Saturday 31 May 2008

Alex Trenoweth at the United Astrology Conference

My buddy Jules Genik not only sat through my "Gone With the Wind: The Zodiacal Parade" presentation at the United Astrology Conference, she took a few photos too! Thanks for your support, Jules!
So here's me in full lecture mode:
Above is me with Margaret Mitchell, author of "Gone With the Wind" in the back ground.

Below is yours truly sans hat--it kept falling off!

Haha--I felt like such a fool walking around the conference trying to get people to come to my lecture. . .but they'll never forget me in Denver!


Jules said she took a lot of photos but only a few turned out because I moved around so quickly.


Well, I was trying to balance a very big hat whilst taking very shallow breaths, making sure my hoops didn't obscure anyone's vision and operating the remote control for the PPP and trying to keep the dress from falling off my heaving bosoms. I say it's a very good thing I have so much Mercury in my chart (Gemini rising, Mercury (retrograde) in Leo in the 3rd, cj the IC!). Oh by the way, don't believe all the bad stuff you hear about retrograde planets! Here's a joke to demonstrate my point:

Mercury Retrograde in 9th
A team of archaeologists is excavating in Israel when they find a cave with the symbols of a woman, a donkey, a shovel, a fish, and a Star of David on the wall.

The head archaeologist points to the first drawing. “This indicates that these people were family oriented and held women in high esteem.” he says. “The donkey shows they were smart enough to use animals to till the soil. The shovel means they were able to forge tools. Even further proof of high intelligence is the fish: If famine hit the earth, they would take to the sea for food. The last symbol is the Star of David, telling us they were Hebrews.”

The second archaeologist shakes his head. “Hebrew is read from right to left,” he explains. “It says, ‘Holy Mackerel, Dig the Ass on that Chick!’”

No reflection on Thomas a Becket. . .

One of the things that attracted me to live in England was the very moving story of Thomas Becket's murder by Henry II in Canterbury Cathedral. What a shame it took me some 18 years to finally get around to seeing this glorious place.

The first picture is the sculpture at the very place Becket's body was found, with the blades of one of the swords actually embedded in the floor.










Alex Trenoweth between a hot and a sharp place.














Inside the Canterbury Cathedral. So beautiful, it really does take your breath away. But not your sense of humour.

Uh oh, I feel a joke coming on. . .

Neptune in 9th opp Jupiter in 3rd
A minister dies and is waiting in line at the Pearly Gates. Ahead of him is a guy who's dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, leather jacket, and jeans. Saint Peter addresses this guy: "Who are you, so that I may know whether or not to admit you to the Kingdom of Heaven?"

The guy replies: "I'm Joe Cohen, taxi driver, of Noo Yawk City." St. Peter consults his list.
He smiles and says to the taxi driver, "Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven." The taxi driver goes into Heaven with his robe and staff, and it's the minister's turn.
He stands erect and booms out, "I am Joseph Snow, pastor of Calvary Church for the last forty-three years." St. Peter consults his list.
He says to the minister, "Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
"Just a minute," says the minister. "That man was a taxi driver, and he gets a silken robe and golden staff. How can this be?"
"Up here, we work by results," says Saint Peter. "While you preached, people slept; while he drove, people prayed."

Wednesday 28 May 2008

Sun?

I know it's the end of May in London but can't we have a little break from grey skies? Reminds me of a joke I once heard. . .

Jupiter in Pisces in 9th square Neptune in 12th

A very religious man wanted to prove his faith in God. So, he tied himself to a pylon in the ocean, with the water up to his chest. As the tide started to come in, a boat came by.

The man in the boat said, "Hey, what are you doing? Get in my boat and I will save you." At which time the man said that he had total faith in God and that He would not let him drown. As the water neared his head, another boat came by. The man stopped and said the same thing. To which the near drowning man stated,

"I have total faith in my God. He will not let me drown."

So, the boat went away. A third boat came by. This boater was frantic, being that the water was lapping at the man's nose. But the response was the same. As the last boat left, the water rose above his head and the man drowned. Walking around Heaven, the man was clearly confused. Then he saw God.

"Lord, I had total faith in You. Why would You let me down like that? You made no effort to stop the tide!"

At which time God stated, "Holy Cow, man, what more did you want from Me? I sent you three boats!!!"

Tuesday 27 May 2008

Conjunctions

Give it up for. . .Uranus!

On a bleak, wet, miserable Bank Holiday Monday, my husband-to-be and I heavily hinted that we would love to drop in on our friends Evie and Frank McGillion. After procuring an invite, we headed off to the wilds of South London where we would be later joined by astrology sceptic Geoffrey Dean. In the meantime, Frank loaded us up with good books to read and Evie made sure our stomachs were fortified for the impending visit.

"Whatever you do, don't tell him I'm an astrologer!" I insisted. My assumption that Geoffrey would be a curmudgeonly, academically pious, provocateur of all things astrological were based on two things: his lecture at a Kepler conference and his lecture at the Sophia Centre. He slaughtered astrology--and astrologers--like a modern day Pico and had the reputation for ruining the day of many a star gazer. Under fire, would I be able to maintain a little decorum? With Mercury in Leo (retrograde and all), hell no. Best to avoid the "A" word. Or so I thought. . .

As it turned out, Geoffrey had already heard of me (what?) and was impeccably charming, delightful and intellectually energetic (Geoff, I hope this doesn't ruin your reptutation). It was an evening full of surprises, in true Uranian style. And here's the photo to prove it. . .

From the left: Frank McGillion, Alex Trenoweth, Geoffrey Dean and Evie McGillion.

In honour of the occasion, here's my Saturn in the 9th house opposite Jupiter in the 3rd joke (get stuffed, Nick Campion):

WHY GOD NEVER RECEIVED A PHD
1. He had only one major publication.
2. It was in Hebrew.
3. It had no references.
4. It wasn't published in a refereed journal.
5. Some even doubt he wrote it by himself.
6. It may be true that he created the world, but what has he done since then?
7. His cooperative efforts have been quite limited.
8. The scientific community has had a hard time replicating his results.
9. He never applied to the ethics board for permission to use human subjects.
10. When one experiment went awry he tried to cover it by drowning his subjects.
11. When subjects didn't behave as predicted, he deleted them from the sample.
12. He rarely came to class, just told students to read the book.
13. Some say he had his son teach the class.
14. He expelled his first two students for learning.
15. Although there were only 10 requirements, most of his students failed his tests.
16. His office hours were infrequent and usually held on a mountain top.
17. No record of working well with colleagues.

Monday 26 May 2008

Fame

As I recently had a brush with fame, I thought I should tell my Jupiter conjunct the Sun on the MC joke:


Bill and Ned walk into a fast food joint one afternoon to get lunch. Bill orders and the cashier gives him his meal. Ned goes up to order and the cashier greets him with "Hello Ned! How are you? Hey everybody! Ned's here!"
Everybody in the restaurant comes up and says hello to Ned. After everyone has greeted him, Bill and Ned sit down and begin to eat.
"Ned, you're pretty popular!" says Bill.
"I'm the most popular man in the world," says Ned.
"Now Ned," says Bill, "You're pretty popular but you're not the most popular man in the world."
"Oh yeah?" Ned replies "I'll bet you a thousand dollars that I'm friends with anybody you can name!"
"That so?" answers Bill, "How about the President of the United States?"
"Let's go!" says Ned. The two fly to Washington and knock on the front door of the White House. The president answers, "Ned! How are you doing? I haven't seen you in ages!"
The three go play a round of golf and then leave.
"That was luck!" says Bill, "Two thousand says your not friends with the Queen of England!"
"Let's go!" says Ned.
The two fly to Buckingham Palace and, sure enough, are greeted by the Queen. ''Hello Ned my boy! What have you been up to these days?"
They enter the palace and have some tea and leave.
Frustrated, Bill says, "Double or nothing, you don't know the Pope!"
"Benny!" says Ned,
"Let's go!"
When they get to the Vatican, Ned instructs Bill to wait outside and Ned will come out on the balcony with his arm around the Pope. After a while, a crowd gathers to hear the Pope speak. And as told by Ned, when the Pope came out, Ned's arm was wrapped around him. Ned looks down from the balcony and see's Bill passed out on the ground. He rushes down and wakes him up.
"Bill! Bill! Wake up!"
Bill opens his eyes and says, "Ned. You're the most popular man in the world."
"I told you that, Bill," says Ned, "but you didn't faint when I knew the President! You didn't faint when I knew the Queen!"
"Well I was shocked that you knew the Pope," says Bill. "But I just couldn't take it when the guy next to me tapped me on the shoulder and said "Who's that up there with Ned?"

Sunday 25 May 2008

Rockin' the Universe back at home

I've just returned from the United Astrology Conference in Denver Colorado where I was a speaker on the main programme. I'm still a little jet-lagged but nonetheless, fired up about getting this blog up and running. Each entry will feature a joke with astrological significators perhaps with a some feedback on an astrological event I've attended or heard about. I'd like to demonstrate that astrology is so much more than star sign columns. Bear with me whilst I get photos and articles together.
Anyway, to start us off. . .here's my Saturn in the 8th house ruling Capricorn in the 7th house joke:
The husband had just finished reading a new book, 'YOU CAN BE THE MAN OF YOUR HOUSE'. He stormed into the kitchen and walked directly up to his wife. Pointing a finger in her face, he said sternly, "From now on, you need to know that I AM the MAN of this house, and my word is law! You will prepare me a gourmet meal tonight, and when I'm finished eating my meal, you will serve me a sumptuous dessert afterward. Then, after dinner, you are going to go upstairs with me, and we will have the sex that I want. After that, you are going to draw me my bath so I can relax. You will wash my back and towel me dry and bring me my robe. Then you will massage my feet and hands. Then after that's done, guess who's going to dress me and comb my hair?"
His wife replied, "The funeral director would be my guess."