Since I started this blog (originally called Seduction Central) in 2006, I’ve been laid off and worked a bunch of full-time freelance gigs, the last of which ended this past March. As we all know, the economy sucks and the unemployment rate is hovering around ten percent. I’ve searched for work, all the while hoping that I could eventually make a living from web publishing and the occasional freelance writing assignment and astrology consultation.

Fortunately, Psychic Source has been a generous sponsor of Sasstrology. I would not have been able to put in the extra effort to build this blog over the past few months without their support. (So please visit their page and take advantage of their special offer for new callers!)

I’m also grateful for Sasstrology’s content partners Planet Waves and Moonit. Eric Francis has been generous enough to let me republish his monthly horoscopes and weekly insight, content which is usually reserved for his paying subscribers. And the new astrology startup Moonit provides excerpts from their Stars blog, in which they use their special algorithm to determine the most relevant synastry aspects for celebrity couples in the news.

I’m thankful for Sasstrology’s regular contributors, Michelle Piller, Fern Feto Spring, and Matthew Currie. Their features are the engine that keeps this blog chugging along. And a large number of astrology writers (too many to mention in this post) have contributed guest posts in the Sex and Relationships section. The expertise of so many fine astrologers is what makes this blog so high-quality (in my humble opinion).

April Elliott Kent has been both a kick-ass web designer (she’s responsible for the logo as well as many of the images used on the front page) and a supportive colleague who’s responded with empathy to my e-mail rants about my blogging frustrations.

Elsa has been a wonderful supporter of the astrological blogging community with AstroDispatch.

The fans who have retweeted us and shared posts on Facebook, as well as the frequent participants in the comments section, are the readers whose passion about the blog spreads to new visitors. You’re awesome!

Finally, I thank my immediate family (and my folks) for being understanding while I slave away on Sasstrology. I believe that one day I will be able to support my family doing what I love.

Photo Credit: Fern R via Creative Commons license

Moonit uses the calculation engine from Astrolabe to look at the tightest relevant interaspect* for the type of relationship you’re interested in: romantic, business, or friendship. (No, I don’t know their secret sauce.) They then give you a percentage compatibility rating and 200-word interpretation completely devoid of astrology jargon. If you don’t think the interpretation is accurate, you can provide feedback.

The really cool feature of Moonit is its integration with social media. In addition to its reliance on astrology, the service also draws on information about people in your social network (such as interests and activities) to create psychological profiles. You can connect your Facebook account with Moonit, and the site will pull in the birth dates from your FB friends — which are already in their profiles — so you don’t even have to ask for their information to check your compatibility. If you don’t have birth information from a friend, lover or colleague, you can ask Moonit to send them an email requesting the info. And you can also add your city and exact time of birth to your profile to increase the accuracy of Moonit’s compatibility ratings.

Once you’ve received your assessment, you can tweet it or share it on Facebook. And if you’re obsessive about keeping track of the ups and downs of your relationships, Moonit allows you to update your relationship status, which you can keep to yourself or broadcast to your network. (Some examples for friendships are “BBFs as usual,” “need to catch up,” and “dead to me.”)

I met with the Dana Kanze, Moonit CEO, the other day, and it looks like they’ve got great plans in the works, and are eager to receive feedback so that their interpretations can be more “on target” while still being accessible to the masses. Plus, they’ve got an iPhone app in the works!

There are numerous astro-compatibility services out there, and although Moonit only provides a snippet based on the strongest astrological interaspect and social network profile information, its strength is that it brings astrology to a larger group of people who would otherwise tune out when reading, “Your Venus is quincunx his Mercury” in an astrology report. In fact, a new visitor would have to do a little digging to find out that the site uses astrology in its assessment — a feature which makes it less likely that someone with a negative perception of the field will immediately turn away.

* An interaspect is an angle that one of your planets makes to a planet in someone else’s natal chart.

Comment below: After playing around with the site, how do you feel about it?

About the Author

Jeffrey Kishner is editor/publisher of Sasstrology. He has been published in The Mountain Astrologer and Dell Horoscope, and online at AOL Horoscopes, Tarot.com and StarIQ. He is available for astrology consultations. Learn more about his services at jeffreykishner.com.

Of course, I’ve been working my butt off, but wearing my boots while doing it. As much as possible, I’ve been trying to build (keyword: Saturn) a business without having to depend on being in the full-time employ of a company (in which case I’d be wearing their work boots). But sole proprietorship is no picnic. It’s mucho effort without much security. I put in long hours in the hopes that some of my “product” will help me to earn a decent (or better) living.

The Capricorn Lunar Eclipse is bringing all this into perspective. A lunar eclipse is a full moon that is aligned with the Moon’s Nodes. Any full moon symbolizes an energetic culmination, a “coming to head” of whatever issues have been building up to that point. The conjunction to one of the nodes simply makes the lunation feel all the more intense because there’s a karmic (or possibly fated) quality to the event. A turning point, if you will.

In my case, the eclipse is bringing to my awareness the fact that growth is slow, that I must be patient and not give up. I always wants results now, but growth for me is always tempered by the forces of delay and restriction (Saturn opposes my Jupiter and conjoins my Aries Mars).

Saturn, my dependable friend

The Capricorn eclipse is disposited by Saturn, which has been serving me a kickwich for the longest time. The planet is finally separating from an opposition to my Sun, the results of which were a change in course in my career: I decided that I am more a web publisher/editor than an astrologer. Not that I won’t continue doing readings or applying astrology to my own life or writing about it, but I will put more focus into the work I do that has an observable impact. Frankly, I seem to attract web traffic much better than I do at building a consistent, thriving counseling practice. I know that I do have an effect on my clients, but that magical “word of mouth” or attracting principle eludes me in that area of my life, whereas I don’t have too much of a problem growing Sasstrology — to the point that I believe I can replicate the effect with a blog that has nothing to do with astrology.

Unfortunately, as is the case with Saturn, the new blog is not spreading like wildfire. I have confidence that it will do well, but — as my wife reminds me — Sasstrology (in its early days as Seduction Central) did not grow by leaps and bounds when I first started it, either.

Simply put, Capricorn is about patience, persistence and hard work. Whether I get a job or not, I am re-learning the lesson (re-, because it takes me many times to integrate a teaching) that I just have to keep on keeping on, no matter how much of a trudge it is to the top of the mountain. The alternative is giving up, which is not an option.

Cancer, the nurturer

Any lunar eclipse involves two signs. The Capricorn Moon is opposed by the Cancer Sun.

While I was feeling down earlier today, I out-of-the-blue called an astro-colleague whom I haven’t spoken to in a long time. We set up a time to have a longer talk, and I realized after I got off the phone that she’s a Cancer Sun. Did I contact her because I subconsciously wanted to be nurtured? If you look at Capricorn and Cancer as the hardworking businessperson and the hardworking homemaker, respectively — and if you can look beyond the gender roles involved and just see them as archetypes — the businessperson can only truly succeed if she has someone at home upon whom she can depend, someone who takes care of her so that she feels nourished enough to go back out into the world to conquer territories and fight demons.

I’m sure that’s what I need. Although I rationally know that I can depend on my family-of-origin if finances get tough, it’s emotional support that gives me the strength to keep working at something I believe in, even if the rewards haven’t come rolling in yet.

I frequently receive Facebook friend requests from total strangers. I usually accept them, because I figure they are readers of this blog, and I have made some good acquaintances/friends with people interested in astrology. I just make sure I only publish status updates that I am comfortable broadcasting far and wide.

The other day, I accepted a friend request from someone I did not know, and within minutes my new friend initiated a FB chat and asked what good things someone born on her birthday could expect in the near future. And earlier today, someone on the forum wrote me and said she knows I like to be paid for my work, but could I please read her post because she really needed advice?

Frustrated, I published a status update on FB expressing my anger about being asked for free astrology advice, and received a response like, “If you love something, you’ll do it for free,” as well as a suggestion that I needed professional help because I sound really bitter.

Not all astrologers practice astrology for the same reason

Listen, folks — I know there are many people who believe that because astrology is “spiritual” that you shouldn’t charge for it, or that if you’re passionate about something you will just give your service/wisdom away because life is abundant and you reap what you sow and all that. But the simple fact is, if a person makes a decision to pursue a path that is not very financially rewarding, they have already chosen to make sacrifices to pursue their calling. It is one thing to work a full-time job and do astrology (or anything else: reiki, creative writing, tarot reading) in one’s off-hours, and another to make the commitment to devote one’s career to it. In that case, it seems to me just plain rude and inconsiderate to ask for free services.

I have made a conscious choice to pursue my current path as an astrologer/blogger/publisher. I accept full responsibility for whatever money comes my way, and I no longer give away anything with the expectation that I will get anything in return. That goes for content on this blog, as well as whatever astrological insight I choose to share with a specific individual. I don’t give away freebies in the hopes that I will impress someone enough that they will choose to pay for a consultation. There is more than enough “Jeff content” out there for someone to make a judgment regarding whether they will benefit from my professional services. I share insight because I want to — because I care about someone or because I find it intellectually nourishing to do so.

Here’s my unsolicited advice: Next time you want free astrological information or insight, think before you ask a professional. They may be feeling very generous that day, or they may be feeling burned out from many people tugging at them, not unlike how a harried mother of sextuplets feels.

I don’t need another mouth to feed, thank you very much.

I’m not going to stick to astrology blogs, because frankly I don’t read that many anymore. Instead, I’m going to list the blogs or blogs that have influenced me the greatest or that are frequent reads of mine. Perhaps my choices have nothing to do with the Lemmy spirit, but lemonades are sour as well as sweet, so there

And I’m only going to list 8.

1. I honestly don’t know where I’d be without April. I’ve gushed over her before, but here’s the deal: Years ago, I read an article by her in The Mountain Astrologer about injecting the “personal” into astrology writing. And boy, does she walk her talk. April is not only one of the best astrology writers on the web, but she is so funny and lyrical that I often feel emotionally moved when I read her New or Full Moon posts. Not only that, but she has been an incredibly supportive colleague as I’ve struggled with being both an astrologer and a blogger. And to top it off, she’s a kick-ass web designer who’s put her stamp on this blog.
2. Skellie is one of those metabloggers — you know, the folks who blog about blogging. However, she stands above nearly all of them. She is able to distill her ideas about creativity, passion and attracting readers into highly readable and inspiring posts. I also find the links she shares in her tweets to be particularly useful.
3. Jeremy Neal is a brilliant astrologer in a way that I can never hope to match. When I discovered his blog, I devoured his posts because they contain such depth and wisdom.
4. Darren Rowse is the most famous blogger about blogging. All I can say is that I’ve learned so much about the art and business of blogging from him and his guest writers.
5. Jessica Shepherd is such a soulful writer. She’s a bit like April, yet not as cranky
6. I read TechCrunch daily. I love learning about startups and new “Web2.0″ tools.
7. I listen to the Buzz Out Loud podcast every morning when I do yoga. I used to listen to that New-Agey yoga-chant music on Pandora, but my mind just needs to be stimulated. These CNET folks sound like they have so much fun jabbering about iPhones, Twitter, Facebook and all things tech. I never thought journalism could be so fun.
8. I read Matthew Currie everyday, because he writes the Daily Sky. He is so fucking funny.

Hence, my new site, TechCoquette.

Here you’ll find articles like the following:

• Slandering your ex on your personal blog

• The low-risk guide to flirting on Twitter
• 10 ways to stop drunken texting

If you want to stay on top of TechCoquette’s latest posts, follow us on Twitter @techcoquette or at our Facebook fan page, or just grab the RSS feed.

My last job ended late March, and I do not earn enough as an astrologer/blog-publisher to pay the bills. Most of the income I earn from Sasstrology goes towards paying writers and covering basic services like web hosting.

Frankly, I have not analyzed a natal chart in weeks. I believe I’m good at it, and I also believe I’m a good counselor, but I have only been feeling motivated to “do astrology” when I get paid to do so by a client. I have not been feeling the drive or curiosity to look at the charts of Susan Boyle or the exact Jupiter-Neptune conjunction or what-have-you. I’m just focused on building a popular blog, and it happens to be about astrology because that’s what I was passionately writing about a few years ago when I started the previous iteration of this blog, Seduction Central.

Do I love astrology? Yes. Do I enjoy astrological counseling? Yes. Do I want to be a full-time professional astrologer? Probably not.

I’ve come to terms with the fact that what I seem to do best is editing and publishing on the web. I’ve done a much better job at growing this blog than at attracting a stream of paying clients.

So, I think I need to put my energies into building my skill base so that I can get better paying work in online or interactive media. I have a family to support, and thinking that I can do it with one website and the occasional client is delusion at this point.

I will still work on growing Sasstrology. It’s my baby. I’m committed to featuring excellent astrology writers and finding new ways to get more of an audience — but I’m only going to blog here when I feel really driven to do so.

I video-blogged twice this past week because I felt that drive. I learned some valuable lessons, like “be more exuberant” and “do something about your hair.” If/when I do another video, I will take this advice to heart and put more effort into delivery and editing.

I’m not going to continue writing weekend horoscopes, because I don’t want to. I will publish a short weekend forecast tomorrow focusing on mundane aspects, but not break it down by signs.

This is all to say: I know I’ve been distant. I rarely interact in the comments section and I don’t hang out at the forum, because these discussions are not where my heart is at. I do value the friendships and professional relationships I’ve made and will continue to cultivate them because they mean something to me. And I’m sure I will continue to twitter/blog about astrology, because I have an astrological worldview. I’m sure nearly all of what I’ve written above is related to the ending of Saturn’s transit to my Sun. I’m on to a new phase!

It’s tax time, that dreaded period when you calculate how much you owe Uncle Sam. The good ol’ IR of S is going to go over every detail of your return, in proper Virgo fashion. Although nothing stated below can serve as a substitute for the services of a certified tax professional, we can at least illuminate how every single area of your life is affected come April 15 — because you’ll be taxed on nearly everything!

Read the full article at AOL Horoscopes…

You don’t need an astrologer to tell you that the recession isn’t ending any time soon. People in all walks of life are getting hit hard. Growing up in an age of consumption, we might not have learned the lessons of the Greatest Generation — the old folks who came of age during the Depression. However, we can all learn how to tighten our wallets to survive lean times. Look to your Sun and Rising sign below for tips on making the most of the resources you’ve got.

Check out my latest article on AOL Horoscopes for budgeting tips for every Sun sign.

Here’s a sampling of Jessica’s work at Sasstrology:

• Recession Proof Your Love Life

• He Said, She Said: Scorpio woman wonders if Gemini man is for real
• Think With Your Venus