I've known this all my life but didn't really get it. This is for all of you helping people like me asking for help we do not have time to learn decades of astrology for, or in my case someone who has an additional vision problem with numbers and symbols. This is definitely of the tldr variety post, so feel free to skip to the last paragraph for the bottom line.
StillOne noted:
Interesting to note is that the ruler of your 9th house, travels, is located in the 1st. So I would say that supports your ideas of going to Africa. It also seems to support the ruler of the 10th being in the 3rd.
and shared this link:
http://astrofix.net/2010/05/16/ruler-of-the-9th-house-in-houses/#.UwV8laF1ZxB
which led to:
http://astrofix.net/2010/05/18/ruler-of-the-10th-house-in-houses/#.UwV9EqF1ZxA
I realize there are numerous perspectives and probably additional nuances, but these two sets of insights nail past and present aptitudes I never really noticed. I wanted to be a teacher since I started school. Out of eleven schools attended between several states, I had two good teachers in 3rd and 10th/11th grade. They inspired me for life. I also always wanted to be in Africa where Jesus was. However childish the notion, the pictures of Jesus I saw in bibles always looked as if they were in Africa. Then there's all the cool animals and terrain...
In work, I have always been or become a teacher, or instructor for those with formal education who are offended by conflating the two.
From field labor, military service, ballroom dance, clerical, entertainment/band manager, real estate, IT/computer jobs... in nearly every position I became an instructor. I learn, I write, I share... (
www.fifthworldpulse.wikispaces.com as an example.) The only exceptions are with volunteer work for Special Olympics, homeless and veterans.
There was much abuse for the first 30 years (emotional/sexual/verbal via family, school & mother). Add to that, my sons and I had a very rough time with their father who was schizophrenic, sociopathic and violent, though not diagnosed until a few years ago. But though we had many troubles, children have always been drawn to me and I love them all. There is no such thing as an ugly baby or a child who cannot be loved in my world.
I tried to go to college four times and each time was obstructed by circumstances. 1st: 1st ex-husband was in the military and received orders to move after I began. 2nd: canceled due to two instructors leaving, then we moved again before I could resume. 3rd: massage therapy which I completed but fell down stairs shortly after and tore scapholunate ligaments in the right hand = no more of that. 4th: in a wheelchair, still recovering from cancer and learning to cope with multiple sclerosis; relapsed and failed 5 out of 7 classes. However a professor and a counselor were kind enough to refer me for assessment testing after which learning disabilities were identified combined with a vision problem due to an overtly enlarged blindspot.
So, I became convinced teaching was out of the question and focused on orthomolecular medicine which is identifying deficiencies and treating those with diet first, supplements as necessary with conventional medicine as a last resort. Essentially natural 'medicine' combined with ethnobotany.
Except, though non-mathematical skills tested at Ph.D level, my math skills were 0-kindergarten. I could not even pass a test to be eligible for a remedial math class. No math = no medical school. Obviously I used to be able to do basic math, but what used to work seemed to have short circuited and just stopped functioning.
Health spiraled down. I'd been given 2-3 years. Got ready to die. Cashed in 401k, IRA, distributed money to my sons and 3rd ex-husband, divorced. Chose homelessness so as not to leave debts behind. Lived in my car until it was run over by a semi-truck (insert favorite country tune), shelters, in an apartment above an exotic dance bar which I cleaned in exchange for lodging for awhile, sometimes in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a suitcase and a bag of edibles...
One day I was talking to another veteran who encouraged me to file a claim. This led me to living in a veteran's facility for more than a year until this past month. However it was an extremely stressful experience... badly managed with serious issues. During a discussion with a veteran representative to report conditions and events, he asked me what I want to do and why don't I get on with life - I obviously did not fit in such an environment. I said I don't know. With plenty of time to read, I figured out how to beat cancer and am now well past my 'deadline' :~) But until that moment I believed living in shelters and in the wild was all that remained of my future.
It was then I realized how much time had lapsed since the cancer diagnosis. I was no longer a walking dead person.
I enrolled in college last December only to find out I had to wait until next fall or spring 2015 because my loan would not be reinstated in time. Noting this because, due to the problems and conditions I had experienced in so many shelters and especially the last one, I had enrolled to take classes to become a social worker specializing in chemical dependency though I've never had a dependency. Probably not an ideal fit, right?
Without going over them all, the only program left that fits the descriptions at the links StillOne provided, is: Childcare/Early Development/Teaching with focus on 1st Nations and Native American studies in a tribal & community college which does not teach the same old garbage, like how great Christopher Columbus was.
Combine that with lifelong activism for Mother Earth and indigenous peoples everywhere, which most recently includes supporting development of an Ubuntu Community in Africa, and it appears the universe expertly guided me to this point in time where all the right things are in the right place.
Not that anyone cares to read my personal story, but I took time to write this condensed timeline for those who have lost hope or are unbearably frustrated. For a very long time, astrology has been telling me to wait, go slow, be patient.
Suddenly these past few months nearly everything aligned while I was blind to the entire event. Astrology used to warn me constantly about being deceived, and only recently begun advising me to ask for help, trust and go forward confidently after carefully weighing options. That's fine except I don't ask for help and did not perceive options to move forward with; although diving into the unknown with confidence has been a way of life.
Edit added: On astro.com, my astro travel click charts show two curved AS lines with sun sextile Mercury along east Africa top to bottom. Other sun and AS lines are mostly straight or in the oceans. While I have a strong affinity for the oceans, I am not a mermaid in this life. There are surely other influences, but Africa seems to be the go to spot with Mpumalanga the goal aside other timely considerations. If I misunderstand this, perhaps someone will correct me.
Advisers at the tribal and community college assure me basic math can be retaught. Opportunities now allow me to use past experiences where those are needed elsewhere. If we do not use what we've learned to benefit others, why are we here? :.)
There are many astrology forums. Why here? I very, VERY seldom ask for help of any kind from anyone because I cannot stand to owe anyone if I cannot reciprocate in kind. Why now? Though born in the mid-west, I was raised in the deep south. Why am I in 2' of snow in Minnesota with sub zero temperatures that Anchorage, Alaska doesn't see, fighting to stop the wolf hunts? Habitually, if I ask a question and receive no response fairly soon, I move on. Why did I persist this time?
Do not give up hope. When you cannot trust anything else, trust your inner voice and in the universe. When things aren't going your way, focus on what you can do to be your personal best. Then you will attract the best the universe has to offer at that time. That is not always satisfactory, but until we are comfortable in our own skins, comfortable with being individuals, the universe will repeatedly present us with opportunities to learn the life lessons we need to succeed and fulfill our dreams.
I began so early wanting to be a teacher. For the first time the opportunity to do that is real. Thank you, StillOne, for taking the time to point out those two aspects. This is the turning point in my life I felt so strongly was here.
Now to learn more about Africa and how to show a child 2 + 2 does not equal a random number :~) Or music, or art, or how to generally co-create the future they want to live in when they are my age
~Catherine