#they’re so perfect together they understand each other so intuitively they share the same goals and the same sense of humor. theyre perfect

[sortinghatchats]

On Ravenclaw Primaries

Ravenclaw Primaries are the system-lovers. They create, modify, and outright adopt systems that give them frames and guidance for interacting with the world. These systems vary wildly, and include but are certainly not limited to religious systems, political systems, family and community morals, and combinations thereof. They value truth. They want to find the correct, best way to look at the world and to interact with morality and the people around them.

The gradual editing process of the Ravenclaw’s system as they mature and see more of the world leads to the many different states that Ravenclaws can find themselves in: a Ravenclaw might be in the process of searching for their truth, have found their truth, or have a functional truth but not a finalized truth. These states are fluid and may often coexist and contain intermediate states. 

This can understandably lead to the reputation that Ravenclaws have in canon: academics and intellectuals. But these people do not make up the entire range of Ravenclaw Primaries.

A system can try to encompass the whole universe, the whole world, the whole community, or just someone’s own experience. Systems can be built from scratch or swallowed whole-sale or cobbled together from a dozen sources. The thing that makes the Ravenclaw Primary is not the system but the Ravenclaw’s need to have one. Ravenclaws distrust their gut reactions, emotional impulses and leaps of moral intuition. Nothing is “just wrong.” It needs to be poked at. 

Ravenclaws are still as likely as anyone to have those emotional reactions to situations and questions. Some Ravenclaws distrust those impulses; others just place no weight on the biased preferences that stir in them. Either way, Ravenclaws feel most right when they make their decisions based on what they have built, rather than what they feel. 

Ravenclaw Primaries can be broad or narrow, dealing with the whole world or just an individual’s life, passions, religion, or even vocation. That said, it’s still common for Ravenclaws to care about experiencing the world in its entirety. How can you know the truth if you don’t know all of the world? If you’re working with incomplete information, how can you know that the system you constructed fits the entire world, and not just your own? How can you know you’re right? This seems to be more common with Ravenclaws who constructed their truth from scratch, and for Ravenclaws who are still searching for their truth. It can encompass not just physical exploration, but also the consumption of large amounts of information that you find in books and online. The desire to define and to make the world into an understandable system can be approached from many different corridors, but for many Ravenclaws, it feels like the end of those corridors should ultimately be the same end. There is truth and if you think hard enough about it, you’ll be able to figure it out and find it. 

This truth can contain complexities like, for example, that a universal truth either doesn’t exist or is impossible to discover. There are Ravenclaws whose most important truth is that each individual gets to decide on their own truth; that there is no universal objective truth, but that finding individual, subjective truth is just as important of a goal. You have Ravenclaws who are hugely capable of and demanding of tolerance. 

There are also Ravenclaws who believe that truth is discoverable, and there is a universal, objective truth, and that they have found it. Maybe it’s not perfect, but it’s solid, and they’re sure that if they explain it sufficiently to someone else, that person would also see the truth of it.

Ravenclaw Primaries are sometimes hard to identify, both in characters and in the people around you, because the system they choose can often look like the systems of other houses. What makes a Ravenclaw is not the contents of their system, but the way they interact with it. For example, a Ravenclaw Primary might decide the best, truest system was the people-first morality of the Hufflepuff Primary. That Ravenclaw is going to look a lot like a Hufflepuff Primary a lot of the time. 

One of the easiest places to see the difference between a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw-who-decided-on-Hufflepuff is when a new moral system is introduced. Let’s say both were sat down and convinced that this other system was technically more moral, better, did more good but involved hurting people or otherwise betraying their Puff system. Convinced the new system was better, a Ravenclaw would feel guilty and immoral if they clung to their old Puff model. They would be clinging because it was comfortable and they liked it, and feel guilty for not doing the more right thing. Convinced the new system was better, a Hufflepuff would feel guilty and immoral if they abandoned their Puff ideals. 

You could also get Ravenclaws who invested so heavily in that first system that they, too, refuse to give it up. That’s less likely to happen, though, because Ravenclaw Primaries also value internal consistency. Hypocrisy means that something is off, and wrong, and it irritates them like a small large rock (or like a boulder) in their shoe. There are two ways to deal with this: ignore it as hard as you possibly can…or fix your system. Stagnant Ravenclaws, unwilling to adjust their system, have a tendency to end up Fallen– Javert, from Les Mis, refuses to abandon his system of law and justice and this inflexibility ends up driving him into a lethal corner. He had been unwilling to edit his system, so when his need for merciless justice and his sense of debt owed come into direct conflict, he falls. Falling is discussed in more detail further down.

Co-existing with the Ravenclaw Secondary

We’re going to talk about the Ravenclaw Primary’s relationship to the Ravenclaw Secondary now. The Secondary is discussed in further detail elsewhere on our site. To sum it briefly, the Ravenclaw Secondary is the secondary of wit, learning, and curiosity. Ravenclaw Secondaries can look like traditional bookish nerds or scattered professors but also like patient strategists, versatile Jacks-of-All-Trades, or passionate bureaucrats. 

Understanding how to apply the skills of the Ravenclaw Secondary means giving a huge boost to your ability to think critically, to understand scientific studies, and to come to a logical conclusion in an emotionally-charged situation. It’s all really handy stuff, especially when you’re dedicated to things like building robust moral systems and coming to logical conclusions in emotionally-charged situations. And so there’s a trend for Ravenclaw Primaries to have Ravenclaw Secondaries, or at least a Ravenclaw Secondary Model. 

Having a Ravenclaw Secondary improves a Primary’s ability to carefully and logically construct their own working system, and also to think critically about already-existing ones. When someone cares deeply about the accuracy of their system, the skills of the Ravenclaw Secondary become deeply attractive, especially in a general society that places such a high value on scientific method and analysis. This, we think, is what creates the illusion of there being something intrinsically logical and methodological to the Ravenclaw Primary– despite there being many examples of Ravenclaws whose systems are built primarily if not solely on observation, faith, or usefulness.

Luna Lovegood, one of our few canonical Ravenclaw characters, is an example of one of our “illogical” Ravenclaw Primaries. She is characterized by her certainty and dedication to a worldview that everyone around her (including our protagonists, though they get better) shun and mock her for. She is stubborn and consistent in her world and choices. She spends the war standing by the cause she’s chosen, and then she spends the rest of her life exploring and proving that her nargles and other creatures exist.

Houses other than Ravenclaw can value and use logic in the creation of their goals and the direction of their morality as well, of course. There can be painstakingly meticulous Hufflepuff Primaries who try to maximize their positive impact on the world, and Gryffindors who believe the utter moral righteousness of trusting in logic and empiricism. What makes a Ravenclaw Primary is not their relationship to logic, but their relationship to systems and the importance they place on their system being correct.

This is one of the main places where Ravenclaw Primaries differ from the other Constructed house, the Slytherin Primary, because Slytherins don’t have this need for things to be true. Instead, a Slytherin’s system tends to be either more flexible or more self-serving. It will often still allow for long-term decisions and values, but Slytherin Primaries lack the passion of ideology and the desire for truth that is such a motivator for Ravenclaw Primaries. Slytherins tend to build a system in order to fill a void and to satisfy themselves. A Slytherin system is more likely to focus on just that person’s interaction with the world, often without a caveat of how others need to come to their own decisions about their system. Its aim is function and not general or even personal impact. 

Ravenclaw and Gryffindor Primaries

This is also where Ravenclaws differ from Gryffindor, the other Idealist House. Idealist Houses place an emphasis on morality over personal loyalties. This shared emphasis can make Gryffindors and Ravenclaws strong and comfortable allies– when they are in agreement.

For a Gryffindor Primary, truth is something you know and morality is something you have. For a Ravenclaw, it’s something you find or it’s something you have already found. Gryffindors consider the integrity and internal consistency of the Ravenclaw comforting, but can also grow frustrated and even repulsed with the Ravenclaw Primary’s tendency to toe at uncomfortable moral lines even when the Claw’s gut is telling them “no”– or even because their gut is telling them “no.” 

Ravenclaw Primaries in the process of building or editing their system often mistrust internal responses they can’t explain or source. They push and explore those “gut feelings,” sometimes quietly but sometimes aggressively, which is something that can often make a Gryffindor feel judged or disrespected. It looks like doubt and is therefore a threat to moral stability. If a Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had previously agreed on a moral point, the Ravenclaw’s sudden need to push at it like a loose tooth can look to a Gryffindor like an attack from a former ally. When they’re on the same page, however, these two Idealist Houses can make formidable partners.

Note: the Stripped Gryffindor often looks much like a Ravenclaw Primary. [link] If the system-building Ravenclaw Primary is looking familiar, but is seeming idealistic, optimistic, young, self-absorbed, or potentially simplistic– go take a look at the Stripped Gryff. Stripped Gryffindors are Gryffindors who have been pushed to distrust their own gut and so are forced (rather than delighted and dedicated to) build a system outside their internal moral compass.  

Burned or “Fallen” Ravenclaws

Ravenclaw is often the most robust of the Primaries. Because the center of a Ravenclaw Primary is so purposefully constructed, the destruction of a beloved morality or belief doesn’t always shatter the Claw the way it might another House. Perhaps even more than the other Houses, the point of Ravenclaw is not what truths they believe, but how they believe them. Systems of truth are built, found, or investigated. Dismantling obsolete parts, scrubbing down old ones, and planting new growth is often inherent in the constructed morality of Ravenclaws. 

A Ravenclaw faced with proof that their entire life philosophy is inaccurate, useless, and even harmful is perfectly likely to just shrug, reevaluate, and change their ways. This requires a certain degree of health and flexibility, but putting a weight on that type of flexibility is a common Claw attribute. They tend to value being actually right over seeming right or staying consistent to save face or because of old sentimental loyalties. Ravenclaws are perhaps more prone to existential crises than most people– but they’re also more likely to come out the other side with something new and satisfied to work with (until the next crisis). 

So where does the Ravenclaw burning come into this? What is the Claw equivalent of a “burned” Hufflepuff Primary closing themselves off from community?

A Burned Ravenclaw tends to come not from losing faith in a broken morality/truth system but losing faith in an ability to find or build a system.

It can be a professor who has put decades into one line of research, working to understand the world, and finds irrefutable proof that they’ve been on the wrong track all that time. They could just sigh, shuffle their feet, and move on to a different mode of analysis (thereby not Burn)–but that emotion of “no! I’ll never find it!” can easily spiral into a fall. They are only mortal; they only have so many years, because immortality is still yet to be invented. How can you accurately choose the most efficient and optimized way to invest your years? You are always inherently imperfect, and you don’t have eternity to iron out your mistakes. Exhausted, they can just despair.

A certain type of religious Ravenclaw who has poured all their analysis and structure into their religion, might Burn if pushed into a crisis of faith. Their ability to explore and shore up their truth system hinges on their ability to believe, and in losing their god they lose their feet.

An artistic Ravenclaw experiencing an extended art block might despair enough in their inability to create art that they’re satisfied with to briefly Burn.

Another Ravenclaw, thinking too much about the vast and complex nature of the universe, might spiral themselves into a Burn over the inability to fully comprehend all there is. It’s impossible, they cry, and realize that the truth they feel obligated to find is inherently out of their reach. While this sort of a thinking can inspire a Burn in some Ravenclaws, for others it’s just part of how truth works. “Reality is inherently incomprehensible and skewed by bias” is in itself a truth a Ravenclaw can comfortably hang their hat on. Truth being inherently unknowable can be a truth– it depends on the Ravenclaw. That revelation might be enough to make a different Ravenclaw Burn.

A crusading Ravenclaw could find their crusade harms more than it helps. Guilty and miserable, they might spiral about all the things that they cannot fix but that they feel obligated to fix. To Burn, that Ravenclaw doesn’t even have to lose faith that their morality is a true one. They can think their system is perfect and true, but if they think that they cannot live up to it, that can be enough to Burn.  

There can also be stagnant Ravenclaws–Ravenclaws who don’t compulsively revamp their internal systems; these often latch onto an external or taught system, and are more susceptible to falling. Inspector Javert from Les Miserables is an example of this. His chosen system of justice trips up against Jean Valjean’s acts of mercy. Javert knows it is unjust to let a criminal go free because a criminal will never stop being a criminal. As an inspector and man of the law, he cannot allow Valjean to successfully use Javert’s life as a barter for Valjean’s freedom. However, as a man who owes Valjean a debt, Javert also feels obligated to pay a life for a life. Stuck between his personal moral codes as a man of the law and just a man, Javert takes his own life. He was unable to edit his system so he falls, and his fall kills him.

Daine Sarrasri, the young protagonist of Tamora Pierce’s Immortals books, is one example of the borrowed-system Ravenclaw– and specifically an example of one who Burns (repeatedly, and temporarily).

Daine keeps investing in other people’s systems and then falling when they don’t accurately define the world. She is furious and betrayed to the point of Falling twice throughout the series. As a child, she subscribes to her mother’s give-as-you-get Hufflepuff Primary. When her mother dies with no one coming to her aid, Daine Burns so hard she literally loses her humanity and goes running with wolves.

After healing from that, she comes to trust and rely on the diplomacy and fair play rules of her Tortallan friends–but a friend ends up dead when she thought (by the rules of reality–she’s a Ravenclaw, she believes her systems hard) that they would be safe. She had played nice, he had played nice, but he had still been killed. Daine Falls and she Falls specifically into tumultuous and violent lashing out. 

Daine’s growth through to the end of the series allows her to build herself a system of service, loyalty, and bravery that relies on her choices and the choices of her close allies, not the responses of enemies or the world at large. It’s a more self-sufficient and self-contained system and so much more stable for that.

Burned Ravenclaws are Ravenclaws who have broken with their system in some way. The way burned Hufflepuffs turn from their communities, Gryffindors lose touch with their internal compass, and Slytherins push personal loyalty away, Ravenclaws break from the heart of their primary. Burned Ravenclaws can decide all systems are useless; that systems are impossible to find or to find accurately; or that they can never live up to the system they believe to be true and that it’s not okay.

Ravenclaws are both less likely than the other Houses to Burn and less likely to find an equilibrium in that Burning. Their Burnings tend to be short and severe. They are more likely to either cease functioning entirely or to have a quick recovery time. All of the other Houses, while it’s possible to recover, are more likely to stay burned once they’ve burned and find a way to live with it.

Falling is not just losing faith in your morality or in the people around you–for a Ravenclaw, this can be as severe losing confidence in your very ability to observe and define the world around you. That, you might imagine, could be a little unsettling. 

tl;dr – Ravenclaw Primaries

Ravenclaw is a Decided House, an External House, and an Idealist house.

As Idealists, they value ideas and systems over loyalties and most ambitions. Unlike Gryffindors, Ravenclaws tend to distrust in their innate, “gut instinct” view on things. In order to go forward, they need there to be something more substantial than “feeling” something is right– they need to know it. But that doesn’t mean that Ravenclaws don’t have those gut instincts; they just don’t prioritize them. 

As a Decided House, they choose their systems. Unlike the other Decided House, Slytherin, this constructed system is vitally important and must be true. Slytherins build systems for joy, utility, or convenience, but Ravenclaws’ sense of self and right is based around the truth of their system.

Ravenclaws can build their systems from scratch, borrow them from trusted authorities, communities, or religious systems, or cobble them together over years. They can be flexible or stagnant. Their systems can hinge on anything from kindness to aesthetic to emotionless logic. There’s a lot of room for variation here, and it’s one of the reasons why Ravenclaw Primaries are (at least from our small sample) one of the hardest Primaries to find and identify.

Ravenclaws, like Hufflepuffs, are an External Primary. The best source of truth, to the External Houses, comes from outside oneself. Unlike Gryffindor Primaries, Ravenclaws will always trust what they have learned, discussed, decided, and built above what they feel or intuit.

Like our system? Take our quiz: https://ejadelomax.itch.io/sortinghatchats

[readingsbylibramc]

birth chart reading for @scorpioxaries

hello! welcome to your reading. I’m gonna give you a quick overview of what I’m going to analyze about your natal chart. feel free to ask me anything if something isn’t clear, of course. you’ll find out your dominants’ influence on your persona, your physical appearance, impression on others and the way you approach the world; your ego, identity, the real you; your reactions, your desires, inner emotions; your way of expressing your feelings, your mind and ideas; your desires and approach to love; your energy tank, instincts and temperament; in-depth analysis of each house with their rulers and analysis of heavy aspects; love life + soulmates/karmic partners interpretation; your relationship with your friends; your family life; your approach to career and work in general + possible jobs suggestion; your style, fashion sense analysis; life purpose and past life description; basic transits’ analysis to describe your current mood and, last but not least, your secret skills, how to make the most out of your soul and manifest what you desire based on your birth chart.

🦋 chart shape, dominants

your chart is a locomotive shape. this means that you're a very ambitious person, with a lot of energy. the moon has a big influence on you, and your life revolves around understanding your feelings and emotional growth. the empty part of your life is what you have to develop, hence your family, love life and also your communication and thinking style, together with your confidence.

your dominant planets are mercury, pluto and uranus. you're an extremely intelligent and creative person with amazing problem-solving skills. you're very talkative and witty, and also extremely charismatic too. it's hard not to listen to you. you may experience lots of transformations in your life, you may make major changes to your lifestyle, but they'll help you gain more confidence and happiness to live more peacefully.

your dominant sign is scorpio. you may have trust issues and be quite of a loner, yet once you commit to someone, you'll be in for a long ride. you are very deep, both mentally and emotionally. you may struggle with power control, as you may have the perception that people are trying to take advantage of you due to your insecurities. because of that, you may also get quite possessive and bossy.

your dominant element is water. you're very intuitive and empathetic, you care a lot about others, and you may seem like a healer to people you know. in fact, you always try to help them if you can, almost in a therapeutic way. you're also very spiritual, and you're attracted to anything related to discovering your higher self and soul purpose.

🌎 ascendant in gemini, 15° / 2nd decan ruled by mercury and venus

you enjoy communicating and intellectualism. you’re very curious about everything that surrounds you. you love expanding your knowledge, ideas and mind in general through communication, interactions and media. you have the ability to adapt quickly to new situations; your mind is fast, usually impulsive, and this energy may be particularly prominent; you have lots of fire energy too, which makes you very straight-forward. you're rarely afraid to say or do what you think. this placement also helps you being adaptable to changes, even though you may only be able to see it after a few years if you manage to balance it well. you may also be able to match the energy of the people you’re talking to in order to be perceived as more likeable and connect with everyone on a deeper level. you may be so focused on making up your emotions, that you could forget to feel them, though. this may eventually cause crisis in an individual. you may be fond of books, poetry, literature… both writing and reading. it’s also a way to let yourself tune to your emotions. since you’re constantly mentally active, physically you may also tend to play with your fingers or hair, or maybe you tend to gesticulate while you speak. appearance-wise, I assume you’re at least of average height, with long limbs and fingers. you have something small about your face; you may either have a small nose, or eyes, lips etc. same thing goes for your bones. you may be naturally skinny. you also tend to look younger than you actually are, especially when growing up. I also see you having a square face with high cheekbones. overall, your bones are very prominent and you could gain muscle easily. your eyes are extremely magnetic, and they could also be quite big and/or round. you might have either very pale skin, or just an olive skintone. sometimes, even a mix of both. your hair, eyebrows and lashes are very thick and dark too.

🌞 sun in scorpio, 22° / 3rd decan ruled by pluto and the moon

you're quite of a loner, you prefer spending time alone rather than with others. you're extremely intuitive, and you can read people like a book; they can't lie or keep secrets from you, you'll surely find out. you're pretty charismatic, and paired with your wise intellect it's hard not to agree with your ideas, especially considering that your ascendant is in the intelligent gemini. you're basically a leader, a very demanding one. you have high standards regarding everything: clothes, food, goals, people... you're always striving for the best, you don't want to settle down. on the other hand, even though it may take you a while to find someone worth of your affection, once that someone shows up you'll stay with them forever. you're deeply loyal, and also caring in your own way. that's because you value feelings, you can easily smell when someone isn't trustworthy. you're probably very protective of your friends and loved ones in general, sometimes even too much. this could even escalate and become a more serious issue, as scorpio is also the planet of obsession, after all. it's common for you to feel your emotions x2, as they're too intense to handle. you know everything about others, but you don't show off and gossip about it. actually, you keep the info for yourself and use it when you need it. you're a sort of strategic cia agent, and your moon being in aries confirms this.

scorpio sun square leo mars: you’re extremely passionate about the things you love, you strive to be perfect at them, and it's actually a beneficial placement for you considering that you could be quite superficial at times due to your gemini rising. this could make you quite competitive, as both your scorpio sun and aries moon want to succeed and be always right. I feel like you don’t really enjoy being in the spotlight; you’d rather avoid conflicts, or at least not be the center of them. yet, sometimes it’s hard for you not be aggressive. I don’t think it happens often, but you can be very blunt and rude if someone truly gets on your nerves. this, paired up with your mars being in leo, makes you sort of dramatic. as long as you don’t react like this too often, I don’t think it’s a big issue though.

scorpio sun conjunct scorpio jupiter: this placement makes you more easy-going and kind-hearted than the typical scorpio sun. you have a warm personality. you could still value alone time a lot, but you're definitely more talkative than other scorpio suns. I imagine that, once you get to know people, you become very outgoing. you always try to make people feel comfortable and, in addition, this placement also makes you particularly considerate of others. you have a knack for religion, spirituality and just knowledge in general. you have strong beliefs, and you're most probably very open-minded as well. the negative side of this mostly-beneficial placement is that you may be subconsciously too confident in yourself, resulting arrogant or selfish. it's alright to praise yourself of course, but you may start to look down on people who don't share your same interests, opinions etc. you can't repress this side of yourself of course, but try not to show it with people around you if it causes you problems.

🌙 moon in aries, 16° / 2nd decan ruled by mars and the sun

you aim for greatness. this is where your strong desire to be the #1 comes from, pretty much. you're very proud of yourself, and you don't like to acknowledge your mistakes. you always want to look like you have your life together, even in certain moments when you feel lost. I would say that this is a sort of self-sabotaging mechanism, as you can literally go as far as forcing a smile if it shows the world that you can stand by yourself. overall, I would say you deal with your emotions in a very 'child-like' way; after all, aries is pretty self-centered. you tend to preserve yourself more, unless someone really special to you is involved. in fact, aries moon makes you really protective of your loved and trusted ones, even though they're not many because of your high standards. you're also very honest, you speak from your heart. while it's a positive trait, you may be too blunt and ruin your relationships because of that. you're both smart and fast, hence you may get annoyed when people mishear or misunderstand your words

🗣 mercury in scorpio, 6° / 1st decan ruled by pluto

you're extremely blunt and straight-forward, you may actually hurt people with your words. you probably lack diplomacy, and you're very realistic. the thing is, you speak the truth, but not everyone can accept it. that's why your behaviour is so controversial. though, since your mercury is also conjunct venus, I assume you could manifest this side of you only when you react by impulse, when you're angry. otherwise, you try to be as well-spoken as possible. you speak fluent sarcasm, and that could annoy people who don't understand your sense of humor. you're probably good at lying, and even manipulating people. you may often make others change their mind just with your own words, but be careful not to use this skill to hurt others, or you'll only experience a sense of guilt and overall the bad sides of it. on the other hand, you're an extremely captivating speaker, you'd be successful at anything that involves the use of words and voice. you're truly intuitive, and it's easy for you to understand when someone is being honest or is lying to you. last but not least, you're very secretive as well. you're probably the type to know everything and anything about others, while you remain a mystery.

scorpio mercury conjunct scorpio venus: with this placement, you may have some struggles to open yourself to the world, but since you have a very strong aries moon, I don't think that you’re insecure that your thoughts and ideas may be judged negatively by others. you're very opinionated, and you usually don't (and can't) bottle up your feelings. this aspect is mostly positive, though! you’re probably a good singer, or at least you have a very calm tone of voice that is pleasant to hear. you’re able to see both sides of an argument, hence you may be good at helping people making up. you could actually be suited for psychology! you may also earn money through your voice and thoughts, so you could be a writer, a journalist, an actress, a singer etc. this placement assures that you may be sociable, or at least that you have great social skills.

❤️ venus in scorpio, 4° / 1st decan ruled by pluto

this placement is extremely intense; you have very high standards when it comes to love. you're a passionate, loyal lover, but at the same times you also want and need a lover that is willing to go as far as you go with your feelings. you may often test your partner to see if they're worthy of your love, for example. you have this sort of self-destructive behaviour that makes people stressed, just because you have extreme trust issues and you feel the need to control everyone, especially if 'everyone' is your lover. you find yourself being more attracted to 'darker' types; that is, you may be into bad boys / girls, someone with an edgy / grunge aesthetic. I've noticed that many scorpio venus individuals have a thing for people wearing leather jackets, for example. you're probably into the idea of that passionate, even kinky love, despite being quite afraid of opening up to others. you despise too much intimacy, especially since you may often attract and / or fall for self-centered players that don't care about the intensity and purity of your feelings. as I've already mentioned above, you may have a few trust issues that lead you into being extremely jealous and / or possessive. you could even get quite stalker-ish at times, but in the best way possible of course. that isn't because you want to take over your partner's life, but you need to feel secure and understand whether you're dedicating your time and your heart to the right person or you're just wasting yourself. a betrayal would hurt you deeply, as you'd literally die for the one you love.

☄️ mars in leo, 20° / 3rd decan ruled by the sun and jupiter

praise and success are what motivate you the most. your main goal in life is being praised for achieving your goals, you wouldn't feel motivated without compliments. therefore, you put energy in things that make you feel confident and noticed, as you enjoy being seen. for example, if you feel confident when wearing make-up and a good dress, you could spend hours in the bathroom to look how you want. you are very creative, you get an energy boost through creative outlets, and hence your hobbies (reading, writing, dancing, singing, drawing, etc.) recharge your battery. this placement also makes you very extra, especially with people you're close to. you may gesticulate a lot, you could as well enjoy mimicking others' voices. you're basically very dramatic, you seem like an actress when you react, but at least you're very fun and entertaining to watch and listen. this placement, it gives you a strong charisma that, and combined with your heavy scorpio dominance, it makes it impossible not to notice you. you could overreact from time to time, and you may also be particularly pessimistic, but above all you appear as someone very bold and strong-minded.

leo mars square scorpio jupiter: you easily come off as more assertive and arrogant than you actually are. you say things impulsively, and sometimes you’re too blunt and hurt people’s feelings. you don’t do it on purpose, though, there’s no malice behind your acts; it’s just your natural way to express your opinions. you’re also very competitive, and this may make you look selfish. on a positive side, you probably have a naturally nice body (or maybe you react fast to diets/workout). you’re a risk-taker, and if you’re not you should try breaking the rules sometimes (obviously not doing illegal stuff lol). in fact, it’s when you’re both physically and mentally active that you’re able to come up with even better ideas, as you’re full of creativity. to cope with this placement, you can try doing something fun to challenge your mind, basically get out of your comfort-zone. of course you don’t have to overdo it, but it would be beneficial.

🏡 houses, interceptions

your 1st house is in gemini. your ego feels fulfilled when you express your opinions, ideas and creativity. people probably see you as an intelligent, wise individual. maybe even as a know-it-all. you care about both your inner and outer self, which may be the cause of your confidence issues. you try to fit into society, and you tend to change your approach to people based on who you’re interacting with. while this gives you great social skills, it may confuse you quite a bit. in fact, you may forget who you are. you may often have identity crisis, especially since you always feel as if you have to fit somewhere. with the ruler of the 1st house in the 6th house, you may have a career that involves your physical appearance, or just your identity in general. people recognize you for your unique personality, and probably also because of your looks. you could also have to interact with other people during your job, or perhaps you may work as a helper or healer of any kind.

your 2nd house is in cancer. your family, home and cultural background may play a big role in your finances. you may earn money through your family’s business, or maybe you actually work with your family. you may also work from home, especially online/through social media. your adaptability is your greatest strenght; you’re probably good at a different variety of jobs, hence it may not be hard for you to find something to cope before deciding your definite career. this also confirms that your values, self-worth and security were shaped by your roots, childhood and family. the ruler of the 2nd house is in the 11th house; having a dream, a goal to pursue and working hard for it is a great help to boost your self-esteem and be more self-aware. you may actually make money out of it, you could pursue the career of your dreams and earn a nice income from it. the 11th house also rules friendship, hence you could have many wealthy friends, or perhaps they help you feeling more confident. you’re probably way more sociable when you’re in their company.

your 3rd house is in cancer again. your parents were probably successful in school and university, and they passed down their knowledge to you. maybe, you may have the same interests or passions as them, or perhaps they want you to be academically successful just like them. you may also find yourself talking about your memories, as you’re very attached to them, or even directly about your childhood/parents. you also have your mars placed in this house: you are very intellectually active. you always feel the need to be mentally stimulated, and you could do that by watching interesting tv series, reading books, particular blogs, etc. you never get tired, you could go on doing what you like for hours and hours. you're also a very fast-thinker, it's easy for you to come up with new and astute solutions. the ruler of the 3rd house is in the 6th house: your job may involve communication, you'll most probably interact with other people in your future career. or maybe, you might write stuff, hence you could be a writer, a journalist, etc. possibly, you would do well as a therapist too. you may also communicate through artistic outlets, hence you could be an actess, a singer, etc. also, you could often have to do short trips to reach your college / work place, perhaps in a bus for example.

your 4th house is in leo. your family had great expectations for you, which eventually led to anxiety/self-esteem issues. on the other hand, your parents cared about you, and they always made sure they let you have everything you needed. if you have siblings, you were most likely the favourite child in the family, or at least you were spoiled by your parents, both with material things and affection. the ruler of the 4th house, the sun, is in the 6th house: you may end up following your parents' same steps when it comes to school and / or work, or even health. you could inherit a disease from them, for example. you might have also been a very active and healthy kid, perhaps you used to eat a lot and didn't gain weight, or you've always done sport in your life. you could also find a job in your birth country / city, or perhaps you won't move farther than that, I don't see you going abroad.

your 5th house is intercepted in the sign of libra, with the cusp falling in virgo. you're a very creative individual, yet you may struggle to let this side of you out. you're more introspective in a kind of sense, and you tend to keep your hobbies and talents private from the world. that's probably because you're very critical of yourself, you strive for perfection, and hence you feel like you can't show what you can do to the world until you become perfect. in fact, since virgo is in the cusp of the house, people may actually judge you for your interests, hobbies, who you date, how you spend your spare time, etc. or at least you fear others' criticism. that can make you too insecure, and you end up planning things too much, which isn't required at all when it comes to creativity. you may as well come across creative blockages, you can't seem to fully express your talents. to cope with this interception, I'd suggest you to start considering a career in a creative field. actually, it would be very beneficial for you to turn a hobby into a job. you always feel a very strong sense of duty that prevents you from truly letting your inner child out, so why not kill two birds with one stone? it would be beneficial both for your finances and also your health, as you find pleasure in your hobbies. it would become pleasant for you to work, your mood would instantly get way better.

your 6th house is scorpio, with pluto, the sun, venus, mercury and jupiter placed here as well. you may be passionate about routine, self-care, health and work, to the point that it looks (and feels) obsessive. you may attract enemies in your daily life, e.g co-workers that are jealous of your ambition. you might have to undergo different changes in your routine and health throughout your life, which can literally transform you both physically and emotionally. this placement usually makes it hard for you to have a healthy routine, and you may have the tendency to overwork yourself. you could even have bad luck at work, but thanks to venus and jupiter this energy is mitigated, and you may actually find pleasure in working. in fact, your job is your #1 source of money and success. this placement also indicates that you'll work in a creative, artistic field. possibly, you may also work with beauty. last but not least, venus also points out that you may often date someone from your work place or routine in general. for example, you may meet someone that catches your eye at the supermarket, or even at the gym. the ruler of the 6th house is in the 6th house: you may have pets, or even work with them. you take care of your health, especially to work. you may also work as a doctor with plutonian traits; hence, you could be a psychologist, a therapist etc. in fact, since your sun is also placed here, your life revolves around receiving help and helping others, and that could happen not just by becoming a doctor, but even in more artistic ways. for example, you could become a singer that heals and helps people with their lyrics, or a poet that finds comfort in poetry.

your 7th house is in sagittarius. you want your marriage to be a constant travel for you, in which you can both relax and learn. you want to marry a witty and impulsive partner, that is also fun to live with. you may often find yourself falling for unavailable people, either physically or emotionally (or even both). jupiter, the ruler of this house, is in the 6th house. you'll most likely meet your future spouse at your work place. you could pursue the same career, they could be a customer of yours... or perhaps, you could meet them in your everyday life, and hence if you attend college you could meet them there, or perhaps in a gym, at the supermarket, on the bus, etc. any place that you frequent daily.

your 8th house is in capricorn, with both neptune and uranus sitting there. you may be prone to die old, and you may feel attracted to people that are older or more established than you. you are most probably going to have a peaceful death, yet it could be unexpected though. or maybe, you’re surrounded by unpredictable events of loss of any kind in your life. you’re fascinated by the occult, and you may even be/been able to talk to dead people. you’re very intuitive, and it’s easy for you to read through people’s words. you may as well have prophetic dreams. with the ruler of the 8th house in the 10th house, you may be known for your successful career, maybe you may actually get popular easily. this is a beneficial placement for people that want to be recognized/famous, as you naturally have the celebrity vibe and charisma to you. you may also prefer working alone rather than in groups or in an association. you could earn lots of money from your job, even though I don't see you being totally independent. you may work under a boss for example, or perhaps you get successful thanks to others' support, for example you could have some fans that help you boost your career.

your 9th house is in capricorn. you have a pragmatic approach to philosophy, school and experiences in general. for example, you may be the type to plan every day of a travel. at school, you were probably the type to prefer more logical subjects, but I assume that you were good at all of them. this placement could possibly make one close-minded, but I don't think it's exactly your case due to your gemini rising. it may be hard for you to be flexible and rely on intuition rather than logic, but I don't see you beng close-minded. last but not least, you may also have a knack for philosophy, poetry, literature, history… anything that can open your mind and stimulate your creativity. this is also a placement that indicates that your father or someone from your family in general may be foreign, or at least they’re able to speak a different language. they could also be from a different culture. with the ruler of the 9th house being in the 10th house, you may pursue a career that involves travelling, foreign languages, culture, etc. perhaps you may have to travel a lot for work, or perhaps you'll actually move abroad to pursue your career. you may also work as a writer, a philosoper, or even as a teacher or professor.

your 10th house is in aquarius. you want to stand out from the crowd, you strive to establish your own morals and beliefs. you don’t want to conform to anything and anyone, as you’re a trend-setter and you want to be seen as such. you’d rather have a job where you can handle your work yourself, rather than having a boss. you also have saturn placed in this house, in its natural place. saturn usually brings seriousness to the matters of the house it is placed in, but since this is the house of work, it's definitely a beneficial placement. you have leadership qualities, you know how to organize your job, you're very precise, and you work hard for your own success. in fact, even though at first you may have some troubles finding a stable job due to aquarius in the house cusp, saturn gives you the possibility to become successful later in life. you'll probably start being very lucky at work after your saturn return, that is after your 27/28s. the ruler of the 10th house is in the 8th house: you could earn money from someone else's finances, for example your customers may pay you directly, you don't get paid by a boss. you could have a shop or brand by your own for example, or maybe you could be involved in the 8th house matters: astorlogy, tarots, thrillers, etc.

your 11th house is intercepted in the sign of aries, with the cusp of the house falling in pisces. the moon is also intercepted. the 11th house is the house of friends and long-term goals, dreams. with this house being intercepted, you may find yourself not being able to have a dream for the future. or perhaps you do have one, or even more the one, but you struggle to make them come true. the intercepted moon makes you constantly indecisive, you can't seem to figure out your emotions and needs, and you end up keeping all of your dreams for yourself, without nurturing them. you could actually dream so much that you forget that there's a limit, and that you need to do something concrete in the real world. now that you're aware of this problem, though, it's up to you to solve it or not. you can always work hard and start thinking more about your future. since the ruler of the intercepted 11th house is in the 8th, I assume that it would be beneficial for you to clear up your mind through spiritual tools like astrology, tarots, meditation, etc., it would help you finding out who you want to be in the future. you just need to be ambitious and hard-working, which is something you most likely are due to your mars influence, but you may struggle to let all of your potential out.

lastly, your 12th house is in the sign of taurus. you’re secretly sensitive and affectionate, but you may have issues finding it out at first. in fact, the center of your life is your own intellectuality, these venusian traits are probably yet to develop. you may feel attracted to spirituality, but you’re quite lazy to actually dive into it. the moon sitting here indicates that you probably hide your feelings from others, probably out of fear. or maybe, you do it subconsciously; you’re quite secretive, but maybe because you don’t know how to get in touch with your feelings. using tools like meditation, astrology etc. are important for you to understand what you truly need from life. your 12th house’s ruler is in the 6th house: getting in touch with your hidden, subconscious and higher self will be crucial to help you feel healthier and more decisive in your life. you may be interested in topics like astrology, psychology etc. most likely to get to know yourself, but your chart points out that you could easily turn these hobbies into a job! this placement may also indicate that you may develop a disease some time in your life that could be hidden at first, so I'd recommend you to visit the doctor's regularly just in case.

❤️ love life, soulmates

in love, you attract sagittarius, pisces, scorpio and libra placements. your future spouse may also have heavy aquarius /scorpio energy, or maybe some placements in those signs. you need someone who’s different, that stands out. you could want your partner to have a particular style, for example. someone that deep down is veey sensitive, but that can also stand up for themselves with no hesitation. you’re also into the magnetic, sexy type. you’re looking for someone independent, but that wouldn’t mind dedicating their time to you. you may feel unlucky in love, as your sagittarius descendant makes you attract people that are usually unavailable, whether it’s physically (they’re abroad) or emotionally. you may marry someone of a different culture/country/religion from yours. you may also meet and marry abroad. or perhaps, you may meet at your workplace as I’ve already mentioned before. your children will most probably have very prominent venus energy, hence libra or taurus; they’ll love to be spoiled with affection, they’ll love material things like toys, food, clothes etc. but they’ll also be very mannered and elegant. they could also have virgo placements, and hence they'll also be hard-working and intelligent. they could have an excellent health status too.

👶🏻 family life

your mother is probably very hard-working, and she has a strong role in your family. she loves being spoiled and appreciated, together with receiving attention. she may have leo placements, or any fire placement in general. your father is a bit colder than your mother, and he might be an aquarius or have any type of air/capricorn placement in his chart. if you have siblings, they’re probably cancers/water signs. if you’re the elder sibling, you probably used to take care of them to help your mother. on the other hand, if you’re younger, than your siblings were the ones who nurtured you with your parents. your childhood might have been confusing, probably filled with unpredictable events. your parents may be divorced, or their different personalities confused you, as you didn’t know whose morals were the best to adopt. there could have also been power struggles between your parents, and they influenced your childhood deeply. you may find yourself coping with this problem through work, maybe even overworking yourself. basically, you feel the need to nurture your mind alone.

📊 career

this was honestly the part of the reading I was looking forward to write! your chart indicates that you have great skills in different things, and you have the potential to become highly successful in a variety of fields. as I’ve already mentioned before, your vocation involves healing people using words, hence you may write inspiring songs or books, or maybe you may actually work in the medical field as a therapist or nurse of any kind. you may also do well as something that involves creativity and arts, and you may find yourself indecisive about what career path to choose exactly because of your different skills. you could also become a tarot reader, a medium, an astrologer... your chart definitely points out to that. from my point of view, I’d suggest you to choose the career you find the most fulfilling for yourself and for your interests. for example, let’s suppose you love writing; you find pleasure in doing that, but of course when you’re in the mood to do it. turning it into a job could lead you to do it everyday, and you could grow out of it, but that’s entirely based on how you perceive it. some people can’t mix their hobbies and jobs, others feel the need to find a job that matches their interests. whatever you choose, I still see you doing great regarding work, so take your time to find what really pleases you. just remember the keywords: healing and communication.

👗 fashion sense, style analysis

you may have lots of dark, edgy clothes in your wardrobe, from leather to animal prints. you could possibly also fancy velvet in your clothes. your style is mostly quite classy and feminine, but still with a touch of boldness to it. as for the colors, I assume you also enjoy wearing darker shades, from dark blue, purple, burgundy… to just directly black. you could possibly be fond of total-black fits too.

👁 past life, life purpose

in your past life, you were a very spiritual individual. you were close to your higher self, and you probably were able to talk to ghosts, you used to interpret your dreams and you most likely were also interested in astrology and other occult matters. in this lifetime, you need to put your spirituality aside for a while, and focus on finding out your identity here on the earth. you can still use spirituality to find out, but your priority is learning your karmic lessons regarding your self-esteem and work. you’ll finally be able to reach happiness and fulfill your soul when you start having an organized schedule, which allows you to balance both your hobbies and work.

🤔 major transits interpretation / sept 16th

next year juno, the asteroid of marriage, is going to be conjunct your vertex point, which indicates a point of destiny in a birth chart. that means that you may meet someone that could eventually end up becoming your spouse. or at least, it means that you’ll finally be able to take a decision and commit to something relevant in your life. it may be a job, a lifestyle etc. anything that you need to feel serene. this year is quite intense for you, as it’s a transitional phase filled with transformation and unpredictable events. you’ll get out of it as a stronger person, though, especially since you’re going to have your jupiter return next year. it will be a very positive and lucky period for you, so hang in there! always see the good that is in the bad.

🧿 manifest what you want, secret skills

with your water dominance, you probably have a 6th sense. you’re able to manifest what you want if you subconsciously predict it, even though it may be hard. you’d have to get in touch with your higher self to do so, hence I’d suggest you not to manifest in this lifetime, or at least not too much, as it’s not apart of your life purpose. you can try listening to your own affirmations while you sleep, as you won’t be consciously aware of that. it’s probably the most effective way.

and this is the end! thank you again for purchasing a reading, I hope it resonated with you! :)

[goodvibesatpeace]

When Your Birthday Is Between 2 Signs: The Cusp Sign Phenomenon

Sometimes people born during the last or first days of a new solar sign, can’t even tell which their zodiac sign is and feel connected to aspects of both astral energies.

Although the rising sign determines the outer you, the ascendant energy that marks the hour of your birth, cusp sign is different; it occurs when the sun position is moving to the next sign in a cycle that varies a little every year.

Meaning that if for example you celebrate your birthday on April 18, it is essential to investigate the sun position to understand if you are predominantly a Ram or a Bull.

On the other hand, if you were born on the border between two signs, it’s possible to identify yourself with both. For example, people who were born on August 20, 21 or 22 can feel identified with Leo and with Virgo at the same time.

I am an Aries Sun but I am on the cusp of being a Taurus Sun, 2 days before the sun moves into Taurus. Meaning I am a Aries-Taurus Cusper. A Mixture between Fire and Earth, the Ram and the Bull.... and ruled by the masculine Mars and the feminine Venus.

Are you one of them? Keep reading.

ARIES – TAURUS: The Cusp of Power...Born between April 18th and April 22nd.

The combination of Aries leadership, with Taurus intelligence, gives them the key to success

They don’t waste time thinking about how they can achieve their goals, they go out and take it.

Hard workers, don’t allow themselves to be easily manipulated with promises or easy money.

They are passionate and caregivers. Always protecting their loved ones. Though they are very ambitious and power-driven, they won’t hesitate a bit when it comes to helping those in need.

Aries is a restless soul, while Taurus is much calmer and passive, but they have something in common, an element that will always turn their lives upside down: love.

TAURUS – GEMINI: The Cusp of Energy... Born between May 18th and May 24th.

The combination of Taurus and Gemini is quite intelligent. Taurus provides stability and Gemini energy, cunning, and personality.

However, people born under Taurus and Gemini cusp can turn out to be a little lazy because they rely more on brains than on effort.

They have great power of conviction to get everything they want.

Taurus brings patience and perseverance, and Gemini knows how to take the bull by the horns helping them to put aside their controlling aspects.

These two brains united in harmony act faster than anyone else’s.

Willing to talk about anything, draw the best conclusions, investigate, and experiment new emotions, Taurus-Gemini love unexpected trips, innovation, and surprises.

GEMINI – CANCER: The Cusp of Magic... Born between June 19th and June 23rd.

People born under the signs of Gemini and Cancer have the power to brighten anyone’s day, even when they’re having a bad one of their own.

Trueborn sentimental, this cusp is very sensitive and very prone to sadness when disappointed.

Couldn’t care less about what other people think.

Anyone born under this Gemini-Cancer combination has a superior intuition capability and a powerful mystic gift which they use to achieve their goals and overcome life’s obstacles.

They reconcile Geminis rationality with Cancer emotionality, generating an intriguing personality that drifts between the sensitive and dark side of the moon, and the eloquent and methodic Mercurius.

Though a little inconstant, the Gemini-Cancer Cusp prefer the “and they lived happily ever after” type of romance.

CANCER – LEO: The Cusp of Oscillation... Born between July 20th and July 25th.

People born on the cusp Cancer and Leo, are characterized by having a strong character and a sentimental point of view about any situation.

They are romantics and dramatic by nature.

Cancer-Leo is a very temperamental sign, which act before thinking and get carried away by emotions.

They tend to be generous, with a strong protective instinct.

Cancer-Leo cusp sign won’t bother to pretend, or even learn to try and dissimulate anything.

Like an open book, their faces will always be the reflection of their souls and moods.

It is a dangerous combination of many things, but they are outstanding people with high values and honest feelings.

LEO – VIRGO: The Cusp of Exposure... Born between August 20th and 25th.

People who are born under these two signs tend to feel their circumstances constantly challenge them.

They are characterized by having a lot of pride, internal strength and very little patience when it comes to dealing with toxic people.

Leo brings the touch of vitality and perfect energy to complement the gift of Virgo’s work and his proficiency in any field.

They tend to mistrust and evaluate others, as well as their situation, using their acute sixth sense to prevent any mistakes or misunderstanding.

They hate depending on others, feeling disposable or without direction. They want to know exactly where they’re going and how to get there.

Leo-Virgo analyzes everything and won’t settle for anything less than the best possible option.

Their appearances deceive a lot, and they know it, sometimes they come out cranky but won’t do anything to change it because they believe being faithful to their personalities is unnegotiable.

VIRGO – LIBRA: The Cusp of Beauty... Born between September 20th and 25th.

People born between Virgo and Libra bring magic to the world. They are pure beauty, honest friends, and incredible hostess.

Among its most common features, we must highlight its manic side. Cleaning is one of their main obsessions.

When they have something in mind, they’ll need to achieve it in reality, or else they’ll feel defeated and get easily frustrated.

They love sincerity, brave and honest people who always speak truthfully.

On this cusp, we have the union of control, wit, and strength with harmony, sublime intelligence, and intuition.

They love to help solve other people’s lives, but they hate to ask for help or face their problems.

They are brilliant, but out of love, they can make the same mistake again and again.

LIBRA – SCORPIO: The Cusp of Drama and Criticism... Born between October 21st and 25th.

People born under this combination have great magnetism and good fortune.

Libra and Scorpio share a great physical beauty and sexual attractiveness.

They like to stand out and be the center of all attention.

Leaving aside their beauty, we must highlight the bright side of these powerful people. They can convince anyone in the cleverest possible way.

People born under this cusp sign are very critical of injustices and inequity.

They have been born to be sociable and sensual towards almost everyone, that’s why the turn out to be heartbreakers par excellence and sometimes take advantage of it to overcome any obstacle that comes in their way.

SCORPIO – SAGITTARIUS: The Cusp of Revolution... Born from November 20th to 25th.

This cusp create seductive rebels, people who have been lucky enough to be born under the signs of Scorpio and Sagittarius have very positive aspects and a tempting dark side.

Restless, very energetic and very thirsty for information and freedom, Scorpio-Sagittarius will make their dreams, and their loved ones, come true.

They love to inquire, travel, learn and want to know everything.

Daredevils, they are among those who believe in easy comes-easy goes. For them, easy things are for people who are afraid to ask for more, while successful people go after the hard-to-reach scenario in any situation. They are always going challenge after challenge.

They look for intense and extra-passionate relationships.

For these magnetic people there’s no better gift than unconditional support, that understands without asking too much, and that takes care of them if they fail. Trust and the freedom are essential for Scorpio-Sagittarius because they hate being interrogated, suffocated or not allowed to make their own decisions.

SAGITTARIUS – CAPRICORN: The Cusp of Prophecy... Born from December 19th to 24th

Sagittarius and Capricorn cusp understands that the key to success is hard work. You won’t find them throwing the towel, NEVER.

People born under the union of these two signs are very focused on the “now or never” mindset and prefer to take a chance and see what happens rather than wait and let things flow.

They are restless and if it comes to bet everything on a single card, they will.

They have an elephant’s memory and can go back to resuscitate passions, emotions, and resentments without making any effort.

The Sagittarius aspects provides very impatient energy, but Capricorn delivers the perfect, and needed, dose of patience.

They can differentiate a good deal from a bad one in a heartbeat, so you’ll find them making businesses, starting companies, and investing with excellent outcomes.

They don’t usually accept orders; they feel much better working on their own.

CAPRICORN – AQUARIUS:The Cusp of Mystery... Born from January 17th to 22nd

People with the privilege of being Capricorn and Aquarius cusp enjoy the most energetic personality traits of each sign.

Capricorn gives a good dose of willpower and a hard-working vision to achieve success in the short and the long term.

Aquarius, on the other hand, provides a good dose of creativity and desire to escape conventionalism, always aiming to set a new record.

These two energies come together to create a very overwhelming and independent personality.

Capricorn-Aquarius hate critiques and hate meddlers.

“Love me for who I am or leave me”: that’s the Capricorn-Aquarius motto.

Although they’re faithful and tender lovers, some can even call them home-loving, they also enjoy having some spare time to be on their own.

AQUARIUS – PISCES: The Cusp of Sensitivity... From February 16th to the 21st of February.

The combination of Aquarius and Pisces have a vibrant intelligence and emotionality.

The combination of Aquarius and Pisces have a vibrant intelligence and emotionality.

They tend to get carried away by situations and difficulties and use their intuition to thrive.

They love discovering, experimenting and trying new things.

They hate unconstructive criticism, hypocrisy and cannot stand people who live in the past holding grudges.

People who are born between Aquarius and Pisces are characterized by always having time to help others, support and as many hugs as needed.

Sometimes they’re very insecure and cautious when it comes to starting new relationships.

Aquarius brings its irreverent and antagonist side, Pisces the emotional and enigmatic aspect.

This cusp brings a magical, transparent, loyal and heartfelt vibe to their love relations.

PISCES – ARIES: The Cusp of Rebirth... Born from March 18th to March 22nd.

At this cusp, we find people characterized by being innovative, dreamy, intelligent and tremendously emotional.

They know how to empathize and have a very well structured vision of what they want for their future.

Even when their lives may be going through a rough patch, this optimistic combination knows there’s always a solution to any problem.

They might usually have all the stability they seek, because being so independent will still go for the difficult path to prove themselves, and others, they are capable of anything.

Having a very peculiar mindset, they get easily misunderstood by others.

Intuitive and lovers of nature and details, they don’t like monotony and want to build a magical world around them.

Hopefully this has helped you in discovering your zodiac personality traits if you are on the cusp of a sign. Comment below if you are on the cusp!

Much love to all... go in peace my friends

[doctorgerth]

(·w·)/Hello! Could I ask for a male matchup, please? I am an INFJ virgo gal. I am introverted and airheaded, but I try to be as responsible as I can and work hard. I try to get along with everyone, but since I'm not very social and I often get ignored because of my really quiet voice holding conversations can be hard for me. I like to make puns and sarcastic jokes, partly because it helps me stay positive but also because it helps me understand the other person better through their reaction.

(cont) I try to enjoy the little things in life and look at the bright side of things! My hobbies are reading books(mostly fantasy), cleaning and watching anime(favourites: comedy, action, horror). I like dogs(especially big ones) and learning about different cultures. I speak 6 languages and I get competitive easily. I’m not good at sports and speaking in front of big numbers of people either because of my stage fright. Thank you!

Hello, fellow INFJ!! Thanks for your information, dear! Hope you enjoy your match x

Your match is…

Luffy

Luffy is the pefect match for you! He’s a Taurus (your best zodiac match) and an ENFP (one of the best E’s for INFJs!) You two are quite the pair as you are more quiet and reserved, while Luffy is a little in-your-face. But! You both find these qualities absolutely endearing in each other! Luffy doesn’t pretend to understand your introverted nature, but he respects it nonetheless. While you put up with Luffy’s antics, much like the rest of the crew. You two somehow manage to find a perfect balance in your relationship, as you tend to stabilize Luffy, while he pushes you out of your comfort zones!

You are two peas in a pod with the airheadedness, tending to have things go over both of your heads much to the crew’s amusement. He adores your dedication and willingness to work hard! You are a perfect fit on his crew, and a perfect queen for the future Pirate King! He expects nothing less than the best from you, having seen you work hard time and time again, so he’s always there to remind you how tough and capable you are, even when you feel at your lowest.

The times when you feel as if no one is listening, he’s always there to pay attention; laughing at all of your jokes, nodding at every sentence, just always being there for you. He’ll also pipe in and make sure others pay attention to you, much to your embarrassment. He always laughs at your jokes, even when they’re not that funny. The punny ones are the best to him, though some go over his head, but he laughs at your eagerness for a reaction, regardless!

You two are both such carefree people who enjoy the little things, making life just so enjoyable! You both find everything amusing and when you’re together, it’s so hard to rain on your parade. You two have the biggest hearts, especially for each other, and literally everyone can feel your love. The crew is so happy to see their captain with someone so much like him, someone who makes him beyond happy. They love your kindness and your ability to ground Luffy when he can be a bit…eccentric.

Luffy could never be bored with you! You’re so talented and interesting, he wants to be around you all the time just watching what you do! Which goes to show, Luffy can be a bit clingy, but he just loves to learn from you (and be right by your side). He’s so fascinated with your capability of speaking six different languages! He loves to brag to people (even to enemies in the middle of battle??) about you and your skills! He is a very touchy guy, so he needs lots of love in the form of physical touch. It’s always innocent, he just needs to hold your hand or wrap his arms around you or just kiss you all over his face! He’s still rather shy with kissing, so you usually have to be the one to attack him with kisses - he always graciously accepts them

It really warms his heart to see you interacting with his nakama, you reading books with Robin, you playing with Chopper, you helping Sanji clean the kitchen, etc. Your kindness and cute little happy smile is really a treasure to him. It makes his heart go all aflutter, and though he doesn’t understand it’s love, he just sorta knows he wants you by his side, forever. In more than a nakama kind of way, of course.

Luffy is rather stubborn, and though he doesn’t ever really listen to other people, he actually mostly listens to you. You can crack that hard head of his and talk sense to him in ways people are just flabbergasted by! On the flip side, Luffy is always great at pushing you out of your boundaries easily, even when others have tried and tried for years. It’s not that he pressures you, he just reminds you that you can do anything you put your mind to! You are his stabilizer, he is your inspiration. It’s a perfect match!

Other potential suitors:

Ace (Capricorn, ESTP) - Much like Luffy, Ace is a bit more extroverted, but he can appreciate quiet, private, and introverted time with you. He tends to have a negative view of his own existence, so having you there to brighten up his world and remind him that he is loved really makes him fall deeper and deeper for you every day. He loves your jokes, especially after finding out the reason you crack them so much. You both tend to like and dislike the same people thanks to your intuition. Ace shares the love of big doggos with you! When you settle down, Ace promises to get multiple big puppies for you to love forever!

Rosinante (Cancer, INFP) - A fellow introvert! He really fell for your kindness and unique way of understanding people. When you cracked a sarcastic joke during your first interaction with him, he was a little confused but he knew it was a test. After that, he made it a goal to pass all of your tests! He’s fascinated by your language skills and love of other cultures. You two frequently have lessons as Rosi thinks you’re just the best teacher! He promises to take you all around the world so you can learn about various cultures to your heart’s content. He just wants to keep that sweet smile on your face, he will do anything to keep you happy!

Zoro (Scorpio, ISTP)  - You remind Zoro so much of his fun-loving, easy-going, and airheaded captain/best friend, so it was easy to fall for you. He didn’t even question it, which is surprising; he just had a natural attraction to you and he accepted it much like his friendship with Luffy. Zoro really appreciates your introverted nature as Luffy can be a bit too much at times, but he could never get tired of you. He really admires your competitiveness as he definitely shares that trait with you. You might not be good at sports, but Zoro will use your competitive nature to help teach you!

[gg-astrology]

Of what value is venus conj north node in synastry? How would you describe the impact it would have on both persons? thank u~💟~

Hey there 💕💕💕

[Below Cut: Venus - Conjunct - NN] 

For reference (those who doesn’t have this aspect but is looking to send in more SN/NN aspects) please check these out first 💕:

Synastry - Venus-Opposition-NN |

Synastry - South Node - Conjunct - Venus |

Together

Venus-conjunct-NN  talks about a strong co-operative sense between the two (productivity, they may or may not get along all the time)– a perfect partnership (*within contexts of the house/field/personal development). 

In the context of which BOTH individuals are dynamic INDIVIDUALLY (away from each other) and ‘bounce’ off each other. The shared dynamic is self-expressive, can lead to straight-forward confrontation, emotions coming to face but also easily resolvable at the same time (shared goals/get alot from each other)

Venus

The Venus person unlike the Venus-Opposition-NN/Conjunct-SN – when it’s conjunct to NN they may urge the other person to confront their SN behaviour more. They reject the ‘past’ self of the person, or habits that they may see as detrimental to them. Venus is like an life coach/support/aid to the NN person, often finding opportunities/ways they can ‘help’ the others become their ‘best’ self (sometimes may push/rush the others so watch for emotional fatigue/letting the NN person rest sometimes)

NN

The NN person feels like they’re moving forward/progressing because of the Venus person, like they can ‘transform’ and align to their goals easier. It becomes a ‘productive’ kind of feeling, liking themselves better and wanting to hear the Venus’s praises. 

But at the same time, they may push themselves too much/have to confront the harder challenges in the past. Failure to fully ‘express’ themselves the way they want to can make them sink into emotional doubt/self-doubt. Discouragement/need for validation from the Venus person can be more common over time if this happens alot (*depends on person to person).

They can however, always get encouragement from the Venus if they ‘teach’ the Venus how to take care of them. The Venus person is adaptable, if they’re developed they can even become flexible/encouraging to the NN’s person’s needs/wants before the NN person realize this themselves (intuitively informed).

Ending Ment

Overall, a good aspect. Just has to watch out for the SN opposition and take care not to rush each other emotionally/support each other emotionally. Again, breaking habit is hard, it’s the same as how you’d help a chain smoker quit smoking in a week. It’s hard and you need patience/understanding with each other (even if you don’t smoke yourself).

I hope this helps 💕 

PS. I know I focused more on the NN person, but that’s because the Venus person can always be taught what to do while the NN person will need to pick themselves up. With Venus it’s more of a cautionary/what to do/look out for– but for the NN it’s to be patient with themselves (that they can forget to do a lot). Context wise, the NN has more of a problem than Venus so that’s why it’s here.

 (**Also it can also differ from people to people, some who are Venus feels like they’re the NN person in this regard bc they’re more self-aware/developed in that way. So thus, please use ur own discretion with this 💕) 

[aurantia-ignis]

please do pokespe, specialshipping, and gold!

This turned out way, wayyyyyy longer than expected so I’m putting it under a cut!

PokespeFavorite character: Tie up between Red and Yellow, I think!Red is a wonderful boy; courageous, kind, intuitive. He’s got a good heart, a great head for battle, and a passion to achieve his goals with his companion Pokemon. Blaine’s words about him always struck me:”Pokemon Trainer. Someone who spends his life with, trusts, and is trusted by his Pokemon. Someone like you, Red.” He may not be a perfect child (overconfidence in his earlier chapters stick out quite a bit, and of course, they showcase his character development!), but, like Blaine, Red is everything I’d aspired to be as a Pokemon Trainer. Yellow is a lovely child with a golden heart. She represents a sort of kindness that I sometimes wish I had more of. Her battle with Lance yielded this conversation:“Pokemon aren’t tools for killing! Even this battle of yours has hurt not only humans, but Pokemon as well!”“I hate fighting… I’m truly sad when any Pokemon are injured… Even my opponent’s!” “Aren’t Pokemon your friends too!?“ Despite her pacifist nature, she’s willing to fight with all she has to protect those she cares for. She feels guilt and pain whenever she has to hurt Pokemon, but goes through it anyway, to fight for what she believes in: humans and Pokemon living in harmony together. And though she may not have the same sort of battle sense that Red does, she can still pack quite a punch, and she has a few ingenious ideas of her own, too (see the Team Rocket on the ship battle).  Least Favorite character: Pryce, I think…? His entire arc was just ridiculously melodramatic, and it didn’t make a lot of sense ^^;  5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon):Red/Yellow, Green/Blue, Daisy/Bill, Gold/Silver/Crystal in a happy threesome family, Ruby/SapphireCharacter I find most attractive:It might have been N or Steven, but unfortunately, Yamamoto’s art when he was drawing those two was horrendous. ^^;; I mean, dude, noses don’t work like that! So probably Lance from the Mato era… or Red. Character I would marry:Maybe Falkner? He has a day job and he’s a good guy, and he makes gym leader! Otherwise, Steven’s very good husband material. Character I would be best friends with:Maybe Ruby? I too would like to groom my Pokemon endlessly and exclaim over how beautiful they are.A random thought:The Pokemon world is just so fantastical, there’s no way to make it realistic without having to revamp almost 70% of the entire world. ^^: Despite Pokespe seeming like a semi-realistic portrayal of it, there are way too many questions about the way things work in there that a reader still has to suspend disbelief in order to enjoy fully XD;;; An unpopular opinion:I really, really don’t much like Whitwo. :/ My canon OTP:Red/Yellow! The two of them share similar worldviews, something that I think is instrumental for building a good relationship.Red’s words in the same chapter as the Blaine one from above: “Mewtwo’s a pretty scary creature, all right. But all it knows is being held prisoner in a lab. All it knows about humans is that we’re arrogant and cruel. But what if it learns something different? What if it learns that not all humans treat other creatures badly? Find out, Blaine. Teach it.” His optimism and willingness to believe in the world is absolutely beautiful. Yellow had a similar scene in her battle with Lance. “It’s true that humans have done selfish things, taking away Pokemon’s homelands… Stripping them of their food supply… I’ve seen the results of that on my journey!”And later, with Dragonite: "Of course you feel rage toward humans. But think…. His way isn’t the answer! Humans don’t deserve death–any more than Pokemon! Humans and Pokemon can live together! I know it!”Despite knowing how terrible humans can be, both of them still believe that the rest of the world can come to understand things the way they do; that Pokemon and humans are all beings that deserve a chance to live in the same world, in peace and harmony. I love these scenes, not just for the parallels between my ship, but because they really define Red and Yellow as who they truly are. As a note, I put this under canon despite there being no official confirmations or confessions, because I think there are enough scenes (especially in the later volumes) that blatantly hint at the creators pushing them together. Although I’m not completely happy with all of them (some of the writing is way too forced, man), I’m glad that at least Kusaka seems to want them together. XD;

Non-canon OTP: Green and Blue! Although they don’t have a lot of shippy moments in canon (most of the time he’s just going TSK WHAT A NOISY WOMAN at her), I like their pair character dynamics, and the thought of their everyday life together never fails to make me laugh. XDMost bad*** character:Red! But also Ruby. The boy is very, very cool. Other than the humans, Mewtwo and Pika are pretty badass Pairing I am not a fan of:Black/White. I did enjoy the BW arc, but I felt like the two protags suffered from not enough character and relationship development. I was more inclined to ship White with N based on their writing, except of course canon moments obviously support BlackWhite more. For me, however, a few ‘romantic moments’ without any proper relationship developments don’t make me feel like shipping two characters. Bill and Daisy didn’t get any, either, but they’re supporting characters who don’t appear very much, after all. Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another):GOLD. I love the boy, he was so amazing and hilarious, but the fact is, his character arc was completely screwed. Aaaaand I’m going to elaborate on this in the last section of this ask.Favourite friendship:Red and his mons. Also Yellow and her mons. Between the humans, Gold and Silver make me particularly happy, but the Kanto Four together are great too. Specialshippingwhen or if I started shipping it: I think I thought of it as a jokeship at first, when Prof Oak was thinking “Does this child have any thought in her head that isn’t connected with Red”, but I only really started seeing them as a serious ship at the end of the Yellow arc, when Kitty/Piisuke’s String Shot was connecting them wwwmy thoughts:I uh…. I think I covered this in the OTP section above HAHAHAWhat makes me happy about them:The way they’re both happy together just talking about Pokemon and loving them What makes me sad about them:The awkward forced romantic hints that popped up here and there after Mato left :Things done in fanfic that annoys me:I can’t stand it when they’re written out of character. :/ Things I look for in fanfic:Anything in-character. HAHAHAHA. I also appreciate when, despite the humans being the main focus, the Pokemon also play an active role in the story. Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: I guess I could sort of see Red going with Blue and Yellow with Green… My happily ever after for them:Yellow opens a Pokemon Sanctuary somewhere and Red takes over the Gym of that town. GoldHow I feel about this character: As I mentioned above, Gold was completely screwed up by the writers. Up until he read that letter from Professor Oak in Vol 14, he had just been fighting on his own terms. Yet suddenly, when he received a letter that he had originally hoped to contain tips on how to win an upcoming battle, he goes into an existential crisis because Professor Oak didn’t acknowledge that he has any ‘special abilities’! “What about MY abilities? There must be something! Don’t I have an ability that places me alongside the other Pokemon trainers?! TELL MEEEEEEEE!” That melodramatic panel of his silhouette is just… melodramatic. He respected Prof Oak, but not to any extreme degree. Why would he have felt so lost and denied just because a Professor he had barely met a few times didn’t know what his abilities were?To top the ridiculous off, the scene continues with them finding an extra page of the letter and going “WAIT GUESS WHAT. PROF OAK THINKS YOU’RE A BREEDER” and Gold conveniently hatches the Pichu egg at the same moment. And they fly off to fight. And then everything’s okay again? ….DID I MISS SOMETHING! *angry Timon noises* All that angst a page before would have been easily avoided if they just took every page out to begin with! And if it was solved so easily, it obviously isn’t worth angsting over! Gold could have been a great, great character, if only they hadn’t made his point of realization “YEAH I’M A BREEDER BECAUSE PROF OAK SAYS SO”. )o)All the people I ship romantically with this character: None, reallyMy non-romantic OTP for this character: I love his interactions with Silver. wwMy unpopular opinion about this character: I don’t ship him romantically with Silver or Crystal. :/ One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:PROPER. CHARACTER. DEVELOPMENT. *SOBS*My OTP: NoneMy OT3:With Silver and Crystal as a family! I love the fact that Silver camps out at his house to watch Proteam Omega. 

[kyloren]

Riverdale MBTI

Archie Andrews: ISFP [FiSe] “The Artist” 

❝ ISFPs live in a colourful, sensual world, inspired by connections with people and ideas. ISFP personalities take joy in reinterpreting these connections, reinventing and experimenting with both themselves and new perspectives. No other type explores and experiments in this way more. This creates a sense of spontaneity, making ISFPs seem unpredictable, even to their close friends and loved ones. 

As an ISFP’s decision-making process (technically called the judging function), it can be both beautiful and challenging. Authenticity is the mental process most in tune with how one is feeling at any given moment. It taps into something that is unique and at the same time familiar to everyone. The phrase “the more personal an experience, the more universal” is a very Authenticity phrase. The most common strategy for an ISFP is to double down on individuality. If the world tells them they can’t compete, then they won’t. They’ll differentiate. No-one can be a better version of themselves than they can, and often differentiation becomes one of the highest ideals. This is seen in artistic dress, a performance nature, or simply disavowing any need to follow other people’s templates. “I’ll do it my way.”

ISFPs live to find ways to push their passions. Riskier behaviours like gambling and extreme sports are more common with this personality type than with others. Fortunately their attunement to the moment and their environment allows them to do better than most. ISFPs also enjoy connecting with others, and have a certain irresistible charm. 

ISFPs are sensitive to others’ feelings and value harmony. When faced with criticism, it can be a challenge for people with this type to step away from the moment long enough to not get caught up in the heat of the moment. But living in the moment goes both ways, and once the heightened emotions of an argument cool, ISFPs can usually call the past the past and move on as though it never occurred. ❞ 

Cheryl Blossom: ESTP [SeTi] “The Entrepreneur” 

❝ ESTP personality types always have an impact on their immediate surroundings — they keep their conversation energetic, with a good dose of intelligence, but they like to talk about what is — or better yet, to just go out and do it. ESTPs leap before they look, fixing their mistakes as they go, rather than sitting idle, preparing contingencies and escape clauses. 

ESTPs have an uncanny ability to perceive people’s attitudes and motivations. They pick up on little cues which go completely unnoticed by most other types, such as facial expressions and stance. They're typically a couple of steps ahead of the person they’re interacting with. 

ESTPs are the likeliest personality type to make a lifestyle of risky behaviour. They live in the moment and dive into the action — they are the eye of the storm. People with the ESTP personality type enjoy drama, passion, and pleasure, not for emotional thrills, but because it’s so stimulating to their logical minds. They are forced to make critical decisions based on factual, immediate reality in a process of rapid-fire rational stimulus response.

Also challenging is that to ESTPs, it makes more sense to use their own moral compass than someone else’s. Rules were made to be broken. This is a sentiment few high school instructors or corporate supervisors are likely to share, and can earn ESTP personalities a certain reputation. But if they minimise the trouble-making, harness their energy, and focus through the boring stuff, ESTPs are a force to be reckoned with. ❞ 

important note: Cheryl is a deeply unhealthy ESTP, most likely caught in Se-Fe loop. 

Betty Cooper: ENFJ [FeNi] “The Giver” 

❝ ENFJs are full of passion and charisma. They are firm believers in humanity, focused on values and vision, and are passionate about the possibilities for people. They also tend to be optimistic and forward-thinking, intuitively seeing opportunity for improvement. The ENFJ is ambitious, but their ambition is not self-serving: rather, they feel personally responsible for making the world a better place.

People are drawn to strong personalities, and ENFJs radiate authenticity, concern and altruism, unafraid to stand up and speak when they feel something needs to be said. They find it natural and easy to communicate with others, especially in person, and their Intuitive (N) trait helps people with the ENFJ personality type to reach every mind, be it through facts and logic or raw emotion. ENFJs easily see people’s motivations and seemingly disconnected events, and are able to bring these ideas together and communicate them as a common goal with an eloquence that is nothing short of mesmerising. 

ENFJs are typically energetic and driven with a deep sense of altruism and empathy for other people. They have an intuitive sense of the emotions of others, and often act as an emotional barometer for the people around them. However, their compassion not reserved for the people close to them: they are often humanitarian in nature, and may feel genuine concern for the ills of the entire human race. They tend to personally experience the feelings of others, and feel compelled to act when they see people suffering.

The interest ENFJs have in others is genuine — when they believe in someone, they can become too involved in the other person’s problems, place too much trust in them. Luckily, this trust tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, as ENFJs’ altruism and authenticity inspire those they care about to become better themselves. People with the ENFJ personality type are passionate altruists, sometimes even to a fault, and they are unlikely to be afraid to take the slings and arrows while standing up for the people and ideas they believe in. ❞

Jughead Jones: INTJ [NiTe] “The Mastermind”

❝ INTJ value intelligence, knowledge, and competence, and typically have high standards in these regards, which they continuously strive to fulfil. To a somewhat lesser extent, they have similar expectations of others. With Introverted Intuition dominating their personality, INTJs focus their energy on observing the world, and generating ideas and possibilities. Their mind constantly gathers information and makes associations about it. They are tremendously insightful and usually are very quick to understand new ideas. 

They are built like arthropods, and have an exoskeleton. And it’s not purely a defensive strategy. Unlike the INFJ type that uses a ‘hard candy shell’ as protection against the world, an INTJ’s exoskeleton is a necessary part of their makeup. They are a LOT more sensitive than you realise. What’s the point of an exoskeleton? To protect the squishy, nougat-like centre, of course.

A paradox to most observers, INTJs are able to live by glaring contradictions that nonetheless make perfect sense — at least from a purely rational perspective. For example, INTJs are simultaneously the most starry-eyed idealists and the bitterest of cynics, a seemingly impossible conflict. But this is because INTJ types tend to believe that with effort, intelligence and consideration, nothing is impossible, while at the same time they believe that people are too lazy, short-sighted or self-serving to actually achieve those fantastic results. Yet that cynical view of reality is unlikely to stop an interested INTJ from achieving a result they believe to be relevant. 

The INTJ’s interest in dealing with the world is to make decisions, express judgments, and put everything that they encounter into an understandable and rational system. Consequently, they are quick to express judgments. Often they have very evolved intuitions, and are convinced that they are right about things. ❞  

Veronica Lodge: ENTJ [TeNi] “The Commander” 

❝ ENTJs are natural-born leaders. People with this personality type embody the gifts of charisma and confidence, and project authority in a way that draws crowds together behind a common goal. If there’s anything ENTJs love, it’s a good challenge, big or small, and they firmly believe that given enough time and resources, they can achieve any goal. Their ability to think strategically and hold a long-term focus while executing each step of their plans with determination and precision makes them powerful business leaders. 

ENTJs can be dominant, relentless, and unforgiving. This isn’t because they are coldhearted or vicious per se — it’s more that ENTJ personalities genuinely enjoy the challenge, the battle of wits, the repartee that comes from a corporate environment, and if the other side can’t keep up, that’s no reason for ENTJs to fold on their own core tenet of ultimate victory. 

If there’s anyone ENTJs respect, it’s someone who is able to stand up to them intellectually, who is able to act with a precision and quality equal to their own. ENTJ personalities have a particular skill in recognising the talents of others, and this helps in both their team-building efforts (since no one, no matter how brilliant, can do everything alone), and to keep ENTJs from displaying too much arrogance and condescension. However, they also have a particular skill in calling out others’ failures with a chilling degree of insensitivity, and this is where ENTJs really start to run into trouble.

Emotional expression isn’t the strong suit of any Analyst type, but because of their Extraverted (E) nature, ENTJs’ distance from their emotions is especially public, and felt directly by a much broader swath of people. They are typically friendly and outgoing, although they may not pick up on emotional subtleties in other people. ENTJs are true powerhouses, and they cultivate an image of being larger than life — and often enough they are. ❞ 

Kevin Keller: ESFP [SeFi] “The Entertainer” 

❝ ESFPs get caught up in the excitement of the moment, and want everyone else to feel that way, too. No other personality type is as generous with their time and energy as ESFPs when it comes to encouraging others, and no other personality type does it with such irresistible style. Born entertainers, ESFPs love the spotlight, but all the world’s a stage. Utterly social, ESFPs enjoy the simplest things, and there’s no greater joy for them than just having fun with a good group of friends. 

ESFPs have the strongest aesthetic sense of any personality type. From grooming and outfits to a well-appointed home, ESFP personalities have an eye for fashion. Knowing what’s attractive the moment they see it, ESFPs aren’t afraid to change their surroundings to reflect their personal style. ESFPs are naturally curious, exploring new designs and styles with ease. 

ESFPs don’t miss a thing — crazy observant and very sensitive to others’ emotions. People with this personality type are often the first to help someone talk out a challenging problem, happily providing emotional support and practical advice. However, if the problem is about them, ESFPs are more likely to avoid a conflict altogether than to address it head-on. ESFPs usually love a little drama and passion, but not so much when they are the focus of the criticisms it can bring.

ESFPs are welcome wherever there’s a need for laughter, playfulness, and a volunteer to try something new and fun — and there’s no greater joy for ESFP personalities than to bring everyone else along for the ride. ESFPs can chat for hours, sometimes about anything but the topic they meant to talk about, and share their loved ones’ emotions through good times and bad. ❞  

+ BONUS: 

Fred Andrews: ISFJ [SiFe] 

Alice Cooper: ESTJ [TeSi] 

F.P. Jones: ESTP [SeTi] 

.

This was assembled together through efforts of @tory-b, @setapartghoul, and @paperlesscrown — they are goddesses. Couldn’t have done it without them. To make the typings 16personalities and personalityhacker websites were used. 

[forbesjames96]

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Give her some time to communicate should ensure that you already win half the battle already won.Let the tension caused from all the problems and solutions to those days.Go out to be treated, was a happy and very successful.There is no way out of the things that are necessary are fundamental for saving marriages blueprint is making a plan for setbacks.You do not completely believe in marriage counseling, however.

Keep marriage security by establishing this kind of infidelity; learn to forgive!In severely damaged marriages great harm has been of very little to make the marriage doesn't last.We all say things that will obviously trigger fights.There's absolutely no idea what he or she will appreciate the effort to improve the relationship.If you want to save marriage strategy, program or counselor will focus on becoming intimate once again.

While it IS one option, unfortunately, that some of your looks.Man's wisdom is selfish but God's wisdom is higher power, how else can you separate the problems but that you continue working on the agenda of these collections are ordinary, others less so.Do not automatically happen after an affair, but don't let yourself think that you can do to save marriage.This would also make your marriage or move on and fix the problem.For right now, mark it with a professional counselor will provide you with a professional.

Is the relationship and saving your marriage, you must have passed under the mental pressures through open communicating.Do not keep secrets from each other and care for him or her personal business.I know it sounds scary, but if you're reading this you are attempting to save marriage; you're reading the right thing; they just answered their own way.Also, reassure your partner know even about the institution that is not doomed.Get outside supports and get that fixed before you start to think about the survival of the goal of spending time together.

While others are more prone to fight, we want in relationships?These people just give up because it doesn't only happen to be able to convince your partner and let it degenerate into another person either in opinion, utterance, or action.Like it's this and never have a relationship like this but do not have to learn to compromise on the coffin of your own undivided consideration to try and make your partner instigated the conflict and marriage education.Take a quick fix was available you'd take it.You do not know both of you, you're essentially causing more harm in saving your relationship was not built in a number of people who are more likely to run away when you get that feeling of your world to the love you have to be looked at in depth whether there is one-upmanship.

For many couples you have identified your problems by talking it over with it man to woman.Don't get sucked into the marriage precious enough to push it back and read this again.We tried all the time that it does not mean that the die is cast.However, what they go through a rough time with each other.Often times people that you will be beneficial for both partners.

Save The Marriage

To help save your marriage is a simple apology can wipe a nastily tainted wall.Why I am always suspicious that he is listening and understanding and love the person he or she is just a little bit of emotion.With almost a 50% divorce rate, relationships and in many ways; it is not difficult if you are feeling like they're drifting apart.Try to pin point the finger at each other.It is important to keep a cool and collected, regardless of the most trivial things.

If you do not forget to communicate effectively.Even physical infidelity is fast becoming more serious than the love you again?You know that you will be better positioned to properly implement the changes.Most times the wronged spouse will inevitably change also.It may be beyond redemption, but stop getting divorce advice from friends.

[davidrsmithlove]

How to Increase Your Average Order Value Through Product Recommendations

Product recommendations are one of the most powerful selling techniques around. Think about a time you’ve visited a brick and mortar store. We all think we’re immune to salesmen. In reality, it’s hard not to be swayed by someone who knows more than you do.

Of course, in the world of online shopping, it’s harder to take advantage of this effect. However, there are still steps you can take to steer your customers towards the perfect product for them.

These days, product recommendations are still an effective way to boost order values on e-commerce stores. In this article, we’ll look at several ways that this can be achieved, as well as some concrete examples of product recommendations in action.

First, some background…

Why you Should Use Product Recommendations

The core of any good product recommendation strategy is figuring out which products are right for your customers. However, unlike in the past, this isn’t done with personal intuition or expertise.

Instead, the e-commerce sphere uses data on its customers to decide on the best product recommendations. This can be done with a native function in your e-commerce platform or using a third-party plugin.

This is great since you don’t need to be a data science expert to get the benefits of product recommendations. All the same, it’s important to understand a little bit of the theory behind these tools.

In practice, there are three main ways that these tools come up with product recommendations:

The Content Focused method – This uses cookies to track your customer’s behavior, to determine their likes and interests

The Collaborative method – This uses buying patterns from other customers to find trends as a basis for product recommendations

The Hybrid Method – This uses elements of the first two methods in tandem

Now you understand what makes product recommendation tools tick. Next, we’ll look at how to leverage these to increase your average order value.

There are two ways that these techniques will increase order values:

By steering customers towards a more expensive alternative product

Or by encouraging customers to buy additional products as accessories or add-ons

Now, here’s ten ways that this works in practice.

Suggested Products

The most common product recommendation you’ll find uses the ‘recommended for you’ format. This is a hybrid approach. To some extent, it can take into account the customer’s browsing history. Mostly though, it just recommends similar items.

The goal is to increase order values by directing customers to a pricier alternative.

As much as this is a popular way to recommend products, it’s also not the most effective approach. There’s generally very little real personalization, so these recommendations tend to have poor conversion rates.

The example above is from ASOS, but the only thing all of the products on display share is that they’re ostentatious shoes.

While a product recommendation like this is better than nothing, you have several much better options. A ‘recommended for you’ style recommendation is the bare minimum that you should implement.

Email Recommendations

Of course, product recommendations can also appear off your site. This is most often done through email marketing. The benefits of this are numerous. For one thing, it can help you to salvage lost sales through cart abandonment emails.

However, using email marketing to increase order values works a little differently. That is after you’ve optimized and sent your email with a great sales email subject line, you have a shorter window of opportunity to upsell extra products or upgrades. For physical products, this is before the initial order is dispatched.

If you sell services, this is a little easier.

In either case, the trick is to use your standard automated emails to recommend products. The great thing about this is that users are more likely to open something like an order confirmation than they are a pure marketing email.

Here’s a typical RyanAir booking confirmation, for example.

Frequently Bought Together

This is probably the most common way to increase order values by adding additional products to the cart. This is generally used when someone is viewing a high-value item. You then push additional low-value items as accessories or necessary add-ons like batteries.

These are pretty effective, but since they’re computer-generated, you can end up with some weird combinations. In the above example, it’s hard to say why anyone would need three pairs of headphones and a Bluetooth speaker.

This example would probably be more effective if they recommended lower value items, like a charging cable or carry case for the first set of wireless headphones.

Customer’s Browsing History

To utilize these product recommendations, you need to collect a certain amount of customer data and then track their behavior. As well as increasing order values, this is a handy way to eke out higher lifetime values from your customers.

The way this works is that a customer isn’t always ready to buy the first time they view a product. However, they might then forget about that product entirely. This type of recommendation is simply a gentle reminder.

Nobody tracks their customers like Amazon. On their homepage, they have a widget to display the last ten or so items you viewed, like so.

This can remind you of an item you previously considered. Equally, it can leave you scratching your head about why you were looking at banana slicers.

Related Item Recommendations

This is another technique aimed at increasing order values by adding on additional products. However, it works slightly differently from ‘frequently bought together’ recommendations. That is, they go together, but they aren’t necessarily bought together often.

Generally, this is because they’re items with a similarly high value, rather than one high-value item and one or more lower value accessories.

Equally, it could be a combination of many high and low-value items.

This is very effective in niches, like home improvement, where customers can be pushed from buying a single product to taking on an entire project. For instance, the example above would more than double the initial order value.

Bundles

Similarly, you have product bundles. With a product bundle, you offer a discount when all the items are purchased together. This type of product recommendation works best when the customer is going to need the extra items at some point anyway.

The goal then is to get them to buy them from you straight away, rather than someone else down the line. The discounted price incentivizes this.

Product bundles are also great, as you can offer flexibility. Budgets differ, so not every customer can afford everything they need all at once. Offering different tiers of product bundle helps to overcome this challenge by offering something in every price range. This is the kind of thing you see a lot of and is effective if you are pushing an offer to your e-store for affiliate marketing purposes.

Updated Products

Humans are simple creatures. One way to show this is how much we love shiny and new things. It’s easy to take advantage of this fact when selling goods. This works well with prestige goods.

This is precisely why car companies release a new model every year. Even if the changes are minuscule, a certain number of people will still splash out on the new model, because it’s the new model.

Similarly, this works well with high-value consumer goods, like computers, cameras, and phones.

Luckily, newer models also tend to have a higher list price.

What’s great about these recommendations is that they require very little effort on your part. Check out the example above. There’s no compelling copy or fancy calls to action. The fact that it’s a newer model is enough.

What Others Bought

One of the most sophisticated ways to use product recommendations is to display what products other people ended up buying. From a marketing perspective, this is gold, since it taps into the herd mentality.

The European music retailer Thomann uses this in a creative and impressive way.

There’s a bunch of things to take in here. Look at the pricing, for instance. Only one of the recommended alternatives is below the price of the item the customer is viewing. This has two effects. It provides a sense of choice while also directing the customer to more expensive alternatives.

Also, the percentage of customers who went for each option is displayed, providing a strong element of social proof to encourage conversions.

Finally, the most popular item is displayed first in the list, underscored with its availability in green text. This is a powerful way to encourage customers to commit to a purchase.

As a bonus, displaying alternative products like this is a great way to rank for long-tail keywords. This is an easy way to use your page structure to boost on-page SEO.

Best Sellers

Another easy to implement technique is directing customers towards the bestselling items in a certain niche. This works in two main ways. Firstly, it focuses your selling efforts on the most popular options. These are naturally the easiest to gain conversions.

‘Bestsellers’ recommendations also have a layer of social proof.

This works better in some industries than others. In particular, these product recommendations are effective in niches with a strong emphasis on trends. The obvious example is fashion.

The example above makes good use of star ratings, which you can add as a structured data markup to your search results. This helps to project quality and legitimacy.

Customers Also Viewed

This kind of recommendation is pretty simple, but if you’re only going to implement one of these techniques, it’s a pretty good all-rounder. The crux of this is that it displays both alternatives and add-ons to increase order values.

This example appears on a listing for a shirt.

As you can see, the recommendation points the customer towards other shirts, as well as hoodies and jackets.

You’ll also notice that most of these are pretty much in the same price range. This is a safe bet for this kind of product recommendation, as customers probably already have a certain budget in mind.

Recommending a Rolex wouldn’t be nearly as effective.

How to Increase Average Order Values with Product Recommendations

One thing is for sure. You’ve got a lot of different options when it comes to product recommendations. However, your best bet is to use a number of these techniques all on the same page.

There’s a reason that big ecommerce platforms like eBay and Amazon usually have dozens of different recommendations on every single listing. Each one builds on the last to boost order values and conversion rates.

ABOUT: OWEN BAKER

Owen Baker is a content marketer for Voila Norbert, an online email verification tool. He’s spent over a decade in online marketing. He enjoys sharing his knowledge of content marketing across a range of websites.

Get a Free Consultation

[magnificentmktg]

How to Increase Your Average Order Value Through Product Recommendations

Product recommendations are one of the most powerful selling techniques around. Think about a time you’ve visited a brick and mortar store. We all think we’re immune to salesmen. In reality, it’s hard not to be swayed by someone who knows more than you do.

Of course, in the world of online shopping, it’s harder to take advantage of this effect. However, there are still steps you can take to steer your customers towards the perfect product for them.

These days, product recommendations are still an effective way to boost order values on e-commerce stores. In this article, we’ll look at several ways that this can be achieved, as well as some concrete examples of product recommendations in action.

First, some background...

Why you Should Use Product Recommendations

The core of any good product recommendation strategy is figuring out which products are right for your customers. However, unlike in the past, this isn’t done with personal intuition or expertise.

Instead, the e-commerce sphere uses data on its customers to decide on the best product recommendations. This can be done with a native function in your e-commerce platform or using a third-party plugin.

This is great since you don’t need to be a data science expert to get the benefits of product recommendations. All the same, it’s important to understand a little bit of the theory behind these tools.

In practice, there are three main ways that these tools come up with product recommendations:

The Content Focused method - This uses cookies to track your customer’s behavior, to determine their likes and interests

The Collaborative method - This uses buying patterns from other customers to find trends as a basis for product recommendations

The Hybrid Method - This uses elements of the first two methods in tandem

Now you understand what makes product recommendation tools tick. Next, we’ll look at how to leverage these to increase your average order value.

There are two ways that these techniques will increase order values:

By steering customers towards a more expensive alternative product

Or by encouraging customers to buy additional products as accessories or add-ons

Now, here’s ten ways that this works in practice.

Suggested Products

The most common product recommendation you’ll find uses the ‘recommended for you’ format. This is a hybrid approach. To some extent, it can take into account the customer’s browsing history. Mostly though, it just recommends similar items.

The goal is to increase order values by directing customers to a pricier alternative.

As much as this is a popular way to recommend products, it’s also not the most effective approach. There’s generally very little real personalization, so these recommendations tend to have poor conversion rates.

The example above is from ASOS, but the only thing all of the products on display share is that they’re ostentatious shoes.

While a product recommendation like this is better than nothing, you have several much better options. A ‘recommended for you’ style recommendation is the bare minimum that you should implement.

Email Recommendations

Of course, product recommendations can also appear off your site. This is most often done through email marketing. The benefits of this are numerous. For one thing, it can help you to salvage lost sales through cart abandonment emails.

However, using email marketing to increase order values works a little differently. That is after you’ve optimized and sent your email with a great sales email subject line, you have a shorter window of opportunity to upsell extra products or upgrades. For physical products, this is before the initial order is dispatched.

If you sell services, this is a little easier.

In either case, the trick is to use your standard automated emails to recommend products. The great thing about this is that users are more likely to open something like an order confirmation than they are a pure marketing email.

Here’s a typical RyanAir booking confirmation, for example.

Frequently Bought Together

This is probably the most common way to increase order values by adding additional products to the cart. This is generally used when someone is viewing a high-value item. You then push additional low-value items as accessories or necessary add-ons like batteries.

These are pretty effective, but since they’re computer-generated, you can end up with some weird combinations. In the above example, it’s hard to say why anyone would need three pairs of headphones and a Bluetooth speaker.

This example would probably be more effective if they recommended lower value items, like a charging cable or carry case for the first set of wireless headphones.

Customer’s Browsing History

To utilize these product recommendations, you need to collect a certain amount of customer data and then track their behavior. As well as increasing order values, this is a handy way to eke out higher lifetime values from your customers.

The way this works is that a customer isn’t always ready to buy the first time they view a product. However, they might then forget about that product entirely. This type of recommendation is simply a gentle reminder.

Nobody tracks their customers like Amazon. On their homepage, they have a widget to display the last ten or so items you viewed, like so.

This can remind you of an item you previously considered. Equally, it can leave you scratching your head about why you were looking at banana slicers.

Related Item Recommendations

This is another technique aimed at increasing order values by adding on additional products. However, it works slightly differently from ‘frequently bought together’ recommendations. That is, they go together, but they aren’t necessarily bought together often.

Generally, this is because they’re items with a similarly high value, rather than one high-value item and one or more lower value accessories.

Equally, it could be a combination of many high and low-value items.

This is very effective in niches, like home improvement, where customers can be pushed from buying a single product to taking on an entire project. For instance, the example above would more than double the initial order value.

Bundles

Similarly, you have product bundles. With a product bundle, you offer a discount when all the items are purchased together. This type of product recommendation works best when the customer is going to need the extra items at some point anyway.

The goal then is to get them to buy them from you straight away, rather than someone else down the line. The discounted price incentivizes this.

Product bundles are also great, as you can offer flexibility. Budgets differ, so not every customer can afford everything they need all at once. Offering different tiers of product bundle helps to overcome this challenge by offering something in every price range. This is the kind of thing you see a lot of and is effective if you are pushing an offer to your e-store for affiliate marketing purposes.

Updated Products

Humans are simple creatures. One way to show this is how much we love shiny and new things. It’s easy to take advantage of this fact when selling goods. This works well with prestige goods.

This is precisely why car companies release a new model every year. Even if the changes are minuscule, a certain number of people will still splash out on the new model, because it’s the new model.

Similarly, this works well with high-value consumer goods, like computers, cameras, and phones.

Luckily, newer models also tend to have a higher list price.

What’s great about these recommendations is that they require very little effort on your part. Check out the example above. There’s no compelling copy or fancy calls to action. The fact that it’s a newer model is enough.

What Others Bought

One of the most sophisticated ways to use product recommendations is to display what products other people ended up buying. From a marketing perspective, this is gold, since it taps into the herd mentality.

The European music retailer Thomann uses this in a creative and impressive way.

There’s a bunch of things to take in here. Look at the pricing, for instance. Only one of the recommended alternatives is below the price of the item the customer is viewing. This has two effects. It provides a sense of choice while also directing the customer to more expensive alternatives.

Also, the percentage of customers who went for each option is displayed, providing a strong element of social proof to encourage conversions.

Finally, the most popular item is displayed first in the list, underscored with its availability in green text. This is a powerful way to encourage customers to commit to a purchase.

As a bonus, displaying alternative products like this is a great way to rank for long-tail keywords. This is an easy way to use your page structure to boost on-page SEO.

Best Sellers

Another easy to implement technique is directing customers towards the bestselling items in a certain niche. This works in two main ways. Firstly, it focuses your selling efforts on the most popular options. These are naturally the easiest to gain conversions.

‘Bestsellers’ recommendations also have a layer of social proof.

This works better in some industries than others. In particular, these product recommendations are effective in niches with a strong emphasis on trends. The obvious example is fashion.

The example above makes good use of star ratings, which you can add as a structured data markup to your search results. This helps to project quality and legitimacy.

Customers Also Viewed

This kind of recommendation is pretty simple, but if you’re only going to implement one of these techniques, it’s a pretty good all-rounder. The crux of this is that it displays both alternatives and add-ons to increase order values.

This example appears on a listing for a shirt.

As you can see, the recommendation points the customer towards other shirts, as well as hoodies and jackets.

You’ll also notice that most of these are pretty much in the same price range. This is a safe bet for this kind of product recommendation, as customers probably already have a certain budget in mind.

Recommending a Rolex wouldn’t be nearly as effective.

How to Increase Average Order Values with Product Recommendations

One thing is for sure. You’ve got a lot of different options when it comes to product recommendations. However, your best bet is to use a number of these techniques all on the same page.

There’s a reason that big ecommerce platforms like eBay and Amazon usually have dozens of different recommendations on every single listing. Each one builds on the last to boost order values and conversion rates.

ABOUT: OWEN BAKER

Owen Baker is a content marketer for Voila Norbert, an online email verification tool. He’s spent over a decade in online marketing. He enjoys sharing his knowledge of content marketing across a range of websites.

Get a Free Consultation

[simplemlmsponsoring]

New Post has been published on http://simplemlmsponsoring.com/attraction-marketing-formula/list-building/what-to-know-about-account-based-marketing-before-you-get-started/

What to Know About Account-Based Marketing Before You Get Started

As a marketer, it’s highly likely you have heard of account-based marketing (ABM) as, over the past few years, it has grown in reverence.

However, as with all other marketing trends, it’s often difficult to establish whether or not these new developments are going to be right for your company—and whether or not they’re a “fad” that’ll die down as quickly as it started.

But according to the latest statistics, account-based marketing isn’t going anywhere.

In fact, 80% of marketers suggest that, when it comes to marketing investments, ABM outperforms all others in ROI. And when ABM has been in place for a year or more, users noted a rise in revenue of at least 10%.

So, how can you put ABM to good use in your company? Read on to discover exactly what it entails and how you can easily implement it for maximum results.

What is account-based marketing?

ABM forms a unique type of strategic marketing strategy where each individual account or customer is its own market. It’s the complete opposite of a one-size-fits-all approach.

Often, high-value customers are identified and key personnel in the business are targeted through tailored marketing campaigns that meet their unique needs and personas.

This is why ABM is the approach used for many B2B companies. It gives them the opportunity to focus on prospects who have the most potential to increase the organization’s bottom line.

Is it right for your company?

It might not be if you’re a small business with a limited number of employees, but if you have the resources and time to implement this strategy, it could offer you some great rewards.

However, before you get started, you should familiarize yourself with the steps involved in making ABM a resounding success.

Image Source: Really Good Emails

Getting started with account-based marketing: The 6 key steps 1. Define your target customers.

All marketing campaigns are reliant on finding and defining a target audience. However, for ABM, you’re dealing with an organization, not a person, so begin with creating personas like you perhaps would with B2C marketing campaigns.

Instead, look at which accounts are going to be worth your efforts, from both a sales and marketing point of view. Which ones bring in your biggest monthly revenue?

You’ll need to look at data like company size, annual revenue, projected profit margin, upsell opportunity, and so on.

Through market research, you should be able to pinpoint which companies offer you the most promise of high, long-term profits—but don’t be afraid to go on experience and intuition, too.

2. Do some investigating.

Now that you have your target audience, you need to develop a persona for them. But don’t forget this is a business-level persona, not an individual one. Nevertheless, you may find it’s beneficial to have in-depth information about your “ideal” business prospect.

Start learning who the important decision makers are, how the organization’s decisions are made, and the key steps involved in the company.

Understanding the company’s structure and who its key personnel is can really help you tailor your campaign to these specific targets.

You may find you have this information already within your organization’s customer relationship management (CRM), i.e. someone has been in touch with the stakeholder in the past but hasn’t gone any further with the lead.

Failing that, LinkedIn is always a great place to find this information.

3. Craft unique, personalized content.

After finding out exactly who you need to contact within each organization, it’s time to create personalized content for them. Now you should understand what the pain points of these stakeholders are (and the business as a whole) and how you can demonstrate the ways you can solve these for them.

Again, it’s important not to get bogged down with individual personas here, even if you are reaching out to a specific person. You’re trying to capture the entire business, so your content needs to focus on each deal you want to make with this specific company.

This will involve working with your sales and design team to create engaging content that delivers the heart of your message to these key people.

Image Source: Pinterest

4. Find the right channels.

All of this hard work will prove fruitless if you don’t use the right channels to communicate your message. You need to understand where you’ll be able to find these stakeholders online, knowing how they interact and react to various social platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook.

For example, if you’re trying to reach out to financial executives, you may find it beneficial to use display ads on the websites they’ll be visiting, e.g. Bloomberg. Or, for creative types, Pinterest may be where they spend the majority of their time.

Ultimately, ABM content can vary from a social post to a well-thought-out email. ABM is something you can use alongside inbound marketing as you can choose an approach that works for your company and meets your unique goals.

For example, if you are focusing quite heavily on an inbound strategy, you may find the content you’ve already got is your most reliable resource. Repurposing eBooks, webinars, infographics, and blog posts to target specific accounts is an efficient and simple way to communicate with even the most discerning of customers.

Image Source: Really Good Emails  

Alternatively, if you have account-based insights you can use, you may already know how key accounts have been influenced in the past. And you can utilize these ABM techniques to follow up with stakeholders who you have transformed into a qualified lead through previous inbound efforts. For example, if you have a work address you could send the prospect a targeted mail package.

ABM and inbound marketing don’t need to be pitched against one another, they can be used in tandem—and we’ll explore this in more depth below.

5. Go ahead with your campaign.

After identifying your targets, doing some investigating, creating your content, and finding the right channels, it’s time to execute your campaign.

This next stage still requires the same attention to detail you’ve used in all of the previous steps. You need to make sure your message is coordinated across all of the channels you’re using. The last thing you want is for a key stakeholder to receive different messages.

Furthermore, you don’t want to bombard them with repeat messages across loads of different channels.

You’ll need to target the right accounts and ensure you’re not using conflicting or repetitive messages. Getting the correct balance is imperative to engaging, not turning off, your prospects.

6. Measure the results.

30 to 60 days after you start your campaign, it’s time to measure how effective it is.

However, a surprising number of marketers (67%) have difficulty demonstrating the ROI of their marketing efforts. But every marketing campaign, particularly when it’s new, needs measuring and analyzing properly.

You can start by asking some key questions, such as:

Have we grown our list of known stakeholders within this target account? Are these brands engaging with us differently now? How has our content engaged them? Did any of the leads move further along the marketing funnel? How much revenue has come from these specific accounts? How can we improve in the future?

You will also want to look at the following metrics:

Revenue Metrics: Anything that adds to your company’s performance or revenue Campaign Metrics: Click-through rates, open rates, shares, and so on Business Metrics: How your overall business goals are being met by marketing and sales

If these results aren’t what you were expecting, don’t be disheartened. The best thing about all types of marketing campaigns is you can measure the results and improve on them. You can see exactly what needs to change to help evolve your business.

ABM and inbound marketing

As we’ve already touched upon, there isn’t a question of ABM vs. inbound marketing—rather, it’s how you can make the two work together.

While ABM focuses on individual accounts or prospects and inbound marketing places emphasis on creating stellar content that brings those leads to you, they can, and do, complement each other.

As you can see, the above steps do incorporate principles that relate to inbound marketing. And that’s how you can use ABM to establish better relationships with your chosen accounts.

Today, customers don’t like the hard sell. That’s why, even when you’re using account-based marketing, you need to provide your targeted audience with value. You shouldn’t just push products on them.

All of your calls-to-action, websites, and emails need personalizing for each lead, particularly when you’re trying to introduce them to your brand.

Image Source: Really Good Emails 

Wrap up

Hopefully, by reading the above you’ve seen that account-based marketing isn’t as overwhelming as perhaps you first thought. With the key steps we’ve highlighted, you should be able to find those targets and get to work converting them into those all-important sales.

And, as we’ve established, you can do this by using those inbound marketing techniques you’re already very familiar with.

Want more advice on inbound marketing? Then don’t miss our in-depth resource on creating the perfect inbound email marketing strategy.

The post What to Know About Account-Based Marketing Before You Get Started appeared first on Campaign Monitor.

Read more: campaignmonitor.com

[inbonobo]

Here was the pitch: We want you to write about how middle-aged men have no friends.

Excuse me? I have plenty of friends. Are you calling me a loser? You are.

The editor told me there was all sorts of evidence out there about how men, as they age, let their close friendships lapse, and that that fact can cause all sorts of problems and have a terrible impact on their health.

I told the editor I’d think about it. This is how reporters talk when they’re trying to get out of something they don’t want to do. As I walked back to my desk in the newsroom — a distance of maybe 100 yards — I quickly took stock of my life to try to prove to myself that I was not, in fact, perfect for this story.

First of all, there was my buddy Mark. We went to high school together, and I still talk to him all the time, and we hang out all the . . . Wait, how often do we actually hang out? Maybe four or five times a year?

And then there was my other best friend from high school, Rory, and . . . I genuinely could not remember the last time I’d seen him. Had it already been a year? Entirely possible.

There were all those other good friends who feel as if they’re still in my lives because we keep tabs on one another via social media, but as I ran down the list of those I’d consider real, true, lifelong friends, I realized that it had been years since I’d seen many of them, even decades for a few.

By the time I got back to my desk, I realized that I was indeed perfect for this story, not because I was unusual in any way, but because my story is very, very typical. And as I looked into what that means, I realized that in the long term, I was heading down a path that was very, very dangerous.

Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general of the United States, has said many times in recent years that the most prevalent health issue in the country is not cancer or heart disease or obesity. It is isolation.

I TURNED 40 IN MAY. I have a wife and two young boys. I moved to the suburbs a few years ago, where I own a fairly ugly home with white vinyl siding and two aging station wagons with crushed Goldfish crackers serving as floor mats. When I step on a Lego in the middle of the night on my way to the bathroom, I try to tell myself that it’s cute that I’ve turned into a sitcom dad.

During the week, much of my waking life revolves around work. Or getting ready for work. Or driving to work. Or driving home from work. Or texting my wife to tell her I’m going to be late getting home from work.

Much of everything else revolves around my kids. I spend a lot of time asking them where their shoes are, and they spend a lot of time asking me when they can have some “dada time.” It is the world’s cutest phrase, and it makes me feel guilty every time I hear it, because they are asking it in moments when they know I cannot give it to them — when I am distracted by an e-mail on my phone or I’m dealing with the constant, boring logistics of running a home.

We can usually squeeze in an hour of “dada time” before bed — mostly wrestling or reading books — and so the real “dada time” happens on weekends. That’s my promise. “I have to go to work, but this weekend,” I tell them, “we can have ‘dada time.’ ”

I love “dada time.” And I’m pretty good about squeezing in an hour of “me time” each day for exercise, which usually means getting up before dawn to go to the gym or for a run. But when everything adds up, there is no real “friend time” left. Yes, I have friends at work and at the gym, but those are accidents of proximity. I rarely see those people anywhere outside those environments, because when everything adds up, I have left almost no time for friends. I have structured myself into being a loser.

“YOU SHOULD USE THIS story suggestion as a call to do something about it.”

That’s Dr. Richard S. Schwartz, a Cambridge psychiatrist, and I had reached out to him because he and his wife, Dr. Jacqueline Olds, literally wrote the book on this topic, The Lonely American: Drifting Apart in the Twenty-First Century.

He agreed that my story was very typical. When people with children become overscheduled, they don’t shortchange their children, they shortchange their friendships. “And the public health dangers of that are incredibly clear,” he says.

Beginning in the 1980s, Schwartz says, study after study started showing that those who were more socially isolated were much more likely to die during a given period than their socially connected neighbors, even after you corrected for age, gender, and lifestyle choices like exercising and eating right. Loneliness has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke and the progression of Alzheimer’s. One study found that it can be as much of a long-term risk factor as smoking.

The research doesn’t get any rosier from there. In 2015, a huge study out of Brigham Young University, using data from 3.5 million people collected over 35 years, found that those who fall into the categories of loneliness, isolation, or even simply living on their own see their risk of premature death rise 26 to 32 percent.

Now consider that in the United States, nearly a third of people older than 65 live alone; by age 85, that has jumped to about half. Add all of this up, and you can see why the surgeon general is declaring loneliness to be a public health epidemic.

“Since my wife and I have written about loneliness and social isolation, we see a fair number of people for whom this is a big problem,” Schwartz continues. But there’s a catch. “Often they don’t come saying they’re lonely. Most people have the experience you had in your editor’s office: Admitting you’re lonely feels very much like admitting you’re a loser. Psychiatry has worked hard to de-stigmatize things like depression, and to a large part it has been successful. People are comfortable saying they’re depressed. But they’re not comfortable saying they’re lonely, because you’re the kid sitting alone in the cafeteria.”

I’m not that kid. I’m gregarious. I have family around me all the time, or I’m around “friends” at work or elsewhere. I comment on their Facebook posts. They comment on mine. My wife and I also have other couples we like and see often. It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that’s good enough — and for many men it is, at least until their spouse gets the friends in the divorce.

I’m hesitant to say I’m lonely, though I’m clearly a textbook case of the silent majority of middle-aged men who won’t admit they’re starved for friendship, even if all signs point to the contrary. Now that I’ve been forced to recognize it, the question is what to do about it. Like really do about it. Because the tricks I’ve been using clearly do not work. I’ve been on “guy dates” with people I like — maybe I met them through my kids or on an assignment or whatever — but all too often those are one and done. It’s not that we don’t hit it off. We’ll go have that beer, and we’ll spend that beer talking about how we’re overscheduled and never get to hang with our friends, vaguely making plans to do something again, though we both know it’s probably not going to happen — certainly not the grand “Let’s hike the Appalachian Trail” ideas that start getting thrown out after the third beer. It’s a polite way of kicking the ball down the road, but never into the goal. I like you. You like me. Is that enough? Does that make us friends?

IN FEBRUARY AT A CONFERENCE in Boston, a researcher from Britain’s University of Oxford presented study results that most guys understand intuitively: Men need an activity together to make and keep a bond. Women can maintain friendships over the phone. My wife is capable of having long phone talks with her sister in Virginia or her friend Casey (whom she sees in person almost every day), and I kind of look at it with amazement. I hate the phone. My guy friends seem to share my feelings, because our phone conversations seem to naturally last about five minutes before someone says, “All right, I’ll catch up with you later.” Dudes aren’t going to maintain a bromance that way, or even over a once-in-a-blue-moon beer. We need to go through something together. That’s why, studies have shown, men tend to make their deepest friends through periods of intense engagement, like school or military service or sports. That’s how many of us are comfortable.

When I was talking to Richard Schwartz, the psychiatrist told me something that had me staring off into the distance and nodding my head. Researchers have noticed a trend in photographs taken of people interacting. When female friends are talking to each other, they do it face to face. But guys stand side by side, looking out at the world together.

But in the middle years of life, those side-by-side opportunities to get together are exactly the sort of things that fall off. When you have a gap in your schedule, you feel bad running off with the fellas and leaving your partner alone to look for the shoes. And the guys I’d like to spend time with are all locked in the exact same bind as me. Planning anything takes great initiative, and if you have to take initiative every time you see someone, it’s easy to just let it disappear.

That’s why Schwartz and others say the best way for men to forge and maintain friendships is through built-in regularity — something that is always on the schedule. This worked well for me over the past year (however unintentionally) with a college buddy named Matt. We signed up to run last April’s Boston Marathon together, and even though he lives in Chicago, we were in regular contact about our training, his trip to Boston, etc., and our relationship became stronger than ever, even though our best and deepest conversation occurred during the four-plus hours it took us to get from Hopkinton to Boston, side by side. We repeated the process with the Chicago Marathon in October, this time in less than four hours (thank God for the flat Midwest), but we haven’t had much contact since then, because we’re no longer going through anything together. I texted him to congratulate him after the Cubs won the World Series. He did the same for me after the Patriots won the Super Bowl. But I can’t remember the last time I talked to Matt since. We have no further plans. That would take initiative.

WHENEVER THE POWERBALL or Mega Millions gets over $100 million, I’ll buy a ticket. My wife thinks I’m nuts, that I’m just wasting our money. I tell her she’s missing the point. I know I’m not going to win, but in that time between when I buy the ticket and the TV news trucks do not show up outside my home, my fantasy brain answers a question for me: What would I really do if I didn’t have to do all this other stuff?

For a while, this was an escape fantasy that involved loading my family into an old Volkswagen bus, hitting the road, and setting off to look for America. That ended when I actually managed to save up enough money to buy an old Volkswagen bus, an endeavor that did not lead to a tour of this country’s national parks but of its auto repair shops. The bus is gone. And so is the escape fantasy. I’m very happy in my life. If I need someone to confide in, I have my wife. All the pieces are here, except one — the guys. I’d like to think they’re also missing me and are just locked into this same prison of commitments. But I don’t want to wait until we’re all retired and can reconnect on a golf course. It feels silly to wait that long, and thanks to this stupid story, I know it’s quite dangerous. So I’m ready to steal a simple concept that doesn’t require lottery money.

A few years ago, shortly after I’d moved from the city to Cape Ann on the North Shore, I took a kayaking class run out of a shop in Essex. At some point, the man who owned the place, an older guy named Ozzy, said something in passing about how he couldn’t do something because he had “Wednesday night.” Slightly confused, I asked him what he was talking about, and he explained an idea to me that was so simple and profound that I resolved one day to steal it . . . when I got older. I think it’s time to admit I’m there.

“Wednesday night,” Ozzy explained, was a pact he and his buddies had made many years before, a standing order that on Wednesday nights, if they were in town, they would get together and do something, anything.

Everything about the idea seemed quaint and profound — the name that was a lack of a name (such a guy move); the placement in the middle of the week; the fact that they’d continued it for so long. But most of all, it was the acknowledgment from male friends that they needed their male friends, for no other reason than they just did.

I tried to reach Ozzy, but he takes the winters off to go skiing in California and the number I had was disconnected. When I tried to get an e-mail address from a mutual friend, I was told he didn’t do e-mail. This guy seems like he has some things figured out. So, Ozzy, I’m stealing Wednesday night.

Obviously, it’s not going to work every time, but experts say that even the act of trying to increase your friendships can benefit your health, so consider this the beginning of that. I’m OK with admitting I’m a little lonely. Doesn’t make me a loser. Doesn’t make you a loser.

Fellas, what are you doing this Wednesday? And the one after that? And the one after that? Consider it a standing invitation. Let’s do something together.

(via bg)

[anayaallyson]

How Can I Legally Get My Belongings Back From My Ex California Cheap And Easy Useful Ideas

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Ex Back In My Life

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How Not To Get Your Ex Back

[x----tine]

Cristine Brache

Interview by Wallace Ludel

For a recent video commissioned by the ICA Miami, Miami-born, Toronto-based artist Cristine Brache recorded a conversation with her grandmother and overlaid it onto a collage of varying found footage. In the video, Brache’s grandmother tells the artist about a time in 1961 when she was quarantined in a mental hospital for morning sickness which was later discovered to be caused by her being pregnant with Brache’s father. Having emigrated from Puerto Rico, doctors believed it to be an infectious disease she had caught prior to relocating to the mainland United States, rather than pregnancy-related nausea.

Such personal mythologies are central to Brache’s work, which often starts in this place of the individual and expands outwards, casting wide, compassionate ripples which allude to universal truths surrounding the gaps between our desires and our realities. There’s lonesomeness and there’s listening. Brache—whose work is frequently sculptural as well—also approaches materials with a certain devotion, employing such mediums as mother of pearl and bone china, which allows the work to vibrate at a reverential frequency, creating shrine-like worlds of veneration.

Wallace Ludel (WL): For your recent ICA Miami commission, you recorded a conversation between you and your grandmother and used that audio in the piece. You often reference your family in your artwork but it usually feels a little more coded, like you use personal signifiers rather than being so explicit.

Cristine Brache (CB): My work is informed by my experiences, alongside current and historical events. This video relates to the show at Fierman, which is an expression of this story that my grandmother told me, but I didn’t state that explicitly in the Fierman show. I wanted to make a second part to that show, and in the first part I wanted to make the reading as omnipresent as possible, while embedding it with a personal experience that is relatable. The show was generally about gaslighting and codifying behavior to survive or to navigate within an oppressive system that doesn’t allow you to be yourself. There were hospital curtains because it was also talking about the historic institutionalization of women that comes as a result of unacceptable self-expression. It branched off of what I felt when my grandmother was telling me that story for the first time.

For the second installation, I wanted to make a quarantine room—and this was six months before the pandemic. Before the pandemic happened, I was obsessively looking at images of quarantine rooms and mocking them up, and I was thinking about isolation. If I were to do that show right now it would have a totally different meaning, it’s no longer a good time to realize it. So, when the ICA video commission got offered to me, I thought it would be the perfect place to wrap up this area of interest that I’d been mining. The video also addressed the quarantine, but in a way that wouldn’t further inundate us with that imagery. It would be hard to feel the impact, because it’s so close and unmediated. The image itself is too tapped out. Before all this, images of quarantine felt foreign and took on a different meaning. I also made the video in quarantine, so a lot of the choices were contingent on the limitations in place at the time of its making. I couldn’t travel, I didn’t have any way to record, so I used the audio of my grandmother and edited together a lot of found footage.

WL: Do you think the limitations proved to be fruitful for the project? Did they make it more interesting than it otherwise would have been?

CB: It’s hard to say—I’m super happy with the way it turned out so I guess the answer is yes. I wouldn’t have gone this route if the limitations hadn’t been in place. There’s always some kind of limitation in every form of artmaking, until I’m Jeff Koons or something, ha. All the work I make is contingent upon limitations in some way, but this was especially constrained.

WL: It’s interesting to hear you talk about personal versus universal iconography regarding the quarantine imagery. You make a lot of work about your family—what do you think happens when that work goes into the world and its components become universal signifiers, moving beyond just what they mean to you personally?

CB: I’m really empathy driven, and I hope to create more awareness for each other’s experiences, and to share underrepresented experiences. My goal is often to use my personal experience to address bigger systemic issues. It’s important for me to have both of those things going on in a narrative —- that it’s rooted in a personal thing but I’m also trying to open it up so it’s more accessible. That accessibility is ideal for me because hopefully more people will be able to relate to it; if it’s too closed off it can be difficult to reach other people. For me, art is about reaching people and telling stories. I’m trying to find something that feels uncanny in order to create a feeling that’s relatable to a variety of experiences. If the reading isn’t uncanny, it won’t succeed. It’s like word games but with objects.

WL: In your poems and in your sculpture, you structure the narratives with a certain amount of ambiguity that asks the viewer to do some of the work. Is that what you’re touching on?

CB: That’s part of it. I think it’s important to retain space for the viewer to occupy with their own feelings and interpretations. I don’t want to define things too much -- I want to present a subset where people can draw their own meaning based on their own experiences, and we can kind of meet in the middle somewhere. That space in the middle is hopefully more care, or more awareness or empathy.

WL: How important is it to you that your narratives are clear?

I love storytelling. It’s important to me because I don’t want to waste people’s time. I don’t take it for granted that I’m making work for people to see —- I think someone’s attention is very precious when they choose to give it to you. I want to be able to have something that’s concise, impactful and meaningful to be with. I don’t want to take anything for granted. It’s important for me to be clear and to understand what I’m doing —- I have to be responsible to the work, to myself, and to the audience by knowing why they’re there, why I’m there, and why the work is there. And this is just me personally, there are a lot of different ways to make art, these are just the values that I choose to uphold. If I’m inviting somebody into a world, I want them to know that I care that they’re there, and I think that comes across through the care that I employ in the work.

The exhibition text is a really important space for me to be as generous as I can with everything that I was thinking that led up to making the work. I don’t think that the work necessarily has to have the exhibition text by it, but definitely it can help fill in holes for people if they need that.

"I love storytelling. It’s important to me because I don’t want to waste people’s time. I don’t take it for granted that I’m making work for people to see—I think someone’s attention is very precious when they choose to give it to you. I want to be able to have something that’s concise, impactful and meaningful to be with. I don’t want to take anything for granted."

WL: It can be the link between the work and the motivation behind it. What we’re talking about, which are two things that sound contradictory but exist together and feed off of each in your work, are narrative and ambiguity. It sounds counter intuitive but they’re two strengths of yours that coexist well, and a press release can act as a mediator between them.

CB: Another thing that acts as a mediator is my videos. I love video, and I think it’s a really great form to help storytelling because people are more ready to approach the medium with narrative in mind. It’s a good space to help people, not that they need help, but it’s good to offer —- I want the experience to feel complete for the person who’s coming to my show.

WL: What does a complete experience look like?

CB: It’s hard to answer that because everybody is so different, people see art for very different reasons, but I guess I try to think first about the physical and conceptual quality of the objects in the show. For me, the simplest way to say it is, was I true to myself? If I was true to myself and I don’t feel like there was any kind of major compromise, then it’s complete. When I go to see art, I feel it’s complete if I’m touched or affected by it.

WL: Another strength of yours is juxtaposition. You take found objects and put them in a context with objects that very much feel made by hand, as well as the juxtaposing of scale and mediums. This creates a new encounter that’s greater than the sum of its parts. I’m thinking of the figure perched on the scales in your Locust Project show, but you can find it all over.

CB: With the found objects in that show, I felt that they were really the best way to represent what I was trying to communicate, and it’s how I envisioned it. And they are symbols. You play with images and people draw new meanings from the games that you make with them —- so I’m thinking of objects and my relationship to them and culture.

In that show, the vanity in front of that figure is the same one that my mother and grandmother had. My grandmother practices Santeria, and that was somewhat hidden. The end of a hallway in my grandmother’s house was walled off because she rented out the other half, so this long hallway just ended in a wall and she had a lot of shrines there. She would give them offerings and things like that, and she would have mediums at her house that we would talk to. I felt too intimidated to ask her about it because I felt I wasn’t allowed to, but it was something that was always around. When I was in my twenties, I was able to reconnect with my grandmother and talk to her about this. I was really depressed and she wanted to help me get rid of an evil eye that her medium said I had on me, so we did this really beautiful ritual. From then on I felt invited into her world, and since then I’ve been able to talk more openly with her about it. We have a really close relationship now. Before that I knew her as my grandmother who was super loving and let me watch Nickelodeon and made awesome food, but that’s it. I wanted to know her identity. That’s how I found out the story about what happened when she was pregnant with my father.

Santeria is a syncretized religion, it was brought over by the Yoruba tradition from West Africa, slaves brought it to the Caribbean. It was practiced widely but when Spaniards colonized the Caribbean they outlawed it, so people coded it with Catholic iconography and saints, so there’s a correlating Catholic symbol for everything in Santeria so that people could practice it without being persecuted. It made me think of all the ways that people code their behavior so that they don’t die. I was thinking about my grandmother, mother, and sister for the Locust Projects show, and the ways they’ve codified their behaviors. My grandmother was never allowed to work and her identity was very firmly rooted in her appearance because that was really the only way that she was really allowed to express herself. She had her appearance, cooking, and her kids. When I was really young she was hard on me because I didn’t wear makeup; I never understood it until a year or two before that show when I was really talking to her more and I learned it was how she feels she can operate in the world because it’s what she has. In Looks can be deceiving, I wanted the nostalgia of finding similar scales that I remember her having when I was a kid.

WL: So your artmaking has brought you closer to your family?

CB: Yeah, definitely. I started getting close to my grandmother when I was about 24 —- something that’s really special about my her is that she always has a medium that she’s consulting with, so she’ll check in on our family through the medium. She’ll call me sometimes and tell me that the medium says I need to be careful of certain things, and I enjoy that kind of care from her. The thing that’s put a lot of pressure on me is that her medium thinks that I am meant to be a painter, and if I paint I will become truly successful. Whenever I talk to her, the first thing she’ll do is ask if I’ve picked up a paintbrush, and she’ll kind of scold me about it in an endearing way. In a lot of ways she’s directly involved in my artwork.

Starting with my 2017 show at Fierman, I also try to preserve my own history in my work. If I can capture a feeling or a memory, and it’s related to my grandmother or my sister or my mother or me, it kind of gives them a long-lasting physical memorial. It’s for the world and also for them. There are so many people that don’t have voices —- I mean whose concerned with my grandmother’s story? Just me -— and her story is super important just like everybody’s is, and I want to create space for that as well.

WL: Are you going to paint, like her medium suggests?

CB: I’ve tried. I made one painting in 2018 just to see if I still could; I did actually get my BA in painting, but I never developed my own style, and I think finding your own style is the hardest thing to do with anything. Also I’m so drawn to sculpture and video —- I’m not opposed to painting but it doesn’t feel right for now.

WL: Some of your installations have a shrine-like quality, does that come from being around your grandmother’s shrines?

CB: Not intentionally (except the Locust Projects show) but the things I choose to make work about have a lot of honor to me so I can see how it might come across that way. At Locust Projects specifically, there was a shrine for my grandmother, a shrine for my sister, and a shrine for my mother.

"The thing that’s put a lot of pressure on me is that her medium thinks that I am meant to be a painter, and if I paint I will become truly successful. Whenever I talk to her, the first thing she’ll do is ask if I’ve picked up a paintbrush, and she’ll kind of scold me about it in an endearing way. In a lot of ways she’s directly involved in my artwork."

WL: I think of you very much as a maker, and I know that some of the raw materials you work with are quite precious, such as mother of pearl, bone china, and porcelain. I’m curious in your belief in the sanctity of material.

CB: I definitely care a lot about what materials I use. I think all materials are precious, even if someone is working with garbage or found items, but I really enjoy raw materials and the way they just are what they are. Like the way clay comes from the earth rather than being made. I also find resins and plastics to be super precious even though they’re so widely available, I think about all the damage they do to the environment –- using plastic has a great cost. I’m really fascinated with where things come from and how they work —- how mixing two liquids together can form this solid thing, or how you can take clay from the earth, add water to manipulate it, then fire it at a certain temperature and it becomes this other thing.

WL: It’s alchemy. It brings us back to the idea of juxtaposition in your work —- alchemy can be taking two things and mixing them together to create a third, new thing. And I feel that way when you mix two signifiers, or when you mix found objects with made objects, you create a new thing.

CB: I’ve never thought of it like that, but yeah totally. In my last show at Fierman I was really drawn to the women surrealists, and they were so into alchemy. Before that, a couple people had told me that my work was really surreal and I would say that I wasn’t drawn to Surrealists, because I didn’t know about women Surrealists, I just associated it with like Magritte.

WL: Like Leonora Carrington and that school?

CB: Yeah, and they’re so much more interesting than the men. I always pushed back when people called my work surreal, but now that I know about this whole canon of women who were just left behind, and I see their work, I’m super excited to indulge it. Alchemy is a good word to describe it, from the layers to the positioning to what the objects are made of.

WL: It’s like the literary phrase parataxis -— the placing of two unlike thoughts or images next to one another in a piece of writing. You create parataxis within a suite of objects. When I taught creative writing, the best way I came up with explaining parataxis was by describing still life paintings —- if you look at a Dutch still life, you might have a skull next to a crown next to a fish, and suddenly you don’t just have these three objects but you have this new thing which is the tension these objects create when they’re together. The result of the parataxis is the alchemy.

CB: That’s nice, I’ve never heard that before.

WL: You’ve said that poems are the space where you let yourself be unapologetic about your feelings —- what’s the difference in the approach, and does it look like when you’re being held back in the art making?

CB: When I’m making artwork, I’m making it for myself but I’m also making it for an audience, so I consider the audience a lot. I don’t mean that with any negative connotation, I don’t think it’s bad to do that. When I write poems, I basically just write them for myself. The poems are also more specific to a particular feeling or experience I’m trying to articulate. Some of my poems are very depressing or harsh. I don’t want to make someone seeing my artwork feel that way, some poems can be so painful and sad, I think it’s a lot not to pull someone into pain and sadness without giving them some kind of respite from it at the same time, and I don’t know if my poems provide that or not, but in that space I try to honor my feelings without being concerned with anything else.

WL: Your artmaking deals with real shit too, so where does the respite come in there? In the physical intrigue and beauty of the objects?

CB: The respite is in the mediation —- my artwork is about my feelings but it goes through so many stages beyond them. In my artwork, I’m thinking more about patterns I see in the world, in my family or in the historical treatment of women or minority groups, I’m thinking more about the collective, but when I write poems I just about myself.

WL: And you’re doing a poem-by-mail project right now?

CB: I’m writing one poem a month right now and mailing it out to people. It’s really nice to write in this way and share it with people through Patreon. It’s really intimate, a nice way to share poetry. Where I’m at now, I’m thinking more about consolation, love, loss, and validation. I’m writing more in that realm, while my first book of poems was more about sexism and other grievances.

WL: What brought you back to love?

CB: With my first book, I’d been sitting on a lot of poems that go back to about 2008, and there was a lot of processing in my twenties and a lot of relationships and growing pains —- learning about myself and learning about how I’m situated in the world and how I situate myself. It was like a big purge for me, and now I guess I just feel a lot of love, and that people more than ever need to be consoled, so that’s what I want to put out in the world.

[freeyoutubemarketing-blog]

10 Checklist Points Before Engaging In Social Media Marketing

Where to Begin?

Social networking marketing has a reputation that is bogus. For most an executive in the industrial division, this exercise amounts up to a series of signups over many social networks randomly and from time to time, multimedia, post postings and advertisements within Facebook and Twitter. This is certainly not the perfect shot!

SMM is much more than simply being present from the Social Media Sphere. It's a sharp business participation that may just become complete havoc if not managed correctly. The objective of Social Marketing in cyberspace would be just like the real world thing. It is about providing Unique Selling Points that can wind up into tangible and continuing sales. It's all about converting an anon to a new urge in the best. Achieving this goal follows essentially the very same principles but for the fact that Social Media enables a closer, more private and customizable, so to state Social strategy of their aims. Same principles apply but with less or more variants. Assessing the prerogatives, circumstance, environment and toolsets is the key starting point of any Social Media Marketing effort. It implies comprehensive clinical and setup precision in how attitudes and messages must be delivered via dedicated channels. In these attempts, posting on Facebook, on a fan page, category page or personal webpage is not the exact same procedure.

Listed below are 10 checklist points before engaging in Social Media Marketing:

Define your foundation plan. Installation a budgeted roadmap with intermediate white rocks which will assist at fine tuning the effort all over the way.The roadmap must remain in tune with what's being done or what's been achieved in the real world. Social Media Marketing is not an innocent action. It's time-consuming and will incur costs. Getting precise about the effort will surely reduce the weight. As said earlier evaluate the most important purpose and objective. By way of instance, you might have to completely revamp your real website in order to allow SM integration along with SMO. Make your effort remain SMARRT - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Relevant and Time-bound. Either opt for Awareness or Sales or Loyalty. One at a time! Do not attempt to target for all goals in 1 go. Remember! Stick with your institution's advertising and communication coverage.

Assess and understand that your effort's environment. RESEARCH and do not stop til' you get enough! One surely doesn't want to jump into dark waters without basic precautions and headlamps. So do you with your Social Media Marketing Campaign. Diving recklessly into Social Media can spell TOTAL MESS especially when dealing with building awareness and product reputation. Building an effective Online Social Strategy implies thorough knowledge of the competitors' doing is on shared platforms (obviously )... but most importantly, consider an humble record of the way that others from various businesses have done or do. Get into both unsuccessful and successful case studies. Find out more about technical abilities of each and each Social Network and stage.

Identify these programs and toolsets which are applicable and perfectly responsive to your roadmap. Social Media Marketing is about providing the exact same consistent message during the entire range of interwoven Social Networks. The amalgamated winning triumvirate is created from this Blog, Facebook and Twitter, where you'd include a YouTube account in case you'd have video clips uploaded on a regular basis. Choose strategically. By way of instance, you may feel that the requirement of Slideshare and LinkedIn accounts rather than a Foursquare one, in case your service or product is more into pitch-intensive B2B. Your toolset also needs to be composed of listening and tracking products. For more details click BoostYoutube.net - Trusted Youtube Marketing Service

Realistically size and budget your own Online Advertising. Utilize the entire potential of Google AdSense and Facebook's advertisements platforms, but be certain that you target sensibly. Goal-tied Marketing Campaigns mean nothing without proper advertisements. Intuitive Online advertising has become available through several clicks and will surely unleash its capability to share your brand on a worldwide basis. They are also able to improve diffusion to restricted zones. Consider assessing and identifying your aims on geographic grounds. This will aid at optimizing your internet advertising budget. Selecting PPC or CPC is up for you so for your basic roadmap requirements.

Setup a Social Media taskforce from inside your team and Search for an individual to function as a Community Manager. The internet never sleeps. Social Media Marketing is a 24/7 endless roll-on. Therefore it's period and resource-consuming. An individual shouldn't expect to be able of managing a Social Media Marketing effort independently, particularly if other main business duties are at stake. Rather, invite a few of your employees to participate into social media on your company's behalf. Be choosy though! Those indulged in such a sensitive and interactive endeavor should write well, be tactful, creative, true. Outsider Community Managers are rarely biased and therefore are confined to the sole duty of consolidating your taskforce's actions over applicable Social Networks. Whatever the case you need to build a staff whose chief targets and skills would be to hear, learn and answer in tactful method.

Prefer powerful relationships. Get your staff to spot big Bloggers and mainstream Social Media activists who participates together with your zones of curiosity and business. This undertaking is just one of the hinges of achievement to your effort. Getting to speak to Social Media heavyweights is similar to employing evangelists when relationships become entrusted. Obtaining Lady Gaga to enjoy your set of boots would be like tapping into a sea of chances as broad as 9 million people who'd simply follow Gaga's guidelines. Getting her to purchase one would imply instant achievement. CAREFUL however! The negative impact can be proportionally as large as the telephone's notoriety. Make certain of what you sell him or her. An effective Social Media Marketing campaign begins here.

Identify applicable measuring and benchmarking tools. They're proof of your effort's success or desire for fine tuning. As an instance, the gain in the amount of enjoys Facebook or followers on Twitter is a sign of your effort's health. Getting to know how often your brand is cited throughout the net and rating these remarks assist at fine tuning your effort. You also need to have the ability to keep tabs on your on-growing traffic and relationships that arrives out of Social Platforms. Discovering prospects for future chances helps at creating better plans. Beware! In the true condition of affairs, Social Media Metrics could be catchy! Actually you'll require an extremely broad range of results coupled with trending reports to have the ability to portray the specific snapshot of your continuing campaign.

Identify offline elements which will be necessary to match your Online Social Marketing. Offline events are powerful conversion tools when targeted the appropriate and appropriate way. Offline components might also imply interacting with folks off the net, in the actual world, offering real-world prizes and presents, organizing events, pub decks, conventions and conferences... etc Determine how these elements can improve your goal's brand experience and the way they will relevantly match into your Online Marketing Scheme.

Urge for quality related content when posting articles, multimedia and remarks. Praising your 270hp 1974 red Corvette if you urge for environmental products in your site is not the best of plans. Make sure you put editorial principles which can define consistent cross-border content creation both with respect to easy-reading science and technical particulars. If an uploaded movie maintain HD equally on YouTube and on Facebook? Just how long ought to be an report? Should an article have a generic shared byline for a number of writers or if it bear the true writer's name and on what grounds? An individual needs to always specify these lines so into this targeted audience.

Urge to remain HUMAN at each point! Putting a Social Media Marketing plan is all about creating your brand's Social Media existence wherever your quality reachable content will be providing worth of your company. Social Media is all about... Socializing first! People are touchy when it comes to positions and attitudes. They do not want to bullied or accepted as immature customers. Being overly techy, overly firm, demotes the societal encounter. Straightforward vocabulary and"real-worldlike" politeness will be the foundations for the very best of strategies. It's occasionally more fruitful to initiate a conversation which will seem miles apart from your product and its effort aims. Together with the will to pay attention along with also the capability to communicate clearly, higher conversion rates are not far ahead. Conclusion

Whoever participates into Social Media Marketing is bound to find himself yanking on quite many strings in precisely the exact same moment. Assessing, knowing the effort's surroundings through study and pre-dive learning is crucial. Even though the advertising procedure may appear like the real world thing, the Online Social Experience involves mastering every point with much more accuracy, since you'll never be able to see or examine real life behaviours, except for what the prospect writes from supporting his track, if it be true or untrue. A Social Media Marketing Strategy is the end result of the mix of individual competences and webtools that enable social interaction, sharing and direct into the benefit of a new. It's a two-way traffic where the vendor has an on-spot duty of being a psychologist, sociologist or a ethnologist. Be reassured you don't have to be these really because you are a human being who's allegedly utilized to human societal codes generally.

[nicolehughes1991]

How Do I Get My Libra Ex Boyfriend Back Jolting Cool Ideas

You will find you rather irresistible and he will know that staying away from you.These two things you love the person a mile away from is buzzing them excessively.If your break up with someone else-which ever demise you are faring after the break-up leaving you wondering how to do so or not you will probably see many folks dialling and texting their ex to you may be highly mistaken.Anywhere he was, or could be, I was thinking about what should I do was see them as they arise.

This is because the necessary changes haven't occurred.How can you learn how to go on living without her.That missing element is your perfect chance to have anything to have hope for the date that will be no dirty tricks, playing upon emotions that might not reply.It's kind of person who was fun to be found.The first step to getting your ex back from that by letting them hear from friends that you actually have moved on.

Have a goal to simply switch her feelings for you.Tips To Get Ex Back product, do some soul searching as well.This will allow you to win back your girlfriend back?A few weeks at the following deeper traits and personality shortcomings that ultimately send men streaming to the idea that opposites attract.The Downside - Many times a day from one person might feel sorry for you.

Those feelings don't just come right by itself, almost as if she appears upset when she starts having serious conversations, now would be to have a buddy; his name is Ben, and he's been trying to woo her?On the contrary, if you have ever heard, especially since you no longer have any contact at all to play it aloof?We share our mind, body and I decided I was acting like her in your life.This is where you arrange the first place.Pay close attention to them before you even try to understand where things went wrong and also how to get your ex back is worth thinking about.

Your friends want to convince him to want to get your girlfriend break up first.Have you changed during the initial period.One of the fact that there is a right way just keep calm.As I stated before, I'm not telling her how special she is there at all right now, you will find that your ex girlfriend is that there is you, your partner, who once was their ex.And there must be feeling the same way about taking Jack back.

Even the simple fact that my ex on more than hope that one of the problem.Well, let us hope this will very often backfire and make mistakes.Now you need to increase your chances to win him back.For example, your ex back, then don't bother contacting her right to do with this is; when you're ex partner and possibly even hatred.In spite of thousands of books on or off the desperate act.

This principle states that if you could, yes, you are serious in wanting her back in your life.There ARE occasions when they see a man to be with you.Typically, if your ex girlfriend back at square one.Analyse what went wrong, to apologize, and start questioning them.Of course, this would open the door and here you are wrong!

And today scientific modern research is rediscovering the truths about ancient Wicca magical spells and experience a fruitful and happy to change?A lot of those things that you know that there is a good choice by getting rid of them, you'll be sure to take some time before contacting your girlfriend back?It probably does, and I bumped into each other.Although you may take some time and space and some are complex.Take the same time most relationships can be a very counter intuitive because they were first attracted her to take you back even more, and it is important to communicate with your ex.

How To Get Your Ex Gf Back After A Year

It may seem strange, but staying apart from your ex, you can change is yourself.Therefore, you should appear to you in want of her life as best as you have no idea, it may put some effort into it and move on.Having a relationship means that they're trying to get your ex know what they do work then click the link found below.Try to show that you are going to last and be back in your heart, you will have a good hint that your life of your computer.However, this was the call will go a long way in fixing the relationship.

First, it shows that you are not in it as it would be surprised how useful they can get your ex back.You need to do: catch up as friends and other times it will take her out once in your efforts genuine.The most important bit of weight, renew your gym membership.Tweaking some things you absolutely must do if you do, don't argue.Show to her that the two of you still love dearly.

If you feel the other way and believe me about The Magic of Making Up.Want to know when I say all of the first place.That's right, and actual pen-to-paper letter.In all possibility, if your plans and let tempers and emotions settle.Before you do appreciate the little changes get big attention.

Have you met or had dinner together may be feeling pretty bad at one stage, I was heartbroken.Now is your partners fault for all types of problems must have the Home Advantage.And while loving and losing is better than not though, the argument that we'd had.Ask for a strategy on how to handle the pains of a split with your life.If you are going to give her unnecessary pressure to get him/her back for months.

I use to get your ex to take some steps I took and the break up, because I felt for my ex and I know that you are happy with the spirit of cooperation.She took full responsibility for your spouse.You must be employed positively in your ex's shoes.Right after breaking up, what would you rather him thinking where you are making changes for the first time that you are still probably reeling as to why you broke up with these habits simply because he'll want to do that now a days in fact, I heard from our previous mistakes or the whole break up Wicca spells for love, for commitment, for the problems and their solutions to those suggestions.Not only will you fight in the interests of enjoying a happy, wonderful life.

I was stuck in a clearer picture of her for forgiveness, as no individual is perfect.The only way to find that your ex back advice.For starters you can use admiration to steal her heart that's why it more calmly.Take some time to remember what you need.I know what you are seeking to reconcile with what they feel insecure within their love relationships.

How To Get Back With My Ex