Thursday, April 26, 2018

The Cosmic Story: Scorpio Full Moon & Beltaine 2018

The Cosmic Story: Scorpio Full Moon 20018
Beltane & Wesak Full Moon




Beltaine

Gaia really blossoms in May as we welcome in Beltane, the 2nd cross-quarter fire festival of the Wheel of the Year, from April 30th to May 5th. This is my favorite time of the year, not only because it’s my birthday but because Spring begins to really blossom now. Nature adorns herself in sweet smells and soft breezes, gorgeous colors and vibrant greens, bright sunny skies and happy faces. We really know in our bodies that Winter is behind us and Summer is on its way.



This is the time to dance the Maypole, weaving the ribbons of masculine and feminine life energies, weaving sweet desire and blossoming hope in our hearts. Gaia opens up her treasure trove of blessings and we all get to share in her abundance and fertility – not only of the body, but also of the mind, heart and spirit.

For the month of Taurus inhales all that Aries fire and gives it a form. What we have to remember is that the form is also Spirit, Spirit made manifest. While Taurus often gets a rap for being too possessive, too materialistic (it is the most fixed and earthy of earth signs), too concerned with security, in reality Taurus knows that this Earth and all her children are really a concrete form of Spirit. It is only our modern culture that has forgotten and denies this truth, and be-spells us into thinking our material wealth will keep us safe and happy. For we have forgotten how to see Spirit in everything around us, lost in the flat Earth illusion that Spirit resides somewhere in the heavens. 

The truth is, Earth’s life is beautiful! And Spirit walks in beauty. How can we learn to love Spirit if we have no images and feelings to connect us to that Great Mystery? The Earth and Taurus give us a visceral experience of the beauty, peace and majesty of the Unseen Spirit. Of the creative possibilities of Life.

So we ask ourselves, how can we collaborate with Mother Gaia to strengthen the Life She so freely offers us? Because these years are the most crucial in our lifetime. These are the years when we either integrate the new life of true freedom, compassion and community in our world, or we let it fall apart and into more war and death.

We are called to a new story of Life. We are called to weave these energies together for the coming year, to balance our inner feminine and masculine energies, as well as our outer relationships between the sexes. We need both men and women to birth a new world, just as we need a mother and a father to create a child. And to deepen that metaphor, it is through pleasure and connection that we do create new life, isn’t it? Later this year, both Venus and Mars will go retrograde, giving us a chance to renew these energies and refresh their bond.

While women have been working on finding our own unique gifts and powers for some time now, men have been feeling left behind. But this is changing. I’m seeing men integrate their feminine side in many ways – planting gardens, taking care of their children, hanging out at the YMCA and singing together! Taking care of their own health needs, both at the supermarket and at the gym. Calling out other men for bad behavior and taking responsibility for past behaviors.



Just as women have been reconnecting to the ancient goddesses to discover our lost heritage, men need to rediscover their mythological roots. The best story I can offer men is that of King Arthur, the Once and Future King. Arthur is the archetypal King, who protects his land from death and destruction, who creates a kingdom of peace and prosperity and who presides over the great quest for men – to attain the Holy Grail of a deep and spiritual vision of life. Like all myths and fairy tales, the Arthurian stories help us navigate through uncertain times.

Guess what? The Future is NOW! Let’s invoke the return of the King, for we need the power, protection and honor of the masculine intellect to embrace the vision, love and creativity of the feminine imagination. Just as we need men and women to stand together to bring about the changes we need to protect our children’s future.

So Happy Beltane. If you have a partner, go out and make love in the fields! Or at least, find a Maypole to dance around.

Buddhist Wesak Moon

This Taurus-Scorpio Full Moon is know as the Wesak Moon, celebrating the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death. This gives us a symbolic picture of what the Buddha spoke of. Taurus is manifest reality while Scorpio speaks to the inner realms of desires, feelings and transformation. It is where we transform our inner feeling realm, letting emotions that no longer serve us die so we can create energetic space for new life. Once we get over the illusion that we are only our body and understand that it houses our Spirit, we are transformed. We no longer have to fear life. We can live it!

So go sit under your own private Bodhi Tree, face your demons until they turn into flowers and die to your old story.

Taurus-Scorpio Full Moon 2018

This Scorpio Full Moon occurs on April 29th at 5:58pm PDT and at 8:58pm EDT. And on April 30th at 12:58am GMT.




The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 10* Taurus is: A red cross nurse. This is a symbol that consecrates us to all of humanity. The first red cross nurse, Clair Barton, went out to the battlefields of the American Civil War, caring for the wounded and dying. This is the agape love that will go into the darkness of death to help and serve others. Are you ready to join up?

The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 10* Scorpio is: A fellowship supper reunites old comrades. We’ve done this before, you know. We’ve all worked to help humanity before and we’ve come back to do it again in this time of need and evolution. So find your people and band together, because there’s work to do.

These two images bring to mind a program I heard on NPR this morning about veterans and our role in helping them. We can’t leave it up to the government to take care of them because the system isn’t working. It’s up to us to help, so find a way to either help veterans or some others who need help in your community and get to work making life better for them.



Out of the Uranus-infused Aries New Moon, we come to the Scorpio-Taurus Full Moon, ready to discover what is blocking our Awakening. A seed bearing a lightning bolt of energy, the New Moon we planted can give rise to something new and unexpected. Our ego might struggle with giving up control, but who really has control with Uranus? With him we have to learn to expect the unexpected. If we go with the flow of life energy, which is running high on a springtime flood, we might find ourselves in a new place, a new energy, a new possibility.


Uranus is the liberator, the energy that can pull us out of our rut and kick us into the future. After 7 years in Aries, we’ve hopefully connected to our archetypal identities to help us answer the Aries question, who am I? These were the years of the Pluto/Uranus waxing square, the one calling us to the Hero’s Journey. Think back to 2012 and look at our world now. The old patriarchal paradigm is convulsing in its death throes, while people are finally rising up and taking responsibility for their needs and desires.

The Parkland survivors are going to bring down the NRA’s powerful hold on the American government, American teachers are striking all over the country, the courts are standing up (for the most part) to the American President and his corporate cronies and the world is waking up to the environmental dangers of climate change. And most importantly, people are acting like citizens rather than consumers. We will ground in the visionary changes of the 60s, bringing gender equality, social and racial justice, environmental, food and health safety and peace to the world. We just have to stand up. And keep standing up.



That’s where Chiron comes in. Chiron has been traveling through Pisces from April 2010 to April 2018, bringing a profound spiritual transformation to us. As of last week, April 18th, Chiron moved into Aries (it will return to Pisces for a short stay from late September 2018 to mid February 2019). While we see Chiron as the Wounded Healer, which he has been while in Pisces, we need to remember that before he was wounded, he was the Mentor of Heroes.

And that’s what his role in Aries will be. We have to get over our wounds and turn them into our strengths. Because to change the world, we will have to stand strong, perhaps suffer and ultimately win through to a new world order – one that ‘we the peoplecreate rather than our corporate masters. With his mentoring we can develop wisdom, temperance, courage and justice – Plato’s ideal of human excellence and a just society.

My new favorite fantasy writer is Sarah Maas, who creates new mythologies out of the deep myths of the past. She has created characters who take a stand against the evils of their world, fighting against tremendous odds, suffering untold pains and yet coming through it unconquered. And winning through to a new world of peace and community. I’m not going to say what we have ahead of us will be easy, or even pleasant all the time (as we’re already seeing). But if we hold true to our values (Taurus) and face Death (Scorpio) with a centered heart, we will come through for ourselves and our world.

That’s the message I get from this Scorpio Full Moon. It is square the Nodes – at the bendings. What this means is that when we can face our own darkness – you can scream and shout at the pain it causes – and yet come through it because that is what is necessary to accomplish our goals, we will awaken the new Queen and King (Leo North Node) and establish the Round Table (Aquarius South Node) and bring new life, new hope and new vision to our world.

Taurus is the Earth Mother who provides us with the fertility of Spring so we can prosper as the year turns. Scorpio is the Death Goddess who takes back what is no longer viable. Life and death are two sides of the same coin. We are born into this life knowing only one thing for sure. At its’ end we will die. What we make of the middle is up to us. Let us burn brightly and do our best to fill it with love, creativity, art, beauty, truth, justice and honor.

At this powerful Full Moon, we get to look at ourselves in the mirror of eternity. Who were we before this lifetime? Who will we become after? What fears hold us in a timeless frozen state that disconnects us from our soul’s eternal journey? We’ve all been raped and pillaged, and we’ve all raped and pillaged. We are mirror images of each other, and yet unique. This is our chance to recreate ourselves in our soul’s image instead of the world’s image. This is our chance to meet the world’s needs rather than just our own. This is our chance to dance with our destiny.

Who do you want to be in the future? Because Uranus is going to leave Aries on May 15th, at the Taurus New Moon, and dip his toes into Taurus for about 6 months before returning to check back into Aries before settling into Taurus from March 6, 2019 to April 26, 2026. Collectively, Uranus in Taurus will see us developing new innovative ways to live and protect the environment. Personally, we will develop new ways of relating to our bodies and to the Earth. We’ll wake our bodies up from their long patriarchal-induced sleep and even begin to use more of our brain and DNA. 

This is when we can become the Possible Human, consciously evolving with Mother Earth to change course and perhaps even create a paradise here on Earth.

To help us awaken to our deep need for renewal and rebirth, Mars and Pluto joined together on Thursday April 26th, motivating us toward our new goals and story. Saturn retrograde in Capricorn trines the Taurus Sun and sextiles the Scorpio Moon, helping us develop the inner motivation and responsibility to keep going and change. 

Neptune in Pisces and Jupiter in Scorpio open us to the emotional intelligence to listen to Spirit and stay in touch with the love and compassion we need to face our challenges.
Get excited about the possibilities of life. Don’t linger on the pain and anger – that just feeds the beast. Imagine! Create! Love! Feel! That’s what Taurus asks of us.

Walk in beauty,
                    Cathy


Please LIKE and SHARE.
Copyright 2018 Cathy Pagano



Rapture

Who knows the mysteries of the poppies
when you look across the red fields,
or hear the sound of long thunder,
then the saving rain.
Everything beautiful,
the solitude of the single body
or sometimes, too, when the body is kissed
on the lips or hands or eyelids tender.
Oh for the pleasure of living in a body.
It may be, it may one day be
this is a world haunted by happiness,
where people finally are loved
in the light of leaves,
the feel of bird wings passing by.
Here it might be that no one wants power.
They don't want more.
And so they are in the forest,
old trees,
or those small but grand.
And when you sleep, rapture, beauty,
may seek you out.
Listen. There is
secret joy,
sweet dreams you may never forget.
How worthy the being
in the human body. If,
when you are there, you see women
wading on the water
and clouds in the valley,
the smell of rain,
or a lotus blossom rises out of round green leaves,
remember there is always something
besides our own misery.

~ Linda Hogan ~

(Rounding the Human Corners)


Wednesday, April 11, 2018

The Cosmic Story: Aries New Moon 2018: A New Creation Story

The Cosmic Story: Aries New Moon 2018
A New Creation Story

This Aries New Moon is the first new Moon of the astrological year. And it’s a big one! This is the time to plant the seeds of rebirth and renewal for this coming year, seeds that will take you into your future. What’s different about this Aries New Moon? It is cradled between the asteroid Eris, Goddess of Discord and the planet Uranus, sky god of freedom, revolution and sudden changes.


Add to this the fact that Mercury ends its retrograde earlier in the day and we can see that a new mind-set, a new perspective is waiting to be born within us, and hopefully within our society. As you look at the news (ruled by Mercury), for every attempt to turn the clock back on freedom, equality and environmental protections, you can see people rising up everywhere to stand against the regressive pull of old patriarchal thinking.

Just to remind you, we are in the ‘hero’s journey’ part of the Uranus/Pluto cycle where we have to overcome obstacles to make sure the new seeds of revolution and evolution planted in the 60s get stronger and spread their roots deeper in our collective consciousness. More people are waking up to the fact that we have to be citizens rather than consumers, that we have to be stewards of the Earth rather than users, and that democracy demands an awakened citizenry rather than sleepers who look for the ‘bread and circus’ our leaders would bestow on us. 

This Aries New Moon occurs on April 15 at 6:57pm PDT/ 9:57pm EDT and on April 16 at 1:57am GMT.

 

As you can see, most of the planets fall in the solar 1st and 10th houses.  The first house is our self-identity while the tenth house deals with how we contribute to our society.  That's the message of this new creation story.  As JFK once said, "Ask not what your country/world can do for you.  Rather, ask what you can do for your country/world."

With Uranus in its final connection to an Aries New Moon for the next 84 years, plant seeds for the unexpected! Plant seeds for inner revolution and freedom. While Uranus travels through Taurus from May 15 to November 6 before retrograding back to Aries until March 2019, we’ll be breaking new ground and beginning to work on our new foundations. What you end up building might not be what your ego expected you to create. Go with the flow and let your heart and soul do the creating.



If the myth of 2012 holds a reality, it is that a new age is dawning, one 26,000 years in the making. This is a time for a new creation story, just as Uranus was originally created out of Gaia’s birth.
first there was Chaos, and then appeared board-bosomed Earth, who bore, first of all and as her equal, the starry Sky, Ouranos. Then she bore the great mountains, valleys, plains and the Sea, and after that she mated with Ouranos and bore many children, among whom were the Titans and Titanesses...who represented the ‘titanic’ forces of the earth. (Hesiod’s Theogony)

The idea of a new creation story is validated by the Sabian symbol for this New Moon at 27* Aries: Through imagination, a lost opportunity is regained. The creative imagination is the source of all creation and so we must first imagine what it is we want so we can manifest it. Perhaps the lost opportunity is a chance to build a world of peace, love and beauty, rather than the world of war, domination and misogyny we’ve been living in during patriarchal times.

Now add in the meaning of the Sabian symbol for Mercury turning direct at 5* Aries: A triangle with wings. This is a symbol of a higher order of being, of pure aspiration. A new dimension of being is initiated by our creative imagination and endeavors. Together these symbols speak to us of a new creation. A New Story!



I’ve been reading the Rick Riordan books, The Kane Chronicles, about ancient Egyptian magic returning to our world. It’s a book that brings into focus, better than The Secret or even the Abraham-Hicks books, how to manifest a new reality. While these new age books seem to be obsessed with how to attract money and abundance, these children’s books get to the heart of the matter. It’s about becoming who you really are, rather than attracting material abundance. And that takes courage and sacrifice and hope.

To channel magic, you have to believe in it. And to believe, you have to feel it and embody it. The power of Egyptian magic came through the Sacred Word, but their sacred words were first and foremost pictures! The ancient Egyptians knew that saying a word did nothing if you didn’t also use your imagination to call it up on a feeling level. To make magic, we have to use both sides of our brain, the literal side and the imaginal side. You have to really know on a soul level what those words mean.

The hieroglyphs were pictures that went deeper than words, especially our English words, which are kind of flat. Most of us don’t know the depth of what our words originally meant. Such as discord meaning dis – against and cor – the heart. When we look up the definition of the word discord, we find it means ‘strife, conflict, friction, disagreement or opposition’. Nowhere does it mention ‘going against the heart’. Did you know that the word disaster originally meant ‘dis – going against and aster – the stars? That certainly feels different, doesn’t it?

Our children are being brought up with wonderful myths of magic and ancient gods and goddesses, with stories of psychic abilities that are used to battle evil, with children being the heroes and heroines. Perhaps this is why the children are leading the way now, because they know and believe it is their duty to fight against evil, rather than sit back while it destroys the world. That’s why Jesus said we had to become like children if we wanted to enter the kingdom of God.

So what does this have to do with Uranus conjunct this Aries New Moon and a new creation story? Uranus’ journey through Aries has asked us to re-define who we think we are, since Aries is about our self-identity. Uranus wants to awaken us to our soul-identity. It wants to free us from the patriarchal rules and bindings that shut down belief in the unknown parts of ourselves and our innate abilities. Our religions and our culture have rejected and vilified those very gifts which can give us strength and save us now. How many of you are re-discovering ‘psychic’ and healing abilities after confronting the fear of being burned at the stake, tortured for your beliefs and gifts?

So the new creation story promises us more than the old creation stories, which would bind us to beliefs about original sin, misogyny (it’s all Eve’s fault) and survival of the fittest. We are finding out that Nature operates out of connection and cooperation rather than strife and domination. Like Matthew Fox who speaks of our original blessings rather than our original sins, we need to see that we are co-creators, that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. When we really can imagine that, we will find that we’re not here to ‘make it big’ within the patriarchal mindset, but rather we are here to be spiritual mothers, spiritual warriors and holy stewards of Mother Earth.

So this very wild New Moon in Aries is blessed not only by the heavenly energies of Uranus/Ouranos but also by the ancient goddess Eris. The Greeks thought of her as the source of discord and disagreement, but as we saw, she really only creates that kind of strife when we ‘go against the heart’. The struggle within us is to break free of the old bindings of ‘shoulds and oughts’ and actually follow our hearts. She is the spirit of the enraged feminine side of life which has been rejected by patriarchy. To read more about Eris and Uranus in Aries, here is a link to Sarah Varcas’ article.

If we continue to follow the energy of the cardinal signs which initiate action, we can look to Aries’ ruler, Mars, which is very happy traveling through Capricorn along with Saturn and Pluto and Vesta. As a matter of fact, it stands at the midpoint of Saturn and Pluto, combining and balancing these two opposing energies. While Saturn is about form and structure and our 3D reality, Pluto purges and destroys what is no longer viable. Mars therefore is ready to work with what remains.

Mars works well in Capricorn, bringing focus and discipline and determination to the fires of creation this New Moon generates. If Capricorn is the sign of our dharma, our soul purpose, then Mars here is ready to work with and fight for that soul vision we need to birth. So remember, you are the author of your life. Now is the time to write a new story.

Vesta, the fire priestess, squares Mercury as it stations in Aries. We have to add the sacred dimension of life to how we think. And of course, the Sabian symbol for Mercury does just that. Add to that image the Sabian symbol for Vesta at 3* Capricorn:
A human soul, in its eagerness for new experiences, seeks embodiment. Here’s another symbol of new life, a new creation, a new story. This new life wants to take things to the next level. Are you ready?

The fixed signs are generating energy from Venus in Taurus, North Node in Leo, Jupiter retrograde in Scorpio and South Node in Aquarius, as they did at the Libra Full Moon. They help us ground in the longings of our hearts, our values and our connections to others. Own your shadow, understand what it’s teaching you and open your heart to embrace what life brings.

Jupiter retrograde in Scorpio teams up with Neptune, Juno and Chiron in Pisces to bring our emotional intelligence online. Listen to it and trust it. This is the energy that will help water those creative visions for the future. It’s time for us all to find our place in Mother Earth’s new creation story. I wonder how the adventure will unfold?!!!

May the Goddess of Life bless us all and may the God protect us as we recreate the world.

Cathy




For Light -- John O'Donohue

Light cannot see inside things.
That is what the dark is for:
Minding the interior,
Nurturing the draw of growth
Through places where death
In its own way turns into life.

In the glare of neon times,
Let our eyes not be worn
By surfaces that shine
With hunger made attractive.

That our thoughts may be true light,
Finding their way into words
Which have the weight of shadow
To hold the layers of truth.

That we never place our trust
In minds claimed by empty light,
Where one-sided certainties
Are driven by false desire.

When we look into the heart,
May our eyes have the kindness
And reverence of candlelight.

That the searching of our minds
Be equal to the oblique
Crevices and corners where
The mystery continues to dwell,
Glimmering in fugitive light.

When we are confined inside
The dark house of suffering
That moonlight might find a window.

When we become false and lost
That the severe noon-light
Would cast our shadow clear.

When we love, that dawn-light
Would lighten our feet
Upon the waters.

As we grow old, that twilight
Would illuminate treasure
In the fields of memory.

And when we come to search for God,
Let us first be robed in night,
Put on the mind of morning
To feel the rush of light
Spread slowly inside
The color and stillness
Of a found word.

~ John O'Donohue ~

(To Bless the Space Between Us) 


Please LIKE and SHARE.

Copyright 2018  Cathy Pagano