Love in the Balance – Mars Retrograde in Libra

Love in the Balance – Mars Retrograde in Libra

by Isaac George

Mars in Libra Retrograde begins this coming Saturday, March 1^st at 4:23pm GMT. The planet of action and masculine sexuality isn’t exactly comfortable in the sign of Libra, which is not only ruled by Venus, but is the sign of relating to others with an eye to keeping the peace through balance and compromise. Mars rules Libra’s opposite, Aries, which is identified with independent action, and a very strong survival instinct. Taking action is Mars’ forte, and he lives in the battlefield, relying on his wits and warrior skills. “It’s me or the other guy”, and Mars means to be the last man or woman standing.

Venus is more inclined towards comfortable surroundings and love, and does not like conflict or confrontation at all. Libra prefers to live through, and for, the mystical ‘Other’.  Since Libra is Cardinal Air, this mystical ‘Other’ embodies the spiritual longing for union with the Divine. Idealized forms of human longing for this mystical merging can also be transferred onto so many different icons – the perfect soul mate, or ‘twin soul/twin flame’ phenomena that have gained so much momentum over the past two or three decades is one example.  Cheap and trashy romance novels are another style.  I’m not trying to discount these themes, for the idealization of romantic and courtly love that first found its expression in the Middle Ages was a rebellion against the strict sexual apartheid of the Catholic Church. These images and feelings permeated human consciousness at that time, and I strongly feel it helped fire up enough energy to help bring in the Renaissance. Unfortunately so much of that pristine and playful energy has been watered down and sterilized into syrupy greeting cards and insipid little cupids.

In archetypal awareness, this upcoming dance between Mars and Venus (Aries and Libra) is set up in the classic Jungian psychology of the Anima (inner Feminine) and Animus (inner masculine), along with their shadow aspects.  With Mars in Libra, this dialogue is often an internal one…shifting between one polarity and another…and hoping that the actions taken enhance the position and security of ‘the Other’.  If so, then one’s own survival and status is also guaranteed.  In the extreme, this polarity can result in what is now commonly known in relationship counselling as “co-dependent relationships.”

I’ve done an extraordinary amount of detective work on the astrological import of Mars and Venus in client’s charts over the years. Some of my deepest learnings around Mars in Libra have come from other astrologers, most notably Mr Jeffrey Wolfe Green.  Mr Green’s seminal books on Pluto and the evolutionary journey of the Soul delve into the psycho-spiritual and sexual dynamics of Pluto, and in his second book, “Pluto: The Evolutionary Journey of the Soul Through Relationships” he sheds a bright light on the personal and transpersonal inner space relationships between powerful Pluto, Venus and Mars.

Before I describe my take on this Mars-Libra retrograde, I need to describe some of the salient points about Mars in Libra.  First and foremost, it has the desire to actualize (make real) evolutionary leaps in consciousness through the initiation of relating with many diverse types of individuals with different beliefs, values and perspectives. It is through this activity that Mars-Libra can expand its Consciousness through experiencing different ‘realities’ as it were.  Mars in Libra is also concerned with issues of sexuality and its karma (though I prefer to use the word consequences). Mars in Libra possesses an instinctual capacity to free the sexual energy in others that is ‘locked up’.  It is primarily through the act of giving to ‘the Other’ that Mars in Libra receives the experience and information that it needs to evolve the entire balance between masculine and feminine, Animus and Anima.

With Mars in Libra retrograde, this will be a period of retrospection about, you guessed it, relationships.  I know I banged on about this in the last blog on Black Moon Lilith, but since Mars entered Libra on December 7^th 2013, and will not leave that sign until July 26^th of this year, this will be one of 2014’s most significant activators.

However, we won’t all be sitting around on meditation cushions and contemplating our inner masculine and feminine during this time.  Mars is Mr Action after all, and will not settle for all of this introspective stuff. Chafing at the bit, there may be a strong desire to break loose, get wild, take risks, and dive deeply into whatever brings us into intimacy and closeness.  Oh yes, confusion will reign, and there may be some quite severe back and forth stuff between the genders within us and without.  Heavy negotiations, secret trysts, and even relationship triangulation may be in the offing.  Libra will be the referee, seeking to bring the misunderstandings and projections into conscious awareness.  Mars will be like the racehorse in the gate…and he is unlikely to stay patient and compliant for very long. The retrograde phase ends mercifully on May 20^th, signalling a wild breakout of energy to initiate and break though whatever was being reviewed and considered during the previous 11 weeks.

What does all this mean for your seemingly mundane affairs, like profession and career?  Well, if you have a plan, then come up with a backup plan…just in case.  Starting new projects after Mercury Retrograde will definitely be easier, but the Mars in Libra retrograde will ask us to be prepared to adjust, renegotiate agreements and plans, and seek to create win-win situations with others.  Since it is Libra and Venus we’re talking about here, then leading with love is going to work a lot better than trying to charge through obstacles like a bulldozer.  This simply won’t work.

Mars in Libra demands a certain amount of liberation and freedom to relate to many people and situations fluidly, and doesn’t like being restricted very much. Liberation looks very attractive to some people, but does scare the bejesus out of most folks. Liberation requires self-responsibility, and after all the back and forth of this retrograde, a whole new set of agreements and arrangements may result in more freedom and flexibility for a whole lot of folks. And, in the absence of a consensus on how to proceed, then from an evolutionary perspective, it may be better to gracefully end certain relationships that are no longer providing the growth or stimulation desired.

However strange this period will be to the Mars archetype, it will only be through negotiation and seeking to understand the other’s point of view that real evolution will occur. In other words, I feel that the spiritual function of Mars in Libra transit will be to heal our ghosts and projections from past relationship wounds, and thereby develop the needed compassion to see and understand this process in ‘the Other’, and reach out in support rather than staying in isolation.

There is a tendency to focus entirely on Mars in Libra here, retrograde or not. However, it is very important to recognize and embrace the polarity point – Aries.  Uranus is currently transiting in Aries, and it would be very remiss of me to not tip my hat to the planet that is so prominent in my own personal blueprint.  Uranus is all about freedom and the collective evolution of Consciousness (it rules Aquarius).  As such, it also is the source of ‘kundalini’ – the Life Force principle in its primordial state.  The archetype that Uranus represents is CHANGE…and it does this in very surprising, sudden, and sometimes shocking ways.  Predicting Uranus episodes is like predicting an earthquake – good luck with that. When Uranus entered Aries, a Cardinal Fire-power sign and The Warrior, it did so in drastic fashion on March 11^th, 2011, when the sea floor rocked, and a massive tsunami hit north-eastern Japan. The result we still live with globally is known as Fukushima and the nuclear reactors in meltdown there.  Uranus = Uranium.  With Uranus in Aries, and Mars in Libra, we can renegotiate and we can forge new agreements and alliances with others, but we cannot ignore the polarity point, and accept compromise for the sake of peace and harmony alone.  Integrity will demand that we keep the balance that Libra so ardently desires, between Self and Other, Yang and Yin, you…and me.  We must learn to merge without fear for the survival of ‘self’, and also remember how to unmerge and claim our individuated Awareness as well.  This is the Libra-Aries motif par excellence’.  There’s you, there’s me, and then there is the Entity of our Relationship – Us.

For those of you who are a bit savvy with your own charts, the retrograde period begins at 27 degrees, 13 minutes of Libra on March 1st, and will station direct on May 20^th at 9 degrees, 1 minute of Libra. If you have any planets or your angles (Ascendent, Descendent, etc.) or the Nodes of the Moon in aspect to or between any of those degrees, then you will be in the glare of the flashbulb during this phase.

There are other players involved during the Mars Retro, and the ones most active are Saturn in Scorpio, Jupiter in Cancer, Pluto in Capricorn and of course, Uranus in Aries.  That exact station of Mars Retrograde in Libra also has an added punch due to the presence of Black Moon Lilith, the asteroid Goddess Vesta, and the Nodal Axis, which moved into Libra-Aries just about a week ago. For more on my previous blog post in this regard, click here to read “The Secret Ingredient.”

One last note of caution here is one that may be most personal for you, depending on your chart and the relationships it forms with the Mars in Libra transit. The overarching effect of this transit will also be experienced on a collective level in quite a major way in mid-April, when Mars Retrograde in Libra will form an intense Cardinal Grand Cross with Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto, who is also retrograde.  This has the potential to be a game-changer, and with Uranus in Aries (10 degrees + at the moment) it could be rather explosive. I will be putting together two blogs on this event during March…one as an overview, and one that is quite a bit more in depth.

Thanks for reading, and now get on down and do the Cosmic Boogie.

Peace,
Isaac

What are Retrograding Planets? – During any transit of a retrograde planet, whatever the archetype or energy that planet represents will be somewhat reversed or subdued.  It will turn its normal activity inward towards reflection and review.  This phenomenon is merely observational, due to the perspective we have of our solar system in relationship to the Earth’s wobble on its axis. It ‘appears’ a planet is stopping and then moving backwards. That just doesn’t happen though astronomically or physically though.

For more information about Isaac, visit www.isaacgeorge.com

The Secret Ingredient

Lilith

I’ve been following what some of you have been experiencing under this Mercury Retrograde, and the Mars in Libra station at 27 + degrees, and yes, it has been really a rough time for some. I did say this Merc Retro would be a weird one, but even I’ve been surprised. However ragged this time has been (and yes, it will get weirder as we approach the Equinox), I think I’ve neglected to mention the secret ingredient that is making it quite stressful and rather Plutonic….Black Moon Lilith.

Currently at 28 degrees plus of Cancer, Lilith has been prodding and pushing us to recognize where we have been giving our power away. Remember the Full Moon of Jan.16th? Lilith and the Moon were conjunct at 24 and 25 degrees of Cancer, opposed by the Sun at 25 of Capricorn. This was a very powerful trigger point, which set in motion much of the stresses in our relationships that we are experiencing right now. This will reach a crescendo on March 1st, when Mars will be ready to station retrograde at 27 degrees of Libra, which is all about a major restructuring in everything we are in relationship to, or that we love, or felt was a necessary component in our lives.

The focus of Mars in Libra is usually Mars muted or turned inward, but with a retrograde motion the effect is doubled. Now on this day, March 1st, Mercury will turn direct, while Mars is joined by the North Node AND Vesta (divine feminine, sacred prostitute archetype) at 29 degrees of Libra. The South Node is at 29 Aries, while Venus is being squared by the Nodal Axis at 26 degrees of Capricorn. Black Moon Lilith completes the Grand Cross where she stations at 29 degrees of Cancer. With Venus and Lilith, Mars and the Nodes all connected, it is a force to be reckoned with. What does this wacky window of opportunity mean? Well(he drawls with tongue in cheek), I reckon that anything that isn’t in alignment with your core principles (read “Soul’s Desire or…dare I say it…mission?”) will come under a lot of pressure to shift. If you don’t shift it, the Universe will shift it for you. Either way, all bets may be off on what you have previously figured as a ‘sure bet’. Remember, gambling only pays when you’re winning, and with Lilith in the mix, better figure there’s a derringer hidden up her pretty sleeve.

So people get ready, cause this is the first crossroads we must negotiate ahead of the 5th Pluto-Uranus Gate in mid-April. Some of our shadow material we thought was ‘handled’ may reveal itself in surprising ways in our relationships…even our relationships with not just people, but with things, situations, jobs and careers, or the places we reside in. Some of it may just transform and some of it will be left behind in our quest for liberation. Lilith is many things, but a doormat for the patriarchy and status quo is not one of them. She will not be owned or restrained by anyone, nor will she be demure or genteel. She can’t be bought off. Respect is what is needed here…and like Lilith, you better get to respecting your Core Values first.

Postscript to “The Secret Ingredient” – Feb 22nd, 10am GMT

As usual under Mercury Retrograde, sometimes you think or say something…then after awhile, another idea or insight pops up that needs including to give more clarity to the first thoughts or words. Well, since sending out my Cosmic Weather Update late last night, I had a few nudges to add some to it. Here goes…

“What are Core Values?” – That which you feel is instinctually ‘right’ versus what you’ve acquired via others, whether by education, parental/social indoctrination or genetic downloads as the way you are supposed to be or behave. In other words, you have a conscience…embrace it.

“How do I discover my ‘core values’?” Ahhh, many fine astrologers have noted that this Merc retrograde in Pisces/Aquarius is a great time to get clear about your ‘ideals’ or visions. It’s like a vision quest, but a bit confusing in that Hall of Mirrors known as your subconscious. So, the usual methods still suffice: meditation, journals, walks in the wood or by the sea, psychosynthesis counseling or transpersonal psychotherapy, breathwork, hobbies or gardening in which you temporarily ‘lose your self’, talking to your Soul, talking to the Cosmic Mother, listening well, checking in with your body, etc., etc.,etc. I’d avoid using affirmations and trying to push things this way or that. That’s unhealed ego trying to hijack the whole shebang.  If you need any recommendations of practitioners, just message or email me. I do coaching in this regard as well.

By the way, the other secret ingredient in this time, and the Cardinal Grand Cross on March 1st, is Saturn at 23 degrees of Scorpio. He’s trining Black Moon in Lilith at 28 deg. of Cancer, and you couldn’t imagine two more antagonistic energies in the cosmos. Saturn as Jehovah,, and Lilith…sitting down and having tea together? Not gonna happen! This is beginning to become less of a factor over the next few weeks.

Next Update will focus on this amazing Mars in Libra cycle, prior to the beginning of the retrograde phase, which begins, you guessed it, March 1st.

Much love, Isaac George

Winter Solstice and Holiday Blessings

Dear Subscribers and Readers,
Thank you so much for your support during 2013, and may you and your loved ones enjoy a beautiful Solstice and holiday season, and a prosperous and exciting New Year!

With love and blessings,
Isaac

P.S. Please share this video if you feel inclined to do so.

Concept & Soundtrack: Isaac George
Copyright © 2013-14 Infinite Wave Productions

“No Loose Ends” – Cosmic Weather Update Nov.28th, 2013

Comet Ison Nov. 23 2013

Cosmic Weather Update

November 28^th, 2013

“No Loose Ends”
By Isaac George

Since November 1^st we’ve seen an acceleration of events that is quite breathtaking. On November 1^st, the 4^th Uranus-Pluto square occurred, and fortunately, no major or surprising event took place immediately afterwards. I believe this is because Uranus is still in retrograde motion, muting the power of that archetype in the sign of Aries. The warrior is being still…contemplating the next moves in this celestial chess match. One of the most powerful moments was the heliocentric (Sun-centered) peak of the Uranus-Pluto dance, which happened on November 23^rd, less than a week ago. This will set the stage for Uranus moving direct on December 18^th. Once it gets up a head of steam over the holiday period, it will be at full strength for the beginning of 2014.

However, all has not been quiet or uneventful since November 1st. The Philippines was hit with a massive typhoon, which many considered to be the strongest storm on record since records began being kept. Devastation from earthquakes and storms in that region of the Pacific is increasing in magnitude. The Ring of Fire has never really gone to sleep, but seems more active than ever since November 1^st. Six volcanoes started erupting simultaneously, in the Indonesian archipelago and Mt.Etna in Sicily! A whole new landmass from an undersea volcano appeared out of the ocean off the coast of Japan as well, matching the one that appeared off the coast of India in October. Mother Earth is stretching and moving. There is some speculation around man-made influence regarding the Philippine typhoon, and I cannot rule it out or in. Weather modification and tectonic tinkering is a known fact, and some governments, notably the United States and Russia, have been delving deeply into this dangerous territory for perhaps decades.

One of the other manifestations of the Uranus-Pluto cycle will be increasing social and political unrest. The ‘push-back’ has begun, and although you may not read about it in the controlled media, resistance is building among many peoples worldwide against the increasing levels of control, taxation, spying and general complicating of life beyond reason or affordability. I’ll be writing more on this at the turn of the year, as things will heat up considerably as we move towards the Spring Equinox in 2014.

Meanwhile, signs and portents in the sky are drawing eyes heavenward. Comet Ison (pictured above) will be making it’s loop around the Sun today (Nov.28^th), and if it doesn’t vaporize in the Solar Corona, then our planet will travel through a sizeable cloud of debris from the comet’s wake, sometime around January 12^th, 2014. Some have speculated that this may be a panspermia event, a seeding of interstellar material directly on to the Earth biosphere.  This material won’t incinerate apparently, because it will be so fine and moving so slowly and it may take decades for this stardust to wend its way through our atmosphere to the surface.  This is also something that Mars will experience as well.

Saturn in Scorpio and the Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio were front and center.  An article appeared in the main stream media recently that punctures some balloons around the life and work of Mother Theresa. A total saint she wasn’t.  Paedophilia and slavery scandals are still popping up with regularity in the press as well, mostly in the U.K. though.  But what has really caught my attention with this astro cycle is the recent upsurge of women I know who are experiencing a welling up of shame, so that it can be addressed and healed. Much of this shame is sexual in origin as well (Saturn in Scorpio), with old judgments and restrictive taboos at their root…all originating in the patriarchy (Saturn) of course.

The last major topic is the upcoming Venus Retrograde in Capricorn. This will set the stage for the Mars Effect beginning next year, but let’s stay with this one for now.  Venus turns retrograde at 28 degrees and 58 minutes of Capricorn on Dec.21^st at 21:54 GMT.  The Sun will enter Capricorn a few hours before signalling the Winter Solstice. Venus does the retrograde thing approximately once every 18 months or so, and is part of an 8 year cycle. Venus represents the value we place on love and money…or beautiful possessions. Retrogrades are a call for a more internal focus. With Capricorn, the focus will almost always be on practical and structural themes. However, this is Venus we’re talking about here…the ruler of Taurus and Libra – survival in our environment and relationships.  If you have any planets or angles in your chart close to or at 28 degrees of Cancer, Capricorn, Aries or Libra, you can be sure that you will feel this transit most poignantly. The call is to reflect and review about your purpose and whether you are being true to it. We will be called upon to weigh our value system in light of our personal relationships and any fears or anxiety we may harbour about standing up in our own life and charting our own course. This doesn’t necessarily mean living life alone or singly, but to reorder our relationships in ways that honour ourselves and the ‘other’ or ‘others’ we are involved with.  We’ve been in the shadow part of this cycle since November 20^th, so you’ve probably noticed that some ‘shadow’ material about your intimate relationships has been ‘up’ lately. The Retrograde lasts till January 31^st, but we won’t exit the other shadow period till March 4^th, 2014. Lots of inner and outer work on tap, and we’re just starting.

What a time to be alive!

Until the next update, journey well.

Peace,
Isaac

Isaac operates his counselling, intuitive mentoring and astrology sessions via phone, Skype and in-person in the south of Ireland.  He is also an authorized representative for Phi Harmonics EnergyDOTs, for protection from EMF radiation and geopathic stress.

Email: archariel@hotmail.com
U.S. Voicemail: 828-575-5988
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www.isaacgeorge.com
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The Best in Us

Dreaming the World

by Isaac George

November 26^th, 2013

I travelled to London earlier this month to attend the Gateways of the Mind conference* on consciousness, lucid dreaming, shamanism and out-of-body experiences.  The line-up of presenters was impressive, and the venue was quite impressive as well. Up until mid-October I had actually not committed to going, and only some arm-twisting by the organizers at the 11^th hour convinced me to actually attend. And boy, I am ever glad I did.

The whole adventure was transformed into a pilgrimage based on intuitive trust and timing. Once I had committed to going, everything I sought to employ for my needs fell into place almost without effort.  From being offered place to stay in a private home near the venue, and acquiring very inexpensive airline and ground transportation, I watched as everything else unfolded in a ‘just as needed’ fashion, I was treated to one of the most extraordinary shamanic – style sojourns of my life.  My very first experience of London was in 1973, and although I’ve visited there since that time, none of the ones previous to this one equalled the first time…and this one was quite magical.

Lest I turn this into some kind of shamanic travelogue, I’ll get to the main point. I found something even more profoundly touching than the mere symbols in the environment that I was in alignment with my soul’s deepest desire.  I experienced a rebirth, a reconnection to that part of my being that is the most lucid, and the most loving.  This experience reconnected me with the amazing and miraculous stuff from my kundalini awakening nineteen years ago. I experienced the extraordinary “wow” of becoming a channel, even as I was going through an intense healing process. I rediscovered what is was like to dance with it all which led me to a few moments of total lucidity that I can only be describe as ‘unity’ awareness…union with God while still remaining completely human.

I also reclaimed the childlike part of me that lived very close to Nature while growing up on a farm in my youth, and those times when as an adult in which I sought the solace I needed by hugging a tree, or watching the ocean’s waves, until the heart pains were washed away in the absolute wonder of it all. I began to understand the purpose of the wilderness that I’d been wandering in for the past 10 years, exploring and questioning many of the experiences I’d been through, acquiring and weighing new information, and trying to understand what direction my work and life needed to go in.  In other words…I’d been waiting for a sign of some kind…a moment of perception and clarity that would be completely compelling and unmistakable. I wanted another ‘calling’ to my soul, beckoning me into the next adventure.  And, even though I might fear letting go of the known, it is definitely the desire for freedom and authenticity that is giving me the courage to step into who I have always been.  I was totally Isaac and also ‘the everything.’  As Ariel kept saying over and over again through me for years, “…it’s a ‘both/and’ scenario, not and ‘either/or’ one!”  You don’t get it until you GET IT!  I get it now.

Since returning home last week, I am experiencing some essential deprogramming.  Many control programs, self-judgments, spiritual rules (and human ones!), acquired or force-fed beliefs and conditioned patterns are falling away.  Yes, this is painful at times, but when one of these layers is spotted, and the tears begin to flow, the ecstasy comes in to validate and heal on an ‘as needed and just in time’ basis, just like my London journey.  Other physical symptoms like dizziness and shaking happen, and then are replaced by a new sense of solidity. The most pronounced sensation is that of an open and curious heart…eager to love and to also just plain ‘be’.  Ariel called it “effortless efforting.” I like that…and it is a good reminder to approach the most challenging tasks with an attitude of playfulness, or at least complete attentiveness. The trick is to be deeply aware as much as possible without becoming transpersonal or detached from the moment.

So many of those I encounter, whether they be clients, fellow seekers, or just regular folks in my daily life, are looking for something unique, something that can lift the tension, anxiety, fear or sense of loneliness that seems to be their constant companion.  Sometimes it is lovely to read the accounts of some people who are seemingly so plugged into the flow of magic, and  that their lives are working so well. Unfortunately, we compare our experience with theirs, and think we’ve somehow not studied enough, cleared enough karma, gotten rid of enough ego, prayed enough, meditated enough, done enough yoga, altered our diet enough, or not attended the right workshops or read the right books, or found the right spiritual teacher, shaman or guru…yet. Endless, this self-improvement gig, isn’t it?  When does the striving stop? When we become finders instead of seekers?

Actually, this entire perspective of comparing our consciousness with others is just another adopted system that is controlling our minds, and preventing authentic experience from entering in naturally. It’s just that it seems so damn hard to not compare ourselves to someone else, or to a particular philosophy, spiritual or metaphysical system.  We want the Big Juice, the feel-good formula that all these things promise, but they only seem to deliver in short bursts or not at all.  I used to believe in “ascension or bust”, but not any longer. I can’t afford the cost, the toll it takes on my humanity and my soul.

Our thoughts are not a problem. We have been told our thoughts or the process of thinking is a spiritual problem which keeps us separate from God. Without our minds we would be unable to function in this world, and many of the skills we take for granted would be unavailable to us. Our minds are part of us.

Our bodies are not a problem. We’ve accepted how religions have demonized our bodies, creating shame, guilt and self-hatred and an impediment to spiritual growth. A house divided against itself cannot stand.

Our passions and feelings are not the problem.  Repression, sublimation or detaching from our deep feelings, desires and passion is a bigger problem that leads to distorted perceptions and behaviours.

Our ego is not our enemy. It is the vehicle through which Life discovers and expresses unique individuation as you, me, and everything else too.

Even certain negative emotions can bring us into awareness and action. Anger, frustration, lust, or even hatred, when experienced while remaining aware and grounded, may actually create solutions. For example, when your boundaries have been violated, anger can be the means to defend yourself. This doesn’t have to supersede your ability to love, or the perception of Love. By establishing healthy boundaries, you may actually call that an act of love…towards self and towards the one pushing your buttons.  None of these emotions can make you a hateful person, unless you become totally lost in it. Exploring our shadow side and loving it can integrate and empower you towards wholeness and appropriate action.

Even pleasure is not a problem. It is our yearning for touch that connects us to the manifested spiritual energy all around us…especially the miracle of our own bodies. There is infinite healing and tenderness when we caress the face of a lover, or stroke a beloved pet, or receive a foot rub, enjoy a favourite food, or indulge in sex without shame or reserve. Nature doesn’t blush. But our species has learned to do that through eons of hurt and shame… usually from religious or spiritual ‘authorities’. It is through touch that our hearts realize the reality of love, comfort and belonging in the manifest world.

Even as my heart and soul revel in this experience of opening and expansion, I am still aware that all is not harmonious or healthy on our planet, our Mother.  All that I’ve been exploring during the past ten years has not been made redundant in the light of my deeper knowing. If anything, now it is balanced and complementary. As Isaac, I am both/and a human and part of the great ocean of Spirit/Consciousness/God.  I am part of this Mother Earth, the Sun, the core of our Galaxy, while at the same time I am the Great Mystery. We are all that…and probably more. To not lose our sense of awe about the nature of existence while staying completely human is what Life is. We can either stay unconscious in our human experience, or we can awaken to our deeper nature without trying to isolate ourselves from our humanity.  Remember: Both/And. Not Either/Or.

There are people and forces in this world who are actively striving to prevent the mass awakening of Consciousness, this reconnection to the original human being, or as the Gnostics identified it – Anthropos. No matter how you might try to rationalize it, since the beginnings of the New Age movement and what I will term dis-identification with the world of human feelings and realities, the situation has grown progressively precarious and dangerous.  Anyone who looks around at what is happening today, right now, and calls it okay is in serious denial, or worse.  We cannot escape our responsibility to actually stand up for justice, fairness, and the rights of all living beings here, and to stand against the predatory and psychopathic behaviours that have manifested in our political, corporate, religious and social institutions. If we are to accept the challenge of these times, then we are all going to have to redefine our spiritual perceptions. Our survival, the survival of many species, and even the survival of Gaia(Earth) is hanging in the balance. That is exactly why we are here and in this Now.  Gaia has awakened, and we as Her children are awakening with her. This awakening is happening from the Galactic Core outward into the spiral arms, where we are.

One thing’s for sure, there isn’t going to be any rescue from space or from other dimensions. Recently the astrologer Tom Lescher made a quip worth sharing; “We’re descended masters!”  Turns the whole paradigm on its head, but I wouldn’t get too carried away with the idea. As one of my favourite authors, Tom Robbins, once wrote, “be your own UFO, rescue yourself.”  We demonstrate our true mastery by loving our wholeness.

What will the best that is in us do? What will become of us? What’s going to happen next? Frankly, even though I study astrology and prophecy, I just don’t know. That’s the best part…I don’t have a clue. If we really knew, would there even be an effort to get out of bed tomorrow morning?  That is also part of the awe I feel at this moment…it’s like approaching the first hill on a roller coaster. “Yikes” and “Yippee” all rolled into One!

What do you or I want next? Will this or that happen…or not happen? I…don’t…have…any…idea.  Maybe that’s okay. I can certainly desire and intend and will for my desires to become reality. This does work, but there’s also a better way that allows for the magic and miracles to flow into us and through us. It’s called trust. Desire to your heart’s content, then let go and see what happens with it. Another way to use will and intention without trying to bend material reality to your bidding is to play with lucid dreaming . I’m no expert on this, but there’s a wealth of knowledge already available to discover more about how this technique can strongly influence your daily experience in a positive way.

The bottom line is that the best in us is our humanity and what it connects us to. We’re warm and loving, a bit crazy and neurotic. We’re scared and we’re capable of amazing and courageous things. We are a pile of paradoxes…which is just as it should be, because that’s the way it is. We’d do well to stop resisting ourselves!

When we embrace all of ourselves, we begin to touch the most profound secrets of our deep Nature…the intangible thing that connects us all. We realize it when we love another for no other reason other than because we do…and there’s no explanation for it. We realize it when we spontaneously love our pets or children, Nature, or even our food and creature comforts. We enter into love whenever we cross the line and demand our freedom, or defend the right of another soul to be free. We are Love when we embrace and express the best in us.

That best is everything that you are, here and now.  For me, perhaps that’s just perfect.

With gratitude,
Isaac

For more information about Gateways of the Mind, click here.

Isaac offers spiritual coaching and astrological consultations via internationally.  He is also an authorized representative for Phi Harmonics EnergyDOTs, effective and proven protection from EMF radiation and geopathic stress.

Email: archariel@hotmail.com
U.S. Voicemail: 828-575-5988
U.K. Mobile: +44 (0)7875 123406
Ireland: 00353 (0)870 978204

www.isaacgeorge.com
www.emfprotectnow.com

The Storm before the Calm

Cosmic Weather Update
October 27^th, 2013

“The Storm before the Calm”
By Isaac George

Boo! Happy Halloween, Trick or Treat, and here we go again…

The Days of the Dead are approaching, otherwise known as All Hallows Eve or the ancient pagan holy-day of Samhain. Dressing up in costume has been a universal part of celebrating or observing the waning middle days of the autumn, halfway between the September Equinox and the Winter Solstice. In Mexico and most of Latin America, the costumes are homages to the dead and dearly departed. Skeletal and ghostly visages, tattered clothing is accompanied by feasting and celebrating the freedom of the dead. In North America and parts of Europe, there is a nod to the ancient ways when children and some adults dress up as spooks, vampires, werewolves, and other dreaded icons of superstition and the netherworlds.

However, for some time the masks have come represent popular (or unpopular) political figures, celebrities, cartoon characters or movie heroes. The mask that has become almost universal during the past few years is the visage of the movie and comic book character “V”, a persona which has been adopted by freedom movements globally as a symbol of resistance and revolution. The anniversary for the original anarchist that inspired the book and film “V for Vendetta” is based on also fast approaches…the 5^th of November:  Guy Fawkes Day, which is celebrated only in the U.K.

We may be going to parties, playing dress up or applying makeup as a way to disguise our real face, but no matter whether we are young or old, the fun is found in becoming temporarily anonymous…secret, clandestine. Then, we may attempt to be or do what we dare not in ‘real’ life. We escape the familiar and drift into the macabre. The irony here is that in that we are most aware of how little anonymity we still retain in our super-technological surveillance and social networking culture. Perhaps Halloween is becoming one of the last opportunities we have to become anonymous on a temporary basis.

The astrological weather for the next month is mixed and volatile. “Expect the unexpected” is the motto for November, making prediction and prognosticating a risky proposition. So, on to the forecast and analysis.

Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio – October 21st

We’ve been under this influence for about a week now, and what makes this one Mercury Retro unusual is that it is in Scorpio, where Saturn is at the moment.  There have been a number of excellent posts and analysis about this transit already, so I’m not going to wax further on it, except to mention that it is occurring at the same time as a major tension point in early November, followed by a Solar Eclipse. This combination might cause some folks to feel quite frustrated in trying to get new projects moving forward, as the big outer planets Saturn, Uranus and Pluto command center stage. Mercury will retrograde towards Saturn, where they’ll meet at the 13^th Degree of Scorpio on October 29^th, just before the eve of the Days of the Dead (October 30^th-November 1^st).  Try not to get too impatient as these two have a conversation that hones in on Scorpionic themes: jealousy, having or keeping secrets – or the sudden revealing of secrets (“Hello Angela Merkel…you’ve been spied on for a decade!”) unrequited hopes, dreams, desires and passions, and revenge (ouch…that hurt!).  Part of Saturn in Scorpio is the restructuring and revealing of dirty little secrets, regardless if they are sexual, like the Jimmy Saville or Catholic paedophilia scandals. Or be they political, like the NSA and U.K. GCHQ spying scandals (along with the damage control around them). With Mercury retrograde, this is also an excellent time to dig deeply into one’s beliefs and acquired conditioning, especially as regards human intimate communications and relating, and also around one’s deeply held fears or feelings of inadequacy.  What is really yours, versus what you took on board from all the people or concepts you’ve been exposed to since birth?

The Main Event: 4^th Uranus Square Pluto – November 1st

“Watch yourself. This place can be pretty rough.” – Obi Wan Kenobi, Star Wars Episode 4

As I’ve been observing what is showing up on many different newsfeeds over the past two weeks, I am getting that this date may loom larger in our memories than anticipated. It is another step up in intensity, preparing us for the next one in April 2014, which is ostensibly the peak of the what began in June of 2012. This time Uranus is retrograde in Aries, whereas Pluto is gaining forward momentum in Capricorn. Pluto is now wielding the advantage, and although there have been more significant blows to the old guard power structures that are held within the individual and collective psyche, this time period may manifest as a counterpunch to that, invoking an ‘Empire Strikes Back’ theme.

The first thing I watch is what’s happening in Nature, both terrestrial and celestial. Then, in no particular order, what’s happening in my energy fields, awareness, and especially my body.  Next up is what is playing out in the political, financial, and religious arenas, followed by whatever is trending on alternative websites (re: spiritual concepts, conspiracy, etc.) and social media. I always pay attention to what other astrologers are writing about too.

We all have our filters operating, and this is why Uranus is so fascinating to me energetically and archetypally. It always seems to trash our expectations and our perceptions. And even though Pluto’s persona as Death allows it to roam mostly undetected through human activity, it is the Trump card in all endeavors.  Uranus says “all things must change” and Pluto adds, “All things must pass.”  Interesting that Miley Cyrus is riding high on the popularity of a hit song entitled ‘Wrecking Ball’, as this perfectly expresses the tension between Uranus and Pluto at this time.

Because Uranus is the energy of surprise, I reiterate that whatever I may prognosticate here is subject to change without notice. Reader beware!  So, to illustrate the pattern, here are some items of interest to illustrate the upcoming showdown…number 4 in this gunslinger episode of a celestial ‘High Noon’

·         The U.S. budget – governmental shutdown over Obamacare (A.C.A. – Affordable Care Act)

·         Fox Host: ‘All Hell Could Break Loose’ On November 1^st – DHS preparing for the worst case scenario. Food stamp rioting?

·         Meanwhile, earthquake rumours in California: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/oarfish-mystery-earthquake-rumours-over-beached-giant-snakelike-fish-in-california-8897016.html

·         Fukushima leaking more radiation into Pacific Ocean, and now has dodged three bullets – two typhoons and a magnitude 7.3 earthquake.

·         U.K. braces for worst storm since 1987.

·         The Sun is back in the news…Oct 25th, 2013

·         “Remember, remember the 5^th of November”- Anonymous on the move: http://millionmaskmarch.org/

 “Let them wear jumpers” – Ed Daveys, U.K. Energy minister. Extraordinary rise in the cost of heating fuels in the U.K., while profits rise and rise at the ‘Big 6″ energy firms: http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/oct/18/no-10-jumpers-fuel-bills

and http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/10/10/uk-sse-prices-idUKBRE99904O20131010

These are just a few examples of the many hot items in circulation in the last four weeks.

Essentially, since this transit began it has been mostly about awakening the majority of humanity that has been conditioned and repressed, but it is also unhinging some of the doors of belief in those of us that consider ourselves already with the program. For most human beings, there hasn’t seemed to be any other alternative than to get along in the system as best as one could, or resort to armed and violent resistance. Even those options are now dwindling, for resistance to change is not an option, and armed insurrection against heavily armed ruling elite won’t work either.

Since this transit occurs under the Mercury Retrograde, I feel that each one of us is being called to examine those beliefs that we have accepted about our being powerless to change anything, or that we even have a right to change anything or perhaps everything.  With Uranus also in retrograde motion, rash or sudden moves without examination of the consequences is probably to be discouraged. Uranus goes stationary direct on Dec.18^th. Things may be very interesting this coming Christmas season, as from this point forward we will be more inclined to act rather than continue inner work or outer discussions.

Solar Eclipse – November 3rd

Nov 3 Solar Eclipse. This is one interesting chart. Uranus and Pluto are still in tight square. Saturn, Sun and Moon all conjunct around 11 degrees of Scorpio, with Mercury and the North Node not far behind at 7 degrees of Scorpio. There’s a Grand Trine between Mars in Virgo, Pluto in Capricorn, and the South Node in Taurus…and earthly focus.  Meanwhile Chiron is in an awkward relationship to the Mercury/North Node conjunction, trying to apply a healing and soothing balm to the situation, but not quite sure where to place the ointment.  Chiron also is in trine (easy flow) to the Sun-Moon Eclipse, and adds a patina of grace to the stresses invoked by eclipses. The ancients viewed solar eclipses as mostly bad news…and for good reason. Natural disasters are almost always a feature of eclipses, especially solar ones. The indigenous peoples thought that the Moon was stealing the life-giving powers of the Sun, and from a metaphysical perspective, this it pretty accurate. There is a potential here for violent reactions to calls for more change, liberty, freedom or justice. The powers in charge (Pluto in Capricorn) clamping down on the opposition (the 99%), or marginalizing action through intimidation, more taxes, hidden costs, or punitive fines and fees. Keep everyone in survivalist mode, and they’re easier to govern.

Rather than spin your wheels over the local, regional or world situation, cultivate a deeper awareness of your personal desires and see how they might actually contribute to altering the course of consciousness on a larger scale. Meditate locally, manifest locally and globally. Opting out of the system, in whatever way and in small chunks at a time, while at the same time cultivating the idea of shared or cooperative living arrangements, may be the next intuitive strategy. Smaller is better, mobility over static security. Yoga stretches for the mind, heart and soul, not just the body.

In summary, we are here living in these times to midwife this planet and our human brothers and sisters out of a no-win predicament. There is no such thing as infinite growth, at least economically or financially. Religions need to fall apart, even the New Age religion, if we are to free our dogmas up enough to receive the clarity we will require to move out of our self-destructive tendencies. As Gaia goes, so do we, so we are being asked to cultivate our symbiotic relationship with Nature and the planet more and more consciously. Starting with a sense of gratitude is an excellent practice to employ.

What a time to be alive!

Until the next update, journey well.

Peace,
Isaac

Isaac operates his counselling, intuitive mentoring and astrology sessions via phone, Skype and in-person in the south of Ireland.  He is also an authorized representative for Phi Harmonics EnergyDOTs, for protection from EMF radiation and geopathic stress.

Email: archariel@hotmail.com
U.S. Voicemail: 828-575-5988
U.K. Mobile: +44 (0)7875 123406
Ireland: 00353 (0)870 978204

www.isaacgeorge.com
www.emfprotectnow.com

The Touch of Grace

By Isaac George

October 26th, 2013

Autumn is arriving in the Northern Hemisphere. Wet leaves are falling here in Ireland, and the smell of decaying vegetation and the wan light that filters through the clouds all confirm it. Halloween is just around the corner, also known as Hallowmas, and if you live in certain Latin countries, it is time for the three day celebration of the ‘Day of the Dead’.  Time to dig the woolly jumpers and Wellington boots out of the trunks or closets, and make sure our heating systems and chimney flues are ready. After all, to quote a now popular meme, “…winter is coming.”

Another response to the cool and damper conditions is the sense of needing to feel cosy and warm, so if we are in a relationship, the desire for closeness is accentuated.  Besides the obvious thermal advantages, it is the feeling of connection and protection that we crave. When we’re drawn closer to others of our own kind, whether it is one person or an extended family, everything can feel brighter and better. Even the growing number of people who prefer the single life and do not have a live-in companion will also feel this, and I am sure that they will seek to engage in more social activities, and take advantage of any opportunity to snuggle up with someone. Cuddle parties are becoming more popular. Not surprising…and no matter which hemisphere on Mother Earth you reside in, there’s more than just a change of the seasons behind it.

Human beings are highly social creatures, and even though the sense of being an individual has been part of the development of the human experience for thousands of years, in our pre-conscious state that existed long before the invention of agriculture, economies, city states, countries and nations, we were pretty much living symbiotically with the natural surroundings and within the context of a clan or tribal community.  Our sense of ‘self’ was inexorably connected to the sense of ‘us’, and we shared a mutual concern for food, shelter, health, companionship and safety in uncertain conditions. Since the advent of our brief sojourn into an industrial-technological society, the rise of individualism has given way to an artificial tribal identity via the global communications network. Corporate identities carry more weight in our consciousness than thinking that we are related to flesh and blood counterparts. This artificial sense of ‘us’ is replicated continually in social media, sports and entertainment archetypes (reality television shows, major sports teams, serialized dramas, etc.), and is constantly spun by politicians to reinforce and intellectual and emotional dominance nationally, regionally and even globally (i.e. ‘…a coalition of civilized nations’)

However we view our virtual interconnectedness, we still are denied one thing through our electronic mediums. The innate human need to give and receive touch remains an elusive factor in cyberspace, and in fact, it will never be simulated there successfully.  Even if it is technologically feasible to create the simulation of kinetic contact, there is no circuit or programming that can replicate the consciousness that is behind the touch. This power of tactile communication is something our species is now yearning for, and indeed, if we are to survive as a species, we must satisfy in some way. We’ve been starving for it, while wondering through the digital desert landscape.

The growing popularity of tantric workshops, massage and somatic therapies, and the relative newcomer on the scene – the cuddle party, is evidence of how many are seeking to re-establish the neural connections that respond to touch. I first experienced non-demanding touch while attending a weekend workshop called ‘Naka Ima’, which translated from Japanese means “inside the now.”  All of the support staff cuddled with the attendees almost all weekend.  It was incredibly supportive when we were going through our rough bits.

There are many kinds of touch, and many kinds of physical manipulation, that can offer us a sense of connection or even provide healing from mental, emotional or physical traumas. Some may feel that touch cannot do what it’s being advertised to do, that is, replace traditional therapies or reinforce the standard societal bonding systems. Touch is discouraged in the clinical environment to avoid the possibility of transference of affections from a client to the therapist. Incidental touch, touch that is not part of a typical routine in the course of a therapeutic massage is routinely discouraged, for much the same reasons, though I feel it is more a part of the social taboos we’ve erected to respect boundaries. After I moved to Scotland, I discovered the ‘towel dance’ in which the massage practitioner was constantly readjusting and repositioning the towels covering parts of the body not being massaged.  Not wanting to see too much flesh, and be tempted by it, was probably the rationale. This kind of massage was, as you can imagine, not as enjoyable as what I was used to in the more laid-back environs of Eugene, Oregon.

Out of our five physical senses, the sense of touch possesses some unique characteristics. The many reported and purported cases of spontaneous healing conferred from human being to another usually happened through the medium of touch. Religious and spiritual ceremonies and initiations almost always involve touch at some point in the process. This includes Reiki initiations, baptisms, the gifting of Shaktipat, and other forms of activating an aspirant’s inner spiritual awakening.  Touch combined with an understanding of energy and sensitivity, and administered with love, can literally erase many traumas, especially those traumas that remain from sexual abuse.

In the realm of sacred (conscious) sexuality, of which Tantra is but a part, the power of touch to open and heal a human being from the main conditioned responses that have been learned through shame, guilt and judgment. Some of the forms that have come forward for dealing with these deeply held patterns are designed to heal people of ‘genital armoring’, which prevents someone from freely expressing and enjoying their natural sexuality. Most of these forms focus on finding the resistance or pain, and working with that to help the individual release the blockages. However, my own personal experience has shown me that nurturing touch, touch that goes slowly, gently and lovingly, not only removes the physical and emotional blockages, but also dissolves the charge on the original wound. The power of touch is discovered in how much heart and presence you can express through it. The ability to heal is inherently in the individual seeking healing…the touch of grace signals the person seeking wholeness to allow themselves to let go…to trust in Life once again.

It will be risky, and it will take some measure of courage, but to reacquaint ourselves with the depth of our being – and everyone else’s beingness, we must become more attuned to touch as a vehicle of awakening and transformation.  Body-centered therapies and practices usually encourage the individual to focus on what one does and experiences within our own body and space, or as something you only ‘get’ from another. To feel interactive touch, it is necessary to fully receive with the need to give, and to fully give without the need to receive. We are probably more habitually comfortable with giving than receiving, so I will recommend focusing on the receiving first, until you don’t feel resistance or the compulsion to ‘give something in return.’ It’s not easy!

If you are wondering how going for touch in a more proactive and intimate way will begin to have positive effects on your life, and possibly everyone else’s life, then all I can say to that is “what do we have to lose?” If you’re afraid you might lose your sense of individuality, well, that can’t really happen. Besides, how most Westerners have been conducting themselves for a few millennia hasn’t really contributed much to engendering more trust towards each other, so it may be time to add loving and graceful touch so that we may actually recreate the experience of egalitarian interdependence that our primordial ancestors enjoyed.

We aren’t really individuals, for we haven’t fully individuated yet. That is to say, we are not yet fully knowing who we are and expressing it without censorship or judgment. To be fully individual is to be one with all of Life…naturally. This is true enlightenment, for it doesn’t make value judgments about the body or the consciousness that creates and maintains it. It sees that they are completely the same thing. This is what we learn through the magic of touch, for it ends our false perception of separation and isolation, of being an ‘I’ in the midst of ‘they’.

The grace of touch can create bonding without bondage, unity without destroying the experience of the Self, and cooperation instead of competition.  Sharing becomes innately more natural and sensible when we lose the idea that we might lose something of our integrity through when we feel drawn to wanting to touch someone who is in pain, or someone who longs to know that they are loved and not cast adrift and alone in the world.  Touch heals. Touch helps us regain our humanity, which in turn opens us to the touch of something invisible in our hearts.

Sexuality is an inherent part of our spiritual homecoming, and I don’t mean nicey-nicey, hearts and flowers romance.  Connecting with our earthiness, with the Earth herself, will transform our biology and bring it back in harmony with Nature and the Cosmos.  In the last issue, in my essay “The Longest War on Earth”, I encouraged readers to get the book “Sex at Dawn” by Christopher Ryan Ph.D. and Cacilda Jethá, MD.  The title is a play on words, but the content, and our understanding and embracing of it, may just be essential to our survival as a species. Sharing, egalitarianism, and non-possessive intimate relationships existed in the primordial utopia that came before the Earth cataclysms of 12,000 years ago, which propelled us out of foraging societies, and into the invention or agriculture, hoarding, scarcity, competition, patriarchy, war, disease and death.  Such is progress.

The roots of this are much, much older, but suffice it to say that there was one thing that these cultures understood:  the chances for surviving and thriving were enhanced because of mutual sharing and cooperation. This also included touch and sexuality.  After finishing the book, I now recognize why I had such a difficult time acclimating back into human society in 2003 after spending  three weeks of deep communion with the dolphins (and the wild environment ) of the Big Island of Hawaii. The abrasiveness of that contact after living ‘in the raw’ during that time was illuminating…and extremely difficult.

Humanity will not solve all of its problems and challenges just by going to a cuddle party. But for those brief moments that you and the person you are cuddling with experience, you will cease feeling alone, separate, isolated.  As you focus on the pleasure of being embraced and embracing, just imagine yourself as this Earth. The Earth holds us all in her embrace in each moment we are drawing breath, and shares everything it offers without hesitation. If we are the children of a loving Earth and a Benevolent Source Consciousness, then we cannot lose anything by opening to touch, except our fear and loneliness.

As we travel through this era of an ever-changing and uncertain world, the encouragement to ‘love one another’ will take on a deeper significance. Perhaps the sheer desire for connection, companionship, and touch will transcend the realm of a need born out of fear, to a fulfilment born out of compassion and the sure knowing that we are all that we have.  Then, the touch of grace may just inspire us to see the truth of our predicament, and open to channel something through that propels back into the Garden…back to innocence. It won’t happen without work, but sure as heck won’t happen without play and trust.

Enough with the sad stories…let’s create a new script. Go gracefully…and touch with love.

Peace,
Isaac