not u people claiming the shitty fred from the Velma cartoon is a result of. racism towards white people

Okay so I’ve finally got my thoughts together. I’ve been watching the show the day each episode came out, within the hour and I am a very very big fan of the books. HOWEVER, there are many aspects of the show I loved, but I’m going to focus on my main critiques. 1. In all of the marketing campaigns, everyone had said that this was an absolutely faithful adaptation. That though there were a few changes, they were minimal. That was not true at all. Every single episode had some minor or major change, and I enjoyed some of them, and was pissed about others.

2. The shows pacing and decision making in the writer’s room made my teeth itch. They are talking and talking and talking to explain everything, and I want to be SHOWN, which is like the main point of TV. The talking also leads into my next point:

3. These characters were not allowed to have “flaws”. They knew everything going into it, and there was no sense of wonder, no build up, and no sense of discovery because these are kids. I was so disappointed every time Annabeth was deprived of being soft (like crying over Cerberus) or naive, at Aunty Em’s. They just didn’t seem natural enough. And this critique has nothing to do with the acting. I think the acting was phenomenal, but the writing left things to be desired. And I’m sort of wondering if they were worried about displaying characters of color in a “negative” manner.

4. There were many many changes that made absolutely no sense to me. I think it has to do with the fact that this show takes its self so seriously. One of the reasons PJO was so popular is because of how funny and engaging it was. And the show, apart from a couple jokes here and there, just lacked it. There were some scenes where I honestly thought the movie had done better.

5. Episode 7. They changed so much, and the characters were made to be so flat. I know that the kids are meant to have all this background knowledge, but god do I wish they were allowed to be dumb. This was my cracking point.

Overall, I am very very very much hoping for a season two. The actors and the books deserve it. I loved so many parts of this show, but I truly am begging they fix at least a couple of these things. That is all I need.

(Also Disney, you’re absolute cowards for not making the Charon scene fun. I don’t care how much you want good publicity for not paying your workers well but this was cheap and so horribly hidden).

Whenever I see adaptations of novels, comics, and games that elevate the source material, I get deeply and monstrously bitter. Wheel of Time, Foundation, Percy Jackson, The Boys, Outlander, Big Little Lies, Pachinko, Sharp Objects, WATCHMEN!!! All are so good, so beautifully written and moving that when you stack shit like Game of Thrones beside them, it falls flat on its face.

I still think about Jon telling Angela that he is in every moment they spent together all at once. Every time I think about Watchmen S01E9, my throat gets tight and my mouth wobbles. A triumph of storytelling. When you compare this with the disappointment that is Game of Thrones, it becomes clear that being mediocre, white, and a man often leads to success even when you fail.

I get angry because it’s possible to take novels/comics with so many moving parts and rich history, update them for our time and make the rich source material even richer. Those men just didn’t know how. 

And before anyone says the first three seasons are good. Are they? Are they really? Or are we just blinded by the perceived faithfulness to GRRM’s work when we weigh it against the utter shit show that was the last season? The show lifts all the best parts wholesale from the books and magnifies all the worst parts. 

They portrayed the Dothraki with a lack of care compared to the Free Folk. They furthered the lack of non-white perspectives by erasing what little we had. Presenting freedom as if it is worse than chattel slavery. The extinction of the Dothraki in service of white Northerners who were less than welcoming. 

The show does not name more than half of Daenerys' more prominent Dothraki characters on screen. Killing Irri, Jhiqui and Doreah to further isolate Daenerys. Transferring all the better traits from women to the men in their lives. Turning Jorah from an old paedophilic creep into whatever the fuck that was on the show. Alluding to the “first they came” poem for rapists, slavers and other monsters. Peddling the gentle slave-owner myth as if owning a person is not inherently violent. 

Having Missandei be beheaded in chains to fuel madness for literally no reason. Cersei could’ve bargained for her life or at least some concession from Daenerys with Missandei’s life, but they have her behead Missandei for no other reason than to piss off a woman with a large army and an even larger dragon. It made little sense then, and it makes even less sense now. 

I know it’s a bit much to still be so affected by that dumpster fire almost a decade in, but I saw that interview with those idiots yesterday, and I have been furious ever since. 

So I finally watched Netflix’s Persuasion and yes, I pretty much hated it, but not for the reason you’d expect. My Austen-loving friend and I set aside a whole night for this. We watched three films as follows:

Appetizer: Persuasion (2007) with Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones

Main course: Persuasion (2022) on Netflix with Dakota Johnson and Cosmo Jarvis

Palate cleanser: Emma (2020) with Anya Taylor-Joy and Johnny Flynn

Watching things in this order really threw some things into relief. Now, obviously as an adaptation Persuasion 2022 is inaccurate in ways people have already explained. There are significant disparities between the film and the source text (Anne’s a wine lush now?). There are also egregious anachronisms in costuming, hair, and makeup (through pure oversight the side characters end up being the most historically accurate). But, that aside, in my writerly opinion this isn’t even a competent stand alone film. You know the whole rule of “show don’t tell”? This film is fundamentally incapable of following that rule. Everything its told -- verbally, explicitly, almost condescendingly -- to the audience.

There seems to be a fundamental lack of trust in the audience, and our ability to interpret visual cues like facial expressions and tone of voice. There literally is nothing in this film that is conveyed subtly on good faith that people will understand what’s going on.

This is a faith that Austen herself and previous adaptations had in abundance. A key theme in much of Austen’s work is that because of social mores and the rules of propriety, people couldn’t just say what they meant, but had to obfuscate and convey intention through subtlety like double-speak, tone, facial expressions, etcetera. Think Darcy helping Elisabeth into the carriage in Pride & Prejudice (2005). Emma (2020) also does this particularly well; a good example is when Mr Martin runs after Harriet to advise that the road is flooded and she should take another route - meanwhile their facial expressions are full of an aching longing and pain, and while he’s talking about roads he’s really saying I still care for you even though you rejected me. And the Sally Hawkins Persuasion (2007) spares no amount of film in showing longing, yearning looks between characters, while Hawkins does something I would call ‘lung-acting’ where she conveys emotion merely by how she struggles to take a breath.

Netflix’s Persuasion wouldn’t know subtlety if it hit it over the head. The writers, for example, presume that we need not only the image of Anne crying in the bathtub to understand that she is sad and anguished, but that for proper comprehension we also need Anne telling us directly how awfully terribly sad she is (and this is one of the better parts of narration she has).

The choice to have Anne talk directly to camera, in some misguided attempt to replicate the charm of Fleabag, means that Johnson spends much of her dialogue in pure exposition which is neither interesting nor necessary. Plot points that could be made obvious from making the characters actually, you know, interact are substituted with sweeping faux-prophetic explanations of Anne’s relationship to others from her own mouth.

Moreover, other characters make a particular point to express how wonderful Anne is, verbally and very on-the-nose. I can’t direct-quote because I can’t bring myself to watch it again, but Louisa, Mr Harville, Mr Elliot and others all verbally extol Anne’s virtues in a rather heavy-handed attempt to convince the audience that Anne is really, truly, a very good and clever woman. But the thing is, you don’t need that if your character is behaving in a way consistent with those aforementioned virtues. Because then we can just see it. Show, don’t tell. And fundamentally, Johnson’s Anne Elliot does not behave consistent to how others describe her.

In the 2007 adaptation with Sally Hawkins, we as the audience see her exhibit deeply capable and compassionate behaviour, so that when characters later on sparingly praise these characteristics in her, the audience already agrees with it from the evidence of our own eyes. By contrast, the Netflix adaptation alters some fundamental points at which we see these virtues displayed.

When Little Charles falls from the tree, this is how it plays out in the book: “ Anne had every thing to do at once; the apothecary to send for, the father to have pursued and informed, the mother to support and keep from hysterics, the servants to control, the youngest child to banish, and the poor suffering one to attend and soothe; besides sending, as soon as she recollected it, proper notice to the other house, which brought her an accession rather of frightened, enquiring companions, than of very useful assistants.”

Ron Bass and Alice Winslow (the writers of the script for the Netflix adaptation) have Johnson’s Anne peace-keepingly agree to miss the party and watch over the boy purely to diffuse Mary’s complaining. Then, she gets drunk on a windowseat overlooking the party, presumably while the child himself is asleep downstairs. She opens the window and yells out to Wentworth, ducking down below the window when he hears and looks over. She accidentally knocks over a gravy boat in her inebriated stumbling and the gravy drips onto her head where she sits hiding on the floor.

This disparity between book and film is not just a quibble about wanting the source material accurately honoured. It is a problem because through making this change to the plot the narrative loses the characterisation of Anne that it fundamentally needed in order to be coherent. The audience requires scenes of her deftly handling the crisis with little Charles’ fall in order to validate Anne’s characterisation as capable, good in a crisis, level-headed, and strong. We need to see that this is the case, not merely be told it is so.

For another example, the case of Anne and Mrs Smith is treated thusly in the book (skip to tl;dr if you cbf): “ Anne had gone unhappy to school... and Miss Hamilton... had been useful and good to her in a way which had  considerably lessened her misery, and could never be remembered with indifference... ”

And also: “She was a widow and poor.  Her husband had been extravagant; and at his death, about two years before, had left his affairs dreadfully involved.  She had had difficulties of every sort to contend with, and in addition to these distresses had been afflicted with a severe rheumatic fever, which, finally settling in her legs, had made her for the present a cripple.  She had come to Bath on that account, and was now in lodgings near the hot baths, living in a very humble way, unable even to afford herself the comfort of a servant, and of course almost excluded from society. Their mutual friend answered for the satisfaction which a visit from Miss Elliot would give Mrs. Smith, and Anne therefore lost no time in going.  She mentioned nothing of what she had heard, or what she intended, at home.  It would excite no proper interest there.”

and: “ Anne found in Mrs. Smith the good sense and agreeable manners which she had almost ventured to depend on, and a disposition to converse and be cheerful beyond her expectation.  Neither the dissipations of the past--and she had lived very much in the world--nor the restrictions of the present, neither sickness nor sorrow seemed to have closed her heart or ruined her spirits.”

Tl;dr: Mrs Smith is Anne’s old school friend who is widowed and poorly. Despite being of significantly higher social status than Mrs Smith, Anne goes to visit her in Bath on the pretense it will raise Mrs Smith’s spirits and doesn’t tell her family about it. Anne rekindles an affectionate friendship with her, even admiring her for her optimism.

But... Mrs Smith is erased from the Netflix version.

Again, this is not a quibble about accuracy, it’s about whether the text can actually function coherently.

In losing Mrs Smith, we lose everything that this friendship contributes to the text. We lose the understanding that Anne values the qualities of other people’s characters over their social status or wealth (particularly when we contrast her like for Mrs Smith with her dislike for Lady Dalrymple). We lose that insight that she has this mentality contrary to the values of the rest of her family who are insufferably social-climby -- i.e.: unlike them, Anne’s not a snob. To wit, we lose the evidence that Anne’s rejection of Wentworth eight years ago was definitely not for classist reasons, as here she is having a social connection to a poor and disabled widow without a care for their class difference. We also lose the second example (along with Wentworth) of how Anne’s affection for someone can be long-running and endure many years without contact, and thereby, how in this respect her character is constant and loyal despite the logical conclusion from her mistake eight years ago and Wentworth’s suppositions.

We as the audience not only need these things, the other characters need it, too, in order to judge Anne’s character as highly and praisingly as they do. The showing of these qualities in her through her actions legitimises all the conclusions other characters make about her, and helps those characters and the audience both to comprehend how and why the plot plays out as it does, with Anne and Wentworth’s eventual reconciliation.

The absence of this observational evidence from the Netflix adaptation means that the other character’s insistence on Anne’s virtuousness is compensatory. It aims to do what the movie visually and narratively has not provided. I can only presume that the writers realised they were writing-out these character-building moments in favour of snappiness and comedic scenes, and sought to reinstate Anne’s integral characteristics through dialogue.

But, it doesn’t work.

We end up with characters doing one thing and saying another. And I as an audience member felt particularly patronised for having all the authorial intentions spelled out to me.

And so, even if I put some mental blinkers on and pretend the source material doesn’t exist. Even if I pretend the anachronisms in the worldbuilding, dialogue, costuming and plot are deliberate and considered a-la Bridgerton. Even if I try to the see the merits of the film for themselves (I thought Cosmo Jarvis was quite good and wish he was in a better version, and Mia McKenna-Bruce was kind of delightful as Mary in a way Mary never is). Even with all that, the Netflix version is not a functional text. And it’s not bad because of any of those other reasons, it’s bad because of that. It’s badly written. It condescends its audience. And the facts of the events don’t match the testimony of the characters. It just, makes no sense.

I saww someone ranting about it earlier today; and since you’re the #1 collie fan I know, how do you feel about her treatment from the comics to her appearances in game??💜

GOD. DEAR GOD. ok this will take a moment. be patient w me

short answer: 2 me. in game collei is a poorly done adaptation of webtoon collei (which. i feel the need to note. was not perfect at all i just think her story was done better there). in game collei is wasted potential and mischaracterizes her for the sake of profit over artistic direction which honestly. leads to a bit of ableism and misogyny.

long answer: DEAR GOD. COLLEI. ok. the comics are in no way perfect. they're incredibly racist (particularly with barnabas's design), and they're not at all the perfect portrayal ever of a kid with cptsd. but with webtoon collei we got this story of a little kid who was so angry at everyone because she'd been hurt time and time again to the point where she genuinely believed that other people would always hurt her and she was just inherently a bad person. she believed her chronic illness was a sign of the archons hating her. she believed that the archons didn't care about her. she believed that she was inherently worth less than other people, ESPECIALLY those with visions. so we start off w that lil kid who's so rightfully angry and had to fend for herself using powers she was forced to have (the archon residue that actively feeds and stokes her negativity)! she literally kills people without remorse the first three pages we see her!!!!!! and it only turns around when amber (a vision user!!) is unrelentingly kind to her and keeps reinforcing this idea that collei is a human that is deserving of good and is capable of good. amber makes collei believe that she isn't doomed for some awful destructive fate. amber is the first person that shows collei that she believes her life matters. amber is the first person collei has met that unrelentingly believes in her humanity and goodness and makes an active effort to reinforce it. that kindness! and the want to believe she can do that! (the want to believe in amber) is ultimately the thing that spurs collei to action!!!!! her arc os essentially about kindness, finding humanity in yourself, and finding and believing in agency for yourself. and obv cyno plays a big part here and its the start of her rebirth symbolism ofc. etc etc etc.

then the game. i do think the game got some things correct! like i do generally like the change in character and i think that's expected for someone like collei who idolizes amber so much to the point of wanting to be her. i also really enjoy her character stories and a lot fo ehr voice lines. and i really really like how she's still obviously dealing with her cptsd. i like that it didn't go away! she still has triggers! she mentions anxiety! our first introduction to her was her having a nightmare!!

lsBUT the game also does a lot wrong imo. i think the game has a tendency to reduce collei a lot. while i do think the initial direction w her sweet nice girl facade was intended to show her admiration towards amber and lack of real identity/faith in identity for herself, i think it's been too. vague. and led to this becoming her Actual personality instead of a facade she's attempting to become. like while i don't think its inherently insidious i do think it's kinda suspect that they allow characters like scara (who's very similar to collei) to keep the asshole parts of their identity with their healing arcs but never let collei express that part of herself when it was such a huge part of her original character. (her cynicism being fostered by her environment and a protective thing for her and made her a nice character foil to amber). also the magicuring. i fucking hate how they handled eleazar in the game. like even if it weren't incredibly ableist for them to be treat chronic illness as a narrative device that's always meant to be cured, it was actively corrosive to collei's character bc so much of her arc is realizing her own worth and healing mentally even while her eleazar was getting worse. it means so so much for collei to be at a better state and actually have some sense of compassion for herself when she's experiencing flare ups from her chronic illness that everyone told her was the reason why she was worthless in the first place! and taking that away from her! taking that away from disabled players in general! sucked a lot!!!! i also think the game just does not want to acknowledge what collei's arc actually was and how much anger and exploitation it involved. especially in the 3.5(?) windblume event where she was compared to sucrose because of anxiety when their anxieties are so different (both being incredibly valid ofc but sucrose's social anxiety and fear of abandonment can not aptly be compared to collei's anxiety thats a byproduct of her cptsd from yk. experiencing discrimination and almost dying multiple times and human experimentation etc etc..) it often feels like they're rebranding her entire character to be more focused on this particular anxious nice girl image for the sake of consumerability (its how the fandom sees her and its easy for her to fit into tropes like that), this easy to sell found family w her tighnari and cyno (like i love their unit but dear god. i hate the way they've been written sometimes bc it feels like she's an accessory to those two who are also being flanderized), misogyny (again. collei is so much more similar to scara than she is sucrose and the difference between how they’re treated makes me so sad). AND because she's a four star she's so often side-lined! it's really disappointing to see how little of a role she played in sumeru when. honestly i think adding her to a larger part of sumeru could've benefited the story esp bc she's literally the first sumeru character we've seen and has been teased in the game since 1.0.

basically. collei is colleinations collective oc now :3

I am aware that a televised adaptation of a book or book series doesn't and can't be 100% faithful to the original source(s). 

However, it's still frustrating to see show writers and producers make huge changes in themes and characterizations and then do not make it clear to audiences that what they created is majorly different from the canon. Or that they are making a series that is not trying to be the objective truth of the events, revealing the mysteries the original canon document set up for us to ponder.

As just pure soap opera-leaning entertainment, the show does more than others, but it still lacks a lot of even soap opera potential because of those time jumps disallowing us from seeing the development of the contention between Alicent and Rhaenyra, Rhaneyra and Viserys, Viserys and Daemon, Daemon and Laena and his daughters, Rhaneyra and Otto, Criston and Otto, Criston and Harwin, Harwin and Larys, Larys's and Lyonel, Alicent and Otto, and so much more. 

Where are the scenes showing specific quarrels that build into the hate and strife in inter/intra-familal/political factions? 

If Aegon (II) is such a pitiable person, why don't we get more tension and confrontations or suppressions between him and Alicent apart from that one scene to show such? Things like this are missing. And we know that Aegon and Rhaenyra will come to blows at one point, yet we have never seen an interaction between them besides that one smirk he threw and her repressed acknowledgment in episode 8. Huh? Am i supposed to care or feel any hate here?

So far, every character has the promise of complexity and the assumption, but very little of the showing vs telling.

And with all the critical changes of undeniable facts of the canon Dance of the Dragons from Fire and Blood, I still think it's odd that House of the Dragon is treated as if its portrayal is revealing any definitive "truths" hidden in Fire and Blood about the relationships we saw on screen. 

For me, House of the Dragon is more a fanfiction of the reimagining type (as opposed to an AU, where the other choice(s) made toward an original situation go toward another option) that George R.R. Martin thought should be televised while he works on The Winds of Winter, despite going on record not liking fanfiction. A total "reimagining" as opposed to an AU because the two female leads do not act like humans, just representations of "women who have no agency because all they want is peace and it's the men's fault that they will go to war". Meanwhile, if we go back in real humans history women constantly wages wars (even when they were doing it in the stead of their sons, they still were the ones who decided war was necessary) for power, money, etc.

While Mushroom, Orwyle, Runiciter, and Septon Eustace all are the main major and named sources for the more intimate events of the Dance of the Dragons there are still many core, undeniable truths recorded about the Dance:

Rhaenyra--by court account, in the eyes of the nobles at court, and by peasant public knowledge--was known as the "Realm's Delight" for her beauty, charm, and precociousness from the age of 7. While Viserys could have emphasized this, it had to have come from Rhaenyra's disposition itself for other nobles in court to believe in her "delightfulness" so strongly. It’s also possible Viserys saw how people already felt and treated Rhaenyra, felt that himself or used it to create more attention and regard for her. But that’s the rub. We don’t get any answer towards that because it’s ignored. And where is the “show” of that adoration from courtiers/peasants or whomever for this moniker? We only get the mention of that moniker (a “telling”, not a “showing”) in episode 4 in that play she sees with Daemon at night.

Alicent was 18 years old when she married Viserys while Rhaenyra was 9. From the get go, they were never peers of age. Rhaenyra was technically Alicent's superior as both a royal and later as the heir. Going by canon custom, Alicent (the Queen Consort, not the ruling Queen/Queen regnant or Queen Regent) still isn't supposed to be as powerful as to adjourn council meetings, or start them. Alicent was even the one to read to Jaehaerys and make sure he was as comfortable as he could be before he died, and she die this at 15. She only got to call the council after Viserys' death because Viserys, the king, was dead.

Daemon was in the Stepstones fighting to maintain the control he gained after the first incident at King's Landing with Rhaenyra, during the banishment Viserys commanded. His first wife, Rhea Royce, died during a hunt near the Vale after knocking her head, trying to get up a few days later, and then passing out. So concerning whether or not he is responsible for her death is more up in the air than the shows makes it. If they wanted to keep the Daemon-kills-Rhea bit, then they should have gone with the assassin sent to kill her method (like Larys). Have it be a servant poisoning her horse's feed and making it go mad or something.

Daemon never gets Rhea Royce's properties after she dies. Despite that comment in HotD's 5th episode being the only thing shown, and not Daemon actually trying to do as he said and the consequences of that.

Mysaria does get pregnant with Daemon's child but loses it after Viserys banishes Daemon. She actually goes back to Lys for a time by Viserys' order. There would have been too much importance placed on the miscarriage for it to have been mistold or fake and sex workers still could and did often get pregnant. Also, there is generally not much a women could do to utterly prevent pregnancy forever if she is already fertile, and even if there was, Mysaria was not likely rich enough to get such a service. Daemon, as a man of such a society and going by his actions on F&B, is more likely to want to keep the child. In the book, he got the egg knowing she was pregnant. No lemme don't play with their children because tie children are their main chance at getting their feudal legacy.

Daemon and Laena do go back to Driftmark for Laena to give birth to her their newest child for her and the child's own safety.

Viserys doesn't die from literal flesh rot. He has a gradual "decay" in the metaphorical sense, since he dies of complications gradual and much weight again until he dies in his sleep. He doesn't get hurt by the swords in the Iron Throne until much later and Rhaenyra’s own maester, Gerardys, is credited for saving his entire arm/life by cutting off two of his fingers. Viserys had already been having trouble with gout, shortnes of breath, and chest tightness. Not as cool, flashy, or poetic but both common for rich and powerful people who didn't exercise often and indicative of his lifetime of feasting. (I think that this condition was exacerbated by the stress of his daughter, second wife and other kids constantly fighting, Daemon’s refusals to obey properly, as well as the continuous questioning Rhaenyra’s fidelity/heir status.) The show gives literal rot for more apparent drama and to generate more empathy towards this character. The shots and angles of his entrances in episode 8 also do this. (Meanwhile, not enough is given to Joffrey Monmouth, Laenor, Laena, and the shots for Laenor/Joffrey in episode 5 especially lacked in comparison to Viserys. But I digress.)

Viserys never made a deal with Corlys over who of Rhaenyra's kids by Laenor will inherit what, nor what their last names will be. Rhaenyra is the one who demands Corlys name Lucerys as his heir when he lay in bed sick (so that it can be settled in case he dies), and she was the one who told Daemon to kill Vaemond for naming her three sons bastards/her unfaithful and being thus treasonous herself. Viserys, after hearing Vaemond's other relatives protest against this action, ruled to cut out their tongues for mentioning the "lie" again after he already ruled for it to never be brought up again, on pain of the same penalty.

Joffrey Lonmouth dies when Criston kills him at Rhaenyra and Laenor's wedding tourney. Criston does this after Rhaenyra refuses to give Criston her favor, going into a rage.

Criston also beats up Harwin in the same tourney, winning the match between them.

Alicent enlists Criston after he kills Joffrey.

Laenor dies by Qarl Correy in a town near Driftmark. In public. Many different witnesses to that murder are assured.

Harwin and Lyonel were still alive when Aemond claimed Vhagar. 

Joffrey Velaryon (3), Rhaenyra's kid, was the one Aemond (10) saw before he even touched Vhagar. Aemond pushed Joffrey aside and then climbed Vhagar. It was Joffrey's cry that alerted his brothers: Jace (6) and Luke (5). (This was also told by Aemond himself.) Baela and Rhaena were never there.

Viserys "punishes" Rhaenyra and her family by ordering her to stay in Dragonstone as he and his other kids by Alicent, with Alicent, leave. The purpose was to separate and distill tension rather than punish.

Alicent never loses control and attacks neither Rhaenyra nor Lucerys.

Rhaenys and Meleys weren't in King's Landing when Aegon (II) was crowned, since the matter of the Driftmark claim was never brought before the Greens in King's Landing in the first place. Rhaenyra and Daemon did what they did.

Rhaenys and another two Lords wanted to use the dragons and go after Aegon, while Corlys protested what he said was destructive futility (ruining the place you want to rule). Rhaenyra doesn't want to use the dragons so that her sons do not risk themselves; Daemon actually agrees with Rhaenyra to not to use the dragons in the first black council after Aegon II is crowned.  Daemon wanted to send out messages to all the lords to gather under Rhaenyra and use the dragons as a last resort.

Jaehaerys was never actually at the Great Council that decides in favor of Viserys.

And so much more...

The show looks more like a shallower puppet shadow of the canon tale more than a televised portrayal of the canon. All the characters feels like one dimensional representations of a conflict between just Alicent and Rhaenyra, who themselves have the same pressures of their positions from Fire and Blood, yet are not acting as if they have desires for power of their own--apart from obeying Viserys and Otto for validation. (This could have been one layer instead of the only or one of just two). Their personalities are too wrapped in that desire. And in Rhaenyra's case, the prophecy her father places the burden of.

That's the other thing. It is clear in Fire and Blood that Viserys has much culpability and the book doesn't try to redeem his poor choices or explain them as him trying to do his duty and leave him as the suffering "savior' like how the 8th paide over emphasizes.

There is not "yeah, BUT" sentiment even suggestive for his character's inability to create real harmony and understanding amongst his kids. He wanted peace but didn't do the real work for it or couldn't. He also left much of the real governing to his council members, letting them reason out what decisions he would make. And since, again, he was not rotting away like in the show, he was almost always healthy enough (in comparison)-- despite his chest tightness and gout--to actually be the former or think more independently.

He was a king that preferred throwing many parties, feasts, and tourneys both when he had Aemma and after when married to Alicent. He enjoyed his luxuries when he could and often did, especially to offset the already listed challenges to his authority and his responsibility towards maintaining the Targ dynasty.

PARTS TWO and THREE

I’m willing to admit that a lot of my frustration with the LOTR films is purely personal, I dislike certain aspects of the films compared to the books. But I do think there is a genuine point to be made about the LOTR films as poor adaptations in a more objective way. To me a good adaptation should be either faithful (follows the plot, theme and characterisation of the source material) or transformative (alters plot, theme or characterisation but in an internally consistent way, using the source material as building blocks to create something new and interesting in its own right). An adaptation may be both at various points, adapting some plotlines faithfully while being transformative with others, but getting caught between the two is dangerous. An adaptation that finds itself caught between being faithful and transformative regularly can lead to characters that seem to have incoherent motivations and only make decisions as the plot requires, plotlines with poor or no pay off and a muddled sense of theme, and I feel all three of these apply to the LOTR films. To me, rather than either following the books or striking out in his own direction Jackson wanted to have his cake and eat it, putting his own stamp on characters and plotlines, but without following these to a logical conclusion, using the source material as a crutch rather than a guide or building blocks.

A key example of this is the interactions of Faramir with Frodo and Sam in Ithilien. In the book Faramir is a strong-willed character guided primarily by his own morality, who cares little for what his father Denethor thinks, for him to reject the ring after being tempted by it makes sense and is coherent as a plotline. Film!Faramir is much weaker, lacks his book counterpart’s morality and is desperate for his father’s affection. I dislike this change, but it isn’t inherently bad. What is bad is not following it through to it’s logical conclusion, Film!Faramir does decide to take the ring and takes the Hobbits with him to Osgiliath (all well and good), and then decides after seeing Frodo try to hand the ring to a ringwraith to then reject the ring and send the Hobbits away (absurd!) coupled with a nonsensical line from Mablung about Faramir’s life being forfeit (I can only assume a garbled version of book!Faramir saying that if he makes a choice that goes poorly for Gondor his life will be forfeit, but it makes no sense here). This plotline could work if they followed through on Faramir trying to take the ring, and the hobbits escaping in the chaos of battle at Osgiliath. Faramir would remain a coherent character, and the plotline would even follow more cleanly into ROTK, where it is obvious that Denethor hates Faramir for his perceived incompetence, (rather than for opposing him in terms of worldview and putting morality before realpolitik as with their book counterparts). Faramir attempting to contest Osgiliath might then make more sense as an attempt to get into his father’s good graces, with Faramir being wounded in a desperate (but not suicidal) attempt to contest the crossing of Anduin for example. The only reason for including Faramir rejecting the ring is because it happens in the book, the film tries to be both transformational and faithful and suffers for it.  

The same issue crops up elsewhere, Arwen is made into a more prominent character (an actual good choice both because of her importance and to counter the lack of women in the books) but this is nullified in the last two films with Arwen being almost ‘killed off’ with nonsense about her dying because of the ring (why not have her take the place of her brothers?). Elves turn up at Helm’s Deep but are all killed so we don’t have to worry about consequences going forward. Theoden hating Gondor for some reason and refusing to help until all of a sudden he does when the plot requires it. Aragorn not wanting to be king of Gondor, but still accepting the crown after the threat to Gondor has passed. He legitimately could have seen his part as over and wandered into the wilderness never to be seen again, which seems more in character of reluctant hero film!Aragorn. Including the pyre of Denethor, a scene that only works in the book because of the tragedy of Denethor’s character in an adaptation where Denethor is not a tragic character. Even more minor changes which only serve to pad runtime (in already absurdly long films) while having no consequence or sense to them such as Frodo sending Sam away near Minas Morgul weaken the films as a whole.

A more minor aspect of this is in dialogue, Jackson seemingly doesn’t rate himself as a writer of dialogue, and so will often use dialogue from the books. This is not a problem in scenes which are mostly faithful to their book counterpart, but quickly becomes one where changes have been made. Sometimes this comes across as simply nonsense, i.e. Theoden’s orders before the ride of the Rohirrim where he makes reference to the Rammas Echor (not present in the films) and gives his marshals orders to head in different directions before these are all completely ignored and the Rohirrim charge as a block. At other times the dialogue is altered, but in a way which shows Jackson did not understand the original and really should have dropped it entirely. Gollum swearing his oath to Frodo fits this category, with the distinction between swearing on or by the ring removed, and then Gollum not swearing any oath at all. This plot point should have been dropped anyway as the pay off, Frodo cursing Gollum on the slopes of Mt. Doom is not present in the film, leaving it an unfired Chekov’s gun.

While none of these problems is fatal on their own, they all take up (precious) time and result in the films being much weaker (and more importantly, less interesting) than if Jackson had either stuck to the original, or to his own convictions. My problem here is not that the LOTR films are unfaithful to the book, it is that they are faithful in ways they shouldn’t be.

finished the LA!!!

Pros

I do find yyh's early mini-arcs to be pretty slow, so I don't mind skipping them. and for a shortened series, combining several arcs and ramping up the pacing made for a faster viewing experience and definitely streamlined hiei joining the group

making them 17 was a good change

the production value was high enough that a lot of the aspects genuinely fucking ruled

GREAT music. fantastic battle scenes. incredibly smooth cgi resulting in effective body horror and thrilling monster fights. final fight scene with the sparks looked incredible

the spirit gun, spirit sword, rose whip, and dragon of darkness flame all looked SO good. it was really cool to see them in a live-action format

I didn't dislike the wigs! I thought they were charming and stylistically perfect

I have a lot more to say about the plot below, but I will offer this praise: it could have tried to do a lot of things and it didn't. it may not have been completely faithful, but it avoided being a bad adaptation in other ways

I really liked the hiei and kuwabara. kuwabara initially disappointed me, but his earnestness and passion grew on me and I ended up really enjoying him. and hiei's actor just nailed him in every way - mannerisms, line delivery, body language, attitude

kurama was fine! there was a lot there they could have delved into but didn't. important thing is, he was a mama's boy who fights with plants.

yukina and keiko being immediate besties was really sweet! I wish they'd adapted more yukina moments but there wasn't a lot to work with anyway

keiko being more fighty was a really fun change

elder toguro RULED. younger toguro was really good too (in looks voice and body language) and so was sakyo but elder toguro stole the show. sakyo is a very stylish character who I always associate with smoking, but despite the changes I liked the LA version. but elder toguro. FREAK OF THE WEEK!!!!

some moments of genuine emotional resonance: kuwabara manifesting his spirit sword after days of hitting rocks with sticks. keiko inspiring yukina to escape by telling her she should try for the person who saved her last time. and hiei and yukina's last conversation where hiei looked like he was about to cry

it was SO well acted. and yukina looked so happy!! I think she knows. I also liked yukina and kuwabara's first encounter and kuwabara's convo with her after she heals him. it was very genuine. depsite not being into yukina/kuwabara or love at first sight, it was a sweet and well-crafted moment

the kuwameshi scraps...I heard yusuke say he wanted to eat ramen with kuwabara and then tell keiko 'it's not like that' and went 👀

ummmm what else. atsuko's first appearance was fine. in general everything in eps 1 and 2 were things I disliked and plenty in 3-5 were fun

the car crash was INTENSE

I was happy to hear smile bomb

the ending credits are cool and I like the music choices. the songs fit the vibe of the show, but the actual character writing doesn't

Cons

there was a time in my life (a few days ago) where I simply would have put 'everything else' but I'm in a different place now

but not TOO different. this show cannot stand on its own! it cut out MANY many iconic lines and character traits and jokes, even when it would have been easy to include. it's got the trappings of SOME things related to yyh, but lacks the actual soul

iconic character moments such as yusuke realizing how much people care about him and genkai falling to toguro's attack simply fail to impact the viewer in the same way because while they're incredible in concept, the execution is utterly rushed, nothing has ANY time to sink in. I don't even know what the themes of this show are, besides....protect your friends, I guess?

trying to crush everything up to three kings arc into 5 hours was ambitious, but not necessarily doomed. but they fucked it. they fucked the pacing and they fucked the characters and it feels gutless and boring and lazy. everyone seems like they've known each other for like, a day. at most. that genkai episode?!

it was cool that hiei's true motivations were secret for a little while. until the casual sibling reveal

a deeply beloved part of yyh is the core four dynamic. but these people BARELY know each other! kuwabara and yusuke are friends I guess, but they met kurama like twice and they don't even know hiei. genkai was killed TWENTY MINUTES after her introduction. who signed off on this?!

no botan oar, no jorge, koenma is a TEENAGER with a PACIFIER

and wtf was going on with yusuke!!!! his actor managed to convery anger, disgust, and boredom, and that was about it. he smiled maybe once? he almost cried in ep5 and that was HUGE to see. ugh he was robbed of his dynamism and life and passion and sense of humor as a character. I miss anime/manga yusuke so much. he was a goofy boy!!! he made that little kid smile!!! he jokes around and laughs really big and loves his friends!!!

they also failed to adapt botan. her actor was either poorly directed as I assume yusuke's was, or she's just an awkward performer. she's just a timid blue-haired cheerleader for yusuke who cows when he's mad I guess, not the fun, competent, confident, ball-busting older girl we all love. and her STYLE!!! let her dress up!!! it's 1991!!!

well, they have smartphones so I guess not 😔

I thought a lot of eps 1 and 2 were really boring...the fight scenes were way too long and not very good and I had no emotional stake

so this adaptation was too scared to really do its own thing but it also failed at recreating the true magic of yyh - the characters and their love for each other. the scene at the end was nice, but it didn't capture half of their chemistry by the DT arc

I really missed the tournament....and the character moments. atsuko screaming at yusuke and throwing things at his body!!! drunk and sobbing!!! a WRECK!!! I wanted THAT Atsuko. she was so collected and comforting to keiko, too. since when has atsuko been a responsible parent or adult?

whyyyy was his revival so easy!!! NO PUU!!!!!???? no proving himself, no emotional journey??!!

especially grieved to lose yukina crying because of her friends the birds being killed and not bc of being physically hurt. and I really wanted keiko to be more of a hero and save yusuke's body!! while giving keiko more of a character, the writing still let them down; they were relegated to Girls Needing Saving again at the end

it wasn't funny which is a crying shame given how hysterical the manga and anime dub both are (often for different reasons)

character arcs just got aborted. there was no way to explore hiei's past or his complicated feelings about his family. no way for kurama to reconcile the ancient demon and the 15 yr old boy he simultaneously is. no way for yusuke to truly overcome his anger and mature into a young man who's happy to be alive and is okay just chilling with a ramen shop. and um. well kuwabara got a spirit sword and that was pretty sick

also yoko kurama looked very silly and I didn't get his 'ancient powerful yokai' vibes ALSO it wasn't a surprise borne from kurama being poisoned to regress to himself of 20 years ago so that was a shame

I liked hiei's actor a lot but he SHOULD be 4'9!!!!

why did they spend more time on bullied kid than on the ACTUAL characters if they were so strapped for screentime?

ep1 was so bad. it was so bad guys. it was boring and not fun and I'm including the fight scene

no sensui or itsuki 😔 no shizuru, no puu, no jorge

overall the show tried to change both too much and not enough. if it only had 5 episodes, there are much more efficient ways of making the plot move forward and bonding the characters, and it doesn't requite sacrificing beloved character details. or hell, this is a new show! put IN some content, don't just take stuff away and mash other things together!

as another person on here said....it's a bit gutless

Final verdict: lots of style over substance with some good scenes and performances but ultimately a hollow shell of what it aspires to be. 6/10 will not rewatch but do not regret it

you said there’s so much to say about dazai and his relationship with women...care to share? I’d love to hear your thoughts 👀

dazai and his relationship with women

warnings: mentions of sexual assault and sexualization

// note: a few of you wanted to hear my thoughts on it, which is surprising 😅 but sure! I’d love to talk about it, especially since it’s been on my mind for a while <3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

// scenes in the anime/manga

// port mafia backstory

// sexualization/hyper sexuality

// yozo in no longer human

// conclusion

ps. I’m sorry if this seems messy and all over the place. I have a lot of thoughts on this topic and it’s really interesting to me. If you have anything to say, I’d love to hear it !!

scenes in the anime/manga

In the manga and anime, Dazai is portrayed as a womanizer and big flirt who uses his good looks and charms to manipulate women into getting what he wants. This can be seen in multiple different occasions—such as with Higuchi, the cafe barista (although it doesn’t really work 😅) and most importantly, the nurse.

It wasn’t shown in the anime, but in the manga it’s pretty clear that the author was hinting of some sort of sexual contact between Dazai and the nurse. My guess is that he seduced the nurse into giving him his phone.

“Perhaps if I’m in the mood”—I don’t think he was in the mood again lol.

Now, this is a pretty popular trait of his—using things to his advantage. Especially when it comes to flirting and sexualizing himself. He never attempts to get close with any of these women, or commits to relationships with them. Maybe he feels it wouldn’t be meaningful enough. Dazai doesn’t really do things if he finds no value in them.

port mafia backstory

As we know, Mori used Dazai’s intelligence and talents to get want he wanted and help the mafia in numerous ways. This involved killing, torturing, and other things. Dazai was taught to be strategic, efficient, and use opportunities to his advantage (just like Mori). But I feel like, along the way, there was also some sort of sexualization hidden there.

For example, when Atsushi and Kyouka started her first task at the agency to deliver this envelope, it gets delayed due to security stopping them. Kyouka’s first thought is to use her “womanly charms” and seduce the security guard to distract him and get past. She says that she learned these tactics from the Mafia.

She’s fourteen? Womanly charms?

I’m not saying it’s the most popular tactic in the Mafia besides torture/killing, but the Mafia does use its opportunities. There’s nothing morally right about the place, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Kyouka was taught about such things.

Since Dazai was Mori’s prodigy, I wouldn’t be surprised either if he learned a few tricks from him. However, Dazai does observe his surroundings so maybe he decided to utilize his good looks as advantage all on his own.

Chuuya describes Dazai as an “enemy to all women” and when they first partner up after years of not seeing each other, Chuuya threatens to give Dazai’s address to all the women’s hearts he’s left broken.

This can hint that he’s had multiple relations with women back in his Mafia days—meaning he’s been using these tactics since he was a young teen.

sexualization/hyper sexuality

Sexualization: a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics;

Sexualization is linked to sexual objectification. Obviously there are countless other ways to put this and definitions—but I think using the word “object” really fits Dazai. Early sexualization can lead to dehumanizing thoughts, which can be seen in Dazai.

Dehumanizing thoughts can lead to not caring about your well being or using your body however you’d like with barely any concern (either drugs, sex, etc). At one point in being in the Mafia, he lacked so much empathy for others and that definitely tied into having empathy for himself. To be kind to himself.

Him being manipulated into using these advantages is possible. Even though moments like these are played off as jokes, Dazai and Kyouka could’ve been exploited in such ways.

I do wanna mention hyper sexuality (that I saw in the irl Osamu Dazai when I read the book) but I’ll bring that up later.

yozo in no longer human

As I was reading the book, I noticed a lot about Yozo’s character. It is heavily implied that at a young age, he was sexually assaulted by the maids (men and women) in his house (I was unsure about that, but found out it was canon in the manga adaption by Junji Ito)

“Already by that time I had been taught a lamentable thing by the maids and menservants; I was being corrupted. I now think that to perpetrate such a thing on a small child is the ugliest, vilest, cruelest crime a human being can commit.”

“But I endured it. I even felt as if it enabled me to see one more particular aspect of human beings. I smiled in my weakness.”

— page 35

The first time I read it and processed it, I got chills. Now I’m not saying this has anything to do with bsd Dazai, but it does explain a lot of things.

“Women found me in a man who could keep a love secret.”

Due to the sexual abuse in his childhood, Yozo grew up to be a huge “lady’s man.” This caused him to be hyper sexual, practically using his charms to get whatever he wanted from women. He formed many different relationships with them (that he found no value in) just for all of them to never work out. He made the same mistakes with women over and over again (it was pretty painful watching him get hurt and hurt others so much).

It was an endless cycle of seducing women, using them for either drugs or sex, forming some kind of meaningless relationship, getting hurt, and then doing it all over again. He was stuck.

He was afraid of women.

But maybe breaking their hearts has something to do with his past trauma. In some way, it’s taking back the control and innocence he was stripped of from his childhood.

In the manga adaptation, I was able to clearly see how he treated women. Sometimes even throwing himself onto them, randomly initiating sexual contact, etc.

Yozo’s relationship with women is so incredibly sad and heartbreaking.

conclusion

It was said in this post that Dazai would never be faithful or form a real relationship with a woman unless it was someone like Oda. And I agree. Women, to Dazai, aren’t necessarily objects but they really aren’t something he needs or wants in life.

He can be nice to them, make them feel good, form relationships, but at the end of the day it’s like there’s this huge avoid of empty space between him and the “female species.” So much uncertainty and words that will never be spoken because he cannot form a bond with another human being.

All I can say, fictional or not—he was just a child who was stuck in a terrible situation.

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ACOTAR THINK PIECE: ELAIN ARCHERON, UNTOUCHABLE

*DISCLAIMER*

This will be a long post.

Please take the time to read this post in its entirety and truly reflect on the message I am trying to send before commenting. My goal is to use my background in Gender and Women’s Studies to deconstruct the comments I have seen on Tumblr and Twitter and bring awareness to the ACOTAR fandom.

The reason I am tagging “Elriel” in this post is to call attention to the arguments in the Elriel fandom that: weaponize Elain’s femalehood to shame real life people for their opinions about Elain’s character and her relationship with Lucien; victimize Elain’s character in fandom discussions; and coddle Elain’s character, which limits fandom discussions about her narrative development and prevents the ACOTAR fandom from holding Elain accountable for her actions and inactions in the same way that the fandom holds other characters accountable for their actions and inactions. It is for these reasons that I WILL NOT remove the “Elriel” tag from this post because all of the above points contribute to the toxic discourse surrounding Elain’s character.

I urge those who use these arguments to understand their implications, why they are problematic, regardless of intent, and reexamine their contributions to the ACOTAR fandom. I WILL NOT tolerate anyone who tries to twist my words and say I am attacking people and their personal shipping preferences. In fact, I AM CRITIQUING THE ARGUMENTS THEMSELVES NOT THE PEOPLE USING THE ARGUMENTS.

Also, I highly encourage the Elriel fandom to read this post because it addresses how the concept of choice as an argument enables arguments to exploit social justice and feminist languge in order to vilify Elucien shippers, among other problematic things.

Elain Archeron is one of the most polarizing characters in the ACOTAR fandom. Though opinions about Elain vary, arguments in the Elriel fandom cite society’s perception of traditional female characters in comparison to non-traditional female characters as the reason behind the hate, and this belief is used to provide an explanation as to why other characters in the series are favored over her. In the series, Elain is portrayed in a wholly positive light and this image carries over into the Elriel fandom, painting her character as a good and kind female who has been unfairly wronged and a victim of circumstances that were out of her control. When arguments in the Elriel fandom oppose other viewpoints in the fandom, they fall into one of three categories:

Category 1: Weaponize Elain’s femalehood to shame real life people for their opinions

Maybe people who hate Elain are just jealous of her in a weird way similar to when someone hates the pretty, nice, and charming girl in school just because she is too perfect

Disliking Elain is misogynistic

What happened to feminism? What happened to women supporting women? What happened to she can say no? All of that disappears the second you force Elain to be with Lucien

Elain antis are misogynistic

All Eluciens are Elain antis

Antis claiming they’re feminists when in reality they hate on Elain and Feyre but love Nesta

Elain antis are such sore losers. Y’all were that bunch of people who could not get over being rejected from hanging out with the cool kids so y’all are projecting your hatred towards pretty people now to get validation

I don’t get how Elain’s love for gardening equals boring for some people. I’m sorry your misogyny finds traditionally feminine activities boring

Why are you attacking a female? What did Elain do? Where are your feminist voices?

The fandom is misogynistic towards Elain

If people loved Elain they would ship Elriel

If you hate Elain it says a lot about your feelings toward women

If you hate Elain because she has no “development” then you must hate Azriel because otherwise you’re misogynistic

Eluciens are turned off by the idea of a woman that has the autonomy to reject a man for the simple reason that it is her choice

Eluciens are all about feminism and “it’s HER choice” until it comes down to females not wanting a male

Eluciens don’t respect Elain’s feelings when they ship her with someone that was part of her trauma and makes her feel uncomfortable

The way some Elucien shippers completely disregard how uncomfortable Elain is around Lucien is so hilariously not funny. Prioritizing being mates over Elain’s feelings is just regressive

It’s hard as a fan of Elain to see someone ship her with a person who makes her physically uncomfortable to be around. Wouldn’t you want both characters to be happy to be around each other

Imagine if SJM saw all the awful things her “stans” had to say about Elain

It’s true that we know comparatively little about her, but is she really boring or do you just not value stereotypically feminine traits?

So y’all are just gonna tell me you prefer Elucien over Elriel? Even though Lucien treats Elain as if she’s something that belongs to him? The only reason he wants to be with her is because she’s his mate, he doesn’t respect her, doesn’t treat her as his equal, even though that’s what mates should be? He doesn’t bother to look past what’s on the outside to see her for who she is. And Elain is obviously repulsed by the idea that she should belong to anyone or have no choice in who she can be with. Azriel is her friend and the only person who sees her quiet strength. He has so much faith in her, in her abilities; he’s the one who kept her company when no one else did, he’s the only one who bothered to see her for more than her brokenness. You’re going to tell me you still prefer Elucien over Elriel?

The more I see Gwynriels that ship Elucien out of their hate for Elain, the less I can understand Elain stans that ship Elucien. Pls Elain has made it very clear that she doesn’t want Lucien, why would you ship her with him? Do you hate her too? Smh

The real question would be, if you care and understand Elain why would you ship her with Lucien (where she canonically shrinks when he is near)?

People crying over Helion and Lucien’s mom not getting to be with each other and her being forced into a relationship she didn’t want, but also ship Elucien? Just say you hate Elain

When Elain’s book is out, Gwyn stans will look like clowns and I will laugh because they set her up by shipping her with Azriel just because they hate Elain. Watch them play the victims now because Elriels are clapping back the hate they’ve sent towards Elain

As romantic as wanting girl who is visibly uncomfortable around a guy who caused her trauma to end up with the said guy. Guess their standards for romance are in hell

Category 2: Victimize Elain’s character

Gwynriels only want Gwyn with Azriel because they despise Elain

Gwyn stans and Gwynriels are Elain antis

No one in the books dislike Elain, so why are there so many people who do?

Elain hasn’t done anything wrong or questionable to warrant the hate she gets

Not having Elain’s POV makes it easy for people to be swayed a certain way about her character if you already don’t relate to her in some way

It’s been years since this series came out and we haven’t gotten a lick of an Elain POV, but people still hate her for what? We don’t know her thoughts, dreams, or aspirations

We haven’t even had Elain’s perspective yet and people are passing these judgments off on her

Elain antis who say she’s boring are just cruel when she has obvious symptoms of PTSD like Feyre and Nesta

Gwyn is one of the most overhyped characters and that’s only because most people hate Elain and they couldn’t wait to find a random girl to ship Azriel with

Nesta was abusive to her sisters but Elain (who has only ever been kind) is painted as the villain

From the text we know that Elain is the epitome of feminine stereotypes (gentle, gardening, baking, non confrontational for the most part). Yet people still call her boring or deny that she has any interesting character traits?

You can’t love Nesta and hate Elain

People hate Elain because of internalized misogyny and lack of taste. All the girl does is tend to her garden and mind her business and they treat her worse than Tamlin

Does Gwyn deserve all this support? Of course yes! She is amazing! But where’s that support when Elain was in the same situation as she? Where’s that support for her right now? Why do they idolize Gwyn for her interactions with Azriel and hate Elain for having any interaction with him?

It’s not even a ship war anymore, they just hate Elain

People hate Elain for no reason

Some of y’all don’t like feminine traits and it shows

We know less about Eris and Helion but people don’t call them boring. Why would rejecting femininity make Elain more interesting?

Elain has had a lot forced upon her

The main reason I believe most people love Gwyn so much is to get Azriel away from Elain. It’s not a secret that Elain has been a widely hated character for years so suddenly we get a new female who has a minimal amount of interactions with Azriel and BOOM. New ship that once again doesn’t make sense (just like Azriel x Emerie after ACOFAS)

Elain hasn’t done something so terrible for her to get this hate. At this point some of you are just being misogynistic and you don’t want to accept it. Don’t call yourselves feminists and then say bs like this, it’s embarrassing. She’s pretty and everyone agreed to hate on her

Just a personal feeling, but I feel like a lot of the Elain hate stems from internalized misogyny. That to be a strong female lead, you need to pick up a sword and fight. That to be strong, you need to adapt traditionally masculine traits

Elain is feminine. She is beautiful. She loves to bake and garden. She is docile, quiet, observant, and a people-pleaser. All traditionally feminine traits. Yet for some reason, she’s like the worst in these people’s eyes?

I think also maybe a lot of people can’t relate to her femininity? That her being so beautiful and quiet doesn’t allow for the people who dislike her not to self-insert? Most of the hate stems from people not wanting Elain to be with Azriel. It’s mean, but maybe the people who hate Elain literally just can’t self-insert if they have a story and that’s why they’re vehemently against it?

Poor Elain. The Cauldron dealt her a bad deal. Upon emerging as Fae, she is immediately declared by Lucien as his mate, never mind that she was already engaged to a prick. Her love life is not good

It blows my mind how they really think that they can compare all the shit that Elain gets with some dumb jokes about Gwyn on Twitter (and yes, the “hate” towards her started mostly because Elriels are clapping back, it was bound to happen)

I would think of it as anti-feminist with Elain and Lucien because she has consistently stated that she does not want him so if she was forced to embrace the bond that would be taking away her right to have a choice but with Az she feels comfortable around so if they were mates then Elain would be happy and feel safe which again should be the priority for women to feel safe in their relationships with anything and to not be forced into any type of situation aka the mating bond in this

Category 3: Coddle Elain’s character

Elain has value the way she is, in all her domestic girly glory. Not every character has to be badass

We don’t speak of Elain’s flaws frequently because everyone else already speaks badly of her, mainly in an unfair way

There is definitely something deeper going on with Elain but by no means will she ever be evil or any less feminine. That goes against everything we already know about her

It’s ok to critique Elain because she needs growth but y’all keep forgetting the shit her and her sisters went through

The last “bad” thing Elain did in ACOTAR was not help Feyre when they were impoverished and I’m tired of people acting like she’s a terrible character when it was their father’s responsibility. It happened 4 books ago and Feyre has forgiven both Nesta and Elain

Elain’s character and the evil Elain theory are a great example of the trend where people only consider female characters interesting if they reject femininity

We don’t know enough to hate Elain

Many people want Elain to turn evil (which in my opinion seems to come from a place of internalized misogyny)

However we don’t tend to talk about her faults, at least not publicly, as that has been, and still is, done to death, and I--personally, at least--find it much more fun to theorise about potentially interesting aspects of the overall plot, than dwell on negatives

And ultimately, I would be shocked if Elain has a more karmically-charged story than Nesta, considering that Elain’s “wrongs” are so much less severe and bad than Nesta’s, and Elain has already apologized for them (or paid the price in other ways, like through what Graysen did)

I guess I also think Elain has suffered and been punished enough. I hope her story is about finding hope in terrible situations, and learning to love her new life, and choosing her own path after everything that has been done to her. I don’t think she needs to be punished anymore or face any additional trauma

Also, why is she being judged on her decisions as a human at all? Fae are monsters to humans! They enslaved them for thousands of years, and the Wall was erected to keep them out

Like I’m sorry, but think Elain would want to leave her ONLY FAMILY AND FRIENDS for the Spring Court where she has no one because--oh look, lots of flowers!--is the craziest thing I have ever heard

Her sisters are in the Night Court. Her nephew is in the Night Court. Her closest friends (Nuala and Cerridwen) are in the Night Court. Her love interest is in the Night Court. Her extended family is in the Night Court. Her home is in the Night Court

SJM isn’t going to keep two sisters together and split up the third. Especially not keep Feyre and Nesta together and separate Elain. They were either all going to end up in separate places, or together. Not 2 here and 1 there

Compared to the other female characters in the series, Elain is the only character whose femalehood is at the center of conversations; this is because arguments in the Elriel fandom fixate on it when discussing her character. While Elain, Feyre, Nesta, and Mor are all representations of white womanhood and white beauty, Elain epitomizes the most fragile version of white womanhood. It’s easy to blame society’s perception of traditional female characters in comparison to non-traditional female characters when it comes to the discourse surrounding Elain’s character because it: falls in line with the fixation on Elain’s femalehood to silence opposing viewpoints; is a simplistic explanation that fails to tackle the underlying issues with Elain as a character, the same issues that are downplayed in-universe; absolves Elain of her wrongdoings; prevents the ACOTAR fandom from holding Elain accountable for her actions and inactions within the series; and diminishes the impact Elain’s actions and inactions have on those around her. It’s not that Elain is hated in the fandom because she’s a traditional female character; it’s the fact that arguments in the Elriel fandom deflect a critical analysis of Elain’s character because she’s a traditional female character who embodies the ideal white woman in need of protection. White fans and white-aligned fans of color, especially white women, have a tendency to vehemently defend, gatekeep, and coddle white female characters in fandom; this makes it difficult for other fans to engage in critical discussions about these white female characters because they’re viewed as flawless and all around perfect characters despite evidence to the contrary. Since Elain is viewed positively by the other characters in the series, it has rendered her character untouchable to any perceived slight or criticism in fandom discussions because those negative opinions challenge what has been said about her character thus far. And as a result, her character has been placed on a pedestal and implicitly hailed as the epitome of white womanhood; and when she’s criticized, it’s seen as a direct attack against white womanhood. Arguments in the Elriel fandom: exploit feminist language and perpetuate white feminist tactics under the guise of defending Elain’s character; center Elain in conversations about female oppression in the ACOTAR world and uphold white feminist ideologies in their critique of ACOTAR’s patriarchal society; and use the fragile white woman narrative to victimize Elain in Lucien’s presence, playing into racial biases that are associated with white supremacy’s defense of white womanhood.

Feminism is a social movement that seeks to promote equality and equity to all genders, and feminists work toward eradicating gender disparities on a macro-level, in addition to challenging gender biases on a micro-level. As feminism became more mainstream, a flat and oversimplified version of feminism emerged: mainstream feminism. The mainstream feminist movement is meant to represent all women, but rarely does it center conversations around issues that concern most women. The problem with mainstream feminism is that it’s just a popularized version of white feminism. White feminism has relied extensively on an individualized understanding of women’s oppression, exclusively from the lens of privileged white women. White feminism only focuses on the oppression experienced by white, able-bodied, affluent, educated, cishet women; and it views gender as the key mode of privileged white women’s oppression, isolated from the privileges granted by their other social identities. White women can be and are oppressed under the patriarchy but only because they are women; their identity as women does not exempt them from the privileges granted by their whiteness. The term white feminist does not mean any feminist who is white, but refers to feminists who prioritize the concerns of privileged white women as though they are representative of all women. However, the term is not exclusive to white people. Because white feminism is so pervasive, people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds often buy into white feminism, believing that if they work hard enough, they may be able to reap its rewards.

Just like white feminism, mainstream feminism only recognizes the identity of being a woman, assumes that all women share common experiences of gender oppression, fails to address other social identities in relation to overlapping systems of oppression, and disregards privilege in relation to various social identities. Just like white feminism, mainstream feminism is palatable because it doesn’t seek to challenge the systems in place, instead its goal is to succeed within them. Essentially, mainstream feminism and white feminism are extensions of performative feminism. Performative feminism is a type of performative activism that’s used to describe feminist views that are surface level and solely for the benefit of one type of person. It’s a pretense which often has nothing to do with genuine activism. Arguments in the Elriel fandom normalize and promote performative feminism because the topic of feminism is only referenced when discussing Elain. This indicates that these arguments are engaging in disingenuous discourse to push a personal agenda within the ACOTAR fandom, and it becomes more apparent when they use white feminist tactics to shut down opposing viewpoints:

White feminists weaponize and exploit feminist language to silence the opinions of other women, especially when they’re called out for their problematic behaviors

White feminists use the phrase “Women supporting women” to defend other white feminists who exhibit problematic behaviors instead of holding them accountable 

White feminists weaponize phrases like “Women supporting women” and “You just hate women” to attack other women who disagree with them on any given topic

White feminists use phrases like “All women face challenges” and “Stop pitting women against each other” to sidestep conversations about privilege

White feminists divert conversations away from privilege and towards the Trauma Olympics to equate their struggles to the oppression of marginalized people 

White feminists skirt around the realities of other forms of oppression and discrimination, downplaying the experiences of marginalized people

White feminists diminish or ignore the ways in which gender oppression affects other marginalized people

White feminists paint those they harmed as aggressive, mean, or divisive when confronted with the ways they have harmed a marginalized group

White feminists deflect criticism by focusing on the anger or emotions being expressed rather than the issue that is being discussed, invalidating the concerns of marginalized people

White feminists speak over marginalized voices in an attempt to sound “woke”

White feminists get defensive and insist there’s no way they could be a part of the problem because of what they’ve done to help marginalized groups already 

White feminists say they don’t see color in an attempt to obscure racial issues that need to be addressed

White feminists center and victimize themselves in conversations about racism, which derails necessary conversations from taking place

White feminists who are white weaponize the intersectionality of their race and gender to avoid accountability

Feminism is not meant to be approached from an individualistic perspective nor is it only about addressing the experiences of privileged white women, it involves addressing the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, (dis)ability, and other social identities as well; and it involves addressing how these social identities relate to privilege. Moreover, feminism is not about women upholding complete loyalty to other women because of a shared gender identity, and to claim that it does implies that women should be held to different emotional standards than men. If men are able to dislike and criticize other individual men, real or fictional, without their characters being compromised, why aren’t women granted that same privilege?

It’s clear that SJM set up the ACOTAR world to mirror a patriarchal society, and that the imbalance of power between males and females stems from sexism. Arguments in the Elriel fandom analyze the ACOTAR world through a feminist lens to show how ACOTAR’s patriarchal society, to which the mating bond is innately tied, contributes to female oppression and limits their agency. When choice and free will are emphasized as part of Elain’s arc, they imply that Elain, through the mating bond, experiences female oppression under ACOTAR’s patriarchal society because of her identity as a female with that identity being the focal point of her oppression in the world. Elain is one of the most privileged characters in the ACOTAR world: she’s High Fae; she’s the sister of the High Lord and High Lady of the Night Court, which gives her access to wealth and political influence because of that connection; she’s able-bodied; she was magically blessed by the Cauldron; and she lives in Velaris, a place that grants females autonomy and power because of the beliefs of Rhysand and Feyre. Arguments in the Elriel fandom trivialize female oppression in the ACOTAR world because they disregard the fact that Elain’s privileges prevent her from experiencing female oppression in the same way that other marginalized females in the world do. The mating bond being one such example because those around Elain are not forcing the bond on her, instead they’re allowing Elain to reach a decision about the bond for herself; a privilege that other marginalized females in the world probably wouldn’t have. Just because Elain has endured hardships in her life and is a female in a patriarchal society, they do not erase the privileges she holds within the ACOTAR world. The failure to include Elain’s privileges in discussions about Elain being a female in a patriarchal society feeds into white feminist ideologies because white feminism operates from a very narrow perspective; it doesn’t take other intersecting identities into account when it examines gender oppression, leaving no room for discussions about privilege (or lack thereof) in relation to those intersecting identities. When discussing oppression in hierarchical societies, it’s imperative that privilege is also included in the conversation because privilege and oppression are not mutually exclusive; they equally affect the ways in which people navigate those societies through their social identities.

Rather than attributing Elain’s uncomfortability to her new life as a Fae female or the mating bond itself and her trauma to the Cauldron, the King of Hybern, or Ianthe, they’re placed on Lucien to cast his character in a negative light. Moreover, fandom discussions portray Lucien as a possessive character to further emphasize Elain’s discomfort despite the inaccuracy of this characterization in canon. Arguments in the Elriel fandom play into racial biases when it comes to Lucien (a male character of color) because they mischaracterize his character in order to victimize Elain (a white female character), placing her character in the role of the white damsel in distress. In Western society, the concept of womanhood has been conceptualized from a Eurocentric perspective with femininity and feminine attributes favoring white women. It’s the idea that a certain type of femininity is only inherent to white women as they are seen as the embodiment of an ideal womanhood. White womanhood has been a symbol of innocence and purity, and white women have been viewed as fragile beings in need of protection. The reason white womanhood functions within white supremacy is because it’s the same idea that has motivated white men to kill and beat black and brown men. The so-called protection of white women has been used as a justification for the horrific violence committed by white men because black and brown men were stereotyped as aggressive and seen as a threat to the virtue of white women. The white damsel in distress trope considered white women as worthy of protection because of their perceived innocence and purity; women of color were not granted that same treatment because they did not fit into the ideal image of womanhood. Over the years, this trope became a means for white women to exercise limited power in a patriarchal society with white women weaponizing their status as the damsel much to the detriment of black and brown men. It’s through the white damsel in distress trope that white supremacy sustains its dominance in Western society. The misrepresentation of characters of color in fandom, the dismissal of their importance to the overall story, and using them as tools in arguments centered around white characters are the foundation of fandom racism; they’re examples of how racism moves silently in fandom spaces. Instead of examining their behavior and taking constructive criticism from fans of color, white fans will often double down on their bigotry and center their uncomfortability in the conversation when confronted with their complicity in fandom racism. White fans expect fans of color to swallow fandom racism in its many forms in order to not ruin the experience of fandom, dismissing the fact that racism is prevalent in nearly every aspect of society. This mentality ensures that no one is held accountable for the harm they caused and alienates fans of color in fandom spaces.

To reiterate what I mentioned in my first think piece: terms like “oppression”, “the right to choose”, “feminist”, “feminism”, “anti-feminist”, “anti-feminism”, “internalized misogyny”, “misogyny”, “misogynist”, “sexist”, “sexism”, “racist”, “racism”, “classist”, “classism”, “discrimination”, and “patriarchy” are all used in specific ways to draw attention to the plight of marginalized people and challenge those who deny the existence of systems of oppression. Yet these words and their meanings can be twisted to attack, exclude, and invalidate people with differing opinions on any given topic. When social justice and feminist terms are thrown around antagonistically and carelessly to push a personal agenda, it becomes clear that these terms are being used to engage in disingenuous discourse and pursue personal validation rather than being used out of any deep-seated conviction to dismantle systemic oppression. Being an ally, activist, or feminist is not an identity, it’s a practice. It requires: ongoing self-reflection; holding ourselves accountable; listening to marginalized people; educating ourselves; dismantling implicit biases; challenging those around us who are exhibiting problematic behaviors; and action behind our words.

It’s important to be aware of the language that is used within the fandom when defending or critiquing characters and ships. It’s also important to question how an argument is framed and why it’s framed the way that it is to critically examine the intent behind that argument: is it used as a tool to push a personal agenda that reinforces problematic behaviors, or is it used as an opportunity to share, learn, enlighten, and educate?

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Tagging: @spell-cleavers @bookofmirth @m0bulidae @ilya-boltagon

All Possible House Placements

All of this information has been copy/pasted from http://www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com I’m simply putting it here so I can see the different combinations compiled.

:readmore:

Asc Aries

**1st - Aries **If your Ascendant is set in the sign of Aries, no matter if it falls on its first or last degree, it makes you an Arian. This position speaks of the importance of knowing one’s limits, your basic instinctive energy, and animalistic nature that needs to be guided, used, and sometimes contained. The main challenge of this position lies in the inability to see other people as equals, have tact, care for others or accept being cared for. It will challenge one’s commitment to relationships, marriage or their ability to find compassion for their own emotional needs, let alone needs of other people. On an individual level, these people are represented by planet Mars. 2nd - Taurus The second house cusp in Taurus is the most natural position for this house. People born with it have the ability to recognize value of all things, relationships, other people, and experiences in life. In some cases, this speaks of an accented challenge in which a person is supposed to learn about their own value through series of demeaning experiences. However, this is rarely the case, and has to be confirmed through a challenging position of Venus in one’s natal chart. This is someone who has a talent to earn money, for as long as their sense of the material world isn’t tainted with other people’s convictions and opinions. If they give in to guilt of any kind, the quality of their relationships will suddenly drop and they could have a hard time recovering from taking too much responsibility. These individuals were born to enjoy our material reality and should always remind themselves to do just that. 3rd - Gemini The position of the third house in Gemini is the most natural of all positions. It is a blessing in itself, and a person always has a smart approach, clarity in their choice of words, and the same clarity in their mind. In a practical sense, it often speaks of one’s attachment to their sibling, and points out that communication is an important part of a person’s life. Depending on the position and the dignity of Mercury, we can see how challenging or positive their mental world actually is. What people with third house in Gemini often lack is compassion, as well as reason when it comes to practical material issues. More often than not, these individuals need a healthy routine and to build respect for time and their own body in order to truly be satisfied and learn to get in sync with, and speak from their heart. 4th - Cancer Each fourth house set in Cancer speaks of the connection one has to their family. It is a house of inheritance in its core, and the sign of Cancer here gives an emphasis on family matters that came into one’s life only to be resolved. This is a position of gratitude, incredible opportunity, and all challenges left in one’s genes. Emotional issues will be truly important and the heart often won’t go where it is supposed to, simply out of subconscious need to find what was left by other people, grandmothers and grandfathers who lost something, have been closed up, or were gone before their time. The most important thing a person has to find with this position is the love for oneself and the ability to be gentle, slow enough, and filled with compassion for their own needs. It speaks of closeness with the parent of opposite sex, but also speaks of the lack of it in a challenging setting, and the way it affected all close relationships one is able to build in their adult life. 5th - Leo The fifth house in the sign of Leo represents a natural rule that strongly emphasizes one’s personality. The masculine, productive energy of Leo has to be used, and the worst thing these individuals can do is try to adapt to opinions of people around them, and end up in a strict routine with no room for their fiery expression. This is someone whose Sun sign is truly remarkable and important, on a mission to express through it and find happiness inside it, no matter the power of the Sun, its dignity, or the aspects it makes. It is good thing that these individuals are fully aware that happiness is a goal they CAN reach, and with a certain ease they will search for their center of gravity and learn to express in a way that makes them feel important. In general, this position means that the expectations of their father have to be overcome in some way, and a person has to find their own identity to build a strong character and reach personal satisfaction. 6th - Virgo The sixth house finds its natural position to be the one in Virgo. The connection between them is incredibly strong and grounding found through this link is truly an imperative in one’s life. When this is the case, answers to almost every physical issue are hidden here, and you can see that a person has the ability to heal and materialize anything at all, for as long as their energy is focused in the right direction. When we speak of modesty, it is extreme here, and takes some of the joy and color out of a person’s life if they don’t choose a career path they truly love and deeply care about. Work has to be loved and Venus respected more than in other natal positions, so that health can be maintained and one’s routine enjoyable and healthy at the same time. 7th - Libra This is a natural position of the seventh house, leading to a natural approach to relationships, marriage and an ability to be tactful and diplomatic towards others, no matter if they are our friends or enemies. People born with the seventh house in Libra have a natural ability to choose those who mirror their core personality. However, the sign of Libra carries its challenges in relation to the Sun and always presents a test when it comes to holding on to our personality as we get intimately involved with others. The good thing coming with this position is in the ability to separate social from personal life, but a rational approach can be damaging for the heart, and emotions need to be cherished and respected at all times. The institution of marriage often becomes important over time and these individuals tend to grow from confident solitary lovers to married, faithful partners for better or worse. 8th - Scorpio This is a position that easily collects all trash into one place. There is a deeply seeded knowledge of endings and beginnings of all things in life, while these individuals accept the whole cycle of life and death different than some other people in their lives. Fears they carry within go to extremes, from panic to absolute bravery, and it is not easy to catch them in a certain state for too long. While at one hand extremely ready to face any challenge that comes their way, they will give in to mass hysteria in a minute, and you won’t have any idea how this connects to the same person they were just a while ago. If Mars and Pluto give strong support, we will see that these people have an almost magical ability to face danger, stay calm in the most challenging situations, as if their whole energetic body is always prepared for anything. Depending on the position of the Moon their waters will be clean and their emotional state easy. 9th - Sagittarius The ninth house in the sign of Sagittarius speaks of a higher mind, in a way, and shows one’s need to travel, learn, and widen their horizons as much as possible. The trouble with this position is held in the inability to go deep enough to actually ground ideas and entire mental belief systems. Even though these people can be incredible teachers, attorneys, gurus, or motivational speakers, they will often have trouble accepting change as a necessary tool for improvement. Sticking to their moral convictions without a doubt in their mind, they will forget that change is the only thing that will truly help them regenerate. Aiming high, they don’t have a clear idea of everything going on at planet Earth’s surface and need a reality check from time to time, just to remember that distances are there to be crossed, not just to be observed. 10th - Capricorn When the tenth house begins in Capricorn ambition isn’t a problem and things tend to be as clear as day. The problem will arise once the person realizes that their lack of energy led to some bad choices, pushing them into unnecessary feelings of guilt. A mistake has been made while they formed plans in their previous lifetimes, and now they have a debt to repay being responsible, serious, and committed to causes that might not give results. Progress will be hard to make but when properly approached, high positions will be reached. Success will come only through hard work and correct actions that might even seem annoying to some people around them who always have an easier way out. This is a good practical position though, for there seems to be a deep understanding of reality and everything it might bring, giving one a strong sense of right and wrong as they grab responsibility for their life. **11th - Aquarius **The eleventh house in Aquarius speaks of liberation a person needs. Slaves to our unhealthy routines, choices, habits and relationships, these people will have a clear wish to be free and expressed as exactly themselves in their society. While humane and righteous in their approach, they will rarely be brave enough to endure in their chases, unless if the Sun is extremely well set in a personal chart. This is a position that gives as many friends as we need, to be there for us, wake us up, and help us find our connection to the Universal thought. If the positioning is extremely difficult, they become aware of the direct link they have to the skies above and wish to go there before their time. In most cases, however, this is a position that allows individual growth through the group and gives the opportunity to truly become enlightened and free.

**12th - Pisces ** If the twelfth house is set in the sign of Pisces, all secrets will be sunk even deeper than in other cases. This practically means that all digging through subconscious matter will have to be thorough and results will seem more distant than those others tend to dig up. Usually, these individuals tend to look forwards, fully unaware of their dependencies and ties to the mysteries of their distant past. They will live their lives unaware of their own inner faith, needing healthy sleeping routine in order to stay in a calm and peaceful state. In many cases, these people will sleep every day for eight hours, avoiding late nights out or losing sleep over any burning issues at hand. They understand that the night is not to be messed with and hide from their own family in plain daylight. With true faith in the background, it would be good to raise awareness about their talents and their true life within, however scary that might seem.

Asc Taurus

1st - Taurus If a personal chart begins in Taurus, we see a person of earthly pleasures, in search for love, hedonism and satisfaction. Depending on the level of challenges this sign, house or Venus have, it can be a very fine position that allows us to enjoy life in full color and using all of our senses. This speaks of an individual well-built, strong and static, and also a bit passive. With an Ascendant in Taurus you might be prone to gain weight or chase too many pleasures through self-destructive behavior. The greatest challenge for a Taurus is to accept the necessity and the beauty of change. Once recognized, it can liberate these individuals to show initiative, vigor, and when needed – fight for their satisfaction. This is someone represented by Venus. ** 2nd - Gemini** If the second house is set in the sign of Gemini, we can instantly presume that a person will make money in quick, freelance activities, rather than have a serious job that will bring a lot of deep, stable satisfaction. This is someone who can profit from writing, journalism, constant movement, oratory talents, or good trading skills. If there is a challenge to be faced through planets set in this house or Mercury, we can see that superficial approaches to value of things lead to disharmony and make a person nervous and edgy, while unable to create anything stable or big enough to meet their needs. This can also represent a “trickster position” and speak of someone who makes money from shady activities, especially if Mercury is retrograde, or set in the sign of Pisces. 3rd - Cancer The third house in Cancer speaks of inherited intelligence, for better or for worse. If one is born into a family of well-educated individuals with a wide dictionary, we can safely presume that theirs will be similar and deeply rooted with their ancestry. However, problems with any sort of reasoning especially when it comes to division of rational from emotional issues, has the root in the same place too – their parents. They need to build a strong personality and care for their individuality in order to release some pressure from their mind. The main challenge of each Cancer thinking individual is in expressing their emotions in a practical and acceptable way, and they will often fight the battle of reason vs. emotion even though they should be accepting both rolled into one.

** 4th - Leo** With the fourth house beginning in the sign of Leo, we see a line of proud and brave ancestors that led to the birth of this individual. This can be wonderful or challenging for there is obviously an emotional push into one’s world of character, confidence and self-recognition. The Sun has to be extremely strong in its dignity and aspects in order for this position to provide one with the sense of gratitude, confidence and satisfaction. This is a position that pulls with its gravity towards personal issues, fiery emotions, and a certain battle for personal satisfaction that is deeply rooted in one’s home and their relationship with a dominant parent that maybe didn’t give them enough space to develop entirely healthy emotions. In its best light, this can be a place of warmth, joy, laughter and openness, giving one the sense of personal bravery to engage in any emotional challenge with ease and clarity. 5th - Virgo With the fifth house in Virgo, the main challenge is to avoid self-criticism on a way to happiness. Joy is found in details, in things well-done, and everything that needs fixing and additional attention. This is the fifth house of practical issues and it is a bit hard to satisfy, but extremely rewarding when it comes to writing and expression through specific words and manual work. The problem, however, hides in the fact that a person simply loves damaged things, people who are in a way broken, sad, or chooses partners that need to be “fixed”, changed or accepted as not-perfect, whatever the specifics. This will be a lot easier if Venus is well set and one has a tool to reach personal satisfaction through relationships in general, especially in connection to the seventh house of the horoscope. If not, Mercury’s positivity will define their ability to find perfection in the most common of things and daily pleasures. 6th - Libra With the sixth house in Libra the key to one’s health lies in balance, as in all things connected to Libra. With enough information these individuals get to eat healthy, taking responsibility for their state and easily adapting to new working environments. The problem will arise in the field of relationships, for Libra wants marriage and official vows, while the sixth house takes away their potential perfection and turns them into fixable, changeable bonds that always have to be worked on. Since the sixth house is the house of work and our tendency to clean, fix, and make things functional, these individuals will usually choose partners that need to be approached in this manner, damaged, fixable, or unclean in some way. Even though a lot of intelligence is hidden in their relationships, there is always a lack of satisfaction and choices that seem to accent one’s inability to understand that they deserve to love and be loved in return. 7th - Scorpio With the seventh house set in the sign of Scorpio, ultimate intimacy is needed in order for the person to find satisfaction. This is a position very hard to please and the nature of the first house already shows the ability to create tender intimacy and closeness, usually dismissed and diminished by others. The trick to finding happiness with the position such as this one hides in the Moon’s pool of emotion, love for Self and the ability to forgive, forget, and make changes when the right time for them comes. Once this person sets deserved satisfaction on the top of their priority ladder, things will become easier and ties to other people will fade while a healthy relationship with their own life, decisions, and choices becomes imperative. Until then, jealousy and possessive relationships are inevitable, while happiness becomes this distant light seen from the underground ruled by Scorpio. 8th - Sagittarius When the eighth house is set in Sagittarius there is something strange about the convictions this person has. Everything that they anticipate will work – won’t, and vice versa, as if the entire Universe is there to teach them about the relativity of all things. While they are protected from danger with something as beneficent as the sign ruled by Jupiter, they will also have trouble with accepting all Jupiter related matters, teachings, and philosophical approaches. For as long as they feel their entire life has great purpose they will be fine, but this is a state that runs off pretty quickly and pushes them to new activities, choices, and changes in their life path that happen too often for the rest of the world to understand why. All negative things that happen will be a blessing in disguise and all positive quite the opposite. To understand that their whole life is turned upside-down, they will have to separate from common people and realize how different they are. If they lose faith, all can be lost in an instant. 9th - Capricorn If one’s ninth house is set in the sign of Capricorn, their beliefs can be annoyingly stiff. It will be very hard for them to make a change in pace or direction once they set out to do something. Their main problem is hidden in the real purpose of all things in their lives. This is why they sometimes have to exchange their practicality and common sense for a dream or two. The main objective with this position is to achieve a state of acceptance that allows these individuals not to push their convictions on everyone around them. There will be an ease in learning about ancient teachings, history, substance, and mathematics if their Saturn is well set in a sign that gives it dignity. However, responsibility they need to take seems to be too distant for them to reach its understanding. Once they do, they will finally have a chance to create a solid foundation for their future endeavors. 10th - Aquarius If the tenth house is in Aquarius, a person is almost always eccentric, different, dressed in colors you don’t see every day, or in another way strange to the outer world. An outcast and someone who is born to develop their mind, this is a person who wants to be your friend and knows that they have the ability to find enlightenment but don’t yet have the body to reach it. They need to take care of their daily routine in order to ground all of this lightning energy and power. We could say that in case of a good position of Saturn and Uranus these individuals become true children of the Universe, open to things larger than our human race and aware of the network that connects us all. With enough bravery and initiative, there isn’t anything these people aren’t able to create. **11th - Pisces **When the eleventh house is in the sign of Pisces, friendships are hazy and unclear. This is a person who has a task to find faith in others and it will always come with challenges and difficulties in their way. If they believe enough to spread love without many expectations, they could find those several soulmates that were deserved through previous lifetimes. Purity is the key to solid relationships, and with Pisces everything is prone to change and endings. Many friendships will begin only to end, pushing this person in the right direction. Others will be kept at a certain distance and lack intimacy. What these people need to do is sink in, and give in to every relationship that feels good without fear of betrayal or loss. If their friends are supposed to end up at sea, on another continent, or in their dreamland, this is fine for as long as they share an emotional bond wherever they are.

** 12th - Aries **When the twelfth house is set in the sign of Aries, it is almost always a sign that problems with healthy boundaries will be present in a person’s life. Others will intrude in their world as if they had no membranes to recognize and defend themselves from those who steal their energy. In time, they will have to “remember” what it was like to follow the passion within, fight for their rights , yell at others if that is what the moments asks for, and be true about everything that is on their mind. While Aries would like to have a certain goal and aim all its energy towards it, this energy seems to get bended here only to end up in a strange subconscious state where it is neither manifested nor used. This is a position that speaks of a past life that ended in aggression, in the army or from fire weapons, sharp objects, and most often “before one’s time.”

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Asc Gemini

1st - Gemini If one is to start their life in the body of a Gemini, they have to always stay on the move. This is a sign of spoken word, intelligence, quick experiences, change of character, and movement of all sorts. People born with this rising sign are often fast, thin, movable, unstable, and sometimes superficial. They need to stay well-informed, infiltrated in their social environment, and always have a reason to communicate or brainstorm on issues that surround them daily. Their greatest challenge is to focus on one goal, a point in space and time that gives their life purpose. They need to find synthesis, one thing to cover all of their information, and form a well-educated opinion only after learning their inner truth. They are represented by Mercury. ** 2nd - Cancer** If the second house begins in the sign of Cancer, this is a strong sign that a person will have a chance to earn from a family business or a private company of their own. This is someone capable to work from home, or someone who goes with the flow and relies on destiny to bring them their wealth. In general, this might not be such a strong position if the Moon isn’t very strong, but gives the ability to find incredible joy in food, cooking, and family gatherings. This is a position that accents one’s inner search for gratitude and love, and it will often speak of genetic predispositions as a potential for personal gain. It can also be a position that speaks of inheritance they have been spending since the day they were born, as opposed to inheritance matters of the eighth house in which someone has to die or give up on something in order for gain to come. 3rd - Leo When the third house cusp is set in the sign of Leo, thoughts are mostly focused on one’s Self. Even though this can be troubling to many friendships and tricky relationships in their lives, these individuals have a task to build up their personality and character with clearly set boundaries towards the outer world. This is a strong position that brings a lot of ego challenges, unless one is truly enlightened and fully aware of their infinite abilities, including the one in which they understand that there is no thing that should be taken personally. In a way, these people can become the happiest of all individuals once they learn to accept and nurture their child within, clear on their own desires and goals in life, and aware of their responsibility. Only then will they express their core personality with easy and shine a light on everyone around them. 4th - Virgo The fourth house cusp in Virgo points out to the lack of something in their primary home. Whether it is love or approval, there always seems to be something that needs to be fixed, changed, or nurtured in their soul, as if it was a bit damaged from the start. This isn’t a position that necessarily speaks of emotional hurt, as much as it speaks of emotional lacking, and one’s inability to reach the point of perfection in their emotional world that will finally allow them to be truly satisfied. Very often, this comes as a consequence of a deeply cold relationship with the parent of opposite sex, or a rational bond that leaves too much room for personal improvement, leaving one never satisfied with their own accomplishments. The greatest thing this position brings through genes is incredible intellectual strength and strong mental powers that one will be able to use, probably until their dying day. 5th - Libra When the fifth house is set in the sign of Libra, we see a strong signal that happiness is reached through other people. This is somewhat challenging for independence needs to be nurtured in order for any personality to reach healthy development, but it is also necessary to manifest oneself through other people and pay attention to everyone that make one happy along the way. This is not the easiest of positions, but it does speak of one’s ability to recognize true, creative love, and give it a serious glow, turning it into long-term romance and marriage for all the right reasons. In here, the love we find for ourselves is what truly inspires us, and it is imperative that a person stays in a good relationship with their own inner Self in order for all of outer relationships to blossom. 6th - Scorpio If the sixth house is set in the sign of Scorpio, self-destructive behavior is the greatest enemy to one’s physiology and psychological state. Challenges that hide in this position are not at all easy to handle, for their core rests in emotional dissatisfaction, forgiveness and change. If there is denial, dismissal, and resistance towards change, Scorpio will not make one happy and a lot of anger will accumulate here. This is a position of prejudice and the breaking of sexual taboos, often speaking of the importance of sex in a person’s life. Not only will it speak of repression, but also of unused nuclear energy located beneath our feet, giving practicality a special essence, and sometimes leading to obsessive compulsive disorders and in general, obsessive behavior. Once deepest emotions are accepted, a Scorpio-set sixth house becomes a pool of endless energy and everything gains sense and becomes as easy as a breeze. 7th - Sagittarius If the seventh house is set in Sagittarius, the mutable nature of it interferes with one’s ability to form lasting relationships. There is always something unreachable set in this distant sign, and the inability to materialize desires often leads to long-distance relationships, or simply bonds with people who aren’t stable, close, intimate, or those who are already taken. With Sagittarius, there is always a philosophy that leads to certain events and this position will simply materialize convictions. In the practical sense, we can understand this best through an example of a person who lives convinced that all people of opposite sex are not to be trusted. This specific conviction will lead to relationships that will prove them right, and one will be disappointed again and again, proving the image projected to the outer world in cycles. To move from repetitive choices, the person needs to learn and widen their perspective until they realize what sort of inner change can lead to a more satisfying environment. 8th - Capricorn If the eighth house is set in Capricorn, responsibility is something that doesn’t seem to have value to the individual. This can lead to all sorts of difficult circumstances in case Saturn is challenged and there is not enough rest and calm experiences in their life. The pressure caused by Saturn is always there to push us towards evolution, but with this position this pressure can sometimes be overwhelming and liberation is desired more than anything else. The main problem hides in the fact that this is held at an unconscious level and a person simply sees hard circumstances that create pressure while failing to see their part in avoiding them. There is always a side to their family tree that is hard to understand, while they lack structure and a healthy routine, especially in sleeping patterns and rest. If this position is approached in a tender and understanding way, with confidence and strength of will, there is no reason not to find a way out of endless loops family problems tend to create. 9th - Aquarius With the ninth house in Aquarius, one’s strivings and desires are never ordinary. Learning through symbols will be as easy as it gets, which makes these people turned to astrology, mathematics and programming. The problem will arise when a person with this ninth house doesn’t feel the need to accept responsibility for their own life. A truly disappointing thing here hides in the fact that their routine is shattered enough to make them too tired to learn everything that interests them. This great mind will be truly disturbed by the lack of substance, seriousness to their approach, and a sort of superficial Air-like nature that won’t allow them to sink deep enough to create a strong foundation for their ideas to land. If they take matters in their own hands and make a plan they will stick to at all times, they will feel their energy rise. Finally, this will result in their creativity leading them to incredible innovative moments they have been wishing for since they were born. 10th - Pisces When the tenth house is in Pisces, there is no saying how long their career choices will last. This is often frustrating as the purpose of each job slowly fades making room for obligations and responsibility a person is not ready to sink into. There is a talent somewhere in the horoscope of these individuals that needs to be discovered and used in order to spread their message into the world. Many musicians and painters have this tenth house position to shine like a lighthouse taking them home. The ties created through the sign of Pisces are strong and they will often speak of dependencies of all sorts. This means that one might have one goal in life – to shake off self-destructive habits and dependencies, no matter if they are in relation to narcotics, alcohol, or ex partners who made the world of this person toxic in any way. **11th - Aries ** When the eleventh house begins in Aries, things are never peaceful in this person’s social life. There are always new acquaintances waiting down the road, and this can make their approach a bit superficial because of the certainty life will always bring someone new our way. It will be easy to make friends but a little hard to hold on to them for very long. Boundaries need to be set and respected, as well as the dedication that flows both ways in order for their relationships to last. As if their God spoke through energy of Aries, these individuals often see life as a battlefield or a game that needs to be won. Once they open up to the Universal thought, they will realize where their energy lies and how to use it, show initiative, and move forwards just as they wish to.

12th - Taurus If the twelfth house is in the sign of Taurus, the mystery of the material world can remain a hidden for years, as well as hedonism and the chase for satisfaction in this material world. This is a position typical for those who have never felt real pleasure, and everyone with secret sexual encounters, or at least those who have the need to eat hidden from everyone else. Spirituality and real talents fall into the sign ruled by Venus, meaning creativity and inspiration come as a given, but only once they are discovered and approached studiously. True intimacy is found in secret bonds, and warmth will have to be built in solitude, realizing at first just how much we are worth and only later starting to search for someone who will recognize this. If one wants to make their dreams come true, this position is perfect, for it brings the Earth into our personal dreamland, making everything we imagine possible.

Asc Cancer

1st - Cancer When the first house begins in the sign of Cancer, it is often said to be the sign of home, family and emotion. What we often fail to understand is the sensitivity of this sign and its effect on our physical body. The ascendant represents our physical strength and this isn’t the best possible position to feel strong and confident, or to exercise, or train. Cancer-individuals are often pale, strongly influenced by the movements of the Moon, have a tendency to look like the food they eat, and always have a strong genetic influence on their overall health and appearance. Their greatest challenge is hidden in strong plans, unmovable will, a healthy routine, and responsibility they have to take for the direction their own life is moving in. This is a sign ruled by the Moon. ** 2nd - Leo** If a person’s second house cusp is set in the sign of Leo, we can see the ability to pose for money and this is often seen in models, actors, and people who have to be theatrical in order to get something for themselves. Depending on the dignity of its ruler, this is the second house position that speaks of strong confidence when it comes to material issues, but it can also make a person vulnerable to other people’s opinions when it comes to their own value. With a close correlation to one’s ego, this is a tricky place for the second house, for the outcome of every situation links not only to self-worth, but also to self-respect. This can be challenging if a person isn’t brave or strong enough to face all obstacles that could manifest through other people and the society. 3rd - Virgo If the third house is set in Virgo, this is a strange position that is as often weakening as much as it is empowering. While the sign of Virgo exalts Mercury and speaks of intelligence and incredible mental abilities and clarity, it is also a point of practical issues, matters of physiology and routine, and health issues that don’t need to be discussed as much as they like to. In many cases, people born with this position get burdened with their health, turn to the role of a victim, and some even end up in a state of mild or severe hypochondria, simply because they lack emotional satisfaction and search for faults in everything, especially in themselves. They have to develop strong faith and always leave room for love, inspiration and creativity, without digging for rational explanations for every single thing throughout their lifetime. 4th - Libra If the fourth is set in Libra, we see someone who carries a strong basis of their parents’ relationship in their deepest core. Since the fourth house represents our home, we instantly understand that this is a person whose home was balanced and seemingly happy, but the main problem of Libra is the inconsistency of the image shown to the outside world and the true joy hidden behind it. This can be someone taught throughout their upbringing to always compare themselves to other people, and feel to be superior or inferior depending on their success in life. The good thing here often comes from the fact that one of the parents was calm and tactful, able to teach responsibility and basic manners that a person will be able to use to make progress in various fields of life. In case of a good positioning of Venus and the Moon, this is a fourth house that gives one the image of what their own marriage will be like, as well as the ability to sink into closest of relationships without fear or holding back. 5th - Scorpio The fifth house set in the sign of Scorpio speaks of the love for deep emotional challenges. To understand someone who carries this position in their natal chart, we have to understand the necessity of change, pain, addiction, fear, and ultimately death. While the sign of Scorpio speaks of some pretty dark issues, it is also incredibly sensitive, emotional, deep and mystical, almost always speaking of talents that are supposed to be used, and strong past life experiences that have to be resolved. This is someone who loves their ancestors, even those that weren’t loved by the rest of the family. As a strong magnetic pull, the fifth house in Scorpio will ask to be manifested in strangest of ways, but on an everyday level mostly through constructive change. This is someone who cannot settle or be happy with little things in life. Grandiose and strangely addicted to the idea of happiness, they will often be unhappy simply because of their inability to instantly reach absolute peace. 6th - Sagittarius The sixth house in Sagittarius is in its basis a protective force for someone’s health. This is a position held by people with large pets, big goals, and dreams that can be brought down to Earth by a simple set of convictions. The entire organization of life mostly depends on a person’s focus and the ability to find the right calling and the right direction. For as long as things done have a strong purpose, health will be strong, as well as all that happens in their daily routine. Although this position can lead to weight issues, it won’t present a permanent problem or lead to chronic conditions for as long as there is something to look forward to tomorrow. The main problem with Jupiter is the uncontrolled growth of things, and this can manifest through large cists, benign changes, and pressing internal problems that sometimes have to be resolved by drastic measures. 7th - Capricorn Even though the seventh house in Capricorn often speaks of restrictions and characters that are hard to combine with one’s core personality, it gives a certain sense of responsibility and patience towards other people. With enough rest and solitude, this is someone who can predict other people’s behavior and approach them in a way that makes everyone feel protected and safe. The main challenge here is in breaking all walls around the heart of the chart’s owner and people in their life. Every hurt will reflect in the inability to form a close relationship, and memories tend to distract a person from building a future they wish for. If there is guilt involved and they think they have made too many mistakes, these individuals could even give up on love, thinking they don’t deserve it or they are unworthy of those who’d make them truly happy. Each lesson learned here has to be deep and complete, while one has to always make progress overcoming the static need to stand in one place, tied to those who don’t make them smile. 8th - Aquarius We are all aware of positive sides to the sign of Aquarius, especially those of us who love Astrology or commit out existence to it. People with their eighth house set in Aquarius tend to see only negative sides to this sign, and can’t handle the stress, changes, the movement of civilization, and fast conversations that don’t seem to have their grounding. This position speaks of the inability to open up for progress and new things, and even though the value of memories is incredibly important, letting them go can be even more satisfying for someone with this setting. Once they realize the value of solitude and freedom, there won’t be so many unrealistic expectations from other people, and mental pressure they create for themselves will slowly fade. Friendships have to be nurtured but also allowed to change, grow and bring all the challenges of interpersonal relationships with them.** 9th - Pisces** If someone’s ninth house is set in the sign of Pisces, there is definitely a mission they should follow in this lifetime. In case they haven’t found their right calling, these people will be dreamers, prone to stressful experiences that could have been avoided if they gave everyone in their life enough freedom. They cannot be tied down and shouldn’t ever try to bond too strongly to other people. When they give freedom they will get freedom to grow and find their right direction in life before they start feeling like its whole meaning is lost. The sign of Pisces creates magic, but also rules all poisonous and unexplored areas of life. This will lead to education in chemistry, pharmacy, psychology or sailing. For as long as these individuals are not asleep but wide awake and pursuing their passion, they will have a chance to truly leave a mark in this world. 10th - Aries If the tenth house is set in the sign of Aries, there is a natural need of a person to focus their energy on career goals and the material future they can build. This is the position connected to innovators and those who started something new, becoming widely known because of their initiative and their ability to lead the way. On the other hand, this is a signal that some anger, neurosis or hurt was linked to the beginning of the pregnancy that brought us to this world. This can lead to the tendency to manifest masochism, thinking of ourselves as unworthy or unfit to achieve something great, mostly triggered by the relationships Mars has with Venus and Saturn. To reach the point of personal and professional fulfillment, these individuals have to be brave enough to aim high, and start something new when the time is right.** 11th - Taurus **The eleventh house in Taurus speaks of the importance of social life for a person’s material satisfaction. This doesn’t mean their relationships with friends have anything to do with money, although they easily could, but rather that the satisfactions of the Earth are recognized through them. They will learn about their senses through social contacts and often have many stable, loving and tender relationships that last a lifetime. This is a typical position for individuals who truly know how to nurture people they love, without unrealistic expectations, holding on to practical values and morals. There are no false pretenses here, for they wouldn’t last, and natural approach is the one that is easiest to incorporate into their life. Their deep desire for love, peace and emotional stability is so strong that it often doesn’t allow them to change in a proper time or the right way. If they remain flexible, this is a promise of joy and financial security at old age.

** 12th - Gemini **The twelfth house in Gemini isn’t very easy because of its Piscean nature and everything it has to do with emotion as an entity entirely apart from rational thought. Speech can be impaired, while those with lower self-esteem easily turn to gossip and matters that aren’t theirs to discuss to begin with. This is also a position that could give a wonderful talent for languages, words and writing. It is a shame to use it on other people and spend too much time thinking of their business, abilities and weaknesses. Those born with the twelfth house in Gemini must have ended their past life with a vast desire to speak their mind, share their inner truth, and express their personality in some way. Ties that get created here will manifest through strange friendships and their relationships with children, but most of the time, they will manifest through difficulties in their mind they cannot fully explain.

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Asc Leo

1st - Leo With your first house set in the sign of Leo, there is always an ego battle that has to be recognized. This is a fiery sign that gives these people bravery and the ability to show themselves in the best possible light in the most challenging of situations. They are turned to themselves, with a strong physique but little ambition to spend too much time working. Warm and cuddly, those born with the rising sign of Leo can be incredibly “soft around the edges”, with large, round ears, handsome, and dressed in new and branded clothes. Their greatest challenge is to set free of the image they create out of vanity. They need to recognize their individuality and feel free to stand out, be different, become a rebel and think about the wellbeing of humankind. Their ruler is the King of the skies – the Sun. ** 2nd - Virgo** If the second house begins in the sign of Virgo, it is safe to presume that this is someone who has a thing or two to learn about satisfaction. This is a sign that brings Venus to its fall, and since Venus is a natural ruler for maters of the second house, we can see that the challenge here is to actually value one’s actions and successes, instead of searching for faults in everything they do. In case when strong Mercury colors this position, we can see someone rational and capable to fix anything that comes their way. However, it is still rare to find a person with this setting who is actually satisfied with what they own. Money comes from hard work, dedication, and attention to detail, and this is carried by someone who will rarely gain anything quickly or earn something they didn’t well deserve.** 3rd - Libra** When the third house is set in the sign of Libra, we can see someone who thinks and speaks of other people way too often. As much as this position can be good for one’s love life, speaking of childhood sweethearts, handsome neighbors, and the ability to see “the other side of each story”, it is also a challenge to turn to their own inner core unless they are properly built through their upbringing. This is someone who has to have a strong personality, always aware of their own judgment and attitudes, before talking to anyone else about them. Once they learn to incorporate their own opinions into the society, they become great thinkers and orators, with the ability to touch others and raise their confidence, awareness and clarity. If they become too judgmental, it is usually time for them to make an inner change and build a more satisfying personal life.

4th - Scorpio With the fourth house in Scorpio, we can see the strongest ties to family that often aren’t healthy or emotionally supportive. Scorpio is a sign that brings the Moon to its fall, and as such isn’t in the best relationship to matters of family, parenting, upbringing and closeness. The challenge of this position hides in the darkest, deepest emotions, ones we all try to dismiss, demean and avoid. A person with this fourth house position has to find a way to forgive, forget, and turn to the future instead of staying tied to the past, or to negative emotions that have to be let go. This is one of the strongest and most challenging positions we can have in our chart, and speaks of the search for true unconditional love one must find within in order to be truly happy. Once they find a constant reason to smile, these people become the root of strongest emotional connections imaginable. Until then, they are easily manipulated, held too close to home and dissatisfied, while unaware of the reason for their negative feelings. 5th - Sagittarius When the fifth house is set in Sagittarius, we see that a person has a great love for philosophy, travel, teaching, and education. In most cases, this is a good sign that will allow one to develop and stay open for wide teachings and all sorts of perspectives changed on their path to happiness. Childish and enthusiastic, there is hardly anything that can hold these individuals back once they find their true calling and realize what their main direction in life should be. Love and creativity are a blessing here, and this is someone who understands this part of life genuinely and deeply, while often expecting miracles from their loved ones. They need to keep their feet on the ground so they can manage to find connection to planet Earth, bring their philosophy to life, and truly follow their mission and their hearts. 6th - Capricorn With the sixth house in Capricorn, rest and a repetitive routine are the only things that can help one regain energy and feel confident and strong. Career seems to be dependent on outer circumstances, authorities that are hard to accept, and this is extremely challenging if the Sun has any sort of trouble with Uranus, Aquarius, or the eleventh house ruler. Capricorn will make this person take too much or too little responsibility, bringing matters of competence and abilities to focus, even though strength and endurance are usually not a problem. What a person always lacks with this position is rest, and the problem gets really serious if one starts to search for substitutes for it instead of actually establishing a healthy sleeping routine. More often than not, these individuals need more sleep than standard norms would state, and time needs to be made for peace and serenity in order for the body to properly function. 7th - Aquarius Aquarius is a sign that speaks of divorce and separation, as well as all oppositions that are combined in perfect harmony in nature around us. When the system is balanced and a person has an equal perception of their Self and others, this is a liberating sign that will bring a lot of excitement, joy, and constant surprises, while emotions tend to spark every now and then, creating fireworks in their love life. Still, Aquarius comes after Capricorn and its basis is cold and generic, while the mental nature of Aquarius doesn’t help emotional closeness. This is much less a challenge of honesty towards others, but rather a challenge of honesty towards oneself. We need to understand that partners show as unstable simply because of this person’s inner need to reflect in people who are different and on the move. Closeness has to come from the deepest core of the heart, and with a strongly set Moon, this is the seventh house that fills everyone around this person with excitement and beauty. 8th - Pisces When the eighth house begins in the sign of Pisces, dreamland is the most distant place for a person. This can mean either that they are too rational in their everyday circumstances to give value to their dreams, or that all their efforts to materialize their desires fail. Fear of failure and betrayal is strong with this setting, and they will be strongly judgmental and opinionated on lies coming from other people. It is typical for these individuals to breakup some relationships due to mistrust or disappointment, as their faith fades and even stronger fears kick in. They have to take good care of their boundaries and keep their membrane to the outer world intact and nurtured. When they accept their mission and get in touch with their real talents, all things around them will fall into place and they will reach the state of happiness and faith they wish for. 9th - Aries When the ninth house is in the sign of Aries, a person can be too passionate about their beliefs, not allowing others to express their system of convictions. Fighters for religion, ethical approach, college, or their own progress of any kind are seen here. In general, this is a strong position that finds energy in the future and draws a person towards positive change. However, any ties to the past will make their dreamland vivid and blur the direction they are supposed to follow. Once they feel they are on the right path, with a mission to accomplish and deep beliefs leading forward, these are the exact people who will learn about boundaries, conflict, and fiercely achieve any goal they set out to reach. They tend to find purpose only in things they are truly passionate about and wither in any circumstances that don’t invigorate them and make them feel alive. They need their talents put to use and the fire in their stomach constantly burning in order to live a long, creative and healthy existence. 10th - Taurus With the tenth house in Taurus, a person’s goal in life seems to be physical, sensual satisfaction. The position of Venus will tell us of the area of life this applies to, but it will always be connected to the search for sexual pleasure and the right, healthy routine. These people have to eat what they want to, make as much money as they want to, and enjoy themselves as much as they want to. Although this position primarily leads to a career in financial waters and banking, it will always be a simple sign that the love of one’s job has to be strong in order for the job to get done. All of the energy these individuals focus on activities that don’t make them happy, tend to take too much of their energy, making them tired and seemingly lazy. No matter if their calling is art, cooking, or finances, they have to find joy in it so the inertia of love will drive ambition to actually pull them anywhere from a standing point. **11th - Gemini **With the eleventh house in Gemini, we see someone who wishes to communicate has something to express and always finds several persons to listen. Friendships are fast, exciting and adventurous. There is always a lot to discuss and think about, while brainstorming is the most satisfying activity in their social encounters. On the downside, they can become too superficial out of their need to remain free of solid bonds, and while they would want to have enlightening encounters, they become less satisfying as they shut off their emotional side. The important thing to remember with this position is the importance of self-expression and our brothers and sisters, no matter if we have any from the same parents, or we have cosmic ones in our surroundings. For as long as ambition doesn’t make these individuals too static and committed to work, they should find the time to enjoy the benefits of this airy eleventh house.

** 12th - Cancer **With the twelfth house in the sign of Cancer, you can see a family secret instantly, as well as the tendency to idealize one or both of the parents. This is a burden of an entire family tree and a mark that debts were left in spheres of the emotional and the fragile within. Strange matters are hiding in the twelfth house and when Cancer is here, you can see these strange matters in one’s home and intimate relationships. Depending on a very personal position of the Moon, we will see how well incorporated this can be in their everyday life and if disappointment is their family story or not. The emphasis on sensitive emotion is also seen here, and we will come to find that the twelfth house cusp in any Water sign gives one the ability to feel what others feel, often being unable to recognize where one person ends and their emotional body begins.

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Asc Virgo

1st - Virgo If your ascendant fell in the sign of Virgo, this could easily be a signal that you were born to help others. Even though this is the sign in which Mercury is exalted, it doesn’t give much strength to one’s physical constitution and speaks of all sorts of health issues that might surface. It is a sign that shows a fine physique, someone who looks like a library type, with glasses, thin hear and a strong belief system when it comes to all matters of healing. On the plus side, it will speak of intelligence and mental clarity. The biggest challenge of these individuals is to see the bigger picture, separate from dull details and have some faith in the greater order of things. This leads to their problems with trust and makes them vulnerable to all sorts of deception. Their ruler is Mercury. 2nd - Libra When the second house is set in the sign of Libra, this gives an individual a sense of self-worth through relationships with other people. In a way, this can be problematic and lead to envy and all sorts of assessments that the Soul is not ready for, while at the same time providing one with a lot of material blessings through partnerships or a chosen spouse. In a poorly set position, this can make a person see their partner thought their possessions, vain and turned to belongings of other people. Luckily, this is not very often, but it is still challenging to value oneself with all the influences they get from the outer world. This is a predisposition to make money working with other people, in a team or through relationships, partnerships, law, or the chase for justice. 3rd - Scorpio When the third house starts in Scorpio, it is never easily handled. This is a strong, deep mind, often enriched with a sense for dark humor, and thoughts and words that are difficult to remain pure and free of dissatisfaction. This position is a strong one for science, research, and occult matters, but brings challenges in areas of the heart and emotional contacts with the closest people. Darkness of Scorpio is best seen through one’s mind and a person needs deep emotional clarity and enough laughter and easiness in life to accept it with grace and beauty. The best practice for such strong personalities is to imagine beauty daily and choose a creative line of work. If they manage to recognize the good in all things, it will clear up the fog and help them discover incredible treasures within. 4th - Sagittarius With the fourth house in Sagittarius, it is not exactly easy to feel at home, wherever one tries to settle. This is one of predicaments leading to a life abroad, often because there was distance and space in their upbringing that makes it impossible to incorporate their beliefs into the country they were born in. Satisfaction is found through education and traveling, and a person with the fourth house here has to remain true to moral and emotional imperatives in order to be happy. This is almost always a beneficent, strong starting position, with enough wealth and width to support one’s emotional growth. However, it can detach their heart from true emotional satisfaction and turn them to philosophical and mental issues instead of giving them the ability to find their place. Whatever the case, this is a strong guiding point to discover the entire world is our home, not just the couch we choose to sit on. 5th - Capricorn When the fifth house is in the sign of Capricorn, the difficulties of fear, panic, spasm, and an obvious lack of rest, seem to reside here. It is never easy to have the fifth house here, as it drains a lot of energy from an individual and speaks of the inability to enjoy, have fun, and share carefree and light activities with other people. These individuals are strict towards themselves and others, especially their children, and plan too much while forgetting that spontaneity is the key to true happiness. Great joy can be found in archaeological, spiritual, or historical issues, and their life path should definitely be evolving around matters of time, serious commitments and responsibility. The best cure for any chronic condition they develop in life lies in rest, meditation, and the building of a strong connection with God, however they might recognize God in this lifetime. 6th - Aquarius When the sign of Aquarius is at the sixth house cusp, it is always a signal that a routine found in the primary family isn’t healthy or supporting for the physiology of the person. Changes are necessary and fast food, light sleep, and mental preoccupation won’t help the stress or problems with nerves. With a strong foundation and a lot of physical exercise, this is a position that allows one to get in touch with the infinite intelligence of their body, making it easy for a person to ground ideas through a simple train of thought and this is when materialization becomes incredibly easy. With enough jobs changed, these individuals usually find their group of people, their cosmic brothers and sisters, only to end up in circumstances stranger than imaginable to any of their ancestors. If they remain open for change and find acceptance for all circumstances with as little stress as possible, they can become true innovators, able to ground any idea that comes to their mind. 7th - Pisces When the seventh house begins in Pisces, matters of trust are of outmost importance for any healthy relationships a person might have. Beliefs will create destiny, while there is often some sort of mission one has to fulfill in order to find satisfaction and happiness. In many cases this is a position that speaks of betrayal and strange partners, intimate bonds with people who are talented and artistic but also unstable, lost, far away, psychologically challenged or turned to substance abuse of some kind. Dependencies are almost inevitable here until one learns about ways to believe in their own abilities and believe in others in the right way and with clearly set boundaries. There is a lot of emotion and romance here and for as long as the minds of these individuals don’t meddle in matters of the heart they will advance towards more and more fulfilling relationships through life. There is magic to this position and the greatest potential for a fairytale ending is hidden here, if only there is enough faith and devotion to reach this destination. 8th - Aries With the eighth house in Aries the main challenge of life is to accept the constructive force of anger and conflict. If Mars isn’t extremely well positioned, this speaks of one’s tendency to waste their energy on irrelevant issues, these seen primarily through challenging aspects of Mars. Change will come pretty much naturally, but with a lot of fire and fuss and never easy. Instinct needs to be nurtured and most often this is the position of those born with an ascendant in Virgo, meaning they tend to overthink things and shove their instincts and gut feelings aside. The most damaging thing a person can do with this setting is to approach life reasonably instead of instinctively. This is also a setting that accents the fact that all problems with young men full of energy, leadership, police, or army, have to be mended and brought to a level of emotional acceptance and understanding. 9th - Taurus If the ninth house is set in Taurus, the purpose of a person’s life is always found somewhere in the material world. Experience needs to be built in the real world, through financial and physical matters, and this is the exact reason why these individuals turn to education in fields of finance, agriculture, cooking, or real estate. For as long as they don’t lack initiative and primal energy, they can truly be fantastic in practical issues, but also tend to close up for new experiences if they get hurt or disappointed. This is a tricky position for as much as the beneficent sign of Taurus can be mellow it can also be lazy, static, or stiff to accept change and the beauty of constant movement. There is a special joy these people find in tradition if their Venus is beneficently set, and they will strive to reach family values and practical pleasures as much as they can in this lifetime. 10th - Gemini If the tenth house is set in Gemini, we can instantly presume that a person likes to talk and be seen talking. Just as the seventh house Gemini likes to share their opinions with the world, this is someone who not only shares, but also lets information define them in the society. This position often leads to strange circumstances in which gossip, nicknames, and empty stories surround one, until they find the right words to show their true selves. People with the tenth house in Gemini have to learn to be carefree and deep at the same time, quick enough to take action and human enough to make mistakes. If they build up a beautiful image of their personality within, they will have no trouble manifesting it on the outside, creating incredible social contacts and opportunities for everyone around them. **11th - Cancer If the eleventh house begins in Cancer, everyone in this person’s family will feel like friends. This is a strange position as the eleventh house should be there to free us from our emotional ties, but this is not the case here. These individuals have strong feelings for those they socialize with, have heightened senses around other people and treat others with empathy. However rational they might seem to be, there is something warm in their approach. The desire of the eleventh house in Cancer is in emotional awareness, acceptance and peace. In order to find it, they will have to embrace their emotional depths, however flawed they might seem. The truth is they deserve a calm, serene place in their hearts and minds, but their genetic inheritance stands in the way too often. If they haven’t been told they are beautiful, smart and special often enough when they were children, they should make self-affirmation a regular part of their daily routine. 12th - Leo **When the twelfth house begins in Leo, the personality itself seems to be strange, sensitive, and unknown. These individuals will have to learn about their power and their inner truth, while they remain in the blurry waters hidden from plain sight. This is often a signal that previous life carried a story of success, and image that was maintained and remained important to the person until they died. It can be extremely rewarding if unconscious memories of it are pleasant and bring confidence and peace. However, if there was any dishonesty in their approach once upon a time, this will be the life to rectify it, accept the flaws in others, those we don’t want to see and don’t want to show, and find brothers and sisters in crime finally set free from self-criticism. Since the clear image of one’s Self is blurry, overall good of the mankind will be important to these people, as well as humanitarian efforts they often turn to at some point in their lives.

** **

Asc Libra

1st - Libra If your first house cusp is set in the sign of Libra, it is like your whole horoscope is turned upside down. While one should be able to drain the energy out of Self, people born with this Ascendant have to find it in people they are surrounded with, always in search for balance, and finding ways to mend relationships to the point in which the don’t trigger exhaustion. This will create a person that needs to be well-dressed and well-behaved at all times, often failing to turn to physical activities and personal boundaries in relation to others. The greatest challenge a Libra first house has to overcome is the acceptance of anger and constructive conflict. They are represented by Venus.

** 2nd - Scorpio** If the second house has a cusp in the sign of Scorpio, this speaks of finances left to us by our ancestors. Depending on our genetic predispositions, this can be a blessing or a curse, since it greatly depends on those that were here before we came to this world. It might seem like we have little influence on our own wellbeing when this setting takes over. In order to find joy in the material world, this is a position that challenges a person to find it in change and accept that the energy has to flow and circle at all times. In the practical sense, this means that one has to give in order to receive and there will never come a reward without it being earned through all sorts of deeds, life choices and ancestry. This is also a position that can speak of a debt that has to be repaid, and isn’t always easy to comprehend or enjoy. 3rd - Sagittarius With the third house in Sagittarius, we instantly see someone who talks a lot. This is a position for philosophical thinkers and people of wide perspectives, opinions that always shift to more positive views, and the ability to use their beliefs in the scope of their practical existence. It can also speak of solutions that always seem distant, in case lack of direction in life is accented and one has no knowledge on their own true path and destination. In a positive setting, these people are optimists, travelers and teachers, blessed by a giving nature and a mind that is always ready to learn. In a negative one, they get lost, talk excessively, while thinking and talking rather than actually acting in their own best interest. Scattered opinions and expressions will easily take over when they are tired and lost in their path through life. 4th - Capricorn There is no reason to make it prettier than it is – the fourth house in Capricorn is never easy. In the best possible scenario, this is a position that gives one the ultimate faith in the Universe, and a strong connection to God. With a deeply seeded need to take responsibility, this is an individual who often takes too much of it, usually grabbing some for every mistake made by their parents. This is a typical position that gives one the sense of guilt for wrongness they suffered at home, and creates a lot of pressure and coldness in one’s emotional world. Dissatisfaction and the strict regime at their primal home can give a strong foundation for the tenderness and love in the family they create, and this is the most beneficent use of such a position, however hard or challenging it might get. 5th - Aquarius The fifth house cusp in Aquarius speaks of strange priorities and people who dare to dream big. Aquarius is a sign of innovations, higher communications, and the network we are all unconsciously wired to, so this is often a signal that someone has a strong impulse to create something extraordinary, different, new, and incredible, if they only find a way to express their true inner personality. Love has to be real in order to last, or it will just be a series of failures, casual flings, and relationships that burst into flames as soon as some time goes by. With so much change, it is not easy to hold on to clear priorities, but friends will help greatly and the love for the divine will definitely pull the person out of any trouble ahead. This is a position for gamblers, good and bad, depending on planetary positions, and speaks of the ability to test luck with bravery and a “silly” but obviously productive attitude that everything will be alright in the end. 6th - Pisces With the sixth house in Pisces, there is something shady about the approach to a healthy lifestyle. Energy can get really low and reality can start seeming faded and lost, as if it was impossible to keep both feet on the ground however hard one might try. This is a position that speaks of psychosomatic problems and as such, always gives one the talent and the ability to heal, others as well as themselves. However, reaching the point in which the secrets beyond the sign of Pisces are entangled can be difficult, and unless a person already has a strong basis for medical or humanitarian work, it won’t always be easy to find a path that leads in the right direction. Faith and reality will intertwine, and one has to have infinite wisdom and patience, always ready to follow what seems like their mission in order to remain vital and strong. 7th - Aries With the seventh house set in the sign of Aries, tact is not seen very often in close relationships. There is always something hidden in the culture of conflict that needs to be learned, and the most typical scenario speaks of one’s tendency to dismiss the benefits of conflict, avoiding it even though it would be constructive and useful. This will represent a challenge in creating clear boundaries and in any case of repression, it will speak of anger and aggression linked to intimate bonds. In a very positive setting, this is a position that points to resourcefulness and vigor of a partner, and a strong attraction filled with rich sexual experiences in marriage and serious relationships that a person has. As soon as constructive conflict is accepted and strong boundaries set towards those who endanger one’s wellbeing, this becomes an energizing seventh house that gives strength and makes us feel alive. 8th - Taurus Taurus is a sign that celebrates life while the eighth house is the one to destroy it. One of the greatest oppositions of the zodiac is seen in this position and change will come as this slow, difficult interference with life that simply has to break at some point. There is something too different from what one’s primal nature would desire in this position, and to mend differences between personal and the collective might come as extremely hard for this person. Joy is found in bizarre choices, and changes are truly hard to accept. Transformation is slow and has to be enjoyed or it won’t happen at all. This leads to all sorts of problems in letting go of people, circumstances, career ventures and even physical waste. These are the people that have to throw used and broken things into trash and don’t want the energy of broken material treasures tainting their emotional world. 9th - Gemini The ninth house in Gemini leads to growth through communication. These individuals will learn new things quickly and with passion, while at the same time having trouble holding on to large chunks of knowledge or finding synthesis for everything they’ve learned. To mend the troubles found in overthinking, they need to also learn to stay concise and focused on one point at a time. If they have too many goals at once, they will rarely manage to reach any of them, and the most important thing the ninth house in Gemini has to teach, is how one should think and use their words. If they find true emotional intimacy, it will usually give them a strong basis to improve their approach and help them thrive in fields of oratory skills, public exposure, trade, and information technology. 10th - Cancer When the tenth house is in Cancer, we see that roles have been reversed, and the family this person wants to create resembles greatly of the family they came from. Emotional and professional are intertwined here, so it is quite typical for them to continue running a family business, or turn their lives towards children and the image of a perfect family. Many housewives will have this setting in their natal chart, but also those who feel at home when they are at work, sleep in the office, or start a new business venture with their parent. In the equal house system, Cancer on the tenth house cusp means that the ascendant is in the sign of Libra, the sign of Saturn’s exaltation. When we connect the dots we will see that these individuals have a task to learn something about compassion, forgiveness and love in this lifetime, even though a chase for a meaningful career might seem like their priority at first. However much they respect tradition, they should always hold on to their individuality and act on emotions to reach their destination. **11th - Leo **With the eleventh house in Leo, the image of friendships easily becomes more important than actual friends. On one hand, this is obviously a very important issue in a person’s life, and on the other, they tend to socialize only with people who make them look good. Self-recognition comes through other people and it can be difficult to steer clear of control and people who impose their will and show disrespect. The key to creating healthy relationships with this position is to put everyone’s individuality to focus. This doesn’t mean one should neglect their own inner being, but rather that each relationship formed should have a deep personal understanding and respect. Once they realize how each of their friends or siblings is special, without becoming envious or strangely tied to them as if they should become someone else, they will start to surround themselves by honest people with warm hearts. Desired respect can be hard to reach if they don’t have enough respect for themselves.

** 12th - Virgo **If the twelfth house is in Virgo, we can almost imagine the mechanism in a person’s mind making them seem stupid when they want to show how smart they are, and incredibly intelligent at the most unpredictable situations. They will rely on their brains while practical matters will keep some of their mystery at all times. Ties created here will have to do with old, used things, those that can or cannot be fixed. That halfway principle of Virgo can be quite difficult when we speak of someone’s twelfth house, for dreams tend to get crushed by reality, sensitivity by common sense, and vice versa. If a person with the twelfth house in Virgo wants to find happiness, they have to realize where their true talent lies, so they can use it and share it with the world. Very often their talents will be found in writing, detailed analysis or communication with the strangest of beings here on planet Earth.

** **

Asc Scorpio

1st - Scorpio To be born with an Ascendant in the sign of Scorpio, one has to have incredible connection to the material world. This is someone strong, fixed and determined, buy also deeply sensitive and emotional, however hard these individuals might try to resist this fact. This is a sign of dark makeup, people with strong, dark hair, large noses, and fierce attitude always sparkling from their deep eyes. Even if they are born blond, the look in their eyes will always show the power within, as if they had to overcome death even before they were born. The big challenge here is to accept the beauty of constant satisfaction, feel gratitude and forgive those who brought hurt or pain into their lives. Blame, possessive and obsessive behavior are just some of the signs that they have trouble realizing what keeps them healthy and alive. They are ruled by Mars and Pluto. 2nd - Sagittarius If the second house found its cusp in the sign of Sagittarius, it is hard to hold on to money or stick to beaten trails to earn it. Even though this is obviously someone who can profit from teaching, philosophy, or travel, the quantity earned won’t be easily contained and will be spent quickly. Although there is always a lot of luck where beneficent Sagittarius is, there are many unrealistic approaches and a tendency to overdo whatever the symbolism of the house involved. This is exactly why these people tend to eat too much, spend too much, as well as earn too much, or be in any way unrealistic about their own worth and the value of the things they do and their accomplishments. For as long as there is enough depth and common sense in their approach, here lies the seed for true satisfaction and earthly happiness. 3rd - Capricorn With the third house starting in Capricorn, we can see a pretty tough individual. Although Capricorn is the sign of depth and rational choices as well as practical use of all things in life, it is also a sign of karma, damaged things, mistakes and coldness of heart. To keep your third house in Capricorn balance, you cannot detach from your emotional core. Compassion followed by rest is the key to any challenge of this house, especially in cases where a sibling has constant, chronic problems, no matter if they are material, physical, or any other kind. At the same time, strong boundaries and the need for rest are accented, and one can easily give in to stress and discover that as soon as they’ve had enough sleep, their mind clears up and the future seems much brighter, or at least acceptable. If they learn to not take life too seriously, they can be incredible in-depth, practical mentors and a real inspiration for everyone around them. 4th - Aquarius With the fourth house in Aquarius, a person always seems to be in search for consistency. This is a signal there was a lot of moving and changes at a young age, or points out the importance of the divorce parents went through while they were still in the phase of emotional recognition with their child. The greatest satisfaction here is found through personal freedom, and it is not always easy to incorporate it in one’s relationships, dominant roles of their partners, managers, superiors of any kind, or any society they are trying to fit into. Emotional independence and clarity are unimaginably important, and without them, there is no basis for personal happiness and satisfaction. Keep in mind that this is someone who needs to find something constant and satisfying in changes, riots, ego battles, and their own differences, while the state of inner peace is reached through the most unusual methods. 5th - Pisces With the fifth house beginning in Pisces, a person definitely has a talent that needs to be discovered and used. Whatever they find love for will become their source of inspiration, and even though the sign of Pisces is mutable and not very stable as such, this is always a pointer to great love, one we’ve met in our past lives. Deeply seeded fears can damage a person with this setting, for their aura needs to be strong, their confidence intact and their love for themselves grand. In every other case, this can lead to all sorts of deceptions and disappointment, in the worst scenario turning them to the use of mind altering substances and self-destructive behavior. This is someone who should never lose faith in love, beauty and the goodness of mankind, if they want to find true happiness. 6th - Aries When the sixth house starts in the sign of Aries, we see someone whose energy is closely linked to their working routine. This is a position that puts an accent on one’s need to practice, start something new, exercise daily, and usually speaks of the energy rise that is triggered by changes to one’s routine. The sign of Aries gives initiative, and it is often “too modest” when related to the sixth house, giving a person the ability to work very hard, but stealing their ability to find joy in their achievements, always pushing forwards without stopping to see if they got something in return. The main problem of this position hides in Venus, wherever it might be located, for Aries is its detriment, and the sixth house represents its accidental fall. The important thing in this situation is to find personal value and avoid pro bono activities that other people might expect as a given. 7th - Taurus With the seventh house in Taurus, there is always a challenge of two sides of Venus in the field of relationships. Taurus is a sign of practical values and grounded, earthly beauty, sometimes too simple for “blue-blooded” individuals turned to fine, sensitive, outer beauty. The seventh house is corresponding to the sign of Libra, and as such speaks of outer beauty, makeup, pose and vanity in its challenges. When these two extremes coincide, envy will easily come to the surface and matters of balance will be emphasized, once again. Relationships can become vain and judgmental, typical for those who weren’t told often enough how pretty they are in all their glory. It is of outmost importance for outer and inner beauty to connect in one whole, so that all relationships in a person’s life can become truly enjoyable and filled with sensual physical contact and intimacy, which are provided by Taurus when matters of Venus are settled. 8th - Gemini With the eighth house in Gemini, changes always move through one’s mental plain and superficial approach is almost impossible to accept. This is a typical position for those born with their ascendant in Scorpio, and we will see that they have real trouble accepting anything carefree that lacks depth and deep instinct in its core. Individuals with their eighth house in Gemini will steer clear of small talk, often not realizing how necessary and helpful it can be. Dismissal of brotherly love or love with a sibling is almost always present, so it needs to be found in their heart and accepted for better or worse. Changes in life will be strangely casual when they are big and usually approached to with ease and vigor. This is the position that allows love of change and these dreamers will search for happiness in strangest of places. 9th - Cancer With the ninth house in Cancer, there is always a simple striving held in a person’s path – to find peace. This is not an easy mission for someone with their mind standing in the way, for our human nature often doesn’t allow enough silence and peace to reach that much needed state of clarity and peace. A strong purpose is always in connection with family issues that have to be resolved or gained through their own ability to form calm relationships with their partner and children. Very often, this position will point to the possibility of life abroad, in case it is confirmed with at least two more significations in the chart. Their greatest teachers are found in their own heart and they will come to see that only people they love can actually teach them anything at all. This will lead to some hurtful emotional experiences for the purpose of each feeling they have might be to teach, rather than last or provide them with that much needed peace.** 10th - Leo** With the tenth house in Leo, you get a typical manager. Even if this person isn’t talented to govern people and their Sun is weak, they will still try to show off and present themselves as dominant, strong, big, or as if they are the ones who rule. All beneficent positions that follow this one only improve one’s energetic state and provide the confidence to materialize goals. To come to any leading position with the tenth house in Leo, these individuals often have their family standing in the way. Either their parents will support them and give them all they need to lead, or they will burden them with difficult genetic debts that need to be repaid in order to blossom. Whatever the case, this position has a strong gravitational pull that won’t allow much weakness, let alone the feeling of powerlessness or the loss of colors in life. **11th - Virgo **When the eleventh house is set in the sign of Virgo, there is often something wrong with friends this person finds. While in the best possible light this could show friends who are healers, truly intelligent and incredibly dedicated to their cause, in most cases it also speaks of betrayal of some kind and people who aren’t adequate to fulfill a person’s needs. There is always a question of what is truly deserved here, and it is typical for them to consider themselves unworthy of honest social contacts who as similar to them as they should be. Usually, a lot of time will pass before they realize who they need to be around with, and this comes with age and experience if they don’t close their heart entirely because of several bad wounds. The greatest wish for those born with their eleventh house in Virgo is to be grounded, practical and caring. Lucky for them, this can be reached through inspiring relationships, healthy routine and everyday simplicities of life.

**12th - Libra **With the twelfth house in Libra it seems inevitable to lie or be lied to, and usually both. Still, if we put this aside, we can see the magical story of Libra in this mysterious house and realize that someone we once left behind is there for us to find them again in this life. Things that were lost in our twelfth house have a tendency to show themselves someday. This goes specifically for great loves, and with strongly set Venus, even greater loving relationships. If Venus is not that strong in this kind of horoscope, the obvious debt has to be repaid through emotional sacrifice of some kind. In most cases, this will develop through a romantic relationship in which the trust has been broken, finally liberating the person from unrealistic expectations. This is always someone talented to recognize beauty, often artistic and with a knack for drawing or music. However, they have to be very careful not to disrespect people around them in any way so that their personality has room to grow.

Asc Sagittarius

1st - Sagittarius Those born with the Ascendant in Sagittarius often get to be physically larger than other people in their family tree. If not, their perspective gets to be wider, their convictions strong and their mind extremely important. Philosophers and teachers, these individuals have the ability to see the bigger picture, but often have trouble staying realistic, while fighting with their need to see the world through pink goggles. Always looking forward, they are usually fun and a pleasure to be with. The challenge they have to face hides in their irrational approach. They have a task to recognize smart, realistic and practical sides to each thing in their life. This is a sign ruled by beneficent Jupiter. 2nd - Capricorn If one’s horoscope carries the second house cusp in the sign of Capricorn, this is often seen as a cross of destiny that cannot be changed. The greatest problem here lies in the guilt carried deep in one’s soul that leads to unfortunate circumstances and mistakes made in the field of finances or their eating habits. This is not a position that will forgive much, especially if one is not ready to take on all of the responsibility for their life and their financial or material belongings. A lesson that needs to be learned in Capricorn is always learnt best through rest, and one cannot see just how much they are worth unless they are well-rested. For as long as they are in a constant spasm, stuck in their inability to feel responsible for their own wellbeing, they won’t be able to see the healthy routine they need in order to become satisfied with what they have. 3rd - Aquarius When the third house belongs to the sign of Aquarius, we instantly see an incredible mind filled with brilliant ideas and a rich social life. This is a rebel that never relies on advice of others, and falls into the field of problems if they start feeding their ego through endless advice they tend to give. The important thing to acknowledge here is that everyone is smart in their own way, and nobody needs any advice given unless they specifically asked for it. With liberal expression and a mind turned to alternative ways of reasoning, these people make good astrologers, innovators, and friends, for as long as they don’t give in to stress and take good care of their body and their physical state. Without a strong physique, one’s incredible mind simply has no grounding to bring its sparkling existence down to planet Earth in a satisfying way. 4th - Pisces It is often said that the fourth house in Pisces speaks of family secrets and shady ancestors that have done who-knows-what. However, this can sometimes simply speak of the lack of clarity of emotion one receives in their primary environment. It is the image of a parent who wasn’t there while at the same time idealized, giving the person a constant feeling of not-belonging, abandonment and distracting, changeable emotions. Being lost is the least of their concerns in the case they have had to face addiction problems in their closest family, or passive aggression accompanied by emotional blackmail, that remains well-hidden from them even when obvious to other people around them. Of all emotional extremes, this is one of the strongest and comes very close to the fourth house in Scorpio, as all ancestors can be blended together into a mush that is truly difficult to understand, making a person feel detached, lost, lonely, or even depressed. 5th - Aries It is always invigorating and satisfying to have the fifth house set in a Fire sign. In addition, Aries is a sign that exalts the Sun and in connection to this house it speaks of one’s strong life force, confidence and initiative in pursuit for happiness. With this position, joy is almost always found in physical exercise and demanding activities, challenges and competitions. This is someone who loves to win and feels good as soon as they find the time to commit to an energizing activity. The love for Self is the most important thing with this position, and if individuals born with it want to find happiness, they always have to search for it within, with no regard to the outer world and other people. Depending on the positioning of Mars, we will see if they have the energy to do so or if this is something that should be worked on and brought to perfection through solitary activities. 6th - Taurus With the sixth house beginning in Taurus, we see a primal challenge of food, meaning it is imperative to find a good routine in this lifetime, eat healthy while also enjoying what’s on the table in the best possible way. Even though Taurus is a lot different from Libra, its ruler is still Venus and speaks of balance that needs to be found, in the field of material issues such as food, money, and physical activity. This is someone who should never become lazy, and needs to stop bouncing to and fro, up and down, when it comes to activity, weight, spending, or emotion. Since the element of Earth is an unconscious category, it is not always easy to approach matters set here through an Earth sign, and a lot of self-control is needed in order to balance out all of these things. A good start always hides in a healthy diet and an hourly routine that satisfies the stomach and the heart equally. ** 7th - Gemini** If the seventh house is set in Gemini, there is obviously a lot to talk about in this lifetime. This is a person who sees communication as a key to any situation at hand. Closeness is reached through conversations, people are met at social gatherings, and the image of a talkative friend is often too accented. This can lead to detachment and one’s inability to create true intimate contact, especially if the Moon is not strong enough to handle the mental capacity of a person. It is always important to work on the emotional state when this is the case, for only deep emotion, forgiveness and childish joy can make this Gemini partner as happy and light as it is supposed to be. In many cases, this is a position that speaks of multiple marriages, often as a consequence of overthinking combined with strange mental spontaneity, while not in sync with one’s heart. 8th - Cancer With the eighth house in Cancer, it is almost impossible to control inner fears left as inheritance by our elders. This is a typical position for those whose mothers were afraid of pregnancy, maybe feeling lost and lonely in their state of mind. It is a caring position that makes these individuals more sensitive than they might seem, and it is never easy to accept this deep emotional nature that hides within. People born with their eighth house in Cancer tend to dismiss emotions, pretending they are not as important as their rational mind, and will surround themselves with those who support this theory. This is dangerous simply because it could lead to overall fast downgrade of the level of satisfaction they want to achieve. Forgiveness and acceptance, joined with compassion and sensitivity, save these strong-willed individuals from breakdown. 9th - Leo When the ninth house is set in the sign of Leo, we see that someone has to clarify the image of self apart from their family, upbringing and values taught at home. If they are too proud to accept that truth is relative to all people, they can become pushy and force their opinions and convictions on everyone around them. The key to a healthy existence here is often hidden in their chase for emotional satisfaction and the Moon will speak of their ability to forgive, move forward, and accept their feelings instead of trying too hard to remain in a rational mode. Awareness will grow as soon as they realize how vulnerable they actually are, face the fact that they are human and that their emotional core gives them much more benefits than weaknesses. They will learn from dominant figures, their boss and their father, but rarely have enough respect for the feminine side within to achieve their incredible full potential. 10th - Virgo When the tenth house is in the sign of Virgo, a person seems to be born with a need to fix their own goals. They will rarely aim high enough or chase positions they might have been made for, as if they turn to self-judgment too easy to make any professional progress at all. This is a position that speaks of all those who end up buried in paperwork, accountants and worker bees of any kind. They will work for others, loyal and dedicated to the preservation of their practical benefits. Just as their other Mercury related “colleagues” with the tenth house in Gemini are turned to oratory fulfillment, these individuals will often have the need to write. Spoken word will be much more distant than the written one and their talents will pull them to journalism and writing of any kind. **11th - Libra **The eleventh house likes to be in Libra for its communication issues are focused on important relationships making it easy to form social contacts. However, the sign of Libra itself doesn’t exactly enjoy this position leading to too many changes in their emotional life, as well as breakups or divorce if they haven’t chose a partner who is both their friend and their lover combined. The search for balance these people need becomes clear in their relationships, emotional, social or professional. It is never easy to find it though, and they will jump from one serious social bond into another, in long time periods, as if they had no intention to settle for a friendship that isn’t perfect. The problem is - there is no such thing as a perfect person in this world, unless if you observe the entire humanity as a manifest of perfection. While these individuals reflect in their friends, they will never be happy this way if they don’t accept the imperfections in human nature.

** 12th - Scorpio **The twelfth house in Scorpio is an interesting place. Something as taboo and as hidden as Scorpio rarely finds an appropriate secretive hideout, but this position allows them to. The most unfortunate thing here lies in one’s ability to bury their own feelings, doings, or aspirations, finally ending up without any awareness of their true inner light. This is the sign that speaks of our shadows and everything we want to bury and dismiss along the way, and when it is set in such a secretive house, shoving things under the rug becomes a routine. This can make these people explode in numerous ways, ending up in strange circumstances, weird conversations, interventions, institutions or even jail. To see the magic in Scorpio this person has to be truly and deeply open-minded, fully willing to accept the most devastating, darkest and most dangerous emotions they carry within.

** **

Asc Capricorn

1st - Capricorn If someone’s Ascendant is set in the sign of Capricorn, they will be practical and turned to material issues and goals in life they feel they have to achieve. Depending on the positions of planets in this house and its ruler, they will be successful or challenged in their reach for a certain destination, defining whether or not they will be able to make a plan they can follow. This can be a sign that speaks of a heavy cross that needs to be carried, just as it can speak of a practical individual able to recognize the use in everything that happens in their life. Strong and stiff, these people often have a spasm to attend to, problems with their spine and bones, or their faith in God and their relation to religion. Their biggest challenge is to find understanding and compassion for those that are weak, overly sensitive or strongly emotional. Their ruler is Saturn. 2nd - Aquarius In cases where the second house begins in the sign of Aquarius, matters of value will constantly change. The only constant value the person will recognize will be seen in their friendships and common goals of the society, while it will be pretty hard to remain stable in one financial approach. This is a person that has a need to take great financial risks, just like they will take risks with their health and all the things their body can handle consuming fast and junk food way too often for their liver and heart to take in. In most cases, the first house of someone born with this second house position is set in Capricorn, adding a new dimension to the use of their energy when creating anything in the material world. Stable and with a strong plan, they seem to find liberation through money and this will often make them strangely irresponsible and full of surprises in all financial matters. 3rd - Pisces If the third house is set in Pisces, we have to keep in mind that this is a sign of Mercury’s fall. The greatest conflict of emotion and reason is seen here, and it can be confusing, strange, and deeply challenging for one’s ability to speak, write, or even think clearly. However, the sign of Pisces speaks of our talents too, and depending on the position of Mercury, Jupiter, and Neptune, we can see that one of these talents can be grounded through positive aspects and dignities of these celestial bodies. In order for the third house in Pisces to reach clarity, all mind-altering substances should be avoided, including alcohol, narcotics, medicaments and even nicotine. Purity within will allow purity of mind, resulting in purity of words and reasonable life choices. If they practice what they preach, they could discover that magic of life is there for the taking. 4th - Aries When someone has the fourth house cusp set in the sign of Aries, it often speaks of impatience of the parent of opposite sex when the chart’s owner was still a baby. In case of a perfect positioning, this is a sign of fiery emotional clarity, speed of decisions and the confidence one brought from their home and their upbringing. Each imbalance here speaks of pain and hurt, and even abuse or anger deeply seeded in one’s family tree. Aries is a sign of fiery nature, and often doesn’t give enough room for an individual to develop its emotional nature to the point of self-recognition, understanding, and enough compassion to reach the point of true satisfaction. This is someone raised in a loud home, with a lot of conflict, constructive or destructive, and gives as much energy to one’s soul as it can take it away. 5th - Taurus With the fifth house in the sign of Taurus, it is common to presume that one’s satisfaction lies in financial and material things. However, it is rather a story of Venus and we cannot say that it primarily speaks of money. This is someone who has to find joy in the material world, and such a position will often speak of the love for food and overeating as the means to cover dissatisfactions that lack of initiative prevents them from resolving. Taurus is a sign that speaks of creative artistic expression, and with a convenient link to the twelfth house, this is someone with a talent for singing and music, as well as any art that leaves its solid mark in the world. Their inner child needs rest, hedonistic choices, and emotional bonds accompanied by incredible intimacy and physical pleasures. 6th - Gemini The sixth house in Gemini speaks of one’s mental occupancy and the ability, or the inability, to separate from the world of imagination and thought, and come down to the real world where grounding in found. As Mercury rules the sign of Gemini, there is a link here to this two-faced magician, and it often helps the person to understand “the other role” they need to play to make their physique and their circumstances work for them. This is a chatty position with a tendency to draw one to gossip at a workplace, but also brings a talent for trade and small financial matters that cumulate to create wealth. For as long as mental problems don’t preoccupy a person, this is a practical position that allows multitasking and a realistic approach to daily matters and work. 7th - Cancer If the seventh house begins in the sign of Cancer, there is a lot left in the field of relationships from our ancestors and family. It is almost impossible to separate one’s personal goals and bonds formed with other people from those of parents and close family members that presented role models in the person’s upbringing. With this position, ego and personality have to be well defined, and the Sun needs to be nurtured through creative activities and a thorough approach to the child within. All this person needs is awareness of their true core and specifics of personality that set them apart from family members and values learned at home. When partners are chosen in accordance with one’s sensibility and character, relationships will be filled with tenderness, emotion and intimacy, leading to a healthy family life and functional marriages that last. 8th - Leo If the eighth house is in Leo, there is no easy way to accept authority. Not only will a person need a change of personal image and scenery, but they will also see all of ego related problems of their own, in other people. In case they won’t accept childish behavior and efforts of others, this simply means they are not on the right track. There is almost always something off with their perception of success. To truly evolve and transform into successful and strong individuals full of life, they have to build their level of respect for others and themselves to infinite heights. The challenge here lies in their ability to respect those who aren’t deep, practical and responsible as they think suitable. Once they see that a smile on their face is directly related to the respect they nurture for their own child within, their perception will change and they will be ready to manage, rule, and shine their warm light on other people. 9th - Virgo The ninth house in Virgo speaks of the focus on helping others, charity work, and matters of modesty and detail. Those who were born with this house position often have the need to learn how to heal and rationally understand the intelligence of their physiology and practical issues in the material world. However, their ego stands in their way and they will always have a challenge of their Sun to overcome to truly reach the state of wisdom and purpose. Something is always used and needs fixing in Virgo, and it is quite common for these individuals to have problems while traveling for choosing accommodation that is too cheap to be enjoyed, or overpaid for the one they get. They will have a flare for literature and many linguists and writers will have this position accented, if their tenth house supports strong materialization of everything they have learned. 10th - Libra If the tenth house is set in Libra, we instantly see that the center of one’s world is found in their relationships. Other people will define the destination this person will choose, and it will not be easy on their personality if the Sun isn’t very strong in its position and disposition through the planet ruling it. Tenth house in Libra speaks of one’s chase for marriage, search for a soulmate or someone to define their strivings in life. While they seek balance, they will find as much of it as their Venus allows, and in time build a strong basis for an equally manifested personal and professional life. Tact, diplomacy and dedication are the main traits a person with this position is trying to gain. This is why they will turn to professions in politics, law, marriage counseling, or simply point their life towards finding their one true love, putting every other segment of life aside. **11th - Scorpio **While many would think that the eleventh house in Scorpio is quite difficult and bonding, we shouldn’t forget that the sign of Scorpio is the sign of the exaltation of Uranus and speaks of the best friends we could find. Friendships in Scorpio represents our deep bonds for life, and they will be hard to achieve, build up, but extremely satisfying every step of the way. The depth these relationships are approached in is extreme and not always easy to comprehend. The preconditions for any true bond here are brutal honesty and the ability to turn to dark humor in the time of need. Individuals born with this position wish to reach emotional depth they don’t recognize within, and they are often not fully aware of this need. Their road in life will be based on reasonable choices and things they can cold-heartedly achieve, but their real goals will never be easy or at the palm of their hand if they don’t deal with family issues and emotional blockages they made along the way.

** 12th - Sagittarius **When the twelfth house is set in Sagittarius, we usually see someone who has no idea where they are going. Being lost seems to be the congenital disease in these people and they have no way of knowing where they want to end up. Ties were made to the most distant of places, and past life regression could help them discover where they have lived and what makes them lose their place and their hopes. Beliefs have to be examined, as well as their religion views. Blessings will come from the most unexpected people and places, and although there are a lot of secrets to be expected in lives of others, these individuals are able to sense anyone’s goodness of heart from miles away. This is a very strong position for spiritual work and meditation, but if they don’t get enough sleep, they risk their entire life passing them by.

** **

Asc Aquarius

1st - Aquarius With an Ascendant in Aquarius, no person can adapt to social norms and blend in. This is someone who looks strange, in any imaginable way, while at times eccentric, wildly liberal or rebellious. These individuals are often tall and etheric, or simply nervous and edgy most of the time. The greatest challenge of every Aquarius is to find their core and the center of their personality, filled with respect for their own needs and personalities of everyone around them. They will fail to see the purpose of authority, and have to understand that royalty, as well as organizing and managing, are necessary and useful in their life. They are ruled by Saturn and Uranus. 2nd - Pisces When the second house is positioned in the sign of Pisces, many belongings will get lost from time to time. This is seen in someone who doesn’t know where their keys are, just like they aren’t sure where or when they will be able to earn something on their own. The complicated thing here lies in the fact that delusions with Pisces tend to take over, and one can feel truly and deeply satisfied without having much, just like they could overestimate their abilities in certain fields, lost in their true mission and focus towards material goals. The main goal of a person in this case is to follow their true calling and a mission they are supposed to fulfill in this lifetime, for this is the only thing that can bring enough real satisfaction to their life.** 3rd - Aries** If the third house starts in the sign of Aries, we see an individual with a fast mind and an aggressive approach to communication. This is someone energized and filled with active ideas, whose mind never stops working. It is a blessing as much as it can be a curse, for the sign of Aries holds our unresolved anger issues just as much as it brings speed, intelligence and clear reasoning. When this position is accented, a person has to learn about consequences of their words, as well as words spoken by other people, and build up their patience for matters they obsessively think about. Stubborn communicators, they can be quite annoying when in a large group, at least until they realize what they need to do to become true leaders, giving respect to everyone around them. 4th - Taurus If the fourth house is set in Taurus, we see a natural position of care and physical devotion coming from one’s parents. Although it can point out to traditional or strict upbringing, it always provides one with a certain sense of comfort and joy that creates a strong, fixed basis for a satisfying life. Only in the case of truly challenging position of Venus and the Moon can we presume that the person in question has an emotional debt to repay, and has to deal with feelings of guilt and incompetence coming from their early environment. In most cases this is a very warm position, enabling one to find beauty and see the world in color, as well as provide them with the ability to enjoy material reality and engage in practical matters in a healthy way. 5th - Gemini In the case of the fifth house set in Gemini, we can see someone whose child within is truly childish and talkative. It is quite easy to relate to children with this position, and become aware of one’s true inspirations, motives and personality at a young age. Depending on the positioning of Mercury, this is a changeable position that can throw one from one extreme to the other. There are always two sides to the sign of Gemini, and the real challenge here is to find the golden middle and a place where one would satisfy both of their needs, the light and the dark one. This will be done through constant movement, communication, or a solid relationship with a sibling. The need for self-expression is extremely strong here as Gemini already point to our ability to show who we are through the art of conversation and thought. 6th - Cancer The sixth house in Cancer links one’s deep emotional roots to the house of work and health, and speaks of the unconscious tendencies that lead to certain conditions and practical circumstances. It is a strange connection of emotion with practicality and reason, giving a task to jump out of a family, inherited routine, to find the right one for our own body. A person with the sixth house in Cancer often approaches household chores as obligations, and the real question is hidden in the joy behind daily activities. Once they find true joy in cooking and cleaning, turning their heads to family matters and seeing them in all their glory with qualities that they often fail to see, they will find a way to be healthy. The motto “clean house makes a clean mind” is perfectly suited for these individuals and their routine needs to stay enjoyable and clear as much as possible in order for them to feel good. 7th - Leo With the seventh house in Leo, all relationships depend solely on a person’s ability to find middle ground and a point of agreement with others instead of compromising senselessly and going to extremes of doing and not doing what others want. The main challenge of Leo hides in oneness found in connection with the rest of the human race, and since this already puts an emphasis on an Ascendant in Aquarius, this is always hard to reach as an innovative, strange, and special individual. These people need confident partners who don’t take things too personally, and have to discover ways in which they can function as one with those who are less rational and far fierier than they seem to be. There is no authority in “we” and for as long as they realize that respect has to be unconditional and flowing both ways equally, they will form healthy bonds filled with warmth. 8th - Virgo The sign of Virgo rarely has some idea what hedonism is, and seems to have the need to go into detailed analysis of everything, taking out all colors out of creative things in life. The main problem is hidden in the fact that without detail, there wouldn’t be functionality, and to ground any grandiose idea, we have to be practical enough to commit to details. Resistance given to practical, daily matters with this natal position leads to all sorts of health related problems. A person has to realize that the only way to find satisfaction in the material world is through the material world, and it will be tossed aside as irrelevant comparing to their incredible mental dominance. True intelligence hides in out body, our routine, and our physiology. Mercury is exalted in the sign of Virgo and the element of Earth, so any mental effort must have its final goal in its manifestation in the real world. Everything else will look like a bundle of empty words if no substance is given through practicality and grounding. 9th - Libra If the ninth house is set in Libra, there is something strangely confusing in a person’s belief system, the main problem being the fact that their beliefs seem to be defined by other people. They will find many role models in this lifetime and need to overcome their self-criticism in order to truly reach their desired state of mind, physical state, or professional goals that they see as their calling. Hard work is needed for their plans to materialize and they will often be stuck in their dreamland, or when disappointed too many times, in their world of envy and feelings of incompetence. Relationships with quality will have to stand the test of time, and it is very often that these individuals remarry, sometimes only to find that marriage is too serious for them in the first place. When well supported, they will blossom in areas such as law, diplomacy, marriage counseling, and all activities done with a partner or someone they have an emotional bond with. 10th - Scorpio If someone’s tenth house begins in the sign of Scorpio, the main thing they are supposed to reach in this lifetime is emotional depth. This is a deep Water sign that allows no superficial feelings, and as such it is a strong basis for professional success. Obsessive chase for their goals makes them incredibly strong, motivated, as if they were magnetically attracted to their calling seen through Mars and Pluto. Still, it will also show how aggressive they can get in their approach. The best manifestations of this position hide in great sexual satisfaction they will achieve, as well as through roles of healers, scientists, psychologists, and all those incredible souls who aren’t afraid to dig for truth and show it to the world. From coroners to Bach practitioners, these individuals will have a calling that isn’t easy to understand and accept by many people in their world. **11th - Sagittarius **If the eleventh house is in the sign of Sagittarius, people who surround this person are benefactors, teachers, travelers, and open-minded friends who don’t mind differences in opinions, education or race. This is an inviting position as it speaks of all good men and women who have a lot to give, teach, and learn at the same time. Their friends can overdo the favors and the problem that appears in these souls will come from the inability to achieve anything alone. Once this person starts relying on others for help, they will wonder too far from their own character and burden those who wanted to show good faith. This is a wonderful position for all those special souls who came to this planet to reconnect with the Universe. God will speak to them as they breathe together with planet Earth, and find incredible joy in meditation and new techniques that will help them shape their future.

**12th - Capricorn **With the twelfth house in Capricorn, there is no knowing which responsibility falls under whose jurisdiction. The difficulty of this setting hides in the inability to see that a strong foundation makes all the work, and while good ideas can come a long way, they aren’t easily materialized if hard work isn’t put in. Even though it might not seem like it, this is one of the most demanding positions in the twelfth house, for it speaks of karmic ties and our strong, physical connection to past life experiences. Strange things will manifest as circumstances that are hard to avoid or overcome, with many obstacles standing in one’s way towards liberation. If Saturn is strong in a person’s chart, there will be a sense of security, wisdom and unconscious power in doing the right thing, and that will become a wind in their sails and open them up for real inner experience of faith.

**

**

Asc Pisces

**1st - Pisces **When the first house begins in the sign of Pisces, we have to understand that this is a person on a mission, born with a higher cause that needs to be recognized. This is someone fine, sensitive, emotional, with big eyes and a tender soul. Often, this is a sign that gives a troubled physique, especially affecting one’s mental state. In order to use the best the sign of Pisces has to offer, a person has to have enough faith, and a strong basis in upbringing and education to fulfill their incredibly large appetite for happiness. Each of these individuals has to accept paperwork, rational thought, and reality in its purest and most obvious form. They have to learn how to handle details and focus on specific small things in order to create a bigger picture with quality. Practice makes perfect, and this is something they should always remember. Their rulers are Jupiter and Neptune.

** 2nd - Aries **If the second house begins in the sign of Aries, we can see that this person follows their instincts to create something in the material world. This will be a strong hunger and often speaks of instinctive overeating, or undereating, strongly related to one’s fears. This is the position that speaks of quick gain, strongly pointed energy into matters of self-worth and the value of all things in life. This will also speak of one’s tendency to eat too fast, choose food rich in red meat, often too spicy for their stomach to handle. Aries on the second house cusp can speak of a person’s inability to enjoy things that are slow, homey, cozy, or tender. This can be a rough position that forms a rough personality, unless feminine planets and the Moon are strongly positioned in their horoscope.

** 3rd - Taurus **With the third house cusp in Taurus, thoughts are often slow, static, and turned to hedonistic or material matters. This is one of the most practical and constructive positions, although sometimes irritating for people with third house cusp in signs that belong to the element of Air. When a person born with this position discovers their talent to create, it is easily incorporated into their daily routine, with ease in taking responsibility and handling dull details that would turn others away. This will bring them a lot of satisfaction in the material world, shown through financial gain and everything it has to bring through beauty and a cozy way of life. The greatest challenge of such a mind hides in their lack of flexibility and the inability to accept change, as in all loving matters of the sign of Taurus.

** 4th - Gemini **With the fourth house cusp in Gemini, we can see the changeable and a bit unstable nature of one’s home. Very often, this comes as a root for a person’s feeling of inconsistency, seen through possible dishonesty of their same-sex parent, or the image of two fathers or two mothers, that they cannot mend into one. This can be a very rewarding position, especially in the case when Venus is involved in the fourth house story, but very often represents two entirely different angles that are hardly brought into one point, and the row of opposing feelings, changes, and inconsistencies in one’s emotional state. Since the sign of Gemini is the sign of communication, it carries a risk of a certain lack of compassion, coming from a parent who overly rationalizes person’s emotions, not giving them a chance to recognize and accept them as they are.

** 5th - Cancer **When one’s fifth house is set in the sign of Cancer, satisfaction is always found somewhere in the family tree. This can be as fulfilling as it can be challenging, for one’s personal expression and joy seem to depend greatly on their ancestors and their level of consciousness. The important thing to remember here is that responsibility taken gives us freedom from all other people, and the tenderness of Cancer always shows the importance of one’s emotional core in their personal path. This will show importance of family and parenthood in one’s chase for happiness, as well as a deep understanding that they don’t need exhilaration or too much excitement, just a calm, peaceful life that other people often take for granted. When the Moon is strong and in empowering aspects, we will see one’s ability to manifest their personality through all sorts of tender, caring activities, bringing love, compassion and creation into all aspects of their lives.

** 6th - Leo **With the sixth house set in Leo, childish joy needs to be found in a workplace. This is a position that emphasizes physical strength in some way, and its manifestation is mostly seen through the position of the Sun. If it is strong and vigorous, a person’s energy serves other people and creates an atmosphere in which advancements are possible and managing positions there for the taking. In case ego problems take over and one’s creativity and self-image is low, it can lead to problems with authority, all sorts of health related issues and even heart conditions triggered by a simple lack of energy and joy in one’s life. The best way to improve the energetic state hides in creative activities, for talents need to be employed daily and in the best possible way to truly feel the joy of Leo.

** 7th - Virgo **The seventh house set in the sign of Virgo speaks of humility and brings focus to matters of criticism, the ability to find satisfaction in the real world and form relationships that don’t have to be perfect in order to last. There is always something that needs to be fixed in the sign of Virgo and this position will make a person look for something impossible to reach in many cases, or make them settle for less than they deserve out of feelings of guilt, incompetence or a simple lack of self-worth. All unhealthy issues will tend to accumulate here so this is a house that needs a lot of cleansing, constructive efforts and changes in order to reach the state which satisfies that dreamy first house in Pisces. Matters of faith and disappointments greatly depend on the story of Venus, for one obviously needs to set reasonable expectations through dealing with other people.

** 8th - Libra **The eighth house in Libra is a truly strange position for this seems to be linked to people who want to be alone. Even though it is our natural need to have someone to love, reaching for perfect harmony, this obviously doesn’t apply to everyone in the zodiac. Even though these dreamy individuals might wish for their fairytale ending, their acceptance of togetherness will be flaky and unstable. They need to build a personal approach to partnership, marriage, and all things that are related to other people from scratch, as if their life is marked by inconsistent relationships and parents who weren’t as functional together as they were when apart. As those who lack tact and wish to be independent, they find themselves in strangely satisfying relationships before marriage while having trouble coping with the institution of marriage in the end. The key here obviously hides in their deep, intimate world and recognizing the difference between marriage and obligation.

** 9th - Scorpio **With the ninth house in Scorpio, we have to understand that a person will make choices that many would think of as strange. In the most positive manifestation, this will give one an incredible depth of mind, belief in the power of planet Earth, connection to endless pools of inner energy and a tendency to study science, psychology, or even occult teachings. Still, we have to keep in mind that practically speaking, these individuals have a belief system rooted somewhere in the river of their ancestors, highly unconscious and strange for many people around them. Their convictions will be powerful and obvious in their manifestations, while their need to learn about deep matters that others don’t want to deal with often sets them apart from their group at school, college, or at any family gathering. They have to find a way to satisfy their inner craving for deep understanding of the Universe and Unity, but they will find it only if they mend their broken relationships and realize that no man is born into this world to be alone.

** 10th - Sagittarius **With the tenth house in Sagittarius, it is evident that learning leads to progress as if life was a simple equation. However, this is the sign of all distances and it shows the tendency of a person to work abroad or chase their career goals somewhere far from the place they were born in. While they learn about their true calling and direction in life, they will easily scatter their energy on too many things at the same time, wasting their potential on a personal search for their mission. Overthinking will make them seem like incredible philosophers, but it will rarely give them the material results they wish for. In order to reach true satisfaction, they have to let these distances flow through their heart, realizing that we all share the same planet, the same Universe, and none of us is far from home at any point in time.

** 11th - Capricorn **When the eleventh house begins in Capricorn, friendships last, filled with patience and the sense of obligation. Without a strong basis, there is little that can be done to improve social life, and they need to be surrounded with those who come highly “recommended” by those they already trust. This is a closed circle of friends, as a loop that may last forever. Still, Capricorn doesn’t bring much joy into any house, and especially not in the eleventh. One will have to reach structure, have an organized schedule, and dedicate their life to finding the right balance that will keep them healthy and situated. Karmic friendships are typical here, and those a person is bound to form a strong bond with will feel familiar. Close friends met this person in the past, with their lives intertwined in a loop of karmic debt or reward.

** 12th - Aquarius The twelfth house in Aquarius speaks of a stressful death that happened in our past life. This is a place of stress and strange mental orientation, pulling strongly with its humane gravity and the unconscious need to set free, set apart from everyone else, and sink into all natural oppositions as if there was no other way. Mending the differences and finding middle ground seems distant and impossible to these individuals, as if they had a talent for true friendship, but lack of awareness for those who don’t fall into this category. They need to learn to be humane, so charity work will come in handy, especially if they are the secret benefactor nobody knows about. Their eccentricity will make them happy but in secret and in silence, with as little words said as possible. Even though they might be on the mission of solitude, they are often calmed by the peace of their marriage and relationships that represent a good basis for their personality rather than making them feel at home. **

how did breaking dawn movie live up to the book? good or bad?

The words "live up to" implies I had expectations for the movie. I very much did not. Twilight is a hard series to adapt, period, but Breaking Dawn was severely limited by having the actors already cast, the characters already changed from who they were in the books in previous movies, and following movies that had, for lack of a nicer way to put it, sucked(look up my books vs. movies tag or the Twilight movies masterpost where I explain what I mean by these things. Afraid I’m too lazy to dig up all the links at the moment). I don't think Bill Condon did a good job, but I don't think he had much to work with either.

This was a book that wasn't being adapted for its plot, or because anyone had a vision for it, but as a cash grab. Breaking Dawn existed because fans wanted to see what happens next in Edward and Bella's story, and that doomed it. It was even split into two films, with so much of each being spent on pure filler that I can only conclude it should have been one movie. (Or an animated miniseries. Alas.)

I'll put it this way - there's a reason you don't usually see movies spend upwards of 40 minutes on a wedding, with the events of this wedding having no bearing on the plot whatsoever. The character of Irina is introduced, but her momentary cameo does not justify this film showing us Bella's wedding jitters, the Cullens doing wedding decor, the wedding itself, the trip to the honeymoon destination, a detour on the trip to the honeymoon, the honeymoon itself, both the wedding night and then the honeymoon scuba diving that follows, and then more wedding night fun times.

Just-

There's indulging in a little filler, and then there is what Breaking Dawn Part 1 did.

Breaking Dawn Part 2 was not much better, I won't go into detail especially as I've already explained in this post here most of my issues with that film already. In short, it cared so little for the story it was telling that it settled for throwing disjointed scenes at the wall and called it a movie.

Breaking Dawn the book has a plot. Bella gets pregnant with a hybrid child, she dies in childbirth but is reborn a vampire. The inhuman child is then mistaken for an immortal child, forcing a confrontation between the Cullens and the Volturi.

There's other plot lines and scenes but most of them could be cut. I would for instance cut Jacob from the movie entirely. With him the whole Sam vs. Jacob arc (It's my humble opinion that if you're going to do an arc where a gang of Native American men intend to violently murder a pregnant white woman, you either don't do it or you write it really fucking well.) and the "it's not grooming if- no, actually, it's grooming" Jacob/Renesmée storyline are goners, and the movie is much better for it. Jacob obsessing over a toddler adds nothing to the story, even if it didn't bring such uncomfortable connotations it still should have gone (yes, this is a criticism of Meyer's book as well. Her editor didn't put their foot down, that sucks, but that doesn't mean the movie had make the same mistakes).

Twilight should have been an animated miniseries, but failing that I would have liked a director who cared about the story he was telling and who knew how to kill his darlings, because sometimes you should in fact cut the whole wedding, major plot arcs, and one of the three major characters.

There are other things which made the Breaking Dawn movies bad beyond the writing, namely the casting, the acting, and the effects, but they apply for all the Twilight movies.

I have faith that a very good director, given creative freedom, could have delivered a good film adaption of Breaking Dawn. Singular, not two movies.

I'm the kind of gal who applauds when an adaption isn't blindly faithful to the source material, because blind faithfulness is not what adaptations are about. Sometimes bad or unnecessary changes are made, yes, giving book-to-film changes everywhere a bad name, but on the whole you should look at the spirit of the source material and how it translates to the media you're adapting to rather than adapting word-for-word.

I find it comparable to translating from one language to another. A direct translation gives Google translate results. Some things have to change.

(For those who don't believe me: Blade Runner is nearly unrecognizable from its Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, but the book was never going to be easy to adapt so the movie decided to adapt the ideas conveyed in it(also I'm just gonna link this scene because it's so good). HBO's His Dark Materials recognizes the live action version can't just be Lyra's point of view the way the book was, and expands itself accordingly.)

The Mysterious Benedict Society as an adaption

So far, The Mysterious Benedict Society adaption feels very faithful to the books. There are definitely changes (Constance, for instance, has been aged up, and likely has a different background. This is understandable. It would be nigh impossible to portray her as she is in the books in live action format--for example, none of the kids in the book suspect she’s a toddler, let alone two years old). However, most changes have all felt reasonable and add to plot and pacing.

I especially enjoy the additions: showing the adult side of the team, for example, or Ms. Perumal’s growing concern about Reynie’s whereabouts, or the girls’ nighttime conversations. Some changes are more extreme. The Mr. Curtain of the books is clearly a villain. He’s condescending and rude, and the only people who like him are bullies. Mr. Curtain of the show is much smoother. It’s easy to see how he’s managed to influence people. Similarly, the L.I.V.E. curriculum is much less obnoxious in the show (not just memorizing nonsense by rote), and as a result, the school’s students seem less stupid and cruel. You can see why they enjoy attendance.

I’m particularly pleased that Number Two’s weirdness has been amplified. Mr. Benedict’s found family is delightfully strange, and I love watching their unusual rhythms. It will be easy to believe when (or if) it’s revealed that the women have been legally adopted into Mr. Benedict’s family.

Similarly, I love how they intensified the quirky feel of the setting and characters. Of course Number Two built a house in the woods in a day because she has a woodworking hobby. Of course there’s secret tunnels and drawers and compartments in Mr. Benedict’s house. Of course Milligan’s disguises and mannerisms are wackily memorable instead of just matter-of-fact. The books themselves have a stylized feel at times (they kind of remind me of Lemony Snickett’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, though with none of the grimness).

I love the overall aesthetic. When I first read the books, they didn’t strike me as being set in the past, but the vaguely vintage feeling works excellently. (I was also a fully grown adult before I realized that the Incredibles wasn’t set in the present, so...) The color schemes, costumes, and sets have distinctive feelings and coordinate well. The effect is stylized rather than naturalistic, which is appropriate and amplifies the tone of the scenes. The bright colors and rough textures of the wooded hideout and its inhabitants’ costumes contrast nicely with the clean lines of tL.I.V.E.’s vintage-pastel interior and sleek exterior.

I also enjoyed the way they did Kate’s flashback as rough home footage. Similarly, I enjoyed the way they showed four kids solving problems on the same screen, how they illustrated Reynie’s thought process with overlaid sketches of the problems, and the way words show up on the screen during the tests for emphasis. The combination of animations, showing multiple things at once, and creative angles for emphasis did a great job conveying the feeling of the tests. (Unfortunately, I lack the vocabulary to describe the techniques they used here).

There’s two things I didn’t enjoy. The first was killing Sticky’s parents to make him an orphan. It mattered in the books that he felt rejected by his own parents. Making it his aunt and uncle who (seemingly) care more about money and fame than the child they’re raising feels a little too much like the wicked stepmother trope. I don’t know why the showmakers decided that Of Course They’re All Orphans, because while most of the book characters are orphans, Sticky isn’t, which serves to show that you can feel rejected and hurt by your parents even when you’ve got an ordinary, non-abusive nuclear family. It’s about feeling isolated, whether or not you’re technically alone.

Secondly, all the wheelchairs have been removed from the adaption. I’m not sure why this was done. Sticky’s mother has bad arthritis and requires a wheelchair. In the books, this was done without fanfare; it was as normal as anything else to oil Ms. Washington’s wheelchair in damp weather, or load and unload it from cars in later books. She was more of a background character, so it didn’t affect the plot, but the casual background representation was a welcome contrast to many books that assume being disabled is strange and uncommon, and that disabilities only exist when they’re plot-significant. The aunt who replaced Ms. Washington used no mobility aids, which disappoints me, especially as the woman she replaces in the books is ultimately shown to be a flawed but loving parent who’s dedicated to making up for her mistakes.

The other person missing their wheelchair is Mr. Curtain, the villain. I’m also not sure why this was removed? It could be to avoid the Evil Disabled Villain trope, but in the book, I didn’t feel like his disabilities were treated as a moral flaw or an excuse for his villainy. He shares his narcolepsy with the unquestionably benevolent Mr. Benedict, so it didn’t feel like his condition was used to vilify him.

He and Mr. Benedict act cope with their condition differently: Mr. Benedict relies on trusted family members for support and chooses to sit on the floor and avoid positioning himself in tall places from which he could fall, whereas Mr. Curtain disguises his narcolepsy by wearing mirrored glasses and using a wheelchair that secures an upright posture, so that no one knows when he has an episode. He does use his wheelchair aggressively, banging through doors and zooming around and forcing people to jog and keep up, but it felt like his use of mobility aids grew naturally from his character.

The books also include a scene where he shocks the children by leaving his wheelchair to chase them. They assumed that using a wheelchair=completely unable to walk, a common view in US society. Importantly, I didn’t feel like the scene was framed as particularly deceptive, like he was lying to them by using a wheelchair when he could walk. Rather, it fit into a pattern of Mr. Curtain managing assumptions and expectations: he doesn’t want people to take advantage of his weaknesses, yet wants to hold a few cards close to his chest. He doesn’t have to lie to people, just let them see and hear and assume what they will.

I don’t use a wheelchair or have narcolepsy, so I’m not in a position to say whether or not the books have good representation. Maybe the fact that Mr. Curtain is evil, and also zooms around and bangs through doors, is uncomfortable. Maybe the fact that his nefarious devices are wheelchair-accessible and in fact designed around his chair sends the wrong message. Maybe using mobility aids to conceal a disability sends a bad message, or maybe it would be better if the good guy was the one to use a wheelchair to cope with his disability. I don’t know. I do know that Mr. Benedict’s condition is played for laughs in both the book and show, and that might be uncomfortable. I do think it’s worth noting that Mr. Benedict’s narcolepsy is seen less and less as funny as the books go on, and grows to be seen as an endearing quality that emphasizes how much he loves people, since his attacks usually underscore with strong emotions and convey worry for his loved ones or joy at their company.

My own sense is that both approaches to narcolepsy make sense, and neither is shown to be inherently faulty. Rather, it’s Mr. Curtain’s character that’s to blame for his villainy--his arrogance, condescension, and mistrust. Both characters feel well-developed and consistent, and their disability is only one part of them. Their disability is colorful, but it’s colorful in the same way as the main characters (Sticky’s anxiety and memory, Kate’s gusto, eye for measurement, and bucket, Constance’s precociousness, etc).

As for why Mr. Curtain’s wheelchair was cut, I’m not sure. Maybe the show writers just didn’t want to deal with the ramifications of depicting a villain in a wheelchair, and decided to cut it altogether (a lazy reason, I think). Alternatively, it seems like they’re depicting narcolepsy without cataplexy, eliminating the need for a wheelchair (a better reason).

On the other hand, Mr. Curtain’s attitude and mannerisms bear the least resemblance to his book counterpart of all the show’s characters. They’re incorporating some backstory from the other books to build a secondary plotline, and I’m not sure how it’s going to play out. From what we’ve seen of him so far, S. Q. Pedalian is also drastically different (shy, cloistered, and openly acknowledged as Mr. Curtain’s son, instead of the gregarious, bumbling, misfit Executive of the books). The TV dynamic between him and Mr. Curtain is largely unrevealed as of yet. Since these changes constitute departures from the book, I’m not sure how the future story’s going to play out around them, and what that reveals about why the wheelchair was cut when it was so characteristic of Mr. Curtain’s mannerisms while other things (like Mr. Benedict’s use of plaid) were included.

Still, it does disappoint me that two wheelchairs were erased, and no one in the show uses one, not even background students. 

Overall, though, apart from the orphan and wheelchair situation, I’m very pleased with this adaption and think that the pacing works wonderfully. It’s a near-ideal format for a video adaption (I think animation would be best, but this is a close second).

LO Fans: "I love Lore Olympus because it deals with serious themes, like sexual assault, abuse, gaslighting, trauma, and mental health issues!"

Me, who spent my life discovering and obsessing over masterpieces like this:

"You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that to impress me."

Yeah, I never understood that kind of praise. For one thing, people act like LO is groundbreaking for that reason, despite there being countless movies, books, tv shows, comics, and video games that also deal with the same themes. That isn't to say there can't be more stories like this, however. I, for one, am begging for another video game that comes close to the emotional resonance of Silent Hill 2, or for a faithful adaptation of Dracula and/or Phantom of the Opera, or for a horror movie as unsettling as The Howling! But to say any new story that deals with these themes is unique for doing so, is just simply not true. Lore Olympus is no more unique than any of these stories. Also, I don't understand the praise that Lore Olympus is great just by virtue of having these themes in the first place. Just because a story has serious themes, doesn't automatically make it good. Far too often does LO use its themes as a crutch for a plot that is standard issue among romances, as opposed to stories like The Howling, which has a very intriguing, outlandish plot that serves as a catalyst to explore themes of very real and relatable horror. Lore Olympus, without its intense themes, is just another story about the CEO falling in love with his intern. And don't get me wrong, I LOVE those kinds of stories, but Lore Olympus just doesn't really do it for me. And the poorly executed themes just hamper it even further for me.

If it wasn't already apparent, has anyone noticed a pattern between these titles? All but one are horror stories. In my opinion, that is one of the key differences between them and LO: Horror! The themes within, are ones that illicit terror, and the stories reflect that (even Phantom of the Opera--don't listen to anyone who says it's a romance). Starting with Dracula, one of the scenes that horrified me the most in the book was the one where Count Dracula sneaks into Mina's bedroom. The book describes him slitting open his own vein and forcing her to drink his blood. Mina then expresses feelings of violation, much akin to what rape survivors feel. It doesn't pull any punches in its shocking, horrific portrayal, but it never comes off as exploitative. That's because the best horror stories rely on the audience's empathy. In this case, nobody wants to feel violated, so we feel as horrified as the characters do when we read about this grotesque event. And because it is about illiciting fear through empathy, Dracula succeeds where Lore Olympus fails. Lore Olympus, before all else, is a romance. And rape should not be in a romantic story. Especially not when the narrative of LO uses this trauma to validate the relationship between the two leads. I'm not a fan of stories that use trauma to validate a relationship between romantic interests, and I think that partly stems from reading the Phantom of the Opera.

If you ask me, Phantom of the Opera is one if the best books to discuss abuse and gaslighting ever written! Despite misconceptions generated by the popularity of the musical, PotO is very much a horror story with hardly any romance at all. And it's one of the best examples about why using trauma to validate a romance is a very bad idea! You see, all the conflict of the story begins with The Phantom and his trauma. He was born with multiple physical deformities that cause him to look like a living corpse. Because of this, he is despised and rejected by the world in order to escape the hatred of the world, he commissions the construction of the Paris Opera House, complete with intricate catacombs where he can live out the rest of his miserable days. Then one day, a woman named Christine comes to work at the Opera as a chorus girl. She is sad and alone due to her being orphaned, without a friend in the world. She too is emotionally damaged and the Phantom thinks this means she'll understand him. The trouble begins instantly when he claims to be a character from a folktale that Christine's father used to tell her. This is when the manipulation and gaslighting begins. Part of what makes this so effective is how we see it from an outside perspective. The protagonist, Raoul, is in love with Christine and we get to see his confusion and growing concern when he starts realizing Christine is showing signs of an abusive relationship. What makes the relationship even worse is the fact that Christine actually does understand The Phantom. So she doesn't run away not only out of fear, but also compassion. She knows what it's like to feel isolated and dead to the world and The Phantom uses that against her. The more I describe this, the more parallels I begin to see to Hades' and Minthe's relationship. Yes, Minthe abused Hades in much of the same way as The Phantom abused Christine. Notice how Minthe keeps convincing Hades that they're the only people who understand each other, even going so far as to say, "We're the same." The funny thing is, that's exactly what the narrative uses to validate Hades' and Persephone's relationship! It tries to establish that Hades and Persephone relate to each other and they say, several times, "We're the same," to each other. But this is exactly how Hades got stuck in a toxic relationship with Minthe, so why is it suddenly okay now? Relationships that use shared trauma to validate themselves are almost always doomed to become toxic, in one way or another.

So what about the healthy relationship in Phantom of the Opera? Well, it's kinda interesting actually. You see, Christine eventually comes to realize that she needs help, so she turns to the protagonist, Raoul, to get her away from the Phantom. Raoul has an interesting character arc because he starts the novel being pretty immature and kinda selfish. He doesn't really take Christine's feelings into consideration. It's more like a boy chasing his childhood crush (actually that's exactly what happens). However, over the course of the story, as he becomes increasingly concerned with her well-being, he learns to care more about her feelings and her needs. This culminates in the climax, when he's willing to crawl through hell itself for her sake. I bring all this up because I wanted to compare Raoul with Hades as well. Hades is a very consistent character. He doesn't need an arc like Raoul because, from the very beginning, he's willing to put all of Persephone's needs before his, to a fault! That is his entire purpose within the narrative of LO. He exists to serve Persephone. Raoul didn't exist to serve Christine. He had his own journey of growing and maturing. And Christine didn't exist to serve Raoul either. It bothers me that a novel from 1910 has a more well-rounded relationship than a modern comic! Actually, now that I think about it, isn't Persephone's entire character arc supposed to be her learning that she shouldn't exist to serve others? Well, that totally contradicts Hades' role in the story, doesn't it? He exists to serve her! I guess, in the eyes of LO, it's only okay if men serve women, but not for women to serve men. Newsflash: neither is okay.

Now Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) remains, to this day, one of the most terrifying movies I've ever seen! That's all thanks to its brutal depictions of domestic abuse. So Dr. Henry Jekyll believes the solution to enlightening the human race is to separate the good and evil in our souls. He solves this problem by creating a drug to do just that, which transforms him into Edward Hyde, but he becomes addicted and starts terrorizing a woman who was once a former patient of his. I think what makes this so effective, when compared to LO, is one simple factor: Fear. I am terrified of Edward Hyde, but whenever Apollo shows up, I'm just annoyed. That's because Hyde isn't being used to sell an agenda, while Apoll is. Apollo is all about making a statement about toxic masculinity, which always bothered me from the very beginning! Being an abusive cunt who rapes women has nothing to do with masculinity! It doesn't matter if you're masculine or feminine, anyone can be a cunting abusive rapist. If you are a rapist, it's because you're a monster who lacks empathy, not because of masculinity. And if you think masculinity has something to do with a lack of empathy, fuck off! Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is not about toxic masculinity. It's about how drug addiction can often hurt other people around us just as much, if not moreso, than ourselves. It also doesn't use rape to validate a relationship between characters. I'm sorry, but that is just the laziest storytelling technique. When the antagonist is a rapist OF COURSE the male love interest is going to look better by comparison! But when you take Apollo out of the equation, Hades stops looking like a desirable love interest real fucking quick.

So yeah, I think Hades makes for a bad love interest. That's mostly because he's so much like Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Yeah, the one title from the list above that's not a horror, but is no less relevant. The thing is, both Hades and Shinji have a lot in common, such as hating themselves, having a bad relationship with their father, and not caring at all about their own wants and needs. Oh, also Asuka's a better written character than Minthe, but that's a whole other topic. What makes Evangelion work, in my opinion, is that Shinji's whole journey is about learning to love himself, while Hades is portrayed as being perfect the way he is. Hades in LO is like a flawless beacon of virtue, solely because he worships the ground Persephone walks on. But the guy just doesn't care about himself at all! Like I said earlier, Hades guilty of the same self-destructive behaviors as Persephone but he's praised for it, while Persephone is encouraged to look after herself more often. Compare this to Shinji, whose life only gets worse the more he neglects himself. The only time Hades does something beneficial for himself is when he breaks up with Minthe, but immediately after that, he starts devoting every ounce of energy to Persephone! All that matters is her! He doesn't give a single fuck about himself. Sorry, but that's not good qualities in a male love interest. In all fairness, this is a problem with the romance genre as a whole. Most romances give priority to the protagonist (in this case Persephone) while neglecting the love interest (Hades). It's why I have a serious problem with the entire genre.

Now what could Silent Hill 2 have that is in any way relevant to Lore Olympus? Two words: Nightmare Fuel. Personifying trauma as literal demons is one of the smartest ideas anyone's ever had, because speaking from personal experience, that's how it feels. I just don't feel like the trauma experienced by the characters in LO is a waking nightmare like it is in real life. For one, the characters' trauma only pops up when it's convenient for the plot. Like whenever Persephone starts experiencing ptsd, it happens when she's with Hades so we can get a scene with Hades cuddling her. After that, it shows up in a scene to make her look badass by confronting Apollo. No, just no. The Howling did it better too, by making the protagonist's trauma such an inconvenience in her life! I never felt that way in LO. When you uss traumatic encounters to make your character look like a badass, kindly fuck off.

Doctor Dorpden’s Critical Tips of Prestige

Note: This post was made with satirical intentions in mind. I’m only emphasizing because I’ve had a couple of comments on previous joke posts I’ve did take it seriously. With that said, here we go.

Tip 1: For starters, remember that when looking at the work, if the Mystic Knee twitches fast enough to punch a hole in a wall, this suggests that the work should be near the lowest of the low. No further development of opinion is needed.

Tip 2: For an equal degree of sophistication, give the warm comfort of nostalgia at least 5 times more chances than the new thing that MAY seem actually poggers.

Tip 3: If you have the anecdote of encountering shitty fans, then use them as a scapegoat for the show they flaunt over being shitty. Clearly, they’re always making the show the way it is.

Tip 4: If you haven’t heard much about a newer film or show you’re yet to watch, there’s an 85% chance that film or show is actually not worth your time. The Father (2020) isn’t as widespread as Joker (2019) for a reason.

Tip 5: At this point, just go for the Asian Artist Dick. I’m actually in the mood to see merit in that because I want to look edgy against cute doodles. Stop attacking Uzaki-Chan, you cowards!

Tip 6: Avoid the electronic tunes. They’ll make you smell like a bum, for there’s no structural in a music album that’s nothing but wubs.

Tip 7: If you see a Tweet that looks dumb, use it as a means of generalizing all the fans of a work as sharing that same opinion.

Tip 8: If the cartoon I’m given doesn’t provide me with mature ideas such as slicing an Arbok in half or fake boobs, then the cartoon might as well be on the same level as Teletubbies.

Tip 9: You know the music is (c)rap when it brings up drugs, regardless of lyrical context.

Tip 10:  Raw mood is the indicator of quality cartooning. If you’re quick to assume the worst in the newest HBO Max original cartoon, then you got thyself a stinker. Same thing if you were super bummed out when watching a new thing, regardless of anecdotal context.

Tip 11:  When you’re not given continuous throwbacks, ensure you’re as reductive and over-generalizing about the works shown as possible.

Tip 12:  If your hazy and imperfect as hell recollection of a children’s film, whether it’s Wall-E or Lilo & Stitch, would describe said film as “too sugary” or “key-waving schlock”, then that HAS to be the case. No meat on that bone whatsoever.

Tip 13: Simpler, more graphic style that isn’t as realistic as old-school Disney or Anime? You got yourself a lazy style with zero passion put into it.

UPA? Who’s THAT?!

Tip 14: Don’t trust anyone saying that western children’s cartoons had any form of artistic development after 2008 (with, like, TWO exceptions). If it did, why didn’t we go from stealing organs in a 2001 cartoon to showing opened stomachs in a 2021 cartoon?

Tip 15: Big booba is always important to the strong female character’s quality.

Tip 16:  Only MY ships count, for they provide me with a feeling of intelligence.

Tip 17: “PG-13″ and “R” rating just simply mean you’re not caring for expressing themes in a sophisticated manner. It’s just THAT simple until I dictate otherwise.

Tip 18:  In this age of smelly radicals, “Death of the Author” is more important than ever. Without it, this’ll imply that a classic like The Matrix was secretly toxic, due to what the Wachowskis have to say about it being an “allegory of trans people.”

Tip 19: Turn the fandoms you hate into your torture porn. Ask in Tweets to Retweet one sentence that’d “trigger” them. Go out of your way to paint all of them as blind consoomers. That’ll show them, and it’ll show how much more intelligent you are compared to those clowns.

Tip 20: Whatever the Mystic Knee dictates upon the first viewing of a work is what shall indicate the full structural extent of the film.

Tip 21: The mindset of a 2000s edgelord is one that actually understands the artistry of the medium of animation. Listen to that crazy but ingenious man.

Tip 22: Because sheer ambition makes me feel manly, the high pedestal you bestow upon a cartoon work should be based mostly on the mere mention or mere suggestion of serious topics. This means that pure comedy is smelly.

Tip 23: Is the new work tackling subjects that you’ve loved a childhood work of yours for covering? Just assume it’s super bare-bones in that case compared to the older case, for there’s nothing the older work can do to truly prove itself otherwise. Seriously, Letterboxd. Stop giving any 2010s cartoon anything above a 4/5

Tip 24: If the Mystic Knee is suggesting that the work is crummy, then consider any explanation off the top of your head for why the work in question is crummy.

Tip 25: Sexual and gender identity is inherently political, so don’t focus on them in the story. It’s no wonder why Full Metal Alchemist has caught on more than the She-Ra reboot.

Tip 26: Since I got bothered by a random butt monkey type character in a crummy cartoon, I’m now obligated to assume that having a butt monkey will only harm the writing integrity of the cartoon.

Seriously, Mr. Enter....what?!

Tip 27: We’re at a point where pure comedy for a kids’ cartoon is doing nothing but dumbing down the children. Like seriously...... I doubt Billy and Mandy would ever use farts as a punchline, unlike these newer kids comedies.

Tip 28: The difference between the innuendo in kids’ cartoons I grew up on and the ones Zootopia made is the sense of prestige they give me. Just take notes from the former instead.

Tip 29: Wanna make a work of artistic merit? Just take notes from the stuff I whore out to. It’s just THAT simple until I dictate otherwise.

Tip 30: Always remember this golden rule: If the newer work, or a work you’ve recently experienced the first time, was truly great, why isn’t it providing the exact emotions from your younger, more impressionable years?

Tip 31: If the Mystic Knee aims to break the bones of a character doing certain things (.i.e. having body count of thousands; lashing out to character; etc.), that means the character is bad and deserves no redemption.

Tip 32: If you want me to believe there’s any intrigue or depth in your antagonist, give them redemption, for I am in need of that sorta thing being spelled out. Looking at you, Syndrome. Should’ve taken notes from Tai Lung.

Tip 33: In a case where you’re going “X > Y” (.i.e. manga compared to western comics), ALWAYS CHERRY PICK! Use the recent controversies of the “Y” item while pretending that the “X” item has never had anything of the sort.

Tip 34: BEFORE you bring up those comments that shat on the original Teen Titans cartoon back when it was new, whether for making Starfire “more PC” or whatever.......the DIFFERENCE between them and me is that THEY were just bad faith fools that couldn’t see true majesty out of blind rage. I, however, am truly certain that calling any western TV cartoon from 2014-onward a work that transcends its generation suggests a destruction of the medium.

Tip 35: Based on fandom growth, it shows that any newer show isn’t being watched much by kids, but rather loser adults that act like children. Therefore, there’s more prestige in what I grew with.

Tip 36: The focus on children is bad at this point since the children of today have attention spans that flies would have.

Tip 37: A select few screenshots (or even one) of either a less elaborate attacking animation, less realistic game graphics, or a less on-model image in a cartoon indicates EVERYTHING about the work’s quality.

Tip 38: Consuming or writing media where characters go through constant suffering is little more than gaining pleasure out of it. YOU SICKOS!

Looking at you, Lily Orchard!

Tip 39: Whether it’s a sexual awakening story or just simply a romance, focus on a character being lesbian, trans, bi, etc., then it shouldn’t be in a kids’ work. It’s too spicy for them by default. Kids don’t want romance anyway.

Tip 40: The very idea of a western cartoon with no full-blown antagonist (i.e. Inside Out) is a destruction of animated artistry. Sorry, but it’s just THAT simple until I dictate otherwise.

Tip 41: Unless it’s my fluffy pillow, such as Disney’s Robin Hood, it should be obligated to assume the inserting of anthros is only there to pleasure the furries. Looking at YOU, Zootopia!

Tip 42: With how rough and rash The Beast was, it shows that he was more of an abusive lover. Therefore, I refuse to believe that Beauty and the Beast has any of the meticulous moral writing that most of Disney’s other 90s films has.

Tip 43: When you suggest one work should’ve “taken notes” from another work in order to do better, BE VAGUE! Those who agree will be shown to be geniuses.

Tip 44: Remember how morally grey Invader Zim was? That really goes to show how little the Western Animation scene has been trying since that show. Really should just be taking notes from that series (and of course anime).

Tip 45: Even if I have a radar that clearly indicates such, hiding the item I look for inside an enemy is always bad, for I refuse to believe it would be inside the enemy.

Goddamn it, Arin!

Tip 46: People struggle understanding your gender identity or pronouns? All there is to see in that is a giant cloud of egotism that reads “My problems” zapping another smaller cloud that reads “other people’s problems”. Seriously, kids are starving, so WHAT if you identity confused someone. Grow a spine!

Tip 47: Stop pretending that adaptations should colorize how a story or comic series should be defined. No way in FUCK can a cartoon or film incarnation become the definitive portrayal of my precious superhero idol.

Tip 48: Enough with your precious “limited animation” techniques, YOU WESTERN HACKS! All you’re doing is admitting to sheer laziness and lacking artistic integrity. Now if you excuse me, I’ll be watching more anime, since that gives me a sense of prestige.

Tip 49: If getting five times more detail than the 2D animated visuals have requires someone getting hurt, so be it. No pain, no gain after all.

Tip 50: Yes, I genuinely struggle to believe there’s this majestic level of layered material without having the most immediate yet still vague re-assurance practically yelling in my face. But that’s STILL the work’s fault, not mine.

Tip 51: Every Klasky-Csupo cartoon has more artistic integrity than any of them cartoons with gay lovers such as Kipo or the Netflix She-Ra show.

Tip 52:  If Sergio Pablos’ Klaus is anything to go by, we have no excuse to utilize those smelly as fuck digital animation “styles” found on Stinky Universe, Suck-Ra or Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turds.

Tip 53: Stop projecting your orientation onto works of actual talent. Seriously, how does Elton John’s I’m Still Standing expel ANY rainbow flag energy?

Tip 54: Hip hop and electronica have been the destruction of music, especially the kind that’s actually organic and not farting on the buttons of a beeping or drumming gadget.

Tip 55: The audience for cartoons has become significantly less clear over the years. We should just go back to Saturday mornings of being sold toys or shit kids actually want.

Tip 56: PSAs for kids shouldn’t be about ‘woke’ content. They should be actual problems such as doing drugs; not playing with knifes / outlets / matches; or acceptance.

Tip 57: The instant you realize a detail in a childhood work that’s better understood as an adult, you’re forced to paint that work as the most transcendent thing in the world. It’s just THAT simple until I dictate otherwise.

Tip 58: Before you lash out on ALL rich people, remember this: #Not All Rich People.

Tip 59: There’s nothing to gain out of the (c)rap scene other than becoming a spiteful, gun-wielding thug that sniffs weed for breakfast.

Tip 60: Since the Mystic Knee told me to get anal about prom episodes in several gay cartoons, this shows that writing about one’s younger experiences just makes you look pathetic.

Tip 61: Another smelly thing about Zootopia is how it was painting a police chief as stern and exclusive. #Not All Chiefs

Tip 62: Me catching a glimpse of Grave of the Fireflies as a kid and turning out fine shows that you may as well show kids more adult works without worry. No amount of psychological questions being asked will suggest otherwise.

Tip 63: There’s a reason why the Mystic Knee keeps leaning more toward the 90s and early 2000s than most decades. That knee KNOWS where there’s a sense of true refinement.

Tip 64: The BIG difference between rock and electronica? Steward Copeland actually DRUMS. All that the likes of Burial, Boards of Canada, Depeche Mode and several others did was push drum buttons.

Tip 65: One exception to the golden nostalgia is when the work in question doesn’t stuff your face with fantastical, bombastic stories. At which point, there can only be rose-colored blinds covering Nickelodeon’s Doug. Nothing of merit or personal resonance to be found.

Tip 66: Remember that the sense of nuance in the work comes down to there being everything including the kitchen sink, whether it involves multiple geographic landscapes; giving us hundreds of characters; etc. Only through the extremes will I be able to tell there is nuance.

Tip 67: Once you see a joke that has an involvement with sexual or violent content, just ignore the full picture and just reduce it to having nothing to it but “sex, violence, gimme claps.”

PKRussel has entered the chat

Tip 68: With all the SJWs messing up the art of comedy, lament the times where you could be called a comic genius, NOT a monster, for shouting out the word “STAB,” calling a gay weird, painting Middle Easterns as inherently violent, etc.

Tip 69: Guitar twang will always win out over (c)rap beats. There’s a reason your grandma is more likely to listen to Lynyrd Skynyrd than Kendrick Lamar.

Tip 70: Once the Mystic Knee notices a lack of squealing at the video game with linearity, that shows there’s more artistry in going full-blown open world.

Tip 71: Related to Tips 66 and 68, ensure your comedy gets as much information and mileage out of each individual skit as possible. EMPHASIZE if you need to. Continuously spout out your quirky phrase of “STAB” if needed.

Tip 72: Based on the onslaught of TV shows with many seasons and episodes, animated or otherwise, it shows that there’s more worth going for that than simply having a miniseries or a 26-episode anime.

Tip 73: Building off of the previous tip, you’re better off squeezing and exhausting every little detail and notable characterization rather than keeping anything simple and possibly leaving a stone unturned, especially if there’s supposed to be a story. 

Tip 74: Playing through the fan translation of Mother 3 made me realize how much some newer kids’ works just try too hard to get serious. Why even make the kids potentially think about the death of a family member?

Tip 75: The fear I had over Sid’s toys from the first Toy Story and similar anecdotal emotions are the be-all indicators of what kind of show or film is fitting for the children.

Tip 76:  Seeing this British rapper chick have a song titled “Point and Kill” just further exemplifies the fears I’ve had about rappers being some of the most harmful folks ever.

Tip 77: The problem with attempting to make a more “relatable” She-Ra is that kids aren’t looking for relatability. They want the escapism of buff fighters or something similar. This is why slice-of-life is so smelly.

Tip 78: Based on seeing the rating of “PG-13″ or “R,” I can tell that the dark humor is little more than “hur dur sex and guns.” Given the “TV-Y7 FV” rating of Invader Zim, the writers should’ve taken notes from that instead just so I can sense actual prestige.

Tip 79: The original He-Man has more visual intrigue in its animation than any of those smelly glorified doodles found in the “styles" of the 2010s and early 2020s.

Tip 80: It’s always the fault of the game that my first guess (that I refuse to divert from) on how I have to go through an obstacle won’t work.

Tip 81: Zootopia discussing prejudice ruins the majestic escapism I got from my precious childhood films from 1991-2004. Them kids might as well be watching the news. Now to watch some Hunchback after I finish these tips.

Tip 82: There is no such thing as an unreasonable expectation, and there’s especially no wrong way to address the lack of met expectations! For example, if you expect some early 2010s cartoon on the Disney Channel to be a Kids X-Files, yet you get moments such as some girl getting high on stick dipping candy, you got the right to paint the worst out of that show for not being “Kids’ X-Files.”

Tip 83: Related to my example for Tip 82, if you get the slightest impression of something being childish, you know you got yourself a children’s work that does little than wave keys and has basically nothing substantial for them. In this situation, those malfunctioning robots found in Wall-E are the guilty party.

Tip 84: Without the extensive dialogue that I’m used to getting, how can one say for certain there was any amount of characterization in the title character of Wall-E?

Tip 85: Ever noticed yourself gradually being less likely to expect an upcoming work or view a work you’re just consuming as “the next best thing”? That’s ALWAYS the fault of smelly “artists” (hacks really) and their refusal to give a shit.

Tip 86:  It’s obligatory for your lead to be explicitly heroic just so there is this immediate re-assurance that they’re a good one.

Tip 87: Without the comforting safety net of throwbacks, one cannot be for certain that there has been an actual evolution of a series or the art of animation and video games.

Tip 88: Don’t PSA kids on stuff they give zero fucks about. That means no gender identities or pronouns, race, etc.

Tip 89: Don’t listen to Mamoru Hosoda saying that anime women tend to be “depicted through a lens” of sexual desire. He’s just distracting from the superior prestige found in anime women.

Tip 90:  If you’re desperate to let others know that your talking points are reasonable, just repeat them over and over with little expansion on said talking points.

Tip 91: 7 or more seasons of art is better than 26 episodes of art.  EVERY TIME!

Tip 92: Always remember to continuously talk up the innuendo and mature subject matter of the childhood work as the most prestigious, transcendent thing of all time. With that in mind, there’s a high chance that your favorite childhood work will be better known than Perfect Blue (1997), and there’s likely a reason for that.

Tip 93: An art style that gives many characters relatively more realistic arm muscle details will always shine through more than any sort of art style done for “simplicity” (laziness, really).

Tip 94:  Seeing a few (like, even VERY FEW) people show more enthusiasm for Steven Universe over Invader Zim really shows the lower bar that has been expected out of the western animation scene compared to anime.

Tip 95: Electronic music makes less conventional time signatures cheap as hell. REAL music like rock makes them the exact opposite.

Tip 96: If your Mystic Knee suggests that the 90s cartoon being viewed doesn’t showcase a vague sense of refinement or artistic integrity, then every related assumption of yours is right. EVERY TIME!

Tip 97: Doing everything and the kitchen sink for one series or movie shows a better sense of refinement and prestige than any form of simplicity. THIS includes character design as well.

Tip 98: The advent of that Star Wars: Visions anime really shows just how stinky western cartoons have become.

Tip 99:  For those wondering, no, Europe isn’t being counted in my definition of “western animation”. Doing so is a complete disservice to prestige.

Tip 100: If even less than half of these tips aren’t being considered, you can kiss that prestige badge goodbye. After all, I SAID SO!

The Owl House zodiac signs

I decided to match zodiac signs with TOH characters because why not. Info from https://www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com.

Luz: Libra

Strengths: Cooperative, diplomatic, gracious, fair-minded, social Weaknesses: Indecisive, avoids confrontations, will carry a grudge, self-pity

Likes: Harmony, gentleness, sharing with others, the outdoors Dislikes: Violence, injustice, loudmouths, conformity

They are in a constant chase for justice and equality, realizing through life that the only thing that should be truly important to themselves in their own inner core of personality. They will be inspired by good books, insurmountable discussions and people who have a lot to say. ibra representatives are highly social and put their friends in the limelight, but sometimes raise their expectation bars too high, but will often help others understand the other side of their personal conflicts and trouble with other people.

She enjoys being taught about new things and enjoys talking about herself and her personal interests, just as much as she likes sinking deep into her partner’s life. She is charming, intelligent, and finds solutions to problems that arise along the way with certain ease.

Eda: Sagittarius or Aries.

Strengths: Generous, idealistic, great sense of humor Weaknesses: Promises more than can deliver, very impatient, will say anything no matter how undiplomatic

Likes: Freedom, travel, philosophy, being outdoors

Dislikes: Clingy people, being constrained, off-the-wall theories, details Freedom is their greatest treasure, because only then they can freely travel and explore different cultures and philosophies. Because of their honesty, Sagittarius-born are often impatient and tactless. The fun-loving Sagittarius enjoys making and spending money.

Aries

Strengths: Courageous, determined, confident, enthusiastic, optimistic, honest, passionate

Weaknesses: Impatient, moody, short-tempered, impulsive, aggressive

Likes: Comfortable clothes, taking on leadership roles, physical challenges, individual sports

Dislikes: Inactivity, delays, work that does not use one's talents

Aries rules the head and leads with the head, often literally walking head first, leaning forwards for speed and focus. Its representatives are naturally brave and rarely afraid of trial and risk. They possess youthful strength and energy, regardless of their age and quickly perform any given tasks. They are continuously looking for dynamic, speed and competition, always being the first in everything - from work to social gatherings.  They are tolerant of people they come in contact with, respectful of different personalities and the openness they can provoke with simple presence. Their circle of friends needs a wide range of strange individuals.

Independent and ambitious, an Aries often knows where they want to go at a young age, separating from their family a bit early. They will take on family obligations when they need to be taken care of, never refusing more work as if their pool of energy is infinite. They live in the present and aren't that focused on the future, and this can make them irrational and hasty when it comes to financial decisions. Still, they seem to always find a way to earn money and compensate for what they have spent.

King: Leo

Strengths: Creative, passionate, generous, warm-hearted, cheerful, humorous

Weaknesses: Arrogant, stubborn, self-centered, lazy, inflexible

Likes: Theater, taking holidays, being admired, expensive things, bright colors, fun with friends

Dislikes: Being ignored, facing difficult reality, not being treated like a king or queen

Aware of their desires and personality, they can easily ask for everything they need, but could just as easily unconsciously neglect the needs of other people in their chase for personal gain or status. Leo is generous, faithful and a truly loyal friend, born with a certain dignity and commitment to individual values. Tuned to themselves for the most part, they tend to become independent as soon as possible. Still, a Leo will do anything to protect their loved ones.

Willow: Taurus

Strengths: Reliable, patient, practical, devoted, responsible, stable

Weaknesses: Stubborn, possessive, uncompromising

Taurus likes: Gardening, cooking, music, romance, high quality clothes, working with hands

Taurus dislikes: Sudden changes, complications, insecurity of any kind, synthetic fabrics

They are loyal and don't like sudden changes, criticism or the chase of guilt people are often prone to, being somewhat dependable on other people and emotions they seem to be unable to let go of. Still, no matter their potential emotional challenge, these individuals have the ability to bring a practical voice of reason in any chaotic and unhealthy situation. People born in this sign are loyal and always willing to lend a hand of friendship, although they can be closed up for the outer world before they build trust for new social contacts they make. Many of their friendships begin in childhood with a tendency to last them a lifetime.

Gus: Gemini Strengths: Gentle, affectionate, curious, adaptable, ability to learn quickly and exchange ideas

Weaknesses: Nervous, inconsistent, indecisive

Gemini likes: Music, books, magazines, chats with nearly anyone, short trips around the town

Gemini dislikes: Being alone, being confined, repetition and routine

They are fascinated with the world itself, extremely curious, with a constant feeling that there is not enough time to experience everything they want to see. Gemini's changeable and open mind makes them excellent artists, especially writers and journalists.

Lilith: Virgo

Strengths: Loyal, analytical, kind, hardworking, practical

Weaknesses: Shyness, worry, overly critical of self and others, all work and no play

Virgo likes: Animals, healthy food, books, nature, cleanliness

Virgo dislikes: Rudeness, asking for help, taking center stage

This is a sign often misunderstood, not because they lack the ability to express, but because they won’t accept their feelings as valid, true, or even relevant when opposed to reason. Their goals and dreams still have strictly defined borders in their mind. People born with their Sun in Virgo are very dedicated to their family and attentive to elderly and sick people. They understand tradition and the importance of responsibility, proud of their upbringing and everything that made their mind be as dominant as it is.

Amity: Scorpio or Capricorn

Strengths: Resourceful, brave, passionate, stubborn, a true friend

Weaknesses: Distrusting, jealous, secretive, violent

Scorpio likes: Truth, facts, being right, longtime friends, teasing, a grand passion

Scorpio dislikes: Dishonesty, revealing secrets, passive people

They are excellent leaders because they are very dedicated to what they do. Scorpios hate dishonesty and they can be very jealous and suspicious, so they need to learn how to adapt more easily to different human behaviors.

Capricorn

Strengths: Responsible, disciplined, self-control, good managers

Weaknesses: Know-it-all, unforgiving, condescending, expecting the worst

Capricorn likes: Family, tradition, music, understated status, quality craftsmanship

Capricorn dislikes: Almost everything at some point

Capricorn speaks of each natural chain reaction of fear, Immersed in their secrecy, they face the world just as they are – brave enough to never run away, but constantly afraid of their inner monsters. Capricorn women are ambitious, persistent, responsible and reliable. She only wants to find someone to make her smile, and can’t wait to open up and feel the real pull of emotion that makes her warm up to the possibilities that lie in the future. It will take some time for her to lower her guard and feel safe and comfortable enough to show just how sensitive and caring she can be when she is in love.

Edric and Emira: Aquarius

Strengths: Progressive, original, independent, humanitarian

Weaknesses: Runs from emotional expression, temperamental, uncompromising, aloof

Likes: Fun with friends, helping others, fighting for causes, intellectual conversation, a good listener

Dislikes: Limitations, broken promises, being lonely, dull or boring situations, people who disagree with them

Aquarius-born have a reputation for being cold and insensitive persons, but this is just their defence mechanism against premature intimacy. They need to learn to trust others and express their emotions in a healthy way.