Issue 8, November 2007

   Moon Magic
   Astrology Primer
  

Hello Everyone,

First, our apologies for such a long gap between issues 7 and 8 of our newsletter.  We've been busy settling in to our new home in Tara and redefining ourselves and our business in this ancient and beautiful location.

To reduce the download time for you, we've decided to change our newsletter to give only short summaries of the articles, together with a link to the full text on our website.  This gives you control over what you read and when you read it.

However, with all the changes, we've not had too much writing time.   We hope you'll enjoy Ingrid's regular feature on the upcoming Full and New Moons and Barry's description of the signs of the Zodiac in this month's Astrology Primer.

We're planning a full set of articles in December.  In the meantime, keep in mind that we also want to hear from you: do you have something to share with others; could you contribute a short article or whatever?  E-mail us at LifeTimes@Velanova.com.

 Enjoy!

Ingrid and Barry.

Moon Magic

“Change and flux:
In the decay of the old
And the birth of the new,
The rhythm of the feminine.”

Marion Woodman.

Samhain, on October 31st, marks the portal to the spectral grey month of November.  Furrowed fields, peppered with jackdaws in search of the damp remains of the late autumn harvest, lie shrouded in mists of gossamer grey.  The last of the autumn leaves spiral silently down to carpet the fallow earth, leaving black and bare the branches.  Hawthorn berries and rose hips festoon the hedgerows, scarlet jewels set against mossy twigs and evergreen leaves.  The Earth lies silent, receptive, so if we allow ourselves to soften, and slow down, we will feel a slower rhythm … hear the beating of her Great Heart….

In Celtic tradition, Samhain brings a time of endings.  A portal to the Otherworld, where boundaries blur, and those who are not distracted by the passing parade of worldly distractions might feel an inexplicable sorrow that clutches coldly in the closing in of the shortening days. This is the dark of the year.

Ideally, we withdraw,  until  the Winter Solstice brings hope of rebirth and Light.  This is a time of death and dying, a time of deliberate retreat, when we pull back,  enter a sacred space of stillness to review the year gone by.

New Moon in Scorpio

The Scorpio New Moon on November 9^th asked us to deepen, go quietly within, to consider what we needed to leave behind – those painful places where we have left diamond fragments of our souls, old grudges, and futile regrets.  Scorpio energy is about the death and decay of the old, and the birth of the new, so it was appropriate to shed, release, and embrace the rhythm of the new lunar cycle to bring us full circle with the Full Moon on November 24^th.

The Moon represents your moods and emotions, your security needs, and habitual, instinctual response to the world around you. Where the Moon is in your birth chart indicates symbolically where you nurture yourself and how you unconsciously respond to the world. If those underlying needs are understood and embraced, we can move towards becoming more conscious of fragmented aspects of our personalities.

Those of you born with a Scorpio Moon have tremendous capacity for self-transformation – and an ability to explore the depths of darkness within their own psyches if they are willing to walk the road of consciousness awareness.

The intensely emotional energy of the Scorpio Moon brings a need for emotional intensity and commitment within relationship and anything less may make you feel insecure. A Scorpio Moon carries fetid emotional residue and toxic resentment, power struggles, fear of inadequacy, abandonment, alienation, and primal rejection. Entrenched emotional blocks can be eased with Agate which releases rage and emotional trauma, and gives a phoenix-like ability to rise again after trauma.

As you become conscious of different aspects of your personality you will be able to own the forces within that you project onto others and choose to be responsible for the consequences of the choices you make. If you choose to create relationships with the energy of anger, fear, or jealousy, these relationships will mirror the same energies back to you, and you will then learn by experiencing fear and trauma.

The goal of the Scorpio Moon is to learn surrender. With every decision to act with compassion towards yourself and others, you will release discord, fear, and anguish you experience. Crystals can be used much like magic talismans to focus thought and energy into manifesting empowering change in our lives: Green Agate fosters emotional flexibility, Fire Agate dissolves destructive thought patterns, and Moss Agate will help shed emotional baggage if you set a clear intention to do so.

Pluto, the modern ruler of Scorpio, in the final degrees of Sagittarius, and Mars, the traditional ruler, in Cancer at this New Moon, brings focus on where we have to release outgrown patterns of being, forgoing blind faith, and moving towards consciousness to eliminate all that is rotten in religion, laws, ethics, morality. Pluto’s ingress into Capricorn in February 2008 marks the beginning of a new evolutionary cycle as we co-create new political and social structures. It is always easier to see in retrospect the effect of shifts in collective consciousness and global change, so Pluto’s passage through the sign of Capricorn will perhaps only become clear after the fallout.

Pluto in Capricorn might bring greater global responsibility to our fragile Home, a new approach to world government, interdependence and unity, rather than separation and fear, or projecting our collective shadow onto The Scapegoat. Pluto’s journey through the sign of Capricorn from 2008 to 2022 might bring us into a collective awareness that all is rotten in the State. The stench of tyranny, corruption, or misuse of power in banks, corporations, and governments, will need to be re-visioned. Our collective consciousness might move to embrace the re-visioning of God The Father – the authoritarian, vengeful God who punishes those who do not comply with his Word, to integrate the male and female energy and bring our collective awareness to a higher consciousness.

Full Moon in Gemini

The silvery brilliance of the Full Moon is a creative time, a time of fruition, a time when we can manifest and live out the renewal and resurrection and be energetic in the world – birthing our creations – outwardly active and vital in who we are, a time of extroversion. The lunar energy this Full Moon on Novemeber 24^th is communicative, thoughtful, bringing focus on the quality of the information we take in – junk mail, icon-toppling television that demeans, news stories that are exaggerated and fear-based. The Full Moon brings the unmanifested into consciousness. At this Full Moon we need to focus on an issue and see it clearly, as if for the first time – a relationship, a project, a decision, or a moral issue – whatever it is for you, personally, this Full Moon stands in inquisitive opposition to the fiery Sagittarian Sun symbolizing a collective need for truth and balance. Clear communication, conscious awareness. What are your own beliefs? How do you distill the truth from the falsehoods?

If the Moon is in Gemini in your birth chart, you may be a facile communicator, with an emotional need for mental stimulation, an urge to gather information, to network, to learn through conversation and connections with others. With the Moon in Gemini, your greatest need is to be heard, to be validated, and you might find it difficult to delve deeply into your emotions. You may rationalize and intellectualise them, or play the puer who never grows up and dances through life, forever young, deeply attached to no-one. Blue Topaz would be a good stone to recognise the old scripts and to identify where you have strayed from your own truth, cutting through fear at the mental level. Rhodochrosite helps embrace emotions and encourages the expression of your passion in life.

New Moon in Sagittarius

This December 9^th New Moon brings a lighter, more optimistic feel and you might notice you feel more impulsive and restless if you are tuning into the energy on this day.

Spend spend spend…. Our commercially-driven culture urges extravagance, excess, acquisition of objects of desire. This is the month when we may splurge on things we do not need and cannot afford, swept up like lemmings on the surge of Christmas giving – falling over the cliffs clutching our tacky duty gifts lacking in heart and true generosity. Set the intention at this New Moon to tap into your inner resources, and be honest and open – if you are buying someone a gift this season, buy it from sacred heart space. Set the intention to be conscious of the wants and desires of your personality, and the deep needs of your soul.

Moon crystals for you if you are working at drawing in the energy of this New Moon would be Apophyllite, the Stone of Truth, Topaz to keep connected to your inner wisdom, and Charoite to help you to live in the present moment and not in future where grass is potentially greener!

To know more about your own Moon Sign or for an in-depth telephonic consultation, please e-mail Ingrid directly.

Our art this month comes from Jessica Galbreth, whose faery and fairy art, goddess art, gothic and dark fantasy art, Celtic art and more are available at www.enchanted-art.com

Astrology Primer

This month’s primer provides an opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with the symbolism of the signs of the Zodiac. While many people think about the signs only in the context of their Sun sign (or star sign of the newspaper horoscopes), the signs are more correctly considered as energy filters that colour the action of every planet in the chart. In that sense, we need to look at them not only in terms of identity (the Sun sign), but also for emotional reactions (Moon sign), communication approach (Mercury sign) and so on. There are many ways to group the signs, and in this article, we’ll look at them by element, which brings signs of similar energies together.

The Fire Signs

Fire expresses energy, light and vitality. It is the driving force from which newness arises. This novelty may be in the form of material goods, ideas or emotions; but only with fire can anything new begin. Fire is positive, exuberant, enthusiastic, but if it gets out of control, it can consume all around it.

Aries: Cardinal Fire, 1st sign of the Zodiac

The Ram is forthright and forceful. It’s the pioneering spirit, the pure energy of action for its own sake. The identity of Aries is the warrior; its journey is existential courage.

Leo: Fixed Fire, 5th sign of the Zodiac

The Lion is the king or queen. The sign expresses the strong and sure sense of self expression, heart, pride and creative energy. Its identity is dignity and power; the lion’s journey is personal identity.

Sagittarius: Mutable Fire, 9th sign of the Zodiac

The Archer’s sights are set in the distance, wherever his arrow may fall. He is the gypsy, the student, the philosopher. The Sagittarius identity is faith and journeying; his journey is unceasing quest.

The Earth Signs

Earth is stable, steady, dependable. You place your feet on it and feel grounded. Earth is the element from which we grow our bodies and create material goods. It is sensuous and fertile. In earth we connect to every molecule of the physical, living universe.

Taurus: Fixed Earth, 2nd sign of the Zodiac

The Bull stands calm and serene in the meadow. It is connected to earth, its own strength, the music of the universe. Its identity is the builder, constructer of security; the Bull’s journey is simply to be.

Virgo: Mutable Earth, 6th sign of the Zodiac

The Virgin is purity, attached to nothing, owned by no man. She’s a seeker of perfection on earth, personal growth and bodily care. Her identity is the servant and the goddess; her journey is humility.

Capricorn: Cardinal Earth, 10th sign of the Zodiac

The Sea-Goat, an impossible combination in reality, is the symbol of ultimate, absolute power. Ambitious, mountain-climbing, the Sea-Goat seeks worldly status. But its identity lies in its inner integrity; its journey solitude and personal honour.

The Air Signs

Air is in constant motion, ever changeable, abstract. Impossible to grab hold of, air stands for thoughts and concepts, words and images; an unseen, yet vital, component of the human consciousness. It allows us to dream and to plan, to plot and envision, but in and of itself, it can create nothing physical.

Gemini: Mutable Air, 3rd sign of the Zodiac

The Twins’ duality is communicative, gathering data, seeking the lost other. Gemini gathers the puzzle pieces of the world to try to make sense of them. The Twins’ identity is endless curiosity; their journey to see everything.

Libra: Cardinal Air, 7th sign of the Zodiac

The Scales, impersonal and inanimate, strive for balance and harmony. They weigh the opposing options, evaluate relationships, measure aesthetics. Its identity is partnership; the journey is to reach equilibrium.

Aquarius: Fixed Air, 11th sign of the Zodiac

The Water Bearer, despite its name, is an Air sign and a seeker of knowledge. He seeks perfect solutions, utopias, ultimate truth. His identity is intellectual freedom; his journey individuality perfected in the collective.

The Water Signs

Water is fluid, inconstant and physically powerful. It seeps into the depths of our emotional core, finding its own path from wellspring to ocean. It is the music of our souls, sometimes peaceful, other times furious. Water expresses the principles of our feelings, our past and the emotional depths we strive to plumb.

Cancer: Cardinal Water, 4th sign of the Zodiac

The Crab is vulnerable, caring, loving. Safe in its shell, it is creative, but only when it risks leaving its shell can it grow. The Crab’s identity is mother, minder, nurturer; its journey is to love, trust and accept life.

Scorpio: Fixed Water, 8th sign of the Zodiac

The Scorpion, but also the ancient Eagle, is the intense, emotional power of life and death. Its feelings so sharp, so deep, it fears to expose them. The Scorpion’s identity is power and privacy; the journey to live every moment as if it were the last.

Pisces: Mutable Water, 12th sign of the Zodiac

The Fishes swim in the vast ocean of all human emotion, the collective connection to Spirit. They feel for everything and everyone, to the point where escape for the world seems the only option. Their identity is compassion; their journey the return to Source.