Venus and Mars in Libra

Mars, the God of War, and Venus, the Goddess of Love are together in the sky right now, and I hope they are making whoopee!  They have been in the same zodiac sign of Libra the Balancer, since August 8th, getting closer and closer together. Today they are at the exact same point in the sky, they are now One.  Hence my choice of imagery, a wonderful illustration of the God and Goddess completely joined in union. This drawing by Robert Place is part of his lovely Buddha Tarot deck, which I will say more about in the upcoming Moon Letter. This image is sexual in nature. Mars is the yang energy of external power and force; Venus is the yin energy of internal heat and passion. The physical expression of Mars is up and out; Venus is down and in. Venus is found either as the morning star, or as in her current cycle, the evening star, two of the most frequent times to be making love. So, obviously with Mars and Venus conjunct (conjoined), these are wonderful nights to be with your lover. The two planets will be closely united until September 9th, so that should be plenty of time to enjoy the connections with the one you love.

But Mars and Venus represent more than sexual connection. They are also representing the masculine and feminine ways of being in the world. The masculine ways of being are described in terms of external, logical, intellectual, rational, and action that is often power-over. The feminine ways of being are described in terms of internal, intuitive, emotional, related, and empowered means of action. We need both of these forms of action and both of these associated values. We need both yang and yin. Right now it seems as if the masculine is too strong as seen by the greed, competition, and fighting that is going on. We need the balance of the feminine energy of relatedness and compassion so that we can work to heal the wounds so evident in our own lives, our community, and the world.

Watch Mars and Venus set in the western sky about an hour and half after sunset over the next week. Venus will be the bright sparkling diamond who is setting first, and Mars will be a ruddy red following close behind. Saturn will set soon before them, so you might see him as well. A great program that will help you find the stars and planets and constellations is www.stellarium.org. You can program it to your city’s latitude and longitude and find the constellations and planets. And you can move the clock forward to find out when the planets will rise and set on any particular day in your area. Or, you can check out  the on-line Farmer’s Almanac, from which the rising and setting times for Chattanooga are listed below. I just purchased the hard copy of 2011 Farmer’s Almanac and am really enjoying the star lore and zodiac information.

Sun 7:05 A.M. 8:24 P.M.
Moon 6:01 P.M. 3:14 A.M.
Mercury 8:55 A.M. 9:02 P.M.
Venus 10:49 A.M. 10:15 P.M.
Mars 10:47 A.M. 10:23 P.M.
Jupiter 9:53 P.M. 9:58 A.M.
Saturn 9:55 A.M. 10:03 P.M.
Uranus 9:44 P.M. 9:47 A.M.
Neptune 8:17 P.M. 7:11 A.M.
Pluto 4:48 P.M. 3:08 A.M.
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Lammas on August 1st.

Lammas is celebrated at the height of summer, and it is halfway between the Summer Solstice and the Fall Equinox, so it falls around August 1st. It is a day related to the “feast of first fruits” and is connected with the blessings of the first harvest, especially of grains, and wheat. Around the south, it is the festival of Corn! with corn so abundant and so delicious that I could eat it at every meal (along with that rich red fruit known as the tomato). So rejoice in the blessing of the grains and fruits of summer. This would be a great week to be sure to shop at the farmer’s market, and support the farmers who understand these sun cycles with each crop they grow. For more on the history and myth of Lammas go to: http://www.mythinglinks.org/Lammas.html

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July 13th ~ Crescent Moon and Venus

Evening of Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The Moon is moving from New to the first stage of crescent. The Moon is spectacular tonight in it’s crescent form. Like a silver sliver in the sky, it graces the evening light. Look to the west and watch it set. You should be able to see the crescent Moon for several nights. Spectacular. There will be the crescent Moon after every new Moon (look on the Moon page for a diagram of the Moon phases). My friend Shayla and I always called this the High Priestess Moon. This is because in the Tarot cards of my favorite deck, the Waite-Rider, the High Priestess has a crescent Moon at her feet. And her crown is made up of three stages of the Moon- waxing crescent, the full, and the waning crescent. These three stages of the Moon are the symbol of the Triple Goddess, the goddess in all her stages, Maiden, Mother, and Crone. So for now, the Moon is a Maiden. She is new, fresh, growing in light and power.  So lovely.

And above and to the left of the crescent Moon look for the bright shining diamond in the sky that is Venus. According to the Current Planets widget, the Moon is in late degrees of Leo, and Venus is in early degrees of Virgo. This means that tomorrow (Wednesday July 14th) the Moon and Venus will even be closer in the sky in the zodiac sign of Virgo, and they become exactly connected (conjunct in astrological language) at 5:14 pm EDT. This really is a week for the goddess. Be sure to watch the sky tomorrow night. But if you can’t, know that the nurturing Mother part of you (the Moon), and the connecting Lover (Venus) are having a talk about how you can bring these two very different parts of yourself into a union.

Your Communication Skills …Communication can become about expressing yourself creativity and style. If you’ve been wanting to find your voice in writing, or try out for theater, this is a good week to begin to experiment with joyfully having your say. Don’t be too concerned if other people  say you are a bit too self-centered in the way your are perceiving the world. This is a good month to think about how YOU need to engage with the world. This is because Mercury moves from  Cancer into the sign of Leo on Friday July 9th

Your Love & Relationships … Your love life may be less focused on play and creative expression (the qualities of Leo) and start to be more practical in nature. Venus might not have as much pure fun in Virgo, but it is a good time to plan for the future, save for a house, or start a new approach to eating and health. All of those things are a necessary part of building a long lasting love relationship. This is because Venus moves from Leo into the sign of Virgo on Saturday July 10th.

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New Moon/Eclipse in July

Your Emotional Soul… This week the Moon wanes in its light as it gets ready for a New Moon on Sunday July 11th at 3:40 pm EDT.in the astrological sign of Cancer at 19 degrees. This is a New Moon that is focused on the feminine. Not only is the Moon in her favorite zodiac sign of Cancer (since Cancer is ruled by the Moon), the Sun, a bright and yang-like energy, is also in Cancer, making it more mellow and loving. An eclipse is one of the rare times that the Moon overpowers the light of the Sun! Plus, the asteroid Juno, the Roman Goddess is part of this connection between Sun and Moon. Juno is the wife of Jupiter (in Greek, she is known as Hera, wife of Zeus). She was a powerful goddess in her own right, and defended women and marriage. Whether you are a man or a woman, this is a New Moon that is about connecting to the feminine within and realizing the power of the Goddess.

Your Energetic Spirit… The Sun is going to be eclipsed by the shadow of the Moon, during the New Moon on July 11th. A Solar eclipse is a Syzygy. Much like the word “yoga,” which means “to join  in union,” syzygy literally means “to yoke together.” This yoking between the Sun, Moon, and Earth symbolizes an alignment the Spirit, Soul, and Body. This eclipse occurs in the sign of Cancer, so the alignment should be directed toward your emotional needs and desire to be nurtured.

Cancer is a feminine yin energy, and is connected to the great Matrix of the ocean, the Mother from which life on earth was born. One way to bring yourself into Syzygy on this eclipse is to connect to the Great Mother of a religious tradition. Mary is the Great Mother in the Christian tradition, and is much loved for unconditional acceptance of the frailties of human kind. She has a similar quality to Tara in Buddhism, and Isis in the ancient Egyptian religions. These goddesses will always answer your call for help, and will  be there to nurture and care for you. Take a few deep breaths and meditate on this beautiful image of Mary, an icon from the Russian Orthodox Church, and see yourself fully loved and adored. Notice that Mary is between the Sun, which is behind her head, and the New Moon, which is at her feet. You are also connected and embraced by the Heavens.  If you click on the image, it will enlarge.

Your Communication Skills …Communication can become about expressing yourself creativity and style. If you’ve been wanting to find your voice in writing, or try out for theater, this is a good week to begin to experiment with joyfully having your say. Don’t be too concerned if other people  say you are a bit too self-centered in the way your are perceiving the world. This is a good month to think about how YOU need to engage with the world. This is because Mercury moves from  Cancer into the sign of Leo on Friday July 9th

Your Love & Relationships … Your love life may be less focused on play and creative expression (the qualities of Leo) and start to be more practical in nature. Venus might not have as much pure fun in Virgo, but it is a good time to plan for the future, save for a house, or start a new approach to eating and health. All of those things are a necessary part of building a long lasting love relationship. This is because Venus moves from Leo into the sign of Virgo on Saturday July 10th.

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Buddhist Sand Mandala

Buddhist mandalaA few years back (well, maybe a decade!) I saw Buddhist Monks make a spectacular sand mandala. It was in Pittsburgh, PA, and took place during a visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It takes about 6 days to make such a mandala, and the practice of patience and focus required to make such a work of art is itself a meditation. A mandala, a circular shape with a center,  is a universal symbol of wholeness. Mandala are everywhere in nature, for example a daisy has a yellow center surrounded by white petals. Mandalas are in many religious traditions, for example the Native American Medicine Wheel, or the complex Rose windows in the Gothic Cathedrals. Labyrinths are mandalas.

I just found this video of a time lapse of Tibetan monks making a sand mandala at Emory University in Atlanta Georgia. It took them 6 days to make this elaborate shape. When they are finished they destroy the mandala as a reminder that we are all impermanent, and that we too will be destroyed one day. The thought is a bit similar to Christian Ash Wednesday: “From ashes we come and to ashes we return.” This Mandala Video takes about 2 minutes to watch the creativity it took the monks 6 days to complete. After I saw it I pondered on the intricacies of my own life, the amount of time, effort, focus, creativity, love, and work that I put into my decades of living. And that one day, as quickly as the erasing of the mandala, it will all be over. I hope that at the end of my life that I can be assured that I somehow contributed to a better world, in the same way that once the mandala is destroyed, the sand is released into the waters for healing.

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Is a Perfect Balance Possible?

I was thinking about this Full Moon and the place of balance between Yin/Yang as represented by the line between the light and dark. In my newsletter I stated that the world is always in flux between the Yin and Yang and that there are only fleeting moments of balance and the rest of the time we are in flux, change, upheaval, even.

It brings up the question as to whether it is possible for us, as humans, to always be in the place of harmony as represented by that line between light and dark. Is it possible for us to live in that place of oneness?

I believe the answer to that question is no. We cannot, as a people, as a species, live in a place of total harmony and enlightenment. This is a world of opposites. This is a world of Sun and Moon, day and night, light and dark, good and evil, rich and poor. This planet that we call home is a planet of duality. Since the very beginning of our existence, for millennium, there have always been wars, poverty, and conflict. This planet Earth is the planet of Good and Evil. The people in history who most stand out are those who fought for good – Jesus, Gandhi, Martin Luther King – and those who fought for evil – Genghis Khan,  Hitler, Stalin. This is a planet of conflict and strife. This is a planet where the on-going to and fro of good vs. evil continues. I don’t think that we as humans would be happy in a state of bliss, harmony, and oneness.

We may end up blowing each other up, but hey, that is the nature of this planet. We are not the enlightened ones. We are the kindergarteners fighting at recess. And in that fight some people stand for good, and some people stand for evil. Where do you stand? Why are you here? What do you contribute to the challenge of equilibrium?

The Lord of the Rings, written by Tolkein and made into a spectacular movie by Peter Jackson, is one of the most fantastic stories of the fight between good and evil. Which character do you identify with? What is your task? And will you succeed on your quest? As Sam says to Frodo: “There is something good in this world, and its worth fighting for.” I absolutely, one hundred percent believe Sam is right. Let’s accept that this is a planet of duality, of light and dark. Let’s give up on the idea of perfect peace. Let’s embrace the ever changing, flip-flopping duality that is inherent on this planet Earth. Take a stand, and stay centered, and work for a more perfect union.

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The Yin / Yang Symbol

The Yin/Yang symbol is a very simple, yet powerful symbol of perfect balance that leads to wholeness. It shows that everything is held within the whole by an opposing force, represented by the opposing black and white halves of the circle. The black side is Yin and represents darkness, night, Moon, unconsciousness, receptive, female energy. The white side is Yang and represents light, day, Sun, consciousness, active, male energy. These energies are always interacting, always in flux, and are interconnected, which is represented by the small circle of dark Yin within the Yang, and a small circle of light Yang within the Yin.

The Yin/Yang is helpful in understanding the importance of the Full Moon. During the Full Moon the opposing, yet equal energies of life that are always in flux, find a momentary point of balance. When you meditate on the Yin/Yang symbol put your focus on the line in that center that with great gracefulness both separates and joins the two opposite sides. In that space, for just a moment, all the opposites disappear, and you are left gazing at oneness. It is the same with the Full Moon. For just this brief time each month we can meditate on the connecting point of two opposing forces, and in doing so, find a place of union.

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