Chiron Goes to a Party, Stumbles into a Crime Caper
We are honoured to have Astrologer and Author Joyce Mason treating us to a guest blog about her first novel. As one who has had a novel on the go since university days I experienced a vicarious thrill on holding Joyce’s first novel in my hands. She’s an astrological Janet Evanovich! The book transports you to the whacky world of Californian new age society, a world I would secretly like to inhabit or at least visit. What Joyce has is a bubbly humour, and this book had me smiling on every page, so that was one continuous smile from ear to ear and cover to cover ~ Lana
Chiron Goes to a Party, Stumbles into a Crime Caper
© 2014 by Joyce Mason
All Rights Reserved
Imagine the mythical centaur Chiron, bigger than life and very tall because of his horse half. He’s dressed up for the costume party of the Millennium. It’s the Silver Anniversary and New Year’s Eve celebration of the Immortalists on Planet Earth Association. Chiron could easily be a past president of this group, given his immortal nature that kept him stuck in a lingering wound. In this fantasy, he’s alive and well enough to party. The costume party theme is “come as you’ll be in the future.” What do you think he’d be wearing?
After you muse on that for a bit, I’ll confess, that’s not how Chiron comes to the party between the pages of my debut novel, The Crystal Ball: A Micki Michaels Mystery. Instead, Chiron has a starring role in an educational video that’s shown at the gala event, celebrating 25 years of accomplishments by IOPEA (pronounced eye-OH-pea-uh), the non-profit organization of longevity seekers and do-gooders throwing the party.
There’s much more going on. Astrologer Micki Michaels, current president of IOPEA, and her ex-FBI-agent boyfriend, Curt Stern, find themselves mixing their hot chemistry into a beaker of smoking crime-solving solutions. Curt and Micki have honed their creative problem-solving skills from being opposites that attracted each other, now trying to live together and make it work. The results are a laugh a minute.
She solves problems by taking or passing out flower essences. He carries a gun. The Battle of Guns and Roses has just begun, as Micki and Curt prepare to bust an extortionist who wants to steal the “secret” of longevity. The mystery man threatens, in numerous phone calls, to show up and wreak havoc at this heartfelt, milestone event. He has already threatened to kidnap Micki’s young niece—and has done other actual damage. He’s escalating, but who is he and where is he hiding in the masked crowd?
It doesn’t take long to see why Chiron is the informal patron saint of IOPEA and so beloved by its president. Like astrological Chiron, Micki is a bridge between Saturn and Uranus, old and new. She lives in an antique-décor Victorian home in San Francisco built in 1900, but it’s full of futuristic inventions, including the forward-thinking protagonist, invented by the author. Like most IOPEANs, Micki looks twenty years younger than her age of 50. She’s sure having an interesting Chiron Return.
According to astrologer Armand Diaz, The Crystal Ball is one example of an evolving new composite genre he calls Astro-detective fiction. I know you’ll enjoy his article, The Astrologer Did It: A New Kind of Mystery. Again, just as Chiron is a composite being—half-man and half-horse—The Crystal Ball is a composite genre, classified as both mystery and visionary/metaphysical fiction. With more composite themes than a collage—astrology, longevity, relationships, mystery, humor and evolution, to name a few—the next fact probably won’t surprise you, if you didn’t already know. Chiron has been my astrological specialty since I started my practice in 1988.
Mainstreaming Astrology
The Crystal Ball has been unusually long in the making, published in November 2013 more than 24 years after I completed the original manuscript. The Ball and I evolved together over the years. It became much more than the original story with its multiple purposes: sorting out a relationship and conveying information on astrology, metaphysics, and tools for health and happiness. As it finally neared publication, I realized The Crystal Ball and other Astro-detective novels have the potential to be a Chironic bridge once more, this time between people initiated into these more esoteric topics and those who aren’t.
I wasn’t focused, in the beginning, on being an “ambassador for astrology,” a catchphrase adopted by my local NCGR chapter as its abbreviated vision statement. This is a happy side-effect. My hope is that those who already enjoy astrology and “freelance spirituality” have so much fun at The Crystal Ball; they share it with others who have little or no experience on these topics. It stands alone as a fast-paced, humorous mystery, and as Armand Diaz points out in his article, mystery readers are used to books on highly technical topics where the authors educate them as they read. Often, they’re drawn into unique worlds they may have not previously known or thought would interest them till the mystery lured them.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if astrologers and more Uranian thinkers were better received in their communities? Without prejudice and assuming we’re weird, evil, or maybe a little crazy? Prejudice and misinformation are overcome by getting close to real people with the characteristics that aren’t understood from afar. It doesn’t matter whether the “real” people are living or fictional, as long as they are alive on paper, likable, and part of a good story.
I hope The Crystal Ball is both an enjoyable read and part of the divine domino effect of helping spread cosmic ideas that help so many of us understand and experience our relationships and lives better. In another article I read recently, PJ Swanwick says We Need to Promote Spiritual/Visionary Fiction as a genre. What a wonderful way to heal the world through the pleasure of reading.
I can’t help but believe Chiron is behind this. Not only is transiting Chiron separating from a long-standing conjunction with Neptune, but Chiron’s transit through Pisces has a large component of healing through the arts. I want to be part of it. I hope you do, too.
~~~
Joyce Mason is a writer and astrologer. Her trademark is blending humor with deep insights. Her popular blog is called The Radical Virgo. She’s past president of NCGR-Sacramento Area Astrologers. To learn more about her leap into fiction and all her books and purchase links, visit her website: www.joycemason.com.
Joyce will be happy to respond to your Comments on The Crystal Ball or your questions about Chiron, related to this post
February 6th, 2014 at 9:12 am
First of all, dear Joyce
Thanks you so much for gracing these pages, and livening up the blog with your pictures. The cover artwork of your book is very effective!
There are many topics surrounding your novel I would like to ask about. For instance, I was very interested in the Physical Immortality movement in the 1980s, and daily affirmed “I am youthing instead of ageing”. I can’t remember how or why I fell off the wagon and stopped using this affirmiation, but the result is I find myself at 64 with as many wrinkles as the next person. You do look very youthful.
But the question I would like to ask you is:
I normally look for the Sun in a chart in relation to creativity, but you are an immensely creative person and I sense that Chiron plays a large part in this. Is there any truth in this, and if so, how is that process? We associate Chiron with healing, and I especially assoicate it with problem-solving. Does Chiron have a part to play in Creativity?
Much Thanks and Love
Lana
February 6th, 2014 at 4:49 pm
What a fascinating question, Lana. For starters, I’ll mention that I have Sun in the 5th–at least in the house systems I most frequently use. I do experience myself as Sun/5th, and with Uranus square to my Sun, I think the lightning bolts of insight are never far away. I also have Sun square Neptune, another boost to creativity. To me creativity and intuition are practically the same thing. I have a lot of squares in my chart. They pressure me constantly to incorporate the outer planets, as I have something personal square them all. My creativity feels like I’m channeling the outer planets.
Now onto the fascinating part of your question–how Chiron may play into it. In an article I wrote on The Radical Virgo, “Which Planet Rules Creativity?”, I consider about how the various planets contribute. Mythical Chiron was a great teacher who honed both right- and left-brained skills in his students. His mother was an Oceanid, a sea nymph. Those ladies were known for their psychic abilities, his inheritance. So, someone Chironic dabbles in a lot of things and is intuitively open. Not just that, but in its astrological position between Saturn and Uranus, Chiron is the bridge to translating the farthest-out ideas into something that can be carried back and nuggeted down as necessary to people with various levels of understanding.That’s exactly what a good teacher does.
I agree with your idea that Chiron is connected to problem-solving. We solve problems with our creativity, and it’s the nagging nature of either pain or a puzzle that acts as the catalyst for us to apply our skills. My husband and I are completely hooked on Sherlock, the modernized version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work. I recently had a Facebook conversation with a friend who remarked that many people say Sherlock’s character closely matches Conan Doyle’s chart (22-May-1859, 5:30AM, Edinburgh). He has Chiron conjunct the North Node by a degree, 10th house. Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal (my favorite yet) shows Sherlock’s pain, near agony, when he hasn’t solved the riddle. I have Chiron in near-exact sextile to my Moon. I have been known to stop everything and run to the computer to find out the answer to a question that nags, anything to calm that “have to know” discomfort!
Finally, I was influenced by the physical immortality movement of the ’80s, too, and The Crystal Ball has its roots there.
February 7th, 2014 at 5:36 pm
“The Crystal Ball” is a very good title.
Astro-detective as a new genre? Is there more?
I cant say I understood much of your correspondence with Joyce but I did recognise the problem solving/creativity combination as its a given that you need a creative mind or two who can come up with a number of unusual solutions to consider in any problem solving team
Well, thats what I used to demonstrate to my trainees anyway.
Oh, and one more thing – as an alternative to affirmation (on the staying youthful and wrinkle free issue) why not try the facelift diet – it involves eating smoked salmon every day.
February 7th, 2014 at 6:58 pm
Hi, Janet–
I’m fielding the comments for Lana as guest blogger for this post. I’m glad you like the title, “The Crystal Ball.” The only downside is that there are a surprising number of nonfiction books about literal crystal balls and a few novels named Crystal Ball or with Crystal Ball in the title. Makes it a bit difficult to find mine without using author name plus title. Still, even with that inconvenience, I can’t imagine calling it anything else! I love the play on words, since this it’s about a longevity group that looks to the future.
Astrologer Armand Diaz coined the term “astro-dectective” genre in his article, “The Astrologer Did It: A New Kind of Mystery” (http://astrologynewsservice.com/articles/the-astrologer-did-it-a-new-kind-of-mystery/). He mentions my book and two others,
Stalking Anubis by Steven Forrest and Scorpio Rising by Alan Annand. I’m reading Scorpio Rising and think it’s great. There are at least three others novels I know of that could be classified this way, and I’ll be writing an article about them on The Radical Virgo soon. Catch me there for more details later this month. I’m sure there are even more than that, and I’ll be researching a book list.
Sorry if I may have Astro-babbled too much in my reply to Lana. You got the core point I was making about creativity, anyway, and I’m delighted it made its way through in spite of the Astro-tech-talk.
I’ll have to give the smoked salmon a try. I am supposed to get more Omega 3’s in my diet for a couple of different health reasons. While I’m fairly wrinkle-free “for my age,” we only get older. With a book about longevity, it’s more convincing if I look the part as much as possible. 🙂 Thanks for the tip! Venus is my chart ruler, so beauty is big in my life.
Thanks most of all for taking the time to comment.
Nice to “meet” you here,
Joyce
February 7th, 2014 at 10:09 pm
I’m quite a novice as far as astrological knowledge goes, but my intuition is powerful so I think my right brain understands. I love the idea of spreading cosmic ideas out through fiction. I’ve long been a sci-fi fan and so much of the early work has more than come true. It’ll work through spiritual/visionary fiction too. Many congratulations on publishing your work.
I struggle a bit with immortalists. I certainly wish to promote as good as health for as long as possible. However I can’t believe that many can achieve total immortality as physical manifestation is transitory and returning to the inner planes is inevitable.
Thanks so much for giving me much to ponder
Love Sarah
February 7th, 2014 at 11:22 pm
Hi, Sarah!
Thanks for your comment and congrats. To tell the truth, I’ve modified my thinking on “immortalists.” In the first manuscript of my book, I was still believing physical immortality was possible–and maybe it is, theoretically, for all I know. In The Crystal Ball, I make clear that the “immortalist” in the name refers to the immortal soul and that members of the group are simply seeking as long, healthy and productive a life as possible. We’re on the same page.
Since I believe in reincarnation, that’s immortality to me–and the good we leave behind. I believe the soul cannot die. People in the Immortalists on Planet Earth Association (IOPEA) are coming from that place. I think the earth plane is by nature transitory, what makes it both poignant, sweet and frustrating at times, all at once.
While open-ended life extension may at some point be possible–so many sci-fi “predictions” are now true!–I think the general vibrations of the whole planet would have to be raised a lot for that to happen, something in increments over time, maybe eons.
So that’s my 2-cents in a nutshell on immortality–or whatever that is in British Sterling. 🙂 Which reminds me to tell you and all of Lana’s other readers that the Kindle and other eReader editions of The Crystal Ball are now available for the bargain price of £1.86. (Amazon changed the currency for me on that one!)
February 9th, 2014 at 12:32 pm
Dear Joyce
I am afraid the mere mention of smoked salmon made me go straight out and buy a pack of gravlax which I then ate immediately all by myself. I could eat it every day. I look just the same however.
I followed up one of your links to read about astro-detective fiction in general. Disregarding the plots, which author would you say is the best writer? Although I am not a good writer myself, I find it impossible to read a book that is not well written – and back it goes to the library.
So – what would you recommend as a starter read?
I do like the fact that your book was many many years in gestation.
Best wishes
Janet
February 9th, 2014 at 6:48 pm
Dear Janet,
I’m just learning about the other Astro-detective fiction out there myself. That’s why I’m planning to research an article and round them all up for others to explore along with me. The only two books I’ve read in this emerging genre are my own, The Crystal Ball, and I’m in the middle of Alan Annand’s Scorpio Rising, which I am thoroughly enjoying. While I’ve not read Stalking Anubis by Steven Forrest, I have read his astrology books and much enjoy his writing style. I can honestly say without prejudice that all three of us are good writers. Each of us tends to write conversationally with bits of humor. The three books in question all have consistent 5 star reviews on Amazon (US) by readers.
Given equally footing (or handing since that’s what we use to write with! :), it becomes a question of taste in topic and style that I’m afraid only you can decide for yourself. Here’s what I’d suggest. Go to Amazon.com and look at the write-ups and reader feedback for these books. Whichever reviews appeal most of the three will likely be a good starting place for you. If you own a Kindle, you can download free samples of the Kindle versions, usually several chapters.
If not, you can download the first two chapters of The Crystal Ball free on my website (http://joycemason.com/web/the-crystal-ball/.) More on Alan’s books are on his book website (http://sextile.com/books/). You can read more about Steven’s book on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/173677.Steven_Forrest.) By the way, all three of us are listed there, and you can download a sample of mine there, as well.
In a nutshell, you can’t go wrong where you start on any of these. As the name of the wonderful reader site affirms, they’re all “good reads.”
Have fun,
Joyce
February 10th, 2014 at 11:35 am
Hello Joyce
This seems like a great new genre – a remembering and reconstellating of the camp fire, with all its natural forces -that which keeps humans together, but also supported by other forces which are so sadly lacking in the modern detective fiction, which has probably fuelled more violence.
I’ll certainly be having a look – have you ever read Dion Fortune’s two fiction works – one called the Moon Goddess, and I cant remember off my head the name of the other – however, quite compulsive reading in a way, so I’m looking forward to having a look at more.
As for my own chiron and creativity ( following the dialogue with Lana) – I have sun, moon chiron conjunct ( 12th house) opposite Jupiter/Uranus and square to Neptune. Its certainly creative, chaotic and often painful, but I wouldn’t have it any other way – I’ve certainly been drawn to chiron as the key to my own healing in this.
Very glad to hear about your work through Lana’s blog!
Bronwen
February 10th, 2014 at 5:19 pm
Dear Bronwen,
Thank you for the heads-up on Dion Fortune’s Astro-fiction books. I had not yet heard of them, so another pair to add to my bibliography and research for my blog article.
Your comments on your Chiron configuration could be my own. With Chiron in Scorpio square Pluto, it has been intense to say the least. Embracing Chiron was the key to unlocking my chart and where I was stuck in my life. I believe it is for many people. Rumi said, “The wound is where the light enters.” It’s the light that illuminates the path to wholeness. That’s why I insist Chiron not just be called The Wounded Healer. I’ve added Wounded Healer/Wholeness Weaver.
While we’ve been focused on my novel in this guest post, your comments remind me that I should also mention my big collection of Chiron publications on my blog. (See http://www.radicalvirgo.com.) If you put Chiron in the Search box on the sidebar, you’ll find pages of article links. Also check on the sidebar for more about my two Chiron books with purchase links. Chiron and Wholeness: A Primer is available as a PDF download and in eReader format (Kindle, Nook). I hope to finally bring it to paperback this year. Keywords to Unlock Chiron is a full-length book on Chiron, now in PDF. I’m not sure yet how soon I’ll be able to bring it to paperback and eReader, but it’s in the queue.
I love your sitting ‘round the campfire image! I appreciate your time and thoughts.
Every blessing,
Joyce
February 12th, 2014 at 11:38 am
Dear Joyce
From your original blog post here on Lana’s site, the words I most identify with are “Chiron’s transit through Pisces has a large component of healing through the arts” I have no idea when this will occur / or is occurring but over the last two to three years I have been drawn to creativity through yarn arts – making prayer scarves and aura/mandala hats, Each scarf was made specifically for a particular person. Similarly some of the hats have been very focussed but I also have growing pile in a chest. I also have zero idea of where my chiron is. My chart drawn up by Lana is so far back in the dark ages pre-Chiron that it is hand written. I must ask her.
Now re – the novels. I had a good look through Amazon and other websites and I looked at your sample chapters. I think I would have trouble reading any of the novels you mention! And thats no reflection on you. You mention the use of humour and Lan, too, said she smiled all the way through your book. For some reason, I have never been able to read a book where humour is intended. Instead I find humour within a situation I might recognise within a novel. In other words the same way one finds situations humorous in real life, even if the situation was not intended to be humorous. In brief, I prefer to find humour than to be given it. I realise there is a huge market for humorous books so I dont think I will cause a significant dip in your sales figures!
So, next question – are there any writers whose protagonists are not in-your-face astrologers but for whom astrology sits quietly alongside many other facets of their characters and is not “wheeled out” overtly? Not sure if I am explaining myself very well there. Protagonists with a degree of astrological intuition who may not even understand it themselves all the time.
That is the sort of crime novel I would like to read. So, where do I look?
By the way, I do think I am going to start dipping in and out of your own blogs.
Thank you for coming over and brightening up our windy, rainy, stormy February.
Love janet
February 12th, 2014 at 2:39 pm
Hi, again, Janet—
Glad to know you have been experiencing the Chiron in Pisces theme of healing through the arts without having been consciously aware of the astrological connection. Your yarn art sounds wonderful. You are in tune with the cosmos.
Ironically, my sister—whose name is also Janet—isn’t a big fan of humor in art or comedy in TV and cinema. It goes back to what I mentioned last time about matters of taste, where we’re each unique.
Since I’m only just beginning to do my own research into astrological-themed novels, I’ll share what I’m starting to do. Use your search engine or go to Amazon or other big book sites and enter terms like astrology and fiction or novels and astrology. Alan Annand’s humor is very subtle, much more than mine, but he uses astrology and palmistry a lot. I suspect it won’t be that easy to find what you’re looking for, inasmuch as most writers who are also astrologers use astrology in their characters as much as they use it in real life. Those with that subtle of a knowledge or interest aren’t probably likely to “write it in” because it’s more of an aside in their lives. Yet, like all research, one thing leads to another. You might get lucky! The universal law of attraction goes into play when you want to find something, and the potential results are amazing. That’s how I found all my lost loves including birth mother, the man I never got over (and had to come to terms with), and finally, my first love. He’s was first and last, as we’ve been together 17 years and married almost 16.
One author that comes to mind who you might take a look at is Sunny Frazier. She has two books in her Christy Bristol series with an astrological spin. Her protagonist, Christy, is more an astrology hobbyist. It has been a long time since I read her Fools Rush In, so I can’t honestly remember how much humor factors in or not. Here’s her Amazon page so you can take a look: http://www.amazon.com/Sunny-Frazier/e/B001K8HUGI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1.
Good luck finding what you’re looking for, and if you’re not already a member of Goodreads, you might consider joining as the other readers can be great resources for finding something as specific as you’re seeking.
You’re welcome about the visit. The pleasure has been all mine.
Hugs to you all Lana’s readers,
Joyce
February 12th, 2014 at 3:12 pm
Dear Joyce
I was very kind of you to spend so much time answering my questions and I will follow up your suggestions with a new search and I will let you know if I find anything. I’m already using GoodReads.
It suddenly occurred to me that I have possibly come across one such character, a Moorish physician and apothecary, at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries in 16th century England. In fact you do meet astrology more frequently in (non-humorous!) novels set in this period I will be on the look out for smilarly subtle characters in contemporary novels.
re: Chiron in Pisces. — I am pretty ignorant on the topic. When did it begin? My urge to create began around October 2010 and intensified over that winter and the next spring and is ongoing. Doe sthat fir in?
Maybe I should send you something in return for all the time you’ve given me.
What are your favourite colours?
Love janet
and it has just occured to me that I hav
February 12th, 2014 at 3:13 pm
Sorry Joyce – first word is IT not I – my keyboard sticks – and there is a cut and paste casualty after my signing off.
February 12th, 2014 at 5:08 pm
Dear Janet and Joyce
I had hoped to be a mere fly on the wall in this discussion, but am urged to put my two pennies’ worth in, in the spirit of trying to oil the wheels a little, though you probably don’t need it!
Janet and I were born in the same year, having met at school. The handwritten chart she refers to was probably written in 1970 in coloured felt pen so is fading somewhat I should think. Our Chirons are in Sagittarius. Chiron in Sagittarius tries to solve problems through philosophy and higher understanding. As a Sagittarian with Chiron in Sagittarius, I often use this method of trying to heal: “There there think of it this way” I would offer as a panacea. Chiron stays in a sign about 4 years, so this was the Inner Healer for our peer group.
According to my blog dated the week beginning 18th April 2010:
“Thinking outside the box may produce answers, and according to some ephemerides Chiron enters Pisces that day so the waters contain the answer for some. The collective psyche becomes an answer for many questions, where people had looked to their own lives and localities as the be all and end all. There will be much more of a feeling that we are all in this together during the era of Chiron in Pisces.”
Unlike Joyce, I did not early on spot the connection between Chiron entering Pisces and healing through the Arts, but took notice from being a regular reader of ber blog. Interestingly, you mention 2010 as being the inception of this particular thread of your creative life. It dipped into Pisces in 2010, retreated back to Aquarius, then re-entered in February 2011. The transit of Chiron through Pisces roughly corresponds to your 11th House of Friendship, Groups and Societies in your chart, and there may be a connection with these areas of life in the process it takes.
Joyce, you’re doing a grand job! Sorry to butt in – it is back over to you for a Joycian take on Janet’s question, hoping you have the time.
May I take the occasion to thank you wholeheartedly for the guest blog and your participation in discussions with us,
Love
Lana
February 13th, 2014 at 3:02 am
Janet, if you recall the title to the book with the Moorish physician, please let me know so I can add it to my article. (joyce [at] joycemason.com) Your resonance to historical fiction would add a whole new dimension to my list, if you discover and are willing to share the titles. It would be terrific to be able to add these to the astrological fiction bibliography, and, of course, I’ll credit you for your help in the article.
Lana, I agree with your take on Chiron in Sagittarius. Since there is often a tender spot of painful experiences from which the philosophical and higher educational solutions emanate. Chiron in Sag may have had very different beliefs from family or those around him or her. S/he does not want to be told what to think. Freedom of thought is the ultimate freedom. In my eBook I wrote, Poems to Heal the Healer: The 12 Chiron Signs, the poem for Chiron in Sagittarius begins:
Free spirit
pained by confining ideas
I travel the world
to find a place to fit in.
This is a Chiron sign that lends itself to becoming a teacher in some way, formal or informal.
How I got “onto” the idea of Chiron in Pisces being about healing through the arts is that I noticed several astrology bloggers posted poems in response to Chiron’s first entry into Pisces in 2010! Janet, your psyche seems to have picked up on that vibration. Remembering that the 1960s was the last time Chiron was in Pisces, think of the incredible role music played in salving the wounds of the generation that was coming of age around that turbulent time. (That would include all three of us in this conversation.) For more details, you might want to look at my article, Chiron in Pisces: Integrity and Integration (http://www.radicalvirgo.com/2010/04/chiron-in-pisces-integration-and.html).
Lana, I welcome your comments and contribution, especially since you know the details of Janet’s chart. Janet, you might ask yourself if the crafts you’re doing now have a healing component or are especially soothing for you. Your art may be a way to find a new freedom of expression, opening a new door in addition to more intellectual pursuits as a gateway to your inner healer.
Lastly, Janet, no need to do anything in return, though I am touched by the thought/offer. This is an opportunity for me to meet new friends, to share what I know and do—and it has been great. It’s what I expect to do as a guest blogger, though I can’t resist telling you my favorite colors, regardless.
That’s an astrology lesson in itself. I have both Venus and Mercury in Libra, so beauty is BIG, as I’ve said before, but making up my mind –the Libran Scales going up and down—is difficult at times. So, I manage somehow to get more than one color in my choices by blending shades. I love the green-blues from teal to turquoise, the dark (winter) and bright (spring) colors best of all. In reds, I like berry colors (ones that look like raspberries or strawberries) or those that have pink in them—and also red-purples as opposed to blue purples. I’m sure having Virgo Sun makes me very specific, too. In the big box of crayolas as a kid, I never liked the plain vanilla colors, only ones like Burt Sienna, Periwinkle, etc. You get the picture! I love orange, but it’s the one color I can’t wear well except for peach and coral. Adore them.
Love to you both,
Joyce
February 13th, 2014 at 11:06 am
Dear Joyce
I’ll be more than happy to send you some book titles. I wish the library could give me a printout of everything I have borrowed over the last few years and then it would be an easy task to track them down. I have read many books set in the medieveal and Plantagenet periods which include an element of astrology. In some cases the authors are quite serious historians and most of what they write about is historically accurate. I’ll see what I can do and send on the titles. I dont need crediting. If I had written them it would be a different matter,
Re: crochet/knitting yes I do think they have a healing and calming component and not just for me. I began heavy duty crochet and knitting whilst staying with my mum over a three month hospital stay and later when she entered a nursing home. She could no longer do it herself but would watch closely. It was also comforting to other old ladies in the ward and later in her nursing home to both watch and to handle the yarn and the finished articles or work in progress. Some would take ownership of shawls and I’d find my mum’s blankets wrapped round another old lady.
I think I may have read something recently about the healing powers of knitting!
I did like your Sag/Chiron poem – or at least the opening lines.
J x
February 13th, 2014 at 11:14 am
Joyce, when I have a decent list I will email you. Here is a good one to begin with “The Lady of the Rivers” by Philippa Gregory. It is the story of Jacquetta of Luxembourg 1416-1472. She was married initially to the Duke of Bedford who at the time was experimenting with alchemy and consulting with astrologers. She was known to have second sight which was what interested him.
J
February 14th, 2014 at 5:00 pm
Got it, Janet, and will appreciate the larger list whenever convenient. Thanks, and good to hear your crafts have Chiron’s healing touch.
Take care!
Joyce
February 15th, 2014 at 5:18 pm
Coming late to the party, how appropriate for a ball-themed book.
I bought the book for my kindle, to read on the flight home from Illinois, and my kindle let me down. AND I wasn’t on a plane with wi-fi, how last century!, so I couldn’t re-download.
Since arriving home, I’ve only been able to read in fits and starts, but am loving every minute.
As a native Southern Californian, I really appreciate how you’ve captured my cousins to the North. Well done, especially as you’re originally not form Frisco. It takes a special ear to hear the patois without caricature and (so far, and I believe this will hold true for the whole book) you have done this admirably.
I’m looking so forward to having some time to finish the book and hope to read more of your work in the future.
Thank you Lana for sharing this book with me/us.
Love,
Dia
February 15th, 2014 at 7:56 pm
Dia, I’m sorry to hear about your Kindle challenges, appropriately reported during Mercury Retrograde!
I’m delighted you’re enjoying the book, and I’m happy to hear that I haven’t slipped into caricature about San Franciscans. I’ve always been a futuristic thinker. The people in The Crystal Ball are the kind of open-minded characters that make up my various circles of friends. The “right to long lifers” remind me of my star tribe/astrology group, all do-gooders with a broad perspective on life. This is my “normal.” (Some people might find that a bit scary!) 🙂 That being the case, the only making fun of–which I see caricature as doing–is a bit of good-natured poking fun at ourselves. My gig as president my local astrology group gave me a lot of perspective on Micki’s responsibilities and typical companions.
I’ve also realized, only lately, how influenced I’ve been as a writer by Armistead Maupin who wrote the wonderful Tales of the City series about San Francisco in the ’70s. SF was a big part of my life at that time, as I was involved in a long-distance relationship with a man who had published a lot of my poetry. When I visited in ’73 to spend time with him, I fell in love with both California and SF. I sensed he was the love of the moment, but California was the love of a lifetime. I started sensibly in Sacramento where I’ve remained for almost 41 years. (I came by way of living in Green Bay, WI for 4 years. I would have truly been Mary Ann Singleton, Maupin’s displaced small town girl, had I started in the big City.) I think that bit of my history has given me a feel for the wonder of SF and its people.
Thanks for your encouragement and feedback!
Joyce
February 22nd, 2014 at 10:24 am
Hello Joyce
Have just caught up with the latest discussions, what a great stream your article has opened. I agree about the historical novels that have this element of astrology, and sometimes alchemy in this. Its interesting how the historical genre has taken hold of our bookshops – I find them fascinating, and I feel that this movement reflects a greater movement towards recovering this essential aspect of being human. I’ll certainly be looking at the Chiron articles on your site.
You might be interested in a chiron workshop I ran in Hungary- as I believe that chiron is the archetype that can assist in the current world healing.
After running a body meditation, one of the participants said that the practice was like ‘dying’. I agreed and asked more about what he meant – he then told us about a friend of his who was currently refusing treatment, and dying in a different part of HUngary. We sat for a while paying attention to this. At lunchtime, we heard that he had died. Later that day, I asked what he had died from – and it transpired he was an alternative practitioner – had been taken in initially for varicose veins – the surgery had gone wrong and poisoned his leg, at which point he refused any further allopathic medicine, and died of this toxicity. I’m sure I would not need to say any more about the myth of chiron for you to make the connection. It still moves me to think of this moment, which was when chiron became a reality for me.
February 23rd, 2014 at 3:40 pm
Wow, Brownen! What a dramatic story of someone living–and, indeed, dying–the Chiron archetype! I can see how hearing it brought Chiron to life for you. Thank you for sharing.
The trend toward historical fiction with astrology and alchemy feels like to me like it reflects astrological Chiron’s mitigating position between Saturn and Uranus in the sky. Saturn represents what’s old and established and the values of the past. As we plunge into an almost insanely Uranian future driven by constant new discoveries, going back to reclaim the good in the old is an essential balancing and healing act. Many important things have been diminished or lost in our modern, electronics-driven world: face-to-face communication, the support of neighbors and extended family to name a few. (My close cyber relationships are golden, but my friends on the other side of the world can’t bring me dinner when I’m sick.) Everything moves so fast. A return to a simpler time for the duration of a book can help reacquaint readers with the history of how we “got here” and what, perhaps, we don’t want to throw out with the new like the baby with the bath water. Chiron’s composite nature keeps reminding us that healing is found by synthesizing opposites: old and new, male and female, and all the astrological opposites/complements, as examples.
I agree Chiron’s archetype is so important to world healing, particularly with regard to ecology, climate change, etc. I’d love to hear more about your workshop in Hungary sometime.
So glad this guest post has stimulated much conversation. I want to share with everyone the latest guest post on my blog, The Radical Virgo. It’s a personal story by an astrologer and yoga instructor’s about an intense Chironic, physical healing journey. What she learned is profound for us all. It really moved me. It’s by Kerry Keegan, called Chiron: Healing from the Heart: http://www.radicalvirgo.com/2014/02/chiron-healing-from-heart.html.
Blessings, Bronwen–and to all of Lana’s readers,
Joyce