsk, tsk, Leo. Everyone knows your great, but you know that you have to be the greatest of them all. The bad news is that the first part of the year will contain challenges along this theme and the key to overcoming these challenges is for you to take the spotlight off yourself and shine it on your nearest and dearest - it's time to give back. While you've been a bit preoccupied with matters of self, your significant other or possibly those closest to you are feeling an empty spot where you once stood. It's time for you to return to your pride and when you do, all that admiration, accolades and kudos that you so love and live for will come back to you and the kingdom will be set to rights again. This year, it's all about balance and restoring your fan base of admirers.

Virgo

In the early part of the year, rocky roads are the name of the game. Stress and challenges abound in your closest relationships and the key to overcoming these challenges is for you to take the time to aid in resolving them. Perfection is a thing of beauty to a Virgo, however, we live in an imperfect world and it's high time you acknowledge that. Things cannot always be your way and sometimes, Virgo, you are wrong. Your friends and group associations will be key to helping you maintain the walk on this tightrope. Lean on them for necessary support and ask them for direction at times. By June things will be restored to a harmonious pattern again. However, 2011 is not the year of much excitement for Virgo. There won't be much to write home about. But that IS the good news - there will be peace in the valley again.

Libra

Peace and stability abound and that's just the way you Libra's like it. But love and romance is hot, hot, hot! Sometimes so hot, you get burnt. Keep 911 on speed dial, you may have to call the fire department once or twice as the tendency this year is to cling tightly to passions that run deep - control. The key for your to overcome these challenges is to "hold on loosely" as .38 Special puts it. This year, you may find yourself overwhelmed by love and trust is necessary for you to see the success you'd like to see in these realms. Many paths will present themselves and you need to be open to each and every one of them. Regardless of which you choose, if you use the tools given you, the later part of the year shows that good things come to those who wait.

Scorpio

It's a pleasant year for Scorpio this year. Someone, somewhere along the line this year, may ask you to open up. If they do, you better do it. This year your creativity and passions run high and it can take your personal relationships soaring to new heights - if you let it. As uncomfortable or possibly dangerous as this may be for Scorpio, you need to ride out the storm to reap the rewards. Someone will come along and the connection will be electric. Connection is the name of the game this year for Scorpio and it's high time you make some. Don't be scared! Remember, you're the black widow and anyone squirming in your web this year is, most likely, happily doing so. Show your appreciation and you won't believe what happens next!

Sagittarius

Same old, same old just isn't going to cut it this year, Sags! It's time to shake things up - namely, how you handle and react to things. This is a year of great personal growth and if you play your cards right and avoid nefarious behaviors, by the end of the year, you just may find yourself in a loving, supportive relationship. You're coming into yourself and as a result, you will shed many friendships and relationships that you've outgrown. Stresses in relationships or friendships may result as they fear being left in the cold, however, by the end of the year - you will know who your true friends are. Pick and choose wisely, Sags, and with only the best in mind. Shed that dead weight you've been dragging around and as the pounds fall away, the new you will sparkly shiny and new.

Capricorn

This is the year things finally begin to take hold. However, Mars is making you cranky and introverted. Life may seem dull and boring but this is a time for regeneration. It's time to recharge those batteries from the beating they may have taken in 2010 in terms of the stresses and challenges that were imposed. This is the year to work on balance in your personal life and your relationships. You may desire much more alone time this year than you have in past years and, as a result, hefty social pressures may exist. The key to overcoming this challenge is to expel some of those demons that are hanging on. There may not be tons of forward motion this year, but the work that is done is necessary for the brighter years to come.

Aquarius

You remain an enigma this year and seem preoccupied with mystery and analyzing data to unravel secrets or obtain information. But be prepared, this is the year to rise! As independent a creature as you may be, this year, you find yourself longing to be in a committed relationship. Passions run deep and pleasure abounds in the form of intimacy. It's so strong that this fall, some of you may consider "taking the plunge" into very serious romantic territories. Risks are required so be prepared to take a few. And if you feel like someones pecking at your brain with a pick axes, don't fret. Why not try simply letting them in rather than expending your energies fighting them off? Just sayin, Aquarius!

Pisces

Your social relationships are sparkling this year. Your intimate, romantic relationships? Umm, not so much. Come July things get a bit bumpy. It's time to assess the situation and reevaluate your circumstances. Challenges are coming from within and your job is to figure out where they're coming from and to determine if they're worth fighting for. If they are, put on your gloves and get down to some serious work - on both the relationship and yourself. If they aren't, then it may be time to compose Plan B. And while you're at it, this time, think about what you need and how you need to go about getting it. Remember, you get more bees with honey and vinegar only makes things sour.

Psychic Kids: Witnessing An Evolutionary Leap?

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:00:00 +0000

This has been a topic that's been on my mind for quite some time - psychic kids. I'm specifically focusing on the children born within the last 15 years, from 1995 onward. For lack of a better term, supernaturally gifted children are commonly referred to as "indigo children." These are children that posses special abilities or supernatural gifts such as clairvoyance, precognition, telepathy, healing abilities and the like.

We all know that mankind is due for an "evolutionary leap" of sorts. But what will that leap actually be? What type of a leap does Mother Nature feel would benefit mankind, particularly, it's survival?

As for me personally, I feel we are witnessing an evolutionary leap right now - particulary, in the last decade and a half. We've all seen the rise of paranormal popularity and we've witnessed New Age thinking take some serious roots in the last 30+ years. What was once easily dismissed by the masses is apparently becoming more difficult to ignore. And why is that? Lets think about that for a moment.

Bear with me here, but could it be. . . could it just be, that because people have been cracking open their minds in the last 30 years - they've created a catalyst of sorts for this evolutionary leap to take place?

By that, I mean this. Say 35 years ago, a man and a woman started expanding their minds during the late 60's era. This couple then bears children. They have already expanded their thinking and therefore, they will pass this expanded way of thought down to these children. Because they are children and because they are children of expanded thought, their minds are really much more wide open than the previous generation. So lets refer to them as "generation one" here.

Now, years later, two children from "generation one" become a couple and bear children of their own. The grandparents are open minded, the new parents are open minded and their children, whom we'll refer to as "generation two," are really open minded.

Years have passed and now "generation two" is coupling up and begins bearing children of their own - and in comes "generation three." This generation is very special because they are hailing from three previous generations of expanded thinkers. Three generations of people who have not closed the mind, but encouraged opening it. These children hail from a generation that was told "that doesn't exist" or "this isn't real" a whole lot LESS than previous generations. So for them, topics that were completely dismissed 40 years earlier are on the table - being discussed openly and explored honestly.

The human brain is like a computer. If you load a program into a computer, your computer runs it. If you never loaded the program, your computer won't be running it. Get what I'm saying? If you tell someone "they can't" or "that doesn't exist" then their brain is immediately programmed with that code - and BAM, the door is shut. Even though they have the ability to run that program, they never will, thus the birth of the closed mind. However, encouraging expanded thinking and believing that anything is possible can yield some astonishingly successful results - purely because you believe. At that point, your mind is open and anything is possible. And if you're like me and you believe in the Law of Attraction, if you believe that when you think - you produce, then you get where I'm going with this.

If you have three generations of "believers" and expanded thinkers . . . and if you believe that when you think, you produce . . . then it only makes sense that by the third generation, we'd begin to see those open minded thought results manifesting into being. We'd begin to see the results of three generations of open minded, expanded thinking and believing.

And What Might the Ultimate Outcome of that Be?

A new generation of mankind. A new generation that is a group of open minded believers and expanded thinkers. Their brains can do more because they've not been curtailed in any manner of thought. Their brains are allowed to form the neural connections necessary for an evolutionary leap - the leap into the precognitive era of mankind. (If you'd like a visual reference to what I'm speaking of, check out this graph and notice that it moves into the "emergence of the precognitive era" of mankind leading up to the year 2012.)

It probably comes as no surprise that I watch "Psychic Kids: The Children of the Paranormal" on A&E. And while I watch, I'm always making note of the age of the children. And what I've found is that the group born from 1995 onward really seems to be making the big leap, the children leading up to the new millennia. These children are beginning to experience their gifts as young as 3, 4 and 5 years of age. And unlike generations previous, their parents aren't scoffing at them and telling them "that's a bunch of BS" or "that doesn't exist." Their parents are witnessing things that can't be denied and many want to help their children. Particularly, many want to help their children help others.

Ahhh, compassion. It feels good, doesn't it? I watch that show and I feel the compassion in these children. I sense their desire to make sense of their gifts. I sense their desire to make use of their gifts - in the form of helping others. Finally! A generation that's focused on compassion and helping their fellow man. It's about time.

I think that it could be quite possible that the New Age era of the 60's and 70's was the seed that planted the catalyst for mankind's next evolutionary leap into it's precognitive era. Humans have always had the gift of sense buried deep. However, with those gifts now being encouraged over the last 30+ years, we're seeing a whole new generation that's quite different in their thinking from previous generations and most importantly, a generation that's motivated to help others.

Once again, just some food for thought, folks. Have faith in the future . . . the best is yet to come.

BP: Betraying People With Brown Poison

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:00:00 +0000

Have ye no shame? BP CEO, Tony Hayward, recently told commented to a news reporter, "I'd like my life back" and "it's a big ocean." After looking into it, I'd like Tony's lifestyle, too. One that includes sailing through the tropics, skiing in Vail, no working weekends and all Holidays off, just to name a few - and all this is supported by his $4.6 million dollar salary. Gee, I can see how this whole Deepwater Horizon thing could be a real inconvenience.

He wants his life back? Well, as many others have already said, I imagine the families of the 11 people killed in the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon would like the lives of their loved ones back as well.

Folks, it's the ego and attitudes of men like this that are going to do us all in. Why do we follow them? Why does society revere them? Why do we listen to them? Men of power that is. Why do we automatically assume that because they're powerful and that because they're men - they're also smart and of pure intention, with everyones best interest at heart? The reality is more like this. Men of power, as admirable as they are, also have their demons like all humans do. Only powerful ones can be worse -bigger, greedier, wealthier. Greed, power, money, ego, control - it's a breeding ground of evil and evil intent.

If you want to grow evil, folks - plant those 5 seeds and stand back.

The most troublesome aspect of this is that many big business CEO's and top executives seem to develop this unsympathetic and egotistically driven mindset once they've reached a position of supreme power. From oil company executives, to health care industry executives, to pharmaceutical executives, and on down the line. I'm quite sure chaps like this have left many a deep wound on people's backs clawing their way to the top.

Don't think evil is present? Let's take a look and ask ourselves, "Why is this happening? How could a country as advanced as this be so stupid and blatantly careless with human life and the environment we depend on?" To begin to find the answer, let's look at the Bush Administration - particularly Vice President, Dick Cheney. As many of you know, Dick Cheney once led the worlds second largest oilfield services corporation as CEO of the organization from 1995 to 2000. After becoming Vice President, he claimed to have severed all ties with the corporation. However, a report by the Congressional Research Service saw things differently and uncovered an ongoing relationship with the Halliburton Company. The report said that "a public official's unexercised stock options and deferred salary fall within the definition of "retained ties" to his former company." As it turned out, according to Cheney's 2001 financial disclosure report, his Halliburton benefits included three batches of stock options comprising a whopping 433,333 shares, a deferred compensation account valued at between $500,000 and $1 million, and generated income of $50,000 to $100,000.

Now, let's look at the politics preceding this event - particularly, reckless deregulation and corruption under the Bush administration. It appears that Dick Cheney’s private energy meetings and his "running interference" with the Department of Minerals Management Service led to lax regulations, increasing annual profits, tragic environmental destruction, loss of animal life and human life. It was ultimately determined that the one thing that could've prevented such a catastrophic event - and acoustic trigger - was "not recommended because they tend to be very costly." How costly you ask? What is too high a price to pay for human lives and clean oceans teaming with life? That price would be approximately half a million dollars ($500,000 USD). That number, however, seems but a drop in the bucket when you see the astronomical profit numbers in comparison, "BP fourth quarter of 2009, before non-operating items and fair value accounting effects, was $4.4 billion – an increase of 70% on the same period in 2008."

Ironically, "The National Energy Policy Development Group was a group, created by Executive Order on January 29, 2001, chaired by Vice President, Richard Cheney. The group, commonly referred to as the "Cheney Energy Task Force," produced a National Energy Policy report in May 2001. In a cover note to George W. Bush, Cheney wrote, "we have developed a national energy policy designed to help bring together business, government, local communities and citizens to promote dependable, affordable and environmentally sound energy for the future." ~ SourceWatch

George W. Bush wrote, "America must have an energy policy that plans for the future, but meets the needs of today. I believe we can develop our natural resources and protect our environment."

Oh really? Seems to me that if they really cared, they would've put their money where their mouth was. They would've tightened things up and put their focus where it belonged - not on profits, but on people and the environment - for the good of all. If they really cared it would've been a no brainer to put a plan B in place instead of the deregulation they both pushed for that led us to where we are today. If they really cared, cost wouldn't have been such an issue when compared to profit. The value received would've been worth the initial expense.

And then there's the company itself, BP, British Petroleum. At first, they reported only 1,000 barrels per day spewing from their debacle and not surprisingly - their main concern was recapturing their gold. As that number slowly crept up, scientists began looking into the matter soon realizing that somebody was attempting to pull someones leg here. It took over a month for BP to release grainy video footage for inspection and it wasn't until last week, some 50 days after the disaster, that they finally released the high definition footage they've had all along to scientists so that they could better determine how many barrels per day are poisoning our ocean. The exact flow is still undetermined, in part, because BP has refused to allow independent scientists to perform accurate measurements. Some are now even speculating, after reviewing the high definition footage just released, that the spill rate could be as high as 20,000 - 40,000 per day. That's a big difference from the miniscule 1,000 barrels that BP first reported.

So why all the nefarious behavior on the part of BP attempting to betray the people? That's easy - because they're going to be fined on a per barrel basis. With any luck, this catastrophe will force the corporation into bankruptcy. A deserved end if you ask me.

And for those of you who will claim that we are just as responsible for this as our leaders and powerful corporations, due to our high demand for the oil - remember this: they've given us no other viable options. The powers that be have MADE us dependent, addicted. Everyday we're rolling up our sleeves and slammin oil. They could've began developing other viable forms of energy 30 years ago - but they didn't. Nor did they see the value in exploring other options or such things as "plan B." Why? Because it wasn't going to make everyone as much money as all of us being dependent on oil did.

That, folks, is certainly evil and evil intent.

It's clear, to me at least, that evil was and IS present in this situation. And while all of this shuckin and jivin is going on . . our ocean is being poisoned, it's life forms are perishing, human lives have been lost, livelihoods are being lost . . . how much loss are we going to stand for? You know, this is our planet too. How much more of this are we going to listen to? How much more of this are we going to take?

Folks, the ramifications of this could be disastrous, depending on when or IF they get this gusher under control. Just because they're powerful doesn't mean they can manhandle the earth. Talks are now pushing things back to August of 2010. That will be four solid months of pollution as we work, eat, sleep and dream flooding into our waters. It's already making it's way to our beaches and our coast lines, it's being found as far away as California . . . and it could even make it's way into our freshwater eventually. If it does - where do you think that leaves us?

And for all of you who see absolutely no value in the prophecies surrounding the year 2012 . . . you may want to rethink that. Hurricane's, Tsunami's, floods, fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, changing weather - and now poisoned water. Poison water leads to poisoned life forms and poisoned crops - something that the web bot has actually predicted. And according to the web bot, the year 2011 seems to be a climax of sorts to these events, leading us right into the year 2012 - the peak of this transformational (not apocalyptic) energy. (Have you seen the newly released movie, "The Road?" You may want to check that out for a glimpse of what could come if plant, animal, and ocean life on this planet were to perish in large quantities and all at once.)

Our power is in our numbers. Leaders are few, followers are many. Will you follow the leader - or will you become one?

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." ~ Margaret Mead

Remember, it's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil. Peace. And as John Lennon sang, "Power to the People" . . .

Web Bot Project: 2010 Latest Report

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 01:00:00 +0000

For the last three years, the Internet has been buzzing with talk about the Web Bot Project, a technology developed in the late 1990's to assist in making stock market predictions. However, much to their surprise, the program's operators noticed that the web bot began to correctly predict forthcoming cataclysmic events.

One of the first predictions came in June of 2001 when the program predicted that a life altering event would take place within the next 60-90 days. An occurrence of such proportion that it's effects would be felt worldwide.

Regrettably, the program's prediction proved accurate and the Twin Towers fell on 9/11/2001.

I had previously reported that the Web Bot Project was over and for sale. However, much to my relief, Cliff, the web bot project's creator, has had a change of heart and decided to continue on with the project.

For those of you who may not know or understand, Cliff has a brilliant mind, indeed. Peoplenomics reports that he was "a senior programmer with a software company in the Pacific Northwest and besides being an SQL ace, he was also heavily into linguistics and a language called Prolog, which is more like an artificial intelligence language than anything else. After looking up the patent he held for the technology, I was convinced that this fellow was for real and might be on to something with the method of looking for linguistic shift on the Internet as a tool to forecast future events."

It should be known that the web bot project's ALTA reports are being published and plagiarized all over the net and even worse, many fraudulent sites are selling fake ALTA reports. There is only one, folks. The real ALTA reports come from Cliff's site, Half Past Human. And the costs for running the project are heavy:

"The costs of the web bot project run in excess of $20,000 per month and we'd been counting on revenue from sales of the web bot reports to pay for bandwidth. . . and we're trying to figure out what to do with an $850 electricity bill."

These hefty operating costs mixed with the fraudulent sales of ALTA reports or the ALTA reports being openly published online almost brought the project down to it's knees. I know many of you are intrigued by the web bot project technology and I'd like to show my support to the project and to Cliff by directing readers to the proper source - to purchase the original ALTA reports and help raise funds to see the project continue on.

Take a peek into the "collective unconscious" that the Internet has become for mankind and check out The Shape of Things To Come ALTA Report, Issue Four for 2010/2011 which was released March 12, 2010. There's a minimal fee of $10 for a 40 page PDF report. This issue covers from July 2010 through mid 2011.

Cliff warns, "Reader Beware: Very very grim material indeed. NOT necessarily life enhancing."

Defend Against An Aggressive Species

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:15:00 +0000

It never ceases to amaze me, the true horror, terror and destruction that man is capable of. With television, video games and the movie industry consistently promoting violence as entertainment - it doesn't help. Violence is NOT entertainment, it is "bloodsport." It seems everyone these days, including our children, is becoming somewhat desensitized to it.

But let's face it, violence has been sold as a high form of entertainment since well before Roman times and the popularity of the Coliseum. What's terribly troubling about this fact is that . . . over the course of thousands of years of human evolution - we have yet to put a stop to that mentality. Violence is as popular a form of entertainment these days as it was 2,000 years ago. Maybe even more so.

Frightening isn't it?

It says alot about our species. Instead of evolving into positive, healthy mindsets - those of "brotherhood of man" and "live and let live" - we have yet to pull ourselves out of the primordial mud on this one. Hmm. . . something's clearly wrong here. Is it our genetics? Is it our primal side? Is it a mental condition? A human condition? Are we all just a bunch of neanderthals in drag?

Or has mankind simply ceased to evolve?

I support many causes as much as I can in small ways. I have donated my time, my money and my support to several. And each time I do, I am again provided with information regarding those in need of assistance. People, animals, the environment . . . the list just goes on and on. So many out there need help, support and assistance - it's overwhelming. And what are many suffering from? The hands of man, of course. Our own kind - mankind. One of the most violent, aggressive, warring species on the planet.

I'd like to direct you to a few causes. Many are "bloodsport" and/or inhumanely cruel in nature, so please be forewarned. Others are environmental or humanity issues.

ALL are in need of assistance from the direct result of the involvement of mankind:

Bear Baiting in Pakistan ~ The bears suffer the agonizing removal of their teeth and claws without anesthetic. They are then tethered to a pole while as many as 4 dogs, trained to attack, are unleashed upon the terrified, helpless creature. This is all done for entertainment value at fairs in Pakistan. They are forced to fight for as many as 75 days per year and up to 6 -7 fights per day. The price to watch - equivalent to 50 cents.

Bear Farming ~ Bear bile is used in traditional Asian medicine. Bears are "farmed" and confined in tiny cages. They can't move, hibernate or lie down. Bile is extracted in inhumane ways by inserting a tube directly into the gall bladder by untrained farm workers. The wound is reopened up to 3 times per day. Infection runs rampant and the suffering the animals endure is incomprehensible.

Bear Dancing ~ A tradition in India that is passed from father to son. Sloth bear cubs are poached illegally and often taken from the mother after witnessing her brutal death. They each suffer the piercing of their nose or palate and then a rope is passed through it. The rope is tugged throughout their lifetime to control them. Their destiny? To dance for crowds in India, being drug from village to village while nutritional needs are not even considered.

Dogs Being Used as Shark Bait ~ Golden Retrievers, one of the most popular dog breeds in the America, are being used as live shark bait. The evening before the fishing expedition, they are forced to endure a 7" fish hook inserted into their nose or paws so that they are sufficiently bleeding before being tossed, helplessly, into the ocean. The thrashing attracts the prize - a shark. Sign the petition to stop this NOW.

Kentucky Fried Chicken is Destroying Our Forests ~ You know that iconic red and white packaging that serves up this famous chicken? Their "clear-cutting" practice is directly contributing to the destruction of our Southern forests. "Despite repeated attempts to engage KFC in discussions, the President has refused to match his espoused values with the company's iconic packaging." Sign the petition to stop this NOW.

Campaign for the Rainforest ~ It's no secret, the rain forest is disappearing faster than the mist on an early morning river. I don't think people have any idea of the ripple effect and global catastrophe that man's interference here can cause. Additionally, we are being robbed of the opportunity to find medical cures and new species of plants and animals that may actually be beneficial to mankind. Sign the petition to stop this NOW.

Stop Sex Trafficking ~ The ECPAT (End Child Prostitution And Trafficking) is conducting a campaign, "Stop Sex Trafficking" and raising funds to mobilize change in cooperation with The Body Shop. Purchase their Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand Cream or their Bag For Life to help. All net proceeds from the sale of these items is donated towards the cause.

Rape as a Tool of War ~ "In every armed conflict investigated by Amnesty International in 1999 and 2000, the torture of women was reported, most often in the form of sexual violence. Violence directed against women is often considered an attack against the values or "honor" of a society and therefore a particularly potent tool of war. Women therefore experience armed conflicts as sexual objects, as presumed emblems of national and ethnic identity, and as female members of ethnic, racial, religious, or national groups." Donate to Amnesty International to help to stop this NOW.

Female Genitalia Mutilation ~ "Traditionally practiced as a ritual signifying the acceptance of a woman into society and establishes her eligibility for marriage. It is believed to inspire submissiveness in young women. There is a belief that it reduces a woman's desire for sex, therefore reducing the chance of sex outside marriage. In practicing societies, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a woman to marry if she has not undergone mutilation." Donate to Amnesty International to help to stop this NOW.

Fight Against Child Pornography ~ "ASACP offers a secure, anonymous reporting system for the general public to report questionable content who may feel uncomfortable contacting government agencies. ASACP has the knowledge and technical ability to review submitted reports and forward suspect sites to the authorities who consider our Red Flag Reports to be high priority." If you see it, REPORT IT!

Mankind refers to itself as "civilized" . . . but based on the few examples I've provided above - that seems quite a stretch, doesn't it? Please help. Defend the helpless against this aggressive species we call mankind.

One Scientific Theory About Ghosts

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 23:00:00 +0000

I am a subscriber to a great magazine publication by the name of "Spirituality & Health." The March/April issue has a really interesting article titled, "The Anatomy of A Haunting." The piece is written by, Michael Jawer, as he explores a particular case study and his scientific theory about ghosts and apparitions. What makes it a really interesting theory is that it makes some significant scientific sense.

Here's a bit of the background on the case study as Michael writes, "In 1973 and 1974, something odd was evidently taking place on board Eastern Airlines L-1011 jets. Passengers and crew on those planes saw, heard and even spoke to solid looking apparitions of two crew members, Captain Bob Loft and Second Officer Don Repo, who had perished following the crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 into the Florida Everglades on December 29, 1072.

The apparitions were readily identifiable as Officers Loft and Repo. The appeared and disappeared in front of pilots, flight engineers, or flight attendants completely unexpectedly and usually in flight. According to a meticulously researched book that came out a few years later titled, "The Ghost of Flight 401." Passengers who did not know either of the men identified them without hesitation from photographs."

Now, here's a bit of background on the scientific aspect as Michael writes, "About a year and a half ago, Luc Antoine Montagnier, a French virologist and Nobel laureate for work identifying the HIV virus, found that some supposedly sterile solutions, which were carefully filtered to remove pathogenic bacteria, turned out to have bacteria colonies after two or three weeks of incubation. The holes in the filter were much to small for any of the bacteria to get through, yet somehow, the bacteria reappeared."

Montagnier soon determined the cause - filtered dilutions of the sterile solution carried electromagnetic traces of the bacteria and "these electromagnetic traces contain genetic information."

The implications of this are HUGE. Jeff writes, "If bacteria leave behind measurable energetic traces that contain significant information, shouldn't people be capable of the same thing? The next question is how energetic traces of some people might sometimes become amplified to be detectable as apparitions." However, Jeff wanted to add a very important and extremely powerful ingredient to the mix - EMOTION. Emotion plays a huge role and the energy that emotion generates and accumulates is said to be able to leave it's mark on physical matter, time and space.

You see, Repo and Loft did not immediately perish in the disaster. Both survived a time before finally perishing. And in those desperate hours, their brains were in panic mode. When the human brain is in panic mode or "flight or fight" mode, " your amygdala will instantly activate your body’s fight-or-flight hormones and prepare your sympathetic nervous system (heart and lungs, muscles, and gut) for possible action."

It's important to note Michael's mention of the gut here as well. You see, recent studies have proven that your gut contains more nerve sensors than your spinal chord does. So when people say, "listen to your gut," there is plenty of merit to that statement. It's a built-in, primal survival element. Your dog can sense danger before you do - and before seeing it - because your dog is not as far removed from it's primal survival instincts as we humans have now become. We no longer live in caves or are stalked by other species besides ourselves, so we tend to not use these primal instincts as much these days. Modern man tends to live in a world built upon false securities. But the simple fact remains, the system is still in place.

And what happens when a living creature enters "flight or fight" mode? First of all, there's a moment of hesitation. A brief split second in time, like a deer caught in the headlights, before your amygdala will direct your next action. This brief split second in time is what Michael refers to as a "flash point." In that moment of time, frozen with flight or fight, your body begins accumulating enormous amounts of energy. Your body begins to "rev it's engines" and fire up it's internal resources of power in preparation for the next action. But where does all that accumulated energy release to if one is unable to take the next appropriate action because they are injured or incapable of doing so?

Michael theorizes that that energy can actually be released into the immediate environment. Forever imprinting the genetic code to reappear when the conditions are right. Just like the electromagnetic genetic trace of energy in the petri dish granted the bacteria the opportunity to reappear weeks later when no bacteria should've appeared at all - so too, it is theorized, that the human body can leave an energetic trace genetic imprint in the environment, thus allowing oneself to reappear at a later time.

This theory again reaffirms, at least for me, the enormous potential that emotion plays in the lives of living, breathing creatures. Take, for instance, the Law of Attraction. Many try it without success. Further research into the matter will soon have them find that "emotion" is the KEY to making it work. Pure, selfless emotion or intention is the key. Further research into the world of quantum mechanics has also rendered similar facts. Take, for instance, the double blind slit test where the scientists themselves, through observation, influenced the particles by placing their "intention" upon them. The scientists, their emotion and their intention had a direct effect on the end result and what they determined - was that thought creates and thus manifests the outcome.

When you think, you produce a measurable form of energy called a neuropeptide. When you place emotion or intention behind that thought, it's possible to influence the outcome and this is because we live in a quantum world of possibility. Ever constant "possibility." And sub-atomic particles, of which we are all made of, can bounce from particle form (solid matter) to wave form (energetic matter) and back again.

So if a thought can produce a measurable form of energy called a neuropeptide, then imagine if your brain were in panic mode and your body began producing enormous amounts of energy and your intentions and emotions were running on high. I would agree with Michael and say that, in those instances, leaving a measurable, permanent affect on the immediate environment - is very likely.

So this begs the next question, what if someone didn't die under those conditions but is still seen as an apparition? To me, this would indicate that large amounts of energy may have already been accumulated and imprinted on the environment by the individual in a "flash point" moment. Maybe the individual was grieving heavily in that space? Or maybe the individual was heavily reflecting in that space? Or maybe the individual carried a hidden desire deep within them on a daily basis that was left as "unfinished business" but had huge amounts of emotion involved?

At some point, maybe - just maybe, this individual created "flash points" of high levels of emotion regarding situations in their life - during their life - that left the imprint while they were still living? And these "flash points" of high emotion in those particular spaces thus enabled them to leave a genetic imprint and reappear at later dates.

It's all just theory and speculation at this point . . . but I think the advances in the realm of quantum scientific studies are going to prove some very amazing and hard-to-understand truths for all of us in the very near future. Have you seen an apparition or experienced a haunting? And if so, would you say that there was a certain emotion or emotional feel related to it? And what do you think about Michael Jawer's new theory?

Numerology Definitions: 111, 333, 1111

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:00:00 +0000

I don't know about you, but over the last two years, very specific number sequences seem to show up everywhere I look. And it never fails, I always seem to look at the clock at 1:11, 11:11 and 3:33. Just last year, I had a very eye opening experience when I began working on developing a post that was meant to be 100 inspirational quotes - but ended up being 111 inspirational quotes by cosmic design.

Here's a brief explanation of what had happened. I had arrived at 111 quotes total. Fleetingly, I considered cutting them down to 100. But then something "sparked" in my minds eye and I decided to research further first. The fact that I had a mental "spark" when first hearing that number resonated with me and I felt it necessary to pursue because I'm always attempting to be "aware." A quick search of the Internet gave way to quite a surprise.

The Symbolism Surrounding The Number 111

The number 111 is symbolic of the Trinity of God, One and Three times Saint. It represents the God-Father in the Holy Trinity and it also symbolizes sky.

As if that wasn't enough, further research yielded the information below. (The mention of a "flash bulb" was rather spooky for me considering I described my experience as a "spark". . . )

111: This sequence is a sign that there is a gate of opportunity opening up, and your thoughts are manifesting into form at record speeds. The 111 is like the bright light of a flash bulb. It means the universe has just taken a snapshot of your thoughts and is manifesting them into form. This is a sign used to indicate that your thoughts are related to the start of a new cycle in your life. What you are thinking about doing or changing is correct for the new phase of your life. This number sequence signifies taking the lead in creative expression, and it also has connotations of social leadership in the sense of directing the energies of groups of people who resonate well with each other.

Shortly after the above event, I began to see 1111 everywhere. Shortly after that, I began to see the number sequence 333 everywhere. Ok, creepy enough yet? It gets better. These random sightings of these very specific number sequences haven't gone unnoticed by me - and apparently, not by others either.

You see, it appears that there's an "awakening" of sorts taking place in mankind and I can't help but wonder if it doesn't have something to do with the cosmic alignment of 2012. There are theories that claim that the energy created by this rare alignment can actually affect the human inhabitants here on earth in some strange ways - one of which is it grants mankind the ability to "tune in" to the cosmos on a very collective level:

"Most of you know that the earth has got a magnetic field. As the earth's molten core is rotating; the magnetic field is created. The thought sphere of the human mind is located in the earth's magnetic field. This magnetic field has been weakening dramatically over last ten years. Now, in physics there is a parameter called Schumann's Resonance. Using that we can determine the strength of the earth's magnetic field. While for many centuries, it was constant around 7.80 cycles per second, during the last 7-8 years, it has risen to 11 cycles per second and is continuing to increase dramatically.

If you work it out mathematically, it appears that, by the year 2012, the "Schuman's" is likely to be 13 cycles per second. When this resonance is 13 cycles per second, the earth's core would stop rotating with magnetic field gone, your mind is gone. When I say "your mind", what I actually mean is your "samskaras."

It's an interesting theory and worth further exploration.

Here's A Bit About The Number Sequence 1111

Amazon.com Widgets

"The winter solstice of 21-12-2012 marks the end of the Mayan Long Count cycle. This occurs at 11:11 universal time." ~ 2012 Rising: 1111 Phenomenon & Winter Solstice 21-12-2012

"These 11:11 wake-up calls on your digital clocks, mobile phones, VCR’s and microwaves are the "trademark" prompts of a group of just 1,111 Spirit Guardians, or Angels, and the 11:11 prompt is their way of using our innate ability for pattern recognition to let us know that they are here. Invisible to our eyes, they are very real." ~ 1111 Spirit Guardians: Do You See 11:11?

"11:11 is a wake-up call for lightworkers. Lightworkers are people who signed up for a "green beret" type of mission when they were on the spirit plane ( before being incarnated on Earth). What the mission is, in short, is to hold as much Light as possible, as strongly as possible, on this planet. This twenty year period (starting on January 11, 1991) will see matter holding more light than it has ever held before. The vibration on this planet has dropped to a very, very low frequency. That is why it is so difficult to remember our origin, remember that we are all connected, remember who we really are. This is often referred to as the Fall." ~ Great Dreams: Coincidence and 11:11

"11:11 is a pre-encoded trigger placed into our cellular memory banks prior to our descent into matter which, when activated, signifies that our time of completion is near. This refers to the completion of duality. When the 11:11 appears to you, it is your wake-up call. A direct channel opens up between you and the Invisible. When this happens, it is time to reflect on whatever you are doing for a moment and Look Larger. A transfer is in position. You can enter the Greater Reality if you wish pray or meditate and seed your future and also, you can be seeded by the Invisible. You can ask for help in some specific area of your life or simply listen quietly and receive a revelation." ~ Global Psychics: The Meaning of 11:11

Let's Move Onto The Number 333

"This sign indicates that your Spirit Guides agree with your thoughts and feelings and could be interpreted as a Cosmic 'Yes!' to questions you have asked or ideas you may have." ~ Spiritual Path: Numerology

"333 is the sign that the ascended masters are working closely with you. You have called on them and they have heard your prayer. If you are seeing this number repeatedly on clocks or license plates it is a sign that the the highest of beings are around you now." ~ Free Psychic Insight: 333 Numerology

"The Ascended Masters are near you, desiring you to know that you have their help, love, and companionship. Call upon the Ascended Masters often, especially when you see the number 3 patterns around you. Some of the more famous Ascended Masters include: Jesus, Moses, Mary, Quan Yin, and Yogananda." ~ Lightworkers: Number and Number Sequence Meanings

So what I'd like to know is . . . how many of you are experiencing the same thing and how long have you been experiencing it?

World Leaders, Nefarious Doings, Consequence

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:24:00 +0000

I've said it before but I'll say it again - the Vatican is in trouble. As many of you are already aware, Jeff Anderson, a St. Paul, Minnesota lawyer who’s filed thousands of suits against the church in recent years over allegations of sexual abuse by priests and other church leaders, is leading the charge to depose Pope Benedict XVI.

The Vatican is lashing back in their defense arguing that the pope has immunity as a head of state; that American bishops who oversaw abusive priests weren’t employees of the Vatican; that a 1962 document is not the “smoking gun” that provides proof of a cover-up. Cardinal William J. Levada, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, criticized an article in The New York Times that raised questions about why the Vatican had not defrocked the priest, Father Lawrence C. Murphy. Father Lawrence C. Murphy was accused of molesting as many as 200 boys at a Wisconsin school for the deaf between 1950 to 1974. Court documents that just recently came to the light of day last week detailed the role of the Congregation in ceasing the proceedings of a canonical trial in the matter.

"These documents confirm that the CDF, under Pope Benedict XVI's lead, discouraged prosecution of accused clergy and encouraged secrecy to protect the reputation of the church," said McMurry.

Additionally, when the pope was archbishop of Munich, he approved the transfer of a sexually abusive priest to therapy. The abusive priest then carried on to sexually molest other boys in a different parish. A case was filed was filed in 2004 in Kentucky by three men claiming they were victims of sexual abuse by priests and suffered negligence by the Vatican.

The Vatican may end up skirting any legal responsibilities here but that brings to light a bigger question - Have they no moral responsibility?

I've said this before, but I'm saying it again. Anything organized soon becomes corrupt. Why? Because "man" is involved. It's a sad fact, but the mission of many "organizations" soon becomes lost and replaced by the organizations will to survive. In other words, the organizations will to survive far outweighs it's original mission. That's what I see here. An organization that has been corrupted by man and is focusing on survival. . .rather than it's original mission - mankind.

Having said that, let's peel away some layers here and look at some of the bigger aspects. Let's glance into "the mirror," jump down into the rabbit hole, and take a look at the bigger picture here from a bit of a different perspective. Previously, I wrote a piece titled, "2010 Horoscope: Great Revelations." In this piece, I touched on some of the things that we can expect to see in the year 2010 based on prophecies and on the web bot technology. Here's what was predicted:

"2010 is the year that conspiracy theorists will get to say "I told you so!" Predictions across the board state that matters that have been hidden, secret or brushed under the carpet by world and religious leaders will reveal themselves to the light of day. Things along the lines of aliens or alien technology revealed, religious secrets kept by the Vatican revealed (for those interested, the Vatican just announced last year after secret United Nations meetings, that the possibility of alien life exists), and military secrets kept by our government could be a few of those themes.

In line with that, are the web bot project predictions. The last web bot ALTA report that runs into the summer of 2010 predicted things along these lines:

- A collapse of "The Powers That Be" through discovery of their nefarious doings (keywords: revolution, riots, mobsters, devaluation of the dollar, Vatican involvement, secrets revealed, refugees)

- "The Powers That Be" suffer secrets revealed by rioting mobsters which leads to participation in the "alien wars" theme that keeps repeating itself within the ALTAs (late 2010, early 2011)

- Breakdowns in infrastructure (food destruction, food hoarding, climate collapse, Vatican looting, hyperinflation, breakdown fuels, food deliveries, health care system, public meetings)

It's difficult, after reading the predictions above made in January 2010, to take a look at the current state of affairs concerning the Vatican - and not pay heed to the prophecies. People can mimic, poke fun and minimize astrology, the beliefs of ancient cultures, and prophecy. That's easy to do and it's a bandwagon that many narrow minded individuals jump onto. But these ancient cultures, such as the Maya, and the seers and seekers of days-gone-by realized that time - history - cycles itself. There are specific energy cycles that create patterns in history. When you find the patterns and associate the appropriate energy to the cycle, it becomes easy to predict the future. After further study, it even starts to make sense. It starts to become logical.

For those of you who do not believe that the energy of the planets and celestial bodies do not have an affect on the earth or its inhabitants . . . I simply ask you to take a look at Mother Moon. She controls the tides here on earth as well as the reproductive cycle of it's female inhabitants - the 28 day cycle. There's no denying the tides, there's no denying the energetic push and pull. It simply IS. The fact that many of us might not be able to wrap our minds around that concept really doesn't matter. Because it simply IS. And apparently, the complete knowledge of the mysteries of our universe - are not ours to know. Besides, with the current state humanity is in, I doubt we'd handle that knowledge responsibly. Someone, most likely a world leader, would figure out a way to exploit it for nefarious purposes. So in my opinion, mankind is better off remaining blissfully ignorant.

But it seems that there is some credence to prophecy, conspiracy theorists may just get to say "I told you so" after all, the nefarious doings of religious leaders are coming to light and consequence is beating down the door. It seems there's only one question left:

Will there be a break down in infrastructure and a subsequent revolution?

I will end this piece as I've ended others before . . . just some food for thought, folks. Will you swallow it, or will you choke on it?

P.S. I told you so . . .

2012: Polar Shifts And Human Compassion

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:08:00 +0000

As many of you have probably already heard, the earthquake in Chile may have changed the earth's rotation and shortened the length of our days here on this blue ball that we call planet Earth.

It's no secret that the Mayan civilization prophesied that great natural disasters will preceed the year 2012 and scientists and theorists alike have speculated that a polar shift may even be involved. With the recent announcement that the latest earthquake in Chile, a whopping 8.8 quake, may have shifted the earth's rotation, it's now become one of those things that make you go, "Hmmm?"

For those of you expecting to wake up on December 21, 2012 to an overnight apocalypse, you may be disappointed. Those "end of days" events and that apocalypse everyone's been waiting for on December 21, 2012 . . . newsflash! You're living in them now. You are living in the apocalyptic times that the Mayans prophesied. December 21, 2012 simply represents the culmination of that apocalyptic energy. It's a symbolic point in time.

In the decade preceding the year 2012, the energy has been gradually amping up. This energy will continue to amp up until it reaches it's peak, December 21, 2012. Once it's reached it's high point, the chaotic energy will begin to recede again and, most likely, we will all wake up on December 22, 2012 and still be here. In the decade following that, it's also most likely that matters will begin to resolve themselves and our newly found increased awareness and sense of compassion for mankind will be to our benefit.

You see, the Mayans believed that death was the springboard for life. A very necessary part of the cycle. On the heels of death springs forth life. Death to the Mayans represented more than a physical death, it also represented a symbolic death as well. The symbolic death of outdated views and attitudes, of inequality, the death of old ways that no longer serve their purpose.

In order for humanity to continue to prosper on this earth, it's very obvious that a certain symbolic "death" of sorts needs to be included in the cycle.

Let's face it, we live in a very "me, me, me" oriented age. Instant gratification, selfish agendas, decadence, ego and arrogance run rampant. Humankind cannot prosper if every man is out for himself instead of thinking of his fellow man and the big picture first. Living in the moment feeds the ego and relieves one of responsibility. It does nothing for the greater good of mankind. Therefore, a symbolic "death" of sorts needs to play out.

In order for mankind to drop it's developed selfishness, the playing field needs to be leveled. Unfortunately, a large scale tragedy sometimes acts as the catalyst for mankind to be reintroduced to it's compassion for it's fellow man. A tragedy that connects one and all on a level playing field. A field called survival. No one's going to fight about the color of their skin, or their views and beliefs, in the midst of a global catastrophe or natural disaster. Those issues no longer matter and the playing field is now equal and we're all on it - we're all human and we all want to survive and carry on. So for as much as natural disasters do take lives and separate families and loved ones and cause great masses of those suffering from grief and pain . . . they also level the playing field, make us all realize that we're human, and serve as the catalyst that brings out our compassion for our fellow man.

So you see, in a sense, death is a very natural part of the birth process.

Having said that, I'd like to turn my focus again to the latest earthquake in Chile. More specifically, the fact that it has affected the earth's axis, as did the Sumatran earthquake in 2004, which set off the the deadly tsunami that followed. Let's see, a 2.76" shift in 2004 and now a 3" shift in 2010. Almost a 6" shift in less than 5 years. Scientists have speculated in the past that the 2012 prophecy may include a polar shift. . . and now it appears that the earth is, indeed, shifting due to these recent natural disasters. Will this amount to a full blown polar shift? I sure hope not. But it has happened in the past so the possibility for it to happen in the future is to be expected.

Just some food for thought, folks. It's time to reach out to your fellow man and show your compassion and kindness. To provide support, sympathy and prayers. To drop our trivial issues and boundaries with one another, get honest about our survival and our children's survival, and use our increased awareness and compassion to build a better life for all of us on this planet. A life that includes equality for all.

This planet is slowly waking up . . . and it could be that it's about to shake us off like a bad case of fleas. And I can't say I blame it.

Quantum Physics: The Realm of Possibilities

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:00:00 +0000

I'm sure you've thought to yourself, "Why am I here and what is my purpose?" It's a question that we've all pondered at one point or another in our lives and no one really seems to have the answer. And maybe that's because . . . the possibilities are endless. Simply thinking about your purpose may ultimately help you to not only conceive it, but to manifest it once you have.

There's a theory in the realm of quantum physics that is called "downward causation." One of the pioneers of this scientific theory is Dr. Amit Goswami, Professor of physics at the Institute of Theoretical Sciences at the University of Oregon. Dr. Goswami asked himself, "What converts possibility into actuality?" After pondering and researching for many years, Dr. Goswami concluded that consciousness is the ground of all creation and existence. In other words, our universe is "self-aware" - and consciousness manifests our physical reality. The new paradigm is called "monistic idealism" and with it, the paradoxes of quantum physics, free will, choice, unconsciousness, creativity and spiritual growth are all explainable.

So let's take a look at downward causation, otherwise known as the neurology of "free will." Free will is the given ability to manifest our will, our intention, into being - into "actuality."

Psalm 82: 6 says, "I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High."

Humans are made of subatomic particles and in quantum physics, scientists have surprisingly discovered that subatomic particles behave erratically. They bounce and shift without pattern - as if they are awaiting an intention to instruct them to become a manifestation. And sure enough, that's what scientists have discovered. They have discovered that when viewing subatomic particles, it is utterly impossible to pinpoint the location of a sub atomic atom. As it turns out, subatomic particles are able to be in more than one place at one time. They do not exist in our universe alone but rather it seems that they flutter in and out of an infinite number of parallel universes. Subatomic particles await instruction.

Subatomic particles wait for "intention" to be placed upon them before manifesting into actuality.

Scientists have found that, after a few double blind slit tests using sub-atomic particles as subjects, it was discovered they could change from particles to wave form then back again. These particles could leave our dimension then pop right back into it again. Scientists also found that these sub-atomic particles were changing from particles to wave form, depending on the intention of the scientists placed upon it. Even more surprising, they discovered that they could not remove themselves from the equation while testing the particles. The scientists themselves, through observation, influenced the particles. By placing their "intention" upon them, they had a direct effect on the end result.

In other words, it was the "intention" or observation of the scientists that directly influenced the outcome:

The state of possibilities are endless for quantum particles - until we "observe" or "intend" that they are only in one specific state. Your intention directly chooses the outcome for subatomic particles to manifest into.

Now mind you, folks, we are all made of subatomic particles so this applies to us as human beings. This is what spiritualists have been teaching for years and it also lends credence to the theory of the Law of Attraction. The theory that the universe has a check and balance system, yin and yang or karma, if you like, and that like attracts like. If you think it, you can be it. Your intention (thought) has a direct influence over your life because you are in constant control of the subatomic particles and you decide what they manifest into.

This falls in line with Dr. Goswami's studies and determination of downward causation. Downward causation is when the direction of casual "influence" extends from "higher" levels of reality down to "lower" levels of reality. The brain controls its atoms and molecules, rather than the atoms and molecules controlling the brain. Downward causation is thus also called "macrocausation", because if it exists, then macroscopic entities have causal powers over the atoms they are made of. Basically, what this means is that matter is manifested through a higher level - thought and intention. We create matter. Matter does not create us. It's a "top-down" theory, not a "bottom-up" one.

There is an online version of a book titled, "Downward Causation and the Neurobiology of Free Will." Each chapter summary is free to preview and explore for thought provocation. You can also purchase entire chapters in PDF form if you choose.

So you see, your life is what you make it. Your quality of life is what you make it. It is so very important to keep your thoughts clear and your intention pure. Because what you think of, is what you will manifest into being. Where you are and what you are experiencing today, is the direct result of your previous thoughts and intentions. Whether you realize it or not. If you sit around all day long thinking, "Oh my, I have so much debt." Then "debt" is what you are ordering the universe to manifest for you. You are subconsciously ordering your subatomic particles to manifest into debt for you. Your perspective and your subconscious daily thoughts directly influence your life and your existence. Your subconscious thoughts count the most, so learn to consciously control them. The sooner you realize this and accept it, the better your life can become.

So, if you're pondering what your purpose is, keep doing so and you may be able to better clarify it and watch it manifest itself into being. One of the greatest things that you can do for yourself - is to allow yourself some quiet time to think.

Vatican: Upset Over Message of Avatar Movie

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:30:00 +0000

It comes as no surprise that the Vatican is apparently not happy about the message of the new movie "Avatar" by James Cameron. As a matter of fact, they're slamming it. The Vatican feels that the idea of the worship of nature replacing organized religion is preposterous and is a notion that the pope has warned against.

"L'Osservatore said the film "gets bogged down by a spiritualism linked to the worship of nature." Similarly, Vatican Radio said it "cleverly winks at all those pseudo-doctrines that turn ecology into the religion of the millennium."

"Nature is no longer a creation to defend, but a divinity to worship," the radio said.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said that while the movie reviews are just that — film criticism, not theological pronouncements — they do reflect Pope Benedict XVI's views on the dangers of turning nature into a "new divinity."

Benedict has often spoken about the need to protect the environment, earning the nickname of "green pope." But he also has balanced that call with a warning against turning environmentalism into neo-paganism.

In a recent World Day of Peace message, the pontiff warned against any notions that equate human beings with other living things in the name of a "supposedly egalitarian vision." He said such notions "open the way to a new pantheism tinged with neo-paganism, which would see the source of man's salvation in nature alone, understood in purely naturalistic terms."

The pope explained in the message that while many experience tranquillity and peace when coming into contact with nature, a correct relationship between man and the environment should not lead to "absolutizing nature" or "considering it more important than the human person." ~ Vatican Says 'Avatar' is No Masterpiece, Associated Press

Surprised?

It's no secret that the Vatican is suffering these days and apparently, the notion of spirituality taking a majority hold is a threat to them. It's possible that they're going to have bigger problems in the very near future, than nods to spirituality in the movies. Let's face it, we are living in times when science and organized religious teachings are going to begin clashing. I'm sure that the Vatican would agree that their future would look rosier if science would just cease it's searching. Everytime a new discovery is made, it changes the way people think, the way they approach their personal lives, and their personal beliefs. Science has always been a threat to religion and many have tried to protect the organization from it throughout the years. An example would be that of Galileo, regarding his scientific studies which began to contradict religious teachings.

For those of you who may not know, Galileo Galilei was tried in 1633 as a heretic and forced to recant his theory that the Earth revolves around the sun because teachings at that time placed the Earth at the center of our universe. In 1633 Galileo was interrogated for 18 days later when Galileo offers to refute. Regardless, the Pope decides that Galileo should be imprisoned indefinitely. With a threat of torture, Galileo is examined by the Inquisition and sentenced to prison and religious penances. The sentence is signed by 6 of the 10 inquisitors and in a formal ceremony at a the church of Santa Maria Sofia Minerva, Galileo abjures his errors. Galileo is then put under house arrest in Sienna where he remained, despite many medical problems and a deteriorating state of health, until his death in 1642.

The Vatican may have secretly hoped to completely block out their most egregious offenses perpetrated against scientific freedom. After all, they were wrong. However, people did not forget and in 1992 Pope John Paul corrected this error in judgment when he declared that the ruling against Galileo was an error resulting from a "tragic mutual incomprehension."

There's No Doubt That Were Going to See More Disapproval From the Vatican in the Very Near Future

The Vatican is surely going to have it's hands full in the coming decade and it's possible that the leaps in the realm of quantum physics are going to be the ones that really become a threat. These are going to be the leaps that may truly contradict their teachings through scientific findings. But is there not a space where both can meet as one? Regardless of what the future holds, it is my belief that you should be communicating with your God each and every day - and living a life that is full of compassion, kindness and assistance towards your fellow man.

As for the Hollywood movies that are currently ruffling the feathers of the Vatican, they may just be the tip of a giant-iceburg-of-a-problem for them that is soon to reveal itself. Besides, I doubt people are going to burn their bibles and start worshipping trees simply because of a movie . . . .

UPDATE: This really shows my age, but I was going through some music files the other day and this seemed appropriate to the discussion taking place here below. For those of you "in the know," this is a message from the Church of Suicidal. The metal band, Suicidal Tendencies:

Google Sky Map: Impress The Ladies

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:00:00 +0000

A Google smartphone app impresses the ladies, you ask? Yes, apparently it does:

"You would not believe the number of people who have told us Google Sky Map has made for a great date night," said Dominic Widdows, a software engineer at Google's office on the Carnegie Mellon University campus in Oakland, where the app was developed.

Like a handheld planetarium, Sky Map displays astronomical entities such as planets, constellations and galaxies that exist in the direction the smartphone is pointed. Up toward the heavens, down through the other side of the Earth, straight beyond the horizon -- the app creates an actual, real-time map of universal space." ~ Smartphone Users Over the Moon for Google Planetarium Program, Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Brilliant! The technology is built inside the two HTC Android smartphones via GPS, compass, clock and accelerometer. Simply point and click! The application then shows you what the name of the star you’re pointing to is. There's a search function as well. You can enter "Saturn" and the phone will display an arrow pointing to the planet. As you get closer to it, the color of the arrow goes from blue to red and then the app circles the object when you find it.

Now, how cool is that?

The year 2009 was the International Year of Astronomy and technology recognized that. I keep telling all of you men out there that the ladies love astrology and all things related. Well, apparently a friend of mine "gets it" without even being told (he's a fellow "Mt. Vernoner" for those of you in-the-know). After all, he's the one that developed the new smartphone app:

"Kevin Serafini and another Google software engineer came up with the idea in August 2008, Serafini said. Ultimately, four others teamed up to create the app. We thought it'd be cool to make a planetarium app," Serafini said, pointing to a physical model that represented what they planned to do electronically."

But stand back, ladies, because this one's married to a wonderful woman who was a very close friend of mine growing up. Hats off to you, Kevin!

So what's the greatest thing about this smartphone app for men to aid them in their dating endeavours? The free app doesn't need internet connectivity to use it. This means that you can take your phone - and your girl - out to the boonies and impress her with your new technology. That is, of course, after you brush up on your astronomical knowledge and take a 101 course in astrology to make it complete.

So what are you waiting for guys? Get the free Google Planetarium Sky Map app, grab your girl, and head for a nice, dark quiet place. Bring a blanket and a bottle of wine to really seal the deal and you'll be sure to impress her. Heck, you might even be able to "get your groove on."

And then you can come back here and thank Kevin Serafini and the others involved in the Sky Map development for all of your newfound dating success . . .

2010 Horoscope: Great Revelations

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:57:00 +0000

The 2010 horoscopes are out, and 2009 was a trip, was it not? So what's in store this year, you ask? Well, put on your ponchos and dig out your acid rock, because the vibe and energy of the late 1960's is upon us again for the first time since. Transformation, liberation, revelations, giant leaps. The energy is amping up and there's a slight tinge of "revolution" in the air.

"For the past few years, the astrology has been gradually ramping up. We left behind the challenges that defined the Cheney-Bush years: aspects that came along with the stolen election and Sept. 11 and the big hurricanes of 2005. With those aspects came plenty of crisis and growth, but even more deferral of the real material we need to be addressing. That is twofold: one, our inner struggle for healing and awareness; and two, taking part in a creative solution. Most of the cost we’ve paid is pretending we can put off taking care of inner problems that delay our lives, and pretending that we don’t make a difference."

"The last time we experienced anything vaguely resembling this was the summer of 1969: Woodstock, the Moon landing, the Manson murders and much else changing, not just the world, but our cosmology. We know the cultural ethos back then was more about getting involved; getting together; thinking in terms of potential and not just survival. The energy of 2010 is the first experience that makes the Sixties astrology look like a walk in the park. Our survival is indeed at stake, but we need a creative approach. We need to face our own challenges and those of humanity with the idea that we can, if we try, create a much better world than the one we now know of."

"Borrowing from Timothy Leary, the current map says: tune in, turn on and get involved. Surely some revelation is at hand." ~ Sasstrology, Eric Francis

2010 is the Year That Conspiracy Theorists Will Get to Say "I told you so!"

Predictions across the board state that matters that have been hidden, secret or brushed under the carpet by world and religious leaders will reveal themselves to the light of day. Things along the lines of aliens or alien technology revealed, religious secrets kept by the Vatican revealed (for those interested, the Vatican just announced last year after secret United Nations meetings, that the possibility of alien life exists), and military secrets kept by our government could be a few of those themes.

In line with that, are the web bot project predictions. (For those of you who are unaware of the web bot project, you can read up about it here.) The last web bot ALTA report that runs into the summer of 2010 predicted things along these lines:

- A collapse of "The Powers That Be" through discovery of their nefarious doings (keywords: revolution, riots, mobsters, devaluation of the dollar, Vatican involvement, secrets revealed, refugees)

- "The Powers That Be" suffer secrets revealed by rioting mobsters which leads to participation in the "alien wars" theme that keeps repeating itself within the ALTAs (late 2010, early 2011)

- Breakdowns in infrastructure (food destruction, food hoarding, climate collapse, Vatican looting, hyperinflation, breakdown fuels, food deliveries, health care system, public meetings)

The Current Atmosphere is Coming To a Slow Boil

Our future is literally in the palm of our hands right now, folks, and the atmosphere is coming to a slow boil. It's palpable in the air. Remaining passive is no longer an option. Action is needed. Do not follow without questioning, do not be judgmental of others, show compassion for your fellow man, ask questions of others and those in authority, make sure agendas are kept pure, and take action when necessary - take control. Make sure that the leap we take, is going to land mankind in the best place possible. Steer the wheel with good intentions and check man's ego at the door.

We are at a pivot point in history - these can be the best of times - or they can be the worst of times. You decide.

Join The Cosmos: Name Your Own Star

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Every once in a while, you come across something really interesting on the Internet. In my travels, I recently discovered that, apparently, you can name your own star for about $20 bucks at Name A Star Live, Space Services, Inc.

So for all of you astro geeks out there like me, this may be of interest you.

I haven't used the service myself, but it appears to be quite popular as it's been featured in CNN, BBC, MSNBC, Forbes, Yahoo!, Time and CBS, just to name a few. There are several different packages to choose from, with the least expensive being $19.95.

Not a bad deal for having a part of the cosmos named after yourself or your loved one.

The package comes complete with a Star Certificate and also an Exclusive Launch Certificate which really caught my interest, "Your star name and dedication message will be launched into space aboard a real rocket on our next satellite. Available for download from our website after the launch occurs, containing a photo of the launch and all of the flight details."

Now I'm not really an advocate of space litter, however, I found that to be quite interesting. Put your telephone number on it and you never know, maybe "a gray" will call you up to say "Hello" someday. Just kidding, obviously.

There are also some cool addons that can be purchased like a Star Bear teddy bear, a framed professionally printed copy of your Star Certificate, a Star Chart to see where your star is located, a Planisphere Constellation Finder to find the constellation your star is located in, and an 8x10" Astrophotograph of your star's constellation with an inset picture featuring your star and it's neighbors.

If you care to step it up a notch, you can get the deluxe package that also includes Virtual Planetarium Astronomy Software which, "provides access to award-winning NASA images, astronomy and space mission websites, and 3-D photos of Mars. Use VP to locate your star, and to portal to the best space information on the web including interactive games and lessons. Developed by Rice University and NASA."

Last but not least, with the deluxe package you can, "View your star LIVE online with SLOOH— not a static picture, but actually see your star “live” in space from the comfort of your desktop."

This is a great way to make a special dedication to a loved one that is no longer with us. Send a message to the heavens for them. Or maybe you're looking for that special gift for your friend or loved one? I may have just found it for you . . .

One Third of Women Consult the Stars

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Women are always talking, always analyzing, always thinking. Not that men aren't, it just seems like women do it more - all the time to be exact. A woman's brain is wired a bit differently and frankly, not to be insulting, she uses more of it than her male companions do. Studies have shown that, on average, women speak about 20,000 words per day whereas men use 7,000 to 10,000 words per day. Many men will simply just grunt their approval or disapproval. "Ugh, ugh."

Simply put, a mans brain is designed to focus on the ways that objects move through space. (Ever hear a man say, "I love the way she moves. . . ") A females brain is designed to focus on language and establishing and maintaining connections. (Ever hear a woman say, "He doesn't talk to me . . . " or "I wonder why he hasn't called today . . .") This type of brain mapping suited our ancient ancestors quite nicely. It's the old "hunter gatherer" versus "nesting" thing at play.

Studies of the male and female brain during a state of "rest" revealed that there is just as much neural activity going on inside the female brain during a state of rest - as there is going on in the male brain while solving problems. The female brain doesn't really ever go into a state of rest state. Female blood flow during brain rest is very active while male blood flow during a rest state is not. In images taken of the female and male brain at rest, the female brain was lit up like a Christmas tree compared to the image of the male brain, which showed only a few of it's tinier portions fired up. Las Vegas versus Boise, Idaho?

This brings to mind a phrase that I used to use to refer to my ex at times, "the single cell amoeba." It was our little joke, we both had a sense of humor about it, and he had his observations about me, too. But his thinking was more "reactionary" than "proactive." If you poked him, he reacted. If you didn't, he could be stationary for days. If you asked him to think about something, he would react - and think. If you didn't, there was no need to be proactive about the matter and think about it before being instructed to do so. If I wanted something out of him, I was forced to resort to poking around and pushing buttons. (Sound familiar, ladies?)

Men are mechanical thinkers and singular problem solvers. Women are analytical thinkers who can multi-task. It is what it is, no disrespect intended. It's only my sarcastic sense of humor leaking through. I think, by far, women are the more spiritual of the species, which could have something to do with childbirth. But that's for another article . . .

Having said that, apparently millions of women are feeding their 24/7 brains by consulting the stars daily and tapping into astrological insights. Why? If I had to guess, I'd say it's so that they can think more - more than they already do. Just what all you men wanted to hear, right?

In a recent study conducted by iVillage, it appears that one third of women between the age range of 18-54 years:

read their horoscope at least once a month;
check their horoscope before spending money;
check their horoscope prior to job interviews;
check their horoscope before entering relationships;
and even before buying lottery tickets.

Additionally, the study revealed:

37% check horoscopes as they research personal health information on a monthly basis;
41%, two out of every five women, share their horoscopes with their friends;
28%, more than one out of every four women, say their horoscope can change their mood depending on what it says;
29% chalk up others’ shortcomings to traits of their zodiac signs;
59% say they have a lucky number (7 tops the list, followed by 13);
21% of moms believe that people of certain zodiac signs have better sex lives;
40% check their husband’s horoscope;
25% check their child’s horoscope;
22% check other family members.

“Whether they are hard core astrology believers or just want to add some fun to their daily routine, millions of women on iVillage check their horoscopes every day and share them with friends online,” said Jodi Kahn, executive vice president, iVillage.

So for all of you men out there just wishing your woman would shut up for a tad, I hate to burst your bubble but, most likely, that will never happen. Mother Nature won't have it. Besides, you should be proud. Articulate speech is usually a sure sign of intelligence. If your woman is articulately babbling like the brook running through your backyard, congratulations; chances are you've landed yourself one smart cookie. If the babble flowing out of her mouth doesn't seem to be all that intelligent, at the very least you've scored yourself an independent thinker. No one's attracted to a pushover, right?

And by all means, don't mock her when she says to you, "Honey, I read your horoscope today and . . . . " Most likely, she's taking what she's about to tell you very seriously. Even though you may think it's "hooey," rest assured she doesn't. So put a smile on your face, act as if you're hanging on every word she's saying, tell her "that's interesting" and then make your move. Talking to her, taking a subject that she's interested in seriously, will get you major brownie points in the love department.

After all, it's written in the stars . . . .

Stonehenge: A Spiritual Transcendence Tool

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:30:00 +0000

Interesting theories abound from individuals all over the world that have attempted to decipher the mysteries of Stonehenge. One of them that I find most interesting is a theory claiming that Stonehenge is a center for spiritual transcendence.

I'm not talking about transcendence metaphorically. I'm talking about transcendence - literally.

You see, it has recently been discovered that Stonehenge has some pretty incredible acoustical properties. So what does that have to do with transcendence, you ask? Let me explain. For those of you who may not know, altered states of consciousness can be reached through beat tones and rhythmic sessions at certain frequencies. This is why monks chant, those of Jewish faith rock back and forth (davening) while praying and indigenous people incorporate drumming into their rituals. This is also why Rave participants are easily induced into trance-like states. These rhythmic actions actually produce a clinically measurable effect on the brain.

Through rhythmic sessions and beat tones or binaural beats, the brain reaches a state called "coherence." Coherence is reached when waves in phase and of one wavelength simultaneously are generated in the different parts of the brain. This synchrony between the waves make the brain run like an optimal brain and a deep state of altered consciousness can be achieved.

The frequencies that generate these altered states of consciousness on the human brain are known as Alpha and Theta waves. Alpha waves occur at a frequency between 7 - 12 HZ and Theta waves occur below 7 HZ. Here's a bit of an explanation from Wikipedia:

"The brain produces a phenomenon resulting in low-frequency pulsations in the perceived sound when two tones at slightly different frequencies are presented separately, one to each of a subject's ears. A beating tone will suddenly be perceived, as if the two tones mixed naturally, out of the brain. The difference between the two frequencies must be small (below about 30 Hz) for the effect to occur; otherwise, the two tones will be heard separately and no beat will be perceived."

A "beat" doesn't necessarily have to exist (although it helps considerably). Your brain perceives the two separate sound frequencies as one, thus creating a "beat sensation" in the brain.

Now, back to Stonehenge. Researchers noticed that the side of the rocks facing the interior center of the circle were carved out somewhat to produce a concave "dip" in the face of the rock. This was done purposefully and for a reason, therefore, researchers started to investigate why this was done and what they discovered is quite amazing.

It appears that the acoustical qualities of Stonehenge are such that, when the proper rhythm is achieved through beat tones (drumming), Stonehenge actually begins to produce Alpha wave frequencies at 10 HZ to such an extent that it actually begins to ring like a glass. You know the old trick, wet your finger and run it around the lip of a crystal glass and it'll turn into a "singing bowl." Apparently, Stonehenge produces the same effect only on a much grander scale and in low Alpha wave frequencies. Frequencies necessary to achieve altered states of consciousness that allow for astral planing or astral projection (out of body experiences). Combine that with the mind altering substance of the day, Henbane, and you have yourself one hell of a party.

Not only did Stonehenge begin to ring, but researchers also noted that rhythmic beats produce forceful waves - waves that can actually ignite the flame of a fire or bring it down. When they were near the center of Stonehenge holding a flickering flame while beat tones were being broadcast from a speaker in the center - the flame rose and sank with the beat. The further away from the center of Stonehenge you moved, the less effect this had. So for those participating in the center of Stonehenge with fires burning while chanting and drumming was taking place with the Alpha wave acoustical effect kicking in, it must've certainly seemed spiritual as they danced in rhythm with the flickering flames.

Researchers reproduced the acoustical affects of Stonehenge using binaural beat tones and played them for research subjects and then studied their brain wave patterns. Beat tones that were played with the Stonehenge acoustical properties produced near perfect brainwave patterns conducive to producing altered states of consciousness for the individual.

Imagine an ancient ritual at Stonehenge. The entire circle is literally ringing loudly in Alpha wave frequencies producing binaural beat tones in the brain and beat vibrations in the physical body that can be felt. Your brain is entering a state of altered consciousness, you are dancing in rhythm with the flickering flames of the fires burning - and the Henbane you ingested earlier is finally kicking in. It's no wonder human sacrifice was a part of the ritual. I found this tribal, techno alpha wave beat video to give you an idea of what that may have been like:

This is the stuff that gets me to thinking. Because if you believe in the science of quantum physics and that sub-atomic particles can "bounce" in and out of different dimensions, then things get pretty interesting. Because we are all made up of sub-atomic particles, therefore, if sub-atomic particles are scientifically proven to have the ability to "bounce" inter-dimensionally . . . then that means that, technically, human beings can do the same.

Theoretically, human beings possess the ability for dimensional travel.

And Stonehenge seems to be a perfectly composed mechanism for producing the Alpha waves necessary to reach the altered state of consciousness for astral transcendence. Which begs the question, what happened to the people of Stonehenge? For that matter, where did the Mayan race disappear to?

Just some food for thought, my friends . . .

25 Zodiac Astrology Horoscope Blogs

noreply@blogger.com (The Mirror of Aphrodite) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:00:00 +0000

I'm a big fan of astrology and all things mystic and I know many of you visiting here are, too. In otherwords, many of you are "seekers" of knowledge and insight. Whether that be for love and relationships, dating, familial interactions or psychological insights, you are here seeking knowledge.

I decided to create a list of astrology and horoscope blogs for you that are definitely worth checking out. If you're looking for astrological insights, look no further. Below are 25 astrology related blogs for your surfing enjoyment. Peruse this community of great sites, make some new astrology friends and feed that mind of yours. I hope you enjoy these sites as much as I do.

For all of my astrology friends on this list below, a great big thank you for maintaining such wonderful, useful and inspiring sites.

25 Astrology Blogs For You

Big Sky Astrology - With April Elliott Kent:
From the author of Star Guide to Weddings, April has some great articles but my favorite thing about the site has to be her Wedding Date Service and her Choose a Wedding Date with Astrology tutorial. How cool is that?

Sasstrology - With Jeffrey Kishner:
One of my favorite astrology blogs with a focus on sex, love and relationships. Surf through insightful blog posts, participate in the forum community and join them on Facebook.

CafeAstrology - With Annie Heese and Adam Banks:
One of my favorite things about this site is the breakdown of monthly horoscopes by approximate 10 day spans for a very personal overview of your month. Features daily horoscopes, articles and more.

Astrology Zone - With Susan Miller:
This site features 'cosmic tools,' very nice monthly profiles and some great reading under 'life and love' including stress busters by sign, vacation tips by sign, fitness by sign and more.

The Astrology Room - With Sarah, Peter, Jane and Claire
A visually beautiful site and the information contained within is equally inspiring. The Astrology Room is chalk full of interesting reads and insightful information and offers horoscopes, charts, relationship advice and personal development from 4 astrologers.

Starcana Insight - With Suzanne Dronzek:
A nice site featuring monthly horoscopes, a blog, and lots of good reads. Titles include, Elemental Power, Evil Psychic Myth, Wisdom of Tarot and more. Be sure to check out the elemental power source for your sign.

Elsa Elsa - With Elsa Panizzon:
I like the way Elsa features "Flashback" pieces for another look and updated comments on the matter at hand. Elsa develops some great discussion pieces such as her current "Memory is Queer" series.

Your Zodiac Forecast - With Jonathan Cainer:
This site has a lot of great stuff to offer but my favorite thing about it is the Secret of My Sign under "Check Your Sign." Its an insightful look from a fresh perspective that debunks the many myths surrounding your sun sign.

Insightful Astrology - With Maria DeSimone:
A fellow Taurian and Twitter pal, Maria offers free natal chart generation, podcasted radio interviews, writings and unique sun sign profiles based on personal experiences with the sun signs in question.

Aquarius Papers - With Robert Wilkinson:
"Using Astrology, Spirit, and Archetypes to move and groove through the intersections of fate and free will." I really like the way he shines aspects of astrology on mankind, nature and spiritual evolution and he has some very thought provoking pieces.

Living Constellation - With Dave Mock Mockaitis:
This is an interesting and creative astrology blog that features imagery and symbolic collages to interpret the stars and their current placement. There's also some cool "audio by sign" posts as well. A very creative site.

Serennu - With Tracy:
This site includes some very cool calculating tools like the Eclipse Finder, Aspectarian and Astrological Ephemeris which gives major planet position, centaurs, asteroids, Uranian points, galactic center and great attractor.

Julie Demboski's Astrology - With Julie Demboski:
Lots of information here folks. A great place to educate yourself about all things astrology. A nice astrology blogroll and lots of useful categories to surf through. Writings are not short snippets; they are in-depth, very detailed insightful pieces.

Astrology Mundo - With Monica Starr:
A nice astrology blog with "a cosmic take on current events." Topics include, Top 10 Predictions for 2009, The Stock Market and Venus Retrograde, Swine Flu and the Jupiter/Neptune Conjunction, The Fragile State of the Union and more.

BemyAstrologer - With Nancy R. Fenn:
I really enjoy Nancy's Dark Side of the Zodiac posts. We can all laugh at ourselves every once in a while, right? For an entertaining look at the not-so-nice qualities of the sun signs, be sure to check this one out. Its one of my favorites.

Astrological Musings - With Lynn Hayes:
Lynn has her finger on the pulse concerning current events and their associated astrological significance. She stays on top of politics, planetary aspects, skywatch, retrograde periods, celebrities - you name it, she's on top of it.

Collaborate With Fate - With Kathryn Cassidy:
An enlightening blog that touches on all things astrology along with spotlights on celebrities, missing people, asteroids, the NY plane crash, personal responsibility, self improvement, self reflection, world points and many, many more.

Gryphon Astrology - With Nina Gryphon:
I really like the overall design of this site and particularly, how the posts are arranged and the images included. More importantly though, the astrology book reviews are great and there are also guest interviews.

Horoscopic Astrology Blog - With Chris Brennan:
This is a very professional astrology blog with a lot of great reads and Chris offers astrology introduction online classes as well. He also runs the Celebrity Astrology Blog and the Political Astrology Blog.

Political Astrology Blog - With Chris Brennan:
This is the politically focused astrology blog of Chris Brennan. Again, another very professional site. Discover the planetary associations with world leaders and events, view politician profiles, birth data and review current events.

Celebrity Astrology Blog - With Chris Brennan:
This is the celebrity focused astrology blog of Chris Brennan and it, too, is a very professional site with a lot of interesting tidbits and insightful looks into the lives of celebrities. Featuring celebrity profiles, videos, birth data, predictions and more.

Astro-Pol - With Terry Lamb:
"A fresh perspective on politics based on universal concepts, including planetary and historical cycles, and the principles of the I Ching." It's exactly what it claims to be and is a great way to stay on top of the political climate from a starry eyed perspective.

Star4Cast - With Marjorie Orr:
Marjorie's site is loaded with information and has many categories to choose from including, free daily horoscopes, politics and celebrities, astrology of today's news, heavenly headlines, eclipses and more.

Astro Dispatch - With Elsa Panizzon:
Another great site by Elsa Panizzon of Elsa Elsa. The blog features news and commentary on current events, book reviews and a lot of insightful reads on the planets and their effects based on current settings.

AstroTableTalk - With Dharmaruci:
AstroTableTalk features insightful articles covering today's world events, celebrities, planetary placement and their effects along with commentary pieces. There are many, many categories to choose from.

Naturally, I couldn't list all of them and undoubtedly, there are many more great sites out there. I'd like you to leave the name of your favorite astrology blog or any astrology suggestions for addition to the list in the comments section below. And be sure to bookmark and share this page with your Facebook friends (use the button at the top of this page). I'm sure they'll thank you for it.

Keep Looking Up to the Stars!