“So it Begins–the August Attack on Health Care Reform.” This is the title of a meticulously researched article written by health policy expert, Linda Bergthold, in a corrective rebuttal to a lot of erroneous information circulating the Internet about specific legislative articles written into the proposed health care reform bill. Amidst other important  reasons for reading this article  it is worth noting that it was published August 1 in synchronicity with cosmic phenomenon calling forth a celestial mandate demanding our individual participation in nourishing and sustaining a viable future for ourself, our family, our humanity.

Astrology teaches that the birth of any event, including the first dawn of a new month, contains the seeds for the potential unfolding of that birth. August began with a strong emphasis on the element of fire ( the Sun, the Moon, and Mercury were in fire signs August 1) awakening our intuitive self, igniting our enthusiasm for a new dawn, and stimulating our creative self-expression to make purposeful changes in ourself that will enrich our future. The Sun in Leo is supreme ruler this month depositing the entire celestial pack and demanding that our highest values and perfected ideals be made manifest this month.

In astrology Venus is the universal principle of “value.” On August 1 Venus in Cancer  opposed Pluto in Capricorn shifting our attention from the sensual pleasuring of a social gadfly to that of a caring nurturing partner only to discover deeply rooted contradictions in our commitment to provide care for ourself and others.  Cancer is that aspect in each of us seeking to be physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually nourished with the necessary substances of life that can sustain and insure our growing. We on Earth have had a significant amount of  Cancer influences the last two months riveting our attention on the necessity for nourishing every member of society. The protective umbrella of the recent Solar Eclipse in Cancer covers the entire world with care and concern and in so doing is helping to make us aware of our world family.

Venus in Cancer opposing Pluto in Capricorn brings to the surface the glaring deficiencies of humanitarian care for  those of us experiencing fierce hunger on diverse levels of human experience. Later in the month Venus will make a harmonious aspect with the Saturn-Uranus opposition encouraging us to shift our values by breaking free from social customs rooted in the past but continuing in the present to restrict the flow of  universal nourishment. We may be protecting outmoded systems because we are unwilling to let go of all our hard work. It is well worth pondering this month with the mental supporting of Mercury in Virgo what and why we are holding onto past failures even in the glaring light of current realities.

A few hours before dawn on August 1 the Moon in Sagittarius opposed Mars in Gemini underscoring that we may discover ourself fighting this month to get what we need. In the Washington, D.C. August 1 birth chart the Moon in Sagittarius makes an exact square to Saturn in Virgo placing a bright spotlight on the government and health care. This month we need to broaden our perspective on what we believe is the truth about humanitarian care perhaps by reading alternative information on the proposed health care reform and becoming better informed about what the U.S. government is offering to its citizens and residents. I recommend beginning with Linda Bergthold’s article for Huffington Post.

Love of a special kind is in the air this month! The Moon depositing Venus in Cancer also made, on August 1, a harmonious aspect to the Aquarian trio – Jupiter, Chiron, Neptune – deepening our awareness of the full potential of  human love. Venus and Neptune are the archetypal principles in human consciousness enfolding our capacity to love; Venus is that aspect in each of us that loves because it pleases us to do so, and Neptune is that aspect in each of us that loves because it is the nature of love to love. An important consideration this month will be evaluating the significance of the unconditional love offered Neptune in the sign of Aquarius as a possible awakening in human consciousness giving breath to our individual experience of unconditional love for humanity.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/2009/08/04/august-attack/feed/ 2 laurenlesko Medical Zodiac http://laurenlesko.com/2009/06/07/perceptual-tone/ http://laurenlesko.com/2009/06/07/perceptual-tone/#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2009 03:22:21 +0000 Lauren Lesko http://laurenlesko.com/?p=5930 ]]> click on the image to read about the art

“Almost wholly unappreciated is the magnitude of the force that will be generated by the achievement of unity, an influence “so powerful,” in Bahá’u'lláh’s words, “that it can illuminate the whole Earth.”*

For many of us on Earth last Friday was a bit rough and tumble as those aspects of ourself that we have invested with consolidating our emotional security, Moon in Scorpio, and distributing our wealth of ideas, Mercury in Taurus, opposed one another challenging the fixed signs, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, to negotiate a harmonious balance between differences of opinion, which a discerning eye might readily discover as a mere shading of perceptual tone. What complicated matters even more was that the Sun in Gemini and Saturn in Virgo made an exact square in tandem with the Moon and Mercury opposition, challenging the mutable signs, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces to take notice of crystallized thought patterns and stagnant boundaries of conditioned thinking that are preventing a fresh perspective of our  view of reality. Gathering a fresh perspective seems very much in the mind and heart of the current celestial transits noting that the last aspect the Scorpio Moon made before engendering the lush ripening of the Full Moon was a square to Jupiter in Aquarius amplifying the possibility of a radical shift in our perception requiring objectivity coupled with self-honesty.

Today, the Gemini Full Moon illuminates our potential awakening in a new self-awareness which reflecting in the sign of Sagittarius suggests to me an enthusiastic embracing of a broader perspective of our world. When we are under the influence of Sagittarius we are seeking to know the significance of our life and the deeper meaning of the kaleidoscopic patterns of perception which we continually project onto the world. That aspect in each of us expressed through Sagittarius is intuitively integrating our body with our mind through our spiritual journey in unity with something greater than our conscious self. We are certain to experience the best that Sagittarius has to offer when we allow ourself the freedom to travel unencumbered by fear or apprehension into the future unknown.

This Full Moon delivers a powerful punch as the Moon in Sagittarius translates a square to Saturn to an opposition with the Sun culminating with a grand finale square to Uranus. It is worth noting that both the Moon and Uranus are under the beneficent tutelage of Jupiter in Aquarius hinting at the humanitarian scope of potentialities awaiting our conscious awakening if we are willing to revolutionize our perception of the institutions that structured our social traditions and contoured many of the beliefs we hold near and dear to our heart. We have the week ahead of us to pay closer attention to our beliefs and a precious opportunity of airing out the staleness of our thinking by allowing the sweet freshness of our enthusiasm for venturing into the unknown to perfume our perception of the world.

* “The Prosperity of Humankind”, Bahá’í International Community United Nations Office

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/2009/06/07/perceptual-tone/feed/ 2 laurenlesko Sagittarius http://laurenlesko.com/2009/04/13/re-evaluation/ http://laurenlesko.com/2009/04/13/re-evaluation/#comments Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:29:19 +0000 Lauren Lesko http://laurenlesko.com/?p=4392 ]]> click on the image to read about the art

We begin our work week with the Moon in Sagittarius making a bold square to Saturn Rx in Virgo reminding us that before we can achieve emotional freedom from our past we need to better manage our present. This is not the  week to insist on freedom from our daily responsibilities especially if we want to keep peace in our  workplace and at home, in which case, we may need to put our emotional restlessness aside and pay closer attention to the daily routines structuring our life. Sagittarius is that aspect in each of us reaching beyond the familiar, those tried and true experiences of life, to discover a deeper significance of our experiences; and Virgo is that aspect in each of us knowing that the deeper significance of our experiences is found in working, improving, and developing those day to day habits that eloquently define who we are and no other. There is a pragmatism to this aspect reminding me of a Tibetan Buddhist saying, if you want to know the past look at the present and if you want to know the future look to the present .

The celestial emphasis on the mutable modality makes the two day transit of the Moon through Sagittarius bustling with celestial activity that abruptly ends in a difficult Moon- Venus square hinting at a certain lack of emotional sensitivity to one another.  The luminous face of the Aries Full Moon reflected a definite need to resolve the quality of our relating to one another by seeking honest negotiation and  harmonious compromise in our relationships without relinquishing our distinct individuality. The Moon in Sagittarius makes a trine to the Sun in Aries reinforcing our solar vitality and individuality, and the subsequent square to Venus Rx may be a purposeful reminding that we can fulfill our needs and the needs of others without self-sacrifice or self- denial. It is worth remembering that Venus Rx has stepped back into Pisces for a last glimmering of the true nature of love, which is simply to love. Perhaps the re-entry of Venus into Aries later in the month garners the re-negotiation of an honest evaluation of the love we give to ourself and to others.

Today is the waning phase of the New Moon in Pisces and the Moon in  the last degrees of Sagittarius offers a time of still repose and quiet contemplation so that we can integrate our physical, mental, and emotional activities of the past three weeks. A waning Moon is a Moon in conflict with the Sun suggesting that something in our unconscious is fighting for conscious awareness and that the ensuing battle is taking place within ourself reflecting emotional behavior that is preventing us from expressing our authentic self. A Sagittarius Moon stimulates emotional restlessness and discontent with the familiar which is one reason why this is a good week to reflect upon less familiar aspects of ourself in anticipation of the New Moon in Aries, March 26, heralding a new birth in self-awareness.

The Moon moves faster than any other celestial body in our solar system translating one celestial conversation to another. Prior to making a square to the Sun this Sagittarius Moon entered into a Mutable Grand Square with Mercury, Saturn, and Uranus directing our conscious awareness toward the boundaries we created in the past that now need a discriminating eye to discern which are worth preserving and which need reinventing on our journey into the future. This is definitely not a good day for taking action, the Moon is void-of-course and nothing comes to fruition during a void-of-course Moon; yet, it is for that exact reason that today and the remaining week of the waning Moon demand our undivided attention in animated conversation with the desperate aspects of ourself. Next week is our call to action and we can use this week wisely to see our authentic self more clearly than in the past.

Today, the Sun is born anew and with each new day gaining  in light  as the Sun journey’s toward the Vernal Equinox we on Earth are gaining in conscious awareness. Yesterday, Mercury made a sweet sextile to Uranus stimulating our self- conscious awakening to speak in the voice of our truth. Chances are the experience of speaking our truth with others was unexpectedly contentious and definitely not a meeting of like minded friends. Fortunately, the experience gave us the celestial gift of self- differentiation and clarity of intention just in time for the Moon to make a jolting T-Square with the Saturn-Uranus opposition triggering an emotional discontent  hidden deep within and in chronic need of forgiveness. We are under the influence of a waning Virgo Moon flashing neon bright “self-forgiveness” and today, held in the loving embrace of the Moon and Venus, we are promised the emotional distance necessary to expand our view of what we need to feel safe and secure in relationship with ourself and others.

A Sagittarius Moon illuminates the philosopher within each of our hearts, but the waxing square to the Sun and Saturn in Virgo can expose self- doubts that prick self-defeating dissatisfaction. If we let this happen we could experience this week with a restless spirit * which, if unattended, could interfere with our ability to see the “bigger picture” looming on the horizon; urging us to gather the strength of our convictions and put our beliefs into action. Mercury and Mars conjoin on September 8, translating thought into action, and Pluto at 28 Sagittarius 30 stations direct heralding a shift in consciousness that could expose self-righteous fanaticism as the damning and damaging social agent that it is. The two social planets, Jupiter and Saturn, make a harmonious union in earth signs giving us a gentle celestial kick in the pants to manifest in form something that until now has seemed greater than our self, somehow beyond our reach, but now is close at hand. The only danger is that we may be lulled into the ease of the trine accepting, at face value, that which we know needs further examination. Don’t be fooled into believing that things will get better without having to work to make it so. The last aspect the waxing new Moon makes is a conjunction to Pluto giving us the emotional stamina to penetrate beyond superficiality and the psychological acumen to know when we are being manipulated. It is up to each of us to use this transit with a wise worn believing that what we believe matters and can make a difference.

* I encourage you to read Julie Demboski’s weekly forecast for further insights into why this may be so, and to partake in her astrological wisdom.