Here is a poem I’ve always loved. It’s called Ithaka by C.P. Cavafy:

As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn’t have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

The Map

The birth chart and the transits are maps. Like all maps, they help us find our way. Sometimes we might feel like I don’t need this map. Or I shouldn’t need this map. Others may seem to have it all figured out. And we’re a bit lost.

Don’t be afraid if you’re lost! Being lost is just one phase in finding your way. The person who has never been lost is the person who has never traveled anywhere difficult or anywhere unknown. So I wouldn’t worry about that. 

Sure, some people have a natural sense of direction. Good for them! We on the other hand may need to compensate for some deficiency in that sense and learn to read these maps. But in doing so, don’t we unlock a magical world?

We see not only what we need to see, but a rich and vibrant universe that might be invisible to others.

But we can also create problems for ourselves too… The worst problem and yet the problem that I’m sure most students of astrology have fallen into is thinking that where we’re going is going to be better than where we are.

Or that where we are is a means of getting somewhere else.

You can relate to that right?

Maybe where we are going is better than where we are in some ways. Or maybe it is worse. But in any case it can get tiring always thinking of what is next. If what is next is close, then it’s easy. But some journeys are so long that if you wait to get there to find peace or happiness, your soul will starve before you ever get there!

The sages have said it and I believe it: every moment provides the opportunity for peace and happiness. It’s not our situation that creates suffering. It’s our beliefs about the situation. It’s our thinking that this situation—the only situation that exists—is deficient in some way.

But how can it be deficient? It is what is.

Is the state of a seed in soil deficient because it has no leaves or fruit? No, it is exactly what it should be. And will its state be better when it is grown and bearing fruit? No, it will be then exactly what it should be too.

If astrology provides a map, then ultimately where it leads us, or where it has the opportunity to lead us, is precisely to where we are now.

Ironically, that can be the hardest place on the map to find! But I wish you the best in finding it. Although it is there, you may have to venture many places before it can be seen.

You may have to learn all the many places you are not to finally know where you are. And even once knowing where you are, it may take constant work to keep it.

In any case, safe travels my friends. Be grateful for your journey and even for your struggles. It’s all a part of the fun! 😅

P.S. it is often easier for other people to read your map, than to read your own. We can always be more objective about other people than ourselves. So if you ever want a reading, don’t be afraid to book one!