Thanksgiving musings, and Happy Blogiversary to me!

It was Thanksgiving of 2005 when this blog began.  My sister, already a prolific blogger, helped me get Astrological Musings set up on Blogger, and the rest is history.  At the time there were just a handful of astrology blogs: Elsa, of course, and Robert, and Jeff’s blog at the time was “Astrology at the Movies.”   Things have changed and some say blogging is dead, but somehow I persevere.

My work has changed so much in the past fifteen years – a few years ago I started posting on Facebook and this year I’ve been more attentive to my Twitter page as well.  This year my YouTube channel began to take off, probably because like me, more people are home and looking for interesting material on YouTube.  As I get more and more comfortable with that format I’m starting to really enjoy these conversations.

It’s not easy to be grateful this Thanksgiving.  The Coronavirus has wrecked our plans to gather with friends and family, and a difficult election has splintered the US leaving conflict and anger in its wake.  Life is not always a bowl of cherries, but in every cloud there is a silver lining.  How many platitudes can I stick in here I wonder??? 😃   When we can’t celebrate as we always do, what is left?  The giving of thanks is all that remains.

One of the more useful things about astrology is that in understanding the nature of the planetary weather we can understand a little better why things happen the way they do, and what we can do about it.  The astrology this year has been difficult with a triple conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, putting pressure on us to face up to difficult truths and rebuild our lives in more sustainable ways.  Next year the rebuilding process begins, but it will take some time for life to return to anything approaching normal. Still, these times are full of meaning and the opportunity for wisdom and renewed strength, a good Capricornian lesson.

Gratitude is a powerful exercise.  It opens the heart and creates space for new possibilities.  It has the power to transform the way we view our lives and the trials in which we may find ourselves.  When I am at my lowest points, taking the time to include some gratitude in my journaling has been a lifesaver.  It may sound trite, but making the choice to feel grateful is the first step to powerful transformation.  Sometimes we can’t think of even three things to be grateful for, but we can usually come up with just one.  And that is the first step to the joy that an open heart brings.

So today I wish you the happiest of Thanksgivings, and the joy of giving thanks.  And thank you for sticking with me for all of these years!