Some years ago, shortly after my mother’s death, I lost my wallet. I’d been running around, preparing for a trip to Greece. When I realized the wallet was gone, I called every place I’d been, imagining the worst.…
Leo New Moon: Creative Solutions
Three-month-old Max is as cute as a button, but he’s a handful. My newly acquired kitten scrambles across my head at night, screams like a banshee when denied full run of the house, and screws up my computer settings by sitting on the keyboard.…
Cancer New Moon: Listen to Your Fairy Godmother!
According to a recent study, there are now more obese than underweight people in the world. Thirty years ago, it was just the reverse. We can blame this on fast-food living, sedentary lifestyles or the fat-free craze, but the truth is that many of us use food as a substitute for something we’re not getting – like affection, approval or relaxation.…
Gemini New Moon: Star-Crossed Love
Of all the quirky, beautiful items I inherited from my dad, this Alberto Vargas print of Scheherazade is my favorite. The legendary storyteller has a place of honor opposite my desk, where she inspires me as I write.…
Taurus New Moon: Slow and Steady Wins
On a stroll in the neighborhood, I turned the corner to see a large tortoise striding toward me. Hello! His guardian gave me a bemused smile; she’s used to the shocked expressions when people see her pet walking the streets.…
A Magic Carpet Ride at the Aries New Moon
Recently I bought a magic carpet, covered in beautiful mandala-like designs. My cat Nora thinks it’s magical too – she likes to sit at the very center and survey her domain.…
Pisces New Moon: The Power of No
Living in L.A. in the 1980s, I often visited the Ojai Foundation in Ventura County for a dose of spirituality and nature. At that time, the gifted artist Beatrice Wood was still throwing pots in her enchanted studio not far from the Foundation.…
Aquarius New Moon: Time for a Little Monkey Business!
Consummate Trickster Groucho Marx once noted, “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” And how about this one, which he uttered as he left a dinner party: “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening.…
Capricorn New Moon: Do Your Best, Bless the Rest
Remember that awful fitness rule from the 80s, “No pain, no gain?” We’ve come a long way since then. Now most of us realize that torture is not the way to achieve our goals, fitness or otherwise.…
Sagittarius New Moon: 30-Day Challenge
We all know the importance of physical fitness. But how much attention do you pay to your mental fitness? In a recent issue of Science of Mind magazine, Mitch Horowitz mentions a passage from a 1931 book called Body, Mind and Spirit.…
Sex and Money? Bring ’em on!
At first glance, this young Eve in the garden might seem offensive – even pornographic. Or at least anti-wealth. Granted, we may not want to be selling our bodies for money.…
Libra New Moon: Mirror, Mirror
“A true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.” …
Virgo New Moon Eclipse: A Clean Slate
Shortly after being crowned Mrs. Universe, Ashley Callingbull is already stirring up trouble – and winning admirers. She’s calling for political change in her native Canada by thrusting the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women into the spotlight.…
August 14 Leo New Moon: Smile!
In the 1970s, random guys on the street would always exhort me to “Smile!” I perceived this as a come-on, and enjoyed it about as much as those obnoxious “happy face” stickers that were everywhere then.…
July Theme: Reclaim Your Inner Queen
“Your happiness is the spark that will ignite global change.” –Ross Arntson
Rarely do the stars align in such a way that it makes my jaw drop. But we’re entering such a period now, in which one potent point of the zodiac will be activated so strongly and repeatedly that an important message is obviously trying to get through.…