Reality Checks – First Quarter 2015

December 30, 2014 mirror 2 Comments

cave nebula

The quarter between December Solstice and March Equinox began with a new Moon and, just a few hours later, we saw Saturn entering tropical Sagittarius. Following the turning point of the solar cycle these lunar and planetary influences are now emerging with increasing effect. Against the backdrop of the final two squares between Pluto and Uranus, which frame this quarter, we are now poised at the beginning of a sea-change that will unfold throughout 2015 and beyond.

Planetary activation of the fire signs by Saturn, Jupiter and Uranus in particular will give pace and a radical edge to much of the year. But, it is the Saturn transit of Sagittarius, which takes us through 2017, that augers the predominant change of mood. Over the first half of this transit, we will see Saturn’s square to Neptune begin replacing Uranus square with Pluto as the most defining planetary aspect in the field. The first quarter of the 2015 solar cycle is a time in which this aspect will build, but, the lunar pulse through this time is most intriguing, showing us how we can optimise our personal path effectively.

The lunations up to equinox open and close on the cusps of Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces and Aries. These are powerful lunations with the full Moons heavily aspected and, subsequently, the second and third of these will be given their own readings. In the context of this quarter the first lunation sets the template.

The 0º Capricorn lunation point, with Sun, Moon and Earth in synchronous transition into new land, marks this as a clearly defined point of renewal. Far from simply being a time for setting new intents for the year, this is also an opportunity to balance goals against our personal means of achieving them. Neither will this be about staying on familiar ground ~ prepare to expand your horizons over the next 2-3 years! As with any time of growth or journey into uncharted territory, preparation, foresight and provision of essentials is of the highest significance. Each lunation provides a strong focus in which to make the necessary adjustments and, with the Capricorn lunation, the primary area to focus upon is ‘personal power‘.

There will be much clearing of both psychic and physical energy fields in the first lunation of 2015 and looking after your health and well-being will be paramount, not least as this is the foundation upon which personal power rests and becomes manifest. Trust that whatever comes up in this clearing process is right and, while allowing nature to do the work, do take note of what is happening – issues arising within this lunation are indicating areas in which personal power needs attention, especially in relation to how it is applied in the world. Finances and knowledge, as well as health, are very much a part of this assessment and you can here include the strength of your connections, the wealth of support you have across the worlds, in this appraisal as well – this will become especially clear around and after full Moon when Venus and Mercury enter Aquarius.

If you do find deficiencies examine why that is so; this is a year in which you can make the necessary corrections in relation to these and it begins through encountering the tangible evidence. Make good use of the diagnostic tools you have at your disposal and, if stuck for answers or clues, compare notes, seek a second opinion, get a reading and, most importantly, commune with nature – the answers will come; often it is ourselves that is preventing them from being seen. Ironically, when personal power is under the spotlight, it is all too often stoic refusal to ask for help or share our dilema that is the stumbling block!

The Jan 5th full Moon in Cancer is opposite the Sun+Pluto square Uranus and the lunar nodes. If you are feeling a strong desire to break out of current circumstances the key to making this happen is not through force of will, but, through higher guidance and learning. Aim to expand your knowledge base. The three days around the January full Moon can be a profound time for making sacred space and allowing the psychic energy of the lunation to clear and cleanse your subtle and energy bodies. This is especially powerful as, at the highest point of intensity, the Moon conjuncts Sirius, the soul star to our own Sun, and the greater perspective of our own higher self and our chief guides in the other-worlds can be called upon to lead the way. If you make this connection stronger what you perceive in the process holds the key to understanding just what you have been missing out on being and doing, as well as what you might well be have been avoiding accomplishing, as an earth bound soul.

The time between this and the next full Moon can be used to align worldly means with soul’s natural desire in this lifetime. This desire is an expression of a choice already made in coming here, a choice and potential that may have become overlooked or that you have lost touch with on the journey.

Often enough we resist the soul’s desire because it signifies growing beyond our comfort zone, expanding our being, and involves having our personal power fully tested. Habitual responses alone do not cut it here ~ instinct and courage, as well as sharp intellect and discernment are necessary. These will be elements of personal power that will be needed to navigate the whole of the Saturn transit, for which, we can be assured, Saturn will provide plenty of reality checks to test them out. As distinct from the heart’s desires, the Soul’s desire is a magnetic attraction that pulls us, at the most instinctive and natural level, towards that which is outside of the known, that which we most need to grow into ~ personal power finds its raison d’etre in this.

Soul is the wild animal of our being, and, like all things wild, it is deeply connected with and belongs to the realms of Nature. Over the last few years in particular Nature has become the battle ground in which the misuse of power has become fully exposed. Equally, the roots of Nature’s own power is coming more tangibly into consciousness – in other words, as Barbara Hand Clow puts it, “We are becoming more conscious of the unconscious”. The soul’s health is deeply tied in with the healthy balance of power in Nature, a balance based on mutual co-operation and respect rather than exploitation and usury and, collectively, the growing awareness that we are out of balance is making us increasingly sick at heart of this disfunction. What we do for ourselves, in this respect, helps restore this balance and the impetus to be pro-active in this is aided and abetted by these lunations and planetary matrix. Aligning our own life with Nature has become a revolutionary act of healing!

How we can personally satisfy the needs of this aspect of ourselves and the world is further brought into focus during the second lunation of this quarter.

Shortly after the opening of the second lunation Mercury stations retrograde and, six weeks later, the inner-most planet will clear the retrograde shadow zone, just before the full Moon of the third lunation. This retrograde period will be a test to our collective cohesion, the reality check that could see freedoms of speech and connection across the internet challenged. At the heart of the lunation the full Moon is conjunct Jupiter in Leo, at the head of a yod from Mars+Chiron in Pisces sextile Pluto in Capricorn ~ the evolving complexity of the matrix has the Sun at the reaction point of the yod, quintile Saturn, with Saturn squaring Neptune. We will look to this chart in its own reading, but, the whole issue of aims, goals and self-authority is under the spotlight here. The field for this lunation favours adjusting our thinking, allowing strategies to emerge that support the strengthening of intents. These are intents which allow our personal power to become more focused and put in service to the higher ideals necessary to our times and personal paths. This may also bring up tests upon personal patience and collective confidence. Wise leadership again comes under the spotlight, both as a collective and personal question.

The true test of those ideals and the collective direction they represent begins to come out through the third lunation of the quarter as, at its high point, Sun+Chiron oppose the Virgo full Moon. We can heal the rift between our human and animal selves if Nature is listened to.

The yod to Jupiter is again active, this time formed through Sun+Chiron sextile Pluto, with Mercury, now direct and free of the retro-zone, at the reaction point in Aquarius. The emphasis on leadership has by this time swung to a global perspective and where we find persistent autocratic rule at work there will be vociferous backlash. We will almost certainly encounter this ‘reality check’ as a need to stand deeply rooted in our natural personal power and collectively make our voices heard. The mandate will be to ensure that no stone be left unturned in bringing healing and renewal to the world.

In the third lunation we also find Mars conjunct the south lunar node, close on Uranus conjunct Venus at full Moon. Again, this adds up to a complex planetary matrix, but, spiritual growth is promised if the higher guidance of perennial wisdom is acted upon and followed through. As we approach equinox the voices of the ancestors become strong – utilise their guidance in breaking free of the shackles of the past. Globally we could be seeing some old scores and karmic debts settled here, but, it is the grounded and well informed elder’s voice of reason that will carry the initiative.

The third quarter closes with a new Moon in the final degree of Pisces. This will be a total solar eclipse, visible in totality through an arc that begins south of Greenland and sweeps through the northern Atlantic towards the north pole; Europe, north Africa and much of northern and central Asia will see this as a partial eclipse, but, globally, this signals a moment of spiritual crisis that augers significant spiritual emergence. As the Saturn Neptune square closes, and as Uranus and Pluto square off exactly for the seventh and last time, the pressure will be on to tip the balance on initiating meaningful and lasting change where it is most needed in the world.

We’ll close here by returning briefly to Saturn in Sagittarius as the underlying theme emerging here is in many ways encapsulated in this transit.

Saturn has finally left Scorpio and is bringing the reality principle to bear on Jovian qualities. This brings the beliefs, ideals and philosophies we hold most dear under test of Saturn’s grounding influence. Saturn will transit briefly back into Scorpio between mid June and mid September, but, this will serve to tie up lose ends from what has gone before and to clear our emotional bodies for the greater undertaking that lies ahead.

The positive aspect of this transit will kick-in more fully as the year closes and is exemplified in grounding our greater potential and long held dreams in reality. We can make use of the next three years to manifest those dreams, to undertake the things we have always wanted to do, but, somehow have kept on the back-burner, perhaps in spite of ourselves. This will be the time to break out of this pattern. It will entail hard but constructive work, a sustained focus and will require the commitment to keep ourselves and our goals on track. The benefits promised are immense and, apart from changing how we live on our home planet for the better, the collective need in our times, these are fully in line with the impulse and direction of the lunations through this quarter.

The bottom line is that we are here to break with the destructive patterns of the past and Rick Tarnas puts this into a much larger perspective when he describes the patriarchal epoch as “the 5,000 year birth canal for the Great Mother Goddess”! We can integrate every aspect of our lives into this process and make it as soulfull and deeply meaningful as it suggests and promises. The ructions will continue, such is the need of the process, but, we can now look to these as the contractions that precede the birth. This is about midwifing ‘the way of the Soul’, in tune with and integral within Nature, to become the template for positive and intentional living. In order to evolve beyond the new age idealism this conjures up, Saturn will bring reality checks to bear at every turn of the road, with the frequency needed to become skilled and imbued with enough self-knowledge to live up to the potential of that ideal.

With Uranus becoming free as the year progresses to innovate and inspire, if this becomes manifest as a collective process, which is now the distinct possibility, it can change the face of human life and our footprint upon our home planet. We probably have a five year window at max before we hit crunch time, Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn. The challenge is to take advantage of the positive up-beat and Saturn’s reality checks will provide incentives to become knowing self-leaders, sovereign and empowered in the process. At the same time, the reality principle will apply equally to global leaders and self appointed autocrats who continually abuse their wealth and power. As the opening lunation intimates, re-balancing of worldly power is the core issue.

Uranus and Pluto’s series of squares have fractured the illusions of reality that have maintained the status quo regardless the collective will, and have exposed the rot at the root of the dominant power structures in this world. While they have not brought outright and decisive revolution, they have certainly brought reality enough into the light of day to incite rebellion and this mood is now carried forward through the lens of Saturn and Neptune’s square across Sagittarius and Pisces. The halmark of this aspect is the testing of the relationship between the limitations placed upon realising the full potential of self-authority and the sharing our visionary and spiritual freedoms.

In the mundane, Saturn rules responsibility and hard facts, and Neptune rules imagination and deception; what those in power stand for they will be held accountable to ~ we could see significant financial and political re-centering and power re-distribution begin coming into being across the globe through this year. If this is to be a renewal of democratised power, a sharing of resource as well as vision, it also rests upon the very real ability of each of us to grow, both in wisdom, empowerment and beyond our comfort zones.

The first quarter of 2015 is where the wheels of renewal are set in motion ~ as has been said before, it all begins in the present, under our own two feet, but, now we stand to see the creative power of the individual mobilised collectively, to decisive effect. The question is who will you be following……almost certainly, the answer lies within.

In the coming posts we will take a deeper look into the esoteric side of the Saturn transit through Sagittarius and, subsequently, how the effects of the square between Neptune and Saturn will change how we see the world.

Root Medicine of the Stars

Message from the Dark River

December 20, 2014 mirror Leave a comment

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Fire-root, the one legged protector of shamans, holds the Moon in his hand and sings, his voice, the sound of the bullroarer, spinning stars from the dark belly of his wife, Star-Womb, into the burls and spinning knots of his body and powerful leg. He stands as the great tree around which the Sun swings at solstice, the time when the friction of his root in the firmament creates the sparks of the First Fire, spiralling in a double helix through the plenum as He rekindles its flame.

He is the father of the sun-spirit, the one who makes weather and whose reach extends from pole to pole.

His name is heard from pole to pole, in a thousand forms, each a link word in an eternal chant that echoes across the starry field of the star mother’s belly, reverberating in waves that push and pull, creating time in the mind of her star seeds, opening and closing as ages pulse through eons, cyclic songs given to the medicine women and taught through Luna.

Luna, in his hand but a grandchild, herself an ancient grandmother, turns and rests her head against Mula, the ‘root’ star, and herself swings around the shoulder of Fire-root, reborn. Mula carries the memory of memory, the serpent fire of the mind held deep in matter, connecting with the base chakra, and holds its powerful medicines, protected, in the sting of the Scorpion. Below the serpents coils She dwells and augers the solar seed.

The augeries are told, this will be the time in which ‘renewal itself is renewed’, the tree of stars, the shaman’s thunderbolt, the fire drill of creation, will turn together and stir within the deepest places, within the Dreaming Star Womb; She says…….’Awaken your dream body, look to your dreams’, for Her star-seeds are the stuff we, and they, are made of……

In the traditions of indigenous peoples world-wide this figure is recognised, the pivotal being around whose axis time spirals, who dwells in the Dark River, the heart of our Milky Way galaxy, and who oversees the birth of the solar year, as our own Sun is reborn crossing this place in the celestial realms. This river is the womb from which stars are birthed, known as ‘Emu Woman’ amongst original peoples of the Australasian continent – She has been carved into the stone, just as She appears in the height of summer in those lands, at the Emu’s egg laying time.

Amongst the same people, He is known as Daramulum. He consorts with Her, as our Sun crosses Her belly above the stars in the sting of the constellation Scorpius, amidst the cloud of stellar dust that forms the Dark River. We are born from, made from, the dust of stars – and, the Waters are born there, just as, at the heart of our Earth, the star fire core creates the indigenous terrestrail waters of the deep aquifers.

The star Mula, known amongst the north African star seers as Shaula, whose name carries the same root meaning of ‘root’ itself, augers the power of the Seer, the one who sees with other eyes. This is the same mula we find in the Muladhara chakra, ‘root-support’ and echoes the pivotal role of the pillar of sacred fire within the human subtle energy body, the Sushumna, spiralled around by the Ida and Pingala.

In the northern traditions he comes down to us via Heimdallr, He who keeps watch for Ragnarök and is known for seeding the divine within the consciousness of humanity – He is also known as Rig, and Vindlér amongst the northern peoples, the praiser and singer, the wind bringer, who is blessed with great foresight and whose breath carries divine knowledge when given form in song and verse.

shamans-staff (2) The Rigveda, whose first verse sings praises of Agni, the fire bringer and solar deity, carries the same etymological root, ‘praise-knowledge’. And, amongst Indian mythologies the ‘one legged’ is known as Ekapada, the one legged goat, the correlation of Capricorn, the bringer of primordial matter, fire, soul and power of the Cosmos, the serpent fire.

He carries the thunderbolt, the Vajra, the electric root of manifestation and change. He reaches back through time and is echoed in the shaman’s staff, the one legged wand of power, topped with the animal form of the spirit who is the ally of the shaman, known to us from Palaeolithic times.

The augeries of this time call the seers and healers to summon their gift, to journey in spirit to the ninth realm, the highest point upon the world tree, mirrored in its roots through the spinning of fate and destiny, to connect with the powers that bring the highest wisdom to their practice and call up the root power of their own path, to seek wisdom from the source for a new time ahead. Such is the symbolism carried into the iconography of the undying tree crowned with the star, which is also known in the west through the ‘christmas tree’.

The new lunation is begun in harmony with the new solar cycle. Fertile darkness within fertile darkness, this is a time of birthing mystery from within mystery, and seeding the earth plane, the middle world, with a renewed vigour. It requires great discipline and clarity of mind for this undertaking to bear fruit……garner this power now, shed all that does not serve this greater purpose, for, upon the return of the Sun, its power will begin to work in the world. Great things can be accomplished with such guidance…..

It is exemplified in the words of the shamans of the Sierra Nevada who, as the solar cycle neared its turning point, sent this message to the world :

“Blessings all, a powerful message has been delivered in Australia during the past 72 hours from the People of the Earth, The Sierra Nevada. (Shamans of Columbia who have never lost their ancient connection to the Earth, and still live in complete harmony with nature and each other.)
Their message in essence is that “now is the time to fully commit to the restoration of our Earth.”

Source : ‘10,000 Amend’, 2014-12-19

Images :

(1) Emu Woman rock engraving, Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, NSW. Image, Barnaby Norris

(2) Shaman’s Staff, Rob Purday

(3) Kogi Mamas, Sierra Nevada

Root Medicine of the Stars

Venus In Furs

December 16, 2014 mirror 3 Comments

venus in furs

Venus in Capricorn brings us face to face with the empowered woman. What is the image that is conjured in those two powerful words? We might imagine a ‘successful’ individual, one who has reached personal pinnacles and challenges our notions of power itself, against the prevailing odds. In Capricorn Venus is emphasising the role of the empowered woman and, if we must ask ‘what are her symbols’, we must go beyond the image of the CEO or stateswoman, as, is this not simply a projection of male values. However, Venus in cardinal earth does not ask, or wait, for an answer; She Knows. And that is Her fundamental Truth. No wonder the corporatocracy is rife with glass ceilings.

In a world and time such as ours the planetary Goddess resonates with much deeper truths, manifests first, asks questions after, if at all ~ She is the living memory of earth, untamed within its crystalised forms, as much present in the wild wind and waters, as the volcanic plumes and rivers of molten rock. If we do encounter her in the mundane, on the hustings and frontlines facing the violators of Nature, whether with megaphone in hand, giving it her all, or feather and drum, holding the memory intact, chances are she is fired up with that ‘knowing’, pushing for change in the face of violation and usury. There is great passion coursing through her veins, pushing the boundaries of the world to grow out of its complacence and apathy. If invoked, She calls up the roots of change itself in her being. And Her faces are many, have endured time and tide.

She can be present in spirit and in body as the Wild Woman, the Huntress, whose powers are timeless, even when distorted, as she has become in the dominatrix and louche seductress. Pluto, who is centred in Capricorn in this time, has much to answer for here, but, he is himself transformed in her presence and, as Ceres, whose asteroid is presently close on the Sun, She drives the hard bargain that draws upon her own pragmatic nature, demanding equality where, otherwise, no deal may be struck. She looks after her own, her children as well as those who look after her, give to her their fealty.

She is, for all her political nous, a fierce lover in Capricorn. Her power is deep, sensual, charged with earthiness, and demands parity in her lover. She is also the creatrix, ruling over the most fundamental natural laws of manifestation within the Life/ Death/Life cycle. In her most fecund state She can be seen in the most ancient art, caught in an ambiguous embrace with the Bull headed man in Chauvet caves, brought out of the living rock and clay of her own body in countless ‘Venus’ carvings and figures. The shaman knows the deal.

She reminds us here of that which endures like no other, in memory and presence, and holds fast the root of humanity in her being. But, She also holds the protectorship of the animal world as Mother of the Animals, active as the central figure in indigenous knowledge, as She who must be petitioned by the hunter for a good hunt, and, as the bestower of blessings, health and nourishment upon the tribe and community, must be herself respected, fed and shown due care, before She will reciprocate.

Sedna’s story pulls into hard focus the egotism and disrespect shown by the paternal line; her fingers, severed as she fights for her life, become the creatures of the oceanic realms into which she has sunk, over which she subsequently rules. When, on the 5th of December, planetary Venus aspected Neptune by quintile, shortly before entering Capricorn, Sedna’s asteroid was quincunx Venus from Taurus, her sign by rulership. A report emerged on that date that echoes with the tragedy of this story, revealing that Pacific Killer Whales have suffered a 100% mortality rate amongst their off-spring this year on the West Coast of the Americas. This brings a devastating reflection, through the fertility giving apsect of the quintile to Neptune’s oceanic lens and the hard reality checking quincunx to asteroid Sedna, that reveals the underlying story at work in our times. She is speaking directly to us here, of ecocide and its inherent dangers. She will protect her own, her children, but, it is ‘we’ who will pay the price if we do not listen.

This is far from being the first indication of the story behind the disease and disturbance at the heart of the global ‘eco-system’, as it is reflected within the Pacific Ocean. Alongside Starfish ‘dissolving’ in their thousands, mass beachings of Whales, Dolphins and Seals, many dead on arrival at the shore, showing chronic skin wounds and sores, are pointing back towards pollution and irradiation of the oceans. The reality of this is being heavily censored in the mass media channels, but, is not escaping the awareness of independant reportage and monitoring. It is time to stop the carnage, even if it looks too late…..not least as the power of the planetary Goddess will prevail, regardless the disregard She has been shown, and, whether we are here to witness her resurgence, or not.

In contemporary life under the dominant culture Her role has become forgotten, overlooked and distorted. For the most part, amidst the decadence of western hegemonies, where the Capricornian Venus is present, she is demeaned, hoisted upon a pedestal and made an object of masculine fantasy. Amidst the ruinous distortions and photoshopping of western patriarchal ideology Her root power is suppressed, its source exploited as matter, glamourised and manipulated out of meaning and devoid of respectful understanding.

The millenia of the Piscean age have seen war waged upon Her and her lovers, but, she is an archetypal Spirit, and her essense, pushed into subterranean realms of both consciousness and emotional energy, if disconnected from the pursuit and embodiment of power as the misogynists have framed it, is all the more dangerous, unbound beneath the surface. Her power cannot be repressed without consequence. The glass ceilings of the power-broker’s world are a false prison, in constant need of re-assertion in the face of her own irrepressible nature ~ and, in the heart of the city, the citadels of plutocratic rule, even in the most arid of places, She inhabits the understrata of the land, the culture, its human root, holding its memory in seed form, waiting to push open the cracks in concretions of power with her wild and indestructible beauty.

She taps Capricorn’s catalysing motivation for manifestation with a subtle power that can and will absorb all in Her path ~ she is the transmuting power of the earth, rich, fecund and ancient. But, she can wear many faces here too ~ even in the most tender of flowers she is present, ineluctable, fresh and filled with deceptively subversive potential, to grow and spread. She grounds us, stimulates our own roots, smudges our subtle body with odours of Vetiver and Sage-brush, imbued with the stings of Thorn and Rose beneath her white and red robes.

When Venus entered Capricorn, on December 10th, the cracks began to show and she mirrored back to us the erronious nature of her detractors – witness…..

Ice

……on December 10th, just hours after the release of the CIA’s ‘torture report’, Japan introduced a new Secrecy Law making investigative journalism, leakage and whistleblowing of facts surrounding the Fukushima disaster a criminal act carrying heavy penalties of up to10 years incarceration. Simultaneously, reports of lobbying of the US government by the UK company Oxitec for the release of GM mosquitos into the environment began to surface in the alternative media, and, on the same day Spain announced gagging laws which threaten to make public protest illegal and severely limit freedom of speech.

In the USA, Congressional staff staged a walkout on this day in protest of the Garner and Brown cases, highlighting the unaccountability of fatal police actions against unarmed civilians, racial discrimination and the widening gulf between the People and the agencies of State and Law.

Since then we have seen the US Senate move to legislate stripping the Apache nation, the largest landholder amongst Native American tribes, of their ancestral landrights in favour of giving Resolution Copper, an anglo-australian subsidiary of Rio Tinto, access for mining to 2,400 acres of the Tonto National Forest, as well as ceremonial and burial grounds within the Apache reservation. Rio Tinto is responsible for Uranium mining operations in Africa, amongst other global actions which threaten land, people and environment alike, and which also involve foreign investment from countries such as Iran and China.

Also coming to light during this time, the World Health Organisation’s dissemination of an ongoing and historical programme of fertility reducing vaccination throughout Africa, the development of nano-robotic vaccines, proceedures for renouncing citizenship appearing in social networks, figures showing child poverty to be at its highest recorded level in the USA, have been revealed.

All this, and much more, within the space of a week has signalled an intensification in diametrically opposed interests between, on the one hand, the People and, on the other, the ruling powers of government, the legal system and their corporate cohorts…..if it isn’t apparent yet, if the dots have not yet been joined between all these events, we are in the midst of an assualt that, while appearing so diverse as to create an incoherent kaleidoscope of effects, reflects a far from disparate attempt upon the personal and collective freedoms, as well as the very well-being, of us all. Venus in Capricorn tests our values, and the judgements we base upon them.

Venus brings our attention to values that we experience in the arena of the everyday world. Capricorn throws us into the midst of the arena and asks us to fight for what we ‘know’ is right, that reflects those values. We can see the pressure rising within the zone of earthly power and its already manifest forms of initiation within the material world. The connections between such value systems and Nature, the environmental concerns this brings up, as well as imbalances of power inherent within this arena is obvious, the more so with Venus now approaching Pluto in mid-Capricorn. Venus will conjunct Pluto just as Uranus, squaring Pluto, turns direct, right on the solstice. With Mercury, the Sun and Moon joining Venus and Pluto in Capricorn at the turning point in the solar cycle we can expect an uptick in these issues, but, keep your eyes peeled as the season’s festivities get underway – there is a fine line between reality and illusion, and we need to have the eyes of the seer.

shaman Venus has just passed exact sextile with Neptune in Pisces as this goes to press and, if we care to see it, we can see the more sinister effect of this focus coming to light.

The illusion is failing that Fukushima, the ultimate symbol of the payback that reckless disrespect for Life brings, is in any way benign in relation to these events and, with senior scientists from the Japanese nuclear industry now admitting that the situation at and arising from Fukushima is exponentialy worse than Chernobyl, the attempts of the Japanese government to quash the truth is brought into full perspective. But, this effect is not confined to Japan. A greater part of the illusion, outside of criminalising ‘truth’, which the PTB are attempting to deliver in full swing, is to marginalise such information, reduce it to the level of ‘conspiracy theories’, for example. 100% fatalities amongst creatures directly affected by thousands of tons of irradiated water being released everyday into the Pacific says otherwise. The water cycle alone tells us Fukushima is a global event that cannot be avoided, but, how much of a counter to this reality can we raise? Venus in Capricorn challenges us to ask ourselves, and to re-evaluate and work from our most heart held notions before we answer.

Neptune as a planetary influence is directly associated with widespread dissemination, as well as the propagation of illusion. The negative influence shows through unboundaried viral and epidemic effects. The Ebola illusion is that it is a virus, and, all this while the truth has been plastered, in plain sight, all over the media where the chosen image of Ebola is of a worm-like creature ~ the truth is that Ebola is a parasitic organism, against which vaccines are useless. In the light of the current vaccine programmes you can draw your own conclusions from this.

But Neptunes influence here has a positive counterpart as well, through connection with the worlds of imagination and non-physical realities, bringing energy to the unexpergated Venusian realms of creativity that we can tap into in our art and dreaming. Neptune’s positive corrollary in the mundane world is also visible in fashions and trending, but, with Uranus direct, in a world of global connectivity through Uranian technology, this can become the field through which the counter-punch is delivered. Censorship of the internet or not, the energy is unleashed.

Under such conditions, perhaps the Orcas have a deeper message to deliver in this respect……if are we party to their infanticide, we are also a party to our own, as a species. Sedna has spoken and the message pulls us into the dreaming powers we are so much in danger of forgetting.

The Whales carry and connect us with something unique in the animal realms, a far reaching and ranging role that reflects a deeper truth native to our planet and beyond, a gift inherited by all Her children. We are all here for a very special reason, which imagination, connection in spirit and creativity make conscious and visible. In the animal medicines the Whales are here to connect us with that positive Neptunian attribute ~ they connect us to the cosmic source, the Dreaming. In this they are the essential part of Earth-Life that is ever-present in the Wild Woman’s kenning, as keepers of inherent knowledge of this connection, as it manifests within both natural and Natural law. It is said that piebald and spotted animals embody a link with the stellar realms ~ and, in the medicines, the Orcas are the fierce protectors of this cosmological connection. They work through the balance of life and death within Life as our planetary connection with the Dreaming.

With the loss of a generation comes serious reflection – augeries can be found in all things, but, if we were to look to the Orcas we would find a clear indication that the link is now seriously endangered. This not only applies as an animal mirror of the medicines within the wheel of Life, but, as a true reflection of what the gagging orders, limits on our movements and freedom of speech seek to prevent coming to light. The mass protests are also an expression of the unrest that rises when the stories held in the Dreaming are themselves censored. We are in the midst of chaos out of which arises their resurgence and re-telling. This has been an ongoing theme over the months on this site, but, the truth is in plain sight as organisations and official bodies responsible for clandestine programmes of eugenics, genocide, ecocide etc etc, clearly no longer consider it a responsibility to be accountable to the People, let alone the truth that our emerging mythos is seeking to enshrine for future generations. But, let us not forget, Orcas are also the Hunters of the Whale nation.

If Sagittarian influences, the realm of the Archer, are expanding consciousness through the Sun and Mercury in this time, Venus journey through Capricorn energises those issues that have already been disclosed that are most crucial for earthly life to continue, and, with the planetary Goddess meeting Pluto, the underworld deity, these issues will undoubtedly manifest their radical nature, equally demanding a deeper appreciation and commitment.

The combined energies of Pluto and Venus bring us face to face with the wild Animal Mother, She who unleashes the fearless energy of the Huntress and governs the creative principles of Life and Death through Nature. These are times for us to bring her energy into our hearts and feel Her own deep truths speaking to and through us.

The need to bring this fierce and unbounded love for Life into our own lives, where death to one world means birth into another, needs no mirror and is inherent within all of us who have been born through her body, but, nevertheless, mirrors we have in abundance when Venus and Pluto meet, and the flip-side of this combination is equally provocative and revealing.

Old woman

When Venus conjoins with Pluto she also sextiles Chiron. Here She can disclose subconscious inner feelings, neurotic wounding and experiences of inadequacy, of the unnatural desire for sado-masocistic interactions as an expression of relationship. In many ways Chiron amplifies the dark side of both Pluto and Venus played out through exploitation and the creation of victim/violator roles in which subjugation reaches damaging and critical levels. These are levels in which psychoses manifest their dynamic, and we might well be seeing this at work in the disfunctional and destructive examples cited above. But, it is precisely in their positive counterpart that they find their nemesis. The Chironic embodiment of animal and human frame in one being is also the realm of the Wild Woman and her pack.

She can be Venus in Furs in both senses, but, regardless the scenario, the choice is ours ~ do we roll over and suffer the degradation, allowing the dominators free rein, or do we let the blood rise and burn with a deep and fierce energy in our hearts. As dramatic as it may sound, in reality the choice, like Orca’s markings, is becoming very black and white for us now, clearly polarised. But, the onus now, in anticipation of the coming season of powerful Moons and the final Pluto Uranus square, is to realise the values represented by both sides of the equation, to hunt down meaning and understanding within their midst, in order to find a path of realism, one that promises a better future. The question is are you moved to take up the Orca’s call, the call of the Wild Woman and Hunter, and, in entering their circle, invoke and bring their medicines into your own life and circle……

It is a choice between being the hunter and the hunted ~ one thing is certain, either way; She is the ancient heart of the world who sees all…..

Top image : Susan Seddon Boulet

Root Medicine of the Stars

Reality Revision In Alchemical Times

December 6, 2014 mirror 1 Comment

water goddess

As the wheel turns towards solstice a time for reflection and regrouping comes to centre stage. This is a time for the mythical dimenions of personal space to be explored and shared, but, for us, regardless the story we are telling, in our times a drama of heroic proportions is already unfolding in our midst.

It often appears a macabre theatre is playing out on planet Earth in which humanity is cast in the role of both protagonist and villain. For any of us to accept our own roles in this is a challenge, and, on the level of personal truth, calls upon us to engage with the drama through our own identity ~ if each of us were to closely examine the reality behind our everyday lives with unerring honesty it would not only reveal how inextricably caught up in this theatre each of us is and has been, contributing to its ongoing drama, but, it may also provide the personal incentive to transform our own lives in the face of such truths that would make the essential difference.

The 12th lunation of 2014 has brought the focus to Truth and we now enter the period before solstice, in the midst of the sixth Uranus Pluto square, with this as the central mandate. As the lunation winds down this is the time in which we can recapitulate on truths revealed and take up the outer planets mandate to either act upon what is being revealed to us, or to allow ourselves to continue to be acted upon ~ both Pluto and Uranus are intensifying how we experience the natural balance between the apparently opposing forces within this mandate in the theatre of the world.

The sixth square between Pluto and Uranus, exact on December 15th, brings us to the penultimate period of pro-active reality revision that these two planets have been fueling over the last three years or so. Pluto is often likened to the Alchemist, a mysterious figure whose processes focus on purification and renewal, bringing transubstantiation of internal realities through the medium of intrinsic power. By contrast, Uranus is likened to the Awakener, the magician, Promethian wielder of divine fire, the otherworldly element which brings transformation through the extrinsic intervention of power unbounded by the physical ~ both radically change all that they touch. Together they reveal and activate principles at work in the world that are normally beyond the reach of human perception.

In the astrological lore Pluto is also associated with ‘control’ and Uranus with ‘freedom’, both being notions familiar to us in everyday terms, but, with these two planets their effect is archetypal, creating more field based dynamics. Pluto is process oriented, more prone to amplifying gravitational, magnetic and conditioning qualities with centripetal effect – we are pulled into the field of core issues, manifesting fundamental inherent qualities of power, conforming to the dictates of the time just as iron filings conform within a magnetic field. Uranus is by comparison interventionist, impulsive, exerting electric charge, both shocking, liberating and centrifugal – we are impulsed out of the norm by sudden realisation of alternatives, the shock of the new, the empowerment of invention. Such dynamics amplify human actions in which ‘control’ is applied and ‘freedom’ exercised, but, the square emphasises the differences between these two archetypes, their antagonistic qualities rather than their natural synthesis. Resolution is not the issue – the endgame is somewhere down the road, while we journey through the process itself, and this requires both strong sustained focus and the ability to adapt, to make sudden adjustments. The positive effect is release from restrictive patterning, the negative, intensification of polarised conditioning. We can clearly see both at work in the world.

Within such a vortex of change reality becomes alchemical by nature ~ we are caught within the alchemical vessel of our times. If the events of the last few years are a measure of which of these two outer planets has the dominant role it would be Pluto that appears to be in the driving seat – being in Capricorn in the tropical zodiac Pluto forces issues that will the process to be followed through to the end, deeply embedded within the world. Uranus interventionist influence is present, but, the collective embodiment of the ‘freedom’ principle is yet to prevail; we are still pitting the one against the other.

It is useful here to briefly consider world-changing influences that have arisen during previous times in which Pluto has transitted Capricorn. In the 16th century this transit saw the European invasion of the Americas, in the 18th century the rise of industrialisation, and, in our time, a post industrial dominance of nationalism and nationalist agendas. These are now exerted through increasing global corporatism, competative political dogma and wars. In a very real sense conflict manifests the dichotomy of competition and co-operation through the relationship between Nature and Power.

By the same token the interaction of Pluto and Uranus has proven a powerful catalyst ~ Uranian influence accompanying these historical times saw the expansive influence of the printing press, a 15th century invention born around the meeting of Pluto and Uranus, reflecting the Aquarian quality of connectivity through information sharing and technology. This expansion created one of the necessary conditions for the 16th century scientific revolution, exemplified in Copernicus’ ‘De Revolutionibus‘ of 1543, at a time when Uranus and Pluto were in opposition. The 18th century saw Independence in America, Revolution in France, again at Uranus Pluto opposition. Concurrent with this, in 1789 Antoine Lavoisier introduced the first periodic table, paving the way for the scientific revolution in chemistry and physics, and the birth of ‘evolution theory’, that arose at their conjunction in the mid 19th century.

We are witness to the unleashing of natural forces, the consequence of scientific advances made at the time of the Pluto Uranus opposition at the beginning of the 20th century, and exemplified in the development of nuclear realities and quantum physics. Within the current era of Pluto in Capricorn the Uranian influence of connectivity through the technologies of cyberspace vies with the plutocratic imposition of controls on the freedom this has brought and we now share instant awareness of global interventions of technology based conflict and competition as its political and economic corollary.

It should be obvious that these are field influences, affecting not only the world view, but, the outlook for Life on planet Earth. Uranus and Pluto are pushing change through with both electrifying and magnetic affect. If we are caught within the alchemical cauldron of the times we are compelled to conform, collectively, to the archetypal nature of the planetary influence. We are also fostering inventive originality, capturing the essential thrust of the times in opportunistic response in which collective empowerment embodies the vector of change. A simultaneous pulse of reductive and expansive energy creates the inner dynamics of that vector.

Like the alchemical process, each stage of reduction and expansion requires careful timing, control of the firing process and inner knowledge, both of its protocols and the elements involved. It is a highly developed skill, a high art. Where this knowledge is lacking Chaos rises, compounding its own inner tensions, both confounding and compounding the process ~ either way, a purification is at work, a seperation and clearing of pollutants from essential matter(s). Symbolically, we see this acted out everywhere, creating a kaleidoscopic patterning that clouds and reveals the world view by turns. The question is, what roles do each of us play, how do we each interpret our own part and can we navigate it with enough skill to successfully revise the reality we are acting out?

thors-well

In the planetary matrix the sixth square is presaged and preceded by the full Moon on December 6th, in fact this entire lunation is highlighting how the process can be integrated at the human scale – it is no longer simply awareness in the search for truth that is called for, but, the cultivation of skillful use of knowledge gained through awareness. This is a fundamental aspect of healing which reveals an appropriate course of action, and the planetary matrix can aid us in this.

At the mid-point of 12th lunation the full Moon sees the Sun in Sagittarius and Moon in Gemini forming a T square with Chiron ~ while the Gemini Moon is full of knowing intelligence that experiences both sides of the ‘truthing’ process, Chiron asks for this awareness and experience to be acted on, with full understanding of and commitment necessary for a liberating outcome. We know what is at stake, as Chiron did in giving up his immortality to be free of pain, but, like the wise centaur, we might sense that it is our ‘sense of self’ itself that must change. There is a reality principle involved with Chiron as, in taking on a mortal frame, he allowed the physical nature of things to manifest the solution to his suffering. Some have interpreted this as an ultimate sacrifice, a view often overlaid with christ like comparisons. The indigenous view might say it is a natural consequence of initiation, of full entry into reality. Chiron is ever the shaman of the planetary matrix, transiting between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus, the earthly and the divine realms.

However it is viewed, this is not a time for escapist strategies ~ We must come down to earth, and, if transcendence is sought it is realistic to follow the Chironic principle, remembering that the deeper our roots the higher our reach. Both transcendant and core truths also involve the stripping back of illusion.

Wi 1024px-Sharpless_2-106

Truthing is perhaps the watchword for the 12th lunation, but, what is truth here, in these circumstances? As an ideal ‘truth’ underpins much of the global stripping back process we are witness to, but, with Chiron involved it is the embodiment of our own personal truth that matters, as, without this there can be no global transformation. We could remember that we are born of far greater powers. How do we get to that, ground our true potential, when so much plutocratic pressure seeks to limit our personal freedoms. One answer is found in the chart for the Uranus Pluto square where we find Neptune in direct motion in Pisces sextiling Venus in Capricorn.

Neptunian ideals rest upon the qualities of empathy, freedom beyond boundaries and spiritual passion. Here, Compassion with a big C is the potential Neptunian gift and, in relation to the global challenge, symbolises the release from coercive illusions belonging to the plutocratic cover-up and programmes of suppression. When the illusion is seen through disillusion can be dissolved, and the true nature of the wound becomes apparent. Healing cannot take place without this awareness. By the same token, while healing may be an innate potential that we are challenged to cultivate and promote, compassion is a skill that is cultivated through both experience and holisitic appreciation of reality. We are getting the experience but can we hold the bigger picture in mind?

Chiron and Neptune in Pisces have been working together on this process within the planetary field alongside Uranus and Pluto all along. This underlying influence also brings the need to appreciate both sides or polarities of the dynamic we are involved in, awareness that both the left hand and the right hand are balanced at centre, in the heart. They encourage a willingness to come off the side lines and work with a compassion for humanity in the face of what we have woken up to! But, this too must be rooted in personal truth.

Minds that have been fogged with petty concerns and cultural indoctrination can find it hard to connect with the wisdom of the heart and this realisation is central to dissolving disillusion. Its positive effect encourages the re-kindling of one of the primary powers with which humans are so richly endowed ~ imagination, a Neptunian key-word. Here we are talking not just about personal abilities to concieve beyond the norm, but, about imagination that is integral to Life, that connects with the potential power of creative transformation within Nature.

The heart is a highly empowered organ, perhaps more so than the brain in energising our connection with Life, and the PTB know this. A human who has become numbed through shock in the face of the violence and fear mongering they mete out, whose feeling senses are diminished and emotional body challnged to remain connected, is much more easily controlled and made dependant, rather than independant. There arises from such control a collective amnesia about who we truly are at root and this has always been a game plan within the deadly games of plutocratic regimes down through the millenia. But, part and parcel of the ‘remembering’ is in re-centering in the heart. Venus and Neptune energise claiming back the imagination as a motivating force in re-balancing worldly with imaginative power in our reality revisioning. In their midst is Mars in Aquarius, and, being decile to Venus, highlights an immediate need to bring energy and courage into the heart of this reality revision. Being self determining and leading our selves brings the warrior spirit into our midst, an internal power which compassion tempers, collectivises and turns towards the aid of others.

Jupiter stations retrograde on December 9th and, with this following immediately on the full Moon, the tide begins to turn on how leadership is seen to be enacted in the world. Retrograde Jupiter in Leo empowers us to reflect upon the faults and failings of leaders in the light of our collective direction. We can consider our personal need for direction in the process and, being trine the Sun in Sagittarius in the chart for the U/P square, this makes ‘Truth’ the benchmark by which these faults and failings are perceived. We may indeed see more leaders in the global game found out, under pressure of collective awareness and energy, especially as Mercury also trines Jupiter in the chart.

Mercury is on the Galactic Centre, the well-spring of universal wisdom. This indicates how the energy of the lunation is following through and can become integrated; it is vital that we work with the psyche and intelligence of the cosmos in shaping our future. In keeping with these influences, if anything represents the foundation upon which humanity can build a viable future it is appreciation of the intelligent design at the heart of all that is. Is it too soon to begin building? The archetypal powers might perceive that we have already begun ~ the universe is watching, but, it is through our own eyes and actions that the truth of this will be witnessed.

When Saturn enters Sagittarius immediately after solstice we might well see this part of the process become activated and begin to witness the real crystalisation of those ideals we strive for. In the chart for the U/P square Saturn occupies the last degree of Scorpio, a place of determination to cross over, fully cogniscent in the knowledge of all that has become revealed, willing truth to become established as the central pillar around which our actions become manifest. The Moon sextiles Saturn here, from the first degree of Libra, and re-balancing of ‘all our relations’ will be very much on our minds as we head towards the December solstice. The last quarter of the 12th lunation comes to a close on December 21st/22nd and a series of lunations follow that open and close on the cusp of each of the last three signs of the zodiac. This augers a time of clearly defined action ahead of us. The stage is set – and, although we are in the midst of the drama, the 12th lunation presents the perfect opportunity to step into the wings, observe and gain perspective on how we arrived at this part of the drama. We might realise that the nature of theatre is both magical and skillful and remember that the roots of such magic are to be found in Nature itself.

weeping rock waterfall

In indigenous cosmologies Nature is often understood to be the realm of transformation, the root and source of magic, the powerhouse of change. Initiation into knowledge of this power brings the initiate into contact with forces unbounded by physical reality and such experience changes a human’s relationship with power and its uses, forever. If such a relationship is to remain healthy we are required to observe the protocols that allow natural balance to be maintained.

While indigenous cultures have millenia of experience informing the protocols that surround natural ‘power’ post industrial cultures tend to demonstrate a complete disregard for those same protocols. Power then becomes as much a pollutant as the effects arising from its disrespect. Not only does nature suffer imbalance and pollution, but, the human psyche is deeply affected and, in response, psychosis and illness develop. Nature seeks to maintain the wheel of law in this way. The role of medicine people and shamans is deeply rooted in working with Natural Law.

At an archetypal level this is the challenge, but, in human terms, it is also the signal, not only for allowing deeper personal changes to take place, as the preceding lunations have also highlighted, but, to now be open to integrating the Uranian creative impulse of the ‘higher’ mind and self in the name of ‘truth‘ and ‘necessity‘. The powerful global influence of Pluto and Uranus can be integrated through our own lives, but, the everyday mind won’t cut it unless it is embedded within and informed by this more evolved consciousness. Lets close here by considering an image, a symbol within which a sense of place and self can be recovered that will fuel our participation in this process of reality revision.

golden bay

Imagine a natural deep water aquifer emerging into a pool deep in the heart of nature. All is silent as the envigorating flowing power of the water has become suppressed and obscured, crusted over with a thick layer of detritus and oily scum. The birds, animals and beings of the wild are being driven away by the poisoning odours of the sterile scab. Imagine a hand, many hands, reaching down and sweeping aside the offending calc and pollution to reveal a momentary glimpse of what lies beneath. Illuminated in a sudden shaft of light, a glimmer of sunlight speckles the surface of the pool as a sudden breath of wind ruffles the water, just as more scum and debris rises to the surface. The hands sweep back this second layer and the water suddenly seems clearer and we can see even deeper. The air stirs again as older, deeper layers of polluting detritus rise to the top once more. The hands return and the clearing continues, repeating a third, fourth and fifth time. A truer clarity returns to the crystalline waters, remaining much longer, until more calc and silt, now from far beneath the surface, rises and muddies the waters again. We have come to the present time, are at the point of the sixth sweep of those hands, a turning point in the process of purification and revivification of the well-spring. The image remains, a reflection of the times surrounding the sixth Pluto Uranus square.

As we sweep back the detritus of an eventfull year and approach the coming zone of powerful lunations in the first quarter of 2015 change can take on a different face. Uranus stations direct at the solstice ~ there will be a rising strength at large amongst the peoples of planet Earth, fueled by a desire to clear the field for a deeper, more meaningful and inspired role in life. If there be a symbol to power us on perhaps it would be to go forward in full consciousness of re-visioning reality so that we may drink once more of the clear crystalline waters of Life.