We defy augury

[mhuzzell]

It has been a beautiful weekend. I went with some friends to their friend's house, where I met many nice and interesting people. To get there we walked through a narrow strip of old-growth forest beside a river, which was absolutely beautiful. As it always seems to, being so rare for me nowadays, being surrounded by trees made me immeasurably happy. I felt like I could breathe again.

The house was a beautiful old country manor, and brimming with ancient and interesting books. The family has some sort of wetland restoration project going, complete with a small population of reintroduced beavers. I lived beside a North American swamp for six years, so beavers themselves, and their various constructions, are not especially exciting to me. But beaver dams and lodges in Scotland, where they have been extinct for hundreds of years, were an incredible sight. The beaver ponds are within a large enclosure of wild boars, one of which came to investigate us a few times while we were watching for beavers. Scary stuff! This morning we saw some of the babies (kept at the farm because they'd lost their mother), and even they were rambunctious, bitey little creatures, a lot like puppies but stronger and wilder.

This afternoon I returned to find that I still have internet! I must question Steph or Helena about this, but in the meantime I shall enjoy it, perhaps by proceeding into another excessively-long post--mostly cut, of course:

While I don't believe in Astrology, I still find it fascinating. Along with Tarot, Numerology, Phrenology, palm-reading and other such nonsense, I don't believe a word of it yet find myself greatly attracted to the concepts, to the point that I have studied some of them (though, perhaps because I have Mercury in Gemini, never in any depth). Recently iamunicorngirl posted a link and description in her journal that she said was the most accurate Astrological description she had yet encountered online. Intrigued, I looked up my own chart. Following her example, I have struck out the inaccurate bits. However, since a lot of it (as such things tend to do) provokes a sort of 'eh, I guess that sort of describes me' type of reaction, I've also italicised the bits that struck me as especially descriptive of my personality:


Generated by Starbud 2.0b

Sun 22° 38' Taurus
Moon 28° 05' Scorpio
Mercury 00° 26' Gemini
Venus 25° 42' Aries
Mars 25° 19' Gemini
Jupiter 17° 03' Aries
Saturn 19° 41' Sagittarius
Uranus 25° 60' Sagittarius
Neptune 07° 42' Capricorn
Pluto 08° 10' Scorpio
Ascendant 03° 50' Scorpio
Midheaven 08° 35' Leo



General personality
Born under the sign of Taurus, you are determined, forceful, and resistant to change, especially when you feel someone else tries to force it on you. You soon learn that short-cuts are usually disastrous for you, but you cope well with this situation since patience is one of your most outstanding virtues. You are basically quite insecure, and much preoccupied with using material aquisition to compensate for this need. You tend to be a taker, not a giver, and for this reason it is essential that you learn to know when giving is as appropriate as receiving. Possessiveness could in fact be your major fault, and you should try to avoid trying to own other people in the same way as you own things.

Scorpio rising produces a personality that is deeply reserved, secretive and determined. The power of the personality emerging from a Scorpio Ascendant is so intense, magnetic, and charismatic, that it is often somewhat overwhelming. Symbolized by the scorpion, you have an external "coat of armor" that protects and lets you survive in hostile situations. You are not the sort of person who ever knuckles under, even when pressures and circumstances would defeat lesser souls. When cornered, the famous "deadly scorpion sting" may be brought into play. With Scorpio on the rise your personality is very powerful. People find you hard to understand, to know what you are thinking at any particular time. There is a hidden depth to your persona that is nearly impossible for others to comprehend. Much of the time you may feel as though you are misunderstood. You are very willful and self-reliant, appearing calm and in control on the surface. Yet there are strong emotions at work inwardly. Scorpio is a water sign, and it is a fixed sign. This means that you are an emotional person. These emotions are very controlled (fixed), giving you the determination and the strength to overcome just about any opponent. Resentment and jealousy can be intense with you. You always pursue your goals with intensity. You can stand under heavy strain, and be relied upon to stay cool, even in the most serious emergency. You're inclined to be very suspicious or skeptical, and occasionally you can be "stingingly " sarcastic. Every sign has a positive and negative expression, but with the Scorpio the range of possibilities is extreme. Everything is black or white. There are no shades of gray with Scorpio on the rise. Your penetrating stare can look right through a person or a situation. You can make an instant diagnosis and it is usually the right one. The Scorpio personality is often maligned as over-sexed, a bit on the evil side, and often bent on revenge. This is not completely true, but Scorpio does get what it wants, when it wants it, most of the time. It is not a personality to be trifled with.

You have intense and powerful emotions, and your feelings can at times be expressed in extreme ways. When others are honest with you there is nothing you won't do for them, but you are possessive with the persons you like or love. Be careful so you don't become vindictive because of jealousy. You must also be careful not to indulge in daydreams so that you lose all contact with reality. You may not plan for the future by developing your potentials, and end up being frustrated because you feel you are not progressing. Try not to resent suggestion from well-meaning friends as an attempt to discredit you.

You often act on impulse, and tend to fritter away your energy, both physically and mentally. You will take a lively, assertive attitude in argument and debate, and will find things to say on any occasion. You are not terribly patient [didn't it just say patience is my biggest virtue? But I'll leave both, I guess; I think my level of patience is about average], and boredom can catch up with you easily, so you will benefit from changes in surroundings from time to time.

A negative aspect formed between the Moon and Mercury suggests conflict between your mind and your emotions. You have difficulties making reasonable judgments because your feelings get in the way. Irrational decisions place you at odds with people sometimes, and you have the feeling that you're being treated unfairly when this may not be the case. You dwell on trivial personal matters and may have a real sense of insecurity. You can communicate well with those that are very close to you. Yet your peer group outside the family can be a problem with which you must deal before you can achieve success. Avoid the tendency to discredit the ideas of others when they disagree with your ideas or challenge you. Try to evaluate the ideas of others in an objective and quiet manner.

A negative aspect formed between Mars and Uranus shows desire for complete freedom to act without hesitation or restraint. There is too much physical energy coupled with a voracious appetite for action and excitement. You are accident prone because you're a bit careless in what you do. Avoid activity associated with racing cars, speed boats, machinery, and other dangerous activities. In dealing with others in the work place, don't expect them to perform as you do. They are not likely to have your drive. Moderation in everything should be your goal. This is a difficult aspect for fostering an out-of-control temper. Be aware of this very unappealing potential. [None of this paragraph particularly applies, except that I am a bit clumsy--but not reckless.]



Mentality & communication
You are mentally alert and versatile in your interests, and have a thirst for knowledge that is second to none. You are interested in everything, but easily distracted when something new gains your attention. You think very quickly, and are ready to change your attitudes and opinions at a moment's notice, but watch out for a tendency to be superficial. One of your problems is that you spend more time talking or thinking about things than actually doing them. You are talkative, sometimes in the extreme, and love to move around all the time, probably spending an above-average time travelling.



Love, marriage & social relations
You have a strong tendency to fall in love very quickly, and you will do everything in your power to win the affection of those to whom you are attracted. Your charm is in your straightforwardness of approach and your enthusiasm for love and pleasure in general. One of your problems could be that you fear the burdens of commitment. You don't make adjustments easily and prefer that others accommodate you in your relationships. Until you learn to become less selfish and accept the responsibilities of a commitment to another person, you will only experience temporary encounters just satisfying the senses.
A positive Venus/Mars aspect shows that you are especially warm, affectionate, and congenial. You have a happy disposition and look for the better qualities in the people with whom you relate. You get along well with others because you don't make undue demands and your willingness to compromise often brings the concessions you want. Public relations is a good field for you to seek employment. With your congenial disposition, you can handle the most inflexible individual you might meet in carrying out your duties. A fun-loving person at heart, you enjoy a good time. You may run into problems with romantic partners who will assume by your nature that your sexual attitudes are promiscuous. This is probably not so. This placement often provides talent in music, art [barely], or drama. It gives the will and energy to bring such talent to expression.

A positive aspect formed between Venus and Uranus shows that you are a person who enjoys life. [Who doesn't?] Your pursuit of happiness makes you appear a little out of the ordinary to some. You gather eccentric and out of the ordinary friends about you, and gain though the connection with such people. You have a broad viewpoint being more humane than personal. [What does that even mean?] A strong social consciousness is shown by this placement. Your well developed sense of harmony and appreciation of beauty may be expressed through the arts. This aspect produces an intuitive ability in financial matters.



Career & ambition
The Leo influence in the tenth house denotes strong professional ambitions. You take pride in your standing in the world. The Sun rules Leo, and when the Sun has dominance on the Midheaven (tenth house), the ego, executive ability, and leadership potential are all emphasized. Public recognition is all important and you must be sure the ego does not get out of hand. If you maintain a proper perspective, you are likely to get a position of leadership and authority, and be admired for your accomplishments. You are happiest running your own business. If this is not possible, you still want to be the one in charge. You are not as effective working as a member of a group. You have wonderful organizing skills, but at times you need to be more persuasive and not so demanding. Learning to understand others and bringing out the best they have to offer is a task you'll face often.[Isn't that a task anyone in a leadership position faces?]



Other traits
You might not be terribly good at coping with details, but your grasp of an overall plan will be terrific. [I am exactly the opposite.] You have considerable breadth of vision, and a fiery enthusiasm that you usually manage to maintain until the end of a project. You are basically optimistic and positive in outlook, and enjoy challenge, as well as taking adventurous risks. If anyone says "You can't do this!", you will probably defy them to stop you!
You are deeply involved in trying to understand all things, and don't think that any problems are unresolvable if you are sufficiently informed. [Not quite, on the latter, but I know what they mean.] Your greatest worry should be that you may stop asking questions, implying that you know everything that is essential. Alternating moods of optimism and pessimism will occur, sometimes to the point that you will feel ecstatically happy about one aspect of life, but desperately miserable over another. Use your practical common sense to counteract this.

A positive aspect between Jupiter and Saturn shows serious purpose to your life which may have been influenced by a family tradition. Although you are somewhat materialistic and desire the finer things in life, you lack the motivation and drive to attain them. There is a tendency to seek and find easy ways of doing everything. Whatever success you are to achieve is apt to come in the latter part of your life. You have a bad habit of comparing yourself unfavorably to others rather than realizing your own self-worth.


Snide commentary
I don't know about you, but I see an awful lot of strikeout in there. If it were "accurate", I would expect to only see a few bits struck out, especially given how general it all is. It occurs to me that many of these things would apply to most people, and the specific ones (and even many of the general ones) are only sometimes accurate.

It's also hugely contradictory. I pointed out above that I'm supposedly impatient despite the fact that patience is one of my biggest virtues. But I had a look at the bigger chart thing (Starbud being only a 'bud'), and see little besides contradictions. I'm apparently reserved and hard to figure out, but have a warm, outgoing personality, and am apparently very charismatic. I am actually so, so far from charismatic, and as introverted as they come. Well, maybe not so much anymore, but I am in no way outgoing. Oh, and it's advised me into various careers, mostly requiring contradictory strengths, many of them hugely inappropriate for me. Apparently I'm good with money, very frugal and perhaps stingy (because I am a Taurus, I am greedy, selfish and ungenerous), but Sagittarius in the second house says that I am very generous.

The descriptions based on the placement of the Sun were so wrong as to be almost comical. I've read enough descriptions of my Sun sign (Taurus) to know that I fit half of the aspects very well, and the other half hardly at all. But the Sun in the 7th house began with "This placement denotes a public personality"--enough said. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Most, though, were neither particularly accurate nor particularly incorrect. The one that struck me as the most accurate was the description of the effects of the placement of Mercury. I'll let you judge the strike-out vs. italicised balance for yourself:


Gemini
Gemini is the natural home for Mercury, and the placement produces pure logical reasoning of the highest order. This Mercury denotes a lightning quick thinker. Your concern is with fact and unbiased understanding, rather than personal preference. Communication is easy, rapid, accurate and often eloquent. You are an interesting and incessant conversationalist. Mercury is at its quickest and best when it resides in Gemini.
If given proper training, you excel in mathematics as well as in language. You are very logical, and your mind moves very quickly. You love logic, a fact making you an excellent teacher or reporter.

When engaged in arguments, you may miss a basic premise, but you are clever enough to win anyway. The opponent is convinced by your rational remarks. You have a great variety of interests, and your mind may flit from one idea to the next, never digging in very deeply. You have an intense curiosity leading you to want to know a little about nearly everything. This makes you a very interesting person, but rarely an expert in any particular field.

The down side of Mercury in Gemini is the sensitive nervous system often noted. It's hard for you to shut out external stimulation of any sort. You may find yourself being forced to deal with too much activity and too many impressions from time to time. If you allow yourself to be subjected to too much stress and too many demands for an extended period, you can become frazzled and subject to breakdown. The obvious signs of this problem are irritability and mental confusion. The root cause of this is simply spreading yourself too thin. Getting away from it all generally provides a quick cure.


Seventh House
Mercury positioned in the seventh house produces an association with this house of relationships. This position shows a tendency to gravitate toward clever, articulate people. You are adept at communicating with the public and should succeed in sales, public relations, or law. You also excel in arbitration, mediation, and counseling. The need for mental companionship should lead you to marry a person who is intelligent and well educated. You are good at promoting your ideas and expressing yourself in an intelligent manner.


Resume snide commentary
Of course, two almost-all-accurate descriptions out of 42 is not exactly convincing. So does this mean that Astrology is bunk? No, of course not. The fact that Astrology assumes that the position of various celestial bodies at the moment of birth can somehow influence a person's personality or predict their fate is what makes it bunk. But it's still interesting.