Saturday, July 30, 2011

New Moon in Leo - July 30, 2011

Once again we are in the time of the New Moon - a time of new beginnings. With things changing as rapidly as they are, some of us are not necessarily wanting anything new...Let's just keep what we have for awhile!

Yet, this New Moon in Leo conjunct Venus, trine Uranus - combines Creativity and Love with Values. Innovation and Courage to put our Creations out into the world. We have the energy now to create what we love and care most about. Take some time to think about what is most important to you, but don't just think about it - DO SOMETHING!!!

For me, one flower can brighten my day, or the sound of a certain bird that only sings early in the morning and at dusk and only during the early Summer. I don't know where that bird goes the rest of the year, but it is only here at these specific times.

I know this because I have lived in the same house now for 17 years and am finally becoming familiar with the beings I share this land with. Recently I have been thinking about selling my house, using to money to
improve my daily life. But then I heard that bird. I knew that I would lose that if I moved into town. What is the value of that bird song to me? It soothes my heart, brightens my soul. Priceless.

Can I create what I need right here so that I don't have to move? This New Moon in Leo conjunct Venus challenges us to find ways to create what we love and value. If not now, when? We have nothing to lose. we need to just go for it.

Today it seems that we base our self worth on not who we are but what we have..how much money, how much stuff. we feel we are failures if we have not 'succeeded' in achieving financial stability or wealth. With all that is occurring with the economy these days, there are few who are 'successful' or stay that way for long. Even those who once had it all are losing it.

The challenge is to not take it personally....one way or the other. We forget that 'we' are a drop in the ocean.. no better or worse than any other drop.

Often our success or failure depends on the decision of another person over whom we have no control. We get the fantastic job or we get laid off and our lives are affected deeply. We think we 'did' something.

The shadow of Leo is taking credit for everything. Thinking we are all powerful and that we are entitled to special treatment. The Pluto in Leo generation, now seniors, is really having a hard time with this. Some of us think that we deserve to have it all even if we did not put in the effort to have it. I am so grateful for the social security check I get each month. I marvel at it really. At the same time, I look at my circumstances and ask myself "How did this happen?" It's like I woke up one day shocked at my situation.

For me, this is the 'proof' of karma. There is no other explanation. Our past lives DO affect our present.
However, I have also found that any work done in the present to heal the past, has repercussions forward and backward in time. We heal not only our present life, but all that has come before and all that will follow.

The healing occurs in an instant. The work to facilitate that healing can take years. And yet it is worth it.

In September I will begin the training in Deep Memory Process (DMP) created by Roger Woolger, facilitated by Patricia Walsh. I have sacrificed a lot to be able to do this training.

Right now I am searching for ways to pay for the airline ticket. I have paid for the training in New York and need to fly there in one month. As of this moment, I don't have the money for the ticket.

Some would say this is an extravagance I cannot afford. I have prayed and meditated over it and I am certain that I am called to do this work. My entire life has been leading me to this. Like all pilgrimages, there are
challenges and dangers. I was recently diagnosed with Lyme Disease and am currently in treatment for it. I was experiencing the worst pain of my life. I knew it was part of the shamanic healing process and that it is 'now or never'. I must heal my past life traumas. I must finally deal with my issues so that I am totally available to help others through these difficult times.

More and more people are coming to me for answers. My astrology and flower essence practice is growing. I cannot afford NOT to go to this training.

I am seeking donations for my airline ticket.If you are wiling to donate, go to Paypal, enter my email address and give a personal gift. Any amount would be appreciated. I must raise around $800.00 in a week. I trust Spirit to take care of it for me.

I love this quote from Clarissa Pinkola Estes taken from the Mountain Astrologer, June/July 2011 issue:
"One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these--to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity."

Priceless!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Capricorn Full Moon July 14/15, 2011

Capricorn, ruled by Saturn represents slow, deliberate and planned action. Representing paternal energy and naturally opposed to maternal - Cancer...this Full Moon is a sort of reversal. That is, the Moon (ruler of Cancer/mother) is in Capricorn, whereas the Sun (another 'male' symbol) is in Cancer.
No wonder we are confused!

In Evolutionary Astrology, this axis is featured in gender shifts... the idea being that through time we will all experience both the genders so as to achieve balance.

While I long awaited the summer light and heat after what seemed like an endless wet and cold winter under the redwoods, I find myself so lethargic I can't get anything done. I see myself lying on a beach chair next to a swimming pool, with an umbrella'd bright pink cocktail on the low lying table beside me. I know some people actually get to do that. Not a care in the world.

Capricorn also represent authority. Who has the authority in your life? The word authority contains the word 'author'. So we can say it this way - who is the author of your life story? You or someone else? The shadow side of Capricorn is domination and control.

By contrast, the other side of the axis, also highlighted in this Full Moon, is Cancer. Cancer is a relational sign dealing with home and family ties, nurturing. The shadow side of Cancer is over-dependence on others and blaming others for the failures in your life.

Do we give others credit for our successes? We tend to think we succeed by our efforts alone, but others ruin us. Interesting. We need to work on balance. Realizing our connections to others and how we need each other, but also taking responsibility for our actions and have the courage to act alone when appropriate.

The Capricorn/Cancer axis truly reflects the relationship between outer and inner worlds. Our life in the world - career (10th house Capricorn) and our inner life - home (4th house Cancer). With the Sun in Cancer and the Moon in Capricorn, this theme is highlighted.

In this culture (a Cancerian word) we tend to be oriented to the outer - who we are in the world, how others see us, what we do, etc., but this reversal - Moon in Capricorn/Sun in Cancer might be a good time to see that they are connected. One reflects the other. 'Right livelihood' is grounded in a healthy relationship to one's inner nature.

For too long, we have been encouraged to 'leave our feelings at home' when we go to work. This allows people to do inhuman things while on the job. We are seeing the effects of that all around us. I have often asked myself,  "Don't the guys who manufacture weapons ever wonder if their own children will be harmed by them? Don't the polluters of water and air think they will get cancer? Do they think their money and profits will save them?" The excuse: "I was only following order" is no excuse anymore. When I was a child and told my mother I wanted what other kids at school had. I wanted to fit in. She would always say,"If they jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge, would you want to do it too?" This is another way of saying, "I was only following orders."

Who's is in charge here? Isn't this YOUR life?

More and more we know that our world is interconnected. "We are all Japanese" is something Dennis Bernstein on KPFA has been saying since the nuclear disaster in Japan. We are all suffering the effects of the radiation that is being released from all these nuclear disasters going on. To think otherwise is foolish.

Everything is moving faster and faster. We need to stay centered within our own being. There are many techniques we can use to do so: meditation, yoga, breath practices, tai chi, or even long distance running. It is not only recommended, it is crucial if we are to navigate these times.

We can see that the so-called 'authories' have no idea what they are doing. They are neither experts nor competent. Why listen to them? Time to be the author of your one precious life.

Stephanie Austin in The Mountain Astrologer refers to the Sabian symbols for this Full Moon in this way: (They) accept the need for both cooperative efforts and individual courage. For the Sun at 23 Cancer: "The meeting of a literary society." For the Moon at 23 Capricorn: "A soldier receiving two awards for bravery in combat." We live in extraordinary times, which call for exceptional courage and compassion. If you are feeling overwhelmed or exhausted, spend time in nature -- by water, woods, wherever you feel nurtured or inspired.


We are in the midst of a collective spiritual initiation: "If the initiation holds, we never go back to the old forms or the old reality; we are now incapable of doing so. We have been reconstituted so that we can live now in this different universe, or entire system attuned to a different set of laws." (Deena Metzger)"

Friday, July 1, 2011

July 1, 2011 Cancer Solar Eclipse

Here we are in the midst of another eclipse. July 1, 2011 a New Moon Solar Eclipse and a Grand Cross involving Pluto in Capricorn, Saturn in Libra, Uranus in Aries and the Sun and Moon in Cancer.

Cancer is the sign of home, family, nurturing, the cultural matrix in which we currently live and the one we were born into. Natural ruler of the fourth house and ruled by the Moon, it is generally associated with the Mother or the primary nurturer in our childhood, which may have been our Father or even another male.

At the 'bottom' of the chart, it is the basis of our consciousness: foundational, innate and often unconscious.
I am feeling paralyzed with exhaustion. It is blazing hot and although I was supposed to be at the Rohnert Park Farmer's Market, the thought of getting in the car and driving one more place became overwhelming, so I decided to nurture myself and stay home.

I have been working with more and more people lately and often self-nurturing is something they neglect. Somehow we feel that we must force ourselves to do things because of someone else, but what about us? Who will take care of us if we don't do it ourselves?

Sometimes we have not learned self-care because of the selfishness of those who raised us. They dragged us around with them on their shopping trips, socializing, etc., when we would have preferred doing something else. If we rebelled, we got punished. We were not allowed to be ourselves or express ourselves, so now as adults, we don't know who we are. We are lost unless someone is 'directing our play'.

Yesterday I decided to go to the de Young Museum in San Francisco to see the Balenciaga exhibit, which ends this weekend. I knew it might prove to be exhausting and it was, primarily because it took 3 hours to drive home. I forgot that for most people, this is a holiday weekend and everyone was headed out of the the Bay Area/SF to destinations north.

It was worth it, however. It was marvelous to see all the gowns, suits, hats etc. that were popular when I was a young woman. Most of those at the exhibit were women - my age and older and it was fun to listen to their stories about the prom dress they had that was like this or that dress in the exhibit. Two unrelated women told me how they used to make their own clothes (as I did) and that their favorite fabric was pique. I, too, loved pique. They don't even make it anymore.

I realize I was honoring my Venus in Cancer which is currently conjunct this Eclipse! My natal Venus went
retrograde by progression when I was around 4 and direct when I was around 47! No wonder my 'love life' was so challenging. In the past year, I have reconnected through Facebook with some of my former partners.

It has truly been a healing experience. An opportunity for me complete karma and move into Present Time.

With Pluto opposing this eclipse moving into a square with Uranus in Aries we are in for even more challenges. Eclipses are portals between dimensions. This portal in Cancer provides us with insights about what we need to nurture ourselves and those around us during this time of intense transformation.


Do we need to sleep more, change what or how much we eat? Drink more water? Spend more time with loved ones? Or do we get our nurturing in nature? Living in the woods as I do... near to a vacation destination, I watch the cars driving in on holiday weekends, realizing "I don't have to go anywhere. I live here!" While this area has its challenges.... possible flooding, long periods of being damp and cold etc. I am blessed to see green out of every window all year round! I know that I need green.

Take this opportunity to find out what you really need. What nurtures you, renews you, enlightens your being.