The Women Warriors

[Yasmine]

Alignments Newsletter – Special Issue – March 2006 Preview





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Quantum Opportunity


Ready for another shift? The oppositional energies of the Grand Fixed Cross are subsiding, yet tension will keep building throughout March with a complex layering of astrological transits and alignments.

The transformational energies will be stepped up, accelerated. This is an ideal time for retreat, healing work, deep meditation, self-exploration, study and creativity.

It’s time for spring cleaning – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually - in preparation for a powerful new beginning when the Sun and Moon align in a fiery Solar Eclipse on the Aries New Moon.

Enjoy the journey!



New Moon in Pisces – February 27/28 – 7:31 PM EST February 27; 12:31 AM GMT February 28

With the Sun, Moon, Uranus and Mercury in Pisces, you may feel a little foggy, yet inspired, at this New Moon.

Pisces is dreamy, otherworldly, deeply spiritual. Uranus infuses the lunation with unexpected delights. Pluto journeys nearer and nearer to the degree of the Galactic Center at 26’55” Sagittarius, and squares Mercury.

A sacred gift of this New Moon is direct access to spiritual energy and information from Divine Source, emanating from the heart of our galaxy. Watch for sudden bursts of insight and creativity. Allow your consciousness to soar. Envision a new reality for yourself and your world.



Mercury Retrograde – March 2-25

Mercury’s retrograde period from March 2-25 will double the length of his transit through the spiritual realms of Pisces. Practice thinking with your soul. Notice subtle changes of perception.

Open yourself to new awareness. Review progress toward your goals and make adjustments if needed. Mercury rules communication and transportation. Before and during his retrograde period, it’s wise to take care of unfinished business, have your car and computer serviced, double-check on appointments and departure/arrival times, and be patient if things break down anyway.



Jupiter Stations Retrograde – March 4

From our vantage point on Earth, Jupiter will move “in reverse” for four months before stationing direct again on July 6. This period offers an extended opportunity to refine our principles and priorities.

In Scorpio, Jupiter calls us to dig beneath the surface to discover our deeper motives and beliefs, emerging with a clearer sense of direction and purpose.



Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Virgo – March 14 – 4:21-9:13 PM EST; 9:21 PM-2:13 AM GMT March 14/15

The first eclipse of 2006 is a penumbral (partial shadow) Lunar Eclipse best visible from Europe and Africa. Observers throughout most of North America will find the eclipse already in progress as the Moon rises on the evening of March 14.

No eclipse will be visible from westernmost North America (Yukon, British Columbia, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California) since the event ends there before moonrise.

This Lunar Eclipse highlights the Virgo-Pisces polarity and is concerned with physical issues as they relate to spirit and mind.

How is your physical health? Embodying higher consciousness requires a healthy body. How tidy is your house, representing your consciousness?

The Sun, Mercury and Uranus, still in Pisces, remind us of the spiritual underpinnings of material form. Pluto in Sagittarius creates a tense T-square to the Sun and Moon, purging subconscious beliefs that have held us back both individually and collectively. Deep inner healing is possible with this Moon.


Vernal Equinox – March 20 – 1:26 PM EST; 6:26 GMT

The equinoxes and solstices are balancing points of the solar year. Solstices are the longest and shortest days of the year. On the equinoxes, day and night are of equal length.

This year, the Vernal Equinox on March 20 is poised between a Lunar Eclipse on March 14 and a Solar Eclipse on March 29. This is a stillpoint, an opening to the depths of our being, a portal to all consciousness.

Spring arrives when the Sun moves into Aries, a time of planting and cultivating our dreams and the seeds of higher consciousness.


New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aries – March 29 – 2:36-7:45 AM EST; 7:36 AM-12:45 PM GMT

This New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aries offers a potent opportunity for a new beginning at a higher level of consciousness.

There is also the potential for much violence as unhealed aspects of our individual and collective psyches are revealed. This total eclipse of the Sun will be visible from within a narrow band traversing half the Earth.

The path of the Moon's shadow begins in Brazil and extends across the Atlantic, northern Africa and central Asia, where it ends at sunset in western Mongolia.

A partial eclipse will be seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes the northern two-thirds of Africa, Europe and central Asia.

With Solar Eclipses, the path of totality – where the moon casts a shadow on Earth during the eclipse – will be the most prone to extreme weather events, seismic activity, political turmoil, wars and other acts of violence by individuals and groups for the next six to 12 months .



Pluto Stations Retrograde – March 29

Pluto, the Transformer, gets Best Planet in a Leading Role honors this year. As he continues on his journey to align with the center of our galaxy in 2006-2007, massive change and upheaval are on the program for Planet Earth. Galactic astrologer Philip Sedgwick considers Pluto’s alignment with the Galactic Center even more significant than the ending of the Mayan Calendar in 2012.

Just two hours after the Solar Eclipse on March 29, Pluto stations retrograde, moving “backward” through the sky for five months before resuming forward motion in early September.


source: Internet


Further study…



Stephanie Austin’s excellent lunations report in The Mountain Astrologer:
http://www.mountainastrologer.com/pdfcontent/206Lunations.pdf


Pluto’s Alignment with the Galactic Center:
http://www.infinitestarwisdom.com/newsletter_archives.html







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Eclipses: Grace Unfolding


"The shadow, of course, never dies. We always cast a shadow. But how we relate to it, and it to us, depends on whether it is known. Once known, we have inevitably lost an innocence that can never be recovered. What replaces it is a knowledge of the complexity of our nature.”

- Deena Metzger



Eclipses are special alignments of Sun, Earth and Moon that create physical shadows and encourage us to address what we’ve held in the subconscious.

These super-charged New and Full Moons happen every six months. Each offers unique healing gifts.

During a Lunar Eclipse, we explore the realms of the subconscious. Deeply submerged issues – “shadow” material – surface for healing and integration.

A Solar Eclipse crystallizes our awareness and energizes our goals and intentions. Old patterns are broken down, and new patterns of a higher frequency can take hold.

In both cases, we have an extraordinary opportunity for personal and planetary transformation as we connect deeply with the dark and infinite Void at the heart of all creation. As we transcend this darkness and re-emerge into the light of consciousness, we are reborn.

The March eclipses, in combination with other planetary transits and alignments during this period, are a wake-up call for humanity. Notice the spiritual awakening that ripples through your circle of family, friends, others in your community.

Whether or not an eclipse is visible in your part of the world, you’ll feel the energetic effects.

Eclipses alter the Earth’s electromagnetic grid, creating portals of consciousness more powerful than “normal” New and Full Moon alignments. With Pluto close to the degree of the Galactic Center, and the Vernal Equinox sandwiched between the two eclipses in March, this period will be explosive! This is a rare and precious opportunity for accelerated healing and consciousness expansion.

As the planets and stars dance in March, you’re likely to notice heightened awareness in dreamstate, meditation and waking visions. Intuitive and healing abilities will be enhanced. You’ll be more “psychic” than normal, and probably more emotional.

The eclipses also accelerate our manifestation abilities. Notice how quickly your thoughts take shape in physical reality.

This is a time of major soul clearing. The karmic, emotional and psychological baggage of many lifetimes can be released in the wink of an eye. Some will come into conscious awareness. Some will not.

Be patient during this time. Meditate often. Enjoy healing therapies.

The shifting energies caused by eclipses are also known to catalyze extreme weather events and seismic activity. Ceremony for the healing of Mother Earth and all beings helps to bring peace to the planet in changing times.




Navigating Eclipse Energies

It’s perfectly normal to react to eclipse energies with stress. Eclipses signal that big changes are afoot, and change is something we humans tend to resist!

This simple practice will help you remain grounded and centered as the Earth’s energies are shifting:

Close your eyes. Connect to Mother Earth through your root chakra and lower extremities.

Now breathe in divine love through your crown.

Breathe out peace through your heart. Breathe deeply, several times. Let go.
_________________
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.” rumi
Nur Illa' Hob!

http://phytobiopharma.com

,
"Haspiallah a'am al waqil, na'am al maula, na'am al nasir"66

[Yasmine]

The Dance of the Planets: 2006-2007


by Christine Broadbent



Perhaps the "Music of the Spheres" is literal, rather than just a charming metaphor. Likewise, the dance of the planets may be an accurate description of the cyclic interactions of planets in motion. When two planets conjoin via their zodiacal alignment, then proceed to form sextiles, squares, trines, and culminate in an opposition, cosmic magic is at work. Dancing, like transits, is all about timing:

The right pause or "station" can facilitate climax, backward motion can extend a finale, and well-matched partners create powerful results.

If, as Rob Hand suggests, "the natal chart has to be understood as a statement of intention by the soul," [1] are transits the curving path along which those intentions unfold? Distant Neptune is the lead dancer in the series of fixed squares and oppositions that dominate 2006 and May-June 2007.

Neptune's long voyage through the sign of human community and intellectual ideals is slowly giving rise to a new Aquarian vision for our times. The anima mundi- literally, the "world's soul" or "world's breath - engaged with a new rhythm in 1998 when Neptune entered Aquarius.

The nervous system of the global community reverberates with a wake-up call in August 2006, when Saturn in Leo begins its opposition to Neptune. The opening act has already started with Chiron in Aquarius, Jupiter in Scorpio, and Mars in Taurus highlighting essential problems and necessary changes.


In Greek mythology, Neptune (Poseidon) was dubbed "Earth Shaker," and we certainly live in shaky times. Areas designated as Neptune-ruled, like the world's oceans, oil, the petrochemical industry, toxins, and intoxicants, are all linked to crisis situations around the globe.

Since Neptune also signifies the spiritual impulse, the search for unity in all its varied guises, and the quest for redemption, these are of critical concern now.


How can the social stage be spiritualised when it is humming with the yang energy of Saturn in Leo opposite Neptune in Aquarius during 2006 and 2007? It is the yin pairing of Mars in Taurus opposite Jupiter in Scorpio which set the stage in late 2005.

These four signs all have fixity in common. Sufi master and 13th-century astrologer Ibn 'Arabi considered the fixed signs a spiritual orientation that explores "the depths of the possible."[2] Social realities taking shape now have deep roots and will not give way easily.

Instead, the influences will fixate and probably resist change until the dynamic "new start" energy of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto in cardinal signs comes into play in 2010-2011.


Timelessness Meets Time Lord

Since Aquarius is the sign that best describes humanitarian aspirations and communal creativity (reflecting its rulership by Uranus), it is peculiarly sympathetic to Neptune's yearnings. Yet, Aquarius also reflects its traditional ruler, Saturn, and has a hard mental edge which is unsympathetic to Neptune's style, seeking control and definition instead of dissolution.

Saturn is in Leo, opposite its home sign, which Neptune occupies. So, how do dissolution and sacrifice now blend with Aquarian concerns?

One frightening example can be seen in the terrorists who are willing to sacrifice their lives to destroy the nameless enemy and make a political statement.

Neptune invites us to embrace timelessness and does so by dissolving opinions, confusing issues, deepening mysteries, and opening doors that have never been opened before. Saturn in Leo prepares a reality check.

These two planets represent opposite principles, even when they aren't in opposition across the zodiac, making them a strongly matched pair capable of powerful results.

Saturnian structures, like Big Business and social institutions which form the backbone of society, could be subject to Neptune's dissolution when lies and deception, loss and delusion come to the surface.

Likewise, Neptunian ideals, such as the dream of a peaceful global community, could be challenged by Saturn's fiery self-interest, manifesting also as national and corporate interests.

Under the Saturn-Neptune opposition, Aquarius-style networking such as the World Wide Web will be sorely tested and its flaws revealed. Inflexible social agendas, remorseless bureaucracy, and the further erosion of individual freedoms are all likely.

Neptune evokes potent archetypes of sacrifice and transcendence - in Aquarius, this is for "the social good" or for the good of the majority. Images are absorbed unconsciously but reflected in the minutiae of daily life. In this way, a single archetype can manifest quite differently in various cultures - and within cultures: It all depends on what side you are on.

Neptune's aspects are never quite what they seem, but Saturn's aspects tend to be starkly visible. Therefore, the hard facts of Saturnian contraction, its impact on global resources, and the human woes that follow are a reality check.

These could act as a mirror that reflects a clearly Neptunian response and effects a widespread shift of heart. The imaginal level of social life responds to Neptune as myth-maker and shaper of dreams. This readily undermines faith in social structures or stirs an uplifting future vision.


Planetary Dance Steps

The conjunctions, waxing squares, oppositions, and waning squares define the dance steps between the planets. These seed, test, express, and refine the energy as planets interact.

The challenge of the square provides momentum but can be just as easily a stumbling block as a building block. The opposition brings a crescendo, a time of maximum tension. After this, things cannot be the same - they must either progress or regress. [3]

The Saturn-Neptune opposition occurs now through Leo and Aquarius, so the archetypal polarity between individual and group needs provides the climactic energy of their dance.

To know what was "planted" when Saturn and Neptune's cycle began at their Capricorn conjunction, from February to December 1989, let us consider the major world events of that extraordinary year.

In January 1989, George H. W. Bush was inaugurated as President of the United States. The Iran-Contra affair rapidly followed. In February, the Soviet Union left Afghanistan after nine years of "intervention."

It was altogether a demolition year for Soviet Communism: The first free election was held, closed borders were opened, and the Berlin Wall dividing East and West Germany was dismantled.

Also, in March, six months of daily armed battle began in Lebanon, and the Lebanese president was assassinated in November of that year.

Further global tragedies: Also in March 1989, the Exxon Valdez supertanker spilled 11 million barrels of crude oil into the pristine waters of Prince William Sound, Alaska.

In April, a huge protest in China's Tiananmen Square was followed by another pro-democracy student rally in June, when Chinese army troops killed hundreds (or perhaps even thousands) of demonstrators.



Scientific and technological progress: In March, the World Wide Web was made available to the public. The photovoltaic cell, capable of storing solar radiation as electricity, was developed.

An international Ozone Treaty, aiming to cut chemical pollution in half, was signed. Human cloning was proven theoretically possible. These are all seeds that could sprout and force action, as the squares and oppositions of 2006 proceed.

Also in 1989, there were Earth changes: a volcanic eruption in Guatemala, Hurricane Hugo in the Caribbean, and the Loma Prieta earthquake in Northern California. Outer-planet conjunctions can be cataclysmic for the body of the Earth, and Neptune rules its oceans.

The ultimate expression of Saturn conjunct Neptune was perhaps when Voyager 2 provided the world with the first detailed photos of the planet Neptune.


Square Dancing with Jupiter

Since Jupiter squares both Saturn and Neptune several times from December 2005 to October 2006, the opposition becomes a t-square. Jupiter played a "trigger" role in 1989, from August through November, when it opposed Saturn and Neptune in Capricorn; it does so again in 2006 by crossing the midpoint sign: the deeply mysterious Scorpio, which squares both Saturn and Neptune.

In this context, it is useful to consider the esoteric symbols for Saturn and Neptune. Whereas Neptune's glyph depicts the crescent of soul above the cross of matter, Saturn's is the reverse.

These contrasting symbols offer a dialogue between material concerns like growth and sustenance and more subtle matters like values, freedom, and choice. Since Jupiter is the midpoint "collector" of the Saturn-Neptune energy, it is perhaps fortuitous that Jupiter's glyph puts soul and matter on the same level.

Jupiter in a fixed sign measures "the depths of the possible" (according to Sufi master Ibn 'Arabi), but the elemental nature of water interiorises and explores feelings.

The Scorpio signature means that mining and exploration of hidden resources are expanded, and this may go hand in hand with more instances of toxic poisoning, the revelation of deadly statistics, increasingly unhealthy waterways, and compounding threats to the Earth, as the groundwater becomes contaminated.

Scorpio as alchemist will be strongly apparent, and alternative technologies will gain new ground. Traditional medicines also become more popular, despite an ongoing attempt by strong lobbies to influence governments to legislate and marginalise these.

The additional energy of Chiron in Aquarius - as it repeatedly opposes Saturn from February to its retrograde station in mid June 2006 - introduces a healing theme which involves intensely confronting revelations about a structural "sickness" in society.

Legislation like the Codex Alimentarius [4] will increasingly politicise health care and polarise groups and individuals into taking action.

Saturn's opposition to first Chiron and then Neptune becomes a repeating t-square as Jupiter squares all three planets. The sense of being at a critical crossroads grows in stages from early June to early November 2006.

Saturn and Neptune might be the leading pair, but whenever Jupiter, Mars, or a potent lunation forms t-squares with a principal dancer, energy peaks, tensions rise, and intentions take form. Squares mean achievement but also indicate the difficulties that bring forth the extra effort. In 2006, the Taurus New Moon of April 27, the Scorpio Full Moon of May 13, and the Sagittarius Full Moon of June 11 have particularly potent t-square aspects that are further triggered by the Sun and Moon.

The June 11 lunation showcases the impending Mars-Saturn conjunction as the Sun and Moon make semi-square and sesquiquadrate aspects to the Mars/Saturn midpoint. Later in the year, the Aquarius Full Moon of August 9 and the Taurus New Moon of November 5 define this year's period of far-reaching tumult.


In fact, between April 27 and November 5, every New and Full Moon has a fixed t-square; these fall within a maximum 6° orb (most are closer). September has "extras": In this month of eclipses, the Sun and Moon form transformational squares to Pluto.

Saturn's influence tends to prune nonessentials and assert priorities, so certain aspects of life go under a high-power microscope. Doing more with less is the attitude that helps the transit process to go smoothly. This is not to imply that it is easy; personal pruning is usually painful. Applied to social institutions, this can also be a painful process.

For instance, the perceived value of maximum consumption co-exists with contingent realities like the scarcity of resources and the fragile ecosystem. Such contingencies could redefine values under Saturn's harsh microscope. Boundaries - whether global, national, or personal - are set to shift.


Where Does the Shadow Dance?

Planets beyond Saturn's gate carry a transpersonal and unconscious energy. This means that major planetary periods, when social reality keepers like Saturn and Jupiter polarise and challenge the unconscious energy of Neptune, are bound to elicit "shadow" material, in the Jungian sense.

This brings us to the question: Where does the shadow dance? Perhaps it dances in the "empty leg" opposite the Jupiter t-square. While the midpoint placement that Jupiter in Scorpio represents makes it a lightning rod for Saturn and Neptune's transit interchange, the Taurus dynamics may be more hidden and more crucial.

Saturn evokes substance, but inertia can be a problem; whereas Neptune evokes vision, but practicality can be a problem. Jupiter's role is critical, and Scorpio indicates fixed emotional attachments as the area of prime stress, the trigger.

Yet, the most profound shadow material might be all about Taurus - the body of Mother Earth, the health of the human body, money, and ownership of land.

Taurus became more vulnerable in late 2005 through the retrograde cycle of Mars in that sign. Mars is in its detriment there until February 17, 2006 and forms three squares to Saturn, three to Neptune, and a lengthy opposition to Jupiter in December 2005 and January 2006.

The germinal stage of the Jupiter-Saturn cycle began when Jupiter conjoined Saturn in Taurus in May 2000. Now, these two planets have reached their waxing square, first exact on December 17, 2005; then again on June 22, 2006; and finally on October 25, 2006. The conjunction is a "power-broker" pairing which sets social trends.

In May 2000, the lobby for genetically modified (GM) foods made its public bid for power. Individual countries had to decide whether or not to plant such crops, and agricultural companies like Monsanto wielded huge influence through their lobbying processes and global reach.[5] Sharp global polarisation has occurred around genetic engineering, but it is here to stay.

Although market forces have voted against this, a form of chemical imperialism has proceeded; individual farmers and even whole countries have been given incentives to embrace GM crops and the chemical dependence that entails.

The Jupiter squares of 2006 mark a kind of moratorium. Scorpio is the psychic detective who puts things under the microscope and delves into hidden problems. Expect renewed investigation into the side effects of GM foods, as well as renewed efforts by the chemical giants to further "normalise" GM products.


Such concepts might be turned on their heads, and questions of quality of life could gain higher profile. The fixed earth sign Taurus pertains to physical well-being, the durable aspects of the planet's ecosystem, the soil's health, and the value of material life.

These stand to suffer from ill-planned exploits, unconscious actions, and misplaced ideals. Rigid ego needs could grow lethal, particularly in their Big Business form, so the quest for beauty and pleasure may become increasingly dangerous.

Being consumed by a group mind or by unquestioning adherence to religious precepts - Neptune style - could be the most insidiously destructive force of all.

Jupiter in Scorpio builds emotional substance, penetrates situations for hidden meaning, and works through the desire nature. Leo and Aquarius are the polarity between individual and communal aspirations; Taurus and Scorpio are the polarity between sensate and feeling desires. The Taurean organic connection to life is under a shadow.

Modern astrology maintains that squares are active and trines are passive. Fixed squares give a structural depth to the action. One of the powerful positive outcomes of a Jupiter-Saturn meeting is a spike of consciousness-raising reality jolts.

Where Saturn contains, contracts, and disciplines, Jupiter extends, expands, and often exaggerates. Saturn's influence in this crossroads alignment might be to impose serious limitations on personal freedom, but Jupiter in Scorpio desires more knowledge of the hidden side and more spiritual freedom.

Sadly, an unconscious form of this could amplify acts of sacrificial terrorism and expand consumerism even in the face of reduced means. Neptune's presence in Aquarius offers Internet-speed access to everything, but it also dreams up the liberation of consciousness.


Pas de Deux of Sun and Moon

The total solar eclipse of March 29, 2006 at 8° Aries signifies a consciousness theme this year. Falling shortly after the Aries equinox, it features a "mystic rectangle" configuration that includes Saturn, the Sun and Moon, the Moon's nodes, and Chiron (see Chart 1).

On the same day, Pluto stations at 27° Sagittarius and begins its retrograde journey. Pluto has been transiting Sagittarius since 1995 and is now aligned with the Galactic Centre, so it brings extra potency to the quest for awareness, driving individuals and groups to confront their "Underworld."

Chiron plays an important role as it forms an exact sextile to the Sun and Moon, suggesting a healing confluence of Aquarian community consciousness and Arian independent zeal.

Chiron opposes Saturn, whose close trine with the North Node in Aries promotes self-reliance and small-scale, grassroots movements within a global context: "Think globally, act locally." It's worth considering astrologer Dale O'Brien's reminder that the Chironic wound supports "triumph over adversity." [7]

Chiron's opposition to Saturn is a main driver of the trines and sextiles that form the mystic rectangle which lasts from February to late April, indicating some satisfying resolutions made potent by the March eclipse.

The areas in the eclipse's path are Chad, Libya, Western Egypt, Turkey, and Ghana. Totality reaches the long duration of 3 minutes, 45 seconds. Fated periods are said to follow for the areas of totality. [8] Longstanding problems could be triggered, such as the disputed ownership of the Tibesti Highlands between Chad and Libya.

Turkey's modern chart is set for the formal creation of the republic on October 29, 1923 (see Chart 2). [9] This makes it a first-decanate Scorpio nation, so it is already sensitised by the many fixed squares occurring since late 2005. The republic was born with its Venus and Jupiter also in Scorpio and Jupiter square Neptune in Leo, so the last quarter of 2006 is the most challenging time for Turkey.

This is when existing racial tensions involving the Kurdish population could spark internal violence, and the struggle between fundamentalists and modern European Turks could come to a head. Turkey may emerge as the best hope for containing the tide of extremism.

When Pluto goes direct on September 5, 2006, grassroots movements to create alternatives to the many "free" fundamentalist schools might be the answer. The Saturn-Pluto trines come into orb then as well, boosting the quest for a new level of self-mastery and new freedoms.


The Retro-Direct Two-Step

One way of reading the cosmic dance is via the two rhythms of retrograde and direct motion, as planets move closer to and farther from Earth. This distinctly earthly experience carries great significance.

Neptune has been in direct motion since October 26, 2005 and is not retrograde until May 22, 2006, while Saturn enters 2006 in reverse (retro) gear, moving direct on April 5. Further rhythmic shifts come with Jupiter; its "backward" cycle commences on March 4, and direct motion resumes July 6.

This means that the strongest forward thrust of Neptune and Jupiter together is felt from their January 28 square right through February, because their second square occurs as their direct motion becomes synchronised.

When the Sun and Neptune then renew their synodic cycle at their conjunction on February 6, and the February 13 Full Moon in Leo widely squares them, the rhythms of sea god and sky god are definitely jarring each other.

When the Pisces period commences on February 18, both the modern and traditional rulers of the Fishes are in synchronised motion but in square aspect. Jupiter goes retrograde on March 4, reapplying to square Neptune on March 16. Meanwhile, Saturn's impact is slowly building behind the scenes. Not until late October 2006 do all three planets make a concerted forward thrust.

Once Saturn moves into direct motion on April 5, with Jupiter now retrograde, Saturnian realities come thick and fast - taking centre stage. Limitations on individual freedoms, glaring large-scale examples of choosing personal greed over community need, and powerful structural shifts in society will move ahead with Saturn's next series of squares.

Acts of personal nobility and decisive leadership are also likely to figure prominently. This is Saturn's most extroverted phase and lasts until December when Saturn stations retrograde.

In late June 2006, Mars joins Saturn in Leo, Chiron opposes them both, and Jupiter in Scorpio squares Saturn.

Right on the Cancer solstice of June 21, the Taurus Moon creates a fixed grand cross (see Chart 3). Conflicts and consequences multiply after this point. The Cancer ingress chart describes inner and outer weather for the next quarter - and neither looks calm.

This is the stage in the dance when an impressively difficult position is held. In nature, Saturn represents rocks, minerals, everything that creates hardness and gives form. In the body, it is the skeleton, the mineral balance, teeth, and bones.

Things calcify during this quarter year. Fortunately, squares are energetic and, as Bil Tierney reminds us, they provide the "concentrated energy needed to confront and overcome major obstacles that stifle our growth process." [10]

Neptune was one of the children swallowed by Father Saturn and later freed by his brother, Jupiter. After many years of wars, he was given control of the sea and all the rivers.

This is the perfect image of the collective unconscious and its tributaries into human consciousness. Neptune is well designed for the interior retrograde path that begins on May 22.

Feelings intensify with Neptune retrograde, and a kind of emotional syncopation occurs: Regular beats and accents are displaced, unexpected emotions are stirred, and the tendency to identify with other people's experience dissolves some boundaries. T. S. Eliot seemed to be saying a lot about Neptune in his poem, The Four Quartets: "... music heard so deeply / That it is not heard at all, but you are the music ...."

Neptune's retrograde adds an extra dimension to the June 21 Cancer ingress and the quarter year ahead. Things "simmer" in the Aquarian realm of friendship and group dynamics: Some fixed beliefs and social structures, which are designed to be humanitarian and fair, are revealed either as lacking in substance or as outright untruth - and new dreams take form.

As fate would have it, both Jupiter and Saturn are in direct motion on October 26 at their final "square dance." Neptune also shifts into its next direct phase on October 29. The Neptune rhythm and its quest for social ideals have been in the background while hard social realities have taken the foreground. Now a shift begins.

The frustrations engendered by the Jupiter-Neptune square of late September have an outlet in late October. Ideals may have seemed impossible to achieve and disillusionment rife, but now Neptune's direct path meets energising squares from Venus, the Sun, and Mars on November 7, 9, and 17, respectively. The Sun and then Mars go on to square Saturn on November 17 and 29.


The Light Fantastic

Jupiter's final transit through Scorpio has this planet leading a line dance: Like emissaries, Mercury, Venus, and then the Sun join Jupiter in November, receiving its light and carrying it on. The final meeting of the Sun, Moon, and Jupiter at the November 20 New Moon is the last aspect that all three planets make before leaving Scorpio.

All the energy of the solar and Jovian cycles has been accumulated, and retrograde Mercury has made progress seem painfully slow. Now, the release is here. That "intensity and one-trackness (fixed mode) coupled with Jupiter's innate confidence and sense of ultimate rightness" [11] can easily lead to intolerance, but Jupiter is on the way to broad-minded Sagittarius.

Pluto's long passage through Sagittarius has unearthed religious extremes; now a balancing act begins when Jupiter enters the sign of its rulership. Being known for what you believe could become more fashionable.

Jupiter is at its most rhythmic in its own sign of Sagittarius, starting November 24, 2006. Since Saturn will begin its retrograde motion on December 6, Jupiter takes the lead and casts restraint to the wind. When Mercury joins Mars and both conjoin Jupiter on December 10-11, the truth must come out - and it will, with more passion than finesse.

Jupiter is boosted by its proximity to Mars through most of December, dignified and now applying to harmonious aspects with Saturn (trine) and Neptune (sextile), so the stage setting has changed. The New Moon of December 20 features a six-planet lineup in Sagittarius. Future visions are fired with inspiration and this, in turn, creates energy.

Jupiter's mutable fire leads, now that Jupiter is dignified and direct, while Saturn's fixed fire is retrograde until April 2007. Once Jupiter turns retrograde on April 6, 2007, it engages with the karmic path of the lunar nodes by square, warning us not to throw all caution to the wind.


Yet, enthusiasm and far-reaching social agendas regarding education and religious freedom are big news. Renewed faith in global travel is likely. The promise of this time is heady, the optimism tangible. The shift has been made from fixed to free form, and the spiritual impetus of mutable Sagittarius is an upward one.

After the depth and substance of all those fixed squares, it's time to give back, to be unattached, and (in the words of Sufi mystic Ibn 'Arabi) to foster a heart "capable of all forms." [12]

Despite the final oppositions of Saturn and Neptune on February 28 and June 25, 2007, the chorus line of planets now supports a different finale. Jupiter applies to trine Saturn, and Saturn applies to trine Pluto. Jupiter eventually conjuncts Pluto.

These fiery trines will gather innovative energy from early March to late June 2007 as four planets (Venus, the Sun, Mercury, and Mars) travel through Aries. Of course, further change is the one certainty - but that is another dance.




----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_________________
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.” rumi
Nur Illa' Hob!

http://phytobiopharma.com

,
"Haspiallah a'am al waqil, na'am al maula, na'am al nasir"66

[Yasmine]

Earth changes

The changes are both natural and human-created. Any geologist of geophysicist will tell you the planet undergoes vast evolutionary cycles that are constantly (although usually imperceptibly) reshaping the continents, subcontinents, oceans and climates of our world.

Wars, nukes and many diseases, of course, are products of human ingenuity. As a people, we have contributed to imbalances in the Earth’s systems by depleting natural resources, destroying her protective layers, and ignoring her calls for help.

While global warming, seismic activity and other changes are part of the Earth’s natural process of evolution, we have helped accelerate this process through generations of abuse.

Cosmic forces are also at work. On January 24, the longest gamma ray burst ever recorded emanated from the constellation of Camelopardalis, located between Cassiopeia and Ursa Major.

Equipment on Earth recorded the cosmic burst as long as 700 seconds. On January 27, a magnitude 7.7 undersea earthquake rocked eastern Indonesia. What happens in the heavens affects us, directly or indirectly, here on Earth.

As Pluto, the Transformer, moves to align with the Galactic Center this year, we can expect more turbulence in the Earth grid. Pluto is associated with deep, lasting transformation.

The center of our galaxy is a churning cauldron of raw creation energy. As Pluto crosses the degree of the Galactic Center in Sagittarius in 2006-2007, entire systems and structures will disintegrate, making way for the new.

The point of all this change is creation. We stand on the threshold of a new world age ripe with potential for planetary peace and enlightenment. Destruction is a necessary part of creation. We are very much a part of this system and able to affect the degree of intensity needed for change to come about. Each of us can participate consciously in this process



Spiritual & Physical preparedness


- Meditate every day. Meditation brings peace to your heart and to the planet, especially during times of extreme change. As my Iroquois teacher often said, “the more you meditate, the more clearly you’ll hear your instructions about where to be and when, even if there’s chaos.”

- Let go of fear. Practice acts of courage. Stand in your truth, always. Pursue your passion and purpose diligently.

- Pay attention. Notice what’s happening around you, on the streets, in the news (headlines only, so you don’t get sucked in). Notice energy shifts in people, animals, plants and climate. Develop and follow your inner guidance.

- Care for the Earth. Create a sustainable lifestyle, “off the grid” as much as possible and in harmony with the Earth. Commune in nature. Grow your own food. Offer prayer and ceremony for the Earth, especially on key planetary alignment dates.

- Nurture yourself. You’ve probably made a soul agreement to facilitate the changes. You may be engaged directly with the Earth during the shifts, with the souls who are crossing into spirit en masse, and/or with the loved ones they’re leaving behind.

Allow time and space for deep healing of your self, the collective and the Earth Mother. A diet rich in vitamins and minerals will help you stay strong, healthy and grounded. Sleep when your body needs rest.

- Join with others of like heart and intention. Build community. Meditate, pray and celebrate together.

- Receive and give healing work. There are countless modalities of energy and bodywork, vibrational medicine, herbs and supplements to support your transformational journey.

- Manifest and create from love. Energy follows attention. Focus on what you want to create more of – not what you don’t want – in your life, your community and your world.


It’s up to each of us to discern truth in any information we receive – on any topic. Just because something’s posted on the Internet, published in a newspaper or broadcast over the airwaves doesn’t make it true.

When I’m exposed to “truth,” my heart and crown chakras open, and I breathe an “aha.” When this happens, I pay extra attention because I’ve probably attracted information and guidance I need. How does your “truth-o-meter” work?

I’ve had dreams of the Earth changes since I was a child. In recent years they’ve become more powerful, more visceral. Today they’re growing more frequent, and specific. I’m guided to be mindful of the potential realities of our world without going into a space of fear, to expand my daily practice, and to re-commit at a higher level to my path of service.

What is your guidance telling you?



"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

"You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.

"We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."





by Allison Rae






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“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.” rumi
Nur Illa' Hob!

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"Haspiallah a'am al waqil, na'am al maula, na'am al nasir"66