Sunday, July 8, 2018

The Cosmic Story: Cancer Solar Eclipse, July 12, 2018

The Cosmic Story: Cancer Solar Eclipse 2018




This week’s partial Cancer solar eclipse is powerful for many reasons. First, all solar eclipses make for extra powerful New Moons, since the planes of Earth, Moon and Sun are aligned for the energy transfer. The second reason is that Pluto stands opposite this solar eclipse, confronting us with the mysteries of power and transformation. The third reason this is a powerful eclipse is that it occurs on the North Node of both Saturn and Pluto.

Solar eclipses are New Moons where the Sun and Moon travel a parallel path together. So they not only occupy the same astrological sign but are aligned in the same ‘space’. Since this solar eclipse is the first of three eclipses that occur over the next month, it sets the stage for the last two eclipses occurring in Leo/Aquarius at this time. They are the bookends of the eclipses that occurred last August, especially the total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017. How has your life changed since last summer?

I’m going to skip to the third reason – that this solar eclipse occurs on the North Nodes of both Saturn and Pluto. Just as the Moon has nodes – points in space where the planes of Earth, Moon and Sun come together – so too planets have their own nodes where they align with the plane of the Sun. And just as the nodal axis of the Moon reflects where our emotional development and growth needs to occur, the nodal axis of a planet reflects collective issues that need development around that energy.

The nodes of the outer planets change slowly and right now, the north nodes of both Saturn and Pluto are close, around 17* - 21* Cancer, while their south nodes are in Capricorn. As both these planets shape collective energies, their nodes energize possibilities – which will happen at this Cancer solar eclipse. Saturn will test us concerning our integrity and character as a collective (the Russia investigation, political corruption, social inequality, religious hypocrisy) to see if we take responsibility for our collective lives. Since Cancer has a great need for security, they will shake up both our physical and emotional security through these hard lessons.

The south node in Capricorn is a perfect expression of a patriarchal society, one that is bound by rules, order and the rule of authority figures. It can make us feel responsible for contributing to our society or motivate us through guilt, repression and fear. Saturn’s Capricorn south node expressions tend to be repressive and restrictive, while Pluto’s Capricorn south node will use the power to dominate. Sound like the world we’re living in?

The North Node in Cancer is where evolution is taking us – to a more gentle, feminine, nurturing society that values feelings, creativity and women. The return of the Goddess is certainly part of this evolutionary trend! 
 
So the energies of authority, structure and responsibility (Saturn) and the energy of powerful evolution and regeneration (Pluto) meet here in Cancer, the sign of the Mother and of our emotional body. The cosmos is setting up an evolutionary impulse for us to take responsibility for ourselves, family, children, community, the feminine and most of all, for our Mother, the Earth.

These two nodes in the Cancer/Capricorn polarity are establishing new foundations for how we live here on Earth. Since Cancer and Capricorn reflect the maturing processes of life, we are certainly in a time when humanity has to consciously evolve to a higher level of self-awareness if humans are going to continue to exist on Earth in a positive way. Here is the new story we are challenged to engage in. Will we be part of the problem or part of the solution? 
 
This New Moon eclipse sets the tone for the foundation of how we go forward into the future. Mothers and father set the foundation of their children’s lives – for good or ill. Can you imagine if both parents were aware and equally empowered? They would raise conscious human beings – this is a future worth having. While our politicians engage in divisiveness and corporations continue to consolidate power, the cosmos is on the side of we the people of the world as we circle the wagons to protect what we love and cherish. 
 
The third and final leg of power of this eclipse is the New Moon’s opposition to Pluto retrograde in Capricorn. Picture this.

You’re home with loving family and friends, celebrating life and enjoying summertime. Suddenly, you hear a loud knocking on your door. You go and open it and you find Mr. Pluto standing there, looking you over as if he’s an ICE agent come to cart you away.
There stands POWER. How will you deal with it?
What is it you see in front of you? (Pluto is the invisible god – open to our projections.)
Do you have something to hide? Have you refused to look at your Shadow during Jupiter’s retrograde in Scorpio? There’s your ICE agent coming to find you.
Are you standing up for what you believe in? Uranus in Aries woke you up to a new identity. Perhaps you see a Warrior King come to recruit you?
Are you ready to use your talents and gifts in service to the world? Neptune in Pisces can connect you to your soul. The Master stands there, ready to initiate you into the power of higher consciouseness and spiritual insight. The Lady stands there, blessing you with Wisdom and Knowledge.
Pluto in Capricorn has been unearthing the corruption of our patriarchal society since 2008. But even as the hypocrisy and corruption are exposed, what is no longer viable is still struggling to keep control. The old does not want to give up its power. And so it has surged forth to make a last stand.

But Pluto is like the lava streaming out of Kilauea. It is unstoppable, pure evolution. It is creating new earth. We cannot go backwards. It’s the people who go forward who create the future.



Are you an artist, musician, dancer, storyteller? This is your time. It’s time to wrest our people’s imaginations away from mass media programing and get them to wake up their own imaginations. Live theaters are closing because young people don’t go anymore. Everyone is engaging alone with machines. It’s time to change that.  It's up to our artists to awaken people out of our collective trance.

Cancer Solar Eclipse, July 12, 2018

So what are you, and we, going to do with the power that stands before us? As with all New Moons, it’s a time to plant seeds. Add in the power Pluto transmits through the solar eclipse and use it to plant the important seeds, the ones that will go deep and stay true if we nurture them. In Cancer, these seeds can flower for our families, our homes, our kids and our communities. These are special seeds of creativity and nurturing and emotional intelligence. These are seeds of our imaginations, visioning a different and better future.




The sign of Cancer begins with the Summer Solstice, when the fruitful earth bestows its bounty on us (in the northern hemisphere). Cancer is the sign of the all-nurturing good Mother. But what happens to Mother under patriarchy? She becomes the witch, the Negative Mother. She has to follow the rules, she is inconsequential compared to the father. She doesn’t know how to make us feel loved and worthy, because she doesn’t know herself. Her power turns manipulative to make sure she gets her way. Love is abandoned for power.

Along with turning back all our environmental, social and scientific advances, the US president (who, along with his followers, seems to have a negative mother complex) has chosen this time to start a ‘trade war’ with both our allies and our business partners. He’s sure that our ‘exceptionalism’ will win the day. But he doesn’t realize that we have passed our vision of equality and democracy, as well as all our industry, to the rest of the world, and we are no longer exceptional. We are part of the whole – we are a community of countries who all share one home – the Earth.

So this is how he’s using Pluto’s power. To dominate, war and control. But that’s the old way – the old patriarchal way of using power. Pluto is opposing the New Moon, not to beat it down, but to offer to work with it to establish something more true to our values and ideals.

Pluto wants change. But we have to die to get reborn. Evolution can be painful.

If we want to see real change in the world, we have to be the change we’re looking for. How long have we been saying this? We have to do our part and step into our true power by choosing our heart values instead of our culture’s values. Our thoughts create our reality. Our change of heart will be shared on an energetic level, and that will create more power.

The (1) Cancer New Moon forms a magical grand water trine with (2) Jupiter in Scorpio (just gone direct on the 10th) and (3) Neptune retrograde in Pisces, combining the power of evolution with the power of water to cleanse, to heal, to refresh, to imagine and to love both our physical bodies as well as our emotional bodies. And then it’s up to us to live in the heart. If you have planets from 11* to 23* of water signs, you will experience something special if you open to it!

There is another grand trine in Earth during the Eclipse, that is made up of (1) Uranus in Taurus, (2) Venus in Virgo and (3) Saturn retrograde in Capricorn. This is the blessing of grounding in the new for us. The cosmos wants us to grow something new and unique in our lives. Something that will free our souls and feed the world. If you have planets from 0* to 6* of the earth signs you will be affected by this earthy blessing. If you have a garden, go plant some new seeds. If you don’t, find a pot.

These two grand trines are in the feminine triads of water and earth. Wash the wounds clean. Then try to keep things from getting muddy. Know how much water your earth needs.

We humans are part of Gaia’s ecosystem. We really need to reclaim our place in the life cycle of Earth. To do that we have to honor and listen to our Earth Mother – to Nature and to our own natures. What are the cosmic laws of life? That’s what we have to get back to.

Then we’ll be honoring our Great Mother, our creative center and our cosmic purpose.

There are 4 planets cooking in the fixed signs, signaling a time to concentrate our energies. Uranus in Taurus opens up new horizons for us. Mercury in Leo isn’t afraid to speak up. Jupiter direct in Scorpio has a lot of juice, gathered during his retrograde – where should it go? And Mars retrograde in Aquarius is altruistic enough to listen to what you have to say. Both Uranus and Jupiter are part of the grand trines, so this cauldron of energies can be siphoned to both trines. Use this energy wisely and well.

The Cancer Solar Eclipse occurs on July 12, 2018 at 7:48pm PDT/ 10:48pm EDT and on July 13, 2018 at 3:48am GMT.




Other Celestial Happenings:

Did you know that on Wednesday, July 18th, all the planets in our solar system will be on one side of the Sun. How do you imagine it will affect Earth?

There are between 5 – 6 planets retrograde this July—August. Time to relax and go within.

Tuesday, July 9th: Venus leaves Leo and enters Virgo.
Tuesday, July 10th: Jupiter stations direct at 14* Scorpio.
Thursday, July 12th: Cancer Solar Eclipse.
Thursday, July 26th; Mercury goes retrograde in Leo until August 19th.
Friday, July 27th: Aquarius/Leo Lunar Eclipse.
Saturday, August 11th: Leo Solar Eclipse New Moon.


Walk in the light of the Sun and the Moon –
Cathy

Copyright 2018 ~ Cathy Pagano. All Rights Reserved.

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)



Saturday, June 23, 2018

The Cosmic Story: Capricorn/Cancer Full Moon, June 27-28, 2018

Capricorn/Cancer Full Moon, June 27-28, 2018





Happy Summer Solstice! And Happy Winter Solstice for those of you down under! May the light shine brightly on all of us in these transformational times.

Capricorn and Cancer form the axis of security, family and community responsibility. Since we associate Cancer with Mother and Capricorn with Father, we’re talking about creation, for the child is the creation of the union of woman and man, wife and husband, Earth and Heaven.

As we write our new stories, take time to look at your life with new eyes: to look to the future rather than to the past. To let the sacred marriage of Heaven and Earth at this Summer Solstice engender the Divine Child – who we’ll encounter during the Leo/Aquarius eclipse season coming in July/August.

Cancer is the sign ruling our emotional body, our home, our mother and our country. (The United States is a Cancer Country – born on the 4th of July!) This includes memories of our own life as well as of our ancestors lives. Cancer’s creativity is that she can weave together past, present and future into a new whole.

This is an especially poignant time for me because I’ve just had about 100 boxes of ‘stuff’ returned to me after being in storage for 12 years. The ‘stuff’ is the remnant of my old life as wife and mother – memories (Cancer) of a far distant time. And I have to sort through those memories and let them go, because they no longer serve my life or fit into my cozy 3 room apartment. Children’s clothes and toys, old wedding gifts, china tea cups and champagne glasses passed down to me from my mother, boxes of photo albums (yes, I’m that old!), crystals, rocks and shells, too many tarot decks. Sadly, too many great books.

Since it’s time to release the past and write a new story, going through these memories is sad and funny, happy and frustrating. How do I choose what to release and what to keep? What is precious and needs to go forward? Letting go of the past is a sacrifice. I just look at my wonderful library filled with books on Jungian psychology, astrology, Celtic Arthurian studies, Goddess studies, dreams, magic, fairy tales and myths and I am devastated that I have to get rid of 1/3 of them.

Having a Taurus Sun and Cancer Moon, this is a hard test for me. Releasing the past to get on with the future. But I find myself eager and willing to do it. In reality, the past is already part of me. I can’t lose it. The rest is just ‘stuff’!

How are you doing?

Capricorn Full Moon 2018

This Capricorn/Cancer Full Moon occurs on June 27 at 9:53pm PDT and on June 28th at 12:53am EDT and at 5:53am GMT.



Full Moons are part of the natural rhythms of life. The alternating darkness and light as She travels across our skies from day to night to day give her different shapes and feelings. Sometimes only a small slice of Her is visible and She is Beautiful Possibility. Sometimes she is dark and far away, and She is Mystery. And sometimes She rises full and bright and She is Revelation.

The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 7* Cancer is: Two nature spirits dancing under the moonlight. These are the magical energies of life, dancing under the power of the Moon’s constantly changing light. We are asked to look with the eyes of our creative right brain to access truths that patriarchy has denied. We can access knowledge of life’s elemental energies through our creative imagination, which is our deep connection to Spirit.

The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 7* Capricorn is: A veiled prophet speaks, seized by the power of Spirit. In this image we see how the future interacts with the present to release it from the inertia of the past. It speaks to our ability to envision the next step of our new story – of our evolution, personally and collectively.

The Sabian symbol for Saturn retrograde at 6* Capricorn is: Ten logs lie under an archway leading to darker woods. This is a threshold symbol. The number 10 marks a completion as well as a call to go onto the next level of achievement and knowledge. First we must make sure of what we have accomplished and make that the foundation from which we continue to explore the mysteries ahead of us.

This Full Moon manifests the seeds of June 13th’s Gemini New Moon – a call to change our perspectives and believe in the magic of life. It’s time to see just how much we’ve changed how we think about and understand life. When we planted those seeds of possibilities and magic, did we nurture them?

Do you believe in magic yet?



This Capricorn Full Moon will show you if you do or not. With Saturn retrograde joining this Full Moon, it’s time to honestly look at your life and determine if you are on course for the change you’re seeking. Your outer life will manifest your inner beliefs. If there’s a course correction needed, take responsibility and make it so.

This Full Moon squares Chiron in Aries, activating our need to heal our self-identity. If we can’t see ourselves in a new light, how can we create a new story?

The Sabian symbol for Chiron at 3* Aries is: The cameo profile of a man, suggesting the shape of his country. This symbol suggests that once we heal our perception of who we can become, we can be an agent of wholeness for our world. This is the power of the archetypal Self, the ability to express our own divine nature for the benefit of the whole.

The Cancer Sun is part of a Water Grand Trine along with Jupiter retrograde in Scorpio and Neptune retrograde in Pisces. These energies aid the Full Moon with the gift of seeing our shadows (Scorpio) as well as our hopes and dreams (Pisces) for the future. When the Full Moon shines Her light in the darkness, it’s to help us see what is living in the dark, both our hopes and our fears. Her light helps us find our way through the dark mystery of life. So during this Full Moon, pay attention to what is moving in your unconscious, in your own personal darkness, just as we can clearly see our cultural darkness in the abuse of women and children seeking asylum in the US.

With Saturn so close to this Full Moon, we are called to learn emotional responsibility. Just as the Cancer Sun demands that we look at our emotional body and see what it needs, this strong Capricorn Full Moon will show us which rules still shackle us to the past, and which eternal principles can shape our future.

We all need strong principles to live by. That’s the problem with our society today. As we leave behind old religious beliefs, there is a vacuum that needs to be filled. People are lost and afraid because nothing makes sense anymore. If we don’t come to understand the underlying principles of life – without the old religious context – we get misdirected by the ‘fake’ principles of consumer society or we rush back to old religious beliefs to be ‘born again’ in a more rigid and life-denying way. That is what the US Congress and Senate are doing at the bidding of their corporate masters while loudly proclaiming their religious beliefs are the only beliefs to base our laws on.

The Cancer Sun offers us a connection to the Great Mother of Life, the principle that accepts and loves us for who we are: all our gifts, flaws and inconsistencies. Under patriarchy, the mothering principle was twisted by the demand to make us into who the culture expects us to be, creating a very deep negative mother complex that makes us feel unworthy if we don’t meet patriarchy’s demands.

The Capricorn Moon connects us to the Great Father of Life, the principle that builds the structure of our lives which validates who we really are. Under patriarchy, the negative father complex lays out the rules and structures we have to conform to, regardless of what gifts we possess.

We only have to look at Donald Trump to see what that kind of cultural twisting creates – a narcissism that demands constant recognition (since we’re empty and unlovable) and a refusal to change (since it entails a death before new life is possible). He is a big example of our collective SHADOW.

But we can free ourselves from patriarchy and change our stories. There’s an inconjunct from the Capricorn Moon/Saturn to the Leo North Node. We have to adjust ourselves to our own creative power, self-expression and purpose. We have to choose to participate in the new story.

There is an inconjunct from the Cancer Sun to Mars retrograde and the South Node in Aquarius. An inconjunct is a 150* aspect which demands that we make the small adjustments needed to fulfill our purpose. Just as a plant might need more sun, water and time to fully blossom, we need to pay attention to the details during an inconjunct. With Mars stationary retrograde, that means we have to re-examine how our masculine doing is not supporting our feminine being.


Mars is the symbol (g) of man and masculine energy, our drive, our desires and our aggression. Men have fallen behind women in breaking free of patriarchy’s rules, but this Mars retrograde might just turn the tide. With Mars conjunct the South Node, old collective ideas of masculinity must be examined and released – which we are at least talking about. Which masculine energies can meet our new needs of gender equality? How about reclaiming the ideals of protection, respect, honor and truth? What old traits need to go? Domination, bossiness, self-interest, competition. Please make your own lists!

Gentlemen, we have been waiting for you to wake up your inner king. Please start working on it, just as we women need to discover our own inner masculine energy – our own way of doing things based on our feminine being.

Venus symbolizes our feminine creative energy as well as being the symbol of woman (f). Venus symbolizes our need for connection, love, sensuality, wisdom and self-worth/money. Venus in Leo and Mars in Aquarius opposed each other hours after the Summer Solstice, which celebrates the union of Heaven and Earth. Oppositions are complimentary, meaning they need each other’s energy to be complete. Our cosmic instructions are clear: The divine Queen (ft) needs the support of a renewed collective masculine ideal (g[) to move forward in creating the future.

Venus inconjuncts Neptune, testing us to see if we have learned real compassion. Have we? It seems like we’re being shown the hypocrisy of our American culture as we watch the heartbreak of children being ripped away from mothers by patriarchy.

Both Venus and Mars square Jupiter in Scorpio, challenging us to flush out their shadow qualities. Mars in Aquarius can be too stubborn about getting his own way, while Venus in Leo can be too dramatic, proud and self-centered. With Jupiter’s deep dive into our scorpionic depths, I’m sure there’s plenty of material to work on.

Both Mars and Venus are very bright now in the evening sky. Venus is in her Evening Star energy and very bright in the western sky at sunset. She shows us the wisdom needed to be fully embodied. Mars retrograde rises in the eastern sky and is at his brightest. If you look overhead, you can see Jupiter as well. Their T-square is visible now in the night sky. Go out and meditate under their stellar lights if you really want to invoke the magic all around us. Our new stories must be set in the context of our relationship to Nature.

Finally, Pluto in Capricorn opposes Mercury in Cancer. Mercury in Cancer is very intuitive and emotionally involved with life. Pluto can help us analyze what we’re feeling and open us to new insights into our place in life and explore if our cultural story meets our emotional needs.

This Full Moon can help us remember the Cosmic Laws of Life and start to build our new story around them. The first principle of Cosmic Law is that ‘the ALL or Spirit’ is a living, infinite Mind. Like the Moon, it is constantly changing, living, dying and becoming. We are part of that ALL, which is the Magic all around us and within us. Make a connection everyday to this source of infinite power and watch your new life blossom!

We are at the turning points of the year. Where you go from here is up to you!
Walk in the Light!
Cathy
Journey

The mouth of the river may be beautiful.
It doesn't remember the womb of its beginning.
It doesn't look back to where it's been
or wonder who ahead of it polished the rough stones.

It is following the way
in its fullness,
now like satin,
now cresting,
waters meeting, kindred
to travel gathered together,
all knowing it flows
one way, shining or in shadows.
And me, the animal
I ride wants to drive forward,
its longing not always my own,
overrunning its banks and bounds,
edgeless, pilling along the way

because, as I forget,
it knows everything
is before it.

~ Linda Hogan ~

(Rounding the Human Corners)

Please Like and Share! Thank you.

Copyright 2018 Cathy Pagano

Sunday, June 10, 2018

The Cosmic Story: Gemini New Moon 2018

Gemini New Moon 2018

Do You Believe in Magic?

Behold there is magic all around us.
Behold there is magic all around us.
Behold there is magic all around us.
Awaken. Rejoice and Sing.

Abby Spinner McBride “Behold” Fire of Creation





This Gemini New Moon plants the seeds generated by the Sagittarius/Gemini Full Moon, which hopefully helped us release those old beliefs that keep us from truly living our new story. What old beliefs were shed? What heart truth did you need to incorporate? It’s time to plant that seed.

What did you learn about yourself? Accepting who you are leads to knowing what your real purpose is.

I realized that I have to accept ME as I am – one characteristic being that I’m not as organized as I think I should be (should being the clue that it’s a societal expectation).   I am so right-brained! And while I have a strong left-brain, it doesn’t take the lead. Nor should it for me. So what if I don’t understand computer-eeze.

What happens when you just accept who and what you are? I’m not talking about sexual orientation, but accepting how you navigate the world. How your mind works and how you see and understand your place in the web of life.

My Gemini Mercury swims in the 12th house, and is quite happy playing with dreams, symbolic language, myths, stories and intuitions and feelings. Yet I keep ragging on myself when I can’t follow a schedule because each day is new and fresh. My Mind has a hard time getting down to business in a patriarchal manner. I do things my own way, even when I nag at myself! Perhaps our Mother, the World Soul, has a use for me just as I am.

And if so, She has a use for you. She called forth a soul – the real you – for a specific purpose. It doesn’t have to be big or make you famous. It just has to be you vibrating your essence out into the world. Check out what sign and house your Mercury/Mind occupies. It will help you to accept yourself and your innate talents.

So, are you ready to believe in magic? The magic all around us.

We are living in evolutionary times. Jean Houston says this might be the first time that humans are being called upon to collectively evolve to a higher state of consciousness. That would be a unified world consciousness, acknowledging that we’re all in this chaos together. Not the New World Order of our corporate/political overlords, but a new unified Mind that will be ready to meet the challenge of healing the Earth of our reckless degradation of our home planet. We have to clean up the mess we’ve created by our allegiance to uncontrolled consumerism if we want our children to survive on this beautiful planet.

There is a wonderful story about a world in crisis that has to unite if they are to survive. It’s Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonridersof Pern series. I first read them in the 70s, but have just re-read the first few and they seem more pertinent now than ever. Good stories feed the soul. These absolutely do!

 


Pern is a planet in the midst of change. When it was first settled, the people were unaware of a rogue planet with an erratic orbit which periodically swung by Pern and released deadly thread, which could consume all growing life. Through the centuries, they bred dragons who impressed with their riders to destroy the thread, as well as other safeguards. But those other safeguards have been lost to time.

The first story begins with the fact that 500 years have passed without a close pass of the Red Star which heralds the beginning of these thread incursions. People no longer believe there’s any threat. But thread comes and except for the dragonriders, they’re not prepared. Only one weyr remains of the original six, so the dragonriders gather the rulers and craftspeople of Pern to find solutions to dealing with the deadly spores. As time goes on, they have to contend with ‘old-timers’ vs. ‘new-timers’. I’m happy to report that the new vision wins out.

The dragons of Pern act very much like an aware and awake unconscious. Bonding with their riders, they are a perfect combination of unconscious wisdom and rational thinking. They know the need to protect life. When the people later re-discover and impress fire-lizards, we see another example of the unconscious – the collective unconscious. For these new fire-lizards remember both the Red Planet and the original settlers. With many people able to impress fire-lizards, the whole planet becomes more aware and awake.

It’s the ability to communicate – between dragon and rider, person and fire-lizard, weyr, craftshall and hold – that changes things and ultimately saves Pern.

This communication skill is Gemini’s gift to us. It’s not only about the power of our minds and our thoughts, but about how we communicate those ideas and feelings that matter.

We too can connect to an inner dragon when we turn our attention to our soul, which can be symbolized by a sleeping dragon guarding our treasures. We have the ability to become conscious of how our unconscious is communicating with us. And we also have the ability to dive into the collective unconscious to access old memories and abilities via the akashic records.

Gemini is concerned with how the Mind perceives things. We have been caught up in a powerful complex that rejects the unconscious’ knowing and only validates the rational mind and its vision of how the world works. But that very mindset is killing us. It is so out of balance.

We need to let that old perspective die and open up to new ways of understanding and imagining ourselves and the world. Because the old world order will keep us hidebound and stuck. It is fighting back at our new vision, fighting to retain its power over us. The only way to find our freedom from its delusions is to step out of that story. Each and every one of us. Like stepping out of the Matrix. It’s time to go into the forest of the heart and open to the magic of life and death and rebirth.

Evolution happens!

So, do you believe in Magic? For magic is part of our new story. It’s about communicating with all of life – to learn how you fit into the web of life energies. Behold there is Magic all around us!

Are you willing to listen to the voice of your unconscious, the voice of Mother Nature, the voices of those people, animals and plants which are calling to us for help? Can you step into the world of magical thinking without losing your way? Can you see both the magic and the practical reality?

Gemini New Moon 2018

This New Moon in Gemini gives us that opportunity. We associate the Tarot card The Lovers with the sign of Gemini, for lovers unite themselves to one purpose, one heart – or at least that’s the goal! The same goes for something we love that we want to create. We unite our head and our heart, our feminine being with our masculine doing to unite all sides of ourselves to create.

And if Gemini is symbolized by The Lovers, a united Mind, then Mercury, the ruler of Gemini and the Mind, is symbolized by The Magician. If we know how to focus our intention (left-brain), we can create what we imagine (right-brain). And we use our reptilian brain to give us the life energy we need to accomplish our goals as well as our mystical brain to connect us to the collective unconscious. We operate out of the whole brain.

This Gemini New Moon occurs on Wednesday, June 13, 2018 at 12:43pm PDT/ 3:43pm EDT/ 7:43pm GMT.




The Sabian symbol for the Sun and Moon at 23* Gemini is: Three fledglings in a nest high in a tree. With 3 as the number of process and birds symbolizing the higher mind and its messages, we get to be inspired, original, inventive and imaginative in our responses to life. These fledglings are young and so need time to develop. Don’t rush things – there are many retrograde planets around now. It’s all about seeing through magical eyes now. The tree of life will protect these visions until they’re ready to fly. Plant those magical seeds and see what develops!

This New Moon squares Neptune in Pisces, which itself is trine Jupiter retrograde in Scorpio. These two spiritual energies combine to strengthen our inner connection to our soul. We are challenged to be inspired and inventive, using our creative imagination in ways that open new avenues of experience, which Gemini craves. Magic qualifies as new avenues of experience.

The New Moon also inconjuncts Pluto in Capricorn, which is setting the stage for our cultural transformation. So how do we integrate this need for a new cultural story with our Gemini Mind? Gemini makes no judgements. Inconjuncts call for minor adjustments. We usually first ask the magic for our own benefit by setting that intention that begins with I have, I am.

But this new story is really about all of us together, so it’s about how we each sit at the Round Table and work together. This is the time to ask the magic for help with our society, with our communities and with our families and tribes. It’s not just about me but about us.

That in itself is a new story, isn’t it? For too long our patriarchal society has been all about the ‘rugged individual’ who doesn’t need help, who can pull himself up by the bootstraps and make a fortune. The new story is that we’re all in this together, so we help each other. And that means, our individual purpose will be supportive of that.

You don’t have to see the whole picture or know the whole story yet. Just step onto the road and see where it takes you. And open your vision to see things in a new light.

Mercury, the ruling planet of Gemini, just moved into the sign of Cancer the day before this New Moon. And it is a powerful Mercury, ready to think outside the box. This Cancer Mind is geared toward the emotional body and its messages and needs. It is creative and nurturing. It is opposed by Saturn retrograde in Capricorn. While these two planets together usually indicate a serious mindset, it feels more true to see that Saturn picks up on his responsibility to make sure that Cancer’s needs are met. Saturn in Capricorn helps us release old karma and get on with building our new world. Take the time to listen to what your emotional body needs.

The square from Chiron in Aries to both Mercury and Saturn challenge us to change our perception of ourselves – to heal the I am in which we see ourselves as initiators and leaders.

Uranus in Taurus supports this New Mind and awakens our StoryMind and brings new landscapes into view. While we are all in this together, a lot depends on each of us. We are the ones who have to meet the new realities and make the changes. Our first clues come from our emotional bodies. If we can’t figure out what we need, how can we figure out what others’ need? Our Mind is especially open to new realities now. So don’t be afraid to talk to yourself and everyone around you.

The other big energy at play during this New Moon is a tense aspect between Venus in Cancer opposite Mars in Aquarius with both challenged by Uranus in Taurus. The Chinese fortune cookie version is Wake up and smell the roses!

Mars is about to enter its retrograde on June 26th so he is extra potent. If you go outside at sundown, you will see him rising in the East, very bright now. Mars in Aquarius is energizing our ideals about the Masculine. Mars is conjunct the South Node. Will we learn from our past mistakes? Will men learn they are not the bosses of the world?

It is time and past time for this old masculine attitude of disdain and domination of the feminine to be left behind. We want and need the New Masculine energy to emerge. What this New Masculine energy will be like is still a mystery, but it will support and balance the New Feminine energy emerging in our world. For we need them to be equal in all ways – both literally as well as psychologically and spiritually. Both ways of seeing and understanding the world are necessary.



So ask yourself these questions. What makes a Man? What is masculine energy? How can we renew it, especially now that our society is acknowledging how abusive men have been to women and the Earth. And how we’ve rejected our feminine right brain wisdom. What makes a Man?

Venus is also at her brightest in the western sky at sundown. She is at the last degree of Cancer, moving into Leo a few hours after this New Moon. Opposites not only attract, they compliment each other. Venus offers Mars a chance to understand (Aquarius is smart!) what our heart needs are. If he’s willing to understand our feminine need to support and nurture each other, when these two planets finally oppose each other on June 21st, they will have a chance to really rock together. Uranus just adds the spice!

If the New Queen (Venus in Leo) is supported by the New Masculine (Mars in Aquarius), we’ll have a real chance of attaining not only gender equality, but the balanced and proper use of our awareness. And from there we will recreate the world!

Neptune goes retrograde on June 18th.
The Sun goes into Cancer on the Summer Solstice on June 21st.
Mars goes retrograde in Aquarius on June 26th.

May you walk in the Light!
Cathy

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haiku -- Masahide
barn's burnt down;
now I can see
the moon
Since Gemini loves Twins!

Morning Poem

Every morning
the world
is created.
Under the orange

sticks of the sun
the heaped
ashes of the night
turn into leaves again

and fasten themselves to the high branches ---
and the ponds appear
like black cloth
on which are painted islands

of summer lilies.
If it is your nature
to be happy
you will swim away along the soft trails

for hours, your imagination
alighting everywhere.
And if your spirit
carries within it

the thorn
that is heavier than lead ---
if it's all you can do
to keep on trudging ---

there is still
somewhere deep within you
a beast shouting that the earth
is exactly what it wanted ---

each pond with its blazing lilies
is a prayer heard and answered
lavishly,
every morning,

whether or not
you have ever dared to be happy,
whether or not
you have ever dared to pray.

~ Mary Oliver ~

(Dream Work)
Copyright 2018 Cathy Pagano