September 2008

Sword of Discernment Conversations with the Moon The full moon of September takes place on Monday, September 15 at 2:14am Pacific Time, in the vedic lunar sign of Purva Bhadrapada. One of the symbols for the human experience described by this part of the sky, is a sword. And boy is it double-edged. In this lunar cycle of 28 days, there may be more fascination than usual with the dark side of life, and a yogi would employ this destructive energy against his own negativities. The Buddhist bodhisattva Manjushri is often depicted with his sword of discrimination. He is a shining exemplar of using an uncompromising fierceness to cut through illusion. Any efforts to purify the body and mind during this lunar cycle, will be beneficial. For instance, just after this full moon is a great time to begin a seasonal fast. Contemplating the notion of "sacrifice" will bear fruit during this lunar cycle. In vedic culture, yagnas or fire ceremonies are routinely performed to "purify" the atmosphere through chanting and offering symbolic sacrifices to the fire. Devote some time in this lunar cycle to sacrificing mental negativities into the "fire" of your conscious awareness - notice malice, greed, envy and other bugaboos as they come up, and consciously practice not acting on them while they dance around on the inner screen for awhile, before losing interest when they don't get your attention and dissolving. Write this day into your calendar: Monday, September 29, 1:13am Pacific Time - the New Moon in Hasta. This new moon, we'll all have a chance to lend a helping hand, one of the key activities associated with the lunar sign of Hasta. It's also a great time for crafts, and developing skills that you use your hands for, such as carving wood, making a pie crust from scratch, or playing piano.

Planning & Scheduling Living in Accord with the Seasons September 15-27 is a time named Pitru Paksha, in the vedic tradition. It's a time to honor our ancestors, and all those whose efforts have made our path in this life possible, on this earth plane. Their assistance to us is very tangible, as is our goodwill toward them. The Sun moves into vedic Virgo on Wed. 9/17, bringing a slightly quieter settling into autumn as contrasted with the past month of boisterous Leo activity. Venus moves out of dry, analytical Virgo and into fluffy and socially creamy Libra on Sat. 9/20. We're much more harmony-seeking, diplomatic and socially sensitive than this past month of "frank talk" in our relationships. Mars joins Venus in Libra on Fri. 9/26. Flirtation, style, and hipness, come more easily to everyone. We may experience both more inspiring company and more subtle competition amongst friends than usual. Write this into your calendar: Mercury is retrograde in Virgo from Wed. 9/24 - Wed. 10/15: A time to edit, revisit, rework, refine. Expect to niggle over the details. Avoid signing contracts, making announcements, rolling out big projects, until all the i's are dotted, and t's are crossed. November's Presidential Election promises to be a dramatic time, with Saturn opposing Uranus on Tues. Nov 4, (revolutionary uprisings) and Venus conjoining Pluto in Sagittarius on Wed. Nov 12 (the upper hand being wielded by the religious right).

Have you heard the story of Milarepa? Milarepa's story is extraordinary. He is one of the most beloved Tibetan Buddhist saints. He was born in the village of Kya, Ngatsa in Tibet to a prosperous family, circa 1052. Upon his father's death, Milarepa's uncle and aunt took all of the family's wealth and subjected Milarepa, his sister and mother to servitude and humiliation. Influenced by his mother's burning desire for revenge, Milarepa left home to study black magic to use against his uncle and aunt. During a party held by the uncle and aunt to celebrate the upcoming marriage of their son, Milarepa took his revenge by summoning a giant scorpion to demolish their house, killing 35 people. The remaining villagers banded together and set off to hunt Milarepa down, but his mother got word to him and he sent a hailstorm to destroy their crops. Knowing in his heart that his actions were wrong, Milarepa began desperately seeking redemption. He set out to find a lama who could help him atone for his actions and attain enlightenment in one lifetime, and came upon Marpa the translator. Marpa saw Milarepa's greatness and also saw his heavy karmic debts. Marpa was cruel and harsh to Milarepa, to help him with his goal of enlightenment. Before Marpa would teach Milarepa he had him build and rebuild a tower, three times. Marpa constantly beat Milarepa, derided him, humiliated him in front of his other students, and refused to teach him the Dharma. Marpa's wife took pity on Milarepa and forged a letter of introduction to another teacher, Lama Ngogdun Chudor. Mila began practicing meditation under the new teacher but could make no progress. Milarepa finally confessed to the lama about the forged letter and the lama said that no spiritual growth could happen without the guru Marpa's approval. So Milarepa returned to Marpa. He then practiced with humility and diligence for twelve years under Marpa, and then attained enlightenment. At the age of forty-five, he went into a cave in the Himalayas, subjecting himself to extreme cold and hunger. As a result of all the austerities he had endured, he had various seemingly supernatural powers, and sometimes displayed these powers as he went wandering and teaching from village to village, becoming a legendary figure in Tibet. His story is an inspirational one around this particular full moon in Purva Bhadrapada. You can order the book, "The Life of Milarepa," translated from the Tibetan by Lobsang P. Lhalungpa, from Amazon.

April 2007

Texas Hold 'Em Watching the Vedic Moon The Full Moon of April 2007, happens on Monday, April 2nd at 10:16am Pacific Time, in the lunar sign of Hasta. Hasta is an archetypal energy that has to do with street smarts and earth plane material involvement of all kinds, especially things you have to use your hands for. It's a great time for arts & crafts, practicing magic tricks, getting your merchant website together, hitting the tables in Vegas, crossword puzzles and sudoku, and fast-thinking, clever comedy. Monday should be a pretty sunny, uplifting day. You might make the most use of this month's full moon energy by doing something along these lines, especially this Sunday and Monday: * Use your noggin * Arts and crafts * Lend a helping hand * Develop a skill-set * Sell something

Planning & Scheduling Living In Accord With The Seasons Mars has moved into Aquarius, for the month of April. We get a bit of relief from the tension of March's Mars opposition Saturn transit. Projects that have been in a holding pattern might move forward now. Venus enters Taurus on April 7, a placement for enjoyment, earthy sensuality, and concerns over material well-being. Venus will be opposite Jupiter for the month of April, getting us to experience Spring with all our senses. Mercury is in Pisces from April 8-24. Communications are likely to be a little evasive during this time. Possibly also more intuitive. If you're not sure what somebody means when they speak, ask them to spell it out for you, or be ok with a little nebulousness. Jupiter goes retrograde in Scorpio on April 6, getting us to revisit the implications of our grand schemes for our lives. Jupiter will be trine Saturn toward the end of the month, bringing optimism at the same time as applied efforts, to emotional conundrums.

There Is an Inn, a Merry Old Inn by J.R.R. Tolkien There is an inn, a merry old inn beneath an old grey hill, And there they brew a beer so brown That the Man in the Moon himself came down one night to drink his fill. The ostler has a tipsy cat that plays a five-stringed fiddle; And up and down he runs his bow, Now squeaking high, now purring low, now sawing in the middle. The landlord keeps a little dog that is mighty fond of jokes; When there's good cheer among the guests, He cocks an ear at all the jests and laughs until he chokes. They also keep a horned cow as proud as any queen; But music turns her head like ale, And makes her wave her tufted tail and dance upon the green. And O! the rows of silver dishes and the store of silver spoons! For Sunday there's a special pair, And these they polish up with care on Saturday afternoons. The Man in the Moon was drinking deep, and the cat began to wail; A dish and a spoon on the table danced, The cow in the garden madly pranced, and the little dog chased his tail. The Man in the Moon took another mug, and then rolled beneath his chair; And there he dozed and dreamed of ale, Till in the sky the stars were pale, and dawn was in the air. Then the ostler said to his tipsy cat: ‘The white horses of the Moon, They neigh and champ their silver bits; But their master's been and drowned his wits, and the Sun'll be rising soon!’ So the cat on his fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle, a jig that would wake the dead: He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune, While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon: 'It's after three!' he said. They rolled the Man slowly up the hill and bundled him into the Moon, While his horses galloped up in rear, And the cow came capering like a deer, and a dish ran up with the spoon. Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle; the dog began to roar, The cow and the horses stood on their heads; The guests all bounded from their beds and danced upon the floor. With a ping and a pong the fiddle-strings broke! the cow jumped over the Moon, And the little dog laughed to see such fun, And the Saturday dish went off at a run with the silver Sunday spoon. The round Moon rolled behind the hill as the Sun raised up her head. She hardly believed her fiery eyes; For though it was day, to her surprise they all went back to bed!