Friday 13 November 2015

The Z Files: Norah Colvin ~ Gemini

Astrology ~ a bit of fun, a load of rubbish, or something to take seriously?


I invited around 70 writers/bloggers to write a piece about whether or not they're typical of their sign, and how its traits affect their writing life ~ if at all...

Has your favourite writer been featured yet?  Links to all previous posts at the end of this one :) 


The Zodiac Files' fourth Gemini ~ yes, mercurial messenger Twins doing their communication stuff around Twitter and providing me with pieces for this feature; it's the sign from which I received the biggest initial response (even bigger than the allegedly 'I want to be centre stage!' Leos!).  

 Today's Gemini is Australian blogger Norah Colvin, who has a passionate interest in education, and shares others' blog posts of interest all over cyberspace, with her online wingéd heels! 

Welcome, Norah, and please tell us about yourself ~


And old picture of Norah at a 'bad taste' school dance!

"I don’t believe in the ability of star signs to define an identity or predict life events. I choose free will over destiny. However I do believe that everything is connected and that our traits are influenced by the interaction of nature and nurture. Stars and planets are parts of nature, but whether these entities influence life events is open for conjecture.

While I don’t believe in “the stars” I know that I have some of the characteristics of my star sign “Gemini”, the twins, a contradiction. (I probably have some of other star signs too, but that’s beside the point!)"


"Like a typical Gemini, I love to think. Learning, is my passion. The by-line on my blog, ‘Live Love Laugh Learn … Create the Possibilities’, surprisingly, probably sums up the Gemini in me quite nicely.

I, like other Geminis, love to amalgamate information from different sources to create new ideas. The ideas may never materialise, but the formulation is energising; energising in a way that physical exercise never is: I am cerebral, though could never be considered intellectual. I may have a superficial understanding of many things, but I am a loyal, rather than superficial friend."


"Communication is important in my roles as teacher and writer. I can be sociable (when and how I choose) and am very interested in others, especially their ideas. As an introvert, though, I am more a listener than a talker and not really what would be described as chatty.

An airhead maybe; I love birds and butterflies and views from the air; but don’t like heights or closed in spaces. Give me freedom to think outside the square and definitely, don’t fence me in (unless I’ve got a good book and some writing tools)!"



Norah, you've just written a piece describing all the traits of the typical higher Gemini! I love it when these pieces show so much of the sign, so often more than the author realises... Norah's Twitter bio says that she loves learning and education ~ and I'd like to add that she is very cheerful and communicative online :)  You can follow her on Twitter, and have a look at her multi-facted and educational blog HERE.

Now, which famous Gemini writers to choose for Norah?  I've gone for two who have written books for children as well as adults:

...namely Salman Rushdie, author of Haroun and The Sea of Stories 
and Luka and the Fire of Life...


... and former Poet Laureate John Masefield, who wrote  
The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights.




Up Next: a financially thrilling Leo!

Previous Posts:
Aquarius and Capricorn: Nicky Black
Capricorn: Steffany R



11 comments:

  1. Thank you Terry. I am honoured to be featured on your blog. I am not overly familiar with either of the authors you have mentioned so I will have to put that to rights shortly. I did listen to "Christopher Hitchens in Conversation with Salman Rushdie" which I thoroughly enjoyed, something I hadn't really expected when I started listening. I will have to check out their children's books.
    I appreciate your kind words and the opportunity this post provides for me to meet others. Your kindness towards me and encouragement when I first entered the Twitter and blogosphere contributed greatly to my decision to keep at it. I have learned a lot both from reading your advice and following your example.
    Many thanks for everything. Norah xo

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    1. What a charming comment, Norah, thank you! I decided to hit the 'communication' angle of Gemini with you, because it seems the most apt one :)

      It becomes increasingly difficult to find well known writers of the star signs, especially those who fit in with the writer I'm featuring! I remember John Masefield from my childhood, but know virtually nothing about Salman Rushdie, even though he's so well known!

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    2. Of course, silly me. I learned John Masefield's poem "Sea Fever: I must go down to the seas again" at school! I just didn't recognise his name as poet. I used to love reciting it in my speech and drama lessons. He was certainly a prolific writer, though I couldn't see an children's books listed.
      I also wasn't aware of Salman Rushie as a children's author. His "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" sounds like a great read. I'm adding it to my list now. Thanks for the recommendation. :)

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  2. Really enjoyed this post. Lovely to meet you, Norah. I love what you say about the gathering of information and the formulation of ideas being energising. That's me too. :)

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    1. Thank you, Wendy. It's lovely to meet you too. Wishing you lots of energy! :)

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  3. Lovely to meet you, Norah! As a fellow teacher, I can relate to the possibly contradictory notion that you are a bit of an introvert. I actually think it's quite a necessity as it means you're probably a very good listener, which teachers really need to be! You certainly sound as if you've got quite a few Gemini characteristics, and I like what you said about being cerebral rather than intellectual. As an aside for Terry, I don't know anything about Rushdie's writing either, but I loved John Masefields Sea Fever poem when I was a child. I'm sure he influenced my love of waterways and the sea!

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    1. Lovely to meet you too, Val. I'm not sure though I think I may have met you before in conversations with Carol Hedges. Your life in barges sounds familiar.
      I do consider myself a good listener. I tend to be happy in that role. I guess as you say, teaching is all about finding out about others, and I'd rather do that than talk about me. I hadn't remembered that John Masefield wrote "Sea Fever" but I definitely remember the poem. I loved learning it when i was a child and it had special significance since I grew up near the sea.

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  4. What a fun post, Norah! Like you, I'm reserved about star influence, but I turned to astrology and placed Cobb, Hickok and Sarah Shulls' birthdates and was astounded to find deeper understand in their personalities. Perfect for character development! I'm a near-twin to yours -- I'm actually a "cusp" between Taurus and Gemini. I've seen both traits in my own personality, but like you, I believe in free will. Terry has a fun series going here! I love finding out who is under which sign.

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    1. Thanks for popping over to meet up here, Charli. Terry took the communication angle with me. It certainly applies to you too. It's interesting that the star charts provided an additional perspective on the personalities of Cobb, Hickok and Sarah. Perhaps I should think about that when developing characters. 😄

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  5. Sea Fever is the only poem I can remember from my childhood actually and it was nice to have the reminder. This is a really lovely post and so nice to find out more about someone who is always so supportive with RT's etc. :-)

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    1. Thank you Georgia. I'm pleased you enjoyed the post. It is always pleasant to catch up with you on Twitter too.

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