Category Archives: 01 Aries

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May 13 2012

Lunar Home and Garden Tips for May 14-20, 2012

Times noted are EDT.

In the garden this week:

  • Best planting times for biennials are during Pisces and Taurus. Save annuals for after the New Moon.
  • Best Days for pest control and general maintenance are during Aries.
  • All days are good for pruning.

Pisces  Moon in PISCES on Monday and most of Tuesday is the best time this week to fertilize your garden. Don’t forget your house and patio plants! It’s a good habit to change up your fertilizers once in a while. Keep a bottle of fish emulsion on hand for fertilizing during Pisces. Just makes sense, right? And easy to remember.

If you’re already in the habit of photographing your garden monthly, Pisces is an excellent time to get your shots. This is also an excellent time to tend to your water features ~ fountains, pools, koi ponds, wells, and birdbaths.

Gardeners often think of their entire garden as their sanctuary. Do you have a special part of your garden that feels more “sacred” than others? Spend some time in that part of your garden daily to connect with spirit. If you don’t have a designated garden sanctuary already, just pick your favorite spot. It doesn’t have to be over-the-top or even noticeable to your garden visitors. It could be a swing or a statue of St. Francis, Mary, or Quan Yin tucked into a bed or corner. In the long run, your garden sanctuary doesn’t require any kind of garden ornament at all. It’s what the space evokes in you that makes it sacred. Continue reading →

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Apr 19 2012

Lunar Home and Garden Tips for Aries ~ April 18-21, 2012

Wednesday afternoon, the Moon moved into Aries and remains there through Friday.

In the Home ~ Spring Cleaning Tips

If you’re ready to tackle cleaning the oven, scrubbing down the stove, barbeque grill, or cleaning out the ashes from your fireplace or firepit, Aries is here to put some muscle in your elbow grease. Whatever “it” is, if it gets hot ~ it’s Aries.

I have one of those moveable fire pits on my deck that I’ve never known what to do with in the summer. They are mosquito havens when the rain collects in them, so I turn it upside down when it’s not in use. I’ve stored it in my garden shed the past two summers and it was always in the way. The plan this year is to make a table top for it so that it can stay on the deck year-round and stay usable. All I’ll have to store is the top.

There are still ashes in my fireplace ~ that last wish for just one more cold night wasn’t granted. Maybe I’ll get around to cleaning it, saving the ashes to sprinkle around the yard. You can add a little to your compost, but have to  be careful not to overdo it. Here are 10 tips on what to do with ashes from This Old House.

In the Garden

The Aries Moon is one of the barren Moons, so it’s not good for planting. Save that for Taurus, the sign following Aries.

Aries plants include all the peppers ~ the hotter the better! ~ as well as radishes, rhubarb, onions, and garlic. We have a New Moon in Taurus on Saturday, so there’s still time to get onions and garlic planted during the waning Moon phase.

Aries days are good days to get the garden tools sharpened and glistening. Ruled by Mars, Aries does like his tools sharp and gleaming. Aries days are also excellent days to maintain firepits, outdoor grills, and torches that you have in the yard, such as the fun and festive Tiki Lights that are on sale everywhere now. I picked a couple up at Big Lots for $4.00 each and added some more permanent-type next to a swing.

I read a great tip somewhere about keeping your tools clean and sharp without having to scrape and sharpen them all the time. Store them in a bucket of sand that has a little veggie oil added to it. Makes sense to me. I’ve got a bucket. I’ve got some sand…and I’ve got some less than gleaming tools. I see a quick and easy project in my future!

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Apr 13 2012

Zodiactivities for April 15-21, 2012

Focus of the Week: Spring Cleaning

We finish out the weekend on Sunday with the Moon in Aquarius. It’s time to think about the future. If you could invest in something “newfangled” that would make caring for your home easier, what would it be? Oh, forget that. You don’t really need a new gadget. Just think about something you can do now that will make the future better. Forward thinking. Ahead of your time. That’s Aquarius! Make the change now.

I mentioned in last week’s tips that Aquarius is connected to air conditioning and heat pumps. If you’re supposed to change your air filters monthly but forget, change them during Aquarius.

The Moon moves into Pisces early, early Monday morning staying through midday Wednesday. These are excellent days to pay attention to aquariums, your pool (if you’re lucky enough to have one, invite me over), your home bar, and your cameras and video equipment. Photographers take note! Charge your camera batteries. Continue reading →

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Apr 12 2012

Lunar Gardening Tips for April 15-21, 2012

If you would like to have an expanded version of activities for each Moon sign, subscribe to my lunar home and garden tips on examiner.com.

The Moon continues to wane in the 4th Quarter until the New Moon on Saturday. Energy is focused in the roots, pulling effort toward root growth and stabilization.

The Moon is in Aquarius on Monday, so continue with chores and activities started on Saturday. Pruning and general garden clean up are good bets, along with outdoor entertaining. Aquarius is a social sign. Have some fun!

If you’re wondering about Aquarian plants, check out The Wild and Wacky Aquarian Garden for some suggestions on how to fit them into your home and garden.

The Moon is in fertile Pisces on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning.  These are the last few fertile planting days before the New Moon. In the waning phase, think perennials and biennials. In Pisces, think water gardens, plants with intoxicating scents or salt tolerant plants that grow near the ocean such as marsh grasses and the gorgeous rosa rugosa, one of my absolute favorites, pictured above. Continue reading →

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Feb 25 2012

March 2012 Zodiactivities Calendar for the Home and Garden

This calendar features day-by-day home and gardening tips for the month of March.

The gardening tips are specific to Zone 8 in middle Georgia, although if you live in Zone 8 anywhere you can probably adapt them to your specific climate.

Click here to see a full size pdf of the calendar.

Fish sculpture.
Feb 16 2012

Zodiactivities for February 20-26 ~ Moon in Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus

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Times are EST, Gardening for Zone 8. To make adjustments for your time zone, click here. For additional daily activities and times of sign changes, see February Zodiactivities calendar.

The standout event this week is the luscious New Moon in Pisces on Tuesday, the 21st, at 5:35pm (EST). If you practice making New Moon intentions, always do them during the dark of the Moon ~ that 2-3 day period preceding the New Moon. Engaging in a simple New Moon meditation helps solidify your intentions in your head so that you can make conscious progress through the month. I’ve found that the best way to work with New Moon intentions is to keep it really simple. There’s a dreamy, expansive feel to this New Moon. Very intuitive with messages through dreams.

zodiactivities feb 19-26 2012 

Continue reading →

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Jan 26 2012

2012: January 23 – 29: Aquarius, Pisces, Aries

We greet Monday with a New Moon in Aquarius on January 23rd. Aquarius is the sign of the friend making the next four weeks good for socializing with your best friends or networking with your civic organizations. To increase your circle of friends, spend some time with someone you’d like to know better before the Full Moon on February 7 or invite them to join your group. If there’s a friendship you’d like to end, wait until after the Full Moon to end it gracefully.

January 23rd is also Chinese New Year. Instead of January 1, the Chinese New Year is based on a lunar calendar with the new year starting on the second new moon after the winter solstice. Before the new year begins, it’s a custom to thoroughly clean the house, especially the kitchen, so that good fortune can enter.

On the eve of the Chinese New Year, families gather for a reunion style supper. Are you up for a night off from cooking? I know I am! A dish called Dragon and Phoenix consisting of shrimp and chicken is eaten for good luck, similar to the southern custom of having black eyed peas on New Year’s Day.

Are You a Dragon?

Dragons have strong, independent personalities and would prefer to lead instead of follow. I was born in the year of the Dragon and I’ve been described as headstrong on more than one occasion, especially by my hubby who just happens to be…what else…a dragon. According to the Chinese Zodiac, you’re a Dragon if you were born within these range of dates:

16 February 1904 – 3 February 1905
3 February 1916 – 22 January 1917
23 January 1928 – 9 February 1929
8 February 1940 – 26 January 1941
27 January 1952 – 13 February 1953
13 February 1964 – 1 February 1965
31 January 1976 – 17 February 1977
17 February 1988 – 5 February 1989
5 February 2000 – 23 January 2001
23 January 2012 – 9 February 2013

Household and Gardening Tips

Moon in Aquarius ~ January 23-24
Moon in Pisces ~ January 25-27
Moon in Aries ~ January 28-29

Are your computers, cell phones or television screens dirty? How about your remote control or keyboard? Clean them up or replace them while the Moon in in Aquarius. Be sure to check your owner’s manuals for instructions on the best way to clean your equipment. High tech gadgets are sensitive and you want to use the proper cleansers. You’ll also want to keep your phones clean during cold season, which has officially arrived. Phones are notorious for spreading germs, with office phones being major offenders. Lots of folks are complaining about colds recently and we don’t want to spread or catch those germs. 

Since Aquarius is the sign of high technology, the 22nd~24th is an auspicious time for acquiring new gadgets.

Stick to clean-up jobs in the garden through Tuesday, the 24th, with the Moon in Aquarius.

Are you late getting your pansies, snapdragons and other winter flowers planted? The moon is in the fertile sign of Pisces Wednesday through Friday. The fertile signs are the best days to plant flowering plants, especially when the moon is in the first or second quarter. Pisces is one of the best times to fertilize. How about using some fish emulsion? ;)

With the Moon in Aries, the weekend of the 28-29th is best spent on trimming new, unwanted growth on established plants. Our warm weather has fooled many of our plants into thinking that it’s spring already. Snip those little growths before another freeze rolls in which could do more harm than good. We can take advantage of this winter’s warmer temps to get a jump on cleaning up our gardens for spring. Saturday and Sunday are perfect for fast and easy garden chores.