Watch the Video for Astrological Alignments! Story of Diwali and Nakshatra info below:

This New Moon, October 27th, also marked the midpoint and highest day of the Diwali celebration in Indian culture. This is a day to honor the Goddess Lakshmi, who is love, grace, generosity/abundance & beauty. She is also said to have been gifted to us on Earth in the form of Sita, consort to Ram. In the epic tale where Sita is captured by the evil demon Ravana and Ram rescues her with the help of his brother Lakshman and Hanuman and his monkey army, Her beauty, grace and purity are tried. Because she spent time in the castle of the demon, she must prove to the town of Ayodhya upon return that she was not unfaithful to her husband (who is an incarnation of Vishnu, the sustaining presence of the universe). She sits in a fire that must consume her if she is impure. She is not burned, yet someone is not convinced. The people of Ayodhya insist she must be banished and Rama agrees and sends her to the woods. She births their two sons and eventually drowns herself in Mother Earth’s deep soil.  Rama, too, kills himself. The triumph of good over evil did not sustain because the debilitation of power and authority (the Sun in Libra) compromised his truth to appease the people. Likewise, the soon-to-be debilitated Moon (when it enters the nakshatra Vishaka in Scorpio, the following day) is not able to find peace in the midst of all the sadness and emotion and kills herself. The Moon being the all-connective and loving Queen. These two luminaries are at their darkest and thus we need Diwali, the Festival of Lights to remind us of the light within. 


The nakshatra of the New Moon itself is Swati, ruled by Vayu, the Wind. Swati is the sword that slices through the airiness and compromise to find truth. In the ever-balancing sign of Libra, it is the independence within us that want to exert itself and claim autonomy.


Watch the video for more on this New Moon and the transits that’s we are experiencing! Mercury retrograde and exchanging signs with Mars. Mars and Saturn dueling dristhis, and Jupiter about to move into Sagittarius! 


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The Full Moon will be lighting up in the final nakshatra of the final sign in the zodiac this Sunday, October 13th. The exact time of the Moon and Sun being across from each other in the sky is 2:08 PM PDT, making Saturday night the best time to bathe in the still-growing light outside. Revati is the star of endings; peaceful, aligned and coming back to “home”. It is the place where we are most expanded into our true essence as spiritual beings and are treading the final paces back to our own Self, Atman, and to “God” or “Spirit”, Brahman. Here we offer help to others, especially those less capable; children, animals and the elderly and we feel only the urge to return, not to go out into the world. As such, and with all of the parts of Pisces, we are on an inward journey, not an outward one. We are merging with spirit, not socially inclined. With the fullness of our psyche that the full moon offers, we shall see the full scope of possibility and feel it, yet not be as communicative or social as in other full moons.
This is a time to allow our minds freedom to roam and our interest to shift like fish navigating the changing tides of the sea. Since we are at the apex of the Virgo new moon cycle, we are in the opposite energy of that, balancing it out. The nit-picky, critical and organized energy we have been bringing to our lives and bodies, is now being mitigated by our more spiritual and yes, a little lazier selves. Let it be. Don't force it. There's been enough “work”, and there will be again. For this weekend, just enjoy. Space out, swim, think, meditate or just be. Even though enlightenment takes courage and work, Revati is where we have done the major lifting and are enjoying the peaceful return to where we belong.


The fact that Mars is further now from the Sun than he has been in some time, means that our anger has dissipated. We are not as likely to snap on a dime. Also, Venus and Mercury closely traversing the sign of Libra has created a harmonious atmosphere for relational communication, artistic skills flourishing and seeing and thinking in more beautiful, loving ways. The Sun will join these two planets on the 17th, bringing our own sense of purpose and authority down, as we expend even more energy trying to create peace and harmony and beauty over conflict. This is not a power place for the Sun, as he is debilitated in Libra's compromising balancing act. We have trouble leading even ourselves, when we are so caught up in being liked and being fair. Also, while Mars and the Sun are finally stretching some miles between themselves, Mars is moving closer in to an exact dristhi with Saturn in Sagittarius. October 26th-28th will be the days of exact degrees and greatest dread-lock. This combination, as we saw in June from Gemini, is a troublesome one, as Mars is where we fight and Saturn is where we flight. The fact that Saturn is joined Ketu, the south node, creates a particularly compelling fear around our beliefs and ideals and a fiery clash of the two grahas that “cut”, Mars and Ketu. These two together bring anger with disgust and a terrifying militance that does not care who is taken as casualties. With Mars coming from the detail-oriented, small-picture sign of Virgo we can expect our fight to be one of minutae and arguments centered around the organization and details. Virgo is also a sign of health and healing and I imagine there will be more militance and use of fine print in the realm of health care and mandating medical procedures and drugs in the name of public safety. With fears high and an unwillingness to really look at our deepest held beliefs with discernment and prospective, we are not quite through the gates of suffering yet.


Use this weekend to reflect and reconnect to your truest beliefs and to remember the bigger picture. That is what a Pisces moon does best. Connect to your own part in all that you fear and all that you dislike, and try to own and love it. This Full Moon, at the time of harvest, is called Sharad Purnima or Kojagari Purnima, and is spent honoring the Goddess Lakshmi in many parts of India. Lakshmi is beauty, abundance, fertility, love and generosity. She is said to visit those holding Kojagari Lakshmi Puja by staying awake all night. She descends to Earth and passes through the night, asking, “Who is awake?” If we are awake, we can respond and it is said we will be bestowed with her sweet blessings.

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This New Moon is at 11:26 am on Saturday, September 28th, happening at 11 degrees sidereal Virgo, in the star of Hasta. Hasta is where we awaken to a new dawn. It is ruled by the deity Savitr, who is the aspect of the Sun that inspires us with a new day, bringing our dreams into reality. Here, with a practical mind and the element of Earth, we are able to create, make and do. Hasta is symbolized by an open hand; the doer, the freer and the manifester. Here we tap into the part of Virgo that has already drawn up the plans and contracts and needs only to make it all happen. Virgo itself is a neat, organized, healthy part of the sky that is focused on purification. Here we want to make things new or clean again by physically organizing our space, cleansing and healing our bodies, and attempting to control anything and everything that seems wrong, dirty or out of place. This is a sign that can bring out our neuroticism, and self-loathing. It is also a place where we can be extremely critical of others, as they reflect the images we are judging of our selves.


Both Mercury and Venus have been in Virgo for a few weeks, showing these qualities strong in our relationships and capacity to be happy but these two friendly planets are moving into Venus' sign of Libra this week. Mercury, will move on Sunday, right after the New Moon. We are moving into a time where communication and relating will feel more pleasing and the goal will be creating something beautiful and harmonius. This can be especially powerful for artists, musicians and writers as the artistic nature of Libra is unmatched and both Mercury and Venus are in excellent intelligence in this sign. While it will certainly be a pleasure to connect in a more romantic way as well, don't lose the insight you may have had while Mercury was in Virgo, on what things are not working for you and why. We sometimes compromise in Libra, in favor of getting along and feeling love.


Mars is now in Virgo also, creating a New Moon that has a pile-up of planets, just as we did last month with Leo. Except now, the anger and passion is channeled into straightening out, attending to the details and cleaning and purifying anything that doesn't feel “right”. We also now have a situation where Mars is moving into a two-way dristhi with Saturn and Ketu. This happened in the beginning of the summer, when Mars was in Gemini, joined Rahu. This time the anger won't be so amplified (minus Rahu, the north node) but it will be lacking the strength and courage it needs to really fuel that energy into right action. We can get very caught up in the details here and lose sight of the big picture. For now, the degrees are far, but as we move farther into October, we will see that militant part of ourselves, others and the greater society starting to march in. When Ketu and Mars connect, we see cold, cutting and militance. When Saturn and Mars connect, we see Fear and Anger collide. With our anger coming from a place of nit-picky perfectionism and our fear rooted deep in our beliefs, we can expect some massive public displays of “sides” and of course our own private ones as well. The Moon and Sun are closer to Saturn/Ketu in a one-way gaze right now, putting some fear and disdain directly in our mind and consciousness.


Take the time to do the physical practices that help you connect to something higher right now, as direct Saturn in Sagittarius will help you follow through with that which inspires you and Jupiter in Scorpio an opportunity to dive deep in. Remember to take time to be still; meditative and prayerful, as the big picture can be lost with all this Virgo energy. Mantra and song can be quite powerful now, as well as painting, crafting and the healing arts.


This New Moon also marks the start of Durga Navaratri. The nine nights of the Divine Mother. We will celebrate beginning on the first day after the New Moon and continue on for 9 nights until the 10th day, dasami, where the Goddess' victory over the buffalo-headed demon is celebrated. This shape-shifting creature is reminiscent of our own inner demons, whom take on different personas so they are hard to pin down and defeat. At the end of the epic tale, the Goddess breathes in the slain body of the demon, showing us that even he is a part of Her. She accepts even our ugliest parts and those of humanity and through prayer and devotion we can integrate those aspects into the rest of us. Before she rides away from the earth plane, she reminds her devotees that they can always call for her and ask for her help and that she will return every fall to bring harvest both in the physical and in the spiritual sense.
Jai Ma! Victory to the Divine Mother!

If you want to find out how these energies will affect you and your chart:

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