Happy Merry Joyful Christmas and New Year!
Welcome to Satya Center’s Sagittarius Solar Festival, Gemini Full Moon, Winter Solstice, & Christmas 2013 Cosmic Weather Forecast, brought to you by your Editors, Curtis Lang and Jane Sherry.
Jane’s Garden Weather Report
This has been a sad year for me as well as for so many out in the world. On a personal note, I was very surprised by the depth of my sorrow at my father’s death in March. So many old family dynamics took up more psychic space than I’d considered possible, causing a big reshuffling of my inner space.
And as though a reflection of my inner world, the garden we’ve tried to carefully birth into being here in Antioch, California, was beset with multiple troubles: trees dying, plants getting hacked to within an inch of their lives or just plain killed by our over-zealous hyper-efficient gardeners. What little shade we’d garnered through planting of trees was pruned away within just a few minutes, unbeknownst to us, working away in the computer room until it was too late.
Unfinished work, exposed by Death and Pruning!
Constant drought! A place so parched where we live, that I am reminded of a desert. People in California barely even utter the word ‘drought’ -- if they have snowfall in the Sierras and reservoirs are full then rainfall is just considered a big hassle here on the West Coast.
I am reminded of the movie Chinatown and reflect upon how far we’ve come from being consciously connected as communities to our watersheds. Truly, whether we are aware of it or not, we are all connected by the land and water under our feet and the air we breathe.
What nature offers us in abundance here in Antioch is brilliant light and vast, totally clear starry skies at night. Curtis and I often sit out in the backyard at night to soak up some starshine!
So I was excited to check out the Geminid meteor showers that make an appearance every year around this time. Major astronomical opportunity beckoned!
Last weekend, rising pre-dawn each day I was determined to have my meteor vigil and cheer up. And I was well rewarded for my efforts!!
Each night for three nights, between the hours of 4:30 am and 6 am, I got to renew my sense of awe and childlike wonder, a much welcomed emotion after the dark pull of the last few years. I was reminded why I always try and see the meteor showers which occur rhythmically throughout the year, year after year!
I also stayed on the lookout for Comet Ison. I took the picture you see above in our backyard this month, while searching for Comet Ison, and it looks like I got a photo of that elusive celestial phenomenon before the Sun pulverized it. . .I was so grateful!
Sometimes, it’s hard to appreciate each moment and stay in that meditative, I’ll take it as it comes, ‘watcher’ space. This past weekend, I was reminded of how simple life can be if we take a moment to appreciate what we do have as compared with what is missing.
Curtis’ Cosmic Weather Forecast
This Christmas season is full of challenging astrological aspects that have provoked a chorus of dismay from astrologers around the world, and we here at Satya Center are providing our readers with a treasure trove of Wisdom teachings and Solstice and Christmas meditations to help you cope with the Cosmic cross-currents we are encountering in every area of life.
But first, let’s see why the astrologers are so downcast during this season of good cheer.
This month’s Full Moon at 25°36′ Gemini occurs on Tuesday, December 17 at 1:28 AM here on the West Coast, 4:28 AM on the East Coast.
The series of Uranus-Pluto Squares that began with the Financial Crisis of 2008 continues this month, with Uranus in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn, re-creating the tense atmosphere that has characterized the second decade of the 21st Century.
Jupiter is in Cancer at this time. Aries, Cancer and Libra are all Cardinal signs, and they form a Cardinal T-Square this Full Moon week, creating an extra dose of angst and upset on the personal level and global upheaval on the collective level.
In addition, Mars entered the sign of Libra, the fourth Cardinal sign, on December 7th, for an unusually long stay, through most of July 2014. This means that for much of December and on and off through the winter, spring and summer of 2014, as faster moving inner planets enter Cardinal signs there will be a series of Squares, T-Squares and manifestations of the Grand Cardinal Cross that we have seen on and off since the summer of 2010, corresponding to conflict on Earth: wars, rumors of wars, financial collapse, rumors of financial collapse, environmental crisis, political unrest, and increasing tensions between opposed political parties, religions, classes and races all over the world.
You may have noticed in the TV news this month that there are riotous movements for social change unfolding in Ukraine and Thailand, which many commentators believe could escalate into civil war.
Bloody civil war continues in Syria, and Sunni-Shi’ite violence continues in Iraq and other Middle East countries.
In Cordoba, the second largest city in Argentina, a police strike precipitated 24 hours of looting and anarchy while the regional government and the national government traded barbed Tweets and basically did nothing to alleviate the situation.
In Singapore, an Indian worker was killed in a traffic accident, and “Little India” erupted in the worst riots Singapore has seen since 1969, prompting the government to announce strong measures to quell further unrest among foreign workers, who make up around 20% of Singapore’s population.
In Italy, which is still struggling with a severe economic crisis and increasing political instability, a movement of left-wing and right-wing activists, small business owners, farmers, students, football ultras and lorry drivers known as Il Forconi, or The Pitchforks, staged massive protests across the country, stopping traffic, occupying public spaces, closing shops and clashing with the police. Il Forconi, who represent a vast cross-section of Italian society, demand an end to austerity politics, along with curbs on globalization. The protesters are targeting the current government of Enrico Letta, but their anger is directed at all politicians of all parties in Italy. Il Forconi say that the policies of the Brussels based technocrats administering the Euro system are destroying Italy’s identity and destroying the prospects of future generations of young Italians.
In the United States, what do we have to look forward to during this apocalyptic time of transition and transformation?
Astrologer Bill Herbst has written more than 80 articles on the Grand Cardinal Cross for Mountain Astrologer magazine and many of Bill’s articles have been published on our Satya Center website as well.
In his article entitled Astrological Patterns Signal Social Transformation in 2013-2014, Bill discusses the current cosmic climate with special emphasis on the likely impact on the United States:
“July 2013 sees the first pass of a year-long cardinal T-square with Jupiter in Cancer opposite Pluto in Capricorn to form the base, while Uranus in Aries is the apex, and Libra the target sign,” Bill explains. This represents a roughly one-year period where the ongoing build-up of sporadic shocks, limited upheavals, and incidents of provocative change (Pluto in Capricorn) begin to sink in at the personal, emotional, and family levels of our collective psyche (Jupiter in Cancer). A sizable percentage of people may be jolted awake; some will probably even embrace the impetus for change, becoming active proponents of radical reform (Uranus in Aries). The key will be cooperation with others (Libra as target).”
“Since the T-square will coincide with the beginnings of a momentous and epochal Grand Cross in the U.S. chart between the U.S. natal Sun and Saturn aligned against transiting Uranus and Pluto, significant breakdowns might occur in the economic and financial sectors that are not merely headline newsmakers, but carry actual impact on people’s daily lives in a more immediate way than in years past (although probably still in pockets rather than culture-wide; that doesn’t emerge until years later),” Bill continues.
“The mounting challenges to America’s status as an empire and the world’s most dominant nation that have so far produced only cracks in the façade begin in 2013 to weaken the foundations of both the global economy and the political pyramid atop which America perches,” Bill contends. “More and more people will realize that the days of American Exceptionalism are numbered, and that we can no longer call the shots however we wish.”
“All great empires fail, and they tend to do so from the inside out, rotting from within long before they collapse overtly,” Herbst reminds us. “The rotting is usually slow and gradual, while the eventual collapse comes with shocking suddenness, as in the case of the British Empire disintegrating after World War II or the more dramatic collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. The T-square and U.S. Grand Cross imply that the gradual hollowing out is likely to accelerate and deepen, even if outward collapse is still many years away.”
On a personal level, we can expect that this Christmas season we will all need to dig deep into our hearts to find the Divine Source of compassion, love and joy that we need to connect with if we are to gracefully navigate these extremely conflicted Cosmic Weather patterns.
Today, Jane and I would like to offer you an array of seasonal meditations and Wisdom Teachings that we hope will bring you comfort and relaxation during this Full Moon week before Christmas.
The Winter Solstice, Archangel Gabriel and the Gabriel Meditation
In our article, The Winter Solstice Gabriel Meditation, we are pleased to offer you these instructions for obtaining The Gabriel Initiation, a simplified version of an Ancient meditation technique that was originally offered only to advanced students of the Western Mystery School traditions.
Those who wish to participate in the Esoteric Mysteries, the Wisdom School Teachings of Mystical Masters of the East and West, are encouraged to call upon Archangel Gabriel, the Guardian Archangel who presides over The Winter Solstice and the winter season at this most sacred time of year.
Gabriel is the Archangel known as the Leader of the Heavenly Hosts, the Messenger of the Lord. As Messenger of the Lord, Gabriel is first and foremost the Archangel of Vision, and also the Archangel of revelation, creativity and faithful service.
As Messenger of the Lord, Gabriel appeared to the Shepherds in the Fields near Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, and announced to them the Nativity of Jesus Christ.
Gabriel is often pictured with a trumpet, because he is expected to return at the Second Coming of Christ to announce the Turning of the Aeons, the Resurrection of the Dead, and the Last Judgement.
Gabriel figures prominently in the Sacred Tarot, the repository of the Wisdom Teachings of the West during the time of the Inquisition and thereafter, appearing in Trump 20, known as “Judgement”, which is also called “The Aeon” in some modern decks.
All the people, places and events pictured in the Tarot are not just archetypical figurations of chapters in the world’s history, they are, perhaps more importantly, representations of archetypical stages in the evolution of the Soul on its journey from animalistic instinctual behavior to rationalistic egoistic mentality and eventually to achievement of the ultimate goal, Unity consciousness and Self-realization. (For more information on the Tarot and the true Mystery Teachings of the East and West, see my article, “Tarot: The Yoga of the West”.
The Tarot teachings concerning the Last Judgement consider that apocryphal event to be the culmination of a lifetime’s spiritual practice, the doorway to liberation of the mind and enlightenment.
The Judgement or Aeon card is abouttransformation of the egoistic personality, and awakening to a higher consciousness, the birth of the Higher Mind, the dawning of the Higher Self, and represents the final preparations before the disciple can attain the final goal, Christ Consciousness, or Cosmic Consciousness, Self-Realization, pictured in Trump XXI, called The Universe.
In the Waite deck, Judgement pictures the Archangel Gabriel blowing his trumpet, as three figures, a man, a child and a woman, rise from coffins in the lower foreground. The man represents the conscious, rational egoistic mind, the woman represents the unconscious powers of instinctual wisdom, and the child represents the infant born of their union, the intuitive consciousness residing in the Higher Mind.
Gabriel’s golden horn delivers the sacred sound that triggers our awakening from the living death and spiritual imprisonment represented by consciousness dominated by the egoistic personality and the instinctual impulses of the unconscious mind. The energy signature of Gabriel’s horn is a sacred tone, ormantram, which also exists as a vision – a frequency of golden light. This golden light of inner awakening, which emanates from Gabriel’s horn, and at his command, appears in the mind’s eye on a field of deepest midnight blue during the meditative state at the moment of initiation and realization.
In the Western Mystery School Tradition, the Winter Solstice is traditionally the time when the initiate strives most intensely to attain this Gabriel initiation, which comprises the inner nativity, the birth of the Higher Mind and the Higher Self, the moment when the Inner Christ manifests to us offering us at least a transitory glimpse of Higher Worlds.
For students of the Ancient Wisdom, Gabriel’s role as bringer of visions makes him the Archangel who reveals the truth of one’s unique role in the world – which is known as the Higher Purpose, the Soul’s true calling, and empowers one to pursue that Higher Purpose successfully.
Thus the time of the Winter Solstice is the time for those walking the arduous path of Spirit to seek a vision of their Higher Purpose, to connect with the Divine Wisdom as revealed by Archangel Gabriel, and to connect with Higher Self and Higher Mind through the intercession of Gabriel, who interprets the super-rational wisdom found in Higher Realms into words and symbols that can be understood by the rational mind. Through Gabriel’s intercession, we can gain understanding of the mysteries of our own life’s journey, and of the larger mysteries surrounding the evolution of our spiritual brothers and sisters, our nation, and humanity as a whole.
The Christmas Story, The New Age and a Christmas Meditation on the Divine Mother
In our article entitled A Christmas Story, we explore the parallels between the time of Christ and today’s world.
Christ was born at the cusp between the Age of Aries, the age of the Roman Empire, and the Age of Pisces. The Piscean age began with the founding of the Church of Rome – and culminates and ends with the creation of the American Empire. The American Empire in its current form exists at the temporal borderline between the Age of Pisces and the Age of Aquarius.
This New Age of the Global American Empire exhibits many parallels to the paradoxical time of Christ’s birth, when Rome's Imperial glory, initiatic renewal and immense human and spiritual suffering co-incided throughout the world.
At that time, Christ brought suffering humanity a tangible direct connection to the Holy Spirit – grounding the energy of Spirit in his own body and transmitting that same energy to his disciples and others around him.
Today we are each called upon to connect personally with the Holy Spirit through our own personal efforts. We are each called upon to communicate the Divine Word as it is transmitted through us by that ubiquitous, loving, and divinely wise Spirit – for the healing of all nations and peoples, that we may further the Divine plan to bring about a New Age of peace and co-operation. We are called upon to live our lives as though Christ were walking before us, to walk in the footsteps of Christ.
Let us meditate this Christmas season upon this responsibility, for this is the true meaning of Christmas.
Unfortunately, in the consumer culture of the modern day reincarnation of the Atlantean and Roman Empires, here in 21st century America, we often feel disconnected from the true Spirit of Christmas, from Christ consciousness. We often suffer from the illusion of being trapped in the concerns of the egoistic mind, the grasping materialistic mass consciousness of mainstream consumer culture.
There is a simple way to reconnect with the Christ within us, and to true Christmas Spirit. That is through connecting to the Divine Mother. We can connect with Mary through a contemplation of the spiritual powers inherent in nature, and through Mary we will connect with the Holy Spirit, for Mary is the incarnation of that Holy Spirit, and the embodiment of that Spirit’s loving wisdom.
Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh for Stress Relief and Ease for Joint Pain and other Work-Related Ills
Also if you are suffering from stress or repetitive stress injuries caused by overwork, you’ll want to read the article by Ross Rentea, M.D. entitled Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh - Companions for overcoming work-related stress?
Anthroposophical medicine, which calls upon the Wisdom School Teachings of Rudolf Steiner, recommends the use of gold, frankincense and myrrh in homeopathic doses for relief from the worst effects of these common ailments.
Gold, frankincense and myrrh, the gifts the Magi presented to the Christ Child at the time of the Epiphany, have profound, demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties, and offer relief from work-related joint pains without the danger of harmful side effects, say the Anthroposophists.
“Frankincense has been used for thousands of years with no ill effects,” Dr. Rentea explains. “The Three Kings, however, gave not only frankincense, but also gold and myrrh. The anti-inflammatory effects of gold and myrrh are also well recognized in science. Gold has been administered in the form of injections for many decades in certain forms of arthritis. Myrrh is known by most people as an ingredient in a variety of topical products from mouthwashes to toothpaste. It is added because it is known to heal external wounds.”
“Rudolf Steiner gave significant insights about these substances from his own spiritual research,” Dr. Rentea continues. “He pointed out that the gifts of the three Magi were meant to strengthen the development of the Jesus child in three ways. The first help was from gold for the growth of the physical body, connected to the sun forces. The second, frankincense, was for the development of a harmonious soul life. For this, the incense form was supposed to be paramount. Thirdly, myrrh was to enhance the spiritual development. Myrrh oil was used by the Egyptians, for example, for embalming and for those processes that have to do directly with the passage of consciousness into a higher spiritual world.”
“Gold, frankincense and myrrh have the ability not only to take care of inflammatory processes in the lower body but also to help control inflammation in the brain,” Dr. Rentea concludes. “Through them, the brain becomes more lucid and more sensitive in such a way that it, in turn, will give healthy impulses to the rest of the body rather than contributing to disease.”
You can obtain homeopathic remedies containing gold, frankincense and myrrh at the Uriel Pharmacy, an Anthroposophical healing resource on the Internet.
Meditation Moment: Geminids Ending, Lovejoy in the Sky December 16, 2013 by Jane Sherry
We are all of us, made of starry stuff.
In the dark of the night, long before dawn,
I bundle up against the rare frost
For my predawn vigil.
The first night I saw seven meteors
streak through the sky near the Big Dipper,
handle pointing east toward
where I knew the sun would rise.
In spite of street lights outside our
uber suburban rent house, I am gifted
with this seasonal light show amidst more promises
of comet sightings in one year
than all I can recall in my so called adult life.
Perhaps there was a time
when I did not think of the stars
as a gift of inspiration, though I cannot recall;
may we breathe in the stuff of stars!
First night, 7 meteors streak through the night!
Next night, three meteors, and this morning
exultant, I see two flash by without any effort on my part
at all, except to look,
to see; to witness.
The Big Dipper’s handle points the way each night.
What is it that can renew our Sense of Wonder?
For me, it has always been the heavenly skies.
Whether dancing under the full moon
with my big brother or
seeing comet Hale-Bopp’s
glittering trail over the Hudson River in NYC.
And now, as I write these words, I hear
the braying of cattle in the field, I see
one more radiant star trail in the night,
that gift of wonder bestowed upon me, again.
As I stand beneath the curve of the body of Isis,
I again, remember, that I too, am made of starry stuff,
Our celestial beautiful planet, gifted with a heart
pulsing in my breast, my soul, all the stuff of stars.
I think of the ancient depictions of meteor showers,
of how easy it was to see a ‘falling’ star on any night
during my childhood on Long Island and wonder,
has light pollution marked this change or some other distraction
or diversion, which shifted my attentions and intentions
from the numinous
to the mundane?
I am reminded of early artworks of my own
when learning the etymology of the word, ‘mundane’
and remember it is through language
and the relentless progress of technology
that the word for that which is of the earthly realm has become
so dull and ordinary; dirty; de-valued and mired in the worthless.
We need to reinvigorate words like mundane so we may
reclaim the sacred within the every day.
Every day, not just during meteor showers, I vow to
arise before dawn, bless the heavens as the
first sight of my new day;
then welcome the sun
which amazingly, each morning reappears
as though conjured by a hierophant or magician,
whether cloud covered or cast in a pink and lavender sky
those spells which bring forth the dawn.
Then perhaps each day would begin with
my gratitude for this magical endless blessing. Each
day can begin with my gratitude for you, for I am
not alone.
And together we can re-sacralize each moment,
knowing it is precious.
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photo credits:
Full Moon in Winter, Roxbury Road, photo by Jane Sherry
Antioch Backyard Comet, photo by Jane Sherry
Adoracao dos magos de Vicente Gil, Courtesy of Wikimedia
Jane and Curtis on the Beach at Carmel by the Sea, photo by Jane Sherry
Comet Streaks Through the Sky, photo by NASA