Astrology :: the art of awareness

Nourishing Compassion

Lauren — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:42:08 +0000

“The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.” Oscar Wilde

“For all the boring interpretations which have been allotted the sixth house, in reality it is the single most important area of the chart, where one can materialize one’s inner worth.” * Virgo, the natural sign of the sixth house is that aspect in each of us striving for a completeness, an inner wholeness that no one else can possibly fulfill for us. The first six houses, Aries through Virgo, are houses of personal self- discovery where our impulse to “be” in Aries takes form through our possessions in Taurus, our communication in Gemini, our emotional security in Cancer, our creative self expression in Leo, and our becoming that which only we can “be” in Virgo. In the words of Jodie and Steven Forrest, “Virgo looks inward, finding some aspect of herself that can be polished brightly and offered to the world.” When we are under the influence of Virgo we are the “worker bees” of the zodiac attaining the highest, most perfected levels of our potential in service with others. The bright face of Virgo awakens our mind to the value of our inner worth, while the dark face of Virgo, our ruthless self-criticism, cripples our capacity to appreciate our inner worth and stifles our ability to creatively participate in making the life that we want.

The Moon in Virgo opposing the Sun in Pisces illuminates the time of year, the last Full Moon before the Vernal Equinox, when we can give that aspect of ourself which we have polished brightly back to the collective feelings of humanity. It is time for us to acknowledge what we accomplished the last eleven months and then let it go, a supreme challenge for Virgo, knowing that everything we did for our personal benefit was done in benefit for others. Pisces is that aspect in each of us intuitively knowing that all of life is interconnected, and when the Sun is in Pisces we drop our veil of autonomy and see our individuality and the individuality of others unfold together in union.

The Sun in Pisces garners a time when our creative vitality can penetrate the illusive membrane separating our rational and irrational realities. Pisces heightens our awareness of our non-material reality nourishing our yearning for the ephemeral without ever relinquishing our exquisite appreciation for the sensuality of the material world. Our heart melts under the radiant rays of the Sun in Pisces as we reach for the unspoken and the unseen. Our tendency under the influence of Pisces is too sacrifice our needs for the needs of others until we realize that the care we give to ourself mirrors the care we give to others. Anything less breeds illusions and self-deception. The Sun in Pisces assures us that our solar vitality needs compassionate nourishing from the inside out. To manifest compassion in the world we must first allow our compassion to seep into the most guarded and protected aspects of ourself.

The bright face of this Full Moon reflected our inner worth, and opposing the Sun-Jupiter conjunction guaranteed that our conscious awareness is expanding beyond the familiar and known. The work this week is to materialize our inner worth in some meaningful way that reflects our true self, our creative self, rather than the self that we have been told by others is ours. The Full Moon in Pisces is helping us heal the subtle undermining of our inner worth wrought by self-doubting and self-negating attitudes learned long ago. We all have an inner critic ever eager to let us know exactly what we have failed to accomplish in our life, and why. We may gain great insight this week if while observing our inner critic sabotage our creativity we hear the calling to make visible the inner mystery of our Self.

The Moon 09 Virgo 58 opposing the Sun 09 Pisces 58 :: Febraury 28, 2010

*Erin Sullivan, Saturn In Transit

“true believer”

Lauren — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:03:21 +0000

click on the image to read about the art

Every year, the Earth on its annual orbit around the Sun passes through the sign of Pisces giving us the opportunity to complete a cycle of self-discovery that we began with the birth of spring and the celestial impulse of Aries to become. When the Sun enters Pisces the annual cycle of the seasons is ending and with it beckoning a time when we surrender an aspect of ourself back to the collective waters of the feeling nature of humanity. Pisces is that aspect in each of us yearning for union with the source and succor of our origin. So inspired we dive into the oceanic waters of “oneness” relinquishing an aspect of our individuality and merge a drop of our consciousness with the totality of human consciousness. The guiding tenet of astrology is that all of life, from the micro to the macro, is governed by the same universal principles; As Above, So Below. In keeping with the Buddhist teaching that a drop of the ocean contains the entire ocean, a drop of our consciousness contains the entirety of human consciousness, which in turn, is a drop containing the totality of a universal principle permeating all of life. When we are under the influence of Pisces we intuitively understand that there is no separation, division, or isolation of our individuality from the totality of Life. In our daily rhythm of living Pisces guides our understanding that we have more in common with myriad forms of life in our world than ignorance, fundamentalism, racism, bigotry, or our personal prejudices would have us believe. When we are feeling washed adrift under the influence of Pisces, boundaries dissolving, chaos abounding, it is important remembering that Pisces is that aspect in each of us a true believer.

When the Sun is in Pisces our individuality is being tested challenging our deepest beliefs about ourself. Pisces is that aspect in each of us answering the call to sacrifice something of ourself in service of a collective need, be it physical, emotional, or spiritual. One of the many gifts of Pisces is the understanding that before we can sacrifice ourself we must first become a self, realized and whole within, because anything less creates self- illusion darkening into self-delusion. If we consider that Pisces is the ending of a cycle of our becoming more self-realized than it seems likely that when the Sun is in Pisces we have the opportunity to sacrifice an aspect of ourself, a belief about who we are and what we can become, that is preventing us from a deeper self-realization.

This year’s cycle of self-realization is unusually strong because the Sun, Venus, Jupiter, and Uranus are in Pisces, with Mercury swiftly moving to join them on the first of March. Venus, the archetype of love, relationship, value, and self-worth is exalted in Pisces reminding us that we love because it is the nature of love to love. When Venus is in Pisces we are learning to sacrifice the bindings of conditional love whether it be to ourself or for others. Jupiter, the archetype of expansion and growth, is the ancient ruler of Pisces reminding us that our empathy and compassion grow and expand exponentially with the needs of humanity. If we remember that every individual is contributing something of value to humanity we journey deeper into our understanding that compassion and empathy for ourself is an act of generosity given back to the collective experience of humanity. This is not a month for punitive action taken against ourself or others, rather, we are challenged this month to embrace our common humanity in loving acceptance.

Neither Uranus nor Mercury fare well in Pisces they are far to rational for the illusory imagining of the fishes, but they are both archetypes related to the mind and together in Pisces they are helping us dissolve our judgments by bringing flashes of insight never before realized. Our thoughts and feelings will be more porous than usual to the primal impulses of the collective unconscious making this an inspired month for our creative imagination to burst forth in speaking tongues. This is also an excellent month to allow our imagination to flow like water through our fingers instead of forcing it into a prescribed form or function. Mercury is moving fast in Pisces conjoining Uranus on March 14 and heralding twenty-four hours to observe the lucidity of our mind breaking free from a cherished belief. This may be a fortuitous day to reflect on how we can dissolve the illusory boundaries of our isolation and allow the healing waters of Pisces to nourish a deeper believing in ourself and in our interconnection with All-of-Life.

Sun in Pisces :: February 18 – March 19

Mercury in Pisces :: March 1 – 16

Venus in Pisces :: February 11 – March 6

Jupiter in Pisces :: January 17 – June 6

CST has been used for the calculations above.

Strength To Love

Lauren — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:40:27 +0000

“Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted……honesty impels me to admit that transformed nonconformity, which is always costly and never altogether comfortable, may mean walking through the valley of the shadow of suffering.” *

On February 17 Chiron in Aquarius conjoined Neptune fostering, in the words of astrologer Melanie Reinhart **, healing illusion and awakening compassion. Chiron, the archetype of the wounded healer, is the aspect in human consciousness aware of a wounding to humanity that pricks at the flaws, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities of being human. When we are under the influence of Chiron our aspirations for immortality are brought down to earth where we discover a wounding to our mortality; our illusion of being separate and apart from the life we are creating. Chiron is that aspect in each of us painfully aware of our human limitations and imperfections. Under the influence of Chiron we are seeking a holistic healing of our body, mind, and spirit, and in striving for our inner wholeness we eventually discover self-acceptance. Being human requires enduring a psychological Achilles Heal usually caused by rejecting an unwanted aspect of ourself society has labeled maladaptive, a social misfit, and because we fear social ostracizing we conform swallowing our self-betrayal and along with it our potential for creative self-fulfillment. Our mind often comprehends through a distorted reflection and what we reject about ourself is what we fear most about others and unwittingly encourage punitive action repressing the nurturing of our unique creativity. The grace of Chiron in Aquarius teaches us that healing a wounding to humanity requires nourishing our individuality in appreciation for the distinct beauty our multi- faceted- Self contributes to the collective whole of humanity. The conjoining of Chiron and Neptune in Aquarius is dissolving our mental barriers and perceptual boundaries that have inhibited our deeper acceptance of our imperfections, our unruly social misfits, our all-to human frailty and vulnerability that are the threads of our common humanity. Those of us living with a strong influence of Aquarius in our psyche adamantly refuse to change when pressured to do so by external forces. Always with Aquarius change comes from within and this transit of Chiron and Neptune is our celestial calling to fulfill our creative potential from inside out.

*Martin Luther King, Strength To Love

** I enthusiastically recommend visiting the website of Melanie Reinhart and reading her wisdom directly. I discovered the quote by Dr. King in her book, Chiron And The Healing Journey, a book of poetic prose that never fails to bring me new insight with every reading.

A Fine Delicacy

Lauren — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:08:50 +0000

click on the image to read about the art

If your heart is opening and you are feeling a rush of tenderness and care for the vulnerability of life and the fragility of human love you are definitely receiving the celestial gift of Venus in Pisces. When under the influence of Venus our thoughts turn to love, relationship, and what we value most in life. When Venus is in Pisces we may love the glamor and romance of being in love but what we value most is our love for the oneness of life. Pisces is that aspect in each of us so deeply sensitive and porous to the needs of others that we willingly sacrifice our own, without rational thought or care of consequence, for theirs. There is always a fine delicacy under the gaze of Pisces exuding a subtle aura of other-worldliness offering another dimension of existence that defies material form and ego gratification.

Pisces is the zodiac sign par excellence for our unbounded imagination connecting us with the source and succor of our origin. In the coming weeks, from February 18 – March 19, this theme of Pisces will broaden our understanding of our life purpose by deepening our capacity to empathize with our common humanity and recognize our interconnection with all of life. During this time we can expect events in our life to challenge our separateness and isolation with the additional themes of unconditional love, what the Buddhists call non-attachment, looming large in our relationships with family and friends. Disillusionment is always possible with Pisces but if we expand our understanding about the nature of our relationships and our capacity for relating with others we may discover that Pisces is helping us dissolve a relationship in our life that is preventing us from growing more whole within ourself. The shadow face of Pisces is our self-sacrifice turning into martyrdom, which can be particularly poisoning of spirit and soul if we use emotional manipulation and control to insure the love of others.

We may experience some cherished boundary of our individuality suddenly dissolve leaving us naked and vulnerable. If this happens it is worth remembering that under the influence of Pisces an old cycle of life is ending and before a new cycle of life can begin everything created in the old cycle must be given back to the source of life. There is no other way. This is cosmic law. Jupiter, regal and judicious moving back and forth through Pisces for the entire year, is hurling his infamous thunder bolts in our direction inviting us to grow in higher consciousness. Under the influence of Jupiter in Pisces our third eye opens like the aperture of a camera, and filing our inner gaze with the light of conscious awareness we enter the world of the visionary lifting the veil of reality and seeing clearing the illusion of our separateness. On February 16 Venus and Jupiter conjoin promising a day of free flowing love shared in union with our unbound imagination. Our compassion and empathy for ourself and others is expanding beyond what we thought was possible suggesting it is time to open our mind and heart to a new vision of love and relationship.

Venus in Pisces :: February 11 – March 6

Witness To Our Value

Lauren — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:08:43 +0000

click on the image to read about the art

February gives birth to our awakening in a deeper appreciation of our value. The Sun illuminating our individuality and Venus weighing what we value are in the sign of Aquarius, the water bearer and great awakener. Together, the Sun and Venus are pointing a celestial finger to originality and innovation as the keys to unlocking our appreciation of our value and guiding us in using our personal resources to achieve our goals. The Sun in Aquarius is challenging each of us to become more conscious of our individual contribution to humanity. Venus in Aquarius is encouraging each of us to appreciate our value and the unique gift our individual life is contributing to humanity. Human consciousness, including our personal unconscious and the collective unconscious, embodies every thought, feeling, and action of humankind, and as such, our every thought, feeling, and action is contained within. Whether we are enriching, polluting, or something between, our individual contribution to life continually gives form to humanity and the experience of being human.

From February 1 -10 Venus and Saturn are in mutual exchange, which means that Venus is in Aquarius the sign that Saturn rules and Saturn is in Libra the sign that Venus rules. This exchange is focusing our attention on the scaffolding supporting our values and the structures defining our personal and professional relationships. Saturn in Libra is helping us use our personal resources to contribute something of lasting value in the world and Venus in Aquarius is adding freshness to our relating with others making us more receptive than usual to the unusual and unexpected in our relationships. Venus, goddess of love, holds a celestial mirror reflecting our self-worth and with the crystal clarity of Aquarius Venus’ mirror is showing us as we truly are.

When we are under the influence of the bright face of Aquarius our minds are open and spacious, our thoughts free of the limitations imposed by our past, and our gaze looks toward the future. The shadow face of Aquarius is our intellectual rigidity and mental hording of knowledge in our attempt to secure what we own and what has value to us. This month we can break free from the mental obstructions that isolate, segregate, even denigrate our true value. Whether it be naively thinking that everyone thinks as we do, or belligerent resistance to the ideas of others demanding that they think the same as we do, the goal this month is to give wings to our mind, flight to our imagination, daring to our thinking, and escape the gilded bars of our mental cage.

On February 27 our imagination will be at its peak when Mercury and Neptune conjoin in Aquarius showering our originality and innovation with inspiration. Our creativity is rebelling against the authority of tradition and our imagination against rigid definition. This month we will realize something about ourself that may enhance our resources in some unexpected way. At the same time, as Venus approaches a conjunction with Uranus in Pisces we may need to be weary of trying to define a relationship in our life that might benefit from an unstructured, organic flowing of form and substance.

From February 1-4 Saturn and Pluto continue their intense warfare as Saturn’s preserving, securing, and restricting battles Pluto’s eliminating, destroying, and transforming traditional structures in our life. This is not an easy transit to manage without challenge to our authority, which is just as well, considering that February is helping us break free from our inner authority condemning our self-worth and achievements in life.

Mars in Leo is retrograde throughout the month and sharing a sextile with Saturn on the 13, 14 and 15 suggests a possible creative resolution to a past action that created isolation and separation to a significant relationship. We may have to wait until Mars stations direct on March 10 before taking corrective action but we can use the time before in contemplation and preparation. Mars stations retrograde every two years giving us the opportunity to re-discover our past actions to better understand how we manifest our desires and handle conflict in our life. Mars Rx in Leo suggests a rediscovery of what our past actions have created, a reckoning of what our creative potential can actualize, and our realization that in every action we take we are witness to our self-value.

Only A Potential

Lauren — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:20:27 +0000

click on the image to read about the art
January ends and February begins under the illuminating light of a Full Moon bathing the Earth in a misty glow of rebellion. The Moon in Leo opposing the Sun in Aquarius proudly announces the potential fulfillment of a seed planted at the Solar Eclipse when the Sun and Moon conjoined in Capricorn. The astrology I practice is seeking to understand the significance of human experience, and one path to that understanding is our seeing every moment of life as a seed moment carrying our potential flowering while remaining aware that nothing is guaranteed without our conscious awareness of making it so.

This Full Moon punctuates our unconscious motives, the Moon, opposing our conscious realizations, the Sun, by directing our attention to the archetypal themes of Leo and Aquarius. When we are under the influence of Leo we are given a celestial mandate to see ourself in what we create whether it be a child of our body or of our imagination. Leo is that aspect in each of us bursting forth with creative self-expression showering others with our exuberant appetite for enjoying the wealth of life. For this reason, those of us with a strong influence of Leo in our natal chart are accused of craving material luxuries, and while often true, at the deepest level of human experience the wealth we crave under the golden rays of Leo is the richness of our unique self shinning brightly for others to see. Leo radiates the solar light of the summer sun most powerful during the year, and infusing our life force with the animating intelligence of life, we feel the full flowering of our potential. On a more prosaic level Leo is our capacity to play and experience pleasure in every moment lived, and abandoning thought and care of past or future, loosing ourself in the pure joy of being.

This is of course the bright face of Leo reflecting the spontaneous laughter of a child. But there is a dark face, a shadow face, to Leo that can scorch and burn if we allow our foolish folly to follow the fate of Icarus and carelessly disregarding our physical limitations destroy our life vitality. Learning to accept our limitations in life is the crucial lesson we learn from Saturn and the sign of Capricorn. This may be the celestial message delivered this Full Moon when we consider that the New Moon in Capricorn heralded a potential new birth in our leadership requiring our sober commitment to hard work and tenacious perseverance if we are to accomplish our goals and contribute to humanity the best that we can create.

Two hours before the Sun and Moon opposed on January 29 the Moon conjoined Mars retrograde in Leo, and the Moon translating the light of Mars to the Sun gave us a celestial warning not to repeat past actions that have prevented us from creating the life we want. Mars in Leo stationed retrograde on December 21 and will station direct on March 10. During this time we have the opportunity to re-consider what our past actions have created and re-discover our individual creativity with a deeper appreciation for what we create in life. Mars Rx in Leo is showing us how we handle conflict and the events that are unfolding now are revealing what our individual desires and willful actions have created in the past.

It is easy to point a finger at our frustration, aggression, anger, and rage as the perpetrators of hostility in our life and throughout the world. And there is of course much truth in this, but it is a superficial blaming and we need to journey deeper into our individual unconscious motives if we are to nurture creative change in ourself, our life, and the world. Krishnamurti often spoke on behalf of the individual creating a better Self through enlightened understanding of his or her consciousness as the only possible vehicle for creating a better humanity. This ideal aspiration brings us directly into the sphere of our conscious realization offered by the Sun in Aquarius realizing that everything we create as an individual profoundly influences the collective experience of humanity.

When we are under the influence of Aquarius traditional astrology teaches that we observe with crystal clarity our individual participation within the group, and using our intellectual acumen, disassociate our subjective needs in favor of the objective needs of the group. There is truth in this but again we need to look deeper at our unconscious motives to understand the significance of our individual participation within the collective. Aquarius is the sign opposite Leo and the inherent tension between opposite archetypes always signals the necessity for integrating those forces within our psyche. Leo is our heart and Aquarius our mind. When these two forces are integrated our creative self-expression takes flight into the stratosphere of our originality and inventiveness, and receiving thoughts and feelings never before imagined we experience a change of heart and mind.

A change of heart and mind is exactly what the cosmos is offering under the ethereal glowing of this Full Moon if we have the courage to create ourself and our life in a new way. It will not be easy. Leo and Aquarius are aspects of ourself seeking security in what we know and in what we have created. Mercury in Capricorn adds a sober atmosphere to our thoughts and feelings insuring a useful and practical administering of our perception of life. Venus in Aquarius separating from the Sun awakens our awareness to the needs of the collective guiding the use of our personal resources on behalf of our common humanity. This Full Moon gives breath to observe ourself creating ourself understanding that it is no longer viable to nurture our illusion of separateness by willfully isolating ourself from one another. Our similarities are far greater than our differences and the mystic vision that all of Life is interconnected is at our door.

Mars in Leo Rx :: December 21 2009 – March 10 2010

Mercury in Capricorn :: December 6 2009 – February 9 2010 (Rx :: December 27 2009 – January 15 2010)

Venus in Aquarius :: January 18 2010 – February 10 2010

The Promise of Something New

Lauren — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:01:30 +0000

click on the image to read about the art

With each passage of the Earth through Aquarius we are given the promise of new life if we are willing to receive the celestial gift of insight, and looking at our interior world with crystal clarity break free from censoring our self-creativity. Each winter as the Earth passes through Aquarius the advancing light of day awakens the promise of new earthly life mirroring a new life in our conscious awareness. Each of us has something uniquely our own to give to humanity and when we are under the influence of an Aquarius Sun our individuality is infused with fresh and daring originality. Aquarius, the archetype of the awakener is teaching us the wisdom to receive what life has to give. Perhaps the most precious gift that we receive from life is the gift of our true self discovered living outside the predictable box of social expectation, inscription, and confirmation. Aquarius is that aspect in each of us seeking security in knowledge making it difficult for us to let go of what we know about ourself, but letting go of what we know about who we are is essential in order for something new, something never before imagined, to grow within our heart.

In order for life to grow it needs the nourishment of water which is one reason why the symbol for the sign of Aquarius is that of the water bearer. When the Sun is in Aquarius our individuality is being nourished with revolutionary ideals encouraging each of us to break free from the old, the stagnant, and intolerable bindings of someone else ruling and regulating our creative self-expression. Most often that “someone else” is our inner tyrant, i.e., Saturn ruler of Aquarius, dictating our thoughts about who we are and what our life can be. Saturn plays a predominant role this winter season because of the stellium of planets in Aquarius, and Pluto, Mercury, and the North Node slightly in front in Capricorn.

Venus closely conjoined the Sun confers great wealth in the form of our creative self-expression. The mutual exchange between Saturn in Libra and Venus in Aquarius further accentuates the necessity for each of us to create balance and harmony in our relationship with ourself, as well as, with all of humanity. Under the influence of this transit we are challenged to give more of our true self to others and sharpen the unique shaping of our individuality.

The influence of Saturn in Libra is helping us see the sobering reality of our relationship with ourself and each other, while the influence of Aquarius is giving us the clarity of thought to create our relationships in a new form honoring each others individual freedom and nurturing the spiritual growing of each others unique Self. The last aspect of worth when the Sun entered Aquarius was the Moon- Uranus conjunction in Pisces insuring an emotional breakthrough and shattering of the past that will awaken a new understanding of our collective humanity. It is certain that events will unfold during the month that will remind each of us that everything we do for ourself we do on behalf of humanity.

Imagine

Lauren — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:23:43 +0000

click on the image to read about the art

Taking leave of the crystal waters of Aquarius nourishing our intellectual inquiring Jupiter entered the oceanic waters of Pisces expanding our compassionate awareness of Life. The year that Jupiter sojourns in Pisces is a significant year sensitizing our feelings of interconnectedness with the source of Life. Any time a planet enters a new sign human consciousness shifts gears re-directing conscious awareness to the archetypal concerns of that sign. In Pisces our conscious awareness dances in the arms of the mystic, the poet, the healer, and the dreamer. When we are under the influence of Pisces our imagination is as deep as the ocean floor and as vast as the universe. When Jupiter is in Pisces our imagination soars beyond our wildest dreaming, and challenging the comfort- zone of our day to day rational, circumscribed living, we take a magnificent leap into the great unknown sensing that we are a part of something much greater than ourself.

As if that were not enough, the cosmos has arranged two stellar Jupiter-Uranus conjunctions during 2010 assuring humankind of a discovery of evolutionary proportion. Jupiter and Uranus conjoin every fourteen years to give birth to unparalleled creativity as Jupiter’s expansion, growth, and magnification crown the creative breakthroughs, innovations, awakenings, and emancipatory activities of Uranus. This year we can truly make a quantum leap in human consciousness if we have the courage to dissolve the physical, emotional, and spiritual barriers separating us, one from the other. Events will unfold this year showing us that we are more similar than we previously thought, and much more dependent upon one another for preserving the precious flowing of our lives.

Rags and Riches

Lauren — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:15:29 +0000

click on the image to read about the art

My mind of late has been wrapped- round my “worldly life.” The blurred edges and soft focusing of my familiar place in the world has suddenly sharpened and the stark relief of seeing “what is” has left me rather stunned. I neither expected to sever the tenuous cord attaching me to my mother- ship, the sacred vessel of my sorrows, nor to float free from the burdens of my past, but on January 13, two days before the Sun and Moon conjoined in Capricorn near enough the Moon’s nodes to reflect a Solar Eclipse, and Mercury our cosmic messenger stationed direct, I was given the gift of sight seeing clearly the heavy imprint of my past upon my present and the irrefutable evidence of my participation in creating the life that I am living.

Stark reality and irrefutable evidence are the worldly treasures of Capricorn and the recent Solar Eclipse in Capricorn guarantees the coming six months to be a revelation of cosmic truths dressed in the rags and riches of our material reality. Mercury in Capricorn defines and structures our perception of what is real, and on January 15, this Mercury stationed direct and shifting our attention from the inside out helped us see what we have accomplished in our life. While Mercury was retrograde our mind turned inward allowing us to re-examine the mental boxes housing our thoughts and feelings during which time we were given the celestial opportunity to look back at our life with the pragmatic eyes of Capricorn and witness the internal structures supporting our perception of reality.

When we are under the influence of Capricorn we understand how to use the best of our resources to our advantage. Chances are that we have been relying upon a past perception of ourself that has become a misfit and needs adjusting if we are to use our resources wisely. The stellium of planets in Capricorn highlight this time for setting new goals that will require our patience and a slow and steady effort to accomplish. This is not the time to make a grand gesture. Better to follow the advice of the I Ching and take small actions and natural movements toward our goal.

Saturn, the planetary ruler of Capricorn and archetype of the world leader, the tribal elder, the introspective hermit, and the petty dictator, is testing our inner resolve and commitment to achieve our goals without loosing our self-confidence or self- assurance of our “right” choice. The dark face of Capricorn reveals the petty tyrant residing within ourself condemning and judging our accomplishments as inferior to others. It is important in the coming months to let go of the negative thoughts and feelings that ultimately undermine our self-confidence and weaken our determination to achieve our goal. Often with Saturn our fear of failure over shadows our joy of success and we unwittingly sabotage our effort before we have even begun.

Saturn is retrograde in Libra suggesting a time to re-structure our relationship goals by nurturing our differences and allowing for paradox and ambiguity to exist counter-balancing the rigid controlling and straight-jacketing of our partnerships. Venus in Capricorn in mutual exchange with Saturn in Libra further enhances our ability to give solid form to our values. Venus conjoined the Solar Eclipse guaranteeing that a significant change will occur in our most intimate relationships either liberating us from a prior commitment or solidifying a newly forming commitment. Either way, we are well advised to use this opportunity to create less ego driven relationships that are dependent upon demanding restrictions that ultimately inhibit the personal growing of our individuality and the individuality of our partner. With these transits we are learning to follow the wisdom of our inner authority with grace, dignity, and fair play.

Devouring Our Creativity

Lauren — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:31:55 +0000

click on the image to read about the art

When we have the sensitivity to listen one of the gifts of astrology is hearing the breath of the cosmos dancing in our ear whispering a gentle truth. I was given just such a gift yesterday from two unrelated sources each offering a passionate plea for the life force of change. The first, came from an astrologer born under the illumination of a Cancer Full Moon, the Moon in Capricorn, reminding me of the inevitable changes in our perception of our home when we are under the nurturing influence of Cancer. And the second came from a dear friend born when Venus was conjoined Jupiter in Cancer sharing with me his personal discovery that change is the very essence of our life force and that without making changes within ourself we whither and die becoming an animated corpse awakening each new day void of life.

2010 is a year for taking personal action and making significant changes to the structures that define who we are and what we value. This is a golden year for re-accessing our life and re-examining what we have created for ourself and for others. On the first day of 2010 GMT the stellium of planets in Capricorn were in the fourth house of family and home; the Moon in Cancer was in the tenth house of career and social contribution; and Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, was ascending in the house of our perception of reality, delivering a sobering treatise on commitments that must be honored in our relationship with ourself and our relationship with others. This is our year for taking personal responsibility for who we are and what we have created, which is why it is so important that we shift our perception of reality by releasing our attachment to old behavior patterns.

2010 promises to be a stellar year for initiating change as the cardinal signs, Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn, standing in high relief, beckon us to refine our perception of reality. As the year unfolds it will become more clear to us just how important it is that we change the way we think and act in life if we want to experience an easier time adjusting to the irrevocable changes that will redefine our personal life-style and our collective living. This is not a year to slack off nor is it a year for easy solutions, on the contrary, we can expect a year of intense struggle with institutions of every variety including those self-regulating institutions that reside within each of us. Chances are we will confront our very own inner tyrant who is as grossly unjust and destroying of our creative potential as was Saturn devouring his own children.

2010 is a year for creative resolve bursting forth in the Cardinal Cross at the Summer Solstice; the annual time of year in the Northern Hemisphere when new life begun at the Vernal Equinox flowers with creative fulfillment and our life feels its most vibrant. If we can open our heart and mind this year and let go of clinging to our past we have the opportunity to experience the grace and beauty of life lived by nurturing new possibilities and potentialities never before imagined. The breadth of our creative potential is measured solely by our willingness to embrace change.

We the people are being challenged to define our priorities and goals, and with the social aiding of Neptune transiting in Aquarius, it seems likely that social change will manifest in a unified front of collective aspiration. We can expect an emphasis on social justice and fairness to permeate the atmosphere of change, and one of the bright spots of this year is our opportunity to re-discover the creative potential of joining with others of like mind and offering our individual creativity in service of a collective cause. Perhaps the greatest gift received this year will be our realization that everything we think that we are doing on behalf of ourself we are doing on behalf of humanity.