Bathing in Beltane's Sacred Fire and Beyond

May 1st has long been an exuberant day of celebration, honoring the fertility of the land, people and animals. In Earth-based spirituality, it is one of the 8 holidays on the "Wheel of the Year", and is known as Beltane.

Mike Nichols, a Pagan-focused writer, offers a literate and expansive essay on the day, observing in part:

"May Day ushers in the fifth month of the modern calendar year, the month of May. This month is named in honor of the goddess Maia, originally a Greek mountain nymph, later identified as the most beautiful of the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades. By Zeus, she is also the mother of Hermes, god of magic. Maia's parents were Atlas and Pleione, a sea nymph.

"The old Celtic name for May Day is Beltane (in its most popular Anglicized form), which is derived from the Irish Gaelic 'Bealtaine' or the Scottish Gaelic 'Bealtuinn', meaning 'Bel-fire', the fire of the Celtic god of light (Bel, Beli or Belinus). He, in turn, may be traced to the Middle Eastern god Baal.

"...This date has long been considered a 'power point' of the Zodiac, and is symbolized by the Bull, one of the 'tetramorph' figures featured on the Tarot cards, the World and the Wheel of Fortune. (The other three symbols are the Lion, the Eagle, and the Spirit.) Astrologers know these four figures as the symbols of the four 'fixed' signs of the Zodiac (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius), and these naturally align with the four Great Sabbats of Witchcraft. Christians have adopted the same iconography to represent the four gospel-writers..."

The Beltane Society offers a succinct explanation of how the purifying "Need Fire" ceremony was held in Celtic celebrations.

And according to most of the visionary new thought leaders whose sites I frequent, May 2006 is destined to be a grand month of purification, resurrection and heart-expansion for all of us worldwide. Patricia Cota-Robles says, in part, that during this mystical month of May, "We will remember that we came to Earth during this Cosmic Moment with but one desire, to do God’s Will. We will understand that we volunteered to be powerful Instruments of God during this critical time and that we have been training for aeons of time for this mission. We will also remember that we promised to be the full manifestation of Divine Love while serving the Light in this embodiment.

"During the holy month of May, Mother Mary will assist our I AM Presence to expand the Chalice of our Immaculate Hearts, which cradle our Immortal Victorious Threefold Flames. The expansion of the Chalice of our Immaculate Hearts will allow our Heart Flames to finally be brought into perfect balance.

"As this occurs, our Heart Flames will blaze forth as a great Transfiguring force of Divinity within us. We will become aware of the Presence of God in every cell and atom of our Beings. This will pave the way for the integration of the perfection of our crystalline Solar Light Bodies into our physical, etheric, mental and emotional bodies.

"Functioning within the frequencies of our Solar Light Bodies, we will be able to consciously magnify the Divinity within ourselves and all Life until our up-reaching consciousness conducts the substance of Divine Love, Healing, Prosperity, Peace, Joy and Happiness into the world of form. All of this will further prepare Humanity and Beloved Mother Earth for the influx of Light that will fill the voids with the patterns of perfection and assist in transforming this blessed planet into the Garden of Eden she is destined to be."

Mystery School Moments at the New Moon

Visionary activist astrologer Caroline W. Casey hosts a rascally irreverent radio show Thursdays on listener-supported KPFA, which, thanks to streaming audio, you can now listen to even if you're not within live radio reception range. She's also launched a Compassionate Trickster Experimental Mystery School missive (henceforth available by paid subscription only). The April issue serves up Caroline's typically luscious observations, laced with wit, wisdom, humor and a certain je ne sais quoi that always tickles my synapses into new connections and ah-ha's!

Here are some excerpts for your visual dining pleasure:

"Eclipses are associated with the downfall of tyrants.

What do we want eclipsed and by what?

Let reverent collaborative ingenuity eclipse tyrannical dominance, for instance. May the beauty of Mystery eclipse the tyranny of certainty.

The Eclipse of March 29th occurred on the very day that Pluto was stationing, appearing to stand still from the earth’s perspective, symbolically beaming down its energetic intelligence. The Underworld opens. Pluto stations, then retrogrades, appears to move backwards in Sagittarius, catalyzing 're' endeavors: to retrieve, remember, reclaim the realm of story. We are to return (5,000 years ago is still in our blood), to excavate stories that have been held hostage.

In the myth of Inanna (representing the Venus cycle) the deal is cut whereby she can return from the Underworld, and sensual and cultural Spring with her, as long as she sends down a replacement. And she chooses Dumuzi, her consort, a man who’s been behaving badly.

As the Moon moved across the face of the Sun, she turned the Sun into a crescent, an image of herself, and suddenly Venus shone forth from the darkening daytime sky, as a 360 degree sunset of orange and gold framed the horizon. We saw Venus, when we wouldn’t normally see her. Pluto opens the doors of the Underworld, and out pops Venus-Inanna, ready to send down the replacement. Tyranny tumbles. And Dick Cheney, it turns out, is allergic to pomegranates (associated with rich luscious feminine Underworld-High Priestess, Persephone's fruit), as though his body was anticipating his symbolic role...

Pluto represents our understanding of power. Pluto is in Jupiter's sign of storytelling Sagittarius, while Jupiter is in Pluto's sign of deep-delving Scorpio. They are in what is called 'mutual reception,' i.e., cahoots. Jupiter strengthens the theme by also being retrograde, revealing the tales we need to know now if we are to have a democracy.

And Jupiter squares Neptune, the god of mystery, symbol and metaphor, further describing the dissolution of certainty while reminding us that all spiritual beliefs -- as well as scientific theories -- are fluctuating metaphors.

When a story no longer serves life or is supported by unfolding facts, it is to be shape-shifted into a more beautiful and useful formulation. Neptune says, since we can never directly perceive the truth, nor the Divine, we work with the most useful illusions. Illusion comes from 'in ludo,' meaning 'in the game,' as opposed to delusion, 'de ludo,' meaning 'out of the game.'

The eclipse is but one month in the past, yet mythologically potent for 5 more months. And, ah, the Eclipse at totality for those four precious-beyond-measure minutes is a powerful energetic beautiful pulsing alive mystery, that elicits tears and hooting and falling to knees from sheer awe, (of even the most reserved of 'scientists'), not to mention the emotional energetic eroticism of its symmetry – that the Sun and Moon are the exact same size in this sky as they conjoin, replenishes our cells. Dark weds light, at this time of year when the light and dark of our days and nights are equal. The Sun and the Moon, the Day and the Night, the Yang and Yin are not at war, but dancing.

All Mystery Schools begin by requiring the initiate to declare to themselves the next tangible desire (not vague like 'enlightenment') for something they want to be, have, do, that will allow them to cultivate, animate and contribute their unique gifts to the community in a manner that is replenishing.

Beginning on the New Moon of April 27th, every day, devote some time to visualizing the next desire (the eclipse of four life-changing minutes declares that even that amount of time is sufficient)."

And I remind you that the New Moon is in Taurus, along with the Sun, catalyzing sensual, Earthy, passionate celebration as we glide towards mystical May, Beltane, and Wesak. On her post-eclipse show, Caroline's guest was a very cool Damascus woman named Deborah, who reminded us that the Whirling Dervish dance (which illuminates the spiral, symbol of regeneration and love), like yogic breathing, are an amplification of the obvious so that we can see it. "Breathing in and breathing out is all there is to do." (See the May issue of my e-newsletter, What Shines, out early next week, for the origin of this quote!)

Beyond Level 42

I read once that the rock band, Level 42, took its name from a premise in one of my own well-loved novels, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which a computer named "Deep Thought" tells the people of Earth that the answer to "Life, the Universe, and Everything" is "42". I expand upon this theme in my essay, 42 Forever: The Ultimate Anti-Aging Tonic.

This excerpt from an untitled poem by Juan Antillon Montealegre, published in the Spring 2006 issue of Yes! magazine, takes us, like so much of the work we awakening ones are co-evolving now, beyond Level 42:


If all goes well
The police
out of total boredom
will go home

Borders will disappear
Even the toy factories
will stop making arms

If all goes well
there will be no Premier
President
Savior of Democracy
King
Emperor
Tyrant

If all goes well
they will stop
trying to convince us
with lies.

If all goes well
Ayatollahs
Great Lamas
Popes
will allow God
to once more be human
dolphin
extraterrestrial
cedar and seagull
herb and star

sea
mountain
insect
dog
and cat.

Every Day is "Earth Day"

Saturday, April 22nd, marks the 36th anniversary of Earth Day, an environmental event that, according to founder Senator Gaylord Nelson, was "self-organizing"--like the Earth, Herself. We've come a long way in consciousness since 1970. I'm sitting on the campus of Prescott College in Prescott, Arizona, where students come from all over the U.S. to study environmental issues. The Crossroads Cafe serves up healthier fare than the local health food store! And it's encouraging to talk with 18-year-olds who somehow sound far more mature than I remember being at their age, as they calmly share their awareness of wellness, environmental dangers such as EMFs, and desire for deep community. It's heartening to hear.

We're all awakening en masse in these creational times, when living the NOW places us in sync with the ineffable. As a beautiful newsletter I just discovered [thanks to What Shines reader Jasna Kamin from Slovenia] says, "The Kingdom of Heaven is your habitat." HeavenLetters reminds us, "Heaven is only a handclasp away. There is no path to Heaven, and there is no path from it. There is no entrance nor exit. There is your pondering, that’s all. There is you exploring the unexplorable. There is you searching for gold when you are the gold. Your search is ending. It is ending the only way it can, and that is with discovery. You are finding the end of the rainbow, and it’s you."

Be the Rainbow you are by loving your Home every day. If you need some ideas for how to begin, New American Dream offers them by the bushel. I know personally how daunting it can be to feel at home here when you know you're a Star Being who has chosen this Earth assignment to help midwife the planet's ascension. The vagaries of planetary initiation can challenge even those who know what's happening and why. So the more Love we can express for every aspect of Earthiness, the easier the transformation will become.

The Corridor Between the Worlds

The subject header is a phrase I use often in my work, about living in the void space between who you've been and who you're choosing to become. Now it applies to us all. Aluna Joy reminds us that we are unplugging from Fourth World consciousness but have not yet entered the Fifth, which is a new world we will create without the help of angels and guides, accessing our own creative power and wisdom that we've been collectively heightening for years.

The ancient ones say: "Your work is almost complete. You have set your ancestors free. You have also set yourselves free. You have readied the temples for new frequencies. You are now in that space between in which to create a new world for yourselves.

"The past will not and cannot offer you anything useful at this time. Don't look back and don't look outside yourself. The truth is not out there…it is in you. Look forward inside yourself for you are your own ancestors returned to set yourselves free of the limitations of the Fourth World.

"You are being unplugged from this world. This is a time between time; a time for you to prepare."

Aluna shared that while we are unplugging from the Fourth world and have yet to enter the Fifth world, "we might feel like we have lost our inner compass. We might feel like we are just going through the motions of life and not really being present or connecting anywhere. The things we feel, think, or want to do might not make practical sense.

"When you unplug, your body may begin to feel like it is not supported by the Fourth world. This is actually very true. The ancient council suggested that it is very important to talk to your body to let it know that it will not die. Remind your body that it is just transforming into something better that it does not understand at this time. If you don't talk to your body, it is possible to manifest issues that are related to lack of support. You might experience your knees and hips going out. Also you might see issues with lungs, like asthma or bronchitis. Tell your body not to fear."

Well, this all makes crystalline sense to me, as always. I've been sick since I traveled to Arizona, first with what felt like some weird flu lodging in my lungs and throat, now with total congestion that feels like allergies (which I've never had before!). I also collided with a cactus and its poisonous quills have wreaked havoc with my left knee. Amused? Slightly…

The Source Force gathering took place over Easter weekend, which coincided this year with the Jewish Passover, signaling significant release and resurrection, regardless of one's religious orientation. It's impossible to "summarize" the event as it was co-created by 20 of us from across the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia, functioning as a fluid, living organism, so each happening is imbued with multiple overlays of perceptual shifts. A few highlights from my personal perspective:

When people were speaking of feeling disconnected one morning, Soleira used the word alienation, and my mind heard, "alien nation": as though we were part of a collective of space beings connected through our Earth service. It actually felt very affirming to me: as though my Pleiadian oversoul had found a way to be more present in my human body. (When I heard Bruce Lipton, author of The Biology of Belief, speak last fall, he said, "You're an amoebic consciousness—you represent a community of cells. See yourself as a nation.")

And when Soleira and other healers in the group facilitated another woman and me to move deeper into releasing the pattern around environmental sensitivity, I had a vision of the egg I saw years ago, that I wept to recognize as the power of the Feminine Frequency residing in and guiding me. Only this time it was huge, and sort of crystalline, and growing as they held the energy with me.

The resonance with outer world energy didn't even occur to me until several days later, when I opened Toronto astrologer Tara Greene's message about Easter: "…an ancient fertility, re-birth and resurrection symbol of new life beyond the Christian symbols. It was sacred to the Goddess Eoster, and her sacred animal the rabbit, whose symbol still is associated with current Easter symbolism. The egg symbol is the great round of eternal life, birth, death, re-birth, Spring. Christ died during Passover so all the symbols and myths are interconnected." WOW! I did say to the group, at the conclusion of that particular ceremony, "All one, all one, all one!"

The main theme seemed to be how we're coming out of hiding as a collective. One participant shared a poem by Zen master Thich Nhat Hahn that really resonated with many of us:

I have arrived, and I am Home
In the here and in the now
I am solid and I am free
In the Ultimate, I dwell.

That's what I call understanding how to hold the both/and!

There was also humor: at one point, having created a symbolic "fire" in the workshop room with ornate walking sticks, a group of us went outside and spontaneously began a line dance that resembled a moving totem pole; we took turns leading and seeing what shapes our shadows reflected back to us. At one point I suggested, "Is this what's meant by integrating your shadow?"

Then there were the squirrels. They became quite bold, as we usually had bags of chips or other snacks with us in circle. Finally I decided to grab the Medicine Cards book from the kitchen and see what Squirrel energy had to offer us. The keynote is "gathering"! And furthering the play on words, the poem about Squirrel contained the line, "nuts by the score" (we were 20!) Alien nation, indeed.

So let go and allow, knowing that we are all in this strangeness together, and…we have all the wisdom and awareness we need to know our Selves and to co-create the new world we've been waiting for. We are the new alchemists.

Here's an affirmation that came to me en route to AZ:

The alchemists of old
Transmuted lead to gold
The alchemist of Now
Transmutes the dross to WOW!"

Blessings to you…

Kachina! The Wild West Offers a Challenging Welcome

After more than six soggy months in Sonoma County, California, I opted for the desert. I'd lived in Santa Fe for two years in the mid-90s and figured I knew the hot, dry drill. Except I didn't travel to Arizona last time, the driest, windiest place I've ever seen, or cross the Mohave while sick. Not exactly the premier combination for robust health.

So I've spent the last week living into a new meaning for "drying out": not from alcohol, but from lack of O2 and H2O! Whether I will remain in Prescott as intended remains to be seen. While I've long been an advocate of positive aging, my skin feels a decade older already! What a rant. I find it especially amusing that my April newsletter, What Shines, is all about amused surrender. My sense of humor evaporated along with my body moisture somewhere along Rte. 40E, but it's slowly rehydrating.

The impetus for my move at this juncture is the Source Force, a global gathering of lightbearers who'll meet in Payson (near the center of the state) April 13-16th. Facilitated by Soleira Green, whom I count among the handful of true planetary visionaries now, it promises to be "a breakthrough course for the evolution of collective consciousness," as she describes it. I'll recap the event afterwards, of course.

Despite my personal challenges in making this journey, celestially it couldn't be a better moment. Tomorrow heralds the Aries full moon. According to SouledOut.org:

"Aries is the beginning of the Spiritual New Year. The Light of Aries ~ The Light of Life Itself ~ is at the center of all beings. It opens us to new beginnings, to new cycles of emerging opportunities. This Light reveals how each of us may become a vessel for divine expression.

"The Aries full moon marks the Easter Festival, the first of the three major Planetary Spiritual Festivals. At the time of the Aries full moon, the moon is within the constellation Virgo, associated with the Holy Grail, the cup of communion. By tuning in and holding this energy, by being this vibration ~ we serve.

Meditation at the time of the Aries Full Moon

"We mentally link up with people of goodwill everywhere, as part of the united group channel through which the spiritual forces can become available. Affirming this channel, we stand poised united as one soul with our Spiritual Hierarchy. We hold the focus.

"Now we visualize a grid of light all over the earth that connects the light of every lightworker and each sacred energy vortex. This network serves as a conduit through which the heavenly blessings may flow through each of us and to the planet Earth."

Wonder By The Numbers

Saturn, planet of form and structure, turns direct after a lengthy retrograde phase on April 5th (I knew there was a reason my departure for Arizona was delayed until 4/4!).

Synchronistically, we'll have a numerical line-up on the 5th that's a twice-in-a-lifetime experience (once in the a.m., again in the p.m., for yin/yang balance):

On Wednesday, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06.

That's 01 02 03 04 05 06
This won't ever happen again.

If you add them up numerologically, they reduce to 21, which to me has always signified graduation (on many levels) and finally to 3, the number that opens us up to possibilities beyond duality.

Pretty cool, even if you don't believe in playing by the numbers :-)

Eclipse!

Even though this morning's total solar eclipse wasn't visible from the U.S., we're feeling its effects. Here are some extraordinary photos to help you get up close and personal with the energy, courtesy of NASA.

With the Earth, Moon, and Sun in alignment during an eclipse, we connect with our destiny's deeper calling. At the Lunar Eclipse on March 14th, we cast a light on our interior shadows for purification. And it was intense! (See March 28th entry, Emergence).

At the Solar Eclipse, we're called to dive even deeper, to bring forth our highest and best selves. Pluto, planet of transformation (its calling card reads, "Sex, Death, Rebirth"), is at the Galactic Center--which it hasn't visted in 248 years. Individually and collectively, we are ready to clear the blocks to greater common-unity and healing/wholeness.

Eclipses are an intense point in "time", shining the Light into Earth's darkness as well as our own. Emotion (energy in motion) is at high tide (the Moon rules emotion.)

Knowing this allows us to be more consciously in control of how we respond, rather than reacting by rote. It's a time of loss, of blessing and releasing the old with gratitude for its teaching. Then we have space for the new to enter us.

Pluto and the Galactic Center are shifting the 3rd dimensional reality template. While this process is underway, the best place to be is quiet and calm within your own core. Meditation, yoga, drumming, dancing, journaling, walking in nature, are all good practices for now. Remember, too, to drink lots of pure water to aid toxin release, as necessary on the emotional plane as the physical one.

At the same time as all this is happening, the New Moon is in Aries, planet of forward motion and action. So, once we've made peace with the old and space for the new, it's time to welcome Spring full-out, embracing life with the sensual, Earthy ecstasy that is the Ram's hallmark.

Blessed Be!

Emergence

In the year preceeding my dark night of the soul journey, I felt very "out of phase" with my old life, although I didn't have the language then to describe it. I tried psychotherapy for four months, and one of the first tasks I was asked to do was complete a drawing of where I was in my life. I labelled my picture, "Emergence" and told the therapist it was a baby--but what I meant was, a fetus: something gestating, not yet ready to be born. My soul knew I had a profound transformation to undergo before I'd be ready to birth myself anew.

The past months, especially March, have been a global gestation. Karen Bishop's latest alert, Coming Through the Gates, describes the process precisely--especially the hard-won awareness that what our ego/mind says we're ready for, and what we're really ready for, may not necessarily be in sync. And boy, was March 16th ever a doozy for me; I felt raw and vulnerable in a way I haven't since 1994. Fortunately, it was all part of the release process. Here's an excerpt:

"If there is anything in our lives that we feel we absolutely must have, then we are not yet ready for it. When we reach a point where we are happy where we are and can see great beauty in what we interpreted as darkness, then we usually receive everything in the palms of our hands. It is when we get out of our own way and let Source fill us up that we receive what we no longer want. And in this state, we are being much more of Source.
 
"These past few months have greatly assisted us in getting to this place so that we would be good and ready to receive what is to come. It basically involves getting out of our ego before we receive ways and means to create and be in the higher ways.
 
"The energy shift and big surge of March 16th really assisted as well. We had completed much purging and were now a little more empty so that we could fill up again with a higher vibration. During this time I had ascension symptoms that I had not experienced for several years, and I'm sure many of you did as well. Although brief, I had heart strain, pain and palpitations (trying to accommodate the higher energies), experiences of living in non-linear time where I was in the past, present and future all at the same time (not my favorite one!), some underlying panic and anxiety (more of the ego leaving), a vulnerability (ego defense mechanisms now gone), a period of a loss of creating ability and disappointment (learning not to create from ego), the shoulder pain (right for getting out of the way, left for learning to receive) and then...the darkness.

"There is a pattern in ascension that occurs when we are in an energy surge and bumping up. Darkness arrives but great creativity arrives as well. One is about moving out and the other about moving in. And in this space, if one needs to go back to the old 3D reality it can feel downright awful and leave you plummeting into a darker and denser reality. Best to stay here and in your creativity and oneness with nature and the Earth as much as possible. Letting go and not being afraid to 'leave' can give one the fuel to 'jump across.'"

Awakening to the Wisdom of the Fifth World

We are re-birthing ourselves in a whole/holy/healed new way, as our collective consciousness rises to a higher octave. Aluna Joy Yaxk'in, sacred site guide, author and mystic, has spent much time in the Mayan lands and shares this extraordinary missive about what's coming: Prophecy of the Fifth World. It's long but infinitely inspiring.

Here's an excerpt:

The Prophecy of the Fifth World...

The Prophecy of the Fifth World is yet to manifest. But when the ancients ones looked ahead, this is what they can share that we can understand at this time. The Four Worlds that we are moving from were all on the same level of time, space and dimension. The Fifth world is a step above previous worlds and marks an enormous transformation.

The Fifth World will be a blending and harmonization of all four worlds, but taken to a different level. These four worlds together, in a cosmic equality, will bring about a new kind of life. Mineral, plant, animal and human will be looked at as being equally alive. There will be a type of intelligent communication between each world. The ancient ones know that it is hard for us to imagine this right now.

In the Fifth World, the new life will not use other kingdoms (mineral, plant, animal) to manifest what they want or need. More over, it is a symbiotic relationship or type of cooperation between the four world life types to create what is needed. A lot of what the Fifth World will be for us, we can't conceive as yet. But as time grows closer to the unveiling the pearl of the Fifth World, the clearer it will become.

Most important…when the Human Kingdom leaves the Fourth World, it will leave the world of force behind. The four integrated worlds will enter the cosmic law of Gravitation. Gravitation is one of the laws of the Fifth World. Life will not manifest by force in order to make something happen. The new life will use gravitation or allowance for manifesting. People will not pray or affirm things into being, but instead assume it is so…and allow it to gravitate to them. This is Fifth World Alchemy. Some of you are already living this way.

There were some ancient civilizations that did live a similar form of this Fifth World for brief times upon the planet. They did this to anchor the possibility for the future of the Fifth World. It is like if you didn't know what chocolate tasted like, how could you explain it? The lands you call Atlantis (most of which is now under the sea except for Santorini in Greece, and the Bahamas in the Caribbean), the Peruvian Andes and some places in the Himalayas are some of the places the ancient ones anchored the memory or, should we say, lived the prophecy of the Fifth World. Many of you are drawn to these places for mysterious reasons. Now you know why!

They are many of you out there that this message will speak very loudly to. You are the ones that could never understand why the world is the way it is. You may have never felt at home. You also might have felt that you hid secret knowledge somewhere that you have yet to uncover. You feel soul tired. If you know this in your heart, you are one of these ancient ones who have come back from the future to this important time…you are the ones who have come back to reawaken the blueprint of the Fifth World.

Verging on the Vernal Equinox

Tomorrow's Spring Equinox is a potent moment to sow the seeds for the future you desire to manifest. At Equinox, when the Sun is directly over the equator, the days and nights are of equal length all over the world, representing a time of balance between the light and the dark. Many ancient cultures built their greatest architecture - tombs, temples, and sacred observatories - so that they aligned with the Solstices and Equinoxes. The early Egyptians built the Sphinx so that it faces directly towards the rising sun on Equinox.

Visionary activist astrologer Caroline Casey says this particular Equinox is "a particularly strong time of coming back to life, followed so closely by a total solar eclipse in the Middle East (Libya and Turkey) on March 29th, as Pluto, principle of powerful metamorphosis, stations on that day. Re-connect with the power of storytelling, bring the old stories alive by fresh language and metaphor. We toss into the spiraling cauldron of this time, all we don't need, all past poisons."

I did exactly this yesterday, at an alchemical sound healing event to clear the ancestral lineage and welcome back our generational gifts. Led by shamanic ceremonial sound practitioner Kathleen Casey (no relation to Caroline), the ritual helped me release, forgive, regenerate and integrate on a cellular level material I've been resolving by layers for years. Today I feel radiant.

I was even graced with a fresh way of describing my work, which came to me just as we sat in circle introducing ourselves: "practical alchemy to help you transmute poison to power and wounds to wonder."

Let your inner Sun shine, dear ones! We need your Light more than ever now, as the entire planet rises in Love and comes back to life at a whole/holy/healed new level of awakening, awareness, joy.

Forgive — for Your Health!

Back in the day when Julius Caesar was warned, "Beware the Ides of March!" forgiveness probably wasn't big on his agenda. He scoffed at the portent, and didn't live to regret it.

Fortunately, we've come a ways since then. British teammate Anne Naylor reports that March 15th is International Forgiving Day, a creatively conscious recasting of the Ides. I encourage you to especially focus on self-forgiveness, since most of us tend to be our own harshest judges. One of the many e-mails I've received around the intense celestial dance currently in motion contained the delightful suggestion to "take yourself by surprise!"

If you're going to be in London on March 18th, you might wish to participate in Anne's upcoming workshop based on the John Morton book, The Blessings Already Are. E-mail Anne to learn more.

Blessings!

Plutonic Power Eclipse: Inner Wealth Builder!

To many people, the planet Pluto, which represents sex, death and transformation, is only slightly less petrifying than the words, "Mercury Retrograde." Since we are already deep into the current retrograde (from 3/2 - 3/25), tomorrow's full lunar eclipse with Pluto smack dab in the center of our galaxy might seem to portend utter emotional chaos.

Yet it's actually a homecoming of the highest order. See my March 10th entry, All Hail the Dark Mother, and may the inspiring words of Free Will Astrology creator Rob Brezsny, in his book, Pronoia: How the Whole World is Conspiring to Shower You With Blessings, fill your chalice as it fills mine:

"In the best-known version of the Greek myth, Persephone is dragged down into the Underworld by Hades, whose title is 'Pluto'. But in earlier, pre-patriarchal tales, she descends there under her own power, actively seeking to graduate from her virginal naiveté by exploring the intriguing land of shadows.

"'Pluto' is derived from the Greek word plutus, meaning 'wealth'. Psychologist James Hillman says this refers to the psyche-building riches available in Pluto's domain. Hades, he says, is 'the giver of nourishment to the soul.'"

The Color of Light

This morning I completed a new "treasure map" of words and images to help guide my soul cartography--that is, mapping my geographic Earth journey in right relation to my planetary service. To read about this concept in depth, please contact me and ask for the March issue of my e-newsletter, What Shines.

Soon afterward, I was driving through yet another of the odd rain/sun showers that have been gracing northern California lately, glanced to my right, gasped, and pulled off the road, as many other drivers were also doing. There in the sky was the first true double rainbow I've ever seen: magnificently arching into the perennial pot o' gold on both ends, with its sister rainbow appearing a yard or so higher. Between them they held a smoky blackness like the Feminine, like the inner darkness we're all releasing, like the promise of Night. I lifted my arms and began invoking blessings, joyously affirming as the droplets cascaded onto my face and clothing, "Anything is possible!"

These are the exact words I exhulted silently after completing my birthday firewalk on February 4th. Fire and water, which I've also written about often, are perfect complements: the masculine and feminine essences.

We are, quite literally, in our element. These rainbows, like the ones that appeared singularly, two hours apart, on February 28th, were in the eastern sky. Fire, sunrise, new beginnings. Let the fire and water burn cleanly that which no longer serves us, cleanse and renew us in wonder.

Here's to awe: Awakening Wonder-filled Earth!

All Hail the Dark Mother!

The upcoming eclipse on March 14th ushers in the Feminine frequency more potently than any other celestial event since the Transit of Venus in 2004. Prepare to surrender into your deepest self and open to the Mystery! Canadian astrologer Tara Greene does a terrific job of explaining what in Heaven is going on. Long, and worth the read:

"Eclipses are Gateways to new consciousness and beginnings. Every six months the Earth, Moon and Sun align precisely enough to eclipse each other. Think of it as a race or a competition, the Heavenly Olympics. As the shadow of the Earth obscures the Light of the Moon we have a special opportunity, a gateway to see in the dark, through our fears of being without the Feminine, the Goddess, the comfort and innate memories of the womb, and uncover new truths. Eclipses occur in relation to the Lunar Nodes, the points in space where the Moon crosses the ecliptic — the Celestial Equator. Formed by the Moon, the symbol of the Feminine, the Lunar Nodes represent where we get our nourishment from on a Cosmic Level and feel it in a 'down to Earth' way. The North Node indicates for all of us what current and future intentions support our spiritual development and the South Node what has nurtured us in the past. The Nodes of the Moon are karmic in nature, specifically representing, feelings, emotions, the womb, memories, Source, the primal Feminine energy, the Goddess.

"This eclipse is extremely potent and powerful! This eclipse finds the sun, source of Light, Life and the Soul, (they don't call it SOL for naught!) near the North Node in Pisces at 24+ degrees of Pisces, the last and most spiritual of all the Signs of the Zodiac. The Light beckons us to return to the Source of all. The Moon opposite is at 24 + degrees of Virgo, near the South Node (at 4 degrees of Libra) a sign which seeks perfection of the earthy, body levels and of the mind. Pisces knows all is already perfection. Virgo/Pisces polarity is about integrating the seeming opposites of Mind/Body and Spirit. This is a very important eclipse as Pluto, the great Redeemer, is almost perfectly squaring (90 degree angle) the Sun and Moon. Squares are tense and push us into action. I would call it a Plutonic Eclipse.

"Pluto is almost exactly on the Galactic Center (G.C.) of the Milky Way galaxy, the galaxy we call 'home.' Galactic means 'mother's milk'. The G.C. is a huge black hole sucking in all light, all matter that comes its way. The essence of a black hole is change, sudden, dramatic, reversals of the status quo reality. To the ancient Mayans the G.C. was the great maw, mouth, yoni, gateway where all souls pass after death, before physical birth into and out of their journey through this galaxy. Pluto will be hovering around the Galactic Center all year, magnifying the alignment of our consciousness with our origins and radically magnifying the evolutionary impetus of the galactic impulses in the yoniverse.

"In this number 8 year, 2006, the Galactic Center is the pivot, the x crossing of the infinity symbol. Black holes are metaphorical crossing over points, galactic gateways of change, which is the nature of all in the universe. Life is growth and change, death, rebirth. The Galactic Center is the place where time is destroyed, and space as well. Time flows 6,000,000 times more slowly at one centimeter above the surface of the event horizon of a black hole.

"This eclipse is a harbinger of galactic time, an opening into hyper-dimensions of reality. Black holes destroy time and space. The Galactic Center is the ground of our being, the heart of our Milky Way galaxy. Some see it as YHVH, the nameless source of the 'I AM' presence. The Galactic Center emits massive amounts of infrared radiation that arouses the subconscious portions of the brain and provides intense stimulation to the root chakra. This activation of the subconscious promotes the retrieval of information from the past, of this life and many other lives that interact with the self-preservation instincts of the root chakra. We are actually being cosmically stimulated and affected from the Galactic Center at all times.

"So with this eclipse, Pluto, the 'psycho pomp' guides us and helps us to see beyond the myths of the Fall to see ourselves truly as the divine messengers that we all are of God, forgiving ourselves for forgetting our divinity and knowing that we are souls playing the game of duality in this 3D Galactic Playground Center. Pluto is the grounding rod for integrating in-depth soul level transformational power. We can bravely go into the black hole's depths, our origins, and retrieve the mythologies that have blinded us unconsciously and bring that back into consciousness with the sun in Pisces, and experience galactic integration. We are all one. One galactic heartbeat. All born of the same Galactic Mother's womb."

Surviving the Spiritual Gauntlet

This urgent and extremely healing message just came through from Aluna Joy Yax'kin. May it carry you through these transcendent times...

"Having entered the first couple days of March, it has become quite apparent that we have hit some really powerful energy. I have been watching Equinoxes over the past 12 years, and they just seem to be getting more and more powerful. I have been having powerful visions/dreams...and nightmares (unusual for me) where I see dark beings rising up from the underworld, and I fight to stop them. The last couple of nights I could not tell if I was still here, or if I had crossed over to the next world. I can feel my nervous system getting re-wired or short circuited...it is hard to tell which in this moment. Some of the pieces that I have collected over the last 20 years are just now coming together. All this makes me feel like everything is about to change. I wonder sometimes how we can endure the rise in intensity. But somehow we do.

"The entire month of MARCH, that surrounds the Equinox, will be an intense emotional roller coaster month. We will feel far more sensitive to the world. Things might seem so dark that we wonder if we can survive this time. Many people have been having unfounded fears of dying or that the world is ending. Will this shift be comfortable? NO! But will we emerge Masters of it? Absolutely YES! We are going to get REALLY CLEAR about what is not working anymore to the point that we will be forced to make many shifts in our lives to continue on. The world is going to change. Our lives are going to change. We cannot tolerate the injustices and misuses of energy and power in this world anymore.

"This month is beginning to really look like what I would call a Global Dark Night of the Soul. This sounds really scary, but it is not. Dark Night of the Soul, by nature, is deliberately transformative. It feels like death on all levels. While we may feel battered and worn in the transformation, realize that our Spirits are being tempered in the process. It is MOST IMPORTANT to surrender and trust the process. These unrelenting and intense times help us build spiritual strength by showing us our weak spots. It shows us where we are becoming Masters in our lives. This is a necessary step for our ability to evolve into the 5th world. What a great opportunity for all of US!

"It will be imperative at this time of powerful energy, coupled with the Equinox, to be helpful and cooperative with each other. Be good to each other. Love each other. Help each other. This is the beginning of the new world and the birth of a new community. We are the baby chicks struggling to get out of the egg, the caterpillar fighting its way out of the cocoon. The birthing process is hard but well worth the effort. We are not going to give up. We are about to bust free of the limitations that we have tolerated for way too long. The time is so close now...the times are so powerful...We are letting go of this world...

"This Equinox is going to be emotionally challenging for most all of us, but it will also prepare us for the entire year of HUGE transformation and spiritual awakening. This awakening cannot be stopped. I bet you have tried to stop it, so you could be comfortable, at one time or another. It is not going to work this time. This is a time of breakdowns, losses and dissolving old paradigms on all levels. This is a time of GREAT OPPORTUNITY. We can build a new temple without tearing down the old one. It is time to get BRAVE...get out the spiritual work clothes and go to work.

"The two eclipses in the month of March will light up any shadows in your back closet that you have yet to clean out. Eclipses shine light into our own darkness. On March 14th there is a Full Moon lunar eclipse triggering even more emotional tidal waves.

"In these most powerful times, it is very helpful to give yourself time in a sacred place in nature. Sacred places, like mountaintops and temple sites, hold and support higher frequencies, so the transformation comes MUCH EASIER and with MORE CLARITY. If you can get away sometime in the month of March, especially around Equinox, it will ease the transition considerably. Also, high altitudes (over 7000 feet), forks in rivers, waterfalls, the oceans (silicon beach sand can elevate the issues), or deep deserts can clear our heads and lighten the heart.

"This is a time where our Spirits are being tested to reach and maintain a higher level of impeccability and personal mastery. Becoming Masters is NOT about avoiding our feelings and emotions, but being master over how we react to them no matter what the outer circumstances. Not feeling our emotions is flatlining. We are here to LIVE. So feel the issues, do not take them personally, rise above them and help those around you."

Interview with God

This lovely flash movie has been floating around for awhile, and just returned to my inbox this morning. An uplifting reminder for a retrograde...

The Interview With God

Breathe in the beauty...remember your own magnificence...

Retrograde Wisdom: Testing Your Water Wings

Mercury, also known as Hermes, the Winged Messenger, turns retrograde today in the water sign Pisces until 3/25. Astrologer Judith Goldberg, who penned an excellent article on retrogrades during the last one, entitled Retrogrades Without Regret, shares these words of wisdom for now:

"Pisces rules spirituality, intuition, emotion, the unconscious mind, dreams, art, music, poetry and dance. During this time be more conscious about your boundaries. Keeping a dream journal can be helpful. Your unconscious mind has messages for you. Turn on your inner ear."

Slowing down is always so key, and never more so that when walking (or dreaming) through water! My e-mail delivery time is operating as though the server has relocated to a tropical island, and I've already watched myself make an embarrassing goof this morning, trying to operate in too-linear, rational mode.

I like to think of Mercury Retrogrades as an opportunity for us to live the old Aretha Franklin song, "R-E-S-P-E-C-T", in which she sings, "Re-re-re-re..." That's what retrogrades are all about: re-vision, renew, review, remember, reclaim, reimagine...in my case, relocate! Judith says that as long as I'm focused on the "re" aspect (i.e., "relocate", rather than "move") I'll be an attuned traveler.

I also realized retrogrades are an auspicious time to answer e-mails, 'cause EVERY message you repond to begins, "Re:"

Blessings and reconnections,
Amara

Over the Rainbow

It's been an odd day, weather-wise: lots of cloudbursts followed by radiant sun, then more rain. I spied two rainbows in the exact same location, about two hours apart. Earlier, I'd forgotten today was Mardi Gras, though these signs are certainly in keeping with the theme of celebration. The rainbows appeared in the East, the direction in which I'll soon be bound. And the East, in all native teachings, heralds new beginnings...

So as we prepare to dive into a watery Mercury retrograde in Pisces on Thursday (till 3/25), remember to stay in the flow, release what you think you know, and open to manifest: all money metaphors contain water imagery. Currency/currents, reserves (as in Federal Reserve)/reservoir, liquid assets, cash flow. Affluence literally means, "to flow abundance."

Here's to your wealth! May it also bring you the wisdom to use it well.

Enrolling in Crystal U

We've been hearing about Lightbody and Lightwork for awhile; now, it's open enrollment for all planetary citizens! Being in the Light is itself enrolling: engaging our senses and hearts in a vibratory field that's literally helping us heal and release density.

Archangel Michael through Celia Fenn says we are Cosmic Crystals in a Field of Love, and the image alone is enough to elevate consciousness. Michael explains:

"Since the activation of the Galactic Lightbody, the human body is rapidly assuming its orginal template form and design - exquisite crystalline geometries designed to vibrate in a field of pure love and to express that love in many dimensions!

"The significance of these energies for the planet is immense and wonderful. They will ground and bring peace to a turbulent world as they transmute and transform. But, on the individual level, there will also be miraculous changes.

"The Galactic Lightbody, with its specific geometry of the Icosa-Dodecahedron, and the Quantum 'Field of Love', with its specific crystalline geometries, will produce, by sympathetic vibration or resonance, a crystalline state in the human body. This will be through the water matrix of the body. Your body is 70 to 80 percent water, and this water will begin to vibrate in crystalline forms. Once this happens, the physical body will receive and transmit more and more light. You will indeed become radiant and luminous.

"'Becoming Light' in this way means that the body becomes less dense and is able to be thought of as light. It can be transformed, healed, rejuvenated, at the speed of thought! This is the 'highest potential' that is encoded in your DNA in the Paradise template, and that is being activated now by the Sirian Blue Star geometries and the Galactic Field of Love. But this will be a gradual process, dearest ones, there is no rush. Allow your bodies the time they need to make the changes. Some may need lots of rest and quiet times to allow the transformation, others may not. You are individuals and each of you will begin to work with these transformative energies in your own individual way.

"And, dearest ones, you will have much work to do to assist those who are still awakening to understand the energies of change, for they will affect everyone. The entire planet is in the Fifth Dimension, although most people still identify with a Third Dimensional reality frame. But when these deep changes start to become evident, there will be much education and support work to be done as people learn the truth of their Angelic nature and how to express their highest potential on Earth."

Full of Hot Air? Launch a Balloon Ride!

Since last night I've suddenly been beset by positive choices, yet strangely unable to discern the best option for me at this time, even (especially) intuitively. I'm planning to relocate, but the geographical call keeps shifting capriciously, like my own breath.

Not surprising, says astrologer Tara Greene. Mars entered Gemini today, and as a result, "Actions will definitely be 'up in the air.'"

Greene reports, "Mars finally leaves the earthy confines of Taurus' feminine, Venus-ruled, bullish, obstinate, sensual, money loving sign where he's been smelling the roses since July 27th 2005. Now, that was one very loooong stay in Taurus. We've been acting around very nitty-gritty issues since then, since Mars had a long retrograde period, where we were going over old turf and being very stubborn to boot. Mars, known for his fiery warlike nature, usually jaunts through each sign at the rate of about a month and a half, depending on how aggressive he's feeling. Mars the Warrior is in Gemini, an Air sign, both masculine--and that's a pretty hot fire to handle.

"The mood should definitely lighten up, quicken and change now. Mars rules both Aries and Scorpio. Aries is fiery and initiatory, spontaneous combustion, independent, angry, strong-willed. Scorpio is watery and deals with birth, death and transformation, sex and power--the Biggies. Gemini's nature is mental agility, fast, ruled by Mercury, therefore Gemini governs all communications, thinking, talking, quick mind shifts, publicity, the lungs, short journeys, & siblings.

"Gemini has a dual nature, it's the infamous twins mythologized in ancient cultures throught the world, duality, the masculine and feminine, both sides of the brain, Peter Pan--expect Michael Jackson to be in the news again. Actions head to Never Land. We may see aggressive militaristic moves to limit the Internet, communications and freedom of speech issues.

"In the Tarot, Gemini is associated with the Tarot Card the Lovers, the 6th Trump Card. Gemini is seeking to understand relationships of all kinds.

"Mars in Gemini says, 'Ah, you may as well try and catch the wind.' Picture a flaming brain. Aries and Scorpios will be vacillating and talking more." {Ah! Now I get it: I have an Aries Moon and my Ascendant is in Scorpio. No wonder I'm a wee bit confused!}

"Fast talking, thinking on one's feet, changing one's mind a lot, discovering through examining both opposing sides of any issue.

"In Gemini Mars may switch sides every few minutes. Expect the stock markets to swing wildly, vacillating back and forth highlighting us vs. them, black and white, good & evil, rich & poor, power vs. victims, until April 20th, on a Full Moon, when Passover begins and Mars submerges himself into the watery, sensitive, Mom-and-apple pie, home loving and nurturing sign of Cancer, where Mars will heat things up for both Canada - a good thing weatherwise - and the U.S. Both countries' Sun signs are Cancerian - July 1st and 4th.

"Mercury, the planet that rules Gemini, entered Pisces on the 8th of February, so communications should be more sympathetic, flowing, spiritual, compassionate and alternately, in denial, ephemeral, other-worldy, very emotional, and watch for those rosy sweet words and hidden agendas.

Wind Power and the Power of the Word
So let's get SMART POWER here, never mind nuclear, gas firing, coal and heaven forbid a fuel burning energy plant. Why not use that Mars in Gemini energy to talk your head off - and act to make something enlightening happen, like try to catch the wind and use it - WIND POWER. Maybe with Mars in Gemini we'll harness yakking power from the energy of all those lips flapping in the breeze so that we could be putting your money where your mouth is."

Brrreeeport to Yinify: A Wealth of Wisdom from B to Y

The blogging world is all a-flutter over a made-up word that's been boosting search engine rankings exponentially: brrreeeport. At first I thought it meant a report from the Arctic region, or something having to do with French cheese (albeit with a creative spelling.)

We can magnetize anything into existence by our collective power, as the above example demonstrates. I'd like to see the word and meaning of yinify expand as rapidly and penetrate as widely as the meaningless brrreeeport. Yinify is a word I coined several years ago to express the idea of unifying in the Divine Feminine (yin) energy. It can also mean to become/embody more of the feminine qualities of receptivity, attraction, magnetism, heart-centered focus, and intuition.

Each of us carries both "masculine" and "feminine" energies; I am not describing external attributes of maleness or femaleness, but rather, how we express energy in the world. We are in the midst of a global shift to a more feminine way of being, which will ultimately usher in an era of prolonged peace, harmony and well-being.

I've held the intent for awhile now of stewarding The Yinification Tour©, an evolutionary, multidimensional, multimedia healing event encompassing music, movement, dance, ritual, singing/chanting, invocations, inspirational dialogue, poetry, improv/theatre, visual arts, and more. Unlike a standard workshop or presentation, this event will develop organically in a participatory framework. The practical transformational tools we create will become integral to the ceremony and to us, simultaneously.

I envision a core group with complementary talents/skills who share the vision and join together to bring The Yinification Tour© into manifestation. This "healing theatre" will travel from destination to destination and include local talent in different cities, encouraging people to use these transformational tools in their daily lives on an ongoing basis.

So if you're ready to co-create at the crossroads, from B to Y, as it were, I invite you to unthaw from brrreeeport and yinify at the evolutionary edge!

Blessings...

The Journey of Genuine Love

This is a lovely flash presentation that reminds us to open to the love we seek: The Journey of Genuine Love.

Happy Valentine's Day. "AH" Love You!

AH Love You!

For the 4th year in a row, you can be part of a global "sonic Valentine" for planetary peace, harmony and love. On February 14th, at noon your local time, join thousands of people throughout the planet as they tone an "AH" together for five minutes, projecting the energy of Light & Love throughout Mama Gaia. You'll actually experience generating a field of transformational energy as this occurs. 

For complete details, visit founder Jonathan Goldman's Healing Sounds site to learn how World Sound Healing Day came into being.

The "AH" is a universal, non-denominational heart sound that when projected with focused energy is extremely powerful and effective.

What a heartfelt way to say I Love You to everyone--including yourself!

The luminous divine rowdy compassionate trickster wisdom of Rob Brezsny

Like a beat poet for the new millennium, Rob Brezsny delivered a ramblin', rhymin' invocation to inspire truth, beauty and irreverent, loving curiousity among all of us listening in rapt amused attention tonight, as he shared the essence of his life, work, and beliefs at Copperfield's Books in Santa Rosa, CA.

Brezsny, whose surname I rarely spell correctly unless his syndicated freewill astrology column or new book, Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia are sitting in front of my nose (like now), is singular in his creative compassion and evocatively humorous delivery. I can only capture an iota of it here; for a fuller dose, visit Free Will Astrology.

Part of the song/poem he sang/spoke to us included the lines:

"Breathe in the Mystery,
Breathe out the history.

We need lusty compassion and ecstatic beauty.

Breathe in the luminosity,
Breathe out the animosity.

Breathe in the generosity,
Breathe out the grandiosity."

{Kind of lends a whole new level of meaning to the idea of deep breathing, doesn't it?!}

He referred to us all as "Divine chameleons" and invited us to write our own "Glory Manifesto": an epic depiction of what's right in your life. To help get there, he taught us to do the "World Kiss," in which you send love to those you love--and those you hate; those you know, and those you'll never know. He said, "To do the World Kiss, you've got to have a heart on in each of your seven chakras." Read it aloud if you don't immediately get the entendre.

My favorite moment was when he did a riff on Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream," speech. Brezsny said he has a dream "that Oprah Winfrey will buy up all the Pizza Huts across the U.S. and convert them into menstrual huts where, for a few days each month, both men and women can go and seek solace."

How cool is that? I look forward to savoring the book.

Firewalk Feedback

The newsletter on my Feb. 4th firewalk in Davis, CA with Heather Ash Amara (yes, you read that right) has sparked the highest response I've received to a mailing in awhile. Apparently we're ALL ready to toss off our invisible shackles and shine! I loved some of the feedback so much I had the inspiration tonight to post it here for all to savor:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From my beloved fellow coach, Helene van Manen in CO:

i love how you walk through fire and how you live big.
i wish you calm cooling foot creme days for the remainder of your year.

you are ever in my heart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Edie Moser in PA:

I did the same thing on my birthday about ten years ago. What an affirming experience that we are so intricately connected with life force. I consider myself an emotional firewalker that does that on a daily basis. Sounds like you do too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From my college buddies MaryAnne and Ed in VA:

Your old friend Ed suggests that next you might want to try to walk on water! Think of the steam!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Patricia Sage Wells-Wright in CA:

Thanks for all your wonderful newsletters. Glad to hear of your most recent birthday and your firewalk. Congratulations! The timing was certainly right for you!!!

My birthday is February 11, my one sis is Feb 4th and my youngest sis is Jan 22. All three Aquarians! Nice to know you as well are a fellow Aquarian.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Nila Tadic de Ossio in Bolivia:

Happy birthday, dear Amara Rose. Thank you for sharing such a mystical experience with us! God bless you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And from firewalk leader Heather Ash, now in TX:

BEAUTIFUL!

It was a joy to meet you and see the light shining so brightly in your face after the firewalk. May your flame burn with great love and guide our every step...

Bright blessings on your healing work, sister!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love you all! Thank you! ~ Amara

Some By Fire

I firewalked on 2/4, my 49th birthday, and told the group afterwards, "I feel reborn." I almost used the following inspirational poem as the lead quote for this month's e-newsletter, on my firewalk experience:

Some By Fire

~ Dawn Callan
from Awakening the Warrior Within, © 1995 Nataraj Publishing

Like a Phoenix from the embers
Ashes to ashes
Burning, burning
Some by fire
Some by water
Until we remember returning.

Some by the arts of the necromancer
Some by the sword
Some in the trance of the Sufi dancer
Some by the word.

Prodigal daughter
Walks the Warrior's path
Some by water
Some by tempting God to laugh.

Woman's body
Warrior's soul
Dance the ancient rite
Free the dragons of desire
Into the Light
Some by fire.

*************

What I didn't include in What Shines: we were each asked to choose a word to symbolize our firewalk intention. Mine was "freedom." In triumphant tears after crossing the coals, the words that kept ringing in my head were, "Anything is possible!"

Everything is energy, is light, is love. The most potent, beautiful verification I've received of this truth in awhile comes from my friend Mahaleena, who was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 lung and brain cancer (she has never smoked cigarettes, to my knowledge). When I heard the news, I registered my shock and sadness and asked what I could offer besides prayer (please add your blessings to the crucible).

This is her response, in part:

"I am feeling well and getting care by the Angels who work in Radiation, etc. All the really nice people are cached in one place. Nothing but good experiences are coming from this. Whether I live or die I have touched love and been touched by love from others. There is nothing else of any consequence happening on the planet. So bask in it."

Dear Ones, that's living your light! Maha, you glow, girl! Much LOVE!

Imbolc/Candlemas: The Light Returns!

In popular culture, February 2nd is referred to as Groundhog Day, when the little creature's shadow (or lack thereof) is said to determine whether winter will end soon or endure for 6 more weeks.

Like many sacred cycles on the Wheel of the Year, Feb. 2nd has been translated into a watered-down interpretation of its deeper meaning.

In cultures throughout the world, this day has traditionally been known as Imbolc (the ancient Celtic name that celebrates the goddess Brigid) and as Candlemas ("mass of the candles"), which in the Catholic religion marked the end of the Yule season.

The midpoint between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, Imbolc signifies the return of the Light, and thus is cause for celebration.

You'll find lots of enlightening lore on Myth*ing Links, a wonderful website chock-full of insight and inspiration concerning all aspects of mythology.

It's a potent moment for feeling our own inner fire (see the February issue of my e-newsletter, What Shines, on this topic!)

Rae Beth explains,

"The three-aspected springtime fire of the Goddess Brighid, especially linked with the recent festival of Imbolg, is very much connected with healing. For the surge of fire, experienced in Northern Europe as slightly longer hours of daylight, restores us in three ways. First, it gives us a lift of physical and psychological energy. (It is well known that daylight deprivation inclines people to depression and lethargy.) Secondly, it pleases our souls, because it not only brings the presence of spring flowers but inclines our thoughts to love and romance. Thirdly, it can increase our creativity. As our spirits lift, we are more likely to be inspired with new plans and projects...

"It seems to me that these three aspects of the Goddess's fire are linked, in many ways. If a person's creativity is fully expressed, their health is likely to improve. Love and romance can incline us towards creativity – people often write poetry (however badly) when they're in love.

"Nature's springtime fire increases our personal fire – that power which the East calls 'Kundalini'. (This is an electrical force said to lie coiled like a snake at the base of our spines. It is awakened by sexual attraction and by certain kinds of magical and mystical experience.)

"I believe there is said to be a biological connection between daylight, the pineal gland and stimulation of sexual/creative energy. In ritual and intuitive ways, it seems to me that this is what we are celebrating, when we light lots of candles on February 2nd, in honour of the Goddess Brighid (the Lady of the first stirrings of the Light, however we name Her.) And that this was perceived by our Pagan ancestors, in the days before anyone knew anything at all about the endocrine system and light sensitivity."

Shine On!

Year of the Dog: Love, Loyalty...Awakening

With the New Moon in Aquarius to match the sun sign, January 29th ushered in the Chinese Year of the Dog. In Mayan cosmology (a little creative cultural cauldron stirring from a cultural creative!), the Dog archetype is about loving through the heart, and loyalty--apparently the concept of dog as humanity's best bud transcends Western thought!

And this love includes ourselves first and foremost. Maggie Erotokritou, coordinator of the Planetary Awakening Network, repeats a theme we've been hearing from a lot of lightworkers lately about now: it's time to set our intention and bring it into reality. She writes:

"As we move through this New Moon phase, there is a new feeling coming through. We are finally at a closure of what has been coming to an end since January 6th onwards. It seems it has taken until now to actually close the cycle but now we are there.

"We are now moving into a new cycle of manifestation, where for those who have done the work and completed their major clearing cycles, things will be manifested more easily and without so much effort.

"Everything is calling us to move inwards at this time to make this completion and final transition into the new energies. We stand at the Dawn. It is the hibernation time before the awakening of Spring. That is also metaphorical for what is to follow.

"I just spent the weekend with a group of friends meditating for 8 hours, clearing and activating the 8 chakras. I hadn't realized before what perfect timing it was for this weekend, other than the urgency of the push from within to move to a retreat space and spend the time in meditation. I could feel my whole being calling for it and now I understand why. It is often afterwards that we get the clarity of what our intuition is prompting us to do.

"For those who have done the major chakra clearing, the 8th chakra is now vibrating at a much higher frequency and is allowing us access to the higher realms. Our 8th chakra meditation was incredibly blissful and most of us seemed to dissolve into the bliss with feelings of lightness, expansion and brilliant light. This lightness is continuing and is, I believe, part of what we will soon be able to access more easily and certainly an indication of the new era we are moving into.

"The unfolding of this process will take us about 8 weeks, hence the reference to Spring. It is also a time for those of you who wish to further engage in clearing and purification or to complete this process during these next few weeks to do so.

"We stand in the midst of a major transformation that is calling us forward. If you have not yet become clear on your goals, dreams and intentions for the rest of year then this New Moon period is the time to allow them to unfold and to clarify your intent. Do not procrastinate, make your intentions clear now and know that so much support and assistance are waiting to be given from the higher realms. Now is the time."

Does Enlightenment Have to Hurt?

If you're feeling just a wee bit challenged by what's going on, in your life and in the world, you're in excellent company. We ARE going to Light, and, it's more like falling down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland (or being Neo in The Matrix) than a skip through the park on a summer's day. This is part of the illusion we've collectively created.

Patricia Cota-Robles puts it well:

"This is a very critical time on the planet. From outer appearances, it looks like we are facing our possible demise, but nothing could be further from the truth. These things are happening because humanity is awakening, and we are beginning to remember who we are and why we are here. As we do, our hearts are opening, and we are lifting up in consciousness.

"The wondrous result of this awakening is that the Light of God is increasing on Earth through our newly-opened heart chakras. As God's Divine Light enters the physical plane, It pushes everything that is not of the Light to the surface to be healed and transmuted into its original perfection. That is why this time is referred to in the Bible as the time of screaming and the gnashing of teeth.

"Our human miscreations are surfacing in ways that are shocking and extremely difficult because humanity has fallen into the pattern of using pain as our motivator. As long as we are not in pain, we will allow ourselves to stagnate forever. We are so afraid of the unknown that we would rather remain in our mundane, unfulfilled lives than risk upsetting the status quo. We think, even if we are miserable and unhappy, that at least our lives are familiar, and we know what to expect.

"Now, PLEASE HEAR THESE WORDS. The pain and suffering humanity is experiencing at this time ARE NOT GOD'S WILL!

"There are much easier ways to heal and transmute the human miscreations we have inadvertently created over aeons of time. Our Father-Mother God and the Beings of Light in the Realms of Illumined Truth want us to remember what those methods are NOW. They have opened the floodgates of Heaven in 2006 to easily assist us in transmuting the negativity that is surfacing all over the world. This unprecedented assistance is a Gift of Divine Grace beyond the comprehension of our finite minds. It involves previously unknown frequencies of the Sacred Fire known as the Violet Flame."

Read Patti's full explanation of What the Violet Flame is and how to work with it. Blessings.

Fire and Ice, Part 2

Two weeks ago, I wrote about Gretel Ehrlich's journey into cold to elucidate first-hand the dangers of global warming.

Now James Lovelock, who originated the Gaia Hypothesis (theory that the Earth is a living entity), sounds an equally solemn warning: Gaia's fever is rising, and the result will be a 100,000-year-long Big Chill for the planet.

There is still time: Lovelock entreats us to become resourceful, rather than continuing to think we're resource-full, and evolve into Earth stewards while there's yet hope to reverse the course we're on:

"We should be the heart and mind of the Earth, not its malady. So let us be brave and cease thinking of human needs and rights alone, and see that we have harmed the living Earth and need to make our peace with Gaia. We must do it while we are still strong enough to negotiate, and not a broken rabble led by brutal warlords. Most of all, we should remember that we are a part of it, and it is indeed our home."

Well Come Home!

From an inspirational site known as WOW Zone (for Wishing Only Well) come these uplifting ideas on the final day of the 42-day global Go Gratitude experiment:

"Do you realize that if you Wish ONLY Well, you can create your own world into what you wish? And what is your own world? It's the place in life where you are: your present conditions, circumstances, family, friends, work, environment - in other words, your LIFE. 

"By Wishing ONLY Well, you make your own world AND the whole world better.

"It's neither altruistic nor selfish....it's logical! You reap what you sow. Of course that doesn't mean that exactly what you did will be done to you. That would be too easy. It means that you will never know the exact moment that you will shine or will fall, depending on how you live your life. Choose the high road, and expect the best.

"You create your own world, and by extension the whole world, every minute."

Goddess of Love and Beauty Returns As Morning Star

The planet Venus returns from her journey to the Underworld to rise tomorrow as the Morning star. This heliacal rise (which means, "ahead of the Sun") occurs, appropriately enough, with the dawning of Aquarius, which happens at 12:15 a.m. on January 20th, according to my We'Moon daily calendar, subtitled "In the Spirit of Love".

This IS the dawning of the age of Aquarius, a time of sacred reUnion, when we have the possibility and opportunity to expand our definition of Love, to become truly inclusive rather than exclusive.

Here's an excerpt from my article, Deep "E"-cology, about the Age of Aquarius:

"Heaven on Earth exists in being fully alive in the infinite Now. This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, as The Fifth Dimension sang back in 1969. They were early messengers, carrying our Divine Blueprint via the medium of music.

"Let's revisit the lyrics: 'When the Moon is in the seventh house.' In Western astrology, the Moon is symbolic of feminine, receptive energy, what we draw in; the seventh house is about intimate interaction with other people. I've dubbed this new way of relating a call to yinify: that is, to unify in the Divine Feminine essence.

"'And Jupiter aligns with Mars.' Jupiter is the planet of expansion, of expressing our truth through storytelling; Mars is the planet of pure desire and, when dishonored, of war. To have them align means telling ourselves a new, expansive story: transmuting war in the alchemical fire into spiritual warriorhood.

"Then, as the group sang, 'Peace will guide the planets/And love will steer the stars.'

"How clear the message becomes, once we are able to truly hear. The battle cries dim; the masks fall off. A layer of separation evaporates as we become transparent to the truth of who we are. People start to seem somehow familiar, even though we've never met them before. It's the resonant déjà vu of realizing there are no strangers. 'Service with a smile' suddenly takes on a whole new meaning.

"Getting there calls for a subtle shift in perception and behavior: from require to inquire, from escalate to elevate, from accumulate to appreciate. As we cease consuming planetary resources and each other at the speed of greed, let go of buying more in favor of being more, we reclaim our true heritage as Earth stewards. And then barrenness transmutes into bounty. Separation into synergy. Fear into faith. Longing into Love."

And finally...Venus returns on a Friday, a day which has always been her own. Let the lovin' start!

Bumper Sticker Wisdom

I often discover some pretty potent wisdom sitting behind the wheel. Two bumper stickers I've seen recently:

"Humankind--be both"

"Oh, sure, but what's the speed of DARK?"

My own response to the latter: the dark is timeless. It's the speed of spaciousness, of emptying your personal history to make room for the energy of the Infinite.

Happy trails...

Inanna Initiations: Get Down, Get Clear, Arise and Shine!

OK, so it's not quite that cut and dried (personal evolution rarely is). Nevertheless...this is a unique opportunity to take a quantum leap in your growth within a supportive virtual community.

I've packed the essence of my 10+ year journey into an e-course known as The Inanna Initiations, available as a free download. Starting January 29th, I'm convening an 8-week telephone community to travel this Hero's Journey as a team. Read the full scoop: Inanna Initiations Tele-community.

I also created a flyer which doesn't translate well to blog format (I'm happy to e-mail it to you as a Word doc, just put "Inanna Tele-community" in the subject line). Here's the essence:

The Inanna Initiations Tele-community

now forming!

An 8-week accelerated path of personal transformation

Join with like-minded souls in this ripe moment
of personal and collective possibility!

What: A virtual circle that guides you on a 7 gate journey of release & 7 gate path of regeneration
When: Sunday, 1/29/06 – Sunday 3/19/06, 1 pm EST
Where: Cyberspace: all you need is a phone line!
Cost: $188 includes a 1/2-hr private session with Amara
Contact: 1-800-862-0157 or amara@liveyourlight.com

FREE intro call to discuss dates, times and format, on Sunday, January 15th, 10 am PST, 1 pm EST. Please call 1-603-310-4838 ext. 130. There is no cost for this call except your normal long distance phone charges.

Amara Rose is a life purpose coach, wisdom circle facilitator, speaker and writer whose own healing journey informs all aspects of her service. To learn more about the Inanna Initiations and other offerings, please visit LiveYourLight.com or call 1-800-862-0157. Blessings!

Fire and Ice

I'm reading the latest offering by Gretel Ehrlich, explorer and muse extraordinaire, The Future of Ice. It's her account of a personal environmental foray, told with a piercing honesty and insight that burns clean any remaining vestiges of hubris lingering like dust on an unexamined life.

Years ago, when I was still a city dweller yearning to breathe free, I read, The Solace of Open Spaces, and felt her word pictures of Wyoming's vastness open my own spiritual path toward sweet solitude. Later I walked with her through her experience of being struck by lightning, in A Match to the Heart.

The Future of Ice takes us to the extremities of consciousness, with weather as both metaphor and barometer for life expectancy on Earth. Indeed, Erhlich says that in Greenland, a country that defines "ice," the word sila means simultaneously "weather" and "consciousness."

Ehrlich asks, "When did we begin thinking weather was something to be rescued from? Why did we trade in our ceremonial lives for the workplace? Is this a natural progression, or a hiccup in human civilization that we'll soon renounce?"

She quotes E.O. Wilson, author of The Future of Life, whose words eerily echo my January newsletter exhortation to "embrace the matrix," which means Mother: "Nature is the matrix in which the human mind evolved. Without it we devolve. Simple as that. We are devolving."

It is still our choice in every moment, however. Yesterday at a gem and mineral faire I discovered a fascinating aspect about amethyst, my birthstone. I was searching for a piece of citrine, a crystal known for its manifesting properties, and one gem expert told me, "Amethyst and citrine are the same; citrine is amethyst that's been heated." Natural citrine is pale yellow. The brighter, orange-gold or burnt sienna citrine that's often sold is the color complement to amethyst. Heated, the purple burns away to bronze. It's the same stone, but with more energy, because it's been through the fire!

Embrace the ice. Embrace the fire. Embody the matrix. Walk in love. HO!

Wealth Wisdom: The Consciousness of Money

From a very interesting website called 72.com comes this intriguing perspective on tithing, something most of us have heard about but may rarely practice. Site founder Yehuda Berg writes,

"Many people do not remember that money is under the realm of spirituality. Money is one of the purest forms of energy there is because money is energy in potential. It can be as a seed, and when used positively and proactively, it will reveal enormous Light.

"To protect the money you have and bring more sustenance to your life, do something called tithing. The historical word 'tithe' is related to the Hebrew word eser, which means 'ten.' Tithing is giving away 10 percent of the net profit you earn.

"The foundation of tithing is based on a spiritual principle that reality is divided into ten levels of consciousness. The lowest level is material reality, called malchut, an expression of desire for oneself alone. These ten levels also exist within your financial sustenance, so by giving away 10 percent of your earnings, this allows you to disconnect from the desire to receive for yourself alone - the malchut level - and to connect instead with the elevated levels of spiritual energy already present in your money.

"Tithing is like entering into a silent partnership with the Light. It is not really about giving in the sense you might expect. It's more about transforming the negative presence (the malchut portion) in your earnings. In this way, the remaining 90 percent of your wealth is infused with the power of the Light and cannot be touched by darkness.

"Try it, for this is the ideal month. The baser nature of Capricorn is to 'hold on tight' to money, so the very act of overcoming this desire now will reveal tremendous Light. As with everything else in spirituality, experience it for yourself to truly grasp the power of the correspondence."

28 Reasons to Smile

With all the serious spiritual growth going on and earnest evolutionary guidance abounding (including mine), every now and again we need to enLighten up! These Zen gems came to me courtesy of cyber chum Violette Ruffley. I couldn't read 'em without grinning, and in some cases laughing out loud:

Your daily moment of ZEN

1. Do not walk behind me for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either; just leave me the hell alone.

2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire.

3. It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

4. Don't be irreplaceable; if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

5. No one is listening until you make a mistake.

6. Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else.

7. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

8. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

9. It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.

10. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

11. Before you criticize someone you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

12. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

13. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

14. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth the money.

15. Don't squat with your spurs on.

16. If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything.

17. If you drink, don't park; accidents cause people.

18. Some days you are the bug; some days you are the windshield.

19. Don't worry; it only seems kinky the first time.

20. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

21. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

22. Timing has an awful lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

23. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

24. Duct tape is like the force; it has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

25. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.

26. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your mouth is moving.

27. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

28. Never miss a good chance to shut up.

Instant Karma's Gonna Get You: Transmute Now and Avoid the Rush!

Clairvoyant, prolific author and spiritual teacher Doreen Virtue, channeling Archangel Michael, says, "2006 will be exactly of your own choosing. Each of us will have different experiences with 2006, according to how we handle the new energy.

"2006 brings in a new level of energy that perfectly mirrors our thoughts, our reality. The angels call this new energy elastic. The theme of 2006 is, What You Put Out There, Is What Comes Back To You. If you say kind things about other people, then other people will say kind things about you. If you are generous with others, then others will be generous with you. If you expect doors of opportunity to open for you, they will. Conversely, if you think or say anything negative about people, the world, government, or Anything ... the negativity will immediately come back to you.

"This is a year where all of our spiritual lessons are called into action. We will all receive more divine guidance, clearly and easily. If we follow this guidance without delay, we find ourselves gliding along the flow of a fun, healthy, and prosperous new year. If we ignore the guidance, we wonder if we are being tested, ignored, or punished.

"2006 will be like living in a house of mirrors. Whatever you expect to see, you will see. Whatever you send into the mirror, will instantly reflect back to you. The new energy is clear, high, and bright ... and is a wonderful opportunity to experience heaven upon earth.

"Make time to positively visualize and affirm your wishes and desires. Feel gratitude that they are already manifest and don't worry about how they will come into material form. Since we are all one in truth, whatever you wish for yourself is what you wish for others as well. The reverse is also true: whatever you wish for another is what you wish for yourself.

"You can call upon the Archangels Michael and Jophiel for help in releasing any negative tendencies that you would like to leave behind. The angels will transmute the underlying fear beneath the negativity. In place of the fear, the angels will help you to feel loved in all ways.

"I see and feel grateful that you are peaceful, feeling loved and loveable, completely healthy, prosperous, and enjoying a meaningful career based upon your natural talents, passions, and interests. I see and feel grateful that the planet is peaceful, the environment is clean, that all people and animals have their needs met and are treated with love and compassion. I see and feel grateful that all residents of this planet enjoy the best year ever in 2006!"

*************

The Pathways of Desire

I had an experience of this mirroring just a few hours ago. Shopping for groceries in Whole Foods, I was distracted by a woman popping a piece of chocolate into her mouth. Chocolate is probably my only vice, and a weakness at certain times of the Moon cycle. As I ambled over to the bakery section, there were tantalizing samples of dark chocolate brownies waiting for my tongue.

But as I expressed my desire along with my reluctance to give in to the sugar craving, knowing it lowers immunity, Terra, the sweet young woman behind the counter, began telling me how she definitely agreed, saying she knows the mochas she drinks in the morning and sweets she eats regularly are contributing to her bladder infections. Since I have a long health history that includes bladder infections, candida overgrowth, and severe environmental toxicity, I was happy to offer what counsel and insight I could.

She, in turn, began focusing on how much better she feels when she does yoga and eats well, and we commiserated over the high price of organic food due to the current lack of support for organic farmers. By the time we finished talking, I said, "You know, I can resist this brownie now; it no longer appeals to me." And she thanked me for inspiring her to take better care of her health as well.

Terra had asked me early on, "How do we overcome our cravings?" I think we answered that question together: by shifting the focus, so that the pathways of desire (a wonderful phrase that's the title of a book of short stories by Ursula LeGuin) support our highest good. The better we feel, the more we'll crave that good feeling, and the more our desires will flow in the direction of fulfillment on every level.

Blessed Be!

All Our Relations: Health, Wealth and Wisdom Is Up to Us

Congressman Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, speaks as the voice of conscience for America, and offers both penetrating insight and well-researched action to address the many ills in which the U.S. (and, by extension, the world) finds itself.

During this supposed season of peace and goodwill, Kucinich brought it all together: peace, energy dependence, the war in Iraq, the environment, economic power, and our moral obligations to all citizens of the U.S. and the world. This synthesis came in a speech he made Sunday, December 18, as the House debated suspending the rules to speed up passage of a number of bills before close of the 109th Congress's first session.

Referring to the use of House rules to get drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge added onto H.R. 2863, the 2006 Defense Appropriations Act, Kucinich described how drilling would destroy the Gwich'in Tribe, which for more than 20,000 years has lived on their ancestral lands in harmony with the natural world.

It's a sobering thought. I feel that when the rest of us have learned to live in harmony with all our relations for 20,000 years, we will have earned the right to make decisions that affect other peoples' existence -- and at that stage, we will have moved so far beyond the dominator, more-more-more mentality, that such a decision-making structure will be a relic of the ancient past.

Until then, and always, I send up a prayer for Mitayuke Oyasin, a Lakota prayer that means, "All my relations," and honors the sacredness of everyone and everything on Earth.

We are all One. Happy New Year, with love,
Amara

Women's Hormone Health -- Naturally!

My article on women's hormone health and endocrine disrupters is now online in the January/February 2006 issue of E, the Environmental magazine. Unfortunately, the editor not only altered the title, he deleted key passages that referred to my health adventure as a spiritual quest, so if you'd like a Word copy of the original, just let me know.

As someone who's been affected by chemical toxicity for many years, I feel I'm part of an "advance guard" of sensitives serving as a wake-up call for planetary environmental consciousness. If your health could use a tune-up--or if you want to stay as vibrant as you already are--check it out!

Loving Yourself Free

This is the season of Love - but what goes on in our hearts and minds the rest of the year? Here's a beautiful explanation from Archangel Uriel through Jennifer Hoffman about how we can free ourselves from fear to live large in our lives always:

"Each situation in your life exists for your spiritual growth and evolution, and when you are ready to acknowledge the wisdom with which you organize the scenarios of your life, you will learn to love each situation. Then you can become aware of its lessons, know and learn them and love them free.
 
Once you learn to love the experience, it has fulfilled its mission in your life and can depart from you. But as long as you continue to hate, judge, resent, run away from or ignore it, it will exist and even intensify as it mirrors everything you dislike about it. Is it good or bad, right or wrong, beneficial or harmful, short term or permanent - all of these are judgments that will only result in the continuation of the circumstance.
 
Instead, ask your Self, 'What do I need to learn from this?' and you will take the first step on the path to freedom. Each difficult experience that you have is a mirror of a fear in your life - discover the fear and the reason for its existence and it has no power over you and then ceases to exist unless you allow it to. The more dire the situation, the greater your need to learn and appreciate its lesson and heal that aspect of your belief system.
 
Once you acknowledge that you created the reality, it loses its power because it is the paradigm that you built, not the result of someone else's actions against you. Then you can love it free and move on to create other realities that are more peaceful, joyful and fulfilling. No matter what the circumstance, if you can learn to love it, you can free yourself from it and move forward on your journey."

Gif-ting Gratitude

Today's Go Gratitude is a visual deLight: Go Gratitude poster

Paste it on your heart and let the happiness Glow...

If you haven't yet joined the 42 days to a knew view, check out the Master Key movie and climb aboard the Bliss Train!

Feminine Gifts of the Solstice

Colorado astrologer Ingrid Jeffries (ijnorthstar@fastmail.fm) offers a complementary viewpoint to Ken Kalb's (see 12/20 entry). She writes:

"Astrologically, the Solstice points are connected to our work in the world. The Sun in Capricorn is when we review our commitments and obligations. Capricorn is a sign that is associated with established orders, business and worldly concerns. We often envision its planetary ruler, Saturn, as an old man with a scythe; symbolic of the reaper, the God of Agriculture, and Father Time. The placement of Saturn in your birth chart indicates where a karmic debt has occurred. This debt will require concentrated effort and discipline to master and overcome its obstacles. Yet, Saturn also points to the aspects of one's life which can become your greatest strength if you are willing to face your fears and difficulties honestly, and work with them patiently. In Capricorn we reap what we have sown in the world, for this reason gift giving has long been an integral aspect of the myriad of festivities associated with the Solstice.

"Ultimately Capricorn is an earth sign and as such is feminine. Of all the astrological signs, Capricorn carries the symbolism of the triple Goddess. We often see images of the mother and her child at this time of year with the imagery of the crone/wise women found in the magi. Many of the traditions associated with this time of year are pre-Christian and involved divination, foretelling the future, as the turning of the season was considered a magical time.

Here are a few:

· In Russia, there's a Christmas divination that involves candles. A girl would sit in a darkened room, with two lighted candles and two mirrors, pointed so that one reflects the candlelight into the other. The viewer would seek the seventh reflection, then look until her future would be seen.

· In Spain, there's an old custom that is a holdover from Roman days. The urn of fate is a large bowl containing slips of paper on which are written all the names of those at a family get-together. The slips of paper are drawn out two at a time. Those whose names are so joined are to be devoted friends for the year. Apparently, there's often a little finagling to help matchmaking along, as well.

· In Scandinavia, some families place all their shoes together, as this will cause them to live in harmony throughout the year.

· And in many, many cultures, it's considered bad luck for a fire or a candle to go out on Solstice (or Christmas Day in more recent times.)

Rituals & Traditions for this time of Year:

· Strengthen bonds with family and friends by visiting and/or exchanging gifts and greetings. This is a season of honoring the ancestors.
· Decorate your home with lights, greens, and holiday colors. Bless your home with a Yule wreath on your front door and sprigs of mistletoe inside.
· If you are part of a group, take up a collection of food and/or clothing at your Yule gathering and give what you collected to a social service agency to distribute to the needy.
· Place sunflower seeds outside for wild birds to feast upon.
· Greet the Sun at dawn on Solstice morning by ringing bells.
· Work magic for a more peaceful planet.
· Honor the new solar year with light. Do a Solstice Eve ritual in which you meditate in darkness and then welcome the birth of the sun by lighting candles and singing chants and carols.
· If you have a indoor fireplace or an outdoor fire circle, burn an oak log as a Yule log and save a bit to start next year's fire.
· Volunteer time at a social service agency.
· Put up bird feeders and keep them filled throughout the winter to supplement the diets of wild birds.
· Meditate for world peace.
· Make a pledge to do some form of good works in the new year."

The Earth breathes but one breath each year: from Summer to Winter, a long exhalation, a letting go; at the Winter Solstice, a moment of stillness and emptiness between breaths; then the long inhalation back into the Summer's time of fullness. ~ Miriam Klamkim