A Lunar Eclipse punctuates a shift in our conscious by marking the completion, sometimes the passing, of something we have created in our life. When a Lunar Eclipse is in Sagittarius and Gemini we are challenged to look closely at our reality and follow our heart in search of the meaning of our existence. A series of eclipses in Sagittarius and Gemini will continue unfolding throughout 2012 illuminating the ebb and flow of our existence. Those experiences that touch us most deeply will force us to look at what we believe and how our beliefs create what we experience. The cosmos is encouraging us to let go of our attachment to the beliefs of others and rather than mindlessly follow the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others, discover what is true for ourself.  The spirit of Sagittarius inspires us to reach beyond what we know in search of something never before experienced, and the spirit of Gemini infuses our life force with boundless curiosity and a youthful wonderment ready to embrace everything that life has to offer. Our consciousness is awakening as never before imagined encouraging us to free ourself of the limitations imposed by our past and open our heart to the infinite possibilities awaiting us in the unknown.

I was unable to find the name of the author of the quote or the artist of the sculpture.

A solar eclipse is a cosmic guarantee of a new birth in consciousness that begins with a journey into darkness. The solar eclipse on November 25th was in the sign of Sagittarius insuring that the meaning of our life, our beliefs that give form and substance to our individuality,  will be challenged in the coming months. The cosmos is daring us to travel with blind faith beyond what is familiar and comfortable. If we are willing to take the risk offered with this solar eclipse and open the aperture of our vision wider we may see new possibilities never before imagined. Now is the time to eliminate whatever is preventing us from being free in our spirit. We have this opportunity to break the chains binding us to the past, and move, unencumbered, toward a deeper self- knowing.

The Sun, our spirit, is expressed in the light of our consciousness and the Moon, our soul, is expressed in  the depth of our eternal being. Mercury, the cosmic messenger, travels freely between the two bringing the depth of our eternal being into conscious light. For the next three weeks Mercury is helping us to be more conscious of how our  deepest motives are realized, made manifest, in our thoughts and feelings. Our communication with one  another may be more intense than usual forcing us to be aware of what our thoughts and feelings are creating in life. Mercury in Sagittarius is seeking the meaning, the purpose, the intention of our communication with one another. This solar eclipse is giving us the gift of “sight” so that we may see beyond the veil of our worldly delights into the light of our heart’s desire. Laughter and play are essential to our growing in self-awareness, and Mercury in Sagittarius loves to play, but be for warned, mischievous play is a charming companion of Sagittarius tempting us with a restless mind and roaming spirit that, without conscious awareness, may undermine our journey toward the light.

This Full Moon robust with the conscious light of the Sun echos a warriors cry of courage “to be” less fearful, less self-protective, less emotionally defended in our relationship with one another. The full face of the Moon in Aries nurtures emotional self- reliance and fearless independence pushing us to explore the instinctual motives that unconsciously propel us into taking action without forethought of the consequences. The shadow face of Aries is that aspect in our psyche that acts first and thinks later, all too often with deep regret.  When we are under the influence of an Aries Moon we are prone to being emotionally impulsive taking aggressive action when we feel our safety and security threatened. 

If we want to change the quality of our relationships the Sun in Libra is cautioning us to be judicious in our actions with one another. We are the co-creators of our relationships and it is our actions that determine our experience of relating with one another. This Full Moon brings us the opportunity “to be” honest about our emotional needs. It also brings us the time to listen to one another hearing, perhaps for the first time, what each of us needs to be emotionally fulfilled, safe and secure, in our shared relationship. Libra is that aspect in our psyche seeking equal measure between the two of anything in union; day and night, yin and yang, self and other. Libra reminds us of the value given and received when our differences are honored and respected. This Full Moon our emotions are inflamed with a creative passion that can open our heart anew to one another. Aries always brings the promise of a new beginning and Libra the promise of harmony. Together, the Aries action is ours to take and the Libra relationship is ours to make.

Autumn is the season for letting go of what has passed. Letting go of old thoughts and feelings nourish new growth in consciousness in the same way that falling leaves nourish new growth in the earth. This Autumnal Equinox promises harmony in our relationships but not without explosive actions and disruptive dramas on our path to creatively resolving how we relate with one another. When the Sun enters Libra the light of day and the dark of night are of equal measure insuring that the light and the dark aspects of our psyche are as well. If we are lucky this month we may glimpse the truth of mystics and experience for ourself that one is of the other.

The Sun is the instinctual archetype of our creative vitality and when the Sun enters Libra our self-creating is miraculously reflected back to us in our relationship with others. Our relationships, especially our intimate relationships, mirror what is most difficult for us to see in ourself. The guiding light of Libra illuminates what we cannot see on our own. This season the stellar grouping of planets in Libra is a poignant challenge to look honestly at our relationships and become more aware of our individual contribution to the quality of those relationships. Libra is that aspect in our psyche seeking equality. The healing balm of Libra is the soothing reminder that our relationships reflect our individuality, the complexity of thoughts and feelings emanating from our psyche, and that we are equally responsible for creating the quality of any relationship we share with another.

* Buddha

Pluto is that aspect in our psyche that rids ourself of dead or dying aspects of ourself. Pluto is farthest from the light of our consciousness and closest to the core of our primordial instincts, which is why the process of psychological death and rebirth that Pluto promises often feels like it is coming from forces outside ourself and beyond our control, rather than within ourself and actualized by ourself. Pluto, the celestial messenger of mercy, swiftly delivers a death blow to our psyche removing thought patterns and emotional attachments in ways that rarely feel merciful. Under the influence of Pluto we are forced to face our demons and journey into the darkness of our soul and stripped bare of our worldly accomplishments, we stand naked, perhaps for the first time in our life, and witness the awesome powers of our self- creation. The tighter we cling to what Pluto is seeking to destroy the stronger the taste of our bitterness. The lessons of Pluto are hard fought, harder won, and bring to us a calm acceptance and appreciation of  ourself as we are. Perhaps the greatest gift of Pluto is to bring the radiant light of our being into consciousness.

Quote by  Rumi

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/2011/09/21/radiant-light/feed/ 4 laurenlesko Shamanic Transformation http://laurenlesko.com/2011/03/11/a-wisdom-that-heals/ http://laurenlesko.com/2011/03/11/a-wisdom-that-heals/#comments Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:52:01 +0000 Lauren Lesko http://laurenlesko.com/?p=12230 ]]>

” All of  life springs from the primeval waters that flow from the tree of life and gather at its base, waters which are limitless, an essential sea circulating through all of nature. These waters are the beginning and end of all existence, the ever-moving matrix that nurtures and preserves life. The World Tree, expressing its milky golden sap, denotes ‘absolute reality’, a return to the center and place of origin, the home of wisdom that heals.”*

Under the influence of Pisces I am having trouble giving form to my thoughts and  I am still sorting my impressions of this New Moon as it approaches the waxing phase of the cycle. Two days after the New Moon I saw a delicate sliver of light rising in the night sky, a budding crescent open to the cosmos to receive the light of the Sun, and I felt the haunting beauty and tender vulnerability experienced with every new birth. The birthing of this New Moon is the last New Moon of winter and it is illuminating a deepening empathy for all of life.

When the Sun and Moon, luminous lights of spirit and soul, conjoin in Pisces the collective feelings of humanity are emerging from the primal flow of life, and tasting the golden sap of immortality we on Earth understand the precious giving back of our mortality. When we are under the influence of Pisces ridged boundaries dissolve allowing the numinous light of the source of our origin to filter into conscious awareness.  We feel what others are feeling and we suffer what others are suffering.  In the wake of this new born consciousness our usual indifference to the eternal flow of nature subsides and our joyful participation in the totality of life bestows a deepening  gratitude for the rich nourishing we receive in kind.

This New Moon foretold of a healing to that aspect of our soul deprived of the spontaneous and joyful celebrating of life. At the time of the New Moon the transiting Nodes changed signs ** and immediately bumped into the rebellious nature of Uranus.  Radical change is in the air demanding that we break free from collective thoughts, feelings, and actions that, however well intended, have censured our efforts to creatively express our unique self.

For those of us with a world weary cynicism or a tyrannical mistrusting of realities beyond the pale of our rational mind this New Moon may surprise us. We are promised the opportunity to release our attachment to ideas we inherited from our past that are not reflecting our individual experiencing of life.  The waxing phase of the New Moon has activated our emotional defenses and challenged us to break free from our patterned behavior in order that a new aspect of our consciousness come to light.  The cosmos is asking us to honor our contribution to the ebb and flow of our daily life and to witness with conscious light the life that we created in the past,  are creating in the present, and hope to create in the future.

The approaching Jupiter-Saturn opposition will rock the ocean waters of our collective feelings turning our individuality upside down and inside out. This is not going to be an easy month for many of us feeling at times that our individuality is being overwhelmed by external forces beyond our control. When this happens it may bring comfort remembering that we alone have woven the illusory web separating our inner realty from our outer reality. Under the watchful guiding of Pisces we can remove the illusory veiling of our separateness and feel our interconnection with all of life.

The influencing of the element air, the waxing Moon in Gemini and transiting Saturn in Libra, adds perspective and emotional distance from the sorrows and sadness reflecting the shadow face of Pisces. We are warned not to drown the light of our life vitality with emotional withdrawal or to become a victim to our external circumstances.  It is worth reminding our self that while we cannot control the actions of others we can control our responses to those actions, and in so doing, accept responsibility for what our actions manifest in the world. One healing offered by Pisces is the gift of  acceptance, and the grace given when we accept what is at the deepest level of our self.

* Joan Halifax, Shaman : The Wounded Healer

** The North Node is Sagittarius and the South Node is Gemini

Human Planet click on this link to watch the video Human Planet

On February 2 the Aquarius New Moon brought the awakening of a self- truth long sleeping in our soul. When the Sun and Moon conjoin in Aquarius we are  bathed in the wisdom of collective ideals, and challenged to think with our heart rather than our head. For many of us the last couple of weeks have triggered doubts about what we are creating and contributing to the collected experience of humanity. On February 18 this New Moon cycle culminated at Full Moon when the Moon in Leo conjoined the Sun in Aquarius. For those of us seeking recognition and approval from others it was a day of reckoning forcing us to shift our perception from seeing our self-value in the eyes of others to seeing our self-value from within.

The recent Full Moon was at the last degree of Aquarius and Leo. Within an hour after the Moon opposed the Sun it left Leo and entered Virgo shifting our attention from inspiration to integration.  The Moon is the translating light of our solar system nourishing the other planetary bodies with the illuminating light of the Sun. The Moon changes sign every two and a half days filtering the light of the Sun every month through the guiding principles of each zodiac sign. Under the influence of Virgo we learn to perfect what we have created before we share what we have with others. Through the guiding light of Virgo we are learning to integrate the body and mind as one, and if we open the aperture of the lens we use to see our self in the world we may witness the union of our body with our mind.

On February 19, less than a day after the Full Moon, the Sun moved from the collect thinking of Aquarius to the collective feeling of Pisces. When we are under the influence of Pisces we long for union with the source of our origin. When the Sun enters Pisces our individuality is set free from feeling tethered to an isolated and separate self. The guiding principals of Pisces merge our separate self with the source of ALL. With the certainty of Pisces we give all that we have created back to the collective waters of life knowing that everything we thought that we were creating for our self  alone we were creating for all others.

When the Sun is in Pisces we are learning that our individual life force shines brightest when it shines on behalf of the collective experience of humanity. Pisces is the aspect in our unconscious knowing that understands that all of life is interconnected, and in the continuous cycle of our soul’s journey toward wholeness Pisces is both the beginning and the ending of our growing.  At birth we step out of the waters of union -  separate, unique, and individual – and at death we surrender the totality of our separateness back into the same waters of union.

The first aspect the Sun made in Pisces was a conjunction with the wounded healer, Chiron, and pricking a wound to the collective feelings of humanity our solar journey this month will focus on a collective healing. Compassion and empathy are the guiding lights of Pisces. When the Sun passes through Pisces our consciousness is infused with compassionate caring for  our self and others. This month we can open our heart to the suffering of others without judgment or condemnation.  Seeing our self in the actions of others is one lesson learned from Pisces, and another is accepting life as it is and seeing the beauty of design in everything alive.  When the Sun is in Pisces we are learning to accept our self as we are and others as they are. Venus and Saturn were in mutual exchange and exactly square when the Sun entered Pisces adding our unwavering commitment to manifest in the world all that we value in our self and in others. There is tension in this aspect reflecting our tendency to reject the values of others. There is also grace in this aspect helping us to honor the union of life in our self and in others.

On the morning of the recent Full Moon I woke to the illuminating light of the Moon dancing in an orchard of almond blossomed trees planting moon beams against the backdrop of a shadowed sky.  I longed to touch the soulful face of the Moon, instead, crossing my arms and wrapping my hands around my waist I  stood still in a pool of moonlight silently receiving the ancient wisdom of Tanit. The Full Moon in Leo brings to conscious light our intuitive child teaching us spontaneity, and the trusting of our intuition. When we are under the influence of Leo we are leaning to creatively express our self without self-consciousness, embarrassment, or shame for what we create. Leo is the aspect in our psyche teaching us Self Love through Self Acceptance. When the Moon is pregnant with the light of Aquarius, as it is once every year, our originality and creativity is being born a new. The beauty of Leo is the humble knowing that we create the reality we live, and the courage, and honesty, to see our self in everything we create. This Leo Full Moon planted a few important lessons to be learned if we want to live with more joy and happiness in our life. The Sun, Neptune, Mars, and Mercury conjunction in Aquarius opposing the Moon in Leo is a sober reminding that everything we create on behalf of our self we create on behalf of  the collective. The bright light of Leo is inspiring and uplifting. The greatest gift of Leo is a warm and generous heart. Venus and Saturn are in mutual exchange coupling responsibility, commitment, and care with our personal values and ambitions to contribute the best of what we create with others.  At the time of the Full Moon Venus and Saturn were in an exact square adding the challenge of compromise, negotiation, and our willingness to break free from conventional wisdom. Jupiter in Aries approaching a square to Pluto in Capricorn is adding fuel by exaggerating our will to action in the face of plutocracy – within our self and out in the world.  With this celestial signature there is the danger of being impatient with our self and taking premature action without fore thought or consideration for the consequences. It is time for taking care of unfinished business. If we shift our perspective and look at what we have created with  new born eyes we have the opportunity to see our self with clarity. It is possible for us to complete something that we left unfinished long ago and give life, breath, to a new aspect of our self.

The message in 2011 is love: opening our mind to receive it; opening our heart to give it. I spent the first hours of 2011 watching the balsamic Moon in Sagittarius rise from the frothy foam of Neptune’s snarl and lie crescent fallen in the sky  a delicate sliver receiving the illuminated light of Mercury poised above. It was a dreamer’s vision bringing with it the sensual embracing of the New Year ‘s breath gently caressing my lips. 

A balsamic Moon brings the gift of stillness, contemplation, and the bitter sweet knowing that something in life is ending. One archetype of the Moon is maternal nurturing and when in the sign of Sagittarius our personal beliefs are nourished  with plump morsels from our past. When we are under the influence of Sagittarius we can be fanatical in our beliefs and rather than opening our mind and heart to new ideas we seek security  and safety in an array of fundamental ideologies. The illuminated light of Sagittarius is the archetype of both the wanderer and the philosopher each seeking the meaning within the experience; one by way of the ordinary the other by way of the abstract.

To begin 2011 under the reflecting rays of this Moon is helping us gain a more far reaching understanding of our past that can help us to be more inclusive and less fearful of that which is unknown and foreign to us. The Moon lying under the light of Mercury guarantees a year of emotional and mental traveling that will expand our awareness, deepen our self-knowledge, and broaden our perception of reality. When Mercury, the archetypal communicator and translator, journeys in Sagittarius we are given the celestial gift of insight  to help us navigate  every aspect of our life. Remembering that Sagittarius is that aspect in human consciousness challenging each individual to travel beyond the familiar, embrace the foreign, and cherish the unknown will help us break down the walls of defensive behavior protecting our deepest fears.

The boldest signature inscribing the birth of 2011 is the January 4th Solar Eclipse illuminating the greatest obstruction to love, our fear.  Hours before the Moon conjoined the Sun in Capricorn it conjoined Pluto underscoring the archetypal principles of death, destruction, and rebirth. Pluto is that aspect in each of us  intimately connected to the chthonic  forces in nature that turn the wheel of life in the wake of death. Under the influence of Pluto our fear for survival is on red alert. When coupled with the Moon in Sagittarius we instinctively prepare to attack the unknown. If we project our fear of survival onto external events  and blame others for what is inside ourself we attack what is unknown within ourself and tragically forfeit the self-understanding that gives birth to a deeper self- acceptance.

Capricorn is the archetype of a leader who is guided by responsibility, discipline, commitment, and tenacious hard work. Every Solar Eclipse garners an awakening in consciousness and in the sign of Capricorn our wakening requires a  sobering reality check if we want to accomplish our goals. When we are under the influence of Capricorn we are aware of contributing the best of who we are to life.  2011 is not a year for mindless, frivolous effort. Every moment will be measured and accounted for so it is important that we live in each moment with awareness and take nothing in life for granted.

The first aspect the Moon and Sun made after the eclipse was a hard aspect to Saturn in Libra challenging our relationships and insuring  a year of working hard to create peace and justice in the world. 2011 is asking us to take personal responsibility for the well fare of our collective humanity and work together, regardless of our differences, to end  the pain and suffering of social injustices and to bring love and light into the world.

The last aspect the Moon and Sun made after the eclipse, and before changing signs, was a harmonious aspect with the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Pisces. Pisces is the archetypal principle of our collective feelings. When we are under the influence of Pisces we lose our sense of separateness and feel a deep empathy for the suffering of others. Jupiter, the archetype of expansion, and Uranus, the archetype of revolution, have been dancing  cheek to cheek since the spring of 2010. ( For wonderful commentary and wise insight into the significance of the 2010 Jupiter-Uranus I direct you to astrologer Anne Whitaker’s “Tales From The Wild Side”.)

When the archetypal principle of expansion meets the archetypal principle of revolution it is time to break the chains that bind us to  our old, out dated modes of being in the world. Our personal beliefs are in revolt and nothing in life will be the same. Our perception of who we are and what our life can be is expanding beyond what we have imagined thus far. Our only limitation is our fear of who we can be and what e can do.The choice is ours to make.

Happy New Year and may our individual and collective choices in 2011 reflect the light of our love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMyq7xvlH08

For anyone interested in wanting to understand the relevance of astrology in ordinary life following the  astrological research of astrologer, Anne Whitaker, is a must. Fortunately for us she has made it all the more easy to follow her current research project, 2010-11:’ Tales From The Wild Side’ Archive, by graciously joining Facebook. You are guaranteed fascinating reading as you follow Anne and her twelve stellar narrators tell their tales of wonderment and woes.

For those of you not familiar with Anne’s thoughtful musings on Jupiter and Uranus she is the author of Jupiter Meets Uranus: from erotic bathing to stargazing, in which she successfully uses her wit and wisdom to navigate the Jupiter- Uranus conjunction of 1997. Never one to take the easy path, Anne once again enters the cosmic battle ground of this explosive duo and seeking a deepening in understanding continues to forge her research.

I applaud her courage, celebrate her daring, and urge ALL to follow along.

Anne is also the author of Writing From The Twelfth House and co-writing morebitsfalloff.com