Mars crossed my Ascendant yesterday. Like many folks with planets in Virgo, I’ve been enrolled in a long Mars-in-Virgo seminar (since November 2011, to be exact, when he entered this sign).  Twice already Mars has marched across my Ascendant. Each time I found myself in multiple week-long battles that made me want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head.  My Mars transits were unnerving–but illuminating too. Virgo has a way of slowing things down, even misery and terror. Using its careful analytical style, I was able to measure my fears, my social awkwardness, my impatience, my tendency to obsess or shut down.  I had to get better at Mars things, at both standing up for myself and giving in. Mars designed quite a learning academy.

Later this month I will enter a Mars Dasa, a seven-year period ruled by this archetypal Warrior.  So it was with great respect, a little fear, and plenty of curiosity that I waited to see what turbulence Mars might bring for his last visit to my Ascendant.  Perhaps he would give me one final test.  The day passed without much difficulty.  Emails were friendly. My clients were sweet.  While I was running errands, traffic worked in my favor.  Lines at the bank and post office were short.  Everywhere people smiled. When I got home at the end of the day, I half-wondered if Mars had forgotten me!  Then I saw the tamale lady drive past my house. I’d been craving her tamales and I ran out to stop her. This caused a sudden small traffic jam on my usually empty residential street.  An man in a big white truck began honking his horn. He kept honking for the full ninety seconds it took the tamale lady to maneuver back my way.  When the white truck finally drove by, the man turned to me,  shook his fist, and shouted. “The street is not for parking!” 

Here was my visit from Mars!  A drive-by from an angry stranger. Something similar had happened weeks earlier and I’d been so unbalanced I found myself yelling back at the homeless woman who’d been shouting obscenties at me. But this time I was unfazed. In fact, the tamale lady and another driver and I all exchanged equanimous glances that said, “That man seems to be having a bad day. But I’m having a good one. I hope you are too.”  It was so much nicer than Mars’ two previous visits.  I hope that means he thinks I learned a thing or two, but we’ll see!

I often think of my friend Anna Raphael during the Taurus season.  A former MoonCircles contributor, Anna died from cancer a few years ago.  Her Taurus Moon had a deep appreciation for the delights of living in a body on earth. Savoring a cup of tea with her was transformative. I am pleased to share one of her Taurus teachings below.

We in the West we have a wound in Taurus.  We suffer from a deep unconscious power complex that cuts off our connection to earth and body. This cripples our capacity to cultivate chi (which is abundant during the Taurus cycle). Adrian Harris speaks of our collective wound in a paper on Sacred Ecology:

What we in the West have inherited from the great philosophers & theologians of the past, Plato, Aristotle, Saint Paul, is a split in our reality that alienates us from ourselves. Our languages, our culture, & our ‘common sense’ all conspire to convince us that we are self contained entities, divided from the rest of the universe. Each of us occupies a little box, & most of us remain shut up inside our heads for our entire lives. … But this analytical & divisive way of knowing the world is not the only one possible, as anyone who has been part of a powerful ritual or experienced good sex, can tell you.  …  At such times we come to the wisdom of the body; knowing that all things are ultimately one.*

Having a healthy relationship with Taurus means that we know this oneness. We live with this innate, fully natural (nature-based), body knowledge. Taurus is an earth sign, and represents relating not to the body but instinctively from the body. During the season of Taurus we should treasure our physicality and oneness with the beauty of nature as springtime flourishes and chi abounds. Take it in!  Walk in the sunlight on dewy grass!  Absorb prana (chi) through your breath and skin!  Never forget: it is here for you!

*from ‘Paganism Today‘ (1994). (Ed.Harvey and Hardman). HarperCollins.

It’s Spring!  When the swallows return to San Juan Capistrano–except these birds no longer visit the Capistrano Mission on the first day of Spring.  Urban development around the Mission has driven out the tasty insects that swallows love, so the birds have gone elsewhere. Tourists now flock to the town instead; they party without the swallows.  One of California’s most celebrated rites of Spring has lost its authentic connection to wild nature.  I take this as a cautionary tale for Moon work as well, especially in the blogosphere, where the Moon doesn’t literally shine. 

At MoonCircles we honor the fabled Moon just as the Capistrano Mission still honors its swallows.  We hope we inspire a good celebration each month.  And we hope that, just as the Capistrano tourists may be inspired to head out for the wild lands and locate real swallows after the party, our readers will likewise be moved touch the unfolding, living textures of each Moon cycle.  This real-time real-life connection is the most important part of Moon work and the hardest part to share.  Whatever I might think or write about a particular New Moon, the actual experience of it will always include something new.  It’s this continual surprise that makes me feel most connected to the Moon and her abiding lessons of change.

So of all the Moon practices I keep, this is the most important one:  to continue seeking real nourishment from the Moon, instead of just resting in what I already know.  If at the New Moon I forget to light a candle or weave a meditation of relevant imagery, I’m still alert to the living texture of this Moon time.  I look forward to that moment two weeks from now, when the Full Moon comes, and I’ll reach a simple, unexpected revelation.  My Full Moon enlightenments are often as subtle as moonlight itself, and easy to miss if my senses weren’t tuned.  When the cycle begins again at the next New Moon, I will wonder again at what mystery is unfolding.   This is the tasty meal that is still being served by the Moon.

Virgo and Pisces make magic at this Full Moon. Pisces opens the third eye and Virgo reconnects us to the natural world. To celebrate this moment, you could gather flowers, bells and a bowl of water, candles, crystals, and incense too. Yet sometimes the best rituals are simple ones. Just commit to grabbing five minutes before sundown. Find a spot that gives you a good view of the Eastern horizon. Allow your thoughts to ride the natural rise and fall of your breath. Soon your mind will grow quiet, like a sleeping child falling into another world. You might feel a spacious peace inside. Let your awareness expand into this peace. Feel how it floats through and beyond your body. Imagine that this expanding field of awareness had eyes. Let them watch for the Moon rising slowly above the horizon. And with the eyes of your body, watch how the earth responds to Luna’s soft wash of light. Notice how the Moon’s glow has the quality of something alive. See how it pervades everything, washing through mountains, limbs of trees, insects crawling along the ground. Observe too the sounds of civilization, how the shout of voices and rush of cars are part of the Full Moon’s symphony. If you sit this way for awhile, you may find that whatever is keeping you from fully enjoying your life is gradually melting away: a small gift from the vast magic of the Virgo/Pisces Full Moon.

Neptune has recently entered Pisces.  How should we respond? My guest blogger Bekah Finch has some great suggestions:

On February 3^rd (just one day after Imbolc, 4 days before the Leo Full Moon and two weeks before this New Moon), Neptune, the planet of mysticism, returned to its home sign of Pisces.  Neptune has not been in Pisces since 1861 (except for a short time last year as it prepared to leave Aquarius) and will sit on its own throne until 2025. Its last 13 year reign in this sign brought many artistic, spiritual and cultural transformations—from the birth of the Impressionist movement, to the abolishment of slavery, the creation of anesthetics, the declaration of women’s rights and the invention of blue jeans.

Besides the Mayan prophecies, much of the 2012 chatter has been based on three powerful planetary alignments: the Venus/Sun transit, the Pluto/Uranus square, and this shift of Neptune into Pisces. All are considered  catalysts in creating the new era. I think Neptune’s transition, coming in so close to the Pisces New Moon, is a beautiful and blessed opportunity to give us a taste of what the next 13+ years might hold.

My favorite ways to explore Pisces/Neptune are through dreams, intuition, meditation and working with water. You may have already noticed your sleep shifting in the last couple of weeks; perhaps your dreams got really good or really bad. Building up what the shamans call a “dreambody” and spending more healing time with water are tasks that will not just support an interesting month, but tools that can assist you (and others) in moving towards a higher realm of consciousness that will support our planet’s much needed shift.

Not all of Neptune’s shifts will feel wonderful. At times we may feel like we’re lost or drowning in the downpour of Pisces. That’s when we need to look for an umbrella and decide that we will dance and sing in the rain.  Our constant ally, the Moon, is offering just such an umbrella. This Moon cycle, our Grandmother is giving us 28 potent days before Spring Equinox to really drop into our emotional and dream bodies, to cleanse, shift our consciousness, open our creativity and set the intentions needed to ride the coming waves. This is the month to keep a dream journal by your bedside table and commit to writing in it every day, not just dreams, but any message or intuition that comes up through your day/night.

 Meditation is another way to open up the unconscious. Sitting by water is a great way for new and old meditation practitioners to deepen their practice and tune more deeply into Pisces’ frequency. Working with the water element is recommended. I am ever the fan of hot baths, and cold dips in oceans and streams.

 Other helping hands that are reaching out to support us are healing herbs. For thousands of years, mystics have sipped, bathed in, and slept with sacred herbs to enhance the benefits of water, meditation and dreaming. Consider accepting the guidance of mugwort, wormwood, chamomile, valerian root, rosemary or lavender in your Pisces journey. I don’t ingest many herbs (and don’t recommend anyone trying them without guidance), but I do love to put them under my pillow while I sleep or let them steep in my bath before meditation or bed.  Bring the same intelligence and reverence to the herbs as you do your water and dream work, and you will find yourself becoming a more sensitive, creative, intuitive, and connected being in an era in which such consciousness is desperately needed.

Bekah Finch is a Yoga teacher, shamanic practitioner and moon devotee. For more information on her work and writing please visit www.sacredwayyoga.com

 

 

Last week brought “Imbolc,” the traditional midwinter cross-quarter holiday. But don’t despair if you missed it. You can still enjoy its benefits; this Full Moon is an ideal time. In the Northern Hemisphere, nature is awakening with small gestures toward spring. There’s an erratic sprinkling of warmer days. Buds are just forming on the branches and birds are getting busier. Imbolc’s opportunity to cleanse and refresh your life is also a need. It’s coded in your DNA, as humans have honored this seasonal turning for millennia. This past week, I’ve heard Imbolc’s influence in my clients and friends: in a new resolve, a cleansing diet just begun, an urge to find true purpose, or sweep the house, or reorganize the studio to prepare for some yet unborn creative project.

Here’s a short and sweet Imbolc celebration: clear your house of winter’s musty energy. Use the air element to assist you. Even if it’s chilly, open all the windows in your house for just fifteen or twenty minutes. Test this. Before you open the windows, step through your front door and get a sense of the place. Do the same after you’ve done your air cleansing. Note the difference. If you want a magical home, it’s important to develop this sensitivity.

One of my favorite ways to cleanse a home is to ring a pair of Tibetan Bells through all the rooms. I move clockwise from my front door and go all the way around, waking up the stuck energy in the corners and within the walls. (Clapping your hands along the walls works well too.)  I began this practice years ago in Southern California, where the winters are so mild, seasons and cross-quarter holidays were merely concepts.  I did my bell-ringing as more of a pantomime of magic. Now, having lived over a decade in Southern Oregon where there are seasons, and where I’ve had time to deepen my sensitivity, it’s more than just pretend. I can feel the responsiveness of my home as I give it this special attention. I can now say without equivocation or embarrassment that my house is alive. And it’s delighted with its Imbolc cleanse.

 It seems Mars has invited us to ponder his upcoming retrograde—indeed we could say it has already begun, as Mars has been in the degree of his station for nearly a week. The ill-fated cruise of the Costa Concordia was waylaid by Mars—or his emissary, Captain Francesco Shettino, who embodied Mars at his worst: reckless, irresponsible, and cowardly. Tennis star Marcos Baghdatis also found himself overwhelmed by Mars, when in a fit of anger, he destroyed four of his own rackets, two of them new.  Mars is retrograde from January 23 to April 13, but the weeks before and after the station may be most volatile. Life slows down—things don’t work, people don’t cooperate, machines behave strangely. We could find ourselves responding with out-of-control frustration, moving too fast or too recklessly.  But the key is to do the opposite: slow down and move cautiously.  

In his retrograde station, Mars squares Jupiter in my chart. I did not expect him to take shape as an intruder! This week, an unbalanced and angry former friend snuck into my house, stole a couple items, and left the side gate open, so that my dog Jupiter ran free through the streets! Jupiter was eventually found, the police were called, and the house is newly secured. I did a ritual to Mars and made an offering: I gladly paid $99 to the locksmith, whose profession is ruled by Mars.

Friends have been wondering why I’m neglecting my gray roots and letting the purple streaks in my hair fade.  I’ve been waiting for this weekend—one of the best Moons of the year for dyeing. I know it’s 2012 and there are lots more important things to worry about. But the Moon is always pleased when we take advantage of her numerous small graces. This weekend, she promises that whatever you dye will take its color fabulously well. Whether you’re an artist dyeing textiles or a woman simply coloring her hair, your results will be particularly rich, vivid and long lasting.  When the Moon is full, everything in nature is more porous and absorbent; the same is true of water sign Moons. Put them together—a Full Moon in water sign Cancer and voila: intensified color!  I hope you have fun with it.

Last night I ate a heavier meal than usual. This morning I slept in. Later I won’t go to the gym as I usually do. It’s solstice time. The sun appears to be standing still as it slowly turns to go back along the horizon line (moving north or south, depending on your hemisphere). This is how we shift into the new season. A lot of people get sick during solstice week, though we don’t need to pause that way. Rather, we can follow the body’s subtle or insistent promptings to slow, tune inward, and when ready, reach out to reconnect with the wheeling planet. Freshly centered within ourselves, we can enjoy the profound delights of sensing the air, listening to the trees, watching the new flight patterns of birds. Something in the body wants to do this; it’s ancient, powerful, and pleasurable. Some people like to sit in meditation on solstice. Others perform ceremony and ritual. Some buy new journals, others select goals for the season, some light candles, others take walks in the park. It doesn’t particularly matter what you do on solstice. It’s the spirit with which you do it that brings the magic. The solstice is a bright jewel on the year’s necklace. Wear it with joy this week.

 

The eclipse makes this a special “Long Night Moon.” For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere the December Full Moon heralds the coming of Winter Solstice, which is always a good time for sitting alone in the dark. Dark Sitting is a simple yet profound practice. You can do it with or without lighting a candle. I recommend trying both ways. I like closing the practice with a prayer of gratitude to the guardian angels. I rarely think of them but I know they’re with me, especially when I’m in the dark. You have yours too of course. Say something heartfelt and spontaneous. Or recite this traditional Catholic prayer (scroll midpage to “Christian Prayer”). The advantage of using traditional prayers is that the “mana” or power in the words has been nourished by centuries of repetition, particularly when they’re recited in Latin. Or light a small birthday candle and say these words from Draja Mickaharic’s Practice of Magic: “You who are with me in this life as my guide and protector, I express my gratitude to you with this candle which I light for you. I thank you for your loving care and guidance.” Let the candle safely burn until it extinguishes itself.

This eclipse is visible in west and central North America, the islands in the Pacific, Asia, eastern Africa, Iceland and most of Europe. If you’re not able to view it (the time is listed on our home page), you might enjoy “The Moon is My Mistress” from a blogger who watched last year’s winter lunar eclipse with his wife.

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