Archive | Film Matters
Virginia Bell Q&A: On Venus Retrograde and Aging Mindfully
I often write here about the astrologer Virginia Bell. In addition to being a terrific translator of the heavens, she’s a trusted mentor and a lovely friend–the kind of person I aspire to be. To celebrate International Women’s Day last week, we sat in front of a voice recorder and a heaving board of snacks and discussed Venus Retrograde, the divine feminine, this spring’s forecast, how astrology is affecting the Trump coup, and her new book, Midlife Is Not a Crisis: Using Astrology to Thrive in the Second Half of Life. What follows is our unabridged conversation. I’d pare it down except Virginia’s words–articulate, generous, and peppered with her own wisdom as well as the wisdom of others–are too precious to cut. Consider this a primer in how to make astrology and aging work for you rather than against you.
Lisa Rosman (doing an unfortunate Julie Andrews impression): Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. How did you get into astrology?
Virginia Bell (politely ignoring unfortunate impression): I’ve been practicing since the 1990s but my interest began when I was 14. I asked my priest what he thought about astrology and he didn’t miss a beat. He said, “It’s the devil’s work. (Laughter). Right then and there, I decided, “I’m an atheist and I’m interested in astrology.” Of course, I came back to the church in the sense that I love all the saints. Continue Reading →
Freudian Slips and #OscarsSoEclipse
It was the dullest of times. It was the most scintillating of times.
Was it the solar eclipse? Was it a dissatisfied underling thumbing their nose at the Pricewaterhouse Coopers power-that-be? As of this writing, no one really knows why it happened. All we know is that, as the clock crept to twelve o’clock midnight during the most boring Oscars telecast to date, “La La Land” was incorrectly named Best Picture, creating the biggest kerfuffle on live television since November 9, 2016. By the time “Moonlight” received its due, producer/director/writer Barry Jenkins’s acceptance speech was, well, eclipsed by the general confusion waking up audience members who had drifted off during this Tinseltown snoozefest. Continue Reading →