It is incredibly upsetting to sit here tonight watching Putin’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine. I’ll admit I’m distracted. I’m finding it impossible, really, to write about anything but this brazen aggression.
I’m disgusted to see clips of the former president in front of a dining room full of people at Mar-a-lago praising Putin for invading a sovereign country. (I hesitate to include a link.)
Ugh – as I’m writing this, air raid sirens are going off in Kyiv indicating that the capital is under attack. What a chilling, horrifying sound. It’s surreal, to be honest.
The intimations that Putin may have much larger designs – including potentially invading other countries beyond Ukraine – is incredibly disturbing.
As Above…
I managed to get a good walk in this afternoon. I simply could not allow the beauty and warmth of the day to pass by without taking full advantage of it.
During part of my walk I listened to an astrological podcast discussing the specific significance of the transits occurring this week. It was recorded on the 20th, which was last Sunday (three days ago).
The podcast is by Anne Ortelee and is only half an hour long – but wow, is it ever powerful. It’s astonishing to hear about all the various planetary interactions that are lining up to play out in a potentially disturbing and devastating manner. Indeed, it’s eerie to hear it now, with the perspective we have presently.
Photo: L. Weikel
Veiled Threats
The Ukrainians are out-gunned and out-manned. But making it even worse, Putin actually made a veiled threat that he might use nuclear weapons. The insanity we’re witnessing both in this country and around the world is indeed troubling.
We must hold the line within our own selves, striving to remain calm and balanced. Keeping our own internal peace is probably the greatest aid we can give to the people of Ukraine. It may seem like a paltry gesture but energetically it is the greatest power we wield at this moment. Keeping peace within ourselves: it’s what we can do on a personal level to support peace in the outside world.
I’m not a huge musical theater or even Broadway (in general) enthusiast. That’s not to say I haven’t loved going to Broadway to see the handful of shows I’ve seen over the years. It’s just never been a priority. Given where we live and our proximity to New York City, this neglect feels like an opportunity wasted.
Of course, full disclosure demands that I admit I had a secret hope that Karl would provide us with the perfect excuse to attend productions in the city more frequently. I never actually imagined Karl performing on Broadway – or even in plays in general – for a living. When he was accepted into NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts for acting, I think I imagined him becoming more of a film guy, or a comedian. And with his brazen imagination, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d ended up writing rather than acting. But I did think that, in the short term, he’d give us some cool excuses to go to New York to see him perform.
Alas, that potential destiny never played out.
Tangential Awareness
Even though Broadway and the NYC theater scene never became a bigger part of our lives, I did manage to occasionally peek out from under our rock enough to remain tangentially aware of the most popular shows. And I happen to remember when Rent was just breaking onto the scene. (And no, I still haven’t seen it.)
Fast forward to the past few weeks. I’ve been noticing the title of a movie being advertised, Tick, Tick…Boom, all over the place. And for whatever reason, the title catches my attention. Not long enough for me to explore what the movie’s about, mind you. But I notice.
Then just a few days ago, I was listening to the astrological forecast for the week with Anne Ortelee on Astrology Hub. Here it was again. She mentioned that she was going to the premier of Tick, Tick…Boom later that day (this past Monday), and highly recommended we see it. I believe she said she’d known Jonathan Larson (who was the creator of Rent), “back in the day.”
Timing, Destiny, Humanity
I don’t know why some things catch our attention and others don’t. Is there a reason the title of this movie kept snagging my attention? How odd was it that it crossed my radar again while listening to an astrological podcast? Whatever the reason, the movie, which also happens to be the directorial debut for Lin Manuel Miranda, (yes, I’m aware of Hamilton, but no, I haven’t seen that, either) premiered on Netflix last night – and Karl and I watched it tonight.
Wow.
What a wonderful production. The cast was outstanding. The songs were great; the story inspiring and hopeful. And honestly? I needed the escape.
The affirmation of how important it is for us to follow our deepest creative drives and inclinations – especially as he captured in the song “Why?” – resonated in my heart. Sometimes that means sticking with a vision relentlessly and sometimes it means exploring other opportunities that permit us to express our unique gifts, ‘art,’ or talents.
This movie was infused with tremendous heart. And kindness. Nothing blatant; indeed, there were many sweetly subtle themes of essential humanity.
I’m glad it kept coming up on my radar. I needed the reminder that those things still exist in our world.
NOT the moon tonight! (It’s invisible) Photo: L. Weikel
Intensity Building
I know you can feel it too. It’s not just me – or a few friends of mine – who’re feeling the level of intensity building nigh well everywhere.
Part of the issue, as I wrote last night, has to do with the new moon in Libra occurring tomorrow morning (perhaps even as you read this!). It’s looking like it’s going to be a doozy. Or more accurately, I’m hearing from others that it’s going to be an intense month.
But there’s even more stuff going on ‘out there’ this week that bears having attention paid. One of those aspects is also playing out tomorrow (along with that new moon) and that is the fact that Pluto is stationing direct. Pluto tends to spend about half of any given year moving ‘direct’ and half moving ‘retrograde.’ And it’s such a slow moving planet that just in ‘slowing down,’ stopping, and then moving forward again takes many days. So the effects tend to be long, drawn out, and deeply…disruptive. Especially with Pluto. Luckily, that disruption often leads to experiencing profound transformation (from the deepest levels).
Given the recent eruptions (as in, from the Underworld – where Pluto rules) of explosive allegations regarding FB, I’m thinking there will be a lot astounding details coming out not only about that debacle but also a ton more revelations in our ‘news cycles’ over the next few days.
Saturn Also Getting In On the Act
On Sunday, Saturn stations direct, meaning, in this case, it stops traveling retrograde* and hits the spot where it will momentarily stand still (and then turn direct) as well. As Saturn is yet another huge ‘outer’ planet, this transit also wields a lot more power and influence over our lives than we would like to think. And remember, Saturn is the planet that governs structures, government, foundations.
What’s really wild is that aspects between planets are occurring this week that were around when Covid first hit our shores. Will something else of equal or even more society-shifting/disrupting potential ‘come out’ this week? I guess we’ll see.
In the meantime, I know I suggested you listen to the astrological forecast for the month by Rick Levine just last night. But it’s meaty and, indeed, as my friend Wendy pointed out in a comment to the blog post as shared on FB, she listened and felt she needed to take notes. Join the club! His comments resonated with a lot of what I’ve not only been experiencing myself, but also what I’ve observed others enduring. I’ve definitely taken notes and noted certain aspects on my calendar when listening to him.
Another Forecast
Well, fear not. I’m not going to leave you high and dry in the face of this week’s potentially extremely uncomfortable aspects, either. I wouldn’t be sharing this if I didn’t think we could all benefit from maintaining awareness of what’s going on around us – and perhaps even more importantly, what’s influencing the behavior of so many people around us.
Accordingly, I recommend you listen to this ‘Weekly Astrological Weather’ forecast by Anne Ortelee on Astrology Hub. It’s worth your time – if for no other reason than to give you reason to scratch your head and say, “Huh. Go figure,” as we watch stuff unfold over the next several days.
* It’s always good to remember that retrograde movement is an optical illusion. No planet literally moves backwards in its orbit around the sun. But that doesn’t mean the energetic shift associated with our perception isn’t powerfully significant for us.
I listened with interest the other day to an Astrology Hub podcast discussing the transits for this week. In that Weekly Weather podcast, Anne Ortelee suggests an exercise that feels both intriguing and powerful to me. In fact, it feels like such a worthwhile endeavor that I thought I’d mention it here.
All of you know that I’m no astrologer. At best, I flirt with the tiniest bit of knowledge, which is always a dangerous thing. But in my beginner’s mind innocence, I also harbor enthusiasm for the insight the macrocosm can provide to each of us as a unique microcosm.
Of course, I’m providing the link to the specific podcast here. It may be a little confusing, but I’m finding the best way to learn this stuff is to listen and apply it to my own chart. I suggest you do the same. In fact, there were even more interesting insights in this particular podcast that I’m following up with for myself. But see for yourself, if you’re interested.
One great thing about Amanda Pua Walsh, the founder of Astrology Hub and the host of the Weekly Weather as well as the Cosmic Connection (the program with Rick Levine that I’ve linked to occasionally) is that she asks great questions. Not only does she summarize what’s been said by the astrologer, but she also seems to get confused when I do – and asks for clarification when I need it.
Weird Clouds at Sunset – Photo: L. Weikel
Planting Seeds for the Long Haul
The exercise that Anne Ortelee suggested in this week’s Weekly Weather podcast has to do with the new moon that occurred last Thursday morning. You may recall that the new moon was also an eclipse of the sun. And to add to the intensity of that astrological lineup, it just so happened that the new moon and eclipse both lined up with the “Nodes of Fate.” The Nodes of Fate are the Moon’s Nodes – something I’m not equipped to get into describing at the moment. Suffice it to say, the Moon’s North Node conjuncted (landed in the same sign and the same degree as) the new moon and the eclipse.
I’ve written a number of times about the new moon being a fertile time to plant the seeds of new ideas or goals. These generally may come to fruition in a month, or in longer time frames such as 2.5 years. Well, precisely because this new moon took place conjunct the Moon’s Nodes (specifically the North Node of the Nodes of Fate), at an eclipse, a 19 year process was set in motion.
Since it’s only been a week since that powerful conjunction, the moon is still just beginning to wax and grow the intentions set during that time. In other words, it’s not too late to plant those seeds – particularly for the long haul of what you would like to manifest over the next 19 year phase of your life.
Interesting Exercise
If you even just indulge me in this and allow yourself to ponder what you would like to be experiencing in your life 19 years from now, you’ll see that this is a worthwhile endeavor. For one thing, it is fascinating to look back 19 years from this moment and ponder just what you were thinking, doing, and dreaming back then.
Did you have an accurate assessment of your present circumstances 19 years ago? Is the life you’re living now anything like the one you were living then? Are you living a life now that you fully imagined then?
Simply reflecting on the changes in your life over the past 19 years is fascinating. At least I found it to be so. And realizing that I had no idea then that I would be doing what I do now for a living makes me realize just how much everything can change in 19 years.
The most important thing to remember in contemplating this exercise is to focus upon what you want to feel in 19 years. The specifics can be filled in by Life Itself. But the most important activity we can do right now is set the intention of what we want to feel. Do we want to be surrounded by people we love and who love us? Will we be living in a home that’s secluded and in the country or within walking distance to the most important things in our life? Do we want excellent health? Children? Do we want to be living with a person who loves us and shares our passions? Do we want to own our own company or head a non-profit?
It’s the Passion
What’s most important in writing out these seeds that we want to plant/goals that we want to create or manifest in our lives is how deeply and passionately we want them. It’s not as much in the details; it’s the passion. Often the Universe (or Spirit or God/Goddess, whatever you want to call Creator energy) will give us something even better than we could have imagined.
“This or something better”
The truth is, we go a long way in getting the ball rolling by tapping into what’s in our hearts. And let’s be real. How often do we honestly sit down and contemplate what would I like to be experiencing 19 years from now?
It’s a most intriguing question. And depending upon your age, it can feel a bit unsettling or daunting. If we can overcome our initial uneasiness, though, the power of our imagination can be utterly life changing. And a worthwhile endeavor no matter how you look at it.
Waxing Moon in Virgo Flirting with Clouds – Photo: L. Weikel
