Photo: Willow
The planet of value and money, Venus, is currently at home in Taurus, the sign of value and money, and will be until May 9. Venus is conjunct female warrior asteroid Pallas Athene in Taurus at this time, creating a powerhouse feminine influence in the sign of tradition, earnings, and security in the physical world.
Both Venus and Pallas Athene are opposing Saturn Rx in Scorpio, and this brings up themes of the valuing and undervaluing of astrological knowledge and infomation. The divinatory, digging, researching, uncovering, drawing-up-to-the-surface energy of astrological work.
I've been writing about the undervaluing of astrology for a while now, which is rampant in this "easy access" internet age, as well as the undervaluing of Scorpio energy, in general. This is emotional, psychological, sexual, metaphysical, healing, X-ray vision energy. Hidden processes that are easily put down, degraded, stepped on.
From October 13, 2011: The Bodies in Scorpio Oppose Jupiter Rx in Taurus: A Conscious Re-Valuing of Soul Energy and Scorpio's Mad Skillz in the Nether-Realms
"Scorpio works in the energetic realms - mostly hidden. Taurus works in the physical world - quite visible and what most consider "work." Taurus is a sign related to what is most commonly valued these days: money (and all the concrete things you can buy with money). Scorpio relates to complex energetic currencies.
From a previous post:
"Scorpio is a healing energy. It intuitively knows where the trouble is and gets right to work, divining and digging to trigger multi-layered release points. It isn't just treating symptoms, either. Scorpio knows it's either go deep or go home, and it puts forth immense stores of energy to go to the mat for people, driving right to the root of the problems that keep them locked up, inauthentic, programmed, and less effective than they could otherwise be.
Scorpio digs the poisoned thorns out - and if it's masterful enough, it gets them all.
But Scorpio's mastery is also it's downfall. Here's where the betrayal aspect of the sign comes into play. Scorpio is a liberating energy, an almost magical transformer of all things oppressive and stagnant and intolerable - and its emotional, psychological and psychic currency is woefully undervalued. Quite often, it's used and abused with little to nothing offered in return. It's left holding the bag with nowhere left to put the shit.
What Scorpio does is mostly in the energetic realms, and because so few people have developed the sight to see this type of energy work, people take it and run. Often, they take it and run right back into the same unhealthy patterns and dynamics Scorpio was expending so much energy to extricate them from in the first place."
This theme has been coming up strongly since last fall's Venus retrograde in Scorpio and has been triggered again now that Venus is back in the sign:
The currencies of sexual, emotional, psychological, and psychic energy as well as masterful Scorpionic healing abilities require a conscious re-valuing and re-working, eked out one interchange at a time."
Well, today, I'm not allowing myself or my site to be put down, degraded, or stepped on. Today, I'm doing some eking.
This morning, with the Sun (external presence and self-expression) conjunct Mars (attacks) in Aries, I got a lovely gem of a comment in the comments section telling me that this blog is not worth the price of a subscription. In other words, it's not worth the price of half a Starbucks per month to read. That's the price of the cheapest subscription option.
"I read your blog faithfully, but there's roughly similar information free all over the web. I agree with your GMO stuff, but it's not worth a full subscription. I wonder if others feel similarly. If you're feeling an energy drain, you could ask what's off with the tone of the blog. Why is it not inviting more traffic & more private clients or more community? This has a lot to do with the Pluto Saturn mutual reception at the moment--I personally feel we all have to watch our tendency to lose the wisdom potential here if we give in to being Aries Uranus firebrands, freakin' people out. In the end, it's always about building & deepening relationships while giving up need for absolute control -- this is the secret recipe for Cap-Scorp happiness."
All the astrological and sociological information I put out here, in this reader's humble opinion, can be found for free elsewhere on the internet. Therefore, it's not worth a single dime to this person to read this blog.
What a worthless, worthless site I put out here.
I wonder why these people even keep reading it?
Incidentally, this comment comes from an individual who claims to read this blog "faithfully."
I don't need that variety of faithful reader.
So here's a Metaphysics 101 lesson for this reader and for readers like this person:
When you take from a site like this "faithfully" without giving anything back but your bullshitty and eroding comments, you are creating an energy drain. When you read a site like mine while holding an attitude like yours, you create an energy drain. When frenemies and haters read this site and use the information as if it is free for them to use, they create an energy drain. And when you further devalue this site with your passive aggressive (and semi-nonsensical) commentary, you are exacerbating that drain exponentially.
This reader wonders if anyone else feels the same about the relative worthlessness of this site.
I wonder that, as well. I wonder that because people who feel that way are not welcome to read this site and have no business being here. From this point on, if you hold that attitude, you are reading here against my will.
Don't take that lightly. I certainly don't.
It's also interesting to note that it's usually people who think they have astrological prowess of their own who make eroding comments on my blog. Either that, or they are coming in from another astrology camp.
I have to say, though, that what this person has to say makes little sense to me. "Losing the wisdom potential"? "Aries Uranus firebrands"?
Keep studying from the masters, honey. You might get there yet.
Venus in Taurus is opposite Saturn in Scorpio April 22 at 8 degrees of the signs.
Make damn sure your energy is not being devalued under these aspects, as well.
27 comments:
Oh Willow, like someone once told me about an ignorant person who didn't value my writing..."you don't need clients" like that!
I read a lot of astrology and have found you only in the last 6 months. And since then I regularly check in to consume your unique and beautiful perspective like a sweet tasting, warm venti Starbucks latte. Love, love, love your stuff and got nothing but respect for you. You go girl!
Hi Willow i am so very sorry for that very Lilith like bitch to express her own sad miserable state of mind this webblog well worth for what you asking for when im doing better financially i will put my money where my mouth is but in the meantime i let my friends know over facebook what an amazing blog to read while enjoying a starbucks cafe.
you are worth it,i came out of kauai to alaska holding on to such a small belief system that i could do this ,because i was forced to-it fit in my jeans-i never forgot what you said-rough here and meaner-maybe i woke up-i can tell you now-i live outside the matrix-i play at it to live a part now-i fired Paypal-i think you are worth alot of everything.thankyou.will pay for your valuable services
I like your blog and I'm quite familiar with the phenomenon you described. When you tell people the truth about what's the root of their problems, they get freaked out, they call you crazy, they sink into denial, they run away screaming, they gang up with other idiots and start a smear campaign against you, they start smoking two packs a day in stead one, they start drinking five bottles a day in stead of three, they call the cops on you and fabricate charges against you, they project their guilt onto you and call you Satan. In my experience, the prognosis for for such individuals is very bad. Within a year or two, some have developed mental problems, some have ruined their health through addictions, some have found themselves looking like their worst selves, some have received some highly educative hard knocks from Saturn. The worst of the lot have died. Obviously, if the patient is not ready for the truth, receiving it on a silver platter can only create fear, which comes out as denial, hate, escapism or a desire to annihilate or at least hurt the messenger. Not telling the truth would be convenient and socially safe, of course, but not exactly responsible, as there's always a soul or two, who can actually benefit from hearing it. If just one can thus be saved from oneself, it's worth the cost. Those who were unready, would have destroyed themselves anyway.
I might also add, you're hitting a lot of nails on the head, so keep up the good work. I also like the fact that you have an agenda and are not shy to talk about it. Astrologer or schmaschtrologer, it's always good to see people voice their conviction on matters social, political and ecological, especially when they're right and have a way with words. As for my contribution to the cause: Burn in Hell, Monsanto!
This site is INVALUABLE. I not only read everything, but re-post links on my FB astro page. I hope all my members will subscribe for at least $5 per month! I'm stony broke on a minimum pension, but will make a token payment to prove I mean what I say.
Locus and others:
Please don't feel you have to subscribe if funds are low. Seriously. I mean the subscriptions only for people who have some expendable income and find this site valuable on a regular basis.
What I'm saying is that if you have an income and can afford a Starbucks every day or a few times a week, it should not be a stretch to pay $2.50 per month for this site if you are taking value from it regularly.
The broader point is how terribly undervalued this type of work/information is, all the while, most people aren't batting an eye at shelling out hundreds for the newest cell phone or gadget.
That idiot coming on here and saying this site is, basically, worthless was just too much for me to take.
I can verbally eviscerate and publicly shame these morons on my own, but I appreciate these comments from people who DO find this site valuable. So thank-you.
That comment was a real miracle of passive aggressive nastiness.
Willow I will be subscribing when I have free income. Am living off credit cards for now but did buy your pay-for article with remaining paypal balance! You do too much fine work to go taken for granted.
Oh and I would rather pay you than tax evading tossers Starbucks any month.
You are brilliant. You are incredible. I read all your posts and forward them too.
Please know that this comes from the depth of my heart. "I really, really love you."
Please, please continue your amazing work. We need you.
Aquarius Sun
Scorpio North Node
yes Willow, you are brilliant. I love your perspectives, your prose, your humor, your passion, your no-time-for-bullshit authenticity, your skilled astrological interpretations, your dedication, your graciousness in continuing to share your insights with even the most financially challenged fans(i.e. for free!), your BALZ and your hat ;) You rock Willow. Thank you thank you thank you. I appreciate being able to contribute to the very best of my ability in order to keep you writing!!! I really have no 'expendable income' whatsoever lol but have enjoyed, and shared, your articles for many moons,,, and, hey the piper must be paid!!! There is no one like you anywhere on the web! You soar with the eagles baby, keep up the fantastic work and don't let the worms ruffle your feathers....
Thank-you, guys, so much! I really, really appreciate these comments. They fortify.
I know I have the most brilliant, thoughtful, heart-deep, and "with it" readership in all of astrology blogging, and this makes up for all the passo aggro nutbars who leave their steaming piles of joy on my site. So thanks for being rad!
Yes, the idea is that people with money can buy subscriptions so that I can keep the site free for the poverty-stricken!
I'm Canadian. We're socialists up here.
Deal with it.
;-)
Anyone who buys a subscription can think of it as "paying it forward" for those who can't buy one.
Jansumi from Vancouver here:
Well, Willow - I read your site even though i don't follow astrology. So there! The only other astrologer I check is Breszny. Your beautifully clean, elegantly straightforward, interpretations take me straight into the core understanding. Some of us find truth saves time and angst. (Okay, yeah, I'm a Scorpio <;) I also share your values so you speak straight to my heart. Your authenticity and integrity are a godsend. Thank you for your couerage.
Oh Willow I have been absent from your site for a month or so because I had a stroke then exactly one month later fell and broke my hip but you're the first site I visited when I could see again. And just in time I see. Back when you began your subscriptions I signed up for $5/month only because my finances are more than limited BUT I was ashamed that's all I had to give for your priceless insights. Fuck that hateful little piece of excrement! One of your many fans, Diane
Hi, I am a socialist too :). I cant understand all details about this comment-fight (my English is not native English speakers level), but Willow, I value your site!
Dear Willow,
you are a thoughtful and wonderful writer, and I get great insight about myself and others through your work. I'm stuck on a disability income myself but do hope to kick in some money when I can to help your cause.
I love you too. You are a caring, sensitive person that opens up her heart online. Your writing is priceless, let alone worth $2.50 per month!
Diane, I'm so sorry to hear about that! This winter has been brutal, imo, and I'm sorry you got such a heavy load to deal with under these transits. :-(
I hope you are feeling better, aren't in pain, and are on the way to full recovery. Sending my benevolent wishes your way! Thanks for your sweet comment, and thanks for all these sweet comments, you guys.
I can't say how much I appreciate you subscribing even with limited incomes. Subscriptions aren't even meant for you guys, and the fact that you are subscribing makes me want to cry a bit. :-) In a good way.
The passo aggro haters can eat a dick.
Well, Willow, I must make a lengthy comment! I have been making handcrafted soap for the past three years. The soap is unique for skin problems like dermatitis, rosacea, acne, people with diabetes. This started, because I was unemployed with no income...I lived on my credit card. I turned 62 several months ago and now collect early retirement social security, which isn't much, but LOTS better than nothing.
In the three years that I've been selling soap, I haven't had a year yet that my income from soap has paid for the website and e-commerce, but I love making the specialty soap for my clients that LOVE my soap and now tell me they can't live without it. I figure that for every bar I sell, it takes ten times that to make when I add-up true costs.
I've given MANY free bars to individuals that suggest they would try it if I had samples. I've acquired a few customers this way, but a majority respond that they can't afford my soap at $5 a bar when they can buy Dove so much cheaper. I tell them that they are making a wise financial decision and thanks for trying my soap anyway. I've had a couple of people tell me that my soap sucks, since it didn't do anything for them. I always tell them that it's a good thing they didn't pay for it. It's a relief for me, as I wouldn't want them as customers anyway.
Willow, I adore your blog...you offer a unique perspective in the sea of mostly bland astrology blogs and I've learned a lot from your writing. Please don't take callous remarks personally. One negative comment isn't reflective of your audience's admiration for you. Thanks!!!
One suggestion that I have is to offer a one-time donation to your website. I can't afford a subscription, but might muster-up a one-timer!
Mike, you can always send a one-time payment for the blog through PayPal to my e-mail address: willowsweb [at] hushmail.com
Do you have a site for your soap? If so, give us the link, and I will put it up on the forum.
Mikem
I have Mars in Virgo and, quite frankly, am fascinated by soap. I have a wide range of alternative soaps in my personal stash. There is one that is 10% sulfur that is my fav. Harsh for many skin types but I dig it.
What is in your soap if I may ask?
I read alot of astrology blogs and am always looking for new ones. But there are few that I bookmark and none that I return to with the same expectation of thought provoking, actionable information as Willow's Web.
My most frequent complaint about astrological bloggers is that of a superficial take on events. Not a problem here.
Keep up the great work!
I don't have much to add but just wanted to say that I stumbled upon your blog and found it very compelling and uncanny to what was going on in my life and or around me. I may not read here religiously, though I know I would not regret it should I start, I feel it is very valuable. I also love your Scorpio way of getting at the truth of the matter you are writing about "go deep or go home". YES!
Hi Willow,
I expend so much energy on my own astrology blog and related projects that I rarely get much time to cruise around and see what others are doing. One of my readers who is a faithful follower of yours sent me the link to this post, because I have precisely the same problem (Rising Scorpio, love how you hit that nail on the head). I've struggled with the same question myself and have thought of charging, but I know about the prevailing attitude without having to read it from your crappy little commenter. People don't realize what a huge difference it would make if everyone sent the price of one latte a month -- those who can, anyway. I know that many of my readers are in poor countries where $2.50 buys a week's worth of groceries. If people won't even make occasional donations, then I have to think that no one really much cares about what I do. That's not meant as an "oh, poor me" comment to elicit adulation, but a ruthlessly honest, practical assessment. If we can't pay our bills practicing our craft, then we seriously have to think of doing something else.
You've got real backbone for taking a stand. I may just follow your lead. :-)
P.S. This one post was definitely worth a tip.
Hi, Pat;
"If we can't pay our bills practicing our craft, then we seriously have to think of doing something else."
You bet. That's exactly where I am right now. A living has to be made, and if I can't get a return on my energy invested here, I'm going to have to re-think continuing in the way I have been...putting so much into this.
I hope we can wrestle a living out with Saturn in Scorpio, but it remains to be seen.
We CAN challenge the devaluing of our work, and that will shift things in the right direction, I think.
Thanks for your comment.
I will say, though, Pat, that people do care about what you do. They love what you do. They want you to continue doing what you do. They would be very upset if you discontinued what you do. They just don't want to ante up any of their chips and gum money to help ensure that doesn't happen.
And that has to change.
Of course, there are people who CAN'T pay. But I don't know many people who couldn't afford a token amount once in a while. If you are buying coffee, magazines, alcohol, whatever, on a fairly regular basis...then you can afford a little astrology.
Willow, I think it's helpful for people to know that we are struggling. Maybe they think that if we can afford to sit in front of a computer all day and blog that we must be independently wealthy. Not so. We choose to live simple lives in order to continue sharing our gifts, and we make a lot of sacrifices. No, it doesn't seem that the price of one latte or mojito a month is too much to ask.
Thanks again for having the courage to bring it up. I intend to do likewise in my next post. We'll see how it goes.
Many blessings to you.
Likewise, Pat!
Hi, Willow. I didn't think I could express in words my opinion of that bizarre commenter's deceitful, ultra-controlling insult any better than everyone above me already has, so I simply demonstrated my opinion through a voluntary subscription just now.
As occasion allows, I'll also look forward to reading more analysis and discussion of the intrinsic hypocrisy and disingenuousness of people who can say "I read your blog faithfully" on the one hand and then 1} tell you your work is worthless (and by extension, so are you, probably), 2} put you down, and 3} condescendingly, patronizingly give you "pointers" on "the true wisdom potential" and "helpful suggestions" for how you might "build relationships" and make your work worthwhile, on the other.
TBH, that extraordinary degree of hypocrisy and disingenuousness scares me to the bottom of my soul- that bizarre ability to pretend to be helpful and nice and kind when in fact the person is being the exact opposite. (After a while, you begin to question: "Wait, is it you that's crazy, or me?")
I'm not sure what that all has to do with astrology, but what I can tell you is that I value your work, your blog, precisely because it is honest and authentic. No one has to worry that there are mixed messages or hidden meanings or ulterior motives in your analyses. You call it as you see it, and since there's no hypocritical double message to figure out, you give readers true freedom and ease to think about and use the information you're providing. For those of us who second-guess ourselves alot, never quite trusting whether we're interpreting situations correctly, your "tone" is an invaluable relief. Thanks.
Lisa in Boston (author of this comment, http://willowsweb.blogspot.com/2009/03/venus-in-aries-aint-wasting-no-time.html?showComment=1322691314403#c5454368877065032342)
p.s. Marie, thanks for telling your story. I think that's what I'm talking about. :-)
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