June 2009

The Village Elders Conversations with the Moon The full moon of June takes place on Sunday, June 7, at 11:13am Pacific Time, in the lunar sign of Jyeshta. It might be your grandmother, or your chiropractor, or an old teacher, or your corner store grocer. Some people in your life perform the function of being your "village elders" - (it's healthy to have more than one) - the people you go to when you need wisdom that only years on the planet can bring. This full moon is a great time to check in with those elders. This full moon carries the energy of a charming, cocky adolescent, long on ambition, and short on common sense. We may each tap into the more youthfully ebullient and creative aspects of our own natures right now, adding spark to the beginning of our summer. Checking in with elders can help us ground some of that energy and help us feel our connection with the eternal cycle of life. If you've got youngsters around you graduating high school right now, this is a great time to be there for them. Many people will be feeling provoked right now - avoid arguments by connecting over fun times. Write this day/time into your calendar: Monday, June 22 at 12:36pm Pacific Time. On this new moon in Ardra, pay attention to water. This could come in the form of tears, your own or the tears of those around you. Or it could come in the form of rain or storms. Pluto directly opposes this new moon, possibly triggering loss and endings for those of us with placements in vedic Taurus and Scorpio. Any efforts toward physical, mental or emotional release will be fruitful on this new moon.

Planning & Scheduling Living in Accord with the Seasons The summer solstice occurs on Sunday, June 21st, signifying the peak of growth due to the lengthening daylight. We now begin the bend in the year, back toward shortening days and interiorization of energies. Mercury is aspected by Saturn until June 29, symbolizing tension in communications. People will be feeling provoked in general. Communication isn't easy, but it can be very fruitful to accept the tension and move forward patiently despite the challenge. Venus is traveling with Mars in Aries through June. They form a tight conjunction on June 22nd, adding quite a bit of passion to the new moon. This conjunction will be of enormous assistance to artists and athletes, lending creativity, passion and drive. Jupiter is in Aquarius until the end of July in opposition to Saturn, symbolic of the reorganization of leadership within communities. Jupiter is also closely conjunct Neptune, until the end of July, signifying altruism, rooted in an ideologically based compassion. In general, people may want to escape during this time, into imaginative technological spaces like the movies and the internet. Saturn is finishing his tour of the sign of Leo. From now until September 10 is a time for proving oneself in a chosen field of expertise or leadership. This summer is not a time to rest on your laurels. Continued success in your field will require persistent effort, humility to admit when you're wrong, and strength of character to course correct when necessary.

June 2006

Staving Off Dragons: The Full Moon of June 2006
happens on Sunday, June 11, at 11:04am Pacific Time, in the lunar sign of Jyeshta. According to vedic astrology, this full moon takes place in the ending degrees of Scorpio.

Jyeshta literally means "The Eldest." All the world's 'elders' are being given a protection and power during this month's full moon. This power is intimately linked to the simple connection that elders maintain with natural law. In older civilizations, the ruling class went to great pains to maintain their 'favor' with the unseeable powers that be, (or in today's parlance, maintaining their inner peace), by performing penances and sacrifices. This in turn ensured their ability to protect their villages, nations, empires...ensured their ability to 'stave off the dragons.'

In it's highest sense, this moon can heighten the natural protectiveness that you feel toward all those in your care, getting you to take the actions necessary to keep yourself fit to protect and defend.

Planning & Scheduling: Living In Accord With The Seasons
All older cultures had their form of an almanac or calendar, and they understood the value in working in accord with the seasons.
In our age of information, we have an unprecedented opportunity to observe earth's seasons with sophisticated instrumentation. These seasons are determined by the movements of the earth with her moon around the sun, and the relationships between all the heavenly bodies sharing our central star. All of this affects life on earth. Understanding the relative movements of planets can help you tend to your life, as a farmer would heed the seasons and the weather to tend his crops.

Full moon on June 11, New Moon on June 25
The two weeks of the waxing Moon leading up to Sunday, June 11 are good for initiating important projects, and achieving goals you've set for yourself. The two weeks of the waning Moon from June 11 to June 25 are a time to ease up, go inward, rebuild, and gather energy. The day of the new moon, Sunday June 25, is particularly powerful for meditation, and silence.

The astrological landscape includes Mercury moving into his own sign of Gemini, on June 1st until June 21st, which finds us mentally exploring all our options and possibilities.

The sidereal Sun joins Mercury in Gemini on June 16 and stays there until July 17, getting us to lighten up and be a little more playful.

Venus is in Aries for the 1st half of the month and in Taurus starting on June 19. Venus in Aries gets us all feeling the urge to burst outside and enjoy summer, while Venus in Taurus slows down into relishing summer's sensual enjoyments.

Mercury is direct from March 25, 2006 until July 4, 2006.
(Mercury goes retrograde from July 4, 2006 until July 28, 2006.)

Do while Mercury's direct:
Initiate new business ventures; sign contracts; get things printed and released; get all dealings with bureacratic institutions finalized before Mercury goes retrograde.
Wait to do until Mercury's retrograde:
reconnect with old friends; revisit old ideas; edit and review art projects, writing projects, photo albums; clean up your hard drive.

Transiting Saturn with Mars square transiting Venus opposite Jupiter:
Monday, 5 June through Wednesday, 7 June, 2006
Energetically, there is support during this time for getting the legwork done on creative projects or celebratory events. If you can just let the progress oriented Saturn/Mars pair influence the situation and power through the work, you'll likely have fun in the process, and have something to show for it in the end.

Introducing Scott Schwenk: A Rare and Gifted Healer
Scott Schwenk, a true healer, recently guided me through some breathwork that has been powerfully transformative for me. Many of you have asked, "What is the next step - how can I address the patterns you've articulated about my chart?" I highly recommend Scott's transformative breathwork, to anyone looking to energetically shift deeply lodged "issues." Scott walks in integrity as a healer and is able to playfully guide people through (what I experienced as) an accelerated and dramatic healing.

You can easily reach Scott by phone at 310.922.4890

Some background on Scott: Scott Schwenk focuses on teaching his clients the most effective ways to heal themselves, their lives, and others. Born clairaudient, clairvoyant, and clairsentient, Scott uses these gifts to listen beyond the noise and chaos that his clients may be experiencing and help them discover and heal the core issues blocking deeper experiences of love and happiness within. Scott's real gift is in drawing out the deep wisdom innate in each client, bringing about physical, mental, emotional and spiritual rejuvenation.

Scott started training over 12 years ago with a Shiatsu master from India, and continued his training with a number of masters of different modalities. He has studied extensively over the last 12 years with the meditation master Swami Chidvilasananda, and has been extensively trained in the work of healer David Elliott and teacher of enlightenment Brian Nager. He also spent three years training deeply in the processes of ontological transformation (the study of what it is to be human and excel at what is possible in being human) under the auspices of Landmark Education, Inc. Scott's broad training spans the most practical applications of massage to the most esoteric types of energy work.

Scott is currently located in Los Angeles, and travels regularly to New York City, Chicago, Seattle, Portland and other metropolitan areas to offer his work. Sessions can also happen over the phone - call Scott for details.