Astro Alchemy

I love the fact that the Nobel Peace Prize winners are announced when the Sun is in Libra, sign of peace, justice and balance. And this year’s unexpected winner, rather than a prominent world leader, is Marina Corina Machado – a pro-democracy Venezuelan activist who was born under the sign

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” — Jane Goodall In the summer of 1960, 26-year-old Jane Goodall arrived in what is now

In a fascinating twist of fate, a group of former Tesla employees in the UK has turned a devastating loss into an exciting new venture. After Elon Musk fired an entire team of Tesla engineers last year, the ex-employees banded together, quickly secured an impressive $80 million in funding, and

In the 1800s, across the harsh, windswept plains of Texas, the carcasses of millions of buffalo lay scattered — victims of mass slaughter that had brought the native peoples’ sacred animal to the brink of extinction. Most white folks saw the buffalo (aka bison) as a relic of a dying

 When Chinese businessman Jack Ma was a boy, he rode 17 miles on his bicycle each day for nine years to work as a tour guide for foreigners. The goal – to practice his English – eventually paid off. But this determined young man faced other challenges. Jack Ma (born

When was the last time you used a pay phone? For younger folks, the answer may be never. In many places, these analog throwbacks no longer exist. Or, they’ve been creatively repurposed into fish-filled aquariums, as in Japan. But one rural Vermonter decided to bring them back as a public

Auto, a six-year-old boy from Thailand who was dying of cancer, was granted his last wish not long ago — to see Moo Deng, the young pygmy hippo who’s become an Internet darling. When the Khao Kheow Open Zoo just south of Bangkok heard about Auto’s wish, they invited him

In 1904, stenographer Elizabeth Magie was granted a patent for her creation, The Landlord’s Game. A big hit with her friends in Maryland, Magie’s circular board game featured properties for sale and a ‘Go to Jail’ space, much like its later, more famous iteration – Monopoly. But Magie’s version had

You’ve probably never heard of him, but James Lafayette is a man worth remembering. Born into slavery in 1748 (records are sketchy, but he was likely a Sagittarian), James served bravely in the Revolutionary War under the Marquis de Lafayette, whose name he later took. His efforts as a spy

In September 1954, after receiving a terminal diagnosis, 63-year-old Annie Wilkins decided that a big change was in order. After living on the family farm in Maine her entire life, and with all her relatives gone, she decided to hit the road. When a coin toss came up heads, she

I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.”  Psalm 55:6. There is a scene in the 1997 movie The Wings of the Dove in which

For two weeks, author Gregg Braden had acclimated his body to altitudes of over 16,500 feet above sea level. Along with 20 other seekers, he had crossed an icy river in hand-hewn wooden barges and hiked up the steep, jagged peaks of the Himalayas to a remote monastery, with one

Scorpio Full Moon 2025: Answered Prayers For two weeks, author Gregg Braden had acclimated his body to altitudes of over 16,500 feet above sea level. Along with 20 other seekers, he had crossed an icy river in hand-hewn wooden barges and hiked up the steep, jagged peaks of the Himalayas

Mrs. T, the Welsh wonder tortoise! A 90-year-old tortoise named Mrs. T made world headlines in 2015 after her front legs were gnawed off by rats while she was hibernating in a garden shed. Owner Jude Ryder of Pembroke, Wales, rushed her beloved pet to the vet, terrified she might

Things can go awry, often when you least expect it. You lose your job or your 401K through no fault of your own. Someone you love gets deported and ends up in a foreign detention center. The politician you voted for, believing that he would make things better for you,