Category Archives: Taurus

How I Lost my Sanity 2

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“The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of understanding.” Hermes

This is a tale of how I tempted fate and lost my sanity. You may think you know your dark side, or you may know someone who has been devoured by theirs, but until you’ve been seduced into madness, breached your sacred boundaries, and tasted the forbidden fruit; you won’t experience the boundless breadths and desperate depths of darkness in your psyche along with the stark realization that you can’t turn back.

Black and white are metaphors for oppositions that fuel our awareness and allegories that guide us between our whitest whites and blackest blacks. Love and hate are extremes of the same basic substance. Like and dislike are varying degrees of gray between black and white. If insanity is black and sanity is white, where does happiness end and misery begin? When does pleasure stop and pain begin?

As a life-long student of craziness, I coveted the opportunity to serve criminally insane people. I might never get another chance. Back in college, I studied Industrial Design. I minored in bizarre psycho-ideologies and isms. As an active member of a twice weekly study group at a Gestalt psychology institute for two years, I whetted my appetite for more knowledge and understanding of human behavior. I finally had a real chance to explore authentic craziness incarnate.

Criminal minds fascinated me. I learned from my study of astrology that each of twelve sun signs has its own unique criminal style. Take this with a grain of salt, but here are a few gross generalizations. Gemini / Mercury rules con artists and pickpockets. Taurus / Venus commits sex crimes and breaches of trust from petty theft to grand larceny. Aries / Mars loves warfare and commit crimes of passion. Sagittarius / Jupiter wears white collars. Capricorn / Saturn rules master criminals. Aquarius / Uranus rules arsonists, terrorists, and unexpected bad shit happening. Pisces / Neptune rules drug dealers and users. Scorpio / Pluto rules seduction, rape, murder, and betrayal. Pluto lustily awaits you at your final destination.

Our outer planetary pictures provide a karmic backdrop for past and future generations of actors and actresses striving to learn their roles. Life is a play of plays. Unconscious creates drama. Subconscious directs plot. Consciousness is stage manager. Sun enlightens. Moon reflects. Mercury connects. Venus senses. Mars energizes. Jupiter expands. Saturn limits. Uranus disrupts, Neptune dissolves, and Pluto destroys. ‘God’ is Master Playwright.

Before proceeding with my vocational classes, I need to regress and provide background material for my year of preparation preceding my choice to teach classes. It may take a couple of posts, but I promise you’ll be glad I did.

I entered the hospital from my first day through guarded locked doors, metal detectors, a bag inspection station, faded institutional beige paint, and buzzing fluorescent lights like parasites that sucked my vital essences. Hospital staff appeared to be the dregs of humanity’s helpers. Most had physical handicaps like limping, scarring, splotching, or gazing in hopeless desperation with myopic eyes. I hoped it wasn’t contagious. I had easy access to patient records and treatment plans. I could attend treatment team meetings with psychologists, social workers, and psychiatrists. It felt too good to be true and it was.

Forensic hospital life is about rules, regulations, and self-defense. There are many more don’ts than do’s. Employees are sworn to secrecy, fingerprinted, and instilled with awkward feelings of mistrust. Orientation had been designed to help new staff members understand the organizational goals, policies, and procedures affecting job safety, security, performance, and delivery of care. We filled out a lot of questionnaires, surveys, and evaluations. We were briefed on the nature, structure, and policies of the facility. We learned about patient rights and privileges, rights and privileges of staff, and hospital policy.

The largest portion of hospital staff were security called SHTA’s. They accompanied patients to every activity. I attended life safety training with them: CPR, First-Aid, and Management of Violent Patient Behavior (MVPB). A violent person could `go off’ and all we could do was to defend ourselves. We weren’t permitted to be aggressive. We were taught Judo style moves by serious martial artists and laughed heartily as we fell, flipped each other on gym mats, and got to know each other. We were encouraged to nickname one another to help us connect. Based on obvious personal peculiarities our nicknames stuck. There was `Skinny’, `Luscious Lips’, `Gigolo’, and `Tortoise’. I was `Smiley’. Forever after, we addressed each other by our nicknames.

Fighting with patients was a scary idea. Despite my comprehensive training in self-defense, I envisioned myself grabbing the nearest chair and clobbering a violent patient over the head in a crisis. I’d be instantly fired and then indicted on criminal charges. Fortunately for everyone, most of the furniture was anchored to the floor or walls with specially designed hardware to prevent that kind of violence.

When I wasn’t watching over my shoulder for violent patients, I was cautioned to be on the lookout for ‘bacterial pathogens’ which cause disease. A lot of patients have hygiene problems and are unhealthy. Samplings are taken regularly from surfaces around the hospital in order to monitor disease. There were patients with AIDS. In 1986, that was scary! What if a patient with AIDS bit a staff member? We were briefed extensively on care and prevention. This job began to seem more than a little risky.

When I first met the patients, they appeared to be the most motley crew nature had ever assembled. They looked like R. Crumb characters. Many had deranged eyes. They were so whacky that I felt like laughing. Some had been given massive doses of thorazine. I couldn’t wait to find out who had done what. I’d heard there were a few notorious celebrities in the mix.

I was given a photo I.D. (I had to wear it at all times) and keys for areas I had access to within the hospital. Keys were given upon entering the hospital and deposited before leaving. Patients observed me with random glimpses, furtive glances, and glaring gazes. They saw me as one more ‘keeper of the keys’ who was attempting to figure them out, discipline, rehabilitate, or fix them. One thing for sure, I wasn’t one of them (yet).

I was directed to sit in on patient activities, assist rehab staff, and familiarize myself with patients. The first few days were uneventful. Important goals were getting the patients to brush their teeth, comb their hair, and to try not to be generally disgusting. Another important goal was to get them to stay awake and participate in activities such as art, music, education classes, and exercise. There were no interesting conversations yet.

The rehab staff consisted of nine members. As Director of Rehab, Dolores was beaten down by too many years in state service. Her sad name complemented her careworn face. A telltale twitch made me wonder whether she was smiling or frowning. Her unhealthy-looking teeth were yellowed from too many cigarettes and too much coffee. A deep raspy voice coughed her words. I was concerned she was ineffective. I was right. Dolores was caring but couldn’t say ‘no’ to anyone. She promised me full health benefits and then let me serve my half-time position by working two ten-hour days while the hospital’s needs would have been better served if my time were spread over three days.

Respiratory, pulmonary, and circulatory health problems could be seen in her bulbous whitish nails. Her square palms and short square fingers revealed a practical nature, while her dry, reddish, dishpan skin had weathered many storms that seemed to endlessly arrive from every direction. Despite our differences, Dolores and I liked each other.

My `other half’ was a furniture maker and restorer named Billy (Skinny). Billy was tall, thin, and bony. He looked like a scruffy middle-aged Abraham Lincoln. Billy was one of the hardest working, enthusiastic, and idealistic persons I’d ever met. Like me, he’d never had ‘a job’. An eccentric renegade from societal rules and regulations, Billy maintained a furniture restoration and refinishing business on the side. Like me, Billy had a hidden agenda. His was unselfish and equally unrealistic. He believed that he could actually rehabilitate lunatics and transform them into functioning members of society.

Billy’s ‘feeling hands’ had rectangular palms and long fingers. A hardness and stiffness ruled his fingers, and knotty joints enhanced his compulsive need to control his physical and mental life. His especially long middle fingers bent towards the top of his ring fingers. Billy had an overdeveloped sense of responsibility, obligation, and guilt. An oversensitive perfectionist, Billy spent endless hours thinking about the best thing to do next.

Billy and I tried to set mutual goals, but my hidden agenda clashed with his righteous cause. Billy wanted to turn patients into furniture restorers. I wanted to help, but I wanted private time with them. Billy committed to creating a sheltered wood working shop. I chose to offer design classes to higher functioning patients. I’d also help Billy set up a workshop that would serve the entire patient population.

The Rehab staff was a smorgasbord of affirmative action. Zandor was Estonian. He was a rehabilitation counselor and second in command. Zandor should have had Dolores’s job, but upper management didn’t want a person they couldn’t control in that position. Zandor’s ‘thinking hands’ correspond to his strong handshake, firm elastic skin, long straight fingers, square fingertips, and open and frank nails. Zandor had also been abused by too many years in state service, but it didn’t break him. He had grievances pending against the Public Employees Union for obvious discrimination against him. Despite unfavorable circumstances, Zandor always presented himself with pride, integrity, and dignity. We became comrades.

Bruce (Luscious Lips) arrived at the same time as Billy and me. His meaty practical hands had square palms and short square fingers that were soft and supple with dominant plump third phalanges. His head and lifelines were tied together at their beginnings. He was a Taurus and a huge procrastinator. Bruce was in charge of recreation. He’d served state social service agencies throughout his entire work experience. Sweet and mild mannered, his desire to make a real difference had dulled from too many years of compliance to authority, rules, and regulations. Bruce had gone as high as he could in institutional politics. He was caring and attentive with the patients but seemed depressed and resigned to mediocrity the rest of the time. The only times Bruce revealed real passion and genuine enthusiasm was when we talked about gourmet food or going fishing together.

Barbara was the schoolteacher on our team. Her goal was to help as many patients as possible reach high school equivalency. She was a large boned middle aged Afro-American woman and a very kind person. I don’t remember her hands except for her large broad nails and the sparse clear lines engraved in her palms. Barbara had spent many years in state service. She was one of a very few state employees who managed to maintain a sense of humor and a life outside of her work. She complained the least of any full-time staff member and always kept her cool. Once during English class, one of the male patients pulled out his huge erect penis and started jerking off. Barbara walked over, looked him straight in his eyes and without raising her voice calmly said, “please excuse yourself and go to the bathroom”. He did. I wished I could have read her report about the incident.

Bob was the librarian. He reminded me of a Spam and Velveeta Cheese on Wonder Bread sandwich. Bob was a real life Walter Mitty. He was helpful when asked, but most of the time, gazed into the distance under thick lens wire rimmed glasses. As I think of him, I can still feel his cool damp mashed potato hand shake that confirmed a total lack of will power, energy, and enthusiasm.

Andrew was art therapist when I arrived. His tenure was short. The only thing I recall about him is that he sent his estranged daughter a gross of condoms for her sixteenth birthday. He quipped in his southern drawl, “If she’s going to do it, might as well be safe.” The new art therapist was Janice. She was an unsuccessfully aging frustrated starving artist in need of a steady income. There was a frequent staff turnover for art therapists.

Maya was recreational therapist. She was young, very private, and a very athletic Afro-American woman. Maya managed sports activities and the patient newspaper, the Scene. All of the staff liked Maya. Patients loved her. Her powerful ‘intuitive hands‘ were well suited for sports like football, soccer, and wrestling. Everyone thought Maya was gay, but that was nobody’s business.

I was a card-carrying member of a band of misfits in search of a fit. On the whole, I liked the rehab staff and felt like I was becoming part of a team. I looked forward to our working together and began to imagine that we might actually make a real difference…

Gemini & Hands

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Self Portrait

You don’t need a Gemini sun, moon, ascendant, planets, or house placements to be Gemini. Thinking Types have square palms and long fingers. No matter what your  astrology says, pure Geminis have square palms, widely spread long fingers, flexible joints, supple thumbs, and dominant first phalanges on slightly knotty first phalanges with rounded tips. Gemini (mutable) is mentally and socially adaptable. Aquarius  (fixed) is unique, eccentric, and innovative. Libra (cardinal) is strategic, balanced, and fair. Of course, there are dark sides…

When major lines in thinking hands split at their ends, that person is able to see many possibilities and outcomes. They often think or feel they have too many choices and decisions to make in order to get whatever done or go wherever they’re going. Mutable types are the most indecisive of the three modalities, especially air and water.

Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces are water signs. Feelings must be balanced with Thinking. Libra, Aquarius, and Gemini are the opposing forces. Ambivalent feelings are incarnate in chains and islands on heart lines. Branches of feelings appear to be magnetically drawn to thinking. Parents who aren’t physically or emotionally present and / or don’t talk about their feelings are teaching their children to analyze, compartmentalize, and rationalize feelings. Rationalizing is safer than verbalizing feelings. A physically or emotionally absent parent as role model in the formative years is a recipe for struggling to learn to value ones’ thinking, feelings, and being. A short index finger often goes with a head ruled heart. Split lines are split for many reasons. Most people have challenging journeys.

Astrology reveals potentials. It’s impossible to accurately foretell a future. It’s hard to predict what we’ll do with potentials in our natal horoscope. Symbols may or may not reflect what you choose to integrate into your character and behavior.

Hands are topographical maps of character in past, present, and future. It’s easy to see the person’s corresponding strengths and weaknesses. While exercising our free will, changing our thinking, modifying our behavior, and re-scripting our story, we can observe the results, clearly etched and reflected in the morphology and topography of our hands over time.

Healthy Geminis have long straight pinkie fingers. They’re master bullshit detectors, acutely aware of their own bullshit, like knowingly being tactful and diplomatic when they’re much better off being frank and direct. Critical thinking, careful decision making, and crystal clear communication make good sense out of nonsense. What you see is what you get!

Dominant Gemini has square palms and long fingers, firm pink elastic skin with loop fingerprints. Long ring fingers with whorl prints add attractiveness, talent, salesmanship, risk taking, and luck. Knowing when to stop is the challenge. Gambling is a bad habit and horrible addiction. Dominant  middle fingers, square tips, and developed first knots add technical, scientific, and pragmatic attributes. Powerful index fingers increase leadership potentials, speaking abilities, career potentials, partnerships, friendships, and goals.

Geminis make great lawyers, bankers, doctors, orators, writers, engineers, teachers, salesmen, accountants, and shopkeepers. Dominant pinkie types play small musical instruments that require physical and mental dexterity. Music makes great sense since hearing is Gemini’s physical sense. I’ve worked at special events with top magicians with dominant pinkies. They astound their audiences while deceiving their eyes and minds.

Cultivated Geminis are consummate communicators, social magnets, intuitive geniuses, and great judges of character. Most social of all signs, Gemini is often accused of being an impractical dreamer because he loves ideas so much. He can detach himself from mundane reality, still remaining objective about everyone and everything. He overvalues intellect and undervalues emotion. He feels threatened when his ideas and opinions are ignored without good reason. He can accept your viewpoint, even though he disagrees with you. He’s easily distracted and doesn’t want responsibility for making decisions that have consequences. Longing to be free and unrestricted, he actually needs most to stay focused, disciplined, and structured. Earning rewards requires doing whatever needs to be done with courage, strength, wisdom, and grace.

Hermes (Mercury) was the shortest god. The pinkie is the shortest finger. If the tip is longer than the crease between the first and second phalanx of the ring finger, it’s long. If shorter, it’s short. Dominant pinkie folk are often short in stature like Ed Harris (Sag) with slender body and face. Pure types are animated, with dark hair and penetrating eyes with crow’s feet in the corners. Gemini is the most youthful of all types, eternally childlike, they love children. Men often sport thin beards like Johnny Depp (Gemini). Michael Jackson (Virgo, ruled by Mercury) was a real life Peter Pan. He actually lived in ‘Neverland’. Brooke, Liza, and Liz were Michael’s Wendy’s.

Gemini is androgynous. In Greek myth, Hermes & Aphrodite (siblings) had an incestuous relationship that spawned Hermaphrodite. Dominance of Hermes in one’s psyche (known or unknown) creates bi-sexual tendencies. David Bowie was Capricorn with dominant Hermes. Mick Jagger is Hermes with strong Leo. Cate Blanchett is Hermes with a powerful Taurus sun. She played Bob Dylan, who is Gemini. Boy George is Gemini. Grace Jones, Taurus, has Mercury conjunct Uranus in Gemini. That’s a lot of uniqueness and eccentricity.

Our pinkie finger reveals our ability to communicate. It indicates truthfulness. Early family dynamic can be observed in how the pinkie is set and held. Very short or low set pinkies reveal lack of trust as a major issue. Many women with low set pinkies have told me they have trouble having orgasms. Their real challenge is in trusting someone enough to have real intimacy. Lengths and proportions of pinkie fingers symbolizes technical, language, sexual, financial, and family potentials.

Gemini rules hands and governs our nervous and respiratory systems. Health issues revolve around nervous and bronchial systems. Geminis have potential problems with headaches, thyroid glands, memory loss, and speech impediments. I’m Gemini. I’ve coped with Tinnitus (ringing in my head) for many years. It’s the worm in my apple.

Gold and diamond rings are normally found on the ring (marriage) finger. You’ll see rings on pinkie fingers of acquisitive people. Pinkie rings can symbolize sublimation of sexual energies to accomplish something that requires a lot of libido. I once examined a group of fifty young people born into powerful families in the 80’s. Considering the prosperity of the period, it seemed a paradox that every person I read had short phalanges on the bottom segment of their little fingers. Money will never be the motivation for their career choices. In the final analysis, their families, personal matters, and values will drive these individuals.

Would you buy a used car from this Gemini? Gemini’s liabilities are deceitfulness, trickiness, fickleness, nervousness, restlessness, and shallowness. People preaching on soapboxes, pickpockets, and most con artists have powerful pinkies (inwardly curving). Donald’s curve inward, confirmed in his natal astrology by a close Mercury Neptune square. It’s not what you do, but what you get away with that matters. Our trickster is not hiding his dark side. The streets are littered with conned contractors, jilted beauty queens, and fired apprentices. The Emperor grabs our pussies as he tortures our mother. If you believe mom (GAIA) is happy about her body, respiratory, circulatory systems, and spirit, we’re all in serious trouble!

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Many wonderful people have curved pinkies. They learned the hard way as little children to ‘act nice’. Their job was to avoid confrontation and keep the peace. Learning to say ‘NO’ is a lifelong challenge for them (especially with a large ball of thumb). It’s hard to straighten a curved pinkie, but it can be done. The person must stop trying to please and be whatever everyone else wants and needs them to be. If you’re pretending whatever is OK and it isn’t, check your pinkies.

VIRGO~HANDS~HEALTH

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“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”  Stephen King (Virgo ~ 9/21/47)

You don’t need a Virgo Sun, Moon, planets, aspects, or planetary placements to be Virgo. Practical types (Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo) have square palms and short fingers. Virgo is a mutable modality and the most adaptable of all three types. Virgo often has strong middle and pinkie fingers, dominant middle phalanges, and square fingertips. Virgo hands are much more flexible than Taurus hands. Their skin is more pink and elastic than Capricorn with whitish flat palms and developed first knots on lean stiff closely held fingers, embodying a frugal and pragmatic character.

CROOKED FINGERS

Virgos are frequently accused of being critical. They can be, but they can also be their own worst critics. Their methodical approach and need for natural order is embodied in their square palms and fingertips. Large second knots and short fingernails add order, preciseness, utility, and purpose. Middle fingers that lean or crook toward ring fingers strive for perfection and need personal space. Fire rising or watery moon have less knotty and crooked fingers. Intuition and feeling adds passion, inspiration, and empathy to practicality. Chewed nails are self-critical and critical of others. Nails bitten to the quick embody a contrary person who chooses another side of an argument, just to make a point, even if they agree with you. Grilled lines beneath middle fingers confirm frustration and lack of satisfaction.

Famous for cleaning up everyone else’s messes, Virgo obsesses on details. Contrary to popular belief, Virgo doesn’t like details. They’re thorough and meticulous, but need to see the whole picture. Virgo is happiest and most desirable where reliable, modest, orderly, and discriminating service is required.

Short fingered folk (Practical & Intuitive) generally dislike details. Details are a nuisance. Others can do them better, but who can do them better than Virgo? Virgo selflessly rationalizes and wills herself to do what must be done. She knows her value, but asks too much of or too little for herself. Others must value and appreciate her. Virgo works hard to be useful. Never take a Virgo for granted. Virgo is symbolic of the harvest time.

Virgos who have worked hard and have been rewarded for their efforts are Agatha Christie, Leonard Cohen, Alan Dershowitz, Marcia Clark, J.P. Morgan, Warren Buffet, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Sophia Loren, Paul Walker, Keanu Reeves, Cameron Diaz, Michael Jackson, Beyonce’, Margaret Trudeau, Lyndon Johnson, George Wallace, Yasser Arafat, and John McCain (Taurus hands). John’s short index finger, conical tip, prominent knots between phalanges, and a thick 3rd phalanx made him a bundle of contradictions. His slightly crooked pinky with intuitive tip says ‘what you see is not what you get’. Few knew John’s secret truths.

“The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of understanding” Hermes

HERMES

Mercury, (Hermes) winged messenger, holds a caduceus (medicine). Virgo rules healthcare. Virgo is earthy, practical, and represents the technical aspects of thinking. Feminine in gender, Virgo is empathetic, logical, healthy, and helpful. Gemini is masculine, intellectual, and clever. Gemini rules communications, thinking, and wit. Imagination and thinking must be balanced through practical action. This Gemini needs Virgo friends, city, and country homes to maintain his sanity and create the balance and harmony needed now and always to overcome darkness.

You can see everything in hands! This is true and not true. A hand is a small space for a large life. A seasoned palmist can see many things, but it’s not what you see, but what you say and how you say it that matters. When you’re focusing on something specific, combinations of qualities and markings will confirm your search. I began practicing palmistry in my early thirties. A young man showed up one day asking “When am I going to die?” He was a Virgo, healthy, well proportioned, energetic, smart, and multi-talented. He appeared in perfect health. His well-balanced square palms were pink and firm with short straight fingers. Pink elastic skin, resilient palms, flexible wrists, and mildly flexible finger joints revealed a healthy balance between purpose, determination, and adaptability. Basic lines were clear and deeply engraved. What a lucky man, I thought, but fate had chosen a different future for him with AIDS as his life focus.

AIDS was a death sentence at the time. I hadn’t a clue how to see the dis-ease. Nothing stood out. I lacked the experience to counsel him. “I’m sorry, only god can answer your question”, I awkwardly replied. “You’re a naturally healthy person. If anyone can beat this, you can.” I lauded his positive qualities, but he didn’t want to hear that. We chatted, like friends, about what he planned to do. He wanted to be proactive. I helped him plan a future of healthy food, exercise, sleep, honesty, meaningful relationships, and quality time management.

My curiosity and desire to make a difference inspired me to volunteer at Bailey House, an AIDS housing organization. I showed up 2X weekly for 2 years to examine hands, share astrology, and interpret tarot cards for clients and staff. Metaphysics was my lens for viewing their issues and challenges. My job was to help them choose what’s next. In the final analysis, I entertained, listened, and cared for whoever was there at the time.

I printed hands in the AIDS community monthly to monitor the progress and regress of the disease. Lack of adequate funding, limited time, and not enough statistical data made it impossible for me to be thorough or scientific. I did notice changes in skin ridge patterns on the percussion of the hand. Ridges got smoother and began to disappear as a person got sicker. People with AIDS suppress their potentials because they obsess on the harsh realities of their impending mortality. I supported their talents and strengths and inspired some to continue making positive choices and taking meaningful actions.

Anyone can learn to examine and reflect on their hands and the hands of others. Hands are mirrors that empower us be true to ourselves and each other. Once you’re good at interpreting hands, you can be your own best friend and bullshit detector. Hands are morphological and topographical maps of character. Hands reveal our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. In the days before computerized medical diagnosis, doctors combined knowledge, experience, and intuition to diagnose illness as they tasted a patient’s urine, looked into their eyes, examined their tongue, skin, and especially scrutinized their hands.

Fingernails are windows to a person’s health. Anemia, thyroid disease, malnutrition, carpal tunnel syndrome, psoriasis, eczema, liver disease, heart, lungs, colon, chronic respiratory disease, lymph system problems, diabetes, Raynaud’s disease, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcers, Hodgkin’s disease, and sickle-cell anemia can be seen in nails.

Few palmists actually diagnose illness. Most of us observe symptoms. When I see a potential health problem, I let the person know I’m not a medical palmist and suggest they see a specialist. Dozens of stress related illnesses and several types of cancer can be seen in the ‘dermatoglyphics’ (skin ridge patterns) of hands. Conditions of lines can indicate conditions of heart, brain, kidneys, liver, and stomach in males and females.

Health challenges are natural predispositions to specific character types. Know the type and understand the corresponding potential health challenge. The following list of health issues are gross generalizations that correspond to a person’s dominant astrological sign and hand features. You can click on links to learn more about how a finger is dominant, what that means, and about other features and qualities embodied in hands.

Dominant index finger ~ Sagittarius ~ blood disorders, liver trouble, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, problems with hips, thighs, throat, and temptations to overindulge in rich foods and drinks.

Dominant middle finger ~ Capricorn ~ skin problems, teeth with age, knees, ligaments, secretion of bile, skeletal wear, tear, and misalignment, left ear deafness, paralysis, rheumatism, gout, hardening of the arteries, hemorrhoids, and varicose veins.

Dominant ring finger ~ Leo ~ eyesight, heart, and blood circulation.

Dominant pinkie ~ Gemini ~ nervous system, bronchial, and respiratory systems, thyroid gland, headaches, memory loss, and speech impediments.

Dominant ball of thumb ~ Taurus ~ throat, lymphatic system, venereal diseases, heart, circulation, and worry.

Dominant heel of hand ~ Cancer ~ bodily fluids, stomach, tumors, female disorders, epilepsy, mucous membranes, gout, rheumatism, kidney, bladder, and mental illness.

Dominant thumb and percussion of hand ~ Aries ~ inflammations, acute fevers, blood diseases, infections, muscular disorders, hemorrhage, infectious and contagious diseases, throat and chest trouble, and high blood pressure.

Peripheral lines on heel of hand ~ Scorpio ~ reproductive system, ruptures, hemorrhoids, ulcers, venereal diseases, and problems with prostate or urethra.

Nails and qualities of lines ~ Aquarius ~ ankle weakness, anemia, cramps, heart weaknesses, nervous diseases, varicose veins, and sensitive skin.

Pointed finger tips / yellow skin / islands on health line ~ Pisces ~ problems with feet, toes, bunions, gout, colds, mucous discharges, tumors, addictions, and liver trouble.

GEMINI & HANDS

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You don’t need a Gemini sun, moon, ascendant, planets, or house placements to be Gemini. No matter what your astrology says about you, pure Gemini types have square palms, widely spread long fingers, flexible joints, supple thumbs, dominant first phalanges on slightly knotty fingers, and rounded and spatulate fingertips. Thinking types sport square palms and long fingers. More mentally adaptable than Aquarius  (fixed) and socially adaptable than Libra (cardinal), Gemini is mutable. Lines in thinking hands that split at their ends symbolize being able to see many outcomes and having many choices and decisions to make.

Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces are water signs. Ambivalent feelings are embodied in chains and islands on heart lines, especially when they’re magnetically drawn toward head lines. When the end of the heart line reaches down to touch the beginning of the head line, analyzing, rationalizing, and compartmentalizing feelings is much easier than verbalizing them. Most people have challenging journeys. Having a physically or emotionally absent parent as a role model during the formative years is a recipe for a lifetime of questioning and struggling to learn to value oneself. Look for a short index finger to go with the head ruled heart. Most split lines are split for many reasons.

It’s impossible to accurately foretell your future or what you will do with your potentials from a natal horoscope. Astrology reveals potentials. Your astrological symbolism may or may not reflect what you choose to integrate into your character and behavior. Hands are topographical maps of character  in past, present, and future. When you embrace your strengths and acknowledge your weaknesses, you can exercise your free will, change your thinking, modify your behavior, re-script your story, and observe the results over time, clearly reflected in the ever changing morphology and topography of your hands.

Healthy Geminis have long straight pinkie fingers. Pragmatic minds, critical thinking, clear communication, and the ability to focus can make good sense out of nonsense. Common sense isn’t working well these days.

Gemini has firm pink elastic skin and long fingers with loop prints. Long ring fingers  with whorl prints add attractiveness, salesmanship, risk taking, talent, and good luck. Knowing when to stop is key to winning. Dominant  middle fingers with square tips and developed first knots add technical, scientific, and pragmatic attributes. Strong index fingers increase writing and oratory abilities, career opportunities, and ambitious goals.

I’ve worked at special events with magicians with dominant pinkie fingers. They astound audiences while deceiving the eyes and minds of their beholders. Geminis make great lawyers, bankers, doctors, orators, writers, engineers, teachers, salesmen, accountants, and shopkeepers. Dominant pinkies play small musical instruments that require physical and mental dexterity, which makes sense since hearing is Gemini’s physical sense.

Cultivated Geminis are consummate communicators, social magnets, intuitive geniuses, and great judges of character. Most social of all, Gemini is often accused of being an impractical dreamer because he loves ideas so much. He can detach himself from mundane reality while remaining objective about everyone and everything else. He overvalues intellect and undervalues emotion and feels threatened when his ideas and opinions are ignored without good reason. He can accept your viewpoint, even when he disagrees with you. He’s easily distracted and doesn’t like being responsible for making decisions before knowing the consequences. Longing to be free and unrestricted, he desperately needs to stay focused, disciplined, and structured. Being rewarded requires doing what needs to be done with courage, strength, wisdom, and grace.

Hermes (Mercury) was the shortest god. The pinkie is the shortest finger. When the tip is longer than the crease between the first and second phalanx of the ring finger, it’s long. If shorter, it’s short. Dominant pinkie people are often short in stature like Ed Harris (Sag) with a slender body and face. Pure types are animated, with dark hair and penetrating eyes with crow’s feet in the corners. Gemini is the most youthful of all types, forever childlike and loving children. Men sport thin beards like Johnny Depp (Gemini). Michael Jackson (Virgo, ruled by Mercury) was a Peter Pan who actually lived in ‘Neverland’. Peter needs Wendy. Someone must be practical and responsible. Peter had Brooke, Liza, and Liz.

Gemini is androgynous. In Greek myth, Hermes & Aphrodite (siblings) had an incestuous fling that created Hermaphrodite. Dominance of Hermes in a psyche (known or not) creates bi-sexual tendencies. David Bowie was Capricorn with strong Hermes. Mick Jagger is Hermes with Leo sun. Kate Blanchett is Mercury with a Taurus sun. Bob Dylan is Gemini. Boy George is Gemini. Grace Jones (71) is Taurus with Mercury conjunct Uranus in Gemini. She didn’t get eccentric from Taurus!

Our pinkie finger reveals our ability to communicate. It indicates truthfulness. Early family dynamic can be observed in how the pinkie is set and held. Very short or low set pinkies reveal lack of trust as a major issue. Many women with low set pinkies have told me they have trouble having orgasms. Their real challenge is in trusting someone enough to have real intimacy. Lengths and proportions of pinkie fingers symbolizes technical, language, sexual, and family potentials.

Gemini rules hands and governs our nervous and respiratory systems. Health issues revolve around nervous and bronchial systems. Geminis have potential problems with headaches, thyroid glands, memory loss, and speech impediments. I’m Gemini. I’ve coped with Tinnitus (ringing in my head) for many years. It’s the worm in my apple.

Gold and diamond rings are normally found on the ring finger. They’re often on the pinkie fingers of acquisitive people. Pinkie rings symbolize sublimation of sexual energies to accomplish something that requires libido. I once examined a group of fifty young people born into powerful families in the 80’s. Considering the prosperity of the period, it seemed paradoxical that every one of them had short phalanges on the bottom segment of their little fingers on their dominant hands. Money will never be their motivation for career choices. Family, personal matters, and values will drive these individuals.

Would you buy a used car from this Gemini? I wouldn’t. Gemini’s liabilities are deceitfulness, trickiness, fickleness, nervousness, restlessness, and shallowness. People preaching on soapboxes, pickpockets, and most con artists have powerful pinkies (mostly inwardly curving). Don’s curve inward, confirmed in his natal astrology by a close Mercury Neptune square. It’s not what you do, but what you can get away with that matters. Our trickster is not masterful at hiding his dark side. We’re the conned contractors, jilted beauty queens, and fired apprentices. Our Emperor is grabbing our pussies while abusing our mother. If you think mom is happy about what’s happening to her body, respiratory system, circulatory system, and spirit, you’re the crazy one!

NOTE: Many wonderful people have curved pinkies. They learned as children to ‘act nice’, avoid confrontation, and be peacemakers. A lifelong challenge is to learn to say ‘NO’ (especially with large ball of thumb). They must stop trying to please and being what everyone else wants and needs them to be. If you’re pretending everything is OK and it isn’t, check your pinkies.

TAURUS & HANDS

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You don’t need a Taurus sun, moon, ascendant, aspects, or house placements to behave like a Taurus. ‘Taurus archetypes’ have square fleshy palms, large stiff thumbs, and short stiff fingers representing stubbornness, determination, and tenacity. Their firm, pink, elastic skin, and dense bulging percussion of hands under pinkie fingers embody their relentless persistence. Having full rosy balls of thumbs symbolizes love of family, nature, children, comfort, art, music, luxury, and all that’s refined, graceful, and beautiful. When a ball of thumb is surrounded by a long clear deep life line, that person is blessed with a healthy body and attitude. Long clear deep fate lines reflect strong purpose, goals, and destiny.

Deeply engraved life, heart, head, and fate lines and clear skin ridges are distinct paths on the topographical maps of our hands that can be navigated by anyone who wants to learn to see and interpret the cartography. Taurus has less peripheral lines than feeling, thinking, and intuitive types. Needing security and stability, Taurus feels, thinks, and intuits in practical ways. Long graceful heart lines ending under the index fingers are romantic and sentimental. Being ‘old fashioned’ comes naturally, like crying while watching old movies is typical. Long heart lines see others as they want them to be, instead of how they really are. Time is Taurus’s friend. They must make others work to earn their trust and love or risk being taken for granted.

People with closely intertwined lines of head and life procrastinate, care too much what others think, and need to feel appreciated. Being taken for granted is the beginning of the end. Fingers with loop prints and flexible first joints add mental adaptability. Arches and stiff joints embody fixity and practicality. Square finger tips represent a need for order and stability. Developed second knots are about needing everything in its place. I’ve seen folk with very large second knots stealthily adjusting something you picked up and moved a few molecules from where it had been. Middle phalanges embody practicality. Bottom phalanges embody physicality and sensuality. The hand pictured above belongs to a Pisces with a Taurus character. Dreamy, visionary, and spiritual on the inside, he’s extremely practical on the outside.

Taurus is driven by their physical senses. Responsible, practical, pragmatic, objective, dependable, and reliable, Taurus manages and maintains our material world. Taurus trusts what they can see and feel, not ideas, intuitions, or inspirations. As creatures of habit they get addicted to routine and order. The more bogged down in practical and mundane matters, the harder it becomes to access abstract abilities and imagination. A huge challenge is procrastination at beginnings and endings. It makes no sense as it opposes a basic need to get things done. Taurus needs to be stable, responsible, caring, and appreciated.

Aphrodite’s desire for comfort and beauty manifests in Taurus. She gives form to wealth and power. Venus loves family, friendships, home, food, nature, art, and music. Her need for physical security and stability drives her practical attitudes. She’s honest, dependable, trustworthy, and valued for her natural warmth and good sense.

A healthy Venus won’t bend the truth or perform a song and dance act for anyone. She’s loyal, affectionate, and charming, but she can also be jealous, controlling, and possessive. She’s charismatic, but not the best salesperson as she takes rejection personally. Taurus thrives in real estate, banking, food, and fashion. Taurus challenges are learning to trust their gut, give up control, and let go when it makes no sense to hang on. Taurus can be the best bull or the worst Minotaur.

TAURUS LEADERS

Pope John Paul ll had many positive Taurus qualities. He got the haves to share with the have-nots. He was the first Pope to visit a synagogue. He encouraged Catholics and Jews to love one another. An assassination attempt nearly killed him and yet he rose to address countless chaotic messes in the church.

J. Krishnamurti, a spiritual guide, shared good sense with all willing to listen.

Leonardo da Vinci, an original hipster, was a great artist and inventor

Sigmund Freud fathered modern psychoanalysis

Karl Marx developed a theory of socialism

Martha Graham mothered modern dance

Katherine Hepburn was Grand Dame of American Stage & Movies

Queen Elizabeth ~ Prime Minister Tony Blair ~ Anchors ~ Great Britain

“The great mass of people will more easily fall victim to a big lie than a small one”. The darkest depths of Taurus brought humanity a Monster from Hell from 1933 to 1945.  Adolph Hitler transformed our world by inspiring and empowering anger, fear, and terror, and manipulating masses with powerful imagery of strength and unity of pandemic proportions. Adolph Hitler was responsible for over thirty million deaths.

 

Jim Jones, fanatic cult leader, led 1,000 followers to mass suicide in 1978

Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh had no remorse for his evil actions.

Saddam Hussein, (Iraqi President 1979~2006) was shamed, then slayed.

Alchemy isn’t turning lead into gold. Alchemy is balancing Saturn with our Sun. Virtue, honesty, integrity, dignity, nobility, persistence, determination, discipline, structure, and focus are keys to healthy humanism. Taking responsibility, cultivating healthy attitudes, nourishing cherished values, exercising critical thinking, promoting realistic goal setting, prioritizing planning, and choosing right actions will transform our inner and outer worlds. Taurus encourages us to find clarity in our values, embrace our best qualities, and master and manage our darkness. Everyone has Taurus in their psyche by degree. Taurus gives us the time and space to blend practicality with grace, responsibility with love, and comfort with joy. We can all be our own best friends and bull shit detectors.

TAURUS & PSYCHE

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Uranus transited Taurus from 1935~1942. By ignoring the hard lessons learned, resolutions made, and actions taken, our psyche has been polluted and progress poisoned. It doesn’t take a seer to see that the human race has become a race against bad shit happening. We’re primed and ready for a loss of hope and faith. Pundits joke, but having no hope is no laughing matter. We’re feeling impotent, incompetent, and indifferent, and resigned to apathy and acceptance as Uranus transits Taurus again.

People focused on values and questioned materialism. Labor organized, forming unions that went on strike and engaged in sit-downs across the nation. There was strength in solidarity. The USA went off the gold standard. President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act and defended the Four Essential Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear. What happened?

Uranus in Taurus awakened aristocracy, autocracy, and plutocracy. Greed and anti-socialism flourished. Uranus in Taurus brought William Randolph Hurst and Orson Welles, both bulls, who bullied each other over the creation and release of Welles’ movie, ‘Citizen Kane’. Welles smugly, immodestly, and arrogantly modeled the notorious media mogul Charles Foster Kane after Hearst. Despite his abundant natural charm, brilliant portrayal, ground breaking cinematography, and exceptional directing, Welles art was no match for Hearst’s wealth and capacity to influence courts and public opinion. Welles persisted in his righteous defiance of Hearst, while Hearst relentlessly tortured Welles with legalities and bludgeoned him with bad publicity until Welles could no longer afford his principles, rise to his challenges, or control his self-indulgences. Ironically, like Kane, Welles longed for his lost innocence at the end of his life.

‘Less is more’ learned Midas as he yearned for a touch of gold, got it, and transformed his beloved daughter into a cold hunk of metal. His food turned to gold as it touched his lips. How many gilded towers, glitzy gambling casinos, graven images, beauty queens, shark tanks, and celebrity idols do we need? One important lesson of Midas is in having stability, security, good health, meaningful work, and satisfying relationships, and not needing more than that. Healthy humans value what they have, nourish their relationships, choose higher purpose, and feel satisfaction and fulfillment without needing affluence.

Having too much or too little of anything raises our awareness of what truly matters. Black and white, all or nothing, good and evil, love and hate, and rich and poor are opposites of equal value; identical in nature, but different by degree. An old billionaire dying of cancer will gladly trade $ for youth and good health. A famous celebrity with a brain injured child would gratefully scrub public toilets at Grand Central Station to heal her child.

Can a ‘Stable Genius’ destabilize a nervous and fickle public with lies and manipulation? Our political, financial, and religious ideologies, philosophies, and paradigms are partisan! On November 3, will we see our Emperor for who he is or who he wants us to see? In 2021, Pluto will conjunct Saturn and square Mercury, Saturn will square Sun and Uranus, and Neptune will square a Gemini North Node. Our time of reckoning is now because hindsight is 2020. The handwriting is on the wall.

The New York Stock Exchange and Federal Reserve are bulls. Philosophical, ideological, and spiritual paradigms must shift as we approach a ‘Black Tuesday’ worse than ‘29. As transiting Saturn opposes our Stock Exchange’s natal Chiron and squares its natal Moon, transiting Pluto will be squaring natal Jupiter, Uranus will conjunct Venus, and Neptune will oppose Mars! People born 1935 ~ 1942 know and understand unexpected gain and reversal means that we must lose what we have to value what we had. It’s time for a new generation to learn those very same lessons again.

Needing guns is a symptom of a decaying culture. There’s lots of nostalgia and talk of Civil War these days. Resurrection-ism was imposed on the south because the Confederacy lost the war. Donald Trump has given bigots permission to express their hatred. Black and white wages endless war on battlefields of infinite shades of gray. What will we do when Repuglican’t bullies with their laws, fascists and terrorists with semi-automatic weapons of mass-destruction, and evangelical fundamentalists wielding bibles and handguns show up at our doors? Sensible people are afraid of crazy people. I’m not a fan of guns, but protecting family, friends, and humanity is a good idea.

Alchemy is not transforming lead into gold. Alchemy is synchronizing Saturn with the Sun and blending the Sun’s talents, energy, optimism, and initiative with Saturn’s skills, skepticism, master planning, determination, and enduring patience. We need our family, friends, and everyone else to be equal and to live, work, and play in harmony. Clients ask, “How long will I live?” “When will I die?” Everyone dies. Life is about quality, not quantity. I encourage my clients to be responsible for their thoughts and feelings.

Courage, strength, wisdom, and grace embody the four pillars that support good mental, emotional, and physical health. Responsibility, discipline, determination, and devotion are ideas, ideals, and values that help us build sound structures on solid foundations. Spirituality is innate, but godliness is earned by practicing faith, virtue, integrity, loyalty, dignity, nobility, and honesty. Shine your brightest light on your innate talents, abilities, and desires. Be clear in your intentions, decisions, and actions. You too can be an alchemist, your own best friend, and master bull shit detector.

Limericks by Steve Benko ~ Artwork by Mark Seltman

Said Donald, “Our minions I’ll galvanize,
And with porn stars and thugs again fraternize.
Vlad, I’m walking on air,
But though Mueller was fair,
For my insults I’ll never apologize.”

CAPRICORN & HANDS

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No matter what your astrology says about you, flat square palms, short stiff fingers, square fingertips, developed first knots, and a combo of loop and arch finger prints embodies Capricorn. A Capricorn sun, moon, rising sign, planets, houses, or aspects will enhance pragmatism and other Capricornian traits. Firm hand consistency, coarse skin ridges, and self-assured handshakes embody practicality, responsibility, and reliability. When the middle finger crooks toward the ring finger, discipline, seriousness, and responsibility rule the person.

Middle fingers with dominant first and middle phalanges make Capricorn more practical and pragmatic than his cardinal brothers and sisters, Aries, Libra, and Cancer. He’s more motivated and aggressive than his fixed cousin Taurus and a better manager than his mutable cousin Virgo. Every thought and action must be rooted in rational reason and clear purpose. Capricorn leaders and successful managers embrace responsibility with commitment and perseverance, carrying out the most mundane of tasks while maintaining a long-range vision of their goals. Structured, focused, disciplined, and dependable, Saturn expects you to be on time and do as you say. He has little patience for excuses. As a natural skeptic, he doesn’t trust slick and flashy types. A workaholic, he doesn’t question coming early or staying late to finish a task. He patiently awaits the right conditions, cultivates right relationships, and plans right timing before taking action.

Our middle fingers should always be longest. Short middle fingers represent a life out of balance. Lack of structure, discipline, and focus is a formula for failure. The qualities of the middle finger reveal how serious and reliable we are and how we deal with our frustrations, obstructions, obligations, shame, and guilt.

Saturn is well organized, efficient, patient, dependable, and faithful. Obsessive order, minute methodology, persistent punctuality, and unrelenting perfectionism are embodied in stiff knotty joints, crooked middle fingers, long middle phalanges, square fingertips, and short broad nails. Self-critical types must learn to “lighten up and smell the roses”. Traditional music and dry humor soothes the saturnine soul. Saturn has a cynical or sarcastic sense of humor peppered with a pessimism that can sometimes be offensive and defensive at the same time. The funniest comedians often hide their pain behind humor. Practical, prudent, and persistent, Saturn becomes frustrated when his strategies don’t go according to plan. Rigid ideologies and an overdeveloped sense of obligation and responsibility makes Saturn feel depression, guilt, and shame. While they pride themselves on their ingenuity, it’s ironic they rarely stray from traditional and conventional careers.

Dominant middle-finger types tend to be tall and slender in appearance. Dark hair, large bones, stern features, and bland complexions are common. Saturn needs solitary time including family, friends, and partners. Saturn’s physical sense is smell. Pure types love string instruments and classical music tinged with sadness.

Abraham Lincoln was saturnine. Daniel Day-Lewis (Taurus with strong Saturn) masterfully played Abraham Lincoln. Clint Eastwood is a Gemini with strong Saturn. Elvis Presley, a Capricorn, was King of Rock ‘n Roll. Tiger Woods was Prince of Golf. Muhammad Ali was King of Boxing. David Bowie was a musical master. Paul Cezanne and Henri Matisse fathered Post-Impressionism. Albert Schweitzer‘s ‘reverence for life’ was his gift to humanity. Louis Pasteur pasteurized.

“If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Capricorn (1/15/1929) with Capricorn hands. King was martyred for his fervent beliefs. As a Baptist Minister and Social Rights Activist, Dr. King was destined to lead the black civil rights movement in the United States from the mid 1950’s until his brutal assassination in Aries (4/4/1968). Dr. King’s mission was the pursuit of truth, peace, justice, and equality for all. His dream became his legacy as well as a legal holiday.

Saturn rules physical structure. Capricorn weaknesses include skin, teeth, knees, and ligaments. Maladies like rheumatism, hardening of the arteries, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and deafness in the left ear are Saturnine. Middle fingers that lean towards ring fingers symbolize perfectionism and a strong need for personal space. I’ll bet that Donald Rumsfeld is frequently cranky, irritable, and annoyed. Just look at his left middle finger and face. Saturn thrives in conservative types. Most scientists, researchers, mathematicians, technical specialists, and businessmen are saturnine. Writers, craftsmen, therapists, night watchmen, undertakers, morticians, and derelicts frequently have dominant middle fingers.

On Christmas, humanity celebrates Jesus Christ, Jewish guru, and not for profit prophet. God spoke through Jesus, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Jesus would have reformed religion had he stuck around. Who needs dogmas, doctrines, codes, rules, and regulations when you’ve got spirituality? Loving unconditionally and without expectation can have a dire outcome. Jesus was crucified for loving too much!

Mel Gibson (Capricorn) embraced his dark side when he created ‘The Passion of the Christ’. Jesus’s spirit writhes in heaven as Mel irreverently punishes and blames the Jews for torturing Jesus to death. You can see all of Jesus’s suffering and none of his revelations and victories in Mel’s 30 million dollar abomination.

Perhaps Mel can capitalize on Dr. King’s final moments and create another sequel called LETHAL WEAPON 666 ~ even more reasons to feel and spread hate, shame, guilt, fear, and terror. Mel should stick to acting. He’d make a great used Hummer salesman, specializing in ‘already been road-warriored’ models like worn jeans or distressed furniture.

Scrooge is our darkest, greediest, and stingiest side. Relationships are important only as they relate to profit. Master criminals are ruled by Saturn. They have no need for cleverness like Gemini, spontaneity like Aries, or grandiosity like Sagittarians. They strategize, wait, and act when the timing is right.

Ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future haunt Capricorn Bernard Ebbers, former CEO of WorldCom. Ebbers made telecommunications competitive. He achieved his goal of power and wealth, but compromised his ethical principles in favor of profit. Preaching one thing and practicing another has a gloomy prognosis that can end one in the slammer. Evangelical Christians had better get real soon or risk extinction with Saturn and Pluto still conjunct in Capricorn!

Janet is a Capricorn. Her crooked middle fingers along with head and life lines that separate on her dominant hand at their beginnings embody a freedom loving, independent, perfectionist with a highly developed sense of responsibility, guilt, and obligation. Too many “should’s’ and ‘supposed to’s” get in the way of that adventure Janet craves.

“Do the work or suffer the consequences”. “ Father Time” is about quality, not quantity. The lone hermit is not lonely. Saturn is present where discipline, focus, and structure are required. Saturn can be prosperous, happy, wise, and compassionate. He can also become easily frustrated, compulsively controlling, greedy, and self-destructive. Transforming lead into gold is a metaphor for transforming Saturn into the Sun.

Retrograde Mercury in Scorpio

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November 11, 2019. A rare astronomical event will occur today. Retrograde Mercury, at 18 degrees of Scorpio, will visually transit across the face of the Sun in Scorpio. Here’s a description of the physical event, via The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Tomorrow will feature a full moon in Taurus.

Though Mercury will only appear as a tiny image in a telescope, the metaphysical implications can be profound.  Brilliant flashes of insight could illuminate poisonous paradigms and expose dishonest secrets.

Death, decay, and degradation are Pluto’s mission, while Mercury enjoys many fun and interesting projects on multiple planes of consciousness. Mercury is the Roman god of communication, mischief, and wisdom. Mercury was also responsible for being a liaison to Pluto for his siblings. Death is a powerful opponent. The seduction turns Pluto on, but the betrayal gets him off!  Pluto tempts innocence with perversions clothed in trust, guilt, shame, and dark secrets.

The human race has become a race against bad shit happening. We’re sick and our Mother is sick because we’ve damaged, depleted, and polluted her body, clogged her respiratory and circulatory systems, and abused her spirit. It’s miraculous that she still loves and allows us to continue to be selfish, petty, and wasteful.

Black and White are opposite extremes of physical and metaphysical laws that manifest by degree in varying shades of grey. We preach Love and practice Hate, poles of like and dislike. We’re hypocrites, living in an insane world. Everything is ass backwards. Revealing our secrets is like cleaning septic tanks with our tooth brushes. As Hermes (Mercury) said, “The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of understanding.”  

Today is Veteran’s Day. It’s a special day to honor those soldiers who have fought for our country. Our culture was built on the backs of Veterans. This is a good day to think about what we’re willing to give our lives for. It’s also a good day for critical thinking in general and forgiving!

Imagine a President who chooses good will toward all. Imagine leaders who exercise the authority and responsibility to love and nourish our planet and all of its inhabitants. Imagine media having a mission to raise human consciousness through honesty and integrity. Imagine a world where religion is guided by spirituality. Imagine the potential for good health and happiness for all.

It’s easy to see how easy it is to choose hate, fear, and intimidation when there’s a steady diet of it coming from morally and spiritually bankrupt religious fundamentalists and partisan politicians. Mercury is giving us the opportunity today to see our truths through the veils of lies and deception. When will we wake up and smell the garbage? Why must we lose what we value to value what we had?

VIRGO, HANDS, & HEALTH

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“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”  Stephen King (Virgo ~ 9/21/47)

You don’t need a Virgo Sun, Moon, planets, aspects, or planetary placements to be a Virgo. Strong middle finger phalanges with square tips dominate square palms with short fingers. Virgo hands are less meaty and more flexible than Taurus  and more elastic than Capricorn, with pinkish flat palms, well- developed first knots, and very lean fingers. Virgo is the most adaptable of all three practical types.

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Virgo is known for their methodical ‘hands on’ approach to being natural. No matter the type, square fingertips, large second knots, and short fingernails add order and practicality. Strong crooked middle fingers that lean toward ring fingers at first joints strive for perfection and need personal space. Virgo is known for being critical. Many are mainly self-critical. Fire rising or a watery moon gives them inspiration, passion, and empathy. People who chew their nails are self-critical or critical of others (many lines crisscrossing beneath the middle finger). Nails bitten to the quick are contrary and will choose the other side of an argument, just to make a point, even if they agree with you.

Virgo is happiest where discriminating, reliable, modest, and orderly service is required. Famous for cleaning up everyone else’s messes, Virgo can obsess on details while being overly thorough and meticulous. Contrary to popular belief, Virgo doesn’t like details. Short fingered people (Practical & Intuitive) dislike details and prefer to see the whole picture. Details are a nuisance; something others should do, but few can do them better than Virgo, who selflessly rationalizes their distaste and drive themselves to do whatever needs to be done. They often ask too little for themselves. Ironically, they know their value, but are reticent to ask for it. Ego gratification is not their motivation. Virgos work hard to feel useful. Never take a Virgo for granted. They cherish every molecule of what they truly earn, but must be valued and appreciated. Accounting, medical, nursing, social work, maintenance, cleaning, and health food are career magnets for Virgo.

Some Virgos have worked hard and been rewarded for their efforts. Writers like Agatha Christie & Leonard Cohen; Lawyers Alan Dershowitz & Marcia Clark; Financiers J.P. Morgan & Warren Buffet; Actors Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Sophia Loren, Paul Walker, Keanu Reeves, and Cameron Diaz; Singers Michael Jackson & Beyonce’; Political figures Margaret Trudeau, Lyndon Johnson, George Wallace, Yasser Arafat, & John McCain (who’s hands are Taurus). McCain’s stubborn short index finger, slightly crooked pinky, and intuitive tips say ‘what you see is not what you get’. Few have truly known his truths.

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Mercury, the winged messenger, holds a caduceus (medicine), ruled by Virgo (healthcare). Gemini rules communications and wit. Virgo is earthy and practical. She represents more scientific, technical, and empathetic aspects of thinking and feeling. Virgo is feminine in gender, logical and healthy. Gemini is masculine, intellectual, and cleverer. Imagination is more compatible with Gemini than practicality.

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While I was practicing palmistry in my early thirties, a virile young man showed up one day, asking “When will I die?” He was a Virgo, healthy looking, well proportioned, energetic, smart, and multi-talented craftsman. He appeared to have excellent health. Well-balanced square palms were pink and firm with short straight fingers. Pink elastic skin, resilient palms, flexible wrists, and mildly flexible finger joints revealed a healthy balance between determination and adaptability. His basic lines were clear and deeply engraved. How lucky he is, I thought, but fate had sealed a different future for him because he had AIDS.

AIDS was a death sentence at the time. I couldn’t see his illness. Nothing stood out. I also lacked experience to counsel him. I said, “I’m sorry, only god knows the answer to your question. You’re a naturally healthy person. If anyone can beat this disease, you can.” Awkwardly, I grasped at his positive qualities, but he didn’t want to hear them. We chatted about what he planned to do. He wanted to be proactive. I helped him decide to build a regimen of healthy diet, aerobic exercise, peaceful sleep, more meaningful relationships, and more quality time management.

My curiosity about AIDS and desire to make a difference inspired me to volunteer weekly at Bailey House, AIDS housing organization. I showed up twice weekly for two years to read hands, astrology, and tarot cards for clients and staff. I used metaphysics as a lens to view their issues and challenges in a symbolic way to help them choose what’s next.

I printed hands from the AIDS community monthly to monitor the progress or regress of the disease. I began noticing changes in skin ridge patterns on the percussion of hands. Lack of adequate funding, limited time, and not enough statistical data made it difficult for me to be thorough or scientific. Most people with AIDS suppress their potentials because they obsess on the harsh realities of a very fragile impending mortality. I affirmed their talents and strengths and inspired them to continue making positive choices and taking meaningful actions. We looked forward to our weekly sessions.

Your health is in your hands. In the days before computerized medical diagnosis, doctors used their intuition, tasted a patient’s urine, looked into their eyes, and examined their tongue, skin, and especially their hands to diagnose illness. Hands reflect a person’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. I encourage seekers to examine and reflect on their own hands and the hands of people they care about. Hands are a mirror of a person.

Fingernails are windows to a person’s health. Illnesses can be seen in fingernails. Anemia, thyroid disease, malnutrition, carpal tunnel syndrome, psoriasis, eczema, liver disease, heart, lungs, colon, chronic respiratory disease, lymph system problems, diabetes, Raynaud’s disease, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcers, Hodgkin’s disease, and sickle-cell anemia are some of them.

Dozens of stress related problems and types of cancer can be seen in skin ridge patterns (dermatoglyphics). Conditions of lines indicate conditions of heart, brain, kidneys, liver, and stomach in male and female systems. Palmistry is prescriptive, but should never be used to diagnose or prescribe. When I observe a potential health problem in a person’s hands, I let them know I’m not a medical palmist and suggest they see a specialist.

Many health problems are natural predispositions to specific character types. Know the type and understand the corresponding potential health problems. Here’s a generalized list of health issues that correspond to a person’s dominant astrological signs and hand features. Click links to learn when and how a finger is dominant and what other qualities in addition to health are represented. The Good News is that forewarned is forearmed! Despite a person’s genetics, free will rules over fate.

Sagittarius ~ Dominant index finger ~ blood disorders, liver trouble, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, and problems with hips, thighs, and throat. A huge challenge and temptation for Sagittarians is refraining from overindulging in rich food and drink.

Capricorn ~ Dominant middle finger ~ skin problems, teeth with age, knees, ligaments, secretion of bile, skeletal, left ear deafness, paralysis, rheumatism, gout, hardening of the arteries, hemorrhoids, and varicose veins.

Leo ~ Dominant ring finger ~ eyesight, heart, and blood circulation.

Gemini ~ Virgo Dominant pinkie ~ nervous system, bronchial, and respiratory systems, thyroid gland, headaches, memory loss, and speech impediments.

Taurus ~ Libra Dominant ball of thumb ~ throat, lymphatic system, venereal diseases, heart, circulation, and nervousness.

Cancer ~ Dominant heel of hand ~ bodily fluids, stomach, tumors, female disorders, epilepsy, mucous membranes, gout, rheumatism, kidney, bladder, and mental illness.

Aries ~ Dominant tip of thumb and percussion of hand ~ inflammations, acute fevers, infections, muscular disorders, blood diseases, hemorrhage, infectious and contagious diseases, throat and chest trouble, and high blood pressure.

Scorpio ~ Peripheral lines on heel of hand ~ reproductive system, ruptures, hemorrhoids, ulcers, venereal diseases, and problems with prostate or urethra.

Aquarius ~ Nails and qualities of lines ~ ankle weakness, anemia, cramps, heart weaknesses, nervous diseases, varicose veins, and sensitive skin.

Pisces ~ pointed finger tips / yellowish skin / islanded line of health~ feet and toes including bunions and gout, colds, mucous discharges, tumors, drug addictions, and liver troubles.

TAURUS & HANDS

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You don’t have to have a Taurus sun, moon, ascendant, aspects, or house placements to be Taurus. ‘Pure types’ have firm, pink, elastic skin, dense mount consistency, and a bulging percussion under pinkie finger. Large stiff thumbs and short stiff fingers embody stubbornness, determination, and tenacity. Full rosy balls of thumbs symbolize love of family, children, food, nature, comfort, luxury, art, music, and all things beautiful. When a ball of thumb is surrounded by a long clear deep life line, that person is blessed with good health. Long clear fate lines also symbolize strong purpose, goals, and sense of destiny. These are all generalizations to be adjusted based on the gestalt of a person.

Deep lines and clear skin ridges reveal trails, trials, and tribulations to be navigated and guided by anyone who learns. Taurus has few extra lines. Requiring security and stability, they think and feel in practical ways. Long graceful heart lines ending under the index finger are romantic and sentimental. Being ‘old fashioned’ is natural. People with long heart lines often see others as they want them to be, instead of how they really are. Head lines closely intertwined with life lines at their beginnings must be appreciated and never taken for granted. Loop and arch fingerprints add adaptability and practicality. Square finger tips reinforce a need for order and stability. Depending on size, second knots are more or less concerned with keeping everything in its place. The larger the knot, the more compulsive the need for order in the area that knot represents. Dominant middle phalanges embody practical pursuits and dominant bottom phalanges prefer sensual. The hand pictured above belongs to someone with a Pisces sun and a Taurus hand and character.

Taurus is driven by their physical senses. These responsible, practical, pragmatic, objective, reliable, and dependable individuals manage and maintain the material world. They only trust what they can see and feel, not ideas, intuitions, or inspirations. As creatures of habit, they get addicted to routine and order. Being bogged down in practical and mundane matters makes it hard to access their abstract abilities and imagination. They procrastinate at beginnings and endings, another unproductive habit, which opposes their need to be responsible, caring, and appreciated.

Taurus embodies Aphrodite’s desire for comfort and beauty. Venus gives form to wealth and power. She loves her family, friendships, home, food, nature, art, and music. Her need for physical security and stability drives her practical attitudes. She’s honest, dependable, and trustworthy, and valued by all for her natural warmth and good sense. When she’s healthy, she won’t bend the truth or perform a song and dance act for anyone. She’s loyal, affectionate, and charming, and can also be controlling, jealous, and possessive. She’s not a great salesperson as she takes rejection personally. She thrives in real estate, banking, food, and fashion. Her challenges are to trust her gut, give up control, and let go when it no longer makes sense to hang on. Taurus can be the best Bull and the worst Minotaur.

FAMOUS TAUREANS

Pope John Paul ll embodied many positive Taurus qualities. He got the rich to share wealth with the poor. He was the first Pope to visit a synagogue, encouraging Catholics and Jews to love one another. An assassination attempt nearly killed him; and still, he rose to address countless chaotic church stresses and messes.


J. Krishnamurti, spiritual guide, made good sense to and for everyone

Leonardo da Vinci was the original hipster, great artist, and inventor

Sigmund Freud was father of modern psychoanalysis

Karl Marx developed the theory of socialism

Martha Graham was mother of modern dance

Katherine Hepburn was Grande Dame of American stage and movies

Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Tony Blair ground Great Britain

“The great mass of people will more easily fall victim to a big lie than a small one”. The darkest depths of Taurus created the monster from Hell from 1933 to 1945.  Adolph Hitler transformed our world by empowering anger, fear, and terror and manipulating masses with symbolic imagery. Hitler was responsible for over thirty million deaths.

 Jim Jones, fanatic cult leader, led 1,000 followers to mass suicide in 1978

Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh had no remorse for his evil

Saddam Hussein, (Iraqi President 79~06) dictator, was shamed and slayed.

Alchemy isn’t about turning lead into gold. It’s the art and science of guiding and balancing Saturn and the Sun. We can all be our own best friends and bull shit detectors. Having virtue, honesty, integrity, dignity, nobility, discipline, structure, focus, persistence, and determination are keys to healthy humanism and heroism. Taking responsibility for healthy attitudes, critical thinking, constructive planning, realistic goal setting, healthy values, and honest actions, transform our inner and outer worlds. Embrace your best qualities, master your darkness, manage your life, and be an alchemist. Everyone has Taurus in their symbolism and psyche.