Tag Archives: lunations

astrology, culture, Earth healing, human rights, lunations, planetary aspects, Root Medicine of the Stars

Failing Magnificently

July 31, 2016 mirror Leave a comment

nine samuri

“The creative adult is the child who has survived”
Ursula Le Guin

Growing Pains

The August lunation opens with the new Moon at 10°58′ of Leo in the tropical zodiac. The Sabians tell us that this degree augers “spontaneous activity of the innocent mind”, a creative energy that loves to explore the possibilities of life, is open to the future, but whose outlook is still ‘green around the ears’ and easily swung by emotional energy. This childlike energy belongs amongst the people as awareness of something of great significance emerging into our world; but we do not know at this point what it is, the shape it will take, more that it is immanent and happening, an upsurge of ‘spirit’. It is a playfull energy that can inspire, wants to run free and yet, at this stage, is also vulnerable, needs to be ‘protected’, and the aspects to this new Moon bring out the tension generated between these qualities.

In traditional ways the elders, in their wisdom, will let the children play freely, but, will always keep an eye out for them and be there when reassurance, compassion and the wisdom of experience is needed. Its a community approach that values uniqueness, young and old alike. The Sabians clarify this, telling us that the role of tradition and grounded knowledge which the elders signify offers valuable protective space for the as yet ‘young’ to flower in. But at new Moon the Sun and Moon are in aspect to Neptune and Saturn whose own antagonistic square is actively breaking down the old to make way for the new. ‘Tradition’ and ‘the orthodoxy’ too is being tested out in the world, the tried and tested is giving way to the ‘unknown third thing’.

We are looking at a handover of power, from the old to the new, from the established formalised ways of the older generations to the innovative ways of another, younger age group under the stars. Walt Whitman captured something of the underlying sentiment at work here when he said,

“When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in
columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams,
to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomerwhere he lectured
with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wandered off by myself,
In the mystical moist night air,
and from time to time,
Looked up in perfect silence at the stars.”

The mutable square between retrograde Neptune and Saturn carries this flavour at its most philosophical level and this square has been at work since late 2015. It will continue through this year to revision our knowing and understanding, to challenge our beliefs as well as our capacity to mature, to step into the “mystical moist night air”. Neptune’s pervasive creative resource can be very otherworldly and Saturn’s knowing conservatism very down to earth ~ they are not in easy relationship. Goethe also captured something of the dynamic in their ambivalent relationship when he said “talent develops in tranquility, character in the full current of life”. For our dreams to grow beyond the known we must be prepared to take risks and accept the ‘breakdown’ as a part of the ‘breakthrough’, before we can build new edifices for our mores and ethics, our invention and learning. And, as Sarah Ban Breathnach tells us, “playing it safe is the riskiest choice we ever make”.

Walt’s tiredness with the old mechanical view of things was enough to inspire him to follow the call to a far less jaded and self-congratulatory place and commune in more innocent rapture with life. There is a deceptively naive beauty present at this Moon, both raw, knowing by instinct, and clarified in its knowing, the more clearly to see and experience Life. It is the soul nourishing innocence of one who has survived and taken their inner child with them for the journey. We too must trust that knowing and enjoy its mature transparency.

But, as Mark Twain said, “loyalty to a petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul”, and while the energy of the lunation may have a fresh and forward looking quality to it, the emergent awareness is also telling us that we are no longer able to rest in innocence and are waking up to those aspects of living in which we must find a new freedom, one that feeds rather than defines or delimits the creative expression of our souls.

In trining the new Moon retrograde Saturn also gives us the benefit of a more positive protective quality. There is a co-creative element at work here too, in that the creative energy is crucial and must be allowed to develop through its own experience and wisdom, given the space within which it can feel safe enough to take risks. Here Saturn’s more maternal archetypal qualities are revealed, those belonging to the all embracing mother goddess as Crone, ‘She who knows’ and within whose compass all arises and resides.

The Moon and Sun quincunx both retrograde Neptune and the Moon’s south node, and here culture and tradition is being pushed to re-envision itself from within. Antoinne de Saint-Exupéry captured the essense of this aspect well when he said, “if you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t asign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea”. If the ocean of imaginal creativity is to be explored we must have more than simply the means to do it; we need the passion, a sense of calling, and the willingness to set sail from the safe harbour of the known, the Moon’s south node. This node can provide us with vitals, essential supplies, talents for finding our way by skillful means and charting new territory, but, they do not represent the end in themselves – to some large extent that ‘end’ belongs in the ‘lap of the gods’ and the fair winds they may or not assist us with!

Pattern Recognition

In astrology this threefold aspect complex is called a ‘pythagorean triangle’, and this one (involving planets; the Moon has been triggering this aspect many times through this period) is the last of nine that have been peppering the planetary matrix over the last three months. The ‘uncertainty’ it embodies comes from the quincunx, an aspect in which an incongruity arises, a lack of relationship that calls for a new level or quality of consciousness to prevail; the ‘necessity’ is expressed in the square, where dynamic interaction between two different but clearly defined ways of approaching a problem is at its most difficult, in which the process itself needs to be raised to a higher level, regardless the outcome; the willingness to go forward together is expressed in the trine, where a continuous interchange of energy underpins the process and lends its qualities to the outcome.

Together this configuration of aspects brings a sense of uncertainty, necessity and willingness to ‘taking the leap’ together and the lunation will carry this forward in a positive way, if we give expression to its creative energy, allow its process to unfold while holding the tension embedded within its dynamic. In the words of Rabindranath Tagore, “when the string of the violin was being tuned it felt the pain of being stretched, but once it was tuned then it knew why it was being stretched”.

At a time when the entire gamut of worldly life is feeling the tension of this unavoidable process at work this lunation can be seen as a potential watershed, a place beyond which, if its positive side is nurtured, the emergent ‘new thing’ will begin to come more fully into view. To do so we will need to keep our eyes on the trends and currents that are emergent, to look for the patterns they are expressing, and build this ‘pattern recognition’ into our knowledge base, the better to navigate and work our passage. We will not see the pythagorian triangle again for a few months so the field is changing now and both ‘the inspired’ and ‘the experienced’ must work together, to keep an eye on the ‘weather’, and how it is changing. And that includes the emotional energies we are experiencing, together and in our own lives. We must not allow ourselves to fear, either failure or its consequences, but, the creative persistance that will prevail if we trust ourselves enough to make the leap, is the best quality we can bring to working through this time with the energies of this lunation.

Ice Cave Aurora

Falling Awake

As I write this the Moon is forming a pythagorean triangle with Neptune and Saturn from tropical Cancer, close to the degree of the last new Moon, and the sense of culmination is growing. It is a sense being enhanced through its quintile with Jupiter, 72° away in Virgo.

Jupiter is now opposing Chiron in Pisces and quincunxing Uranus in Aries. This is an aspect pattern that pulls us into a healing space that needs us to center ourselves in the unencumbered present, the kairotic moment represented by Uranus, for its fruits to be delivered. To do so these aspects too calls us to bring a new level of consciousness to bear, to pay attention to our wounded nature, to mature beyond the past and its grave errors and allow the moment to reveal the inner meaning of our history. Much of this revelation centers on invoking the creative energy of the lunation through practical means, and, Venus in late Leo at new Moon aids this release very creatively through trining Uranus and quincunxing Chiron.

This is about letting go of past hurts, while being able to accept our wounds, errors and limitations, so that we can not only mature as people but enjoy the collective freedom our hearts know we desire by embodying it creatively. It is a complex of aspects that supports the lunation’s matrix for growth, while bringing it into a more personal space. Go with your hearts desire but, as the Chinese proverb has it, ‘be aware of your mistakes in the beginning!’

Buckminster Fuller once said, “Nature is trying hard to make us succeed, but, Nature does not depend on us. We are not the only experiment”, and with Pluto trining the Moon’s north node at new Moon the reality of Bucky’s statement is very much present with us as we navigate the transformational qualities of the times. Pluto is in a waxing quincunx with the new Moon and Sun but is otherwise unaspected as the lunation begins, and this pervasive sense of scale within the bigger picture, while it is a part of our growing process as a species, is not only hard to accept, but is humbling once it has been.

This lunation will close with a trine, from the north node, Sun and Moon to Pluto and pressure to take this perspective in will increase as we approach that time. In fact, the solar eclipse we will see as the September lunation opens will bring the sense of culmination to a head.

If we are to work with the larger perspective that the times require of us, and bring this lunation alive within our lives, allow its creative energy expression, the luminosity we each carry within will be our most valuable asset. As Elizabeth Kübler-Ross said, “People are like stained glass windows; They sparkle and shine when the Sun is out, but, when darkness sets in their beauty is revealed only if there is a light within”.

Failing Magnificently

The final piece of this puzzling time is provided by Mars who enters Sagittarius once more just as the Moon is renewing its cycle. Falling out of aspect with the other planets as the lunation opens, Mars is bringing a strong sense of purpose to the entire matrix, a sense that this is the time and the time is now! His journey through Sagittarius will see him meet with Saturn and re-ignite the burning issue of how we use our power to create the reality we are now experiencing in the world. War will be top of the agenda for scrutiny, not least of all as they re-unite on the fixed star Antares. As Thomas Jefferson observed, “War is an instrument entirely inefficient toward redressing wrongs; and multiplies instead of indemnifying losses”. As the pressure for confrontation is tangibly increasing so is the anti-war voice at large in the world.

We can transform the world, we know, simply by choosing more peaceful means for expressing this energy, but our journey will be all the more magnificent if we can do so by transforming our wounds, and the understanding we have of ourselves and the world in the process. In fact, the one rests upon the other. Mars will accelerate through Sagittarius and spend a mere six weeks in Capricorn, where a conjunction with Pluto looks like a catalyst for significant upheaval. This might give us cause for real concern, but, as Hellen Keller advised, “we could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.”

It is hard for us to continue to witness the pain and suffering being brought upon us by so much blatant misuse of power, and this is a time for mobilising the creative energy in the face of the destructive. It is a time when we might feel anxious, wrought by fears and doubts as much as by horror and a feeling of deep uncertainty about our future, but, there is some wisdom to be had even as we do so; as the Chinese alchemist Wei Boyang said two thousand years ago, “worrying is preposterous; we don’t know enough to worry”.

As the August lunation opens Venus is pulling out of a square with Mars and will be working her way through the Virgoan fields of healing and nurturing as the lunation progresses – she brings the dedication necessary for our time and our acts within it to really count. It is a concept that is at the heart of the most traditional of healing ways, that the world is in constant need of repair and maintenance; this is the basis upon which our healing must take place. When we understand that our true power lies in being magnificent in the face of this unremitting demand for care and creative giving, the world becomes transformed, a constant source of inventiveness and response-ability, a place in which love is the means and the end in itself. In that place we have the power to fail, regardless, and to do so magnificently.

As Venus approaches Virgo and activates the feminine wisdom of healing and nurturing through this lunation, and as Mercury very much at home in Virgo crosses the Moon’s north node and comes to meet with Jupiter opposing Chiron at full Moon, it seems fitting to close as we opened with the strong and down to earth voice of feminine wisdom that can help us traverse these difficult times while capturing something of the essense of the moment :

“Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both. Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspective, energizes us. We feel connected. But if that’s all that’s happening, we get arrogant and start to look down on others, and there is a sense of making ourselves a big deal and being really serious about it, wanting it to be like that forever. The gloriousness becomes tinged by craving and addiction. On the other hand, wretchedness–life’s painful aspect–softens us up considerably. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person. When you are feeling a lot of grief, you can look right into somebody’s eyes because you feel you haven’t got anything to lose–you’re just there. The wretchedness humbles us and softens us, but if we were only wretched, we would all just go down the tubes. We’d be so depressed, discouraged, and hopeless that we wouldn’t have enough energy to eat an apple. Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other. One inspires us, the other softens us. They go together.”
Pema Chödrön

Images :

Still from the film ‘The Nine Samurai’

Nest sculpture ~ Nils Udo

Cave Aurora ~ Sebastian Saarloos

Gobekli Tepe, Turkey

astrology, culture, Earth healing, human rights, lunations, planetary aspects, Politics, Root Medicine of the Stars, Sagittarius Gemini axis

The Next Level

May 31, 2016 mirror Leave a comment

Miu Anthony Kwok - uraeus and apophis

The June lunation opens with a powerful pair of oppositions forming a mutable grand cross. This GC involves Sun, Moon and Venus conjunct at 14° of Gemini opposite Saturn rx, squaring off to Jupiter opposite Neptune. Beyond this, the new Moon matrix is complex and will evolve in complexity as the lunation progresses, but, the mutable grand cross sets the primary template out of which the majority of subsequent actions build. First, a run down on the contributing aspects in the NM template.

The Map

While the onging T square between Neptune, Saturn and Jupiter (+ the north node of the Moon) hold the potential grand cross energy in earth, fire and water throughout the lunation, the incoming conjunction between the Sun and Venus in Gemini slowly brings the GC into orb over the week before new Moon. We will already have seen some of the dynamics of this lunation kicking in.

Alongside this a long running grand trine in the earth signs is brought to its conclusion as Mercury returns to the degree of his solar transit in Taurus at new Moon. As the grounding quality of the grand trine fades its more evolutionary aspect continues through Jupiter and Pluto. Its underlying energy is now being released at the surface.

With a Sun, Moon, Venus and Saturn alignment at new Moon we should be on EQ alert; its been ticking over with quakes in the 4-7 range of late as relatively low impact solar wind streams in from coronal holes in the Sun, but, vulcanism is on the increase. This has correlated with the grand earth trine over the last six weeks, but we are moving into more atmospheric realms with this lunation. Solar driven perturbations in the weather on Earth is being exacerbated by geoengineering on a daily basis and radars increasingly pick up strong EM pulses manipulating weather formations.

Two other planetary aspects of significance accompany the NM template; a growing trine between Mars, now retrograde in Scorpio, and Chiron who, along with Neptune, will turn retrograde in Pisces before the lunation ends. As an independent aspect this stirring up of fixed and mutable water signs will find its mark when the trine perfects and Uranus triggers Mars station direct through a developing quincux near to the July new Moon. This looks like a building of energy around the issues of war crimes, the sacrifice of lives in the name of death and its ideologies. Regardless the issues this does not bode well for HRC as Mars heads towards her south node in Scorpio – Mars will station right on top of her SN and if the dark underbelly of the establishment goes on the attack as a defence, there will be casualties! Dirt will continue to be dug, shit will hit the fan, but, that drama is far from being confined to the ‘Fools on the Hill’….

The other aspect punching its weight throughout this time is a configuration that astrologers call a ‘Pythagorean Triangle’ ~ this brings together a trine, a square and a quincunx. At new Moon the first PT is formed by Pluto and Jupiter in cahoots, forming an antagonistic connection with the Sun, Moon and Venus conjunction. The internal dynamic of this configuration pits a harmonious energetic against two more dissonant dynamics and we will see it repeat several times, involving different planets, throughout the month and into the next lunation. Much is being questioned across the matrix with this edgy configuration, and there is a ‘good cop/bad cop’ quality about the interrogation, but, I’ll have much more to say about it after the full Moon/Solstice post when we have had time to observe its effects – but, right now we need to focus on the mutable grand cross as this gives us the lay of the land ahead.

loscil

The Territory

The field of action this post will look into is primarily that most directly affecting ‘world events’. The spotlight is in Gemini and the groundswell is getting a boost from this grand cross….

As a ‘structure’ a grand cross exposes the relationship between two perpendicular axes and the dynamics between their polarity points. Its internal orthogenic dynamic manifests a need to evolve through direct and honest understanding; while the geometry of the grand cross suggests rigidity needing to be overcome, the present one’s mutable quality drives intergral relationships seeking active ways of breaking down rigidity that aren’t fixed on outcomes. This is a key quality for the coming period – negotiations predominate over outcomes.

The four ‘squares’ this mutable GC manifests are, simply put, problematic aspects that pit lies against truths, and our thinking against our beliefs. This culture questioning, ideology testing and reality forming theme is initating an open ended process. However, the Pythagorean triangle gives this lunation an extra degree of dissonance and coercive provocation and the grand cross suggests some of the strategies that will serve us in meeting this.

A key word here is ‘diplomacy‘, which needs to be consciously used, but in the current climate diplomacy can be both a ‘mediating influence’ and an ‘arena’ in which conflicts of interest are exposed. Diplomatic immunity not withstanding. The squares acting in unison globalise problem posing questions, pushing communications and action around ‘big issues’ towards finding meaningful outcomes, and lets be sure about this, those outcomes, if arrived at, will themselves raise further questions. The potential for any realistic and valuable progress to be made is balanced by the likelihood that the process will, in the long run, also involve some serious button pushing. ‘Think before you speak’ is the number one house rule!

Allegiances will be reconfigured and attempts made to firm them up, but, their longevity may belie the short term functions on which they are, in reality, likely to be founded. This is a tactical Moon which may bring significant changes to long term strategies – the TTIP is likely to continue to fuel reconfigurations in international relations, for example.

With Venus in Gemini involved from the start, money markets and the value we place on intellectual property will be in the spotlight. There could be copyright issues involved which highlight the core value of ‘the commons’, which while it is an internet issue as well as an intellectual one, is at the heart of the eco-debate concerning Earth Rights. Online surveillance and the value of privacy versus the need for transparency is a hot coal being tossed around, but, the climate debate is going to be fragmenting further as new evidence emerges that alters the framework of understanding that underpins its thesis.

We have already seen ‘globalist banking’ meeting behind closed doors to form new partnerships – why might that be happening and why has it not been in the MSM? The simple answer is that this year has already been marked out for a major financial breakdown; all part of the ‘plan’ you understand, but, be prepared and strengthen your own finances and resources in anticipation of whats coming. Seriously! ‘What have you got to lose’ is the pertinent question…..

This ‘problem solving malarky’ is fine, if your work is based on problem solving, but, it is the corporate lawyers and law makers who will be laughing all the way to the bank if the public good is not seen to be served by their litigations and outcomes. We all need to be our own ‘private eye’ right now. Judgemental as we may be in witnessing such shenanigans, and rightly so, humans tend to seek the security of stability as an outcome but in the weeks surrounding this lunation a level of security, and certainty, may need to be sacrificed in favour of ethical and moral pressures that reflect the needs of the ‘vulnerable’, the ‘small person’ and ‘the many’, rather than ‘the priviliged few’.

This could be a lunation that assists in the correction of injustices in favour of both the People and the individual, against the grain of institutionalised law and ethics, of which the current shambles of the UN’s Human Rights Commission is an example, but it will take a unified collective effort with a loud voice to really see justice done. The mutable grand cross may shake them up at the conference room table, but, will the repurposing of their directives lead to anything different? The heat is turning up as, while the lies and hypocrisy are exposed, the voice of ‘truth’ is growing louder.

It often feels like the real problem that prevents us from collectively getting anywhere is that too many of us have our ill informed heads in the sand, most of the time, while too many of the power brokers have their egotistical heads ‘where the sun don’t shine’, all the time. At least we can see the former changing now and I think the June lunation could see this change find a boost in momentum. Its time to wise up and work with change rather than resist it. There are political repercussions to adopting this attitude. But, changing the pattern in politics requires a more radical restructuring and re-prioritisation of existing political agendas.

The Geminian field is the spring board and is asking for a re-balancing of left brain and right, and we can see from the state of the world how crucial this is. And, it won’t end with this lunation.

The mutable quality of the grand cross amplifies the need to let go of attachment to outcomes and get with the process. More-so, as the gist here is that this grand cross will stir up action that will unbalance the status quo, and the June lunation will be carrying a great deal of power for radical change at the roots of the power base, in the hands of the people – put those two thoughts together!

The answer will almost certainly not be what we expect either as Uranus is unaspected at the start and for most of this lunation. His qualities suffuse the field with an obscure tendency towards unexpected initiatives and interventions – nevertheless, plans could be scuppered, best intentions could be diverted, and we will be kept on our toes. The upside of this is definitely going to come out of ‘right brain activation’ ~ it is this that will take us to the next level! This does not mean getting woo woo and illogical….we need to re-balance the hemispheres. Ideologies based upon polarities and competition will be where the greatest stresses are felt.

Its tempting to dig in deeper and run a more thorough commentary on current issues in which we will see these dynamics at work but we all know who and what the current hot potatoes are; what may be more useful here is to step back and keep focus on the generic qualities of the lunation. However, there is one very important quality of the new Moon that must be highlighted before going further – the conjunction of Venus with the Moon in Gemini is pointing towards women’s voices coming to the fore, way-showing in conjunction with the Sun and, in opposition to Saturn rx in Sagittarius this suggests that long held patriarchal values are most likely to be in the cross-hairs. Women aiming for power positions who work through predominant masculine values will be most under attack – HRC comes to mind again.

The quincunx between the NM stellium and Pluto rx in Capricorn, close to his own south node, tell us that this initiative will be looking to correct the injustices caused to women through misogynist agendas that have suppressed women and their power. That is a major epochal wound, but, Venus will be involved in the next new Moon template as well; this is no flash in the pan. We are healing over five thousand years of historical trauma against ‘the Feminine’ and Earth is getting behind her daughters; the energy of rebellion and revolt is rising and these issues will be one of the primary targets for reform until justice is done and the balance restored.

UMUSUNA

Composting Beliefs & Digging The ‘Dirt’

“Culture is something that can die and we should understand that culture is dynamic” ~ Bihela Sekere, knowledge keeper of the San People of Botswana

The mutable T square formed by Neptune, Saturn and Jupiter forms the ongoing anchor for the GC energies and has already been working up a head of steam throughout the May lunation. Its a cultural melting pot and we are in it!

The Neptunian influence in this equation is strong as Neptune is currently domecile, being the modern ruler of Pisces. Jupiter is the traditional ruler of Pisces and being opposite in Virgo is in detriment – does that tell us something? This polarity was activated by the Spring eclipses and will be activated again by two more in September. It pits horizontal and vertical manifestations of power against each other, egalitarian organic networks working to break down ingrained heirarchical ideologies, and asks each to find its opposite qualities in the other. There is a mandate for political activism in this, but, it is a circular argument that has been going on for millenia – now, as the Piscean age hits the ‘dimmer’ switch the tussle to keep things illuminated becomes more intense. Saturn at the apex of the T square is the adjudicator in this struggle.

Saturn draws a line under the ‘crap’ & ‘scrap’ that both sides are producing and poses the question of ‘what do we do with it?’ We need some Geminian humour to alleviate the tension, just so long as we are not drawing cartoons that take the piss out of religions. But, seriously, the deal here is that the inherited beliefs we hold are not necessarily ours and that is something that this reality is now reflecting back to us. It is time to take stock of the hidden controls, to reset the security settings on our spiritual and philosophical browsers, and reassert the right to own our own Truths and Beliefs.

The PTB are hell bent on convincing us of what to believe and the need to ‘love them, use them or lose them’, while in reality they couldn’t give a toss. Its the corporate end of profitability they are interested in and we ain’t invited to the party. Sadly, this approach has come out of religious control mechanisms dating back to at least the council of Nicea. Meanwhile, the Israeli Antiquities Authority and teams of their archeologists are trying to save papyrus scrolls buried in the Judean desert from rampant grave robbing……

Saturn also requires us to clearly differentiate between beliefs and ideals that can be realistically grounded in reality and those that exist because our understanding is incomplete. The Dead Sea Scrolls are a case in point. In Sagittarius, Saturnian law tests the faith we have in what we know, but, he will balance this out by assisting in developing the strength and integrity we need to stand in our own truth. The Essense spirit lives on……

All this can lead to empowered individuals who have formulated a clear understanding of the value and internal structures of their beliefs. It can also lead to overzealous rigid fundamentalism. We can find ‘leaders’ amongst both, including new age opportunists, inspirational and motivational speakers, human and environmental rights figure-heads, spiritual entrepenuers, gurus, evangelists, cult leaders and religious militants, not to mention politicians and globalists. In Saturn’s square with Neptune and Jupiter the ideological basis of fundamentalism is examined, broken down and digested, its place in the world assessed according to what and how it feeds us, how this benefits us, or deceives and hurts us.

This is a Moon in which ‘adherents to faiths’, ‘believers’ and ‘idealists’ have to face up to exposure and close examination of their principles, the validity of their way of seeing the world. This may not be confined to faiths but can also come about through secular un-neighborliness, ill concieved cultural incompatibilty, which can lead to conflict and power struggles which highlight and exaggerate their differences further. We do need to rise above all that. The furor surrounding immigration is a melting pot in which the antagonistic antipathy between blinkered nationalism and idealistic liberalism is rearing its ugly head, for example – but I’m not going to mention Brexit…..damn!

Under such scrutiny beliefs and ideologies either become re-constituted, re-envisioned according to the primary principles upon which they are based or, exposed in the light of experience, become the root of isolation and and a breeding ground for scapegoats. Did you catch Chomsky’s hint of the latter should the UK pull out of the EU, btw? Either way, the reality of the change that isn’t being addressed by these political pantomimes is going to be an emergent issue through this lunation.

The trend here is to compost beliefs, ideas and policies that don’t grow corn and prepare the ground by turning over the barren soil of redundant understanding. Clearly, it is time to stop ‘believing’, to let life teach us and step on the gas with manifesting reality outside the box of the old and outmoded regimes. The time is ripe to step up to the next level.

Communicating With ‘The Other Side’

This new Moon also highlights problems pertinent to our spiritual and mental health, and that is very pertinent to the Mercury influence that was opened up by its solar transit. What are our internal blind spots, where are the blockages that prevent us from raising our resonance, and what are they telling us. What is getting in the way of us making changes that we know need to happen? How much of what we hold to doesn’t actually belong to us anyway, in fact, this is probably the best question we can ask of ourselves here. The struggle is not simply global, or archetypal, it is also personal. These major aspects help this process. However, that mutable question ‘what comes next’ may well affect our answers more than our questions. They are staring us in the face; take a higher view and share what you can see.

astrology, divination, Earth healing, I Ching, lunations, planetary aspects, retrograde planets, Root Medicine of the Stars, Sagittarius Gemini axis

Conflict Resolution

May 19, 2016 mirror Leave a comment

The May full Moon is conjunct Mars, retrograde in Sagittarius. This is a Moon that draws attention to qualities of mind, their power in shaping reality and the conditioning influences they bring to life. The will is turned inward, the search for meaning is amplified, the need to get under the skin of our most burning issues is emphasised. This can stir up emotional stress and requires a presence of mind that is able to penetrate beyond appearances without losing its lucidity.

The nature of conflict, its inner purpose and causes, is under the spotlight of the Gemini Sun as the May lunation reaches its height. How we claim a positive application of the inflamed Moon’s energies is an open question and rests upon our own inner state of lucidity. The lunar impulse will give way to a more positive dynamic if, in its midst, mindful equilibrium is sought and its energy focused in diligent awareness. Its usefulness can overcome its potential volatility.

Knowledge is the ‘weapon of choice’ here but the aim is to use it to a higher purpose, one that avoids misuse of its power, that rests upon a respectful understanding of its purpose.

Interpretations of that purpose can be as individual as the person making them, and it is advisable to reflect upon your own use of the power available to you, as well as the areas of conflict it highlights in your own life. But, collectively there is something to be gained from looking into the nature of Mars own journey at this time.

Mars journey through the Sagittarian fields took a turn on April 17th when he reached the star Antares in the heart of the Scorpion’s constellation and stationed retrograde. At that time Mercury in Taurus was in exact trine with Pluto in Capricorn and the waxing Moon was passing through mid Virgo, joining with Jupiter and the north node. The grand earth trine they formed has contributed a sense of immanence and build up, a pulsing of the earth field that deepens the sense of expectancy. Its image is of thunder within the earth. In the full Moon we see this image developed, activating its potential energy within and releasing it amongst the people.

The qualities of the star Antares, whose name can be read as ‘against Aries’, have a distinctly martial nature, bring a deeper meaning to Mars station – a will to pull back from the brink of war, is an obvious interpretation. But, this star is also one of the four guardians of the heavens, associated with the ‘Watcher of the West’, an epithet suggesting the need to be vigilant of the path the ‘red road’ is leading us on, towards the ancestral realms, beyond the borders of life.

Amphitrite

At full Moon on the 21st of May Mars meets with the Moon in the second degree of tropical Sagittarius. They appear in the skies as two bright travellers passing through the great library of Nature amongst the stars. They will reflect the solar life force at work in nature through the intelligence and awareness of the Geminian field as the Sun opposes them across the zodiac. The energy of the intelligent design at work in nature, reflected in the purposefulness and psychosomatic unity they signify, lends to Mars meeting with the Moon a deepening desire to recalibrate our personal power in line with our soul. The need to gain a deeper understanding of who we are and why we have come here.

In a sense, in retracing his steps Mars shows a willingness to dig deeper into the substrates of accumulated knowledge held within the Sagittarian bedrock of its first degrees. The pathway he is following leads to the underworld and, beyond the Scorpio cusp, breaks through to the subterranean ocean that lies beneath. Pluto and Mars combine their powers in this realm.

This a place of primaeval intensity, its instinctive drives an expression of an archetypal desire for life that underpins the incarnate world. The life forms that inhabit the oceanic underworld of Scorpio correspond to essential manifestations of the life force, to the fundamental dynamics and beings of the unconscious – the codes of natural law are given shape here and their primal coding of the intelligent design within nature reveal its raw building blocks; Scorpio is also associated with DNA.

The journey Mars has undertaken and his lunar rendevous suggests their meeting across from the Sun is intended to draw attention to where our own journey is taking us in relation to those codes of Life. Their highest expression is present ‘in potentia’, an unimaginally vast store-house of ancestral knowledge lies behind its patterning, but, science has failed to understand that the message is not in the code itself; decoding its pattern does not give us access to its highest purpose. It requires the quality of virtue to access its meaning.

The I Ching says ‘virtue is what is commanded by the divine, and is the root of human life‘ ~ natural law and intelligent design, if respected and honoured, bring our actions into a harmonious relationship with the divine. When the honouring is lacking and the virtue missing, it is like making empty prayers and false offerings, seeking to aquire without giving.

When science plays god we can see this dynamic at work; knowledge is aquired without giving respect to and honouring the root of life. Genetic modification is the obvious mirror of this. Our attention is drawn to the dangerous naivety of such inherent ignorance, its aggressive nature exposed while the ancestral codes for living are subverted; warring against and competing with nature manifests Mars negative impulse, reflecting the more pernicious devolutionary characteristics our times. We are fighting for our survival as a result.

Turning back from such foolishness is the option Mars will deliver at full Moon, lending energy and purpose to the search for deeper meaning as a path of resolution; it is of necessity the only viable option, but, the Sun illuminates our minds with spiritual awareness, sublimating the aggressive ‘competition’ traditionally associated with the evolutionary struggle for survival to a higher order of awareness and understanding.

The Moon in Sagittarius sees the people actively embodying culture and Mars represents the energy of competition in its most aggressive form within the dominant culture of our times, but, in its original form com-petition meant co-petitioning, and was enshrined in the act of petitioning ‘the gods’ together. This was the prayer offered by the warrior asking for their martial skills to be infused with the divine blessing, made sacred. The sacred warrior commited themselves to Life by offering their own in service to the divine and the community. It is their ‘purpose’ that is offered, for the welbeing and preservation of life. This makes a virtue of action that honours the roots of life.

There is a feeling of release associated with this image, of personal mastery becoming the instrument of a higher purpose – it expresses the surrender of will to the partnership between this life and the worlds beyond. It also expresses an artistry, a creative edge and dynamic that the warrior has attained in their own life; the warrior, as has been said, must first learn to dance before they wield the sword….the sacred dance of life and the aquisition of virtue are intimately bound to each other.

These reflections on the full Moon give us a feeling for its sacred dimensions. They remind us of the qualities of soul intrinsic to the path we are on, of following the impulse seeded through the Spring eclipses, and the degree of commitment necessary to seeing it through. Inner work, like our work in the world, needs to be done for the long haul, sustained. The energetic recalibration we are put in mind of at this full Moon needs us to bring out the usefulness of anger…..to learn how to transform it, become fluent in its language, enough to use it as a high octane catalyst for positive change and to develop our artfulness in using it; as revolutions build it is as conspicuous in its expression as it is in its absence.

The partner in competition has been made our own shadow, an adversary in this journey that has been externalised for too long, the blessings of the challenge forgotten, desacralised and making of life a journey in adversity. The secular use of power is exposed here, its faults themselves becoming our adversary, as much within as without. The mandate is clear, we must first make peace with ourselves and life and apply the lessons and understanding we receive in the process to the world around us. There are ways and means available to us……to find them we must first dedicate ourselves to conflict resolution.

We will almost certainly find ourselves working hard to contain the energies of this full Moon. If you feel your buttons being pushed don’t let your anger get the better of you and don’t dwell on it. Mars igniting the lunar passions indicates a need to regulate the inner fires, whatever the outer events that accompany its heat. Our thoughts affect our emotions and visa versa – let them pass. Better, bring a mindful quality to applying this powerful creative energy to more evolved purposes.

In closing there is an opportunity here for bringing out the joyful side of this full Moon.

the horse panel at Chauvet copy

The inner meaning of this full Moon is the expression of Joy. In sublimating its energies joy becomes its natural expression. Being fired up with joy is its emotional expression, but, the presence and celebration of virtue are necessary for this to be realised. In the words of the I Ching, if practiced and honoured ‘such virtue is a joy to cultivate’. The potential for such cultivation is inherent within the ancestral codes of life, but, it requires an honouring of Life and an appreciation of its deeper meaning to be realised. The long journey our species has undertaken carries this potential at every step of the way, even in the midst of adversity.

In following this evolutionary impulse our forebears went through extraordinary pains to bring the fires of their own inner light into manifestation. Survival in times and amongst events that were also harrowingly difficult did not prevent them from developing technologies that embodied its potential. The orthodox histories exclude this fact. Traces of the level of technology they reached are difficult for us to find, not least of all because it was at heart a spiritual technology. Their understanding of the non-physical is perhaps the least understood of human gifts that are available to us when we subscribe to the orthodox view, not least of all as the dominant use of science has gravitated so heavily around its fixation on the physical in our times.

As Tesla is attributed with saying, “The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence.” We can develop a spiritual technology here with the aid of the unseen. While many are already engaged in this work, the momentum building now and the network growing, this full Moon can bring meaningful power to all inner workings and help us in celebrating its insights. If you run a circle or have a community that works within the architecture of spiritual energy consider coming together to celebrate the circle itself. Make of this Moon’s energies a joyful offering.

This is the penultimate full Moon before solstice, which also falls on a full Moon, and solar energies are vitalising the Earth to receive gifts of spiritual power into the deep earth realms.

The Sabian symbol for the Moon’s degree on 21st May confirms this – “the mobilization of unconscious energies under the pressure of super-personal motives.” There is an echo here of Mercury’s solar transit and the Sabian symbols that have been activated recently ~ above and below, the inner and outer worlds, are working in unison, and we are their bridge.

The symbol speaks of ‘the wind rushing over the ocean stirring the waters into white capped waves’ – it advises ‘stabilisation through rhythmic intensity’ as its most creative expression. Another Tesla quote comes to mind, “If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”

If you only get to drum with one full Moon this year, make it this one!

But, be mindful of the rhythm at its heart….ultimately, it leads us into the sanctity of our own, a place where the subtle power of original nature is enshrined.

Original nature reflects its own innocence. Work with the energies of this full Moon to engender that subtle quality. After full Moon the energy subsides and crystalises as the Moon connects with Saturn and we come back to the apex of the T square that Saturn is forming with Jupiter and Neptune in anticipation of the new Moon. Grounding after an ecstatic dance with the cosmos, this is the ‘after the ecstacy, the laundry‘ moment. Closing down the ceremony, cleaning the sacred space that has housed it, the mood is quietly practical and calls for rest. An emergent sense of belonging will help counterbalance the slump in energy we may be feeling. We have a lot to process and should seek gentler interactions with others, be kind to them and to ourselves.

First, make peace with yourself….then vibrate the roots of life into action….

“Walk carefully, well loved one
walk mindfully, well loved one
walk fearlessly, well loved one.
Return with us, return to us
be always coming home“

Images, from the top :
Sacred Anger ~ Rob Purday
Amphitrite ~ Susan Seddon-Boulet
Chauvet Cave ~ 35K bpe

Quotations from the I Ching are from the Thomas Cleary translation, ‘The Taoist I Ching’, Shambala Publications, 1986

The poem is by Ursula Le Guin, from
“Initiation Poem Of The Finders Lodge“

astrology, Earth healing, eclipse, lunations, planetary change, planetary nodes, Politics, retrograde planets, Root Medicine of the Stars

The Fertile Darkness

May 4, 2016 mirror Leave a comment

wild hive

…..luminous darkness, birthplace of light…..

The fifth lunation of 2016 opens with the Moon and Sun joined at 17 degrees of tropical Taurus. From the earthbound point of view five planets are in retrograde motion as this Moon cycle gets underway, all of which fertilise the New Moon, intensifying the seed energies of the lunation.

The inner power of this seed point is emphasised by the Sabian symbol for 17 Taurus which talks of the ‘Seeker’ turning ‘Warrior’, raising the energy of internal illumination as the weapon of choice in the ‘eternal battle’. The battle that would see truth prevail. The historical limitations and conditioning of material existance are no longer accepted as given, as the bottom line, the necessity for individual evolution and self determination taking precedence over conformity to roles and agendas that do not belong to us as individuals.

Taurus pulls focus to the individual’s struggle for survival, to the question of what matters most, and, having begun to witness the groundswell of energy emergent at a grass-roots level since the spring eclipses, this lunation furthers the internal strengthening of individual resolve to repurpose life in accord with our own natural values, the impulse that was seeded at the March solar eclipse. The darkness of the eclipse is coming alive. It is about aligning ourselves and re-establishing life in accordance with Natural law, as opposed to Human law. This is an image brought to the point of utter necessity by what we are witnessing in the world and emphasised beyond question by the Sun and Moon’s trine to retrograde Pluto in Capricorn. Wholesale destruction of nature through authoritarian rule stops with our personal choices and the transformative power they enshrine.

The lunation’s seed point is amped up by Venus and retrograde Mercury also in Taurus, both now closing on the Sun, and the Earth signs are further linked through this stellium’s trine to retrograde Jupiter and the Moon’s north node in Virgo. The Earth signs ask us to bear witness, in support of a future that can be lived according to realities with which we can each resonate. These are core values, realities that are meaningful in answer to what we are witnessing and can be sustained to the benefit of those who come after us. This is the bottom line impulse powering the grass-roots groundswell.

Venus sextile to Neptune in Pisces pushes the issue of discerning what is real in relation to those core values and through quincunx to retrograde Mars in Sagittarius makes it clear – this is, as the Sabians describe it, a time in which ‘swords’ are at odds with ‘torches’ in the struggle for survival. If we are to be torch bearers we must pay heed to how rx Mercury is working within us. Mercury’s retrograde raises the need for inner clarity and clear connections to become the cutting edge here. We must, we know, be on guard against fantasy and deception, especially our own, emphasising the importance of inner illumination as a metaphor for light thrown upon our own thinking. But, this is also about ‘thinking on our feet‘.

As the old Irish saying has it a warrior must first learn how to dance before wielding the sword. Neptune’s mutability can provide us with both the imagination required to refigure our path and at the same time distract us from grounding ourselves in the ‘now’. A fluidity of action, perception and balance in motion serves to keep us centred in our power. It is an old art taught for the benefit of both the individual warrior and the community and cause they serve. The old guard is now being unbalanced and caught on its heals, fighting a dirty war in the face of rising awareness of their stratagems. It is becoming clearer that the ‘old’ is being dressed up as the ‘new’, ‘vision’ being appropriated and propagandised as ‘truth’. Nowhere is this more apparent then in environmental and ecological issues, particularly where vested interests are exposed. However, in the emergent climate the efforts of those who continue to disseminate the deception can no longer escape attention, and not only is the historical veil of lies and hypocrisy wearing very thin but the ‘people’, seeing through the orthodox version of reality we have been and are being sold, are gaining in awareness of what lies beneath. If the momentum is with the ‘People’, we know we must also dance with the Earth and her rhythms.

The lunation carries this momentum forward with a release of energy as Jupiter stations direct during first quarter and begins moving towards the Moon’s north node again. They will converge at solstice on the full Moon of the next lunation, just before Uranus ignites Mars into action, but, in the meantime we have a deeper matter to consider.

In her novel ‘Children Of Men’ the author P D James cast a distopian vision of the future in which human fertility has ceased, a not too far distant time that sees ultra controlling authority at war with rebelious factions amidst a world in lock-down. As speculative fiction it carries disturbing tendencies very much present in our own world to an all too plausible point of realisation. She is not alone in envisioning such a future. Margaret Atwood’s novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ envisions authoritarian rule over fertility under militant theocratic control as a consequence of terrorist driven revolution. In both cases the issue of self determination is raised to become the front line in the battle between natural law and human law. Human fertility is its central metaphor. Womankind is made both victim and redeemer. With Venus in the sign of her rulership there can be no fakery in this respect.

Many might not want to contemplate such visions of the future, but, they serve us with due warning – there is too much that is recognisable in the world not to take heed of it. This too is a reflection of the illuminating power that is central to this lunation, made all the more poigniant through Taurus association with fertility and survival. To remain grounded in livable realities that give us the balance of a positive vision of the future the threats to that future must be acknowledged and actions be taken that ensure we do not allow such threats to become realised. This is not a time for navel gazing and idealistic dreaming.

This factor will become more pressing and present as this and the following lunations unfold, unless our individual choices carry the clarity of perception and adaptability called for now – while the ‘new age’ may be the prerogative of the dreamers amongst us, the danger is that in following the dream alone we may also discover that the road to hell really is paved with good intentions. The future must also be defended and the offensive against it, as these two novels might strongly suggest, is already under way.

A core underlying element that reflects this through this lunation and beyond is indicated by Saturn’s presence in Sagittarius, quincunx the new Moon. Retrograde Saturn is testing the reality of our beliefs against experience. In squaring Neptune we may become disillusioned at what we find, become dispirited and equally determined to hang on to our cherished dreams. The mutable fire of Sagittarius illuminates from within, transforms through worldly experience and encourages us to grow in the process. The message here is to allow the truth in. Saturn, while burning off false beliefs can also be the ally who provides the essential reality factor that fuels wiser and more realistic choices.

The worldly view of evolutionary forces that are at work within our times can be revealed in this. Saturn’s stationing retrograde on Uranus south node activates memories stored in our bones, ancestral memories inherited from times in which natural law has been at the centre of both traumatic and revolutionary events in our extended history. These are memories that have been over-written in the orthodox version, versioned to suit controlling agendas. In accessing them we reclaim our past and with it our rightful path.

Sagittarius is also the sign of the seeker, the wise fool who follows the spirit of their passion out into the world. With Mars in close proximity this factor is being fueled up, in-volved with passionate soul searching – a passion that can lead to the most fundamental heart of truth, embedded within the fertile darkness. The torch bearer leads the way.

Each of the five retrograde planets reveal different aspects of the seed energy at work within the inner workings of this lunation. They invite us to engage on a personal level with our…….

……individual evolution and self determination taking precedence over conformity to roles and agendas that do not belong to us as individuals,

concerning ourselves with what matters most,

our own natural values

the better to embody personal choices and the transformative power they enshrine.

They ask us to bear witness

to core values, realities that are meaningful,

inner clarity and clear connections

providing light thrown upon our own thinking.

Thinking on our feet,

a warrior must first learn how to dance before wielding the sword,

embodying perception and balance in motion –

an old art taught for the benefit of both the individual warrior and the community and cause they serve.

Here the issue of self determination is raised to become the front line in the battle between natural law and human law.

The future must also be defended by such a warrior,

testing the reality of our beliefs against experience,

prepared to allow the truth in,

the essential reality factor that fuels wiser and more realistic choices.

In doing so we access memories stored in our bones, ancestral memories

and reclaim our past and with it our rightful path,

the most fundamental heart of truth, embedded within the fertile darkness.

The torch bearer leads the way……..

Root Medicine of the Stars

In At The Deep End – Saturn in Scorpio

June 17, 2015 mirror 1 Comment

between

“….not knowing is some kind of empowerment
for overcoming the unknown….” ~ Malidoma Some

Just as the midyear lunation began Saturn slipped back into Scorpio and we entered a three month period in which the very real undercurrents and consequences of living in transitionary times return. With both Saturn, Pluto and Neptune unaspected and retrograde the needful feeling for real change will increasingly be reflected back now wherever we look. But we need to be sure of what we are witnessing, its true nature. This is an underpinning globalised influence and, consequently, will be difficult to shake off or avoid, even at the individual level. It may be uncomfortable but it is its emotional value that conceals its meaning here.

Saturn was in the last degrees of Scorpio around the last solstice and this period offers a chance to review the experiences of that time ~ what came up and how well have those lessons been learnt? Did a certain Sagittarian idealism, a relief at having finally upped anchor and escaped the undertow, lead you into forgetfulness? If you encountered hard lessons at that time it will be possible now to learn more fully from them, to examine them for what they taught you, what you missed and the emotional mark they left, and it will be worth it!

Scorpio’s dynamics represent the presence of deeper and more resilient truths, as indicated by the fixed nature of this water sign. They endure, but, the deal is that endurance is won at the cost of immersion in Scorpio’s deep waters. There is a certain detachment associated with Scorpio, however, there is also an emotional charge at work behind this ~ the intensity associated with Scorpio indicates as much. This part of the zodiac has the strong air of initiation attached to it.

Initiation in this sense means immersion in the unknown, beyond the certainties of present life. But, Scorpio also connects with ancestry through death and inheritence, a desire to both purify and consolidate the connection. Saturn presides over both these functions and that connection is given body here, renewed.

Scorpio also renews at deep inner levels, through encounters with the shadow. Entering into immersion precludes re-emergence with the chance of an improved relationship to those shunned and rejected aspects of our psyche. The ancient symbol of the Phoenix, which belongs to Scorpio and applies particularly to the late degrees, carries this sense of re-emergence, one in which immersion in the fires of experience is symbolically seen to be the vital path by which the truth ‘may become’ truly embodied within our selves. This is also the necessary precursor to entering and capitalising on Sagittarius gifts.

The paths of initiation belonging to indigenous culture, honed and established through endless generations are symbolised here. The youth who has not had the formalised benefit of this experience risks embodying a Peter Pan relationship with their shadow, as well as with the shadow aspects of their culture. It is a relationship in which the ego remains demonstrably immature. Many a fool who thought themselves wise has set off into the world and been led astray by this petty tyrant and swallowed up by the manifold presence of the unacknowledged shadow through experiences that expose the naivety at work.

Saturns time in Sagittarius may carry this valence, but, there can be great beauty in the creative power belonging to the ninth sign of the zodiac. Beauty in the form of cultural expression, its arts, music and dance is the necessary corrollary to the sheer force of Scorpio’s modern ruler Mars. If the soul is tempered enough to learn to dance with the weapon, rather than simply wielding its power through force, its edge can be used in service to the higher good, in defense of the community, of beauty and the sacred soul of life.

As the Phoenix teaches We return to our essense in order that it may be reborn, reconstituted and revitalised. In this sense, as fundamentally radical as its process and lessons may be, the Phoenix is a powerfully positive symbol. It is no small wonder that Pluto and Mars are Scorpio’s designated rulers, their symbolic values, both positive and negative, are in no short measure united in the Phoenix. For all its mythological nature the Phoenix coincides with a compelling re-establishment of reality through its own fierce and compelling process; with Saturn present this promises a doubly intense dose of experiences that facilitate it.

Traditionally, Saturn presides over the threshold between this life and the next and, as Cronos, Saturn is life’s timekeeper, symbolically holding the scythe that determines the length of life’s mortal coil. However, Saturn’s three month return to the late degrees of Scorpio is also a spiritual matter ~ with re-emergence in mind we might think of the OOB experience gained by those who return from death. The religious nature of that experience is gained first hand and reveals its truths to the individual. As Kabir once said, in a very Saturnian manner, ” if you have not lived through something, it is not true“.

Cultural mores surrounding spirituality are intensified here, their more fundamental disfunctions exposed and the rigidity of their traditions seen through. Spirit and emotion, their relationship and how they feed each other, must be owned and put under the x-ray of our own deeper knowing, in fact Saturn makes these issues so real as to be unavoidable. Fundamentalist zealousness can be blind to its own effects, but, at its most sublime spiritual passion can be a transcendental experience. However, Saturn closes the loop on transcendance as an escape route. This is more about the deconstructive side of a re-constitutional process. Alchemical Saturn is entropic and Pluto is the archetypal alchemist. Their retrograde state internalises this influence and hightens its emotional charge.

In Scorpio emotional connections with subsconscious drives are crystalised and constellated through Saturn’s presence. The ‘control’ and ‘limitation’ Saturn is traditionally associated with may not be as mundane and objective as we are given to understand here. The water signs all have a spiritual core and, beyond any polarised evaluation of Saturn as a malefic, in the realms of human experience Saturn’s unconditional dynamic is to manifest opportunity in concrete terms; as the radical gift giver it is our own controls and limitations that are brought into question in the process of accepting these gifts. And this applies both spiritually and ethically.

At a personal level we might have to overcome our fears, dissolve emotional blocks or disregard the inner programming of cultural and social mores in order to receive those gifts. To do so is to become more fully our ‘true’ selves, to more fully ground our spirit. Saturn is disciplinarian in this, both as enforcer and as empowerer of a more developed sense of self and self-discipline. We gain perspective.

Emotional intelligence is fostered through this experience, but, this is distinct from a mental, brain centered form of intelligence ~ it belongs to the lower energy centres, those below the heart. Although the balance that the heart brings to the brain is thought of as intrinsic to healing and becoming whole, the heart is also the threshold over which, or rather through which, the mental faculties must cross in order to access the full import and gain the benefit of the body’s intelligence. This the ‘body mind’, where emotional intelligence is most deeply rooted. There is a certain converse relationship between emotional intelligence and ego drives and the heart, in this sense, regulates and empowers their integration. Wholeness and inner balance is its gift. Regular grounding, feet on the earth, can help clear the heart’s EM field and the subtle body to facilitate this.

Ego drives belong to the mental faculties which would otherwise rule the roost and, until subjugated, the ego acts as a dictatorial ‘little self’. Scorpio says we have to descend in order to rise up, again. The ego has received a lot of bad press through this, which may well be an indicator of cultural maturity as much as individual, or lack of it. Culture that lacks the thread of knowledge and practice provided by formalised initiation tend to ignore the consequences, collapsing the experience in upon the individual within a non-supportive environment. Communities lose a great deal of their co-herence as a result. Most parents are afforded the opportunity to witness the emergence of this inner power within the child and know full well what kind of struggles come with it. But, as suggested above, that ‘rulership’ must be transformed, the effect of being initiated into the deeper truths. This is the stuff of rights of passage, transitions through puberty, and becoming a person of ‘value’ to the community.

A youthful culture that has not learned this lesson will also manifest this as a disconnect from its own primary parent, the Earth. ‘We’ are at that point of initiation where the connection is critical, the voice of Nature needing to be heard over and above that of the petty tyrant. The gut feelings and powerful intuitions we experience around the multivalent global issues enroaching upon our well-being reflect this back to us and need to be listened to, are one of its voices within us. Learning how to follow them means that the attitude of ‘thinking it knows better’ belonging to this ‘little self’ must encounter death, in the shape not only of the unknown but of the ‘unknowable’ ~ the price paid for not doing so is a compensatory externalisation of death. Psychopathy amongst leaders is a real issue here but it is a matured, empowered and realistic People that will overcome these petty tyrants. We have the enhanced opportunity to work on that empowerment during this time.

For each of us this experience is different and one thing that the Saturn archetype can supply us with is the encounter with what it really means to be ourselves, incarnate. This planet and its own archetype are considered the ‘hard task master’, the manifester of truthful realities through the crystalisation of the conditions necessary to their existance, so that they may be encountered. How we meet them reveals our own truth. It is a point that cannot be overtaxed.

The overall tone of this shift in planetary influence is an intensification of experience itself, so that it becomes unavoidable, and the dynamics of the ‘solstice’ lunation bring this home.

Between this solstice and equinox this globalised quality is going to be ever present as an underlying feeling tone. There are no hard aspects present in the mid-year new Moon chart so the foregoing may understandably read as hyberbolic. At the outset of the initial lunation within this period, which began with Sun and Moon meeting in the 26th degree of tropical Gemini on June 16th, this aspect of our times may appear subtle yet increasingly present; there is a lot of noise being made and yet the world keeps spinning. However, the image of the boiling frog points up the dangers.

The otherwise undisclosed workings of those involved in globalised power games are manifestly present now and that subtlety will almost certainly fall away towards the end of this lunation. The heat will be turned up. The acceleration of this energy will become increasingly palpable so that by the midpoint of the lunation its signature has emerged fully enough for it to be tangible, and by the end of the lunation it is visible in the outer worlds, concretised.

As we approach the July new Moon Venus will be squaring Saturn while both Mars and Mercury will synchronously oppose Pluto. The pressure effect this produces will pop at some point and most likely it will be loud, vociferous and demonstrative, and focused on forces that undermine our personal freedoms directly.

The lunation also opened with Mars within one degree of the Sun and Moon, and given the strong and willfull nature of this energy pulsing through the people the desire to make ourselves heard will be a strong signature throughout. It may be unfocused and disorganised to begin with, but, its focus will sharpen.

Full Moon raises the stakes. Whether you find your creative voice and want to broadcast it worldwide, aided and abetted through Venus meeting with Jupiter in Leo at full Moon, or feel the pressure cooker of global politics forcing the issues across the airwaves, the challenge will be to sort out the signal from the noise. Remember to also listen, find your still point, a place of calmness, check in with your gut feelings and engage both your brain and your heart before opening your mouth!

Jupiter’s fire trine with Uranus is also embedded within this lunation, becoming exact around full Moon. This can feed a fiery maverick sense of all or nothing into the mix. At worst there is a certain disjointed sense of reality at work behind this, a cognitive dissonance in which the world we most desire in our hearts to see become reality increasingly jars against our experience of the world we live in. We may well find insights arriving unexpectedly through this that fuel our optimism, but, the real and present danger is that we are caught dreaming, following blind faith into our future.

Everything has its day, but, as far as surfing the blisswaves is concerned, while any respite is a welcome breather at the beginning, these days ain’t amongst them. The new age funk out, believing in divine providence rather than sustained hands-on creative effort to reconfigure the human world and our global footprint, is sure to be present when the Moon Jupiter and Venus join hands in Leo around solstice – but, it will be short lived and surfing the blisswaves won’t save the day. That Jupiter Uranus trine, for all its potential revelations, is a part and parcel of the growing and unpredictable undercurrent through this lunation.

As far as unpredictability goes, it is not only a feeling as there are very real and potentially challenging events on the near horizon which this Moon is preparing us for. No-one should be under any illusion about this, as the genocide of the Pacific testifies, the problem being that even if we can see them coming how these challenges will unfold won’t be revealed until we get there. In the case of Fukushima and the nuclear threat they don’t even get that far, but, this too will change. Necessarily, we might feel that we face forces that appear to leave us little choice. It will pay however to keep an open mind, alert for new solutions to old problems.

Another of those events, which Saturn and Pluto’s emphasis on mastery and control lends an ominous edge to, is of course Jade Helm. I’ll be posting a special reading on this and its related global rollouts after full Moon.

The Sun, Mars and Mercury also square the lunar nodes in that order within the mid-year lunation. So, what we will and intend, the energy we bring to it and the awareness we bring to the feedback it produces matter greatly beyond this present time. The ancestral connection is needed to bring this focus to mistakes of the past that continue to shape our collective future. Have we got what it takes to change our collective human ways? No-one knows, except that the lessons and memories bequeathed to us from those who have been here before must be reconciled with the message we are leaving for future generations in our attempt to find out. There is big healing involved in cleaning up the past as it lives through the present.

Shortly after solstice Chiron stations retrograde further internalising the healing available to us through this time. Only the Moon forms hard aspects with Chiron now, an opposition from Virgo and square from Sagittarius, so this is a signal to attend to our personal healing through trusting the higher wisdom of the body and soul. Collectively this indicates a shared feeling of having reached the point where the world’s wounds and our own are intrinsically bound up in each other. Perhaps this is what it will take for us to say ‘enough is enough’ and collectively act upon it. Signs are we will meet that point anyway, if we have’nt already.

The Sun opposes Pluto and the Moon squares Mars, Pluto and the Sun through 6th to 8th July and, one day later, the Moon meets Uranus and Mars trines retrograde Neptune. These are strong aspects when seen together, a sign that the turbulence at large in the world will be surfacing through an array of offensives and tactical maneuvers. This is false flag territory. As precursor to the opening of the next lunation this sets the scene ~ Saturns influence will show its most challenging side as Venus approaches the cusp of Virgo, squaring Saturn at that time. Venus will conjunct the fixed star Regulus. On the cusp of Virgo, Regulus itself is associated with both military leadership and healing, and winning the hearts of the military may be the key element in turning the tide on those who would control us through fear and force.

It also signals the importance of installing our own heart in the command centre. When Moon, Mercury and Mars oppose Pluto from tropical Cancer on the 15th July the game will be up. It promises to be a very unpredictable time ~ Sun square Uranus two days before may provide the pre-emptive strike that makes all the difference, but, who cares to predict what that may mean…..

….we may be at the brink, but, there is only one way to go ~ the right way. Utilising the energies and experiences of this time to decide what that truly means to you is the name of the game.

Root Medicine of the Stars

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

Of Wild Fire, Ash And Oak

November 22, 2014 mirror Leave a comment

book-of-stars

” We are, all of us, flying in the saddle
of a horse called Fast Home
towards the place we tore ourselves from,
to the place that is still open
and, still, there are clues
to our origins

as we live in the torso
we find the heart
and on the bottom of the foot
we find the answers written
by the miles we covered in the dark.”

On the cusp of Scorpio and Sagittarius the new Moon brings the 12th lunation of 2014 alive and the journey begins anew. Here we can explore the Jupitarian imprint on the lunar cycle and follow the path of the Sun through the realms of the Archer.

The Archer’s realm is rich in possibilites, bringing the transformative power of mutable fire to light our path. The arrow of the Archer points back towards Scorpio reminding us of the journey that we have already undertaken ~ on our present journey it is an arrow named Truth, whose aim is to bring the hard won seeds of experience, the resiliant seeds of ancient knowing, out of the ashes of the Phoenix fire that burns in the last decan of Scorpio. These are the fire seeds that open when sown upon Sagittarius fields, becoming the potential growth that is embodied in the quest for knowledge. Mutable fire is the fire that walks, that transforms all it touches, Wild Fire. Fire and spirit speak the same tongue in this place, both expressing their own essence, their truth, theirs is a language that speaks of the knowledge that lives within the world.

When Sun and Moon join on the cusp the qualities belonging to the signs either side of this threshold infuse the lunation, here bringing Scorpio’s resiliance and determination to the search for a greater understanding of Life. Sagittarian Sun, travelling the entire length of Sagittarius through this lunation, is bolstered through Scorpio’s qualities, making our drive for worldly experience and knowing that much more determined ~ however, the danger with all things Jupitarian is excess.

If allowed to go to excess the Scorpio Sagittarius mix can devolve into loud dogmatism and stubborn arrogance; these we must be on our guard for through this time. The sting in Scorpio’s tail can deliver this bombastic attitude with a poisonous and burning tongue. There are powerful survival instincts at the back of such demonstrative energy and, being sanguine by nature, Jupitarian healing must involve not only purification but relaxation and environments that support and encourage Jupiter’s gift, an expansive sense of well being. Within such surrounds instinct can be a more balanced guiding force.

Following an ancient principle in healing and, like many things in the natural world, where excessive or concentrated power is found at toxic levels the antidote is often found in the poison itself, and likewise, in accordance with this, virtually anything in excess can become toxic. Self awareness, as one of the goals available through Sagittarian exploration, is the balancing factor here. As we will see this will become particularly important in handling the energies of the full Moon in early December.

Interestingly, in medical astrology Jupiter is associated, amongst other things, with the liver and lungs – herbs that aid purification of the blood and the opening out respiration are highlighted in this and are also associated with Jupiter. Amongst these are Liverwort, Lungwort and Selfheal. The lore has it that Sagittarian links with higher knowledge connect through heart and mind and I have also come across a link between Jupiter and the endocrine glands in the brain ~ this suggests a focus for our personal medicine work. Wood Betony and Mugwort are Jupitarian herbs that can aid in decalcifying the pineal, allowing the light of the inner fire to illuminate the world. Through this the oracular wisdom innate within the human spirit begins to speak and shape the world. Betony also gives protection against malicious spirits!

Al Biruni, the medieval Islamic scholar, geomancer and astrologer who we met previously on the journey through the Via Combusta, tells us of Jupiter’s connection with sperm and bone marrow – in this, a metaphysical association with inheritance and fundamental vitality links with the soul and the forging of a soul path within the continuum of life.

We can explore our origins here, bringing all these elements together in personal work, medicine and healing. Getting to the heart of things, establishing truth, honouring the living flame of knowledge in spirit. Just as our ancestors did before us, we can undertake to understand more deeply our personal place within the wheel of life through this time. Ancestral healing and purification of the bloodlines allow the ancestors to accompany us with greater effect on this journey. The voices of the spirits can enlighten us of that which is yet unknown. Working with this lunation can give us the inspiration we most need, an informed power for change that animates the world. How this is affected through this Moon begins to take on more shape when we look further into to the lunation.

Gemini’s ruler, Mercury, is square Jupiter as the lunation opens advising us to be mindfull of our mistakes, the ego trips that have been our stumbling blocks and the wrong turns we have taken on our journey in the past. But, by full Moon, Mercury conjuncts the Sun in mid Sagittarius and highlights the need to remain focused and not get carried away or distracted. Around mid-lunation may not be the best time to make decisions, the hightened energy of the full Moon might induce a mental overload, lunacy. True enough, this can be worked with as an ecstatic energy, but, we are also dealing with trickster energy here ~ be aware! Astrological lore tells us that Mercury is in detriment in Sagittarius indicating that we need to think before we speak, cleverness and over-confidence may backfire.

This is further emphasised as both Moon, Mercury and the Sun form a T square with Chiron on full Moon. Truth can be a powerful weapon, and, Chiron knows just how great the sacrifices can be that are made on its altar ~ pay heed to the wisdom of the centaur who taught, “decide no suit, until you have heard both sides speak”.

Chiron turns direct just after new Moon and, for a short while, leaves Uranus alone in retrograde motion within the cellestial matrix. Uranus too ties into the full Moon by sextile, trining the Sun and Mercury, but, it is at last quarter that we see the underlying influence of this lunation reach maximum intensity when the square between Pluto and Uranus becomes exact.

It will be worth our while to explore the hidden motivations at work behind uncovered truths, things we might otherwise have never have known, especially where others are trying to foist their own upon us, but, this will come out more in an upcoming reading of the sixth Ur/Plu square. Shortly before full Moon Mars enters Aquarius and, shortly after, Jupiter stations retrograde. We may well register these changes more on a global than a personal level so we will return to this in that reading as well.

The power of knowledge carries an onus to be aware of what can be spoken of and honour what must remain unspoken, and, if there is a theme underpinning this lunation, it is this. This is inherent within the responsibility of possessing power, especially when it has been or needs to remain hidden. Conversely, there is great potential for self empowerment present here. This is where elder wisdom becomes rooted in the community ~ nature can be our teacher in this and Jupiter’s trees, the Ash and the Oak can be called upon to bring our own personal power into balance and alignment, rooted within the natural world. These trees both court the lightning bolt and embody strength and resiliance, each in their own way. A strong heart and willingness to engage with all the worlds will serve our journey well. Both Ash and Oak are revered in bow-making, giving the arrow of truth a long reach.

It is in the ninth house and Sagittarian fields that we journey out in the world, and Venus travels before the Sun around the zodiac, leading by the heart. At new Moon Venus squares Neptune and approaches square with Chiron just after he has stationed direct. Perhaps, in the long run, we can make the fruit of greater knowledge a deeper sense of compassion in the world. The heart’s wise council may not be audible to those who lack compassion at the beginning of the journey, and, equally we could find ourselves hurting others if we apply too much tough love in setting off alone. Better to have company we are on the same journey with, and, sometimes it is better to wait, observe the signs and be awake to the right moment, or people. Venus too tells us here that it helps if we know how to keep our own council, but, the beneficial aspects of this lunation show that we can become wise in this ~ it is in understanding that Jupiter’s home sign illuminates our path.

For the night owl and lone traveller alike this is a time which favours research and deep thinking. It also favours creative expression as a means for transformation – get into your own stream of consciousness and allow its voice free rein. Use this time to explore, divine and seek the council of the spirits. Hold ceremony with sumptuous offerings to them. Their appreciation of the greater picture is an essential element in navigating the Sagittarian realms and we should reciprocate in kind. Make this a joyous time too, a time of good humour, as befits the joviality of Sagittarius and Jupiter. What better time for storytelling and acting up the part. Above all else be of good heart for this road leads to the cusp of the year and the return of the Sun. And, after all is said and done, we are all Earth’s children journeying towards greater wisdom……travel well!

“whenever you raise a child
leave the hairy roots on,
the dieing leaves under the new leaves
and the dirt clogs swaying behind,
so that they have something
to sashay with in life

something to show them,
remind them, that they are made
from dust of earth and dust of stars,
something to point them towards home”

The poems included here are fragments of ‘Whenever You Raise A Child’, from the ‘Theatre of the Imagination’ by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Root Medicine of the Stars

Natural Law ~ Equinox

September 22, 2014 mirror Leave a comment

raven nebula

2:17 UTC on September 23rd 2014 marks the entry of the Sun into the tropical sign of Libra, a moment of symbolic transformation in our relationship with the powers of solar light.

The common perception of the Libra ingress is that it signals a shift from grappling with the Virgoan hands-on practical nature of things, healing and dealing with the ‘devil in the detail’, which we encounter in our everyday world, into a more co-operative period in which problems shared can become problems solved. Personal healing into collective, internal relations into external and formative processes into developmental. But, it is above all else when we become conscious of the presence of Natural Law that we embody that shift. If our minds are open to such notions, that is…..

In reality the ingress of our star into any cardinal sign indicates a planetary shift, a transition from one energetic state into another and, although we may celebrate equality and enjoy the enriching feeling of the Spring and Fall at their highest intensity through this time, it is the rapidity of the change between light and darkness that reveals the true characteristic of the sacred time of Equinox. If there is equilibrium in this moment it is of the most dynamic and, in contrast with the Solstices, energetically complex nature. An inner alchemy takes on outward form and Nature is repleat with the splendour of that alchemy.

Nature has a way of manifesting this dynamic for all to see through vivid colours, scents, forms and feelings, revealing a creative expression of transformation into new forms and states. Within their respective hemispheres fruit begin to grow from the heart of flowers and seeds are sown from within the heart of the fruits.

Animals and plants experience the changes in light, the pitch, intensity and angle of the Suns illumination, as an encouragement to access primal memory, a photonic stimulation of inner changes that catalyse instinctive shifts in behaviour. But, what of Humans……

…….we are contextual beings, we have a tendency to lean upon the words ‘because’ and ‘therefore’, and are constantly in search of ways and means to qualify their use, and, in this is a key to perhaps one of our greatest mysteries and dilemas – in our search for meaning we apply an insatiable curiousity to the world, at best a need-to-know and at worst a blind tampering with the world. Within our times this drives our behaviour to a far greater degree than any natural cyclical stimulus we recognise. All too often we do so at the expense of the inner knowing we already possess, crucifying that knowing on the cross of material verification and deepening the wound that seperates us in the process, unconsciously so. All to often under duress we have grown more towards following the trajectory of the ‘arrow of time’, than deeper into knowledge of its spiralling nature. Here-in lies a challenge that the state of the world reflects back to us.

The thirst for knowledge is also symptomatic, of our need for a context that reconnects us with the spiral dynamic. It is a symptom of the underlying insecurity that corresponds to the loss of connection with those natural stimulus, with our nature. We need to know because the inner knowing that is inherent in the migrating birds, the rutting deer and the egg laying turtles, for example, the cosmically oriented connection that manifests and emerges through them at this time in the solar cycle, has become a blind spot within ourselves, as Human animals. But, we can learn, renew our understanding, and, in the spirit of Libra, help each other in doing so.

In some deeper respects Libra refines what Virgo has drawn our attention to, makes of it a collective push for understanding. This is the natural push for integration, both with each other and with our home planet. The degree of success each of us find within this process is indicative not only of the real extent to which our own personal lives embody connectivity with each other and Life, but, of our maturity as a species, as it is mirrored back to us.

The Sun’s Libra ingress is our opportunity to re-enter the flow, to engage in the cosmological ground-swell, and head up-stream towards our own spawning grounds. The ancient meeting place is where we can recover our ‘original face’, the face we share with our deep ancestry. It is also time to gather the clarity of mind we need to reconnect with that powerful flow of knowing that infuses the stars and the Earth we live upon with creative beauty. Libra holds the key to that meeting place, and when the Sun enters here we can come face to face with the beauty that radiates from within.

Venus as ruler of Libra ‘minds us of that beauty, our earthed nature and its creative potential. In the triplicity rulerships of the decans both the last decan of Virgo and the first decan of Libra are also ruled by Venus. And, with Venus in the last decan of Virgo at the September 2014 Equinox, we are reminded of where practical needs transcend the personal and embed their seeds within the journey we all share. The Mayan saying mirrors it, ‘In Lakesh‘…….

An astrological reading of the chart for this equinox time would show another major change occuring within an hour of the Equinox moment, namely Pluto stationing direct in Capricorn. Pluto can bring access to the underlying drives and unconscious motivations behind the energy of the personal. This is becoming superceded, is now inflected towards outward manifestations of how we handle deeper insights, and more importantly the power this bestows upon us. Our ability to bring about systemic change in keeping with the times, as Pluto would inevitably have it, is thrown into sharper relief, becomes a rooted urge to transfigure and embody the alchemy of change itself.

Pluto’s direct motion is no small thing and begins to close the square with Uranus that will become exact in December. There will be a sense of things turning rising out of this aspect as well – politically, economically, environmentally, inter-nationally, socially and spiritually, in fact in all aspects of Life as humans relate to it, the collective nature of our impact upon, intents towards and means for enshrining the power for change within world around us is in question. The intelligence of the Venusian heart when brought to bear upon our relationships is a beautiful thing to behold.

There is something in the angle of the Sun at this time that works at the deepest levels, slants through the mirror of the world and stimulates an inner mechanism of the finest subtlety….the animals know and experience this first hand, and the plants respond in kind. Amongst the animals, the solar catalyst brings enzymes alive that allow the pineal gland to release its endorphins, awakening the inner eye. Boundaries evaporate before that stimulous, worlds are opened through which a more intrinsic light of knowing can illuminate the universal knowledge present in all. The animals in particular hold that knowledge here on the earth plane, a fact of great importance to the original healers, the seers, wise ones and shamans. It is an alchemy of knowing, the Elder wisdom, and if the doors are held open to its influx, as Nature shows us the world becomes transformed. It is the underlying imperative of the times to restore this wisdom. Nature is its shrine.

Amongst humans the the shamans and wise people tend that shrine, and, the shamanic imperative for our times is also enshrined within re-embodiment of that alchemy……it depends upon respect. From it emerges a deeper understanding of who we are, why we are here and where we are going, the answer to our insatiable curiousity. The shaman knows that the spirits are the key to its realisation within the Earth plane, and the animal powers and allies are crucial to this end. The shaman also knows that the reality of the dis-ease must be encountered, for healing to take place. The shaman is tasked with honouring those allies, as much as the healing is ineffectual without that encounter.

On this equinox we have the opportunity to deepen our relationships, to actively nourish them, to honour them and bring the flow of energy between us to bear upon our lives….it is the right time to do so. And, we must, if we are to recover balance. But, respect is the crucial part of Natural Law that precedes all, upon which all health and good relations rest. If the traditions behind our celebration of Equinox are to carry meaning forward, in the spirit of Libra we must surely evoke respect now on our Earth.

10414590_811146485563611_5607554969605321731_n The new Moon that follows on September 24th opens a lunation of high potential for initiating radical healing, so use this time well……the state of the world tells us clearly its a huge ask that is being made of us, and while not everyone might feel ready, Sun in Libra tells us we are all in this together, and, whatever you or I can offer, it will matter……

In Lakesh

Root Medicine of the Stars

Fourth Quarter 2014 ~ Making Big Medicine

September 15, 2014 mirror Leave a comment

” Those who are skilled in combat do not become angered, those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid. Thus the Wise win before they fight, while the ignorant fight to win. ”

— The art of War
孫子 –Sun Tzu

The fourth quarter of 2014 is a time in which the balance between enabling power-to and controlling ‘power-over’ undergoes significant change. As a sustained period it shows strong potential for ‘big medicine’ to come into play on our planet. If the preceding months have facilitated building and gathering our own medicines and taking a deeper look into what is really motivating us, now we are entering more deeply into the time for strengthening our connections, getting organised and, drawing on all resources, to ‘knuckle down’ to the work that really matters. In this extended post we’ll look into the key themes at work through this quarter.

The celestial auguries speak of a ‘surging’ quality to the times, an influence that will serve all forms of activism and corrective action that is focused upon and supports the emergence of a new paradigm from the ashes of the old.

Our actions will be supported by the planetary matrix and the shift in energy, both emotional and psychological, will become increasingly tangible. Events will manifest opportunities for this shift to emerge. Opportunities taken will feed back into the loop to produce a kaleidoscopic cascade of Change. As the saying has it, ‘to get energy you must use energy’ – being pro-active is absolutely key.

Mars entry into Sagittarius has stimulated a wave of pro-active energy within the matrix. Emerging from the in-volving and seriously deep waters of Scorpio the tropical Sagittarian field allows the intrinsic fiery nature of the motivating planet a freer outward range. In fact, the current fire sign trine between Jupiter and Uranus, which will be in effect over much of the coming year, will be transformed into a grand Fire trine by Mars and bring the mid point of the first lunation to a shimmering climax. As this will frame a lunar eclipse of some importance, mark October 8th in particular as a day for making big medicine – it is the first of several within this quarter.

With the first lunation of this quarter opening in Libra and the full Moon being eclipsed in Aries, the importance of this axis for the coming months is emphasised. It tells us that it is now all about standing shoulder to shoulder and opening ourselves to our individual magic, ‘power-to‘, in service of the whole. This is where the strong ties and passion of the previous lunation find their purpose, and, they will be tested as this is not some fanciful Jovian projection of idealogy. Mars is on his way to join Pluto in down to earth Capricorn and, after the gateway of Samhain has opened, together they will undoubtedly shake the roots of the Status Quo.

A Mercury retrograde is embedded in the midst of this quarter and we can expect magically creative disruption to feed into the Mars effect. Couple this with the Moon’s nodes transiting the middle decan of Aries and Libra and the significance of interventions sourced beyond the physical plane, at a soul level, will be ramped up. Mercury crosses over the north node in Libra before and after stationing mid-retrograde….and, Uranus, itself retrograde, is already within 5 degrees of the south node in Aries. The eclipse on October 8th conjuncts Uranus. The transits of this time can be utilised to high effect to manifest the creative potential inherent within disruption ~ the means to do so are decidedly otherworldly.

Not only does the timing of Mars and Pluto’s meeting say there is much support from the ancestors behind this creative disruption, but, it takes place within the second lunation of this quarter, which itself opens with a partial solar eclipse! The opportunity to reset on the physical/emotional level at the first lunar eclipse finds complimentarity in mental and spiritual renewal at the second solar ~ October 23rd/24th marks the second gateway. Working with these eclipses is very tangibly about transforming Fate into Destiny! However, before looking where this is leading, beyond these watersheds, lets explore the underlying opening qualities of this quarter a little further.

With the Sun entering Libra at September equinox the context is corroboree, co-operation and relating. The quarter also opens with Pluto going direct, coincident with the new Moon one day after equinox, and soon develops momentum through that grand Fire trine between Mars, Jupiter and Uranus. There really is big transformative energy for change afoot and it is coming through our shared trajectory. Feel it in the roots of the world and invoke it. Be bold in its use, be daring in the purpose you bring to it and, acting locally, imagine globally. The matrix will support you in this, but, remember, in this context the trick to dealing with ‘big issues’ that might otherwise seem overwhelming is to simply work with what touches your circle.

Libra connects in balance, in awareness and through recognition of others, the conscious nature of complimentarity. This is the medicine of relationship, and seasonally its own energetic trajectory is shifting from the horizontal plane of spirit made manifest in nature and evolving through the quarter towards movement along the vertical axis of the spirit worlds as they intersect the physical. But, there is also within this medicine of evolving relationship the mirroring through which the microcosm reflects the macrocosm. We are in a prime time for divination, especially with the eclipses preceding Samhain in this quarter, building opening upon opening and allowing a much deeper interaction between the worlds once Samhain arrives.

That depth is essential……we need to re-connect with our Mythos. This too is supported by Mars charge through Sagittarius. Being ‘the change you want to see in the world’ is writ large on his banner. Be aware, such will not go unchallenged, especially through the second half of the quarter following that Mars Pluto conjunction, but, this is where the opportunities offered by the eclipses before hand take on a more radical significance. It is worth briefly summarising these.

The full Moon/total lunar eclipse on October 8th, conjunct Uranus, is close on the Moon’s south node. This occurs just as the Sun transits the Super-galactic Center! So, this presents the ideal time to divine into and meditate with the global Mythos. Make the big underlying picture your focus and keep an ear open to the otherworlds over the 7th, 8th, and 9th October ~ ask for a vision and share it; this presents an opportunity to remember our origins and place in the Dreamtime.

The auguries of the solar eclipse in late October in the first degree of Scorpio, framed by a Mercury retrograde, just as Mars crosses the Galactic Centre and approaches Pluto, sets the tone for the second half of the quarter. We will really need to wise up, be alert and accept the fact that our mettle will be tested, but, the warrior heart is dedicated to protecting the Elder wisdom of the Creatrix. Holding strong the Circle is key after Samhain. All through this time the square between Pluto and Uranus has been closing, and big questions will be asked of us all to do just that. So, the 23rd, 24th and 25th of October is a good time to connect with guides and make offerings in preparation.

1380130267_shaman-2 An accompanying characteristic of this time is an increasingly collective realisation that we have been in this situation before. We hold those ancestral memories within the marrow of our bones. On the cusp of global meltdown recovering the memories of previous times of cataclysm is inherent to the natural survival instinct, but, the orthodoxy will do everything it can to prevent you from retrieving these realisations.

In the wake of the Mars Pluto conjunction and following the opening of the third lunation a series of squares from Venus, the Sun and Mercury to Neptune will trigger both obscurantism, deceptions and their exposure. The ruling powers of this world know the game is up and will resort to every means of distraction, false-flags and violent suppression to keep the People from the truth. Realising human culpability within these events, retrieving the memories from the deepest layers of the human story and acknowledging the inherited effect they have had upon us over the millenia is vital.

The tactics and strategies of the powers-that-be manifest the shadow inherent in the suppression of our true past, but, such ploys become ineffective once we have recovered the ancestral connection. We need to enter the otherworlds and bring back the soul and spirit attached to those memories. There is great healing and empowerment in this, for us all.

But, the People are remembering – we are constantly reminded by the effects of that shadow, the natural disasters and global destruction at hand, that what we set in motion through this time will echo down through the generations.

It is in remembering who we are, where we came from and why we are here that we will transform our human relations with the rest of nature and with our home planet. Venus entering Sagittarius on November 16th will help us feel more optimistic in the face of hard realities and connect from our heart with this, our human purpose.

We will need the stamina that a strong and shared vision brings, and, this quarter is not only a good time for creating that deeper communion, it is the temporal cauldron in which the mythos and its meaning will become concentrated, distilled and more potent, more latent within our consciousness and actions.

As Saturn approaches the last degrees of Scorpio towards the end of this quarter we should expect a backlash. A more ascerbic demonstration of power and control brought to bear where orthodoxy and entrenched authority is challenged by serious levels of change. This could be very close to home.

By the same token, the planetary matrix is clear ~ the mass of people, the critical mass in these circumstances, can be the source of that degree and quality of change if the latent power enshrined within the People is invoked and made manifest. Orthodoxy seeks to maintain the status quo by limiting that latent power, and that includes not only inculcating conformity, but, suppressing change through excercising ‘power-over’, using force and violence, and through legislation and the legal binding of freedoms and natural rights. Mars meeting Pluto brings these issues to a head, Saturn in the last degrees of Scorpio enforces them, revealing their life and death nature. If that sounds threatening, we have choices yet…..

Nature and our relationship with the natural world is the source of our greatest hope and provides us with the direct route to our origins, our ‘dreaming’. Symbolically and literally Nature manifests the dynamic of change and the origins of that dynamic, sourced through nature, are super-natural. Those origins and that connection are the birth right of every living human. Our choice is between allowing the collective severance of our connections with that power to continue, which means certain annhilitation, and fully restoring this sacred relationship within the circle of Life, which means demonstrating our ability to handle power wisely and honour its source.

The Earth will continue, but, the tree will die if the sap does not rise, if its roots are not fed and it is kept in darkness……

A highly spiritual water trine between Neptune, the Moon and Mercury develops soon after Samhain prolonging favourable conditions to sustain the dreaming, keeping the doors to the otherworlds open. Make this a time of abundant and nourishing offerings to the original beings upon whose shoulders we stand.

Shortly after Mars conjuncts Pluto, Neptune ends a long retrograde period and Mars squares the Moon’s nodes. We could come face to face with a crisis of faith, and this signals another big test of our ability to keep an ethical core at the heart of our actions. Equally, we could remind ourselves that ‘it is not good, it is not bad ~ we never know the whole story’, but, as Sun Tzu says ‘the Wise win before they fight, and the ignorant fight to win’. It is better to choose the path of the Wise, the path of peace.

Third lunation of the quarter opens in the first degree of Sagittarius on November 22nd. We can join in telling the stories at the heart of our reality through this lunation, feed our roots through our creativity, but, the stories we are living must also be realistic and uncensored if their roots are to be fed ~ Chiron, reflecting this back to us, is also ending a long retrograde period two days after new Moon.

Then, on December 9th Jupiter enters a four month retrograde period from late Leo. Use the remainder of the quarter as a time to embolden and embody the inspiring qualities encountered on the path that is emerging. Jupiters role through this time and well into the coming year will be to amplify the creative energies we work with, to help our connections with the bigger picture become stronger, and, through the trine with Uranus, to encourage innovation and initiate more meaningful transformations within the world.

Courage in all things is Jupiter’s prerogative in Leo and is in essence at the heart of this quarter. After solstice Jupiter is the handle on a ‘bucket’ configuration formed with all the other planets on the opposing half of the zodiac. Perhaps not surprisingly, the courage needed for getting a handle on our future will be very much in evidence when Saturn changes signs, entering Sagittarius on December 23rd. If it has not already become evident, Saturn will remind us that the future and that of our descendants is our personal responsibility, expressed collectively.

As the year turns Mars comes to oppose Jupiter on the Aquarius Leo axis and Uranus will become the last planet to leave its retrograde motion…..and through all this time the Uranus Pluto square is pushing from beneath and behind, injecting the field with potential for increasingly radical change. The square becomes exact on December 14th, and stays within a degree of orb right through until the beginning of April.

As the year turns we find all the planets in direct motion, something that has not happened since January 2013, and we will want to feel that all the effort we have put in has been worth it, that the cosmos is supporting us through a great shift. Our challenge will be not so much to design or engineer that shift, but, rather to put a strong focus on creating and maintaining the conditions necessary for its manifestation. Keeping strong the circle and feeding the roots of the world tree are our human responsibility. The eclipses and Samhain are key in this. But, the last quarter of 2014 is itself a microcosm of the larger process at work, and, if we fulfill those sacred tasks, we can take from this time an intriguing clue about whats coming. The signs are that, should we make the right moves now, our future will flourish as we embrace the magical realities and deeper communion with Nature, beyond the material, that are our birthrights and living ancestral memory of who we are.

r0918 When solstice arrives the 4th quarter will close and a new one open with a new Moon, exactly on the Solstice point…….Its been that kind of year…….we are right on the cusp………

Key Dates :

September 23rd, Equinox ~ Pluto direct at 11 Capricorn
September 24th, New Moon in 1 Libra
October 5th, Mercury retrograde at 2 Scorpio
October 8th, Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse in 15 Aries
October 23/24th New Moon/Solar Eclipse in 0 Scorpio
October 26th, Mercury direct at 16 Libra ~ Mars enters Capricorn
31st October/1st November, Samhain
November 6th, Full Moon in 14 Taurus
November 10th, Mars conjunct Pluto in 11 Capricorn ~ Mercury out of retrograde zone
November 16th, Neptune direct at 4 Pisces
November 19th, Mars square Moon’s nodes at 18 Capricorn
November 22nd, New Moon in 0 Sagittarius
November 24th, Chiron direct at 13 Pisces
December 6th Full Moon in 14 Gemini
December 9th, Jupiter retrograde at 22 Leo
December 14th, Uranus square Pluto exact
December 21st/22nd, Solstice – New Moon in 0 Capricorn
December 22nd, Uranus direct at 12 Aries
December 23rd, Saturn enters Sagittarius

A much shorter version of this post can be found in edition 85 of Sacred Hoop.

Root Medicine of the Stars

The Wild Horse Moon

July 27, 2014 mirror 2 Comments

Jupiter and Mars play an important role in the eighth lunation of 2014. Jupiter in close but waning conjunction to the new Moon in tropical Leo tells us this is a month of ambitions, for pulling the stops out, getting the most out of life and taking back ownership of our personal roles within the bigger picture. It is about riding the wild horse of our ego, not so that we can become docile and ‘broken in’, but, so that we can harness its power in service to our own evolution. When we can achieve this our individual genius shines through, but, it does require self discipline, honesty and awareness. Great freedom is the gain, but, as with all the most valuable gifts, it surely will not be won without facing equally great challenges.

Mars in tropical Scorpio is in rulership, is an inner fire, a force of nature, and is out to have his/her way. This signals a time of passionate and determined willfulness which, if not outwardly expressed will almost certainly grow inwardly over the month. By the end of the lunation and the new Moon in Virgo, something will have taken shape that will give form to this potential energy and, the trick is, to be bigger than it, to make sure that it is of our making and not imposed upon us. Given that, what we cannot change at hand on an individual level, we will be bound to move by force of will collectively.

We really need to pay attention to this latter point as, when the collective is on the move, its a sure sign that the collective unconscious is in motion as well. Knowing our motivations before we act or make crucial decisions is essential. Without this awareness we risk handing our choices over to the unconscious, and, all to often that is where the ego derives its most manipulative and destructive power. The pressure is on to reach the higher expression of that power. The pressure will be on world leaders in this respect too – they will not be allowed to keep on abusing their power at our expense.

Venus in tropical Cancer opposite Pluto at the beginning of the lunation ends it in Leo square Mars conjunct Saturn! People are sick of war and death dealing. It would be a wondrous thing if we could say ‘We will prevail’ and to do so through our celebration and expression of Life over Death. But, this eighth lunation asks us to be pro-active and not wait for the miracle to happen. The planetary matrix aids and abets us in this as Venus also squares Uranus a few days after new Moon. Unique and creative expression is the ideal safety valve here and this is truly a time to celebrate human diversity, beauty and culture. Empowered creative individuals are also a force of nature when they are working together. In terms of our collective journey, this opens the door for us to manifest a significant aha! moment, which, if it comes through an unquenchable expression of life-force, could perhaps be the one that will tip the balance of power, in which it is the ‘higher level’ that we manifest that makes the difference. Uranus figures in this, especially at the end of this lunation, of which, more in a follow up post. The chart for the Virgo new Moon in August promises something extra-ordinary!

The tension between Jupiter and Mars will be at its strongest in the first two quarters up to full Moon, which is in Aquarius and will sextile Uranus in Aries. In a sense, and with Mercury squaring the Moons nodes as this lunation begins, we are now very much in the business of making our own luck! Don’t forget to petition the higher powers to bless any major undertakings during this time….around the full Moon in particular.

Traditionally the eighth lunation brings the dynamic relationship between life and death consciously into the seasonal and human sphere. The mutual energetic bond between these two poles is itself an expression of a higher power, but, while we may go about our daily business largely running on automatic and missing the presence of that higher power, we can experience it at any time. It becomes especially present through ecstacy and inner illumination. However, the emphasis in the eighth lunation is on manifesting this presence through healing powers, rather than making personal enlightenment the ultimate gain. This rests upon realising the cyclical nature of energy in manifestation. We have to let the power flow through us.

Primal power rising from the root into manifestation at higher vibrations is accelerating alongside light and ecstatic energy in a descent path of absorbtion and growth of quality. Both seasonal energetics and planetary kundalini! Within the medicine wheels this energy cycle is the sunwise flow from east through south, west and north and its return to arise anew once more in the east. Its material manifestation has a moonwise dynamic that follows the reverse path, wrapped around the sunwise flow within each lunation. The sine-wave created is the lunar heart beat followed by plant life and the menstrual cycle, and the eighth Moon is that of the Wise Woman who knows the Life-Death-Life cycle intimately and works with the plant, herb and tree wisdom in particular.

To work with these energies via the intelligence manifest within the planetary and stellar matrix we simply need to align ourselves with Nature. Natural systems align our lives with the creativity that arises from intelligent design within the cosmos. The tropical zodiac is an encodement of that design…….but, crucially, for the people of Earth now, Nature is the map, the terrain and the journey towards achieving that creative design and manifesting its beauty. May the power of Nature prevail. Go well………

ROOT MEDICINE OF THE STARS ON EARTH

Tag Archives: lunations

Failing Magnificently

The Next Level

Conflict Resolution

The Fertile Darkness

In At The Deep End – Saturn in Scorpio

Reality Checks – First Quarter 2015

Of Wild Fire, Ash And Oak

Natural Law ~ Equinox

Fourth Quarter 2014 ~ Making Big Medicine

The Wild Horse Moon

Living Astrology and Divination

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Living Astrology and Divination