Why Astrology?

Astrology is a pretty popular thing these days. This is good. And bad.

Good because its one way of seeing the bigger picture, realizing that there is something going on that involves us all and not any one particular preference, but rather the whole host of preferences. At least, that's the way I see it.

Bad because the more popular it becomes, the more we seem to 'dumb it down'...

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm all for simplicity. Getting right down to the nitty gritty. I don't have a lot of time for the over-intellectualising of anything. If you think that something has to be complex to be worthwhile, you haven't experienced that singular satisfaction that is had after a drink of cool, clean, fresh, unadulterated water. Got that sensation in your mind? Feel that cool flow of liquid over your tongue? There you go. Simple, yet satisfying.

But, there comes a time when you may have just crossed the line with 'dumbing it down'... And I guess, with all the stuff floating around based solely on what is called SUN SIGN ASTROLOGY, that line, in my opinion, has been crossed. Sun Sign Astrology is great as an introduction to a beautiful and complete system of self-analysis and spiritual insight--which is the whole body of astrological knowledge--but it does a severe dis-service to it if that is where you park your car. You got to keep moving down that highway of information to get the maximum return on investment. The investment? Your limited and precious time and energy. In this fast paced world of gotta do and have to be, every minute is worth its weight in gold, or whatever other form of tender you choose to use.

And it isn't really all that difficult to get the bigger picture of how astrology works. Not everyone who studies astrology needs to be a working astrologer--(that's what I am)--and really, why should you? Just like not everyone can be a lawyer (that may be a bad example) or teacher, or medic or firefighter or physicist or...well, I think you get the drift. However, anyone who wants to can acquire a solid working knowledge of the subject and in fact, it is wise to do so like when you need to go see a medic, a lawyer and so forth. Maybe you won't actually plead your case, but it helps to at least have some familiarity with the ground rules. Yes? Well, I say yes...

So what I will do in the next few posts is to explore in a very simple and uncluttered way, what the building blocks of astrology are.

Getting to know some of this stuff REALLY enhances the life that you live. Its all about flow. Finding YOUR own flow. Its about synchronicity--that wonderfully magical phenomenon that sends shivers through you when it happens. Here's a lovely thought--synchronicity happens all the time! We just have to take those blindfolds off our eyes to see it. Astrological knowledge helps in that area! Its about coming to terms with things. That's a big one for those of us who came into this world filled with vinegar and angst--yes, that was me, for sure. Its about inner alignment and yes, its about that kind of pretentious thing called SOUL PURPOSE. But if we understand that soul purpose is merely that thing that makes you feel like you are doing something--(get ready)--singular, sustaining, exploratory, nurturing, creative, healing, co-operative, meaningful, adventuresome, useful, aspirational or poetic, well then, that changes things. Soul purpose  does not have to be a big deal except TO YOU. and, for most of us, it only matters to us that we are keyed into what our soul wants.

So, there you go. If you have read this and gotten through to the 12 key words that I used to describe SOUL PURPOSE, you have just had your first short astrology lesson. Each word, in the order that I used them, is aligned to one of the 12 signs of the Zodiac in sequential order starting with Aries. There are plenty more words that we will get to later on to describe the 12 signs of the Zodiac, but even just starting with the 12 that I chose to use, will give you insight into how the different energies work.

Until next time, STAR GAZERS...

The Virgo Moon

The Moon Is My Mother…Part 2 continued

When an astrologer does a chart analysis, much is devoted to the Sun and the Moon both on their own and as a pair. The Sun signifies the visible part of the persona while the Moon represents the shadow side of that same persona. Sometimes this can be the reason why a person might read a description of their Sun Sign and feel that it is not quite on the money. Try reading the description of whatever sign your Moon is in and see if that fills out the picture a bit.

All of the bits and pieces of the psyche are linked in an intricate web to one another even if there are no obvious aspects between them. They all come together to form what we call the personality. If the Sun and the Moon are in very different types of energies this makes the way that they work together more complicated. For instance, someone with the Sun in Aries and the Moon in Virgo, has to consciously bring these very different forms of expression together somehow. Aries doesn’t understand caution and planning while Virgo can’t live without it. It takes personal commitment to inner work to find a coherent way to get this type of pair to work in harmony. And sometimes, harmony is not actually the mode. It might just be a matter of compromise. Aries must learn to exercise some patience while Virgo gets all of her ducks in a row. Virgo must learn to relinquish control so that Aries can fly free. Not easy but absolutely doable and wow, what a combo once the strategies are acquired. Obviously the rest of the natal planets will contribute to the overall plan of action.

In Virgo, the Moon has the most adaptability of all of the three earthy signs. That’s because Virgo is the Mutable Earth Sign, the modality that has the most movement built into it. This adaptability and movement adds itself to the already changeable energy of The Moon. By essential nature lunar energy is quicksilver.

At the highest level of function, this is the Moon of ‘practical magic’. I associate this energy to that of the Ritual Worker, the one who knows what to do, how to do it and when to do it. On an emotional level, this is the person who will make the warm cup of tea just in time to be there when the tears are flowing. She will make sure that your needs are met when you are under stress. A clean soft pillow, a bowl of soup, a warm blanket to stop the shivering. Emotions translate in physical ways and Virgo Moon instinctively zeroes in to these things and has practical ways to address them.

This is an energy that can get to the root of the matter through careful consideration. Analysis comes easily and once the analysis has been made, solutions are easy to formulate. It’s when we don’t understand something or feel confused by all of the contradictory data that solutions seem impossible. But every problem has a solution and every situation can be altered by a reasonable strategy. Virgo Moon knows this.

When under stress, this is the type of person who will throw herself into some kind of task to find safety. The joke is, ‘What is your favourite weekend pastime?—Cleaning my closet, of course!’ says Virgo. Creating order around her facilitates a return to sanity when under emotional pressure.

What you have to watch for, Virgo Moon, is not seeing the forest for the trees. Don’t get lost in the bits and pieces. Keep reminding yourself to look for the big picture. Be careful of setting that bar so high that no one, including yourself can ever reach it. Perfect is what is real and not what is imagined. The danger is that nothing will ever be good enough. That’s why, sometimes, this energy can devolve into the critical and sarcastic. It’s disappointment manifesting in the only way that it can.

The pathway into full actualization on an emotional level for this energy is forgiveness and compassion. (That’s reflected in the Pisces partner sign, always the counterpoint in any evolutionary process.) It’s challenging. To forgive emotionally is not easy, sometimes seemingly impossible. To exercise true compassion seems simple enough until you start to get lost in the bits and pieces of the situation. Virgo Moon must practice how to move beyond the doing and into the believing. To do is not enough and to have faith is not enough, what is necessary is to do from a place of faith. Easy to say, not so easy to do.

In past lives, the Virgo Moon person has acquired a vast amount of skill and know how in the area of the application of emotional energy. She has learned how to manage her emotions, how to control then and how to put them to good use. Probably, she has experienced some degree of hurt along the way. Boundaries were crossed, she may have been used badly and thus the retreat into the functional. In this life, she won’t easily let her true emotions show for fear of being hurt again. The challenge, of course, is to move into trust and faith, to believe in something beyond the literal physical reality, to really embrace a spiritual perspective. That doesn’t mean that she has to throw out her tool bag of functionality.

It’s a complicated energy. But at the root of it, this is a healer Moon, a nurturer Moon, a caring Moon, the Florence Nightingale of Moons. Once true forgiveness is fully integrated into the pattern of behaviour, this is an emotional energy that knows no limitations and has any number of useful practical strategies to use when under stress. The key is to mindfully move into a state of grace in all things and incorporate a keen a sense of both the physical and the spiritual into the emotional syntax.

The Moon Is My Mother: Part 2
“the earth beneath your feet”


The Sun is the future. It shines in the sky and draws growth from the earth. Without that sun, nothing can live. Astrologically, this is a very apt analogy. In the natal chart, the Sun represents the destination that we pursue as works in progress. It is the thesis that we are exploring in any given life. We gain as much from exploring what not to do as we do by exploring what to do. As we gain more and more experiences we acquire a certain amount of skill in how to actually live through our solar energy as represented by the Sun in the natal chart. Life is evolution and change while a static state is what we call death.

The Moon is the past. It governs the tides and other cycles of this earth we inhabit. It soothes and nurtures us after a long hard day’s work. Just as the Sun beckons us to all that we could possibly become, so does the Moon secure us to all that we already know and understand. It is the safety net that we hold within ourselves, that which we instinctively cleave to when times get tough or incomprehensible. It is the life habits that we don’t have to think about but that just kick in when necessary. It is the things that bring us comfort under duress. We can hide in our Moons, tucked away from the glare of the noonday Sun.

If you like the idea on ongoing incarnations, then think of the Moon as the container of all that you have ever experienced. And the operative work is experience rather than understanding. Understanding comes only after some pretty intense work on the part of the psyche to integrate experiences into some sort of coherent form. This could be after one experience or it might be after several repetitions of the same kind of experience. Learning is never simple or straightforward. (More on this in upcoming blogs.)

I have a friend who, when asked about the general condition of people’s mental health, says, everyone is f@#*ed because we all have a Moon. She’s only half joking. What she means is that we are just as prone to develop bad habits as we are to develop good habits. It’s the bad ones that can really mess us up. Because the Moon is the seat of our emotional body, things don’t follow a straight line or a logical order. Once those emotions get involved, the sky can turn green and the grass can grow down rather than up. Perception, as they say, is everything and perception can absolutely play tricks on our poor little logical mind.

There is an intimate relationship between the Sun and the Moon, both literally, in the solar system, and astrologically, as they demonstrate how the psyche operates. Literally, the Moon has no light of its own but merely reflects light, the light of the burning Sun. And astrologically, the Moon holds (or reflects) all that the Sun has lived through. It ‘contains’ the sum of the parts and again, once you embrace the concept of ongoing incarnation, that sum can be quite massive. She really is our Mother and it’s where we came from in a very lyrical and poetic way.

In Part one of this Moon blog series, I talked about the Fire Moons with their impetuous and adventurous nature. Here we go with the Earth Moons.

By the way, there is an immutable order when it comes to energy. Wherever you begin, it never varies. Fire, Earth, Air and Water. Always. Its one of the basic things to understand when you are starting to learn astro-speak. Fire, Earth, Air and Water. Always and forever. And in that beautiful wheel that I call the mandala of the soul, aka, the natal horoscope, this sequence of elements repeats itself 3 times. (More about that in a future blog, as well.)

So Earth follows the Fire. Which is good. After all that activity, a rest period is always welcome. And that’s kind of how the Earth Moons feel in the persona. Calm, steady, grounded and solid. Not Moon-like at all if you think about it.

There’s a thing in traditional astrology that classifies the weight and, I guess, a good word would be power, of planets in signs. It’s called the ‘dignities’ if you want to google it for yourself. Interestingly, The Moon finds both her exaltation and her fall in two of the Earth signs of the Zodiac. I don’t particularly like those words since they carry a certain assessment by their attachment to the position but I understand where the traditionals were going when they came up with this system. They wanted to establish the way to describe the manner that the lunar energy as represented by the Moon in the chart, might act in any given zodiac sign. There is potential in all placements, of course. And my teacher, Jeffrey Wolf Green, used to repeat rather emphatically, that the reason anyone was born with whatever horoscope they had was because the soul that is behind the ego chose it for purpose. Nothing, absolutely nothing is haphazard. The essential nature of each individual’s experiential process is what contributes to the evolution (or not) or the soul. (Evolutionary Astrology absolutely encompasses an acceptance of the concept of ongoing incarnation.) So, no judgment for any given lunar energy. The words associated with the dignities, however, imply a ‘better than’ and a ‘lesser than’ state of being. So, I have long felt that we need to come up with a more inclusive kind of language when we talk about these positions within the wheel.

Never mind all that, however, and let’s just look at the earthy Moons.

Moon in Taurus people can often experience what the rest of us might call ‘luck’ when observed from the outside. This is truly the ultimate in ‘receiver’ energies. This placement is one of those ‘dignities’—the exaltation. What this really means is that the Moon finds total ground in Taurus. The normal changeable and erratic lunar energy is steadied and can be extremely focused and calm. Taurus is, after all, the ultimate earthy energy. It is all things organic and growing. It is the symbol of gestation, the creative force taking form. Do you know the Tarot? The Empress is a great depiction of all that Taurus can be. So when the skittish, moody Moon lands in Taurus, it suddenly becomes a force to be reckoned with.

In past lives, the Taurus Moon person diligently pursued the gifts of the spirit. He worked hard to manage his emotional energy. That’s why, in current life, he seems doubly blessed. But it isn’t by accident. The partner sign to Taurus is Scorpio so we know that this energy was somehow relevant to current life experience. Scorpio is, in part, the loss of what makes us secure, transformation, rebirth and all that sort of thing that can actually look pretty challenging at first glance. Taurus is the end result of the metamorphosis, the respite that comes after the storm.

If you have Taurus Moon, your challenge is to MOVE. Don’t just sit complacently in all that you have so far received. Be open to ongoing change and transformation. The contribution that you can make to the greater collective is much like the rudder on the ship. You have an almost palpable etheric energy that can be used to steady and steer through the waters of life. Your connection to the intrinsic cycles of life gives you the ability to trust and believe that ‘this, too, will pass’ when times get tough. Your intuitive sense of order and structure often can put you in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. You instinctively can ‘smell’ when to make that critical move. If you can harness the energy of powerful Scorpio, that shadow part of the Taurus/Scorpio partnership, to motivate yourself, you really can become an unstoppable force of nature.

When you feel threatened, Taurus Moon, you flee to nature; you surround yourself with tangible, physical comfort. It could be a long aromatic and warm bath in a candlelit room; a delicious and extravagant meal accompanied by wine and chocolate; a luxurious spa day where you feel pampered and stroked and don’t forget TOUCHED! All things organic draw you. And this is exactly what you can give to others; warmth, comfort, support, a sense of security. People might often say to you, You make me FEEL so safe and you don’t even know just exactly what it is that you have done! Just keep doing it!

I have a funny story that really illustrates the seeming serendipity of Moon in Taurus. A young man with this placement was moving house in L.A., a kind of a scary sort of city in many ways—and really, really big. He couldn’t find a truck to make the move and there he was on the last day that he had to do this. Without really thinking about it, he walked outside and made his way to one of the many freeways that criss-cross that city. He stood there at the side of the road for a bit watching the traffic speed by him. Then he saw a moving truck coming towards him. He flagged it down. What do you think happened next? You got it, he was soon moved into his new place. Chance? Luck? Maybe. But what really happened is that his natural wisdom kicked in, he intuitively made his way to the place where he would most likely find a moving van, he absolutely believed that he would find one and that whoever was driving it would help him. And that is exactly what happened. Taurus Moon—gotta love it.

The Moon Is My Mother: Part One
Fire In The Sky


We all love the Sun. We adore it. We even worship it. It shines boldly in the brilliant daytime sky of our soul. And that’s as it should be. In astrology, the Sun is what holds it all together within the psyche. Everything finds its way back to this central energy of self. Everything is fed by the vibrancy of this part of the psyche or debilitated if it is not operating as it should…confidently, proactively, hopefully, positively. You get the drift, right?

But then the night comes and wraps itself around us. We drown in the darkness and we wonder where the light has gone. We look up into endless waves of indigo and black. And there she is. Floating across the nighttime sky of our soul…the Moon, Luna, She who Sees the Unseen, Mother to us all.

In astrology, the Moon, Goddess of the Silver Song, represents that part of the psyche where we need comfort, security and warmth. We can learn about our real Mamas by studying the Moon in our charts. We can understand our basic survival needs and what exactly makes us feel safe and secure. How we connect to our community of choice is another thing the Moon in the chart shows. Do we fit in or are we always on the sidelines trying to find the fit. Oh, lots and lots of aspects of the inner, personal, secret self are stored in that part of the psyche.

In Roman times, astrology was sort of commonplace—different than today in many ways. Their society was much more regimented and thus, the devices of that society operated somewhat differently than those of our society. That’s another topic, however, on which I’ll ponder at a later date. Here’s the thing, people were much more tuned into Moon Signs back then than we are today. The Emperors identified themselves by their Moon sign rather than their Sun Sign. Why, you wonder. Well, it’s a much more specific identification, that’s why. Your Sun Sign is established by being born in a roughly 30 day period of time. That’s a lot of days and you actually belong to a rather wide group of babies all born in that time period. But the Moon! She travels around the zodiac really, really fast. While the Sun lolls about for that month period, taking his time to get through a single sign (energy) of the zodiac, that frisky old Moon gets through ALL 12, yes, the whole zodiac, in the same time period.

What this means is that every 2 ½ days, the zodiac sign of the Moon changes. Every wondered why that cousin of yours who was born just a few days after you were, is so darn different than you? Same Sun Sign, yes that’s true but, hey! Totally different Moon sign. So there you are, bold and courageous, a risk taker and an explorer and there she is, timid and cautious, careful and just a little critical. You know you are both Aries but what you don’t know is that Your Leo Moon makes you even more fiery than your Sun Sign indicates you would be and her Virgo Moon totally puts on the brakes when her solar energy gets wild and crazy. The thing is, most of us actually operate from that place in the psyche that the Moon represents, the emotional, reactive self.

So…do you know your own Moon Sign? If you use astrology, you probably do or at the very least, you could find out, either from your astrologer or from some source material that you use to study astrology. Any student of astrology will find out where the Moon was when they were born first thing! Astrologers use something called an ephemeris which basically lists the position of all of the planets along with the Moon and some other things for every single day of the year. Practicing astrologers mostly have software that instantly finds where each planet was and comes up with a horoscope or chart for the person in question. So, today, it is pretty easy to just look up where any of the planets were when you were born and, if you are someone who plays around with the tool of astrology, you know that each planet represents a different aspect of the self. Actually, it is pretty specific and once you know how to ‘read’ the map, (the natal horoscope), the amount of insight that you can get is pretty overwhelming. I’ve sat in a room with strangers and discussed their natal chart only to see their eyes wider and wider, in some cases, more and more guarded, in other cases, as I unfold the chart and tell them things that only they know. That’s why this is sacred work. When someone gives you their birth data, it is something even more intimate than anything else two people can share. That’s why anyone who undertakes the discipline of astrology must approach it with integrity and reverence.

But the thing is this. Why learn about any of this stuff? Why find out what the Moon sign is, or an of the other planets for that matter? Simply answered, its to be able to move through your experiential journey with acute consciousness, with an understanding and an awareness so that you can get a maximum experience rather than a minimal muddles one. Is it about learning? Ugh! Let’s find some other language to classify this process. Let’s call is absorption. Let’s be like vessels that are being filled with each and every thing that occurs in our lives and once we are full to the brim, then we can move along on that spiral of becoming that ultimately takes us home to source—you know, that big guy in the sky, the goddess of goodness and grace, the stars of wisdom and knowing—whatever you want to call it. I call it home, the place that I came from somewhen, somehow, somewhere.

So, the Moon. Because she represents reactive energy within the self, it is really important to understand those mechanisms. You can’t always change negative or unproductive mechanisms overnight but you’ll never change them if you don’t become aware of them!

So, there are 12 zodiac signs, 4 elemental categories (Fire, Earth, Air and Water) and 3 modal categories, (Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable). Just knowing in which one of these your own Moon falls will reveal a huge amount of info about the way you seek security and interface with your community of choice. I’ll begin with the Fire Moons, Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. In my next posting I’ll talk about the Earth Moons.

Aries Moon gives courage in the face of anything. How do you behave when under threat? You fight back, that’s how. Pretty independent emotionally, you like it fast and furious when it comes to those warm and fuzzy moments. This is leadership energy. And if it can be used to inspire others to step up to the plate and take their own swing at things, you’ve learned to use it rather well.

The past life skill set is about a true grit deep within the soul, the ability to survive even when totally on your own, a hunger for the open road and the next mountain waiting to be climbed. In this life, find ways to include others in what you feel and need. Open up and try to remember that you aren’t here on your own.

Leo Moon loves to be loved. This is an energy of joy. When you’re under threat, your Leo Luna turns the tables on whatever is causing the insecurity. You have the ability to create mirages that obscure unpleasant realities. And boy, do you ever love DRAMA. In fact, it’s your middle name. This is a truly expansive energy that, at the optimum operating mode absolutely sizzles up any situation. Oh, don’t we all love that Leo energy!

In past lives, you experienced the feeling of being central to any situation that you were in. You felt the love that others gave you and came to believe that it was rightfully yours. In this life, work on the ideas of sharing and giving to others since you have so much love deep inside of yourself.

Sagittarius Moon is the seeker. You probably don’t even recognize that sense of insecurity that others might because you are always in exploration mode. But, in fact, your answer to fear is to push yourself beyond your limits whatever they might be. Feeding your needs might look like thrill seeking to others but to you, its all about the unknown and finding a pathway into that vast undiscovered country of the heart. You will need a partner who understands the gypsy in your emotional make-up.

In past lives you experienced emotional freedom to the max. You know how to detach and live in full faith. This time around, focus on connection rather than singularity. Dialogue with those around you and share that natural emotional wisdom that comes so easily to you.


Keep watching for the next set of lovely Luna energies—the Earthy group, Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn.

I haven't posted in a while. Things in life always see to get in front of blogging. But the ideas are starting to knock at the door so here I am again. The following is actually an article that I wrote for the local alternative journal recently and I thought I should also put it up here on the blog page.


The Astrological Profile of ‘The Healer’



What is healing, really? Can anyone become a healer? What is it that defines someone as a healer? Can we identify the profile of a healer astrologically? These are all questions that come up when the topic of healing, whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual, comes up. And this topic does come up in these turbulent and uncertain times when so many of us are struggling to find balance and wellness.

Healing is the process that brings back that which is broken or separated into a condition of wholeness and soundness. A good alternate word for healing is integration. When a physical wound begins to heal, it is reintegrated into the body. The cells of the body begin to regenerate and close the wound until all that might be visible is a scar where once there was a gash. Sometimes even a scar is no longer evident. This same process applies to emotional, mental and the more profound spiritual wounds. The bits and pieces of the emotional and mental bodies that may have been ‘wounded’ are nurtured and salved until they can be reintegrated into the self and contribute to the functioning ego. Spiritually, it is a process which restores balance to the psyche so that the individual can face his or her existence with confidence and hopefulness. A healed soul is a soul in balance on every level of its manifestation (existence). A wounded soul is one which is not able to experience a full and free expression of self on one or more of the levels of being.

In these turbulent and changing times healing has become a topic of great interest to those who are seeking this balance of being. Many have turned to alternate means to accomplish this integration of self though it must be stated that conventional medicine still offers some solutions in this area, particularly on the physical level. However, we know now that healing can be accomplished with or without the aid of conventional means. Our minds and ultimately, our souls, are a critical factor when we undertake healing. It is no wonder that so many seekers of spiritual understanding eventually find their way into the fields of alternate healing, like herbalism, homeopathy, acupuncture, osteopathy, reflexology, massage for the more physical types of ailments and shamanism and energy healing that includes both hands on and hands off methods for the mental, emotional and spiritual ones.

(For a good discussion of the various types of methods available google: Energy healing/types.)

Can anyone be a healer? The short answer to this question is, “Of course!” To suggest that only some can assume the role of the healer/facilitator is preposterous. However, on an astrological level we can hone in to a potential predisposition to being the healer type.

The Virgo Healer

There are four signs of the zodiac which co-relate directly to the ‘healer’ profile. I want to emphasize that this does not mean that the other eight signs cannot perform as healers and we will explore this at a later date. However, let’s start with these four since they are the classical ‘healer’ type, wired to be natural givers and healers.

Let’s begin with the Virgo Healer and the physical body. The body is always in need of some form of healing. We have accidents, get illnesses and as we age the body systems begin to break down. In Virgo we find properties that fit the profile of the physical healer. Imagine the ultimate nurse who patiently and diligently attends to the physical needs of the ailing patient. The built in manual dexterity (Virgo is aligned to Mercury which rules hand/eye coordination), the efficiency that is a hallmark of this zodiac energy, the attentiveness to the minutia of patient care; these are all qualities that Virgo has the potential to manifest.

On the highest of levels, Virgo embodies the essence of the ‘Ritual Worker’, the one who is able to bring order to what is disordered. Ritual is actually process that has been refined over countless enactments to become something more than the sum of its parts. Through ritual, a greater ideal is being served. In the case of Virgo and the process of ritual, the greater ideal is healing. In the context of physical healing, it is Virgo’s innate understanding of process that contributes to a smooth recuperation and recovery. Virgo can establish a daily ritual or habit of patient care and through this aid in the recovery of the body systems.

The Capricorn Healer

Beyond the body, we know that much unwellness can exist in the mind or the mental body. In this context we can turn to the superb efficiency of the
Capricorn Healer to heal the ailing spirit through the application of good management and gentle control.

An unwell mind is one that has lost its grip on reality and as a result has become unbalanced. This zodiac sign is aligned to the planet Saturn. This is the planet that is representative of the function within everyone that deals with the essential construction of perceived reality by the ego self. The Capricorn Healer guides the ailing patient to examine her reality structures and explore ways to bring balance and equity to that reality. Slowly but surely, order is restored under the firm tutelage of the Capricorn Healer. Capricorn understands exactly what reality is. It is the energy within everyone that is concerned with protocols for orderly and successful living. It is the executive function within the ego. A Capricorn Healer is able to soothe the ailing spirit by the sheer force of his/her presence. The Capricorn ability to align action to outcome can aid someone with an ailing mind to slowly find a sense of stability and security and begin to make headway into mental wellness. Mental turbulence is gradually replaced by a growing calmness that is based on solid systems of living, well understood by Capricorn.

Capricorn is not considered to be a nurturing or personal energy and this also fits nicely. To support someone who is mentally unwell, a certain degree of separation and distance must be maintained. Transference or entanglement with the patient is one of the main issues that can arise in mental healing. Archetypically, Capricorn is ‘The Counselor’, he who guides and manages. The process of mental healing is one of the more complicated paths to take as a healer and in Capricorn, we find the abilities that can lead to success on this level, strength, discipline, resolve, detachment from emotional transference and a keen sense of purpose.

The Cancer Healer

The emotional body is the third of the four body systems. Healing on this level is both complicated and arduous. Emotions are irrational. The causes of emotional dis-ease are never easy to untangle and in most cases, hard to define. People who are suffering from emotional un-wellness need long term nurturing and care. They need to feel loved. Fear is often a large part of emotional illness so the healer needs to create a sense of security on the most intimate of levels. The emotionally un-well individual must feel accepted and embraced by the healer. Cancer, aligned to the Moon, is well-suited to understanding the ebb and flow of the emotional body. Depression can be cyclic in nature and Cancer understands how cycles occur. The Moon, on a physical level, is connected to the tidal cycles of the world’s oceans. These tidal cycles are a very fitting representation of emotional tidal cycles that can ebb and flow according to some unseen but inexorable pattern.

Archetypically, Cancer is ‘The Great Mother’ and just as the image suggests, it is an energy that nurtures and embraces. The body part associated with Cancer is the breast. Can you see, in your mind’s eye, the picture of a gentle, caring mother holding a crying child in her arms close to her breasts which, of course, are layered over the heart. This is the energy that provides the emotionally wounded person with ultimate safety, warmth, love and unconditional acceptance, all facets that are critical if healing is to take place on this most delicate of levels.

Of course, emotional un-wellness is often partnered with mental un-wellness. In the wheel of the Zodiac, Cancer and Capricorn are partner signs, positioned exactly 180* away from each other. The one balances out the other and vice versa. A strong hand to guide the mentally unbalanced individual and an environment of safety and security to support any emotional ills is a nice working partnership.

The Pisces Healer

The last of the four types of bodies is the spiritual or etheric body. When the spirit ails, all levels of being are affected. Spiritual counseling must be founded on the highest of all of the love energies, that is, the agape level, love based on principle and not on personal concern. The Zodiac sign that fits the bill in this capacity is Pisces. Pisces is aligned to the planet, Neptune and secondarily to Jupiter. Neptune is representative of that part of the psyche that seeks the divine. Jupiter demonstrates the psyche’s search for truth, amongst other things. Through the energy of Pisces, illumination and higher understanding can be realized. A Spiritual Counselor serves spirit by providing his patient with guidance that is devoid of personal agenda. The love that comes from the Pisces Healer is pure, true and uplifting. If it is working well, it is beyond the ego even though it flows through it.

Archetypically, Pisces is the acolyte, the Boddhisattva. This is a Sanskrit term that essentially means ‘wisdom-being’ or ‘enlightened one’. At the highest level, the Pisces soul is one who is motivated by ultimate compassion. This is the quality that serves as the foundation for the spiritual healer, that desire to be of service to all, to give of oneself for the good of the greater whole. The obvious symbol that clearly identifies this is, of course, Jesus. According to the story, this wisdom-being offered himself up willingly to cover the sins (ills) of mankind.

Pisces is the partner sign of Virgo. While the spirit receives succor, the body is salved. And really, spiritual dis-ease ultimately results in physical symptom.

Everyone has these four energies within them, though some may have them more emphasized. Certainly, they can be cultivated even if they are not highlighted. Life is about choices and what we do with those choices.

Finally, healing is not limited to the signs discussed. Any of the 12 energies of the Zodiac can be used in the healing process. There is the mystery of Scorpio, the sheer joy of Leo, the comfort and dependability of Taurus, the grace and beauty of Libra to name just a few. All such attributes can be funneled into healing.

Within each of us resides ‘The Inner Healer’. It is incumbent on us all to locate and connect to her/him so that we can work towards a condition of balance and integration on all of the levels of being, whether as a service to others or just for ourselves.

A Time For All Things Under The Heaven

The summer months sped by and I turned my attention to things of the earth. Living in Winnipeg, we always feel rather frantic to cram as much activity as we can into the time of the year when the weather is warm and the sun is shining.

But what a summer we have had! Along with the heat, we have had more rain that I can remember! In my yard at the north side of the city are 4 apples trees, real apples,not crabs and this year the apple fairy decided that they would produce apples galore! As the little round orbs started to swell, the branches of my trees began to bend. One morning I looked out and saw that one of the trees in my front yard was literally scraping the ground with her branches, like a dancer doing a deep bow at the end of her performance.

Oh, my goodness, I thought to myself. Being of Eastern European extraction, I started to fret about the quantity of apples and whether i could actually utilize them all appropriately. Waste not, want not, dontcha know!

I now have explored and experimented with every kind of apple related preserve and other application that I could find in my various cookbooks and on the net. I have apples jelly, apple pie in a jar, apple sauce with flavours of various kinds added to it, apple juice, baggies of dried apple slices and apple leather which, even though I am not a big lover of that kind of thing, is pretty tasty.

But there is only so much of the above that one can make and I started to feel desperate! Then my daughter who is a facebook junkie posted my situation on her site, putting out a call to one and all to come and get the apples. I had, of course been giving them out all along but what I discovered was that no one wanted more than a bag or two. That just wasn't going to cut it this year! We did haul about a dozen boxes off to Winnipeg Harvest but apparently we weren't the only ones doing that! But the call was heard and at the end of the season, James showed up and took away the last remains of the crop of 2010 to the horse farm where he and the kids he works with go to feed the horses. I think that those horses had a little feast this year!

And I have almost 200 jars of various types of canning with more to come since I still have beets and tomatoes to deal with. Last week I put half of the garden to bed. The day was warm and sunny and the smell of the fall was all around me. I don't know what I like better, the fresh tangyness of the spring or the sweet scent of the autumn. Summer can be too hot by half and winter, well, we all know what its like in Winnipeg in the winter!

So I didn't do a lot of writing over the last few months, none to post at any rate. You can still catch me in the Aquarian--I had articles in both of the last two issues and I'm working on something for the winter issue as well--but I haven't been doing a lot of other writing. I just posted a Leo blog to complete the cycle of the 12 zodiac signs so the archives have a few thoughts on different ways to look at each energy as it comes round in the year.

I will give some thought as to what I want to explore next blogwise so keep checking in from time to time if you are interested int he starry skies and how they mirror this muddle here on earth!

In the meantime, have a great fall, get ready for solstice and be blessed!

For The Love Of Leo

It’s that time again! The Sun, that big beautiful ball of lovely light that warms and nourishes us, is transiting the zodiac sign of Leo. So, all you “Leo’s”, have a happy one!

Most astrologers co-relate this fiery fixed sign with love, birth, creativity, power, luck and romance! Sounds pretty attractive to me! Leo is aligned to the 5th house in the natural wheel of the zodiac thus endowing that segment of the horoscope with Leo-like attitudes. If, for instance, you are not born under the sign of Leo but have a lot of your planets in the 5th house, especially the personal ones like the Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars; you may approach life in a Leonine way. Of course, the actual sign that any of these personals is in will modify the way you actually behave. For instance, you might be a “5th house Capricorn”. Capricorn is much more sedate, more reserved than Leo so you might be creative, but quietly so, romantic, but with some reserve, powerful, but in a dignified way.

Leo’s opposite sign is Aquarius and according to the law of polarity, duality is the underlying resonance of all manifestation. Applying this to the zodiac then, we can see that the energies that sit ‘across’ from each other in the zodiac wheel ideally work in harmony with each other and the ebb and flow of anything is regulated by polarity forces. While Leo brings focus to all that is primarily personal—the ‘me’ factor, Aquarius brings focus to all that is primarily collective—the ‘we’ factor. So, the intention of anyone with a focus in Leo is to find a way to pull in the energy of that opposite force. So, Leo, what can YOU do for the greater whole? What is the focus in your life that relates to community? What is the gift that you bring to society?

Leo loves the limelight and who is it that is able to give the limelight? The collective, of course! If Leo has no audience for the sheer magnificence of his manifestation, well, then, he might just lazily lie around doing nothing and basking in the noonday sun!

The shadow side of Leo is the tendency to rest on ones’ laurels and on a deeper level, a sense of entitlement. There is a reason why one of the archetypes linked to Leo is “The Royal” or “The Aristocrat”. Taken too far, this self-image can cause trouble in Leo’s life and relationships. The all powerful ME can eat up a lot of space in any room, leaving little for anyone else. Here is where the simple use of principled love can minimize the tendency to move into the shadow side of this energy. Love for the sake of love itself can help to refocus the Leo persona that has gotten caught up in ego concerns, become overly invested in the drama and as a result lost sight of what is actually real and true. Again, pulling in the Aquarian ideal, that sense of collective power rather than singular power, can be helpful to balance out any preoccupation with self. Not to say that the self should not be served! Naturally, it is through the self that we all get things done so let’s not be too quick in battering the ego senseless! The key is common sense at all times. By all means use your ego gifts but keep focused on what is really true, what is really real.

For the last while, Leo energy has been activated through opposition by Neptune. The God of Water has now moved into the last 5 degrees of Aquarius so Leo’s born after August 15 will be most affected by this nebulous and sometimes impenetrable energy. If this is you, you could experience confusion, ennui, spiritual illumination or triggering of spiritual response within yourself. Neptunian energy, best described, is…somewhat indescribable. The best strategy when the clouds and fog begin to gather around you is to go within and work on faith. Trust that your feet will find the way through and don’t over think as this will certainly tire you out. Neptune transits are ideal for dream work, journeying, guided visualizations and, on a more mundane level, R&R. What your psyche is trying to tell you is that it is time for a break. Take it. If you have the kind of energy that demands productivity, then apply yourself to something creative like stream of consciousness writing or brainstorming prospective projects. These fun kinds of activities lend themselves much more to this kind of Neptune time than detail oriented work. If you find that you are having difficulty keeping your mind focused, this may be a signal to you to just let go of focus for a bit. Neptune is like that! As the higher octave of Venus, this is gentle and responsive energy so attempting to push yourself into action may well be working contra to what your soul is asking of you.

Because both Mercury and Venus are often not far from the Sun, you may be one of those late degree Leo’s with either one or both of these planets there also. If this is so, then the Neptune transit will be heightened for you. And, if you were born on either the New or Full Moon, well then! You will really be feeling this transit, since the Moon represents, in part, the emotional body. New Moon Leo’s may be experiencing emotional confusion and discombobulation while Full Moon Leo’s may be experiencing an identity crisis. To deal with the emotional fall-out of this energetic transit, focus on moving within to the center of your heart—a great place for Leo. Work on building that love energy, fortifying the heart chakra. Visualizing a soft pink glow around the heart center can calm the confusion of the identity crisis and bring balance to the wobbly self.

All transits eventually pass the energy points in question so just be mindful of this fact of physics—time moves along. And as time moves along, just keep working proactively with the energy of dissolvement (Neptune) and trust that what is left after the water has receded, is what you wanted all along anyway. Alchemically, the drek is washed away repeatedly in order to get to the ‘gold’. For you Leo’s this may be a trifle more challenging than for some others since identity, ego, self, however you may want to express it, are important things for you. If you are aware of this, it will be easier for you to move through the ‘transit’. Evolutionary Astrology subscribes to the concept that all energetic movement starts within and that the soul has mapped out potential pathways for itself through the auspices of the many and varied choices that a given ego can make. So, if you are experiencing the various kinds of things described here, it is because your soul wanted it that way. It is your experience to be worked as and how you wish to. It is not happening to you but rather, YOU are making it happen. The real question is, what are you going to do about it?



Everyone has Leo somewhere in their psyche as represented by the birth mandala. And whenever the Sun transits any energy, that part of the psyche is illuminated—brought out into the light, so to speak. This next month or so, the Sun is transiting through Leo according to the tropical system of astrology. As I have often stated when discussing this subject of transits, each cosmic connection is necessarily personal. (Yes, yes, there is the whole issue of the collective consciousness but that is another topic!) So, in some ways, transit reports can only give the reader a general sense of what is going on since that reader has her own unique energetic construct that is interacting with the energy swirling around her. The way to get the ‘most’ out of following the stars is to have a familiarity with one’s own natal horoscope so that one can follow the star crossings with the mind’s eye.

So, picture your natal mandala (birth chart) and plop the transiting Sun into that area of your chart that is described by Leo. Wherever that is, it is this area of life that will be under the spotlight for the next month or so. Even if you have no formal training in astrology, you can begin to track external events and then go back to the diagram and see if anything makes sense. This is called the ‘observation and co-relation’ method of learning, experiential learning.

The horoscope can be divided into 4 quadrants, two below the central dividing line (ascendant/descendant) and two above. Even just noting which one of these 4 quadrants is being ‘lit up’ can be very revealing. Remember, wherever the Sun is transiting in your personal horoscope as it moves through the Zodiac sign of Leo is where your psyche reflects the properties of Leo. This is the area of life that you may approach in a Leo-like way.

So, if the Sun falls somewhere in the lower left hand side of the wheel, you may well be feeling somewhat preoccupied with your own personal concerns. Your sense of self-worth is something that has always been important to you so you may be thinking about what you really want to do with yourself, what holds true value for you, what you have on your mind and just exactly how to express it so that you are properly understood. If you have Leo in this area, you could well be an imaginative and creative thinker, get ‘big’ ideas. The Sun’s transit of this area could trigger ideas that you can explore or develop.

If in the second quadrant, your focus may be turned to family issues, love, romance and fun, or how to energize your own work life. Having Leo energy in this area of the psyche suggests an individual who has a flair for family life or is an artist or works in a creative field. This could be an individual who loves intensely, has a desire to express herself on a creative level and approaches her work with zest and panache. All of these sorts of concerns, then, would take center stage at this transit time.

When the Sun is transiting the 3rd quadrant, you may well feel less self-oriented and more concerned with others, their relationship to you, how to maximize your relationships and where you can take any given relationship may all be of concern to you. You may find yourself dealing with issues of power, control, even life and death or taxes. This could be a good time to sign up for a course that you have wanted to take for a while or just buy a book on an esoteric subject.

Finally, when the Sun lights up the 4th quadrant of the mandala, you are ready to rock! You may feel the need to be seen, noticed, remarked upon. You could find yourself getting more involved in social issues, community work, or even just partying. On a more spiritual level, you may find that you have the urge to more completely align your outer self with your inner set of values. At some point, when the Sun transits this sector, most everyone needs to take a breath or two. Track yourself. Monitor your body rhythms. Pay attention!

Leo is the energy of expression, joy, creativity in both physical and emotional ways and more subtly, the need for recognition; the need for affirmation, approval and ultimately, the urge to both draw love and express love. The absolutely first step into Leo is the plunge into SELF-LOVE. If we are not able to wholeheartedly love ME, it is, indeed, impossible to draw the kind of love from others that we need so that we can feed our soul.

Enjoy these next few weeks of light and joy. Find your little Leo self—each of us has this energy somewhere in all that clutter—and explore the sheer joy of being you!

Cancedr: The Great Embrace

Cancer: The Great Embrace

Summer Solstice!

The time of the ‘great light’ here in the northern hemisphere is upon us. We have arrived at the ‘Full Moon’ point of the yearly cycle. At Winter Solstice, we were at the point of ‘least light’, with the days short and the nights long. This point can be co-related to the New Moon. If you go outside at New Moon and look into the sky, you will see stars but no trace of Luna. It appears that the sky is moonless! New Moon time is the seeding time, a time of gestation, womblike, mysterious and fertile. On the other hand, Full Moon is a time of revelation, fruition and manifestation. This is a natural cycle of becoming and does not alter in its flow. First comes seeding and birth, the beginning, followed by an unfolding until that point of full manifestation occurs so that all is revealed. The celestial sphere mirrors this cycle beautifully, as a reminder to us to pay attention to the natural cycles of being around us.

In the northern hemisphere, winter drives most of us inward, we slow down and even, for some, hibernate, metaphorically speaking. This meditative state can facilitate the birth of new projects, new mind sets, new protocols. After the gestation period, we start to implement until finally, we see the results of all of our dreaming and activity. So, if you follow the flow of energy mindfully, you can take a moment now, as we approach the Summer Solstice, and review for yourself, how you have worked with your own cycle of growth. Did you set any specific goals back in December? (New Year’s resolutions could serve for this purpose.) How have those goals or resolutions formed so far? Are there aspects of your own unfolding reality that need adjustment and refinement? If you are a journal keeper, you can look back at your December and January entries and note how you have evolved over the past few months, how initial ideas have changed, how your perspective of situations has shifted. Now is a good time to make some evaluations and necessary adjustments!

It is now, as the Sun enters Cancer that the cycle shifts into waning of light. The days will begin to shorten and slowly we will move into the dark. But, for now, for these glorious sun filled days we are bathed in the light and warmth of summer.

Cancer is one of the Water signs, flowing, emotional and sensitive. It is also a cardinal energy, keyed to movement, relatively swift in its reactions and attuned to growth. The element of Water is usually associated with the emotional body and Cancer does indeed correlate to the breast area of the physical body as well as the stomach. The breasts are the outer layer of the heart area, suggesting a connection here with love and nurturing. The stomach, of course, is critical to our well-being, since we need nourishment in order to live and Cancer is the nourisher.

The celestial object associated with Cancer is the Moon. Constantly shifting above us in the sky, the Moon is the least constant heavenly body except for, perhaps, the comets and meteors. At any given moment, we can look up and see a transforming Moon, first a little sliver, then a delicate crescent, then a whole half pie, then a humped back old woman and finally, the full fat globe that rivals the sun—sort of…☺ The Moon’s changeable nature lends insight into something important about Cancer. This is an energy that is constantly flowing from form to form. On an ego level, this could manifest as a certain moodiness, a restlessness that could appear as irritation. If you have an accentuated Cancer energy in your psyche, you must honour your very real need to follow your feeling nature and if you feel grumpy, it might be that you just need some down time to unwind and re-integrate. Experientially, Cancer types are absorbent, like a sponge and as a result, must take the time to sort through the wide array of emotions that they take in through their skin. Once this is understood, both by the Cancer types and their loved ones, life gets much easier to bear. The old scripture that tells us about there being a “season for everything under the sun” is particularly true about the Cancerian experiential process. Laughter is often followed by tears and sorrow leads to peace…and swiftly.

Cancer is found in the 4th house of the natural wheel of the Zodiac. This 4th house is all about the deep things of the personal, where we come from, where we are, in theory, most comfortable or, at the very least, where we better come to some sort of terms of agreement, our deepest emotions and our impulse to nest, to build home and family, to be ultimately who we truly are. It is the ego in search of its roots. No wonder that Cancer is attuned to caregiving and nurturing. One of the archetypes that comes to mind when talking about this energy is The Mother. Of course, just what kind of a mother springs forth from the Cancer soul is quite another matter. We can witness the controlling mother, the detached mother, the oppressive mother, the ineffective mother, the monster mother and so forth. The maternal demonstration is entirely dependant on other factors in the natal structure! However, with mindfulness and intention, the strongly cancer type can find her way into the arms of the ‘Model Mother’ who nurtures just enough to give support without eating her young one up!

The symbol for Cancer is The Crab. Here is the little creature who, basically, carries his house around with him. Think about this for a moment. What is a home, really? Is it a place or is it a feeling? For Cancer, it is the feeling of Home that is of paramount importance, thus the image of the little crab, trucking around all that is familiar and secure wherever he goes. And, as long as there is a sense of security, then the Cancer type can really step out and shine. It is only when she does not feel safe that she recedes into her ‘shell’ to hide away from the world.

The Partner sign to Cancer is Capricorn. Winter solstice occurs when the Sun moves into Capricorn, exactly 6 months after Summer Solstice. Where Cancer is soft and emotional, Capricorn is all business. Where Cancer can typify the feminine side of parental care, Capricorn is the disciplinarian, the task master. While we recede into the security of our own space in Cancer, we face the external world in Capricorn and carve out a place for ourselves in society under the auspices of that energy! Together, working in harmony, we see a complete picture of the self, both private and public, in here and out there. Cancer is, as I mentioned, a water sign. Capricorn is an earth sign. When you mix water and earth, you get mud which, with some expertise, can be made into bricks and bricks, after all, are what make up a building, a home, a structure to be safe in and for all the world to see. What a fitting metaphor for the energy of Cancer/Capricorn!

Next month, I will revisit the energy of Leo and the glorious Sun, the romance of the 5th house and all that sort of thing. In the meantime, relax, kick back and enjoy the summer warmth. It only comes around once a year!

Astrology and the Age of Reason

The birth mandala is a representation of the energetic potential of any given individual. By understanding it & studying it, we can get insight into our internal mechanisms of behaviour & into possible blockages to action & avenues of release. Not only that, but the possibilities of the outworking of any energetic patterns inherent in the mandala can be discerned, so much so that many astrologers are able to use the basic mandala as a predictive tool for their clients.

For centuries the study of this archetypal representation of the self & the soul force behind it, has focused on the specific patterns of relationship as demonstrated by the planetary energies of choice. We can look at the planetary points as areas of high focus either in the form of a blessing or in the form of a challenge, but we should not exclude the potential that is available to us in the rest of the mandala even though it may not be engaged with personal planets and asteroids, targeted by fixed stars or involved in aspect structures. As we move collectively into a potential energetic future (often referred to as the Aquarian Age), we should strive to open ourselves to a shift in how we view energy & our own unique inter-facing with that energy. Why should we be restricted to trines, squares, oppositions or any other so-called aspects? Just because we may appear to be a compilation of a certain zodiacal ‘family’, Fire, Earth Air or Water, why should we limit ourselves to this energy? Just because the obvious focus of a life may be on certain areas of enterprise, why should we feel that we cannot explore other areas of life as well? The concept of transits is familiar to anyone who works with astrological tools & it is time to expand that understanding to include the whole mandala of 360* of energetic potential.

With the advent of the Age of Reason, humans began to push the bar in terms of how they viewed existence. The scientific method did free us in many ways. Certainly, social hierarchy met its demise, though slowly & it can be argued that it is still in its death throes even now. Nevertheless, the scientific model did much to equalize the playing field. Opportunities for advancement were opened up & even the so-called lowest member of society was able to advance to a place in the sun. Magic was, in some cases, explained through careful experimentation & exploration using the newly understood formulae & newly derived ‘scientific methods’. However, the Age of Reason also brought in some negative repercussions. Reductionist thinking & rationalism really led to a shutting down of an important, dare I say, even essential aspect of human existence, the intuitive side of life. Rather than just explaining Magic, science actually contributed to the eradication of the possibility of Magic for the collective. Only that which could be measured was considered ‘real’.

If a possibility is excluded from the psyche, it cannot, in fact, manifest. Form follows thought. Interestingly, science has now brought the collective back to possibility with the new ideas that are coming from the clearly unscientific area of quantum physics! (Using their own definitions, of course.)

We live in a time of widening possibility; a time of a magical renewal of the fullest of human potential. We are beginning to see the universe as an organic whole that encompasses many different ways of being, a multi-leveled existence. If the universe itself is viewed as an organism, and integrally linked to all other lesser organisms, this single realization or thought can dramatically alter the way we, as sentient parts of that organic whole behave. This is certainly the force that is fueling the ecological movement, all humanitarian actions and socio-political movements that seek to create unity & coherent interaction between member states; even scientific breakthroughs that serve to improve the human condition for all members of the earth. We are beginning to think of ourselves & the universe in which we reside as one holistic reality which survives, thrives or expires in entirety.

Part of this growing awareness, this wider perception of reality, of life, of ourselves, relates directly to how we can use the tool of astrology. We want to begin to look at the mandala in a holistic way. Of course, when doing a chart interpretation, a good astrologer already does this to an extent. The sum is, often, greater than the parts that added up to it. A good astrologer has to make intuitive leaps & judgments. The great debate over astrology is as a result of the fact that “Magic” is involved in chart understanding & delineation; that same “Magic” that the Age of Reason so effectively shut down. It is only because we attempt to shove astrological detective work into the scientific model that the debate arises. This is not to say that astrologers should throw out their Mercury (reasoning) function & rely completely on a Uranian or Neptunian modality (intuition & inspiration) to do chart work. That would also be counterproductive to the spirit of holism. Now is the time to call a truce between the two opposing factions, the right side of the human brain and the left side of it. The intuitive process works best when well supported by a clear logical thinking process. An incisive mind can really soar to great heights when fueled by intuitive understanding. And really, the greatest of human achievements have always been made using both of these functions. (Einstein ‘dreamed’ his theory of relativity during an afternoon nap!)

So, for the modern astrologer, it is imperative to look at any energy system, as represented by the horoscope (birth mandala) in a whole way. This opens up multi-leveled doors of opportunity for the person in question. Once a possibility is explored, it has much more likelihood of taking form through the interaction of the ego with the energy available to it! Any horoscope encompasses all 360* of the Wheel of Life—the Zodiac and at any given moment in time, there is interaction of energy somewhere within this wheel, as representative of the psyche. Here is a very simple illustration. Maybe you were born when the Sun was in the Zodiac sign of Cancer, (its current location, by the way). That simply means that your birthday falls somewhere between June 21 and July 23. Cancer is linked to two other signs of the Zodiac by element and three other signs by modality. Suddenly, whole new possibilities are opened! A person with Sun in Cancer can also feel energetic activation through her connection to the 2 other energies linked to Cancer by element, Scorpio & Pisces, and the 3 other energies linked to Cancer by modality, Aries, Libra & Capricorn. Possibly, she may not have any actual planetary archetypes in any of these areas of the Zodiac but she will, nevertheless, still feel something since energy is like a wave, not something rigid and fixed. This example is merely one way that energy could be experienced. However, each and every one of the 360* of the horoscope is in relationship with the whole wheel of degrees, in every moment of consciousness. How could it be any other way? We are whole beings within ourselves and part of a whole system of being that holds us all. Everything connects with everything. The poet, John Donne, expressed this idea in the following words;
“No man is an island…”
How right he was and on a much more profound level than we may have understood when we first read those words!

How exciting this concept is! We are so much more than what we ever thought we were! We are not limited! We truly are infinite possibility! We may have shut the door on the magic of the metaphysical as The Age of Reason took hold, but, we have now found our way back to that door through the discoveries made about the nature of reality, existence and energy through the very tools of the Age of Reason that once shut that magical door.

To explore your own possibility and potential using the Astrological Method and especially with a focus on this new way to look at the birth mandala, contact me @ christinaraiw@gmail.com. Together we will step through those magical doors of perception and discover a whole new you!

Gemini: An Elegance of Mind

Gemini: An Elegance of Mind

As the Sun apparently moves through that part of the heavens that we can see with our physical eyes, students of astrology can locate the zodiac sign through which it is ‘transiting’ (seemingly moving). So, at various times of the year, we can say, “Oh, the Sun is moving through Aries, or Taurus or (as we now approach the end of May), Gemini…”

Of course, the Sun does not move around the Earth; rather, the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun, creating a Solar System which itself marks an orbital path, but this time on a much larger scale, around the galactic center. This galactic center is merely the heart of one of many such systems that comprise the universe. Yes, we live in a physical reality that seems, to us mere mortals, to be an infinite place of unending possibilities. It is up to us to perceive this potential and then to explore the possibilities and turn them into probabilities and realities as and how we are able to.

For our simple human purposes, we can happily spend a whole lifetime just focusing on the here and now of this Solar System and our place in it. Maybe one day, we will once again be able to call ourselves true citizens of the universe or even whatever lies beyond what we designate the universe to be but for now, the solar system feels big enough for search and exploration. The signs that make up what we call the Zodiac, are representative of what we see from our vantage point on Gaia. Over many centuries of observation, our foremothers came to designate the twelve signs that we can recognize by name. Myths grew out of the experiential process and attached themselves to individual ‘signs’ and these myths gave insight into the nature of the energy of a given zodiac sign. We are, after all, the sum of our stories. Observers co-related celestial events to events on earth, further fleshing out our understanding of the various signs and planets. Everyone has heard of the heightened emotions that can manifest at the time of the Full Moon. This is merely one example of how observation and co-relation works. We experience something specific and even measurable, we pause and take note of our environment and over time we observe a certain consistency between what we experience and the environment that exists at the time of that particular experience. Thus, using the example of the Full Moon, centuries of data supports the idea that when the Moon is at this point in its cycle, there appears to be an increase in the emotional charge in the minds and hearts of collective humanity here on Earth. As an Evolutionary Astrologer, I understand that this is the ‘mirroring’ effect described centuries ago in the expression, “as above, so below”. We are all a part of a unified field; a reality that is interconnected and interdependent. Nothing stands alone in this web of existence. As we turn our eyes to the sky, we are looking into a reflection of ourselves. Whatever we observe in the heavens above is merely a concrete representation of what is at work within our singular body systems. How simple! How complex!

And now, back to the light and lovely energy that we call Gemini! As I mentioned last month, the flow of energy follows an unchangeable pattern, moving from Fire, into Earth, and then on through Air. Gemini is the Air sign that comes after Taurus. The impulse that was born in Aries, and began to take form and consolidate in Taurus, now is ready to take flight and conceptualize in Gemini. This is the stage where that forming impulse begins to be intellectualized, verbalized, communicated and through the dialogue involved, adjusted. If we do not understand what we are creating, it will never come to a full fruition, no matter the scope of the energy or the shape of its form. We exist to interact for the most part, to share and to exchange with each other. For most humans, community is a centralizing force for the developing self. It is through networking that we expand ourselves, adapt ourselves and stretch beyond whatever limitations we may think that we have. Dialogue, at its most productive level, sheds light on otherwise foggy thinking. Who has not had the experience of suddenly having that ‘aha’ moment of understanding because of a comment that someone else makes? Through posing the question, through expressing doubt we find our way into knowledge and eventually, maybe, even faith. This is Gemini.

It is the mind that seeks understanding of whatever is taking form. It is through the intellectual process that we begin to formulate the parameters of our world. Gemini is that energy that reflects the thirsty mind.

This is a mutable energy indicating fluidity and malleability. It can bend itself into whatever shape is available to it and it is exactly through this process that it actually seeks its own form. The planet associated with Gemini is Mercury, designated in myth to be ‘the messenger’. Again, just this little piece of data increases our understanding of this energy. Messengers bring information. Information can greatly illuminate and enhance and even change perception. The more pieces of information that we get and integrate, the greater our fundamental understanding of whatever it is that we are exploring.
Gemini is the energy of investigation and it has a hunger for unending bits and pieces of data. No one conclusion satisfies the Gemini need to expand its perceptions. Sometimes designated as being curious, the real motivation for this curiosity is not merely growth but metamorphosis. As the Gemini persona explores, investigates, samples, tastes and discards, the very nature of its reality organically changes. Think of a butterfly that has a garden of delights to explore. There is a beauty and elegance in the intricacies of the butterfly’s flight from flower to flower. There is no partiality. Each flower is, in itself, beautiful, not lesser than or greater than any other flower. In Nature, the butterfly is one of the most delicate and adored of creatures. We never denigrate the butterfly’s need to flit from bloom to bloom. Rather, we revel in watching its progress as it samples the nectar of every blossom it can. So, if you have someone in your life with a focus of Gemini in their psyche, support their desire to embrace a multitude of experiences, honour their need to move into change and shift on every level. Keep in mind that they are acting from a deep inner need to move beyond all limitations and restrictions.

Astrologically, we understand that all energy is connected in some manner. One of the primary connections within the wheel of the zodiac is the polarity relationship defined by the 180* aspect. To understand any of the 12 energies, we must also integrate the nature of whatever energy stands across from it within the wheel. Gemini’s partner is Sagittarius. Just as Gemini has the need to search and explore in what may appear to be a random manner, when we dig into Sag, we see this very same impulse at work. But in Sag, there is a certainty as opposed to the ambivalence and skepticism of Gemini. And the balance between certainty and skepticism lies in a goodly amount of challenge and questioning.

“You can be certain of what you think you know, Sag,” says Gemini, “but I intend to keep on looking!”

So, the faith of Sag is balanced by the doubt of Gemini. It is doubt that propels the soul to seek the truth and to find the faith and so the circle is completed over and over again. And really, what is life without the adventure of the quest that we see woven into the fabric of both of these energies. Essentially, there is no destination, only a neverending journey of discovery which, on the one hand reinforces (Sag) and on the other, creates further questions (Gemini). Remember, without doubt, there can never be an experience of inner faith. It is the question that finds an answer. If we never question, we will never find.

Reactively, Gemini must mind its physical house. A very real consequence of not doing so could be nervous exhaustion. This is a highly charged energy and the electrical body can run fast and furious. People with a lot of this energy in their psyches, absolutely must drink lots of water, integrate regular exercise into their daily routine and preferably something that involves the feet and hands moving. Mostly, (and this is a general statement), Gemini is kinetic energy that constantly builds upon its own movement.

Another reactive manifestation of this energy could be a lack of focus resulting in unfinished projects and incomplete undertakings. Gemini has to develop protocols for itself that keep it engaged and interested. A simple technique to address this could be just keeping all projects short term. This is the sprinter, not the long distance runner! And really, who says that a 5 year project is somehow better than a 2 month project? For Gemini, it is the short term project that can keep it interested and fully engaged. Multi-tasking can also facilitate engagement. For a Gemini persona, it is absolutely appropriate to have several intricate and complex activities on the go at the same time. Thus, as soon as the boredom starts to nibble at the corners of the mind, off you go to another project! Because Gemini has such a nimble intellect, it can hold a multitude of concepts in its mind at the same time, jumping from one to another easily and happily. In fact, creativity is enhanced in this way. As an example, let’s say the Gemini soul is a writer. It would be appropriate to have several stories on the go, a variety of research projects on the side. While paying attention to one, ideas for the other can be left to percolate happily in another part of the mind. Suddenly, the outline comes through, full blown and ready to be written!

Everyone has this energy wired into their psyches somewhere. Even if you have no planets located in this energy, it will be found in one of the ‘houses’ of the horoscope. It will colour that part of your life and overlay it with a mental energy, a connective energy, possibly even a somewhat nervous energy. Intuitively, you can review your own reality and try to determine when the intellect likes to take over. Do you like to analyze your relationships? Is conversation critical to connection for you? Do you need to understand the why’s of your life situation? Is laughter essential to maintaining balance? What are your nerves like? Are you a prolific dreamer? These are just some of the questions that, if answered in the affirmative, could indicate that Gemini energy is wired into that part of your persona.

At the highest level, this is an energy of elegance, adroit and fluid, kinetic and carefree. If you have a focus of this energy in your psyche, embrace your butterfly self, dance through the garden of life sampling the beautiful blooms therein. You have come to this plane to grow your m perceptions, to open the doors of your reality into realms yet unexplored. Drink up and enjoy, thirsty soul!


Happy solar return to all the ‘Sun in Gemini’ souls! We are so glad you are here with us! You make us laugh, you keep us engaged, you challenge us with your endless questions and we love your wit!

Taurus: Organically Yours

Each of the individual 12 signs coincides, not with a particular month of the year, but rather, a particular time of the year. As we consider where each sign falls, we get some insight into the workings of the energy described. Even if you know nothing about astrology, just working with this little piece of information can give you much insight into the different energies of the zodiac. Traditionally, Aries is designated as being the ‘first’ sign of the zodiac. This makes sense from an organic viewpoint since Aries coincides with Spring when the Earth ‘wakes up’ after the slumber of winter. Aries is a Fire energy and again, this is evocative of warmth, activity, awakening. Astrologically, Fire co-relates to Spirit and everything is born at this level—the spiritual level of being.

After Fire comes Earth. How fitting! The inspiration that is born from the fire of spirit now finds form, flows into a vessel that can receive it, is grounded and concretized. The second sign of the zodiac, after Aries, is Taurus, a fixed earth energy. In Taurus we meet the organic process and get to know our selves as physical beings. Fittingly, Taurus falls across the months of April and May, when, in the northern hemisphere, the ignition process that began at Equinox is now coming into ‘bloom’. The trees are leafing, the grass is greening, robins return to find the worms which have moved up to the surface of the ground and we, the humans, can finally take our winter jackets off and feel the heat of the Sun on our skin. Ah, vitamin D…at last!

Taurus, then, is representative of the organic part of the spiral of life. Sexy, sensual and receptive, Taurus loves the simple process of just ‘being’. In Taurus we celebrate all things physical and revel in the literal 5 senses that flesh out our world. Taurus loves the vista of the landscape, taking delight in the organic environment. Aromatic surroundings are a must. Harmonious and pleasing melodies soothe the
Taurus soul. And no wonder since Taurus co-relates to the throat chakra. Slipping into luxurious fabrics, warm, watery rivers and lakes or just simply lying naked in the sun are all aspects of the Taurus need to feel good. Flavours that entice the tongue and burst onto the taste buds are what Taurus prefers. Never mind the spartan and austere. Bring on the abundance and glory of the organic. Revel in the joy of being physical and all that comes along with it.

Whenever I work with the Tarot, and I draw The Empress, I think of Taurus. I am reminded that I am physical and that I must pay attention to my organic self. I understand that to work with my creative energy, I need to find a place of balance in my physical self. I need my physical energy if I am to do the work of a creative being—whatever forms that creativity takes, whether artistic, crafty or even within the realm of what we sometimes regard as the mundane, ordinary daily routines that we all must do. When you prepare food with creative energy, it always tastes better than if you prepare it ‘in absentia’. This is the Taurus part of the psyche, the love that is the basis of all creative flow. If we fall in love with what we are doing, and desire to infuse it with feeling and the texture and depth of emotion, we are much more likely to produce something that will be well received by others. Taurus energy, then, is very much connected to that need that we all have to connect to something beautiful, something rich and lovely, something full and ripe and which gives pleasure, contentment and eases the spirit. How many of us have not relaxed to the sounds of a favourite piece of music, sipping some aromatic beverage, nibbling on some satisfying snack, wrapped in a comfy blankie in a soft chair or bed with the light of a glowing candle around us, after a challenging day of activity? Everyone, probably…

People who have a focus of Taurus energy in their psyches are the lovers of the zodiac. Often calm, quiet and comfortable, they can be the rocks that everyone turns to in times of trouble. Taurus intuitively understands that everything is cyclical. Taurus knows that the underlying principle that governs life is that there is a pattern to organic flow, that life is a spiral with no real ending.

This is probably the main thing to understand when exploring Taurus; that there is a place for the organic, the physical. In Taurus we face our physical selves, the container for that energy of spirit that finds its home therein.

At a core level, we confront ourselves in the expression of our values and the concretization of these values in the context of desires in Taurus. We seek that which we value and esteem. It is of great importance to be clear about the nature and structure of our values. How does our value system translate into the concrete? How do we organically process that which we hold at our core level? Does the construct of our life reflect our inner values? These are the issues that we are dealing with in Taurus.

Taurus occupies the second house of the natural wheel and the ruler of Taurus is Venus. If there is a focus of energy in the second house of a person’s natal horoscope, then the keyword, worth or value holds a prominent place in that psyche. Such a person will naturally be concerned with all levels of this thing called resource from the material all the way to the conceptual. For such a person, it is vital that she ‘concretize’ what is meaningful to her. This, of course, also applies to anyone with a lot of Taurus energy in their psyche.

The symbol for Taurus is The Bull signifying, unmovable strength or power, fertility and regeneration, that connection to the organic. Sometimes Taurus is dubbed as being stubborn but in reality, it is the energy of constancy that the Bull represents though, if the ego self does not consciously manage this powerful and forceful presence of mind, it can be mistaken for intransigence. But if you have ever seen a bull at full bore, bearing down on its target, you will see that this energy can move if needed. The key, for strongly Taurus types, is to channel their intrinsic forcefulness into just cause based on lofty values. This then is the appropriate use of power and might.

The planet, Venus, is the second planet of the solar system, Earth’s sister star. She has the most beautiful cyclical pattern which, when tracked over an 8 year span, creates a perfect pentagram or five pointed star in the circle of the zodiac. Ancient star-gazers decoded this beautiful pattern millennia ago and this was probably the root reason for the magical and mystical associations that this symbol has. I associate this pattern with the creative impulse since desire and the need to express in concrete terms something of our inner values is what triggers creativity on every level, whether the purely physical, procreativity, or something more ethereal like the birth of art, thinking and so forth.

A very easy ritual to include in your life is to commemorate your 8 year Venus Return cycle. Even if you do not know where your Venus is placed astrologically, you know that at every 8 year point in your life journey, 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80, 88, 96, 104 (I am being proactively optimistic here), you can do a reboot in relation to your value system, your desire patterns, and even your organic self. Make a vision board for what you want the next 8 years to look like. Where would you like to be at the end of those 8 years? What do you want to look like? What do you want your life to be structured around? Who do you want to love? Be specific. 8 years is just long enough without being too out of sight. Most of us can just about imagine 8 years forward, right? It is this kind of mindfulness that ultimately contributes to a satisfying and contented existence—two very strongly Taurus words!

Finally, just a word about Taurus’ partner sign. Sitting across from The Bull is the shape-shifting magical and mysterious Scorpion/Snake/Dove/Eagle/Phoenix—Scorpio. Together, these energies balance out to represent all that we hold and all that we release, all that is known and material and all that is hidden and non-material. It is the juxtaposition of the LIGHT and the DARK, the dance of birth and death. Together, they find completion in each other and create order out of chaos. We humans need to understand our world in terms of balance, harmony and duality.

Taurus, then, teaches us to accept, to receive, to luxuriate and to be content. Wherever it is found in YOUR psyche, is where you want to get real, get down. It is survival at its most primal level. It is strong, silent and sublime and honestly, we love Taurus. How can we not?

Next month, we will move into that crafty coyote, Gemini and explore the fantastical and fancy of this delightful energy.

The Aries Imperative

It’s here! Spring, thaw, warm, sun! And along with the obvious shift in the weather here in the northern hemisphere, we move into the time of Aries.

First, let me just say that the Spring Equinox is one of the 4 major gateways or center points of the ‘wheel of the year’. This moment in time is marked by the equality of light and dark. From this point onward, the days will be getting longer until we get to Summer Solstice when, in some places on this globe, there is no night at all! Because of this, the zodiac sign of Aries is associated with birth, beginning and fresh starts—a new cycle or even, new year.

Aries is a cardinal fire sign, full of verve and buoyancy. It is part of the family that includes Leo and Sagittarius elementally and Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, modally. Fire is the element that is linked to spirit, creativity and inspiration while the cardinal modality is thrusting, forward moving, assertive and initiating. Some other key words (a great way to begin a study of astrology) that describe this perky little energy are enthusiastic, adventurous, enterprising, forceful, fast, abrupt, impulsive. It is the energy of action, not consideration. For those of you with prominent Aries in your psyches, it is important to keep moving, to always find things that engage your interest and to satisfy that deep need for exploration, innovation and individuality, that IMPULSE towards the unknown.

Aries is often associated with the idea of ‘rugged individualism’. This lends some insight into basic needs for the Aries type persona. This type needs to be challenged, needs to feel a sense of accomplishment and essentially needs to win, and all the while, doing it HER way! If there is a flavour of combativeness, it is more about the thrill of the battle, the rush of the face-off rather than anything personal. There is no viciousness in the Aries need to prevail, just the sheer joy of engagement and victory.

In the ‘natural wheel’ of the zodiac, Aries is associated with the 1st house of self, exploration and initiation. This helps us to understand that the seemingly self-centered Aries persona is only acting according to the impulse to explore and experience herself. And there it is; the key to truly understanding the Aries types in your life. Their world resonates to EXPERIENCE. They thrive on being ‘in the thick of it’. If they happen to shove you to the side in their haste to get to the action, it isn’t about you, it’s about them!

Sharp, quick and always to the point, this type can be incredibly agile mentally. If you decide to debate them, get your track shoes ready since they will be several points ahead and leave you in the dust if you don’t keep up with their mental acrobatics. Not always entirely logical, but always incredibly inventive!

The archetype of the frontier cowboy is a good image for the Aries spirit, ready, willing and able to rough it, if needed. Able to live the solitary life, if necessary and incredibly resourceful about getting basic needs met even under trying circumstances. The mountaineer tackling the near impossible climb is another image that references Aries energy. Courage, an intrepid attitude and nerve take her to the top of the mountain. Even at the summit, Aries is already imagining the next climb rather than savouring the moment.

Reactively, this energy can get into trouble since the desire to get going sometimes eclipses the need to plan. However, the fighting spirit of this little warrior is so prominent that winging it is never seen as a problem for these types.

The symbol associated with Aries is the Ram. Representing the ability to but his way through any impasse, we begin to understand the forcefulness that is associated with the energy. When exploring animal energies, we find that force is one of the main qualities of the Ram, along with curiosity, an adventurous spirit and a keen sense of balance. Imagine the ram with his beautiful curled horns picking his way through narrow passageways with grace and lightness. He is free to be just who he is, able to navigate even the most challenging of landscapes. This is Aries, the hero, ever seeking a new frontier!

Of course, Ares was the Greek god of war and many of the myths that come from this source also shed light on the impulse and impetuous nature of the Aries type. Let us remember that in ancient times WAR was regarded as an honourable business. Sometimes it is difficult to actually understand this since we are children of a different time and today war is only a business and more and more seen as not honourable. But, there was a time in history when this was not the case for the people who lived through that time. The astrological age that preceded the age of Pisces was the Age of Aries. During that 2000 year period which began some 2 millennia before the birth of Christ, societies were built around the process of expansion through conquest. Civilizations rose and fell by the sword. A King or Emperor retained his power through the use of FORCE (Aries quality) and COURAGE (Aries quality) as he marched forward gathering new lands and peoples into his realm. The stalwart and courageous ram energy bred warriors who were lusty in battle and not afraid to stand up boldly for their cause, loyal to a fault. Today, this translates into the crusader types who have no fear in the face of gross injustice, who will battle for a cause, often taking the lead boldly when others may shirk away from commitment. The zesty, strong and sure heart of the Aries type is well suited to the championing of right in the face of opposition!

There is an immediacy in everything that the Aries type does whether in terms of function and all the way into issues of the heart. There is a need for a clear and decisive demonstration of affections and an impatience if confronted by reticence or uncertainty by the other. If you have a strongly Aries type in your life, give them what they seek, emotionally and do it yesterday, please!

The partner sign to Aries is Libra and this, above all other things gives us the deepest insight into the Aries nature. According to the law of polarity, that which stands opposite us is the very thing that we must integrate into our awareness so that we may become whole. While Aries typifies the self, alone and sovereign, Libra teaches us about partnership, considered compromise and balance. Aries, then, must discover a way to be singular but connected to community, to stand alone but be willing to receive support, to celebrate the sound of their solo song while knowing full well that harmony can enhance any melody. The journey of Aries is the journey into interdependence without any forfeit of individuality.

The Planet associated with Aries is Mars and again, when we reference mythology, this time Roman, we find the stories of the mighty warrior. In the psyche, the Mars placement, that is, the sign of the zodiac and the house of the horoscope where that sign is found, co-relates to one’s passion, and the ability to act on the DESIRE that burns within. It is through the Mars principle of the persona that we take action. This is also the planet that was once associated with the zodiac sign of Scorpio and though there are dissimilarities between the two energies, there is also an underlying ‘recognition’ when the Aries type encounters the Scorpio type. In modern times, Pluto was designated to be the ‘ruler’ of Scorpio and here’s an interesting thing…In Evolutionary Astrology, Pluto is representative of the soul—something that is, by and large, inaccessible to most individuals, a deeply unconscious element within the functioning personality. Mars is associated with the mechanisms that we use to implement the ‘soul purpose’ in any given lifetime, and these are impulses that we can more consciously explore and understand. So, though dissimilar in many ways, there is a simpatico between Aries and Scorpio and with some adjustments, there can be a reasonable working relationship between them.

How fitting it is that the Spring, with all of its hope and rekindled joy is linked to Aries, an energy that is above all things, full of promise and filled with light. Remember, EVERYONE has this energy somewhere in their psyches. We, each one of us, contain within ourselves all of the energies of the ‘wheel of life’ as represented by the Zodiac. If you are born with the Sun in Aries, you know that this lively and courageous energy fuels your every action. However, you may have your intellectual body running on this fuel—Mercury, or your emotional body—the Moon, and for that matter any one of the planets that make up the ‘map’ of your unique character. For a more personal investigation into how Aries factors in your life, contact me for a personal astrological reading

Perfect Pisces

Here we are at the gates of one of the most inscrutable energies of the Zodiac. Oh Pisces, will we ever understand you? Perhaps the answer to this question is that understanding need not be the destination in the journey into Pisces. Rather, the goal, when exploring this energy—(because, EVERYONE has it wired somewhere into their psyche)—is to simply FEEL it deep within your own self.

Pisces is one of the water signs but the emotional energy associated with it is the least personal of the three, the other two being Cancer and Pisces. Pisces emotion is best described as compassion devoid of attachment to the object of the compassion. It is universal love rather than individual love. It is the place of peace in the left hand of the divine, that most exalted of positions.

It is a mutable energy, one that is adaptable, malleable and shiftable. Like the ocean with waves moving in numerous directions, Pisces energy flows instinctively where it needs to flow. In the natural wheel of the zodiac, Pisces finds its home in the 12th house, a sector of the horoscope that co-relates to the unconscious mind, and to the formative period in human development since it is equivalent to the first 2 hours of life after actual birth. Much is absorbed at this most critical time by the newly manifested being and it is a time when the soul of the being is very close to the surface of the skin. The infant science of psychology has only just begun to scratch the surface of the intricacies of emotional and mental development but I think that most thinking individuals will agree that what happens to a person in their early years forms the foundation for all that follows. I would add that what happens in the first few hours after birth is critical to later development, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Pisces provides the self with a template for all of this. So understand that this is the part of the psyche that absorbs stimuli and processes these stimuli in an organic manner, assimilating information into the most interior areas of the self. Obviously, this process continues throughout the life journey and so we can co-relate Pisces to that part of the self that intuits, senses, ‘knows’ without the need to prove or substantiate like, for instance, Virgo, the partner sign to Pisces, needs to do.

The symbol for Pisces is the dual fishes but note that they are fashioned as if pointed in opposite directions. This is usually understood to represent the dual nature of human existence, the pull to spirit and the pull to flesh. But another way to understand the movement of the two little fish is to see them chasing each others tails, creating a circular motion of movement. A circle of being is thus suggested and more than anything else, Pisces is the place where we can connect to the eternal, the infinite. Pisces flows through life (water) in a continuous, unbroken way. What a beautiful affirmation of the constancy of being—always the same, though always different.

We are now at the end of 2 millennia of experience that was dubbed as the Age of Pisces. The human collective explored the principles of idealism, devotion, commitment, service, compassion, union, and a variety of spiritual disciplines over the past 2000 or so years. The highest manifestation of the human journey through Pisces is the principle of LOVE expressed through faith and works of godly devotion. Reactively, we have seen a distortion of this very same impulse sometimes at the very same time as those manifestations of pure optimal expression of this energy. Fanaticism, bizarre expressions of religious devotion like self-flagellation or self-deprivation in the name of the divine, holy wars and other suchlike behaviours are examples of Pisces energy in distortion. The human collective has now explored a multitude of ways to interact with the divine. Now, as we move into the newly blossoming energy of Aquarius (as a collective), we can integrate the Pisces experience into the exploration of the Aquarius experience. We have searched for the divine outside of ourselves and now we will turn our attention inward and locate the sacred within.

So, Pisces is spirit, the yearning to find the divine, the place of understanding that supersedes any mental process, the ‘aha’ experience that makes sense of the chaos and brings light into the darkness. Pisces is intuitive, gentle, yielding, forgiving. Anyone with
An emphasis of this energy in their psyche must learn to listen to their inner sense. And I will say here that not all Pisces types will ‘hear’ their inner voice in the same way. What is universal for these types is that there IS an inner sense of some kind and that often, these types will have early life experiences that result in a sense of alienation, aloneness and separation from others. They are often misunderstood and even shunned by those who cannot as easily connect with the ethereal world. It is essential that these sensitives find their own place of ‘ground’ or security within their own selves. They must create their own criteria of relevancy because often other will not ‘get it’. Nevermind, little Pisces, what you know is what others aspire to know. What you feel is that which is true so hang on and don’t let go.


Star Crossings

Two planets are associated with Pisces, Jupiter and, once it was observed in the sky, Neptune. Jupiter co-relates to the intuitive mind or what has sometimes been called the right brain, that part of the self that can dream, vision and create. Neptune is the higher octave of Venus, representing love universal, love divine. The Jupiter connection represents Pisces connection to the divine spark of creativity, its connection to spirit. The Neptune connection shows Pisces alignment to the collective mind; thus the reason why so many Pisces types have that famous ‘spidey sense’. Here’s a look at these two planets in current transit.

Jupiter takes about 12 years to move around the Sun and spends about 1 year in each sign of the zodiac. In the personal horoscope, Jupiter is considered to be bridge energy, that is, it links the more personal and external impulses with the deeper, less obvious impulses. In working terms, Jupiter can demonstrate our sense of meaning, our level of faith or belief and our need to understand. The more that we can develop this part of our psyches, the more will be ‘in the flow’ or ‘lucky’. Currently, Jupiter is at the front end of its journey through Pisces, its own home territory, so to speak. Collectively this is a great time to do creative work or follow intuitions as they form within. Jupiter is one of the planets that helps us to understand our life in cyclical terms and most of us will experience at least 5 or 6 ( and often up to 8 or even 9) Jupiter Returns. ( A planetary return is when that celestial object revisits the exact degree that it occupied at a given birth.) So, for all of you who have Jupiter in Pisces natally, you will be experiencing this ‘return’ over the next year or so. For those of you who have Jupiter located at 23 * of Pisces or higher, this is a significant return, providing you with ample opportunity to integrate the energy of the divine into your daily life. Embrace the experience of simple being over the next few months and see what spirit has to offer you.

Neptune takes much longer to transit the zodiac, having a cycle of about 165 years or, spending about 14 years or so in each sign. Currently, Neptune is at the tail end of Aquarius, soon to enter Pisces. On a collective level, there have been many ‘breakthroughs’ in terms of cosmic awareness over the past decade and more yet to come. In Aquarius, Neptune activates those unseen connections that hold us all together in the web of life. Will we actually experience a greater sense of holistic being once the great god of the sea starts moving through his own territory, Pisces? To do so, it is important that we all do the groundwork necessary within ourselves now, while He is transiting Aquarius. Find your home/community. Develop your connection to your ‘soul group’, whatever it is. Leave your judgments at the door and clothe yourself in love.

I could talk about confusion, fog, co-dependency, addiction, deceit and so forth when exploring Neptune but I prefer to default to the more positive expression of this nebulous energy. If we think negatively, we will live negatively. So, if you start feeling muddled, just let go and seek peace. If you don’t feel flow, take some time to check your own inner ‘truth meter’. Often, we lose that sense of connection because we are lying to ourselves. Especially the Neptune in Libra generation (now mostly entering their so-called ‘golden’ years), you guys just have to take those rose coloured glasses off and call a spade a spade. Okay? Lifestyles may radically alter, relationships may suddenly fall by the wayside and any number of elaborate shams may suddenly be revealed. The key is to have the courage to admit what the truth really is. Continuing the ‘illusion’ (Neptune) is not an option and will only result in more confusion, denial and even a downward spiral into addictive behaviour. After all, all addictions are merely mechanisms that are masking some inner sense of lack or even loss. Sometimes, you have to lose it all to gain it all.

We are at the brink of some very exciting/interesting times. Connecting to the Pisces part of ourselves will only enhance the experience of the incoming decade!

If you would like to connect more specifically with your own Pisces self, the best way is to have an astrological session. As always, I would be happy to facilitate your journey into self-exploration!

Next month…fasten your seatbelts! Aries is bursting in!