I study and use Tarot and Astrology to help me attain "Right Alignment" with my daily life and my role in the universal drama. Right Alignment occurs when we do our spiritual work both intensely at specific times in our life and ordinarily in our "every days." Most days we move back and forth over the ideal alignment and some times we find ourselves way out of alignment (to the tune of anxiety, depression, and panic). As I've written about in previous posts, I found myself way out of alignment a little over a year ago and have spent the last year trying to regain my Right Alignment, mainly to find out that I needed to leave my Old Alignment and start working on a New Alignment. In our lives there are usually at least 3 to 5 times (based on common astrological cycles) when we need to rebirth ourselves and let an Old Alignment go. Some times we get a kick in the pants when energy points do some aligning of their own (as Transiting Saturn did when it aligned with my Natal Pluto, preceding my Spiritual Awakening last year). Whatever the case may be, human beings are in constant states of aligning and realigning.
My favorite metaphor for describing this process involves learning to ride and mastering riding a bike. When you first begin (if you don't have training wheels or a parent helping), you swing wildly from left to right/right to left trying to master moving forward and the balance needed to keep the bike upright on two wheels. As you get more proficient, your left/right/right/left movement refines itself. At the height of master is gliding, taking your hands off the handle bar and gliding or peddling without using your grip on the handle bars to keep you straight and upright. Now here's the amazing physical thing, you are still going left/right/right/left, you are just doing it with such precision that it appears as if you going "straight" and without any adjustments. Aligning with your Astrology can give your this very feeling in your life. And when you do, you can often "see" days of Right Alignment and have clear experiences of what Jung calls Synchronicity or Hicks calls the Law of Attraction.
Yesterday was such a day for me and here's some background and how it unfolded. My partner, Betsy, has been talking with her employer about a promotion; she is at the end of a cycle in her career where it is time for her to move up. Two opportunities have been brewing and the one she liked the least became available first and the second one was still in limbo as of yesterday. We have a friend of mine from high school who moved in with us in the hopes of finding new, better work in this area than the previous area she was living in. To date she has not been able to find full time employment even though she has been able to get some very good part time employment. I have been looking for some part time employment, especially something "basic" that would not tax my primary responsibility as a stay-at-home parent. In that vein I have been applying to places like Lowe's Home Improvement, Toys R Us, and Barnes and Noble. Nothing yet has come of these application attempts. So this is the background.
Further, Betsy and I practice patience and trust with the universe. We work hard, but we don't push or set expectations. We listen and allow. We "position" ourselves to be ready and we tell the universe what we want as clearly as possible so we can be sure the universe is able to help us out. Subconscious or internal confusion is often the source of stagnation. Too often I meet with clients who "want a relationship," but the tarot reading or astrology reading show clearly that they are not "in a true state of readiness," which helps explain why they are not in a relationship, in the relationship they want, or healthy in relationship. Right Alignment has to come from a Spiritual place, where your conscious and subconscious are harmoniously aligned.
My lesson of late has been to slow down, be patient, be clear, and be ready. So here's what happened yesterday. Betsy came home for lunch and we were talking out on the deck after eating, enjoy the truly beautiful day (sunny, clear, 78). She came home to tell me that the second position, the one she was hoping for was coming into alignment and she was being offered that position. As almost always happens, she gets exactly the result she puts out to the universe as her request. In that state of happy discussion, I told her that I would really enjoy finding some mundane (not in a derogatory way) work that would allow me to plug into the working world at a very basic and ordinary level. About an hour after she left, I got a call from Toys R Us asking if I would be interested in seasonal work at $8.25 an hour. I really have wanted to work at Toys R Us, so I was thrilled. I sent Betsy a text about my phone call.
Now here's a funny part of the story. Betsy does not always get my texts immediately, so about an hour after my call from Toys R Us, she sends me an email about retail news where the lead story is "Toy R Us plans to hire 45,000 seasonal workers" to which I respond, "yes, I'm one of them." When she got home, she told me she did not understand my reply to her email until she finally checked her text messages. Embedded in this story is another email, from a former graduate student of mine who is a managing editor for an advertising agency. Just so happens they are hiring for his old job, a full time position as a junior editor. They are seeking someone "who is a perfectionist and loves writing." Well, that would be my friend living with us. So I forwarded the position to her. As Betsy put it, the "jobs Gods" decided to reach out to all of us on the same day.
I choose to believe that the Right Alignment of these opportunities have been presented to us because we are clear with the universe and the universe now has opportunities for us. I know many people "want a job" but I think the vast majority are not in Right Alignment and hence the high rate of unemployment. You certainly cannot hope to have Right Alignment, in terms of jobs, in a debt driven economy. But within even a Great Recession or Great Depression, those who work or who find work, most likely have some varying degrees of Right Alignment in their lives. Bad Luck (or the Good Luck of Others, but not yourself) is what you have when you are spiritually unaware. Astrology and Tarot are not "politically correct," nor do they try to cover up "struggles by design" that we all have in our spiritual journeys. I have some pretty potent "afflictions" in my chart (Moon conjunct South Node, Neptune conjunct Ascendant, Saturn conjunct Sun opposing Moon) with a majority of my energy points in "weak houses" (6th and 12th). But the one truly Free Will power I wield; that we all wield, is the power of our Attitude. I certainly don't consider it "beneath me" to work stocking toys at a toy store; in truth, I love that kind of work ... it shows results in the most fundamental way. And, hell, its toys!! Maybe I'm finally going to get in an environment that will help me master that friggin' Playfulness card :-) ... that is, if they decide to hire me! I'm letting the universe know that I'd appreciate the job if I get it and I appreciate the opportunity if I don't.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tarot Meditation Card for the Day - Osho Zen Tarot - New Vision XII
New Vision is the 12th Card of the Major Arcana:
When you draw this card, you are "now presented with the opportunity to see life in all its dimensions, from the depths to the heights. They exits together, and when we come to know from experience that the dark and the difficult are needed as much as the light and easy, then we begin to have a very different perspective on the world." (Osho Handbook, 26) Recently I have been engaged in a blog discussion about an Astrological reading done by Jamie Partridge of Darkstar Astrology about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Jaime's interpretation of Ahmadinejad's chart is very thought provoking and I recommend reading it to understand why this card resonates so powerfully with me, especially if you read all the blog comments.
As a professional astrologer myself, I am certainly feeling a heavy dose of the heavy-handedness of the universe right now. I just finished a blog entry myself about Saturn and Pluto and it doesn't get much "darker" than talking about those two energy points in some kind of relationship. The most recent aspect was a square (Saturn in Libra to Pluto in Capricorn). Steven Forrest does not mince words about this aspect in the Inner Sky, where he states flatly that the square is about combative, enemies energy. On its best day the square probably would describe two hard fighting gladiators, who, at the end of the contest, if both are still alive, respect each other for going all out against one another. On the lower vibration, you get gridlock in Washington and little real forward movement on some very big problems.
This card reminds me that we need Recessions and Depressions when we go too far and we have clearly gone too far. Just yesterday, I heard that temperatures in LA, Ca peaked at 113. This morning, while doing my Tai Chi, I had the thought that global warming is the Earth's equivalent of a fever to get rid of an infection. And you know who/what the infection is! Fevers serve a purpose; Ahmadinejad is serving a purpose; the Great Recession is serving a purpose. That purpose is to help all of us attain a New Vision. For me the New Vision involves some old concepts mingled with new technologies: Intentional Communities re-localizing food production/consumption while having access to knowledge and people from around the world via the Internet and Mobile Phones. We need to slow down our material consumption to speed up our spiritual growth. We need more time with family and friends we choose/intend and less time looking to be "entertained" or "meeting obligations" that clearly do not help or support our own personal development.
In traditional decks, this card is represented as The Hanged Man, which I always describe to clients as "Knowing Sacrifice;" something conscientious parents understand all too well. I knowingly and happily sacrificed my academic career for my family; I have a long vision for the future that sees great gifts in wise sacrifices in these current moments. We need New Vision and it may take some darkness for us to see the the light we cannot currently see because of all the "glitzy" lights trying to distract us that have been part of our behavior since 2001 and Pluto's journey through Sagittarius. What does your New Vision look like?
When you draw this card, you are "now presented with the opportunity to see life in all its dimensions, from the depths to the heights. They exits together, and when we come to know from experience that the dark and the difficult are needed as much as the light and easy, then we begin to have a very different perspective on the world." (Osho Handbook, 26) Recently I have been engaged in a blog discussion about an Astrological reading done by Jamie Partridge of Darkstar Astrology about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Jaime's interpretation of Ahmadinejad's chart is very thought provoking and I recommend reading it to understand why this card resonates so powerfully with me, especially if you read all the blog comments.
As a professional astrologer myself, I am certainly feeling a heavy dose of the heavy-handedness of the universe right now. I just finished a blog entry myself about Saturn and Pluto and it doesn't get much "darker" than talking about those two energy points in some kind of relationship. The most recent aspect was a square (Saturn in Libra to Pluto in Capricorn). Steven Forrest does not mince words about this aspect in the Inner Sky, where he states flatly that the square is about combative, enemies energy. On its best day the square probably would describe two hard fighting gladiators, who, at the end of the contest, if both are still alive, respect each other for going all out against one another. On the lower vibration, you get gridlock in Washington and little real forward movement on some very big problems.
This card reminds me that we need Recessions and Depressions when we go too far and we have clearly gone too far. Just yesterday, I heard that temperatures in LA, Ca peaked at 113. This morning, while doing my Tai Chi, I had the thought that global warming is the Earth's equivalent of a fever to get rid of an infection. And you know who/what the infection is! Fevers serve a purpose; Ahmadinejad is serving a purpose; the Great Recession is serving a purpose. That purpose is to help all of us attain a New Vision. For me the New Vision involves some old concepts mingled with new technologies: Intentional Communities re-localizing food production/consumption while having access to knowledge and people from around the world via the Internet and Mobile Phones. We need to slow down our material consumption to speed up our spiritual growth. We need more time with family and friends we choose/intend and less time looking to be "entertained" or "meeting obligations" that clearly do not help or support our own personal development.
In traditional decks, this card is represented as The Hanged Man, which I always describe to clients as "Knowing Sacrifice;" something conscientious parents understand all too well. I knowingly and happily sacrificed my academic career for my family; I have a long vision for the future that sees great gifts in wise sacrifices in these current moments. We need New Vision and it may take some darkness for us to see the the light we cannot currently see because of all the "glitzy" lights trying to distract us that have been part of our behavior since 2001 and Pluto's journey through Sagittarius. What does your New Vision look like?
Saturn Aspecting Pluto, Times of Major Change
Well, we recently finished the triple square of Saturn and Pluto 11/15-16/2009 (both direct at 1 degree 43 minutes), 2/1/2010 (Saturn Retrograde, Pluto Direct at 4 degrees 21 minutes), and 8/21-22/2010 (Saturn Direct, Pluto Retrograde at 2 degrees 55 minutes). Robert Hand says of this transit, "you may find it very difficult to make the changes in the world you would like to make. [...] Sometimes the experience of this transit is much like struggling against chains that hold you down." (Hand, Planets In Transit, 360). At the level of the United States chart I think we clearly saw this problem in the very poor legislation that passed for Health Care and Financial Reform. Change was certainly needed, but resisted, so our nation came away with a half-hearted attempt at reform. Hand continues to say, "Of all the Saturn squares, this one most requires that you get rid of the dead and useless structures." (360) Well, that didn't happen; at least not in any controlled, higher vibration way. We certainly saw a number of banks fail and social programs snuffed out. Businesses restructured by going out of business, but these were handled by the forceful nature of Pluto and not the conscious choice of leadership. The shrinking that was done did not alter the fundamental structure of banking or business, which is what this transit really wanted to activate.
On a personal level, during this time, in the areas active in your chart, you should have felt the same kind of energy. For myself and my partner Betsy, we decided to look seriously into intentional communities and even put our house up for sale. We were definitely ready to "chuck it all" and go with the Pluto transformation., but as you can guess, it was the worst time to try to make a move of this kind. The binding chain was actually our mortgage, now even more restrictive in a plunging real estate market. In the end, the universe had a different plan, which we were both open to and happy to accept. To put the house on the market we cleaned it out and had three entirely empty rooms, just enough space for a friend from high school and her 3 daughters to move in with us this past June. Now our home (and the structure of our life) is getting its "full use" and we could not be happier.
Saturn and Pluto, to put it bluntly, kick us in the ass when they join forces. That is most apparent when the two transiting energy points are conjunct, a transit approaching all of us January 13, 2020 at 22 degrees 45 minutes of Capricorn. This transiting conjunction will be quickly followed by tSaturn conjunct nPluto on February 24, 2020. Both energies will be direct and will only conjunct once. Again, quoting Hand, "this transit often causes financial problems or other kinds of shortages." (359). In the section on this transit, he talks about restrictions from government (police state, increased taxation, fewer services). Whatever the particular results, the transformation will come through restriction or limits, and it will apply, if using the Sibley US chart, in the area of Values, Needs, and Personal Resources (2nd House). The belt tightening will peak or hit bottom, depending on your metaphor during the years before and after the exact conjunction. In a materialistic society, this information probably does not sound very good, but it is so very necessary and offers a real opportunity to look past material concerns and into the hearts of our spirituality and connections with others. This transit will provide a great shake down.
On a personal level, I can attest to the massive change this combination brings about. In my life I have had two Saturn transits over my Natal Pluto. Both times the transit occurred three times thanks to Retrograde motion that threw tSaturn across my nPluto on 10/8/1979, 4/27/1980, 6/17/1980, 11/28/2008, 2/4/2009, and 8/14/2009. In each span of time I experienced fundamental and massive changes, the most recent a spiritual awakening that really forced me to come to a nearly dead stop in my life (anxiety strong enough to simulate a heart attack and send me to the hospital in September of 2009). The 1979 to 1980 period brought me from Massachusetts to North Carolina in the fall of 1980 at the age of 12. Below are the three charts of that period of time (click to enlarge):
The other energy points playing strong roles during this time included tJupiter conjunct nJupiter (1st Jupiter Return), tPluto conjunct nMoon, tChiron conjunct nMars, and pMoon moving over my Aries Stellium. I remember the significance of this move because it brought us back to the state where our family lived (both sets of grandparents lived in Winston-Salem, NC) and (though, not known at this time) I entered a Junior High School and High School (Southeast Guilford) that I would attend from 7th grade until 12th grade, the first time I stayed in a school for more than 1 or 2 years. The Jupiter Return meant the end of a cycle of expansion and the beginning of a new cycle of expansion. In short, it was a BIG year for me.
In 2008 and 2009, the seeds were being sown for a mental breakdown, which finally occurred on August 28, 2009, just 14 days after the last tSaturn conjunct nPluto. During this time the powerful energy connections running parallel included my Uranus Opposition, described by Barbara Hand Clow as the natural time of Kundalini Rising. Since I was ill-prepared for the energies of this time, I was basically "struck down" (Uranus) and reduced to a small, confined space (basically my home), as I was unable to get out much without overwhelming anxiety. As I have worked through the energy, I have now come to label my experience as a Spiritual Awakening instead of a mental breakdown, even though breaking down was what I need to wake up spiritually. Below are the three charts for the three conjunctions (click image to enlarge):
As you can see my pMoon is once again traveling through all of Aries, entering Taurus just before my shift. tJupiter, tChiron, and tNeptune are all conjunct in my house of Family and the Deep Self (4th). tPluto and pAscendant are conjunct in my 2nd House, reshaping my Values and Needs. The journey to explore intentional communities became intense as I felt the strong urge to get away. I think I was also feeling the tremendous shift worldwide as the economic crisis began a tremendous awakening process. If you want to know about a time of powerful change in your life, and the life of nations, look to the times of the tSaturn over nPluto to see what they were.
In the US chart, the conjunction previously occurred in January of 1991, generally considered the year the Cold War ended (click image to enlarge).
As you can see from the chart, the other key energy in play included tSaturn conjunct tNorth Node and tChiron conjunct nPart of Fortune. This time was one of the recorded recessions in the US, occurring: "After the lengthy peacetime expansion of the 1980s, inflation began to increase and the Federal Reserve responded by raising interest rates from 1986 to 1989. This weakened but did not stop growth, but some combination of the subsequent 1990 oil price shock, the debt accumulation of the 1980s, new banking regulations following the S&L Crisis and growing consumer pessimism combined with the weakened economy to produce a brief recession." (Wiki List of US Recessions). Pressures from other energies did not and will not match the kinds of pressure we will see in January and February of 2020, when tSaturn, tPluto, tJupiter, and pMoon will all be approaching or conjunct nPluto that year! Progressed Ceres, tLilith, and tChiron will be conjunct in Aries in the 5th House and pSun, pVesta, and tNeptune will be conjunct in Pisces in the 4th! Much ado about something in 2020.
As you can see my pMoon is once again traveling through all of Aries, entering Taurus just before my shift. tJupiter, tChiron, and tNeptune are all conjunct in my house of Family and the Deep Self (4th). tPluto and pAscendant are conjunct in my 2nd House, reshaping my Values and Needs. The journey to explore intentional communities became intense as I felt the strong urge to get away. I think I was also feeling the tremendous shift worldwide as the economic crisis began a tremendous awakening process. If you want to know about a time of powerful change in your life, and the life of nations, look to the times of the tSaturn over nPluto to see what they were.
In the US chart, the conjunction previously occurred in January of 1991, generally considered the year the Cold War ended (click image to enlarge).
As you can see from the chart, the other key energy in play included tSaturn conjunct tNorth Node and tChiron conjunct nPart of Fortune. This time was one of the recorded recessions in the US, occurring: "After the lengthy peacetime expansion of the 1980s, inflation began to increase and the Federal Reserve responded by raising interest rates from 1986 to 1989. This weakened but did not stop growth, but some combination of the subsequent 1990 oil price shock, the debt accumulation of the 1980s, new banking regulations following the S&L Crisis and growing consumer pessimism combined with the weakened economy to produce a brief recession." (Wiki List of US Recessions). Pressures from other energies did not and will not match the kinds of pressure we will see in January and February of 2020, when tSaturn, tPluto, tJupiter, and pMoon will all be approaching or conjunct nPluto that year! Progressed Ceres, tLilith, and tChiron will be conjunct in Aries in the 5th House and pSun, pVesta, and tNeptune will be conjunct in Pisces in the 4th! Much ado about something in 2020.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Playfulness, Still Needing to Get the Message!
Do you ever feel like you are in a cartoon and you are the character getting whacked over the head with the frying pan in an attempt to "be given the message"? Well, that would be me and I got another whack yesterday just before a birthday party where I was going to be reading Tarot Cards for the guests. Often, before an event, like the Body/Mind/Spirit expo or the Expo at Journeys, I will draw a card to "get the energy flowing" in the deck. Last night when I drew my card, once again, I drew Playfulness.
That draw made it 4 times in the last month. In one aspect of interpreting the card I feel like I'm making progress. I am trying to take the world "less seriously" in the face of some pretty serious Astrological energy and world events. I am trying, as Betsy would say, to "be the duck"! All that is unfolding is as it should be and will be and I am more and more confident about my role and why I've chosen to be here now. I understand about "unwinding my seriousness" and not taking myself "too seriously," which is no small task after you've been through a PhD program and you've worked for the "flagship" university of the North Carolina system. But it can be done and a little spiritual crisis goes a long way in realigning your perspective; well, at least, it has for me!
For some reason, though, it is the actual playfulness that I'm struggling with and probably why the card keeps trying to "whack" me upside the head. Tangent alert! The drawing of this card, repeatedly, is also one of the reasons I find any esoteric system fascinating. I'm sure a mathematician or statistician might be able to crunch some numbers and "explain away" the repeated draws, but not to a level of satisfaction that would have me dismissing the meaning I find with each subsequent draw. And I'm not making many draws in between each appearance of the card. The settings are different, the cards are more than adequately shuffled, and so on. If you make a draw the way I've made the draws, you cannot help but "pay attention." But paying attention is not the same as embracing the card. So when I sent Betsy a text about the card and she sent me a text back asking, "what makes you feel playful?" I was honestly stumped.
You would think someone with so much energy in Aries (6 energy points) would have a playful streak, but I know its not that simple with my Astrology since one of those energy points is Saturn, my rising sign is Scorpio, and I was born during a Lunar Eclipse, which happens to be conjunct my South Node (past life work). In most of my past life regression work, I continue to find life time after life time as a Priest or Priestess and have already been ordained, once again, in this lifetime. I'm pretty confident my daughter is here to help me, and every so often she does. This morning was a great example. I went to wake her up and she was definitely not feeling the get up and go, so I decided to lay down and try to roll her out of bed by rolling her over me. She is not a small child and is very strong physically. When I tried to move her, she worked effectively against me and I started to laugh at how well she was keeping me from rolling her over. Then she started laughing. We tugged of war for a few good minutes, laughing back and forth each time I tried to move her and failed. Finally, I had to put some real effort into it to move her, but she was, by then, fully awake and we were both smiling.
Sadly, I suppose, when I look back over my life, I can easily say I was happy ... but playful? No, not really. Silly definitely is way outside my scope. And I wonder, can you be playful alone? The card certainly seems to communicate that message, so how do I unlock this very apparent need for playfulness in my life. Should I go to Wiii Bounce and jump around? Should I get a toy for the cat and see if he can help me out as well? Maybe I just need to keep working on the "not too serious" part, no small accomplishment for me. What do you do to be playful?
Clearly I need more guidance from my daughter.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Merging Energy Fields, the Art of Relationship Astrology
All professional astrologers, I believe, have an area of astrology they enjoy working with above all others. For some it may be celebrity charts, while others deeply enjoy Astrocartography. Perhaps the best work of one astrologer is Horary astrology, while another just loves getting a request for Birth Charts. The best professionals can do a variety of charts and use a variety of techniques, but we all probably have one type of chart reading that just sings to us. For me, I really enjoy relationship charts, especially romantic relationships and parent/child relationships. I suspect it has something to do with my Moon in Libra and Neptune conjunct my Ascendant in Scorpio, the sign that rules intimacy and transformation. Very few things in life are as transformative as intimacy with another human being.
When astrologers work on charts for any reason, "Am I in my right career?" "What should my career be?" "What kind of person is my best match?" "Is this person right for me?" "What is my destiny?" "Where do I belong?", we work on formulas to help answer these kinds of questions for clients. A formula involves a look at certain energy points and houses over and above other energy points and houses. Take money/career/material gain as a quick example. The usual suspects to consider are the Earth signs (Taurus/Virgo/Capricorn) and the Earth houses (2nd, 6th, and 10th) and their rulers, Ancient and Modern, (Venus, Mercury, Saturn, the Midheaven, Vesta, and Ceres). Through a reading of these energy points and energy containers (sign and house), we can construct a helpful interpretation of your particular energetic relationship with money/career/material gain.
Relationship charts are fun, and more complex, because they require interpreting two charts individually and then in relationship to one another. When compared by overlapping the charts (by sign), the astrologer is doing a Synastry chart, which allows us to see where energy points aspect (connect with each other) and where energy points influence areas of the partner's life (my Sun "solarizes" my partners 4th House of Home and Family, for example). When considering romance, I always begin with the Moons, which represent how each of us gives and receives love. As ruler of the 4th House, the "deepest" house of the chart, the Moon is our most intimate and fundamental emotional self. The question in the bar should not be "What's your sign (Sun)?" but rather "What's your Moon sign?" A Scorpio Sun and Leo Sun could have a life long love affair if they share highly positive energy between their Moons. Numerous other factors go into the basic formula that begins the analysis of a Synastry chart for me, including a look at the 1st House as a representative of "what you bring to a relationship" and the 7th House as a representative of "what you seek in a relationship." The 8th House shows "the nature of intimacy" and the 2nd House reveals your "values and needs."
The formula is a guide and very flexible because so many factors have to be taken into account and they are not all equal in all charts. Truly, a conglomeration of energy information must be assessed and ranked (in order of importance) to build the Synastry chart reading. At a glance, I look to see any and all aspects that might be active between identical energy points (Sun to Sun, Mercury to Mercury, Venus to Venus, and so on). Strong aspects (conjunction, square, trine, and opposition), the "tightness" of the aspect (degree of orb), and whether the aspect is approaching (building energy) or separating (waning energy) all increase or decrease the soul connection intensity. If those exist, they generally get first mention in a reading. If none exist, then I generally start with conjunctions among differing energy points to see the nature of the relationship (issues and focus). With Synastry charts you quickly overwhelm "canned" programs and will want a professional astrologer to refine and personalize your reading.
Besides Synastry charts, you can also look at a relationship through a Composite chart, which combines the two individual charts using a midpoint method to come up with a chart of the "couple" as a single entity. When the two of you are in the room together, you represent a merged field as well as two individual fields interacting. The merged field is your Composite chart. In my case, my partner and I, end up with an Aquarius Sun, which is something of a disadvantage for her, with a Scorpio Sun (square by sign), and a boost for me, with an Aries Sun (sextile by sign). In terms of Life Path, the relationship favors my Sun. Nicely and with challenges, though, for our daughter, who is an Aquarius, she gets a parental unit that has the same Sun Sign. Our Composite Ascendant is Sagittarius, which really shifts us both because individually we are loners, but together we do tend to be more outward, expansive, and willing to "see the world." Lately we've been talking about selling everything and getting an RV when we get later into life and just going. I would never make that choice on my own. Such is the impact of merged energy fields.
Other chart calculations exists to further explore relationships. Just recently (yesterday) I discovered the Davison and Draconic charts reading the excellent blog of Marina and Jaime Darkstar. You should read their post on Soul Mate Compatibility. From there you can get to a sample chart reading that employs these two additional charts. Each time I read their blog I end up finding a new astrology book or technique I need to buy and study! Today is a great time to be alive and using astrology or getting astrology done for yourself. Skilled practitioners abound (still, unfortunately, so do charlatans, but better professionals are increasing in number).
The Synastry work is clearly among my personal favorites. If you are looking for, in, or just out of a relationship and want some in depth insight, then you should definitely explore what astrology can reveal about relationship for you.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
November Election, A Shift in Stagnation
I find specific predictions in astrology to be lucky at best and discrediting, all too frequently, at worst. So when I think about and engage in future considerations it is with thoughts towards energy patterns or energy waves (so well described in Understanding the Future: A Survivor's Guide to Riding the Cosmic Wave*The Major Astrological Predictions from Now to 2020 and How They Will Shape Our World - Paperback (Sept. 2, 2008) by Lyn Birkbeck). The Tea Party is a perfect fit for a specific kind of energy wave coming more and more into play as Lilith approaches Uranus, leading to an exact conjunction in March of 2011. Since the exact conjunction is a good ways out, I am inclined to think that Tea Party/Republican wins will be substantial, but not enough to move the gridlock in the American political scene that never wavered after the Obama election (only 58 Senators were Democrats, two were independents, then Edward Kennedy died and a Republican, Scott Brown, took his seat). Republicans will need to pick up 17 seats to get to the majority needed to override Presidential vetoes. I doubt this kind of change will happen, so we will essentially experience what I want to call a Shift in Stagnation.
The stagnation comes from the fact that both parties support a welfare state and debt. For Democrats the welfare state revolves around Civil Service and for the Republicans the welfare state revolves around Military Service. Actually, the Democrats don't have much luck cutting the welfare state of the Military, but the Republicans can seem to make inroads into cutting social programs. Neither will make actual cuts to the overall budget; any cuts made will be to welfare programs of the other group or outside the big "untouchables": military, social security, and medicare. What we will see is more removal of the old political guard, and we need that to happen so the American electorate can learn that old or new congressmen and senators DO NOT MATTER. Governments are, in essence, behind the times, slow to the game, sound and fury signifying ... well ... not much. Why? Because Democratic candidates and Republican candidates will get their campaign contributions from the same large pot (Corporations and Banks) and often from the exact same little pots (Merkel will give 1 million to the Democratic AND Republican candidate). Really, what does it matter to a corporation or bank, which can move fluently worldwide, without much regard for borders, who PRETENDS to run the country so long as their agendas are covered based on campaign payments.
The Tea Party members will not be immune to this influence and their presence in politics will NOT represent a major shift in American economics. For this reason, I do not see the impending energy shifts, begun first with Pluto's ingress into Capricorn, to be followed by Uranus' ingress into Aries (finally and fully in March of 2011) and Neptune's ingress into Pisces (finally and fully in February or 2012) as having their full on impact until the end of 2012 or 2013. Since we are talking about some pretty big movements of energy, I am comfortable with a leeway of 2 to 3 years, observing as I do that rock bottom probably won't occur until 2014/2015. If balance sheets in countries do not begin to show some kind of decline between now and 2013, the next Recession will be a Depression and the illusion of government "control", "policing", and "care of the public good" will be revealed in such a fashion that truly radical change may finally be possible. Expect some violence to rear up during that time as it often does when times get truly desperate.
Now, can a dark scenario be prevented and even turned into a positive scenario? Of course. These energies are forming and playing out for that very reason, for humanity to take advantage of the lesson and emerge into a brighter future. But we will face the toughest challenge of all, and its not about resources, technology, or "growing our way out of the problem", but about CHANGING BEHAVIOR, the most monumental of all tasks! Hopefully Uranus in Aries is up to the task because Pluto in Capricorn is certainly putting to task all the "big structures" and their presumed hubris of being "too big to fail." We will absolutely need a completely "new and shocking" way of thinking while Pluto and Uranus move in parallel in the cardinal signs of Capricorn and Aries until March 2019.
The stagnation comes from the fact that both parties support a welfare state and debt. For Democrats the welfare state revolves around Civil Service and for the Republicans the welfare state revolves around Military Service. Actually, the Democrats don't have much luck cutting the welfare state of the Military, but the Republicans can seem to make inroads into cutting social programs. Neither will make actual cuts to the overall budget; any cuts made will be to welfare programs of the other group or outside the big "untouchables": military, social security, and medicare. What we will see is more removal of the old political guard, and we need that to happen so the American electorate can learn that old or new congressmen and senators DO NOT MATTER. Governments are, in essence, behind the times, slow to the game, sound and fury signifying ... well ... not much. Why? Because Democratic candidates and Republican candidates will get their campaign contributions from the same large pot (Corporations and Banks) and often from the exact same little pots (Merkel will give 1 million to the Democratic AND Republican candidate). Really, what does it matter to a corporation or bank, which can move fluently worldwide, without much regard for borders, who PRETENDS to run the country so long as their agendas are covered based on campaign payments.
The Tea Party members will not be immune to this influence and their presence in politics will NOT represent a major shift in American economics. For this reason, I do not see the impending energy shifts, begun first with Pluto's ingress into Capricorn, to be followed by Uranus' ingress into Aries (finally and fully in March of 2011) and Neptune's ingress into Pisces (finally and fully in February or 2012) as having their full on impact until the end of 2012 or 2013. Since we are talking about some pretty big movements of energy, I am comfortable with a leeway of 2 to 3 years, observing as I do that rock bottom probably won't occur until 2014/2015. If balance sheets in countries do not begin to show some kind of decline between now and 2013, the next Recession will be a Depression and the illusion of government "control", "policing", and "care of the public good" will be revealed in such a fashion that truly radical change may finally be possible. Expect some violence to rear up during that time as it often does when times get truly desperate.
Now, can a dark scenario be prevented and even turned into a positive scenario? Of course. These energies are forming and playing out for that very reason, for humanity to take advantage of the lesson and emerge into a brighter future. But we will face the toughest challenge of all, and its not about resources, technology, or "growing our way out of the problem", but about CHANGING BEHAVIOR, the most monumental of all tasks! Hopefully Uranus in Aries is up to the task because Pluto in Capricorn is certainly putting to task all the "big structures" and their presumed hubris of being "too big to fail." We will absolutely need a completely "new and shocking" way of thinking while Pluto and Uranus move in parallel in the cardinal signs of Capricorn and Aries until March 2019.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
US Astrology: The November 2nd Elections (2010)
A look at the transits and progressions active in the United States astrology chart for November 2, 2010 reveals a tremendous amount of important pressure being exerted on key energy points of the US birth chart. There continues to be ongoing debate about the exact time to attribute to the birth of the US and I am comfortable accepting that all well-researched times reveal various important truths about this nation. For my own work I have found the Sibley Chart, which assigns a birth time of 5:10PM, to offer highly significant interpretations in line with current events. I want to provide an interpretation of the upcoming election day within the framework Steven Forrest and Northwatuppa provide in their videos about the Cardinal T-Square (see my previous blog to view the videos). Forrest talks about the amount of pain we must encounter and endure before we are ready to face our difficulty and seek the proper healing. Northwatuppa discusses the Uranus/Lilith conjunction that reveals kinky dark energy prepared to shock us by coming forth more openly over the next year. I relate this energy to the expression of the Tea Party movement currently active in American politics. So what does the 11/2/2010 US transits and progressions chart show us along these lines and others. Below is the chart; I am using the whole sign system as written about by Demetra George in her book Astrology and the Authentic Self.
There has been plenty of time given to general discussions of the T-Square of Saturn, Pluto, and Uranus and other transits. In this post I want to put these and other relationships into context against the birth chart energy of the US. This chart includes a second set of evolving energies, progressions. Progression calculations allow us to slow down the faster moving planets and see their energy impact over longer periods of time, much in the same way we look at Jupiter through Pluto because they cover time ranges from 1 year to 15 years per sign. Progressed Sun to Progressed Mars, gives us the same 1 to 10+ years of duration. The chart above is one of the most "complete" astrologers can cast because we see all the energy points apply over longer durations of impact. While it is very important to note the transit and progressed aspects (like the tPluto square with tUranus and pMars oppositie pVenus) in and of themselves, the most powerful aspect to consider is the conjunction, when energies merge, not only transit to transit or progression to progression, but transit and/or progression to the birth chart energy point. As you can see we have two powerful transit to transit conjunctions occurring currently and on 11/2 (tNeptune/tChiron and tUranus/tJupiter). And, of especial importance, the tNeptune/tChiron conjunction is also conjunct the natal US Pallas Athena and Moon (nPallas and nMoon)!
Suffice to say, the 11/2 elections are going to be a big deal! A lot will be happening, a lot of potential and possibility, all with strong implications for lower and higher vibration expressions. I like the Sibley whole sign chart because the transit of Pluto occurs in the 2nd House of values and security, personal home security (your individual wealth and material needs/standing). A Capricorn 2nd House is very fitting for a nation that believes its home should be its castle. We are driven (Capricorn) to achieve in our personal material gain and put forth our own values (privacy and independence, getting what is ours). Pluto rocking this house reflects the kind of personal transformation in values and status that comes in a Recession and Depression. Of important note is the conjunction tPluto will have at this time with the tNorth Node. The North Node represents a need to express something while lacking the full understanding of how to express it. Basically, we need to find new values (or more appropriately revive some very important old ones ... frugality, savings, integrity), we feel this energy deeply but remain unclear how best to manifest it (North Node). It is times like these that open the door for charlatans and opportunists (like Mussolini, Hitler, or Stalin). We will hear many simplistic solutions to complex problems and the "easy" choice will present itself as very attractive, especially to a society grown "fat" with entitlements unearned (debt Supercycle unwinding). The Tea Party is an excellent manifestation of this energy combination. Once you move beyond the "stop government spending" slogan, the details become very antagonistic to specific groups (for the Nazi Party it was the Jews, for the Tea Party it is the Immigrants and Liberals ... and the parallels are tLilith eerie, noting that tLilith is in the 4th House of the US chart).
We can only wonder if this Lilith expression can either gain majority support or have enough focused minority support (while the majority remains largely apathetic) to gain control of government decision making. Considering some of the moral character shown by Tea Party candidates, I suspect Big Business and the Banking Industry will be very happy to have these people available to their lobbyists. The candidates we need elected are the ones NOT receiving large donations from special interest groups, but the irony in the current age is that a candidate cannot run unless he or she has a very large "war chest". We face real limitations in change due to the design of the current system, which is why tPluto is making is move through Capricorn, to bring about fundamental change to large systems.
Let's get back to the chart and two progressed energy points that stand out, both for their current aspect with one another and their conjunct/opposition aspects with the US chart energy points. I am referring to pMars (Libra/11th) opposite pVenus (Aries/5th). Here's why everything in this country feels polarized; the masculine energy and feminine energy are in direct opposition and they are in opposing sign energy (Libra is ruled by Venus and Mars is ruled by Aries), so the energies are in mutual reception. More than ever we need collaboration, not compromise or combat. Unfortunately, energetically, pMars is conjunct nSaturn and nJuno, making the desire to change very difficult. With these energies in the 11th House of Community, pMars inclines us to think we will best help society by doing what we want selfishly (the shadow expression) or by restoring local community health (higher vibration expression). Libra's shadow expression is "follow the rules" no matter what while its higher vibration is about making proper judgments as circumstances change. Think of the financial crisis this way; government has done all it can to hold up the very institutions and their behaviors with as little change to the rules as possible. Note too that tSaturn will be conjunct nSaturn during this election cycle as well. Change to the "status quo" is available, but may only turn out to be apparent.
Saturn and Mars have a "go to war tendency" and we can certainly feel and see that energy in American politics. Opposite this energy is pVenus conjunct nChiron, which means we are in touch with our wounds via our relationships. Who now does not know someone adversely affected by the economic downturn. Seemingly independent adult children are moving back in with parents and parent retirements suffering financial hits are forcing new conversations with children about end of life plans. This whole configuration (pMars/nSaturn/nJuno opposite pVenus/nChiron) could be summed up as, "we are our own worst enemy." The great potential of this configuration could be using the drive of pMars to make changes in our laws (nSaturn) and our personal contracts, of which marriage is the most fundamental, (nJuno) for the betterment of society (11th House) while balancing (opposition at the higher vibration) the healing opportunity (nChiron) with our familial and cultural relationships (pVenus) in the area of our creative self-expression (5th House). It is a matter of conscious choice. What do you think is most likely to happen?
Finally, for this entry anyway, I want to focus on perhaps the most powerful transit scenario in play on 11/2, the tNeptuneR (R for retrograde) conjunct tChironR conjunct nMoon in the 3rd House near the ingress point of the 4th House. Having a natal Moon so close to the 4th House is, I think, indicative of Americans passion about and for privacy. Our Sun in the 8th House and in the Northern Hemisphere, along with our Sagittarius Ascendant gives this country its profound outward expression in the world. The Cancer Sun gives us our Hero complex. But the Moon near the cusp of the 4th House shows how deeply private and personally hidden we often want to be. Neptune deals with dreams/delusions and compassion/insanity while Chiron is about healing/wounding and collaboration/compromise. Both of these energies have been in conjunction during the time of this Recession and both have been dancing over the end of Aquarius/3rd House and beginning of the Pisces/4th House. Their final movement through the sign of Idealism unveils the wounds of our dreams/delusions. Many articles written about the financial crisis use the phrase "The End of the American Dream". During the Bush Presidency, the American cache of goodwill was not only spent, but also put into debt. Being the lowest part of the chart, we are wounding ourselves and deluding ourselves. Much of the rhetoric of the upcoming election will likely include a "return to glory" theme. We need to "go back" ... to smaller government, protectionist policies, and states rights strength.
In the positive, I think the current energy of this configuration is trying to tell us to slow down, refocus on local community, and turn reflectively inward (not fearfully inward). Forrest does not directly say we have not yet experienced enough pain, but I think he gently implies that our country and the people worldwide have not actually hit rock bottom yet. And we most likely need forces outside us to help us along the way, like global warming that moves coastlines into fertile soil or resource depletion that begins to affect our ability live our "normal" lives. It has been written that, in America, the children of my child's generation may be the first to have a shorter life span than her/their parents, thanks largely to a lifelong artificially (not organically) provided diet. We are seeing the signs of "too much of a good thing is bad" and feeling the effects of over extension.
In the end, I think the fact that the 11/2 elections will occur while four energy points are Retrograde (Jupiter, Chiron, Uranus, and Neptune) and they are "back" in the sign they are leaving, we will see votes being cast to try to get us "back to where we were before" instead of "ahead to where we are going." I expect very reactionary voting which will lead to further reactionary decision making at all levels of power in an attempt to staunch the inevitable change that Pluto is bringing to our most powerful institutions. The financial crisis and subsequent bailouts nakedly revealed the true power governing the world, and it is not world governments. They tooled up to protect the real power managers. All the potential for higher vibration fundamental positive change is very much present, but it will require, thanks to the various configurations, a great deal of conscious effort to bring about the positive manifestations. Paradoxically, we may need more darkness (tSaturn on nSaturn, tLilith approaching tUranus, tNeptune/tChiron on nMoon, pMars on nSaturn, and tPluto approaching nPluto) before we see the light. Even so, everyday, we can choose to see the light whenever we want in front of or ahead of any victimizing darkness. In my life I'm choosing to see the light and trying to be beacon, however small for others. I hope you will too.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Debunking the Debunker - Flawed Attempt to Disprove Astrology
When I went to do a search on Astrology on Youtube, one of the most popular posts comes from James Randi (260,000 plus views), well known for his million dollar offer to any psychic who can prove, under scientific restrictions set up by Randi himself, that the psychic phenomenon is valid. Astrology is often one of Randi's whipping targets and his favorite test is one of the weakest and mostly discarded forms of astrological reading, the physical characteristics by sign (Aries have prominent foreheads, Virgo keep their appearance neat and groomed). Some novice astrologer will be brought on to identify 10 random people by sign by looking at them. As expected, they do no better than guessing (statistically speaking). And Astrology, once again is debunked. The video below is another technique for proving that astrology is smoke and mirrors; however, the "scientific method" applied is deeply flawed and I will explain why after you watch the video.
There are a number problems in the design of this experiment. First, there is no control group. A control group would include individuals who received actual astrology reports based on their actual information. This way you could have members of the audience who could disagree with a chart and raise a much more profound problem for astrology than a vague chart that could be broadly applied into a particular life so that the reader could make the chart fit his or her circumstances. This simplistic experiment does proves something, but nothing profound; it proves ignorant people are easily deceived. Another way to strengthen this experiment would be to have 20 or so professional astrologers in the room and try to hand them the horoscope Randi handed this audience. Again, this attempt would likely fail miserably because the astrologers would begin to ask what technical information was used to come up with the interpretations. And, again, if he could pass the chart off on a professional astrologer successfully, then he would have a much stronger experiment and result.
Something interesting, but not intended, does emerge; two things actually. One, I think it is interesting that you can provide 20 plus people with the same narrative and they all think it applies to them. Does this say something useful about the human condition; maybe we are all more alike than different. Would it have mattered if, among the people in the group, some were from different countries, especially ones that have a strong astrological tradition ... Middle Eastern or Indian. Again, the group shown here is too homogeneous (in terms of culture) to really provide a good test result. Second, is a question of the narrative provided and its level of generalization. It's one thing to say, astrologically, "that this is a time of financial struggle" knowing that even in good times most people feel they struggle in some way financially. It is another thing to say, astrologically, "that you will experience financial challenges in matters of personal concern and the formation of your identity; you may, at this time have to devote extra effort to the work that matters most to you and that helps you find your career path (Saturn transiting your 1st House)". If you are retired or a homemaker or a teenager receiving the second reading you might have reason to raise your hand and say, "um, this doesn't really apply to me."
I think it would be possible with a certain kind of generalization to make the experiment about debunking the medical community by saying things like, "do you have trouble concentrating, finding you start projects you do not finish, perhaps trouble sleeping through the night." If the group gave mostly 4 and 5's to this reading, they would all be diagnosed as ADD. I'm sure I could find general language to make everyone in the group depressed too. It's obvious that one thing the horoscope did NOT include was the most basic starting piece of information in any chart reading, Your Sun Sign is in X; therefore, you life path is guided by Y. Had that information been prominent, several of the participants would have immediately sniffed out the ruse. You could not make everyone the same Sun Sign and get away with it. No professional astrologer of any note would leave this information out of a professional reading; it is the very way we put our selves on the line as practitioners. We allow our clients to know the information we are using so they can verify it for themselves.
Additionally, I read through the comments of the people very much enamored of Randi and this particular experiment. Among the comments was a personal favorite of mine that again shows misguided thinking, though it does sound rather damning.
Well, in point of fact, I would not hire an Astrologer to build a rocket ship, I would hire a rocket scientist; and I would not hire an Astrologer to operate on my appendix, I would hire a surgeon. But it also follows that I would not hire a surgeon to provide me with spiritual guidance or psychological help. Astrology does help people, individually, not collectively. Science great contribution is its collective application. Astrology's great contribution is its individual application. Astrology, really, is all about you. This point does lead me to a final topic that I am sure will challenge some Astrologers. I do not consider Astrology a science, not even a "Cosmic Science". I know it sounds good to throw "Science" in there because science has really made tremendous inroads into human life, almost as if Astrology can co-opt the word and get the benefits of "acceptance" or "success" or "reliability" that science offers (water boils as 100 degrees Celsius, a bridge designed with these materials and supports can handle a specified amount of weight). I do accept that we use science, specifically Astronomy, as an underpinning, but once we enter the realm of interpretation, we enter the realm of imagination and narrative. Astrology is a narrative psychology, a psychological art form, a creative dialogue between a client and astrologer. It is humanistic, not scientific. And I know its quite fun to talk about Astrology and Quantum Physics or theoretical science as the place the two merge, but let's be honest, when we throw Science into a title for an astrological text we can expect that it is being done (maybe by the editor and bookseller) to ride the coat tails of mechanical science and its "provability" and "repeatability", both of which are doggedly effective and, well, reliable.
And finally, the debate only really matters, or can matter if the scientists in question are spiritual and the spiritualists appreciate science. Randi strikes me as the Atheist of the highest degree. There is only this lifetime, consciousness is a product of chemical/electrical evolution, and death is nothingness. People do not have a destiny, spiritual path, calling, or any other "woo woo" way through the world. In that case, there's really nothing to prove to this man. If he wants to take to task charlatans in our profession, I'm all for it. But if he thinks the charlatans are the profession, then I feel compelled to write a blog entry like this one. I think he would certainly think I am somehow a sophisticated delusional person, if he would be willing to grant that I am intelligent, having earned a PhD and all. And it does not help that some astrologer is willing to take on his badly designed "Astrological Test". Maybe if Randi were to use a better methodology, I would be more inclined to think his conclusions worth considering. In the end, I do want to respond because his video has 260,000 hits and Steven Forrest's excellent video on the current T-square has less than 3,000. And here, I would say we have a case where the volume of hits does not necessarily reflect the quality of content.
There are a number problems in the design of this experiment. First, there is no control group. A control group would include individuals who received actual astrology reports based on their actual information. This way you could have members of the audience who could disagree with a chart and raise a much more profound problem for astrology than a vague chart that could be broadly applied into a particular life so that the reader could make the chart fit his or her circumstances. This simplistic experiment does proves something, but nothing profound; it proves ignorant people are easily deceived. Another way to strengthen this experiment would be to have 20 or so professional astrologers in the room and try to hand them the horoscope Randi handed this audience. Again, this attempt would likely fail miserably because the astrologers would begin to ask what technical information was used to come up with the interpretations. And, again, if he could pass the chart off on a professional astrologer successfully, then he would have a much stronger experiment and result.
Something interesting, but not intended, does emerge; two things actually. One, I think it is interesting that you can provide 20 plus people with the same narrative and they all think it applies to them. Does this say something useful about the human condition; maybe we are all more alike than different. Would it have mattered if, among the people in the group, some were from different countries, especially ones that have a strong astrological tradition ... Middle Eastern or Indian. Again, the group shown here is too homogeneous (in terms of culture) to really provide a good test result. Second, is a question of the narrative provided and its level of generalization. It's one thing to say, astrologically, "that this is a time of financial struggle" knowing that even in good times most people feel they struggle in some way financially. It is another thing to say, astrologically, "that you will experience financial challenges in matters of personal concern and the formation of your identity; you may, at this time have to devote extra effort to the work that matters most to you and that helps you find your career path (Saturn transiting your 1st House)". If you are retired or a homemaker or a teenager receiving the second reading you might have reason to raise your hand and say, "um, this doesn't really apply to me."
I think it would be possible with a certain kind of generalization to make the experiment about debunking the medical community by saying things like, "do you have trouble concentrating, finding you start projects you do not finish, perhaps trouble sleeping through the night." If the group gave mostly 4 and 5's to this reading, they would all be diagnosed as ADD. I'm sure I could find general language to make everyone in the group depressed too. It's obvious that one thing the horoscope did NOT include was the most basic starting piece of information in any chart reading, Your Sun Sign is in X; therefore, you life path is guided by Y. Had that information been prominent, several of the participants would have immediately sniffed out the ruse. You could not make everyone the same Sun Sign and get away with it. No professional astrologer of any note would leave this information out of a professional reading; it is the very way we put our selves on the line as practitioners. We allow our clients to know the information we are using so they can verify it for themselves.
Additionally, I read through the comments of the people very much enamored of Randi and this particular experiment. Among the comments was a personal favorite of mine that again shows misguided thinking, though it does sound rather damning.
@camij79 - astrology has not cured any diseases, or provided any means of improving sanitation or water supplies, has not assisted in exploration of our world or the cosmos, has not improved living conditions for anyone, has not provided any improvement to infrastructure anywhere, the list goes on.
Astrology has lined the pockets of astrologers and astrological pretenders, and preyed on the gullible.
Well, in point of fact, I would not hire an Astrologer to build a rocket ship, I would hire a rocket scientist; and I would not hire an Astrologer to operate on my appendix, I would hire a surgeon. But it also follows that I would not hire a surgeon to provide me with spiritual guidance or psychological help. Astrology does help people, individually, not collectively. Science great contribution is its collective application. Astrology's great contribution is its individual application. Astrology, really, is all about you. This point does lead me to a final topic that I am sure will challenge some Astrologers. I do not consider Astrology a science, not even a "Cosmic Science". I know it sounds good to throw "Science" in there because science has really made tremendous inroads into human life, almost as if Astrology can co-opt the word and get the benefits of "acceptance" or "success" or "reliability" that science offers (water boils as 100 degrees Celsius, a bridge designed with these materials and supports can handle a specified amount of weight). I do accept that we use science, specifically Astronomy, as an underpinning, but once we enter the realm of interpretation, we enter the realm of imagination and narrative. Astrology is a narrative psychology, a psychological art form, a creative dialogue between a client and astrologer. It is humanistic, not scientific. And I know its quite fun to talk about Astrology and Quantum Physics or theoretical science as the place the two merge, but let's be honest, when we throw Science into a title for an astrological text we can expect that it is being done (maybe by the editor and bookseller) to ride the coat tails of mechanical science and its "provability" and "repeatability", both of which are doggedly effective and, well, reliable.
And finally, the debate only really matters, or can matter if the scientists in question are spiritual and the spiritualists appreciate science. Randi strikes me as the Atheist of the highest degree. There is only this lifetime, consciousness is a product of chemical/electrical evolution, and death is nothingness. People do not have a destiny, spiritual path, calling, or any other "woo woo" way through the world. In that case, there's really nothing to prove to this man. If he wants to take to task charlatans in our profession, I'm all for it. But if he thinks the charlatans are the profession, then I feel compelled to write a blog entry like this one. I think he would certainly think I am somehow a sophisticated delusional person, if he would be willing to grant that I am intelligent, having earned a PhD and all. And it does not help that some astrologer is willing to take on his badly designed "Astrological Test". Maybe if Randi were to use a better methodology, I would be more inclined to think his conclusions worth considering. In the end, I do want to respond because his video has 260,000 hits and Steven Forrest's excellent video on the current T-square has less than 3,000. And here, I would say we have a case where the volume of hits does not necessarily reflect the quality of content.
The Year of Gratefulness
Each year I try to think of a word or phrase that best encapsulates that year. In 2009 my phrase was "Buddha by the River". I decided to sit down by the river and wait for the world to come past me, and it did. I met people from Argentina, Japan, Canada, Estonia, Macedonia, and numerous states around the country ... all in my home via my astrology practice and meetups.
This year my word is "gratefulness", which reached full bloom when I went to visit my grandfather in Ronda, NC two weekends ago. While there I felt profoundly grateful for his home and the gift of retreat that it offered me at a time when I clearly needed slow movement and silence. I was able to read, rest, and enjoy lazy days with him, all while enjoying the best in country cooking and sweet tea. I look forward to returning in about three weeks.
While there I experienced gratefulness in so many areas of my life. I remain in awe of my relationship with Betsy and Maya. Both add such joy to my life that words will be lacking no matter how eloquently woven. I will suffice to say I love them both and feel their love daily. I became grateful for my Spiritual Awakening, even as it has been challenging and many days debilitating. Over the duration of the experience, still ongoing, I acknowledge the amazing gift of transformation and rebirth that is happening to my soul and personality. I am grateful for my community and where I live. Cary is a diverse, intelligent, soulful area that provides me and my family with great safety, health, and opportunity. I love that Betsy and I can walk to her job, that we can have a pool for Maya and her sisters Zelda and Elanor, that Maya can go to an outstanding Montessori school only 5 miles from our home, that we have a movie theater 1/2 a mile from our house, and lots and lots of local business to enrich our community.
I have been grateful for Alibris Books.com and Ebay, which have allowed me to build my Astrology and Tarot library at nominal costs, providing me with rare and hard to find books that Barnes and Noble will never carry. I am grateful for Barnes and Noble as a place for me to have mini-retreats and enjoy a sweet snack as I read a comic book graphic novel. I am grateful that my parents live nearby; I just wish they were closer and we could spend more time together. But I love going down for a visit and playing golf with Dad, sitting out by the lake in their backyard, and enjoying a home cooked breakfast from Mom. I am grateful for the medical and psychological professions that have helped me through my Spiritual Awakening without judgment as they did their best to identify my problems, helping where they could and understanding where they could not.
I am grateful for the mundane, "easy to take for granted" aspects of my life. My home, which keeps me dry when it rains and cool when it is hot. Flushing toilets, man, am I grateful for those! Every working flush is pure joy. Working stoplights, paved roads (smooth or rough), sidewalks (even though we could use more of them), my lawn mower starting each time I use it, the A/C in my van when I have everyone in it (6 of us). I love this computer and the free services I get for blogging and email (gmail). I am grateful for fresh water, a state with four seasons, a local government that picks up my trash and recycling. I am grateful for the wind on a hot day, the bright sun on a clear day, bees, and our cat, Chula, who keeps the moles and mice out of the yard.
This year, I am grateful.
This year my word is "gratefulness", which reached full bloom when I went to visit my grandfather in Ronda, NC two weekends ago. While there I felt profoundly grateful for his home and the gift of retreat that it offered me at a time when I clearly needed slow movement and silence. I was able to read, rest, and enjoy lazy days with him, all while enjoying the best in country cooking and sweet tea. I look forward to returning in about three weeks.
While there I experienced gratefulness in so many areas of my life. I remain in awe of my relationship with Betsy and Maya. Both add such joy to my life that words will be lacking no matter how eloquently woven. I will suffice to say I love them both and feel their love daily. I became grateful for my Spiritual Awakening, even as it has been challenging and many days debilitating. Over the duration of the experience, still ongoing, I acknowledge the amazing gift of transformation and rebirth that is happening to my soul and personality. I am grateful for my community and where I live. Cary is a diverse, intelligent, soulful area that provides me and my family with great safety, health, and opportunity. I love that Betsy and I can walk to her job, that we can have a pool for Maya and her sisters Zelda and Elanor, that Maya can go to an outstanding Montessori school only 5 miles from our home, that we have a movie theater 1/2 a mile from our house, and lots and lots of local business to enrich our community.
I have been grateful for Alibris Books.com and Ebay, which have allowed me to build my Astrology and Tarot library at nominal costs, providing me with rare and hard to find books that Barnes and Noble will never carry. I am grateful for Barnes and Noble as a place for me to have mini-retreats and enjoy a sweet snack as I read a comic book graphic novel. I am grateful that my parents live nearby; I just wish they were closer and we could spend more time together. But I love going down for a visit and playing golf with Dad, sitting out by the lake in their backyard, and enjoying a home cooked breakfast from Mom. I am grateful for the medical and psychological professions that have helped me through my Spiritual Awakening without judgment as they did their best to identify my problems, helping where they could and understanding where they could not.
I am grateful for the mundane, "easy to take for granted" aspects of my life. My home, which keeps me dry when it rains and cool when it is hot. Flushing toilets, man, am I grateful for those! Every working flush is pure joy. Working stoplights, paved roads (smooth or rough), sidewalks (even though we could use more of them), my lawn mower starting each time I use it, the A/C in my van when I have everyone in it (6 of us). I love this computer and the free services I get for blogging and email (gmail). I am grateful for fresh water, a state with four seasons, a local government that picks up my trash and recycling. I am grateful for the wind on a hot day, the bright sun on a clear day, bees, and our cat, Chula, who keeps the moles and mice out of the yard.
This year, I am grateful.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Cardinal T-Square, Change We Can Believe In!
I am opening this post with two videos, one from Steven Forrest and one from Northwatuppa, both professional astrologers of good standing, who talk about the current Cardinal T-Square that is in play until March of 2011. I will follow the videos with my own thoughts about this important configuration.
Steven Forrest on Cardinal T-Square
Northwatuppa on the T-Square, Stellium, and Lilith
I doubt that even Barack Obama is prepared for the change unfolding, and it will be change we can believe in because, as Forrest suggests, we will finally feel enough pain to choose to react to many of the realities we have ignored: overpopulation, energy shortages, food shortages, environmental damage, and so on. The financial crisis is a precursor and wake up call to help us begin the process of averting the very negative human responses to these global and human problems. We can choose a lower or higher vibration, which is why I believe our next President will either need to be in the mold of Lincoln/FDR or open the door for a Mussolini/Hitler. The times are that profound. The most recent Tea Party Victory in the Republican Primary race for the Governor of New York is a prime example. A very focused, Lilith group of people have chosen someone of negative social character because he is vocally expressing this group's anger and frustration over the financial crisis.
Sarah Palin's sustained presence in the media is another example of the Lilith energy Northwatuppa talks about. It will only increase throughout 2011. The question of the fall elections will be how much of this kind of energy enters the political landscape of this country. As John Mauldin, an outstanding economist points out, there are not good choices at this time, only less bad or painful ones. Currently we are following the same policy decisions that created the first Great Depression and we may need a Second one to get us to the level of pain that opened the door for FDR/Churchill, who coincidentally "ruled" at the same time as Hitler/Stalin/Mussolini. The current stock market gains and sustaining numbers are as much of a mirage as the 8.5 million jobs created on the foundation of debt. Now that the debt is unwinding, that illusion is reaching the basic levels of society.
In small pockets throughout the world, ideas like relocalization, sustainability, conservation, and even shrinkage are emerging. These ideas are humanity's future. We actually need consumption to decrease; we need new ideas about how to build neighborhoods, and slow life back down. We need to do it consciously with the knowledge that it is going to happen in the form of a dead stop over a cliff if we don't start making changes during this very exciting and challenging time. I am a "guarded optimist". By that I mean, I believe all the Steven Forrest believes about the deep, transformative nature of this T-Square, but if I bet the odds, I'm inclined to expect that we will have a real chance of electing Sarah Palin or her equivalent in 2012 if unemployment continues to make its way to 20% based on the more accurate and inclusive U6 measure.
On the more personal level, the T-Square will exert its change influence in the areas of your life where Saturn, Pluto, and Uranus appear in your chart. I'm getting my work in my Spirituality/12th House (Saturn), my Communication/Learning/ 3rd House (Pluto) and my Service to Others/Health/6th House (Uranus). And boy am I feeling it. Additionally, Pluto is squaring the stellium (6 energy points) in Aries/6th and Uranus will soon be conjunct all of them as it works its way through Aries. No wonder I got a Spiritual Wake Up call last year that is and will be ongoing for at least 10 years (whoopie!). If there was ever a good time to get your astrology chart read, now would be that time.
I doubt that even Barack Obama is prepared for the change unfolding, and it will be change we can believe in because, as Forrest suggests, we will finally feel enough pain to choose to react to many of the realities we have ignored: overpopulation, energy shortages, food shortages, environmental damage, and so on. The financial crisis is a precursor and wake up call to help us begin the process of averting the very negative human responses to these global and human problems. We can choose a lower or higher vibration, which is why I believe our next President will either need to be in the mold of Lincoln/FDR or open the door for a Mussolini/Hitler. The times are that profound. The most recent Tea Party Victory in the Republican Primary race for the Governor of New York is a prime example. A very focused, Lilith group of people have chosen someone of negative social character because he is vocally expressing this group's anger and frustration over the financial crisis.
Sarah Palin's sustained presence in the media is another example of the Lilith energy Northwatuppa talks about. It will only increase throughout 2011. The question of the fall elections will be how much of this kind of energy enters the political landscape of this country. As John Mauldin, an outstanding economist points out, there are not good choices at this time, only less bad or painful ones. Currently we are following the same policy decisions that created the first Great Depression and we may need a Second one to get us to the level of pain that opened the door for FDR/Churchill, who coincidentally "ruled" at the same time as Hitler/Stalin/Mussolini. The current stock market gains and sustaining numbers are as much of a mirage as the 8.5 million jobs created on the foundation of debt. Now that the debt is unwinding, that illusion is reaching the basic levels of society.
In small pockets throughout the world, ideas like relocalization, sustainability, conservation, and even shrinkage are emerging. These ideas are humanity's future. We actually need consumption to decrease; we need new ideas about how to build neighborhoods, and slow life back down. We need to do it consciously with the knowledge that it is going to happen in the form of a dead stop over a cliff if we don't start making changes during this very exciting and challenging time. I am a "guarded optimist". By that I mean, I believe all the Steven Forrest believes about the deep, transformative nature of this T-Square, but if I bet the odds, I'm inclined to expect that we will have a real chance of electing Sarah Palin or her equivalent in 2012 if unemployment continues to make its way to 20% based on the more accurate and inclusive U6 measure.
On the more personal level, the T-Square will exert its change influence in the areas of your life where Saturn, Pluto, and Uranus appear in your chart. I'm getting my work in my Spirituality/12th House (Saturn), my Communication/Learning/ 3rd House (Pluto) and my Service to Others/Health/6th House (Uranus). And boy am I feeling it. Additionally, Pluto is squaring the stellium (6 energy points) in Aries/6th and Uranus will soon be conjunct all of them as it works its way through Aries. No wonder I got a Spiritual Wake Up call last year that is and will be ongoing for at least 10 years (whoopie!). If there was ever a good time to get your astrology chart read, now would be that time.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Tarot Meditation Card for Today - Osho Zen 10 of Air - Rebirth
This past weekend Betsy and I did a small fair at Journeys Spiritual Center in North Raleigh. She brought her paintings and crafts and I set up to read tarot cards. Before the show got under way, I drew two cards individually. The first was the old standby, Playfulness, but the second card was new, Rebirth:
The 10 of Air was a very appropriate card for me to draw at this time. As you can see from the image, each life time is a time of Rebirth and within a life time there may be several rebirths. The 10th card in each suit represents the end of a cycle that will begin anew with the Ace. When you draw this card you are directed to think about Rebirth within your life and present moment. Perhaps you need a rebirth; perhaps you have recently completed a rebirth. For me, the card makes me think of my Spiritual Awakening at the end of August 2009 that has led to a period of rebirth stretching over the last 2 years actually. All of 2008 was the setting of the stage of the death of my old spiritual self. That self truly ended and my new self emerged when my Kundalini Rising struck with full force on August 28th of 2009. An old self burned away, making room for a new self that I have been slowly cultivating for the last year. The process is ongoing.
I think the Playfulness card drawn prior to this card really represents the kind of rebirth I should be embracing. I have been a very serious soul most of my life. I study serious matters ... the fate of the world, the fate of this country, the destiny of my clients, and the destinies of my family members. But now I feel charged with several new perspectives ... trust instead of fear, gratefulness instead of entitlement, compassion instead of arrogance, and wise judgment instead of unhelpful criticism. For almost 9 months I did not laugh inside or out; I had to relearn how to laugh. All that is happening in the world is part of a bigger picture of rebirth and we each have our own personal rebirths likely to occur during a global time of rebirth. Hopefully with each rebirth we gain wisdom, courage, and understanding. I certainly enjoy this new journey and appreciate it more and more each day.
The 10 of Air was a very appropriate card for me to draw at this time. As you can see from the image, each life time is a time of Rebirth and within a life time there may be several rebirths. The 10th card in each suit represents the end of a cycle that will begin anew with the Ace. When you draw this card you are directed to think about Rebirth within your life and present moment. Perhaps you need a rebirth; perhaps you have recently completed a rebirth. For me, the card makes me think of my Spiritual Awakening at the end of August 2009 that has led to a period of rebirth stretching over the last 2 years actually. All of 2008 was the setting of the stage of the death of my old spiritual self. That self truly ended and my new self emerged when my Kundalini Rising struck with full force on August 28th of 2009. An old self burned away, making room for a new self that I have been slowly cultivating for the last year. The process is ongoing.
I think the Playfulness card drawn prior to this card really represents the kind of rebirth I should be embracing. I have been a very serious soul most of my life. I study serious matters ... the fate of the world, the fate of this country, the destiny of my clients, and the destinies of my family members. But now I feel charged with several new perspectives ... trust instead of fear, gratefulness instead of entitlement, compassion instead of arrogance, and wise judgment instead of unhelpful criticism. For almost 9 months I did not laugh inside or out; I had to relearn how to laugh. All that is happening in the world is part of a bigger picture of rebirth and we each have our own personal rebirths likely to occur during a global time of rebirth. Hopefully with each rebirth we gain wisdom, courage, and understanding. I certainly enjoy this new journey and appreciate it more and more each day.
Book Recommendation - Spiritual Astrology: A Path to Divine Awakening by Spiller and McCoy
Lately I have been fortunate to run across a number of excellent books on Astrology. Currently, at the top of my list, is Spiritual Astrology: A Path to Divine Awakening by Jan Spiller and Karen McCoy. I picked this book up just before my visit to see my grandfather two weekends ago. Up front, this book focuses on the past life/karma aspect of Evolutionary Astrology and talks about the placement of each energy point by sign and house in terms of past and present contracts with the universe. Especially enlightening is the last part of the book on prenatal Solar and Luna Eclipses, which Spiller writes, "I found that for the vast majority of people (4000 charts studied), their solar eclipse sign indicated lessons they had come to teach their fellow beings, while their lunar eclipse sign guided them to the lessons they needed to learn in order to continue on their own soul growth." (p. 205). A very simple table in the back will show you which sign the Solar and Lunar Eclipse occurred in before after your conception and before your birth. In some cases people (like myself) have double Solar and/or Lunar Eclipses. I happen to have double both - Scorpio & Aries for Solar and Aries & Libra for Lunar; I was born during the Libra Lunar Eclipse.
You can imagine the conundrum I face with both a Solar Aries prenatal eclipse and a Lunar Aries prenatal eclipse. I am, apparently, in this lifetime, learning to teach independence and figure out how to be independent in one and the same life time! Besides this excellent section on eclipses, the first part of the book covers all the primary energy points beginning with the Sun and ending with Pluto. Since Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are all generational energy points, the house placement of each one in your chart is immensely important. My generation, with Neptune in Scorpio is concerned with, "realizing the higher levels of shared material ownership on a planetary level." (p. 120) We are certainly the generation to come into ownership of the "Global Economy". Personally, with Neptune in my 1st House (using the Whole Sign system), my potential "unconscious expression" is self-deception and delusion. On the "conscious level" I learn to speak my truth openly and honestly. Throughout the book the authors make sure to deal with the positive and shadow expressions of all the energies as well as a host of other layers of interpretation, including:
- Your Window to the World,
- Your Achilles Heel,
- Your Past Life Gifts, and
- Self-Actualization
Additionally, this book is very accessible to novice astrologers. You just need a casting of your chart, which you can get done for free at Astrodienst online. Once you have your chart in hand, you can go through the book and learn a great deal about your contract with the universe and what you should be doing and how you should be doing it. A must have for your astrology library.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Book Recommendation - Wismatic by Pam Yount
This book was given to me by my partner, Betsy, at the end of the Body, Mind, Spirit Expo on August 29th. When I turned over the book to read the back cover I discovered a photo of the Temple of Tholos at Delphi. It is the same temple I have tattooed on my back with Pegasus flying over the ruins. As a believer and practitioner of Jungian synchronicity, I knew immediately that the book was required reading. As is often the case the week after the show, I am in recovery and realignment mode, so I did not get a chance to open the book. Fortunately I had planned to go visit my grandfather Labor Day weekend and I packed the book, along with Jan Spiller's Spiritual Astrology, Powers Vol 2. graphic novel, and Kaplan's GRE Test Preparation Study Guide (I was hired to teach a GRE prep course for Wake Tech on Thursday before I left on Friday). I started reading Wismatic Friday night between classic movies.
The very short synopsis would be the following: a book by a mother whose son died of AIDS at 27 and the spiritual journey and opening up that came about during his seven year battle with the disease. Her voice is honest and passionate and just what I needed to be reading during my visit with my grandfather. As I read each chapter I became more in touch with gratefulness - the gratefulness of my full life; the love of my grandfather, two grandmothers, my parents, and my birth mother; my health; my growing spiritual awareness; and deeply the love of my partner, Betsy, and my daughter, Maya. The key message Ms. Yount shares with each of us is the responsibility we all have to find our spiritual destiny and how it is ultimately a journey only we can take. We cannot be given it by another, no matter their exalted status. Teachers can offer guidance and people with similar vibrations can show us what they have learned, but no one can get us to our destiny but ourselves. We are the gods and goddesses of our own story.
Reading this book also helped me address an ongoing internal dialogue regarding the issue of judgment. It all sounds good and well to say, "judge not lest ye be judged," but living in a 3D, linear time existence, by default, requires us to make judgments day in and day out, whether they small and functional or large and spiritual. Ms. Yount talks passionately about being involved in the world and the epiphany that emerged around judgment, especially the judgment of a cause or another person's plight or behavior, is whether or not we intend to INTERVENE. Her son's illness lead her to INTERVENE and challenge the judgments of others and her upbringing (Southern religious ... so her son was most likely a gay man who deserved god's punishment ... which she judged to be wrong-headed). And she did choose to intervene, by writing her congressmen, by learning all she could about the disease, by opening herself to other spiritual paths that would allow her to see the lesson and destiny in her son's illness (for him, her, and everyone touched by his illness).
I felt a tremendous shift by the time I finished the book and I am thankful to her. Ms. Yount, Thank You.
I would be remiss in recommending this book if I did not point out some of its limits, a tip of the hat to my "serious" life as a scholar of writing. I only do so to say that the flaws did not bother me because the message was so important and delivered with such honesty. Some of the failings are the editor, glaring grammatical errors appear throughout. Some of the flaws are the writer's, where she does not follow a line of thought to a conclusion or she picks up a thought without the needed preamble to understand the context. These are not frequent, but they are jarring. If you are looking for another writer of Deepak Chopra's or Eckhart Tolle's polish, then you will not find one in this book. But if you are looking for a writer with a revelation of truth from a "common" voice, then you must read this book. The wisest person I have known in my life is my mother's mother, my Nana. She never finished high school; but she was full up with wisdom and kindness. No amount of book smarts, and I've put my time in to accumulate a fair amount, will ever allow me to surpass her innate soul wisdom. Pam Yount has that same quality and she shares her wisdom with us in her book Wismatic.
The very short synopsis would be the following: a book by a mother whose son died of AIDS at 27 and the spiritual journey and opening up that came about during his seven year battle with the disease. Her voice is honest and passionate and just what I needed to be reading during my visit with my grandfather. As I read each chapter I became more in touch with gratefulness - the gratefulness of my full life; the love of my grandfather, two grandmothers, my parents, and my birth mother; my health; my growing spiritual awareness; and deeply the love of my partner, Betsy, and my daughter, Maya. The key message Ms. Yount shares with each of us is the responsibility we all have to find our spiritual destiny and how it is ultimately a journey only we can take. We cannot be given it by another, no matter their exalted status. Teachers can offer guidance and people with similar vibrations can show us what they have learned, but no one can get us to our destiny but ourselves. We are the gods and goddesses of our own story.
Reading this book also helped me address an ongoing internal dialogue regarding the issue of judgment. It all sounds good and well to say, "judge not lest ye be judged," but living in a 3D, linear time existence, by default, requires us to make judgments day in and day out, whether they small and functional or large and spiritual. Ms. Yount talks passionately about being involved in the world and the epiphany that emerged around judgment, especially the judgment of a cause or another person's plight or behavior, is whether or not we intend to INTERVENE. Her son's illness lead her to INTERVENE and challenge the judgments of others and her upbringing (Southern religious ... so her son was most likely a gay man who deserved god's punishment ... which she judged to be wrong-headed). And she did choose to intervene, by writing her congressmen, by learning all she could about the disease, by opening herself to other spiritual paths that would allow her to see the lesson and destiny in her son's illness (for him, her, and everyone touched by his illness).
I felt a tremendous shift by the time I finished the book and I am thankful to her. Ms. Yount, Thank You.
I would be remiss in recommending this book if I did not point out some of its limits, a tip of the hat to my "serious" life as a scholar of writing. I only do so to say that the flaws did not bother me because the message was so important and delivered with such honesty. Some of the failings are the editor, glaring grammatical errors appear throughout. Some of the flaws are the writer's, where she does not follow a line of thought to a conclusion or she picks up a thought without the needed preamble to understand the context. These are not frequent, but they are jarring. If you are looking for another writer of Deepak Chopra's or Eckhart Tolle's polish, then you will not find one in this book. But if you are looking for a writer with a revelation of truth from a "common" voice, then you must read this book. The wisest person I have known in my life is my mother's mother, my Nana. She never finished high school; but she was full up with wisdom and kindness. No amount of book smarts, and I've put my time in to accumulate a fair amount, will ever allow me to surpass her innate soul wisdom. Pam Yount has that same quality and she shares her wisdom with us in her book Wismatic.
Making Sense of Aspecting Transits - Saturn and Pluto
Your birth chart represents a snapshot of the energy points in the sky at the time of your birth. When you took your first breath, you initiated a new consciousness into the drama of the universe, carrying that snapshot energy with you throughout your life time. As the universe continues to unfold the cycles of energy impact your birth story through moments of energetic impact when the energy points of today align by certain angles (aspects) with the energy points of your birth chart. When you are around the age of 7, Saturn in the sky would have been approximately 90 degrees from your birth Saturn position. So, if you had Saturn at 5 degrees of Aries when you were born, then at 7 Saturn would be at 5 degrees of Cancer. It would have transitioned from your birth to the current location at the time of 7 years of age. An astrologer would say, "Transiting Saturn is square your Natal Saturn." Transits are extremely important because they alert us to key moments in life when energy is spiking for us and how we can face the particulars of the energy spike.
At times, two transiting energy points can form their own aspect, as happened recently when Saturn in Libra was square (90 degrees from) Pluto in Capricorn. Saturn is the energy of restriction, the past, and rules. Pluto is the energy of transformation. So its not hard to imagine that when these two energy points align by aspect there is some serious energy spikes occurring. Saturn resists change and Pluto brings about change. And Pluto is STRONGER. Change, as the paradox goes, is the one constant in the universe. When Pluto initiates a change by entering a new house and sign, the world and the individual are forced to take notice. Pluto entered Capricorn in January of 2008 ... notice anything? And in the US chart that meant that Pluto entered the 2nd house, the home of personal wealth, needs, and values. Capricorn is about paying dues, and guess which energy point rules Capricorn ... Saturn! With Pluto in Saturn's sign we can expect fundamental changes to our most long standing and long lasting structures. The claim that anything in this world is "too big to fail" is hubris in the face of life's ever changing and evolving energy.
So what can happen when Saturn and Pluto connect energy via the energy cord of an aspect? Old structures begin to crumble in order for new structures to emerge. However, as with any process involving these or any other energy points, there is always a continuum of negative to positive expression. Saturn's positive expression is "the right structure or rule at the right time." Its negative expression is "to resist change at all costs." Pluto's positive expression is to embrace necessary change and help facilitate it. Its negative expression is to manipulate change for subversive or selfish gain. The change, however, is going to happen. Keeping in mind the positive/negative expression of energy, let's look at three aspects between these two energy points that started in November 2009 (with Saturn/Libra square Pluto Capricorn) and that will end March 2020 (with Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn). During this transit period, both energy points will oppose the US Venus, Jupiter, Sun, and Mercury. As a nation we will be facing some of the most fundamental and structural changes of our history.
From November 2009 to October of 2010, we have felt the influence of Saturn and Pluto squaring one another. Squaring energy is highly conflicted and difficult to manage because the two players involve very different kinds of energy. In this case, the air energy of Libra and the earth energy of Capricorn are both trying to take the lead and have control. As I stated earlier, Pluto is stronger, so the Plutonian drive has the greater impact on reality. Consider the financial crisis; the government and private sector attempted Librian solutions (tax credits, bailouts, new financial rules); however, they did not do so in the spirit of the deep change brought on by Pluto in Capricorn. They have tried to save the system that caused the problem and hope to revive it in the nearly same form as it was leading up to the problem. They have played a language game (Air, communication), calling this shift a recession instead of a depression, and talking about slow growth instead of steady contraction and shrinkage. They are trying to use laws to keep the existing system in place (bonuses for CEOs, increasing the size of the few remaining big banks, transferring tax money to debt institutions). The square provided an opportunity and, I think, we saw essentially the negative expression of both Saturn and Pluto in our leadership.
The positive expression would have possibly looked something like this: only fixed loans would be available for new home purchases and new buyers would have to come with 20% to closing. Bad loans would fail and properties seized and transitioned onto the market, causing a nearly 50% drop in home values (or a return to basically the tax value of a home). Derivative markets would be closed; the stock market would be closed and only private investment would be allowed. Banks would no longer be usury institutions. Lobbyists would be removed from contact with political leaders. That's the kind of radical change in structure that is possible with this energy in play. We are a nation overburdened with debt and it is beginning to unwind and piling more debt on top will not bring about fiscal health.
Up next will be a sextile or 60 degree relationship between Saturn and Pluto beginning in December of 2012 until October of 2013. This relationship is more harmonious than the square and will involve an interesting situation called mutual reception. Saturn will be at 9 degrees of Scorpio when Pluto is at 9 degrees of Capricorn. The energy points will mutually receive each other because they will be in the ruling sign of the other: Saturn rules Capricorn where Pluto will be and Pluto rules Scorpio where Saturn will be. They will each receive energy from the sign placement of the other that will amp up their energies. Pluto in this case will be even stronger than during the square when it was connecting with Librian energy instead of Scorpionic energy. Now again there will be a chance to express positive or negative energy in helping to use structure to facilitate change. Now we have Saturn in the sign of deep truth, emotional commitment, and transformation. Pluto will still be chugging along with the unwinding of our world and US economy, but now Saturn will show and see the New Normal for what it is and will be. Major institutions will again face a chance to make significant changes in line with the Plutonian transformation or ... bury our heads even deeper in the sand and grab what power we can in our respective roles and lives.
Note that this transit aspect will be in full swing after the next US Presidential election. The first 6 months of the new President will either show great courage or intense fear. We will get either Churchill/FDR/Lincoln or Mussolini/Hitler/Stalin. This time will set the tone for the biggest transit aspect of them all, the conjunction, when the energies actually merge and show us the new structures for the next 35 to 40 years. Saturn/Pluto were conjunct in 1947 and 1982. Consider the shifts of American power for both of those times shortly after (our rise to power as one of the superpowers and then our move to become the lone superpower). With these two energies conjuncting nearly opposite the US Sun, those of us living in this country can expect a full reckoning of our nation's activities. If we arrive at that time as a nation in deep debt, we may find ourselves "bankrupt" and out of options. If we arrive having made significant changes asked of us by Pluto that require new structures and, in all likelihood, new frugality and humility, then we will continue to be a nation that leads in this world. We have a lot of work to do between now and 2020. Some of the work will be foisted upon us by newly emerging realities (resource shortages, deflation of assets, limited work opportunities, a large aging population, overpopulation), which will require some very honest assessments and innovative problem solving (fortunately, Uranus will be in Aries and again we will have an opportunity to express/leverage the positive energy of this transit). And, as it so happens, Uranus and Pluto will be square from 2012 to 2015.
If you are alive now, then you have chose to be born in one of the most dramatic and exciting times in human history. We may easily surpass both World Wars, The Great Depression, and the Revolutions of the 60s in this next 10 years alone. We could make a massive leap forward or backwards; it will all depend on our intentions, our thoughts, and our actions. I am glad you are all here sharing the journey with me.
At times, two transiting energy points can form their own aspect, as happened recently when Saturn in Libra was square (90 degrees from) Pluto in Capricorn. Saturn is the energy of restriction, the past, and rules. Pluto is the energy of transformation. So its not hard to imagine that when these two energy points align by aspect there is some serious energy spikes occurring. Saturn resists change and Pluto brings about change. And Pluto is STRONGER. Change, as the paradox goes, is the one constant in the universe. When Pluto initiates a change by entering a new house and sign, the world and the individual are forced to take notice. Pluto entered Capricorn in January of 2008 ... notice anything? And in the US chart that meant that Pluto entered the 2nd house, the home of personal wealth, needs, and values. Capricorn is about paying dues, and guess which energy point rules Capricorn ... Saturn! With Pluto in Saturn's sign we can expect fundamental changes to our most long standing and long lasting structures. The claim that anything in this world is "too big to fail" is hubris in the face of life's ever changing and evolving energy.
So what can happen when Saturn and Pluto connect energy via the energy cord of an aspect? Old structures begin to crumble in order for new structures to emerge. However, as with any process involving these or any other energy points, there is always a continuum of negative to positive expression. Saturn's positive expression is "the right structure or rule at the right time." Its negative expression is "to resist change at all costs." Pluto's positive expression is to embrace necessary change and help facilitate it. Its negative expression is to manipulate change for subversive or selfish gain. The change, however, is going to happen. Keeping in mind the positive/negative expression of energy, let's look at three aspects between these two energy points that started in November 2009 (with Saturn/Libra square Pluto Capricorn) and that will end March 2020 (with Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn). During this transit period, both energy points will oppose the US Venus, Jupiter, Sun, and Mercury. As a nation we will be facing some of the most fundamental and structural changes of our history.
From November 2009 to October of 2010, we have felt the influence of Saturn and Pluto squaring one another. Squaring energy is highly conflicted and difficult to manage because the two players involve very different kinds of energy. In this case, the air energy of Libra and the earth energy of Capricorn are both trying to take the lead and have control. As I stated earlier, Pluto is stronger, so the Plutonian drive has the greater impact on reality. Consider the financial crisis; the government and private sector attempted Librian solutions (tax credits, bailouts, new financial rules); however, they did not do so in the spirit of the deep change brought on by Pluto in Capricorn. They have tried to save the system that caused the problem and hope to revive it in the nearly same form as it was leading up to the problem. They have played a language game (Air, communication), calling this shift a recession instead of a depression, and talking about slow growth instead of steady contraction and shrinkage. They are trying to use laws to keep the existing system in place (bonuses for CEOs, increasing the size of the few remaining big banks, transferring tax money to debt institutions). The square provided an opportunity and, I think, we saw essentially the negative expression of both Saturn and Pluto in our leadership.
The positive expression would have possibly looked something like this: only fixed loans would be available for new home purchases and new buyers would have to come with 20% to closing. Bad loans would fail and properties seized and transitioned onto the market, causing a nearly 50% drop in home values (or a return to basically the tax value of a home). Derivative markets would be closed; the stock market would be closed and only private investment would be allowed. Banks would no longer be usury institutions. Lobbyists would be removed from contact with political leaders. That's the kind of radical change in structure that is possible with this energy in play. We are a nation overburdened with debt and it is beginning to unwind and piling more debt on top will not bring about fiscal health.
Up next will be a sextile or 60 degree relationship between Saturn and Pluto beginning in December of 2012 until October of 2013. This relationship is more harmonious than the square and will involve an interesting situation called mutual reception. Saturn will be at 9 degrees of Scorpio when Pluto is at 9 degrees of Capricorn. The energy points will mutually receive each other because they will be in the ruling sign of the other: Saturn rules Capricorn where Pluto will be and Pluto rules Scorpio where Saturn will be. They will each receive energy from the sign placement of the other that will amp up their energies. Pluto in this case will be even stronger than during the square when it was connecting with Librian energy instead of Scorpionic energy. Now again there will be a chance to express positive or negative energy in helping to use structure to facilitate change. Now we have Saturn in the sign of deep truth, emotional commitment, and transformation. Pluto will still be chugging along with the unwinding of our world and US economy, but now Saturn will show and see the New Normal for what it is and will be. Major institutions will again face a chance to make significant changes in line with the Plutonian transformation or ... bury our heads even deeper in the sand and grab what power we can in our respective roles and lives.
Note that this transit aspect will be in full swing after the next US Presidential election. The first 6 months of the new President will either show great courage or intense fear. We will get either Churchill/FDR/Lincoln or Mussolini/Hitler/Stalin. This time will set the tone for the biggest transit aspect of them all, the conjunction, when the energies actually merge and show us the new structures for the next 35 to 40 years. Saturn/Pluto were conjunct in 1947 and 1982. Consider the shifts of American power for both of those times shortly after (our rise to power as one of the superpowers and then our move to become the lone superpower). With these two energies conjuncting nearly opposite the US Sun, those of us living in this country can expect a full reckoning of our nation's activities. If we arrive at that time as a nation in deep debt, we may find ourselves "bankrupt" and out of options. If we arrive having made significant changes asked of us by Pluto that require new structures and, in all likelihood, new frugality and humility, then we will continue to be a nation that leads in this world. We have a lot of work to do between now and 2020. Some of the work will be foisted upon us by newly emerging realities (resource shortages, deflation of assets, limited work opportunities, a large aging population, overpopulation), which will require some very honest assessments and innovative problem solving (fortunately, Uranus will be in Aries and again we will have an opportunity to express/leverage the positive energy of this transit). And, as it so happens, Uranus and Pluto will be square from 2012 to 2015.
If you are alive now, then you have chose to be born in one of the most dramatic and exciting times in human history. We may easily surpass both World Wars, The Great Depression, and the Revolutions of the 60s in this next 10 years alone. We could make a massive leap forward or backwards; it will all depend on our intentions, our thoughts, and our actions. I am glad you are all here sharing the journey with me.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
A Happily Spiritual Journey
I have many posts I want to write, including several book recommendations. But first, I just want to write about my trip to visit my grandfather (Papa). The trip was very special and important for me; I really needed some time away and I have not spent time with him for a while (too long to recount without some internal shame actually). I left Friday morning after I took the girls to school. The day before I'd taken my truck in for inspection and service, opting to get several recommended upgrades in preparation for my drive (a little under 150 miles) from Cary to Ronda (just outside of Wilkesboro). I was not in a rush to get up there, so I planned to drive at a leisurely pace (just at or under the speed limit), stop somewhere along the way for lunch, and visit the old trailer park where he and Nana (my mom's parents) and my Grandmother (my father's mother) had lived. Nana and Grandmother have long since passed, but Papa is still going strong at 91 (b. 1919). Every time he trades in for a new car (usually after 2 years) he racks up about 80,000 miles (he used to drive trucks for a living).
He lives in a very nice double wide trailer on a piece of land that was in Nana's family, surrounded by other family members across the road and on one side of him. I did not fully realize the spiritual nature of the land until this visit; I don't think I could "hear" the land until this time in my life. The drive up was quite pleasant even though it was the last hot day (over 90) before the cold front arrived on Sat. I drove straight through Burlington, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem until I got to Clemmons. The Clemmons exit was the one we used to take when we would visit them in the trailer park. I stopped there to eat and see if the trailer park was still around. The change at the exit was grand, a mini shopping center had been built and the old road leading back to the trailer park had been diverted to the end of the shopping center. I ate at my first Zaxzby's, a standard chicken and fries place and unwound a bit from the drive.
When I left I went down the old road and found the familiar brick house that marked the turn into the trailer park, Chardale Drive. The road went up a slight hill on the other side of the house and a flood of memories began to cascade into my mind as I came over the crest to find the trailer park still there and, basically, frozen in time. The first trailer, which was the one where Grandmother lived, looked exactly like hers from 30 years ago. I was stunned how much emotion swept into me as pulled into the main drive and started passing all the trailers. Nana and Papa lived in two trailers, one on the main road and one down the hill in a cul-de-sac. I swear the one I passed on the main road was the same one I'd played in as a child; even the concrete parking pad had the same chipped out sections! I drove to the turn that would take me down the hill to the first trailer they had lived in and this one was obviously not the original, but the lay out of the park, the spacing of the trailers, everything else was the same. Yes, you could see the time stamp in the decks that need replacing and the central air units (instead of only window units). Time had passed and stood still. I wept as I left; tears of joy actually, just so many good memories there.
The rest of the drive did not take long and I actually arrived a bit early. Papa was not back and I was locked out, which was not a problem because his home has a breezeway between the garage and main trailer. Even though it was hot, it was not humid, and I'm very heat tolerant, so it felt great to sit down on the outdoor sofa and just relax. The breeze was blowing through and I could feel how special this visit was going to be for me; how important it was for me to be up here, in this place, at this time. After about 30 minutes Papa arrived and our visit began.
I really only had simple intentions for my visit, talk, eat, read, watch TV, sleep. Fortunately these are all things Papa enjoys doing as well. We quickly settled into his routine, beginning with a Cary Grant movie, followed by a Alan Ladd/Veronica Lake movie, then off to Subway for some dinner. After dinner we watched another Alan Ladd movie and got ready for bed. I have to share a funny observation about the classic black and white movies I watched; everyone in almost every scene was either smoking or drinking or both. If we think advertising in movies now is blatant, it was starkly clear which companies were helping to bankroll the movies of the 30's and 40's. Three of the male characters in The Blue Dahlia had a drink routine, "give me a bourbon with a bourbon chaser."
Saturday started off fantastic; I stepped out onto the porch as the sun was just starting to rise (6:00AM) and I could see my breath! I am ready for the fall; more so this year than in years past. I feel more in touch with the seasons and am ready for some less humid weather. Papa is an early riser as well and he was up soon after me. We got dressed and he took me to a small country restaurant and we had biscuits and gravy, eggs, and bacon. He had his usual black coffee and I had the best sweet tea I've had in a long time. We both reminisced about Nana's biscuits and gravy, they were the best, and made with lots of love. All in all, already, I was feeling my blessings. My grandparents loved me deeply and I could feel all that love filling my heart on this visit.
After the breakfast we headed back to his home; he watch a little TV while I sat on the breezeway, read, and soaked in the beautiful morning. Around 10 he suggested we go up to the North Wilkesboro speedway and watch the races. The speedway had been a hub of activity until it was closed in 1996 due to a dispute between the two owners. This past Labor Day weekend was the inaugural re-opening of the track and featured 4 races. Time trials started at 11AM so we headed up there around 10:30. I've watched some racing with Papa in the past on television, but I had never been to a live race. After we arrived and got out of the car, the first thing to hit me was the noise of the race car engines. And it hit me hard. I have very sensitive hearing and did not realize the amount of sound the cars would put out. Imagine movie theater loud over 2 football stadiums from the source! In the end my desire to share this experience with Papa was greater than my desire to get as far from the noise as I could. Eventually I found a rhythm with the noise and was able to enjoy the time trials and 3 of the 4 races (the last one was 200 laps and would go past dinner time).
There were many important spiritual lessons in my time at the race track and the most important one aligned with a book I began reading Friday night after I got to Papa's. The book was Wismatic by Pam Yount, a North Carolinian writing about Wisdom as she learned it from her son's death (at 27) from AIDS. I will be writing a full review of the book in another post, but suffice to say, her message was, rather pointedly, to say that we are all on our spiritual journeys alone, and another person's journey in this life is a spiritual contract they made with creation and we should not judge unless we intend to INTERVENE. I can admit to more than a few judgments regarding "the country", "race car fans", and "southern behaviors" over the course of my life. But on that day, at the track, I chose not to judge, but to appreciate everyone and the experience of watching and being part of the race environment. I let myself feel the excitement everyone had about the reopening of the track and could see its importance for the community. I could feel human history in the gathering of these people for an event and how much that gathering meant. It was wonderful.
After the race we went to another small restaurant that served meat and vegetables (and sweet tea of course) and talked about the race. Papa always has been and still is a lucid thinker and very good conversationalist, and he is also comfortable with silence. There is no strain in our time together. After dinner we went back and he watched some more TV while I did some more reading. Eventually I stepped outside to walk the land a bit and eat some blueberries of his blueberry bushes. They were ripe and delicious. While in this moment I recognized how amazing this area of North Carolina really is. The entire area is made up of small and large farms; there is a healthy local economy and I had no doubt that the food I ate both restaurants was grown locally. Lately my body has been very reactive to food and I have switch to an almost solely organic diet. I knew I would not find much "organic" store food so I told my body I would be eating the food of the area and to appreciate it. Had I eaten what I did eat here, in Cary, I would have been miserable in a day. Again, I chose to accept and appreciate and all was well.
My original plan was to return some time Sunday, but I wanted to stay another full day and return on Monday morning, so I decided to stay one more day. Sunday really turned out to be my day to fully digest all that I had experienced so far and I was deeply, soul level grateful for my visit and my time with Papa. Again, we were both up early and had found our routine. He would watch some TV while I did some reading. Eventually I would join him, to find him watching his favorite, a western. Since it was Sunday, he planned to go to church and this time I decided to stay at the house. I wanted to commune with the land more, which I did. In that time I asked my soul about the land and its purpose in my life and found that it was and is to be a place of sanctuary for me, a place to retreat and recharge. This awareness and knowledge was the tremendous gift of my trip. The rest of the day was a glorious time of all the things I came to do and when I left Monday morning I felt full up and truly happy.
I wanted to share this story, this time to convey how much each of us needs a place of sanctuary. I hope you all have such a place and the ability to access it from time to time. I know I will be returning soon to visit my grandfather and many times over in my future to visit the land and let it help heal me.
He lives in a very nice double wide trailer on a piece of land that was in Nana's family, surrounded by other family members across the road and on one side of him. I did not fully realize the spiritual nature of the land until this visit; I don't think I could "hear" the land until this time in my life. The drive up was quite pleasant even though it was the last hot day (over 90) before the cold front arrived on Sat. I drove straight through Burlington, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem until I got to Clemmons. The Clemmons exit was the one we used to take when we would visit them in the trailer park. I stopped there to eat and see if the trailer park was still around. The change at the exit was grand, a mini shopping center had been built and the old road leading back to the trailer park had been diverted to the end of the shopping center. I ate at my first Zaxzby's, a standard chicken and fries place and unwound a bit from the drive.
When I left I went down the old road and found the familiar brick house that marked the turn into the trailer park, Chardale Drive. The road went up a slight hill on the other side of the house and a flood of memories began to cascade into my mind as I came over the crest to find the trailer park still there and, basically, frozen in time. The first trailer, which was the one where Grandmother lived, looked exactly like hers from 30 years ago. I was stunned how much emotion swept into me as pulled into the main drive and started passing all the trailers. Nana and Papa lived in two trailers, one on the main road and one down the hill in a cul-de-sac. I swear the one I passed on the main road was the same one I'd played in as a child; even the concrete parking pad had the same chipped out sections! I drove to the turn that would take me down the hill to the first trailer they had lived in and this one was obviously not the original, but the lay out of the park, the spacing of the trailers, everything else was the same. Yes, you could see the time stamp in the decks that need replacing and the central air units (instead of only window units). Time had passed and stood still. I wept as I left; tears of joy actually, just so many good memories there.
The rest of the drive did not take long and I actually arrived a bit early. Papa was not back and I was locked out, which was not a problem because his home has a breezeway between the garage and main trailer. Even though it was hot, it was not humid, and I'm very heat tolerant, so it felt great to sit down on the outdoor sofa and just relax. The breeze was blowing through and I could feel how special this visit was going to be for me; how important it was for me to be up here, in this place, at this time. After about 30 minutes Papa arrived and our visit began.
I really only had simple intentions for my visit, talk, eat, read, watch TV, sleep. Fortunately these are all things Papa enjoys doing as well. We quickly settled into his routine, beginning with a Cary Grant movie, followed by a Alan Ladd/Veronica Lake movie, then off to Subway for some dinner. After dinner we watched another Alan Ladd movie and got ready for bed. I have to share a funny observation about the classic black and white movies I watched; everyone in almost every scene was either smoking or drinking or both. If we think advertising in movies now is blatant, it was starkly clear which companies were helping to bankroll the movies of the 30's and 40's. Three of the male characters in The Blue Dahlia had a drink routine, "give me a bourbon with a bourbon chaser."
Saturday started off fantastic; I stepped out onto the porch as the sun was just starting to rise (6:00AM) and I could see my breath! I am ready for the fall; more so this year than in years past. I feel more in touch with the seasons and am ready for some less humid weather. Papa is an early riser as well and he was up soon after me. We got dressed and he took me to a small country restaurant and we had biscuits and gravy, eggs, and bacon. He had his usual black coffee and I had the best sweet tea I've had in a long time. We both reminisced about Nana's biscuits and gravy, they were the best, and made with lots of love. All in all, already, I was feeling my blessings. My grandparents loved me deeply and I could feel all that love filling my heart on this visit.
After the breakfast we headed back to his home; he watch a little TV while I sat on the breezeway, read, and soaked in the beautiful morning. Around 10 he suggested we go up to the North Wilkesboro speedway and watch the races. The speedway had been a hub of activity until it was closed in 1996 due to a dispute between the two owners. This past Labor Day weekend was the inaugural re-opening of the track and featured 4 races. Time trials started at 11AM so we headed up there around 10:30. I've watched some racing with Papa in the past on television, but I had never been to a live race. After we arrived and got out of the car, the first thing to hit me was the noise of the race car engines. And it hit me hard. I have very sensitive hearing and did not realize the amount of sound the cars would put out. Imagine movie theater loud over 2 football stadiums from the source! In the end my desire to share this experience with Papa was greater than my desire to get as far from the noise as I could. Eventually I found a rhythm with the noise and was able to enjoy the time trials and 3 of the 4 races (the last one was 200 laps and would go past dinner time).
There were many important spiritual lessons in my time at the race track and the most important one aligned with a book I began reading Friday night after I got to Papa's. The book was Wismatic by Pam Yount, a North Carolinian writing about Wisdom as she learned it from her son's death (at 27) from AIDS. I will be writing a full review of the book in another post, but suffice to say, her message was, rather pointedly, to say that we are all on our spiritual journeys alone, and another person's journey in this life is a spiritual contract they made with creation and we should not judge unless we intend to INTERVENE. I can admit to more than a few judgments regarding "the country", "race car fans", and "southern behaviors" over the course of my life. But on that day, at the track, I chose not to judge, but to appreciate everyone and the experience of watching and being part of the race environment. I let myself feel the excitement everyone had about the reopening of the track and could see its importance for the community. I could feel human history in the gathering of these people for an event and how much that gathering meant. It was wonderful.
After the race we went to another small restaurant that served meat and vegetables (and sweet tea of course) and talked about the race. Papa always has been and still is a lucid thinker and very good conversationalist, and he is also comfortable with silence. There is no strain in our time together. After dinner we went back and he watched some more TV while I did some more reading. Eventually I stepped outside to walk the land a bit and eat some blueberries of his blueberry bushes. They were ripe and delicious. While in this moment I recognized how amazing this area of North Carolina really is. The entire area is made up of small and large farms; there is a healthy local economy and I had no doubt that the food I ate both restaurants was grown locally. Lately my body has been very reactive to food and I have switch to an almost solely organic diet. I knew I would not find much "organic" store food so I told my body I would be eating the food of the area and to appreciate it. Had I eaten what I did eat here, in Cary, I would have been miserable in a day. Again, I chose to accept and appreciate and all was well.
My original plan was to return some time Sunday, but I wanted to stay another full day and return on Monday morning, so I decided to stay one more day. Sunday really turned out to be my day to fully digest all that I had experienced so far and I was deeply, soul level grateful for my visit and my time with Papa. Again, we were both up early and had found our routine. He would watch some TV while I did some reading. Eventually I would join him, to find him watching his favorite, a western. Since it was Sunday, he planned to go to church and this time I decided to stay at the house. I wanted to commune with the land more, which I did. In that time I asked my soul about the land and its purpose in my life and found that it was and is to be a place of sanctuary for me, a place to retreat and recharge. This awareness and knowledge was the tremendous gift of my trip. The rest of the day was a glorious time of all the things I came to do and when I left Monday morning I felt full up and truly happy.
I wanted to share this story, this time to convey how much each of us needs a place of sanctuary. I hope you all have such a place and the ability to access it from time to time. I know I will be returning soon to visit my grandfather and many times over in my future to visit the land and let it help heal me.
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