Greetings Astrology Fans!
Just
to validate those of you who have been watching this stuff, the
retrogrades of summer have created a wee bit of a drama
festival. For a good deal of the summer, there were six planets
retrograde at one time. While most of them have straightened out,
whether or not the advent of the fall brings you respite is - as usual
- dependant on how you respond to it. As you may surmise from the
newsletter title, I am recommending you play it pretty tight.
These
compounded retrogrades are nature's little consciousness tune ups.
Or as they say in the corporate sector, "Training Opportunities." For
many, this year has sort of felt like the astrological version of The Wedding Crashers:
unknown and unwelcome guests arrived out
of nowhere, forcing you to you to look at yourself and
your life in heretofore unimaginable ways. The hardest thing for people
to understand about these moments is that they are a lot like
childbirth. Some pain is mandatory, but suffering is optional. While
these moments can hurt, you have some control over where you go
with the pain, and there are great gifts both during and at the end of
the process.
All retrogrades bring epiphanies, or at least they should. If that's
not happening for you, call me now, for you are probably suffering from
an obscene number of self-inflicted wounds, and we should talk.
Seriously. In the interim, use the virtues of Virgo and the
momentum of the Equinox to reap your harvest and chose your next
move. |
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Virgo-a-go-go |
The
drama of the retrogrades nearly obscured another significant
astrological event:the transition of Saturn from Leo into Virgo. Now
unlike most astrologers, I love Saturn, and I love Saturn for a lot of
reasons. The main reason I love Saturn is that his ultimate goal is to bring you your heart's desire. What's wrong with that? Everybody wants that. But it's not a "gimmie," he makes you work for it. And nobody wants that.
One of the things Saturn in Virgo will make you work at
is the concept of service. Where are you a slave, where a
master, and where are you a humble servant? The life lesson of Virgo is
service without servitude, so right now you are being given the
opportunity to have more freedom and more righteous freedom, if
you will let yourself.
And not a moment too soon. All those retrograding planets this summer
really slowed things down, making us face our humanity - in all
it's fabulous glory and dysfunction. Because of that, this
summer, tragically, has been called the summer of shame.
Locally, nationally and internationally there have been
an unprecedented dearth of scandals in virtually every area of
life. Greed, dishonesty, stupidity and corruption are pretty
much expected in political arenas, but this summer it was found
everywhere else, as well: celebrities, sports, religion, hedge funds,
college admissions and student loan lending, mortgage lending, the
world bank, the FDA, NASA, the Military, the Veteran's Administration,
the Justice Department, and (gasp!) the West Wing. Oh,
and pretty much any independent contractors in Iraq or anything made in
China (we shouldn't be too upset with those guys, though. They are
really starting to make us look better).
Saturn
in Virgo asks that you hold yourself to a higher standard for the
harvest season and days to come. It asks you to just say no
to dumb or simply outdated ideas - both your own and
those of others. Saturn in Virgo asks you to purify yourself, to to upgrade the hard drive on your core values, to take the high road, or at least a higher one that you are on now. And the Fall Equinox is both a fine time and a fine place to start. |
Fall Equinox 2007 |
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The two big astrological events of the week both occur on the same day. Saturday, September 23rd
to be exact. Firstly, the Sun moves from the sign of Virgo into the
sign of Libra. Secondly, and more importantly, it is the Fall Equinox.
The celebration of the Fall Equinox - the first day of autumn - is one of the oldest spiritual observances known to man. In the Northern hemisphere, the Fall Equinox marks the day the sun hovers
directly over the equator before it crosses over, moving southward. It
is one of only two days a year when the daylight and the darkness are
equal in length. In fact, the word we use for these moments, equinox,
comes from the Latin words for "equal night."
The seasons and weather played a dominant role in the lives of ancient people, so marking the progression
of the planets was essential for survival. Though it is no longer a
survival issue, these observances are still significant on emotional,
spiritual, and political levels. Especially to certain people.
For the original inhabitants of the Santa Barbara area, the Chumash,
the Fall Equinox was the holiest day of the year. It was a time when
the members of the tribe, after assessing the quality of their material
and spiritual harvests would come together for several days of
celebration and strategic planning. A key component of this was
building unity by focusing the hearts and minds of tribal members on
gratitude, shared values and common goals. |
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In closing, now
is a good time to, in whatever ways work for you, do the same.
Take some time this weekend to assess your personal harvest: materially
and spiritually. Give thanks for what you have, identify what you
will need to get through the winter, and recommit to working more
harmoniously with those in your tribe(s) to attend to the tasks at
hand.
Along those lines,
I have been getting a lot of questions about appropriate Fall
Equinox celebrations and ceremonies. Firstly, thank you for your
questions, you honor me with your trust. Secondly, I have to say you
have to follow your own needs and instincts on this. Especially if
you are of a faith, like Judaism or Islam, which has coinciding
holidays and holy times this year.
There are so many different things you
can do: indoors or out, privately or with others, directed by an
officiant or self-officiated; highly organized or more loosely
structured and fluid. Trust yourself, and honor the energy of the
moment. What I find most often is that the things that worked for me
one year might not the next. Or at least not as exactly. There is a
divinity in the ways things play out, part of your connection to spirit
is your ability to recognize and respond to what is before you. Bottom
line is ithere should be joy in it and it should make you feel more
connected.
Blessings to you!
 ,
xoxoxoxox
Beth
Abel and I at the Ring Stones at Carrowmore, Ireland
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| Schedules |
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Travel
October 1-6, 2007
Phoenix Arizona
October 14 - 21, 2007
Kauai, Hawaii
January 20-27, 2008
Lunar Cycles
Full Moon in Aries Wednesday, Sept. 26th
12:45 pm PDT
New Moon in Libra
Wednesday, Oct. 10th
10:01 pm PDT
Full Moon in Taurus
Thursday, Oct. 25th
9:51 pm PDT
New Moon in Scorpio
Friday, Nov. 9th
2007 - 2008
Neptune Retrograde
May 25th - November 1st
22 degrees Aquarius
through
19 degrees Aquarius
Uranus Retrograde
June 24th - Nov. 24th
18 degrees Pisces
through
14 degrees Pisces
Fall Mercury Retrograde
Oct. 12th - Nov. 2nd
09 degrees Scorpio
through
23 degrees Libra
Mars Retrograde
Nov. 16th - Jan. 31st
12 degrees Cancer
through
24 degrees Gemini
Saturn Retrograde
December 20th - May 3rd
8 degrees Virgo
through
01 degree Virgo
Winter Mercury Retrograde
Jan. 29th - Feb. 19th
23 degrees Aquarius
through
8 degrees Aquarius
Pluto Retrograde
April 3rd - September 9th
01 degree Capricorn
through
28 degrees Sagittarius
Jupiter Retrograde
May 10th - Sept. 8th
22 degrees Capricorn
through
12 degrees Capricorn
Summer Mercury Retrograde
May 27th - June 20th
21 degrees Gemini
through
13 degrees Gemini
*
Lunar and Solar Eclipses
2008
February 7
Solar Annular
February 21
Lunar Total
August 1
Solar Total
August 16
Lunar Partial
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| This Month's
Shameless Plugs |
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Original Art by Jamie O'Toole:
Equinox
Virgo
Photography
Cynthia Harte: SBEP
Network Chiropractic:
Dr. Eric Watts
Avalon Chiropractic
Exquisite Thai Food:
Your Choice
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