Dawnings

Our local Rye InterFaith Festival was reflecting our planetary world and so did the weather. On Saturday it stormed, raged, rained and shook around us as we crowded into the main tent where we huddled against the elements and chuckled about the forces of nature so much greater than our small human plans and aspirations. We carried on regardless. It was a wonderful day for its poignancy. The Sunday was in complete contrast: gentle breezes from the sea cooled us in a delightful sun. Crowds spread across the foreshore. People danced and sang, explored, discussed, shared and discovered. We were humans playing in God’s Kingdom.

Visual memories captured with my mind and cherished in my heart: The aboriginal didgeridoo playing and the opening ceremony wherein a representative of each Faith gave a blessing/prayer and poured their cup of water in a stone bowl. Young trees in pots stood guard around the bowl. They will be planted and blessed with the combined water.  Sikh whirling dervishes and Israeli dancing that we did not want to stop; Gregorian chants; a white robed Roman Catholic priest strolling around eating falafel, and a Buddhist monk amidst some children rescuing balloons that had flown off in the wind.

It was for me a splendid way to wave farewell to Pluto in Sagittarius, grateful for how much humanity has evolved through its trials and tribulations, its joys and expansive exploration.

By Wednesday I was feeling world weary (Second Saturn Return). Closing my eyes, I picked up an angel card. GRACE ! ? Pffft! Okay.

So I pondered and let myself feeeel the gift of GRACE. Hmmm. Graceful, gracious, ‘good gracious me!’, and ‘There but for the grace of God, go I’. The weariness flittered away like leaves in the wind.  The birds sang, the cat purred and sunlight shone in the garden. I was back in Eden.

The collective mind is working fine folks! On 27th November I read Fe Bongolan opening her essay at the Planet Waves Blog with exactly the same message – hers was a memory of Joan Baez singing Amazing Grace at an outdoor concert.

The synchronicity is not at all surprising – Sagittarius expands us into one Mind through telepathic and intuitive awareness and the visual. This last 15 years has seen the world wide explosion of mobile phones we can take pics and videos with, Ipods, digital cameras and the internet into our homes and lives on a scale unprecedented. The technology has taken off in response to us humans. It is what we humans WANT – to share and to communicate freely.

This next cycle with Pluto in Capricorn and the huge shifts taking place in our mass consciousness may all seem as if the external is changing the internal. Methinks it is also the other way around – we humans are changing and the old created forms are no longer satisfying. The mind is quickening and we can now be more selective in what we think about.

The slow powerful presence of Chiron, the Karmic agenda Node and Neptune (nurturing our spirit selves), in Aquarius, is blowing gently through the fixed mindsets and thoughtforms and aligning us with our blueprint.

Yes, Pluto’s transformational power will take us to the core of our traditions, our forms of Governance and civilisations. Yes, Saturn opposite the now direct Uranian awakener is an active agent in the quickening of our vibrational field.

For those not ready or receptive, it can seem very strange indeed. “What in the world is happening? ” they ask of nobody in particular, shaking their heads in bewilderment and disbelief.

The bell is clanging. The larger stellar cycle we have is a couple of thousand years known as the Age of Aquarius – when we can gradually open our minds to uncover much more about our potential as a human species, learn lots, create and discover what it is like to be friendly towards life and this planetary world. It requires self awareness (Leo) and Love which is not about lust and sentimental attachment – it is about being open minded and big hearted. 

So how do we get there from where we are now ? Our human world is trying to shake itself loose from its entrenchment in a monetary system designed to ‘use many to make much for a few’; wars on many levels still rage with sibling rivalry between nations, cultures and creeds; competition, greed and Gromel-like characteristics are still imbedded into a ‘that’s business’ mentality; hatred and fury are unleashed on each other, and on our beautiful natural world; ignorance, denial and fear are often the prime motivators of our behaviour.

We need to stretch, stand up and look around us.

Planet Waves this week published a fascinating essay re the spine and Capricorn. As a Cappie with spinal and brainstem injuries – I am an avid fan of chiropractic adjustments and yoga. When I have the spine straight, the rest of me falls into line as well. By combining the spinal adjustments and yoga exercising with chakra alignment, I know I’m doing a really thorough recalibration of my whole self. What’s most efficient – is beginning the whole process with an alignment on the etheric level under a wonderful warm shower with singing and humming and love. When I do that before I head for the chiropractor – he only has to touch the body and it clicks into place. Simple, easy and time saving – the way I like it. Very Capricornian.

The association of the spine in our human bodies with the zero point matrix of Cardinal signs in astrology, is most appropriate for NOW. It is about getting real and giving our lives our best shot – on all levels.

Here’s and excerpt from Fe’s article: 

Our New Moon and Pluto’s return to the Aries/Capricorn Point means it’s time to examine your own spine, ahead of the next Plutonic rehab. For 15 years Pluto moved through Sagittarius, reworking some part of your ideological, spiritual, philosophical and economic horizons; today’s cluster of personal planets — the Sun, Moon, Mercury and Mars — all in Sagittarius can inspire you to spend the next couple of weeks consciously cleaning up the clutter left over from what you’ve learned since 1995.
… practice balancing that enthusiasm for change with an honest evaluation of the facts on the ground. Check them not once, but twice. A little restraint before you speak, and much thought about what you believe and why you believe it would not go amiss, either.
We are really and truly now out of the old era. With malice toward none, and charity for all, we move forward.
P.S. Don’t forget: you have a spine. And it is ringing.

Here in Victoria, Australia, we are celebrating 100 years since women first got to vote. Very Venus in Capricorn indeed!  The new First Lady in USA’s White House is a Capricorn. Women are definitely realising ‘the personal IS political’!

The ABC late last night repeated the documentary on Cat Stevens, ala Yufus Islam. He has returned to singing and has released a new album. His journey from folk to pop singer, to finding his light in a religion, to becoming a messenger/teacher for many, to a singer and musician for the people and with the people and as the people … is the story in an nutshell of the Pluto in Sagittarius cycle. As a Baby Boomer he has done this publicly for and with us.

The zero point of Libra (squared now by Pluto at zero degrees Capricorn) is the Sabian symbol of a butterfly. It marks the halfway point in the human journey wherein the human and the soul are in equal measure and the remainder of the evolving lifetimes are about returning to the 5th Kingdom of souls with lots of stories in the soul kitbag and wisdom gained from real experience. 
The revival of folksy ways of being including folk music, local farmer’s markets, handmade quality goods and clothing, organic food, community sharing/living and being friends, is not just a trend. It is more natural than the industrialized and suffocating slavery in which we have been embroiled and which pitted us against each other in a legalised ‘struggle for survival’. The popularity of world music groups groups like The Yearlings, of You tube, My Space and the millions of Blogs like this one, of simple living and meaningful relating, of integrity, democracy and socialistic thinking – are outward expressions of a human species finding itself.

On November 30th and December 1st, the cosmic wheels will provide a visual feast for us. Looking South West in the deepening blue of the evening twilight, we will see Jupiter, Venus and a crescent moon.

We live on a spherical world, spinning around a sun in a solar village. It’s time to recover our original innocence. Discard the prejudices, narrow mindedness, mean hearted and mean spirited ways of being and thinking and wave joyfully to Jupiter, Venus and the moon. Drink deeply of a wondrous sight to behold. It is a gift.

I chuckled as I read the NASA memo about the conjunction. The Bible records how the ‘Star in the East’ was considered to portend a major world event. We are emerging from years of intense preoccupation with the various aspects of ‘God”. What if they respond? What if they ALL respond? Well, enjoy the correlations of some stories that seem to fit with now. [

The crescent moon is the symbol of Islam. The Islamic teachings abhor the charging of interest for loans – personal or otherwise. Perhaps they know no-one can make money out of money without robbing someone who is in need. Doh!

We associate Venus with Love: Jesus Christ, teacher of Love, in a whirlwind of white fury, overturned the money changers tables in the synagogue, a sacred temple sopposed to be a sanctuary.  It was apparently one of his very few outbursts. He must have been verrrry angry. Does the Stock Market equate these days to money changers tables?

Jupiter is huge and we think of Abundance. It is the ruler of Sagittarius and the journey - the Sanyasin. Siddhartha taught about non-attachment to materialism and the art of compassion and sharing.  He knew – he journeyed from gross wealth to poverty and it was a humble lass who fed him rice when he was starving. Hmmmm! I’m sure it was organic. It's about consciousness.

Judaism teaches that holiness can be found in life and is within us (DNA?), if we can learn to see. They have given us the Days of Light to celebrate, the practical art of Atonement and the knowledge of the Kabbalah (Tree of Life).

Whatever the filter created by one's own cultural context and choice of mind food - we shall ALL be able to see the planets aligning with the new waxing moon.

So look up and celebrate that we can see and we can now know what we see. I respect the 3 wise men for their accuracy of calculation. I am grateful for my computer and the NASA site.

The axis of Saturn in Virgo (Form) and Uranus in Pisces (Light) might be the link to the teachings about the development of The Light Body as a quantum leap of evolution. It is is being activated now, the first of five twangs taking us through to 2010. The point it finishes on (In Aries/Libra) is at exact right angles to the Capricorn/Cancer axis being triggered now, by the intense pull of Pluto. Think about it. By 2010 we shall have flipped exactly 180 degrees and been struck by lightning 5 times.  What will the effect of these strong stellar patterns upon our planetary world, ourselves, our nature kingdoms, and perhaps yes, our solar system itself, be like? We are here to live it. Fun uh?

Millions of people – from the faintly curious through the gamut of religions, new Agers, esotericists, greenies, through to the orthodox, traditionalists and staunch fundamentalists -have been invoking, praying, chanting, decreeing through their own their beliefs for 15 years, drawing on the magnetic alignment of Pluto, the Galactic centre and the Sagittarian realm of the galactic zone. All that aspiration and power hungering for alignment with God, the Galaxy and ourselves may have helped in our unfolding evolution. Neptune in Aquarius is bringing our human spirits into the realm of knowledge. Phew!

In mathematical language, we are aligned with the zero point of Pluto’s ingress into the area of Capricorn [the sign of The Teacher].  Perhaps I’ll dig out a couple of videos collected in the sagittarian adventure. Greg Braden’s: Awakening to Zero and Beyond Zero Point. In the cosmic rhythm of the earth’s trip around the sun, we are approaching the Solstice point – the summer solstice for us here in Ozland. 

If we have learnt anything over these last Sagittarian flavored 15 years, it is that so much of our human cultural creativity is about the same thing: we want to love life, love being human and love this splendid planet we have been given in which to delight and discover – together.

It’s about us – we, the people. Some of the human species are causing strife. Only some. A small ‘some’. The rest of us want to learn to get along with each other and the planet.

We are creations of life, we have the spark of the Divine in us. IF there IS God the Creator, there is only ONE God which by definition, we all share within the excellent freedom of perspective we enjoy in a dynamic world of diversity. Tuck that into the soul wisdom pocket.

QED by sheer logic alone… (Saturn in Virgo) … It comes DOWN to us.
It’s UP to us.

This Christmas may we humans be granted (and open to receiving) the gift of Grace. In this year’s festive season, it is appropriate to think of giving humble quality, simple and meaningful gifts … and of the graciousness we can share in these turbulent times.
Take care of yourselves,
Blessings,

* Pic of Rye InterFaith Festival.
At the final ceremony, children sang the song they had written: Together.
The chorus:

We will open our eyes
We will open our ears
We will open our hearts and our minds
We will open our eyes  
We will open our ears
To the wonders of Human Kind.

 What a beautiful evening display we have for Spring sunset and twilight walks! Venus has emerged as the Evening star with Spica, Mercury and Mars rising with the crescent moon growing over the next few days – we have quite a treat to view in the evening skies.  Our ability to respond to beauty is a gauge and measure of our sensitivity and soulfulness. Drink deeply folks!

Wednesday 3rd September is Ganesh Day – a good time to send some blessings to those devastated by the floods in India. Ganesh brings good fortune and assistance to ‘overcome obstacles’.

From 3rd – 6th September, Saturn is dancing with the Sun in Virgo. For those now preparing to be flexible and adapt to the fine tuning (tweaking) of our human inter-relation with the environment, nature and our created civilisations – the expansive time ahead will bring much support. It is a good time to consider what is really useful in one’s life – people, our work, our accumulated junk, our communities and our habits. Faith – the times ahead will see massive transformations in our world. There will be gradually less of politics and more of responsible governance – it begins with our own lives. 

The Libran influence (Mars, Mercury and Venus are in Libra) is urging us to look at relationships: how we relate to the world of nature, to society, to each other and to our own Higher Selves, is being activated. What is out of balance will become quite apparent. What do we do about issues of social (in)justice and (in)equalities? Are our relationships creative, interested in life, supportive and nourishing? Watch people (enmasse) – ‘change’ their minds!

The combinations are interesting – how do the Business world and financial sectors relate to the people? How do the people relate to Governance? How does our society work? Tweaking by Reserve Banks and Boards is becoming a daily occurrence. Oops and ouch!

What worked yesterday is unravelling. This can be disturbing until we are willing to embrace the opportunity to grow and evolve.  The changes in the role of media outlets were hinted at it in the astrology file for 2008 [see Astrology Page] as ‘reporting’ and opinion based media gives way to much needed investigative journalism. People seek more truthful exploration.
Power mongering and egocentricities are creating overload in a world that is becoming more demanding of our essential need to adapt to survive.

Glamour and the surreal are thinly veiled outfits these days. ‘Tell ‘em their dreaming!’  The cliche from the Oz film: The Castle, is most appropriate as Neptune in Aquarius gently prods us to realise we have been asleep at the wheel. Ultimately we (humans) are recovering the long lost seed of our own divinity. As we find our own activating, so we can also begin to recognise this in all forms of life.  

There are increasing numbers of people being suddenly declared redundant as Big Business scurries to retain the same level of profiteering and applies cost cutting as a method of control. This reveals much about the personal climate and the people factor in those organisations. A new approach could be to ask for a round table of consultation and conferencing about the changes needed to adapt. The next cycle of human development and evolution (Aquarian Age) brings in a keynote of ‘we’ – the heavy handed feudalistic style is passé. A useful reference for those in business sectors is Peter Senge’s: ‘The Fifth Discipline’.

We are in uncertain times and Cyclone Gustav is threatening New Orleans. Michael Oppenheimer’s 30 minute lecture on Climate Change and Sustainability, may be helpful to watch – he concludes ‘we must adapt to uncertainty’ and become flexible. The Sun and Saturn together in mutable Virgo are supporting this wisdom. This means different methods of managing change will be needed. At least this time around, the US is more prepared to respond.

On Friday, 5th September, the Sun and Saturn conjunct in Virgo trine Jupiter in Capricorn: Big Corporations and old ways of thinking that try and hold back the tide of change will find that social consciousness is expanding. ‘Profit’ based economies will need to learn the meaning of sustainability and what Business is really all about – being busy and productive, in useful service to the world. Hoarding profits at the expense of the core essence of any organisation and its true purpose – is ludicrous – and this is becoming quite obvious.

Pluto about to surge direct (by 7th September) in Sagittarius reminds us that affluenza and glamour have had their day in the sun. The values of humanism and fairness in all our activities are emerging as vital to the Reformation that beckons. All our planetary civilisations will be transformed in the next two decades.  Now is a good time to realise the reality of this stage and embrace it. The seeking of quality and time in all our human activities and creations is stirring deep within the collective psyche. Our love of freedom – of time, space and choice – is emerging from this cycle which began in 1995 and is now closing. People speak now of discovering the emptiness of being materially wealthy and ‘time poor’.

We have a front row seat. Our Solar Village alignment with the Galactic Core is a once in 250 year cycle. On September 10th, the LHC* will send the particle beam around the loop. Think of the ancient esoteric symbol of the snake swallowing its own tail. This is scientists tweaking cosmic energies. By late October we shall have gained much insight into the nature of the Cosmos! [If we are still here in this dimension]. Planet Urth is Ray 3 – applied and active intelligence. We are here to play and experiment in a planet of dynamic diversity. Perhaps Saturn and the Sun in mutable Virgo will facilitate the tweaking of time. We do not know what will happen! I hope this will give us a new form of energy that can free humanity from its dependence on the old heavy and polluting industrial methods and technologies. If it is cosmic – universal – it will be easily accessed.

A reminder – that Virgo is also the sign of humour – that kind of satirical ability to laugh at ourselves and the insanity that seems to be surfacing on the news, television and internet. A sense of humour can be revealing and releasing. The spin is just spin.

A lot of the pretension has been in assuming that people in authority actually know what they are doing or talking about – the truth is more likely to be the unknown. It is this essential quality that defines the true scientist. It is indeed refreshing when we can say: ‘we do not know’ – without feeling inadequate. When we all pool together what little we DO know, the truth is more likely to be revealed. The spirit of discovery is a core quality of our souls.

Try watching Hotel Mauna Kea (Hawaii) for a cheerful lift of the spirits.

It IS good to awaken to truth and to a more realistic experience of life.

Blessings and Happy springtime in Ozland.

*LHC: Large Hadron Collider

** Pic of Ganesh Shrine on island of Kauaii, spring 2007.

Lunar Eclipse 17th August 08

Time to acknowledge the heart that loves life, humanity and our planet.

Time to slowly open to HOPE and to invoking for our world , that which we know is the true potential of an evolving humanity. 

Time to grant due credence to the wisdom of the soul. 

‘Twas a chilly morning – the above pic of the Eclipse was taken at 6.00 am on Rye ocean beach braced against the winds straight off the Antarctic. 

Mars has sidled quietly into Libra. These few weeks until 4th October will present a prelude to the Saturn in Libra cycle which begins October 30th 2009. Already, justice and legal institutions are under the microscope.

The energetics of Mars in Libra will bring forth the issues of fairness, justice and equality.

The Olympics in Beijing hilights the balance of genders now evident as women athletes are shining. Lots of wonderful human stories are emerging from this international sporting event. The accuracy of the Virgoan influence is apparent with our technological atomic level of accuracy.

On 21st August, Mercury and Venus together in Virgo will hold tension with the Node and Chiron in Aquarius. Humanity and ‘what is humane?’ is being tagged. The latest ABC Four Corners program investigates the appalling lack of social conscience perpetrated by the mining Corporations as they pillage Australia. Compulsory viewing for shareholders.

On 23rd, the Mercury/Venus waltz lines up opposite Uranus in Pisces. The sun enters Virgo and the Moon is in Taurus. Smoooooth – a very earthy time. Gardening and massage? Walk in a forest? The financial world goes tipsy turvy.

Surprises abound and revelations intrigue.  The earth speaks. We see and hear clearly.

What is interesting is how, as our consciousness expands, we can rarely claim these days, that: ’we did not know’. Hmmmm!? Now what do we DO with what we know? Where there is a Will, there is a Way.

For those who need a lift that truly calls forth joy:
Look up the amazing video footage of a lad called Matt – dancing around the world.

www.wherethehellismatt.com/

Guaranteed to bring a smile and a chuckle to the sleepiest of hearts!

Dance on folks,
Warm blessings,

Peace.

Australian Wattle heralds spring

In Australia, when the Sun enters Leo, the daffodils, jonquils and Native Wattle emerge. When we see the wattle flowering in bushland we know the season of spring has begun. We will see this green and gold reflected in the sports outfits worn by our athletes at the Olympics.

 If you are feeling a little reclusive and reflective at the moment – you are on cue and responsive to the solar cosmic clocks. Everything in nature, including ourselves, has its cycle to grow, bloom, shine forth, recede and re-seed. Here in Ozland, we are in the winter/spring season transition.  Yes, the Sun is in Leo and with these two eclipses, we are being truly turned inside out and upside down.

The cosmic wheels are turning and our ability to go with the flow and adapt – to surf the energies as they stream forth – is wise, and effective.

This is a powerful healing time – a time to rethink much of what we have created and to release that which is no longer useful and vital in our lives. What we choose to keep holds within it, potential for more growth and blooming ahead in time. The key thought is usefulness. Something that inspires us and lifts our spirits – is useful. Please do not let the increasing pressures of the Virgoan analytical reduce this value to pure functionalism!  At the same time, that which once inspired us, may no longer hold its appeal.

Venus will assist us as she enters Virgo tomorrow, 7th August. Here, she will activate our deeper sense of what is vital to our well being and what truly supports and nourishes us – so that we CAN grow, bloom, create (seed) and live on.

Lo and behold, scientists are noticing that the North and South caps of ice are melting much faster than predicted as described on the ABC’s Four Corners. In Australia, experts have reported that old growth forests are vital to offset our carbon emissions.  Nothing that is being reported is truly new – rather, we are like children growing up and discovering what is in this world and how it works. How we function as humans – is now also under the spotlight. Ways of parenting and training will continue to be a major concern. On a grand scale, this includes how we create our societies and lifestyles and whether these are truly caring and nurturing the species.

On the 11th August Mercury enters Virgo. This will stimulate the intellect – the twittering mind. With the moon entering Sagittarius at that time also, the media networks will be abuzz. The factual and what is correct will be hilighted. Before that shift, Mercury and Neptune stand on either sides of the cosmic wheel which surrounds our solar village. Inspiration, recollection, remembrance and heartfelt longings surface to remind us of those memories held within our hearts. We all have them, little seeds and experiences we’ve popped into our heart pockets as treasures. Disappointment, disillusionment and discouragement are remnants of what could/should-have-been’s and did not fulfil their promise.

An example of this is the website which has conned hundreds of people into buying tickets for the Olympics and which has turned out to be a ‘false front’ – a fraudulent scam. We react with shock and surprise that anything so scurrilous could be organised on such a scale – hey, this is a global world now, and we are slowly becoming aware of much that has conned us with dangling carrots. People have invested their lives into homes, communities and lifestyles based on a premise/promise. 

What we are truly discovering is the extent to which so much of our lives is created on shifting sands. Jupiter retrograde in Capricorn is bringing to the surface the enormity of the consequences of a lack of social conscience. This is revealing of our Societal planning, our Governance, our Communities, our Corporate and Business worlds, our financial systems and our traditions. The ability to be aware of the individual within the group is a major maturing point for humanity at this stage of its unfolding evolution. The realities of our way of being are reflected back to us in our modern communication systems: television, radio, newspapers and magazines, the internet and the blogs postings that are a global living network of people living life.  What the Pope said in Australia is reported across the world. The personal IS now global and political.

On 8-9th August, the Moon in Scorpio will create tension with the Leo/Aquarius axis. Our intentions and desires will be intensified. Olympians are discovering they need healthy conditions to be athletes and active. Indeed, the deeply ingrained paradigm of competition is revealing itself to be quite dysfunctional. Anyone who has had to deal with sibling rivalry knows this; anyone who has been lashed and beaten by bigger and bullying individuals, gangs, groups, tribes, entities and corporate monsters, knows this.

Historians and academics will argue that ‘competition is healthy’ – is it? We are evolving. Competitive and aggressive thinking is a response from the lower chakras energised by survival, relationship and ego driven desires and perceived threats. Neptune’s slow dissolving of assumptions humanity has held as ‘fixed’ is revealing there may be other ways to live as a species. Co-operation, sharing and negotiation are relatively new ideas we can now begin to integrate into all forms of our civilisations and beliefs. It will take a few generations – evolution is slow and sure. In some ways, the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics, are becoming as important as the various events. The opportunity to present a cultural fest for the world to see and share is highly valued. This is the Aquarian energy streaming in to fill us with the Ray 7 – ceremony and ritual – as a way we can all share in a spiritual event. The individual willing to become part of a group is an awesome experience – both for participants and observers.

We can now recognise and acknowledge our instincts (from the base triad of drives), we can enter the heart chakra and expand our experience into generosity and inclusive embrace, we can expand even further to include the impulse to communicate and share, to ponder and see further than our selves and indeed, even be aware of the context of our own species in a greater world. Finally, we can become all seven chakras, blazing forth and fully human, intuitive, intelligent, loving, and instinctive. For mass humanity – the first great initiation is happening NOW and shall be for many souls, the first great threshold of awareness which opens the human being to new horizons. No matter how e/volved we may (think) we are – this is a collective experience and we are all in/volved.  

The shift from Leo to Virgo in the weeks ahead will be gradual – and bring us into a greater reality – that of our natures, our environment, our ways of thinking and being, our technologies and our deeply held assumptions. Our species is fragile and so is our natural environment. Our spirits are growing in strength. With both Venus and Mars in Virgo, relationships may at last find some common ground. Practicalities are the theme.

The first Eclipse of the new Moon was personal – the next Eclipse on the 16th will be on a mass scale.

I choose NOW, as we traverse from the personal to the communal, from the individual to the whole, as the moon waxes and reflects the light – to seed a new idea.

A New Tradition: each New Year’s Day, from sunrise to sunset, humanity opens itself to HONESTY. The old idea of resolutions and partying can continue. The seed thought here, is that the first day of the commonly held calendar (and I am well aware there are a few different ones to recognise), is one in which in the light of day, we open ourselves to the experience of true honesty. Yes, this could be interesting – enlightening, humorous, and quite revealing. On the basis of that first day of light for the year, those who want to – can make their resolutions, decisions, plan, and be aware of intentions for the solar cycle ahead.

We can name it (and humans love to name, and put titles on things, events, experiences), The First of the Year – our Day of Light: A day for honesty and truth and transparency.

I propose this, fully aware that it will create ripples and reactions, responses and derision.

Well, with Mars and Uranus creeping towards a challenging square to Pluto at the Galactic Center, I for one,  would love to see and know humanity as it truly is.

Take this idea – float it, share it, discuss it and promote it.

We may be mature and evolved enough now and willing to create a new tradition. This global ceremonial recognition can take us through the next 16 years of Pluto in Capricorn. (This next cycle will require of us, integrity, honesty and quality of life.)

This is after all, a planet of free will, of Active Intelligence within a solar village that teaches us about Love and Wisdom.

Being honest (with oneself and with others) for one day a year is a grand idea whose time may well have come. It came to me – inspired – and I chuckle when I think of it.

Enjoy pondering, reorganising, sorting, cleaning and watching the Olympics courtesy of our marvellous technology networks that enable us to know we are indeed, one species, one humanity, on a stunningly gorgeous planet (that we need to take care of). Join in the spirit of Goodwill with the global virtual handshake.

The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 12th so you watch the heavens precipitate in 3rd dimensional wonder.

This final retrograde experience of Pluto in Sagittarius is bringing much of our cultural explorations and expression to the forefront of our awareness.

My heartfelt encouragement to all the cultures, nations and individuals involved in this Olympics. A brave China is host and for the people of China, this is a wonderful opportunity to share their own joy of life with us all.

Blessings.

 *** In the spirit of Goodwill, the Dalai Lama has begun a global handshake - to extend our friendship and willingness to overcome all temptation to sink into the mire of angst, malice and hatred. Love – wise love – is a way through. The Avaaz organisation shall present the global handshake to China at the closing of the Olympics.

 The Total Solar Eclipse in Leo is at 8.11 pm on Friday 1st August here on the East coast of Ozland. Mercury is just ahead of the Sun and new Moon. Venus in Leo is opposite Neptune in Aquarius. The blessings from Sirius are streaming forth through Leo into our own Solar Village Light – our Sun and hence into our own hearts. Drink it in!

What do we love about ourselves and how does what we love about being ‘me’ fit into the larger family group of humanity?
Where on our natal chart is our moon and what house (area of experience) is illuminated by Leo (the heart of Life – the Sun)?

Our family and ancestral groups have in the past, deeply affected the way we see ourselves and how we are ‘supposed’ to shine – usually to fulfill a social agenda.  We are a social species and we want so much to have others love in us what we love in ourselves. And we want people to love what we love. For over two thousand years we have been taught to Know and Love ourselves and henceforth each other – and Life.

This Eclipse will highlight our disillusionment about the world – about humanity especially.  Hiding within this disappointment is a feeling that we have have ‘missed the mark’ and detoured from Eden. We humans have overdosed on a punishment /reward mentality, designed to shape and mould our uniqueness into a socially acceptable way of being. The root of this discomfort is an innate (dis)belief in our place in Creation, the Universe, the Grand design of Life itself. Many of our inherited religious and scientific teachings and doctrines perpetuate toxic thinking. Too many of our laws and societal norms confirm a presumption of original sin. We question our own right to exist. We compete with each other for life’s blessings.

There is enough to share and there are solutions to our problems.  A truly heartfelt courage is now called for.

Our financial system is based on ‘credit’ – a word which is also defined as ‘worth’. A quantum leap of evolution could take place if we all simply lived within our means and refused to go into debt. The ‘value’ of all we have created would be eclipsed by the reality of a relative usefulness. 

“See the Lilies of the Field – they toil not nor do they spin …” 

Nature has a wonderful way of living and being all of its own accord: a flower, a tree, a butterfly, a bird, a cat – they all just are – beautifully adorned, supremely designed and each having its time and space to shine.

i.e. Until humanity comes along and kills the bees, pollutes the waters, devastates the land, fast tracks the growing of the animals for consumption and robs the flowers and plant kingdoms of their natural essence.

Why?

Humans are learning to ‘create beyond what is’ and that invariably involves a projection of ego in some way or another. We want to build and create in the image of the Creator – of life itself. Our cities and lifestyles have lost the delight of living in the push to prove how we can improve. Intellect predominates. It safisfieth not. There is more to learn  - Consciousness. 

Over the last few decades, ‘ego’ has become a negative word. Yet, without the ego, we are unable to know ourselves. The ego creates a defense system designed to protect our individuality.  Letting it go seems to invite self annihilation and we are frantic to hold onto whatever it is that enables us to be different, separate and with something unique to offer.

My Shamballa training taught me that the ego protects this uniqueness and that our task is to embrace and consciously, purposefully, develop our individuality to contribute to a greater whole : A daffodil is ostentatious, a peacock shows itself to the world in all its glory, the sun shines unabashed. Each has its part to play and each contributes to the whole.

This nakedness and transparency of the soul shining forth is a major discovery in this world. Here, on Urth, in a planetary world of continually changing diversity, each blade of grass, each leaf, each flower, each soul each human – is different yet connected with a grouping of some kind or another. It is an intricately designed, precariously balanced and fascinating, symbiotic system. It works.

At this stage in the planet’s unfolding evolution, we are also growing beyond the original tribal, racial and familial groups that previously defined us. The fundamentalism within us seeks a stable base – definitive laws, creeds and beliefs that shape our outer world so that we feel safe enough to exist and perhaps to live creatively. The extent to which we have ‘sold out our souls’ for security and acceptance is being highlighted over this month. It is time to retrieve our Love of Life. 

In people we admire, we seek out the characteristics we think we can emulate. The relatively recent phenomena of fame and celebrity glamour – reflect our desire to have someone shine on behalf of and for us. The truth is – each of us has a profound responsibility in each incarnation – to discover, nurture and fulfill at least some our potential in the unique being that we are for a fleeting moment in time.  

Finding that core of energy that flows forth naturally, the spark of the divine which emanates as light and love to the world – is a noble task.

This Eclipse on the 1st August, is when the moon (emotional patterns and programming which helped us create a self identity) moves between our Urth (Diversity and active intelligence) and the Sun (Loving Wisdom and Wise Love). The later Eclipse on 16th August will unveil more for the species of humanity and its spiritual purpose.

If what we feel about ourselves and how we express that in the world, is not glowing naturally, the world is lesser. Our world needs us to love ourselves and each other and life generally.

When any of us truly knows within the heart and soul, that we are part of and carry the seed within us, of all creation and life, then we do indeed glow.

It is called presence and it is our original innocence. It is worthy. When we truly know it and feel it, we can ‘wear our crowns lightly’.   

Self awareness and the Love of Life – of loving being our unique selves for this lifetime – sparks this conscious presence.

And the world is better for this.

* Pic of the Vigil of Lights at Seaford in January 2008.

Risa’s site describes the esoteric perspective of the Eclipses and the regal role of Leo.

Planet Waves ‘How to become Unstuck’, provides an interesting essay on the Aquarian role and the personal in the group. Eric’s daily Blog for the Eclipse describes in detail, the Nodes and Eclipses and is a brilliant summary for Baby Boomer students of Life. For the younger ones (X and Y generations) much is revealed about the current collective consciousness you have inherited and bear witness to today. The Way forward can therefore become clearer for us all.

Shine forth !

 Happy Full Moon week!

The waxing moon shall be glowing in a crystal clear sky for a few days. By Friday, we have rain predicted again. If you are out for an (brisk) evening stroll on Friday evening the full moon will be rising over the horizon with Jupiter in Capricorn. Exact at 6.00 pm Friday evening 18th July. AEST

 Venus will be setting at that time so look West for Venus in Leo and East for the Jupiter/Moon. That is if you are in Melbourne or along Australia’s East Coast. It all depends on where on the planet one is located.
 
The other side of this This Cancer/Capricorn axis will be energised when the Sun is in Capricorn January 2009. That is one of the delightful benefits of observing the sun/moon phases – we can watch the solar village planetary movements, the cosmic clocks in motion.
 
I was interested to read in Eric Francis’ fascinating article about Buckminster Fuller (see previous post) that he urged parents (and teachers) to ensure children understand how our planet moves in relation to the Sun and how the moon moves around the earth.
 
The Sun is fixed – we are on the move with the planet!
 
It’s all about perspective. We only have eyes in the front of our skulls so our (physical) perception is always looking in front of us and outward. One of the exercises to develop consciousness is to train oneself to see with the inner eye, above us, below us, right and left front and behind.
 
The aboriginal art which is now becoming more familiar across the global community, is dreamed by the artist who then awakens and paints the picture from his/her mind’s eye. They enjoy the ability to hold an aerial perspective.

 I have been pondering these wider perspectives and how they change and expand our consciousness. I am motivated to consider these factors whilst aware of deeper feelings and concerns for my own survival and well being.
 
This morning pre dawn’s ponderings revealed I enjoy and am acutely aware of, the built in diversity in our planetary world. I am not the same with each person I meet.  I am not the same each day. Everything keeps changing, we are constantly adapting. Within such an environment, we experience movement/energy and light/dark and time/space.

So it is also, in a dynamic world, our laws, policies and concerns; our belief, values and priorities, are also adapting. For anything to be alive, it is in perpetual change and motion, whether slow (mineral kingdom) or rapid (air and fire). 

What then IS fixed? Ah, the position of the sun – its nature is dynamic (vital) which gives us heat and light by being alive and continually giving out its energy.

NASA scientists are scratching their skulls trying to work out what the sun is doing at the moment. It seems to having a snooze.  They are ‘examining centuries of sunspot data’ records to determine whether this is some sort of cyclical season or is something new happening? 

Thing is our incarnating lifetimes are so short and we need wider perspective to see life in context.

A child takes 7 the first year cycle to adapt to the cycles of our physical nature. The physical mechanisms of our biology are impressed from the energies of Saturn (the timekeeper of the solar village). Saturn works on a 28 year cycle so 7 years is a quarter. The Saturn Return is a major rite of passage around 28-30 years of age and again around 56-58.

My biological form is entering my second Saturn Return and that is why I am consciously and purposefully preparing as an apprentice elder for the next grand cycle. 

I am personally delighted to witness the emergence of the ‘grandmother’ groups across the planet. Most appropriate for an aging population of Baby Boomers.

One of the observations I have enjoyed throughout my lifetime is that of Governance. It is indeed a joy to note Governments such as our new one in Ozland, creating Departments of Environment and Climate Change.
 
I am sure folk of the future will look back in history and marvel that the human population focussed more on economics for centuries than on the environment and climate.
 
In our time, now, the order of priority is shifting from economics to environment. The growing pains (caused by our need to adapt or become extinct), are arising because of the concerns expressed by industry, agriculture and commerce that caring about people and families, about land and nature, is so expensive.
 According to Pendulum, one of (four) primary Galactic Values we are required to express and demonstrate is that of: Care and Perpetuation of life.

 We are indeed, as a species, ‘getting the message’! Yay!
 
There’s a whale in Port Phillip Bay who managed to get past the dredger which is ripping apart a marine world at the heads for the projected expansion of commercial interests.  The beaches around the Bay are fast disappearing and dead fish are floating near the city.
 
Ooops!  What a Campus this Urth of ours is! We live and we learn.
 
Enjoy a dynamic week as we feel the energy build up for the Full Moon. Let off some steam by considering what are your own cares and concerns for the six months ahead. Stressful feelings and thoughts may emerge over these next few days with the Moon in Sagittarius beating the drum to Pluto’s tune. This too shall pass.

It’s all about expanding the inner consciousness and beliefs (Moon and Jupiter in Capricorn) and knowing what are our own values (Venus in Leo) at this stage of the Grand Plan. Prioritising is helpful with regard to practicalities. (Saturn in Virgo)

 By the time the cosmic clocks chime in January’s Full Moon, we shall be glad we have thought deeply about what we are doing and why.
 
 Blessing and Blessed Be.

 [* pic by Gwen Jessup: This tiny wild, white fringed lily emerges in the Australian bushlands for only a day or so each year. Gorgeous!] http://benlochbalcony.blogspot.com/ 
 

As I write this, the heavens are forming a mystical rectangle with a Yod peaking at the Karmic Node and Chiron in Aquarius: Humanity is feeling the need (Sun Cancer) to heal itself and this beautiful planetary world (Moon Virgo) we inhabit. Here in South Eastern Australia, it is the depths of winter. A fire burns away in the hearth and it is raining. Bulbs of daffodils and jonquils are dancing in the cold morning air and the daphne and violets send their scent across the ethers.

Mikey, the ginger green-eyed cat, is tippy on warm milk and has ventured forth to explore the clean garden world.

Risa’s site this week describes the tasks for the new cycle ahead. My own Capricorny soul light is organising – deleting emails, scattered site entries and blog postings, clearing out files, pruning the roses and preparing for the next stage of this lifetime’s chequered journey.

On the 9th July, the Cancerian Sun is shying around Jupiter in Capricorn. A grand day for intuiting expanding horizons, even Bigger Picture insights and remembering our intentions. 

On 10th July, Saturn and Mars join forces in stimulating our fate and destiny – the Grand Plan – at 5 degrees Virgo. We live and learn. Time to anchor into the earth those impulses and energies that can run riot if we have not matured enough to want self discipline rather than imposed restriction. Faith.  Manners help. 

Mercury is heading to oppose Pluto in Sagittarius and the last remnants of our thinking from the past is kicking us to remember our visions of yesteryear and reconsider our options in the Light of today. Like any journey – what we plan and expect life to be up ahead is different when we arrive at any point in time/space – we and circumstances, will have changed by the time we get there!

Mercury then enters Cancer on the 11th July adding a sensitive element to the kicks from Mars.
I keep feeling/thinking that we are about to discover something important – perhaps the Sun trining Uranus on the 15th will reveal more of us to ourselves. 

Venus sallies into Leo with a flair on 13th July so some confidence shall return to boost our flagging spirits.  We may even regain our sense of humour.

Spaceweather reports an Aurora at the North Pole.

The instinct to remain curled up in my wool doona is strong – winter IS for hibernating.

Can you feel the trembling in the body?

Do you sense the ripples of anxiety and uncertainty painting the glass ceiling of our societal reticence?

Are you jelly-like yet resolute? After all – we have only the choice to live, to grasp moments for what they are and let go of what has been, boggled by what may be.

My new work path ahead in time (if and when I get there) will be different. The closing of the astroblog and the refining of my workload is based on serious considerations. Yes, I have delighted in the creative and intuitive process of writing these Blog postings. I have chosen to economise on my energies.

This site shall remain for about two more months. Then – well, I’ll think about what to do along The Way.

Our ability to change, reinvent ourselves, and adapt is our evolutionary process.

Being conscious of it is not always comfortable. I am reminded of the Tibetan monks spending hours creating stunning and intricate designs in coloured sand – then ceremoniously pouring them into the sea.

Like the violets – moments in life can be sweet, pure and so lovely – then it is over for another while in time.

Blessings.

* Update12th July: Planet Waves  weekly has published a fascinating description of Buckminister Fuller – it is the anniversary of his birthday. The article by Eric Francis (and team) explores this genius and his amazing contributions to humanity. Bucky Fuller’s ideas and inventions are needed NOW! Well worth a weekend’s ponderings.

 Time to pass the  Torch

The Lighting of the Olympic Torch Ceremony in Greece was beautifully choreographed in its ancient tradition. Here it is again: every four years, the Leap year when we catch up a day to tweak our human designed calendars to match solar time, and the year we celebrate with the Olympic Games.

astroblog

“The context within which we place ourselves and the focus we choose as a filter on life, provides a matrix of meaning for our minds.”

This Saturday night, millions of man made lights will be turned off for an hour in a symbolic gesture of solidarity to demonstrate our willingness to restrain the affluenza that is a world plague.
Earth hour, from 8-9 pm. Across the globe. 

Time for the first fire of the season in a clean fireplace: home, hearth and friends by firelight. Or is that too much CO2 emissions?

Time for peace.

  There are many festivals celebrated at this time of the solar cycle: the cosmic clocks of the Equinox and Aries Full Moon provide a focus in time and space for us to contemplate endings and beginnings, seasons and cycles. It provides a welcome release for holidays and regeneration. 

astroblog:

“If we think about it too much, we miss the moment, that occurs in time and space, wherein we can expand beyond small and petty personal concerns and just be, here, right now, anywhere, anywhen, alive and oh, yes, aware.”

May this festival ‘time-out’ bring refreshment of the Spirit of Life.

Blessings,

Hilary

[pic (c) by Monica Henry: 'Starting Out']