Stomping on Jesus: Truly a Classroom WTF Moment

Some of you may have seen this article online in the past week or so. A college student was nearly suspended for refusing to do a class exercise in which he was required to write "Jesus" on a piece of paper and stomp on it. 

As a teacher, I understand the point the professor was trying to make. If you take a word, phrase, or symbol that is sacred to someone, have them write it on a piece of paper, and stomp on it, you will indeed see the power that words and symbols have in our daily lives. The teacher apologized, but he seemed pleased that he had made his point. I wonder if he thought he'd get more of a response if he did it right before Easter. 

It doesn't matter whose religion it is; the exercise is just plain wrong. And what about non-Christians, atheists and agnostics? Wouldn't they have also had a problem with the activity? Yes, but for a different reason: If the word means nothing to you, then stomping on it shouldn't be hard for you, and the point of the lesson is once again lost. 

To me this ranks right up there with the high school teacher in France who had students write their own suicide note: An assignment that never should have happened.  

I know how I would have felt if it had been "God and Goddess" on that piece of paper, a pentacle, a crescent moon, or a bunch of other symbols I consider important to my spiritual life. 

If I was a college administrator, I'd have hard time explaining why I retain this person at all. At the very least, I'd consider suspending the teacher for a while. 

I applaud and respect the student for standing up for his beliefs and refusing to do the activity. I hope each and every one of us would have the balls to do likewise. 

A to Z Challenge 2013: Challenge Accepted!

How can a Scorpio turn down a challenge like this? I can't...and I won't. So I'm putting you all on notice right now that I'm doing the A to Z Challenge for 2013. IT'S ON!

For this of you unfamiliar with this challenge, it's pretty simple: 26 letters, 26 blogs. All in April. One blog per letter of the alphabet. You get Sundays off.

I didn't think I could do it last year and I surprised myself. Now I know I can. Fellow bloggers, I'm calling you out now...who is going to do it with me?

If you do National Novel Writing Month, you can absolutely do this.

The time for excuses, fellow bloggers, has passed. And it's time to get on board with the A to Z Challenge. You can choose not to be a part of it, but there's no way I'll pass up this one. Consider the gauntlet thrown in your faces.

To make sure there's no ambiguity as to who I'm calling out, the blogs are below:

• Jennifer Wells 
• Amy Lyre Turner 
• The Wine Twins of This May Cost Me an Appliance (and let's be honest...there are two of you so this should be a piece of cake!)
• Heather at Mayhem and Martinis, and 
• Susan Katz Keating

When I signed up here, I was blog #1175. There are nearly 1300 bloggers doing this challenge now and you've got until 11:59pm EDT on Monday, April 1 to sign up. 

Take a page from the Aries book and JUST DO IT. That is all. Twobrows out. ;)

See you soon...on April 1 if not before. :)

Welcome to Aries and Happy International Astrology Day

A blessed new astrological year to everyone! The sun makes its move back into Aries today at 7:02am EDT today. For those of you following a Wiccan path, a blessed Ostara to you as well! 

When the sun enters Aries, it's the beginning of spring. So it's time to start moving again! Many people start doing more activities, especially Aries-based ones like competitive sports. But we must be careful not to launch ourselves into new physical activities so recklessly that we hurt ourselves. Aries does have a tendency to throw us headlong into the new astrological year. 

Pisces is a lazy sign, to put not too fine a point on it, so when we leave the old year behind we definitely think about re-starting things we may have left undone. Couple that with Mercury retrograde that just ended, and you've got potential to really make some strides this time of year. 

Here's to a fantastic astrological year! So what are your plans for Aries? Write a comment below and let me know. 

Mercury Retrograde in Pisces

So I have been absent for a few weeks. How's your Mercury retrograde been? Mine hasn't been too bad, all things considered.

Mercury was retrograde in Pisces, and as such, Pisces topics come to the forefront.According to Mercury Retrograde by Chrissie Blaze, during this time, we might have experienced mental processes becoming intertwined with our emotions, mental and emotional confusion, and or felt like things were developing behind the scenes but couldn't figure out what those events were. Dreams also might be very strange.

Mercury is in its fall in Pisces, a position that isn't fantastic. Basically, when a planet is in the sign of its fall, it has a lot of difficulty expressing its energy in this sign. Imagine the energy of the planet flows like a river; Mercury in Pisces would be the equivalent of having a lot of rocks, trees, and other debris in the way.

Anyway, I'd love to hear how things have been going. Remember, Mercury retrograde is technically over...but Mercury is getting back up to full speed--in its storm--between now and March 26. Keep your eyes and ears open for any Mercury retrograde nonsense until then.

I'll be back on Wednesday, the first day of spring--Ostara--and also International Astrology Day. Here's to a fantastic astrological year for all of us!