evolution

The Astrology of March 2016: Eclipses in Pisces & Libra ... Deep Release, Divine Revelation, Collective Vision & Spiritual Partnership

There is no way to over-emphasize the power of Tuesday’s Total Solar Eclipse & New Moon.  Occurring at 18 Degrees of Pisces, the eclipse is forming significant relationships with every collective and transpersonal planet, all of whom are involved in world shaping aspect patterns, and represent the ongoing stories in our lives and human consciousness for the past several years.

USA Solar Eclipse Chart

Historically, eclipses are seen as portentous and ominous events, traditionally bringing with them all of the signatures of change – which in archaic contexts means difficult news, crisis and chaos.  Solar Eclipses, occurring always on the new moon, are symbolic of endings and conclusions that of course are often followed by major new beginnings.  Total eclipses of all kinds are especially powerful because they really create a pause in the energy (even if it is not visible from your location) – a break from the pattern that we expect.  This energetic break is like a window of opportunity for accelerated change and transformation.  In fact, I have come to see eclipses as times of revelation, decision, and crossing thresholds.  No matter what arrives at the time of an eclipse – whether subtle, amazing or tragic – it is always an experience that we don’t come back from the same.  There is never a return to the “normalcy” that once was – rather, we arrive at a NEW normal.  This is true for the news that we see during eclipse phases (many immensely tragic events that have shaped our consciousness as a society have occurred around eclipses, thus their ominous reputation), and also for our personal experience.  So whether we experience a new birth, or a shocking end, the impact of it is always profound, long lasting, and permanent.

The astrological reason for this is that eclipses ALWAYS occur on an axis that is referred to in Tropical Astrology as the “Nodes of Fate” or “Nodal Axis.”  This axis represents the point at which the orbit of the earth and the moon intersect.  When a new or full moon occurs in the realm of this axis (this happens every six months), we experience eclipses somewhere in the world.  Eclipses or no eclipses, the nodal axis is a significant point in any chart, as it refers to the soul’s evolution and direction.  Transits of the nodes, or prominence of the nodes in any given chart often bring fateful experiences – these can be meeting those major people, making those major decisions, or any other critical turning point that brings us closer to our soul’s true course.  The nodes are referred to as North and South – North being the direction that we are headed, and South often referring to past life, past experience, and where we have a tendency to become addicted and stuck.  Eclipses that occur on the North Node propel us forward – eclipses that occur on the South Node bring about major releases.  In every eclipse period there is always a pair, and sometimes even a triplet of eclipses, so we will experience both the north and south nodes and the see-saw of emotions that relates to their ongoing polarity.

This eclipse in Pisces is a South Node eclipse.  It is VERY near to the South Node, so since the last full moon, many of us have been experiencing a rapid fire clearing of old emotions.  Since the eclipse is in sensitive Pisces and in very close aspect to the asteroid Chiron – an energy that pertains to our deep soul wounds – this is a MAJOR clearing of deep-seated and subconscious issues.  These are things that often we have tended to hold onto because they are too sensitive to touch – so rather than face these wounds, we often develop emotional workarounds.  So even though Chiron is only one small piece of this very complex astrological puzzle – this component to the energies is like the symbol of Chiron itself – it feels very much like the KEY to the whole configuration.

Chiron is often described in a simple manner as being about wounding and healing – but this energy is very interesting, because it is also a profound teacher.  It is the bridge between Saturn (A planet which shows us our insecurities, weaknesses and responsibilities) and Uranus (The energy of the divine mind & fearless individuality).  Like Saturn, Chiron urges us to face our fears and problems, to deeply and completely LEARN from them and heal through the refinement of our wounded tendencies – and like Uranus, Chiron aspires to transcend the state of woundedness to come into the higher actualization of our Chiron issues so that we can BECOME that healing force in the world in the realm and sign archetypes that are represented by our natal Chiron.

With Chiron’s placement in Pisces conjunct the South Node & the Solar Eclipse, I am finding one of the themes of the energy is around experiences concerning victimhood.  This came to me as particularly pertaining to compassion and empathy – times in our lives past (and even very present for many) where empathy was not received and even times when we did not give empathy or compassion to someone who needed it.  It is likely that these things correlate – where we have not received empathy and compassion is usually the precise area where we find it difficult to show this empathy and compassion to others.  The wound inflicted by the experience of judgment in our time of need can be so sensitive that we are not even conscious of our lack of compassion until some later time.  We can even feel that offering acceptance to another in the area where we feel wounded is tangibly painful for us and so avoid doing so, masking our pain with a negative reaction.  The overarching themes of victimhood and sacrifice that arise from the Pisces archetype are, as I see it, deeply entwined with the emerging desire for a true sense of empowered individuality for all people, in all situations.  Clinging to the role of the victim is where we are hung up in our progress.  We identify so easily with what causes us pain that we subconsciously support the illusion that our painful experiences must continue to define what we are capable of being, creating, etc.    But the need for change is POWERFUL.  On a large scale, there is now an extremely obvious state of unrest over human rights issues of all kinds – and on a smaller scale, many are feeling a similar unrest with regard to their personal relationships, workplace politics, and other sources of authority past and present.  There has been dissatisfaction with the overall structure of things for a long time now.  On a personal level, many of us have been making changes to move away from stuck attitudes and paradigms, opting for a more pioneering approach.  But in order to truly embark upon these ventures, what we most need to let go of is our toxic identification with this inner victim.

The overwhelming energy of this chart is actually one of opportunity and vision.  What we want is RIGHT THERE in front of us, it’s ALREADY available to us.  What we’re needing to release right now are the things within our consciousness that prevent us from believing that we can do the things we most deeply desire.  Receiving is an essential aspect of giving.  Many of us have a very difficult time truly receiving and accepting gifts.  These gifts can come in so many forms and capacities – they can be gifts of insight that seem so far-fetched to us that we immediately dismiss them, they can be physical gifts of appreciation that we are not certain of accepting due to feelings of unworthiness, perhaps, or suspicion – and they can also be opportunities that we immediately assume must be “too good to be true.”  Accepting gifts, trusting others, and learning to embrace major upgrades without the feeling that there’s strings attached or a secret catch, is actually a part of our work towards more individual empowerment and collective unity.

There are a lot of ideas in the collective right now that many people want to make a reality, but what’s coming to me is that it can be hard for us to come together and unite because of our cynicism and fearfulness about the reliability of other people.  Can we work together?  Do our visions really align?  Is it really possible to have functional, respectful partnerships?  Is group action in our fragmented world a real thing or is it just some silly, idealistic notion of times past?

Part of the anxiety feels like because in recent years, we’ve been doing SO MUCH emotional & spiritual work on ourselves that pertained to our more troublesome relationship dynamics that we now carry a reluctance to fully embrace others again.  But we are actually done with that work for the most part and the people that we need to be around in the NOW have already entered our lives, and it is time to start doing something with those connections.  Of course, there is an ongoing process between the moment of insight and the realization of the vision – but I feel that this is a time of major breakthrough with regards to getting OURSELVES out of the way and doing something for the greater good.  This is a time about really trusting the process -- that our pure intentions are received, supported, and guided.  There is something much bigger at work – something that is beyond us, and if we can just surrender to that, what we need WILL happen.

The other point that’s important to note is about a release of the ego – whether the ego is shouting in disagreement with our intentions or whether it is on a course of grandiosity, there is truly no room for this in a higher spiritual sense.  This phase of change is not about that – it is a collaborative energy.  It is not about you and what you want to do and them and what they want to do – it’s about what NEEDS to be DONE, what we can personally contribute, and who we can connect and partner with to have a greater impact & a broader reach.  This is a major purging of the collective consciousness, which is in essence, also a sort of space clearing.  This energy is about the collective coming together – and that is what Pisces energy really is about – the collective, and needing to make collective choices, having collective gatherings, and working for the greater good of all… rather than continuing to operate in our typical individualistic mentality.  The work for us as individuals IS, however, the work of being egoless -- not about surrendering to others, per se, but about surrendering to the higher vision of the mission and spirit of service.  The message that I am receiving is that this is the only way to truly collaborate with others, and it is a skill that we so desperately need to cultivate.  What the challenge seems to be is the question of HOW?  Not because the idea is so far-fetched, but HOW do diverse groups of people truly get on the same page, spiritually speaking, for a collaborative humanitarian mission?  Can we put our human selves aside well enough to do it?  It seems we won’t know until we try – and what we are experiencing now is really preparation for this next phase, which feels quite significant to our evolution.  Even if this perspective seems idealistic, there is a sense that there is real possibility here due to the incredible malleability of the social structures in this moment.

I believe that many people are aware of this transition in consciousness, even if subtly.  There is a lot of soul searching going on about what we truly want – and this is one of those times when we should put some real energy into that vision:  If there were no obstacles to the life we wish existed for us – be it monetary, societal & social, or personality driven (in the case of personal relationships) – What would that life look like?  What would it feel like?  Who would we be in that world?  And if you don’t know what your vision is, try to focus on the feelings you most wish you had – is it comfort?  Is it success?  Acclaim?  Financial security?  Love?  Community?  Freedom?  And then expand the scene from there.  The energy of the vision feels so incredibly strong right now, and I feel that the reason the release over our victimhood is simultaneously just as strong is because the truth is that we cannot move fully into the ideal relationship, the ideal career, or the ideal ANYTHING as long as we are carrying baggage about how this or that thing has failed for us in the past.

It might not necessarily seem like a cause-effect situation either.  Sometimes we’re carrying wounds about things that are weighing us down and we don’t even realize how they are affecting our life.  They can be small things or real intense and profound things – but if we take the time to look inwardly and explore the most prickly of our inner emotions, particularly those that might be arising right now in the reflection of our lives – we might be surprised to discover hang ups that are creating obstacles to our growth that we were previously unable to perceive.

What we have the opportunity to do in 2016 is rewrite our truth.  What we are being presented with, in many cases, is a strange combination of the dying past reminding us of its true end – and new opportunities that are so beyond our typical scope of vision that we’re having to wade through a mountain of insecurities that we never knew existed.  The first answer to the question of HOW seems to be surrendering to fear and uncertainty by really looking at the part that feels tense, wound up and sensitive.  The second answer is truly, wholly, and genuinely beginning to ACCEPT the possibilities that are before us.  Because stepping into the idea that we are powerful enough as people to actually CREATE something of real substance in this world using our personal brand of ingenuity, motivation and drive, can be pretty scary.  But this is that decisive moment between helping another in need or choosing to lick the wounds of our own ancient problems.  Do we keep feeding the monster that impairs us, or do we transmute our feeling of lack and failure to one that can see another’s hurt before our own?  Can we recognize that to spite our failures past, that we still have the capacity to give and enrich others with our unique talents?  Can we embrace the power of what we could give, if only we allowed ourselves to do so?

Of course I am talking a great deal about this on a large and more public scale, in terms of our work in the world as a collective – but this also applies directly to our personal lives and challenges.  The mutable energy of 2016 as a whole is prime for really working through and transforming mental constructions that inhibit us from having the reality that we wish for.  Under this climate if you can dream it – and REALLY see yourself where you want to be in all senses – you can create it.  Now is a time for finding our happiness, speaking our real truth, and fearlessly walking our talk.  This is a time for meeting people, connecting with mentors, doing our service, and perfecting routines.  It is a time to let go of our guilt or lack of forgiveness.  A time to be humble, and tune in to the compassionate heart.

Use this window of opportunity for the expansion of your wellbeing – and the wellbeing of those around you!  Really listen for the messages of change that arrive during this eclipse cycle.

USA Lunar Eclipse Chart

A very quick note on the Lunar Eclipse which is to occur on March 23 – I expected I would write two articles this month, but after writing this one, I realized that these insights apply to the logic of both eclipse charts – Tuesdays Solar Eclipse really sets the tone and creates the need for clearing the space, emptying out, letting go, and getting ready for the new – and the Lunar Eclipse in Libra orients us toward forward movement and human connections.  The Libra eclipse especially brings in the aspect of connecting with those towards whom we can be of service, whom we can serve with, and whom can serve us.  The Lunar eclipse also forms a strong aspect to Mars in Sagittarius, which really triggers the energy of action.  We will likely feel by the full moon a sense of culmination and also perhaps completion with reference to the past several years of deep relationship work.  We’ve established the groundwork for what feels right and appropriate to us in relationship (with ourselves, with each other, with life, in love, in business, and in friendships) – now it is a matter of beginning to implement these changes fully empowered.  The face of how we relate is evolving at a fundamental level – and the bottom line of it is one of more care, more deep authenticity, and more freedom.

So this was very long and involved, I know – but all of these insights have been coming to me and asking to be shared, so I really hope that this is helpful and clarifying during this challenging month!!!

Note that I do offer personal readings, and will be extending my special through March 23 for 15% off on readings using the code “CELESTIAL” through my checkout page to make readings more accessible to those who are in need of deeper personal insight at this time.

Sending love to you and yours...  Enjoy the beauty & power of March's transformations.

Getting Real About Mercury Retrograde // Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius/Capricorn 2016

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Mercury Retrograde is approaching again, and the internet is alight with doom and gloom prophecies and people getting ready to jump into a Mercury Retrograde bunker and hide from life for the next 3 weeks. Perhaps it is because Mercury this time around is in Capricorn, a sign oriented towards order and realism, that I feel inclined to set the record straight about what’s really going on with Mercury retrograde. In this article I will explore the various layers of Mercury retrograde’s meaning and function, as well as talk about the upcoming retrograde in Aquarius/Capricorn. So first, a basic explanation of the term “retrograde” for those who do not know: The term retrograde refers to the backwards motion of a planet in the sky from our vantage here on earth. From an astrological perspective, all planets in the solar system apart from the Sun & Moon go through retrograde cycles. Since the Moon orbits us, and we orbit the Sun, we don’t perceive either of these bodies as going “retrograde.” However, in respect to the other planets, earth is just one of many bodies that revolve around the star we call our Sun. As such, due to the rotating nature of the solar system, there are times where our orbit, and the orbits of our neighbors will align in such a way that they appear to us as if they are “going backwards.” Basically, all that is really happening is that we are all moving different speeds, different distances, etc. and passing each other on the track. When we observe a planet moving retrograde, it is believed to cause a change in the flow of the energy of that planet from one that is direct, typical, and forward moving – to one that is more inward, atypical, and slow or even backwards moving.

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Planets beyond the earth tend to have longer retrograde cycles.  Slow movers like Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are retrograde for 6 months out of the year… That’s why when you experience a transit of Neptune or Pluto to your natal chart it can seem never ending. These planets can hover around the same degree for 2-3 years before completely moving on. Because outer planet retrogrades are much longer they are also more subtle and we tend to feel them most when the planet “stations” e.g. when it is changing direction. The energy of a stationing planet is amplified because it is giving the sense to us earthlings that it is “standing still” emitting its rays everywhere chaotically vs. the usual feeling of the energy in some kind of motion. For all planets we will feel stationing energy most strongly for 5 days before AND after the official day of “retrograde” or “direct.” So that is why the lead up to and exit of retrograde can often feel very strong.

Now, let’s focus on Mercury retrograde specifically – Mercury is the closest planet to the sun in our solar system and speeds through the zodiac at quite a clip. In the course of a year, Mercury goes retrograde 3 separate times. Its actual “retrograde motion” is only about 3 weeks but the total period of Mercury retrograde is technically about 2 months. Why? When you look at the motion of any retrograde planet whether in a chart or just visually, it is literally “retracing” a part of the sky. So the “revision process” actually starts when Mercury enters its “shadow” which is the degree of its later direct motion…

OK So – to explain: This month Mercury Retrograde will span the degrees of 14 Capricorn and 1 Aquarius. Mercury FIRST crossed 14 Capricorn on December 19. It will reach 1 Aquarius the day it goes retrograde, January 5. It returns to 14 Capricorn and moves direct again on January 26, and will finally pass 1 Aquarius again on February 14.

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So understand that this patch of sky is where the work is happening. Mercury is about communication, information and mental processes. So think of it like this: Once Mercury enters its shadow we are receiving information about what will need review. Once Mercury is retrograde, we are in the process of doing the reviewing. And finally, when Mercury turns direct, we should be making our final edits and be ready to move forward with the revised plan. Recognize this process as something that is GOOD FOR US. It helps our brains declutter and reconfigure. Also recognize that 2 months x 3 times a year means we are doing these mental reviews frequently – 6 months out of the year… so none of this needs to be world destroying. It is just another cycle that we can become aware of, recognize, and learn to flow with.

Now there are two other important factors to understand with reference to Mercury Retrograde. I’ll start with the simplest first: The sign or signs that Mercury is retrograding in will explain a lot about what we are specifically working on. Since Mercury Retrograde this time is happening mostly in Capricorn and throughout this year will be occurring primarily in earth signs, I can say that this year’s mind-revision work is centered in practical matters. Specific to Capricorn, we are working with revising our relationship to work, business, authority, leadership, discipline, and the overall functionality and structure of our lives. This is a retrograde cycle that will be very centered around reorganizing, upgrading, and developing a new order for ourselves. We will likely feel very serious and focused during this phase, and it is a very important cycle of development for the coming year that we should all strive to work with as this month, with this Capricorn Mercury Retrograde, is a time for laying important groundwork for 2016 as a whole.

Now, we can expand this interpretation even further by looking to Capricorn’s natural ruler, Saturn, which is currently residing in Sagittarius. So in addition to all of the aforementioned qualities of Capricorn, we can see that this Mercury retrograde is also about the development of our Sagittarian quest & vision for the next two years. So in our rethinking and restructuring, the primary consideration is actually the hopes, dreams & visions that we’ve been cultivating in recent months -- as well as the overarching desire for more freedom, adventure and joy in our lives. Sagittarius energy is about a truth seeking, and we may find that our intuitive truth is more apparent to us as it is striving to be acknowledged and worked realistically into our lives. We know that Saturn can be our ally – but it makes us work for everything, even our happiness – so this month, too, can be a time when we really visit with ourselves and find out where we have an inner curmudgeon undermining all of our hopeful optimism, and find the way to work with our limitations so that we can experience more limitlessness in our perspectives. The mind is a powerful creator and with Mercury in Capricorn, we may experience this power more immediately.

If you wish to understand Mercury Retrograde even more personally, you can go to your own natal chart and see what house Mercury Retrograde is happening in for you, to understand what aspect of your own personal life is getting the attention (is it 1st house of self image? 2nd house of finances? 5th house of creative expression? Etc…) For even more depth, you can even look at the natal planet associated with the Mercury retrograde in question – in this case, Saturn (But it will vary depending on the sign Mercury is in). So wherever Saturn is in your chart, this area of your life is also being looked at and worked on from a Mercurial perspective.

The other factor that is of considerable relevance to understanding Mercury retrograde (or any retrograde really) are its actual aspects. The “aspects” in Astrology are basically the moments when one planet forms some kind of close relationship with another planet. For example, Mercury in this retrograde period is relating with Mars in Scorpio (both at 0 degrees of fixed signs currently, as I write), it will also be connecting with Pluto in Capricorn (15 degrees), Uranus in Aries (16 degrees, the Sun in Capricorn, Chiron in Pisces as well as the North Node & Jupiter in Virgo. So, in addition to Mercury by itself, we are looking at many of the major components of the current astrological map that Mercury is touching upon in his travels between 14 Capricorn and 1 Aquarius. Why is this important? Because we need to understand that Mercury is not a solo operator. His RELATIONSHIPS to these other planets are what really bring the juice to the party. Mercury is a MESSENGER. When he bumps into a planet like Pluto 3 times in a month, you know that Pluto is going to have something pretty important to say to us about how we need to evolve.   Now add in the influence of any natal planets you have between the degrees of 14 and 1, and you can get a bit of a sense of how this experience may affect you, personally.

OK.

So here’s the part that makes it crazy.

For those of us who reside in the USA, we are an extremely intellectually oriented society – so when things concerning the mind turn inward, as is the energy of the retrograde – everyone basically goes nuts. All of these aspects that are already hanging out up there creating subtle tension suddenly become amplified because we can’t rationalize our way out of it. And on another level, Mercury might even be triggering some of these energies so that they become more conscious than usual, and show up in all kinds of crazy, funny, bizarre, and sometimes stressful ways in our lives.

THAT SAID.

You do NOT NEED to go crazy.

What you need to do is to just flow with the energy and understand what it is asking you to do – which is to review and make changes. To let yourself SLOW THAT BRAIN DOWN for a second and look into things more deeply. If something is popping up for you right now from the past – talk to it… why is it here? What is it saying to you about where you might need to change, let something go, or even revive something lost? If a misunderstanding occurs, how can we listen better? Find clarity about what we really mean to say? Understand our own perspectives from a deeper level and hear others intent beyond their words? Yes – it is helpful during Mercury Retrograde to check things over a few times, to make sure you heard right, understood well. There is a propensity for mistakes to be made, things to be missed, and plans that fall through. Yes, yes, these effects can be very real. But even these processes are a form of revision, and if you play your cards right, it may work out even better for you in the end than you planned for in the beginning – because now we had the opportunity to look at the offer on the table not just once, but a few times, before it passed our test. Mercury Retrograde is a fantastic time to negotiate and resolve difficult conflicts. Even if it might not be the best time to initiate certain arrangements, it can definitely be a good time to finally put a long-term irritation to rest.

Finally, you can’t “hide” from Mercury retrograde. It is not a “stay inside and all will be well” situation. This is an energetic influence that affects everybody. The situation of Mercury retrograde is mind-based, and so the problems of it RESIDE WITHIN OUR OWN MIND. If we carry a perspective that Mercury Retrograde is a doom time when we can’t trust anything we’re just creating resistance around the process of actually reshaping our mind to live from a clearer place. I’m not saying that there will not be moments during Mercury retrograde phases that are stressful, upsetting, confusing, etc… It does have a very specific vibe to it that can be pinpointed as, “Yes, that is definitely a Mercury Retro thing.” What I am saying is that living in fear of planetary cycles of any kind without seeking to understand them more deeply is not helpful for anyone.

Working with Astrology is ALCHEMICAL -- it is not a useful tool if it is wielded in the basis of fear. Astrology becomes USEFUL when we understand it as a LANGUAGE that allows us to have a structured concept of life and its ebb and flow. The purpose of Astrology is to provide DEEPER INSIGHT into who we are, what we feel, and why we feel it. It is a USEFUL tool when we recognize and utilize the different energetic influences for our personal growth and development. Honor and respect all cycles of life and you can reap the rewards. Like a good student to a wise elder, there are things we can only know through hard lessons and inner work. This is indeed a Capricorn notion.

When in Mercury retrograde, work on the mind. Look INWARD and see what’s really happening with you. Be WILLING to see the good & bad. Take the time to understand the messages that life situations are conveying to you and then implement changes according to your new understandings. Be willing to live a life in flow – stop holding on, and most of your problems will diminish considerably. Experience your life in its fullness – fantastic & wonderful, sad & dreary, Mercury Retrograde, and beyond. Don’t try to separate yourself from the things you don’t want to feel – for Mercury Retrograde just may be the time that we truly realize how much padding and resistance we’ve created through the very fact that our mind isn’t dominating everything for once. If that happens to you, take heed. Any separation from your emotions and experience is like a separation of mind from body. We can only ever be at peace when we experience our life completely – mind, body, and soul together.

This Capricorn Mercury Retrograde WILL be a bit of a feisty one. I can feel it already writing this article, since Mercury’s aspect to Mars today is really fueling the writing of this piece. This can create a really aggressive energy if not channeled correctly, and a tendency to be more snappish, irritable, etc. Or it can inspire you to write an impassioned astrology article borne out of Mercury Retrograde induced frustration (lol). Mercury’s other planetary aspects throughout the next month are really going to bring some intensity to the table and make us feel a strong impulse for change and DEEP evolution. We can use this productively. This is a VERY POWERFUL month -- Don’t run from it. Take some of that Capricorn confidence and zest and jump into it, because a LOT can be accomplished.   And I mean that both literally and metaphysically – Capricorn is an EARTH sign so we’re really reshaping life in the real world, and at the same time we’re reworking our inner world. If I were to describe the energy in the simplest sense – I would say that this Capricorn Mercury Retro is about redefining our relationship to our ability to create & manifest… and also beginning to form the physical structures and practical outlines that we need in our lives to create & manifest those things that we are envisioning. This can mean a literal office overhaul, scheduling adjustments, mapping out new projects – or re-envisioning old ones to suit the new perspective -- and really finding that place of comfort and sovereignty – that YOU get to call the shots. It is YOUR life after all! Be proactive and you’ll also be productive. We all have the choice to either be dragged down by our fear of change, or direct these energies to their higher purposes of evolution and creation.

Since the Winter Solstice (which is also around the time Mercury moved into its shadow), I’ve been really feeling into Capricorn energy in a very different way than I ever have in the past. Over the winter holidays, I felt a deep recognition of Capricorn as the harbinger of tradition and past wisdom. During this season, this time, we are naturally drawn inward. If we allow it, this can be a time when we really take stock of our lives. Capricorn’s wisdom seems to me twofold – first, there is a deep honoring of the wisdom of our elders, and the knowledge that they have kept alive and passed down to us over the centuries. Second, there is the wisdom that we glean from our own lives – when we revisit the past and see it differently, maybe even with new eyes. It is so important to honor the past – to honor those who have taught us, provided for us, and granted us their wisdom because knowledge gives us richness – and without the work of those who came before us, our progress in life would be slow or non-existant. And also, to honor our own past by recognizing that everything we’ve ever been through has also taught us. And continues to teach us. For with each year, our perspective changes. The lessons we gain from the past, if we’re really willing to look at it, are continuous. It is the sobriety and maturity we develop as we age that allows us to really understand life and to see the persons we have been with increasing gentleness, forgiveness, and understanding.   What we thought we knew, we know again but differently, more deeply. We can see, through our own experience, that even the most painful memories change with time. That one day, we look at it, and what was once the definition of how we saw life, is now a faded old book with yellowed pages. No longer does it move us.

We recognize what the past has offered us to see what the future may hold for us. Nothing in life is truly still, and we experience this clearly at holidays when we revisit the family and friends we’ve known and spent these holidays with since childhood. It’s different this year compared to ten years ago. And so, next year, too, will have its own surprises. Who will we be then? What changes await us?

The ancestors teach so that their knowledge can be passed on. We receive knowledge passed on in order to understand it, and then to take it to the next level. This is what we do as humans. I’d even pose, that this might possibly be one of the reasons we are alive. So why stay stuck? Anywhere? It is against the very nature of our existence!

Capricorn’s virtues are discipline, order, and humility. Capricorn is a Cardinal sign whose purpose is to initiate and create. When Capricorn creates with respect to the past, it can create something very solid and lasting. So what is it you want to build? How do you apply the knowledge of the past to build wise, intelligent structures for the future? How do you apply discipline to simplify your life and bring your dreams into greater focus?

Meditate on what this might mean for you. This coming year is one of major creation and mental manifestation… And so it is appropriate that we start it off working very practically with our approach to the coming changes – whether we are initiating them, receiving them, or simply living them. Clean the cobwebs of your mind, eliminate limiting beliefs around your ability to be in charge of your life’s direction, and take responsibility both for what you truly want, and for the parts of yourself that you have allowed to undermine that. Let yourself change without holding on to self-criticism over past mistakes. It’s cool. It’s about the future now… So be here now.

We’ve all come far. Positive outcomes await us, if we want them. Be glad for the way life provides us direction. When we listen, we become wise.

Sending love.

Wood Horse Exits -- January 20 New Moon in Aquarius: Radical Release & The Sheep Year Ahead

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Tuesday's new moon at 0º Aquarius marks the last new moon of the lunar year of the Wood Horse as well as the first of the 2015 calendar year.  The feeling of one phase ending and another beginning is really emblematic of the Aquarius New Moon chart, as well as the energy of this winter season, and in many respects, 2015 as a whole. When I look at the charts for this winter season and observe the development of current and incoming astrological trends, there are a number of immediate standouts.  Working from the most obvious to the more subtle:

  1.  The Uranus-Pluto Square which was exact for the 6th of 7 times around the Winter Solstice, a major astrological cycle that has been working us in profound ways since 2012, are sticking close to each other and having their final joust just as the winter season closes on March 17, 2015.  We feel an increasing sense of urgency as this call for revolutionary change in our personal lives and in the world bears down on us in these final months.  This winter season is like laboring for the gold of the alchemical fire.  We've been working this energy for a long time, and in a big way during the 2014 year of the Wood Horse.  Deeply threaded beliefs are being worked out and unraveled in society at large and within ourselves.  The true impact of this alignment will continue to unfold for years to come.  Nonetheless, we remain in the final clutches of the deep, ongoing cooking process -- anxiety, uncertainty, and instability are real and unavoidable.  Change is upon us, and the best thing we can do this season is direct our minds, wills, and hearts toward positive and evolutionary directions.  Have faith in their significant and positive outcomes -- and know that the stress will abate considerably in a few months.
  2. Saturn's Sagittarius Ingress and dip back into Scorpio this summer -- Saturn represents structures and material matters and therefore his travels through the signs often impact cultural feeling in a big way.  This year of 2015 receives Saturn's first messages from his more optimistic, hopeful, idealistic Sagittarius transit.  This ingress is about the ideas we want to build our life around and our process of hearing, telling, receiving, and giving THE TRUTH.  These are the truths, of course, reflected upon and revealed through our deep passages in Scorpio, the sign of death, rebirth, and profound merging with intimates, family skeletons, and mystery itself.  In 2015, we will return to meet Scorpio for a few months before uniting completely with our Sagittarian visions.  In the current and coming months before the retrograde cycle, we are working quite a lot on developing our initial ideas about moving forward, but we won't have the official go ahead until later in the year after we've finished our Scorpio work once and for all.
  3. Exit Wood Horse, Enter Wood Sheep -- The Wood Horse has come and gone with swift intensity!  Last year's energies from both an Eastern and Western astrological perspective were profound, changeful, and chock full of huge life events, and spiritual growing pains.  Whereas previous years, the changes were felt profoundly within, this past year was jammed with action -- and it hasn't really relented as it normally does come January.  This coming New Moon feels very much like the Wood Horse's last labor of love.  With Uranus meeting the south node and Pluto squaring the nodes last week there is a sense of deep, emotional, profound, BIG release.  The Wood Horse year has had us working!  No matter what area of our life we looked at, we have worked our butts off!!  And for what grand purpose?  If we follow the perspective of the Horse, it was so we could have greater freedom, self expression, and independence in our lives.  This remains true, even if we still feel shackled or that the past year was burdensome -- sometimes it's beneath the shackles and burdens that we are able to find the seed of true freedom that we would have never known existed otherwise.  This New Moon is that seed.  The "Firing" process I spoke of with reference to the Uranus-Pluto square and deep Saturn Scorpio work with commitments are starting to crystallize.  Let go, in a BIG way, to clear the deck for the softer, more creative, nurturing and developing vibe of the sheep.  The barrier between what we deeply want and what is possible has become a lot less stable.  Take your work horse, and march right through that big ole pile of bull ;)
  4. Energetic Preview of the Mutable T-Square -- For me, a big game changing piece in the coming Sheep & Monkey years (end of 2015-2016), is the mutable T-Square that is to form between Jupiter in Virgo, Saturn in Sagittarius, and Neptune in Pisces.  This is the next BIG phase of energy adjustment coming in, and it will provide a totally different feeling from the past few years which have been about discovery, awakening, development of consciousness and taking initial action towards change. Through this, there have been very real, physical, psychic, and emotional trials.  My initial feelings about this coming formation are that they bring with them a test of the mind's ideals and the struggle between practicality and spirituality.  Logistics, thwarted implementation, discovery of false truths, intense & prolific confusion, and the dissolving of previous beliefs.  Our readiness for the incoming time is dependent on our willingness, now, to unhinge ourselves from any aspect of our lives which negatively suppresses our individuality and openness to new and resonating information.  This month Mars in Pisces makes its aspect to Saturn (last week) and Neptune giving us an initial hint of the struggle to make the elusive, beautiful dream world a reality.  It is an interesting image, actually, to think of normally energetic Mars ambling through the slow, undecided watery sign of Pisces (as he does every two years) -- the reminder here is that not all things are gained by doing.  Some, are gained through surrender, through receiving, and through insight.
  5. 0º Point of Potency / 29º Point of Conclusion  -- The new moons this winter season are falling often on the 0º and 29º points.  The 0º and 29º points of signs are considered especially significant as they denote the most powerful and most weak points in the sign -- the vibes of beginnings and endings.  The new moon on the Winter Solstice landed at 0º Capricorn -- indicating a huge season of creating new foundations and also a season of sweeping away deep parts of our past, as Saturn was still at the very last degree of Scorpio.  The January new moon is of a similar essence, landing at 0º Aquarius with both moon and Sun residing in the EST Chart's 12th House of the deep, profound, & subconscious karma.  Moving into the Lunar New Year, the new moons start the year falling at 29º of Aquarius and then a new moon solar eclipse occurs at 29º Pisces on the Spring Equinox, March 20, both of these moons setting the tone for the season of Spring and the remainder of 2015.  With Saturn moving into its retrograde cycle around this same time, we can expect the Sheep's new years resolutions to be centered around cleaning up after some of the eruptions left behind by the horse, healing, reevaluating, and completing unfinished tasks in preparation for the spiritually trying expansive phase to come towards the end of the year.  The peaceful sheep will want to make sure things are in order before chaos returns.
  6. Mercury Retrograde -- The Aquarius moon cycle will also be occurring in stride with Mercury Retrograde in Aquarius.  Since the rising sign of this New Moon chart is also Aquarius with other Aquarian elements strongly thematic (Saturn aspecting the chart's Midheaven, Uranus aspecting the south node) I see this also as a moon that is really working our Aquarian ruled realms -- Our unique fingerprint, intuition, genius, Our connection to community, groups, friends, tribe-members, Social equality issues, technology, science & innovations.  Mercury retrograde simply re-emphasizes the energy of this evaluative moon cycle -- the paradox of planting outer seeds for new growth through a process of inner work and deep letting go.  Allow yourself to be called to your revolutionary new visions, and really feel the one-of-a-kind you -- how we all individually contribute to the people around us is the mainstay of Aquarian ideals.  Being our authentic selves and knowing our authentic selves IS our service to the community.

Working within the context of all of the above, through January's new moon we see the new creation with such depth, that we are left with no choice but to make profound soul-level decisions to radically release impediments, obstructions, and obfuscations that hinder absolute freedom.  All of this being done with the knowledge that it is a necessary part of our evolutionary course -- that loss and karmic release is only a temporary state.  This new moon is REALLY about seeding intentions for our hidden spiritual visions and unique quest, voice & individuality, while sloughing off the uniform.  We still have more to change, more to review, more to settle before we're quite ready for the complete development of our ideas... but we're starting to come into full alignment with these ideas and full knowing of what exactly we will need to address in the coming months.  Right now, we're remodeling our inner home -- brilliantly envisioning exactly what we want it to look like, with an old structure falling down around us.  The new foundation is being laid, but there's still some old dry wall that needs to go to the dump before we can start building.  Now is the time to go crazy, be creative, and joyfully throw out the crap.  Don't think about the logistics, just express yourself (that's for later anyway!)

And most of all, don't let the old house dictate what the new one must look like.

Processing Time

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Wow, what a week. The eclipse this past weekend was unexpectedly intense. Closely aspecting Neptune and occurring just after a jolt from Pluto & Uranus, the unseen elements of our lives were felt much more strongly than usual. Our world was SHAKEN UP in some way, and then the eclipse came in with profound emotional illuminations and processing. We were a lot more sensitive, and with Saturn and the North Node very near the midheaven, we were again reminded of the importance of doing what is right and revising our belief systems accordingly. In effect, we are not only being shown that we must change, we were also given some pretty strong indications of why. Being a full moon, there was a culmination of events that have been in the works for some time -- since the eclipse on November 25, 2011 to be exact! This was a weekend of "reaping what you sow" and sometimes not in the easiest ways. That said, this week has continued along with the busy, busy pace of the past several, but with a sense that some of the intensity is finally waning. We're all getting a chance to rest a bit and do some processing. At the same time, there is a nice shift of energy coming in as Mars moves into Gemini, Mercury and Venus into Cancer this weekend. There will be more time to relax, while at the same time -- more social opportunities and options to expand our horizons. The energy feels to me like the period of substantial adjustment represented by these eclipses is fading and after a CRAZY winter and spring we are finally moving into a period of more productivity and outward progress in general. There is a very fertile and watery summer ahead and I think we'll all get a chance to appreciate it!