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Twelve Signs for 2021 – The Spirit of Fire
Let all of life be an unfettered howl. Like the crowd greeting the gladiator. Don’t stop to think, don’t interrupt the scream, exhale, release life’s rapture.” Vladimir Nabokov Last night when I discovered this quote on a blog, I immediately recalled my dream from the night before. In the dream my dog let out a howl responding to a loud noise. In his elder years, Duchy took up a new habit. Whenever Judy puttered in the basement too long he stood at the stairs and howled for her. Would our society be less violent if we had howling stations, open spaces like driving ranges, to release all the pent up…
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Twelve Signs for 2021 – Landscapes of the Imagination
This month begins with the last sign of the zodiac, Pisces, the Fishes. The New Moon is also traveling in Pisces this weekend. My mother gave birth to me under the sign of the “two fishes.” A new moon heralds new beginnings. In spite of understanding this sign above all others, in its characteristic illusive way I struggle to grasp it. While I live out the poetry of this sign, I struggle in vain to grasp it, like the slippery minnows of childhood running through my legs at Old Silver Beach. Martin Buber in his classic “I and Thou” posed the eternal question: “But how can we incorporate into the…
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“Italy”
Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life. -Anna Akhmatova You may have the universe if I may have Italy. -Giuseppe Verdi Consider your origin; ye were not formed to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge. -Canto XXVI, Dante Alighieri Italy is a dream! When my parents and I arrived at Kennedy airport in New York, we saw a bunch of tired, bored college students stretched out over the carpet and chairs in the terminal. They were to be among the eighty students I would live with in Tuscany. My mother’s worries about the dangers of the pinching and prowling behavior of…
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Twelve Signs for 2021 – The Music & Mission of Nina Simone
Aquarius is the eleventh sign of the Zodiac. Ptolemy recorded the constellation back in the second century. Its name means “cup bearer” or “water bearer” in Latin. The first mystery to solve is why a “water bearer” is grouped with the air signs of Gemini and Libra? The key is that Aquarius brings and pours out the water. Water symbolizes emotions. The special quality of Aquarius supplies spiritual energy to bring humanity into a more conscious future. It has the qualities of impartiality and detachment as an air sign. Healing Waters The quality of healing energy reminds me of the scripture chosen by my preaching professor, Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva…
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Twelve Signs for 2021 – The Art and Spirit of Vincent
Welcome to my new blog! My resolution for 2021 is to blog each month about what keeps my creative spirit alive. January is symbolic of Capricorn the Goat. Goats climb every mountain, one hoof at a time. As a result, they keep an eye on the prize. My mother, a Capricorn, announced to us that “hard work never hurt anybody,” nevertheless my Gemini beach-loving oldest brother dared to tease her: “He is just trying to get my goat,” said she. Today there is just enough snow on the ground to remind me it is winter. Now I have a good reason to stay inside, while the pandemic still rages and…
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The Twenty Year Poodle by Anne Ierardi
This extract is from my memoir, coming in the summer! The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man’s. -Mark Twain For years I told my wife I wanted a dog. She repeatedly said no. I felt ambivalent myself, as it was so long since I’d had a dog. I worried something bad might happen; when I had had to part with two dogs because I didn’t have an adequate home for them. Now that we had a large house on Cape Cod with a yard and I worked next door to my home, it seemed the perfect time. But what kind of dog?…
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At Such a Time as This
Like Vincent Van Gogh, I love many things. At times, perhaps too many things. Born under the Sign of Pisces with a Libra Moon, the rhythm of my soul as a young adult coalesced in dreams and longings awakened by Walden, The Brothers Karamazov, the poetry of Anna Akhmatova, and the diaries of Anais Nin. Recently I developed a system of ten clones to pay attention to the many aspects of myself including artist, writer, mystic, musician… each month I choose a few clones to nurture. I am amazed at how my mastery is improving as my attention sharpens. No longer out foraging in the Cape Cod world, I move…