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Saturday, 3 January 2015

ORACLE

Every morning you pounce on the newspaper
and thumb through it to the horoscope section - that oracle
of your aspirations, your life map, where the planets
whisper in their prophetic language of symbolism
like a Shaman's feverish mutterings. How you fear
the very thought of ignoring their promptings -
of incurring harsh retribution
should you fail to correctly interpret them.
It seems these printed prognoses have taken control.

Yet you have no need to fret so
in trying to calculate the ascendant degrees
of Saturn in Aries and it's implications for you personally. It is
no more than the Sun's gravitational pull
on fragments of rock. But you are in denial.
Saturn implies death - or at least some equally unpleasant personal disaster.
And so you vow to stay indoors, at least for the coming week.

If only you could re-frame astrology
as no more than an ingenious metaphor
plucked out of past experiences and close observation,
or out of cloud formations, or Moon phases, or tides.
Is it not a plausible possibility
that your grandparents, parents, siblings and I
just might be the true shapers of your destiny?

27 comments:

  1. Beautiful and wise of course:))

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    1. Thank you so much, Gloria! ;)
      Have a Great Week xx

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  2. You have such a wonderful way with words, Ygraine,
    And you are looking so beautiful in the new profile shot.
    Wonderful poem and I especially loved your last 3 lines ...

    Have a great weekend.
    Hugs and love

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    1. Oh thank you, Margie...so much!
      And I'm really happy you liked my new picture...I considered it time for a change! :)

      Lots of Love and Hugs xoxoxo

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  3. Beautiful post. Certainly the cosmos is a system coordinated in concert and certainly we are part of it. Tremendous operations in outer space affect our time and tides. As we gather and examine observations, I have no doubt astrology will emerge as a science and include itself in psychology. Ways to go yet, but then it always is.

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    1. It is amazing how accurate astrology can be sometimes, isn't it?
      Although, I have to admit, I tend to only take it seriously when it has something positive to say...at other times, I give it a wide berth! *smiles*
      Many thanks, Geo.

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  4. Beautifully written. I hope your weekend has been fantastic.

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    1. Many thanks, Linda.
      Yes, thank you, I have had a pleasant, peaceful weekend for a change.
      Do hope yours has been good too.:)

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  5. oh that is outstanding dear Ygraine, you can't even rely on weathermen, why should you let some words affect your life, has anything ever predicted happened might had to one but one sign covers millions of people so really what are the odds, I'm glad he has you to bring him back to reality...beautifully written as always dear friend xxx

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    1. Ha...did go through a phase of fanaticism in this respect myself a few years ago! Didn't make much difference though...I only saw what I wanted to see...and ended up very disappointed! LOL...and yes, the weatherman has let me down badly too...often!!
      Many thanks, Sweetie:)

      Big Hugs xoxoxo

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  6. So well expressed, this search each day to see what is to come, open to so much interpretation and chance, already experienced , if only asked.
    Enjoyed.

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    1. Wonder what it is about horoscopes that appeals to us all at some deep level? Perhaps a throw-back to an earlier stage of our evolution, when the consultation of oracles was a compulsory ritual at the beginning of each day...or maybe even the belief that there is indeed some power in the Universe that has more knowledge than we do!!;)
      Many thanks, Anthony.

      Have a Great Week.:)

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  7. Boa tarde, penso que depois de tudo o que podemos contar é com o inesperado.
    AG

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    1. Yes, I totally agree...that is all we can do!
      Many thanks.

      Have a Great Week :)

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  8. If we knew...everything would be less interesting.

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    1. So true, Christopher...yet still we seek to know the unknown...!
      Many thanks :)

      Happy New year!

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  9. When things are not at our disposal, anything can happen and we have to take it anyways. Have a Happy New Year my friend, Ygraine.

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    1. You are so right, Dumcho...and I guess it would be cheating to always be given the answers to life's questions. We would never learn if we were, would we?
      Many thanks, dear friend...and Happy New Year to you too! :)

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  10. Brilliant, as usual!
    Smart words about "the true shapers of your destiny", yesss.
    Hats off for your fine irony here: "And so you vow to stay indoors, at least for the coming week." :)
    I love surprises and I prefer imagining a happy future to knowing it in advance.
    Happy New Year, dear.
    A hug.
    :)

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    1. Oh thank you, Dulcina...so much!
      Yes, I love surprises too...yet when I am facing a huge decision, I still find myself hovering over the "stars" section of the newspaper! lol

      You have a very Happy New Year too, dear friend!

      Big hugs xxx

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  11. Oh if it were true, but alas I do believe that our ancestors are also voices in the winds forever blown upside down and inside out by the tides of nature. The frenetic attachment your target audience has, suggested in your use of the second person towards the weekly horoscopes is ambivalent at its source with the clever use of your role play to consider a valuable lesson in divergent thinking. Why accept the norm ? Why not play around with our imagination and consider other possibilities ? other reckonings ? personal surprises ? Life is too wide and varied to identify with only one conception of our destiny. Is destiny a product of chance or determination ? Can we have input into how our lives are shaped ? Plenty to consider here Ygraine as I stare out into the shimmering sunlight of yet another beautiful, glorious day.

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    1. You have given me so much to think about here, William...the possibilities are, indeed, endless.
      Are we all-powerful, or completely powerless? In fact, do we really have any control at all over our life paths...or are our "choices" no more than illusions, our destiny having been mapped out before birth?
      Have to confess, I am most inclined to opt for the latter!

      Thank you so much for expanding my thought processes today, William. It is exactly what I needed on this freezing, dull day!
      And to think of you there with that wonderful shimmering sunlight...oh I have to admit to feeling something akin to envy right now!! lol

      Happy Wednesday :)

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  12. my concern with horoscopes is that it accepts a predetermined destiny...or we let the words shape for us what we have control over...maybe it even gives us an excuse because it is not our fault then what happens to us...

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    1. Absolutely!
      I have to put my hand up to that...I have often blamed "the stars" in the past, when things haven't quite gone to plan! *smiles*
      And, yes, I have also blindly followed "advice" from the column, only to discover later that had I followed my intuition instead, things would have turned out much more positively!!
      Many thanks, Brian.

      Happy Wednesday :)

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  13. Great words my friend! It's all about choice right? Life is beautiful and mysterious! We have to do our best everyday ;o) Love your picture ;o) Hugs ;o)

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    1. Thank you so much, Sweetie! And yes, you are right: we do have to do our best everyday...we have such a short time on Earth, best to make the most of it!

      Have a Fabulous Weekend xoxoxo

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