Love Your Local Band: Give You Nothing

Spencer Biddiscombe recalls when the head of his record label, Snubbed Records, gave Give You Nothing’s album a listen. He said it sounded like a mid-’90s Bay Area punk band. Biddiscombe thanked him for the compliment.

“That’s what we’re going for,” he tells GT. “Every other band I’ve been in, I don’t think we ever sounded like what we set out to sound like.”

The band’s debut self-titled, full-length album was released May 1. It’s got heavy, energetic skate-punk riffs with melodic vocals throughout, giving the music a nice blend of pop and hardcore.

As new as the band is, the members have been involved in the scene since the early 2000s—but they’d played hardcore, thrash and powerviolence.

“This is what we grew up listening to in the ’90s in Santa Cruz. AFI, Fury 66. We were like, ‘We want to do a band like that,’” Biddiscombe says of Give You Nothing.

The band spent over a year on the record, throwing out songs they didn’t absolutely love, demoing the rest and getting a nice, polished studio recording that still has the live energy intact.

“A lot of times with bands you have one song and you want to get a record out,” Biddiscombe says. “We really wanted to spend time writing.”

The band barely played live the past year, but now that the album is out, plans to hit it hard. This upcoming show is the unofficial record release. The group hopes to put together a bigger release show sometime in July.

“Our biggest thing is just having fun,” Biddiscombe says. “There’s so many bands that are way too serious now.” 

INFO: 9 p.m., Wednesday, May 22. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6994.

Historian Douglas Brinkley Talks ’60s Counterculture, Space Race

Historian Douglas Brinkley is coming to Santa Cruz for two events with one common goal: to remind us all about the legacy of the 1960s.

On Thursday, May 16, Brinkley visits Bookshop Santa Cruz to discuss his new book American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race. On the following night, May 17, he will be on stage at the Rio Theatre celebrating the all-female rock band Ace of Cups, who will then perform.

At the Bookshop event, Brinkley will cover the themes of his book, a long-view history on Apollo 11’s historic moon landing in 1969 and the central role that President John F. Kennedy played in making it happen. At the Rio, Brinkley will take a moment to reflect on the overlooked contributions of women in the late 1960s counterculture.

American Moonshot is an enthralling account of Kennedy’s conviction, even before he was elected president in 1960, that the U.S. had to do everything it could to land on the moon, even though the technology to do so was nowhere near up to the task at the time. When Kennedy was inaugurated, the Soviets were clearly winning the Space Race, having been the first to launch a satellite and a live astronaut into orbit.

“The question was how to respond,” says Brinkley. “(President Dwight) Eisenhower favored a more incremental approach. But Kennedy wanted to leapfrog the tit-for-tat competition and go for something big. The moonshot gave him that.”

At the other end of the historical spectrum, Brinkley is also steeped in the evolution of the counterculture. Among his biography subjects have been Hunter S. Thompson and Jack Kerouac. On Friday, he’ll focus on ’60s all-female band Ace of Cups.

“It’s an opportunity to look back at the counterculture and see the misogyny that was a part of it,” Brinkley said. Ace of Cups emerged during the Summer of Love in the Bay Area, and played alongside many of the now-legendary names of the period. But they failed to achieve commercial success. At last, they’re finally getting some recognition.”

Douglas Brinkley, author of American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race will speak at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 16, at Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. Ace of Cups performs at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 17, at the Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $25, tickets to benefit Monarch Family Services.

5 Things To Do In Santa Cruz: May 8-16

A weekly guide to what’s happening

Green Fix

Cabrillo College 41st Annual Spring Plant Sale

Each year, Santa Cruzans and out-of-towners alike flock to Cabrillo College for the year’s finest selection of more than 1,000 different organic vegetable starts, perennial edibles, annuals, bedding plants, culinary and medicinal herbs, natives, succulents, and more. Whether it’s for a garden or a last-minute Mother’s Day gift, there will be something for everyone—green thumb or not.

INFO: 3-7 p.m. on Friday, May 10; 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, May 11; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sunday, May 12. Cabrillo Community College, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos. 479-6241. Free.

Art Seen

‘YoniVerse Monologues’

The YoniVerse Monologues is a storytelling performance showcasing the stories and experiences of some of the extraordinary women in the Santa Cruz community. These women have spent seven months with Master Storyteller Sirena Andrea in her performance training program, writing their stories and learning the art of storytelling, and are now bringing their work to the stage. Young adults are welcome if accompanied by a parent or guardian, but be aware that sexual content, language and adult themes are to be expected. Proceeds benefit the Coalition To End Human Trafficking in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.

INFO: 8 p.m. Friday, May 10-Saturday, May 11 and Friday, May 17-Saturday, May 18. Resource Center for Non-Violence, 612 Ocean St, Santa Cruz. yoniversemonologues.com. $25.

Thursday 5/9

18th Annual LunaFest

Women have a big role to play in the future of film, and for nearly 20 years, LunaFest has been securing and supporting that future. LunaFest is a traveling film festival of award-winning short films by, for and about women. The festival will visit nearly 200 cities this year, reaching around 25,000 people. This season features nine short films from filmmakers across the world. Santa Cruz’s screening will benefit WomenCARE, a nonprofit support system for women with cancer or a history of cancer.

INFO: 7 p.m. Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. lunafest.org. $20.

Saturday 5/11

NextStage Productions ‘Listen To Your Mother’

In celebration of Mother’s Day, more than 10 NextStage performers will read real stories from real people about their experiences with their mothers. This 90-minute production will include humor, gripes and experiences that everyone can relate to. NextStage is a nonprofit performance group for seniors, and will host the show as part of a national live-reading series that has been performed in 200 productions in more than 50 cities.

INFO: 4 and 7 p.m. shows. Center Stage Theater, 1001 Center St., Santa Cruz. nextstagelisten.brownpapertickets.com. $15.

Saturday 5/11

Senderos Street Fiesta

Help local nonprofit Senderos kick off the start of their traditional Vive Oaxaca Guelaguetza festivities next week with authentic Oaxacan food, music and dance. The musicians and dancers will arrive in a convite, or procession, with giant mojigangas (puppets) alongside colorful folkloric dancing by Senderos’ Centeotl Danza y Baile and visiting student musicians from Centro de Integración Social, Zoogocho, Oaxaca, renowned for their traditional Banda de Viento music.

INFO: 5-7 p.m. Cooper Street, Santa Cruz. scsenderos.org. Free.

Opinion: May 8, 2019

EDITOR’S NOTE

Lauren Hepler has been working on this week’s cover story for a while now, and that’s not that unusual around here. Sometimes it takes months to sort through the research, find the right sources and examine the landscape of a story—especially this one, where the landscape of the story is pretty much the entire coastal landscape of Santa Cruz County. The goal is to provide a level of depth, context and history to our reporting that hasn’t been captured in any previous articles on the subject. That’s why we devote so much space and time and attention to our cover stories.

I’m often impressed with what our reporters are able to deliver, but this week, wow. I have to say I was pretty stunned when I was reading Hepler’s piece for the first time to discover she had traced this area’s coastal-access issues back hundreds of years to when beachfront property was first divided up on local shores. I would call this a definitive piece on the issues we face regarding public access to the shoreline, and I guarantee it will shatter your assumptions about what both landowners and community legally have the right to do. Prepare to take a very deep dive into a fascinating and ultimately bizarre tangle of conflicting interests, miscommunication and legal grey area.

This is exactly the kind of piece I’m proud to run. If you take a look at page 12, you’ll see several of our stories from last year just won California Journalism Awards, along with honors for cover design, arts coverage and a coveted General Excellence award. I think we’re off to a great start this year, as well.

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

Get On Your Mat

Thanks for a different perspective on yoga (GT, 5/1). The excellent article asks many important questions. I’d like to address this from the viewpoint of a recent yoga convert, spiritual seeker and old-timer building contractor who used to be in a lot of physical pain because my profession took priority over the needs of my body.

Not only has yoga made me feel better, stronger and younger at 60 than I did at 50, but the balance, poise, strength and flexibility gained while practicing asanas translates well into the daily lives of every yogi and yogini I’ve met.

Knowing how the respiratory, circulatory, musculo-skeletal, endocrine and nervous systems work in harmony to create vibrancy in our bodily communities prompts one to apply this knowledge to the rest of society.

If we all practiced this school of thought to our environmental, social, political and spiritual relationships, we’d achieve more harmony in all of life.

Just imagine everyone in the judicial, legislative and executive branches being required to do yoga for an hour (like I do every morning) before beginning work. They would need look no further than their own bodies to see how many different forces can act in harmony to benefit the whole. There would be no room for partisanship, let alone petty bickering, lying or working against one another. We either work together for the benefit of all, or one branch dominates and degrades the others to the detriment of all.

Shut up and get on your mat, Trump!

Ray Newkirk
Santa Cruz

Earth to Santa Cruz

In regard to the recent Nuz column in which Richelle Noroyan reportedly states, “the city doesn’t need people from Aptos coming in and telling Santa Cruzans how to run things”: What? Those of us in the unincorporated areas who get pushed around by all the little city states in Santa Cruz County could say “pick on someone your own size.” Or, “do you know where the gravy comes from that you put on your veganomic dishes?”

Santa Cruz’s spoiled progressive elitists apparently don’t have a clue as to what we put up with out here, and they don’t care.  So here are a few clues: First, we can’t get “there” from “here” in a reasonable amount of time because you won’t support highway widening. Second, if we do get “there,” Santa Cruz does not have enough parking. Third, if we find a place to park, we can shop to our hearts content for two hours while we endure inattentive clerks who would rather not help women over the invisible age of 50.

Earth to Santa Cruz, and by extension to Richelle Noroyan: When I have money to spend, I like to shop locally if it is a convenient, safe and pleasant experience. Until Santa Cruz can provide that, I will head toward Watsonville, where there is parking along with friendly, helpful sales people. From there it’s not much further to Monterey and the Del Monte Shopping Center, where I can stay all day with free parking—maybe find something nice to wear besides a T-shirt, and someone nice who will show it to me.

Mary Comfort
Aptos


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GOOD IDEA

A Santa Cruz emergency sewer repair project will break ground this month at the intersection of Laurel and Chestnut streets. The work was pushed back one week to Monday, May 13, due to the contractor’s availability—which frankly makes it sound like less of an emergency, but we digress. The hours of the work are 6 a.m.-4 p.m., and traffic will back up. The traffic light will be flashing, and certain turns will be restricted. Friendly reminder that it’s Bike Month—so we probably shouldn’t be driving anyway.


GOOD WORK

UCSC astronomer Garth Illingworth has been studying the universe’s history for some time. The professor emeritus led a team that put together a comprehensive image of galaxies using shots taken over a 16-year span from the Hubble Space Telescope peering back at light from 13.3 billion years ago. Illingworth’s crew assembled nearly 7,500 individual exposures into one picture and also made a timeline of images—stretching back to just 500 million years after the big bang, when the universe was still in its toddler stage.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The coast is an edgy place. Living on the coast presents certain stark realities and a wild, rare beauty. Continent confronts ocean. Weather intensifies. It’s a place of tide and tantrum.”

-Carl Safina

Music Picks: May 8-16

Santa Cruz live music highlights for the week of May 8, 2019

THURSDAY 5/9

REGGAE

COCOA TEA

Since 1984, Jamaican reggae artist Cocoa Tea has delivered a mix of roots reggae and dancehall to open ears all over the world. But it wasn’t until the early 1990s that his fame hit internationally with the release of his Oil Ting album all about the First Gulf War. It was banned in the U.K. but made it to the top of the charts in the U.S. MAT WEIR

INFO: 9 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $20 adv/$25 door. 479-1854.

 

FRIDAY 5/10

PSYCH-ROCK

JARON YANCEY

One of the first times Eugene, Oregon, singer-songwriter Jaron Yancey got stoned, he jammed out on the guitar with his drummer friend Chubs for 15 minutes. That whole time, Yancey strummed the A, G and E chords and Chubs grooved along, and they just felt the power of psych-blues. This stoned jam session is also the moment that Yancey knew that he wanted to pursue music full-time. You can hear that love of all things sonic in his current tunes, with psychedelic, loose grooves that are grounded in the blues—but aren’t particularly grounded at all. It’s like the slowest, trippiest Pink Floyd stuff you can picture. AARON CARNES

INFO: 9 p.m. Blue Lagoon, 923 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $5. 423-7117.

NEO-SOUL

KELLY FINNIGAN

Had it been recorded in 1970, “Catch Me I’m Falling,” the lead single from Kelly Finnigan’s debut solo album, would probably have been on the Jackie Brown soundtrack. With its vibraphone and falsetto, the song aims for a spot right there next to the Delfonics, Bloodstone and Eddie Holman. The longtime singer of Bay Area soul group the Monophonics, Kelly Finnegan has spent the last 15 years developing a sound that is true to the classics, without sounding stuck in the past. Now backed by a new band, he’s breathing new life into Morpheus’s favorite music genre, neo-soul. MIKE HUGUENOR

INFO: 9 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $12 adv/$15 door. 479-1854.

 

SATURDAY 5/11

INDIE

LIZ COOPER

Nashville singer-songwriter Liz Cooper writes music that sounds like that quiet little moment of feel-good solitude you get when you’re driving by yourself. But of course, it wouldn’t sound so perfectly breezy without the assistance of her backing band Stampede. I know what you’re thinking—sounds like country music. But actually, Cooper writes folk-rock with a flair of beach-bop, psych and an almost-microscopic dose of country. It’s complicated music that will suit you on you loneliest of moments when you need to sort out some feelings while still feeling good to just be alive. AC

INFO: 9 p.m. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $10 adv/$12 door. 423-1338.

COMEDY

THE PUTERBAUGH SISTERS

Comedy duo and sisters Tiffany and Danielle Puterbaugh (of Chicago’s Entertaining Julia fame) have a thing for absurd and ridiculous subjects, be it the nefarious implications behind naming a store Forever 21 or how great everything seems when one is getting laid a lot. They share the stage and riff back and forth, often egging each other on and cracking each other up with zany characterizations and silly voices. The Puterbaugh Sisters are all about making sure everyone has fun, often spurring crazy impromptu dance parties after their performance. AMY BEE

INFO: 7:30 and 10 p.m., DNA’s Comedy Lab, 155 River St., Santa Cruz. $20 adv/$25 door. (530) 592-5250, dnascomedylab.com.

 

SUNDAY 5/12

FOLK

OLIVIA MILLERSCHIN

With the voice of an angel, it’s a surprise folk singer Olivia Millerschin isn’t more of a household name. Then again, this early 20-something still has plenty of time to get her music out there. Besides constantly touring, she was a quarter-finalist on America’s Got Talent and has not one, but two John Lennon Songwriting awards. Like Lennon, Millerschin combines a classic folksy style with modern pop sensibilities for a sound that is deep and emotional. MW

INFO: 8 p.m. Lille Aeske, 13160 Hwy. 9, Boulder Creek. $20-$25. 703-4183.

 

MONDAY 5/13

INDIE

SPOOKY MANSION

Daytime beach parties eventually evolve into nighttime bonfires. As things get cozy in front of the fire, it’s time for some Spooky Mansion to turn those playful surf-rock riffs into an edgier, more torrid sound. Not exactly spooky, unless you’re sitting just a tad too far away from the flames, but definitely darker, and sexier. AB

INFO: 9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $5. 429-6994.

JAZZ

EDDIE PALMIERI LATIN JAZZ BAND

As a pianist, composer and bandleader, Eddie Palmieri has been at the center of New York’s Latin music scene for more than six decades. After making a name for himself at the Palladium, the dance hall that served as homebase for the era’s greatest Latin dance bands, he introduced a revolutionary brass-powered sound with his ensemble La Perfecta. He’s been an innovative force ever since, both as a composer and a rhythmic dynamo on stage, where his percussive attack and harmonic voicings reveal his abiding love of Thelonious Monk and McCoy Tyner. ANDREW GILBERT

INFO: 7 and 9 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $31.50 adv/$47.25 door. 427-2227.

 

TUESDAY 5/14

ROCK

COWBOY JUNKIES

Though the band’s biggest U.S. hit might have been a cover of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane,” the Cowboy Junkies have always been about earnest self-expression. In an era of digitization, the group remained rootsy, opting out of fancy studios and recording its first two albums with a single microphone. The second, The Trinity Sessions, broke the band through to the mainstream with its loose and Reed-esque version of country, folk and blues music. Made up of three siblings (and a friend), the Junkies have grown, but never changed, as evidenced by last year’s All That Reckoning. MH

INFO: 8 p.m. Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $35 general/$50 gold circle. 423-8209.

Love Your Local Band: The Haywoods

Santa Cruz rockabilly band the Haywoods started out in 1997. Or maybe it was 1995—it’s a little hazy. Let’s just say that the band has been at it a long time, longer than most of the traditional country bands around here.

At first, the focus was covering a lot of obscure ’50s rockabilly tunes, but the group quickly began filling out sets with originals. Early songs had lots of love for that same era, but with a modern twist.

“We’re not trying to create a museum piece. It’s not 1954 rockabilly. No, this is 2019. We want to do original stuff, we want to stay creative. That’s a big thing for us,” says lead singer Chad Silva. “We weren’t really trying to emulate what was going on in the ’50s, because quite frankly some of that stuff was quite silly. There’s a little bit more grit and humor to what we do.”

And the style can vary,  thanks to a lineup of one acoustic guitar, one electric lead, a double stand-up bass, and drum kit. For instance, one of the Haywoods’ new songs, “My Heart is in the Drink,” is a straight-up honky-tonk weeper.

“I think we play with classic American styles of music. A lot of it sounds really rockabilly, but some of it also sounds really country-blues. We play with unusual progressions. We don’t necessarily stick to 1-4-5 all the time.”

The group is nearly finished with its third, currently untitled full-length, which should be released sometime in the next few months.

INFO: 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 8. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10 door/$7 with cowboy boots. 429-6994.

Stockwell Cellars’ Stellar 2017 Sauvignon Blanc

I was fortunate to enter the portals of Stockwell Cellars on the day of a new wine release: a 2017 Sauvignon Blanc.

A happy throng of wine club members filled the tasting room as a variety of wines flowed and food was handed out to pair with plentiful pours. Proprietor and winemaker Eric Stockwell epitomizes hospitality, and he loves what he does. His tasting room buzzes with activity on weekends, and his “Thirsty Thursday” events—often featuring music and food—are a huge hit.

Upgrades have been made to the urban-chic tasting room, including welcome heaters for often-chilly Santa Cruz weather. Fridays at Stockwell Cellars are fun, too. On May 10, visitors will be entertained by singer-songwriter Dave Nomad, and good grub will be offered by Union Foodie, a food truck serving up Asian-Mexican cuisine (sounds interesting!)

Stockwell is turning out some good wines, a prime example being the 2017 Sauvignon Blanc ($24). “The wine’s delicate straw color is your first indication of its freshness,” the winery’s description reads. “It has a lovely balance of minerality and fruit on both the nose and palate.” And the delightful fruit flavors of golden apple, kiwi and pear—with a touch of beeswax—create a nice, crisp finish. Grapes are from Riverstar Vineyards in Paso Robles, showcasing characteristic terroir and adding balanced minerality. “It’s summertime in a bottle,” Stockwell says.

Stockwell Cellars is a family-run winery and includes Eric’s wife Suzanne, who runs the tasting room, and daughter Jessica, who does “a little bit of everything.” Their motto? “Drink Well. Live Well. Stockwell.”

Stockwell Cellars, 1100 Fair Ave., Santa Cruz. 818-9075, stockwellcellars.com.

Wine, Beer and Art Walk in Downtown Watsonville

The City of Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture are partnering for the second-annual Wine, Beer and Art Walk. Event-goers will receive a wine glass, a tote bag and Passport book featuring all downtown locations for one tasting at each site, 18 locations in all.  

1-5 p.m. on Saturday, May 11. Civic Plaza Lobby, corner of Second and Main streets, Watsonville. eventbrite.com.

Preview: Royal Jelly Jive Funks Up the Blues

Before Lauren Bjelde became the charismatic frontwoman for the horn-powered six-piece soul combo Royal Jelly Jive, she had been holding down a monthly gig for a year at San Francisco’s Boom Boom Room with a psychedelic blues/funk project. An elemental Delta boogie seeped into the music, manifesting the spectral presence of blues legend John Lee Hooker, who once owned and operated the club.

Royal Jelly Jive’s story starts right after this, in late 2013, when Bjelde, keyboardist Jesse Adams and a few other members launched the band under its new name, delivering an uproarious blend of slinky R&B brass, surging organ and keen melodic hooks, still leaving room for the blues that served as their foundation. The group started hitting the Boom Boom Room hard, and quickly emerged as one of San Francisco’s most entertaining bands.

“When Jesse Adams came into the picture, he took us to a new level of funk with the B-3, bringing that John Lee Hooker juju,” says Bjelde. “We had the vibes spilling over from the Fillmore, and it all went into our sound.” Additionally, the band features Robby Elfman on reeds, trumpeter Danny Cao, acoustic bassist Tyden Binsted, and drummer Felix Macnee.

These days, Bjelde concentrates more on singing than on guitar, a move she attributes to her increasing comfort on stage. It’s added a new layer of liberation to the music. “I’ve gotten more into physically embodying the music,” she says. “I tend to dance and not play instruments on stage, and I miss that. Moe’s Alley is a place I can pull out the guitar. I think I took my favorite guitar solo ever shredding at Moe’s.”

The group is releasing its third CD, Limited Preserve No. 3, accompanied by “a whole bunch of jelly being jarred. This is a harvest and assemblage of our studio experience,” Bjelde says, referring to the album, not the preserves.

“We been spending so much time as a band on stage night after night, so much music pours out. There’s no rhyme or reason or official recipe as to who writes the songs. It’s about what feels good. Jesse and I are together all the time, and a lot of that songwriting comes together working feverishly on the boogie.”

Bjelde grew up in the Central Valley in small town outside of Modesto, the youngest of four siblings. She loved music as a child but isn’t the kind of performer who spent her life dreaming of the spotlight. Before Royal Jelly Jive came together, she was studying Islamic art and architecture in Turkey, and trained as an underwater archeologist (scuba diving is something of a family tradition). She was also a member of the CIA, “which stands for Conceptual/Information Arts,” she says, referring to author, artist and professor Stephen Wilson’s innovative San Francisco State program exploring the cultural implications of new technologies.

Bjelde was immersed in the program when it fell apart after Wilson’s death in 2011, but she spent fruitful months “taking apart pianos and putting them together in poetic ways,” she recalls. “We’d use electronics and metal fabrications and create these interactive poems that would react to the person who was looking at it.”

With her SF State adventure coming to an end, the Boom Boom Room started exerting a powerful pull. Music had long been a more private pursuit. “I should have known,” she says. “Every memory I have I was singing, whether I was lulling myself to sleep or on the bus, music was part of it.”

All of her various interests come into play with Royal Jelly Jive, a band that embodies San Francisco at its best. Deeply informed and playfully reverent toward the departed masters whose shoulders they stand on, the band brings its far-flung curiosity to the stage.

“The more and more we travel, we realize how much we’re a San Francisco band,” Bjelde says. “You hear the history of the city in the lyrics.”

Royal Jelly Jive performs at 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, at Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $12 adv/$15 door. 479-1854.

Honoring the Mother: Risa’s Stars May 8-14

Sunday is Mother’s Day. The moon is in Virgo—ultimate sign of the perfect organized mother.

It’s also the sign ruled by Mercury, so communication with mother is most important on Mother’s Day. It’s good to offer in whatever ways we can words of kindness, recognition, gratitude, and to also offer nurturing to our mothers. Although my mother is in heaven, I tell her every day, “You did a good job, Mother. A great job, in fact.”

All mothers are constantly learning how to be mothers. The task of mothering is demanding, arduous, daunting, difficult, confusing, filled with suffering and paradox. Mothering is an initiation, actually. Some (adult) children are estranged from their mothers. Such sadness! It’s good in this case to remember the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, saint of Right Human Relations: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.”

In our mothers’ later years, they will need to look to us for guidance. Let us promise this to them, safeguarding our mothers with understanding, compassion and love.

ARIES: Careful how you interact with others. Do not rely only on possessions and monetary realities (though tending them is important). Rely also on instinct, and then intuition, to direct and guide you into knowing the quality of a person, event, resource, choice, and investment. You will be called to act and speak with courage, a virtue of the heart. Allow a deep calmness to rest within.

TAURUS: Be aware that you make impressions on many, leading them to follow your every thought, idea, action, and move. Therefore, it’s important to act always with ethics and complete all plans, agreements, promises, and agendas. You’re attempting to initiate new projects impacting life far into the future. You may be one of the few able to accomplish this. The future of humanity awaits. Carry on through any obstacles or hindrances. Call forth Mary to untie any knots (barriers) keeping you from spiritual work.

GEMINI: You may feel a sense of tiredness, exhaustion and needing rest. You may also be dreaming at night with your head in the clouds during the day. Both are important. Have you begun your Esoteric Journal, Dream Journal or Retrograde Journal to record your experiences each day? Over time, messages concerning your life direction emerge. Maintain a light, fresh diet, eliminate anything excess, drink pure water, love more, and look to the stars each night for direction.

CANCER: It’s important to maintain close connections with like-minded friends who share the values you find important. See all interactions, even uncomfortable ones, as opportunities, and attempt to understand what the hopes, wishes and needs of others are. Know that no matter how life is now, greater community will be available to you and your family later. Careful while walking, lest you stumble.

LEO: Career matters assume new dimensions, co-workers need more care, you want to improve your health, create new work methods and tend to the necessities of your life. Big jobs! You realize this takes balance, so you go slower than usual, foregoing adventure in order to create a long-term plan of practical goals. Your greatest success is acceptance of everything present in your life. Then everything harmonizes.

VIRGO: You may be traveling to teach and/or to study far away this summer. You may be planning meetings, conferences, classrooms and/or curriculum. You will definitely be communicating with others on a large scale, either personally or through writing, speaking, teleconferencing, conference-calling. Some or all of these will occur, and all the while you gain knowledge, happiness and goodness. You have an adventure.

LIBRA: Are you harboring a secret, perhaps more than one? Are there money or resources you share with another? Is everything clear and above-board in this area? It is time to arrange your finances so that debts are paid quickly. These times call you to be frugal, economically prudent, thrifty, and careful, thus able to conserve resources with confidence. Be prepared to teach others very soon in these ways. You will be efficient, informative and illuminating. Your smile lights up dark places.

SCORPIO: Relationships are primary now, so listen very carefully to what others are communicating and have the intentions to respond with deep listening, care, interest, and emotional equilibrium. Should you be uncooperative, imbalance will ensue and you will feel you have neglected a responsibility. Direct attention toward others now. Because only from you can they feel a special care, nurturance, love, and safety. Then it’s all returned.

SAGITTARIUS: You may be creating many various lists consisting of tasks and errands: cars that need tending, accounts that need reckoning, travels that need considering, responsibilities that need completing, and problems that need easing. Spending time alone will help you complete incomplete projects. You may dream more at night as you travel about in the ethers. Record all dreams. Over time, dreams offer a clear message of your direction in life.

CAPRICORN: Setting out each day’s agenda and assessing priorities allows you to have more control, more wisdom, and brings a clarity and focus to all that you do. Try not to criticize yourself or anyone. Compassion tells us everyone’s doing their very best while at different stages of development. New opportunities appear at first as philosophical ideas. Then they become goals. Rest more so you can imagine more. And then create more. Life is magic.

AQUARIUS: Home, family, property, community, and parents become very important. Give them attention, attempting to improve relationships with family while also improving the beauty and organization of the environments you find yourself in. Do nothing that unsettles your safety or security, challenge no one, and calm tensions with exercise, prayer, vitamins, minerals, and herbs. No storing them!

PISCES: It’s best to set time aside to gain better health. A new sense of feeling better and self-identity results. Often you work with the shadow side of your health (things hidden). As well as your Sun side (things apparent). You feel the need for better health, clear direction and resources that provide stabilization, constancy and the right sense of home. Sometimes there’s simply the need for silence. Inner and outer silence. Then we hear these words, “Rest for a while, O Pilgrim along the Way.”  

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology May 8-14

Free will astrology for the week of May 8, 2019

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Time to shake things up! In the next three weeks, I invite you to try at least three of the following experiments: 1. See unusual sights in familiar situations; 2. Seek out new music that both calms you and excites you; 3. Get an inspiring statue or image of a favorite deity or hero; 4. Ask for a message from the person you will be three years from now; 5. Use your hands and tongue in ways you don’t usually use them; 6. Go in quest of a cathartic release that purges frustration and rouses holy passion; 7. Locate the sweet spot where deep feeling and deep thinking overlap.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): According to science writer Sarah Zielinski in Smithsonian magazine, fireflies produce the most efficient light on planet Earth. Nearly 100% of the energy produced by the chemical reaction inside the insect’s body is emitted as a brilliant glow. With that in mind, I propose that you regard the firefly as your spirit creature in the coming weeks. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you too will be a dynamic and proficient generator of luminosity. For best results, don’t tone down your brilliance, even if it illuminates shadows people are trying to hide.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Here’s a message from author Susan J. Elliott: “This is not your week to run the Universe. Next week is not looking so good either.” Now here’s a message from me: Elliott’s revelation is very good news! Since you won’t have to worry about trying to manage and fine-tune the Universe, you can focus all your efforts on your own self-care. And the coming weeks will be a favorable time to do just that. You’re due to dramatically upgrade your understanding of what you need to feel healthy and happy, and then take the appropriate measures to put your new insights into action.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The next three weeks will be an excellent time to serve as your own visionary prophet and dynamic fortune-teller. The predictions and conjectures you make about your future destiny will have an 85% likelihood of being accurate. They will also be relatively free of fear and worries. So I urge you to give your imagination permission to engage in fun fantasies about what’s ahead for you. Be daringly optimistic and exuberantly hopeful and brazenly self-celebratory.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Leo poet Stanley Kunitz told his students, “You must be very careful not to deprive the poem of its wild origin.” That’s useful advice for anyone who spawns anything, not just poets. There’s something unruly and unpredictable about every creative idea or fresh perspective that rises up in us. Do you remember when you first felt the urge to look for a new job or move to a new city or search for a new kind of relationship? Wildness was there at the inception. And you needed to stay in touch with the wildness so as to follow through with practical action. That’s what I encourage you to do now. Reconnect with the wild origins of the important changes you’re nurturing.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I have no complaints about the measures you’ve taken recently to push past unnecessary limits and to break outworn taboos. In fact, I celebrate them. Keep going! You’ll be better off without those decaying constraints. Soon you’ll begin using all the energy you have liberated and the spaciousness you have made available. But I do have one concern: I wonder if part of you is worried that you have been too bold and have gone too far. To that part of you I say: No! You haven’t been too bold. You haven’t gone too far.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “Dreamt of a past that frees its prisoners.” So wrote Meena Alexander in her poem Question Time. I’d love for you to have that experience in the coming weeks. I’d love for you be released from the karma of your history so that you no longer have to repeat old patterns or feel weighed down by what happened to you once upon a time. I’d love for you to no longer have to answer to decayed traditions and outmoded commitments and lost causes. I’d love for you to escape the pull of memories that tend to drag you back toward things that can’t be changed and don’t matter anymore.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Desire is a profoundly upsetting force,” writes author Elspeth Probyn. “It may totally rearrange what we think we want. Desire skews plans and sets forth unthought-of possibilities.” In my opinion, Probyn’s statements are half-true. The other half of the truth is that desire can also be a profoundly healing and rejuvenating force, and for the same reasons; it rearranges what we think we want, alters plans and unleashes un-thought-of possibilities. How does all this relate to you? From what I can tell, you are now on the cusp of desire’s two overlapping powers. What happens next could be upsetting or healing, disorienting or rejuvenating. If you’d like to emphasize the healing and rejuvenating, I suggest you treat desire as a sacred gift and a blessing.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “So much of what we learn about love is taught by people who never really loved us.” My Sagittarian friend Ellen made that sad observation. Is it true for you? Ellen added the following thoughts: so much of what we learn about love is taught by people who were too narcissistic or wounded to be able to love very well. And by people who didn’t have many listening skills and therefore didn’t know enough about us to love us for who we really are. And by people who love themselves poorly, and so of course find it hard to love anyone else. Is any of this applicable to what you have experienced, Sagittarius? If so, here’s an antidote that I think you’ll find effective during the next seven weeks: identify the people who have loved you well and the people who might love you well in the future—and then vow to learn all you can from them.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricorn fantasy novelist Laini Taylor creates imaginary worlds where heroines use magic and wiles to follow their bliss while wrangling with gods and rascals. In describing her writing process, she says, “Like a magpie, I am a scavenger of shiny things: fairy tales, dead languages, weird folk beliefs, and fascinating religions.” She adds, “I have plundered tidbits of history and lore to build something new, using only the parts that light my mind on fire.” I encourage you to adopt her strategies for your own use in the coming weeks. Be alert for gleaming goodies and tricky delicacies and alluring treats. Use them to create new experiences that thrill your imagination. I believe the coming weeks will be an excellent time to use your magic and wiles to follow your bliss while wrangling with gods and rascals.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “I was always asking for the specific thing that wasn’t mine,” wrote poet Joanne Kyger. “I wanted a haven that wasn’t my own.” If there is any part of you that resonates with that defeatist perspective, Aquarius, now is an excellent time to begin outgrowing or transforming it. I guarantee you that you’ll have the potency you need to retrain yourself—so that you will more and more ask for specific things that can potentially be yours, so that you will more and more want a haven that can be your own.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I’m not a fan of nagging. I don’t like to be nagged, and I scrupulously avoid nagging others. And yet now I will break my own rules so as to provide you with your most accurate and helpful horoscope. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you aren’t likely to get what you truly need and deserve in the coming days unless you engage in some polite, diplomatic nagging. So see what you can do to employ nagging as a graceful, even charming art. For best results, infuse it with humor and playfulness.

Nietzsche said, “One must have chaos within oneself if one is to be a dancing star.” Are you a dancing star? Comment at freewillastrology.com.

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Rob Brezsny’s Astrology May 8-14

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Free will astrology for the week of May 8, 2019
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