Astrology

Perhaps it's the Irish in me, but I tend to give credence to otherwise incredible sources of information. For instance, I, like my mother and grandfather before me, am fey. Which, if you look it up on dictionary.com, means either "clairvoyant" in Brit speak or (rather disturbingly) "fated to die soon" according to the Scots. Although I seem to be a magnet for infection as of late, I'm going to stick with the magical clairvoyance aspect if that's quite alright with you, since my family tartan canna be foun' at a Scottish festival.

"Pah!" you might say to my claim about feyness. So here's proof, and it's quite startling, so prepare yourself: On September 10, 2001, I had a horrible feeling all day that something terrible was going to happen. I even told my roommate and called my mom and warned them to be careful. On September 11, I woke up feeling totally normal again. Until I got to class, and they had the TV on, and I watched a plane fly into the World Trade Center.

So, feyness being established, back to the lighter side. When I came across a Divine Caroline article by Natalie Josef titled "What Do Your Moon and Rising Signs Mean?" the part of me that as a child believed we had captured a leprechaun on film standing between my Papa's legs was immediately hooked. (On inspection as an adult, turns out the leprechaun was actually a golfer off in the distance in the valley below.)

Here's the thing, though. Serious astrology can be spot-on. Which makes me believe that there's something supernatural permeating the universe that can occasionally be divined if we pay attention. Yep I'm a Christian, and it's certainly non-traditional for a Christian to think like this, but I simply believe that God has something to do with it. Intuitive and fey as I am, I like to think of this kind of thing as a spiritual gift — you know, like ultimate discernment.

So I'd never before heard of Moon and Rising signs. Apparently, when I say I'm a Leo, that's just my Sun sign. Read the article to learn more about the differences. But apparently the Moon sign is more about your inner self, the Rising sign about what others see in you. And darned if my Moon and Rising signs didn't peg me like a bug to a display board.

Grab your microscopes, friends, because here's me laid bare:

Rising Sign (from here): Virgo.

Your psychological nature is nervous. Um, did you see yesterday's post with the Seiko/psycho issue? Before you take action, you cautiously ponder over things and you review all possible alternatives and reactions. I like to prepare for things (childbirth, creative projects, driving from point A to point B)by doing tremendous amounts of research. Mostly on wikipedia. Above all, you are a perfectionist and you have no rest until you optimize a situation, in each and every area, be it professional, pragmatic, aesthetic or in pleasure. When Noah and I were dating, he referred to me as "Amazing Awake Girl" because I loved to stay up late talking about whatever problem we were dealing with at the time. He hit the nail on the head when he said that when I get tired, I want to talk about my feelings, and he just wants to go to sleep. See? No rest. Until Noah starts doing what I say. To fully enjoy life and go further, you consider that demanding the best is the least you can do, even though it is detrimental to the rough forces associated with your instinct. Which is why I am an idealist. And also why I got sent to the principal's office in fifth grade for fighting with a boy. I demand the best, and have no problems roughing people up who don't comply. With this Ascendant, you come across as cerebral, clear-sighted, analytic, competent, reasonable, tidy, organized, spruce, industrious, honest, loyal, talkative, logical, hardworking patient, precise, spiritual. They also mentioned irritating, hung up, anxious and sarcastic, but I'm pretty sure that was an editing mistake.

Moon Sign (from here): Virgo.

The Moon in Virgo individual knows intuitively that the world is complicated and multi-facted, and many things need to be done to keep afloat in it. Such as innumerable home improvement and craft projects. They will fuss endlessly about every detail, unable to relax and calm down until a whole pile of different chores have been sorted out. Uh...does creating a chore chart last week mean anything? The inability of these people to relax can often lead to nervousness and disturbances of the digestive system. Like the gallbladder. I guess that's better than the farts. Since they have a good memory and are resourceful, Virgo Moon people often succeed in areas where it's necessary to keep a lot of details in mind, and the can prioritize, systematize and put things in order. I tend to divide my day into compartments of time, and then reward myself with little treats (like checking out a cool website or eating a Reese's) when I complete a task. Also, I find great joy in editing, particularly when it calls for me to look something up in the dictionary. Knowledge of what to eat and when to eat can be really important for Virgo Moons because in their physiology, the state of their health is very closely related to their digestion. Perhaps this is the very reason why Moon in Virgo people are so selective with food. Growing up, everyone always poked fun at me for "inspecting" my food. To this day, I have an intimate relationship with vittles. To stop being stressed out, these people find it helpful to do housework. HA! So maybe these things aren't so accurate... Another much less desirable way to deal with their nervousness is to pass it on to others. That's more like it. Parents with the Moon in Virgo want to teach their children how to work, how to do everything themselves, and how to keep things in order. Which is why Ethan cooked his own dinner tonight, then did the dishes.

AMENDMENT: Apparently I calculated my Rising Sign wrong, and it's actually a Pisces, which says it's the opposite of Virgo. Either my parents are wrong about the time of my birth, the remnants of Virgo were still clinging to me, or this stuff is for the birds.

ADDENDUM TO THE AMENDMENT: Apparently, the Rising sign is how others perceive you outwardly, so Pisces turns out to be accurate for me after all. Don't you just love mystery? I'm off to light some incense...