Major Life Changes with Pluto Retrograde!

Pluto, the slowest-moving body of the zodiac, turns retrograde on April 9. But don't be fooled by Pluto's unhurried pace -- this planet is here to make major changes to your life!

Because it transits so slowly, Pluto's incredible power tends to act behind the scenes, rather than in your face. Its retrograde period, which will last until the middle of September, may not feel obvious, but it will definitely influence important aspects of your life.

As is typical of retrogrades, Pluto's will prompt you to turn your focus inward. After all, it's only when you've made deep internal shifts that you can successfully focus your attention on improving situations around you.

Keep in mind that Pluto won't ever let something come easily, so you've got your work cut out for you. Be persistent and focused.

Pluto will also help you purge yourself of all nonessentials, whether they be extra knick-knacks, unreasonable ambitions or even relationships that no longer work. Letting go of such things can be initially painful, but you'll be happier in the long run.

Adding to these challenges, energetic Mars moves to square Pluto on April 11. Mars's high-speed energy will clash with Pluto's slow and determined ways, and the only way to overcome this is with good, hard work.

While not necessarily fun and exuberant, these challenging aspects can result in great achievements -- if you're willing to put in the time and effort!

Once in a blue moon...

A blue moon - the second full moon of the month - is set to welcome in the new year.

The first full moon was on December 2
But don't expect it to be blue, for the name has nothing to do with the colour of our closest celestial neighbour.
The New Year's Eve "blue moon" will be visible over Africa, South America, the US, Canada and Europe.
For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up until New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them.
The eastern hemisphere can celebrate with a partial lunar eclipse on New Year's Eve when part of the moon enters the Earth's shadow.
"A very small eclipse of the full moon will be visible from all over South Africa. The eclipse starts at 8.51pm on December 31," said Dr Claire Flanagan, of the Johannesburg Planetarium at Wits University.
Partygoers will see a slight blurring of the moon.
A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, and most years have 12. On average, an extra full moon in a month - a blue moon - occurs every 2.5 years. The last time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007.
New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't be until 2028.
Blue moons had no astronomical significance, said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
"Blue moon is just a name in the same sense as a hunter's moon or a harvest moon," Laughlin said in an e-mail.
The popular definition of blue moon came about after a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946 misinterpreted the Maine Farmer's Almanac and labelled a blue moon as the second full moon in a month.
The almanac had defined a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons, not the usual three.
Although Sky & Telescope corrected the error decades later, the definition caught on.


Blue moon
Wikipedia: Blue moon
Wikipedia: Blue Moon (disambiguation)

The Eight Wiccan Sabbats

There are eight wiccan sabbats or witches sabbats per year. They are based on seasonal changes and traditional harvest dates:

1 Winter Solstice - Yule

2 Imbolc

3 Ostara

4 Beltane

5 Summer Solstice

6 Lammas

7 Mabon

8 Halloween / Samhain

Yule

Northern Hemisphere: Dec 21

Southern Hemisphere: June 21

Winter Solstice, Saturnalia, Alban Arthan

The holiday of Yule was celebrated long before Christians adopted the date. Many of the Christmas traditions we see today stem from old Pagan customs. As the solstice, it is the longest night of the year. From this day forward, light begins to return and we celebrate the rebirth of the Sun God.

Traditions: lighting the Yule log, wreath making, gift giving

Correspondences: pine, holly, myrrh, cinnamon,

Imbolc

Northern Hemisphere: Feb 2

Southern Hemisphere: August 1

Candlemas, Imbolg, Brigid's Day

Imbolc is a day to celebrate the first glimpses of Spring, and it is also dedicated to the Celtic Goddess Brigid. Non-Pagans celebrate today as Groundhog Day. Make new starts in life, as you give your home a thorough cleaning.

Traditions: Burning fires and candles, cleaning, making a bed for Brigid
Correspondences: carnation, rosemary, chamomile, milk


Ostara
Northern Hemisphere: March 21
Southern Hemisphere:Sept 21
Spring Equinox, Lady Day
This is another holiday that has been overlaid with Christian meanings (Easter). Eggs and bunnies are typical symbols, representing new birth and new life. Plant the seeds of long-term goals.
Traditions: Colouring eggs, decorating with flowers
Correspondences: jasmine, daffodil, lotus, new spring flowers


Beltane
Northern Hemisphere May 1
Sothern Hemisphere: November 1
May Day, Walpurgis Night
The God born at Yule is now a man, and the sacred marriage between God and Goddess is consumated. Beltane is a celebration of fertility, growth, love and passion. However you celebrate Beltane, do it with joy and happiness.
Traditions: Dancing around the May Pole, lighting bonfires
Correspondences: Rose, lilac, vanilla


Midsummer
Northern Hemisphere: June 21
Southern Hemisphere December 21
Litha, Summer Solstice, Whitsun
Midsummer is the longest day of the year, and the strength of the Sun God begins to wane. The Goddess has left her Maiden form of Imbolc and is now in her Mother aspect. Refill your herb collection for the coming year.
Traditions: Fairy magick, collecting herbs
Correspondences: Orange, lemon, honeysuckle, vervain


Lammas
Northern Hemisphere: August 1
Southern Hemisphere: Feb 1
Lughnasadh,
As the first of the three harvest festivals, much of the symbolism for Lammas revolves around grains and bread. Sacrifices were common, though mostly symbolic, in order to ensure the continued success of the harvest.
Traditions: Bread baking, making corn dollies
Correspondences: corn, sandalwood, heather


Mabon
Northern Hemisphere: Sept 21
Southern Hemisphere: March 21
Autumn Equinox, Cornucopia
Day and night are equal again, and the weather grows colder as winter approaches. This is the second harvest festival. Rituals of thanks at this time have brought about the modern holidays of Thanksgiving. Take some time to think about what you are thankful for.
Traditions: Making and drinking of wine, share with the less fortunate
Correspondences: grapes, blackberries, cedar, patchouli

Samhain
Northern Hemisphere: Oct 31
Southern Hemisphere: April 30
Hallowe'en, All Hallows
Samhain (SOW-en) is the one Sabbat that is also widely celebrated amongst non-Pagans. The God has died, and the Goddess mourns him until his rebirth at Yule. It's the last harvest festival, and the end of the Wiccan year.
Traditions: Divination, honouring the dead, carving Jack o' Lanterns
Correspondences: pumpkins, apples, sage, mugwort

Bombing the moon

September 12, 1962:
"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."

October 9 2009:
We choose to blow up the moon. We choose to blow up... the moon and kill all the Clangers, and test out the Soup Dragons armour, not because it is easy, that armour looks hard.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/main/index.html

Phases of the Moon for 2009

The following list gives the times of the phases of the Moon for 2009.

The predictions are accurate to one minute, and are given in South African Standard Time:

Note Dec 31  :O

On the day I was born...

Federal Court Judge Albert Bryan issues a temporary restraining order barring Atari from requiring its distributors to deal exclusively in Atari merchandise.


Radio Shack introduces the TRS-80 Model 100, the industry’s first portable computer.

The system features a 2.4MHz Intel 80C85 Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) microprocessor, 8 – 24KB RAM, a full-sized 56-key keyboard, an 8 line, 40 column Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a built-in 300 baud modem, a parallel and serial interface, and a cassette tape interface to load and save programs at 1500 baud. The system also comes equipped with five built-in applications with 32K of ROM, including an address book, Microsoft BASIC, a schedule book, a telecommunications package, and a text editor. The system is based on the same platform as the NEC PC-8201 and the Olivetti M-10 portable computers, all three being manufactured by Kyoto Ceramics (Kyocera). The TRS-80 be highly successful, especially among businessmen and journalists, due to the unrivaled convenience of its light weight and bundled software package. Price: US$799 (8K RAM) – US$1134 (24K RAM) Weight: 3.9 pounds.