Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Sagittarius Lunar Eclipse - June 15, 2011

So here we go into another eclipse, the second of three during this season. This one is a lunar eclipse the other two are solar eclipses. It will be in Sagittarius on June 15.


Some astrologers say that the eclipses that occurred while one was in the womb affect the entire life. For me, there was a solar eclipse just 3 weeks before I was born - in Taurus, close to my North Node in Taurus in the 9th house.I have devoted my life to the study of languages (Gemini Sun), cultures and religions (Pisces Moon).

I was ordained as an Interfaith minister through the Sufi Ruhaniat International after lifetimes of training. I have been on my pilgrimage journeys with spiritual teachers to Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Crete, Mexico and India and in each place experienced past-life memories.

In general, eclipses are portals through which souls come in and leave the planet. But they are also portals for those who know how to use them, moving to other dimensions at will. This is increasingly available now with Neptune in Pisces and as we approach 2012.

One of the requirements for 'time and space travel' is that we are able to be totally in the present. Fantasizing or reminiscing indicate that our minds are out of control. While they both can be pleasant (or terrifying depending on what we are imagining), they are most often passively achieved. That is...they happen to us. It takes some effort to stay present. You have to learn to control thought.

A daily practice of meditation can assist in developing the mind-control muscle. Learning to stop thoughts (written about by Carlos Castaneda in the '60s book: The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui way of Knowledge) is a very effective way to stay in the present, in gratitude and out of fear.

The Maya, too, saw eclipses as powerful times and in the Dresden Codex there is a perpetual eclipse table that has been shown to be incredibly accurate.

A significant feature of this eclipse is that it is within 3 degrees of conjunction to the Galactic Center, the Black Hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy...the ultimate portal. What we have then is a lining up of portals on at least two dimensions.

Mercury is conjunct the Sun and South Node in Gemini. As the messenger of the gods, Mercury (which is associated with our state of consciousness, communication and 'lower mind'), assists us in moving between dimensions. Often called the 'trickster' which I feel has a negative connotation, I see its role more as a shape-shifter, able to adjust to circumstances as needed. In order to communicate with beings on different dimensions, we may need to alter our form. This is not a bad thing, it is an accommodation for the sake of being better able to understand.

It is not enough to just speak louder when talking to a person who speaks a different language than ours...we have to speak their language. This often means we have to change our mindset. Some things are just not translatable. It is true that the categories of meaning are different in each language. The world view of someone living in dense jungle must necessarily be different than someone raised in the Sahara. Think about it! This is why travel is so enlightening. You find out that not everyone thinks like a person from San Francisco, California, USA. Ha ha!

The North Node is also within orb of the GC and the eclipse and shows us where we collectively need to be moving. Where it occurs in your chart shows where you can be aiming the centaur's arrow for yourself.

North Node in Sagittarius - in general represents Higher Mind, Truth with a big T, and the search for it. Philosophy, Religion and Spirituality. Higher Educations. Ruled by Jupiter, the grand guru of the universe - the teacher. It also represents travel on long journeys inner or outer, pilgrimage, foreign lands and cultures.

I think we are coming into a period where we see all earth beings as part of one family of man/woman. Diverse and united. The many and the one. We are called to travel on different dimensions now - the macro and the micro. Perhaps beyond this Universe.

It is time to stop fighting and learn to work together for the good of all. Otherwise, we will all go down.

The numerous natural and man-made disasters we have been experiencing lately should be waking us up to the dire situation we are in. The corporations keep us distracted from what we really need to focus on so that they can continue making money as the ship goes down. With Jupiter in Taurus we need to find what is really important and work to nurture and sustain it. Jupiter in Taurus for the next year will be teaching us what really matters for the survival of the Earth and its inhabitants. We have to start looking at our kinship with animals and plants, without whom we cannot live.

Taurus an earth sign is ruled by Venus. It deals with the earthly comforts: food, shelter, clothing (as protection from heat and cold), pleasure, love, and other resources we need to sustain life. Many of these things have been taken for granted here in the West and now that they are threatened by the economic downturn, we realize that we cannot live the way we want without them. "It's hard to be spiritual when you are worried about paying the rent."

Many of us are being forced to whittle down our lives to what is absolutely necessary. The challenge is to see that we are more than our stuff and that our 'value' as a person is more than how much money we make. In Alice in Wonderland the caterpillar asks Alice "who are you?" and so I (as the resident caterpillar of this blog) now as you the same question: "WHO ARE YOU?"

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Full Moon in Scorpio - May 17, 2011

Last weekend I was supposed to participate in a Health Fair Sampler with Songbird Community Healing Center. I was going to offer flower essence readings and promote my classes and readings.

I woke up with a lot of resistance, my knee still aching, and my energy low. I thought about how little money I have been making at shows and events lately as people seem less willing to part with their declining funds.

On the other hand, I had not paid for the booth and so would lose nothing, except the gas to get there, even if I made nothing. I went through the usual inner conversation of 'yes and no' - which doesn't seem to get better, despite my efforts.

At some point, a new idea popped in, probably because I have been meditating more lately. Why not see it not as a chance to make money, but rather as a time to have fun. View it as a party I was invited to, a chance to see my friends and meet new people. This way, I didn't need to make money because it was a social activity.

Amazingly, this gave me renewed energy to get ready and go.

Let me say that this was the most financially successful day I have had in months! I scheduled and was paid for a reading and sold aromatherapy products. Effortlessly, I had made 4X what I had hoped I would make! I felt like a miracle had happened. In a sense, it had.

This showed me something very important which relates to this Full Moon in Scorpio, which asks that we shift the way we do things. By viewing the show as 'work' it became drudgery like many of the jobs I have had in my life.

I got into making herbal products and giving astrology readings because I loved it. I had made into to a chore by "needing to make money" at it. When I shifted my attitude, my energy changed. This, of course, is related to the Law of Attraction. People were willing to give me their resources (money) because they liked the energy I was radiating.

Many agree that things are falling apart and shifting. Rather than scrambling to rebuild the old and replace the outworn, let's use this as an opportunity to create and manifest our bliss.

Many years ago I worked at a women's shelter. Despite the fact that every one's life had been led them to their current circumstances, all were doing everything they could to restore that dysfunctional life minus their abuser. No one saw the whole pattern, their role in the dysfunction, the fact that it was their attitudes about themselves and the world that had, in part, created the scenario they found themselves in. No one saw they had to change everything, including themselves. I used to encourage them to see their stay in the shelter as the greatest opportunity they might ever have to totally change their lives. Some wanted to believe me, but feared the unknown. They opted for the security they knew, despite the fact that it led to misery. Of course, some did manage to make improvements, but most just changed the particulars, not the causes.

Let us not make the same mistake. If you find yourself with more time on your hands, why not use it to do inner work? Read, meditate, walk, work in your garden. Change your patterns. What else do you have to do? Perhaps, with this opening in your life, you will create something even better than that job you resented every day. One thing that all this proves is that there is no such thing as 'security' except that which comes from within.

I love this quote Stephanie Austin offers this month from Joseph Campbell:
"The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the Universe, to match your nature with Nature."

By the way, my class Ek'Waynal, the Galactic Center and 2012 is now available on CD. This narrated slide show connects the end of the Mayan calendar, the alignment with the Galactic Center and astrological events. How does the ingress of Neptune in Pisces relate to 2012? Go to my Maya and 2012 blog to purchase.

Monday, May 2, 2011

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.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Astrology Day 2011 SF

Despite the pouring rain, the early hour and the fact that I still had a cold hanging on...I made it to the 2011 Astrology Day event in San Francisco. Thankfully, I had made arrangements to get a ride, so I didn't even have to drive and sharing expenses 3 ways, bringing my lunch and the fact that they had no books for sale (ha! ha!) made it even better.
My favorite talk was the keynote address by Steven Forrest titled: "Bring on the Human Future" He covered Uranus square Pluto, Jupiter opposing Saturn, the Cardinal Cross and as usual, did not pull any punches. Said it straight, but as also usual, with humor and humanity. Forrest is a master of saying even the hardest stuff in a way that makes it palatable, even funny.

He said that with all the hard astrological challenges, its easy to forget Neptune, which will go into its own sign, Pisces on April 4. Neptune is one of the BIG PLAYERS in the astrological game too! But Neptune's message is so different from all the rest that is happening.

Neptune's cycle is 165 years long, so Neptune remains in a sign for 13/14 years. Forrest said that during this transit, "escapism will be raised to an art form" and that "virtual reality will provide an easy escape from a
worsening reality". On the other hand he said, "there will be a massive leap in consciousness", and that "the angels will notice that even the most hard-hearted people will have moments when they are gazing at a rose
in wonder." We will be in the "collective well of magic", and that we will all have greater metaphysical experiences," no matter who we are. This sound great to me!

He went on to give a brief history of Neptune in Pisces in human culture, saying that typically during Neptune in Aquarius, "the magic drained out of the metaphor" and the old systems were dry and empty. Because the people were starving, the ground was fertile  for a new message. The Qur'an speaks of this in the same way. "We sent a messenger from among you..."

When Neptune went into Pisces, what often happened was that there was "a visitation of energy" and a new "(spiritual) teacher appeared with the juice bringing in magic and transformation". He equates this to returning
"back to the Well of Life". But he also quoted someone as having said: "Religion makes good people better and bad people worse." So there you are.

According to the Dalai Lama, "the world is drunk on anger", and Forrest says there is one thing on which ALL people of the world including Sara Palin (not sure if it's spelled right and I don't really care) and any terrorist would agree: "everything sucks and it cannot continue like this!" ha! ha! so true....I love Steven Forrest!!

We can certainly see that we are at a log jam, everything seems to be falling apart and most of us feel a loss of meaning in life. Forrest says that at times like these, the Universe will answer and there will be a spiritual renewal.

He says that this past year when the movie, Avatar came out, correlated to when Jupiter made a short ingress into Pisces before going retrograde back into Aquarius. It reminded people of the time when we were connected to Nature and to each other on a deep psychic level. It touched that memory within us. Forrest mentioned an article in Psychology Today, January 2010, (which I have yet to read, but will look for) that says there was a high incidence of suicidal thought reported in the population as people realized what they had lost and thought gone forever.

This was a taste of what is coming. Forrest said that Neptune's ingress into Pisces on April 4 for four months, before it turns retrograde then direct again, will give us a preview of what we will be experiencing for the next 14 years.

I think we will go through a period of deep grieving - which has already begun - for the death and destruction that has been wrought by our human greed, ignorance, jealousy, possessiveness and insensitivity. We need to
do this. We need to mourn the dead. We need to cry out in anguish. We cannot stuff it and cover it up with drugs, alcohol or any other pain-killer. We need to feel this pain so that we will know we are still human
beings with hearts. As the Sufis say...."the Sufi is the one with a broken heart". Only when we have admitted what we have done, will this thing be over and we can begin to heal and change. This is the basis of all therapy, AA groups, confession etc. We have to take responsibility for the pain we have caused others.

Another presenter at Astrology Day, Ralfee Finn, got us all in tears when she showed the picture of that little dog who stayed with his dog friend until he could get help. She labeled the picture "The Hero", showing us
the model of what we need to aspire to - love, service, - whatever it takes to help our fellow beings in need. Here's link to that video. Not sure if will work, but you can try.

Neptune's 'power' on the collective and on the personal level is most potent when it is in it's own sign. If you have Pisces in the your 12th house, lucky you! You will get the maximum benefit of Neptune in Pisces!

In general, Neptune dissolves whatever it touches.... often leading to confusion and a sense of being lost.
Neptune deals with the realm of the invisibles and connects us to the Infinite, the Source of being. It is the planet of mystics and artists, musicians, poets, dreamers. It rules the imagination, the dream world.
For those who love this part of life, it is delightful. For those who fear it, it is strange, uncomfortable and unreal.

It is amazing to me how this corresponds to the end date of the Mayan Long Count calendar period of 5,125 years. In the Popol Vuh, the Creation myth of the Maya, the world has been created and destroyed by the Gods, who originally created beings so that they could be praised. Each creation failed to do so, partly because in the form they were in, they could not. It can be viewed as a set up because they were destroyed due to something they were incapable of doing: could not praise because they could not talk for example.

However, our form has the ability to praise and yet it does not, because it 'forgets' or 'looses interest', 'gets
distracted by life', whatever. So...we could be destroyed. Perhaps we, too, are not capable of praising God.

By the way, the Aztec stories say this creation ends by 'movement' that is, earthquake.

If what has been going on in the world has not gotten your attention, you are indeed beyond the pale. How many people have prayed lately who have not ever prayed in their lives? How many have cried at the sight of dead people, whales, birds, dogs, children? God/Gods are doing whatever they can to wake us up to the spiritual side of life, which actually lies at the base of everything.

Another interesting thing in the Mayan story is that Creation comes from the 'watery world below' which is seen at the night sky when the worlds are reversed - and is often depicted as the sea and its creatures. This
corresponds to the first presentation entitled "2011 and Beyond: A Brave New World Emerging from the Sea", by Dale O'Brien.

Last, but not least, the one text we have which speaks directly about the up coming completion of 13 baktuns (12/21/2012) says that the nine gods (the nine lords of the night) will descend (from the night sky - read watery world - read ocean) to the place of transformation (a type of sweat house). The rest of the text is either missing or destroyed.

My guess is that we will have a visitation from beyond that will assist us in our evolution to the next level.  As Ralfee Finn said, "not everyone succeeds on the hero's journey. Some don't survive the descent. Some are
dismembered."

My feeling is that ultimately, we will all make the hero's journey, survive it and come back with our gift. Maybe not in this lifetime, but eventually, just because we were created. That is the proof. There are
those who don't want to do the inner work this time. That's okay. This is where FREE WILL comes in.

For more on 2012 go see my Maya blog

For more on the conference and healing go see my herb blog.

A great explanation of Neptune Transits through the houses can be found at Cafe Astrology

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Full Moon in Virgo - March 19, 2011

Many of us will be attending the International Astrology Day events in San Francisco this coming Saturday. It is the day before the Spring Equinox and the day of another Power Full Moon.
The second of six SuperMoons this year, it will exert a stronger pull on the Earth's oceans, tectonic plates and energy grids than 'normal' Full Moons. Not exactly what we need right now!

A psychic I know said the west coast of California could have a huge earthquake between March 19 and 27. Apparently, California is on the other side of the same fault that caused the recent earthquake in Japan.

Another element of this upcoming Full Moon is that the alignment of the Earth's equator with the Sun at the equinox causes a reduction of the Earth's magnetic field, which according to Stephanie Austin, "facilitates switching channels and increasing access to higher dimensions and new information".

Since this Full Moon (opposition of the Sun and Moon) is square the nodal axis (currently in Sagittarius and Gemini), we have a Grand Cross - the the Sagittarius NN conjunct the Galactic Center. The Galactic Center is a black hole at the center of our galaxy. It is a super transmitter of energy and radiation which effects the electromagnetic field of the Earth. So we have two conditions which could shift our magnetic field, not to mention whatever effects were caused by this recent huge earthquake.

I have discussed the meaning of the Galactic Center a bit here and on my 2012 blog.

Equinoxes are considered cosmic gateways by many ancient cultures. Spring and Fall Equinoxes are when the Cosmic Serpent at Chichen Itza moves down the sides of El Castillo and slithers off to his home in the Underworld via the portal of the Sacred Cenote. Hope to be there this September.

This Full Moon occurs at the final degrees of Pisces and Virgo, potent degrees as we are challenged to 'get the message' of the sign before the planetary body moves on.

So what are we to do? Nothing. There is nothing to DO. It is time to BE! Rather than be a human doing, become a human being. Being occurs when live in our hearts. As we get better at staying in our heart, then no matter what happens, it will be okay.

The Sabian symbols for this Full Moon are potent.
Sun 29 degrees of Pisces - "Light breaking into many colors as it passes through a prism."
Moon 29 degrees of Virgo - "A seeker after occult knowledge is reading an ancient scroll which illumines his mind."

Kim Marie of the Evolutionary Astrology Network suggests that we pray for all those who have passed due to this earthquake and tsunami so that they can realize their situation and move on to the Light. Whenever there is a mass trauma like this with a huge loss of life, souls can be trapped because they get confused.

Now that we are moving towards Pisces in Neptune (April 4) the veils will be thinner. Perhaps these large numbers of people who have passed in the last couple of years are actually 'immigrants' to the new world - going ahead to prepare the next level for the rest of us. Maybe their soul contract included being emissaries to the new dimension.

It was a tragedy from our perspective, but we may not know the whole story. Because we are unable to accept a concept such as 'ascension', we have to have 'an earthquake' so that a large number of people could leave and their departure would fit into our paradigm.

If we shift our consciousness, we might just be able to ascend without blowing anything up first. We can leave without trauma. It's a naughty child who destroys his toys before he leaves so that no one else can play with them.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Astrology classes I am offering.

An Introduction to Astrology course offered at San Joaquin Delta College through Community Education on Monday nights starting March 7, 6:30-8:30pm for 6 weeks.
This is for beginners... the basics. Signs, houses, planets etc. Learn what are they talking about when they say "mercury retrograde" or "saturn return"? Go to their website to register.

At Songbird Community Healing Center in Cotati, CA

Pluto and the Evolution of the Soul a class which presents the basics of the evolutionary astrology method as created by Jeffrey Wolf Green. The focus is on Pluto and the Lunar Nodes. This is a stand-alone class, but, is the pre-requisite for the up-coming 4 week course - Pluto Through the Houses which starts in April.

The one day Pluto class is offered on Sunday, February 27 from 2-4pm, then again on Saturday, March 5 from 2-4pm. We plan to offer it one more time before the 4 week class begins.

The four week class Pluto Through the Houses will be On the first and third Saturday in April (2 and 16) and first and third Saturday in May (7 and 21). You must have taken the Pluto and the Evolution of the Soul to sign up for this.

You may take the whole 4 week course or just the part that pertains to you. There is a reduced fee for the entire course.

Register here on this blog or at the Songbird website.

Come in from the Cold - Full Moon in Leo February 18, 2011

I felt the pull and saw the light of the beginning of the Full Moon in Leo last night. For me it lasts for 3 days. One day before and one after the 'actual' day. Since I have a skylight in my bedroom, (it was there when I moved in), the light of the Full Moon, not to mention the energy, can keep me awake.
Coupled with the sound of the rain pounding overhead, I had a wakeful night. I found myself, once again, beginning the litany of concerns about this or that. Instead, I shifted my mind to counting my blessings. A warm cozy bed, a full stomach, a roof, my sweet little white cat Melody at the end of the bed, a peaceful life.

The world is upheaval. The revolution in Egypt was remarkable. I wonder if anyone noticed that a million plus people were out in the streets for nearly 3 weeks and there was no destruction of property and very little violence (except on the part of the government). The so-called down-trodden Muslim women in their headscarves, were shouting as loud as the men. This people's revolt would never, no could never happen here. We are too fat and happy.

Rather than demonstrating in the streets that we are not happy that the richest people in the country continue to make more money while people are without work, losing their homes, paying more for everything everyday.... we sit and watch T.V., drink our poisonous softdrinks and eat our GMO-based snacks.

Did you know that almost every type of prepared food has corn in it? In some form or another? Whether it be corn syrup to sweeten, cornstarch to make it seem creamy or hold it together. And that corn is all GMO. Did it ever occur to you that part of the modification might be designed to do something to you? (Sounds like a conspiracy. Now she's really becoming a nut job). Well, it's my blog and I can say what I want. Hmmm did anyone ever notice how many obese people we have here in the good ole USA?

When I was a child in school there was only one 'fatty' in the whole school. Now, almost everyone is overweight or starving themselves to stay from getting there. I know this is not PC, but folks, obesity is a PROBLEM! It's not okay. Yes, you should still love yourself, but love yourself more and do something about it! It does affect your health.

And now that most of us cannot afford medical insurance, myself included, and the government will not offer Medicare for all, we are facing a real crisis. I am not blaming 'the victim'. I AM blaming the advertising industry, corporations, and the food industry. In order to make cheaper, faster food, they have engineered this 'plastic' food. But it contains elements that not only are starving people so that they have to eat more, but also addicts them, so they want to eat more. Healthy whole food is satisfying.

So how does this relate to astrology you might well be asking at this time. The signs and planets have been anthropomorphized for centuries. Named after gods and goddesses, they interacted just like we do. Many of the mythologies of the world are based on the stories associated with the heavenly bodies.

Right now, the Moon in Leo is out there by itself except for Saturn (not exactly the warmest of planets). And we all know that Leo craves, nay requires, love and attention. I learned years ago, that one way to see this need in the Leo is to imagine that in a past life the Leo was left alone sleeping in a cave, while the mother went to forage for food. While the mother was gone, there was an earthquake and the entrance to the cave got buried. The child wakes up, and sees that it has been 'buried alive' and eventually starves and dies thinking all along that the mother abandoned it and left it to die. Never understanding the truth. Meanwhile, the mother scratches her fingers to the bone trying to dig out the child. Bleeding and crying, she succumbs to the elements and also starves and dies. A sad tale, yes.

This Leo Moon feels abandonded by the rest of the gang which is having a party together over there in Aquarius and Capricorn. Yikes! I can't imagine a more boring party than that! But in the mind of the Leo - THEY are all whooping it up over there on the other side of the sky while he/she is shivering to death alone.

I suggest that you bring your Leo 'abandoned child' in from the cold. Make him/her some warm homemade soup, using a real chicken and some real vegetables. Rather than stressing and worrying, do something constructive. A whole chicken is cheaper than cut up parts. Cut it up yourself. Take the neck, back and other 'non-useful parts' and make a broth. Freeze the legs, wings, thighs and breasts for other meals. Anyone can learn to cut up a chicken. Fresh celery, onions, carrots, and fresh herbs from the garden outside, can make it delicious.

After you have made a pot of soup, invite your friends over. Maybe someone knows how to make bread from scratch....not some frozen preservative-laden dough from the store that you heat and serve. The homemade jam someone got as a Christmas gift makes that bread a delicious treat.

Share your skills, learn new ones.

Everyone laughs at the 'back to the land' movement of the 60s, but many of us 'elders' know how to do things that will help us all through this time of change.

We need to learn to use all parts of the chicken.