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Heart Sees Us Through: Leo Full Moon
"As the world appears to be spiralling into increasing chaos, it's important to remember the place of stillness in the heart. This is what will get us through." From The Emergence Project
...about.com | 06-Feb-2012 12:41
Aries Keira Knightley Prefers Real Life to TV
Keira Knightley's TV-less lifestyle made headlines in the Telegraph UK. It's a radical move in some circles and one she made five years ago, after, she told the major paper, "she became tired of the constant diet of 'mindless' programmes and reality television shows."
...about.com | 05-Feb-2012 11:55
Neptune into Pisces
The planet of mysticism, unseen realms, the dreamlife and art - Neptune - makes its ingress into Pisces today (to 2025). In her compelling little book Cosmic Karma, astrologer Marguerite Manning calls Neptune the mirror of our soul, and that "it's nothing more than a celestial shadow of our unconscious past, our creative imagination and our unconditional faith -- guilt and addiction included."
...about.com | 03-Feb-2012 16:11
Merry Imbolc
It's Imbolc, a festival with Celtic roots, to lift spirits and celebrate the increasing daylight. Why not muse on what's growing within you, or what you'd like to beam your attention on? Light a candle, write poetry, invite healing energies, or divinate with the Tarot cards or runes. Today I'd like to breathe in healing light, to dispel fear and trust in what's unfolding.
...about.com | 02-Feb-2012 16:10
Virgo-Pisces, Claiming Ground & Surrendering
Something wild happened yesterday, as I was writing about the Mars-Venus opposition (exact February 1st at 6:41 pm est). A fast-moving forest fire started very close to where we live, and there was a firetruck on the property, and a small lookout plane flying overhead. The firemen told us to be on alert, in case we had to evacuate. Chaos ensued! But my Virgo man insisted it be organized chaos, and I did my best (Pisces rising), not to space out from overwhelm!
...about.com | 02-Feb-2012 13:04
February & the Twilight Eve of Spring
It's an early Spring clean, of the mind and spirit, when February is here. The name comes from februum Latin for purification. The Sun is in air sign Aquarius, and the air element is about knowing. The Wheel of the Year is turning toward the direction of the East, also associated with Air, the very first notions of Spring that are carried on the wind.
...about.com | 30-Jan-2012 17:59
Neptune Aquarius & Murmuration
After not knowing what murmuration meant really, I encountered it twice yesterday. I think it's mesmerizing! It's the rhythmic dance of shapes that starlings create. I first saw it on philosopher-astrologer Ann Kreilkamp's post A Great Human Murmuration is Underway.......
about.com | 26-Jan-2012 14:47
Photo of the Week: Water Dragon
Is your emotional-mental-physical ship seaworthy for 2012? The Dragon is in the element water, and soon we'll all be finding our sea legs with Neptune, as it enters its own sign Pisces (February 4th). Pisces and the 12th House are about learning to master the art of surrender to the big oceanic waves of the universal soul -- without getting lost at sea.
...about.com | 25-Jan-2012 13:02
Michael Erlewine on Solar Impulses: Imprinting, Warmth, Largeness
As I write this, the magnetosphere is "unsettled" (here's some NOAA data), on the verge of major storming. It's the leading edge of the coronal mass impact of a fast-moving flare fired off Sunday night. And a searing and potentially igniting start to the Dragon Year, 2012!
...about.com | 24-Jan-2012 15:56
Suzanne White: Love in the Dragon Year & Horoscopes
The vermillion spectacle that's the Chinese New Year begins today (January 23rd), so Gong Hei Fat Choy! In Chinese culture, red is fire, the life force itself, happiness, and luck. And the Dragon Year (to February 9th, 2013) heralds a year of passion, epic love and luck for those who dare.
...about.com | 23-Jan-2012 13:49
The Star & Sun into Aquarius
Sun into Aquarius starts today, for a cooler, lighter atmosphere, in which freeing future outcomes can be spied on the distant horizon. These last two months of the solar cycle -- Aquarius and Pisces -- have the feel of mystical renaissance, being liberated from fixed ideas. So begins a time to unshackle your thought processes - from the matrix, bad programming, your own persistent stories. It's a time to experiment or follow an original thread of inspiration.
...about.com | 20-Jan-2012 16:55
Dark Moon -- Not Fighting the Currents
We spiral now into the monthly rendezvous with the void, with these being the rich days of the Dark Moon. As the brill Brit Mystic Medusa pointed out, Thursday, or Thorsday is matched to Jupiter, and that's lucky, because the Moon is in jovial fire sign Sagittarius all day!
...about.com | 18-Jan-2012 19:34
Astrologer's Board Escavated From Cave
The marvel of the stars, and the mystery of its relation to the Earth is as old as humanity itself. How fascinating to hear of artifacts being found, like what's being called by archeologists, the World's Oldest Astrologers Board.
...about.com | 17-Jan-2012 11:43
Venus Pisces, Oceans of Time
It's time to see with the eyes of the soul, with Venus in Pisces to February 8th. This transit brings to mind Dracula's line (from the 1992 film), "I've crossed oceans of time to find you." It's that sense that even lost love is a temporary separation, in a story that's always, to be continued, but perhaps in another life. We're closer to sensing the eternal self, in relationship with other eternal selves.
...about.com | 14-Jan-2012 15:42
2012 Horoscopes, Aries to Virgo
Anything that puts a set frame on what's possible for you in 2012 is very old hat. After all, there's a buzz that we're in cosmically charged territory, an energetic returning to the creative source ...the spiraling milky way galaxy! The potentials for creating anew are infinite. And even if that narrative isn't an exact fit, the Uranus-Pluto square is activated fully in 2012, reshaping each of us and society -- the end of the world as we've known it. And every day, a chance to begin something new, or act on what's emerging from within ourselves or in the collective.
...about.com | 13-Jan-2012 11:59
Mystic Cupcakes
A bakery in North Hollywood puts your birth chart on a cupcake! Mystic Cupcakes also sells birth chart designs online, to take to your own local baker.
...about.com | 10-Jan-2012 12:42
Big Heart Full Moon Tonight
As we reach the fullness of the Moon in her own sign, my Cancerian soul is nearly bursting with the desire to recommit to the emerging values of the Great Mother. This Full Cancer Full Moon is an invitation to remember the sacred and the Earth as our source. It's about living as if everything and everyone matters. It's the great rebalancing underway -- that heals us from exploitation of the Earth and all life, and values of greed, corruption, triviality (nothing matters), cruelty and apathy. And instead of buying into the narratives of fear, lack and dog-eat-dog survival, we can commit to demonstrating values of caring, empathy and abundance for all.
...about.com | 08-Jan-2012 10:41
Cancer-Capricorn Full Moon: Earthly Home
Is it just me, or is there a new wildness and unpredictability in the air? I've personally felt out of balance quite a bit, and made a huge decision on impulse that had to be undone (and which cost me to rectify). It had to do with home and making a radical choice, but then being overwhelmed by anguish to be uprooted from family, friends, and the familiar. It led to a realization that I am bound with this land where I'm a native, and now that I've made it back, I don't see leaving it in any kind of permanent way. It's about a sense of place, and intimacy with the landscape, as much as with the people and culture.
...about.com | 05-Jan-2012 18:29
2012, a Dragon Year and Time for Change
"It's in the hearts of you and I that the Revolution of our time begins," writes 2012 author Mark Borax. His latest Cosmic Weather Report called 2012: Flight of the Dragon gave me a lift today. It's a balm for the weary soul, and encouragement to rise above "the mediocrity and complacency of our own lives, and glimpse a magical future beyond." Mark doesn't deny the darkness that's around us, but has a way of putting 2012 in an inspired context. And it's refreshing to hear him on cultivating our unique genius as just as vital as this oneness that a lot of people talk about lately.
...about.com | 01-Jan-2012 15:27
Cancer Woman and Aquarius Man Love Match
It's notable that the famous Cancer woman and Aquarius man relationships I found are from a time when gender relationships were more clear-cut, a la Mad Men. A time when the woman ruled the roost, and the man went out and made his mark.
...about.com | 29-Dec-2011 17:14
Keeping it Real in 2012
My interest in 2012 as a phenomenon peaked a few years ago, and around that time, I even went to a 2012 conference in Sarasota. I've heard many different takes, from William Henry's research into Cosmic Stargates, to Dr. Christine Page's book and research on 2012 as the Return of the Great Mother.
I got the chance to dine with well-known authors Daniel Pinchbeck and John Major Jenkins. Pinchbeck's recent film 2012: Time for Change, takes it beyond theorizing to the practical tools for change. And now, here we are, on the cusp of this highly anticipated year -- I have to admit, it's exciting to finally be on the verge of 2012!
On this site, I've shared the perspective of Mayan Elder Carlos Barrios and from the start have accepted the idea that this is a time of awakening and epic change. I've come to see this though, as an experience of the individual. I like this article by Zen Gardner, called, Are You Fearful or Anxious About 2012? In it, he writes, "Each different theory or combination of theories will make more sense to different individuals depending on their culture, their personality, their genetics, upbringing, life events etc. What makes "sense" to me will not necessarily make "sense" to you - we are seeing things through different frameworks."
The framework I'm drawn to most now, is the one that puts home planet Earth in the center of the story. I find it odd to hear media asking about what will happen on December 21st, 2012. My perspective is that whatever it is, we're in it. The biggest crisis, we face, in my view is not economical but ecological. And at the heart of the dis-ease, is our disconnection from the home planet and our bodies. There's so much to discover, right here at home. That's why I'm drawn to health and organic farming, and being in the forest -- attuning my vibe to a planet that's also changing. Many indigenous sages say to stay close to the rhythms of Mother Earth.
After all I've read and heard about 2012, I'm still taking it all in, as a mystery to be lived, not wrapped up in a soundbite. Most recently, I've been drawn to the work of stellar astro-mythologist John Lamb Lash, with his Countdown to 2012: Reflections on Kali Yuga, the Maya Endtime, and the Western Narrative Spell.
Having shared where I stand, with 2012, on ground that's always shifting, I intend to be on the lookout for perspectives that encourage, entertain or inspire. That's my commitment to you the reader, as we head into this year with so much mystery and hype around it. Rather than a passive "What will happen?," let's take an active role, and make the most of this dynamic remarkable time.
- For more, see the Everything Guide to 2012 by Mark Heley: a comprehensive book online, from theories about Planet X to galactic superwaves.
- Peak Moments of 2012 by (tropical) astrologer Tem Tarriktar, Mountain Astrologer.
about.com | 28-Dec-2011 12:43
2012, Year of Water Dragon
2012 brings us to the grand and dangerous sounding Year of the Dragon. Author Suzanne White says everything is magnified in a Dragon Year, with fortunes made and lost in lightning speed. I got a sneak preview of her 2012 predictions -- Year of the Dragon Horoscopes -- in which she writes, "Any and all events will be dramatic and charged with a rare intensity. In short, 2012 will be a year of derring-do, hell-raising and exorbitant fun." In 2012, Chinese New Year starts January 23, 2012 and runs to February 9th, 2013.
...about.com | 27-Dec-2011 14:59
Making Spirits Bright, Solstice & the Capricorn New Moon
Shiny stars and the festival of lights! Happy Hanukkah, and a Merry Yule to you all! However you celebrate this season of enchantment, may it be filled with contentment and wonder.
...about.com | 20-Dec-2011 13:08
Timeless & Simple Self-Healing Tips from Yogastrology!
Could it be true that the best balms for self-soothing in times of great change (like now!) are simple and available anytime, anywhere (for free)? I had an inspiring conversation with Yogastrology's Diane Booth Gilliam just after the eclipse, who reminded me of that deep timeless healing place that's there, if we can surrender some of the drama and the trauma.
...about.com | 17-Dec-2011 17:17
Mercury Direct!
What's that over yonder? Mercury turns direct in far-sighted Sagittarius this week, but give yourself time to integrate what's been realized. Mercury will blaze its trail in what's called direct shadow as it covers the perceptual ground it just back-stepped into. On January 1st, in the auspicious year of 2012, Mercury is out of direct shadow (20 degrees) and in serendipitous synch with the Gregorian calendar, into the brand new.
...about.com | 12-Dec-2011 17:22
Total Eclipse of the Moon - Where Visible?
Are you planning to watch the Total Lunar Eclipse (Dec 10/11th)? Earth Sky.org says the whole start-to-finish eclipse will be visible to those on the West coast of North America, across the whole Pacific Ocean to Asia, Australia and Eastern Europe. Those in North America, will see it at Moonset, in the morning hours, and that means the big red Moon could be enormous!
...about.com | 08-Dec-2011 12:46
Picture of the Week: Power of Presence
It's a Taurus Moon, with deeply rooting aspects to Mars (Virgo) and Jupiter (Taurus) that can help us feel sturdy on our feet. With a highly charged Lunar Eclipse days away, it's a good day to ground, and renew yourself with a sensual moment.
...about.com | 07-Dec-2011 11:04
Arch Crawford's Alert & Tips to Weather "Economic Armageddon"
After the civil war in the South, when confederate money was worthless, the only thing of value left for some was the family silver. It's macabre but true, that the silver service would be hidden under the bones of ancestors in tombs, to hide it from the invading Union army.
...about.com | 06-Dec-2011 11:09
Gemini-Sagittarius Full Moon & Total Lunar Eclipse
I just saw a headline that reads Is the World Spinning Out of Control? It sure feels like that at times, but one comfort astrology provides, is the knowledge that there's a rhythm and a season for everything, including wild breakdown of society. Can you stay clear of the flying debris and steadily make steps to secure a healthy, inspired life?
The upcoming eclipse this weekend (Dec 10th/11th) features mutable signs, which are associated with scattering, breaking apart of rigid forms. It's a challenge to adapt, by making healthy spontaneous choices. And to adjust course, trusting your ability to read the signs and especially, what has spark.
Uranus is direct that day, and with mutables in play, there could be earth changes. It's very stimulating, but could be disorienting, like having your hair violently windblown on a trip to a place that delights you. The jittery intensity can squeeze irritability to the surface, especially if you're not finding your productive groove.
The motivator Mars is in Virgo, a sign that loves tools (I'm married to a Virgo jack-of-all-trades). Not a bad time to experiment with new ways to move energy (tuning forks, martial arts, performance, etc), to have more tools in your shed. What makes you feel mentally alert and alive? Maybe it's already something you love to do!
In keeping with the doubling theme of Gemini, sign of the Twins, here are two articles on the Gemini Full Moon & Eclipse. Enjoy and stay inspired!
- In Pictures: Gemini Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse
- Inspiration Notes for the Gemini-Sadge Full Moon & Eclipse
about.com | 05-Dec-2011 13:20
Cardinal Teens
The rhythm of the seasons is a way to understand astrology, and cardinal signs begin each new season (in tropical astrology.) Aries begins with Spring Equinox, Cancer is in synch with Summer Solstice; Libra begins with Autumn Equinox and Capricorn's first day aligns with the upcoming Winter Solstice (Dec 22nd). The cardinal turning points of the solar year ring in a mini cycle that is followed by the fixed (deepening) and mutable signs (dispersing, preparing for next season).
...about.com | 04-Dec-2011 09:06
As Above, So Below - A Visual Spectacle
Thanks to reader Mara Belzer for telling me about As Above, So Below,, an astonishing art and technology spectacle that happened at the Dumbo Arts Festival, back in September (2011).
...about.com | 03-Dec-2011 13:15
Jessica Murray on Expressing What's Hidden in the Root (Uranus squaring Pluto)
Editor's Note: I talked with my mentor-friend Jessica Murray of Mother Sky recently by email. I told her about leaving Facebook (two weeks now), and how radical it felt for me. Like virtually jumping off a cliff? Mainly it has to do with time -- the stuff life is made of -- and wanting to rein in my focus. And a instinct to find a deeper rhythm in these darker months, to see what's there to be unearthed, if I have the patience to go against the manic norm, and be still.
...about.com | 30-Nov-2011 11:19
Mars Virgo, My Dog and I on the Road to Wellness!
I got a chastening lecture at the vet yesterday, making me think of that quote by author unknown, "If your dog is fat, you're not getting enough exercise!"
My dog Lucky Lulu, seen here in a "before" post from 2007 on the dog days of summer, has gained so much, the doctor called her grossly overweight. That really hurt, because I pride myself on living holistically and we feed her mostly organic. My precious girl and BFF has an illness now, and is scheduled for surgery. My vet didn't hold back, saying, that the number one health threat here is her weight.
...about.com | 29-Nov-2011 09:57
Capricorn's Cornucopia
In a recent talk by mythologist/astrologer John Lash, he said it's time to get intimate with the living reality of the planet, or devolve into a kind of zombie state. The planets in signs of deep and voluptuous earth signs (Capricorn, Taurus and Virgo) take us there! Hugging the lords of the plant kingdom (trees) and loving all things green and growing is not for the few anymore. It's a pathway out of any dead zones of stagnation, and a time tested way to lift our spirits.
...about.com | 28-Nov-2011 11:46
Demonstrating Love, Venus in Capricorn
What's enduring is favored in love and friendship, as Venus passes through the sign Capricorn. Into early December, Venus will make substance in relationships look very attractive, as she dance with Jupiter Taurus, then aligns with regenerative Pluto (in Capricorn). All this earth sign mojo brings us to our senses and sensual times that can be extremely healing. Being together in nature, or cooking a slow food meal from scratch is a healing balm that brings you into the fullness of the moment.
...about.com | 26-Nov-2011 23:21
Photo of the Week: Facing Fear
In a time when people are holding so much unprocessed emotional-soul material, how do we trust that we won't be overwhelmed by others? This is a theme of Chiron Pisces, says astrologer Adam Gainsburg, as we look at ways we numb out or shut down, from feeling that melding into one another -- oneness.
...about.com | 22-Nov-2011 12:20
Mercury Retrograde Starts Thursday!
It's striking that all the Mercury Retrogrades this year are in fire signs. This time, starting Thursday, November 24th (2:19 am est), Mercury spirals back (to our eyes) in mutable Sagittarius at 20 degrees. It's a particularly rousing retrograde, with Venus at the beyond mysterious Galactic Center, a source of creative chaos to spin us in new, expansive directions. On top of that, the Moon's North Node is also in Sagittarius, for a pull toward the visionary, spirited values and animating our lives fully.
...about.com | 21-Nov-2011 11:22
Photo of the Week: Grand Trine in Earth
You won't want to miss consciously engaging with this fortifying grand trine in Earth signs. A trine is ease, mutual support, so a grand trine is a big matrix of earthy goodness for what you want to make real. Earth signs endow us with practical intelligence, a desire to see tangible results, and the perseverance to see it through to the end. The conservation ethic, and sense of the birth-death-birth cycle is heightened.
...about.com | 16-Nov-2011 09:40
Some Top Astrology Blogs
I came across this list of the 50 Best Astrology Blogs, by someone who has definitely looked at the sites, and grokked the general foci. Though the unnamed list creator says they're in no particular order, this blog comes in at #28, with the comment, "About.com's official astrology portal discusses the practice in a way that even beginners can understand, focusing mainly on its role in shaping the events of day-to-day existence."
...about.com | 15-Nov-2011 12:06
Mars Virgo & Breaking it Down
I've been thinking a lot about prioritizing, and even made a list of top goals. They weren't numbered though, since I like to write my top aims inside a circle, in no particular order. Mandi Lockley of AstroAir has this tip: "List out everything you want to achieve. It's easy to scatter and splinter your energies with Mars in Virgo, so when you have that list, you would be well advised to cross off a number -- if not most -- of those goals, so you can focus on the important ones."
...about.com | 13-Nov-2011 11:21
Big Day -- 11 11 11
What will you do on 11-11-11? It's visually neat looking, and it's symbolically rich, for harnessing your focus.
Elizabeth Jones of Astrology of Light writes that 11 is a master number of illumination. "11:11:11 is opening a portal to the dynamic energies of 2012. What you focus upon and experience at this time will initiate a process, setting you upon a path, that will align you with your Souls intention this lifetime."
...about.com | 11-Nov-2011 08:56
Photo of Week: Refreshing Waters of Neptune
If you've been in the doldrums, Neptune turns direct today, to put wind in your sails. Neptune had just put its pinky toe in Pisces at 0 degrees back in early June, before its annual retrograde took it back into the sign of the Waterbearer, Aquarius. Neptune, the planet of dreams and the imagination, is in this air sign of visioning, the 100th Monkey effect, and defying logic for leaps into the future at 28 degrees.
...about.com | 09-Nov-2011 11:50
Saturn in the House (Fourth) & Astro-Swap Meet
With family, it can feel like the walls are closing in, and with it, that familiar feeling of being trapped in something you didn't chose, but that's got its hooks in your psyche. Saturn's deal is the quest, often hard won, for an authentic sense of stability. Saturn in the Fourth house is the realm of family roots, belonging, sense of origins. Put Saturn in the Fourth, and the journey is finding home -- but beyond defenses, to something real.
...about.com | 08-Nov-2011 11:37
Fogmoon & Earthing Intensity
The November Full Moon (10/11th) has many names -- Beaver, Frost, Mourning and Fog Moon. Early Norse cultures knew all of November as Fogmoon, a time to honor the fallen, and swear oaths on oath-rings, to show dedication to aims of the new year.
...about.com | 04-Nov-2011 15:19
Photo of the Week: Animal Passion
What's wild and seeking is set free today, with Venus and Mercury moving into fire sign Sagittarius. Mutable Sadge is the frisson in the champagne and the spike in the punch of holiday parties. It's the restless desire to mix with new people, know more, travel, philosophize about what's happening in the world, and experience something untamed and uninhibited in love.
...about.com | 02-Nov-2011 11:29
All Soul's Night & Day of the Dead
I still vividly remember seeing a cemetery in Germany lit up with candles on the night of November 1st. It's Allerheiligen (All Saints) and Allerseelen (All Souls) there and in many traditions, to honor the beloved dead, and for Catholics, the martyrs of the faith.
...about.com | 01-Nov-2011 13:29