Article Ideas Contest—Is Yours a Winner?

©7-3-11 by Donna Cunningham and over 120 Readers

Last weekend, I posted a contest asking readers to submit article ideas, which ended yesterday. It’s been fun, Folks, with more than 120 entries! Thanks for all the suggestions. As promised, here are some of the best, along with the three winning ideas.

Close—But No Ebook (Yet)

Here are some entries that were very appealing. They’re complete and viable article ideas, not just a shopping list of one-word topics like asteroids, electional astrology, or midpoints. The people who submitted then seemed to have a good understanding of the types of writing I do. 

Several of them are tempting enough that I may just write them, and if I do use them, I’ll be happy to award the person who suggested it one of my ebooks of their choice.  

A note to other astrology bloggers:  Let’s say you like one of these ideas yourself, well enough to write an article on that topic on your own blog. If so, send me a link, and perhaps I’d feature you as a guest blogger.  

Am I worried that your article would be too much like mine? Not in the least—we each bring our own background and experiences to a topic, and so the articles are bound to be substantially different. 

So here they are:   

Alice:  I would love to see an article about the astrology of self-acceptance. Believing that self-acceptance is an important pathway to personal happiness, I’ve been fascinated by what indicates the lack of it in a chart (what aspects, placements?) and how to work with those difficult bits to move away from self-rejection to healing and embracing the self.  

Lauren: in general, what things to look for in the chart when considering vocational guidance.  Donna: I don’t think I’ve ever posted an overview of how I prepare for a vocational astrology session–what factors. That would be good. 

Jennifer: I’d like to hear more about what some aspects may mean for people who are retired. For instance, if there is a lot of activity around the MC, then career, etc. is discussed in most books. But what might be some influences for people who are no longer in a career?

Stellamaris: I’d love to hear more about what stelliums reveal about career.

Donna:  A good topic for a bit later on–I’ve got lots more to say about stelliums in preparation for my UAC lecture and will return to it.

For one thing, the house position of the stellium can be one of the vocational indicators (e.g. a 9th house stellium could show a vocation in teaching, law, or the travel industry.)  

Sabrina: Enough about the MC, I’m curious about the IC and how it shows how people live the aspects related to it, especially in a world were we need more and more mobility and it’s harder to settle and grow some roots. Where is home now? 

Regine: To add to this, what the relationship is between the IC and the moon of a particular chart. Does the moon describe the mother? Does the IC describe your experience of “home?” How do these things mesh, for example an Earthy 4th house cusp (say Capricorn) and a Fiery moon, (say Leo) and how a Leo moon would fare in a Capricornian childhood home? 

TM:  How about issues of Saturn in a relationship between two people. The longevity and binding of two people. Does it hold two people together or does it causes separations etc.   

Chasmatazz: How to be a good client / How to be a bad client.

Chasmatazz: :  I also loved what you wrote about Johnny Depp, and wish you would profile other celebrities. Or how about the astrology of Celebrity? What are some of the things they have in common? If someone were a huge fan of a celebrity, what types of connections would you expect to see between their charts?

Glyph: I would be interested to learn more about mutual reception and how to understand the energy exchange. Also the difference between the energy of planets that are in mutual reception while in challenging aspect to each other contrasted with those that are in easier aspect to each other.

For example, moon in Libra square Venus in Cancer contrasted with Moon in Taurus sextile Venus in Cancer.

Rosario:  What about planets in the 7th house that normally are projected onto others, and how you can learn that they belong to you and use them for your benefit. 

Donna:  Good one, Rosario. Like reclaiming your own planets rather than assigning them to someone else? I can see that. Perhaps it changes under a transit or progression that correlates with a huge change in the relationship (the person refuses or is unable to do that for you anymore). Disowning any of our planets and projecting them onto someone else consistently is ultimately always a problem—e.g. oppositions.   

Katley: I would like to see something on how aspects and signs run in families. Children tend to inherit similar chart placements and signs from their parents. Family dynamics are often reflected in charts. 

Karen: I would love either a post or a Q&A on Pluto transiting the houses. Since it transits a sign for so long, what does it mean if it’s transiting your 6^th or 10^th or 12^th house for 10 – 15 years?

Q&A could cover transiting Pluto touching different planets in different houses e.g., if sibling has a health condition and Pluto is about to transit his 6^th house and will oppose a slew of planets in the 12^th, what are the possible interpretations / outcomes?    

Donna: That’s a  really good one. I was fresh out of do-able Q&A topics. I’ll probably give it a whirl,  thereby converting it into an ebook winner. If it works out, I might do it for other outer planets as well.  

And the Winners Are….

 Here are the 3 top suggestions—ones I was excited enough about to say, yes, I’d definitely write that article. The people who suggested them each get to choose one of my ebooks from the selection at Moon Maven Publications.  

Dizzy: Here’s one- finding hobbies or pastimes through the zodiac! It could be like bored.com for astronerds. Exploring this through houses, planet placements in houses and also planets in signs, or whatever you think is a good way to explore this. What needs does a hobby fulfill in our lives in general, and as determined by a particular chart’s set up 

My add on: That’s a neat idea and a fun summertime piece! We could do research on whether people’s hobbies really are shown by the 5^th house, as we’re taught. OR if sometimes our avocations are vocations we never got the green light to pursue. (For instance, people who wanted to be actors but never got discovered, so they are lights in local theater groups.) 

Here’s one I was very slow to warm up to, but persistence eventually won me over: Chasmatazz:  How about an interview with Donna Cunningham?  It could be a question-and-answer with Donna Cunningham, wherein the readers ask you questions – not astrology questions, but probing personal questions, in the style of Barbara Walters, and you choose which ones to answer?

Donna, tell us about the first time you ever had a professional reading. Donna, what is your favorite planet? Donna, tell us about the worst client you ever had. Don’t know who we’d get to do it, though.

Karen: I volunteer to be the interviewer! Would be very gentle;-) All Oprah~esque. Come on Donna … it would be fun! First Q: What has been the best part of being a professional astrologer for four decades?

 

Donna:  If you promise not to be Barbara Walters, I’ll promise not to be Harrison Ford, the worst interviewee on record.

 

Note: I finally gave in, and we’ll do that next weekend, so think about your questions. Lest you conclude that it’s ego on my part, I must tell you that I’m the least likely person to ever have a reality show on cable. I’m extremely private and call myself an urban hermit—I love going out with friends, but am pretty much a recluse otherwise. However, one of my missions for this blog is to get more comfortable being self-revealing.

:  How about an interview with Donna Cunningham?  It could be a question-and-answer with Donna Cunningham, wherein the readers ask you questions – not astrology questions, but probing personal questions, in the style of Barbara Walters, and you choose which ones to answer?

Donna, tell us about the first time you ever had a professional reading. Donna, what is your favorite planet? Donna, tell us about the worst client you ever had. Don’t know who we’d get to do it, though.

Karen: I volunteer to be the interviewer! Would be very gentle;-) All Oprah~esque. Come on Donna … it would be fun! First Q: What has been the best part of being a professional astrologer for four decades? 

Donna:  If you promise not to be Barbara Walters, I’ll promise not to be Harrison Ford, the worst interviewee on record.  

Note: I finally gave in, and we’ll do that next weekend, so think about your questions. Lest you conclude that it’s ego on my part, I must tell you that I’m the least likely person to ever have a reality show on cable. I’m extremely private and call myself an urban hermit—I love going out with friends, but am pretty much a recluse otherwise. However, one of my missions for this blog is to get more comfortable being self-revealing.  

Finally, I liked one of the entries so much that I wrote it and posted it immediately:  

Lia: I can easily guess at some of the sorts of transits/progressions that accompany shifts in world view (9th house, Jupiter, Neptune, yes? yes?). I’d be really interested in your take on it, and others’ descriptions of times in their lives when they lost their religion or gained it, or significantly changed their view of the world in some way. 

(You can see that article—and plenty of reader’s own stories about passages like these in the comment section—here:  Crises of Faith–Journeys to Jupiter’s Red Spot. Thanks, Lia!) 

And thanks to you all for your ideas and enthusiasm! It brought me right back out of the doldrums, and I’m looking forward to a summer of fun writing.  I hope you’ll enjoy the results as well!  

 

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