Astrology in my world

Sunday Poetry: Sweet Darkness

This is a very personal poem for me right now. I’m in the midst of some intense planetary alignments involving progressed Mars and Pluto (geeky astrological details below) which I have been observing with some trepidation. Would I get in an accident? Set fire to my house? Blow up all of my relationships? But I forgot that Mars is all about the purification of the ego through desire. Connecting with the higher aspect of our own selves to see what it is that our soul is desiring. The questions began to change. How do I want to spend my time? What will bring me the most joy in service to humanity? How can I be the best friend, partner, adviser while still walking a path that is mine alone?

Then I found this beautiful poem from David Whyte. It’s not the typical kind of inspiration I try to bring to these pages on Sunday but perhaps it will speak to you as well. ❤️❤️❤️

artist unknown

Sweet Darkness
When your eyes are tired
the world is tired also.
When your vision has gone,
no part of the world can find you.

Time to go into the dark
where the night has eyes
to recognize its own.
There you can be sure
you are not beyond love.
The dark will be your home
tonight.

The night will give you a horizon
further than you can see.
You must learn one thing.
The world was made to be free in.
Give up all the other worlds
except the one to which you belong.

Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn
anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.
~ David […]

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By |2021-09-26T07:49:50-04:00September 26th, 2021|Astrology in my world, Inspiration|8 Comments
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Sunday inspiration: Transforming through sadness and presence

Saturn and Pluto are bearing down on the Saturn system in my own chart, and I am really focused right now on the idea of presence and surrender because with Saturn and Pluto there really is no other choice.  I so love this writing from Rainer Maria Rilke, which speaks of the ways in which we can use our negative emotions as a doorway through which to find the alchemy of personal transformation. (art by Emily Ballivet)

It seems to me that almost all our sadnesses are moments of tension, which we feel as paralysis because we no longer hear our astonished emotions living. Because we are alone with the unfamiliar presence that has entered us; because everything we trust and are used to is for a moment taken away from us; because we stand in the midst of a transition where we cannot remain standing.

That is why the sadness passes: the new presence inside us, the presence that has been added, has entered our heart, has gone into its innermost chamber and is no longer even there, is already in our bloodstream. And we don’t know what it was. We could easily be made to believe that nothing happened, and yet we have changed, as a house that a guest has entered changes. We can’t say who has come, perhaps we will never know, but many signs indicate that the future enters us in this way in order to be transformed in us, long before it happens.

And that is why it is so important to be solitary and attentive when one is sad: because the seemingly uneventful and motionless moment when our future steps into us is so much closer to life […]

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By |2019-11-24T08:28:52-05:00November 24th, 2019|Astrology in my world, Inspiration|6 Comments
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Sunday inspiration: Creating the Now

Photo by Andrew Offield

In my own life, Pluto has been hammering my Libra stellium for the past two years (geeky astrological details: Saturn/Sun/Neptune squared by Uranus) and I have been forced to take a hard look at much of my life to see how the boxes I’ve put myself in (Saturn/Sun) have kept me from my longing to connect with soul (Neptune/Sun).  Uranus of course is always resisting boxes of any kind, and tends to want to keep things moving and ever changing.  In my heart I long for stillness and the solace of nature.

I’m finally beginning to understand this idea of the Now.  It has taken a lot of less-doing and more presence.  For me it means walking the dog without listening to a podcast.  Taking a few extra minutes to meditate in the morning despite the long task list I create mentally before I get out of bed.  Practicing gratitude rather than complaints.  Finally getting around to writing morning pages – if not daily, at least on a regular basis.

For all these reasons I chose this quote from Eckart Tolle for today’s inspiration post.  I hope it means as much to you as it does to me. ❤️

The quality of your consciousness at this moment is what shapes the future—which, of course, can only be experienced as the Now.

If it is the quality of your consciousness at this moment that determines the future, then what is it that determines the quality of your consciousness? Your degree of presence.So the only place where true change can occur and where the past can be dissolved is the Now.

You think that your attention is in the present […]

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By |2019-11-17T07:41:06-05:00November 17th, 2019|Astrology in my world, Inspiration|1 Comment
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Astrology in my world: Saturn Neptune and the limits of intuition

Saturn and Neptune are both important factors in my chart.  Wrapping around my Sun, they cloak me in a confusing vise between Saturn’s pressure for structured discipline, goals and achievement and Neptune’s siren call to let go of the material world and merge with the Divine. Saturn is a personal planet and represents the voice in our head which is always driving us to improve and be better.  Neptune is a transpersonal planet, acting as a divine force to inspire us to ascend into a higher expression of our lives and attain samadhi, or a state of bliss that transcends the earthly plane.  Saturn and Neptune are not natural allies, although if we can learn to integrate these energies rather than live out the conflict, our lives become easier and not as fraught with tension. Some of the conflicts inherent in difficult Saturn/Neptune aspects (conjunctions, squares and oppositions) include judgment/compassion, material world/spiritual world, success/failure, perfectionism/creativity.

There are many stories that I could tell about my own Saturn/Neptune situation, but the one that is most interesting to me at the moment is the stress caused by my current attempt to study music theory and how that ties into my astrological practice.

With the Sun conjunct Neptune, my chart does show some musical talent and in fact I have played a variety of instruments over the years.  However, my Gemini ascendant has made it difficult to choose one, so my instrument count at the moment is up to seven.  Compounding that is my limited attention span and my love for shiny new objects (thanks a lot Gemini!), as well as guilt (Saturn/Sun) over not practicing enough.  You can see how this would […]

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By |2019-09-21T08:17:58-04:00September 20th, 2019|Astrology in my world|8 Comments
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Sunday musings: Follow your own path

Deviant Art (click to enlarge)

As an astrologer, there are many different roads to travel.  Some astrologers prefer writing to client consultations.  Some like to teach.  Some follow the more traditional paths into medieval, Renaissance or Hellenistic astrology.  Some explore newer ideas with evolutionary astrology or human design.

My path has always been one of personal transformation, effected through writing and therapeutic personal consultations.  I have Gemini (the sign of communication) rising, my Leo Moon is in the third house of communication, and my Mercury (planet of communication) is in Scorpio where I like to go deep into the meaning of things, and in the sixth house where I like to use that knowledge to help people.

In today’s world of social media there are so many ways to tell your story.  For nearly 15 years this blog has been my mouthpiece, and despite rumors of the demise of blogging it is still a viable platform.  In an effort to remain relevant, I’ve stretched my story into Instagram and Youtube to see whether those outlets would be useful.  It’s been an interesting adventure, but for now I’m staying in my own lane of writing and demonstrating the magic of astrology through stories of people and events that shape our world.

I’ve always heard, and know it to be true, that when you follow your own path you attract just the right people to follow that path with you.  I’ve been told I’m a good public speaker, but I don’t love it.  What I love is writing and channeling just the right words to tell the astrological story of the topic I have chosen.  Over the years I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to speak to […]

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