Advice

Dog’s Best Friend: Training rescued dogs

The Telluride region's Second Chance Humane Society is in the business of finding rescued dogs (and cats) a family, where our furry friends can give and get the unconditional love everyone involved deserves. Telluride Inside... and Out's dog expert, Ted Hoff of Cottonwood Ranch & Kennel, believes there are no bad dogs, just bad owners. Bad owners create bad, but not unfixable, problems – at least not for Ted. Enter Lulu.

Allison Dooley of Second Chance (pictured with Ted and Lulu) tells the story of Lulu and Ted, happy ending and all. However, for a true Hollywood finale, Lulu still needs an adopter.

Alacazem 2009.11.05

November 5 to 12, 2009

Visible Planets: Morning: Venus, Mars and Saturn    Evening: Jupiter

Voluptuous Venus enters seductive Scorpio on Nov. 7th and proceeds to sextile powerful Pluto in ambitious Capricorn Nov. 8th. These celestial events take place as the Earth reaches the halfway mark between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice, one of the four cross-quarter points of the annual tropical year. Cross-quarter points occur at 15º Scorpio, Aquarius, Taurus and Leo, when the Earth’s polar axis is at a 45º angle to the Sun and magnetic pulls are at a maximum. In esoteric circles, these points are referred to as the Four Gates of Avataric Descent and represent particular types of cosmic energetic release.

 Symbolized by the Eagle (Scorpio), Angel (Aquarius), Bull (Taurus) and Lion (Leo), the approximate dates for cross-quarter days fall on Nov. 8th, Feb. 5th, May 6th and Aug. 8th. At these times the energies or realizations gathered at the equinoxes and solstices are released and made effective. The Bull and the Lion express individuating power – power rooted in the planet via concrete selfhood - while the Eagle and the Angel express collectivating power – power that expands the individual toward the collective and universal.

The entrance of Venus into Scorpio and its sextile to Pluto in Capricorn at the time of one of these electromagnetically charged points – Nov. 8th is the Gate of the Eagle – indicate the opening of an omniscient cosmic door, a door to transformational, metamorphic individual and collective change. Venus in Scorpio represents our passions, obsessions and addictions - especially those regarding romance and finance, love and money. It is where we feel intense desires and demonstrate compulsive behaviors. It’s also our attraction to secrets, magic, clandestine activity, the mysterious and metaphysical.

Alacazem 2009.10.29

October 29 to November 5, 2009

Visible Planets: Morning: Venus, Mars and Saturn  Evening: Jupiter

Open the door to a week of mystical illusion and metaphysical possibility.  Spirits dance and souls cross, witches fly and ghosts haunt. We have reached the dramatic end of the pagan Celtic year and the celebration of Samhain, a three-day festival honoring the season’s harvest and marking summer’s end. In ancient times, bonfires dotted the nightscape and families gathered in groups and villages to share the fruits of their labors, tell stories, evoke spirits and pay homage to their gods and goddesses.

In the Catholic church, the end of October and the first days of November are marked by All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, times set aside for prayer and remembrance of those who have passed on. Cemeteries are visited and cleaned, private altars are built and the departed loved ones’ favorite foods and beverages are set on tables or placed on gravesites.

Today these ritual holy days have morphed into our modern day Halloween. In a blend of tradition, belief and fantasy, costumes and candy honor the dead, celebrate the harvest and invoke the mysterious. As the season of darkness reigns, the veil between life and death is thin. The crack between the worlds opens. Spooks walk and spirits cross. Keep your eyes and hearts open, set out those treats and take note of the annual full “Hunters' Moon” on Nov. 2nd – Dia de los Muertos - at 12:14 p.m. MST in the Scorpio/Taurus polarity. Happy hunting!

Dog’s Best Friend: Helping Second Chance

The Telluride region's Second Chance Humane Society is one of a number of no-kill facilities in the state that rescues hundreds of homeless pets each year, many of which have become beloved Telluride pets. But many of the dogs who are given a "Second Chance" have been badly abused and/or neglected. Once they are rescued, they need a leg-up (no, not that kind) to find their way back into society to become a cherished family member. Enter Telluride Inside... and Out's expert dog trainer Ted Hoff of Cottonwood Ranch & Kennel in Crawford, CO. This past week, Ted has been very busy training several groups of rescue dogs, new adoptions, including Lulu, from Second Chance.

"The moral of the story is these dogs are very resilient, very trainable and so glad to find a good, loving home," explains Ted. 

Alacazem 2009.10.22

October 22 to 29, 2009

Visible Planets: Morning: Venus, Mars and Saturn  Evening: Jupiter

The Scorpio Zodiac Month of Magic, Mystery and Metaphysics

This week we enter the realm of mysterious, magnetic Scorpio. The Sun enters the zodiac’s eighth sign on October 23rd at 12:44 a.m. MDT, and in so doing, opens the cosmic door to magical experience and metaphysical reality. While air-apparent Libra was social and mental, Scorpio is mystical and private. Libra loves sunlight, billowing clouds and shimmering rainbows, while Scorpio prefers moonlight, shadows and the intriguing possibilities of darkness.

As heavenly influences transform, check out inner clocks and internal dialogues. Do you feel yourself moving from a place of relative intellectual “lightness” to a position of deepening emotion, traveling from the intellectual realms of mind to the intuitive, psychic waters of the soul? Look for a shift from the frivolous to the focused, and direct attention toward deep desire. Examine motivation and intention as you do.
   

 Scorpio is the sign most associated with the taboo, the hidden, the clandestine and the secret. It rules the private areas and most precious, intimate pieces of our lives.  It is where we become possessive, obsessive and passionate. The evolutionary intent of Scorpio is akin to the sacred science of alchemy, which describes the process of transmuting one’s own material, physical “darkness” into a purified product of spiritual gold.  So, as we creep our way through the first week of Scorpio and move ever closer to Halloween, check it out. Get out the brooms and candlesticks, wands and witch hats. Collect bones and gather herbs. It’s the season of ghosts and goblins, spirits and spells. Light the fire and prepare the potions!

Alacazem 2009.10.15

October 15 to 22, 2009

Visible Planets: Morning: Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn   Evening: Jupiter

This morning I awoke to a delicate crescent Moon paired with brilliant, beautiful Venus. Less bright Saturn was shining above the Moon and the faint light of Mercury shimmered below them all, not far above the impending light of dawn.

I’m lucky to live in a place where I can see the rising sun break day. Our view to the east is unimpeded. Wrights Mesa stretches to the rim of San Miguel Canyon, and beyond are the mountains of Telluride, Ophir, Dunton and Dolores. The Dallas Divide stretches to the north, above Ridgway, and then the horizon flattens out in the shape of the Uncompahgre Plateau. There is a wide expanse of sky between east and west. The sunsets are awesome.

Alacazem 2009.10.08

October 8 to 15, 2009

Visible Planets: Morning: Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn   Evening: Jupiter

A little fat-cheeked, healthy baby came to visit me last weekend. My brother Jeff’s daughter, Devan, my older sister, Pam, and her husband, John, packed up the essentials and made the journey from the Front Range to our home here in the wild West End.

 Autumn is a great time to travel. Fall colors in Colorado are notoriously brilliant. Seasonal changes evoke inner transformation. The dancing leaves, the cooling breeze and the still warm Indian Summer sun excite the senses and ignite physical, mental and emotional fires. The conscious and subconscious delight in the visual and sensual - stimulating memory, creating thought and birthing inspiration.