Like Mother, Like Demon

Yesterday I found out I’m a Demon. Yep, that’s what Vedic astrologer, Carol Allen, told me moments after glancing at my chart. She also told me I’m ruled by the “hasta” constellation, which in Hindu, translates to “hands”. Huh.

Vedic astrology is the traditional astrology of the Indian subcontinent that emphasizes the “temperament” of individuals. Apparently each person falls under one of three categories of temperaments: Angels, Humans and Demons.

Angels are typically traditional and conservative people, concerned with principles of morality. They often follow dogmatic “rules” and occasionally push these upon others. They buy into what’s written in the books, working well within established systems and structures. Carol describes the hearts of Angels as “open”, but warns their minds can become black and white.

By contrast, Demons are the most unconventional of the three. Demons make great innovators, creative artists, revolutionaries (even outlaws), as they buck systems attempting to “find their own truth”. Ghandi was a Demon, who led a revolution through nonviolence, bringing about much needed change by challenging slavery and an archaic caste system.

While Angels draw within the lines, Demons think outside the box.

Then there are Humans, the “well balanced” sector of society, according to Carol. Humans mix well with all temperaments by adopting the behaviors and beliefs around them, causing them to occasionally “lack personality”. Apparently Humans make great actors.

Specific temperaments are not always easy to identify, unless you’re Jerry Falwell – an extreme example of a righteous Angel. Or take old Blue Eyes – likely a rebel Demon who insisted on doing it, “Myyyy Waaaay.” And I’m guessing, Fred Rodgers was likely a Human, who got along with everyone (including puppets).

In other words, Angels point the finger, Demons give the finger, and Humans keep their thumbs up.

Apparently my mother, like me, is also a Demon. No doubt that a woman who skips out of suburbia, against the wishes of her Sicilian parental patriarch…

…with two “fatherless” children in a dilapidated school bus named after a Grateful Dead album, heading west to the Promised Land for potheads, in order to “find love”…is clearly showing signs of a developing Demon.

Good Girl:

Lady Demon:

She and her Demon Generation challenged the status quo, breaking many time worn barriers, expanding their minds and society into new frontiers where issues like freedom and equality gained new ground.

However, like a typical Demon child, I progressed quite differently than my progressive Demon mother. Early on I noticed that while rebelling against the establishment, hippies often established their own new set of rigid rules. The yogis in charge were some of the most inflexible people I’ve known.

So, instead of joining drum circles, I marched to a different beat – usually in the confines of my bedroom, longing to reunite with my “normal” gluten-n-dairy-eating family in New Orleans, while singing along to Xanadu.

When I left home, I began my own experimentation. Challenging the feminist ideals of my mother and the veganism of my youth, I injected “murdered animal” into my mouth, earning me the title of Poster Lips for Collagen, and launching me into the world where I’d become an objectified body-parts model.

Mom and I still have our differences, yet we stand united in our quest for “truth”. While we are shadows of one another, we are also mirrors of each other, sharing a deep, mutual and continued desire to “find love”…