Mercury Retrograde and Pluto in Capricorn

Only three more days until Mercury pops out of this current retrograde, and, from what my more astrologically knowledgeable friends have been saying, Pluto is in Capricorn, which has to do with destruction and rebuilding. I don't pretend to understand astrology at all, and sometimes I don't give it a second thought, but recently, especially NOW, I'm thinking there's more to it. I'd like to think that this current planetary alignment has more of a global impact, but judging by events occurring right here on the home front, I have to say it's more specific than that -- it is hitting home, and hard.

I choose to be optimistic.

I have always been a clean slate type of person. Having my life changed at the drop of a hat and rebuilding it into something else is something I've done time and again. Though it's been almost two decades since I've had to make a major shift like the one looming in the near future, it feels like yesterday. There's this deep sense of familiarity with this kind of change. Life upheavals. Lifestyle restructuring. And always a spark of optimism.

I tried to get the jump by tearing into the studio and ridding myself of all the unnecessary objects and possessions that were simply taking up space, feeding my ego, or my sense of worth through material things. But that got stalled. The studio is a wreck. I've actually lost my copy of Arctander. People keep piling up their unwanted objects-that-cannot-be-thrown-away in a corner of the studio and it's attracting pests -- I can't keep the cat out of it, spiders are setting up camp, and dust bunnies are running rampant. All I wanna do is make soap, start formulating the newest perfume, Lylli Bleu, so that it's off the paper and in the world, write a little more, and make some money! But no, I get hoarders and dust.

*Formulating Tip of the Day:

Dilute. Dilute, dilute, dilute! Save money by formulating perfume trials using 1, 10 and 20% dilutions. Mix and match the ratios. Be adventurous. Keep meticulous notes. Love what you do.