Art of My Heart Compilation

 

Art of My Heart in its original location in the TD Square Mall (photo from 2007). Art of My Heart operated in this location for more than 15 years. The main jewellery case is on the left.

  

I worked for two and a half years at a wonderful and magical import art store in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, called Art of My Heart. During that time, the owner and I developed a successful bead jewellery line that specialized in semi-precious stone, freshwater pearl, and Bali silver combinations. Art of My Heart was a dream job, and the loss of it during a wave of early Pluto in Capricorn hyper-gentrification still causes a pang in my heart to this day. Thank you to the owner of this business for his vision, his heart, and his artistry. He made Calgary a better, more soulful, and more beautiful place, and I'm sure his absence is still felt by his old customers and friends to this day.

The owner has sent me some fabulous beads from time to time since he closed his shop, and I have some bead jewellery creations (some old and some new) for sale at the Willow's Web Astrology Etsy shop.

What follows are a few articles I wrote during my time with Art of My Heart (2006 - 2009) and just afterward. (I have to say, I appreciate the late-twentysomething snark in some of these!) 

 

From November 6, 2011 

 

Mabe pearl pendant with freshwater pearl and Bali silver beads

Before Pluto entered Capricorn and the wrecking ball was unleashed on independent businesses (as well as non-independent), I started working for a cool Jewish man in his cool little store called Art of My Heart, which I've written about on the blog.

It was at this job I learned that I know how to make bead jewellery designs. In the same way I discovered that I know how to practice astrology, I was given the opportunity to draw something to the surface that had been there all along, and I'm ever-grateful.

Art of My Heart was an art and curiousity shop that a man I'll call Harold had been running by himself (with supplemental help from various colourful part-time employees) for a decade-and-a-half. Harold was a world traveler and importer and an art and beauty lover. He traveled to various countries over the years, buying art and curiousities and bringing them back to sell in the store. His favourite place was Bali, Indonesia.

Art of My Heart was located in the downtown mall and was basically an anachronism. Harold had moved in many years prior when mall culture was vastly different - ie. independently-owned businesses were still being allowed to operate. That was changing very quickly. The Pluto in Cap writing was on the wall, and as time went on, indie-owned businesses were having their rents increased to unsustainable amounts or were not having their leases renewed at all. They were dropping one-by-one, and as the plans for wide-scale gentrifying renovations in the mall drew nearer, Harold and his wonderful store, among the final independent hold-outs, were increasingly unwelcome.

The squeeze was on. 

Ceres and Persephone Conjunct the North Node of the Moon as the Nodes Shift Signs

Dwarf planet Ceres in late Taurus and her daughter asteroid Persephone in early Gemini are currently moving retrograde in a tight conjunction to each other as they also conjunct the North Node of the Moon. 

The Nodes of the Moon are about to change signs with the North Node entering Taurus and the South Node entering Scorpio on January 18, 2022. Ceres and Persephone will both station direct in January 2022 in tight conjunctions to each other and to the North Node of the Moon. This indicates that the themes surrounding this mother-daughter duo are very important as we orient ourselves to the new nodal axis, and this influence will continue over the next 18 months. 

What follows is an excerpt from an upcoming patron article on the subject, titled, "The North Node of the Moon Enters Taurus and South Node Enters Scorpio: The Bull and the Scorpion as Uneasy Allies." You can receive the full article and other in-depth articles like it by becoming a Willow's Web Astrology patron.

 

"Both Ceres, the dwarf planet associated with agriculture, nourishment, and the fertility of the Earth, and her daughter asteroid Persephone, unwitting (and unwilling) Queen of the Underworld, are stationing direct at the time of the nodal shift. Both bodies station direct in tight conjunction to each other and to the North Node of the Moon. This Ceres-Persephone conjunction has firm and lasting influence on our 18-month Taurus North Node path. The influence of Persephone, Pluto’s Queen, reinforces the importance of seeing, knowing, acknowledging, and addressing “what lies beneath.”

Ceres stations direct at 28 degrees Taurus on January 14, the same day as the Mercury retrograde station, and it forms an exact conjunction to the North Node, newly in Taurus, on January 31, 2022. This conjunction adds to the nurturing and protective elements discussed in this article. Under the Earth Mama dwarf planet’s fierce protective influence, we’re keeping things sane and stable in an effort to nurture ourselves and those around us. Ceres works to bring us all back to the land of the living.

At the same time, the potentially disturbing perspective Persephone brings from the Plutonic Underworld is critically important in informing our steps from here. Persephone is sharing some of this Underworldly information and insight with her mother, Ceres, and this meeting of the minds creates the beautiful, healing energy found in mutual understanding. Kidnapped by Pluto and forced to live half of each year in the Underworld as his Queen, Persephone holds a perspective that not many know or can fully comprehend.

Following Ceres’ direct station on January 14, Persephone stations direct at zero degrees Gemini on January 19, also in tight conjunction to the North Node of the Moon.

Following so many months of acute discomfort and difficulty, we’re creating relaxation, comfort, and mutual enjoyment (Taurus) to nourish our parched souls. The North Node shield provides even more important shelter for us under the mothering watch of Ceres. That said, the strong influence of Persephone in early Gemini at the time of the nodal shift indicates that we are required to mentally digest and integrate some very disturbing Underworldly information, context, and perspective if we are to be fully successful on our new North Node path.

Respectful Rebellion Under the Final Exact Saturn-Uranus Square

We experience the third and final closing square aspect between Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus tonight (exact at 1:17 a.m. Central on December 24). The first two exact Saturn-Uranus squares occurred on February 17 and June 14, 2021. This prolonged square aspect, strongly in effect throughout 2021, has indicated a year of instability and uncertainty with near-constant structural change. This has meant we've had to stretch our personal adaptation skills to extreme and uncomfortable points at times throughout this year. 

I've written about the themes of respectful (Saturn) rebellion (Uranus) associated with Taskmaster Saturn square Cosmic Agitator Uranus, and I'm including a previous article on the subject (lightly updated) to draw attention to these themes as the third and final Saturn-Uranus square becomes exact tonight. Vigilance on these points will be required long after this square is out of orb. 

From May 21, 2021:

Respectful Rebellion with Saturn Stationing Retrograde in Aquarius Square Uranus in Taurus 

Photos: Willow 

In general terms, the transit of Saturn in Aquarius (March 21, 2020 to March 7, 2023) indicates a challenge laid at our feet to build, establish, and reinforce (Saturn) the type of future and the type of communities (Aquarius) we wish to live within. 

Do we wish to live in a human-centred world where we work to meet the real needs of the people, or do we wish to live in an artificial, technology-dominated world where human beings are a commodity to be controlled, data-mined, and exploited? Do we wish to live a natural life, a life as part of nature, or do we wish to live an artificial life of virtual reality? The influence of technology, particularly top-down control (Saturn) through technology (Aquarius), is a major theme for the Saturn in Aquarius transit.

[With Saturn in Aquarius square Uranus in Taurus throughout 2021], we're locked into a period of acute structural change. Many things are changing on many fronts, and people could be sort of losing it under this extremely uncertain and hard-to-pin-down energy. The word "unhinged" comes to mind. Things flying loose. Extreme adaptations to changing conditions. Anxieties or dread nipping at us from multiple angles. Difficulty staying grounded or feeling safe in the material world.

We're required to put extra effort into stability, reliability, normalcy, routine, and personal traditions in order to come through this year in good standing, without being emotionally shredded or left in a shambles by the often-harsh energies. 

Both our emotional and physical anchors must be tended, reinforced, and protected throughout the year and particularly around the times when the Saturn-Uranus square is at its tightest.