Retrogrades and Illusions

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”
 Richard Bach

Retrogrades and Illusions

If Venus retrograde hasn't thrown you around enough, we have another four retrograde planets on their way this month. Venus will go Direct on the 15th but won't be out of the shadow phase until  May 18th. Mercury retrogrades on the 9th.  Jupiter has been Retrograde since February 6th and will remain until September 6th.  Saturn will turn Retrograde on April 5th and go direct December 1st ( long haul). Uranus enters the shadow phase April 15th then retrogrades from August 2nd to April 2018. Neptune Entered its' shadow phase February 23rd and will Retrograde June 16th to March 2018,  and finally  Pluto on the 20th and goes direct fully January 2018.  
We have a retrograde storm !

Retrogrades happen all the time. Many of us will be born with some planet in retrograde as well. But to have six planets retrograde synchronistically isn't an every day thing at all. It is a number  one vibration this year and yet all this energy turns us inward, slows us down, makes us reflect and set things straight in our lives. This year is an excavation. Some may even say this year is a time of karma being settled.

The overall vibration I feel from 2017 is slower and more grounded than usual. This doesn't feel like  a year of rush or hyper excitement.  It feels more like a year of planting our feet back into the soil and remembering you have a body, mind and a spirit to take care of. 

So why the title of retrogrades and illusions ?  Time itself and how fast or slowly things happen can be an illusion in and of itself.  However I see that as we begin to settle into the pace of this year there will be a lot of frustration and facing of buried material that we haven't really wanted to acknowledge for a long time. There is a backlog of things to process that are cluttering your mind , body and heart.  There are layers to undoing all of that numbing and running from things - and this is personal AND political.  We have hit a culmination point and all the bravado and out running the bear have run out.  

We are going to see massive disappointment and outrage at the way things are being handled in the world - ad yes we already are outraged, but this is different - it will be felt and very REAL to everyone this time. It' s more than a concept on a page or a TV show. 
We are in  awake up call kind of time. A wake up call kind of year. It isn't just happening outside of us to others - it is affecting our energy too - because we aren't separate.

What this means is that we are all going through our own personal wake up calls too. We all have some aspect of not facing the music to look at. Some of us who are more awake, or take better care of themselves and those around them can experience a greater depth of purpose and healing. But if we've been avoiding and running then the retrogrades will show us its' time to clean up the closet.

This being said I think these kinds of times are beautiful. Crisis often shows us who are true friends are and that's a beautiful thing. Crisis often awaken old desires and talents and memories that make us feel alive again - connected to your story again. That is a beautiful thing as well.

Being numb is the worst thing.
Being apathetic and hopeless and victim minded and weary is the scariest thing.

Awakening to your real feelings will give you the drive to make changes and decisions. It will wake you up to use your will again. It will help you sort through the fake from the authentic.  It will put you back on path, and show you the path - not by magic!  By really knowing deep in your bones what you want and what to do.

Your only job is to feel it, seek support and move through it.
Walk through the water.
You got this !

Finding Your Tribe

Finding Your Tribe

“Don't waste your time being what someone wants you to become, in order to feed their list of rules, boundaries and insecurities. Find your tribe. They will allow you to be you, while you dance in the rain.” 
― Shannon L. Alder

The holidays are upon us and we're all thinking about visiting friends and family - or the expectation that we should. Some we look forward to and some we can even dread to see but we do it out of  obligation and not upsetting the apple cart - and there's validity to that if the relationships are just not a good fit or maybe awkward, but not so much if they are toxic to our wellbeing.  There's too much pressure in the winds this time of year to somehow let slide, erase, or forgive things that hurt for the sake of having a turkey dinner together.  If grievances are petty - and often they are - it's a healthy pressure to re-evaluate and see if you can make amends and overcome clashes to heal.  Sometimes though, the petty grieveances are just the lid on a giant cave of frustration, anxiety and pain that no one is wiling or ablel to address.  In that case the superficial strain can be a lot to bear just to pour gravy and smile.  

I once asked my favorite professor, "Sir, how do you know when you've done all you can and its' time to get out? " I was referring to a bad room mate situation at the time.  He looked me dead in the eye and said, "If you've tried everything you know how to make it better and you're still unhappy then by all means get out".  Sage advice in general really. We all have our limits - how much we can give, take, handle, discuss, open up, carry or shoulder.  If you've reached them you may need a break - or you may need to learn to find your own tribe.

 

  "Sometimes friends and family don’t understand what you’re aiming for or why. You might get funny looks, discouraging comments or just blank stares as you share your dreams, hopes and the choices you’re making to get there.

This is enough to make you question your own sanity and at times even give up on what you’re trying to achieve.

When you’re surrounded by your tribe they get what you’re trying to do. They support the choices you’ve made and can add to your thinking rather than stop it dead in its tracks."  Karen Sargent

We all came here to Earth with life lessons and passions to express. We also came here to walk our own unique path to get there.  It has always made me very sad for everyone, generation after generation, who try to thwart the passions of someone in their family in order to keep them beside them. It's innocent sometimes, and sickly manipulative in other cases the lengths people go to so they don't lose their idea of security and tradition.  But a truly secure bond - family or friends - has room for personal choice and freedom within it.  Understanding people's desires and choices - why they need to so something, travel somewhere, participate in something, or even marry someone that they need to learn from on their own journey - can be very tough to watch.  But where is this pain truly coming from ? 

Every family or social group can be called a tribe in a sense. There is a leader of some sort - often just he matriarch or patriarch is enough, and there are core values that everyone must obey to belong.  So what happens if your values don't match the tribe you were born to ? it can be family , geography or culture ? What happens if you cannot accept the leader?  If he leader is toxic ?  This is the pain of so many social and family groups, and why so many people break off and build their own in their personal family, or interest groups.

Tribe: A social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader.
 

 We all need to feel we belong to something to survive well.  
So how do we find our own tribe ?

1.  We have to first have the courage to trust ourselves and disengage where we don't feel good.  At the basic level we have to detach and let go of anything or anyone toxic - put downs, excessive criticism, shaming, or extreme behaviour problems that really need professional help.  
2.  The second thing we need to do is have faith that there ARE people who share your values on this planet and you CAN find them.
3.  After that it's about getting clear on your values and goals so you can begin to explore who and where you can share them and start to build new bonds, or take your existing relationships deeper. 
4. The rest is putting in the commitment and the time to joining groups, inviting people our, organising things, being introduced to others, and really just trusting that time will build trust in these new communities. 

Yes, it does take courage, faith and some work - but it is far better than resigning yourself to being lonely when you don't have to.  I found a great list that matched my own so well I had to share it.  It guides every choice I"ve made all my life. 
 

• Spirituality is at the center of my friendships, because it’s the center of my own life.
• I want to feel known, seen, heard and understood on a really deep level.
• I want to feel supported and cared for, and to give that back to my friends.
• I want to be friends with people who are deeply committed to their personal evolution.

          mindbodygreen.com

Whenever I have honoured these guiding values in my life I have naturally and easily found new friends, or groups. I am very grateful to have met so many spiritual people in y life - and yet there is still work to be done in building the kind of spiritual community I've envisioned. 

If you are HSP, empathic, intuitive and feel you haven't found your tribe I encourage you to come out to some of our Intuition Circles, Tarot Share Nights, Meditations and Mini Courses. Everyone there is also sensitive and searching, understanding the challenges of being this way in our current world. 

I want to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season - full of love from wherever it comes  <3




If any of this resonates with you and you would like my help  please email me : river.rain.catharine@gmail.com

Transformation & Unrequited Love

When the one you love doesn't love you in return

“One of the things we know from history is unrequited love is a great source of inspiration in science, some processes of creativity, art, and problem solving,” Phillips added. “The thought process overlaps with the process of feeling and seeking passionate love. When you think about it, they are parallel…When you’re ready, you can make use of this. It can lead to personal transformation: What is this teaching me? Where do I need to be?”                                                 Lisa A Philips -Unrequited: Women and Romantic Obsession


I am speaking from the heart this month on a topic I've lived for over 20 years and haven't really talked about. I decided to explore the phenomenon of unrequited love. So many of us have experienced it and there isn't much space to talk about it in our culture of constant bombardment and "getting over it" quicker and quicker.  
How do you explain let alone accept that you still have pain over an un-reciprocated love? A crush that never manifested ? a friendship that became more for one but not the other ? How do we make sense of this one sided love, what we learned from it and what insight it can give us into our own nature ?

Know that you aren’t alone. According to social psychologist and my PT colleague Roy Baumeister, 98% of us have suffered from unrequited love at one time or another. One of the problems with this kind of rejection is that it’s not enough that you feel sad, lonely and broken-hearted. It also makes you feel bad and ashamed—and you start to worry that there is something deeply wrong with you.   Psychology Today

There is far too much shaming in our culture now of people expressing healthy grief  for any type of loss and we desperately need to bring space and openness back. It is already taboo to show grief over a death beyond a short time frame, and it's ten times worse when the loss is an estrangement (which we often perceive as preventable or fixable) There is perhaps even more taboo to show grief when it is a love relationship that never came to be.  Nothing officially started so why do we get to be sad?   Why does it linger? Why can't we accept it's not going to work, not mutual - not going to manifest in this lifetime ?  We are grieving an ideal. Ideals aren't considered to be real, but they ARE very real. Letting go of an unrequited love is the death of an illusion - one that was vital to some part of us or we wouldn't have hung onto it so deeply for so long.  There is a great lesson in this spiritually. 
 

Illusion is common with addiction too, and we may be in this state when the one we love doesn't love us in return. Perhaps not at first, but if we keep our pre-occupation with them alive and obsess over what happened, why, or why not - we can easily become addicted to thinking about them, or daydreaming about the what ifs.  Then there is the concrete side of it where perhaps the unrequited love sees us as a friend so they maintain some contact with us, just not the level of frequency or intimacy we want from them, so that also sets us up for an addictive pattern because of their inconsistency. (which also may come from their discomfort with our expectations)

Inconsistency is what keeps people going. There’s something about the idea that maybe, if I just hang in there or I just change myself or just appreciate this nice stuff I get, I’ll get it all the time. But an intermittent relationship tends to be an intermittent relationship. I have never seen a relationship where somebody is on again/off again, and then is suddenly on all the time. In the very beginning, sure, but over time, no.

Staying involves what I call “relentless hope.”
It’s holding onto something when there really is no hope, because you can’t bear to know that.

Maybe you can’t undo the fact that there was someone who didn’t love you in the past, that you couldn’t make love you. So you pick an unloving person or an intermittently loving person and you turn them into the person you want to love you. I think it is really revelatory. You’re going to convert it rather than mourn it.  
Jeanne Safer

 

Here is where the deep work begins - identifying the real reason for our attachment to someone who is not reciprocating our love.  This can stem from trying to get love from one of your parents who didn't reciprocate, so you choose someone else and try to win it this time around.  It can be just too familiar to feel rejected - live on the small crumbs of attention you got, because  that this is all you know. It sets you up for more of the same thing.  Or you may not have grieved one loss of someone close and are drawn to those impossible attractions because they won't work ( and some part of us knows it)  They keep us distracted deep down from the grieving of another deeper relationship. 

Once in a while I also believe there is a karmic connection and major spiritual lesson to be learned that keeps the feelings hanging on way past their shelf life.  In those cases it is a deep soul angst that doesn't go away until the reason or lesson is clear. I also often find in those long drawn out cases, where it is not an obsession fantasy, but the feeling continues there is usually a past life connection and memory associated with it, and that can be remembered and cleared.  That is where I have felt and seen amazing results. 

What is your story of unrequited love?  
Are you having trouble moving on or understanding a relationship?
Let me help you get there :)

Eclipses by House

Eclipses affect our lives as we come to decisions, exterior events and crossroads that now we must face and make choices about.  How do you know which area of your life will be affected ?

We look at the degree of the eclipse and then we see what house it falls in in your chart.  If you want to have your birth-chart done you can go to astro.com and fill in your information.  Next you can see where the first eclipse fell, September 1st at 9 degrees Virgo, and the second at 24 degrees Pisces.  The house it is in will tell you what area of life will be challenged to awaken and grow.

Eclipse in the 1st House  - This is the house of your physical appearance, and body. It is also how people first perceive you.  An eclipse here could bring you anything from a style makeover, to a lost tooth.  It could suddenly make you visible in your career field, or it could bring gossip. You may experience changes in your physical energy level or health in ways that are visible to others - anything from a new haircut to a sprained ankle.  The deeper challenge is your identity to the outside world is being tested.

Eclipse in the 2nd House -  This is the house of money, values and boundaries.  An eclipse in this area can test your finances either by restricting it, a sudden expense crops up, a last minute repair etc.  or it can bring some good luck like a bonus. When our finances are stretched for good or bad it really asks us to get in touch with our true values - what is worth what ?  Is the extra car worth the stress it's bringing ? How are you handling that raise - with grace ? What boundaries are being tested by this and what does it say about your core beliefs?

Eclipse in the 3rd House -  This is the house of communication, mental health, siblings, short excursions and cities vs country.  With this area challenged there may be any form of miscommunication, OR if used well maybe it's time to write that honest letter, or have that big talk you know is needed. It can bring any number of situations related t your brothers and sisters that shift your life around. You may find your brain foggy, meditative, or extra clear. The deeper lesson is to look at how your mind works - core beliefs, non verbal cues as well as speaking clearly to others. 

Eclipse in the 4th House - This house is all about your foundations - your family , family history, your home, your childhood and parents. Yes - this is a BIG area of life so any changes and challenges here are going to affect the whole life like a wheel of fortune.  An eclipse in this house could bring up old wounds, old memories, celebrate an anniversary of some sort, a wedding, birth or new home. It could be a leaky roof, a move of residence. You may have a moment of deeper bonding with a parent, or a rift deepen.  The  eclipse will ask you to really dig at your emotional roots and autonomy.  You are your own best friend and rely on yourself emotionally - this is the very difficult challenge of this house. It also truly liberates you.

Eclipse in the 5th House -  This is the house of romance, creativity and children.  This eclipse can bring in a new love, or see the end of a current romance. Remember this is more about dating and short term relationships vs a marriage, although if the romance is gone it will challenge it.  You can also feel the call to be more creative in your life now, and have an artistic identity crisis.  You may produce something great under this influence too if you are not perfectionist about it.  This house wants free self expression - so the events are there to push you to do so. Be authentically you. 

Eclipse in the 6th House - This is the house of health and service, extended family and pets.  In this case an eclipse here can bring a health challenge to deal with.  Health is a very intricate process. There is usually an underlying belief system or emotional state beneath the ailment - not that it completely causes it or fixes it, but in part will help to heal it faster.  You can look at lots of material written on what each body part and ailment can mean, but for one example - ask yourself if your knee pain is related to not forgiving someone ? perhaps yourself?  It will also challenge you to discern between service and servitude.  Where are you giving too much and resenting it ? STOP. Where are you neglecting yourself ( not serving yourself well) TAKE CARE of yourself. 

Eclipse in the 7th House - This is the house of marriages, partnerships - emotional or even business, and open enemies. This is where relationship issues are going to crop up in an eclipse. We all know the range of what this can bring, so it's time to evaluate your relationships and perhaps let go of some, change your entourage, cultivate new ones.  It could bring up a specific issue in your marriage that shows you just how close you really are - its' not always bad !  We also can suddenly meet someone special in this energy. Either way - your intimate relationship life is about to shift.

Eclipse in the 8th House - this is a very hard place to have it. This is the house of Sex, death and other people's money.  This can bring the hidden up to light in good ways or upsetting ways.  IT can bring up financial issues but in a different way than the 2nd house. How it's the money we get from others, or are responsible for that isn't ours. Think of loans, debts, things owed. Sexuality issues can be tested in this eclipse too - an awakening of desires we hope! IF not, it can  bring temptation, or any number of psychological issues surrounding your sexuality.  Death - well eclipses don't predict our demise. It may provoke deep thoughts or fears of it though.  On the good side it can really bring healing breakthroughs and consciousness raising on the harder things in life. Or - it can bring you a sudden win-fall . Let's hope !

Eclipse in the 9th House - This is the house of travel, higher learning, expressing your truth as you see it, and country vs city.  The eclipse here can bring a new opportunity for travel or someone exotic into your life to learn from.  It can bring events on foreign soil that affect us here.  It also rules the internet.. so anything related to your laptop, cell phone email hacking or scams, or good news via these things as well.  If you are travelling under the eclipse you can expect unusual circumstances somewhere within the trip - which can be fun or not so fun. A delayed flight, a fascinating conversation on the train, getting lost on a trail or being invited by locals in a new place to share dinner and a slice of their lives.  There is some adventure in this one, and how you handle adapting and integrating the values and ideas you encounter on the way will say if you grow or shut your mind to others different from you. 

Eclipse in the 10th House - This is the house of Career, status, limelight or the public eye, the authority aspect - your strongest parent or a boss. The eclipse will happen in the area of your job more than likely, and if not its' related to one of your parents.  You may be cast in the public eye in a big way, or a small way within your family or at work. The reason for this can be promotional,  controversial, gossip or popularity.  The pressure of this is what you're dealing with here. How are you handling the public scrutiny ? if it's good or bad, misunderstanding or exaltation - are you still you? are you able to hold all the energy coming your way with grace ?

Eclipse in the 11th House - This is the house of groups, communities and organisations. This is the house where you are asked to drop your personal interests and ego and work together for a broader purpose with others. We idealise this aspect of life, but it isn't easy at all.  To find the balance between your own identity and belonging to a greater purpose or group at the same time takes a high level of skill and self awareness. This eclipse events will bring something to make you find greater balance and ponder these values. 

Eclipse in the 12th House - this is the house of the subconscious, the dream life, the collective unconscious where we can sense that we are all One and feel what is going on in the collective. You may experience funky or foggy states of mind. You may have a prophetic dream. You may respond well to affirmations, meditation and hypnosis at this time. You may see clearer how your early programming of thoughts and beliefs are impacting you today.  You may sense energy. You may feel the effects of something happening far away from here, and not to you at all - because your'e tapped into the whole, even the cosmic.  An eclipse here is still very challenging but on a psychological way, and in private. It may not be obvious or conscious for a while what the events have done to shift you, but you know you feel differently. The challenge here is to allow the old, even past life, to surface and leave your deeper psyche now. IT is also the challenge to differentiate what is yours vs what isn't - on every level. The healing potential of this placement is strong. 

March Eclipses - Who Will Save Your Soul ?

Eclipses will bring a random event you do not expect, didn't know about, and one that is completely outside your control, yet that event will bring vast changes to your doorstep
astrologyzone.com

                 

 Eclipses are like the Death Card happening in our charts. Wherever they fall they bring sudden surprises in terms of an external event, or an internal shift of important proportions.  


For a better idea of eclipses in general and a look at where it might affect you read my Energetic Forecast for the month, or visit the store to see how your sign will be affected. 
 

Let's go into depth about the themes of this particular eclipse chapter shall we ?  When we use the Sabian Symbols to get to the heart of an astrological event sometimes we can predict things to come. Sabian Symbols are allegories for every sign in the zodiac. If you look up your own birth chart you can find the exact degrees of every planet of yours and find the story that goes with it too. It's really eye opening . As you read this description below think of who you know - personally or in the media, politics, religion who fit this:

(PISCES 18°): IN A GIGANTIC TENT, VILLAGERS WITNESS A SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCE. The collective appeal of a well-staged and exciting display of skill and/or oratory.
At first, Marc Jones interpreted the "gigantic tent" as the locale for a revivalist's meeting; later he suggested a circus tent instead. In a sense, the basic meaning is the same whether it is the traditional performance of skilled clowns, acrobats or animal trainers, or that of a religious fundamentalist dramatizing an old religious imagery, what takes place is the use of personal achievement and conviction to bring a crowd to a state of enthusiasm sufficient to make it forget its boredom with everyday routine or its familiar sins of commission or omission.
At this third stage of the seventieth five-fold sequence, the individual person and the collectivity are brought together in a significant performance which subtly strengthens the communal spirit directly or indirectly.  The implication of the symbol, whenever it is found operating, is that the time has come for the individual to dare to present himself and his works to his community for applause, or for the purpose of attracting a following. What is suggested is PUBLIC SELF-DRAMATIZATION .

Does Donald Trump come to mind anyone? How about anyone else you know who speaks well or likes to grandstand in some way ?  Could this be you ? Are you ready to show the world who you are?  If you have been shy to show the world your talents this could be your push. If you never allow yourself to be complimented or take credit where its' due, this might be your time. If you are sitting on art or a book that you haven't been able to submit, or a course you can't seem to finish - ask yourself why you're having fear of being seen ?    

On the global stage when seeing this Sabian Symbol I felt right away an important declaration is coming in public, one we may not like much, but it will launch others into action or response to it , and my feeling is that this month is a game changer internationally. As the symbol suggests, we will see good orators, or those who muck it up in public. We may see followings that belong at a circus side show - or more dangerous rhetoric passing as entertainment. As the tent image suggests, people's emotions are roused, excitement generated, and it can be used for many different ends. In our own lives, let's use it for the greater good around an important cause or issue. 

Any eclipse that deals with Pisces and Virgo are going to have those victim/saviour dynamics we so need to work on. Asking ourselves the tougher questions around this dynamic can be really tough but ultimately rewarding. Am I helping really? Was I asked to help or am I swooping in there to save the day? What does the other party actually need vs what we may want to give them, or see happen for them.  It's hard to step back and see our own investment in helping or saving others.  We know intellectually we can't save them, but we continue all the behaviour around it anyway. This eclipse grouping it will be important to examine this and to clear this karma with others. 

How does this all tie together?  When we have people on podiums or pedestals in our lives, giving them power with their words, we are directly or indirectly asking them to save us somehow too.  We want the religious leader to show us the way to salvation. We want the politician to protect our rights and freedoms. We want the charmer to entertain us and distract us from ourselves somehow. We have centuries of history of giving our power away- if not our very human nature.  

The good news is we are in progressive times where many are awake and do see through it - even if we are scared of those who blindly follow - I feel we are a growing number who are awake and can play a significant role. Let the Lunar eclipse awaken it for you!


Now take a good look how it changes for the Lunar eclipse !

(LIBRA 3°): THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY REVEALS EVERYTHING CHANGED.
KEYNOTE: The ever-present possibility of beginning again on a new foundation of values. The person who plays this role is always potentially an INNOVATOR.

Whatever transpires in the first eclipse, but the second Lunar eclipse you'll be feeling ready to  jump on a ride into the sunset.  The descent and the fire that picks us up again is the overall feeling of March for me. Life gets clearer and you will be shown what works and what really doesn't. You will see the karmic links to people that are good for you, not yet learned and those you can now let go.  

March is a changing month for the better

Softly see

Softly share
 

Year of the Yang Fire Monkey Begins !

Today the Yang Fire Monkey Year begins ! What does this mean for the quality of the year ahead?  Which signs are going to be affected most?  How does the element of fire play out in your life? What's the difference between a Yin and a Yang year? Does the Feng Shui Bagua really affect us?

Let's start with the element of Fire.  Fire means action, will, passion and anger.  Think of a fire burning. It has the amazing potential to warm us and cook our food, bend metal into tools we can use, purify us. It can just as easily get out of hand and burn our homes down, harm us, or even kill us. We are "playing with fire" - we are taking risks.  It's absolutely vital to take risks or we never grow, discover our true potential, find new ways to live and be.  And in every risk we know we could fall, or miss something, harm ourselves or others. This is the type of life force energy this year.  Are you ready to take some risks ? Are you ready to express your passions more? Is your anger in check or do you need to let it out in better ways? 

You can see how the Fire element is for you based on your year of birth :  

Years ending in 0 or 1 are Metal                                                                                                                                                     Years ending in 2 or 3 are Water                                                                                                                                             Years ending in 4 or 5 are Wood                                                                                                                                               Years ending in 6 or 7 are Fire                                                                                                                                                     Years ending in 8 or 9 are Earth 

Fire melts metal so if you are born in a Metal year it can be harder. Water puts out fire so it dominates the Fire and can be a good year.  Fire burns wood which is actually a good thing, they compliment each other. Fire and Fire can be very good or get out of hand. Fire warms the earth so this is a good sign for you. 

Here is the diagram that shows the elemental cycles best. For each element there is a creative cycle, a destructive cycle and a weakening cycle. 

The next factor is the Yin or Yang energy of the year.  Yin is feminine energy - dark, wet, attracting by being receptive instead or trying or working for it, creative in the sense of a pregnancy (even if it's not an actual baby). Yang energy is masculine - noisy, smelly, active, outgoing, extroverted, putting great effort into everything. There is no good or bad, just what is.  IN a Yang year our masculine energy is activated, so we may be more sporty, or busy, social, talkative, and not have as much time for quiet reflection. 

Here is a great chart to show the range of Yin and Yang energy in excess, balance or lack

When you can identify yourself in this chart you can decide if you need to balance your Yang energy this year and how. When we're in a lack of Yang, a year like this can help us a lot!  If we're in excess we will really have to watch and keep our reactions in check. 

I like to look at the actual animal in Nature before we go to the Chinese interpretation - because we are able to deeply see the range of personality and predominant traits of the year ahead.  Here are some main points about monkeys:

Monkeys eat fruits and veggies, flowers and some eat insects and eggs  

• They live in forested areas, in trees mainly and come down for food 
• They have very alpha male structures - males fighting for dominance, killing the young of the previous male, preferring the big and strong.  The Bonobo - closest to humans, are bisexual.
• They are susceptible to optical illusions, just like humans
• Some are trained and used in farmers fields to harvest coconuts and even as waiters in Japan
• They move by jumping and swinging, agile and able to leap, very dexterous and clever with their hands
• Monkeys like to groom each other, massaging, combing through hair to remove insects etc,
• They don't like direct eye contact
• They have no patience and can have sudden and violent outbursts
• See what I mean in this fun Youtube video 

Using the factual details of the animal in nature can give us some potential themes - too many to be interpreted gully, but let's look at an example:  No patience is a no brainer to see how this could affect us this year.  Jumping and swinging could show up as more participation in risky sports - rock climbing, trapeze etc. Using our hands more is a huge symbolism this year - anything from issues with manual labour, more creative energy with crafting, building, and general trade work.  Even their dietary preferences can show up or tell us something. 

Let's see how the Chinese interpret the personality of the Monkey Year

One Monkey I knew said to me once, " I like to get away with things because I can" This sums up a lot of the mindset we can encounter from some folks this year. I have to be honest - I am excited for this year because it feels like a lot will happen, and a certain active life will return after a heavy Goat year ( for many people).  I see the Monkey year as a great time to get social and get busy with projects. Go out and meet people, network, go see shows, write in your journals and paint or dance ! Monkeys know how to create beautiful and clever things  so I am excited to see what comes out of people in the arts and in terms of global initiatives. We will see a lot of ingenuity.   This is the upside of the Monkey - fun, expressive, active, detailed and well designed.

The downside of the Monkey year is people being bored if they aren't in touch with their goals and passions, and starting drama instead. People may like to nit pick or play games in a Monkey year. Some will play games to the point of deception. It's a year then to really pick your battles because the level of emotion and complexity or drama can run high.  The Monkey will always find a way to get what it wants - remember this in the workplace, or in relationships, and take action sooner than later on that. There's no need to be fearful of it, just honest that it isn't' a casual time when things move slowly and you can mull it over twice. It's  a year where there can be suddenness and temper tantrums. 

How is my Chinese sign compatible with the Monkey ?                                                                     for a detailed description I like this website

Let's take a look at the Feng Shui for this year. 

Every year the Bagua diagram is drawn and based on the way the numbers  and the starts show up, we interpret what might happen.  I find the starts always sounds very dramatic and won't play out literally necessarily and certainly not for all of us. IT's a general prediction for us all, vs your personal reading. Lets' see what it says !

The way we interpret this is by their directions. If you see a negative star - or number here - you look to what direction on the compass it falls in your home and your office.  For example, if my front door faces North West and I see the star of hostility, it would say I can expect anger and difficulties by way of my front door. Perhaps issues with neighbours or the landlord. If my bed is in the North and the robbery star is there, maybe I will have trouble with people taking advantage of me, back stabbing me or stealing in some other way - or I may have disturbed sleep and nightmares.  This kind of prediction is very specialised to interpret but I post it for you to ponder. Think of what compass direction you face at work, at home when you sleep, your front door facing outwards. These are very important because of how much time we spend there.  If you want to see a more in-depth report on this year's starts I recommend this site.

Overall the Fire Monkey can be a great adventure, full of new things and fun. Choose your battles wisely and explore your creative /expressive side and you can find a lot of joy and momentum. 

If you want a personal reading for your year ahead contact me at river.rain.catharine@gmail.com

Saturn Square Neptune

Caging the Fog

This month is a big one for significant astrological changes in the overall mood our culture could move toward.  On November 27th Saturn - planet of discipline, structure, time, seriousness learning our lessons come hell or high water, string foundations and feeling tested or restricted - squares off with Neptune - planet of dreams, illusions, creativity, sacrifices, escapism, addiction and dissolution. Can you already see how different these energies are?  They will be in a square aspect 90' for the next two years so their influence is significant.  

Where Saturn seeks to secure or define something, Neptune will cast a fog or dissolve it.  We could see a time when many things are just not at all what we thought they were.  You may have already begun this process if you are highly sensitive.  Have some of your relationships surprised you once you saw the essence of them ? Have you realised the ways you may have put someone or something on a pedestal or see them with rose coloured glasses?  Are you trying to build something solid and it keeps slipping away ?  

When cold hard reality planet collides with multi-dimensional and unseen reality what can we expect ? It all depends which end of the spectrum you tend to live in.  If you prefer things practical and clear you may be challenged with situations that make you open your mind to other dimensions. If you live in the esoteric or spiritual realm, you may be confronted with the physical reality of your body, finances etc. You may also see many people challenge your thinking since Saturn will be in Sagittarius. We may be especially susceptible to charming guru types who guide us while things seem to be falling apart and we can't bring things under control. We may also find amazing teachers as well who inspire us. Here is the rub...it might be hard for us to tell which is which for a while.

In the bigger picture of things - whatever comes into question in our lives will show us the real from the illusion, and as we become ever clearer on our true values, and see who are real friends are, and get that gritty honesty about our life direction - there can be enormous healing. We just have to embrace this phase and accept it.  

This month we have a few other interesting aspects going on.  Neptune will be going direct - which is good news.  We can come out of a long introspective and perhaps sluggish phase that began in mid June.  We also will see Chiron - the wounded healer - go direct.  This also means whatever pain we are internalising or that may be operating unconsciously can be brought to light. 

True Halloween Joins Remembrance Day November 11th 2015

Trick or Treat or Souling ?

The language of these traditions is heavily influenced by the naming of days in the Christian calendar. The central date of the rituals that herald the beginning of winter is the 1st of November, called All Saints Day or All Hallows Day. The following day is All Souls Day and the 31st of October is All Hallows Eve - shortened to Hallowe'en (i.e. the evening before All Hallows Day).

The practice of souling - going from door to door on or about All Souls Day to solicit gifts of food in return for prayers for the dead - evolved from a pagan ritual that was practiced all over Europe, possibly as early as the 10th century. As a Christian tradition it goes back to at least the 14th century, when it is mentioned by Chaucer. It is still commonplace in many Catholic countries, notably Ireland, where soul-cakes are left out for the departed.

The term Trick or Treat was an evolution ( or devolution) where kids went door to door performing pranks with ghost masks on and when opening the door to one they were given the choice of trick ( soaping the windows ) or treat ( candy and fruit as a bribe not to pull the prank). Quite the difference of practice given the sacredness of this day.

Whatever you call this holiday I hope you will ponder the concept of "souling" for a moment when you don your costumes and accept the sweets of the evening. As you enjoy them think of someone special who has passed and give your joy to them as a blessing :)

Did You Know?

Hallowe'en is derived from a pagan holiday called Samhain,

and the pagan holidays observed the moon as their timing.

The true date of Hallowe'en every year then, is when the moon is new

in the sign of Scorpio. This year it falls on Remembrance Day, November 11th.

On this day the sun and the moon will fall in the sign

of Scorpio, meaning the most deep and mysterious shadow aspects of life

come to the surface...in this case, the spirits of the departed.

This day is considered to be the time when

the veils between the earth and the universe are thinnest so we can

communicate with the dead, honour their souls and speak to them.

Mercury Retrograde - Descent into Hades

Before he was called Mercury by the Romans, the messenger god was Hermes. He is the only one of the deities to pass through the underworld as well as above world. As such there is a very special role of translating wisdom and great personal awareness. He travels between humans and gods, darkness and light, and remains just the messenger not the judge. 

"Hermes is a god of transitions and boundaries. He is quick and cunning, and moves freely between the worlds of the mortal and divine, as an emissary and messenger of the gods, intercessor between mortals and the divine, and conductor of souls  into the afterlife. He is the protector and patron of herdsmen, thieves, oratory and wit, literature and poetry, athletics and sports, invention and trade,  roads, boundaries and travellers."                                                   wikipedia.com

When Mercury retrogrades, or appear to be going backwards, three times a year for three weeks (which is interesting numerologically too) we often feel it as mix ups, confusion, delays, missed calls or appointments, missing paperwork or emails, and generally a tougher time being heard or making things clear with others. 

Perhaps these times are the visits into Hades or Hell. Maybe Mercury/Hermes passed through the underworld at these times to carry the souls to the other side.  If so, perhaps it is also the best possible time to get in touch with our own underworlds - go within, examine, reflect and question without deciding or acting on anything.  Perhaps it is our chance to incubate - or a Divine intervention in a chaotic world that says, wait a second before you decide or say or do...

We also cannot help but draw the parallels to our global refugee crisis with the symbolisms or boundaries, roads, travellers, intervention and trade. It is interesting timing for our Canadian elections as well - because communications snafus can reveal the truth behind the spin. 

There's no need to get bent out of shape during a Mercury retro if you have basic precautions - backing up files, keeping proof of payments, and showing some restraint on what we say until we get truly clear.  This descent into Hades can show us the hidden shadow of a situation - and return to bring it to light in three weeks. 

Wishing you all the best - keep your ears and eyes open for what is NOT said - trust your intuition

Powerful Partial Solar -New Moon -Eclipse September 13th in Virgo

September 13th at 4:40am we have a partial solar eclipse, on a New Moon in Virgo.  It will also be in strong aspect to Pluto - so the death and rebirth theme is stronger. Eclipses are times of twists and turns, things coming to light, things hidden then revealed.  With Pluto there it may bring up a lot of things held inside, or even erupt with details previously unknown.

The Sabian Symbol for this eclipse at 20 Degrees Virgo is a Caravan of Cards Headed West.  It really suggests team work and getting on the road in the same direction together. With our current Syrian refugee crisis, hopefully this could represent global aid that is organised in a meaningful way - we can hope :)

Uranus in Aries also makes a grinding aspect to this eclipse, showing that a possible outburst or shock could come into play.  And even though Saturn isn't making an aspect, it is in the last degrees of Scorpio - indicating or affirming a closure to one cycle and the opening up of another.  Things always change in life of course, but there ARE times we feel the demarcations more loudly - the door closes, locks or slams.  This is feeling like one of those times, but in a good way - one of those "enough's enough" times and moving forward on that.

Venus and Mars are both still in Leo so expect some reactions and perhaps some stubbornness to arise, with fixed signs Leo and Scorpio squaring off, but this can be a really good time to shed something, move forward, announce something different - if you are feeling clear then GO for it! 

Venus Direct in Leo

While Venus was retrograde we may have come up against  many pent up feelings and desires. The desire nature is turned inward during this phase and we can fee a lot of frustration. "You can't always get what you want " comes to mind.  Now that our planet of love, money and fashion sense turns direct in Leo we can express and let loose again. With it's passage through Leo we like big displays of energy and attention or affection. We may want that big tear jerking movie or delight in some romantic gestures - even if only in our minds.   People may want to dress up and look our best, flaunt a recent purchase or brand name. But hopefully it will bring out our generosity and our inner child nature where we are free and confident to share and give with a spirit of innocence. 

Victim and Saviour - Full Moon in Pisces

August 29th is the full moon in Pisces is opposing the Sun, Mercury and Jupiter in Virgo. Every opposing sign combination has it's own punch, and this one is the victim and saviour dynamic. One person will present themselves as the vulnerable one, who needs saving, and the other person will be very sympathetic to their plight - even taking on responsibility for this person's issues, and proceed to "save" them.  We romanticise this all the time - thanks to Mr Walt Disney and Cinderella stories. We are taught to believe we are powerless and need an outside source to rescue us or protect us.  We wait for someone to notice us, give us permission to leave, or that we are ok as we are - we wait for the prince to come get us and bring happiness, or for our princess to alleviate our pain. 

The Victim Archetype
Blames others and circumstances for her physical conditions. Even though she knows that dairy products often lead to sinus infections, she blames atmospheric conditions instead of the half-pound of cheese she ate at a party.

The Rescuer Archetype is a champion. This person will dive right in and save a person from drowning in his/her own mire. There are two sides to being a rescuer, the ying-yang of it is that while being a champion of underdogs and souls in need, the rescuer may also risk self injury.  If you have this as an archetype, you recognize what that means; it means trying to save someone who doesn't necessarily want to be saved and/or it means being entangled in problems and issues that have nothing to do with you, and being dragged down in the process. Another aspect of acting out the role of rescuer is that often the one rescuing does want to be thanked and congratulated for being a champ, and then will unconsciously seek weak people to save, keeping them weak in order to play the role of champion over and over. The key in having the rescuer archetype is becoming conscious of it. We all have our symbols and the good side of being a rescuer is that it signals strength, courage and a caring nature. We all need rescuers sometimes (think of fire fighters and EMTs), but being a rescuer in relationships is worth looking at in a conscious way.          www.illuminara.com

We will all meet someone along the path of life's learning that we want to help or save. There is great learning in attempting it as well. If it becomes your pattern that's when you need to ask yourself who really wants to be saved ? and if you typically are in a victim role - sometimes we genuinely ARE - but if there is a pattern, you must ask yourself where you gave away your power ? and how you can reclaim it. 

These dynamics last a lifetime in some people, and can be SO toxic if left unchecked. To be free, mutual and loving we need to shift our mindset to support vs rescuing, assistance and guidance vs saving, and acceptance vs trying to change someone to meet our expectations. 

This full moon is especially strong on this theme since there are three planets in Virgo opposing it.  It can be a lovely and magical time if these themes are made conscious !

Jupiter into Virgo - The Devil is in the Details

Much like the stroy or Red Riding Hood, we sometimes have to journey alone and pay very close attention on the path.  The details matter.  If you build the most beautiful dresser and in the end have forgotten the d-rawer knobs - it wont' open.  It is suddenly useless, no matter how well drawn, built, sanded or painted.  If you plan a beautiful party for someone as a surprise with everyone and everything in place, then the song to set the mood starts to skip, or doesn't play - it can ruin the mood.  Essentially the Devil is in the details means that one small aspect can sometimes make or break a project or even a relationship.  A classic example is someone looking to meet a life partner who finds someone who matches everything they've ever wanted, then rejects them because of their height, hair colour, job title - something that is very often small to work out or accept.  The pickiness that can come with Jupiter in Virgo can do us in and sabotage things that could otherwise work really well.  At other times, that same exacting mind for detail can find the needle in the haystack and save the day.  This is the kind of  year we have coming up.  

When do you respect that tiny detail that bugs you ?                                                                              When is that detail the deal breaker you need to heed?                                                                         It is purely personal judgement or comfort at that point. 

Jupiter is the planet that will increase, expand or exaggerate the traits of the sign it is in.  When it is in Virgo is is emphasizing a purification and evaluating energy. Virgo wants to try things on for size and then place it in the accurate category, so it is truthful and useful to others - themselves and as a collective. They are very service minded, so their efforts to dissect and describe are done to help others lives become more healthy and efficient. They always mean well, even if this can sometimes seem controlling or obsessive.

We will find ourselves doing many things this year to reflect this sign, including : studying, reading, writing, gardening, organising everything, de-cluttering, eating well, taking supplements or herbs, doing yoga, meditation or other exercise involving precision.  

We may see more focus on volunteer work, community groups, infrastructure concerning roads, schools, education system, hospitals and health care, unions, anything surrounding the elderly as well.  

Wherever Jupiter in Virgo falls in your chart will tell you  the area of your life now going through the microscope for improvement. 

1st house ( meaning you are Virgo Ascendant)  your personal appearance will be emphasized. You may change your style, wardrobe, hair style, play with your image and see what reactions come - maybe new glasses or something subtle to shift how you present yourself. You may be extra focused on exercise and weight loss etc.  It can also play out that you criticise or are critiqued more on your first impression to others in all senses. 

4th House could mean your home and  family  are under the microscope. Are you renovating? there will be so many details it could drive you crazy if you are not careful. It can also play out as a family who decide to eat better together, sharing cooking, sharing the budgeting, cleaning and form a system down pat. It can also be a household that takes everyone to task over small things they do wrong.  

These are just two examples, but show how this intensified eye for details can be wonderful or be destructive. It is all in how we use it, so let's set our intentions to use Jupiter's influence this year to really buckle down and get something on the right track that requires thinking it through well and some grit.  Let's affirm that we dont' use this energy to find what's wrong with everything and everyone in a cynical way. Instead let's use that info to turn things around as best we can .  This planet can really bring us some wonderfully humanitarian and pure actions

Mars into Leo - Courage or Drama ?

When Mars goes into Leo we see the strength of will come out.  People will find a way to drum up their action and passion for a goal and will stick to it with boldness and enthusiasm.  They are ready to receive the recognition due to them for hard work.  They can rise to some form of celebrity.  If they are not ready and  able to step up in this way, it can instead show up as attention grabs, drama for no reason, and various displays of ego run amuck - all of  which  stem from  fear deep down. 

Mars in Leo wants to BE someone and will take the risks to get there. It is about reignition not approval - they already know they're great.  They can be stubborn in good ways and bad, they are playful, romantic, intense and demonstrative.  This next few weeks can be a great time to launch a new attitude and follow up any actions needed to forward your more ambitious goals

Saturn Direct - Coming Up For Air

Saturn turned retrograde March 15th while in Sagittarius and travelled back into the sign of Scorpio for the last time in 29 years.  This gave us one more chance to sweep the interior closet of old patterns and emotional or psychological debris. Did you use it productively? If you experienced awakenings - painful or liberating - and acted on them it will do you very well as we enter Saturn in Sagittarius.   You can experience the optimism and confidence that comes from diving to the bottom, then coming up for air.  Like the turtle above, we will be emerging from the depths and underwater quiet to see the vision of the shoreline, clear and ready to begin the journey on land again.

Saturn in Scorpio traits :  

Impatient ,  hard on themselves and others, wilful and intense, secretive, subtle and calculating

Their greatest fear is rejection and being inadequate

Saturn in Sagittarius

After you go so deeply into a situation or our own being, you will eventually settle on what is true for you.  It will be your personal truth based on your lived experience. You may feel compelled to tell it on the mountain tops, book or video.  You may want to help people see the light you have now found and will at times be highly persuasive.  You may also run the risk of becoming dogmatic or blinded to your own personal truth and forget there are many that can co exist. This is the learning of Saturn in Sagittarius.   

Cares about principles, hard work that brings achievement, reputation and education are very important,  if they let fear rule they become cynical, they love adventure, need their freedom, and need to learn to trust.  

The next two years we delve into these themes and areas in our lives.  Examining what you deeply believe, have faith in and would stand up for is a positive way to use this time.  

Retrogrades Effect on Our Lives

I've been pondering all week what analogies would work to express how retrogrades affect us - and have come up with some that I hope will make the planetary energies real for you. Retrograde motion happens when a planet seems to be going backwards or in reverse. Symbolically this means something feels out of synch, energy feels either awkward or introverted.  Depending on our own charts and personality, we can enjoy this and other times it can bring up intense frustration.

Venus in Virgo Retrograde: Venus represents our desires. What does Virgo desire? purity, cleanliness, health, everything in its' proper category, analysis, learning, good manners and grooming.  When this energy retrogrades imagine going on a date with someone who picks the lint off your shirt , judges your choice of wine and asks that the music be turned down at the restaurant - all while presenting themselves impeccably.  We can go overboard with the details and criticism .

Saturn in Scorpio Retrograde: Saturn represents those tough lessons in life. He restricts our access so we are forced to learn by living without ease or comfort.  When Saturn is in Scorpio we are really tested to go beyond the veils and see the deep truth and shadow in others and humanity. When Saturn retrogrades in Scorpio imagine the intensity felt if you walked in on your best friend cheating on their spouse with your brother's wife.  All at once your loyalties to each are thrown into question, your power in the situation could be tempting to use in some direction, and now you have to weigh all the ethics and feelings involved, as well as deal with your own hurt or jealousy.  You just can't get to the heart of the matter without soul searching.

Chiron in Pisces Retrograde:  Chiron is our wounded self. Think of the site of a deep cut on the skin, how raw it can be - this is how Chiron feels in our charts. In Pisces the wound is related to our sense of spirituality and oneness and also to suffering as noble. When it retrogrades imagine the person who is ill but won't ask for help for fear of being seen as weak, being rejected, or thinking they are here to suffer. 

Uranus in Aries Retrograde :  Uranus is eccentric and electric. It is fiercely independent and will cut and run in a millisecond if something isn't right. It reacts - quickly, boldly, and impersonally.  In Aries, add the warrior mind set. Add to it also the impulsive and emotionally reactive side.  When this retrogrades imagine a hyper friendly dog who can't sit still..now put him in a cage.  This is one aspect that is not pleasant if you are easily frustrated and impatient. 

Neptune in Pisces Retrograde:  Neptune is our dreamy introverted side. He ruled the oceans and waves - deeply connected to the seas that connect us all.  It represents where we can be suspended between dreams and reality, ecstasy and escapism. In Pisces - it's ruler- it is at home.  When Neptune retrogrades imagine you are meditating and can hear every sound in your home and outside, you just KNOW how everyone is feeling and you start to go into a light trance where you receive strong intuitions.  It heightens our feelings and intuitive awareness. You may feel no pull to share these with anyone however.

Pluto in Capricorn Retrograde: Pluto is our death and re-birth planet. It brings up all the intense and difficult things imaginable so that they are seen and then transformed and healed. In Capricorn we are seeing the shadow of governments, corporations, the power hungry and entitled 1%. We see the raw, cold ambition that lead to oppression. When it retrogrades imagine a calculating CEO sitting behind a huge desk with expensive leather chair and statue of the Globe while plotting how to take away access to a necessary road for people to get water - then imagine him getting caught and no one trusts him again unless there is repentance and damages paid to the people.  Much is being exposed to us and it is making many of us cynical, discouraged, or extremely determined to live in new ways.  Out of these difficulties innovation and new ways of perceiving the world will and are emerging. 

6 Retrogrades at Once:  You probably get it by now that this is a very intense time we are in. So much pent up energy. Things moving very slowly outwardly. Frustration and inner house cleaning.  Some of us may feel the need to scream it all out! and I'd encourage you all to find outlets that are productive for you like writing, arts, exercise, as well as activities to keep you calmer and patient with this process. We will all eventually emerge and be different by then 

Venus in Virgo - The Devil is in the Details

Venus will visit Virgo from July 18th to September 6th and will still be felt until October 9th in its post retrograde shadow.  Venus represents what we desire and how feminine energy is expressed in a person.  In an Earth sign like this, Venus desires more than beauty, we will also want practicality and function.  Venus in Virgo is a great time to edit a novel or essay, balance your bank accounts, pull out any paper work or reading that requires you to be focused on the details. It is a wonderful influence for health as well. We can sometimes get obsessively "pure" in Virgo so watch for any signs you are too attached to those details. Otherwise it is a great influence to start eating better, exercising, paying attention to any food allergies, including cleanses and supplemental herbs, 

The overall desire of Virgo is to be pure - pure of heart, mind, body and spirit.  We will do anything needed to master something to have it refined and working perfectly. 

We also desire to be of service to others in this Venus placement. We may see you volunteering for something or generally making yourself more available to help others. 

Virgo can be a super perfectionist as well. It is part of the path of mastering something that we have to become so entranced in it's perfection that we can become obsessive.  There needs to be this part though, so we learn the absolute limitations of something, including ourselves !

Since Virgo wants it perfect, they want you perfect too. Saying the right thing at the right time, wearing or presenting yourself well, good manners etc will all be more important. Virgo can become so driven to find a perfect way that it becomes THE way, and they can risk becoming rigid and when this happens you get a very defensive, or bitter person who "just wanted to help". 

As we enter into this period, especially when Jupiter joins her in August, draw from the better  qualities and don't criticise or judge others, but mainly don't become too hard on yourself. A lot can be accomplished under this influence

New Moon in Cancer

July 15th the New Moon arrives in Cancer where it is completely at home and in it's best expression.  The Moon rules the sign so it is warm and cosy while visiting. We can expect our emotional and sentimental side to be highlighted. We feel good in our skin. 

This particular New Moon we have a stellium of planets in Cancer- the Sun, Moon, Mercury and Mars. If there were ever a time to open your heart to someone it's now. Cancer rules vulnerability and nurturing. They are experts at holding a safe space for you to confide. ON top of this there are nice aspects to Neptune and to Saturn, so we may really have a breakthrough if we share how we truly feel.  There could be magical romantic moments that actually have a lasting effect.  There are also challenging aspects to Mercury and the Mars with Pluto, so it can really go either way - a very deep soul searching conversation, or a reveal that could hurt.  

As long as you remember to be gentle and calm in your delivery - allow yourself to speak what's in your heart and it'll be for your higher good.

Seeing With The Heart

Seeing With the Heart

Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Despite how much information, pain and trauma we are exposed to daily in life and via the news or internet - we still essentially avoid talking about things openly in daily life with those closest to us.  Perhaps human nature just cant' handle this degree of intimacy. So even if we SEE something clearly, it is often very hard to know how to address it and how to go about it in the best way for all involved. 

We bump into someone's denial.  They have a right to choose not to deal with something too - we just don't want to see them suffer their own consequences. So we try to help or guide, or downright push, shove and meddle. 

Other times we can sense or SEE what is surrounding someone that they are not consciously aware of or consciously avoiding. What do we do then ?  Most of the time they also sense that we see something. They may avoid us, get agitated or excited around us. They may try to coax us to tell them what's up. It creates intrigue and mystery. And sometimes it is a mystery to us what we''re sensing too!  Those musky gut feelings - those visceral YES's or NO's.  Conveying this level of information and intimacy is also  really not easy or obvious. 

So how do we see with the heart? How can we make the most of these situations of insight - because more insight is in the stars for months to come - with Neptune, Uranus, Chiron, Pluto and Venus all retrograde. We'll be seeing and sensing and feeling and knowing more and more. 

Seeing with the heart means to have compassion for yourself and others in the process.  It means you allow yourself and others space, mentally and emotionally. You create a safety zone around you and them so any deep material can come out safely and sensitively. This is the sweetest kind of closeness. 

So if you are remembering something from ten years ago, lost in your own funk - be kind to yourself and take your time to process and share when and with whom you wish.  Your inner life is important. Sacred. 

And if you find you are sensing something about someone close to you and it is troubling you - breathe. You don't 'have to share it, and if and when you do you have permission to do ti when your'e comfortable with it.  Sense and see with your heart when it is time - if ever - to share it with the other person. Treat it as precious as it is, and it can melt barriers. 

Softly see 
Softly share

Have a wonderful month

Full Moon Canada Day !

The full moon is in Capricorn today as Canada turns another year older. Capricorn moons know how to get things done. They can buckle down and do the work to cave out their spot in the world.  

"Capricorn Moon likes to get their own way. They can be ambitious and strong of will, especially as it helps their own career. They like the spotlight, and do well in public positions. Often very intelligent, they have a great respect of knowledge, and they know how to use it to their benefit. They do have a problem with holding anger and resentment deep inside, and can actually cause illness or depression within themselves because they don't deal with their feelings.

Moon in Capricorn is dignified and tenacious. They are able to concentrate well, and do not like to be idle. They can motivate others. When they do lose control, you might as well be standing in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Luckily, this doesn't happen very often." www.alwaysastrology.com

A good day to be in the spotlight and part of an official event !