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May 14 to 21, 2009

Visible Planets: Morning: Venus, Mars and Jupiter  Evening: Saturn

Edward Abbey, Sky Islands and Magnificent Western Sunsets

DSC01049 The Sun is now setting directly behind the Upper La Sal Mountains to our west in Utah – the “sky island” so revered and ultimately made famous by the great American naturalist, Edward Abbey, when he was just starting out as a park ranger for the USFS in Arches National Monument in Moab.

The perfectly shaped, relatively small mountains are so familiar to me now that I rarely sit in awe of their grandeur. But when we first started looking for property on Wrights Mesa in the early ‘90’s, I was adamant about finding a piece from which we could see them. As the Universe would have it, we ended up buying acreage with amazing 360º views – we can see all the way to the Cimarrons above Ridgway in the east and to the Blues and Henrys above Cataract Canyon to the west.

15 May, 2009 /

May 7 to 13, 2009

Visible Planets: Morning: Venus, Mars and Jupiter  Evening: Saturn

Illumination and Manifestation: the May 8th Taurus/Scorpio Full Moon

DSC00434 Full Moons are times of illumination, fruition and manifestation. Unlike new Moons, which occur when the Sun and Moon are exactly aligned – in the same sign, at the same zodiac degree – full Moons take place when the Sun is exactly opposite the Moon and they are in opposite zodiac signs.

The conjunction aspect of a new Moon is a point of energy collection, focus and concentration, [the last new Moon took place on April 24th @ 05º03' Taurus], a time when we feel the powerful imperative of a new beginning, a beginning coming from the inside out. It’s a time to be "in synch" and at one with the Universe - we are somehow connected to and a piece of the greater collective whole. Something cosmic is in the air - a feeling of innocence and hope, initiation and rebirth - and I always feel instinctively optimistic at new Moon times, as if I am on the brink of a new precipice, facing unknown opportunity and embarking upon fresh territory.

10 May, 2009 /

April 30 to May 7, 2009

Visible Planets: Morning: Venus, Mars and Jupiter   Evening: Saturn

Many tulips March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, and April showers bring May flowers. In our yard, the lilacs are starting to bud and the golden currant bush near the front gate is a mass of fragrant yellow. Bright red tulips have popped up and bluebirds are building nests in the wooden boxes we built for them several years back. The mesa has turned a vibrant green and the skies are deep electric blue. The shining San Juans shimmer white in the distance while irrigation water gurgles in the ditches.

It’s May, the lusty month of May - May Day and maypoles, Cinco de Mayo and Mother’s Day – a month of flowers and frolic, fun and fiestas. It’s time to get outside and touch the earth, honor fertility and appreciate the beauty and bounty of nature. The ancient cross-quarter holiday of Beltane – which marks the beginning of summer in the pagan year - takes place this week, and throughout many northern European nations, dances will be danced and festivals held to celebrate the coming of the northern hemisphere’s most sensational season.

02 May, 2009 /

April 23 to 30, 2009

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

VenusMoon Yesterday morning I got up at 5:05 am and headed downstairs to see if Venus and the Moon had risen. It was the day of the occultation, and I didn’t want to miss it. I looked out our big east-facing kitchen window and saw one of the most beautiful sights I’d ever seen. There, hanging low, above the black horizon, was brilliant Venus - dazzling and magnificent - so close to the slender crescent Moon that they were almost touching.

I wondered if I’d be able to see the occultation at our southwestern latitude and longitude. Would I actually see the Moon eclipse Venus?

25 April, 2009 /

April 2 to 9, 2009

Visible Planets: Morning: Mars and Jupiter   Evening: Saturn

Tap in to the Warrior Spirit of Aries-Aquarius and Go Forth!

Tomahawk-Indian This week we have some rather interesting astrological aspects at work in the cosmos. Here on Earth, we are dealing with international economic crisis, global warming, national recession and our own individual processes of breakdown, breakthrough and ultimately, resurrection and rebirth.

One of the reasons I love astrology is because whenever anything is happening in my life or anyone else’s – including the collective experience – I can find it constellated in the cosmos. Ever since my first awakenings to this “divine science,” I have been stunned and surprised by it’s synchronistic accuracy and metaphysical mo-jo.

Humanity today is at an incredibly advanced new beginning, which is an absolutely Aries-Aquarian kind-of-thing. We have come a great distance from our primordial birth to a place of mind-boggling technological invention. And what now? The planets [Pluto now in Capricorn, Saturn in Virgo opposite Uranus in Pisces and Neptune, Jupiter and Chiron conjunct in Aquarius] say it’s time to transform our entire way of perceiving reality, defining our physical world and structuring economies, governments, leadership and authority in general.  If we don’t want, agree or go along with this metamorphic change, be prepared, it will happen anyway. It’s like a global tsunami, a collective cataclysm or an asteroid from outer space. We have no choice. Acceptance is the answer. So as the Moon waxes this week toward full on April 9th, take a deep breath and tap in to the courageous spirit of Aries the Warrior. Fight for right and battle for justice, truth, honesty and integrity. Good luck and may the Force be with you.

03 April, 2009 /

by Cynthia Zehm

January 15 to 22, 2009

Visible Planets: Morning: Saturn    Evening: Venus

Last week's Capricorn/Cancer Full Moon rose above the relatively flat eastern horizon of the Uncompahgre Plateau exactly as the Sun set below the distant "Blues" in Utah's canyonland country south of Moab. I was stunned by the subtle pastel beauty of an enormous ivory Moon against a pale pink and aqua sky. Horsefly Mesa was covered in snowy white, studded with blue-black craggy pine and naked aspen. I thought of Edward Abbey in his mysterious afterlife and wondered if he still roamed in spirit amongst the desert rocks and pristine peaks - the rugged lands he loved so much - or if he had long forgotten the earthly life for one more abstract and enchanting beyond. 

It is at moments like these, when my body senses the ethereal magic, the fleeting cosmic high of celestial magnitude and the interconnectedness of all creation, that I can feel my own spirit - energy, light, nothing and everything, forever and ever, eternal - and I am at peace. To live in a place of such natural grandeur, with hope and freedom as allies, I am truly blessed. May we all embrace the many gifts of our Father Sun, Mother Earth and Great Spirit. May we walk in beauty.

17 January, 2009 /

January 8 to 15, 2009

Visible Planets:
Morning: Saturn
Evening: Venus and Jupiter

Several astrological events of note take place this week:

1. The year’s first “super-moon” – which is a lunation that takes place when the Moon is both at perigee (its closest approach to Earth) and syzygy (in direct alignment with the Sun and Earth) – occurs on Jan. 10th at 8:27 p.m. MST and will come to fruition @ 22 degrees in the Capricorn/Cancer polarity.

As with all Full Moons, expect to experience illumination in fields of darkness. This month, look for enlightenment regarding physical, material realities and the identification of sacrifices and resources necessary to achieve goals and manifest dreams. This is a very karmic Moon, when we see clearly and understand the consequences of our actions and choices. Life is an ongoing process of cause and effect, choose and act wisely.

08 January, 2009 /

January 1 to 8, 2009

 


Visible Planets: Morning: Saturn  Evening: Venus and Jupiter

 


Happy New Year! Another revolution around the Sun and 2008 is history. And what a year it has been! Lots to look forward to and plenty of great opportunities coming up to initiate change. It's all about taking personal responsiblity for our gifts and talents and then utilizing them in unusual, inventive ways - for the benefit of all concerned. We are living in an interconnected, inter-related, interactive Universe where everything we think, feel and do acts as an electromagnetic, evolutionary force of visionary vibration and creative manifestation. Never believe that you have no effect on the outcome. You are the outcome. Good luck and may the Force be with you!

 
02 January, 2009 /


December 26 to 31, 2008

 

Visible Planets: Morning: Saturn  Evening: Venus and Jupiter

 

Christmas has come and gone and the New Year looms upon our proverbial glittering horizon. We have a few days to catch our breath and prepare ourselves mentally, emotionally and spiritually for the end of one solar cycle and the beginning of another. As always, at this time of year, we find ourselves taking our first steps through cardinal Capricorn, and in so doing, are awakened to the physical reality in which we live, love, work and breathe. The focus on gifts and presents, the food and drink, the sights and sounds, and the money spent – or not spent - are all tactile, sensual, material examples of this down-to-earth, practical and socially conscious sign. We are suddenly aware of the need for self-discipline, structure and sacrifice - to pay off those credit card bills or get rid of those extra pounds – and feel almost magnetically attracted to programs of self-betterment. The good news is that these types of actions and behaviors are actually favored now. The Universe supports and assists those willing to set goals, make commitments and work toward goal accomplishment. So, as this week winds its way into 2009, take advantage of the Dec. 27th Capricorn New Moon. Great time to get the ball rolling. Initiate! Happy New Year!


27 December, 2008 /

 

 


December 18 to 25, 2008

 

Visible Planets: Morning: Saturn  Evening: Venus and Jupiter

 Celestial Phenomena: Winter Solstice takes place this year on Dec. 21st at 5:04 a.m. MST, when the Sun enters the cardinal earth sign Capricorn. This is a powerful turning point when forces gather, intentions manifest and plans for the coming year begin to crystallize. As we approach and experience the shortest day and longest night of the year, we enter a portal that both separates and merges dark and light. We stand in an arch of metaphysical magic. The Mother Earth has reached her most distant point on the journey away from Grandfather Sun and, on this day, is magnetically pulled back toward her ancestral home. For millennia, people on our planet have celebrated the “return of the Sun” with fire and light, rejoiced in ancient rituals and reflected upon life in the flickering flames of blazing bonfires or, in more modern times, been  enchanted by the artistry of electricity. The word solstice is literally translated as ‘sun-stops’ or ‘sun-stands-still,’ and the day of solstice stands as a metaphorical and cosmic time for us to also stand and be still, take a moment to honor our primal star and awaken to the sun-fueled fire of spirit within. Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas and may the glowing embers of love, peace and joy illuminate your holiday path.

 

19 December, 2008 /