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For all of 2017, this blog will feature an artist or entrepreneur resonant with the monthly theme. If you would like your work to be featured, there are still a couple of months open for submissions! Contact Me Here with interest.

January Artist Feature:

Kitty Cavalier is the author of Sacred Seduction. She teaches women how to make self-love feel sexy, and that the most attractive thing a person can do is be authentic. Her workshops, books, and retreats reclaim seduction as a way to access God and live a powerful, purposeful, pleasurable life. A great experiential introduction to Kitty's work is her online course in the art of self-massage.

The Astrological Theme for December 2016 was Here and Now.

We arrived. Into the newish territory of liminal space.

Liminal:

of or relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process
occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold

2016 has come to a close. The Chinese year of the Fire Monkey concludes as the year of the Fire Rooster begins on January 28, 2017.

The year of the Fire Monkey has stretched us. It has put us at risk. It has tricked and surprised us. It has required us to move through a climate of change.

“Monkey is comfortable in any position, even hanging by it’s tail upside-down. Things may not be what they seem and a sense of disorientation can prevail unless we are agile and fully engaged.” - Excerpt from my Year of the Fire Monkey Article

This was a year of creative - and destructive - transformation. We can’t have one without the other. All of it is fuel for a resurgence of love.

To be real, the Year of the Fire Monkey was an ass-kicker of extreme disparity. It was not a year to take lightly. I personally witnessed more unthinkable tragedies in close proximity than ever before. I looked into the extremely loud and imminent maw of silence that is nonsensical. That is loss. That is grief. That is speechless and unabated. Lives were forced to change with drastic magnitude. Major exits and entrances tore open and reknit the fabric within and between everything. The fabric of consciousness thinned to expose more nuance, and more need for reconciliation. A huge rail of uncertainty became the status quo.

We questioned ourselves like hell.

Our tolerance for bullshit and false optimism lowered.

Our need to stand for our humanhood increased.

Our ability to survive the myriad question without receiving a straightforward answer?

Well, perhaps we are still growing into this one.

But the fact is if you are reading this, you’re here.

If everything is meaningless, than what?

After all, you are here.

Where is your resolve?

As inane as 2016 was in many ways, it offered cache prizes, too. You get to choose what to honor as you please.

For me, the Fire Monkey created separations necessary to support divorce from old ways of being. It opened me up to desert caverns rife with callings to explore. It made me crazy enough to take risks and watch for actual proof of what would happen. It built my fortitude and nourished my surrender. It allowed me to hold paradox. It weathered my eyes. It brought drought and worship of intimate necessity of water. It gifted me moments of forgiveness for myself, for my oppressors, and for the culture of misguidance. It helped me to see more clearly the things that didn’t matter. It delivered teammates. It rattled my voice to far corners of the Earth. It threatened my feelings of security and heightened a different set of senses. It upped the stakes. It wiped me clean. It filled the air with smoke. It took a shiny matte gloss off of things that posed as healthy and right, exposing them for what they really were: dust. It brought deeply natural love into my life. And a type of resignation that allowed for deep acceptance. Somehow, I end this year with a quiet and warm cell in my breast, radiating whispers of success.

Standing at the solar doorway of the Gregorian Calendar, I feel embattled and ready for the next round. I feel a pulse and a disharmony. I feel like an athlete preparing for a race; with more to experience and less to lose than I’ve previously known. What is this illusion of control? Regardless, I count myself a contender.

In Chinese Astrology, the element cycles last two years. Last year was a fire year, and this year is fire part 2.

Maybe the Monkey was a warm-up act.

So often, when people come to me for guidance, they want relief. They want me to tell them when their suffering will end. They want me to forecast when they’ll get rich, fall in love, and be transported into the land of the ones blessed with perfect lives. They ask me to choose for them.

I cannot choose for you. I can tell you, each state is temporary.

Everything you experience is simply sensation. Hold it lightly and allow it to move. And like every meal you have the gift of eating; relish every morsel.

If you are suffering, be with it. Befriend it and let it show and tell you things. Let the things beyond you do their work.

I will not say 2017 solves all our problems. Astrologically speaking, it looks like a training ground of massive unpredictable changes and cleansing karma. It is another chance to build strength and surrender, to teach and learn what is necessary. Engage.

There is a saying in the Tao Te Ching:

“Because the Sage always confronts difficulties, he never experiences them.” - Lao Tzu

In a convenience-oriented culture, challenge has become embittered. But in olden times, people relished the work of their hands. Adversity helped to shape lives into something meaningful and worthy of being divine. Our way forward is not to evade or turn from hazard; but to turn towards it with steadiness and resolve.

In this way, we strengthen spirit.

In this way, we become whole.

2017: Year of the Fire Rooster

What does the Rooster do? Wakes us up. With a bellowing, abrasive call.

What do you see when you think of a Rooster?

I see a cock. A prideful, colorful, and aggressive masculine symbol reminiscent of patriarchal domination. Roosters like to rule the roost. They are social creatures who crave attention, and they prefer to be in charge. I’ve seen roosters act like intimidating bullies and peck at things incessantly. They are boastful, strutting, militant and straightforward. Shrewd characters, they are multifaceted and complex problem-solvers, always developing and honing their skills and talents.

This is a year for strategic planning and precise implementation. Attend all details and hunches with scrutiny. Deep discernment and discretion is advised. Less risky than monkey, conservative changes will yield more fruit than speculative ventures. Stick to paths that have been proven. The past does hold important weight for consideration.

Loyalty to family and like-minded community will come into deeper focus. There is a certain grit to the year of the Rooster, asking that we be brave in light of adversary. That we cultivate and draw from reserves of dauntless heroism. Because forces beyond us can be unreasonable. Perhaps we, too, can be unreasonable. If so, let us be unreasonable in service of what really matters. Let us be good rulers and steadfast protectors of the roost worth preserving.

As so much has been revealed in the past year, the rooster will continue to distinguish details divulgent of deeper truths and realistic perspectives. When people show you who they are, believe them. Including yourself. Stay engaged. Take rest as needed. Be practical. Thinking things through, frugality, and wise investments will be a great help. This year is like an accounting system. Remaining balances will be paid. Death and rebirth lead to transformation. There is a potential to make great strides in the realm of personal and familial evolution. Take heart. As the Rooster crows, wake up.

Recent years have offered a lot of conjecture about spiritual awakening. It is often not the fairytale experience that many hope or portray. Accidents, unexpected and unpredictable events can shake us rudely awake. Pain can swiftly bring awareness to areas begging for attention. Times that have awakened me most in life have been when I am stretched into new and different capacities of self than the ones with which I was previously familiar. Awakening has made me more attuned to compassion and the healing and human journey. It has also steeped me in real mystery and the awareness of chance that all could disappear or change radically in any moment. It has introduced me to darknesses I was ignorant of before.

The beauty that comes through awakening can be so whelming it is just barely bearable.

Increasingly complex.

Startlingly simple.

Humblingly natural.

Irreconcilably paradoxical.

Awe-inspiring.

An endless invitation to continue becoming.

Better. And better. And better.

Just right, just as. Amen.

The Astrological Theme for January 2017 is Slow Down to Feel.

Alternate Theme: Unconditional.

We begin the year with an awareness that many things must become New. Again. A new version. Maybe we scrap the old entirely, or maybe we regenerate. There is a practical power and focal energy alongside a whimsical need to release and drift. Take time before January 28 to wrap up and honor this past year of the Fire Monkey.

Why slow down to feel? Because we will likely be feeling a lot this month. A lot of deep and sensitive material may arise. We must be quiet enough to listen.

Feelings, physical and emotional, are a compass. They can help to guide our way. Until we learn to befriend them, they can also overwhelm us and lead us off-course. Ultimately, they can bring us back to nature, and be a portal to our deeper nature of stillness.

“You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.” - Pema Chodron

But do you ignore weather? Or do you familiarize yourself with it, and allow it to inform your plans?

Slowing down and attuning to your senses can assist your path forward.

We need to trust feelings again.

Too many of us have been conditioned to numb out. Addict, escape, eat and drink discomfort away.

Too many of us have been conditioned to react. To run, hide, bristle, or unconsciously defend.

Like in any relationship, it takes time and dedication to build trust. We can offer that to ourselves and our feelings. We can care for our bodies. We can practice our return to the heart. We can practice a return to instinctive knowing and understanding.

This month is an invitation to divest interest in analysis, reason, and over-activity. To instead, emphasize awareness on how you and others feel.

Feeling brings us into our bodies. Being in our bodies allows us to inhabit our lives. What else are we here to do? What if this method is the gateway to discovering the answer to that?

I have heard it said that we cannot selectively feel. When we cut ourselves off from pain, we limit our capacity to experience pleasure.

Another truth is this:

Pleasure is always available for us to access. In this particular moment, a magnitude of pleasure awaits to pour itself unto and through you. It simply takes practice to open to it.

My story on finding pleasure:

I had been dancing and practicing embodiment arts since I was 5, but it wasn’t until I was in my 20s (at a Qoya retreat, where I will be again this year) that I experienced the wisdom of natural bliss in my body. The directive? “Slow down to feel more.”

Another helpful instruction:

“There is no way you can do this wrong.” - Rochelle Schieck

Immediately, I realized that even though I loved dancing, I had always approached it with the punishing attitude that I was going to train my body to do something. Rarely had I sunk into the sheer enjoyment of feeling my body move.

The simplicity of allowing my body to move the way it naturally wanted to, trusting that intelligence, and being deeply present to that experience, allowed me to feel whole, free, expansive, and hella strong.

The alternate theme for this month is: Unconditional. It goes with the Slow Down to Feel theme. Because when you begin to be present with feelings and sensations, something magical happens. We can begin to experience them without judgement. There is an opportunity to become less attached. When the full range of feelings is welcome unconditionally, our feelings have the potential to be accurate tools for guidance.

So, let January be a practice in feeling. Let it be simple. Notice and honor what you feel. Notice and honor what others feel. Cultivate your ability to respond. With honor, move through. Enjoy the inherent qualities this experience of life has to offer you.

For an excellent guide in the realms of sensuality and expanding your capacity to feel, Kitty Cavalier is the artist-of-the-month. Explore her offerings here.

In-Depth Transit Forecast

Jan 1 Mars conjunct Neptune (1:52am)

Strange magic. Moving in the direction of your dreams, longings, and highest ideals is recommended. Altruism is beautiful, but don't allow others to take unhealthy advantage of you. Enabling isn't healing. Everyone is extra sensitive and porous today. Cleanse your waters.

Jan 3 Venus enters Pisces (2:46am) Mercury sextile Venus (2:41pm)

All month, Venus, the Goddess of Love, journeys through the sign of Pisces. This is a deeply sensitive position of longing, dreams, and sacrifice. When Venus is in Pisces, it is easy to adore our projections, rather than the reality of what is. The highest vibrations of compassion and unconditional affection are available to us now. Our hearts can be boundless. On the challenging side, we can be ever-so-aware of how vulnerable we truly are in the tenderness and fragility of life. Love and loss are bedfellows. Hence the saying, "love like you have never been hurt." Use words to support the feelings in your chest. Build the bridge between head and heart.

Jan 4 Mercury enters Sagittarius (9:19am)

Still traveling backwards to perceptive eyes here on Earth, today Mercury moves from serious Capricorn into expansive Sagittarius. Echoes from this past December 2. From now until January 11, we have a collective birds-eye view. Emphasis on possibility versus probability. Take in the sights of a higher vision.

Jan 7 Sun conjunct Pluto (1:45am)

Spotlight on power. Do you like what you see? Regardless of how palatable it may or may not be, there is some reward in brutal honesty. Illuminating the roots, we may see more of what we are dealing with. Including the hidden bits, and the portions our instincts or subconscious always knew was there. The light of the sun today shines directly into territory of the shadow: the dark belly of compulsion underpinning the brick, mortar, structural components of life on Earth. Relinquish the urge to reach for control. Instead, vanquish influences of oppression residing within.

Jan 8 Mercury stations Direct (4:43am)

Mercury, the messenger of communication and short-distance travel, is halted in the sky for today. Notice the still-point as it is bound to arise in your sphere. Recent revisions in practical, pragmatic, consequential, and improvement-oriented realms will now get a chance to move forward once the planet picks up speed.

Jan 10 Sun square Uranus (11:22am)

On January 7th, the powers that be were illuminated. Today, the innovative spirit of revolutionary expression is invigorated and challenged. Anxiety can be stimulated as uncertain changes electrify the air. Use restlessness creatively. Offer your gifts to the collective. Tend to shock, and adapt progressively. Fireworks are in our midst. This is the stuff that shifts the fabric of society. From individual, to relational, to governmental. Momentous, sweeping, unpredictable transmutations mark this year with irresistible force. Rather than the brittle reed, be the supple. Hydrate and vitalize as you bend with the winds of change.

Jan 11 Mars sextile Pluto (2:15am) Sun sextile Chiron (6:34am) Sun square Jupiter (11:42pm)

An emotional and psychological push to achieve. Strong endeavors and motivations. If not sure which path to take, become quiet and hermetic. Stillness will guide. An amplified sense of self can have lots of Moderation could seem like a pipedream with these transits. Aim for it anyway. In this case, "go big or go home" could stretch beyond helpful bounds. No one needs a torn muscle. Employ conservation inside this environment of radical shift.

Jan 12 Full Moon in Cancer (6:34am) Mercury enters Capricorn (9:04am) Venus conjunct Neptune (4:54pm)

The Full Moon in Cancer on January 12 (6:34amEST) is a castle made of sand. Humbling, and like a riddle. On the path towards this sand-castle, there is a partially-shrouded sign-post. More than ever, we are aware that we are walking in a mystery. Wherever we go, there we are. This remains true even if we don't logically know where we are. Even if we can't clearly place who we have become. This Full Moon Chart illustrates the tension of opposites, grey areas and blurred lines in-between. Tension gets a bad rap. But without tension in our anatomy, our bodies would lack the ability to stand erect. Tension is essential for dancing. Confusion is often considered a plague. But without the condensation of confusion, we may never fertilize our dreams. Without the spell of confusion, how would we recognize the arrival of crisp clarity? In one blink of an eye, everything that seemed solid can turn to sand. Tender sensitivity gives birth to fantasy. The magic of illusion is the stuff of inspiration. The past, and forms of escape can feel magnetic today. If you do choose escape, let it be mindful and incredibly loving. Gather your soul family 'round and sing forth the presence of the Goddess. Ring in the remembrance that all of us are children of her omnipotent womb. Together, we bask in her all-powerful waters.

"Everything forgotten comes on the spiral to the next octave and is released into the celebration of being." Ellias Lonsdale

As always, find a Free Movement Ritual Here on the Qoya Blog!

Mercury now moving direct in Capricorn paves the way for grounded, pragmatic, long-range and goal-oriented decision-making. Preparations for mastery.

Venus conjunct Neptune in Pisces is extremely sensitive, empathic, compassionate, and torrentially emotional. Dreams can lead us to destiny; and sometimes dreams can send us astray. Beware of deception. The highest expression of this is creative unconditional love. Idyllic, Heaven-on-Earth Love. This is the stuff that is available to every person connected to grace and spirit. High art. You are your beloved and your beloved is you. Place your heart at the fulcrum of your senses.

Jan 16 Mars conjunct Chiron (9:34pm)

Will, sexuality, sense of assertiveness, and motives are in a painful healing process right now. So much sensitivity. Learn about your ability to assert yourself. If masculinity has been compromised or weakened, attempts to reclaim missing pieces can come into play. Sometimes, strengthening yourself physically is a helpful way to find deeper forms of strength. Other times, forgiveness is the way towards resolve. The higher masculine essence stands up strong and assertive for right will. The wounded warrior must rise and integrate if our society is to reflect healthy masculinity.

Jan 18 Mars inconjunct Jupiter (2:51am)

Evaluate the uses of your energy. Relationships are important, but so is independence. The desire to serve leads to fulfillment, as long as your cup remains replenished. Resist the urge to allow others, or circumstances, to choose behaviors for you. Forge the path that whispers from spirit.

Jan 19 Mars square Saturn (4:15am) Sun enters Aquarius (4:24pm)

Curbed energy and endless distraction can be sources of frustration. It could be that your goals have been too diffuse. What comes up now will help you to clarify the new directives. Obstacles and confrontations may arise and take you down a different course. Tread carefully, and stand strong. Use your defenses. Bolster your reserves. Do not allow yourself to bend under the pressure. Emphasize your inner fortitude and possible achievements. You were made for this. Patience, hard-work, and endurance will always pay off in the long run. Be as strong as you are.

Sun in Aquarius marks a new phase. The radical. The revolutionary. The transitional. Over the next month, it is important to demonstrate your unique character, and offer your gifts to the community. Promote awareness of all kinds.Band together with a network of souls. Re-create the benefits of human relationship in a vastly accelerated technological age. The old and the new aren't so different if we build bridges between them.

Jan 20 Venus sextile Pluto (8:57am)

A powerful form of love is available today, if we are willing to call upon and cultivate it. Amidst everything in the current state of the world, sharing real love is a beautiful thing. Immaterial. Irreplaceable. Your connection to the eternal.

Jan 23 Mercury sextile Neptune (4:29pm)

Visions accessible to the logical mind. Simplicity and meditation will fortify the purity of what you receive. Find calm.

Jan 25 Venus conjunct Chiron (1:49am)

Recall the sensitivities of January 16, when Mars joined Chiron in the sky. Today, Venus meets Chiron. The wounded and weakened feminine must be felt and renewed into deeper wholeness. Love, beauty, friendships, and all forms of affection can be felt acutely now. Close feelings are not always comfortable. But there, in your ability to love and accept yourself and forgive all transgressions made towards the natural beauty about all of creation, is a key to wholeness.

Jan 26 Venus inconjunct Jupiter (3:02am)

Today offers an opportunity to discover how to set limits for yourself. Clue: avoid over-doing, over-indulging, and over-accommodating.

Jan 27 Venus square Saturn (12:50pm) New Moon in Aquarius (7:07pm) – Entering Eclipse Season

Just as Mars tangled with Saturn January 19, Venus meets the authoritarian today. Obstacles and limitations that come to the fore could particularly impact women and the feminine principle. There can feel like a lack of love, beauty, and affection in the air. Sometimes we are offered tough love - and sometimes we are made to wait for much longer than preferred before a mate comes into our lives. If this is the case, where can we mine our world for the love we long for? Creative expression, sensory comforts, and companionship of all sorts can help with this need. Sometimes it's not about sugary sweet love. Rather, it's the ground beneath your feet love. Bread and butter worth. The stuff we so easily take for granted, that makes up the bones of our lives.

The New Moon in Aquarius on January 27 (7:07pmEST) is the deep freeze before a thaw. This New Moon initiates a 6-week eclipse season cycle, which sets the tone for 6 months following. Eclipse cycles are like portals of change. When we emerge on the other side, significant evolution has occurred. Within a deep freeze, temperatures drop. Energies move subtly, perhaps imperceptibly, deep within. Hardship, suffering, and an experience of lack are nothing to fear. Befriend scarcity similar as you would abundance. Turn towards it. "Because the Sage always confronts difficulties, he never experiences them." Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching.

Life is about the full experience. Sometimes, patterns need to play themselves out long enough that we tire of them thoroughly. To the bone. There are many benefits to the deep freeze, which is like a suspended inhale. Though it is cold and seemingly immobile, our soil is strengthened and erosion is prevented. Pests and invasive species cannot survive. What does survive is made heartier. As the freeze concludes, fresh oxygen floods our lungs. The water levels release, relax, and expand, fertilizing the ground for new life to arise. Sometimes life’s not about sugary sweet love. Rather, it's the ground beneath your feet love. It’s what we do to get through: to survive and revive. This is of real value. After a long period of stillness, to dance, to move will be our truest pleasure.

As always, find a Free Movement Ritual for optimum alignment HERE on the Qoya Blog.

Jan 28 Mars enters Aries (12:39am)

Act like a warrior. Fight like a pioneer. Make like a leader. After a period of drifting, the time has come to do, direct. Follow impulse and move from point A to point B. Sense of self can bolster your drive. This fire is quick-burning. Use it to initiate.

Jan 29 Mercury conjunct Pluto (3:21pm)

Looking beneath the surface. Getting to the bottom of things. Gaining deeper understanding. These are powerful times for research and transforming through focus. Alternately, manipulations and poison pens can run amok. Words can be serious and toxic - or alchemical. The power of word is real. What you say and write today may have a lasting impact, so choose wisely. Seek to know yourself more thoroughly. The deepest recesses of self and the ways we long for control can emerge into the light of understanding. Excellent for therapy, psychoanalysis, esoteric discovery, and shadow-work. Even as you plunge, relax.

Jan 31 Mercury square Uranus (10:31pm)

Coming up for air after a deep couple of days. After a period of mental focus, your nervous system may need to soothe and calm. The last few days may have brought serious, troubling news about authority. Today is the people regroup and revolutionize. Unexpected messages and travels can pepper your day. Try something new for a change. Allow the scattered and creative thoughts to surface as surprising confetti bits. Clear and concise statements are not indicated. Crazy can give birth to genius. Let your mind wild out for a spell.