This week brings with it many changing faces: the balsamic “face” of the monthly lunation cycle emphasizing the internalizing of our experiences following the Leo and Aquarius eclipse cycle; the waxing Gemini Moon’s conflicted celestial faces turned to Mercury, Venus, Uranus, Pluto; and thousands of hopeful faces at the Democratic National Convention gathered in force to generate enthusiastic support for a Democratic victory in November. Traditional astrology talk will say that the days before a new Moon are spent in contemplative calm reflecting on what has recently transpired while preparing for a new cycle of action beckoning the coming lunar cycle. The days before a new Moon can be fruitfully spent meditating on our future intentions, but it is most definitely not a week for taking action which makes me wonder about the intentions of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Astrologer, Julie Demboski, sees passive-aggressive behavior in this weeks celestial atmosphere blanketed with low lying hyper criticism and turbulent self-defensive. This does not bode well for generating a spirit of unification required for the healing of deeply incurred wounding necessary to victoriously carry the Democratic Party to the White House; unless all concerned heed Julie’s warning that “there’s hope for a more tranquil atmosphere, found in several other influences, if we can just shift our energy away from shooting those ego-loaded arrows out into the world.” Unfortunately, “ego-loaded arrows” has been, in my opinion, the unfortunate mantra in the Democratic Presidential race, undermining a golden opportunity for the Democratic Party to actualize significant historical and cultural change in the Unite States by honoring that party’s commitment to liberal social changes underwritten in affirmative action stupendously manifest in this years Democratic Presidential race featuring a woman of Anglo heritage and a man of Anglo and African heritage. A terrible shame that so much bitterness soured the majestic possibilities of this coupling.

As the Democratic National Convention (DNC) comes to life the Moon in Gemini opposes Pluto establishing the psychological undercurrents of this event. I direct your attention to astrologer, Eric Francis, for a must read analysis of this celestial signature. I encourage you to keep in mind, as you read Eric’s insights, that Senator Obama was born when the Moon was in Gemini, as it is tonight, closely square Pluto in Virgo.

About two hours into the DNC the Moon enters Cancer bestowing the opportunity for a carefully considered nurturing of family; at home, abroad, and ancestral. This is a fertile time for each of us to consider constructive ways of providing care and protection that will bestow nourishment to mind, body, and soul without falling into the all to familiar mode of hardened self-protective defense. It feels hopeful for the DNC that it is happening at a time when the transiting Cancer Moon conjoins the United States natal Cancer Sun assuring the people of the United States that the Democratic Party is deeply committed to serving and protecting both the emotional security and individual sovereignty of the American people. Danger lurks behind patriot rhetoric and sentimental slogans reducing the significance of this political forum to a solipsistic pandering to convention. It is also worth noting the one degree conjunction of Venus in Cancer between the natal charts of Senator Obama and the United States conferring the celestial signature of strongly shared values, a desired aspect in the synastry between any couple, but one which needs careful monitoring in this relationship to prevent becoming overly sensitive to the slings and arrows of others.

When the Moon enters Leo on the 27th, if we listen with our heart, we may hear the recent Solar Eclipse whispers of authenticity, and the Lunar Eclipse encouragement to give the gifts of our unique individuality in a mutual working together with others, which if heeded, may have auspicious results for the Democratic Party. The Leo Solar Eclipse conjoined the natal South Node in the United States chart and the natal Sun in Senator Obama’s chart clearly suggesting that the unique gifts the Senator will bring to the U.S. Presidency are valuable assets for the future evolving of the United States. The additional fact that Senator Obama’s natal Sun falls in the natal 12th house of the United State’s chart is a haunting cord that the Senator has plumbed the depths of the United States psyche offering possible healing for the unconscious wounding of the entire Nation if those wounds are allowed to be brought up from the turbulent waters of the unconscious into conscious light.

When we are under the influence of Leo our creative self- expression shines brightly illuminating our dynamic leadership abilities seasoned with unabashed pleasure. It is always important with Leo to be mindful of not falling foul of our insecurities making us vulnerable to the approval of others and blinding us to the evolutionary growing of Leo which brings self-assured self-confidence regardless of the opinion’s of others. I can’t help but feel that this theme is in high relief at the DNC considering that Leo fills the 2nd house, the house of self-worth, in the Solar Eclipse chart for Washington,D.C., as does Senator Obama’s natal Sun, Mercury, and Uranus.

Senator Obama’s natal Uranus plays a significant role in his presidential candidacy contributing to his electrifying oratory, mantra for change, and image of a man heralding the future. His natal Uranus opposes his natal Aquarius Ascendant, as well as, opposing the United States natal Aquarius Moon. Both Ascendant and Moon were conjoined by the Lunar Eclipse anointing Senator Obama’s already intuitive understanding of the emotional temperament of the United States: at best a deeply felt humanitarianism and concern for the equality of all people, and at worst a cold hearted rejecting of individual needs in favor of a faceless, mindless mass. Perhaps the message here lies in the ability of candidate and country to connect with the needs of the ordinary people.

The last aspect from Mercury, just before our celestial messenger enters Libra, is a square to Pluto adding psychological probing in our communication with others.* The Mercury and Pluto square definitely marks the occasion with the necessity to transform the way people are using their communication skills. Libra is that aspect in our psyche that intuitively understands diplomacy and the social art of compromise insuring that the needs of everyone involved are considered and negotiated before reaching a firm decision. Libra is a cardinal sign, ruled by Venus, speaking the virtuous language of human dignity for every action taken on behalf of human justice. It is possible that this theme will crown the DNC when we consider that Mercury in Libra conjoins the Mid -Heaven in the Lunar Eclipse chart for Washington,D.C., hopefully setting the intention for the Democratic Party of peaceful negotiation through a reconciliation of differences.

*This sentence has been revised from the original post due to my mis-calculation when Mercury made a square to Pluto.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/2008/08/25/peaceful-negotiation-at-the-dnc/feed/ 3 laurenlesko Hermes Trismegistus http://laurenlesko.com/2008/08/21/tempered-patience/ http://laurenlesko.com/2008/08/21/tempered-patience/#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:24:05 +0000 Lauren Lesko http://laurenlesko.com/?p=314 ]]> click on the image to read about the art

As the Sun prepares to enter Virgo it is worth spending time meditating on what aspect of our individuality we want to improve as we work the coming month toward a conscious integration of the disparate bits and pieces of who we think we are. The Leo and Aquarius eclipse cycle focused our attention toward paying attention to who we are, as well as, what we are contributing to the collective. Now is the time when we can “reap what we have sown” and benefit from the self-honesty offered by a Virgo Sun if we are willing to drop our veil of self-deluding and face a realistic fulfilling of our dreams. This is definitely the month for rolling up our shelves prepared for concentrated working at learning more about who we are and what we are contributing to life.

The last aspect the Sun makes before entering Virgo is a magnificent Grand Trine with the Aries Moon and Sagittarius Pluto nurturing inspired passion for transforming our past, while calling for emotional courage tempered with patience lest we find ourselves spinning our wheels but going nowhere. The good news is a Virgo Sun heralds a definite time of tempered patience to help guide us on our continued journey to self-discovery. It is worth remembering that the Sun is the central force guiding the constantly changing planetary cycles with each new cycle influencing and impacting our personal life. In astrology the Sun represents our life vitality, the essence of our identity, the place deep within our psyche symphonically resonating “I am”.

When under the influence of Virgo our “I am-ness” is prepared to face our disappointments and failures in the belief that we can improve our past choices and become a more whole, self-realized, individual who is not dependent on pleasing others, shades of Leo, or in needing the rules and regulations of others to make our self complete. This Virgo Sun is offering us the earnest possibility of becoming more authentically who we are by taking personal responsibility for our individual choices in life. It is no longer fruitful to blame others for the difficulties in our lives without first examining how we have contributed to the problem. In other words, Virgo requires that we accept personal responsibility for what happens in our life without criticizing, chastising, or condemning our self or others.

This month’s celestial signature is strongly suggesting that we use precise objectivity in our process of self-analysis. The Sun, Saturn, and Jupiter are in earth signs signaling a golden opportunity for manifesting an improved aspect of our individuality by using acquired skills in ways that can improve the quality of our society. We can easily exercise our leadership qualities this month as long as our goal is for improving, not sustaining, the statis quo. We may experience a sudden or unexpected change in who we think we are, and if we continue hiding our authenticity behind other people’s choices or blaming them for our dissatisfaction in life, we may find ourselves at the end of September, when the Sun squares Pluto, experiencing a profound emptiness within.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/2008/08/21/tempered-patience/feed/ 0 laurenlesko Virgo http://laurenlesko.com/2008/07/07/slipping-between/ http://laurenlesko.com/2008/07/07/slipping-between/#comments Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:59:09 +0000 Lauren Lesko http://laurenlesko.com/?p=254 ]]> click on the image to read about the art

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/2008/06/26/illusions-of-separateness/ http://laurenlesko.com/2008/06/26/illusions-of-separateness/#comments Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:33:05 +0000 Lauren Lesko http://laurenlesko.com/?p=243 ]]> click on the image to read about the art

Today, the lunar cycle that began with the New Moon in Gemini, enters the waning phase slowing down our worldly activities so that we can make room in our busy lives for self reflection. Chances are, after having experienced an inspiring whirlwind of mental and social activity we are finding our selves exploring how we feel about those experiences. The tone and temperament of the Moon has shifted and the waning Aries Moon, the sign of our warrior within, is certainly giving us the emotional courage to explore our feelings but Aries is that aspect of our self that is impatient wanting everything to happen NOW! This could be a time when we are feeling emotionally impatient, quick to take offense, asserting our needs and feelings without showing sensitivity to the feelings and needs of others. It this is sounding familiar, it is important to remember that others are feeling as we are feeling, emotionally vulnerable, naked, and under attack, and we can help our selves and others by not personalizing their behavior.

The Aries Moon is making a square to both the Sun and Venus and we could feel that our individuality and self-esteem are under attack. It is important to remember that the waning phase of the Moon is a time for turning our gaze within, a time for self examination, self-observing, self-discovering. It is possible that we are attacking our own self esteem because the Moon is our view of our past and many times our emotional experiencing of the present is rooted in our feelings of our past.

Nothing in the Universe happens without meaning or significance, and the celestial message today is asking us to acquire sympathy for our self and others. Sympathy is a wonderful quality in the abstract but difficult to acquire without letting go of our judgments and expectations of what we and others should be. The planet Uranus, in the sign Pisces, stations retrograde and we on Earth are challenged to dissolve our judgments and surrender our self to the wisdom of the Universe of which we are part. The ancient axiom, “as above, so below” teaches that everything in the Universe, from the smallest particle to the largest, is governed by the same process and that an action in one relflects the action in the other. So in essence, surrendering our self to the wisdom of the Universe requires surrendering to the wisdom within our self. UranusRx is giving us many months to discover our wisdom within if we are willing to surrender our illusion of separateness.

We could experience the waning Aries Moon as an uncomfortable Moon because Aries, the cardinal fire sign, is not particularly interested in waning for anyone, and the Moon, our celestial mother is likely to convert Aries self asserting fire into steamy emotional migraines. When under the influence of Aries we are more interested in striking out on our own and rather impatient having to consider the emotional needs of others. That aspect of our self expressing Aries is not unkind by design but can often appear insensitive. It is after all the warrior aspect in each of us daring to explore the unexplored!. When the Moon is in Aries, which it is for two days every month, we are given the opportunity to explore our emotions with courage and learn emotional independence which can add fortitude to the nurturing qualities of the Moon. The unique offering of this Moon is the mutual exchange between Sun and Moon, each in the sign of the other’s ruler ship ( the Sun is technically exalted in Aries), interweaving courage and independence with sensitivity and nurturing.

The Sun in Cancer is creatively expressing the sensitive, emotional aspects of our individuality, and if we can keep our heart open, along with the encouragement of the waning Aries Moon, we can receive the celestial gift of self nourishment and feed the vulnerable aspects of our individuality, you know, the bits and pieces of our self that we reject, dismember, only to re-discover them in the behavior of others. The theme of dismemberment is dramatically evidenced in the Mayan Myth of the Goddess, Coyolxauhqui. She was slain by her brother Huitzilopochtli, he cut off her limbs, then tossed her head into the sky where it became the moon, so that his mother would be comforted in seeing her daughter in the sky every night. The theme of Moon and Sun (mother and son ), resonate with the waning Aries Moon square the Cancer Sun, and offer us a time when we can become more emotionally detached if we understand that detachment is “the love a mother has for her only child.”* It seems most likely that the child we need to love unconditionally is the divine child in each of us seeking conscious expression. Now is the time for our creative potential to bloom full with life.

One area of difficulty in allowing our creative spirit to bloom could be if we have our natal Moon and Mars in conflict ( conjunction, square, opposition, or quincunx ). If your natal Moon and Mars are in conflict you may be feeling the old shadow of having to fight to have your needs cared for and you may be experiencing real or imagined rejection as a threat to your survival. It is important to understand the roots of these feeling so that you do not inadvertently dismember potential emotional relationships with people whom you perceive as a threat. It may be helpful to keep in mind the image of The Stone Disk of Coyolxauhqui to understand the force that is stimulating your will for self -protection. And if you have either your natal Moon or Sun, or both, in a cardinal sign then you will be especially alert to the need to nourish your creative impulse and you could spend this time sustaining or aborting you efforts. What is important to understand is that we can are creating the opportunities in our life depending on how we perceive what we are experiencing.

* Axiom from Tibetan Buddhism

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/2008/06/25/unconditional-love/feed/ 0 laurenlesko Coyolxauhqui http://laurenlesko.com/2008/06/19/wild-child-spirit/ http://laurenlesko.com/2008/06/19/wild-child-spirit/#comments Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:00:40 +0000 Lauren Lesko http://laurenlesko.com/?p=230 ]]> click on the image to read about the art

Hurray! Mercury stations direct today and all our mishaps magically disappear, well not entirely, nothing is ever as it seems when we are under the influence of Mercury. The last 21 days of life on Earth have been a series of obstacle courses testing our reflexes under stress, challenging our attachment to obsolete ideals, and demanding that we look into the eyes of our emotional denying which is often the culprit for things “breaking down” during a Mercury Rx.* If any one reading this post thought Mercury’s Rx was tough, take a deep breath and exhale slowly, because our real work is just beginning if we are serious about creating the life we want. Mercury is our celestial messenger traveling between our dreaming and our waking translating our every sensation into image and form, which is one reason why Mercury retrogrades three times each year encouraging us to re-consider what we have created in our life.

Mercury is the androgynous personification of our conscious and unconscious perceptions of our self and our life. As princely ruler of Gemini, Mercury is operating full force giving us the mental strength to change our perceptions of what life has to be. Our mind is our most powerful ally determining the quality of our life, and yet, we understand so little of what it actually means, primarily because science has traditionally focused on “what something is” rather than “what something means”. Understanding our mind requires experiencing our mind and that is a mysterious and uniquely individual journey requiring that we join hands with Mercury, our teacher, our navigator, our liberator.

What is significant about Mercury’s directed motion, besides facilitating our ability to actualize whatever lessons we recently learned during the retrograde period, are the celestial conversations exchanged with the outer planets which are indicating long term change and lasting transformation. In early July Mercury will make a second trine with Chiron, the North Node, and Neptune indicating that our mind is once again receptive to new ideas and information. When under the influence of Aquarius we are learning how to receive from others, usually in the form of ideas, on the deepest level love, and our toughest lesson under the tutelage of Aquarius is our accepting what we are given as an act of genuine acknowledgment and appreciation for the contribution of another.

Mercury will quincunx Jupiter in Capricorn and square Uranus in Pisces softening our rigid attachment to the images and forms of our reality, and challenging us to be more inclusive of the thoughts and feelings of others without sacrificing what we think and feel. When under the influence of Pisces we feel the long shadow of our longing for union tempting us to sacrifice our individuality so it is important to create clearly defined boundaries between our ideas and the ideas of others. Are you hearing the voice of independent thinking? The last aspect Mercury makes before leaving Gemini is an opposition to Pluto Rx in Sagittarius promising us mental freedom if we open our mind and encourage our wild child spirit creative expressing rather than the destructive expressing of frustration, fear, and fanaticism.

*Terry Lamb offered this sensitive understanding of Mercury Rx in her June Forecast.

Today is the waxing phase of the lunar cycle demanding action be taken. But what kind of action? The new Moon Gemini beckoned the opening of our mind allowing for fresh mental breathing, and now, the waxing Moon Virgo is calling for discernment and discrimination. The action called forth with this waxing Moon is to slow down and analyze all that we have been open to the last week. The Virgo Moon is reflecting our unconscious seeking of wholeness, our completeness within our self, requiring that we step back and understand the value of our recent experiences. It is possible in the coming days to feel isolated, even critical of our self and others, so it is important to understand that our frustration is our awareness of the imperfection of our situation. Gemini never weighs the value of a situation, but not so Virgo, which is that aspect in our self seeing every wrinkle of imperfection in life. It is tempting to spiral down a rabbit hole of discontent and forfeit our opportunity to see our current situation as an expression of the whole. We need to be watchful not to exaggerate or judge our situation and miss experiencing the fullness of life because we see only the part.

When under the influence of Virgo we intuitively create rituals which honor the rhythms of our daily life, our body, our psyche, because we understand that our wholeness is an integral continuum of the wholeness of life. The Moon is that aspect of our self reflecting our instinctual awareness of cyclical change, and each year, at this time, the waxing Virgo Moon is directing our attention toward our need to honor the cycles of our life. The four faces of every lunar cycle reflect our process of change; the new Moon initiation, the waxing Moon action, the full Moon completion, and the waning Moon integration. The Mayan culture believed that each life force, living spirit, was a single thread woven by the Moon Goddess, Ix Chel, into an intricately patterned cloth of life. I can’t imagine a more beautiful metaphor for our seeking wholeness, the part integrated into the whole, than Ix Chel eternally weaving the living cloth of life.

Our minds have been soaring high above the maddening crowd seeking a fresh life perspective, and today, the waxing Virgo Moon is challenging us to come back to Earth and put our new found perspective into practical skills. The first aspects the Virgo Moon made were a trine to Pluto and a conjunction to Saturn offering us cosmic helping hands to guide our thoughts and feelings toward a gentle landing back on Earth. Venus has been in the heart of the Sun infused with the radiant light of consciousness getting ready to translate our newly gained awareness but before that can happen the Virgo Moon will square Venus and the Sun, and trine Jupiter; funneling our scattered attention into a directed focus of inquiry reaching beyond our self, as long as we are careful not to undermine our sense of curiosity with a false sense of duty. The lunar opposition to Uranus, and the quincunx to Chiron, the South Node, and Neptune are directing our attention to the necessity for integrating our recent experiences into a personal expression that reflects our skillful interweaving of our many faceted selves into an elaborate wholeness.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/2008/06/10/part-of-the-whole/feed/ 0 laurenlesko Ix Chel http://laurenlesko.com/2008/05/27/a-change-within/ http://laurenlesko.com/2008/05/27/a-change-within/#comments Tue, 27 May 2008 17:06:08 +0000 Lauren Lesko http://laurenlesko.com/?p=192 ]]> click on the image to read about the art

I am writing this a day late, after a silly lapse in my remembered time, hoping something I have to say about the Pisces waning Moon will have meaning; is this sounding a trifle like the disruptive influences of a Mercurial moment? I will continue writing as if I didn’t miss the day that I have and think of it as Tuesday which it is not, and not the Wednesday that it is. The movement of the Moon after a zany day of atmospheric flurries on Monday has hit a mild patch of turbulence and the waning Pisces Moon finds us swimming in the watery realms of our unconscious knowing.

The first aspect the waning Moon makes is a sextile to Pluto in Capricorn followed by an opposition to Saturn in Virgo suggesting a creative solution is coming our way that can help us solve the emotional confusion we are feeling with some solid, practical grounding in earthly experiencing. The square to Venus in Gemini is challenging us to make a deeper connection with the feelings of others without loosing the separateness of our own which is difficult at the moment because we are sensitive to an either / or way of relating with others. The last aspect the Moon makes for the day is a square to the Sun in Gemini which may bring confusion, disruption, even a lapse in memory amidst our whirlwind of social activities. What is important to keep in mind is that we need to remain connected with our bodies and honor our sovereignty and separateness. Whatever the Earthly manifestation, the waning Moon points us in the direction of self reflection aware that something is changing within, in Pisces we are always made aware of our boundaries.

Yesterday, we on Earth experienced a powerful Full Moon at the last degrees of Scorpio and Taurus which challenged us to consider how we have consolidated our earthly resources, to examine our emotional attachment to what we own, and to reflect how deeply our identity is invested in what we own including the ownership of information. Today, the radiant light of the Sun entered the sign Gemini and we are receiving the many faces of diversity challenging us to consider a multitude of possible ways of thinking and experiencing life. When the Sun enters Gemini it is time for our individuality to reach out with curious hands and touch lithely a myriad of experiences without qualifying, judging, condemning, or consolidating what it is we are experiencing. This is our chance to see, with the fresh eyes of a child, life for the very first time. This month is a time for initiating new activity in our daily routine; it can be as simple as taking a different route to our local market or as complex as moving to a foreign country; the activity itself is less important than allowing ourself the possibility of doing something that brings us a new experiencing of our life. Gemini is that aspect in ourselves filled with curiosity and wonderment and when under the influence of Gemini celestial fresh air blows open the closed portals in our mind allowing a free flowing circulation of new information, and consequently, new possibilities and choices in life.

Gemini is the sign of the celestial twins reflecting that aspect in ourselves which is of two minds, neither one better nor worst than the other. When we see life through the eyes of Gemini we recognize the inherent duality in life and understand that all opposites exist in tandem together one with the other. This can be a difficult concept for our conscious mind to wrap around because it seems to enjoy compartmentalizing our thoughts and experiences which keep us isolated from others and from ourselves. There are many faces of ourselves which we deny or ignore and the gift of Gemini is teaching us tolerance and acceptance of the contradictions we find in ourselves and in others. The first aspects the Gemini Sun makes are a quincunx to Pluto in Capricorn and a square to Saturn in Virgo both aspects clip the superficial wings of Gemini and our souring curiosity could get bruised plummeting to the ground. If this happens to you try and think of it as a grounding, manifesting, of the limitations of your individuality. The trick is to keep your mind open even as your barometric pressure is rising. It is helpful remembering that the experiences we meet out side ourselves, for good and bad, are reflected faces of multiple aspects of ourselves many of whom are hidden and only appear before us in the behavior of another. The gift of this Gemini Sun, aided by other celestial flurries during the month which I will be writing more about, is becoming aware of our strength and weakness, our liking and disliking, our prejudice, our biases, and most assuredly our humanness.

]]> http://laurenlesko.com/2008/05/20/of-two-minds/feed/ 2 laurenlesko Gemini http://laurenlesko.com/2008/05/15/175-2/ http://laurenlesko.com/2008/05/15/175-2/#comments Thu, 15 May 2008 15:13:31 +0000 Lauren Lesko http://laurenlesko.com/?p=175 ]]> click on the image to read about the art

Yesterday was one of those astrological EUREKA days when a beam of celestial wisdom filters into consciousness and I grow with additional appreciation for the invaluable insight astrology offers human experience. I hesitate to write about my daily experiences but astrology can get mired in abstractions and sometimes the only path toward understanding the significance of celestial phenomenon is to include a personal experience or two. Keeping this thought in mind I will cautiously continue to write this post. The astrological signature of yesterday was the Taurus Sun square the Leo and Aquarius Nodes bringing an atmosphere of resistance to our experiencing the day. It seemed likely that we on earth would encounter someone during the day who would challenge our self confidence, trigger our sensitivity to being rejected, or question our allegiance to privilege. Turning my mind to thoughts of a meeting I had scheduled to discuss the possibility of publishing my writing I felt gratitude for the celestial wisdom gently warning me to take caution in how I choose to interpret my experience.

The Nodal Axis is the celestial points where the Moon crosses the ecliptic every month and they have a lot to do with how we manifest what we are feeling. The South Node, our point of least resistance, rears it’s head when we make decisions based on our past which are often inappropriate for our current life situation. The North Node, our point of growing in consciousness, rears it’s head when we make a decision that is entirely new for us but miraculously makes sense in our current life situation. Each nodal axis highlights a different issue in our unconscious. The Leo and Aquarius nodal axis puts focus on individuality; the Leo South Node reflecting comfort and familiarity with social privilege for a few individuals, and the Aquarius North Node reflecting the opening of our mind enabling us to honor and respect the sovereignty of every individual.

My natal nodes are in Leo and Aquarius and one of my points of least resistance is feeling rejected by authority figures, and yes, my sensitive buttons were pushed when I presented my writing for another’s approval. During the meeting my familiar red flags flared and it would have been second nature for me to feel rejection and loose self confidence; instead, I felt confident with my writing and turning my face to the Aquarius North Node I discovered an open space in my mind that helped me understand that the people in authority were giving supporting advice and encouragement to help improve my writing rather than reject my writing. I clearly saw that life is not a popularity contest, an unfortunate affliction of Leo, but a process of self unfolding that requires developing self – confidence which honors the unique self expression of each individual. Nothing definite was decided but the door was left open and I feel encouraged that something will develop in the future. What impressed me most with my humbling experience was realizing, yet again, that how I perceive my life determines how I experience my life, and that the gift of astrology provides me with the map of my perceptions and expectations helping me navigate my experiences of life. The more I grow in awareness of myself the more I realize that I am the individual creator of my reality and every action I make is creating the reality I experience.