State of Denial – Day 1072

What will the light reveal? – Photo: L. Weikel

State of Denial

The atmosphere of the world is feeling really dicey to me lately. Precarious. In a lot of ways, it feels like most of our country, at least, is in a deep state of denial. “Let’s pretend everything is the way it’s always been.” “Ignore the insurrectionists behind the curtain!” “It’s all an illusion. A scam. A hoax.” “We’re number one!”

For the past nine months or so, one planet after another has ‘gone retrograde,’ up to the point where Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury were all seemingly going backwards in the sky at once. It doesn’t take an astrologer to intuit that this occurrence could indicate a time during which our forward momentum might get disrupted (to put it mildly).

For me personally, it’s felt like I’ve had some exciting insights and hatched some great ideas, but then found my attention being called elsewhere. I can see the need for radical transformation, not only in our country but in the world as well. Climate change is accelerating exponentially – just to name one crisis we share world-wide.

The foundations being shaken, the status quos being challenged, are not just ‘out there.’ They’re personal, too.

Change – Photo: L. Weikel

Things Are Shifting

Over the past couple of weeks, everything has started to shift again. One after another, the planets are screeching to a halt in their (illusory) backwards trek and grinding their gears to start moving forward again. It’s not pretty. And deep down, deep within our very own selves, we’re feeling the grind.

This all started just about nine months ago. Hmm. Just think. I wonder what we’ve been gestating. Looking around, it appears as though grievance-stoking has been a hot pastime. Elites operating with blatant impunity and not a single shred of accountability being levied upon anyone in power is gutting our system. Everywhere we look, division, hatred, and fear have replaced the concept of ‘e pluribus unum’ and the concomitant belief in us being stronger together.

So as these outer planets start ‘turning around,’ I wonder. What exactly will ‘moving forward’ bring to us? And this full moon arriving on Wednesday (the 20th) – just what will all that light reveal?

There’s been a concerted effort to not only keep a lid on progress in this country but also (I think we can all agree has become painfully obvious) drag us back to a halcyon past that never was.

Moving Forward

I have a feeling the last nine months or so were a chance for us to look at and really see (and hear) what’s going on all around us. It was a chance to start cleaning up our act and holding people, corporations, and other entities accountable for the decimation of practically everything we hold dear.

And since we’ve managed to essentially dither that time away? Well…I’m guessing we’re going to start reaping soon.

I don’t think there are enough puppy pictures in the world to make things ok. But I’m trying to hold up my end. So here: let’s take a lesson from Pacha and Brutus and hold onto each other as we enter this next phase of our evolution.

We need to hold onto each other – Photo: L.Weikel

(T-39)

Step Back and Reflect – Day 930

‘Cosmic’ Crystal at Linwood Gardens – Photo: L. Weikel

Step Back and Reflect

I have to admit I actually relish the times when planets go retrograde. On some level, deep down, I feel a sense of permission being granted me. After all, when planets go retrograde, we’re told that all the ‘re’ words apply: rework, review, renew, restore, revamp, repair… You get the picture. So giving ourselves time and space to step back and reflect (there’s another one) is a gift. And if we’re paying attention, it’s a gift the Universe sort of builds into our lives: periodically encouraging us to accept some ‘re’ time (instead of resisting it). Ha ha – yet another ‘re’ word that happens a lot during retrogrades!

It’s occurred to me recently that there may be another reason why I generally welcome retrogrades. In looking at my natal chart (the position of the sun, moon, and planets on the date and exact time of my birth), I see that five planets were retrograde at the time I was born: Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. It seems to me that I might feel most at home or ‘settled in’ when those planets go back to the way they were traveling at the time of my birth. This is just a guess, but it makes sense to me intuitively.

It’s sort of like putting on a pair of comfortable shoes.

Hold True For You?

Is it possible that you, too, feel a kinship with the energy of retrogrades? Do you know whether any planets were retrograde at the time of your birth?

Once again, I encourage you to visit the Astrodienst site. It’s free and can give you access to an astonishing amount of information about yourself. All you need to know is your date, time, and place of birth.

Most people can find their exact time of birth listed on their birth certificate. Sometimes hospitals send parents home with an ‘unofficial’ birth announcement that contains this information. Others of us have baby books our parents kept for us, in which they tracked all sorts of personal facts and accomplishments.

It’s definitely worth doing some digging to find your exact time of birth, since that time is of particular significance in determining both your Ascendant (the sign that was on the horizon at the time you were born) and your moon sign. Both of these change significantly from minute to minute.

The rest of the planets, because they move more slowly, are less likely to shift from one sign or house to another within a 24 hour period. So getting a snapshot of the position of the planets in the sky at noon (as a default time) on the day of your birth will give you a reasonably good idea of your chart.

Amazing Complexity

The depth and complexity of astrology is remarkable (and not a little daunting). There’s no question in my mind that our lives here on Earth are reflected in the macrocosm. We’re not ‘fated’ by any means. But we’re all operating under influences that can be tracked and understood – and all of us are prone to having our buttons pushed harder at certain times more than others. It’s helpful to know when this might be happening to us and why.

Information is power. Understanding how unseen forces may be uniquely applying to us can be of enormous benefit in making choices, both big and small.

I do not have aspirations to become an astrologer in my own right. Goodness knows, this subject is far more complicated than the simple knowledge of our ‘sun sign’ (the sign the sun was in at the time of our birth) and the blanket attributes associated with that.

But I am keenly aware of how my understanding of the movements of the planets and luminaries can help my clients better understand themselves and their feelings. Understanding our charts can help us have compassion for ourselves and each other, too.

Furthermore, don’t be fooled: every planet is associated with a particular sign and house in the zodiac, and these all come together in varying interlocking and interconnected ways in each of our own unique charts. Where everything is situated, including the specific degrees of each planet in each sign and house, is significant.

We really did give ourselves a roadmap to the challenges and gifts we were bringing into this lifetime. Whether or not we decide to read and attempt to understand those maps is up to us.

Sweet Resource

Of course, it’s definitely worthwhile to have your chart read by a professional astrologer. Your best bet is to seek out a personal recommendation from someone you trust.

In addition to receiving readings periodically throughout my life, I’ve also read about this stuff for years and years. Mostly I’ve just glossed over the details and focused upon cursorily understanding the signs of my sun, moon, and ascendant. But recently I’ve been giving myself a chance to understand things on a deeper basis by, among other things, using Astrology for Yourself – a Workbook for Personal Transformation* by Douglas Block & Demetra George.

If you want to get to know yourself better, I highly recommend using this tool to delve into understanding your own personal map for this lifetime. There are lots of courses you can take as well. But this workbook is quite thorough and, well, tangible. I like that.

*affiliate link

(T-181)

On the Horizon – Day 929

Grandmother of Wands ~ Matriarch, Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

On the Horizon

It’s been a while since I chose a card for us to contemplate. The intense astrological aspects taking place in the cosmos right now are influencing all of us, whether we ‘believe’ in them or not. As a result, I thought it might be beneficial to see what my Tarot of the Crone might have to say in counsel to us as we navigate the wild unpredictability I sense on the horizon.

The total eclipse of the full blood moon on Wednesday sent powerful ripples of revelation out into the world. Truths are being uncovered. Relationships exposed. Treacheries revealed. We’re being asked to review, reflect, and readjust over the next few months.

Pluto (planet of transformation, death, and resurrection) and Saturn (planet of boundaries, limits, foundations, and conservatism) have both gone retrograde recently. A cursory look at what those two planets influence make it obvious that some big stuff in our lives is going to be demanding our scrutiny. And Mercury (planet of communication, electronics, and technology/mechanical things) goes retrograde tomorrow.

The effect of Mercury retrograde will probably be more personal and also more fleeting. Nevertheless, it can be a pain. It would be a good idea for all of us to back up our computers. And try not to have a meltdown when your tv acts like it has a mind of its own or your appliances conk out.

Long Weekend

It seems to me that the coming long weekend will give us an ideal opportunity to hunker down and engage in some juicy personal reflection so we can navigate these turbulent influences with grace. Not only do we have a holiday weekend encouraging this inner work but many of us will also have rainy and chilly weather pressing the issue.

I do want to mention again one other planetary aspect that’s influencing all of us this entire year, but especially now and heading into the next two weeks (culminating on the 14th of June): the Saturn square Uranus transit. It’s essentially the old vs. the new. Tradition and the way things have always been done vs. new, radical ideas and approaches that turn things inside out, upside down, or just utterly transform.

It’s no surprise that we’re being asked to remember the insurrection of January 6th and deal with not only its aftermath but also – crucially – its planning and purpose. There’s a lot going on right now. Responsibility and accountability are two big words that have yet to be meaningfully invoked. And the tensions are only going to grow. Thus, we must prepare ourselves.

Request for Guidance

I asked what we maybe should keep in mind over the coming long weekend – and beyond. I chose the Grandmother of Wands: Matriarch (again, from the Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince). The wisdom that’s shared with us when we only ask never ceases to amaze me:

Grandmother of Wands ~ Matriarch

“It is time to have a talk

And time to have a listen

Time to recognize our common bonds

With honest standing

With Goddess guiding

We create our culture

By how we treat one another”

“In a cave of light under a cover of dark, many figures gather closely around a fire. One figure looms larger than the rest; this is the matriarch. One of the group, she is also its heart and its strength. She speaks, she leads, she ensures all are heard and considered. She weaves individual strands into a tapestry, creating common ground and common cause. With warmth, rectitude and respect, she creates space for group magic to happen. She is tradition and invention in one. She is the fullest integration of your spirit. Embrace it; her power is yours.”

(T-182)

Planetary Clarity – Day 703

Saturn & Jupiter (l-r) – Photo: L. Weikel

Planetary Clarity

As Karl and I neared the final leg of our evening jaunt both last night and tonight, we were treated to some breathtaking planetary clarity. Saturn and Jupiter shone brilliantly and obviously in the southwestern sky, while Mars blazed like a distant, illuminated pumpkin, reddish-orange and glowing as it rose in the east.

I don’t ever remember being so aware of the planets than I have been over the past year or so. And while the Sky Guide app I approvingly muse about so often is wonderful in the way it confirms for me just what I’m looking at, I think the initial awareness and subsequent desire to seek them out is also spurred by the astrological podcasts I listen to while mowing our lawn.

Yes, I realize that’s a rather specific time to pinpoint (while mowing lawn), but that’s actually when I get my most consistent listening accomplished.

Mars – 10/14/20 – Photo: L. Weikel

Mercury Retrograde

Just to add some fun to all the disinformation and misinformation and outright propaganda floating around in our ethers at the moment, Mercury stationed yesterday and is now appearing to move backwards from our perspective here on Earth, or move retrograde, from today until – get this – the morning of November 3rd. Yes. Election Day here in the United States.

So from now until Election Day, we’ll be operating under the influence of Mercury retrograde. When you consider that Mercury Retrograde is often associated with glitches in electronics and miscommunications, it’s easy to see that we just might have some serious shenanigans taking place over the next three weeks.

Mars Retrograde

Adding to the frustrations that may start piling up with Mercury going retrograde, we also are continuing to contend with Mars retrograding in its home sign – Aries – until November 14th. Even a cursory recollection of Greek and Roman mythology will tip us off to the fact that Mars, the God of War, is not exactly an easy going energy. And when moving retrograde? I believe a simmering pot with the lid on it, might be a good analogy.

There are a few interesting articles I want to link to in order to provide you with information and insight on the transits that and will be impacting all of us as we navigate these wild times. One of them is this monthly forecast for October by Rick Levine.

From the sound of a lot of different analyses, it would appear that the greatest planetary clarity we’re going to experience in the next couple months is going to be the type we see when we look up and peer directly into the night sky. Nevertheless, it pays to remain aware and awake to the possibilities, because forewarned is forearmed.

Mars – 10/14/2020 – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-408)

First Hot One – Day 589

Spartacus – Photo: L. Weikel

First Hot One

I wasn’t sure how I wanted to title tonight’s post. Obviously, it’s a commentary on Spartacus’s sprawling position under the birdfeeders today. With his toy and a bottle nearby (albeit of olive oil), you would be forgiven for assuming Spart had partaken in a night of debauchery. Instead of “First Hot One,” I nearly named it, “What a Night!”

I chose  “First Hot One,” because like clockwork, the solstice occurs and we get slammed with oppressive heat and humidity. And that definitely was the case today, although I know the humidity can (and will) get even worse.

But today was one of the first days of truly summer weather. The thunderheads gathering in massive, billowing threats on the horizon struck fear in our hearts as we crested the first hill on our shorter trek. A jagged flash of piercing lightning struck just ahead of us, and almost instantaneously a massive thunder clap let us know that jagged strike had issued forth much closer than was comfortable

Sheila’s daily constitutional would have to be cut short tonight, which was not a welcome development for either of us. I needed a walk. Desperately.

Crisis Averted

Why? Because unbelievably (in hindsight), I tried to help my laptop complete its Windows 10 update (which it insisted on telling me day after day was needed) but which it kept informing me was unable to be consummated because I didn’t have enough memory on my laptop. So I bit the bullet. I took care of business with an external hard drive and moved some files around.

And I forgot Mercury was retrograde.

I actually forgot that messing around with my laptops when Mercury is retrograde has not ended well for me in the past. Indeed, I’ve even written about some of those debacles – at length – and the disastrous results that, for one thing, explain why I write all of my posts on my Apple instead of the Dell.

How did I forget the sins of my past?!

Black Screen White Cursor

Well, that just goes to show how we can get lulled into a sense of complacency and then – bam!

All of a sudden, I was looking at a black screen. Not a blue screen of death (thank goodness), but a black screen that I couldn’t coax into doing anything else. No control-alt-delete. No holding the power button down for a really, really long time. Nothing. In fact, it looked as though the power was off, although eventually a white cursor seemed to randomly show up. But that was it, the only concession the machine would make to me bringing it inside. (Karl insisted it was probably just hot.)

And that’s when it hit me that I’d been to this rodeo with this stupid computer (the Dell) – once before – during Mercury Retrograde.

All’s well that ends well (so far anyway). It looks like this snafu may have been connected to the Windows update.

Would someone please remind me never to update Windows again when Mercury is retrograde?!

After all was said and done, believe me when I say that I felt like Spartacus looks in that photo above. Worn the heck out.

So much for the first hot one of the season.

Thunderheads matching my mood! – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-522)

The Other Side – Day 585

The Other Side

I thought for sure last night that I had a satisfying topic to write about. It was pleasing to my sense of relaxation that evening, as I sometimes feel – or at least sense – the whirr of mental gears spinning deep within, trying to light upon something interesting or entertaining to share with you. Of course! I would make a point of showing you the other side of perfection.

While the whole point was to show you the other side of perfection, the lack of photographs was distinctly disturbing. Yes, I could’ve wielded my keyboard as an artist wields palette and brush, but no. I wanted you to see what I was writing about.

As I ended up mentioning in my post yesterday, I never know when Verizon Wireless is going to decide to strap to a snail’s back photos I’ve sent via email from my iPhone to my laptop. It’s clearly a random decision by VZ Wireless. But please allow me to confirm that it did indeed take over 12 hours for the photos to make said monumental trek last night.

Nevertheless, I Persisted

And yes, I’m sacrilegiously using that phrase associated with Senator Elizabeth Warren when she insisted upon speaking when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tried to shut her up several years ago. Because, why not? It’s important to remember how dismissive he was to Senator Warren. He’s only become worse with age and power, for the power he’s been wielding truly has corrupted him.

But I digress.

What I simply wanted to share with you last night, and intend to share with you this evening, is the view of the other side of what I recently deemed ‘perfection.’

Pretty idyllic, huh?

With competition like this, it’s no wonder that lovely, wonderful tree I featured the other evening beamed with pleasure at being noticed and appreciated.

All I can say is that I am incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by such beauty and diversity. I want to pay attention to all of it; which is why, every day, I try to share with you a snippet of what almost feels like heaven.

(T-526)

Change of Course – Day 584

Change of Course

It’s extremely rare for me to have an idea ahead of time as to what I’m going to write about on any particular night. Tonight, though, I actually did. But now I’ve had a change of course.

In the past 584 posts, I’d say I knew or had a good idea of what I wanted to write about when I sat down with my laptop fewer than ten times. And that may be an overstatement. So of course the photos that are actually a necessary element to what I wanted to write about tonight have not yet arrived.

Pony Express

The photos have not yet arrived on their journey of approximately 18” or so, leaping pixel by pixel from my iPhone to my laptop. At this point, I’m sure they won’t arrive for hours, perhaps not until close to noon tomorrow.

And yes, for those of you who have a modicum of tech knowledge, I tried just sending the photos by AirDrop. This method worked in transferring the photos, but they came through too big and I cannot get them to upload into my WordPress document.

So, obviously, even though it was a good idea for a post (or so I thought), it is not meant to be.

Realization

Just as I was typing the last two paragraphs, above, I realized what’s going on. It’s Mercury Retrograde!

Ha! Yes indeed, Mercury is just today (the 18th – now that it’s past midnight) joining the seeming fifty million other planets that are retrograde right now. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the photos are stuck somewhere in the ether, struggling to make their way from my iPhone to my laptop.

And it shouldn’t surprise me that the only expression of the photos I can get to send via AirDrop are so huge that I can’t use them.

It all just reinforces the idea that we need to be aware of how very easily communication efforts can break down when Mercury is retrograde. And that goes doubly or triply so for electronic communications.

I’ll just need to make adjustments over the next several weeks to accommodate for such potential delays.

It will be interesting, though, to see what’s coming next.

Blue Jay’s expression says it all.

(T-527)

Triple Whammy – Day 366

 

Triple Whammy

This is going to be quick – provided it gets posted at all.

It’s going to be quick because I’ve been struggling for over an hour with getting any of my electronic devices to work.

I suspect it’s the fault of the confluence of three major factors:

  • Mercury is retrograde, hence if an electronic device is going to go on the fritz, it wouldn’t be surprising if it happens during this astronomical and astrological occurrence.
  • It’s a full moon today. And we all know a full moon can exacerbate anything: make it bigger, wilder, more pronounced, more volatile; and
  • We’re getting hit by a bone-chilling cold spell. It’s 16 degrees outside as I write this. When I came up into my bedroom this evening, my Dell’s screen started blinking most distressingly – and even worse, my specially designated 1111 Devotion post-writing-machine (dubbed thus as a result of my Dell losing its mind last year shortly into this commitment) has already simply winked off completely with no warning about 40 minutes ago, requiring a reboot, but is now prohibiting me from saving the document I’m writing this post in.

Even My iPhone Isn’t Spared

Oddly, even my iPhone is blinking off when I hold it upside down. (OK, I realize that the solution to that particular issue is obvious: “Don’t hold the phone upside down, Lisa. Duh.”) But actually, when things like this occur in such a haphazard way, it usually presages other unpredictable and disconcerting behaviors.

I just tried to save this again and it’s a no-go.

Hmm.

Given the triple whammy outlined above, I think I may just toss in the towel and hit publish.

I’m reasonably sure I’ll at least get these few thoughts and words posted, and I can’t even give you a logical reason why. They’ll show up, at least. But inspire? I think not.

I hope none of you are experiencing the Triple Whammy today – or tomorrow. But if you are, hang in there! We’re in this together!

(T-745)

Mercury Retrograde – Election Style – Day 359

Trickster

Mercury Retrograde – Election Style

Mercury went retrograde (Rx) on Halloween this year.

Quite honestly, I’ve been feeling that the usual experience of breakdowns in electronics or snafus in communication were seemingly giving me a wide berth, for which I was quite grateful. Indeed, I’ve actually been feeling surprised, grateful, and delighted over some communication experiences lately.

Over the past year, I’ve actually written a smattering of posts that at least tangentially discussed or touched upon Mercury Rx and possible instances in which I may have been experiencing ‘fallout’ from that celestial occurrence.

Today, though, was a perfect example of Mercury Rx creating some potential havoc.

Election Day SNAFU

At our polling place, we have machines that are more modern than the old machines that looked like they’d come out of Army barracks and would register one’s vote in a dramatic, mechanical WHOOSH (complete with opening the curtain at the same time as lodging the vote). But being ‘more modern’ than those olive green steel monstrosities isn’t saying much.

The machines we’ve had for probably a good 15-20 years (probably more – I’m guessing), are electronic in the sense that they have blinking lights a la an archaic Lost in Space episode. They log votes on a roll of paper resembling old adding machine tapes located in each machine, and they’re also ‘backed up’ on an electronic ‘tape.’

Today’s Mercury Rx Moment

For the first time in our Judge of Election’s experience (and she’s been at this for over thirty years) (I’ve participated as an official in one capacity or another for probably at least 20 or so), we had a major issue confront us at the close of the polls.

One of the machines printed out the results for us to tally…and the ‘register tape’ upon which we rely was BLANK. It apparently hadn’t registered any votes.

We were horrified.

Yes, this is precisely the type of thing that is often attributed to “Mercury Retrograde.”

I’m running out of time to post this, but suffice it to say, we delivered all of the tapes and forms and tabulations concerning the other machine to the Board of Elections, and advised them of the extremely stressful situation of one of our machines.

Luckily, they popped the tape backup into a machine they had at the courthouse and out rolled our printout of all the votes cast on our second machine.

All’s Well That…

Yes. I’ll take it. We were able to quickly tally the numbers from the second machine and add them to the tallies from the first machine. So all in all, it ended up that this was not nearly the crisis it could have been.

But wow – what a stress and a scare.

I, for one, am eager to see the new machines our county officials will be selecting in the near future.

It’s time. The Time of the Dinosaur Voting Machines is over. And I’m just grateful this crisis had a completely benign resolution, because VOTING MATTERS!

(T-752)

A Time of Letting Go – Day 353

 

A Time of Letting Go

I mentioned yesterday that we’re entering another period of intensity. Part of that has to do with the fact that the sun has moved into Scorpio, which traditionally is associated with death and regeneration. And because we’re human, most of us tighten up over the mere mention of death, so we barely even pay attention to the ‘regeneration’ aspect of Scorpio.

We just get freaked out over the prospect of death.

Not Just the Sun

Reading this you may think to yourself, yeah, but we go through Scorpio every year. Big deal. Why do things feel especially tense and fraught right now?

And I would answer that it’s a function of other aspects that are occurring right now as well. Some of these aspects are other planets dancing (or sparring) with each other in specific signs that result in making it feel as though they’re piling on and making everything worse.

I’ve just spent a bunch of time just now trying to synopsize my understanding of what’s going on astrologically, and I feel like all I’ve been doing is deleting.

Let the Experts Speak

So instead of trying to distill what I’ve read, I’m going to share a couple of links to astrologers I’ve linked to before. Kaypacha is a video you watch, while Chani writes a great analysis. The third link I’m sharing is to Evolving Door, which I believe I discovered through a friend, and found it to be an interesting analysis.

Let’s face it: There’s no denying that most, if not all, of us are experiencing the intensity I mentioned in yesterday’s post. We’re seeing it outside of us and we’re feeling it within ourselves. And the more information we can gather that helps us navigate these turbulent times the better.

Go Deep

With Mercury going retrograde tomorrow for three weeks, I feel it really just underscores the need for all of us to really dig deep and, as Kaypacha says, figure out who we want to be and what we truly want to create in our lives – and let go of that which no longer serves us.

It feels like we’re all being called upon to look deeply within and exercise radical honesty with ourselves.

Talk about a death. It sounds to me like we’re being called to face the death of bullshitting ourselves. What no longer works? What hasn’t been working for a long, long time, but we’ve refused to acknowledge and act on that truth? What have we been telling ourselves we just can’t stop feeling or doing or believing because we’ll die to our own illusions of who we are?

The Cool Thing

What we need to remember is that regeneration will occur. We can and will create a new reality for ourselves if we finally stop trying to hang on to what hasn’t been working and let it go. That’s the cool thing about this whole process. Nothing is static. Change is constantly occurring. The real questions are whether we’re going to stop resisting, choose to be conscious of our lives and our choices, and allow ourselves to jettison the baggage that’s been keeping us from flowing into a new expression of our lives?

Join me. Let’s let it go. Let’s see what happens!

Scorpion – Photo: newatlas.com

(T-758)