Welcome to October one of my favorite months, were I picked art that emphasizes a sense of otherness and therefore can create a feeling of eeriness.  The artist this week is Yasuo Kuniyoshi, 1889-1953.  Kuniyoshi was a painter, photographer, and printmaker. What makes his work interesting is his process of painting combining the Japanese art-think, painting from imagination and memory with ink, with a more Western style, painting from real life and using bolder colors in oil. His art is often categorized as social realism.  This is a movement that is mostly related to the time between the two World Wars in response to social and political hardships.  This movement focused in on “their subjects as heroic symbols of persistence and strength in the face of adversity.”

However, his choices of color palette, subject and technique take the viewer to a warped sense of reality and/or the vivid images of an anxiety dream. The dreams of an artist grappling with the duality of being praised for his work and being harassed for being Japanese in his daily life, for being Japanese and American. During the War he was classified as an enemy alien, his camera was taken, his bank account frozen and he needed to submit paperwork each time he traveled from NYC to his Woodstock studio.   He persevered and in 1948 he became the first living artist to have a retrospective at the Whitney Museum.  Even though he was winning awards with the likes of Hooper and O’Keeffe, his otherness and of being constantly vigilant is present in his work.  And more importantly that we don’t know his name like the former two shows how his otherness still prevails.

Your pondering for the week:  How does otherness show up in your life? How has it influenced how you see yourself or others?

Solar Systems Highlights

The Moon starts the week in Capricorn – helping us get the workweek moving.  Then on Tuesday the moon moves into Aquarius – innovate and plan for future.  On Thursday it goes into Pisces – daydreaming is the focus.  Then for the weekend we have the active energy of Aries – so movement and action are on the menu.   Mercury (communication and knowledge) is in Virgo where practical communication is key.  And Mercury has left it retrograde period so we can start revving up our momentum.

Venus (beauty and harmony) has moved into Libra (relationships), so the focus is about tuning into our loved ones needs, working together, equity, and finding common ground.  Mars (action) is in Gemini, where it will stay until March 25^th, 2023.  This is a 7 month stay instead of it’s usually 1-2.  Mars is pushing us to truthfully, talk our walk.  The challenge with this time is your politeness filter has been switched off.  So, it also has us working on how to be constructive with our voice – to promote action not reaction.  Jupiter is in Aries; it influences action and expansion until October 28^th.  And lastly, Saturn (structures) remains in Aquarius until the beginning of March 2023 – so innovating and modernizing your game is its focus.

P.S. Signs with an * it is a big week for you.  Libra this is a perfect time to get an Astrological Tarot Reading for your coming year.  And Aries 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

*Hanged One – You may feel the release of the retrograde period like a rubber band stretched about to burst with all the potential energy that you have stored up.  But the Muse of Inaction is asking you to slow your role for another week.  This Muse will put blockades up if you don’t heed her warning.  So, if you find yourself in a traffic jam, turn on the radio and enjoy the wait.  If something is block, it is because you need to rethink, or the universe needs something to bake for a bit longer.

 

Taurus

*Moon – This week could stir your emotions and/or your subconscious into scenarios of serene healing.  The Muse of Visions comes to help reveal aspects from the depths of the mind and history to heal.  She reminds you when encountering these ancestral entities, to do so with a light touch.  They are part of what made you into the unique person you are.  Seeing them with haze of a Vaseline lens is appropriate to see their beauty and/or to lessen the dread of their reintroduction and release.

 

Gemini

Eight of Coins – This week you have the energy to get things done.  The Muse of Work is here to help you glide through your projects.  Her advice is to remember you have all the tools you need.  This week is more about tweaking your talents to fit the task than learning a whole new skillset.  Think mastery.

 

Cancerian

*Tower – This Muse of Disruption teaches us that we don’t have control over everything and that negatives are the aspects that give positives potential.  This week can bring seismic shakes or tremors from outside sources that can tumble down your best laid plans.  The key is that destruction has the potential of rebuilding better.  This Muse challenges you to see the cracks in your paradigms and shift them to safer, steadier, and more positive concepts and structures. Your motto: deconstruction before reconstruction.

 

Leo

*Empress – The Muse of Creation is walking with you this week. She wants you to experience the sensual part of life which she hopes will add fodder to your creativity.  She asks how can you express a smell through sight, touch through hearing or taste with your spirit?  This is a great time to paint with your hands or create a meal without a recipe but only through sight.

 

Virgo

Page of Wands – Last week the Muse of Adventure was wanting you to do something out of the ordinary and explore all that the world offers.  This week the Muse of Inspiration continues this theme of discovery, but she would like you to follow the spark of awe farther down its path.  Instead of going on to the next encounter, explore this new phenomenon to its depths.

 

Libra

*Hanged One – The Muse of Suspension is your third energy to work with this year.  This Muse teaches us three things.  One, that an uncontrolled pause or halt is a time to rest and review your path. This is a time to recharge and stock up on your resources.  Two, the Universe’s timing is not in sync with yours and you will have to wait until the light turns green again.  This is not a year to push through plans but to take those pauses like a much-needed rest-stop on your life’s highway.   Lastly, you may be called to go off your life path.  She reminds you this is a choice.  And though you may have to sacrifice you will also gain unexpected gifts along the way.

 

Scorpio

*Lovers – The Muse of Relationships comes into play with yours.  This Muse can cause problems, but it does only to show you where to heal or rebalance emotional equity.  She reminds you true intimacy comes as often with good sex as it does with good collaboration.  You need teamwork in both instances to reap mutual benefits.

 

Sagittarius

Three of Swords – This week will have its ups and downs, but the Muse of Breakthroughs is here to help.  She reminds you that we can learn as much from happiness as we can from sadness.  The former tells us what to fortify and strive for us to obtain joy again and the latter tells us what to avoid or solutions, so it won’t happen again.  Or when to just let go and heal.

 

Capricorn

Seven of Swords – The Muse of Stealth comes to help you either navigate what you need do to stand up for yourself or to walk away from a situation, that if you participated would take you out of character.  She reminds you that genuineness is needed to navigate this week.  You have nothing to hide from or for.

 

Aquarius

Four of Swords – The Muse of Rest comes when you are close to exhaustion but are not realizing it.  She would like you to unplug from technology and society at least once this week.  And then she suggests making good food and rest your highest priority.  This week you need to replenish a near empty tank.

 

Pisces

Two of Coins – The Muse of Juggling is here this week to remind you that focus is key.  This is not a week to multi-task but to take one task at a time.  You can try to juggle two items but only if you are secure that you have the bandwidth to sustain both.