the notion that the universe is an interwoven fabric. The astrological concept of a celestial-terrestrial connection has been with us throughout the ages, reflected in many spiritual traditions and epitomized by the Hermetic maxim, "As above, so below."
RECENT ARTICLES
A Balance of Light THE LIBRA EQUINOX September 22, 2016
When the Sun enters the cardinal air sign of Libra each year, it signals one of two equinoxes, and, north of the equator, the official start of autumn. Marking the heart of the harvest season, the Druids refer to the fall equinox as Alban Elued, which means "The Light of the Sea" — representing the descent of the Sun into the western seas at sunset. For the autumn equinox is the seasonal equivalent of sunset, when the fiery solar energy of the growing season gives way to telluric, earthy forces. The life force begins its retreat once more into Mother Earth for the winter's long rest.
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Effort Over Time THE VIRGO NEW MOON & SOLAR ECLIPSE Sept 1, 2016
This Virgo eclipse is a call to action: to resolve and jettison, once and for all, your particular "South-Node-Neptune in Pisces" recurring problems of escapism, self-delusion, impracticality, sloppiness, laziness (physical, mental, and spiritual), along with any other life-undermining bad habits. Any kind of disorder. With the North Node in Virgo, and this being a "North Node" eclipse, Virgo — what it represents — is the ideal we are striving towards: Virgo practicality, attention to detail, order, reliability, using the noggin better. Sloppy housekeeping but also sloppy mental habits are definitely anti-Virgo. How good are you at really facing the truth? keeping up with the routines, including really supporting your own health and wellbeing? How effective is that internal BS-detector? Do you apply sufficient skepticism or do you too often accept what people say without digging deeper? Do you do your homework?
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Tightrope Walkers THE AQUARIUS FULL MOON August 18, 2016
As a parent, one of the things I struggle with is setting reasonable limits without triggering exhausting power struggles. I do know the "right way" to handle it, that's not the problem. I've taken parenting classes where I learned how to craft those awkward "I-messages" (example: "When you tie a rope around kitty's neck and drag him across the floor, I feel very sad"). I realize too that it's best to offer choices rather than dish out ultimatums. I know this stuff. But at the end of a long day, faced with a two-day old stack of dirty dishes, crumbs left all over the floor from the latest snack raid, my chocolate stash missing from its hiding place, ultimately, inevitably, what tumbles out is certainly no I-message.
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Making it REAL SATURN STATIONS DIRECT August 13, 2016
Saturn is currently at standstill, nearing its station (August 13th), and turning direct after a five-month retrograde cycle that began last March. As I wrote in the Leo New Moon essay, what Saturn represents is a very active and critical agent right now. So let's talk a bit more about Saturn, and its retrograde cycle, here at its powerful station direct.
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Courage and Conviction THE LEO NEW MOON TRINE SATURN August 2, 2016
Not far from where I live, a stretch of highway winds abruptly out of the redwood forest into an expansive, sunny valley. The transition from forest to valley is striking almost every time, even after living here for almost 20 years. But I've noticed, accompanying this, is a subtle emotional reaction, best described as the kind of apprehension a deer might feel when doing exactly the same thing: venturing beyond the safeguard of the forest into the open meadow, exposed. When the lunar cycle shifts from the sheltered waters of Cancer and begins anew in fiery Leo, which it will do later today, it is an analogous transition.
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Something in Me, Dark and Sticky SUN-PLUTO CONJUNCTION July 7, 2016
Tomorrow, the mighty, life-giving Sun will perfect an opposition to deepest darkest Pluto, the planet that astrologically represents the chthonic, underlying, sometimes devastating forces of Mother Nature. Profound change, death, rebirth, power issues of survival, the use and abuse of resources, sexual power, all things hidden and taboo — everything buried deep in the vast underground circuits of the psyche are associated with this small and distant, but nevertheless powerful, dwarf planet. All of these Pluto-related themes are being stirred up right now, illuminated by the Sun in the Moon's sensitive, self-protective, water sign of Cancer, swiftly moving towards crescendo, its the exact opposition to Pluto. Embedded in this week's New Moon chart, this Sun-Pluto opposition is the second of three major themes in this critical lunar cycle.