Full Mourning Moon in Taurus: Illuminating Honest Values and the Resourcefulness to Endure

Have a blessed Full Moon tonight...as the Scorpio Sun and Taurus Moon balance their opposition at 2:14 pm CST this afternoon.

At 12:54pm yesterday, Neptune (the dreamy planet of inspiration as well as confusion) went direct, as the Moon waxes full of light. This planet has been stationary at 29 degrees of Aquarius since Tuesday afternoon, in fact, and only starts moving forward again this afternoon. Though, it will be in this 29th degree until 1-4-12 (My daughter's 6th birthday).

I always say the 29th degree of Aquarius is one of my favorites...and it keeps coming up at important astrological times to remind me of its message and beauty. I've shared it before...but I'll share it again.

The Sabian Symbol for this degree of the zodiac is 'a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis'. Those who know me best know this very image flutters about my heart. This Autumn, one caterpillar in particular (though there were two we observed) messaged me along the way of her beautiful, unfolding transformation. Alyrica named her Caterina the Caterpillar...and she later became Belle, an exquisite Monarch Butterfly. She confirmed our connection when she chose her spot to transform into her chrysalis in the same place that 'Mabon the Monarch' occupied last year. Over and over, these gentle and resourceful creatures dissolve boundaries before our eyes...showing us the beauty in allowing for greater personal freedom and transformation. The butterfly emerging from its chrysalis affirms what we all eventually awaken to...that new life begins every day.

The Full Moon in the 19th degree of Taurus illuminates the symbol of 'a newly formed continent rising majestically from the ocean'. This degree of the zodiac promotes new opportunities and growth through raw energy and powerful decision-making that positively affects those around you. The key word for this degree is 'originality', and it is in necessary balance with the 'conventionality' of the Sun in 19 degrees of Scorpio at the opposite side of the zodiac. The symbol for the Sun's counterweight to this Full Moon is 'a parrot listening and then talking'. This degree is about accepting patterns of thought and action, and transferring these insights. Listen to the truth, process the facts and speak honestly, adding valuable insight to the natural realm. Relay the truths you know in original ways for positive growth and opportunities that lead you toward success.

The idea that all three of the above symbols describe is that something wonderful is emerging, transformed from patient dedication and attention to detail into a fully formed manifestation of truth. The Mourning Moon then takes on a decidedly joyous note in this light. It is so named as this is the month where we mourn the death around us...the deaths of our loved ones, the death of the green of summer, and the death of those parts of ourselves that are no longer serving our best intentions. Death is not an ending, it is an important part of a cycle of transformation that leads us to another beginning.

The Taurus Full Moon shows us our own resourcefulness in the face of adversity, what values we hold that support our growth as individuals, and the strength we possess to endure the hardships of winter...both literally and figuratively. As a whole, we are discovering the power of truth together as we emerge from a past concealed in confusion. May you all have a happy full moon, and may you all be true to yourselves as well as to others.

Show Your Words

"Acting is doing and being." I tell the students I guide. And I encourage them to show the words as well as tell them...and to show the words even without telling. An actor is a storyteller who puts everything they are, everything they have, everything they know, and everything they imagine...into creating an honest performance of character. This, in it's highest aspiration, is not an act of dishonesty whatsoever...the act rids itself from dishonesty just by doing and being it.

But there always lurks the shadow of the storyteller to fall into like a trap door. Watch your step; there is a thin line to walk between one spiked X to the next. We are all actors, after all, if you think of it on this clean slate...no pre-conceived notions of 'acting like' this or that.

Alyrica, for example, constantly brings what I teach to attention just by being and doing who she is and what she does. The difference between the way she acts here and in her kindergarten class has been demanding my attention...and the difference between what she tells us and what she actually does has lately widened its gap.

I have only had her at three hour-long classes of mine in the 2 and a half years I've been teaching acting in Omaha. And she's seen two recitals where my students performed...and seen Michael and I in two plays...and watched a few other plays as well.

I've realized this year that it's time I teach her the truths I've learned in life through acting. Like many of us, Alyrica's first impression of acting is something more like being someone other than who we are, playing pretend, and having people pay attention to that and then applaud you for it. Of course, this is only what the surface impression will give you of the art of theatre...that it's all a show, and no matter how willing to 'suspend your disbelief' the performances encourage you to be in their duration, you come back to your senses when the curtain closes...get up from your seat and go home to a seat you already know. But it's quite a ride, right? An escape of sorts...one good enough to pay for, usually.

Still, under the surface of the show, there is a variety of verity to inspire us to BE and inspire us to DO whatever it is in one's own life that needs inspiration. These are principals I teach...sometimes by telling, but always by doing and being...showing my words.

Messages from Mother Nature

Sitting outside, a conduit to commune with Nature, a skunk silently saunters by unannounced...but unaggressive. My throat chakra leaps forward by surprise, then resonates with the passive passerby as she turns her head to sniff a hello to me...and I say, 'hi!' as friendly as a startled person can. She then waddles off down the hill, carefully...lifting her strikingly beautiful (though infamously powerful) tail slightly so it rustles no leaves as she wanders, protected by Mother Nature's ingenious design.

This is the second skunk that's crossed this same path in the past year, with me there to observe and learn something each time...lap top in hand both times to instantly relay a message that is at once specific to me, but also relevant to anyone else who might happen to stumble upon reading it just as i have stumbled upon witnessing it.

 

The message is this: Nature has already designed a precedent for peaceful power, and the protection She offers for your own resourcefulness of your own strengths...it is nothing less than the confident ability to stay true to your own path, no fear to lead you astray or vulnerable, as long as you tread lightly as you walk upon Her with love and gratitude for the wonder She is, and the wonders (like you, and any living being you meet in your travels) that she will always create and adore.

 

I am finding myself open to infinite messages from the true reality of this world (the ACTUALITY of our natural world)...messages that apply ubiquitously and symbiotically with what we have come to know as 'reality' in the passing age of this planet. Wall Street is falling in 99% of our hearts and minds...dead leaves scattered for the world to witness like so many tourists flying east for this season's majesty. The winds of change rattle the deciduous giants firmly rooted in our earth and this time it truly awakens in us the same power to peacefully assemble and speak the harmless force of our collective voice...showing that, like the wind, you may not notice us until we gather our strength together and create a rush of activity that will stir the most monumental of trees to shiver off his covering of leaves and stand naked before the world.

 

What the 'trees' in our supposed reality may not yet be conscious of is that the renewal of Spring is worth the harshness of Winter. These giants, having accumulated so much WEALTH, do not yet recognize their true WORTH...their love and gratitude has not yet extended beyond their bubble...to their fellow humans (ALL of them), the natural world that truly sustains them, and the Mother we all share. If they wake up in the cold of winter, stripped of their leafy green dignity, and see the blessing that transformation brings...they can surely withstand the freezing of activity around them, the cold glare of the whites of their Mother's eyes too upset to cry anymore, and the chill of the storms that are meant to humble them. For our Mother keeps her promise of Spring. Life renews after the lessons of the dark half of the year. And each new bud holds that same promise that it can flourish in the light of each new day...the promise that it will remember the power of the change that drives it to grow, and that it must always give to receive.

 

There is a delicate balance in all of this that the natural world is prodding us (sometimes peacefully, sometimes forcefully) to recognize and attain. Silly as it may sound at first, that skunk understands it (and you and I both know it, when we listen wholly). Skunk is not an aggressive or hostile creature...she does not seek to spray at every potential threat. She is resourceful enough to know that the power that Nature gave her to be able to live in such peace and ease is not continuous if she misuses it...for there is only so much of it, and it takes time to restore. Could she walk so sweetly and confidently if she had sprayed the last few passersby out of unnecessary fear? No. If a real threat came upon her next, she'd have no more means to stun his senses as she makes her get away...and she'd surely fall prey to him. Fear is the only option when you misuse your own power...and we know what living in fear does to life.

 

The skunk inherently knows it is designed with a warning that already wards off the most knowledgeable of attackers...it's the dumb ones they end up having to spray in order to get their point across. And they only need to do it once, enough said. The rest is living by example...being the peace and love they wish to see in this world...so that every living being may humbly bow to the natural order of things and we all may live symbiotically in peace.

 

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

(written in the month of my first Saturn Return)

 

From KVNO News:  Felina Kavi marched with her five-year-old daughter Alyrica, who held up her own sign that read “I believe in a 100% future,” a reference to the main message of the Occupy protests: that government should not reflect the wealthiest one percent of the population, and that the protesters make up the 99 percent whose voices are ignored.

Her eyes welling with tears, Kavi said of her daughter, “She’s five years old, and she believes when she grows up, everything’s going to be fine.”

“We can see how things aren’t working now and if it continues like this, it’s not going to be good for her generation,” Kavi said. “I don’t want her to have to clean up our mess, so I think it’s important that we take care of it now.” Kavi said the protests are the beginning of a “revolution.”

Water Rites: A Ceremony of Communal Intention to Heal Our Waters

'Water Rites' is an intention ceremony I'll be doing with Dan Furst this October. The text of the flyer reads: "On Friday, Oct.7, a day sacred to Venus, people in Omaha who want to honor the Moon and the Divine Feminine, and heal the waters of Mother Earth, will join our intentions in a Water Rites ceremony. Dan Furst and Felina Lune Kavi will guide an evening of clown ritual, breath alignment, chant and movement. If you resonate with a one-night intentional community like this one, please bring musical instruments and voices, and dress in lunar colors of silver, white and blue.

Where: Unity of Omaha, 3424 N. 90th St. When: Friday, Oct 7, 7:00 –9:00pm. We may start outdoors. Dress warm, and bring water. Admission: Donation. We like the Egyptian proverb: “The more you spend, the more God sends.”

Dan Furst is a Moon priest and author of Dance of the Moon. His new book Surfing Aquarius has just been published by Red Wheel Weiser. He’s in Omaha this week to sign his book, do astrocartography and astrology readings, and celebrate the Aquarian values of community, focused intention and festive, passionate magic.

Felina Lune Kavi lives in Omaha and is a Sacred Activist with V.O.I.C.E. (Venusian Octave Inspired Collective Enlightenment). V.O.I.C.E. connects the global community to universal harmonies with Inter-spiritual Activities, Healing Projects, Handfastings, Sacred Circles and Intention Ceremonies. Felina facilitates healing, counsel and guidance through astrology, numerology, cartomancy, shamanic journeying, archetypal exploration and shadow work based on Jungian psychology."

I met Dan Furst in March of 2010 at Next Millennium in Omaha during his book tour for 'Dance of the Moon'. Synchronicity was at hand, because I was at the store in February to purchase a few gifts for the Linkes and my mother, and I was handed a flyer. It sounded interesting, so I decided to attend.

In meeting him, I realized that Dan and I have much in common (from writing, astrology, acting, singing, and teaching...to his particular affinity toward the moon phases and the history and evolution of our ways of marking time). In an astrological reading, he reminded me that my Saturn Return was drawing closer (a return which is now upon me, and exact on October 1st). Saturn returns to the same position on your natal chart approximately every 29.5 years. This is why the transition between the end of our 20s to age 30 is often when we make major life decisions or changes, separate the wheat from the chaff within our own lives, and harvest our highest potential. That is, if we realize that we have this responsibility to do so, and do the hard work that this entails. For those who've coasted through their life thus far avoiding or rejecting the natural maturation process, the Saturn Return can be a sobering...even grueling...experience.

Saturn has earned many nicknames over the centuries...The Great Malefic, The Taskmaster, The Lord of Karma, Father Time, The Teacher, The Harvester, the Restrictor, etc. But one thing is certain, the lessons of Saturn bring us face to face with decisions that have far-reaching implications in our lives. I don't view Saturn as a malefic influence as some astrologers do...he gained that title because the good fortune he brings is often cloaked in hard work and heavy experiences...and, in that way, the difficulties are all that we can see. But I have trained my mind's eye to recognize the light within the shadow of all things...and Saturn's influence, however mired in struggle and exhaustion, strips us down to our essentials to show us who we are becoming.

The Saturn Return is a time to buckle down, get down to brass tacks, get busy and get to work...enough of this hemming and hawing...choose your path and build solid foundations for your future. It's a very fatherly influence...which is why I threw in all of those appropriate fatherly catch-phrases (at least, I can certainly hear my own father's voice in all of that).

Saturn's role as the Cosmic Teacher is the one I resonate with the most. So I thought it was also appropriate that Dan would contact me earlier this year to see if I would like to help him with his book tour and reading schedule while he would be here in October. Being an older and wiser person who has accomplished much with similar interests and skills as my own, he has not only become my friend but also a mentor.

Dan's first book, 'Dance of the Moon: Celebrating the Sacred Cycles of the Earth', taught me much about something I'm very interested in...time (a very Saturnian construct). For more about this book, check out 'Dance of the Moon'.

His new book, 'Surfing Aquarius: How to Ace the Wave of Change', is a guide through the dramatic changes that are already in motion in the Age of Aquarius. For more about this book, check out 'Surfing Aquarius'.

During the week leading up to 'Water Rites', Dan will be doing book signings, talks about living Aquarian, and Astrological chart readings (both Natal Charts as well as Astrocartography). Whether you live in the Omaha area or not, it is worth the trip to join us for this intention ceremony to heal the waters of our world on Friday, October 7th. Everyone is welcome! We hope to see you there!

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

Archetypal Exploration: Felina's 12th House- Guide

Happy New Harvest Moon, everyone! Thanks for reading along through my Archetypal Exploration series that began during the Mercury Retrograde and ended two days after its course went direct, and as the Moon brings another phase to ponder. The poem below is the end of this particular poetic journey, but the beginning of another.

The final house in astrology is the 12th House, house of the unconscious. This is where my Sun (personality) and Mercury (communication) are conjunct in 22 degrees of Aries. This is also where I am influenced by the Guide archetype (also known as the Witch, or Wise Woman), as well as my Owl totem. Perhaps I can paint you a picture with colorful words to describe these lessons within this culmination of symbols and signs...

Guide

by Felina Lune Kavi

The Owl calls 'WHO' outside the walls

in response to who I am becoming.

I part the dark curtains; I peer through the veil,

for I know the answer is coming.

In a mystic midnight, the dark of Moon

makes orbs and stars shine brighter.

She looks at me through my own eyes

for my own view comes from inside her.

The warm August wind caressing my feathers,

I turn my head-- from the shadows, a song.

8 other totems sing a message to me:

'You are who you are, you belong'.

The spider on a string writes her words on the web

'Tell the stories. Write the words. Show the acts.'

I listen to her glistening message above

as she hangs in the center, relaxed.

'Communicate your vision and see the connections.'

Father Jaguar, from the South jungle, yowls.

His eyeshine flickers golden with reflective light

and connects with the eyes of this Owl.

A joyful buzz turns my head once again

as Hummingbird hovers by the right of my wing.

From his bright ruby throat stirs a melody

'Love to create and create to love', he sings.

In the west is the Monarch Butterfly's dance

which flutters along in a nine-pointed star.

'Free Spirit, forever', her flapping wings whisper

in the wind, carried to my soul from afar.

'Respect the Father who teaches...' called the silvery Cat,

'And the Mother who gives.' She then purred.

Down below she sits on a tree stump perch,

her howl echoes after giving her words.

'Honor the Goddess.' adds the Red Fox Vixen.

She looks up, from the North, toward the Moon.

The Goddess within is reborn with the Sun

As the end of one phase greets the new.

While the Sun shines below the horizon,

light shines within the womb of the Earth.

Phoenix explodes through the ground, with thunderous sound,

and wails, 'You have blazed your own trail since your birth!'

Feather-horned ears hear the Honeybee buzzing

Full from the nectar of her sweet daytime feast.

She gathers the crossed circle of 9 totems around.

'Heal circles of friends.' She buzzes from the East.

To the left of the Phoenix, my wings rise to the sky,

Drawing down a blessing as Harvest Moon begins.

The Great Horned Owl turns back to my star-lit eyes

and says, 'Trust the guidance of the Witch within.'

Archetypal Exploration: Felina's 11th House- Healer

The 11th House is the house of friends, groups, and organizations. This is where you express your relationship to the world. In my 11th House, I have Venus in Pisces (in the exact degree, to the minute, of Michael's Mercury). Venus is my ruling planet, as my Ascendant is in Taurus (a Venusian sign). In Pisces, Venus's love, art, and beauty is exalted to it's higher octave as it dawns the Neptunian cloak of Pisces...and the expression of this love finds voice on the spiritual plane.

The Healer archetype resides in my 11th house, and melds with my inner Venus to share the love and light I know, and help the world release destructive darkness. Also in Taurus, conjunct my Ascendant, is Chiron in my 1st House. Chiron is the Wounded Healer which teaches the gift within all wounds. The Ascendant is where your chart begins, and it shows the directional flow of your soul. So with these two in conjunction, I follow the path of healing both myself and others.

The V.O.I.C.E. services I provide have much to do with my 11th House (inspired by my chart ruler, as well as the Venusian Transit we are currently living in...which began June 2004 and makes a final pass in June of 2012). Even the words I use to describe what I do resonate with 11th House healing vibrations: "Connecting the global community with universal harmonies."

Also in resonance with all of this is my busy little Honeybee totem. Honeybee medicine teaches me to create and enjoy the honey at the heart of life, and at the same time to be a productive helper of the world. This is the symbol of accomplishing what would appear impossible...with love and intention.

Healer

by Felina Lune Kavi

Stars cross above her eyes--

cosmic blessings in disguise.

Reading meaning from the skies,

in the now, as time flies.

Venusian light in Piscean hue

fills the world within her view.

Black holes sink into the blue

as her eyes are washed anew.

She speaks of who you mean to be

and all the signs you, too, can see...

that you are you and I am me,

and we can live symbiotically.

This is one body we are sharing,

no matter the cloaks our souls are wearing.

Time is now, beyond preparing,

we heal with love and peace and caring.

We are one within the feeling

we must all support our healing.

Honeybee Healing

by Felina Lune Kavi

This Honeybee

is the soul of a priestess

to the Goddess of Love.

Her honeycomb

is the heart that beats

from the stars above.

The community

she serves in synergy

extends beyond the hive.

Communicating,

with abundant energy--

give while receiving to stay alive.

Archetypal Exploration: Felina's 10th House- Rebel

Tonight Mercury shifted from retrograde to direct motion. Here, we feel our collective mind almost at a standstill before Mercury picks up speed again as it retraces its steps. Communication is key right now.

As it turns out, I communicated with Spirit tonight at our monthly Shamanic Drum Circle at Unity Church. Phoenix, my totem within, introduced me to the City of the Sun during my journey. As Phoenix is my 10th House guide, the communication that transpired from this journey holds the key to my highest potential in this life.

That is what the 10th House of Astrology is about, your highest potential...and your overall journey in this lifetime. Whether it be your career, your role within a group or family, or how you are publicly recognized...the 10th House shows your destination within your Sacred Contract between you and the Creator.

This house is where my Vesta in Aquarius, my asteroid of hearth and home, resides. She not only resides there, but she keeps my inner fire lit and devotes herself to the purification of my Higher Self. In Aquarius, she guides me on my own unique path toward discovering myself within the collective. My ways may seem strange to others, but I can only go my way...and the more inner truth I discover on my path, the better I can care for others along their own.

Which brings me to the archetype that influences this house and guides me along in my journey toward my highest potential...the Rebel. Maybe you're not surprised. I was created, in this lifetime to be a non-conformist who walks along my own path to the beat of my own drum. As I've said before, this is not an easy path. The path of the Rebel often lacks the approval of others. The shadow Rebel will rebel against nearly anything that wasn't their own idea. I am not this kind of Rebel. I am the Rebel who trusts legitimate authority in circumstances which do not attempt to disempower me...but strikes out on her own when conformity caves in on itself from false foundations.

I wrote of the Goddess in the 9th House, but in the 10th House...my relationship to God has been brought to light. Like Vesta, when I was young, I wanted to understand and commune with God. I went, without my family, to the many churches of my hometown to find God there. The search was mostly unsuccessful. I found man there, but not really God. This brought me to exploring other religions, which led me to the Goddess...but I still did not understand God in the eyes of the church and the structure of their rules. As I became a woman, I began looking for this connection to God by having relationships with men. This was not the right path either, so I continued to understand the Goddess more and more. Still, I wanted to know the balance of both.

But it wasn't until I sacrificed everything that wasn't leading to my highest potential, and found love with the man I was meant to marry, that I truly knew God's presence in my life. He was there all along. The search was bringing me to my highest potential...the marriage of both aspects of the Divine, and the power of creativity that is born from this union.

So I may seem to rebel against what is considered normal, or low profile, or this or that. But it all serves a purpose...my relationship to the Divine. It's not the path for everyone, it is the path for me. And though it may seem non-conformist to believe what I believe, do what I do, see how I see, and be who I am...seeking no approval, no safety, no followers or leaders...I am blessed with the life I am truly meant to live. And isn't that the point, really?

Rebel

by Felina Lune Kavi

She doesn’t need the approval

Of anyone for anything

She just does what she does

‘Cause it means…

Everything.

There isn’t a direction to go

Guided by anyone,

Except for her own journey

Learning her destiny

Like everyone.

Phoenix Mother

By Felina Lune Kavi

On a palm in my paradise,

Phoenix gathers up the ashes

Of her ancestor.

Out of the ash

She forms

a sweet-scented egg.

Purple-red plumage

Glistens in the sunlight,

Gently moved by the breeze.

Followed by a flock of doves,

She carries the egg

Higher in the sky.

Destiny guides her

To the city of the Sun.

She enters the palace of the King.

Placing the egg in his golden hands,

She thanks him for his love

And for his light.

He blesses her

With his warm hands

Upon her glowing belly.

She is pregnant with light,

As she thanks him once more

And returns to build a new nest.

Archetypal Exploration: Felina's 9th House- Goddess

The ninth house in astrology is about spirituality and higher learning. Here I have Juno in Capricorn, as well as the Goddess archetype. Juno has much to do with partnership, marriage, and childbirth. In Capricorn, she gave me the endurance to get through the difficult beginnings of these areas of life...in order to finally reach successful outcomes. With the Goddess archetype here, it's very clear that her wisdom is essential to my spirituality. The Goddess aspect of the Creator (and the many other names for the Supreme Being) has been subdued or often overlooked in the supplanting of the patriarchal culture over the once dominant Goddess worship of humanity's history. However, in learning more about it over the years...I have found a definite need to return to this kind of wisdom. But not in a one over the other kind of way. In my higher mind, aided by Juno, the marriage of the two is the key.

Even in the way I observe time with my calendar, the Moon phases mark my months. I look at life in a solar-lunar way that seems more natural to me than one or the other. For more about time, moon cycles, and the history behind humanity's changing times...read 'Dance of the Moon' by Dan Furst. It is an excellent book that details the importance of living in balance with both the feminine and masculine aspects of the Divine.

The ninth house is also the house most influenced by my Red Fox totem. So, I have written one poem about the triple goddess and one about the Fox. You may notice similar themes within them both, such as caring for offspring. It was actually experiencing motherhood that brought me closer to the Goddess within.

Goddess

By Felina Lune Kavi

The Lucinae,

Triple Moon Goddess,

Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

Illuminate

The Great Mystery,

The womb of the unknown.

Maiden of the waxing moon

Brings the breath of life to Earth.

Midwife to new beginnings,

She blesses the sacred birth.

Mother of the moon at full

Creates the space to flower.

Nurturing life’s abundance

With Her maternal power.

Crone of the waning dark moon

Knows beginnings have their ends.

The wisdom of the Ancients

Releases what cannot transcend.

The Lucinae,

Triple Moon Goddess,

Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

Illuminate

The Great Mystery,

The womb of the unknown.

Fox Medicine

By Felina Lune Kavi

Emerging from her foxhole,

Mother Fox sniffs the gentle breeze.

Smelling safety in the southern wind

She flags her tail so her kits can see.

With a huff, their Father greets them

As the kits come tumbling out

They yelp raucously in the light of day

Smelling new food in his mouth.

As they tear into this novel gift,

Their parents watch with pride.

Weeks spent nursing in the den,

This is the first they’ve seen outside.

The Vixen hears the rustle of danger,

And tells her mate with a whispered ruff.

Father Fox calls once to the frenzied brood.

For now, they’ve eaten enough.

Into the foxhole, once again,

Snuggling warm by Mother’s side,

The young ones groom, or sleep

And dream about the adventure of outside.

Archetypal Exploration: Felina's 8th House- Nature Child

The 8th House shows us our relationship to other people's resources, as well as to sex, death, and things that are hidden. In this house, I have my Neptune retrograde in Sagittarius conjunct my Part of Fortune. This conjunction indicates, among other things, my interest in occult spiritual matters, and suggests that good things come from this interest. This is also the house in which my Nature Child archetype resides. The Child is the last of the four survival archetypes that plays a role in all of our lives, and the one that most are already somewhat familiar with (the Inner Child we sometimes talk about). There are many different facets of the Child archetype...whether it be the Nature Child, the Wounded Child, the Abandoned, Dependent, Innocent, or Divine Child...many of us are influenced by all of these aspects at different times in our life. But there is always one that resonates most with the patterns the Child has formed since childhood. In my case, it is the Nature Child. Often times these people form strong bonds with animals and commune with nature spirits. That would be my inner child. In fact, cats are the animals that have always been with me since I was born. There has always been at least one cat in my life, throughout my years...that I have either inherited a special bond with because of my mother (inheritances of any kind also fall under the 8th house), or I have formed bonds with on my own (the cats I have called 'familiars'...much more than a pet). So, my Cat totem also influences this house...as Cat has been my first and ever-present totem, it is intricately influential to my Inner Child.

The Child is our guardian of innocence. From this archetype, we learn about our dependencies as well as responsibilities. We learn about our perceptions of nurturing, family, and life in general. These are the lessons of maturation. And in my own process, my Child connected me more and more to the natural world...but at the same time, farther away from things that seemed unnatural to me (such as anything to do with money). This is the lesson I'm still learning from the Child within. My parents, in fact, would still ground this Child if they could (literally and figuratively). The Nature Child tendencies I have in this 8th House area of life have already given them enough grief for not adhering to their 'better judgements' of how I should've gone about living my life as an adult.

As a clear example, they still get irritated at the thought of me dropping out of college after two years and not finishing to get my degree. They see it much differently than I do, of course...but they are still experiencing my Nature Child's reaction to feeling unnaturally confined. My parents wanted us all to go to college and they paid for us to do so. So I did so, not thinking anything was wrong with that at first...it just was how it was going to be, that's all. But my Nature Child met others there who didn't have their parents paying for anything, Abandoned Children who had to work hard just to be there. On the flip side, I saw many Dependent Children as well, who never really did grow up and their parents were paying for everything (and more) as well. That was when guilt started to set in. I didn't mean to be dependent on my parents; I didn't even want to be that way. I tried to live on as little as possible, and worked two part time jobs just to feel like I could survive on my own. But the thing was, I wasn't paying for my schooling myself...and so the unnatural feeling was still there.

So...I jumped at the first chance I got, really. The man who would later become Alyrica's father introduced me to a job working as a tour actor for Omaha Theatre Company. I thought, do I stay where I don't feel I'm experiencing life to its fullest and feel unnaturally bound to other people's resources...or do I travel the country doing something I love while making good money for it. To me, it seemed like a no-brainer (though I did, in fact, use my brain to decide). So I left, much to my parents' chagrin and confusion. They never could forgive Alyrica's dad for how all that played out, of course. But it was all my own decisions. I wanted to be free of my previous situation, and experience the world on my own terms. So that's what my Nature Child did. A turning point decision in my life, and it has made all the difference.

Nature Child

by Felina Lune Kavi

Like the Cat, her Child

scratches at the door

demanding freedom

to play outside.

Inside is everything

she needs to live.

'But that's not living!'

the House Cat cried.

How will she ever know

how to survive

if she's given

all that she gets?

'Keep my claws unclipped

and my neck untagged!

It's not our nature

to only be pets.'

Archetypal Exploration: Felina's 7th House- Saboteur

The 7th House relates to marriage and partnerships of all types. In this house, I have a Scorpio conjunction of Ceres retrograde and my Moon, as well as Uranus retrograde in Sagittarius. Ceres is the asteroid of the mother, while the Moon is the luminary that represents the mother (as well as emotions and habits). In Scorpio, this concentrated maternal energy can be quite intense...but, again, with the Ceres retrograde much of the scrutiny is directed within. However, the Moon in Scorpio shows my habits and emotions can be both destructive and transformative (like the Hindu Mother Goddess, Kali). And with Uranus in Sagittarius here, the Liberator energy carries over from the 6th to the 7th.

But this is the house where the Saboteur archetype influences me most. Another of the survival archetypes we all must embrace and learn from in how they influence our own lives, the Saboteur is the Guardian of Choice. Saboteur alerts us to the dangers of sabotaging others as well as ourselves...and gives us the choice of self-empowerment or self-destruction. In recent years, the Saboteur has become an ally in this way. But this was not always the case. I would often ignore the warning signs that I was about to sabotage any given situation with a fight or flight response that rarely served my best interests (really only serving my fears). Relationships were the breeding grounds for these lessons in my life. I would first sabotage myself by taking on the habits and emotions (Moon) of whomever I was with, while nurturing each partner's ego no matter how it affected me (Ceres). It often left me bitter by the end of those fallen relationships...my care was too intensive, and could rarely be equaled in a partnership. I was like a disappointed mother to them...always giving too much and wanting more. That was my Shadow Saboteur at work, destroying that which I put all my time and energy into creating because I was making disempowering choices.

I learned, somewhat. Still learning, I guess. Because I still sabotage my own goals in life to help others work on theirs. But I'm aware of it now, at least. It makes the choices and changes I make a bit easier. Setting boundaries when working with others is a change I've been gradually implementing in my relationships since I've noticed how beneficial it is to relationship maintenance.

When I met my husband, Michael, for the first time...both of our Saboteurs (he also has his in the 7th) gave us the gut instinct that we could be happy together, but we ignored it out of fear as well as doubt. Years later, fate crossed our paths again...and we realized there was something, but our current situations held us hostage and convinced us we could only be friends. As time went by...he became the best friend I could ever have. And after both of us learned many hard lessons in our previous relationships, we found ourselves ready for each other. The Saboteur became our ally, and we recognized what was best for both of us...releasing the past, embracing a more empowering future.

Saboteur

By Felina Lune Kavi

Kali…

Destroyer of maya,

Annihilator of ignorance…

Dismember me in the shadows.

Release me from samsara;

Devour time.

I am…

A hand on your hip,

A head on your breast…

Fear not the fierce creatrix

Who absorbs all darkness

To birth the light.

Archetypal Exploration: Felina's 6th House- Liberator

The 6th House of Astrology is about daily work, routines, health and healing. This is my busiest house, with three conjunctions of two residing here in my natal chart. The first conjunction is between Mars retrograde and Pallas (Athena) retrograde in Libra. Here, the warrior within is balanced between masculine initiative and feminine wisdom. The retrogrades suggest that the 'battle' is an inward one. The second conjunction is between Saturn retrograde and Pluto retrograde in Libra. The teacher and transformer are also working in harmony on an inward level. The third conjunction is between Sappho retrograde and Jupiter Retrograde in Scorpio. Here my inner love poet works with the generosity and growth of Jupiter, directing expansive and enlightening energy within.

Many times, when a 6th House is filled with this much activity, it will be an indicator that the person is a workaholic...or at the very least, always busy. But with all of that energy directed inward by the retrogrades, the bulk of this work takes place behind the scenes. While I always have a lot going on in my life, my never-ending work involves my physical health and healing. Always changing because of inner revelations, my Butterfly totem resides in this house as well. The archetype that resides here is the Liberator. The ways in which I've liberated myself, and continue to do so, provide me with the voice of the Liberator to help others to do the same. This house has much to do with service, and even with the retrogrades, it's not all self-serving. I've found that the reason I continue on a path of spiritual transformation is to assist others to liberate themselves from their own unhealthy patterns and habits that inhibit their Soul's growth.

Liberator

By Felina Lune Kavi

Start at the roots…

Climb the tree.

Follow the limb

That will set you free.

Build strong your armor…

Go deep within.

The Soul’s renewal

Can now begin.

Curious Caterpillar,

Change as time goes by.

Crack open the chrysalis

You create,

Become the Butterfly.

Even in the stillness,

Hard work is never done…

In the darkness of the night

And in the warmth of Sun.

Curious Caterpillar,

Dreaming of the sky.

Crack open the chrysalis

You create,

Become the Butterfly.

The Soul is a gentle whisper

Urging life to grow.

Change is in the moment

Of becoming what you know.

Wings enfolding wonder

Within transparent walls.

Transformation shows the way

To fly where Spirit calls.

Curious Caterpillar,

You know as well as I.

Crack open the chrysalis

You create,

Become the Butterfly.

Archetypal Exploration: Felina's 5th House- Prostitute

The Fifth House of Astrology is about creativity, children, romance, good fortune, and speculative ventures. Psyche is in Retrograde in my 5th house, pulling this energy inward...a Goddess within. My Prostitute archetype also resides in this house. Another one of the Survival archetypes that plays a crucial role in the soul's journey, all of us learn the Prostitute's lesson of integrity in various ways. This Fifth House area of life is where I learned to have faith in myself, the Goddess within, and the God that connects us all to Her. Caroline Myss, in her book 'Sacred Contracts', calls the Prostitute archetype our "Guardian of Faith." I recommend this book if you like to read...and if you're reading this, you probably do. Caroline Myss goes on to explain the healing challenge contained within the lesson of the fifth house is like 'entering the desert'. She compares it to "the Dark Night of the soul described by mystics...you are no longer receiving energy from the world you have left behind, but you also have not yet established a flow of energy from the next stage of your life. That period of aridity--the desert--can be exhausting and depressing as you symbolically thirst for God."

I walked this desert before, and I learned that lesson. It's a lesson of how much of yourself (body, mind, and soul) you are willing to give up for physical security. When Alyrica was born, I tried to stay with her father so her idea of family wouldn't be broken...even though our relationship was no longer good for any of us. I had to find faith in myself, after she was born, that I could create the family she needs. I became empowered again, and detached from the life that had once fearfully held me back from my own authority. In that lesson, I had the good fortune of finding that Michael was the man I'm meant to be with forever. And in that experience, I found God...connecting eternally to the Goddess within.

So for this Mercury Retrograde's Archetypal Exploration, I'm honoring the Prostitute archetype as well as Psyche and Eros. A strange combination, at first glance, but it is my life I'm dissecting here. I'm compelled to discover deeper meanings than what appears on the surface. In other words, look beyond what we know of prostitutes and discover the crisis of faith and loss of integrity that they represent. This archetype has become an ally in guiding me through the path of my own power, alerting me to the warning signs of compromising my values for breakable promises of physical security. With awareness, I hope you can see how this archetype can be an ally to your own life...coming out from the shadows to show you the meaning of faith, however it pertains to your own spiritual path.

Interesting, perhaps only to me, is that today Mercury Retrogrades through the degree where my 5th House begins. I didn't plan it, but my Psyche's own retrograde must have been working in synch with Mercury's retrograde transit. The sabian symbol for Leo 23 is 'A bareback rider'. So I guess I'm going to keep boldly riding on the path I've ridden, but never written, before.

Prostitute

by Felina Lune Kavi

Down the street where she sold herself,

she walks in scuffed-up heels...

balancing the new weight of change,

forgetting how she might look so strange,

discovering how she truly feels.

In daytime, this journey is a hardened desert;

the dark nights she knew have passed...

clicks along concrete the only sound,

echoing off hotels and offices all around.

Then a moment's peace at last.

Her baby kicks inside her womb,

announcing why she's here...

there's no more security in what she's done,

she steps forward into maturity for this little one.

It's time to get rid of fear.

Facing the trash can on this familiar corner,

she kicks off those tired shoes...

she throws them away with all of that pain,

away with that emptiness and all of that shame.

Her soul has been renewed.

The New Wings of Psyche

by Felina Lune Kavi

The creative key to the soul is in passwords:

you say 'harm none' and 'love always' with true meaning...

and harmonious expression explodes into Psyche,

her spiritual faith unfolds into wings,

and she ascends with Eros

in ecstasy of love eternal...creating bliss.

Eros in January

by Felina Lune Kavi

It's cold here tonight...
wrap me warm in your skin,
lock me up in your sight,
hold me close and breathe in...
and out.

Outside in the dark...
a new moon on the rise.
We are lost under stars
in the most beautiful sky.

Eros in January,
you touch the soul within me.
Eros in January,
fast as love flies through you and me.

Our hearts beat whole at last,
in the wake of our dreams.
I'm too in love to ask,
is this really what it seems...
to be?

Beyond what we believed
of what love ever meant,
this love is all we need
to know our soul's full intent.

Eros in January,
you touch the soul within me.
Eros in January,
fast as love flies through you and me.