March 2009

Is there such a thing as absolute Right and Wrong? If there is, who gets to define it? And if it gets defined, does that mean some group needs to enforce it? These are some of the questions being posed by the current planetary line-up. Read on for more explanation...

In Search of the New Ethics Conversations with the Moon The full moon of March takes place on Tuesday, March 10, at 7:39pm Pacific Time, in the lunar sign of Uttara Phalguni. With this highly, highly charged full moon, (Saturn conjoining the Moon, and Neptune, Mars, Mercury, and Uranus with the Sun) we stand amidst crumbling institutions, with very different ideas among ourselves about how, exactly, to respond. This lunar cycle highlights the discourse of social change. A primary developmental learning available during this lunar cycle has to do with letting go of judgment. This involves tolerance and compassion and a big whopping helping of humor. It might help to contemplate this idea: Is it possible that Love exists whether we follow the rules or not? Outdated codes of Right and Wrong begin to fall away, as we simultaneously commit even more deeply to the integrity of our own Compassion. Keep your mind on your vision for the world, amidst all the rhetoric swirling about. Unless of course you're a politician, lawyer, preacher, or writer, in which case you might want to break up periods of rhetoric production with long walks so you don't end up missing the forest for the trees ;) Write this day/time into your calendar: Thursday, March 26 at 9:07am Pacific Time. With the new moon in the lunar sign "Uttara Bhadra," some economic rainmakers (private parties) may attempt jumpstarting the economy. In the U.S., we may begin looking seriously at alternatives to agribusiness. Individually, we have the possibility of being more in tune with the "collective unconscious," for better or worse.

Planning & Scheduling Living in Accord with the Seasons Venus travels retrograde from March 6 until April 17. Recently we've been graced with a bright Venus in the night sky. Venus will begin dipping down closer to the horizon over the next few weeks, and at the end of the month, we'll begin seeing Venus as a morningstar for a couple weeks. Venus' retrograde motion will prompt many of us to introspect over the true nature of compassion and kindness. Mars moves into Aquarius from March 8 until April 15, joining Uranus and Neptune in that sign, as well as opposing Saturn in Leo. The addition of the planet of energy and aggression and drive to this already loaded opposition, makes us all feel compelled to take part in tearing down an old social structure and building a new one. From March 5 - 22, Mercury is also in the Aquarius soup along with Uranus, Neptune and Mars, symbolizing much passion, energy, and yes even aggression in our communications. Try to avoid making anyone else "wrong" by what you say. Tempers are likely to flare, and feelings are likely to be hurt. Use Venus' energy of diplomacy to find a gentle way to speak your truth. If you're very, very motivated to do something great for the planet, expose yourself to Marshall Rosenberg's methods of Non-Violent Communication. Jupiter stays behind in Capricorn, continuing the nation's crisis of confidence, and still we will gain courage and hope through action. Saturn and Uranus continue their opposition by sign until April. Here's an example of true Uranian spirit, taken from some mischievous philosophical rebels in their writings entitled Principia Discordia: Greater Poop: Are you really serious or what? Malaclypse the Younger: Sometimes I take humor seriously. Sometimes I take seriousness humorously. Either way it is irrelevant. GP: Maybe you are just crazy. Mal: Indeed! But do not reject these teachings as false because I am crazy. The reason that I am crazy is because they are true. GP: Is Eris true? Mal: Everything is true. GP: Even false things? Mal: Even false things are true. GP: How can that be? Mal: I don't know man, I didn't do it.

Poem #1263 by Emily Dickinson Tell all the truth but tell it slant - Success in Circuit lies Too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth's superb surprise As Lightning to the Children eased With explanation kind The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind

March 2008

Does it feel to you like things are heating up, speeding up, and that the stakes are rising? Can you sense a collective urgency to get a lot of evolutionary work underway? To me, the feeling is similar to when you finish grade school and move on to high school - you know that the nasty smell in your desk, and your beefs about the lunches they serve in the cafeteria, etc., are going to be irrelevant when you get to the new school. So it's kind of necessary and easy to let go of a lot of things, all at once. I'm noticing this lately in my work with clients. That many of us are shedding skins we know will be irrelevant for the time to come. Happy springtime. Enjoy the promise of new life that it brings.

Planning & Scheduling Living in Accord with the Seasons The Sun moves into vedic Pisces, ending his dosey-doe with Saturn, bringing a return to imagination and inspiration, as contrasted with last month's focus on work and responsibility. Venus joins the Sun in Pisces in April. Part of us seems to want to go straight for forgiveness and understanding. Mercury is also in Pisces, from Mar. 31 until Apr. 15, letting us float in a gentle ocean of tolerance for a couple weeks. The Mars Pluto opposition, although on the wane, hangs in the full moon air as it forms a grand cross with the Sun and Moon. This configuration is liable to represent an inner mandate to come to terms with our own contradictions. We'll be tempted to figure it all out by putting our thinking caps on, but in the end will need to allow what is, to be. Jupiter in Sag continues his opposition by sign, to Mars in Gemini through the end of April, bringing abundant energy for new ideas. This period might bring balance between your many interests; and a healthy tension between developing competency in many things at once versus tying them all together. Uranus and Saturn continue to travel in opposite signs in the sky, a dance they will do for the next 4 years or so. This represents our collective questioning of the rigidity in tradition and scrutinizing the naivete in innovation. Mercury and the Sun move into Aries mid-April, bringing with them a surge of energy to get back outside, burst into action, get the show on the road! Neptune conjoins Rahu in Aquarius for the last week in April and the first week in May, creating an actual weather possibility around unusually strong thunder and lightning storms, and stormy seas. Maybe postpone the boat cruise?...

Full Moon of Prosperity Conversations with the Moon This month, the full moon takes place on Friday, March 21st, at 11:40am PDT, in the vedic lunar sign of Uttara Phalguni. This lunar sign is connected to prosperity, a hot topic for us here in the United States, at this time. Part of this particular constellation's wisdom has to do with forming worthwhile alliances, and this may be a key to prosperity for many of us in these upcoming months. Perhaps we're being asked to slightly back off our collective insistence on having our own car, our own expensive tools, our own kitchens and food larders. Perhaps we're seeing the benefits to ourselves, our partners and the earth, in pooling resources. Perhaps we're reclaiming an innate human interest in service to something larger than ourselves, and putting that into practice first at home, with our loved ones. The tricky part comes in as we learn not to repeat the same mistakes of "codependency" of previous generations in this regard where pooling resources is concerned, instead witnessing the pendulum swing to a state of empowered co-operation. Editorial correction: Last month's Beacon incorrectly called February's lunar eclipse a partial one. It was a total lunar eclipse. Hope you got to see that awe-inspiring sight. Next total lunar eclipse: Dec. 2010.

What Birds Plunge Through Is Not the Intimate Space by Rainer Maria Rilke What birds plunge through is not the intimate space in which you see all forms intensified. (Out in the Open, you would be denied your self, would disappear into that vastness.) Space reaches from us and construes the world: to know a tree, in its true element, throw inner space around it, from that pure abundance in you. Surround it with restraint. It has no limits. Not till it is held in your renouncing is it truly there.