busy time

Catching up with myself is taking a while, and this week I have had more than the usual readings to do, which is great. The Sun is in Libra and people start thinking about their relationships. Such a complex subject!

I am happy to have given help and important insights to people in this area and of course, the most important relationship is the one with yourself. Finding peace within and acceptance of who you are can take time. Fear brings about defensive behaviour or nervousness gives rise to an overdoes of chatter. Listening is so very powerful and being listened to is a way to be acknowledged, understood and validated. Astrology of course picks up on the essential energies which manifest as events or feelings within a person's life. Cosmic conversations...

Equinox time

Yes, it is only 3 months until the shortest day and I have been busy!

My latest scarf is done, inspired by the amazing Sophie Digard, and yesterday I salvaged some fading hydrangeas from my non-garden to make a nice display with wild rose hips, ivy and something else. I wanted to make an effort as my dear old tutor was coming for tea. He is like the original Dumbeldore and deserves freshly brewed Assam tea in a china cup with freshly made cup cakes (recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery cookery book) and of course fresh flowers.

It was wonderful catching up and see how everyone is coping with the Saturn/Uranus opposition. this has stirred things up and the paradoxes are aplenty with some crazy ideas. Out of all this chaos a new way of being will emerge and I am confident that while there are plenty who are of the same mind set as me (caring about the planet, each other, the need for personal responsibility, the re emergence of frugality and thrift, the honouring of the precious and old, there is a equally opposing mind set who do not care about the planet (witness those who chuck litter out of their cars for starters) who blame the government,their parents, the rest of the world for their current dissatisfaction, and who spend lavishly on the latest gadget or gizmo just because it is the latest and simply put themselves first, end of.

So this is where we are at now, with choices (aren't we lucky!) and maybe having to do things differently but enriched because of it. I always think that if something comes easy it's not appreciated, but that maybe just me. Still, while I can appreciate the flight of a dragonfly, smell the damp of the earth and feel gratitude for a sunset after a lovely day then I'm happy. (and secretly I had a bit of a splurge with my daughter on Saturday and we did the girly thing of trying on stuff, and even bought a pick and mix with nougat and fudge, yummy...)

more plums

There is such a glut at the moment and since our neighbours have now gone to France until December, they have asked to pick up the windfalls. I shall be making more jam and couldn't resist taking a picture in the evening September sunshine.

Yes these are out of focus, so need to be viewed with Monet vision. And now the light's gone after a spectacular sunset.

five hours doing the same thing

This is unheard of for me and probably for you (this excludes what you would do in a day job, which may of course be more than five hours doing the same thing).

But supposing you had uninterrupted time and nowhere to be, how would you use that five hours?

I just received an email from a fabulous life coach called Annabel Sutton, and she told me about a workshop she has just been on. The initial task is to be somebody that you are not usually, so if you are naturally shy and retiring, you get to be outgoing and chatty; maybe you are exactly that, then in this workshop you stay back a little, and let others take the stage.

It strikes me that this is a great idea and one we could encompass on a regular basis. hence the importance of me spending five whole hours doing just one thing (my attention span is usually 20 minutes max).

Astrology is about creating and being creative and that means experimenting to a certain extent, to get in touch with who you really are. This completely knocks on the head the preconceptions about age (like you are too old for this or that, or even too young!) the best time to do stuff is probably now and most things you do not have to ask permission (unless you are a little kid, in which case you wouldn't be reading this blog).

And since this is getting way too word here is a picture of my latest blanket

connections

One of the things I enjoy doing more than anything else is consulting with clients. Although my website is world wide, still people contact me from a few miles away, who have never found it, and we have a telephone consultation. With the plethora of ghastly premium rate services where people have to take a random stab at picking a consultant who may be less than experienced, incompetent and at best vague and under pressure to keep you on the phone, the relaxed and uplifting conversation I have with people who get in touch is one that we both gain so much from.

If I had to choose an astrologer or a psychic, I would find the experience daunting. I would want someone who is skilled,professional, warm and caring, and accurate. How would you pick that out of the countless ads and hype on the web and in magazines? Personal recommendation is invaluable too, and some people come to me through contacts I have made previously .

David was one. He had worked for years in a business where the owner was retiring and he had been offered first refusal on buying it. He wasn't sure whether he could take on the responsibility and whether this was the right time, so we looked at his chart and planned the best approach with this. Together we worked out a solution and I gave him tips and links to business advice that he would need. He was delighted that this astrology lark wasn't just a load of mumbo jumbo, and went away fired up that this was indeed a golden opportunity for him.

And then there are those who need relationship advice, people who are stuck, people who want to know the all important WHEN something is likely to come into being, and so on.

I use so many different skills and experience to help people with their lives, and draw on my knowledge of self employment, being a parent, being widowed, being divorced, being creative, being on TV, being curious about the world and being a little bit psychic (who isn't?).

Here is a secret - I am far more likely to be reading historical novels and thrillers, magazines like Country Living,and Psychologies than Prediction or Spirit and Destiny.

At one point I read loads of self help books by people like Louise Hay, Susan Jeffers, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra etc. and then I figured to leave all that, read Bill Bryson, Tess Gerritsen and Khaled Hosseini and work out my own spiritual and philosophical viewpoint. Now I feel authentic, probably politically incorrect, definitely imperfect, but by and large guilt free and happy. But then I understand my birth chart and live with all of it, good, bad and ugly.

And now it is fun Saturday - time to shop!

big fat Pisces Full Moon

Saw it last night, just dipping in and out of the clouds. Pisces is like the sea, full of potential and wonder and much of it hidden from view. Can be dangerous too, so it's easy to get mesmerised but dreams and wishes and possibilities, without the substance to make it happen.

The weather is wild and windy and the tiny cherry tomatoes are clinging on while my bigger tomatoes are taking a battering. The cucumber plant has given up after producing two magnificent and tasty cucumbers (thanks).

Meanwhile, I have much to do.

Autumn

It's strange that every year Autumn starts on 1st of September. It's like we are programmed at the start of the school year to think falling leaves, iron grey skies and a drop in the temperature so goodbye summer and hello to Christmas cards in the shops. How scary!.

My neighbour gave me a box of plums so I have been attempting to make chutney. It's turned out fine if a little runny and of course there is satisfaction in getting something for nothing. Like the internet.

There are likely to be more subscription websites and web owners try to claw back the ever increasing costs of running a website. Mine has been free for over 10 years with daily changing content (some commitment!) and in that time my kids have grown up, gone to Uni, left home, got jobs and homes of their own and settling down. And I continue to write my daily horoscopes! In all that time youtube, facebook, twitter and all have come into being, iphones have been invented with itunes etc, peace has come to Northern Ireland, and a war still rages in Afghanistan, Michael Jackson has died, and we have a black American president, we are using plants for fuel, and chickens are horribly intensively reared (room for improvement there) and the ice is melting.

A woman on the radio was talking about giving up writing weekly column after 30 years, but daily is something else. And of course there are the weekly video horoscopes. Soon I will be doing longer and more detailed versions for those who wish to subscribe to Astrology Secret, and we will continue to film in the outdoors, whatever the weather to give a real feeling of being connected to the real world, rather than the safety of an artificial studio environment. The underlying message is that astrology is about real life with its sunshine and showers.