Cusp

A New Year’s Eve Poem

© 2014 - 2018 by Joyce Mason

 Winding down:

quiet as snow falling

Calendar switching

hushed as a church

before midnight

Darkness

awaits

dawn

A patient lover

at the train station 

of tomorrow.

New Year’s cusp:

no party

champagne

streamers

confetti

Kissing only Change

at midnight

Tenderness

relishing the pure

white landscape

of infinite possibility.

~~~

Photo Credit: © Agneskantaruk | Dreamstime.com - Winter Landscape At Twilight Photo

Food for Funny: New Year’s Resolutions Around the Zodiac

© 2010-2017 by Joyce Mason

Resolutions: Do you do them? Aim to do them but never get around to it? Wish you had the discipline? Write them but are lucky to stick with one of them for the first few days of the New Year?

Your ultimate “out” of this annual exercise in futility also happens to be the truth. The real New Year, from an astrological perspective, is Spring Equinox—not one week past the cusp of winter. What could grow in that hardened soil with rain or snow pelting it to smithereens? Neither flowers, resolutions, nor good intentions. But if you still insist on living by a calendar out of sync with the stars and seasons—to remain bent on playing society’s silly game of writing resolutions off-cycle with the earth and sky, here’s how you might find yourself—or some of your friends.

Aries:  I will count to 10 before I blow up. (1…2…$^&**+$#_!!!)

Taurus: I resolve to finish my holiday candy and gingerbread, savoring each bite.

Gemini: I’m good at writing. Doorbell. Hi, Max! Oh, I have to TiVo my four programs that are on at the same time. What am I supposed to do again? My phone is ringing.

Cancer:  I have no time for this; I have children to take care of. It’s none of your business that they’re past their midlife transits.

Leo: I resolve to make more Me Time!

Virgo: Of course, I’m on it. I’ve been working on them since Autumn Equinox. I still have more editing to do.

Libra: I’ll get to it if my honey will do it with me.

Scorpio: They’re for me to know and for you not to find out.

Sagittarius:  I resolve to get more of everything!

Capricorn: I resolve to get more of everything and chair the corporation that gives it to me!

Aquarius: I resolve to do my part to make peace on earth, even if it involves protests.

Pisces: I’ve vaguely heard of them, but I just go with the flow. I think it’s something you’re supposed to stick to. What are they, again?

~~~

Photo Credit: Old and New Years © Dennis Cox | Dreamstime.com

Related Post:  New Year's Quotes for the Signs

Send some of your own zodiac sign resolutions in the Comments. Happy New Year from The Radical Virgo!

The Crystal Ball makes a perfect romp of a read, a page-turner as laugh-inducing as champagne bubbles. Set at a longevity association's New Year's Eve and 25th anniversary party, strange costumes, goings-on and a major mystery spice up the calendar turn for a group of do-gooders out to preserve themselves and the planet. 

Radical Reprise: New Year’s Quotes for the Signs

Aries ~ New Year's Day is every man's birthday. ~Charles Lamb

Taurus ~ Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account. ~Oscar Wilde

Gemini ~ May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions. ~Joey Adams

Cancer ~ It wouldn't be New Year's if I didn't have regrets. ~William Thomas

Leo ~ Every man regards his own life as the New Year's Eve of time. ~Jean Paul Richter

Virgo ~ People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas. ~Author Unknown

Bonus for All Signs: A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.

Libra ~ The only way to spend New Year's Eve is either quietly with friends or in a brothel. Otherwise when the evening ends and people pair off, someone is bound to be left in tears. ~W.H. Auden

Scorpio ~ New Year's Eve, where auld acquaintance be forgot. Unless, of course, those tests come back positive. ~Jay Leno

Sagittarius ~ New Year's Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. ~Mark Twain

Capricorn ~ Of all sound of all bells... most solemn and touching is the peal which rings out the Old Year. ~Charles Lamb

Aquarius ~ Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. ~Oprah Winfrey

Pisces ~ Many people look forward to the new year for a new start on old habits. ~Author Unknown

~~~

Photo credit: AND I QUOTE © Zitramon Dreamstime.com, decked out for New Year’s by Joyce and her clip art.


More Quotes for the Signs. Quotes for the Signs #1, Quotes #2, Quotes #3, Quotes #4, and Holiday Quotes for the Signs.

The Crystal Ball makes a perfect romp of a read, a page-turner as laugh-inducing as champagne bubbles. Set at a longevity association's New Year's Eve and 25th anniversary party, strange costumes, goings-on and a major mystery spice up the calendar turn for a group of do-gooders out to preserve themselves and the planet.

Kindle edition only $2.99

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Holiday Quotes for the Signs - 2009 Reprised

© 2009 - 2017
by Joyce Mason
All Rights Reserved


These gems apply, regardless of reference, to Christmas, Chanukah, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa—whatever you celebrate.

~ “Joyce Noël” from The Radical Virgo!

Aries: Don't celebrate a holiday before it arrives. ~ Author Unknown

Taurus: Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice. ~ Dave Berry

Gemini: Even as an adult I find it difficult to sleep on Christmas Eve. Yuletide excitement is a potent caffeine, no matter your age. ~Carrie Latet

Cancer: No self-respecting mother would run out of intimidations on the eve of a major holiday. ~ Erma Bombeck

Need holiday shopping ideas? Check out: The Fairy Godmother Wands You!

Leo: There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child. ~ Erma Bombeck

Virgo: If I were a medical man, I should prescribe a holiday to any patient who considered his work important. ~ Bertrand Russell

Libra: Love the giver more than the gift. ~ Brigham Young

Scorpio: Come to me. I want to plow you like a Calgary driveway at Christmas. ~ John Cleese, "Monty Python"

Bonus for All Signs: The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. This wasn't for any religious reasons. They couldn't find three wise men and a virgin. ~ Jay Leno

Sagittarius: The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk. This drunkenness culminates on New Year's Eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person you're married to. ~ P.J. O’Rourke

Capricorn: When you like your work, every day’s a holiday. ~ Frank Tyger

Aquarius:  Peace on Earth--You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom. ~ Malcolm X

Pisces: Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. ~ Hamilton Wright Mabie
~~~

Photo credit: AND I QUOTE © Zitramon | Dreamstime.com, decked out for the holidays by Joyce and her clip art.

Need more holiday inspiration? Have an epiphany on Hot Flashbacks, Cool Insights

More Quotes for the Signs. Quotes for the Signs #1, Quotes #2, Quotes #3, and Quotes #4.

Holiday Quotes for the Signs ~ 2011 Reprised

 

Happy Yule and Merry
Whatever You Celebrate!

Here are some winter holiday season quotes for the each of the signs with a few inspirations for all of us, sprinkled in-between.

ARIES: Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart. 

~Victor Hugo

TAURUS: Christmas brings enormous electric bills.  Candles are used for Hanukkah.  Not only are we spared enormous electric bills, but we get to feel good about not contributing to the energy crisis.
 

~KOACH Humor, "Holiday Distinctions Finally Explained" (KOACH College Outreach is a project of The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism)

GEMINI:  One kind word can warm three winter months. ~Japanese proverb

 CANCER:  Christmas is a time when you get homesick--even when you're home.  

~Carol Nelson

"Put on your yarmulke,
Here comes Hanukkah!
So much funukah,
To celebrate Hanukkah!
Hanukkah is the festival of lights.
Instead of one day of presents, we have eight crazy nights."

~ Adam Sandler

LEO: I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.  
 

~ Charles Dickens

VIRGO: One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day.  Don't clean it up too quickly.  

~Andy Rooney

"I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up – they have no holidays."

~Henry Youngman

LIBRA: Remember this December that love weighs more than gold!

~Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon

SCORPIO: I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars. 

~Og Mandino

SAGITTARIUS: Perhaps the best Yuletide decoration is being wreathed in smiles.  

~Author Unknown

CAPRICORN: Christmas begins about the first of December with an office party and ends when you finally realize what you spent, around April fifteenth of the next year. 

~P.J. O'Rourke

AQUARIUS: Yuletide excitement is a potent caffeine, no matter your age. 

~Terri Guillemets

PISCES:  A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.

~Garrison Keillor

~~~

Photo Credit:  © lordalea - Fotolia.com

Want More Quotes for the Signs?  Enter “quotes signs” in the Search Box on this blog. In addition to the eight Quote for the Signs already featured, you’ll find special quotes for additional holidays like Valentine’s and St. Patrick’s Day, as well as more surprises.

The New Cardinal Quarterly newsletter is out, complete with a one-third off discount on your 2012 astrology reading through January 16 and an annotated article index for The Radical Virgo, 2009-11. Sign up at the top of the sidebar, if you don't already subscribe!

Winter Wonderland

.

A Winter Solstice Poem

© 2017 by Joyce Mason

They are quiet places,

Beauty and Awe,

retreats from the cyclone of modern life,

invisible churches:

Temples where wonder enters softly

with each in-spiration,

 the power of breath

the power of creation.

Snowflakes fall, children smile, it's palpable:

the eternal warmth of love and family
actual, chosen or imagined.

Seasonal symbols prime the inner song that sings you

into the light of every day.
O, Holy Night.

At this time where countless candles flicker,

we revisit our Light Source,

reborn in Wonder

in tune with our heartsong

and the joining of all hearts beating together:

Peace.

Photo Credit:  © robsonphoto - Fotolia.com

Humor: Carols and Tinsel Time Tunes ‘Round the Zodiac

© 2013 by Joyce Mason

All Rights Reserved

See Comment Contest about this cartoon at the bottom of the post.

Every holiday carol is likely to be loved by some signs more than others. I asked my alter ego, Auntie Joyce, to scratch her head and share her ideas and acerbic wit on which holiday tunes go with which singers in the zodiac. Here’s a taste of her which-craft!

Aries: "We Need a Little Christmas (Right This Very Minute!)” – OK, it’s not technically a carol, but this catchy tune from the musical Mame captures Aries impatience to a T. Besides, if you have to be first, you’d be singing a different tune because you’d be singing it before the carol season begins. If you insist it has to be a carol, “The First Noel” for obvious reasons ….

Taurus: “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” – With its sweet, almost sensuous peacefulness, this carol will appeal to the laid-back Bull, happy to envision angels bending near the earth (his or her element), touching their harps of gold. We know how Taurii love their gold.

Gemini: “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” – Gem’s a messenger, right? This song reminds me of Paul Revere running through the streets of urban America chanting, “The Santa is coming.” Besides, it’s about lists and checking them twice. Of course, one list would never do for the list-happy Gemini, unless it were Santa’s never-ending scroll. Gems just keep singing and fantasizing about the List to End All Lists. It’s almost better than sex.

Cancer: “Away in a Manger” – What Cancer with his or her strong inner parent wouldn’t worry for baby Jesus having no home or crib for his head? Who else would be more eager to sing about creating the comforts of home, even in a meager stable? Obvious runner-up: “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

Leo: “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Not that you’re hooked on romance or attention or anything, King or Queen of Everyone’s Heart.

Virgo:  “The Twelve Days of Christmas” – It’s complex, it’s wordy, it requires memorization. It’s a challenge to get right, and it offers no end of possibilities to critique those who can’t cut it.

Libra: “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” – With Libra’s bent for beauty, he or she would truly be disturbed to be missing these important smile props. Not to mention, it’s easier to kiss with good dentition. Gives the lips a good foundation and backdrop for the pressure of pursing and pressing against another’s. Runner-up: “The Peace Song.” (Let There Be Peace on Earth and Let it Begin with Me)

Scorpio: “O Come, All Ye Faithful” – Not that I’m saying Scorps are jealous or anything.

Sagittarius: “O, Hanukkah!” Jewish or Gentile, this catchy tune is likely to capture the heart of fiery Sag. Hanukkah’s a Festival of Lights, there’s gambling in a game of spinning the dreidel, it’s a religious celebration--and a party. Generous Sag has the opportunity to give eight days of gifts without having to memorize their names in reverse order. (See Virgo.) Runner up: “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”  for a title so tactless ... dare I say more?

Capricorn: “Up on the Rooftop” – Goats like to climb, and who knows? A He Goat might meet a reindeer babe up there. Girl Goats might meet a hunky deer. (Note to Cap: Avoid the one with the red nose. Possible lush and you know how they tend to get out of control.)

Aquarius: “Auld Lang Syne” – This traditional New Year’s tune is about friendship, the Water Bearer’s favorite form of love. It’s sung at parties where gregarious Aquarius shines when people are thinking of revolutions. (That’s resolutions, Aquarius.)

Pisces: “All Through the Night” – A traditional Welsh folk song about a sleeping child attended by angels, it’s a double-header for any pair of Fish. You can zzz out after being tucked in by heavenly beings. Runners up: “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” for the occasional Fish that drinks like one and "Blue Christmas" for those sensitive artiste types who cry in their beer before drinking it.

May your Inner Zodiac Singers always help you hit the high notes in life!

Happy Holidays from Joyce, “Auntie Joyce” and everyone at our house—to everyone at yours.

~~~

Photo Credit: © wetnose1 - Fotolia.com

 Carolers Cartoon Contest

There are only 11 carolers. Which sign is missing and why? Post your best explanations in the Comments!

Living Astrology: How to Prepare for Winter Solstice

Article © 2016 by Joyce Mason

The Winter Solstice is a sacred times of year—one where we’re meant to let go of outer concerns to contemplate our candlelit inner life—candlelit because it’s a season of waning light as we mourn the loss of sunshine and live in more darkness and the slowdown of nature. Our bodies become a church or temple in the soft light of meditation and from taking time to “just be.”

From a metaphysical perspective, it’s the time for rest, reassessment and simply being in harmony with all of nature as it hibernates or replenishes in the darker months of the year. Yet how many of us actually do this?

The earth-based religions are the most avid observers of the solstices and equinoxes, the Cardinal Crossings that mark the changes of season. Many of us no longer live on beat with nature, yet our zodiac is derived from these shifts. The truest way to celebrate the solstices and equinoxes is to spend more time in nature attuned to the Turning of the Wheel of Time—and to mark them in some ceremonial or reverent way.

In astrology we often quote the great Hermes Trismegistus, “As above, so below.” Yet many astrologers and astrology students stay focused on the sky and abstract symbolism of these changes, rather than digging their toes into the earth and feeling with all our senses the meaning of these turning points. We’re good at “as above” but not so hot on some of the more literal parts of “so below.”

Be Prepared: The Cardinal Rule to Access the Blessings of Winter Solstice

Long-time readers know that I’m wired for planning in my own astrology chart. Planning isn’t as easy for some people as it is for others, but to get the most out of winter solstice, advance planning is mandatory. The spirit of winter calls us inward on or about December 21 each year while the outer world is a nearly a maniacal vacuum, sucking us into frenzies of holiday activities and preparation. How do we rectify these opposing forces?

This year, we have a double pull inward as Mercury goes Retrograde on December 19. Hopefully, this will increase magnetism toward winter’s true purpose of introspection and hibernation--or at least as much deep rest as we human mammals will allow ourselves.

In practical terms, this means getting most of your running around, parties and marathon baking done by December 18. This post in early December may seem like not much warning, but it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. If you can front load the very active part of your season for the first three weeks of December, you’ll have the valuable, intangible gifts of winter under your tree. You’ll be in harmony with life on earth.

Ways to Meet Winter

As a Group. Indigenous people have taught us that these changes deserve ritual. As I’ve shared many times, I created a circle of like-minded women in 1988 with another friend to celebrate these key passages. Now in our 28^th year, the Solsisters continue to thrive on a patchwork quilt of multicultural spiritual ideas, sewn together with the thread of relevance to today’s spirit-minded people and their concerns. We find ourselves traveling the spiritual spectrum from the earliest days of Sun worship to gleaning the gold from today’s religions or sacred practices—and anything in-between. We have no barriers except that the prayers, ideas and tools resonate to us now.

For more on how we do this and to create ceremonies of your own, see the post Fully Seasoned: Astrology and Ritual and round it out with Silver Solstice. Is this your year to catalyze a life-changing practice to live astrology out loud?

Another idea: Create a group on Facebook or wherever your Astro- and metaphysically minded friends hang out. Talk about the season and its symbolism. Share prayers, poems and ideas for a virtual solstice celebration through the solstice itself.

The best Winter Solstice celebrations wax into and out of the Cardinal Crossing itself and involve both individual and group activities.

By yourself. Introverts will be happy to know that you can do the same thing, as we used to say when I was growing up, with “me, myself and I.” Since winter solstice heralds a season of going inward, it’s easier for those who already do that on a regular basis. Yet even the most gregarious Aquarius needs to take this Journey Within as autumn turns winter. Here are some ideas on honoring winter solstice on your own:

• Every day, take at least a 10 minute walk, regardless of weather. (OK, you can skip a day during a blizzard or monsoon.) Appreciate the smells, the beauty and the uniqueness of how nature is expressing itself now. Realize you are a part of it, and contemplate how you change during this seasonal shift. If possible, walk to or in the most natural setting you can find—harder for urbanites, but even New York has Central Park. Do it through December so that you can feel the changes in nature and energy from Sagittarius to Capricorn, autumn to winter.

• Collect some Yule prayers or poems and start each day with one of them from now until the Solstice.

• Set aside time for meditation daily, even if it’s only 10-15 minutes—or even one minute. I participated in an experiment with the Edgar Cayce's Association for Research and Enlightenment years ago,where we measured the results of these minute meditations. They were surprisingly centering, relaxing and uplifting. For an example of an amazing one-minute meditation to help heal the USA from all its divisiveness, see Wise USA’s Liberty Bell Minute Meditation.

• Read about the Yule/Winter Solstice and increase your knowledge of this amazing time of year. Recommendation: The Winter Solstice: The Sacred Traditions of Christmas by Matthews, John (October 1, 2003) Paperback by John Matthews, a lushly illustrated history of Yule, Christmas and other holidays surrounding the winter season. Try a simple internet search on winter solstice for starters.

• Read poems about winter and waning light. What do you learn?

• Wish people a Happy Yule or Solstice, and be prepared to answer questions from those who don’t get it—and embrace the joy of discovering kindred spirits among those who do.

Ditch Extremism

Let’s not get ridiculous about it. Since many people celebrate Christmas, Hannukkah, Kwanzaa and other holidays during this time of year, don’t figure on chanting Om in your meditation corner while the rest of the family revels. There’s no need to give up any of your own traditions, just add on. Dip in and out of the usual activity, and from honoring the winter in ways we have explored, you’ll find your interactions to be more meaningful. You’ll pop insights for further exploration during your winter downtime. You’ll be eager to get to the peace of falling snow from your front window or from the window of your soul.

My journey with the Solsisters started with Winter Solstice, so my entire ceremonial alter ego, where I become a “groovy urban goddess” several times a year, revolves and evolves around this turning point. Over time, you’re likely to merge with each shift of season, find its highest good and expression. Best of all, you’ll feel part of something much bigger—the universe and our star, Earth. Or to share my favorite affirmation I learned from Spring Forest Qigong:

"I am in the universe. The universe is in me. The universe and I are one." —Chunyi Lin

~~~

Photo Credit:  © Charles Henry – Fotolia.com