Taurus New Moon - April 21, 2012

The day before Earth Day the Moon is in the first earth sign, Taurus. Connected to the Egyptian goddess Ma'at>matter>mother, the foundation of manifestation. It rules the sensual and all sensory experience. We connect to the outer world through our senses. We take in information through sight, sound, smell, touch, taste...then process it and interpret it.

With Neptune in Pisces we have access to other senses. How will this affect our thoughts and ideas? Perhaps we will be more able to connect with animals, plants, beings on other dimensions. We will come to understand that our dreams are perceptions from another dimension...not just fantasy...but experiences.

Taurus also has to do with our resources, talents, gifts. During these difficult economic times, we need to recognize that we are more than our stuff, that we have inner resources we can call upon and, most important, we are not alone. We are part of the Creation. We have alienated ourselves willingly or should I say willfully!

Most of us, especially the young, spend way too much time indoors and connected to electronic media of one sort or another. We have lost touch with Nature. This New Moon is conjunct Ceres the Great Mother, Goddess of the Harvest. Her daughter, Persephone, was abducted by Pluto (God of Death and Transformation) and taken to Hades, the underworld. While she searched for her daughter and mourned her absence, Ceres (Demeter) made the earth a wasteland. In her preoccupation with the loss of her daughter, she ignored her duties as Earth Mother and let everything die.

Lately, there have been many shows on KPFA radio about the nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi. As far as I know, since I never listen to them and don't have TV, the corporate media have moved on, as if it's over. There are others who continue to monitor the situation. I heard yesterday that if there is another earthquake of at least 7.0, the pools that are containing the released contamination will not be able to be maintained. If they break, it will mark 'the end of civilization.'  Now you tell me, what is the likelihood of an earthquake in Japan or nearby?

Pluto released on the world. Ceres lamenting her daughter and paralyzed by grief. We need to help bring Ceres back to life so she can restore the green earth and put Pluto back underground where he belongs. No more nuclear plants. No more oil and gas pumped out of the ground. We need to implement alternative sources of energy - sun and wind, and discover others. We need to stop using so much. We are more than our stuff and if we don't finally get that...we will all perish. Dire, yes and true.

So this New Moon and Earth Day, make a commitment to use less gas, electricity and plastic and to spend more time in Nature. Plant something, even if it's just a pot of geraniums on your deck or in your window. Get closer to the green while you can.

I want to end with this quote taken from The Mountain Astrologer April/May 2012 issue:

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, were nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." (John Muir)

Nov. 10, 2011 Full Moon in Taurus

One day before the 11.11.11 date. Personally, I don't understand what that is about, but there are those who consider it extremely significant. Is this another doomsday? or another chance to ascend? Whew, with all these major transformations possible...you'd better get it together. That's the message I get from all this and what this Full Moon is all about.

If found this online and it seems to sum 11:11:11 up fairly well, so I am quoting it. It comes from a website featuring newspaper articles from Ontario, Canada.

"According to Ancient Secrets Revealed, 11 is a master psychic’s number that means spiritual truth, intuition and ideals. It is viewed as a conduit to higher vibrational energy and wisdom. For that reason, there will be a tremendous number of ceremonies and celebrations around the world on November 11, 2011 or 11.11.11 including a major event in Toronto, Ontario.
The number 1 by itself can mean either the positive aspects of self-awareness and consciousness or selfishness, arrogance and aggression. The number 11 in astrological terms means you should pay attention to your intuition. Then the 11.11 connection suggests living as a more evolved person and taking responsibility for your actions.
When it comes to 11.11.11, which when added equals 6, it relates to home, family and stability as well as making the correct decision, being a good role model and viewing the world with an open mind. It also denotes getting rid of old thoughts and feelings that are detrimental emotionally, physically and spiritually."

I also like this article on Ancient Secrets Revealed

Be that as it may, the day before is a Full Moon in Taurus. Taurus encourages us to live in balance on the plane of matter. Taurus is concerned with survival, the realm of the senses (and the sensual), land, and values in relation to material wealth among other things. VERY IMPORTANT right now. And definitely 'up'. The Occupy movement is a rebellion of the 'people' the 99% against those who own most of the wealth. A classic struggle between the haves and those who want more. I won't call them the have nots because that is not really true. Few of the people protesting are have nots....they are people who want more. For more on this see my post on one of my other blogs.

Back to this Full Moon. Three important celestial bodies go direct around this one: Neptune, Ceres and Chiron. Ceres and Chiron go direct in Pisces, Neptune in the last degrees of Aquarius repairing for its ingress into its home sign.

Neptune in Pisces for the next 14 or so years is the real harbinger of spiritual evolution. I have discussed this in relation to 2012 on my CD program for sale on my 2012 blog.

During the next 14 years, transcendental experiences will be happening to everyone - even if just for a few moments. Everyone will have the chance to awaken - at least a little.

I think this quote sums it all up:
"The meaning of life is to find your gift, the purpose of life is to give it away." (Pablo Picasso)
taken from The Mountain Astrologer, Oct/Nov 2011, p.105

I think this Full Moon on the axis of Taurus and Scorpio, asks us to examine our values and what we value. Do we value relationships or possessions? Do we determine what is important in our lives or do we follow the beliefs or dictates of others. Are we self-affirming or do we need feedback from others to establish our self-worth?

This Full Moon happens to be in wide conjunction to my natal nodes. It is also coincident that I am currently in a mode of re-evaluation and examination of my talents and abilities in relation to the needs of those I hope to serve. Lately, I have been feeling that no one wants what I have to offer. Should I change what I do to correspond to the market? or should I maintain my own goals. It boils down to - should I change my 'product' so that people will buy it? Interestingly, as I write this, the answer is clear. If I am truly following my heart's desire, it doesn't matter if anyone else values it or not. I am inspired by God/Goddess who provides for all my needs.

What is success? It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are on a spiritual path, success may look very different from a person who is a Wall Street trader.

We are all being asked to examine our values and this Full Moon highlights that process.

Signs like almost everything, exist in a world of polarity, thus they have 'light' and 'dark' sides. Rio Olesky would call this 'centered' and 'uncentered'. Sometimes it is easier to see the 'centered' aspect by looking at the 'uncentered' side. Rio has a great new book called A Manual for the Modern Mystic: How to Practice Being in the Presence of God. (see sidebar to purchase) I highly recommend it. This is how it is described on his website:

"This book discusses 12 universal laws, each one associated with a sign of the zodiac. Rio uses stories and personal anecdotes as well as quotes or references to mystics throughout history. He discusses ways of working with these laws to enhance spiritual growth and consciousness development."

He will be one of the speakers at Astrology Day March 17, 2012 in San Francisco. His talk entitled: The Upside of Downtimes sound fascinating. The website is http://ncgrsanfrancisco.org/IADSF2012.html

The uncentered, dark, or shadow side of Taurus is materialistic, simplistic and unwilling to change. I would add stubborn.  Uncentered Scorpio is manipulative, obsessive and unable to trust.

Perhaps it is time to see how our society has been operating from the Dark side for quite a long time. This Full Moon, thinning the veils between the visible and invisible can help us see the truth and then perhaps we can change it.

New Moon in Taurus May 2011

New Moon in Taurus. Five planets in Aries including Venus, how might we look at this combination? Aries initiates, Taurus makes it real. Fire and Earth. Active and Passive.
Business as usual is not an option anymore. Whether we like it or not, our lives are changing. Better to let go than to try to cling to the past. Discomfort is actually lessened by 'going with the flow' than by resisting stubbornly.

I was speaking to a woman yesterday with a stellium in Cancer, opposed by Pluto in Capricorn. She indicated that her life was falling apart and that she had no idea what to do, and yet, she was closed and dismissive. It was one of those 'yes, but' situations.

She would ask for my thoughts on her situation, but would not listen to my response. After a few exchanges of this nature, I decided to stop playing her game, seeing how much I was attached to 'trying to help'. I asked her how she had dealt with issues in the past and she said she had never had any difficulties until now.

On the one hand I thought her fortunate that her life had been so perfect until now, but I also saw that she had no practice in dealing with challenges.

If you feel your life has always been difficult, consider yourself lucky. You know how to survive tough times. Your survival muscles are well-developed and you know options exist, even if you can't yet see them. Just that knowledge puts you ahead of the game.

Aries advises that we DO something rather than thinking too much. As for what to do, Taurus New Moon suggests that we act in accordance with our values. What do you love? What brings you joy? What do you care about?

We have been made to believe by society that money is of utmost importance and that without it we are powerless. Remember that human beings lived for millenia without money.

Stephanie Austin in the Mountain Astrologer asks the question: "If you had one year to live, how would you spend it? What were your childhood dreams?"

I suggest you take a little time during this New Moon to consider these questions and then move forward on the path that reveals itself.

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.

Taurus Full Moon - Nov 12-13

This is a Super Moon, one that both at perigee (closest approach to the Earth) and syzygy (either a New or Full Moon). It is said that Super Moons act like laser beams which focus the electromagnetic particles into channels of energy. Super Moons increase gravitational pull and generates more extreme tides, weather and emotional reactions.

This Full Moon is conjunct Sedna which is at 20 degrees, 40' Taurus and symbolizes a mass initiation into cosmic consciousness. Located beyond Pluto, Sedna functions as a spiritual gateway to higher dimensional realities. Sedna was first sighted in 2003 by the same team of astronomers who discovered Eris. It has been noticed that astronomical discoveries coincide with evolutionary leaps, reflecting the concept: As Above, So Below.

Sedna, in the constellation Cetus the Whale, was discovered during a time of tremendous changes in the arctic and ocean regions. As a goddess, Sedna supports the development of the divine feminine and provides a link with the womb of our generative energies.

In addition to the conjunction with Sedna, this Full Moon is square Neptune at 21 degrees Aquarius. Neptune represents spirituality and illusion, intuition and imagination. This God of the Sea dissolves our existing concepts in order for us to experience a far greater reality that transcends death and the physical world. What would we do differently if we knew that nothing is separate and that we are all part of the web of life? How would we live if we knew we were immortal and infinite spirits?

Another factor influencing this Full Moon is a sextile between Jupiter in Capricorn and Uranus in Pisces. Jupiter represents expansion and Uranus innovation - the sextile represents opportunity. New perceptions and possibilities can arise with little effort.

The message of this Full Moon is in response to the economic situation we are presently experiencing. It suggests that we ground ourselves upon our divine core rather than material resources - that we live in accordance with spiritual as well as physical realities. We are called to face our fears, own our power and let go of what is decaying.

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly" (Chuang Tse)

Taken from The Mountain Astrologer article by Stephanie Austin.

The Nodes of the Moon

Have you ever had an astrological reading where you want to know what to be when you grow up and what your life is about and you feel like the answers you get are so vague as to be useless?

Actually that is a good sign. It is a sign that the astrologer is not telling you what to do, but leaving it up to you and your process. In a way, the less they "tell" you, the better.

But then what?

In my own studies, I have found that studying the nodes of the moon is very helpful. When I first started studying astrology 40 years ago, there was almost nothing written about them. Now, there are people who specialize in them.

Basically, the South Node is what you came into this incarnation with - including talents and baggage. Karma is carried on the South Node. It is where you unconsciously go, behavior that comes naturally to you. The path of least resistance.

The North Node is what you are moving towards in this life time and where you should attempt to go. It takes more effort because it is new territory.

I suggest you look at the sign your North Node is in, then the house. Personally, I have been working with my North Node consciously for about 5 years now and it has changed my life for the better. After many twists and turns, I can finally see a clear path ahead.

A book I picked up at the UAC in Denver this year is turning out to be one of the most useful I have ever found for both understanding the meaning of the nodes, then moving forward with the North Node.

It's called Astrology for the Soul, by Jan Spiller. It should be called Working with the Lunar Nodes because that is what it is about. She goes through the North Node in every sign describing behavior or attitudes that come naturally, South Node in opposite sign, and how what you already know can help you or not.

Just to give you a sample, here's the opening section for Taurus North Node which would also be the 2nd house.

Attributes to Develop

Work in these areas can help uncover hidden gifts and talents

* Loyalty
* Awareness of boundaries
* Taking things one step at a time
* A sense of self-worth
* Awareness of personal values
* Patience
* Honoring expressed needs of self and others
* Enjoying the five physical senses
* Gratitude
* Awareness of nurturing from Mother Earth
* Forgiveness
* Persistence

Tendencies to Leave Behind

Working to reduce the influence of these tendencies can help make life easier and more enjoyable

* Attraction to crisis situations
* Overconcern with other people's business
* Impatience
* Inappropriate intensity
* Judgmental tendencies
* Preoccupation with the psychological motivations of others
* Resistance to cooperating with what others want
* overreacting
* Destroying something in order to eliminate one part
* Obsessive-compulsive tendencies

I find this very helpful and practical, and yet they are just suggestions. She is not telling people what to do or what not to do. Some of the points may not be relevant, while others may be right on the button. This is just the beginning of the chapter.

For me, Astrology is a means of knowing and understanding how we and others tick. It is also a tool for transformation, which I believe is part of our purpose while here on Earth. It is spiritual but does not preach any religion or belief.