Either you look at the universe as a very poor creation out of which no one can make anything, or you look at your own life and your own part in the universe as infinitely rich, full of inexhaustible interest, opening out into infinite further possibilities for study and contemplation and praise. Beyond all and in all is God.
Thomas Merton
Two weeks ago, the Full Moon in Sagittarius officially opened the summer eclipse season. On Tuesday, the New Cancer Moon gets a steroid shot from a simultaneous Full Solar Eclipse. As Emeril Lagasse would say:
“Let’s kick it up a notch – BAM!”
Cancer is a water sign, ruled by the moon, and is the home of, well, – the home. It’s the sign of nurture and care, trust, heart, and emotion. A solar eclipse, especially a Total Solar Eclipse, always augurs a time of significance. All eclipses make the unseen seen, forcing us to look at what we’ve kept hidden. They also offer what astrologer Stephanie Azaria calls “a sideways elevator”– an unexpected passage and opening. In addition to these significant events, several other cosmic forces are influencing us. Saturn, the record-keeper governs law, time, boundaries and death while Pluto, the great revealer and cosmic fulfiller, often portends a dark night before a rebirth. Are you beginning to see what I see? Faulty foundations failing us, karmic lessons catching up to us, disruptions, eruptions, endings, and… surprises?
As astrologer Pam Younghans says, this solar eclipse:
“–is like a New Moon with an attitude. It represents an opportunity for a fresh start, birthed from a completion. The additional component of any eclipse is that it brings forward larger life concerns and karmic issues. Thus, we tend to see grander events during eclipse season. Our experiences at these times are often memorable in some way, as we work to release long-held patterns and find the courage to embark on an unfamiliar path. It is fortunate that this particular eclipse is a “North Node eclipse,” meaning that the Moon is close to the northern point of its nodal axis. This type of eclipse is said to help us move in the direction of our highest evolution.”
Most, if not all, of this, is uncomfortable. Some of it is downright painful. It’s also natural and necessary and follows the Law of Creation: Order – Chaos – Reorder. While astrology lends a map to track our course (as above so below), spiritual practice and wisdom give us the faith and grace to confront our karmic ties. Whether that’s our unhealed wounds running the show, our damaged relationships still dictating how we think of and conduct ourselves, or our relentless perfectionism and controlling addictions things change and break and we must change and break with them. Healing does not mean the absence of pain, and sometimes our discomfort is growing or even labor pains — if you were giving birth and did not know what was happening, you’d think you were dying.
So many people seem to be struggling with breakdowns, break-ups, and difficult life decisions. The things we thought we wanted, or could count on, are like sand shifting beneath our feet. What we once stood firm on is shaking. If one embraces, as I do, the idea that the universe is invested in healing it’s not hard to see the value in coming face-to-face with what haunts us.
I, like many, have spent most of my life struggling with depression. It is not a curable disease, but it is treatable, and recovery is one of it’s greatest blessings. As I’ve aged, my relationship with this once debilitating presence has changed. We live together peacefully, albeit sometimes neither one of us wants to get out of bed. Carl Jung said:
“The greatest and most important problems of life are all in a certain sense insolvable, they can never be solved, but only outgrown.”
While I don’t diminish the hardship of life’s challenges, I have come to know that if you live long enough, you will most likely face your deepest fears – divorce, financial loss, physical decline, injury, illness, death – and, in so doing, find you can survive and even thrive again. And, if you have wise counsel, you will learn that God is in both the dive and in the thrive.
The following is an essay I wrote, which was recently published in Elephant Journal. I share this with you in hopes that you, too, find strength in what sustains you.
Blessings on this eclipse season. Please contact me if you’d like additional support and guidance. May these potent forces empower and support you.
Enjoy the ride!
This is what Saves Me when Depression Arrives with the…
“I thank God for my handicaps, for, through them, I have found myself, my work, and my God.” ~ Helen Keller ~ Soundless, the unholy ghost arrives. Depression is a morning person. In night’s black, I can slip back between the sheets and into the…
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Body, Energy & Soul Care is the product of twenty-five years working in mental health and healing. The foundation of all my work is spiritual, the goal transcendent, the medium a combination of energy and bodywork and sacred teaching. Interwoven is my relationship with the natural and invisible world which I see as a physical manifestation of God’s presence and a live and interactive force available for support, guidance, and wisdom. In between my mental health years and massage therapy, I spent a decade working with horses and know what it means to work to the bone in all weather, to live in-tune and necessity with the seasons, and to embrace the natural circle of life which includes death both accidental and devastating and ultimately miraculous and healing.
Dandelion DynamoReleases Tension and Energizes
“Dandelion Dynamo is used for congestion and sluggishness in the body, including tightness in the muscles and general fluid retention. Our challenge is to learn the right pacing of life that aligns the body with the soul, so that we can relax and receive nourishment as well as perform in the world.
Hand-harvested blossoms of Dandelion are sun-infused in organic almond oil and Palma Christi (castor) Oil, well known for its health promoting qualities to the liver and general metabolism. The essential oils of Rosemary and Juniper provide energizing and invigorating qualities. The flower essences of Dandelion, Tansy and Zinnia address stagnation and tension by instilling a greater sense of body-soul alignment, and presence for life’s unfolding rhythms.”
– Flower Essence Society, fesflowers.com
Flower essences are herbal infusions or decoctions, made from the flowering part of the plant, which uniquely address emotional and mental aspects of wellness. The first 38 flower remedies were formulated by a British physician, Dr. Edward Bach, in the 1930’s, although new remedies from other plant species are now available. To understand how flower essences work requires a recognition that the human being is more than a physical body, but also incorporates a “body” of life energy, a “body” of sensitivity and feelings, and a spiritual essence or Self. Flower essences are energetic imprints of the life force of plants which interact with these subtle bodies of the human being, and evoke specific qualities within us.
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