Saturday, June 30, 2007

Astro Weather July 2007

July begins under the influence of the full moon in Sagittarius on June 30,2007. The energy of a full moon is expansive and in Sagittarius its effect is amplified as Jupiter, the planet of expansion, rules that sign. The moon represents our receptive, reflective and conditioned human mind. A full moon is a time when our minds may receive the fullest light from the Sun, or consciousness.

Our thinking mind is ruled by Mercury which has been retrograde in Gemini since June 15, 2007 and is opposite this full moon. The nature of Gemini is to seek change and interchange. Our thoughts may become overly expansive and scattered with this line up. The axis of this opposition aligns fairly close to the galactic center, so pay attention to dreams and messages from both the conscious and unconscious realms. In general Mercury retrograde is an opportune time to focus the mind inward either through meditation, creative work, or dream work. It allows one to reassess our thought patterns and make changes if necessary. Mercury went retrograde on June 15th and will go stationary direct on July 9th at 7:16 pm.

On a personal level, my most anticipated change for the year happens in July when Saturn shifts from Cancer to Leo. Saturn in Cancer has been in opposition with Neptune in Capricorn for the past two years, reaching an exact opposition during February 2007 and the last few weeks of June. Saturn teaches lessons about reality, and Neptune about illusion. Wow, what a pairing. Saturn in Cancer, the sign of growth, is uncomfortable and restricts expansion. Neptune in Saturn's sign of Capricorn manifests issues with ideals and illusions around growth and security. Depending on where this opposition play out in your individual chart will reveal how it plays out in your life. For example I've seen several marriages including my own end under this influence due to the reality of Saturn exposing the illusion of Neptune. My astrology teacher, Dennis Flaherty has discussed and written much on this topic.
For more see: http://www.vedicsciences.com/2007_summer_vedic-astrology-predictions.htm.

Saturn enters the constellation of Leo around July 16, 2007 and while it is still not the best sign for Saturn, the fire of Leo will warm up the damped influences of Cancer -- and Saturn will pull away from Neptune. However, Saturn will also be heading towards Ketu, the south node, and will be part of the eclipse cycle patterns for the next year. Ketu represents detachment from materialism and promises liberation. The best use this energy is to let go and scale back.

During the first days of July, a Venus-Saturn conjunction will be visible in the night sky.
See: http://www.space.com/spacewatch/070629_ns_venus_saturn.html

Venus will also be traveling through the constellation of Leo at the beginning of July. As an indicator of love, beauty and the arts, Venus becomes very charismatic in Leo. Venus also represents the higher astral plane and inspires devotion, both spiritual and romantic. This planet was the primary point of focus of many ancient civilizations including the Egyptian and Mayan cultures whose calendars were based on her cycles. A Venus cycle includes 5 retrogrades over 8 years, cutting a path in the shape of a star or pentagram. For some great images of this phenomenon see http://www.lunarplanner.com/HCpages/Venus.html.

The next Venus retrograde period begins on July 27, 2007 and completes on September 9, 2007. According to Vedic astrology, retrograde planets may be more powerful. In one of my favorite astrology books, Astrology of the Seers, David Frawley writes:

Retrograde planets often indicate a karmic result. They may be functioning to fulfill some karmic debt or promise or to clear up affairs from the past.


And beware, as Venus is in Leo, there may be some drama associated with this retrograde. This beautiful planet will be traveling with Saturn, the lord of Karma, and Ketu, the south node, indicator of liberation. The outcome of their stellar influences will most certainly be karmic.

Namaste!

Thursday, June 28, 2007

1200


Wow, I didn't realized that writing a 1200 character About Me profile would be so challenging. I am generally so quiet. Who knew I had to much to say. It is an embarrassing self realization to witness how attached to my opinions I have become. But as I understand it, a blog is like a journal, so it really is all about me. The following is what is missing from my About Me profile.

It takes more than words or familar lists of 'Favorites' to really know someone. And I am already bumping up against the confines of the e-blog format. This particular template asks for a date of birth and automatically reveals one's sun sign and Chinese astrological animal. However, being a Vedic astrologer, I would rather see something more aligned with the constellations of the night sky than the Western tropical sign. The tropical zodiac used in Western astrology is astronomically off by about 23 degrees, which means my sun was actually transiting the constellation of Capricorn and not Aquarius. Moreover in India, the moon sign is much more important and informative about one's being than the sun sign; so I would rather see Aries, specifically Aswini, listed as birth information. But as my rising sign is Aquarius, I will have to settle with this automated assignment and my little rant to clarify my energetic self. And to further demonstrate my secret nitpicky side, I want to point out that the "Zodiac Animal" assigned to my profile is also different according to other calendars. In the Chinese calendar my animal is the Rabbit/Hare, in the Viet Nam calendar it is a Cat, and as my birthday falls at the end of January, the Tibetan calendar puts me in a Tiger year. I feel a closer resonance to cat and Tiger, but I do have a lot of rabbit qualities. Now doesn't that clear things up for you.

This splitting of 'hares' (sorry couldn't resist), also inspires me to ask what do my favorite movies, books and music tell you other than I enjoy the thoughts and visions of other artists. It really doesn't tell you much about me other than whom I admire. Perhaps it links me to a type or tribe. I love studying different systems, but ultimately it's looking at the bigger picture and seeing how it's all connected that thrills me. So hopefully those of you who don't know me personally can read between the lines and past the fussy evaluation above to see that I am a seeker looking for the patterns that reveal face of the divine in all that she sees.

Namaste!