Trust, Responsibility and Freedom – Friday’s Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius and the Uranus-Pluto Square, Take 3

Posted on May 20, 2013 by

uranus“We’re learning how to reside, to sit deeply and trust the feeling of open, empowered, presenced possibility rather than and in place of the certainty of what the goals and the planning are going to produce.” – Adam Gainsburg, interview on Gaiafield Radio

There’s a lot of uncertainty, a lot up in the air, many wheels in motion. We’re clearing out old ideas about and attachments to how we think it should be, how we want it to be, or even what “IT” is. As the Uranus-Pluto square hits another high note at today’s exact alignment – the third of seven between 2012-2015 – and as Eclipse Season approaches its culmination in Friday’s Sagittarius Lunar Eclipse, reality feels very fluid and the way forward may seem more confusing than ever.

Last Friday I was blessed to hear mythologist/storyteller Michael Meade here in Portland, giving a talk appropriately titled “The Pathless Path.” There is no roadmap for where we’re at or where we’re going. Lost, having “fallen out of the dream of the world,” we’re called to journey deeper within ourselves, to find our own meaningful story, our unique genius, and then live that story out in the world. “In the depths of trouble we find the deepest resources we have.” May it be so!

Dreams and stories are especially awakened and up for transformation now, as we swim in the energy of the upcoming Eclipse, exact on Friday at 9:25pm PDT. Sagittarius is the storyteller, the sign that rules philosophy and religion, how we make meaning through weaving the tale of our personal and collective realities. What do you tell yourself about your own potential and possibilities? What story do you tell about the future of the planet? Do your stories inspire and support you in creating a more positive reality, or reinforce your fears and limitations?

sagittariusOur stories stem from our deepest belief systems, typically encoded in our sponge-like little brains by the age of 6 (see Bruce Lipton’s The Biology of Belief), and, without some serious healing intervention, will continue to run the show for the rest of our lives. This Eclipse wants to interrupt those old patterns of perception, those moldy old stories that keep us stuck in a diminished version of ourselves, or stuck in someone else’s story altogether.

After a month or so steeped in Fixity – working on issues around stagnation, resistance and over-attachment – we’re now in a phase of Mutability, when we’re called to become more flexible and adaptable and when change can happen more quickly and easily (can I get an amen??). Four planets – the Sun, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter – are now in open-minded, inquisitive, analytical, fast-moving Gemini, stirring up mental energy and presenting a variety of possible paths forward. The challenge is to find our own truth, our own authentic story and path, our body’s instinctual guidance and wisdom, in the midst of myriad mental distractions, opinions and options.

Neptunian Confusion and Swimming toward the Divine

At the Eclipse, the Sun and Moon form a tight square – 90-degree angle of tension and challenge – to Neptune, god/goddess of the ocean and signifier of dreams, the imagination and the unconscious. If you’ve been feeling sleepy, dreamy, spacey, super-sensitive, overwhelmed and/or confused, then you’re perfectly in tune with the Neptunian nature of this Eclipse.

geminiNeptune in Pisces plus all that Gemini can add up to getting caught in the anxiety-ridden spin cycle of “this or that or this or that or??” and, mired in mental confusion, postpone taking action altogether for fear of making the “wrong” choice. Confusion is a Neptunian strategy, it serves a purpose, and the purpose is to get out of our own way, break out of the ego’s certainty that it’s going to figure everything out and come up with the perfect plan. Instead our job is to be present, to listen deeply, and to simply take the next step in front of us, trusting that the “pathless path” will unfold in its own mysteriously divine way. As Adam Gainsburg said (in that very useful above-mentioned interview), “Feeling certain is becoming outmoded.”

Trust is the bottom line here, a shared theme of the Sagittarius Moon and Neptune in Pisces. In an increasingly chaotic and uncertain reality – signified by the ongoing Uranus-Pluto square – we’re learning to trust our feelings and our instincts to guide us, moment by moment. Michael Meade talked about art and spiritual practice as two key “strokes” in swimming toward the divine. Through art and spiritual practice – conscious ways of working with this deluge of Neptunian energy – we reengage the imagination, and participate in recreating the story of the world. Meade also reminds us that we don’t have to swim all the way by ourselves, that the divine will meet us halfway (what a relief).

The Uranus-Pluto Square, Back by Popular Demand

The co-incidence of the Uranus-Pluto square (exact today at 4:02pm PDT) with the Sagittarius Eclipse has me thinking about the relationship between the themes of living out our authentic story, responsibility and freedom. Often, responsibility is felt as a burden, a weight, an endless list of duties and obligations that limit our freedom. But Pluto in Capricorn (2008-2024) calls for transforming our notion of responsibility, which could look like letting go of those commitments that are not actually our responsibility, and simultaneously taking a deeper level of responsibility for what IS truly ours.

capricornOn the most grounded and pragmatic level (and Capricorn loves to be pragmatic), what we’re responsible for is taking care of what’s right in front of us – those everyday issues in our home, work, relationships and community that we’re either willing to dive into and claim as “ours,” or that we procrastinate dealing with and project onto others, making it someone else’s fault that our lives are a mess. On the collective level, the old paternalistic power structures are falling apart, “Big Daddy” is not looking out for our best interests, and it’s time to reclaim our authority to create the world we want to live in.

As Uranus in Aries (2011-2019) – the urge to express more of our individuality, creativity and freedom – squares Pluto, a helpful compass for how we’re dealing with responsibility is how liberated we feel. When we’re not taking responsibility for what’s ours, we feel stuck and victimized. At the deepest level, what we’re ultimately responsible for is breaking free from the conditioning that suppresses our vitality, authenticity and creativity – in other words, doing our emotional work – and becoming the most authentic, empowered version of ourselves that we can. Taking responsibility for living our own story, our own truth, our own dream, is the path to liberation.

Getting Personal – Try This At Home

If you have a copy of your birth chart and some astro-technical know-how, you can get deeper insight into what all this astro-excitement means for YOU. To identify the areas of life where Uranus and Pluto are currently stirring up this theme of freedom and responsibility, find the houses in your birth chart that contain 11 degrees Aries (Uranus) and 11 degrees Capricorn (Pluto). If you have planets in the range of about 8-15 degrees of any of the Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn), then you’ll be feeling this urge to transform very personally, focused on the themes signified by those planets.

For more insight into the Lunar Eclipse, find the house in your birth chart that contains 4 degrees Sagittarius. The areas of life signified by that house are where you are: letting go of old stories and opening to a more positive future; bringing to fruition or culmination significant events from the past; and learning to trust your instincts and inner guidance.

- Emily Trinkaus

Calling All Priestesses! Want more insight into Friday’s Lunar Eclipse? Want support for shifting out of mental confusion and into trusting your body’s instinctual wisdom? Join me and energy-healing diva Katie Todd – your galactic priestesses – and our growing tribe of amazing women around the world for our Lunar Galactic Activation teleclass this Thursday. Can’t make it to the live call? No worries! All participants will receive a recording of the call, and energy is not limited by time or space. Join us

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Own Your Body, Love the Earth – Thursday’s Solar Eclipse in Taurus

Posted on May 7, 2013 by

solar eclipseThe first Eclipse in this Spring’s trio, the uber-intense Scorpio Lunar Eclipse on April 25, triggered core survival fears, ripe for healing and transformation. Now we’re approaching the second – a Taurus Solar Eclipse on Thursday (5:29 pm PDT), a super-potent New Moon that sets into motion a new beginning that will develop over the next 19 years.

Unlike your average New Moon, a Solar Eclipse typically involves an ending, revealing what we have to let go of, what needs to die, to clear space for a new start. Because this Eclipse is conjunct the South Node – old patterns that hold us back and block our evolution – there’s an especially strong focus on releasing the past, and in Taurus, we’re looking at issues around self-worth, self-love, over-attachment to material security and the status quo, and resistance to change (the famous Taurus stubbornness).

As I wrote in a previous post, the default mode of the Taurus South Node is, “Once I have enough money/material security, then it will be safe for me to take the risk of living my passion,” and this approach is NOT scheduled to work. (Diving Into the Watery Depths)  Since most of us in this culture were trained from an early age NOT to trust our feelings, and to value material security over vitality (and pretty much everything else), this is no easy task.

taurus

fairy garden flowers

This Eclipse wants us to plant seeds for a new life direction based on our deepest values, passions and desires. Having a solid sense of self-worth, and the kind of security that comes from being grounded in our bodies and on the planet, makes it much easier to trust our inner impulses and embrace vitality. High-vibration Taurus revels in the sensual experience of living in a body on this miraculous Earth. Low-vibration Taurus, which pretty much defines the dominant culture, seeks a sense of worth, security and grounding through accumulating money and material possessions, trashing the planet in the process.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the Taurean theme of ownership since a very helpful (and timely) energy healing session I received yesterday. What came up was my fear of taking ownership of my body, my space and my work. At the root of the issue was a belief that I’m unworthy. Instead of standing fully in my experience, I perch on the edge of life, like a visitor. While this approach may have served as a useful survival mechanism at times, it’s not helping me create what I want in the present.

I know I’m not alone in my “stranger in a strange land” complex – many of us feel like aliens here, confused by the harsh conditions, the cruelty, the insanity of this upside-down world where people who love animals and trees are called terrorists while those who torture animals and destroy the planet are rewarded for their brutality. Whether from personal trauma or living in a violently traumatic culture, many of us floated up out of the physical plane in an attempt to find “safety” and now have quite a bit of work to do to re-occupy our own bodies and root down into the Earth.

taurus

Bessie, Taurus spokesmodel

Venus, the ruler of Taurus, will be in Gemini at the Eclipse, in “mutual reception” with Mercury in Taurus (i.e., Venus and Mercury will occupy each other’s signs). The mutual reception emphasizes the theme of communicating our needs, values and desires. Since Mercury is one of the planets conjunct the South Node, blocks to sharing our true needs and desires are ready to be released. Communication patterns and habits of perception that are keeping us in a place of stuckness and stagnation are also up for transformation.

To get more insight into what this Eclipse means for YOU, find the house in your birth chart that contains 19 degrees Taurus. The areas of life signified by that house are where you’re invited to: release old patterns and attachments to open space for a major new beginning; evaluate your values, needs and desires and let go of those that are no longer authentic for you; practice communicating what you want; trust your feelings rather than seeing situations from an overly literal or materialist perspective; work on deepening your self-love, self-worth and inner security.

Eclipses have a 19-year cycle, and we had a Solar Eclipse at the same degree of the zodiac in 1994. If you’ve been on the planet for at least a few decades, it’s worth looking back to see if similar themes were being stirred up for you. It’s also possible that something you set into motion then is now coming to a close.

- Emily Trinkaus

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Desire, Anger and Responsibility – Mars Opposes Saturn

Posted on April 30, 2013 by

marsMars – action, passion and desire – opposes Saturn today (exact 10:12 pm PDT), slowing down the pace and asking you to turn inward and reflect on what you want and where you’re going. What are you committed to? What really matters? How are you taking responsibility for your needs, values and desires? How do you spend your time, and does that reflect what you say you value?

With so many planets moving through Taurus now, and each at some point opposing Saturn and the North Node in Scorpio, we’re really working on this balance between clarifying and standing strong in our own values and priorities (Taurus), and allowing for the transformation of values that happens when we’re intimate with another (Scorpio). The Mars-Saturn opposition is asking us to clearly define what matters, but also notice where we might be overly rigid or stuck, using our values as a defense against deepening intimacy, or protecting our egos from healing and transformation.

Mars rules anger, which can also show up as frustration, crankiness, resentment and even depression. Mars in Taurus – a Fixed, Earth sign – can be prone to getting stuck, to letting anger fester and build until it explodes, or suppressing the natural flow of life force into a state of stagnation. Mars’ opposition to Saturn – planet of restriction, limitation and obstacles – can potentially increase the feeling of frustration. This is especially true if you default into the opposition’s tendency toward projection – blaming someone else or some external situation for your own stuckness, seeing another as responsible for fulfilling your own needs and desires.

saturnThere’s also the potential for transforming frustration into action, stagnation into power – if you’re willing to do the Saturn in Scorpio work of emotional healing. Saturn is Retrograde, turning attention to the past, specifically those old wounds around self-worth, self-confidence, assertion and desire. Those times you didn’t value yourself enough to ask for what you wanted or needed, the times you DID ask and were rejected or abandoned. Feeling the feelings, allowing them to move through you, helps you come back into present time to be able to discern what’s actually true for you now, as opposed to operating from old defensive patterns.

If you’re feeling stuck, finding some way to physically move the energy could be helpful. Dancing, drumming, singing (Taurus rules the throat), beating on pillows, going for a walk or run… (While writing this post, sinking into the stuckness, I had to get up and dance a few times.) Communing with the Water element – taking a bath, swimming, visiting a river, ocean or lake – could also be helpful for softening up the Fixed Earth energy and helping you get back into the flow.

We’re just about at the halfway point between the first two (of three) Eclipses this Spring. Next up is a Solar Eclipse in Taurus on May 9 – an especially potent New Moon, setting into motion a major new beginning that will develop over the next 19 years. The Taurus Solar Eclipse wants to build something solid and lasting, aligned with our deepest values and priorities. Today’s Mars-Saturn opposition offers an opportunity to feel into what that might look like, and to heal and release what could get in the way of moving forward with confidence and clarity.

- Emily Trinkaus

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Uncovering the Core – Approaching the Scorpio Lunar Eclipse

Posted on April 23, 2013 by

lunar eclipseWhoa. There’s a lot of intensity right now, a lot going on. Deep breath, everyone. We’re fast approaching the first of three Eclipses, which, consciously navigated, are profound portals of transformation, initiations into new realities. But this process is typically not so comfortable, and if you’re feeling overwhelmed, confused, stuck, freaked out, pulled in too many directions, or just plain out of sorts, then you are perfectly in tune with the cosmic energies.

Thursday’s Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio (12:57 pm PDT) is an extra-potent Full Moon that is stirring up some serious shadow material. Eclipses are always about revealing what’s buried in the subconscious, but this one, in the sign that rules the shadow, the subconscious, and all things taboo – sex, death and money – brings a double dose of darkness. Scorpio wants authenticity, passion, vitality, depth, intimacy and hot sex, and this Eclipse is showing us all of our fears, blocks and resistance to getting there.

Opposite the Scorpio Moon is a formidable line-up of Taurus planets – Mars (the traditional ruler of Scorpio), the Sun, Venus (ruler of Taurus) and the South Node. Taurus seeks comfort, stability and security, and can default into stagnation, over-attachment and resistance to change. This Eclipse’s activation of the Taurus-Scorpio polarity shows us how we’re doing in that balance between holding on and letting go; self-reliance and mutual empowerment; playing it safe and playing the edge; building something solid and destroying it all to allow for new growth.

Taurus is the sign of grounding, being grounded – feeling safe in your body and on the planet. Out-of-balance Taurus, Taurus without a strong inner core of security, tends to operate in survival mode – coping, getting by, having “just enough” – or, at the opposite extreme, a feeling of never having enough, never feeling secure no matter how much money is in the bank and how much stuff is accumulated. In times when the world seems to be exploding in crisis, it becomes essential to find and strengthen our security from the inside. There is nothing outside of us to hold onto that is going to make us safe – this is the message of the South Node in Taurus.

scorpioThe function of this Eclipse, as the gate-opener to our trio of Eclipses, seems to be a stirring up and clearing of core survival fears. Whatever is happening on the surface probably isn’t the real issue – Scorpio says, dig deeper, get to the root. The Moon is conjunct Saturn, indicating that this is part of a long-term process, that it’s best to proceed patiently, step-by-step, and to keep in mind the bigger picture of where we’re headed. The Moon-Saturn conjunction also reminds us that we’re in a phase of major emotional growth, learning to take responsibility for our feelings, for our projections, for our deepest needs and desires.

Eclipses happen every six months, and the current set of Eclipses refer back to the previous ones, in this case – the Scorpio Solar Eclipse on November 13 and the Gemini Lunar Eclipse on November 28. This would be a good time to reflect on what was going on for you then, as similar themes and issues are likely to be stirred up.

Discover more about what this Eclipse means for YOU by finding the house in your birth chart that contains 5 degrees Scorpio. The areas of your life signified by that house are where: you are ripe for transformation, healing and growth; you’re being challenged to “let go to grow;” events from the past are coming to fruition, culmination or ending; shadow material is rising to the surface; deep, dark feelings want to be felt and released; you’re ready to make or break a commitment.

- Emily Trinkaus

Calling All Priestesses! It’s not too late to jump into tomorrow’s Lunar Galactic Activation! I’ll be giving A LOT more info about the Lunar Eclipse, and super-Aquarian energy-healing diva Katie Todd will work her galactic magic, hooking us up with the cosmic energies and helping us release the stuckness and find our power. All women are welcome, and don’t worry if you can’t make it to the live call – you’ll get the recording and can galactivate at your convenience. Sign up here.

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Wednesday’s New Moon in Aries – Full Speed Ahead

Posted on April 9, 2013 by

ariesThe New Moon – the darkest time of the month – is typically an energetic low-point, when we feel called to slow down, turn inward and deeply reflect on what we’ve created and where we want to go next.

This one feels a little different. I’m so amped-up I barely slept last night (granted, that post-dinner chocolate brownie wasn’t the wisest choice), and, like a lot of people, I’ve got several projects demanding my attention. There’s just a lot going on, as we might expect with six planets in fiery, passionate, full-speed-ahead Aries.

According to my astro-super-heroine Jan Spiller, author of New Moon Astrology, the Aries New Moon (Wednesday, 2:35 am PDT) is the most important New Moon of the year. Why? Because Aries is the first sign of the zodiac and all about new beginnings, and the Aries New Moon is the first New Moon of the astrological new year, which started at Spring Equinox. In other words, this is a super-powerful time to set intentions for what you want, and to harness this creative energy to make a new start.

The role of the first sign is to be the pioneer, the leader, the catalyst. It takes a lot of energy, and no small amount of courage, to initiate a new direction. Whenever we start something new, we don’t know what exactly is going to happen, how it’s all going to play out. There’s some trial and error involved, we’ll probably make mistakes, and we might even get hurt along the way. Since there’s no map to follow, we have to trust our instincts, which means being very present in our bodies.

marsThis year’s Aries New Moon closely conjoins with Mars – planet of action, passion and assertion and the ruler of Aries – strong in his home sign and amping up the go-go-go intensity. Venus in Aries is also part of the New Moon party, bringing in the theme of honoring our desires as an act of self-love and self-worth.

Eris, one of the recently-discovered planets out in Pluto’s vicinity (the Kuiper Belt), also plays a key role at the New Moon, in a tight conjunction with the Sun, Moon, Mars and Venus. Eris is the Goddess of discord and chaos, but she only acts as a disruptive force when we reject and disown those parts of ourselves that we think are ugly, unworthy, uncool. This New Moon asks us to embrace ALL of who we are, and to make a new start that honors our true selves, wartiness and all. (Eric Francis has more to say about Eris’s involvement in the New Moon here.)

This New Moon also launches us into Eclipse Season – a high-pressure period of accelerated change. What has been submerged in the subconscious erupts into awareness, and developments that have been brewing behind the scenes are catalyzed into motion. Eclipses most commonly come in pairs, but this time we’re blessed with three:  a Scorpio Lunar Eclipse on April 25, a Taurus Solar Eclipse on May 9, and a Sagittarius Lunar Eclipse on May 24. Oh yeah, and the energy is also building toward the third exact square between Uranus and Pluto on May 20, just for some added stimulation.

moonSince this is such an important New Moon, you will want to set some intentions, make some wishes, do some magic. Which does require hitting the pause button for long enough to tune in, feel where your vital life force energy is calling you, and write down what you want to create with all this available cosmic energy.

Jan Spiller recommends writing down no more than 10 wishes for each New Moon. And, word to the wise, your optimal time for writing down intentions is on Wednesday between 2:35-9:25 am Pacific Time, or after 8:22 pm. (From 9:25 am to 8:22 pm on Wednesday the Moon will be void-of-course – which I don’t have time to explain, but trust me, don’t make wishes while it’s happening.)

If you have a copy of your birth chart and some astro-technical know-how, you can get more insight into what this New Moon means for YOU by finding the house that contains 20 degrees of Aries. (Here’s a previous post where I explained how to do that.)  The areas of life signified by that house are where you are invited to:  connect with your instincts and identify your authentic desires; welcome the disowned parts of yourself that you may have previously left out of the party; take the risk of initiating a brave new direction.

(p.s. In accord with the uber-Aries energy [and with the reality of my limited time], that was the fastest post I’ve ever written, so please forgive any un-Virgoan sloppiness.)

- Emily Trinkaus

Attention aspiring astrologers! My astrology apprenticeship program starts next week and I’ve got a few spots available. If you’re ready to take your skills to the next level and want hands-on practice, in-person mentoring, and a supportive community, the Alcyone School for Engaged Astrology may be for you! Find the details here.

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Balance, Truth and Justice – Approaching the Libra Full Moon

Posted on March 24, 2013 by

full moonAt Spring Equinox, the Sun entered Aries – the sign of the self – initiating a new cycle of growth that arises from personal desire. The power of the Equinox Sun is reinforced by Mars (the ruler of Aries) and Uranus, both in Aries and fueling the fires of passion, individuality, authenticity and creativity. This season calls for freeing ourselves from the layers of conditioning that keep us playing small, and stepping into our power as agents of radical transformation.

Now, the energy is building as we approach Wednesday’s Full Moon in Libra (2:27 am PDT). The Full Moon is the emotional peak of each month, when the tides are high, feelings are flowing, and the dark of the subconscious is lit up. Revelations, breakthroughs and healing are readily available, along with the less productive potential for emotional outbursts, explosive behavior and accidents. This Full Moon feels especially volatile. The Libra Moon opposes four planets in fiery, impatient, impulsive Aries AND catalyzes the Uranus-Pluto square. Our challenge is to channel all that cosmic power in the direction of liberation, healing and empowerment.

The Aries-Libra polarity highlights the balance between self and other, independence and connection, conflict and harmony. How do you assert your desires and need for individual expression while being sensitive to others? Are you relating from a place of authenticity, or compromising your truth and suppressing your power to please others and “keep the peace”? Are you trying too hard to do everything on your own, or being overly dependent and waiting for someone else to take the initiative? Where are you giving more than you’re receiving, or vice versa?

libraRelationships of all kinds are up for course correction. The Libra Full Moon wants peace, love, balance and harmony, but getting to that state sometimes requires engaging in conflict. Disrupting the peace by being honest about who we are and what we want ultimately leads to FEELING peaceful. Otherwise, relationships may seem harmonious on the outside, but lack vitality and passion. Healthy integration of Aries and Libra entails the recognition that balance is a dynamic, ongoing process, not a static state of being.

This Full Moon occurs just one day after Jupiter’s last exact square to Chiron, stirring up soul-level wounds that have split us off from our connection with Source, our faith in the mysterious flow of life, and our ability to trust our instincts and act on our inner guidance. Self-sabotaging patterns are coming into consciousness and are ripe for healing (see Re-Visioning Your Healing Story). The Full Moon forms a harmonious trine (120-degree angle) to Jupiter, lending support to this process, helping us feel and release the emotions trapped within our old stories of loss and victimization.

Jupiter is also the “focal planet” in a yod – a rare, potent and very uncomfortable alignment – with Saturn in Scorpio and Pluto in Capricorn. This yod was a key aspect at the Winter Solstice, has been strong again for the past month or so, and will start fading out over the next few weeks. In a previous post, I described this yod as signaling “a crisis of meaning, truth and faith.” The sextile between Saturn and Pluto supports restoring integrity to what has become corrupt and destructive – both in our personal lives and in the life of the collective – while their quincunxes to Jupiter in Gemini indicate that this transformation requires the radical act of telling the truth.

bradley manningIt seems appropriate that the case of Bradley Manning has resurfaced in the news while the yod is in effect. Manning, an army soldier stationed in Iraq who was arrested for passing classified information to WikiLeaks, is a hero to many (including myself) – a courageous young man who dared to follow his own conscience and tell the truth rather than obeying the orders of a corrupt government. Speaking to the “crisis of truth” indicated by this yod, Kevin Gosztola writes in The Nation:

“If the Manning case is seen as part of a larger trend toward reestablishing—and even expanding—the ability to protect state secrecy, it becomes clear that his prosecution is not simply about a soldier acting on decisions he did not have the authority to make. It is about whether Americans are going to allow the government to persecute an individual because he or she had the courage and audacity to reveal corruption that government officials wished to keep hidden out of sight.” (Bradley Manning Tried to Warn Us About the Crisis in Iraq)

We can also see this case in the light of the current Full Moon – an individual taking courageous, independent action (Aries) in order to bring about justice (Libra). For more insight into what this Full Moon means for YOU, find the house in your birth chart that contains 6 degrees Libra. The areas of life represented by that house are where you are being called to: come back into balance and restore justice; deepen your feelings of peace and harmony; recognize and take responsibility for your projections; shake up habitual patterns of relating and experiment with a new approach.

- Emily Trinkaus

P.S. There’s still time to jump in and participate in Monday’s Lunar Galactic Activation! All women are welcome and you just need a phone (or skype) to join our growing tribe of priestesses in our virtual galactic temple. Details here.

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Into the Fire – Approaching the Spring Equinox

Posted on March 19, 2013 by

marsWaking up out of the deep and dreamy waters of Pisces-land, we’re entering the season of Fire. The Sun moves into Aries on Wednesday (4:02 am PDT), signaling Spring Equinox (Fall in the Southern Hemisphere). The day and night are equal and the light starts to take ascendance. Equinox is a major power day in the wheel of the year, and not only the start of a new season, but a new astrological year.

Mars – vitality, passion and action – is the ruler of Aries and a key player at the Spring Equinox. Once Mars moved into Aries about a week ago, I felt the fires ignite – everything sped up, my to-do list suddenly expanded, and ideas that had been floating around in the back of my mind demanded tangible expression. Mars is always strong in his home sign, but now is particularly potent as he approaches a conjunction with Uranus, planet of revolution, liberation and acceleration.

Word to the wise: Mars-Uranus is a volatile combination, and especially in fiery Aries, and especially since it’s also triggering the Uranus-Pluto square. Unconscious Mars-Uranus looks like:  violence; angry emotional outbursts; overly impulsive actions; unwise risk-taking; and accidents. As this feisty, fiery, potentially explosive energy gets stirred up, we want to give it a place to go rather than attempting to stuff it and allowing it to wreak havoc in the subconscious and erupt in sneaky ways (like accidents).

uranusAnger is the emotion ruled by Mars and Aries, and if you’re sitting on a backlog of repressed rage, now would be a great time to engage in healthy, constructive outlets – kick-boxing, ecstatic dance, beating on pillows, sweating it out in a sauna…. Every emotion serves a purpose, and the purpose of anger is to propel us into taking action and setting boundaries, and ultimately, to encourage spiritual growth.

The Mars-Uranus conjunction will be close to exact at the Equinox, and fueled by the fire of the Aries Sun, which means that this fierce, fast-moving and very HOT energy pervades the entire Spring season. The potential for volatility will be especially high leading up to and during the Libra Full Moon on March 27. Even if YOU are perfectly enlightened and have worked through all your anger issues, the people around you may not be operating from the same level of awareness. Slow down, take your time getting to where you need to go, and remember to ground yourself and your car (or bike) before you get on the road. In fact, grounding – feeling your feet on the ground and your connection with the center of the planet – would be a good practice as often as possible.

Consciously cooperating with the Uranus-Pluto square this Spring could look like:  breaking free (responsibly) from circumstances that feel out of integrity; experimenting with an innovative approach to radically transform a stuck situation; taking a brave first step toward a long-term goal; telling the radical, scary-yet-liberating truth, to yourself first, about who you are and what you really want.

plutoThe Aries planets squaring Pluto in Capricorn are also a wake-up call to take personal responsibility for creating the collective reality you desire. Recognize your power as an individual and step into the role you know you came here to play. The stakes are high, and taking the risk of being yourself and living your purpose is, in the big picture, much less of a risk than playing small and living out someone else’s idea of who you’re supposed to be.

Fire is the predominant element at the Equinox, but we haven’t entirely emerged from the soulful, sensitive, slow-moving Piscean waters – four planets still occupy the sign of the Fish. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, calling in the energy of new beginnings, but planets in Pisces, the last sign – especially the personal planets Mercury and Venus – suggest more deep work around dissolving the past, purification and healing.

There’s a balance to strike between the go-go-go, hyper-yang, make-it-happen Aries push, and the inward-turning, dreamtime-needing, let-go-let-goddess pull of Pisces. Trust your body’s instincts to discern when to assert your will and when to surrender. Keep in mind that although Mercury Retrograde ended on Sunday, it takes a few weeks to get back up to speed, and we won’t fully emerge from the Retro shadow until April 6.

Further animating the Water element, the Moon will be in Cancer, forming a Grand Trine with Neptune, Mercury and Chiron in Pisces and Saturn in Scorpio. The Water Grand Trine facilitates ease and flow in deepening intimacy and healing emotional blocks, and heightens sensitivity, intuition and compassion. HOWEVER, the Moon in Cancer also forms a tight square with the Mars-Uranus conjunction, and opposes Pluto – suggesting a theme of getting out of our comfort zones, and transforming our notions of security, nurturing, family and home.

brian froud the laumeFeeling overwhelmed by how to write about the complex Equinox energies, I asked the Fairies – via Brian Froud’s brilliant deck, The Faeries’ Oracle – for help with uncovering the essence. I picked The Laume, “Unconditional giving. Unconditional receiving“:

“The Laume is a charitable soul in the old sense of the word charity, which is loving and giving. She knows the joy of giving without expectation of return. From practicing this ourselves, we learn that there always is a return, often from the least expected source. The universe likes to keep its accounts up to date, and her job is to encourage us to keep the credit side of our cosmic accounts balanced by freely giving.” (you can read the full card description here)

The Laume’s guidance offers a helpful antidote to the shadowy potential of a strong Aries-Pisces emphasis – feeling helpless to take action and victimized when we don’t immediately get our way. Remembering that we’re part of a much bigger picture than our little human brains can imagine, we can activate the higher potential of Aries-Pisces – trusting that if we keep taking the next step in front of us, honoring our own truth while feeling compassion for others, the mysterious flow of life will take us exactly where we need to go.

- Emily Trinkaus

Calling All Priestesses! Join me and amazing energy healer Katie Todd at our next Lunar Galactic Activation on March 25. We’ll connect with the energies of the Equinox and the Libra Full Moon, bringing these planetary powers into our bodies so we can be active co-creators with the cosmos. All women are welcome, and this is a teleclass so you just need a phone to join our virtual galactic temple! Can’t make it to the live call? No worries – you’ll receive a recording, which is an equally powerful way to participate. Find all the details and register here.

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