This morning I rose to watch the "morning star" planets: Venus, Mars and Jupiter. Venus, of course, was easy to see and identify as it is the bright, bright point of light directly east above the horizon. Jupiter was also bright - though much...
If you get up before sunrise and have a clear view of the eastern horizon, be sure to check the morning predawn skies on April 19th through 23rd. Jupiter and Venus are brilliant morning stars – they stand out as super-bright points of light...
April 16 to 23, 2009
Visible Planets: Morning: Venus, Mars and Jupiter
Evening: Mercury and Saturn
I recently built my own website – www.alacazem.com - and in the process I reconnected with Venus – planet of love, art and creative desire. Moving retrograde through the cardinal sign of Aries the Ram, Venus has been retracing the territory it traveled in March to early February. In my natal chart this journey takes place in the 11th house of shared hopes and dreams, future visions and collectively held goals. It is a house of inspiration, ruled by air Aquarius and the planets Uranus and Saturn.
Everyone knows – don’t they? - that we are presently in the budding phase of the revolutionary new Age of Aquarius. But everyone may not know that Aquarius rules information and knowledge, electricity and electronics, technology, inventions and – of course! – the Internet. It also rules the collective heart, friends, associates and associations, camaraderie and fellowship. Wherever one finds Aquarius in the natal chart is where one discovers “we” - our heartfelt connection to humanity, and our purest intentions and desires for becoming essential and effective contributing factors to a more progressive, more enlightened whole. It is here we offer our gifts and talents, energy and efforts to the world, with little or no attachment to the outcome.
April 9 to 15, 2009
Visible Planets: Morning: Venus, Mars and Jupiter Evening: Mercury and Saturn
Life is funny – and so is death, for that matter.
My Mother always loved Easter. As a little girl, I can remember being thrilled that we got to go out and buy new shoes, a new dress and an “Easter bonnet” before the big day. I always went for shiny patent leather and pastel pink. We boiled eggs and decorated them – I’ll never forget that smell of vinegar - filled colorful baskets with grass, jelly beans and chocolate bunnies. Then on Easter Sunday morning, we had an Easter egg hunt. All five of us kids ran around inside and outside looking for hidden treasures. It was kind of like Christmas, only different. Later on, dressed in our Easter finery, we went to church - which wasn’t really the big deal of the day because there were religious wars in our family and it was always an issue of which church to go to – and heard about Jesus; the Last Supper, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. That part was sad, happy and confusing. Being nailed to a cross? Ascending into Heaven? Coming back to Earth in 3D form? Questions of reality, truth and faith, but I knew for certain that Jesus Christ was a good guy. “Jesus loved me” and he loved children. He was an advocate for Peace, he forgave betrayal and he had apparently “died for our sins” – whatever that meant. His life story reminded me to be kind and compassionate to others, say my prayers and be good.
I could never figure out exactly why my Mom liked Easter so much. It certainly wasn’t due to religion. Maybe it’s because she loved ham, and that’s usually what she cooked for Easter dinner. Or because she could eat the leftover hard-boiled eggs on her famous “grapefruit diets.” Today, I think it was because she was revitalized and invigorated by the hopeful, inspirational energy of spring. It was Mother Nature’s time of rebirth and regeneration, new growth and fresh life. I think she also felt renewed and reborn at that time. As an eternal optimist, she was mostly happy in every season. But in spring, her spirit soared. When the first hyacinths and tulips popped up, she smiled. Winter had ended.
Years later, I was driving to Denver on Good Friday. My Mother was dying. There is no way to describe the deep sorrow and devastating emotions I felt on that day. We are all born of mothers; we are carried in their wombs and suckled at their breasts. We are all given life by the eternal feminine, the force of nature that creates, nurtures and provides, holds and protects. We are born of women, we are born of mothers.
March 26 to April 2, 2009
Visible Planets: Morning: Mars and Jupiter
Evening: Saturn
Welcome to the primal fire of an Aries lunar month. The Sun and Moon form an exact conjunction aspect of a New Moon on March 26th at 10:06 a.m. MDT and the lunation begins.
New Moons are times when soul and spirit unite. The solar force of the Sun, which in astrology represents essential spirit, conjoins with the reflective light of the Moon, which represents the emotional soul, and we are able to sense, feel and intuit the deeper reaches of both soul and spirit.
Aries is the first sign of the zodiac. It is energy bursting forth; the Mother Earth awakens, birds migrate and animals give birth, grass turns green and the season’s first flowers emerge amidst sporadic rain and snow. Mornings dawn calm and later winds howl. New life abounds and survival is the theme. Aries calls upon us to arm ourselves with courage, enthusiasm and strength and go forth to fight in battles of right action and high integrity. It’s all about desire and will. May yours be pure of motive and divine in nature. Happy New Aries Moon!
March 19 to 26, 2009
Visible Planets: Morning: Mars and Jupiter
Evening: Venus and Saturn
On March 20th, at 5:44 a.m. MDT, the Sun enters the cardinal fire-sign of Aries the Ram and the emerging season of spring begins. We experience a day of equal light and dark, a brief 24 hours of celestial balance and cosmic equilibrium. We are entering the season of increasing light, the season of planting and growth. It’s time to touch and till the soil, plan our gardens and gather our seeds. Spring Equinox heralds the beginning of our natural solar year, and it’s a time when we instinctively align with the energies of renewal and rebirth.
Spring here in the West End means baby lambs and calves, fresh green grass and budding lilacs. Farmers are burning their ditches and fields, smoky blue spires rise across the mesa as they prepare the land for irrigation. Bald eagles gather for migration north and roost in old piñon and cottonwood, hunt prairie dogs and snatch field mice in the open pastures below. The San Juans and La Sals are still covered with snow, glowing white the distance, laced with blue-grey rock and thick black forest. The skies are home to wispy cirrus and pouffy cumulus clouds, jet trails lay tracks and make enormous crosses in the atmosphere above. Everywhere there is new life.
Spring is a time of new beginnings and fresh starts. May you discover the joy of rebirth and rewards of courage as you cultivate the best within and blaze fresh trails toward glittering, glimmering new horizons.
[click "Play" button to hear Susan's conversation with jeweler Abigail Heche]It's March in Telluride. Forget the fact that Punxsutawny Phil, the famous groundhog, saw his shadow the morning of February 2, predicting winter would last another six weeks. Relatively...
March 12 to 20, 2009
Visible Planets: Morning: Mercury, Mars and Jupiter
Evening: Venus and Saturn
Where is God? What is God? Who is God?
How does one connect with God, with godliness and goodness – which is simply God with an extra “o”? In 12 step programs it’s called ‘good orderly direction,’ one’s Higher Power or a ‘power greater than ourselves’. In the world’s many and diverse religions, there are paths to God which include or dictate dogma and ritual. In nature, we see God in returning bluebirds, magnificent sunsets and crystalline snow. It’s easy for me to accept the fact that I’m not in control of the world economy or the weather on any particular day. I understand that there are forces far more powerful than myself, than my brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors. And yet, I also understand and intuit that we are all interconnected particles of light and life, individual and unique pieces of the holistic universe, the collective whole, the cosmic plan. We are the stars, made of starlight and born of magic, children of the cosmos and miracles of Creation.
As we move through the last week of winter, notice how differently you see and feel about the world around you. The Pisces zodiac month is one of transformation and metamorphosis. It is likened to gestation and the final phase of the embryonic period we spend inside our Mother’s womb. And just like that time, so long ago but so important to our life today, we are preparing for birth. The coming rebirth of spring, the primal thrust of Aries, the beginning of another natural solar year. It’s time to check in with the Great Spirit, honor the Great Mystery, connect with our angels and say prayers for peace, love, compassion and forgiveness. God bless and may we discover the divine within and all around us. As above, so below.
March 6-12
Visible Planets: Morning: Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn Evening: Venus
The Pisces New Moon of February 24th comes to fruition on March 10th at 8:36 p.m. in the Virgo/Pisces polarity at 21º. This happens to be one of the more important Full Moons of the year, as it illuminates and amplifies the ongoing opposition between Saturn and Uranus, an evolutionary imperative in effect from the fall of 2008 through the summer of 2010. Saturn rules form and structure on all levels, from the individual construction of the ego to the collective establishment of government, corporations and society. Uranus corresponds to freedom, innovation, revolution and explosion – it represents the breakdown of outmoded institutions, organizations and systems that comes via sudden, radical, rapid individual and/or cultural change. Saturn rules the laws of classical physics; Uranus rules the quarky realities of quantum mechanics. So hang on to your hats and get ready for the wild March winds of personal and collective snap, crackle and pop. It’s a time for break-ups and breakthroughs, fresh awareness and new awakenings. It’s a time when we are finally ready to let go of what doesn’t work, identify what’s holding us back and blaze new trails on the road of happy destiny. Cultivate courage, keep the faith and may the force be with you!
February 26 to March 5, 2009
Venus – planet of love and beauty - and the Moon – planet of growth and fertility – conjoin in the heavens on Feb. 27th at approximately 5:00 p.m. MST in the early degrees of Aries the Ram, and it’s the last time we will see these two mythological goddesses come together at night this year. Look for this poignantly magnificent planetary conjunction above the western horizon at dusk and on in to early evening. It’s certain to be stunning and beautiful, a celestial event you just don’t want to miss!
And as you go about your daily round this zodiac month, check out the emerging mutable energetics of Pisces the Fish. Things are morphing, the Earth is changing, Old Man Winter is getting ready to flee. God and goddess bless and may the peace and harmony of Venus combine with the maternal, nurturing energy of the Moon for a very fertile, relaxing and romantic week.
