Currently I’m bubbling up with the perfect happiness of anticipating my future travels, of endings and beginnings, and of the continuous flow. I expect ups and downs as the natural framework. Even there are times when I experience ’emptiness’ at points of achievement or success. I’ve come to become more accepting of these times.

Recently I completed a major milestone in my acupuncture studies with completing my first set of comprehensive exams. This was 10hrs + of testing following my final exams.  It’s a long journey, but the way I am doing it, it puts my spirituality and my living ‘beingness’ at the forefront.

Recently, I’ve had a lot of updates with my technology. These were near-mandatory updates due to malfunctioning equipment. Luckily, I got my phone replaced for free and only lost some data. Pre-Merc. Retro shadow. I think I have it mostly squared away now. Anyways, being away from the hustle and bustle of the net created the appropriate space for me to rest and recuperate – to return to the fullness of my own experience. My yoga practice feels deeper, my sense of presence feels renewed. Nature walks are more vibrant. The presence of in my toes, renewed! The breath is deeper, and returned.

Also recently, I completed the final installation of my Munay Ki rites and I’m integrating all these changes, and growing these seeds. I do not feel upset with my pace. I feel just fine; after a certain amount of energy work, the openings have different flavors, and I wouldn’t want to miss any aspects of these nuanced discoveries, however many times around!

My fire-breath practice (for regular readers) has been renewed again as well.

So where is Fiestaestrellas in all this? Where is the astrology?  Last week I attended an excellent presentation on sunset charts by Arthur Chadbourne. He’s a 3rd generation astrologer who has been working with a lineage since his great grandmother went to India and adapted her astrological teachings for the West. His presentation was enjoyable. I reflect back on the astrological book that I was going to write a few years ago, and I am feeling glad that I did not.  Mr. Chadbourne made a point of mentioning that Demetra George, among other authors tend to grow beyond their first several books and then look back and say, “Hey, I didn’t understand it then, now I do,” or something like that. After lunch with Mr. Chadbourne and fellow astrologers, Mr. Chadbourne gave me a hug and said “thank you for contributing.”  I’m not sure that I did contribute, or whatever he meant, but I do know this: People rarely understand me when I speak!  I felt like I was in company with my soul family, as usual.  So, if I didn’t understand him, well – that really meant something! Oh, we are both Leos!

Aside from some poetry here and there, I see Fiestaestrellas.com’s original function in astrological information is on hiatus. In place of that, there may be pictures and poems, maybe little token symbols embedded within. There may be nary a sound. I continue to engage in ceremony with every lunar cycle, but I’m tired of writing about it dedicatedly. I stopped doing it for the last couple of cycles. It’s a quieter period for me now. There’s a trillion and one blogs about astrology, anyways.

Soon I have some silent retreats coming up with Gurus that I’ve been following for some time: Mooji, Gangaji… that after I dig into my familial roots in Italy, and then engage with fairy forest lands.

I saw Matt Kahn recently. He hugged my husband and I and told us that we are awesome. I think we also talked about where we live briefly, and that was the extend of our up-close conversation. I even got my photo taken with him! I asked him if I could ‘pose him.’  He said, “Sure!” So we are pictured each giving a “thumbs up,” while my husband snapped the picture. What a journey that was, and what a delight – to share presence and live the truth is very relaxing!

This morning’s yoga class was interesting. My current teacher, Joe, said to me, “The first day I noticed it, you have this energy. It’s really good. I just wanted to tell you that.” I told Joe that I have a home here, in SD. I love that – and I have a home wherever I go, because I am at home in me.

I have no idea what he meant about the energy, but I do know that I’m always thinking: “I love this guy!” He’s so funny, and has been studying all the sacred arts for years and years and is so not pompous about it.

*******    ******   ******   ******   ******  ******  ******  ******  *******  ******

So Cheers! Here’s to my first blog post after a short break, and to the entry into reading yours again. While I’ve gotten my data issues somewhat worked out, I am completely uncertain about how or when I will post while in Europe. So, we’ll just be taking this step by step, Okay?

I LOVE YOU ALL!  ~ See Some of you Soon!

 

With the beginning of spring, now is the time of the first sign in the Zodiac – Aries, the ram. While domesticated sheep have an image as passive, docile creatures, in the wild a ram – a male sheep – is anything but passive. Rams are distinguished by the large, curved horns on their heads. A mature bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) can have 30 pound (14 kg) horns on a body weighing up to 300 pounds (140 kg).

 

Rams are known for fighting each other for dominance of the herd – including the right to mate with female sheep, or ewes. Rams fight each other with their horns, and even jump towards each other, ramming their heads together. This image of a ram jumping forward – headfirst – illustrates the energy of the first sign, Aries.

 

Aries energy is characterized by the 3 A’s: aggressive, ambitious, and assertive. Just as life all around us is “springing” into bloom, Aries springs into action confidently, eagerly, and perhaps even a little bit recklessly. Or perhaps very recklessly.

 

Individuals with a lot of Aries in their chart are natural leaders. They are self-starters who see an opportunity and go for it. If someone says “Can I have a volunteer to do something?” and you immediately raise your hand before you even know what you are signing up for, you may have a lot of Aries.

 

Once (4 years ago), at a poetry open mic, I was so eager to volunteer to recite a poem first, that I stood up without taking stock of my surroundings, and I knocked over a large plant that was beside my chair. Ka witnessed this, and she reminds me of this incident with a laugh. I have Aries rising, and this brings with it an impulsive energy.

 

I would be well-advised to be aware of this tendency so I can make use of its strengths – willingness and courage – but to temper this energy with the caution and prudence of Virgo (my moon sign). To be assertive is a strength, but to be so aggressive that it irritates others is a weakness. To begin a new project with energy and aplomb is a strength; it is also important to have persistence and follow-through, which are not strengths that Aries is known for.

 

When we talk about astrology, Ka always makes it clear that your birth chart does not create a prescription or destiny that is immutable and written in stone. We are all a mix of many energies and many signs, and it does not help us to over-identify with one sign. Rather, we should look at a whole chart, in order to have the whole picture of ourselves and all of our integrated parts. To paraphrase Walt Whitman, we are all vast, and we contain multitudes. Astrology gives us a tool, and a language of archetypes, that we can use for understanding ourselves. Thousands of years ago, the first psychologists were the stargazers and the storytellers. They told stories of many gods, titans, and heroes who coexisted, fought each other, competed, and journeyed to the ends of the earth. Likewise, the many aspects facets of our own minds (or psyches, to borrow a word from the Greeks) must coexist and work together. Sometimes the many sides of our personalities work together smoothly – like tempering Aries energy with Libra energy to be assertive in a balanced fashion. And sometimes the inner relationship may be less smooth and more like “Clash of the Titans.”

 

If you have a lot of Aries in you, celebrate its strengths during this time of year. Throw yourself head-first into your spring cleaning. But also be aware of Aries’ tendency to over-do it, and temper this tendency with non-Aries strengths such as diplomacy, a cool head, and follow-through. If you don’t have a lot of Aries energy, and you find yourself often being timid, now might be a great time to tune into that enthusiastic, confident energy that is blooming all around you. I wish you all a happy spring!

 

My thanks to my astrology teacher, Ka, for the inspiration as I wrote this, my first guest post. We had been talking about me writing a guest post for about two years, and it was just now that I rode the Aries energy into writing it. Learning the language of the stars is a lifelong process, and I feel grateful to be taking this big first step of writing this.

 

Credits
Author: Enrico Curioso
Aries is a painting made by Erika Pochybova, you can visit her at her site

“Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes.” – Unknown

Dearest Readers, and that’s all of you, THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart.

For the dolphin sounds and the original National Geographic article that accompanies this photograph, Click here.

FE’s Anniversary snuck up on me. I didn’t even realize it. But, *SURPRISE* It’s been 5 years of sharing and caring on Fiestaestrellas.com. Her journey has just begun!

FE has existed for 5 years! I am still trying to wrap my mind around that one!

I found a great big hole in the Earth,
and decided to climb into it.

Then I found this picture online, and decided
to use this beanstalk ladder instead,
springing up for my adventure.

This is where I’ll be until further notice.

 

Last night was my first installation of the official Munay-Ki rites.

Somewhere along the journey in this life, I was sure I had received the Earth-keeper rites, but it was among the presence of these 7 beautiful women, last night, that this set of sacred rites took place, and the transmissions were transferred to me to lay down the foundation for further deepening of my conscious journey of creation. Working with other powerful medicine women, in truth faith, my consciousness is expanding – and so is my belly, with the breath of fire! You are welcome to do the fire-breath with me here, or
participate in my mindfulness meditation practice here.

I bid you all Good Morning, and look forward to time spent amidst the wilderness of your blogs. My time is frequently spent hearing of your journeys, your processes. I receive the gift of experiencing your poems, your visions, your hopes and your fears. In community, I hold your hand. 

At times my hand may sound silent as my consciousness is fully engaged in my own transformation, but I do hope my warmth and presence is always experienced by you, and that you know that I am by your side, as you are by mine.

The past few days have been brilliant with light and the challenging of fears which would hold me back from existence, if it were not for my practices, and the support of others along the way ~ especially those magical beings on Earth and beyond, which I know “have my back,” which has been virtually rebuilt on the physical plane, since 2012. More about that here, where I still need to update my story.

I haven’t written specifically about that aspect since 2014, but I can still say:  Thank you, Body! despite any twists and turns along the way. Also, you may remember my incredible yoga mat YogaLove: Thank you!

As we approach the Full Moon in Virgo: this will be my first lunation with these seeds planted within me, and ask all of you to light a candle for yourselves in relationship to your own healing body – may we always find the love that we need to heal, and the hand-holding that we need while we are in process of the process. Soft, tender loving is more powerful and memorable than any other experience in consciousness!

We all have bridges to cross. May we feel supported as we take those steps that our spirits so rightly requests of us.

My post on the New Moon in Virgo is resonating again with me right now, as the Full Moon is nearly upon us. I’m picturing the tree in that post and experiencing the energy of our former home in Santa Cruz, CA 2012-2013: and the beginning of “my reconstruction.”

The aspects

With so much happening in my life, and “behind the scenes,” I figured I’d draw up the this chart for the New Moon in Aquarius (Sun and Moon in Aquarius at 19 degrees). As you can see in the image, Aquarius is ascending for this New Moon in Aquarius as well. Further adding to the energy of Aquarius is its modern ruler, Uranus.  Uranus has a lot of play right now. So there’s lots of creativity, electricity, unexpected surprises, and the wacky-weird “flashes of insight.” Where’s the group? How is our tribe?

• Sun and Moon conjunction Sextile Uranus “new teams, groups, connections”
• Mercury “communication” and Venus “values” Squaring “new-fangled” Uranus
• Mars Quincunx Uranus – “awkward starts” “sporadic energy”
• Uranus Square Pluto – Yep, not exact, but still super-active; revolution

With Mars Quincunx Uranus we may have a lot of fizzle – energy, but a little wobbly confusion about our initiatives. This is okay, simply because Mars will be retrograding in a couple of months giving us plenty of time to re-consider how we “start”, “motivate”, and bring our energy to our new projects. Then, where does the energy come from to continue?

For me, I’ve got my natal S. Node in Aquarius highly activated right now. My desire to post today further strengthens my sense for my past-life astrological tendencies. There’s been a long time soul’s movement with groups and energies surrounding the collective.  I have lots of contacts and friends with Aquarius as Sun, Moon, Ascendant, or both. Plus, my natal Uranus is highly aspected (which means it gets a lot of play).

Astro generalities

For those who are familiar or not, in many circles, Aquarius-Uranus is considered as the sign/planet ruling astrology, but many also in the classics look to Mercury. Many schools of astrological thought consider both to some extent because astrology is a communicated perspective – involving thought, analysis, and of course intuition and experience; it’s an art, after all.  Believe me, the more I learn about Chinese medicine (and differing theories, (and traditions that are not-Chinese…aka…Japanese… etc!!! but are indeed unified wholes and community conversations) the more I realize I am simply doing more of the same thing as astrology!

Chiron’s involvement with Jupiter and the Nodes

I want to add that right now, Chiron is forming a conjunction with the S. Node in Pisces ~ speaking of intuition, art, and the transcendent qualities of spiritual intelligence. Chiron is referred to as the wounded-healer, etc. etc. What is interesting me now is how transiting Jupiter has been more or less in opposition to transiting Chiron. That sense of “bigness” ought to be tempered, and I think Chiron highlights to us where we’ve got that constant wound-that-won’t-be-healed – the remaining expression of our fragmentation– confronting our sense of bigness (Jupiter), while also addressing separate aspects of self “fitting inside of a body” (Virgo) are themes.

Astrologers aren’t sure what sign to give Chiron’s rulership, but many agree on Virgo. Also many refer to Chiron as “Shamanic.”  At present all these terms are a bit to vague to be relegated to the “precision” of “rulerships.” What we are still really dealing with is that Pisces/Virgo divide in need of union; or at least agreeing to disagree that “the big picture” and “details” cannot, and should not, be in competition! Also, craftsmanship and mastery can be limiting at certain levels in creation, and even hindering creation if the focus is narrowed too quickly! Sometimes Pisces saves us from being too “square and peg,” despite the fact that most egos love to marvel at a “Virgoan” masterpiece, my advice is don’t get there too early! Yes, there is such a thing!

One has to begin somewhere, though, and I think that Pisces at the South Node gives us some intelligence on the issue, and suggests: starting out vague is not only OKAY, it is necessary. When we talk about Jupiter, we are talking about the big picture – something that some with heavy Virgo tendencies – as Virgo is currently in Jupiter, find challenging to allow.

For me personally, I have natal Jupiter in Virgo, so gestalt thinking doesn’t bother me, unless it does. From experience, and from art lessons, the vague, simply, just comes first. The details come later. First, bring the stuff out of you, then improve upon it all later with fine-tuning, interaction, building, etc.

Finally, for me personally, there’s something about this lunation for me that has to do with endings. There’s a big change, and release of the old perceptions. Pisces is an ‘self-undoing’ sign, and ruler of the 12th house. Pisces is where the current S. Node of the moon presents. The surrender to surrender – the final white flag. ::chuckles::

There’s a deep sense of peace and rest in this allowing of old perspectives, traditions, and the changing of an era in my family. I’m feeling a lot of gratitude for what has come before us… even the vagueness of this particular written article. I’m surrendering to its mixed pronouns and the challenged adjectives and nouns, which seek for more clarity to be “presentable.”  I enjoy each moment I get to dance in public with symbols. So, thank you, dear reader. Everything is comfortably unfinished herein.

All my very best wishes for New Moon in Aquarius – and of course for the Fire Monkey New Year! I have put out a few red envelope gifts for my unsuspecting friends, and even friends I may one day soon meet. ❤

That said, I’ve had a lot of new followers joining up lately, and I want to give you all a big, warm welcome hug! Come in, come in, and let us have some tea. We can share our flowers, our petals, and whatever we’ve brought with us from our journeys. Will stack plenty of wood by the fire, and focus on growing more trees.

 

 

 

Ye with noble goals!

Today is not January 19th! It is a Monday, and it is January 25th 2016! Yes, it’s Mercury’s stationing direct period. When do you feel the effects? You tell me! 3 days +/- Which means: ________ ? Symbols and non-sequiturs.

On the lighter side – as we rock forward onto Mercury’s funny shadow. I saw K9 from (the OLD DR. WHO)’s image on my wall next to my night table last night. This oughta be a fun and wacky Mercury retracing its steps forward-style. After all, why not?! Get your tech on! I’m awaiting the arrival of my lens mount so I can hook up my old lenses onto my new camera.

 

Good Morning!  “Blessing is the Art of Harvesting the Wisdom of the Invisible World.” John O’ Donohue. I’d like to add that sometimes the blessing is written on the white-board. But I will get to that later. First a short story:

While decidedly joining in the #Blesstival wave at Sophia’s Children on January 10, and preparing a blessing post to reverberate into our resonate cyber field, immediately the words of John O’ Donohue came to mind from his Beannacht/Blessing. There’s not one year’s transition, in recent years, that I have not seen this poem or heard it spoken. So, I wanted to bring it here, just to be sure it continues to lead in my heart and mind in the coming days.

On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.

– See more at: [link for more]

As John O’Donohue’s reverberated in my mind for several days, I was delighted to awake and see that Jamie had posted some of his words yesterday, “Take Refuge In…”

So as I sat to pen my contribution to the #blesstival wave, I thought further about the photograph that I had taken at the local gym last night. It came across to me as a blessing, and I was inspired to share it with our readers. I wasn’t sure how I would tie it together, but then I realized ~ when I saw Jamie’s post this morning ~ there’s a reminder to me that all has already been set together, and our blessing is to simply illustrate the beauty put before us through our living and joining in!

May this year be as magical and sparkly for you as it has been for me! This year and always!

Here’s a healthy food blessing, Images by Ka Malana

 

 

 

Fire of love
consumes the rotten,
putrid mess
of Autumn
From deep Winter’s
fiery hearth.

She anoints us with a
peculiar oil.
So that we can really burn
away what has come before us,
and hardened.

Loves beads are hot
and have memories
of surface tension.

All corrupted thoughts
are doused out
and consumed by this
ancient moon, again.

We have come clean

and can walk on water.

I noticed myself doodling for the New Year. Also, this is a first post from my phone. It works!

11:11

Peace!