Isn’t it perfect that Halloween is celebrated now, under the sign of the Scorpion (Oct 22 – Nov 22)? The veil between the worlds is at its thinnest and ghosts and skeletons and vampires are at home now, wandering the streets. This is appropriate under the eighth sign, Scorpio, the sign of death, sex, transformations and all mysteries. Contact with the other side can happen easier now for seekers.

There is no muse of art! Attributing the unceasing need to create to that inborn but still outside-of-oneself source is an often used excuse by those starving artists who sometimes feel that their talents aren’t appreciated by the rest of society. Dating to the Classical Greek era, Muses are “spirits who inspire the creation of literature and the arts.”  Nine Muses (in female form) exist for the various manifestations of poetry, history, music, tragedy, comedy, dance, and astrology, but surprisingly, not visual or fine art. However, in Ancient Rome, this spirit did exist for any creative venture and was identified as a “genius.” Not that you were a genius, but that you had a helpful spirit called a “genius” who provided you with the creative mystery of your art.  Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, discusses this very subject online on her website, in a very worthwhile talk: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html