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2009
Event &
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To schedule readings, regressions or events, or to purchase gift certificates,
please call
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10th Annual
Holiday Gift Certificate Sale
50% off - No Limit
Each year in December
I have a gift certificate sale, wherein you can buy gift certificates
for a one hour session with me for half price. Starting December
1st and running through December 31st, you can buy these gift
certificates for $100 each. You can buy as many as you want, and there
is no expiration date. You can buy them to use as gifts for business
associates, friends and loved ones, or you can use them for yourself as
a hedge against troubled times or to get a jump start on strategic
planning for the New Year.
SIMPLY THE BEST
WEDDING SHOWCASE
Santa Barbara
Women's Club
(Rockwood)
Yes,
folks, Bonnie is at it again, and I am on board. This year's show will
be better than ever! For more information, contact the amazing,
effervescent Bonnie Hope
of Music by Bonnie
805-965-8294
or go to
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November 16th
11:44 am PST
Waxing
Half Moon
in
Pisces
November 24th
1:39 pm PST
Full Moon
in
Gemini
December 1st
11:30 pm PST
in
Virgo
December 8th
4:13 pm PST
New Moon
in
Sagittarius
December 16th
4:02 am PST
2009 - 2010
December 31st
Lunar Partial
January 15th
Solar Annular
June 26th
Lunar Partial
July 11th
Solar Total
December 21st
Lunar Total
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and
Photography
Holiday Pumpkin
Harvest Scene
Eric Watts
Beth McDonald
Harvest Lights
Jamie O'Toole
Gap Fire Smoke at Sunset
Eric Watts
Champagne Toast for Two
Jamie O'Toole
Aries, The Ram
Jamie O'Toole
Nasturtium Twins
Jamie O'Toole
Blue Moon
Jamie O'Toole
Jamie O'Toole
Jamie O'Toole
The Scales
Jamie O'Toole
Samhain Moon
Jamie O'Toole
Rainbow at Prince Kuhio
Eric Watts
The Water Bearer
Jamie O'Toole
Lawai Beach Sunset
Eric Watts
Portrait
Chris Schilling
Lihue Pagoda
Eric Watts
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Giving Thanks in 2009 - For All of It
Historically,
gratitude is a big part of the harvest season and celebrations of
virtually every culture. And at this time of year, I cannot help but
notice the connection between one's astrological sign (or dominant
astrological energies) and one's willingness and ability to be in a
state of gratitude. There just definitely seems to be a correlation
between your sign and the places where gratitude is easy and not so
easy, between your sign's gifts, graces and life lessons and the things
you love, and, ummmmm, love less about your life.
For
a long time I had been looking for a vehicle to address this, but
couldn't find it. Then my community was hit by a series of
catastrophes. First the Zaca Fire, then the Gap Fire, and then the Tea
Fire. All within 16 months. So by Thanksgiving of 2008, I had found my
vehicle. Or perhaps it had found me.
At
that point, the tanking economy and the results of the 2008 election
created many things, one of them being extreme changes in the concept
of gratitude. It had simply taken on a whole new meaning, especially
for most Barbarenos. So I broke from tradition, or maybe started a new
one, in sending out an extra blog at Thanksgiving, centered on
gratitude. Motivated by my personal feelings, and by what I was seeing
around me in my family, my neighborhood, my friends and clients, and
the community as a whole, it just seemed like the thing to do.
This
year, the big motivating influence is the evaporating job market -
and the kind of trickle-down economic avalanche it creates - and yet,
somehow my experiences and observations are very, very similar. I am so
moved and inspired by the epic heroism I see in so many, as they simply
rise to the occasions in their day-to-day lives. And in that process
find strengths and gifts and graces they never knew existed. Thanks for
that. Here is a little token of my esteem. |
The Very Generic and Experiential
Zodiac-Based Guide
to Gratitude and Thanksgiving
Aries: Your
constellation is the Ram, and the inherent graces of your sign are your
robust physicality, Herculean strength, and confident decisiveness.
Those things are usually pretty easy to be grateful for, so start
there. And then move to gratitude for anything you have won, conquered,
or taken, especially recently, for you are quite good at that and not
everyone has such rewarding, ummmm, hobbies. However, for
those born under your sign, all emotion - much less gratitude itself -
is usually a life lesson. So as an exercise in discipline, give thanks
for what emotional facility and awareness you do have. This year, the
influences of transiting Saturn and Pluto give you opportunities to
achieve some things you really want, if you can not pick fights with
those who are trying to help you. Pray for help with that. A lot.
Taurus: Your
constellation is the Bull, and the inherent graces of your sign are
your amazingly rare combination of strength and beauty. No one can do
as much as easily and look as good doing it as you guys. So start your
gratitude list there. Less accessible, perhaps, is gratitude for those
who do not believe as you do, or who are not currently on the same page
as you, or who you have determined to be lacking in your version of fabulosity.
So be grateful for them, too, and for all that they give and teach you.
It is your experiences with these folks that truly help you be grateful
for the muses that inspire you, and for those who love you and who help
you achieve your goals. Pray for the willingness and ability to have
more balance between giving and getting, firmness and flexibility.
Gemini:
Your constellation is the Twins, and the inherent graces of your sign
are your ability to be a fast and graceful learner, and to see and work
both sides of any issue, anyone, or anything. You are, after all, the magician.
So be grateful for that, as on a good day it enables you to contribute
so much to your community and the people in it. However, it is
significantly less fun and easy to be anything near remotely grateful
for anything resembling reality itself. And the rules, boundaries and
limitations it always seems to be imposing on you. Be grateful
for that, too, or at least try to begin trying to try. This has been a
very big year for you. Despite your best efforts to the contrary, you
have grown up quite a lot and are truly better for it. Pray for the
willingness to continue to cooperate.
Cancer:
Your constellation is the Crab, and the inherent grace of your sign is
your ability to be the iron hand in the velvet glove. Seriously, you own
that territory. Given that, be grateful for your tough exoskeleton:
that hard outer shell that repels the proverbial slings and arrows of
whatever your personal outrageous fortune happens to be. That sucker is
gorgeous, plus it protects your soft, sweet heart. It is less
easy to be grateful for change in any form or fashion, especially when
it comes to home and hearth, kith and ken. Better find a way, baby, and
fast. As the past year has been full of karma-laden changes, be
grateful you got what you prayed for and that you can see the divinity
of it, even though it came in an entirely different package than you
had expected. Pray for the courage to respond appropriately to change,
even when you don't want to.
Leo: Your constellation is the
Lion, and the inherent grace of your sign is your ability to shine
brightly, no matter how dark and weird the circumstances. Therefore, it
is easy to be grateful for the ways and places that you are the exalted
ruler, the anointed king, the eagerly awaited messiah, and the
geographic center of your universe. So do it, con mucho gusto.
It is less easy to be grateful for the places where you are not. So do
that, too, as it is a bit of a life lesson for you. And this year ya
just gotta figure it out. Mars' exalted presence in your sign this
holiday season - and it's retrograde therein - makes you acutely
aware of and grateful for the places where you are an honorary Aries
and have achieved your goals despite many obstacles and setbacks. Pray
that you continue to be so fortunate. And able.
Virgo:
Your constellation is the Virgin, and the inherent grace of your sign
is your ability to relentlessly pursue perfection, especially in
others. Your commitment to building a better mousetrap and creating a
more perfect union is unparalleled in the zodiac. And slightly annoying
to others, especially non-Virgos. Regardless, be grateful for it, as it
is you folks and you folks alone that are responsible for the world
being as good as it is. And then be grateful for the imperfections of
this world, for it gives you something to do (just what would you do otherwise?).
This year, the spiritual quest you have undertaken has helped you see
and integrate disparate parts of your psyche, especially some of the
more troublesome aspects of that pesky shadow. Be exceptionally
grateful for the courage it took to do that. Pray for the willingness
and ability to continue to turn the pure light of your focus inward
upon yourself.
Libra: Your constellation is the
Scales, and the inherent grace of your sign is your unwavering
commitment to finding fair-minded solutions that serve the highest good
of all involved. Even if it takes decades, and even if you are the only
one who cares. So start by being grateful for that. It may be
substantially more difficult to be grateful for the people who do not
understand or share your commitment, but do it, for they also serve.
This year give thanks for the ease and grace with which you now move
through your life, as it has not always been so. Consequently, be
grateful also for the degree to which you have relinquished your
addiction to struggle. Your life really can be this good,
baby, and better. The influences of transiting Saturn and Pluto
this year provide you with opportunities to create even more harmony
and order in your world. Pray that you can take full advantage of them
in order to create more.
Scorpio: Your constellation is the
Scorpion, and the inherent graces of your sign are your unfailing
ability to keep your eyes on the prize, and to remain on your path
undaunted by trials and toil. It is easy to be grateful for that, so
start there. It is less easy to be grateful for the places where you
have to yield your will of the whole, so be grateful for the degree to
which you have learned to gracefully do that. Seriously.
Learning that has been an epic journey for you.While there is much to
be grateful for this year, be especially grateful you have learned how
to be such a team player. You still have a ways to go with it, but you
have taken a lot of ground. Pray the unruly mob you run with doesn't
turn on you and kill you before you figure it out.
Sagittarius: Your
constellation is the Centaur, and the inherent graces of your sign are
your intellectual curiosity, tolerance, a commitment to enlightenment,
and a love of adventure, so being grateful for those things is
generally easy. Start there. It is less easy to be grateful for the
obligations and responsibilities of your mortal coil, as they seriously
erode your play time. But find a way, for that is the crucible where
your talent and training are forged into more, ummmm, practical
applications. Plus it's a life lesson, so you need to at least look
like you are taking a stab at it. This year be grateful you have been
so clever and successful at increasing your tolerance for reality. And
your ability to just deal. Honestly. You have heroically
stood to face every challenge and, consequently, increased your
threshold substantially. Now pray for the willingness and ability to
find ways to make it fun.
Capricorn:
Your constellation is the Goat, and the inherent grace of your sign is
your ability to cling to the sheer cliffs and trails of the rocky
mountains you traverse, as you attempt to uphold those traditions and
best practices of our elders which are relevant and still serve us. So
start there. It is much harder to appreciate anything when you are
afraid of being or having less than you currently do, or less than your
neighbor currently is or does. So be grateful for the ways and places where you are the Buddha,
and acutely aware that fear creates suffering. You have learned to
laugh at yourself this year, having more of a sense of humor with the
things that bedevil and beguile you. Which, for you, is no mean feat.
So be very, very grateful for that. Now pray for the willingness and
ability to like it.
Aquarius: Your
constellation is the Water-Bearer, and the inherent graces of your sign
are your Spock-like ability to be blithely free of most human emotions,
which allows you to pursue your humanitarian vision unencumbered by the
sorts of impediments that bog down the rest of the human race. So
start there. It is less easy to deal with the small-minded cretins who
do not understand or share your commitment to making the world a better
place for all its people. So go there, too, for through them and their
resistance you learn to be even better at what you do. This has been a
year of extraordinary achievement for you, some of it planned and some
not. Be grateful for the degree to which you have become a master
strategist, and for the places where you are simply lucky. And pray for
the ability to continue both, for there are a lot of proverbial miles
to go before you sleep.
Pisces: Your constellation is the Fish, and the
inherent graces of your sign are your ability to go back and forth
between extremes: swimming upstream and downstream, utter constraint
and complete freedom, genius and insanity. This life aquatic would make
most folks nuts, but not you. So be grateful for your water dance, and
for the ease with which you can do something others cannot. It is less
easy for you to be grateful for the confusion your differences cause in
or for others, but find a way, as only high levels of confusion will
cause you to stop swimming, establish connection, and clarify. And
confusion is the catalyst for all your growth. This year transiting
Uranus has brought you unprecedented opportunities for transformation,
many of which you have seized. Be grateful you have been bold enough to
take them; they are the bridges to your dreams. Now pray for the next
steps to become as clear. |
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Postscript
Sorry about the Samhain newsletter this year, guys. Seriously.
It just did not happen. I usually write most of it during my
annual pre-Samhain pilgrimage to Kauai. Though technically ruled by
Leo, the Hawaiian Islands have a distinctly Scorpionic feel to me, and
there has just been something awfully appropriate about writing the
Samhain blog there. So for years now I have.
On the
first day of the trip this year, I got word from the mainland my
elderly father was seriously injured in a fall, shattering his L2
vertebrae. The surgeon decided Dad was unlikely to survive a surgery,
and ordered him home for 2-3 months of bed rest, which he is almost
equally as unlikely to survive. Since then, shepherding my ohana through this transition has been a bit of a priority, to say the least.
Mahalo
to those of you who have been there at the right time in the right
place with the right words or kindnesses. There are a lot of you, and
you cannot have any idea the positive power and impact of your
choices, or the depth of my gratitude. Mahalo also
to those of you who have been praying for us. I have had the
most profound spiritual experiences of my life in the last
six weeks, thanks in no small part to you. Mahalo also
to those of you who have travelled this road already, for nobly blazing
the trail and generously sharing your wisdom with me. I, like so many
women of my age, am now faced with having to let go of - or at
least loosen my grip on - some of things I love in order to care for
the people I love. On the one hand, it's just life, and I have watched
dozens of others go through it. And because of that, I sort of know the
drill. But on the other hand, you are just never quite ready when it
happens to you. So thanks for showing me the way, and for reminding me
once again that we'll figure it out.
Blessings,
Beth |
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