Can You Hear Me Now

It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.

William Shakespeare

I’ve been far too serious lately and it’s time to lighten up. I can only write about the sad state of my country and technical gobbledygook for so long before I need to balance it with something ridiculous.

Several years ago a casual friend put together an astrological chart for me. I knew I was a Cancer born in the year of the dog, but her chart was supposed to go much deeper than that. It factored in not only my birth date, but the time of day and my place of birth. I will not say that I believe in all of it (I am far too scientific and practical for that), but quite a bit does fit me pretty well.

Here are a few snippets from the chart along with my observations.

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Yours is a tough one to interpret because it’s one of the most balanced charts I’ve ever seen. You’ve got planets in all the elements and qualities, and no singletons in any one particular location.

I can’t claim to understand half of what that says, but balanced has been my blessing and my curse. I am typically very good in a crisis and can reason through most problems. However, that can make me appear emotionally cold. I addressed some of that in my anger article, but it’s deeper than anger. There have been many times where I chose to be calm and stoic when the right answer was to be anything but balanced. As I previously wrote, there is a place for every emotion.

You’ve got a tight trine between Jupiter and Chiron. You must have good health with that aspect. In fact, you almost have a grand trine with Jupiter, Chiron, and Venus, although the angles aren’t quite tight enough. Having Jupiter in a trine is a very good thing indeed. Your Venus is rather interesting. It’s in the twelfth house, the house of secrecy and dreams and occasional craziness.

I know something about dreams and occasional craziness, and yes, I’ve got plenty of both. I am sometimes awash in my dreams and regardless of how past dreams have fared, I continue to add new ones. I am perpetually hopeful that good things will come my way if I dream hard enough.

Secrecy? That’s a bit of a complicated subject. I am a Cancer and what may appear as secrecy to non Cancers is simply our way of maintaining a little distance and privacy. Instead of harboring secrets, think of it as us mulling things over until we are good and ready to air them for the rest of the world to see.

On the other hand, I have an unhealthy tendency towards confrontation avoidance and that can lead to under-sharing things I ought not be keeping to myself. I pretend that I can handle anything and everything all by myself and that’s not a good way to live. Thankfully, this is another of my works-in-progress endeavors and I have made measurable, albeit not enough, improvements in that regard.

House of secrecy? Let’s just say there is more there than I care to admit to — which in itself may be secrecy in action.

Venus in men is also the planet of what sort of people they are attracted to. Do you find yourself attracted to rather nutty people?

I don’t like to think of them as nutty. Rather, I find that the people I am attracted to have a good balance of practical and whimsical. I find that to be a good counterpoint to my Cancer tendencies towards routine and practicality.

Yin Yang. Bert Ernie.

It’s important for me to be with people who remind me to step out of my shell from time to time and the best way to do that is to allow me to follow or walk beside you. I don’t want to feel forced, or worse, made to feel inadequate. Both are quick ways to get me to do my backwards crab walk.

You are good at multitasking and comfortable in stimulating environments and cities. This communication gift is further helped by your chart ruler Mercury in its own house, the third house. It’s in Leo, so your energies have a strong bent towards artistic self-expression.

Although I’ve heard multitasking called multifailing, I am good at juggling several things at the same time. It’s rare when I don’t have a multitude of thoughts in my head at the same time. That’s just how my brain works.

A life without some form of artistic expression would be boring and despite my adherence to certain routines, I do not want to be thought of as boring. My favorite artistic expressions involve words, music, and images. I write, play Irish Banjo, prepare tasty food, and take photographs. These things both ground and expand me.

Your Mercury is in conjunction with Uranus in the second house, right on the cusp, which will give you a gift for seeing and communicating the unusual in your physical surroundings. Combining this with your 12th house Venus gives you an eye for hidden beauty.

I do have an eye for beauty. As the chart says, some is hidden beauty and some is unnoticed or unappreciated. I find it easy to see magnificence in things others pass right by.

Your rising sign Gemini gives a comfort with cities, but your sun sign is of course Cancer, so you really are most your true self in your home. Your sun sign is in your second house, the house of stuff and sensuality. Your home must be exceptionally beautiful and comfortable. That’s the chart of a person who likes to garden and do home repair — a true family man. Add to that your Taurus Moon, and it’s a good thing you have Gemini rising, otherwise you’d never leave your house at all. Taurus moon gives an earthy, stable emotional base, which is a good steadying influence on the potential moodiness of your Cancer sun.

I am not very good at home repairs, but I agree that home is important to me. That is a basic Cancer trait. I feel most comfortable in familiar places and known routines. That’s not to say that I don’t like getting away from them every now and then. It’s just that when I need a place to retreat to, home is where I go.

I’m not saying your wife wears the pants in the family, but a Cancer sun, Taurus moon combination, especially in a chart like yours with nothing to outweigh it, is going to give a deep respect for women and willingness to support and help.

With very few exceptions, I respect everyone and like to think of myself as being very supportive to the people I know. I am a good cheerleader and try not to let folks down.

I hope I don’t sound too stereotypical, but women tend to be better listeners than men. All too often, men just want to be heard and don’t take the time to sit back and hear what others have to say. I will always choose a conversation over being spoken to.

You’ve got both your Venus and your Moon in the twelfth house. That will give you emotional secrecy and an interesting fault line in your otherwise straightforward chart.

There’s that reference to secrecy again. I still believe that a lot of that is just how others perceive a Cancer. We don’t necessarily hide things, but rather we hold on to them until we are ready to share.

If it means that I tend to guard my feelings longer than I should then I am guilty as charged. They do eventually come out, though. You just need to be patient and help me feel comfortable sharing them. If I am pushed too hard I will retreat into my shell. That, I’m afraid, is another Cancer trait.

Your house of career is empty, your house of higher education has Chiron in it, and your house of daily work has the bad luck planet Saturn in it. Although Saturn is also the planet of hard work and banking; might be a good placement for an accountant, especially with your Sun in the house of money. Do you work in finance in some way?

I would rather not dwell on money and that is why I am good at saving. I prefer not to pay a lot attention to money and knowing that it’s there allows me to do that. Yes, I realize how privileged that sounds.

And your karmic destiny, oh poor you, is to have fun with beauty and love.

My karmic destiny? I call it my puddle heart.

Thank you for reading.

With all my triumphs and setbacks
a near endless stream of anguish
resignation, amazement, and joy
between the rising and the falling
sleep and awareness
all my confusion and false clarity
realizing that all that is known is less than what is worth knowing

The boy child man
bathed in luck and blessed with good fortune
a tiny part of something
bigger and greater than I shall ever comprehend

Down here on the ground
gazing up at the stars