Is gravity really a generic force? I don't think so! (here's proof?)

(Just another re-post from Witchy Living--this one is a synapse-melter.)

It's raining today. I work outside--painting; so I have the day off. 11am and I am already bored. So naturally I did what any self-respecting Thing 1" (and yes, I actually have a red Cat in the Hat "Thing 1" tee shirt, which I adore) troublemaker would do when they found themselves bored on a rainy day:

I went over to the NASA website and pestered there astrophysicists with the following question:

Is gravity REALLY a "generic" force?

Gravity is thought to be a generic force.

But is it?

I am having serious doubts about this. If so, why do clusters of stars not simply collapse under their combined gravitational pull? What if elements in various states create a variable? Example: instead of Gg (generic gravity) the formula was more like Gaa, Gab, Gca; where (the composition/state) of elements times density times mass created shades almost undetectable by previous measurements, but while refusing to combine to create one giant wavelength of gravity, instead created a narrow-band spectrum of gravitational pull? I apologize for not having better terminology to explain my thoughts on this. But in this way stars would collectively tug on each other, but not massively gang up and slam into each other. Thanks for reading.

So I sent them that question--and that makes me happy. Stoopid lousy eggheads. What do they know after all, anyway?

You are "God." Am I wrong?

(This is a re-post of a discussion I started on Witchy Living that I liked so much I thought i'd repost it here, since WL is a private board.)

I was about to call it a night when I received an email from some "Law of Attraction" guru with the following headline:

Recently one of Neale Donald Walsch’s daily messages included the comment “You Are God”.

I have been saying that for decades. I think this Neale guy may have heard someone quote me. Actually my line would be "I am 'God'," and when other people would shriek in horror I would take my right index finger and jab them in the sternum with a short, sharp, shoving motion and say "and YOU are 'God,' and you, and you," going down the line. But this is not about whether there are in fact one or more "supreme entities" or "super" happy helpers. This is about who makes the decisions in your head.

I don't know about you, but I decide what color "red" is, and what chocolate tastes like (it tastes like magic!). I decide what rules I will follow, and what philosophies I will believe. At one point I CHOSE to believe in the whole Jesus mythos, but then I started looking at facts and testing out "whether magic really worked or not." Fortunately this phase began when I was still a pre-teen. You may be more tolerant of screaming baby idiots who refuse to hear anything but their own religious opinions shouted throughout their worlds (the perceptual area around them). Me? I am sick and tired of stupid people DECIDING that they are so pathetic and worthless that they must slavishly bow to an invisible entity (versus, say, respecting, dancing with, conversing with, loving, ignoring, shouting at, or simply "realizing there is nothing to do any of the preceding to" if that is how they happen to feel). It is not the fact that sheople (sheep people) are dumb. It's that they are so prevalent, and desperately afraid that anyone might discover the fact that they are wrong.

So, to me, magic is about accessing (insert preferred name or label here) whatever your path is. You can be accessing nature or Nature, your Buddha-nature, (Hindu) Godhead, (Huna) Godhead, God and Goddess, the fey, Loa, ancestors, animal spirits, or any other entity or energy you bond with. But inside of you it is just that: you. I adore the fact that everyone here celebrates (______) and accesses (______) through (______) and that this is an important part of your life, and that you feel comfortable enough to come here and share YOUR vision of (______) and magic with the rest of us.

YOU (inside you) is unique and special, but through your interaction with (______) you connect with all of us in our interaction with (you know who, or is it "whom"?). I appreciate that everyone here, at least to my knowledge, is comfortable with their own "divinity" (just a generic term, please substitute one you like better if need be) and can sidestep getting hung up on the misconceptions that somehow we are all flawed and need mommy and daddy in the sky to wipe our butts every five minutes.

So here's to you. YOU make the rules. You decide which rules you will follow, and most important, you decide how magic works and what steps you have to take to get results in your world (that area around you that includes everything you can personally perceive).

Thanks for being you.

Happy Birthday Sun! (Yule 2009 and YOU)

Hate xmas? (even if you don't) Here is an alternative that is MORE POWERFUL! And you can use it right now!

The sun will turn a "squillion" (thanks VSL! :-) years old on the 21st (next Monday). Actually, the cycle of the sun being as far south as it can get, and thus "starting the year" only goes back as far as there were people to see it all, so let's say about 10,000 years. No matter what path you follow, or what traditions your path dictates, at the very foundation of it all is the fact that it is still "the beginning of the year," and "the sun's (~10,000th-ish) birthday."

Birthdays are a great time to sit down and measure your life. Actually, sabbats and esbats are a great time to measure you life (every 8.5 weeks or so is a steady progress report system that will be covered in an upcoming book), but for now, let's just stick with something everyone can do. Once a year, after all of the anticipation and/or depression, the day and presents and ice cream all come and go. Now you have "you." What have you accomplished so far? Who are you? Where are you at in life?

An age-measurement birthday is a good catch-all progress check to see if you are happy where you are, with what you are doing, and where you are going. It is a great time to see whether you have accomplished what you set out to, and how far you are from your ideal life. Magical birthdays are an even better time for measuring progress, as they specifically relate to decisions YOU have made about your life. Magical birthdays can help you refine your direction, study habits and even topics you want to be knowledgeable about (this year).

This Yule, in addition to whatever celebration you have planned, I hope you will celebrate it as a magical birthday as well, looking back at your path as Monday approaches, and see where you have been, what you have learned and shared with others, and decide what you REALLY WANT from 2010. We all know the power of attaching growth to a new moon. Well, at this time you can make a wish with a "new sun" soon to be waxing for an entire 6 months! With Saturn fresh in Libra, the gods are decreeing this year to be one of "responsible partnerships." You can get physical help in achieving your goals this year simply by being open to it. If you design your major spell work and wishcasting around this, you will be flooded with help from others (some more reliable than others).

I am asking anyone reading this to seriously consider taking time between now and Yule (Monday) and reflecting on your magics and magical path. is it working for you? How can you make it more personal to you, or make your magic stronger? Is there anyone here who can help you make progress to your goals? This is a very special time in history. We have the freedom to assemble and the time to decide how we choose to invest our time (current life). We have a supportive group that is free of drama and assholes. You have access to friends and resources and tools, techniques, and information--24 hours a day--at your convenience.

I have wasted a lot of birthdays already. I am not wasting this one (Monday), and I hope you do not either. By knowing where you have been and what you have done, and really absorbing the reality of that, you can compare that to who you are now and where you want to be next year; and in doing so see a clear path to your goals--and you have help if you like. How often do we get a chance to stop and look around, and see where we are at?

Okay, so that's my idea to help make this Yule part of a giant year-long magical growth spell for you. In Summer you can work with the waning sun to "draw to you" anything you did not acquire during your expansion phase, and strip away any unwanted baggage. Thoughts anyone?

December 31st **Blue moon eclipse** spell ideas

So we have a blue moon on the 31st. But, this is no ordinary blue moon, and you should consider how you will capture the energy of this night to make not only 2010 great, but banish ALL of the garbage of the last decade from your life (while keeping the good stuff). Here is why THIS December 31st is special, and what you can do to get some of that for yourself:

First, a little background . . .

TIME magazine ran, as their cover this month, a crying New Years baby and labelled this as "The Decade That Sucked!", and they were spot-on. This has been a difficult birth of the most anticipated millennium in history. It's like the millennium was born with colic. Birth is an interesting way to look at this "end of the decade from Hell" as the (blue) moon will be in Cancer, where she is most powerful. This is "baby sun" (as in "New Sun"--it's like a new moon) and MOTHER MOON (she is full, and in Cancer--her strongest sign).

Add to this the fact that this blue moon will be an eclipse (so a very tight full moon--almost dead-center) and we have an especially powerful blue moon on the last day of the year, which is the last day of the first decade of the new millennium (psychologically). What we have here is a "troublesome birth" with a release (full moon in cancer) that vomits itself all over the "time stamp" of 2010.

The short version is that we have a RIPE lunar-solar magical time to cast "new life" magic on the 31st and then cement it by celebrating later that night--with a "kiss off" of 2009 and welcoming of 2010 as the first (baby) steps of your new life, being whatever you wish it to be. You can CHANGE YOUR LIFE IN ONE DAY if you harness this unique energy. In essence: make a wish and see it come to life, like "a second chance to do things the right way."

Spell ideas:
(Pre-Dec 31st) cleansing out old, unwanted crap, abuse, neglect, lack of esteem or confidence.

(On the 31st) any birthing magic with flower buds and fresh herbs that closely resonate with your desires and goals.

(That night)--party like a (Pagan) Rock star.

Recommended spell ingredients: snake shedding--use pre and ON the 31st in your day or afternoon ritual.

The end is near! The end is... well, coming

Okay, so it is official: It is finally summer. The "end of the year" is on its way.

I don't mean the "HOT HOT CAR BUYING DEALS OF THE YEAR!!" Summer that has been going on for a few weeks now--Why is it that auto dealers have to f(***) with our seasons to sell cars? In the middle of spring they declare that it is now summer, and forget Halloween, it's already time for Christmas Extravanganzas!" Puh-lease!

But this is the real summer. It starts today, and 'Sef (Persephone) couldn't be happier. She 'n mom are out playing, so I get to give the update, being stuck here at a computer on a nice sunny day (bleh). Today is officially "solar noon." The (solar--the only one that really counts) year that started last Yule (it's that holiday a few days before xmas) at "solar midnight" is exactly half-over tonight. How are those New Years resolutions you set about to on Jan 1? Need a few more months to get to them? Need some more resources?

No problem.

You see, the eightfold year is not just some silly druidic/pagan/Vedic set of hippy-holidays. It is part and parcel of an ancient system of goal setting, monitoring, and achieving. It is no secret (except to those monotheists too stubborn to open their eyes and see the "Truth") that the earth breathes, that we have something called "s-e-a-s-o-n-s" (pronounced: see--zons) that readily show the change of energies that are happening in real time on the planet. These "seasons" can be broken down into triads of the beginning, climax, and dissolution of each season, allowing for further examination. The ancients had several names for all of this, depending on where you studied, but today, we in the heathen capitalistic pig-dog Western World call it "astrology." It's not about reading some newspaper or magazine blurb to see what will happen to you today (although that never gets old). It is about understanding the ground you are standing on, the air you breathe, and the idiots you have to deal with on a daily basis.

We look to the MAP, or CLOCK in the sky to see what time it is, not to see "what is raining down on us" like drops of water. Imagine a rain drop falling. It was "born" seconds before it smacked you in the eye (which should teach you to stare up at the sky during a rainstorm!). Thus your experience of it differs from it's creation stamp. Similarly, the effect we see in astrology is not some strange radiation beaming at up like some gigantic laser in space; it is merely a visual reference, just like when we see the sun at "noon" (which was really 8 minutes ago--oh go ask your astrophysicist--I am tired of explaining every little detail).

So today is noon, and you (we all) have roughly 8 and a half weeks until the next festival or major milestone. I once heard scientists were trying to work out a "Metric day" (Ten hours to a day, each hour divided by ten, and so on). That may work in space, but right now we are working off of a base 12 system for a reason. But let's say our years was a base 8. That means 8 seasons a year, instead of 12. Okay, so that makes no sense, right? Well how about we divide our 4 seasons in half and get 8 sub-seasons, each 8 1/2 weeks (or so) long.

Why, oh why would we want to complicate our lives with all of this? We have STUFF to do, and STUFF is important. Everyone knows that! We don't have time for silliness and falderal (or folderol, if you prefer)! What is this nonsense of 8 holidays a year?

Well, you see, each of our 4 seasons has a beginning and an end-point that match up nicely to the other seasons. When it stops being spring it is officially summer. There is no gap. But there is also a "middle of spring," and a "middle of summer," and everyone knows what the middle of fall (the "FALL" of the solar year) is. It's Halloween, silly! So we have the "mid-points" or "purest parts" of each season: Imbolg, Samhain (or "Halloween"), Beltane, Lammas, (Lamas are cool!), and then we have the 2 equinoxes and 2 solstices (the beginning/endings of each season).

Imagine a rainbow: We want some green from that rainbow, but green is a secondary color; made from yellow and blue. We can take from the start of green, on the yellow side, but that is all yellowy-green, and looks like baby vomit--no thank you! We certainly don't want "sea green," that bluish green stuff at the other end of the green spectrum. What we want is smack-dab in the very middle of green--Halfway between yellow and blue. "Pure Green."

THAT is what a mid-point of a season is. Today is 1/2 spring and 1/2 summer. We call if summer, but it is really that point between red and yellow we call "orange." Each day we will get more yellow and less red, until we hit Lammas, or "mid-summer" in about 8 and a half weeks. This is important to understand for so many reasons, but none of them will be covered in depth here. But we will yap a bit about what you can do with this:

Today "summer" begins. The sun (by our point of view) crosses the equinox and starts heading south for the winter--just like Daffy Duck. At "Yule" (3 days before xmas) it will get about as far south as it cares to go, and it will start the long climb back north. but for the next 6 months it is "goin' south." This is a time of days getting shorter, which makes nights longer, air gets colder--although you would never know that in the heat of August. To make the most of this time--to "swim downstream," and thus get freebies just for waking up every day (it's like the tooth fairy leaving you money every morning just before dawn) you need to work on your teamwork, "pull together," and all of that. Share times with good friends, and make plans to finish out the year by finishing what you started. Save for xmas, a little at a time, while you HAVE time. Look ahead and see what you want next year to be and make it your goal to make THIS YEAR a solid foundation for that. Give yourself a lot of resources for next year. Think small goals toward a big project.

You have 8 and a half weeks to complete _______. At that point it will be time to measure your progress, check and see what you did right, what you screwed up, and what you want to do about all of it. At that point are you still interested in what you set about now? 8 and a half weeks is an incredibly short amount of time, but it is just enough time to really get into a good project. A week goes by so quickly, and there is bound to be a day or two that just gets completely taken away by details or circumstance. But 8 weeks and change gives you a few "extra" days to cover for all of that. It also has you working WITH the flow of energy that is radiating all around you. This is not about religion or demons or what YOU call "God." It is about common sense timing and productivity.

You don't screw around with your sleep schedule willy-nilly. You have a set time to go to bed and a set time to wake, and things to do during the day (and/or night) and you DO THEM. Astrological timing is no different. you get 8 periods of the year to accomplish anything you like, and yo can break those 8 periods down into 12 periods (by sign), or (monthly), or 13 periods (by moon) as you like; or you can expand them to incorporate into the triads of the year or seasons (4 of those) and at every point draw from the free energy that is all around you, waiting to help you. No one in their right mind thinks that solar energy is demonic (except for greedy oil executives perhaps), and this energy is no different. It is (get ready...) "n-a-t-u-r-a-l." i know that a lot of this is anathema to some of you, and that is really too bad, but it is time to clean the shit (yes, I said "s-h-i-t") out from between your ears, and start seeing reality as it is, not through some fantasy that someone brainwashed you into believing.

The Earth breathes, and seasons change, and the energy that flows around us IS all around us, and it doesn't stop flowing, whether you personally believe it or not. Today is noon. You have 6 months until midnight. What will YOU do with YOUR life? Will you help make this world (and your life on it) better? or will you just pass another 2 seasons waiting for xmas?

Patience--my butt!!

Aaarrrgh!!

So Mercury is finally direct (a few days now). Wow. Really? Can you tell? If you haven't seen an e'splosion of frenetic activity and new ideas you are not alone. Schitzophrenic, crackling-with-energy Merc is slogging its way through Taurus. Ugh! 

This is like Flash (the really fast superhero) wading through a tar pit. Slow, sticky, goo. That's what my brain feels like. Señor Sun has already entered Gemini, and is happily traipsing through Spring on the way to the Summer Solstice (in a few weeks), the highest point on his path; the longest day of the year: high noon (in a solr year kind of way). The sun is big and bad and full of energy, and **also** happens to be in sporatic Gemini, while Merc is stuck in--Taurus. Jail. Hell. Walled off in a prison like Arthur's sword. 

Auntie Venus says to Merc, "Oh, you're not going anywhere soon you slippery devil," and trapps him (or "it," if you prefer) in her feminine sign whil she goes shopping (she's probably finding good bargains too, since Merc is in Taurus after all). What this means to us (you) of course is that collectively and individually our brains are genrally moving a bit slower, things that could save us time are not being remembered, and we are learning the values of (get ready for it)...

"Patience."

I have two words for this, the first one begins with a capital "f" and the second one ends with patience.

This is absurd and I want people to know that it is not them (you), it's them (not you--or "the gods are being jerks again").

In a few days (well the solar calendar says a few days--experientially this will feel more like a month!) Merc finally digs his way out of Taurus, Monte Christo style, and slams into Gemini (home sign--baby!!) and will light up the sky like a lightning strike. Of course the rest of us will probaby all be so doped up on forced stupidity* that we will all start bumping into each other.

So we have the sun filling us with frantic fidgetiness (I just made that word up) and Merc is standing around with his (or "it's")  head in the sand (literally!) while we are hopped up on solar caffeine. I don't know about you but this is driving me nuts! I am working on two new books, one which I have had to set aside until 2010, whether I like it or not, and a new divination tool (major project), and of course trying to get inspired to promote the new Tarot book (okay thre's a plug), and my brain refuses to work! I sit down at the computer with a triple dose of Starbucks and . . .

. . . 

. . . nothing so far. 

Keep in mind that Venus is still in Aries, so everyone wants to scrap--just give anyone you know a shove (and then duck!) and you will see the social tension/coiled energy--which is not nessisarily negative of course--just under the surface. Jupiter and Neptune are conjoined (Saimese Twins) in Aquarius, all buzzing with "hope" and "change," and electric energy on some ethereal wavelength (probably interfering with high-frequency communications), and the moon is flitting from sign to sign like a social butterfly at Prom.

So where does this leave us? I forgot. Mercury is still in Taurus and my brain hurts from using so many big werds. 5 more days. 5 more days! If I keep saying this it will get stuck in my head (Taurs=pattern formation).

Bleh :-p

*Note to those born when Mercury was/is in Taurus. I did not just call you stupid. I am angry that Mercury went retrograde in Taurus. I would complain if Merc went backwards in Cancer, Pisces, Scorpio (even though no one would ever find out), or if my pizza was 30 minutes late. I need to rant right now. You should too.

Why May 1st 2009 is important to YOU

Remember those things you promised to do, way back on December 31^st? Those “resolutions” that were going to make THIS YEAR better than any other, or at least better than last year. Yeah, those. How’s that working out? Hopefully you are on your way with full sails, the wind at a pleasant 7 o’clock (behind and slightly to the left), and no obstacles within sight for miles.

For the rest of us, life has stepped in with little details (and sometimes rather large details) that have done their best to distract us from our goals and passions. This is the beauty of existence. No matter who you are, how powerful, rich, or beautiful, life will fling poo at you. To stay on course to your goals, you must have a chart, a compass, and milestones (which are sometimes difficult to come by out at sea). In other words, we can all learn a thing or two from a sailor. When you set out from port it is easy to say “I am going to sail to the West Indies,” by way of circumnavigating the globe, and end up bumping into some hitherto undiscovered continent along the way. While this worked out (in hindsight) for a hapless Genoese navigator, it often spells defeat for most people. Look: we (that would be you and I) need signposts along the way to our goals to keep us motivated and from wandering off target and ending up somewhere completely different from where we thought we were going to be at the end of the day.

But daily life is more like sailing the open seas, with only the sun and stars to guide you, than it is like traveling a well-worn path, especially now that we have collectively managed to sell our destinies for the ease and convenience of corporate welfare. Face it, few of us actually chart our own course in life as much as we glom on to some opportunity and stick with that, while wishing for something better. It is the dirty little secret of a global society, that with every possible life-path open to us for the first time in history, we mostly choose the easy way of working for someone else while we save up to buy toys to make our lives a bit more bearable.

Gone are the grueling hardships of pioneering and of new adventures every day. We are sedate and happily so in our world of TV and work. But what if you who are reading this wants something more from life? And I don’t mean that “something more” promised by internet marketers or “The Secret” insta-gurus who have suddenly found enlightenment through someone else’s book/product and now want to sell you their secret. You know what you want your life to be—and only you can make it so, with or without the help of friends and investors (of time, resources, and/or money).

Well, if you have a passion to get out there and DO SOMETHING with your life this year, this is the right time to be awake and alive. May 1^st is coming and it is a second chance to make 2009 great.

May 1^st is the traditional “middle of Spring,” and it is a time of great celebration and even greater fertile energies. Take this ONE DAY to reflect and remember what you set out to do at the beginning of the year and measure your progress to date. Now is the time to make course corrections and reenergize your batteries. I will skip the astrological and metaphysical jargon and reasoning, as knowing it will not help you empower YOUR goals any more than DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT, so let’s just get down to business. On May 1^st, or even the 2^nd or 3^rd, should you read this late, you will still be able to size up your life, your progress to date, and your goals, and change your direction, as needed, to realign yourself with your passions.

Can’t you do this any day of the year? Of course you can, but few of us do this at all, even at New Year’s. There are set dates along the solar wheel (a.k.a. “year”) that magnify your personal efforts, as long as they are conducive to your overall goals and desires. Think of it as swimming downstream in a river. Don’t be a salmon! Go “with the flow.” It’s simple math, really: If Johnnie is swimming at 5 miles per hour DOWNSTREAM and the current is rushing along at 15 miles per hour, how fast is he going? Answer: Not nearly as fast as Michael Phelps, but who cares? Johnnie is getting 15mph (or 3 times his effort) of free “push” because Johnnie is SMART.

Johnnie knows how and when to assess his goals and his progress and when to make course corrections, so that he does not end up far off his chosen path.

Okay, so you have no time for this: You just want to know why May 1^st is so damned important, and what you can do that will REALLY MAKE A CHANGE in your life—right now:

Take at least 3-4 hours and a pad of paper, to help you focus. Tell your boss you have the flu. Just get some time for yourself. And… THINK! Think about what moves you—what you really wish you WERE doing rather than what you convince yourself that what you are doing is actually helping you arrive at some chosen destination. Pick one major goal, or 2-3 small goals that you have in mind to achieve this year and do some basic visualization, window-shopping, detailed planning, or whatever method your conscious mind adheres to. This part is imperative, because your subconscious won’t listen to what I tell it to do, it will listen to what YOU tell it to do; and that is the voice of reason, that voice that comes naturally to you through your personal brain chemistry. Your preferred problem-solving techniques work best to instill information into your subconscious, not some faux guru’s pre-packaged self-help seminar verbiage. If you just don’t get this, email me and we will talk.

So, you take some time THIS day and re-stamp the message you want your subconscious to pick up on. You re-prioritize, whether you feel “ready" or not. This is part of aligning your P.M.E. You can’t just “think happy thoughts” and expect the “Law of Attraction” to suddenly magnetize you to everything you desire. You have to start by realigning your priorities mentally. They ARE priorities because they affect you emotionally, so you have 2 of 3 already in process. This is the core secret of manifestation. The rest is repetition, timing, and helpful tools (affirmations, utilizing things like herbs and colors to help synchronize your desires with your goals, and so on).

Start by taking time THIS DAY and getting you head right. Then open your mind to the possibilities around you. Follow-up over the next 4 weeks by picking a day (e.g. "every Tuesday after work, from 4-5 pm over a glass of wine") where you will SERIOUSLY spend 30 minutes to an hour (or more) measuring your progress, realigning with your goals (mentally) and looking for possible opportunities. IF YOU DO THIS CORRECTLY you will see results. It is not HARD. It is simply a focus you need to start with.

For more details, or in-depth lessons on manifestations, see ANY of the following:

How to get ANY MAN to do ANYTHING You Want!

The Easiest way to Learn the Tarot—EVER!!

Aphrodite’s Book of Secrets (coming fall 2009)

Okay, it’s late. If I missed anything, comment and I will get to it. Thanks for reading.

 

 

Knowing the future is not controlling it

Hey kids,

Well it has happened again. If any of you have been following me on Twitter @AstrologyLesson or @TarotSecrets, you have read several admonitions and warnings I have been issuing. "Be careful, these are extraordinarily difficult times, but ones that will pass quickly; like a sudden violent squall that spends itself in minutes, washing the unprepared away with it as it passes."

I just got word that someone 2 degrees of separation from me just died in a violent car crash, leaving a wife and a two year old daughter. This is right after I shouted at everyone to "drive safely today!" Saying "I told you so," just doesn't seem appropriate here. What does is another warning to all of my friends, colleagues, and to our students, that you have an amazing ability to see into the future, and to change it intelligently, rather than allow circumstance to shove you around like a bully (or a seductress, depending on the day). But you can't save everyone; and eventually that fact will come back and bite you on the ass--hard. It is best to know this up front and to adopt a certain sense of fatalism when considering the whole of reality.

Astrology measures the energies of everything around us: the psychic weather (a simplistic term, but one that helps the public understand, without too much wordy explanation), and each element that bears the stamp of its creation. Astrology is not fatalistic. It is dynamic: we ARE what we are (after all, we have to start somewhere) and we evolve into what we become based on our desires, priorities, preferences, biases, and that old devil circumstance. We swim through the Zuvuya and we affect it as surely fish pollute the waters they swim in, drinking in whatever the water in their stream contains. But we as professional diviners and teachers stand above and outside the common, even as we frolic in it. We SEE. We change, and we must accept that sometimes, despite our best intentions the gods will surely laugh at us, slap us around, and kick us down the street (after stealing our lunch money) for reasons far to complex for our individual minds to comprehend. Of course this is why religion is so popular.

Don't be afraid of the future; no matter what you see. Good things happen. Bad things happen. But as always, "good" and "bad" are merely self-righteous alternate labels for "pleasing" and "non-pleasing." At the end of the day all we can do is gather our sticks, calculate the wind, and toss them into the air for the winds to carry as they will. We can practice (and we should) until the cows come home, but circumstance is made of the collective energies of everyone and everything around us pooping in the Zuvuya, even as it flows, ebbs, and changes directions according to rules far beyond our grasp, no matter how much we study.

Make a wish TODAY (or tomorrow)

Okay, so this is really last minute--sorry, I have been swamped with "day job' drama (like most people).

There is a stellium you need to be aware of right now: Venus and Mars at 29 degrees Pisces, and Uranus and the Moon both at 24 degrees Pisces. By the time you read this the moon will have moved on. If you catch the moon BEFORE is explodes into Aries you can make a wish and keep focusing on it until the new moon. I am being sparse on the why's and the how's for now due to a shortage of time to get this out, and the low number of people who will probably get this information in time.

THIS  IS  ONE  TIME  IN  YOUR  LIFE  YOU  CAN  ACTUALLY  MAKE  A  WISH!

(and expect it to come troo!)

This is a very rare occurance, and you should write down what you want in as little detail as possible (2-3 sentences) and then expand on that into a paragraph. Be specific, and be detailed, but do so with a conciseness that makes it easy to read and remember, to pinpoint EXACTLY what you desire, without the distractions of ancillary fluff. Let those be considered "obvious" for now.

Burn your candles, pray, toss your chickens, make teas, incenses, or oils, whatever your personal system of manifestation has you do; but fo-cus! Focus on your wish fullfilment until April 25th, and if you really want to kick some ass, give it a full moon cycle (new to new), starting fresh on the 25th (after 4pm London time, or UDT or even GMT--don't write me hatemail about subtle differences--just DO it!)

The point is that you have less then 24 hours to get in on the good stuff. Make a wish and prraaaaay! Chant, dance and sing. Call down the moon. Call up Pazuzu. But get a passion (fire in yer belly) for something and get ON it! If you make a sincere wish RIGHT NOW and focus on it for the next few days, you have a VERY good chance of getting it--even if you are a "beginner at this stuff." Send questions to http://www.twitter.com/AstrologyLesson

Then post a comment here and let us all know what you got, so we can sponge off of you :-)

Personal publishing will rule us all (like a tyrant!)

Hi gang, I am toying with retitling self-publishing to personal publishing, as it more correctly reflects what is happening in the world today. Not to worry, I am not about to don an ascot and consider myself part of the literati simply because I recognize that the trend of taking control of one's future publishing fate in the midst of a culture war. I simply believe this will help reset the way we think of books that are not pit out by one of the "major" (or "top 6") publishing houses.

Publishing feudalism is dying. The monarchies have cannibalized themselves over and again, buying, selling, being bought, and falling victim to the ultra-conservative "profit über alles" mentality that strips all meaningful creative progress (and soul) from the marketplace over time. Short-term gain has replaced the dedication to presenting and preserving quality thought and fine literary expression. The response to this is natural.

The world breathes. Tides ebb and flow. Seasons rotate in an unending cycle. More dualistically, pendulums swing (back and froth, back and forth). The rise of the "self-publisher" is the rise of successful self-publishing that dates decades back to successful mail order. "How to Pick Up Girls" would never have made it in bookstores in the 19080's but found a huge market in mail order, with full page ads running in national magazines that appealed to guys. That one book has sold over 2 million copies (some to most copies at $20 a piece), making a nice pile of change for the self-published author. Let me reiterate. That is $40 million the author created off of just one book--on picking up girls. That is his money! It did not go to retailers and publishers and agents. he opened up the cash drawer and backed the dump truck in and piled money until the drawer was overflowing.

The story of the successful self-publisher is an American icon. The story is told again and again in endless names, some authors selling out to traditional publishers, and others remaining quietly famous and insanely wealthy from their efforts. Multi-millionaires you would not recognize because they are not on TV.

But self-publishing success has naturally led to a self-publishing support industry. Just as the vanity press industry's greed killed the goose that laid those wonderful eggs, the opening grew for low-cost assistance to self-publishers. "Need a book printed? We can do it cheap!" Or, "How about distribution?' The services available to today's "self-publishers," which now refer to small publishing start-ups, authors with one or two titles, authors who use the services of assistance publishing companies such as CreateSpace.com and BookSurge.com, lulu.com, and more intensive operations like OutSkirts Press, is a booming market. It has been said that during gold rush, the smartest way to wealth is to sell picks and shovels.

Well, someone is listening to that wisdom. If 80% of Americans want to write a book (statistically quoted time and again), then the market for book publishing assistance will end up overwhelming the efforts of "traditional publishing" to stem the tide. Brick and mortar bookstores become less and less integral to the distribution of books, and "self-publishers" become personal publishers, issuing one book or more, and of ever-increasing quality. This may be the best time in history to be an editor.

To survive the rising tide of personal publishing, brick and mortar booksellers MUST remain a viable entity by becoming havens for reading and discussion. They must replace the coffeehouse as the cultural melting pot. Less individual copies of more titles is the order of the day, and books must be able to be replaced in-stock faster than ever. Not having a title on a shelf spells the death of profit, but languishing titles means that marketing is not being done properly. Titles and authors must be presented to the reading public and in such a way as to help people find authors who they will enjoy, based on their highly individual needs and desires.

Nothing can stop the rise of the personal publisher. But even with millions of new books entering the market over the next few decades, few will ever be read by more than a dozen people. That removes the threat to both the intelligent publisher and the savvy bookstore owner. Titles that are important to the public will always have a demand. Titles being promoted by the author will reach similar sales. But titles written and abandoned can be left online to be ordered "on demand only" to preserve shelf space and sanity.

The current publishing industry is in disarray. The solution is to retain the hard-won wisdom of centuries of professional publishing and bring in new (internet and caffeine-fueled) blood to manage the operations under the guidance of wise leadership. As to the individual authors, we must provide the very best books we can conjure forth, and present them to our core readership. The rest is simply a matter of details. Death to "self-publishing," for "no man is an island unto himself." Long live personal publishing, and the global support-staff that comes with it.

I remain humbly, your typing monkey.

Astro post for March (can't sleep)

Hey kids, 

(disclaimer appears at end of post)

So this Saturn/Uranus oppo thing is affecting the world. Not to worry, I will speak in plain English from this point forward. Pardon the occasional term. 

We are in the blender, that just cannot be denied. The whole Uranus in Pisces era is like someone shaking the jello on a global scale, which has been molded into a pretty, and fairly stable art piece (pick your favorite jello mold). Uranus is weak in Pisces, as Pisces is all squishy and comfy, like a nice fluffy pillow, the same pillow that calls to me even now, like a siren. Shake the pillow. Who cares, right?

If you want to break something, shake something that is brittle or fragile, not a pillow, or a plate of molded jello. So that is what is happening. The economy stinks, but see how we (collectively--NOT individually) are all surviving. Sure, there are cracks in the jello, but the whole of it stays together, as long as no one keeps shaking it (thank you Bernie Madhoff, or whatever your real name is).

What is holding this mess together right now is Saturn in Virgo. Think "big boss from accounting" comes in and reviews everyone's job performance and starts dishing out employee efficiency reports.

(ugh!)

Don't underestimate the power of Satan (oops! I mean Saturn, but really, what’s the difference? Sorry pops :-)  in diminutive Virgo. This is the tyrant with a calculator. Instead of rampaging with an axe, cutting deadwood here and there, now we have a scalpel, a surgeon eviscerating cancerous tissue, cutting hair (and unwanted moles),  emptying bedpans. NOTHING  is safe. This force is unbiased and unfeeling. It is like the Terminator: It does not bargain. It does not feel pity--and it never, ever stops. It will find you.

So here is the classic "clash of the titans." Something about "interesting times" comes to mind. Well, welcome to the big leagues everyone. These are times when heroes and millionaires (heroes or not) are made, and opportunities are to be had, for better or worse. If you watch, you will find ways to change your life practically overnight. Here is how and why:

So the accountant boss is here to correct the massive SNAFU sh--- pile that is Uranus in Jello. This is not preordained; it just feels that way. Call it "luck," but in reality is you live long enough you will see monkeys fly (you will see everything). This clash is the backdrop to our picnic. Whatever we plan, this is the baseline algorithm, or weather pattern that is raining down on us, and I hope you brought an umbrella, because the sh-- is flying.

This will not change any time soon, and it will reach a head in late March and early April. For those who like details, it is not usually the compression (warning astro term ahead: "applying conjunction of two planets”) that causes the damage, it is the rending, or tearing apart the forced bond that was temporarily created. Smash two divergent energies together and hold them there while they struggle to find commonality (this is nature's way), and then slowly peel them apart, unleashing this new, discordant, raw energy, and you have an unpleasant effect on the status quo. Here’s a visual: slowly peel back the rind from a lemon and watch that acidic lemon juice fly outward, in search of eyes to sting and cuts to seep into. Here, the lemon juice is akin to that new discordant energy released when two planets smush together (astrologically) and then are torn apart.

So it will be a nice, slow taffy pull of energies released. During that time we will see all sorts of minor effects buzzing in and out, like flies after the yummy sugar, and that is what will make all of this fun. Faster moving planets will add their effects to this overarching time of pain—er, “change.” Ergo:

The sun is a fixed object (from our perspective). It is also "fixed" energy in astrology. It goes nowhere. It does nothing. It never changes. It burns, and it burns hot, and it doesn't take sh-- from insignificant little pisants like us. The sun is so big and so uncaring and so powerful than as a force we cannot ever stand up to it. The only thing that protects us from the sun is the rotation of the earth ("small doses") and the atmosphere that diffuses its direct-force energies. So the sun does not like to be shaken like a bowl of fiery jello. It does not like it in a box. It does not like it with a fox. It does not like it Sam I am.

But herr Sonne is "in" Pisces (by our standards of observation) at this time, and from our point of view, it is "conjunct" or right next to Uranus. We look up in the sky and see, well we see the sun because it is too big and too bright to see Uranus hiding behind it like a puppet-master. But unseen or not, that devil of change ("agent of chaos" is much more poetic) is there, shaking the jello (er, the sun in Pisces). Think of it like the sun is held next to a giant vibrating thing. The sun is vibrating now—which is does NOT like to do, so we see “unpleasant” results.

The sun (astrologically) represents things that are big and firm and solid and controlling. hmmm... like the global economy, and the government (although Saturn has his hands all over THAT one as well). Think sun=Mayor. Like Mayor Mc Cheese, or that funny mayor in the Nightmare Before Christmas. Now shake him all up like a snow globe.

The sun and Uranus are "twins" at the moment, and for the next week. As the sun moves away from Uranus, it sill be shaken less and less, but right now it is buzzing like a hive of bees—and the world is shaking. We are shaking the tree right now. Fruits (Opportunities) and dead leaves (waste) will fall this year. This is a time of massive benefit and massive pain, depending on what YOU do when your branch gets shaken. You may have to let go and fly. If your life is thrown upside down, consider meeting the change head on and deciding where YOU want to go rather than fighting change with every resource you have, until you have none left.

But back to this sun/Uranus buddy-cop movie thing. Separation anxiety will be brutal, because they are squared off (on the opposite side of the boxing ring from) Uranus in jello, who just happens to be visited by the moon in Pisces. Now THAT is a coincidence, or just really bad timing.

ruh roh!

Okay, so here we have (a long winded rant) Moon/Saturn versus Sun/Uranus. This is like one of those crazy (but so fun to watch!) Lucha Libre matches. This is the main event! Let’s get rrrrrrrready to rrrrrrrrrumble!! Sometimes in professional wrestling you have two "tag team" members who, every fan knows, hate each other. It’s part of the drama that sells (a LOT of) tickets. Half the fun is waiting for the moment when one guy backstabs his partner to win the title belt, and then starts smashing him with a chair. Oh, get over it. We all watch wrestling for the chair, and we all watch Nascar for the crashes, and hockey for the fights.

Well, get your favorite lawn chair (to relax and enjoy the view in, not to smash over someone’s head) and a nice cold beer, because we are all about to have ring-side seats for the first big fight of the century, and you can see it from your back yard. The show is playing out all around us. Did you think the biggest (U.S.) government welfare check in history was an accident? Or that the robber barons being outed is coincidence? For every Madhoff, there are a hundred who actually got away with the money he stole. It is gone and safely tucked away now. But we will see the fireworks, because the boss is here looking for accountability. It doesn't matter whether it is Obama, or some other public figure, or the voice of the masses, someone will be calling these thieves out, and the world will be shaken to its core.

Everything will hold together, like jello; the waves of force are absorbed, spread out omnidirectionally, and everyone gets rattled, and we may all end up speaking Chinese soon (if one subscribes to the theory that we have sold our country to them by borrowing every last dime we could), but that is simply a matter of form. The structure will remain intact, even if our entire system changes.

This is a time of revolution, of "change" (it's not just a slogan, this has been building long before any one election), and a time of great opportunity, IF you can let go of traditional beliefs and ride the cosmic wave. This summer will be a bit bumpy (not to mention how much fun we will have in Spring!) but we can all come out better if we focus on our individual goals and passions, and free ourselves from the limitations that we have been calling "security" all of this time. "Security" is about to get the smack down. I hope you have a set of bolt cutters handy before the hammer falls.

How will this affect you? Well, that all depends on your situation, in your corner of the pond. Waves ripple and spread, so you can't really hide from them (unless you have a nice, large rock to get behind and let that absorb the impact), but change is not always bad. The trick is to grab your board and watch for the wave. Know where you want to go before the wave comes along and pushes you out of your comfort zone. Then hold on tight (survival mode) and steer your course toward your goal, using the momentum of the force of change to do the heavy lifting for you.

If all of this sounds cryptic, just ignore it. Call me crazy, and let's hope that I am. Let's all wake up tomorrow (in 6 months) and sigh that "nothing really happened." But just in case, why not have a plan for what YOU would do if everything around you changed. Just for fun, you know?

Change is coming. Change that is bigger than the internet. What we are not seeing right now is that this is the time when the foundations of society are altered in ways the public will not fully realize for twenty years. Most people will be too busy watching American idol to realize their destiny is being erased and rewritten during this week, this month, and this summer, in that order of importance. You (and I) can hit the reset button on our lives right now, and decide where we want to be, in ways that most generations never get to see. Or you (and I) can ignore it, try to hide from the storm, and pretend that we are in control of our lives when really we are just trying to hide from discomfort. Ben Franklin said something about trading security for liberty once, and that quote has been making the rounds quite a bit last year. It was the cool thing to have on one’s lips. Now, well, we will all have to decide for ourselves what trades we are willing to make. See you in 6 months. Let’s see where we are then. I hope you use this time to grow your life—not just survive it.

(disclaimer) I am too lazy to get the astro blog set up right now, and the new Tarot book is in final editing, so I am just going to post this here, because the weather bothers me, and I need to reflect on what is happening to all of us because of it. I will get back to actual Tarot blogging soon.

 

Happy? Valentine's Day... Well, that depends on your perspective

I am not going to work today. Yeah, boo-hoo, why does it even matter? Stick with me for just a moment and I promise that it will--to you.

I want to go to work today. I need to go to work today. The rain has cost me too much in lost days already, but have you looked outside (above the clouds, deep into space in fact)? In "everyone can understand terms," we have a parade of planets in Aquarius this month. Well, so what, right? Every year Valentine's Day happens on the 14th, deep-in-the-heart-a Aquarius. But this year the Sun, and Mercury, and Mars, and Jupiter (and, and, and, as if that is not enough) are all piled up in one tiny part of the sky (we saw this for the Northridge earthquake in 1994--which I predicted specifically and exactly in Los Angeles, TYVM--but I said it would happen on the 11th, and it happened on the 17th, so I was WRONG on that, and that is sinful enough in itself--but no one else was even thinking L.A. Quake at the time).

The point of this rant is that we have a massive pile-up of Aquarius energy and then, on the other side of the argument fence we have Venus in Aries (oh boy, she's angry today), and the moon in Scorpio--all--day--long. I hope you celebrated your mooshy lovey stuff last night, because today, tonight, and even a bit of tomorrow is ripe for arguments, stalking, violence, obsessive behavior (hey! wait! This is Valentine's Day--right? Happy chocolate day?)

Well, go ahead and shoot the messenger (hmm... bad advice today--someone might just do that!) but this is just not a lovey, clingy Valentines Day. That was yesterday, and the day before (12th-13th depending on where you are in the world--these numbers don't work for anyone stationed on the moon right now) when the moon was happily in Libra, sharing energy with all of that Aquarius stuff (both air signs).

Today we have a combative Venus in a highly explosive Aries. This is "why men love bitches" day, which quite often turns into "why men actually HATE bitches day." Venus in Aries is great for rough sex, angry sex, competitive sex, sex games, athletic sex, but not "first time" or "first date" sex, romantic sex, clingy emotional sex, and forget Tantra unless you are both ready to rumble.

Okay, so let's add more layers. Now Venus RULES Valentine's Day. No surprise there, but love is an affair of the heart, and Venus' sister/mother, the moon, is all about that. Well, she is in a huff too. You see, Mars (or Ares the god who cheated with Venus/Aphrodite who was married to Vulcan/Hephaestus at the time--and you thought this only happened in soap operas) rules Aries (the sign, not the god Ares) and Mars ALSO rules Scorpio (remember, Pluto has been rightfully demoted, as Pluto the god rules the underworld or NON-visible dark matter, but that is a different tale for now).

Mars (masculine rage) rules Aries (where Venus is right now) and Scorpio (feminine aggressiveness/deception/mystery/seduction--where the moon is). Venus IN Aries rules domestic violence (I know, I know, "Great, thanks for the depressing news on Valentine's day a***hole!") and Moon IN Scorpio rules obsession.

So, we have an obsessive, violent, distrustful moon and a combative Venus set against the happy, freedom-loving party that is "everything else" (pretty much) in Aquarius day. The moon is the only one to change quickly. In a few days she will have moved on, but Venus will stay in Aries, most planets will be in Aquarius for a few days/weeks/months (depending on the planet), and so the effects of today will wither slowly.

SO---Here's how to make the best of it. This really is a happy day, but only if you can address it from an Aquarian (Love, Aquarian Style) way. Please avoid getting too wrapped up in plans or people. If things don't work out the way you planned today, do your best to blow it off and watch TV or see a movie, or just get through and have a good time. People are walking around more stressed out than last-minute Christmas Eve shoppers today. Of course the economy adds to this stress/anger, and neo-con Republicans hate Obama and are stressed out over the fact that their dogma failed the country, and someone else is outraged at some public figure right now. Yes, there was stress before today, but today heightens "pre-existing stress conditions." The stars are the symptom AND assistants to the cause. But each of us has to deal with the hand we have been dealt today and work through it. This can be a fun day if you can avoid the people who are mired in their anger.

It is a bad hair day for a lot of people, and the expectations that are placed on Valentine's Day being a romantic or bonding holiday make the fact that today is really more "threesome day, or break up day, or even let's get crazy with the video day" make this an especially volatile time. Scorpio is "fixed" energy. Aquarius is "fixed" energy. "Fixed" energy is like a giant rock. It is the immovable object in the "What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?" question. Obsession is persistent ("fixed" unrelenting, unshakable, clingy, as in obsession clings to us when it has us in its grip--it sticks to us like tar).

And don't forget that Aquarius energy, all free-love, independence, "live free or die" energy is powerfully adamant and defiant. It can be as combative as it is friendly. It is "the law" (as in the police, public justice, etc.) and it is there to make people friendly to each other.

This dire warning has many sides though. Simply stated, if we (er... you) can avoid arguments and drive carefully, take extra time for everything and realize that some things might break today, and not allow pride or expectations of a perfect Valentine's Day to color our judgment, we can avoid a LOT of trouble. We can fix anything the moment the moon moves into "Aries and Aquarius friendly" Sagittarius two days from now. When the moon is in Sag and Venus is in Aries, and everything else is still in Aquarius, all of the anger and stress of today will seem downright silly. Compromise and new ideas will be everywhere. Anything that was cracked or chipped (but not shattered) today will be patched up with some miracle-glue(tm) and voila! Instant make-up sex! (emotionally, and maybe physically for some of you).

Anything that WAS (or will be) broken today and tonight will be seen as a huge mistake, except for the few break-outs, and breakaways that need an especially virulent day like today to motivate action. This is a topic I did not address here, but it is true that quite often we get so comfortable in our unpleasant situations, or fearful of leaving bad situations that we need a day like today to kick us squarely OUT of a bad environment.

So after all of that, take it easy today. Cliche or not--do it. Avoid stress like you would someone with the flu. Stress is highly contagious today. Distance works! Have fun in public, have fun in (#)somes, but NOT NOT NOT if you are dating someone who loves you--or you are asking for trouble. If you are in a deeply emotional relationship, make today a casual "friendly date" day and don't allow ANY arguments to flare up, lest they grow out of control. Whatever you do, do NOT fight for dominance today unless you want to hurt someone (which could end up being yourself) and if you absolutely need to escape a bad situation, this is the day to start breaking things.

The planetary (Earth's) energy today is all about freedom and free thought. But it is also stubborn and will brook no opposition, so beware of fanaticism that disguises itself as "the word of God." be safe, have fun, and read the news on Sunday.

2009 Imbolg

Hiya,

Okay, so because I haven't gotten around to setting up the blog at AdvancedAstrologySecrets.com yet, and Imbolg is happening RIGHT NOW, I figured I really should get this in for anyone wanting info at the last minute. I will try to be more prompt with future sabbats and esbats.

Yule 2008/9 was a great beginning for anyone who laid plans then. If you missed your chance, the new moon that ends Imbolc/Imbolg 2009 is a "second chance" to reboot the year. You still have 7/8th (of the year) left, so there is a lot of interesting fun still to come, and time to enjoy it.

Imbolc this year stated with the moon in Taurus trining first Merc and then Mars (both in Crappycorn). This played hell on the intellect, but drove the kundalini to record highs, given the rest of the circumstances. The sun is mid-Winter, so we are at the first marking point of progress away from all-ahead STOP. The dead-zone is officially passed (Samhain-Imbolc/g) during this time and the essence of Spring is preparing itself for its time on stage. Make no mistake, the sun is still hobbling along, but this is a time of recovery from injury, a time of growing within the womb, and the first sprouts through the snow. This is a season of early-adopters and the last thrall of the pioneers.

What this means to you:

Technology. It's a grreat time to familiarize yourself with it, bond with it, and incorporate it into your magical/psychological existence. Don't strain, simply look to see if you can do this at this time. It is a time of thawing out things that have been in deep storage, a time of renewals and healing, for in 8 short weeks it will be solar sunrise--and that will be time to spring into action. That makes this a time of preparation. Early risers will have the (magical) jump on the world come spring. That means planning and practice at this time. These are general advisories, as one specific idea may not pertain to YOUR current karmic path. These are clues, breadcrumbs, and you need to make the connections in YOUR life at this time.

More on the ritual though. The time of sensuality is passing even now, and translating into the time for dissemination of information (hence the bl0g--duh) and next will come time for meditation, revelation, new ideas, new ways of doing things. Note the time of the post on this blog. For those of you who are already listening (to yourselves* and your guides, not to me) you will have ideas already assaulting you--new ways of doing things, things that seem small in and of themselves, but have huge impact on your life overall, especially over the next few months, should be rattling around in your brain right now. If not, relax, focus (gently) on your passions, and seek (desire, ask for, expect, search out [PME]) answers that BRIDGE (Moon is early Gemini) from where you are to where you want to be.

Revelation is forthcoming. Meditation on the 4th is crucial. Spend time learning, doing, and meditating. Moon crosses Jupiter on its way to the sun, meaning ideas MUST become action in order to cement "lasting" progress. This is a wish-making time. (yaay)

Meditate, dream, visualize, then translate received ideas into small or large actions, but they must be physical and they must be congruent with your goals and passions. Once this is done, the Moon will leave Imbolg behind and dance with Neptune, who will carry these energies you have cemented into the ether. The more clear you are now, the more powerful your magic will be. The more clear your desire and action based on that, the stronger the habit formed, the more potent your wish, the more solid your destiny.

It's actually really easy at this time, but I wanted to show you some of the processes involved. Read this again if you got confused, and then take action. Next year's Imbolc/g will be different, so we will see what happens then. But right now "change" IS in the air. Circumstance the world over reflects that--not guides it. This was not so much predestined as it was opportunity meeting preparation (good formula for producing luck).

When you do your ritual/celebration/meditation, or prayers, remember these influences and causes so that you can enhance your results and get WHAT YOU WANT, not mixed, or diluted results. I will be back with more, hopefully at blog.advancedastrologysecrets.com (not set up at this writing), in time for the equinox. In the meantime, I will add Tarot information here.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Note: ("For those of you who are already listening to yourselves*") Okay, this is from the mystery school, but also you can get the answers from Aphrodite's Book of Secrets [ABoS] or the Advanced Tarot Secrets workbook. Simply put: The path of the fey is not as ham-handed as the more Western magical practices. Obviously far too much to lay out in a simple blog post footnote, but here goes anyway: Faerie magic involves self-education and awareness enhancement (e.g. steps along the path of enlightenment) but simultaneously at least a basic understanding of and communion with Nature ("Her"), and a fervent love for "Her." It is not so much of an instructional path of equations and formulas as it is an existence. It is part and parcel to Buddahood, but an angle of it, or a ray (as in a ray of sunlight--again, just too much to detail herein). The point is to train to grow, train to experience, and train to evolve. Magical learning cannot be purely intellectual or formulaic. Alchemical changes cannot be simply produced from measured means (normally found in Western magical practices).

Learning to hear or listen to yourself involves whispers from inside and reflects your own voice (an understanding of Huna, or even Hinduism, in a pinch, would really help grasp this quickly) and that OF you, but is beyond you, or physical, but not THIS physical you. In any case, the good news is that it is natural, not something someone can hand you a book on, or recite words over you and conjure up magically. You can get there and no one can make you it, nor can they prevent you from being it (except through that old devil distraction, which is a demon most foul!) You can learn it and you can learn much of it by reading or working with a qualified teacher, but the journey is really yours to experience, preferably with friends. Blah, blah, blah.

Okay, enough of this. This is sounding preachy and cryptic. Visit the forums at advancedtarotsecrets.com if you want to really get into this discussion. Otherwise, make your wish and see actual, tangible results. All we offer is proof. We have nothing to sell here.