Jessica Shepherd's Blog, page 22

I’ve often believed in the power of instant karma. I’ve seen it in action, too. The idea that what goes around can (relatively) instantly come around, makes sense to me. I trust that life is ultimately fair, while knowing I may not fully understand what that means yet. But instant transformation is a harder sell.  Excepting a temporary, superficial makeover, the work of true, deep change is a slow process. So I have been suspicious of shortcuts. I want the real.

Yet some changes are instant. In a blink, we can be light years ahead of where we were just last week. I had this experience with meditation, recently. I had been trying to rest in a place of physical and emotional balance, when one evening I heard the voice: just sit, listen to your heart, do nothing. Equanimity bloomed. After days of feeling nothing I’d been doing in my energy healing was effecting change, I instantly morphed into someone grounded, connected, and capable.

What is transformation? Many of us think dramatic change involves cross-country moves, career changes, lottery wins, luck or an epiphany that will change everything. Yet true transformation isn’t a material event.  We’ve all known people whose biographical lives have changed, yet nothing changed. Not really. A new lover arrives, is celebrated, but down the road the same old problems come up again. Transformation occurs when we remove the obstacles and resistance to what is true, and always right here.

I hadn’t been resisting meditation, but I did hold an attitude of accomplishment, striving and judgment around my efforts, which was making me miserable and blocking me from receiving my self. When I gave up that tired idea, it was like returning to an old friend, one who had been waiting years for me. That old friend was me. She had never gone anywhere. Like the clouds that hide the Sun that is always there, she had been obscured by noise, agendas, thoughts.

The Scorpio New Moon brings the potential for metamorphoses. At this New Moon, transformations can happen instantly. Though we may need to drop our resistance, change our attitude or stop shying away from hard truths. Always, we know exactly what we need to do in our lives, but we’re so often the last one to listen.

I have a friend and client who was delivered a large bill from Saturn- a financial wake up call of sorts. Because her spending habits are causing problems in her family, she has committed to a budget and feels stuck for progress. “I’m paying a vast amount every month and I’m still at the bottom of the mountain.” Good for you, I cheerlead, for getting clear and honest and doing the hard, right work (Saturn). Yet a beat later, she mentions she has a friend who can manifest anything she wants, but that she herself believes “some people are just born lucky.” With this New Moon in her third house, transformations occur in her mind: by listening to her self, discarding untrue thoughts.

Where does this New Moon Eclipse fall in your chart? In this area of life, let go, open up your mind, let go of your resistance and your grievances, forgive, and surrender your tired old arguments and attachments to having things be a certain way.  To get what you most want, throw away something no longer useful to you. This may be a belief, judgment, behavior, inhibition or attitude.

I love what Elizabeth Gilbert posted on her Facebook page, an image of the sea, with big, bold words: Transformation=Liberation + Loss.  So true, and if you’ve followed her journey over the years, from the life she left for her Eat, Pray, Love journey to the marriage she recently left to be with her dying girlfriend and lover, her life is a testimony to this. I doubt I’ve ever gained anything of value in my life without giving up something, first. Even if it was just an idea of myself.

Venus joins Saturn in Sagittarius at this New Moon.  A belief system or perspective may be blocking us from connection, abundance, self-love. This is a polarizing election season, but just as our vote is a choice, we vote for love, or hate, with our thoughts. We can choose to see the humanity in our brothers and sisters, that despite our difference in approach, we all want the same things: love, shelter, safety, health.

Saturn is a planet of separation, so, combined with Scorpio energies, this lunar cycle is a particularly potent one for endings. At this Scorpio New Moon, let go of something that no longer serves you, and be open to the myriad, creative ways in which your desires can be answered. Change may be an inside, ongoing, job but for the moment let’s all be receptive to instant transformation, in our lives and our world.

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image: Landscape with Butterflies by Salvador Dali

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It’s autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Just as the leaves of the trees dry up and fall to the ground, autumn tends to bring drier skin, cooler weather and more exposure to wind. Our natural tendency is to bundle up, to protect our selves from the elements, to spend time “under wraps,” under warm covers, and indoors.

As the fall weather changes, I always integrate an ayurvedic self-care practice into my routine called abhyanga, or warm oil massage. When the winds kick up, pricking my nervous system, and stimulating mental energy (not always welcome) I remember to get out my favorite oil. Washing yourself with warm oil is comforting, grounding, warming and soothing. In Sanskrit, the word sneha means both oil and love. It’s like bringing a protective layer of golden love around you.

It’s nice to do a full bath, but a shower works, too. I bring the bottle into the shower with me so the warm water warms the oil (cold oil is no fun), or I fill the sink with warm oil and put the bottle in there for five minutes, then massage liberal amounts of oil all over, from head to toe (from hair to bottoms of feet), if I’m ambitious. If I don’t want to commit to oily hair and skin I will forego my head. Don’t deny your self the full decadent pleasure by listening to your internalized parent say you’re using “way too much oil”. Drench your self. Ayurvedic masseurs use gallons of the stuff. Here’s my favorite oil. I also like this company.

I learned to do abhyanga before bathing, because the hot water allows the oil to penetrate into the skin, which you may not want to if you’re planning on soaping up. Note that this is also a well-known detoxification practice, so assess your energy accordingly. Ayurvedics say you should not do this if you’re sick or on your cycle.

The other day I incorporated a protection visualization into my abhyanga. It felt appropriate for the Mars energies in the transiting sky, and my chart. I imagined the golden oil as golden light protecting my energy for the day. Water rolls of a duck’s back because the feathers are well oiled, and that’s how my energy body feels after doing this- like any negative energy I encounter will roll right off me.

Any protective, fortifying self-care ritual is good for Scorpio Sun season we’re in!

Read more about the practice right here.

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The debates have been difficult for everyone to witness. They say this is the darkest, nastiest presidential campaign of our modern history.

As sensitive people invested in keeping our hearts soft, open and aware, how do we stay informed (which in large part includes at least tracking what’s happening) without being pummeled by the negativity we witness? How do we remain open and vulnerable to life, without getting shut down by negativity or burying our head?

In energy work, we have options. Foremost, you can notice how you feel around certain people, topics, discussions. If you feel constricted, tense, hot, unsafe, on guard or physically uncomfortable that’s a sign to relocate your self, or manage your energy.

When faced with energy that doesn’t feel good you can shield your self. Energetic shields remind me of Aries/Mars. It’s a defensive strategy. There are many ways to do this but it’s the energetic equivalent of turning off the phone or television. It works in a pinch, and is very good for when you are depleted.

Of course separating oneself from the whole too long becomes counterproductive. We are social creatures who need connection. Plus, shielding oneself as a strategy, from the news, politics, social media or a friend who doesn’t share our political views, can generate fear. If I think I need to protect myself it means there’s something or someone out to get me — or at least could get me. Seeing anyone is an enemy is inimical to peace. That’s when our centeredness, our one true resource, goes out the window. Suddenly we’re feeling bereft, out of it, distraught, off-kilter, angry.

The other strategy is to go wide open. This strategy feels Libran. I’m not going to underplay the difficulty of this. It is so, so hard. It’s like walking a tightrope while trying to balance a glass of water in each hand while the wind is blowing. You let discomfort in. You breathe out peace and love, no matter what is coming your way. The minute you feel something negative come into your energy field, you use the positive as an antidote. If it’s “ugly” you start thinking “beauty”. This will challenge you; it does me. But the benefits! You get to stay receptive, remain vulnerable, open and in connection (you also get to draw the line when you need to. And decide to not take things personally, because very few things in life actually are personal).

Life is a balance between between protecting your self from negative energies, standing up for your self, looking after your own needs and interests, and being receptive and peaceful toward others who are very different from you. The self-interested, protective strategies of Aries versus the grace and connection of Libra.

This tense Aries-Libra Full Moon holds this tenuous balance between self and other. We’ve reached a polarity point – definitely politically, interpersonally, too, in our relationships. How do we remain connected, open and receptive to others, while honoring our selves? Aries Moon points to the necessity of looking out for number one. Selfish, as in: looking after your own best interests with supreme care. Drawing boundaries on your time. Taking more naps. And managing your mental energy. With Pluto squaring Mercury right now, pushing too hard, with opinions or energies, is unwise. A guitar string that’s pulled too tight will snap; a little give is what creates that nice play of tension. A little give is what makes music lovely.

At this Full Moon, take a moment to ask “What is throwing me off center and why?” A criticism? A viewpoint? Is it a conversation that you don’t agree with, so your ego thinks it has to push back? The ego thinks it needs to fight for or against something, “to win”, but is that really true – or is it just part of a paradigm that just creates more conflict? Notice what takes you away from your rock, solid core –the peace that is yours, eternally. With Uranus’ involvement, this is about noticing the patterns that cause you to spin out, and keep you from feeling centered. Uranus is a notorious pattern-breaker. You could blame others, but they’re just playing their part. They may be the perfect catalyst, tripping the switch for change.

So breathe into your center. Feel the power there. That’s real.

The only answer is love.  Here’s one way to do that:

Hilary, thank you for showing us the importance of honesty. We are so glad you are doing this work, as it allows us to become conscious of the value of honesty. Donald, thank you for showing us the importance of respecting all people, regardless of gender, religion or nationality. Thank you for doing this work on our behalf.

Now is the time to occupy our own inner center, with equal parts persistence and grace. Because if we want to stop living in a world inimical to our peace, we’ve got to stop looking for an enemy. Though your eyes and ears may tell you otherwise, to quote my lady, Beyonce, nothing real can ever be threatened. When we are connected from the inside, no one, nothing, can disturb our true peace.

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I once knew someone who had some very real obstacles in life. She just couldn’t get a leg up. It did seem like life was hell bent on throwing her curveballs. Nothing she tried, and she tried a lot, was working. This had gone on for years.

One day I sat down and had a talk with her. I asked if she believed the Universe always had her back, even when life was hard. I asked if she had a material worldview –mainly, that she was a passive participant, and that things, people and events just happened to her? Or did she hold a spiritual worldview, one where the invisible world of thoughts, feelings, energy and beliefs created her life story? Then I asked if she wanted to be the kind of person that good things happened to.

Okay, so maybe you’ve figured out that my “friend” was me. I had a long hard talk with myself. I can honestly say that I changed my life.

Sometimes we form a habit of struggle, it’s easy to do. The majority of 2016 has certainly had that “what kind of fresh hell is this?” quality. The Saturn-Neptune square had the feeling of being a cruise director (Saturn) aboard the Titanic (Neptune). But as I told “my friend,” we are only truly doomed if we believe in a world where things happen to us, instead of for and by us.

Jupiter is now in Libra and if there’s a cosmic law at play it is this: To receive more goodies in your life, be more Libra. What if the key to lightening up, leading a life of ease, is actually lightening up, going easy? Working hard to “get,” is no longer working. Generosity, ease and effortlessness rule this day. While Jupiter is in feel good Libra, the question we all need to ask is, Does this feel good? Yes? Green light. If it feels good to be around this person or working on that project, I’m there. When I judge another, that feels bad. So I stop doing it. Peace is the new black.

This isn’t about running up your credit cards, because it feels good, but examining what you do and think from energetic standpoint. I’ve started a new writing project, the first that I think has legs in a long time, and my only condition is that I feel peaceful while writing it. When it feels like a struggle, I walk away. I readjust my approach.

Libra rules the law of like attracts like, and I’m not talking about affirming for material things. Try withdrawing your attention from externals and going inward into the energy of your thoughts and feelings. Observe how like begets like. How your doubt begets more doubt, struggle begets struggle… and peace begets more peace.

Drop old patterns of struggle by claiming your peacefulness. Own your inner space as peaceful. Acknowledge that you are gooood. Even when others aren’t, and the world around you, isn’t. I literally just had the experience of watching my energy body step into a very old pattern, and then moonwalk itself right back out. I was surprised to realize that while the person in front of me was not, I was actually very peaceful. When we do this, we realign our reality from ego-based consciousness to our true nature, connection and ease.

There’s a song they sing at the Unitarian church that goes, “let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now.” Whether you want the world, or your life, to be peaceful, look at your thoughts, feelings and energy right now. This is not a deep, psychological process -save that for the Scorpio New Moon – but an intelligent, reflective one.

“My friend” had gotten used to the struggle. “My friend” had gotten used to thinking life was going to be hard. So she almost missed the memo, the one that read: A light, easy, touch feels so much better. Sometimes we need to check our selves, to ask whether life is truly hard, or if we’re addicted to the drama, excitement and adrenaline of struggle. 

Libra New Moon is conjunct Jupiter. What do you need to do to create more balance and less struggle in your life? What area of your life might benefit from the intention to have a more peaceful heart, and a lighter, easier touch? Stumped about where to place your New Moon intention? Look to 8’15’ Libra in your chart for that answer. Maybe we need to drop the struggle and step into peace. Maybe we need to start believing we are the kind of person that good things happen to.

Honor this moment of balance. Let it in. Expansion is palpable. Your life, your world, doesn’t have to be conflict-free to be peaceful inside. To claim your fortune, gravitate towards what feels lovely. Stand in your peace. Do what feels good. Good things await.

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Venus is in Scorpio from 9/23/16-10/17/16. Pluto in Capricorn moves direct on September 26, 2016. 

During Pluto and Scorpio times, we’re more susceptible to noticing the subtext – what’s below the surface- of our everyday interactions, conversation and encounters with others, probably because it’s more imperative that we do so at this time. Pluto holds our worst nightmares- pain, trauma, abandonment, fears – based in past wounds we’ve incurred, and the defenses to feeling those. When our unconscious bubbles up into daily life, it’s so we can see what’s been hiding there, holding our life energy hostage.

Yet, there is no planet, besides Saturn, more keenly interested in staying in control and keeping its perceived survival threats at bay than Pluto. So here’s the Pluto conundrum: How do I soothe my hurt places and fears while staying in control and ensuring my survival? This is one of the more unsavory sides of Pluto…

Emotional blackmail is a very real Plutonic strategy. Emotional blackmail is when someone uses fear, obligation or guilt to attempt to control another. The acronym is F.O.G., for the way it obscures the truth of the situation and scrambles our thoughts. Ironically, it’s a misguided attempt to get something that’s often legitimate (support, reassurance, love, safety, etc.), from another. It’s just ruthless in its insensitivity to others’ needs and desires.  Small children are amazingly effective at emotional blackmail. The term itself was first used to describe a problematic way teachers tried to control a classroom of children (Wiki).

“The person who is acting in a controlling way often wants something from the other person that is legitimate to want. They may want to feel loved, safe, valuable, appreciated, supported, needed, etc. This is not the problem. The problem is often more a matter of how they are going about getting what they want…” – Emotional Blackmail, Wikipedia

The essence of the strategy is trying to get someone (you) to take responsibility for my pain, emotions or situation.

If you’re extremely sensitive to energy that’s an especially tricky request, as you’re particularly vulnerable because you feel other people’s feelings as yours. For instance, if you feel fear, I may feel that fear as mine and if I am not conscious of this will probably do everything in my power to help us both get rid of the fear. To that end, maybe I agree to do something you ask me to do that I don’t really want to agree to (and end up feeling manipulated). Maybe I take responsibility for your emotions, because I feel them as my own, thus allowing you to discharge your stuff onto me and not deal with your own feelings. Maybe I hear the undertone of blame and guilt in your voice, and that causes me to doubt myself, my own motives, confidence. That’s how easy it is to get roped into this dynamic.

If this sounds familiar, here are a few things I’ve learned over the years.

Identify what’s yours and what’s mine. An incoming attempt at manipulation or emotional blackmail feels a combination of wrong, duplicitous, disrespectful and confusing. The quicker you notice this, the better. I do this energetically. When I feel another’s emotion, say, go into my heart chakra, I name the origin (“so and so’s fear”) so I don’t take it on as mine.
Make the decision to not take their stuff on. Their emergency/emotion is not your problem, no matter how convincing they make their case. Keep returning to this decision, a many times as it takes for you to be clear in this knowing.
Notice your role. If they’re triggering your compassion, your insecurity, your self-doubt, sense of over-responsibility, that’s yours to work with, BUT just notice it. It’s not something to spend all your time turning into a big problem you need to heal (unless it is a unhealthy pattern in your primary relationships, in which case — get professional help). After all, if they hadn’t pulled this strategy, you wouldn’t be experiencing this. Right now it’s your job to draw the line and stay in your own center.

My point with #3 is, just because you’re experiencing this with another doesn’t mean you are responsible for its occurrence.

And no matter how guilty, obligated, confused we feel in that moment, we always have a choice how to respond! We don’t have to take the bait, emotionally, energetically or materially — even if we promise something we didn’t mean to, we can go back and correct our self.

Some of us are apt to experience emotional blackmail more often because a) we first encountered this in our family of origin; we’re familiar and resonate with it b) we’re sensitive to energy and/or c) we’re healers. Healers, by design, are here to transmute energy. We are meant to notice all the nuances of what’s happening, so we can transmute it —without taking it on (the subject of future articles).

Those with strong Pluto and Scorpio in their natal charts are susceptible to this dynamic, and whether they are on the receiving or giving end depends on the rest of the chart, how sensitive or defended it appears, and how self-aware the person is.

In my experience, there are so many people who unconsciously use this strategy, so it’s best to have a game plan for when you encounter it. And there’s really no ultimate protection against feeling hurt or disrespected when someone does FOG on us. It can be painful to be treated insensitively, to feel used, inappropriately blamed, or even to be attempted to be manipulated. Even if you are able to see it all clearly, and not take it on, you will likely still have feelings about it. But know that whoever is using fear, obligation or guilt is actually in a lot of pain. There’s a lot of hurt inside there and (unless you’re their parent and they’re your kid) it’s not your responsibility!

Finally, if you are trying to control situations and people with your conditions and requirements, look underneath the behavior and voice your vulnerabilities and fears.  Maybe what you really want is another’s sympathy, affection, reassurance or understanding – all legitimate- but you cannot ever really and truly attain those things by strong-arming others into doing what you want them to do. Stop and reflect on what you really need. It’s time to stop reacting out of fear, and move towards self-love. It’s time to find a new way to finally get what you need.

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I used to feel astrologically cheated out of that zany and enlightened experience known as Pisces. I’ve thought about how fun it would be to bliss out during kirtan chanting, trip the light fantastic astral traveling, communicate with Spirit beings… but my reality has been far more mundane. Pisces holds only a small footnote in my fifth house, staking a far larger claim in my sixth (also home to a Mars-Pluto opposition). The textbooks say ‘must have creativity and imagination in your work situations’. I’d surely climb the walls without that. I’ve also sacrificed my health for a nameless and faceless job that didn’t care about me, and barely lived to tell that tale.

As such, in the past, I pulled on my Pisces like you would a medical prescription – to counteract burnout and stress. Until the day that stopped working. Pisces needed to be honored, or else. I had to squarely face the fact that as long as I was out of alignment with my work-life, I would never be well. As astrologer Dana Gerhardt says of this house, “In the 6th we notice life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. We can drown in our failure. Or we can do something about it. We can either suffer or grow.” My Mars-Pluto has the work ethic of a migrant field worker in the final days of harvest season, but with Pisces along for the ride, a thimble’s worth of consciousness is far mightier than effort and exertion. I had to grow more flow, surrender, intuition and creativity into my routines and work. I had to serve others in ways that were appropriate for me, for this body.

The Fishes ways aren’t easy to wrap one’s head around. Into the area of life Pisces falls we may struggle with a seemingly irreconcilable conundrum that ties us in knots. The current of illusion is strong, here. Always, we are faced with a choice, although at first appears with the cryptic message ‘There’s No Way Out Of This One, Buddy”. The romantic siren song of pain, separation, confusion can drown out our inherent intuitive connection to truth. Where we find Pisces (and Neptune) we are vulnerable to getting caught up in an emotional drama, to struggling with the wrong problems or asking the wrong questions. The lens of what’s real and what’s unreal, what’s yours and what’s mine, bends like taffy. Take the missive of this area too seriously – with ego, striving, a need to understand or be right- and you’ll suffer more than necessary. Some things in life are far too important to be taken seriously.

Pisces intrigues us with its promise of connection to Spirit, a soothing panacea for our human experiences of separation and alienation. Each of us have different mediators into personal awareness of our connection to a greater consciousness–some lovely and some dark. My friend Emma has Venus, Jupiter and the South Node in the twelfth house, so I wasn’t surprised when one day she relayed her life-changing story about an ecstatic experience involving trance, dance and slipping between the veils of the world. Knowing her chart, I’d already imagined this type of experience came easy to her. Yet in comparing our experiences with the twelfth house (Pisces) we both found common ground. I have natal Pluto in my twelfth house. One night many years ago, I walked into the great dark Pacific with the intention of never coming back. Standing there, knee deep in that cold, dark water, I ran through only two scenarios: I could leave or I could stick around. Words fail to describe the magic that happened next, but somewhere in the futility and confusion and the cold dark water, I surrendered into nothingness. That humbling moment changed everything. Then an inkling of curiosity arose. I realized I really wanted to see how it all turned out. After all, what else did I have to do with my time?! Suddenly, life appeared to be a game, one that I needed to take far less seriously. I had been so invested in how I wanted things to be, as if that mattered. I focused on the courage of this human life and curiosity about what would happen next. These realizations flooded my senses with calm. They made me want to laugh!

My friend had received guidance at the right moment through ecstatic dance. I had been baptized in the waters of the great Pacific. On the highway of a life that was no longer working for us, we had each reached the “last exit” sign –a greater power through surrender. Maybe I experienced the death of my ego-consciousness. As I walked back to shore, I returned with the consciousness that my life was my own, yet I was so much more. When the small “I” broke, consciousness flooded in. Returning from my water-fire baptism, I began approaching my life from the perspective that I was not alone. No one who knew me would’ve known anything had changed, but me. Brought to my knees by Pluto, I broke that invisible cycle of impossible futility by surrendering to and acknowledging a greater power within and surrounding my self. From that day forward, I knew I was connected to Spirit.

So this is what I’ve come to learn about Pisces: The areas under Pisces’ sway can be our own private Idaho or a mystical experience. Probably both. Creativity or madness? Irrational nonsense or poetry? Illness or healing agent? Suffer or surrender? Wound or teacher? Hypersensitive hell or empathic connection? Take your pick. Perplexing, maddeningly confounding as with any double-bodied sign (Gemini-Sagittarius-Pisces), you will need to reconcile one-or-the-other/either/or thinking here. And you will learn that the harder you try to solve the riddle of Pisces with ego schemes or fear, the harder life becomes.

You’re living in your own Private Idaho

Living in your own Private Idaho

Underground like a wild potato.

Don’t go on the patio.

Beware of the pool,

blue bottomless pool.

It leads you straight

right through the gate

that opens on the pool. – B52’s Private Idaho

This Pisces Full Moon Eclipse connects with Chiron. Chiron, the wounded healer, holds all the parts of our human experience that feel unjust, unfair and painful. In myth, immortal Chiron sacrificed his immortality so he could be put out of his chronic pain; the only way out of chiron-ic pain is death. Like Pluto, Chiron can connect us to the part of our self that cries, “This is too hard! I want this to end, I want out!” Yet pain is necessary part of the human experience. My source of pain isn’t the same as yours, yet it is something we all share, feel, have in common.

Pisces also connects us to the mystical experience. Here, you can give something larger of your self. Here, you can truly and deeply serve humanity by honoring the sacred in your self. Here, ego-sacrifice, when made intentionally, is a high calling. In this area, faith is your rocket fuel, intuition and imagination your able guides. In this area you will be divinely inspired, disillusioned, lost, redeemed and deeply challenged to see your self clearly. Here, as Martha Beck lovingly writes, we may experience the Storm Before the Calm (not the other way around) so that the horrible loss, failure, ache or shame can give us exactly what we need.

Like a Houdini magic trick, when you’re all tied up in Pisces’ ropes, it’s hard to believe a shift in consciousness is exactly what you need to untie in a millisecond what you’ve been struggling with for years. But it can. I don’t claim to have the magic formula for you, but I can suggest a few things. Start by surrendering to what is. This is your human experience and it’s meant to be happening. If you haven’t done so yet, courageously, humbly, honestly face your self. Finally, remove all seriousness. Add in a smidgen of absurdity. Then relax and laugh at the zaniness of it all. Now you’re in the right frame of mind, what we might call Buddha Mind, to alchemize your own Private Idaho into your own Mystical Experience.

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Jupiter will precess into Libra from 9/9/2016-10/10/2017. Librans will receive a whole lotta love from love this placement, but Jupiter in Libra is not stingy with its affections. Read on to find out how everyone can benefit from this transit.

1. Partnering is in the air!

Relationships will flourish. There will be more partnering, both business and romantic, and more people interested partnering and/or improving the quality of their current relationships. Very important relationships will begin, and develop over this time. Jupiter is the VIP of the zodiac, so think: important, influential, powerful. The last time Jupiter entered Libra, twelve years ago (2004), I met my future husband (so did my sister!). We began dating and married a year later.

If you have relationship difficulties to work through, or patterns you’d like to be healthier, you will also experience more divine discontent. If you’re in a partnership that “could be better” you will feel that during this time. If your relationship life is dysfunctional or unhealthy, Jupiter could make that into an obvious and big deal. As I told a client whose Libra friend has multiple partners (none of whom are happy about this situation), this strategy could explode for him this year.

Jupiter, like every other planet, wants to put us in the right situation for our growth, and Libra is all about mutual trust, peace and fairness in our one-on-one relationships. If, in order to get to the right relationship, we need to address the fact that we’ve been seeing two people, haven’t been honest with them, or need to work on our trust issues, etc.- Jupiter will make the problems bigger, more obvious. Jupiter wants to deliver us into better relationship dynamics by eliminating the difficulty, and sometimes that means getting out of a dead-end relationship.

Some relationships will fall to the wayside; the ones with real potential will grow.

2. Express your artistic side.

All artistic, creative endeavors are super supported during this transit. Frankly, our world sorely needs art and artists now. Art is a relaxing, peaceful and civilizing force- and is the remedy for chaos, anger and violence. Imagine classical music being piped through our city streets, and how that would change the energy. I’m writing you from Vienna, Austria, a Libra Sun city. There’s a piano sitting in the central part of Vienna, an open invitation for anyone to sit and play, and for onlookers to bask in enjoyment. Culture, beauty and art always bring uplift. This is the spirit of this transit.

We will all be feeling an urge to make an area of our life more stylish, relaxing, beautiful. If Jupiter transits your fourth house, redecorate your home. Take a spare- no-expense attitude, but don’t expect it to cost a fortune if you are cash poor. With Jupiter, if we tell the universe “I really want and deserve for this (blank) to happen” we find great deals on things we love. Transit to your first house? Style makeovers with your wardrobe and appearance are in order (along with simply feeling more confident). Your twelfth? Your spiritual life could use more fun and lovely energy. You might create or find a gorgeous healing refuge. Art and fashion, beauty, relaxation and pleasure should not be considered superfluous but essential to any healthy society.

3. Be nice.

Civility, sophistication and tact is on the rise. Aren’t we all beyond fed up with rudeness, coarseness, crassness? We need to dial down the ugly, to remember laws of basic human decency, like how to have a conversation while honoring each other. With Uranus in Aries, many people have been hyper-vigilant, expecting to be attacked and opposed, which perpetuates more of the same.

Here’s an idea: How about not starting a conversation with “I disagree”? Libra’s strategy is to honor everyone at the table, not just those we agree with, and to look for and honor the common ground we share, instead of what we don’t. This doesn’t deny another’s point of view, nor does it passively condone it, but graciously includes room for others’ experiences, and for learning.

My husband has Venus in Libra in the ninth house, the astrological house affiliated with Jupiter. He regularly works closely with people from other religious and cultural backgrounds, and his attitude is to understand and learn- even when he’s challenged by very extreme points of view.

When he’s talking with others who share radically different worldviews and beliefs, myself included sometimes (he’s a scientist, I’m an astrologer; this is a reality for us!), he recognizes the value or honoring another’s worldview. For instance, if I believe cell phone radiation and chem-trails exist and threaten my health, he can certainly say “there’s no science data to support that” and offer expertise …but if I’m convinced these are real, he doesn’t attempt to undermine or discount my reality.

There’s a reason why diplomacy and peace flourish when we’re simply being nice.

It’s become politically imperative that we are more able to be more objective, more tolerant, nicer. If we all want it bad enough, this is the year we can be that change.

4. Improve your social life.

The last time Jupiter entered Libra 2004, my social circle expanded. I was invited by one of my clients to join an artist group, which gave me the support I needed, and the wings, to write my first book. In turn, I offered my support to them and quite an amazing, tight-knit and talented group was born. Facebook was also born that year -which probably expanded your social circle, too.

As said earlier, relationships of all sorts should flourish, especially those with common Libran interests- art, creativity, beauty, pleasure. So make new friends. Find allies and support for your goals and dreams. Be open to receiving others’ generosity in all forms- spiritual, material, social, mental or emotional- and offer yours. Remember the law of attraction with Libra: Give and you shall receive. Watch how extending yourself extends the invitation for others to do similar for you.

Some of these friends may be a different feather from your usual “type”. Uranus and Pluto are, after all, influencing this transit (read that bit below), putting pressure on us to evolve our connections, and to embrace differences.

5. Make it beautiful, relaxing and sweet.

There’s reason to anticipate beautiful new fashion trends and designers, along with the expansion of wedding-related, art and sweets businesses. Historically Jupiter in Libra has brought fashion trends like love beads, poet shirts (1968-69). Jupiter in Libra’s (fashion) transit of 1992-93 were years I remember well. Do you remember these trends: baby doll dresses, Doc Martens, plaid with everything, denim overalls, skin tight body-con dresses and bodysuits? I’ve just started glimpsing full bodysuits again, worn with denim, bodysuit peeking out. Bodysuit comeback anyone?

I’m also thinking of all things sweet and relaxing. One of my clients is entertaining the idea of partnering up to open a bakery with a pastry chef. These are the types of endeavors supported during this time. Anything that puts the cherry on top of life, and brings us back to our pleasure centers is a very good, and relaxing, pursuit.

Uranus and Pluto’s Influence on Jupiter in Libra

As much as I want to aim for the brightest possible experience of Jupiter in Libra, it’s clear that this transit is not all peace, love and ease. Uranus and Pluto are drivers of deeper collective change. Jupiter in Libra will square both of these planets, just as Jupiter in Virgo squared Saturn and Neptune, thus modifying our experience of it. Imagine trying to buy or deliver roses when the growers are on strike or the exporter of roses has been taken over by a military coup. Imagine organizing a wonderful, well-attended creative arts retreat only to have the venue go up in flames (read Chris Zydel, owner of Creative Juices Arts, very Plutonian true story). As Chris’ story illustrates, Uranus and Pluto continue to require our resilience and ingenuity.

Politically, throughout the Uranus-Pluto square, it’s been hard to get along (Libra). A two party system is a Venus/Libra concept and our inability to take a middle path has severely mangled our democracy, and our relations. Jupiter could make the problem of bi-partisanship bigger, inflate its flaws to the point of improving things.

Jupiter Transits To Your Chart

Our experience of Jupiter in Libra will certainly be affected by what’s broken, dying (Pluto) and undergoing revolution, chaos and revolt (Uranus) in our world, but there will be plenty of opportunities for Jupiter to deliver goodies to your chart.

What planets will he transit, and where? Here’s where you want to ask these Jupiter questions: Where am I settling for too little? Where can I stretch beyond my previously imagined limits? Where have I been underestimating myself?

While Jupiter can be the cosmic Santa Claus, dropping goodies in our lap without our conscious participation, we have a higher likelihood of receiving them if we are.

To deliver growth and opportunity in our lives, Jupiter asks for three things: Firstly, we must ask for more. Second, we must confidently know that we do deserve better. And, finally, we must have the faith to know that if we do the above, it will happen.

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Those who know me rarely see me without a Moon necklace. Obviously, I am drawn to the Moon, and being a Libra Rising (Venus in Cancer) I love my (Moon) jewels. So when I came across MoonGlow Jewelry my curiosity piqued. Their unique angle is a) the jewelry is made with an actual picture of the Moon and b) there’s a Moon for every moment, and they want you to commemorate the big moments of your life (birth, first date, proposals, birth of child, etc.) with a piece of jewelry.

A few months ago, they approached me to write their website Moon phase descriptors. I was familiar with the company, enjoy the concept, so agreed.  I said I’d be happy to introduce you to their line; they wanted to send me a piece, I said “surprise me”. Here we are (disclaimer: I was gifted this necklace in exchange for review).

You can see the picture of my birth Moon phase here- Last Quarter.

The picture of the Moon on the charm IS unique and unexpected.

Because of the predominance of black, I keep seeing the Pluto symbol in it. Or maybe it’s because my own Moon is currently being transited by Pluto.

Here’s what you can’t see on my photo- but you can catch a glimpse of on the company’s website.  It glows! Despite coming with a small flashlight thing-a-ma-bob, I didn’t get that this was the case (there was no indicating that’s what the flashlight was for, so I tossed it). While writing this review, I read the website description for my Atmosphere pendant. It didn’t glow, so I wrote the company. They told me I could charge it by setting it in the Sun, which I did, and voila! Glow.

About the Moon Phase calculator, where you enter your birth date (or anniversary or whatnot) and are told your Moon phase and descriptor before ordering your piece of customized Moon phase jewelry: It’s sometimes on the fritz. I’ve tested it multiple times and while the phase itself is accurate, the descriptor may not be. I’ve sent emails to the company. Hopefully, by the time this is published it won’t be.

In short, I really enjoy wearing this necklace! I would give this necklace as a gift to any Moon enthusiast. The bracelets look fun, too. All arrive in an attractive silver/black box, perfect for giving and marks a special occasion shared (note: I did not write the Moon phase descriptions inside the box).

Nostalgic, just like the Moon, right?

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photo credit: John Shepherd, at the Wrenkh restaurant, Vienna, Austria

Six months ago, during the the Pisces-Libra eclipses, something shifted in my consciousness and my sensitivity gates opened up with great, brutal force. As the song for Empaths goes, “Anything you can feel, I can feel stronger. Anything you can hear, I can hear more”. Empathy is “feeling and understanding emotions that aren’t yours,” and while I can do that, too, my challenge has been environmental, collective. I began feeling I was living on an exposed cliff on a windy day where the weather of collective angst, fear and anxiety blew directly into…Me.

I’ve always been “empathic” but now I’m a full-fledged Empath. When fear, anxiety, hostility, aggression touches me, I feel it all. Like the Virgo story of the sensitive Princess and the Pea, I feel the pea, no matter how many or how soft the mattresses. Frankly, it’s been terrifying, at times, fielding so much harsh energy, all at once.

Is it surprising I feel this way? In the US, people are in fear about what’s happening politically, socially. When there’s a direct stimulus, like a violent person or a bounced rent check, fear is a natural normal response that mobilizes us to take action, but when fear and survival is “in the air”, when people are ungrounded, uncertain and spinning out into anxiety so much, life can become a downright nightmare for the Empath. Navigating this has been my pressing spiritual issue.

I’ve had to get tools, mentors and acquire new skills. I’ve learned there are no mental shields, no magical techniques, no special crystal to keep negativity out of my energy body. But when I understand that this is temporary, that feelings are no deeper than superficial dirt on my skin, I can wash them off. The more serious I am about remaining conscious and clear. Paradoxically, the less serious I am about making this into a big life-or-death deal, the better I fare (natal Pluto is in my twelfth house). I’ve learned: I don’t have to get pulled into the drama of believing any reality can hurt me more than a schoolyard scrape. I can still be at the circus, and enjoy the cute monkeys, when I don’t give the scary-looking clowns authority.

This Virgo New Moon Eclipse makes contact with the final pass of the Saturn-Neptune square. Over the course of this square, we’ve each met with chaos, uncertainty, fear, self-doubt and disarray in our own ways. We’ve each met the scary circus clowns, to discover they are an illusion. We’ve watched old lives and foundations crumble, old dreams get pulled out to sea. We’ve been challenged, if not found it impossible, to do what Virgo does best– identify what’s broken and fix it. Maybe we feel so disillusioned, we feel done. Astraea, Virgo’s Goddess, the last immortal who came to Earth, took a look at humanity’s corruption, wickedness and high-tailed it out of here. Even sensitive Goddesses want to flee!

Under the influences of the mutables (Gem, Virgo, Sag, Pisces)  we have been in the classroom of learning and adaptation– we’ve needed to think fast on our feet, to change with the changing tides, let go and adapt to new circumstances because that guarantees our survival. The Saturn-Neptune square began in November 2015 and ends September 11, 2016. What have the mutables been teaching you?

During Virgo season, like Astraea, we turn a critical eye on all the ways our personal and collective world is broken, all the things that need fixing, improving. Unlike her, we are human, and we have a role to play. We are in Earth School for a reason. No matter how difficult, we are meant to be here right now. Believing anything other than that keeps us in fearful retreat and hiding. Believing otherwise keeps us small.

Saturn in Sagittarius’ square points to the necessity of looking at our beliefs and whether they help or hinder us. I’ve needed to look at my beliefs about the feelings that hit me with the force of a 2×4. I can feel a heavy grief on my heart, lurch of fear in my stomach, the flutter of anxiety… but that does that mean the feelings are mine? Are they real? Convincing as they are, no and no. Other people’s feelings cannot hurt me. Feelings are temporary, and cannot hurt me.

We each get to choose what reality we believe in. Do the truths on which we base our most important beliefs contain anything other than beauty, kindness and compassion? Do material values ever trump spiritual ones, despite what we see? Is life, and the people and players in it, bad just because it doesn’t feel good now?

Life doesn’t feel good all the time. Some of the time it feels pretty bad. That’s by design. Life is an experience- it may feel good, or bad- but it is just an experience. As we navigate this shifting paradigm we need to keep all hands on deck. That means keeping our feet on the ground, our hands on the wheel, and not checking out- through apathy, retreating in overwhelm, or even retreating into self-righteousness and anger.

It’s Virgo season. Earth School is in session. What small, practical step will help you move from uncertainty and chaos, into surety and a sense of competence? We may need mentors, meditation, to clean up our diet, website, or organize our junk drawer (because, in a moment of overwhelm, taking a single decisive action can make a world of difference in our mental state). Under Virgo, it’s good to look at your daily habits. With Neptune’s opposition, we may need to see where we’ve been in chaos, or “checking out” with escapist tendencies- from social networking to substances, food or fantasizing about a problem-free shangri-la.

Notice what this New Moon Eclipse stimulates in your chart. This area of your life has now entered accelerated growth.  The solar eclipse can act like a deep cleaning vacuum, clearing out debris and misunderstanding…so it can deliver brand new “experiences” designed especially for your learning, and your learning only.

Ultimately, this New Moon can catapult you into a new relationship to your consciousness. The smallest shifts in perception and habit can make a dramatic difference. My biggest leap involved a change of perception. Feeling other people’s pain and fear isn’t scary when I believe (Sag) and know (Pisces) it cannot hurt me. Your journey isn’t the same as mine, but if I can learn to see through fear (Saturn) and illusion (Neptune), so can you. You’ve got this!

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The eleventh is the natural house of Aquarius, associated with visions and dreams, hopes and goals for the future, friendships and allies. When I first began studying astrology, the eleventh house was enigmatic. I’d think: A planet in the house of “wishes? Well, sprinkle pixie dust and spin me three times. Over time, I realized the way to properly understand this assortment of descriptors was through Aquarius’ golden rule: The right network of allies always help you achieve your goals and dreams. There is a universal truism here: We may be outsiders, aliens or iconoclasts but we never arrive at a future we want, alone.

A truism is true for a reason. I can trace every accomplishment that’s ever really mattered to me to people who have helped to make it happen. Like a string of pearls, each of these precious people had everything to do with my personal and professional success. I didn’t necessarily personally know those who aided and abetted my future self- not at first. Aquarian friends and allies are not your best friends (that’s Libra; although they came become your besties), but they are your friends. They are the people you get to know, through your interests, joining up in collective concerns, through other people you know.

Aquarius Full Moon is a time of nurturing both our visions for our future, and the friendships and alliances that help us get there. According to Robert Cole’s book, The Book of Houses, this is the house of the visionary. For the month when the Sun annually transits this natal house, we are open to receiving visions about our future, and are unconsciously or consciously choosing our dream-seeds for the next year. Eleventh house/Aquarius holds that kind of dreamy magic and, likewise, of harvest, of dreams-do-come-true. When we plant seeds and water them with friendship and support, they do.

Every year when the full moon alights in Aquarius it is a time for both planning and harvesting dream seeds. Where do you want to go next? Who is already where you want to be? Ally with a person or group who is doing what you want to be; that’s a strategy for getting there. Is a dream coming true for you now? If so, thank your lucky stars, and the friends and allies that surely played a role in your harvest’s arrival.

What if our vision for the future is about as clear as pancake batter? Or, what if, in our attempt to find allies, we simply don’t fit in? Questions of social belonging fall into our Aquarius/eleventh house(s), too. My astrology student’s Neptune was moving into Aquarius so I encouraged her to attend an astrology conference for the first time. The results were mixed. She reported back that while she had thought she was different from the crowd, everyone was much more weird and she ended up not connecting with anyone, socially. Ah. Feeling different, alien, not fitting in- also Aquarius.

What she did next gave me a double take on the “future” aspect of this house/sign. She had been circling a dying relationship and unsatisfying job. After months of talking about it, she finally left her job and relationship -without having a new one of either. Her eleventh house ruler was active both by transit and Solar Arc. She finally claimed her future.

Jupiter and Uranus form a quincunx at this full moon. Uranus, Aquarius’ ruler, is the planet of visionary progress and invention, Jupiter, possibility, faith and hope. Quincunx energy holds slippery magic, subject to wild changes of fortune and circumstance, and wooed by entertaining possibilities on the outer edges of reason. Build a dream catcher. Even if of wishes for “something better than this”, fairy wings, band-aids and rubber bands, this a hopeful vision for your future self to explore and, perhaps one surprising day, step into. Celebrate your harvest, and your tribe. They are your Aquarian dream posse. And as that famous Beatle sang about his own dream posse: We all get by with the help of our friends.

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