New Year Greetings and Blessings Beloveds!
The weather here in Southern California is perfectly aligned
with yesterday’s watery Full Moon in Cancer, a sort of dreamy, slow, inwardly
facing moon – a perfect time to curl up with a cup of tea by the fire while the
rain falls outside. I am fully engaged with Winter energy, taking to my bed
right after dinner, reading, studying, writing from under the covers. It feels
deeply nourishing and exactly what my system is calling for.
Most humans had a challenging 2016. The Pluto-Uranus
engagement of the past few years has left us bereft of our illusions, ways of
hiding and habitual ways of dealing. We have been called to find new ways of
seeing, being and living. Last year Saturn was sitting directly on top of most
everyone’s head, telling us it was time to create a daily engagement with
Spirit, whether through Yoga, Meditation, Breath, Study, etc. If you were
obedient to Saturn’s demands, this year should find you functioning rather
differently than you have in the past. If you have been resisting Saturn’s dictate
for consistency in your practice, you will receive more of the same this year,
except it will be even more uncomfortable to ignore what must be done. And what
must be done? We must bring our A-Game. Why? Because we have been
stripped bare, there is nowhere left to hide (except extreme addiction and the
like.) Our only good option is to face the hard truths of our collective and
individual shadow. We can no longer avoid the parts of ourselves (and others)
that we don’t like. We cannot simply look away, back away, ignore; we must find
a way to see, understand and even love what before we could not even
acknowledge existed.
On a personal level, this is a call for an engagement with
radical self-love, self-understanding, self-forgiveness. Something I have found
really helpful with this is the investigation of the archetypal self - our
planetary base-line strengths, super-powers and proclivities along with our
innate challenges and weak points. These can be quite easily revealed through
an astrological chart reading, a numerology report and the like. These are
easy, no-brainer tools that help us see and accept a wider picture of
ourselves. When I had my numerology chart done, a whole new layer of “Oh,
that’s why I have a tendency to do that” was revealed. It helps alleviate any
self-loathing, blame or shame we have around our weaknesses; instead they
become challenges we are tasked with overcoming in this lifetime, rather than
self-fulfilling prophesies of doom that makes us feel shitty about ourselves.
And by rising up and overcoming our pre-prescribed challenges, we are
overcoming karma, fulfilling dharma and just generally leading a happier life.
Another tool to developing self-love and acceptance is to consistently remind
ourselves what we also are, the broader truth of us. We are unique and
individualized radiations of Divine Energy; we are not separate from God, we
are wholly One with It, we are LITERALLY made of It. This is a truth we must
remind ourselves of again and again and again. It is imperative that we have
some sort of practice wherein we feel this truth in our bodies and throughout
our radiant fields regularly. I find this in kundalini yoga practice. I
literally shower myself daily with the blessing of this knowing; I ‘get high on
my own supply’ (-Guru Jagat). And my own supply is really, really good stuff.
On a collective level, we are also called to find new ways
of seeing, being and living. An oppositional, Us versus Them mentality does not
work. It gets us nowhere. (Or rather it gets us here, with our current
Presidential Situation.) Time to know that our way is not the only way, that
those ‘across the aisle’ also have hopes and dreams for humanity, although they
have differing views on how to achieve them. At an energetic, heart and spirit-based
level, we are all on the same team. Time to listen to those who think
differently from us, with the goal of hearing and understanding, not convincing
or proving anyone wrong or right. Time to throw all viewpoints into the center
and see what holds water, what is in alignment with everyone’s needs and goals,
what allows us to unite in common purpose. Time to keep our eyes and ears wide
open, ALL THE TIME, for as awakened ones, we are the Guardians of Goodness and
Right Relationship. We have been shown that our collective shadow harbors a lot
of fear and separation and outright meanness. We get to be lighthouses of
Goodness and Right Action, in order to counterbalance what is being held up as
acceptable in our world right now. We will not do this by making anyone wrong;
we will simply BE what is right. So live loudly in Kindness, Gentleness,
Inclusion, Helpfulness, Tolerance, Peace. Make it so that your very presence
makes others feel better. This is how we can each be in service to the world
this year.
Speaking of 2017, the energies of this year are varied,
however two things stand out. The first and more gentler experience is a Venus
Retrograde that happens from March 4th – April 15th.
Venus changes signs during the Retrograde which means we are in for a
double-edged lesson; one will feel lovely and the other will feel the opposite
of lovely. Venus’s lesson is all about knowing how to give and receive Love so
it will involve all of our relationships. Do what you can to dive deeply into
opening your heart and allowing Love to teach you how to live from there. The
second and deeper theme is a recurring Saturn-Uranus Trine, which indicates a
cooperative and profound interaction between these two planets. They already
had their first meet-up in December and will have two more encounters this
year. This means we should be ready for anything, for anything can happen and
probably will. The changes that come will be significant, structural shifts
that will demand we evolve to incorporate them. (Uranus brings the lightening strike and Saturn says "You better shift yourself to deal with this.") This will be easier for some
than others, depending on how these two planets interact with your birth chart.
Here is a very brief and simplified overview of how each sign will be affected,
courtesy of Dr. Michael Lennox (I paraphrased). Be sure to pay attention to both
your sun and rising sign for you are influenced by both.
Aries: will have a wonderful experience of these
energies – shifts and changes will be abundant, profound and easy - and will likely feel
really good. (YAAAAAY ME).
Taurus: will feel this happening around them but not deeply in
their own atmosphere. They will be forced to make choices to adapt yet those
choices will not be around profound shifts and changes.
Gemini: will be in Opposition to the Trine, which
means it will be hard work, yet will be harmonious and profound in a good way.
Lots of inspiration and creativity with regards to structure and lessons.
Cancer: will have a challenging experience with this
– goals will need to shift, major changes occur.
Leo: Fire, inspiration, passion, all good. (YAAAAAY
ME AGAIN!!!!)
Virgo: will not have an easy time of it as things will happen suddenly, bluntly and will force new paths.
Libra: will have sudden, confrontational shifts - that
are easily navigated.
Scorpio: will have drama, but not trauma.
Sagittarius: will use the Uranus energy well, but
will get nailed by Saturn (lessons, structure).
Capricorn: will experience this as a Square, which is
agitated energy that leads to good results.
Aquarius: will experience this as a Sextile, which is
a productive, creative energy, leading to positive changes that feel good.
Pisces: will experience challenges but in a slow
steady way. A good year to ‘chop wood, carry water’.
Please realize that this is not ‘bad’ news for anyone. If
you are one of this signs that will be harder hit this year, it simply means
that you are being called to be more excellent than you’ve been previously. It
doesn’t mean that you will be flattened; it means you will be charged with
STANDING UP, TAKING AHOLD OF YOURSELF, DOING YOUR WORK WITH DILLIGENCE AND
EXCELLENCE AND ROCKING THE SHIT OUT OF THIS OPPORUTNITY TO BE MORE. It’s like
skiing, when you’re just gliding along on good snow and all is well in the
world and then suddenly you hit a heinous patch of ice – and you are forced to
hunker down, power up and really dig in those edges. You are a better skier for
these moments, able to handle the worst of conditions. So be grateful you
called in these challenges so that you could get better at winning life.
And speaking of winning life and Guru Jagat, her book
“Invincible Living” just dropped and it is TREMENDOUS. Simple, clean,
accessible and brilliant. I highly recommend it:
Be good, do your best, stay awake out there.
All Love.
