This is the final month I will offer an in-depth written forecast. Saturn enters Capricorn! Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer offers healing. Mercury is Retrograde. Messages straight from galactic center.
November 2017 Forecast: Self-Study
Art by Eve Star IG @eveningstarmaps
The Astrological Theme for October 2017 was "Inner Realms."
Members can view the full October 2017 Forecast here.
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The image above communicates dark and light, swirling together ad infinitum, comprising the human existence. It is titled "inseparable."
There is no room for denial, here.
There is no room for perfection.
Everything is infected with wholeness; a dancing maze of polarized neutrality. We reside like characters in a vibrational net, spinning stories in a web of intersecting experiences and diamonds of co-occurring connection like lights on a switchboard.
It is hard for me to write to you this month. Not because I have nothing to say. But because the enormity that I have to say is all-consuming, and sounds like a scream. A growl. A primordial utterance arising from my loins - and the loins of all those from whom I sprang. The sheer thought of opening my throat makes me fear the inevitable release. The grief and praise of centuries, scintillating and spewing for all to gawk at.
Because feelings and implacable sensations are boiling within me. My body is shapeshifting in unfamiliar ways. Something wells behind my eyes, and I long for spaciousness and a witness to call that well to weeping, and to let it overcome and penetrate the soil it stands on. Knowing that means washing away familiar ground.
I'm recessed into the inner realms. A reclusive arena where no one can find me. Where I don't exist. I've been in this ghastly, reflective, cavernous place most of the month.
I want to tell you what's happened this month. And in doing so, I may break the rules. I don't know what the rules are anymore, and I welcome new ones to lend themselves to discovery. Ruleless, I'm here to tell you a story.
I watched horrible things happen between people. I was a bystander, wide-eyed and glued on periphery of terrible fires of destruction, physical and metaphorical. I immersed in the cascade of trauma that spilled over the internets. I side-eyed my way to absorbing the lessons emerging. What I learned wasn't in the words that were written or spoken. It was in the reactions, the emotions, the spaces in-between #metoos and personal convictions.
I saw a lot of holding on, a refusal to drop a thing that was dead. A thing that had faulty foundations. I saw a glomming-on to anything that smelled of power. I saw secrets and unconscious elements of humanity emerge and splay forth into the public eye. I watched whiteness abuse and deny and erase and become amnesiac to its own perpetration. I watched abusers do anything they could to avoid blame and personal responsibility. I watched victims speaking up and rumblings that feel like labor pains for a changing of the guard. I watched the lines between victim and abuser become very blurred. Becoming like this image, swirling above, proclaiming: Inseparable.
The unconscious, giving birth to consciousness.
Inundated with shared scars of trauma, I went into the woods.
I found myself camping deep in a river gorge. I made fire. I wanted to flee from the night.
I confess that I suffer from fervent romantic notions. A primary one being that if we all embrace nature, everything can heal. That mycelium could cure the planet. That letting things die, letting things flow, letting things move is the answer. I don't know what the truth is in that other than what I feel and continuously learn via my experience. I'm living into these questions. They are the Quest embedded in my veins.
Those nights in the woods were cold. They were confronting. I was sucked into the misty air, full with the glowing vibrations of flora heartier than I. It was a place in which I didn't matter so much.
The beauty of that gorge became so immense and unknowable it was unsettling. I feared going into the cold dark and wet alone in the night. The folds of this mother's skirts are alluring, enchanting, magnetic. They are isolating, slippery, mysterious, and humming with voices I can feel but not understand.
Ghosts were everywhere, within all things. They are the comingling breath of memoriam.
Ghosts ARE everywhere, comprising everything. We exist within a haunting.
All things are made of the bones of what came before, and the inevitable promise of what will emerge next.
I sat by the creek where it met the river. A train rolled by, shaking the earth in its smoldering wake. Frightening its creatures. Voices arose from the water, the veins of our mother Earth. They weren't singing. They were hallowed screams, attuning me to the suffering of people on the other side of the world. They asked me to stay and listen. To dip into all that flows here, and remember the painful ecstasy that joins us together.
Water is life. We drink the water. We are all made of this water we share. And we share so much more than water - even with those we haven't met, and will never know.
This month, the forest took me far away. It carried me to the furthest reaches self of consciousness. It made me wonder if I would return.
I did return. I think. But things are different than before.. and the truth is, things are never the same. They can't be. Change goes on.
Last month, I wrote:
Every ounce of the invisible you is needed for the journey ahead.
Perhaps I went
to a place of reclamation. To the ungraspable bardo, a portal where the missing ghosts of myself have been sleeping.
I welcome them here, now, to awaken through me at their ready. I lay down my resistance to life, to self.
Relinquishing control, I wrap this cloak of stars tighter around my form.
...Tell me your stories. Your truths of absorption, release, rebirth.
This month, I offered a Virtual Circle on Death in honor of Jupiter in Scorpio with Green Cemetarian and Death Activist Cassie Barrett.
In it, we give teachings and tools for help with Letting Things Die; be them physical deaths, death of relationship, job, identity, so on.
The recorded workshop, materials, and ritual recommendations are still available for purchase by sliding scale here:
The Astrological Theme for November 2017 is "Self-Study."
For most of the month ahead, we remain in our psychological inner depths, but we also poise for an emergence and an astrological climate-change.
***ASTROSPEAK ALERT BELOW!***
The year of 2017 has flown by. It's been dominated by some major planetary energies:
- A Grand Fire Trine between Saturn in Sagittarius, Uranus in Aries, and the North Node in Leo
- Jupiter in Libra
- Saturn in Sagittarius Square Chiron in Pisces
- The Great American Total Solar Eclipse in Leo (Click here to view and potentially purchase this virtual workshop)
- Jupiter in Libra Opposite Uranus in Aries
- Mercury Retrograde in Earth Signs
It has been a year dominated by Air and Fire: ideas, vision, creativity, art, culture, passion, dogma, polarization, revolution, justice, reinvention, relationships, rapid evolution, changing things on the ground (evolving and making progress with practical function and how things work)...
Come December, most of these astrological energies will endure a dramatic shift.
- Jupiter is now in Scorpio, a Water sign
- Jupiter in Scorpio will sextile Pluto in Capricorn - Water and Earth signs
- Jupiter in Scorpio will trine Neptune and Chiron in Pisces - Water signs
- Saturn will enter Capricorn, an Earth sign
- Uranus will enter Taurus, an Earth sign
- Saturn and Uranus will trine in Earth signs
- Mars will retrograde in Aquarius and Capricorn surrounding the South Node - Earth and Air signs
- Mercury will retrograde in Fire signs
As you can see, the year ahead is mostly characterized by Earth and Water: influencing our tangible and emotional experiences of life rather than the mental. The year upcoming is YIN instead of YANG. Internal compared to the external year we just endured. We are asked to fertilize and make use of what we experienced in 2017.
***ASTROSPEAK CONCLUDES HERE***
November 2017 is CUMULATIVE of the whole past year of learning.
We need to digest. To synthesize our experience.
We are in a hang at the moment, soil in mid-turn.
A new vision and task list is unfurling before us. We might be feeling hesitant to accept this challenge. We might be clearing our psychic closet, encountering the tender parts of us that are afraid to step forward on this path. We might be running out of excuses why we can't or won't go down it.
All the while, we're still listening. Hearing the hum of our ancestors and those we serve beckoning us to commit.
This month, we study ourselves and survey the landscape. We take a deep breath, and begin to condense.
There is hard work ahead. We can do hard things. Our efforts will crystallize our vision into reality. By December, we'll be conserving our resources and dedicating to task.
So in November, create review. What happened for you in 2017? What happened in the world? What does the world need more of now? What does the world need less of? What commitments are you needing and willing to make?
Ask the bigger questions of yourself and of life that need to be asked.
What are the ways you self-study?
I do it through dance. Writing. Therapy. Taking time in the woods. Reading the stars. Talking to friends and community members. Teaching.
Discover your method, and prepare to embark on the next chapter of your journey.
November Artist/Entrepreneur Feature:
Emily Shaules is the Founder and CEO of Shift Bars, the world’s first energy bar with only 1 gram of sugar, launching in 2018. I met Emily during a vulnerable time in my life. She opened her home to my partner and I when we desperately needed it. I remember her clean kitchen and India Arie playing on her stereo as she prepared raw foods in the morning. Her health challenges had been incredibly debilitating - and also paved a path of discovery. Her self-study led her to create Shift Bars. At the end of last year, Emily committed to being featured on my blog for this month. She wrote to me before it was due and shared that the business had not yet launched and she was in a challenging place with her health. I felt it was perfect for this month's theme of Self-Study.
She writes, "I’ve spent the last month on my couch, studying myself. Not by choice. I have an autoimmune condition and had such a bad flare-up, I couldn’t work or go out at all. The pain was so intense at times that death honestly seemed like a better option. I’d tried everything I could think of, nothing worked. Self-study was my only chance at recovery: really listening to my body for what it was trying so hard to tell me. I meditated. I confided in my closest friends. I gained insights from reruns of Will & Grace. Eventually some really big truths rose to the surface...lessons I thought I’d already learned but that sunk in on an even deeper level. Lessons like: I don’t have to be perfect to be worthy. I don’t have to rely on another person to give me the love I can find within myself. I learned more about who my true friends are, the ones who took care of me and checked in on me during my darkest times. Those lessons were worth it. It felt like the human version of Kintsugi, the Japanese practice of pouring molten gold into pottery cracks to seal them, thus making them even more beautiful than before they broke. I am just like a vase - not perfect but priceless all the same."
During your month of self-study, be honest. Be true to yourself, your body, and your path. Live your broken, priceless story.
Curious how this month's astrology resonates with your particular charts?
Click HERE to instantly book a session with Virginia.
Nature is Chock Full of Medicine
May this blog be a place to discover helpful natural remedies that can guide your way through this journey of life on Earth.
Stone Medicine for the Month from POUND Jewelry
This PHANTOM QUARTZ comes from Brazil and is basically a clear crystal smaller images of itself within the main crystal. These "ghost formations" are created during the crystal's growth cycle. This stone reminds us that that are LAYERS inside of ourselves that we must constantly be peeling back in order to re-find ourselves and re-attune with our most natural essence. It takes work for sure and is always a process, but an important one. We get to make mistakes and then learn how to do better the next time, and therefore growing into more of who we will become on the continuum we call life. The "ghosts" of our past selves serve as reminders of how far we have come. This crystal serves as a talisman for JUST that. Marking points----for who we are, who we were, and who we want to become. With love. Rock On.
In-Depth Transit Forecast
All times listed in EST
November 2 Mercury trine Chiron (2:37am) Saturn square Chiron (5:55pm) Mercury inconjunct Uranus (9:02pm)
*Healing Insights* Powerful, flowing revelations. Make space for healing conversations, therapy, shadow work, or meditation. Focus your mind and go deep to the root of what is within. Ancestral cleansing can take place if we surrender the mind to be baptized by spirit. Let yourself be nowhere.. that you can be everywhere.
*Healing the Wounded Patriarch* This is the final pass of the year-long Saturn-square Chiron transit, which began in December 2016. This transit speaks volumes on how we have been evolving in 2017. It is a representative of karmic healing on transpersonal levels. The karmic healing has been unfolding for the collective, both materially and in the unconscious. It is an unraveling and series of revelation occurring on levels of functioning society, career and corporation, religion and belief systems, and where we hold illusion and debt to pay as a collective/world. Saturn rules authoritarianism and hierarchy. Saturn in Sagittarius seeks to increase authority by broadcasting, globalization, and discovery via heroic journey. Chiron in Pisces says: what about those who suffer as a result of global expansion? What about the dreamers and the invisibles? What about the overwhelming grief that we share due to careless risk-taking and nonconsensual acts of violence? What about the higher truth that there really is only one of us here - and that when we harm another, we continue to make life less safe for the One inhabiting Earth. This transit is about being cleansed of the layers of illusion that stand between us and surrendering our colonialism. It has talked to us about homelessness in our own bodies, on our own planet. It has course-corrected our missions. It has challenged both our victimhood and martyrdom. It is a transit of ultimate complexity and forgiveness. Re-integrating all that has been lost and forgotten. Returning to the landscape of our bodies and how spirit is able to inhabit flesh. This has been a transit of mistakes and preparation for the long and winding path of reconciliation. Which will disgust us. Which will dismember what we know. Which will feel like collapse. Which could actually set. us. free.
*Unusual Thoughts* Perceptions can be sporadic, quirky, or eccentric now. Turn your focus inward and make "I" statements. Is there anywhere you aren't expressing yourself authentically? Anywhere you could experience more personal empowerment? Sometimes the demons in our lives stem from our own projections. Collaborate with your own true potency.
November 3 Venus inconjunct Chiron (3:30am) Venus sextile Saturn (4:31am) Sun trine Neptune (3:23pm) Venus opposite Uranus (1:02pm)
*Worthiness* Personal love or universal love? How do they connect? Where do they become painful? Embrace changes in your approach to love, worthiness, and harmony; even if it's awkward.
*Stable Love* Affections and finances can ground and steady at this time. Reduce hierarchies to bring things more into balance. What rises will also fall. This is a natural law. Aim for a middle path to reduce the stress of modulation.
*Emotions and Inspiration* Dreamy. Drifting. Foggy in a cleansing way. Gather inspirations. Imagine. Meditate. Do inner work. Call in the support of spirit. Notice what creations want to flow through you and give them room. Recalibrate within change. Ask to be shown a vision of the highest ideal for your life. How can you contribute to the wellness of the whole of humanity? What is dreaming through you and what kind of container and foundation does that dream desire?
*Changing Values* Resistance is beautiful. That is, resistance to a dying paradigm. Resistance to platitudes. Resistance to beauty that is no deeper than a veneer. Venus in Libra loves balance and harmony - but Uranus in Aries demands that the balance emerge from what is true. Not a facade. Not a cultural mask. Not an accommodation or over-compromise or co-dependency. Not an unfiltered selfish set of wants. An authentic exchange of mutual reciprocity. An allowance for people to be who and where and how they really are, alone and together. This is a changing of the guard. Relationships can feel rocked until they settle into the new form that is emerging from our evolutions.
November 4 Full Moon in Taurus (1:23am)
Full Moon in Taurus on November 4 (1:23amEST) is glow in the dark. Embers smolder on the ground after a prayer fire. What is darkness? Is it the absence of light? The inability to see? A blanketing cocoon of mysteries and deprived senses? Or is it an invitation into our extra-sensory perceptions? Darkness has been subjugated. It has been repressed and made scary in order to support dominant cultural narratives that uplift the light. In the dark, we encounter fears and debilitations. We also meet Power in raw form, and embrace a certain closeness with experience that isn't accessible in the light. Darkness delivers us to the deeper interior. It is a direct portal to intuition. It is thick with imagination. It is an encounter with the portions of our being that never forget. It is a gate into the wild, where primal instinct and supernatural gifts are potions bubbling in an alchemical cauldron. It is the hidden magic of the womb and the tomb. The caves and recesses of being that we traverse to commune with galactic source. This moon invites you into holy endarkenment. Enlightenment is only half the story. Old roots are crumbling. Allow the collapse. When we encounter the death of what can no longer be, we prepare the world to receive that which is reborn. Set your sights on the version of self that is becoming: be the answer to our ancestors prayers.
For every New and Full Moon, find a complementary Movement Ritual on the Qoya Blog.
November 5 Mercury enters Sagittarius (2:19pm)
*Free Your Mind* The planet of communication is going big. Publishing, broadcasting, travel, discovery, adventure, seeking truth, vision, authenticity, and accurate belief systems are highlighted. Excellent transit for writing, creating media, questing, and considering all the ways you can grow your voice and message. Be expressive about your thoughts, but avoid grandstanding and fanaticism. Look to the bigger picture. Expand your lens. Mercury is preparing to go retrograde in Sagittarius, representing a thought-journey that will wrap up the transit Saturn's been making in the same sign since December 2015. We dismantled a lot of faulty beliefs in the past few years. Which ones came through as solid and are here to stay? Mercury is direct through December 3. It retrogrades in Sagittarius until December 23. It exits Sagittarius January 11. Mercury transits are especially potent for people with strong Gemini and Virgo in their charts.
November 7 Venus enters Scorpio (6:38am)
*Deep Love* Affections become more intimate. Our relationships become a source of transformation. When we really begin to merge, we don't selectively share. We are cozying up with shadows and projections. Lines and distinctions between individuals can become blurred edges. Power struggles and vulnerabilities can pool into a mire. Traversing this territory is wild and dangerous, subversive and necessary for evolution. Venus in Scorpio is passionate and sexy. It magnetizes us to be drawn to the places our repressed urges want us to go. Triangulations can be here. Tall dark handsome and bad can be here. BDSM and hardcore consent. Our addictions and the things that consume us: give their underbellies and their bloodlines a thorough embrace. Allow for mutual empowerments. Regenerate your love and money. Venus transits Scorpio until December 1.
November 9 Sun sextile Pluto (7:12am) Mars inconjunct Neptune (7:10pm)
*Transitions* Magnetism is in the air. Where is the power flowing and what wants to be built? Focus and dedicate well.
*Low Energy* Personal or universal? Who are we aiming to please? Energies might be wasted through vacillating and indecision. Instead, seek peace, contemplation, and inner harmony. Not making a decision IS a decision. It allows the decisions and agreements that have already been made to perpetuate. Is that in our highest interest? If not, let's be more decisive for the good of all.
November 11 Saturn trine Uranus (4:45am)
*Stable Change* This has been one of the primary aspect patterns dominating the entire year of 2017. The transit first began December 24 2016. The third and final hit occurs today. After December, we will feel like we are entering into very different territory than what the past year has provided. The past year has been about visioning, expanding, and seeing things more clearly. Rapid, exponential growth has taken place, with long-lasting implications. It has allowed us to aim for a bigger mission and bridge past-present-future. It has been a fast and furious launch forward - so much so that we may feel burned out or frayed at the edges. We may need to reign it in. Consider this transit of the last year a global "system upgrade." Reboot-Refresh-Restart. Encountering the need to delete, integrate, and level up. Sometimes we travel so far and so fast that we may never again return "home." Except that home is where we are, always. Even as we stretch ourselves and bushwhack through the jungle of consciousness well beyond the limits of the known and into undiscovered territory - can we meet ourselves here, too?
November 13 Venus conjunct Jupiter in Scorpio (3:15am) Mercury square Neptune (5:47pm)
*Big Deep Love* The dark goddess is with us. A black feminine pervades. Acknowledge the Queen of the Underworld. Her presence is so consuming there that she may transform the lairs of hell with her love. The dark queen demands nakedness of body, mind, spirit and soul. Unabashed honesty. The most tender reveals. Truth can be murderous, but "reveal" is the root of "revelation," fodder for evolution. Embrace inevitable deaths. Stop feeding disease. Let the dead limbs die to nourish the potency of what wants to be born through us next. To intensify life, we make our own graves. We dip close to the bone in our attentions; even to what we deem ugly and depraved. In the intimacy of these encounters, we fuse energy to matter, informing the ladder of DNA,which continues its shimmer holographic pulse of eternity.
*Mental Fog* Surrender your thoughts. Don't push for clarity. Gaze instead at the blurred edges between all things. The absence of distinction. Journey out through a cosmic abyss, without the thought of what you might bring home. Now is the time for dreaming and harvesting the vision of what lies beyond territories we've traversed before. Lose your mind to awe.
November 16 Venus trine Neptune (10:21am) Sun trine Chiron (10:48am)
*Higher Love* The way to get higher is GO DEEPER. Surface love counts for little, now. Form your real bonds in the trenches. Refine adoration in the recesses and caves of being where we drip with essence. Feel what's underneath the underneath. See the unseen. Appreciate the weird, smelly, toxic emotions with your attention. Adore destruction. Be shredded and merged with the threshold, passionate within blinding gateways of be-coming. Lose form into senseless planes of intensity within. To go to the edge, in throes of hungry desire, and touch the parts beyond anyone's understanding. Hugging on the ghosts that make us each other's familiars.
*Self-Heal* Cold waters silently lapping. Lumens regard a bridge in the dark. Invite the tenderness here. Answer the troll asking a password. Let breath fill the spaces between your cells - and cross. Blood may chill or boil. Allow it. This is the path to healing reconciliation.
November 17 Sun inconjunct Uranus (9:04am) Mercury sextile Mars (9:24am)
*Exploring Night* Where is the line between beginnings and endings? Between the death of who we were and the birth of who we are becoming? Is it a clean break or a jagged tear? Today is like the way we are changed when we walk through the forest at night. Listen quietly. Gather information. Tread lightly, but choose to forge ahead into unfamiliar depths with abandon. Fearlessly explore realms of unfettering the self.
*Motivated Mind* Someone is provoking us to speak. To think. To make moves or statement that will benefit a visionary culture. Say the truth and strive for balanced justice.
November 18 New Moon in Scorpio (6:42am)
The New Moon in Scorpio on November 18 (6:42am) is an elixir vial. Within is a potion of change. Become the medicine you need now. Imbibe of your own deepest essence. How does the brew taste? Bitter or sweet? Pungent or acrid? Sour or salty? Soothing or stimulating? Sometimes we reach places in life where there is no going back. We've been weighing an invitation into our next chapter. In doing so, we've been assessing the parts of our being that stand in the way of what is meant for us. This New Moon is our opportunity to lay those down - and lay claim. To end our oscillation and commit to choice. To get out of our own way and into the potent stream of living power. What does it feel like to dance with every unseen wish and desire deep within? To salsa alongside yourself in hidden parallel dimensions? Strip away your hesitations and doubts. Put on your cosmic cloak and let the stars seep their eternal magic through you and your creations. Let the soil of this world be bathed in primordial intelligence. It is said that we cannot selectively feel. And that when we dance within what is most uncomfortable, therein resides our rapturous enchantment.
For every New and Full Moon, find a complementary Movement Ritual on the Qoya Blog.
November 19 Mars square Pluto (7:15am)
*Power Struggle* Intense energies are afoot. Hidden motivations are surfacing. Strong desires. Repressed urges. You may feel pushed to gain more control. So often in our patriarchal society, a reach for success is accompanied by violence. Aggression and dominance become equivalent. Coercion and abuses of power can be revealed now. Moderate the intensity with steady yet peaceable determination towards your ambitions and goals. Make moves along your timeline. People may feel threatened as you rise. Aim for mutual empowerment and reciprocity rather than taking or borrowing in order to get further. Fight the good fight, yet resist the urge to undermine others and preserve your integrity. In this way, your achievements will last and promote harmony.
November 21 Venus sextile Pluto (6:29am) Sun enters Sagittarius (10:05pm)
*Deeper Love* Committed attachments. Intimate companionship. Love for the long haul. Whether you partner with yourself, another, or others plural, there is a drive for purposefulness within this union. Togetherness will bring some project to fruition.
*Seeking Freedom* Sagittarius season is upon us! From now until Winter Solstice on December 21, we expand. Travel. Journey for the more authentic version of self and life. We gather with friends and family to find joy. We go to extremes and excess. We migrate and move beyond bounds. Follow your passion and find your truth. Most of all, have faith in what lies ahead.
November 22 Neptune stations Direct (9:21am)
*Dancing with Dreams* This week may be tired, foggy, sorrowful or confused. Illness, sensitivity, and vulnerability can prevail. That's okay! It's because Neptune, planet of compassion, illusion, and dreaming, is changing direction according to our sight here on Earth. Neptune has been retrograde since June 16th. It is now stationing direct, giving us a gentle and subtle go-ahead with the dreams we've been stalling around. Forgive yourself and accept what needs acceptance. Retreat and restore to rejuvenate enough to let your dreams take root. Meditate for clarity on what wants to flow through you for until June 18, 2018.
November 24 Mercury square Chiron (9:53am)
*Painful Words* Aww, honey. Does something hurt today? Was it something they said? Was it a memory of what has been said before? Are you doubting your intelligence or feeling mentally blocked? Are you aware of the next mountain you've got to climb, and facing your limitations? Is someone or something telling you no or standing in your way? Is a hard choice being deliberated? Don't fret too much. This is something you need to hear. You'll get through this. Sometimes discipline and patience are our keys to freedom. Have important conversations. Say important truths. Be real and authentic to yourself. Stay true to your vision. You are being asked to integrate something difficult, and as a result, to free your mind and grow. Mark your calendar for January 6, 2018. You'll revisit this conversation then.
November 25 Mercury trine Uranus (5:56am)
*Evolving Thought* When we feel caught between a rock and a hard place, we can find openings in the most unexpected places. Request something bigger than you to inform your process. Ask for a sign. Look to see what's there and take note of the symbols present, even if they don't seem to make sense. Find new stories to guide your way now. Invent a different path forward. Trust creative impulse.
November 26 Venus trine Chiron (4:22pm)
*Healing Love* Sensitive, vulnerable, healing. We've been swimming in deep psychological waters this month when it comes to our affections, our values, our relationships and our finances. Today offers a chance to release some of the intensity that's been stirred. To cleanse it with forgiveness, acceptance, and further integration of worthiness. Beauty IS. Nature is intrinsically and whelmingly beautiful, and everything that exists stems from nature. Embrace the whole of this evolution.
November 27 Venus inconjunct Uranus (6:48am)
*Changing Relations* We are in relationship with everything. Do we notice that? How are our skills and instincts serving us in relating to Earth? Sky? Family? Colleagues? Etc to everything? Where is the line between "Us" and "Them?" Between old and new friendships? Today, relationships are changing and changing us as we walk through their wilds. Listen quietly. Gather information. Tread lightly, but choose to forge ahead into unfamiliar depths of loving with abandon. Fearlessly explore realms of unfettering the self through loving the other.
November 28 Mercury conjunct Saturn (1:57am)
*Mental Test* We have been feeling this transit since the moon passed over Mercury and Saturn on November 20th. What questions started bubbling for you then? What got stirred up on November 24 through hard conversation or writing or mental task? We are encountering the limits of our own beliefs and pre-conceptions. We are likely encountering opposition or imposed restriction from the external world/authority figures as well. We must root to fly. There's no benefit to bypassing. The most important way we learn is through direct experience. This transit asks us to discipline our thoughts so we can crystallize our visions into tangible form. Think long-term goals and achievements. It can feel hard. It can feel serious. We can feel like we're encountering all the ways we lack or aren't smart enough. Embrace sobriety and get to work. Ask for advice - especially from a mentor or elder. When we accept the depth of this inquiry, when we overcome this challenge, we will reap rewards and gain lasting fulfillment. Note January 6, 2018 on your calendar - this will be the date we pass the test and begin to feel more free.
November 30 Mars inconjunct Chiron (3:26am)
*Integrating Will* Personal or universal? Who are we aiming to please? Energies might be wasted through vacillating and indecision. Instead, seek peace, contemplation, and inner harmony. Not making a decision IS a decision. It allows the decisions and agreements that have already been made to perpetuate. Is that in our highest interest? If not, let's be more decisive for the good of all. Heal into new ways of behaving. Modify your wants on behalf of balance and benevolent human-interest.
Curious how this month's astrology resonates with your particular charts?
Click HERE to instantly book a session with Virginia.
It's an absolute gift to be able to continue this work. May this forecast be your graceful navigation guide, your invitation to return home, and your empowerment to step more fully into your astounding multidimensional Self.
L'Chayim!
To Life
As always, THANK YOU for your support.
May we anchor the highest dreams of our collective heart into reality.
October 2017 Forecast: Inner Realms
Image and words by T. Thompson IG: @T.squares
October Artist Feature:
T. Thompson, film photographer, artist, mystic. Transformative imagery interrogates the current plane while creating anew against the old. Imagery allows us to traverse realms. Journey without borders. Travel to histories and futures that are yet to be realized. Imagery tells a story to our psyche. These narratives are living threads twined in DNA. Journeying into these realms can provide raw data and insight on what has otherwise been concealed, forgotten and unconfronted. Here in these realms a power awaits. A power to liberate, transmute and realign karma. These inner realms are where we meet our gods. Our deities. We are stripped naked of ego and falsehood that keep us encased on a linear plane. Here is where we shed the former to know and experience our divine nature.
Where we are meeting our gods.
The Astrological Theme for September 2017 was "Kindred Spirits."
Members can view the full September 2017 Forecast here.
Not yet a member? Navigate here to sign up!
When we dance with the unknown, we grow to contain more infinity.
This past month is hard to place. What happened?
The ways we knew ourselves and our lives changed.
Some were devastated by loss and extreme weather. Others got married and embraced a new version of identity. Others forged a new path in their work or made decisions to move home.
I asked my community what word they would use to describe September 2017 in their life. They said:
- stressful
- incredible
- dynamic
- dark
- multi-dimensional
- transition
- full-spectrum
- revolutionary love
- evolving
- wild ride
- expansive
- metamorphose
- high highs, low lows
My descriptor for September is "at the edges." Much fortune and opportunity unfolded this month. It also pushed me to my edges, and called me to move to the places beyond them to where I've never gone before. It took me to what I previously thought of as my limits. And now my limits are changed.
Sometimes life offers us things that we genuinely don't know if we can handle or not. It is often inviting us into depth and complexity and... infinity.
In times like September, what do we turn to? What resources do we have to draw from? The astrological theme was "kindred spirits." We have each other. We can turn to our kin. Our relations. The spirits of our ancestors that entwine around each strand of our own DNA. We can listen with our own innate power and connection to source. We can sense the support of the land we reside on and the plants and animals that permeate our environments. We have the innately co-experienced and constantly evolving connectedness with all "other" things and beings.
So many of us could look at the list above about September and say, "Me too."
It is truth in us that makes us kindred.
We've all been there. That somewhere of success or failure. That point of desperation and ecstasy that colors the world new shades of prismatic attention.
Let's be ourselves wherever we are, see each other and say, "that was once me, too. And sometimes still is." Or, "I haven't made it there yet, but I'm on my way."
And always, to yourself, to kin and life: "I love you. I see you. I thank you. I'm with you."
The Astrological Theme for October 2017 is "Inner Realms."
I love T. Thompson's image for this month. Most of her film photography portraits (which you can find on her instagram @T.squares) capture the movement and undefinable emotional symbolism of human experience.
Practicing astrology for the past 8 years has shown me some things. A funny thing is, we walk around pretending we're people. We see each other's bodies and faces and job titles and social roles and such.
But when clients sit across from me in session and I feel them and their charts, their depth is almost indescribable. Words are a clunky and inadequate way to measure an inner reality. Each person contains worlds within worlds. Here we are, together encountering myriad fears, doubts, anxieties, unbelievable gifts, immeasurable lightness, intrinsic intelligence, intersecting timelines.
We often pause together to shed holy tears of astonishment.
The terrain of the inner landscape can be as distinct as it is infinite.
Traversing inner realms can literally take us anywhere and everywhere. And it's astonishing how the inside-out spaces and textures can vary so much from what resides outside.
Many of us spend a lot of time in distraction and aversion to the inner planes of being. Their wilds are mysteries society leaves mostly unpacked. We can make space for this. We can take time to encounter the inner planes of being. For here is...
Where we are meeting our gods. - T. Thompson
Consider. It may be intentional that so many distractions abound, cloying to keep you from your inner realms. It is a radical and stupendous act to separate from the external world enough to access your internal silence. The layers beneath the layers, at your very core.
This is the placement of true power: where we meet our gods.
Much needs to die. We need not fear death.
The clients I have seen in the last couple weeks are on edge. Limitations and ancestral histories and shadows are burgeoning to be reckoned with. Disappointments have taken place. High stakes are arising.
Within myself, I've been sensing things within that make me squirm. As new opportunities for greatness are revealed, I am seeing where I am attached to my own weakness.
These things emerge so they can purge. We must summon our inner forces to be able to reckon with them, undo the trauma or whatever magnetic holds them in our field, and make a choice to enter the unknown.
Trust the darkness.
This month we enter a season of death.
Death is not just something that happens to the body - we experience death as a part of life constantly. Death of a relationship. Death of a part of our self or our identity. Death of a habit or behavior. Death of a belief. Death of a culture. Death is the end that makes way for something new. It is an important and necessary aspect of growth. But letting things die is HARD. - Cassie Barrett of Death Activism
In some spiritual and shamanic traditions, it is encouraged to "practice death" as much as possible. The power of the holy threshold between life and death is acknowledged. It is the domain of the Great Mystery.
Not-Knowing is essential to evolution.
If something great feels at stake right now, acknowledge it and let it go. That doesn't mean give up. That doesn't mean self-destruct. It means retrieve all tentacles of energy back into your own sphere. Empty yourself out and fill with that which is divine (the ultimate not-you).
Become the silence. In this way, give yourself as much care and support as you possibly can - so much that you remove your dependency on whatever is at stake.
Through letting go, we merge with the infinite as it desires us.
We make ourselves available to channel the formlessness, the spacelessness, the senselessness, the unknowable, into the tangible realms. Thus, divine can be of greater influence. In other words, let go and let god.
This month, practice conscious release.
If something is bothering you during the death process, whisper it into a stone and throw it into a river. Bury it. Write it on paper and burn it. Scream it at the top of your lungs. Banish it and at once, love it and tell it that no harm will come to it. Put things in their rightful place. Call all parts of yourself here, now.
Every ounce of the invisible you is needed for the journey ahead.
May your power be restored. May your soul and humanity be entirely reclaimed. May life meet you and you meet yourself in the deepest and most thorough of ways.
Let the veils fall
and confront wordless essence -
we all came from this blackness
and its orgasmic spark of light.
L'Chayim. To Life, and blessings on your journey.
Archetypal Medicine for this Month
Photo by danhuse
Jaguar
Jaguar medicine is about power, protection, and seeing in the dark. A courageous and stealthy beast, jaguar moves through the unknown using patience and speed, in addition to relying on its inner eye and psychic skill. Trust instinct and intuition, even if things on the surface look different from what you know inside. Call on jaguar to help protect your psychic space and assist in reclaiming your power. Jaguar presides in the realm of transformation. Some spiritual work can only be done solo. Make space for yourself this month, and journey to receive medicine visions to guide your way.
Photo by Julien Laurent
Crow
Highly intelligent sight-holders, crow has a special relationship with 'the other side.' They have sharp and keen perceptions both in this world and beyond the veil. Call on crow for swift clarity.
It is said that crows are keepers of Sacred Law and Higher Order. Our cultural and moral judgements - how do they compare with divine balance? Crow harkens change to come and bring the medicine of darkness. They also share messages from other words. Listen closely.
Curious how this month's astrology resonates with your particular charts?
Click HERE to instantly book a session with Virginia.
Nature is Chock Full of Medicine
May this blog be a place to discover helpful natural remedies that can guide your way through this journey of life on Earth.
Stone Medicine for the Month from POUND Jewelry
What happens when we look inside ourselves and we desire to magnify and expand what we know we are capable of? Our inner selves are one of the most colorful places on Earth. We have layer upon layer of fantasy and dream-like wander and radical stories all bundled up inside to the deepest part of our cells. So do crystals! They are a matrix of intelligent Earth-born magnificence and we can work with them to create what we wish to create. Herkimers are like the "diamonds" of the Clear Quartz Crystal King/Queendom. They are highly receptive to our own specific energies and intentions. They can assist in making those energies and intentions BIGGER. Spend time exploring your innermost world and all of the color there while dedicating time to connect with your crystal intention setting and see what transpires! Rock On.
In-Depth Transit Forecast
All times listed in EST
October 1 Mars trine Pluto (7:36pm)
*Powerful Action* Energy is reviving. Checking off the to-do list can propel us forward in a good way, now. Organize and set order to make strides that last. Set things right. Cleanse the body. Fresh start health regimens. Set goals and make moves.
October 3 Venus trine Pluto (3:09pm)
*Loving Deeply* We can recommit with love, affection, worthiness, and money at this time. Lately love and money may have felt lost or confused for a stint. Disappointment may have colored our lives. Shake it off and rededicate yourself to experiencing love and available resources as reflections of your whole worth. Your essence is perfection.
October 4 Sun inconjunct Neptune (11:09pm)
*Re-Orienting our Energies* We may see how we fool ourselves today. Or where we are vulnerable, leaky, and letting our boundaries down too soon or too much. When do you feel most vital and what limits can you set to ensure your vibrancy? Slow down. Avoid the trap of trying to do it all. Nature never hurries, and yet everything is done.
October 5 Venus conjunct Mars in Virgo (12:53pm) Full Moon in Aries (2:40pm)
*War and Peace* Attraction, desire, sexuality, and drive can run high today. Attractiveness is heightened, so notice whom you meet. We are especially motivated by perfection, process, and the development of skill. Training and practice are indicated. Excellent time to learn a craft or study with a mentor. Set goals, make lists, and get work done. Clean things up. Throw things out. Focus on precision, but don't nitpick or criticize. Instead, simply critique and make improvements. If the nervous system or digestion is disturbed, take time for body-mind connecting practices. Enjoy stillness and employ gratitude. Mind the details. Find systems to support your desires, and try not to worry. Trust the process. Be humbled and helpful.
The Full Moon in Aries on October 5 (2:40pmEST) is a tunnel of transition. Some things aren't healed in light. Let shadow shape you. The dark womb is a place of growth and nourishment, a necessary chamber of becoming. Each full moon contains a magic of opposites. The womb and the tomb. Darkness and light. Conscious and unconscious. Self and other. War and peace. The new life birthing now asks us to sharpen our skills of adaptation. To be dexterous, perceptive, and responding. The emerging world asks that we do our work. We must be willing. We must be loving. We must hone and dedicate our practice. Place tools in our toolbox. Fill the world with our sense of self, in harmony with and in service to loving all else that exists. "Work is love made visible." - Kahlil Gibran
We make love visible. Dedicate yourself, then be released from labor. Cry our tears and wash our face. Our work and our life is born of our spiritual essence. It emerges from depths and brings with it the gems of twilight. Dark crystals of pristine purity. Diamonds in the rough. Admire each facet of this astounding jewel, your own light, taking seat in the velveteen darkness. Across the Earth, reflecting the sky, your soul light sings and cries and laughs an echo of fate.
For every New and Full Moon, find a complementary Movement Ritual on the Qoya Blog.
October 6 Mercury inconjunct Neptune (1:44pm)
*Simplify* We weaken ourselves when we spread ourselves too thin. We disperse our energy and leave parts of ourselves expose. Move towards dreams and inspirations, but draw proper boundaries and create a container. Be real with yourself. Your health and wholeness are important.
October 8 Venus square Saturn (8:54am) Sun combust Mercury (4:54pm)
*Tough Love* Obstacles and hardships are real. Lack, fear, and scarcity are some of the difficulties we face and overcome. Relationships, finances, and appearance are tested. How is your self worth? Anchor your love through something tangible and practical. Make a commitment to yourself and love itself. Look back at the timeline of what you have achieved and recognize yourself for those accomplishments. Be patient. Chances are, you are learning the practical steps to fulfilling a bigger vision and mission. Let love and pleasure and the senses be your discipline.
*Thought and Communication* The heat and light of consciousness is shining on the mental plane. Words spoken today are an expression of the creative self. over self-identification is possible. Special focus on politics, law, culture, and relationships. Use thought and speech carefully and potently now. Journaling, writing, and affirmations are recommended. Find time to step away from the left-brain and cleanse yourself of information throughout the week. Look for stories, tricks, and choices.
October 9 Mercury square Pluto (8:26am) Sun square Pluto (8:11pm)
*Mental Intensity* There is certainly the potential for some shady stuff to go on now with politics and business. Paranoid thoughts and anxieties can be on the fore. Connect with your power source and find balance. The conversations had around now could have a special potency, and that may not be comfortable. They may be like a power struggle or invoke feelings of survivalism. Nourish your nervous system. Be honest. Be real. Remain in integrity. Use words wisely, with grace.
*Conscious-Unconscious* The Self is both dark and light. Two halves make a whole. Alchemy is performed as the two halves co-relate, polarize, blend and merge to become transformed. Power, sex, hidden things, and survival issues lead to rebirth. Exploring the psyche, research, deep meditation, and uncovering the roots of conflict apt activities now. Shadow material is illuminated and illuminating. Shed skin.
October 10 Jupiter enters Scorpio (9:20am) Venus opposite Chiron (5:03pm)
*Allowing Death* Jupiter changes signs about every 13 months and its full cycle takes 12 years. Last time Jupiter was in Scorpio was October 2005-November 2006. Jupiter rules growth, expansion, opportunity, abundance, path of learning. It points to where our lessons are as a culture, and as individuals relating with the world and the world relating with us. Scorpio is a Fixed Water sign of intimacy and essence. Depth. Intensity. Destruction. A threshold. Rebirth. The full range of basic emotion is here in Scorpio. Every primal and sexual instinct. Trauma. Inheritance. DNA. The unconscious, the preverbal, the silent. Scorpio is the sign of death and the Great Mystery. It eliminates the non-essential. It is alchemy and ancestral power that re-births consciousness. Remember, always, our forebearers. We grow through letting go. Through fully taking in and digesting and eliminating. Through sensing the unseen. Through merging with the essence of life itself, in all its forms and formlessness. We grow through discovering our power. The power that carries and heals us in crisis and ecstasy. We were made for these times. Jupiter remains in Scorpio until November 8, 2018.
*Love and Pain* The sufferings we experience in life are a channel to healing. Right now pain in love, relationships, appearance, and resources/finances is highlighted. Healthcare is in the spotlight. Some new form of worthiness wants integration. Some ways we can water down our worthiness are martyrdom, self-sacrifice, workaholism, perfectionism, and victimhood. Cleanse yourself with unconditional love. Everything is perfect and ever-improving - including you. An affirmation: "I am perfect as I am. I love and accept myself and all things unconditionally. Thank you for this gift."
October 11 Mars square Saturn (9:37am) Venus inconjunct Uranus (5:04pm)
*Resistance is Fertile*
"The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." - Marcus Aurelius
Blocks and obstacles are meant to teach us and make us stronger. If you aren't getting what you want, consider that something even better might be waiting for you. But before you achieve what you desire, you must pass a test. Take note of where you are lacking and make improvements. Continuously refine your will. Be patient and build integrity. Tread carefully, and stand strong. Use your defenses. Bolster your reserves. We do hard things. On the other side of struggle is lasting reward. 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.
*Accessing Freedom* Sometimes our routines and relationships can place us or keep us in bondage. What are you really in service to? Are you working and helping as a genuine expression of your passion and identity? Or is there a sense of duty or obligation that is feeling tired? Alternately, are you being over-focused on yourself or is there more you could offer in devotion to others? Today offers an opportunity to make changes that support our freedom. Bring your strong, passionate self and be of use.
October 12 Mercury sextile Saturn (11:02pm)
*Grounded Thoughts* Your mind is clear and steady, now. We can trust the messages and perceptions we encounter today. Level-headed news, words, and messages. Perceptions are reliable. Good judgement is available. Your wits are about you. Serious discussions must take place if we are to secure freedom. Put your mind to work. Look towards the practical vision.
October 14 Venus enters Libra (6:11am) Mercury inconjunct Chiron (9:48am)
*Beloved Balance* Venus loves being in Libra because she gets to be fancy. Love and affection take a beautiful tone. Balance and harmony are key. Leisure, pleasure, art, culture, and lover relationships are extra special. Make your appearance and presence in the world artful and graceful. Host gatherings and parties. Attend to issues of social justice and fairness. Bring charm to all you meet. Venus remains in Libra through November 7, 2017.
*Healing the Mind* Something is escaping us. We may not be thinking or seeing quite clearly. Sometimes illusion can override our perceptions. Time for reconciliation between personal and universal. Where do relational and unconditional love meet and intersect? What needs justice and what needs forgiveness? We are integrating perceptions of beauty. Also, dialogue about health/healthcare can occur.
October 15 Mercury opposite Uranus (3:51am) Mars opposite Chiron (8:27am)
*Crazy Genius* New discoveries, especially in the realm of self and other, war and peace. When to stand up for us and when to declare truce? Our minds are on the hi-wire today. Not great for practicality. Excellent for flash insights. Plans and thought patterns are rapidly changing. Travel and communication will also be subject to unexpected variation. Slow down to listen and soothe, even as you keep yourself inspired. Upgrade your mind. Be the change.
*Wounded Will* This transit brings up the same resonance we experienced when Venus was here October 10. The sufferings we experience in life are a channel to healing. Right now pain in desire, sex, the masculine, and will to act is highlighted. Some new form of willingness wants integration. Some ways we can water down our will are martyrdom, self-sacrifice, workaholism, perfectionism, victimhood, escapism, and avoidance. Can we be with what is, without bypassing reality? A prayer for today, "May my will, desires, and actions be governed by and aligned with all that is holy." Also, "I want what spirit wants for me."
October 17 Mercury enters Scorpio (3:58am) Mars inconjunct Uranus (6:02am)
*Deep Insights* Mercury in Scorpio is deep, dark, and penetrating. Excellent time for research and mental focus. Psychology, therapy, and shamanic healing can help to uproot and eliminate sources of conflict within the psyche. We are extra sensitive to the hidden, the taboo, the secret, and the unseen. Intense conversations. Look into the darkness, and be intimate with what is there. Mercury transits Scorpio through November 5, 2017.
*Sparks of Action* Energy can be sporadic and unpredictable. Time to re-route your behaviors in order to get where you really need to go. Desires are changing. When you realize you want something different, you'll need to change your plan of action in order to get there.
October 18 Mercury conjunct Jupiter in Scorpio (4:54am) Sun inconjunct Chiron (8:05am)
*Big News* Something raw is being exposed. We are seeing more of the shadow, that which has always been there beneath the surface. Conversations, proclamations, and messages are larger-than-life and intense. Emotions and content that have been bottled up or repressed are erupting. Upset is likely. There could be a sexual, dramatic, ancestral, or destructive flair to what is perceived. Research and get to the bottom of what's being revealed. Look to see what's hidden. Observe between and beyond the veils. What is seen and spoken today will be very informative about our personal and collective journey for the next year. Immunize. Clear your field and psyche with salt and truth-telling.
*Healing Self* Notice which parts of self need to be integrated, as the wounded bits are stimulated now. Sometimes our identity and creations are like puzzle-pieces being retrieved from under the couch to join the whole. What needs justice and what needs forgiveness? Accept the personal and the universal as components of Oneness.
October 19 Sun opposite Uranus (1:35pm) New Moon in Libra (3:12pm) Lunar Samhain
The New Moon in Libra on October 19, 2017 (3:12pmEST) is evolutionary fireworks. Life can be chaotic, dramatic, and shocking. There is beauty in balance. Today's New Moon encourages temperance and my mom's best advice: "Everything in moderation." To be strong and soft, firm and kind, sure and flexible. To be wild and revolutionary - and also peaceable and in harmony with grace. When all parts of one's being co-operate, it ends the war within the self. We see the truth that there is only one of us here. This moon highlights our learning journey. Our culture has become distant from the natural Divine. No person outside of you is privy to your own innate knowing. The answer to every question resides inside. To deepen your wisdom, look to yourself, your instincts, and your relationship with the other worlds. You are your own teacher and student. Reclaim your wildness. Reclaim your wisdom. In doing so, be liberated to hold and share the harmonic of freedom. The jungle is thick with mystery and chaos, yet also resplendent in its serenity. Be like the jungle. Be nothing other than yourself, in totality.
For every New and Full Moon, find a complementary Movement Ritual on the Qoya Blog.
*Upheaval and Adaptation* Expect the unexpected. The only true constant is change. You can choose to resist it, or allow it. Recommended to align with change. Personal and collective freedom are important. Accept the shifts as facilitating liberation. Showing up as authentically, uniquely you, and bringing your special gifts, is essential to making progress in these times.
October 22 Mars enters Libra (2:29pm)
*Negotiations* Actions and desires are relationship-focused during this cycle. Our energies may be largely dictated by others, now. Don't lose sense of yourself and your personal impulses. Also, try not to avoid conflict. It's okay to struggle for the sake of making actual peace. Co-operate. Experience harmony and make beauty. Be decisive and avoid a tendency to endlessly vacillate. Mars remains in Libra through December 9, 2017.
October 23 Sun enters Scorpio (1:27am)
*Dropping the Veil* Harvest time. A time to look within and transform. Let things go and let things die. Honor the ancestors. Be held in the mysteries of life, death, and all that resides in-between. Focus, and enter those depths.
October 24 Mercury trine Neptune (11:55am)
*Spiritual Insight* Make time and space for meditation and otherworldly endeavors today. Altered states and dreamwork is easily accessible and potent. Tend to your spirit and psyche. Experience the supernatural.
October 26 Sun conjunct Jupiter in Scorpio (2:09pm)
*Shining in the Dark* This transit is a throwback to October 18th, when Mercury joined Jupiter. What news came forth then? Too much of anything, even a "good thing," can lead to toxicity. Magnetism is at a high. Sexuality, power, shared resources, investments, and primal instincts are illuminated. Entanglements can be revealed and soul-retrieval is lubricated. We grow when we can meet the shadow self with an intimate embrace. Destruction and elimination are a natural part of life. It is helpful to learn to let things die. Empower yourself and others.
October 27 Venus square Pluto (11:21pm) Mercury sextile Pluto (11:25pm)
*Secret Love* Anything that is undermining true harmony and balance in relationships can surface now. Deal with it honestly. Co-dependency and control issues can come to the fore. Love, money, and relationships transform, and it's an emotional dilemma. There is a reckoning with power, politics, business, and resources. Pray for sacred reciprocity. May all beings exist in healthy relationship.
*Potent Words* Purify mind and speech. Let the power of your inner knowing propel you towards the necessary alignment and ultimate goal.
Curious how this month's astrology resonates with your particular charts?
Click HERE to instantly book a session with Virginia.
It's an absolute gift to be able to continue this work. May this forecast be your graceful navigation guide, your invitation to return home, and your empowerment to step more fully into your astounding multidimensional Self.
L'Chayim!
To Life
As always, THANK YOU for your support.
May we anchor the highest dreams of our collective heart into reality.
September 2017 Forecast: Kindred Spirits
“Darkness and light are kindred spirits that make us whole. By loving our darkness as much as our light we build a bond and a deeper sense of who we truly are. We come home to the unconditional love of our own sacred heart.”
September Artist Feature:
Lucretia VanDyke is a Healer who has cultivated alchemical gifts since she was a little girl mixing herbs, clays, and muds on her grandparents’ farm. She is an herbalist, diviner, mentor, artist, sacred sexologist, ceremonialist, esthetician, spiritual coach, and energy medicine practitioner. The piece pictured above was inspired by recent visions she experienced surrounding the Total Solar Eclipse. It combines plant medicine (Black Cohosh and St. Johns Wort) to provide a catalyst of internal growth and sweet release. Plants are kindred spirits that allow us to connect with Earth Magic and bridge worlds.
The Astrological Theme for August 2017 was "Support."
Members can view the full August 2017 Forecast here.
Not yet a member? Navigate here to sign up!
In times of great change, where do we find support?
Holy shit y'all, the last month was crazy.
As mentioned in August's forecast, the astrological stage was set for it to be an incredibly historic month. Two Eclipses in Leo coincided with major events that are already reshaping the USA.
The Lunar Eclipse fell on August 7th. Later that week, Charlottesville, VA erupted in lethal violence due to a white supremacist rally.
The Total Solar Eclipse on August 21st coincided with Hurricane Harvey and subsequent major flooding in Texas. Eclipses have a long history of association with major socio-political events and natural/human disasters. The last time the USA experienced a Total Solar Eclipse was 1979. The Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown accident occurred soon after. The last time the USA experienced a Total Solar Eclipse with a coast-to-coast path of Totality was 1918. WW1 ended later that year.
Eclipses are always major turning points. The August 21st eclipse this year especially captured my attention. I spent several weeks researching its meaning and relationships.
This eclipse marked a major new chapter for the USA. This country will be metamorphosing: dying and becoming reborn in ways this nation cannot predict and has never before experienced the likes of.
The transformation process will be unfolding heavily over the next 7 years, but its influence will last long afterward.
I created an online workshop called "Re-Birthing a Nation: Astrology of U.S.'s Fated Transformation" that will remain for sale while the eclipse is still in effect.
It is an analysis of the astrology of current times and a preview of what lies ahead. Click here for more info and to purchase the 90-minute audio, slideshow, and home worksheet as a bundle.
In last month's forecast, I wrote:
"These eclipses teach us to become less (in)dependent and more interdependent.
If you miss the village, remake the village."
So many people needed support this month. So many people need support right now.
- What support do you need right now? From whom and in what forms?
- What support can you give right now? To whom and in what forms?
- Where do you currently have support? Where could you use more?
- What support do you have currently that you can share with others?
- What would it feel like to be supported? When have you felt supported in the past?
- How do you want others to feel as a result of you offering support?
Who do you know who needs support? What prevents them from getting the help they need? Step in.
Let support be mutual.
It is time for us to ask for help. It is time for us to give help to ourselves, to others, and to Earth. It is time for us to listen and be responsive when help is requested.
In times of crisis and great change, forming bonds and sharing resources is essential to survival.
If you plan to donate for Hurricane Relief, I request you consider that populations of color and marginalized communities are typically affected disproportionately. The Red Cross is NOT recommended as a disaster-relief organization based on its controversial track record. THIS LIST is of organizations accepting donations that benefit marginalized populations specifically.
CLICK HERE to access a more general list of ways to donate for victims of Hurricane Harvey.
Meanwhile while floods rage in Texas, 1,200 people died in Southeast Asia this past week, also due to flooding. I'm not sure what the track record is like with these aid organizations, but if you would like to extend help, CLICK HERE to view options.
Rallies are happening. Wildfires are blazing. Floods are flooding. Whether personal, political, or ecological, August presented us with great challenges. Challenges that launch us squarely into unmarked territory: the Great Mystery.
Confrontation with the Unknown.
August invited us to step more into our essential selves. Who we are and what we bring, beneath the layers of what we know. When things fall away, what remains at the heart of what is? That which was already always there, now emerging.
Who and what do we take with us as we gaze into the mysterious future-and-past-laced-present?
If nothing else, let us take with us our power to create.
Making meaning. Weaving support. Cultivating community.
The Astrological Theme for September 2017 is "Kindred Spirits."
Once upon a time, I had friends.
We laughed and played and danced together. We made magic and celebrated holidays and lived alongside each other.
Then I wrote an article that went viral. An Open Letter to Spiritual White Folks, which you can still read on my blog Here. The writing and spreading of that article was a catalyst in my life.
My friendships changed. Someone I had spent holidays with for years in a row disowned me and claimed we were never friends. I was slandered. I was told I had violated boundaries and was a threat to people I loved. I became viscerally afraid of leaving the house in my predominantly white town. [I had only felt that kind of fear in my own town when I used to take walks with my partner who was a man of color.]
It's worth noting that literally every negative reaction I experienced during that time came from a white person. That is not an exaggeration or mis-statement.
The results of writing and sharing that article were heartbreakingly beautiful. As old friends left my life, new friends arrived. I received messages and invitations from people all over the world. As I declared where I stood and what was true to me, like minds and hearts gathered as kin.
In August, I experienced the immense joy of gathering with kindred spirits to co-facilitate a Magical / Radical Art and Re-storying Retreat in Portland, Oregon. This was a tangible result of the catalyst of sharing authentically and joining with others whose songs resonated in tandem response.
Womyn gathered to speak their hearts and their bellies. To turn their lens onto decolonization. To crack open and share stories and cultivate anew. To weave. To touch plants and acknowledge their medicine. To dye with indigo. To practice making Art.
'Kin' means related, allied, connected. In kind.
Regardless of who your family is, we are all related. We contain the capacity to develop and fortify chosen families. We can lean into this capacity now.
Look beyond the familiar as you choose your relations.
Build bonds with those of varying backgrounds. Cultivate connection with that which is more-than-human.
When we dance in relationship with that which is beyond what is known to us, we grow to contain more infinity.
Yes, our loved ones are kin. Kin is also the land upon which we reside. It is the plants that surround and make oxygen for us to breathe. It is the creatures and insects who populate our ecosystems. It is the rivers and streams and planets and stars who are people themselves. Kin are the elementals and the spirits who weave among us AND GIVE US LIFE. Kin is music and story and movement. Kin is light. It is darkness. It is color. It is breath. It is the absence of things.
The Sun and the Moon and the Earth are our Kin. Their circuitous dancing movements literally govern our years and our months and our days.
It was an Honor of the highest order to witness the Great American Total Solar Eclipse in totality, held by the land with my loved ones in Terrebonne, Oregon. Terrebonne means "Good Earth." On this Good Earth I perched, covered in clothing, feeling my body and spirit purging and coalescing with that which was ready to be released.
At the time of Totality, the land darkened. A cold wind from the moon penetrated our pores. Long purple shadows grew along the mountain ridge before us. Animals ran and shook and slept and hid and went into stillness. Humanity erupted in screams; streaming tears; uncontrollable laughter.
I and my mates were overcome with every primal emotion. Terror and elation ripped through me like a diagonal spreading convalescent wound. Hunger and satisfaction and fascination and humility overcame all senses. It was a death. It was like being in the room at the moment of birth. It was a recognition of something deep and ultimate and unnameable.
We saw God. God was that cold body and that light body making changes for life on Earth. God was the unification of perception and experience and Otherness.
The Eclipse was a cosmic marriage. Dissonant opinions united into a state of awe and wonder at the miracle of experience.
In a time of great division, the Eclipse harkened and transported us home with immediacy.
It is often said that We are One.
But have you felt, in your body, that reality? Have you internally touched the sun and the moon and the stones and the desert? Have you heard the river's voice pour from your own throat? Have you held the hand of the broken one down the street and whispered their fears through your lips? Have you bled the blood of old and tended the soil of infinitude?
What if we gave ourselves up enough that the truth in us made our family?
What if reality was a simultaneously occurring interdimensional respite from falsehood? And what if the way to enter that was simply to acknowledge the enduring connections at each intersection of thread in a fabric of co-occurrence?
What if, while the world burned around us, we snuggled into each other's shoulder and sang, "Not to worry. Breathe. No matter what, it Is what it Is and what Is is Okay. And I'm here. With you. Taking care of you and me and our life."
Name your kindred spirits, and spend time with each of them as they reach your awareness.
Give attention to the land and the plants and their oxygen. Acknowledge the rain and the wildfire. Give thanks! Calm the fear in your heart and be in relationship with That Which Is. And in the quiet moments, sink into the well of all that is Not.
This is wholeness.
There's truth in that.
And in truth, if there's not comfort, there is still Self Recognition.
Beyond Self Recognition is our location and the what of existence.
Give Thanks.
Archetypal Medicine for this Month
Cerridwen the Cauldron Goddess of life, death, rebirth, eternity.
Let transformation be home to you now, and embrace the inherent wisdom of the death/rebirth/transfiguration process. Release the roles that no longer serve you. Embrace change. Getting what is given.
Curious how this month's astrology, and last month's eclipses (in effect through January 2018), resonate with your particular charts?
Click HERE to instantly book a session with Virginia.
Nature is Chock Full of Medicine
May this blog be a place to discover helpful natural remedies that can guide your way through this journey of life on Earth.
Stone Medicine for the Month from POUND Jewelry
Druzy Stones are stones of the Collective. Each tiny crystal point within a druzy stone makes up the cluster of sparkly goodness that we get to enjoy for all it's natural beauty. Druzy clusters accumulate on the inside of a geode that are only visible once the geode is cracked open, symbolizing that the beauty is within. This stone is a reminder we are not meant to go it alone and the journey is much sweeter when we join heart forces with those around us. Keep creating beauty and remember you are never alone. And then shine like never before. Rock On.
In-Depth Transit Forecast
All times listed in EST
September 1 Mars inconjunct Chiron (2:02am)
*Adjusted Behaviors* What is motivating your actions and desires? Is it selfish, selfless, or a mix of both? What if none was the right answer? Simply notice what drives you. It may be time for an adjustment to come into deeper self-and-oneness integration.
September 2 Mars trine Uranus (8:13am)
*Revolutionary Moves* Behavior and instinct meet rebellion and progress. Mars is on the degree of the Total Solar Eclipse and the Heart of the Lion. If you aren't sure how to proceed, go into your heart of hearts and follow the response that arises. Discover and act upon your unique gifts. Do what's in your reach and set us all free.
September 3 Mercury Rx conjunct Mars at Eclipse Degree (5:37am)
*Immediate Response* The same degree that was stimulated in the Total Solar Eclipse is emphasized again by Mars and Mercury! The Heart of the Lion continues to pour its influence into us through heavenly gates. Let passionate, heartful communications and actions be spread. Today offers an activation as Mercury the Messenger meets Mars the Warrior. RESPOND versus react. Rapid, angry speech or news of violence or destruction can flair. Put your money where your mouth is. Take tangible steps to actualize ideas. Avoid reckless provocation and resist abuse. Drive slow! Best used to share through inspiration, inspire/engage, and stand up on behalf of what is truly in your heart of hearts. Sometimes listening is the best way to stand for someone else. This book is a great read now: Conflict is Not Abuse by Sarah Schulman. Rather than fight, take personal responsibility and build strength. One day at a time.
September 5 Sun opposite Neptune (1:27am) Mars enters Virgo (5:35am) Mercury stations Direct in Leo on the Eclipse Degree (7:29am) Venus inconjunct Neptune (5:33pm)
*Sensitivities* Sun in Virgo is opposite Neptune in Pisces. This is the axis of Service where the sacred meets the mundane and vice-versa. It is time to develop compassion for yourself and others. Some folks think compassion is being a savior or a martyr. What if compassion was simply giving of yourself? No need to attach any ego to it. Use this time to dream, drift, forgive, and surrender to ultimate. Release and cleanse.
*Down to the Details* Mars in Virgo asks us to do the work. Get down to business. Make lists and attend to ongoing processes. Analyze and discern. Clean up and purify. Be fastidious. Devote ourselves to something. Act in service of that which is greater than us. Tie up loose ends. Be moved by virtue and practical relevance. Show up with a casserole in hand and make sure the laundry gets done. Tend to our physical and mental health. Get into rhythm and routine.
*Hold the Phone* Mercury the Messenger is stopped in the sky. Communications and local travel can be paused or interrupted. Listen for the deeper messages and things that aren't said. News will be significant today and in surrounding days.
*Confusing Relations* Who are we and where are we going? We may be realizing that our projections and appraisals of ourselves and our paths are incorrect as they are informed by current events. Changes are imminent. Keep dreams alive and ping them/reconcile them with reality. Look at the image of a medicine heart attached to this forecast and awaken to Love and Compassion in and of yourSelf as a relational and responsive being.
September 6 Full Moon in Pisces (3:03am)
The Full Moon in Pisces on September 6, 2017 (3:03amEST) is a cauldron of compassion. Sensitivity is heightened now. Be silent and absorb through the most subtle of senses. Release confusion. Offer up anxiety or any desire to withhold or hide. Now is the time to let flow. Dive through self-deception into the holographic living dream of reality. Welcome humble synchronicities and embody the magic of flesh. Feel the essence and spirit within all things. Feel the truth within and between linear construct. Feel an unconditional dreaming moving through you. Pour yourself out and to make way for Emptiness. In your release, merge with the Great Oneness. Be cleansed by the rhythmic, senseless music of existence. Resonate with the song of every heart, layered upon and within itself in overlapping relation. Acknowledge your conditioning, and move through its fog into something neutral and unpolarized. Get lost, and become one with all that eventually becomes lost. Shed, and become one with the eternal. Cry your holy tears of letting go and with them, feed the ancestors whose toil made our bread. Surrender more. Even more. Circle open for your cells to imbibe and dance with and embody unconditional love. With the soft power of grace, forgive all of it.
For every New and Full Moon, find a complementary Movement Ritual on the Qoya Blog.
September 9 Venus inconjunct Pluto (3:23am) Sun trine Pluto (6:45am) Mercury enters Virgo (10:51pm)
*Adjusted Values* What is battling for attention is striving for affection. Is it self-love or corporate interest? We live in a culture that has conflated the two. Find your self-love outside the realm of corporate or structural interest. Let corporate be informed by authentic love of self and life as play.
*Personal Power* Today the light of just being connects with a deeper source of power. Especially recommended as a day to connect with/perform ritual for the Earth. Another excellent use of this energy would be to connect with the power of your work, your service, your ability to materialize and be resourceful. Let's connect with true resource so we will be able to heal through it and share it with others.
*Discernment* Mercury in Virgo is exacting. Service, work, and detail-oriented. Practice presence. Practice gratitude for exactly what is, now. This transit separates Wheat from Chaff. It makes use of digestible material and information. It turns passion into devotion. Gather all your information, now, and put it to work.
September 12 Venus trine Saturn (8:50pm)
Venus in Leo trines Saturn in Sagittarius. Affections, relations, and resources can stabilize now. Ground into a long term view in these areas. Make commitments and investments. Call upon the wisdom of grandmothers and other elders to inform your resources. Listen to time!
September 13 Sun square Saturn (10:58pm)
*Grounding the Vision* Sun in Virgo squares Saturn in Sagittarius. The result is stress and often anxiety. Let off some frustration. Big picture meets little details today. It can be easy to have a vision, but when it comes to execution, is there follow-through? It can be easy to stay comfortable in minutia, but what about extending into a realm of faith? A place where you are larger-than-life? Today, we are asked to balance detail and vision. This transit requires attentive duty and overcoming hardship. Be humble explorers in realms of the infinite. Take on the task of physically building a belief system based in reality and service to others/Earth. Illuminate the skills necessary to lay the foundation for healthful globalization. Honor rejection, limit, and containment. They help to mature you and act as an accurate guide for your way.
September 15 Venus sextile Jupiter (3:44pm)
*Love and Laughter* The joys and pleasures of life now arise from creation and socialization. Embrace others and the natural balance of expression we all share in the glory of our togetherness. Good day for trying a new look, beautification, art, and society. Caveats come from egotistical social networks making themselves dominant.
September 16 Mercury Direct conjunct Mars (3:02pm)
*Thought=Action* The same degree that was stimulated in the Total Solar Eclipse is emphasized again by Mars and Mercury! This time Mercury is traveling Direct from our view here on Earth. The Heart of the Lion continues to pour its influence into us through heavenly gates. Let passionate, heartful communications and actions be spread. Today offers an activation as Mercury the Messenger meets Mars the Warrior. RESPOND versus react. Rapid, angry speech or news of violence or destruction can flair. Put your money where your mouth is. Take tangible steps to actualize ideas. Avoid reckless provocation and resist abuse. Drive slow! Best used to share through inspiration, inspire/engage, and stand up on behalf of what is truly in your heart of hearts. Sometimes listening is the best way to stand for someone else. Actions should be clear at this time. We've made it through Mercury Retrograde, so reconsiderations will begin to come out in the wash. Forward motion.
September 17 Venus inconjunct Chiron (3:17am)
*Reclaiming Love* Love could reveal itself as dis-integrated, now. Is there some way your ego eclipses unconditional love for all-that-is? Or alternately, does your love of spirit/escape eclipse love of Self and personal engagement? Today asks us to balance and blend. Love of Self can be love of All and vice-versa. Make meet and mate and merry. This is the art of healing.
September 18 Venus trine Uranus (12:27am)
Self-love is progress. It can deliver us into a future woven from creative participation. Freedom is worthy. Revolution is valuable and needed for the progressive evolution of consciousness. Womyn, and the feminine, gather to produce change. Create relationships based on liberty. The electric quality of your gatherings with literally amplify love on this planet. No need to cooperate with oppressors. Use your buying power to support your beliefs and the direction we can head in as a global society.
September 19 Sun opposite Chiron (3:32am) Venus enters Virgo (9:15pm) Mercury opposite Neptune (11:49pm)
*Healing Brokenness* Sometimes, the way we are broken is about how we work. How we serve. The role we play. What we put ourselves through in order to improve. Sometimes, it's chronic illness that current society doesn't seem to have the medicine to heal. That current society creates inflammation. Cultivates disease based on racism, classism, and all the ways we use life-blood to serve a system that ultimately is not in service to us. Sometimes, it's about reclamation. Reconciliation. Sometimes we use our journeys to reclaim our health in whatever way we find possible. Sometimes that means drawing lines and making boundaries. Simplifying our foods and our daily needs. Praying. Meditating. Employing life-rhythms that are both physical and spiritual in their honorings and allegiances. Sometimes our brokenness is a gateway to healing, and there is nothing right or wrong about it, but it is a legitimate way that we meet the world and the world meets us.
*Love and Conscientiousness* Venus in Virgo is down to Earth. Humble. The love of process, of paradigm, of anatomy and mechanism. Venus in Virgo is the canning of the harvest. She's the weaving of wool. The sustenance preparing to guide our way through winter. She is the value of living in service to others. Of transferring wealth to definitions of the populace that sees a lack of it. The love of skill and refinement. She is virtue. Her energy is pure. Eat of her bread.
*Foggy Mind* Mercury opposes Neptune to infuse the earth with idealistic dreams. Empathy can take our working and businesses and processes higher, and this can be a sustainable thing. It may be a confusing learning curve as we re-route to head that direction. Let the mind go in order to experience the type of thought that can actually be of use, now. Be inspired.
September 20 New Moon in Virgo (1:30am) Sun inconjunct Uranus (6:20am)
The New Moon in Virgo on September 20, 2017 (1:30amEST) is about healing. Healing is natural. It is already always occurring. Are we conscious of it? Are we supporting that process with our care-fullness? There is a saying, "feel it to heal it." Sometimes we try to bypass or avoid negative or difficult emotions and experience. Now is not one of those times. Suffering is rich, and contains the seeds of dreams. When we allow ourselves to feel it, we can open to it. We can fertilize the essence of spirit through our attention and our care for what is. Something invisible and infinitely beautiful is developing within us. It is a means by which we can connect with everything at all times, seamlessly. It is a skill and practice of wielding spirit and embedding it into each aspect of daily life. This happens not through removal or transcendence, but through absolute presence. It is an innate perfection. There may be truth in a vastness. An insight that all is inherently right, for no other virtue than that it IS. Even the wrong or the damaged or misconstrued, may be the exact emblem or component needed for an entire mechanism to function and operate. What happens when we extend our felt-sense and our loving embrace to each and every division? Can this be a rainbow bridge? An instant delivery to the magic of communion? Feel it to heal it. Dance at the intersection of your divisions. Notice what arises on your bridge.
For every New and Full Moon, find a complementary Movement Ritual on the Qoya Blog.
September 22 Mercury trine Pluto (2:01pm) Sun enters Libra (4:02pm)
*Deep Insights* Mind is grounded now. Focus on the work that needs to be done. Draw from deep within as decisions are made. If new information arises, trust it. The power of emergence is afoot. Good time to bring hidden concepts and communications to the surface.
*Relationship Identity* The Sun moves through Libra for the next month. Time to balance, relate, and harmonize. Libra is the sign of divine reciprocity. This means being in Right Relationship with others, and with all-that-is. Instead of viewing things as a transaction (I get this much for this much), focus your lens on relating. What interpersonal qualities are you aiming to build and exercise through this thought/action? Are they harmonious? Individualistic? Are they kind? Are they true to your innate being? Feel into, find, and promote balance for the next month particularly.
September 23 Jupiter inconjunct Chiron (4:28am)
*Growing Pains* Mixed blessings. Find and mind mentors and teachers around this time. Healing is appropriate but it can come through unexpected ways or misadventures. Expanding hurts sometimes. Keep on going and breathe.
September 24 Mars opposite Neptune (3:49pm)
*Low Energy* Actions can be befuddled, confused, or deceived today. Be careful what you move towards. Slow down, rest, and dream on it for a bit. Sometimes shame or guilt guides our behavior. If issues arise, dissolve them to nothingness. Lead them to emptiness. Let go and follow the flow. Avoid playing the victim. Opt instead for martial artist on the defense.
September 25 Mercury square Saturn (10:36am)
*Mental Pressure* Decisions, decisions. Do we consider the practical or the visionary? Is there some way we can access both? Big picture meets little details. Find the formula for execution. Visions can bring impact when made real. The conversations made and ideas spread help to bring practical action. Embrace serious insights, now. Make mental and verbal commitments. Shed the ideas that are out of date or too naive. Do the harder mental work, and it will pay off.
September 27 Mercury opposite Chiron (6:12pm)
*Painful Words* Thoughts, communications, and words can bring up sensitivities now. Embrace it for integration. Notice where you feel insufficient. Notice which words hurt, and practice saying them in exploration. Taking in learning can bring healing. Look into multiple channels. Explore practicum and skilled routes. Use your hands and lungs. Open to the next level of integration through intersection.
September 28 Jupiter opposite Uranus (12:25am) Mercury inconjunct Uranus (9:55am) Pluto stations Direct (3:36pm)
*Big Changes* Shifts afoot are unpredictable. Loud noises, both warlike and celebratory, are amidst us. Directed at anything in particular? It's hard to guess where they will land. Leaps forward in technology are available now. Socio-political change is stirring. Relationships are rebalancing. Sudden gains and/or losses for humanity. Releasing tension. Focus on the new, the untried, and the radical. If we can conceive of it, it probably won't happen. Something completely different will. Genius, chaos, and madness are close cousins.
*Mental Adaptation* Our minds are evolving. Sudden changes in insight need our attention, but not necessarily yet our action. Wait and integrate yourself before enacting your influence on the world.
*Metamorphosis* Pluto is the planet of transformation and power and shared resources. It also rules destruction, regeneration, and rebirth. Since about September 20, we have been feeling Pluto's mysterious and often unnerving influence beneath it all. Consciously release that which no longer serves any of us. For real and for the sake of what is inherited, passed on, and born anew. Soil turn.
September 29 Venus opposite Neptune (8:11pm) Mercury enters Libra (8:42pm)
*Love and Illusion* Martyrdom is often mistaken for compassion. True compassion is based on respect versus the need to save. At times, the desire to experience love is a tide so strong that it can confuse or deceive us. Today friendships, relationships, finances, and what we value most is awash in formlessness. At best, this promotes unconditional love. At worst, we are seeing through rose-colored glasses. This is a sensitive transit. It can lift us into higher states of being or lead us to disappointment. Our dreams can be unrealistic. What we desire to receive from others can soften our hearts and/or lead us astray. Remember we are all human and spiritual. The key is blending both well. What actions can you take to promote this balance?
*Communicating Peace* Good time to negotiate and rebalance inside friendships, partnerships, relations of all kind. Enact sacred reciprocity and look for a feeling of cohesion. May your words and thoughts help to maintain harmony.
Curious how this month's astrology resonates with your particular charts?
Click HERE to instantly book a session with Virginia.
It's an absolute gift to be able to continue this work. May this forecast be your graceful navigation guide, your invitation to return home, and your empowerment to step more fully into your astounding multidimensional Self.
L'Chayim!
To Life
As always, THANK YOU for your support.
May we anchor the highest dreams of our collective heart into reality.
August 2017 Forecast: Support
Click Here to View the Full Forecast for August
The Astrological Theme for July was "Manifest."
Members can view the full July 2017 Forecast here.
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Oh, the manifest world. It seems so harsh and disappointing sometimes. And yet somehow, it is rooted and guided by the miraculous.
We better ourselves through letting go. The less we attach to and the less we are, the more we can be in alignment with that which is beyond us. Keep releasing until nothing but nature is left.
In times like these, holding firm boundaries is important. It is one thing to distance oneself from reality - it's another thing to take care of our mental and physical health by resisting the non-essential.
In a consumerist culture, we are constantly being prodded and programmed to use more, buy more, gain more, learn more. What if the answer to a lot of the problems persisting in the world was as simple as this:
LESS.
According to my clients, July did deliver its theme of Manifest. Projects were announced or completed. Jobs and relationships were ended and begun. Things that weren't in integrity came to a head and asked to be addressed squarely. Opportunities emerged into plain sight.
There is something of a swift tide moving beneath our evolutions, and we are asked to face and endure the tests along the path.
Keep hope, and strengthen your connections as we continue to encounter the real beneath the real beneath the real. We are approaching a destined Eclipse season...
The Astrological Theme for August 2017 is "Support."
August 2017 is an incredibly historic month. We are officially in eclipse season. Eclipse season, which occurs approximately every 6 months, always bring change and further evolution towards our destiny. They are always strongly influential. But many things about this particular cycle feel especially potent.
Collectively, these eclipses in Leo represent the death and birth of rulership.
These eclipses teach us to become less dependent and more interdependent.
Click to read the rest, including day-by-day transit interpretations!
July 2017 Forecast: Manifest
Click Here to View the Full Forecast for July
The Astrological Theme for June was "Word to the Wise."
Members can view the full June 2017 Forecast here.
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It has been said, that in the beginning there was a word, and the word was God.
Many yoga classes in the West begin and end with a spoken sound: Om. Om, a three-part intonation (A-U-M/NG), is a primordial sound. In essence, this "word" is within and beneath and beyond all things. It existed before division, before separation, before manifestation.
The very first chapter of the Tao Te Ching speaks to the primordial word. "Tao" can be conceived of as Divine, which in Taoism is the absolute universal principle of natural order.
The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named is not the eternal name
The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth
The named is the mother of myriad thingsThus, constantly free of desire
One observes its wonders
Constantly filled with desire
One observes its manifestationsThese two emerge together but differ in name
The unity is said to be the mystery
Mystery of mysteries, the door to all wonders- Lao Tzu
The word Om itself is not God, but it arises from and returns to an original undifferentiated vibrational essence.
June's forecast stated: Words are Spells. Whether spoken, written, or thought, they contain potent vibrations that morph the field of consciousness.
Names and words lay the groundwork for being and becoming. They can heal and they can kill. As words arise and return, they pave the way for denser frequencies to do their sine wave dance into and out of creation. Words and thoughts ripple and influence an endless sea of vibration.
The named and the ineffable remain united in their inherent difference and shared source. The creation bond shrouded in mystery. June asked us to reclaim language that supports natural truth. Unity through interrelatedness. Sometimes it isn't about the words themselves, but they space in-between. Sometimes what's left unsaid speaks the loudest. Listen to hear all of it. Listen to and for what is. Go deeper inside, to the pulse within the heart of mystery; and the subtle vibrations it produces.
I read a novel in June. It was the first novel I've read cover to cover in a long time, as I am typically spending reading time with astrology charts, my facebook feed, emails, nonfiction books, and op-ed articles.
This book, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, captivated me for so many reasons. The descriptive language is poignant, accessible, poetic, and human. But beyond the words on the page, I was influenced by the spirit of the book. Here is an example of an author creating art of life and life of art. Her raw materials are the living intellect of what is. She weaves socio-cultural observation and personal experience into something with clean, clear weight. It fills me simultaneously with aspiration, longing, and satisfaction. So much so that I want to embrace, Anything. Myself. Life. The author and her characters. I want to take them into my mouth and belly and feel the truth of what is shared and what can never be fully known.
I will be honest.
So many of the words I read these days are facebook commentary and news articles brimming with promised terror. They leave me dejected and spiraling in cryptic mass of belief crises. I used to have faith in the power of dance and song and art and self-expression. Social media has turned that into an inner tide of sadness for the desperation so many have to be seen as a superficially generated version of self, and to profit off that. The constant torrent of personal branding and information-overload alongside news of major famine and cholera outbreaks overseas places me into a landscape of powerless confusion.
In our current world, what is worth our time and energy? This month, my rational answer to that query arose as: developing natural living and survival skills, helping alleviate hunger/pain/suffering, and making art.
More and more, the words and images I see are washing themselves away to reveal a sort of languishing. The tower of babel continues to dismantle itself and with it, its threads and tethers within our own psyches become visible in a different way and exposed as frayed. We are all a part of this marvelous mess and the marvelous mess is Us. Ancestors and parents lay foundation with 'good work and good intention.' In time, those foundations show wear and expose their faults. The next turn of the wheel brings descendants who learn from mistakes and course-correct, their faults and gifts to be honed and exposed in time.
Reading "Americanah" inspired me to write.
When I finished the book, an old spiritual came on the radio. I am reminded of people throughout time who sang to survive. Song and dance and giving voice to truth kept their spirits alive. Gave comfort, refuge, and belonging. Allowed a lineage to continue.
What power lies in our writings? In our songs? In our dance and theater and music? Is it possible that these creations hold the essence of All that Is? To claim our whole real story, and to be in and with and allow for the feelings. Art is a contribution of the willingness to be alive and inhabit our Life. Be that through making jewelry and furniture, weaving, painting, cooking, gardening, what have you. It's worth it. Because there is something intrinsically neutral and passionate and magic in the fabric of creation. The interPLAY of Om and that which can never be named. The marriage that makes life itself.
One other word-related thing happened for me in June that feels worth mentioning.
The article I published almost exactly one year ago in response to Philando Castile's publicized tragedy is now being translated and circulated in French, thanks to this bilingual reader and teacher.
Word, Sound, Power.
#BlackLivesMatter
because all lives matter.
The Astrological Theme for July 2017 is "Manifest."
"Manifest" is defined as "clear or obvious to the eye or mind." Also, "to display or show a quality or feeling by one's acts or appearance. To demonstrate."
June 2017 Forecast: Word to the Wise
The Astrological Theme for June 2017 is "Word to the Wise."
Words are spells. Whether spoken, written, or thought, they contain potent vibrations that morph the field of consciousness. It benefits us and our collective to use them wisely and to support unity. The symbolic shape of letters and the invisible harmonic essence of connected symbols creates the inner and outer environment in which we spend our lives.
The words we work with every day stem from the history that grew them up. People of privilege (primarily male-bodied people with socio-cultural-economic status) are the parents of most common recorded language. [Check out this book: The Alphabet vs. The Goddess by Leonard Shlain] The supremacist perspective and philosophies embedded in these languages infuses the experience of the masses and often reinforces systems of oppression. June asks us to reclaim language that supports natural truth. Decolonize the mind. How? Tell stories. Perceive the non-verbal. Listen to the truth of various forms of life and nature. Allow your perspective to adjust and evolve. Stimulate modes of communication that can't necessarily be written. Connect with speech and thought with the refinement born from authentic experience.
Take the hint. If you have a feeling about something, trust it. Step beyond the bounds of the linear mind and touch something greater, something more intelligent, something that can continuously guide you through mapless territory.
Throes of information are constantly swirling. Read between the lines. Instead of taking words at face value, listen close with more of your senses. Sharpen into keen perception.
Words contain Worlds.
"How are we listening to and for Words of Wisdom being summoned our way, being beckoned forth from our inner selves and from each other?" - Stephanie Seker
Act and speak from your center: Words to and from the Wise
May 2017 Forecast: Finesse
May 2017 Forecast: Finesse
May Artist Feature:
Blythe Brown is the Visual Art teacher and Yoga teacher for K-8th Grades at Cape Romain Environmental Education Charter School in McClellanville, SC. She received her BA in Studio Arts from the College of Charleston, and an MAT in Art Education from Western Carolina University. She specializes in integrating core subjects and movement into the visual arts. Blythe creates artwork, designs logos for local businesses, and teaches adult art and yoga classes. On the weekends she enjoys working on her tiny home bus and paddling in the creeks. For more information about Blythe and her work, visit www.blythebrownart.com.
The Astrological Theme for April was "Next Level."
Members can view the full April 2017 Forecast here.
Based on observing the astrology, I described it as a Quantum Leap or "dramatic advance." It was a territory of New Beginnings, awash with endings.
What does it feel like to reach the Next Level?
Birth requires Surrender.
We have to let go in order to receive new life.
We just passed through a historic Venus Cycle. The final Aries-Venus-Rising Cycle in our lifetimes has commenced.
Fierce Feminine, Arise.
The Great Rebalancing is Upon Us.
It is time that we embrace ourselves as leading-edge Warriors of Love.
When struggle occurs, cultivate harmony.
For some, the letting-go's last month came through illness and physical shedding. For others it came through conflicts with loved ones or family members. Divorces were finalized. Houses representing previous chapters of life were sold. Notions and behaviors around appearances, finances, worth, and investments of all kinds changed and upgraded.
The encouragement? Find your Healthy Selfish. No more weak boundaries. No more accommodating others. Lessen the tendency to passively collude with the stories of others and increase the capability to identify and assert the power of Self.
When we bend to others in spite of ourselves, we often unconsciously collude with and perpetuate the very weaknesses that are asking to be strengthened.
Alternately, when we simply stand for strength, we claim our existence and by example, demonstrate to others how to enhance their own strength.
Can we all stand together, inherently strong within ourselves?
In these times, we are asked to see and be more of the truth.
Truth endures.
Reality is impenetrable. Unable to be marred.
So, whatever is real has nothing to fear. What falls away under scrutiny or stress is false. Illusion.
How much can we align and connect ourselves with Reality?
And how gracefully can we release whatever isn't meant for us?
Through this method, we pave the way for our future.
The Astrological Theme for May 2017 is "Finesse."
Finesse has a double meaning. It communicates skillfulness, subtlety, and tact. It also denotes trickery, stratagem, and artifice.
The month ahead is magic, busy, and easily distracted. Riddled with riddles and rife with play. A silly, incredible time for quick-fire insight and passionate momentum. A curious landscape of musing, learning, and bringing spirit into matter. This month's astromaps remind me of the feeling I get when I have over-imbibed caffeinated tea in one sitting. Great inspiration and activity, but plagued with scatteredness. Make sure to ground, deeply nourish, and stay connected to your clear center to counterbalance the insatiable up-and-outward-moving energies afoot.
May is wily. It is characterized by the duality that nothing is sacred; and everything is sacred. May is a quandary of opposing influences that require dexterity, articulation, and deftness in order to move through in grace. Employ lightness of heart and foot. Mentally, sharpen your language and perception; and let go of attachment to over-thought.
Despite the fact that there are likely big choices ahead, I recommend to wait on major decisions (especially ones regarding material goods and investments) until after May 20. Use patience - we won't have all the necessary information until after that date.
The first half of the month offers a continuous stream of new, unexpected, and potentially shocking information that require adaptation. Expect to change your mind and your course several times over. Improvise. Approach with a keen eye out for the Cosmic Joke. Trust the fly-by-the-seat-of-our-britches quality. Evolve with rapidity.
The archetypes presiding over this month are Magician and Coyote.
Magician is an androgynous thinker, weaver, visionary, and intuitive. Dynamic, this energy shapeshifts, dons different masks, and takes varying forms. There is an ability to grasp and utilize the space between realms to bridge spirit and matter with skillful creation. Magician is driven by constant learning and gaining knowledge. Magician alters perceptions of reality and creates an alluring atmosphere. This illusion can open us up to otherworldly possibility and help us chase our dreams - or fool us altogether and send us down a false path. Hone your perceptions and listen deeply to your intuition this month. Look beyond the obvious to see HOW magic is made. Develop those skills. (Some direct quotes and paraphrased portions from Susanna Barlow's article here.)
Coyote medicine is not straightforward. It is contradictory. It is a trickster teacher that educates us through folly and misadventure. Expect to make mistakes and mis-steps in May. Coyote is the mirror that shows us our shadow and makes us laugh at the same time. It wants us to see ourselves. Coyote ruffles feathers and creates discomfort to challenge habitual or stagnant energies that they can shift. This medicine adapts to changing circumstances and continues to survive despite attempts to stave it off or squelch it. It's all about the truth! (Some direct quotes and paraphrased portions from Robert Oakes' article here.)
Truth will Rise, Regardless.
Transparency and blatant honesty are of absolute essence.
We get into the thickest traps when we deceive or elude ourselves.
May asks us to see those places of tomfoolery and refine our skilled approach to life.
Astrologically Speaking: Grand Fire Trine
It's going to be a hot summer. This aspect pattern begins now and remains in prominent effect until August.
Ancients might observe this formation and remark that there is too much fire in the sky.
Benefits of Fire:
Heightened vision, passion, and spirit. Joyful engagement. Increased enthusiasm. Swift creation. Expansion. Momentum. Spontaneity. Excitement. Risk-taking. Increased confidence. Widespread influence. Manifesting spiritual potential. Instantaneous development. Transformation. Bright clarity. Having high beliefs and faith.
Challenges of Too Much Fire:
Selfishness. Egotism. Self-aggrandizement. Impatience. Desire for instant gratification. Forcefulness. Overt willfulness. Excess pride, anger, and feelings of frustration. Untamed sexuality. Impulsive behavior. Indiscriminate acts of destruction. Ruin. Gambling. Carelessness. Crimes of passion. Rushing. Hubris.
Medicine Needed:
Playing with fire can get us burned. Respect the flame. Honor it and tend it well. Fire needs to be tamed and controlled. It needs a strong, proper container.
Fortification and boundaries are important this month.
It is important to remain connected with spirit for guidance on behavior and endeavors; as egoic selfishness can get us into trouble. Use prayer, ritual, ceremony, and other methods daily to stay on track. Reach for growth, but honor your true limits. Don't attempt too much too fast. We can easily be swept away in momentum this month. Focus. Refine your will. Indiscriminate choices are not advised: check that the foundations are not faulty. Go back to your intention. Keep your priorities in mind. What is at the heart of why you do what you do? Burn off the excess and keep tracking the WHY behind your actions. Make sure your guiding WHY is sincere and durable.
Consciously Invoke Water and Earth
To avoid the risks of too much fire, use Water and Earth. There is so much natural Yang energy floating around that we can easily get swept up and burn out. Do Yin practice. Be receptive. Soften. Relax. Try less. Allow more. Instead of forcing, find where the energy is naturally flowing. Resolve conflict with compassion and empathy. Connect with serenity.
Magic Questions for May:
- What is something I absolutely know is true?
- What is something I deceived myself about before?
- How can I be more honest?
- What is something I haven't mastered yet, but I am practicing and improving?
- Where do I feel divided?
- What are the major choices I am facing?
- What does my heart say about these choices?
- Who am I, really?
- What are my strongest boundaries and limits currently in place?
- Where could I use better boundaries?
- Is there some place my energy is currently going that feels excessive?
- What makes me feel rejuvenated and rested?
- Why do I do what I do?
- What are true motivations that guide my actions?
Nature is Chock Full of Medicine
May this blog be a place to discover helpful natural remedies that can guide your way through this journey of life on Earth.
Stone Medicine for the Month from POUND Jewelry
Moss Agate is a "Stone of New Beginnings." Also a stone of abundance, Moss Agate attracts financial prosperity, especially for small businesses and entrepreneurs. When it is time to get down and dirty and go for it, this stone is the one to help us remember that what we put in, we will get out. It is also an incredibly earthy stone that helps realign our deepest love for our planet. Both incredibly important reminders!!
Relative to this month's astrological theme of FINESSE, Moss Agate assists with a decrease in stress and a sense of TRUST in the Earth's cycles and patterns that we see daily in our own lives when we pay attention. It is an amazing stone for one setting out on a new path and for attracting prosperous new beginnings with the inner knowing that one's own personal style is always best despite what the external world may be saying. Knowing that there are Earthly rhythms reflecting one's own internal cycles of ups and downs may help calm us when we think everything is falling apart. Moss Agate reminds us that what we call forth will come, but we have to work for it. In the way that best suits us. Rock On. ---Written by Becca Kannapell of POUND Jewelry
Flower Medicine for the Month from Santosha Mama Birth and Wellness
Dogwood Flower Essence (Cornus Florida) is the essence of grace, of fluid movement, of elegant and delicate motion, of finesse. This medicine supports those for whom trauma has created a hardening, contraction, or awkwardness in the body. It supports fullness, expansion and flexibility in the etheric body, that energetic layer closest to the physical body. By bridging physical-etheric harmony, we bring more fluidity and finesse into the body, allowing it to move with greater ease and grace. Dogwood invokes a powerful and enduring center within ourselves, one which is focused and resolved, and an outward grace in our movement through life. ---Written by Jaime Fleres-Mizejewski of Santosha Birth & Wellness
In-Depth Transit Forecast
All times listed in EST
May 1 Beltane
Beltane, alternately known as May Day, celebrates the fortuitous return of Summer. This is a (sometimes debaucherous) fertility festival honoring the earth's ripening riches and the principle of creation. Desire, passion and pleasure give rise to life! Fires burn. Merriment and marriages are made. Feasts are enjoyed. Dance around the maypole and experience revival.
May 3 Mercury Stations Direct in Aries (12:33pm)
The messenger planet comes to a halt in the sky from our perspective here on earth. Mercury went retrograde on April 9 in Taurus. Since that time, we have been re-evaluating our desires and resources. Right now our minds are aligned with what we want. Put thoughts into action. Try different options with curiosity, a beginner's mind, and a willingness to learn through experience. Be open to new technologies and insights about how to make things fresh. Free your mind. Lean into what you want, and also avoid rigidity and naive selfhood. Gather thoughts from the collective to inform your decisions. Follow the spark to ignite the new. Forward, ho!
May 5 Sun inconjunct Jupiter (3:59am)
This influence wants you to grow beyond your current limits. Moderate, that you don't go overboard, as this is a transit of excess. There can be a draw to overextend in business or social relations. Your tastes and what you value is evolving. If increasing profit is your goal, enhance the quality of what you offer. This is the simple equation in both business and personal matters. Strengthen the foundation. Gather more beauty. Lavish your attention on things that can be improved. Great day to find enjoyment within the social and sensual pleasures.
May 9 Sun trine Pluto (2:24pm) North Node enters Leo (2:37pm)
Powerful expression and potent impressions. Magnetism. Pull of fate. Excellent day for research, revealing information, and getting to the bottom of interesting material/foundational matters. There could be a powerful and fortunate path or tunnel opening up now. Follow the alignment. Swiftly remove any physical/emotional/psychological clutter for greatest potency. Transform into greater leadership through entering with self-esteem.
The Lunar Nodes are descriptive of fateful evolution. Since November 12, 2015, the North Node has been transiting Virgo. This has created a call to service and practical solutions for global problems. With South Node in Pisces, we've been asked as a collective to shed layers of illusion, fantasy, and woolgathering in order to access the reality of what we are capable of fixing.
As North Node begins to transit Leo, the emphasis is on the HEART. Follow your heart. Feed your heart. Wear your heart on your sleeve. Embrace play, celebration, and self-expression. Tap into your creativity. Give yourself lots of loving attention. On the collective level, this transit will help us to elevate into greater Self Love, rooted in firm and just community. The noble sovereign rules with equanimity. What if each of us were the balanced loving creators of life on Earth? Life is not merely about devoted service and healing. It can also be pleasurable for pleasure's sake. Embrace joie de vivre. Be a living example of the love you want to make manifest. This transit is in effect until November 6, 2018.
May 10 Mercury Direct conjunct Uranus in Aries (1:19am) Full Moon in Scorpio (5:42pm) Lunar Beltane
Ignited! Last time this transit occurred while Mercury was Direct was March 26, 2017. If you keep a journal, check and see what events or news came through at that time. On April 28, 2017 Mercury Retrograde joined Uranus. This is the third and final Mercury-Uranus conjunction for this current cycle. Revelation! Awakening! Today is a day of downloads. Bold, courageous, inventive and collective genius. We all want to be "free to be me." Each of us is wired with a direct hookup to source and an entirely unique set of gifts. Share in it. The time is now. Collective mindsphere, activate! Take us higher and broader. This is a transit of big AHA's, experimentation, instantaneous flash insights. Independently, we don't necessarily have all the answers. But when we sit in circle or engage in a community of hearts on fire, magic happens. Answers and inspiration arrive. A huge change has the potential to take place now. Something we never could have seen coming. Something unpredictable and miraculous. An innovative leap. A renaissance of living into the future right Now. Mark this down: Venus will transit this area of the sky on June 3. Notice what themes reverberate around May 10 and June 3.
The Full Moon in Scorpio on May 10, 2017 (5:42pm) is mysterious intimacy. It is also Lunar Beltane; a celebration of the start of summer season. Gather, awaken, make mischief and merriment. Desire, passion, and pleasure are natural, life-giving forces. What arouses the foliage and flowers to burst forth from their seedling den? The darkness and death of winter has, invisibly, nourished and enriched the soil. Something deep within is ripening. The sap is rising in the fertile body of our Earth. An inscrutable, yet abundant revival blooms within and around us now. This is a feast time. Feast upon the seen and unseen. This is a dancing time. Dance close with the felt and the imperceptible. This is a time of timeless intimacy. Enter into the unnamed space of communion. With source. With partnership. With life, death, life. Regenerative source coils to the center of itself. In the twilight of the subtle fabric of existence, our soul is met. Two lips touch. The serpent and the egg. As self uncoils once again, source births worlds of infinite treasure.
For every New and Full Moon, find a complementary Movement Ritual on the Qoya Blog.
Beltane, alternately known as May Day, celebrates the fortuitous return of Summer. This is a (sometimes debaucherous) fertility festival honoring the earth's ripening riches and the principle of creation. Desire, passion and pleasure give rise to life! Fires burn. Merriment and marriages are made. Feasts are enjoyed. Dance around the maypole and experience revival.
May 11 Mars square Neptune (1:52pm) Mercury trine Saturn (4:15pm)
What an interesting day of transits. Great for learning and adapting to change. Our mind is strong and perceptions are clear, but our behaviors may be missing the mark. Great day for active dreaming, accurate visioning, imagination, music, art, poetry, and meditation. Harness your inspirations, yet exercise patience. Mentally, we can accurately perceive the future and the direction we are headed. Physical energy may be low today; or perhaps our actions suffer from what feels like wasteful drain as we are pulled in a multitude of directions. Energy is wafting and indistinct. There is an encouragement to connect with a truth behind the veil. Is there anything we are avoiding? Something eludes us. Resist becoming disappointed or discouraged that your future isn't happening now. Simply reroute, mend, and allow spirit to take its course.
May 12 Mars trine Jupiter (7:19am)
Moving forward, aiming towards your ideals and dreams. Opportunities are coming through and leading us in the direction of growth. Relationships and social connections open pathways. Write this down: Why do you do what you do? Make a column of actions/things you do. Make a second column naming what motivates each of these actions. What are your primary motivators? What are the heartiest ethics driving your actions? Great integrity will promote success and increase your good fortune. Let those in your network also demonstrate actions from fair morals. Balance will lead to reward. Let us be in right relationship with all that is. May it be so.
May 16 Mercury Direct Enters Taurus (12:07am)
Mercury went retrograde on April 9 in Taurus. Since that time, we have been re-evaluating our resources and investments of time, energy, and money. Now it is time to establish more stability for ourselves and our loved ones. Slow down a racing mind and nourish the root. We are worthy. We are fertile, abundant creatures. Our lives can reflect our inherent worth. New business plans and endeavors can begin to develop and build on themselves. Look at life with a longterm lens. Focus on reliability and sustainability. Nourish what feels most valuable. Appreciate the riches in your life. Abundance comes in so many forms. Gratitude is a fertilizer. Patience is, too.
May 17 Sun inconjunct Saturn (1:29am) Jupiter inconjunct Neptune (4:37am)
What are your real responsibilities? Sometimes we bite off more than we can chew. There is so much going on, and it can feel like too much. To accumulate or to circulate? Is it commitment or stagnation? Restlessness or freedom of movement? It may be time to get free from burdensome responsibilities - or tasks that were never really yours to begin with. It may be time to reign in your distractibility or lack of discipline in certain areas. Sometimes we continue burdening ourselves in areas we have already fully developed. This can prevent us from attaining wisdom. With an open mind, keep learning. Ask yourself: is this helping me grow in a way that increases my life's value? If so, keep it. If not, delete it.
It's an odd thing, living in a time where compassion is not the default. Instead, as a global community we are re-learning and remembering how to instill empathy as a basic value. In order to trust ourselves and life, we are upgrading our relationship to compassion. Some of this work is done in private, while some is done in public. Rather than waver in indecisive contradiction, let's honor both sides of that spectrum. Private creative work and prayer is blessed. Bringing what you learn in those silent spiritual realms into social arenas and partnerships is equally a blessing. The gift of spiritual and human equilibrium: a quiet peace.
May 18 Sun sextile Chiron (4:06pm) Venus clears Shadow
A rainbow bridge is illuminated. The gate between material and spiritual worlds is open. Follow the path of healing and atonement that is uniquely available to you. Welcome your flaws and place them on your altar. (Read this excellent piece by Tad Hargrave)
Venus clears her retrograde shadow today. Her retrograde journey began March 4, 2017. The transformations we endured in relationships, worth, resources, and finances since early March are complete for now. We let things go. We saw things anew. We can move forward with clarity and heart-full assertiveness and fierce, loving attention on what we really want and what is wanted of us.
May 19 Saturn trine Uranus (2:14am) Mars inconjunct Pluto (9:06am) Venus opposite Jupiter (10:11am)
Saturn trine Uranus is the aspect I feel most grateful for this month. Amidst all of the rapid change, growth, and evolution, there is at least some assurance that we have support, and that the most valuable changes we make will stick. Authentic creativity, experimentation, and beneficial risk are reinforced. That which is time-tested is in harmonious relation with the untried and futuristic. Radical community gatherings that emphasize the strong self will do well. There is a practical process guiding this awakening.
Mars inconjunct Pluto asks us to evaluate our energies. This is a cagey energy. A struggle between a bird and a stone. Someone or something is rigid and controlling, and wants to use power to bring things into form. Meanwhile, there is a desire for flight and a lack of drive to commit. Use discretion, but avoid manipulation. Is there a middle ground? Reach for a less-forceful, more magical form of achievement.
Venus opposite Jupiter in Aries/Libra highlights the dance between individual/independent self and harmonious relating with others. This is a luxurious, playful transit. Pleasurable laziness and enjoyment are advised. If you are going to book some vacation this month, do it this week. Also a great time for making big purchases; but notice and moderate the tendency to feel extra spendy.
May 20 Sun enters Gemini (4:31pm) Mercury clears Shadow
Sun in Gemini for the next 30 days is the season of pollination. Spread ideas, messages, information with deft swiftness and agility. Tell stories and offer news. Spotlight on communication of all kinds. Mobile and flexible, this is a light, airy time of curious innocence. Let's learn together!
Mercury has cleared the shadow of its retrograde period that began April 9. Green light for decisions, contracts, and agreements. May the choices made and all words uttered be blessings that support longterm reward and abundant wealth for all.
May 25 Venus square Pluto (12:22pm) New Moon in Gemini (3:44pm)
Drama! Intensity! The deeper transformations we endured during Venus Rx (since March 4, 2017) are now put to the test. Love or money can feel threatened. A triangle situation could arise. Is the threat real? Or are we being asked to mature our affections? Beware of your attachments. Sometimes fears around love and resources come up due to trauma or memories of abandonment or lack. Look for ways to empower your resources and relationships. Right now, we might feel a drive towards greater independence. But some relationships are intertwined with the structure of our lives. Assess your commitments. Ideally, you'd be able to assert and express yourself and the relationship remains continuously supportive. If not, something needs to fall away. When shadows and transformations come to light, notice what remains. May all your little deaths bring you closer to oneness.
The New Moon in Gemini on May 25, 2017 (3:44pm EST) is a refinement. An affirmation for the power to choose. We are multidimensional beings. We are dynamic. We exist in many realms and worlds at once. We can surf between wisdom and recklessness. Fly in the schools of discipline and raw impulse. Life always invites us to learn. Study contrast. To access oneness, play in the realms of duality. We can flit and fly through chapters of life and gather all sorts of interesting information. At some point, we need to make a choice. Sometimes what we want is not really what we need. Allow yourself to be properly guided. Patiently wait for precise channels to open. If it is really meant for you, it will find you. You may encounter an option of lust or love. It could be an opportunity to honor your commitments. It could be an invitation to deepen your ability to love. Channel your energies constructively. Powerfully love your real self. The snake sheds her skin. Let go into the power of love, and be reborn.
For every New and Full Moon, find a complementary Movement Ritual on the Qoya Blog.
May 27 Mercury inconjunct Jupiter (3:17pm)
Powers of exaggeration can work for us or against us. Put your focus on what you want to see grow. Other people's judgements may be interfering with your sense of value and worth. Look for the place where perception and reality meet. Make a moral middle ground.
May 28 Mercury sextile Neptune (3:04am)
Flowing perceptions. This is an intuitive day. Promising for dreaming, artistic creation, and meditative practice.
May 29 Mars opposite Saturn (2:55am)
"The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." Marcus Aurelius.
Everything you want is on the other side of fear.
Hit the brakes. This week may be colored by difficult choices, obstacles, frustration, arguments, struggle, or feelings of being blocked. It is a kung fu transit, geared towards hard work. What is standing in the way between you and your unfulfilled desires? Is someone or something telling you NO? Thank them for that. You are being asked to employ stamina and streamline your energies. Patience and discipline are required. Go for endurance. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. You are being asked to put your ideas into form; grounding them through authentic action. Believe in yourself, and have faith in spirit. Know that whatever you are meant to achieve will come to fruition. Sometimes we just need to re-dedicate ourselves and align with our truest integrity. To what are you willing to commit? For what would you move mountains? What would you do if you had nothing to prove? Without forcing anything, strengthen your resolve. You can do it. Sharpen your volition. Make the wise choice.
May 30 Mars sextile Uranus (10:39pm)
Creative endeavors! New actions. Try something unusual. Reinvent to reinvigorate.
May 31 Mercury trine Pluto (8:03am)
Penetrating insights. Excellent day for research, occult practice, and therapeutic revelations. The power of the mind is keen.
Curious how this month's astrology resonates with your particular charts?
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It's an absolute gift to be able to continue this work. May this forecast be your graceful navigation guide, your invitation to return home, and your empowerment to step more fully into your astounding multidimensional Self.
L'Chayim!
To Life
As always, THANK YOU for your support.
May we anchor the highest dreams of our collective heart into reality.
April 2017 Forecast: Next Level!
April 2017 Forecast: Next Level!
For all of 2017, this blog will feature an artist or entrepreneur resonant with the monthly theme.
April Artist Feature:
Michael Lott is an intuitive abstract artist whose work is heavily inspired by his relationship with nature, humanity's movement towards spiritual integration, and by the worlds opened up to him via dreams and the collective unconscious. The unique style that Michael's work takes on is inspired by synesthesia, a "condition" in which Michael's senses overlap and he perceives music and sound visually as a flowing, interwoven dance of colors and abstract patterns. Michael believes that his work holds rich subconscious symbolism, and that it can be seen as a foreign yet universally familiar language.
Michael's work is created using acrylic brush and acrylic pen on canvas.
You can find more of Michael's work at www.michaellottart.com.
The Astrological Theme for March 2017 was "Be the Healing."
March was the remembrance of a basic truth:
Nature heals.
Nature is healing automatically, at all times.
We are nature.
Healing is nonlinear.
It is multidimensional and incorporates all parts of self.
Healing is not necessarily comfortable.
It requires change and tests the status quo. Sometimes it is downright painful.
Healing is not straightforward.
Much like hiking in the woods, it is a journey though a path with rocks and bends along the way.
To be healed both is and isn't a final outcome.
Oh, to be Here.
If we experience disease, it is of course impetus to look towards the cessation of disease as a final outcome. But what if our disease was also our healing?
Personal Share (NOT a request for unsolicited advice, please and thank you):
The past month was very difficult for me. After moving home for the second time in 6 months, adjusting to an entirely new set of priorities, continuing to juggle 10 bazillion work things as I always do, and preparing to teach and offer readings at 2 weeks of retreat abroad, by mid-month I felt like a dried up old sponge someone had squeezed too hard for a prolonged period of time. I was at my edge. I hit a wall. An absolute limit.
[Sidenote: I checked my transits and realized Saturn was exactly opposite my Sun that day! Astrology never ceases to amaze me. This is peak stress transit; a feeling as if all of your creative energy, vitality, and self-expression is being squeezed into too-small britches and covered by a boulder. Want to know your transits for better understanding of how the stars are affecting you? Book yourself in for a reading here. When I see the proof in the stars, my whole soul exhales and I emerge into a wider territory of self-understanding. It is then that I am able to allow and align.]
I love being an entrepreneur and choosing to live my life the way I do - at this point I wouldn't trade it for another lifestyle; but it's also really freaking hard. Sometimes it feels unsustainable. It is challenging in ways I can't even begin to describe. Juggling so many different projects and attempting to midwife my business and myself into the next chapter of being sometimes feels like torturous labor pains. It gets to the point where I can't even respond to texts from friends because I am so spread thin!
Right before leaving to teach in Costa Rica, I started to make some realizations.
I saw that I was replaying patterns exemplified to me through my father and his lineage (Saturn transits tend to bring up Dad karma).
I saw how imperative it was that I rest, take some time off serving others, and relieve the pressure I was putting on myself and my business - and, ironically, that the health of my business depended on it.
I saw a bunch of other things that, without going through this period of immense stress, I never would have seen.
Saturn is all about becoming more of a master. The things occurring in March urged me to take a hard line and step into my authority with clarity. Also true to Saturn transits, I needed to release some stuff. Saturn is all about pruning and letting go in order to solidify what is most essential. Sometimes we expand (Jupiter). Other times we contract. Both are forms of healing. This is astrology medicine.
In mid-March, my therapist sat on the couch across from me and said,
"You are healing."
It wasn't until later that I remembered that was the very title of my March forecast:
Be the Healing.
Well, I did. I was and I am.
So are you.
My practice and belief is that it is simply a matter of becoming more aware of that fact.
And embracing it.
Aligning with it.
You are healing, and you are already healed.
Practice Tip: There is a Qi Gong practice that speaks to this principle. When something needs healing (let's use a friend's sprained finger as an example), we hold it in our attention. We can use our own hands to hold space around our friend's finger. We gather Qi (pure lifeforce energy) from the surrounding environment and radiate it through our hands into the hurt finger. As we do this, we envision the finger in perfect condition. Here, we combine: presence to the truth of what is and envisioning the ultimate healing. Allow nature to do the rest.
Do your work, then step back.
Leave it to Source for completion.
The Astrological Theme for April 2017 is
Next Level!
When I look at the starmaps for April, I think: Quantum Leap.
The definition of Quantum Leap from Merriam-Webster: "An abrupt change, sudden increase, or dramatic advance."
This month, we will awaken in a BIG way. As individuals. As couples. As members of society local and global. Sudden change and reinvention will arise with powerful thrust. The change on our horizon invigorates humankind's progress into the future. If we can conceive of it, it won't happen.. something more genius will arise. These evolutionary adaptations are volatile and unpredictable.
The Full Moon in Libra on April 11 dramatically highlights our shift into higher gear; New Paradigm. It's not what we thought it was!
April may feel unsteady. Restless. Unstable. Exciting! Like a loose cannon. Like a nutty professor. The winds of change are blowing; and fires burn on the mount.
Meanwhile, we are still healing. Part of us is making bold, perhaps even brash strides forward, while our hearts, wallets, and relations are soppy and tender. We may feel both invigorated and burned out.
This is the territory of New Beginnings; inextricable with the Endings paving their way.
Birth depends on surrender. We have to let go in order to receive new life.
Astrologically Speaking:
April begins with Sun in Aries, Mercury in Taurus (0 degrees), Venus Retrograde in Aries (0 degrees), Mars in Taurus, Jupiter Retrograde in Libra, Saturn in Sagittarius, Uranus in Aries, Neptune in Pisces, Pluto in Capricorn, and Chiron in Pisces.
Significant Astrological Happenings in April Include:
- Venus Retrograde Cycle
- Venus Rx squares Saturn
- Saturn stations Retrograde
- Mercury Retrograde Cycle
- Pluto stations Retrograde
- Saturn-Chiron Square
- Sun and Mercury transit Jupiter-Uranus-Pluto T-Square
- Mars squares Nodal axis
- Full Moon in Libra
- New Moon in Taurus
As the month begins, what's highlighted most is the relationship between Self and Other. There is a push/pull between independence and collaboration. Between assertion and acquiescence. Between conflict and peace. Between anger and calm.
All manifest is comprised of two polarities. Yin and Yang. Masculine and Feminine. The differences (the separation, the challenge) between the two create attraction.
Ultimately, everything is One.
When two people enter into relationship, they reflect each other. They hold a resonant polarity. As individuals change and evolve, their partners must also change and evolve. We enter into relationship to know ourselves. We each can hold energies the other person benefits from. In this way, relationships can be a catalyst for growth into wholeness and fulfillment.
A healthy relationship is comprised of the union of two healthy individuals.
The Great Rebalancing is upon us. We are being asked to inhabit more of ourselves. As leaders. As change-makers. As pioneers of New Earth. We are being asked to step into our authority as mentors, as healers, as global citizens. Disharmony is becoming revealed so we can put things right.
Dissonance leads to harmony.
Balance is not static. It is a dynamic state of continuous adjustment.
Sometimes, we try to be the "nice guy/girl/person." We quell our impulses and our desires in order to "keep the peace." When we do this, we compromise ourselves and contribute to greater conflict down the line.
The more we know ourselves, the better our relationships will be. Find your "healthy selfish."
Ideally, the desires of the individual naturally serve the people in our lives. Our instincts serve to balance the whole.
Ideally, our relationships make our lives better and more beautiful. They offer support for us to come into who we really are.
Magic Questions for April:
- What do I want?
- What ignites me right now?
- How can I honor that and move forward in my relationships?
- Which relationships reflect who I feel I really am and how?
- What are the biggest blocks I notice around giving and receiving love and money?
- What can I release/forgive/accept/let go of to allow for more flowing love and resources?
This month's soundtrack:
A Word on Venus Retrograde
Venus stationed retrograde in Aries on March 4, 2017. She continues her apparently-backwards journey until April 15, 2017. Venus goes Rx (abbreviate for retrograde) every 18 months. This is the final Venus-rising as morning star cycle in Aries that will occur in our lifetime!
Think of Retrograde periods (regardless of the planet) as a cosmic reboot. Our operating system gets refreshed, reloaded, and upgraded into the most modern version of consciousness.
In this case, it's in all realms Venus: Love, Money, Worth, Value, Appearance, Investments, Friendship, Romance, Relationships, Partnership, Resources, Pleasure, and the Feminine.
Venus stationed Rx at 13 degrees Aries. She moves through Aries, sign of the Self (reconsidering what I, the individual, want, love, and feel compelled by) until the evening of April 2. Then, she enters Pisces, the realm of unconditional spiritual love. From April 2 through April 14, we have a chance to release, cleanse, and forgive of very old played-out and inherited karma around money, worth, love, and relationships. During Venus Rx, our stuff comes up. Expect emotion and sensitivity. Expect despair, pain, and disillusionment at times. We may become hyper-aware of the limitations of ourselves and others. Be gentle, yet also do what it takes to make necessary change. By April 28 we will be liberated individually and collectively into new territory of inspired action and re-wired perceptions. Love, worth, and connection level UP!
In these times, we are asked to see and be more of the truth.
Deceptions and baseless behaviors and beliefs are falling away so we can focus on, absorb, and encourage what really matters in our shared reality. Power to your revelations.
L'Chayim!
To Life!
Nature is chock FULL of medicine.
May this blog be a place to discover helpful natural remedies that can guide your way through this journey of life on Earth.
Stone Medicine for the Month from POUND Jewelry
Phantom Quartz
A "Stone of Universal Awareness", phantom quartz stones are here to remind us of our inner magic! Especially if we have forgotten some if it over the course of our lives. Phantom stones are literally crystals or the minerals of other crystals growing INSIDE of crystals. They are like little phantoms, helping to connect us with past life information or records. They can also assist us in letting go of any "ghosts" from the past that are no longer serving us--(be it a person, a thought, and event.) This is a stone to help us bring back our innate sparkle of mystery and child-like joy as we move forward in our lives with the full knowing that anything is possible. Phantom crystals stimulate higher awareness and deep healing for the planet as a whole, revealing that everything is recycled and that there are many life-times to the soul.
This stone is so special to us POUND girls and for sure feels like a NEXT LEVEL stone. One that serves as as tool or talisman for remembering the deep wisdom the soul has to offer when we listen. And how we can take that wisdom with us out into the world while leaving behind what no longer serves. ---Written by Becca Kannapell of POUND Jewelry
Rock.Your.Element.
Flower Medicine for the Month from Santosha Mama Birth and Wellness
Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Black-Eyed Susan is a flower remedy that gives us courage to go into the unknown parts of ourselves, catalyzing a quantum leap in inner healing and growth. Black-Eyed Susan takes us on a pilgrimage to the center of our inner darkness (our shadow), where it stimulates insight into the deep burdens and well-worn patterns that hold us back from the growth we seek. Black-Eyed Susan then guides us to their release. This flower helps the soul integrate light and dark, the manifest and latent aspects of our consciousness. Her plant signature—those physical features that illuminate its healing powers—couldn’t be more poetic. The flower is a composite: one single flower made of two types. The center is a dark velvety black brown conical disc filled with seeds: potential for new life. From this dark core emerges a sunny yellow halo of daisy-like petals, representing the golden protection and strength given to the solar plexus, our will center and third chakra, as we release old patterns. Black-eyed Susan flower essence acts as an emotional and spiritual cleanser, and catalyst to our inner growth. This flower has been associated with the archetypal energy of the Black Madonna, venerated for her ability to guide us through the darkness and our inner process of transformation. Queen of the Earth, her energy has the power to transform and heal by bringing the dark into the light of consciousness. ---Written by Jaime Fleres-Mizejewski of Santosha Mama Wellness
In-Depth Transit Forecast
All times listed in EST
April 2 Venus Rx enters Pisces (8:25pm)
Since Venus went retrograde on March 4th, we have been reconsidering what it is we want as individuals. Sometimes, it's all about "me." A strong sense of self is what activates us. Knowing what "I want" helps us to be decisive, get things done, and go places in our lives. Honoring what drives us is important. But sometimes we burn too hot. Sometimes we move too fast. Sometimes we need to see the bigger picture of spiritual interconnectedness in order to tame excessive selfishness. Venus in Pisces may sensitize us. She may soften us and melt our hearts. She brings the importance of acceptance, forgiveness, feeling, and release. In order to heal, she needs to rest. She needs water to drink and bathe in. She needs to meditate and elevate beyond mundane reality. She needs to re-orient to the deeper heart of humanity. Take private time alone. Practice passive receptivity. Venus in Pisces wants to know the value of her empathy. The heart-opening power of charity. The pleasure of dreaming. Avoid making yourself a victim or savior at this time. Sometimes in love we see what we imagine is there, rather than reality. Everything is an illusion, after all. Just don't expect your fantasy to become real without you making it so by sharing the intelligence of your good heart. Let compassion be your compass.
April 4 Mars inconjunct Jupiter (10:53pm)
Mars in Taurus wants to act in favor of long-term abundance. Make investments with your time, money, and energy. Move slowly and steadily. Do your habits support your long-range goals? If not, how can they shift? Sometimes we can stubbornly hold onto things, behaviors, and resentments not meant for us. Our energy wants to be used wisely. What are you enabling? If there is something unhealthy you are enabling in your relationships or work, chances are something out of order is also being enabled/maintained within you. Habits exist on mental and emotional levels in addition to physical. Take charge in forming new habits where new habits are due. We are always growing corn in our lives. We can be conscious in choosing what we fertilize and where we weed.
April 6 Mars trine Pluto (12:01am) Saturn station Retrograde in Sagittarius (1:06am)
Power at your fingertips. Both currently in Earth signs (Mars in Taurus and Pluto in Capricorn), this is a powerful push to manifest. Where there's a will, there's a way, and we can move mountains. Projects requiring focus and endurance are favored. Courage and confidence will take you forward for the long haul. Harness your inner strength. Move to build, to manage, to eventually succeed. You got this! At the end of the day, dance or play drums to celebrate your progress. The grounding rhythm will continue to support your direction.
When Saturn stations Retrograde, we feel it for about 5 days on either side. This is the final time Saturn will travel retrograde in Sagittarius!! He goes direct again August 25, 2017. This Rx journey takes him from 21-27 degrees Sag. Saturn rules karma, time, material reality, obstacles, pressure, control, mastery, and aging. Saturn is not an easy teacher. He can be negative and weighty. He rules over contracts and contraction. He is a disciplinarian. He shows us where we fall short and challenges us to overcome our limitations. This retrograde cycle is all about healing deep wounds in order to step into greater mastery.
It is time to look at our responsibilities and prune them. We will feel the pressure to relinquish unnecessary burdens, that we may focus on the absolute essentials and achieve what is most important. Resolving debts (physical, emotional, spiritual, professional, ancestral) is indicated during this time.
This Saturn Retrograde period specifically highlights Venus and Chiron. This means that the hard work/heavily soul work we do now is specifically focused on healing the painful parts of ourselves that need integration regarding relationships, finances, affection, and worth/value. It is time to let go of outdated ways we make meaning and make way for more natural and realistic beliefs to take their place. The healing will take place in our unconscious, as well as in our more conscious systems of religion, belief, and understanding. This is a crisis of meaning/belief, which exists to test our knowledge of ourselves and our ability to better connect. Sometimes money gets sticky in our most loved relationships. Take a clear look, and make actual improvements. Support for yourself and your loved ones is essential during this time of re-wiring financial responsibility.
Recommendations for this transit:
- Work with gratitude DAILY. Ground it through ceremonies such as Peruvian despacho.
- Get your finances in order in a way that suits who you are and what is most important to you now. Work with a financial advisor or business coach. Resolve debts.
- Simplify
- Bridge global and local
- Look for proof
- Relinquish old groundless beliefs and excess responsibilities
- Welcome new perspectives
- Let go of lack mentality
- Exercise discipline, but release accumulated pressure created by anxiety and questioning
- Get the support you need and encourage others to do the same
April 7 Sun opposite Jupiter (5:39pm)
Self and other. Seeking balance. Jupiter is seen as "the great benefic," as Jupiter transits tend to bring fortune and opportunity. Something big could be opening up now. However, Jupiter also amplifies things. In this case, Jupiter in Libra wants to bring things into balance. But sometimes in order to do so, we must become aware of challenging disharmony. Focus on fairness, but attempt not to over-compromise in a way that devalues self. You may find yourself going to an extreme of some kind. Moderate. Wherever you are in your life, can you open to it more? Life is open to you today.
April 8 Venus Rx square Saturn (4:29pm) Sun square Pluto (8:49pm)
Healing hurts. Feel it to heal it. We are experiencing a cosmic reboot when it comes to Love, Money, Worth, Value, Appearance, Investments, Friendship, Romance, Relationships, Partnership, Resources, Pleasure, and the Feminine. What hasn't yet been integrated? This is a sensitive, painful, yet cleansing time of reckoning with those areas. We can feel very limited, restrained, and boxed in by relationships or finances. There may be a strong burden or sense of responsibility. What's coming up now is karmic. At some point, debts will always be repaid and balance restored. There is a sense of being "fallen from grace." Look at the global money system. That has stemmed from and is propagated by a certain outlook; a collective mindsphere. But this outlook relies on violence, and dishonors reciprocity. It can be said that humanity is suffering from self-created poverty consciousness, when the deepest truth is that when we live simply and respect our resources, there is more than enough for everyone. Our global belief systems need to be rewired if we are to experience the abundance that is our birthright as inhabitants of this unconditionally generous, regenerating planet.
Song suggestion:
It's like seeing out of the side-corners of our eyes. Today, the conscious and unconscious parts of our being square off. Be willing to look into the dark; and more importantly, be willing to feel your way through. Relationships and authority may seem like some kind of threat to ourselves. But if we fully embody our being as a Warrior of Love and take control over what is within reach, nothing can take us down. Allow yourself to transform into a more powerful version of you. Not one that operates from "power over" or power struggle, but rather, one so intrinsically connected to your own power (ultimately power that does not belong to you but flows through your being) that you are unbreakable. Shed skin and regenerate.
April 9 Mercury stations Retrograde in Taurus (7:14pm)
We tend to feel Mercury preparing to turn retrograde for a few days prior to its station. In keeping with the other themes for this month, Mercury retrogrades in Taurus, a sign presiding over Venusian themes such as worth, value, investment, attachment, and resource. The way we think, talk, and message about such things is in for a change. Take inventory. What do you value most? Trust the intelligence of your senses and your body while Mercury makes apparent moves backwards. One way to increase abundance is to give thanks for everything you already have. Use daily affirmations to support how rich you are in life. Mercury retrograde is always a time when it is best to delay major decisions and signing contracts until mercury resumes direct motion.
April 11 Full Moon in Libra (12:08am)
The Full Moon in Libra on April 11, 2017 (12:08amEST) is a big beacon of fiery light. The light is so strong that it can guide ships, airplanes, and weary travelers of all kinds toward their destination. All at once, the light is a warning, a signal, and a celebration: that we are Rising. We are emerging. And that in this groundswell, outworn contracts are transforming. Balance is becoming restored. During these times, each of us IS the call to higher ground. We are each made of light and attuning ourselves to contain more and more of it. How can we be more light? We bring grace and levity into our hearts. We release judgements against ourselves, one another, and the world at large. We simply be who we are, and party in the joy of pure self. And we stand strong for the embers burning in our hearts; that what is truly best for one will benefit all. We are soul-pioneers, following our just passions to reinvent humankind. Walk your path. Especially if it is brand new or untried; forge onward. Surf the evolutionary wave. Those who need guidance will follow when they see your light against the darkness. The light of the collective web gets brighter as each shining vibrant soul find one another. Let's set the world ablaze.
For every New and Full Moon, find a complementary Movement Ritual on the Qoya Blog.
April 14 Sun conjunct Uranus (1:30am)
Change is the only constant. Revolution is at hand. What is being reinvented now? There is electricity in the air. We are being charged to adapt. Take a risk. Make a leap. Try something new. Emphasize your unique self-expression. Gather a community of like-minds who help you to feel in your element. Free and autonomous whether alone or together. Allies: forward, march!
April 15 Venus stations Direct in Pisces, conjunct Chiron (6:18am)
Healing love! The last 5ish weeks held a lot of reconsideration. The releasing/forgiving/letting go part of a cosmic reboot around Love, Money, Worth, Value, Appearance, Investments, Friendship, Romance, Relationships, Partnership, Resources, Pleasure, and the Feminine, has come and end for now. But whenever we empty something, we must fill it up with something else; preferably something of our conscious choosing. What emotions do you choose to associate with money? What philosophies guide your purchases and act of self-appreciation? How would you like your friendships and partnerships to feel, moving forward? I prefer to call in supportive relationships that allow me to improve and heal. Relationships and money in my life are for the purpose of making life better. I gather resources so I have more to share with reciprocity. Find and make your affirmations. Perform purifying meditations to help anchor light and love into your relationship and financial associations. Wherever you are, wherever someone else is; bless it, forgive it, and watch it integrate naturally through spacious loving attentions.
April 16 Mars sextile Chiron (8:24am) Venus sextile Mars (9:26pm)
A great day for moving towards the fulfillment of your life path. Take what you love with you. Leave the rest. May this be a time of flow and gentle ripening.
April 17 Sun trine Saturn (8:43am) Mars inconjunct Saturn (10:14pm)
Limits will help you to become more effective. For today, color within the lines. We are often trained to take on more burdens than we actually need. Simplify your energies. This will help you to feel more in control. While the soul is eternal and limitless; in our human embodiment we must choose the essential projects that will comprise our masterful one-life. Each of us has a job to do. It's not always a singular "purpose." Find something that capitalizes your gifts. Master the skill and use it to contribute to a greater good. The rest of life can be free time if you please.
April 19 Sun enters Taurus (5:27pm)
The Sun departs quick-burning territory of the individualized self and enters an old-growth forest. The flora here may not be as agile, but it is peaceful and firmly rooted. The soil is ripe, black, and teeming with life upon life. Taurus is a Fixed Earth sign of receiving and accumulation. Go deeper into the pleasure of embodiment while we get to inhabit this Earth. Harness your resources to ensure comfort and stability. Gather your investments to gently accrue in gain. The mind is strengthened through stillness. Indeed, stillness and waiting nourish the eventual shift toward movement. Each of us deserves a stable foundation. Honor what holds and supports you. Water, fertilize, and enjoy it - that it may grow.
April 20 Sun conjunct Mercury (1:54am) Pluto stations Retrograde in Capricorn (8:48am) Mercury Rx enters Aries (1:37pm)
The messenger is in court with the ruler. Pay attention to what the couriers bring you today. Think, speak, chat, ideate. Also listen for the messages from nature that are harder to hear. The land is always speaking to us, if we learn to listen. Sun and Mercury are in grounded Taurus when they meet, but soon after, Mercury continues to retrograde into Aries. Savor the flavor before mental activity speeds up.
When Pluto stations, we feel it for about a week before and after. Pluto rules our shadow: the hidden parts of our psyches that needs to purge and/or transform. It is normal for people to feel uneasy during the days surrounding a Pluto transit. Things tend to get stirred - particularly internal content that we can't quite put a name to. Sometimes an inner awareness begins to arise about ways we are ensnared in power struggles, manipulation, or misuse of power. Don't fear the shadow. Pluto always offers the opportunity to die and be reborn. It is a natural process of purification: shedding and resurrection. Trust the mystery. This is a metamorphosis. Pluto will station to go direct on September 28, 2017.
Mercury in Aries asks us to re-evaluate ourselves, our passions, and our desires. We are still in the theme of deliberating around self/other. Independence versus Codependence. Relationships can seem like they are holding us back. Avoid making firm decisions about love and money at this time if that feels possible - or be open to reversals after Mercury goes direct on May 3.
April 21 Mars enters Gemini (6:32am) Venus direct square Saturn (7:08am)
Mars in Gemini wants to learn. Approach all of your options with a flirtatious curiosity. This is a non-committal energy. It is lithe and nimble, and interested in pollinating; the sharing of ideas and information. There is trickery here, however, and a lot of back-and-forth. This transit mixed with Mercury in Gemini can run us through the mental ringer. The energy is a bit like popping corn: fun, and a bit inspiring. More like entertainment than actual food. Dance and run; movement can help clear some of the excess nervous system stimulus now. This is a time to get fired up and spread concepts but not necessarily to see anything through to the finish line.
Venus squares Saturn again, but this time she is moving direct. That means the same theme from April 8 (see above) is arising again; but this time we get to put some solid ground under it. What before seemed rife with lack, fear, anxiety, or scarcity, is asking us to rise to the challenge. Here is an example: One time, I made a strong statement to the Universe that I was ready to embrace mastery of money. Later that day, I opened my mailbox to find an unexpected $600 medical bill. Venus was square Saturn that day. I got the message loud and clear. Instead of feeling burdened by the medical bill, I chose to see it as an invitation to become more masterful with my money. We always have choice. Saturn asks that we rise to our challenges and overcome.
While Mars in Gemini is flighty and non-committal, Venus square Saturn is all about commitments in love, money, relationships, worth, and appearance. "Love me? Prove it." "Love deepens over time." "We've been through a lot together, and that matters to me." These phrases all carry a Venus-Saturn resonance. No matter where you are on your journey, this is a great time to anchor in self-love and acceptance. Make love real.
April 24 Mercury trine Saturn (4:15am)
Even while Mercury travels Rx, this is a great time to catch up on tasks that require mental steadiness. Gain a grounded perspective from people with more life experience. What is stirring your passions, now? Is there a sense of purpose driving your thoughts? Take note. While this isn't the best time to put everything into motion while Mercury travels Rx, it is a good time to get things in order and take inventory.
April 26 New Moon in Taurus (6:16am)
The New Moon in Taurus on April 26, 2017 (6:16amEST) is a fertile seed. Slow down. Almost to a complete stop. To a place where you can feel your heartbeat. Where you become aware of every morsel of breath flowing to nourish the cells of your body. Here, nuzzle against the fur growing, ever-so-slowly, on the body of your favorite loved animal. Touch your lips to a glass of water and feel the moisture soften the skin of your mouth as you drink. Put your hands on the earth and notice how the grass growing here is like with the hair growing on your head. Stir the pot and imbibe of the smells that emerge to feed you first, even before the food is fully cooked. Let your eyes feast on the experience of being right here. Take everything in. With pleasure. With honor. With full satisfaction. Intentionally digest. Then transfer your senses from outer to inner. Go deep inside yourself. Beneath the soil of your own skin. Within the presence of your own embodied being. And from this place of pulsing, organic, almost-stillness; plant your seeds of intention. In the state of entire contentment, wait for fruit.
For every New and Full Moon, find a complementary Movement Ritual on the Qoya Blog.
April 28 Venus direct enters Aries (9:13am) Mercury Rx conjunct Uranus (10:50am)
Venus now departs from the sensitive, oceanic spiritual realms of resolving karmic burden. She dries off runs forward, covered only by the Sun. Activate. Initiate. Rise up and engage. We circle back to what we drifted away from around April 2. We've cleaned up quite a bit of loose ends. Now we can move forward on what really ignites our hearts. Venus in Aries represents love of self, standing strong for what we value, and taking action that can help our affections gain momentum. This is the final Venus rising in Aries cycle we will see in our lifetime. The Fierce Feminine is here.
Mercury Rx conjunct Uranus is bold, courageous, collective genius. We all want to be "free to be me." Each of us is wired with a direct hookup to source and an entirely unique set of gifts. Share in it! AWAKEN! The time is now. Collective mindsphere, activate! Take us higher and broader. This is a transit of big AHA's, experimentation, instantaneous flash insights. Independently, we don't necessarily have all the answers. But when we sit in circle or engage in a community of hearts on fire, magic happens. Answers and inspiration arrive. A huge change has the potential to take place now. Something we never could have seen coming. Something unpredictable and miraculous. An innovative leap. A renaissance of now, and 10,000 years from today!
April 30 Saturn square Chiron (4:26pm)
The phrase that keeps coming to me whenever I meditate on this transit is "unintended consequence." No matter how careful we are. No matter how hard we try, the path of being human include mistakes. This longterm transit, which is a feature of 2017, asks us to step more fully into ourselves as masters, as healers, as people on a life path of integration. Those who have been working on fulfilling their purpose (especially regarding healing) will be put to the test and required to step into deeper leadership. Those who have not been on track to fulfilling their purpose will feel a dire need to realign. Chiron transits are always sensitive and painful; as they show the parts of ourselves that feel incomplete, vulnerable, and human (as seemingly separate from Divine). Saturn also represents the patriarch and the oppressor; so the wounds of patriarchy are coming up to be karmically resolved. Each of us has absorbed this archetype and embodies it in some way. This is a time of reckoning and healing those disparities both internally and externally, in order to restore balance and harmony around the world. What if the force that oppresses us is also our path to freedom and self-sovereignty? The key is taking responsibility and ownership over our piece of reality. I imagine a world where each individual has a sense of authority and management within themselves. That what keeps them anchored is their own relationship with and connection to themselves. I envision that the more each of us embraces our mastery, the more we can choose to guide and direct our world into a place of healthful reciprocity. L'Chayim!
Want to know how this month's astrology affects you in particular? Virginia offers readings tailored to your intention; geared towards assisting your conscious integration. Visit her online scheduler to book your appointment.