From the Shores of the Ottawa River

As it turns out, possibly more than we realize. Astrology that looks at your birth time, and where you were born, is called astrocartography. I was recently introduced to the subject by my daughter who is a clinical herbalist with a broad interest in many things to do with nature.

The placements of the planets that are said to affect our decisions depend on when and where we were born. While the idea of locational astrology is not new. In the 1970s astrologer Jim Lewis took these complex theories and a mapped the locations of the planets.  According to Wikipedia, these are planets located along the axis and fall between 2 astrological houses.  And according to Indian scriptures the practice of astrology originated somewhere between 5000 to 10,000 BC in India.

I once seriously considered moving to Australia, but I decided to stay in Perth WA for only a month before I returned to Canada. In undergrad I studied teaching. My first position was as a curriculum writer for an alternative junior high school for Indigenous students who slip through the cracks in the education system. You’ll notice perhaps the stars did influence my decision professionally as you read further.

Conversations on who we become as adults often turn to whether it is environment or nurture in our formative years that shapes who we become. Is there another explanation?  Maybe the stars have overarching influence in our life. People have strong feelings about this. Some think it is nonsense; others check their daily horoscope. Ask any police officer or medical staff who works in emergency, and they will tell you there is an increase in incidents during a full moon. My thinking on this has been fluid. At times I believe and other times I don’t. I personally believe the stars may point to something, and with that information we have free will to choose.

Astrocartography may explain why I was drawn to Warsaw during the Solidarity Movement when I chose to study abroad, and why I am curious about concentration camps and human rights.  Why am I drawn to education, communications, writing, and justice as a profession?

We don’t like to think that the cosmos affects our choices or if life is predetermined, the same way we avoid talking about death, because the thought is uncomfortable. The question becomes: do we have free will or is our life predetermined?  A friend said to me, I don’t want to know because what’s the point if it’s all predetermined?  For example, have you ever gone to a country you’ve never been but as soon as you stepped on the land you feel a connection to the country as though you’ve been there before, you feel at home? The first time I went to Australia I didn’t have that feeling. Maybe, Australia may not have aligned with my stars.

Hubby strongly disagrees that the stars have anything to do with swaying our choices.  He is not alone in his view.  I am glad that I didn’t settle in Australia because by moving to Ontario I have been living my best life. 

 I could only do a superficial dive into this area without knowing my time of birth.   What I discovered so far is fascinating. 

LIBRA NORTH NODE /ARIES SOUTH NODE

The Libra-Aries polarity is about the self and others. With my south node in Aries, I might be naturally inclined to sink into the “me” mentality, I might find myself feeling like I don’t need others.

My soul’s purpose is to focus more on others and relationships I exist to learn valuable lessons about compromise, collaboration, compassion, and focusing on what is best for the collective and the group rather than the self. The choices I made seem to match with this insight.

I’ll know I am in my Libra north node when I ask big picture questions about what is best for the group or my partner and how to maintain harmony and find balance and justice for others. The Libra energy is all about finding balance and harmony.

Libra loves beauty, giving to others, and gets rewarded through focusing my energy on others rather than myself. It is through giving that I receive the true node glory. Libra is ruled by Venus, planet of beauty. I find myself focusing on improving the lives of others through justice, and collaboration. As I said, I have not had a detailed astrological chart done. Without the birth time I can only see the surface influence of the stars. Some of what I discovered looking at how the stars aligned when I was born without knowing my birth time turns out to be quite interesting to me.  What the stars say about me 

1. Career: Work with a group, focus on the group, what is best for the group
   justice, balance, collaboration.  Ability to see all views of others and integrating their opinions, a good listener.
    Balance and invite joy in positions that allow you to defend the underdog.
2.  Career ideas: lawyer, peacemaker, writer
   Astrogeography: Venus’s line bring harmony into your home open windows and play harmonious music. Blues are calming balance all the elements in your home: water, air/wind, fire, earth/wood clothing: Venus colors, light pinks, light blues, light greys beautiful soft comfortable clothing ethically sourced (justice) Accent your home with finer things
   
   3. Archetype: the diplomat
   Diplomat, lawyer, compassionate and understanding leader, justice-seeker, harmonizer, the mediator Mantra: 1. 1 am part of the collective.2. I am balanced.3. I see injustices. 

Whether you believe in astrology or not, if you know me, you’ll recognize this does reflect who I am.   I am willing to accept that the stars may have influenced my professional choices.  That said, more research is required to determine whether I had free will when I made the choice to get into a profession that involves justice and keeping the Government of Canada accountable to First Nations across Canada.  Recently I founded a national charitable foundation that offers curriculum in harm reduction, and effects of residential school trauma. seventhgift.ca

  This begs the question how much free will did I have, or am I drawn to this area because of the influence of the stars?  I do not know the answer, but it is an interesting question to ponder.