The artist this week is Agnus Noyes Goodsir.  After World War I an art and cultural explosion was happening in Paris and London and many Australian artists flocked there.  Agnus was among this migration.  There she met “Cherry” who became her model and lover.  Though her sexuality and painting style at the time were not publicized in Australia, she was held in high esteem by the French.  She was invited and became a member of Salon Nationale des Beaux-Arts.  An annual exhibition of French artists (and now foreign artists) since 1909.  Sadly, she was largely forgotten until in the 1990’s. Goodsir was reintroduced to Australia and the world by the director of Victoria’s Bendigo Art Gallery.

Above, The Parisienne, is a perfect example of the start of the movement of the “modern women”.  The model clothed in masculine attire, short hair, and a cigarette in her hand accentuated the lifestyle that Goodsir had fled to Paris to find.  The face is shadowed adding to the ambiguity of gender but also intrigues and pulls the viewer into the character and life of this kind of person.

At the same time does it hint that Goodsir’s true self and work was still in the shadows?  Was the choice of the flat tonal background in contrast to the bold contours of the clothing emphasizing stepping out of the banal norm into a stronger cheekier life of a modern woman?  Does it suggest that what a woman wears on the outside still defines her?  Or is this Agnus just being a realistic painter.  This is an amazing thing about art, we as a viewer can find as much insight to ourselves as the artist does in making the piece.

 

 

P.S. Signs with an * it a big week for you.  Leo this is a perfect time to get an Astrological Tarot Reading for your coming year.  And Aquarius it is your halfway mark for your birth year, so if you need a Planetary Reading for a check in now is the time.

 

May light be on you, around you, and within you,

Nina

 

Aries

Three of Wands – Your to-do list is long to get from here to there, and this week you are advised to be very conscious of the concept of contingences. There is a domino effect where you do not have totally control of all the pieces.  The challenge is having faith that the Universe is working with you behind the scenes while you plan.

 

Taurus

Eight of Pentacles – This is a great week to get your hands dirty.  You have the energy to persist and preserve through the most challenging projects.  The challenge with this energy is that it can only be directed at things and ventures already in motion, that you love the work, or it needs your unique talents.  This is not a week to start new projects or do something outside of your skillset.  Unless you want to invite in strain and resistance.

 

Gemini

Ace of Wands – Last week’s energy was about the creative act of bring an idea down and materialize it.  Asking you about your intentions and the steps to manifest them.  This week’s energy flow has less intensity but with the same focus of creation.   So, continue to manifest whether big or small acts, and do so with the highest intention and integrity.  However, if you feel blocked the key is to immerse yourself in what inspires you.  This will re-lit your fires.

 

Cancer

*Death – The energy this week is about letting go of the old and sloughing of the things that no longer work for you.  This releasing generates the fodder for new beginnings.  The challenge is seeing the past is in the past and the present and future is in you.  Remember a burial ground and a planting ground look the same and the processes are intertwined.

 

Leo

Nine of Wands – The last two weeks beamed the energies assigned to Leos.  Let us review.  They wanted you to allow three paradoxes into your personal constructs.  1) Your strength comes from dealing with your weakness.  2) Your self-doubt comes from trying to control things that cannot be tamed.  3) Your insecurity is also the root of your compassion.  And once these constructs are in place, work on harnessing your power and applying outward to the correct degree where you sustain growth – not burn it all down.  This week the energy has you setting up some borders so you can finish up loose ends of the past two weeks, so you can begin focusing on the future.  Be aware, this might be the last week to finish off the past year before next year’s energies start pushing you forward.

 

Virgo

Two of Cups – Last week’s energy was hard, but this week has a lower intensity and is filled with love.  Last week asked what needs to shift externally and internally to make a major outer-life change happen?  Remember this is a process of a modernization of self, but you must do it a brick at a time.  This week’s energy prompts you that first brick is love.  What are the qualities that you want in a partner, and what do you need to adjust to become a partner to that kind of person?  If you are in a relationship,  reconnect with your chosen loved ones. Making sure you are open to the love they give you, as well as, showing the love you have for them.  True partnership is long termed balanced acts of giving and receiving.

 

Libra

Five of Cups – Chaos of emotions float around you this week.  The challenge with this energy is keeping positive while processing the negative with compassion.  This energy reminds you not to run away from joy or sorrow; both are part of life.  And it also reminds that only by truly feeling and processing your emotions can you use them for good in the future.

 

Scorpio

Ten of Cups – Yeah, this week should feel a lot lighter than last week.  The clouds have parted.  This energy is pushing you to seek your community, bathe in love and connection.  You are the water signs most social and need contact.  Even if you cannot do it physically.  Time to spread and receive some love in any way you can.

 

Sagittarius

King of Coins – Last week’s energy endorsed you enacting the usefulness of inertia.  Using or creating moments of pause for reflection, letting go of old patterns, and making way for the new ideas that only arises from silence.  This week the energy is about grounding yourself.  Where last week action happened in the ether and the mind and was great for inspiration.  This week you need to burrow down into the earth hashing out those inspirations into actual labor-intensive work.

 

Capricorn

Ace of Swords – This week’s energy bolsters logic and reasoning.  Divine inspiration comes if you focus on looking at the details in a variety of configurations.  It is not that this shuffling of pieces finds the answer, but the process helps you find solutions even in to hardest of puzzles.  Like fitting a square peg into a circular hole.

 

Aquarius

Four of Pentacles – Last week your goal was setting aside time to process what this past month or six have been about.  Processing your experiences helps you gather your experiential knowledge.  Hopefully, you had time to do this, for this process of standing back helps you see your authentic path and how to walk it.  The energy this week focuses on your first step – looking at your relationship with money.  The challenge is seeing your feeling of safety and having a financial back-up are interconnected.  Do you have the resources set aside to feel secure?  If not save this week, and if so, you can let go of your purse strings and give yourself a gift for taking care of you.

 

Pisces

*Strength – The energy this week focuses on your inner strength.  Take time to ground and deepen your connection to how strong you really are.  You are courageous, strong, and fierce.   In the face of these uncertainty times, see that you are resilient.  This week’s events show you that whether life flows to you calm waters or gale force storms, you got this.  The challenge is seeing the tiger’s eye in the mirror no matter the circumstance.