Amelia’s Blog – Page 84

Magic, Wonder and Neptune

“God is alive and magic is afoot.” Leonard Cohen

One of my favorite Tarot cards is the Ten of Pentacles. It depicts an ancestral castle. Inside the gates stand the King and Queen, two children and two white dogs. At the gate stands a Magus or magician who is wearing a long cape embroidered with astrological symbols. The children and the dogs see the Magus; the adults do not. The Magus represents the mystery and magic in everyday life which is visible to us if we are open to it.

Today when I was down at the Recycling Center people were going about their routine tasks in a methodical, humdrum way. But when I approached the corner of the building where tin and aluminum cans are separated into bins, I could hear children’s laughter and could see a father standing nearby -his eyes sparkling as he jokingly asked “ Is it magnetized? Okay so where does it go?” as the children held a tin or aluminum can next to the magnet to see if it would stick.

The children were enlivened by the task as their father – magician like – evoked a sense of wonder and mystery at the forces at play.

With many planets in creative, imaginative Pisces now it is a good time to be open to the mystery and wonder in everyday life.

With Jupiter in Cancer ancestral influences are strong now. It is best to be conscious of being in touch with gifts from the ancestors and avoid inherited addictive thought and behavior patterns that may have come down through the bloodlines. It is a time to keep moving in a direction of personal authenticity – and away from beliefs, thoughts and patterns that we may have been exposed to but that do not represent our views in present time.

Jupiter and Mars

“Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds us down or polishes us up depends on us.” Thomas L. Holdcroft

It is a time of considerable planetary activity – Within a short time frame Mercury stationed direct, Mars stationed retrograde, Saturn stationed retrograde and on Thursday March 6 Jupiter stations retrograde. Mars will be retrograde through late May and this provides excellent timing to reassess how you implement or short circuit the use of your power in actualizing your life purpose or life mission. It is also a good time to look at what role anger plays in the process – unresolved anger can hold a lot of energy and create blockages to personal evolution.
One of the Sabian symbols associated with the Jupiter station Thursday is, “A large diamond in the first stages of the cutting process.”

All quotes from Lynda Hill’s 360 Degrees of Wisdom

Mercury Station Friday

“Don’t be satisfied with stories,
how things have gone with others.
Unfold your own myth.” Rumi

Mercury will station direct Friday 2/28 at 18 Aquarius. The revolutionary aspect – Uranus square Pluto -which is the signature of our times has both a personal and collective dimension to it. Moving in a direction of increased personal authenticity is one of the important components of this placement. It is wise under the influences to clarify any dreams, spiritual or creative visions which may have been unduly curtailed by familial, cultural, religious or educational influences and see if there is a way to bring them to life in your life now from a place of increased wisdom. One of the Sabian Symbols associated with Mercury’s station is, “A man being unmasked at a masquerade.” Shedding layers of the inauthentic or overly socialized self is an important part of the journey.

All times mentioned are EST, Sabian symbol references from Lynda Hill’s 360 Degrees of Wisdom, All times

New Moon in Pisces

“Faith is some truth that you heartfully merge with. It’s like compassion, the merging. Belief is a system of the mind and the mind is part of the ego…If you have faith then grace will stay and it is real.” Ram Dass

The New Moon on Saturday March 1 is at 10 degrees of Pisces. One of the Sabian symbols for this placement is “Men Traveling a Narrow Path, Seeking Illumination” and another is “An Examination of Initiates in the Sanctuary of an Occult Brotherhood.” It is a good time to commit to growing the amount of faith and hope in your life, to commit to developing a deeper connection with your spiritual system and to be increasingly open to guidance related to your life mission.

“Faith is not merely a way of knowing: it is a way of participating.” Robert Ellwood

Sabian symbol references from Lynda Hill’s 360 Degrees of Wisdom, Ram Daas quote from his book Fierce Grace and Ellwood quote from his book The Cross and the Grail. All times mentioned are EST.

Mars and Mercury

“As the overlapping rhythms of Mercury and Mars blend past, present, and future, we are reminded that life is anything but linear, and that progress isn’t always a straight line with a discernible beginning, middle, and end. For the time traveler, the current warp is simply another opportunity to witness the Great Mystery as it unfolds.” Ralphee Finn

One time a friend phoned me after a harrowing experience. She had been late getting started one morning and a busy morning it was. She had to stop and get gas on the way to dropping her daughter off at school and then she had to get to work. On the way to the gas station though she realized she had forgotten her wallet and had to turn around and return home to retrieve it.
As she approached the gas station on her way back she was surprised to see the flashing lights of police cars and law enforcement officials surrounding the scene with yellow tape. There had been an attempted robbery, shooting and fatality.
“If I hadn’t forgotten my wallet I would have been at the gas station at the time of the shooting,” she said.
I tell this tale not because of the violent component but because of the element of timing. For the next few weeks as Mercury slows down, stations and starts to move direct (March 1) and Mars slows down to station retrograde ( March 4) things are likely to go awry with planning and execution. It is wise to anticipate complications, delays and snafus.
The meaning of events is often best understood from the vantage point of the future rather than at the time of occurrence.

Ralphee Finn quote from her column Aquarium Age on Star IQ

The Sun & Mercury

“Go, said the bird, for the leaves were full of children,
Hidden excitedly, containing laughter.
Go, go, go, said the bird: human kind
Cannot bear very much reality.” T.S Eliot

The Sun is now in Pisces and Mercury is square Saturn. Under the influences it bodes well to revisit any views that may have become rigid or crystallized over time and imbue them with imagination and possibility.

quote from T.S. Eliot’s Burnt Norton

Mystic Rectangle and Full Moon

“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree I would spend six sharpening my ax.”Abraham Lincoln

The Moon waxes full on Valentine’s Day, February 14 at 6:53 PM EST at 26 Leo. One of the Sabian symbols associated with this Moon is, “A tree felled and sawed to ensure a supply of wood for the winter.” This Full Moon is a good time to consider your personal evolutionary process and what part planning, personal autonomy and self definition play in the process.

With Mercury now in Aquarius it is wise to consider how you use the power of your conscious mind. Does your thought process support you in your movement forward? Or do you get derailed in doubt, self criticism and confusion?

There is a Mystic Rectangle at the time of this new Moon – meaning there is support and assistance from higher forces for moving things forward. It is best to keep intentions clear and to commit to using your mind with clarity and focus.

All quotes from Lynda Hill’s 360 Degrees of Wisdom

Dreams and Mercury in Pisces

“Redeem
The time. Redeem
The unread vision in the higher dream
While jeweled unicorns draw by the gilded hearse.” TS Eliot

One of my favorite Sabian symbols is “An Old Sea Captain in a Rocking Chair on the Porch Of His Cottage ….. An Ancient Pottery Bowl Filled With Fresh Violets Sits on a Table Near Him. ” I like the feeling this symbol evokes – an older person with time to sit on the porch overlooking the sea , perhaps, with the time to review his life from a place of wisdom – wisdom which is both ancient – symbolized by the pottery bowl – and renewed – as with the fresh violets.
Throughout the month it bodes well to revisit dreams from a place of increased wisdom. Like the sea captain it is likely that we can – with time – view dreams from a place of wise pragmatism – that can reveal how to build a solid structures for them through patience and perseverance.
Look also for information about how to better handle obstacles as they appear in the process – how to inspire and support dreams through life’s challenging moments.

Sabian symbol quote from Mac Edmund Jones, Ts Eliot quote from Ash Wednesday

Saturn squares the Sun

“The process of transforming fear isn’t pretending that we have no fear, but embracing fear as a tool for learning and growth.” Kay Gilley

Saturn is squaring the Sun now and (through the 18th) and Mercury stationed retrograde yesterday in Pisces. These planetary alignments bode well for considering or reconsidering how our actions in the world support our spiritual and creative aspirations. It is also a good time to consider what role doubt and fear play when encountering obstacles and to consider striking a better balance if necessary.

Quote from the book The Alchemy of Fear by Kay Gilley from Divine Sparks by Karen Speerstra

Neptune, Mercury and On Golden Pond

This weekend I was up at Lake Winnipesaukee. There is an old mural on the side of a pizza parlor there that I have wanted to photograph for awhile. Yesterday I finally managed to have my camera with me when I stopped for lunch.

The mural is a painting of a man and a golden retriever sitting on a dock. The man is fishing and an old wooden motor boat is tied up near him. The painting is faded and weather beaten but captures a slice of life in that small lakeside town where scenes from On Golden Pond were filmed.

I ordered my lunch and went out to shoot the photo of the mural but my camera made a weird beeping noise and would not work. I tried several different options for correcting it to no avail. I figured I would take it to my friend at the camera shop the next day and ask him to deal with it.

When I got up this morning and was preparing to go out and gathering my things together, I thought I should put the camera in the car so I didn’t forget it. But then it occurred to me that maybe I should try to replace the batteries and see if that would make it work.

But I couldn’t find the camera. I looked and looked – having downloaded photos from it the night before
I knew it was in the house. But it was nowhere to be found.

I have a good friend who has a strong Neptune in her chart. She uses the term, “like being lost in a fog bank off the coast,” to describe the kind of confusion that can occur with mundane affairs when Neptune is a strong influence as it is now.

But Neptune also connects us to the eternal and the divine.

This little story about my camera is a thumbnail sketch of the kind of the kind of hazy territory we are in with Mercury in Pisces preparing to station retrograde near Neptune. It is a good time to say, ”whatever” to malfunctioning equipment and general confusion – to take events like this in stride – with faith in the future that things will get straightened out eventually. Neptune also rules faith.