Your Carbon Footprint: An Inconvenient Statistic

Life used to be simpler. In the "Age of Aquarius" a man, eager to start a conversation with an attractive woman, could approach with the unoriginal, but socially acceptable, question "hey, what's your sign?" In later years, as people became more health and fitness conscious, the question might have been "so, what's your BMI?" But in current society, where even weddings have turned green, you might be asked "what's your carbon footprint?" That is a bit harder to answer.

Your carbon footprint is the new personal vital statistic that you must know. It is a measure of the impact of your activity and consumption on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide. Luckily there are many online carbon calculators to help you, for example: carbonfund.org. Once you know your footprint you can work on reducing and offsetting your impact.

Those of you who smartly say "I recycle everything, I even knit my cat's fur balls into mittens" don't be so smug. If you have flown on a plane recently your footprint is bigger than you think. And let's not even count all that bottled water in the throw-away container!

The Kitty Kama Sutra

Billed as "the only sex manual your cat will ever need," this little book offers the feline version of a sex manual. Written by Richard Smith and delightfully illustrated by Susann Ferris Jones, you might consider buying The Kitty Kama Sutra for the chuckle value alone.

Discover the pleasure of the earlobe lick or even the Hindu Kish Fondle. Hey and did you know that the paw even has erogenous zones? Me neither. Purrrrrr.

The Art of Tarot

How lucky we are that so many gifted artists chose to express their creativity with new interpretations of tarot imagery. You need not subscribe to the philosophy nor the divining aspect of the cards in order to appreciate the astounding beauty and variety of the imagery. Many decks are created for collectors who appreciate tarot as art.

Adam McLean, a well known authority and tarot enthusiast, is in the process of creating a directory of his collection of 1200 tarot decks. The directory includes a brief description and two images from each deck -- the Fool and the Tower.

"The Fool because for the artist creating the deck it often seems to define the style of their artwork. I chose the Tower because it is quite a fixed image that is not easy to extend or symbolically reshape and thus to my mind tests the creative imagination of the artist."

One of the decks in his collection is the Astrological Mandala; the Fool card is shown here. This is a watercolor drawing by German artist A.T. Mann, 1987.

Let me know if you have a favorite tarot artist you would like to share with others.

Void of Course Moons November 2007

For those of you who track the void of course moons through the months, here is November 2007. For those who are not familiar with Void-Of-Course moons, please read this article and see how they can improve your timing.

A big thank you to renowned astrologer Felissa Rose for the charts.

MOON VOID OF COURSE – NOVEMBER 2007

THE FOLLOWING TIMES ARE CALCULATED FOR EASTERN DAYLIGHT. ADJUSTMENTS MUST BE MADE FOR OTHER TIME ZONES.

VOID BEGINS - VOID ENDS                                   SIGN MOON ENTERS AFTER VOID

Wed Oct 31 1:14 PM To Thu Nov 1 12:49 AM       Moon enters Leo

Sat Nov 3 3:14 AM To 8:46 AM                           Moon enters Virgo

THE FOLLOWING TIMES ARE EASTERN STANDARD:

Mon Nov 5 1:11 PM To 6:48 PM                          Moon enters Libra

Thu Nov 8 1:47 AM To 7:19 AM                          Moon enters Scorpio

Fri Nov 9 10:20 PM To Sat Nov 10 8:00 PM         Moon enters Sagittarius

Tue Nov 13 2:54 AM To 8:02 AM                        Moon enters Capricorn

Thu Nov 15 4:20 AM To 6:31 PM                        Moon enters Aquarius

Sat Nov 17 9:52 PM To Sun Nov 18 2:16 AM        Moon enters Pisces

Tue Nov 20 2:27 AM To 6:25 AM                        Moon enters Aries

Thu Nov 22 3:40 AM To 7:20 AM                        Moon enters Taurus

Fri Nov 23 1:54 PM To Sat Nov 24 6:30 AM         Moon enters Gemini

Mon Nov 26 2:39 AM To 6:08 AM                       Moon enters Cancer

Tue Nov 27 11:24 PM To Wed Nov 28 8:24 AM    Moon enters Leo

Fri Nov 30 12:26 PM To 2:45 PM                        Moon enters Virgo

Felissa can be reached via email at: [email protected] and also has a webpage at http://www.accessnewage.com/Felissa/

Fall 2007 Mercury Retrograde

FELISSA ROSE just sent me a fascinating email about the upcoming Mercury Retrogerade. Here it is in its entirety. Please read more on her website or email her here. I find that the Mercury retrograde time can be easier (or harsher) depending on your own chart positions. But generally speaking, be extra careful in any manner of communication so that you are not misunderstood or you do not misunderstand others.

FALL 2007 MERCURY RETROGRADE

Mercury will be going retrograde on October 12, 2007 at 12:01 AM EDT at 9 degrees 4 minutes in the sign of Scorpio. It turns direct in motion on November 1, 2007 at 7:00 AM EDT at 23 degrees 26 minutes in the sign of Libra.

Scorpio rules insurance, death and taxes, transformations, renovations, plumbing, both the indoor kind and the body’s, and monies that others owe to you and you owe then. Mercury rules communications, information and contracts, thinking, decision making and ideas, and the processing of thoughts.

This won’t be the best time to take out a loan. Be very careful about the small print. If you are planning on giving people your money to invest, wait until Mercury goes direct. Trends and judgment during this period aren’t that clear in the financial markets. This should improve when Mercury goes direct.

Mercury will be retrograde in Scorpio from October 12 to the 23 and retrograde in Libra from October 23 to November 1. Libra governs relationships, counseling, love, marriage and partnerships, and, along with Sagittarius, the law. Since Mercury rules contracts signing them during Mercury retrograde is not particularly prudent as legal matters can get messy. Mercury retrograde is a great time for reflection and writing.

Some of the most famous writers have been born with Mercury retrograde. They mull over and reflect on the material they are writing before feeling that it’s acceptable enough to share with others.

Mercury will next be retrograde from January 28, 2008 to February 18, 2008. Then from May 26, 2008 to June 19, 2008.

Thanks Felissa!!!!