ALL WORK IS MOTHER WORK

Equinox Blessings Beloveds! As September draws to a close, I find myself counting my blessings, offering gratitude for the ever-present abundance that is my life and allowing myself to feel more deeply than ever before. I write this from an airplane on my way home from Hawaii where my beloved and I just completed a five day workshop on Sacred Relationship and Sexuality that has opened me in ways I cannot yet fathom. And always in perfect timing as the prevailing energies now through the end of the year are all about Relationship, so we will be deeply supported as we integrate and expand on the work.

The work was largely about embodying archetypes and how the Divine Masculine and Feminine work together to form wholeness and balance in Relationship. We just passed the Fall Equinox, a balance point in Earth’s yearly journey around the sun, when day and night are of equal length, offering us an archetypal moment to feel our own still point of balance. Do we hang out in the light, forsaking darkness? Do we shun our own darkness out of shame or fear? Do we allow ourselves to be the full spectrum? As humans we are all of it and to function fully we must have understanding or at least knowledge of our dark side, otherwise when it comes online – as it always will - we’ll go unconscious. Or we’ll subvert, pervert, mask or whatever else we habitually do to avoid owning it.

What does that look like in the real world?

Say as a child I was not noticed or praised. Part of the feminine ‘package’ is the inherent desire to be noticed and praised and so when I did not receive it, I subverted the desire and made it mean I’m not worthy of notice or praise. This makes me angry and sad. Forty years later, when I buy a new dress to wear to my husband’s work event and also get my hair done and he doesn’t notice, what do I do? If I’m not in touch with my dark side, I likely won’t understand my subverted anger and feelings of unworthiness. So I’ll project the energy of that unmet need onto my husband, making it his fault and getting angry at him for not noticing my efforts. And I’ll add it to my ever-expanding list of ‘Ways That He Fails Me’ which is a non-reality that literally cuts away at the lifeblood of my marriage. Or, if I’m aware of my darkness around how my unmet childhood needs created this habitual patterning, instead of getting angry and blaming him when he doesn’t notice, I may go to him with my hand on my heart and show him my sadness around that. And, if I’m really hip to my needs and his functionality, I might go to him before he even has a chance to notice me and dance around him saying, “Do you like my new dress and hair as much as I do?!” If I’m bringing the fullness of my feminine energy to this dance, he will most definitely shower me with appreciation and praise. And if not, I am wise enough to ask him for it, saying, “I’m really feeling the need to be noticed and praised right now.”

Understanding our darkness begins with the Feminine. At our inception, as our bodies formed inside our mothers, her electromagnetic field imprinted upon our developing field. There is no way this can be avoided. And so whatever our mother was feeling – fear, grief, anger, overwhelm – was hardwired into us. This is the basis of our ‘mother issues’ and we all have them. And then, whatever our mother felt about our father was also hardwired and became the basis of our father issues. In normal human functionality, we either assimilate or reject our parental patterning. Assimilation means despite our best efforts, we wind up sounding and acting exactly like our mothers, which can create feelings of disassociation and self-loathing. And if we reject our mother, we use all our energy to do the opposite, which also creates tension and self-loathing because ultimately we know we are not free to be ourselves. We will marry our fathers or his opposite because of this imprinting. Only when we release ourselves from this habitual wheel of assimilation/rejection can we become liberated to who we truly are, so that we can make choices and design our lives from the creative pulse of desire that flows through us. Only then can we truly deliver what we came here to be.

And so we do our mother work. The good news is we don’t have to go back and understand our mothers! We can work multidimensionally, outside of time and space and literally reprogram our developing selves in utero. We can bathe our electromagnetic field in utero with what is also (eternally) present: Oneness, Absolute Love, Peace, Joy, Clarity, Purpose. We can tap into all the good that also flows through our ancestral line, through all of human consciousness. We can enliven the part of our field wherein we remember who we are and why we came.

There are various ways of doing this - find someone in your area who facilitates this kind of work. I do - and it can be done remotely over the phone. And if you're in the Los Angeles area, come to my monthly Women's Circle where we regularly dive deep into our darkest natures as well as amplify our brightest selves.

As the world spins faster and crazier, it is imperative that we become the calm at the eye of the storm. We must have the wherewithal to hold a high frequency within our fields, no matter what. We can never fix or heal others; we heal ourselves and our wholeness becomes a lighthouse for others to find theirs, so that we all can live from our highest selves. Doesn't that sound like heaven?

(If you would like more information or a referral to a facilitator, I can be reached at jaclyng@gelbgroup.com)

BLAH BLAH ECLIPSE BLAH BLAH

I know. It's all about the eclipses. Even if you don't know what I'm talking about right now, trust me - your life has been all about the eclipses. So every single year two lunar and two solar eclipses happen and some years there is an extra one, giving us five total. Simply put, eclipses are cosmic alignments wherein the earth casts a shadow on the moon or the moon casts a shadow on the sun. They are also portals, potent windows of vastly increased energy wherein we can achieve some major energetic shifting. Every eclipse is 'governed' by the geometries made by the movements of celestial bodies during the portal, which runs roughly from a full moon lunar eclipse (August 4th) to a new moon solar eclipse (August 21st). We don't often get total eclipses of the sun as we have this month, an event that further heightens the already gigantic energies.

I have been looking at the implications of these eclipses all year as they tend to be auspicious periods of rapid spiritual growth for me. I ride the cosmic energies like a surfer, squeezing every bit of  opening, releasing, and transformation I can out of it. I go way in. The energies this year are so vast, so profound and multi-layered that I have been sitting (and sitting) with how to condense it all into this little ole newsletter for ya'll. How can I present it with any sense of manageability, without your eyeballs rolling back into your head two minutes in? And the answer has been I can't, which is why this didn't present itself weeks ago. I even considered leaving you to your own devices by sending a newsletter that simply said "I'm in too deep to speak, Google 'Eclipses August 2017'. Good luck, see you on the other side." Seriously. 

But then in my own practice, while doing a yoga class with Guru Jagat, she layed down the single most beautiful teaching about the eclipses, one that was so simple and elegant that I immediately determined to share it with you. Banished were thoughts of Jupiter and Uranus, and fire, fire, fire, and Vesta and the Divine Feminine and power dynamics and Mercury and air, and words and more words. It all suddenly became so simple and obvious. Here in a nutshell, here is what she said: 

This total eclipse of the sun happening on August 21st - really the jewel of the season - is about change at a cellular level. It is considered a 'Particle Convergence', linked to the Harmonic Convergence that occurred during the summer eclipse season of 1987. A new stream of thought (that would change the course of history) was layed down by the awakened ones on the planet at that time and this eclipse is the second movement of that thought stream. What it means to you and me is we have the opportunity to change our lives drastically by simply allowing our negative, destructive patterns and selves (from lifetimes and lineages) to fall away and not exist within us anymore, just GONE. And we don't have to do anything for this to happen except to conduct ourselves positively. During this heightened energetic time, it's imperative that we think and act constructively towards ourselves, holding only our strengths and amplifying them again and again. Be friendly to yourself, continually looking out for your highest and best interests, the best use of your time, the best treatment of your body, mind and soul. Be your own soul-mate, develop a deep and loving stream of communication with yourself, do your best by you. Always. With every choice, every breath. Protect your mind from negativity, whatever that is for you. Maybe that means turning away from media and towards whatever brings you peace. Align yourself with a different, positive Reality.

And here is the really really good part: Reality is whatever gives you energy. Non-reality is whatever drains energy from you. And you have a choice in every moment, as the 10,000 thoughts per second run through your mind, you choose which one to focus on. Choose the one that gives you the most energy.

This is brilliant in it's simplicity.

Here's what it looks like in the real world: This morning as I was registering my daughter for 11th grade, I realized she had been put in the wrong Spanish class, despite my weeks of effort in getting her schedule right, the weeks of back and forth with the counselor, who appears to know significantly less about the school's programs than me. Ultimately I hand fed her the schedule and she still 'messed it up'. As I returned to the counseling office yet again, I was in default mode, thinking, "Oh my gawd, why can't this woman just do her job? It feels like I'm out here all alone, trying to figure out this rather complicated program with no help and if I blow it, the stakes are really high." This thought was definitely draining my energy. And then I remembered what Reality is; when I scanned for the thought that would bring me the most energy, it was, "This woman is dealing with hundreds of students, all with differing needs and hundreds of courses, each with their own nuances and that must be a very difficult job. She's probably been working incredibly long hours for weeks, and she simply put the wrong code into the system. It's easily fixable and all is well." My energetic field shifted instantly and profoundly. Because I could feel the truth in that Reality. I've done it multiple times today and it's already becoming a habit. Wow. And, BOOM. 

So more good news, if you're feeling like you're losing your mind and your life has become a shit show because every negative thought you've ever held has come roaring back presenting itself as Truth, you can blame the eclipses! They are bringing up all the stinky muck, whether it's hidden, dealt with, released, whatever, it's baaaaack. And it isn't you; the portal has simply reactivated the energy so that it's 'up' in the field. So you can just turn your head, ignore, and scan for the thought that brings you the most energy.

Leading up to the eclipse, consider doing ceremony or ritual, wherein you give yourself permission/declare your intention to release whatever does not serve your Dharma (that which you came here to do, the Soul's path.) You do not need to get specific because it's very likely you aren't even aware of all you're shedding, so be general about it. Since it's also a New Moon, you can align with that angle of energy by setting intentions for the coming decade, as in GO BIG. For me personally, I'm doing a long yoga practice every day leading up to the 21st, lots of meditation and body work, whatever I can do to keep my mojo high, consistent and stable so that I can ride and use the energy instead of getting leveled by it. During the actual eclipse, it's a good idea to be in water, which could even be a bath before/after. Also, move - dance, twerk, whatever allows energy to move. And of course protect your eyes with eclipse glasses. SUNGLASSES ARE NOT ENOUGH.

Lastly, the shifts that happen within/because the portal will integrate slowly in September, after Mercury's direct retrograde ends on September 5th. It should be a kind and gentle integration and it won't be fully over until Winter Solstice in December. I'm looking forward to seeing us on the other side, all dapper and glowing in our newfound bestie love relationship with ourselves. We can be lighter, more energetic and just, well, happier. A beneficial presence on the planet. Because why the hell else are we here?

REVIEW, RE-DO, RENEW

Summer Blessings my Beloveds!

Well, we’re in full bloom here aren’t we? For some of us, this could mean full-blown frustration, aggravation and confusion, for others, life may be humming along beautifully. While the overarching energy for 2017 points towards new beginnings and action-oriented, fast manifestation cycles, we’ve had two eclipses occur in February within somewhat agitated geometries and many planets in retrograde, which can lend itself toward challenges. As I study the retrogrades of Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto, a common theme emerges – one of going back into our past and clearing stuff up. This includes things we haven’t yet allowed ourselves to see or acknowledge, as well as those we have. We are constantly changing and evolving which offers us (hopefully) an ever broadening perspective. Under the influences of these planetary retrogrades, we have the opportunity to go back into events from our past and re-do how we integrated them, what meaning we assigned them, why/how/where we stored them in our emotional bodies. The two upcoming retrogrades of Uranus and Neptune further support this work. So how do we go about this?

For me personally, I’ve been revisiting a timeline I wrote in 2011, as part of the Modern Day Priestess training program. I wrote down whatever memory or association that popped up for every year I’ve been alive. (This was no small undertaking). Some years are blank and others are pretty thick with clues to my psyche. I have also been revisiting old journals, which allows me to discern patterns and offer a fresh perspective on old ‘issues’. Some stuff simply melts away the moment I read about it which is an interesting sensation because it shows me how I store stuff in my energetic field even after I have emotionally resolved it. Apparently, we need to go back and also clear the imprint of it after resolution, like clearing smoke from a room. I have also been tuning in with my lineage in meditation and this is proving very rich. Whole cities of buried treasure revealing. We are so much more than we imagine.

July 1st, fast approaching, is the mid-point of the Gregorian calendar and we can use this energy to pause and decide what the second half of the year can be about. The multi-layered challenges should ease and we’ll have more access to the action-oriented creation patterns this year promised. What are you creating? Is it more of the suffering you’ve always created? Are you ready for something new? Then look back and clear the patterns of suffering you’ve been creating, because you’ve got to see them, hold them, love them, and integrate them before you can release them. And release brings a clarity and space for new creation patterns. If you are struggling to release something, you haven’t completed the pre-work; keep looking at it from as many different angles as you can manage, be like a private investigator and make it your main objective to find out. Once you’ve uncovered as much as you can hold, move on to the work of knowing it about yourself/owning it without judgement and then integrating it. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, reach out to a skilled facilitator who can lead you through it (I am one of those and also know many of those.

Now is the time to do this work, when the wind is at your back.

NOTES FROM NEW ZEALAND: AN ELECTION DIARY

Found this buried in my blog archive. I apparently never pressed "Publish" and in the aftermath was too verklempt (that's Yiddish for 'wrecked') to notice. Wanted to share...

 November 5th. I've only been here for a few days and yet I already have a sense of the heart of these people. Why? Because they present themselves authentically, immediately. Yesterday, to escape howling wind and sidewise rain (a typical Wellington spring day), Geoffrey and I wandered the Te Papa Museum, a colossal building housing national treasures, natural history and art. Our guide gave us an extended introduction in Maori, then translated it as the traditional greeting wherein one tells their name, where they came from, where they are now and where they are going. It's quite a lot of good information to know about oneself and share with everyone one meets. It feels like a very present, heart-centered way of being. Although we only scratched the surface of the Museum collections in a single day, the most profound thing we saw was a Maori marae, or community meeting place. This is a constructed a-frame 'house' that is entirely carved with figures that represent the community's spiritual beliefs and ancestors. There are figures that are guardians of the space and the people, figures that are the embodiment of their shared ancestors, about whom they carry stories from generation to generation. They have a deep and practical relationship with their ancestry and to the land from whence they came. They maintain responsibility to their lineage, and allow it inform their actions today. Can you imagine what would be possible under those circumstances? If every time a group of people met up to make some sort of group decision for the whole, they were literally held, supported and informed by their ancestors? That is a powerful practice! It also creates a sense of togetherness and oneness among the people for they share a common history and future. The first time we saw this type of 'meeting house' was years ago in Yap, Micronesia and while I wasn't thrilled with the notion that the houses were only for men, I was impressed by how knit together the community was. And now of course I realize there is a beautiful precision to how the masculine and feminine operates, and it is good for the men to meet alone. The feminine influences what goes on in those meeting houses through relationships to fathers, brothers, husbands and sons. The dance is always happening...

November 6th. It's amazing how many people I meet want to talk about the election. They are confused about how Donald Trump can be a contender and want me to make them feel better. I assure them that there is no way he can win, that Americans are smarter than that and yet I have my doubts. My time in the American South this summer opened up my (California Dreaming) eyes and I have a sense that we will elect this man who speaks to our basest natures and deepest illusions and fears. I don't really have any place to hold that, so I voraciously pray for Hillary's success. I will accept no other outcome. I am repeatedly torn between being glad I'm here in these days leading up to the election and feeling like I should be there, shoulder to shoulder with my people. I feel somewhat relieved to be out of the intensity and yet I am glued to Facebook and American news outlets, hungry for new polls and projections. I vacillate between feeling nervous and scared and being unbelievably calm, like the eye of a hurricane. Doing lots of Kundalini, lots of presencing practices, breath, prayer. God help us.

November 7th. A sunny day! I went to the Botanical Gardens - a sheer delight. I walked the whole way there (probably five miles), cutting through a network of pedestrian paved pathways that were named just like streets. Also cut through the University which had a very old, cool cemetery. Many sailors from downed ships. The garden itself was huge with lots of places to find oneself alone. I wandered and followed my nose to different areas, each with a completely different energy. Highlights were hiking in a vast vertical forest with moss-lined creeks running through and a small bonsai garden with the most astounding trees. They looked exactly like their full-grown brethren, except they were dwarf size. Had a lovely lunch in the restaurant overlooking the rose garden, eavesdropping on the conversations all around me. No matter where I am in the world, people talk about the exact same things.

November 8th. Raining sideways again. Ventured out and discovered I am entirely weary of being wet. Explored, found a few marginal 'museums', shopped unenthusiastically and went back to the hotel to witter the hours with movies. The election is tomorrow in the states. I am finding it difficult to breathe deeply.

November 9th. Spent the day with my stomach and throat clenched in knots, despite my efforts to relax them. I am literally beside myself. I have a very bad sense that this means complete disaster. Did all I could to distract myself, which is difficult given the near constant dark, blowing rain. I am glued to the computer most of the day, watching early results. Trump leads from the get-go.

Later: Geoffrey came back from work and convinced me to walk to dinner - which was a stellar meal, one of the best we've had here. Everyone at the restaurant was talking about the election. It is amazing to see how influential America is all around the world. When we get back to the hotel, it is inevitable that Trump will win. I cry quietly, tears rushing down my face. Geoffrey has no words of comfort and I resent him for being okay with this outcome. Just then Nikki face-times us and when she sees me, she says with surprise, "Are you CRYING??" Why is it a surprise I would cry about our country electing a man who stands for everything I abhor? He is mean, cruel, dishonest, ignorant and most dangerously, thinks he's right about everything. His heart seems tiny, like his hands. I know with a certainty history will prove his Presidency to be a COMPLETE DISASTER. And yet we have called him in, so there must be some long-term good that will come of it. I hope I get to see it in my lifetime. I am going to bed to cry myself to sleep. Perhaps the world will look different tomorrow.

WHALE MEDICINE

So we went to the whales and it was beyond anything I could have imagined. It was my first time leading 'sacred travel' which simply means going to an energetically powerful place and weaving ceremony, circles, shamanic practices, yoga and the like throughout the experience. Six women said Yes and with Dawn (who planned the whole thing logistically) and myself, we were eight. I had never been to Baja and I could feel it from the air as we landed - a very powerful place. I'm not entirely certain of the history of that land mass and there is a lot of energy there! We visited islands, lagoons, volcanos, ancient caves where ancestors drew their stories on impossibly high rock faces and finally the birthing waters of California Grey Whales. Along the way we breathed, made offerings and prayers, spun sacred geometries with the rising sun. We communed and danced, laughed and cried. We hiked into a vortex to connect with our ancestors and more deeply know our place within the mandala of life. Everywhere we were received with love and respect - from the land, the waters, the beautiful people of Mexico and perhaps most profoundly, the whales.

I was unsure how my nervous system would do, intimately holding a group of women I had never or barely met. In service to the trip (and myself), I did kundalini practice every day in the three months leading up to our departure. Each week I got quieter. And that stayed with me throughout the trip and is with me still. I did not need to fight fear or doubt or worry because it simply wasn't present. I could viscerally feel the trip before we went and it was very, very good; I merely allowed that to be. In the process I kind of disappeared; my personality, a miasma of wanting to be good, seen, recognized and...everything else the ego longs for, receded. I simply became the one who communed with the depths on behalf of the ones on the trip. And the women happily went deep with me, their angels, guides and ancestors celebrating in the unseen. I felt the cosmos itself receive us with gratitude.

When we got to the whales we were already open, dancing in the multi-dimensional spaces, primed. And the whales came up to our boat as promised, offering themselves up to give and receive love. It was surreal. It was so big in its goodness, I was literally pinching myself to stay present to take it all in. It was GIGANTIC ya'll.

Before our last boat trip, I prayed specifically for Mama whale to join us. We had seen plenty of mamas as they brought their babies to us, and I wanted one to stay close the way the babies did. And of course she came and stayed. Her energy was solid and still, a deep hum, so different from the babies. We were all overcome, yelling over and over "Mama! Mama!" And "We love you!!" There was so clearly an open channel between us of giving and receiving and she delivered a depth of Love that is hard to describe. It's with us still, our definition and understanding of Love stretched beyond return.

In the aftermath, Joy. I can feel it more palpably than ever. And Joy does not feel like the opposite of sadness like I imagined; it simply feels boundless and still, a sweet neutrality, over-lit and undergirded with a profound knowing that all is well. And so it is.

(photo credit: Dawn Feuerberg)

DARK GODDESS

I've been sitting with Beyoncé's Grammy performance for days, trying to find my way into language to express the places in me it touched; deep, secret places so powerful I am only just beginning to approach them. I'll begin by saying that for me, Beyoncé's 'Lemonade' film is a masterwork. She is a fierce being of strength and consciousness, who moved so authentically through an archetypal initiation of betrayal by the masculine, that she embodied the fullness of the Goddess herself for all to see. And because it was honest, it contains both the light and darkness of the Feminine Principle, unapologetically. I am literally in awe of her and this work.

As an aside, I believe she was largely passed over for awards for this very reason - this work is simply too real and intense for most. This was perfectly played out for me during the performance; while I was completely agog at what was unfolding on stage, two people I was with - a woman in her seventies and a pre-teen girl - were both expressing their displeasure (and likely deep discomfort) by saying, "Just dance Beyoncé. We like it better when you dance." Meanwhile she's up there laying down primal truth about the Feminine...

"Do you remember your birth? Are you thankful for the hips that cracked and the deep velvet of your mother and her mother.....and her mother?" Everything comes through the feminine; she is the generator and portal through which humans enter time/space in the third dimension. In her cosmic duties as womb, weaver of the golden thread that ties us together, dreamer and keeper of ever new potentialities for human evolution, she is physically beholden to the unseen realms. One eye towards Earth, one eye fixed on Heaven. And Hell. I do not believe in the traditional notions of these; Heaven for me encompasses endless dimensions of pure Love Light, which I know exist because I've been there. Hell is the opposite end of that spectrum, the absence of light, total density. Been there too. And in our creative power here on Earth, we manifest aspects of both in our lives as our lives. The Feminine is perfectly comfortable in both realms. In her highest expression (that we can imagine), she is the Divine Mother, essentially made of that pure Love Light, birthing us, loving us unconditionally, supporting and holding us through anything and everything without judgement. A bottomless heart. In her lowest expression (that we can imagine) she is pissed. She is actually beyond pissed - she is Anger itself, lashing out destructively, with vengeance, with power beyond imagining, burning it all down. We don't like to talk about her that way, I know. And yet.

Black Moon Lilith is a Dark Goddess archetype who represents the feminine shadow. There are many stories about her, one in particular calls her the first woman, pre-Eve. She was so powerful in her creative energy, Adam rejected and banished her. And then he fashioned Eve from his own body, a lesser, controllable energy. "You cut me in half," Beyoncé sings. Lilith embodies our reaction to subjugation - a dense collective burden from lifetimes of rage and despair. When crossed, Lilith fights back - she plots and manipulates, she emasculates, she destroys. In her album 'Lemonade', Beyoncé descends into this Hell, she dances with the Dark Goddess, she accepts both her own and her husband's dark side. She says, "Ok, I got it, life's messy and sticky and sometimes very fucked up." (I'm paraphrasing here.) And then the question becomes "Can I still love?" From the expanded place of holding the whole truth of herself and her beloved, the answer is Yes, which allows her to rise in Love, to embody the Divine Feminine, which can hold everything. A woman's heart is a bottomless ocean. (I think that's from Titanic.) And it's true.

And so we have this beautiful archetypal dance of light and shadow that we are engaged in, every day. How is it going? Are you friends with your darkest places? Do you lash out in anger? Do you seek revenge on the masculine? Do you emasculate? Do you allow yourself to sink to the depths to feel it all? And afterwards with eyes wide open, do you still choose love? Life can expand us this way, particularly the feminine, for this is an essential component of our Earth journey. And when we rise in love, we uplift all women, and create the possibility to collectively come whole to our men, allowing the masculine and feminine to join together in absolute balance. And from that place, as Beyoncé sings it, "You and me could move mountains."

Getting High On Our Own Supply

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 4^th – April 15^th. 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:   

https://www.amazon.com/Invincible-Living-Energy-Breath-Radiant/dp/0062414984

Be good, do your best, stay awake out there.

All Love.