October 7: Libra Rising

As I write this, the sun is setting – earlier and west of where it was during the summer. And it’s getting colder – 36 the other night. Blessed be the diesel heater that’s probably burning a gallon on long nights until the cottage is ready for me to move in. I am usually heading south by now, so I’m enjoying the changing colors and the crisp air.

I’ve spent the past few days working on what are now called Mystical Mystery Messages – for Samhain. Eve insisted they not remain pocket fold-ups as I referred to them. (They were mentioned in August 2 post.) Six have already sold, along with another dozen in a special Mabon order.

I finally finished writing my version of the Charge of the Dark Goddess so that I could include it in each one, and a friend worked her magic to get it into a templet for an eight-page zine. I printed 40 copies. Because I just HAD to have to black go to the edge of the cover, I printed it on 8 1/2 x 14 paper and went to work with my paper cutter. After folding the first on up, I handed it off to a witch sister, saying, “Don’t find any mistakes.” Well, she found one. “Here” was supposed to be “hear.” That got fixed. But there was another mistake I didn’t see until I was printing a second round of copies. Three lines farther down were two spaces when I should have only put one. I had to take a deep breath and go with it.

It took folding a dozen or so before I figured out the best way to cut it. But then I still was unhappy because after making all the folds and the cut, I couldn’t get the cover to line up perfectly. I am still making adjustments while I practice being – as a crone mentor calls it – perfectly imperfect.

Mistakes like this are still bumps. Libras “possess a sharp sense of aesthetic and spatial exactness.” My mother was a Libra. Never mind I am a Pisces with a grand trine in water, as my rising sign, Libra rules my whole astrological chart. I need balance, justice, symmetry, and exactness. That’s why I was able to get passionate about reporting and editing. I don’t have all the Libra characteristics, but I do have its famous weakness: indecisiveness. I struggle with making the best, correct, most objective, and fair choice when trying to buy shoes, curtains, and such. I can become paralyzed weighing pros and cons.

So one of my life lessons is to stop beating up on myself and not sweat the small stuff – two of which are in the photo.