Spirited Woman Blogger Team

The Astrology of 2010: Out with the Old and in with the New

Are you ready for the winds of change to come knocking at your door? Well, if you’re not then get ready because I can promise you one thing – in 2010 there will be powerful cosmic winds for everyone.

This year we happen to have several planets not only in the early degree of Cardinal signs, but also making aspects to one another. In addition to this, we’ll have Eclipses in 2010 in the Cardinal signs of Cancer and Capricorn.

This pretty much guarantees that if you’ve got the Sun, Moon or rising sign in Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn, the landscape of your life will change dramatically in 2010.

Every sign however, will experience some type of revolution and personal awakening thanks to the transition of Uranus entering Aries in 2010 for the first time in 84 years! This will cause a stir in some area of life for all of us but will surely be felt as an electrifying jolt to early degree Arians and other Cardinal signs.

In addition, Saturn and Pluto will be at a tense angle to one another during this year forcing many of us to consolidate our resources and learn how to make the most of restrictions. This can take the form of material limits or personal ones caused by a relationship or other heavy responsibility. Again, since these aspects will occur in Libra and Capricorn it will be the Cardinal signs most dynamically touched.

Jupiter, the planet of luck and abundance will be in two signs this year – Pisces and Aries. If you’re blessed to have either sign strong in your chart this will be an unforgettable year filled with magnificent opportunities.

There’s so much more astrology to talk about in 2010 – more than usual because of the rare amount of planets changing signs this year. I’m pleased to announce that I've been working on special year ahead video forecasts that will be available for each sign on my website by the last week of 2009. Be sure to watch your in depth forecast to learn more about how the cosmic energy of 2010 will affect you.

Happy New Year spirited women – make it a great one!

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

Astrology and Gift Giving – How to Unwrap a Smile Every Time!

I happen to be one of those strange birds who finish Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving each year. I know it’s a little drastic but at least I recognize the rest of the world is more normal when it comes to holiday gift shopping. So I thought I’d offer some help.

Did you know that astrology can give you fantastic insight about the perfect gift to buy your loved ones? But here’s the secret – you can’t just look at a person’s Sun sign, you have to also integrate their Venus sign because Venus is the planet that rules what you love and your personal tastes.

Plus you want to consider their Moon sign because the Moon rules your deepest instincts and what makes you feel nurtured. It’s easy enough – just visit the free chart maker on my website at www.InsightfulAstrology.com and enter the birth information of the person you’re planning to buy a gift for.

Below are some tidbits for each sign. Blend the blurbs for each person’s respective Sun, Moon and Venus sign and voila – you’re guaranteed to be a hit in the gift giving department! When in doubt, go with the person’s Moon sign – you will always get them what they crave.

ARIES – It has to be something that makes their life go by faster and allows them to enjoy thrills. Think speed, think sexy and fun. Roller skates, a red sports car, or sexy lingerie come to mind. Any gadget that does something in half the time will please.

TAURUS – Indulge their senses and you can’t go wrong. Gourmet gift baskets filled with delectable treats, a gift certificate for a massage or a handmade scarf made out of the finest material.

GEMINI – A gift that will stimulate their mind is sure to please. A gift subscription to their favorite magazine, a gift card to iTunes, and the latest New York Times bestseller will all work. This sign also loves a good laugh so anything that will tickle their funny bone is a winner.

CANCER – You can’t go wrong with home comforts! Anything that will beautify their home or give them the feeling of being cozy and nesting will work wonders. Try fuzzy slippers and a bathrobe, gourmet teas, scented candles or a tabletop waterfall.

LEO – You’d better save your pennies when you’re shopping for this sign. Only the best will do and it has to make a statement. Jewelry, the latest designer fashions or sunglasses are all favorites. Not to mention theatre tickets or other invites to exclusive events.

Don't Waste Your Words!

Full Moon in Gemini – December 2, 2009

Gemini loves a good story. If you’re ever planning a dinner party or social gathering be sure to invite a couple of chatty Gemini’s to your event for if you do, there’s guaranteed to be stimulating conversation and gossip in store.

Gemini is an intellectual air sign, ruled by Mercury, the planet of communication. This combination offers a quick wit, a clever and curious mind and the ability to think on one's feet.

The problem is that Gemini loves to talk so much that she can talk just for the sake of talking. Not exactly a quality more practical signs would value. Take me for example. I’m a level headed Taurus Sun with Mercury in Taurus as well. While it’s true that I enjoy conversation just like everyone else, I’m the last person you want to try to engage in meaningless small talk. If there’s nothing important to say, why say anything at all?

Gemini of course, would disagree. And there is merit to this. Gemini feeds her soul off of the nectar of continuous mental stimulation. A conversation is never meaningless in the eyes of Gemini – it’s always filled the potential to strike cerebral gold.

This Full Moon in Gemini will balance the best of both perspectives. There’s the side of this Full Moon that will be talking more than ever thanks to a sextile between the Moon and Mars, the planet of action, now in playful Leo. This aspect will energize everyone’s mind to be more creative and boisterous.

The aspect I really love however is the trine the Moon makes to Saturn, now in collaborative Libra. This trine promises that there will be plenty of intellectual stimulation, but very little of the fickle, gossipy chatter that Gemini can sometimes be guilty of. Nope, Saturn will ground the conversation and keep it to what really matters.

Remember, a Full Moon is a time of culmination – an emotional harvest. It’s when we have an opportunity to release something out and to gain full awareness. In Gemini it will have everything to do with an important message, conversation, or piece of information.

And on this Full Moon, whatever message you have to give or receive will surely not be frivolous or lighthearted. No my friends, this Full Moon is not about wasting words. It’s about letting go of a mindset, idea or thought pattern that has no true purpose.

Once you do this, you’ll have plenty of room for the words that matter most.

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

Please Pass the Gravy...and the Astrology

This Thanksgiving there’s quite an interesting forecast in store. I thought it would be fun to give you the scoop on what to expect in a general sense. If you’d like more detailed information based on your Sun or rising sign, please watch your video horoscope for this week at www.InsightfulAstrology.com.

For starters, Mercury will be at a beautiful angle called a trine to the planet Mars. Mercury is the planet of communication and Mars is the planet of action and energy. This literally spells a day of exciting, stimulating conversation for everyone – no matter who happens to be around your dinner table.

Even the quietest relative who usually sits and shovels food into his mouth, carefully avoiding anything more than “Can you please pass the gravy” will come out of his shell. You’re sure to enjoy energized and heated debates that end in a friendly way and there might be so much conversation this year, it could be hard to hear yourself think!

Believe it or not however, there’s even more astrology to gear up for this Thanksgiving. Venus, the planet of love, will be at a harsh angle called a square to Neptune, the planet of inspiration and illusion. While you may have plenty to say to your relatives in the afternoon, by the evening your head might be in the clouds. It’s quite possible that you will be swept away by your romantic fantasies or be hypnotized by your sweetheart and decide to have dessert elsewhere.

There is the potential with Venus square Neptune to only see the best in the people you love, overlooking all of their flaws. I have to say though, that when it comes to a family get together sometimes this isn’t such a bad thing. After all, it could be nice to not be totally freaked out when your great Uncle Earl takes his dentures out and leaves them on the dining room table while he digs into his mashed potatoes. This year, you might even find it endearing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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

Missing All of My Moments

I just had an eye opening conversation with a kindred soul. She’s not an astrologer but she is an extremely spiritual lady with a phenomenal intuition. We talked about the significant changes I’ve been going through personally and I was relating it all to the astrological cycles I know I’m currently under.

But this pal of mine, she bypassed astrology. She sideswiped the universe and didn’t seem to care whether Pluto was squaring my Venus or that the upcoming Eclipse will conjoin my natal Mars. Nope, she didn’t give a hoot.

She told me, in no uncertain terms that I needed to step away from my Merry Go Round because I have been missing all of my moments.

Wow. That hit me like a ton of bricks. I’m a heavy Aries type which makes me the kind of person who lives life at 90 mph. I don’t know how to relax. I spend so much time trying to achieve that it seems like I’ve forgotten how to live.

So fitting for this week’s New Moon in Scorpio which occurred on Monday.  Scorpio is all about purging and regeneration and this New Moon is square Neptune which is the planet that likes to cloud our perception. We all have a glorious opportunity to eliminate the illusions in our life and plant seeds of new, powerful transformation thanks to this cosmic event.  You’ll have this chance for two weeks since every New Moon presents a cycle of fresh starts.

My illusion was just revealed to me in a most startling way. And now I’m off to figure out how I can carve out a life that doesn’t have me spinning endlessly on a carnival ride as I try to grab the brass ring. I’m tired of missing out on what really matters. It’s time to reclaim my moments!

A harsh reality check can be brought to you with Scorpio energy and I definitely got my dose of it. Spirited women, are you ready for yours? What’s your illusion? More important, are you ready to let it go?

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

Struggling Against Chains: What to Expect During the Saturn-Pluto Square

On November 15th we’ll experience the first of three direct squares of transiting Saturn to Pluto in the sky. The other two will occur on January 31st and August 21st 2010 and represents a significant cosmic shift in terms of learning how to use one’s personal power in the face of resistance.

The early degree Cardinal signs of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn will be directly affected so if you have a planet in one of these signs you can be sure that your life will force you to work within new structures and that there will be a dynamic test to your personal strength.

Saturn is the planet of lessons and restriction while Pluto is the planet of elimination and transformation. Saturn rules authority and Pluto rules power. Mix these two in a cosmic cocktail and you have the potential to overcome any obstacle in life.

Truly, this can be a time of reckoning where you finally realize that you can do anything – even while those chains, bricks, authority figures and bad guys are trying to keep you down. “Bring it on”, you might say. It will make you stronger.

But that’s only if you embrace this energy and learn how to work with it. If you don’t then it’s likely you’ll be in for a test – especially if you don’t volunteer to eliminate whatever it is in your life that is now “dead” and holding you back from becoming the master (Saturn) of your power center (Pluto).

The Self-Worth Profile in Astrology: Learning How to Value Yourself So Other People Do

I had an interesting conversation this morning with my personal trainer. Several months ago, I hired him because I knew I’d be doing more work in front of a camera and I wanted to look and feel my very best. It was one of the best decisions I made all year because it enhanced my self confidence and thus self-worth, in a priceless way.

But that’s not what my trainer and I were discussing this morning. Nope – we were talking business.

I mentioned to him that I intended on raising my rates this January for personal consultations. I live in NY and compared to what many other astrologers charge I’m currently charging on the “low scale” for my field. So I asked him when the last time he raised his rates.

I was surprised by his reply initially. He put his head down – this muscular young man with a bright future and brilliant talent – and said “Never. I’ve always been afraid to.”

I was stunned. But then I realized that is was a classic case of a self-worth profile in the birth chart being short circuited. We had a long talk about self-worth and value and being a business person, knowing you are providing a valuable service to your clients. The old adage is true: if you don’t value yourself how can you expect anyone else to.

How’s your self-worth profile? Do you value your own talents and abilities or is there a short circuit somewhere that needs fixing? Look at your second house in your birth chart or have an astrologer explain it to you for clues. Planets there will tell you all about your talents and any difficult aspects to planets or the ruler of your second house, will tell you where you’ve got some potential work to do in order to achieve a healthy self-worth concept of yourself.

It’s worth considering. As a Taurus I have a lifetime of learning about values and self-worth. It made my day today to be able to help another person see his own. Yes, my trainer WILL be raising my rates this January.

And I will happily pay him.

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

The Truth About Soul Mates

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the significance of people we meet in our lives. From my humble point of view as a spiritual astrologer, I can tell you that I don’t believe that we meet anyone “by accident.” No, all of the people in your life come to you with an invisible soul contract connecting the two of you in some way.

Usually that soul contract reads something like “Let’s try to even the score in this lifetime without making even more of a karmic mess, shall we?”

Ok, so maybe I’m being a little bit sarcastic. But seriously, there are karmic lessons between you and every person in your life with whom you have a significant aspect. And to prove it, you can study a branch of astrology called karmic synastry.

I recently had the great pleasure to be a guest on a radio show where I was able to share my thoughts on relationship astrology, the karmic debt we have with those in our lives, and how you can use astrology to help you understand these lessons and grow from any relationship.

Those heavy hitter outer planets always have something to do with karma. These are Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. When a personal planet (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars) in one person’s chart is making a contact to an outer planet in another person’s chart then an astrologer has a “script” to read instantly that tells him or her about the dynamics and karmic implications of your relationship.

Interesting stuff don’t you think? If so, I invite you to listen in on the radio show for yourself and learn more about why I am convinced that there are no accidents when it comes to the people we meet. Ever.

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

A Karmic Shift: Saturn Enters Libra

Yikes! Can you feel the tectonic plates of cosmic energy shifting? Ok, so maybe it’s not that sudden and dramatic, but I can assure all of you spirited women of one thing – Saturn is a heavy hitter in astrology. This is the planet of lessons and restriction and karmic debt. So when he does something in the sky, he means business.

On October 29th Saturn entered Libra for the first time in 29 years. Saturn will give us a taste of his Libra lessons until April 7th 2010 and then after July 21st will begin teaching us in earnest until October 2012.

Collectively, this will give all of us an opportunity to structure and crystallize our approach to relating and collaboration. Individually, depending on your Sun sign and rising sign, Saturn will bring a shift in your personal life lessons for the next two and a half years. To learn more about your individual karmic lessons I invite you to watch my special video karmic report for each sign at www.InsightfulAstrology.com.

The trick to working positively with Saturn energy is acceptance. You can’t run or hide from the tests and potential challenges that may come your way because Saturn is truly asking you to step up to the plate and master whatever it is he’s trying to teach you.

In fact, if you roll up your sleeves and dive right into it, Saturn will reward you – that’s a cosmic promise. Just don’t expect to see the rewards according to your timeline. It’s all up to Saturn’s discretion you see. He determines when you’ve aced your final exam and once this happens he’ll give you that gold star.

Your job in successfully working with Saturn energy is to embrace the lesson and do the work, no questions asked. If you start to question the tests always seem to get harder. Kind of like the stern parent who puts you in a corner for ten minutes for bad behavior but as soon as you talk back that ten minutes turns to twenty.

Just remember that Saturn is the guidance of authority that we all need. Without structure there would only be chaos. I for one am ready to embrace my Saturn transit. Are you?

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

The Astrology of Self Respect

This past weekend I had a revelation.

One of my greatest aspirations in life is to become a published author. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked into a Barnes & Noble, headed straight to the astrology section and drooled over all the books there.

My ritual is pretty straightforward. I go to the astrology section and grab a book. Then I close my eyes and imagine it's my book. I picture my name on the cover and my thoughts and ideas filled inside the pages. Some of you might think this is self delusional. I prefer to think of it as manifesting.

Still, years have passed and the world of publishing has yet to open its doors for me. It’s been a frustrating process to say the least. Agents don’t want to sign me on because I’m not famous enough yet. A good publishing house won’t consider my manuscript unless I’ve got an agent to represent me. And no one seems to care much about the quality of my book. In fact, no one has even read it! The whole point of publishing, I thought, was to share your wisdom with others.

I’ve considered self publishing but something holds me back. My dream is to be published by a publishing house. And a Taurus never gives up on anything.

So, after years of trying I finally got what you might think would be my “big break." A new, small time publishing company wanted to sign me on. I should be elated right?

Wrong.

For some reason, I felt this nagging feeling of “whatever” about this deal. The more I learned about the details the more ambivalent I became.

A good friend helped me to weigh the pros and cons and I soon realized it wasn’t such a “deal” after all.

You know why I was going to go with it? Think of a pimply 17-year-old girl who's 20 pounds overweight and never been kissed. She's dying to go to the prom and no one asks. Finally, out of the blue this guy notices her. She knows he's not her type but she's ignoring that knowing because she's never been kissed, never been noticed and desperately wants to go to the prom.

I thought this book deal was the prince I had waited for. Finally, my chance to go to the prom! Turns out if I had signed this deal I would have kissed a frog out of my desperation to get published.

So I learned a pretty big lesson this past weekend. I’m not going to kiss a frog just because I think my prince will never come.

He will. Someday.

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