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reasonsforhope · 2 months

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Hazel Chandler was at home taking care of her son when she began flipping through a document that detailed how burning fossil fuels would soon jeopardize the planet.

She can’t quite remember who gave her the report — this was in 1969 — but the moment stands out to her vividly: After reading a list of extreme climate events that would materialize in the coming decades, she looked down at the baby she was nursing, filled with dread.

“‘Oh my God, I’ve got to do something,’” she remembered thinking...

It was one of several such moments throughout Chandler’s life that propelled her into activist spaces — against the Vietnam War, for civil rights and women’s rights, and in support of environmental causes.

She participated in letter-writing campaigns and helped gather others to write to legislators about vital pieces of environmental legislation including the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, passed in 1970 and 1972, respectively. At the child care center she worked at, she helped plan celebrations around the first Earth Day in 1970.

Now at 78, after working in child care and health care for most of her life, she’s more engaged than ever. In 2015, she began volunteering with Elder Climate Action, which focuses on activating older people to fight for the environment. She then took a job as a consultant for the Union for Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit science advocacy organization.

More recently, her activism has revolved around her role as the Arizona field coordinator of Moms Clean Air Force, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group. Chandler helps rally volunteers to take action on climate and environmental justice issues, recruiting residents to testify and meet with lawmakers.

Pictured: Hazel Chandler tables at Environment Day at Wesley Bolin Plaza in front of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix, Arizona, in January 2024.

Her motivation now is the same as it was decades ago.

“When I look my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren, my children, in the eye, I have to be able to say, ‘I did everything I could to protect you,’” Chandler said. “I have to be able to tell them that I’ve done everything possible within my ability to help move us forward.”

Chandler is part of a largely unrecognized contingent of the climate movement in the United States: the climate grannies.

The most prominent example perhaps, is the actor Jane Fonda. The octogenarian grandmother has been arrested during climate protests a number of times and has her own PAC that funds the campaigns of “climate champions” in local and state elections.

Climate grannies come equipped with decades of activism experience and aim to pressure the government and corporations to curb fossil fuel emissions. As a result they, alongside women of every age group, are turning out in bigger numbers, both at protests and the polls. All of the climate grandmothers The 19th interviewed for this piece noted one unifying theme: concern for their grandchildren’s futures.

According to research conducted by Dana R. Fisher, director for the Center of Environment, Community and Equity at American University, while the mainstream environmental movement has typically been dominated by men, women make up 61 percent of climate activists today. The average age of climate activists was 52 with 24 percent being 69 and older...

A similar trend holds true at the ballot box, according to data collected by the Environmental Voter Project, a nonpartisan organization focused on turning out climate voters in elections.

A report released by the Environmental Voter Project in December that looked at the patterns of registered voters in 18 different states found that after the Gen Z vote, people 65 and older represent the next largest climate voter group, with older women far exceeding older men in their propensity to list climate as their No. 1 reason for voting. The organization defines climate voters as those who are most likely to list climate change, the environment, or clean air and water as their top political priority.

“Grandmothers are now at the vanguard of today’s climate movement,” said Nathaniel Stinnett, founder of the Environmental Voter Project.

“Older people are three times as likely to list climate as a top priority than middle-aged people. On top of that, women in all age groups are more likely to care about climate than men,” he said. “So you put those two things together … and you can safely say that grandma is much more likely to be a climate voter than your middle-aged man.”

In Arizona, where Chandler lives, older climate voters make up 231,000 registered voters in the state. The presidential election in the crucial swing state was decided by just 11,000 votes, Stinnett noted.

“Older climate voters can really throw their weight around in Arizona if they organize and if they make sure that everybody goes to the polls,” he said.

Pictured: Hazel Chandler’s recent activism revolves around her role as the Arizona field coordinator of Moms Clean Air Force, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group.

In some cases, their identities as grandmothers have become an organizing force.

In California, 1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations formed in 2016, after older women from the Bay Area traveled to be in solidarity with Indigenous grandmothers protesting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

“When they came back, they decided to form an organization that would continue to mobilize women on behalf of the climate justice movement,” said Nancy Hollander, a member of the group.

1000 Grandmothers — in this case, the term encompasses all older women, not just the literal grandmothers — is rooted at the intersection of social justice and the climate crisis, supporting people of color and Indigenous-led causes in the Bay Area. The organization is divided into various working groups, each with a different focus: elections, bank divestments from fossil fuels, legislative work, nonviolent direct actions, among others...

“There are women in the nonviolent direct action part of the organization who really do feel that elder women — it’s their time to stand up and be counted and to get arrested,” Hollander said. “They consider it a historical responsibility and put themselves out there to protect the more vulnerable.”

But 1000 Grandmothers credits another grandmother activist, Pennie Opal Plant, for helping train their members in nonviolent direct action and for inspiring them to take the lead of Indigenous women in the fight.

Plant, 66 — an enrolled member of the Yaqui of Southern California tribe, and of undocumented Choctaw and Cherokee ancestry — has started various organizations over the years, including Idle No More SF Bay, which she co-founded with a group of Indigenous grandmothers in 2013, first in solidarity with a group formed by First Nations women in Canada to defend treaty rights and to protect the environment from exploitation.

Pictured: Pennie Opal Plant has started various organizations over the years, including Idle No More SF Bay, which she founded in 2013 alongside Indigenous grandmothers.

In 2016, Plant gathered with others in front of Wells Fargo Corporate offices in San Francisco, blocking the road in protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline, when she realized the advantages she had as an older woman in the fight.

As a police liaison — or a person who aims to defuse tension with law enforcement — she went to speak to an officer who was trying to interrupt the action. When she saw him maneuvering his car over a sidewalk, she stood in front of it, her gray hair flowing. “I opened my arms really wide and was like, are you going to run over a grandmother?”

A new idea was born: The Society of Fearless Grandmothers. Once an in-person training — it now mostly exists online as a Facebook page — it helped teach other grandmothers how to protect the youth at protests.

For Plant, the role of grandmothers in the fight to protect the planet is about a simple Indigenous principle: ensuring the future for the next seven generations.

“What we’re seeing is a shift starting with Indigenous women, that is lifting up the good things that mothers have to share, the good things that women that love children can share, that will help bring back balance in the world,” Plant said...

[Kathleen] Sullivan is one of approximately 70,000 people over the age of 60 who’ve joined Third Act, a group specifically formed to engage people 60 and older to mobilize for climate action across the country.

“This is an act of moral responsibility. It’s an act of care. And It’s an act of reciprocity to the way in which we are cared for by the planet,” Sullivan said. “It’s an act of interconnection to your peers, because there can be great joy and great sense of solidarity with other people around this.”

-via The 19th, January 31, 2024

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youremyheaven · 9 months

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The Spectrum of Femininity & Cancer Rashi: A Study

in my previous posts, i had delved into why Punarvasu & Pushya women are often considered the feminine ideal and the various archetypes they present on the screen and in real life (look out for more posts regarding the same!!) and i had mentioned a little bit about the feminine spectrum as seen through nakshatras in the cancer rashi, in this post, im going to explore this further.

Cancer rashi consists of 3 nakshatras:

Punarvasu 20 degree gemini to 3 degree cancer

Pushya 3-16 degree cancer

Ashlesha- 16-29 degree cancer

Tropically Ashlesha is entirely Leo and the nakshatra of Ardra is sidereally entirely Gemini; this means only Punarvasu & Pushya remain in the Cancer rashi in both tropical and vedic systems.

We must understand the feminine journey through these nakshatras as they appear, so we will begin with;

Ardra

This nakshatra is associated with destruction and transformation. This nak's deity is Rudra, the most aggressive form of Lord Shiva. Ardra is associated with purification and renewal through demolition. it is also associated with storms and is symbolized by a teardrop.

The mythology of Ardra nakshatra can be briefly summarised as follows:

Lord Brahma desired his own daughter, and knowing this,the other celestial Gods were enraged and their collective fury gave birth to Rudra.

Rudra's purpose was to prevent this incestuous union, he thus slayed him but the other Gods felt regretful about the whole situation and disowned Rudra.

Rudra is heartbroken at this unjust and unfair treatment; his teardrops come down as thunderous storms.

Given this context, I have often noticed with Ardra women that they tend to be Gamines.

A Gamine is defined as a "young woman who is attractively boyish or possessing a mischievous boyish charm"

These natives tend to be slightly androgynous; there is a conflict between masculine and feminine energies.

The most famous Gamine of all time, Audrey Hepburn had Shatabhisha moon (another Rahu ruled nak).

I have already mentioned that Ingenues in cinema tend to be played by Rohini, Mrigashira, Punarvasu & Pushya natives, who also tend to possess Ingenue essence

However, although they're both youthful, Ingenue & Gamine essence are entirely distinct from each other.

Ingenue is pure yin, whereas Gamine is yang with a yin undercurrent. There is a hint of femininity; one that is not fully developed. It is NOT a mature, womanly, grown up energy but rather an adolescent, in the process of blossoming, kind.

Here are some Gamine (essence) celebs:

Ariana Grande- Ardra sun

Charli XcX- Ardra rising

Leslie Caron- Ardra sun conjunct mercury

Lea Seydoux, Ardra sun

Cyndi Lauper, Ardra sun

Aubrey Plaza, Ardra sun

Princess Diana, Ardra sun

Carly Simon, Ardra sun

Kristin Kreuk who is Ardra moon

Nicole Richie who is Ardra moon

Stella McCartney also Ardra moon

You can see how these women project a delicate, youthful boyish charm.

Rahu is a shadow planet, it does not have any light of its own and thus seeks to absorb light from other sources. This is a very Yin principle and thereby Rahu is the most feminine after Venus. However the feminine energy as we understand it through the nakshatras in Cancer rashi is not just about absorbing energy or holding energy but it is the ability to give and accommodate that Yin space internally. These natives can absorb energy but cannot retain it.

2. Punarvasu

these natives have weathered the storm of Ardra and now seek safety and shelter, hence why a common archetype Punarvasu women seem to play on screen is that of the Ingenue. the youthful, slightly naïve and clueless creature who has to be helped.

the main distinction between an ingenue and a gamine is the fact that the former is naive and innocent whereas the latter is mischievous and teasing. Many Punarvasu women possess an Ingenue essence;

Miranda Kerr, Punarvasu moon

Drew Barrymore, Punarvasu moon

Kristen Bell, Punarvasu sun

Karina, Punarvasu moon

Punarvasu women are known for their bubbly, effervescent personalities. wide-eyed and happy-go-lucky, these natives are usually very chirpy and charming. They're like the main lead in a romcom; very easy to like, deeply perceptive but endearingly clueless at the same time.

from the wide eyed, innocent ingenue, Punarvasu women mature into the Ideal Woman. it is well known that most Punarvasu women marry well, from Kate Middleton (Punarvasu moon) who married Prince William to Miranda Kerr (Punarvasu moon) who is married to the CEO of Snapchat.

another archetype that the Punarvasu woman represents is the Mother. they contain the vast abundance of the cosmos, they are natural givers and their deity is the Mother Goddess Aditi herself. the downside of this is that they can often be enablers; unnecessarily expending their empathy to those who do not deserve it.

Kris Jenner, probably the most famous mom of our times (lol) is a Punarvasu moon. besides Kylie, all her children tend to treat her poorly (Punarvasu being an enabler trope).

Sofia Vergara played one of the most well known fictional moms on TV. She has sun & moon in Punarvasu. even on the show, there are numerous instances where Gloria is taken for granted.

Morticia Addams was both the Trophy Wife/Ideal Woman and the best mom ever (if you've watched the movie, you'll know). She was played by Anjelica Huston who has Punarvasu sun

probably the most famous fictional mom, Maria from the Sound of Music is played by Julie Andrews has Ketu in Punarvasu

3. Pushya

after the abundance of Punarvasu, comes the restriction of Pushya, it concerns itself with holding energy. Punarvasu is ruled by Jupiter which allows for limitless expansion but Pushya is governed by the limitations of Saturn.

these women are highly desirable and much sought after, but its almost like they cant enjoy themselves too much. there are always certain terms that they have to live with. Saturn is structure and discipline, as well as karma and punishment, so it makes sense why these natives seem to live their lives experiencing abundance and lack, almost simultaneously.

in the movie Malena, the protagonist is a widow living alone in a small Italian town. she is desired by everyone; sexualised and even stalked. i had already talked about how Pushya/Punarvasu create women who are highly sought after by men.

the main dilemma in this movie rests on the fact that even though the whole town is obsessed with Malena, she does not benefit from it; she is dehumanized and subject to a lot of cruelty. a pitfall of being so desired is that, while others seem intrigued by Pushya, not everyone understands Pushya natives.

Malena is played by Monica Bellucci who has Pushya moon.

Paris Hilton, Pushya moon was born to riches, however she suffered horrific abuse as a teenager and struggled in her personal life for a very long time. Paris is the quintessential "poor little rich girl". She was subject to sexual and institutional violence but not many people see her in that light at all. Most people view her as a spoilt brat and an airhead.

fun fact, the character London Tipton from the show Suite Life of Zack & Cody was based on Paris Hilton. Tipton is also emotionally neglected by her father and lives alone in her family's hotel. Brenda Song who played London Tipton is a Pushya moon like Paris herself.

here's an excerpt from one of Paris Hilton's interviews:

The irony, she says now, is that she became this icon of licentiousness when she wasn’t even promiscuous. “I was portraying this sex-symbol vibe, but inside I did not feel that way at all. And I did not trust anyone because I had such huge walls that I built around my heart. I didn’t want to let anyone in, and I didn’t want to be hurt, so I didn’t want to ever give myself to someone.”

this to me is very Punarvasu & Pushya coded. these women are sexualised to the nth degree but they're usually sexually conservative and often have very few partners.

Selena Gomez, Pushya stellium (sun, venus & rising)

Selena is one of the wealthiest celebrities in the world and her cosmetics line is one of the most successful celebrity makeup ventures ever, however her personal life has always been troubled, from her chronic illness to her dating history and most recently, there has been disturbing news about how The Idol starring her ex, The Weeknd is heavily inspired by her life and struggles.

Selena is a highly desirable woman, she's been at the top of the game for so long but she's still discredited as a singer and not taken seriously and in recent years, her appearance has been ridiculed and was subject to horrible bodyshaming despite the fact that her struggle with her illness is well known. Pushya is known as a wealth giving nakshatra but it also subjects the native to a lot of struggles.

Celine Dion, Pushya rising

Celine Dion was 12 years old when she met 38 year old Rene Angelil, who would go on to become her manager and husband. It's only logical to assume that he groomed her but Dion's life has had many struggles, she grew up underprivileged and was recently diagnosed with a rare chronic illness.

in the movie Million Dollar Baby, Maggie is a poor waitress who trains and works very hard to become a boxer. however, she is critically injured and cannot fight again, her family proves to be selfish jerks and she meets with a tragic ending. This is a very cautionary Saturnian story of working hard, succeeding, and still meeting difficulties, representing the dark side of Saturn. Maggie is played by Hillary Swank who is Pushya Sun.

Angelina Jolie, Pushya rising

Jolie has had a very difficult life, she battled eating disorders, suicidal tendencies, self-harm, drug addiction and despite being a wealthy, desirable woman, struggles in her personal life (including TW domestic violence)

Jolie is another one of those celebrities who cant seem to catch a break. A highly desirable woman, wanted by everyone, but understood by very few.

Pushya gives the native the ability to hold vast amounts of energy but they're unable to expand it. They seem to face barriers and limitations that prevent them from expanding fully. The feminine energy here is one that has to work hard and discipline themselves. they cultivate grace intentionally. they have to strive to achieve emotional fulfillment. The giving feminine of Punarvasu becomes the restrained feminine in Pushya.

in Punarvasu, we saw the giving nature of the feminine, they seem to have an endless reservoir of compassion, empathy and yin energy. the downside of this is that they're easily taken advantage of, and they're too forgiving of others; their insistence on taking the high road means others who are less deserving get further ahead than them in shorter spans of time. but it is this refinement, and natural elan that makes them the "Ideal Woman". Jupiter's magnificence means that these women possess the kind of vast mental space others can't even conceive of; this creates intrigue as to how they never seem to run out of "energy" (i use this term in its spiritual sense).

in Pushya, we saw the restrained feminine, they work hard and strive to get where they are, however, they seem to operate within a box, they're the beautiful bird within a gilded cage. the reason why this nak is considered the height of femininity is because of the discipline it takes to wield the yin energy consciously and with reservation. Punarvasu seems to give to everyone without discrimination; she's the Celestial Mother but it is very crucial to learn how to discriminate and in Pushya, presided by Saturn, we learn to control and channel our femininity and yin energy in a discriminate manner. not everyone can have them, this makes them all the more appealing.

4. Ashlesha

the very last nak in the Cancer rashi and one which lies entirely in Cancer is Ashlesha. after the giving and holding stages of the feminine, in Ashlesha, we come to confront the dark feminine.

every peak is followed by a valley; in Pushya we reached the height of femininity and now there is a reversal almost, a return to girlhood and unrefined femininity.

there is a descension to darkness and there is a desire to return to the self and to exist for one's self. we've seen how Pushya women often lead difficult lives, now, in Ashlesha, femininity enters its villain era. Its done being treated unfairly and poorly, so in Ashlesha, we see the manifestation of the dark feminine.

Ashlesha is associated with tantra; ascending above the giving traditional feminine and embracing the demonic feminine.

Megan Fox, Ashlesha moon

Jennifer's Body depicts Ashlesha's unique feminine journey quite well. Jennifer is taken advantage of and almost sacrificed but in the process she gains supernatural powers and feasts on boys to maintain it. This trope of being abused, gaining power and using it to get back at people who caused their suffering or represent it is a very common Ashlesha trope.

Charlize Theron, Ashlesha Sun

in the movie Monster (based on a true story), Charlize plays a prostitute who is raped and abused; she in turn becomes a serial killer who kills her clients

This is a very common Ashlesha trope that I will explore more in future posts!!

the earliest a woman was unburdened was in girlhood but if you really think about it, girlhood was a time when you had no agency and no voice; a child is a powerless creature and has to wield their emotions to get by (by throwing tantrums, by being coy etc). children are expected to behave a certain way; they're rewarded for good behaviour and punished for bad. the burden of femininity is absent but with it goes feminine power. thus an Ashlesha native has to resort to other ways to wield their power. this is where the demonic feminine comes to play.

these individuals are self-contained because they have a tendency to think that they could be taken advantage of if they're too trusting. remember how little kids are warned? don't talk to strangers, don't go after the nice man offering candy. children are taught to be afraid and mistrusting, to be alert and cautious, for their own sake/safety.

this nakshatra's deity is Naga (a serpent God of the underworld) and if you think about how snakes are, they are creatures who are entirely limbless, they live on the ground, they rely on their intuition to sense danger, and their only defense is the venom they hold in their body, without which they're utterly helpless. but being highly poisonous, they can destroy any creature in an instant, no matter how big or strong the creature is. they cannot fight the way other animals do, they are not designed that way. this is true of Ashlesha natives as well. they have to be stealthy, secretive, cautious, and manipulative (the word manipulation is often interpreted negatively but even charisma is manipulation, so its all about how its wielded)

Ashlesha is Mercury ruled, mercury is a "eunuch" planet and is genderless. to me it represents the pre-pubescent stage where an individual has not yet attained sexual maturity; in this stage, the native is sexually curious, and wildly imaginative but both afraid and incapable of true intimacy.

Mercury is the smallest planet, therefore these natives do not have the vast emotional reservoir of say Punarvasu or Pushya (which is not to say they're not emotional) thus they're unable to give their energy to others. They're very picky and very deliberate with who they give their energy because they feel drained very easily. But what they lack in the emotional sphere they compensate with intellect. Mercury-ruled nakshatras always give the native raw natural intelligence. these natives are very smart.

Lana Del Rey is Ashlesha Moon. Early on in her career, she was accused of being fake & inauthentic. She sang about sadness and sugar daddies in a way that presented itself as an aesthetic and gave rise to the whole girlblogger/coquette community for whom she is the patron saint. Lana has moved on to other concepts with her albums but her influence over this community continues to stay. Her music heavily features an abusive figure, heavy doses of melancholy, and an unhealthy obsession with money & glamour, even though the subject matter is sad, she sets it up in the most theatrical of ways.

most importantly, she presents herself in her songs as this naïve, lost, perpetually sad, self-loathing creature, presenting the feminine in a way that it seldom is presented. this female gaze is what has made her soooo relatable to so many young girls and women.

in fact the coquette community itself is very Ashlesha coded imo, embracing girliness over womanliness, "gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss", "female manipulator", you name it, there is an undeniable Ashlesha influence at play, including the fact that many of its figureheads have Ashlesha placements.

Vera Farmiga, Ashlesha Sun played Norma in Bates Motel. both her character and the show itself feature many Ashlesha tropes.

Norma is a very possessive, overprotective mother (Cancer women have complicated relationships with their mothers, this manifests in the most toxic way in Ashlesha), here the Ashlesha native plays the Mother and (spoiler alert) her son develops an alternate personality that is an extension of Mother, killing anyone he thinks could pose a threat to their relationship. Norma grew up in an abusive home and faces abuse at the hands of men all her life. The entire show revolves around this dysfunctional Mother-Son relationship with the son embodying his Mother.

Cancer rashi nakshatras are passive by nature and this is taken to new lengths in Ashlesha which is the concluding Cancer nakshatra. these natives cannot seem to do things in a straightforward way, ruled by the smallest planet Mercury which governs the intellect, these natives achieve whatever they want by playing mind games (if unevolved) or by using their intellect (if evolved).

The reason Jupiter is known for always taking the high road is because it has the expansiveness to do so. Mercury gives very little space inwardly so they have to be emotionally conservative and frugal. This is why they seem manipulative to others; they have to use their limited resources to achieve what they want, they cannot "give endlessly".

its interesting how Cancer rashi concludes itself in a Mercury ruled nak since Cancer is Moon ruled and feminine and Mercury is a "eunuch" planet and without gender. The feminine journey had its seeds in the feminine but malefic nakshatra of Ardra; which contributes to the androgyny of these natives (primarily yang but with a hint of yin), developing into the Ingenue (or Maiden) and Mother in Punarvasu, both of whom give endlessly because of naivete and later because of compassion, then learning restraint & discrimination in Pushya (the height of femininity) where natives experience abundance but cannot indulge in it fully ( Saturn teaching discipline). In Ashlesha, we see the dark feminine, rising above everything a woman should "ideally" be. There is nothing "ideal" about Ashlesha, it represents that which is considered taboo, it is an outcast nakshatra and depicts raw, unrefined femininity.

Excluding Rahu ruled Ardra, the Cancer rashi spans nakshatras ruled by Jupiter, Saturn and concludes in Mercury. Both Jupiter & Saturn are masculine planets and Mercury is an eunuch planet. Feminine energy at its most expansive is Punarvasu and at its height, its in Saturn, and its "valley" venturing into its darkness is Mercury which rules the mind. This is a very interesting journey, representative of an experience most women are familiar with; women are expected to be givers, but later, with experience learn how to discriminate with their giving and ultimately decide to put themselves first and be, selectively selfish.

I hope this was interesting<33

#vedic astro notes #vedic astrology #astrology observations #sidereal astrology #astrology notes #astro observations #astro notes #nakshatras #astrology #astroblr #ashlesha #punarvasu #cancer #pushya #ardra

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