Hi gang.  Well its official.  I dropped microbiology today.  Pluto is currently transiting my 10th house.  I thought my education was THE most important thing in my world.  It is don't get me wrong,  but I overloaded my plate.  Couldn't see the forest for the trees.  I had 2 lab classes this semester,  A & P and micro.  Well A & P is going well, however I could do better,  my house is filthy as I have enough dog hair on the floor to make another dog,  and my check book,  don't even ask.  My burden was micro and it was crushing me.  So I faced it,  amputated it.  Didn't quit school, 10th house is still intact.  Now maybe the rest of the forest will thrive! 

Lets hear your survival stories

Way to go Daisy. :)

As for me I'm not sure. Had to fill in a form for security clearance for possible government work. It had me reviewing the past and geeze did it hurt. Felt like a loser. But then remembered that I was laid off due to lack of work and a quickly changing industry. Still I hold wishes that I'd been more self-aware and efficient. I've been applying for jobs for 16 months with only about 2 months of work materializing. I did get my living space organized so I can start getting up at 7am in order to continue my quest. Constantly think about returning to school but then worry that one of the leads I have networked to create will actually come through and then create chaos with going to school. And all I want to do is have a baby before I get too old. Super bad timing this recession.

Stood up and pushed back - HARD.

I amputated my Political Science class this semester. I had too much emotional luggage to go through such an intense class.

Pluto is also on my 10th house and boy am I trying to figure out my future!

And yes daisy, I faced my burden.

Facing my burdens right now. I slacked the first half of this semester by skipping out on a math exam (1 out of 3 for the semester so very weighty). I was dumb. So now I must work my ass off to get even a passing grade and it all rests on me. This saturn-pluto square is going to kick my ass. The heat will only be turned up next semester, and doubly so next year, and next year... There's no sense in fucking around anymore, to do so would create dire consequences for no one but myself.

Liz I hope you attain what you desire...have you thought of just applying to school anyway, and then choosing not to go when the time comes should your circumstances change? If you're talking about Uni, wouldn't the next intake be in May or September 2010? just a thought..

Some of my burdens I faced full-on, others I ran away kicking a screaming like a little wimp.

I'm a pisces, face my burdens? Hell no, it's to the bottle for me.

All joking aside, depends on the burden...if it's life altering I do my best to face them head on and allow them to run their course or boot it out of the way and then figure out the lesson it was supposed to teach me. That's in between avoidance and pity parties of course...but in the long run, I seek answers to the toughest lessons. 

As for how my semester is going, grades are fine, mental state is forcing me to take next semester off.

Ha ha Alicia 12th House Neptune likes a tipple, too:)

My burdens are strange and unspeakable. One has to do with the first house, one has to do with the fourth house.

This week I faced one and conquered it successfully.

One left to conquer, and then I'll be free. The freedom is going to taste mighty sweet.

Pushing through Pluto and Saturn everyday.  It's been so hard, every day feels excruciating.  I'd love to sleep through the next 4 years but I have two children =)

So I smile while I'm with them (my kids), I've been working overtime on my marriage, continuing college....I'm busy.  But on my down time I can really feel it, it hurts like hell (and don't ask me what, because I'm not even sure!!) but I'm a Cappy moon so I think I'm a masochist in a sense.  I allow myself to feel the pain, I am not allowing distractions to veer me from my feelings; I'm being a hermit, enduring this alone (except for my visits here at Elsa's), I'm doing this the hard way on purpose....so that I can get the most out of it in the long run.

Thanks Kash. :) I think that might be what i'm facing. This cardinal t-square is bringing all my thinking planets together - my libra 12th which wants to go with my gut and find middle ground all the time.. and hold off to see what THEY will do - my 3rd house with capricorn that thinks i should aim high and do the work and does NOT like falling off the mountain and only sees fear - my 6th house aries which is gearing up to just go DO something.. pouring/pointing into my 9th house where my saturn actually is in cancer and which the government program wants to pay my way to go do. Well they want to pay me to go to college (3rd house).. but school is where my female mentors tend to be. Plus i've been inspired by my aunt to get into graphic/motion/web design.. which is one way my industry is changing quickly.

It will be hard for me to choose if I get in and work does materialize at the same time.. yet it would be the reasonable thing to do. Thing is I have a warped capricorn 3rd in that I feel that what I say I'm going to do I have to do and then feel all kinds of guilt if I don't.. even if it's leaving me tormented. Last spring I was told I wouldn't qualify for this program due to my savings.. but I found out that savings don't affect the application after all so it's back on the table as an option.

Is it "ok" to "sit out" this recession in school? Because I LOVE going to school. Saturn in cancer trined by jupiter in pisces in the 5th and mercury in scorpio in the 1st. School and libraries practically raised me. :):):) Maybe I go to school, find someone there, get subsidized housing and have a baby? :P 

Worked for my sister ;)

I just realized something in what i said.. my aunt (6th house aries) is a cancer (9th house) inspires me (12th house libra) to apply for a college course (3rd house capricorn) by the government (capricorn) to learn web design (3rd house) to build on my career (capricorn). 

Woah. I'll go tomorrow. :)

I moved home to be close to family and she's the only one with a creative career. I should camp out on her doorstep instead of listening to my other family members who are more practical. :P

THANK YOU

I am trying to go against every instinct that tells me to RUN. It's so hard. I've been walking around with a pit in my stomach and in my gut every day since this transit became exact. I can't wait for it to end. Yesterday was tough - I've been trying to contact my ex boyfriend to try and straighten things out with him, but I'm making more of a mess, so I might use the New Moon today, which falls in my 2nd house to give him back his belongings and just try and get on with my life. As if there aren't other problems to deal with in what Elsa calls the CRUSH (weird undertones in my home life that we're all too afraid to address, and now I might need to have surgery on my ankle. OUCH!)

It's strange because everybody around me doesn't seem to be having a very hard time with this transit, but I guess it's worse for me because it's in close orb to my ASC and DC. 

Liz, good for you! That's cool the connections you've made re: your aunt.

Faced the first burden. Moved to another state, set up work and home life AGAIN, scraped and scratched to get by and now have a semi-firm grip in that area (as much as any grip can really be said to be firm nowadays).

Second burden, holidays and my family, which I will also face. They are finally moving to separate from me after years of suffocation. Which is awkward and painful but I'll take any movement in that area over the status quo.

Third burden was my marriage in which I drew a very firm boundary, which caused some well needed changes. Now, when I say it's important, he listens. Wow, I seriously had forgotten what it was like to be really listened to. It's had a wonderful effect on our sex life, but I'll leave it at that.

Fourth burden will be career. I'll be changing careers yet again as I attempt to get some ground under me in that area before the job I'm in crumbles. That will mean 15 hour days for the next two years at least. But that's okay, what're ya gonna do.

I would say I am facing my burdens, but that doesn't mean they aren't also crushing me. But they won't be the end of me ;-)

Crushes, burdens, pressure, cracks in the foundation vs. blind spots.  It would seem to me that those who appear not to be affected by this transit are the ones not trying to find their blind spot.  

I know people who are totaly unaware of the cracks in their foundations.   I watch other people who are aware of their cracking/crumbling foundation but they are so focused on just the foundation that they are failing to see that the foundation is built on quick sand, shifting earth, or a huge compost pile.  

Personally, locally, globaly that which is not a house of cards will stand.

user - nice to hear your getting good lovin out of the crush. ;)

LOL Liz, every cloud has a silver lining!

I just wanted to say do not be afraid to take a quarter or semester off if you feel you need to recharge. I gave myself that earlier this year , and now im back at school. Honestly i'm so much better. The pressure was just building up and up around March this year and I remember crying and calling my mom to say I wanted to take the quarter off. I was dealing with some kind of post trauma stress (unrelated to Uni ), the last remnants of it-- and confusion-- on top of that falling behind in school and frustrating myself for it. I was reaching a critical point, and i knew i needed time off to heal. And it was the best decision ive made .  

jo, I agree. I agree so much I've taken 13 years thus far to complete my BFA, ha ha ha

In all seriousness, I treat my education like an investment and if I'm not getting something useful out of a semester or year even, I take a break. I'm reallly hoping to graduate sooner rather than later, though, I'm tired of giving them my money.:)

My life has been one non stop facing of burdens. I don't run from it. I just pull up my boots, find solutions, get on my foul weather gear and keep marching. I have been told I'm one tough gal who doesn't complain about her lot in life so I take a soldiers attitude, damn the torpedos - full speed ahead. Faith has gotten me to where I am. Burdens have taught me to get real and don't sweat the small stuff.