Planets and Stars

On a mad whim last week I asked of you, dear readers, for your birth sign. In return, I promised the some analysis on the results. I felt driven to explore the Astrology of the Gender Diverse after coming across language describing Gemini characteristics that I thought rang true for me, and perhaps for many visitors here. Original post here if you missed it. The short version of the post was that I pictured the celestial twins running away from the pack on the strength of their dual nature. Furthermore, I practically disowned the sign of my birth, Taurus, and sued for the custodial care in The House of Gemini.

I was as wrong as fishnets at a funeral as it happens. Doubly so. Not so many raised hands from Gemini you see, and perhaps, in hindsight, I am more of a Taurus than I thought.

Yes, the Bulls ran, as hard as they do in Pamplona, trampling all other contenders in their path. 25 % of respondents claimed a Taurus birth which is an outsized contribution. With half as many ticks each, Gemini. Cancer, Virgo and Libra trickled in leaving the other 7 constellations practically invisible in the dark night sky.

To those of you who do believe matters of Astrology to be of spurious merit, I will here for a moment sympathize with you. For the most part, I like simple, provable things. With that said, I am not willing to fully dismiss things that I cannot scientifically dismiss. So there.

I can however fully dismiss this poll as a scientific measurement of anything at all for this one good reason: The data sample is too damned small. To all of you respondents, I say thanks. I can at least make some questionable observations on our cracked sample.

First off, it seems I have missed quite a few birthdays of late. I therefore wish a Happy near-Birthday to Melissa over at Cross Thread who is amongst the herd (do go say hello, won’t you?), and to others of you here today. Yes, we Taurean are gathered in awesome numbers, so let us take a closer look at this sign of this sensible, headstrong sorority.

The nice and gainfully employed people over at Tarot.com provide content to online media juggernaut AOL’s Zodiac Central feature here. I have lifted some of their language, and cherry picked it to make me, and perhaps you feel good about your bullish birthright (emphasis mine).

... It may be that your attraction to material things is less about the objects themselves than it is about the pleasure they bring to your senses. Comfortable living and working space is important to Taurus, along with nice linens, clothing, food and music.

OK, I can make this work. Right on the money in fact. I revel in the senses, sights, sounds, tastes and touches. Aromas a little less so. I credit this to sharing a bedroom in my youth with a brother possessed of a rare gift for breaking wind. What else? Yes, the Stars influence the trajectory of our lives, but so do the planets. Venus has an outsized influence according to experts. Lets hear a little about her:

... Venus is the planet of love and desire. She is in charge of romance and beauty. But Venus isn't only about physical love; she's also symbolic of the ideal love. When we see a beautiful painting or other work or art, Venus is present. She is the beauty of a rose as much as she is the attraction we have to someone we love. As the key planet of Taurus, Venus is sensual and simple. We fulfill the senses with beauty and life is good.

Yes, I am an idealist. I get emotional, moved momentarily to complete distraction when seeing or hearing something that is heartbreakingly close to perfect. This capacity has influenced some major life decisions. I have found the risks of such availability to be high, but the rewards have been rich. I would not change this desire to share in moments of grace for anything.

These very general claims may hold true for many or most Taureans. They could also hold true for anyone, born any time of the year, of any year though. Therefore I don’t think that these things say anything about my Cross Dressing.

In fact, even without the benefit of a rigorous exploration of the stars and the planets I do not think we would turn up any strong Zodiacal indicators of a propensity to dress, or to desire to experience life in gender different from that assigned to us at birth.

It seems well enough to me that we all want to be, at least for moments, fully realized, and stars on our own planet.

I close today with a sad note about the passing of a star.

Lena Horne passed away yesterday after 92 rich years amongst us. She was a path clearing pioneer of civil rights and social justice, a multi-talented singer, dancer and actress, and a woman who to my thinking personified grace, beauty, determination and strength. These are some of the essentially feminine qualities that I want most to display in any moment of the day, regardless of what I am wearing.

This is sad yes, but I am glad to have seen her flicker, beam and glow.