"Let's Talk!" Interview
“Let’s Talk!”
Question: Elizabeth, what’s been the most challenging parts of writing your new book: “North Node Astrology”?
E: Well, first I had to create a website and blog to see if people were interested enough in the subject! So for several years I wrote this blog on North Node Astrology, and from this and the articles on my website (www.elizabethspring.com) I formed the book. The learning curve in creating the website myself and learning blogging was a tough beginning! Whew! That continues to be an exciting challenge because I work by myself, and it’s intense trying to balance the time it takes to do personal readings with the time it takes to blog…and write a book. “North Node Astrology” was compiled from 3 years of blog posts, and from articles I published in various magazines--- and some of those articles go back ten years or so…
Question: --so would you say there’s a good reception to the idea of the North and South Node?
E: Yes, there’s been an excellent response. The book is doing great on amazon.com (it’s been in their top ten in astrology books lately) and I have about 400 readers a day that stop by the blog. So that feels like a real interest.
Question: So it sounds like it’s a full time day job for you?
E: Absolutely. And more…..! Last winter on a few gray Sundays I decided to do a couple of book trailors, you-tube videos, to spread content about the new book and I’m hoping to figure out podcasts soon for the new blogsite, South Node Astrology. And eventually, there will be a book made from that site….
Question: ….and what’s the name of the new book?
Elizabeth: Right now I’m calling it: “South Node Astrology; How Love Sabotages and Saves Our Lives” It’s the working title at the moment.
Question: Sabotage is a pretty strong word, what do you mean by that?
Elizabeth: Love itself never sabotages, but our ideas about what love is supposed “to look and feel like” do get distorted or contaminated by our ideas, expectations, and assumptions about how love is supposed to look and feel-- and of course all this is influenced by our past life/early life default patterns. We hold the emotional memory of love from life to life, and this is seen astrologically in the story the South Node holds.
Question: So will the new blog and book be about these sabotaging and saving ways of thinking and feeling that the South Node describes?
Elizabeth: Yes, but that will only be a part of it, as I also want to write about the importance of how two kinds of love: human love as described by Venus in the birth chart, and divine/compassionate love as shown by Neptune in the birth chart. They are two very different ways of loving….and of course Venus love is messy and imperfect, whereas Neptune love is the Ideal and perfect. Our culture, especially in music and movies, combines these two into one in which we think that “romantic love” is going to save us….but I don’t think this is the most helpful way to think about what love is. I tend to think of loving as a verb for one thing. Our culture tends to put too much weight on our lover or partner to “love us.” Whereas we are all personally summoned to do the loving and spiritual work ourselves. So, I guess you could say I’m advocating more self-love that overflows into love of others.
Question: Interesting! Carl Jung wrote about the illusory and confusing part of love when he talked about the anima and the animus projections. Other people like John Welwood and Harville Hendricks also remind us that our psyches may have a very different agenda in relationships…..
Elizabeth: Yes! And there’s always a mixture of “grace and grit” in relationships especially when the honeymoon period wears off and the more unconscious dynamics start moving in….that’s what we don’t hear about in the songs, or in the romantic movies. I believe we need other ideas and expectations about mature love, and especially love in the second half of life. I don’t mean that relationships can’t be romantic, but it’s going to take more than romance to keep two people together.
Question: You were married for 20 years, divorced for 5 years, and then remarried the same man. Did you think you learned much from that?
Elizabeth: I hope so! In those five years of my divorce I had a lot of despair as well as having lots of “adventures in dating.” And I became engaged to another man as well, but I broke it off even though consciously there was a lot of goodness in that relationship. However the power, control and expectations were not matched well, and our projections on each other were getting seriously “tarnished.”
Question: So why did you remarry your first husband?
Elizabeth: We remarried after five years, because we still loved each other and felt our story wasn’t finished yet. It’s not always an easy relationship because we’re quite different, but it’s got a good “growing edge” to it, and we communicate better than before. We’re happy we’re continuing our story…
Question: Does this tie in with the South Nodes, Venus and Neptune in your birth charts?
Elizabeth: Absolutely. And that’s a long story…you’ll have to read the new book! It will all be there, although the long chapter on relationships in “North Node Astrology” is autobiographical for the most part.
Question: Sounds like “South Node Astrology” will be a great complement to “North Node Astrology.” So, the career/life direction aspects and soul purpose is the focus in the North Node book and the relationship aspects more in the South Node book…sounds like you’ve got something here.
Elizabeth: I think so…thanks so much. And as I mentioned, the North Node book has a long chapter on the alchemy of relationships as well, so it’s not totally divided. They work as a pair, the Nodes and the books. This work ties in with what Steven Forrest and Jan Spiller and others have done in the field, but it has a different slant—I draw a lot on the psychology and inspiration of Carl Jung and James Hollis, and try to create a blend of the psychological and astrological with personal stories….so we’ll see how people relate to this. I’m hoping readers will comment on the new blog: South Node Astrology, so that I’ll get some feedback on all this.
Question: I’m sure you will. Thanks, Elizabeth.
Question: Elizabeth, what’s been the most challenging parts of writing your new book: “North Node Astrology”?
E: Well, first I had to create a website and blog to see if people were interested enough in the subject! So for several years I wrote this blog on North Node Astrology, and from this and the articles on my website (www.elizabethspring.com) I formed the book. The learning curve in creating the website myself and learning blogging was a tough beginning! Whew! That continues to be an exciting challenge because I work by myself, and it’s intense trying to balance the time it takes to do personal readings with the time it takes to blog…and write a book. “North Node Astrology” was compiled from 3 years of blog posts, and from articles I published in various magazines--- and some of those articles go back ten years or so…
Question: --so would you say there’s a good reception to the idea of the North and South Node?
E: Yes, there’s been an excellent response. The book is doing great on amazon.com (it’s been in their top ten in astrology books lately) and I have about 400 readers a day that stop by the blog. So that feels like a real interest.
Question: So it sounds like it’s a full time day job for you?
E: Absolutely. And more…..! Last winter on a few gray Sundays I decided to do a couple of book trailors, you-tube videos, to spread content about the new book and I’m hoping to figure out podcasts soon for the new blogsite, South Node Astrology. And eventually, there will be a book made from that site….
Question: ….and what’s the name of the new book?
Elizabeth: Right now I’m calling it: “South Node Astrology; How Love Sabotages and Saves Our Lives” It’s the working title at the moment.
Question: Sabotage is a pretty strong word, what do you mean by that?
Elizabeth: Love itself never sabotages, but our ideas about what love is supposed “to look and feel like” do get distorted or contaminated by our ideas, expectations, and assumptions about how love is supposed to look and feel-- and of course all this is influenced by our past life/early life default patterns. We hold the emotional memory of love from life to life, and this is seen astrologically in the story the South Node holds.
Question: So will the new blog and book be about these sabotaging and saving ways of thinking and feeling that the South Node describes?
Elizabeth: Yes, but that will only be a part of it, as I also want to write about the importance of how two kinds of love: human love as described by Venus in the birth chart, and divine/compassionate love as shown by Neptune in the birth chart. They are two very different ways of loving….and of course Venus love is messy and imperfect, whereas Neptune love is the Ideal and perfect. Our culture, especially in music and movies, combines these two into one in which we think that “romantic love” is going to save us….but I don’t think this is the most helpful way to think about what love is. I tend to think of loving as a verb for one thing. Our culture tends to put too much weight on our lover or partner to “love us.” Whereas we are all personally summoned to do the loving and spiritual work ourselves. So, I guess you could say I’m advocating more self-love that overflows into love of others.
Question: Interesting! Carl Jung wrote about the illusory and confusing part of love when he talked about the anima and the animus projections. Other people like John Welwood and Harville Hendricks also remind us that our psyches may have a very different agenda in relationships…..
Elizabeth: Yes! And there’s always a mixture of “grace and grit” in relationships especially when the honeymoon period wears off and the more unconscious dynamics start moving in….that’s what we don’t hear about in the songs, or in the romantic movies. I believe we need other ideas and expectations about mature love, and especially love in the second half of life. I don’t mean that relationships can’t be romantic, but it’s going to take more than romance to keep two people together.
Question: You were married for 20 years, divorced for 5 years, and then remarried the same man. Did you think you learned much from that?
Elizabeth: I hope so! In those five years of my divorce I had a lot of despair as well as having lots of “adventures in dating.” And I became engaged to another man as well, but I broke it off even though consciously there was a lot of goodness in that relationship. However the power, control and expectations were not matched well, and our projections on each other were getting seriously “tarnished.”
Question: So why did you remarry your first husband?
Elizabeth: We remarried after five years, because we still loved each other and felt our story wasn’t finished yet. It’s not always an easy relationship because we’re quite different, but it’s got a good “growing edge” to it, and we communicate better than before. We’re happy we’re continuing our story…
Question: Does this tie in with the South Nodes, Venus and Neptune in your birth charts?
Elizabeth: Absolutely. And that’s a long story…you’ll have to read the new book! It will all be there, although the long chapter on relationships in “North Node Astrology” is autobiographical for the most part.
Question: Sounds like “South Node Astrology” will be a great complement to “North Node Astrology.” So, the career/life direction aspects and soul purpose is the focus in the North Node book and the relationship aspects more in the South Node book…sounds like you’ve got something here.
Elizabeth: I think so…thanks so much. And as I mentioned, the North Node book has a long chapter on the alchemy of relationships as well, so it’s not totally divided. They work as a pair, the Nodes and the books. This work ties in with what Steven Forrest and Jan Spiller and others have done in the field, but it has a different slant—I draw a lot on the psychology and inspiration of Carl Jung and James Hollis, and try to create a blend of the psychological and astrological with personal stories….so we’ll see how people relate to this. I’m hoping readers will comment on the new blog: South Node Astrology, so that I’ll get some feedback on all this.
Question: I’m sure you will. Thanks, Elizabeth.
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