Advice

March 11 to 18, 2010
Visible Planets: Morning: Saturn  Evening: Venus and Mars

Mars Direct in Leo and the March 15th 25º10' Pisces New Moon

Tomahawk-Indian The big news this week is the return to forward motion of our solar system’s “red” planet Mars. Retrograde since Dec. 20, 2009, this heralds an end to several months of subtle – and, at times, not so subtle - struggle regarding personal motives, desires and intentions. And as the tide shifts, we can look forward to an extended period of step-by-step progress in the most individually prized and precious areas of our life.

Ancient god of war and ruler of all things masculine, Mars energy stimulates, motivates and propels. It is the balancing yang of the feminine yin, complement to Venus, valiant warrior in times of trouble and instinctive life force attempting to get our soul’s needs met. Primitive and primal, Mars is all about battle and survival. It’s where we are willing to fight for what we want, defend what we value and pursue what we love. It fuels our sense of self, sustains our physical vitality and encourages us to take action – especially where personal agendas are at stake.

(editor's note: Somehow the post that was to accompany Ted's video went adrift. I am attempting to recreate the feeling of that post days later.) Ted Hoff of Cottonwood Ranch and Kennel is constantly working with his dogs and the dogs in...

March 4 to 11, 2010

Visible Planets: Morning: Mercury and Saturn  Evening: Venus and Mars

Cocoon and Self-Nurture, Relax and Rejoice

Mudpaw Last week’s foot of snow is quickly vanishing here on Wrights Mesa. In its place are fields of matted grass and frozen dirt, which turn to mud when temperatures rise. Today the skies are clear and the wind is strong. I’m alone in the house with my three dogs, listening to the chimney whistle and the fire crack.

BlueEggs I’m aware that Spring is on its way. I’m comforted that we’re facing the seasons of lengthening days and warming nights. This morning I cleaned bluebird houses and prepared them for the returning pairs, with hopes I’d see them soon. Yesterday I drove to the West End and watched newborn calves frolic in the slanting afternoon sunlight, curious but close to their mothers and the rich milk upon which their lives depend.

The Pisces/Virgo Full Moon of Feb. 28th has come and gone, followed by the very recent [Mar. 3rd @ 9:06 p.m. MST] conjunction of Venus and Uranus, also in Pisces. Issues of camaraderie, inter-connectedness, chaos and creation were balanced with the need for order and organization, work and health. Romantic and financial relationships popped up in new shape and form, themes of freedom and variety ran rampant. We were awakened to the overall necessity for and collective paradigms of unity in diversity and liberty in responsibility.

At 15 weeks, Drake's training continues. Ted Hoff, Cottonwood Ranch and Kennel, has engaged Cabela and Mae to help with Drake's socialization, and to model longer periods of Sit/Stay. Notice how Drake, the young yellow Labrador, pays attention to what the more mature...

February 25 to March 4, 2010
Visible Planets: Morning: Mercury and Saturn  Evening: Venus and Mars

The Pisces/Virgo Full Moon and the Collective Chaos of our Co-Creating Cosmos

“When the gods are crazy, when the world seems to have gone insane, when there seems to be nowhere to turn, we have to look inside our own hearts to find what is true, what matters, and what can never be taken away.” – Stephanie Austin, The Mountain Astrologer, Issue #149 Feb/Mar 2010.

Turqsea Returning from Mexico and jumping in to the process of “re-entry” here in los Estados Unidos – the United States – I am impressed by the whirling, swirling creative chaos of our current cultural condition and conditioning. Living without a television or an internet connection, in a land of swaying palms and breaching whales, I seem to have lost touch with the fast-paced paradigm of American life.

Don’t get me wrong, I'm loving my DSL, satellite TV and gourmet kitchen. Our humble home feels like a mansion after two months in either a camper or a casita with my XL husband and three big dogs.

February 18 to 25, 2010

Pisces: The One, the All, the Forever and Ever

Visible Planets: Morning: Mercury and Saturn  Evening: Mars and Jupiter

Pisces The Aquarius zodiac month ends on Feb. 18th at 11:36 am MST, when the Sun enters the mutable water sign of Pisces the Fish. The twelfth and last sign of the tropical zodiac, Pisces brings us to a type of culmination and ending, the completion of one full cycle around the Sun.

Characterized by compassion, sensitivity, imagination and other-world creation, Pisces represents that part in each of us that is divine. It’s the mystical and metaphysical, the magical and mysterious, the spirit and the soul.

Arbolitos As I drive through Baja and enter the United States, I’ll be living, breathing and traveling that invisible thread that interconnects and binds us all – land, sea, plant, animal, stellar and cosmic. The One, the All, the Forever and Ever. Where Eternity and Now join hands, where Destiny and Free Will dance. May we walk in Beauty and live in Grace. Happy Pisces!


February 11 to 18, 2010

Visible Planets: Morning: Mercury and Saturn  Evening: Mars and Jupiter

Chinese Lunar New Year of the Tiger and Manana por la Manana

BlueOrangeSunrise The Chinese Lunar New Year 4708 – the Year of the Tiger – begins at sunset following the first New Moon after the Sun leaves Capricorn and enters the sign of Aquarius, based on when it occurs in China. In 2010, the Aquarius New Moon takes place on Feb. 13th at 7:51 pm MST, past sunset, so the Chinese New Year will not officially begin until sunset on Sunday, Feb. 14th, Valentine’s Day, giving us a chance to combine fun and festivity with love and romance.

Aquarius is excitement, new ideas and fresh vistas. It’s the season of more direct light and lengthening days. We feel a certain regeneration and rebirth. We have moved out of serious, cautious, conventional Capricorn and into a time of renewed hope and budding inspiration. We are wanting and willing to connect with people we don’t know, do things we haven’t done and try on hats we’ve never worn.

Ted Hoff, of Cottonwood Ranch and Kennel, continues his training discussion with this video about 13 week old Drake, a golden Labrador Retriever. Ted says Drake's socialization with appropriate older dogs is a vital part of his training. Watch young Drake...