The Cosmic Story: Aquarius Full Moon (Eclipse), August 18, 2016

The Cosmic Story: Aquarius/Leo Full Moon 2016

This late summer Full Moon featuring Leo and Aquarius reminds us to go have fun with like-hearted individuals. Find your group and celebrate! Leo is all about the Heart, and when Sister Moon comes around to face this Leo Sun, she has to shine back at him the bigger reality of Aquarius—that we cannot thrive unless we share our heart's love and creativity with others, for others.

A beautiful representative of the Leo Sun is the Egyptian Goddess, Sekhmet: Lioness, Goddess, Heart of the Sun. This ancient goddess comes down to us from the Age of Leo, when the lioness Sphinx watched over humankind. Below are only a few of Sekhmet's names that we still know of from this earlier Age. 

Goddess Temple: Women of Sekhmet Festival

 

Names of Sekhmet

Sekhmet, Great One of Magic
Mother of the Gods
Lady of the House of Books
She Who Walks On Forests of Rose Petals
One Who Was Before The Gods Were
Lady of the Place of the Beginning of Time
Lady of Radiance
Revealer of the Ancient Paths

Flaming One
Finder of Ways
Protectress of the gods
Lady of the Scarlet-Colored Garment
Pure One
She of Great Beauty and Hope
Keeper of the Light
Lady of Strong Love

Self Contained
Only One
Awakener
Lady of Enchantments
Opener of Ways
Lady of Transformations
Lady of the Many Faces 

 

(See The Temple of Goddess Spirituality, Dedicated to Sekhmet for more names)

Sekhmet, Leo and the Sun are all associated with the Heart. And like Sekhmet's names, the truth of the human heart is that we are full of possibilities; we are made up of many talents. This divine goddess shows us the abundant gifts that are possible if we trust our hearts to show us the way. This Path of the Heart is the road to Wisdom—to living a fulfilled, whole, self-aware life.

In Gregg Braden's video series Living From the Heart, he talks about the most important question we can ask ourselves: “Who Am I?” A very Leo/Aries sort of question. He then goes on explain how our left brain logic is not the only way to think about life and find direction. He talks about the new scientific discoveries that show us that our hearts actually have more neural networks than our brains. It is this Heart knowledge that gives us connection, compassion and insight into life—our feminine right-brain, the brain of the imagination. It is in uniting our head and our heart that we create a balanced life. “Fusing these two powerful neural networks, the brain and the heart, allows us to open the door to super-learning, deep intuitive wisdom and self-healing.” (Gregg Braden)

Too often, our heart wants something and our ration brain tells us why we can't have it instead of figuring out how to get it! Patriarchy has tried to cut us off from this source of deep wisdom by telling us that our hearts can't be trusted with important issues! Really????

Our feeling nature, our imagination, our wisdom. The Heart can show us how we can best express who we are. Like Sekhmet, we have many names and many abilities and many ways to express those abilities. Healer, Lover, Creator of Beauty. Transformer, Awakened, Keeper of the Light. The Heart is like Sekhmet, Great One of Magic. For our hearts are the wellsprings of magic.

We are living at one of the most important turning points in our civilization—as well as bringing in the Age of Aquarius. And one of the ways to deal with the changes and transformations coming is to understand that life does not emerge from competition and conflict as Darwin theorized, but from cooperation and connectedness. We have to understand this cosmic law if we want to create a healthy and creative future. We do better working together then alone, competing with the world. When our hearts are engaged, we know this truth.

That's the message of this Aquarius Full Moon. To shine brightly, Leo's fire has to be shared with the group. Just as within ourselves we have to unite our left-brain knowledge with our right-brain wisdom, so we have to unite our heads and our hearts. Leo rules the Heart Chakra, the energy center that unites our lower and upper chakras, our gut and our brain. It is the heart that brings it all together. Our Aquarius intelligence is as vast as the cosmos, and yet our Leo Hearts are made to open to that intelligence and transform it into LIFE.

What a blessing to us that we've been given these Hearts! Leo is generous and wants to share her bonfire. So open your heart and share in the blessings.

Aquarius Full Moon, August 18, 2016

This Aquarius Full Moon occurs on August 18, 2016 at 2:26am PDT/ 5:26am EDT/ 9:26am GMT. Although billed as a lunar eclipse, this Full Moon barely touches the edge of Earth's shadow.  It lasts around 30 minutes.  So there's not the disruption of energies usual for an eclipse. You decide—if you have planets at these degrees, you might feel it more than others.

The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 26* Leo is: After the heavy storm, a rainbow. This is a beautiful, ancient symbol uniting Heaven and the Earth. All things are in balance when these two powers are in harmony. This is the harmony of Head and Heart. The beauty of a rainbow is especially poignant after the violence of a heavy rainstorm. First we have to face our Shadows, especially the Leo shadows of pride and self-centeredness and the Aquarius shadows of judgement and rigid thinking. Then we'll be ready to fulfill the promise of the rainbow—to express our beauty, our worth, our creativity for all to see.

The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 26* Aquarius is: A mechanic testing a car's battery with a hydrometer. This image suggests the practical application of known universal laws. The battery gives the car electricity—the spark of life. We have to keep that in tune if we want to make our way into the future. Use your energy well. Ask for help when you need it. Your heart will know who to trust.

Uranus retrograding at 25* Aries trines this Full Moon and sextiles the Leo Sun, energizing this heart opening with the need to be yourself in the midst of your group. Like Aquarius, which it rules, we have to understand that we all have an equal part to play in the world. My image of Aquarius is of King Arthur's Round Table—a place where equals meet to join together to make the world a better place.

Saturn just turned back to direct motion on Saturday, August 13^th.. What have you learned about yourself and your beliefs since it went retrograde on March 25^th, a few days after the Libra Lunar eclipse? Saturn in Sagittarius focuses our attention on our beliefs, so we discover our Truth and have the maturity to stand up for ourselves. Now that Saturn is going forward again, keep focused on your truth so you stand up for what you really believe in as you engage with the world. Saturn is still squaring Neptune in Pisces, which can either throw us into confusion about what we believe in, or it can inspire us with bigger and greater beliefs.

The Sabian symbol for Saturn direct at 10* Sagittarius is: A theatrical representation of the golden-haired goddess of opportunity. Sometimes these symbols reflect the world-view of the psychic who spoke them. I can imagine Isadora Duncan as this golden-haired goddess! Anyway, on a deep symbolic level, this image speaks to the call of opportunities in the world around us. What is calling us? What can we do to make the world a better place? There's plenty of opportunities—just follow your heart and hear the call!

Mars is moving forward in Sagittarius and will once again join up with Saturn at 10* Sagittarius on August 24^th and squares Neptune in Pices on August 25^th. You might want to wait til then to jump into the opportunities presented to you, since the inner planets, especially Mars, triggers the effects of these outer planet squares in our lives. Stay open, listen to your heart and see what comes your way.

Mercury is moving through his own sign of Virgo now, slowing down as it gets ready to turn retrograde on August 30^th at 30* Virgo. Before his retrograde, Mercury opposes Chiron in Pisces on August 19^th and joins Jupiter in Virgo on August 22, opening the mind to the needs of the many and how we might help heal some collective wounds. It's another example of uniting the head and the heart, our logical mind and our intuitive, feeling heart.

The Sabian symbol for Mercury retrograde at 30* Virgo is: Totally intent upon completing an immediate task, a man is deaf to any allurement. 30* of an sign is important—it's the culmination of that sign's energy. Can we stay focused on our work like this man? Can we complete the task of this year—to find our unique Self and Truth as we shed the lies of patriarchy?

Venus is also in Virgo and having connected to the Neptune/Saturn square earlier in the monthn now joins Jupiter and then Mercury at the end of the month, once again aligning our heart and head as we head into the fall and our harvest time here in the North. Our friend down South will be looking forward to Spring right about now!

The Aquarius Moon and Aries Uranus form the base of a mystical YOD to Mercury & Jupiter in Virgo, challenging us to take up this sword of Light and use our analytical brains to listen to the power of the heart. The healing comes from listening to those things and people who have been made irrelevant under patriarchy. So listen to your heart, your gut, your feelings, your imagination, your wisdom and get your analytical, logical brain to figure out what you need to do.

Look around you. The world is a beautiful and fragile gift we've been given. Look at your family and friends and be grateful for the love you have. Appreciation, cooperation and creativity are all worthy gifts of Leo and Aquarius. What abundance we have to celebrate!

Walk in the Light,

Cathy

Being a Person

Be a person here. Stand by the river, invoke
the owls. Invoke winter, then spring.
Let any season that wants to come here make its own
call. After that sound goes away, wait.

A slow bubble rises through the earth
and begins to include sky, stars, all space,
even the outracing, expanding thought.
Come back and hear the little sound again.

Suddenly this dream you are having matches
everyone's dream, and the result is the world.
If a different call came there wouldn't be any
world, or you, or the river, or the owls calling.

How you stand here is important. How you
listen for the next things to happen. How you breathe.

~ William Stafford ~

(Quiet Places: Poems)

The Cosmic Story: Leo New Moon, August 2, 2016

The Cosmic Story: Leo New Moon, August 2, 2016

Personal Ego or Higher Self

 

Lammas and the Leo New Moon 2016

This year's New Moon in Leo falls on the Wheel of the Year's power gate of Lammas, an ancient festival of the First Harvest, when the bread baked with the first grain harvest was blessed and offered to the gods. Ancient peoples knew how to live in harmony with all of Nature. Even if you don't believe in God or Goddess, the goal of a life lived in balance and harmony always includes gratefulness to something larger than our personal ego. That's when we find ourselves centered in what Carl Jung calls the Self, the animating Spirit within each of us, the Spirit that is our truest connection with each other. And the New Moon in Leo wants to celebrate that Self.

We are living in the hottest time of summer, the gardens are full and the grain is high, and it's time to give thanks for the bounty of the Earth. We'll notice that now the daylight really begins to decline as our Sun heads south toward the Equator, and we'll see the days growing shorter as we head into the autumn. Where did the summer go? The first harvest of the year is upon us. 

In Celtic countries, this festival was dedicated to the god Lugh of the Long Hand, a multi-talented god who combined all the skills the Celts valued. In Ireland, Lammas is called Lughnasadh. This summer festival was a time for warriors to display their skill in games and competitions, for marriages to be brokered between tribes and for artisans to show their wares.

Spiritually, it's a time to look at what we've accomplished this year and celebrate those achievements. Did you get involved in the political races? Did some project you worked on accomplish what you hoped for? Did you take the time to help family or friends in need? Did you finally settled down? Did you dance your dance? Name and honor what you've been working toward. It's your creation! Leo knows how to value his creations.

To show reverence to our Mother Earth and Father Sky, we might find that this first harvest is something we offer back to Spirit. This offering can be gratitude for another year of health and love. It can be gratitude for learning a new skill. Or it could be something more inner, such as a new sense of possibility and hope. This is a good time to honor what we value, honor it by naming it and celebrating it. Then give it where it is most needed, sharing it with people. What do you have to offer those you interact with on a daily basis?

One of the major lessons for Leo's time of year is to practice open-heartedness and generosity, just as Mother Earth shows to us abundance of life . As we give of ourselves freely, we also receive what we need. If we make generosity and open-heartedness virtues we live by, they help us create a full and happy life; they become a blessing all around, and definitely something worth celebrating.

Leo New Moon

A New Moon is a time when both the Sun and Moon occupy the same space in the heavens, a sort of cosmic get together, what was once celebrated as a 'sacred marriage' of our two luminaries. Sun consciousness, which is rooted in our collective and personal ego-identity and which helps us navigate our daily common lives (our left brain rationality); and Moon consciousness (which until recently our culture rejected as 'irrational') our unconscious knowledge coming to us through feelings and images and instincts (our right brain wisdom).

When Sun and Moon come together in the same sign, both our consciousness and our unconscious are on the same page. They both want the same things. They're in synch. So at New Moon, together they can plant a seed that our lives need to continue to grow. 

 

This Leo New Moon comes after a tumultuous year of political and social unrest around the world. And I bet each of us has experience some kind of personal upheaval. Change is in the air whether we want it or not. While many of us Bernie people hoped for radical change to happen instantaneously, that's not how real and abiding change happens. Our Taurus-self knows that the foundation has to be strong for the building to last. We in America are in the last years of America's Pluto cycle. We are reaping what we've sown for the past 230 years. But we're also getting a chance to really live out America's ideals of freedom, creativity and unity. We are living under corporate oppression and we're going to have a revolution. It's our choice if we create a peaceful revolution, which takes time to make the necessary changes, step by step or a violent one.

Leo is the sign of royalty—although Regulus, the royal star of Leo, is just now moving into Virgo, the sign of Service. In ancient times, royalty meant being a mediator between the Heavens and Earth. Standing before the gods representing the people and before the people as representatives of the gods. But in our ideal America, there are no royals; each of us is our own king or queen. That gives us a responsibility—we have to do what is best for all of us, not just ourselves. We have to bring our creative expression—our unique talents—to our collective culture. We have to use our Leo gifts of Individuation, generosity and open-heartedness to make the world a better place.

How does our Leo nature engage in service? Perhaps by creating a new, more fair and equal society? A healthy environment? A peaceful co-existence with other nations and religions? To get to our vision of ONE WORLD we need to weave together a tapestry of all nations, just as the ideal of America is to make us all ONE people. First we have to unite behind our common causes and work together to create the world that we now have the imagination and ability to create. If we just have the WILL.

Perhaps Hillary Clinton needs to become America's first female president, so that the Divine Feminine has a better chance of coming into the world. Since our world operates from a materialistic view of life, looking to the outer before we turn to the within, maybe we need to experience the strength and dignity of a woman of power so the girls and women (as well as the men) of the world have an outer image of power and strength, inspiring them to turn within to find their own powers. Did you see at the DNC how they sang “What the World Needs Now Is Love, Sweet Love'? There was quite a bit of feminine energy dancing around up there on stage as opposed to the very rigid masculine energy of the RNC.

'Sekhmet' by Katlyn Breene

Our Leo Queen has returned within each of us. She holds the feeling tone of what our culture is going to be like. Without her feelings of connectedness and care, the kindom (thanks, Caroline Casey for that metaphor!) is dry, hot and edgy. Kind of self-centered and arrogant. Afraid and small-hearted. Like the Grinch before his revelation.

Psychologically and symbolically, the Sun in astrology represents our ego-identity, our individual destiny, our sense of meaning and self-confidence, our power of creative expression. The Sun represents the energy that animates us, that makes us feel like unique individuals. When we repressed our feminine nature during the 'Enlightenment'--I think therefore I am—we did become separate human beings, free from our tribal and familial identities. Without the feminine voice of Wisdom showing us a more inclusive perspective, our masculine ego-consciousness became self-centered and insecure (since we are cut off from the whole), domineering and greedy. So our EGO, which is supposed to be the mouthpiece of our true Self, became the Center, the only focal point. The needy, greedy EGO.

The SELF, which is the true goal of Leo's energy, is our unique connection with the creative spirit of life. Jung called this reconnection the process of Individuation. The Self is supposed to be our guiding light, helping us combine our individuality with our commonality. The Self knows our destiny and our purpose, but we have to take the time to connect to this inner fount of Wisdom. We often do it through creative expression—the arts, play, generosity. And we get to it through our feminine nature, the Soul.  And of course, through our dreams.

So, the cosmos is offering us a chance to see the difference between the ego needs of an individual and the real desires of the Self. At this New Moon, offer up your gratitude for the gifts you've been given. Share those gifts with generosity and an open-heart. And ask for the things you desire most.

This New Moon is also shaped by Saturn in Sagittarius. Saturn gives us the form and focus for Leo's creativity to manifest through. Are we standing up for our truth? If so, let your Leo Self use that strength, discipline and will to stand up to create something magnificent. If your Saturn is creating fear and anxiety in you, you haven't connected to your true Self, but are letting your ego lead you around by the nose. Fear and hatred come from insecurity and self-centeredness. Take responsibility for your beliefs and fears and don't project them onto others.

The Leo New Moon occurs on Tuesday August 2 at 1:44pm PDT/ 4:44pm EDT/ 8:44pm GMT. 

We have lots of fire energy in this chart—imagine all the wildfires alight in the American West. Perhaps if we deal with our inner fires in a responsible way, we can shut down on our outer fires.

Aries, our first Fire Sign, is hosting Uranus and the asteroid Eris, the goddess of discord. So our fire/passion/desire/Spirit is ignited by our Uranian Awakened identity and the need for revolution and by the Eris, chaotic energies of the times. The Sun, Moon and Venus are in Leo, gathering in the fire power, creating a collective bonfire where collaboration and sharing are going on. Then Mars returns to Sagittarius hours before this New Moon, bringing his dynamic energy into the mix as Saturn in Sagittarius slows down to turn direct on August 13^th. Mars gives us the courage to stand up for our truth. Saturn gives us the stamina, discipline and focus to ground in our beliefs so we can keep developing our new life into the future.

As you can see, this New Moon can be very creative or if caught up in ego-battles, very destructive, as fires can be. As we watch the power and intensity of those raging wildfires in the West, perhaps we can meditate on the symbolic need for more water, more feelings, more feminine energy in the world and in ourselves. Fire is considered a 'masculine' dynamic energy, just as air is. Water and Earth are considered feminine, receptive energies. There is a strong dynamic energy in the world right now. You might be feeling tired if you're fighting it. When you feel tire, exercise can give you energy. Perhaps we need to get doing (fire, Mars, Uranus) in a focused way (Leo planets/Saturn in Sag). Too much chaotic fire leads to destruction. 

  

Plant a seed this New Moon that is blessed by both fire and water, air and earth. One of my favorite Rumi quotes is “Love is the Water of Life. And a Lover is a Soul of Fire. The Universe turns differently when Fire Loves Water.” Creativity blossoms best with care and patience (that's the water).The water comes from our Pisces planets (Pallas, Neputne, SN, Chiron) and Juno in Scorpio. Neptune's imagination can enhance or put out the fires. The Earth holds Ceres in Taurus, Mercury, the NN and Jupiter in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn. Creativity in the service of Earth (Taurus) through our service (Virgo) to the collective (Capricorn).

How can you best serve our world? Feel the world's pain! It will help us discover how we can comfort and heal the ancient wounds of the Piscean Age.

The Sabian symbol for the Sun and Moon at 11* Leo is: Children play on a swing hanging from the branches of a hugh oak tree. There's nothing more freeing than to swing high – all kids know it's next to flying. There's a freedom in getting that high off the ground. And for that swing to be secured on a branch of a hugh oak tree is much more magical than a metal swing in a park. Especially since the oak is the tree of Wisdom according to the ancient Celts. To play in the arms of ancient wisdom and fly free is a beautiful image.

The Sabian symbol for Saturn as it slows down to turn direct at 10* Sagittarius is: A theatrical representation of a golden-haired goddess of opportunity. We have a story in our American culture about how everyone here has the opportunity for advancement if we just give it all our effort. What it takes is Saturn's discipline and belief and this energy is fertilizing this New Moon with determination and focus.

Uranus has just turned retrograde on last Friday July 29^th at 25* Aries. The Sabian symbol is: The possibility for humans to gain experience on two levels of being. This image, which speaks to us of possibilities, needs to be meditated on during Uranus' retrograde.

Walk in the Light!

Cathy

Because it felt like that this morning as I watched the Sun rise.

Just Now -- W.S. Merwin

In the morning as the storm begins to blow away
the clear sky appears for a moment and it seems to me
that there has been something simpler than I could ever
believe
simpler than I could have begun to find words for
not patient not even waiting no more hidden
than the air itself that became part of me for a while
with every breath and remained with me unnoticed
something that was here unnamed unknown in the days
and the nights not separate from them
not separate from them as they came and were gone
it must have been here neither early nor late then
by what name can I address it now holding out my thanks

~ W.S. Merwin ~

(The Pupil)

The Cosmic Story: Capricorn Full Moon 2016

Long ago...the world's circle danced. The people danced with the trees, the trees danced with the land. The land danced with the sea, the sea with the moons and the moons with the stars. So went the music and the dance, without beginning, without end.

The Tenth Power, Kate Constable, p. 181.

The astrological sign of Cancer is 'ruled' by the Moon, meaning that these two energies work in the same way. The Moon pulls the tides of Cancer's waters.

The Moon's cycle includes us in the dance of the cosmos. We live to Her rhythms, our bodies pulse to her ebb and flow. The Moon brings us visions of those past times when people danced with all of nature. And in the union, we are blessed.

But we were exiled from our home within the Moon by patriarchy. And it wasn't Eve and her snake that exiled us—it was the development of our power-driven Ego, the Yahweh (I AM THAT I AM) who demands our singular worship. Our civilization developed from the belief that humans are separate from the Earth and Her other children. And in our unconsciousness, we raped and pillaged not only our Mother, the Earth, but our own psyches/souls. And so we live in a society that is soul-sick.

But we can reclaim our connection to the web of Life when we spiritually connect to the Moon and Her rhythms again. We do this by listening to the silence. If we listen to our instincts and imagination, to the Moon, we will know the wise thing to do. This is Cancer's gift.

The image of the Goddess I believe will lead us to Wisdom is: A Woman clothed with the Sun, standing on the Moon, crowned with Stars, in labor, giving birth to the [New Age].

To stand on the Moon means to take our standpoint from the intuitions and feelings of our emotional body. To listen with our right brain imagination before we do things by using our left brain rationality (clothed with the Sun).

The Woman herself is not a goddess as much as she is the divine feminine within each of us. I do believe that women have a special purpose this lifetime—to leave behind our patriarchal chains and find our own true nature and way of doing things.¹ For too long, we have been made to support the masculine way of seeing and doing in the world and forced to leave our own wisdom behind. Now, at this moment of evolution, the way forward is for all of us, but most especially women, to embrace our unique powers and birth a new civilization.

Capricorn Full Moon 2016

The Capricorn Full Moon occurs on July 19, 2016 at 3:56pm PDT/ 6:56pm EDT/ 10:56pm GMT.

Capricorn is the sign of our collective institutions—our governments, our financial systems and all our cultural institutions. As Pluto has traveled through Capricorn since 2008, we've seen the corruption in these systems and pushed by Uranus in Aries, people are clearly seeing the need to reform them. The power of the corporate world-view, that has even gotten the world to think of them as 'people' in their own right, is geared toward one thing—the worship of MONEY and POWER. Not for the many but for the welfare of the few. The evil empire is alive and well in America and around the world.

Capricorn is also the sign of our dharma, our true work in the world. Not our 'jobs' but our purpose. This lifetime, we have to make the necessary changes to these systems before they collapse and cause destructive chaos. Before the Earth's ecosystem is so damaged, that our children's children will be left with the destruction that our petty, selfish, consumer society has wrought. It's going to take a sacrifice, a sacrifice of our wasteful life-stype for the good of the world.

We have to align ourselves with a vision and purpose that will bring us 'back to the garden' where we can once again dance with the trees, the seas, the Moon and Stars. That is what our Cancer emotional body wants more than money and power. Like a good Mother, Her power within each of us calls us to make Love and Connection our goal.

The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 28* Cancer is: A Native Anerican girl introduces her white lover to her assembled tribe. This symbolizes the need to unite our instincts and intutions that are grounded in community to a new way of doing things. How can we belong to a 'tribe' while at the same time retaining our individuality (the white man)? How can our connection to Nature open our intellect to a bigger vision of life?

The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 28* Capricorn is: A large aviary. This place where birds are kept is a symbol of our ability to hear inner guidance. Birds have always been a symbol of spiritual messengers, and the container of these messengers is our own soul. We have to learn to listen to the voices within us, while also discerning which are true and which are false.

This Capricorn Full Moon is challenged by Uranus in Aries, as it slows down to turn retrograde on July 29^th. So Uranus is very powerful right now. Uranus in Aries is a clarion call to awaken to our destiny. This energy radicalizes our emotional body (Sun in Cancer) and disrupts 'business as usual' (Moon in Capricorn).

The Sabian symbol for Uranus stationing at 25* Aries is: The possibilithy for humans to gain experience at two levels of being. Let the inner match the outer.

All three symbols speak to uniting what has been separated. As the Beatles said: "I know you, you know me. One thing I can tell you is you got to be free. Come together right now over me.” (Come Together)

This Full Moon also forms a grand trine—a talent and gift—in water between Sun in Cancer, Mars in Scorpio and Chiron in Pisces. It's a gift of emotional intelligence where we see deeply and act on what we see (Mars in Scorpio) to heal the wounds (Chiron in Pisces) to our collective soul.

Which means, it's time to envision how we want our world to change. What will a 'new world order' that the people create look like? For me, it's about smaller is better. Local regions need to manufacture there own needs—food, clothing, cars etc. Wouldn't that be better than having these goods come from all over the world? And people would actually have jobs where their families live, so we aren't separated anymore. Also work less, enjoy life more. What's your vision?

Venus and Mercury are in Leo, forming a nice trine to Saturn, the ruler of our Capricorn Moon. Our creativity comes from our belief that we each have wisdom to share. Don't worry about what others think. Just come from your heart and show us what's there.

Yes, I know this is shorter than usual. I'm away helping my 91 year old mother move. So enjoy July and see you in August.

Walk in the Light,

Cathy

Venus Retrograde: The Work of Love

Venus Retrograde: July 25—September 6, 2015

The Work of Love

To take love seriously and to bear and to learn it like a task, this is [what] people need. Like so much else, people have also misunderstood the place of love in life, they have made it into play and pleasure, because they thought that play and pleasure were more blissful than work; but there is nothing happier than work, and love, just because it is the extreme happiness, can be nothing else but work. So whoever loves must try to act if he had a great work: he must be much alone and go into himself and collect himself and hold fast to himself; he must work; he must become something!

For believe me, the more one is, the richer is all that one experiences. And whoever wants to have a deep love in his life must collect and save for it and gather honey.

Rainer Marie Rilke: On Love and Other Difficulties

If asked, most of us think of Love as play and pleasure, but anyone who loves someone knows that love takes work too. It is the most important work we can do—to learn how to listen to the heart, know its truths and act on them. Love wants to see through the collective glamour of romantic love into the heart of the matter. Love asks us how do we let our connection to Self, to others and to the world shape our lives?

For the next 40 days, we get to think about these heart connections and work at them. For the next 40 days, the planet Venus is going retrograde in her final phases as the Evening Star of Wisdom. Go out and look to the West as evening falls and you'll see Venus shining brightly. But very quickly her light will begin to dim and she'll move closer to the Sun until she disappears into its light on August 11^th. On August 15^th Venus will conjoin the Sun before she reappears in the morning sky on August 20^th as Lucifer the Light Bringer, the Morning Star. As Evening Star, Venus symbolizes a wiser love nature that takes into consideration our social responsibilities. As Morning Star, Venus is more instinctual, urging us to find our personal values and subjective love. 

 

Venus is completing a 583 day cycle which began in January 2014 in Capricorn. What did you learn about love and connection in the past year and a half? As Venus ends this part of her cycle, which over 8 years forms a pentacle (5-pointed star) in the sky, she wants us to become wise in the ways of the heart—Leo's great task, which includes the joy of being alive as well as the joy of relating to others with an open heart. If you align yourself with your heart needs, this can be a time of emotional rebirth.

Venus represents the power of love, sex, beauty, our values, the arts, all types of relationships, as well as money and possessions. She symbolizes the power of balance and harmony, attraction and cohesion, pleasure and creativity. Venus, who is a Romanized version of the great Greek Goddess Aphrodite, also symbolizes deep feminine Wisdom, the kind of Wisdom that we develop when we open ourselves to Life and the Creative Imagination and listen to our own instincts, feelings and intuitions. 

 

Venus/Aphrodite is the great Connector, the power of Love in all its phases, the initiator of Psyche/Soul. In the earliest myths, Aphrodite arises from her watery womb when the potency of Heaven mixes with the primal waters of Earth. She is our blessing and our curse, for this myth makes it clear that the truest gift of Life here on Earth is Love. “Love is the Water of Life. And a Lover is a Soul of Fire. The Universe turns differently when Fire Loves Water.” (Rumi) 

 

Our patriarchal society has not been kind to Love, instituting 'rules' about love that have twisted Venus' original energy to conform with society's needs. While there are many forms that love takes, patriarchy has only recently begun to let down the barriers it set around Love, our sexuality and the wisdom of the heart. From the twisted side of Venus' collective shadow comes the greed, jealously and entitlement that is rampant in our society. On a personal level, Venus' shadow can make us insecure, needy, jealous, manipulative and materialistic. As a society, we're slowly losing touch with Venus' need for beauty as we continue to ravage the Earth, creating ugliness rather than celebrating beauty.

Old astrological advice says not to start new love affairs or buy luxury items during the 40 days Venus is retrograde. For the soul, it means to stop looking outside yourself for love; it's a time to be with yourself and decide what you long for in your life. When the planet Venus turns retrograde, the energy of love and connection turns within and we get back in touch with our personal values, our individual sense of beauty, our self-love and our need for love. It's a time for literal solitude as well as inner silence, so we can re-connect with our psyche/soul and re-claim our own deepest truths, which always entails the needs of our heart.

As we all awaken from our patriarchal-induced illusions about life and love, we can use the power of our passion to create the type of life that we've secretly longed for since our birth. As the world resonates with the energies of the Pluto/Uranus square, we have the perfect opportunity to incarnate this divine feminine wisdom for our own sake as well as for the world.

Since Venus retrogrades back through Leo and joins up again with Jupiter in Leo, expect to expand on your heart's wisdom. Both planets square Saturn in Scorpio after it turns direct on August 1-2, so we are challenged to integrate the final intimacy lessons of Saturn's stay in Scorpio. Use Jupiter's curiosity and open-mindedness to help you let go of the past and trust in the future. Let your heart knowledge guide you and open you to new experiences and people. The new story is here to stay. Take what you've learned from the old story and then let all the rest of it go.

The astrological energies of the next few weeks are once again intense. Try to attune to them, especially if you have natal planets involved.

1. July 25^th – Venus goes retrograde at 1* Virgo. Mars at 22* Cancer squares Uranus at 21* Aries, urging us to find our freedom and express our needs.

2. July 26^th-- Uranus turns retrograde until December 25^th.

3. July 31^st – Aquarius Full Moon at 8* Aquarius-Leo.

4. August 3^rd – Saturn at 29* Scorpio turns direct and leaves Scorpio behind on September 17-18^th until its next visit in 2042.

5. August 5^th – Venus and Jupiter unite again at 29* Leo on the powerful star Regulus. Look to the West at sunset for a last look at this beautiful celestial energy before Venus disappears into the Sun's light on August 11^th.

I'll discuss these astrological happenings in more detail in the Aquarius Full Moon newsletter.

Until then, walk in the Light!

Cathy

Astrology Time-Line

• Venus in Leo until October 9 turning retrograde between 25 July-September 6th descending from the Evening Star into the underworld  to re-emerge  as Lucifer ahead of the Sun as a Morning Star
• Venus and Jupiter in two conjunctions in Leo on July 1st and August 4^th -a pairing known as the Guardian Angels
• Jupiter square Saturn between July 19 and August 11^th at 29 Leo/Scorpio
• Saturn turns direct in Scorpio on August 2
• The Master degree of 29 Leo on the Leo/Virgo cusp conjunct Royal Star Regulus is activated all summer by Venus, Mercury, Jupiter and the Sun
• Jupiter enters Virgo for the first time in twelve years on August 12^th

There is alchemy afoot in the way the planetary trifecta of Venus, Jupiter and Saturn perform a sacred and intricate dance through July, August and September ; in the way Venus’ descend into the underworld at the same time as Saturn excavates the Scorpionic dungeons of our personal histories for the last time until 2042.This is a summer long process of soul retrieval , made possible by Jupiter the Hierophant carrying all the learnings of the heart from his 12 month stay in Leo across the wisdom cusp into Virgo to be mediated by Regulus..Our fragmented selves -those dispossessed, abandoned, aspects trapped and lost in some past or future time–line, are crying out for a homecoming, a true sense of belonging, where the jagged injuries inflicted by the world can be repaired, individually, collectively, nationally and globally

Venus is completing a 583 day cycle which began in January 2014 in Capricorn and ends as she reveals the Leo mysteries. Expect a shift away from Saturn’s preoccupation with authority, agency and responsibility towards the Sun’s operating manual which includes how to enjoy being alive, how to relate to others from an open heart and how to create your reality so your needs are met easily and abundantly. With Venus as Queen of the Heavens, put your own highest interests first so that you can better be present for others. Just as the life giving light of the Sun is always shining somewhere in the world, as you clear away your small Me separations and specialness-Leo’s shadow-you become a light in the Great Web for others. From July 25 when the Goddess enters her Lucifer phase descending into the underworld, expect relationship dramas, separations, endings, beginnings, the return of former partners .Cast your mind back to the 8 year Venus cycles of 2007, 1999 and 1991 to map your personal Venus mandala on your birth chart. Frame the process as light being shone into the dark corners of your psyche to show which of your unconscious and habitual beliefs and behaviours are toxic, outgrown or limiting.

Reflect on these questions:

• How much do I love myself on all levels?
• Do I know that I carry the DNA of radical self love?
• How do I express it day by day?

On August 15 UT , when Venus conjuncts the Sun, if you’ve changed your patterns to get results more congruent with your needs, your emotional rebirth is over and you’re poised to begin a new phase of love and relating.

The Retrieval of Disassociated Parts: Saturn in Scorpio

 Saturn has turned back into Scorpio until September 18^th tapping the barometer of your psyche and giving you one last look at anything you need to clear out of the basement of your life. Between October 2012 and December 2014 you faced up to aspects of yourself that were outgrown, unconscious and toxic- ready to be left behind. This time around you return in a much more resilient and resourceful state to get completely right with yourself by shining the lamp of hindsight on to missing soul pieces, tattered ghosts and shoddy compromises. Between July 19 and August 11^th when Saturn aligns with Jupiter, laser away those last rays of Dark Matter and ask

• What in me is dead by the roadside?
• What is emerging, calling me, summoning me on?

The Return to the Upper World: Jupiter

As Venus and Saturn are excavating the dark corners of your unconscious, Jupiter holds his lantern of wisdom as he journies through the last degrees of Leo .The Hierophant reaches the master degree of 29 Leo and conjuncts Royal Star Regulus between 7-18 August on the cusp of Leo/Virgo. During the summer, all the inner planets will pass over this degree, sensitised by the Jupiter /Saturn square.

The Chandra Symbol LEO 29
A broken sword.
Consecration to a higher power. The giving-over of the personal will–the marvel of root change. Coming to the end of your own path, and it is just the beginning of the greater way. The heart must open. The infinite must be born inside. The destiny-necessity is there–so much karmic backlog. So many ways to be right and to be wrong. The realisation in the very midst that there is nobody listening to the old tale and everybody is awaiting somebody else to come through. A profound and utter doorway into a great unknown. What has been is finished. What shall be is so very different. And what is now is a question and a prayer and a destiny that must find its redemption

Regal Regulus is the closest star to the ecliptic and therefore closest to the red carpet path of the glorious Sun ,a symbol of archangel Raphael, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse and a great protective healer.

When Jupiter enters Virgo on August 12 for the first time since August 2003 with Venus shining as the Morning Star and the Lord of Time and Karma heading back to Jupiter’s sign of Sagittarius, you will begin to reclaim then integrate those gifts, talents and strengths that are now available with the return of the soul. As Epigenetics and NLP show, your brain has the endless potential to create new neural pathways and out of those, new forms of behaviour. Whatever is blossoming in you is drawing you nearer to a compelling future.

“Dare to love yourself
as if you were a rainbow
with gold at both ends.”
Aberjhani,