ARIES
BABY, NOW THAT I’VE FOUND YOU
When I pulled your card for the week Aries, the lyrics to a song by The Foundations popped into my head: “Build my world around you,/ I need you so,/ Baby, even though,/ You don’t need me,/ You don’t need me…” The song is called “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You.” This song, the way I heard it, doesn’t necessarily have to do with your baby or your “Baby,” Aries. It likely has more to do with the way we build our world around a certain set of emotions, or some idea of “who we are.” When you get used to looking or feeling a certain way, whether that way is comfortable or not, it is easy to get stuck. Even a bad feeling can start to feel like home if you take up residence there for any length of time.
This week we are approaching the final Uranus-Pluto square. Uranus is currently traveling through your sign, Aries and when it meets with Pluto on Monday change is typically the outcome. Who you are at your core, your authentic self, may be called on to take a stand against a structure which has been imposed upon you or perhaps one which you have even imposed upon yourself. Let your feelings guide you through this potential challenge. Just the way water flows to the sea, your feelings may show you how to get from a constrictive place to a wide open space.
(8 of Cups L/ Blue Smoke- Dolly Parton)
TAURUS
EL CONDOR PASA (IF I COULD)
This is a cover by Paul Simon of a song by Peruvian composer Daniel Anomia Robles. I’m not sure which lyrics are Robles’ and which are Simon’s, but the ones that stood out to me for you this week, Taurus, were these: “I’d rather feel the earth beneath my feet. Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would.” This week, Taurus, you might feel as though the ground beneath your feet has given way. Like a Wiley Coyote cartoon, you may have become so focused on chasing a specific goal (Roadrunner) that you didn’t notice that you’d run out of ground. While potentially terrifying, this moment is also incredibly liberating. It sets you free to begin a new cycle, to consciously consider the course you want your life to take. Of course as a Taurus, you’d probably “rather feel the earth beneath your feet,” but consider the power of this moment to start fresh and know that also like Wiley Coyote, you will land and live.
(10 of Swords/ Sound and the Fury- Fanny)
GEMINI
THIS MAGIC MOMENT
Besides the lyrics that stuck in my head when I was meditating on your card for the week, Gemini, I think it interesting to note that the man who wrote these lyrics, Doc Pomus, spent a good portion of his life on crutches and later in a wheelchair as a result of polio he contracted as a child. These apparent physical challenges did not stop him from achieving much in the music world. His early career was spent tirelessly performing in clubs as a blues singer, leaning on his crutches for support. The lyrics I found myself singing, to the tune of your card this week, Gemini, were, “Everything I want I have,/ Whenever I hold you tight.”
Gemini, consider that everything you really want, you may already have in some form or another and when you nurture those seeds they grow from garden to jungle. Don’t allow yourself to get hung up on the things you don’t have or wish you had. These absences or scarcities may act as speed bumps, but they certainly don’t have to stop you altogether.
(III Empress L/ Silver Dagger- Joan Baez)
CANCER
TELL ALL THE PEOPLE
This song, like many of the Doors’ songs, is thought to reference LSD as well as the bible, but for you this week, Cancer the lyrics point to still another meaning. “Tell all the people that you see/ Set them free/ You tell them they don’t have to run/ We’re gonna pick up everyone/ Come out and take me by the hand/ Gonna bury all our troubles in the sand, oh yeah…Follow me down/ Can’t you see the wonder at your feet/ Your life’s complete.”
This week, Cancer, is a time to get grounded, by reflecting on “the wonder at your feet.” I’m not trying to make a sales pitch, Cancer, but the umbrellas I sell on my website are a good example. They say “You Already Are,” emphasizing the thought that you don’t need to run to reach perfection, you already are perfect with all your imperfections. “Tell all the people,” all the people that you try and strive to be, that you’re going to “set them free.”
(10 of Wands Rev/ Running Up That Hill- Kate Bush)
LEO
SWEET SWEET BABY (SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE)
Aretha Franklin sings nothing without power and she empowers everything she sings. When I took singing lessons in my early 20s, (not with the idea that I would become a talented vocalist, but because I literally wanted to find my voice) my teacher asked me to bring in the songs I wanted to sing. I brought in an entire Aretha Franklin album, “Why don’t we start with something a little simpler,” my teacher said kindly. I didn’t expect to become Aretha Franklin by singing her songs, but I thought by singing her words I could feel the strength with which she belts them out. The lyrics I found myself pinning to your card and sign this week, Leo, were the following, “Baby baby, sweet baby/ There’s something that I just got to say…Speak your name/ And I’ll feel a thrill/ You said I do/ And I said I will.”
Leo, this week you may be returning to the possibility of your dreams finding realization. Perhaps you’d given up on them completely or just put them to bed. But now you may feel that there is “something you’ve just got to say.” Commit to yourself (“Speak your name”), to your dreams (“You said I do”) and then with the strength of your will (“And I said I will”) follow through. You may not be Aretha Franklin, but you will be you and that is important too.
(9 of Cups L/ Daughter of the Sun- Sharon Tandy)
VIRGO
PARTY LIGHTS
I used to have a cassette tape called “Sock Hoppin’ Sixties.” I would to listen to it in the dead of winter in my car when I lived in Iowa. It became the soundtrack of my ride to work. Somewhere between “Runaway” and “Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)” I would stop at a bakery for a treat and typically “Party Lights” (by Claudine Clark) would fall somewhere between the bakery and work, it felt appropriate given the circumstances. “I see the lights, I see the party lights/ They’re red and blue and green/ Everybody in the crowd’s there…There goes Mary Lou/ I see Tommy and Joe oh oh and Betty Sue.” Okay I really only included that last line because I love how songs from the 60s used to call people out by name. But this week, Virgo, you may be feeling similar. Perhaps the party lights are calling your name and it would be a fine idea to rebel against your internal parent or inner taskmaster and enjoy yourself. The eclipses are coming (the first one is next week) and with them comes a wave of change so now may be a good time to cut loose before you are propelled or compelled (as the case may be) in a new direction.
(3 of Cups/ The Nitty Gritty- Shirley Ellis)
LIBRA
STAND BACK
Stevie Nicks has often said that for many of the songs she writes she embodies a different character. But the character that developed in “Stand Back,” she says, was not her idea. “It has an energy that comes from somewhere unknown and it seems to have no timespace. I’ve never quite understood this sound…but I have NEVER questioned it,” she writes in the liner notes to her TimeSpace album. For you this week, Libra, the following lyrics may resonate, “Stand back, stand back/ In the middle of my room/ I did not hear from you/ It’s all right, it’s all right/ To be standing in a line.”
Libra, you may find yourself leaning away from your feelings this week. Perhaps you have even demanded they “stand back.” But since your feelings are a part of you, they may be difficult to separate out or distance yourself from. Your feelings are some of your oldest friends, and so there is no need to be formal (“Standing in a line”) with them or to brush them off (“It’s all right, it’s all right”). Though it may be a struggle, try to stand just where you are (“In the middle of my room”) and hear what they have to say.
(Shaman of Cups L/ The Goonies R Good Enough- Cyndi Lauper)
SCORPIO
CALIFORNIA
I feel a little embarrassed about making this movie reference, but I will anyway, because the act of doing so makes part of my point. In the movie, “Love Actually,” Emma Thompson jokingly tells her husband that it was Joni Mitchell who taught her how to feel. This week, I’ve selected the following lines from the song California by fellow Scorpio, Joni Mitchell, for you Scorpio: “Sitting in a park in Paris, France/ Reading the news and it sure looks bad/ They won’t give peace a chance/ That was just a dream some of us had…They said, ‘How long can you hang around?’/ I said, ‘A week, maybe two, just until my skin turns brown/ Then I’m going home to California.’”
This week, Scorpio, even if you are home, you may feel rather far away. Perhaps there is also an accompanying pang of longing typically associated with homesickness. While this feeling is often paired with words like “going back” or “returning,” it would actually, ultimately, best be used to propel you forward or to inspire a future vision. For now (“a week maybe two,” when the first eclipse is happening), swim with your feelings and any pain associated with this feeling will likely dissolve.
(XVII Star Rev/ All Over The World- Francoise Hardy)
SAGITTARIUS
COME SAIL AWAY
Wow, how did Styx get caught in my head? It’s like having water in your ears, which may also describe your feelings this week, Sagittarius. “But we’ll try the best that we can to carry on/ A gathering of angels appeared above my head/ They sang to me this song of hope and this is what they said/ Come sail away…” Hearing this song and these lines in particular I was reminded of the documentary, “Maidentrip,” a story about a 14 year old girl (Laura Dekker) who sails around the world alone. Laura talks about surviving the treacherous water and weather conditions off the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. She says, “I didn’t feel anything but focused. I was on the top of being alert and being scared was totally gone.” A Cape newspaper reported, “Not even the most seasoned skipper will round Cape Point in winds like that.”
Sagittarius, this week it may not be clear where your ship is headed, but for now you destination is probably the least important part of this stretch of the journey. Consider what demands the current weather is making on you. Later the papers may call you brave, but for now the only thing to tune into is “a gathering of angels” or the navigation of your boat.
(XVIII Moon/ Study for Voice and Tape- Alice Shields)
CAPRICORN
EYE OF THE TIGER
Maybe I’ve told you this before, Capricorn, but at one time it was almost humanly impossible for me to be late. It may sound like I’m bragging when I say that I have an innate sense of time, but being so punctual, I’m frequently made to wait. I used to get annoyed, first with myself, then with others, but now I actually love waiting. So many amazing things have happened or been observed while I was waiting. The song I found for you, Capricorn is “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor and the lyrics that stood out were these: “So many times, it happens too fast/ You trade your passion for glory/ Don’t lose your grip on the dreams of the past…It’s the eye of the tiger/ It’s the thrill of the fight/ Risin’ up to the challenge of our rival.”
Capricorn, this week you may find yourself hurdling towards the finish line in some area of your life. Don’t forget to enjoy the “home stretch.” When you see where you want to go, it is easy to rush ahead, but as the lyrics of the song say, when it “happens too fast” there is a danger of trading your “passion for glory.” Go at your own pace and don’t be afraid to wait.
(VII Chariot R/ Ask The Elephant!- Yoko Ono)
AQUARIUS
I’M GOING TO SAY IT NOW
Paul Ochs’ music isn’t as well known as some of his contemporaries, but I find the lyrics to “I’m Going To Say It Now” get stuck in my head often and this week they seemed quite appropriate for you, Aquarius. The lines I’ve selected for you are as follows: “You’d like to be my father, you’d like to be my dad/ And give me kisses when I’m good and spank me when I’m bad/ But since I left my parents I’ve forgotten how to bow/ So when I’ve got something to say Sir, I’m going to say it now.”
Aquarius, this week you may feel hesitant to speak your truth. Consider where someone may be acting with authority they don’t have or perhaps where they are abusing the authority they do have. Mercury is transiting the last degrees of Aquarius now before plunging into Pisces this week. While Mercury is still in your sign, consider the truth that you may have the privilege of seeing and don’t be afraid to “say it now.”
(Shaman of Swords L/ Roving Woman- Connie Converse)
PISCES
HELLO, I’M SHELLEY DUVALL
This isn’t a song actually, Pisces, its just a collection of introductions from an old TV series called Faerie Tale Theatre (for those who never had the privilege of seeing this show when it was on). Someone compiled all of these beginnings and put them on youtube and a few other people have remixed this collection into songs. But I still find myself getting the original stuck in my head as if it were song. I suppose the way Shelley Duvall introduces herself is like a song because she says it almost the same way every single time even though they were introductions to very different stories. It just makes you realize that no matter how many roles she plays or costumes she wears, Shelley Duvall still knows who she is and how to introduce herself.
Pisces, this week, as you navigate a discomfort or transition surrounding eclipse season you may find it helpful to keep introducing yourself to different people or in different settings, even if it is only to yourself in a mirror. You might even consider making a song of it, this way you aren’t likely to lose touch with who you are at your core, though the climate and setting may shift.
(9 of Wands L/ How Can I Lose- Shirley Ann Lee)