I remember when my father used to tell me things like, “There are two sides to paper”. Or when my mother went to buy a vegetable or fruit out of season would say, “No, we aren’t buying this…because it is overpriced and if everyone refused to buy these out of season fruits and vegetables, they would save a lot of money!” I also remember my mother doing things like saving all the rubber bands, or paper bags from parcels that were sent. I used to fuss at these behaviors and statements, but looking back, am very happy that I remembered them — particularly with the news of the last few weeks about people buying way too much toilet paper or buying way too much of one grocery item or supply. I admit that I am one of those folks who saves rubber bands and paper clips, too.
I’ve found that in these last few weeks of quarantine (politically correct term is “shelter in place”) that I did follow some of parents’ advice like using both sides of computer paper for rough drafts of documents or articles. As I climb through all the paperwork of my life, scan what is important, I make note of the papers that still have one useable side and I save it — always did that too. It has been a practice of mine to do that for years — it is just, I guess, what a Jupiter in Capricorn does. I am also pretty good at going through my pantry and freezer and inventing new meals, since cooking brings great relief to me, particularly these days of having to stay put. I have looked at these practices as a kind of game for me — if I save money here, then I can get something nice over there. And, plus, it is fun to use something in a very different way — also a kind of mind game that forms new thinking patterns in my mind.
The point I am trying to make here is that, YES, this is a tough time for all of us regardless of where you are living. A lot of us are stuck in our homes faced with a completely new way of living our lives, which, I do believe, is going to be for a while yet. They say it takes 21- days to develop a new habit and that seems to be what is happening all over the world, with industries, offices, medical facilities and suppliers, housing, where people are getting really creative really fast to change things to accommodate this burgeoning tragedy of economic instability as well as health threats. It is amazing to me to see how quickly we rally as a people when there is a tragedy. And, unfortunately, it is tragedy that brings us back to our roots — and introduces us to our true character.
During times like this, one’s true character is revealed. Yes, there are those people fighting over the last toilet paper on the shelf, but then there are the people of Italy and other parts of the world, who are creating music from their balconies to their neighborhoods or online with virtual symphonies with friends and colleagues — located in different places but making beautiful music together. This is one of the links to such an event: https://youtu.be/FZe3mXlnfNc
These are times that offer that rare commodity called, time, where we can stop during the day and play our pianos or our dusty instruments of long ago, or doodle a sketch while talking to a friend on the phone, or, gardening, or repotting plants, or, making that Irish Soda Bread with that milk that went sour (yes, that is a thing), or, going though old files and sorting and tossing what no longer is relevant for now. These are the times that define us as individuals.
Bottom Line is: I don’t have any answers- but…I do have some ideas while Mercury still moves through Pisces (which is why I suggested the creative moments above) and then getting over to early April, when the planet of good fortune and PROTECTION, Jupiter lines up with Pluto. This will release people in pain, and it will provide guides for those who are in psychological pain as they walk through the Underworld of new consciousnesses with their newly found allies in the Underworld.
Perhaps we will see those small slivers of light to which I referred in my free newsletter which went out last week (if you are not on that list, then click here to sign up for the newsletter). The New Moon at 4◦ Aries on Tuesday, March 24, lined up with Chiron all week and an eruption of hidden psychic and psychological fears took over for many of us. We were due, since this was the 90-days after the December 26 eclipse at 8◦ Capricorn (which, by the way, falls on the fixed star of Facies — meaning 2 faces). This configuration probably triggered some deep emotional traumas, long forgotten and set aside and now presenting in such a way as to spur self-examination in a very serious manner.
Hard times often trigger new thinking and new opportunities after the fear moves aside. More people work at home, the air is cleaner, traffic is nil, and companies are realizing that, perhaps, they don’t have to have everyone taking up all that office space out there. So, if this goes on long enough, the issue then becomes what do we do with empty offices, or, hotels? One example in the San Francisco Bay Area is that many of the homeless were moved from the streets into unoccupied hotel rooms. Wow! How long, in fact, have we tried to figure out solutions for the homeless tragedy? And in an instant, it is resolved — for now.
And what about the shopping centers that have huge leases and no business? What if this continues? There will be lots of empty buildings. What do we do with empty buildings? We transform them into useable spaces, housing, co-housing, virtual universities, combos of businesses down below and domiciles above. Then there is the issue of the closed universities like University of California in Berkeley — the dorms are empty. A friend just shared with me that there was some discussion making those empty dorm rooms into hospital rooms if we run out of rooms in the hospitals. So much shape shifting in such a short time.
The concrete reality of our lives is shifting into a larger cosmic imagination that is a global phenomenon. With that said, I cannot tell you when we will be allowed to leave our homes, but…on Monday of this week, Mars, the action planet finally leaves Capricorn and enters Aquarius. The sign of Aquarius is independent, a maverick, an out of the box thinker and a tad bit chaotic. It is a sign of revolutionary thought that brings about change.
Tuesday’s March 31 Mars lines up with Saturn and is a more severe expression; we want to go forward, but… we get stopped by Saturn. We want to jump off one cliff and onto another, but Saturn (now in Aquarius for a few months) says — not so fast. Think before you jump or say something. It is important to not be cruel or angry in your response to those needing to talk because like everyone else, you, too, could feel pushed to the edge. So, take a wait and see, before answering.
And, finally, Venus leaves Taurus and enters Gemini on Friday April 3, so we stop devouring sweets and start devouring books and information, a healthier diet? And, as the weekend unfolds, Jupiter and Pluto come together and we see shades of hope and possibility. If you’ve been using these last weeks for sorting, filing, saving and organizing your folders and papers — those tasks are the perfect preparation for new ideas and opportunities in which to work or even play as we continue in this unprecedented time in history. And as my dear brother used to say to me, “With all this ***t, there has to be a pony in here somewhere”. I am still digging and hopeful!
Blessing to you and yours, Georgia Stathis
