I was born in the humidity of a Texas "spring" (which more closely resembles summer in most places on earth) on April 2nd. The nurses all told my mother I'd be an April Fool's baby, to which she responded without wavering, "No, I'm waiting until April 2nd because this baby is not a joke."
At just past 7am in the morning, my mother gave birth to an Aries - my earth sign. Perhaps she knew what kind of child I would be as she lay back, exhausted from an intense labor that left her drained of energy and more than a remarkable amount of blood.
It's hard to deny that I am indeed an Aries. Stubborn. Strong willed. Impassioned...about everything. Courageous to a fault. Half of the time impulsive and the other half impatient. Overwhelmingly the language of my life has been that of now and never rather than later and maybe.
Anecdotal example: as a child I wanted to write before I could read. Nevermind that I didn't know what sounds the letters made yet. Nevermind that I couldn't quite comprehend the storyline of a children's book. I was going to write...so move over. I would dump the crayons on the table, smooth the white pieces of scrap paper, and write letters that sounded right. The same mother that laid her body on the line to give this Aries life, also saved those first stories - including one about an owl and a kitten that go to a dance hall. Riveting stuff, my friends.
Fast forward about 20 years to my obsession with understanding who I am as a young woman coming out of college. Knowing these stories about myself didn't make it any easier to understand why - when i get an idea in my head - I cannot budge or adjust from the plan I set forth. Why did I HAVE TO get out of the small southern town i grew up in to go away to DC for University? Why did I subject myself to the lack of college life for the sake of graduating in 3 years? And most recently - why did I decide to come live in one of the most beautiful but also one of the most expensive cities in the US to find a first job and settle into some semblance of an adult existence?
The answer (at least in part) is the ram, the goat, and the bull.
About a year ago I gave my friend (a crunchy hippie whose boyfriend grows weed on the windowsill of their balcony) the longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates of my birth place as well as the exact time and date. She traveled to her astrologer who spit out a long, typed up response to what my life was for based on the way the universe aligned the stars at the moment of my birth.
People who follow astrology know that the most prominent signs in one's zodiac are the earth, moon, and rising signs. The theory behind the mystical alignment of the planets is that the earth sign represents who a person is born as, while the moon governs their emotions. One's rising sign signifies the qualities that the person will acquire over the course of their life. Sounds simple enough. So what were mine, you ask...
Earth Sign: Aries. Moon Sign: Capricorn. Rising Sign: Taurus.
...and so? One doesn't need to dig very far to understand the significance of these three signs - simply look at the animals that are used to represent them. That's right friends...in my life I was born a RAM whose emotions are governed by a GOAT who is becoming a BULL.
...oh...shit...
It was like somebody lifted the curtain on the daily goings on of my life and revealed three animals hunched over a master set of chalked up blueprints. Each animal, head adorned with a large set of horns, jockeying, and bumping heads with the others, knocking over crayons with scribbled letters, maps of the DC metro, and stacks of audiobooks meant to be consumed in LA traffic.
I am certainly not a believer that we are predestined to live a life dictated by star formations. Nor do I believe that we do not have control and accountability over the goings on of our own lives (quite the contrary actually).
I do however, find it interesting. Simply that. Interesting. I see these animals showing up for me on a daily basis and they are the ones that tuck me into bed at night after learning important life lessons.
It is with this in mind that I have decided to document some of these life learnings, stumbles, and laughters. I'm fascinated - waiting to see which animal will show up from day to day. Am I the Ram to some people and the Goat to others? Do all three show up in each of my days of living? Will I be able to watch myself transform from the impulsive, fire driven Ram to the more patient, earth bound Bull? Only time and careful "scientific" blog-style documentation can tell.
Now if you'll excuse me - I have more life lessons to learn, which means I need to go beat my head against the wall a few more times...
