The Cosmic Story: The Wheel of the Year: Imbolc 2024

 

The Cosmic Story: The Wheel of the Year – Imbolc 2024

Re-Aligning Ourselves with Our Instinctual Wisdom

 

 

Our Dis-connect From Nature

We modern humans have to face the fact that we have divorced ourselves from Nature and from our human nature. We’ve lost our connection to our INSTINCTS. We no longer read the signs that Mother Nature shows us, depending on our ‘weathermen’ to tell us what’s going on around us. (Remember the 2004 tsunami in Thailand – how people just watched the waters receding instead of heading for hills like the Native people and animals did?) And so we find ourselves in a dangerous moment when climate change needs to be addressed but it isn’t, because we no longer understand our body’s wisdom and our instinctual nature.

If we were in touch with our instincts, we wouldn’t stand for the poisoning of our waters, our land, our food, our air. Our senses would revolt. We would know that we have to change the way we’ve been programmed to live, especially now that corporations have us hooked on technology. No leaders are asking us to sacrifice our unnecessary things for the greater good, which we did during wartime. (Because it would wreck the economy?) Remember how George Bush told us all to go out and buy things after 9/11 to show Osama Bin Laden that he wasn’t going to defeat us? He didn’t tell us that we need to change our ways and learn to compromise if we want a peaceful world. And so war and genocide are still viable options for nations. Revenge, domination, greed and pride shape our world instead of peace, love and cooperation.

Instead, we bear our sicknesses without pointing our finger at the source of that poisoning; by not insisting that our leaders hold corporations accountable for the mess they’ve made of our world. And we would also look at our own part in that poisoning, for we consume what isn’t necessary for life. We trade our health and our children’s future for things that we often throw away or ignore soon after we buy them.

Another thing we’ve lost touch with is our IMAGINATIONS. Our psyches are filled with images from TV, video games and movies – often violent images which stay stuck in our psyches, which result in the violence we see all around us in the world today. Without a deep connection to our instincts, our imaginations languish. We lose touch with the values and beliefs that sustain life.

Americans are especially susceptible to media mind control, because we do not have the deep roots that Europeans, South Americans, Africans, Middle-Easterners and Asians have from living for millennia in their homelands. America was founded by corporations and our society has been shaped by corporations. Corporations have destroyed the power of families to create culture. I’m not talking about white Christian culture. I’m talking about the little rituals that families and communities develop by eating together, playing together and working together.

If anyone wants to point to the Anti-Christ of Christian mythology, it is the flat-earth, materialistic culture that America has fostered on the world. Anti-Christ means against spirit. Christianity mistakenly chose the image of the Christ’s crucifixion as its central image, rather than his Resurrection, which was the whole point of his story – that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. Mary Magdalene chose the resurrection. The Divine Feminine knows about life and spirit and soul.

But that human experience means that we have to understand our instincts rather than reject them, which is what so many of our religions have pushed us to do. They tell us that earthly life is evil and only heaven is important. They reject the Goddess of Life, and so we have learned to reject life’s magic.

And when these masculine religions rejected the beauty of earthly life, they also rejected and dominated women and their feminine ways of knowing – our instincts, our intuitions, our emotional intelligence. And our imaginations, for our right brain speaks to us through the creative imagination’s symbolic language.

Carl Jung said that in the Aquarian Age, the archetypes would be poured out of the unconscious and made conscious. He also said that there is a spectrum – like the light spectrum from infra-red to ultra-violet – that stretches from instincts to archetypes. The archetypes are the structures that shape the Earth’s instinctual nature. And so now we find ourselves having to get back in touch with our instincts through the archetypal figures of our dreams and visions. We pull animal cards to make us aware of which instincts are pulling at us. We pull Goddess cards to name the feminine instincts that have been suppressed by patriarchy.

That’s why it’s so important to reclaim and work with our imagination. It isn’t good enough to just pick a card and read what it means. We have to take that meaning into ourselves and embody it. We have to re-birth our instincts. We can do this through listening to our imagination.

 

 

I also believe that our original language is the symbolic language of the soul. In the story of the Tower of Babel, everyone spoke the same language until men built a tower to the heavens. They were punished by forgetting that original language and speaking different languages so people couldn’t understand each other. Perhaps if we all became proficient in symbolic language once again, we would understand each other better.

If we are to survive this time of cultural chaos and change, we all need to ground ourselves in our body’s instincts and our soul’s language. We can begin to do this by syncing once again with Nature’s natural cycles.

That’s what the Wheel of the Year can teach us.

The Wheel of the Year – Imbolc: A Time of Visioning

 

The Wheel of the Year sets out 8 specific turning points of light during the year. These gateways initiate the different seasons. There are the two solstices, when the Sun is either at its extreme northern or southern boundary. At the two equinoxes, the light is balanced. And then there are the 4 cross-quarter days, which occur midway between the solstices and equinoxes in the power signs of the zodiac. There four signs – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius – are where the seasons are concentrated and take hold. Even with climate change, the relationship of the Sun to the Earth stays the same. So while the exact dates sometimes change, the message and meaning of the season remains the same.

We begin at Winter Solstice, when the Sun is at its lowest southern point and begins its journey back north. (Of course those of you in the southern hemisphere experience the opposite seasonal shifts.) At Winter Solstice, the Light is re-born. The instinct of this season is the feeling of hope that we get in the darkest times that life will return to nurture us. The shift in light begins the yang part of the year, when the Light begins to grow. Our instincts tell us to go within, rest and restore ourselves.

We have arrived at the next gateway of the Wheel, one of the cross-quarter days that occur between the solstices and equinoxes. This second gate occurs when the Sun reaches the 15^th degree of the sign of Aquarius, the power degree of the power signs of the zodiac. This is the festival of Imbolc or St. Brigid’s Day – or even the Catholic Candlemas. While we celebrate it on February 2^nd, because of the changes that occur due to the Earth’s wobble, true Imbolc is now on February 4^th.

This is a festival of the returning light. Despite the cold and snow still on the ground, we sense a shift.  We look for the light.  Soon we’ll notice that the light grows more quickly, the daylight hours growing while the dark of the night recedes. We celebrate it here in the US as Groundhog’s Day, when this large rodent peeks out of its underground burrow to see its shadow. In Ireland, snakes were the animals that would come above ground to see if winter was receding. The instinct here is to envision the future when light would bring warmth and growth back to the land.

The Sabian symbol for 15* Aquarius is: Two lovebirds sitting on a fence and singing happily. This power gate calls us to let our soul unite two complementary spiritual (birds) energies to achieve real happiness or bliss – at a midpoint in time/the fence. One way to understand this is to let our imagination (right brain) show us our path and to use our rationality (left brain) to help us walk it.

The inner light of the unconscious unites with the heavenly light of consciousness to bless our lives. Love is what unites them.

Imbolc was called Candlemas by the Catholic Church, a time to bless the candles that the church would use during the coming year. In Ireland, they celebrate St. Brigid’s Day, as she is the Patron Saint of Ireland along with St. Patrick. But in reality, Brigid was a goddess before she was a saint. One of the most important Irish goddesses, such that the Church had to adopt her as their own, since the people would not give her up.

The Imbolc festival is a fire festival. The fires are lit as sympathetic magic to help bring the sunlight back. And with the Light comes vision. Just as we look to see more light at Imbolc, it is also a time to envision the new life that will emerge in the Spring. 

 

To honor the energy of Imbolc, light some candles and be present to the light. Gaze into the flames, and let images arise within you. Ask for a vision of what your inner child of light wants to do this year. How is the baby of Light growing? What does your soul need from you to grow strong enough to emerge in the Spring and root into the deep soil of your life?

If you need help, ask the Mother Goddess who helps us grow in this second part of the Winter Solstice season: Brigid, the Gaelic Mary and the foster-mother of Christ. (The Celts placed great value on fostering their children and one’s foster mother was just as beloved and important as one’s birth mother.)

Brigid, Goddess of Imbolc: How do we work with the Light?

Since the Winter Solstice is about the re-birth of the Light, the purpose of that season is to nurture and grow that light until it is strong enough to stand on its own. The Goddess energy that works in the Winter Solstice season is the Divine Mother – the birth giver, the nurturer, the bestower of gifts and talents.

At Winter Solstice, Mother Mary embodies the archetype of the Divine Mother who keeps her child nourished and safe and secure from death. At Imbolc, the Goddess form changes to one of Teacher, Healer and Inspirer. We look now to Brigid, whom the Irish call Muire na nGael or Mary of the Irish. She is called the foster Mother of Christ.

If we acknowledge that the Christ is the part of us that is the Eternal Spirit of the Creator, then Brigid is the Divine Feminine Mother who now takes that spirit and helps shape it into life-giving purpose.

Brigid is the Celtic goddess of the fires of the forge and the hearth, of poetry, healing and childbirth. The name Brigit itself means either ‘Fiery Arrow’, ‘Bright One’, or ‘High One’ in the ancient Celtic language, referring to her solar aspect, as she is a goddess of Light and Flame. She is an ancient image of the solar feminine – from a time before the masculine deities took over the rulership of the Sun and its gift of self-consciousness.

 

Brigid, Brigit or Brighid (pronounced Breed) is an important Celtic Triple goddess, changing form from Maiden to Mother to Crone. At Imbolc, she comes to us in her Crone aspect and leads us to the inner depths where the Cauldron of Inspiration waits for our gaze to seek a vision. When we emerge, Brigid comes with us as the Maiden, renewed once again. She is the Mother of our spiritual birth, when we recognize our soul’s gifts and potentials and purpose.

Brigid is the patroness of poetry, healing and smithcraft, all different ways humans use the creative fires of life with practical and inspired wisdom. As a solar deity Her attributes are light, inspiration and all skills associated with the creative fire, especially the fiery power of inner healing and vital energy.

Imbolc is a great time to gather with friends and family to tell stories, recite poetry, make music and feel the joy of returning life to Mother Earth. It’s a time to use our imaginations, to listen to our dreams, and to feel the possibilities of life.

There are many foods the Celts made to celebrate this season, many tied to the fact that the sheep gave birth now and so had milk to share. This is a link to different recipes people made for Imbolc.

Magical Foods of Imbolc

The Astrology of the Imbolc Season – February to mid-March

The astrology of this season is full speed ahead – all the planets are moving forward now that Uranus turned direct on last weekend (only the asteroid Juno is retrograde now) until after Spring Equinox. That means, these archetypal energies can work for us in the world. Of course, it’s up to each of us to figure out how we want to be love, take action, speak our truths, engage in our collective society and channel the larger energies of life.

Since we are living in a time of evolution and revolution, each of us is responsible for evolving ourselves into the person we want to be. Each year we get this chance but this year seems to be crucial not only personally but collectively. If we want to change the world, we need to be the ones to do it.

The most important energy to engage with this year is Pluto in Aquarius. I did a zoom presentation on January 20th about this major shift and you can view it on my You Tube channel The Cosmic Storyteller.

But to recap the most important points:

Pluto dipped into Aquarius for the first time since the American Revolution last year from March 23 – June 11, 2023, when it retrograded back into Capricorn. During that time, AI really took off, with all the major companies releasing their version of AI. In October the US government released a study about concerns over AI.

On January 20, 2024, Pluto once again entered Aquarius, where it will move forward until May 2^nd, then retrograde back into Capricorn from September 1 – November 19^th – just in time for the US presidential election. It seems to me that the cosmos wants US citizens to make a choice between democracy and dictatorship, just as it did for those American revolutionaries back in 1778. The choice is up to us.

After November 19, 2024, Pluto is travel through Aquarius until 2044. Pluto in Aquarius is associated with revolution, social justice, scientific breakthroughs and technological advancements. We’re already seeing some of those breakthroughs – I just read that someone might have discovered the cure for cancer.

Pluto is going to evolve our Collective Mind, which Aquarius represents. It’s how we as a collective view the world, our beliefs and prejudices, our worldview. We are evolving out of a Newtonian cause and effect understanding of life into a quantum understanding that we are all one. Hopefully, it will be a time when humanity finally grows up and takes responsibility for our actions. It is definitely a time when humanity has to spearhead evolution if we want to survive as a species. Mother Earth will heal her wounds and birth new life, but humanity might not be part of that if we don’t take up our stewardship of the Earth.

Pluto in Aquarius will also bring up what is no longer viable for the Collective Mind, just as it brought up what wasn’t working in our society during the years (2008 – 2024) it traveled through Capricorn, sign of our collective institutions such as government, finance, the military, our justice systems. There is always the negative use of power, and so we have to watch what is happening with technology and put some stops on it until we find a balance there.

On the positive side, Pluto in Aquarius is all about freedom, equality, and the people rather than hierarchical rulers. It will be a time when we explore outer space as well as the inner space of our psyches. Perhaps we’ll learn mental telepathy and start to use the Innernet rather than the technology that is destroying so much of our human interactions. Connecting online is totally different from personal human interaction.

The New and Full Moons during the next six weeks occur in the signs of Aquarius, Pisces and Virgo, opening us to the collective energies we share as well as how we can be of service to the collective.

Venus, Mercury and Mars move through the signs of Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces, and Mercury goes into Aries where it will retrograde on April 1^st, conjunct the Aries Solar Eclipse on April 8^th. (more on this in my Spring Equinox newsletter).

Jupiter and Uranus are moving forward in Taurus to their meetup on April 20^th at 22* Taurus. (More on that in the Spring Equinox newsletter)

That’s all for now.

Let this season bring you insight into what your soul has planned for you this year. Whether you meditate, journey, dream, get an astrology or tarot reading, take a peek ahead now and let that vision and wisdom guide you into the Spring.

May you be blessed with inspiration this season.

Cathy

 

Dear God of Higher Love,

Beautiful Source, the Divine Within,

Let the soothing balm of love and justice

Pour over all of us,

Filling us with peace, kindness,

And the powerful, passionate will

To do what we must do,

To heal the ruptures, the corruption,

the transgressions and the wounds of this country.

I humbly ask you to let good win.

Give us the opportunity to do better,

To be better.

We will not squander it.

We are awake now,

It took us a long time to see

And we are grateful for your patience.

But we are here now,

We are ready.

We are warriors for love.

With your guidance,

We will make it right,

repairing the inequalities,

the injustices, the offenses.

We will lift this country,

this planet and its people

and finally be the beacon of hope,

the shining light, the loving heart

that we are destined to be.

-Pamela Bongas McIntyre, 10/27/20

 

The Cosmic Story: February 2022: Interesting and Intense Month.

 

There’s so much going on this month in the heavens! How we integrate these energies is so vital now. We’re living in times when we’re called on to live in our hearts and see how we’re all connected. With Sun in Aquarius, the role of our tribes, our groups, our families need us to live our truth and shine out our light.

World views create worlds. Our task is to change our view of life – from our patriarchal individualism to a communal vision, a knowledge of our unity. Our Oneness. We have a choice every day to live our best Self.

So I’ll give you a context for the seasonal change that’s upon us and a brief look at the astrology of February 2022.

February Festivals:

This weekend and next week kick off February’s intense and interesting energies, so I wanted to get you oriented for this transformational month ahead.

At the beginning of February, we arrive at a new gateway of the Wheel of the Year called Imbolc by the Celts, Candlemas by the Catholics, and St. Brigit’s Day by the Irish and pagans. But first and foremost, it is an astronomical marker of the year.

 

By February, Earth has reached a point in the Sun’s return North that the Light will begin to grow more rapidly now. It’s already noticeable. All these festivals point to that fact. (Just as the light declines more rapidly at the opposite festival of Lamas on August 2 and now in the southern hemisphere – where they are preparing for Autumn.)

We Americans know February 2^nd as Groundhog’s Day, the day this burrower comes out to check to see his shadow. If it’s sunny and he can see it, that means we’ll have an early Spring. If it’s cloudy and there’s no trace of a shadow, we’re in for at least 6 more weeks of Winter. He’s looking for the light.

The second gateway of the Wheel of the Year occurs on February 1^st - 2^nd. The Celts called this cross-quarter fire festival Imbolc, which means 'ewe's milk' because this is the time when spring lambs are born and the mother ewe's milk comes in. The lamb's birth promises returning life and light to the world, despite the snow and frost that still linger in the land. Imbolc was considered the first day of Spring. At Imbolc, we look for a vision of the future year. Take time to meditate – go to Cerridwen’s Cauldron (the Goddess of Bards and Inspiration) and look inside. What do you find there? We have hope in the light’s return.

St. Brigit’s Day is celebrated on Imbolc as well. The Celtic Goddess Bríd was regarded as a sun goddess of healing and the ancient Celts acknowledged her on this day as the day that signaled renewal, new growth, and a lessening of darkness. The Catholics turned this goddess into a Saint because the Irish would not give her up. She is the Goddess of Healing, Smithcraft and Poetry. You can read all about her at my Wisdom Chronicles blog. (The Irish just made St. Brigit’s Day a holiday!) 

 

Brigid ~ Emily Balivet

The Catholics also took over this cross-quarter day as the day baby Jesus was presented in the Temple (and Mary was ‘purified’) and renamed it Candlemas – the day the Church blesses all the candles it will use in ceremony for the year. They are blessing the light.

And this year, the day before Imbolc (January 31 - February 1^st) is the New Moon in Aquarius and therefore the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year – the Year of the Water Tiger, a sign of strength, bravery and overcoming negative emotions.

That’s a lot of energy centered around the next few days. And Venus turns direct on Saturday, January 29^th to add to the fun. There’s more on Venus below.

Before I get to the astrology, I want to talk about February’s energy.

All these themes of returning light are also seen in ancient Roman society, for the Romans viewed February as the month of purification, a time to let go of the old so the new could flourish.

 

 

In ancient Rome, February was the month of Purification. The Roman poet Ovid says that In sum, anything used to purify our bodies was named februa by our ancestors. The month February is named for this.

The Romans considered February a pivotal month, a transitional time between winter’s deep sleep and spring’s reawakening. They used this month for purification rituals, purifying their every day surroundings, sweeping away any decay, the outworn and any debris from their homes and fields, as well as letting go of any negative emotions, bad feelings and self-destructive behaviors.

In the fields, they cleaned up debris from winter storms and tended to the vines, pruned the olive and fruit trees, and began early planting. It was a time to set things right with the home, the community and especially the family.

It was a time to solidify their family ties, for families worked together to ensure everyone’s success. It was a time to heal old family arguments and a time to remember family members who had died, honoring the ancestors and healing old family wounds.

On February 1^st, women were honored as the birthers of children, supporters of family, tenders of the home and keepers of the hearth fires. This was the day to honor the work and worth of women and support them with positive energy. On this day, young girls went to the sacred grove of Juno Sospita, the Goddess of Protection and Fertility and fed her sacred snake in honor of the feminine powers of fertility and regeneration. (It isn’t only about physical fertility.)

So let us use this next month like the Romans did and purify and bless our homes, our animals, our stoves & ovens which cook our nourishment. We can take time to honor our living and dead kin. February is a quiet month best used to come to terms with our past and purify ourselves to prepare us for the future.

If we are to begin to live in a sacred manner, we need to incorporate old/new rituals as we align with the magic of Mother Earth once again.

One last February tradition that we need to honor as well as change.

 

 

St. Valentine’s Day is February 14^th. In modern America, we’ve turned it into a day that celebrates romantic love. Or it was turned into that by corporate advertising. Romantic love was introduced back in the 13^th Century, when the Divine Feminine was valued (when the Grail legends were written down) and the Courts of Love taught warriors how to live by their values and honor women.

Perhaps we need to expand our understanding of Love this Valentine’s Day and make it a day to practice holding love in our hearts for everyone and for Mother Earth. Once again, to live in a sacred manner means that we have to walk our talk, so let’s all pick February 14^th to walk with Love in our hearts.

Can you spend a whole day full of Love? Think of the vibrational change. Think how when Mars and Venus come together on the Full Moon on February 16^th, that love might change the world. We certainly need it to. Look at how quickly the men in charge of our world are preparing for war again. How unimaginative! How remarkably stupid!

February’s Astrology

Sovereignty

 

Venus:

Just before February begins, our Lady Venus, who has been retrograde since last December 91, 2021, will turn to direct motion on Friday - Saturday, January 28^th – 29^th. Venus is now a Morning Star, shining in the early morning sky just before sunrise. If you see her in the next day or so, the old crescent Moon will rise with her before dawn. It’s breathtaking to see them together then.

The Sabian symbol for Venus direct is at 12* Capricorn: In an old diamond mine, a showcase displaying and explaining different crystalline structures. Crystals are energetic matrices, just like the archetypes, which are the pre-existing building blocks of life here on Mother Earth and within our psyches. Venus says, let’s understand what makes life worthwhile if we’re going to build a new society based on natural laws.

When Venus met the Sun on January 8, 2022, she began a new Capricorn Venus Star Point. With her retrograde, she is backtracking to pick up the wisdom she learned from the previous Gemini Venus Star Point that began in June, 2020. That was a cycle of being open to new ideas and possibilities. Now as Venus moves direct, we have to get practical about the ways we can integrate those new ideas and possibilities into society, which is Capricorn’s intention.

Venus turning direct is energized by a lovely trine to Uranus in Venus-ruled Taurus, supporting her rebellion against patriarchy (she meets up with Pluto in Capricorn 3 times, helping to change the tone of cultural transformation). When she finally meets up with Pluto for the third time on March 3^rd, she will be joined by Mars. These three planets can change the collective picture – especially if we let them change us in the process. 

Venus and Mars meet twice in the next month. First on the day of the Leo Full Moon on February 16^th at 17* Capricorn and again on March 3^rd at 1* Aquarius – the same degree as the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction on Winter Solstice 2020. A new Aquarian beginning – again.

Mercury:

Hours before Venus goes direct, Mercury retrograde, the Messenger god, meets up with Pluto in Capricorn, perhaps revealing more secrets about what’s not working in our culture anymore as well as what’s no longer working for us personally. Mercury can travel through the three realms of the heavens, the earth and the underworld, offering his services as guide of souls. (You can listen to Hermes/Mercury’s birth story at Grandma Cat’s Bedtime Stories for the Soul.)

 

 

If you have planets in the last 5 degrees of cardinal signs, you might as well resign yourselves to a dip into the underworld. It’s time to release those secrets you’ve been holding onto. Or at least begin to think about it, since Mercury will go direct on February 3^rd and meet up with Pluto again for the 3^rd time on February 11^th. Prepare your mind for transformation!

The Sabian symbol for Mercury rx and Pluto meeting at 27* Capricorn is: Pilgrims climbing the steep steps leading to a mountain shrine. Our modern society has lost touch with the divine in so many ways. It’s time to realize again that we’re all one in Spirit. This is a great day to meditate and pull into focus what this retrograde has shown you. You can deepen your Imbolc visualization.

After Mercury goes direct on February 3^rd, all the planets will be in direct motion until April 29^th, when Pluto goes retrograde. So hang onto your hats – the energies are going to be strong and on the move.

Aquarius New Moon @ 13* Aquarius on January 31 – February 1, 2022

 

 

This second New Moon of 2022 is also connecting with last year’s Uranus/Saturn square. At the Capricorn New Moon, Uranus gave a boost to our New Year’s resolutions. At this Aquarius New Moon conjunct Saturn and squaring Uranus in Taurus, we’re taken back to the issue of Old vs New. We are challenged to change our ways. The universe gives us plenty of help to make the changes we need to make.

Will we listen to the voice of Mother Earth’s creative genius or will we succumb to the messages of media hype? It’s time to stop listening outside ourselves and turn within to listen to our own instincts and intuitions and our own critical thinking. We all need to stop running around like chickens with our heads cut off and really see what’s going on in our world. The pandemic isn’t the worst of it. The men in power are willing to go to war again rather than deal with the very real issues facing us. It’s time to stop them.

We don’t need nor want another war. Or any wars. This is our ‘death culture’ at work again. It’s time to create a life culture. And it’s up to women and men of good will to do it.

At this New Moon, Venus joins the asteroid Vesta, the fire priestess. It is so important now to ‘belong to ourselves’ (being virginal) and stop trying to be what our culture says we should be. Venus can help you find your own sovereignty during this New Moon. Ask her for her blessing.  With Mars added to the equation, Venus, Vesta, Mars and Uranus makes for unconventional partnerships.  Stay in your own power and see who's around.

The Sabian symbol for 13* Aquarius is: A barometer. The ability to discover basic natural facts that allow us to plan for the future.

Leo-Aquarius Full Moon @ 28* Leo-Aquarius on February 16, 2022

 

 

This Leo Full Moon activates our creativity and our place in our tribe. What do we have to offer to our group? What creative expression do we feel we need to make? This Full Moon squares the new lunar nodes in Taurus/Scorpio. What old values need to go so we can build something new?

The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 28* Aquarius is: A tree felled and sawed to ensure a supply of wood for the winter. What do we need for the future? Isn’t that the question. What do we need and is it sustainable?

The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 28* Leo is: Many little birds on a limb of a big tree. There’s a flood of ideas and possibilities but which one to choose? Look to Aquarius and ask, What does the group need?

The First-time U.S. Pluto Return: February 22, 2022

We’ve been feeling this transit for awhile now but it perfects on February 22^nd. What does it mean for a country to have their first Pluto return? Well, it sometimes means the end of empire – which we’ve seen played out these past few years. America is no longer the wonder child; American exceptionalism is on the wan. In fact, America isn’t doing very well in the things the matter to life – our health care system ranks below 3^rd world countries; we are the most violent country in the world; it looks like our democracy is failing; we are controlled by corporate interests who own the government and the courts; we haven’t stopped our over-the-top polluting. I could go on and on but you know what’s wrong.

But we now have a chance to fix things if we actually engage in our society. If we actually take up our duties as citizens. It’s time we stopped waiting for our government to do what’s best for us. It’s been proven that our government officials listen to corporate lobbyists instead of we the people. Isn’t it time we took our government in hand? Or at least had a tax revolt like our fore bearers did.

Remember: Taxation without representation is tyranny. It seems money is always at issue here. That was the rallying cry of the American revolutionaries. Why isn’t it our cry now? The wealthy and corporations are not paying their fair share of taxes but working Americans are. Our government isn’t spending our tax dollars on things Americans need – they’re giving it away to the military and to Wall Street banks.

Are we ready to participate in our government? That’s what democracy is about. If not, we will be led by dictators. There is an element in our country that wants us to live by their rules rather than allowing us to make our own decisions. Isn’t it time we stopped supporting those institutions which no longer represent us? This goes beyond vaccines. This is about how society’s decisions are made. Airlines get to stop 5G from coming in because it disrupts flight patterns. But people can’t stop them when it disrupts our personal electro-magnetic field, causing harm to our bodies.

Anyway, these are questions we need to look at if we’re going to help create a new society. What do you think?

May we all arise together to a new day,

Cathy

Beginners

“From too much love of living,
Hope and desire set free,
Even the weariest river
Winds somewhere to the sea—“

But we have only begun
To love the earth.

We have only begun
To imagine the fullness of life.

How could we tire of hope?
— so much is in bud.

How can desire fail?
— we have only begun

to imagine justice and mercy,
only begun to envision

how it might be
to live as siblings with beast and flower,
not as oppressors.

Surely our river
cannot already be hastening
into the sea of nonbeing?

Surely it cannot
drag, in the silt,
all that is innocent?

Not yet, not yet—
there is too much broken
that must be mended,

too much hurt we have done to each other
that cannot yet be forgiven.

We have only begun to know
the power that is in us if we would join
our solitudes in the communion of struggle.

So much is unfolding that must
complete its gesture,

so much is in bud.

~ Denise Levertov ~

(Candles in Babylon)

The Changing of the Gods:  https://changingofthegods.com/

A great series about the astrological perspective on what’s going on in the world. Based on Rick Tarnas’ book ‘Cosmos & Psyche’, it’s a wonderful explanation of astrology, archetypes, social movements. It’s a new world view that has at its center, we are all One – we are all connected and we all have meaning.

You can go to https://astrologyhub.pages.ontraport.net/cotg-waitlist

Check it out and sign up to see the whole series. And pass it on!