In my latest podcast of The Astrological Cook on Web Talk Radio http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/astrological-cook/, I spoke of Jupiter and the joy and expansion it looks to bring to our lives. Because my interview with Lean toward Happy creator Roz Warren www.leantowardhappy.com/ went a bit long (how Jupiterian is that), I didn’t have time to give listeners my recipe for Acorn Squash and Polenta Soufflé so here it is! I made this out of leftovers a few weeks ago and it is so easy and delicious. Makes 6 -8 servings 2 medium acorn squash 1 ½ cups corn meal 2 teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter ¼-cup milk 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon, freshly ground nutmeg ½-teaspoon cardamom Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. NOTE if you are one of those people who hates to wield dangerous knives there is an easy way to handle acorn squash. Just bake them in a 400-degree oven for about 40 minutes until they are soft, let them cool then slice them in half, remove the seeds and the skin. It is easier that doing all that when they are hard as a rock. While the acorn squash is cooling, make the polenta. Bring 3 quarts of water to a mild boil then slowly whisk in the corn meal. You do not want lumps so keep whisking until smooth, stir in the salt and butter, and blend well. Remove from the heat. Combine the cooled acorn squash and polenta in a food processor, add the milk and spices, and blend until very smooth. Pour into a greased 1-quart soufflé pan and bake 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Author: Joan Porte
Guest Blogger today – author of “Feminine Transitions: A Photographic Celebration of Natural Beauty”
Please welcome my guest blogger today Alyscia Cunningham, a photographer and author of “Feminine Transitions: A Photographic Celebration of Natural Beauty” a wonderful new book reminding us about real values. Check out Alyscia’s work at her sites below! Thanks www.Alyscia.com www.facebook.com/FeminineTransitions www.twitter.com/AlysciaCPhoto www.facebook.com/AlysciaCPhoto My Creative Discovery As I child I vividly remember cutting out Garfield comic strips from the New York Times in attempt to draw it. I used to trace but gave it a go free hand. To my surprise, it looked exactly like the drawing of Garfield, emotions and all. From there I began recreating all sorts of animations in my notebooks (I was a doodler in school and my notebooks proved it). In the 7th grade, I drew a picture of Tupac I had hanging on my bedroom wall. I was stunned! It was my first attempt drawing a non-cartoon character and it looked exactly like Tupac. I could now draw people. Or maybe it was always there but I never explored it. After that, I started drawing portraits of classmates for a small fee ($2-$3). I remember having someone different scheduled each week during a particular class (I can’t seem to remember what class it was and how I got away with sitting in the back, not getting any work done, yet drawing away). I first discovered my love for Photography when I took it as an art elective – Photographic Expression, while studying at Montgomery College. At the end of the course, my Professor was so impressed with my portfolio that he encouraged me to take the next course, Photography I. Discovering my passion for photography I did not stop at Photography I but continued with Photography II. By then, my Professor and classmates were suggesting that I consider a career in photography. Changing my major from Physical Therapy to Photography was the easiest decision of my adult life. My main focus is human images and how it can be incorporated with light and shadow. I use dramatic lighting in many of my images because it fosters greater interaction between you and the photographs, as you tend to analyze it a little more. Likewise, the use of close ups creates a sense of intimacy and usually draws a greater emotional reaction from you. Above all I love to convey a feeling of ease or comfort through my subjects. I believe my innate tranquility is of great help in doing so. My visions are the biggest inspiration for my creativity. I typically don’t plan a drawing or photo in advance. A visual almost always comes to me in pictures, including the idea for my book, Feminine Transitions. First I foresee it then use my camera or pen to capture what I visualized. In order to me to remember, I began to sleep with a journal by my bedside. I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning and sketch or write down the imagery that came to me. To this day it still amazes me how I see my images beforehand. How does one describe the logic in that? Science always seems to have an answer for the unknown. To be quite honest, it really can’t be explained. It is one of the beautiful mysteries of inherent creativity and the Universe.
Happy Full Aries Moon – And an Eclipse
Tonight at 7;38 PM Eastern – we will experience a lunar eclipse and a full Moon in Aries. This is a Hunter’s Moon, a signal to the ancients that is time to store food for the winter. It is also called a Blood Moon. How appropriate that this year it is in Aries. Aries is the sign of action, movement and initiation so this a wonderful time to commit to follow your goals. No excuses.
With the Sun in Libra, this is also a time to balance your needs (Aries) with others (Libra.)Compromise, balance and effort – geez I wish this Moon had come about two weeks ago over Washington! On second thought – we need more than a full Moon to fix that bunch.
I Will Say It Again – Uranus Square Pluto
OK I haven’t a clue. That is my answer when someone asks me what is going to happen this week with the Washington mess. Astrologers are NOT fortune-tellers and if someone tells you they are, run away – run far away. All I will say is keep your eyes on that hard square between Retrograded Uranus and Pluto. Uranus is in Aries – the sign of unbridled male energy and warrior drive and it is retrograded meaning it is churning inward and misdirected – and OH LOOK where it is over Washington right now —- it is on the cusp of the second house – the house of money and resources. Uranus is the planet depicted rebellious energy – quick change, hard to grasp energy. (So yes, it would be the sign of people trying to disrupt the social order.) But wait there is more… It squares – or makes a disharmonious aspect to Pluto, the slow and grinding change planet. And – I could NOT make this up – Pluto is in the 10th house, the house of government and authority structures- and is in Capricorn the sign that vibrates to the 10th house. Who will win this tug of war and what is winning? Is winning destroying American resources – to some it might be?
I take some hope looking at the biwheel of American and the current transits. That Uranus is in our 4th house – so yes they disrupting our “family” but Vesta/Ceres – in Virgo is sitting on the cusp of the 10th house. Vesta, the burning heart’s desire, and Ceres, the planet of the mother, nurturer – can come together to provide a balm. However, Vesta does not make it easy. So we will have some “paying of the piper” for appeasing the lunatic fringe – the people who want to destroy our country. I hate to depress you further but Saturn is about to move into the 12th house for America – that is a time that forces us to face what we have been avoiding. It essence it makes us comes to terms with our secrets, our inner fears and the lies we tell ourselves. IF we use that time to be honest about what these Tea Party haters are then perhaps, – perhaps – all of this pain will be worth it. However, even if we win we will lose – something.
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Rafeal Edward Cruz I Love You
I love Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. No, really I do! If you are someone who has been reading my blog you might be scratching your head at this point saying, “Has she gone mad?” Nope. Think about it. Ted Cruz is doing two things for which I have been begging the universe. He is ripping the Republican Party apart exposing the Tea Party for the loonies that they are and showing their total hypocrisy for embracing a man NOT born in America. Yes, apparently the same people who can castigate the President for being born in the far off country of Hawaii are embracing as their 2016 candidate a Canadian! I love it – he is made to order for any liberal or really any thinking person in America today! Thanks to him releases his birth certificate we have his date and place of birth (did I say it was CANADA?) but unfortunately not his birth time. Drat those evil foreigners. However, we can learn a lot about a person even without the time thanks to that wonderful device, the South Node.
Ted’s South Node is in Leo, telling us that his past lives featured him demanding center stage. Leo, ruled the Sun is the sign of the King, the ruler, who demands to be the center of his subject’s attention. Leo needs people to surround him and reflect off of him. He has to have others revolve around him. Well let’s see – can we say the Ted is still living in his South Node? We are supposed to be moving from the South to the North in our lives. Therefore, he should be embracing the ideals of Aquarius – the sign opposite of Leo. Aquarius is all about brotherhood, humanity – thinking things through. Now he might think he is doing that – however, we can see how much he loves to have those people cheering for him no matter the consequences. This puts me in a quandary. I love to see people embrace their North Nodes and work to help my clients reach that goal. However, the longer Ted plays the megalomaniac the better for America… what to do – what to do? Ah, now that I think about it – he wouldn’t listen to me anyway. After all I am one the evil, educated elites. So Ted – keep it up. The more you stay in Leo shadow the happier I will be!
Is There An Astrology To The Government Shutdown?
***Download my new podcast Astrological Cooking http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/astrological-cook/******* Is There An Astrology To The Government Shutdown? Probably not -I guess the beginnings start with the Tea Party. How can we tell when that started? I don’t know, was it the the Civil War or when a black man became President? I would rather not think about them any more than forced to, frankly. If you want to destroy your government, you are an anarchist. If you want your fellow Americans to go broke you are not a patriot. Keep in mind that we have until December 13 before Uranus comes out of retrograde and November 13 before Neptune gets its act together so we have a few more weeks, months of the energy of those big guys messing around. I put the astrological blame on the square retrograded Uranus makes to Pluto. Retrograded Uranus is quick, rebellious energy turned inward – with no real direction. It is in the sign of Aries, the sign of male energy and drive. Aries of course wears the shadow of the baby of the zodiac; do it my way or we will pout. DO it my way or I will throw the biggest temper tantrum ever. It is safe to say that that the Tea Party faction, who fancy themselves rebels are now exhibiting the worst of the Aries shadow and the Uranus retrograde. I want it now and I want it now and… You get my picture. Uranus being retrograded exacerbates the fact that they talk only to themselves in their Fox-bubble. They actually think they are winning the public relations battle.
Pluto, which has just come out of retrograde is in Capricorn, the sign of government. I have spoken often of the 2008 – 2027 reign of a Capricornian Pluto and the change it brings upon government and authority structures. That energy of that Uranus retrograde (which over Washington is in the 6th house, the house of day to day work) is just irritating slower Pluto – in the 3rd – the house of ideas and communication. Those “rebel” Tea Partiers are just enjoying the heck out of irritating the big lumbering government – with their wacky ideas and don’t care whose paycheck they effect by closing down the daily functioning of the government. I am relying on that direct Neptunian energy after November 13 to force a collective sign of “ENOUGH” from the public. Neptune in Pisces is a time of peace, brotherhood, and coming together. Hopefully that energy will be enough to keep the Uranus gang in the corner. Let’s hope.
The Astrological Dinner Party: A Great Holiday Gift and Fun Way to Kick Off the New Year
What better way to spice up your parties than by adding a little bit of stardust? Star the New Year off with a new way to entertain; the astrological dinner party. It is a wonderful new way to do a potluck that will not only assure a great variety of foods but hours of conversation as guests compare their choices with their chart signs. Invite some friends over and ask them to bring a dish that epitomizes their Sun sign*. They do not have to be astrological wizards. Everyone knows their sun signs and knows something about the energy they emit. Have them bring the food in a brown bag, with no outside markings. No one is to peek at anyone else’s’ offerings. Invite your guests to have some wine and snacks in the other room while you get the dinner ready. Remove the food from the original plates and place them in your own service. This will eliminate people knowing who brought what by recognizing someone’s china. Once you serve the dishes, have everyone guess who brought what. That healthy quinoa salad has to be from the Virgo while the Capricorn probably came armed with a chicken potpie or something else of great substance. If there are two people of the same Sun sign it is no problem. There are many traits exhibited by each sign and it will be interesting to see how they express in each person. Of course, I would encourage you to have my cookbook on hand to answer any astrological questions that might arise. If you prefer to cook the food yourself and surprise your friends with their own personalized Sun-sign dishes, you can prepare any number of meals from my cookbook. There are at least ten recipes for each astrological signs “In Signs of the Tines.” For your Libra friend create a surf-and-turf to keep them in balance. For the Aries, the warrior inspired Mongolian Hot Pot. If you are stuck with the age-old question, what should I buy for everyone this Holiday season, why not prepare an astrological meal? It is fun, personalized and something they will always remember. What greater gift can you give then to prepare a dish just for them handpicked by the stars? *For the more astro-savvy crowd ask them to cook for their rising sign! That will really spark discussions. “Signs of the Tines: The Ultimate Astrological Cookbook” is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and www.signsofthetines.com. For chart readings me Joan at [email protected]. Download my podcast Astrological Cooking at http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/astrological-cook/.
Pluto Leaves Retrograde!!!!!
The long astrological nightmare is soon to be over… to paraphrase Gerald Ford. Our poor beleaguered little planet is finally pulling out of those big planet retrogrades – Uranus, Pluto, Neptune and the asteroid Juno. A retrograde is the phenomena that makes a planet look like it is going backwards in the sky. This is a trick of the eye because of where we are on the ecliptic and where they are. Astrologically, when a planet is in retrograde the energy that it is sending us is “garbled.” We have to search for it. If you are born with a planet retrograded, you need to go inwards, and rework that energy. Therefore, people with Mercury energy may not learn “normally” or have speech issues – they need to work that energy in a new way. We have all been under a retrograde of these “big guys” for several months and boy have we felt it…fighting, anger, feelings of being stuck…well hang on – the first one, Pluto, will station direct and start moving forward starting September 20th. Take advantage of this by putting some change that you have been contemplating into motion. Pluto rules the world of change – transformation and rebirth. So what have you been procrastinating about? Do it – do it now. Pluto will burst forth with energy on the 20th, which will help you. Be sure to check my new podcast on webtalkradio.com http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/astrological-cook/
International Day of Peace – Sept 21
With all of this talk of war and bombing Syria I find it a bit ironic that we are coming up on the International Day of Peace. This was established in 1981 by the United Nations. According to their website: In 1981, the United Nations General Assembly, by unanimous vote, adopted Resolution 36/67 establishing the International Day of Peace (IDP) which stated in part, “…to devote a specific time to concentrate the efforts of the United Nations and its Member States, as well as the whole of mankind, to promoting the ideals of peace and to giving positive evidence of their commitment to peace in all viable ways.” The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982 on the opening day of the General Assembly. In 2002 the UN General Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent annual date for the International Day of Peace. It sounds terrific and a hopeful respite to the constant conflict we Earthlings always seem to find ourselves in. There are two hopeful astrological signs that day. One is the Pluto will finally be out of a retrograded position! YIPPEE – finally – maybe we will stop spinning our wheels and get out of that collective rut we have been in. The other is that Mercury will be in the sign of Libra – the sign of the mediator and it is in the 11th house – the house of group activities. Wouldn’t it be nice to utilize that energy even if for a day! So remember to think peace on Sept. 21- and beyond. Speaking of peace and mediation check out a new book, “The Bridges of Death” by M.C.V Egan!
Diana Nyad – a Lion in the Water
I HAD to do this chart today! Diana Nyad, who at 64 years old has successfully reached the Florida shore on her fifth attempt to swim from Cuba to Key West. I have been trying to find her birth time but that doesn’t seem to be public information however, we do know that she was born on August 22, 1949 in New York City and while her rising sign, which is contingent on knowing the time of birth, is unknown there is a lot to be gleaned from her chart. The thing that is cracking me up totally right now is that she was born with a South Node conjuncting the planet Neptune, God of the Sea! While there is absolutely no astrological correlation between past lives linked to Neptune and swimming ability it does make me smile. All you need to know about this gutsy woman can be found in the stellium of Sun, Pluto, and Juno all in the fixed fire sign of Leo with her Leo Moon hanging on close-by. Signs fall into three categories, the fixed signs that are the stubborn folks, the mutables who are the go along and get along people and the cardinal signs – the leaders. She has her Sun, her Juno (the goddess of loyalty), her Moon and Pluto all clustered together Leo – which as I said is not only fixed but fire! Nothing was going to stop that determination especially with Pluto the planet of transformation and change kept her glued to that goal with determination. What do I mean by fire? Well, again the signs fall into categories, the water signs are emotional, spiritual and deep, the earth signs are sturdy and stable, air are mercurial and intelligent and fire people are seeking prominence – they have to make an impact. Diana is all fixed fire! If that wasn’t enough fuel for her, check out her Saturn, Pallas conjunction. Saturn is the task master, the planet of “doing things right and following the rules.” When it is combined with Pallas Athena, the androgynous warrior goddess a person has a “pit-bull mentality.” Her North Node, where her soul is intending to go in this lifetime, is in Aries, the uber-determined, cardinal and yes, fire, signs. It is ruled by Mars which in her case is in Cancer – another cardinal sign. No matter her chosen career she would have exceled and exceeded. So congratulations Diana – you certainly used your planetary “gifts” to the maximum today!!
