Stars and Cards: Aries

The Tower and Seven of Wands cards from the "Tarot of Durer" by Lo Scarabeo.

The Tower and Seven of Wands cards from the “Tarot of Durer” by Lo Scarabeo.

As the first sign in the zodiac, Aries (March 21 – April 19) almost always marks the beginning of something energetic and turbulent. Aries people are continuously looking for dynamic, speed, and competition. They are always first in everything – from work to social gatherings. Thanks to its ruling planet Mars (associated with the Tower in the tarot deck), Aries is one of the most active zodiac signs. People born under the Aries sign, are meant to emphasize the search for answers to personal and metaphysical questions.

Aries is a fire sign. This means that it is in their nature to take action, sometimes before they think about it well. Their fiery ruler affects their excellent organizational skills, so you’ll rarely meet an Aries who doesn’t like to finish more things at once, often even before the lunch break! The challenges are increased when they are impatient, aggressive and vent anger on others.

The tarot Tower card portends sudden, unexpected change (often perceived as disaster but that interpretation of events is up to the one experiencing the sudden, unexpected change). Aries is also associated with the suit of Wands which is related to enterprise, ambition, enthusiasm, challenge and competition.

With these cards in mind, consider your spiritual journey and where you might need courage, change, or renewal in your life. Have you used your enterprise and daring to become a mature ruler of your own life? Have you acted in too arrogant a manner and called down the wrath of the gods upon yourself? What aspects of your life require “spring cleaning” at this time?

Columbia University Bookstore

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

Take the #1 subway to the West 116 Street station for the April 12 reading/signing!

Take the #1 subway to the West 116 Street station for the April 12 reading/signing!

I hope all my local friends and readers will come celebrate the release of When Brothers Dwell in Unity with me! There will be a reading/signing of When Brothers Dwell in Unity: Byzantine Christianity and Homosexuality at the Columbia University Bookstore (Broadway at West 114th Street) on Tuesday, April 12 at 6 p.m. Even if you already have a copy of the book, come join us!

Columbia University was founded in 1754 as King’s College by royal charter of King George II of England. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York and the fifth oldest in the United States. Its original location was in downtown Manhattan, next door to Trinity Church; it moved to its current location in 1897, after a brief stay in midtown.

Harvard Coop

The main floor of the Harvard Coop.

The main floor of the Harvard Coop.

Before the reading

Before the reading

During the reading

During the reading

Harvard Coop

Are you in the Boston area? Come to the Harvard Coop (the university bookstore) on Wednesday, April 6 at 7 p.m. for a reading-signing event. Discount copies of my study, When Brothers Dwell in Unity: Byzantine Christianity and Homosexuality (McFarland, 2016), will be available!

Harvard, the oldest institution of higher education in the United States, was established in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The “COOP” (not the Co-Op as other cooperatives are called) opened for business in 1882 in a student dorm room in Harvard Yard. The “store” moved several times in the early years as the business grew and membership increased and finally settled in its current Harvard Square location in 1906. The building was re-built in 1925 and has been the COOP’s headquarters and an icon of Harvard Square ever since.

Harvard and Yale (my alma mater), the SECOND oldest institution of higher education in the United States, have long enjoyed a friendly rivalry. I am happy to meet readers at the Harvard Coop; might it be an omen or a portent that the event at Harvard was scheduled before any events at Yale have been confirmed? Hmmm…