intentions

Tornado Warning – ND #115

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Ominous Arrival – ND #115

Tornado Warning

Happy very blustery first day of April. The post I started writing last night began with how we were under a tornado warning. Literally, here in eastern Pennsylvania, my cell phone began blaring a very abrasive sound and the words that popped onto the screen warned that I should immediately retreat to a cellar or basemen, or short of that, take shelter in a place devoid of windows or in the center of the house.

Karl was asleep on the couch, although the noxious noise did rouse him a little (although not enough to get up). The wind was wild and there was a lot of lightning, which felt ominous. (I can’t explain it, but it didn’t feel like a normal thunderstorm.) I was vigilant – monitoring the way the air felt and the way the wind sounded – and had already rehearsed in my head the tenor of voice I’d use to get Karl on his feet in a split second and how we would each scoop up an animal or two to get them into the cellar with us.

For about ten minutes, I kept saying out loud, “That doesn’t sound right.” I’d mute the tv so I could track the storm even better. And yet through it all, I kept hearing my own train of thought telling me there was no way we’d be hit by a tornado.

Guess I was wrong. (This was only a couple miles from our house.) Or maybe my intuition was right to make a plan in my head as to the quickest way to bolt into the cellar – in spite of my skepticism!

A Bouquet of Crocuses from the Spirits of the Land – Photo: L. Weikel

Had a Conversation

I had a little chat with the Spirits of my land today while I performed my EoP Biodiversity Process. It always warms my heart to have a heartfelt conversation with the Spirits of our land. I think it’s because I sense that it still surprises them to actually have a human paying attention to them and speaking to them with specificity, intention, and gratitude.

I’d hoped to have a new moon fire today, but it was far too windy. Maybe tomorrow. Just in case you haven’t yet given yourself permission to sit quietly and contemplate the opportunities you’d like to pursue (or perhaps even more powerfully, the feelings you’d like to bring into your life) over the next month and two plus years, you still have time. Everything doesn’t have to be set in stone by the moment the sun and moon conjunct each other. No, the energies of a new moon begin shortly before the astronomical occurrence and last for a few days afterward.

So I encourage you: get real with yourself. Have a think this weekend. How do you want to feel at the end of this month? What would you love to manifest in your life by June of 2024?

(T+115)

In Perfect Timing – ND #88

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Cherry Sunset – Photo: L. Weikel

In Perfect Timing

As much as I hoped to devote time this weekend to working on those seeds I wanted to plant at the new moon last week (eye roll), I’ll admit to all of you: I’ve yet to sit with this the way I’d hoped. Timing is everything, and I may be in perfect timing – or I may have missed my chance. Perhaps I’ll never know.

Oh, I worked on stuff that cannot be ignored. It’s not as if I took a siesta from life and just immersed myself in a novel or something. No; instead of engaging in the contemplation I yearn for, I worked on getting our tax information together. Ugh. Talk about a thankless job.

But you know what? I realize even as I write this: the anxiety I feel over this process has less to do with reality and so very much more with remembering traumatic times from years ago. Like back before I knew about Quicken and had to go through my checkbook registers line by line and put things together for the accountant.

Yeah, we’re talking good times.

Cherry Sunset from Afar – Photo: L. Weikel

Clearing the Decks

I had a choice. I could’ve decided to simply sit with my journal and let myself rip – get down and dirty with my deepest, truest dreams for the next two and a half years.

Instead, I chose to take that time and, instead, clear the decks. It’s a risky business; I know that. It’s always dicey, wondering whether you’re avoiding introspection by committing to completing an unpleasant but necessary task. And sometimes, I suppose, it’s both.

And it’s not to say that I have any reason to avoid setting those new moon intentions. But it can be difficult sometimes to know with certainty what they are. Do I set the same (or remarkably similar) intentions as I have been known to set in the past? Or do I throw it all out and commit to something entirely different?

Simple Pleasures

All I know is, after working on tax preparation all afternoon, I was very ready to take a walk. And my day was made complete by a reunion with Princess, Liddle, and Middle. I’ve discovered their favorite treat (a small peanut butter biscuit) and their joy in snarfing them up (one each!) in turn makes me happy.

It’s the little things in life.

Liddle, Middle, & Princess Smiing and Happy – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+88)

Wherewithal – ND #8

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Lounging – Photo: L. Weikel

Wherewithal

I have a bunch of things I’d like to write about tonight but each topic deserves more thought and effort than I have the wherewithal to muster at this moment. Wherewithal. That’s a cool word.

I feel a tug to pull a couple cards for us, too. But not tonight. I’m thinking maybe Friday or Saturday night. I’ll ask what we need to ILLUMINATE in our lives and perhaps shed or set aside at this full moon. What has reached its fullness in our lives and is ready to move on?

It might benefit all of us to pose that question silently to ourselves now, actually. You know, give ourselves a couple of days to ruminate on the question.

We’re coming up on a powerful time – the winter solstice (here in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway) – the longest night of the year.

Light in the Darkness

It’s important to notice whether any of the intentions we set at the new moon are culminating this week. Or perhaps there are longer term projects that are beginning to see the light of day.

It’s easy for me to plant the seeds of what I’d like to create or manifest in my life – and then forget to ‘check in’ with the Universe to see right where I am at the present moment. It’s an essential practice.

Sometimes we just need to remember to light a candle or otherwise bring some light to the darkness. And sometimes the darkness that’s darkest is what’s inside of us. So in lieu of swallowing fire, how do we find a light in the darkness of our thoughts and feelings?

I’m thinking.

(T+8)

Fluff My Nest – Day 893

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Eagle’s Nest – Photo: L. Weikel

Fluff My Nest

I just did something I haven’t done in quite a while. I deleted my post. Well, it wasn’t technically a post yet, since I didn’t publish it. But it was pretty close. And now it’s gone. I think it’s a bit eerie, to be honest: I’m becoming ruthlessly adept at clearing stuff out if it doesn’t suit me – if it doesn’t fluff my nest.

And that’s how I’ve felt about my home, lately, too. My nest has desperately needed a good fluffing, and while I am getting close, I haven’t yet manifested the space to give it my all.

As I’ve occasionally mentioned, I’ve been on a kick for the past three or four weeks, clearing out, letting go, donating. It’s the strangest thing. As hard as it is for me to go through stuff, I inevitably want to throw out more when I quit for the day.

An Actual Nest

When I was driving down River Road today, I was reminded of how compelled I’ve felt lately to clean the clutter from our home and truly streamline our environment. The massive eagle’s nest that’s nestled high in a gigantic sycamore tree across the Delaware, is a sight to behold.

I couldn’t quite tell if I was seeing a head peeking out over the edge of the nest when I went by this afternoon. But it made me think of my nest.

Karl and I entirely emptied out one of the rooms in our home over the past few days. Top to bottom, that part of our nest is empty. And it feels sooooo great.

I’m ready to see what’s going to happen as we totally revamp our intentions for this room. Will it bring the changes we seek? Will it inspire me to do the same in other rooms of our nest?

Only time will tell, I guess. But today was a very good day, from my nest to Eagle’s nest. The view is feeling fine.

(T-218)

What Are We Seeing – Day 783

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What do YOU see? – Photo: L. Weikel

What Are We Seeing?

I tend to write a lot about listening. It’s a passion of mine. I believe a well-developed ability to sincerely listen to whomever (or whatever) we’re in relationship with is a profound display of respect and caring. And listening is most definitely fundamentally different than just ‘hearing.’  In a similar vein, I feel there’s a fundamental difference between looking and seeing. Sometimes it serves us to stop and ask ourselves, “What are we seeing?”

There’s a lot going on in the world right now. Especially here in the United States, situations are presenting themselves that I honestly believe very few people would ever have believed even one year ago, much less four years ago. These situations, while unfolding here in the U.S., are most definitely going to impact the entire world – just like they did four years ago.

It seems to me that we would all be wise to not only brush up on our listening skills, but right now take a good look at what’s taking place right before our very eyes.

What are we seeing? What is being said? What does it all mean?

Ask Yourself

We owe it to ourselves to ask ourselves and each other these questions before it’s too late. It seems to me that if we’d been truly listening to what was being said by the most powerful people in this country, we would not be in the position we’re in at the moment. Intentions have been stated quite clearly. But a desire to just ‘hear’ and a refusal to truly listen may have sealed a fate for us to experience – at least in the next several weeks and months – that no one wants.

And the same can be said for how things look like they’re going to play out.

What are we seeing? Is it a gorgeous sunset? Or the Eye of Sauron? When we look, what – or who – do we see staring back at us?

So Many Eyes – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-328)

Powerful Aspects On Deck – Day 762

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Orion’s Belt – 12/12/2020

Powerful Aspects On Deck

2020 has been an intense year so far no matter how you look at it. I don’t need to recite the myriad ways in which life as we knew it a year ago seems almost like a dream. But applying the concept of ‘as above, so below,’ I’m here to tell you: there remain breathtakingly powerful aspects on deck in our lives. December isn’t over yet.

While experiencing a meteor shower is not an astrological transit (although I believe it’s an astronomical weather event), I have to say my experience of leaning against my car and staring into the vastness of space the past two evenings has felt, I don’t know – deeply significant. Humbling. Perspective enhancing.

It’s easy for us to get lost in the crises that scream for our attention day in and day out. A pandemic. Systemic racism. Shocking threats of violence. Contempt for democracy. Vast swaths of our fellow Americans facing profound food and shelter insecurity.

The pain and chaos surrounds and threatens to drown us.

And yet for the half an hour I spent staring at the sky, talking out loud to the stars, to the cosmos, requesting insight – and absent that, a couple of shooting stars – I felt an odd sense of being re-set. It almost felt like the Universe pulled the plug on my systems for several minutes and just forced everything to recalibrate and calm the hell down. Staring upward and drinking in the incomprehensible, my perspective shifted.

It helped that I saw five meteors.

Monday’s Solar Eclipse

The next major astrological transit we’ll be experiencing will be a new moon on Monday, which is always a great time to plant the seeds for whatever we may desire to manifest in our life. But Monday’s is no ordinary new moon. It will be perfectly aligned with (conjunct) the sun, resulting in a total eclipse. While it will be a total eclipse, with both sun and moon at 23 degrees Sagittarius at 11:00 a.m. ET, the classic experience of the event, complete with a corona, will only be visible from South America and locations in the south of Africa.

Sagittarius classically occupies the 9th house of the zodiac, which highlights higher education, spirituality, beliefs, foreign or long distance travel, and adventure. Something tells me that we might want to consider planting some seeds that will expand our perspectives, broaden our horizons, and encourage us to learn new concepts and ways of approaching old problems.

My sense is that our old ways of dealing with conflict and problems that not only impact but expand far beyond our everyday lives will require strategies that will permit us access to new perspectives.

I’m going to be offering whomever is interested opportunities to learn and incorporate just such strategies as we enter a whole new world.

(T-349)

Ugh Oh – Day 732

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Tree Huddle – Photo: L. Weikel

Ugh Oh

I just realized that about fifteen minutes from when I’m writing this, it’s going to be Friday the 13th. Normally, I embrace the 13th of anything – and I certainly do not ascribe any ill-fated inclinations to the number. As a matter of fact, I’ve considered the 13th to be a fortunate number in my own life. It is historically associated with women and the moon, and best yet, my eldest son was born on the 13th, albeit not a Friday. That said, when I saw that tomorrow is Friday the 13th, my first thought was, “Ugh oh.”

Let’s not forget: it may be November, but it’s still 2020. I don’t think there’s been much of anything this year that’s not had a little bit of “ugh oh” associated with it. But the next several days are going to be particularly intense.

Jupiter Conjunct Pluto

In fact, one astrological aspect that occurred today and that’s impacting all of us is Jupiter conjuncting Pluto. This is an aspect that occurs every 13 years. It’s generally associated with big death or major (Jupiter) transformation (Pluto).

The unique specialness that we’ve come to know as 2020 brought us the tremendously lovely (eye roll) opportunity to experience this conjunction three times within seven months. Why? Because both planets went retrograde this year right around when they were aspecting each other in Capricorn.

That means that Jupiter and Pluto were conjunct (meaning occupying the same degree and sign at the same time) on April 4, 2020. It may be recalled, that’s right around when the pandemic started exploding in New York.

Both Pluto and Jupiter then stationed (appeared to ‘stop’) and went retrograde (an optical illusion that makes a planet appear to be going backwards in its usual orbit), Pluto at the end of April and then Jupiter in early May. This caused the two planets to meet up with each other and become conjunct again – on June 30th. This coincided with another blip in the coronavirus spread.

And today, we just had the third conjunction of the two planets, as they both are moving forward again and have, once again, caught up with each other. Sad to report, but the pandemic is reaching crisis proportions here. Just today, I believe there were something like 158,000+ new positive cases. That’s more than 10,000 more cases today than yesterday. And hospitalizations and deaths are increasing as well, although they are, as always, ‘lagging’ indicators. (Because people don’t usually get hospitalized and rarely die the same day they’re diagnosed with Covid-19. That takes some time.)

On the Bright Side

We’ll be experiencing a new moon early Sunday morning (late Saturday evening for those on the west coast), so we might want to think about planting some fresh intentions geared toward keeping ourselves, our families, and everyone we come into contact with safer. It feels especially important to set such intentions this weekend because the next two weeks will encompass Thanksgiving. Remember: short term sacrifice for long-term gain.

There are other planetary aspects occurring over the next few days that could portend additional  likelihood of volatility, rage, and acting out. Given that tomorrow is Friday the 13th, then, it might behoove all of us to be mindful of everything that’s going on right now and just chill out.

We didn’t get a chance to walk today because every time we thought about setting out, it started to drizzle. Here’s hoping we get to walk tomorrow. Stay well, everyone.

(T-379)

New Moon Coming – Day 377

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New Moon Coming

Next Tuesday morning (November 26th, 2019, at 4:06 a.m. EST) the moon will be new – in Sagittarius.

I’m not sure why I’m so acutely aware of this coming new moon, but I am. It feels like it will be a particularly auspicious time to plant the seeds of what we’d like to manifest in our lives.

Perhaps it’s because my natal moon (the placement of the moon in the zodiac at the exact time I was born) is in Sagittarius that I feel drawn to the power of this particular transit. Or maybe it’s because Sagittarius is a fire sign – a mutable one at that – and the whole concept of change (mutation) and the vibrancy of fire have me imagining big shifts happening.

Pre-Holiday Reflection

I’m writing about the new moon now, tonight, because it is a Saturday evening and there still remains another day in this weekend for potential quiet time. We all know that once Thanksgiving arrives, it feels like an untethered toboggan ride down a ski slope to Christmas and New Year’s. It feels important that we sit back and take a few breaths this weekend before Thanksgiving to reflect on what we’re bringing to the Gratitude Table this year and what we would like to bring next year.

Thus, unlike most of my musings about the moon’s phases, this time I’m trying to give everyone a heads up with a little time to spare.

Time to spare? Yes. I’m getting such a strong sense that 2020 is going to be a year that holds enormous change that I feel it is essential to give us all as much of a chance to get ahead of the curve as possible. Major disruption in 2020 is a distinct possibility, perhaps, but ultimately sets a tone and establishes a foundation for many years ahead.

Again, with the fire of Sagittarius warming the soil of possibility, and the added guidance and expansive tendencies of both Jupiter and Venus, both of which are also enjoying their last moments in Sag as well, I urge us all to begin the process of reflection, assessment, and dreaming-into-being now. Not only ahead of this Tuesday’s new moon, but also ahead of the eclipse season that arrives on the next new moon (December 25th), then the start if the calendar year, and then the solar eclipse on January 11th. (The subject of another post or two down the road.)

Seeds of Intention

What intentions do you want to set this new moon? These can be the same ones you may have noticed lurking recently in the corners of your mind, the aspirations you were toying with bringing out into the light around December 31st.

What activity, cause, or idea lights you up or sparks your passion? How can you bring that passion more directly into your life and, beyond that, expand on it?

Are you yearning to plant seeds of change in how you think about yourself? Your love life or partnerships? Are you thinking about having children or creating in some other, perhaps artistic manner? Are you feeling a call to further your education? Is there a burning desire in your soul to explore the bigger existential questions, such as why you are here, or how you can use your unique gifts or skills to make the world a better place?

A Potent Warm-Up

This will be the last new moon occurring in Sagittarius until 2030, so it feels important to take advantage of the unique energies associated with it. It also feels like these next few days before this new moon are a powerful warm-up.

I’m bringing all of this up so that you start the process of seriously contemplating the feelings you want to cultivate in your life. Start by giving yourself some attention this weekend, set the intentions (plant the seeds) on Tuesday – but also realize that you can hone these intentions over the next six to eight weeks as we move through the holidays and celestial events. Sometimes the hardest part is getting started; allowing ourselves permission to begin the process of becoming aware.

Awareness is such an essential aspect to growth and evolution. Use these shorter days to retreat into a cocoon of reflection and self-kindness. Ask your soul what s/he really wants to feel going forward.

(T-734)

Tampering – Day Thirty Five

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Tampering 

Yesterday I described my particular ethical standards when it comes to doing energy work on clients (or anyone for that matter), including activity as seemingly simple as directing my energy or intention ‘toward’ someone with a specific intention, such as ‘prayer.’ Simply put, without the express permission of the intended recipient, I believe engaging in such behavior is ‘tampering.’

Quite honestly? I look around nowadays and I listen to what is said and done in the name of Gods, Sons of Gods, other people’s Higher Powers, and all sorts of belief systems (and non-belief systems), and I am appalled at how so many people inflict their beliefs and their judgments about what is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ or ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t’ happen in certain situations on other people all the time.

I distinctly remember the first time I encountered and saw first hand the actual harm this could do to a person without them even realizing it. This was many years ago and a friend of mine had suffered an extensive and life-threatening brain injury. His loved ones sent out a blanket request  for prayers, Reiki, distance-healing modalities of any and all kinds to be ‘sent’ to my friend as he lay prone in his hospital bed.

As it happened, I’d been receiving specific healing training and had been working on establishing a working relationship with Spirit and my allies for a couple of years, but was essentially using my knowledge for my own personal growth and understanding. (Never did I ever, at that point, envision myself doing what I do now.)

But even in my earliest days of metaphysical education some 15 years earlier (about 35 years ago now), I had been schooled in the tenet that directing energy toward or on behalf of someone without their express permission is a form of tampering, and therefore an abuse of power.

I was surprised when my friend requested that I come to the hospital Intensive Care Unit to see him; and I was even more surprised when the staff seemed to just assume that I was supposed to be there. No one questioned me. They looked me in the eye, they smiled, and they allowed me to simply ‘be’ in his room with him. Because of the nature and severity of his injury, he was barely conscious; slipping in and out of awareness, which made the fact that he’d literally said my name to his partner and asked for me to come to his bedside even harder to comprehend.

Opening Sacred Space

But I did. And I had no idea what I ‘should’ do or how I could be of assistance. So I stood at his bedside, and when he opened his eyes, said I was there and asked if I could open Sacred Space around him. I saw a glimmer in his eyes and the slightest nod, so I did so. Quietly. Discreetly. And I sat with him and just held space. I did not ‘pray’ or even hope for any particular outcome (and the prognosis at that time was very dismal – even if he survived, his quality of life might be horribly compromised).

After about 90 minutes (an eternity in an ICU – and another small blessing), I left – advising my friend that I was going to leave Sacred Space ‘open’ around him, so he would feel safe, loved, and protected.

Later that evening and for a few days after that, I noticed and heard about the continued cascade of prayers and assorted healing energies bombarding my friend. Almost all that he survive, that he pull through, etc. I wanted to scream.

The day after I opened Sacred Space around him, I was told that the doctors were astonished by his improvement, and he was moved to a Critical Care unit. About five days later, he asked for me again, so I went.

Installing Protection

He was in worse shape, to my eyes, when I saw him that day. (Again, though, I was almost welcomed by the staff – and definitely afforded privacy and respect. It was weird.) He seemed to be writhing in pain, and I was a bit freaked out that no one seemed to be noticing or doing anything for him.

I’d been taught a form of protection I could ‘install’ into a person’s energy field that would protect them from the unconsciousness of others (even if well-meaning). And as I sat by his bedside, I brought this up. As I did so, I delicately asked if he knew that he was very loved and basically a bazillion people were ‘sending’ him all sorts of prayers and energy and stuff at the request of his partner. He nodded. I asked if maybe he was feeling bombarded by it all; and that maybe even some of it was interfering with his own soul’s intentions or desires – or making it hard for him to know how and whether to heal. He nodded.

I asked if he would like me to install this protection. He nodded.

So I did. And before my eyes, it was like night and day. He settled down, the appearance of bombardment seemed to lessen dramatically, and within minutes, he fell asleep.

I – was – astounded.

He continued to flourish and healed better and faster than his emergency surgeons could have hoped.

Understand this: I do not claim to have had any impact in this situation other than, at most, providing a calming influence. But he and I both realized the immediate response that he felt when I installed (with his permission) a barrier between him and all of the varied intentions of a myriad of people, many of whom undoubtedly were invoking requests for very specific outcomes.

My point? It very well could have been his time to make his transition. It may have been his soul’s intention to experience life with substantial residual disabilities. And it may have been his soul’s intention to experience a remarkable – almost magical – recovery. Whatever…it was his choice.

This went way too long. But I hope it gives you some idea of why we need to just. send. love.

Anything else would be tampering.

(T-1076)