What’s Patti Smith Got to Do with It?

it’s tuesday, august 26, & moon is in virgo, in the starspace called hastā. earthy, tamasic virgo is the sixth sign of the natural zodiac, which is associated with illness, enemies, hard work. the earth element infuses it with practicality, tamas with the intention to protect. one way to ground & keep ourselves safe is through healthful routines & habits—exercise, eating, etc.—which can entail hard work, discipline.

“having routine is really helpful. for me, i get up early … preferably when the city is sleeping … when you seem to own the universe, & spend some time with yourself writing, & make that a habit. i try to do that every day, & i think writing, a lot of it is discipline & labor. we can be inspired at any time—in the middle of the night, we wake up at three in the morning—but there’s so much labor to be done, it’s good to develop a work ethic & a discipline.”—patti smith

or, to paraphrase lao tzu: thoughts become words, become actions, become habits, become character, become our destiny.

are your habits/routines taking you where you want to go?

hastā means “hand” & is ruled by savitur, the creative, inspirational & transformative aspect of the sun. it gives us the ability to reach our goals, puts them in our hands, literally or metaphorically. it can make us handy like ganesh (an elephant’s trunk works like a extra hand). it can give us helping or healing hands. or the ability to pick up a pen or paintbrush or guitar or a clump of clay & make something tangible—book, song, bowl. or gather ingredients & turn them into a sumptuous meal, as julie child, who had moon in hastā, did.

it’s the fourth lunar day (tithi), the fourth phase of the waxing moon, which is ruled by ganesh, & this particular fourth tithi, b/c it falls during the waxing half of the month when full moon will be in pūrvabhādra, is considered his birthday. so how’s about wishing him a happy one by thanking him for both putting obstacles in our path & the wisdom to turn them into gifts, opportunities to evolve?

tuesday is ruled by impulsive, courageous, physical mars, who is hanging out in virgo these days &, if we ask him nicely, just might help us focus on our habits & routines, bring more discipline to them. which of your habits needs a tweak?

& that’s your daily bliss! which is a sort of lunar weather report. may it allow you to align with the day’s cosmic energy so you can find & create a little more bliss.

p.s. jyotish is the science of light—if you want to shine more light on your life, click here to book a session with me.