Mary Jo Wevers

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Leo and Aquarius: Collaborators in Creativity

ist1_6876220-to-catch-the-sunSoon after the Sun moved into the sign of Leo this last month, I attended a powerful creativity workshop. We cleared emotional blockages and released limiting beliefs that keep us from being fully creative. We had fun exploring a variety of forms of artistic self-expression including music and dance, painting, improvisation, and poetry.

What I discovered for myself is that creativity is not limited to the conventional forms of art. It plays an important role in whatever we do in life: in our work or career, our everyday routines, as well as being expressive and having fun!

In astrology Leo is the sign most often associated with creative expression. Leo is the fire sign that represents the divine spark of light within our heart center. When we are connected to that divine light within us, we are inspired to use our will and personal power to be creative, to express ourself in a unique and individual way and make our mark on the world. We are enthusiastic, spontaneous, and joyful!

When interpreting any astrological sign, it is important to examine the sign that is opposite it on the chart. Leo opposes Aquarius. What struck me during the workshop was how Leo and Aquarius work together, hand in hand, when we are truly creative. They are two sides of the same coin. Employing both can propel us farther and into new forms of self expression and creativity.

Aquarius helps us think outside the box, to be unconventional in our approaches. It helps us recognize patterns and make connections we otherwise would not see. When we work with Aquarius, we engage our higher mind. We can connect to the Aquarian “mind of God”, from which information and insight are downloaded at lightening bolt speeds. We receive new ideas, become innovative and more inventive.

Aquarius is an agent for change. It shakes us up and out of our traditional and customary ways of doing things. It dislodges us from our routines, gets us out of a rut, and helps us break free. When we create change in our lives we open the door to greater creativity. We begin to see the ordinary in a new light and from different perspectives. We even see things we hadn’t before!

When we step outside our familiar routines we experience life in new ways. We discover new ways of doing things. As we step outside our comfort zone and try new activities, experiment with unusual combinations, or see new patterns, we expand our range of creative self expression. Try taking a different route to work this week. Wear an article of clothing in a new color. Change your daily exercise by walking on a new trail or in a new park. Eat dessert first. Use your non-dominant hand to eat, write, draw or paint. Have fun!

Notice how you look at the world, what you see, and how you feel when you step out of your routine. Are you more engaged with the world through your senses? Notice the new connections you are making, or patterns you are seeing, perhaps for the first time. How are you inspired to share your visions, your insights? Play with a form of self-expression that gives you the most pleasure and joy. This is how you energize and re-create yourself.

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New Moon conjoins Retrograde Mercury in Cancer

Yellow_moonToday we are at the midpoint of our current Mercury retrograde in the sign of Cancer. Mercury stationed retrograde on June 26th at 23 degrees. Mercury will continue moving retrograde until July 20th when it stations direct at 13 degrees.

Mercury retrogrades are times for us to slow down, reflect and reconsider recent events and experiences. It is time to be more internal, rather than pushing ahead in the world with our projects. Delays and problems in the areas of communication, travel, and technology force us to pay attention to our surroundings, take our time reviewing details, and take extra care in our movements and activities. The gift of Mercury retrogrades is they give us an opportunity to discover what we have overlooked, what information has been lacking, or what pieces we have left behind as we have been moving forward in life.

With Mercury retrograde in the watery sign of Cancer, this has been a time to pay attention to our feelings and sensitivities. What emotional pieces have been left behind, that need processing and healing? What emotional information have you been missing, repressing or ignoring? How well are you using your intuition?

Last night we had a New Moon in Cancer at 16 degrees, conjoining retrograde Mercury at 18 degrees. During the New Moon the gravitational pull of the Moon is at its strongest, pulling on our emotions just as it does on the ocean tides. The New Moon is the “darkest hour” of the monthly lunar cycle, the most internally experienced and sensitive.

Coupled with the Mercury retrograde, this New Moon is a potent time for us to get in touch with our deepest emotional stirrings. Do you honor your emotional nature? How are you feeling? What emotional information is surfacing that needs your attention? What steps can you take to understand your unconscious self?

As serendipity would have it, I am presenting a workshop on the last day of this Mercury retrograde. In this workshop you learn about old emotionally based patterns of behavior and attitudes towards life, represented by the Moon North and South Nodes.  See below for details. I hope you can take advantage of this wonderful opportunity and join us!

Discover Your Spiritual Soul Mission through Karmic Astrology

In this one day workshop learn about the Moon’s South and North Nodes in the astrological chart, their meaning and interpretation. Explore your own South Node soul pattern and North Node spiritual soul mission in life, based on your birth date. No knowledge of astrology is necessary to take the workshop. $100 fee may be made in installments.

Saturday July 20, 2013

9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The Center for Inner Awareness
2111 Front Street NE
Building 3, Suite 3-209
Salem OR 97302

For more information and to register for the event contact Mary Jo Wevers, mj@maryjowevers.com or phone 541.740.8081

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The Moon

jpeg-1The Moon is the ruling “planet” of Cancer. Next to the Sun, the Moon is the most personal of the luminaries in astrology. The Moon reflects the light of the Sun, just as our inner emotional self is reflective of our outer, conscious experiences in the world.

The closest celestial body to the earth, the Moon exerts a strong magnetic pull affecting oceans, lakes, and other bodies of water.  Our physical bodies are at least 70% water, and the Moon exerts a strong influence on the physical water element in us. In doing so, it affects our emotional attitudes, instincts, and subconscious motivations.

The Moon moves through the 12 signs of the zodiac very quickly, changing sign every 2.5 days. This is why our feelings can change so rapidly, or in a short period of time.  Emotions truly are “energy in motion.”  Like water, it is best to allow them to ebb and flow, rather than contain them or bottle them up.

In astrology the Moon represents our Inner Child, an early pre-verbal emotionally driven part of ourselves that responds automatically to life experiences.  If we tend to repress our emotions, our Inner Child is also repressed and unconscious. Then it acts out and creates chaos in our lives.

Learning to parent our Inner Child out of love and respect is crucial for our emotional and spiritual health. Our wise, Inner Parent can establish healthy boundaries and routines that protect and nurture our Inner Child. We can experience our emotions healthily by simply feeling them. We must then engage the intellect and make rational, conscious choices before taking action. When we embrace our Inner Child and wisely parent them we can experience the joy, spontaneity, innocence, wonder and creativity they bring to our life.

The Moon’s South Node 

Masaru Emoto describes in his book The Hidden Messages in Water how water is affected by our thoughts, words and feelings. Water has the ability to copy, memorize, and transfer emotional information. The ability of water to retain emotional memories and carry them forward in time and space is symbolized in astrology by the Moon’s South Node.

The Moon’s South Node is a point in the astrological chart that represents the accumulation of experiences from our karmic past. It contains ingrained patterns of behavior, attitudes and beliefs that are tied to our emotional body. It reveals our unconscious, pre-conditioned emotional responses and reactions to the world. It is our “default setting”, or path of least resistance we fall back into time and time again.

Learning about our South Node and becoming aware of it operating in our life enables us to consciously redirect our attitudes and behaviors. We can decide to transform problematic expressions of our South Node. We can create balance and resolution by taking steps to embrace and embody the energy of our North Node, our soul’s spiritual destination for us in this life time.

“We Love Water

We Thank Water

We Respect Water

We Are All Water

We are All One”

– Masaru Emoto

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Cancer: The Emotional Memory of Water

jpeg“But reason has no power against feeling, and feeling older than history is no light matter.”

                                                          – Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Thursday June 20th we mark a power point in the calendar year, the seasonal transition we call the Summer Solstice. The Sun will move out of the inquisitive and communicative masculine air sign of Gemini and enter the sensitive and reflective feminine water sign of Cancer. Each succeeding sign of the zodiac provides the means to rectify or redirect the energy of the previous sign. Cancer asks us to shift our awareness from the realm of the mind and tune in to our feelings. A cardinal sign, Cancer wants to initiate activity from a feeling, heart-centered place.

The negative, or receptive, polarity of Cancer gives it an internal, inwardly directed energy. A key phrase for Cancer is “I Feel.” Cancer is sensitive, intuitive, empathetic, vulnerable and sentimental. Cancer governs our inner sense of self, our instincts and emotional attitudes that form the foundation of our psyche.

Considered the youngest sign of the zodiac, Cancer rules our beginnings: infancy and early childhood. The glyph for Cancer is two gametes, male and female, representing fertility and new life. It is symbolic of the deep, creative, imaginative wellspring of life.

Home-loving and maternal, Cancer values family and its ancestral past. Cancer’s domain includes the home, family history and origins, hereditary traits, and ethnic and cultural traditions. On a broader scale, nations and states, citizens, public opinion, and humankind are Cancerian. Cancer is motivated to seek security in its family, clan, tribe, or community. It fears exclusion and needs acceptance from others. Its challenge is to learn self-sufficiency outside of the confines of home, family and community.

Cancer can be retentive, tenacious and shrewd. It stores early life experiences, especially those that are emotionally charged, deep in the subconscious. It allows these emotional memories from the past to color its present experiences, reacting with unconscious, pre-conditioned responses to events and people. Cancer can be overly sensitive, moody, easily hurt, needy and dependent on others. Its tendency to be passive can lead to emotional co-dependency which interferes with its ability to develop self-sufficiency.

The symbol for Cancer is the Crab, a water dwelling animal with a protective shell. Just like a hermit crab, Cancer retreats into its shell when it feels vulnerable or threatened. It guards its privacy and personal matters. It is evasive, preferring not to confront life directly. Like the crab, Cancer moves sideways, side-stepping to escape perceived danger or attacks.

Cancer shows its devotion and care in loyal, nurturing, protective, supportive and domestic ways. Archetypes for Cancer include the primordial Goddess or Female Principal, the Roman goddess Diana as well as the late Princess Diana, and the Mother and Child. Wet nurses, cooks, kitchen workers, homemakers and women in general embody the energy of Cancer. History, genealogy and archiving the past are Cancerian occupations and activities.

The color for Cancer is calming and soothing watery silver-blue. Silver is its metal. Pearls and coral are its gems. Willows and trees rich in sap are Cancer plants. Parts of the body ruled by Cancer include the breasts and the stomach. Bodily fluids such as tears, saliva, and milk, and fluid flow and retention are governed by Cancer.

Cancer rules the beginnings and endings of all the cycles of our life. We are born from the Cosmic Womb and we return to it when we die. Cancer defines the ways our beginnings and endings play out in our lives.

“It is impossible for emotion not to come on us in thinking of that time now flowed away.”

– Paul Cezanne

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Understanding Karma through Astrology

Planet_Saturn&EarthWhat makes us the unique individuals we are? Why do we have specific personality traits and attitudes towards life? What determines our aptitudes, predispositions and inclinations? Are we really born into this life as blank slates, so to speak, with our early experiences and relationships forming us and determining who we become?

In karmic astrology we see ourselves as spiritual beings having human experiences as we play the game of “Life.” In fact, we have had many human experiences throughout many lifetimes. The roles we play in our many lives, the skills, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors we develop, all leave an imprint on us. After an incarnation we review our experiences. We sort through our Soul’s intentions for us in that lifetime, and release experiences that are finished, complete and whole. Experiences that are not complete are set aside to be brought back into other life times. In this way, unresolved energy we create in the past is carried into subsequent lifetimes for further development or resolution.

Karma is our Soul’s intention for us to have a certain kind of experience in life. It could be to learn something, to heal something, to express something, or to complete something. Karma is not a judgment about us nor a punishment placed upon us for something we did. Karma is an opportunity to achieve balance, to expand our experience and to grow spiritually. Karma is not erased or cleared by external means. It is something we must experience.

Imagine you are on the other side, before coming into this life. You are in the “Cosmic Cafe” (Starbucks perhaps?) with your friends, making plans for your next lifetime. What kind of earthly experiences would enhance your spiritual growth? What lessons do you want to learn? What unresolved or incomplete issues from the past would you like to work on? What kind of relationships do you want to set up for that resolution or learning to take place? What kind of life conditions and environment would best help you achieve your goals? You turn to your fellow soul mates in the Cafe, asking some of them if they would be willing to take on certain roles in your next life time. Together you craft soul contracts that aid each of you on your own spiritual soul journeys.

In karmic astrology we view an astrological chart as a unique map or mandala that provides information about a person’s journey as a soul through many lives. Your birth chart is unique because no one else on earth, at least not for another 25,000 years, will have the same placement of planets and signs in the houses that is in your chart.

Your astrological chart reveals personality traits and skills, conscious and unconscious patterns of behavior, and themes that have been brought into this life for further development or resolution. It provides clues about past life scenarios that may manifest as shame or guilt in this life, and old wounds that have not yet healed. It tells us something about soul contracts you made with other people to assist you on your soul journey in this lifetime. It specifies your “soul mission”, the goal or destination your soul wishes you to strive for in this life, to expand your experience and assist in your personal evolution.

Sun sign astrology tends to focus on the sign of your Sun in your natal chart in a rather superficial manner. For example, your sun sign horoscope describes your likes and dislikes, the kind of mate you should have, and what kind of job you should look for. It feels static, deterministic or fatalistic. It does not recognize that people can grow and change.

In contrast, karmic astrology is spiritual and dynamic. When we look at your natal chart we see probabilities and possibilities. We recognize that we have control over our destiny by actively making conscious choices. When we become aware of our unconscious motivations and habits we can take responsibility for our karmic past and  break the cycle of repeating unproductive patterns of behavior. We work to heal past-life wounds, transform and transmute past life experiences into lessons, and live our lives with insight and gratitude. We strive to be conscious of the gifts and talents we have brought into this life so we can use them for the highest good. This is how we integrate our personality with our soul’s purpose in this lifetime and become empowered to actively create the life we choose.