Aries: First House of the Zodiac

If you were born between March 21st and April 19th, then you're an Aries. First some elemental facts about this sign. Your symbol is the Ram, your birthstone is the ruby, your element is Fire and your ruling planet is Mars, who in Roman mythology was the God of War and bloodshed and who, in turn, corresponds to the Greek God of War, Aries.  Interestingly, this planet is often associated with unluckiness for brides. I'm not sure where this belief originates and would like to explore further.  Perhaps because War is the antithisis of domesticity.

Aries vibrates to an energized and enthusiastic frequency. They're aggressive, confident and sexual. In fact. Aries is considered the most sexual sign in the Zodiac. They positively radiate a 'let's pick up and go' attitude which others may critisize as impulsive or reckless. In fact, the Aries personality has to remember to use their 'brakes' and not allow their sense of adventure and bold behavior have them do things against their better judgement.  The Aries man enjoys having his mettle tested. Both Aries men and women are forceful and dynamic. Very big personalites. As a Fire sign, they can be difficult to contain just as is a wild fire that gets out of control.

Remember, too, that the Aries personality gets bored quickly and seeks out novelty and stimulation. Their negative traits can include an impetuousness and impatience with those not as quick as they are. They need  to cultivate tolerance and empathy in order to 'round' out their firey dispositions.

With respect to relationships and compatiability, Aries is best suited with Leo and Sagittarius. They are ill-suited with Cancer, Capricorn and anothe Aries. An Aries with an Aries! I can't imagine what that would look like. With all that fire they would probably end up consuming each other!

Bella and Edward: Beauty and the Bite

Well, I thought it would be fun to do the numbers of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, two of the most popular fictional characters ever to grace a printed page or Kindle for that matter.  Of course, these two angst-ridden, crazy-in-love-I can't-keep-my-hands-off-you youths are the stars of  Stephannie Meyer's insanely successful Twilight series. Unfortunately, I don't think we know Bella's or Edward's birthdays which would have made a reading all that more fun and juicy. I will just have to work with their numbers, so here I go.

The first thing I always look for is to see if the couple shares any of the same letters in their names and, yes, Bella and Edward do. They share an 'e' and an 'a' which are vowels and vowels symbolize the 'Soul' number of a name, meaning they represent the emotional life and passions of that person. What's interesting is that both Bella's and Edward's vowels add up to a '6' as 'e' corresponds to a '5' and 'a' corresponds to a '1' and five plus one makes six. '6' is the number of family and all things domestic. The creation and maintenance of a home is all important. '6' emits a harmonious frequency as it is ruled by the planet Venus. Of course, Venus is the goddess of love and beauty and is assoicated with the principles of balance and equilibrium. It also corresponds to the Lovers in the Major Arcana making this couple a perfect match! I wonder if Ms. Meyer had any knowledge of numerology when she created these two charaters or if there numerolgical compatibility was pure coincidence. Personally, I don't believe in coincidence. No, I suspect that her spirit guides had a helping hand in shaping Bella and Edward with her and it was no 'accident' that they turned out to be cosmic soulmates.

Cullen also contains two of the same letters found in Bella e.g., 'e'and 'l' with the 'l' being a double. This, again, is a sign of  high compatibility between two people.  But what makes them especially compatible is their sharing  that double 'l'. As the Chinese say, good things come in pairs making the traits associated wtih the letter 'l' all that more pronounced. 'l' corresponds to the number '3' and '3' are the optimists and charmers. '3' is ruled by the planet Jupiter and is therefore assoicated with good luck e.g., 'three's a charm'.

Sandra and Jesse

Oh, my oh my! Oh, dear oh dear! What have we here!  A mess ,really, and a sad and painful one, too. Perhaps Sandra bought into the cultural myth and old wive's tale that all it takes is the love of a good woman to reform a man. If only it were that simple! I'm afraid no one has the power to change anybody else. However, the good news is we can change ourselves.It's a hard life lesson but the truth of the matter is that more often than not, love is not enough to sustain a relationship.  Any successful relationship needs to be built on a firm foundation of trust and respect with a healthy dose of empathy for your partner. It's that lack of empathy which allows men and women to 'act-out' in destructive and hurtful ways.

So, looking at Sandra's and Jesse's numbers what do we see.  The first thing that I noticed was that their first names do not share any vowels.  Vowels symbolize the 'Soul' and the emotions of language., so if a couple shares no vowels it's usually not a good sign.  In fact, it's noteworthy that they even got together in the first place. 

A second thing I noticed is that Bullock has a preponderence of letters ('u','l' and 'c') which correspond to the number '3'. In fact, she has a double 'l', so these '3' traits are even more influential. '3's are the charmers and entertainers. They are the Optimists, always finding the good in people which others may overlook or disregard. This certainly may have been happening in her marriage with Jesse until the reality just became too overwhelming for her to sugarcoat whatever doubts she may have been harboring any longer. As we know all too well, hope dies hard.

On the other hand, Jesse's name is dominated by letters (;j','s','a') which correspond to the number '1' which  emits a very powerful frequency. '1's like to be the leaders of the pack and enjoy setting the pace for everyone else.  They're self-sufficient and autonomous making longterm realtionships a challenge. Notice, too, that Jesse has a double 's', so these '1' traits become particulary pronounced. Now, when a '1' goes awry their negative characteristics can include bossiness, egoism and shelfishness which I think is a fair assessment of what happened with him .

The Marriage Poems

I can't exactly say why I'm publishing these poems now. They have nothing to do with the tarot or things metaphysic. Perhaps I was 'pushed' by a friend and colleague who shared her poems with me today and I caught the 'bear your soul clean' bug. Could be. Not sure. In any event, I'm coming out of the 'closet', so to speak, and here they are.

Number 1

The fights always happened in the kitchen

Why was that?

How do you explain that?

You, sipping your scotch, undoing your tie

Me, tired and worn out, not combing my hair

Anxious and unnerved concealing my pain

But I never fooled you
You had x-ray eyes
And a hunter's heart
Making me an easy prey
And what a meager prize I made!
Cracked and crazy
Tilted to one side
At night, you would prop me up against the bedroom wall
Do you remember?
Oh, those were the terrible days
And terrible nights
So bereft of love intent on hurting each other
Our words crashing and rickoshaying off our apartment walls
Exhausting each other
And finally collapsing in two great heaps upon the linolium floor

We'd wake up in the morning
Not knowing where we were
Disoriented and dazed
Clinging to one another
Frightened out of our wits
Thankful to be lying in each other's arms
The nightmare having ended

Darling, were we insane?


Number 2


Whenever I think of my wasted youth
Whenever I think of my wasted beauty
Whenever I think of those wasted years
I think of you.

And, yet, despite the rancor and the bile
We remain bound together in deep Time
Forever forged by interlocking memories
Like conjoined twins, impossible to imagine without the other.


Number 3

You say I am a happy girl
No, love, I am the sad girl
The one with the slitted wrists

There is so much blood
It's a wonder you still don't see me.

Number 4

When I was miserable and sad
And we were living in London
I would sometimes leave  my body
And talk to you from overhead to escape your terrible tongue
But sometimes you were too strong for me
And I would be frozen
 Nailed to the kitchen floor
With my skull waiting to explode
Terrified that my mind would snap
And fly out in all directions
Making it impossible for me to find all its missing pieces.


Those were the dreaded days
Pretending to be sane
Faking it
Anxious that I might give myself away
For you were a pitless foe

Those were the dark days
And you knew I was no match for you
You with the easy smile
And assassin's heart

Tell me, Darling, what satisfaction did you get from trying to destroy me?


I hope these were not too much of a 'downer'! The marriage (I won't say which one) was long ago and yet it's failure continues to haunt me. I'd love to hear from any of you about your marriage or realtionships. Have you experienced the same kind of love/hate ambivilance that I did?

What Number Four Can Tell Us

As April is the fourth month of the year, I thought it woud be timely to take a look at the number four in all its permutations.

If someone has a Destiny or Expressive number which corresponds to '4' this is what you can pretty much expect.  That person will be a worker bee who applies themselves with great diligence to whatever task they are working on.  '4s' are practical and apprciate detail -oriented work.  Economists, accountants or even surgeons would make a good fit as an occupation for a '4'.  On the other hand, their negative traits include an inflexibility, a stodginess or an narrow-mindedness. '4s' have a hard time letting their hair down, so to speak. This is also the number of tradition and conventionality.

In China, the number '4' is reviled as it is a homophone for their word for 'death' and is shunned. As a consequence, many of their numbered products lines skip the '4' all together. And in East Asia, some buildings omit the fourth floor just as many buildings in Western cultures omit the number thirteen which, by the way, is composed of one plus three which equals four. Hence, our aversion to the number thirteen!

The number four corresponds to the Emperor in the Major Arcana and his meaning is obvious. He symbolizes the Father, authority and structure. In a reading,  the Emperor may evoke a line of questioning which explores a person's relationship to their own father and to authority in general. What was their father like?  Are they a father?  How are they different or the same to their own father?  What emotional legacy did their father leave to them? And so on.

Lastly, we encounter the number four in our language on a daily basis e.g.,  four square meals, four winds, four cornors of the earth, four directions, the four quarters to a football game,  and the four seasons.  There is something uniquely satisfying about the number four. It's a self-contained and contented number.

To Levi: True Blue Companion

Here's a poem I wrote for my dog, Levi, who died from inoperable cancer a few weeks ago. He was a remarkable little animal.  I'm sure many of you reading this have had similar bonds with beloved pets.

You are my small dog
Bllind, one-eyed
Flat faced
With four squat feet
You sit out on the grass
And listen to the wind whistle through the tree tops
When you are done
You make your way back up the kitchen steps
And ask to be let in
I watch you as you walk past me
And wonder what it is that you and God have talked about

Brangelina: We Just Can't Get Enough Of Them

Brad and Angelina possess youth, beauty and talent to burn and as a couple they are positively combustible! Here's what their numbers say.

For starters, Angelina's Expression Number is '6'. This is the number which gives us a thumb nail summary of one's overall personality. '6s' are associated with the home and things domestic.  Family is all important (This is certianly accurate given Angelina's generosity towards children). They are true blue to their friends and are caring mothers (which seems to fly in the face of what her bodyguard reported e.g., that Angelina is not nurturant). Frequently, they are the family favorite. '6s' are perfectionists and surround themselves with beauty, comfort and music.

Angelina was born June 4th, 1975 which makes her a Gemini, the Twins of the Zodiac. Smart and witty. Lively and energetic. Charming, but their dual personality also gives rise to their argumentative and outspoken side. Has a tendency to be intense and high-strung. Geminis make for a fascinating partner, but you may never know whom you'll be waking up to in the morning.

Angelina's Destiny Number, derived from her birthdate, is a '5'  and '5s' resemble the Gemini personality to some degree.  '5s' like to move, both physically and mentally.  They crave novelty and stimulation. They are the number of sex, romance and travel to exotic lands. Freedom is of tantamount importance to them. Never try to rope in a '5'.  As the number '5' is situated in the middle between one and nine, they are often in the thick of things, betwixt and between their coming and going.

The number '5' corresponds to the Hierophant in the tarot's Major Arcana which symbolizes conformity and social norms e.g., conventionality.  However, in Angelina's case we see someone who has spent a lifetime bucking the system, so to speak. What would be interesting is for her to ask herself how well her anti-authority lifestyle is working for her. Does being the rebel always work?  When doesn't it?  Would she feel as if she had acquiesced and lost the battle if she were to stop fighting the system ?  Does her need to be so independent create problems in her relationships?  My hunch is that it does.

Brad's birthdate is December 18th, 1963 which makes him a Sagittarius, the Zodiac's Optimist. Sag is ruled by the munificent planet, Jupiter, and as such possesses an exuberance and enthusiasm about life. Their symbol is Chiron the Archer, the healer centaur, and when they want something they aim their arrows and usually hit the bull's eye. The Sag is also a freedom lover who does not do well when confined or restricted. However, when in love they make steadfast and devoted partners.  As a double-bodied sign (half-human, half-beast)  Brad needs to calibrate the balance between these two extremes e.g., the rational and the irrational.  Many astrologers don't think a Gemini and a Sagittarius are compatible. The going can get tough especially because both Brad and Angelina are double-bodied signs. It's a little bit like living with four different people at the same time!

Brad's Expression Number is '9' and '9s' are the humanitarians and teachers of the world (think Brad's work building houses in New Orleans). This is consistent with Chiron the Centaur as he was also a teacher. In fact, two of his more famous pupils included Apollo, the God of the Sun, and Achilles, the fearsome Greek warrior, who Brad protrayed in the film ,Troy. They have a very developed sense of social justice and a strong social conscience.  It's often said that '9s' give more than they get and this may be the case in his relationships.

The number '9' corresponds to the Hermit in the Major Arcana which symbolizes the need to contract and withdraw from the world periodically. In a reading it ususally indicates the need for that person to step back and reflect on one's intent and purpose in this lifetime.

Brad's Destiny Number is a '4' which, believe it or not, represents tradition and conventionality.  '4' are also the worker bees. Diligent and reliable. Stable with both feet on the ground.  It's fascinating that Brad's '4' is a polar opposite to Angelina's '5'. However, such a pairing makes sense as his dependabiltiy counters her more mercurial nature. It can work, but the respective partners need to be flexible and be able to cut their spouse alot of slack without harboring a resentment.

The number '4' corresponds to the Emperor of the Major Arcana and its meaning is obvious. He represents authority, structure and fatherhood. He's a bit like the Hierophant. Again, we have Brad playing the stabilizing role in his realtionship with Angelina who tends to allow her emotions dominate (if we can believe the tabloids!).  And she has the benign 'father' figure in Brad who represents everything that her own father lacked e.g., loyalty, faithfullness and reliability.

And here's one last point. Angelina begins with the letter 'a' which corresponds to the number '1' and '1s' are the leaders of the pack. They have to be head of the line. '1' also embody a yang, or masculine, energy.  Brad, on the other hand, begins with the letter 'b' which is a '2' which emits a yin, or feminine frequency. It's all a bit of a gender bender. This dynamic just underscores the main bone of contention between them and that is, who's in charge?  What they need to learn and understand is that it's not one or the other in charge, but both of them in charge, at different times, during the course of their relationship.