The Thing Is The thing is.. to love life, to love it even when you have no stomach for it and everything you've held dear crumbles like burnt paper in your hand, your throat filled with the silt of it. When grief sits with you, its tropical heat thickening the air, heavy as water more fit for gills than lungs; when grief weights you like your own flesh only more of it, an obesity of grief, you think, How can a body withstand this? Then you hold life like a face between your palms, a plain face, no charming smile, no violet eyes, and you say, yes, I will take you I will love you again. ~ Ellen Bass Renewal, awakenings and beginnings arrive with the Vernal equinox on March 19th at 21:00 PDT. The length of light and darkness is almost equal on this day, which marks a turning point. For the northern hemisphere, days will be getting lighter (longer) as we move into spring and summer. This is the beginning of more light, more life. Shakti is stirring, inviting in more creativity in the coming days and months. This sense of opening moves us towards completion as the eclipse portal closes. Fertility and creativity are enlivened with this full Moon, as it coincides with the Vedic Holi festival, also known as "the festival of colors". Holika Dahan (the night before Holi when the fires are lit) is on the 22nd this year, followed by the Holi on the 23rd. This celebration in the Vedic calendar which roughly coincides with the vernal equinox and the arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, sparks creative potential, increased love, beauty and creativity. It takes place with the Phalguni Purnima as the Phalguni stars are ripe with sensuality, love, beauty and abundant resources. No matter the hemisphere you are in, both spring and fall are considered "sandhi" times of year- or in between seasons. These are sacred times, when the veil is thin, sensitivity is heightened. In Ayurveda, we attend to necessary physical rituals that help the body cleanse and purify. Holi comes at this sacred junction and is a time to "plant seeds" so to speak. It is a celebration of fertility, abundance and the awakening of Shakti within Nature. It is the marking of the gap, which is ripe with potential and possibility. The full enlivening of Ma is celebrated during Vasant Navaratri- the nine days of Mother Divine, beginning on the 7th of April this year. Consider Holi the "kick off" celebration in many ways- a time to plant your desires and create your fruits for the coming year. Let this Full Moon enliven a sense of spring and possibility. Use this week's Creative Engagement activity (below) for your cultivation process. The full Moon is March 23rd at 05:00 PDT while Moon is in Virgo and Uttaraphalguni. This full Moon coincides with a penumbral lunar eclipse, closing the two week eclipse portal that has been invoking challenging shadow work for many. The eclipse begins at 02:39 PDT, with the maximum eclipse being at 04:47 PDT, and ending at 06:54 PDT. Creative Ritual My Creative Rituals are intended to support your transformation and healing process in the cycle to come. Each ritual is in alignment with the cosmic tides- in order to help you adjust, shift and move more fluidly in balance with Nature's rhythms. Recycle this ritual more than once for added benefits. * For the full version sign up for my membership.
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Even though Jyotish astrology is considered to be soli-lunar, in many regards the Moon is considered the most vital piece of the karmic life map. The Moon shares crucial insights about our inner landscape, our internal realms. Here we navigate our feeling and emotional body experience- a very unique attribute of being a human.
The Moon (Chandra in Sanskrit) is the intelligence and intuition of each being. It is the nourisher of life, who offers us soma, divine nectar. The Moon represents the universal Ma and the Mother within, as well as our inner intelligence. The Sun is connected to our soul and the sheath that houses the soul, whereas the Moon is connected to the wisdom and intelligence within the soul. In the Jyotish chart, the placement of the Moon will show how aligned the being is with sacred intuition. The Moon will share what nourishment is available to the being as well as how it will utilize its inner intelligence. In Vedic astrology, the Moon is given great importance and is of equal, if not more, importance than the Sun in many regards. For if the Sun is strong, but the Moon is weak, how will the soul be nurtured and supported? Moon is intimately connected to the Mother, the nurturing quality of life. It shares the essential intelligence of life that gives us comfort, nourishment, emotional support, as well as our requirements for love and affection. The connection of Moon to our emotions and our psychological state is not by accident. After all our emotional body and its harmony is intimately connected to our relationship with prana, the life force. Feelings make for a joyful life or a challenging life and they move quickly- just like the Moon! Our father plays a major role in our creation. In the Vedic understanding, he is the seed that sparks our life. However, it is the Moon’s qualities that are like the soil. Mother offers the womb, the nurturing and the container for the seed to grow. The Mother gives the vital ingredients for sustaining life it self. Without her, we will be lost, misguided and lack the ability to live life fully nourished. Our connection to Moon, to Ma, to mother, directly impacts our ability to live in harmony with life and feel the support and nurturing life has to offer. How well are you able to be nourished? The Moon sign is the determining factor of our nourishment and wisdom. Assessing the Moon in your jyotish chart will share many important details about your inner wisdom, emotional body, the connection you have with your Mother and if you are able to receive the sacred wisdom of life. Have you been following along with my previous Jyotish Basics articles? Get your first lesson is here. Step #1: Identify Your Moon. First, notice where the Moon is located in your chart. The abbreviation is likely MO. What sign is it in? The Sign will share a lot about your Moon's disposition, but there are a few other factors to consider. What is the symbol of your Moon sign and the element that rules over it? What can you assess about your Moon with these details? Follow these guidelines for extra support. Step #2: Who Rules Over Your Moon? The planetary influence upon your Moon sign is another vital piece of information. What is the planetary ruler of your Moon sign? No two planets express themselves the same way. A Mars ruled sign acts very differently than a Saturn ruled sign. What can you determine about your Moon sign based on its planetary ruler? Step #3 Where Does Your Wisdom and Nourishment Come From? The house (or bhava in Sanskrit) that your Moon sits in shares vital information about what you need for nourishment and inner support. Is your Moon comfortable in its home? Does it feel safe? What type of support does the house give you? The support will be on an emotional body level, which is a vital part of your receptivity, the ability to feel the nourishment of life. 1st House: Sense of self, worldly house, being seen, ego, appearance, intelligence. 2nd House: Nourishment, wealth, support, gems, speaking, voice. 3rd House: Communication, writing, courage, the arts, creativity, self expression, using the hands. 4th House: Home, land, mother, emotions, spirituality and moksha. 5th House: Children, creativity, romance, intuition, knowledge. 6th House: Enemies, bad habits, healing, disease, legal issues, competition, debt. 7th House: Relationships, others, partner, sexuality, desire, travel, trade. 8th House: Death, disease, transformation, transcendence, vulnerability, mysticism. 9th House: Dharma, guru, wisdom, education, foreign travels, fortune, religion. 10th House: Career, achievement, success, father, action, fame, social status. 11th House: Gains, wealth, income, friends, desires, fulfillment of desire. 12th House: Endings, loss, liberation, marriage, retreat, foreign lands, alone time. Step #4 Putting it all together. It's time to combine all the layers now and derive some meaning from it all. What can you determine about your Moon sign based on all the previous steps? What type of emotional body wisdom are you aligned with and how do you seek your nourishment in life? Remember the Moon will support how you feel nourishment in your life. This is the inner wisdom and support that comes from your mother and the feminine powers within your family lineage. What gifts and resources are present? What challenges? Aries: Mesha in Sanskrit, translates as its symbol, the ram. Qualities are leadership, pioneering. Need to work on flexibility, anger issues, “hitting one’s head against the wall”. Body parts are head, brain and nerves. Odd, Male, ruled by Mars. Pitta. Correlates to the number 1 in the chart. Taurus: Vrshabha in Sanskrit, translates as its symbol, the bull. Qualities are strength and stability. Need to work on issues with being “bull headed”, stubborn and going beyond the material realms. Body part is neck, face and parts therein. Even, Female, ruled by Venus. Kapha. Correlates to the number 2 in the chart. Gemini: Mithuna in Sanskrit, symbolized by a couple holding a mace and a lute. Translates as couple (male and female) or copulation, companion. Qualities are extremely creativity, communication and artistry. Need to work on issues of mental body and taking effective action steps. Body parts are arms and hands. Odd, Male, ruled by Mercury. Vata. Correlates to the number 3 in a chart. Cancer: Karka translates as female crab in Sanskrit which is its symbol as well. Qualities are sensing and feeling, with depth and compassion, heart centered. Need to work directly with emotional body awareness, co-dependency issues, mother issues. Body parts are heart, breasts, chest. Even, Female, ruled by Moon. Kapha-vata. Correlates to the number 4 in a chart. Leo: Simha translates as lion in Sanskrit, the symbol of Leo. Qualities are leadership, dominance, authority and power. Need to work on ego issues, needing authority and power, as well as father issues and ancestral issues. Body parts are stomach and abdomen. Odd, Male, ruled by the Sun. Pitta. Correlates to the number 5 in a chart. Virgo: Kanya means a girl, a virgin or daughter in Sanskrit. It is symbolized by a woman in a boat holding grains and fire in her hands. Qualities are purity, cleanliness and perfection, creative, entrepreneurial. Need to work on the critic and inner judge, overly puritanical beliefs. Body parts are hips, loins, buttocks. Even, female, ruled by Mercury. Vata-kapha. Correlates to the number 6 in a chart. Libra: Tula means the balancing scales in Sanskrit which is its symbol as well. Qualities are ability to see both sides of situations, good business skills, able to weigh and measure options, able to work with equality issues. Need to work with decisiveness, clarity and not swinging to extremes, going beyond the surface, as well as finding one’s own beliefs and ideals. Body parts are lower abdomen. Odd, Male, ruled by Venus. Vata-Kapha. Correlates to the number 7 in a chart. Scorpio: Vrschika means Scorpion in Sanskrit which is also its symbol. Qualities are depth, going beyond the surface, occult and mystical knowledge, passion. Need to work with emotional body awareness, polarities and extremes, mother issues, one’s darkness and shadows. Body parts are genitals and anus. Even, Female, ruled by Mars and Ketu. Kapha-pitta. Correlates to the number 8 in a chart. Sagittarius: Dhanu means bow in Sanskrit. The symbol of Sagittarius is a man holding a bow and arrow, the lower part of his body being that of a horse. Qualities are oriented towards seeking knowledge, wisdom and growth as well as spirituality. Need to work with being overly dogmatic, taking effective action steps, working with depth on the mental/emotional levels. Body part is thighs. Odd, Male, ruled by Jupiter. Pitta- Kapha. Correlates to the number 9 in a chart. Capricorn: Makara translates as sea monster in Sanskrit which has a head of a deer or goat and the body of a crocodile, which is also its symbol. Qualities are hardworking, persevering, steady. Need to work with “doing less accomplishing more”, self care, not pushing so hard to get an outcome. Body part is knees. Even, Female, ruled by Saturn. Vata-kapha. Correlates to the number 10 in a chart. Aquarius: Kumbha translates from Sanskrit as a vessel that holds water, a water pot. The symbol here is a man holding a pot. Qualities are ingenuity, out of the box approach to life, oriented towards gaining and acquiring. Need to work with balancing both shadow and light, working with shadow parts, finding the silver lining and excessive drive to acquire. Body part is calves. Odd, Male, Saturn and Rahu. Vata. Correlates to the number 11 in a chart. Pisces: Mina translates from Sanskrit as relating to the ocean and large expanses of water. The symbol here is two fish tied together with their heads and tails in opposite directions. Qualities are expansiveness, universality and deep compassion for others with strong spiritual inclinations. Need to work on emotional body issues, grounding expansiveness into clear goals and action steps, actualizing dreams. Body part is feet. Even, Female, ruled by Jupiter. Kapha. Correlates to the number 12 in a chart. Ready to learn more? Registration is open for a limited time only. Join me for my August Jyotish Basics Classes! Don't have a copy of your chart? Get one here. * This Article is relevant for reading a North Indian Style chart only. You as mother as Ma as angel near as ascended master You as gray crane standing on one leg or white egret You as hooting owl or swooping hawk You as Ma eternal now within me in new ways Now without me in unknown and sacred ways You my mother who is neither here nor there not in a form not housed in a body case Yet you whisper still and answer my prayers and sing my songs though I can't hear your voice It comes in breezes that suddenly stir and in the calls of the birds I only hear while walking in the woods desperate and alone. -Swati J. Miller Moon is waxing (shukla paksha) and transits Gemini, Cancer, Leo and into Virgo this week. Moon is in its own sign of Cancer from the 11th to the 13th.
Full Moon on 3.16 at 12:07 CDT in the first few degrees of Virgo and in Uttarphalguni Nakshatra. Because it will be high noon at its fullest point during the 15th tithi, we won't see the fullness in the sky, but will feel it internally. The night of 3.15 will be our night to view its fullness in the dark sky. Uttarphalguni is ruled by Aryaman, one of the twelve Adityas, who gives sustenance, support, health and physical strength. He is related to repaying the ancestors through family and children, things that sustain unions, contracts and marriage as well as other 12th house matters. The month of Phalguni is a time of spring which connects us to fertility, growth, abundance, colors, flowers and blossoming. Aryaman and Uttaraphalguni usher in the abundance of life. This Full Moon also marks the Holi celebration in the Vedic calendar which roughly coincides with the vernal equinox and the arrival of spring (for the Northern Hemisphere). No matter the hemisphere you are in, both spring and fall are considered "sandhi" times of year- or in between seasons. These are sacred times, when the veil is thin, sensitivity is heightened, and in Ayurveda we attend to necessary physical rituals that help the body cleanse and purify. Holi comes at this sacred junction and is a time to "plant seeds" so to speak. It is a celebration of fertility, abundance and the awakening of Shakti within Nature. This full enlivening of Ma is celebrated during Vasant Navaratri- the nine days of Mother Divine beginning on the last day of March this year. We can consider this her "kick off" celebration however when we plant our desires and create our fruits. Let this Full Moon bring you a sense of spring and possibility. Use this week's Creative Engagement activity (below) for your cultivation process. Mercury moves into Aquarius on 3.11 at 22:43 CDT where it joins Sun there for only a few short days before Sun moves into Pisces. Mercury receives drishti from Rahu while in Aquarius (considered Rahu's own sign) as well as Jupiter, and stays in Dhanishta nakshatra for the remainder of the week. This can present some tension for Mercury as well as expansion through effort. Notice where you are pushing too much for results and see if you can back off. Sun is sandhi starting 3.12 as it moves out of Aquarius and moves into Pisces on 3.14 at 12:12 CDT. Sun is weak in degrees (sensitive) until late in the day on 3.16 but is thankfully happier in Pisces than Aquarius. Pisces is the sign where Venus (creativity, passion, artistry, the feminine) is exalted and currently Venus is receiving drishti from retrograde Mars and will get Moon drishti the 11th to 13th. This combination can enhance creativity, relationships, passion and drive. Connect and socialize on these days. Work it! But as mentioned above, also note where you may be putting your Self into overdrive. With three retrograde planets in Libra currently (Mars, Saturn and Rahu- which is always retrograde) we have increased "returns" coming to us in all ways connected to Libra. This is also a sign ruled by Venus and is associated with relationships (work and personal) as well as commerce, the marketplaces, business and creativity. The desire for Libra is a sense of balance- balance in relationships and from hard work. Desires, in general, are extra strong right now. The retrograde planets are helping us remember what isn't working as well as what is. Old relationships blowing back in and making reappearances? Patterns and behaviors rearing their ugly little heads? Discomforts and discouragement on the rise? Physical fatigue and overwhelm setting in? Pay attention and make adjustments where necessary. Retrograde Mars is moving back towards Virgo and pulling that Virgo energy into his dance which gives an extra essence of Mercury (Virgo's ruler). This can enhance communication and commerce, connections and creativity, but can also bring some confusion and mismatched action steps. Use good communication (internally and externally) at this time to express your needs and healthy boundaries. Being clear about expectations is very important right now. Be realistic about what you can actually accomplish by working backwards and mapping it out. Read more about the unusual dance of Mars until September. As per last week's post on Retrograde Saturn: Now that Saturn is retrograde, there is a greater emphasis on the physical body; a demand of sorts. A unique perspective of Jaimini jyotish dictates that when an exalted planet goes retrograde, it becomes debilitated. Saturn in Libra is considered exalted, retrograde now, and thus debilitated. He is also giving direct drishti to his sign of debilitation, Aries. The results of this will vary individually, but the overall effect will be a slowing down of systems, structure and a greater request from Saturn to focus on, well, all things Saturn. Saturn loves routine, gives prosperity with time and consistency, wants meditation, physical movement and hard work. He rules the physical structures of life (time quite literally) and within the body this means bones and muscle tissue. Until Saturn goes direct on July 20th, we may notice increased physical fatigue, depression, heightened worry, a need to focus on our physical body more directly- either through awareness or force. We will also be "re-structuring" areas of our life that involve relationships, creativity, nourishment, receptivity, vulnerability, business and commerce, contracts and obligations, boundaries and balance. Leave it to retrograde Saturn to help us re-purpose and resolve what is not working in our best interest. Remember that if there is excess pressure from his means and ways, it is likely a place we need to look for a resolution. Ask: What is working? What is not? What do I need? What needs to shift right now for greater harmony and balance? Where am I pushing too hard? What am I resisting and where am I not letting life flow? If you are curious about Saturn's movements through Libra, you can read my articles on his transits here: Part 1: Rahu and Saturn in Libra Part 2: Saturn Retrograde + the Influence of the Nakshatras For increased awareness, utilize my jyotish inspired Body-centered Expressive Art Therapy articles. Each week I post a new Creative Engagement Activity to help inspire your own unique creative process, Self-tracking, and to enrich your cultivation of presence. This week we will revisit a Full Moon activity from the archives. I still have a few sessions available for April. Schedule a yearly progression with me in order to make your New Year a truly transformational year and to make the most out of the current transits. *Horoscopes are based on your Vedic rising sign. You can also check your Moon and Sun signs for further insight. Do the same with your Navamsa signs for further clarity. Do not use these horoscopes with your “Western Sign” as there is likely no correlation. These horoscopes are meant to be used as a broad overview of the current transits and obviously do not address the specifics of an individual’s unique chart. Aries: Here we go again You're dancing with the fire You're dancing with the Beast You're still hungry- I'll take you to the feast. Here we go again The rage is a craving The thunder is your song The power is misfortune The misery is strong Here we go again The spirals and the chaos The torment and the chains No steps to the mirror Oh! The Beast lives on. Here we go again I'm waiting with my palms I watch you burn and writhe I sing your laments Still waiting for your dawn. -Swati J. Miller Taurus: THE HOUSE OF BELONGING I awoke this morning in the gold light turning this way and that thinking for a moment it was one day like any other. But the veil had gone from my darkened heart and I thought it must have been the quiet candlelight that filled my room, it must have been the first easy rhythm with which I breathed myself to sleep, it must have been the prayer I said speaking to the otherness of the night. And I thought this is the good day you could meet your love, this is the grey day someone close to you could die. This is the day you realize how easily the thread is broken between this world and the next… -David Whyte Gemini: It doesn't interest me if there is one God or many gods. I want to know if you belong or feel abandoned. If you know despair or can see it in others. I want to know if you are prepared to live in the world with its harsh need to change you. If you can look back with firm eyes saying this is where I stand. I want to know if you know how to melt into that fierce heat of living falling toward the center of your longing. I want to know if you are willing to live, day by day, with the consequence of love and the bitter unwanted passion of your sure defeat. I have heard, in that fierce embrace, even the gods speak of God. —David Whyte Cancer: How do trees deal with injustice? They grow a branch wherever they were cut. And how do sparrows deal with grief? They open their tiny wings and swoop at anything that glistens. So why am I all cut & hungry? Because I do not know the tree that is my soul and refuse the sparrow in my heart. - from Finding Inner Courage by Mark Nepo Leo: Everyone who terrifies you is sixty-five percent water. And everyone you love is made of stardust, and I know sometimes you cannot even breathe deeply, and the night sky is no home, and you have cried yourself to sleep enough times that you are down to your last two percent, but nothing is infinite, not even loss. You are made of the sea and the stars, and one day you are going to find yourself again. - F. Butler Virgo: "Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated." -Terry Tempest Williams Libra: SWEET DARKNESS 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 Whyte Scorpio: The Thing Is The thing is.. to love life, to love it even when you have no stomach for it and everything you've held dear crumbles like burnt paper in your hand, your throat filled with the silt of it. When grief sits with you, its tropical heat thickening the air, heavy as water more fit for gills than lungs; when grief weights you like your own flesh only more of it, an obesity of grief, you think, How can a body withstand this? Then you hold life like a face between your palms, a plain face, no charming smile, no violet eyes, and you say, yes, I will take you I will love you again. -Ellen Bass Sagittarius: Be taught now, among the trees and rocks, how the discarded is woven into shelter, learn the way things hidden and unspoken slowly proclaim their voice in the world.... Find that far inward symmetry to all outward appearances, apprentice yourself to yourself, begin to welcome back all you sent away, be a new annunciation, make yourself a door through which to be hospitable, even to the stranger in you. - David Whyte Capricorn: You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting- over and over announcing your place in the family of things. - Mary Oliver Aquarius: Praying It doesn't have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones; just pay attention, then patch a few words together and don’t try to make them elaborate, this isn't a contest but the doorway into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak. - Mary Oliver Pisces: What To Do In Darkness Go slowly Consent to it But don't wallow in it Know it as a place of germination And growth Remember the light Take an outstretched hand if you find one Exercise unused senses Find the path by walking it Practice trust Watch for dawn - Marilyn McEntyre |
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