New Moon Journal

Mercury and Jupiter's 2nd Meet-up

Sunday Mercury started retrograding. It's an opportunity to see what's wrong, out of whack. Today, I handed my debit card to the cashier in the bead shop, she runs it once, she runs it twice, then a third. At this point I say "Let me write you a check." She shares the store's debit card machine is kapooey, the system needs to be rebooted. I suspect there's a whole lot of rebooting going on! *smile*

How are you dealing with uncertainty and the fear it brings?

Are you ready for the Mercury/Jupiter's 2nd Meet-up? Mercury retrograde meets up with Jupiter [expansion] on January 18, 2009 at 4º Aquarius. [remember this post December's post]

What's been tweaking you? What's been inspiring you? Pay attention.

Do you have any planets in your chart at 4º of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and/or Aquarius? Those areas are being triggered by the Mercury/Jupiter Meet-up.The Sabian Symbol for 4º Aquarius

A HINDU HEALER GLOWS WITH MYSTIC HEALING POWER.

Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius are fixed signs in astrology, considered the cornerstones of your chart. Cornerstones are responsible for holding up the structure. In these signs we become fixated and rigid in our thinking. I can't, I won't. "I can't do that because____." You fill in the blank. Mercury rules the mind, your thinking process. Jupiter expands us.

This is a time to really dig in, figure out the thoughts that are holding you back. And cliche as it is, trust the process. Pluto in Capricorn is kicking our butts collectively. Saturn in Virgo is demanding a new healthier structure. Saturn is a contracting energy, it's hard to expand into new territory until the fear is managed. Saturn is retrograde now as well, it's time. Get some magazines, cut out pictures and make a soulcollage. Call a friend. Share. Please DO SOMETHING!

"We’re being shown that our well-being resides in increasing our trust in ourselves, our resiliency and our ability to return to our centers, over and over again...We can learn to meet whatever arises with curiosity and not make it such a big deal. Instead of struggling against the force of confusion, we could met it and relax. When we do that, we gradually discover that clarity is always there.”- Jennifer Louden from the Uncertainty we've all been waiting for.

Mercury Retrogrades are do-overs. It's all about transmutation of fearful thoughts and the ability to transfigure. Go to Light! Be light. Because Mercury/Jupiter square the Moon in Scorpio, you'll see how deep the fear resides, and how it challenges you. Be gentle with yourself. Scorpio represents fixed rigid forms, fears, old ways and habits that need to be let go to move to the next level. Scorpio shows up to show us what's holding us back.

"Fear is something we all experience—it’s part of the human condition. The only way to dispel fear is to look it in the face and utilize courage. Courage is not the absence of fear, it’s the triumph over it, revealing to you what you’re truly capable of."- Tony Robbins

Because the Moon is involved "How were you fed fear as a child?" Lunar energy relates to your issues with food, how you feed yourself, eating disorders. What is your relationship to fear and food. This is the time to embrace the healing of your emotional body..lunar energies represented by negative mothering issues.

Do an inventory of life events from the years 1961, 1973, 1985 and 1997 when Jupiter moved through the sign Aquarius. What happened? Divorce, siblings born, marriages...really dig into the meat of the issue. The urge to move forward always brings fear and trepidation, because it's new. Baby steps. It's a good time to do a SouCollage.

We each bring a responsibility to let go of the past. Paradigms, the old way of thinking are being dismantled by Pluto in Capricorn. Dismantling old structures is not fun, the process of dismemberment makes people- especially the older people very nervous, and at times downright nasty. *sigh*

How are you shaped by your mother's fears? How are her issues holding you back from creating a future? What messages are you still carrying around that don't serve your path. Transfiguration is the key to healing. Forgiveness is in order. Love yourself and mom for the lesson learned.

THE GOOD NEWS: At this 2nd Mercury/Jupiter meet-up on January 18th... Venus/Uranus in Pisces opposes Saturn in Virgo. The Law of Attraction is governed by the Venusian energy. Venus attracts like a magnet. This is a good omen. The key is to let go of old outdated forms. Structures that no longer serve you. You've had two years to make revisions. Now do what you came to teach. Plan now for clarity later.

To learn about the process of transfiguration and transmutation I suggest reading Sandra Ingerman's book Medicine for the Earth: How to Transform Personal and Environmental Toxins

Jupiter enters Aquarius printable pdf.
Here's a zodiac cheat sheet Aquarius through the Houses.

Images are from Michele's SoulCollage cards which can be found on Flickr.

Scorpio New Moon-Shadows black and white

Shadows black and white

The hiding child image called to me at this New Moon in Scorpio. As a child I kept a lot of secrets, liked to hide in closets and under bushes in the yard. I'd create secret places where no one could see or find me. Shape shifting.

I am the One who hides
although you see
me
I am still afraid
to come out
To be seen
with my jewels.

Look for ways
to keep me safe.

Even as an adult today the drive to 'disappear' is with me, especially now moving to a new town that is very conservative politically- it's such a Saturn place...I feel the old ways surfacing and a need to test the waters with new people I meet. Can I share who I am and what I am about...will you accept me? Hear me, see me?

print and read pdf version of this post

And after 52 years of living there is a jewel of understanding (in the soulcollage card the woman is holding a very large diamond).

The energies of this New Moon in Scorpio strongly influence those areas of your life where you are keeping secrets (or have kept secrets)- your issues with Power, being power-full. Then too we are faced with a large group of children born with Pluto in Scorpio, rocking the vote, shaking up the status quo. Are we having fun yet?

• Where have you compromised truth for the sake of self or another in your life?
• How has that trauma/drama been reactivated in recent weeks?

Living Juicy, being a wildly creative person forces one to step into their power. And this transformation doesn't happen in a vacuum, we bring that new found self and her creative gifts to all of our relationships (Libra).

In sharing the Gift we always meet the forces of change that Scorpio offers. How okay am I being me? How do I want to hide and not share? Truth telling. Scorpio's element is that murky polluted water of psychic trauma you experienced in the past that must be brought to the light for healing. Unconscious to conscious your emotional waters go from murky to clean.

Murky to quirky- all artists and creative people are ahead of the pack and considered quirky. A Scorpio New Moon shows us how comfortable we are with our quirkiness and being seen, telling our truth.

When we create something new, evoke change to the status quo (Saturn rules old forms and structures), there is alway a fight/flight within or another urging us to stay the same. How you slay that fight/flight dragon is the dance Scorpio offers up. "We rise by kneeling" by surrendering to a soul force greater than ourselves- it's the place of transformation where the 12th step process is born.

FORCE of Change

Scorpio new moons demand a letting go of something and the energy of this lunar cycle activates our deepest fears- collectively with the election and unconsciously within. The Scorpio energies are ruled by Mars [anger], Chiron [inner healer] and Pluto [transformation].

Chiron in Aquarius came out of retrograde (May 26-Oct 24) and is now moving forward again. This retrograde period may have highlighted your original wound, the gifts and the demons of the psychic trauma- how you make peace with the black and white shadows in your life. In Aquarius we are called to be of service, to bring forth a creative soul gift for Humanity.

Are you born between February 1955- February 1961? Then you are born with Chiron in Aquarius. You are or will be experiencing your Chiron Return at age 49/50.

CHIRON IN AQUARIUS: You may feel insecure within groups. You may also be sensitive to the wounds of humanity. It may be that you have suffered through friendships. You will have the ability to join groups with a cause, particularly those that heal humanity or teach spiritual ideals.

Saturn in Virgo and Uranus in Pisces are opposing each other. Saturn stands for something while Uranus challenges the status quo. In your chart you'll want to look at which houses each Saturn/Uranus energy is moving through. Saturn is moving through my tenth house, Uranus my 4th house, so of course I move my home (4th house) that creates change to the status quo of the 10th house (my public persona). No hiding allowed. *smile*

It's a time of deep transformation where changing is more important than staying the same. So at this new moon in Scorpio, on the eve of elections in the United States there is this friction of change in the air. The old ways of the past (Saturn) are struggling to stay the same, the new ways (Uranus) challenge the established viewpoints.

What I see around me is also occurring within me, and thus the need to go into the dark, to find that safe place is with me.

The key-to remember and come back out of hiding by gathering and embodying all the Light I can muster. It's time to transmute and transform- to color a seeming dark world by sharing yours, mine and our creative gifts will shape shifts the energies.

You too have something of value(Taurus), but first find that creative spark (Leo), let go of what no longer works (Scorpio), and then move boldly into service (Aquarius). That is the gift of a Scorpio rising and what this New Moon in Scorpio offers up to each of us at this lunation.

Handstand Man SoulCollage Card

I am the One who stands
upside down
when no one else
is around.

Even in the gloom
I shine bright
to inspire others
to play and create
even through the strife.

Bringing color to the dark places.

Scorpio-react to the whack.

The urge to merge, Scorpio’s energy and The Way of the Shaman. We meet these Scorpio issues in all of our relationships, especially in love and fear. What part of me had to go to sleep to be in relationship with you? How do I react to the whack?

My SoulCollage® card for the Scorpio energies.

I am the One who
Merges
Urges
You to find
connection
Within
the Dark
to find
the Light.

Who do you think you are? One of my life’s lessons- to learn how to speak up and tell my truth. When I started healing, broke my silence there was a time Dear Dad told people "she’s crazy." It’s a very painful place to be in for there is nothing like being cut off for telling one’s truth. It’s truly is a hero’s journey and so very Scorpio.

The memories poured through and off me like sweat in the early 90’s; there was no stopping it and no therapist could tell me the road I was walking. My dreams were rich and deep, things started to make a whole lot of sense, why I could read the energy in a client’s home, why I knew when someone close was ill or dying. That talking with Nature was a gift I had as a child, and that everything speaks it’s own language. From the abuse I knew how to move into that space (the Void) to hear the messages and communicate that spiritual energy in wonderful ways through healing songs and art.

Shamanism¹⁾ teaches us that everything in existence is alive and has a spirit. We are connected to the earth and all of life, through consciousness…the web of life…and we can contact and relate to all there is through this web. Scorpio’s energy in your chart and the Way of the Shaman teaches one how to live in harmony with the web.

In Scorpio one tempers the creative fire of Leo. During the time when the Sun moves through Scorpio we get an opportunity to see what is out of whack [fall harvest], how we are merging but not getting fed creatively. This urge to merge comes to a head at the New Moon in Scorpio- you’ll see pretty quickly what needs attention, and what you need to let go of to move forward.

Letting go of the old way to move into the new is the gift of Scorpio’s transformation. The key word here is TRANSCENDANCE.

"We spend a tremendous amount of psychic energy looking for lost parts of ourselves. We do this unconsciously, and we do this in many different ways-generating dreams, experimenting with numerous spiritual paths, creating relationships that mirror back to us our missing parts...Whenever we experience a trauma, a part of our vital essence separates from us in order to survive the experience by escaping the full impact of the pain. If a part of our vital essence has fled, how can we bring it back? Trauma is controlled by the body. Talking about trauma does not resolve it. [In a healing session] can the person absorb the light from the returned soul essence into every cell of the body?"-Sandra Ingerman in her book Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self

This is my Scorpio journey...recently Dear Dad, who spent his summers on the Jersey Shore life guarding, called to say he was finally going in for surgery on the skin cancer that was so bothersome. Obviously worried, he went on and on about getting a skin graft, how the cancer may have moved into his bone, the wound wasn’t healing. How could they operate with an infection. Why was it all delayed.

All I heard was fear, fear, fear in a man who so loves Christ and what his Church offers him. I took a risk and said "Dad, have you asked the people in your Sunday School class to pray for you?" There was a long silence. Dad replied "No, why would I do that?" In that moment I had to make a decision. Speak up.

How could I language this so he understood that his fear, not trust, was driving the outcome? This from a "crazy" daughter who embraces a spiritual path [shamanism] he doesn’t understand and denies; born from a moment he created for me.

I quietly explained the task at hand, the issues of fear and offered a solution "maybe you can ask your Sunday school group to pray, and to allow that prayer to fill you up." I asked him to allow people to touch him with prayer, fill the wound with the light of the Holy Spirit. "Dad, I’ll work long distance, sending you love and healing."

Meanwhile I hear mom’s voice in the background telling us both "that won’t work". For a moment once again I am lost in my parent’s dynamic. Merged. I hear the One who is the skeptic in my own head "Who do you think you are telling your Dad about this?" I push through the fear and the doubt because this can work. I am used to the skeptic. In a few hours I get Dad’s email, he’s done an internet search on laying on of hands, and decides this is spiritually okay and that his asking is what is needed. God bless him.

Dad goes to Sunday School and asks for help. He lets go of his resistance. Two days later the surgery happens, he doesn’t need the dreaded skin graft he’s fretted about for two months, the wound is stitched and the surgeon got clean margins. A few days later Dear Dad’s email arrives thanking me for the long distance healing. He’s also sent along a USA Today article on Healing Touch in the operating rooms, how he would have never thought to ask for spiritual help and ends "I’m proud of you and after my last experience with this skin cancer I realize that prayer and touch are healing powers." I am filled on so many levels.

Walk your talk...

What does all this have to do with the New Moon in Scorpio today? Scorpio’s energy demands transformation- this watery sign is ruled by both Mars, Pluto and some say Chiron. Where Scorpio sits in your chart you are called to shape shift by letting go and surrendering. Holding onto your pain and suffering, trying to remain in control or becoming controlling [usually related to a unconscious fear] is related to a lack of trust and thus creates more soul loss. Walk your talk.

Mars, the ruler of Scorpio, goes retrograde in the sign Cancer at 12° from November 15- January 30. The New Moon in Scorpio on November 9th is at 18° of Scorpio. At the time of the lunation on November 9th, Neptune in Aquarius squares the New Moon. Neptune represents, the dreamer or the addict. It’s time to tap into the Visionary within. Your Higher Self is knocking on your door asking "do I trust a higher power to help build my Vision?

Then Mars goes retrograde in Cancer, and moves back into the sign of Gemini in December bringing up emotional communication regarding heart and home issues related to that vision.

Do you have a vision? If so, what are you feeding- the fear or the vision?

Here is a SoulCollage card created by Melissa Thompson, a SoulCollage Facilitator in Sarasota, Florida:

I am the one who transforms myself
through surrendering to the flames of release.
I am the one who lets go
of that which no longer serves me
so that I may create from a higher level.

Mars is stationing in Cancer getting ready to go retrograde. Mars rules Scorpio, so look for the deeper meaning in your day-to-day experiences. Since Scorpio rules issues with power and transformation, you are called to step into your power. Merge.

Mars rules fiery Aries and watery Scorpio- fire does not like water. Reflect on that [fire and anger with water and emotions] for a moment.

Mars, Pluto and Chiron brings the forth the ability to recognize and understand our pain [Mars usually shows up through anger, sadness, guilt], transform the negative emotions [Pluto demands you take out the garbage] and then create from it [Chiron shows you the wound, gives you the tools to heal it, allowing more light and creativity back into your life]. Let me talk about creativity, power and shamanism from my perspective….

There are components to shamanism that speak to the Scorpio journey. It doesn’t mean you are a shaman or even have to journey, but there are classic shamanic experiences people miss relative to the 8th house-dreams that render you, the helping ally (animal speak) who shows up in dream or life with a message, dismemberment, soul loss, extraction all speak to the 8th house Scorpio energies.

So at this New Moon in Scorpio how are you stuck? What emotion is still present -anger, sadness, guilt, fear?

How is your pain urging you to merge, yet you are not moving? This Scorpio New Moon will reveal a pattern, dredge up the past, so stay aware. Watch your dreams and what is showing up [omens] in your waking life. It may be related to the last time Saturn was in Virgo (1977-78).

I’ll repeat this again- it is time to really commit to the Saturn in Virgo journaling piece. And if you have a question please email me or use the comment link below.

Walking the path of the shaman within this Scorpio realm we are called to transcend our issues with death and rebirth. There are no shortcuts, the only way is through it.

The House in your chart shows you where the action is at this lunation. Where does 18° of Scorpio fall in your birth chart? Where is Mars in Cancer retrograding in your chart? What is needed in that part of your life? You can go to AstroLabe insert the details and print out your birth chart. Do the journaling exercise for Saturn in Virgo. Create a SoulCollage around the feelings and vision.

24 hours before the New Moon go within and connect to what is needed in that area of your life. 24 hours after the New Moon write it down, verbalize it, collage it and send it out. You’ll see results by the Full Moon in Gemini on November 23rd or by the Full Moon in Scorpio on May 19, 2008.

I invite you to take a look at all the New Moon SoulCollages® via Flickr:

www.flickr.com

¹⁾ Shamanism in a Contemporary Society-I am a teacher and practitioner of shamanism. The practice of shamanism is not bound to one culture or tribe, and has been in existence for thousands of years. It is not a religion, but a way of life. There is no certification process. Just because one is indigenous by blood does not make one a good shaman or a great shamanic practitioner. There are many factors involved, one being the person’s psycho-spiritual integration and whether they have been ’called’ by the Spirits and the tribe. No one tribe or person has a right to claim the ‘shamanic path’ as their own, that is spiritually arrogant.

In the cotemporary shamanism and the shamanic journey one learns how to come and go through the doorway safely with respect, there are three worlds- upper world, middle world and lower world. Shamanic journeywork is natural; I did it as a child. My blessed wound was not wanting to be seen or heard, yet I wanted to be seen and heard. Called to be seen and heard after my recovery, to not share around this work would be spiritually arrogant, but I still do not call myself a shaman.

Today there are a lot of ungrounded, unhealed people who jump on the shamanism bandwagon and put out their shingle. Too often "shamanic" is being used as an all purpose term for anything metaphysical and/or new agey. It’s irritating. It makes me feel sad. One friend called it "spiritual pole vaulting" which is a good way to describe it. I call it Glamour. You can learn how to shamanic journey in your own life for healing and problem solving, you may take classes but please remember this does not make you a shaman.

Taurus Full Moon-less is more

Less is more. Have you noticed the trend in interior design? One of my favorite home magazines is Domino (and Blueprint). This month’s cover showcases a very hip 20 something decorator [sans her architect hubby], wearing an A-line skirt and blouse, who is revamping interior space of "her classic ranch style house" with furniture styles that were common place in the 60’s.

The call is to pair down our lives, get back to the basics. Now what does this trend have to do with this Taurus Full Moon?

Become a Minimalist- Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe adopted the motto "Less is more" to describe his aesthetic tactics of flattening and emphasizing a building’s frame, eliminating interior walls and adopting an open plan, and reducing the structure to a strong, transparent, elegant skin.

Full Moon in Taurus
Friday, October 26, 2007
12:51 am est at 3° of Taurus

This Full Moon in Taurus represents:

• Accumulation such as money, material comforts, ownership, possessions.
• Senses- Sensuality, massage, physical comfort, aromas, taste.
• Enjoyment of Life on Earth-contentment, appreciation, gratitude, simple pleasures, rapport with nature, satisfaction.
• Building- solid foundations, persistence, progressing step by step, thoroughness, perseverance.
• Reliability- patience, dependability, trustworthiness, steadfastness.
• Self-Worth- awareness of personal needs, setting appropriate boundaries, strong values, determination and self-acceptance.
• Inflexibility- stubbornness, attachment, resistance to change, possessiveness, holding dogmatic opinions, stagnation.
• Restoring health- coughs, throat, chin and neck, thyroid gland, voice and vocal cords.

In Taurus we are called to get back to the basics, know who I am (self-worth), live life with the essentials (solid foundations) and really appreciate the details of it all (enjoyment of life). Minimilize our lifestyle. Collectively we are leaving a time of mass consumerism and going green. Taurus is an earth energy ruled by Venus.

In Venus we can move towards excess and decadence, as seen in the 1990’s. Chasing the dollar, my Taurus SoulCollage>>. Then there is a correction (Saturn in Taurus 1999-2000) and you’ll find yourself pushing off one way of life, moving towards the opposite polarity. Paring down. Getting lean. Saturn in Virgo calls us to this task.

You may already find your normal coping skills of buying things, eating things, drinking, relating, drugging just doesn’t work. Doesn’t feed your spirit. "There is a synchronicity between the Moon and Saturn at this lunation to easily and painlessly bring our lives into balance." Brenda Brush

Venus, the ruler of Taurus, is in Virgo and Saturn’s in Virgo. Virgo wants efficiency. Venus is opposing Uranus in Pisces at the time of Saturn in Virgo. Mercury is retrograding in Scorpio-asking us to surrender what isn’t working- the way we think, act, feel, do. We have seen what the "issues" in the last 10-12 days. Changes need to be made. The Call is to get back to basics- bringing up our personal issues with a "less is more" approach.

Personally I take a more Mary Emmerling approach to decorating our home, very country. But lately I find myself paring things down. The inner reflects the outer. I see my/our possessions with a "new eye". You know I am old enough (1956 baby) to remember this new wave of design. As a 20 something designer myself I witnessed older designers get stuck in their past- I could tell the age of an interior designer by the way they decorated. Now I am on the other of this looking backwards, going forward. I never thought I’d say this but the baskets and fluff are moving out. I don’t want to be pegged to the past if it no longer serves me. As I change my surroundings change.

Where is 3° of Taurus in your chart? Look to see if you have any planets sitting at 3° of Leo [squares the full moon], Scorpio[opposes the full moon], Aquarius [squares the full moon]. That is where the action is at this lunation.

Full moons represent our personal issues coming to a head, things coming to completion. It is a time of emotional intensity. Something must be surrendered that you have been holding onto. Remember Fall is a time of harvest.

So grab a magazine and then look around your own home. Notice your surroundings. What is there that does not fit with your lifestyle any longer? Pare down, get rid of it. Work with the concept of "less is more" at this Taurus full moon.

Mom -Mars is sitting on my Chiron

The Sun enters Scorpio today, Tuesday October 23rd. It’s an intense time for everyone but especially for young adults (and their parents) born between the years 1989 and 1990. Mercury is retrograding in Scorpio. There’s a New Moon in Scorpio on November 9th. Mars the ruler of Scorpio is retrograding on November 15. You may hear your kid yelling- "Mom, Mars is sitting on my Chiron!"

Over the years I have spent a lot of time with children born between the years 1988-1990. In the mid 90’s I worked with wonderful children who expressed anger with such intensity it scared their mothers (their fathers weren’t present). I know about Indigo Children. I know what living with a Pluto in Scorpio (1984-95) child is about, I gave birth to Dear Daughter back in August of 1989.

Pluto is a transformational energy. Pluto in Scorpio¹⁾ represents an archetypal force of a generation born to face life and death issues.

"This generation will come of age after a period of worldwide conflict and will be responsible as adults for the transformation of society in the wake of dissolution of the Piscean Age. With such a task ahead of them, they will be concerned with the breakdown of old forms. Their intensity is unmatched in our experience and may even be somewhat frightening to their Pluto in Leo parents. Look to the House position [of Pluto] for where [your] child needs help." -p. 156, Child Astrology.

These children are sacred mirrors to our own issues with Scorpio’s sting and transformation. With this in mind here are some themes for this Scorpio energy. In Scorpio I am the One who Merges. 8th House, Scorpio is ruled by Mars, Pluto, The Transformer. I am the One who transforms through surrender. I accept death and rebirth as part of life.

Scorpio, the sign with the stinger, is adored and feared, desired and reviled. Why does this sign evoke such intense responses in many people, even those who know little about astrology? It is the season, I think. You know, Halloween, the Day of the Dead, falling leaves, shrinking days.

Scorpio is a reminder that things must die so that others may be born. It is a remembrance of our mortality and the impossibility of cheating death. It is sex and death, clinging lovers in the dance of life, the passion of connection that leads to conception, the urge to merge that brings babies, the natural rhythms blotted out by electric lights and medical technology. - Mountain Astrologer Magazine

The sign Scorpio represents:

• Empowerment- secrets, politics, psychology and charisma.
• Change- transformation, eliminating old baggage, change restoration and forgiveness
• Bonding- the urge to merge through sex, drugs, rock and roll; absorption, the power of merging, soul mates, deep emotional connection and mutual validation.
• Crisis- taking risks to gain power, compulsions, obsession, intense interactions and living on the edge aka Brittany Spears and Lindsey Lohan.
• Composting, taking garbage and making fertilizer- fuel for new growth. Think of Brittany and Lindsey in rehab.
• Self-mastery- good versus evil, strength, self-discipline, commitment, depth of character
• Financial Partnerships- loans, taxes, debts, grants, wills and inheritance, contracts and business.
• Misuse of Power- revenge, jealousy, harsh judgments, destructive urges, power struggles, abandonment, suspicion and guilt.
• Restoring health through elimination processes- Rectum, colon, bladder, PMS and menstruation, sexual diseases and the sexual organs- male and female.

At this time you may find yourself dealing with issues that are ready to be taken to the next level, you may see your children in the soup of it all as well, for we are all being asked to release and surrender (Scorpio) based on the way we think (Mercury).

Why am I talking about this today? Well these Indigo children with Scorpio in Pluto are being tested by the legacy we [the older generation] have created for them. As young adults they are headed out into the world- college, work, life. You may find them looking backwards, wanting things to stay the same. Yearning to come [or stay] ‘home’. I call this SoulCollage "Looking Back, moving forward".

How did you, as a parent, handle your Scorpio water? I am talking about the negative emotions- anger, guilt, shame, fear- did you simmer, explode, rage or depress it? Water in the body relates to emotions. Mercury is retrograding through Scorpio setting off your child’s Plutonian anger issues. Pluto and Mars rule Scorpio. Scorpio’s water gets all damned up and then starts to become toxic. The person looks for relief, there is an urge to merge, the task is to find relief by surrendering. There seems to be a lot of emotions ready for release, but with Mercury out to lunch and Mars about to go retrograde, normal tools are not working.

Chiron in Cancer [July 1988-August 1991] These children feel unsure of themselves in their families. This may stem from a painful relationship with the father, or perhaps another painful experience in their home. They intuitively know how to care for their family members and loved ones for their highest good. They are very sensitive to the emotional suffering of others and able to empathize with them. “We seek personal transformation, to overcome our separateness and become more than ourselves.”

Chiron is the inner teacher who shows you how you are wounded and then what to do to heal the wound. Cancer’s energy is psychic in nature, intuitive and emotional. These children are sensitive to the vibes in the air and can see straight into one another. You may hear one of them say “Quit talking trash about me!!!” These 17-19 year olds are born with Chiron at 10-20 degrees of Cancer.

10°-20° Chiron in Cancer brings a Scorpio impulse. Those children were born between July 13, 1989 through August 1, 1990 have Chiron in Cancer in their charts sitting at 10°-20° degrees are facing challenges relating to “What must I do to discipline and control myself because of the impact I have on others?”

In the sign Cancer you want emotional safety. Yet your child’s Chiron is also influenced by the sign Scorpio (called a decadent in astrology). With Mercury retrograding in Scorpio, the New Moon in Scorpio on November 9th and Mars on their Chiron their day-to-day coping skills are being tested- thus there is a lot of trash talking. The keyword is REACTION.

Gossip-If the mother [Moon] liked to disk dirt on her friends, now her child is dishing the dirt on her friends- it’s hurtful and unpleasant. If the mother didn’t deal with their depression, now the child is getting to feel their own depression. If the parent was angry the child is now facing issues their own issues with anger. This is a warning- Mars is moving slowly through the sign Cancer getting ready to go retrograde.

This Mars in Cancer energy is sitting on Dear Daughter and her friends Chiron. Chiron is the point in the chart where one is wounded, bringing up the collective wound of these children at a very early age and asking them to find the tools to heal their trauma. This energy is not leaving anytime soon. So look around and beam them love and appreciation for what these brave souls have come in to do. These children need love, not our judgment.

Mars goes retrograde on November 15 at 12 degrees of Cancer; we won’t be clear of this "Mom, Mars is sitting on my Chiron!" energy until mid-April of 2008. Hold on parents, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

I’ll write about the Full Moon in Taurus on Wednesday.

¹⁾ Pluto in Scorpio Children (1984-1995) "feel for the entire human race, and its evolution - they seemingly are very prophetic in nature. Some have shut themselves off from very deep emotions, quite withdrawn and deeply introspective...These children were born old, and wise from early on, with a heavy burden on their collective shoulders. They were born, and in the next breath, they were adults....They will be battling a collective sense of futility, potentially very pessimistic. They know what is REAL. You cannot lie to them, or gloss over the truth, since they already know what truth is, warts and all....The consciousness of these children is clearly advanced, but right now, their bodies and emotions aren’t quite ready to receive the message from Pluto. There is immense power and energy that they will have, and are receiving, collectively. Some are already tuning in - others are in the acting out process and manifesting the darker nature of Pluto, in a destructive manner."

Dancing with the Stars

Just a friendly note the New Moon in Libra begins at 1:01 am Thursday morning and Mercury goes retrograde at 12 midnight on the October 12th at 9° Scorpio. Libra represents the fine art of relating. I created this SoulCollage for the Libra New Moon.

I am the One who dances, in sync with my sacred Other.

This SoulCollage® card is full of that rich juicy vibrant 2nd chakra energy, spinning with vitality.

24 hours before the New Moon look to see where Libra sits in your chart, what is necessary in that area of your life. What’s been in your face? Set three intentions [wishes] you want to manifest based on the Libra energies in your life.

24 hours after the New Moon release your intentions through a ritual. You could write them down and burn them. Dance your intentions-put on some music and swing them into being. Become the Manifestor. Create a SoulCollage image around the desired outcome- what do you want to create- aka The Secret.

Expect a shift.

First expect to see what is holding you back from living these intentions. Become the Observer. The first 10 days of a Mercury retrograde you’ll see what needs fixing[October 12-23], the rest of the Mercury retrograde [October 23-November 1st] get down to business and take action to balance the chaos and bring order. It’s a do-over. You’ll get insights especially by the Full Moon in Taurus on October 26th.

Remember you are harvesting seeds for planting next Spring on the Full Moon in Libra on March 21st, 2008.

Sun enters Libra-moving to get it

Autumnal Equinox. For those living in the Northern Hemisphere the Sun enters Libra at 5:52 am on September 23 2007 and we collectively begin the fall harvest- of letting go and surrendering. Death of the past to manifest the future. It’s time to give your creative life new form, to disintegrate, purify and regenerate.

During the summer months we may have been imbrued with new direction, a creative project was revealed in the inner world that now seeks attention in our outer world.

Here’s a quick scenario of what happens energetically when you seek to build.

I am inspired with a new idea or project (last spring, New Moon in Aries).

I start to create from that seed thought. The idea is manifesting within my psyche. I plan it, I speak it. [5th chakra] I love it. [4th chakra] I edit and sort my inner and outer worlds to make it real. [Virgo] My dream begins to build power within me and around me. [Mars,3rd chakra] I move to get it.

How good are you at moving it???

To get it, I have to move. I have to stand in my power, be authentic. In order to move I’ll meet others along the way-my partner, my friends, my family [Libra] and as I share my precious idea, those people might not see my vision or understand what I am about.

• How do you meet with naysayers and doubters?
• Do you abandon your creative projects?
• Do you rear up?
• Do you push through it? Again...

How do you move to get it?

It’s now time to temper my response..do I expand and take a risk- feel it and drive it home, or do I contract, retreat- to feel it and drive it home. Each task is a death. Each task is sacred.

The Fall Season- Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius

In the Fall we harvest the seeds for planting next spring. What you planted in March 2007 is now ready for harvesting. If I planted weeds then I am harvesting weeds. If you planted corn you are harvesting corn. Cycles and rhythm and balance are what this astrology stuff is about. Bringing the sky and the earth together and honoring the rhythm of the seasons and the rhythms of the day and night forces is mirrored back, within you, around you. In that regard issues I may be dealing with issues that are ready to be taken to the next level, released and surrendered too (Scorpio) based on the way I think (Mercury). Plus at the Autumnal Equinox there is a Mars/Pluto opposition (see Lynn Hayes post here) at play taking the intensity up a notch. Mars goes retrograde in November 14th and jabs back and forth at Pluto until Spring 2008.

What did you wish and dream of back in late March? Harvest it now. Here are some themes for the Libra energy and your SoulCollage® cards for the next new moon. In Libra I am the One who....

• I am the One who Partners. I am the One who is a Wife. My energy relates to healthy agreements, sharing and interdependence.
• I am the One who Balances. My energy relates to issues of fairness including balance, equality, appreciation of opposite views, negotiation and counseling.
• I am the One who Counsels.
• I am the One who is Beautiful. I seek harmony representing peace, beauty and art. Refinement- luxury, elegance, pampering, good taste, grace are things that attract me.
• I am the One who builds Teamwork- giving and receiving, collaborating, supportive relationships, cooperation.
• I am on the One who is the Diplomat. I love being social- being companionable, tact, getting along with others, one-on-one interactions, diplomacy, affinity for others. On the world-wide web think of MySpace and Facebook.
• I am the One who is Co-dependent. I feel lost in my relationships- loss of self-identity, appeasing behaviors, indecision, aimless discussion. I represent entanglements that bind.
• I am the One who Harvests. Restoring health- adrenal glands, buttocks, diabetes, kidneys.

Michele’s SoulCollage® card for the Fall Harvest
Death Stalking...

I am the One
who is Death.
You walked
and stalked with me
as a child
learning much.

I bring changes
to the inner and
outer worlds.

To render
to release,
what no longer serves.
To renew.

Walk with me now
see what I hold,
where I go
there are lessons.

-----------

Fall catalogs arrived in record numbers this month, and this One wanted attention. Jennifer Louden’s blogs about resisting her own inward retreat. The death of mommyhood I faced this summer and the renewed energies I have found in letting go reminds me once again how we are collectively called to face the little deaths to be reborn anew.

You may now find yourself dealing with issues that are ready to be taken to the next level, released and surrendered too (Scorpio) based on the way you think (Mercury). Who and how are you going to partner with another to make your creative dream happen?

Thus, as we turn the wheel from summer into fall, Libra’s energies call us to bring our creative life back into balance- in all our relationships. To ask what has heart and meaning for me now? How do I hold myself back? Am I supported? What needs to be let go of so I can move freely into the future?

Saturn’s now in Virgo, demanding change, attention to details and the structure of health and work.

You’ll see pretty quickly what needs attention, what needs to be let go. The archetype of Pluto, the Transformer as death [also Saturn] is often depicted as a dark form holding a sickle. Saturn represents the structure, the status quo, the ego. Fear. Pluto is the cosmic garbage collector, he takes away in order to transform. Something needs to change or be surrendered in order to go to the next place. Restructure.

Harvesting your seed thoughts means that Death is stalking. Fall is a time of disintegration, we surrender and let go to move to the next place. Expect resistance, expect disintegration and then renewal. The Moon and the seasons reflect this cycle of birth, death and renewal. Our own birth chart mirrors this dance with death (8th house, Scorpio) and at the turn of the wheel we begin the Fall. Namaste.

Some resources to share:

A retreat Discovering your Authentic Self, November 1-4, 2007 in Delray Beach, Florida is a four day psycho-spiritual retreat with both integrative breathwork and SoulCollage® offered by my friend, Noreen Donahue, LCSW.
Jennifer Louden’s September Newsletter is full of insights.
The Alchemy of Social Transformation by Lenore Norrgard. Visit Lenore’s website for more about her ritual Dreaming the Dark Solstice Ritual.

About: Rev. Michele Lessirard, C.Ht. is an astrologer, SoulCollage Facilitator and shamanic practitioner providing healing, counseling and instruction since 1993. She writes, shares her thoughts and art online at The New Moon Journal®.

Deep freezing the Amex card

Are you a Brokeback Healer? How are your finances? Once upon a time I went to the local American Express office, I needed to buy Travelers checks for our summer vacation.

Distracted Amex Lady behind the glass: I need your credit card to do the transaction.

Michele: I have my drivers license. Can I give you the card number and you look up my account in the system?

Amex Lady: No, where’s your card?

Michele: “My card is in the freezer,” now I have her attention “I froze my Amex card in a zip lock bag of water. If I want to buy something I have to wait for the baggie to thaw to unlock the credit card. I’ll be back in an hour. As I walked away I heard the Amex Lady laughing. It made her day, I suspect she knew my drama…

Ten years ago this action step helped me deal with my money issues. Let’s talk about value, hoarding, money and Taurus.

Are you a Brokeback healer? Do you give away the store and then wonder why your bank account is dry? Do you long to attend a retreat at places like Omega Institute or The Crossings, but never seem to have the time or the cash to do so? Do you give away your services at a reduced rate because the person calling doesn’t ‘have the money” or you are so spiritual? If so, you are a brokeback healer.- Inspired from an article– 7 Ways to Spot a Brokeback Entrepreneur by Leesa Barnes

Taking a risk and starting your own business: Creating your Healership may come in many forms but bottom line we are all operating a small business. Sometimes we don’t act like we are in business; you are the entrepreneur taking a risk, offering something of value. My best friend Shilo is a shamanic practitioner, a gifted, talented artist and sacred toolmaker. In a down sizing layoff five years ago she lost her computer programming job. What next? Through a series of miracles, and a lot of courage she stepped into her power and started living the life of the artist she always dreamed of being. Read her Dreamweaving story here.

Claiming her entrepreneurial artist self Shilo presented her beautiful hand woven Dream Amulet bags at a retreat six months after the layoff. Many Dream Bags sold right away and she took several custom orders. One particular Dream Bag held a woman’s interest. Shilo channels divine energy into each and every piece that she creates, the objects are imbrued with a sacred story, one that resonates with the person’s Higher Self. Healer Woman wanted that one bag really, really bad. Yet when she heard the price she exclaimed “that’s way TOO much money for that!” and a rant of other complaints spilled forth. It wasn’t nice. From across the room I watched both women go into energetic contraction.

An unconscious competition for energy underlies all conflicts. By dominating or manipulating others, we get the extra energy we think we need. Sure it feels good- but both parties are damaged in the conflict.- 4th Insight Celestine Prophecy.

How is your Life Pulse around money, are you in a:

• Contracted state– fight or flight, how are you moving money in your life? Are you constantly where it all goes, there’s never enough. Do you feel the need for silence/contemplation or just plain “I want to stop reading because she’s tapping a nerve.” An energetic contraction may bring up “I need to get out of my body and numb out” This is mud may be related to the earth of Saturn, 1^st chakra.
• Expanded state, merged with spirit, mystic…feet off the ground “I am merged and the physical doesn’t matter.” Or the flip of this there’s never enough so I need to hoard or get things for free. Expanded states bring on creativity, growth, building…expansion also translates to greed, cruelty, and hoarding. Mud related to the fire of Jupiter 2^nd chakra, earth of Taurus. (Taurus rules hoarding and we saw a lot of that negative intent while Saturn moved through Taurus in 1999).
• Stasis– balanced, heart centered, loving. Can also represent the inner state of stagnation, putrefication and inertia. Muddy water of Mars in Scorpio/3^rd chakra, power issues, don’t worry here’s where Pluto steps in.

Fool, Let it be.

At the age of ten Dear Daughter [DD] spent evenings at her best friend’s house eating dinner. The reason? Dear Daughter acted the Fool- for at dinner she was doing a dead-on impression/comedy routine of Rosie interviewing Martha Stewart. One day while driving I asked her about the ‘Martha/Rosie’ routine, within seconds Dear Daughter dropped into her Rosie/Martha persona– a dialog ensued as I heard Rosie and Martha conversing while walking through K-mart …I almost crashed the car from laughing so hard. It is a sweet memory.

I love Martha Stewart, and I love Rosie. No matter where you stand on the ‘issues’ I will miss Rosie on The View. Yes, I confess since Rosie joined the show I’d tune in for the first 15 minutes of The View; for a work-at-home writer it offered up a mid-morning break that made me laugh, made me angry, made me think. Joanne Ostrow, the Denver Post writes:

“By dragging social and political issues into the usually controversial free zone of cooking demos, book promotions, and innocuous chitchat, she was fresh like a snout full of amyl nitrate. I didn’t always agree with Rosie but I welcomed her boat-rocking. Think of it this way- She proved again TV’s role in furthering the national conversation. She made a brassy woman’s voice at least as prominent as the dry daily official news release.”

Rosie is an Aries. I won’t go into her chart- don’t need too, check out this astrologer and this one. Rosie is brash, bold and feisty, she has a tender heart. Remember we are all still operating under the Aries New Moon ruled by assertive fiery Mars.

Rosie’s a truth slayer- passionate about life and issues. She’s angry and not afraid to say why, and what for especially in a time when most sit back quiet. She once was named the “Queen of Nice.” What strikes me is her ability to weave emotions (her Neptune in Scorpio), photos and art into soul searching collages. She’s making noise about issues that are important to her and us, using her craft. The most sacred archetypal force in a Tarot deck is the Fool. Comedians are Fools. A Fool humbles me, a Fool reminds me to keep quiet when I don’t know what I am talking about.

The Fool is an alchemist who holds fire in one hand and the upside-down cup (emotions) in the other, She unifies feelings (water), with energy and vision (fire) to create original and innovative ideas (steam). Fools use their multiple talents to generate abundance and frutifullness…bringing creativity into useable matter. Arrien, page 25.

Being a Fool then is a good thing. It takes courage. It demands a state of no fear. Whether you like her politics or not, IMHO Rosie’s creativity is just awesome, check out her studio, she’s making SoulCollages in truest form…she paints with abandon, she stitches news events into the pictures that are intense…evoking our collective soul loss…in more ways than one.

Today, Wednesday, May 2nd at 6:09 am we have the Full Moon in Scorpio at 12 degrees. Scorpio is ruled by Mars, Pluto and Chiron.

• Mars is anger/passion- yours, mine and ours
• Pluto’s archetypal energy plunges us into the depths of this anger, pain, sorrow- our collective despair- to shed the old skin that no longer serves us.
• Chiron is there giving us the balm and tools to heal our wounds.
• Pluto has traveled through Sag since 1995, next year he moves into Capricorn. Sagittarius is about truth, wisdom, understanding.

This Scorpio Full Moon brings intense transformative water energy. A dissolving energy. A time to surrender. Like the Beatles song…Let it be.

Full moons bring soul energy to bear on the problems at hand. Big Ones (Soul) and little ones (ego). This is the time of the year when the veil is thin, you can reach out to the God/Goddess of your understanding and connect. The Nature of God is in all things, all beings, great and small. Your guardian angels, your helping allies are showing up in support. This Scorpio Full Moon is known as the Wesak energies offers up Compassion and Wisdom as Robert shares “how to be productive as the storm swirls.” How are you expressing your own compassionate nature? First within you that then translates to your family and your community? Scorpio cleanses, Taurus renews. Earth and Water. Scorpio and Taurus work together to balance the energies within. We plant seeds in the rich dark earth, it’s a time of rebirth.

What are you moving through, what is on your plate? Get out your journal, your glue and images and track your energies. What is your soul trying to say?

Friday I’ll post about patterns that block our growth. In two weeks we’ll greet the New Moon in Taurus. Get ready, watch how you are tweaked, discovery why. Taurus represents “I value”, it brings up issues of self-esteem and self worth– your warts and all. This New Moon helps you manifest what you need in your life through the Laws of Attraction, The Secret. It brings up issues of soul loss from a shamanic perspective

This month’s New Moon SoulCollage card focuses on these Taurus energies. Earthy Taurus is ruled by luscious Venus. Venus is the first feminine energies we meet in the new year. While we need the action and assertiveness of Mars in Aries, it must be tempered by the beauty of Venus.

“Mars opposes all emphasis placed on the importance of integration and wholeness. He aims at destruction in the way fire cauterizes a wound. Venus is just the opposite, she is warm, cooperative and loving. She endows the spiritual essence of love to the physical body.

You’ll find Mars in rage, combat and battles at the home and/or office. Rather than condemn him [the archetype of Mars, the mirror], you might consider marrying him to the Venus within you. In myth, this is exactly what happened, and out of the union between Mars and Venus, a new child was born, named Harmony.” (Cavalli, page 120).

The Sun entered Taurus on Friday April 20th, there is a New Moon in Taurus on May 16th. Now what does that mean for you? Along the way you’ll be facing issues of “worthiness”. Am I worthy to have joy in my life? Am I worthy to have abundance in all areas of my life? Do I have the mind set, how’s my thinking? What am I attracting?

This month is bringing up issues of self-worth- awareness of personal needs, setting appropriate boundaries, strong values, determination and self-acceptance.

Within yourself or in others you may meet up with a stubbornness or fixed rigidness. Shadow issues of  Taurus may be marked by inflexibility- stubbornness, attachment, resistance to change, possessiveness, holding dogmatic opinions, stagnation. There is a push/pull, an inner resistance. Hold in, hold back, hold up. Taurus energy relates to inner child issues with authority specifically around the ages of 3-5 and "I want" energy that translates to your 5th Chakra. Do I have to scream with my rage or suffer in silence for you to hear me?

Can I speak my heart to you, can I be open, can I trust you’ll hear me? Heart matters versus head matters; an inner struggle between head and heart that manifests at your throat. Mercury at the time of this Full Moon in Scorpio is conjuncting the Sun at 12 degrees of Taurus. There is also a square to Saturn in Leo/Chiron in Aquarius. Grand Cross in the the Fixed signs, highlighting the Galactic Center.

Sun in Taurus represents my Soul Force- Big Me- I value myself and others, I know my true worth. I embody compassion versus my ego- the ‘little me’ petulant, stubborn and fixated>

Mercury in Taurus -how the Soul is communicating, standing next to the Sun opposing the Moon– emotions/dramas may be high>

Chiron In Aquarius represents the wound! How are you called to rebel, to be an individual who separates from the pack? Are you feeling angry, sad or depressed about this, why? You are unique, you are a Lightworker…Like Neo in the Matrix you swallowed the pill to wake up. Do you stand there fussing, fuming about it, preening about it? Now is the time to get over it and on with your service to humanity.>

Saturn in Leo is demanding a new structure be born- based on the present from lessons learned and healed from your past.

Saturn is moving through Leo for the first time in 28 years (1977/78). Reflect back on those years, especially the year 1977- what was happening for you then? How are the current conditions related to that time? Saturn rules responsibility and timing. Ever get caught up in being responsible and lose sight of what gives you joy? Saturn’s been working us for over two years in Leo, and there are only four months left of this Saturn in Leo cycle.  Oh my. Saturn is highlighting these issues, bringing them out of the dark closet you stuffed them into- back into the light. Oh the places you can go now…

What has heart and meaning for you NOW? Ponder on this…

What images call to you, what collage is your soul longing to share at this Full Moon in Scorpio? I wonder.

References cited:

Alchemical Psychology by Thom Cavalli, Ph.D.
The Tarot Handbook by Angeles Arrien, Ph.D.
Rosie’s Blog.

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...