29 August 2008

HEADS UP! Mercury Retrograde...coming soon to a place near you - September - October 2008


Mercury, Karma, and Retrogrades

Mercury is retrograde from 9/24/2008 - 10/15/2008


We will enter the Mercury retrograde 'shadow' period at 7’34 degrees of Libra on September 4, 2008 - Mercury will return to this degree again and pass over this point October 15th as he stations direct and prepares to leave the storm on October 20th. Prepare to rethink, redraw, replan, renegotiate, etc something that is happening this week (September 4 - 5) around then (October 15 - 20)! This Mercury retrograde will stir up the most trouble for Libra, Aries, Cancer, and Capricorn - particularly the degrees ranging from 7 - 24 in these signs. Check your natal charts to see where your Sun (or other planets, points, etc) lie in any of these signs to see how this Mercury retro will affect you (or let me do it for you! Online Consultations and Readings) .

On September 17, Mercury enters its 'Storm' (this is when the planet moves less than 40 minutes of arc per day) so if you have a lot of things you need to get started, I advise you get it moving now...

Read more here - Mercury aspects during the retrograde, the meaning of Mercury retrograd in Libra, more!

The Fear of Venus in the modern world ~ Learning to Love the Self & Other



"All Love is the pursuit of the Whole"

Plato


Venus is a very deep and personal energy within us; it is not only the ability to love others but also to love our SELF, to cherish ourselves and to accept even the darker aspects of our own being. If a person does not love the Self, they are not able to love another.

The inability to love the Self is the source of much pain and tragedy in the world...so many women (and men) have children and do not know how to love them because they do not have self-love. Children should have the opportunity to develop the ability to love the Self and others from their connection to their parents and family, but as we so often see in our day to day lives, many children, even those within so-called ‘good’ family situations are often stymied, expected to behave according to their culture’s societal expectations and religion and to ‘make the parent’s proud.’ Other children find themselves treated as if they have no worth (as shown through such phrases as “children should be seen and not heard” or “I put you in this world, so I own you.”) or as if they are mere projections of the parents or family…puppets to serve the family function, with no worth as an individual. Still others will have to deal with jealous, hateful, and abusive parents. At the very core of these challenges is a deep-seated fear of Venus and the power she holds within our psyches…an inability to embrace the part of our own being that resonates with the Goddess Venus (Aphrodite) as symbolized by the placement of Venus in our natal chart and the aspects made to her. If we are unhappy, self-negating individuals ourselves, how can we interact with our children in a way that supports the healthy development of their own individuality and ability to love?

In today’s world, the majority of us try to subjugate Venusian energy…we want to contain it and belittle it so we do not have to deal with such potent feminine power. Once released from the shackles, who knows what she will do or how she will affect our lives. Many may feel it is safer to keep her in the closet painting her nails, but Venus will not calmly remain in hiding forever…and the longer we keep her hidden, the greater her power over us and our actions will be when she finally breaks free. This is the energy of Attraction…a raw, sexual power…a power so potent that Aphrodite won Paris’ favor simply by loosening her belt! This power lies dormant within us all, if only we learn to recognize, embrace, and harness it to learn more about our own individual needs and how to make the best choices for our own spiritual growth. Venusian energy may seem immoral, particularly to those who have disowned it within their own lives, but the energy is there to spur us forward and to help us become a productive, happy, and loving individual.

But how do we know if we are embracing or neglecting this energy in our lives? It isn’t difficult to determine....

Read the rest of this article here!