Spirituality Guide

Libra (24 September-23 October) - Element: Air, Quality: Cardinal, Ruler: Venus

Fair, impartial, likes to see both sides, relationship-oriented, diplomatic, seeks balance and harmony, naive, loving, willing to compromise, can be indecisive.

Dear Libras are lovers, not fighters, and that’s evident in most of the things they do. Being very fittingly represented by a pair of scales, Libras love harmony, balance, compromise and even compassion. And what better balance than two people in a loving relationship? (Which is what many Libras strongly desire from life.)

Libras are often conflicted by their desire to take action and do something and their being unable to decide just quite what to do. The desire to be diplomatic and not cause conflict can lead to a lot of frustration, however, because Libras can be annoyingly indecisive, weighing all the options to try to get the best outcome out of everything.

Libras need to find a balance in their own life between carefully considering the options and finally taking action/risk. While considering options is definitely a good thing and what some other signs lack, Libras need to realize that you can’t make everyone happy all of the time. It’s just plain not going to happen.

In love, Libras need energy, ideas, and creativity without the clinging, insecure nature of people who are less confident. Partners that are more assertive than you can definitely help out on the inability to decide area, but that same partner might find your indecisiveness a bit annoying.

Sources:
JanSpiller.com
Zodiac Signs
Wikipedia

Virgo (24 August-23 September) - Element: Earth, Quality: Mutable, Ruler: Mercury

Practical, analytical, ability for synthesis, mental, focused, likes work and projects, seeks to be of service, purity, order, cleanliness, creates order out of chaos, can be hurtfully critical.

Like their sensible Capricorn siblings, Virgos are intelligent and are definitely team members you want when getting a project done. While others may get bored with all the little details of getting things done, Virgos are comfortable with and even like the little details of projects. Details mean organization, and organization is definitely a talent of our resident Virgos.

Also like Capricorn, Virgos can hurt others with their criticism if they aren’t careful. It’s the gentleness of the delivery that’s important, but because Virgos don’t mind boring you with details and tries to control chaos, it’s information and not feelings that are most often more important.

Virgos need to concentrate on the human aspect of life so they can learn to give good criticism that will be received well. They also need to put themselves in messes they can’t organize or fix to remind themselves that chaotic situations don’t always have to be as scary as they seem. The world isn’t perfectly organized for very good reasons..

The Virgo lover doesn’t mind (and even better, embraces) the organizational skills of the Virgo. The Virgo lover should also be useful, because Virgos do so love useful things and people. The ideal mate, depending on how you look at it, might be one of the more fiery signs so they can balance each other out.

Sources:
JanSpiller.com
Zodiac Signs
Wikipedia

Leo (24 July-23 August) - Element: Fire, Quality: Fixed, Ruler: the Sun

Theatrical, dramatic, “bigger than life”, determined, loyal, gregarious, self-confident, seeks creative self-expression, generous, enthusiastic, benevolent, center stage, can be bossy or prideful.

“Walking on Sunshine” is definitely the song for the Leo-born. That is, if everything is going the way Leo would like it to go. Like the Sun that rules it, Leos shine with confidence and an overall optimistic view on life. Leos have a generally happy, loyal, friendly nature that somehow sparks and helps bring out the best in other people.

Yet, while the sun sign encourages happiness, optimism, and growth, it does that for a lot of people and doesn’t always have the time – or the thought – to appreciate others on an individual behavior. Too much of this and Leo can grow egotistical. Don’t be fooled, though; the egotism (or apparent egotism) can just be a cover up if Leo doesn’t actually feel as confident or worthy on the inside as s/he pretends to be on the outside.

Leos don’t like admitting their faults, even though everyone has them, but they need to do so and embrace them as well if they want to be a well-rounded person. They need to treat themselves with the same love, loyalty and compassion they often show others. If they do that, they will find slipping to the ego side of the spectrum much less a challenge.

Leos in love are definitely a force of the zodiac to deal with. Often with the appetites of a Taurus and enthusiasm of an Aries, sex is definitely part of the relationship picture. Even so, Leos also love in others what they love about themselves – adoration, loyalty, love that is never too much. Leos would do well, however, to find a partner who keeps the ego in check, doesn’t let Leo pout too long (ever), and applies some practical thinking to the relationship.

Sources:
JanSpiller.com
Zodiac Signs
Wikipedia

Gemini (22 May-22 June) - Element: Air, Quality: Mutable, Ruler: Mercury

Intellectual, always in motion (mentally or physically), seeks mental stimulation, curious, communicative, social, interested in considering the “options”, easily bored, can be superficial.

Like Aries, Gemini can be easily bored with things. However, unlike Aries, it is the mental stimulation Gemini is after. A happy Gemini is a Gemini with a book of logic puzzles and a new, self-motivated research project going. If you need someone who can think fast, then Gemini should be one of your first choices.

Being such an intellectual makes some aspects of life a bit more difficult to deal with – namely emotions. While they are a fascinating subject to learn about, dealing with them personally isn’t always the most fun thing to do despite the engagement of head and heart both being best in most situations.

Geminis will likely try to make emotions logical and/or avoid feeling them altogether. As long as Gemini accepts feelings as his/her own, things can only get better because of that ability to step back from the situation and look at it from the outside. Emotions can be good things, we promise! They can even lead to bigger and better ideas…

Gemini will fall in love most likely with someone of similar intellectual ability, if not similar intellectual pursuits. However, the truth is we are sometimes attracted to what is good for us, so Geminis might find love with emotional people who frustrate them moreso than people who are always compatible with them intellectually.

Sources:
JanSpiller.com
Zodiac Signs
Wikipedia

Gemini (22 May-22 June) - Element: Air, Quality: Mutable, Ruler: Mercury

Intellectual, always in motion (mentally or physically), seeks mental stimulation, curious, communicative, social, interested in considering the “options”, easily bored, can be superficial.

Like Aries, Gemini can be easily bored with things. However, unlike Aries, it is the mental stimulation Gemini is after. A happy Gemini is a Gemini with a book of logic puzzles and a new, self-motivated research project going. If you need someone who can think fast, then Gemini should be one of your first choices.

Being such an intellectual makes some aspects of life a bit more difficult to deal with – namely emotions. While they are a fascinating subject to learn about, dealing with them personally isn’t always the most fun thing to do despite the engagement of head and heart both being best in most situations.

Geminis will likely try to make emotions logical and/or avoid feeling them altogether. As long as Gemini accepts feelings as his/her own, things can only get better because of that ability to step back from the situation and look at it from the outside. Emotions can be good things, we promise! They can even lead to bigger and better ideas…

Gemini will fall in love most likely with someone of similar intellectual ability, if not similar intellectual pursuits. However, the truth is we are sometimes attracted to what is good for us, so Geminis might find love with emotional people who frustrate them moreso than people who are always compatible with them intellectually.

Sources:
JanSpiller.com
Zodiac Signs
Wikipedia

Taurus (21 April-21 May) - Element: Earth, Quality: Fixed, Ruler: Venus

Solid, dependable, loyal, slow moving, relies on own efforts, sensual, builds lasting results “step by step”, seeks to create comfortable environments, strong values, can be stubborn.

With the determination to get things done – no matter how long it takes – Taurus enjoys the world for with it is. Able to look around and enjoy without having to do something with it, that definitely doesn’t mean that Taurus doesn’t get involved in projects.

In fact, Taurus always has a project going – often a project that s/he has been working on ‘slowly but surely’ for a long time. In the rare times Taurus doesn’t have a project, you can be s/he is simply taking time to think about what the next project should be.

While this patient determination is good in many aspects, it’s not so great for others. Taurus is earthy through and through and doesn’t find much interest in contemplating the afterlife or debating philosophy. The world is here, I am living, I have stuff to do and I’m going to enjoy it to the fullest whether you like it or not.

While Taurus prides in his/her step by step project directions and goals, s/he should be aware that looking outside the box isn’t always a bad thing. One mind can’t hold all the possibilities, so as much as you might dislike it, listening to others might help you become more productive.

The Taurus mate should have enough patience for the Taurus, but then again, it might be good for the Taurus to have a bit of a shake up from one of the more energetic and impatient signs. Either way, sensuality and sexuality is a must, no matter if they need to spout philosophy every once in a while or not.

Sources:
JanSpiller.com
Zodiac Signs
Wikipedia

Aries (21 March-20 April) - Element: Fire, Quality: Cardinal, Ruler: Mars

Excited, bold, daring, independent, energetic, seeks to discover self through experiences, competitive, confronts, quick temper, innocent, feisty, amorous, eager, can be selfish.

Exciting! Bold! Daring! That’s our Aries, alright. With a slightly Piscean sense of self and the world, Aries wants to take action and go forward. Discovery and conquest (and not to mention romance) are definitely on the agenda.

With the Aries person, all is possible and life is just another situation to conquer through. Battle can be everywhere you so choose. After all, life is all about love and war, isn’t it? And both lovers and wars can be won if you have the right strategy.

While all this enthusiasm is a wonderful thing, it can also get the Aries in trouble in that thinking without acting is often a problem. With so many battles going on right now, who can waste so much time thinking about the future?

That’s not to say that our Aries-born friends don’t think about the future, but the heat of battle is a strong call, and the future doesn’t always have a strategic reason to think about it.

Inspiration is a strong suit of the Aries, but follow-through…not so much. It’s okay to get bored with things as long as you don’t just quit and know who to hand things over to.

As you can imagine, Aries-born have hot, fiery relationships most of the time, and if someone can’t handle the heat… Even so, it might take someone a bit more calm and reserved to keep the Aries energy and attentions in check. As long as that person doesn’t desire to be known as the ‘in charge’ one in the relationship.

Sources:
JanSpiller.com
Zodiac Signs
Wikipedia

Pisces (20 February-20 March) - Element: Water, Quality: Mutable, Rulers: Jupiter Neptune

Loving, accepting, gentle, healing, sensitive to invisible forces, subtle, psychic, dreamy, romantic, impressionable, comfortable with chaos, seeks unconditional love, non-combative, can be misleading.

Pisces. Our empaths, sensitives, psychics and all-around ‘there is more to this life’ believers. To Pisces, this ordinary routine we call daily life can often seem boring and unfulfilling. Like a master storyteller, Pisces can make this world seem magical and much more than it is by thoughts, words and philosophies of life.

And yet, it’s because of that dreamy, philosophical view that Pisces can sometimes get in trouble. With the Piscean aversion to most conflict, a Pisces can give in too easily to the demands of others. Alternatively, a Pisces might turn too demanding when it comes to attention and getting it.

Pisces need to check into their own lives often enough to make sure they aren’t on the extreme ends of the spectrum – attention users or sacrifice-driven abused. As long as they are doing things that make themselves happy and doesn’t harm others, everything is good.

Pisces in love can be a beautiful thing to see if they find the right mate. With a lot of devotion to give and empathy to what is happening in the relationship, Pisces can be your ideal mate if you want someone to instinctually be in tune with you and your feelings.

The danger for the Pisces lovers is finding lovers who soak up all that attention like a sponge, leaving you feeling dry and tired. The key is to find someone who likes the attention but is okay without it. Cooling and warming periods are to be expected – and more importantly, respected – especially in a relationship where at least one partner is so sensitive.

Sources:
JanSpiller.com
Zodiac Signs
Wikipedia

Aquarius (20 January-19 February) - Element: Air, Quality: Fixed, Rulers: Saturn Uranus

Friendly, open, objective, communicative, interested in others, seeks equality, likes to be different, future-oriented, humanitarian, friends are important, can be opinionated.

Aquarians. Great friends to talk to and always encouraging of people getting what they deserve, they can be just the ego boost you need in your life to take things into your own hands and go for it. Like Capricorns, their opinions often come from a good place, even if they can get occasionally annoying to others.

Aquarians need to be a bit careful when it comes to doing it all for the team. It’s easy to get sucked into team spirit when you don’t have a lot of spirit and enthusiasm for yourself or your ideas. It’s okay to say no and it’s good to pursue your own goals, dreams, and ideas.

They also need to be careful in that aspect when it comes to beliefs. Words may sound pretty, but words without action can be unsatisfying and easily trapping. While communication is a strong suit for our Aquarian friend, opinions can get too strong and puts people away. Do what you want to do; put your actions behind your words and ideas.

When it comes to the Aquarian love scene, it’s not that they can’t show love, they just sometimes don’t. The Aquarian inclination is to sometimes keep a distance even with lovers who listen and don’t mind the distance so much.

Even so, if the Aquarian sign opens up a little, takes a few chances, and indulges in the love that might be scarily strong (at first), s/he might find feelings of self-worth and confidence soar.

Sources:
JanSpiller.com
Zodiac Signs
Wikipedia

Capricorn (23 December-19 January) – Element: Earth / Quality: Cardinal / Ruler: Saturn

Realistic, goal-oriented, sensible, ambitious, accepts responsibility, socially aware, values reputation and integrity, seeks successful outcomes, can be opportunistic.

Ah, Capricorns. They are some of our leaders, bankers, and quiet planners who usually seem to know the right things to do and exactly where problems lie in society. While they may seem a bit harsh around the edges sometimes, their feelings usually come from a truly good and meaningful place.

However, those feelings of duty and wanting to put the world in a better place can sometimes get our responsible Capricorns in a bit of trouble with some of the more prickly or sensitive signs. Capricorns need to be careful to present their views in gentle ways.

You also need to make sure to have fun. It’s all to easy for Capricorns to take on more work than they can handle and stop having the fun that helps them bond with friends, family, and lovers. Taking out time for the pleasures in life is something the Capricorns don’t always find easy and child Capricorns often become more like adults faster than other children.

While it might not always be the obvious type, Capricorns do like romance and the feelings of loyalty associated with such relationships. The Capricorn likes an open mate who will like the Capricorn’s dependability. Fiery partners may find themselves attracted to the loyalty, but these relationships usually either work out well or don’t work at all. There isn’t a lot of grey area.

Sources:
JanSpiller.com
Zodiac Signs
Wikipedia

While I don’t often participate in the things that float around the internet here like tags and ‘do this or that’ days, I think this day is a good idea. I would like to take time away from what we have been talking about – Western astrology – so I can talk about reader appreciation.

I am a big fan of gratitude and I think it is something many of us don’t have enough of and a state of being many of us don’t spend enough time in. It is truly amazing how much gratitude, even in the simple gesture of saying ‘thank you’, can make another person’s day that much better.

And yet, how often do you get thanked when you do things for other people? How often do you say thank you to others who do things for you?

Thank you cards after a wedding, birthday or other celebration might be a bit of a pain to do, but letting people know you appreciate them in even that little way can go a long way to your friendship. You may feel like the thank you was ignored or just tossed aside, but the lack of it would have had a much bigger (and negative) reaction.

Though I know there are few and they are very quiet, I would like to say thank you to the people who are readers here. Whether you comment or not, whether you agree or disagree with what I have to say, I do appreciate you for coming here – even if only for one time – and reading a bit about what I have to say.

While it may be strange coming across the internet like this, I truly do appreciate each and every person who comes here.

Be well and at peace,

Aura

When it comes to Western astrology, things can get a bit complicated when you talk about charting down to the precise degree, what planets are in what houses, what ascendants are, what your lunar sign is… There are quite a lot of components to learn about.

For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to give you some terms and definitions you should know. Call them astrology basics (even though I will probably miss something that another astrologer considers basic but absolutely necessary to know).

Your Chart: Your personal chart is a circle mapping out the position of the planets (plus the sun and moon) in particular houses at the time of your birth. The 360 degree circle is split into twelve 30 degree houses…

Houses: Each 30 degree ‘slice’ of your chart is a house, and each house has its own meaning. Houses are what lie behind our urges in life. In astrology there are ten planets and twelve houses, so the houses with no planets are the areas of life you aren’t particularly interested in. The more planets you have in one house, the more focused on that area of life you are going to be.

Signs: The signs are probably what you already know about. There are twelve signs, including Capricorn, Aries, Saggitarius, etc, and each of these signs, like the houses, have their own meanings and basic personality traits.

Aspects: Aspects are the relationships between planets. There are different categories planetary relationships fall into. For example, if you imagine your chart as a clock and have one planet at 9.00 and one planet at 3.00, these planets are in opposition. As you can imagine, the urges associated with the planets in opposition ‘battle it out’ in our personalities.

Of course, things definitely get more complicated than that, but I’m just here to point out the basics. If you want to learn more, that’s up to you.

From checking our horoscope to the newspaper to taking our personal chart to an astrologer, many people have at least a slight interest in modern western astrology. ‘Western’ astrology? The kind with twelve zodiac signs, all of which have corresponding calendar dates equaling up to a year.

I like checking my horoscope when I can. It’s amusing when it’s right on and not surprising when it has nothing to do with what’s going on in my life at the time (which is the case, most of the time). I put a bit more credibility into it when an astrologer takes a look at my personal chart, but even then things…aren’t quite right.

Obviously modern western astrology – or any astrology for that matter – is by no means an exact science. However, there is one big thing that could be leading to a lot of the ‘not quite right’ statements…

The problem with modern astrology is that it still uses the planet positions from hundreds of years ago. Do you feel like your horoscope only ‘kind of’ fits you? Or perhaps you don’t fit your zodiac sign whatsoever but find yourself fitting another sign. That could be because the planets have drifted since then but there hasn’t been any accommodation of that fact in modern astrology.

That is also why some people feel more ‘in tune’ with their Chinese zodiac sign and element. The Chinese zodiac is based on year as well as time of year to get a better ‘feel’ for zodiac influences on personality.

This is not to say that modern western astrology can’t tell us anything about our lives. With the use of a personal chart, astrologers can tell you a lot – a lot more than your weekly horoscope in the local newspaper, that’s for sure.

Here’s a quiz to see what your ‘true’ zodiac sign is. It’s not a serious method of determining this, but it might be fun and interesting to you anyway.

Quiz

Despite being one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions, the number of followers of this religion are around 200,000.

Origins: “The religion was founded by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster in Greek; Zarthosht in India and Persia). Conservative Zoroastrians assign a date of 6000 BCE to the founding of the religion; other followers estimate 600 BCE. Historians and religious scholars generally date his life sometime between 1500 and 1000 BCE on the basis of his style of writing.” [Source]

Not much is known about Zoroaster’s early life, but he is said to have had a divine vision at about age thirty and believed in one creator God. He claimed that the polytheistic deities of the age were evil spirits.

Beliefs: In the three-fold path - good thoughts, good words, and good deeds - is the way to keep chaos, which humanity (as well as other elements) is at battle with, at bay. Concern is placed with the soul, not the body, even in religious rituals related to death.

God: They believe that there is only one God who created everything. Their God’s - Ahura Mazda - creation is the antithesis of chaos, evident as falsehood and disorder. Ahura Mazda will ultimately prevail, at which point the universe will undergo a cosmic renovation and time will end.

Principles:
*Their worship includes prayers and symbolic ceremonies.

* Members are dedicated to a three-fold path, as shown in their motto: “Good thoughts, good words, good deeds.”

* Members can pray at home instead of going to a temple if they wish.

*Zoroastrians do not generally accept converts. One has to be born into the religion. This belief is disputed by some members.

*The traditional wing of Zoroastrianism discourages and does not recognize inter-faith marriages.

Other sources of information:
Zoroastrianism @ Wikipedia
Zoroastrianism @ Religious Tolerance
Zoroastrianism @ BBC
Zoroastrianism.com

Taoism - pronounced Daoism - is another religion/philosophy combination dating back to traditions from thousands of years ago. “Tao” is translated to “the path” or “the way”.

Origins: “The founder of Taoism is believed by many to be Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE), a contemporary of Confucius… Taoism started as a combination of psychology and philosophy but evolved into a religious faith in 440 CE when it was adopted as a state religion. At that time Lao-Tse became popularly venerated as a deity. Taoism, along with Buddhism and Confucianism, became one of the three great religions of China. With the end of the Ch’ing Dynasty in 1911, state support for Taoism ended. Much of the Taoist heritage was destroyed during the next period of warlordism. After the Communist victory in 1949, religious freedom was severely restricted.” [Source]

Beliefs: Taoism is a combination of various teachings and philosophies, and is not a unified religion. Different branches of Taoism have different beliefs, but there are core beliefs that nearly all who follow Taoism share. (See: Principles)

God: The traditional Chinese religion is polytheistic. There are many dieties who compose an hierarchy that mirrors the bureaucracy of Imperial China. These deities may be promoted or demoted for their actions and some deities are exalted humans. Deities worshiped vary according to geographical regions and historical periods in China, though the general pattern of worship is more constant.

Principles: “Taoism theology emphasizes various themes found in the Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi, such as naturalness, vitality, peace, “non-action” (wu wei), emptiness (refinement), detachment, the strength of softness (or flexibility), receptiveness, spontaneity, the relativism of human ways of life, ways of speaking and guiding behavior.” [Source]

Other sources of information:
Taoism @ Wikipedia
Taoism @ Religious Tolerance
Taoism @ Religious Worlds
Taoism.net