This week between the Libra equinox and the Aries Full Moon is absolutely vibrating with the potential for deeper engagement with your world (inner and especially outer) on all levels. You may feel it as excitement or intimidation. But Ceres moving onto the Aries Point — by way of ingressing the sign Cancer just before 3 am EDT Wednesday — is a reminder that the point of letting go of the old is to allow in the new, and that it doesn’t happen in a social vacuum even when we’re talking about food attitudes.
Ceres is a minor planet named for the goddess of agriculture and the harvest. It’s not your ordinary minor planet — it was the first discovered, in 1801, and in the first group of dwarf planets, designated in 2006. In mythology, she’s associated with mourning when her daughter spent part of each year in the underworld with Pluto resulted in the seasons. As such, this planet most frequently turns up with themes about food and its production, the idea of nourishment in general, and mother-daughter dynamics. Often when Ceres interacts with any of the early cardinal degrees we see news about our food supply pop up in the media.
In fact, as Ceres has been approaching Cancer, a story about Monsanto’s Roundup-ready GMO corn causing tumors in rats has been in the news (the story made it into Friday’s subscriber issue). As Ceres actually enters Cancer and moves into even closer aspect with the Uranus-Pluto square, we may very well see some developments in this story as well as other issues surrounding our food supply and eating habits (the topic of arsenic in U.S. brands of rice is also on the radar again).
The Sabian symbol for the first degree of Cancer suggests that paradigm-shift around food is inevitable. The question is, with everything else trying to get our attention right now, will something as basic as food be able to cut through the static?
The Sabian symbols are part of a channeled system famously interpreted by Dane Rudhyar in his book An Astrological Mandala. There is a symbol for each degree of the zodiac. The one for 01 Cancer is: “On a ship the sailors lower an old flag and raise a new one.” Rudhyar adds the keynote, “A radical change of allegiance exteriorized in a symbolical act: a point of no return.”
If that doesn’t say ‘paradigm shift’, I don’t know what does. Any idea what sort of “symbolical act” you may choose tomorrow? Perhaps you will know it only as you do it — or in hindsight, as you look back and realize what some seemingly small choice actually set in motion.
Incidentally, when Ceres enters Cancer it will trine Neptune, which is currently retrograde in the first degree of Pisces. A trine is a flowing aspect of signs with the same element. Neptune’s conversation with Ceres tomorrow could be about the creative ways we can solve our personal and collective food challenges. It could lend a sense of spiritual support or importance to Ceres on the Aries Point. It may, on the other hand, help those of us not quite ready to face facts slide back into denial about just how capable we are of releasing old food habits and beliefs about what nourishes us.
Then again, the Sabian symbol for Neptune’s degree looks like it may lend real support to Ceres in this intersection of personal and political. Rudhyar writes for 01 Pisces, “In a crowded marketplace farmers and middlemen display a great variety of products.” It is literally a farmer’s market. And the keynote: “The process of comingling and interchange which at all levels demonstrates the health of a community.”
Translation: don’t be afraid to get out there and mix it up when it comes to food and politics, but aim for the highest good. We won’t get anywhere if we travel only in our social comfort zone bubbles. Just make sure that if you start a food fight in the cafeteria, you’re not wasting any of the organic, locally-grown non-GMO stuff.
Thanks again for the link, Amanda. So glad to see that white Jasmine rice is on the low side as that is mostly what we eat. I wonder if there are links to the arsenic in Chinese black rice or brown jasmine rice?
This is a good idea too, the cooking with extra water trick and the changing up of foods.
And, after writing my first comment, I made Tom Yum soup and it did the trick. When in doubt about what food I “want” there is always Tom Yum soup (chicken broth hot and spicy soup) or chicken soup. Very balancing.
And it’s been that kind of chicken soup week for me.
My own VERY spicy Tom Yum soup is the best detox, cancer preventative (its now even being included in medical trials it’s so good for that), and (if you need it) diet food.
Thanks also to all the commenters and this connecting-to-Life conversation.
Thank you Amanda for such a thoughtful and perceptive article. And how profoundly spot on.
I have been having mother-daughter bashes this week something explosive. Talk about flags going up and down!
Another funny thing, for me, as I always ask myself -and I am a very healthy eater- “what am I hungry for?’ before I make a choice for food and I have not been hungry. This has been going on for several weeks. (But this too could be a product of turmoil.)
~~
Regarding the wheat thing, I long ago became allergic to wheat and gluten and yeast and penicillin. One of the reactions to a food allergy -oddly- is “craving” it. This is so different from being attracted to what you need and way out of balance. Once it is out of your system, you stop or rarely crave it and even an occasional indulgence won’t trigger that reaction. Food that nourishes you makes you feel complete.
In the past year, although I thought I was eating VERY healthy, I have learned many new things about nutrition, in that I had breast cancer (I got word this week that after 14 months, I am CLEAR -yea!!!!. But last year I got very picky about grass fed butter, milk, protein and no unfermented soybean oil which is in everything food manufacturer-ers produce (fermented is okay).
And yes, when I am a guest or out I don’t read every last ingredient, but at home, I pay attention and I am a VERY GOOD cook. This isn’t a hardship. In fact my family thinks we are eating better.
I learned to cook great hot spicy Thai food this year and changed up the ingredients I found questionable (and added more peppers). I also love rice. I too wished that news story said which kind of rice was most suspect.
I have learned to change up my “starches” with potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, rice, quinoa, and occasional glutten-free wheats. Variety is a good thing I think.
I made gluten-free personal pizzas on the grill last Sunday and let my family all choose what to put on it (pesto, red sauce, mushrooms, herbs, spinach, sweet peppers, sausage, all of the above) and it was AWESOME!
I have always thought that eating right should be delicious!
But, this week, I don’t feel hungry for anything. Odd.
abc123 & dr. cohen
I believe that GM wheat has not yet been introduced into the human ‘feed’ stream yet. Australia is the ‘test country’ and this is why Heineman at the university in Cantebury published his unfavorable findings there.
There does seem, however, to be some crossover effects in silencing certain gene sequences by simply consuming animals that *have* eaten GM wheat. Really, I am thinking spirulina and carrots are about it for now. And I’m not even sure about carrots. 8D
abc123,
I think it’s best to stick to that which we know regarding celiac disease (gluten intolerance).
As per the U.S. National Library of Medicine,
“The exact cause of celiac disease is unknown. The lining of the intestines contains areas called villi, which help absorb nutrients. When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products that contain gluten, their immune system reacts by damaging these villi.
This damage affects the ability to absorb nutrients properly. A person becomes malnourished, no matter how much food he or she eats.
The disease can develop at any point in life, from infancy to late adulthood.
People who have a family member with celiac disease are at greater risk for developing the disease. The disorder is most common in Caucasians and persons of European ancestry. Women are affected more often than men.”
Though the cause is “unknown,” we have models for this disease ( autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis and such ) elsewhere in medicine. Antibodies simply develop with repetitive exposure and if there is a genetic predisposition, then there is a greater likelihood of occurrence over a lifetime. There is no need to conjecture that GMO wheat products are playing a role, though it’s impossible at this time to rule that out. Given the choice between a simpler model and a complex model, and since Celiac disease preceded any GMOs ( although there has been a rise in the diagnosis, but we may be testing for it more frequently, so that’s difficult to sort out ) , the simpler explanation is, in this case, probably a safer bet. A double blinded randomized study would be needed before we can point blame to GMOs for causing Celiac.
I wish you all the good fortune you need to cope with your misfortune.
FYI – I am an osteopathic physician in Internal Medicine
Amanda, thanks for the link.
Hcohen, your comments fired up my imagination to make me wonder: am I now gluten-intolerant due to having eaten GMO wheat products? I have a strong memory of my first reaction to gluten after having moved to a different country as a child. Up until then, bread and home-made foods containing wheat flour were a part of daily meals. (We bought bread, but almost no other store-made foods.)
“toxicity does not depend on cumulative doses of pesticide or GMO, but rather a threshold must simply be crossed. This means that the damage done to kidneys and the oncogenic ( cancer causing ) changes the occur may happen at lower levels of exposure than expected – a threshold must simply be crossed , triggering a cascade of enzymatic changes , producing metabolites that forever and harmfully change the organism.”
Hi Amanda and Everyone,
Sometimes when I don’t have time to read the Planetwaves articles, I’ll print them up and take them home to read in the evening. I couldn’t wait to get into work this morning after reading this fantastic article, Amanda, and to share some valuable insights along with all the other information that has been shared here!
I watched this documentary recently called “Food Matters” and it taught me so much about food, water, vitamins, medication etc. But it just seemed to go along with everything that everyone is talking about. It matters what you put into your body. You can watch it on line now, or buy the DVD. http://www.foodmatters.tv
After watching the documentary on TV, I went onto the internet to find more information about the studies they talked about and accidently found http://www.foodmatters.org Now this website is about creating sustainable and fair food systems, but it also shares lots of tests and research from around the globe. And being a not-for-profit organisation, they aren’t influenced by sponsors motives or government agencies, as we all know other tests have been. And they aren’t turning their information into a commercial venture like the other one has, sadly. If you want some accurate information about food, and how it affects your body, mood, spirit, I urge you to check these websites out. The documentary is a good place to start.
Since watching the documentary, I now drink 2-3 litres of water daily, and have cut down on wheat products. I’ve also started to nurture my organic homegrown garden and eat from it almost daily, or buy organic fruit and vegetables as I need to. I’m not vegetarian, and may never be, but I have 2 vegetarian days a week, no refined sugar at all, and eat fresh local organic beef and fresh local fish, moving away from the imported suspiciously large chicken pieces we get from USA. I feel clearer, lighter and brighter since watching the documentary about two months ago.
The part about vitamin supplements to treat dis-ease rather than medication has absolutely mind-blowing information. I’m sure the pharmaceutical companies would love to ban this documentary. I have successfully been treating my depression with vitamins, rather than damaging anti-depressants for years knowing intrinsically that the anti-depressants were no good for me. This documentary confirmed it.
Thanks for all the great information and blogging, and the great article Amanda. Happy searching for what nurtures you.
Sina
PS don’t forget nurturing thoughts really help too xx
We need to eat otherwise in agreement with the changes of consciousness for no longer need to kill animals for breeding … Thank you Amanda 🙂
Please remember that fish oil and krill oil supplements should be included in the avoid list which is unfortunate because of the health benefits they confer.
I am with you, Mysti; my caloric intake is at around 800 to 1000 a day and has been for most of the past 2 years. No carbs (or very limited amounts to help with digestive regulation) has been my life since 2010. I feel a lot better and I lost over 100 lbs. My family eats healthier but we still have a ways to go because the kids still want grain foods and finding healthy ones is expensive.
Apparently bodies of water from the northern *and* southern hemispheres – the first attack in the UK, the second with Yellowtail in South Africa. I’m taking the hint.
Sarah! you’re having a reaction to *fish*? Gah! Your source is the N. Atlantic, right? I wonder if it is the critter, or the various pollutants the poor babies are enduring from human enterprise?
For food, I think Patty has always had the right idea: grow it yourself. Or buy from people you know. Or, as in my case, just stop eating! Since crossing the mid-century line, my caloric intake has probably dropped a good 30%. Yaaaay. At this rate I’ll be a breathatarian by the time I’m 65.
(Demeter is not amused. Not. Amused.)
mystes, me too. First an adult-onset anaphlyactic reaction to fish, now pain with refined sugar and wheat. Today, I ‘scan’ food before buying it, trusting my intuition over brand promises.
Thanks Amanda, and everyone, for this fascinating blog and thread. And loved the Shakespeare quotes, Patty!
hcohen, welcome to Bedlam. The study that Amanda refers to has been well-circulated, and I am delighted to see Monsanto & ilk having to shell out a bit o cash to try to put the genie back in the bottle. Another study, less widely circulated, comes from a microbiology team in Canterbury, NZ, pointing to some problems with GMO wheat – which has not been released for human consumption in the N. Hemisphere. Australia is apparently being primed as the first stop.
If I read the study correctly, not only are there four ‘markers’ in the wheat that interfere with the liver’s glycogen metabolism, the markers pass *up* the food chain *to* homo sapiens ignorans. In other words, we don’t have to eat the wheat itself to disable our livers, all we have to do is eat the animals that eat the wheat.
http://safefoodfoundation.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Heinemann-Expert-Scientific-Opinion.pdf
Salut!
For my part, as a cook of some small inventiveness, I have been willing and able to eat just about anything. But as Ceres approaches my Sun, I’ve noticed that something is going sideways. I seem to have developed some sensitivity to the wheat *presently* on the market, and there is definitely something going on with almost every grain I touch. Refined sugar is also becoming a problem. Seems like if it hasn’t been killed, pulled from a garden or off of a tree within three days, I can’t really digest it. Bizarre.
We’ll see if this isn’t transient. But honestly, I find that beyond noting the phenomena, I don’t much care. As long as there’s water, I’m good.
(Splash)
Truth be told, I am a Skeptic, but I am open to all forms of knowledge and recently I have , with the expertise of Amanda, become open minded to something I once viewed with doubt: astrology. I find the perspective here, in Planet Waves, simply fascinating. And while I am a novice, learning a little bit more with each step I take, I do not take everything at face value and I do not agree with everything in here – or anywhere for that matter without investigating primary sources on my own.
So, with that said, there has been no seriously good data to back the hysteria regarding the dangers of GMO; thus, I read the original article that Amanda referred to in this piece. Yes, this is a rat study; and yes, science demands we replicate data before we confer great significance to the data, but after reading the original article, my only criticism of Amanda’s piece is that she understated the importance of this study.
One of the most significant points in the study was, in rats anyway, that the toxicity does not depend on cumulative doses of pesticide or GMO, but rather a threshold must simply be crossed. This means that the damage done to kidneys and the oncogenic ( cancer causing ) changes the occur may happen at lower levels of exposure than expected – a threshold must simply be crossed , triggering a cascade of enzymatic changes , producing metabolites that forever and harmfully change the organism. The bottom line is, IF this study pans out for humans, the levels of GMOs , independent of pesticide exposure, needed to harm may be less than previously thought.
I never thought I’d discover information like this in Planet Waves, Thank you Amanda. Thank you one and all.
elle, wow. thank so much for your post and offer of consideration. I sincerely appreciate it! I look forward to hearing from you at leannepaoli@gmail.com.
Want to respect my space here, but want to say, thanks everyone. This is all such an imortant and rich dialog, tons of info.
abc, thanks for comments on rice and, for sharing that link Amanda. I am pretty much gluten free now, as so much ‘is’ in question. I can advocate this diet and also endorse staying away from all processed/ packaged foods, in general, as much as I can anyway. And refined sugar (susyc). You’re right i heard a program on 60 min believe, scientifically linking brain process when sugar is consumed the reaction is the same and as addictive as cocaine.
Patty appreciate your offering the other key note, certainly gives it another view. Most definately has been/ is patience (in) practice.
Best thoughts to all this week! ps
susyc & patty —
love the additions of a personal, spiritual food journey and the Shakespearean quotations! both are feeding me today.
abc123 —
here is a link i was having trouble finding last night — it’s the actual consumer reports study, which lists what brands of rice, whether white or brown, and where they were grown, along with the ranges of aresenic levels found.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/arsenic1112.htm
also, the worst offenders seem to be from former cotton fields in the US — due to the horrendous chemicals used in the cotton industry. i am curious to see international brands tested, too, though a few of the US brands are grown abroad, and the consumer reports table lists those as such.
hopefully this helps…
thank you for asking those questions! they are important (and since a close friend has celiac disease, i get how limiting it would be to have to stop eating rice).
Also, Carol Van Strum dug up this article for us, which notes that industrial chicken manure is another source, b/c arsenic is used in the chicken feed to combat some sort of pest. according to the article (and this blows my mind), large scale organic farms often use industrial chicken manure as fertilizer.
i’ve known for a while that industrial organic regulations were weaker than most regional regulations, but this still makes me reel. here is the article; you have to read pretty far down to get to this paragraph:
Sophie, could you post a way to contact you? Might be able to help you break into the ag development/non-profit world. (01 cancer moon, what do you expect?)
“It may, on the other hand, help those of us not quite ready to face facts slide back into denial about just how capable we are of releasing old food habits and beliefs about what nourishes us.” So this is such a cool reading, Amanda. I am into the second week of no refined sugar. I am in a 12 Step recovery group for compulsive eating, a group which helps people who have any kinds of compulsive behaviors around food. Denial and rationalization are a comfy stinking pile I am perfectly at home in. The solution is spiritual as you might imagine. I have been doing daily journaling about my program (funny how journal doesn’t want to be turned into a verb) and it has been helping so much, connecting me with spiritual support inside and outside myself, my intentions toward health and healing of body, mind and spirit. There was a huge shift for me that happened this last summer, maybe around the Venus transit of the sun. I have become even more service oriented as the “what about my needs?” whiny piece of me seems to have receded so much further into the past that I have trouble bring her to mind. I think, because I do reserve some of that service oriented spirit for myself, in writing, journaling, poetry events, and a practice of daily self-care which includes giving away what I am receiving in order to keep it.
I’ll have to disagree. Corn was ‘… full of darnel’ and therefore fit for the masses (we being little better than animals). If you have ever eaten stone ground corn, you will taste it immediately – it is cow feed. I’ve read quite a lot on this subject, and never read once that corn was the same as wheat or barley. Anything from America was cause for ridicule or scorn, even then! That’s likely how it made its way into the writing of Shakespeare.
As to Patty’s Shakespeare quote, it should be noted that in Britain – indeed, in most countries outside Canada and the USA – corn refers to (the seeds of) plants, such as wheat, maize, oats and barley that can be used to produce flour.
There are times when I much prefer the original sabian symbols.
Can 01 A man upon a ship stands impatiently with a flag in his hands, ready to run it up in place of the one now flown.
To me, this expresses a revolutionary change, more like the Mutiny on the Bounty. What I have noticed on facebook, in particular, is that Everyone wants good pure food, regardless of politics. Everyone forwards the Monsanto and GMO warnings. Yet, it seems like it is only the wealthy who can actually afford to shop at Whole Foods and Farmers’ Markets. Our congress has failed us over and over, especially the past 12 years. The senate can’t even put a budget together! I’ll be studying the local elections, as well as looking at the senator candidates. One may be for big oil, and the other may be for big farm. The future of corn is at stake, certainly. The mainstay of the American diet was a gift from the Native Americans and we have all but destroyed it. When it was first exported to Europe (1500s) it was believed that it would be a cheap way to feed the poor, and it still is! The gentry would not eat it. There are quotes in Shakespeare plays regarding corn,
From Henry VI
Joan: “Good morrow, gallants! want ye corn for bread?
I think the Duke of Burgundy will fast
Before he’ll buy again at such a rate.
‘Twas full of darnel; do you like the taste?”
Duke of Burgundy: “Scoff on, vile fiend and shameless courtezan!
I trust ere long to choke thee with thine own
And make thee curse the harvest of that corn.”
Industria is currently on Libra 22, conjunct Spica, “…the ear of corn in the maiden’s hand.”
It is certainly time to go to work to save our beloved corn. What fed the poor in the middle ages now appears to be the tool for eliminating the poor. In which case, the Duke was right. Vile fiends.
Did I ever mention that I was passionate about corn? heh. My rising sign is also conjunct the ear of corn.
I have bad physical reactions to wheat and so am gluten free. Which means that rice is pretty important to me. i heard the report about arsenic in rice. But what rice? Grown where? Everywhere? That doesn’t make much sense..
I tried diving in deeper, but it seems that proof is lacking and the rice industry has been forced to “prove its innocence.”
So, who is hurt if wheat sales decrease as a result of what’s widely called a “gluten free fad?” Wheat growers and brokers. And who benefits if there’s a scare about rice? The same.
So let’s keep in mind what info IS available, and where it’s coming from. (Yes, I realize there are those who’ll be skeptical of any response from the rice industry, too.)
So here is a link about rice: http://www.arsenicfacts.usarice.com/
And if you don’t trust it, then please use it to help form additional questions, and please continue researching. And if/when you find more solid info, please let us know!
On a ship the sailors lower an old flag and raise a new one.” Rudhyar adds the keynote, “A radical change of allegiance exteriorized in a symbolical act: a point of no return.”
My True Node is at 01 Cancer, just at my MC and will meet Ceres! Exciting. Coincidentially, this is percisely the direction of work I have been pursuing and interested in shifting my career experience to -Agricultural Development Initiatives. Even though I have the relevant Global Trade experience, in this industry, I have been finding it challenging breaking into the non-profit, world- to be of service, which has been my passion and direction for almost 5 years!
I feel like I have already raised the flag and am beyond the point of no return, but there must be further to go… Will be open to Wednesday’s trine. Hope helps ‘lend support and greater intuition’. Seems here’s the action point anyway.
An Astrological Mandala. I will definately look into this book too. Thank you Amanda for publishing this!
ps