Fun Fridays: Happy Birthday Taurus!!

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Countdown to the Happy Ganesh CBS RADIO Spot: We proudly sponsor  The Movement  Radio (starting 5/2, 6 pm, The Sky Radio) Countdown?: 14 days.

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Happy birthday, Taurus!

You're loyal. You love creature comforts. And nothing blisses you out more than a trip to the spa or curling up in the recliner. You give stubborn a new name. But no one understands more about money - how to spend it or save it - and the connection between values and cash.

Here's some Taurus traits and some famous Taurus Sun Signs who exhibited them. (And if you know you have planets in Taurus, celebrate your Taurus side!)

1) Stubborn and Romantic

Shakespeare (April 23, 1564): While his several Gemini planets gave him the undisbuted  gift of poetry that would make him a legend, his Taurus sun would have made him a stubborn romantic with a gift for making money.

Here's Joseph Fiennes playing Mr. Shakespeare in the 1998 film, Shakespeare in Love.

 



2) Love for music.

There's a funny connection to Taurus and the arts. Taurus (and Libra) are both ruled by Venus, making them artistically talented. Here's two very different Taurus women. Cher and Enya, singing their hearts out.

Here's classic 70s Cher, singing "Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves." (Let's just focus on the genius that is Cher and ignore the yellow fringe, shall we?)

 

 

Here's Enya. Her melodic, atmospheric music totally works with the sensuousness of Taurus energy.
Here, she's singing "Only Time."





3) The Long Haul

Taurus ruled people also are in it for the long haul. They don't spook easily and they don't give up. They just don't go away.

For example, Shirley Temple was a child star known for her adorable ways and riot of curls (hello, young Taurus). However, when she was much older, she harnessed a fine business sense. Wiki said about her "She sat on the boards of many corporations and organizations including The Walt Disney Company, Del Monte Foods, and the National Wildlife Federation."

There's that connection between money and values. To me, this is one slice of a classic Taurus journey - from dimpled beauty to a major powerhouse of money and values.

Here's Ms. Temple at the age of four in The Little Colonel, changing the values of 1930s America very slowly. Shirley Temple broke the color barrier when she danced with legend Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, making them the first interracial dancing couple in American history. According to the IMDB, "this scene was cut when the film played in the southern United States."

Classic Taurus - forcing people to take a look at their values - in this case, a four year old girl helping to tear down racism.




Happy birthday Taurus.

Until Monday,
Marissa

Writing Wednesdays: Three Common Writing Myths - and What to Do About Them

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[caption id="attachment_30" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Gazing into the world of words. Where to start?"][/caption]

 

Here's three common writing myths. Call them myths or call them fears, sometimes they stop us dead in our tracks.

 

Some of my favorite writing quotes to keep us inspired during the last few days of Retrograde. Did anyone's computer blow up yet? No? Good. Let's keep creating!

Did you miss my last writing post on how to keep going when you just want to strangle your muse? No? Go here. And that's the thing about writing. As Colette said, "Writing creates more writing." In other words, the more you do, the more you want to do.

Writing is like jogging. You swear you'll run again. You really will.

But at 6 am, things are blurry and the outside world is dark and overrated.

But if you can crawl over the prone body of your dog/cat/partner/husband/wife and pull on your shoes and actually get outside in the first place, you're halfway there. 90% of starting is showing up.

Writing is the same. You swear you're a writer. You are. Really. And can I tell you about my story? It's amazing! But the world will never know it if you have it locked inside your head. Just like you'll never be a jogger if you sit on the couch day in and day out, watching Oprah. (Nothing against Oprah. She does wonders for the soul. Her book clubs are great. But no one ever lost weight watching Oprah. No one ever wrote a book watching her, either.)

Here's the thing.

If you want to write you have to


WRITE.


Period. The End.


Three Common Writer's Excuses


1) "I don't have the time. I have kids. I have a job. I have a family."

You drive your kids to softball games that take hours. You go food shopping for your family. I understand. I know, I know. It's a lot. And it's so easy to look at all those words on all those pages and just whine "But look at all of this! And I bet this writer is famous! That's why they have the time!"

Here's the thing. No one starts out famous. Most writers either have day jobs unless you're Stephen King, and even the famous ones have kids. For them, writing is a job. And one day, we'll be there. But for now, consider this.

* You're worth five minutes a day, right? Five minutes. 300 seconds. In five minutes, write whatever comes into your head. Write it anywhere. On a napkin. Inside a small notebook. Anything. This small act will help you get to know yourself. At the end of a month, you will have about 150 minutes worth of writing. Discover your soul and your mind. Write.

2) I don't know enough grammar. I was terrible in my english classes.

Worry about grammar later after your month of daily, five minute writing sessions is up. For now? Just begin. Please. Some of the most amazing writers I've known have been students I met when I taught college level prep classes. My students knew nothing about grammar but they knew how to express themselves. And that's where you begin. Expression.

3) Every writing teacher I ever had said that I should not write how I talk. That's the only way I know!

Then write like YOU write.I have news. Sometimes, teachers lie a little. Some of the best literature comes from directness. Hemmingway wrote short, direct sentences. ("The dog walked down the street.") That's it.

See above. You sit your butt in the computer chair and you don't move a muscle until you have five minutes worth of writing. Just go. Run. Just begin.

Here's some quotes to get you moving.


And if you're not a writer, these wonderful quotes apply to any creative project. We look to others to learn, to follow, to understand. To see how to move along on our own path. To learn how to let go. Here are some of the most inspiring quotes I know. Enjoy, friends.


First, let's start with the Man. Ray Bradbury is currently pushing 100. He's still a one-man powerhouse who started writing in the 50s and never stopped. Best known for Fahrenheit 451, about a totalitarian society in which books are burned (and if you're caught with one, you go to jail), he's also known for Something Wicked This Way Comes, about two childhood friends and a haunted carnival. Most of all, Ray has a ZEST and PASSION for writing that makes me want to sing, dance, and scribble long into the night. All of his below quotes are from the fabulous Zen in the Art of Writing.

The Ray Bradbury Quotes

When honest love speaks, when true admiration begins, when excitement rises, when hate curls like smoke, you need never doubt that creativity will stay with you for a lifetime - Ray Bradbury from Zen in the Art of Writing

Time is there. Love is there. Story is there.

If you are writing without zest, without love, without gusto, you are only half a writer.

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Here's some other great ones.

There is more than enough! - Unknown

Magic Happens -- Unknown

Energy rightly applied and directed can accomplish anything - Nellie Bly

Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds. Shine. - Buddha

At times, it is necessary to go over the top. How else can we get to the other side? - Kobi Yamada

I am here to live out loud. - Emile Zola

You can't lead a calvary charge if you think you look funny on a horse. - John Peers

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Happy writing. Enjoy the time connecting.

Magical Mondays: "Tricking the Goddess" in Poetry on the Vine; The Last Blog

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[caption id="attachment_184" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Poetry on the Vine with "Tricking the Goddess"!"][/caption]

Because this is magical. Because women getting together to express their creativity is something to celebrate! Here's some promo posters and write-ups for Poetry on the Vine, a one-night event where I'll be reading selections from my forthcoming book Tricking the Goddess. If you're in the area, come on out!





Poetry On The Vine:   Three Uncommon Varietals



 

Kristin Berkey-Abbott            Shefali Choksi                         Marissa Cohen

Kristin Berkey-Abbott reads from her works: Whistling Past the Graveyard (pudding house – 2004) and I Stand Here Shredding Documents (Forthcoming from Finishing Line Press).

Shefali Choksi reads from her Recently published work, Frontier Literature

Marissa Cohen reads from her forthcoming collection, Tricking the Goddess.

Hollywood Vine


2035 Harrison Street


Hollywood, Florida 33020


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Also, here's a local write up.


Kristin Berkey-Abbott, Shefali Choksi, and Marissa Cohen: Dr. Kristin Berkey-Abbott reads from her latest I Stand Here Shredding Documents, Dr. Shefali Choksi shares pieces from Frontier Literature and Marissa Cohen reads from her forthcoming debut collection Tricking the Goddess. Berkey-Abbott and Choksi teach at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Cohen is the founder of HappyGanesh.com. 7 pm. Hollywood Vine, Hollywood. Call 954-922-2910 or visit www.hvine.com.




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Also, last Friday was my very last co-host gig for Bob's Blazing Tarot Blog. This was a hard decision for me to move on, but its been a wonderful year and a half that I've sat with Bob Decker for ten minutes every Friday, talking about tarot cards and astrology. He's truly one of the best hypnotherapists that I know and a wonderful reader. To learn more about Bob, click here.

All good things must come to an end. Here's our last blog.

 



Photo Credit: Quixote206

Fun Fridays: More like a Full Moon in Libra Friday.

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What's a New Moon? What's a Full Moon?

The Full Moon closes out the energy of the month and asks us if we have what it takes, where as New Moon energy (always at the start of the month) opens the energy and give us a chance to manifest.

Right now, the Full Moon will be going into Libra on April 17. Our New Moon opened the month in Aries. Our last New Moon was in Aries, encouraging us to manifest Aries skills: aggression, bravery, independence  (though other factors may have encouraged us to wait on it).

See below. The key words are in black.

ARIES 

Sun INTENDS

to bring bravery and assertiveness to situations.

Aries 

New Moon

(earlier this month) longed to 

MANIFEST

these qualities.

Libra (

Full) Moon

longs to bring relationship skills and diplomacy to 

CONCLUDE

a situation.

As I wrote in a previous post, “Full Moons provide the template for these wishes and dreams. Full Moons dare us to see if we reaaally have the guts and the power to make good on our manifestations. They give us support.”

Now, the Full Moon in Libra(4/17) asks us if we’re able to balance the scales enough  (Libra traits)  to manifest our strength and independence (Aries Sun traits).

Creating a balance between Aries/Libra elements is important in the next 2.5 days. This may mean that fueled by the several major planets in Aries currently, we have a chance to go back into or rebuild an existing relationship, but thanks to all the Aries energy, we're reminded to not give up ourselves. Also, Aries gives us a wonderful new power - a reminder that we are truly recreating from the ground up. Aries is about new growth, so we can manifest new situations in relationships.

As one of my all time favorite astrologers

Molly Hall of About.com

said:

"

The Libra Full Moon in ordinary times might be one to celebrate all things artful and harmonious. It's a peak when the instinct to balance out relationships is strong. But this is also an extraordinary time of choice. We can re-create the old dramas, but with dangerous intensity. Or we can choose to see the blank canvas, and our freedom to draw forth new possibilities."

So well said, Molly.

What a powerful idea - and I think that notion of deciding to recreate or create the old dramas, or allowing yourself to rebuild is a perfect example of the transformative power of our human process. Because of all the Aries energy that is around (Sun, Mercury,

Uranus

) we're going to want to change and change now. It's raw and it's fast and this energy can leave us aching to go into the New and Unknown. Use the power of this Full Moon in Libra to manifest and move forward, egged on by all the Aries planets. (Also, of course, remember that

Mercury in Retro

is still in effect, so any communication may be wrinkly until two weeks after April 23, the final date of Retrograde.

ASTRO HINT: If you know your chart, find where Aries falls in your chart. If your rising/ascendent sign is in Gemini, Aries will be in your 11th house of friends. Also find where Libra falls naturally in your chart. If, for example, your rising sign is Gemini, Libra will fall in your 5th house of love and children. How will you be impacted by the Sun in Aries/Full Moon in Libra opposition? Look to your chart.

- M