That Silver Lining Thing

We've been experiencing a classic Uranus-Pluto drama lately, being new to a rural County and the target of what my husband calls dirty business. In a nutshell, a neighbor who happens to be a local bigwig, is attempting to use his influence to put the squeeze on us. One of the complaints was about how hard we work in our garden!

It's been a great teaching as we've seen (so far) that the County agents see the injustice of what's happening. The Uranus-Pluto theme here is, will you see another as an individual, or make assumptions. And it goes both ways, as I've been humbled to see grace and integrity in the way this has been handled. Our ally, an agent and code enforcer, says he's not intimidated by the person of authority, and knows we're genuine people. I've had pleasant surprises that remind me not to make assumptions about government agents -- that they too are individuals. This is key, as the economy collapses. Can we stay human and treat each on a case-by-case basis, or will we be driven by fear and paranoia, jumping to conclusions about someone.

Our in-town friends call us pioneers for moving out to the boondocks, and setting up a homestead with solar and a small victory garden. I'm a native Georgian, but we both have the sheen of the urban primitive on us. We're radical DIYers in many ways, but have all the necessary permits, too. A negative expression of the Uranus-Pluto square is when the rigid rules don't fit the individual, and are even potentially toxic to the environment, but are ruthlessly applied. We're looking for that balance of being pioneers with values of living lightly on the land, and conforming to the parameters in place. Since, our top ally told me, every case is judged on an individual basis, I feel we'll be able to strike that balance.

What I want to share is a moment we had Monday night. We went to a Southern home-cooking restaurant, a chain, as a treat and just to take the night off from cooking ourselves. We were talking about how isolated we felt, and the importance of making friends, keeping up with ties in-town, joining networks.

Just then, the waiter came and told us that the fellow two tables over picked up our check! They had already left, but they'd said they were "friends of ours." I took it as a sign of unseen friends. Venus is conjunct our (husband and I) Gemini Moon, and Jupiter is not far behind -- some luck at last!

It got me thinking about Venus and Jupiter, traveling almost together in mercury-ruled quicksilver Gemini. This is that moment, of seeing the silver lining, and gaining speed and a fresh-air feeling, from new perceptions. Every cloud has a silver lining comes from John Milton's dramatic presentation "Comus, performed in 1634. The proverb we say today came from the lines, 'Was I deceiv'd, or did a sable cloud/ Turn forth her silver lining on the night?

This Cancer New Moon has an intensity that can force dormant issues to the surface. But even with the dark clouds, we might see that "silver lining on the night." There are complex energies in play now, but Venus-Jupiter bring comic relief, friends that lighten the load, miracles from altered perception.

My garden, my book and the forest are calling, and under the dark of the Moon, less is more with words! I hope if things look bleak or you're under many burdens, that you'll catch a glimpse of your silver lining. Catch you on the flipside! Cancer New Moon is exact tonight at 9:24 pm (Pacific) and 12:24 am (Eastern), London/UT is 4:24 am.

See more images from Around About for Photo of the Week/Wordless Wednesday.