So here it is, finally, the new blog just on astrology.

I moved some of my articles from my other blog - mysteryranch.blogspot.com because Blogcatalog would not approve me without more posts. I wanted to start off with the give-away below, without any posts, but they said there was not enough content to be a "real blog". Sheesh! You should see what I've seen out there in my 'networking' lately. So.... consequently, the posts are all dated today rather than when they first came out. They are out-of-date.

One strange coicidence, however, since we are still in what is refered to as 'the shadow period' of the retrograde (and this one was a real doozy) the retrograde might be affecting us a little. I do know this, Blogger was not working for hours today and I could not view any blogs hosted by them even when on Entrecard. Blogcatalog was funky too.

To launch this blog in a spirit of generosity and gratitude, and in good faith, I am making the following offer:

To the first three people who send a comment, I will send a complimentary report called The Sky Within which is a computer-generated reading written by Steven Forrest.

He gives an interpretation of your planetary positions and aspects along with Sun sign, Moon and Ascendant.

Steven Forrest is an insightful and sensitive astrologer. He offers Astrology Retreats in Calistoga and San Diego every year. To find out more about these retreats click on the city link.

When you send your comment, you must provide your email address, your date, time and place of birth. You can stay anonymous if you want, I do not need your name.

Your comment must be complete with all the needed information, or I won't be able to create the report.

Good luck to the first three commentators!

It's that Mercury Retrograde Thing Again

After the previous posting, I realized that I used an expression "dying before death" without sufficient explanation. I assumed (and you know what that means) that it was "self-evident". Sorry. Of course, as with all spiritual teachings, there are a number of ways to explain it. The way I understand it is this: that it is much like the Hindu and Buddhist ideas of non-attachment. Be "in the world, but not of it." Participate in life to the full extent, but know that there is more to life than what you perceive with your five senses. Do your duty, but do not be attached to the outcome (Bhagavad Gita)
Carlos Casteneda's Don Juan said to see Death as an advisor. Live as if you have all the time in the world with the knowledge that you could die any moment. If you knew you only had six months to live, what would you change about your current life? Sometimes our outer circumstances may be impossible to change, but we can always change our attitude about them.
In other words, be unattached to the things of this world, learn to let go (eventually we have to let go of everything, even our bodies), and come to know the spiritual realm while still in this world through connection with God, The One, The Source, Unity or whatever you call it.
And as Sponge Bob would say "Good luck with that!"

Mercury Retrograde Again

Mercury went retrograde on May 27 in Gemini and since my Sun and Uranus are both in Gemini, I am really getting the effects. Plus we had a New Moon in Gemini conjunct my Sun and Uranus is squaring my natal Uranus. My birthday was on the 30th and here's what happened: 1) I got an email from a man I dated 34 years ago and don't ever want to see again, but my current boyfriend, who is in Mexico right now, totally forgot. 2) I got a phone call from a woman whom I've known for nearly 50 years, but none of my current friends called. 3)I got locked in my 4 year old Lexus and had to crawl over the console to get out of the passenger side, then after I got it fixed, I backed into a concrete wall (nothing happened though), 4) I finally cleaned the outside of my microwave and after setting off all the touch buttons, it broke - moral: never clean things (I like that).

Yesterday, after spending many hours doing blog stuff, I decided to make several separate blogs, each focusing on one thing, but, is it a good idea to do that during Mercury Retrograde? Probably not. So, I will wait until June 20, when it goes direct again. The message for me is to slow down rather than going along with the impulse to speed up. Mercury, as messenger of the gods, brought information to human beings. As a god of trade, I think he is especially significant for the Internet, which is fast becoming the way people do business. More and more, people are finding ways to make money on the Internet. Honestly, though, I wonder just what it is they are selling. I find some blogs to have no content on them whatsoever.

This was moved from its original location at mysteryranch.blogspot.com

Sedna is Calling to Us

Back home from Denver and UAC. So filled with inspiration and information, it will take me awhile to digest it all. The talks that I was most affected by were by Melanie Reinhart, Demetra George, Steven Forrest, Baris Ilhan (from Turkey)and Donna Cunningham, among others. Not possible to have seen them all since there were over 270 sessions and many workshops and other activities. So incredible to be with thousands of astrologers for five days.

A talk by Barbara Schermer, on Sedna, a sea goddess, and her placement in the charts of environmentalists, was very interesting. Sedna's message: "act to save the planet or get ready to leave it". We should all be stewarding some aspect of nature. Transformation through water is a major theme of Sedna's story, as is the value of learning to save yourself rather than expecting anyone else to do it for you.

Throughout the entire conference, I heard no doom and gloom. I heard a lot of encouragement and hope. The final panel discussed their predictions regarding the next president, based on their reading of the charts of the candidates, election day and inauguration day. The complexity of the readings and the high level of the analytical skills of the panelists impressed me. I couldn't help by see how intelligent they are. I thought "how could anyone, even a scientist, walk in here and not acknowledge that these astrologers are serious scholars?"

There were wanna-be astrologers there, too, and their enthusiasm was infectious. People were totally turned on by the experience. As for me, I had healing moments, made "vows", met many new friends, and reconnected with friends made at other conferences.

I spent some quality time with Kim Marie from Evolutionary Astrology. I am looking forward to the upcoming segment "Health and Wellness" will take place in South Dakota in the late summer/early fall.

Mars Retrograde

I don't know about you, but what's happening for me is: 1)I'm having a real hard time finding a reason to do things. Right now I feel like nothing matters. This is partly the effect of the Pluto and Jupiter conjunction in Sagittarius , but also now, Mars retrograde is taking all the energy out of what I have found meaningful lately; 2)Not telling people off, but setting limits as to what they can say to me and how I want them to relate to me. This is due in part to Saturn crossing my Ascendant, but it is also about changing my definition of friendship (Mars is in my 11th house right now). I have felt that most of my friends have not treated me as an equal but rather as somehow inferior to them. I have allowed this by asking for their advice and seeking their approval. Now I don't care what they think or if they even want to talk to me again. I feel I have been "boot-licking" so they would like me. That's over. One of the marvelous things that is happening is a lot of synchronicity. I turn on the radio and they are doing a program on what I have been thinking about. A friend (yes, I still have some) will start talking about a book that seems to be "right up my alley". I've just started reading 2012: Return of Quetzalcoatl. Since I was working on a Ph.D. in Mayan Studies many years ago, I am particularly sensitive to all the hype about "the end of the world" stuff that people talk about in regards to this date. I will write more about this later. So far, the book is engaging and I'll let you know when I finish it. Also in Astrology Class the other night, the person whose chart we were reading was so much like me it was eerie. He talked about a book called Denial of Death by Ernest Becker, which was published in the 70's and seems to mirror many of my thoughts about society. I ordered it on-line and it should be here in a few days. It promises to be juicy.

Jupiter-Pluto Conjunction

The last time Jupiter and Pluto were in conjunction in Sagittarius was November 10, 1758. This time it will be on December 11, 2007 at 28º24'. On top of that, Mars is retrograde in Cancer going back into Gemini. To some of you this means something, to others it doesn't. For those of you who don't know and don't care, forget the following information. For those who know and those who want to know, I suggest you read Shelley L. Ackerman's article called "Great Balls of Fire! The Big Bang Jupiter-Pluto Conjunction of 2007", in The Mountain Astrologer, Dec/Jan 2008.
For a personal chart reading go to my website: www.wisewomenofthewest.com/. What this conjunction means to me is that the "chickens are coming home to roost" as my mother would say. It's a sort of "check-in" time or maybe a "check-out" time. It's report card time. I consider myself to be a Plutonian type. My Pluto is conjunct Saturn in the 12th house and my South Node is in Scorpio. That's one reason why even though my Sun is in "sunny" Gemini, I am an intense person who has had "an interesting life". I've done some things even men wouldn't do (sky dive) and I've had to do some things no one should have to do in the "land of the free". I am able to hold paradox within me. That is, while I am on a spiritual path of love, I acknowledge the shadow within myself and others. I am not an "air head" or a "light weight". I believe darkness exists and we can learn from it. Pretending or faking it doesn't work. We have some challenging days ahead. I do believe in the Law of Attraction and that what we focus on we manifest. Now that we've all been through countless workshops, meditated for years, or whatever else has floated our spiritual boat, it's time to make it real folks. Put it into practice. As Caroline Myss would say "have a backbone not a wishbone". When I was a child of 10, we practiced nuclear attack drills at school and learned about "smog". That was a long time ago. My generation never expected to grow up much less become seniors (as we are now). My friends and I talked about the end of the world a lot. My answer was (I was a mystic in the making), "Everything will be okay because peoples' minds will change, they will think differently. I don't know how or what, but I know it will happen." I didn't know the word consciousness then or about the 100th monkey thing or the collective unconscious.... But I did know that change would have to come at the level of consciousness and that it would come. Be the change you want to see. You'll see it when you believe it.