New Moon Journal

Full Moon and healing with spiritual light

Tired from editing and sorting 15 years of accumulated stuff, I unconsciously drop the heavy box of art supplies down onto the hand truck; the cart handle shoots up and slams me square on the bridge of my nose. Shocked by the force of the impact, I straighten up, numbness now rapidly spreading out across my face as I start silently shouting ’oh no, oh no, oh no!!!’ Am I bleeding? I move into transmuting the energy, healing with spiritual light, along with running for the Bach’s Rescue Remedy to take the edge off my fear. Dang it, why did I pack my essential oils?

Okay the dog did think me a bit crazy waving my arms [extracting], praying and singing to my nose...but it worked. After a trip to the emergency room for x-rays the doctor advises it’s a broken nose with hairline crack, I decide to take things easy, thus I didn’t feel like writing this week. What just happened?

Removing the WOO WOO

For the last four weeks I embraced some serious house staging to sell our home, which means dismantling my healing room and giving the space back to Dear Husband as a home office. He is soo happy! [There’s some good mojo in that space.] It also meant packing a vital part of myself away- the huminia, humina stuff [dear daughter’s description for her mother’s quirkiness].

The staging and healing room dismantling [it’s now sitting in a POD] caused some tears [I felt like I was going into hiding], but it also gave me the opportunity to know that many of the tools/things/stuff I had acquired and leaned on these last 12 years are no longer necessary to do healings. I grew out of them and the items need to move on.

In making over the house, normalizing it for an everyday family means I am called to withdraw my energy as I move from room to room. From a shamanic feng shui point of view it is much harder to sell a house when the person/family still has heart attachments to the place. There’s been joy and sadness- remembering. I am aware of all these things as I pick up this and that, making choices- keep/pack, toss or give, Free Cycle and Shred-it has become my favorite resources.

The smack on the head, specifically to the third eye, brings me new insights. First off I am glad to know alternative measures for healing- I don’t need a bunch of tools-rather simply become the healing... and then there is the self reflection "Why this injury, why now?" The trauma is right below my third eye, the seat of intuition and the Full Moon in Cancer is fast approaching (Sunday, December 23 at 2° of Cancer). Cancer and Capricorn work together to balance the masculine and feminine energies within us. Cancer is the mother, Capricorn represents the father. Water and earth. A man builds a house, but a woman’s energy makes it a home.

The Moon rules the sign Cancer and all things to do with feelings, emotions and intuition.What are the energetic consequences of discounting the Cancerian qualities womanhood offers you (intuition, feelings, emotions, moods, Moon, mothering, roots, home and family) in favor of being more masculine? This week the buzz has been around teenage pregnancy? And that is exactly what I wrote about six months ago at the New Moon in Cancer.

On Wednesday Jupiter entered Capricorn for the first time in 12 years, Saturn started retrograding at 8° Virgo...Saturn rules Capricorn and relates to the structure, the bones, support. And wow just in time I whack my third eye. Thus I start asking "what am I not seeing, feeling, sensing? What is breaking down to break through.?" A flood of insights bubble up related to personal and work experiences that happened around this time back in Christmas of 1987; which had to do with getting pregnant, moving to a new home and office and self-esteem issues. **smile** It’s all so fascinating how one thing weaves into another, and maybe I needed the smack in the head to wake up. Lesson learned, thank you very much.

Taking care of your Heart’s Ache

If you find yourself in a holiday funk see if the energy is tied into missing your home, your childhood home, family home, things related to home, heart[h] and mother. “In order to release Cancer’s creativity, we must first cut the umbilical cord which binds us to family karma; leave the safe womb of the home and choose our own direction in life.” (Archetypes of the Zodiac by Burt, p. 113) If so do some journaling and write down your expectations, you may want to create a soulcollage around the energy to get the message. Light up the fire pit (or barbecue) and release the old stuff to the fire.

I feel grateful, while I did look like Marsha, Marsha, Marsha from the Brady Bunch for a day, the swelling went away, and I am on the mend with a bit of tenderness and very little bruising. Tonight we’ll light a fire in celebration of the Solstice where I’ll be releasing this karmic stuff to the spirit of the fire. Happy Solstice and full moon!

Reference Book- Archetypes Of The Zodiac (The Llewellyn Modern Astrology Library)

A woman's place is in the home

Going to get the mail Dear Daughter toddled down the narrow hall in front of me, laughing and smiling with all the innocence of a one year old when suddenly the broker stuck his head out of the conference room door to give me a angry glare that psychically screamed “shut that damn kid up”.

I felt guilty for bothering him. Later on I got very angry at myself…my vision of motherhood, having both career and family each seamlessly blending, was falling apart. Working* with fortune 500 companies in the corporate world I had a foot on two shores- the business world and mommy world, then I fell into the waters (Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces) where nothing would ever be the same.

A year into my Mommyhood I attended a Nawbo Conference in LA. One speaker was Sharon Poindexter, a past national president of Nawbo and one of the founding members who helped shape the vision and mission of the National Association of Women Business Owners in the early 80’s.

That day Sharon took the stage she didn’t talk about business matters, making money or networking. She shared the story of her soul loss and the missing piece we were all collectively searching for- the divine connection... heart and soul, a woman’s ability to create. She called us to look beyond the known, to blend our leadership, power and spirituality in the service for humanity.

In the late 80’s Sharon had the courage to let go of her corporate life to become a Unity minister, that day she got a standing ovation from her peers. I stood there clapping and crying, not knowing why. Even today I cry as share the legacy how her inspiring words touched me.

A woman’s place in the Home.

“I was raised to believe that you must aspire to be a homemaker or Miss America. I never wanted to be Jane. I always wanted to be Tarzan. I didn’t want to vacuum the tree house and take care of Cheetah and Boy. I wanted to swing from the vines”- Cybill Shepherd in Fearless Women.

At what point did Homemaker become a dirty word?

Homemaking felt so limiting to me in high school. Like Cybill I embraced the freedom of Tarzan, abandoned Jane. The sign Cancer rules intuition, feelings, emotions, moods, Moon, mothering, roots, home and family. Homemaker. There is a new moon in Cancer at 22 degrees on July 14th at 8:04 am.

Why this topic? Why now? Conversations. My best friends unmarried, frustrated artist-daughter announces she wants to have a baby. We sent our only child off to college last week. I fell into a deep conversation about soul loss, mothering and creativity with a woman I just met and well this morning I woke up to read a blog post from one of my favorite coaches -

And...lest you be worried, let me assure you - no this won’t be turning into a fertility blog although I’m sure my writing will take on some of these new flavors in the pursuit of money and meaning transparently with your company. My goal is to remain as useful and enjoyable as ever!

Useful and enjoyable as ever? Oh my, sadly it sounds like my coaching friend won’t ever share her insights again about trying to become a mom...let’s just focus on the business of coaching, networking, making money. She seems almost apologetic. Less Jane, more Tarzan.

I just want to say Yes!! share your struggle, Yes!! share how this is impacting your business women persona. Would we have this discussion if a great blogger shared some of his daddy insights about his journey? What is wrong with mommyhood, being a blogger, being an entrepreneur? The soul of you- in all facets of living life.

Does anyone else see the creative connection? Cancer is the archetypal force of fertility. Pregnancy is the divine form of creativity. We give birth in so many forms- we birth a business, we birth a book, we birth a child, we birth a home; sharing our personal journey makes us human, even in the business world of trying to become a mom.

Fertility and today’s modern woman.

InFertility is a creative issue women are facing at alarming rates. Especially in business women. Energy. Vibration. Collectively women are out of sync with their Moon and internal MOM, the waters within. Leadership, power and spirit is a creative process found in HomeMaking. Sadly many women find the need to hide their mommyhood, sensing that sharing their experience in everyday matters somehow intrudes on our ability as business women. Makes us less credible. Pam Smart asks- Are you in the mom (or dad) closet?

For me it’s a 30 year journey that I am now looking at with a wider lens. Upon graduating from college I swore I would never be a stay at home mom. Never. Ever. Fourteen years later I changed my mind. Oops! It wasn’t easy and I felt very guilty leaving my business and my business women friends.

When I left the corporate world* to be a full time Mom and Homemaker I saw things differently... I began the journey to heal my pain, but then I saw the same pain in my Nawbo friends and neighbors.

Take Jane, an IBM programmer, who went through two intense in vitro fertilizations to conceive her first child. At her baby shower the corporate bankers and IBM moms separated themselves from the non-working mothers. There was no mixing or mingling, there was no common ground. It was a bizarre evening...With her second child on the way, Jane was at a crossroads; sharing my story, exploring what her heart really wanted gave Jane the courage to transition from corporate life to HomeMaker.

How are you living your mother’s Fractured Fairy Tale?

Today young women are making their way through the old consciousness we left behind (from the 70’s and 80’s) about what it means to be a woman, wife, a mother, a professional in business. Think for a moment about Anna Nicole, Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton. Aren’t they living out their mother’s fractured fairy tale?

As a former corporate person who has lived and witnessed this split (in herself and others)...I offer this- if one discounts any aspect of their life, pushes it into the shadow then that person and their family suffers, because you are not being real. How are you living an Authentic Life?

In my practice with clients I see a collective soul loss in the psyche of women around all forms of mothering- becoming a Mom and being seen as a Mommy in the business world. Through birth we bring Spirit into matter. Heaven into earth. Maybe this all started with…

Good Girls don’t get pregnant.

Did you grow up in a time where it was not okay to ‘get pregnant’ if you weren’t married? Good girls don’t..don’t sleep around (hook-up). Don’t get pregnant. The call- focus on your career (not the home). Swing from the vine.

Career= Capricorn= masculine= practical= more Tarzan
Home = Cancer= feminine= mystic= less Jane

Birth control pills did the trick for me, but the concept of not getting pregnant was so engrained in my psyche (even while I was married) that by the time I wanted to ‘get pregnant’ I couldn’t. Duh?

What about the energetic consequences of discounting the Cancerian qualities womanhood offers you (intuition, feelings, emotions, moods, Moon, mothering, roots, home and family) in favor of being more masculine? Do you still call it the Curse?

From the age of twelve each monthly period brought an unconscious awareness-grinding in my mother’s message- good girls don’t get pregnant (many of my older female cousins had to ’get married’). Fractured fairy tales.

What does that say about my relationship with the 2nd chakra, the divine feminine within. It was pretty wounded. As women the true spirit of our work is to blend both the practical and mystical (Cancer/Capricorn), then we live in authenticity and can be of service. Healthy caretaking at it’s best.

Cancer represents our relationship with the Great Cosmic Mother…

"In indigenous cultures [a woman’s period, blood time] is revered as a sacred mystery where psychic powers open us up for revelation. Ancient women were able to access power and vision during their periods that lead to tribal decision making and the laying down of tribal law". (Noble, p. 22)

And now there is a pill that reduces this fertile time away from young women to just four times a year? Don’t conceive, don’t bleed, don’t create!!

And what happens when you want to conceive?? What happens to your intuition along the way? Your creativity? What are we saying to young women? What are we thinking as a society?

Are you Dressed for Success?

In the 80’s women dressed like men for business. Remember the concept of “Power Dressing?” Thankfully that trend has abated, but do you really understand the dance of Cancer and how that time period still impacts your life today? Have you made sense of your own fractured fairy tale?

Especially related to the creative juices of your womb, your self, your career, your home? How has the journey impacted our daughters and sons?

Wait I hear a pregnant pause!

For those maidens born in the 1970’s and onward…you were raised at the time of women’s rights, women in business, Gloria Steinem.

How did your Mom model this concept of womanhood for you? What constitutes power for you as a woman today? HomeMaker. DreamMaker. Business woman. How are rubbing up against those choices (conscious and unconscious)- you made, your mother made and yes even your feminine ancestors made at this New Moon in Cancer?

Good Girls don’t get Pregnant…

Coach friend I lived with the pain of infertility. My period was always on time. As a married couple it took us five years to conceive. I underwent laparoscopic surgery to find out nothing was wrong. We waited a year. Then Dear Husband and I spent six months for an appointment with the best fertility doctor in our area. We had the session with the noted doctor and his swimmers checked out fine. I checked out fine. Doctor said meds in a month. It was a mystery.

The following weekend I volunteered our services to baby-sit for a friend/client who was in a childcare bind. Hubby and I moved into their waterfront home (think Moon and the tides) for four days of instant family soup. Suddenly we had three kids- ages 3, 6, and 8. It was a blast. Within two weeks I was pregnant. That family experience said to my psyche it’s okay now, you can do this…

Find the WOW in your Mom and being a MOM.

In the 70’s, with the equal rights movement women abandoned home and hearth (Cancer) for the corporate office (Capricorn) thinking that it would complete us. We collectively made HomeMaking a dirty word. I pushed off one shore for another, fell in the waters and was called to find my WOW in being a Mom. Nine months after the weekend with the kids Motherhood followed and some seventeen years later Dear Daughter wrote this on a college application:

My mother is quiet, artistic and very progressive. From her, I have been influenced to always assess the true meaning of a situation and to think before I act, which balances out the outspoken attitude I have learned from my dad. I have watched her make countless businesses before my eyes over the years, and now I am convinced that it is not as hard as I once thought it was to create something out of nothing for yourself.

Embrace the fine art of shedding

Dear Daughter got me. I beam with pride. "Create something out of nothing for yourself" is the feminine aspect of meeting your intuition, trusting your gut instincts and taking action. DreamMaking. Moon meeting Saturn. Creativity in action. Shedding.

Death and rebirth..being a vessel of vision.

The goal is to make ourselves strong enough to be leaders, healers and teachers in our time. To create a strong central axis that each of us can stand her ground in the face of opposition, visible or invisible, that attempts to stop the expulsion of the possessing entity that has taking over the world.

A process of embodiment is taking place wherein women are called to become willing vessels of the vision. The women who perform this function are called Shakti women. Shakti meaning "to be able" refers to the power of the feminine force that is creative, instinctual and becoming. (Nobel, p. 240)

In these Cancer energies from June 21st through July 22 reflect on your own journey through periods, pregnancy and birth. Your Heart(h) energy represented by home and family. Where are you in the life cycle of death and rebirth, how do you embrace the fine art of shedding?

Like the Moon our body, mind and spirit mirrors these processes of letting go, going into the dark to birth the light; the creative process of building up and letting go. Holding the vision. The womb, our connection to place and space (home and work) and our intuition is our vessel to birth-new ideas, children, home, businesses. That is why the Moon is so important, her Light reflects our mystery and the nature of our earthly dance. From Full to dark to Full there is great leadership, power and spirit.

At this Capricorn Full Moon (check our April’s post) and the following New Moon in Cancer on July 14th check-in with your little girl, maiden, mother and crone.

An Altar creates your intent.

To me an Altar is a living SoulCollage in my home. We bring bits and pieces of our self, nature and spirit, together to set an intention, to claim and honor parts of our Soul. A process of HomeMaking and VisionKeeping that can be done at Home and Work. Each altar like a SoulCollage card has a Presence~it invokes the One, the Neter.

To work with the Cancer energy honor the Moon and your Vessel by setting up an Altar in your home/work area to meet that part of your fractured fairy tale, to embody your own Shakti Woman. I created a pdf with some journaling questions to take you deeper into the energies and to explain altar making in more detail.

What house is this new moon in? Where does 22 degrees of Cancer fall in your birth chart? That is where the action is.

24 hours before the New Moon contemplate on what you want to create in that area of your life. 24 hours after the new moon let your intentions go. Expect a shift by the Full Moon.

*President of Bailey-Lessirard Designs/MLDA- an interior design and architectural firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and BLD Purchasing- a contract purchasing of FF&E for hospitality services. During this time Michele achieved an outstanding reputation as a leader in the restaurant and hospitality markets through her marketing and design talents. Major accomplishments included 22 restaurants; flagship hotels for Holiday Inn and Hilton Hotel Chains and life care design for the elderly through Life Care Services, a specialist in retirement living facilities. Past President of the Broward County Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (Nawbo). Former member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), Institute of Business Designers (IBD) and the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS).

Today Michele is a well trained spiritual counselor who combines the visible elements with the invisible- the spiritual aspects of you that is mirrored through your day-to-day relationships with family, home and work. You and I are practical mystics. To read more journey on over to Shared Journeys.

Resources Cited:

Vicki Noble. 1991. Shakti Woman-feeling our fire, healing the world.
Nancy Alspaugh and Marilyn Kentz. Fearless Women- midlife portraits.

A big thanks to these women for their SoulCollages® at this Cancer New Moon:
Lena’s "Mother of the Universe" visit her at DropWithin
Brown Bear SoulCollage Card by Anne Marie Bennett-a trained SoulCollage® facilitator by Seena Frost, author of the book SoulCollage®. Visit her website KaliedoSoul.

Moms and Dads whose blogs I read :
Work it Mom
Visit Pam Slim’s Blog where she writes about escaping the corporate life.
E-Moms at home- the Unbearable lightness of being a mom and a dad
Success from the Nest has a great post on moving your dream forward.
Inside Fatherhood

Retrogrades-move backwards to go forward

Were you born between January and May of 1956? Then the transpersonal planets in your chart- Uranus in Cancer, Neptune in Libra and/or Pluto in Leo were retrograde at the time of your birth.* Any planet, when retrograde is operating against the normal tides of social trends. Plain and simple, you don’t fit in with the norm.

• Cancer represents feelings, security, roots, motherhood.
• Libra is about partnering, relationship and balance.
• Leo represents our ability to take a risk, live your passion and creativity- you may be asking yourself what has heart and meaning for me now?

At the moment Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are all retrograde!

Yesterday Robert’s post over at Aquarius Papers caught my eye "With all three outer transpersonal planets retrograde [Uranus, Neptune and Pluto], we’re reviewing "spiritual" forces at work since March that have us at threshold states of doing and being... Due to the Solar Eclipses of the past 7 months square Pluto [squares offer up a challenge] while the Lunar Eclipses conjuncted or opposed Uranus, we’re in a future oriented tide of evolution that is closing life chapters and opening new ones where we can become inspired, enjoy ourselves more, and light up our world in ways everyone can appreciate."

Retrogrades move us all backward in order to go forward.

It’s a do-over, a time of reflection, a time to make changes. I was born in March of 1956- Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto together with the Nodes were retrograde. Whew!! Joanne Wickenburg writes in her book Your Hidden Powers-intercepted signs and retrograde planets:

"retrograde periods intensify the energies, and because these planetary forces are so close to the Earth it creates confusion for the person [child. Those born into these Transpersonal retrograde energies] are called to meet the challenge and view life from a larger than ego perspective. To define how you make a difference in the world and how or if you are contributing to social and global evolution and survival." (Wickenburg, p. 185)

Time of renovation.

That just nails it for me. It’s been a year of transformation for me personally and professionally, although I don’t see where exactly I am going as yet, I know it intuitively. In January of 2006 my Helping Spirits shared that by June ’06 I would stop seeing clients. At the time I questioned it all, but by June I found it was time to devote myself to home and family. For a year I have gone inward getting ready, allowing myself to just be a Mom, grieve the change, get our home in order.

And I have been contemplating what is my next step? As a goal oriented woman, it’s been both confusing and interesting for me personally and professionally. I am grateful for my awareness and know I am just where I need to be. In less than 30 days Dear Daughter graduated from high school and left for college. Bam! My role as a mother changed overnight. I knew this was coming, but wow.

Time to transition back to Me. The Sun is now moving through Cancer highlighting my issues with roots, feelings and security; the Sun is getting ready to meet up with my retrograde Uranus in Cancer at 29 degrees. Expect an awakening. Suddenly I am thrown into “Where do I belong?” "What do I want to do now that gives me joy?" It’s cool and scary at the same time. And I know from reading other women’s blogs that they are experiencing something simular. I wrote about these Cancer energies at the Full Moon in January:

"Where do I belong" is a major theme where Cancer is in your chart. . .the challenge is to develop security by nurturing experiences rather than clinging to, depending on the strength of others. Cancer needs to say; “I feel.” - I feel secure. I feel safe. I feel content. I feel at home with myself. “In order to release Cancer’s creativity, we must first cut the umbilical cord which binds us to family karma; leave the safe womb of the home and choose our own direction in life.” (Burt, p. 113)

Now the Sun is in Cancer, there will be a New Moon in Cancer on July 14th. Jupiter conjuncts Pluto at 27 degrees of Leo at the mid-heaven of my chart. Saturn will be there in the next two weeks and stay until September. And that is what I love about astrology..it’s all about cycles and right timing. I have a roadmap of what is happening and a clue how to work with these energies intentionally.

The 10th house represents career, Saturn in Leo is asking me to restructure my professional self. Public image. Reputation. How I respond. My standing in community. Power and strength of my goals. Legacy to mankind. Now with this shift I expect more will be revealed to me over the next year. My task is to focus on what does give me joy- writing, SoulCollaging, art, building.

Opposite the 10th house is the 4th house...Fourth house represents the hearth-home, roots, ancestors. The task is to dance between Home and Career, seek the middle way. Saturn represents the structure, Leo rules heart energy-passion, children and creativity. Saturn in Leo is passing over this mark for the first time since 1977/78 asking me to look back and review the "Michele of 77/78" and Michele of 2007. Did I abandon any soul essence back then? What do I want to create now in my life’s work? What are my goals, now my role as a Mom has shifted?

What is happening for you?

Were you born with any of the Transpersonal planets- Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, in retrograde? (*see note below). What houses are affected? Look at the Zodiac Cheat Sheet and read the description of each house? Can you see the story?

Were you confused as a child about the adults and the energies around you? If you share these retrograde energies with me, you have a unique gift to share and be in service...how are you standing apart from the norm? Did you suddenly wake up in your 40’s? Did your life shift? If you have these retrograde conditions at the time of your birth, it’s a clue to deeper insights. Did you abandon yourself back in 77/78? It’s time to bring yourself up to date. Create a new story and intention. Can you make sense of it all now? Forgive and forget? If not why not?

See the bigger picture. You are a Transformer!

References Cited:

Joanne Wickenburg. Your Hidden Powers . 1992.
Kathleen A. Burt. Archetypes Of The Zodiac. 1988.
Robert Wilkinson. Aquarius Papers. Article- Spiritual Astrology in July-August 2007 Pt. 1 - Uranus, Neptune, Pluto Retrograde Coming In From the Unknown

* I am looking at these times in the late 50’s because we have reached (or are about to reach) the age of our Chiron return (50 year cycle). Here are some times when all the transpersonal planets were retrograde:

• Feb-May 1955
• Mar-May 1956
• Mar-May 1957
• March- May 1958
• March-May 1959

For exact days you may want to consult an astrologer or look in an ephemeris at your birthday.

When does Mercury retrograde in 2007?

Mark your 2007 calendars because here are the Mercury Retrograde Periods for 2007:

• February 13- March 7 2007 Mercury retrograde begins at 11 degrees of Pisces.
• June 15-July 9 2007 Mercury retrograde begins at 12 degrees of Cancer.
• October 11- November 1, 2007 Mercury retrograde begins at 10 degrees of Scorpio.

Notice that these retrograde periods in 2007 all occur in water signs. The element of water in astrology relates to emotions- the emotional body. Mercury is an air sign. Water and air. Mercury is the mediator. One good solution for a Mercury retrograde is to download and watch this video The Secred-to you. I wonder...

Cancer Full Moon- setting up your sacred place to create

This is late in coming to you because our 14 year old golden retriever took ill over the weekend and I needed to manage her care (she’s on a few meds and mending). It’s time for us to set up our sacred creative space for the year. To support that creative fire here is a resource sheet for the New Moon SoulCollage process. Note it is also the pdf text version of this post along with some other goodies. Let me know what you think either in the comment section below or via email michele at newmoon dot com.

We have a Full Moon in Cancer on January 3rd, 2007 at 8:57 AM est at 13 degrees. These energies are at play until the New Moon in Capricorn on January 18th.

Time to respond (Capricorn). . .to trust your gut instincts (Cancer). You may be contemplating “Where do I belong?” which is a major theme where Cancer is in your chart. . .the challenge is to develop security by nurturing experiences rather than clinging to, depending on the strength of others. Cancer needs to say; “I feel.” - I feel secure.  I feel safe.  I feel content.  I feel at home with myself.  How are you feeling at the start of this very new year?

“In order to release Cancer’s creativity, we must first cut the umbilical cord which binds us to family karma; leave the safe womb of the home and choose our own direction in life.” (Burt, p. 113)

Mercury Retrograde- come on baby light my fire!

On July 4, 2006 at 3:34 pm Mercury goes retrograde at 2 degrees of Leo. Fireworks to boot! These are the times to laugh and dance your way through. If you have been working on something, like a project, and it’s been in the works now before June 18th, please don’t fret. Go ahead with your plans…go with the flow. If you started the project/process after June 18th, then go slow, check out the facts.

During this time you’ll “discover the truth of a situation and be able to act accordingly.” (Hill, 2002). Mercury goes retrograde every 115 days. The Universe asks all of us slow down and stop a moment- relax, renew, restore. Mercury rules all forms of communication- it’s your day to day mind chatter that you either create through or get distracted by. Re-think. Re-focus. For those who have a chart in hand, you’ll want to see where 2 degrees of Leo to 21 degrees of Cancer is- that’s Mercury Retrograde’s territory for the next 30 days. Keep in mind you don’t see the bigger picture until the full moon in Aquarius on August 9th.

Mercury rules the ‘RE’ factor in all of our lives. This Mercury retrograde (July 4- July 30) period starts in fiery Leo and then moves into watery Cancer. Fire and water don’t mix. You may find yourself mad and/or passionate and then emotional about the whole experience. Have a good cry reminding yourself “if I can’t laugh at it, it isn’t healed.”

This energy started officially on June 18th on Father’s day. Maybe our issues with Dad and Mum are at hand. Whose voice is driving you to distraction? The goal of this energy is to help you clean up the affairs of the past two years since the Venus retrograde (June 2004–February 2005).

I won’t bore you with the details of that Venus retrograde period, just suffice it to say you now have the opportunity to do some rich deep inner renovation work related to feeling secure that moves you out into the world in a new way. What you have been putting off is now here in your face wanting attention.

The caution according to Lynda Hill in her book The Sabian Symbols as an Oracle is that the stories (mind chatter) get out of control. This is not the time to gossip about others.

How is this energy manifesting in my life? Well after two intense hurricanes seasons Mr. and Mrs. Lessirard are tired of hauling out and bolting down the aluminum panels three and four times in a three month period; then living like moles in the darkness with each hurricane that threatens (Francis, Jeannie, Katrina, Wilma). The Lessirard Home is getting impact hurricane windows…windows rated for ‘large missile impact’. Think about that statement. We are ‘retro-fitting’- ‘re-ing’ the place. In writing this I am reminded it was two years ago when the Hurricanes began pummeling Florida in a fast and furious way. ***sigh***

Don’t blow this opportunity. No just kidding, I sense you have been working like a dog trying every which way to make things happen, when in essence there needs to be a level of trust that all is in divine order. That’s the relax part. Your pushing energy isn’t’ working at the present moment. That’s why I am asking you to relax, renew and restore. Mercury retrograde is a time to stop the pushing, stop the controlling and ruminating on why things just aren’t going your way. Not a time to whine, it’s just making others angry. Play…get outside instead of checking email. Get a massage, read a good book, sit in that chair and veg. That’s the renew part.

The cosmic clean up crew are doing double duty behind the scenes and by August 1st you’ll be in a much different space and place mentally, emotionally and physically.  That’s the restore part. Come on baby light my fire!

Some key ‘re’ words for a Mercury Retrograde:

recess, relax, reframe, restore, renovate, revoke, rebuild, rebuff,  restructure, restyle, review, reveal, remove, rethink, revise, remember, relinquish, relish, relapse, rejoice, reject, reinforce, relate, relent, relieve, reach, reap, receive, reciprocate…..

Care to add you own?

God bless Florida and those hanging chads!! The New Moon in Cancer

Today we welcome the New Moon in Cancer on June 25, 2006 at 12:05 pm est at 3 degrees of Cancer 58 minutes. You can print this New Moon Journal out via the pdf link. and I invite you to share your own thoughts in the comment area below. Have you seen the movie, how are you feeling at home within and without??? Curious minds [me] want to know. Have a wonderfilled day

Mercury goes retrograde at 1 degree of Leo on July 4th  and moves backward into the sign Cancer during this lunation. Mercury rules the mind and our mental chatter. What will be revealed? Mercury and the Moon are then highlighted at this New Moon in Cancer which rules:

• Home/Family- your internal frame of reference. Gut instincts.
• Safety- security, feelings of belonging, protection, tenacity and financial security.
• Processes such as training and practicing, early childhood conditioning, growth, nurturing new beginnings.
• Emotional closeness- the caring for others, empathy, vulnerability, intimacy.
• Feelings- the changing of moods, awareness of our own feelings, sensitivity to others’ feelings, tenderness and awareness of needs.
• Nurturance- being supportive and accepting support, food, Mother, close family relations, taking care of others, being taken care of by another.
• Excessive Self Protection including clinginess, feelings of insecurity, possessiveness, overly cautious behaviors, fears of rejection and lack of goals.
• Health of the body representing breasts and chest cavity, pancreas, stomach, stomach gas, ulcers and tumors.

The New Moon in Cancer stands for the Holy Order of Water. We are born from water, baptized in water and healed in water (emotions). All religions have a sacred relationship to water. Saturn moved into Cancer on June 3, 2003 for the first time in 29 years and left July 16th 2005 to move into Leo. Saturn moving through a sign has a definite beginning, middle and end. This lunation is the first New Moon in Cancer since Saturn left the sign, this lunation packs a deeper wallop of energy since it’s Saturn’s last hurrah. Mercury is there to add the mental punch and kick it up a notch. This cycle is calling each of us to task- have we ‘got it’ yet.