The Cosmic Storyteller: Mercury retrograde Dances with the Outer Planets

 

The Cosmic Storyteller:

Mercury retrogrades as Outer Planets Go Direct

  Autumn Equinox: Balance & Release

Fall arrived here in Wickford in a mix of cloudy and sunny weather, but today the clear sky, hot sun and cool breezes made for a perfect September day in Rhode Island. We are blessed to live here at the ocean’s edge. We stand on the borderlands between earth and ocean, between known and unknown. 

That's also true for this time we live in.  We are all living on the borderlands, looking into a mysterious and unknown future.  In reality, life is always uncertain like that, but we Americans have gotten complacent about our well-being, quietly accepting a world on the brink of disaster, instead of embracing much needed change.  Change is the only constant of life.  The world is evolving, whether we want it to or not.  Unfortunately, it's really de-volving.  Earth's biosphere is unhealthy.  It's unraveling each time a species goes extinct from human pollution and over-population.  I just read that 23 more species went extinct this week.

What kind of crisis will wake us up?  I know that if we are brave enough, and strong enough, and wise enough, to consciously evolve with the times, we could create a different kind of world.   

The questions I always ask when discussing modern society is, "What culture poisons its own people and food?"  "What kind of people are we to care so little for our children's well-being that we're not willing to sacrifice our comforts for a better life for them?" 

These are just some questions we could ask ourselves for this important Mercury retrograde period.       

  Ma'at's Scales

The Sun moves into Libra, the sign of the Scales, at the Autumn Equinox. A day when the light and the dark are balanced. It only happens two times a year – at the two Equinoxes, Spring and Autumn. It brings the light/dark back into balance for a moment before it heads back toward imbalance.

That’s what Autumn Equinox embodies – the need to re-balance after the exuberance of Summer’s light and heat (our Southern brethren will be emerging from the dark and cold and embracing new life and heat.). Since we are part of Earth’s biosphere, we too are heading into the cold and dark time of year, a time to withdraw into ourselves and dream of next year’s life. This Equinox is the time to take stock of our lives – asking “what have we learned and where are we headed?”

The Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, is celebrated around Autumn Equinox. It is a day to look within and see who you’ve been and what you've done for the past year. To look at your shadow and bring it into the light. It is a time to see, acknowledge and then let go of what no longer serves your life. Because, this night also determines what the next year will bring. As you acknowledge and know your gifts and faults, you have to forgive yourself, make amends when needed and pledge to remember and change. And grow!

This is a night of choice for pagans as well. We sing at the Equinoxes:

Onward we go round the Spiral,

Touching Darkness, touching Light.

Twice each turn we rest in balance.

Make choices on this night.

Make choices on this night.

This is a time to make adjustments within ourselves. It is an adjustment that needs to be made each year as summer passes into fall, in either hemisphere. In our pagan rituals, we ask, “What have you harvested this year? What are you releasing this year? Have you gathered your seeds for the future?”

The wheel of life turns ever onward.

To everything (turn, turn, turn).

There is a season (turn, turn, turn).

And a time for every purpose under Heaven.

(Pete Seeger)

In this time of cultural breakdown and change, the best thing we can do is to return to our roots – to the rhythms of Mother Earth. When there’s trauma, we get whacked out of rhythm with ourselves. So we need to reestablish that rhythmic re-patterning that the seasons, dancing, music and drumming give us. Once we re-establish our own rhythm, we can bring more balance and harmony to those around us. 

Mother Earth’s seasons ground us and can lead us back to center. (Uranus in Taurus is connecting us electrically to Mother Earth.) Every day She helps us understand the different tempos of Life, and grounds us in ‘reality’ at the same time as She takes us into a different reality – the reality of her living Earth.

In Chinese medicine, this is the season of the lungs, skin and intestines, those organs that help us release toxins, and those things that no longer serve us. Just as the trees lose their leaves in the Fall, so do we release what no longer nourishes us, allowing us to make room for new life.

We don’t have to let fear keep us from this next part of our journey into the Dark. For the seeds we hold in the dark will be the ones that blossom next year. Make choices on this night!

"Fear holds you still when you need to move,

and moves you when you need to be still.

Fear makes you silent when you need to be loud,

and loud when you need silence.

Fear closes your throat when you need to breathe.

Fear weakens your hand and blinds your eyes.

FEAR is a danger. Know your fear. Face your fear. Practice."

Elizabeth Vaughan, Warsworn

Maybe you’re wondering what this has to do with Mercury retrograde. Well, we’re here. Mercury is the Messenger god, the one who can travel through all realms of life. If Mercury represents the Mind, then it tells us the Mind can travel all over the cosmos and into the underworld. It doesn’t just stay in 3D reality.

 

Mercury retrogrades are all about purifying our perceptions. We do this by shifting our attention and energy within. If we let our minds race ahead of our hearts, we run into trouble. Mercury goes retrograde so often because it orbits so close to the Sun. From Earth’s point of view, it looks like it goes backwards at these times. Symbolically, we need to take heed. Our society has us rushing around with too much on our plates. Our consciousness can only hold so much before it needs to backtrack and rethink, release, reorganize, redo, and/or remember things. 

The Sabian symbol for Mercury going retrograde at 26* Libra is:  An Eagle and a large white Dove change into each other.   What happens when Love is our will and our will is to do the work of Love?

 

Hermeticism states: As Above, So Below. As Within, So Without. The within and without are the same. If we live in outer turmoil, look for the inner turmoil and tame it. Mercury/Hermes is the Mind and our mind focuses our energy. Where we put our attention matters. Do you see why it’s so important to use this time to tame the mind and let it re-discover silence? When the Mind is silent, the heart can be heard. And then we know what to do.  Then the Eagle will turn into the Dove.

This year, all three Mercury retrogrades are in AIR signs – the signs of communication, learning, connection, teaching, ideas, relationships and inspiration. It means we need to re-think how we live. In Aquarius, Mercury connected us to envisioning our future with our group mind. In Gemini, Mercury helped us re-examine old beliefs so we could open our minds to new ideas. In Libra, Mercury will ask us to incorporate new ideas about justice, balance and fairness between people, in private relationships and in society.

While Mercury moves back through Libra from September 26^th - 27^th to October 18^th, it will square Pluto in Capricorn twice: once on October 1^st before Pluto goes direct on October 6^th and again on November 2^nd when Pluto is direct. This indicates a deep course correction for some of us. Pluto deepens the Mind (Mercury) – whether with deep thoughts or by taking us deep within our own souls, since Mercury is the only god who can travel between realms. Either way, Pluto is definitely a call to the Underworld.

Thankfully, Venus, the ruler of Libra, is in Scorpio, the sign of Pluto’s Underworld, so if we do the work now, she will be there to help us. Help us connect with our deepest wounds, our deepest sorrows and our deepest desires.

 

 

Mercury went retrograde on September 26^th - 27^th at 26* Libra opposite the dwarf planet Eris in Aries. Eris reminds Mercury that we must listen to our hearts if we don’t want discord in our lives. She reminds the Mind that it can stand up for the heart’s wisdom.

Next, Mercury will trine Jupiter in Aquarius on October 3^rd and again on October 31st – November 1^st, after Jupiter turns direct on October 17^th – 18^th. Mercury and Jupiter energies make a powerful combination, for Jupiter opens the Mind to encompass Spirit, community and possibilities. Jupiter moving forward again can open us to outer abundance, good fortune and growth, and can also help us find meaning in our lives. So on Mercury’s third trine to Jupiter on Samhain/ Halloween, you might try to use your Mind to open yourself to your ancestor spirits. Remember, Mercury can travel to the Underworld. They are there to help and heal us if we let them. At least spend some time honoring them.

Finally Mercury doesn’t get back to exactly trine Saturn at 7* Aquarius but it’s close enough at 11* Libra when it turns direct. This aspect will give your mind strength, focus and discipline. Keep what works and let go of what doesn’t.

Pluto in Capricorn going direct will be heading to next year’s Pluto return in America’s 4^th of July birth chart. We are due for a revolution. We can make it be a peaceful revolution of ideas and expansive freedoms if we each stand up for peace, justice and fairness. If we learn to listen to those we don’t agree with, instead of getting snippy about it. Listen and learn.

Individually, Pluto going direct will show us how much of the old patriarchal order we’ve let go of in our lives. The rules live within us. Break the old rules and make new ones.

Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius can now continue what they began with the new cycle of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius that started December 21, 2020. The future belongs to new ideas and new possibilities. We cannot go back to some fake idyllic time -=- although hearing kids out playing in the neighborhood on warm summer nights would be delightful.

Individually, Jupiter and Saturn’s new cycle in Aquarius indicates that the wave of the future is community oriented. Whether we call ourselves tribes or families, like-minded and like-hearted people will build community together. Coming to a town near you soon!

Finally, Mercury retrograde will form inconjuncts to Neptune in Pisces on October 5^th and to Uranus in Taurus on October 11^th – 12^th. With the inconjunct to Neptune, watch out for communication confusion or misunderstandings with others. With Uranus, since both Taurus and Libra are ruled by Venus, the needed adjustment between these two planets might just be to slow down and ground in all the wonderful ideas you’re having. Uranus stimulates the Mind to cosmic proportions, so once again, ground and center before you rush into anything too wild.

With all the interaction with the outer planets, this Mercury retrograde has a lot to teach us about connecting to these big energies. Try to go slow so you can integrate the lessons. This is about showing us how we’re connecting to the collective Mind. Do you have something to share? Now’s the time to do it.

This important Mercury retrograde can be a time for you to expand your vision of your life.  Why are you here if not to take a stand on what is happening in our world.   There is so much work to be done.  Perhaps Mercury will help you find how you can engage in the world.

The New Moon in Libra occurs on October 6^th at 14* Libra, just hours before Pluto turns direct at 25* Capricorn. Mars and Mercury are close to this New Moon, so we might feel like we have to do something, speak out about something or mediate something. It will also inconjunct Uranus in Taurus, so watch out for sudden surprises that you’ll have to make adjustments for.

Find out where Libra is in your chart and you’ll know what areas of life will be effected by the Mercury retrograde. In my chart, it’s all happening in my 5^th house of play, children, creativity and fun. I’m re-writing an old screenplay into a book and it is fun and creative. What are you doing?

Whatever is happening in your world, don’t forget you can always go out into Nature and let Mother Earth ground and center you. The future is not fixed! Let your Mind rest in silence and find your truth.

Happy Equinox,

Cathy

 

 

Fall Song

Another year gone, leaving everywhere
its rich spiced residues: vines, leaves,

the uneaten fruits crumbling damply
in the shadows, unmattering back

from the particular island
of this summer, this NOW, that now is nowhere

except underfoot, moldering
in that black subterranean castle

of unobservable mysteries -- roots and sealed seeds
and the wanderings of water. This

I try to remember when time's measure
painfully chafes, for instance when autumn

flares out at the last, boisterous and like us longing
to stay -- how everything lives, shifting

from one bright vision to another, forever
in these momentary pastures.

~ Mary Oliver ~

(American Primitive)

The Cosmic Story: Virgo New Moon 2021

 

 Virgo is the sign of the harvest.  It is the Virgin Mother, whose child is the grain that sustains life.  She is Isis and Horus, Mary and Jesus.  You and what you've created this year.

So what have you harvested?  Many years ago we had a harvest ritual and at the time, my 6 year old Virgo son (who just turned 41!) whispered to me what he had harvested.  Each year we learn something new, we create some new pattern in our lives.  This is the time to think about what we've accomplished this year and give thanks.

Virgo is the sign of discernment, of giving our attention to the details of life.  By bringing more attention to our everyday tasks, we imbue them with spirit, we make our lives sacred. 

Being more of a 'go with the flow' type of woman, I have struggled for years to have a daily routine.  But I'm working on it and this month is a great time for me -- and for you -- to finally give each part of our lives the attention they deserve.

But it's not only about paying attention to details, because Uranus in Taurus lends us his awakening powers with a beautiful trine to this New Moon.  So if your routines are stuck, this is the power you need to un-stick them by trying something new and unexpected.  It will help if you go out into nature and ask Mother Nature what's the best course of action.  You WILL get an answer.

 Mars in Virgo is exactly trine Pluto in Capricorn, ready and willing to institute new rules, big changes.  Mars also inconjuncts Jupiter in Aquarius, creating a wonky energy that takes some adjusting to.  Jupiter wants us to see unexpected possibilities but Mars might have to adjust his goals to meet them.

 Venus in Libra is opposite Eris in Aries, the warrior goddess of the heart, square Pluto in Capricorn and trine Jupiter in Aquarius. The Goddess of Love and Wisdom is conjunct Vesta -- the fire priestess.  Both of them in Libra energize us to take our relationships seriously.  We all want and need relationships, but our culture hasn't taught us how to be in them. This is a great time to learn what it takes to create strong, loving relationships, without losing yourself in the process.  Relationships are supposed to support us in being our authentic selves, rather than dimming our lights.

It's time to listen to your heart's song and trust it.  I just read Brene Brown's book, Braving the Wilderness.  It's about being virginal -- the Virgo state of belonging to yourself.  It's hard to be authentic in today's world with so much bullying and nastiness on social media.  But this month is a call to do exactly that.  Be your authentic self. And do it with kindness, courtesy and intelligence.

Also, go out just after sunset and see Venus in the West and Jupiter in the East.  If you raise your arms in both directions, you'll see the 'trine' -- a 120* angle -- in the living sky.  

Last but not least, Mercury in Libra enters the shadow period of its upcoming retrograde -- September 26-27 -- just after this New Moon.  This means that it's at the degree it will retrograde back to (Libra 26* - 11*).  Pay attention to what comes up now to understand what you'll be dealing with during the retrograde.

Mercury forms a grand air trine between Saturn rx in Aquarius and Ceres in Gemini. Make sure that your plans are nurturing for you and stay open to other options that come up. Saturn can give you the focus you need to make things happen.

Mercury in Libra seeks balance in your relationships and harmony in your life.  The problem with Libra is that so many Librans bend over backwards to create that harmony.  I tell my clients, do not jump to the other side of the scale. It creates imbalance.  You're not hear to agree with the Other -- you're hear to listen to the other and find solutions.  But you have to stay on your own side of the scale to create that balance.

 

 
Today Virgo New Moon occurs at 8:52pm EDT/ 5:52pm PDT at 15* Virgo.

The Sabian symbol for the New Moon at 15* Virgo is:   A fine lace handkerchief, heirloom from valorous ancestors.

It's time to act with strength, determination, courage and discrimination while following in the footsteps of those who have gone before us.  Pick someone who you honor and use their image to help you find your own power.

The Cosmic Story: Leo/Aquarius (Blue) Full Moon 2021

The Cosmic Story: Aquarius Blue Moon 2021

Seek the Hope that lives in your Heart

The Day Sky gives us Life. The Night Sky gives us meaning.

 

 

Sunday’s second Leo Full Moon is a Blue Moon – the second Full Moon in an astrological sign that switches the lunar cycle. This Full Moon occurs on Regulus, the royal star which has just recently progressed from Leo to Virgo.

It is also a Full Moon that occurs on the same degree as the Great American Solar Eclipse of August 21, 2017. The Sabian symbol for 29* Leo is: A mermaid emerges from the ocean waves ready for rebirth in human form.

 

Mermaids are magical beings who can navigate the great realm of the Collective Unconscious. Psychologically, they represent a new feeling and energy that arises out of our collective longing for a different life. For a mermaid to be reborn in a human form symbolizes the incarnation of that new feeling attuned to the World Soul. A new beginning for the Divine Feminine. It is the heart’s desire for a unified experience of life, one in which the head and the heart work together. It is a shared longing for a deeper, richer, more conscious, collective life.

A mermaid symbolizes a feeling, intuitive awareness of something that is still partially submerged in the collective unconscious. As this mermaid wants to take on human form, this awareness wants to manifest in 3D reality. And perhaps it has four years later.

What is this feeling – toned complex that wanted to manifest here in America? I would say it is the evolutionary urge for individual freedom, equality and our unique self-expression. Perhaps this is the energy that helped Uranus finally wake us up to take responsibility for our world.

This Blue Moon is conjunct expansive Jupiter_rx in Aquarius, bringing us a bigger vision of what is possible, even while the world is once again inundated by a resurgent Covid. It provides us with the opportunity to reclaim our sovereignty, while remaining conscious of our responsibilities to the collective. Symbolically, Aquarius is the energy of King Arthur’s Round Table, where all are equal and responsible to each other. The Leo/Aquarius axis speaks to how our creative expression feeds the Collective Mind. We are called to ‘love our neighbors as ourselves’. And that means sharing our creativity with the world.

Whether you believe in vaccines and masks or don’t, we can still exert our sovereignty by being responsible for the welfare of each other. Leo is the sign of our royal nature – we are the mediators between heaven and Earth. If we want to take our rightful place as stewards of the Earth, that includes the courtesy we owe each other. In this time of cultural transformation, let’s be the light of the world for those who still live in darkness. We can be examples of the best in human nature, even when confronted with anger, bullying and fear-mongering.

 

I want to tell you a story, since I believe that stories speak to our souls and organize our energies into wholeness. This story speaks to me about our times. Let it open your hearts to the mystery. This tale is by Anne Bishop in her series Ephemera.

 

Long ago, beyond my memory and yours, spirits who were the voice of the world walked among us. And they knew things no ordinary human could know. Like the secret to using the Door of Locks.

Now the Door of Locks was hidden in a garden that lived in the heart of a magic hill, and that hill was the country home of the spirits who resided in this part of the land. When a person had a powerful need for something that was just beyond his grasp, he would set his feet on the road and follow his heart—and if the spirits decided he was worthy, he would find that garden.

And when he reached the garden, which was protected by high walls and a barred gate, a spirit would appear and ask, “What do you seek?”

Now, a foolish man might say he was seeking gold or jewels or some other kind of treasure. He might be allowed to enter the garden after giving such an answer—but he might not. Because the correct answer to the question—and this is most important to remember—the correct answer is “I seek the hope that lives within my heart.” Give the spirit that answer, and the garden’s gate will always open.

And then, once you’re inside . . . It’s a lovely place, as beautiful as a dream, and you’re allowed to wander and look and sit for as long as you please. When you’re ready, the spirit takes you to the Door of Locks.

There are one hundred identical locks on the door, and while you’re standing there, trying to fathom it all, the spirit reaches into your heart and takes out a key, and says, “Every lock leads to a different place that lives within you. Some are dark places, some are light places, some are full of struggle and sorrow while others will shower your days with joy. Choose a lock. The key will fit any one of them. Choose where your heart needs to go. Choose.”

And that is what you must do—choose. Now, some people are hasty, ignoring the spirit’s warning about the nature of the locks and thinking that since the locks all look the same they’ll all be the same. And some people don’t ask for the lock they truly want because it’s high up in a corner of the door or too low to the ground and they don’t want to be inconveniencing the spirit and they figure a lock that’s easy to reach will do just as well.

But it won’t do as well. I’ll tell you that now. It won’t do, and if you settle for what is easy instead of what you truly want, you may never discover the hope that lives in your heart.

So you choose wisely, and you choose well, and you pick the lock that matters the most to you at that moment. Then the spirit takes the key that was plucked from your heart and slips it into that lock.

It changes you. It doesn’t matter if you end up in a place you didn’t know existed or in the village where you’ve lived your whole life. It changes you—and you will never again see the world in quite the same way.

Except we’ve lost the way of it, you see.

A dark and terrible Evil swept through the land in that long-ago time, and the spirits disappeared. Some say they were all destroyed in a great battle against that Evil. Others say that those who survived went into hiding and still tend the magic garden. No one knows the answer, just as no one knows how to find the magic hill or a spirit who can pluck a key out of a person’s heart and open the Door of Locks.

But I can tell you this. That magical place still exists. And someday someone will remember how to find it—and how to open the door that leads to all the hope that lives in the heart. ~ Elandar story

(Belladonna by Anne Bishop, ROC Books, New York, NY. pg. 211-212).

May you find your Heart’s Hope.

Cathy

The Cosmic Story: The Leo Gateway of Lammas: Leo New Moon & 2nd Aquarius Blue Full Moon 2021

We’ve just arrived at the cross-quarter day of Lammas here in the north, a time of harvest and fulfillment. With the receding light and warmth, we are now definitely heading toward Autumn.

Welcome to Lammas season, the Harvest Season.

 

 

Regardless of what’s happening in our world regarding COVID and politics, Mother Earth still holds us in her yearly cycle of life and death and renewal. When we orient ourselves with these cycles, we can ground and connect to Earth’s biosphere, giving us the energy to align with our life’s evolution in a natural way.

Here in the North, we’re at the beginning of harvest time and the second half of summer. We’ll begin to notice the days growing shorter more quickly now as the Sun continues on its journey south as we head into Autumn. Down in the southern hemisphere, you are experiencing the light returning, heading out of late winter and into spring.

For us in the northern hemisphere, we can celebrate our personal harvest through ritual and meditation, gratefully acknowledging the new harvest this year. Is it a new job, a new book you’re writing, a new relationship with yourself or another, a new attitude or perspective on your life? Have you let go of fear and opened to your heart’s desires? Have you faces your shadow and freed up new energy? Whatever you’ve created this year, it’s now time to name and acknowledge it with gratitude.

Change is here, whether we like it or not. The question is, who is going to be making those changes? This summer’s astrological energies are intense, urging us to release what no longer serves us so we can start following our heart’s wisdom and start living our soul’s story.

The power of Leo’s energy is to help us discover and attend to the Heart and what really matters in life, giving full expression to our creativity. This year, while the Sun is in the sign of Leo, we will experience two Aquarian Full Moons (the first was on July 23^rd at 2* Leo and the second is on August 22^nd at 30* Leo and is the Blue Moon) with the upcoming Leo New Moon on August 8^th near the Leo power gate of 15* Leo.

Uranus, about to turn retrograde on August 19^th, is stopping at the Taurus power gate at 15* Taurus, squaring this week’s New Moon. It is a reminder to us that what we create must be sustainable and must benefit the whole group in some way. It can no longer be ‘art for art’s sake’ but ‘art as a healing modality for the collective psyche’.

It is only through the heart’s wisdom that we’ll get through these global health and environmental crises.

These power gates occur at 15* of the fixed signs – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius – and are represented by the cross-quarter holidays of Beltane, Lammas, Samhain (Halloween) and Imbolc that mark the halfway point between the solstices and equinoxes. They are the energetic center of these ‘fixed’ sign, generating portals to other dimensions. If you have planets at any of these gateways, their energies will give you a persistence and determination to get through any troubles in life.

 

 

So as people continue to get in touch with their heart needs, they are quitting jobs that no longer satisfy them or leaving relationships that no longer give them the freedom to be themselves. We see this struggle between the old, repressive behaviors of patriarchy and the new freedom we each want to express in light of the Saturn/Uranus square – pitting the old (Saturn) against the new (Uranus). It’s up to each of us to break the chains of old patriarchal rules and beliefs within ourselves so that this societal paradigm dies out in the collective consciousness, leaving room for something new to arise – something better to arise.

For these past few years, we’ve talked about discovering our new story, which implies changing our beliefs and behaviors. Well, the need for change is upon us now! Yes things are getting chaotic, but the truth is out of chaos emerges the new forms we need to recreate our global society. And while there are a lot of powers in our world that want to take us back to the past, there is no way the past will win out. We are set to move into the future – the Age of Aquarius is calling to us. We just has to deal with the shadow karma of the Piscean Age – the old Them vs. Us beliefs that hinder the truth of Pisces – that we are all one.

When we re-emerge into a post-covid world, we have an opportunity to change our society and culture. Many of us want to change. How that’s going to happen will become apparent when we begin to let go of our fears and worries about the future. We are heading into that future and the one thing you need for the trip is a sure sense of yourself, a grounded presence that is willing to go with the flow and change when it’s appropriate, yet is strong enough to support and protect you.

We each have to find our wholeness so we can become holograms for collective wholeness.

 

 

Astrological influences through Leo and Virgo

There are a lot of planetary changes going on this season, especially between the two Aquarian Full Moons on July 23^rd and August 22^nd.

The themes coming up now in your life are important to the future, so pay attention. We’ll be making decisions about how we want to live our lives as we go forward. It’s time to take some action on our personal changes.

If you’ve been frustrated lately, blame it on Saturn in Aquarius opposite the Leo Sun on August 2^nd, with both squaring Uranus in Taurus. Once again, the theme is out with the old, in with the new.

 

 Sekhmet: the Heart of the Sun

Leo is all about heart energy. Leo is the fire that is passionate, creative and utterly unique. Leo is a shining Light that warms everything it touches. So this month, burn brightly and let your light shine out.

Mercury met the Sun at 9* Leo on August 1^st and rushes through the rest of Leo, moving into Virgo on August 11^th. Our creative vision gets down to earth and practical.

 

 

The Leo New Moon occurs on Sunday, August 9^th near the Lion’s Gate at 15* Leo. With the square to Uranus in Taurus and opposite Saturn in Aquarius, it’s time to actively work on changing our ways, discarding what no longer serves our future Self. With Venus in Virgo channeling Neptune in Pisces, we can begin to make our dreams a reality. Don’t forget that beauty and embodiment go together. It’s time to let go of the ugliness we’ve created in our world and remember how beauty makes us feel.

It’s always good to let go of expectations and just accept the reality of the Now. Yes, old patterns need to be broken, but everyone is doing it in their own time and way. The frustration comes from how slow vast changes take.

So it’s up to us to make the small changes in ourselves that can make change happen in the world.

Uranus turns retrograde on August 19^th at 15* Taurus. It’s time to turn all that revolutionary, transformative energy inward. Awaken your soul body. 

 

 

The 2^nd Aquarius Blue Full Moon on August 22^nd occurs at 30* Leo. Blue Moons occur when there are two Full Moon in an astrological sign – NOT when they occur in a calendar month. This is because they switch the lunar cycle back to its original rhythm of New Moon followed by a Full Moon in the same sign. For the past two years, the cycle flipped and so we’ve had the Full Moon come before the New Moon in a sign. This part of the lunar cycle splits us open to encompass different energies. Now we can get back in rhythm and feel more whole.

For this second Aquarius Full Moon, Jupiter is conjunct the Moon, opening up our perspective to what is possible. Jupiter can make magic happen, so stay open to the synchronicity in your life that can show you the path forward.

While Uranus is now retrograde, it is still squaring Saturn retrograde in Aquarius, so the tension between old habits and new turn inward. Uranian awakenings are strengthened by a nice earth trine to both Mars and Mercury in Virgo, who can help plan out the small changes we need to make to shift our energies. Venus is in Libra opposite Chiron in Aries, asking us to love and respect ourselves as much as the Other. Because we have to ‘love our neighbors as ourselves’, we need to do the work of loving ourselves and facing our inner critics, those voices of old patriarchal beliefs that we need to shed now.

 

                                             Virgo with her Wheat Shaft

 

The Sun enters Virgo late in the day August 22^nd . I’ll leave you to find out about the Virgo New Moon on September 6^th and the Pisces-Virgo Full Moon on September 20^th, two days before Fall Equinox arrives on September 22^nd.

Virgo is the sign of the Great Mother and Child, the womb and the fruit together. What have we woven into being this year? How do we integrate that into our ongoing evolution? Virgo’s great gift of service comes from being aware of what’s really needed in any situation.

Exploring the Myth of Psyche & Eros: Part 2

Psyche & Eros

 

Venus stays in Virgo until August 15^{th –} 16^th, when she enters one of her home signs, Libra. But while she’s still with Mars in Virgo, this pair wants to work out the details of their union at 20* Leo on July 13^th.

I wrote about their union in relationship to the ancient myth of Psyche & Eros.

If you remember their story of an initiation into the mysteries of Love and Desire:

Psyche (our word for Soul) is married to Eros in a secret marriage. She can only make love to her new husband in the dark of night, without seeing who he is. When she finally lights a lamp to consciously see who her secret lover is, she discovers that it is the god of Desire himself who is her mate. But he flies off, leaving her to search the world for him.

She finally presents herself to Aphrodite, the Goddess of Beauty and Love, who is the mother of Eros and who initiates Psyche into the wonder and magic of this divine love. Aphrodite sets Psyche four tasks to complete before she can be reunited with Eros.

1) The first task is to sort and separate out a big pile of different seeds. When Psyche despairs of the job, friendly ants come to help her sort things out. Ant is a symbol of discipline, hard work, strength, unity, determination, teamwork, and patience. Sometimes, if we stick to the work of Love, we have to trust our instinctual nature to sort things out when relationship issues arise. A sorting of seeds lets us understand where things began. This is also the type of sorting that Virgo is good at, because it asks us to use this initiation’s gift of discernment in this sorting.

2) The second task is to harvest the golden wool from the sun rams. She gets advice from a friendly river reed to wait until the Sun is descending and losing power so the rams can settle down. Then she’ll be able to gather the wool that got stuck to the brambles. This initiation makes us face our fierce aggressive need to compete with the Other – to make our point and take our stand. It asks us to use our golden intellect in a different way. Can we stand in our own power without having to destroy the Other? How do we relate to power in relationships?

The ram symbolizes boldness, new beginnings, new paths and power. Like the reed who gives Psyche this advice, we need to understand the flow of life and not go head to head with our loved ones in the midst of powerful emotions and power plays. Instead, we need to let things calm down and then find out what really is going on. The gifts Psyche receives from this initiation are a sense of her own courage, strength and spirit.

3) The third initiation demands that Psyche find the source of the River Styx, or the river of life, and draw up a crystal cupful to take back to Aphrodite. There are dangers surrounding this river. But Zeus’ eagle comes to help, taking the goblet and filling it.

This is a test of our faith, our belief in love and our ability to fly high and see with the eyes of Spirit. It is also a challenge to take a larger perspective on the issues. And the paradox is that to do this, we have to stay in the NOW and deal with the present moment. There are so many possibilities in life to drink from, but we need the wisdom to know which possibility is the best to foster and deepen love. I would say that the gift of this initiation is that higher, spiritual perspective.

4) The fourth and last test is the most important. Aphrodite wants Psyche to travel to the underworld and obtain from Persephone, the Queen of the underworld, a little cask of her own beauty ointment.

 

 Psyche's last task

This initiation involves staying on track and not getting thrown off track by other people’s needs. This is a journey into our own inner world to discover our own unique Beauty and Truth. On this journey, we have to curb our instilled sense of generosity and kindness and own our dark side. Persephone, Hecate, Kali all represent the dark energies that influence our decisions, those shadow aspects of our personality that used to keep us safe but now just keep us stuck in old patterns of low self-worth and self-criticisms. The gift of this initiation is a grounded “NO” in response to outer demands on our freedom of choice. Love must be freely given, never demanded.

This initiation asks us to die to the innocence of our youthful imagination and expectations of what love is and means. Then we can be reborn without fear, allowing a transformation of our consciousness to ripen and mature our understanding of the Other and ourselves. This is the path of individuation, where we can embrace all our ourselves so we can see and embrace the wholeness of the Other.

As the story ends, Psyche and Eros are reunited and Psyche gives birth to a daughter, who is Pleasure.

A life lived in and with love blesses us with all sorts of pleasure, especially joy and wonder.

 

Our task at the end of the Age of Pisces is to learn Love in all its forms.  Love is never easy.  It takes work.  So work on loving yourself and then you'll know how to love others.

May the many blessings of Lammas flow through your life,

Cathy

 

Now is the Time

 

Now is the time to know
That all that you do is sacred.

Now, why not consider 

A lasting truce with yourself and God.

Now is the time to understand
That all your ideas of right and wrong
Were just a child's training wheels
To be laid aside
When you finally live
With veracity
And love.

Hafiz is a divine envoy
Whom the Beloved
Has written a holy message upon.

My dear, please tell me,
Why do you still
Throw sticks at your heart
And God?

What is it in that sweet voice inside
That incites you to fear?

Now is the time for the world to know
That every thought and action is sacred.

This is the time
For you to compute the impossibility
That there is anything
But Grace.

Now is the season to know.

That everything you do

Is sacred.

~ Hafiz ~

(The Gift - versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)