“My evenings are taken up very largely with astrology. I make horoscopic calculations in order to find a clue to the core of psychological truth. Some remarkable things have turned up which will certainly appear incredible to you.”
~Carl Jung in a letter to Sigmund Freud (June 12, 1911)
Astrological Counseling
I offer astrological counseling for psycho-spiritual exploration, understanding, and transformation. Astrology utilized in this way can be a missing key for deep inner work and can shed light on the path towards greater harmony with the natural rhythms and cycles of one’s life journey. My approach to astrology is to share the potentials and opportunities I see while exploring how the symbols and archetypes are manifesting uniquely for each individual. Astrology is a wonderful tool for self-knowledge and a help in times of challenge or transition. It can facilitate tremendous insight and peace, as well as provide timelines for certain archetypal or energetic influences reflected in our lives and inner states of being. Consultations available for birth chart exploration, current influences, relationship dynamics, and timing for important events.
Today Mercury retrograde is conjunct the Sun: “Mercury is in the Heart of the Sun, symbolically in the throne room of the King. This is the ‘seed moment’ of the Mercury cycle — as the Earth, Mercury and the Sun all line up in a straight line. Thus, it is a wonderful time to set your intentions with respect to communications, movement, learning, teaching and any other Mercurial significations” (Gary Caton). This conjunction of Mercury with the Sun is near where the eclipse happened — once again highlighting the area of one’s chart where Scorpio lies, and showing a specific area of life and self where one can focus the intention. “I believe that if there is something you wish to achieve or master, it helps to sit down first and have an image of yourself already there” (Howard Sasportas)
There was a New Moon Solar Eclipse on Nov 13th, followed by Chiron, the wounded healer, going direct on Nov 14th. Whichever house in your natal chart contains 22º Scorpio ♏ is the area of life that was profoundly affected by this New Moon eclipse. Since the eclipse was aligned with the North Node, or dragon’s head, it represents an opportunity to allow something new to come into your experience. Yet a North Node eclipse can also feel uncomfortable as the new and unknown can be frightening and can trigger resistance. If you have planets in your chart near 22º of any of the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius), you may have felt this more personally. Read more...
Then, the very next day after the eclipse, Chiron stationed direct at 5º Pisces ♓. Wherever this is in your birth chart, and if it highlights any of your natal placements, is where old wounding may have come up strongly on Nov 14th, as a planet’s energy is felt more intensely when it changes directions. Chiron reveals where we carry a deep wound, but also where we have the potential to step into the role of being a healer and teacher for others through all of the efforts made on our own healing journey...
“When I stand before thee at the day’s end, thou shalt see my scars and know that I had my wounds and also my healing.” ~Rabindranath Tagore
“The doctor is effective only when he himself is affected. Only the wounded physician heals.” ~Carl Jung
Nov 17, 2012 11:10 AM
November 10, 2012
Neptune ♆ stationing direct
In honor of Neptune stationing direct early Sunday morning, here is a short excerpt from a description of a near death experience. Neptune is the planet of Merging with the Love, Light, and Oneness of all that is. When a planet is stationary, the archetypal energies it symbolizes have a stronger influence on us. Read more...
“I came to understand that most of us have lived much, MUCH longer than we could even fathom. That our lives that feel so very long are infinitesimal when placed in the Whole picture… which for that matter, cannot even be framed. I was shown how every single individual through their own free will chooses paths that MATHEMATICALLY take them to the circumstances of their next existence or life. That NOTHING at all sits in accident or chaos. That every single aspect of our lives are ruled by NATURAL Laws that we placed ourSELVES in! That in a sense, we create our own worlds. I was shown how one can never assume either, that if someone lives a life of suffering that this is because of ‘evil’ deeds. Many may CHOOSE a life of suffering because of what it Awakens in them.. or to help another, etc.. We can NEVER EVER assume that we can be accurate in guessing why each Being lives the life they live. I cannot describe the relief... the refreshing, peaceful balm this Knowledge was for me. To finally gather this Truth that I’d yearned for all of my life… That all IS Good! That there IS sense and beauty all around. That no one is just ‘free-falling’ as it had seemed before…
I have been trying to bring back what I remember as the Perfect Love I experienced on the Other Side and become One with it.” ~Amy C
There is a Full Moon in Taurus on Monday. The moon affects currents and tides, whether in the ocean or in the form of emotion. And the Full Moon is associated with stronger and more volatile surges. On Sunday, Mars, who stirs things up and is not known for peacefulness, was opposite Jupiter, who augments whatever he touches. This aspect could have been a contributor to the sheer size of hurricane Sandy. On the up side, another function of Jupiter is to absorb negative influences. In the solar system Jupiter’s gravity literally protects us from sundry asteroids, meteorites, and ice balls that could collide with Earth. The astrological symbolism of this astronomical fact is that Jupiter serves as a guardian. The seeming paradox that Jupiter can magnify difficulties and yet at the same time also serve as a protector, symbolizes the face of the Divine which leads us through certain unavoidable encounters (karma) toward our highest ultimate destiny... Praying for the warmth, well-being, and best possible outcome for all those who may be affected by this large storm (no power in my neighborhood in Asheville, NC as I write this).
Last week and this week we are having long periods, many hours at a time or full days, when the Moon is Void-of-Course (Since the majority of planets are near the same degrees of the signs they are in, the Moon is having long stretches when it is not making any significant aspects. This is the dynamic which creates the void times). I’ve found that these long periods “in the void” can be wonderfully peaceful when used for down time, contemplation, visioning, or creative work, etc. If it is possible to postpone important left-brain, linear, or practical demands of life, do so during the Void Moon, and go with the flow. To watch when the Void Moons are happening, here is a calendar.
Love, support, empathy, kindness, rapport, harmony, and compatibility — these are words in Venus’s bible. Recently a thought came tumbling into my mind and I realized it was inspired by Venus and represents an important expression of her Libra archetype. Being in the Sun’s month-long stay in the sign of Libra, I am not surprised that Libran values are dominating my mind and heart. The Libra archetype makes the art of relationship a sacred temple.
I was listening to a conversation between two people where one was more interested in making his own point than in hearing and receiving the other person’s thoughts and feelings. I felt sad for both… We have all done it and been there, on both sides... When one is observing, it is easier to see how helpful it would be to the relationship, and to the precious sense of relatedness in the relationship — if we realized that effective communication, not to mention a feeling of communion, only happens through a balanced give and take of expression and reception: not just seeking to be heard, seen, and understood, oneself, but making the effort to hear, see, and sincerely understand the other person as well. This give and take must happen on both sides, or there develops a one-sidedness in which the person who does not feel heard and seen eventually retreats inside — for, on a deep but subtle level, it feels as though his existence is not being acknowledged. Read more...
This is a painful feeling, even if it is not perceived consciously. Ordinarily the conversation continues at this point, but at least one of the participants will feel, to a degree, frustrated and invisible. This creates distance and resentment, and the sense of union or camaraderie is diminished. When both people are more interested in making their own points without listening and acknowledging the other, the quality of the interaction degenerates even more and becomes like two young children, before they have developed the capacity to actually relate, not speaking with each other, but speaking at each other.
The practice of truly listening to another is more than simply hearing words and responding with one’s own ideas. Often we do hear and understand but fail to explicitly articulate in some way that we hear and understand. This small omission weakens the sense of connection in that moment. In addition, the ideas of the one vehemently trying to make his point without first acknowledging the other person, usually lose power and are often lost altogether. I would go on to say that the power of the ideas is lost because the sense of deep communion has ruptured. It takes, for instance, not just a nod from the listener, and not just a pause on the listener’s part before talking about his own experience, but genuine interest. Then, the texture of the listener’s responses will reflect nods, pauses, and relevent questions which indicate the listener’s caring about what the speaker is expressing, but more important yet, the listener’s caring about the speaker, himself.
With the Sun in Libra, there is the opportunity to experience being more keenly attuned to the other person. It is an excellent time to consciously practice one’s capacity to take in what the other person is seeking to share and express — to hold it, dwell with it, feel it inside, and actively respond about it — before switching the commentary over to one’s own experience, thoughts, or feelings. That is the key. The one who has been heard, seen, and understood has received a gift, and the sense of communion prospers. To mutually gift one another in this way is one of the treasures of Venus and her sign, Libra.
This one seemingly small communication practice is so powerful that it can make or break a relationship, and has the power to rescue a failing relationship. These Venusian communication skills are not automatic and they often feel counter-intuitive, but If we applied them, our relationships — personal, professional, civic, and global — would be benefited with more mutual understanding, love, peace and unity.
These are high intensity days within a long-term process of change
Sep 18th-20th are high intensity days. Conflicts, crises, resolutions, and shifts that occur now are part of a long-term and deeply transformative process of change, which is happening on both the individual and collective level. On Sep 18th, Pluto stationed direct, right before the second of seven exact Uranus/Pluto squares on Sep 19th, giving this generational-changing/revolution-bringing aspect extra momentum. Then on Sep 20th, fast moving Mercury triggers the Uranus/Pluto square, which has the potential to stir unconscious or core issues up and into our thoughts, words, and day-to-day interactions. We may not be able to fully appreciate or understand the full impact of what is now in process, as there are still five more exact Uranus/Pluto squares to come through 2015. The seven squares in total indicate that it will be a profound series of changes and upheaval, unfolding over time, urging us to let go of outdated and restrictive structures within our psyches and within our societies. This process can feel challenging or scary, as a part of us has to die to the old way, but ultimately it correlates with a strong push forward and a rebirth that is aligned with liberation from internal and external limitations that are no longer serving.
Then on Sep 23, the Moon triggered the Uranus/Pluto square and on Sep 29, the Full Moon and the Sun brought it into sharp focus again.
Oct 2, 2012 9:04 PM
September 15, 2012
A New Moon in the mutable, earth sign of Virgo ♍
Sep 15th, A New Moon in the mutable, earth sign of Virgo ♍. This is the perfect time to begin a new health or work routine. The New Moon supports you in clarifying intentions and initiating new ventures. The archetype of Virgo is about purification, analysis, and refinement. Virgo rules health, service, and all of the mundane details of the day-to-day — which must be accomplished in order to sustain life and create space for the sacred. Wherever 24º of Virgo falls in your chart is the area of life that will be activated and rejuvenated by this New Moon.
Venus is in Leo Sep 6 to Oct 3, 2012. Girls Just Want To Have Fun! Venus = girls (or your inner feminine). Leo = play and fun... Besides fun, Venus in Leo also relates to a dimension of art, relationships, and love that includes and inspires the highest and noblest qualities of human potential.
Mars in Scorpio has made himself known! Mars ♂ entered Scorpio ♏ on Aug 23rd and will be there through Oct 6, 2012. The warrior god, Mars, is now taking his military operation within, going down into the depths — first to investigate, and then to conquer whatever fears, blockages, or hidden complexes may be subliminally calling the shots or holding one back. Mars is full of courage, passion, and a certain rawness. The underlying motivation of the Scorpio archetype is to overcome barriers to authenticity and real intimacy. During this transit, excavations revealing hidden elements, tensions, internal struggles, and previously concealed sources of power, may be expected.
“The doctor is effective only when he himself is affected. Only the wounded physician heals.” ~Carl Jung