HOW SOLAR FLARES AFFECT OUR BODIES

I stumbled across this post today and feel it is very valuable in connecting the body/mind/spirit with celestial activity.  In addition, just after our recent CME flares, I had been experiencing a number of the exact symptoms described in the article.  They were, in fact, making me feel extremely ill.  It was quite relieving and helpful to read this author’s article and to be able to view those symptoms in a much broader perspective – and certainly a more positive one than they had been making me feel.

And, yes, still working on the next installment of Venus Crossing the Sun.

HOW SOLAR FLARES AFFECTS OUR BODIES.

Super Full Moon: May 5, 2012

In astronomical terms, a Super Moon means the time when the Moon is in perigee (closest) to Earth and this one is the closest of the year.  The moon will appear 14% larger and 30% brighter than any other this year.  It also happens to coincide, almost to the minute and most unusually, with the Full Moon in Scorpio opposite the Sun conjunct Jupiter in Taurus.  For those on the East Coast, the time will be 11:35PM this Saturday night.  For those of us in the Mountain and Central regions of the US, the moment will occur right around the time of sunset/moonrise.  Moonrise is the best time to observe the largesse of luna here, as the terrestrial landscape gives us familiar landmarks to more fully appreciate its truly supersize.  That perspective gets lost the higher the moon climbs into the dark night sky.

April 21, 2012: The Lyrids

Tonight is just a night to take a break from heavy meaning and simply enjoy the peak of the Lyrid meteor showers.  Get out there under the stars.  Invite your close companions, spread out your blankets and chaise lounges and lie down together and watch.  Hot tea and chocolate are highly recommended for sharing in the wonder and awe of our physical universe.  It’s depth and breadth is truly amazing to behold and, tonight, fireworks from heaven will, indeed ensue.

Cleaning Up After The Storms

The meeting places of nature and humanity

It appears the metaphor I used for the celestial events I wrote of in my last post was far more prescient than I knew at the time.  This has nothing to do with personal possession of unique gifts of prophecy, but, speaks, rather, to the universal power of observation and rational intuition we all have, however deeply buried and obscured those abilities may have become.  The trick is in apprehending the more metaphysical, foundational framework upon which the mundane details will, in due course, play themselves out.   Those foundational elements are there for everyone to see – comprehending their import, however, is the provence of those who refuse the distractions of vanity, greed and forced conformity that are now being heaped upon the plates of americans at an ever-quickening speed.  Yes, western culture has concocted an alluring buffet of sweets full of dreams laced with large doses of modified corn syrup, which only serve to distract the consumer’s attention from that which lies, and always has lain, within.  What lies within is the eternal, which no religious structure, no government entity, nor any dysfunctional parent can touch with a profane and unclean heart.  It is the naked, vulnerable part of us that always comes clean in the rain.

Cultural constructs have always come and gone;  the rhythmic inhalations and exhalations of our planet and her greater mother, the Cosmos, however, abide.  We have a choice as to which resonances and harmonics we attune ourselves:  will it be the hammered crosses placed upon institutions which are so easily knocked down by high winds, or the enduring meaning and spirituality found in feeling the eternal rise and fall of our bodies in response to air, breath and pleasure, season after season, lifetime after lifetime?

The Ophiuchus Syndrome

Since my last entry on the cosmology of Ophiuchus, I have found myself snowed in in my little domain in the desert (always yield to the serendipity of Mother Nature).  This event has provided me with some open space to peruse the different narratives being generated by our little astrological/astronomical “crisis,” I call The Ophiuchus Syndrome.

In so doing, it seems a coherence of the different levels of human awareness are emerging out of the cybersphere of monologues, which I hope will lead to a greater understanding of how our collective unconscious moves around and works with issues presented in the material world.

Ophiuchus and the Galactic Center

Ophiuchus and the Ecliptic

Ah.  A new “shock” has been delivered to our mental instabilities of late with the “new discovery” of the constellation, Ophiuchus, scattering the commoners in all directions searching for a guru who can tell them what this should mean to them.  Much OMG’ing amongst the Twitting crowd proceeds.  Much neurotic hand-wringing and subsequent hand-holding will now ensue at this incredibly devastating piece of information.  Astrologers who excel at the economic and political game of marketing all jump on the bandwagon to comment on the comments launched by the commentators  in the infotainment centers known as “the news,” to increase their clientele and their bank accounts because  someone in a chicken little costume has gone screaming around the village.

Of Man and Meteors

heavenly bodies

I am fortunate to live in an area far enough away from civilization that conversations in my village center around what time we are getting up in the middle of the night to watch meteor showers.  I am fortunate that among us out here, speech is often stripped from our tongues in honor of the sound of running rivers and cottonwood leaves shaking in the wind and coyotes on the hunt.  I am fortunate to live in a land without the annoyance of artificial lights and an ability to view the heavens without impediment.  I am fortunate to know the silence that ensues when one sits in the dark without fear.

The peak of the Geminid meteor showers this night is an opportunity to set aside the artificial, computer-generated, virtual charts of the planets – the tools of trade in modern astrology – and to join our astronomical and astrological masters and teachers – the ancient shepherds of the middle east – in the simple appreciation and wonder of the dome of the sky.

A New View of Saturn

Photo of Saturn from Cassini Space Probe

I came across this stunning shot of Saturn while researching astronomy sites.  Its rings of course, give Saturn the reputation of being limiting, confining and binding in traditional astrological terms.  However, new findings show that Saturn actually has “rays” that emanate through and run perpendicular to its rings, thus giving rise to a new idea that there are ways to skillfully traverse the boundaries we usually associate with this planet.  These rays are transient and are thought to be formed from ice crystals and appear and dissipate at various times.  Physically, these rays act like bridges between the rings; metaphorically, they give us the opportunity to contemplate movement from one “boundary” to another in our own lives with acquired skill.  As we make our way from one horizon to another, there are, indeed, built-in mechanisms designed to assist us on our path.

Easing Up on that T-Square

Saturn moves into 4° Libra today, breaking up the direct opposition to the Uranus/Jupiter conjunction, thus easing the tension and concomitant exhaustion that comes from such an intense relationship.  Uranus has also moved back into Pisces (which occurred August 13), and the beauty-seeking, dreaminess of that water sign is softening the sharp edges of this planet.  Uranus will remain in retrograde in Pisces until December 5th, when it turns direct.  It will remain in Pisces until its final exit next March 11 and on into a longer stay in energetic Aries.  These next 7 months are a  useful time to review the past 7 years of Uranus’ journey through Pisces – look for where this planet has exerted its influence in your natal chart during that time and dive deep to glean the meanings of the external events and internal transformations that have taken place for you.