Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Imbolc: Return of the Light

In just a few days, on February 2nd, we celebrate the annual return of the light, with the holiday known variously as Imbolc in the Celtic tradition, Candlemas in the Christian tradition, or Groundhog Day, which carries little lore compared with the other two yet is unfortunately best known in mainstream culture.

Visit author Mara Freeman's excellent Wheel of the Year page on Imbolc and the Mystery School tradition.

I also highly recommend the book Brigid's Charge by Cynthia Lamb, a beautifully researched autobiographical novel that illustrates what life was like for woman healers and mystics in colonial America.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Practical Pluto? Align with Your Wisdom!

The full moon and Pluto, the celestial plunger, bring potent messages about alignment and personal choice. Aluna Joy puts it succinctly: "We have come to the time where we need to sacrifice our suffering, lose attachment to our dramas, and surrender our addictions to lack of any kind."

Surrendering my addiction to lack is a biggie; I've become adept at living nomadically, have written about life as a New Nomad, and connected with many others traversing a similar path. But I can serve so much more effectively with greater 3D resources!

The same goes for suffering. I'm producing a trio of eBooks adapted from 7 years' worth of my e-newsletter, What Shines. The first book is on a tight timeframe to be ready as a bonus offering for a huge promotion slated to start February 3rd. The author of the book launch referred me to a graphic designer to get the eBook in proper form, and even though the signs were clear we weren't a match, I struggled to make a square peg fit a round hole, thinking it my only resource. Since I refused to release this maligned pairing, Pluto plunged me free, and the perfect pair of wondrously talented women emerged almost overnight.

Here's what astrologer Stephanie Austin has to share about this shift:

"At this Full Moon, the Sun — along with Chiron, Vesta, Mercury, Neptune, and the North Node — are all in Aquarius, emphasizing the importance of creativity and collaboration, practical and visionary thinking. Mercury will be retrograde from January 28 to February 18, doubling its time in Aquarius this year (from January 7 to March 14), which further encourages us to consider alternatives and reassess our alliances. Venus conjuncts Pluto on January 23, (at 29°56’ Sagittarius), exposing new truths and new prospects, if we are willing to listen and speak from the heart.

"Pluto, the archetype of death and rebirth, has been in Sagittarius since 1995. On January 25, Pluto enters Capricorn and initiates a new era, transmitting its evolutionary energies through Capricorn until November 19, 2024 (with a final retrograde into Sagittarius June 13 to November 26, 2008). Pluto reveals the shadow of whatever sign it transits; the dark side of Capricorn is the victim/tyrant archetype, which are two sides of the same coin. Pluto’s passage through Capricorn forces us to look at how we are dealing with authority and accountability, making painfully clear the price we pay for victim consciousness and deceit. Pluto reminds us that we always have a choice and that, when we abdicate our responsibility, we give away our power. It also asks us to walk our talk, and to live in accordance with spiritual as well as material realities.

"On a collective level, Pluto in Capricorn transforms governments, corporations, organizations, and any institution which is not serving the greater good. Traditions, conventions, and standards will change as patriarchal dominance is challenged, and issues of wealth distribution, the environment, recycling, civil rights, marital rights, retirement and aging will be reassessed and reformed. Business, borders, laws, property, and resource rights will be redefined. Pluto has not been in Capricorn since November 1762 – December 1778, the period that saw the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution, the abolition of the Inquisition in France, the first circumnavigation of the Earth, and the beginning of a worldwide industrial revolution fostered by burgeoning free trade, civil liberties, and technological developments.

"Each one of us, along with the Earth and the Cosmos itself, is participating in a grand experiment. We are in the midst of a paradigm shift, transitioning towards a new age of unity, equality, and diversity. Nourish yourself daily with beauty, nature, community — whatever helps you remember your connection with the web of life and your place in it. Trust your inner guidance. Choose to live in Love, not fear. Remember: 'When nothing is sure, everything is possible.' ~ Margaret Drabble"

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Subterranean Homesick Blues

Karen Bishop's latest discourse, on the symptoms of spiritual emergence, is one of the clearest I've read in awhile. It literally is like tunnel travel, or being in a submarine: we've had the spiritual equivalent of the bends. (I personally was nauseous for 3 months, then one day it vanished, and the ringing in my ears began. But that, too, is now past.)

As we transmute density at the speed of Light, we're releasing the old through our physical vessels. Symptoms can include:

* intense muscle aches
* sinus pressure and headaches
* deep body pain
* ringing in the ears
* nausea
* intestinal distress
* coughing and chest congestion
* feelings of pressure or toxicity in the body
* insomnia
* a feeling that absolutely nowhere feels right or comfortable
* a wondering where home might now be, with seemingly nowhere else left to go, or nowhere left that seems to “fit.”

So hang on and hang in there, fellow travelers, because you're almost through, and almost Home!

Friday, January 11, 2008

1111/11:11

It's a '1' year of new beginnings (2+0+0+8 = 10 = 1+0 =1), and today is 1/11, a 1111 day! And, if you're familiar with the 11:11, it is also an 11:11 day. (See Solara's excellent Nvisible site for more information.)

Channel Michele Denman calls this a time of Heartweaving:

"As we enter the gate of 1:1:1, we enter the Age of the Galactic Sun.

The New Christ is born and Heaven on Earth is returning.

We are entering the Golden Age, the age foretold.

Old timelines no longer matter, that is the age-old timeline from
the Mayan Calendar of 2012, is now outdated and no longer useful.

We are in a new Time, a New Age, a new Clock.

The calendars of yesteryear are no longer needed as we enter
Our Internal Time now, which is NOW.

We are the creators and the creation of the Now is simple; it is Joy.

Heaven returns in an instant.

Those hearing the Call right now, are knowing that the
Age of Aquarius, the Golden Age begins now.

February 1st of this year marks the beginning of the New Creation.

That is, we will see our creations unfold before us, as the New Year.

This is the New Egypt, the New Aquarian Gospel, the age foretold that
is now.

As we weave and re-weave the magic of the Heart, we are entering
the Age of the Sun, the Golden Age. The Heart Energy is imperative.

Ishanyi, the Feminine Christ stands before you in her Golden Aura,
heralding the Second Coming, the Coming of Love.

Your Heartstrings are magic as they re-weave the magic of creation.

Unfold.

New Heaven."

Monday, January 07, 2008

Balance Beam 2008

All of our work now is about bringing ourselves into balance. I wrote about this in my January newsletter, "Opposites Attract." Celia Fenn, who channels Archangel Michael, offers some wise guidance for realigning ourselves elementally. These tools are frequently practiced by indigenous peoples when they need to restore harmony:

SPIRIT : When you are in balance with Spirit, you will be connected to your Heart and you will radiate Universal Love and Joy and Peace. You will feel that "All is One" and you will live in Harmony and Respect with all life. You will walk your path in confidence, following your Heart's guidance.

When you lose that balance and the connection, you will fall into patterns of ego and mind analysis. Here you will seek to judge and categorize, and you will rely on the thoughts and guidance of others to feel safe. You will feel a distinct lack of Love and Joy in your life, for you are not connected to your inner Source of Light.

When you feel this imbalance, your work to create balance again is to re-connect with the Love and Joy at your Heart's core that is the essence of Who You Are. Release all fear and all judgment, release the hold of the mind and the ego. Surrender to the flow of Spirit in your life, until you can feel the Joy and the Love again. Know that all else is illusion.

You can also look to see if there might be imbalances in the other elemental energies of your being.

FIRE : When your Fire energy is in balance, you will feel a sense of Motivation and Enthusiasm for life. You will have energy and you will feel Joy. You will be connected to your Passion and your Sexual and Sensual energies.

When the Fire energy is out of balance, you will feel tired, even exhausted and drained. You will feel angry, or panicky, and you may fall into destructive rage and bitterness. You will find it hard to forgive and let go. You will fall into judgment to justify your lack of movement and growth.

To balance the Fire energy it is good to do a Fire Ceremony. Release into the fire all that you no longer need in your life, and ask that the transformative power of Fire reconnect you with your Passion and Joy.

WATER : When your water elemental energy is in balance, you will demonstrate qualities of Nurturing, Caring, Gentleness and Sharing. You will feel Trust and Acceptance, you will live in Grace and Gratitude, with Calmness and Serenity. You will feel Unconditional Love at all times.

When your water energy is out of balance, you will feel sadness, depression and self-pity. You will feel weepy and unhappy and dissatisfied with your life. You will compare yourself with others and will feel cheated by life in some way.

To regain your balance with your water energy, it is good to do a Water Ceremony for cleansing and balancing. Ask Water to re-connect you to your Grace and Serenity. Open your Heart to water, that you might feel the essence of Nurturing, Love and Gentleness, deep in your Being, and that you may live in Grace and Calm and Peace.

AIR : When you are in balance with your Air energy, you will feel Optimistic and Hopeful and Centered. You will be Flexible in your responses to life's challenges, and you will accept the process of change and growth with Joy. You will see change as a blessing, no matter how it may appear in your life, for you will perceive the inner blessings. The element of Air allows for Movement, Shifts, and cultivates Flexibility of Spirit and Trust in the processes of Spiritual Evolution and Growth.

When the Air element is out of balance, you will feeel anxious, inflexible and "stuck". You will feel threatened by change, and will be argumentative and defensive. There will be a lack of focus and direction in your life. You will not seem to hear others, and they will not hear you. You may experience a sense of chaos and disintegration around you.

To regain balance with Air, do a Ceremony for the Air elementals. Ask that Air teach you to be flexible and graceful and to bend with the wind like a reed, so that you may gain inner strength and resilience. Ask Air that you may soar like and eagle on the spirals of wind and see the Truth that is your Truth and the Love of All that Is.

EARTH : When your Earth energy is in balance, your life will be Structured and Ordered and you will experience physical Abundance and Joy. You will feel Secure and Safe on Earth, and you will trust that what you need will be provided. You will enjoy being in your Body, and you will feel Health and Vitality. You will honor and care for your Physical Body with love and nurturing. You will honor your physical environment, and you will live with Simplicity and Grace and Beauty. Simple things will give you pleasure.

When your earth energy is not in balance, you will feel lethargic, spacey and dizzy at times. You will fear lack and scarcity, and you may become greedy and selfish. You will be unwilling to receive from others. You will perhaps feel physically weak and tired and ill, and there will be little motivation to care for your physical being and your environment. You will feel a lack of Joy and a lack of fulfilment in your life.

To regain your Earth balance, do a Ceremony with the Earth elementals and ask to be re-connected to the Earth that is within you. Ask for the aspect of "grounding" in your life, so that you may manifest and create in a grounded way, and that you may enjoy life in a physical body, to the full. Ask to be shown how to live a balanced life that will honor your body and your environment, with Simplicity and Grace.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Law of Attraction In Action

To start the New Year off in the spirit of positivity and possibility, I offer these words from an old soul in a youthful body: 20-year-old Stephanie Snyder, who personifies the Law of Attraction in action. I profiled Stephanie in the January issue of my e-newsletter, What Shines, for her conviction in following her heart and relocating because her inner voice was so compelling — and her new life is unfolding beyond her wildest dreams!

I'll have a follow-up report in the February issue. For now, here are Stephanie's wise words, penned on one of her last nights caring for a sweet, wheelchair-bound teen girl with whom she'd developed a special bond:

I have learned that some of us are differently abled, but we all deserve love the same.
I have learned that Patience really is a virtue.
I have learned that we all have a story to share, and the importance of taking the time to hear as many as possible.
I have learned that Love always wins.
I have learned that sometimes it takes some of us just a little longer......
I have learned that most peoples intentions are for the greater good.
I have learned that Compassion cannot be taught from a textbook.
I have learned that all things must end to allow for new beginnings.
I have learned the importance of time and sharing it with others.
I have learned that there are no mistakes, and none have ever been made.
I have learned the power of Love and our ability to Create and Live it.