Author: Michele Phillips

Happy Birthday Virgo!

| Michele Phillips

MC_Virgo_blog

Virgos often get a bad rap. Am I right, fellow earth-mercurians?
As a smack-dab-in-the-middle of the sun sign period, card-carrying, no-denying-it Virgo myself, I was dismayed at most of the things I heard I was destined to be growing up.

I read things like this – “Virgo: the virgin. Overly Analytical, Modest, Logical, Sensible, Systematic, Intelligent, Practical, Responsible, Resilient, Good with budgeting, Focused, Self-Critical, Tidy, Hardworking…”
*YAWN*
(Mind you, I’m not saying any of those are untrue, nor negative traits necessarily. But compared to most other signs… well, it’s a snoozefest of a description.)

Job predictions were even worse! Here’s one of those dreaded ‘top 10’ lists the interwebs are so fond of. To sum the list up, the big hitters are (and I don’t think these have changed since the lists I read when I was a child):
Tax Auditor (oh yikes!)
Professional Housecleaner (well, a girl can dream, right?!)
Executive Assistant
Statistician
Welder (hm. okay…)

Before anyone gets upset because their profession is listed – just like the traits – I’m not saying these are ‘bad’ professions, or unsavory, or not valuable. They just held nothing – simply nothing – of interest for me.
And for a little girl growing up wanting nothing more than to be an artist (and dancer) and create create create, and craving some approval from somewhere… well, all this sounded about as dry as saltines in the desert (and equally as enticing).

Now because at least part of me does believe there is something to this astrology thing, I’ve thought about it and read about it and paid attention to it for a lot of years. (Hey, I am a Virgo after all! I analyze. Like I said, those traits aren’t necessarily untrue, they just paint the picture with only a couple of colors in the palette.)

And I think we Virgos have historically suffered a truly bad rap. Visions of schoolchildren, pointing and taunting ‘poor little Virrrrgin, poor crazy, OCD Virrrrgoooo!’ come to mind.nelson

I’d like Virgos to come out of hiding in shame! So what if we aren’t quite the perfect visages we’ve strived to be for so long! Who cares? (only us, that’s who).

It’s time to recognize the cleverness and creativity that can also be present within all that analysis, and attention to detail. I love this little quote here that sums that up nicely.

Fortunately, people seem to have loosened their grip on the old notion that Virgo is super uptight and/or asexual. Selma Hayek, Jason Statham, Beyoncé and James Marsden among many many others have helped squash this worn-out stereotype.

Happy Birthday my fellow Fabulous Virgos! Let your freaky Virgo flag fly proud!
Get excited over that label maker AND also blow some minds with your creative and innovative ideas!

I made the Earth-Sign, Mercury-Ruled Virgo vision (inspired in part by the inimitable Zoe Jakes) above as a gift for and tribute to all my Virgo pals (and there are many – we do like to travel in packs, don’t we? You know who you are) and for those who love us.

Share her, fly her proud, and see her on different stuff here!

Stay tuned for other sun signs representations… I will be adding each sign to make a series…

Mind Your HeART

| Michele Phillips
AnatomicalOracle_web
Get this illustration- see link at end of post…

“Follow your heart.” “What does your head tell you?” “Listen to your gut…” The notion of these ‘anatomical oracles’ and what those familiar old sayings means fascinates me…  some ideas and experiences inspired me to create the little illustration above, and share a bit about what I’ve found to be true for me…

I have a massage therapist who is more of a healer than simply a body worker. Truly – how she packs so much power and love and light into her tiny elfin-like body is a mystery of science – but she does, and her magical work is crucial to my well being! But I digress… my point was that after each session, she invites me to draw some ‘Angel Cards’ and reflects on their meaning with me.

If you’re unfamiliar with Angel Cards, it’s simple enough. A single word on each small slip of cardstock, with an accompanying little ‘angel’ illustration makes up a ‘deck’. You hold an issue, or question, or some facet of your life forefront in your mind and draw five cards – in this case, out of a little cloth bag – line ’em up, and see what they say to you. Here’s my draw from about a week ago:

AngelCards Aug2013
If you recoil at the mystical, supernatural, or such general spiritual practices, relax… I’m not here to tell you what to believe. Take what you like, and leave the rest.

What I like about these cards is, no matter what comes out of that bag – no matter what my beliefs or what’s going on in life at that moment – something happens, and heart and mind come together in that space to define a meaning– in each provocative word, in the order in which they line up, even in the tiny angel pictures.

Is it guided by something bigger, or just in my own head? Personally, I do believe there’s something bigger at work that brings it all together and leads me to ‘see’ what I see… but does it really matter, if there’s clarity, and melding of heartstrings and brainwaves?

Our Angel Card drawings are one of those moments where some kind of shift happens (call it magical if you will). Somewhere within and between my brain and my heart, there’s space where they meet– and that space holds the seeds of creativity for me, as well as some peace and wisdom.

It doesn’t stay forever.

But it’s happened enough that I know it continually resides in that space, and I can tap back into it if I pay attention.

Mind my heart. Love my mind. Refuel them both, often and generously. For me, that means things like swimming in sun-drenched waters, being sparked by the creativity in others, laughing (or even crying) with Mr. Wonderful, bursting with pride over my dear offspring, being still and meditating… and Angel Cards after a glorious session of body and soul work.

Crunchy? Oh sure, I’ll own that! (After all– my handle at the tattoo shop many moons ago was “Woodstock” – but that’s another story for another time.)

But crunchy or no, I know that within that space of Mind my Heart/Heart my Mind, is where something bigger than me can channel through my work, and where creativity with insight– with purpose– lives. For creatives of all types, our craft- our lives- depends upon it.

Like the illustration? Get it on cool stuff here!