Happy Birthday Month Libra!
The artist this week is Ernie Barnes. Barnes’ knowledge as an athlete was pivotal to his painting style. He understood the beauty of motion. Barnes played football in college while getting his art degree and was in the NFL in the sixties. One of his most famous pictures is Sugar Shack (above). It was featured in the popular show Good Times and on a Marvin Gaye album. Barnes’ style of painting elongates and exaggerates the form of his subjects. This choice emphasizes the beauty of movement and the human form. You can hear the music, the heat of the crowd, and see the sway of the dance. Barnes’ painting style is reminiscent of Mannerism from the late Renaissance. Mannerism is the “exaggeration of aspects of the human form, often resulting in compositions that are asymmetrical or unnaturally elegant.”
The other unique feature in many of his paintings is that his subjects’ eyes are closed. In a interview, Barnes commented, “It was in 1971 when I conceived the idea of “The Beauty of the Ghetto’” as an exhibition. And I showed it to some people who were Black to get a reaction. From one (person) it was very negative. And when I began to express my points of view (to this) professional man, he resisted the notion.
As a result of his comments and his attitude I began to see, observe, how blind we are to one another’s humanity. Blinded by a lot of things that have, perhaps, initiated feelings in that light. We don’t see into the depths of our interconnection. The gifts, the strength and potential within other human beings. We stop at color quite often. So, one of the things we have to be aware of is who we are in order to have the capacity to like others. But when you cannot visualize the offerings of another human being, you’re obviously not looking at the human being with open eyes. We look upon each other and decide immediately: This person is Black, so he must be… This person lives in poverty, so he must be…”
Your pondering for the week: Where are your eyes blind to another person’s humanity?
Solar Systems Highlights
The Moon starts the week in Cancer – self-care is the focus. Then on Tuesday it moves onto Leo – your time to shine. By Friday and through the weekend, it is in Virgo – great for organizing, and cleaning. Mercury (communication and knowledge) is in Libra where interactions in relationships are highlighted until Friday. Then it moves back into Virgo so back to practical communication is key. Also, Mercury and 6 other planets are still in retrograde. So, take time for revising, reviewing, and reassessment, and if you must start something new or travel just prepare for upsets or a slowing down of the progress.
Venus (beauty and harmony) is in Virgo all this month a perfect time to tidy up your house and bring practical aesthetics into your life. Mars (action) is now in Gemini, where it will stay until March 25th, 2023. Yes, 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 28th. 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
Ten of Swords – The Muse of Drama comes to help you navigate the energy this week. This energy’s lesson is about creating and honoring your boundaries and wrapping things up if something isn’t worth the drama. She reminds you that it is your choice when you let drama into your life. So, choose wisely what you engage with this week.
Taurus
Ace of Swords – New thoughts and knowledge are in the air this week for you. Keep your mind open for innovation and different ways to think about problems. New solutions and downloads are available if you give your mind time to decipher and integrate this wisdom.
Gemini
Eight of Coins – The Muse of Productivity is here to help you get things done. You have all the tools and skills you need this week. Your challenge is just tweaking them appropriately to each task you focus on. Your motto: I am a virtuoso of life.
Cancerian
*Hierophant – I hope last week you explored some, for this week the Muse of Structure has you back into work mode. This Muse reminds you that your structures in life, the where when and how parts, need to be tweaked and reinforced. This aligns perfectly with the retrograde season we are in. Reflect, Review and Redo.
Leo
*World – The Muse of Opportunities is opening a lot of doors for you this week. She reminds you that this is like window shopping for the future. You go in the “door” and experience it, but you do not need to commit just yet. You are just trying on things for size and feels.
Virgo
*Empress – The Muse of Creativity is here to help you grow something. She asks what would you like to create? The challenge with this energy is that it will take 9 to 10 months to mature properly. So, think carefully, what can you commit to tending for that period? If you do not have the focus for that, you can also spontaneously dabble in creativity. Think of it as fling out seeds into the wild and see what pops up. Not as much control in what comes up, but mystery is cool.
Libra
Three of Wands – The first Muse to work with this birth year is the Muse of Preparation. Prep work is needed to navigate your life with more ease. This Muse suggests ideas like: planning your meals a few days in advance so you will eat better, laying out your clothes before bed to give you more time in the morning to hang with your loved ones, pay your bills early so you can invest/save the extra, etc… The lesson is giving your future a bit of a cushion around your time, money, and energy.
Scorpio
Five of Wands – This week will be more chaotic than usual. However, the Muse of Chaos reminds you two things about this energy. One you are not obligated to interact. This is a game, and you do not have to play. And two if you decide to play there is information to be reaped. But it is up to you to change the rules, not making it a competition, but a place where everyone can win.
Sagittarius
Page of Wands – The Muse of Invention is asking you to innovate something in your life or workspace. That means to bring in a new idea, method, or product into your daily life that sparks others and/or brings in more ease. Time to put on your thinking caps and make the world a better place.
Capricorn
Four of Coins – This week your assets of time, space, and money, might be taxed. The Muse of Legacy comes to help you navigate their distributions more wisely. She asks you to make the concept of legacy be your touchstone. What do you want to stand/be known for? Are your resources supporting these goals? This is a great use of this retrograde’s power. Now is the time to reflect, review and redo the allocations of your resources, so they feed your future.
Aquarius
King of Coins – This week is perfect for getting your space, money, or resources in order. By focusing on the material plane, you get the grounding you need to navigate this week. Clean your space, organize a closet, build something, fix something that is broken, rebalance your finances, etc… The more your working space and resources are in order the easier it will be to implement your will.
Pisces
Nine of Cups – The Muse of Excellencism is here to help with your perfectionism. Excellence is to aim and strive toward high yet attainable standards in an effortful, engaged, and determined yet flexible manner. Where perfectionism is striving for flawlessness and is accompanied by critical self-evaluations and concerns regarding others’ evaluations. Excellence allows for growth, innovation, and ingenuity. Perfection is limiting, all or nothing thinking. This week change your mind set from 100% – right or wrong to 80-90% – good enough with room to grow.
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