Another Fall in Philadelphia

10/28/22 Update: Have I really lived in Philly 40 years? It is a good time to be in Philly ( World Series opener in progress tonight!) While I have not taken any recent fall photos, I thought it would be cool to reblog this oldie but goodie from 2014. I do hope to take some shots soon since the foliage is finally taking shape here in the City of Brotherly Love. What is it about Phila and Pennsylvania? We seem to be in the spotlight often. Maybe because this area has strong roots in the founding of America, the cradle of democracy. I hope the cradle doesn’t break. With my birthday, Samhain,  Eclipse Season and the midterm Elections all imminent, this is a powerful, high energy time. I have been interviewing for jobs, looking for a new car, and considering moving to a new home. It will be close but most likely out of Philly.  So this could be my last fall in Philadelphia!

Happy Samhain and Scorpio Season.

It is only fitting that I post about this Hall and Oates song on the first full day of fall, here in Philadelphia. This version with Diane Birch is from Live from Daryl’s House. I moved to this city to start the fall semester of my senior year at Temple University, so it is an anniversary theme of sorts. My trip to University City last week really reminded me of those first days of freedom and adventure in a new city and new state ( Though I did live in Reading , PA  as a child).

The first time I heard this song on the radio while living in Philly was very special to me because it was in early autumn. I told myself I would hear it every year on the radio as a way to usher in the season and mark my life in this amazing city. For a few years I did hear it annually, but eventually the frequency dwindled. But now we have Pandora and YouTube so I can listen to it or watch a video as long as I have a decent wi-fi signal!

The song’s message is actually very dark in nature, but the music is very upbeat with some folksy, twangy guitar licks and jazzy horns. Like so much in life, it is a juxtaposition of energies blended into one.

Here are some pictures that were taken close to my past and present neighborhoods ( by Wikipedia, not me) that closely reflect the beauty of my home with the stunning old architecture, splashes of color, and natural splendor. Philly really rocks, pun intended!

 West Philly ( just a couple blocks away from my first apartment)

Wissahickon Creek ( near my current neighborhood )

Residential Chestnut Hill ( a classic home ” On the Hill ” )

I could wax poetic about the history and majesty of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. I could brag as many Phila-files do, about the Quaker roots, substantial native american history, the Founding Fathers ( where are the Mothers?) forming of an experimental American government, the first capital of the US, the name – Brotherly Love, but you already knew all about it. We brag about and trash the city all the time, its kind of an unspoken tradition.  I honestly never expected to live in any one place for so long, but here I am. I was born in New York City, but my roots are truly here. However, I am really very different from the young woman who moved into this incredible city with a college friend and her room-mate from Penn. I am so much more who I am meant to be, but with many more scars and broken dreams.

So where is the spiritual angle? Where is the lite in the ordinary?

Let’s just say that this calendar year of 2014 is just beginning as far as I am concerned. With Mars and then Saturn retrograde for most of the year, and Saturn weighing me down as he straddled all of my Scorpio planets, New Year’s day for me has not happened yet! I would say that it will start in early November after the Mercury retrograde post shadow has ended. We are currently in the pre shadow period which happens before Mercury makes his latest foray backward on October 4th. Yes, that again!  Maybe I will use my birthday in early November ( solar return ) to celebrate a true forward motion.

So I have a few days after tomorrow’s Libra new moon to experience new beginnings before the slowdown is again in full gear. Coincidentally ( or not) Rosh Hashanah, the start of the Jewish New Year, begins tomorrow evening at sunset. I do appreciate that many religious and cultural holy days are in alignment with the lunar cycle.

NOW is all we have, so today is like a second-hand New Year’s Eve if I choose it to be. Cycles are in motion constantly, from the microscopic, cellular and quantum level to the universal, cosmic level. Most of them we are not even aware of, but that does not make them any less significant.

Think about it, while I notice the leaves turning yellow while daylight slips away and the black sky entertains streaks of pink and purple. hint – that is where the lite resides.

It is fall again, in Philadelphia….

Update : Just discovered a great article about Philly that really illustrates the heart.

http://www.movoto.com/philadelphia-pa/philadelphians-love/

Philadelphia images courtesy of wikimedia.org public domain