Once In A Blue Moon: A Potent New Year's Blessing

On December 31, 2009, we'll experience a blue moon lunar eclipse. A blue moon typically refers to the second full moon in a given month, which only happens once every few years, making it unusual enough to generate a sense of expectancy. However, the original definition referred to the 13th full moon in a "tropical year", or growing season, traditionally measured from one winter solstice to the next.

So while the full moon and blue moon already herald a potent completion to 2009 and entry into 2010, there's even more power inherent in this passage. Gillian Macbeth-Louthan of The Quantum Awakening writes, "This is the most important New Year's Eve we have been gifted in a long time. It asks us to 'flash forward' into the next two years to see what we can see. No matter how much you do not believe prophecy from time and earth, it will still affect your energy field and your choices. READ THE REST!

Mercury Rx: A Healing New Year's Gift

On December 26th, the planet Mercury will appear to move backwards in the sky until January 15, 2010 — a dance it typically does three times each year. Because Mercury rules communication, transportation and technology, many people have an instinctive aversion to these retrograde cycles. But as with all shadows, Mercury retrogrades contain hidden gifts. READ THE REST!

Season of Stories

"The universe is made of stories, not atoms."

~ Muriel Rukeyser

As we enter the year's prime shopping season, stores tend to replace stories as the gift source of choice. I grew up in Paramus, New Jersey, the shopping capital of the known universe, so I understand just how seductive — and soul diminishing — the material mindset can be.

Emerson said: "Rings and jewels are not gifts but apologies for gifts. The only true gift is a portion of thyself." How do we put the "I" back in "stores", supplant material-eyes with empath-eyes? How do we create the new story of Now? READ THE REST!

The Magdalene Awakening: Reclaiming the Divine Feminine

For me, the Great Remembering began in illness. On a descent to the depths of my being, I found myself throwing my arms around trees and sobbing, feeling their loving embrace. I began talking to crows, paying tribute to their visceral wisdom in a poem that concluded, "A coded conversation/In guttural cries/Opens my eyes/And lifts me higher." Stunned from exhaustion, I'd never lived in such clarity. With my brain on an extended vacation, I was forced to access a more primitive part of my being, to participate in the instinctual world, not merely watch.

I devoured books such as The Feminine Face of God by Sherry Ruth Anderson and Patricia Hopkins, and The Moon Under Her Feet by Clysta Kinstler, rapt with recognition. I became Inanna, the ancient Sumerian Goddess who symbolizes death and rebirth, with wisdom gained.

These are just a few examples of the myriad ways the Divine Feminine began showing up in my life, as she is now showing up for women (and many men) everywhere. Shannon Andersen, author of The Magdalene Awakening, is a powerful voice in service to this remembering, sharing the essence of the journey she's lived, decoding the sacred symbols and synchronicities that herald the re-emergence of the Divine Feminine on Earth, as reflected in the archetype of Mary Magdalene. READ THE REST!

Reaching Your Boyle-ing Point

At an age when most performers have hit their peak and may already be on a downward spiral, one rising star has captivated the world — not only with her phenomenal voice, but with her story. Susan Boyle shot to stardom just before turning 48.

We generally groom our superstars as youth: usually a new name enters our consciousness when the performer is between 18-22, sometimes much younger. I love Leona Lewis, for example, who is divinely talented — and became a household name at 22, less than half Boyle's age.

The idea that someone could emerge as an overnight sensation in midlife fires the imagination: what might we still be able to achieve, create, become, if a star is born at 48? READ THE REST!

Dec. newsletter: From Resistance to Resilience

Years ago a popular television commercial featured a maternal manicurist who would soften her customers' hands in Palmolive dishwashing liquid. The theme was both arresting and funny. The patron, upon learning the contents of the cuticle-softening dish, would jerk her hand away and gasp: "Dishwashing liquid?" Madge would calmly pat her hand back down, reassuring, "It's Palmolive!"

I was ruminating on how such a commercial might play in the metaphysical realm: "Resistance? You're soaking in it!" And it doesn't soften the journey, but cooks us to a crisp - even when we think we're coming from an enlightened perspective. READ THE REST!