The Full Moon this month is on Sept.23, 6 hours after the Fall Equinox. It is said that times like these energetic gateways are opened. I call them portals.
At zero degrees Aries, it is the beginning point of the zodiac and thus is the start of a new cycle.
Just today, I scheduled my first Astrology class at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton. It will take place next (Spring) semester. I have been wanting to leap into teaching astrology and was invited to do so today. This is a new beginning for me and I look forward to it joyfully.
It turns out that the Sun on this Full Moon is only 2 degrees from the Super Galactic Center (SGC) at 2 degrees Libra around which our Milky Way Galaxy turns. Saturday, September 25, I will be teaching a class on the Galactic Center (GC) according to Mayan belief. When I scheduled the class, I did not 'know' we were at that point. So, a class on the GC just a couple of days after passing by the SGC! WOW talk about portals.
Although the Sun crosses the point of the SGC every year, it is extremely rare for this to coincide with a Full Moon and in connection with four outer planets.
Stephanie Austin says, "The SGC functions as a homing beacon, a transmission of stellar intelligence streaming across millions of light years, impelling us to embody the energies encoded in our birth charts."
It takes courage to do that and Aries is all about courage. Consensus reality controls us more that we would like to admit. Even our rebellion against it is conditioned by it. What would we do if we were truly free? If we had unlimited choice?
The work I am doing now, after the recent Evolutionary Astrology conference in Denver, includes identifying those hidden fears and beliefs that keep us from our best manifestation. Jeffrey Wolf Green says that nearly all of us are born with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to past life trauma or trauma experienced in the womb. The rest experience trauma some time in their early childhood years. This trauma serves both to condition us and to teach us. When acknowledged and processed, it can lead us to our greatest gifts. It is one of the factors that leads to evolution... the soul's purpose on Earth.
Another coincidence is that I am currently working on a chart reading for a person whose natal Sun is conjunct the Super Galactic Center. I likened his situation to that of a butterfly ready to leave the safety of the cocoon he has lived in for most of his life, spread his wings in the Sun and fly free and beautiful.
Stephanie Austin in her article in this month's The Mountain Astrologer (which I read after I received the image), quotes the Sabian symbol for this Full Moon: "In a collection of perfect specimens of many biological forms, a butterfly displays the beauty of its wings, its body impaled by a fine dart; the immortal archetypal reality that a perfect and dedicated life reveals." Well, I can do without the impaling part, but the rest is inspiring. In fact, impaling is part of what we need to shed at this time.
My client's birthday is September 26 and his life has been one of dedicated service to family and friends. He strives for beauty and harmony in all areas of his life.
There are so many indicators that this is the time for transformation for all of us. The Grand Cross we are all being affected by includes Jupiter/Uranus/Moon in Pisces/Aries on one corner, Sun/Saturn in Libra opposing, Pluto/North Node/Ceres in Capricorn squaring with South Node in Cancer opposing - 8 oppositions and 15 squares. Only the inner planets are not involved, although Mercury in Virgo trines Pluto and the North Node.
We are coming to the end of the Piscean Age, where we were taught to believe that we must suffer in order to grow, that being spiritually oriented meant we had to be poor and alone. Those days are over.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Full Moon in Pisces - August 24: The Darkest Hour is Just Before Dawn
As we approach the upcoming Full Moon in Pisces on August 24, I'd like to tell you about the astrology conference I went to last week in Denver, Colorado. Last time I was there in '08 was for the UAC conference. I guess it is a desirable place for conferences as it is situated in the heart of the U.S.
Sponsored by the Evolutionary Astrology Network, the theme was Astrology, Reincarnation and the Soul. Pretty deep stuff! And it was. The speakers were: Kim Marie, who spoke about The Shifting Reality of the Soul (Pluto and Saturn); Mark Jones, who spoke about Trauma and Healing (Uranus); and Patricia Walsh, who spoke about Understanding Karmic Complexes (Pluto and the Nodes). We learned about three sign/house combinations a day for four days.
The material, as you can guess from the titles, was both intense and transformative.
One night Patricia demonstrated her method of past life regression and working with past lives, known as Deep Memory Process/Regression Therapy created by Roger Woolger PhD. All of us were deeply affected by watching her work with the brave soul who volunteered. Some were so triggered by it that they had to leave the room. Many were crying. It stayed with us throughout the conference.
Mark Jones spoke about the Aquarius/11th house/Uranus relationship to Trauma that Jeffrey Wolf Green brought through in his Pluto: The Evolutionary Journey of the Soul books I and II published in the '80s, and in his many workshops and seminars.
JWG said that 85% of the population is born with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome due to past life trauma, trauma in utero or at the time of birth. This is reflected in the astrological chart by Aquarius/11th house/Uranus and planets in hard aspect to these archetypes.
This is a radical idea but can be explained briefly like this. Society (Saturn) seeks stability and security for its members. In general, change is seen as disruptive, so there is a desire to restrict change. At the same time, the souls of the individuals living in a society seek evolution. If there is no way for people to grow and evolve, or if the natural impulse is constrained or restricted, there will be a build up of pressure leading to revolution. In a sense, revolution leads to evolution.
The same thing occurs at all levels from the individual to the collective. Evolution is the natural impulse and it either occurs at a slow but constant rate, like growth of a plant, or it occurs suddenly and precipitously and is interpreted as a crisis. Crisis - sudden radical action forces change. This can cause trauma to the psyche.
Another way of looking at it is that if we refuse to 'do our soul's work' something in our life will happen to 'force' us to do it or die.
Other sources of trauma include war, natural disaster, violent death, etc. These things leave resonances in the soul and are re-experienced in the current life.
Traumas that occur in the current life get replayed and thus re-experienced, in the mind and can affect us in all areas of our life. They, in effect, create 'buttons' that can be triggered in any number of ways.
Uranus is associated with long term memory and includes memory stored in the soul over lifetimes.
I was so intrigued by Mark's teaching that I had a reading from him the day of departure. I have had many astrological readings by numerous people over the years. Since I have been a student of astrology for nearly 40 years in addition to doing readings for other people myself, I have studied my own chart a lot. Mark's reading explained the core challenge of my life. It totally shook me up. His words touched me deeply. No reading or interpretation of my chart has ever had such a profound effect on me.
I'm sure you have had people say 'you have to get out of your own way'. What does that mean? Or - 'you always sabotage yourself.' Great! But how? Why? What can I do about it?
Sometimes others see the effect that trauma has had on us, but cannot help us understand what the trauma was, nor how to heal it.
Looking for the 'trauma signature' in a chart, if there is one (and remember 85% of people are born with PTSD according to this method), we can begin the process of deep healing.
This brings me back to the upcoming Full Moon in Pisces.
Jesus brought in the Piscean Age. The Pisces/Virgo axis has to do with victim/perpetrator consciousness. Through lifetimes, we have been on one side or the other.
When we look around at the world today, we see both. On one level, there is an incredible amount of suffering going on. The daily news is full of catastrophes, wars, disasters etc. All these victims, all these perpetrators. It's constant.
At a higher level, there is no trauma. This is all illusion, since it has to do with life on the planet, and not the soul level.
Have you ever heard the expression, 'the darkest hour is just before dawn'? We are on the verge of the Aquarian Age. The paradigms are about to shift radically. New archetypes are manifesting. But just in case you didn't get the message about 'victim consciousness,' the gods want to give everyone one last chance to experience it. This is the message I get from all that is happening.
If you wish to stay in victim consciousness there is ample opportunity. But if you are ready to ascend to the next level of evolution, you can. Understand that there is a higher purpose for the Earth and all life on it.
As Caroline Casey says.... the gods are conspiring...that is, breathing with us.
Mercury went retrograde yesterday in Virgo - another player in the victim/perpetrator game. When your computer breaks down, resist the impulse to feel victimized by technology. Instead, go outside and feel the Earth beneath your feet and thank Mercury for 'forcing' you to take a walk!
See the opportunity rather than the restriction.
I am thinking a lot these days about Nelson Mandela. Imagine a man in prison for 27 years who was released and later became President of his country! What if he had been swallowed up in anger and self-pity about his circumstances? What if he had 'believed' that his life was over? At the same time, how could he possibly know the outcome of his life? What sustained him through all those years of imprisonment? Then ask yourself what you would do in similar circumstances.
To assist you in doing your 'Pluto work,' I have developed a set of flower essence blends called: 'Pluto Through the Houses.' A blend of flower and other essences deliciously flavored with Pomegranate and Hazelnut liqueurs (to make the medicine go down easier) formulated to work with the issues of each house. See the picture in the sidebar.
You may want to work with your natal house placement of Pluto, the house it is currently transiting, or both.
There is also an Aroma-essence Spray which includes the Pluto Blend I developed scented with essential oils to use as an environmental enhancer or cologne.
If you decide to sign up for the correspondence course offered through the Evolutionary Astrology Network (Kim Marie's link) please mention my name so I will get a commission.
Sponsored by the Evolutionary Astrology Network, the theme was Astrology, Reincarnation and the Soul. Pretty deep stuff! And it was. The speakers were: Kim Marie, who spoke about The Shifting Reality of the Soul (Pluto and Saturn); Mark Jones, who spoke about Trauma and Healing (Uranus); and Patricia Walsh, who spoke about Understanding Karmic Complexes (Pluto and the Nodes). We learned about three sign/house combinations a day for four days.
The material, as you can guess from the titles, was both intense and transformative.
One night Patricia demonstrated her method of past life regression and working with past lives, known as Deep Memory Process/Regression Therapy created by Roger Woolger PhD. All of us were deeply affected by watching her work with the brave soul who volunteered. Some were so triggered by it that they had to leave the room. Many were crying. It stayed with us throughout the conference.
Mark Jones spoke about the Aquarius/11th house/Uranus relationship to Trauma that Jeffrey Wolf Green brought through in his Pluto: The Evolutionary Journey of the Soul books I and II published in the '80s, and in his many workshops and seminars.
JWG said that 85% of the population is born with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome due to past life trauma, trauma in utero or at the time of birth. This is reflected in the astrological chart by Aquarius/11th house/Uranus and planets in hard aspect to these archetypes.
This is a radical idea but can be explained briefly like this. Society (Saturn) seeks stability and security for its members. In general, change is seen as disruptive, so there is a desire to restrict change. At the same time, the souls of the individuals living in a society seek evolution. If there is no way for people to grow and evolve, or if the natural impulse is constrained or restricted, there will be a build up of pressure leading to revolution. In a sense, revolution leads to evolution.
The same thing occurs at all levels from the individual to the collective. Evolution is the natural impulse and it either occurs at a slow but constant rate, like growth of a plant, or it occurs suddenly and precipitously and is interpreted as a crisis. Crisis - sudden radical action forces change. This can cause trauma to the psyche.
Another way of looking at it is that if we refuse to 'do our soul's work' something in our life will happen to 'force' us to do it or die.
Other sources of trauma include war, natural disaster, violent death, etc. These things leave resonances in the soul and are re-experienced in the current life.
Traumas that occur in the current life get replayed and thus re-experienced, in the mind and can affect us in all areas of our life. They, in effect, create 'buttons' that can be triggered in any number of ways.
Uranus is associated with long term memory and includes memory stored in the soul over lifetimes.
I was so intrigued by Mark's teaching that I had a reading from him the day of departure. I have had many astrological readings by numerous people over the years. Since I have been a student of astrology for nearly 40 years in addition to doing readings for other people myself, I have studied my own chart a lot. Mark's reading explained the core challenge of my life. It totally shook me up. His words touched me deeply. No reading or interpretation of my chart has ever had such a profound effect on me.
I'm sure you have had people say 'you have to get out of your own way'. What does that mean? Or - 'you always sabotage yourself.' Great! But how? Why? What can I do about it?
Sometimes others see the effect that trauma has had on us, but cannot help us understand what the trauma was, nor how to heal it.
Looking for the 'trauma signature' in a chart, if there is one (and remember 85% of people are born with PTSD according to this method), we can begin the process of deep healing.
This brings me back to the upcoming Full Moon in Pisces.
Jesus brought in the Piscean Age. The Pisces/Virgo axis has to do with victim/perpetrator consciousness. Through lifetimes, we have been on one side or the other.
When we look around at the world today, we see both. On one level, there is an incredible amount of suffering going on. The daily news is full of catastrophes, wars, disasters etc. All these victims, all these perpetrators. It's constant.
At a higher level, there is no trauma. This is all illusion, since it has to do with life on the planet, and not the soul level.
Have you ever heard the expression, 'the darkest hour is just before dawn'? We are on the verge of the Aquarian Age. The paradigms are about to shift radically. New archetypes are manifesting. But just in case you didn't get the message about 'victim consciousness,' the gods want to give everyone one last chance to experience it. This is the message I get from all that is happening.
If you wish to stay in victim consciousness there is ample opportunity. But if you are ready to ascend to the next level of evolution, you can. Understand that there is a higher purpose for the Earth and all life on it.
As Caroline Casey says.... the gods are conspiring...that is, breathing with us.
Mercury went retrograde yesterday in Virgo - another player in the victim/perpetrator game. When your computer breaks down, resist the impulse to feel victimized by technology. Instead, go outside and feel the Earth beneath your feet and thank Mercury for 'forcing' you to take a walk!
See the opportunity rather than the restriction.
I am thinking a lot these days about Nelson Mandela. Imagine a man in prison for 27 years who was released and later became President of his country! What if he had been swallowed up in anger and self-pity about his circumstances? What if he had 'believed' that his life was over? At the same time, how could he possibly know the outcome of his life? What sustained him through all those years of imprisonment? Then ask yourself what you would do in similar circumstances.
To assist you in doing your 'Pluto work,' I have developed a set of flower essence blends called: 'Pluto Through the Houses.' A blend of flower and other essences deliciously flavored with Pomegranate and Hazelnut liqueurs (to make the medicine go down easier) formulated to work with the issues of each house. See the picture in the sidebar.
You may want to work with your natal house placement of Pluto, the house it is currently transiting, or both.
There is also an Aroma-essence Spray which includes the Pluto Blend I developed scented with essential oils to use as an environmental enhancer or cologne.
If you decide to sign up for the correspondence course offered through the Evolutionary Astrology Network (Kim Marie's link) please mention my name so I will get a commission.
Friday, June 11, 2010
New Moon in Gemini - June 12, 2010
Tomorrow is the New Moon in Gemini and according to Stephanie Austin in The Mountain Astrologer, relates to how we "receive, perceive and exchange information at every level of our being."
A New Moon is actually a conjunction of the Sun and Moon and represents both the completion of one lunar cycle and the beginning of the next. So we might take a few moments to notice what might be ending and what wants to be born.
A square to Saturn in Virgo may serve to anchor and ground creative thoughts brought in with this New Moon in Gemini, so that they do not blow away in the whirlwind.
Austin suggests that if we are confused, we need more information. For those of us who have a lot of Mercury, Gemini or third house energy, and thus might already feel overwhelmed with information, it might be more useful to use the square to Saturn in Virgo as an opportunity to organize and classify this information so that it is more available. Kind of like going through your files, throwing out what is out of date and organizing the rest for easy access.
I have Sun and Uranus in Gemini and this New Moon will be within orb of a conjunction to Uranus. I also have Virgo rising and South Node and Chiron in the third house. I have been collecting information all my life. Sometimes I feel like a library.
Another feature of Gemini is state of mind and perception. While I admit that I am feeling confused these days, getting more information does not feel like the right thing for me to do.
Instead, I am taking my lead from the Tarot card I drew yesterday....The Hanged Man. One of the interpretations for this card is that one needs to change their perspective. This makes a lot of sense to me.
Sometimes we cannot change our physical circumstances, but we can change our thoughts about them. Last year at this time I had a broken ankle and could not get out of my house without assistance. I was not able to
drive and was dependent on others to bring my groceries and do my laundry. As strange as it might sound, I found myself wishing I had that 'excuse' for not doing anything right now. I truly want to do nothing, because I feel unable to figure out what to do, but feel I can't justify that. Last year, I could not do anything and so was off the hook with a legitimate excuse. While it took a few days to accept my situation, I had to.
I surrendered to my powerlessness and began to find satisfaction is very small things. My power came when I saw how resilient and resourceful I am. I began to appreciate my inner resources. I had plenty of books and craft projects around to keep me busy. I produced a Powerpoint slide show of over 200 slides that I now use in my classes on Mayan Hieroglyphs. I did a lot of research and organized it into the classes I now teach.
I was immobilized physically, but my creativity was working just fine.
Because of the recent entry of Uranus and Jupiter in Aries, we may feel the need to act. In fact, we may be jumping with energy and the push to 'do' something. But action without forethought often causes disaster, so slow down during this New Moon, think, plan and prepare, so that you can act effectively in the next few months.
We need everyone to be as effective as possible in the next few months and years. No more rash action. Stop and think.
For those of you who could use some more information, this is a great time to get it. Open yourself to the energy streaming in from the conjunction of the two lights in Gemini.
A New Moon is actually a conjunction of the Sun and Moon and represents both the completion of one lunar cycle and the beginning of the next. So we might take a few moments to notice what might be ending and what wants to be born.
A square to Saturn in Virgo may serve to anchor and ground creative thoughts brought in with this New Moon in Gemini, so that they do not blow away in the whirlwind.
Austin suggests that if we are confused, we need more information. For those of us who have a lot of Mercury, Gemini or third house energy, and thus might already feel overwhelmed with information, it might be more useful to use the square to Saturn in Virgo as an opportunity to organize and classify this information so that it is more available. Kind of like going through your files, throwing out what is out of date and organizing the rest for easy access.
I have Sun and Uranus in Gemini and this New Moon will be within orb of a conjunction to Uranus. I also have Virgo rising and South Node and Chiron in the third house. I have been collecting information all my life. Sometimes I feel like a library.
Another feature of Gemini is state of mind and perception. While I admit that I am feeling confused these days, getting more information does not feel like the right thing for me to do.
Instead, I am taking my lead from the Tarot card I drew yesterday....The Hanged Man. One of the interpretations for this card is that one needs to change their perspective. This makes a lot of sense to me.
Sometimes we cannot change our physical circumstances, but we can change our thoughts about them. Last year at this time I had a broken ankle and could not get out of my house without assistance. I was not able to
drive and was dependent on others to bring my groceries and do my laundry. As strange as it might sound, I found myself wishing I had that 'excuse' for not doing anything right now. I truly want to do nothing, because I feel unable to figure out what to do, but feel I can't justify that. Last year, I could not do anything and so was off the hook with a legitimate excuse. While it took a few days to accept my situation, I had to.
I surrendered to my powerlessness and began to find satisfaction is very small things. My power came when I saw how resilient and resourceful I am. I began to appreciate my inner resources. I had plenty of books and craft projects around to keep me busy. I produced a Powerpoint slide show of over 200 slides that I now use in my classes on Mayan Hieroglyphs. I did a lot of research and organized it into the classes I now teach.
I was immobilized physically, but my creativity was working just fine.
Because of the recent entry of Uranus and Jupiter in Aries, we may feel the need to act. In fact, we may be jumping with energy and the push to 'do' something. But action without forethought often causes disaster, so slow down during this New Moon, think, plan and prepare, so that you can act effectively in the next few months.
We need everyone to be as effective as possible in the next few months and years. No more rash action. Stop and think.
For those of you who could use some more information, this is a great time to get it. Open yourself to the energy streaming in from the conjunction of the two lights in Gemini.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Scorpio Full Moon - April 28, 2010
Once again we approach a Full Moon. I don't know about you but things seem to be moving faster all the time. Sometimes it feels like every day is a Full Moon in terms of intensity and the amount and rate of change that is occurring.
Perhaps I am feeling the coming of this next Full Moon more intensely because it will be conjunct my South Node and my natal Chiron. Which, of course, means the Sun will be conjunct my North Node, which is great!
I certainly have been having many opportunities to relive, review and heal past traumas both internally and in my relationships.
This is one of the keys to developing our consciousness. Rather than seeing these upswellings of the past as 'bad memories' to be forgotten... see them as toxins rising to the surface to be released and exhaled out of your being.
When we acknowledge them, recognize them and see how they have affected us as objectively as possible, then do something different, we experience miracles.
We need to feel, not numb out. The reason past traumas stay inside us is because we are not willing to feel their pain. We put off feeling it as long as we can, but it doesn't go away. Once we are present to the pain, it goes away. It's kind of like monsters in a dream. If we run, they will chase us forever. When we turn and face them, they vanish in thin air, never to return. Many people develop illness because they are unwilling to experience emotional pain. Instead, they experience it as physical pain.
With the Sun in Taurus and the Moon in Scorpio, which both relate to security issues such as food and money, many of us are feeling a lot of fear about the future. On Earth Day, KPFA had many special programs about the effects of climate change. One of the issues that directly affects all of us is FOOD. So used to having food easily available at the local supermarket (even if we don't have the money to buy it), we tend to take it for granted. We know it is there. But at some point, the changing climate will affect crops. It already has in some areas of the world.
Yesterday I had a booth selling my herbal products at the Harvest for the Hungry Plant Sale. (See my herb blog) Next to me was a woman selling plants including berry and grape vines. She was also promoting IGrow and the upcoming 350 event. I think she was dismayed at how many people had no idea what 350 referred to - especially since we were in the part of town where more affluent and educated people live and they were there to buy vegetable starts for their gardens. I heard her explaining it all day. By contrast, I didn't have to explain 2012 once (I make and sell a flower essence blend called 2012 - see my 2012 blog)
When no one was there, I asked her if she really thought we could do something about it in time. She admitted that while she thought it was probably impossible, one still had to try, "What else can you do?"
I agree, working toward a sustainable future is the only game in town. As I have seen with energy work, intention is possibly the most important element in the process. The mere act of setting intention, which focuses one's attention in a particular direction, propels you halfway there.
Taurus, although ruled by Venus, is more closely associated with Earth and there are some astrologers who suggest we should change the rulership. One thing about Taurus is that it is slow and steady - sometimes boring in its adherence to patterns and routines. Let us not get bogged down with this idea of slowness when it comes to change, however.
While the forces that create earthquakes and volcanoes take time to build up, once they have arrived at a particular threshold, the shaking and explosions are felt quickly in the moment. Drip drip drip in the bucket until it overflows all at once.
There are those who say that the climate change we are now experiencing began with the first agriculture several thousand years ago, because it made it possible to sustain more people. This is the major cause of climate change - overpopulation. Many of the inventions that create pollution came as necessary developments when managing the growing population.
I hate to say it folks, but sustainable means small not mega. In our own lives, we see that while our imaginations may make anything possible, the restraints of time and energy means that little actually gets done.
In my house, I have enough cross-stitch patterns to keep dozens of people busy all day for their entire lifetime, yet when I was into it, I kept acquiring more. Now, while I rarely touch cross-stitch, I still can't part with my patterns because "maybe someday I will get to them." Yeah, right. Probably not in this lifetime. Not unless I stop doing all the other things I do, or I figure out a way to do it while I am online.
Yesterday at the sale, I spoke with other vendors about how difficult it is to set up and take down shows. We all need to have more venues to make more money, but our backs could not take anymore lifting. The limits of the body are real (at least on this level).
So too, are the limits of the Earth's carrying capacity. Scientists like Michio Kaku say we have always had massive earthquakes. The difference today is 1) our communication systems allow us to hear about them and 2) people live in densely populated areas and so there is more loss of life and destruction of property. Tremendous explosions of volcanoes which have destroyed whole cities have always been part of Earth's history (remember Pompeii?). The difference is that cities are now larger than ever and there is little space between them.
The "San Francisco Bay Area" stretches from the northern border of the state of California to the southern. (Some would prefer to call it LA.) There are few areas of the coast of California that are uninhabited. Certainly there are no areas where humans have not affected the environment in one way or another.
Taurus deals with personal resources and Scorpio with shared resources. We are under the illusion that there is a difference. In astrology an axis - say between the 2nd and 8th house does not so much deal with differences as with perspectives on the same issue. As Above So Below... a matter of perspective and focus... the inner and the outer...So our personal resources are related to collective resources.
We need to begin to identify our inner resources and to bring them out into the collective. I refer to such things as our "character" a seldom-used term in the modern world. Who we are as people. What kind of people we are. Rather than what we do or what we have.
Anyone who has been in a crisis where they had to live in a shelter or on a lifeboat or something like that.. knows that that type of situation (where no one has anything) can bring out the best and the worst in people. In the next few years, earth changes will show us all that we have always been living in a lifeboat and that we have soiled our own nest.
What we do about it now will reveal who we really are as individuals and as a species. Some will get busy and clean, others will complain and blame, still others will just go to sleep. Which one will you be?
It is time to assess your inner resources. Not just how much money you have because what is needed now money cannot buy. In fact, money and stuff might cloud your judgement since it will provide you with a false sense of security.
Being prepared now does not mean stock-piling canned goods and batteries, for they, too, will eventually run out. Being prepared now means being calm and still like the Buddha while events swirl around one. Finding the center of the storm and abiding there.
In her article on this month's Full Moon in Scorpio in The Mountain Astrologer, Stephanie Austin quotes the Sabian symbols: Sun at 9 degrees Taurus: "A fully decorated Christmas tree; the ability to create inner happiness in dark hours" and Moon at 9 degrees Scorpio: "A dentist at work; overcoming the negative results of social practices and ego-cravings." She encourages us to release the fears that are holding us back.
I would add that we need to stop worrying what others think of us. As a friend once said to me over and over, "you wouldn't worry as much about what others think if you knew how little they think at all." Unfortunately, true. Most people are "asleep at the switch" as my mother would have said. For those of us who strive to be awake, this means that we can accomplish much, since no one is really paying attention. No one is at the controls of the "machine." Intention, focus and energy will accomplish much toward the Shift that we are seeking.
Perhaps I am feeling the coming of this next Full Moon more intensely because it will be conjunct my South Node and my natal Chiron. Which, of course, means the Sun will be conjunct my North Node, which is great!
I certainly have been having many opportunities to relive, review and heal past traumas both internally and in my relationships.
This is one of the keys to developing our consciousness. Rather than seeing these upswellings of the past as 'bad memories' to be forgotten... see them as toxins rising to the surface to be released and exhaled out of your being.
When we acknowledge them, recognize them and see how they have affected us as objectively as possible, then do something different, we experience miracles.
We need to feel, not numb out. The reason past traumas stay inside us is because we are not willing to feel their pain. We put off feeling it as long as we can, but it doesn't go away. Once we are present to the pain, it goes away. It's kind of like monsters in a dream. If we run, they will chase us forever. When we turn and face them, they vanish in thin air, never to return. Many people develop illness because they are unwilling to experience emotional pain. Instead, they experience it as physical pain.
With the Sun in Taurus and the Moon in Scorpio, which both relate to security issues such as food and money, many of us are feeling a lot of fear about the future. On Earth Day, KPFA had many special programs about the effects of climate change. One of the issues that directly affects all of us is FOOD. So used to having food easily available at the local supermarket (even if we don't have the money to buy it), we tend to take it for granted. We know it is there. But at some point, the changing climate will affect crops. It already has in some areas of the world.
Yesterday I had a booth selling my herbal products at the Harvest for the Hungry Plant Sale. (See my herb blog) Next to me was a woman selling plants including berry and grape vines. She was also promoting IGrow and the upcoming 350 event. I think she was dismayed at how many people had no idea what 350 referred to - especially since we were in the part of town where more affluent and educated people live and they were there to buy vegetable starts for their gardens. I heard her explaining it all day. By contrast, I didn't have to explain 2012 once (I make and sell a flower essence blend called 2012 - see my 2012 blog)
When no one was there, I asked her if she really thought we could do something about it in time. She admitted that while she thought it was probably impossible, one still had to try, "What else can you do?"
I agree, working toward a sustainable future is the only game in town. As I have seen with energy work, intention is possibly the most important element in the process. The mere act of setting intention, which focuses one's attention in a particular direction, propels you halfway there.
Taurus, although ruled by Venus, is more closely associated with Earth and there are some astrologers who suggest we should change the rulership. One thing about Taurus is that it is slow and steady - sometimes boring in its adherence to patterns and routines. Let us not get bogged down with this idea of slowness when it comes to change, however.
While the forces that create earthquakes and volcanoes take time to build up, once they have arrived at a particular threshold, the shaking and explosions are felt quickly in the moment. Drip drip drip in the bucket until it overflows all at once.
There are those who say that the climate change we are now experiencing began with the first agriculture several thousand years ago, because it made it possible to sustain more people. This is the major cause of climate change - overpopulation. Many of the inventions that create pollution came as necessary developments when managing the growing population.
I hate to say it folks, but sustainable means small not mega. In our own lives, we see that while our imaginations may make anything possible, the restraints of time and energy means that little actually gets done.
In my house, I have enough cross-stitch patterns to keep dozens of people busy all day for their entire lifetime, yet when I was into it, I kept acquiring more. Now, while I rarely touch cross-stitch, I still can't part with my patterns because "maybe someday I will get to them." Yeah, right. Probably not in this lifetime. Not unless I stop doing all the other things I do, or I figure out a way to do it while I am online.
Yesterday at the sale, I spoke with other vendors about how difficult it is to set up and take down shows. We all need to have more venues to make more money, but our backs could not take anymore lifting. The limits of the body are real (at least on this level).
So too, are the limits of the Earth's carrying capacity. Scientists like Michio Kaku say we have always had massive earthquakes. The difference today is 1) our communication systems allow us to hear about them and 2) people live in densely populated areas and so there is more loss of life and destruction of property. Tremendous explosions of volcanoes which have destroyed whole cities have always been part of Earth's history (remember Pompeii?). The difference is that cities are now larger than ever and there is little space between them.
The "San Francisco Bay Area" stretches from the northern border of the state of California to the southern. (Some would prefer to call it LA.) There are few areas of the coast of California that are uninhabited. Certainly there are no areas where humans have not affected the environment in one way or another.
Taurus deals with personal resources and Scorpio with shared resources. We are under the illusion that there is a difference. In astrology an axis - say between the 2nd and 8th house does not so much deal with differences as with perspectives on the same issue. As Above So Below... a matter of perspective and focus... the inner and the outer...So our personal resources are related to collective resources.
We need to begin to identify our inner resources and to bring them out into the collective. I refer to such things as our "character" a seldom-used term in the modern world. Who we are as people. What kind of people we are. Rather than what we do or what we have.
Anyone who has been in a crisis where they had to live in a shelter or on a lifeboat or something like that.. knows that that type of situation (where no one has anything) can bring out the best and the worst in people. In the next few years, earth changes will show us all that we have always been living in a lifeboat and that we have soiled our own nest.
What we do about it now will reveal who we really are as individuals and as a species. Some will get busy and clean, others will complain and blame, still others will just go to sleep. Which one will you be?
It is time to assess your inner resources. Not just how much money you have because what is needed now money cannot buy. In fact, money and stuff might cloud your judgement since it will provide you with a false sense of security.
Being prepared now does not mean stock-piling canned goods and batteries, for they, too, will eventually run out. Being prepared now means being calm and still like the Buddha while events swirl around one. Finding the center of the storm and abiding there.
In her article on this month's Full Moon in Scorpio in The Mountain Astrologer, Stephanie Austin quotes the Sabian symbols: Sun at 9 degrees Taurus: "A fully decorated Christmas tree; the ability to create inner happiness in dark hours" and Moon at 9 degrees Scorpio: "A dentist at work; overcoming the negative results of social practices and ego-cravings." She encourages us to release the fears that are holding us back.
I would add that we need to stop worrying what others think of us. As a friend once said to me over and over, "you wouldn't worry as much about what others think if you knew how little they think at all." Unfortunately, true. Most people are "asleep at the switch" as my mother would have said. For those of us who strive to be awake, this means that we can accomplish much, since no one is really paying attention. No one is at the controls of the "machine." Intention, focus and energy will accomplish much toward the Shift that we are seeking.
Monday, March 1, 2010
The Value of Progressed Charts
Do you ever feel that the reading of your natal chart does not relate to who you are? Do you feel that you have been going through a lot of changes, yet the astrologers don't seem to see it?
Your progressed chart may be significantly different from your natal chart. Looking at the progressions throughout your life may reveal long periods of retrogrades, which include the stationary periods as well.
For example, during my lifetime, both Venus and Mercury went retrograde then direct. Neptune and Chiron, both retrograde in my natal chart, went direct. Each of these events signalled significant changes in my life.
I think it would really be helpful to parents who get their child's natal chart done at birth, to also get the progressions for the first 18 years or so. All you need is an ephemeris and you can do this yourself.
Also when a planet changes sign or house by progression, you may experience it intensely. When my progressed Sun went into Leo, I definitely felt it. But then, a couple of years later, it progressed into the 12th house. It was like putting the Sun in a dark dungeon. I felt that too.
Meanwhile, my natal Sun was still in Gemini in the 10th house.
It it also useful to compare your progressed chart to your natal chart. Aspects between planets in this biwheel chart reveal opportunities and timing for actions.
The year my progressed Moon transited my 8th house, my mother suddenly died. It was especially difficult because for nearly a year before her death, we fought a lot. Due to the dynamics of my childhood, I did not have a "teenage rebellion". In fact, I did everything I could not to start trouble in the home. Of course, things were a lot different then than now - children did not have the power they do now.
It was as strange to me as it was to her that we were constantly at each other's throat. It was as if I were having my teenage rebellion at 57! Hard to bear for both of us. Part of it was that my progressed Sun had gone into Leo and so I was 'braver' and had a stronger sense of self than I had been for the 30 years prior when I had been a progressed Cancer. In addition, my progressed Moon was in the 8th house, the sign of the Mother in the house of death...
So, in order to get the most of a reading, get your progressed chart done too.
Your progressed chart may be significantly different from your natal chart. Looking at the progressions throughout your life may reveal long periods of retrogrades, which include the stationary periods as well.
For example, during my lifetime, both Venus and Mercury went retrograde then direct. Neptune and Chiron, both retrograde in my natal chart, went direct. Each of these events signalled significant changes in my life.
I think it would really be helpful to parents who get their child's natal chart done at birth, to also get the progressions for the first 18 years or so. All you need is an ephemeris and you can do this yourself.
Also when a planet changes sign or house by progression, you may experience it intensely. When my progressed Sun went into Leo, I definitely felt it. But then, a couple of years later, it progressed into the 12th house. It was like putting the Sun in a dark dungeon. I felt that too.
Meanwhile, my natal Sun was still in Gemini in the 10th house.
It it also useful to compare your progressed chart to your natal chart. Aspects between planets in this biwheel chart reveal opportunities and timing for actions.
The year my progressed Moon transited my 8th house, my mother suddenly died. It was especially difficult because for nearly a year before her death, we fought a lot. Due to the dynamics of my childhood, I did not have a "teenage rebellion". In fact, I did everything I could not to start trouble in the home. Of course, things were a lot different then than now - children did not have the power they do now.
It was as strange to me as it was to her that we were constantly at each other's throat. It was as if I were having my teenage rebellion at 57! Hard to bear for both of us. Part of it was that my progressed Sun had gone into Leo and so I was 'braver' and had a stronger sense of self than I had been for the 30 years prior when I had been a progressed Cancer. In addition, my progressed Moon was in the 8th house, the sign of the Mother in the house of death...
So, in order to get the most of a reading, get your progressed chart done too.
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