We find ourselves at the darkest time of the year here in the North. That's the time to look for our inner Light. And we'll need it, because this holiday season is the gateway to the intense configuration that will take place in late April. Prepare yourselves! Practice those values and virtues you'd like to see in the world. Peace, love, compassion and community are a good place to start.

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           Happy Winter Solstice!

          This week's Gemini/Sagittarius Full Moon highlights the crown and root chakras of our Milky Way Galaxy.   If you look at the Sagittarius Sun on December 17^th, you'll be looking in the direction of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, our cosmic root chakra. At night, shining opposite the Sun, the Moon in Gemini is backlit by the Pleiades, which some say is the crown chakra of our galaxy.   It seems this super full Moon wants us to re-align our minds with the cosmic order.   We can no longer pretend that we are not connected to the rest of the Universe.   Truth and authenticity are important now, and we have to align our minds with a larger order of being to meet the challenges of this next year.

While Sagittarius represents the higher mind, Gemini represents the rational mind.    Sagittarius can see the potential of an idea before it unfolds, giving us the faith to bring it into reality.   Gemini approaches ideas through separation and analysis, depending on rationality to arrive at conclusions. Where Gemini lines up facts, Sagittarius sees the whole picture. This Full Moon asks us to unite the imagination with the intellect, intuition with facts.   With these two signs, it's all about the Mind.   We have to understand who we are, what we believe and what we're here to learn and do.  

The archetype of Sagittarius constellates our human need to find life meaningful. Its archetypal energy is shaped by the biggest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, who in myth was the Father of Gods and men. Jupiter is the archetype of the Divine Mind that links us to the cosmos and to a larger vision of life than just the material.   And his sign, Sagittarius, pushes us to find our higher Truth and asks: What is your vision of life?   What is your life's goal?  

Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius, is in Cancer now, which is ruled by the Moon.   Jupiter's energy works well in Cancer, where it expands our psychic awareness, shows us our subjective truths and makes us aware of what we need to feel safe and secure.   With Jupiter in Cancer, we honor the Mother, our emotional body and our family (the one you've chosen as well as the one you were born into).

The Gemini Moon is ruled by Mercury, which is now in Sagittarius near the Sun.   This Gemini Full Moon makes us more open to new experiences, new mental stimulation and new people.   Now is the time to name what we learned during Mercury's retrograde in Scorpio and analyze our emotional patterns and with Jupiter's vision, see how we need to change them. The long and the short of this Full Moon is that we have to deal with Jupiter, the spiritual force that shapes our lives.    

In many ways, we are gifted with endless possibilities to create our own lives.   Only a few of these possibilities will actually serve our spirit's higher purpose though. That's why Sagittarius' vision is the proper balance to Gemini's experiences, showing us the way to give meaning to those experiences.

When we know the truth of our relationship to the cosmos (Sagittarius), we are led to the experiences we need to shape and understand (Gemini) our life. When we choose what vision to believe in, we choose what kind of world we live in.

Winter Solstice

Each year as we enter this time of greatest darkness (in the North), we have the chance to go into our own inner darkness and search for the Light of the new life we want to birth in the New Year.   At Winter Solstice/ Christmas, we celebrate the rebirth of the Light--a promise of Light returning and Life reviving.   We energetically and emotionally participate in this yearly cosmic event, so take the journey of discovery and bring your gifts to your inner divine Child of Light.  

At Winter Solstice, we decorate the Evergreen, ever-living Tree of Life with the Light and with our hopes (the decorations).   Become that joyful Tree!

The Winter Solstice occurs on Saturday, December 21, 2013: the Sun will seem to "stand still' in the southern sky for three days before it turns back North.   This time of year is always a time of celebration and divination--celebrating the end of another year and looking forward with hope to the coming year.   There are many forms of divination that can give you a hint of what the coming year has in store for you.   My favorites are interpreting the dreams you dream on the 12 Days of Christmas or a good tarot reading that focuses on what your vision of the future is and how you might go about unfolding it.  

Venus in Capricorn will turn retrograde a few hours after Winter Solstice on December 21^st for 40 days, when it will sink into the Sun's light to be reborn as a Morning Star.    Now Venus is a beautiful Evening Star, shining high and bright in the early night sky.   You'll notice that she begins to dim quickly as she sinks lower in the western evening sky. Adam Gainsburg describes this phase of Venus' journey in his book, The Light of Venus:   Your Feminine Dharma is to teach, model or seed in others how to act wisely from our own knowing.   In other words, now is the time to look within and listen to Lady Wisdom's voice for guidance and direction.

The Sabian symbol for Venus going retrograde at 29* Capricorn is: A woman reading tea leaves.   I love the synchronicity of this image with Venus' retrograde phase of Completion.   To read tea leaves, we need to listen to our own inner voice--Lady Wisdom's voice.   This is the ability to see the often hidden but deeper meaning of life events.  

Venus goes direct on January 31, 2014 at 14* Capricorn: An ancient bas-relief carved in granite remains a witness to a long-forgotten culture.   Hopefully, Venus will help us individually and collectively to re-discover the deep, permanent values that make life worth living.   Something has to!

Gemini Full Moon 2013     

The Gemini Full Moon occurs December 17, 2013 at 1:28am PST/ 4:28am EST/ 9:28am GMT. 

The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 26* Sagittarius is: A flag bearer in a battle.   Dane Rudhyar says that the flag bearer in a battle becomes the "representative of the integrity and unity of his group'.   (S)He symbolizes the need to identify with the welfare of the whole group.   In many ways, this symbol asks us to become conscious and responsible agents for all of humanity.   Are we ready to take on this role?   I hope so, since this next year could be a turning point for humanity.

The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 26* Gemini is: Frost-covered trees against winter skies.   I love Winter because we see the bare shapes of the trees.   In this starkness, they reveal the archetypal forms of life, since trees symbolize our individual, unique life path.   And in Winter we get down to the bare bones of that life. The frost is the water of life, which clings to the archetypal forms, even in the cold and dark.

So this Full Moon asks us to see the reality of what is happening in our world, the harsh bare facts, and then to take up our responsibility for changing what we can change, and standing up for Life.   We have to take back our freedom, our health and our creativity, individually and culturally.   It's happening all over the world.   Now is the time to add your voice, your spirit and your creativity to the evolution of humanity.

Other Astrological Influences

A few hours after this Full Moon peaks on December 17^th, Uranus, the planet of awakening, revolution and sudden change, ends its 5 month retrograde period and goes direct. When a planet changes direction its energy is intensified.   Uranus is all about freedom, so give yourself the freedom to experience your life in a new way.   Stay open to new experiences, because Uranus in Aries gives us the courage and resourcefulness to meet any challenge now.   The Sabian symbol for Uranus at 9* Aries is: A crystal gazer.     Focus your attention and listen to your intuition!

Mars moved into the sign of Libra on December 7^th, where it will stay for 6 months instead of 6 weeks when it goes retrograde on March 1^st.   The planet of personal will, action and desire now begins to form the cardinal grand cross that will be so potent, especially for America, this coming Spring.   Transformation is being programmed into our DNA now as Mars becomes the 4^th arm of this cosmic cross along with Jupiter in Cancer and the ongoing Uranus in Aries square to Pluto in Capricorn.   I'll have more on this potent celestial alignment in coming newsletters, but be prepared for changes in your self-identity (Aries), your home life (Cancer), your relationships (Libra) and your life's purpose (Capricorn).    

The first impacts of this grand cross will be felt as Mars opposes Uranus on December 25^th, squares Pluto on December 30^th, and squares Jupiter on January 8^th.   We'll find ourselves under pressure to make major inner and outer changes in our lives, pressure which will build and peak at the 5^th Uranus/Pluto square on April 21, 2014.   In fact, these energies will continue to influence us into July 2014.

Sonnets to Orpheus, Part Two, XII

Want the change. Be inspired by the flame
where everything shines as it disappears.
The artist, when sketching, loves nothing so much
as the curve of the body as it turns away.

What locks itself in sameness has congealed.
Is it safer to be gray and numb?
What turns hard becomes rigid
and is easily shattered.

Pour yourself out like a fountain.
Flow into the knowledge that what you are seeking
finishes often at the start, and, with ending, begins.

Every happiness is the child of a separation
it did not think it could survive. And Daphne, becoming
a laurel, dares you to become the wind.

~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~

Have a safe, joyful and interesting holiday season.

Happy Winter Solstice!

Cathy

Authors Website: http://www.cathypagano.com

Authors Bio:

Cathy Pagano is a spiritual advisor and Jungian psychotherapist, storyteller, author and teacher.

She is the author of a book on the return of the Goddess, "Wisdom's Daughters: How Women Can Change the World".

Cathy trained at the C. G. Jung Institut-Zurich in dream interpretation, has an M.A. in Counseling Psychology in Feminine Spirituality, and is a certified Life Coach.

As an astrologer and storyteller, she weaves the Cosmic Stories written in the stars. From The Bard's Grove, she writes about emerging archetypal themes in movies and books.

Cathy works with the tools of the imagination - dreams, alchemy, myths, astrology, symbolic language, storytelling, ritual - to awaken the Soul's wisdom.



I believe that Americans are called to a higher consciousness at this point in our history. We are called on to live up to our ideals and create the country our forefathers imagined. Inner consciousness needs to be acted upon for social justice.



Cathy believes that our writers and artists must take up our responsibility to create art that inspires, teaches and heals our humanity.



Cathy writes about political, psychological/spiritual, and cultural issues.