“
Correct." Kekrops sounded bitter, like he regretted his decision. "My people were the original Athenians--the gemini."
"Like your zodiac sign?" Percy asked. "I'm a Leo."
"No, stupid," Leo said. "I'm a Leo. You're a Percy.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5))
“
I discovered that my obsession for having each thing in the right place, each subject at the right time, each word in the right style, was not the well-deserved reward of an ordered mind but just the opposite: a complete system of pretense invented by me to hide the disorder of my nature. I discovered that I am not disciplined out of virtue but as a reaction to my negligence, that I appear generous in order to conceal my meanness, that I pass myself off as prudent because I am evil-minded, that I am conciliatory in order not to succumb to my repressed rage, that I am punctual only to hide how little I care about other people’s time. I learned, in short, that love is not a condition of the spirit but a sign of the zodiac.
”
”
Gabriel García Márquez (Memories of My Melancholy Whores)
“
Like the zodiac sign?' Percy asked. 'I'm a Leo.'
'No, stupid,' Leo said, 'I'm a Leo. You're a Percy.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5))
“
In Solaria blue means royal. And to me, blue means you.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (The Reckoning (Zodiac Academy, #3))
“
Love is not a condition of the spirit but a sign of the zodiac.
”
”
Gabriel García Márquez (Memories of My Melancholy Whores)
“
Correct." Kekrops sounded bitter, like he regretted his decision. "My people were the original Athenians--the gemini."
"Like your zodiac sign?" Percy asked. "I'm a Leo."
"No, stupid. "I'm a Leo. You're a Percy.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5))
“
I don’t believe in the zodiac. Whenever anybody asks me what my sign is, I always say “Yield.
”
”
Jarod Kintz (This Book is Not for Sale)
“
Tears never did anyone any favours, but sometimes they just needed to fall.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (The Awakening (Zodiac Academy, #1))
“
Everyone knows, karma’s a bitch. And today her name was Tory Vega.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Ruthless Fae (Zodiac Academy, #2))
“
Like your zodiac sign? Percy asked. 'I'm a Leo.
'No, stupid,' Leo said. I'm a Leo. You're a Percy.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5))
“
It's one of our greatest human flaws: Arrogance. We look up and dare to assume we know, when the universe is unknowable.
”
”
Romina Russell (Zodiac (Zodiac, #1))
“
Our universe grants every soul a twin-
a reflection of themselves -the kindred spirit - And no matter where they are or how far away they are from each other- even if they are in different dimensions, they will always find one another. This is destiny; this is love.
”
”
Julie Dillon
“
When we open our minds too wide, we risk closing them.
”
”
Romina Russell (Zodiac (Zodiac, #1))
“
Those who think only in straight lines cannot see around a curve.
”
”
Romina Russell (Zodiac (Zodiac, #1))
“
Because we don’t get to choose our obsessions. And you’re mine.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4))
“
I love you, Blue. I loved you then, I love you now, I’ll love you tomorrow even if I’m no longer on this earth. No time exists where I won’t love you.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Fated Throne (Zodiac Academy, #6))
“
Like your zodiac sign?' Percy asked. 'I'm a Leo.'
'No, stupid,' Leo said. 'I'm a Leo. You're a Percy.
”
”
Rick Riordan (The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus, #5))
“
The most important thing I’d learned in life? You can’t trust people. And you especially can’t trust boys with wicked smiles and equally wicked intentions.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (The Awakening (Zodiac Academy, #1))
“
We won’t die,” he said with a shrug. “We’re the Heirs and the Savage Princess. Darcy and the dudebros. Wolfman, Bitey C, Fish Fury, Dragzilla, and the Phoen Dream.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Fated Throne (Zodiac Academy, #6))
“
You are meant for the sunlight, Lance Orion. So you’ll stand with me in it or else we’ll stay in the dark together,
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Heartless Sky (Zodiac Academy, #7))
“
Because I couldn’t keep away from her, that much was becoming abundantly clear. So I’d just have to keep being her villain.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4))
“
The resemblance of the signs of the zodiac to the animals after which they are named... is as unimpressive as the predictions of astrologers.
”
”
Richard Dawkins (The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design)
“
There are countless people who would say I’m not allowed to want you,” Darius breathed. “But you make me want to burn the whole world down so that I can claim you for my own.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (The Reckoning (Zodiac Academy, #3))
“
There's nothing wrong with you..not even the darkest corner of that beautiful soul. ~ Hunter
”
”
Vicki Pettersson (City of Souls (Signs of the Zodiac, #4))
“
How miserably hypocritical, you might say, but no sooner am I offered a chance to flee Hell than I yearn to stay. Few families hold their relations as closely as do prisons. Few marriages sustain the high level of passion that exists between criminals and those who seek to bring them to justice. It’s no wonder the Zodiac Killer flirted so relentlessly with the police. Or that Jack the Ripper courted and baited detectives with his - or her - coy letters. We all wish to be pursued. We all long to be desired.
”
”
Chuck Palahniuk (Damned (Damned, #1))
“
The deeper the pain you have, the more you hide it. I am sure I am not the only one who has suffered. The bitter truth is often covered with fake smiles.
”
”
Sōji Shimada (The Tokyo Zodiac Murders)
“
Whereas you prefer your coffee with a bucket of sugar added because you’re just so damn sweet?” he asked sarcastically as he watched me. “No. I like my sugar with a dash of coffee added because I’m bitter.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Ruthless Fae (Zodiac Academy, #2))
“
I won't stay silent anymore, not when speaking out can make a difference.
”
”
Romina Russell (Zodiac (Zodiac, #1))
“
Stars impel but they don't compel
”
”
Alb Imeri (Zodiac Explained: Understanding the Innate Motives Behind Our Actions)
Susanne Valenti (Fated Throne (Zodiac Academy, #6))
“
And in a universe of people that spend their todays searching for tomorrows, hope is the most powerful weapon you can have.
”
”
Romina Russell (Zodiac (Zodiac, #1))
“
When we pass judgment, we hit a dead end. When we analyze something with an open mind, we can explore a concept into infinity.
”
”
Romina Russell (Wandering Star (Zodiac, #2))
“
Although every Water sign has a strong
intuition, Pisces’s and Scorpio’s is exceptional
”
”
Alb Imeri (Zodiac Explained: Understanding the Innate Motives Behind Our Actions)
“
Two thousand years ago the night sky looked completely different, and so when you get right down to it, the Greek conceptions of star signs as related to birth dates are grossly inaccurate for today's day and age. It's called the Line of Procession: back then the sun didn't set in Taurus, but in Gemini. A September 24 birthday didn't mean you were a Libra, but a Virgo. And there was a thirteenth zodiac constellation, Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer, which rose between Sagittarius and Scorpio for only four days.
The reason it's all off kilter? The earth's axis wobbles. Life isn't nearly as stable as we want it to be.
”
”
Jodi Picoult (My Sister’s Keeper)
“
That when we stood before each other and he saw a queen, I saw a king staring back at me.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Heartless Sky (Zodiac Academy, #7))
“
Because you’re in my head all the time. You pulse through my blood with each beat of my heart. I live for every scrap of attention you offer me and suffer through every moment you spend ignoring me,” he said darkly, holding my eye the entire time.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4))
“
And I know it doesn’t change anything. That it can’t change anything,” he growled. “But I’m going to prove it to you. I’m going to do everything I can to make it up to you, for the rest of my life if that’s what it takes. I’ll never forgive myself for bringing this curse on us. And I’m never going to stop loving you either.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Cursed Fates (Zodiac Academy, #5))
“
The Fourth Sign of The Zodiac (Part 3) by Mary Oliver
I know, you never intended to be in this world.
But you’re in it all the same.
So why not get started immediately.
I mean, belonging to it.
There is so much to admire, to weep over.
And to write music or poems about.
Bless the feet that take you to and fro.
Bless the eyes and the listening ears.
Bless the tongue, the marvel of taste.
Bless touching.
You could live a hundred years, it’s happened.
Or not.
I am speaking from the fortunate platform
of many years,
none of which, I think, I ever wasted.
Do you need a prod?
Do you need a little darkness to get you going?
Let me be as urgent as a knife, then,
and remind you of Keats,
so single of purpose and thinking, for a while,
he had a lifetime.
Mary oliver
”
”
Mary Oliver
“
You’re an everlasting flame that can’t be put out.
”
”
Romina Russell (Zodiac (Zodiac, #1))
“
Failure is not an end-it is the means to an end. Study your failures, for they are the scrambled secrets of success.
”
”
Romina Russell (Wandering Star (Zodiac, #2))
“
Denial was my best friend who liked to braid my hair and call me pretty. So yep, Cal could definitely be mine inside my head in an alternate reality I liked to call Calaria.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Fated Throne (Zodiac Academy, #6))
“
The happiest people are the one who have mastered life's hardest lesson. They've learned how to let go,
”
”
Romina Russell (Black Moon (Zodiac, #3))
“
But until that day, you're mine, Blue.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (The Awakening (Zodiac Academy, #1))
“
Algebra applies to the clouds, the radiance of the star benefits the rose--no thinker would dare to say that the perfume of the hawthorn is useless to the constellations. Who could ever calculate the path of a molecule? How do we know that the creations of worlds are not determined by falling grains of sand? Who can understand the reciprocal ebb and flow of the infinitely great and the infinitely small, the echoing of causes in the abyss of being and the avalanches of creation? A mite has value; the small is great, the great is small. All is balanced in necessity; frightening vision for the mind. There are marvelous relations between beings and things, in this inexhaustible whole, from sun to grub, there is no scorn, each needs the other. Light does not carry terrestrial perfumes into the azure depths without knowing what it does with them; night distributes the stellar essence to the sleeping plants. Every bird that flies has the thread of the infinite in its claw. Germination includes the hatching of a meteor and the tap of a swallow's beak breaking the egg, and it guides the birth of the earthworm, and the advent of Socrates. Where the telescope ends, the microscope begins. Which of the two has a greater view? Choose. A bit of mold is a pleiad of flowers; a nebula is an anthill of stars. The same promiscuity, and still more wonderful, between the things of the intellect and material things. Elements and principles are mingled, combined, espoused, multiplied one by another, to the point that the material world, and the moral world are brought into the same light. Phenomena are perpetually folded back on themselves. In the vast cosmic changes, universal life comes and goes in unknown quantities, rolling everything up in the invisible mystery of the emanations, using everything, losing no dream from any single sleep, sowing a microscopic animal here, crumbling a star there, oscillating and gyrating, making a force of light, and an element of thought, disseminated and indivisible dissolving all, that geometric point, the self; reducing everything to the soul-atom; making everything blossom into God; entangling from the highest to the lowest, all activities in the obscurity of a dizzying mechanism, linking the flight of an insect to the movement of the earth, subordinating--who knows, if only by the identity of the law--the evolutions of the comet in the firmament to the circling of the protozoa in the drop of water. A machine made of mind. Enormous gearing, whose first motor is the gnat, and whose last is the zodiac.
”
”
Victor Hugo (Les Misérables)
“
You snuggle with Darcy and Darius all the time. But where’s my snuggles, Lance? Where’s. My. Snuggles?
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Heartless Sky (Zodiac Academy, #7))
“
He was dangerous in all the right ways and I knew without doubt that the fire in his eyes would burn me up if I strayed too close.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (The Awakening (Zodiac Academy, #1))
“
If you love someone, truly love them, you’ll bear your soul to them and let them be the keeper of your heart no matter how fragile or damaged it might be. And if they love you then they’ll do everything in their power to keep it safe, to nurture and protect it and heal over all the old wounds.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Cursed Fates (Zodiac Academy, #5))
“
Just because someone tried to make you into a victim didn’t mean that’s what you had to be.
”
”
Vicki Pettersson (The Scent of Shadows (Signs of the Zodiac, #1))
“
Our choices define us: The stars may set us on a given path, but it is we who must decide whether we take it.
”
”
Romina Russell (Wandering Star (Zodiac, #2))
“
Poor little rich boy, all his pretty things are gone.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Ruthless Fae (Zodiac Academy, #2))
“
I’m empty. I’m being asked to give everything, when I have nothing left.
”
”
Romina Russell (Zodiac (Zodiac, #1))
“
Wisdom lies not in facts themselves but in our understanding of them
”
”
Romina Russell (Wandering Star (Zodiac, #2))
“
We’re all at least a little fucked up, Tory,” he said roughly. “But the people who love us don’t give a shit about that. Better still–they love us even more for it.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Fated Throne (Zodiac Academy, #6))
“
I’ll love you ‘til the world is dust,
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Heartless Sky (Zodiac Academy, #7))
“
Good. Because I’m not a better man,” he said in a low growl, his eyes full of shadows. “I’m the devil and I want you. I want you like I’ve never wanted anything or anyone. And I will fight to make you mine, no matter what it takes. No force in Solaria will rip us apart.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4))
“
Scientists say that somewhere in the universe, every event under the sun repeats itself an infinite number of times in every possible variation.
”
”
Romina Russell (Zodiac (Zodiac, #1))
“
It suits you,” he said. “What does?” I asked. “Smiling.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Ruthless Fae (Zodiac Academy, #2))
“
Looks can’t hide your true identity. It’s the eyes that give you away…the soul behind them. The intent. The Shadows.
”
”
Vicki Pettersson (The Scent of Shadows (Signs of the Zodiac, #1))
“
May your inner light always shine, and may it guide us through our darkest nights.
”
”
Romina Russell (Zodiac (Zodiac, #1))
“
If you've put yourself in a position where someone has to see you in order for you to be safe - to see you, and to give a fuck - you've already blown it.
”
”
Neal Stephenson (Zodiac)
“
Sometimes the best way to love someone is to let them go
”
”
Romina Russell (Wandering Star (Zodiac, #2))
“
Why are the hot ones always jerks?
”
”
Caroline Peckham (The Awakening (Zodiac Academy, #1))
“
Anyone can promise me the moon, but I've never seen anyone pull it from the sky.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Vicious Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac, #3))
“
Even in an abstract dimension, ideas built on flawed foundations will fail.
”
”
Romina Russell
“
Humans--in their infinite injustice--have wronged you, but you'll find your rightful place again. Your light shines too brightly not to be a beacon for others.
”
”
Romina Russell (Zodiac (Zodiac, #1))
“
You’re what I latch onto to bring me back from the shadows.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4))
“
Where I’m from I found out the hard way that this life will throw all kinds of crap at you, but the one thing you don’t have to accept is other people’s bullshit.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (The Awakening (Zodiac Academy, #1))
“
The past is important only insofar as it informs the present - but when memories grow so powerful that they drag us back rather than propel us forward, they're not worth lugging around anymore.
”
”
Romina Russell (Thirteen Rising (Zodiac, #4))
“
I don’t want you on your knees. I want you fighting me and hating me and fucking me like you mean it. You’re Roxanya Vega and you weren’t built to bow to anyone,” he growled passionately. “You want me to hate you?” I asked in surprise. “I want you to feel for me. And I’ll take hate if that’s all you’re offering.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4))
“
I’m yours, Roxy,” he growled against my lips. “For every single second I have in this world, I’m all yours. And after that I’ll still be yours, wherever I end up after I’m gone, I’ll belong right here with you.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Heartless Sky (Zodiac Academy, #7))
“
I love you, Roxy,” he said in a rough, dark voice which held no room for lies or falsehood, no space for tricks of cruelty. Only the truth. I could feel it just as keenly as I could feel the rush of his magic beneath my skin.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Cursed Fates (Zodiac Academy, #5))
“
She wasn't just a girl though. Not to me. She was the one girl I shouldn't want, the one I couldn't have, the one I didnt need. And yet I did.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (The Reckoning (Zodiac Academy, #3))
“
Ah coffee. The shit that couldn’t solve anything but made everything seem better for five minutes.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Fated Throne (Zodiac Academy, #6))
“
My deepest fear is being cast aside, my heart crushed by trusting blindly again. So I’ll never let anyone in again.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (The Awakening (Zodiac Academy, #1))
“
I loved you when your soul shone with all the starlight in the night sky, and I’ll love you now when your soul is the blackest you’ve ever known. I will love you whole and I’ll love you in pieces. It doesn’t matter, light or dark, I am here.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Sorrow and Starlight (Zodiac Academy, #8))
“
Lucien: And Flowers--but only Anya can call me that.
William: Fine. I'll call you Roses.
Lucien: You won't.
William: I will. Zodiac sign, Roses?
Lucien: First, how does my woman stand you? Second, I don't think I have a sign. I was created rather than born, and I am unsure of the day, much less the month.
William: I'll just mark your sign as "Roses". Choice of weapon, Roses?
Lucien: You are a bastard. But I like knives. I like to get up close and personal with my kills. Care for a demonstration?
William: Later. What are you looking for in a woman, Roses?
Lucien: Why don't I just call you Moron? Anya does.....
”
”
Gena Showalter (Into the Dark (Lords of the Underworld, #0.5,3.5; Atlantis #4.5))
“
The most crucial truths are always rejected before they're accepted. " he says gazing out of space."It's one of our greatest human flaws: arrogance. We look up and dare to assume we know, when the universe is unknowable.
”
”
Romina Russell (Zodiac (Zodiac, #1))
“
I knelt for Darcy in the arena,” I admitted, staring him straight in the eye. “She is my queen, whether that be by the choice of the stars or a fate carved by my own hand. I was always meant to kneel for her.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Heartless Sky (Zodiac Academy, #7))
“
Home is within me, no matter where I go, no matter what happens to our planet or our people.
”
”
Romina Russell (Zodiac (Zodiac, #1))
“
because the person you love needs to know how you feel.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Cursed Fates (Zodiac Academy, #5))
“
The past has nothing else to say, but the future is an endless song,
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Warrior Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac, #5))
“
While a Sagittarian tends to be candid, there’s also a part of them that could be described as being more devious than Pisces, more deceptive than Gemini and more carnal than Scorpio.
”
”
Rosemary Breen (Horoscope Compatibility for All the Zodiac Signs)
“
Because that’s what love is,” I said in a low voice, running my finger over a bare patch of skin on my right forearm thoughtfully. “It’s giving everything without expecting anything in return. It’s sacrificing your heart and happiness for someone else and it’s owning all of your mistakes and trying to make them right. Not because you expect to get something in return for it. But
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Cursed Fates (Zodiac Academy, #5))
“
There are countless people who would say I’m not allowed to want you,” Darius breathed. “But you make me want to burn the whole world down so that I can claim you for my own.” “Then we should burn it down,” I agreed.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (The Reckoning (Zodiac Academy, #3))
“
My birth sign is Scorpio and they eat themselves up and burn themselves out. I swing between happiness and misery. I am part prude and part nonconformist. I say what I think and I don’t pretend, and I am prepared to accept the consequences of my actions.
”
”
Vivien Leigh
“
When Pisces go to war, there’s never a shortage of broken hearts.
”
”
Phil Volatile (White Wedding Lies, and Discontent: An American Love Story)
“
A powerful man wants people to dream of him, but a leader wants people to dream of themselves.
”
”
Romina Russell (Black Moon (Zodiac, #3))
“
Goodnight, Lance,” I said breathlessly and he pressed his lips to the soft place behind my ear as his fingers ran over the bite to heal it. “Goodnight, Blue.” “Goodnight, roomies,” Seth whispered.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Heartless Sky (Zodiac Academy, #7))
“
You are fortunate to be an Aquarius because you are known as the humanitarian zodiac sign. You are progressive in your thinking, which is reflected in every aspect of your life. You do not like being told how to live your life, and you will make your decisions clear to anyone who dares question them. You are energetic, with a zest for life. Unfortunately, society’s boundaries can still be insurmountable, even for an Aquarian such as yourself. You are very much in charge of your own destiny and, if something or someone gets in the way of your aspirations, you won’t give up on your goals easily. This perseverance earns you respect from others, even if they disagree with what you are hoping to accomplish.
”
”
Rosemary Breen (Horoscope Compatibility for All the Zodiac Signs)
“
Skepsis. I am a true skeptic, born under the noble sign of skepsis, the sign of the man who knows that all astrology is absolutely and without reservation the bullest of bullsh*t that ever there was. It is a senseless delusion that does not even have the benefit of being harmless fun. It is a harmful bore. Harmful to the human spirit, harmful to the dignity and wonder of the real universe and the real power of the mind to think for itself. I hate astrology with a fervor that is almost frightening. - Stephen Fry (when asked what sign he would be if he could create his own zodiac)
”
”
Stephen Fry
“
I love you, Roxanya Vega,” I said, my voice raw with the truth of that. “No matter what happens with this fate, the war, my father, the throne, all of it pales beside my love for you. And I know I’m not good enough for you but that just makes it all the easier for me to worship you the way you deserve because I won’t ever stop trying to live up to being the man you deserve to have. Not until my dying breath and beyond that too if it’s what you want.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Heartless Sky (Zodiac Academy, #7))
“
Donnelly subtly eyes them while facing us too. “Those mugs are bugging Beckett.” I can’t detect Beckett’s annoyance. But not a second later, he realigns the mugs in a neat row.
Maximoff gesticulates from his chest to Sulli, speaking extremely fucking empathetically to his cousin.
I skim him, a smile playing at my lips, and I take a swig of coffee. “He’s about to hug her.” On cue, Maximoff wraps his arms around his cousin, and she squeezes him back.
Akara bounces his ball. “She’ll buy a Sagittarius something for me. Wait for it…” We watch Sulli scan the shelves and then veer to a display of zodiac jewelry. She plucks a silver Sagittarius keychain off a hook.
Spending 24/7 with a person has this effect.
”
”
Krista Ritchie (Lovers Like Us (Like Us, #2))
“
That black, maddening firmament; that vast cosmic ocean, endlessly deep in every direction, both Heaven and Pandemonium at once; mystical Zodiac, speckled flesh of Tiamat; all that is chaos, infinite and eternal. And yet, it's somehow the bringing to order of this chaos which perhaps has always disturbed me most. The constellations, in their way, almost bring into sharper focus the immensity and insanity of it all - monsters and giants brought to life in all their gigantic monstrosity; Orion and Hercules striding across the sky, limbs reaching for lightyears, only to be dwarfed by the likes of Draco, Pegasus, or Ursa Major. Then bigger still - Cetus, Eridanus, Ophiuchus, and Hydra, spanning nearly the whole of a hemisphere, sunk below the equator in that weird underworld of obscure southern formations. You try to take them in - the neck cranes, the eyes roll, and the mind boggles until this debilitating sense of inverted vertigo overcomes you...
”
”
Mark X. (Citations: A Brief Anthology)
“
That’s why all of us are working so damn hard to figure out a way around this for you. Because we believe you both deserve that. So stop selling yourself short. Stop selling her short. And decide right here and now that you’re going to fight for your girl. Really fight for her. Not just achieve this bullshit mission to right all your wrongs against her. Prove to her that you deserve her and then climb up into the fucking sky and tear the stars right out of it for her if they still don’t agree.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Cursed Fates (Zodiac Academy, #5))
“
Signs and wonders, eh? Pity if there is nothing wonderful in signs, and significant in wonders! There's a clue somewhere; wait a bit; hist--hark! By Jove, I have it! Look, you Doubloon, your zodiac here is the life of man in one round chapter; and now I'll read it off, straight out of the book. Come, Almanack! To begin: there's Aries, or the Ram--lecherous dog, he begets us; then, Taurus, or the Bull--he bumps us the first thing; then Gemini, or the Twins--that is, Virtue and Vice; we try to reach Virtue, when lo! comes Cancer the Crab, and drags us back; and here, going from Virtue, Leo, a roaring Lion, lies in the path--he gives a few fierce bites and surly dabs with his paw; we escape, and hail Virgo, the Virgin! that's our first love; we marry and think to be happy for aye, when pop comes Libra, or Scales--happiness weighed and found wanting; and while we are very sad about that, Lord! how we suddenly jump, as Scorpio, or the Scorpion, stings us in rear; we are curing the wound, when whang comes the arrows all round; Sagittarius, or the Archer, is amusing himself. As we pluck out the shafts, stand aside! here's the battering-ram, Capricornus, or the Goat; full tilt, he comes rushing and headlong we are tossed; when Aquarius, or the the Waterbearer, pours out his whole deluge and drowns us; and, to wind up, with Pisces, or the Fishes, we sleep. There's a sermon now, writ in high heaven, and the sun goes through it every year, and yet comes out of it all alive and hearty.
”
”
Herman Melville (Moby-Dick)
“
Your father took everything from us. A chance to grow up loved in the world where we belong, the chance to come into our powers early and learn all the things you were gifted so easily. And even after everything that’s happened, you still want to keep stealing from us, don’t you? You still believe that you and the other Heirs are more suited to sit on the throne than we are. Even though it is our birth right. Even though we are more powerful than you. Even though we had to lose everything to get where we are.
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Fated Throne (Zodiac Academy, #6))
“
That's what love is. It's taking a leap of faith. It's opening yourself up and letting your walls down and allowing someone to see every dark and broken corner of your soul. It's truth and honesty with yourself and them. It's raw and brutal and terrifying and real. You can't just claim to want it, but refuse to allow yourself to be vulnerable to it. That's not how it works. If you love someone, truly love them, you'll bear your soul to them and let them be the keeper of your heart no matter how fragile or damaged it might be. And if they love you then they'll do everything in their power to keep it safe, to nurture and protect it and heal over all the old wounds.
”
”
Caroline Peckham
“
To Juan at the Winter Solstice
There is one story and one story only
That will prove worth your telling,
Whether as learned bard or gifted child;
To it all lines or lesser gauds belong
That startle with their shining
Such common stories as they stray into.
Is it of trees you tell, their months and virtues,
Or strange beasts that beset you,
Of birds that croak at you the Triple will?
Or of the Zodiac and how slow it turns
Below the Boreal Crown,
Prison to all true kings that ever reigned?
Water to water, ark again to ark,
From woman back to woman:
So each new victim treads unfalteringly
The never altered circuit of his fate,
Bringing twelve peers as witness
Both to his starry rise and starry fall.
Or is it of the Virgin's silver beauty,
All fish below the thighs?
She in her left hand bears a leafy quince;
When, with her right hand she crooks a finger, smiling,
How many the King hold back?
Royally then he barters life for love.
Or of the undying snake from chaos hatched,
Whose coils contain the ocean,
Into whose chops with naked sword he springs,
Then in black water, tangled by the reeds,
Battles three days and nights,
To be spewed up beside her scalloped shore?
Much snow if falling, winds roar hollowly,
The owl hoots from the elder,
Fear in your heart cries to the loving-cup:
Sorrow to sorrow as the sparks fly upward.
The log groans and confesses:
There is one story and one story only.
Dwell on her graciousness, dwell on her smiling,
Do not forget what flowers
The great boar trampled down in ivy time.
Her brow was creamy as the crested wave,
Her sea-blue eyes were wild
But nothing promised that is not performed.
”
”
Robert Graves
“
There's this mental illness, right? It's called 'anhedonia.' It means 'without pleasure.' You can look it up, though all you really need to do is look around." She motioned to the door the other women had disappeared through, and to the world at large. "A good deal of people, mostly women, spend their entire lives in this state. It's a sort of half-death. But if you recognize this, you can fix it...You focus on bliss. Small pleasures. Fill your day with as many as you can fit into twenty-four hours. You devote every possible moment not to fulfilling another person-a man-but yourself."-Suzanne
"Sounds hedonistic"- Joanna
"But once you can do this, you start attracting everyone to you. You dont need compare yourself to some other girl, no matter how young or firm or perky she is.....Trust me. A woman like this, one at her best? We're the color of the world. We're the light and the beauty. So focus on your pleasure, and the man you want can't help but realize...that he may be a prince...but your a goddess.-Suzanne
”
”
Vicki Pettersson (City of Souls (Signs of the Zodiac, #4))
“
BOWLS OF FOOD
Moon and evening star do their
slow tambourine dance to praise
this universe. The purpose of
every gathering is discovered:
to recognize beauty and love
what’s beautiful. “Once it was
like that, now it’s like this,”
the saying goes around town, and
serious consequences too. Men
and women turn their faces to the
wall in grief. They lose appetite.
Then they start eating the fire of
pleasure, as camels chew pungent
grass for the sake of their souls.
Winter blocks the road. Flowers
are taken prisoner underground.
Then green justice tenders a spear.
Go outside to the orchard. These
visitors came a long way, past all
the houses of the zodiac, learning
Something new at each stop. And
they’re here for such a short time,
sitting at these tables set on the
prow of the wind. Bowls of food
are brought out as answers, but
still no one knows the answer.
Food for the soul stays secret.
Body food gets put out in the open
like us. Those who work at a bakery
don’t know the taste of bread like
the hungry beggars do. Because the
beloved wants to know, unseen things
become manifest. Hiding is the
hidden purpose of creation: bury
your seed and wait. After you die,
All the thoughts you had will throng
around like children. The heart
is the secret inside the secret.
Call the secret language, and never
be sure what you conceal. It’s
unsure people who get the blessing.
Climbing cypress, opening rose,
Nightingale song, fruit, these are
inside the chill November wind.
They are its secret. We climb and
fall so often. Plants have an inner
Being, and separate ways of talking
and feeling. An ear of corn bends
in thought. Tulip, so embarrassed.
Pink rose deciding to open a
competing store. A bunch of grapes
sits with its feet stuck out.
Narcissus gossiping about iris.
Willow, what do you learn from running
water? Humility. Red apple, what has
the Friend taught you? To be sour.
Peach tree, why so low? To let you
reach. Look at the poplar, tall but
without fruit or flower. Yes, if
I had those, I’d be self-absorbed
like you. I gave up self to watch
the enlightened ones. Pomegranate
questions quince, Why so pale? For
the pearl you hid inside me. How did
you discover my secret? Your laugh.
The core of the seen and unseen
universes smiles, but remember,
smiles come best from those who weep.
Lightning, then the rain-laughter.
Dark earth receives that clear and
grows a trunk. Melon and cucumber
come dragging along on pilgrimage.
You have to be to be blessed!
Pumpkin begins climbing a rope!
Where did he learn that? Grass,
thorns, a hundred thousand ants and
snakes, everything is looking for
food. Don’t you hear the noise?
Every herb cures some illness.
Camels delight to eat thorns. We
prefer the inside of a walnut, not
the shell. The inside of an egg,
the outside of a date. What about
your inside and outside? The same
way a branch draws water up many
feet, God is pulling your soul
along. Wind carries pollen from
blossom to ground. Wings and
Arabian stallions gallop toward
the warmth of spring. They visit;
they sing and tell what they think
they know: so-and-so will travel
to such-and-such. The hoopoe
carries a letter to Solomon. The
wise stork says lek-lek. Please
translate. It’s time to go to
the high plain, to leave the winter
house. Be your own watchman as
birds are. Let the remembering
beads encircle you. I make promises
to myself and break them. Words are
coins: the vein of ore and the
mine shaft, what they speak of. Now
consider the sun. It’s neither
oriental nor occidental. Only the
soul knows what love is. This
moment in time and space is an
eggshell with an embryo crumpled
inside, soaked in belief-yolk,
under the wing of grace, until it
breaks free of mind to become the
song of an actual bird, and God.
”
”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (The Soul of Rumi: A New Collection of Ecstatic Poems)