Spirited Woman Blogger Team

A Spirited Woman on a Mission: Mia Farrow – Starving to Prove a Point

Did you know that Mia Farrow began a hunger strike on April 27 and had hoped to survive without food for 21 days as part of an effort to raise awareness about the plight of starving refugees in the Sudan? She lasted 12 days until doctors told her she was risking her health if she continued.

No, this spirited woman hasn’t gone off her rocker. In fact, when I discovered what she was doing and why she was doing it, I had to take a peek at her birth chart to figure it all out.

Of course once I looked to the stars it all made sense. But first, a little back-story…

Mia Farrow, the actress notable for her astounding compassion to human suffering and the adoptive mother of 14 has been a child rights activist for some time, most notably in Darfur.

Farrow says the fast was “a personal expression of outrage at a world that is somehow able to stand by and watch innocent men, women and children needlessly die of starvation, thirst and disease.”

She was inspired to do it after the Sudanese government expelled international aid agencies from the country last month.

She says she is calling on world leaders to “help build a credible peace process” to end the violence in Darfur. Her protest is part of Genocide Prevention Month, a campaign to stop genocide worldwide.

Well one look at this incredible woman’s astrology tells the story. Her Sun, at the time of her birth was in the progressive, visionary and humanitarian sign Aquarius. Mercury, the planet of communication and thought, is also in Aquarius. These placements are a sign of someone who is more socially conscious and aware of how important it is to break down barriers and outworn structures in society to build a better future for all. And Aquarius will always “do her own thing." No one had been able to talk Farrow out of this hunger strike!

The “over the top” compassion can be found through the ruler of her Taurus rising – the planet Venus. Venus is located in the 12th house in her chart. While this placement is notorious for painful and often secret, heartbreaking romances (I won’t even go there in her case!) it’s also the placement known to endow a native with serious compassion and sensitivity to human suffering. In Aries, Farrow would fight bravely to save those she sees in pain.

Follow her video blogs and learn more about her cause here: http://www.miafarrow.org/

My hat goes off to this extraordinary lady. Some women starve themselves to look good for a man or fit into the latest bikini. But leave it to an Aquarian woman to starve herself to save the world.

Comments?

- Maria DeSimone, www.InsightfulAstrology.com
Click here for more of Maria's posts.

Today is Election Day - A Day for Spirited Women to Inspire Others

Today is the day. Finally. After all of the campaigning, the debates, the policy-making, the mud-slinging, the polls and my endless blogging, it all comes down to this: a chance for every American citizen to participate in the most historic election of our time. One last time, I urge you to make voting today’s highest priority, if you haven’t already done so, and add to our collective political strength as spirited women.

I thought my activist days were over long ago. In my 20's, I was quite fired up about women’s rights; volunteering, demonstrating and marching on Washington twice. Those marches rank among the most inspiring experiences of my life…walking down the National Mall surrounded by hundreds of thousands of other women all united by a single cause. The memory still gives me goosebumps.

My social activism was instilled in me by a father (Sheldon Breier — introduced to my readers a couple of weeks ago) who, more than anything, wanted life to be fair for everyone. Dad participated in quite a few causes during the 60's. He volunteered tirelessly for the successful initiative to lower the voting age to 18. He worked on the primary campaign for Robert Kennedy and was present at the Ambassador Hotel the night RFK was assassinated. He helped Tom Bradley become the first black mayor of Los Angeles and supported Cesar Chavez’ efforts to unionize the farmworkers.

No wonder I have a natural inclination to get involved.

Whether You are Voting "Red State" or "Blue State" Change and New Frontiers are Unfolding

The US Presidential campaign is just about finished, voting day is tomorrow, November 4th. The pundits and sound bites will tell you this has been a hard fought race... still too close to call. The candidates talk of the tough times and the need for change and leadership to take the country forward and to lead the world. All of these sound bites seem so very similar to past elections, with the predictions, claims, and pontificating pundits sounding like reruns.

But something is very different - new frontiers are unfolding whether you are voting Democratic or Republican. There is a possibility of having the first African-American President or the first Woman Vice President elected on Tuesday - this is a new frontier indeed.

I know passions are high and people are entrenched in their "side," their candidate winning. Take a break from all of that - just for one moment - and notice the shifts that are occurring. I think it has been a long time coming for this momentous event - but I am very grateful it is here. I have my preferences for how I would like it to turn out but the change and new frontiers that are unfolding with these new firsts cannot be ignored. Their meaning and significance is wonderful news for all of us.

Be inspired by the new firsts we are on the threshold of... look into your own life and see that there are "new firsts" evident there as well if you take the time to look. Then you can go back to being passionate about "your" candidate and VOTE and be part of ushering in this new frontier of possibilities.

- BZ Riger www.artofallowingmindset.com
Click here for more of BZ's posts.

Hurricanes, Global Warming and A Chance to Help

Even as Texas braces for Hurricane Ike, hot on the heels of Fay’s attack on Florida and Gustav’s sideswipe of New Orleans, the impact of the catastrophic damage caused by Katrina three years ago continues. My heart goes out to all the people in the southeast U.S. and the Caribbean who are being affected by these and other storms. (Read to the end for an opportunity to assist a population currently displaced by Gustav.)

From my relatively safe viewing point in Southern California (fires, mudslides and earthquakes aside), I have to wonder if there is actually more destructive hurricane activity occurring each year, or does it only seem that way…and is global warming to blame?

Scientific evidence seems to say…yes and no.

Yes, there has been a higher frequency of hurricanes than normal since 1995 in the North Atlantic region – although not globally. Research is mixed on the cause, with many scientists drawing a correlation to rising Atlantic sea surface temperatures, and some attributing the phenomenon to natural multi-decade cycles and other reasons.  In May of this year, one prominent climate change scientist, Tom Knutson, published a computer-model-based study that asserts warmer ocean temperatures will lead to fewer, not more, hurricanes in the Atlantic.

However, the fact that named tropical storms have increased in duration and intensity on average, is generally agreed upon to be an effect of manmade climate shifts, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. For more details, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change offers a very informative FAQ about hurricanes and global warming on its website.