Walking Between the Worlds: Samhain, Spirit and Sacred Story

This is a mystical time of year, when the veils between worlds are whisper thin. Secularly called Hallowe'en, in Earth-based traditions the turning of the wheel is known as Samhain (pronounced 'sow-in'), a powerful time to manifest intent.

In the U.S., Hallowe'en is about costumes, trick-or-treating, and occasionally, mischief. On the Celtic calendar, Samhain ushers in winter and the mysteries of the dark. October 31^st precedes Day of the Dead/All Soul's Day on November 1^st, a paean to the ancestors. The dark side — that which is hidden from our view — calls us to remember our transpersonal soulscape.

I've experienced a lot of death in 2014, including my Mom, my literal and actual oldest friend at 101, one of my greatest spiritual teachers, Angeles Arrien, and several acquaintances. This season of dying and release is an excellent moment to explore what is ending or "dying" within our own beings. What do you need to let go of in your life in order to move forward? Samhain and All Soul's Day is an invitation for each of us to embrace personal and planetary transformation.

Visionary activist astrologer Caroline Casey says, "We cannot live through the dead, but we can invite the dead to live through us." What gifts are asking, aching to be brought forth through you, when the entire world is awash in liminal rebirth?

The real treat of Samhain is the opportunity for quantum growth. The trick, perhaps, would be turning our backs on these inner voices beseeching us to shine our brilliance and step fully into our aliveness, passion, purpose and service.

It's time to remove your mask, and become who you came here to be.

Managing Those Weird Cosmic Aches and Pains…

We're in the birth canal of the greatest shift humanity has ever known. Becoming a light body isn't easy, though it can be a lot more manageable once you understand what's going on! Celia Fenn offers some wise reminders about how the cosmos is affecting us multidimensionally. Excerpted from Radical Shift: The Venus Transit of 2012:

"Venus is the Solar System level of Consciousness that resonates with the Goddess Energy, with Love and Relationship, with Money and with Passion and Beauty. At this time, all these issues are being highlighted and transformed. On a Planetary scale we can see how the Economic system is crumbling, especially in the 'First World' of the USA and Europe, and how it is making space for the 'New Economy' that will take us into a sustainable and co-operative way of living. On the personal level, many people are finding that they are making radical shifts in their attitude towards money, and that the desire for conspicuous consumption has been replaced by the desire to live in an balanced way and in harmony with the Earth. Money is simply a means of achieving a balanced lifestyle, where the focus is on living in the energy of beauty and harmony with all beings and with the Earth.

"In close connection with this is finding work that ignites your Passion for life and is harmony with your soul purpose and brings you Joy. Many of you will be feeling the urge to let go of past ways of work and reaching out for work that is an expression of your Soul and your Passion.

"As far as Personal Relationships are concerned, there will also be tension in partnerships whose basis is no longer in alignment with the purpose of your Soul and the energy of the New Earth. At this point, you will be guided to reconsider your contract in your relationship, or to simply move on to a new partnership that is more aligned with what you are becoming and what you wish to create in your life.

"These energies and challenges will build towards the transit on the 6th, and you may find around that time that there will be some very deep and fundamental changes in your life. Don't panic! This is all leading you towards something better and deeper, and more suited to where you are heading in the time after the 2012 portal!

"You may also be feeling quite intense physical symptoms as your Light Body makes its final adjustments for the Transit and for the later Portal transit. As you bring your Soul Star and Earth Star chakras 'online', you may experience pains and discomfort in the legs, or dizziness and nausea and disorientation, or bouts of flu and colds. These are all part of the process as the DNA activates and the Light Body surges energy through the system to bring everything into harmony and activation. This also activates the Template for Human Divine Perfection in the DNA and activates the ability to go the 'next step' in this ongoing process of Spiritual and Physical Evolution."

What Does It Take to Get Glowing?

Last Friday I dueted with Jennifer Alhasa on her new blogtalkradio show, Get Glowing. We discussed what it means to get glowing, what blocks us from shining our light — and how best to reclaim our power, passion and purpose. Enjoy the replay (just 30 minutes long), and please let us know what you think!

Dancing With the Shadow: Mercury Retrograde

It's that time again: Mercury is retrograde (Rx), and as the past cycles back (or recycles, if you see Mercury as an environmentally-minded messenger!) we have an opportunity to claim/reclaim what's been hiding in the shadows. Mercury Rx is also when technology, travel and the best-laid plans often go haywire — especially in the season of fire.

For instance: three days ago I discovered that "Live Your Light" (my website URL) was at last available as a Twitter handle (it had been parked, unused, since 2008) and joyfully added it to my existing Twitter presence. The next day, the power cord to my laptop appeared to short-circuit; it wasn't working at all last night. Today, after sending my Mac and its accoutrements some good juju, all systems are go — but the refrigerator in my van isn't cooling.

This might be because it's been well over 100º, highly unusual for northern California. I mentioned the soaring temps to a friend back East, who opined, "The mercury at 112 is certainly in retrograde." It's all highly amusing, when we can get a bit of perspective.

Dancing with our unhealed/unacknowledged aspects, observing how they control us in ways that do not serve our highest good, reveals a potent opportunity to live into Aretha Franklin's song Respect, where she sings: "Re-re-re-re". You know: review, redefine, renew, reform, reimagine …

This particular Mercury Rx began in Leo, seguing quickly into Virgo, where it remains until September 12th. What do you need to release to the fires of transmutation? What needs to be planted in fertile soil for the future?

Astrologer Allison Rae counsels, "Mercury's transiting back through Virgo, so pay attention to details. Take the time to get things right. Also pay attention to your health and well being. Mercury Rx check-ups aren't just for cars and computers. On a deeper level, our path of service is highlighted in the sign of the Vestal Virgin, goddess of hearth and harvest. What did you come to do in this lifetime? Are you tending the flames of your soul's passion? It's time to remember and recommit. Soon, it will be time to take action."

As we surge towards 2012 we're in the midst of the most accelerated period of personal and planetary transformation in history. The energetic of the new exhorts us to live as large as possible NOW, not some time in a shadowy future. It's a continual process of reinventing ourselves.

We can use the energy of Mercury retrograde to release our resistance to going higher. The world needs all of our gifts, especially now. We've never been so primed "to boldly go where no one has gone before." This star trek begins in our bodies, minds and hearts as we begin to burn brightly with purpose and to activate our true potential in every realm.

You are the gift; open yourself now. It's time to shake hands with the shadow, unbox its message, and multiply our power exponentially.

For further illumination:

What's shadowing your potential? Is there:

∞ Someone you need to forgive (including yourself)?
∞ A phone call you're afraid to make?
∞ A long-standing debt (monetary or otherwise) you've not yet fulfilled?
∞ A health challenge?
∞ A relationship issue that's quarantined your emotional energy?
∞ A job that leaves you too drained to think about anything else?
∞ Or "simply" an all-encompassing fear of living your light?