New Moon in Libra

http://darkstarastrology.com/new-moon-september-2014/

The New Moon that's so clearly and recently arrived barely rests in Libra and is conjunct the asteroid Lilith. Much of the power flowing through it carries the rebellious feminist energy of the Dark Goddess Lilith accompanied by the Divine Feminine energy of Athena. With both of these Goddesses active, the clearest theme is your relationship with yourself. Be comfortable with yourself. Allow every aspect of your inner goddess to shine forth.

Be ready to start something new, something that calls to your deep inner desire and brings you into a healthier relationship with yourself. That may be walking, dancing, eating healthy....anything along the usual path of 'healthy.' Or it may be reading a book, going for a massage, or taking a class. Whatever brings you peace and a stronger sense of well-being. Move forward from this New Moon with confidence, grace and ease. Feel the subtle strength of the Goddess empower you. See yourself as a Conqueror!

What does the title Conqueror conjure in your mind? What do you do to mark the passage of the moons? Which goddess speaks most clearly to you? Why and How?

Venus Chasing Luna, part 2

There is much of the Goddess of Love in this time of year as we enter Sol in Libra. Venus rules Libra. She is all about relationships and balance.

As I watched Her continuing to watch and chase Luna another day or two, I knew She understood the challenge faced. I pondered what Venus could or would do.

Venus Chasing Luna

Venus returns to the Court of the Divine. She is distracted by what She has seen ~~ and by Her unspoken promise to help. She struggles with deciding what to do.
On the one hand, She is the Goddess of Love. As such, She is often called upon to help lovers. The supplications are generally from one of the lovers and not the other. She rarely intercedes. It is Her policy to only affect a relationship where both lovers approach Her with the same request. In this case, neither lover requested Her assistance.
On the other hand, She is aware that Jupiter has chosen to keep the two lovers apart. He wanted Luna for Himself ~ as He does with many beautiful women and goddesses. Luna was not interested in Him. When He pursued Her, He discovered She was seeing ~ and in love with ~ Sol. Her unavailability only made Her more desirable to Him. Luna continued to shun Him. In anger, Jupiter devised a way to separate the two lovers. Since He ruled the skies, He put Sol in charge of lighting the day and Luna lighting the night. When one was fully in the sky, the other could not be. From what She saw, that did not keep the lovers from loving each other, only from being together.
Venus smiled at Aurora as She approached. A plan was beginning to form.... maybe there was a way.....

Have you ever offered help to someone without being asked? Why did you do it? What was the result? How did you feel about making the offer?

Venus Chasing Luna, part 1

As I left for work one morning earlier this week, I looked into the brightening sky and saw the image of a bright speck following on the heels of the waning moon. The day was not as dark as the image shows ~ the camera's eye could not capture the colors and subtleties that my eye could see. I am thrilled it captured what it did.

Venus Chasing Luna

Luna faces away, moving higher and further into the brightening sky. She searches for Sol, hoping to meet Him, to be able, for whatever time possible, to touch and be touched by Him. Deep in Her pursuit, Luna is unaware of Venus trailing behind. With a subltety unusual for Her, Venus stays behind Luna's back, in Her shadow. She is intrigued by the movement of the Goddess of the Night.
"Where does She think She is going?" muses Venus. "Aurora rides the horizon. Luna becomes a shade soon; She cannot hold Her shape much longer."
Yet Luna continues Her upward journey. She is determined. Even Aurora's strong, bright presence cannot dissuade Her nor drive Her from Her chosen path. Ahead of Her, barely visible on the horizon, rose Sol. Luna stretched forward to reach Him before She faded away. On seeing His beloved Luna, Sol also stretched forth to reach Her. At the last moment, almost touching, Luna's form faded into the bright glow of Aurora as She drove the night away to prepare for the coming of Sol and day.
Venus, as the Goddess of love, was deeply touched by the heartbreak that played out morning after morning and night after night for the two lovers. She determined to help them have time to be together.

Have you ever felt yourself chasing after something or someone who always seemed out of reach? Did you give up your chase? Were you aware of anyone else around you?

Dreaming Goddess

The Dreaming Goddess or the Sleeping Goddess of Malta. She was found in an incredible structure called the Hypogeum. The figurine is small, but the rounded body of the Goddess is clearly in a position of rest.

This image of the Goddess touches me in ways other images do not. It provides an example of what appears to be a very human side of the Divine. One that clearly shows rest, sleeping, dreaming as aspects of the Divine and activities ~ or non-activities ~ not only approved, but also participated in by the Goddess.

Reclining, resting are shown as valuable undertakings ~ or the Goddess would not be doing them. Dreaming, allowing for that heartbeat of rest where you open to the thoughts of the Divine flowing through you. I am thrilled that this is so clearly something acknowledged by the Divine.

What are your first impressions of the reclining Goddess? How do you participate in the rest and dreaming suggested by this Goddess? What does She call forth from you?

Between Moons

We recently experienced the third Super Moon in as many months. This Full Moon was in Pisces ~ cleansing the deep emotional realms all the way to the karmic level. With this moon came heightened sensitivity and an unearthing of old wounds for the process of washing away the residue of whatever you need to leave behind.

As the moon wanes, we are left with the 'afterglow' ~ the deep questions that the emotional cleansing brought to light:
What is my truth? Who am I called to be? Why did I incarnate in this very moment in history? Can I leave behind the old ways? Can I embrace the new? Where is my intuition leading me? Will I find my way through the darkness to the new dawn?

We have slipped just past the Third Quarter Moon on our way to a New Moon. The time is ripe for continuing to focus on removing any blocks or negative energies that may inhibit the ability to manifest goals. As we sit between the Phases of the Moon, I continue to shed everything that no longer serves me.

Do you use the phases of the moon as a guide throughout the month? How do you work with the phases of the moon? How do these mini-months shine light into your world?

Ideals of Beauty

the-earth-mother-of-all-neolithic-discoveries

from an article in The Independent:

Could the "lady of Villers-Carbonnell" represent the neolithic ideal of female beauty, long before the coming of fashion magazines, airbrushes and Photoshop?

Now there's a fascinating question. Look at that body. Nothing like the ideals of feminine beauty we've come to culturally admire. The breasts are too small and the hips too wide. Yet through the ages prior to our own recent past, round hips were admired and breasts did not have to be large and bursting out of clothing.

There have been more and more articles recently addressing our cultural obsession with slim-hipped, busty female figures. We seem to forget that the wide pelvis (translating to rounder hips and buttocks) generally provides more space and protection for a growing offspring.

Yet I find myself wanting to balance the picture too. Some women naturally fit the cultural ideal; others do not. Perhaps what we need to do is design the cultural norm to be less of a singular image and more of a sliding scale. Allow for the diversity of our human population. Stop attempting to squeeze or stretch everyone into the same mold. We allow that for men. It'd be great if we could allow it for women as well.

How do you feel about the ideal of beauty in our culture today? What do you think of the different standards for men and for women? What does the neolithic statue express to you?

Become Infinity

Aahh. Another 'Teabag Tarot' moment!

I love the simplicity of this thought. Open up to infinity. Open up to the Divine. Open up to joy. Open up to ..... whatever it is you want to manifest in your life.

If you open to infinity, to infinite possibility, you choose having that in your life. It's easy to continue in the mundane processes of our day-to-day existence and pretend that everything is 'just fine' ~ forgetting that there is so incredibly much more to who and what we are.

What does it mean to 'become infinity'? For me, it means to partake of the universe, to allow for all the possible wonderful things to occur in my life. Becoming infinity. Wow! What a concept! Allowing my soul, my spirit, my deepest part of my being, to expand to a place and point where I don't recognize my surroundings. Where life is multidimensional, as in more than 3D. It means to flow in the moment, to let go of the parameters I place on myself, the expectations of limitation.

I know how 'woo-woo' that sounds. It's not about seeing anything other than what's already there. For me, becoming infinity encompasses new definitions of what is possible and I like that feeling.

What does 'becoming infinity' mean to you? How would you open yourself to infinity? Why would you open yourself up? What good can come of it? What risk?