Shoes in the News Again

Trippin’ to the Middle East – but this time it isn’t George Bush, it’s Pope Benedict with a shoe issue.

So I’m giving a shout-out to feet-and-shoe-ruled Pisces, the sign whose higher octave planet, Neptune, is associated with spirituality, the masses, propaganda and other deceptions, veils, discontent, oil, gas, water, and any liquid you’ve got in your sippy cup at the moment.

And you know that on the morning of Sept 11, 2001, Neptune was at 6 Aquarius, its position when Mohammed entered Medina, and thus represents the birth of Islam. ’6AQ’ is often referred to as the Medina degree for just this reason.

Therefore, 9/11/01 was quite close to being Islam’s Neptune Return.

And the Sabian Symbols (one for each of the 360 degrees of the zodiac) are said to be originally from Babylonia so let’s check out ’6AQ’ to see if it applies to the Pope or his visit to the Holy Land…

‘A Performer of a Mystery Play: SUBTLETY’ (perfect for Neptune and for the Catholic Church’s rituals and magicalities, too.)

positive expression: a gift for dramatizing the deeper or real opportunities of a human society;

neg/unconscious/shadow side: consistent self-mystification and marked impracticality.

That was from Marc Edmund Jones’ version of the Symbols.

Dane Rudhyar gives ’6AQ’ as:

‘A Masked Figure Performs Ritualistic Acts In A Mystery Play.

Keynote: The individual’s involvement in long-established patterns of activity aiming at the release of collective power.

–social processes in their deepest occult aspect. The individual is seen as having assumed a TRANSPERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.’

This speaks of rituals as being binding: ‘Biological and cosmic energies can thus be used to ensure that social processes do not lose touch with the deeper realities of planetary and universal Life.’

Well, okay then. And at least no shoes were thrown at big heads!

Fabric Arts rock!

For years I perpetrated such projects as felt wall hangings, felt children’s activity books, a line of ladies and children’s fabric accessories (beaded make-up bags, purses, scarves, tutus, etc), and anything else that beautiful fabric could make happen.

Embroidery has traditionally been a favorite type of ‘handiwork’ as well, so I was happy to find this morning (bwo Twitter) a site, Curiosities 808, which displays some of the most gorgeous embroidery you’ll want to find.

Another site, Spring Tree Road, is about knitting and spinning, so scroll down if you wish to my new Category ‘Fabric Arts’ and nab yourself a peek at these lovely ladies’ beautiful handiwork!

Astrologically? Asteroid Pallas handles one’s ‘patterning ability’ (along with ‘wisdom’ and ‘strategy’) but its her patterning ability in force when it comes to sewing, knitting, and such.

And there are other ‘spinning’ significators in a chart, of course – perhaps the more famous association with Fabric Arts is Ariadne’s Thread which relates to logic, mazes, puzzles, and problem-solving.

And there’s Richard Idemon’s excellent book The Magic Thread about mazes and labyrinths as interpreted through Astrology charts.