Alacazem 2011.05.19

20 May Alacazem 2011.05.19

May 19 to 26, 2011
Visible Planets: Morning: Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter  Evening: Saturn

Battle Zones, Gangs, Practical Needs and Personal Responsibilities

I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’ve been traveling through a metaphysical battle zone lately. I feel grateful and blessed that I have a home that is not in foreclosure. I don’t live in a flood zone, on a fault line or in a location subject to tornados, tsunamis or hurricanes. I don’t live close to a nuclear power plant. I’m able to somehow manage to pay our monthly bills, buy good, nutritious food and prepare it in the style of the slow food movement. We’re in the process of building a greenhouse to extend our painfully short high-altitude growing season and I’m currently nurturing tomato and basil starts for my luscious, delicious culinary future. I do work that I love, maintain a daily spiritual practice, I’m healthy and happy and living each and every moment of my precious life. Bottom line: my life is good, and yet, inside and outside, the battles rage.

Recently I’ve cited and commented on a pack of planets grouped together like a gang of thugs in action-packed, hungry-for-excitement, addicted-to-adrenaline Aries. I’ve witnessed the highly skilled Navy Seals take out bad man bin Laden while a variety of other Mars-fueled incidents and circumstances cavorted and cajoled. Martial artists and emotional extortionists rocked and rolled.  Personal and social relationships were challenging. Family matters demanded attention and time. Everyone seemed to be burning the Aries fire of me, myself and I.

Today, thanks to the movement of Mercury, Mars and Venus into calm and placid Taurus – where they have joined the ever-burning, primal Sun – the sharp points and ragged edges of our metaphorical wars are becoming less personal, hurting less and decreasing in intensity. What remains, however, are the hard, cold facts. The finite reality of where we are, what we’re doing, how we’re feeling and what we need to do to feel better. Taurus favors the practical, responsible, realistic approach to life. It’s all about sustenance and self-care, security and down-to-earth common sense and sensibility. It’s time to take care of our own back yards and let our neighbors take care of theirs. And since the Sun moves into fickle, multi-dimensional Gemini this week, let’s make hay while we the sun shines – if it ever comes back out! – and till that soil, sprout those seeds, prune that bush and transplant those plants.

Here’s to necessity, responsibility and practicality. One day at a time, do what you need to do, rest and relax when you can, cultivate inner peace, touch the Mother Earth, count your lucky stars and accept what comes.

Aries (Mar. 20-Apr.19)
Excitable self-obsession leads to the practical application of facts and figures to the situation and conditions in which you find yourself today. The radical influence of revolutionary Uranus in your sign is just beginning. The function is to leave dysfunctional and self-defeating behaviors behind, break new ground and move forward. Go forth!

Taurus (Apr. 20-May 20)
Mercury, Venus and Mars now in Taurus awakens self-awareness, enhances personal beauty, fuels self-motivation and increases self-confidence. Others find your inner calm and steady pace both admirable and effective, something worthy of recognition and emulation. Maintain daily routines of self-improvement and lead by example.

Gemini (May 21-June 21)
As the Gemini birthday month begins, take time to reflect upon your age, place and position in life. Are you happy and healthy, doing well and living right? Planetary positions indicate a year of radical change regarding hopes, dreams and plans for the future. You may discover that what once inspired you, no longer does so. Consider what does now.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
As the Sun moves from Taurus to Gemini, you may find yourself moving from a fast-paced action-oriented busy-ness to a more relaxed, laid-back and contemplative approach to life and all its trappings. This is an important time of regeneration and gestation, when you are well advised to take it easy and focus on spiritual health rather than material wealth.

Leo (July 23-Aug.22)
The Gemini zodiac month is one of uplifting, airy inspiration and mentally stimulating experience for the Lion. Seek out friends and make contact with people you respect, admire and would like to be like. We are constantly involved in a powerful process of osmosis; sharing, evolving and becoming. Pick and choose, evaluate and decide as you journey forth.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep.22)
A sign of motion and movement, medicine and magic, mutable Gemini blows the winds of change into your heart and head. Take a good look at your life path and determine whether or not you’re heading in the right direction. Stability, reality and practicality are allies now. If you’ve gotten off-track, get back on. Focus on self-discipline and stick to the program!

Libra (Sep. 23-Oct.22)
As one-to-one relationships continue to shock and awaken you to a new way of viewing yourself and your self-identity, remain open and willing to accept change. Cultivate the wisdom on uncertainty and recognize the ever-present now as the only actual field of operation available to anyone. Balance accounts, pay bills and be practical with money. Indulge in spirit.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
As you continue through the second half of your solar year, embrace the deep feelings and emotions generated from thoughts and experiences. Perception is the name of the game today. Recognize the power of attention and see that whatever you focus on grows and blossoms. What you ignore withers and dies. Use this tool in a daily practice of becoming.

Sagittarius (Nov. 23-Dec. 20)
Solar rays illuminate personal, one-to-one relating in all its grit and glory. Other people, places and things have a tendency to take priority and influence your daily round now and for the next several weeks. Do your best to be and act the way you want others to be and behave. Otherwise, your words fall on deaf ears and hypocrisy reigns. Lead by example.

Capricorn (Dec. 21-Jan. 19)
Several planets in fellow earth-sign Taurus center and ground you when it comes to the personal and private realms of your life and relationships. Take it slow and easy here, cultivate patience and maintain perseverance. In the outside world, winds blow in the direction of self-improvement. Establish daily exercise routin
es, both physical and spiritual. Work out!

Aquarius (Jan. 19-Feb. 18)
Air Gemini is like Nike Air – you can jump higher and run faster – so enjoy the ride but keep your eyes on the road! Hearts flutter like butterflies in a floral garden of color and light. With so much apparent delight, intoxication may be an issue. Stay focused, make lists and do what you have to do before you play. Sobriety is an ally now, embrace it.

Pisces (Feb. 18-Mar. 20)
Home, family and domestic life in general takes center stage as the Sun moves in to your solar 4th house of personal life foundations. Environmental beauty nurtures a sense of emotional security and feeds the soul. Touch the earth and feel the nurturing power of Mother Nature. Remain as calm and centered as possible, life happens one day at a time.

Cynthia is a third generation astrologer living in the high mountain desert of the American Southwest. Visit her website @ www.alacazem.com.