In Our Stars

Yesterday I was owning up to having been tagged, but today I am merely stealing an idea from Alicia, of all people. She posted an overview of her astrological sign, highlighting those passages that pertained more specifically to her from her perspective and then adding a brief commentary at the end. She is a Capricorn, like my younger step-daughter, Jordan and my college friend, Fran. Grounded and practical to a fault. They are good listeners. Give pretty good advice as a rule. And can cut you to a quick with lightening speed. Good traits all really in my opinion. They are not adventurous though. Whereas I am Luke Skywalker, they are Yoda (no pun or offense, Fran - the comparison has nothing to do with height. And happy belated birthday, by the way).

Because I love astrology and believe that these general descriptors do tend to describe us better than we would like, I looked up mine. I am a sagittarius with sagittarius rising. A double whammy.

Sagittarius is undoubtedly one of the most positive of the star signs. You were born under the ninth sign, which is ruled by Jupiter. Jupiter’s traditional name was Jove, hence your jovial attitude. Pollyanna. Rose-colored glasses. The sun’ll come up tomorrow which is, of course, another day.

You’re extremely confident in whatever you do. Being one of the luckiest signs, fortune seems to favour you, whether you plan things or not. That’s also the reason you don’t mind taking the odd risk or two. You feel as if you can’t possibly lose. This almost cocky attitude is something that attracts people to you. Confidence is an acquired thing and it’s all relative in my case. Luck? Depends on your point of view.

You’re also very enthusiastic, and this is contagious — people can’t help but feel the same way in your presence. I can be enthusiastic. It doesn’t always inspire others to be so too. Sometimes it just pisses them off.

Because people like you so much, they want to help you achieve your goals. But sometimes your life objectives are colossal — those arrows seem to shoot much further than the eye can see. Your philosophy is to bite off more than you can chew and then chew as fast as you can. I am pretty good at bringing people around to my way of thinking, but as my mother would say, it’s because she is so sly. Chewing as fast as I can? Okay, I will own that too.

People around you will sometimes feel that you’re overly ambitious, and that your aims are pie in the sky. This is not likely to change you: you’d always rather aim high and take on the adventure of life than get to the end of the road regretting that you didn’t have a good go at making your dreams come true. Overly ambitious? Is that the same thing as not knowing my place? Or taking the advice of my elders? If it is, then it’s true. I don’t do either well or sometimes at all. I wasn’t always in favor of chasing dreams because the Catholic school girl and Iowan sensibilities can be hard to overcome but anymore I think that my life is too short and getting shorter all the time to defer. There is a poem about dreams deferred by Langston Hughes:

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up 
like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore-- 
And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over-- 
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags 
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

One of your primary lessons in life will be related to this. You will need to learn that there are limits to what you’re capable of, and how to recognize them. Making sure your goals are actually practical enough to be achieved is another side of this one. Limitations and practicality. Good thing I am married to an earth sign. All joking aside, I learned this over and over in the last few years. But I also pushed myself like I have never done before - so it’s all relative really.

You have a great sense of timing, and know just when to make your move. This is because Sagittarius also governs knowledge, wisdom and spirituality. You know you can trust your gut feeling, so call on it when you need it. Sometimes I just know things. I have always been that way. I don’t feel a need to second guess when these things present. That other people don’t understand isn’t my concern.

Personal growth and understanding is a key aspect of your personality. You hate the idea of waltzing blindly through life without understanding — or finding — its meaning. This seems like a bit of a contradiction, because you’re quite a party animal too, but you do have this deeper side to your character. I have to take exception to the party animal thing. Except for a brief party girl phase in college, I don’t think I could be accused of being shallow very easily. Maybe because my moon is in either Virgo or Taurus. Can’t remember which.

So you’re constantly looking for meaning in your life, trying to figure out what makes the world tick, and planning and dreaming about how you can extract the maximum benefit from your time here. This is vitally important to you, so you’ll go to great lengths to find what you’re searching for.

Your totem, the Centaur, which is half man and half beast, describes you and the way you live your life perfectly. The Centaur has a bow and arrow and is aiming at the sky. This is you to a T. High ambitions.

Because you are so positive, you see the possibilities as endless. You never take no for an answer, and you always see the cup as half full, not half empty. Adventure is your second name, and you will have a strong desire to travel and seek out new experiences. Visiting different countries and exploring diverse cultures will add to your all-round happiness. This curiosity also comes with a dose of restlessness, though.

You have a genuine interest in getting to the truth and be part of whatever environment you’re in, but you are easily bored if the mental stimulation is missing. This is especially true when we put ‘Sagittarius’ in the same sentence as ‘relationship’.

Lots of people don’t get where you’re coming from. You’re serious about relationships, but you need a ton of stimulation and variety to keep love alive. You love to flirt and show off, but you need to be careful with this — if you’re in a relationship it will cause problems. I am Enigma. Well, not really if you are paying attention but that’s just it. Most people don’t. Only a few will slow down enough to parse you out and it took me a long time to realize this but I am happier for it today.

You love freedom, and this applies to relationships, your family situation and your work: you hate anyone tying you down. It’s as if you’re Peter Pan and want to stay forever young and free. You’ll need to balance this passion for independence with some responsibility and commitment sooner or later. Responsibility is my middle name. Always has been, but I am not a follower and hate being told anything. I never wanted to be young though. I have spent my life wishing to be older than I am. I don’t think that really stopped until I hit my middle thirties and actually became pleased with the age I was when I was. I still like being my age.

You’re a gambler in life, with money as well as with relationships, but you always seem to land on your feet. Even when you lose, which you do from time to time, your light-hearted and optimistic nature means you believe you’ll get it together again soon, without any trouble. And strangely, that’s usually true. Nope, sorry. Gambling on anything outside of your control is stupid and I hate losing.

Your independent and free nature, though it’s one of your biggest assets, could cause you some difficulties. You are likely to expect everyone you come into contact to give you the freedom you want. People around you have to learn that this is an absolutely basic requirement for you.

At work, if you’re not allowed to make choices about how you do your work, you won’t work at your best. You rely very much on yourself, and if your employers give you a free hand, you’ll do great work — people will see this side of your personality at its best. Micro-managing makes me insane and is probably the chief reason I am glad to be out of teaching right now. A boss who micromanages, in my opinion, does so because he or she is insecure in their leadership abilities. They are the worst type of people to work for but strangely end up in charge an often lot.

We said earlier that Jupiter is psychic, and that you have keen foresight. That sixth sense is behind many of the decisions you make, and the more you trust that higher power, the more rewarding your life will be. Your decisions will usually be correct. Like I said earlier, sometimes I just know things.

Overall, you see life as a challenge, but also as a grand adventure in which you must play your part fearlessly. Nothing much will hold you back, and even when the odd adversity arises you’ll see it as part of your learning curve and accept it with a smile. I am not always smiling but otherwise - all true.

This was a neat exercise. Somewhat introspective as well. My astrological outlook for last year and this coming one was quite good, but then I am due - I think - for an extended run of good years.