Music of the Spheres: Which way?

They say that all who wander are not lost, but from my eight years of experience as a wanderer, I tasted plenty from the cup of lostness. I was lost without any sense of direction a few times, and although these experiences were frightening, the Way was eventually revealed, and I then continued on It.

However, I once nearly experienced the kind of lost one doesn't come back from. I had newly arrived in chilly Downeast Maine to apprentice as a seaweed harvester. One evening, I spontaneously decided to go for a bit of a paddle in the cove. I was having a jolly time until I realized the tide was quickly and forcefully pulling me out of the safe-seeming cove and into the vast bay. I paddled furiously with my little arms that had not yet developed the strength of a late-season seaweed harvester. Terrified, many times I thought my arms would give out while the sky and water grew darker. After what seemed like an eternity, my little vessel hit the shore, and I soon stood, shaky and drenched in cold sweat - but relieved to be on the damp but solid pebbles that sloped up to the tall pines that had gently swayed over the earth as they quietly watched my struggle.

The root of the word lost means to be cut or loosened. When I lost my way, I was loosened. I felt ambivalance about every choice in direction I could make, but when threatened with being truly lost or cut off from life and terra firma forever, I felt utter clarity about which direction to go, and a fierce determination to get myself where I knew I belonged. This month, you may notice yourself loosened and uncertain. Though you may choose a direction, now is a time of wandering, and the time to paddle furiously is yet to come.

"What you don't know determines what you think you know, in ways that aren't completely known to you." - Howard Reingold

Sun in Sagittarius: 11/22/15 - 12/21/15

As the sun rolls through Sagittarius, we draw our energy and light from our beliefs. It's a time to be generous with our ideas and enthusiasm, and to renew ourselves in the wilds of nature. Normally, we feel unbound and expansive during this time, but this year's solar transit of Sagittarius takes on a more practical tone than usual.

What do you believe?

What does your enthusiasm tell you about what you really believe?

What work supports and/or emanates from your beliefs?

What skills do you need to attain or develop in order to better do that work?

Full Gemini Moon: 11/25/15

The axis of mind is activated at this lunar apex. We are simultaneously confronted with the big questions of life and the myriad trivia of managing all the little details. We are pulled between information and vision, but our job is not to choose one over the other. Rather, we must expand our minds so that our consciousness encompasses both the big eternal questions and the infinite yet ephemeral facts.

This is a particularly unsettling moon as it constellates a 5-planet T-square, which means half of the major planets of astrology are at odds with each other. You will find yourself pulled in different directions by many parts of your life at this time, and really pushed to your limits. You can keep yourself grounded by setting aside time for yourself through daily practices (yoga, meditation, exercise, creative outlets, etc). The influence of this moon will be felt for several days before and after the actual lunar apex.

Saturn square Neptune: 11/26/15 (in effect October 2015 through 2016)

Saturn makes the first of three exact squares to Neptune this month. This marks the beginning of our period of wandering, loosening, making choices at crossroads though we don't yet know which way is north. On the one hand, Saturn in Sagittarius bids us to build structures that arise from and support our beliefs. On the other hand, Neptune in Pisces bids us to dissolve. At this point, these planets are in the early degrees of these mutable signs, suggesting naivete. We don't yet know what needs building and what needs dissolving. So we must build, knowing that some of what we create may be washed away.

There is nothing to do but surrender to that impermanence. Open yourself to the river of surprise, and watch for the changes at the bends. We will continue to feel this transit throughout 2016.

In which relationships, projects, paths, and endeavors do you feel ambivalance?

In which relationships, projects, paths and endeavors do you feel conviction?

If you cultivate a sense of looseness in your body, how does your perspective shift?

New Sagittarius Moon: 12/11/15

New moons are times to garner insight from deep within, but we will be pulled in so many directions at this time that it could be easy to miss that opportunity. This is an excellent time for some automatic writing. (How to do this practice: Set a timer for two minutes, and write constantly until the timer goes off. If you don't know what to write, write the prompt or a single sentence over and over again until something else starts coming out). Here are a few prompts to align you with the tugs of the solar system:

I believe in...

I most need to learn...

I most need to heal...

Coming soon:

Thank you for reading. Next month's post will cover winter solstice and the next round of Mercury retrograde. Wishing you a bouyant month,

Rae