dreams and Uranus

by Rain Trueax

central Arizona photo

Astrologers say the planet Uranus went retrograde (whatever that means), and from between the 11^th and 12^th   of August until January 2020 it will be a time of intensity (like the world needs more of that...) and a time to look for omens and synchronicities. 

So dreams fit under that category, right? The night of the 12^th, I had two dreams that were kind of linked and kind of not. That I remembered both when I woke up is a little unusual for me. I generally just hold onto one, the last one. 

Only the second one might’ve had meaning for my life. The first one, while a fun dream, probably not so much. One good thing was no lost cars in that first one. The dream without an obvious connection to my life comes first.

I am entering a bar where there is supposed to be entertainment (in my real life I have only been in a bar once and that because I never had and thought I should at least once-- with no desire to do a repeat). A woman in a slinky, sequined black dress is singing. There are not a lot of customers. Then, I see a guy with whom I work or go to school (my age is iffy). I sit by him, and we chat. Pretty soon, I am leaning toward him, and he likes it. We are snuggling and then I say something that offends him as it makes it sound like I planned this meeting, which I didn’t. I decide to leave the bar, but he comes out with me to make sure I get safely to my car. He wants me to know this isn’t because he has a thing for me, and I say I know that it’s just the kind of guy he is.  I drive off thinking I will be late getting home and my parents will be upset if they are still up. Then I think—I need to move out.

While the first dream didn’t appear to have meaning for my current life, maybe the going on and being sure I am not letting someone down does. Second dream followed closely but maybe not connected:

I am with friends who have a lot of vacation photos to share. I think I am married in this one and my husband is the man I am married to in waking hours (in dreams not always the case). So we are looking at these little slides, which are hard to see but clearly are ocean photos. Then I realize they are in a clip where they can be projected onto a screen, which we do. There is a desire to organize the photos into a meaningful video show. I realize there are two sets that are not like the other three categories. They can be put together though and will make a good story. Enter with the first one, go to the next three, and finish with the other of the set of two.

The reason the second dream seemed to have meaning is I am editing my current work in progress. I woke thinking how it kind of has that kind of a format. It begins in a different way, goes to the main aspects of the story, and ends going back to how the opening felt, but this time with a conclusion not a lead-in to something else. A—B, B, B—A. It also has something I don't always do-- a prologue and epilogue.  I took the dream's meaning is that this order is right for this book, and some of my concerns of these two kind of disparate elements is nothing to worry about it. It’s going how it should be.

For what astrologers believe retrograde means when planets do it:  

All These Planets are Retrograde in August.

So far so good on my first edit being done. It might go to beta readers next week. I want one more edit before that as well as my editor getting one.

Until I began writing for publishing, I did not know what a beta reader was. They are a big deal for writers. Especially if they do reviews, they cannot be paid (Amazon rules), but they do get the books when they are finished. 

Beta readers do not have to do anything beyond read the book and let the writer know what they liked or did not about it. They offer a different slant as to whether the story works for them or not so much. So far the ones I've had might give me some notes as to places they felt confused or didn't like the way something felt. They are not copy editors or proofreaders. They are readers who love reading.  They generally already like the genre or are willing to try something new. They contribute a great deal to books being brought out by their insights and really are part of the publishing end of writing. I have learned a lot from my beta readers.

If you haven't been one, you might think of giving it a try in the future for writers whose books you have enjoyed.