| Tetanus Shot |
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Monday, October 20th, 2008 15:43:49 GMT |
Minor Events |
Last week, on Thursday, Oct. 16th, I had the first vaccination I've had since I was a child - a tetanus shot. The reason I decided to do that is because I got a small gash on the top side of my right foot on Oct. 6th because of the sharp point of a spring poking out of my old mattress. Usually I have all the numerous little sharp points on my bed covered up with a blanket, but unfortunately, that one was temporarily exposed. Ouch.
Fortunately, it wasn't a very deep wound, and it also didn't bleed much. I'm also glad it was on the top of my foot instead of the bottom of it, since otherwise, it would have made walking around rather difficult.
Anyhow, I noticed something sort of amusing in the astrological chart for my appointment to get the shot.
This chart has Mars in Scorpio conjunct the Scorpio midheaven (with a 1°09' orb) - which seems amusingly appropriate for an appointment whose entire point (pun intended) was for me to get a shot, since Mars is associated with sharp, pointy things like needles, Scorpio is the sign of the scorpion (and scorpions have stingers), and the midheaven, being the highest point of the chart, could, I guess, be associated with some of the most prominent, obvious features of an event.
I didn't choose the time for the appointment. I had a cold, with a stuffy nose and a cough, so, instead of me calling to make the appointment, I had a relative make the call (which happened Tuesday, Oct. 14th, sometime in the morning soon after 9 AM). So, the chart just turned out this way without any attempt on anyone's part to select that time on the basis of astrology. I had actually been hoping to get the shot on the day we called (simply because I hate shots and just wanted to get it over with), but I guess that was the earliest available appointment.
Since a nurse had given me the shot, and I was aware that Venus (associated with women) was currently in late Scorpio, I wondered if maybe Venus in Scorpio was conjunct the midheaven by that time. So, when I got home, I checked out the chart for the time I noticed on the car's clock after my appointment.
I was quite astonished when I saw that in this 3:21 PM chart, Venus was 0°01' away from the midheaven!
Again, 3:21 PM wasn't the exact moment I got the shot - the shot happened maybe three or four minutes before that, so when the shot actually took place, Venus wasn't as close to exactly conjunct the midheaven.
Still, though, I thought it was sort of neat that at the exact time I noticed on the clock after my appointment, Venus in Scorpio was just about exactly conjunct the midheaven.
And now, a non-astrological note, for anyone curious about the shot itself and how I felt afterward. The shot I got was the ADACEL vaccine, which apparently protects you against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough). It doesn't have mercury, but it has "small amounts" of aluminum phosphate and formaldehyde, which I'm not too enthused about.
However, I've been feeling fine. The only side effect that I noticed was that the spot where I got the shot (on my upper left arm) swelled up a bit for about a day or so. I found it reminiscent of a mosquito bite, with the difference that it was sore instead of itchy. I still feel a small firm lump around that spot, but it's no longer visibly swollen or sore.
Overall, I'm glad I got this shot. Sure, I don't like being injected with any amount of formaldehyde or aluminum phosphate, but I haven't noticed any really bad effects from this shot. I'm glad for the peace of mind of knowing that I should be safe from tetanus for about 10 years. Also, one thing that scared me about tetanus was its potentially long incubation period. I'm glad I now won't have to worry for 2 months after I hurt my foot that a case of tetanus might sneak up on me after a long incubation period.
The shot was close to painless, just a little pinprick for about a second, and the shot was over in literally about 3 or 4 seconds. My abject terror of shots when I was a child seems pretty ridiculous to me now.
Unfortunately for me, October 2008 has been a month notable for more annoying health issues afflicting me than usual (besides my typical insomnia, poor appetite, etc.). Not only have I had this foot thing to deal with, but since about 9/29/2008, I had a cold - the lengthiest (though not the most unpleasant) cold I've had since I was a teenager. I think today has been the first day I've felt mostly normal.
I wonder if an astrologer would think these health issues (my cold and my sudden foot injury) might correlate with transiting Uranus (associated with sudden disruptions) in Pisces (the sign associated with feet) in my 6th house (of health issues) square my natal Mars. (Here's my natal chart). To my surprise, I found that transit was exact for me on Sept. 30th, a day or so after my cold began. (That transit was also exact for me earlier this year, on April 1st, 2008 - but nothing notable that was health-related happened to me back then that I can recall.)
Hard aspects between Uranus and Mars are thought to be associated with accidents, recklessness, impatience, etc. I guess I can see how that might be appropriate for my foot injury, at least - because if I had been more cautious, instead of just rushing to get up off my bed, naively assuming all the springs' sharp points were adequately covered up by a blanket, this wound probably wouldn't have happened.
As for my cold - I don't know if I had any way to prevent that. Though, on the other hand, I might not have been as susceptible to getting a cold if I hadn't been so stressed out and under pressure, endlessly pushing myself to work on various projects, and feeling guilty whenever I neglected them. I have to admit, I really am too hard on myself, to the point where getting a cold was almost like a vacation - not that it was fun, but it was at least a relief to have a legitimate guilt-free excuse to be unproductive. (Come to think of it, being unproductive is something I associate with Pisces - the opposite sign of Virgo, the sign associated with work).
Fortunately, after the first few days, the cold didn't get in my way that much. I suppose in the end it has even downright benefited me in at least one way - it helped give me a bit more insight into how ridiculous and self-defeating my own work ethic is, since it's more like an overwork ethic.
(Addition, 11:30 PM: After glancing at the charts a bit more, I have to add that I think probably another thing an astrologer would notice is transiting Saturn in Virgo in my 12th square my natal Mars with a 4°01' orb (at the time of the chart for my foot injury) or less (at the time of the later charts). In fact, in my chart, transiting Saturn, transiting Uranus, and my natal Mars are currently forming a stressful aspect configuration known as a T-square - Saturn opp. Uranus, both square my natal Mars.
This T-square wasn't present last April, the last time transiting Uranus was exactly square my Mars - so perhaps that's how an astrologer would explain the fact that nothing as remarkable or bad happened to me back then, and also the fact that back then, I didn't feel anywhere near as stressed out as I have of late).
By the way, I didn't look closely at this chart until writing this post, so, don't worry, I didn't scare myself silly with astrology, I just scared myself silly about tetanus on my own, with a little help from health websites. :-)
I didn't start getting scared until I got some neck cramps a couple days after the wound. I had some vague knowledge that something like that was a possible symptom of tetanus (also known as lockjaw), so I decided to look it up on the internet - whereupon I found such horrifying accounts of what tetanus was like, it inspired me to get the shot. Fortunately, the neck cramps weren't very bad, and they also soon went away, so by the time I had my appointment I wasn't nearly as scared anymore.
I'm rather glad I didn't look at this chart too closely before I got this issue taken care of. Pluto (the planet associated with death, terror, etc.) being prominent in this chart (conjunct an angle: the descendant), and Taurus (the sign associated with the neck) being on the cusp of the 12th house (associated with hospitals and serious health issues) might have scared me - even though I know hardly anything about how astrologers are supposed to interpret the chart of a small injury. Practically all I know is that a chart for when a person fell ill or was injured is called a "decumbiture chart", and I have yet to read anything detailed about how to interpret such charts.
Even so, I find it kind of interesting that Pisces (the sign associated with the feet) is at the midheaven of this chart for a foot injury, and also that the ruler of this chart's 6th house (the house of health issues), Pluto, is prominent in this chart. Pluto being prominent here also seems appropriate in light of how scared I got for a little while.
Disclaimer: As far as I know, none of astrology is yet objectively proven to really work, and, understandably, it is commonly regarded as sheer nonsense. In my opinion, many things that are referred to as "astrology" are almost certainly empty nonsense, but some parts of astrology might not be nonsense - I'm not sure. I don't claim that astrology definitely works, nor do I claim that astrology definitely doesn't work.
I am not a health professional, and I'm not even sure I'd qualify as a really good astrologer. Also, this isn't medical advice, but I suggest that you do not rely on astrological advice regarding health or any other important issues, and if you have health concerns, I think you should talk to your doctor. Also, please notice that the above contains no astrologically-based health advice whatsoever - I was simply pointing out some amusing apparent coincidences between the symbolism of the charts and what actually happened. None of this post is medical advice, legal advice, or even astrological advice, neener neener. So there. :-)
By visiting this website, you agree that if you are a litigious moron who is prone to sue people for exercising their freedom of speech rights to talk about medical, legal, or other issues without including a disclaimer, you are hereby obligated to think deeply about your actions and why those actions are wrong, to reimburse me for any amount you try to sue me for, plus legal expenses and any other expenses I want you to pay for, and you are also obligated to read this page in full: OvercomingBias.com - Against Disclaimers. ;-)-qa Oct 16 2008 14:00 EDT 80:34W 41:09N
Location: Hubbard, OH
+-------<11> 0Sag54----<10> 7Sco24-----<9> 6Lib18-----------+
| | Mar 8Sco33 | | |
| | Ven 27Sco33 | | |
| | | Sun 23Lib44 | |
| | | Mer 7Lib38 | Sat 17Vir04 |
<12>21Sag12----|-----------------------------|-----24Leo52<8>
| Lil 21Sag13 | | |
| Jun 25Sag02 | Astrolog 5.40 chart | Cer 23Leo30 |
| Plu 28Sag52 | Thu Oct 16 2008 2:00pm | Ver 20Leo11 |
| | ST -04:00, 80:34W 41:09N | For 8Leo31 |
<1>12Cap22-----| UT: 18:00, Sid.T: 14:20 |-----12Can22<7>
| Jup 14Cap49 | Placidus Houses | |
| Nod 15Aqu00r | Tropical / Geocentric | |
| Chi 16Aqu04r | Julian Day = 2454756.2500 | |
| Nep 21Aqu33r | | |
<2>24Aqu52-----|-----------------------------|-----21Gem12<6>
| Ura 19Pis26r | | | |
| | | | |
| | | Moo 19Tau54 | |
| | | Ves 10Tau11r | Pal 20Gem05 |
+----------- 6Ari18<3>----- 7Tau24<4>----- 0Gem54<5>--------+
Of course, after I arrived for my appointment, there was a pretty long wait, so the shot didn't happen right at 2 PM. I'm actually not sure what time it happened exactly, but, when my relative and I started driving home I noticed the time was 3:21 PM, so the shot definitely happened shortly before that time.
-qa Oct 16 2008 15:21 EDT 80:34W 41:09N
+-------<11>19Sag04----<10>27Sco38-----<9> 1Sco00-----------+
| Lil 21Sag13 | | | |
| Jun 25Sag03 | | | |
| Plu 28Sag52 | | Ven 27Sco37 | Sun 23Lib48 |
| | | Mar 8Sco36 | Mer 7Lib39 |
<12> 9Cap55----|-----------------------------|-----23Vir15<8>
| Jup 14Cap50 | | Sat 17Vir04 |
| | Astrolog 5.40 chart | Ver 4Vir50 |
| | Thu Oct 16 2008 3:21pm | For 2Vir33 |
| | ST -04:00, 80:34W 41:09N | Cer 23Leo31 |
<1> 5Aqu37-----| UT: 19:21, Sid.T: 15:41 |----- 5Leo37<7>
| Nod 15Aqu00r | Placidus Houses | |
| Chi 16Aqu04r | Tropical / Geocentric | |
| Nep 21Aqu33r | Julian Day = 2454756.3063 | |
| Ura 19Pis26r | | |
<2>23Pis15-----|-----------------------------|----- 9Can55<6>
| | Ves 10Tau10r | | |
| | Moo 20Tau44 | | |
| | | | |
| | | | Pal 20Gem05 |
+----------- 1Tau00<3>-----27Tau38<4>-----19Gem04<5>--------+
I don't feel like interpreting this next chart (or even the previous two charts) in depth, but, just in case anyone finds it interesting, here's the astrological chart for the moment I hurt my foot.
-qa Oct 6 2008 22:41 EDT 80:34W 41:09N
+-------<11> 7Ari14----<10> 3Pis54-----<9> 8Aqu53-----------+
| Ves 12Tau15r | Ura 19Pis45r | | |
| | For 1Ari07 | Nep 21Aqu40r | |
| | | Chi 16Aqu13r | |
| | | Nod 15Aqu31r | |
<12>18Tau53----|-----------------------------|-----18Cap13<8>
| Pal 18Gem51 | | |
| | Astrolog 5.40 chart | Jup 13Cap50 |
| | Mon Oct 6 2008 10:41pm | Moo 11Cap18 |
| | ST -04:00, 80:34W 41:09N | Plu 28Sag42 |
<1>28Gem13-----| UT: 2:41, Sid.T: 22:23 |-----28Sag13<7>
| | Placidus Houses | |
| | Tropical / Geocentric | Jun 22Sag26 |
| | Julian Day = 2454746.6118 | Lil 20Sag08 |
| | | Ver 17Sco40 |
<2>18Can13-----|-----------------------------|-----18Sco53<6>
| | Cer 19Leo49 | | Ven 15Sco50 |
| | | | Mar 1Sco59 |
| | | | Sun 14Lib12 |
| | | Sat 15Vir58 | Mer 13Lib41r |
+----------- 8Leo53<3>----- 3Vir54<4>----- 7Lib14<5>--------+
(I edited these next few paragraphs at 11:02 PM.)
Perhaps I should end this post with a disclaimer - simply because this article discusses health issues a bit and who knows, it might be misconstrued if I don't. I hate disclaimers and other legal nonsense - the idiotic supposed necessity of having to state stupidly obvious things like "this is not advice from a professional, everything you do or don't do with this info is at your own risk, blah, blah, blah". Perhaps it's not really necessary, but in any case, I've been itching to vent my spleen about this annoyance for some time, so, regardless of whether or not it's really needed, here's a disclaimer. :-)