Taurus New Moon, Mars Conjuncts Nodes May 3, 2011

 

NASA

Tuesday's New Moon in Taurus (12:50 am MDT) allows us to reconnect on deeper levels in our personal relationships.  Old issues may come into clearer focus and perspective, and finally become resolved. You can forgive those involved and return to loving them compassionately and unconditionally.  Karmic and past life breakthroughs are also possible. You may realize old difficulties and situations differently in order to gain new psychological and spiritual insights and understandings, which cause you to relate more meaningfully and fully with those you love. You may even touch more profoundly your loved ones in the spirit world with whom you may have felt disconnected lately.

Along with creating relationship breakthroughs, your material resources may begin to improve which can be one of the new beginnings tied to new moons. Think bigger and feel all that you want to manifest now.  Speak openly to your inner guides and helpers, realize that having abundance means aligning yourself with Spirit and knowing that Spirit provides for all of us.  Every need is always met lovingly and easily.  Letting go of the old paradigms for making money may give you opportunities and creative ways to find greater successes and resources now. Still affecting us are five planets in the fire element which add inspiration, passion, generosity and the belief that anything is possible (Uranus, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter & Mars are all in Aries). What constitutes action relies on this Aries energy, although it may take time, persistence and patience to realize the results we so need today. So, baby steps are appropriate for these times, but babies grow up to take giant steps eventually.

You may realize an even greater awareness of who you are spiritually and psychologically now while Mars contacts the middle of the Milky Way, our Galactic Center, and the north node during this New Moon. The Galactic Center is an energy source of gargantuan magnitude that affects the earth's electromagnetic field as well as our own.  This massive energy input may affect communications, computers, the weather, travel, as well as mechanical and electrical devices. Caution and patience are advised in any of these areas. With these astrological influences, the main focus is on self and group development in consciousness and awareness, which brings about transformation and regeneration of who we are, and makes the possibilities for growth limitless. You can reconnect with the center of your being,  recommit to individual and global change, and visualize a better state of consciousness and well-being for everyone, including the animal and plant kingdoms. Creating a better place for all of us is an individual responsibility, more necessary than ever in these amazing and challenging times.

How this change manifests depends on what lessons and realizations will allow you to grow spiritually. What you most need to change will surface if you become quiet and introspective. Take the time and practice going within to find answers, and follow your intuition.  It is far easier or more comfortable to look outside ourselves or to project onto others what we need to change; however this is not what is asked for now. You may be a new journeyer in inner processing, and it takes courage to trust what you get and feel rather than your old ways of seeing. Always remember that you are only given what you are able to process at one time, so dive in with the intent to succeed and move yourself forward.  Adjustments and changes in what you are doing, how you are ending things and beginning new stages are all encouraged by for these influences.  Remember that healing and your inner place of being are undergoing transformation.  Time, courage and faith lead your inner process to your next stage of development.  Have a wonderful journey of discovery.

Ask for guidance from the six of Pentacles in the tarot to help in bringing a generosity of spirit for yourself, as well as for tithing to people or institutions which inspire you at this time.

Blessings, Tom

Animal Totem Energy - Week of May 1, 2011

A-Z Animals

Fox shapeshifts into our lives this week bringing magic & mysterious peeks beyond the veil. This energy is a wonderful tool for expanding your skills in reaching other realms where you can access levels of consciousness & states of mind that may be new & uplifting for you. You may find that your senses are heightened, which will enable you to hone in on what will be of benefit & what will just get in your way. Watch out for anything that seems too good to be true or too easily attained - probably something isn't right.

This is a good time to keep your plans to yourself, remembering the strength in silence. Fox will wait & watch until the moment is perfect for leaping on her prey, spending little energy & moving in perfect quiet. Learn the art of invisibility, for if you are able to be still & listen, you will gather information which will serve you later on.

Fox enjoys solitude, & will spend long periods of time alone perfectly happily. This is a good time to withdraw from jumping around in the outside world & spend more time with yourself & with those activities which nourish & support your inner well-being. Lift the veil aside & see where Fox will invite you to go. This can be a time of great mystery, so watch & wait until your time to act becomes clear.

Blessings, Val

Venus and Others Square Pluto - April 26, 2010

NASA

Today continues with another in a list of planets again squaring Pluto, and as a consequence the time to accept changes in our consciousness is upon us. We may need change in those areas we least favor, such as fear, doubt, dis-ease, disenfranchisement, worry or any lack relating to the self.  When Venus in Aries squares Pluto in Capricorn (since April 20th and now through May 3rd), we need to be extremely vigilant about how we proceed to bring new experiences, new relationships or other new things into our lives.  Whatever we start may take unexpected and challenging twists and turns before it really feels right, justified and compassionate.  Along with a greater sense of doubting ourselves now, we may feel reluctance or resistance to try out new relationships or new ways of being.  Certainly, please be careful and cautious about your finances,  seemingly hopeful economic prospects or ventures, and adventures which appear too tantalizing to believe.  This is not the time to experiment, unless you have the backing of all interested and believing partners or related groups.

While Jupiter in Aries was squaring Pluto in Capricorn (from the middle of January 2011 until the end of March 2011) as well as Mars squaring Pluto (from the beginning of April until April 20th, 2011), also Mercury (from March 10th through March 17th, 2011), and through the continuing Uranus square Pluto, we have witnessed precarious starts, sidetracks or setbacks in our economic situations, possibly difficulties in our relationships, a lack of a sense of security about now and the future, and  some feelings of futility in what we are doing as not being exactly right for us. Waves of disappointment, anger,  mistrust, jealously and futility about how to manage change have met us in areas where transformation has to happen.  I do not intend to sound overly grim about these times; however, it's appropriate now to be realistic about our need to change what isn't working or hasn't for quite a while.  Whatever is old or unused in our "closet of the self" needs our prompt examination and those images, confidences, trials or difficulties we have encountered lately have to be moved away from, thrown away and forgiven.  Whatever avenue dries up, Spirit will open up two more in its place.

In the search for a new job or career, search in new, novel ways, replace the old by widening your prospects in new fields. Reinvent your job by finding how you can apply your skills  differently to open employers' eyes in new ways.  For example, your teaching or counseling career may fit the general field of research, technical writing, editing or publishing.  Or be adventuresome and open with your creativity by applying for positions in the arts, or maybe become a supervisor in an unrelated area.  Try painting , sculpting or crocheting and create your own line to market. Now see yourself doing this new job: visualize as well as deeply feel yourself creating that unique opportunity outside your normal field of expertise.  Change takes courage as well as strength, and you deserve to have that feeling of succeeding in all that you choose to accomplish.   

Perhaps, the greatest avenues open to you now are those in your inner life.  Sit quietly in a comfortable place, and surround yourself with supporting and loving energy. Now visualize what would create more happiness, joy and security in your life. Is it more friends, a better sense of self, more security and self confidence, a new pet, the time and ways to be more creative? Next, whatever comes to mind, note and record it in writing, in drawing or by taping. Do this two other times when you have the space over the next week. Do not share your findings with anyone else until you have completed these three sessions, and are confident that what surfaces is for you alone. Allow your inner child  and your inner artist to be a part of this experience. Feel fresh, renewed, invigorated and supported from the inside outward. You'll be amazed at what occurs for you that can transform your way of accomplishing  things when you start by allowing your inner self a voice. When it feels right, try one of your new ideas and experience how freeing it can feel. What we value and what grounds us comes from our searching within.

With all this Aries' fire energy affecting Capricorn's earth element is it any wonder why for months now we have felt this way.  At times distracted and defeated, and we wonder how can we ever change what seems challenging now.  When we summon our strength and inner wisdom, everything seems possible again. The energy lightens, and the new opens and prospers. We explore new adventure and are offered new opportunities, those which seem to have previously been unreachable and unattainable until now.

Use the energy and wisdom of IV The Emperor in the tarot cards to guide you with more certainty, conviction and strength in what you pursue and accomplish during these times. He is the master of manifestation and will help you gain the energy and determination to come through these times with something to show for it!

Blessings and success on your journeys, Tom

Animal Totem Energy - Week of April 24, 2011

A -Z Animals

Salamander comes into our lives this week to awaken us to the need for a supportive & creative environment from which we are able to draw strength & inspiration.  Look around & assess whether or not the people & the environment itself in which you find yourself are endorsing your energy & aspirations, or are undermining influences. When was the last time you did a thorough energy cleansing of your space? Have you used the smudge stick & the essential oil Myrrh every week or do you let it slide? Everyone with whom you come into contact carries their own energies & some will bring unwanted entities, spirits & other attachments into your space, so you will want to scour out all of the corners, closets & cubbies where you live & work. When an unwanted entity gets into your space it can disrupt business, health & over all  sense of happiness & well-being. Refuse to allow anything that is unlike love to enter your space.

In a clear & nourishing environment, Salamander can bring answers & solutions, inspiration, support, nourishment & provender from unexpected sources & in unusual ways. Remain open this week to receive information, direction & resources from people, books, animals or other streams which you might otherwise disregard or marginalize. There will be exciting inspiration that, if followed, can bring you to an entirely different level than you've been at lately. Salamander breathes through his skin, so emulate him & work this week to inhale from the universe whatever you need to move forward. Remember, Spirit has a wonderful sense of humor, so what you get could come in some very amusing ways. Laugh & live in gratitude.

Blessings, Val

Animal Totem Energy - Week of April 17, 2011

Pakorn      Free Digital Photos

Cicada emerges this week to announce pleasures & joys from the past that will appear in our lives. These may be from long ago in this life, or from an actual past life when someone comes to you who seems like an old friend from the very first moment you meet. It's a time of offers & opportunities, invitations & proposals, which will come unexpectedly.

Past lives can become important now, & working with a reputable past life therapist could be very helpful for digging out & understanding the  benefits from other lifetimes that you've brought with you into this life, as well as the healing & goodness that still remains in the relationships you have in this time that have also traveled with from other times. There can be too much emphasis on the karmic debts we have & the heavy baggage we have carried with us from other incarnations, so this week's energy will help to balance us in the positive things we can glean from our past. Spontaneous past life experiences & dreams are possible now, so keep a notebook handy.

Renewing old ties can be very rewarding right now. Let these experiences come to you rather than searching them out yourself, which will ensure that whatever comes to you will be what you need at this moment, & will give you the experiences through which you will most benefit. 

Cicada reminds us of the childlike joy we all need to savor from time to time ~ something too often forgotten. This isn't a frantic chasing after our pleasures, but a deep immersion in the innocent joy of the inner child.

Have a beautiful week.

Blessings, Val

Changing Moon's nodes March 3rd & Uranus into Aries March 11th

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In the fast moving and changeable world in which we live, we may not have noticed that last week on Mar. 3, the Moon's nodes shifted into Sagittarius and Gemini, creating a new set of energies and opportunities.  The nodes affect the destiny of all of us for the next eighteen months, and we can be certain that our focus on what's important needs to shift to the greater good of community, nation and world. Women's collective voices need to be heard, business wants to be unusual rather than usual, and a different and more financially responsible direction taken for large corporations as well as for all the rest of us on a more personal level. This is the time to forgive anything harsh in speech or behavior, any feuds or other interpersonal troubles, no matter who is involved. Be patient with others,  take the high road in any kind of communications and use generosity all actions you take. It's challenging and tricky to communicate with your clearest and best intentions. What's easier now is to adapt or revise your beliefs about yourself and your world; how big and far reaching are your visions and dreams? While the nodes are in Sagittarius and Gemini, communications of any kind, short trips, vehicles and small engines, small animals,  and siblings will all require you to be more vigilant, clear and purposeful in order to get things done, and yet glitches and delays may still occur. Focus, changes or adjustments in areas relating to belief systems, long journeys, higher learning, large animals, philosophy, religion and spirituality will be easier to understand and accomplish. 

Certainly, a breather from the hectic pace and additional stress lately is quite necessary now; however, these times of change still demand your detailed attention if you plan to benefit during what is now a more predictable and determined chaos; aggressiveness and another round of mindless activity will support the status quo. Complicating these times will be a dreamy overlay of energies that make being steady and positive so much more challenging and harder to maintain.  Strive for less fear and worry about who is getting it wrong or who is distracting you, and put more attention on how to peacefully bring what is out-of-control back to a place of workability, sanity and peace of mind.  A simple course of action often brings the best results. Not to worry!!  With these new influences come the eclipses which are part of the activity of the nodes, and we are having five more this year! These eclipses may bring very unsettling influences to otherwise very stable relationships, yet in the times of such powerful astrology you can expect even the most stable relationships to change and grow. Those that don't may be in for unexpected situations and disappointment. Fitting in is not what works. Being flexible and willing to expand is what's called for in the way you grow and transform at these higher vibrations, although it might be tricky and difficult and tricky. Even the smallest of changes takes courage, and the collective energies of the nodes offer that now.     

This Friday,  Uranus enters Aries, and for the next seven years it will stay in the first fire sign. Welcome challenge and change as well as the need to rework many things on an ongoing basis. Here the theme for change affects how we relate to each other.  Old or unchanged relationships need work, and some may not survive these times. Even simple misunderstandings now can cause full blown arguments. Taking a look at what doesn't work vs. what to keep of your own personal behavior all comes under the microscope. There is no place to hide when Uranus needs to reform, Saturn wants to instill and preserve structure and foundations, and Pluto stirs up your emotional and psychological landscape. Remember, when entering anything new fear can surface, but you can use the things you know about creating positive outcomes from the chaos and find yourself in a better future. It is certain that relationships of all kinds as well as much that you're nurturing at the moment will be transformed.

With Uranus in Aries, the influences involve the physical and the spiritual. Acting with passion and determination, creating new enterprises, or adjusting old ways of operating business are key noted. Dealings with large groups, associations, animal causes, and the environment also take center stage, and it is how you see these differently that helps you to prosper in your understanding and grow in consciousness. Every one of us has a part to play in our world, in how we want it to be and transform even in the smallest of ways. Over the next two months, on and around April 3rd, is a very potent time with six planets in Aries, including that day's sun and new moon, so be extra vigilant of what you say and do. We have to be mindful of our own energy, and guard against projecting our anxieties and worries onto others if you are fearful of new paradigms. Be ready and willing to see life in new ways, and that's all. The details of what to do are a matter of your own circumstances, intuition, your higher guidance and the universe. What happens at the individual level is what drives what happens at the personal relationship, community, national and global level thereafter.  Your task is to be loving, aware and responsible in all that you say and do.  Reaching out a helpful hand to an elder crossing the street, lending energy and love to help resolve conflicts between friends or coworkers, or simply giving more time to pray for the highest good for everyone are ways to manage these stressful times.

Gemini folk may experience unexpected difficulties, added frustrations or take longer to process all the energies of the node in their sign, and Sagittarians may find quite the opposite; growth and transformation now quite a bit easier. Where Gemini and Sagittarius falls in your chart will definitely feel these planetary influences.  Call Tom to schedule a reading to help you better understand how the planets and their energies in your chart affect you right now.

Use the influence of the 10 of Wands to help you to choose your burdens carefully during this time, & as a reminder that we all have loads with which we're working, but that they aren't an excuse for taking on the role of martyr. What you do, do with love & and compassion. 

New Find: Dog Rehabilitation Harness

I've found a wonderful product for those of you with dogs who need a little lift while walking either because of injury, surgery or simple aging. This harness is soft & comfortable, has adjustable handles, & a strap that can attach to the dog's collar, so there's no need to use a leash if you don't want to.

Our dog, Sasha, who is a tall 13 year old Greyhound/German Shepherd with very bad arthritis in both back knees, walks well with me now when she wears her Gingerlead. I'm short (5 feet), so the adjustable straps make it easy for me to hold on to her while giving her a little lift. Sasha's much more relaxed as we move along, & I'm so happy to see her getting more exercise!

This harness is the nicest one I've seen in this product area, & the price is wonderfully affordable. Check it out at: www.gingerlead.com