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)

Saturn and the 7 year itch

“I am not getting married until I am 28 years old; who wants to be just a housewife? A woman doesn’t need to ‘get married’ to be her own person. Marriage stifles her creativity.” These words barely escape my 17 year old mouth when Mr. G my high school history teacher lets out a huge belly laugh, “Bailey, some man will sweep you off your feet and you’ll drop all that feminism stuff to walk down the isle in a heart beat!”

Mr. G was right.

Two years later, in the spring of 1975, we find our feminist a college freshman at UF. One evening a tall shaggy haired frat boy, reeking of cologne, dressed in his finest baby blue bell bottom pants and nic-nic shirt, comes knocking on the door to pick me up for a blind date. We fall in love and three years later, at tender age of 22, we marry. He’s my best friend. Here I sit on the eve of our 29th year of marriage, and Saturn has returned to Virgo, the sign it occupied on our wedding day.

I knew nothing about astrology, cycles or right timing, that would come years later. Somehow I knew 28 was a magical number in one’s life. But what’s a person to do when they fall in love ahead of time?

Last week I asked April Kent, fellow astrologer extraordinaire, to share her thoughts on a Saturn Return for a marriage. April’s new book Star Guide to Weddings: Your Horoscope for Living Happily Ever After is coming out in February.

Our wedding day is wedged between my graduation from art school and moving to Chicago so Dear Husband can start law school. Looking back was I too practical in my decisions? Our special moment November 25 is jammed into a demanding schedule.

Let’s pick a holiday weekend everybody’s off from work or home from school-celebrate Thanksgiving, get married Saturday at noon, go to the reception, leave at six to watch the Gators play football and beat FSU with family and friends at the hotel. Good golly what was I thinking?

Solo, I plan and execute the entire event in six months, while going to school full time, getting a senior portfolio in order and working on my first interior design commission- a beach condo that had to be completed in 40 days. I pick out the dress and veil in about 1 hour, meet with the hotel and select the food. Bridezilla I was not.

Any wonder why the getting married part is really a blur to me.

Our three day honeymoon in the Bahamas? Dear Feverish Husband is shivering and shaking either from the marriage vows or the stomach flu. He bravely waves from the 8th story balcony; a trash can by his side, while his solitary new bride sips strawberry daiquiris floating in the pool below. My thoughts at that moment? “I am so glad I didn’t save myself for the wedding night.”

So I laughed when April assured me (in contradiction to the dire warnings on her website), not to worry about the Venus retrograde in my marriage chart. “It’s less of a concern for those who are operating at a higher level of consciousness. Which you must be – I mean, 29 years later you’re still together, right?” Higher level of consciousness — is she kidding me?

That set me to thinking, maybe the wanting to be my own person was being conscious. (“Bingo!” laughed April.) Maybe all that practical Saturn in Virgo energy at play in the marriage had worked to our advantage. And this is why.

Saturn, marriage and the seven year itch

They talk about the seven year itch in a marriage. Saturn rules timing in a person’s life and it takes approximately 28-29 years for a Saturn return. Saturn’s energy highlights the Self’s restrictions and limitations- the tribal conditioning one has to work with, move through and let go of. Thus the Saturn impulse can be experienced in seven year increments both in the Essential Self and in one’s marriage.

I consider Dear Husband and myself soul mates. I don’t make light of that statement. A conscious relationship means that one works at the partnership because the other person means more to you than you do. At the same time balancing a woman’s issues of sovereignty. It’s not easy being real and rubbed raw by another person. Even so, after twenty-nine years Dear Husband lights up the room and makes me laugh. So let’s look at this through the lens of Saturn in Virgo, Sag, Pisces and Gemini.

First Quarter – the honeymoon phase, 1-7 year anniversaries. Saturn in Virgo: I am born with a Pisces Sun and Mercury buried deep within the 4th house with a Scorpio rising; I need a soul mate that would force me to come out into the light, yet still help me ground. Here comes my blind date, a very Sag guy with a Leo rising who loves an adventure. First generation born American, raised by strong matriarch- a single working French mother; he’s a latch key kid before his time. Thus he is not put off by the feminist me, soon to be successful business woman. Yet Sag man still wants his home to be a home. Can you see the picture here? Interior designer marries traveling salesman.

Donna Reed I am not. Dear Husband has no problem when I start my own company at 24, make more money, travel and work 70 hours a week. He was tempered in childhood to be around this type of working woman.

Second Quarter, the Power Level- 7-14 year anniversaries, Saturn in Sagittarius: During this time the partnership is being tested. Both of us at 29 are experiencing our Saturn return. Can I be me and still be in relationship with you? Honeymoon’s over, and the true person’s inner child [or demon] comes up and out.

“You better believe it,” writes April. “And even if you still basically like one another, Saturn will make damn sure you get tested from outside your relationship. Financial problems, career worries, plagues of locusts… expect anything!”

I swore I would never marry a stock broker. I come from a family of stock brokers who always seemed to be broke. At our first quarter Saturn square Dear Husband announces out of the blue “I am going to be a stock broker”; within a month he passes the Series 7 to get his license. Damn, I am now married to a stock broker!

We face fertility issues and through a miracle of events Dear Daughter is born. Now Dear Mom can’t keep up her workaholic ways. Dear Dad must step up to the plate to be the dad he never had. It’s going to get a little wacky here but neither of us know it yet because ‘wow look at the baby.’

The Third Quarter- The Psychological Level 14-21 year anniversaries, Saturn in Pisces: Like a full moon phase there is a release, a surrender. Truth be told, it’s more like a pummeling to your head and your heart! I am left wondering"What happen to our happily ever after?" Saturn is now whacking at my Mercury (communication) and Sun (power). Pluto’s (the transformer) moving from Scorpio into Sag, over my ascendant and into the first house to sit on my Saturn. All first house stuff related to self. Pluto wakes one up from within, death and rebirth. We are being rendered.

Domestic Diva I am not. I swore I would never be a stay at home mom -let a man take care of me, no way. I need to make my own money because of childhood fears; staying at home brings up those trust and abandonment issues. April writes,

“My husband and I just celebrated our 14th anniversary, and the past few years have brought up a lot of the same issues for me. At the same time, my husband has been having something of a career crisis. You can imagine what a delight it’s been around our house. I think so much of our experiences of Saturn are culturally prescribed; women experience Saturn in terms of structure, security and support, and men in terms of being successful in the world and good providers. I suppose that’s part of what a marriage faces at the 14 year mark: confronting those societal expectations and figuring out how to co-exist with them.”

As Saturn moves into opposition I leave my business career in the dust to become a full time housewife and mommy. My high school self is screaming “what the hell is wrong with you!” Dear Husband is now a road warrior, home on weekends; soon he’ll be a proud card carrying member of Delta Airlines Million Miler club.

Eventually the marriage suffers from lack of attention- his travel and my shape shifting. As I heal, Dear Husband feels side swiped- “why can’t you stay the same?” The road offers him respite from the wild-woman housewife sitting at home. Saturn’s now sitting on my Mercury in Pisces demanding that I speak up in new ways. Everyone wants me to be quiet. That doesn’t work, I go metaphysical on everyone.

Then a wonderful thing happens. Dear Husband bravely tells me “you’re too spiritual and I am leaving you.” What’s driving all this- his own parent’s divorce when he was 8; we get to see how his unconscious inner child impacts our lives. No coincidence Dear Daughter is fast approaching her own 8th birthday. My inner child is screaming “I told you so!” I see a bumper sticker on the back of a car while stopped in traffic “I used to be alone, then I got a divorce.” I cry.

Please don’t tell me your unconscious inner child doesn’t affect a marriage- that child is driving the bus of the coupleship until you and your partner wake up. Usually this occurs around the time one decides to ditch their significant other.

“We pick up emotions and values that surround us, and to a greater or lesser degree, feel them as if they were our own. This is why it is crucial that we know ourselves deeply. In order to see through what is happening a couple must either be centered in their own being, or they must have a shared approach that automatically protects them.”- Prather, pg. 20.

Dear Husband’s has left the house. Nothing changes because he hadn’t been home in years. Deeply afraid, I make a list of jobs I can do; once I get to job 20 the fear abates. I’ll be okay. As his walls come crashing down. Seeing what really matters, how being on the road changed us and him, this honorable man starts taking back his life with no guarantees that I will be in the picture.

No, we didn’t divorce but we came close to the threshold of going our separate ways, cleared the air. One of my favorite relationship books at that moment- “I Will Never Leave You: How Couples Can Achieve The Power Of Lasting Love” by Hugh and Gayle Prather.

The separation forces my spiritual self to have a greater voice. At the time Uranus is transiting my Mercury in Pisces. For couples at the threshold of divorce the keyword here is “Imago Therapy”. Today Dear Husband swears by it and recommends the process to all his suffering buddies contemplating divorce.

The Fourth Quarter, The Social-Cultural Level- 21- 28 anniversaries, Saturn in Gemini: The unconscious baggage from our childhoods is no longer hidden, and most times we both feel supported, heard and seen. Loved. Thank you couples dialog!

Dear Husband puts me on a pedestal, cherishes me. To my feminist self the pedestal part just feels weird. One day I complained, “I don’t want to be up on a pedestal we’re equal.” DH replies… “It’s good to be a Goddess, besides on the pedestal I can look up your skirt.” Sag man still makes me laugh. Just before September 11th, 2001 Dear Husband’s territory realigns, no more week long air travel. Home. In essence we have come home to ourselves as well.

Saturn returns to Virgo. This is our annual week long celebration. Dear Daughter comes home from FSU, a new Seminole with a proud Gator Mom and Dad. This Thanksgiving week we not only celebrate with turkey but also our 29th wedding anniversary with Saturn in Virgo. FSU meets the Gators in the swamp, party at our house. A blind date, married at 22, and Venus in retrograde does work out.

Warm wishes to you and yours, may you have a peaceful and safe Thanksgiving with family and friends!

Maybe these Saturn insights will help you get clarity on where your own marriage sits in the Saturn cycle. Where was Saturn at the moment you were married? Where are you now in that Saturn return cycle? If you are divorced at what junction did the split happen? Did that mirror anything from your childhood? April notes,

“Saturn’s turning points, about every seven years, always point out that we’ve outgrown our old structures and forms and are ready to become something new. We see it as Saturn moves through the birth chart, but it’s true for marriages as well.

As your own story illustrates, Michele, from time to time we outgrow our marriages. Suddenly we realize they’re too small to accommodate who we’ve become as individuals, and they need renovation. The challenge lies in recognizing these moments, and finding ways to keep refashioning a marriage into something that suits both partners better. Now, at the Saturn return mark, it starts all over again for you and Dear Husband!”

Thank you to Dear Husband for a wonderful 29 years. Shout out of gratitude to April Kent for feeding me additional insights on the Saturn cycle in a marriage. April notes,

I so enjoyed reading your story… It must be marvelous having your Moons in exactly the same degree of the same sign! Ah, to always be in such sync. As opposed to my hubby with his Taurus Moon and me with the fidgety Gemini Moon – you’d laugh if you watched us trying to get out the front door in the morning. Me, hopping up and down on one foot: “Hurry up!” Him: “I’m coming…” as he casually wanders off to do one or two more things.

April Elliott Kent is a San Diego astrologer and writer whose website, http://www.bigskyastrology.com, offers seasonal essays, tutorials, and wedding services. Her first book, Star Guide to Weddings: Your Horoscope for Living Happily Ever After takes a fresh, fun look at your marriage’s Sun Sign. It will be published by Llewellyn Worldwide in February 2008. April can be contacted by email: april@bigskyastrology.com

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."

Full Moon in Aries-release the shells

The gulf waters gently lap at my feet as I drop the first bag of seashells into the water. I feel embarrassed standing here. Who throws seashells back onto a beach! One down 15 bags to go. My company? A lone pelican floats on the water watching, a flock of seagulls surround me thinking I have food, and four Mexicans sit on the rail eating lunch chattering and laughing in Spanish on a break from building one of those mega houses where the Campbell house once stood. Nothing stays the same.

I am letting go, closing a door. I decided on the drive over from Fort Lauderdale that 4th Avenue is the place. Our first house was torn down last year to make way for a bigger and better MacMansion. Naples was simple and quaint when I moved here in 1971, there were no condos, the palm trees and sand merged with the road. I miss that... today I have good memories of watching my Aunt Gladys and Grandma sitting in their beach chairs watching the sunsets while Mom walked along the beach bent over searching for shells. It’s bittersweet.

Friday when the Mars/Pluto square released I came out of the fog to recognize how intense these past three months have been. I wouldn’t say I am depressed, but I am certainly in a state of grief…one that comes and goes. Solitude is what I crave. I treated Dear Daughter’s summer college session like she was going to summer camp. But her leaving for the fall session was tough. Mars in Gemini, Pluto in Sag -both squaring off on my Sun in Pisces. It just sucks.

Last year while visiting my parents in South Carolina my mother gave me her collection of seashells, "I won’t be going to the beach anymore, can you please take these shells back to Naples for me?"

I pack two big baskets and a bucket of wonderful shells, sorted into bags of various shape, color and type [my mom is very Virgo], each in it’s own zip lock bag into the back of my truck. The weight of her statement, the finality of it just hung with me on the ride back home. My mom loves Naples beach and spent nearly 20 plus years collecting these shells. She will not see Naples again, and now I am the keeper of the shells. I procrastinated my task for over a year.

I am mindful of all this and that awareness is with me now on the beach. So many feelings come up... anger that I am the only one left in Florida, and I have to let go of these shells. Ah little kid energy, I let that feeling just be. Sadness that my mom is so frail now she can’t make it to the beach she loves. Part of me wants to hold onto the shells, so I can hold onto my mom...a voice in my heart says that’s just more clutter to add. Be with it and then let the shells go. Tears come and go, and I stand in it all. I remember this quote from Mabel Collins-

Before the eyes can see, they must be incapable of tears. Before the ear can hear, it must have lost its sensitiveness. Before the voice can speak in the presence of the Masters it must have lost the power to wound. Before the soul can stand in the presence of the Masters its feet must be washed in the blood of the heart.

I wonder what it means and will my tears ever stop...I throw shells up in the air in forgiveness. I let them go knowing the joy children will have in finding these gems. So I lovingly scatter bag after bag of them into the surf, watching their movement in the water, rolling this way and that. A myriad of feelings wash through me. Lightning flashes above the palm trees as the last bag is tossed, a storm is coming. I give thanks and good-bye to the Spirit of the place and the sea. It is done.

This is my story at this Full Moon in Aries...what about you?

A Full Moon Aries
September 26 at 3:45 pm est
4° degrees of Libra

What are you called to release? What has been completed since the New Moon in Aries six months ago? How have these last few weeks been? Getting tweaked? Mars rules this lunation.This Full Moon in Aries you may find:

• Wanting to start anew by- blazing new trails, initiating, high energy, taking action, innovative approaches.
• Self-focus around issues dealing with the physical body, survival issues, instincts, ego, and assertiveness.
• Innocence- integrity, honesty, authenticity, impulsiveness, straightforwardness.
• Self-discovery -how am I initiating, taking risks, eagerness, competitive.
• Independence (Aries) versus interdependence (Libra)-self-direction, self-reliance, autonomy, self-sufficiency.
• Courage-issues to do with leadership, strength, vigilance, boldness.
• Disengaging, self-absorption, vanity, anger, impatient.
• Health-acne, eyes, head/face/scalp/brain, headaches and dizziness.
• Finding a clear yes and a clear no.

The horoscope is a blueprint for our character. Character is destiny. There is nothing static in this universe in which we dwell. We can change by changing our attitudes and patterns of behavior. In so doing, we change our destiny. . . . An understanding of planetary influences allows you to take your life into your own hands and intelligently utilize the planetary influences that will help you in your evolution if you but will.- Isabel Hickey Astrology a Comic Science

In Libra we learn to define our boundaries with others in healthy, healing ways. Peer over our glasses to see things in a new way. But in order to have a healthy relationship with you, I must first know me, otherwise I merge too much. Do you truly know how to feel-the good, the bad?

So at this Aries Full Moon you may see what has been revealed in the last six months regarding you and others. How your boundaries are impacted, positively or negatively, by others you are in relationship with? Where do you merge and what you need to purge?

That is the gift of the Aries/Libra polarity in astrology. At the same time we live in a world of immediate results. The "I want it now" energy of Aries. What to do when that "I want it now energy" doesn’t get fed? When your partner won’t ’do’ what you want! Have you said to another "I need you to be…"

Aries and Libra mediate how we perceive our vested attachments- the ’my way or the highway’ attitude. With that "want it now energy" how do you work with your own critical inner voice? How do you get your needs met in healthy ways? Do you start to get restless? Do you start complaining- focusing your energy on what isn’t happening, how your spouse and/or the universe is not cooperating? I am so spiritual, healthy, gifted and you’re not- why is this happening to me? Listen for the next couple of days about how you are talking to yourself, sharing with others. Are you complaining about what isn’t working to your friends and spouse? Does this sound familiar?

Are you piloting your own ship, or have outside forces taken control of the helm?

Aries wants clear intent, the energy is action oriented. A healed Aries energy within (you and me) expresses their focused intent with laser like clarity. They also know when to go with the flow, to have patience, have a vision and not be knocked off the path.
What house is Aries on in your chart? In this house you want to show others the way and right now that energy is hard to manifest and see. Aries represents your identity, the strength and ability to stand in your power. How do you lead others in some tangible way through the power of your presence? YOU.

Aries -full moon September 26th together with the Libra-new moon October 10th work in sacred partnership. Libra is about balance, harmony especially in partnerships- marriage. Aries is about you, the individual, the self that wants to be special, is egoic, headstrong and brash.

Each lunation there is a new and full moon that work in partnership with each other to release what is no longer working in your life, so you can manifest your hopes, wishes and dreams. Think of two energies on a see-saw with you standing in the middle trying to balance. Without the energy of Mars it may feel like we have no forward momentum, no ground to push off from creating no sense of balance which leads to frustration, anger. Because we ’want it now’ the mystery of this time is lost. This energy may be coming from outside of yourself- from family, children, clients.

Heck what is happening now may take years to be truly understood. Think in terms of layers and cycles. It takes time for things to manifest. Astrology is about actively working with cycles and knowing your own rhythm. What did you plant with your intent at the Aries new moon back in April of 2007? This is now manifesting. The season of fall, a time of letting go, is a time of spiritual awakening and dismemberment. Birthing the spiritual self (Aries) and balancing that spiritual self in relationships (Libra). Carolyn Myss writes in Sacred Contracts:

Throughout your life you will confront circumstances that cause you to separate from the group mind (tribal consciousness). It is essential that you give birth to your power of choice and personal responsibility. With this separation you will not gain access to you individual inner strength, self-esteem, and gut instinct. . . .Birthing the [Greater] Self means having the strength to follow the mature guidance that directs you to begin your personal spiritual path. You make the transition from group consciousness to individual consciousness thereby opening the way for the higher potential of your [Sacred] Contract to be revealed.

As we move deeper into the Fall Harvest and letting go keep your attention on present time; do not allow your vital life force to slip into history. Release the shells. Identify limiting or negative attitudes that you have inherited from your family or social mind. Recast these beliefs in healthy healing ways.

Top 12 fav blogs-what's their sign?

Ever asked a blog "what’s your sign?" Here’s the top 12 blogs I put my glasses on to read and where I’d place them in the astrology wheel of life. Step back Aries, Pisces comes first on this list.*

1. Pisces-spirit, dreamtime, inner muse: Notes from Dreamtime by writer and shamanic practitioner Craig R. Smith. Smart and irreverent, Craig writes one of the best blogs on shamanism I have found. I am sure there are others and if you blog about shamanism please share the link. Most blogs are just not worth my time to read. Check out a recent post on shamanism and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder -Braving the Past *Pisces comes first because it’s my blog and hey, I am a Pisces.
2. Aquarius-awakening, individualist, lightning: An Aquarius person...they are way out ahead of the pack telling their truth while leaving others in the wake scratching their heads wondering- "What’s wrong with you?" Bottom line they are not the status quo. My fav Aquarius pick is Rosie’s Blog. Yes she’s wacky, she’s the court jester [Fool] and she has heart. There is always something that grabs me on her blog like this quote from a reader "we all carry monsters and angels in our hearts - truth allows one to diminish - the other to thrive."
3. Capricorn-public self, the corporate life, working world: Think of AMC’s Mad Men and how they spin the merchandise. A Capricorn blog for me - Escape from Cubicle Nation by Pam Smart. Pam is a great marketing coach I worked with last year who shares how to ’get a life’-step into your power and live your truth beyond the Corporation.
4. Sagittarius-teacher, risk taker, the Hierphont: JWalking by David Kuo over at BeliefNet is a conservative Republican from the early Bush years who had a change of heart (cancer does that to people) and got back to the basics. Truth. While I don’t agree with the politics his insights make me think. Check out his post on Converted by Clinton.
5. Scorpio-transformation, letting go, power: Spiritual Emergency and Spiritual Recovery The 8th house reflects transformation issues- death and rebirth. Many times people get stuck in the journey because they don’t know what is happening. These two blogs are a great resource for the Scorpio energies at play.
6. Libra-harmony, partnerships, balance: Fair and balanced relationships...I offer up The Official Blog for The Work of Byron Katie. No need to say more.
7. Virgo-order, edit and sorting, healer: The Kitchen Designer. As an interior designer I love Susan Sera’s energy and insights into living, designing and planning [so very Virgo] a kitchen. Her work and gardens, c’est magnifique!
8. Leo-joyfully feisty, creative, child-like: There are so many bloggers I could list here, how about my top three- Claudine Hellmuth. Aunty Cookie, D’Blogala
9. Cancer-home, heart[h], family: SouleMama blog by Amanda Soule shares her wisdom, art and stories of creating a home, being a mom and getting back to basics. Her blog was such a hit with readers she got a book deal! Her new website is gorgeous!
10. Gemini-siblings, networking, communicating, thinking: The Wish Jar by Keri Smith. Keri communicates her insights about being an artist, getting back to basics. She’s pregnant and full of creative insights. Watch what a pregnant artist does!
11. Taurus-financial security, self esteem, material things: Success from the Nest by Tony D. Clark asks "Do you want to do meaningful, fulfilling work, and achieve wealth on your own terms - all from the comfort of your own nest?" With his cartoons and insights this blog makes me ponder on my Taurus issues in a good way.
12. Aries- leader, warrior, feisty: Fire, spunk and spirit define’s Sandra Gahlinger’s blog Tittyology. But first read what the Providence Journal wrote as Sandra said “bon voyage to my boobies party,” her “fond farewell to my mammaries,” and her “ta-ta to my ta tas.”

I have to ask what sign is the New Moon Journal for you?

What blogs do you read? Ever thought about what astrology signs a blog relates to in the scheme of life?

I invite you to comment below... share your favorite blog [or two] and what’s it’s sign?

Fire the Grid-be defined

"What if one hour of human time can empower Humanity?" You may have noticed the countdown clock to the left about the world event Fire the Grid on July 17th. Back in 1997, after my first soul retrieval, I was gifted the same swirling symbol to use in my healing work. Now Fire the Grid uses the same swirling symbol in their logo, so I really paid attention when I found the website a couple of months ago. **smile**

In this post I present a video from Shelley Yates, a very common woman with an uncommon story to share. This is part 1 of 7 parts, and it was amazing for me to watch this down-to-earth woman share her story. What is asked of her and what unfolded from her willingness. It’s a story of resurrection.

Transfiguration is the key, going to light, living your joy, being and holding your joy for one hour. If you want to read more about the process of transfiguration read Sandra Ingerman’s book Medicine for the Earth: How to Transform Personal and Environmental Toxins.

Be Defined...what’s the astrology for Fire the Grid:

Leo is rising- it’s about heart energy. The fixed signs are in play- fixed signs represent the foundation, think of cornerstones that hold up a building. These signs can also reflect stuck energy in our psyche- where we become stubborn- holding up, holding back, holding on because of our dramas/traumas. The key is a willingness to surrender and heal the pain.

The transpersonal planets-Neptune, Uranus and Pluto are in retrograde motion (for more information read this post). Chiron is retrograding in Aquarius as well.

Neptune in Aquarius (new thought, new order) at 22 degrees opposes Saturn in Leo (creativity, heart and soul) at 25 degrees. It’s a releasing energy much like a full Moon- between spirit (Neptune) and matter-the current structure (Saturn rules structure). In the body think of your 1st chakra (Saturn) and your 7/8 chakras (spirit). The center point is the heart (Venus). Both planetary energies (Neptune and Saturn) square the phantom point of the Saturn/Jupiter conjunction in Taurus back in May 2000.

The feminine energies-Venus and the Moon are meeting up at 1 degree of Virgo in the first house. Venus goes retrograde on July 27 and moves back into Leo to meet up with Saturn, Mercury, Venus and the Sun all in Leo the week of August 13th 2007.

The Sun sits at 25 degrees of Cancer. The Sabian Symbol for this degree is:

A WILL-FULL MAN IS OVERSHADOWED BY A DESCENT OF SUPERIOR POWER.

Dane Rudhyar in his book An Astrological Mandala speaks of this symbol "We are dealing here with a man who uses his will and positive imagination in facing his life problems. To him comes a Pentecostal descent of power. He receives the mantel of power, the grace (baraka in Sufi philosophy) which can make him a true leader in his culture...It is not merely external success (as given by society to its prima donnas) but a spiritual response, a sing of inner strength and uncommon ENDOWMENT." (p. 127)

Lynda Hill writes of this symbol in her book 360 Degrees of Wisdom: A LEADER OF MEN WRAPPED IN AN INVISIBLE CLOAK OF POWER~ There comes a time when we have to rise to the occasion as someone in charge or as a decision maker. It is almost as though this has been thrust upon you but you have placed yourself in this position. You need to both understand and accept the consequences. We are called to accept the cloak or mantel and respond with responsibility and acceptance.

"Great hearts steadily
send forth the secret forces that
incessantly draw great events."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Will you join in a one hour Global Meditation?

Fire the Grid
July 17, 2007
11:11 GMT
7:11 AM Eastern Standard Time
For your time zone check here.

Please share this with others in your community.

More about the Shelley’s accident Fire Fighters Water Rescue News
see posting dated 11-30-2002

Consolidating my energies

Over the past few months it occurred to me that I was splitting myself by creating a blog about this and that. Basically I ended up separating the shamanic part out from the astrology part of me. This has been one of my energetic challenges over the last decade and unconsciously I created it in my blogging style. **duh**

What does that have to do with the New Moon Journal? Well last month I integrated all the posts from Michele’s Musings into this blog. You may or may not have noticed the change. Now I will share the New Moon story together with the day-to-day issues [the joy and challenges] of living shamanism as a daily practice. Power versus force in everyday matters. What is it like to work with a Power Animal? What exactly is a Power Animal or Helping Ally? Soul retrieval-do I need one? How does soul loss relate to the new moon energies and my chart? How does a shamanic astrologer dance with both heaven and earth? How can I work shamanic-ally through the New Moon SoulCollage?

I don’t know where this writing is going- that is the fun part of the journey for me. As a reader I trust you’ll enjoy the ride by reading and subscribing. Stay tuned and thanks so much for stopping by today!

Holding the Charge

Vision quest, renovation... it’s a special time of year as we collectively enter a 40 day, 40 night period of transformation at the Full Moon in Sagittarius on June 1st, 2007. Are you ready? Like Neo, in the movie the Matrix, you and I took “the pill” to wake up and come out of the collective sleep. Taking this pill means we are called to live our Brilliance, warts and all, to become the sacred observer, the guides in service to our fellow man and the earth. It’s not some of us, it’s in all of us. The energy of Gemini is about living this Divinity. The keyword for this lunation is Embodiment.

In the language of Aramaic there is no word for "good" or "evil". In Aramaic the words would be "ripe" and "unripe. As we make judgments about the goodness or evil manifesting in the world right now I encourage you to work with the metaphor of ripe and unripe. It really helps shift perspective about the forces being played out [in the world].- Sandra Ingerman

A shamanic practitioner works with subtle energies related to the spiritual aspects of an illness. Possession happens when we are not filled with our own power, through the trauma/drama of living life our energy goes elsewhere. Our brilliance recedes. In shamanic terms this creates soul loss, spiritual intrusions and possession. From a shamanic perspective we can see this in extreme cases like the Virginia Tech shooter-there was soul loss and then possession. It is a spiritual illness.

A shamanic practitioner works with a client to restore their power through spiritual means- journeying, ritual and intention. It’s a heart centered process, that is not about good or evil…it’s energy. Light. How do we restore power, embody Light?

Like an energizer bunny -how long can you hold the charge? Be the Light? Holding the charge is directly related to holding the right thought, then relating that thought through right speech, like the movie The Secret. Manifesting the ability to self-correct. A man called last week looking for a depossession, the phone call went like this...

“I think am possessed”.

Michele: Oh my, well we all are in some way.

"I’ve worked with a spiritual healer and I am not any better."

Michele: I am sorry to hear that...I listened for about five minutes and finally said, "Can you stop telling the story in your head and heart, quit sharing the story with others? Quit feeding the energy?"

"What?? Huh?"

In South Florida many cultures practice the art of black magic. This man got mixed up in the wrong crowd and at some point woke up. He shared about feeling psychically attacked, developing stomach problems that the medical community couldn’t address.

Possession is a form of fixation, it’s akin to being possessed by a thought that you just can’t shake…i.e. drinking, eating, spending, stalking. Addictions are a form of possession by a strong emotion/thought. Yes there is such a thing as a possessing spirit or entity- which in heart-centered shamanic depossession work is called a ’suffering being’, so I took this man at his word. It is real for him, and so is his story.

Print out this story in Word.
Print out this story in PDF.

Does your story possess you? We all have a story we share, but if that story is disempowering, then where is the value of constantly repeating it? If you have been building negative intent (anchoring) within your psyche then this is the moment you have been waiting for.

On August 11, 1999 there was a total eclipse of the Sun at 18 degrees Leo. When energy such as this manifests, it makes a mark on the plate. When another planet passes over the mark, it affects the plate and sounds forth its message. This eclipse marked the plate in the four fixed areas in your chart- the places within our psyches where we are most stubborn and rigid- Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius are the cornerstones of a building. This area is being renovated collectively.- from Grow what you know.

Since April of 2007, Saturn in Leo is moving over 18-21 degrees of Leo, opposing Chiron in Aquarius. Pluto opposes the Sun/Moon at the New Moon offering up a break-thru. The Universe is sounding it’s message and you are ready to receive it. In September of ’06 Saturn reached the 18th degree of Leo, went forward and then backed up in retrograde, this time offers up nine months of insights. I am writing the New Moon in Gemini story early so you can dance through it, know what is happening.

If Leo’s energy represents your creativity and Aquarius represents becoming the innovator, then how are you "being the change you want to see in the world" ? (Gandhi)

While we dance through these Gemini energies from May 21st-June 20th look at your story, how is that myth empowering your thinking and communication today. What has changed since 1999, in the last nine months? I invite you to honor this journey. Make the necessary changes.

Last month’s Taurus energies were about finances, so you may find yourself challenged to speak up, speak out. Gemini relates to sibling issues- brother and/or sister tweaking you. Find your voice, communicate your needs about your worth. Be kind. On the flip side you may be shouted at…can you keep your cool and really listen?

There are many forms of possession…and most times when healing is challenged it’s because we are attached to the story. The trauma/drama becomes more important than living our brilliance.

One day my friend John was in the hospital with a chronic fever due to his HIV infection. He called as a last resort. Drugs weren’t helping, doctors gave up, he had no faith in the God or the world.

In the hospital we talked a bit. I offered to do a shamanic journey on his behalf. I don’t diagnose, I become a hollow bone for the healing to come through. As I rattled and sang... I saw John playing with rabbits, first as an adult and then as a little boy... then there were thousands of rabbits showing up in my journey. I took this as a sign and brought back Rabbit as a power animal for him. I blew the energies into his heart chakra, and rattled around my friend singing softly. I saw my friend in all his Brilliance, honored his journey, honored the disease. On return I shared the story of what I saw, what my Teachers shared, explained how to work with this power animal. John smiled and shared that he raised rabbits as a child- they were his favorite animals. We laughed and joked, and when I left his eyes were brighter, more full of life.

A week later John called to thank me, he said his fever broke within 24 hours of our session and he was able to go home from the hospital. John, like the energizer bunny "held the charge".

When we feed the negative intent with our thinking, our brillance recedes- that’s why Taurus comes before Gemini. The new moon in Gemini on June 14th, follows Taurus. The Quest: how are you called now to speak your truth based on your issues with self esteem and self worth? What tweaked you last month and how are you communicating these issues in a healthy way?

The principle that guides the Way of the Visionary is telling the truth without blame or judgment. When we express the inner Visionary we know and communicate our creative purpose and life dream, act from our authentic self, are truthful and honor the four ways of seeing.- Angeles Arrien, The Four Fold Way

Know what you’re worth, then the right thoughts anchor, you can Grow what you know. At the time of the new moon in Gemini on June 14th we have moved into a 40 day~ 40 night vision quest. In the old days we’d check ourselves into a monastery for spiritual contemplation and integration, now we are called to undergo this task in our work-a-day world. Take good care.

Can we integrate and be catalysts for change- through our ability to dream a new dream in this apparent chaos? This is a time of reflection, renovation and restoration. During this lunation you are entering a profound time of change where we witness our past, present and future self.

A client may work with a spiritual healer only to find nothing happens. Why? Remember it is a 12-step process (Aries through Pisces), so if you start in May/Taurus clearing the subtle energies, expect a shift 9 months later-February/Aquarius. If you find yourself stuck ask these questions:

• How invested am I in this trauma/drama?
• How is this feeding me? Is there another way?
• How am I letting support in?
• Do I need to reach out?
• If I let it go, what are some alternatives to filling the void. [Find a way to play].

As we work with the energies of Gemini, ask how am I Being the energizer bunny I am meant to be!

Suggestions for the Gemini energies:

Misplaced energy can be birthed to a new place-thank the life experiences and send it lovingly away. You might imagine your Helping Ally or Angel with a Fed-Ex box. Empty your mind, empty your affected chakra into that box and send it out into the universe so another may create with it. Imagine filling up with Light, what color is it? Actively engage these energies, work with the New Moon SoulCollage® process for the Gemini energies.

I am the One who is speaks my truth.
I am the One who is Brilliant.
I am the One who shares healing Stories.

Give this energy within you a place to speak. Share your SoulCollage... let me know what happens.

* In addition to serving as one of advertising’s most recognizable symbols, the Energizer Bunny® has become a cultural icon, serving as a symbol of longevity, perseverance and determination.

If you need a shamanic practitioner go online to www.shamanicteachers.com.

No more peanut butter, the end of an era

The end of an era, well friends today I made my last peanut butter and jelly sandwich **sigh** Good-bye Skippy. Dear Daughter graduates from high school next week and now she is on exam schedule. Each morning for 12 years I lovingly made her school lunch...a ritual that marks the beginning of my day, one heartfelt connection to our sweet child. In a month she heads off to college, it came so quickly. Now my/our life changes in so many ways. I find myself remembering and crying over the littlest things. Did this happen to my mom as I pushed off from home and waved good-bye??? I wonder...

She’s my mystical, magical girl-child who danced and twirled with me on the front driveway to the music of Enya, who saw auras, who innocently shared her past lives by saying "don’t worry Mom, I’ve lived and died many times, and I’ll live and die again."

She is the most amazing person, this baby, this girl now this young woman. She brings me so many blessings....

Today she doesn’t remember this 4 year old self - the One who didn’t care what others thought or whether her hair was straight... who freely conversed with Mom about mystical topics, who spoke her mind - no, wait, she still does...don’t all these Pluto in Scorpio children do that? **laugh**

When we enter school a part of us retreats..the mystical magic (M&M) child self goes into the shadows, especially at the first Saturn square (age of seven). I think they call it the age of reason. At some point all women are called to reclaim that magic again between the ages of 37-45. Some do, some don’t. I have great faith she will re-member.

Today we need more magic in the world, less reason. Now as a practical, passionate, young adult she’s more business- Mom’s mystical stuff is just plain weird. And that’s okay, her M&M self is still there, waiting to return. I am ’the Mom’ she has to rub up against **smile**. I am proud of her in so many ways.

At the New Moon in Taurus we attended college orientation and entered a whirlwind of activities. As our family sat in the audience watching the festivities I wondered where is Taurus for you Dear Daughter? I haven’t spent much time analyzing her chart. As an ’astrologer mom’ reading my child’s chart felt invasive; I decided long ago to let go, she can create her own myth without Mom’s input. She wouldn’t listen anyway.

But on return from orientation curiosity got the best of me, Dear Daughter has Taurus in the 9th house- the house of higher education, the teacher. As I wondered through her chart and saw the planetary aspects her story unfolded in a new way- one I couldn’t see when she was 4, 6, 8, 15... the energies are playing out as she navigates her future. It’s all about right timing, cycles, honoring the beginnings as well as the endings. While bittersweet, this journey is awesome. What a good time to be graduating and heading off to college... someone please hand me a Kleenex.

More about graduation at Chattering Minds.

From the Twilight Zone- why do we blog about astrology?

Coming from Twilight to Jeffrey…April tagged me “what drives you to blog about astrology?”

April bottom lined it this way “Twilight’s thesis is that some alchemic soup involving Mercury (especially angular) with Jupiter (for publishing), Saturn (for consistency), and perhaps a dash of Uranus (for astrology), creates a sort of AstroBlogger Perfect Storm. And doggone it, I think she’s got something there.” Here’s my alchemical soup:

• Yes, Mercury in Pisces is angular in the 4th house. Is it because my mother didn’t like the way I wrote my thank you notes as a child? I wrote all gushy and she thought I was faking it…I didn’t write again until I found astrology in 1996.
• Saturn’s in Sag in the first house right after my Scorpio rising. Transformation. Drama control.
• Jupiter’s conjunct Pluto sitting at the mid-heaven at 28 degrees of Leo- that’s super-de-duper publishing. Take that garbage out and show me the honey.
• Neptune's in Libra at 29 degrees in the 12th house- Spirit’s a driving force for me teaching others to find their inner muse.
• Uranus at 29 degrees of Cancer in the 8th house all woo-wooed up. Let’s drum.
• To add icing to the cake all Planets (excluding Mercury) mentioned are in retrograde. Sounds fated to me.

and on the day of her birth it is said the Gods laughed– “my friends let’s see what she does with this…”   I tag Robert and Liz.