The Moon and Sun come together at 1:05 am HT (GMT-10) October 6th in sidereal Virgo in the nakshatra Hasta. This New Moon marks the culmination of Pitru Paksha, the 16 days of shraddha to assist our ancestors in achieving liberation in Mahalaya Amavasya. This special day is honoring the calling of the Goddess Durga into form by Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and leads into the festival of the Goddess Mother, Durga Navaratri, which begins on shukla pratipad, the first lunar phase of the waxing moon. Durga is the Warrior Goddess who uses all her many forms of Shakti to battle the shape-shifting buffalo-headed demon Mahishasura.  “Nava” is nine and “ratri” is night and as such the celebration takes place over 9 nights, with the 10th day being Vijaya Dasami, Victory Day. This festival comes in the fall, in the Shukla Paksha (Waxing phase of the Moon) in the Hindu month of Ashvin. There are many levels on which we can experience Navaratri; spiritually/personally, as we fast, practice sadhana, and battle our own inner demons,  seeking to integrate our shadows as Durga re-integrates the demon after she has slain him. Environmentally, this is coming after the fall equinox when in the Northern Hemisphere there is the harvest before the cold, darker days of winter arrive. Socially, as the celebrations and festivals are a time when the whole community will come together to act out the epic tale of Durga, pray and dance. Each night we worship a different form of Durga (the Navadurgas) and within the nine nights there are three segments where we also pass through three forms of the goddess: Kali, the dark one who helps us release the dead versions of our own ego to make way for our true self to emerge, Lakshmi, who nourishes us, and Saraswati, establishing us in purity of thoughts and words. Young girls will be offered gifts of food in the 8-10th tithi, or lunar phase, of Navaratri. In some lineages and regions of India, Saraswati is worshipped first and Kali last.

The nakshatra Hasta is entirely in Virgo and is represented by a hand open to release, so as to be open to receive. If we are holding tight to things that are not guiding us towards our light, then now is a time to let them go, so there can be room for what you do want to invite in. Ruled by Savitri, the Sun who awakens us on the horizon, it is an excellent star for setting our intentions and making manifest. The powerful Gayatri Mantra can be recited at sunrise.

This Moon joins the Sun, a combust Mars, and a Retrograde Mercury in Virgo, the sign of purity and health. We can expect some fiery upsets to our health, communication, and attempts at cleaning and organizing our environment. Virgo is ruled by Mercury and since Mercury is in exaltation in his own sign, we can see that there is quite a bit of intelligence running, but the apparent retrograde motion can slow down the positive flow of communication and categorization. The Sun and Mars (especially in such close degrees) bring a bit too much heat for the sensitive disposition of Virgo and can cause fevers and viruses, physical burn out, and angry tempers to flare. Long deep breaths, sitali breathing (a cooling technique where we breathe in through our rolled tongue and exhale through the nose), time in water and green environments can help to alleviate some issues. Fasts or cleanses can be powerful right now as the Agni and discipline to purify is high and the primarily cooling and raw foods can help dissipate extra fire.

Venus has just joined Ketu in Scorpio, bringing our planet of love and happiness into the tumultuous sea of Scorpion fear and passion. We can get scared others will hurt us here, and in turn, lash out or become controlling. We can expect our relationships to ride the waves as emotions run high and deep and also feel the harsh cutting energy of Ketu’s void distancing us from the very thing we feel so intensely about! This will build up in the next few days until they are exact on October 9th, and the Moon also joins them. Scorpio is her sign of debilitation, precisely because of those emotional ups and downs and the lack of peace it can bring. Relationships can definitely get triggered here (or whatever part of life/house lord Venus is for you) so beware!

Saturn is going to be direct on the 10th of October, bringing his 5 month retrograde cycle to a close. Expect to grow in clarity as to what you want to commit to, work hard in service to and hopefully grow in your meditation practice too as you honor your solitude again. Saturn in his own sign of Capricorn is getting us comfortable with the uncomfortable; aloneness, aging, and death. While retrograde we could feel our internalized experience of these things but as he moves forward expect to see more output from this nihilistic graha. Jupiter will also station direct on the 17th, a week later, so we can expect our fear based principles and ideals to begin manifesting in the world a bit stronger. We may feel as though things have hit a pitch, but remember while retrograde, the energies of these planets can’t get out as easily. It backs up and while we are hyper aware of it within ourselves, we are not actually seeing the results in the world as much. Similar to a year ago when these two outer planets joined in this same place, we will see how we sit with our fear and what we believe should be done about it.

These are not easy times, and the tale of Goddess Durga is a wonderful way to channel your fear, hope, pain and promise and allow it too to be re-imagined with the support, grace and abundance of the Goddess. After she slays the demon, the crowd circles around Durga, astride her massive tiger and watches as she takes a beautiful breath and sucks the body of Mahishasura back into her being, to become part of the whole again. She then turns to her children and reminds them that she is always here and will always help us. We need only call her name to bring her into being. Blessed Navaratri. Jai Maa!

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Full Moon in Uttara Bhadrapada on September 20th at 1:55 pm HT (GMT-10). This nakshatra is where we have passed through the gate of awareness already in the previous star, Purva Bhadrapada “Early Blessed Step," and are now needing to dive deep into the work of uncovering what is deathly poison and what is immortal nectar.  Uttara Bhadrapada is the later blessed step and it is ruled by Ahirbudhnya the serpent of the depths of the cosmic ocean who holds it up. This is related to our subconscious that our conscious awareness rests upon. Ahi means “sky” and budhnya “bound to the root”. This indicates a need to acknowledge the root before we can enjoy the spaciousness of the sky. In yoga class I often remind people to extend their crown towards the heavens on an inhale and to send their exhale down through their feet, rooting themselves to the earth. The reason is the same; if you do not know where you come from, any growth will be disjointed and untethered.. Without roots, you are not growing, rather just floating around in space.

As the Full Moon is a reflection of the Sun, we are seeing the need to expand to a place of Oneness here in Pisces, across the way from the heat of the Sun and a combust Mars in detail oriented Virgo. When we are stuck in the activity cycle of compartmentalizing and labeling everything we are less able to connect to Source and see everyone and everything as a reflection of ourselves. We might find ourselves getting angry at the slightest trespass on our own cleanliness, health and purity but Mercury’s grounded presence here can help us dial it down and see things for what they are. The discernment and carefully measured communication available when Mercury transits his own sign of Virgo is helpful in mitigating potential arguments or explosions. He will be moving into Libra to join Venus soon after and this will further encourage us to “get along”. While both Venus and Mercury being in Libra do encourage us to communicate, compromise and honor each other, they can also hide our true feelings and intentions in all the sweetness and harmony.

With Both Saturn and Jupiter still retrograde, and Jupiter now back in debility in Capricorn, there is a lot of fear and anger right now that is not being fully expressed. Come October that will begin to explode! Mars and Sun are exact conjunction on Oct 7th. Saturn stations direct on the 10th and Jupiter on the 17th.

With this full moon, we are entering the two weeks of Pitru Paksha, a celebration and honoring of our ancestors. This culminates in Amavasya, the New Moon, when will begin Durga Navaratri, the nine nights of Durga. It is said that 3 generations of our ancestors live in the Pitru Loka, the place of our ancestors and it is up to us to have Shraddha (faith) and pray to them in this time. We are able to make amends to our lives and even release samskaras from our children, if we can both forgive and honor those who came before us.

Many Blessings on this Full Moon! Hare Ohm

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The Moon and Sun will come together in exact degrees on Monday, September 6 at 2:52 pm Hawaii time in the star of Purvaphalguni in sidereal Leo. Purvaphalguni can be translated as the “Early Reddish Lady”, as it is part of pair of stars (Uttaraphalguni “Later Reddish Lady” being the second). These two stars have to do with both love and romance and the power and responsibilities of the King, as they are in Leo. Purvaphalguni is ruled by Venus, the planet of happiness and relationships and its deity is Bhaga, a god who brings both the blessings and curses of good fortune and beauty. In the mythology, Bhaga has his eye put out by Shiva in a rage and as such, when planets are in this star we need to be careful about what we desire through especially our vision. Often our eyes deceive us by leading us by merely external beauty or superficial desires, as opposed to lasting love and peace. In relationship, we can easily see how this can bring us to attach ourselves to relationships that on the surface meets our wants, but when things get serious, likely will not meet our needs. In Uttaraphalguni, we are asked to make commitments and write contracts, so it is important that those are founded on trust, integrity and true friendship. Since Leo is the realm of the King and the Sun is our own personal king of our own little kingdoms, we can see how this New Moon is a cycle of standing in our power and authority. As anyone who has ever led anything knows, if you don’t have anyone following you, then you aren’t a leader. All too often power breeds enjoyment of that power and those who have it aim to either maintain it or get their fill of the luxuries associated with that power. This includes the riches, as well as the pleasures. Eventually, every “king” must reckon with the fact that he is either serving himself or his kingdom and if he is just serving himself, he will eventually have to face the people.

The opposite house of Leo is Aquarius where we are seeing Jupiter Retrograde in the very final degree, a reminder that if it doesn’t work for all, it doesn’t work at all. Saturn, the planet of time and humility and fear rules both the 6th and 7th house from Leo, indicating that a lack of humility & fear is both how leaders end up leading and how they end of falling too. People will follow someone whom they believe is serving society, but as soon as they get wind that they are not, they will not waste much time stripping the king of their crown and throne and giving it to someone else they think will do better.  As a society we can feel this tension heating up. Those in power are digging in their heels more, forgetting that power only exists when others allow it to. As Jupiter dips back into debility in Capricorn on September 14th, we will see how oppressive fear can be, again, as this retrograde cycle is ultimately taking us back to where we were a year ago but with new eyes. Without the hope and optimism that a strong Jupiter brings, we have already seen what constrictive and restrictive beliefs people will hold and more importantly, how this affects legislation as Jupiter is related to court and legal issues. Saturn is still holding court in Capricorn, as he also was last year, but now he too is retrograde and less sure of what he is committing us to. With both of these planets stationing and then not moving forward again until in mid-October, we will see some stagnation in both what we believe and what we are willing to commit to for those beliefs in this month ahead.

Mars has just crossed into Virgo, and is in close proximity to the Sun. The movement from the fiery sign of Leo into the somewhat mental earth sign of Virgo, is not as grounding as it may sound. Ultimately, Mars’ sense of action, courage and discipline needs an outlet and he prefers the long term vision and planning of Capricorn to the overly detail oriented landscape of Virgo. When our action  lacks purpose and is just moving in circles trying to clean, purify and organize everything rather than strengthen us or accomplish a goal, then we can feel frustrated. This frustration can come out in the hyper-critical way of Virgo, trying to discipline others rather than oneself. The closeness to the Sun, can cause our anger to be on a short fuse, creating a situation where anyone who messes up that nice tidy area which you just organized will likely feel your angry blast! Mercury is still here in not only his own sign, but in exaltation, so our capacity to communicate clearly and effectively is strong but when fueled by anger the lack of emotion in our words can come off robotic or harsh. The other thing is that Mercury is the “landlord” of Virgo and only debilitated planets really fare well with the landlord being present. If someone has a full-on handicap it can be helpful to have the owner there to take care of the things that need to be done (as with Saturn being in Capricorn when depilated Jupiter arrives), but when any other planet is joined it feels squashed and limited by the ruler being in the house and tensions arise.

Fortunately, Venus has just left Virgo herself, where she was debilitated, and is now in her own sign of Libra. Here we are more likely to compromise and focus on harmony in our relationships. This is a blessing after months of poor placements for our planet of happiness, but there is also a price to pay in this. Venus in Cancer created a situation where we felt used and abused. Venus then went into Leo where we “took back our power”. Then she traversed Virgo, where we got real nit-picky about what was wrong with each other and now in her own sign we can sigh with relief, right? Not exactly. One thing to be careful of is that transits do not change our natal chart, they just affect our experiences in a transitory way. If you were in a toxic relationship, that run of challenges Venus just went through may have highlighted to you the very real issues in your relationship. If you now “make peace” with your partner, you might very well be compromising in ways that you shouldn’t. More people can successfully navigate relationships when Venus is in Libra, but this does not mean they should or that they are partnered with the right people. With a new cycle in the sign of power (which often dismisses others and what they want), Jupiter in debility, Saturn’s fear radar still on high and a combust Mars, there is likely to be plenty of fight and fire in the air and while it will focus heavily in the societal realms, it is also likely to light some matches in our relationships too. We have to ask ourselves why we want our relationships to work out…is it because we are comfortable and/or “want somebody” or is our partner aligned with our values, beliefs and mode of operating in life? If not then, use the beauty and harmony of Venus in Libra to exit stage left gracefully and go paint a beautiful picture of what you do want your relations to look like, or choreograph a lovely dance with your gorgeous self:)

Many blessings on this New Moon! May your power be sourced in Truth. Hare Ohm

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This Full Moon is happening on August 22, at 2:02am HT (-10 GMT) in sidereal Aquarius in the star of Dhanistha. Dhan is “sound” and stha is “steady”, so Dhanistha is “Steady Sound”. Symbolized by Shiva’s drum, we can feel each of his beats meting out time. How much is our own rhythm connected to this primordial beat? How far off are we from the pulse of nature in our many efforts to “make” the world work for us? What are we harmonizing with? If it’s not true source, then there’s a good chance we are off-beat. Many people also interpret Dhanistha as “Wealth that is Steady or Consistent” since dhana is wealth and we can see that manifest reality comes first from sound and also this manifestation is wealth in its purest form. Certainly as we traverse from Saturn’s two signs of Capricorn and Aquarius, we are moving from the aspect of Fear and Time that promotes solid action to protect us into the place where use that same fear and awareness of time to encourage ideas that will protect society as a whole. Especially in the Aquarius part of this star, we can see the wealth disparity in society and bring our minds to expand what security we have created for ourselves to include the whole “village” or larger community. Ruled by the 8 Vasu, the elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Air, & Space plus the Sun, Moon & Stars, Dhanistha connects us with our elemental foundations and reminds us that we, and everything around us, are all manifestations of a sound that was made in the beginning.

This Moon is joined Jupiter, reminding us of our beliefs & ideals, even if they are more internalized than externalized in this moment due to his apparent Retrograde motion. For better or worse, these beliefs drive much of what we do and think and how we imagine that society needs to be restructured in order to thrive. Of course, the Full Moon is always reflecting the Sun exactly, so the cycle we have entered is one where we are standing in our power. The Sun, our source of power, is in his own sign of Leo, bringing us the light we need to lead the way. Don’t forget everyone else is also shining in this light right now, so you may have to reckon with everyone’s perceived authority at the moment!  The Sun is joined Mars and Mercury, giving us the courage and discipline we need to show up in our Strength and Power and also the communication of a king, authoritative, whether or not it is accurate or precise. This coupled with a debilitated Venus, can make relating hard. Venus in Virgo can be nit-picking on the details and finding fault with every little thing, while we stand with a bit too strong of a tongue on our thrones and our partners (romantic and otherwise) may not appreciate this! Don’t worry, since they too have these transits, they are likely to let you know;-) Watch the video for more insights into this Full Moon and may your steady, consistent rhythm bring you in harmony with the Universal flow! Hare Ohm

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At 3:50 am HT (GMT-10) on August 8th, we have our Sun and Moon joining in the star of Aslesha in sidereal Cancer. This is the part of Cancer where the Mother clings tightly to her child, or we cling tightly to anything we love like a child. This can also be where we cling to our triggers, traumas and subconscious behavior out of fear for releasing ourselves from the sense of security they offer us, despite being poisonous to our lives and capacity for growth. With Mercury navigating this exact Gandanta point between Aslesha in Cancer and Magha in Leo, we can expect our communication in particular to struggle as we either go down deep into the realm of the Naga (the serpents) and untie the knots that hold us to our past experiences, or take a leap of faith, carrying much of that emotional baggage over into Leo. With Mars and Venus already in Leo and Mercury about to shift, we can also expect to see a lot of “one-upping” in our relationships, as everyone attempts to be a leader. Very few people have done the work to really stand strong in their leadership, and many who have are not interested in leading anyway. What can happen when relational planets like Venus and Mercury are in Leo (especially joined fiery, disconnective Mars) is that people can become petty tyrants in their relationships. This is compounded by the order of the signs. With Cancer preceding Leo, every planet goes through the over-giving and unconditional love stage of the Mother, before it is brought into the authority and strength of Leo. An aligned king or father, is still in a space of unconditional love, as they show their children (or subjects) how to playfully step up their game. They have expectations and represent a societal standard that must be met. It is not okay to stay in our infant state, we must grow. If we cling to home, mother and inner peace, it will be at the expense of being able to do anything of value in the world at large, or being able to even support that inner peace with 4 walls and a roof. Dristhis (energetic exchanges) between Retrograde Saturn and Retrograde Jupiter in exchange with both of these signs and the planets in them, is causing this back and forth to affect our commitments, beliefs, and vice versa. With Saturn, we are holding our boundaries more internally than externally right now and noticing the limitations of both our communication and our power. With Jupiter, our internalized beliefs are affecting how we relate (or fight) with our partners, friends and co-workers. This is definitely a New Moon where reflection, space and deep meditation can really help us reach down into what’s subconsciously driving us and use our tools to transform our pain into pleasure, the poison into the immortal bliss of amrita. Happy New Moon!

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Friday, July 23rd at 4:37 pm HT (GMT-10) the Moon will be full in sidereal Capricorn in the star of Uttara Ashada. Uttara Ashada is the “later victory”, the star that bridges Sagittarius and Capricorn making manifest what spiritual seeds or “seeds of our beliefs” we planted earlier. It is shown as an elephant tusk, strong and undefeatable yet wise and valuable like the animal itself. Ruled by the Vishwadevas, all the dieties, working together, it is a place where we harness all the power and light at our disposal and use it on the physical plane to make haste towards our long term goals and visions. The Moon is joined Saturn for this Full Moon and Jupiter soon after, giving us a bit more of a solitary and even depressed feeling for this moon. Saturn is where we have to face the harsh realities of life and are humbled by them.
Seeing as both Saturn and Jupiter are still retrograde, the forward motion might be quite delayed, and the questions around founding beliefs and principles, and the commitments we have made might not be yet answered. Both Saturn and Jupiter are also involved in powerful two way dristhis, energetic gazes, that are causing upset in our relationships, Saturn is currently in mutual dristhi with the Sun causing the feeling of lack of power, constrainment on our power and leadership abilities. Mercury will soon be joined the Sun and this will bleed into our communication as well, in the form of hesitation and uncertainty and also heightened fear driving the emotions.

Jupiter is in dristhi with Mars and Venus in Leo, who just recently hopped the Gandanta knot from Cancer to Leo. The Gandanta is the knot that comes at the end of a water sign, beginning of a fire sign and indicates a place where there is no star to bridge the two. Here we have a karmic knot that can have us feeling one in our own stomachs if we don’t bring awareness to it. This particular jump with these two particular planets is perhaps particularly hard. Venus, the planet of our relationships has been giving us feeling of being used and under appreciated in Cancer. Leap to Leo, and we suddenly demand to be treated like Kings and Queens. This is a transit, so everyone else is having the same experience, meaning your partner also felt under appreciated and now is expecting some throne-sitting time ;-) Mars was in debilitation in Cancer, causing us to have pent up anger that is truly because we are not showing up for ourselves in regular disciplined ways that help strengthen and protect us. Now in Leo, we have a lot more courage and physical channels for our energy. Mars and Venus together always represent the sexual pull of partnership. What we want from the other person and also what we want from ourselves. In the playful, physical and also unapologetic sign of Leo, we can expect more passion and fun, but also less accountability and compromise. Jupiter Retrograde is driving our beliefs deep within, questioning, refining and sending that energy over to Mars/Venus, giving more fuel for the fire in some situations. We might have an idea of what is truth or right or wrong and be projecting that onto others. Remember that Jupiter in Aquarius is not at its wisest. Pure teachings are harder to grasp for, and temporal truths are not actual truths. Imposing your perspective on others is not only likely to bring disharmony, it’s likely that you are at least partially not in truth doing so. Leo’s biggest issue is a lack of concern about its own transgressions onto others. It is the sign where we have the hardest time with accountability and apologizing, so the chances of acknowledging that there may have been casualties for our behavior is less likely.

Guru Purnima is a celebration of our teachers. “Gu” is the darkness, and “Ru” is the light which dispels the darkness. Teachers can be and are everyone who teaches us something; our parents, our children, sometimes strangers or store clerks. Our teachers are meant to bring us from the darkness to the light and many bonafide teachers do in many ways. With a Retrograde Jupiter and Saturn also Retrograde and joined this moon, we can expect to see the fallibilities of our teachers and teachings as much as the light they have shared. It is important to recognize both, as most of our teachers are very human and have their own black holes of awareness in their behavior. A true Sat Guru, who is a realized being is very rare and if you are lucky to be in the presence of one for even a short time, the amount of darkness dispelled can be great, but in the mean time, we must remember that it is rare and not every person who exalts themselves to this status is actually this. Better to go within and attach ourselves to the practices that bring us closer to the light than to spend too much time at the feet of a false guru.
Many Blessings on this Full Moon and Happy Guru Purnima!

TO FIND OUT HOW THESE TRANSITS AFFECT YOU PERSONALLY:

After the storm of Ardra, where the Sun was for our last Full Moon, we move into the peace that comes in its aftermath. On Friday, July 9th, at 3:16 pm HT (-10 GMT) we have our Moon and Sun coming together in the star of Punarvasu in sidereal Gemini. Represented by an arrow, returned to its quiver, or a fractal, Punarvasu is where patterns are repeated and the light has returned. Ruled by Aditi, the Universal Mother who births the Adityas, beings of light, this is where all of the potential creation that fell with the shot of an arrow in the creator is born anyway. Alongside calamity comes compassion. That which humbles us, causes us to find the light again, but in a different way with different eyes. The motherly nature of this star brings us back to peace and moves us from the mental realm of Gemini into the nurturing heart space of Cancer. In the arms of the mother we feel safe. In the arms of the mother we are accepted. Her 12 children are also (mostly) the deities of other nakshatras. Vivasvan (Surya), Aryaman, Tvashtar, Savitr, Bhaga, Dhata, Mitra, Varuna, Amsa, Pushan, Indra and Vishnu (Vamana). Aditya itself is a name for Surya, the Sun God and the 12 sons can be said to be different aspects of the Sun that shine with each month. The actual names and number of Adityas differs from various texts and Daksha himself (the Creator that was shot down by Rudra in Ardra for wanting to mate with his own daughter) is actually said to be born from Aditi, while she is also born from him. Repeating patterns. Likewise, Aditi births Vishnu as Vamana the dwarf, who is the godhead from whom she herself is also created.

Mercury is just back in his home constellation of Gemini this New Moon, offering us some fresh perspective. He has been either Retrograde or joined the north Node Rahu in Taurus for quite some time and our discernment has been affected! It’s hard to see things clearly when our buddhi, our discrimination, is hyper focused or distorting information to match our illusions and delusions about life. Now we have an opportunity to unravel some of the distortions and see through a clearer lens. He is specifically in the star of Mrigasira, where we are seeking truth and perhaps departing from the values we were raised with.

Jupiter, retrograde until October, is still giving his one-way dristhi, gaze, to the sign of Gemini, and Mercury is the closest to his line of sight. This is bringing together two aspects of our understanding that are vital if we wish to create meaning and seek truth. Jupiter, the planet of wisdom and higher teachings gives us beliefs, ideals on which to rest our choices and understandings on which offer context for the information we take in and put out. Mercury is where we have discrimination about facts and data and take in information ideally without an agenda. With this dristhi, Jupiter is giving his wisdom and set of beliefs (coming from an Aquarian perspective) to our discerning information processor. Since he is retrograde, the beliefs are building up internally and not able to make their way out into the world at this moment. That he is in Aquarius, specifically the star of Satabishak, indicates a deep inner knowing of the corruption that exists, and the healing that is necessary if we are to move beyond the social circumstances we not just find ourselves in now but the ones on which our present was actually built.

Venus and Mars are still in Cancer with a two way dristhi from Saturn Retrograde in Capricorn. This is causing us to continue to feel overworked and underpaid, despite not really working that hard, lol! Mars in debilitation in Cancer requires a lot of stops and starts and rest, as the highly active planet is quite muted here. Our built up passion and fire can lead to short and often hidden bursts of anger that come out in emotional ways. Venus in Cancer is where we are giving more than we feel comfortable with and then feel upset at those we are giving to. This represents an imbalance where we are not in tune with the energies of these two planets (our discipline/courage through Mars and our capacity to have healthy mutual relationships with Venus). Saturn retrograde is questioning the commitments we have made to these relationships and to our own self care as it is shown through our personal discipline. It is also asking us to examine our boundaries with others and how well we hold them? People can only treat us as well as we let them and we can only hold others responsible for topics that are “on the table”. If we have made assumptions and guessed our way through the circumstances we are in, we will find out the hard way and there will be no one to blame but ourselves.

Overall, this New Moon is a breath of fresh air after two eclipses and the very intense Full Moon on the galactic plane two weeks ago. Take a breath, fill your cup and marvel at all you have passed through and manifested. It has not been easy to get here, but here you are, with new eyes and more discernment. No time has been wasted because each perceived mistake is a chance to create the next rendition of the pattern a little better, a little more aligned with the light. Namaste and wishing you a Blessed New Moon!
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POWER STRUGGLES
This Thursday morning at 8:40 am Hawaii Time (GMT-10) the Moon will be Full in the star of Mula in sidereal Sagittarius and the Sun will be across the way in the the star of Ardra in Gemini. This axis is on the galactic plane, and is one of the most tumultuous places in the sky astrologically. Ardra, where the Sun is located, is the place where Prajapati, the Creator, is shot down by Rudra, a fierce form of Shiva as he attempts to chase his daughter down to Earth. The Sun is our source of Power, Consciousness, and it is also the government, authority and the father. While his daughter and the rest of the trinity of gods may have misunderstood his intentions to mate with her, that being he wanted to create perfect beings, the fact remains that the ends do not always justify the means. If in order to establish or create something ideal we have to violate another person’s boundaries, push or coerce people, then it is inherently flawed in its process of creation. This is a big theme right now as we see all the ways in which we have consistently been taught in society that the ends DO justify the means. Especially means and ends as chosen by individuals or groups that hold large amounts of power.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
In the sign of Gemini, Ardra has to do with ideas, communication and data. The notion that a small select group of people are privy to extra knowledge and hold capacity to make sense of that knowledge and that we should all entrust those people to not only hold and interpret the information they have, but to do what’s best for all of society with it is problematic. There is a direct dristhi, aspect, here from Jupiter in Shatabishak onto our Sun, highlighting the corruption that has been passing unseen “in the night” and wanting to exact justice for it and make society work more for the collective. The fact that he just began retrograde period himself indicates that this will build up internally before it is actually manifested in the outer world and we will see a lot of frustration over this.

 The mythology moves on to show that by shooting down the creator, we now have disease, famine, natural disasters etc to reckon with, but perhaps we can also imagine that those things eventually help bring us back to our true source. Creation involves separation. It is an illusion, Maya. Destruction is as well. The idea that something must be done to make something else perfect, or to tear down what currently exists, is already caught in the web of illusion. This is where our work lies. We must be able to hold both the truth of oneness and the “reality” of the illusion in which we are ultimately finding our way back to truth. Stepping back and gaining perspective is imperative. So is dropping in and experiencing truth for oneself:)

This axis is also an axis of “reasoning” (where our Sun=Power is situated) versus the “believing” (where are Moon=Psyche is reflecting the Sun’s light). It is where our knowledge and wisdom meet and where we are shown how limited we are in processing information if we don’t examine our biases that come from our beliefs. It is also important to note that people who “don’t have beliefs’ do indeed have them and they are often harder to recognize. We all choose to take in information based on these biases and beliefs. Both Gemini and Sagittarius are masculine signs that go out into the world to find what they are seeking (Knowledge and Inspiration) and they are both capable of starting and finishing what they start. They are also both able to pivot and move in different directions, with Sagittarius having a four-legged animal as the bottom half, therefore indicating it is harder and takes longer to change course. This shows the ways in which our beliefs tend to keep running in one direction, even as we are able to see and experience different perspectives, while our thinking mind is more able to do a complete 180 degree turn when presented with new information (as long as it fits in our pre-existing confirmation bias). Tricky!

The concept of a rage-filled howling aspect of Shiva, pure consciousness itself, that shoots down this creator, fills a place in our collective lore as a singular form of a hero who “comes to save the day”, generally with violence. Why do we feel safer when there is one superhuman source of protection that is outside of us? He incorporates all the rage and ugliness we don’t want to show from ourselves and shoots down the “bad guy”. This is a disowned part of ourselves, perhaps, that we need to both fear and exalt in a form that cannot be mistaken for human. It is important to see that our rage is necessary to call out behavior that is not okay, but eventually we must find the one-pointed calm of many of Shiva’s other forms, if we hope to move out of anger and be productive.

MULA: CHAOTIC DESTRUCTION
On the other end of the axis, our Moon waxes to Full luminescence in the star Mula, which means “the root’. Here we see all the things that are not working, all the assumptions that have been made, all the building that has occurred on a shoddy foundation and we rip it out by its roots. Ruled by the goddess Niritti, related to Kali, she uses chaos as her weapon. She is a whirlwind of energy and fury and like a tornado destroys everything in her path. What is left are the gaping holes, void of any life, that must be tilled to use for replanting. She rides a donkey, yields a sword and hails from the South East, a direction of suffering and pain and a city that is ink-black, “Krishnanjana”. She also has a more peaceful aspect, a “blonde Nirriti” who is the aspect that accepts destruction as a phase, a passing that must occur in order to bring peace. One thing astrologers often do is to warn people about tendencies that may be up in any given time, and how to mitigate disaster. The axis of this Full Moon is asking us to remember that we are mere conduits of a greater energy. The point of our collective and individual realities is not actually to mitigate disaster, as appealing as it may be. Challenges and epic overhauls occur because they are needed to bring balance to the greater energy field, and pain, suffering and disaster are very much pit stops on the way to peace, harmony and oneness.

These two oppositions show the difference between chaotic and one-pointed destruction, between feminine and masculine principles of anger and even justice and how important the root of belief is to the manner in which one processes the information they receive. The fact is both Rudra and Nirriti have an opposite sex partner in the original texts, but the masculine aspect is what came out in the story of a one-pointed focus of anger, and the feminine for the chaotic role of massive disruption. Discrimination is only as good as the person using it is clear with their confirmation biases. Most of us are not very clear here. Likewise, information can and is used as tool for deceit as much as it is as a way to reveal truth and facts. As the first Full Moon since the eclipse, we are coming out of a month-long grasp of the nodes on our psyche and consciousness. We may be starting to really see more clearly, but we also have planets keeping us deep in our own confusion and pain. Mercury , now direct again as of June 22nd, is joined tightly with the north node, causing our communication to be magnified and misunderstood. It can also cause information to get sprayed out in a dispersive manner that does not maintain integrity of how it originated. Mercury is also the ruler of our Sun at the moment, so it affects our capacity to stand in our power in this intense placement in the middle of Gemini.

RETROGRADES
While Mercury has begun direct motion, Jupiter is beginning retrograde motion as of June 20th, joining Saturn for a long stint until October. This means the delays will still be with us. While Mercury is blamed for nearly all retrograde challenges, it is only in this state for 3 weeks or so, Jupiter and Saturn enjoy this condition almost half the time and affect a much bigger aspect of our ability to move forward in life. Our phones and computers may be back to normal functioning, but our capacity to really commit and show up with the hard work necessary to reach goals will be greatly hindered. Saturn rules time and when time itself is slowed down, we all feel its humbling stagnancy. Jupiter is our beliefs, our inspiration, our teachers and wisdom. In his retrograde state we experience a “back up” with these things. We become acutely aware of them, but in an internal way that inhibits the external production possible. This is the retrograde frustration. We are actually being given a beautiful opportunity to mull things over and make sure we have done all the steps so that what we put our energy into is aligned with our beliefs and that we have taken care of necessary details. What it feels like is a delay, lack of forward motion and questioning if we are on the right track at all. This can be un-inspiring and de-motivating if we don’t understand it and use it wisely.

RESERVE YOUR STRENGTH
Mars in debility in Cancer is not helping us any, as our actual planet of anger, action and courage is feeling lazy, emotional and sensitive. This does not help us show up for our own routines or discipline that help mitigate our anger and laziness. It also does not help us do the things in life that infuse us with courage, and we may fall back into old habits and ways. This can especially true if we are not taking care of ourselves. With Saturn Retrograde and in mutual dristhi with Mars, we can see that we are caught between fight and flight, with flight in the stronger dignity. Any anger and courage we can muster is muted, and sourced purely from emotions, diluting it in its capacity to illicit action. We need to take alternating periods of work and rest and allow for plenty of hydration. Water therapy can be helpful, but don’t allow yourself to wallow your whole day away in a bath or pool. Discipline is showing up again and again in the same way to create pathways in your brain that train you to show up even when you don’t want to. Now would be the time to tap into those reserves if you’ve created them. If not, start small and simple to bring some order to your life.

BLESS YOU ON THE BUMPY PATH
This Full Moon is here to remind us that the path to Santana Dharma (Eternal Truth) is not linear, neat or clean. Jump on that donkey and hobble your way through the fields of your beliefs, ripping out roots of anything you did not intentionally plant. Also remember that after the storm, or tornado passes through, we have to examine the wreckage and build on stronger foundations for the future. These times are not easy ones and we did not sign up for the lazy shift. We can ignore and bypass and “just live our lives” but it too will be to our own destruction if we do not make sure to examine our own roots and why we believe, think and act on what we do! Blessed Full Moon.
Hare Ohm

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE HOW THESE TRANSITS AFFECT YOU PERSONALLY...

The second half of our eclipse cycle is the New Moon/Solar Eclipse on June 10th in the star of Mrigasira. The max point of the eclipse is at 12:41 am HT (GMT-10) and the exact time of the Moon and Sun joining each other is at 12:51 am HT, so the hours leading up to it are in the night of the 9th for us here in Hawaii. A small sliver of Canada will be able to see this “Ring of Fire” eclipse and some Northern US locations will wake to see a small part of the sun as if it was a lit up crescent moon. Mrigasira is “deer-faced” and it indicates a search, especially the start of a spiritual one. Governed by the diety Soma, the Moon, and lord of the eternal nectar sought by both the devas and asuras, the forces of light and dark. It is liquid; delicious, nourishing and youthful and the bringer of ecstasy. He rules over the life juice itself and all its manifest forms in vegetables, fruits and herbs. In the Taurus portion of this star (where the Sun and Moon are being eclipsed) this star is especially rooted in the pleasure of sucking the marrow out of life. Upon finishing our earthly pleasures, the Moon moves into the Gemini portion where we seek the same juicy nectar for our minds.


In the story of this star and the one before, Rohini (the star in which the North Node is actually eclipsing from) is the most beautiful and fertile of all the 27 stars. Her father, Prajapati, decides he needs to make perfect beings for Earth and approaches her to be his partner for that endeavor. She is mortified and turns herself into a deer to flee him and runs down to Earth. The issue of autonomy and leaving one’s family and their set of values arises as we come to the end of the natural 2nd house of values (Taurus) into the 3rd house of learning new skills, the ego (identity separation) and our will (Gemini). This can be seen in leaving what is comfortable and secure in search of new ideas, perspectives and information. Can we find that divine nectar when moving from the stability of earth to an ever-changing landscape like the windy mind? Here we have to be careful not to end up in an endless search for something juicier. If we are always seeking something more delicious than we can forget to revel in the present. However, if we never seek greener pastures, we may never evolve out of old habits and routines that no longer serve us. The trick is to keep our mind fixed towards God (dess), Spirit, Love. Here it is the Moon in the same place in the sky as the Sun (from our position here on Earth) that is blocking our light. Since the Moon is dark, it is already eclipsed every month as it fades to the dark by the Sun. The Sun is our light, our connection to Source, and represents the father or king. So instead of just running from some perceived power, as when the Moon is in Mrigasira alone,  we are directly aware of our own power and how it is being eclipsed. Do we know all the information? Perhaps we are seeing things in the illusory grasp of Rahu. Have we magnified the power struggles before us?

A good question to ask yourself here is if you are running towards something new or away from something that doesn’t feel good. In the eclipse portal especially, this can be confusing. There is heightened illusion, especially with regards to power and it has been expanding while the Sun has been transiting sidereal Taurus, where the north node has been since September 2020. The nodes are not actual bodies, rather chaya graha, shadow “planets” that are mathematically calculated points in space where eclipses will occur when there is a full or new moon in that place. What falls in their path is shrouded in mystery, and also delusion. The North Node (Rahu) brings erratic expansion and magnification, as we begin new karma and step into “foreign” territory. Since the Sun is our source of power… In what ways do you feel empowered and in what ways do you feel others are trying to “run” you? The bull does not like to be taunted, led or even followed. He just wants to be. The deer can be skittish and gets distracted easily.

 Eclipses come in pairs, and the axis of Rahu and the South node Ketu are also a pair. In order to understand and realize the potential of the open mouth obsession of Rahu, we must untie the karmic knot that is keeping us stuck where the tail of the serpent resides. If we haven’t been actively unwinding what holds us in the deep waters of Scorpio, through our trauma, fear and emotions, we will not be able to build the gardens of our future in Taurus.

On the heels of the powerful total Lunar Eclipse two weeks ago, and with Jupiter giving dristhi to Venus, the ruler of this eclipse sitting in Gemini, we can expect that our strong-held beliefs our influencing our capacity to relate to those we are engaged with. Jupiter is not only the fixed sign of Aquarius, but he is beginning to station himself, as he prepares for retrograde motion June 20th. He is also in the star of Satabishak, which is able to illuminate the corruption of power like the thousands of stars in the night sky. This star also holds the power to heal both physically and socially. With this gaze on Venus in Ardra, the star where Prajapati is shot down as he chases his deer-like daughter across the sky we can see how we might feel like shooting first and asking questions later. Eclipses are always a time to tune out from the mundane everyday of our lives and into the spiritual, meditative and other-worldly realm that the nodes offer glimpses of. Ketu is releasing message from before, and Rahu is grasping at what the future has to eat. This is a good time to turn off the phone, the computer and the tv and focus just on Source. True power is within each of us and lights up when it meets outside reminders of that power (like the Sun). With Mercury and Venus in exchange of signs (and Mercury slowed down to his own retrograde tune), we are more likely to take that extra minute, hour or day before responding or reacting. It might also mean our delays are being magnified by others to signify our own assertion of power. With Saturn also in perceived retrograde motion, our commitments, hard work and sense of time management is slowed down and being reviewed and revised as well.

This combination of eclipses and retrograde activity is likely to cause the restless searcher in us to feel a bit frustrated, but if we can remember all the calamities we have lived through before this, perhaps we can remember that much of those came from pushing through what needed to wait, cutting corners, especially when it comes to communication and steps to establish true integrity and connection with people we are in relation to. To push our own agenda forward without being aware of how it is experienced by everyone else involved, is to “shoot down” what could’ve been beautiful before it is created. On the other side, to run from what feels like old boundaries being crossed is not necessarily going to get us where we want to go either. If we didn’t dive back into our trauma on the lunar eclipse to dig up what subconscious fears lurk in our shadow realm, then perhaps we aren’t clearly seeing what the intentions of others are. It may be projections from past scenarios. Don’t worry, we will get to visit this all again in Nov/Dec eclipses where the solar and lunar energies will be reversed. For now, just allow yourself to sit with all your questions and all your answers and taste the sweetness of not knowing as you lean in towards your highest truth.

Hare Ohm

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