Self-Understanding Comes from Lots of Different Places

"If thou canst bear
Strong meat of simple truth ..."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Gnothi Seauton."

Dena DeCastro did an evolutionary astrology birth chart reading for me last week and I just got the CD. I've never really had a *thing* for astrology, horoscopes, or the like - but I heard a podcast featuring Dena and she sounded so friendly and down-to-earth, I was inspired to give it a try.

You know, this calls to mind a belief I hold about chefs and restaurants - if a chef can prepare a food I am unfamiliar with, ambivalent about, or even dislike, in a way that makes me rave about it - that chef is one heckuvan impressive chef. Barbara Lynch of a suite of restaurants in Boston is that kind of chef. She worked her magic for me on brussels sprouts and prunes.

So - back to Dena DeCastro. In listening to the CD, the following descriptors came to me about her "mode of conveyance": calming, engaging, knows her stuff backwards and forwards, balances receptivity and guidance, bright light, friendly, consultative (in a good way), identifies gifts - and challenges that can be worked into gifts - a good ambassador for her field.

For those who are interested in knowing such things about a person - here's a bit of what was revealed.

I learned that the Sun sign is the essence of one's being. The core. The energizer. The fuel.
Apparently my chart reeks of Gemini. The Sun is in Gemini in the 3rd (Gemini's) house. There's a conjunct of Mars and Venus in Gemini, and Mercury, who rules Gemini, is in Gemini.

In explaining all of this to me, she used a lot of terms that resonated and that I scribed into a "this accurately describes me" list (useful to come back to when one is called upon to write a self-description ... at the very least to stimulate thought!). Gemini is fueled by the mind and the mouth ... LOL ... intellect, the life of the mind, as well as communicating, using one's "voice."

The moon sign represents emotional expression and what comforts. My moon is in Aries, which was a sign I never paid much attention to. Apparently Aries has firey energy, and seeks new challenges.

She highlighted a conjunction of the Moon and Saturn, which represents a tempering of the Aries fire with discipline and a long view. Hee hee - another coupla nice descriptors for the list. Yes, hard work is emotionally fulfilling for me ... I attributed it to my midwestern upbringing, but apparently it's charted in the heavens as well. LOL. Inescapable, that work ethic.

Adding to the story is a rising sign, described as the face one puts to the world (or, contrariwise, how the world sees one). My Aquarius rising says that I approach the world as a truth-sayer. (YES!!!) But also someone who's seen as "different" (sigh), ahead of the curve (writing that one down), inventive (writing that down too), and quirky (aggggh, I am so sick of people calling me quirky).

It occurs to me now that, later in the discussion, I said I'd actually gotten feedback on trying to "be less wacky." Dena chimed in with this great, affirming: Tell em you can't! ... don't give up the wacky, just know the times to get serious. And you know what? That was just what I needed to hear ... from somone who only knows me from a few email exchanges and a natal chart reading. I've heard the same kind of feedback from friends of mine, from people who joined us at the wedding, and even though I listened to these folks, and honestly took in the words, I faintly discounted what they said - heck, they are biased, they are used to me, they are gluttons for punishment. For some reason, Dena's less biased perspective got me to stop short and think. Huh. Maybe I don't have to banish the wacky, maybe it's even worth crowing about -- okay, says the tempering part of me, maybe not so much crow -- but that wacky/quirky part is certainly worth holding close as a true part of me rather than trying to expel, smother, or shove it into an overstuffed drawer.