“My evenings are taken up very largely with astrology. I make horoscopic calculations in order to find a clue to the core of psychological truth. Some remarkable things have turned up which will certainly appear incredible to you.”
~Carl Jung in a letter to Sigmund Freud (June 12, 1911)
Astrological Counseling
I offer astrological counseling for psycho-spiritual exploration, understanding, and transformation. Astrology utilized in this way can be a missing key for deep inner work and can shed light on the path towards greater harmony with the natural rhythms and cycles of one’s life journey. My approach to astrology is to share the potentials and opportunities I see while exploring how the symbols and archetypes are manifesting uniquely for each individual. Astrology is a wonderful tool for self-knowledge and a help in times of challenge or transition. It can facilitate tremendous insight and peace, as well as provide timelines for certain archetypal or energetic influences reflected in our lives and inner states of being. Consultations available for birth chart exploration, current influences, relationship dynamics, and timing for important events.
Compassionate communication and Mars retrograde in Libra
Today I am beginning an 8 week course in Compassionate Communication (also known as Nonviolent Communication). This is something I’ve wanted to pursue a serious study of for awhile after reading books and trying to practice on my own (which proved difficult!). Everything lined up for me with this endeavor now while Mars is retrograde in Libra. How perfect! Why is the period when Mars is retrograde in Libra perfect for focusing on compassionate/non-violent communication? Firstly, because Libra rules the art of listening and speaking skillfully, diplomatically, and most importantly empathically — balancing awareness and sensitivity between self and other. This is challenging, to say the least, especially when strong emotions are triggered. Secondly, Mars rules self-assertion, leadership, and frankness, but also aggression and violence on the shadow side (every archetype has a shadow side). Mars retrograde on the other hand, supports holding aggression back, turning it within, contemplating it, and transmuting it. We all feel anger and aggression sometimes, which is often a surface layer over suppressed hurt or fear. To be able to express those deeper feelings and in a way that inspires giving and receiving from the heart, as opposed to creating more hurt feelings, anger, defensiveness, and chronic unmet needs in our relationships, is a great way to utilize the energy of Mars retrograde in Libra. I am happy for this opportunity.
Dear Asheville friends and astrology enthusiasts, I am spending some time in my beloved Asheville, NC after being away for many months, so anyone who has been wanting an in-person astro consultation, please contact me! Astrology is such a wonderful tool for self-knowledge and exploration and a help in times of challenge or transition. It can facilitate tremendous insight, understanding, and peace, as well as provide timelines for certain archetypal or energetic influences affecting our lives and inner states of being. I appreciate sliding scales, so I also offer one to accommodate different life situations. (Also, I continue to be available over the phone or Skype for others in different locations.) If you are interested in scheduling an appointment, contact me.
Wonderful intro to AstroPsychology by Glenn Perry (he articulates so well something I’ve often tried to explain - that the birth chart is not fixed, but rather it reflects and embodies our ongoing evolution):
“The traditional way of interpreting charts is to focus on character delineations and fated events, treating both as relatively fixed outcomes. Conversely, a psychological approach views the horoscope as an evolving story that reflects a process of growth over time. Character and events are still delineated, but no longer in terms of fixed outcomes; rather, events are interpreted as vehicles for facilitating a process of characterological development. Read more...
As character evolves, so also does one’s narrative of the outer world. As the upgraded, revised story supplants its more limited predecessor, this leads to increasingly satisfying experiences that reflect an evolution of the inner story. In effect, the astrological chart is a kind of living document, or life script, which allows for continuing amendments and revisions. I especially like the word ‘script’ because it not only conveys the idea of story, but also of a set of instructions that are written down, as in ‘a script to follow.’ That, in fact, is my thesis: the astrological chart is both a story and a set of instructions for living-that is, for evolving.”
Sweet relief from Venus, the archetype of love and beauty — specifically tonight, tomorrow, and on April 25th — as she makes harmonious aspects with Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn. If we look around we may see there are ample sources of support and stability as well as opportunities to tap into the experiences of connection, healing, and empowerment amidst the Grand Cross challenges that peak this month.
April is a uniquely intense month, with the Cardinal Grand Cross peaking Apr 20th thru 23rd, sandwiched in-between two eclipses (Apr 15th and 29th). The revolutionizing Uranus/Pluto square has been in action for a couple of years now, and we’ve been dealing with the preliminary energy of the Grand Cross since Mars entered Libra in Dec of 2013. However this month we experience the exact hits of Mars opposing Uranus, Jupiter opposing Pluto, and all 4 planets squaring each other. This is a moment of climax and possibly crisis as we experience extreme tension between conflicting or opposing forces, that will lead to sweeping changes or big breakthroughs for many people. If you have planets or points in the cardinal signs of Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn, especially if they are near 13 degrees, you will feel this Grand Cross quite personally. Read more...
The Sun triggered the Grand Cross Apr 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 8th. Mercury will trigger the Grand Cross Apr 14-16th, so those precise days may be stressful or significant for many. The Full Moon Lunar Eclipse (with the North Node) on Apr 15th in Libra may represent a time of clarity and culmination about something needing to be integrated, cultivated, or given more attention — wherever Libra is in your chart will give more information about what that is for you… The New Moon Solar Eclipse (with the South Node) on Apr 29th may represent a fresh beginning regarding something unproductive needing to be released — wherever Taurus (and Aries) is in your chart will give more information about what that is for you… Under the turbulent influences in April some people may behave irrationally or erratically (if they are prone that way), but this can help propel us towards profound spiritual opportunities for growth and to shift old or toxic patterns that no longer serve. While in the pressure cooker of these tense aspects, the deeper challenge is to inwardly surrender (which is different from outward submission) by completely accepting the present moment, and in so doing we become more free and more whole, little by little, moment by moment.
“The reality, as I have come to understand it, is that the future is not fixed, and that therefore it cannot be reliably predicted. Consciousness interacts with vast archetypal fields of possibility and probability. What actually happens is the result of the collision of both forces.” ~Steven Forrest
Last night as I was falling asleep I was contemplating – for awhile and quite intensely – love, what love is, and how to actually be loving. I didn’t have any obvious individual aspects I could think of that would account for this particular focus of my mind. But when I woke this morning and looked at the ephemeris I realized that the moment I was contemplating love so deeply was just when the Moon was applying to a conjunction with Venus, the goddess of love. How perfect. There is always an astrological correlation. Even for brief or minor events.
A friend sent me this wonderful video full of truths about what love is and what love isn’t…
Great quote from Nicholas de Vore�s Encyclopedia of Astrology
“In testimony wherof... Rev. John Butler, rector of Litchborough, felt himself called upon to exterminate Astrology in England. To do so effectively, he began to read “moderately” on the subject — with the result, in his own words: “ It begot in me a reverence for those grey hairs which as unjustly as ignorantly I had despised. . . I find that next to Theology, nothing leads me more near unto the sight of God than this sacred astrological study of the great works of Nature.”
It is rare to have a New Moon exactly on New Year’s day, both powerfully and clearly signifying a fresh new beginning. This New Moon in Capricorn was extra potent and also potentially volatile because not only was it tightly involved with the Uranus/Pluto square, representing a long-term process of deep change and transformation from 2012 to 2015, but it was also square to Mars and opposed Jupiter. Anyone with significant planets or points in the cardinal signs of Capricorn, Aries, Libra, or Cancer (especially around 11 degrees) will be experiencing Dec 30, 2013-Jan 2, 2014 (and perhaps this whole year) more intensely. Dynamic forces are in the air and may stir up anger, brutal honesty, and big energy and motivation to move stagnancy and create change. Read more...
“Pay little attention to what people say or do. Instead, try to see their innermost motive for speaking and acting” (Vernon Howard). When people are triggered they say and do things stemming from the “pain body”. Unconscious fear and hurt can be covered over with defense mechanisms such as denial or anger. Sensing the real feelings and needs underneath is where empathy and understanding come in, which are both crucial for sustaining love and care amidst the inevitable disagreements, growing pains, and change that occur in all significant relationships.
The New Moon is a time for visioning and planting seeds for the future, but we may still feel in the dark about how to proceed. The Full Moon is when more clarity and objectivity will come. Also Venus is retrograde through the end of January. This suggests that this month is especially useful for reflecting on Venusian matters (especially partnerships and love, but also finances, art, and beauty), as opposed to making permanent decisions, because situations and perspectives could shift after Venus goes direct.
For this New Moon in Capricorn, Some of Capricorn’s key themes such as ambition, striving, and success may be activated. I love Ari Moshe’s definition of success: “To me the true definition of success is the experience of performing an action that is in vibrational alignment with who we truly are/who we wish to become. When we perform such actions over a long period of time, we build a successful lifestyle in the sense that all aspects of our life are in expressed harmony with the essence of who we are.”
When interpreting relationships, natal indications prevail over compatibility indications
Exploration of compatibility for partnership or marriage between two individual’s natal charts is one of my favorite uses of astrology. In analyzing compatibility, however, it is important to remember that no matter how many significant connections or marriage indicators there are between two people, one must first acknowledge the predispositions regarding partnership within each natal chart. If the natal chart shows stressful aspects or placements to planets in the 7th (partnership) house, and most importantly to the ruler of the 7th house, as well as the condition of Venus, who presides over love and relationships, for instance, then no matter how strong a connection is or how compatible the charts looks with another person’s chart, the experience in partnership is going to be geared towards major growth (i.e. full of challenges) for that person. And likewise, if a natal chart suggests more harmonious aspects and placements regarding partnership for the individual, then less compatibility with someone else’s chart may still correlate with a relationship experience that is mostly enjoyable for the individual with more harmonious natal placements.
