Urania's Well: Astrology for Changing Times


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Don’t Stop Believing: New Moon in Sagittarius

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

b2ap3_thumbnail_046.jpgThis year’s New Moon in Sagittarius is attending the holiday parties, but isn’t feeling the love. A tough aspect to the sign’s ruling planet, Jupiter, and the looming presence of Saturn highlight the challenges inherent in the Centaur’s sign, suggesting that its fun-loving, adventurous side will be pushed aside by a need to create order through laying down the law, and far-seeing, heartfelt faith may be twisted into narrow dogma.

This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the parties but you’ll want to pay attention to the beliefs and attitudes that underlie what’s going on in the world around you. Our beliefs shape our lives and experience, our communal beliefs shape our world, and clashing beliefs cause most of our collective pain. A lot of people aren’t sure what they believe, which means they aren’t sure what they should be doing — so they do nothing.

 But this isn’t the time to sit on the sidelines, it’s time to engage, taking actions that are based on a carefully-considered ethical foundation. This month, we’ll want to pay attention to our own thought processes, find the subconscious beliefs we carry that may be tripping us up, and check in with the personal ethical principles that guide our actions, thoughts and beliefs.

If we are willing to dig into our psyches a bit, we find that we hold some beliefs simply because others do -- beliefs that are part of the fabric of our society, and those held by the people we interact with. They are usually so ingrained, we are not even aware of them, or worse yet, think of them as simply truth (“Muslims are dangerous!” “Economic growth is always good!” or “Atheists can’t be Pagan!”) The beliefs we hold, even -- or maybe especially -- subconsciously, affect our thoughts and our actions, both every day and long term. Some of these beliefs may be in direct conflict with those we hold consciously. If we are not fully aware of what we believe, then we are not living coherently, with awareness of what we are creating in our lives and why. 

We have a choice about this. We can live driven by unintegrated beliefs held in our Shadow, or we can become more aware of our beliefs, discarding or changing those that are not aligned with our own deeply-held values. This is work; work we do both at our altars and as we navigate our everyday lives. This month, take some time to look carefully at your own core values, the ones that resonate at the center of your soul, and use those as a yardstick to measure the beliefs that structure your life as you uncover them.

If you find you need to release and change some old, outgrown beliefs, to dance, march, move ahead to a drumbeat of change, you’ll have a lot of planetary energy helping you find the right beat. Venus and Neptune in a watery trine are happy to help you connect with your emotions and journey to the Otherworlds for insight and answers. This is a pretty strong aspect, and you may find yourself, or those around you, feeling swept away by strong emotions, or even spiritual peak experiences. If emotional realities become overwhelming, ground and center yourself in Nature. Yes, you can do that in your mind if you are stuck in a city high-rise, but try to actually get outdoors, away from steel and asphalt and concrete.

Change — probably forceful, sudden change — is very much in the air this month. The tight T-square of Pluto to a Mars-Uranus opposition suggests sudden, shocking events and awakenings. This is why it is so important that we stand on the bedrock of our principles, because choices that are made during times of upheaval and change are often pivotal ones that determine the future course of our lives.

It’s important this month to step into our personal power by owning the responsibilities that are ours. If you are in doubt about which ones are yours, ask your ancestors and guides for a clue (which, if you aren’t paying attention, may end up being the proverbial clue-by-four). We can be a conduit for healing spiritual forces if we are attentive, disciplined, and discriminating. Don’t fall for delusional babble about how it will all work out, or fear-based retreat and refusal to engage. Know where you are going, and why, then do the practical and magical work it will take to get there.

On a national stage, this chart is heralding financial changes (possibly crises) particularly around banks and banking. Public opinion is going to be key — efforts to hide or manipulate information will be exposed, and people will be loudly demanding truth. Finding it is going to be a different matter, however. Truth can be hard to pin down, particularly when many are actively trying to deceive.  Flooding, issues with water pollution, serious storms, and other environmental upheavals will be very much in the news.

And, of course, Yule is coming up in a couple of weeks. The chart of the Winter Solstice sets the stage for the next three months or so, and I’ll post about that closer to the date.

A natal chart reading makes a great holiday gift. If there is someone you want to gift with a clearer vision of their soul’s intentions for this lifetime and an astrologically-timed plan for the year ahead, contact me here. You'll get a pretty gift certificate you can put under the Yule tree! If you want to know more about what that reading entails, you can read more here.

Blessings of the season to you!

 

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Diotima Mantineia began studying astrology in 1968, taking classes from Zoltan Mason in New York City. For the next 22 years, she practiced astrology only for herself and her friends, continuing her studies while watching an increasingly humanistic, psychologically oriented, modern astrology blossom through the work of leading astrologers such as Noel Tyl, Liz Greene, Rob Hand, Marion March, Stephen Arroyo and Howard Sasportas. In 1986, Diotima began her study of Wicca and started reading Tarot, discovering that she is a gifted intuitive. In 1991, she began practicing both astrology and Tarot professionally. She majored in plant and soil science both in college and grad school, and grows much of her own food and "materia magica" on her land in the mountains of western North Carolina. Diotima’s personal spiritual path is rooted in the Western mystery traditions, the principles of Yoga, and a profound connection with the natural world. Wicca gives structure to her spiritual journey, and she utilizes shamanic practices for healing and to live in harmony with Nature. Over 15 years of studying Chinese martial arts has given her a deep appreciation of Taoist thought which has strongly influenced her magical and personal philosophy. You can find her at www.uraniaswell.com

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