Astro Alchemy

We wouldn’t normally imagine beavers thriving in the scorching heat of Utah’s Moab Desert. Yet over the last three years, more than fifty of these intrepid creatures – all formerly slated for death as pests – have been relocated from populated urban areas to small, struggling waterways in the arid

At the New Year, we long for a fresh start and a clean slate. Yet all over the world, illness and restrictions continue. How are we to set our 2022 intentions and feel confident about meeting them, when things are still so unclear? There are several astrological factors at play

In a recent talk at Agape International Spiritual Center, Rev. Julie Moret spoke to the crazy times we live in. She gave tips on learning to roll with life and build up resilience, so you won’t be buffeted to and fro by all the fear-mongering and changeable circumstances. One simple

I just deleted my profile on an online matchmaking site. Ninety dollars down the drain! The endless parade of unappealing men and clever scammers was just too much for me. I realized I’d fallen prey to a “cat-fishing” scheme after communicating with one of these fakers for an entire week.

In his book Why the World Doesn’t End, Michael Meade shares the Apache tale of an ancient woman who lives in a cave, unaffected by the strife of daily life. She spends her time weaving the most beautiful cloak she can imagine. Occasionally, she interrupts her task to go stir

You’re swimming along the cold, dark bottom of a river, fingers probing the mud, when suddenly you feel something hard and metallic. After carefully prying it loose, you rise to the surface with the bronze head of an ancient Hindu god, liberated from his watery grave after twelve centuries! That’s

In the Greek myth of Eris, this warrior goddess was not invited to a wedding on Mt. Olympus, due to her reputation as a troublemaker. But she turned up anyway – bearing a golden apple inscribed, “To the Fairest One.” Hera, Athena and Aphrodite began quarreling about which one of them

In two talks last month on climate change, Pope Francis called on us to heed the cry of the earth and pledge meaningful sacrifices for the planet’s sake. “There must be harmony between men and women and the environment,” asserted the pontiff. “We are not enemies; we are not indifferent.

In the miserably hot summer of 1963, when I turned eight, my next-door-neighbor Virginia took care of me while Mom was in the hospital, battling cancer. I adored Virginia, and spent as much time at her house as my own, hanging out and helping her with chores. That year, transiting

From raging hurricanes and flooding in the Gulf Coast to out-of-control fires in Lake Tahoe’s primeval forests, each day brings more dire warnings from Mother Nature. Despair is rampant. What to do? We can raise our voices about climate change and support alternatives to fossil fuels, but how do we

Late one Thursday afternoon, Vermont-based Brandon Jones emailed the restaurant Ekiben in Baltimore, MD, requesting their recipe for tempura broccoli. He wanted to make his mother-in-law’s favorite dish, so she could have it one last time before succumbing to the final stages of lung cancer. But when co-owner Steve Chu

“If grass can grow through cement, love can find you at every time in your life.” — Cher Photo by Richard Avedon in Vogue Magazine, 1974. Recently I watched a series on Netflix called Love is Blind. In it, young couples get to know each other, sight unseen. Some fall

Welcome to the dog days of summer! Although canines do need to stay extra cool and hydrated at this languid time of year, the phrase actually refers to the rising of Sirius, the “Dog Star.” The star system Sirius (said to have  uncanny ties to Earth) disappears below the horizon

The first time California-based Jeannine Schrantz set foot on African soil, she knew she had come home. Her partner, Alan, had convinced her to take a month-long road trip between Uganda and Rwanda in Dec. of 2009. “He told me [Africa] would capture my soul – and he was so

Since Downton Abbey recently arrived on Netflix, I’ve been lost in early 20th Century England. Yes, I’m a bit late to the party – the saga of a highbrow household and its hardworking servants originally debuted in 2011 – but the sumptuous, superbly-written series  does serve as an apt reflection