As I wrote in my last posting, Thanksgiving was framed by a new moon solar eclipse in fiery Sagittarius at 2 degrees. Those (including astrologers) who subscribe to the belief that eclipse energy triggers change, solar eclipses open new doors diverting us onto a different external channel in some way…often this comes out of nowhere through an unexpected event.
Individuals who have birthdays falling close to either November 25th or May 25th (Gemini being the opposite sign of Sagittarius and is therefore affected by this energy -me included), will experience the eclipse energy more so than others. With a solar eclipse, new opportunities can arise bringing with them new options. And, sometimes the effect is a result of events in which we had no part (such as world events) but yet they have a direct influence upon us.
Admittedly, other than being aware of the forthcoming eclipse, I didn’t give it much more thought nor meditate on it, as I was distracted by the busy-ness of current projects and the holiday. Days before the eclipse (during which time the energy was building) I had been reading various “publishing news” sites to which I subscribe, and was feeling extremely frustrated with prospects for the current mystery I’m working on. This was compounded by bizarre responses from a literary agent regarding another book I have out for query. Thus, this publishing landscape which seems to be changing hour by hour, is almost enough to make you quit as a writer and go flip burgers at McDonalds…almost.
Needing a break, I went to Barnes and Nobel and for ‘some reason’ perused the magazine rack. On impulse I picked up the current issue of Writer’s Digest and along with their ‘year-end’ issue…noting to self that I hadn’t purchased an issue of this publication in probably 10 years. I brought my purchases home and…forgot about them. Thanksgiving evening I had some time to read and picked up the magazines. With no specific target in mind, I flipped open to an article regarding the current publishing situation and forecasts in light of the ‘E-Publishing’ and ‘Publishing on Demand’ craze. Hitting me like a Uranian ‘light bulb moment’, the article shifted perceptions I’d been hanging onto.
Feeling a bit better, as I flipped through more of the magazine, an announcement for a mystery writer’s conference taking place in Chicago in February, caught my eye; I haven’t been to a writer’s conference since around 1992. As I read more details regarding agents, publishers and PR types who will be in attendance, my interest was piqued. However, what sealed the deal for me was that the organizers have retained the standard option for a writer to ‘pitch’ her/his project directly to agents/publishers face to face.
Granted, this element has changed over the years as now you only get 2 minutes (yes as in two) to “pitch” rather than having a much longer time frame like we had twenty years ago, but still. Needless to say, first thing Friday morning I went on line, did a little more research on the featured attendees, pulled up the registration and plunked my money down. It wasn’t until a few hours later that I realized all of this had happened as the energy of the eclipse had hit my chart very significantly-a SHOCKING revelation! Time will tell as to the outcome, but you can’t convince me that this was all a coincidence!!
Chart cast for 00:10am November 25th 2011-Chicago