A devil -may -care attitude permeates a New Moon in Sagittarius pricking our hearts with a well aimed arrow we feel expansive and exuberant daring to express our feelings in a new way.  Last month, under the guidance of the Scorpio New Moon, we penetrated the dark emotion of fear and discovered a rich vein of regenerative energy that helped us heal an emotional wound from our past. Now that we are a little more forgiving of our past and hopefully a lot more accepting of our feelings the Sagittarius New Moon provides a fresh view of both. The Sagittarius New Moon is always the last lunar cycle of the year suggesting that as the year ends so too our patterns of behavior that have prevented us from feeling safe, secure, and comfortable in our own skin.

Every New Moon brings the opportunity for a conscious illumination of our unconscious motives and the dark face of this New Moon reflects fanaticism and self-righteous behaviors that prevent people from hearing one another and truly connecting in meaningful conversations and enthusiastic exchanges of ideas; lest we forget that “meaningful enthusiasm” is one of he great joys of a Sagittarius New Moon.  The Sun, our life vitality, and  the Moon, our eternal source, conjoined at 25 degrees of Sagittarius very near the Galactic Center insuring that whatever we discover about our  personal feelings will spiritually expand the consciousness of humanity. At the exact time of the New Moon conjunction the Sun and Moon were in creative harmony with Neptune, the principle of spiritual union, in Aquarius, the cosmic force of lightening flashes of insight. If we can keep our beliefs free flowing we are more than likely to discover within ourself a deeper feeling of inter-connection with the source of Life. The Sagittarius New Moon is telling us that our discovery of a deeper spiritual connection to Life begins when we open our mind and heart to the thoughts and feelings of our family, friends, and neighbors.

“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/2009/07/16/as-the-moon-wanes/ http://laurenlesko.com/2009/07/16/as-the-moon-wanes/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:00:54 +0000 Lauren Lesko http://laurenlesko.com/?p=6752 ]]> click on the image to read about the art

“As the Moon wanes in the sky, so the illumined individual vanishes into spiritual progeny. The civilizer’s light is being absorbed into the fabric of the new civilization – the new earth.” *

The waning phase of every New Moon reflects our conscious participation in the greater whole of humanity. This phase of the lunar cycle provides a passageway to taking action that sows the seeds for a future flowering, which is why the waning phase of the Moon heralds the time when we  can contemplate and integrate what we experienced during the New Moon cycle intuitively understanding that our individual actions nourish the whole of humanity. Yesterday gave birth to the waning phase of a New Moon cycle that has been focused on our capacity to nurture the creative life force within ourself and others.

The waning Moon in Aries illuminates our emotional courage to stand on our own and “be” uniquely ourself. How? By challenging us to think independently and separate our thoughts and actions from cultural habits and tribal prejudices that foster defensive self-protectionism and stifle global unity; after making a square to the Sun the Moon squared Mercury in Cancer and made a sextile  to Jupiter, Chiron, and Neptune in Aquarius. The first aspect the Moon in Aries made was a square to Pluto in Capricorn staining this waning Moon with our collective struggle against tyrannical forces blocking our creative life force from shinning forth. In order for us to grasp the fullness of our life potential and our contribution to humanity we need to carefully examine both our inner and our outer tyrants. The Moon in Aries always sparks our passion to change our past by bringing freshness and spontaneity to our present. When we are under the influence of Aries our  impulsive actions can undermine the best of our intentions, and rather than willfully rushing blind into the light this is a good week to stand still in stoic splendor mindful of our courageous heart beating as one with humanity.

* Dane Rudhyar

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/2009/07/16/as-the-moon-wanes/feed/ 3 laurenlesko Ares http://laurenlesko.com/2009/05/27/a-cycle-within-a-cycle/ http://laurenlesko.com/2009/05/27/a-cycle-within-a-cycle/#comments Wed, 27 May 2009 21:54:58 +0000 Lauren Lesko http://laurenlesko.com/?p=5482 ]]> click on the image to read about the art

“Since the dawn of time itself, Man has measured his life by the cycles of the planets – from sunrise to sunrise and from one new Moon to the next he has reckoned his existence by the heavens.”*

Cycles, within cycles, within cycles, the pulse of our beloved astrology, plumbing the life blood of our universe; circulating Earth, Moon, planets and asteroids, named and unnamed; transfusing human experience with a profane and sacred significance. The celestial cycles most familiar to us are the daily rising and setting of the Sun charting the axial rotation of the Earth gliding through the entire zodiac in one day, the changing faces of the Moon gathering and dispersing the light of the Sun enfolding the entire zodiac in one month, and the annual changing of season from spring to summer to fall to winter mirroring the faithful marriage of Earth and Sun dancing cheek-to-cheek round the zodiac in one year. Each of these cycles observable with our naked eye delivers a new birth in the processes of life on Earth and in particular within the individual.

Every known planetary body whether observable or not with the naked eye engages in a cyclical unfolding of time with every other planetary body lasting hours, days, weeks, months, or years depending upon the distance of the Sun. These interlacing cycles weave the diverse complexity of  human experience that unfolds within a universe infused with a living intelligence refusing to be reduced to a mechanistic and meaningless experience. Today, for the first time since 1843 Jupiter and Neptune conjoin in Aquarius heralding a new birth in humanitarian awareness accompanying a spiritual vision that includes the whole of humanity replacing individual privilege with individual participation and collective ostracism with collective co-habitation.

Jupiter journeys through every sign of the zodiac in twelve years while Neptune journeys through one sign of the zodiac in thirteen years with the two conjoining in a different sign every thirteen years and the same sign every 169 years. In other words, orbiting Jupiter and Neptune entwine two  distinct cycles simultaneously giving birth to a thirteen year cycle of individual awakening  and a 169 year cycle of collective awakening suggesting that one is dependent upon the other.

When we are under the influence of Aquarius the events in our life remind us that our individual self-expression is on behalf of the whole of humanity and that the evolution of human consciousness requires that each of us accept personal responsibility for contributing the best of our creative potential to the whole of life. With the birth of a new Jupiter-Neptune cycle in Aquarius we on Earth are given a golden opportunity to do just that. Is there any more altruistic sign of the zodiac than Aquarius, a more benevolent teacher than Jupiter, or a better spiritual guardian of the collective unconscious than Neptune, acting as celestial guides helping us navigate the stormy waters of our individual and collective evolving in consciousness?

I began this post speaking of cycles within cycles within cycles and the new Jupiter-Neptune cycle has some unexpected turns. The asteroid Chiron in Aquarius is at the exact degree as the two and embracing them both may offer healing insight into a wounding of the collective unconscious that every individual suffers, being a part of the collective whole, in recognizing, albeit unconsciously so, a lopsided evolving of human consciousness that resists envisioning the unity of Life.

The other significant cycles at this time are the retrograde station of all three planetary bodies within three weeks of today’s conjoining; Neptune stations retrograde May 28, Chiron June 2, and Jupiter June 15. Each Rx cycle is imprinting a highly personalized experiencing of the Jupiter-Neptune cycle, and if we consider the archetype resonating within our experience of Jupiter, Neptune, and Chiron then it seems possible that each of us may internalize external events and challenge the norm by expanding our conscious awareness beyond what we know and entering the unknown dissolve thought and feeling forms that are contributing to humanitarian discord. We are well advised to spend the coming months fine tuning our unique understanding and appreciation of our individual participation in the  evolution of humanity by re-examining, re-evaluating, re-considering our personal belief and vision for the future of humanity.

In the spirit of re-examining, re-evaluating, and re-considering I direct your attention to an astrology blog using a wide humanitarian aperture, Astrological Repair Manuel, and encourage you to read astrologer, Alexander Zoltai’s, evocative post A Positive Interpretation of Hitler’s Chart.

* Cycles of Becoming, Alexander Ruperti

Today is Memorial Day in the United States of America and while I was writing an innocuous post on planetary cycles and the unfolding of human consciousness I received a message announcing a new post on Our Evolution delivering a sobering reminding of the ennoble honoring of all war inhabiting the destruction, mutilation, and death of life. In 1904-1905 Jupiter was in Aries squared Neptune in Cancer and  the United States under the leadership of Teddy Roosevelt was at war with the Philippines.  Mark Twain offering a dissenting opinion of this popular war wrote War Prayer which was never published in his life time. In two days Jupiter and Neptune will conjoin in Aquarius and giving birth to a 13 year cycle of individual awakening in consciousness and a 169 year cycle of collective awakening in consciousness plant a seed of potentiality for the scared preserving of All Life on Earth. To better understand  the potential gift offered humanity when the god of expansion, Jupiter, fuses forces with the god of  spiritual vision, Neptune, I encourage you to read War Prayer and the Spiritual Quote following.

This month we are ending the annual journey of the Earth around the Sun; a journey that began at the Vernal Equinox, the first day of Spring, when day and night were of equal portion and new life delicately pushing forth in self determination sprouted from the fertile womb of the Earth. The following eleven months ushered a time of tremendous growing throughout spring and summer, followed by decaying throughout the fall, and a winter dying preparing for the resurrecting of new life in the coming spring. When the Earth is passing through Pisces, the last sign of the zodiac, those of us living on Earth experience the ending of an old cycle preparing us for a new birth in consciousness. Pisces is one of the earliest signs recorded with two fishes appearing on an Egyptian coffin lid c. 2,300 BC.; apparently, the Nile reached its peak under the influence of a Full Moon in Pisces at which time Egypt became a veritable ocean. The association of Pisces with the unfathomable depths of the ocean resonates deep within our collective unconscious and even today our human experiencing of Pisces is that aspect in each of us that feels itself swimming blindly in the depths of the primordial waters of the source and succor of our creation.

When we are under the influence of Pisces we can be painfully aware of our incompleteness and struggle to gather the disparate parts of our self into a cohesive whole only to realize that we are apart of something much greater than the solitary sum of our parts. As the Earth passes through Pisces we pass through a process of surrendering all that we have physically, mentally, and spiritually achieved during the last year and placing our life achievements upon a sacrificial alter, some of us gleefully others of us with hesitation, we metaphorically dive into the wild seas of undifferentiated union. It is worth noticing in the constellation of Pisces one fish is swimming along the ocean bed while the other swims up toward the light. This gives us an essential clue in understanding that the true nature of our unconscious rather than willfully hiding in the depths of our collective past is forever seeking wholeness by reaching toward our conscious light.

Today, the Sun leaves the nested community of celestial bodies in Aquarius to enter Pisces, and we on Earth can expect a definite shift in consciousness. In Aquarius we were made aware that our individuality is contributing something valuable to the collective while in Pisces we are made aware of surrendering our individuality to the collective. When we are under the influence of Pisces our separateness feels awkwardly isolated in an ill fitting skin and we struggle to dispel the inherent loneliness of physical manifestation by merging our separateness with another. Pisces is that aspect in each of us intimately connected with the collective unconscious speaking the universal language of love through the voices of poetry, film, and song. It  has been said that Neptune, co-ruling  Pisces with Jupiter, is that aspect in each of us that loves because it is the nature of love to love. Neptune and Jupiter are walking side by side this year in Aquarius suggesting a time for sharing unconditional love with all of humanity in an outpouring of empathy and genuine concern for the well being of Life on Earth. As the Sun journey’s through Pisces we are made consciously aware that unconditional love lives in the heart of every individual.

The weekend began with a day of celestial silence followed the next day, Saturday, with our mental skeptic, Mercury in Gemini, square our mental visionary, Uranus in Pisces. Not surprising our mind slipped between states of consciousness; one moment engaged in rational thought the next dissipation our thought soaring up, up and away. For those of us who pride our selves on our erudite thinking we may experience times like these very unsettling and feel that our memory is slipping away. On Friday I read an article talking about the magnetic change of the global brain and how this is contributing to the human ego losing it’s linear patterning resulting in memory lapses and incongruent communication with others. This aptly describes certain experiences I hear from friends and what about the rest of us? I know nothing about the magnetic change of the global brain but losing our linear thinking is exactly what Uranus in Pisces offers us as a process of growing in consciousness.

If we consider the speed at which information is disseminated on our streets and in our homes it isn’t any wonder many of us suffer memory lapse nor that we rely upon a mental filtering system like Mercury in Gemini. When under the influence of Gemini we can harbor a healthy reservoir of skepticism protecting our minds from becoming boundless sponges absorbing every particle of sensory minutia from our environment. The conflict arises, as it did this weekend, when we surrender our innovative visions for the familiarity of our linear logic. When we do, we sacrifice our participation in a larger dimension of ourselves which cannot be explained through the logos of our conscious mind. Is it possible that this is what we experience as memory loss?

On Sunday, Mercury in Gemini moved in harmony with Neptune in Aquarius showing us another view of slipping between two states of consciousness only this time our rational and our innovative consciousness were walking arm in arm; the skeptic in us relaxed and open to the inexplicable. If this shift in our skepticism seems overtly predetermined please consider that our consciousness is changing with each moment lived and that not only are we inventing our reality of the world moment to moment but we are inventing ourselves moment to moment which leads us to invent our reality of the world moment to moment.

Venus in Cancer trine Uranus in Pisces, the sign of exaltation for Venus, further substantiated our willingness on Sunday to value that aspect in our self seeking an expansive life perspective. Venus in Cancer is that aspect in our self valuing emotional connection with others, as well as, valuing our capacity for giving nourishment to ourselves. When this aspect of our self is in harmony with Uranus we are ready to nurture our intuitive understanding that we are part of a greater whole, and reaching beyond self imposed limitations we allow ourselves to connect with something greater than ourselves. Our rational mind expresses itself in fragments and with the help of Uranus, Neptune, and Venus every mental fragment participates in the vitality of the whole which is alive in the totality of its parts.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/2008/07/07/slipping-between/feed/ 0 laurenlesko Atlas http://laurenlesko.com/2008/05/28/birds-eye-view/ http://laurenlesko.com/2008/05/28/birds-eye-view/#comments Wed, 28 May 2008 14:31:01 +0000 Lauren Lesko http://laurenlesko.com/?p=190 ]]> click on the image to read about the art

At the moment, there is a predominance of the element of air circulating in our celestial landscape transporting our Earthly experiences as if they were origami birds leaving us little choice but to flow with the current spread our wings and fly. I actually feel that this is a golden moment of enlightenment infusing us with conscious awareness of the limitations we create and the barriers we erect because we are attached to ideas acquired long ago. The Sun and Venus are in Gemini, a retrograde Chiron in Aquarius side by side the Aquarius North Node, and both Mercury in Gemini and Neptune in Aquarius stationing retrograde on the same day. Add the Moon in Aquarius, on May 26th, translating the influx of celestial breath to Saturn, Mars, Uranus and the South Node, and we begin to understand the connecting purpose of air moving laterally in boundless expansion. If we allow our mind to move in tandem this series of transits is offering us a birds eye view of our experiences gleaming a fresh perspective.

Think of air as the expansive space of your mind, your mental breathing, your inhaling and exhaling of experiences. The extraordinary number of planetary bodies currently in air signs are providing us with a lovely atmosphere for consciously awakening from a deep slumber, all we need be is open to changing how we think. Change is never easy, usually met with resistance out of fear, hence a deep slumber. The element air is not intrinsically motivated by fear it is seeking the mental intimacy experienced in connecting with people, places, things, and ideas. When any planet stations retrograde it is time for us to become intimately acquainted with that planet by turning our attention within and gaining a deeper understanding of how that planet manifests in our lives.

When Mercury turns retrograde the universe is showing us the working of our conscious mind every time we experience disrupted communication in the world, and in this way, helping us work to stabilize our mind. When Mercury is Rx in Gemini we are experiencing that aspect in our self which is of two minds; curiously inquisitive and restlessly disruptive and definitely prone to disconnecting when overwhelmed with responsibilities.

When Chiron turns retrograde it is time for a deep wounding from our past to surface and we may experience something currently in our lives as wounding to our self esteem. When Chiron is Rx in Aquarius our wounding has something to do with our attachment to our ideals and our healing has something to do with learning to receive the ideas of others.

When Neptune turns retrograde we experience that aspect in our self that is deeply dissatisfied with the limits of our physical experiences and we longingly turn our face toward a union with something that will dissolve our separateness in the world. When Neptune is Rx in Aquarius we are aware that our ideas can be barriers isolating us from others and that we can dissolve these barriers by becoming more sensitive to the ideas of others. During this Rx station Neptune was occulted by the Moon and anytime the Moon steps between the Earth and another planet it is a definite sign that our unconscious is absorbing the full intensity of the encounter. Because Neptune is in Aquarius it seems likely that we will experience the dissolving of our mental barriers on an intuitive level which could bring us and others a deeply healing experience as long as we do not indiscriminately loose respect for our sovereignty out of fear of our separateness.

The element air is teaching us the art of connectedness within ourselves and with others by helping us see, through our daily experiences in life, where we are rigid in our thinking and show us ways to be more opened minded by paying closer attention to the movement of our conscious mind. Remember, the distance between our contentment and discontentment is a single thought.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/2008/05/28/birds-eye-view/feed/ 2 laurenlesko Mercury in Flight http://laurenlesko.com/2008/05/10/nurturing-our-individuality/ http://laurenlesko.com/2008/05/10/nurturing-our-individuality/#comments Sat, 10 May 2008 23:00:52 +0000 Lauren Lesko http://laurenlesko.com/?p=171 ]]> click on the image to read about the art

Saturday morning the Moon in Leo made an occultation to Mars, and moving between Mars and Earth our instinct to survive was given a concentrated dose of willful self defiance. I admit it is tempting to dig our heels deep into the earth and adamantly insist upon having things our way but we most likely will turn away the very people we want at our side. Later in the day the Moon and Mars will make a quincunx to Pluto in Capricorn suggesting that being overly determined, too heavy handed in our demands, will be met with obstacles from forces beyond our control. We may feel that our greatest passions have been buried under the indifference of others, and maybe they have, but this is not a good time to get huffy because our feelings are bruised. Better using honey than vinegar to gracefully finesse what we want from other’s, lest we forget, that the art of successful relating is the marriage between skillful self preservation and a genuine care, consideration, and respect for the autonomy of the other person.

Last week the Taurus New Moon promised us sumptuous nourishing from Mother Nature if we slowed down our daily rhythm and honored with awareness every moment lived. Today, brings the first quarter phase of the lunar cycle and the Leo Moon square the Taurus Sun creates a conflict between our emotional need to connect with others and our solar need to be independent of others. The first quarter lunar phase is a firm reminder that we need to take action to change something from our past otherwise we may miss the illumination in consciousness offered with the coming Full Moon. When under the influence of Leo we are seeking acceptance from others for our unique individuality and when the Moon is in Leo we can feel overly vulnerable to being rejected or ridiculed. If our pride flares, and with Leo this is always a possibility, we can become dismissing of other’s before they are dismissing of us, and sadly this achieves the exact opposite of what we are emotionally seeking – acceptance for who we are.

A Leo Moon is a fire Moon bursting with energy to express what we are feeling which has everything to do with how we feel about who we are. Of all the signs in the zodiac, the ruler of our heart, Leo, is the sign giving us the heart to be anything that we want to be. A Leo Moon and a Taurus Sun are in mutual reception, the Sun disposing the Moon and the Moon exalted in Taurus, so their shared square is more gentle than others and our need to be acknowledged for who we are can garner emotional and material gain if we avoid the temptation to ignite personal dramas. Our shinning light is in expressing the magnanimous warmth of a luminous Leo Moon reflecting our light to others.

The Leo Moon is quincunx Uranus in Pisces and Jupiter in Capricorn, and pointing “the finger of God” ( a yod aspect ) in our direction we are asked to adjust our emotional insecurities and self doubts and try to see a larger world view inclusive of the emotional needs of others. The yod aspect shines the celestial spotlight on where we may be compulsively re-enacting past feelings of self doubt and insecurities. The last aspect the Moon makes before leaving Leo is a conjunction to the South Node, opposition to the Aquarius North Node, and then an opposition to Neptune in Aquarius. We can either continue reacting as we always have or we can choose to look at our behavior with the emotional distance offered the Aquarius NN and gain in emotional freedom. The healing offered from Neptune in Aquarius is our awareness that if the Leo dimension in ourselves is seeking acceptance for our unique individuality it is only fair that we accept the unique individuality of others.