#i think felicia would win because she has potential to go for her self-interest

[bllakcat]

FELICIA'S HUNGER GAME - VERSE THOUGHTS :

- felicia would definitely be from district 2. - her father had connections to the capitol, but it was discovered that he was actually using them to get different kinds of goods from there. basically stealing from them, &. you know what happens next. - felicia is one of the people that trains from early point in her childhood, just in case, even though her mother hates the thought because she knows her daughter, &. she can tell why she is doing this. - felicia is very much driven by personal grudge against the capitol in this verse. - when she gets chosen her main weapon is knives/throwing knives. what makes her lethal is her skills of movement, &. the way no-one can actually hear her coming, &. her ability to blend in the shadows. - her father also trained her, prepared her to survive, but of course once he died when she was seven/eight years old, she had to continue from where he left off on her own. - would have also fun thanks to her looks &. charm (sad)

[hellzyeahwebwielingessays]

Why Doc Ock WOULDN’T be a goddam rapist!

I can’t believe I have to spell that out, let alone outright explain it. But fine, let’s talk about why Otto’s actions in Superior with MJ are way out of whack for his character.

Basically, Doc Ock wouldn’t view using MJ’s feelings for Peter or her history with him as rape. I just don’t think he’s so dumb not to realise that that’s immoral and him taking advantage of her, which he wouldn’t do.

Now, Doc Ock has  taken advantage of people, including women, before and even visited violence upon them. But there is a big difference in each of those situations.

Obviously with Betty Brant, Aunt May, Felicia, Mary Jane and certain other women, Otto has kidnapped them or threatened to harm them. But this has been a strictly functionary action on his part. Person A is of value to Person/People B. Otto wants something from Person/People B, therefore he will threaten Person A in order to get it from them. It’s a clinical and functionary decision. He would (and has) done this with male abductees. It’s not a signifier of his feelings towards women as a whole.

By extension in his pettier moments he’s attempted to harm people as a form of revenge. But it has never been strictly gendered. He bears the world malice in general.

Let’s get a bit more specific though.

With Aunt May he was ostensibly being himself (in personality and  body) whilst omitting the fact that he was a super villain. However, his main use of her was as a means of escape and furthering his one true love, science. He wasn’t pretending to be someone she knew. He wasn’t putting on the face of someone who looked noticeably younger or different from himself so that could never have been a factor in May’s affections for him. And he wasn’t sleeping with her!  Yeah, that’s kind of a critical difference between his relationships with Anna Maria and Aunt May. Hell, it’s highly unlikely he felt legitimate romantic feelings for her. More likely he had a soft spot for her because she reminded him of his own dearly departed mother.

And let’s remember he displayed lingering affection for May even after she ceased being useful to him. He privately praised her kindness. 

He sought to connect with her at Christmas and chose to leave when he realized he’d spoil the holiday for her. 

He was upset when he learned she was in a coma and had flowers sent to her.

What about Black Cat? He clearly liked her and forced her to remain in his hideout. Later he nearly beat her to death. The difference here is that Otto never forced himself upon her or tried to use deception to get her into bed. His attempts to kill her only occurred after she betrayed and stole from him, going on to team up with his enemy and actively work against him. Again, this wasn’t a gendered thing on his part. He was avenging himself on a specific person for specific slights against him.

We then come to Angelina Brancale, a.k.a. Stunner.

Along with his associate, Carolyn Trainer, Otto planned on creating a virtual reality construct that could interact with the real world. This construct would be of Otto himself and assume his place in order to avoid Otto risking his life. They needed a test subject though, someone who wasn’t going to be missed. Otto selected Angela Brancale who was enamoured with him and would’ve done anything for him. Angela went through months of sometimes painful experiments with the end result being the creation of an interactive avatar of her own.

This was Stunner, the super strong, beautiful, Amazonian companion to Doc Ock. Stunner reflected the obese Angela’s ideal self-image.

Superficially this one might seem like a clear-cut case of exploitation. To a certain extent it absolutely is, but it is more complicated than that. For starters it’s obvious that Angela wanted  to become Stunner and enjoyed  being her. There is also no indication that Otto strictly speaking forced or tricked her into doing anything. Yes, she was selected because of her affections to him and how she wouldn’t be missed.

But we do not know if she was briefed about the potential ordeal she would have to go through or if she had the option of bowing out at any point. Carolyn Trainer referred to her as a ‘trooper’ for putting up with all the experiments and the pain they entailed. Carolyn is a villainess but it at least implies that Angela had agency in this situation. Angela and Carolyn later teamed up and seemed civil with one another, which further implies that there was no ill-will between then. If Angela had been tricked or lacked agency that’d unlikely be the case.

Additionally there is no evidence to suggest before or during Angela’s transformation into Stunner that Otto was having sex with her or using sex to manipulate her. There isn’t even any evidence that they were having sex after she became Stunner. 

As final food for thought, he genuinely loved her when she was Stunner and it seemed that he connected to her because he understood the suffering she endured due to her weight.

Oh, and of course, Otto wasn’t pretending to be someone or something he wasn’t with Stunner. If anything he was startlingly vulnerable with her.

The only other significant relationship Otto had pre-Superior was with his fiancée. However, there is 0 evidence of him manipulating her during their courtship. He wasn’t even a villain at that point so he’d have had nothing to lie to her about.

Let’s also consider the following regarding Otto’s interactions with women.

This is the man who literally tried to cure AIDs just to save his ex fiancée Mary Alice.

This is the guy who kidnapped Betty Brant and Aunt May to lure out Spider-Man and then offered them tea.

This is the guy who was pleased to see Peter and MJ happy together because it meant his enemy was back to his upbeat and normal self and would thus continue to be the adversary he Doctor Octopus deserved.

And yet @danslott-blog, Slott-stans, Superior-stans, Spider-Fans who are none of those things and just people in general are willing to accept that this  guy would be a rapist?

We are happy to say he really  wouldn’t even imagine that sex with MJ or Anna Maria would be morally reprehensible?

Just creatively speaking, not in terms of his character or personality, we’re happy to say THAT guy would play in that ballpark and be depicted this way? Shall we be chill if Carnage was outted as a pedophile while we are at it too?

Of course the counter arguments to the above would be that his attempts to sleep with MJ at least were attempts to prove his superiority over Spider-Man. Or to avenger himself upon him in some way.

First of all the entire concept of Superior is broken. It postulates that Otto is seeking to prove himself better than Spider-Man by becoming an improved version of him. But the problem is that the logic doesn’t line up there.

If the only way he can prove himself better than Spider-Man is by literally becoming him  and in turn turning him into Doctor Octopus, that’s tantamount to admitting Spider-Man was always better than himself. The only way he could have won is by becoming the guy he always claimed was inferior to himself.

Second of all in regards to his attempted ‘conquest’ of MJ, sleeping with her wouldn’t even prove his superiority. It’s made clear by issue #2 that he’s merely interested in MJ for sex and no other reason. He accesses Peter’s memories of being intimate with MJ and experiences the sensation of her body that way, being implied to masturbate during this internal screaming. Afterwards, he states he’s got her off his mind and the story clearly conveys that he’s going to turn his attention to other romantic/sexual pursuits.

So he only wanted to sleep with MJ and nothing else. Not even that, he just wanted to know the sensation of sleeping with MJ and was content to access Peter’s memories and wank off to that end internal screaming intensifies.

By this logic then he’s proven himself if anything inferior  to Peter. And no, I’m not making some kind of judgement about masturbation. My point is if Mary Jane consented to sleep with Peter, but has not done that with Otto, then by definition Peter would have accomplished something Otto would not have. If you remove sex from the equation and just said Otto was trying to ‘win’ a mere kiss from Mary Jane and she didn’t do that, but she had done so for Peter, then by definition Otto would’ve failed where Peter has succeeded.

The fact that he was content to move on from her by simply browsing Peter’s memories (from his POV Peter’s ‘accomplishments’ if you will) means that he was never trying to sleep with MJ to prove his superiority in the first place. He was just a horny creep. Nothing more.

Not to mention, he is aware Peter had slept with Mary Jane and done so on multiple occasions. How would even regularly sleeping with her prove himself superior? It’s just sex. He’d know that. He’s both an adult and an incredible clinical person who clearly knows how to romance a woman. One of his biggest regrets in life was giving up his fiancée.

So Otto would be aware that sex would be no proof of his superiority and it wouldn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. What would really  prove himself superior would be having and maintaining a relationship with MJ that was either longer lasting or over all better than the one she held with Peter.

But he’s not interested in that because he moves on after wanking off. And he is trading off of trickery to even get his foot in the door in the first place. This isn’t a case of him being a younger or more attractive man and using his own charms and traits to court her.

He is only got as far as he did because he looks like someone she knows, because she believes he is that person, because he’s using Peter’s memories to pander to what she likes (like her favourite movie) and circumvent what he knows will turn her off. Hell in ASM #698 he jumps immediately into a relationship with her but it’s obvious to both him and MJ that the emotional groundwork for that had been laid in preceding months.

So even if Otto was enough of a slimeball to not consider this rape, a man that intelligent and egotistical would still recognize that sex wouldn’t be a badge of superiority on his part.

If anything his own romantic life would be something more worthy of pride.

Let’s say we accept for the moment that Otto conforms to stereotypical standards of attractiveness. Well then what would be more impressive from your POV?

a)    Wooing a stunning actress/supermodel when she believes you are someone else she knows, someone much in their 20s or early 30s, very in shape and at least fairly handsome

Or

b)   Being a rotund, arguably ugly (but at least typically unattractive) middle aged man and wooing a relatively attractive woman your age, a younger more attractive woman who was immediately smitten by you and a younger woman smitten by you that your own genius transformed into a veritable vision of stunning beauty?*

Yeah, obviously the latter right?

Also, the idea that sex with MJ would constitute a form of revenge is highly out of character for Otto.

That is more of a Norman Osborn tactic. Otto actively despises Norman’s ideology, as elaborated upon in Superior Team-Up #11-12. In those issues Otto and Norman endeavour to work together in spite of a philosophical disagreement. Otto feels that Spider-Man should be defeated through science whereas Norman feels they should attack his soul. 

To prove the point Norman infects Otto’s old fiancee Mary Alice with a deadly virus (read: AIDs, this was the 1990s) so Otto will understand the torment they could inflict upon Spider-Man.

Initially Otto seeks bloody revenge upon Norman. However, he defies Norman by instead reaffirming his original belief. He sought to defeat Spider-Man through science and thus prove his philosophy superior to Norman’s.

Okay. That wasn’t published at the time of Superior #2 so let’s say we ignore it.

Even doing that, Otto had been defined for decades as someone who wouldn’t go in for such spiteful attacks on his enemies.

In Spec #221 (part of the ‘Web of Death’ storyline) Peter himself states he doesn’t believe Otto will target his loved ones, even though he just learned his secret identity.

Hold them hostage to lure him out? Okay.

Maim or kill them for revenge? He’s just not that sort of guy.

Or at least he wasn’t until this  creepy ass scene from ASM #700. Among other things, he specifically refers to the prospect of sex with MJ as ‘another victory for the Master Planner’. 

Let’s try coming at this from a different angle then.

If Otto believes himself to be  Peter Parker because he inhabits his body, perhaps he doesn’t regard sleeping with MJ as unethical at all. She is giving her consent to Peter Parker and he is  Peter Parker now.

That’s a rather huge stretch to make about the character considering he actively tried to hide the fact that he was secretly Otto Octavius from so many people in Superior.

Moreover, during ‘Dying Wish’ it was clear (due to mischaracterization) that Otto was doing what he was doing for revenge, that was even partially why he wanted to sleep with MJ (see above). He wanted to ‘have something Peter hadn’t had in a while’ (...ugh...). Furthermore in ASM #700 he was bombarded with Peter’s morality (or some shit like that, I don’t know...) and this convinced him to be a good guy.

But that was seemingly thrown out the window when Superior started as he seemed to just be a bad guy who battled crime to again be superior to Spider-Man. He wasn’t honouring his fallen comrade and didn’t have his moral compass as seemed to be implied in ASM #700 because if he did why was he still trying to rape Mary Jane?

Shit in fact in Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 he’s LAUGHING at Peter’s demise and the fact that he’s gotten away with this. He refers to Spider-Man in the third person as he does this. This event also happened literally the day after ASM #700, so it was less than 24 hours since he had been blasted with Peter Parker’s memories and resolved to be a ‘hero’.

Not to mention in various issues he clearly refers to himself and Peter as separate entities. In Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 his thoughts drifted to MJ and he called Peter a fool.

He does the same in Superior #2 where he refers to Peter in the third person.

His dialogue utilizes quotation marks when using Peter’s full name; “Peter Parker”. This demarks how he is making a distinction between himself and the real Peter Parker. He is acknowledging himself as a pretender.

In Superior #4 internally reprimanded ‘Parker’ for never finishing Grad School. At the same time he negatively compared Peter’s efforts to when he received his own doctorate, referring to himself as ‘I’.

In Superior #10 he referred to Peter as a separate person, referencing how he expunged him from his mind in the prior issue. 

He also chastises Peter as a ‘reactionary fool’ who allowed ‘his’ enemies to make the first move. Where ‘Parker’ dealt with symptoms he plans on dealing with the disease. He even refers to himself by name as Otto Octavius.

When he runs into MJ he wonders what ‘Parker’ would say and gripes that fooling her was easier before he purged ‘his’ (meaning Peter’s) memories. 

In Superior #21 he refers to his “…life as ‘Peter Parker’…”. He’s clearly making a distinction between the real Peter Parker and himself as a pretender.

In the same issue, when Stunner blames him as Spidey for murdering Doc Ock, it takes Otto a moment to register what she is talking about. He then attempts to reveal the truth to her. He starts by saying “I’m actually…”

These moments when taken with all his other unethical actions in Superior also undermine another defence of Otto’s raptastic efforts in Superior.

This is the idea that ‘he’s changed’ in the interim leading into Superior. Now  his attitude towards women and morality is different so it’s believable for him to act this way.

Let’s ignore how again, Superior Team-Up disproves this. Otto’s actions clearly showcase that he in fact has not changed as a person. He’s not grown or evolved. He just happens to be crime fighting now as a form of ego boosting and to prove himself better than Peter.

More importantly if Otto was going to so noticeably change in his attitudes to women then we should have seen that happen!

You can’t just jump forward and tell readers to just accept a character has had a change of heart and is now open to the idea of fucking rape!

How, when and WHY did he change to be this drastically different predatory creature? This wasn’t like how Aunt May or Norman were different when the former was resurrected and the latter was written by JMS. Those were extrapolations of aspects of those characters that were already there. This was essentially something wholesale new and starkly against how he was previously defined. Its akin to what Slott did to Ben Reilly in ‘Clone Conspiracy’ or to Ashley Kafka when he had her declare someone irredeemable (even though she believed Carnage  was redeemable).

Finally, lets pretend to ignore all of the above.

Let’s say Otto being a rapist would be entirely believable.

That doesn’t mean you should actually DO it!

Doc Ock is a classic goofy mad scientist archetypical villain, even if he was (allegedly) on a redemption tour in this story. Adding something so creepy, disturbing and vile from the real world to his character taints his character. It took him to a bad place where he was peers with the likes of Purple Man and Doctor Light. It makes him practically irredeemable. Maybe a skilled writer on a MAX book could pull off a redemption arc for a rapist or attempted rapist. But not only is Slott not that skilled, but he’s played it for comedy!

Frankly, unless you have seriously  done your research on this topic you shouldn’t even be touching it.

To touch it so casually for humour  is seriously FUCKED UP!

I don’t even want  this topic really raised in mainline Spider-Man titles period personally but to do it like this?

*gagging noises*

Not to mention it was entirely unnecessary.

Otto had attempted to mass murder half the planet in an arc just the year before Superior. Surely that  is enough fuel for a redemption story, you don’t need to make him a rapist/attempted rapist on top of that.

But no. Gotta milk that crass shock value for all it is worth!

Shit, the topic with MJ was handwaved within one issue!

Fuck Slott.

Fuck Superior.

Fuck everyone who defended this disgusting garbage!

*This also dismantles the myopic idea that an older man who looked like Otto would be jumping at the chance to have sex. That’s another defence I’ve heard. The fact is multiple women found Otto attractive as he was.

[m3dta-blog]

July 2017 Numerology Forecast - Personal Year 9

By Felicia Bender

Given the recent (and ongoing) tumultuousness in the world, I feel compelled to remind us that the 1 Universal Year is heating up and it’s only slightly past mid-point in the year. So perhaps a reminder about the Universal Year energy—as Numerology offers us insight—might be useful as a tool to deal with all of these major transitions and changes happening in the world at large. And then we’ll get into your individual world and the massive changes going on in your own unique, individual life.

2017 is the beginning of a new chapter for the world. It’s a new start. It’s a year of initiation. It’s time for everyone to plant the seeds we want to see grow for the next nine years (and beyond).

The 1 Universal Year is the beginning of a new cycle. The energy of the 1 is all about independence, initiation, achievement, and creative individuality. 2017 is the beginning of a new chapter for the world. It’s a new start. It’s a year of initiation. It’s time for everyone to plant the seeds we want to see grow for the next nine years (and beyond). This is not the time to be indecisive. It’s the time to be selective about what we bring into our lives and what we allow to remain. Metaphorically we’re planting the crops for our eventual harvest. We must choose fertile ground, properly cultivate it, and get it ready for planting. It’s our time to focus on creating something new and more in alignment with our collective higher selves and highest potentials. Yet it takes focus, initiative, and drive. Obviously a primary focus this year centers around the Trump presidency in the U.S. and how it effects everyone on a global scale.

This is the time to strengthen our sense of independence. We can see this playing out in the galvanization of people worldwide in ways we haven’t been in the past. We’re being forced to take a stand and take some action, one way or another. This is a Universal Year where we’ll have a bit of a narcissistic streak. Did you ask about me, me, and—oh, let’s talk more about me! The energy of the number 1 is—you guessed it—all about #1. So there will be a tendency for all of us—particularly the “world powers”—to glom onto their own needs (or fears) at the expense of including the needs and points of view of others. The highest and best use of the number 1 comes when its pioneering spirit and resilient creativity is being used for more than personal gain. Yet there’s often a challenge in that arena.

We not only have permission to step outside the lines, we’re being called upon to do so. The “old way” just won’t work and the “new way” is yet to be established. And it won’t be a linear process.

This is the final year of what I call a three-year “push” time universally. This intense period of transition was activated in 2015 (the 8 Universal Year) and comes to its peak in 2017. 2018 offers a somewhat slower-moving experience—so keep that in your back pocket—yet not right now. The energy of the number 1 demands that we step into taking the lead, defining a path, and making things happen. People worldwide are being called to step into their power and tune into the bigger picture by making real connections and real change on the microscopic and macroscopic levels. It’s obviously time to embrace our weird authentic uniqueness. We not only have permission to step outside the lines, we’re being called upon to do so. The “old way” just won’t work and the “new way” is yet to be established. And it won’t be a linear process. There’s movement toward unveiling the delusions we have around what is “right” and “wrong,” “normal” and “not normal,” “good” and “bad.” As we deconstruct these very foundational belief systems, there will have to be some experiments to see what can take the place of the worn out or defunct paradigms. Not necessarily a frolic, yet this can be exciting when we allow curiosity to take the place of fear. It’s clear that it’s time for every human being to be “outed”—to reveal and revel in our diverse and yet similar life experiences—to tell our stories.

And so what are the challenges inherent in this 1 Universal Year? Universally, we can default to being self-absorbed rather than working toward common goals. And one of the tendencies when working with the energy of the 1 is a crippling lack of self-esteem. And when this happens the reaction is to lash out—to become the cynic, the victim, to level crushing judgment on everyone and everything without taking personal responsibility for our role in the hot mess we might find ourselves engaged with—whether that’s politically, personally, or in any other aspect of life. This energy can also incite a “win at all cost” competitive spirit. This is the year of “hard knocks” and yet it’s crucial to have failures before uncovering the optimal path. The key is to think “curiosity” rather than “my way or the highway.” This is an expansive cycle when we are open to exploring solutions that are new and revolutionary. The number 1 is the pioneer.

What do you really want? Are you just hanging in a bad job, relationship, or whatever else just because it’s seems easier to exist in the known discomfort rather than venture into the unknown? These are exactly the lessons of the 9 Personal Year.

Remember, you’re in your 9 Personal Year in 2017. This is a year of completion, unraveling, and letting go of the old to make space for change. This change can be somewhat dramatic and tumultuous—affecting possessions, relationships, jobs, geographical location, spirituality, or health. It’s all under review this year. This is the year that’s inviting you (oh, let’s be honest, it’s forcing you) to move on to an even more expansive cycle in your life if you choose to let go and allow what’s no longer serving you to fall away. Yet don’t despair at all the “heaviness”—this is also a year where you can revel in the successful culmination of all that you’ve been working toward for the past eight years. It’s a time where your dreams can manifest almost instantly if you’re ready to let go of everything that’s no longer serving your best interests. It’s going to be a matter of evaluating what’s finished and no longer serving a positive function and then moving forward without a net.

I like to put it this way: You know people who are in a marriage or a relationship that’s over with, and yet they won’t get a divorce or break up with their partner until they have another love interest waiting in the wings? Well, metaphorically speaking, the 9 Personal Year won’t allow you to do that. You must break it off and then manage and master that liminal space for a while. Needless to say, even the best of us are scared silly when it comes to change. And then to change something without knowing exactly what’s next? Ugh! Yet that’s what’s required this year. Combine that with the 1 Universal Year and you might feel slightly psycho. You’re navigating both beginning and endings all in one fell swoop. The trick for you will certainly be your ability to see what stays, what goes, now to release, and how to initiate. You’ve got your work cut out for you! Yet don’t think of it as ominous. I had a client who was past the mid-point of her 9 Personal Year (just like you are now). I somewhat timidly asked her how it was working for her and was taken aback when she said: “Oh my god, this is the most phenomenal year of my life!” To which I regrouped and asked her how so? She went on: “Well, I got a divorce, quit my job, my last child just graduated from high school and has gone off to college, and I just moved here to Boulder.” To which I replied: “Wow. Some people would say that it was a really horrible or at least a very difficult year!” And she finished by observing that she had waited so long to make these changes in her life. She was ready for a total transformation.

Even though it may feel absolutely awkward or exasperating, July is a “sabbatical” month for you. This is a perfect time to begin to make plans for starting new projects or experiences for the beginning of next year. Yet you must move gently with yourself here, because frankly, many things in your life aren’t massively clear or super-defined right now.

So I share this with the idea that it’s all truly a matter or perspective and desire. What do you really want? Are you just hanging in a bad job, relationship, or whatever else just because it’s seems easier to exist in the known discomfort rather than venture into the unknown? These are exactly the lessons of the 9 Personal Year. And even though it may feel absolutely awkward or exasperating, July is a “sabbatical” month for you. This is a perfect time to begin to make plans for starting new projects or experiences for the beginning of next year. Yet you must move gently with yourself here, because frankly, many things in your life aren’t massively clear or super-defined right now. In fact, the frustration you feel with hovering around in Limbo Land could very well be getting to you. You might even be feeling slightly wacky right about now—wondering which way to turn? How to focus? What to spend energy on and what to cast aside?

This can be a month where decisions are finally made and also acted upon—or things “happen to you” that change your game in a substantial way. If you’ve been tiptoeing around a relationship split, a job shift, an unequivocal decision about a geographical move—or any other life-changing transition, this could very well be the time when certain things shake out.

This is a year where you’ve been doing a lot of reviewing of your past so that you can move into this next new phase with new awareness and with closure around certain things in your life that need to be resolved, forgiven, or completed.

You’ll want to spend a good deal of time alone or at least with some “you” time this month, particularly between July 9th and 18th. This may not be exactly what you want to hear right about now, yet . . . there it is. “Surrender” (to yourself!) is your theme and I would say it is your theme for July, in neon. Most importantly—and this is a challenge—July is the time for closing out those situations and relationships that need to be terminated because they’re hampering your progress. It’s time to drop the reins. Be prepared to let go—right now—if a project, person, or interest is obviously drifting away or has simply become outgrown or outdated in your life. Allow yourself to experience the strong feelings you have to face on or about July 11th or 27th.

Although it’s not easy—and often denial or busy-ness is the escape-hatch we prefer to use—you’ll benefit from communicating as openly and clearly as you can. Now this may be made even more challenging given the fact that perhaps your logical and rational reasons for certain decisions don’t come off as “logical” or “rational” to the other party (or parties) involved. Yet that is your task—to step into yourself and realize that you really don’t have to rationalize your choices or justify your actions. It would be great to dig into your feelings and be as clear as you possibly can, and yet know that those on the receiving end more than likely won’t be your cheerleaders. And while it may be a “no-duh” statement, when you change it forces other people to change. Or at least it forces other people in your circle to have to make other decisions—and often that is not only uncomfortable, it can be downright terrifying for those who won’t have you in the same role offering the same patterns of engagement.

Recognize up front that misunderstandings are likely, since others may not be especially willing to share their thoughts or feelings in the same manner that you want to express yours. Again, remind yourself that even though you can’t clearly see what’s ahead of you, you’re moving into a new and ultimately exciting new cycle in your life. You can’t jump from Here [Where you ARE] to There [Where you WANT TO BE] without some substantial instances of “jumping off the precipice.” Are you willing to walk through the ring of fire? Can you trust in yourself and in the Universe that you’re moving forward and into the new and improved you?

Even though others will test your boundaries, keep your own counsel and let others work out their own issues, despite the fact that they’ll attempt to rope you into their drama. Pay special attention to your health. It’s been oddly taxing energetically for you this year and you’ve more than likely felt a bit on the low ebb of things—not to mention somewhat emotionally or even physically fragile. This is a year where you’ve been doing a lot of reviewing of your past so that you can move into this next new phase with new awareness and with closure around certain things in your life that need to be resolved, forgiven, or completed. You’ll find that, if you push yourself this month, you’ll end up paying a price for it. Rest. See if you can “unplug” for a bit during July. I know you’re busy—yet you’ll need to make a deliberate effort for some downtime with the intuitive understanding that what you engage in this month affects events and opportunities that will manifest themselves in the Fall.

In her book The Ecstasy of Surrender: 12 Surprising Ways Letting Go Can Empower Your Life, Judith Orloff states:

“I’m intrigued with the idea of surrender not as defeat or loss, as it is frequently thought of, but as a positive, intuitive way of living, a power that grows as your develop trust in the moment as well as in change and the unknown. . . . By knowing when to assert yourself and when to let go, you’re actually taking back control of your life. . . . Though surrender may seem counter-intuitive to making your goals happen, it can actually be the magical factor that facilitates this and relieved gridlock in relationships, work, and every other area, especially when it seems as though things couldn’t get any worse. Life becomes easier when you’re able to let go.” (Orloff, xvi)

In this vein, know that the letting go you do in July will bring about inner peace—after it all comes out in the wash, so to speak—and what’s to follow will take shape in perfect timing.