William Faulkner, giving advice on writing, first coined the phrase “kill your darlings”, referring to bits of his or her own work with which a writer may be in love, but that no longer serve the story. I feel that is the message of 25° Gemini, A Gardener Trimming Large Palm Trees. It is natural to expand, especially via our own minds, but there is power in pruning, as it allows vitality to go where its needed, without wasting it on that which is no longer necessary. It requires strict objectivity, the power of the Mars-ruled sign of Aries which governs this symbol in a twelve-fold sequence.

We must remove the distractions to that which is vital, reverting increased energy to the root level. This can extend to leading a more Spartan existence, pruning away decadent behavior, just as one might clip away decaying leaves. The warrior energy of Aries, of course, appreciates a more ascetic outlook, lifestyle, if not an asthetic. Finely pruned trees—I think of Paris—portray care and order and a planned design. We are removing excess so to be more honed and efficient. The suggestion is we are in it for the long haul. Pruning away habits that siphon off energy does literally extend our own lives. Taken metaphorically, it can extend the life of the artist from and in whom an audience needn’t see anything superfluous.

Writing a book or designing a line of clothing or producing a record or doing anything creative is all in the editing. First you put it all out there, expanding into the process, but ninety percent of the actual work goes in to trimming “the work” into a streamlined design. In preparation of our show STARRING at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater this coming Sunday (Summer Solstice), I am in the process of doing just that. Come and see us or you just might find yourselves pruned, darlings.

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