Full Moon in Capricorn
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
2:21am PDT
15° 24’
Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
2:39amPDT
15° 32’

   

    ©2009 Lisa Dale Miller
    All rights reserved

    If you feel like you are pushing a huge boulder up a steep hill on this Full Moon in Capricorn, blame it on retrograde Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Chiron. Ouch! Well, what other Full Moon could face this kind of struggle by shrugging its shoulders, and saying, “So what else is new?” Thank you Saturn, ruler of Capricorn, the great teacher of how to handle hardship, struggle and reality, with commitment, follow-through and guts. So though this is the Full Moon to celebrate goals and achievement, with this kind of planetary resistance to moving forward, we can also celebrate small steps, realistic goal-setting, and being successful when faced with tremendous limitations. Going forward has its right time and right place. This is the night to look within, connect with one’s own sense of proper timing and trust the wisdom that arises from this kind of inquiry. Remember retrograde planets are ideal for inner work, especially with Mercury (mind) in Cancer.

    This is the Full Moon of the Guru: Guru Purnima. A night dedicated to thanking all our teachers, in every walk of life; especially the difficult ones who challenge us to reach deep within to feel love and compassion. You might want to do metta practice in your ritual as you celebrate the teachers in your life: your kids, parents, siblings, lover, partner, spouse, co-workers, bosses, professors, etc. Wishing them well with metta is a beautiful way to celebrate the gifts they give to you and return the sentiment through the heart of compassion. You can find recorded metta practices on my web site: http://www.lisadalemiller.com/metta.htm

   When the Moon is full in Capricorn, the Sun is in Cancer, the sign that rules emotional connectedness, nurturance, compassion, and personal expressions of love. Because the Moon rules Cancer, when the Moon is posited in Capricorn (the sign opposite its natural zodiacal energy) this makes for a special energetic symbiosis between the Sun and Moon. Only at this time of year, can the Moon fully infuse the restrictive, withholding, structured, serious energy of Capricorn with its natural, energetic Cancerian open, flowing love and compassion. This is especially true with Mercury in Cancer (mind/heart connection). This is a celebration to enliven compassion for ourselves, especially in these uncertain and tough times. So use your ritual to bring compassion to bear upon your most critical, negative images and thoughts about yourself. Self-love is not a concept; it is active, and takes energy and time to develop. This is especially important with Saturn in self-critical and perfectionistic Virgo.

    This Full Moon in Capricorn along with Pluto in Capricorn calls upon each of us to find the appropriate structures to express love and connectedness without manipulation. Pluto asks us if we can risk being fearless, honest and open with the ones we love. This is especially true when love is not our first response, or is drowned out by pain, fear and hatred (the domain of Capricorn/Saturn). Where Cancer feels almost childlike in its attachment to direct experience of emotive love, Capricorn knows that sacrifice and personal responsibility are the building blocks of true love, and realizes this goal with a special grace and maturity.

    This is the Full Moon of tough love, facing the reality of love lost or denied. Don't underestimate the depth of understanding that a Capricorn Moon brings to the table, especially with all these retrograde planets. This is a huge invitation to look with depth at the suffering you create around love; Venus in Gemini asks us to be lighthearted and open-minded. To not take things so seriously, which is a good thing on a Capricorn Full Moon.

    Saturn/Capricorn forces us to come to terms with fear. The old ways (Capricorn) steeped in solutions that arise from fear and war will not work. Sowing the seeds of fear, greed, hatred, and ignorance will never bring about freedom from fear. The Full Moon in Capricorn is the one night of the year when we can truly see our fear for what it is: a distinct inability to transcend the human-made irrational divisions of race, religion, nationality, and gender. There is no separateness, only love. All matter is made of love and therefore can only be love at its most basic, as well its highest expression. We need to create societal and governmental structures that solve these problems from a core belief in love and connectedness.

    This will of course require a complete shift in human consciousness. We must move away from identification with the small egoic, self, mired in the ignorance of separateness, to the full experience of the unbounded, transcendent divine Self, realizing love as the true nature of all existent life. When we change the Self, we change everything. Do you think this goal is unrealistic? Not on this Full Moon. This is the Full Moon of hard work and accepting one's personal responsibility to heal the suffering of others. Did you know that most of the great spiritual teachers were born under the Sun sign of Capricorn? Why? To change human consciousness requires a Herculean commitment to achievement no matter how hard or how long the road. This is Capricorn at its best.

    Listen up men! Saturn/Capricorn symbolizes the responsible, hardened male, and Saturn also rules depression. Though most people would agree that patriarchy has been detrimental for women, many don't consider how wounding it has been for men. Think of all the men you know who find it hard to talk about their feelings; particularly feelings of loss, vulnerability, sadness, and confusion. Violence, irritability, isolation and anger are often used by men to cover up emotions and feelings that require vulnerability. Interestingly, along with substance abuse, violence, irritability, isolation and anger are often symptoms of male depression. Our society requires that men always have it together, or at least give off the appearance of being fine. Few men admit to depression and even fewer go get therapeutic help. Consequently the highest rate of suicide in America is among men 55-70 years old. So guys, admitting you have depressive feelings is the first step, and right after that comes sharing it with a spouse or friend or adult child. Believe me they already know it and will be more than happy to support you and your journey to wellness. This is the Full Moon to reach out and get help. Find a therapist and a men's group in your area. Take responsibility for your own healing.

    This is the night to reach deep into your well of strength and decide that achieving your own inner peace is the only goal worth attaining at this moment in our human evolution. This Full Moon simultaneously uncovers our fear and reflects the solution to our fear: acting only from love, compassion, and doing the hard work of relieving the suffering of all sentient beings by achieving enlightenment and inner peace. This is a very powerful and serious Full Moon-don't waste it!

    ©2009 Lisa Dale Miller
    All rights reserved
    PERMISSION MUST BE GRANTED BY THE AUTHOR FOR USE ON WEB SITES AND FOR OUTSIDE PUBLISHING

    

http://tarotlaydee.ning.com

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Visit Tarotlaydee's Tarot and Astrology Services

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21Xtbh3Sl4c

A record crowd of about 36,500 revellers has welcomed the dawn of the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge.

A Druid interviewed by BBC early this morning!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls_znXW0F2E

Cool video from the happenings this morning @ Stonehenge!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZU-9TBP2NY

Happy Memorial Day...

What: Healthcare-now Rally for Single Payer Healthcare
Where: Outside of Sen. Bill Nelson's office, 801 N Florida Ave, Tampa, FL
When: Thursday, May 28, 2009, 3-7 PM
Sponsored by: Healthcare-now
http://www.healthcare-now.org/

More info and a map:
http://healthcareincommon.org/hcic/Scheduled_Events.html

Bring your signs expressing the immediate need for UNIVERSAL, SINGLE PAYER, NOT FOR PROFIT Healthcare.

For more information contact:
Janice Deal janicedeal@tampabay.rr.com
Mike Fox pinellaspda@yahoo.com
Brian Moore brianmor@tampabay.rr.com
Anita Stewart anitamariestewart@verizon.net

Full Moon in Scorpio
Friday, May 8, 2009
9:01 PDT
18º 40’

    ©2009 Lisa Dale Miller
    All rights reserved
http://www.astrowisdom.com/thisfullmoon.htm
    This is the truth or dare Full Moon; a time to honor the transformative power of truth-telling and a very intense Full Moon to put into action (through ritual release) the goals you set at the New Moon in Taurus. Since this Full Moon falls in a water sign, releasing your intentions near a stream, river, lake, or ocean is particularly powerful. But before you let go, have one last look at your goals. Whom do they truly serve? What will they bring to the world? Since Scorpio demands depth and fearlessness, this last look will have to be brutally honest. If your goals require a change of mind, of heart, and/or of action, this is the night to successfully tackle fears that could impede the ability to fully embrace change. Scorpio seeks deep truth by peeling back layers of lies and half-truths—within us and without us. This is a Full Moon to see things as they truly are, not as you wish them to be. The intense planetary configurations on this Full Moon will be a great help in this regard.

    The Moon in Scorpio (intuiting the complexity of reality) opposes Sun (motivation) in Taurus (providing for basic needs and security) and both are square the amazingly spiritual Jupiter (bliss)/Chiron (healing)/Neptune (transcendence) conjunction in Aquarius, the awakener. This T-square challenges us all to look deep within to see our own fears and know how our fear creates divisiveness and suffering for others. The thread of commonality transcends any difference we might imagine exists between any of us. The Moon in Scorpio invites us all to see beyond the veil of intolerance and hatred, and embrace true reconciliation between all nations and peoples in conflict. How many more deaths? How many more bombs? How many more shooting sprees? How much more hatred? How much more displaced anger? Pluto in Capricorn and Saturn in Virgo urge us all to meet this call for sanity with real action.

    On a personal level this T-square sets the bar quite high for each of us. How much longer can you say it is someone else’s responsibility or feel powerless to change the world? How much more can you blame others for your own condition? How many more times can you call yourself a victim without looking at your own ability to just let go and heal? Yes, Scorpio is tough love incarnate: see it as it is, not as you wish it to be, and then deal with it in as life-supporting a way as possible. We can each in every moment make the choice to be real and responsible for what we output to our loved ones and coworkers and community.

    The Full Moon in Scorpio is a time to release attachment to old pain and arise like a phoenix from the ashes of burned off karma; freed from narcissistic self-obsession and ready to help others heal their own pain. Jupiter (relating), Chiron (wounding) and Neptune (transcendence) in Aquarius and Uranus in Pisces make this a particularly potent New Moon in Scorpio to wake up and out of victimology. Visualize yourself as a snake, shedding its dead skin to reveal gleaming new colors. The fresh-faced innocence of Venus and Mars in Aries will give you the energy to start anew.

    The Full Moon in Scorpio is the night for full disclosure. It is the night to empower ourselves by naming our truth and shouting it from the rooftops. This is the Full Moon to celebrate our right to know. Though your merriment can take many forms, it should be done with others. This is the night to show up in a way that feels most honest for you, which sometimes implies revealing a secret or a fear. When we name our fear it loses its power over us. Make sure that if your agenda is to reveal, that you do it surrounded by a supportive, caring group of people. Don’t go this road alone on this night. Sharing the pain and the joy of disclosure is the way of Scorpio. It may only take one person to uncover a secret, but it takes many people working together to break the spell of illusion and denial.

    The impulsive emotionality of Venus and Mars in Aries might make it challenging to openly discuss polarizing issues that have been hard to tackle. Make an effort to get beyond scripted points of view to find the real issues that divide and separate. Mercury in open-minded Gemini should help us to see all sides of any issue. Commonality can be gained from truthfully admitting where both side’s arguments lack focus and power.

    Talking openly and honestly is challenging, but works magic for bridging gaps and bringing people together. Venus in Aries and Mercury in Gemini will lend lightheartedness to communications that could otherwise be quite intense. Try passing around a talking stick, allowing everyone to speak without interruption about whatever is on his or her mind, and in his or her heart.

    Remember that on any Full Moon, the Moon is reflecting the light of the Sun in its opposite sign. The reflected light of the Taurus Sun is aglow with the love of and deep commitment to family values. Taurus likes hard work, and opening the lines of communication can be very hard, but ultimately very rewarding. This is especially true when issues of self-esteem (Taurus) lie at the heart of a family’s problems with trust (Scorpio) issues.

    This is also a great time for couples to tackle trust issues, especially if a secret has been coming between the two of you. The aforementioned configurations will make this an intense night to reveal secrets and deal with the consequences, but the planets in water signs will provide enough empathy and love to get through it. Scorpio can bring destruction or relief and most times a bit of both. Just know that no matter what happens change is essential for evolution and growth. Remember that radical change done appropriately can lead to more solid relationships built upon openness and unconditional love. At its core, Taurus/Scorpio wants to love. Yes, Taurus can be judgmental, boorish, and opinionated and Scorpio can be too intense and demanding; but both signs eventually come around through an overwhelming need to love and give care.

    The Taurus/Scorpio polarity requires that we learn about our power and then discover how to deal with it effectively. Those of you who can’t take all of this deep disclosure can do something a bit more fun. Join your friends for a game of truth or dare, or create a mystery game or a treasure hunt. It’ll be a hard night to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes, but it might be a lot of fun to try!

    So meet the challenge of this Full Moon in Scorpio. Go deep enough to face the underbelly of your life, your goals, your community, your nation, and then arise to embrace your power to transform our violence-wary world!

    ©2009 Lisa Dale Miller
    All rights reserved
    PERMISSION MUST BE GRANTED BY THE AUTHOR FOR USE ON WEB SITES AND FOR OUTSIDE PUBLISHING

At 05:01 UT (Universal Time), on Thursday, May 7th, 2009, Mercury the cosmic trickster turns retrograde at 1°44' Gemini, in the sign of the Twins, sending communications, travel, appointments, mail and the www into a general snarlup! The retro period begins some days before the actual turning point (as Mercury slows) and lasts for three weeks or so, until May 31, when the Winged Messenger reaches his direct station. At this time he halts and begins his return to direct motion through the zodiac.

Everything finally straightens out on June 14, as he passes the point where he first turned retrograde, just before Jupiter turns retrograde in Aquarius. Mercury normally turns retrograde three times a year, but this year he turns tail four times, which is unusual.

Read more about this transit at the following link:
http://www.astrologycom.com/mercret.html

Blessings for a Smooth Mercury in Retrograde
By Mama Donna Henes, Urban Shaman

Mercury, the planet of communication enters its three
times a year retrograde stage today and will remain
in a backward momentum, as it were, until May 30.

Mercury in retrograde has a very bad rap. I should know.
As a Virgo (which is ruled by Mercury) I am usually affected
quite profoundly. But over the years I have learned a thing
or two about how to survive in one piece, and how to use
this potentially frustrating phase in a fruitful manner.

When Mercury is moving direct, our minds tend to work on a
functional/forward level. Our actions match our intentions. Our
energy is invested in more assertive decision-making and action
with less emphasis on retrospection and reflection.

However, we are constantly picking up on unconscious intuitive
information, which will surface -- if we let it -- during the
retrograde cycle. And this is a very good thing. We need time to
rest and assimilation all the information that we are bombarded
with in our techno, multitasking world. A time for our inner wisdom
to manifest and guide us to reorganize, rethink, reevaluate, redo,
and reboot. This is a crucial and healthy part of the organic, natural
flow of life.

The clock and dollar orientation that our culture calls *the real
world* is comprised of schedules, deadlines, and to do lists,
which don't often accommodate a cycle of introspective reflection
and reevaluation. This is why this period can be so brutal for some of
us -- especially those of us with determined steely goals and agendas.

Mercury, as most of us know, tends to play havoc with the smooth
functioning of the technology upon which we depend for our
achievements and communication. It also tends to mix up face to face
communications and the best laid plans of wo/men. The results are
interruptions, snafus, misunderstandings, and mix-ups which interfere
with the simplest of projects.

During Mercury in Retrograde, we will need more caution, more
care, and a pinch more elbow grease to get things done. This is
not a good time to launch or initiate new projects. In trying to do so,
we will be pushing off, symbolically, just when the tide is going out,
and it will be more of a struggle to make headway with our plans. It
is far better to wait until the current is moving with us.

The degree to which we hold onto our need to keep to our schedules,
agendas, and plans often equates to the degree in which we find
ourselves going bonkers during this time. When we doggedly hold on
to our logical, rational structures, we court the *Trickster* element
of Mercury, which will fool and frustrate us to no end.

Now is the time that we must surrender our forward leaning push and
embrace the lessons of letting go. We must not underestimate the
degree to which our psyche can resist change. The abdication of our
will/ego to a deeper function of consciousness can be quite a challenge
as the retrograde cycle continues. But there is great reward if we
manage to do so.

This period is a great time to clear our minds. To go back and
complete unfinished projects. To work on reconciling old issues. To
tune into our dreams and unconscious thoughts. To listen to our
inner wisdom. To open to new ways of thinking and perceiving.

So rather than pushing against the cosmic current, let's take a
three week break from our hectic, breakneck speedy ways and
allow ourselves to slow down. To summon up and sort out the
past. To be in the moment. And to savor the NOW.

It can't hurt!

Best blessings of sanity,

xxMama Donna

* (c) Permission is granted to copy, reproduce, reprint
or promulgate in any manner this copyrighted material
so long as correct attribution and contact information
is included.
*****************************************************
Donna Henes is an internationally renowned urban shaman,
eco-ceremonialist, award-winning author, syndicated columnist,
popular speaker and workshop leader whose joyful celebrations
of celestial events have introduced ancient traditional rituals and
contemporary multicultural, nondenominational ceremonies to
millions of people in more than 100 cities since 1972. In addition
to her popular public rituals for equinoxes and solstices, she is
the official Grand Spirit Marshall of the world famous Greenwich
Village Halloween Parade and the Mistress of Blessing Ceremonies
for NYC Earth Day Festivities. She has conducted public blessings
of the NY Stock Exchange on Wall Street, a Blessing of the Waters
Ceremony for the Hudson River, and an Inauguration Purification
Ritual in Washington, DC.

She has published four books, a CD and an acclaimed quarterly
journal. She currently writes a column for UPI (United Press
International) Religion and Spirituality Forum, as well as a monthly
Ezine. Mama Donna, as she is affectionately called, maintains a
ceremonial center, spirit shop, ritual practice and consultancy in
Exotic Brooklyn, NY where she offers spiritual counseling, tarot
readings, and works with individuals, groups, institutions,
municipalities and corporations to create meaningful ceremonies
for every imaginable occasion.

For information about upcoming events and services contact:

Mama Donna's Tea Garden & Healing Haven
PO Box 380403
Exotic Brooklyn, New York, NY 11238-0403
Phone: 718/857-1343
Email: CityShaman@aol.com
www.DonnaHenes.net
www.MamaDonnasSpiritShop.com/
www.TheQueenofMySelf.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Henes

Watch her videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MamaDonnaHenes

Follow her on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/queenmamadonna

Read her blog at:
http://www.myspace.com/queenmamadonna
http://queenmamadonna.blogspot.com
http://mamadonnahenes.gaia.com/

Tea Leaf and Tarot Reading Salon on May 2, 2009

Experienced Tarot Readers, neophytes, anyone inbetween and the curious are invited to the Kaleisia Tea Lounge in Tampa at 330PM for a workshop on how to read the Tea Leaves. Handouts will be provided and the cost is $15. Participants can purchase the tea of their choice from the establishment, there are also sweets available if you have the munchies. You will learn about the History and Symbology of this ancient Oracle and you will be doing readings for each other as you learn! Be sure to bring along your favorite Tarot Deck because after the Tea Leaf Reading workshop, you can have some fun reading the Tarot for others and having them read for you!

This event will be hosted by the Tarotlaydee who has been reading the Tarot, the Stars, the Runes and other Divination systems and Oracles for over 40 years!

See the Kaleisia Tea Lounge on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tampa-FL/Kaleisia-Tea-Lounge/19856186798
and on their website:
http://www.thetealounge.com

The Kaleisia Tea Lounge
1441 E. Fletcher Ave. #133
Tampa, FL, 33612
Phone: 813-977-8286

If you have any inquiries and want to reserve your spot, contact the Tarotlaydee:
Tarotlaydee@gmail.com
813-312-2292
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=533726825
http://www.myspace.com/tarotlaydeestearoom