This Friday the 13th, at 9:33 pm PDT, the Moon will be directly across from our Sun, still in sidereal Leo at 26 degrees 58 seconds of Aquarius in the star of Purva Bhadrapada. This is a star of great spiritual awakening and a lightening flash of what truly is in a constellation that makes us think about the future and how much greater it can be. Purva Bhadrapada (the “early blessed step”) is ruled by Aja Ekapada, the one-footed goat, who is on the mountain and can see its peak, yet cannot climb to the top on one foot alone. This is a sign that while we are close, we are not there yet. The deep spiritual work takes place in the next star, Uttara Bhadrapada, where we entwine with the serpent and draw the poison out, allowing us to take the final journey home in the final nakshatra of Revati, where the full moon will be next month. In the Aquarius part of Purva Bhadrapada, we are visionaries and idealists who can dream up a different system and way of operating that serves everyone, as opposed to just a few. Here we are humble, intelligent and part of the larger world community. The Sun across the way, and our New Moon a couple weeks ago in the sign of Leo is the opposite, singular, strong and proud, we have been trying to rule whatever domains we can dilineate, but with the Moon in Aquarius and both Mercury and Venus moved on to the earthy and detail-oriented sign of Virgo, we are moving in a different direction.
Venus is actually debilitated in Mercury's sign of Virgo, because here we are nit-picky, self-conscious and craving a clean slate, a purity that can never actually be again. The planet of pleasure, relationships and happiness does not do well in Virgo's matter-of-fact categories that judge everything based on how close to its most pristine state it is. Watch out for fault-finding, self-doubt and nagging. On the up-side, we are prone to plants and healing through natural healing arts here and can balance out all the water and then fire that we experienced the last few months with some Ayurvedic or other holistic and plant-based practices. Go on a date in nature, get massages and specially-concocted herbal remedies from local practitioners. Enjoy organizing your space at home and work and learn some new super-healthy recipes.
Since Mercury is also here in Virgo, in fact in exact degrees with Venus, we will have a better chance at communicating in our relationships. Mercury is exalted here in its own sign of Virgo, and we are likely to use precise language that aims to tell what is true here, helping us create healthy dialogue with others. This is especially important because Mars in still within 3 degrees of the Sun in Leo, and super combust. Our anger fuse is still short and lion-ey, so we gotta find the right words to get us out of the den.
That Mars is still giving dristhi to Jupiter in his own sign of Scorpio, also within 2 degrees, so especially watch out for fiery outbursts that feel founded in your principles. Use your discipline and get it out through a physical practice, then allow yourself to see the ways in which you might also do whatever it is that you suddenly feel self-righteous about. Find peaceful resolve through a humble mind and heart and clear language skills. This could be an opportunity to find the truth in both yourself and the world around you if you don't let your anger get the better of you.
With Saturn and Ketu, the south node in exact degrees again, we are looking at bitterness and fear beneath the surface that is likely the root cause of the anger. Try to meditate. Saturn is actually stationary-retrograde at the moment and moving direct on September 18th, so allow yourself to observe the “stuckedness” of your fear and just breathe into it. It is all beginning to move forward and by the end of the year, we will feel much better. If we do the hard work now, we might even feel better for the long haul, not just until the next intense alignment gets us. Cultivate peace.
Happy Full Moon! Namaste

To See How These Alignments Affect you Personally:

Friday morning, August 30th, at 3:37 am PDT, the Moon and Sun will come together at 12 degrees 40 seconds in sidereal Leo in the great star of Magha. Magha is where we remember where we come from, and the wisdom of our ancestors. Magha is ruled by the Pitris, the ancestors of mankind, and marks the beginning of the sign of Leo. Here we are privy to ancient knowledge and deep truths. We use lineage and ritual to nobly receive wisdom necessary to be leaders and to stand in our power. Here we are great, because we are linked through time to everything and everyone. Of course, we are also linked to all the travesty, corruption and destruction of the past and our ancestors and must find new ways to change the trajectory of the future. This awareness will come more in two weeks with the full moon in Aquarius.

In Leo we are proud, vain even, and authoritarian with our vision. We may or may not even realize this, as it is not a place where we spend to much time reflecting on how others are viewing us. We just assume they want to follow our lead. Some people naturally have this air about them and this month it will be magnified. Others are more humble and shy away from the limelight, but they may find this month is when they step into it more, or resent being shoved out of the way.
We do not just have our Moon and Sun in Leo right now, we have also Venus, Mars and Mercury joined as well. All three planets are combust, meaning they are close to the Sun, and on a short “fuse”. With Venus, we might be a bit showier than usual in our dress, in our presentation and more self-centered in what makes us happy. We might want our partners (or even friends) to put us up on a pedestal, fawn over us or do whatever they can to please us. Unfortunately, since this is a transit that everyone is experiencing, it is likely our friends and partners want the same thing from us. Now is the time to actively work on compromise, give and take and humility with people you love. It won't come naturally, unless it is extremely strong for your nature to be that way anyway. Venus on a short fuse looks like an unwillingness to put up with any behavior from others that doesn't make you feel appreciated. You might feel slighted quickly and react quickly. Be mindful. With Mercury in Leo, we already have to watch our tongue. This is when we feel like we are the teachers of the world on every topic, yet to others we are the annoying know-it-alls who stand up on the podium too often. With everyone in this alignment, chances are that listening is low these days and everyone wants to “say their piece”. This is again very challenging for relationships and will not be made better by a combustion, making us feel “unheard”. Finally, Mars being in Leo is generally a great alignment, bringing strength, courage and discipline in a way that is connected with higher wisdom, power and vision. The only issue is that joined the two relational planets of Venus and Mercury, and being highly combust himself, Mars is likely to make us snap when we feel unappreciated and unheard. Watch out for sudden angry outbursts and try to fuel that passion and energy into a steady daily practice of whatever your physical activity looks like. Mars and Venus together, in the passionate sign of Leo, can also create some intense sexual attraction, so there might be a bit of roller coaster in your love life as you go up and down with gusto. If you work out, do yoga, jiu jitsu, climb, surf, whatever...do it! Daily. You will feel better. Self-care is also super important here and knowing what you need from the outside world and getting it for yourself, instead of waiting for someone else to serve it to you.
Mars is also giving his dristhi to Jupiter in his home sign of Scorpio, bringing discipline and courage to our inner journey. Jupiter in Scorpio is a time to reflect on how our teachings and practices need to deal with, rather than ride above, our shadow-selves. If we are able to bring that same level of discipline, daily work, to our spiritual work as our physical work, we will be able to incite true change and transformation.
Saturn is still retrograde and riding in close degrees to Ketu, the south node, so our fear of commitment is still a challenge, and our disgust of our fear is also quite present. The Saturn retrograde/Ketu conjunction is one that will just stay stuck and unmoving in whatever house in our chart it falls, if we don't have an outside pressure force it to move. When Mars moves into Virgo, on September 24th, we will see that begin to heat up. Also when Saturn begins direct motion again, on September 18th, we will find that the internal motor will begin moving again and our uncertainty around what to say “yes” to and what to say “no” to will become much more clear.
Have a blessed New Moon! Hare Ohm

To See how this alignment will affect you and your chart:

The New Moon happens at 8:12 pm, PDT on Wednesday, July 31st and is in sidereal Cancer in the star of Pushya. Cancer is the sign of the Mother, the nurturer, and the unconditional love a mother offers to her child. Pushya, right in the heart of Cancer, is the nourisher, the one who feeds the child and sustains them. Represented by the cow's udder, it is the bosom, the breast from which all life is sustained. Pushya is a very spiritual star, as it is the star under which Jupiter is exalted. Jupiter is both the planet of Wisdom and Teachers, and the planet of our best teachers, Children. Children flourish under the love and care of their mothers, and wisdom pervades when devotion is at the heart of one's spiritual search. If we are merely doing practices to gain something in our body or mind, or what we believe will happen in an after-life, we are not sincerely connecting to spirit. We are in the ego state. If we are like a mother, unconditional in our love and devotion, then we are truly wise. This new moon is a time to connect to this state of true love, both as children of Mother/Father God and as wells of this pure love ourselves.


Both Mars and Venus are joining the Moon and Sun here, so we see a strong balance of both the Masculine and the Feminine, with the King, Queen, Maiden and Warrior all holding court at Mama's house. She is such a gracious host, she can cater to all, but don't forget to recharge your batteries with a long bath, a quiet moment or a solo swim. When the Sun and Moon join, it is literally the new Moon, where we don't see the Moon because she is completely coved by the Sun, as opposed to reflecting his rays. This is generally a meditative time for us, a time when women naturally menstruate and when our minds are less full. It can feel more sad and empty, but that emptying is a need we have to release. With the house full, we will be contending with the passive-aggressive nature that Mars has been giving us her in Cancer for a month now, choosing emotional battles and feeling hurt. We will also be feeling a bit put upon, as Venus in Cancer can give us the feeling of being used or not met in our relationships with all of our actually conditional love masquerading as unconditional love. Venus is where we meet other adults, both romantic and otherwise and in Cancer we may act as though these adults are our children, giving and giving. When they do not reciprocate with what we feel we need, we get angry and think they do no love us. If we can keep our hearts in the space of devotion and peace, and not spend as much time brooding over our interactions with others, we will tap into the higher emotional space Cancer can bring us to. If we focus on the daily, and keep about our routines, we are likely to feel overwhelmed, under-plenished and used. Self-Care and Spiritual practice are a necessity!


Mercury just left Cancer in it's retrograde state, to step into Gemini, and is already stationary. So don't be surprised if your phone, computer and mail are too, lol! By the end of the day on the 31st, Mercury will be direct in the sky and heading back towards Cancer and all our emotions can come pouring out again into words, lol! Jupiter will also turn direct this month, on August 11th, offering us some forward motion on our motivations. When Jupiter is Retrograde, as he has been for months now, we are confused and questioning our very beliefs and what inspires us. Since our belief system directs so much of what we choose to do (or not do) in our outside lives, it can be very wearying, especially when Saturn (and other planets) also are Retrograde. This process is important though, as we must constantly be holding our beliefs up and examining them to make sure we still can stand behind them and how they are playing out in our lives and the world around us. Hopefully, some of the deep, inner work we have been doing will begin to pay off now as we warrior our way forward, stronger in what motivates and inspires us. This Jupiter, as it is still retrograde, yet stationing, is giving dristhi, or an energetic glance towards all the planets in Cancer, under this new moon. This will be that shot of wisdom, courage even, internally that will remind us how to rise above the pettiness and sit in the divinity available here.


Blessings on your New Moon! Hare Ohm


For More Information or to find out how these alignments affect your personal life:

The Lunar Eclipse this Tuesday will be happening outside of Moonrise for the majority of people in North America, but people in Europe, Africa, India, China, Australia and South America will all be able to witness at least a portion of the event. The entire event will take place from 11:43 am PDT to 5:17 pm PDT, with the Full Moon occurring at 2:38 pm.  The eclipses happen in pairs. Two weeks ago we had a Total Solar Eclipse in sidereal Gemini and now we are seeing the other side of that, the Partial Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius. This is not only a “flip” of the energy and themes of the eclipse two weeks ago, it is also a flip on whatever area of your life this axis is riding. The houses are across from their “opposite” house. For example, your first house, or your outer self is across from your seventh house, the house of others and relationships. So if nodal axis (or eclipse points) are transiting your first and seventh houses, this will be the cycle you are experiencing being flipped. For a Gemini, they might have stepped into themselves and their identity in some way leading up to the solar eclipse and now are being forced to look at how their self-importance has affected their relationships. For a Sagittarius, it would be the opposite. For more detailed explanations on how this affects each of the 12 rising signs, visit my site and sign up for the newsletter. My gift to you is a FREE report on this current nodal axis and how it is riding in the lives of each of the 12 signs.


This Full Moon is also known as Guru Purnima in India, the Full Moon of the Guru, or teacher. Generally this is a time to honor our teachers, especially fully realized beings, Sat Gurus. We are grateful for the wisdom they pass on, the knowledge we garner and we are able to tap into the teachings on a psychological and spiritual level at this time. This Guru Purnima, meeting up with the South eclipse point, is a chance to get those insightful flashes of insight that seem to come from beyond the world and offer us a glimpse of something deeper or more meaningful. In this case, likely something from the past, that we have seen before but not fully understood, and something that helps us complete the karma of the house that Ketu is located in for us in our personal charts.


The star this eclipse and Full Moon are happening is Uttara Ashada, located partially in Sagittarius (as with this Moon) and partially in Capricorn. It is the later victory, the reward we get for putting in the hard work to plant and sow things in our world that are aligned with our beliefs. The ability to use our spiritual teachings to discern what we should be planting and tending to in our lives, is rewarded by the harvest. We can still expect much work, but there is a victory that comes with seeing actual tangible results, which we especially witness in the Capricorn portion of this star. Ruled by the Sun, it shows our strength and connection to source and it is also represented by the elephant tusk, which can be both a sign of wisdom (like Ganesh, the keeper of the Vedas) and connection to the natural world and our wild spirit. Both Ganesh and Jupiter (the ruler of Sagittarius) are our teachers and the greatest teachers in the “regular” world, our children. What can we learn, even when we are teaching? What can we pass on to future generations that is teaching them to experience truth for themselves, instead of just filling them with our beliefs? Truth, in its integrity, must be a grain so fine it can transcend all time and space.


With both the ruler of the sign of Sagittarius, Jupiter and Saturn, sitting in Sagittarius Retrograde, we can expect that we are feeling uncomfortable or questioning of what work we've put in, where we are, and what beliefs are efforts are founded on to begin with. With the South Node, Ketu (the eclipse point that is eclipsing the Moon) here, you can bet that you are not interested in dealing with this part of your life right now at all, and yet have to. When we ignore or suppress one side of the axis, in favor of the other, you can bet it will come back to bite us! With our emotional self, our psyche here with Ketu and Saturn, we are feeling it deeply...all the disappointment, all the pressure and all the confusion around it. Will it end? Yes. It will. Answers will come and the air will clear, for some faster and easier than others but the emotional attachment will be dissipating as soon as the Moon moves on to Capricorn.


It does not help that we have a frustrated, debilitated Mars punching pillows in Cancer right now, giving us no outlet for our passion, anger and need for discipline and courage. We may be extremely passive aggressive right now and throwing some tantrums as we expect unconditional love for doing nothing and our anger is fluxating with our volatile emotions. Mercury Retrograde is here in Cancer too, giving us an emotion-based experience with information processing and communication as well. Fortunately, the retrograde part is offering us a slowed down and delayed sense of communication, so we might not spill out our crazy tirade each time our emotions compel us to do so. We can get pretty worked up about the fact that we are getting delayed communications, however, and take it pretty personally. The Sun is almost in Cancer too, giving us a period of time where our power and authority will also come from this emotional place. While Mercury will be moving back into Gemini, where it is in its home sign, the fact that its retrograde will keep communication glitches coming and with the Sun moving in on Mars, we might find ourselves with a short fuse in a couple weeks. This is a good time to watch what we say (written and spoken), re-read, re-check and re-visit anything we might be putting out into the world and to practice as many calming and meditative practices we have in our toolbox. We are not super disciplined right now, for the most part, so it can be hard to keep up the steady rhythm of daily exercise and meditation, but we will be very grateful we did. Perhaps some slower and stiller versions of whatever you do can help: Yin Yoga, Restorative, Tai Chi can all be helpful. Also swimming in water will both cool you off and bring peace to your watery emotions.
Hare Ohm

For one thing to be brought forth into manifestation, something else must die. It is the cosmic order of things. Energy cannot be lost or created, only transformed. As a new mother learns when she enters the final push that will bring her baby into the world; a part of her must die so that she can birth not only a baby, but a mother. We are constantly dying, letting go and dissolving and at the same time being born again and again and again. This great mystery is the tunnel of life and death, and we all must pass through it at least twice in every manifestation of ourselves. Bharani is this portal, dead in the middle of Aries, it is part of the newest sign. It is a starter, a conquistador, and ram, and it is the star that is represented by both the yoni, the female canal of birth and the diety Yama, he who presides over death. It is this, two sides of the same “coin” that is ultimately what propels us forward in life. A desire to live, to feed ourselves, to survive and thrive...and simultaneously, a fear of dying and an innate awareness that at some point, we shall. We gotta grab life by the horns and live. We gotta do what we're gonna because we don't have forever. We have to put the blinders on to whatever distracts us, because we have a purpose and it can get lost if we do. Yama represents not only death, but the word meant “control” in sanskrit. Controlling ourselves, limiting ourselves, is a “No” to some things, but also a “Yes” to what our primary goal is. Restraint, discipline is necessary if we want to be truly free and if we want to birth our true vision into manifest reality.


This New Moon is on the tails of a serious one-way glare from the planet Mars in Taurus to the Saturn/ Ketu conjunction in Sagittarius bringing some fight and bite to a place that we have been frozen in fear and avoiding as much as possible. It is passing for now, but wait till it heats up again next month as the planet of Courage, Anger and Discipline (Mars )engages in a mutual gaze with the planet of Fear, Humility and Hard Work (Saturn). To make things more complicated, Saturn began its retrograde cycle at the end of April and we are backed up and confused on what we are truly afraid of, and what we are committed to. Since Saturn/Ketu are in Sagittarius, we are all reckoning with our beliefs and ideals and the fighting probably revved up as Mercury, our planet of communication entered Aries just before our Moon did this month. Watch out for quick, biting words, and cutting people off. Watch out for dismissing people as you run out the gate, only to stop part-way there to wonder where you are going again? Mars is also currently in a direct, two-way dristhi with retrograde Jupiter in Scorpio. Offering courage to our planet of wisdom in its time of doubt is helpful, but it is courage, Taurean-style, comfort and harmony come first. Jupiter may help Mars see what is and is not worth fighting for, but not as convincing when he's stalled and confused himself. With both Jupiter and Saturn retrograde, it is likely that what inspires and motivates you, your beliefs (Jupiter), and what propels you to act (your fear, the idea of limited time-Saturn) are moving backwards. You are replaying old tapes right now and trying to remember why you are where you are and what you actually hold to be your solid tenets to live by. When Mars enters Gemini on May 6th, it will be in a powerful exchange with Mercury, offering both planets a boost of much-needed intelligence, rationale and courage to speak the truth and to be grounded in it.


May 5th and 6th are what is referred to as Akshaya Tritya, a time when both the Sun and Moon are exalted. The Sun in the sign of Aries, where it has already been for a couple weeks, is self-directed, motivated and connected to the discipline and courage of a warrior. Our capacity to lead and act are heightened at this time. The Moon is exalted in the sign of Taurus, where we are both grounded and connected. We are able to take care of ourselves and nourish ourselves physically, thus providing stability for our ever-changing mind and emotions. This year, Venus is exalted in Pisces as well, offering us a chance to experience the highest form of happiness, love and devotion over pleasure and attachment.
Akshaya Tritya is always directly following the New Moon in Aries, as the Moon moves directly into Taurus after. This is a time when our two luminaries, at their most powerful, offer support in both our inner and outer worlds and we have great capacity to manifest spiritual and material wealth and power. Blessings and Namaste.

While my forecasts can be a beautiful tool to understanding the cosmic energies at any given time, the general nature of them cannot be avoided. If you desire to dive deeper into your personal experience with these energies and what you can expect in your years to come, contact me for a Natal Chart Reading.

Parivrtta Anjaneyasana * Twisted Crescent Pose
To begin keep one foot forward with the knee at a 90 degree angle and step the other foot to the back of your mat, balancing on the ball of your foot. You can step the front foot a step or two to the side that it is on if you need better balance. Placing the hand that matches with the back foot on the mat, on the inside of your front foot. forefinger straight, rest of fingers spread out, raise the arm that matches the front foot up towards the sky and follow it with your gaze. Back leg strong and straight. Variations include putting the hand on the mat on the outside of the front foot, or bringing hands to a prayer and twisting so that the elbow of the back-foot arm is wedged on the outside of the front thigh.


Hanuman, the monkey god, was born as Anjaneya. His mother was Anjani, an aspara (a celestial being) who was cursed to live on Earth as a monkey. She returned to the heavens the moment that Anjaneya was born because the curse was to be lifted the moment she gave birth to an incarnation of Lord Shiva. He had been carried to her womb on the wind, and thus the wind god, Vayuu was his father. Vayuu doted on little Anjaneya in all his free time, yet he was quite busy moving air around the world and in the heavens and often had to leave for long bouts of time. When he would go, he would leave Anjaneya with a pile of mangos to snack on because his son loved the sweet, juicy fruits. One day, Anjaneya finished his pile of mangoes and began to swing in the trees, his next favorite pastime. As he swung from branch to branch, he saw a huge mango on one of the highest branches, gleaming down. He raced to get to it, only to find it moved further and further away, until it appeared to be floating in the air. “I must have that fruit,” he though with intention, and before he knew it, he had jumped off the tree with a leap and he was sailing through the air at the mango in the sky. It was so bright, he had never seen a mango like this before. With his mouth open wide and salivating, he flew towards, what he thought was a mango, but was of course the sun! The sun, Surya, saw the small monkey with the big mouth coming at him and began to get scared. He yelled for Indra, the king of the gods to help him and Indra came and flung his thunderbolt at Anjaneya, hitting him in the cheek and sending him down to earth, where he fell, unconscious. Vayuu, felt the pain of his son from far away and swiftly swept the land to come to his side. When he saw his son lying lifeless, he drew in a big breath and held it, pausing all the air, all the wind and all the breath in the world. Indra panicked. Without the breath of Vayuu, the world and all its beings would cease to be. He offered to bring Anjaneya back to life. Vayuu sobbed, “What’s the use?” “He will just die again someday and I won’t be able to bear it then either.” Indra thought fast. “I will bring him back immortal,” he said. He will have unparalleled prowess and magical capabilities, but he will not be aware of those powers until he is mature and using them from a place of devotion in service of something greater than himself and his desires. Vayuu breathed a deep sigh of relief and happiness and the air moved again. Everyone on Earth and in Heaven took a great deep breath too. Indra touched the young monkey on the broken cheek and said, “and from here forward, we will call you Hanuman.”


Perhaps this holiday weekend you felt a bit sad, or down, as the Moon was in her debilitated state in Scorpio. There are emotions are turbulent and our fears seem very real. On Monday, we had a direct dristhi, or gaze, from Mars, the ruler of Scorpio on that Moon, giving us both courage and anger as we face those emotions and fears. As we moved into Tuesday, the Moon moved into sidereal Sagittarius, crossing retrograde Jupiter as it went back over the gandanta point into Scorpio. This point is an abrupt and often unfriendly-feeling jump from water to fire, and in the case of backward motion, fire back to water. As the Moon, our mind and emotions moved into Mula, we might have felt the need to pull something up from the roots to begin fresh. As Jupiter moved back into Jyestha, we might have been questioning the uprooting of our teachings we have just done and feeling a little like a boat without water as we have to go back to the battlefield of our fears. It's a good time to re-listen to any teachings or teachers that may have been profound for you last month to remind yourself where you last felt forward motion. As we move into the rest of the week, the Moon will progress through Sagittarius to be in conjunction with Saturn and Ketu, only a degree apart at this point. This conjunction is already bringing us to a freezing point with something we really do not care to deal with at all, something we in fact thought was done, but at some point the cold, harsh reality will break to the surface. With our mind and emotions caught up it might feel like this week is the breaking point, but next week, as we hit May with a bang, The Moon will pass on, but Mars will move into a direct one-way drishti with Saturn and expect things to feel explosive. Mars is fire and Saturn is ice and when these two unfriendly planets make direct contact, expect icicles to fly as they get blasted open. With Ketu there, we can expect a most unpleasant experience as it is blasting right where we prefer it not to and in Sagittarius it WILL be related to those hard-core beliefs we hold. Socially and personally, next week will be one to wear a helmet for. Uggh. When Mars moves into Gemini, it will happen again, this time with a Retrograde Saturn (Saturn goes Retrograde on the 30th of April), so put that helmet somewhere easy to reach, and maybe spring for some knee pads as Saturn has a tendency to bring us to our knees. The are of your life affected will be the one that Sagittarius rules. If you haven't yet gotten my FREE report* on the Nodal Axis and You, I recommend getting it soon. It will help you discern where you will be getting hit in your life, so you can be prepared! * Sign up on the right top of this page



What does the aforementioned pose and the story of Anjaneya/Hanuman have to do with any of this? Well balancing poses can help us focus our fiery energy on a point. One-pointed focus is a good use of fire for meditation and function, rather than burning down the house with many-pointed fiery focus;-) Twisting poses help us balance our pitta (fire element) dosha. Offering some relief to the solar-plexus region. The story can help us in two ways. By reading it on the surface, you can see the moral of the story is to make sure what you are flying after with mouth wide open is juicy and sweet and not hot as sh$%t, also to have humility and devotion in the heart as you harness your amazing powers in this world (which we all have).
By reading this story and letting it sit inside you, you unconsciously enter the story and characters as they do you. The ancient myths and many faces of God are a portal of consciousness through which you may travel. The point then does not become understanding the story, rather allowing it to lead you and show you all the treasure points along the way. These are bread crumbs left behind by those who have walked the path before you.
Blessed be and Namaste.