The new issue is on its way, guest written by Gary Caton, whose website is Dream Astrologer. Any Planet Waves subscription option will give you instant access to this issue, as well as to our subscriber archives.
New issue on its way — guest author Gary Caton
A long sought after breakthrough *is* a wondrous thing. Thank you for your warm wishes Mystes.
Now if only I knew how to do the hug thingie on the keyboard….! Ah well there’s one winging its way to you as I type. 😉
Shebear13 — congrats on the breakthrough! Don’t you *love it* when these transits give us something so perfectly aligned with their potential? Good on you for being open to the process!
And thank you (and Amanda) for walking with me a little. These springs are really something, pouring 250 million gallons a day, and have never been known to run dry. If I can’t live near the ocean, these will do…
mystes — gorgeous and soothing.
sysyc — stunning.
yes.
Yes Susyc, your poem is fantastic! Thank you for composing and sharing it with us.
Mystes, the ride is pretty amazing I have to say, thanks for asking. Down the rabbit-hole, up through the skylight, twirling, swirling, the works, but I have to say I wasn’t prepared for the beauty of your prose, which btw blows me away at the best of times but tonight, hmmm, I want to swim those beautiful “blue&azure-green” waters and commune with the birds, nature etc. It’s lovely to have you drop in again so as we get to read your rich, delicious writing!
(Good luck with all that’s going on in your life and the detox etc.)
On the note of forgiveness and the whisper into your ear, I did something this morning that I never thought possible. I made room for someone who died just over a month ago, a person who had caused me *enormous* grief in my teenage years and who continued to hold sway over me to the present day. Something happened at the w/e where I felt a profound shift around the retelling of that story. The shift occurred because someone was really listening and honouring the pain by showing me much needed empathy and I allowed that healing energy in.
So over the past three days I began to allow myself to start looking at the person who had pained me with compassion. Never, *ever* did I think I could reach that place. I think it was because, at the w/e, through finding a lost part of myself and coming to recognize that the perpetrator of the wrong had also lost an essential part of herself and in opening to depth of my vulnerability, instead of raging at her, I began to see myself mirrored in her and could only show her compassion now. I understood why she behaved toward me the way she had, therefore I could no longer continue to be angry with her, needing instead to make peace and set us *both* free.
So, this full moon and eclipse has been quite profound for me. A stranger walked into my life and helped unlock a mystery for me and now a piece of my heart has grown back. I really sense the veil between the living and the dead is so thin now and it benefits us all to look to those who have died and make peace and forgive the wrongs of our pasts. That way more of us get to go on the ride!
So many great comments for this great article by Gary. And then the poem, and haiku, and words of love and support to me….are appreciated by me, dear PWers. Thank you. This place, among one’s caring fellows: Now Here : is Where one Knows: All is well. And all shall be well. ((((((to all))))))
oops! I didn’t realize my formatting would disappear.
those pairs of words are Opposites, so need to imagine a vs. between them all.
to susyc
SPOT ON; spot on; spot on; !! so good! Love it and thank you.
I Saw this only this morning. (@ F.M.; South Node conjunct my Uranus for weeks)
and I want to add more…..
Nowhere Now here
Silence Voice/Word/Speak
Rest Create
Potential Manifest
Death Life
Sleep Awake/Aware
Rest Effort
Absent Present
and could go on, but these will do.
I have been so afraid of the Silence that I could not find my Voice.
our family ‘motto’ has been ‘If you can’t say anything ‘Nice’, don’t say anything at all’.
How much fear is in that? that motto is totally useless. ‘Pooh’ to it.
love to all.
SuzyC… wonderful, wonderful poem! thank you!! and somehow I suspect they were for Burning River (but spilling over to the rest of us).
Pattissima… thank you for looking at the Sabians. Always timely. And Amanda, your comments were also illuminating. My North Node is at the GC, chatting up your Moon, no doubt.
Shebear13, how’s the ride, doll? Have you found the rabbithole/skylight yet? Twirling works when the velcro wears out.
Gary, thank you for the well-tempered writing, and helping me visualize the relationships between today’s most active elements.
Everyone else, how is your Purna rolling out?
Love to all…
M-state
Since the end of May I’ve been on a raw foods fast. Cancerian, I know that while the sun is in my solar 12th H it’s good time to let go let go let go to make room for What Comes upon the Solstice. But the process of purification has met some challenges. There’s the family romance — still far from settled (ah, teenagers and their teenage dads); there’s the fact that I drive 500 miles a week for my job; there’s the sheer work of moving. So this particular detox has been slow to take hold.
On the Buddhazoid circuit this Full Moon is identified with the birth of the avatar known as Siddhartha Gautama. That, plus Eclipse, plus GC, plus solar 12thness made it critical that I be ready to ride this Purna (Full Moon) bareback.
I woke up this morning with theGirl whispering in my ear: “Forgive. Forgive everybody. Right now. You’re gonna need the space.” Y’asm. I sat up and wrote the list — surprisingly short for someone with such a loaded 7th House. Did the ritual. Well, *rituals* . . . One for each of them.
Then off to the Lake. I am moving to a small city just south of Austin that has five little rivers flowing through it. The headwaters of the largest one is about 2 miles from my house, but I only knew how to get to those springs from the freeway to Austin. Now I am coming from the other side of town, and whaddyaknow, there is a looooooong train clacking across my path. With 13 minutes to spare, I turned around in the middle of the road. “Turn here” said my intuition, “now here and here…” Suddenly I am twisting up barely paved roads with a long fence backed by heavy woods to my right. I can smell the water. The road forks, I follow the smell.
One more turn and I am at the headwaters. I park and grab my bag, flying to the waters, shedding clothing as I run. The edge is overgrown, but I find a small gap in the greenery. Carrying my vajra, bell and Sam’s Aspiration, I wade down into the blue-green Springs. I begin the recitation — E Ma Ho! — a glassbottom boat glides by, a boisterous family rumbles past behind me, a few people come out of the old hotel that has been converted into University offices. I am alone in the water, surrounded by dragonflies and sunfish. Suddenly, in the middle of the recitation, the vajra jumps out of my hand, plash! into the water. I keep reading. Between verses I ring the bell softly, the sunfish seem to hear it and wander a little closer.
Finishing up, I consider swimming out deeper, but a slight tug says “Not here…” I reach down into the water to retrieve the vajra. I can’t see it, but I place a small peridot in the water as my offering, and the vajra comes back to my hand. When I get out I see the myriad “do not swim” “environmentally-sensitive” signs that are everywhere but the specific path that I took. Back at my car, I drive up the hill again, come to another small opening, this one about 200 yards from the Springs. Here I can swim, and gratefully surrender to the cool waters.
A heron launches from the other side of the Lake, lands in a cottonwood above my head and inspects me. “What kind of fish are you?” “The crab-kind.” He thinks about this a minute, then says: “You seem kind of soft for crab.” My laughter makes him hop a little, but he stays on the branch, looking with first one eye, then the other. I swim back to the middle of the Lake (which at this juncture, starts to become the River) and he climbs to a spot higher in the tree, still looking. “Did you hear about Mockingbird?” I asked. He waggled “no.” So I told him about the Mocker who came to my window a few weeks ago, hovering –hummingbird-like– at the screen to get a better look into the house. Not once, but *four* times. He seemed unsurprised. “I thought they only imitated *sounds*,” I finished. “Humans,” he shrugged, “always with the ‘only.'”
The water was indescribable. Soft, blue&azure-green, a continual tapestry of temperatures ranging from chill to just short of tepid. Breezes bounced off the trees and skeined the surface with a thousand tiny pores. Birds seemed to fall out of the shadows, doing that little number I call the ‘breast-bounce,’ where they tuck their wings and tilt down into some invisible draft that pitches them back up.
As I swam, my body took the embrace. “The world, the world…” I heard it croon, sweet animal that it is. Now the detox begins in earnest, until the Solstice and incipient hours of Cancer. Or, as I like to call the summer sign, Kallinectes beautiful swimmer.
hey everybody, sorry to be late to my own party 🙂 I’m honoured there is this much commentary, thanks everyone
Len, what a fantastic compliment to acknowledge someone’s individuality. thanks!
Burning River, I am so glad to hear that image was helpful. It is such a profound thing for me also to know that’s where we come from. My friend Kelly Lee Phipps filmed me talking about it for his film “Return of the Magi” and I always have to chuckle when i see it…
In case it helps further, here’s a segment from an alternate ending we contemplated (but which Eric helped me improve on)
Rather than clinging to the past and resisting or denying change, what if we dove into it, saying essentially: “I have done all my work, burned all my fuel. Now it is time for what I am to explode in a blaze of glory and spread out, like a Jackson Pollock painting, flung onto the canvas of Night.” Whatever it might look like to you, when we choose to live as stars is when we are most alive.
– Gary
Beautifully put Indranibe, your words of encouragement for Burning River.
BR, let me add a haiku that a dear friend wrote for me a few weeks back, knowing how much you love songbirds.
“Listen to the Air
Magic sounds carry much Joy
Birds must be Irish.”
I’m directing those songbirds with their magical sounds down your way, to brighten your days.
………………………
Not forgetting you dear A word and your struggles as well. When I think of you I see dragonflies everywhere, surrounding you and fluttering their love! Then I know you are comforted and you *will* get through these arduous times.
Sending you both much care and comfort.
My Sagittarius Full Moon is brimming with love and will not be contained it seems 😉
Dear Burning River,
Firstly, I am so sorry for your loss. And then, I am so happy for your gain. You found your voice! Let it sing…
Congratulations on your courageous quest for freedom, happiness, and Self. It’s a good time for Self – Jupiter in Taurus (slow, sustained expansion) and the rest of that heavenly stuff. Steady as she goes – it’s the only way to do it.
We’re all here – strength should you need it; company on a lonely day – all here.
Cheers,
Indrani
making friends with death
this old bag of bones
comes a knockin’
clattering at my door
cape and hood revealing
grinning teeth
one bony elbow
leaning on the handle
blade rocking
on the ground
one bony finger tapping at the door
‘shave and a haircut, two bits!’
death’s doin’ a little dance
when I open the door
rocking on its scythe
singin’
hey there Little Red Riding Hood,
you sure are lookin’ good.
you’re everything a big bad wolf could want.
hey there yourself,
you’ve been hangin’ about for awhile
now come on in, let’s drink some tea
and make friends, skip the fear
remember why you’re here
death steps in swinging
off its cape, tossing it on a coat hook
remember?
remember means to put back together
I think I’m articulated pretty good already,
thank you very much,
but I will come in and
don’t mind if I do
have some tea
I don’t know why
you’d want to make friends with me
your kind mostly
avoids me like the plague
all y’all think
I’m so unfair and
you run and run and
some of you run so hard you
trip straight into my arms
but I come for all y’all
no exceptions
what’s more fair than that?
I gesture death into the comfy chair
I guess that’s my point
you’ll be turning up for me
sooner or later
may as well shake hands first
I’ve died a few times already in my mind
parts of me are long gone
and mostly forgotten
It’s been a while since I’ve chosen
to make denial my home
I could I guess, but groupthink
is not my think
shit happens and I’d rather feel it
than eat it
death lifts skinny ankle to cross bony knee
humph, good point
really, the things most of you do to avoid me
vitamin supplements, hormones
money and more money
stuff and more stuff
that won’t save you
not your beautiful young women
nor boys of twenty-five, or those fancy cars.
I’m just a little reminder
of the only thing that ever counts
hidden in the word
nowhere
do you take sugar in your tea?
don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be mad,
assuming I have time to acknowledge
your approach and I would
rather avoid you altogether
but I hope this little talk
may ease that time
don’t forget
I have beloveds, beautiful people
who’ve walked with me through this world—
I have beloveds, sensations,
sight, sound, touch, taste, smell—
that’s why I’ll be mad and grief-stricken and scared
death’s head rocks on its spine
most are, and it’s
hard, messy work, dying,
for many not unlike
having to shove your way
back up that birth canal
into the womb of creation,
but really it is just like birth
you were midwife to your father’s death
and you’ve had children
you know how it feels to flow
with physical processes
you have no choice
but to go with
it’s harder for men
acceptance comes if you let it,
brain chemicals ease it
some children even qualify for
Get Out of Jail Free cards
dying suddenly and unprepared
looking angelically into the faces
their murderers
I whip ‘em out before they know what hit ‘em.
I pour death and me another cup
that’s the hard truth I guess,
I remember watching my dad die—
one telomere at a time shutting down
like lights in a warehouse at closing time
one row at a time, boom, boom, boom!
light to dark, light to dark
darkness enlarging
boom, boom, boom!
boy was he pissed!
I remember, I was there, you know
but you stayed with him
and at last made your words of
forgiveness visible in your actions
I sip my tea
that was a gift of grace among
so many graces
sometimes I think I hear my telomeres
shutting down
just when I’m falling asleep
boom, boom, boom!
but maybe it’s just the daily reboot
into the matrix
matrix stew
death smiles and sets his cup down
maybe, and it is fun to think about,
odd, though, the limitations of your perceptions
I keep forgetting you see only slices
some say we’ve made an agreement
before birth on my methods but
that’s just a way of trying to achieve
some sense of control over the uncontrollable
that’s why your kind
created the atom bomb and
continues to try to disassemble
the building blocks of life
you want the powers of your creator
power over life and death
teeny little dr. frankensteins, all y’all…
if you can pull it off
you might not have to die
others hope for the afterlife
and still others decide there’s nothing
at all before or after
and I ain’t tellin’.
but really none of those ideas
make a difference and there’s
only one point, one grace, one meaning
hidden in the word nowhere
this discussion doesn’t change a thing
we’ll still be meeting up
someday you and I
and you’ll never know why
even the gods, made in man’s image
get to insist on a little mystery.
by susyc
ooooooh — thanks len! i had no idea there was a SGC — i thought he was just being emphatic. 🙂
Sorry, meant to add that I *thoroughly* enjoyed your article Gary, thank you.
My moon is at 25 Sagittarius and I’m ready for blast off. Been working on the “velcro” technique for the past wee while now! Thanks for the great idea Mystes 😉
Nice comment Patty. I smiled when I read your depiction of those “little hearts” wearing their pirate hats! The word pirate is in the title of my musical reverie for tomorrow’s full moon and eclipse. It’s a beautifully dreamy song (with lovely moon imagery in the video) from Thea Gilmore, a singer from England. It’s called “Pirate Moon”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5HVqDZ45Tw
I’d like to send it out as an invite to go astro traveling to the heavens above, to find some comfort on dear moon and forget those earthly trials and tribulations which have the tendency to suck life out of you sometimes. Head up now folks for a heavenly hiatus.
omg…….as i just finished writing that, I looked up and the moon is staring back at me through my window against an indigo blue sky. Didn’t even have to get up from my chair.
What a sight. She’s breathtaking!
“..What if we understood the eternal nature of existence?..”
🙂
..So, what do we really want to play,.. everyone..
smiling,
Jere
We can desire, but actually pursuing a creative result is a whole new ball game. Seeing a new republic come to life…. it just staggers my imagination for the implied freedom to choose a life, a partner, a religion, or even a place to live. It also angers me to think it only takes a few men to tear it down.
Little hearts wearing pirate hats and swinging plastic swords are probably remembering why they came into the world. My Wendy voice says, ‘Stop that right now and pick up your room.’ End of reverie.
Amanda,
Taking a cue from Eric’s blog today, i should have prefaced my statement of fact (GC Vs. SGC) with something like “just to clarify”. It was not, never has been and never will be my intent to offend anybody. It was only to clarify a point of potential confusion for our readers.
If any offense was taken, please forgive me. And thanks again to Eric for yet another timely reminder.
Gary,
Thank you for sharing with Planet Waves subscribers once again. Your conviction that the actual sky matters combines with your exceptional astrological skills to yield a treasure trove of insight and information. There is nobody else like you. Your work is deeply appreciated.
Amanda,
The Galactic Center (the intersection that Gary Caton referred to) is in late Sagittarius and physically situated in the core of our own “Milky Way” galaxy. The Super-Galactic Center as referred to by Phil Sedgwick is in early Libra and is situated outside of our “Milky Way” galaxy.
patty —
thanks for bringing in the sabian symbol — i need to remember to check that more often.
Rudhyar phrases his extended interpretation a bit differently, but definitely brings in the idea of imagining/anticipating a power one does not yet have — a kind of foreshadowing of adulthood. and interestingly (to me, anyway), he brings up the idea of horse as traditional sexual symbol as well as the rocking motion as being an un- or semi-conscious anticipation of the rhythm of the sexual act; make-believe and growth through the imagination, active at the organic body level and an initiation of sorts in the play.
wow — lots of food for thought there.
i’ve always been a bit prone to getting caught up in daydreams (to the point of being attached to them as a substitute for action and change i real life), which i’d connected to my pholus placement. this degree for my moon gives another angle, and one that feels more potentially productive/creative/growth-oriented — but still within certain limits.
i guess, as you suggest, patty, the key may be action — to go out and *do* what sets my mind on fire. that may not equal “adulthood” (i.e., full actualization of power) but maybe it opens the door and paves the way for that growth.
i just hope i don’t have to wait till my next incarnation! 😉
{{{{Burning}}}} Disintegrating a long relationship is never easy even when it is your choice or in your best interests. You have my best compassionate energy coming your way for this time in your life and energy for all those who will be affected by this; especially any children. You will all need compassion as you do this and you have mine.
Take care Burning. We are with you here.
Sabian Symbol 25 Sag – “A chubby little rich boy rides on a hobby horse of bright colors and wishes for hazards he may never know. ”
As i recall childhood and doing activities involving repetitive motion, like swinging on a swing or riding a bouncing type of hobby horse, I remember that my mind always went into marvelous reverie of imagination – I was on fire so to speak.
My interpretation of the symbol 25 Sag is to go out and do what sets your mind on fire. I’ve run across 3 or 4 things that are important to me this week and feel an urgent need to take action. One thing is clear, the internet has opened millions of eyes and the door is open to join like-minded groups of people working toward resolution of problems dear to your heart.
It is the “Christfest” where the world teacher pours out teaching appropriate to the needs of the people over the coming weeks. Pay attention.
bkeohler —
thanks for sharing this from Phil Sedgwick:
“The Super-Galactic Center maintains the greatest implication of soul retrieval of any point in the Universe. it demands that you get back in there and deal with yourself in an essential manner. It is essential that you do so. It is also unavoidable. It will happen. The only question is when?”
(just realized that was under a diff post… oops!)
that’s a great bit of insight, and feels just about right to me. I have my moon at 25 sagg with a tricky nessus *exactly* opposite. i just learned that nessus really blocks my access to the wealth of “spiritual” energy/knowledge that moon placement represents. So i’m trying to stay aware and open to the eclipse processes, hopefully to make a little progress/contact. my nodes are at 19+ gem & sag, so i guess the karma/dharma theme is getting a little energy for me right now.
Thanks so much, Gary. I am a visual learner and the image of the death of a star as a super nova shooting particles of what will become new life out into the universe finally gave me the clarity about what my intuiton has been leading me into.
What I am doing–leaving a marriage of 43 years– is having that kind of effect (a shocking explosion and disitegration) on a great number of people; creating in them confusion, fear, anger, on and on. (Some are still lovingly with me on this ride) But I can see with my mind so clearly now what has been totally intuitie up until now–I have know it is for the good of everyone and that image explains it– this is like blazing and blasting a trail for the possibility of completely new life choices and fresh awarenesses that I am opening up for my next seven generations (which is also available to those who are presently living through this with me if they want it).
To affect so many lives, as I am doing, has caused me to walk slowly and cautiously with thoughtfulness and awareness. Your image today and Mary Oliver’s poem THE jOURNEY have been guideposts along my way. This started 43 years ago and to and a half years ago the final phase of disintegration began . My heart is full of compassion and faith. And I finally know the sound of my own voice. Thanks for your help-and thanks to all at PW.
Dear Gary,
Thanks for your article – it clarified a great many things – made the path easier.
Cheers,
Indrani