We have entered an inspired time in human consciousness demanding that we think outside the box in order to foster changes that will nurture our life and the life of others. Saturn, archetype of the status quo, and Uranus, archetype of the rebel, have opposed one another since 2008. Since that time many of the structures supporting our life choices have collapsed or been set adrift in a sea of uncertainty. The last seven years Uranus has been in Pisces, the archetype of unity and oneness, working to radically heal a collective wound that has left us feeling separate and isolated from one another.  In Pisces, Uranus revealed to us the inconvenient truth that individual action irrevocably impacts global reality. Uranus in Aries, the archetype of the courageous individual exploring uncharted territory, is guiding us toward taking new, daring, never before imagined action. On July 22 Saturn re-enters Libra and opposing Uranus in Aries will focus our attention on the right action for creating the right relationship, which is the inspired theme of Chip Conley’s eloquent idea worth sharing. Enjoy!

click on the image to read about the art

The ripened reflection of a Full Moon warming the coolness of the night sky never fails to take my breath away, which is exactly what I experienced last Friday evening walking through a portal in the Santa Ynez Mountains straight into the eternal rounding of  a Full Moon in Capricorn. This was no ordinary Capricorn Full Moon, which in the best of times brings to bear the sobering realism of our vulnerability. This Full Moon herald a Lunar Eclipse and the shadow of the Earth boldly passing  across the face of the Moon defiantly breathtaking and tenaciously demanding our attention. When we are under the influence of Capricorn we intuitively know how to use our environment to our advantage. When we experience a Lunar Eclipse and the Full Moon is in Capricorn something deeply rooted in our unconscious is surfacing and taking conscious form so that our familial environment can shift shape.

What makes the Full Moon so alluring? Is it the  luminous warmth shading the Earth with an other-worldly complexion, or is it the illuminating light of the Sun impregnating the Moon with enchanting promise, or  perhaps it is the eternal round of a lunar cycle shaping the palpable presence of a sublime mystery. Whatever “it” is that catches and captivates our attention  it seems certain that the luminosity of an all knowing, all giving force of nature reflects the numinous power to give life and to take life away.

The Sun-Moon opposition in Cancer-Capricorn reflects the conflict between our indentity being dependent on the individuality of others, and our need for security dependent upon being emotionally independent. The Sun in Cancer tells us that our individuality can be receptive to the care and needs of others when we stop personalizing or internalizing their behavior as our own. The Moon in Capricorn is guiding us toward a greater emotional maturity and helping us define clearer boundaries that separate our feelings and the feelings of others.

The Sun opposing Pluto suggests that our life vitality is being sucked inside a vortex making it difficult to honor our unique individuality, and the Moon conjoined Pluto speaks of the emotional death and transformation that comes when we break free from habitual patterns of behavior. The Moon-Pluto conjunction reflects an intensity of emotions that may overwhelm us at first but with time can heal wounds from our past.

Under the luminosity of this Lunar Eclipse our emotional commitment is being tested on an unconscious level while on a conscious level we are becoming more realistic about ways in which we can accomplish our material goals.

When the Moon opposed the Sun and conjoined Pluto it was translating the light  of the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Aries square Mercury in Cancer causing our impulsive actions to butt heads with our emotional reserve, which in turn, caused our perception of reality to retreat inside a shell of self-protection.  We need to be careful of not feeling sorry for ourself or wallowing in a pool of tearful regrets. The is a good time to communicate our feelings to others.

One challenge facing us is learning to  balance our emotional daring with prudent action. It is time to garner the finesse to think before we act without strapping our gut-felt- intuition inside a straight-jacket. This is not the time to retreat from the intensity of our emotions and we need to be weary of disassociating from our feelings and unwittingly view ourself and our life from the wrong end of the telescope.

This Lunar Eclipse triggers the first of a series of summer Cardinal Crosses warning us to temper our  impatience with the status quo least we risk hitting, head first, a wall of resistance. We need to modestly work behind the scene diligently learning, or teaching others, the skills necessary to improve our relationships with one another. We have entered a period of sudden and unexpected changes demanding that we set our expectations free and imagine the unimagined.

Mercury square Jupiter is the celestial signature of judgment running wildly amok. Mercury in Cancer guarantees that our thoughts and feelings will fluctuate  from one moment to the  next challenging our effort to make an emotional commitment to something we want to accomplish in our life. If we can steady our course by remaining persistent in our work and accepting of the delays that we are certain to encounter we may discover that our actions are nourishing the beginning of a new way of feeling sage and secure in life.

“As the Sun spirals its longest dance cleanse us. As nature shows bounty and fertility bless us. Let all things live with loving intent and fulfill their truest destiny.”*

In the Northern Hemisphere day is swallowing night as the Earth rotating around the Sun approaches Summer Solstice and the triumphant returning of the longest day of the year. As the dawn of Summer Solstice ascends the golden rays of the Sun illuminate our life with eternal vitality and creativity. We have reached the annual summit of our creative potential and dancing in mimetic grace with the Sun we stand poised to bring to fruition  something uniquely our own. The joyful pleasures and sensual playing of summer begin as soon as the Earth enters Cancer. When we are under the influence of Cancer we are seeking nurturing, sustaining, and protecting. Our sensitivity to being hurt is on high alert and we intuitively guard against being bruised by the outer world. When the Sun is in Cancer our instincts are hot and humid. Our life force and creative vitality is thriving and we are at the peak of our creative potential.  I find a tender pathos knowing that when we are at our most creative we feel raw and exposed.

This Summer Solstice our creativity is more vivid and electrifying than usual. Jupiter and Uranus, momentarily fused in the fiery spirit of Aries, have inflamed our desire to break free from conventional  wisdom and expand our conscious awareness beyond what feels safe and secure. Jupiter and Uranus conjoined in Aries is the celestial signature of the impulse to change. Aries garners a new beginning, Jupiter expands, magnifies, and exaggerates what it touches, and Uranus delivers sudden, unexpected, even shocking change. The cosmos is setting at our feet a golden opportunity for a radical change in our beliefs about ourself and our Universe, which can become the new foundation supporting our primal need for security.

The first aspect the Sun in Cancer makes is a square to Uranus in Aries unleashing a torrent of impulsive actions feverishly bent on breaking free from all manner of restraint that could easily backfire if we forget to first secure a balance between our needs and the needs of others. The Sun-Uranus square is softened by the Sun-Chiron trine creatively directing our impulse for sudden change toward healing a wound to our individuality. The time is ripe for us to recognize and value our individual contribution to the entirety of life. Whatever it is that we are giving birth to within our own psyche has something to do with sustaining and protecting the needs of humanity, which is why it is imperative that we become aware of our actions and the influence they have on the collective front.

At this solstice there is a blind spot in our psyche. When the Sun enters Cancer on June 21 the Moon, the source of our eternal being  and ruling deity of Cancer, is unerringly silent at the last degree of Libra. We may discover that our first impulse to act is aborted before becoming fully formed, which can become the catalyst for our self-acceptance. The Sun-Pluto opposition is telling us that our dependency on the past for nourishing and sustaining the present has left a dark hole in our heart, and that when we assume personal responsibility for our actions and what our actions are creating in life we allow the light of our creative vitality to shine forth in the world.

The Sun is in Cancer from June 21  through July 21

* an ancient Pagan blessing for Summer Solstice

Mindfulness is certainly one theme of the Gemini New Moon. The Moon is the fastest moving celestial body in our solar system making it the translator of the zodiac inscribing our psyche with every planetary archetype. For this reason each New Moon is seeking to nourish new growth in self-awareness.  A Gemini New Moon promises to nurture our curiosity and feed our appetite for new experiences.The luminous face of Gemini reflects our open mind poised in wonderment of all that life has to offer. The dark face of Gemini reflects a world-weariness that comes from having done and seen it all. Gemini is that mischievous aspect in each of us that conjures chaos and instigates instability for the sheer pleasure of being a provocateur. Under a strong influence of Gemini our right hand never seems to know, nor rarely cares, what our left is doing, consequently there is often a laissez- faire quality to Gemini that belies a deep vein of cynicism.

The numinous glow of this Gemini New Moon is reflecting individual and collective boundaries that must be recognized and honored before we can heal a wounding to our common humanity. The first aspect Mercury made after entering Gemini was a square to Chiron in Pisces highlighting a wounding to our collective feelings; quickly followed by a square to Mars in Virgo challenging us to act with modesty and in humble recognition that our actions are in service to the needs of others. The last aspect Mercury will make before leaving Gemini is a square to Saturn in Virgo, which may well trigger our discomfort at having to take personal responsibility for improving the problems that structure our life.  Saturn in Virgo delivers a sober reminding that the buck stops with us.

On May 27, we were given a preview of the significant changes coming our way, when the planet Uranus, archetype of sudden, unexpected, destructive change, charged into the sign of Aries, archetype of fiery, impulsive, headstrong action. Together, planet and sign, delivered a celestial mandate that the view through our window of perception has been blown wide open and the boundaries of our free will questioned through provocation and by circumstance. My last post, Inspirational Moon, an edited version of Expect The Unexpected, was inspired by a magical image sent from a friend in Istanbul, beautiful, inspirational Istanbul.  Three days later, Istanbul was broadcast in turmoil and tears mourning the tragic loss of life and protesting the ravaging of humanitarian aid for Gaza. I am not a mundane astrologer and for those readers interested in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the astrological underpinnings of current world events I recommend reading astrologer Theodore White @ Global Astrology.  My interest in astrology is the psychological and spiritual guidance that it can bring to our understanding of the significance of the life we are creating. I see life as a kaleidoscopic view of diverse realities overlapping, merging, separating, ever defying easy resolve. In Tibetan Buddhism reality springs eternal from the well of individual perception and truth, and Tibetans are very fond of saying, fifty people fifty realities.

There are other world events unfolding under the influence of Uranus in Aries, but the striking contrast between the delicate beauty of the Moon rising one day and volcanic anger erupting 72 hours later punctuates the challenges facing all of us over the next seven years as Uranus journeys through Aries. Uranus is the archetype or universal principle awakening new reality, new vision, new possibility made possible by the disruption and upheaval of the status quo. Uranus is the archetype of radical, rebellious revolution and Aries is the archetype of the warrior; together these two forces in life can garner destructive or constructive change depending upon  our individual will-to-act.

When Uranus enters Aries, which it does every 84 years, our view of ourself is radically changed and shattering the old vision of who we are gives birth to a new vision of who we can become.  What that new vision will be is determined by our actions, perceptions, and interpretations of the world we live in. When we are under the influence of Aries we are prone to being more impatient, impulsive, even violent than at other times in our life. It is important to be aware of the destructive force of our  will and to use maturity in directing our actions toward effective and constructive change in ourself and in the world. Uranus in Aries is helping us find the courage to break free from our dependency on the authority of others, and to honor our independence by standing alone when necessary confident in our own council. It seems a cosmic truism that consciously evolved individuals create consciously evolved societies and one celestial gift given by Uranus in Aries is our individual r-evolution in higher consciousness.

Uranus enters 00 Aries May 27, stations retrograde 01 Aries July 5 , stations direct  27 Pisces December 5, and enters oo Aries March 12 2011 where it will remain in Aries through March 7 2018.

In the early hours of May 28 rising above the Bosphorus in Inspirational Istanbul * the full face of the Moon beamed brightly in Sagittarius reflecting to Earth our restlessness to roam free into the future unfettered by our past. The receptive nature of the Moon holding, soothing, and nourishing our past coupled with the perpetual motion of Sagittarius searching for meaning and significance inspire our future potential.  The Moon and Sagittarius are not the gentlest of bedfellows and emotional sparks are guaranteed to  ignite change to the status quo change which in urn will challenge our beliefs and attachment to ” our truths”. Living at the deepest root of our existence the archetype of the Moon, matrix of our being, engenders the totality of human experience. Is it any wonder then that when gazing into the face of a Full Moon rising we may find ourself humbled at the feet of what has come before us, graciously receiving the numinous gift of our self- reflection, and tasting the bitter sweetness of our transient mortality?

The Moon contours our unconscious awareness by guiding us into the waters of our personal past before taking us deeper into the inherited beliefs of “our tribe” and deeper still into the collective unconscious of our common humanity.  Sagittarius expands our conscious awareness taking us outside ourself, beyond our past, in search of something greater than the “self.” When we are under the influence of Sagittarius our personal journey to a greater self is the significance of being alive. In the ancient teachings from the East we are told that we already are that which we are seeking, and that our  journey is our destination. Sagittarius is that aspect in each of us inspired by our unwavering belief in ourself; a self that has reached beyond the  beliefs of family and tribe to discover the eternal self within.  Sagittarius speaks in tongues rising from our heart’s mind telling us that this Full Moon challenges our perception of  “our true self.”

The shadow face of Sagittarius is  our fanaticism and while most evident in religious indoctrination fanaticism delivers an equal wounding to the heart of humanity when we stubbornly adhere to “our truth” as righteously superior to all other truths.

On  May 19 Venus left the fickle sign of Gemini and demurely walking across the threshold of Cancer reminded us of  our excruciating vulnerability to those whom we love. Cancer is the aspect in each of us hyper- personal, hence, hyper-sensitive to the words and actions of others. This is one reason why when we are under the influence of  Cancer we  instinctively protect ourself from what we perceive to be the  insensitivity of others, and wanting to escape further hurt we retreat into a protective shell licking wounds from our past.

The Moon is the ruling deity of Cancer and  because Venus is in Cancer the Full Moon in Sagittarius is the guiding light illuminating our attachment to “our truth.” and asking what is the value of our clinging to the past?  The plot thickens looking to the ruling deity of Sagittarius, Jupiter in Pisces,  in mutual exchange with Venus in Cancer ( Venus is exalted in Pisces and Jupiter is exalted in Cancer ).  Together they harbor our good fortune if we resist the temptation to exaggerate the value of our personal beliefs and inadvertently deprive our self of nourishing.

Venus in Cancer is approaching a conjunction with the transiting South Node offering a strong indication that our dependency upon self-protection is our line of least resistance and if taken on blind faith will inhibit our individual growing in consciousness. Sagittarius brings us the celestial gift of inspiration and  coupled with the Moon a time for releasing our attachment to our personal and collective past.

In tandem with this Full Moon, Uranus, the archetype of radical individualism, entered Aries, the archetype of self-discovery and together, planet and sign, guarantee an unexpected disruption to our status quo warning us to expect the unexpected.

* Istanbul is the designated 2010 European Capitol of Culture and eloquently named Inspirational Istanbul.

Last Saturday morning awaking adrift without my beloved internet connection  to anchor me in the oceanic oneness of humanity I pondered the guileful mischief of Mercury Rx in Taurus preparing to station direct. I asked myself if my feeling separate and isolated was more a reflection of the Moon traveling through Pisces stirring the turbulent waters of the collective feelings of humanity, or perhaps  the Sun transiting in Taurus square my natal Venus challenging my individual values was forcing me to pay closer attention to the depth of my addictions and dependencies. Taurus is that aspect deep in our psyche shaping our comfort by defining our pleasure, and I have heard said by a wise Buddhist nun, if you want to understand addiction take a hot bath for a month and then stop. Giving form to our values, merit to our possessions, and a stubborn attachment to our pleasures are the delft  fingers of Taurus soothing, caressing, and exciting our senses.

It is rare when a single celestial event influences our perception of reality. Usually our understanding of our experience of the events unfolding in our life are influenced by a number of planetary cycles each interconnecting one with the other.  Yesterday, May 11, Mercury Rx in Taurus stationed direct, and Venus fluttering in the sign of Gemini and ruling deity of Taurus is in mutual exchange with Mercury. Translating into a practical application Taurus is stimulating our sensuality and Gemini is pricking our curiosity while Mercury and Venus are integrating our mind and body as one.

Mercury is the cosmic messenger transporting our thoughts and feelings from one realm of perception to another without which we would be clueless as to how to communicate our unique experience of being human. When we are under the influence of Taurus we instinctively celebrate the tactile, palpable, voluptuous world of our senses unabashedly hugging a tree in communion with our oneness in life. Mercury in Taurus offers us a robust mind spilling forth a  cornucopia of thoughts and feelings rooted in the fertile soils of the Earth nourishing, sustaining, and preserving life.

When Mercury stationed retrograde in Taurus our conscious awareness changed direction and so did our perception of our resources. Mercury Rx gave us precious time to re-evaluate our attachment to what we individually and collectively own and value in life. Mercury Rx in Taurus concentrated our awareness of the Earth’s resources and heightened our appreciation of the indelible beauty of nature’s infinite shapes, colors, lines, and textures. When we are under the influence of Taurus we stand erect amidst the artful creations of Nature encouraging the roots of our individuality to grow to the center of the Earth. Taurus is the aspect in each of us that feels thick, solid, and stable. It is the aspect in each of us that is patient, persistent, and enduring.

Shortly after Mercury stationed direct the Moon in Aries formed the waxing arm of a Yod making a quincunx with Saturn and a sextile with Neptune.  The Yod aspect has been euphemistically named the “Finger of God”, pointing in the direction of fate tainted with the rich hue of a destined new perception of reality; a turning point in one’s life path forcing a change in direction without a secured destination.

Earth is moving forward in Taurus at a time when Mercury is moving backwards in the same sign underscoring our deepening appreciation for the abundance of life. Under the influence of Aries impulsive, impatient, and reckless actions erupted during the past weeks wreaking havoc and destruction. Now, under the wise council of planet Earth and Mercury, we are given a second chance, the celestial gift of recovery, by going back over a well trodden path in our life with the awareness to build something new and long lasting. When we are under the influence of Taurus we seek material security and gravitate toward securing our resources, stabilizing our values, and deepening our self- worth. Taurus is that aspect in each of us pricking our senses with lusty vitality and awakening our reverence for being alive.

Taurus is the universal principal and archetype of fertility insuring that the original spark of life ignited by Aries impulse “to be” will grow in abundance and prosper in wealth. Our ancestors living in the Northern Hemisphere practiced ritual sacrifice by offering fresh blood to the womb of Earth as collateral for the renewal of life at Spring and a bountiful harvest at Fall. The collective unconscious of humanity is thought by many to hold at the deepest waters of human consciousness every thought, feeling, and action of the species, which may explain why we mime the archaic ritual of blood sacrifice and fertility rites in the brutality of war by allowing the blood of life once vital and alive to seep deeply into the molten womb of the Earth.

Nothing on Earth is as uncannily reminiscent of the destructive force of an atomic bomb than the chthonic power of a volcanic eruption spewing forth a  bilious cloud of ash, nor as reminiscent of a river of blood as the explosive ejaculating of molten plasma flowing from the Earth’s womb. With breathtaking accuracy the awakening of the Eyjafjallakull Volcano in Iceland delivered a prophecy of stunning proportion reminding us of the preciousness of life in the wake of overwhelming destruction and irrevocable change.

If we use the lens of astrology and look at the recent eruptions of the Eyjafjallakull Volcano we see  the archetype of Aries, the impulse for new life, surge forth awakening the sleeping beauty of Eyjafjallakull after 200 years of somnolent death. The first eruption was on March 20 as the Earth orbiting around the Sun entered 00 Aries coincident with the Vernal Equinox awakening Spring. The second eruption was on April 14 at the Aries New Moon when the Sun and Moon conjoined in Aries proclaiming an active month of self-exploration and discovery. Three days later, on April 17, Mercury in Taurus stationed retrograde challenging us to re-evaluate our resources, values, and self-worth, which is exactly what many people were forced to do when the second eruption of Eyjafjallakull engendered the normal flow of communication and transportation leaving thousands stranded and millions worth of revenue on ice. On April 20 the Earth entering 00 Taurus shifted our attention from self-exploration to self-preservation.

2010 promises to deal more than a few wild cards during the year, and the eruption of ” Sleeping Beauty” celestially timed on the birth of Spring suggests to me a year of chthonic change percolating at the deepest core of our being ready to burst forth with new life. A dear friend recently said that the meaning of his life is his death, which is an idea shared by the spiritual and secular alike reflecting the truism that nothing garners the depth of our gratitude and appreciation for living as our awareness of dying. Not surprising that Buddha was born in the month of May under the grace of Taurus, nor that the opposite sign of Taurus, Scorpio, is the archetypal principle of death and regeneration. What Taurus builds Scorpio destroys, and  in turn, what Scorpio destroys Taurus builds with new awareness.  Taurus is our capacity to regenerate our life, which is the celestial gift given this month for those of us working to preserve the wealth of resources on Earth that nourish body, mind, and soul. Our greatest reward this month may well be our slow and steady growing.

This Aries New Moon promises self-discovery if we take courageous action and move away from conventional expectations of what that discovery might be. As the universal archetype of the adventurous provocateur Aries ignites a passionate plea for a self-exploration  that will take us into uncharted  territories of our psyche. When the Moon is in Aries our intuition is on red-alert and poised for bold and decisive action. When we are under the influence of Aries we venture solo in the world determined “to be” independent of the influence of others. The Sun is exalted in Aries and proudly shines forth our independence, yet, the Moon fostering our dependency on others suffers from the self asserting passions of Aries. The greatest gift an Aries New Moon can bestow is an emotional independence that nurtures our impulse “to be” complete within ourself. When we set ourself free from needing others to make us feel complete our true self  shines brightest and our heart opens to receive the love of others without expectation for self-fulfillment. Mars, god of war and ruling deity of Aries, tells us that when we are under the influence of Aries we intuit an ensuing battle within ourself because we instinctively feel at war with some aspect of ourself.  Aries as the first sign of the zodiac and the beginning point of all new life invigorates every moment  lived with robust vitality. Mars in Leo and the Sun in Aries are showering us with golden rays of creative inspiration insisting on victory rather than defeat if we change how we nurture ourself and others by changing what we expect from one another.

Aries New Moon :: April 15

Sun will leave Aries :: April 19

Mars will leave Leo :: June 7

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/10945/feed 2 http://laurenlesko.com/10840 http://laurenlesko.com/10840#comments Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:29:12 +0000 Lauren http://laurenlesko.com/?p=10840 click on the image to read about the art

How beautiful this first Full Moon of the New Year reflecting a robust lunar glow enchanting us to discover the beauty and grace of being alive. From an astrological perspective the New Year begins at the Vernal Equinox with the seasonal birthing of Spring and not surprising that the first lunar illumination of the New Year always reflects a peaceful gazing of a Libra Moon. Libra is that aspect in each of us seeking an idealized beauty that pricks first our mind and than our heart. Libra is an air sign giving breath to that aspect in each of us that is mentally alive, conceptually vital, and aesthetically aroused. Libra is the archetype of the artist creating beauty out of conflict and harmony out of discord. At the deepest rooting of our being a Libra Moon mindfully reflects our intrinsic need to share our inner beauty with others.

Each Full Moon illuminates a new aspect of our inner-self and the Aries Full Moon is reflecting our inner need to create peaceful and harmonious relationships that are based upon self-honesty. The inherent tension between an Aries Sun and a Libra Moon is the discordant relationship we create from independent actions that focus only on our needs. Libra is that aspect in each of us sensitive to inclusive actions that consider the needs of ourself and others. However, the shadow face of Libra reflects a dishonesty that we dress in the guise of peace and harmony. Aries is our impulse to be who we are without pretense or rouse, which if used in equal measure with Libra’s commitment to balance discordant relationships, we have a wonderful opportunity to create a beauty in our relationship with one another that mirrors our shared equality.

Venus, the ruling deity of Libra, is the archetype of grace, beauty, and harmony,  while Mars, the ruling deity of Aries, is the archetype of war, adventure, and exploration. Together they ignite our passionate desire to discover what is beautiful within ourself, as well as, within others. At this Aries Full Moon Venus radiant in the sign of Aries and Mars dazzling in the sign of Leo inflamed our desire to creatively express who we are. Leo is that aspect in each of us that sees ourself in what we create and when Mars is in Leo it is time for us to act creatively and explore our desires in a new way.

Venus in Aries sextile Neptune in Aquarius conjures our romance for the unusual and the unconventional. It seems that the after- glow of this Full Moon is beckoning us to break free from the conventional entrapment of our past so that we can deepen our relationship with one another in the present. Mercury is in Aries and it may be necessary for us to shift our perspective, think  independently, and step outside the box of expectations if we are to genuinely create  balance and harmony in our relationship with others.  As we journey through a new cycle of growth  it is worth remembering that using equal measure Mars is providing the courage and Venus the harmony to courageously create a beauty in our life and in the life of others that is fresh and alive.

The Aries Full Moon ::  March 30 2010 @ 3:26:00 AM GMT

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/10840/feed 1