Author: Ciscography

Creator, Writer, Blogger.

Milly Reynolds – English Crime Fiction Author

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Here are some quintessentially English ebooks for you to read this summer, or at any time, by British based crime fiction author, Milly Reynolds.

These books won’t break the bank, they are not too long, and they are relatively easy reading – perfect on your kindle (and elsewhere) for that up and coming summer vacation, or at any time.

The main character is Mike Malone, now sleuthing the relatively quiet streets of Lincolnshire in the east of England.

However, just underneath this rather pleasant, amiable veneer of a peaceful small market town and its outlying farms, lie hints (sometimes stronger hints) of his murky and tragic past, which have a way of bubbling to the surface.

Here too, the sense of the tranquil, gentile country lifestyle, is misleading; it’s always vulnerable to some quirky crimes, leading Mike Malone on a ‘merry dance’ around his patch, seemingly in pursuit of tea and good home cooking as much as the murderer.

There are other books too, with a wide range of characters, such as Jack Sallt, a detective with a distinctly harder edge to his personality.

Milly Reynolds books on Amazon

Milly Reynolds on Smashwords

Milly Reynolds Blog

Milly Reynolds Website

Haiku: Suffer The People

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Suffer the people
we expendable masses
realise our strength

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019

Henri Matisse, Breaking New Ground in Art – Astrology Musings

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Henri Matisse, rival of Picasso, was one of the ground breaking artists of the last hundred years or so. He was noted for his sculpture and printmaking too.

Having first trained as a lawyer in France, he disappointed his wealthy father by taking up painting.

Meeting Australian artist John Russell in Brittany changed his life. Russell introduced him to impressionism and the work of Van Gogh.

Intensity of colour

Immediately he began to experiment with the use of intense colour, which led him to being one of the forerunners of the Fauvist movement of the early 1900s. From then on, he became ever more experimental, using large blocks of intense colour and increasingly more revolutionary styles. His extraordinary career spanned 50 years.

Astrologically, Matisse was born with expressive Leo on the ascendant, always pretty useful for a creative person who wants to make a mark.

His Moon in Sagittarius in house 5 would add a creative restlessness to his character, always open to new influences, especially from abroad. Nevertheless, with Saturn quite close to the Moon, he would always likely seek practical ways of applying that expression.

Personal drive

However, his ruler, the Sun, is found in Capricorn in house 6. Here is the ambition added to the forceful personality, the determination to apply and establish himself through hard work.

What is more, his Sun is trine a Jupiter Pluto conjunction on his midheaven in Taurus. This adds great practical opportunities and an intense drive to his career aspirations.

Practical application

The fact that he could turn his hand to more tactile work like sculpture and printmaking is shown by the Capricorn Taurus link up here.

Venus rules Taurus and his Venus is in Aquarius, hinting of his unusual, unique perspective on art. Jupiter, prominently placed and aspected, also rules his house 5 of creativity, which adds further to the mix.

Channelled energies

Though his Mercury in Capricorn shows mental astuteness, it is in exact opposition to his Uranus in Cancer in house 12 and square Neptune in Aries in house 9.

I think this indicates much mental agitation and energy, especially with Mars also not far away from Mercury. With Uranus in house 12 and Neptune involved, he might not have been consciously aware of where this agitated energy came from, but it may well have been a bonus for his creativity, inspiration and originality in art.

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019

Haiku: Master

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Be your own master
and take nothing for granted
Demons fly away

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Light and Colour – Astrology Musings

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One of the most well known figures from the French Impressionist movement, Renoir’s birth chart has some highly interesting features.

Firstly, there is Neptune rising in Aquarius, loosely sextiling both Jupiter and Pluto.

Aquarius is often rather different, a forward thinker, though also with a conservative streak. Neptune’s nebulous, inspirational qualities placed here, will find a unique style of expression. Here is an unusual, mysterious, (and yes, impressionable), though highly inspired personality.

And Neptune is usually regarded as a feminine energy; Renoir’s depictions of females are particularly noteworthy, as if there was a deep connection to the archetype.

Light and Colour

It’s interesting to note that he preferred singing to drawing or painting when he was younger, the former being considered his greater talent. Mercury conjunct Uranus in Pisces, plus Venus conjunct Moon in Aries, may also reflect natural singing talent, as well as artistic ability. The vibrant light and saturated colour are a key character of his paintings, which also reflects the astrological symbolism.

Allied to this, his Sun trine Mars (10th house) and the Mercury Uranus conjunction (already mentioned above) in Pisces in the 2nd house, underlines his manner of needing to make a ‘secure’ living and career using his key artistic and unusual talents. He might have made a rather good poet, too, if he had shown the inclination.

Mars in Scorpio (10th) would add a determined ambition, sustained over time, an important strengthening feature amidst a lot of inspiration.

The female nude

Another notable feature, alluded to above, is the conjunction of Moon, Venus and Pluto in Aries in the 3rd house.

Here, we might speculate, is symbolised the deep, ardent love of femininity. He was indeed one of the primary impressionist painters of the female nude.

Renoir travelled quite extensively for his career, too, going to Algeria, Spain, Italy and Guernsey. Sagittarius on the midheaven with Jupiter in its own sign is an indication that travel, or exploring all avenues, will be a feature of the career.

copyright Leofwine Tanner 2019