AstroDispatch.com

Mother died last night, in Lake Worth, Florida, thankfully released from a long period of suffering. She had refused to speak to me since last November, nor was I alerted to her final illness, nor did any family member inform me of her passing. At the moment of her death, Mars, at 12′ 07″ Scorpio, precisely squared my own fatal conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in 11/12′ Leo, angular. “Brutality, assault or violence, ruthlessness. - The necessity to fight for one’s existence or life, maltreatment” is the thumbnail for this distinctive configuration of the three planets in Ebertin’s indispensible  ‘Combination of Stellar Influences’ (1940, 1972).

Should I call for an autopsy? I have decided against it; I won’t  even mention the other reasons why I ought to. For one thing, Luba, my mother, was very specific  that, although  there is no God, and no afterlife,  cremation is wrong. And I think that extended to autopsy. Also, and more to the point, I am determined to stay with the joy in Mother’s release from suffering and turn toward it, like sun coming out of the clouds. Within moments of learning of her death, the excruciating atopic dematitis which has plagued me for over a year, virtually disappeared completely.

While living with and caring for my mother over a period of ten years I was reckless with her checkbook, with a conviction that what ever I threw out would come back with increase, a conviction almost religious, perhaps manic. Perhaps all those years I was on Prozac  I should have been on lithium. I was  misdiagnosed! Part of the mania came from the economic boom,  the wheeler-dealer South Florida art and real estate boom recently gone bust. The predatory lenders, etc.

So no wonder no one would talk to me. I’m supposed to be happy I’m not in jail.

I have no idea whether or not I’ve been completely disinherited. She had an estate worth about 4 million dollars, in illiquid real esate.  In fact I went so far as to grandiloquently renounce in writings any claims I might  have had to the remains of my father’s estate in a gesture of placation, to prove the sincerity of my remorse, and
received no answer. The subject is of course not appropriate to discuss before the funeral, and my sister likes to be appropriate, so I will have to wait.

The chapel service prior to the burial will be streaming videocast at 1 PM tomorrow (Friday) at http://starofdavidchapel.com (select “View a Funeral”, and if prompted, download ActiveX. It takes 10 seconds and is harmless.) If anyone can save the file and send it to me I’d appreciate it.  Mumsie had a hatred of insincere funeral speeches, but I’ll have to say a few words.

Incidentally, Lee Hoiby and I will be in Bound Brook, New Jersey the day after the funeral, to hear the
long-delayed premiere of his celebratory work for chorus, children’s chorus, organ,brass and harp called
AND THE WATERS FLOW, based on a mixture of texts from the last  Psalms of David. (Star of David Chapel,
Psalms of David, look at that!).

• Astrology Forecast: 10/24...
• Sun enters Scorpio, Trans...