A Thought for Today. . .

"A tree has both straight and crooked branches; the symmetry of the tree,
however, is perfect. Life is balanced like a tree. When you consider
the struggles, difficulties, and sorrows as a part of it,
then you see it as beautiful and perfect."
- George M. Lamsa

Individuality - Sun conjunct Uranus

"Revolutions begin with the self, in the self" - Toni Cade


S u n C o n j u n c t U r a n u s

I think that with Uranus conjunct the Sun it automatically makes you hard wired with a kind of high voltage electrical energy. With a charged nervous system, stress easily effects these people and they are prone to being highly strung especially when the Sun is in Fire or Air.

They are strongly individualistic and have a highly developed sense of self and if you push these people...they will push back. They resist moulds and are not afraid to be seen as different and to stand up for what they believe. They have original minds and can easily think 'out of the box' and have an uncanny ability to pluck thoughts and inspiration out of thin air.

They can have trouble with physical co-ordination and as children they can find it difficult to catch a ball, for instance. They also may experience phases when they have trouble going to sleep or find them selves waking suddenly.

They relish being individuals and have no particular need to 'fit in' with the crowd - feeling their 'differentness' to be an asset rather than a fault.

"To me, the whole process of being a brushstroke in
someone else’s painting is a little difficult." - Madonna

I N D I V I D U A L

She was never one for pastels, her colours were bold
too volatile to have ever been considered demure
she screamed when others merely whispered
it was not her intention to offend, it was just her way

August bought forth a fiercely individual spirit
she couldn't, wouldn't, dull her shine for anyone
her voltage was high, she contained the electricity
but you could still hear it, popping and crackling

Under the shiny surface a golden heart was beating
as it pumped the ruby red lifeblood through her veins
Dancing flames licked around her head, a fiery halo
while all around her ankles the angry ocean roared

- Susannah Bec 2010

These are three verses of a recent poem... for the rest of the poem please visit my poetry blog - Out of My Ocean

---

Image and words Susannah Bec.

Neptunes House

"Abracadabra - a tap with a magic wand - gone!"

I am very familiar with the creative / spiritual / mystical aspects to Neptune, but I am curious about peoples experiences with the sometimes not so rosy effects that Neptune can have! In particular I wanted to ask if you are prone to experiencing confusion, fear and anxiety around the concerns of the house that Neptune falls in, in your natal chart?

For myself Neptune in the 6th house brings an oversensitivity to drugs (medications) chemicals, smells etc. It has always made any ill health I have had notoriously difficult to diagnose and that in turn has caused vague floating fears. Though I am very intuitive when it comes to other peoples health (and my amateur diagnostic abilities are usually excellent :-) - probable due to my Neptunes exact sextile to Venus conjunct Pluto in Virgo.) I don't seem to be able to see my own 6th house issues with such clarity!
These floating fears can also be pinned onto my pets if I am not aware and vigilant and I have trouble 'seeing clearly' if my concerns are valid or not. The sixth house is one place I sometimes have to ask others for a second opinion, as I know that sometimes reality can shift a little too easily there for me!

Some more thoughts based purely on observation of people close to me -

Neptune conjunct Ascendant / in the 1st house brings a shifting self image, a feeling of "I have lost myself again" - I was sure I knew who I was!
Fear sometimes comes from not having a clear sense of who they are and what they are doing.

Who are you? said the Caterpillar. Alice replied rather shyly, 'I - I hardly know, Sir, just at present - at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have changed several times since then' - Lewis Carroll

Neptune in 12th - if no time is made to allow Neptune activities into everyday life - meditation, creativity, daydreaming etc. then absent mindedness, forgetfulness and spaciness seems to seep through into day to day life - over tiredness and sometimes illness can be signs that these people need to retreat and look after their Neptune self. Vague floating anxiety can sometimes surface from the subconscious and fear can come from 'losing yourself' in things.

Some ramblng observations about how things can sometimes seem in Neptunes house

In the house of Neptune

Schrodingers cat
is both alive and not alive

*
nothing is solid
nothing is sure

*
morphing reflections
liquid truth

first I know
then I don't
maybe it will
maybe it won't

*
I had it a moment ago
now it has gone

*
It is true as long as you believe it
or until it dissolves before your eyes

I would love to hear about how it is for you!
What house is your Neptune in? Can you identify with any of the observations in this post? What effects do you notice?

Image and words - Susannah Bec

Astrology - The Sun's Gotta Shine!

"The chart ruler can give us information about what life will require of us and, in combination with the Ascendant itself, may describe the kinds of situation the hero will meet on his journey. But the Sun ruler is our presiding deity; and the hero and his prize are ultimately the same thing. We can view the Sun sign from the perspective of what role we are called upon to play in life, and what unique contribution we can make by finding an individual channel for this archetypal energy." - Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas - The Luminaries.

FIND YOUR OWN WAY TO SHINE

"Losing yourself in your creation, the universe speaks with you."

- Valerie Kent

"You are one of the forces of nature." - Jules Michelet

I think I swallowed the sun today
one gulp and it had gone
burning . . .fiery
all the way down
to my belly
and there
it sits
shining

*

"Those who have the light in themselves will not revolve like satellites"

- Seneca

We need to find a way to allow our own Sun to shine, it is the light giving planet in our personal solar system, our ball of energy, our dynamo. We need to honour its needs, even in the face of sometimes contradictory urges within us. We must find a way to channel it's unique expression by sign, house and aspect - we must support our hero on its quest. . .
Sun in Leo - one of the popular misconceptions is that they need outward attention and drama, but once a Leo learns that its best and brightest creation is always themself - once they have swallowed the Sun - no other audience is needed.

Also see this post - Expressing your Sun

Image: hand painted Sun and Words by Susannah Bec
For more of my poetry please visit - Out of My Ocean

Earth Day 2010

C E L E B R A T E

"When we touch this domain, we are filled with the cosmic force of life itself, we sink our roots deep into the black soil and draw power and being up into ourselves.

We know the energy of the numen and are saturated with power and being. We feel grounded, centered, in touch with the ancient and eternal rhythms of life.

Power and passion well up like an artesian spring and creativity dances in celebration of life."

- David N. Elkins

E A R T H - D A Y

"Evening Sun riding low in the sky rounds the corner of the building and abruptly streams into my room where seconds ago it was almost twilight. I am dazzled by the light and then by the realization that it is the rotation of this, our planet Earth, that caused this sudden illumination where moments before there was none." - SB

C E L E B R A T E - L I F E - I T S E L F

I walked for miles to find the tree
whose roots began inside of me

the earth, the moon, the stars, the sun
the roots, the branches all are one

I walked for miles to find the tree
who roots began inside of me

Happy Earth Day !

Photo taken in my garden

The Symbolism of The Circle

"To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders." - Tao

“Whether the symbol of the circle appears in primitive sun worship or modern religion, in myths or dreams, in the mandalas drawn by the Tibetan monks, in the ground plans of cities, or in the spherical concepts of early astronomers, it always points to the single most vital aspect of life - its ultimate wholeness.” - C.G. Jung - Man and His Symbols.

I see the birthchart as symbolising the whole. You, your personality, your soul all contained within the circle, as though at the moment of your birth everything you
are, all your potential is captured in the symbol of wholeness - the circle.

A really interesting video of Joseph Campbell talking to Bill Moyers on the symbolism of the circle - Link

Image by Susannah Bec

2009 - Synastry Revisited - Plugs and Sockets

Synastry - Relationship Astrology

I am revisiting this post from April of last year ( new thoughts added at the end)
I would enjoy hearing your experiences and observations - Susannah :-)

Every time we interact with anyone there is a 'relationship' going on. With some people this can feel easy and natural, we feel a flow, an affinity. Communication is easy. We feel understood, validated, appreciated.

With others we have to work at the interactions, it can feel uneasy or awkward, we have trouble putting our point across or understanding where the other person is coming from, there are misunderstandings. We feel the other person is just not getting us.

Then there are those interactions that are so difficult that it can feel as though you are coming from different planets! You seem to have no common reference points at all.

I have labelled this "Plugs and Sockets."

I coined this phrase while mulling over a relationship with someone, where no matter what I tried, I just couldn't establish a connection to effectively communicate.

It was like walking around this person with my plug (my communication) and just not being able to find the appropriate socket to plug into so that we could connect.

Believe me, I searched every square inch of the relationship and yep, just as I had feared, there was actually NO socket that fitted my plug.

So, I examined our synastry and guess what, my Mercury (communication and ruling planet) made No aspects at all to anything in this persons chart. There was literally no way this person could accept and truly understand my communication, they had no socket for me to plug into.

That got me thinking about aspects between people, (and plugs and sockets). Obviously, no two people will have sockets for every one of the other persons plugs, and vice versa. We don't need just 'one' person for all our plugs, that is why we have a variety of people to interact with, but in close relationships it helps to have the appropriate plugs and sockets (aspects) to make us feel understood, and to be able to flow.

If two people are spending lots of time together and one persons sun or moon does not have a socket (any aspects to anything in the other persons chart), then they can find themselves just relating from the parts of their personality/chart that ARE 'received'.

This can lead eventually to shutting down and not fully expressing the energy of their sun or moon. If this is ongoing in a close relationship, without other avenues of expression for the planet, then the energy involved could get backed up and blocked, if this is the case, appropriate alternative expression must be found.

Some people have lots of sockets we plug into, and we provide plenty of plugs for their sockets - this makes self expression and being understood and received, easy and nourishing and is the making of a good fulfilling relationship.

Further Thoughts and Observations

I have also been thinking about the times where the other person clearly has a socket for your plug but that the flow is not an easy one -

For instance, recently I was observing an interaction between two people who have each have mercury conjunct the others neptune. There is an strong and direct connection but they were obviously not receiving each others signals clearly, in fact they would have probably been better drawing pictures for each other to explain their points of view. I watched, as the very clear and concise communication left each person (mercury) but saw that as it reached the other it was not received clearly, it had become amorphous and distorted as though it had passed through some sort of filter on route. Both thought that they knew what the other was saying but they were both projecting their own interpretations, rather than hearing and processing the actual words spoken. . .

I have also seen this happen when a flowing easily expressed planet in one person, plugs into someone who has a saturn or uranus for instance as the socket - the flowing signal that is emitted by one becomes faltering and hesitant when they are plugged in to the other persons socket - it is as though a circuit breaker has been fitted.

2009 Revisited - Thinking about Twitter

I am revisiting some of my posts from 2009 and adding any new thoughts and observations that I may have had in the meantime. Please leave a comment, I love to hear your thoughts! - Susannah ;-)

Twitter, Astrology, Gemini and Me - from 23rd February 2009

I have been thinking about Twitter.

I am a frequent Twitterer, it appeals to me.
Quick bite sized comments fired off out into the wilds of cyberspace. It doesn't matter to me if anyone is listening, in fact at first I was surprised when someone commented on one of my Tweets, it was like, how do you know that! until I remembered about me and Twitter and this strange relationship we have built up.

Whether the tweets are serious, informative or light hearted, it seems to be the size of them I like. Just 140 words and that's it. No dragged out soliliquays, no long winded explanations. Just thoughts made manifest, pouring from my brain into that concise 140 word container.

Which got me onto the fact that it is a very 'Gemini' thing, and that is perhaps why it suits me so well. I have Gemini rising and I enjoy Twittering!. Then I realised that the friend that introduced me to Twitter has a Gemini Sun, and my cousin who I recently introduced to Twitter as I just knew she would be a natural, and she is! has Gemini rising just like me.

I think Gemini rising is probably a more prolific Twitterer. Other ascendants may interfere with the Gemini chatter, for instance my partner (a Gemini Sun, tweets only when he really has something to say - he has a Scorpio Ascendant ) whereas for me it feels like a very natural process.

So Twitter and a Gemini Ascendant, what do you reckon?

Do you Twitter? What do you think?

(Me: Gemini Ascendant with Mars conjunct it from the 12th house & Mercury in the 3rd house.)

Update:

Well the post above was written when I was reasonably new to twitter, and now nearly 11 months later, my perceptions (and my tweets) have changed.

The Gemini's mentioned above are no longer regular twitterers and in keeping with Gemini have probably found something else to spark their enthusiasm, whereas I am still going!

I can probably put this down to my 'fixed' nature and perhaps my Taurus Moon too - once I begin something I tend to have staying power, it then becomes almost habitual - I can be remarkably tenacious.

I am sure that my Gemini Mars and Ascendant without the backing of the fixed fire and earth would have flitted off long ago.

So, do you twitter?
What does your twittering style say about you?
Why do you enjoy twitter?
I would love to hear your thoughts or observations.

Find me on Twitter! - @joyfrequencies

Synastry, Saturn and Conjunctions

Thinking About Synastry

Something got me thinking about how when other peoples planets conjunct ours in synastry it can bring to the fore the quality of the planet involved.

If the planets energy is not one that you normally experience strongly, it can sometimes be very noticeable.



As an example:
In my chart my eighth house Saturn in Capricorn chugs along in the background giving me a sense of stability, practicality and 'weight'. It is part of a grand Earth trine with my Taurus Moon, my Venus /Pluto conjunction in Virgo and also my Virgo North Node. It makes a 150 degree aspect to my Ascendant and apart from quintile/bi quintile aspects, that is it.

I have always had a positive relationship with those in 'authority' and I seem to be received well by them despite my Sun conjunct Uranus :-) and I have always put this down to my Saturn.

Now compared to the rest of my chart Saturn doesn't feel like a major player, I rarely notice his presence and even with transits, I tend to work with his energy and get down and learn something.

That is why it becomes very noticeable to me sometimes, when I am interacting with a certain person, that all of a sudden something comes over my usually cheerful and positive personality (Sun in Leo trine Jupiter in Sagittarius) and I feel a solemnity come across me and I start putting the other side to things, pointing out the rules and regulations, the correct way things should be done.

In her words - I 'piss on her bonfire' ! :-)

I can actually feel a change come over me and have to really fight the urge, as it is very uncomfortable for us both. With my Sun conjunct Uranus, pointing out rules etc. really isn't my usual style!

She is a strong personality and her Sun falls exactly on my Saturn.

For many years no one with whom I shared my life had any planets in aspect to my Saturn - I lived in a pretty Saturn free zone! So really noticed when it was triggered from 'outside of me' .

I wonder, has anyone else noticed that other peoples planets strongly aspecting your chart can bring forward a noticeable and maybe unexpected planetary response from you?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Thoughts on Living Through Changing Times.

"These last two posts are not strictly about Astrology in the conventional sense. But in another way, I suppose they are? they are a response to the 'now', to the feelings and energies I feel in the world around me. In response to life itself."

As Above - So Below

Here are my thoughts on living through changing times.

"Every day is a new beginning.
Treat it that way. Stay away from what might have been, and look at what can be." - Marsha Petrie Sue
At any moment here on Earth, everything you could possibly think of is taking place, every spectrum of experience is being played out.

At every moment, as well as people being hurt or killed, there are people falling in love and new life being born, as well as war and atrocity there is deep peace and genuine compassion, for all the talk of lack and depression, there is growth and abundance, for everything fake and manufactured there are thing of real innate beauty.

"Moments are determined by how we define them.
Find a good ride in every wave." - Anon
It is easy to get caught up in believing that the reported world, the TV world, the things in magazines and shops are the reality of our life. What is really going on, is that we, humankind, are one of the species alive right here, right now, on this beautiful planet we call the Earth. It is spinning in space, warmed by a giant burning star we call the Sun and orbited by our satellite the moon. There are glorious forests of green trees, enormous deep oceans ebbing and flowing, magnificent winds blowing around our planet, rain falling and watering the myriad of growing things upon its surface. There is beauty and life, real life, going on everywhere, it is what we are, what we are a part of.

"You are the energy, and the energy is you." - Berri Clove
We have a choice in every moment where our attention will be placed and focused and what energy we are adding our weight to on this seesaw of life. Do we observe and add to the worry, pessimism and despair? or do we choose to look at the beauty that is everywhere and feel grateful for the abundant, renewing life force of nature. We have a choice, which will we choose to observe today.

The more you try to fix, the more you find to fix.
Only wholeness heals. - Alan Cohen

Image - Natural Face - Fire and Earth
Image and words by Susannah Bec

Being Authentic in a Holographic Universe

Thoughts in a time of change.

Energetic frequencies, repression, alignment and taking back control.

Beneath the social niceties of good manners and everyday pleasantries we respond to people instinctually on an energetic level.

Our instincts sense things that our eyes don't. Someone can be skilled at mask wearing and have a very effective facade, donning the mask of the character they have chosen to play, usually the one they think will get them the most response, respect, applause or whatever it is the individual is seeking. Sometimes the mask wearer has no idea that they are in disguise, the method of relating has become ingrained.

Sometimes people can be consciously presenting one image, while subconsciously broadcasting a different energetic frequency. If the facade and the underlying energy don't match then other people can feel it, they may not be able to put their finger on why it is uncomfortable but they will register that it is, and often respond with an energy that is a match for the underlying energetic frequency.

As with passive aggressive people, on the surface they may come across as 'nice' people, but underneath the aggression is barely contained and seeps into the surrounding area where it can be felt. Often, due to the underlying tone of their energy being picked up on and responded to unconsciously by the people around them, they can be the victim of their own unacknowledged anger being sensed by and acted out by others.

So even if a personality is talking about things of value, or being sweetness and light on the surface, if it doesn't 'ring true' with the overall tone of them at an energetic level then the signal will be at cross purposes and cause interference and hinder true expression.

BEING OUT OF ALIGNMENT

CAUSES INTERFERENCE IN THE SIGNAL

Being Authentic
When people are being authentic in their communication, as in being aligned with their authentic self, then that too can be felt by others and in turn triggers an authentic response in those listening.

Communicating from an aligned authentic place has deep nutrition, as it evokes a response from the same place in others. If the mask and the deeper levels or the intellect and 'gut' are not in tune with one another, then it will maybe provoke intelligent communication that feeds the mind, but on a deeper core level it will not be received and in some way you will not register that person as being 'real'.

We are Complicated Creatures
Energy becomes misaligned because it is repressed. We are complicated creatures who have coping mechanisms to cope with feelings, experiences and situations that we don't know how to deal with. We work to protect our vulnerable inner core. After a while if this is too painful or too difficult to deal with, we then separate and cut ourselves off from our subconscious and feeling levels and stay in the relatively safe space of our head and intellect.

The things and feelings that are repressed don't go away just because we no longer consciously acknowledge them. We may externalise our issues and deal with them in the 'outside' world where we can see and safely interact or campaign for an issue that perhaps is also a reflection our own underlying wounds. As an example the one who felt abandonment works to save abandoned children or pets and by doing so is actually healing his own abandonment issues. The things that we are moved to address in the outer world are also part of making ourselves whole.

It also works in that people fight against externalised darknesses and project on to an enemy 'out there' who needs dealing with. This causes wars, one race against another, one country against another, one school playground fighting with the neighbouring school.

An Interconnected Entity
Each of us who can take that inner commitment to honestly explore ourselves and deal with our own issues is contributing to the whole. Existence itself, is one interconnected entity and by healing yourself and achieving your own authenticity you will trigger that in others. You fight it 'out there' and you have no control, the control panel lies within.

Picture a body where every cell is whole, healthy, functioning well and contributing to the whole. Now picture a body where one cell has been damaged so decides to 'convert' all the other cells, it rampages through the body spreading itself, until the body weakens through the spread of this 'cancer'.

So there are the choices, stay disconnected and believe it is 'all out there' and fight it or be a victim to it. Or take back control, deal with your own shit, find your authenticity and let your authenticity trigger the response in others.

Whatever affects one strand of the web of life affects it all,
you can not tug at one strand without finding it
attached to everything else.

Do we live in a holographic universe where each part contains a reflection of the whole? where the microcosm can influence the macrocosm, where if one 'cell' gets healthy and whole and transmits a pure clear note, then others near by can pick up on a energetic level and attune to it, where authenticity triggers authenticity and wholeness triggers wholeness. Where we take responsibilty and see our very lives as our sacred act. Where the things we include in our energetic mix are also reverberating back through the whole web of life, to influence and affect the whole.

The Clear Stream of Life Itself

Those that see beauty, those that feel compassion, those that feel joy, those that honour their emotions, those that love, those that sound a clear note, those that are brave enough to clear out their basements of all the hoarded hurts, those that let go of programming, preconceptions and judgements, those that allow the clear stream of life itself to flow through them, unimpeded by the internal debris that clutters and clogs our channels, I give you my greatest thanks.

Copyright © 2009 Susannah Bec
http://joyfrequencies.blogspot.com

Can We Look At Uranus, Neptune and Pluto Objectively?

So, can we possibly view the outer planets clearly?

I have been thinking about the outer planets and have realised that I don't/can't view them objectively. Of course I have read all the text book definitions and recognise the essence of the outer planets but still believe that because of my chart placements I am not seeing the actual unadulterated energy.

URANUS - I have my Sun conjunct Uranus (20/21 degrees Leo trine Jupiter in Sag.)

To me Uranus energy usually feels liberating, exciting, creative.

I enjoy being an individual, I take "you're weird" as a compliment! lol.

I don't mind, going against the herd, standing up for what I believe. . . being different

Uranus transits for me are usually positive, though the early ones really didn't feel that way, more like a bomb had gone off destroying my life and everything I had clung to for security, family, home and lifestyle (I have Uranus in the 4th house.)

After the first major transit (which shattered my seedpod and changed the course of my life) I learnt some strategies and when I feel Uranus looming I 'let go and go with the flow'.

Uranus is great at sweeping me out of ruts and too comfortable comfort zones and whisking me off to new growth and lots of times a whole new life! Like Dorothy in a wizard of OZ - all of a sudden I am in a new place and everything has changed. When I look back these have been the periods of my greatest evolution,

I must say at this point that my Taurus Moon is NOT always so keen. :-)


Running softly, soundlessly, across the midnight rooftops, a dozen factory chimneys etched in black.

Through the silhouettes of night, my soul goes running, silence masking its footfalls. Far away a ship calls home, its cry echoing in the murky blackness, a pigeon roosts on a factory windowsill, its glass reflecting the moon.

As my soul goes running, no shadows does it cast, nor reflections are seen. For who will take the time in the dead of night, to look at midnight rooftops, and notice, as my soul goes running.


So for me Uranus is tied up with my Sun, my identity, it can not be seen separately, it is part of me. So I am unable to view it dispassionately.

I have observed people with Uranus in difficult aspects having trouble with feeling different, feeling like an outsider, wanting to fit in. I have seen it disrupt peoples lives and turn it upside down.

They would not view it as I do. I believe that like life itself, how you view things is filtered through who you are. (In Astrological terms - through your birthchart.) So, no absolute truths, just perceptions.


NEPTUNE - I have a 6th house Neptune opposite my 12th house Moon in Taurus both square my Leo Mercury/IC conjunction.

So for me Neptune is an emotional planet, a sensitivity, I feel people (sometimes too much.)

I have to be aware that I am porous on an emotional level, others emotions penetrate the thin membrane surrounding me.

My own emotions can be contained, worked with, healed and understood if I keep them safe within my 12th house cave and allow them to be nurtured by my grounded Taurus Moon.

But if, as in earlier years I externalise my emotions, try to share them, they become vast, amorphous, without end.

I lose myself, I slip under doors, through cracks. I have no container. If written down they can be captured, the paper gives them boundaries, I can see them.

For me Neptune is sensitivity, inspiration, intuition, compassion.

*

Navigate the darkness.

Edge your way forward, one sure foot in front of the other.

Eyes closed, you trust your inner light.

Immersed in feelings you have no need of sight.

Your inner navigation knows the route.

Intuition the compass of the soul.

Feel the direction, the magnetic pull on your primal instincts.

Trust the path, trust your gut, trust your self.

Keep walking.

*

Some Neptune transits have been more difficult for me than the ones from Uranus. I have in recent years lived through Neptune opposing my Sun/Uranus conjunction, and as it makes no aspect to them natally, this was an energy my Sun was unused to! I had a very physical reaction to the transit. Whereas Neptune aspects to a planet in my chart that 'knows' that energy is easier, it is recognised and can be worked with.

As Neptune is placed in my 6th house and also has an 150 degree aspect from Mars it affects my physical health - In fact the whole sixth house Neptune issue deserves a blog post of its own to explain/explore as I have so much to say.

I hear Neptune and attach emotion to it. Someone with Mars conjunct Neptune would see it differently.


PLUTO - Pluto is conjunct my Venus (5/6 degrees Virgo) and also part of a grand Earth trine with my 12th house Moon and 8th house Saturn.

So Pluto, I associate with relating, with relationships.

In my younger days I was taken down into the depths and reborn again through my relationships.

Destroyed and resurrected. I have no fear of the deep dark places of the human psyche, of the depths of emotion. I know that from the darkness comes rebirth, comes healing.

You just have to be willing to face the darkness. Sorry, I will change that. You have to endure the darkness, you have to be courageous and hold on and wait for the process to run its course and churn you out remade, renewed, reborn. Hopefully with a few nuggets of gold in your pockets that you saw glittering in the corners of that dark underground cavern and carried back safely into the light.

I like to relate on a deep level. I like to look beneath the surface.

*

Golden, I am golden,

a fiery sun burning with a never ending flame.

Red hot centre combusting,

radiating outward,

wave after wave fueled by a magnificient wind,

whirling, blowing life into the feeding flames.

I am alight, radiant, glorious.

Raging heat, the nucleus of creation,

throw me down into your molten heart,

transform me in your crucible.

Forged in the white heat to arise

a phoenix from your flame.

Base to precious,

lead to gold,

transmutation,

alchemy.

*

Pluto needs depth whatever it is attached to in our chart.

That is why text book definitions help us to get an idea of the 'nature' of a planet but observation of ourselves, others and life is needed to fully understand and integrate all the nuances of any one planetary energy.


QUESTIONS - How do the aspects from the outer planets to personal planets in your chart colour how you view them?

Do you notice the outer planet energies in your day to day life?

All poems taking from my poetry blog - Out Of My Ocean

All Images chosen from my artwork to express the qualities of the particular planets

Scorpio Ascendant

I asked a friend with a Scorpio Ascendant why they used to wear dark glasses so often?

They answered . . . "it is like having net / lace curtains at a window".

Expressing your SUN

Our Sun needs expression, it needs to shine, it needs an outlet, it needs to be acknowledged. It needs to cast its light on the rest of your chart, to energise you, to push you forward, it is your life force. It is symbolic of your 'hero's journey' you must heed its call.

If your Sun is well placed with easy aspects, you will be a natural! you won't have to think about it, it is just the way you are, it is 'you'.

If on the other hand it has challenging aspects or placement, or is out of tune with the rest of your chart, it might be more difficult to access, you may feel the lack of energy as you are not allowed to shine.

An example, a friend with a Scorpio Ascendant, Capricorn Moon and a Gemini Sun, the Gemini Sun was not allowed to 'be' as it was judged by the Capricorn values and stifled by the Scorpio reserve. It wasn't traditional enough, it didn't conform, it had no staying power, etc. etc. etc. So the Sun began to think that it was a 'negative' not understanding its true worth and began to shut down and live the Capricorn way, comfortable for a while, then the strange lack of energy, of interest, of life force began.

When the Geminis true path, qualites and strengths were acknowledged and allowed, the life force returned, the way was understood, it was still not an easy partnership and involved compromise but it was much improved.

How does your Sun fare? is it supported, expressed, happy, do you shine?

Twitter, Astrology, Gemini and Me

I have been thinking about Twitter.

I am a frequent Twitterer, it appeals to me.
Quick bite sized comments fired off out into the wilds of cyberspace. It doesn't matter to me if anyone is listening, in fact at first I was surprised when someone commented on one of my Tweets, it was like, how do you know that! until I remembered about me and Twitter and this strange relationship we have built up.

Whether the tweets are serious, informative or light hearted, it seems to be the size of them I like. Just 140 words and that's it. No dragged out soliliquays, no long winded explanations. Just thoughts made manifest, pouring from my brain into that concise 140 word container.

Which got me onto the fact that it is a very 'Gemini' thing, and that is perhaps why it suits me so well. I have Gemini rising and I enjoy Twittering!. Then I realised that the friend that introduced me to Twitter has a Gemini Sun, and my cousin who I recently introduced to Twitter as I just knew she would be a natural, and she is! has Gemini rising just like me.

I think Gemini rising is probably a more prolific Twitterer. Other ascendants may interfere with the Gemini chatter, for instance my partner (a Gemini Sun, tweets only when he really has something to say - he has a Scorpio Ascendant ) whereas for me it feels like a very natural process.

So Twitter and a Gemini Ascendant, what do you reckon? Maybe a Pisces Ascendant would enjoy it too, Uranus on the Ascendant Maybe?

Do you Twitter? What do you think?

Me: Gemini Ascendant with Mars conjunct it from the 12th house and my Mercury in the third house.

Transits, Progression and Personal Growth

From my experience, a new stage of personal growth (usually triggered by transit or progression) is very often marked by the entry into your life, of a person, situation or circumstance that highlights the lesson to be learned.

By triggering a planetary configuration within our chart, or by highlighting the house / area of life where the work will need to be done, it can provide a focus and a clue as to where in our life / personality our attention is needed, to facilitate our continuing personal evolution.

Of course it can also be marked by the exit from your life of someone or something that had a strong stimulating effect on a particular planet / set of aspects within your chart (keeping it to the fore so that it could be worked on).

When this added weight to one bit of our "make up" is removed, it enables the restructuring of our internal "soap opera" to allow another character to come forward, as the previous "characters" storyline has been exhausted for the present moment, and all that could be learned in that particular phase of growth has been done.

Copyright © SB 2008

Astrology a mirror of the soul

The planets and their functions or their individual "personalities" are mirrors of the archetypal forces inherent both in us personally, and in humanity as a whole. They are contained by and their various positions are plotted within the circle of your birthchart/self. (The circle...a symbol of wholeness)

This is your own cast of characters, each one with its own personality (what sign/element it falls in) and its own interaction with everything/everyone else contained within the circle/self. As with any bunch of people (planets/signs/principles,) some will get on really famously...(helpful agreeable aspects / lines of energy between them,) and some will cause tension or be ignored /disliked /contained etc. etc.

But, as is the case with anything that is repressed, it will eventually have to be heard/acknowledged/dealt with for wholeness to occur. Or it will be constantly mirrored to you from outside of yourself, in the form of other people or circumstances etc. in order that you learn from it/own it. Each one of us has a completely unique pattern/ interplay of energies contained within us, but the fundamental drives of humanity are common to us all.

Astrology is a remarkable tool in the understanding of your own particular individuality / birth vision / potential / capabilities. It helps you...hopefully with understanding and compassion, to mediate between all of the different "characters" in your own play/personality structure. All is there, naked and vulnerable. No masks. No defences.
If you are willing to look and to understand - it is a mirror of the soul.
Copyright © SB 2008

A Universal Language

For a soul seeking wholeness, enlightenment and understanding, astrology is a lantern bearer, a reliable guide rope, on the quest for the self. It leads you into your own dark corners, so that you may uncover the treasure lurking in them.

It has layer upon layer of meaning, as once something has been internalised and understood, it would seem, another wrapper will appear, it too waiting to be peeled off in our continuing search for understanding. It truly is, an invaluable tool in the understanding of our self and our relationships.

It is a universal language, when the understanding of it has been internalised, it then becomes possible to see the planetary/archetypal/symbolic imagery in everything, and every situation. It fosters great insight into the make up of personality structures. We each have the same players, coloured differently, and forming our own unique pattern, but a definite identifiable cast of characters/energies.

Copyright © SB 2008