Renaissance of the Sacred Marriage: The 2012 Venus Transit and the Celestial Celebrations of June

The Sacred Marriage, or the Hieros Gamos as it was called in Ancient Greece, is the sacred balance between the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine.  Within the polarity of these two energies, there exists a union that signifies the balance of all things.  Each living being carries the love and light of this Sacred Marriage within them, though ages of societal conditioning has mislead us to divorce the one into two, instead of harnessing the power of two into one and thus realizing our full potential.
Why is it that we have been afraid, and in many cases ignorant, of this full potential for so long?  True, it has been traditional in our lifetime to distinguish things into black and white, dark and light, female and male...many practices and social conventions have been passed down through the centuries and we have tended to learn those distinctions as laws.  It has been, in recent past, as if our human collective has been short-sighted in looking back through past precedents...not seeing beyond a certain point in history and then declaring 'this is how it has always been, this is how it should always be, and it is what defines us.'
But what of the time before the suppression of the Goddess?  Our earliest recorded history shows the Divine Feminine in a much more prominent role.  The feminine mysteries were once so sacred that it was not until people started to realize that women were not just miraculously giving birth to civilizations, but that the male seed gave them impetus to do so...thus the beginning of understanding the Sacred Masculine as well.  But what happened as time went on is that balance of power became difficult to attain when one had recognized the other was honored over them for so long.  Previously, our most violent reactions have often come from feelings of lack and recognition of injustice.  And so, over time, the masculine power began to usurp the feminine, rather than rule along side her.  This was done in no quiet way.  Time and time again, the sacred feminine was symbolically banished from our societies by physical abuse and mental degradation.  From the raping of the priestesses, to the destruction of sacred wells and other sites of feminine healing power, to the burning of wise women...all the way to our lifetime where a 'woman's place' has been continually designated as lower and of less importance in a myriad of ways.  Until these women stand firm, together, for their equal rights...as we have seen many times over in our recent history as well...the resurgence of the Sacred Feminine.
So we reach another choice point now as our powers are coming back into balance...do we punish the Sacred Masculine for their previous abuses toward us and take back control?  Or have we all finally learned a valuable lesson here where we can reenter and redefine this Sacred Marriage and agree upon balance?  I believe this upcoming transit of Venus occulting the Sun is urging us toward the latter suggestion.

Enough of the ancient history for now...let's just back it up to 8 years ago when we experienced our first Venus transit together.  Do you remember what your life was like in the spring and summer of 2004?  What would the history book of your own life look like as it recounted the events of that year?  Was there some kind of disconnection between yourself and your life then that awakened a search for truth and wisdom?  Had you, since that time, taken some great departure from what you once knew into unknown territory to discover yourself?  Have there been countless tests of your integrity, discernment, self-esteem, and will?  Have you been initiated into a completely new state of being and doing and knowing and come to a place of being able to share that with others?
It should follow, with all of our experience in 8 years from one Venus transit to the next, that we are a great deal wiser now.  We're certainly more aware than we've ever been, as a collective, of the relationship between ourselves and that collective.
Venus has much to do with relationships of all kinds, and Gemini has much to do with the communication it takes to create that bond between us and others.  Here and now we find ourselves in that light again, rethinking and reestablishing the foundations of every relationship through the many forms of communication we've tapped into along our journey.

Each Venus Transit brings an enlightenment of creative, scientific and communicative advances that upgrade the human race into new and accelerated ways of relating.  There was a Venus Transit when Magellan discovered the world was round instead of flat, which changed our world view and lessened a fear that had held many back from venturing out into the vastness to explore.  Copernicus also published his observations and calculations in 'De Revolutionibus' during that time period.  There was another pair of transits when the National Mail Service began, which enabled communication over long distances.  By the end of that transit, the first printing press was set up.  With faster communication, the global village had found its voice.  Between these transits in the 1630s, Galileo was forbidden to publish his scientific findings but his students quietly revolted by copying his work and bringing it to centers of learning in many different cities to be protected until the rise of science could spread.  In the next pair of transits, there was an effort by astronomers around the world to observe and share information on the distance between the Earth and the Sun, brought to light by the occultation of Venus on the face of our Sun.  This kind of cooperation had not been done by any group, scientific or not, on a global scale before.  Our 'sister planet' brought forth those efforts that began the 'world brain' as it has been called.  The French and German Enlightenment, along with the rise of many great artists, thinkers and philosophers, came during that time.  New political and social ideas brought about profound results that spread across the globe.  During the last transits of 1874 and 1882, we had the telephone and its patent two years later, as well as the incandescent lightbulb. Both were significant breakthroughs in our experience of communication and light. The explosion of information and industry really started.  New inventions and medical discoveries abound during this period.

But what breakthroughs in communication, cooperation, thinking, art and science have we discovered in our last 8 years?  Too many to recount here...but let's just touch on a few to get an idea of our Venusian advancement this go-around.  Many of us have a love-hate relationship with Facebook and other social networking inventions on the internet...but haven't such things brought us all closer and communicating our 'global brain' at an even more accelerated pace?  At a time when the old constructs of information exchange such as the newspaper and televised news seem too tightly controlled and restricted, leaving out too much of importance...we find those missing pieces on the internet and share them with others, spreading the information in a 'viral' way.  And what about the revolutions we've been experiencing across the globe?  They, too, have 'gone viral' as we now say when something catches and spreads through the awareness of our collective mind.  Here in the U.S., we have the Occupy movement to affirm that changes are imminent and not just elsewhere but world-wide.  As this movement has progressed, much like the previous revolutions of this time, the anger and resentment of lack and inequality is blossoming into a force of love and unity so formidable that no amount of scare tactics or aggression from a failed system can obstruct its boundlessness.  Have we learned balance and cooperation now as we advance into the Age of Aquarius?  It is evident that the majority of people on Earth have learned that peace, love, togetherness and equality is not just an ideal, but the new foundation of what we need to co-create for our future.  We are acting upon it now instead of accepting a pre-fabricated dream that has become a recurring nightmare...we are waking up and changing that dream.

Neptune, the Dream Master of the zodiac, is at a standstill now...inspiring all of us to focus on what we are dreaming into being.  It goes retrograde the evening before the Venus Transit (at 4:05pm CST on June 4th, to be exact).  The world we have now is based on what we have dreamed before.  To change the world, you have to change the dream.  And that's what we begin to see as Neptune travels backward...we reexamine that dream.
All things related to the Neptunian Archetype are coming into play as we approach our last Venus Transit.  Neptune is the higher octave expression of Venus...it describes transcendent love and takes it beyond the planes of ordinary existence and spreads it out into the universe.  Is this precursor to our 2012 Venus Transit one that suggests we are taking these advancements to a spiritual level?  I think so, and if you look at your own spiritual level compared to what it was before these transits...you'll probably see, too, that these new connections we're all experiencing have very spiritually unlimited undertones.  We can, more easily now, connect to Source and understand that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves.  Neptunian ideas of selfless service are not so difficult to grasp as our compassion for others has grown over the years.  I find it very appropriate that Neptune's energy is pervading the days before and after this final Venus Transit...since this is the very 'Venusian Octave' that inspired the work I've done with 'V.O.I.C.E' since the first transit.
Let's take a closer look at the degree of the zodiac upon which Neptune is concentrating our awareness.  The Sabian Symbol of the 4th degree of Pisces is 'Heavy traffic on a narrow isthmus that links seaside resorts'.  The keyword for this degree is 'convergence'.  This degree focuses on the coming together of people, emotions, plans and phenomena...focusing information and allowing life patterns and intuitive awareness to flow.  For me, this symbol describes what it is I've been doing all of these years with my VOICEprojects, writings, and services.  My intentions have always been to help others reach their goals...because I found that it is what I do best, providing others with help in a compassionate and spiritual way.  Previously, before the first transit, I held myself back from doing this because it didn't seem to be widely accepted particularly in the environments I found myself in as I was growing up.  But I couldn't ignore my own calling, the voice within was bigger than my own fears of failure and rejection.  And I couldn't believe in the disconnections anymore because my awareness was focused on the connections, instead.  I felt a 'convergence' was on the horizon...and I saw that I, just like everyone else, was to be a part of it.
And now that many of us have jumped right in and become a conscious part of what we are co-creating together...we see that we are far from alone in our efforts.  We see the 'heavy traffic' linking us all together in an inspired information exchange (I call it 'inspirmation', which makes my husband laugh).
Neptune going back through the first degrees of Pisces just before Venus unites with and occults the Sun is like an officiant to this Sacred Marriage of love and light...a blessing for the convergence and union between polarities.  But even before that shift, there is another balance between opposites that mirrors this idea of Sacred Marriage.

The Lunar Eclipse (6:03am) and Full Moon in Sagittarius (6:11am...also called the 'Strong Sun Moon') on June 4th is a very powerful alignment.  Full Moons are always powerful times to focus your intentions on what you truly want to create into reality, and eclipses make these times even more powerful by bringing us to important choice points in our lives.  But this eclipsed full moon has even greater implications as it is in the area of Sagittarius that The Great Attractor is in.  The Great Attractor is a gravitational anomaly that is only observable by its effect on the motion of galaxies such as our own and others around us.  It's a concentration of mass that is equivalent to tens of thousands of Milky Ways and its gravitational pull  is 'attracting' us toward it at a rate of a million miles per hour.  But don't worry, we won't have to worry about reaching it for a very long time.  The point is, this eclipsed full moon is like an open window to that energy of attraction...which makes for an acceleration of our intentions in these next few days.  Remember that 'like attracts like'...so even if you're hard-pressed to believe that kind words and positive thinking have an extraordinary effect on reality...perhaps you might want to at least give it a try for this and the next few days.  It really can't hurt...and I promise you it can heal.  Who knows, maybe you'll find that you like it and you'll continue it beyond just a few days.  How great would the world begin to feel then, when everyone is flowing with the give-and-receive of love and gratitude?
Back to the Full Moon, which is a monthly reminder of the balance between the Sacred Masculine and the Sacred Feminine.  The Sun in the 15th degree of Gemini highlights the symbol 'Two Dutch children talking' while the Moon in the 15th degree of Sagittarius highlights the symbol 'The Groundhog looking for its shadow'.
Let's begin with the Sun, representing the Sacred Masculine of projected light-energy.  The keyword for this degree is 'clarification' and the symbol has to do with uniting like-minded people to achieve distinct goals, enhancing positive educational outcomes.  It suggests that through peace and awareness, we can promote a culture of intelligence.  This is about connecting to the child within all of us and opening ourselves up to candid conversations, expressive play, and care for those close to us.  Through such honesty, we help others to talk and listen as well...which creates an easier flow of communication that expresses the complexities of life in profound ways.
In direct balance to that is the Moon, representing the Sacred Feminine of receptive light-energy.  The keyword for this degree is 'reassurance' and the symbol mirrors the visual effect of a lunar eclipse.  We on Earth are like the Groundhog looking for its shadow.  Groundhog is an excavator, bringing to light the wisdom of the ancients, and bringing to light new information after a period of intense growth.  The Groundhog matures in about two years...and the same can be said for us in the past two years.  In the spring and summer of 2010 we went through an intense activation of our own maturation, signaled by the Cardinal Grand Crosses of that time period (astrological aspect configurations that urged us all, with extreme activity, to discover our true identity).  Here we are, matured through those often stressful experiences, and now we are finding our full potential and full expression of our identity in the integration of our shadow.
In Jungian psychology, the shadow refers to the unconscious and those parts of us which the conscious ego (represented by the Sun in astrology) does not recognize in itself.  "Everyone carries a shadow" Jung wrote, "and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is."  And this describes the shadow when we remain ignorant of it or do not accept it as part of us.  But embracing this shadow and integrating it into the light of consciousness allows us to see the benefit it brings...it is that which Jung called 'the seat of creativity'.
The 'reassurance' that the Full Moon brings as it connects with The Great Attractor is that those repressed or forgotten aspects of our collective unconscious are coming to light, and they mirror the repressed and forgotten aspects of the Divine Feminine.  Now is the time to attract the creativity that comes from balanced integration of both aspects of ourselves.  Now is the time to recognize our shadow...not as a reservoir for human darkness that, like the Great Attractor, can't yet be seen but has a mysterious pull on us anyway...but as an integral part of our identity that receives the light of our consciousness and gives birth to our reality.  The Divine Feminine is not as mysterious as it was to our ancient ancestors.  We can now understand how we create our own reality, and that it is imperative to connect to that balance of give and receive, and empowered by the expression of love and gratitude.  And in finding and embracing our shadow with the full moon eclipse, then concentrating on what we are dreaming into reality with Neptune going retrograde...we are prepared in an accelerated way for the integration of love and light that comes the following day (June 5th) with the final pass of this Venus Transit.

Venus also represents the Divine Feminine.  She, too, is the mythic 'Great Attractor'.  Crossing the face of our Sun once again, she is showing us all how to connect to Source and how to harness the power of love and light together as one.  Is it any wonder that scientists have discovered that DNA absorbs and emits light?  And that the sacred geometry of the axial view of a DNA helix is the same as the orbit of Venus as viewed from the Earth?  We ARE connected to that Source of love and light...it's not just some New Age fluffy-bunny phrase designed to ignore our shadow selves and focus on warm-fuzzies.  It just IS what we are meant to BE.  It is the Sacred Marriage within as well as without, above as well as below.  If this time is one of accelerated intentions, for the love of our Earth please focus them in love and light.  We owe it to ourselves as a whole to make our intentions align with what will attract the best for us.
This event won't happen again in our lifetime...so now is the time.  It won't happen again for another 105 years.  And though these transits happen periodically throughout our history...this one, and all of the alignments focusing around it and during, suggests the turning of an age.  Venus and the Sun meet in the constellation of the Bull...right between the horns.  Egyptians paid close attention to this part of the sky and the sight of the crescent moon of the Spring Equinox between those horns represented the turning of an age...a new beginning of the greatest kind.  Here we are experiencing the meeting of two great lights in this area of the sky.  We might as well welcome the Age of Aquarius and allow the Age of Pisces to fall away finally by no longer clinging to it.
Now, I want to mention that the degree of the zodiac that Venus and the Sun are meeting in is the 16th of Gemini.  The Sabian Symbol is 'a woman suffragist orating'...thus bringing us right back to the ideas I was first expressing as I began this lengthy article.  The message within this degree is to ground, center, balance and stabilize to provide a foundation for personal power to emerge.  This determination, this focused intention, activates and manifests change.  In this light, we are motivating ourselves and others into positive action...and we are reclaiming the equal balance of the Sacred Marriage in every way.

Later that night (9:55pm CST on June 5th), the Moon occults Pluto in another call to embrace and integrate the shadow for our own empowerment.  First the Earth's shadow across the Moon, then Venus's shadow across the Sun, then Pluto in the shadow of the Moon.  There is no shortage of light and shadow symbolism and interplay during these next couple of days.  It's as if the cosmos is intent on getting us to see this shadow and see it in the right light for once.

On the 11th, Jupiter enters Gemini and connects with the Pleiades.  This is just one in a series of major aspects to the 7 sisters this year.  Venus met with the Pleiades in late March/early April...and the solar eclipse at the New Moon on May 20th was in the same degree as well.  The Mayans observed planetary connections to the Pleiades with great reverence.  These events always represented an end and a beginning of a 26,000 year cycle, another indication from the ancients that a turning of an age is upon us.  These connections to the 7 sisters are similar to 'reprogramming' us through multiple celestial bodies from our solar system.  And on the 11th, Jupiter (a planet of expansion and accelerated growth) begins a new cycle in conjunction with these stars.  The day after, on the 12th, a 584 Day Cycle of Venus as the evening star ends as she rises as the morning star again.

In conclusion, the celestial bodies of our solar system are aligning for an extraordinary initiation of enlightenment to our global village this summer.  Let's breathe new life into what defines the Sacred Marriage...as it's no longer about distinguishing male from female...but finding that we are all expressions of both energies.  We have to nurture equality and promote tolerance, peace, and love.  Balance, communication, creative expression, and compassion in action is what is being expressed by these energies.  Find what works for you in connecting to Source and being a part of something greater than yourself...our many avenues for the expression of this are limitless.  We are the dreamers of the dream, and we are the change the world has been wishing for.  Now let's go out and create the best possible outcome for ourselves and the world in which we live!
Love and Gratitude,
Felina Lune Kavi

New Moon Eclipse in Gemini: Breaking Through Barriers in Communication

Tomorrow evening, there is a Solar Eclipse (6:23pm CST) and a New Moon (6:47pm CST) in the 1st degree of Gemini.  This is a very potent energy and it's effects last for the 6 months following it.  Every New Moon is a time where an old cycle ends and a new one begins, but during an eclipse this initiation becomes even more powerful.

The symbol for the first degree of Gemini is 'a glass-bottomed boat in still water reveals undersea wonders'.  Allow yourself some time tomorrow night to meditate on this symbol.  Meditation will quiet the turbulent waters (emotions) in your mind and body, and as the murky sediment (confusion) settles, the still water becomes clear and reveals a clearer view of the life within.  The glass-bottom of the boat suggests the mind's detachment (Gemini) from our emotions, so that we may see what we are meant to see with a more objective view.

But since this is an eclipse, there is an energy present that pushes us to break through barriers...and since it's in Gemini, that barrier is likely in our mind.  Consider this symbol as it relates to a television.  We can watch the world and all of its struggles and triumphs without ever leaving the safety of our homes...thus becoming detached from the world outside.  But when we delve deeper into the inter-workings of our world by choosing to become a conscious and active part of it, we can have the greatest effect.  It's no longer just a story playing out behind a screen as we go about our day-to-day lives...we become an integral part of the story and we choose to 'create our own adventure' rather than just accepting what is shown to us as if we had no power to change it.  Now is a time where a blending of the spiritual and the physical becomes paramount to achieving the emotional and mental balance we're all hoping for.  This new cycle sounds a call to the Sacred Activist within us all.

The keyword for this degree is 'curiosity', appropriately ushering us into all of the curious and communicative energy of Gemini that we've been discovering as Venus has been transiting the sign and will be even more prevalent once Jupiter moves into Gemini in June.  This eclipse initiates us into a time when we are able to reveal hidden aspects of life.  Even though Gemini energy is often content to just scratch the surface in communication, wanting to know as much as possible as fast as possible, this eclipse (as well as Venus still retrograding at a snail's pace through the sign) gives us all a chance to breathe and focus on what's underneath the surface of our view.  The unconscious/subconscious mind stores a diversity of wonders that spark our curiosity for the next 6 months, and now is the time to quiet the mind so that we may look deeper into it.

The closest aspect to this new moon is a square from Neptune in Pisces (spirituality/transcendent love).  Neptune reflects the water imagery of the symbol described at this New Moon.  Now is the time that actions are taken to observe and better understand the depth of the emotional/spiritual implications of our previous actions.  Dedication to the creative opportunities this presents is in the air as Saturn and Venus (both retrograde, and so focusing internally) are in a beneficial trine in air signs (activating the mental plane), while Pluto and Chiron are in an opportunistic sextile highlighting the healing that comes from transformation.

This is a chance to focus the spotlight of the luminaries within and find previously undiscovered truths about life, and about ourselves.  Every eclipse offers us a new perspective.  In a Solar Eclipse, the Moon occults the light of the Sun, showing only the Sun's corona.  This sight represents the brilliance of consciousness that we don't see everyday because we are blinded by the glare of everyday life.  In an annular eclipse like this one, we are able to see the outer ring of our consciousness by taking a step away from the 'core' of our lives (because, usually by this point, something in our 'core' has gone awry and we need a new perspective on life).

What's under the surface of how you've been presenting yourself lately?  When you take away everything that is superfluous, not really you, or accumulated from your environment or social upbringing...what reveals itself as the clearest path to your true aspirations in this life?  Remember that your circumstances, crises, and the stories about yourself that you've accumulated so far are not you...though they are likely representative of your previous actions.  We are meant to learn from our past only...not to take it with us for the long haul. What is important is the NOW of every moment.  The future will take care of itself, and the past is already taken care of.  In the now, we can actively create the world around us.  And this Eclipse/New Moon in Gemini suggests that co-creation and clear communication are the keys to restoring balance in our wonderfully diverse world.

Love and Gratitude,
Felina

Venus Retrograde: Relationships Redefined

Tomorrow morning, Venus in Gemini turns retrograde.  Although this happens once every 542 days, it turns retrograde in the same sign of the zodiac every 8 years.  To understand Venus Retrograde's effects more deeply and personally, think back to May and June of 2004.  How did your values and relationships to others shift during that time?  Regardless of what you may or may not remember from the last time this happened, one thing is always true about every time Venus is Retrograde...important relationships in your life are ready to be reviewed (and some may even need to be redefined or rediscovered).  Someone from your past may contact you during this transit, as Venus will likely be reconnecting you to people with whom you have unfinished business and (because she's going back through Gemini, the mercurial sign of communication) conversations that require resolution.  It's time to decide whether it's best to move on or re-invest in your relationships, but be careful not to only look at the surface of these situations.  There are things you may have missed in the recent past that will resurface as lessons and powerful insight into your own values and understanding of love.  It's best to take your time during this transit (which lasts throughout most of June) to sort through your thoughts and feelings before you make any major decisions in the areas of love and finance (as Venus rules both of these areas of relationships).
Are your relationships in line with your ideals and values?  If not, turn the bright light of investigation on yourself, first, to find out if your desires and expectations are casting others in a negative light.  It may be your own idea of love that will need to expand and mature at this time.  Any planet in retrograde will incline us to look more deeply on an inner level as that planet's energy is no longer projecting forward (and outward), but reflecting backward (and inward) at something we may not have seen or learned while it was moving along full-speed ahead.
With a lot of Gemini energy going on, it indicates that a choice is pressing to be made, and one that urges us to decide what our priorities are and what we truly value.  As Venus is so close to the fixed star of Aldeberan (integrity), this choice which is meant to transform your relationships is best decided by what will resonate with your true standards of integrity.
Just remember, whatever issues arise...don't point the finger elsewhere...the issue is internal, not external.  Everyone will have their own issues to deal with, so you might as well face the facts and look to yourself to fix whatever problem you seem to be having with others.  Passing the blame or continuously reminding others of their supposed shortcomings won't help you or them.  If they can't see (or avoid) what they need to work though with themselves, they aren't doing their part in nurturing a healthy relationship with you or others...and their wake up call will come.  But focus on yourself first...an outward focus during a retrograde period is just asking for trouble.
The degree of the retrograde (Gemini 24) is one that suggests something we thought looked like fun while seeing others do it, but collectively we lacked the knowledge and skill to get to that point of enjoyment, at least right now.  The Sabian Symbol for this degree is 'children skating on ice'.  This is a metaphor for our relationships right now, one that suggests we had tried something new that got off to a rough start because we didn't know what we were doing just yet.  Perhaps we saw it come so easily to others and didn't think we would fail at our first attempt, so we weren't properly equipped for a beginner's lesson.  Keep in mind that while, for many of us, this may be referring to relationships with others...for some it could also mean a new job, a financial investment, or some other endeavor that has been occupying our time and best efforts.
This retrograde isn't pushing us to quit...it's giving us time to re-think and relearn some lessons we may have flown past by thinking they wouldn't apply to us.  Now is the time to go back and pick up some key pieces of our consciousness.  What is it you really desire?  Are your values in line with your thoughts and actions?  You may see the lessons that others are learning or need to learn, but what about yours?
This summer, Venus will eventually swing past this degree again, and if you learned your lessons from this first rocky start...you'll surely be ready to skate alongside the more advanced ice-skaters once Venus is in forward motion again.  Don't give up on your goals, just re-evaluate them for the time being.  This inward investigation will serve you well as we approach the Venus transit across the Sun on June 5th, when all we've learned in the past 8 years from the planet of love will join again with the creative expression of the Sun to bring humanity full-circle to spread enlightened ideas of global communication.
Love and Gratitude,
Felina Lune Kavi

Full Flower Moon 2012

At 10:33 pm CDT on Saturday, May 5th, the Full Moon in Scorpio is exact.  During a full moon, the Sun and Moon are in opposite degrees of the zodiac...this time the Sun is in the 17th degree of Taurus, while the Moon is in the 17th degree of Scorpio.

This is a very energetically potent full moon.  Many of you already know that it is known as the Wesak Moon (or, as I like to call it...the Buddhafull Moon) that Buddhists celebrate, also the Flower Moon (you can probably guess where it got this name), and also that it is called a supermoon because of its closer proximity to us.

So, I would like to take this time to get into details about this specific full moon this weekend, so you may better understand the energies present within this opposition and hopefully be better prepared to tap into this extraordinary energy.

First of all, I want to remind you of the rhythm of the solar-lunar dance.  During a New Moon (when the Moon and Sun are together in the exact degree of the zodiac), we plant the seeds in our earthly lives that we nurture to grow during the waxing cycle.  At the time of the Full Moon, whatever was seeded is now meant to blossom to it's full realization at this time.  Then during the waning moon, we feel the necessity of 'pulling the weeds' or clearing out the excess that isn't helping us grow or is working against the work we are putting into our heart's desire.

With that in mind, let's look at the Sabian Symbols of the zodiacal degrees being highlighted by our luminaries.  We'll start with the Moon, which represents the past as well as emotional comfort and feminine (receptive, or 'yin') nurturance.  The symbol for the 17th degree of Scorpio is 'A woman, the father of her own child.'  This symbol represents where we are coming from and what we have been emotionally involved with during the waxing phase of this Flower Moon.  It signifies the commitment, diligence, and productivity that we have given to our goals that we began at the beginning of this phase.  It highlights that our emotional nurturance lately has been empowered by the nurturance we've given others.  Our resources to help others have encouraged us to take control of our own lives and express confidence at being self-sufficient.  Like a woman who raises her child herself, we have learned the necessity of balancing the masculine and feminine nature within us in order to give that balance outside of us (to our children, our relationships, or our projects) and ensure their survival.  This balance of energies is the nucleus of all things...the balance of yin and yang, a sustenance of give and receive.

In opposition to that energy (which can either express itself as a tug-of-war or a balance between opposites, depending on how wisely you've planted and cared for your goal since the New Moon on April 21st), the Sun's symbol in the 17th degree of Taurus is 'A symbolic battle between swords and torches.'  The Sun represents the expression of our goal and where it is leading us, as well as how we can shine as we further infuse this goal with the masculine (projective, or 'yang') energy.  This signifies that some problem-solving will need to take place this weekend in order to come to a resolution of your intention.  Let's think of resolution in terms of music, since I've already expressed that the luminaries seem to dance.  The resolution is when the musician or orchestra passes from a discord into a concord during the course of changing harmony.  In other words, the discord that you may be feeling...don't hold on to that note...change the harmony, and conduct the symphony with your intentions, rather than watching it struggle without your guidance.  Guide your goal to realization with strong conviction, integrity, and (of course) balance.  This symbolic battle between swords and torches indicates that it is between the masculine elements of air and fire.  Within this symbolism, air (swords) represents the mental plane while fire (torches) represent the spiritual plane.  Here is where the battle is taking place, there is some indecision and resistance about how to forge ahead victoriously with our intentions.  It's very likely that your mental state is working against your spiritual empowerment, and that a spiritual crisis is weighing on your mind.  Find a resolution now.  This is the next step in achieving your goal so that you can actualize it as the moon wanes.  There are likely very heavy, maybe even combative, questions in your mind that are sabotaging your inner peace.    You are the only one who can sufficiently answer those questions and solve your problem.

In the bigger picture of things, as we look outside of ourselves and our personal goals and intentions so that we may relate this inner opposition to the external ones in our environment, we see this same battle against peace, balance, and harmony.  The spiritual and mental implications of all that is going on right now in our world is weighing on our intentions to conduct a change into harmony from discord.  We may feel like we are trying to nurture the innocence of this world like a mother with no choice but to become everything she can to her child.  It is weighty work.  The external influences are not always safe or healthy.  There are people and circumstances working against this desire for harmony.  But you are not alone...there are many of us who are working for the same goal. Separate, we struggle, fall behind, and give our power away to those who wish to keep us disempowered and needful.  But together, we find the strength to endure these tests of our will, we find inspiration in the compassion of those who understand, and we find the power to overcome a battle that has no place in our world.

Love and Gratitude,
Felina Lune Kavi

Elements of Being

Elements of Being

by Felina Lune Kavi

We are Earth.

Ancestors within

Our layers of skin,

Like sediment

Solidified to rock.

We are Air.

Great wisdom to speak

Ideas so unique,

Like rustling wind

Motivating motion.

We are Fire.

Guides through the dark night

Inspiring sight,

Like our own Sun

Feeding growth into life.

We are Water.

Waves of pure feeling

Give way to healing,

Like the oceans

Ebb and flow with our Moon.

We are Spirit.

Sacred collective

Interconnected,

Like cosmic orbs

In deliberate dance.

Gate to the Garden of Desire

Gate to the Garden of Desire

By Felina Lune Kavi

Essence breathes

in, out and in through the gate,

in infinite give--

infinite intake

of the creative voice of Desire.

Desire smiles

through the gate of her mouth.

Sunlit cheeks raised

like dazzling diamonds

faceted on either side of her door.

Essence weaves

like wind and water wandering

along every path,

in a long journey,

spreading seeds of spiritual meaning.

Desire draws

in, out and into her garden

the breath of life--

and as like attracts like,

she likes the creative force of Essence.

Essence lives

in every living and dying being

active in giving

and in receiving.

Cosmic connector of every bit of light.

Desire grows

vibrant color and vital nectar;

Love with the Love

Essence engenders.

Harmony sings through her garden gate.

After the Deep Catharsis

After the Deep Catharsis,

where the forest’s belly burned,

a clearing opened in sun-drenched earth

and the Great Wheel swiftly turned.

A woman veiled in violets

stood amidst the blackened ground.

Light grew within her awakened womb,

then it spiraled all around.

Soon she was singing magick

that stirred the seeds of power.

From all that died, life renewed again

in dancing trees and flowers.

Pluto Retrograde: Digging Deep

At 11:21am on April 10, Pluto moves into retrograde motion. You may have already begun feeling its effects sometime last week, as it is our slowest moving planet. It is stationary now in the 10th degree of Capricorn. The Sabian Symbol for this degree is 'An albatross feeding from the hand of a sailor'. The keyword is 'nurturance'...and the timing for such a message is appropriately reflected in the ingress of Ceres in Taurus (which begins this afternoon and ends on June 23rd). Ceres is the asteroid of the nurturer archetype, while Taurus is the sign that (in its best expression) inclines a similar nurturing attitude.

During this transit (Pluto's retrograde period lasts until 9-18), we'll be taking a deeper look at what truly nurtures us...and at the same time, we'll be tested and (in more stubborn cases) forced to release our attachments to what we once clung to or fed that does not serve our higher purpose. And we hear such things all the time, it seems, right? I'm always writing about liberating ourselves from negative thought patterns and destructive addictions that sabotage our purest expression. Well, it's what I've learned about healing on the deepest level. And it's a lesson from my own natal Pluto Retrograde in Libra in my 6th House, the house of health. It is in this house where the Liberator archetype resides within my own psyche. And at this stage in my life, where I will soon be initiated into my thirties (on April 11th), the regenerative power of Pluto Retrograde proves to be my deepest strength rather than the tumult of drastic transformations it had seemed in younger years. So, you read about such themes as transformation and 'out with the old, in with the new' a lot from me, yes? Do you wonder when the constant, internal spring cleanings will be sufficient enough to finally get you to where you want to be? I wish I could tell you, just ONE more and then you're good to go...but it's not the case. We are meant to keep evolving. We are changers, shifters, creators...always transforming. We go through a series of initiations in our lives in order to realize our highest self. The final initiation in each lifetime is death, The Great Crossing.

This brings me to my next point about Pluto. One of its most notable themes is transformation...and one of the most recognizable of those transformations is death. There is, of course, physical death which may play an important role in your own understanding of the lessons of this transit. Or, more often, symbolic death will occur in your life as you transition into something new (whether it be a new job, new relationship, new house, or new way of life). Whatever it is that shakes you awake to observe and uncover the meaning of who you really are by unraveling the layers of identity you've accumulated in a dream-state...you will be stripped down to your essentials in order to recognize that all you really need is so profoundly simple, and that all of the excess must be discarded in order to emanate your light more brightly from within.

This can be an excruciatingly painful process for some. Especially if you've become resistant and fearful of change, Pluto Retrograde can be like someone shining a bright light of investigation into the closets and cubbyholes of your mind and discovering your skeletons, your deep dark secrets, and your hidden motives. Whatever you've buried in the past because you didn't want to or know how to deal with it...it is likely to resurface at some point during this transit. It's not to cause distress, though that is sometimes a side-effect, it is because it is dead weight holding you back from moving forward. Whatever is hidden will likely be revealed for the purpose of healing and regenerating. This is a time to cast a light into your own shadows, investigate them yourselves if you don't want someone else to poke and prod at them first. Recognize your shadows, integrate them into the light instead of keeping them in the dark. You have them, but you are not them.

Pluto Retrograde often incorporates very intense and deeply penetrating insights into your subconscious. Our powers of observation and investigation are heightened...which shows us the necessity of eliminating and releasing that which is outworn, outdated, old and obsolete in our lives. What recurring patterns in your life make you feel out of control? Pluto often deals with lessons of control...and in retrograde, it shows us if there are destructive parts of ourselves to which we are regularly relinquishing control. This is a time to get back into the driver's seat of your own life by kicking the bad habits that keep you going on a road to nowhere. It could be something as obvious as an addiction to drugs or alcohol that has you spinning out of control...or it could be something as widely accepted in our society as worry or fear that has you stuck on a loop. Whatever it is, it's time to take back control and activate your higher mind on this journey through life...because there are so many more amazing things to see and experience than that same old scenery that's just passing you by.

And now back to nurturance, as I am just hours away from Ceres entering Taurus to usher in this theme like a newly planted garden. Who or what nurtures you? How do you get your sustenance? Where does it come from and how does it grow? Is it healthy for you? Is it healthy for our planet? Is it sustainable and regenerative? Does it feed your light or your shadow? Are you consuming more than you need? Is there a balance of giving and receiving in your life? How do you nurture others? In what way do you display the attributes of the Caretaker in this life?

And finally, when are you going to pull the weeds from the garden? The time is always now.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

ADDENDUM (4-10-12): Pluto's Shift on a Global Scale

As retrogrades turn the energy represented by the planet inward, we often reflect upon ourselves and the drastic changes we need to make in our own lives during a Pluto Retrograde. However, consider that these transits are inclining everyone around you to realize the same thing...that in order to regenerate our environment beyond the destruction our addictions and ignorance have exacerbated, we need to change ourselves. These retrogrades are important transits that can assist us in being the change.

While Pluto (transformation) moves in direct motion through Capricorn (the sign of structure, achievement, and recognition)...we've been seeing the inevitable crumbling of old ways that have now proven destructive. Yes, such things still seem to hold most of the power in our societies...but, regardless, they are breaking down and their hidden agendas are being revealed to the public at an alarming rate. Power structures that once appeared to be fail-safe (at least to the people using them) or appeared to have our best interests in mind (at least to the people who blindly trust and consume like spoiled children)...greed and misuse of that power has begun to disintegrate it beyond repair. 'Out with the old, in with the new' is the difficult but necessary solution on many people's minds...but what of those that cling to a past that has already failed us?

Now, as Pluto is just hours away from turning retrograde and focusing that investigative light on an internal level, people who have misused power and clung to obsolete structures will have nowhere to hide from the effects of their shadows, skeletons, and secrets. They will be plagued with the consequences of destructive actions and soulless ideals. Problems that they've tried to keep hidden will start flooding into the light, disturbing secrets they've kept will likely be revealed, and the more they try to keep it all hidden...the weaker they will become. Perhaps more of us will realize then...they are not power, money is not power, stuff is not power.

Power is in the balance of giving and receiving...the symbiotic relationship between all life. Consider that something we may have never seen, may have never even heard of, such as phytoplankton in our seas can be a powerful regenerator of our Earth by taking in carbon for its own nurturance. But the balance is off now...our carbon footprints are so giant that the temperature of our waters has increased and less phytoplankton can grow. This is just one example, but a pretty important one. Power quickly becomes powerless without balance, moderation, and temperance. We are not the only beings on this planet...and though we may think we are the most intelligent, you wouldn't be able to deduce that as fact if you take a look at the destruction we alone have caused.

That's the point. We are not alone. That phrase you keep hearing everywhere, 'we are one'...it's not just about the human race. We are one with all life around us, there is no dominion over this and that. We are one with the whole of the earth...and as the earth is part of the universe, we are one with the universe as well.

Pluto in retrograde this year will keep us focused on discarding the old notions of me vs. you, us vs. them, all of those separating beliefs of a passing age...so that we can finally work together on what's truly important: caretaking in a world of co-creation.

Harmony Happens

Harmony Happens

by Felina Lune Kavi

When imaginations unite,

No fuss and no fight,

No you’re wrong and I’m right,

Every little thing’s all right…

We can wake up together and sing,

Happy to be Harmony.

When information inspires

Our hearts’ true desire,

Love tending our fires,

No kingdoms for liars…

We will see what tomorrow can bring,

Happening like Harmony.

When all eyes open to see

Beyond them, you, and me

We will finally be free

In true equality…

We can accomplish anything,

Hand in hand with Harmony.

When peace finds its place

Within our human race,

And it fills us with grace,

So it gives greed no space…

We will let freedom truly ring,

Healing with our Harmony.

When we finally outgrow

Turning friends into foes,

And we show that we know

How to go with the flow…

We are one, we are everything,

Help us sing in Harmony.

2012 New Moon in Aquarius: Beginnings Are Often Continuations

New Quickening Moon in Aquarius

The New Moon begins at 1:39am CST on January 23^rd. The Quickening Moon phase is a good time to slough off the lethargy that often ensues after the holiday season. As if your body, and everything around you, is trying to ‘quicken’ to spring…there is often an urge to really follow through with actions that are ‘out with the old, in with the new’. During the daytime, this New Moon in Aquarius is the time to initiate those early spring cleanings. Like the water bearer, it’s time to wash the world anew.

The New Moon meets the Sun in the 3^rd degree of Aquarius, which is a particularly rebellious degree. The Sabian Symbol for this degree is ‘a deserter from the navy’. There is an urge toward defiance under this influence. In its highest expression, this energy gives us the collective courage to turn our backs on what doesn’t resonate with the greatest good…and support humanitarian challenges. This kind of rebellion proposes ethical opposition, freedom of choice, and champions diversity. At the very core of this energy is an urge to be free from unnecessary control…whether that is from the oppression of a hierarchical patriarchy or, on an inner level, freedom from your own self-limiting thought patterns and bad habits. The desire to be different, to change ourselves for the better, will be bursting at our seams during this moon phase. New life is stirring, preparing for the thaw into the coming season of new growth.

The Year of the Water Dragon Begins

So maybe 2012 started off with the wrong kind of bang. You were expecting immediate changes, possibly, because of all the hype surrounding the year? Government is still the same old shadowy institution, cranking out needless power plays rather than giving focus to what will really change the world to a better place. Corruption is still a driving force in our mainstream. People are still playing the same old game that keeps them numb, dumb, and complacent…ignoring the periphery that screams for them to wake up. But before you spiral down into hopelessness or defeat, take another look. Everything has been waking up…and still is. Don’t expect everything to be drastic this year (though, like in recent years, there will be plenty that causes the whole world to take notice). Many of the positive changes are happening (and have been) gradually, blossoming gently in the tumult surrounding global change. This is new growth at its finest...it starts small, but it just keeps growing without being a threat, in fact it enriches lives rather than destroying them. While the old foundations are cracking and crumbling, new life grows within the cracks...almost unnoticeable until a whole garden grows where an old business was.

The 2012 New Moon of the Water Bearer ushers in the Year of the Water Dragon. The luckiest of all of the Chinese Astrology signs, the Dragon is creative and powerful. The element of water abounds this year as Neptune enters Pisces (the sign it rules) on February 3^rd…giving further strength to the awesome power of water that has been showering the world by storm. This will likely manifest both literally in some ways and also symbolically. Water is not only an element that represents emotion, it also has memory and intellect. If you are not yet familiar with Dr. Masaru Emoto’s studies of water crystals…this may be a good time to look into it. It will give you a better understanding and appreciation for the water around and inside us.

In October of last year, my friend (Dan Furst) and I co-created an event here in Omaha called ‘Water Rites: A Ceremony of Communal Intention to Heal Our Waters’…he is another of many of us who understands the importance of water, and writes a flood of information about calendars, astrology, and global happenings that correlate with the Age of Aquarius. For more information on the Water Dragon and some celestial dynamics of 2012, check out his website: http://www.hermes3.net/jan112.htm

Mars Retrograde in Virgo

All of that being said about the New Quickening Moon of the Water Dragon, another astrological event occurs the same day that may have an opposite effect on momentum for getting things going. At 6:54pm CST, Mars goes retrograde in Virgo and stays in this direction until April 14^th when it turns direct again. Mars stations and retrogrades in the 24^th degree of Virgo. The sabian symbol for this degree is ‘Mary and her white lamb’. This retrograde clearly starts with the intention of purifying something that has gotten too complicated and muddied to see the divine that is illuminated in simplicity. Mars Retrogrades, even when they begin on the same day of a New Moon and a New Year, aren’t really known for being a good time to initiate new projects. It’s a time to reinforce something you already began…something that needs to be scaled down and simplified now.

In GOOD DAYS ACTION PLANNING GUIDE, Mary Shea describes an ideal way to handle Mars retrograde. “You go back over situations (either in your mind or in reality), doing things again and again while making corrections in the way you handle events. While Mars is retrograde, you will be reviewing the way you handle anger, self-defense, self-motivation and sexual relationships… outward anger or conflicts may not be appropriate. If you are normally non-assertive, you may be forced to defend yourself. Whatever your tactics, you must give thought to what you are doing. If your tactics do not work or they are inappropriate to the situation, your anger will continue to build while Mars is retrograde. You can expect the anger to manifest full-blown by the time Mars turns direct. If you have seriously wronged or angered another with…acts of aggression, you can expect the backlash as Mars turns direct.”

Now all of this raises the question, what kind of beginning includes a warning to not start anything new? A beginning of the most important kind…the kind that makes you take a long hard look at what you keep saying you should have done or should be doing, and re-work the details. Virgo is a very detail-oriented sign and our actions during this retrograde will be geared toward separating the wheat from the chaff (an appropriate Virgo phrase). What self-imposed limitation no longer serves your best interests? Get rid of it, finally, so you can focus on what’s really important. What did you start but fail to finish that now plagues you like you can’t do anything right? Pick it up again and work through the difficulties. Especially since this retrograde is in Virgo, anything that relates to cleaning and organizing, purifying and healing, will be especially beneficial right now. Detoxing, sticking to your exercise routine, cleaning the house, reorganizing and getting rid of excess, eating better, analyzing old projects and re-working them….all of this comes with the energy of Mars in Virgo. It’s best to take advantage of the good things about this retrograde instead of getting stuck in the frustrated aggressions and impatience of its negative side.

Love and Gratitude,

Felina Lune Kavi

P.S. Listen to this beautiful song that resonates with the energy of this time: 'Scale Down' by Rising Appalachia

A Note to the Collective Caterpillar

A Caterpillar does not gently blossom into a beautiful Monarch. It consumes and consumes until it is fat with everything it can possibly stomach. Then it finds a lonely place and creates a shell of itself around itself. And then it begins transforming...because it must. It's body fights this change...the transformation is a battle between what was and what must be. And then it becomes. It becomes, but it is still surrounded by the walls it created. It inevitably must break free of this barrier in order to reintroduce itself to the world, transformed. Because it must. It is nature.

And there is a brief time of strengthening those wings, pumping the lifeblood into those newly transformed wings. But then it happens...the first flight. And the world is different, just because of the changes it made. And there is no more need to consume and consume only. There is need to fly...and to fly home, like all the others. Because it must. It is nature.

The sustenance is different now...its purpose has even changed. It is drinking the nectar of the rainbow of Earth's flowers. It is drinking for energy and strength, for endurance on a long and arduous journey and no longer just to grow larger. It must make an impossible flight possible. It must make the delicacies of its transformation withstand the harshest of elements. Because it must. It is nature.

They do not all make it to the southern forest. But many do...and those many co-create more. And they will find their family. And they will find home.

*********

The following is a recent answer of mine to a common question. Each person with this question thinks they are alone, but they are many. Perhaps you, too, have the question that could be answered with this.

You are transforming. We all are. This is a necessary time of transition for all...and we will all go through our own hurts, our own wounds, and find the gift within. The light is there within the shadows, not without.

Those who ignore this transition...or try to stifle it somehow...they are ignoring enlightenment, THEY are feeding the shadows. Not you. Not us. We are warriors of light together, not apart.

You're seeking help in this transition...like so many others...that's the first sign that consciousness is greater now than ever before. We are seeking togetherness in our work to light up the darkness...not to destroy it...but to allow it to see the light. Only then can we integrate those shadows and become whole.

This applies to everyone, everywhere, on all levels. It applies on the individual level (where we seek our own wholeness) as it applies on a collective level (where we seek togetherness). It applies on the inner level (where seek holistic health) as it applies on an environmental level (where we seek global health).

We can not narrow the focus only to one...not only to ourselves. Do not only notice the finger you're pointing at yourself...because when you point a finger, three more are pointing the opposite direction. The focus is meant to expand now, not at others...but at the world around us. Here is where we make the changes, which create the changes within.

The past is no matter now. It is just a story. It may be your story, and you feel it has importance because it is yours and you own it...but you have to release it. It's happened. It's not happening.

And you may consider that the present seems strangely like the past now, and you don't like it...because the story's repeating...it's not getting anywhere. But that's when the storyteller wakes up and begins again. The present is soon the past as well.

And the future, it's always blank pages to be written. You, as well as the world you sense and perceive, are what you create in every NOW that passes. Every moment is another chance for change.

Love yourself because you have to, not only because you want to. You have a responsibility just like the rest of us to do just that and quit sabotaging yourself with ideas from the past. You grab those negative thoughts by their jugular, you examine them in the light, then you see that they are only meant to sabotage your awakening...they then transform just by being caught in the light...you say 'that's right, i wasn't being very helpful...not to myself or anyone.' and by this you transmute those shadows, those negativities, into enlightened wisdom of yourself as well as human nature.

When you do this, you help others do this. THAT is the key to enlightenment. THAT is the togetherness we seek.

Love and Gratitude,
Felina Lune Kavi

Psychopompic Journey for Bill's Soul Release

Every New Year, the Dog Star (Sirius) reaches its midnight culmination…its zenith in our night sky. Sirius, in the constellation Canis Major (the Great Dog), is the brightest star in our sky and has always been significant to many cultures that look to the sky for messages. The Ancient Egyptians saw it as a symbol of Anubis, the jackal-headed neter of the afterlife, who guided the souls of the dead to cross over safely. In the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Anubis was the psychopomp (soul guide) the dead called upon in order to pass safely into the afterlife. Though I wasn’t aware of it at first, because I had to go through some days of intense grieving before I could see the signs, Bill’s soul chose for his body to die at this auspicious and widely celebrated time for good reason. The soul agreement we made earlier last year had come to realization in a very big way. He knew I would see it written in the stars and remember to help him cross over…that I would remember everything, in fact, that we had talked about concerning his death.

He knew there would have to be two ceremonies. His family would gather themselves and his friends at their church in Laurens for a funeral, respecting tradition while simultaneously honoring the unique expression of his life. They did that quite beautifully, indeed.

He also knew he wanted to be cremated. When I asked if he would be kept in an urn or if his ashes would be scattered somewhere he said ‘I don’t want to be in an urn on someone’s mantle. And I don’t want my ashes in just one place either. I should be scattered in a bunch of different places, I think.” When I asked if he knew where, he didn’t know yet. He said he’d get back to me on that, though he never did. He only mentioned one place, but he didn’t know the name of it…so it was hard to understand where it was. I really wasn’t asking these questions to keep a record of it for his death. We were just talking and sharing both of our ideas of what we’d want to have happen if we died.

But one thing was clear, and that was that he didn’t want a lot of crying, mourning, and grieving. He never wanted to affect anyone’s life in a negative way. So he wanted there to be a celebration after the funeral, and he knew his ‘Farmily’ of friends would understand that and make it happen. He wanted more smiles than sobs, more laughter than sadness, more remembrance of good times shared than regrets or guilt about the should-have-done’s.

And so we made that happen. After leaving the funeral, we went to Hidden Acres Music Farm for a couple of hours to enjoy the place where Bill brought us all together the past few years. Some gathered around the fire Ed created, some walked around the property, some gathered at the Spirit Center as well as in the Silo. Smokin’ Joe Scarpellino played some songs around the campfire as fire spinners performed, and it felt like a cloud was being lifted. We were finding our peace, together again.

Later we gathered at Alta’s Community Center for a sacred circle ceremony. I told everyone that it was Bill’s encouragement that allowed me to lead such ceremonies for large groups. Before knowing him, I kept my practices mostly to myself…helping only a select few, usually one at a time. I’ve always been a healer in subtle ways…but Bill saw it in me and brought it out into the open, no matter the initial discomfort I felt about ‘letting my light shine’ in such a public way. He knew that I could help more people this way, and in doing so, they could help me blossom rapidly into the healer I was becoming. And that’s exactly what he made happen, a friendly push for which I’ll always be grateful.

I told this large circle of friends that Bill was raised with a strong Christian background, and he never lost that faith…it was always strong with him. He understood that faith in such a positive way that it allowed him to embrace anyone…no matter their beliefs. It allowed him to see the undercurrents of oneness within many beliefs, and that love and acceptance is important no matter our differences. I also grew up with a Christian background, as many do growing up in the heartland. Later on, I studied many more religions and also found the interconnectedness that flowed between belief systems. I realized my understanding was always a little more open than what Christianity itself had come to allow, and so I embraced eclectic paganism…a very inclusive spirituality that is unique to each individual. In marrying my husband, who is a Christian, we have learned that inter-spirituality is one of the most harmonious understandings of humanity that we could ever express. And we embody that love and acceptance, showing it to others…that it’s not only possible, it’s essential to peace and happiness.

I’m telling you this because I made it clear to everyone in the circle that all beliefs are welcome, accepted, and appreciated. The sacred circles that I create for large groups are for protection and containment of energy only, not for initiations into my own ways. We were surrounding ourselves with heightened spiritual energy, and all forms of Spirit were welcome within our sacred space.

When we were safe inside the circle, where only love could enter and only love could emerge, we prepared for a shamanic journey. I explained that the intention they should carry with them for this journey would be to say farewell to Bill and encourage him to cross over. Then I explained that I would be journeying to the Land of the Dead in order to guide his soul directly to where he needed to go. This is my journey….

Psychopompic Journey at Bill’s Soul Release Ceremony

by Felina Lune Kavi

Beautiful souls gathered around us in the sacred circle we cast in honor of our friend, Bill Hertz. Diana's dog, Kita, was our watchdog within the circle while 11 of us performed the ceremonial tasks of ensuring the strength of the sphere of protection around us. After some introduction to what was about to happen, everyone rested themselves around the circle with their heads pointed inward. My husband, Michael, drummed the Eagle Beat as I rested with my head pointed toward the Spirit Candle in the center. In my giving hand, I held a satchel of tsentsak (a rattle from a rattlesnake given to me by a goddess named Ronnie upon leaving the last festival at Hidden Acres, a small owl carved of agate given to me after a journey last year from my dear friend and fellow shamanic practitioner Sue, a silver Jaguar coin from my husband, and a Hawk’s Eye stone my husband just got for me before making the trip back to Iowa). In my receiving hand, I held a small bag filled with herbs and healing intentions that I prepared at Next Millennium’s Midsummer rite last year.

I allowed the drum to carry me to Hidden Acres Music Farm. I began in the Spirit Center, where many acts of love and healing have been performed in the recent past. I gathered some of the joy and spiritual wealth of the earth upon which my soul stood…like the four-leaved clovers buried beneath by Andrea were surging through my soul as protection for this journey. Then I walked to the fire circle, where we often gathered for so many sacred circles, campfire performances, or warmth. I was alone, but Ed’s fire was still smoldering from earlier in the day when we gathered at his farm. Without hesitation, I jumped into the embers and ashes.

I was immediately thrust into the river that often cleanses me at the start of my journey through the lower world. The water was warm and smelled sweet this time, like lotus flowers. After I came out upon the bank of the river, Jaguar was there waiting. With his power to shape-shift, I suddenly had on the clothes and adornments of my own Spirit Guide, a gypsy I often call Dejavu (though her true name is my secret). Still wearing purple, but now with bells and coins and many more crystals. It went without saying that Jaguar and I agreed that Bill would expect me in this way.

Jaguar led me to the forest. The jingling of my gypsy adornments seemed to awaken life all around us. The trees could hear me coming, and whispered to the animals within. Great Horned Owl flew down from her watchtower tree as we reached the opening into the forest. She flew overhead and in front of us to guide the way. But soon, it was apparent to me that they could go no further. I was on my own, which meant I was about to enter the Land of the Dead.

The trees began to disappear all around me. The ground started to gray. I looked behind me. The forest was gone. There was only a wall of gray rock as I noticed the jagged expanse of a great mountain. When I turned back around, I saw that I was on the edge of a cliff with Bill standing before a rainbow’s end.

He tried to smile at me, but it came across as a grimace of embarrassment. His skin was as gray as the rock on which we stood; his thin frame even thinner. His clothes hung from his limbs, ragged and loose.

“It’s okay. I’m here to help you…like I promised.” I told him which seemed to ease some discomfort.

“I’m stuck here.” He told me, and then all of his worries began spilling forth. “I don’t know which way to go! I mean, they were telling me to go up…but how can I? I tried climbing the mountain but I keep sliding back down to here. I have no strength to get there!”

“Did you try going up this rainbow?” I asked. “That seems a lot easier than climbing, doesn’t it?”

“No. It doesn’t.” He said, looking at me as if I were crazy. “I can’t do that.”

“I’m here to tell you that you can. I can help if you’d like.”

“Look down there! I know I would fall…I’m heavier than I look.” He said as fear washed over his face. I looked below us. The rocks were steep and jagged and a dark river raged far below. I could make out flailing limbs and heads of other dead souls struggling in the river below. “I don’t want to be like them. They don’t understand they’re dead.”

“Bill, you won’t fall. You’re not meant to fall, you’re meant to follow this rainbow. You see that portal up there?” I said, pointing to a filmy and translucent swirl surrounding the middle of the rainbow. “That’s where you can cross over.”

“I can’t.” He said. Then he got distracted. “Is that Ed snoring…?” His voice trailed off. He seemed to fade in and out for several moments. Then I noticed he was trying to communicate, but not with me. The sounds he made were indecipherable to me. This part is hard to explain, but he looked as if he was on a screen that kept changing channels.

When he was present again, he was happier. He was no longer in his loose and ragged clothing. He wore a long white robe that I recognized from a time that he described a man he saw at a show the year before, an older man that looked like what he wished to look like one day. His smile was gentle, and he appeared stronger than before. I wondered if the farewell intentions of the others in the circle had just reached him. He seemed ready to be released from his fear.

“Are you ready to cross?” I asked him.

“I am, but there’s something else first.” He said. Then he reached both hands into each pocket. He opened his left hand and a small light flickered. The light was in the shape of a dragonfly. It flew up and out of his hand and into my bag. “That’s Megan’s. Please give it back to her. I didn’t realize it until I came here, but she gave it to me when I was at a very low point in my life. She didn’t know she was giving it to me, she just wanted to help me.”

“I know. It happens.” I said, understanding that it was a fragment of her soul. “She needs this back more than ever right now.”

Bill nodded. Then he opened his right hand. Music poured out of his palm, and though I couldn’t see it…I could hear it float into my bag.

“That belongs to Joe.” He said. “I never meant to take it from him. I don’t know how I did. I just cared about him a lot…and I guess I wanted to take a piece of him with me when I left Iowa City. Please return it to him.”

“I will.” I said. “It’s a song?”

“It’s a beautiful song.” He said.

I smiled. “Now you’re ready?”

He nodded and smiled back. There was still a little fear on his face when he looked below, so I held out my hand. He grasped it and we began to float up the rainbow. Once he realized that it was going to be okay, his hand relaxed a little. His body felt lighter. He even laughed a little. Then we stopped before we reached the portal.

“I can take it from here.” He said. “And thank you…for everything. Everyone gathered there in the circle…and everyone I’ve ever loved wishing me well in their own ways…it’s exactly what I needed. Love really is all you need.”

We both smiled. He was radiant now. His soul was about to be transformed into pure consciousness again.

“We love you, Bill.” I said. “Now go make things happen like you’ve always wanted to do.”

“Phodeph.” His last message to me was an inside joke that made me laugh at the sound of it. In his time spent living at our house last year, he came up with the word as a replacement for an overused ‘for sure’.

Then he turned to face the portal, and passed through.

When I came back to my body, I went to Megan first and blew her soul fragment back into her. Then I went to Joe and did the same. Michael sounded the call back, and everyone returned.

After releasing the circle, many of us went outside. The night air was refreshing. Someone looked up and saw that a circular halo surrounded the moon. The Cold Moon was nearly full in Cancer (sign of home and family). Everyone was amazed at the sight. Some of us are aware that halos and moon dogs are formed by light’s interplay with ice crystals in the sky, but we were no less amazed by the beauty and deeper meaning we could all glean from the rare phenomenon of that night.

Bill was finally at rest in a place he could truly call Home.

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.”