Guided by Astrology

In January, I started going to an Astrology Circle—a Friday session where astrologer Lauren Lasko illustrated how weekly planetary transits affected our daily lives. In February, I did a reading with her. I was not only interested in talking about my birth chart, and looking at my progressed chart for February 2009, but also looking back at the two dates that had transformed my life—the day I bought the house in New Orleans, and the day Hurricane Katrina destroyed the levees. What I learned at that session was enlightening. Lauren is not a predictive astrologer—she uses astrology as a tool for personal awareness—so when she suggested that I not run off to New Orleans because my tenant wasn’t communicating until after Mercury, the communication planet, stationed direct on September 29th, I listened. Tried to still my mind from imagining every possible doom and gloom outcome. I’m not basically negative but extremely impatient—and when life is difficult to navigate for long stretches of time, my drama queen surfaces.

Because I didn’t race off to New Orleans at the end of September, I was here for my 4th anniversary on October 1st. Here to experience La Alborada, the celebration of the town’s patron, San Miguel Arcángel, one of the city’s biggest fiestas. I arrived four years in the middle of that celebration, when dancers and drummers in native dress clogged the streets. Many streets in Centro were closed and my driver, who was inexperienced, couldn’t find his way around the closures to my house. By the time I got to my rental, in Guadeloupe on Cielito Lindo, almost two hours after entering the city, I was questioning coming to San Miguel. Now it is one of my favorite parades.

Because I didn't race off to New Orleans I was here to celebrate a friend's birthday on the 3rd of October, on the 5th I had a closing date. There are still a lot of details to work out but a little more than 4 years after my 10-day life in New Orleans, I’ll finally put Hurricane Katrina behind me just as Saturn is moving into Libra and the effect of my second Saturn return wanes.