Change: The only thing that is certain.

It's ironic isn't it that change, that which we are mostly trained to resist in the name of establishing security, in the endeavour of carving out our personal(stay married), professional(do something 'sensible') and financial (don't change your job) path, is in fact, the most certain and secure aspect of life we realistically have.

The current energies are bringing home how inevitable and indeed powerful change as a force is.  There is just no way that you will be left standing if you attempt to hold change at arms length. It's here, and it's here with a vengeance like never before

It's not that we haven't been as affected by change before. I mean it's always happening to us, to our bodies, to our minds, to our circumstances and of course consistently in nature. Change is part of the cycle of growth, without it we'd not only implode but we'd feel stymied. It's an integral part of freedom; that which we were born to reach for.

If you are alive at this time, it is clear that you signed up to experience and be part of, a huge shift in human evolution; probably the greatest morphing in all of human history for we are on the brink of bringing in a fully formed new consciousness that is more unified than ever before.

As we travel down the birth canal of this momentous change there is with any birth an increase in the pain and suffering.

Since the Wesak Moon (May 14 2014)  the energies of this imminent birth have amped up.  Anything that needed to be addressed when it came to resisting the incoming changes might well have been thrown up ( literally vomited) for you to observe and analyse.   Any 'indigestible' patterns of behaviour in yourself and those around you may well have risen.

Anything that was not moulded, melded, welded of  or to true love, most specifically self love, was/is up for recall.

If the last few months, especially from when Mercury turned retrograde (around  June 14 to July 1), were whammy weeks for you its no surprise.  Mercury retrograde is our friend, (she says twitching!).  The  proverbial 'delays', 'frustrations' and 'outages' in our electronic equipment (that includes us too since we are essentially electro-magnectic creatures), the sense of not moving forward or feeling 'stuck, disempowered (again this applies to our physical vehicle too- groan!) are just ways of our higher selves attempting to contact us and remind us that as with all change, a period of integration (read rest; preferably in an induced coma!) is essential for the 'new' to come online,  reboot or to update the OS  so to speak.

I personally have been unable to write (or speak) a word let alone string a sentence together during this last few weeks, yet today,( the first day of Mercury leaving its retrograde period), I find my fingers winging their way back to the keyboard and my brain seems, after a long hiatus, to be powering up again.

Speaking of brains.  If you have had a bit of a problem with forgetfulness; you know that walking into a room and not knowing why you are there? The opening of the fridge  to stare at its contents for ages wildly wondering why you opened it in the first place feeling?  Or indeed as I have been doing alarmingly regularly, calling someone on the phone and hanging up because I, No. 1 don't know who I have called and No.2 have no idea why I was on the phone in the first place.  It's ok you don't need to contact the nearest Alzheimer's Clinic or overdose on fish oils, its not dementia darlings, it's merely the switch off from one power grid to another; the change over mechanism from 3D to 5D.

On a side note for anyone who is undoubtedly truly suffering from dementia like aliments I do not of course jest or make light of this but in metaphysical terms all 'forgetfulness' is related to an inner desire or dynamic that wishes to hook out of the sufferers current world and move on;  the wish to detach from the possibly enervating life style, personal circumstances that are perhaps less than shiny, that there seems no way out of other than to literally shut down synapses which, keep them attached to the old and malnourishing.

Anyway, back to our current inner climates.

Essentially the changes that are upon us are rooted in the idea that we are re-visiting so called contracts or agreements that we have been operating under in oblivion for many centuries. It's time to see if they truly support our growth and our truth.

For example its quite strange when you stop and think that every single one of us by and large adheres to the agreement of Time.  It is a man made concept that we all 'buy' into.  We 'agree' without thought that there are 60 seconds to a minute and 24 hours in a day and we give the nod to the idea of ageing without so much as the batting of an ever increasing wrinkly eyelid.  And therefore so it must be because what we think we literally create.

We take on many of these 'agreements' as our own without questioning as to whether they truly support the blossoming or even just the peacefulness of our self.

Now is a time when you may have, or will, enter into situations that throw these invisible contracts into the air for re-appraisal or indeed clearing out.  The fine print of these unwritten laws are being magnified, some of them shocking to our upgrading consciousness.

Flare ups with family, an increase in wanting to say 'no' to situations or people which on one hand make you feel liberated yet on the other hand invoke a deep sense of guilt that you have been harbouring and hiding for probably most of your life time(s).  The irrational desire to leave a career or job that has and is sustaining you relatively well, the sudden knowing that it's time to end that relationship, ask your kids to move out,  tell your parents what really hurt you or to just have this uncontrollable  need to break free of something, anything!

In the public arena it's apparent that globally we are in a time of increased awareness of how old, out dated mechanisms such as the current political norms are really not cutting it anymore. I mean they really aren't working anymore.

Essentially democratic processes are losing their initial high minded essence and descending into plain and simple to see examples of the worst elements of duality. Tit for tat responses, forming polices that merely attempt to denigrate the opposition or highlight follies of previous governments are  quite simply too dualistic in nature  and powerless to be able to achieve anything of worth in the new paradigm we are moving into. We the general public want more.

Religious dogma and cultural traditions are losing ground, are losing  their grasp, popularity and efficacy as mechanisms to control or inspire the heart and soul of people all over the world.

For example whilst Pakistan might seem like a hell hole, whilst it might seem like it is a lost cause and not worthy of a second glance (new agers beware your own addiction to 'wrong and right' here) it does provide the perfect petri dish in which to see without any macular impairment, the destruction that duality consciousness fosters.  Barbaric killings rooted in an ideology of honour and shame (dualism), ethnic cleansing (no unity consciousness there),  and the attitude of super powers that deem themselves superior to such cultures and meddle with local affairs with the mindset that 'we know what's best for you' are all examples of how unworkable a patriarchal and dualistic paradigm now is.

This type of illumination is apparent in many countries, States and mind sets. It's not a 'developed vs underdeveloped' world situation. It can be present in the heart of the most educated and not in that of the illiterate or underprivilaged.  The Light shines from those who choose heart, who choose optimism over cleverness.

It is not that there is 'more' of this madness on this precious Earth of ours at the moment, it is merely that   we are awakening to, (with the help of celestial energies and an increase of people choosing to get off the wheel of life as we know it),  new ways of existing.  It is our future to move surely and now rather swiftly away from the harmful, untenable and unsustainable mechanisms of the past, into a more unified and humanitarian future.

So God/ess bless the tragedies and injustices, the cruelty and the violence, the numbskulls and the blockheads of the Now; they are the Light in a thinly veiled disguise.  The best, most powerful contribution we can make to alleviate the suffering and nonsense, is to shed multiple skins that have masked our own suffering or secret places of un-(w)holi-ness.


Yup that is where we are at, at the moment.  We are burning off more dross, losing density; baggage that has held us in a difficult place for so long.  It's a little bit scary, unnerving at best and it may feel like the loss will be too much to bear, or that you won't be able to operate as a normal human being.

Questions and worries will arise.

"How can I not be the daughter/mother my father/child expects/hopes me to be?"

"How can I create boundaries that will I know support my own growth best without hurting an 'other'?"

"How will I support my family if I give up this so called 'good' job?"

"How can I say I don't ascribe my religion and its teachings anymore?"

Fear is the glue that keeps us stuck.  Fear is the antithesis of love and love is where we are headed. We can't be in love and fear at the same time, they are energies that are at opposite ends of the spectrum and like oil and water don't mix well at all.

So.. how do we take all of this on board and still stay sane?  How do we bridge this time of transition and keep a foot in both worlds without falling off the end of it face first in to the mud?

I'll let you into a little secret.  We are already there.  It's now merely a matter of each of us choosing which side of the river we will make our new home.  There is no end line or time  or space when all of life will change for life is not linear.

The change as Gandhi rightly said, is in each of us.  Each time we choose a thought that supports the new improved paradigm, we set up a tent on the easier more equable side of the river.  Each time we fill ourselves with love, offer kindness, compassion and care to our Self, we infuse a million other beings and situations with the same, for our atoms, our cells, are shared by all of us, by the whole of Life on Earth.

Each time we dare stop and look at the trees, the flower that pushes its way up through the crack in the paving stone we contribute to the peace and ease we and the collective are bound for.  Each time we acknowledge as holy as ourselves (for we are God) the bird that sings in the tree or the cow that chews its cud, the homeless on the street or the stone in the sand, we add another brick in the wall we build towards our unity, our joy.

We are on the brink of a momentous move forward into this aspired to New Age and we are being helped by so much, by so many.  The more we dissolve the invisible barriers to loving Self and the visible ones that exist in terms of cultures, creeds, countries and religious/spiritual thinking, the more we are able to integrate and literally "earth" this new paradigm.


We are burning off more dross, losing density, baggage that has held us in place for so long.  It's a little bit scary, unnerving at best and it may feel like the loss will be too much to bear, or that you won't be able to operate as a normal human being.

So.. suggestions for integration? Rest and more rest if you need. Being busy and earning your place on this earth by being in constant motion is one of our weird examples of being still stuck in the old paradigm.  Hook out of the old and into the new. Often this can only be done by stopping by not participating.  Get into nature as often as you can, She brings balance to everything and because She is deeply rooted in the energy of change She will always facilitate any changes we are choosing to make.  Breathe and breathe some more. Breathing is the primary mechanism to filling ourselves with new energy, with new life; it restores, reboots and literally re-builds new cells and new unexplored neural pathways.  It will affect positively any shift you attempt. And lastly slow it down.  Slowness allows the body and mind to connect with the heart which is where the power of change lives now.   It is not in the mind or the intellect.  Our new navigation tool is the feeling life, the emotions for they are our most accurate guidance system; if you don't feel right don't do it and stillness allows you to keep your centre when  all is going mad around you.

Change is a coming.. oh Yeah!  And we are on a home stretch, ready to don our mortar boards and graduate.. if we dare!

The Lion Does Not Sleep Tonight: Love and Luminescence.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Before all you cynics and Hallmark haters walk away, yes I will talk about love, I always do, but as usual it will be from the inside out, from the bigger, deeper and wider picture.  This won't be the chocolate box version of corny cupids' story.

I find it no accident that this much maligned,  often saccharine sweet day that gives many of us toothache and indigestion, brings us a magnificent Full Moon this year. Timely.

Today's Full Moon sits in the sweeping savannah of the regal, "look at me, love me, aren't I just grand" constellation Leo. Its' full- fat, feline face flanked by its luminescent, auric mane, is lit up by the freedom seeking, individualist, care if you dare, Aquarius Sun.

What a lovely Moon to have for February 14th 2014.  So what energies, what enlightened enquiry does our Leo Moon bring to this day of love, roses and cupcakes?

The lion symbolises supreme self love.  He sits gazing proudly upon his pride, upon his 'accomplishments' , or lack of them, (we all know he is quite a lazy bugger) without so much of a tinge of guilty conscience.  The only guilt he ever accepts is gilt.  He knows without thinking that he IS gold, that he is enough and therefore he also has a heart of gold; the ever proud lover of his Pride, excited by their mere existence.

Leo loves himself without reservation and finds it annoying that the rest of us don't know how.  This can be interpreted by us cup-not-so-full mortals as arrogance. I mean who sits up high on a self built podium without feeling the need to justify his existence or lift a royal claw?

This Full Moon is so infused with love of all kinds.  It calls us to take a breath, sit back (preferably on a hillock of some kind) and bask in our own glory.  It begs us to not to tell people about suffering but instead to remind them they are free (Aquarius).  It's time to feel "full' of ourselves, to have the courage (Leo) to be our biggest fans without reservation, to feel the energy of entitlement, of wonder and awe for ourselves.  It is the aristocrat of moons.  A time to eat cake, preferably chocolate and ditch the pious diet of stale bread or humble pie.

The Leo flame of self adoration and the whole of his life (Pride) is consistent, loyal and as pure as 24 carat gold. It truly comes from his big heart. Add to this the illuminating Aquarian Sun that taunts us to set ourselves free, pushes us to attach ourselves fully to our individuality, our YOU-nique expression of Selfhood and you have a likely outpouring of chocolate box emotions for the wonderful that is You.

"As above, so below."  
                                                    
The current cosmic configurations are a call from deep space, that place beyond deep, inside our hearts, that reminds us of the laws of Unity Consciousness, the Law of One.



Leo Full Moon energy highlights these these Laws.  As you set yourself free, as you dare (very Aquarian/Uranian energy) to dream of what you would really do if you had the courage (Leo lion heart) to set in motion a life path that was more free, then you,  in doing so,  begin to set the whole of humanity free.  It's not rocket science, or mushy gushy romantic idealism its actually just quantum physics.

Pardon the pun but todays moon is an Armstrong Moon. One brave step into this Moon's calling is a giant leap for Mankind!

"The moon has a face like the clock in the hall;
She shines on thieves on the garden wall"  R.L Stevenson.

Full Moons occur when the Sun and Moon are in direct opposition, where the Sun shines his torch on her big round face so he can see just who she is, what she wants for (us)today.   Whist the Full Moon is largely associated with the feminine, the feeling, the emotional life within, it is actually also an opportunity to learn how to use the complementary Masculine energy from the Sun sign one is in, and combine it with the Feminine vibrations of the sign the Moon is hanging out in.
Full Moons are a time where the divine aspects of both the Feminine and Masculine are literally shining and reflecting to us at their fullest and most radiant, illuminating the beauty, wisdom and talents of both.  This sacred cosmic marriage gives opportunity to birth more of our own wholeness, allows us to dip into a greater sense of completness.

"Though I dream in vain
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain."  Hoagy Charmicheal - Stardust.



Daring to love our Self fully is not selfishness but merely a sign to drop all disguises, all masks to our own truth, our own authenticity.  We carry around a hefty amount of fakeness due to the fact that we have been conditioned from the moment we were born, to respond to the outer world, the external, rather than to take cues from our internal guidance system which would always tell us, if we'd listen, that we are more than magic; made of stardust are We.


Todays' wisdom lies in dropping all external 'coverings" (this is where the word mooning comes from!) so that your true 'light' can shine.  It is a good time to embrace full self acceptance warts and all. There are no deficits or need to make changes.  In the light of unity consciousness there are no 'good' or 'bad' parts of us, we just ARE who we ARE and who we are is already whole. How scary liberating (Aquarius) is that?!

To set your self free by loving all that there IS about you is the ultimate version of Love. The best Valentine's gift you can give yourself.  Once  you afford yourself this upgraded version of love it becomes more than easy to offer the same to others. Bingo! Utopia! Everybody's happy.

Do you see what I see? Reframing.

Interestingly though not surprising, is that  right now, we also have Mercury in Retrograde; the chance to review our past.  Mercury Retrograde is sometimes seen as pain in the bum because it seems to cause delays or glitches or repeat episodes of scenarios we are sick of.  What  his apparent backward movement actually does, is give rise to a kind of  meditation, an inner stalling so we can see in slow-mo "stuffs" gone by.  Its a great window to clamber into the powerful art of re-framing. Any energies vibrating in the frequency of duality that you still lug around, that still influence and colour perceptions about decisions or circumstances you might have been through, are ready for dumping.  The garbage man will be around for a few more days.  Get a few bin bags or even a skip and get rid of it now!

If you are feeling antsy, irritable, unheard, awkward, hurt or angry at the moment. If you seem to be dredging old wounds with stinging, intellectual antiseptics, its time to let go and reframe. It's opportune to don those rose coloured spectacles that everyone told you were useless and offer yourself a  revised version of the incident/feeling/circumstance that allows you to bask in the glow of your own glory, in your true humanity. There are no mistakes only learning experiences.  Really, its time to kiss it all better, love yourself up and carry on.  The giant heart of the King of the Beasts is here to help you swell that self love and admiration.

Our hearts and our world will benefit from this unreserved, embarrassing, surging love.
                       
You may have noticed an increase of posts and sharing of information regarding cruelty to our magnificent animal kingdom.  Calls to provide unconditional love and homes for animals in shelter, outrage at beyond belief shark cullings, whale hunting and everything in between.

Where is this increased compassion and fierce passion coming from?  Yep you got it- that boring old thing called self love. Sorry!   True power without ego comes from within, from filling that pot (belly) of self love I annoyingly keep banging on about.  This is where momentum picks up  and facilitates a more appreciative, connected, and wise planetary experience.

It's time to dissolve the barriers to the beauty of who we are. It's time to amplify our courage to speak up (Mercury) with love (Leo) and dare to bust out of this no longer tenable, inhumane system, to flow into our divine right to freedom and appreciation.(Aquarius/Leo).  Atrocities of the past (retrograde) and present can no longer be muted or dismissed.  We are here and we will roar! (coz we love ourselves enough finally?).

The focus for this Full Moon is to concentrate of the things that feel good; that unite us rather than divide us. Just as Epigentics (google Bruce Lipton) has proved how loving a damaged, sick cell can be healed through offering it compassion, love and visualising it "well", holding awareness and becoming an awake, conscious, truly effective co-creator does not involve coming together in anger or indignation. It is not served best by highlighting horror or illuminating tragedy.  We become more powerful to manifest a more equable existence by rallying together in love rather than in hate, by bringing focus to the miracle that we are, the power that we are, rather than homing in on our deficits or those of the world.

So Happy Valentine's Day! Love this day for what it is, what it brings into focus. Enjoy your chocolates, your cards, your cheesy poems and tokenistic red roses.  It is indeed a day to drop into love, give in, roll over and receive.  Dive deep, go beneath the commercial, consumerist surface in a soul-full, powerful way and love us all into wholeness, into wellness.

May your love for self be as full as this regal Moon.

Shine on!

Divine Feminine 2.0

Today we are smack in the centre of a personal and cosmic meze. There is so much on our plates at the moment yet it might feel that we are oddly empty, lacking nourishment, hungry for something more sustaining yet rather nauseous too.

The New Moon, a super moon, the second of this month, is in Aquarius ruled by the gas giant Uranus. Uranus means change, it means originality, it means shaking up the status quo and by Jove there is some shakin' and wake makin' happening. On a side note, speaking of Jove- also known as Jupiter- will be opposing Pluto on the 31st making us all feel a bit bigger in our boots, in a good way of course.  This aspect brings to the fore our true authentic ambitions and a sense that we can actually make our dreams happen.  Harness this but also be aware that your way might not be the way of anyone else.

Aquarius challenges us to be the individuals we are. Our You-niqueness is being called to the front of the cosmic class room.  We are being given a big opportunity to be the stars of our own shows, of our own lives. Use this time wisely remembering to allow others to do life their way too. No wrongs, no rights.

A New Moon is in truth, the darkest of times in the night sky. Today is when there is in fact no moon visible. The toenail sliver we associate with a New Moon means it is already a day or so old.  It is in the fecund darkness that new life is conceived and there are other intense energies of conception to support this fertile and very feminine time.

The previous few weeks have been shooting at us, (especially women), arrows of irritability at best, or anger at its most potent.  Stuff that has been lying at the bottom of the barrel has been undergoing a bit of shake up. Dregs are being resurrected.

Have you felt like life doesn't  'fit' you quite right at the moment?  Are you living on your last nerve but unable to have that full blown break down, row or tantrum to purge and make you feel better?  Do you have that 'twitchy' feeling all over?  Unable to rest fully to recuperate? Is food not doing it for you much?  Does the usual salve of a little glass of wine to soothe  not work or appeal even?  Have you experienced feeling that you just cant deal with the dynamics you used to see as either a challenge of growth or just part of life?  Do those common- all- garden circumstances, conversations, situations, people, paradigms just make you all of a sudden want to stab them in the eye?!  Does stuff that you have previously dealt with acceptance, compassion or plain resignation not sit right?  Does it feel like you have more s*@t to deal with and is this no longer acceptable or tolerable?

Are you finding yourself almost bigoted, intolerant and rather uncouth?  Can you not shut up, lie back and think of England or distract yourself from an uprising of bitterness, grief or a sense of loss? Do you feel unappreciated, mute or invisible?  And do you feel like you can't even articulate yourself adequately and wish that there was some sort of siphon attached to your very important thoughts that put them out there for all to hear and see without your input?

Its ok we are all in this new ark tossing and turning, lurching and heaving on the galactic seas heading for a brand new realiteeee!

Are we there yet?

My understanding of this surge of ungainly rather shameful feelings, is that we are on the cusp of a very huge happening.  This happening is, I sense the birthing of a completely new way of interfacing with the Divine Feminine.

Prior to this our femininity, our femaleness, our Yin has always been expressed as an aspect of the masculine.  (Hear me out, have patience, this is where I want that siphon to spout out of my head into yours!)

Life as we know it has thus far been expressed, explained and articulated in terms of contrast, through a model of dualism:  Men are this and women are that.

Our very femaleness has by virtue of our patriarchal history been an expression of that very same patriarchy thus rendering the divine feminine somewhat amputated and disabled. The 'feminine' present in both sexes, has always been explained as part of the bigger picture which was predominantly masculine.  This always gave it a subtle sense of subservience, a sense of incompleteness, a feeling of being forgotten or unnoticed, which has tinted the whole remembered history of humanity with its disatisfactory hue.

Guess what? This is about to change.

For you girls who have given birth do you recall that last bit of labour? (I know amnesia is a handy mechanism provided by mother nature to ensure the continuation of the species but..) that bit when you feel you just can't go on, you can't take anymore pain and frankly you couldn't care less now what happens but you just want to go home and have eggs on toast and a nice hot shower. Hang the baby, they are over rated anyway!

Well we are in that last bit of birthing a whole new paradigm, a whole new way of understanding ourselves, of expressing life itself.  Exciting or not?!  NOT, I know!! It feels too hard, but we are going to go through with it so lose any last vestiges of resistance (will power is so yesterday) and allow and allow some more. The only way to navigate this surging river of new life is to toss your oars and lie back in the boat letting it go downstream.  Release the struggle, the suffering, that which defined our raison d'être,  and  you automatically birth freedom, birth a new reality; one that is built on foundations of freedom not suffering.

The new 2.0 version of Divine Femininity  lives outside our current consciousness. It cannot be 'thought" or explained because the boundaries of our current vocabulary are too awash with language of the departing reality.  This brave new world can only be felt which is why 'feelings', negative or positive, have been so high of late.  Intellect is also so 'yesterday'. It will keep you tied to the bonds of what I refer to as the old reality. However, both realities will and do, even now, exist simultaneously.  Which boat we board is entirely of our own choosing. The true shift comes not from the external, the cosmos, the Universe or the collective but from our own moment by moment decisions and what feelings, what emotions we have around these choices. We may be-lie-ve we are in a communal ark, up that proverbial creek sans paddle, captained by one said 'god', government, religion, educational advantadge or social class but each one of us is always actually opting to stay or go with our chosen flow.

If you have experienced in recent weeks a sense of fogginess, a lack of clarity, forgetfulness or inability to connect to anything much at all, its okaaayy...

If you have succumbed to illness, flu, colds, nagging but not severe coughs, stomach and digestion issues, or aches and pains that make you feel like you are 100 years old, once again, breathe out  and relax.  Anything where the immune system is functioning below par is spleen dependent and the spleen when not in full thrust results not only in immune impairment but also in a sense of disengagement.  In Chinese Medicine a weak spleen energy creates a sense of depression, of not 'feeling', of being disinterested in things that used to excite.

There are mass 'disconnect' phenomena that go in cycles. Flu epidemics are characteristic of this dynamic so rest up, get the chicken soup on the boil and allow the new energy to permeate and help heal you and our oh so lovely planet.  It's all good. It's really good.   We are merely forging a less co-dependant experience even if it is merely for ourselves.

In the light of that last statement relationships might be undergoing discomfort.  Women especially may feel extreme dissatisfaction. There may be a sense that what 'is" is no longer enough.  Sex might seem superficial, the way you relate or communicate with your partner might feel unsatisfactory, there is a longing a remembering and there is a wanting for a more  technicolour version of everything.  You may wonder if you are just a ghost of yourself wafting around invisible and unappreciated.  These are all symptoms of the veil thinning around the reality we have been living in for centuries.  It's not necessarily that 'they' are inadequate or wrong, but that 'we" as women are literally tapping into the watered down versions of ourselves, finally finding a mirror that reflects back to us, the fact that we might have been living an almost half life without knowing. This can be painful, frustrating and deeply saddening.

Remember that the men in your life have too been part of this truncated, amputated, lacking in wholeness, depleted experience.  We have all been co-creators and contributors and there can be no air time given to indignant 'them and us" arguments. Needing space to process this realisation or energy, starting to invite in more independence in line with the new energies can be in order, but seeing yourself as a victim will pull you right back into the old dualistic and disempowering energy of the past that we so need to ditch.

There may be a sensation that feels as though you want to unfurl wings and a frustration in finding that those wings in spite of having kept you apparently aloft for all your previous years are actually clipped or damaged making true flight, that true sense of freedom that is beginning to ruffle some feathers, difficult.

What this means in its truth is that we can't, any of us, fly or move through life as we used to.  We have by and large been trained to react to fear, to make survival and compettion the motivational force behind building a way of life.  We are now en-courage-d to replace that reactionary energy with one that invokes responding.  The Feminine needs to become softer to become stronger not pitch itself against the world as has been the way so far.  It needs to seek wholeness and complete independence rather than attempt to build it self up from bricks already in place.

The word responsibility is crucial in this emergent reality.  We truly are now piloting a fighter jet all by ourselves (Cue Top Gun anthem).  The journey will be so much smoother if we take time to become clearer about our own personal values, our own priorities, as we travel.

The easiest and most powerful way of navigating like this is to ask yourself  'What makes ME feel good?"  Not what is good for the collective, or the group, for in repeating this, one merely holds back the evolution of us all.

As one pioneer plucks up the courage to set his GPS to 'feel good", pleasure, ease, joy, abundance and love we all benefit.  There is no merit in suffering or keeping oneself down for the sake of others. Not only does this not make logical sense but it contributes via ones' focus to the enlargement and increase of  that which we are trying to eliminate or change.

Save yourself and you truly save the world. Sounds selfish?  When you truly understand that "oneself" is the collective Self then it is more compassionate and more powerful than any charitable donation you could ever give or campaign against injustice  you could run.

So as the energy of this New Moon combined with the barrage of solar flares and sunspots that have been blasting us for a few days bringing upgrades in our DNA,(literally infusing our consciousness with Light) and the final shedding of skin from the Water Snake whilst we gallop into the Chinese year of the Wood Horse, I urge you to breathe in and out deeply. Bring consciousness to your thoughts, be awake to your subsequent actions and fill yourself with deep appreciation for all that you choose to leave behind and all that is offered on the cosmic meze plate of life. It is a veritable feast, I promise,  when you choose from love.

Waterboat Men and Hippos: The Full Moon in Taurus and other planetary powerhouses.

I know.. It's been more than a while since I last posted.  All I can offer as an explanation is that "oh my giddy aunt, a lot has gone down!"  But here we are again about to feel the potency of yet another cosmic event; a Full Moon in Taurus, with a generous side serve of  some other intense planetary patterns offering us some more (groan) deep diving opportunities.  So man up, don your scuba gear take a deep breath and let(s) go!

November 17 heralds a Full Moon in the sign of Taurus.  This Full Moon signifies the closure of an intense few weeks that started at the beginning of November with what could be called the 'eclipse sandwich'; a period where we had a powerful solar eclipse followed post haste by a lunar one.

During this time there were numerous intense Solar Flares bringing in more Light, offering to us 'upgrades' both physical and spiritual.  You might have been energised by these or flattened or indeed both. Whatever your personal experience may be, our flesh suits, our cells and our Selves have had the opportunity (read kicked up the bottom)  to come further 'online' into a new paradigm that has been building  and breaking us down all at the same time for many years. Some call it the Shi(f)t and the Shift my friends is now more than here than it has ever been.  Its anchored and waiting patiently for anyone to climb aboard when and if they so wish.

Personally I'd advise you to embark because even if you think this has been or is a hard ride and you are oh so tired of it all, to resist, I'm told, will mean a harder one in the long run.

The current planetary positions with the Moon in  tenacious Taurus,  the Sun still of course in transformative Scorpio, Venus conjunct Pluto (ruler of Scorpio) in Capricorn (time, resources, structure), Uranus (the game changer) is Squaring Venus (values, finances, relationships, love). Mercury is also conjunct the North Node of the Moon in Scorpio messengering up with lightening speed all those  niggling dregs from your deep dark depths. It feels like there is no escape hatch.

Pluto calls us to stop being surface dwellers and take a plunge for it is there that the last bit of the map lies. Waterboat Men haven't a chance.  Pluto is going to grab you and pull you under anyways so let (E)go (Scorpio) and surrender to the process of digging for those final hidden habits and tendencies that are holding you back from the treasure you really want to be.




The alchemy of Pluto, Venus, Scorpio and Taurus has the potential to bring up the biggest fear we have of all; the fear of death.

Plutonian/Scorpio energy is about death and transformation for they are one and the same.  The current cosmic catalysts are all about a metaphorical kind of death; they are about letting go of controls, both personal and societal.  They herald a time when like the change from caterpillar to butterfly we literally have the chance to create a new DNA; a truly upscaled model of our Self in any area we may wish to modify.

The fear we have around death is not so much the actual demise of the physical body its more the fear as to whether in this life you have lived up to your full potential.

"Have I done what I came to do?  Have I created what I want to create?    Have I committed to the right thing/person/career?  Have I navigated well this world practically but also have I brought into my experience my true uniqueness, my true divinity? Have I fulfilled my purpose?  Am I enough of me? "

These fears or questions are also heightened by a growing sense that there isn't enough time.  With both Pluto and Venus in Capricorn which is ruled by Saturn (the father of time) it isn't surprising that this sense of not having enough time to fulfil one's purpose is exaggerated.

Time does feel incredibly compressed and with Uranus in the mix there is a propensity to want to keep on the go- go-go but something is reigning us back.  You guessed it, it's Pluto (again).  He is the slowest planet of all. By the time Pluto has done one orbit of the Sun the gas giant Uranus has already done three laps so you can see why perhaps you feel at times that there just isn't enough time or that things are just not getting done.

Time is essentially a human creation that has served and upheld the outgoing 3D paradigm of living.  So as we move into a different dimensional experience, the usefulness of a structure that impinges on our freedom is bound to start to feel restrictive.  Being tired or feeling like you are time poor is merely a way of making us stop and listen; a way of realising that we need to re-calibrate or re-direct our energy.

As you allow yourself to think out of the box regarding time you will likely find a flow or even a flood of ease descend upon you with regard to the growing desire to fulfil true purpose.  That camouflaged  fear of death, which is also rooted in a linear and limited approach to life will begin to fade and the ability to live in that much bandied around phrase of 'living in the now' becomes easier.  As this happens the reins miraculously seem to soften and loosen, allowing us to ironically line up with our secretly coveted truth with accelerated speed.

 

If you look around the world, the 'control' system is falling apart or at best under great scrutiny.  The rules we have lived with thus far are by and large not sustainable in the same way anymore,( if they ever really were?) This goes for us on a personal level too. The ideology, the processes, the commitments and 'common sense' is morphing rapidly.

To buck against this current creates resistance and potential discomfort. We are being offered opportunity to come in complete alignment with our wholeness; to operate from our  own core rather than from cues given by the external.  It's like driving with no headlights or ditching the GPS for a star chart but it is now the new improved way of doing life.



Venus brings with her a need to reconsider values.  She pushes us to ask what our values really are outside and away from the ones that we have bought into or been pummelled by throughout history.  She'll inspire you to consider how you  would interface with your self worth outside of the  'value" system society has set up for you so far. What do you really think of money?  What are your real financial needs?  What kind of relationships do you really want?  Are you really and fully in true authentic relationship with yourself or are you still a dilute version of your latent desire?

It may feel like all partnerships, marriages, friendships and even family relations are becoming more fragile.  Irritation, anger, resentment and a general patina of dissatisfaction may be colouring your world at the moment. All distant rumblings or downright discontent in relationships are merely about the relationship you are in with yourself.

The initial reaction may be one of wanting to toss the whole lot of them overboard (very tempting I know!), to end things no matter what; that wish for a clean slate feeling.  For some this might be the appropriate thing to do but what the Pluto/Scorpio energy is essentially asking us to do is to get all forensic and acquire clarity before taking action because 9 times out of 10 the issues at hand will be examples of transference.

Any elements in a relationship that no longer serve the ideology of self love being the pathway to liberty and indeed to increased compassion for greater humanity, are examples of situations that keep us trapped in an old pattern that is wearing thin in its efficacy and production of joy. These are being called up for release now not later.


Its valuable to build (Taurus) an awareness (Scorpio) around how you spend your time (Capricorn) and energy (Uranus).

Just as we may have or had strategies of how you choose to spend or save our money so that we ensure a modicum of safety and security, we also now need to consider with the same level of importance how we will choose to spend our emotional, physical and spiritual energy.  Do we want to follow the crowd or society or do we wish to listen to our own inner voice just that wee bit more?

All excess emotional baggage needs to be dropped off at left luggage because the last call for the flight to personal freedom and self actualisation in line with our own personal truth is banging on over the tanoid system.

The Full Moon is doing its job of illuminating the unconscious and its planetary accomplices are prodding us  to let go of any habits, conscious or unconscious that could keep us in emotional, social or soul bondage.


Nature always bring balance.  The paramedics are always, if not overtly, right there on standby ready to support these deep dives.  The Taurus Full Moon whilst illuminating is also nurturing.  Taurus is the sign of practicality, tenaciousness and building. In this case she supports our endeavour to build trust, in ourselves and in the apparently crumbling world that we are, even in small ways, leaving behind.

The energy of Taurus allows us to easily put new roots down.  The ashes left from our Pluto back burning  not only reveal the phoenix within but also fertilise and nourish the soil that we now choose to seed.
A little Full Moon gazing or absorbing will make you feel safer despite what you are being en-courage-d to leave behind.

Like the ancient Egyptian goddess Taweret- protector of new life, who came in the form of a hippopotamus, the Taurus Full Moon will take care of you in all the possible chaos. So wallow in the mud and moonlight if you can!

Lily and the Blah-niks: Dark Moon Lilith in Cancer.

Dark Moon Lilith is the point in the heavens of the empty focus of the Moon's elliptical orbit around the earth.  She is the power of the unsaid, the potency of silence; of secrets too long kept. 
  


As Dark Moon Lilith, the symbol of the wild free energy that does not like to feel tamed or contained is triggered there can be a surge of energy, a remembering of of injustices and imbalances.  

As Lilith moves into Cancer many women in particular, may find that the way they respond emotionally ramps up. In addition the intuitive and psychic tendencies characteristic to this sensitive sign may also escalate. 

Basically you get more "crabby!"


The sudden urge to defend oneself against emotional or physical intrusion might (will) rise causing confrontation and discomfort for the Mother/Sister/Wife archetype within.

Grace and acceptance might just leave the building.. just for a very little while .

Now is the time to allow yourself the space to really feel without judgement.  To avoid screaming matches, the throwing of plates and other dangerous missiles at your mate or any passing random stranger,it's useful to soften that crab shell and refrain from walking sideways.   


Sit strong in your vulnerability. It is a time to acknowledge any hurt or pain that have been your life long secret companions. Opening up this Can(cer) of worms  will not weaken you. Quite the opposite.  Allow the tears to fall and surrender to the mosaic that you are or better still go buy a new pair of shoes preferably of the high heeled kind.  Walk tall in your magnificence. Step up to the joy (and pain) of being Womb-an.  She is all powerful, she is strong and she's beautiful.

Lily and the Blahniks

Do I love my man and my children more than I love myself? Is this a good thing? I can cook up scrumptious meals just for them but find it as easy as the CIA catching Osama, to prepare, let alone eat, a meal that I either need or want. My desires went underground a long time ago, and I mean a long time ago when men walked around colossal stones in white nighties with big long beards. 

 

The Eve in all of us is still ashamed of that apple malarkey if it ever did really exist, and being a woman of conscience she still punishes herself on a daily basis. Really get over it Eve! It was a long time ago and its time to let go. Get yourself some therapy girl. Any good shrink will tell you its unhealthy to fester in the sweat of your own guilt. Think gilt not guilt. Think gold- repeat after me “I am gold” 

Throw away the fig leaf and buy some Manolo Blahniks or if that makes your sustainable blood curdle, a hemp skirt will do. Eat a whole, free range if you like, chicken, tuck into a bowl figs and luscious Greek yoghurt drizzled with honey (you can keep the fig leaf for those nudge, nudge, wink saucy moments). I mean what is the deal Eve? Go find your buddy Lilith (Eves' twin sister) and be bad for a day. Head into town and rip it up. Your "bad" probably means not doing the washing or getting a take away for dinner, or more naughtily maybe you won’t vacuum this week. Oooh, oooh , an inch of dust rather than half of one- Agggh- we’re all scared out of our hole proof undies!!!

Lilith might tell you its OK to take a break. She’ll start training you to be free. She’ll probably introduce you to a voice coach who will show you how to get that choked up, annoying squeak that turns into something of a whine when you don’t get heard, into a melodic, alto that runs off your tongue like the sound of a crystal clear waterfall.

Lily, as we will call her affectionately, will book you into a 5 star establishment, order you a mans’ portion of steak and chunky chips (room service of course), draw the black out curtains and tuck you in for the sleep of a life time.

Six days later (she too rests on the 7th) she’ll wake you from your slumber, run a bath for you and leave you there until you are scrubbed clean of your original sins. After that she will hoist you out of your comfort zone. Your bra will be tossed in the bin and she’ll help you drape cloth around your body that would put Givenchy to shame. She’ll take you by the hand and march you to the nearest ATM. One look from her glaring eyes will send you into submission and you’ll withdraw cash, equivalent to a mere single contribution you have made to the mortgage, kids, food shopping and SUV that lies in your garage. Your faltering fingers will be steadied by her piercing gaze as she reminds you of the 2400 other pay cheques and unpaid labour you have put into the account over the past 20 years, "None of it really spent on you my dear!" she'll say sarcastically.

 Lily seems to be a bad influence, a friend you could do without doesn’t she? She’s the kind of girl your mum warned you about; the wanton witch who can lead you astray. Actually she is your best friend. Be brave. Get to know her. She's actually is the part of you that you have forgotten, have no memory of and Lily really loves you...and shoes.

June Solstice and Magpies; (Really) letting go of the old to create the new.

The past three months or maybe more have brought a persistent Magpie into my life.

She (or he) comes periodically every day and throws herself against various windows around the house. She started by attacking the window most prominent, in the kitchen, which is where I spend a lot of time.  First she would appear to perform this ritual in the early afternoon when I would be most likely be preparing dinner, but in recent days she has been committing virtual suicide many times a day in a variety of places.

The insistent flying into the window is behaviour  said to be caused by adolescent magpies seeing themselves in the reflection of a window attempting to fend off any competition. However having always been claircognizant ( being tuned into signs and symbols that occur in nature and elsewhere), I knew that this bird was bringing more than her natural behaviour into my perception and experience.

Over the months if I am not in the kitchen this bird will fly into the window of the room that I am in at any given time. The frequency and ferocity has increased as though she is really trying to get my attention for an urgent purpose to the point where on some mornings she pecks at the bedroom window even when the curtains are closed and the reflection from the window not so apparent.

Today I finally sat down and spent a good 20 minutes 'asking" her and my unseens her purpose.  This is what came up.
                                             

In Shamanic terms birds represent freedom and Spirit so I sensed that perhaps I was not fully letting my Spirit 'in'. Magpies are also the communicators of the Spirit realm so I was possibly not communicating my own truth with enough courage or conviction.

As the June Solstice arrives on the 21st, astrologically and cosmically it is a time to really let go of any thing that is not aligned with your Source Self.  It is a time where we are being asked to bring to resolution and make conscious any old habits of mind, body and spirit that do not vibrate with the life path and experience you and therefore the collective want to experience.

As we shift from the energies of Gemini (the communicator, conduit, master of the abstract and facilitator of new stories) into the new nurturing container of Cancer where all new life is mothered and given shelter we have the profound opportunity to bring new ways of Be-ingness to ourselves and our Global experience.

Cancer is the womb; the creator.  What ever you put in that womb will be nurtured.  Put more of what we already have in the world in there and the more it will multiply.  Use the Gemini traits of embarking on a new journey, daring to be maverick and having the courage to communicate these changes with a little bit of  "spirit" or cheekiness and Cancer will grow for you a whole new experience.

It's really a time to jettison any ideas or deeply conditioned processes that will hinder y(OUR) expansion.  If you have self derogatory thoughts about your body, your gender, your worth, your work, your interface with any aspect of your existence now is the time to release it for good.

All apparent or hidden energies of duality must be released. All elements of opposition integrated.

Magpies are considered the light in the darkness.  My interpretation of this sign that has been forcefully pushing its pesky way into my life in recent weeks is, that NOW is the time to cut all cords that tie us to anything that does not build peace, abundance and well being.  Now is the time to really fully release all that is not resonant with Source Self.

As we leave the previously pervasive ideology of  duality behind it is interesting that the Magpie with it's colouring, symbolises their  ability to live in the black and the white; it's like they know how to live within the dark and the light simultaneously understanding the benefits of contrast yet disallowing the darkness to be their primary guide.

They tend to collect and hoard 'shiny" things, again a symbol of how we need to continually work consciously to gather within us thoughts and a perspective that focuses on the beauty and magnificence of this physical experience.

The Magpie totem also encourages us to use whatever understanding we already have; the treasures that we are.

Instead of aiming for perfection before we begin the process of letting go of old, unhealthy (after the Solstice, frankly unworkable) notions it's more productive to just start moving gently towards new and desired patterns.

For example if it's your physical well being that is a the top of your list instead of embarking on a boot camp, commissioning the juicer and pushing, punishing yourself into good health it's ok to take the low road of say just adding a green salad to your plate of pizza or taking a 10 minute walk for a few weeks until you build up that sense of enjoyment and empowerment that small changes bring.

The quick or ardent fix is out because with every thought or action that is focused on this dramatic approach to change, there is an accompanying sub-text that is basically saying 'I'm not good enough or what I am doing is not good enough so I have to work really hard at revising that."

Wholeness does not come from highlighting the 'holes."

We cannot change ourselves, our world or our experiences of life by viewing what we are or where we are from a place of underscoring deficit.   A poor man cannot make himself rich by focusing on what he is lacking, a country cannot change its situation by discussing its problems, nor a child become confident by a teacher telling him where he is failing.

The move from Gemini into Cancer that the June Solstice marks, means that we have a window of opportunity to use the Gemini traits of adaptability and communication to facilitate these small but powerful changes in our lives.   Magpies are known for their opportunistic natures often teasing more predatory birds such as eagles to show their prowess.  They have a daredevil nature often swooping in on the unsuspecting.  I don't know how many times my 'tower" has been 'buzzed' by a cheeky Magpie as I hang the washing!

If we are to BE-come more of OUR- Selves, if we are to co- create a collective experience that eradicates the difficulties, horrors and injustices of our history and current time, if we are to bring more health, abundance and well being into all of our experience we are now at a time personally, collectively and well aligned cosmically to take some risks, to behave like the daredevil magical magpie.

Now is the moment where we can bring true resolution to tired, untenable issues that have held us back as individuals and as a species.  It's a clear sign from the uprisings in Turkey and Brazil during the build up towards the June Solstice that we can and must take these opportunities to bring change; dare to be different and take risks.

Here we have a portal to unhook from the pervasive paradigm to put ourselves on the line so we can all grow.  The timing is perfect to leave our history behind and carve out new, more sustainable, more equable and frankly just happier, easier times.

Magpies draw on their resourceful almost eclectic way of living to survive.  Our success depends on using this wide and varied way of being; it is now counting on us to have the courage to  literally "wing" it. The rules that we have lived by thus far are all obsolete.

Magpies are not creatures who stay in the safety of a nest or gather around them secure structures to survive such as Bowerbirds do.  Instead they dare to go get what they need and are much more 'in your face' birds, metaphorically calling us to do the same.

This next few days is the pivot point that we can avail of to be compassionate with ourselves and others around hidden or apparent fears and inadequacies.  We need not confront them head on as has been the previously ascribed methodology. This shift can be made easily and quickly instead by being gentle and respectful in sync with the frequency of  love and peace we all deeply crave.

It's time to reconcile the dualities of our conditioned nature; to resolve any lingering emotional and spiritual oppositions.   Its useful to pay attention to your dreams and hunches and then have the courage to 'go' with the messages they provide. Your steps will not falter if you focus on things that you as an individual value.  As you listen to your heart your heart will naturally open to the dissonant cries of others and your compassion and ability to act upon it will grow.

Selfishness automatically leads to Selflessness.  Can you feel the relief in this statement?  Sit with it an allow it to grow, allow yourself to blossom back into the seed of Source that you know you are. If you feel the relief you know that you are ready to be a harbinger of change.  If you still feel uncomfortable with the idea of Selfishness leading to Selflessness you have been given the gift of knowing that you still have some work to do with aligning with your god-self.

My Magpie's insistent and often grating cries have been screaming at me (and now at you!)  She has been calling me to make that final step and really "wake" up, live consciously in absolute awareness.  She has me walking fully the uncharted territory of truly leaving all dregs of victimhood behind to deliberately create with the support of Uni-versal forces, the life and experience that I know We are meant to have.

The Magpie cries:

"Let go of the old and bring on the new!  Dare you!" 


PS:
As I began to write this the incessant flying into windows stopped and at some point my magical Magpie came to rest on the window sill of my study.  She stayed there for about half an hour flitting from the sill to the Passion Fruit Vine on the opposite boundary wall every so often.  She pecked at the window once or twice as if wanting to get my attention, fixed me with her beady eyed glare and then flew away.  I wonder if she will return.