I've been working on coloring Cancer lately while I complete the last chapters of my novel.
This picture still needs a lot of work so I'll post the astrological description later once I have uploaded the latest drawing.
I drew this picture at 17. Just looking at it a week ago, when I began coloring it in, I thought I had escaped yet another phallic symbol in the imagery.
But I was wrong. That coiled vine says it all.
Aquarius has so often been associated with knowledge, innovation, future technology and in recent times, computer science. For me the icon that comes to mind when I think of Aquarius is that fantastic figure, Astroboy. Quirky... Yes. That's another thing you can say about Aquarians!
My version of Aquarius may be more feminine than Astroboy but there are similarities between the two. I've placed her in a foreign planetary landscape denoting space travel and given her fiery red leather boots that even Astroboy would covet in lieu of his jet-propelled shoes. 
This hot lady's boots are like the seven mile boots owned by the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk. Aquarius can use them to leap up into space or travel wherever she chooses, leaping seven miles (or seven hundred miles!) with every step. There's really nowhere this pioneer will not go which is just as well because Aquarians enjoy travel and expanding their minds.
Aquarius has just landed and is holding a pack of cards and a knife. Whatever for?
Well it's worth looking at other aspects of this sign. Aquarius is linked with anything new and avant-garde. Natives can be eccentric because they are true visionaries who are not limited by standards and commonalities. They can seem out of touch or aloof to others and their humour is sometimes offbeat. So that explains the knife and the cards which are an odd combination.
Yet there is another explanation...the Aquarian ability to see far into the future well before others can and to implement the new, denote their inherent clairvoyance. Aquarians can see trends before others can and are always one step ahead. This Aquarian lady is in fact a space travelling gypsy. Her fortune telling cards are symbolic of her clairvoyant qualities. Continuing with the gypsy theme, I've given Aquarius dark Iberian features and equipped her with a stabbing knife à la Carmen.
Notice she holds the knife high and points it away, towards the ground. Will she drop it like she does with the cards? Probably. Aquarians are true humanitarians. They usually show tolerance for others and have a deep understanding of the variety in human nature and cultures. I couldn't see my Aquarian lady using that knife.
My lovely gypsy is equipped to roam independently wherever she chooses. She likes to try anything new so I've dressed her up in an unusual fawn cowhide corset and miniskirt with dark red leather straps. That outfit is worthy of a Sergio Leone western don't you think? Overall it ties in perfectly with the Spanish gypsy theme since most of those Spaghetti westerns were filmed in Spain. But I digress...
An obsessive, passionate creature looming in the darkness. That's how I saw Scorpio when I first drew her. In her right hand, she holds a cup filled with some dark potion, a poisonous brew no doubt, and you can see that I've added an ominous vapor emanating from the golden cup. That is some lethal drink. This woman means business.
A couple of touches are inspired from her traditional animal, the Scorpion. One of these is a sharp hook, in lieu of pincers, that she uses to scrape at her enemies. Because you should know that Scorpios do remember everything and they will eventually get even whenever it matters. Another scorpion symbol, is a sharp set of blades that dangles from the braid in her auburn hair. It's a sort of weapon, a reminder that Scorpio can defend itself well.
Actually her pendant is also a hook...or is it a crescent Moon? I like to think it's a Moon considering the Moon's influence on mood and that Scorpio is very emotional. But the hook/moon ambiguity highlights the fact that you never really know what Scorpios are feeling, or whether they are feeling it at all, so good are they at hiding their inner emotional turmoil.
The galaxies were not in the picture when I drew this years ago. I added them because to me Scorpio is not all about dark forces and malefic will, that's an absurd stereotype. I think there's a spiritual force in Scorpio that transcends time and space and motivates the native to achieve and focus for years to arrive at their goal. Often this motivation is very intrinsic and does not depend on external rewards or material gain. I think for this reason, Scorpios can be truly spiritual in that they are moved by deep forces within.
So I have her floating like a sort of celestial body removed from all material attachments.
Strangely, no phallic symbol for this one. I've noticed that my other Zodiac girls are sporting swords, orbs, horns and other longish, tubular objects. I don't know why I omitted sexuality symbols in my Scorpio characterisation. After all, isn't Scorpio also about sexual energy? To compensate, I used a lot of black and purples because these colors have been associated with deviancy, the underworld and sexuality. Very appropriate don't you think?
I admit, with all that talk about psychology I'm a still a little bit of a renegade.
I break the rules. I'm shameless: no matter how many times I read a psychology textbook debunking the Zodiacs, I am still passionate about astrology. It's ingrained in my way of thinking, I've been studying it for years, probably since I was 10. I'm ready to have a debate with any psychologist that astrology may not be a science but it should not be so easily dismissed.
During my readings, I've come across details that are frightening. For example, this jewel about the Rooster Man's love behavior. I have yet to meet a male Rooster who doesn't manifest unconscious sadistic tendencies to protect themselves from their anxieties and self-doubts.
When reading about a person's chart, I like to concentrate on their Chinese birth year, month and hour. And I also combine those descriptions with their Western Moon, Venus, Mars and Sun signs. The combination reading is usually pretty detailed and insightful. There is nothing vague about it. Recently I've touched on the Indian Moon Nakshatras and I see some truths in my sign, Hasta. Also fascinating are the different Decans for each star sign. For example, I'm a First Decan Libran. From which I particularly appreciate this sentence:
These natives must guard against defining themselves in terms of a significant other and strive to "be their own person," which will raise self-esteem and make them no less loveable in the process.
Absolutely nothing vague about this description. Unfortunately, that is indeed a flaw I have. I need a backbone when it comes to my romantic relationships! But anyway yesterday I found a jewel of a description.
It's me to a T.
Here it is:
Rabbit/Libra
Here is an aristocratic Rabbit. This native's manners are delicate and studied. Diplomacy for him is an ethic and behind his frail appearance hides a prodigious inner strength that analyses each one of your attitudes to find your weak points. This subject is unpredictable and never reveals his game. He's also an aesthete.
Ah yes, my frail appearance has indeed misled a lot of unscrupulous people in the past and this to their eventual detriment.
Meanwhile, I pride myself on my unpredictability although sometimes I tend to also confuse myself with it so it's not always a good thing! I never know what I'm going to do next. (Incidentally that is a trait corresponding with my being born on the Hour of the Tiger, Tigers are unpredictable.)
As for me never revealing my game, well there are very few people I fully trust. I can count them on three fingers, if that.
