May Full Moon in Sagittarius

art by Pamela Colman Smith

The Magician offers the balance between Gemini Sun’s conscious desire for immediate action in everyday life and Sagittarius Moon’s urge for transcendence and spiritual energy. The Magician in the Tarot is one of my favorite cards. It represents Mercury, and is therefore associated with Hermes Trismegistus. Hermes is considered the author of the Emerald Tablet which describes the essential connection between the microcosm and macrocosm, often stated “As Above, So Below.” A translation by Issac Newton, the great mathematician and alchemist says: Tis true without lying, certain & most true. That which is below is like that which is above & that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing.

For You: You are a Magician. You are a link between Heaven and Earth. Take a few deep breaths and settle yourself. Imagine that you are this Magician. First you link “As above and so below.” You stand proudly, feet firmly planted on the ground. One arm is stretched to the heavens and the wand in your hand is a conduit for the divine and spiritual reality that is felt but unseen.  Breathe and feel the energy of the transcendent flow through your arm. Your other hand is pointed towards the earth, your finger a wand that transmutes the heavenly energy from above into the solid ground where you see it take root in beautiful manifestations and creations, as symbolized by the flowering roses and lilies. You are dressed in a white gown, which demonstrates your essential purity. Over your gown you wear a red robe of action. Around your waist is the snake, symbol of your powerful kundalini energy, and above your head is the figure eight, showing your connection to unity and eternity.  Take another deep breath. Now connect to to your everyday life and the table which holds the reality from which you an work. You see four tools: Cup, sword, wand, and shield. The cup represents your Soul and your emotional world; The sword is your Mind and your discerning thoughts; The wand is your energy, and willpower; the shield is your Physical and material reality. Take a few moments to consider what you bring to the table. What assets do you have emotionally, mentally, energetically, and physically? How do you want to transform those assets with the spiritual energy that is moving thorough you? What do you want to manifest in the physical world? What are your intentions? Be bold! Energize your world and create a reality in which you want to engage and thrive.

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Full Moon in Sagittarius

Come to the light! May 24-26, 2013
The Sun, the source of our consciousness, is in Gemini. Gemini is an Air element which means it is one of the intellectual and mentally active zodiac signs. The symbol is the dual Twin since Gemini is so curious and actively engaged that it needs to be cloned so it can be two places at once. Gemini strives to discover what is possible in one’s own neighborhood and make connections in everyday surroundings. Gemini is ruled by the planet Mercury which brings clear mental capacities as well as the ability to travel between the folds of reality. The Greek name for Mercury is Hermes, the messenger of the gods between the upper, middle, and lower worlds; the Egyptian’s name is Thoth. Together they are referred to as Hermes Trismegistus, a source of wisdom on how the universe works and the author the second century Hermetica, a source text for astrology, alchemy, and magic.

The Moon is in the opposite sign of Sagittarius, and represents the longing of the Soul and stirring of the unconscious. It is in the element of Fire and connects to the source of our energy, our passion, and spirit. Represented by the symbol of an arrow, Sagittarius points outward and directs its attention to unknown and transcendent reality. It is ruled by the planet Jupiter which brings wisdom and expansion to seek new knowledge. This month the Full Moon is about finding a place of balance between the Moon’s expanded vision and the Sun’s desire to keep the focus close to home. The Moon is exact this month on Saturday May 25th at 12:25 am EDT at 4 degrees of Sagittarius. The Moon will be in the sign of Sagittarius from Friday May 24th at 5:49 pm until Sunday May 26th at 5:28 pm. There will be a lunar eclipse during this Full Moon, but it will be nearly invisible.

photo by George McGeorge

For You: This Full Moon will be especially tuned to mental clarity and a sharp mind since Mercury, Venus and Jupiter will also be in Gemini. You have spent several months exploring your Shadow and facing your personal and collective fears. This Full Moon is time to bring the knowledge of your exploration of the Shadow into the light of consciousness so that you can manifest your world taking into consideration all parts of yourself. The Sabian symbol for  this Moon is: “An old owl sits alone on the branch of a large tree.”  The owl is a symbol of wisdom and has the ability to see in the darker realms of night. It is time to take a “poised and wise approach to existence based on a clear perception of unconscious factors and their operation.” Bring together that which is below- your Shadow in the unconscious- with that which is above – your clear perception and illumination. (Sabian symbols in An Astrological Symbolism by Dane Rudhyar)

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Full Moon in Scorpio April 25-27

by Eric Williams

These beautiful images capture the essence of Taurus and Scorpio. Taurus the Bull represents solid grounded earth energy. The Sun is in Taurus every year in late April when the earth become fertile and life creates anew. Taurus is about creating things of substance that we can count on. Taurus energy is determined and patient, willing to wait for the seeds to grow and the new life to sprout.

Scorpio is the opposite energy from Taurus. While Taurus wants to create, Scorpio wants to destroy. While Taurus wants the simple pleasures of a good life, Scorpio wants to seek the mysteries and delve into the depths of the unknown.

Scorpio by Eric Williams

The Scorpion stinger is always ready to strike, and death is just a moment away. This push towards death and the underworld is not because there is anything essentially vicious about Scorpio. It is just the nature of life to transform and to push to deeper levels. Scorpio moves silently beneath the ground of the Taurus bull, who is unaware that the solid life he is building is threatened by forces that are unknown and unknowable.

This month the Full Moon seeks to find a balance between the forces of creation and destruction, between life and death. It seeks to find the pivot between building up and tearing down, between providing a teat for milk that can heal and a stinger that delivers toxins that can kill.

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Happy Spring!!

The first day of Spring arrives on Wednesday, March 20th, and just in the nick of time. After the hard and harsh winter we have all had, we can use some warm and fresh energy. Spring occurs when the Sun moves into the zodiac sign of Aries. Aries signifies new beginnings and the power to push new growth from a cold ground.

I think this image represents the energy of Spring. We all know spring is a time for love, so visibly seen in the mating and nesting of the birds and the reproduction of bunnies. The man and woman mating in this image not only symbolize that very physical reality, but also the conjunction of male and female is a very old and powerful alchemical symbol that represents the blending of the masculine and feminine energies within. This leads to a new birth in each individual. The new birth of spring, either spiritual or physical, is represented by the egg, the container of all things new. We bring in the rebirth of Christ with an egg hunt. The date of Easter changes every year with the date of the Spring Equinox. Easter occurs on the first Sunday following the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox, this year on March 31st.

To Do: Take some time on the first day of Spring to think about your intention for the new birth you want in your life. What is it that you want to bring into manifestation? What does your egg contain? What will it take for you to build the nest that will support its growth? And what will it look like once your intention hatches into a new and fledgling life?

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Seven planets in Pisces: A Journey to the Underworld

When the New Moon goes into Pisces on March 10th to March 12th to we will have seven of the stellar wanderers in Pisces: Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Neptune, Moon, and Chiron.  This is a tremendous amount of Piscean energy. Pisces has access to the unconscious and I usually write about the mystical, creative, and spiritual essence of Pisces, and that is still true. But the unconscious is also the realm of the Shadow, and with this many planets in Pisces, the door to the unconscious just became thrown open.

The Shadow is made up of the dark and unwanted parts of ourselves that we refuse to acknowledge. In order to not deal with these undesirable parts we reject them by pushing them out of the light of our consciousness and keep them buried in the basement of our unconscious. The Shadow is the reservoir for human darkness that lies deep within ourselves.

The Shadow is scary since it is the part that we don’t want to accept as true. But an awareness of the Shadow is necessary. If we don’t get to know it and understand the weakness it holds, then we project these weaknesses outward and spread our fears into the world instead of dealing with them ourselves. And we can end up making decisions and taking actions based not on our greater vision and higher purpose, but from the Shadow’s unacknowledged influences.

Everyone has a Shadow and discovering, acknowledging, defeating, and integrating the Shadow is an important part of our growth and transformation. The Shadow is found in myths, fairy tales, and religion. We have the Wicked Queen, Evil Witch, Beast, and Big Bad Wolf. Tolkien gives us Sauron the Deceiver, and J.K. Rowling has He Who Must Not be Named. Facing the Shadow becomes a central part of the story, which is why it is so important to see it clearly. The Shadow is the flip side of God. Every light has a shadow, and if there were no light within us, there would also be no shadow. So every encounter with your own Shadow is an opportunity to know God.

For You: This visible presence of the Shadow is actually a real opportunity. Normally the Shadow is down in the dark and hard to see clearly. But now the Shadow, both personal and collective, is up in the light of consciousness and easier to identify. Normally our Shadow is influencing us from down in our unconscious, but now our fears are out in the world in the light of day, and that gives us a chance to examine them and notice their causes and their consequences.  Be willing to face your fears, look at them clearly and they will loosen their hold on you.  This is not the time to be afraid of your own Shadow; this is a time to see it clearly. Take some time to consider: What is my Shadow? What are the qualities that I don’t like about myself? What part of myself have I buried and don’t want to acknowledge? What is it that I fear? What qualities in others most irritate me that might be a projection of myself? Create your own mythic story and have your Shadow be the nemesis. Tell the tale of how you overcome and integrated the Shadow, accepting both dark and light. Since the Shadow lives in the underworld of the unconscious you can learn about it by going down into the underworld through your dreams. One reason working with dreams is so powerful is because it gives you a doorway to explore the unconscious .

Susan Seddon Boulet

Into the Mystic: Neptune will stay in Pisces for another 10 years, so we will have plenty of time to get to know the Piscean energy much better. And Pisces is the sign that connects us to the mystical and spiritual aspects of ourselves. Mercury, the messenger between heaven and earth, is diving into the mystical realms of Pisces from February 5th to April 13th. This gives us nine weeks to deepen our connection to the divine and open up the portals of our imagination. This will be a particularly potent time since Neptune is also in Pisces and will give extra depth to our insights and help us with integrating these mystical connections into our daily lives. Pay attention to synchronicity and signs. There will be longing for mystical, intuitive, and spiritual experiences during this period. It will be a wonderful opportunity to begin the meditation practice you’ve been thinking about, or deepen the one you already have. Go back to church, or spend time in nature, especially near water. And since your creative juices will be flowing, make a special effort to set aside time for creative endeavors. Be sure to pay attention to your dreams over this period since you are especially open to receiving messages from the unconscious.

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Full Moon in Leo weekend of Jan 26/27

This Full Moon in Leo says it is time to quit pondering the possible and instead take action on the probable. This Moon says that the world is transforming now, very quickly, and that we need to be ready for this change and participate in it. But to do that we need to look clearly at our lives, narrow our focus, and figure out what is the most probable action to take that will move us forward and give us some success. Steve Jobs understood the Dilemma of the Possible and addressed it by saying: “Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.”

by Denise Kester

This Moon in Leo is urging us to be leaders in our own lives, and take actions that come from the desire of our hearts, not the “could’ve, should’ve” demands of our minds. Moon in Leo, a fire element, wants us to be radiant in the world, to shine a light for those around us. And that light can be as big as a lighthouse beacon or as small as a birthday candle. That choice is entirely up to you.

For you: On this Full Moon ask yourself: What is one thing I can do in my life right now that is most probable to succeed? It can be any task,big or small. Close your eyes and see yourself taking action on that task. Ask yourself: Am I willing to be the loving leader of my own life? Can I commit fully to accomplishing this one task? Will my passion for it light up my life? Open your eyes and meditate on this beautiful image, which is titled “Well Being Holding the World Together.” Imagine that you and your one probable thing are being embraced with well being by the Universe, surrounding you with strength and protection. Feel your one choice, your one probable thing, as the calm center that grounds you in this ever changing world.

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See Moon and Jupiter conjoined in the sky

January 21, 2013  From around the world on the evening of January 21, 2013, the growing moon will shine right next to Jupiter. From North America, the pair are very close  – closer than we’ll see them again until 2026.  No matter where you are on Earth, look outside tonight for this wonderful pair of objects in the evening sky.  They’ll be the brightest objects in the sky and impossible to miss. They are exactly conjunct at 10:13 pm EST in the sign of Gemini at 6 degrees. Take some time tonight to go outside and make a wish upon the bright “star” by the Moon. With the Gemini energy, its a good time to ask for communication to be improved and conversations to become mindful, especially in our Congress, since today is the Presidential Inauguration, and the beginning of 4 new years of governance. And  anything at 6 degrees Gemini in your birthchart will receive a boost of great energy and momentum to expand.

For wonderful images of the pairing, and more information check out the EarthSky website.

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Align Yourself at this New Moon

Welcome to all 5 planets in Capricorn!! To be our most powerful and effective agents for change, we need to be engaged in something greater than ourselves and function at our best. During my meditation on the 2012 Winter Solstice I received the message to “Be a sparkplug in the engine of God.” Now, I admit that I was hoping for something a bit more profound! But, then I started thinking that an engine works best when all its sparkplugs are fully operational, and that if I was going to be a sparkplug in the engine of God, I needed a tune up. Fortunately, I also received instructions for the tune-up, which I now share with you.

To do: Take a few deep breaths and center yourself. With your imagination, see a column of energy running from the top of your head to the base of your spine. This is the column of the seven main chakras, your energy centers, as you can see in this picture. Take a moment and scan your chakras beginning with your Crown chakra at the top of your head, and moving down each chakra until you get to the Root chakra at the base of your spine.  Now that you are centered and aware of the position of each chakra, you can begin the alignment.
Align your Crown chakra to the sacred world of the transcendent. See your Crown chakra as the doorway opening to your spiritual energy and your connection to the divine. Once you have a clear sense of that connection, move the energy down to…
Align with your Third-eye chakra and see your spiritual self now aligned to your intuition. Once you have a clear sense of that connection, move the energy down to…
Align with your Throat chakra, bringing your voice and your communication in tune to your intuition and spirit. Once you have a clear sense of that connection, move the energy down to…
Align with your Heart chakra, bringing love to all your communications. Once you have a clear sense of that connection, move the energy down to…
Align with your Solar Plexus chakra, bringing forth your power and confidence. Once you have a clear sense of that connection, move the energy down to…
Align with your Belly chakra, bringing in creativity to all your endeavors. Once you have a clear sense of that connection, move the energy down to.
Align with your Root chakra to bring your physical manifestations into total alignment with your creativity, power, love, communication, intuition, and spirit.
Breathe deeply up and down your fully aligned column of energy. See each chakra connected to the next. See yourself connected to the heavens through your Crown chakra, and see yourself connected to the earth through your Root chakra. See yourself as the link between Heaven and Earth, a full charged and well tuned sparkplug in the engine of God.  Repeat as necessary.

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Full Moon in Cancer

This Full Moon in Cancer, Dec. 28, 2012, stands in the sky opposite the Sun in Capricorn, and as in every Full Moon, we seek to find the balance between them. The Moon in Cancer, a water sign, wants to take care of people through a gentle and compassionate heart that nurtures and loves. Capricorn, an earth sign, also likes to care for others, but does so through building structures that provide safety. But this is no ordinary Sun in Capricorn. This Sun has Pluto, God of the Underworld, standing near by and acting as the Sun’s bodyguard. Pluto brings a ruthless desire for control, determination to hold onto the past, and a relentless and uncompromising power that could easily daunt our more gentle Moon.

But you can see from this picture that the Moon is perfectly capable of holding her own, even in what looks like very difficult circumstances. And so are we. We need to learn from this Moon and realize that there is no greater power than love, and that we have no reason to be intimidated and controlled by fear. It is easy to see in this opposition the discussion of gun control that has begun after Connecticut. The NRA is taking an uncompromising stand and even suggesting that teachers begin to arm themselves, while others seek to find balance between the right to bear arms and the right to keep our children and society safe within our arms. In this Full Moon the balance occurs when we realize that the same quality that Pluto brings – desire, determination and power- can also be used in strengthening our own sense of compassion, fairness, and good will. There is nothing weak about the feminine qualities of the Moon and Cancer. The determined, constant flow of water can cut through even the most forbidding and uncompromising structures. Just look at the Grand Canyon for the truth of that statement. It is in our small everyday actions that this world will be transformed.

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Mayan Calendar and Galactic Alignment

Saturday, December 21, 2012 is the Winter Solstice and the day the Mayan long count calendar ends. We have been waiting for this day for many years, some anticipating the end of the world, some expecting the beginning of an new age. I’m very excited about the opportunity this event brings and I plan to spend Dec. 21 and 22 in meditation, prayer, and celebration. Many people are saying that this event (the combination of the Winter Solstice, Mayan calendar rolling over, and the galactic alignment) bodes great things. It seems to me as if the frequency of the planet is getting higher and moving faster. Ideas and events are happening more quickly. I think there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that we are creating ecological disasters and our communities are threatened by chaos. There is a sense of anticipation and an urgency, as if NOW! is the time to take the actions we have previously only thought about. Now is the time to take the leap of faith and now is the time to bring your full resources on healing the planet and helping in the transformation of humanity. This does feel like a make or break time in our history, and it is important to see clearly the challenges that we face and to find the solutions.

THE MAYAN CALENDAR

From what I have read from Mayan scholars and Mayan teachers, there is no reason to think that this ending cycle which occurs on 12.21.12 means the end of the world. Like our own calendar did in in 12.31.1999, the Mayan calendar reaches a point of ending and begins a new cycle. Just like our Y2K confusion over what would happen when the digits turned to 2000, this Mayan count is also creating confusion. It is the close of one cycle and the beginning of another, a new World Age. There is only one Mayan writing that mentions 12.21.12, and it does not mention an apocalyptic event. And there are many writings that mention dates past 12.21.12. Many cultures have myths of different Ages. Researchers have looked to Mayan myths to provide an understanding of what the Mayans thought about the end of this Age. These myths point to the belief that at the end of one Age, another Age begins that provides humanity with an opportunity for transformation and rebirth. I believe that anything that changes on our planet will be because we make it change. And I believe in the transformational power of both symbol and ritual. So I am fully participating in the symbol of 12.21.12 and the ritual of a rebirth for humanity. Because it is by our own actions, and only our actions, that change occurs. Check out the www.birth2012.com information.

THE GALACTIC ALIGNMENT

The 12.21.12 date has been linked by some to an alignment of our Sun to the Galactic Center on this Winter Solstice. This alignment is being discussed as a rare event that occurs only once every 26,000 years. A rare 26,000 year alignment on the same day as the end of the Mayan calendar would definitely up the ante of that event. For this reason I think its important to try to figure out exactly what such an alignment is and what it means. On the left is a drawing of our spiral shaped Milky Way Galaxy. Our solar system revolves around the center of the galaxy, known as the Galactic Center, in much the same way as the Earth revolves around the Sun.

This image is of the side view of the Milky Way. The horizontal line across the diagram of the galaxy is called the Galactic Equator, and the bulge in the middle is the Galactic Center. The diagonal line moving from lower left to upper right illustrates the ecliptic, the tract of the apparent position of our Sun (and planets) as it slowly moves towards the Galactic Equator and Galactic Center, a movement caused by the Procession of the Equinoxes. You can see where the Sun’s position was in the period of 1000 BC,  where it is now in the period around 2012, and where it will be at a period 3000 years in the future, around 5000. This intersection between the ecliptic and the Galactic Equator, this point where the two lines cross, is what is being referred to as the Galactic Alignment. You can see that there is an intersection, an alignment, between the Sun on the ecliptic and the Galactic Equator around 2012. The ecliptic never exactly crosses the Galactic Center, which does not lie on the Galactic Equator, but it comes really close! But this alignment does not happen only on the date of December 21, 2012. Actually this alignment takes place over a period of years, from about 1978 to 2019, with the year 1998 its closest point. But the Mayans did not have the telescopes we have now, and to the naked eye, this alignment could look exact.

To me, the extended period of the Galactic Alignment, as opposed to it happening only December 21st, 2012, points to the fact that this transformational period of new birth we are experiencing is not going to happen on a single day. It has been gestating for years, and will continue to unfold for years more. I think it is significant that the Galactic Alignment is happening during this place and time in our history. And I think the ending of the Mayan cycle is significant as well, and that together they point to an important period in our history. But the end of the Mayan calendar on 12.21.12 and the Galactic Alignment do not intersect on exactly at 12.21.12 as a grand finale to some glorious end. They point to the very difficult challenges of our time, of our Era, and encourage us to take the challenging, even disastrous events of our world seriously, as the make or break situations for humanity that they are. 12.21.12 can be the impetus to take actions that can begin to remedy the troubles of our world in order to bring about the new Age of transformation the Mayan calendar promises.

PARADIGM SHIFT

But we can take one day to join together and direct the high frequency of energy that we get from the universe and each other and use it to fuel the transformation. I have concluded that end of the Mayan cycle in 2012 and the Galactic alignment of our Era, opens up the possibility of a transformational shift during this time. This shift will not be forced on anyone, nor denied to anyone. It can be understood and accessed through any religious symbol system, be it Mayan, Christian, Hopi, Astrological, and others.  This shift will be a Paradigm Shift. A Paradigm Shift occurs when there is a such a fundamental change in the way that we view the world that life can never go back and be the same again. The Internet is an example of a paradigm shift. The Copernican solar system, which moved us from an Earth to Sun-centered Solar System, is a paradigm shift. This Paradigm Shift will occur in our understanding of both Space and Time. The Paradigm Shift in Space is about expanding our understanding our place in the universe from being part of a Solar System to being part of a Galaxy. Instead of orienting to the Sun as the center of our universe, we will begin to see the Galactic Center as our point of orientation. We will also have a Paradigm Shift in Time. We will no longer see ourselves as limited single-life beings, but rather as multi-dimensional beings who have lived many prior live-times and who live on multiple dimensions and transverse many worlds, whether we call these worlds shamanic, dream-time, fairy world, or imaginary.

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