I don’t normally dream about cats these days. I guess that’s mainly because my life is taken up by dogs and their routines. So this one came to me from out of the blue.
In this huge house, the scene of the dream, live some of my relatives who were putting on a family reunion. So that was confusing on its own, because there were so many people there.
Some of the rooms were also overflowing with cats and kittens. Into this melee of family, I introduced Abbey and Vancy, our cats from Torquay. But I kept losing track of them, holding one while looking for the other, and after finding the other, the first one escaping my clutches. I finally had to admit defeat that I couldn’t control the situation any longer.
By the dream’s end, I had closed the door on every room they were not in, and finally found myself outside without either one of them.
Interpretation
It doesn’t take too much imagination to solve this one. I’ve been adding to our family tree in ancestry.ca, after finding a missing link through DNA research. Our modest 7,000+ names is now growing again, and the prospect of contacting and analyzing almost 700 new cousins who are 4th generation or closer is starting to rattle me.
And our Torquay cats (who in real life are long dead and gone) are symbolic of my two girls still living in the UK.
My dream is probably reminding me to stay closely in touch with them, or else I may lose them along the way.
Our Uncle Keith went to England with his family in 1960. He was working for Macmillan Publishers. That didn’t affect me, as a ten-year-old, until he started to send presents back home to me, the first being for Christmas that year.
I’d never seen an annual before. You can still get them every year around Christmas time in the UK, but in Canada they were nonexistent. So imagine my surprise to find this under the Christmas tree. I devoured it.
And, as a consequence, I became an avid fan of English ‘footie’ (football aka soccer).
Junior Pears Encyclopedia
But that wasn’t all! The next Christmas, Uncle Keith sent me what must have been the first edition of the Junior Pears Encyclopedia. Now I had a research book which opened up the whole world to me.
I cannot express how wonderful that was for an eleven-year-old. In fact, I would say that my thirst for knowledge has never diminished.
Conclusion
My father, Ewart, was known in the Miller clan for always giving the same two things as presents: books and music. I took after him, without knowing that.
In my world, books are a way of increasing our awareness of the world around us. Music opens up the soul to a different experience. Together they enrich our lives.
When I heard that my sister, Anne, was contemplating having her DNA tested, I started to consider doing the same. The main reason for doing so was to discover who our maternal grandfather is.
As my three sisters and I have different fathers (theirs is Ruskin, mine is Ewart), it only made sense to have at least two of us find out what the common links are. As it turns out, Anne’s son also took the test, and our sister Rachel, whose results have just shown up on ancestry.
My Ethnicity
If anything, I now have a clearer sense of why I was attracted to England from the tender age of eight or nine. 56% of my DNA comes from “Great Britain” (euphemism for ‘England’), with 26% coming from Scotland. The 10% “Europe West” relates to Dutch/German ancestors. The rest I have no idea about.
The staggering reality is that I now have 696 4th cousins or closer (as it stands at the present). When more people get tested the numbers will quite possibly grow exponentially.
Mom’s Father
So the mystery has been solved. All three of us siblings have a 1st cousin with whom two of us have now been in contact. She lives in Saskatchewan, and was born within the same 10 year span as us three. She and Anne have exchanged photos, and she looks like a sister. Her maternal grandfather would appear to be our common ancestor.
To maintain their privacy, I won’t be revealing his name, but if you are ever on ancestry.ca and want to see for yourself, take a peek at the CDSM Family Tree: it’s a public tree.
Conclusion
We all want to know where we come from, relatively speaking. The need to know must be part of our genetic inheritance. When you finally discover your origins, it leaves you with a liberating feeling: Know thyself.
ABC News did a program called “The Last Days of Michael Jackson” this week. It introduced the idea that the Pepsi accident may have started Michael down a deadly path of needing painkillers. I’ve rectified his birth chart to show Mars at the point when he was 25½. (His birth time is disputed…this is the closest to an accurate indicator.)
Birth Chart
Note the early presence of Saturn in his infant years. Only later does the Moon appear. It is a known fact that his father, Joe, was abusive to him. Under his thumb would be a true statement.
Michael’s Ascendant is Scorpio, hence the need for solitude and privacy. The Sun/Pluto conjunction has been noted in other birth charts as an eccentric genius indicator; it can also relate to ‘arrested development’. Because that configuration is opposite to the Moon, he seems to have never grown up: a true Peter Pan of Pop.
Accident Chart
The fire chart shows an interesting conjunction between Pluto, Mars and Saturn, in Virgo. I suspect this was a defining moment in Michael’s life. Also note how all the planets are in a ‘locomotive’ configuration, starting with Pluto and ending with the Sun. There is a sense that it was the track that the train would roll on for the rest of his life, until he reached the terminus.
Death Chart
I have timed this chart for the moment the emergency call went out to the paramedics after Michael stopped breathing. The Sun and Pluto are connected again, this time in opposition. And Uranus is almost opposite to the Ascendant. Jupiter and Neptune are both inconjunct to the Ascendant, too. This is a ‘lightning quick exit’.
The Three Charts Together
Venus in Michael’s birth chart is lined-up with Ascendant of his accident chart and the Moon in his death chart. This may account for the worldwide outpouring of grief at his death.
It also may have helped him ‘heal’ the Man in the Mirror.
I was looking forward to this series because it was going to be groundbreaking: two female police detectives with a female as their boss. After about four episodes, I began to see a familiar pattern.
Where had I seen those details before?
It came to me tonight as I was trying to go to sleep…
Scott & Bailey
As someone who has lived in the UK, I am always interested in TV shows that get shown on PBS or TVO. This particular show was originally telecast on ITV. I watched it because of Suranne Jones, who used to be on Coronation Street as Karen McDonald.
She and another Corrie alumna, Sally Lindsay, thought up the premise of the show and pitched it to the network.
I wouldn’t have put two-and-two together except for an opening segment in the first episode.
The Restaurant Dumping
In The Detail, the younger detective has gotten herself dolled up to meet her lover in a posh restaurant, thinking that he was going to propose to her. The man, a lawyer, tells her its over, instead. She is devastated. She hands over the keys to their condo, and leaves.
Later, she uses the License Bureau to find out where he is based, goes to his upscale home and meets his wife, discovering that he has a child. She uses this information to blackmail him into signing over the condo lease to her.
Much Later in the series, pillow talk from their time together is used by him to undermine her court testimony at his client’s trial: it was what she was quoted as saying to her prisoner when he was first locked up in the jail cell at the police station that first made me go: “Where have I heard that before?”
The same setup, and subsequent events, played out in Scott & Bailey, although the restaurant wasn’t as posh, and he was a barrister.
Conclusion
I sincerely hope the producers of The Detail give a nod to the creators of Scott & Bailey in the closing credits of their show.
And I will look forward to how they continue to ‘translate’ a Manchester story to Toronto.
All fairy tales start with the words “Once upon a time” and end with “They lived happily ever after”. After seven years, Once Upon A Time came to its series conclusion.
Being associated with Disney has allowed the story to mine the cartoon (and live action) characters that are featured by that studio.
You might say that they gave us fairy tales for adults. The themes and characters were familiar, but the situations were more mature than the ‘normal’ children’s stories. (Although, if viewed through the Disney lens, all their stories had a ‘scary’ element to them, but the originals on which they were based were far more frightening, for sure.)
By series 7, the producers went off at tangents, retelling Cinderella with a Latin flavour, duplicating Captain Hook so he could have a child in the Rapunzel story, and allowing two versions of Henry to exist simultaneously. The ‘curse’ that brought the whole story to Seattle was completely unexpected, but this was a trajectory required to allow the separation from Emma Swann and the ‘saviour’ story line.
It Became a Modern “Lost”
Lost went rogue in its final season, too. It’s what happens when the writers run out of story ideas, having fully explored all aspects of a particular story in six seasons. Even now, people are still discussing the ‘sideways’ leap that the story took during that final season. I doubt if people will be debating Once Upon A Time‘s final season in the same way, ten years from now.
I guess we should be glad they didn’t have a modern chapel setting to end it all. But the castle room does make a certain sense in that this was where it all started, with the Evil Queen cursing Snow White and Prince Charming on their wedding day.
The ending has Regina finding her own Happy Ending, something she thought she’d never get. By the series end, she turned into the Good Queen. But along the way a good many characters were ‘lost’ forever, including Robin Hood (Regina’s love) and Rumplestiltskin (her oldest friend). But she was back on her ‘throne’ this time chosen democratically. And everyone left in the show seemed happy with this outcome.
Conclusion
Maybe there really are happy endings. Robin Hood gave Regina a red feather as a symbol of his continuing love. Rumple got to finally be with his Belle after his demise. These are the hints of life continuing after death.
Popular television shows and graphic novels account for the recent revival of the Devil in the form of Lucifer. He is the ‘light bringer’ and as such shows up in Enoch as Samael, the leader of the guardian angels on Earth. The Gnostics considered him to be the Demiurge. According to the movie “The Usual Suspects” he is the character Keyser Söze, with the tag line:
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didn’t exist
But in reality, he is you and me, while we remain asleep.
“Lucifer” Got Cancelled
Tom Ellis
Last week, the final episode of season 3 aired on the Fox network. It had been a bumpy ride this time. Pearce, a modern alias of Cain, was introduced to the show, and because he was played by the same actor who was Superboy in Smallville, it was assumed that his presence could save the show. It didn’t…
There really is no way to say this without seeming judgemental: the ensemble acting was non-existent. Only Tom Ellis, as Lucifer, was believable. His charm and charisma were evident in every scene. The rest couldn’t hold a torch to him.
The actress who played Chloe Decker was especially tepid. But the final scene was the ultimate payoff: her character got to see Lucifer’s devil face.
Lucifer’s Devil Face
This face had been missing for all of season 3. The reason for its absence was an interesting one.
Cain, as Pearce, had taken it away, and given Lucifer back his wings. That story held until the finale. Then Lucifer realized that he was the actual one who had changed himself: he no longer saw himself as a monster, because Chloe’s influence was starting to rub off on him.
That made the final scene more poignant. After killing Pearce, he reverted to his ‘usual’ self image.
Conclusion
There are rumours of the producers of Lucifer hoping to revive the show on another network. But, the question is: Is it necessary to keep the show going?
The world has seen him again, albeit in a nice package. The fundamentalists must have been delighted to see him unmasked. The ‘true believers’ also. This is part of the ‘plan’.
The rest of us are bemused. In season 1, episode 1, Trixie knew immediately who Lucifer was. Why did it take three seasons for her mother to catch on?
Rest in Peace. You need not concern yourself with Humanity any more.
I suppose that the proliferation of these monthly get-togethers must have been started by Oprah’s book club segments on her show. Now they’ve taken on a life of their own.
We went to see this movie last night, and I must admit that the laughs were frequent and the good-feel moments were plenty.
If you haven’t guessed already, the books they read and shared came from the pen of E.L. James.
The Actresses
The seniors of this world need a little light entertainment. In other words, something they can watch that doesn’t include super heroes or bratty children. The draw for this audience is wanting to see how these four actresses have kept their beauty and acting chops.
Jane Fonda
Candice Bergen
Headshot of Candice Bergen, US actress and fashion model, circa 1975. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
Diane Keaton
Mary Steenburgen
Conclusion
The plot was simple: each woman was experiencing the declining fortunes of finding love and fulfillment in their ‘golden years’. Each came to a happy ending, particular to their individual needs.
As my wife, Susan, says: It proves that you’re never too old for love.
Well, here we go again. With all the nasty news happening around us, it was a relief to have a ‘happy ending’ for a change. Fairy tale weddings are always welcome, but this one seemed to be a match made in celebrity heaven.
The Chart
I always suspect that an Astrologer has had a hand in deciding when would be the best day for a Royal Wedding. This one is no different.
The Finger of God (Yod) which is prominent on this chart is a hint at the purpose of the marriage.
Venus Inconjunct Mars
Your close relationships will be a bit stormier than most, but this should not be a serious problem in later life. In fact you probably prefer stormy relationships, because it means that you are really involved with the other person.
When you are older, this aspect will be most important in your relationships with the opposite sex, which you will become strongly involved in. For this reason, your relationship with your parent of the opposite sex will be very important, because the patterns you establish with that parent will continue in later sexual relationships. If you have a lot of problems with your father if you are a girl, or with your mother if you are a boy, you won’t be able to have smooth relationships with the opposite sex until you can solve those problems.
While you are young, as well as later, you may be attracted to persons who, if you think rationally about it, do not seem very well suited to you. This problem will be greatest if you do not feel good about yourself, for it is a reflection of your own inner turmoil about love and your right to be loved.
Mars Inconjunct Ascendant
Learn to work for the good of others by making their objectives your objectives, whenever possible. This aspect can signify the ability to accomplish a great deal, as long as you do not spend all your time and energy feeling angry or resentful about seemingly undeserved defeats. When you have a real goal to work toward that you can share with others, you will be able to attain that goal.
In close relationships you also have to learn to compromise. Initially you may come on very strong and act very aggressively toward someone you are interested in. But that approach only provokes conflict because the other person feels threatened. If you learn to take a softer approach, you will be able to get what you want, within reason, without having to fight for it.
One of the most difficult sides of this aspect is that you must learn to understand whether or not someone has violated your rights. You may think that this is the case even when it isn’t. Learn to discriminate.
Conclusion
As I have seen in many wedding charts, the marriage itself has a life of its own. The two individuals that became one entity with their union are changed forever. This will also be true with Harry and Meghan (the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex).
And the overall winners will be the world. These two combined will be champions of charitable organizations.
