Virginia Bell
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“For centuries, wise women have known that a bit of midsummer madness and magic are good for the soul.”
– Sarah Ban Breathnach (Simple Abundance)
Midsummer is that period around Summer Solstice but more often refers to the specific European holiday that takes place on June 24 or the eve of June 23. This pre-Christian holiday is celebrated throughout Northern Europe and in countries such as Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania it’s a public holiday. Midsummer Eve is also known as Herb Evening; legend says that this is the best night for gathering magical herbs. It is a midsummer tradition to clean the home, decorate it with flowers, burn sage and cedar for purification and light candles for meditation. Create a ritual to honor this new season. It’s is also referred to as Litha, the Celtic goddess of abundance and it’s an excellent time to do a spell for prosperity, creativity, and fertility. What is your dream for this summer? What do you want to create over the next few months? Summer begins with a vision of what can be.
“I love Midsummer’s Day (June 24). For me it is a personal midcourse correction for the year.”
– Sarah Ban Breathnach (Simple Abundance)
What a delicious concept! We’ve reached the midpoint of the year and have an opportunity to examine where we are, to recommit to our goals, or perhaps dream a new dream. Midsummer is traditionally the time to weed gardens because the sap has risen to its highest level and little life force remains at the root. Similarly, little vitality remains at the root of the psyche so it is the ideal period to weed out unwanted habits and limiting emotional patterns as well as pruning our physical space. Open the windows; let the sun and air in; eliminate clutter, old clothes, and unused items to make room for the new. Get outside in the early morning; Midsummer dew was said to have special healing powers.
Here at the Astrology Café folks have gathered outside around the fountain or on the stone benches under the old apple tree sipping chilled Sangria or lemonade. Gaily colored lanterns hang from the trellis and sway gently in the warm breeze; in the distance the sound of wind chimes can be heard. There are fireflies and falling stars, honeysuckle, wisteria, and white nights. Above, the waxing Mead Moon rises in the pale night sky. Summer has arrived with all its magic! Welcome back dear friend; you have been missed.
Come inside the Astrology Café. There are small vases of wild flowers on the rough wood tables and candles burning on the mantel. The counter is overflowing with delicious homemade treats; help yourself to some lemon tarts, butter cookies, coconut cream pie, rich coffee cake, or a bowl of fresh blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries double cream. There’s wine, Sangria, lemonade with fresh mint, or fragrant Chai tea with cardamom. Then follow me up the stairs, through the library, down a corridor and up the winding stairs to the tower room where our friend, the crone, the wise woman waits for us.
Our friend is seated at her round oak table with her Runes, Medicine Cards, and crystals spread out before her. She motions us to join her. Behind her, through the bay window, the Moon hangs, as round and ripe as a summer melon. A gentle breeze floats in from the open window and there is the faint scent of roses and night jasmine. The candles on the altars and in the tiny alcoves give the room in a luminous glow. She chooses a Rune from her velvet bag. It is Hagalaz, the Rune of Disruption.
“Hagalaz is the Rune of elemental disruption, of events totally beyond your control. When you draw this Rune expect disruption of your plans, for it is the great “Awakener,” although the form of the awakening may vary. Perhaps you will experience a gradual feeling of coming to your senses, as though you were emerging from a long sleep. Then again, the onset of power may be such as to rip the fabric of what you previously knew as your reality, your security, your understanding of yourself, your work, your relationships and beliefs.
Be aware however, that what operates here is not ultimately an outside force, not a situation of you-at-the-mercy-of-externals. Your own nature is creating what’s happening, and you are not without power in this situation.
The inner strength you have funded until now is your support and guide at a time
when everything you’ve taken for granted is being challenged.”
-The Book of Runes (Ralph Blum)
Now listen closely for she has a message for you. “These are unprecedented times; dynamic, dramatic, chaotic, and confusing. Yet do not be so quick to label, judge or analyze what is going on. The whole world is in transition and that’s where we need to be for now. It is simply part of the process; a necessary part. Uncertainty and ambiguity are not to be feared, dear ones; they are to be embraced. The unknown is not your enemy; it is your friend. Beloved citizens, be willing to live in the mystery; welcome it; celebrate it. It is in the deep alchemy of the unknown and unfamiliar that this new world will emerge, and it will emerge. For now, be patient with yourself, each other, and with the world; we are all working this out together in the great caldron of time and space.”
The Summer Eclipses
Every month we have a New Moon and Full Moon but we have eclipses usually four times a year. An eclipse is a super charged New Moon or Full Moon. They are powerful catalysts and herald major endings and beginnings; births, deaths, marriages, divorces, moves, and career changes. They seem fated because they appear out-of-the-blue and can feel as if we have no control. They expose secrets and bring random news but when we look closer we see it wasn’t random at all; we simply weren’t paying attention to something that was developing on the sidelines.
We all feel the energy of the eclipse to some degree but those of you with planets (or angles) within a few degrees of it will experience its full force. If you have a birthday on the day of the eclipse then this will be a powerful year. For the rest of you: turn the volume up on the house where the eclipse is taking place; that’s where the action will unfold. This summer we have two eclipses. The first one is a Lunar (Full Moon) eclipse on June 26 at 04 degrees of Cancer/Capricorn. The Solar (New Moon) eclipse on July 11 takes place at 19 degrees of Cancer.
Capricorn Full Moon (Lunar) Eclipse – June 26
Called the Blessing Moon, Mead Moon, Honey Moon
Both Cancer and Capricorn have to do with security. Domestic Cancer (the sign associated with home and family) is concerned with our basic needs such as food, shelter, and bonded relationships. Ambitious Capricorn (associated with success and status) focuses on external security such as career and worldly power. This Full Moon eclipse (conjunct obsessive Pluto) can shake up our security and force us to examine what we’ve built our lives on and if it really supports and sustains us – both as a country and in our personal lives. For many of you this eclipse will be life changing.
“Hard aspects serve as a mechanism or gateway through which significant change is brought about, sometimes through extreme discomfort.” – Tem Tarriktar (The Mountain Astrologer, April/May 2010)
What makes this eclipse so potent is that it triggers the planetary line-up that takes place this summer when those four great titans (Jupiter and Uranus in Aries, Saturn in Libra, and Pluto in Capricorn align to make a stressful T Square. During this eclipse the Sun and Mercury in Cancer fill in the empty space of the T Square creating a Grand Square. In many ways this is a sneak preview of the summer.
During the eclipse Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto are all at odds with each other. Pluto’s involvement is powerful and makes the effects of the eclipse profound and far reaching. Jupiter and Uranus in pushy Aries make a sharp square to the eclipse. This brilliant but impulsive combo can bring a sudden turn of events but also liberate us from limited thinking and initiate a flood of brilliant new ideas and technological breakthroughs.
This astrological earthquake is demanding but it can also break open the potential for real growth and change. Cosmetic improvements are not the answer. As I’ve said before: it’s not about tidying up the linen close or painting the kitchen; it’s Extreme Home Makeover! Get out the bull dozers; this eclipse puts us on notice that an old way is over and a new one must begin. “Our only security is our ability to change.” –John Lilly
“Have you noticed the world needs you now more than ever?
To give the world what it needs from you,
I'm going to suggest you need to show up completely.
You need to let go of your past, make peace with who you are,
and deliver your gifts to the world.” –Debbie Ford
Cancer New Moon (Solar) Eclipse – July 11
Sun and Moon are in Cancer, the first water sign, the archetype of the Great Mother, healer, and protector. Compassionate and caring Cancer is associated with our needs. What nourishes you, what feeds your soul? What area of your life is starved, depleted, and undernourished? Look at where 19 degrees of Cancer falls in your chart. That is where you need some love and kindness. Mars in practical Virgo makes a positive sextile to the New Moon offering support and stamina. A trine between Mercury and Jupiter helps us to ask for what we need.
“Filthy water cannot be washed.” – African proverb
This total eclipse of the Sun, close to the karmic South Node of the Moon also in Cancer, could indicate mounting problems with water and increased pollution. The last few months we’ve seen a great many crises involving water; the most tragic being the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Water is the source of all life; there is no life without water. This is something that affects everyone on the planet; there is absolutely nothing it does not touch; our ecosystem, economy, weather, wildlife, food supply, drinking water, not to mention our emotions and psyche. “We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.” – Thomas Fuller, 1732
Venus, goddess and planet of love, (in practical Virgo) is opposite benevolent Chiron (the wounded healer). “Who will speak for the turtles, pelicans, and fish? Who will help the whales and dolphins? Who will protect and defend the water?” this aspect seems to ask. The asteroid Juno is conjunct the Sun and Moon. In mythology Juno (the Greek Hera) was married to Jupiter (Zeus) who was king of the gods. Although they had a difficult marriage she was revered for her loyalty and fidelity and known to be the patroness of married women and the guardian of childbirth and motherhood. On the negative side she gave away her power to mighty Jupiter. The ocean is the source of life; Cancer is the womb and mother. Juno’s presence is strong during this eclipse but what is she saying? Perhaps she is telling us that the waters shouldn’t be controlled by men and corporations and we need to lead with the heart, the feminine. Chiron is currently in forgiving Pisces (the fishes) and next year Neptune (god of the sea) will enter Pisces as well. Could this horrific tragedy be the thing that finally wakes us up and brings us together with love and compassion? Anything is possible.
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I thank you & I love you.”
In my last newsletter I wrote about the Hawaiian Ho’oponopono prayerand song and suggested saying it each day at noon for the water and wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. I’ve recently received several emails about Dr Masaru Emoto’s healing prayer which includes the Ho’oponopono words. Dr. Emoto is the visionary scientist from Japan who has done all the research about the characteristics of water. His research has revealed that water physically responds to emotions. I Am Healthy Radio in cooperation with The Bodhi Tree Bookstore (in Los Angeles) is presenting a talk with him on July 8 at 5:00 pm (PST); 8:00 pm (EST). To learn more about Dr. Emoto, his talk or The Bodhi Tree Bookstore just follow this links below.
Also: Debbie Ford along with Depak Chopra, Jean Houston, and many other spiritual leaders are creating a 70 minute gathering via the phone and internet on what we can do to help in the Gulf. It will be Saturday, June 26, Tuesday, July 6, and Tuesday, July 13. Interesting that the first date is on the Lunar eclipse and the other two are just before and after the Solar eclipse. To find out more information google: Debbie Ford – A Call to Sacred Action. Consider getting involved or just listening to the presentation.
It’s easy to feel powerless in this situation but we can do something. Together, our energy can shift the balance of this destruction. This humble prayer does no harm. It cost nothing. It takes very little time. You can do it anywhere, any time, as often as you like. Let’s join together and use the energy of these dynamic aspects and the summer eclipses to help bring healing to this oil spill and all who have suffered from it.
Dr. Emoto’s Healing Prayer
“I send the energy of love and gratitude to the water and all the living creatures in the Gulf of Mexico and its surroundings. To the whales, dolphins, pelicans, fish, shellfish, planktons, corals, algae and all living creatures.....
I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.”
And lastly: Here is a link to the Ho’oponopono chant I wrote about in May. This sacred song features Susan Osborn, Aman Ryusuke Set, and Hanayo. I continue to listen to it daily; it is extremely healing and inspiring.
Dear Friends, Thank you for joining me at the Astrology Café. It is late now this midsummer evening yet here in the far north the night sky is still a dazzling milky white. What a magical evening! Enjoy this splendid season. Love yourself. Feel good. Have faith. There is still much to be grateful for in the broken and beautiful world of ours. You are loved; all is well, Virginia (visit me on Facebook, too)
I Am Standing
By Mary Oliver
I am standing
on the dunes
in the heat of summer
and I am listening
to the mockingbird again
who is tonguing
his embellishments
and, in the distance,
the shy
weed loving sparrow
who has but one soft song
which he sings
again and again
and something
somewhere inside
my own unmusical self
begins humming:
thanks for the beauty of the world.
Thanks for my life.
Astrologer
Summer Astrology Cafe
by Virginia Bell
Virginia during her recent May trip to California. Here she is
at Point Reyes "Spirit Matters" store and gallery.
