Saturn’s Garden Postcript June 30, 2008

Saturn’s Garden Postcript

“I walk by your garden every day, it’s so beautiful”. “Gorgeous”. “What kind of roses are those?”
I’m in a strange sort of Saturn transit after glow. Since last fall, Saturn has been smack on top of my Sun in the early signs of Virgo. But just three days ago, Saturn moved from the very personal three degrees of my sun sign, and towards four degrees of Virgo, which will soon turn to five, growing farther and farther away from my sun, the planet that astrologically makes me, essentially me.

What a visit I’ve had with Saturn this time. Such an odd sense of humor that ringed planet has, to say the least. The garden I worked in all fall, dedicating it to this Saturn transit, and patiently planting, and weeding and watering, has been blooming in wonderful waves after waves of life. My motives for working in the garden were purely selfish, I wanted to create beauty, get some exercise and be in nature. In all of these things I was successful, and I paid my Saturn dues. I worked hard, digging, weeding, watering, and I worked with a rhythm, that regular beat that Saturn likes. Returning again and again, but not too much, to add water and nutrients and make sure the plants got the sun they needed to grow.
But unexpectedly, in an almost (gasp), Uranian way, Saturn traveling over my 11th house sun in Virgo somehow translated my personal garden project into a gift for my neighborhood. On busy weekend days, as I watered and weeded, neighbors stopped by to tell me how they liked my sweet peas, which reminded them of when they were children. Others asked what kind of roses I grew, and some simply waved, smiled and called out “beautiful”. My favorite garden incident actually happened when I wasn’t home. My boyfriend said he looked out the window and saw a little girl of about eight riding her bicycle in front of our house. She stopped, got off her bike and leaned it against our fence, and then stuck her nose deep into the pink sweet peas climbing the fence. He said it looked as though she anticipated the smell of the flowers, and he thought she had probably done this very same thing before, as if our house was a special sweet smelling stop on her way home.
All the time I spent this year to become a new kind of Virgo, a non-doormat, relaxed kind of Virgo, a self-esteem serving Virgo, a Virgo with verve. Well, it kind of paid off, and paid off in the most Virgoish in the 11th house of ways, as the pleasure I brought myself in my own self-serving way, was multiplied when I realized I was also serving others.
This is one Saturn lesson I won’t forget. That is isn’t necessary to give and serve from a place of struggle and martyrdom, that service can mean pleasing oneself first and watching that pleasure ripple out like a rock skipped cleanly across the surface of a lake.
(For Part I of my Saturn in Virgo story see Saturn’s Garden on this blogsite)

Spirit and Matter April 19, 2008

Full moon in Scorpio/April 20, 2008 at 3:25 am pdt

Spirit versus Matter. Are they compatible or conflictual, or perhaps a bit of both? The full moon tomorrow morning highlights our awareness of the differences between these two modes of being.
This lunation is the first of two full moons this month, both in Scorpio. With the sun newly in Taurus, the earth sign ruling sensuality, finances and accumulation of resources, our attention is focused on those areas of life that are right in front of us. Anything that can be touched, smelled, tasted, heard or seen is important now.

Scorpio, which rules the unseen, and energetic patterns rather than physical ones, calls our attention also, particularly in the emotional and spirit. We may feel torn between what we think is real, and what we feel or intuit as real.

Perhaps you have had a strong feeling lately that a particular relationship, job or project would turn out a certain way, and yet you see no signs of your inner knowing manifesting in the outer world. Feelings of self-doubt and confusion are a natural outcome of this process, and to be expected given the current planetary weather.

With Saturn, the planet of physical manifestation, retrograde since earlier this year, many of our outer plans may seem on hold. Saturn retrograde is a time to do the work that our spirit demands, even if we are not reaping the external rewards. When Saturn goes direct the first week of May, we may see more of the results of the spiritual work we have been doing made manifest in the outer world.

Until then it is important to continue finding the balance between what can be seen, and what can be felt, and trusting in the truth of both these ways of being.

Monthly Moon Gab April 13, 2008

Ever wanted an astrologer in your pocket to help navigate your cash flow, assist your next promotion or plumb your psychological state, but don’t want to shell out the big bucks to learn?

It’s your lucky day!

Introducing, a monthly Moon gathering designed just for you. Every month Marin astrologers Jessica Shepherd and Fern Feto Spring play weather girls to the heavens, exploring how moon cycles and star patterns play out in YOUR LIFE. This is a rare opportunity to understand how astrology influences awareness and energy on a personal and collective level in a group environment - with not one, but two professional astrologers. Wow!

Here’s the format: a portion of the gab will be devoted to the current star patterns and how they interact with, influence and shape the world around you. This easily folds into the second portion - a participatory discussion about how you’re each experiencing the planets in your life. All this in a welcoming, dynamic, and nurturing space.

No previous astrology knowledge required. This is accessible astrology, designed for everyone, from beginner to advanced. It’s our mission that everyone walks away with stellar new insights.

Date: First New Moon of every month beginning May 5, 2008
Time: 7-9pm
Place: Fairfax, CA (rsvp for directions)
Cost: $25 (includes a copy of your birth chart and current planetary news handouts)

RSVP:
Jessica Shepherd www.moonkissd.com, moonkissd@moonkissd.com
Fern Feto Spring www. wisestars.net, fern@wisestars.net

About Fern & Jessica: Fern and Jessica discovered each other at home, in Fairfax, CA, and realized their mutual love for astrology. Both professional astrologers have completed Steven Forrest’s Apprenticeship Astrology training, and have an affinity for sharing the ancient art of astrology with a twist of modern sensibility. Their common Venus in Cancer in the 10th house and Libra Rising in each of their natal charts brings compassionate insights and a stylish flair to their teaching and consultation work.

Saturn’s Garden: Learning to be Perfectly Imperfect with Saturn in Virgo April 11, 2008

Saturn’s Garden: Learning to be Perfectly Imperfect with Saturn in Virgo

I’m in love with my garden. The rich warm purple pansies, sunburst marigolds and Mexican dahlias. As I water I repeat the names of my plants like a mantra. I fuss and putter, wrapping the sweet peas gently around the fence, picking bits of debris from the soil. My yard is full of life, overflowing with good smells and color, soon to be bursting with the taste of fresh vegetables and edible flowers.

With Saturn currently sitting exactly on my sun in Virgo by transit, I can’t think of a better way to delve more deeply into the mysteries of one of the earthiest earth planets, than by immersing myself in the beauty of the natural world.

My garden brings me a distinct awareness of the cycles of life, the way the seasons, even here in California, are signaled by specific markers. The boundaries of time set the tone for what lives and dies in nature. What blooms in spring won’t survive the winter, and the heat and light of summer welcome a whole new community of plants. Each flower, tree and bush has a particular signature, a color, shape, texture, smell all it’s own. There’s nothing wrong with the daffodil bulbs that only bloom in Spring, because this is the nature of daffodils.
The planet Saturn also teaches us about cycles, time and limits, defining the seasons of our lives, introducing experiences and lessons that differ depending on whether we are seven years old or 58. Saturn tells us, through our limitations, who we really are.

My roses, five feet tall, and in multiple colors and varieties, bring home Saturn’s lessons in the most paradoxical way. In January I pruned the bare thorny branches back to half their size, and yet almost overnight it seems, these branches have turned lush and green, wild with leaves. Any day now I expect to see the first buds of what will be beautiful, sweet smelling flowers in full bloom by May.

Saturn acts also in this way, pruning from our lives the dead, dormant branches that can sometimes limit our full potential. Cutting back on areas that aren’t working, no matter how much we might like them to be. As we learn to trust the guidance of Saturn, and more gracefully release and let go of those areas, people and experiences that need pruning, it becomes possible to become more fully alive and present with what is left to us.
When Saturn aspects the Sun by transit, our sense of self and identity is shaped and honed. We see both who we are and who we are not.
Saturn aspecting the Moon, teaches us about the unique way we express and experience our emotions, our relationship to nurturing. Aspecting Venus,  Saturn  shows us our limitations and patterns related to relationship. With Mars we define and clarify how we use our energy, will and passion. Mercury  helps us gain more definition around communication patterns. Thus, each planet that Saturn touches comes away with a deeper sense of what its gifts are, of what its true nature and way of being brings into the world.

Patience is my biggest lesson in the garden, learning how to wait for sweet peas to flower, for corn to grow big enough to harvest. I want to plant, water and weed right now, and reap and harvest tomorrow.  Saturn demands that I do a little work everyday, parceling my energy out slowly and steadily, rather than in big bursts all at once. If I spent all day watering my plants but then neglected to water again for two weeks, I’d likely kill all but my most hardy plants.  To work with the cycles of nature I need to pace myself,  watering slowly over time, waiting for the plants to grow at their own rate, rather than trying to get them to grow according to my schedule.

Besides conjuncting my Sun, Saturn is also moving through my 11th house, which rules groups, friends and community and goals and visions for the future. I’m trying to welcome the gifts of limitation, pruning and patience into my 11th house. In keeping with Saturn’s influence, I’m trying very hard. I’m not sure if I’m really succeeding, because Saturn conjunct your sun can feel like being trapped under a heavy, immovable boulder. It’s hard to really get any perspective when you’re buried beneath a large rock.

So rather than struggling against what cannot be changed, I come to know what is real. Observing the particular texture and color of rock, the scent and sound of it, I grow familiar with this influence. Gradually what I perceive as a barrier becomes part of me, as I merge with the stone force, learning to move with it, rather than resisting its pressure.

Saturn slows me down to the speed of mountains, making me notice every detail, every small moment, attuning me to the essence of what blocks me. Saturn demands that I work muscles even when they hurt, slowly and patiently building muscle mass, not giving up. Saturn wants us to continue to do the hard thing even when we see no visible result from our efforts.

Like any good Virgo, I’m  trying to do this transit “just right”. I want to emerge from Saturn conjunct my sun in the 11th house having mastered the art of friendship and community. I want to have a brilliant plan for my future, and to successfully have met all my goals. In short, I want to achieve perfection.

Perfection is a word we Virgo’s have a love/hate relationship with. On the one hand we worship at the altar of this unachievable and inhuman quality, striving, like no other sign, to do everything just right. In the process, we manage to do quite a lot, and do it well. Our downfall emerges when our focus becomes fixed and rigid, and we fail to recognize what we have done right, what has been accomplished, searching only to do it “more better”, to be more “right”.

Saturn transiting through Virgo forces one to sit with the discomfort of imperfection. We are invited to learn how to fully embrace the thoroughly imperfect experience of being human, recognizing the raw beauty in our cracks and flaws. Remembering, in the immortal words of Leonard Cohen, to “Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering/There is a crack in everything, That’s how the light gets in.”

New Moon in Aries Treasure Map April 6, 2008

Treasure Maps and Tigger

New Moon in Aries on Saturday at 7:55pm

The Aries moon tonight has a vibrant exuberance that could be a little dangerous if channeled in the wrong way. The Tigger like energy of this new moon is passionate and enthusiastic, with the moon squaring both Jupiter and Mars. Lots of juice is flowing around, so this is a good time to dance, make art, love and other benevelont mischief. Harnessing the energy in this way will help prevent the downside of the fiery flow which could be kind of accident prone.
The first Aries new moon of the year is traditionally treasure map time in the Wisestars World (thank you Maryrose for reminding me!!!). This great idea is borrowed from Jan Spiller’s New Moon Wishing book (and she in turn borrowed it from another astrologer….)
See below for instructions………
Spring Equinox Treasure Map
(done on the New Moon in Aries following the Spring Equinox. Can be done up to two days after the New Moon.)
Materials needed:

Good Music

Friends can be nice to do it with, one year I had a party….other times it’s better alone-you decide….

Magazines
Scissors, glue, cardboard or posterboard
Leaf through the magazines, cutting out pictures and words that catch your eye and set them aside. Arrange the images however you want on the board. Create your map with words and images that feel happy to you and that look like what you want to manifest this year.

Hang in a place you will see it regularly. Enjoy observing the map coming to life in suprising and unexpected ways. Be patient, it may take more than a year for some of the biggies…..

Divination Day for A Fool’s Journey March 26, 2008

With four planets in the 12th house of retreat and respite, Libra rising, and Venus in Cancer in the 10th house, I have something of a reputation amongst my friends as being an expert on places and spaces to indulge the senses while taking a break from the “real” world.

Maybe this is why I’m so excited about the upcoming Fool’s Journey retreat this Fall in Northern California, which is turning out to be a magical mystical journey already, though the retreat doesn’t even start until September.

Taking inspiration from the Fool card in the tarot, myself and my co-creators envision this workshop as a time to take a leap into the world of magic, delving more deeply into myth and mystery, guided by a group of long-time teachers and priestesses. Like the sign of Aries, the Fool card is the embodiment of open-hearted creative risk-taking, passion and serendipity.

We envision this as a retreat from the world, but also a time to indulge the senses in the spirit of deep relaxation and the kind of sacred fun the Fool loves best.

Our Fool’s Journey planning group just happened to make it’s first site visit to Four Springs retreat center just days after the Spring Equinox was exact, when the Sun moved fully into Aries. At Four Springs we found a space simply designed to catalyze the Aries Fool in almost anyone.

From the endless possibilities for creative self-expression alive in the art room (fun, fun, fun!), the meditation hall (yoga classes!) and the mystical library (freewrites galore), to the hiking trails (for your inner Aries) and swimming pool (Marco Polo anyone?), this land seemed designed for the kind of retreat we are offering.

Harbin Hot Springs is also a ten minute drive away, for those who like hot springs……

This Sunday, we will be invoking the spirit of the sacred Fool at our Divination Day benefit to raise money to support the Fool’s Journey retreat.

Participants will have the opportunity to get an intuitive reading (offered at the very reasonable $1-2 a minute sliding scale) from any one of our talented team (see A Fool’s Journey for bio’s), try a magical elixir, or simply come and meet us and find about more about this retreat.

Spring Equinox 2008 March 20, 2008

The force of life that drives the green fuse through the flower (thanks Dylan Thomas), is flowing this week with the Spring Equinox on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 9:48 pm pdt and a full moon on Friday all squaring Pluto newly in Capricorn at 1 degree.

The Spring Equinox begins as the sun starts its yearly journey into Aries. The zero degrees Aries point is like the Fool card in the tarot: innocent and untried, bold, passionate and ready to take a leap into the unknown, with raw instincts and an open heart. As the first sign of the zodiac, Aries represents the birth of consciousness and awareness of self. Aries is pure life force energy, initiating action and movement.

Spring Equinox 2008 is notable not only because of the full moon two days after the exact equinox point (the last full moon at the spring equinox occured in the year 2000), but also because of the tight square involving Pluto, the sun and the moon.

Pluto is the planet which symbolizes life and death, deep transformation, sex, power and mystery.
This planetary relationship puts the fiery force of the sun in Aries in opposition to the airy harmony of the moon in Libra, with both planets square the intensity of Pluto.

Like the Fall Equinox, this is a time when light and dark have reached a perfect balance, with the light growing stronger from now to the Summer Solstice. Springtime brings the birth of new budding life, the first steps of projects, ideas and relationships. The equinoxes represent a crossroads, a moment when we stand between the worlds, gazing forward and back simultaneously. As we pause at this particular turn in the road, Pluto forces us to look at the lessons of winter with more awareness than ever of the gentle fragility of life that we celebrate and nurture in these early days of spring.

This week may be a particularly good time to remember and honor those who may have died over the winter, or relationships and circumstances that have passed. In order to fully move into and embrace the growing light, we will need to pay careful attention to the gifts and losses of the shadow, noticing what we have learned and gathered from the darkness of winter.

In many parts of the US winter time has lingered, with storms and colder temperatures hanging on and extending the winter season. This year we are spending more time immersed in the lessons of winter, enduring the colder and harsher temperatures, and sustaining ourselves until the spring fully arrives.

Capricorn is a sign associated with deprivation, survival, and the strength and power that come from knowing how to stay alive in harsh circumstances. We may feel this shadow from the Pluto square, influencing our otherwise triumphant welcoming of warmer temperatures, flowers blossoming and new life. As financial markets crumble, and survival fears become part of the mass consciousness, it is important that we learn from the Capricorn gifts of perseverance, patience and ability to nurture long term goals.

The Sun in Aries calls us to celebrate the feisty beauty of cherry blossoms that relentlessly bloom despite war, financial woes and other human mayhem. As we cultivate the sober reality of the Capricorn perspective, it’s also important that we integrate the joy of life of Aries. Finally, a Libra moon asks us to remember our relationship with the “other”. Libra is a sign concerned with justice, partnership and cooperation.

A question to ponder this Equinox season might be: “How can we realistically and sustainably continue to live together in a way that celebrates and honors the life force?”

Mercury Retrograde and Blackberry February 12, 2008

Mercury retrograde again! This one is a doozie, with Mercury retrograde in Aquarius, the sign ruling computers and new technology. So many of our communications now are shaped by the on-line world that we may be noticing this retrograde more than most. A few days after Mercury went retrograde (on January 28th) at 23 degrees of Aquarius, internet connections broke down all over Asia. Today (Monday, February 11), as the Sun in Aquarius progressed to that same 23 degrees, the news was reported that Black Berry, one of the largest networks of handheld devices is having a widespread service breakdown.
Though I’m sure Blackberry users aren’t finding this very amusing, those of you who track the astrological weather will likely appreciate a certain irony in this turn of events.

In the spirit of keeping spirits up, I’d like to offer my Wisestars remedies for not just surviving, but thriving during Mercury Retrograde periods. This particular one lasts until February 20th when the planet turns direct, but give it a week or so to get out of it’s “shadow” period to really start forging full speed ahead back towards that old Western Civilization thing…..

(For those of you who may just be joining us on this Mercury in Retrograde track, see below the Survive/Thrive section for my summation of this phenomena)

SURVIVE

Back up your computer

Double check directions and appointment times carefully

Think carefully about word choice
And topic when having difficult
conversations

Slow down and drive more carefully

Read the fine print two or three times
before signing contracts or other important documents

Postpone buying major appliances until
Mercury goes direct

THRIVE

Research new computer equipment or software. Maximize time away from the computer.

Reschedule important meetings and appointments for after the Mercury retrograde period.

Rethink your position and be willing to admit your mistakes and apologize when having difficult conversations. Or try to forgive and forget more readily.

Refrain from rudeness and instead kill other drivers with kindness, or minimize driving and ride your bike and walk

Renegotiate current contracts that you want changed and postpone signing new important documents until Mercury goes direct

Repair and fix items that are broken

Remember: Retrograde starts with “re”, so incorporate “re” activities during retrograde periods.

Some Wisestars Words on the Mercury Retrograde Experience

Mercury, the planet of communication (which includes phones, computers, talking, listening, learning, teaching and also all forms of traveling), goes retrograde four times a year for three weeks each time. During this period, we will often notice that communications go awry, that our phones stop working, that computers freeze and travel plans hit snags. Despite all evidence to the contrary, the Mercury retrograde was not designed to make you suffer.

If you allow it to, Mercury retrograde periods can be a time to slow down and take a little break from the high impact, fast and furious information heavy world we live in. Think of it as a three week vacation from the communication of words and thoughts. This is a time when communication of spirit, body and emotion take precedence. Try saying what you need to with tools besides words, using body or sign language, eye contact and dream messages to communicate your meaning. The more you try to force other types of communications now, the more frustrated you might end up……….

ps the very fine mercury image up there is from Mark Defrates jewelry http://www.markdefrates.com/

Aquarius Eclipse February 5, 2008

New Moon in Aquarius/Solar Eclipse

If ever there was a time to began communicating with aliens, this week would be it. A new moon solar eclipse occurs on Wednesday at 7:44 pm in Aquarius, conjunct Mercury retrograde and Neptune in Aquarius. This could be a perfect set up for weird, wacky communications from unknown origins.

Whether or not you decide to experiment with interplanetary conversations or find that you are receiving dream messages from dead people, or even something more mundane, like your voice mail recording impossible messages, this eclipse promises interesting verbal, written and psychic communications.

Look for the area that the eclipse aspects in your chart (planets and house cusps at or around 16-19 degrees of Aquarius), as you may find that that area of your life takes on a tone conducive to an article in the Weekly World News. Eclipses in general tend to create a fertile breeding ground for surprises, change and the unexpected. They have what we astrologers call a particularly “Uranian” quality. This particular eclipse takes place in the sign that is “ruled” by Uranus: Aquarius, amping up the volume and promising an electrical zing that is guaranteed to shake us up at some level.

Eclipses don’t always manifest on the external plane, and their effects can be hard to measure, as they sometimes are felt up to six months before they are exact, and up to a month or so after. But if you have hot spots in your chart that relate to the eclipse position, and you’ve observed some particularly “Uranian” changes in yourself and your world in the last few months, chances are, the week of this eclipse period will bring some new piece of information to add to the puzzle.

Seven Generations: Pluto in Capricorn January 9, 2008

Seven Generations: Pluto and Jupiter in Capricorn-

Have you ever found yourself surprised and delighted, when, after a great deal of frustration and struggle with authorities or institutions, you encounter that one person who is more interested in being human than in upholding rules and regulations?

Perhaps you’ve spent hours on the phone listening to obnoxious “muzak”, and being asked again, and again and again, ad nauseum, to “please hold for a customer service representative”. You’ve waited impatiently, muttering to yourself about corporate greed, ready to go postal with the phone, at the end of your rope, when finally, amazingly, a human voice comes on, and actually offers you a bit of kindness, a joke and an apology, and most wonderfully, a little “bending” of the rules in your favor.

Remember your gratitude and relief as you received this offering? Recognizing that what this person was giving you was some small piece of courage and empathy as they broke through that stone wall of rigidity and protocol to offer you compassion and human connection.

So often the natural and most humane act is the one that most goes against the rules and regulations, it’s the action that isn’t covered by insurance or policy or protocol. Sometimes it’s us on the other side of the fence, wanting to allow just one thing to slide in order to hold onto our own sense of humanity, to feel generous and connected to those we share the planet with. We may struggle with these impulses, fearing the repercussions, the consequences when our boss, parent, spouse, children or some other “authority” find out about our transgression in the name of kindness.

Capricorn is the sign that stands for order, accountability, planning and protocol. Capricorn likes plans, and in order to have plans, there is a need for agreed upon actions, contracts and commitments that will be carried out. Capricorn is the sign of accountability without sentiment. What is said will be happen, will happen, regardless of the consequences, the feelings or the potential for loss.

We are moving now into a time when, as a culture, our agreed upon systems, policies and regulations are headed for a breakdown. Our Capricorn contract is up, ready for renewal. Pluto, the planet of deep transformation and piercing honesty enters the sign on January 26, 2008, poised for a ten year visit. This transition is introduced with a blowing of the trumpets and a bit of fanfare, as Jupiter moved into Capricorn in late December 2007 and the New Moon on January 8th all conspire to introduce Pluto to it’s new sign with intention and attention.

The good news in all of this, is that we may see the last of maze like and crazy making computer generated voice mail systems that do amazing things to our blood pressure rates. The bad news is, that if history is any kind of guide, we may experience a sort of cultural breakdown, as the last time this transit occurred was during the American Revolution in the late 1700’s.
Though many of the transitions we experience during this time may feel destabilizing and overwhelming, the underlying pulse of this planetary alignment is designed to have us reassess how we want to order society to maximize our survival and longetivity as a species.

At its best, Capricorn rules the part of humanity that excels at planning for the future. This is the sign of “Seven Generations”, as this Astro Goat always can see the top of the mountain, and can assess needs for the future in the present. Capricorn looks to see how it can offer protection and support over the long term, rather than only in the present moment. Capricorn is about helping big things grow over time.

Our culture currently has long term systems in place that only offer support and sustenance to a very few. Governmental systems like Social Security are broken and unworkable, and badly in need of renewal.
Corporations, which besides government exist as another primary Capricorn body, act like out of control robots, existing without heart or humanity, and lacking a long term vision for sustaining the life force principle.

As we stand now, we have almost regulated and systemized ourselves out of connection with each other. It’s almost as if sometimes we have to check an instruction manual before we have an interaction with another human being. It is these Capricornian tendencies that we can set an intention to release and let go of as we move through this Pluto cycle.

While we burn away these old forms of Capricornian structure, it is important that we simultaneously began to nurture a new vision of the long-term future. What do we want to see for our children’s children? How can we create systems that are planned with seven generations in mind? What do truly sustainable structures look and feel like?

These questions will help to guide us through the rubble that falls from the old ways of being, allowing us to step into a new time with not only our humanity, but the future of our species taken care of.