 Incoming: This weekend we have reached a new moon that is asking us to cut away our old out worn comforts to purify our minds to return back to the essence of who we truly are. Take a breath with me, Inhale and exhale. What sustains you? (versus what has only kept you comfortably static). What is quality to you? (versus a poor substitute for quantity). What needs to be removed, refined or trimmed back in your reality?
With Venus and Jupiter both in Gemini we have choices and a variety of options at our disposal. And really this is adding an element of optimism to this new moon so this culling process doesn't have to be a dull or depressing experience. Affirmations and changing/fooling your mindset can work at this time to add a skip to your step and so too can exploring your options rather than obsessing or tunnel visioning. Variety is the spice of life and all that! Not a bad time to donate old clothes, write down and burn old beliefs or thought patterns (this moon is ruled by the fire god Agni afterall) and also purify what you ingest by cooking more healing meals. Fire in its essence creates both warmth but also burns the dross in our life. Dross is really that which we hoard physically, emotionally or mentally that is excessive or unneeded. Stay light (and stay curious), Mark :)
0 Comments
 I wanna hold 'em like they do in Texas, please
Fold 'em, let 'em hit me, raise it, baby, stay with me Love game intuition, play the cards with spades to start And after he's been hooked, I'll play the one that's on his heart ~Lady Gaga To stay or to go. To push forward or submit. To act or relax. We come into a rebalancing full moon tomorrow night. With Mars charging away from Saturn we are starting to feel the relief of having our own initiatives back into our hands without the feeling of being held back. Though a caution on the moon ahead, a Swati moon is like throwing sand into the wind. The energy scatters and can take us in many directions. The key here is to implement change in your life now that transforms your current reality in a positive way. A headless run will only invite many walls (I just made that up but it sounds about as poignant as a lot of Confucius type quotes). If we can master the somewhat chaotic energy we can get a lot achieved and quickly. There is strength in the sky with the sun exalted in Aries and Venus at home in Taurus. These two will help strengthen our courage and our connections at this time. So with these winds of change blowing it is vitally important you become the eye of the storm to hear/see/feel the right choice to make to take you forward. Remove negativity and choose positive action WITH the hand you are holding at the moment. Remove any self righteousness, fantasy or arrogance - play well. Stay light, Mark :)  Wow! What a kinetic new moon we have tonight. Often new moons are associated with internalisation and slow introversion. Not this new moon! Not only are all the planets trapped inside the clutches of the serpent of karma (the karmic lunar nodes), but then we have Mercury with Neptune and Mars with Saturn all in Pisces. Things are SENSITIVE.
Though if we can detach from that sensitivity, volatility and intensity we can find many solutions over the next lunar cycle. It's this strange combination having so much collision in Pisces, a sign of endings, illusions and liberation and then a new moon with the Sun in fiery Aries. What do you get when water and fire collide? Steam. And like a boiling pot we need to make sure we don't boil over and spoil things out of our own saucepan. Containment is strongly encouraged and in that containment there is much to swiftly course correct many an ailment perplexing you of late. The good news is healing is quickly on the way - whether that is physical or mental. The bad news is there is frustration and confusion. My astrological counsel is guidance from karmic axis this Ashwin New Moon: let go of your need to be right, to be seen or special. See the bigger picture with objective awareness and through that objectivity a great healing can occur. There are alternative ways to operate, innovative perspectives to find ahead but if you cling to who you've been and what you've had you'll only be pedestalling the past and not breathing your way into the genius of the future. Don't hold onto your pain out of pride, let yourself embrace different ways to get to the same outcome. Try it a different way and see how quickly and more interestingly you arrive at your target. Stay light, Mark :)  Pressure pressing down on me
Pressing down on you, no man ask for Under pressure that burns a building down Splits a family in two Puts people on streets It's the terror of knowing what this world is about Watching some good friends screaming "Let me out!" Pray tomorrow brings me higher Pressure on people, people on streets ~Queen/Bowie Mars, our planet of combat and defence, has had a lot to say of late. Last month it was with the karmic axis Rahu amplifying and distorting tension internally and externally for us all. Mercury was retrograde at that time creating confusion and a lack of discernment of logic. But now we will see the realities of this as both Mercury and more effectively Mars march toward reality bringing Saturn. This next fortnight is tense. No way to escape that. It will bring frustration. It will require patience. It will be challenging not to act and feed into illusion/fantasy/escape. By the new moon this Friday these feelings will be most intense (I will post about the new moon later) for the next week onward and should start to break the following Friday 24th. But what does that mean for you personally? Well depending where this conjunction is playing out in your birth chart you have to be extremely careful. It is like balancing fire and ice. Or acceleration and delays. Action and detachment. It is teaching you endurance. Resilience. Big picture longevity vs immediate satisfaction. How can you act or resist reacting to further your expansion long term. What is your dream and how can you make it happen by using your energy in a more liberated and wise way? This will most certainly reflect the tension in the world right now and bring a lot of confusing and hysterical actions - but can you personally do the opposite and use it to your benefit? With all this in Pisces it will take compassion, adaptability and empathy. Yet with Mars we need to act with courage, with Saturn we need structure and reality and with Mercury we need to communicate from the heart. This is a challenging time when in doubt take time out for contemplation and take your time. Stay light, Mark :  In a way this Mercury retrograde period has been an ascending cyclone. The air (thoughts) have been intense, unpredictable and distorted. With Mercury and Rahu (the karmic axis) being 1 degree away and Mars close-by there is an eye of the storm feeling within the mind. An anxiety of aggressive thinking that will take you or another by surprise. Thankfully as we approach the new moon on Thursday morning there will be a feeling of release/breakthrough/reality. The rains of an Uttara Bhadrapada new moon break the drought (or momentum of suffering) and sustain a much needed foundation.
Anyone with Mercury dominant (Gemini and Virgo) will be less steady and more reactive so practice caution. Mercury will move ahead two days after the new moon so even though Thursday will bring the release there may not be the feeling of moving forward until the weekend. But even so the release will bring solace from the unpredictable winds that attack the brain. For now the remedies are simple - mind calming practices. Refrain from big decisions or reactions, pause, shelve emotional conversations and focus on the positives. You will be in a whole different mindset/scenario when Mercury fully clears Aquarius and moves into Pisces on the 11th of April. Stay light, Mark :)  The partial solar eclipse recently was a mere warm up to the upcoming full and visible lunar eclipse on Tuesday evening. Eclipses are not to be feared but they are to be taken seriously. For they govern the karmic fates of astrology and can heighten, accelerate and uncover the veils of illusion in our lives.
We are well inside the portal, or the 'shadow' rather. What shadows or veils are coming up for you right now? These shadows are veils or actions taken in the past (this life or past life) that cast a dent on the dentless soul underneath. These aren't reflections of your truth but rather a reflection of fear or negative action taken. These aren't to be healed or worked with these are to be SEEN. By seeing the untruth is how finally it can break and liberate one out of future suffering. It is in karmic belief there are timeframes and almost like sentences of retribution well above our human understanding so acceptance is key here. If it's ready to move, it will. Now eclipses are deeply personal and more triggered if they fall upon any planets or angles (ascendant etc) that fall in the sign, or more so degrees near, of Leo or Aquarius - so it may not be your karmic time to shine compared to someone else - so let's take the dramatics out of the equation firstly. Secondly the houses (or sections of the sky) that are affected will play a big role personally. Thirdly if you're feeling something you're probably in the realm of it hitting your chart personally (to explore further book a reading with me). Now there can be a crisis type healing over the coming days - not like an emotional breakdown - more like a cathartic 'aha' moment. The sun and other planets congregating in Satabhishak (the hundred healers) is inviting the popping of a blister on something at a soul level to radically move you forward. The moon itself in Purva Phalguni is eclipsing our enjoyment for a time to allow this future to emerge. You do not need to do anything here, in fact it's better to not rush, over react or force anything. Healing takes rest in whatever situation or moment you find yourself in. I wish you well. Stay light, Mark :)  Childhood living is easy to do
The things you wanted I bought them for you Graceless lady you know who I am You know I can't let you slide through my hands I watched you suffer a dull aching pain Now you decided to show me the same No sweeping exits or offstage lines Could make me feel bitter or treat you unkind I know I dreamed you a sin and a lie I have my freedom but I don't have much time Faith has been broken, tears must be cried Let's do some living after we die ~Rolling Stones The coming-in-hot year of the horse starts with a GALLOP! As I am travelling over the next fortnight I wanted to get in early to talk about this new moon solar eclipse on the 18th of February. Now as always the eclipse game sheet: stay calm, eat light, try not be around large groups of people, take time to tune in/be in nature/meditate/chant. Though this Dhanishta new moon is somewhat healing with Rahu/Karmic axis (and Venus) in the healing hands of Satabishak. And this healing is happening with and around people/relationships so it's not as isolating as other eclipses. With all this Aquarius energy I like to think of this new moon as an awakening. It makes me want to use racing lingo (though I don't agree with racing animals) - 'fresh out of the gate' kinda energy. This new moon eclipse will definitely start us off with some swift different even oddball energy. Try not to act straight away around the actual eclipse as things will be amplified, perhaps a little chaotic and won't be clear until the dust settles. But where you can act is observing the inner changes that are taking place within you at this time. The eclipse will amplify these inner changes of self expression and bring some BIG clues on where you are trotting ahead this year. Lastly this new moon depending where it falls in your birth chart will activate new karma in your life. To explore this further and with more personalised insight book a reading with me through my website. I wish you a surprisingly innovative and refreshing solar eclipse ahead. Strap in, Bonnie! Stay light, Mark :)  Well, you can't hold me, I'm too slippery
I do no sleep in, I get lonely You can touch me if you want to I got poison I just might bite you Lie in circles on the sunlight Shine like diamonds On a dark night Ain't no mercy in my smilin' Only fangs and sweet beguiling Well future, he don't try to find me Skin I been through Dies behind me Solid hollow wrapped in hatred Not a drop of venom wasted Well, you can slip in, try to find me Hold your breath and flat deny me It makes no difference to my thinkin' I'll be here when you start sinkin' ~Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan My mum was born with an Ashlesha moon. When I read her vedic chart for the first time she was in her 60s. I said to her an Ashlesha moon has the tongue of a snake and like a snake it has potency, power and poison symbolically in its words. My mum without any delay retorted back "I've never been afraid to say what I think or ask questions that might make people uncomfortable". And thus the joy of reading for someone who has lived and grown to know themselves. Moreso the joy of reading for an Ashlesha moon. Unafraid to speak the truth. And this is where we find ourselves this full moon. Now Ashlesha is the snake or naga. Nagas hold the secrets. And within holding these divine secrets they can be used to poison or enlighten. That is the test of Ashlesha. When to strike and when to be still. This will be your test this full moon. To express or hold your tongue, otherwise risking the effect of rattling those in front of you. Now this isn't the full story. There are a plethora of planets opposite in Capricorn - Pluto, Mars, Sun, Venus and Mercury. These 5 planets are holding the energy that reflects onto our dear moon (or mind) creating a very strong anchor and pressure on integrity, responsibility and timing. What does this tell me? Wait, there is a little more left to uncover before you can move ahead or speak. And this Chinese year of the snake is (unfortunately) not done with us. This full moon we remove our last skin before the new moon in a fortnight that takes us into the year of the horse. Fascinatingly the process of skin removal for a snake takes 7-14 days which is lunar timings so: Let. Go. Stay light, Mark :)  By the new moon all the congregation of the planets in the fire of Sagittarius will have moved into the earth of Capricorn. This weekend we wane down into this collection of Moon, Sun, Mercury, Mars, Venus and Pluto all aligned in the crocodile or sea goat constellation. All in the same lunar mansion of Uttarashada. The later victorious star. This one is STRONG. But perhaps not in the way you may first think.
Ganesha the elephant deity of beginnings and remover of obstacles is highlighted here. Through these obstacles we now face we need to remember the bigger picture and the long-term victory that is assured with sustained effort and most of all patience. This is a reality check moon and really it doesn't need to be any harder than that. Of course if something is an obstruction in your life at the moment and it doesn't have the legs to walk the distance it will be removed or you will remove it - but the symbol of the tusk is here and in mythology Ganesha snapped off his own tusk to write the great Mahabharata - which says though self sacrifice you achieve great things. So this moon is more a hang in there and keep going then a give up or quit kinda energy. Like the elephant we continue walking slow and steady. Not alone and with the weight of purpose. You can win if you have the knowledge and wisdom that you can. I'll leave you with a song: Walk on through the wind Walk on through the rain Though your dreams be tossed and blown Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone ~Gerry and the pacemakers/Rodgers and Hammerstein Stay light, Mark :)  The sea, it swells like a sore head
And the night, it is aching Two lovers lie with no sheets on their bed And the day, it is breaking On rainy days we go swimming out On rainy days swimming in the sound On rainy days we go swimming out You're in my mind all of the time I know that's not enough If the sky can crack, there must be some way back For love and only love ~U2 2026 here we are! All aboard for the intense full moon ahead. But this intensity comes with optimism. A cracking entry into this year to get us all moving. The sun remains sandwiched in between Venus and Mars (attraction and assertion) like it was for the new moon previously. Wants and needs are now ready to be proclaimed as we move forward into this coming year. But with the new moon there was an inner digging to find the root or source of these wants and needs, we are now in the driver's seat to move forward and tangibly grab them. Now an Ardra full moon is the energy of a storm. It requires you to sit in the eye of this storm and with persevering effort you can wash away the past and with resilience move forward into achievement. There may be struggle ahead. Most definitely it's time to act and to back yourself. But we now have energy at our disposal to use. Use this full moon to be clear, set goals and begin. It's also handy to express anything left unsaid or needed to be said so you can move forward. And forward we go. Stay light, Mark :) |