The COG Blog

This article is not about how to trap a man and get him to be yours forever and ever but the ways women often trap men into falling flat on their faces. Quite often women set men up for failure, and then get upset when they (the women) feel hurt, slighted, or unloved. Every woman has the right to feel unloved if the person she is involved with is not showing loving behavior towards her. The problem is, some women attach feeling “unloved” to every little thing.

Now if your boyfriend or husband knows it is your birthday and doesn’t wish you a happy birthday, get you anything, or acknowledge it in any way shape or form, sure, you can feel upset and hurt and rightfully so. BUT, if you told your man not to do anything for your birthday and did not WANT it acknowledged in any way shape or form WHY are you now upset because he didn’t?  Sorry, that one is on you. You set him up to hurt you.

Why play games like that where everyone loses? If the man in your life responds to your telephone messages and emails right away, but hates texting and does not respond to texts, WHY ARE YOU INSISTING ON TEXTING HIM? So you can get mad at him? Why force the text issue where there are other ways of communicating? And if that isn’t bad enough, some women have men that are basically good, show loving behavior towards them, treat them well, but the ONE time he doesn’t do what she wants he MUST not love her. Really? Grow up.

People will not always do everything perfect, and you won’t either. Sometimes you have to look at the big picture, not every little thing all by itself. So he screwed up one time. Let it slide unless of course it is a BIG screw-up. If you were the perfect employee and had ONE bad day, would you want your future with the company, your reputation, your bonus, and your pay to be judged on that ONE day? Hell no. You would insist that all your hard work over the years count for something. Well, it is the same in relationships too.

If you ask him stupid questions like “What don’t you like about me?” then you are obviously looking for a fight if you can’t hear the answer and suck it up like an adult. Don’t ask for the truth unless you are ready to hear it and behave like an adult.

If every person could read everyone else’s mind there would BE no relationships. Think about some of the thoughts and feelings that go through your head on a daily basis. What if the people in your life heard them all? Would they hate you right now? Would they even be speaking to you right now? Would you even have a job if your boss heard every thought in your head? Probably NOT.

So, why snoop and read emails he sends to other people? What are you really looking for? If your relationship sucks that bad that you need to find out if he is cheating, checking into things is not so bad. But do you have to read the email he sends his mother or best friend?

The bottom line is that relationships are hard enough, and if you have a good one, be glad you do, and don’t look for ways to cause trouble or ways to sabotage it.

To the masses, Valentine’s Day evokes thoughts of chocolate, flowers, romance, cards, and cherubic angels shooting us with arrows. I also understand there are special diamonds, jewelry, lingerie and secret indulgences you can buy your ‘valentine’….but when did all the madness, attributed to this day, begin? I don’t know about the rest of you, but I started seeing Valentine’s Day displays in the stores the day after they cleaned out most of the Christmas crap, thinking to myself “Hey don’t throw that Christmas stuff out, we could use it for Valentine’s Day, after all it is red and white..!” Come to think of it… St. Valentine does look an awful lot like St. Nicholas, but I digress.

Sadly today’s society views Valentine’s Day as more of an obligation ~ forced upon the masses as a whole, telling us we better recognize our ’sweetheart’ with flowers and fluff or they will resent us for the rest of the year. I just saw something on MSN today ‘10 Days Left to make sure you are not in the Dog House’…or something to that effect. I mean, seriously folks, come one, when did it turn to this? I am not quite sure how it became such an obligation… or expectation …. but personally I blame it on Hallmark.

Valentine’s Day originated from pagan customs of Ancient Rome in 300-400 B.C, where on February 14^th and 15^th the Romans celebrated Lupercalia. During this festival they practiced the ritual of the sacred sexual union, the Heiros Gamos, on February 14^th, to honor Juno Fructifier, Queen of the Roman gods and goddesses as well as goddess of marriage.

As part of this celebration, maiden’s names in were placed in boxes, I am sure without the pink and red doilies. These “love notes” were called “billets.” A young man would draw a name and the maiden was his sex partner for the coming year commencing in March until the next February celebration. The matches were primarily for the sexual union of the Hieros Gamos but it was not unusual for the pairings to end in marriage. The couples who were matched together would be considered partners for the coming year, commencing in March, and would last until the next February celebration.

On February 15^th, the Ides of February, the Romans celebrated Luperaclia, honoring Lupercal, the wolf god. Additionally they honored Faunus, god of fertility as well as Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome who were as legend states, raised by a she-wolf. The Festival of Lupercalia involved priests and Vestal Virgins (don’t care much for the priests but vestal virgins are cool). The Luperci priests would go to a grotto dedicated to Lupercal, the wolf god, located at the foot of Palatine Hill.

The men would sacrifice a goat, don its skin, and run, walk and dance around the Palatine Hill to purify it while whipping young maidens with a goat skinned thong called a “februa” ~ an act which was supposed to ensure fertility. The act of such lashings or whippings was known as februatio…both this word and the word februa come from the Latin meaning “to purify.” The Romans believed that the middle or the ‘ides’ of the month was when that month’s life force was at its peak which gave them an excuse to party and perform the sacred rite of sexual union with the added effect of purifying the women from curses, bad luck and infertility by flagellating them with the februa. Hmmmmmmmm, interesting! It is all starting to make sense now.

Regardless of its origins, today Valentine’s Day is a highly over-commercialized western celebration. The Greeting Card Association estimates that some billion valentines are sent per year. If you are single on this day, remember it only lasts for 24-hours, and most of the people receiving Valentine’s tokens, gifts or flowers from their ‘loved ones’ are doing so out of obligation, threats, and the over-commercialization of a day that Hallmark rakes in the $$$- cha-ching!!! I am sure that by this time next year we will all be decorating our V-Day Trees ~ with hearts, flowers and cupids ~ while sitting on St. Valentine’s lap telling him what we want (or expect), fighting for the last box of chocolates or bunch of roses in the grocery store – knocking someone down in an effort to grab them out of their hands – all the while thinking LOVING thoughts.

Saturn (the planet of restriction) and Pluto, known as the God of the Underworld, and the harbinger of change and transformation, are square, and opposing the Venus (square-90 degrees/represents obstacles, an opposition/180 degrees represents change and opposition from other parties) in America’s chart at 3 degrees of Cancer. Venus, rules beauty and the female sex, along with money and values.

Saturn entered Libra, the natural ruler of the seventh house of the zodiac, associated with marriage and partnerships on October 30, and with the exception of a brief, 4 month return to Virgo in April, 2010, it will remain there until October of 2012. Libra is ruled by Venus, and Saturn’s transit through Libra will bring restrictions to all things of a Venusian nature. This includes the female sex, marriage, relationships, money, art, and beauty, which would include cosmetic surgery.

Are American Women Being Screwed?
As the US Congress continues debate over changes in health care, a study was released within the past month recommending fewer mammograms and pap smears as well as beginning these types of cancer screenings at a later age. Not everyone agrees with these findings, including many in the medical community. The recommendations represent a major shift in screening for breast cancer, and The American Cancer Society, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and the American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Commission have all published statements on their web sites disagreeing with the new guidelines, and recommending that physicians and insurance companies continue to provide biennial mammograms for women between 40 and 49 and annual mammograms thereafter.

Furthermore, a 10 % tax is being discussed that would be placed on all plastic surgery deemed not necessary for medical reasons.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 86 per cent of all plastic surgery is preformed on women, of which 60 % earn a household income of between $30-90,000. Most women and working women agree that there is societal pressure to maintain a youthful and attractive appearance, and few would disagree that age discrimination in the job place exists, particularly toward women.

The question that should be asked is, ‘Are women actually the target of cuts and taxes in proposed Health Care Reform?’

Astrologically, the answer is Yes, unless radical changes occur, and women step up to the plate and prevent the powers that be from targeting these and other medical procedures.

This observation is based on the fact that Saturn is currently squaring Venus (at 3 degrees of Cancer) in America’s chart, and will continue to do so through early winter of 2010. Pluto, the planet of transformation and change is opposing the Venus in America’s chart throughout much of 2010, and will become exact on December 23, 2009-January 20, 2010, and again later in the year. These two planets represent a restrictive, force/clash that will effect women in America in a potentially adverse way.

The same transiting planets also tell us what the state of the economy will be in 2010 and that will be the subject of future newsletters.

In addition to the Saturn/Pluto/Venus energy that is occurring, Jupiter and Neptune will hook up in the form of a conjunction becoming exact on December 21. This represents infectious diseases, but it also represents illusion, confusion and lies and deception around the medical and drug industries. The combination of Jupiter and Neptune in Aquarius may represent something that appears to be of interest in a way that would relate to a type of ‘world-view’ but the combination does not necessarily lend itself to the truth. What appears to be positive, will likely indeed turn out to be untrue.

Next year, Neptune, the planet of illusion, delusion and confusion, will conjunct America’s Moon (representing women) and I call this transit, ‘asleep at the wheel.’  If there was ever a time for women to take a proactive approach to their healthcare, the time is now.

This month’s full moon occurs on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 1;18 AM, EST at 10 degrees of Leo. Leo is the natural ruler of the fifth house of children, friends and love affairs, so it is within these areas in a general sense, we will experience much of the full moon energy. Leo is the sign of the showman (or woman) and the energy is dramatic and intense. It is time to experience the child within yourself! Just don’t resort to childish actions or manipulations, and be aware that you could experience these types of behavior from others’ around you during the peak hours of this full moon.

Full moon energy starts to occur days before the full moon becomes exact, and most astrologers use 3-4 days before and after in terms of timing for the events that will play out. On Wednesday, January 27, as we are coming into the full moon, Venus, the planet of love and money will oppose Mars at at 11 degrees of Aquarius.

This transit will involve shifts in the financial markets, and men and women may have opposing viewpoints. As a matter of fact, it may represent a clash between the two sexes. And speaking of sex, sexual energies may be heightened, but the energy is purely sexual in nature, as opposed to warm and loving. The attraction may be there, but it is up to you which way to direct the energy, and misunderstandings can occur on a number of fronts, especially in the realms of love and money.

Thursday, January 28, the Sun opposes Mars, creating an atmosphere prone to agitation, ego’s out of control, and the potential for accidents, even violence on the world stage. Mars can make you feel that it is important to express your feelings, especially angry feelings. The best way that I have found to deal with Mars is to let the energy pass; let a few hours or days go by and see how the difference of a day changes things. Usually the urge to express yourself at all costs changes, and the things that seemed important to say, often are not– given 24 hours. No matter how you cut the pie, this volatile Mars energy is coming in on top of the full moon creating tension and agitation that must be acknowledged one way or another.

As the full moon is at 10 degrees of Leo, it is within 1 degree of being conjunct Mars at 9 degrees of Leo. This is a super-charged full moon with a lot of energy that must be used constructively in some way, as emotions and feelings will be running at an all time high. It has the potential, if the energy is not used constructively, of turning volatile and we will see this energy play out one way or another on the news.

Of course the most important transit that is occurring along with this full moon is the Saturn-Pluto square that is exact through the first 9 days of February,and remains within orb throughout this winter. This transit doesn’t need anything more to set it off, but that is precisely what a full moon will do. Fortunately the full moon in Leo isn’t squaring or opposing this configuration, but it will add a great deal more energy to it, nevertheless.

Saturn squaring Pluto creates situations involving a great deal of frustration in the business world, as well as relationships of all types. It creates delays and points out what our limitations are. I refer to it as a ‘ruthless force, as the energy of Saturn and Pluto create an inability to move forward. it is dangerous and volatile and the world will be a better place when this square passes.

The energy will start to diminish and lighten up some after the first 9 days of February. But, the energy of this transit isn’t gone until it’s gone. The combination is so volatile individually and in the world, the last time we had a hard transit between Saturn and Pluto was in the days preceding 9-11.So, be careful, don’t get too carried away with anything and use the energy to it’s fullest potential.

The highest and best possible use of full moon energy in Leo is to discover the inner child within yourself and finding out what that little voice inside really seeks. In terms of activities, we can all use a little more fun these days, and the fifth house represents children, social activities, restaurants, wherever you go for fun! Good Luck!