"...it is worth going to a little trouble to make a dinner a ritual by attending to the symbolic suggestiveness of the food and the way it is presented and eaten. Without this added dimension, which requires some thought, it may seem that life goes on smoothly, but slowly soul is weakened and can make its presence known only in symptoms."
- Thomas Moore, Care of the Soul
I have to admit I'm impatient. Not just 'won't suffer fools' huffy impatient, but the 'really in a big hurry so
move it will you' bratty kind. I'm told this is partly due to being born while Venus was in Aries.
So I'm the type that pursues. Especially in love, yeah - but I'll lose interest if the man of the moment gives too much too soon.
I also can't abide sappiness, I like my men with balls and attitude. 'Just leave the poetry to me' is what I have to say to a guy who talks about 'feelings'.
In fact I'd rather not talk at all.Lets take a ride on a motor bike, race me in your car. Thrill me if you can. Make me blush with rude jokes and never ask permission to kiss me. Just do it.
Aries is the domain of
Mars , the celestial action man. It rules the head but not the mind (which is under Mercury), its symbol is the Ram - so my kind of Venus is drawn to strong faces, thick woolly hair, and, er - horns. Or maybe that's swords? You get what I mean.
I'm sure its Venus in Aries that causes me to swoon over men with tools - the more powerful the better. Don't get me started on the particular effects of a uniform.
As my dear friend Simone once said about how my preferences look, 'big, dumb and beautiful'.
Well, maybe not dumb. After all, the battle is no fun if one's opponent is mismatched. If a man can't raise a laugh then he has no chance of disarming me, and humour takes brain. Having said that, I don't do well under siege.
Venus in Aries may prefer martial and gutsy, but she's still a woman and she wants what she needs. Fiercely passionate and determined as a woman can be - remember this - Aries is the infant of the zodiac, the first sign. Those needs are primal instincts; give me, care for me, protect me. OK. Venus has gotta eat too but in Aries a girl has no time for a leisurely meal. Just grab it and let's go - inhale it, attack each mouthful, finish victorious and get on with the next task. Food has its purpose, and slow pleasures be damned.
Not exactly the stuff of romance, eh?
For me, having a family has taught the value of becoming
still, laying a table and sharing a meal with others. As the children grow it becomes a necessity to draw out any opportunity to talk and listen. Every word they say is a gift, even if they need a gentle reminder to finish their mouthful first.
With as many kids as I have its a logistical challenge to get it together - and far easier to lapse into kitchen eating and snacking at desks. Our dinners are events we work together to achieve, and so we appreciate them all the more.
At the end of a day the little things matter to us - care and attention to details - colour, texture, smell, sound. A thrown together and thrown down meal
does happen every now and then, but its never really good for us as a family, or as people.
Food becomes part of our bodies, its value is not just counted in recommended daily units of vitamins and minerals. We all know it by now.
'You Are What You Eat' may be about not 'junking' our bodies -but on another level its about not trashing our lives.
And so, how much of our relationships with each other and the world can be healed - recovered from the trash - through ritual activities like meals?Now that Venus has moved into Aries, perhaps its time to examine how beauty and pleasure take shape in our daily routines - in all the small ways they can.
Maybe there's room for more courage; some daring new colour or taste or smell that expresses something of - and energises - the soul?
Where there's been impatience there can be a move toward enthusiasm; taking notice of our responses to
the efforts of others to please us. Appreciating what is given in love, prepared and made with care.
I for one welcome the idea of putting down weapons and lighting a candle for real intimacy.
As long as I still get that motorbike ride.
