Summer is slipping by really fast. While Leo is the sign ruled by the Sun, it is also the sign when our sunlight begins to loose its power here in the northern hemisphere. This Sunday's Full Moon reminds us that while each of us has an inner light that wants to shine out, we will be more empowered if we share our light and shine out together. We can be more creative together, so share your ideas and plans and shine on!

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Happy Lammas! August 1-6 marks the cross-quarter holiday of the Wheel of the Year which celebrates the first harvest and honors the waning of the Sun's light. You'll soon notice the difference in daylight hours. We are fast approaching the Autumn Equinox here in the northern hemisphere and soon the darkness will be greater than the daylight. At Lammas, ask yourself what good have you achieved so far this year? Perhaps you'll have to sacrifice a part of it for a greater good.

Now, remember back to late April. There was a Libra/Aries Full Moon eclipse just as the celestial Cardinal Grand Cross clicked into place. This special configuration in the sky created an energy pulse that will drive the changes that are coming to our society. How we use that energy will determine what those changes are.

The 5^th square between Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries occurred during this Grand Cross in April. This 5^th alignment is the quintessence of 7 squares between these planets of evolution and revolution. The quintessence is the ideal embodiment of something--its' soul essence. These planets were joined by two others, Jupiter and Cancer and Mars in Libra, forming this cosmic Cross, a new manifestation of the World Tree or the Axis Mundi. There's been a collective shift in our center.

A Cardinal Grand Cross, often called the Cross of Matter, moves things forward. It's about manifestation. So what new paradigm are we called to manifest?

The new paradigm is reflected in the Aries/Libra polarity of the eclipsed Moon--a new balance of Self and Other--as well as in the additional need to balance family and work. We are entering the Partnership phase of human soul growth, where we recognize that Woman and Man are equal but not the same. We have different gifts and talents. We need to honor both types of gifts and consciousness. Both sexes have the capability of owning each other's gifts, but they manifest differently. A women's inner masculine essence gives her intellectual focus and discipline to manifest her heart's desire. A man's inner feminine essence gives him an understanding heart to bring to his goals.

Working together, both within and without, this kind of partnership can create great power and beauty in the world. That is the hope of this new paradigm. This is the union of the Christ (the consciousness that we are Spirit) and the Sophia /Lady Wisdom (the deep, imaginative understanding of life). This is who we are meant to be.

We are called to live by this innate balance in the world. That means we have to understand that we are unique individuals at the same time as we are part of a group. Will we continue to believe in the idea of the 'rugged individual' that says we have to stand alone--which often devolves into 'my way or the highway'. Or will we finally understand that we are all one people and one world, and if we want to create a different future, we have to partner up and band together.

Aquarius Full Moon 2014

The Aquarius Full Moon occurs on Sunday, August 10, 2014 at 11:09am PDT/ 2:09pm EDT/ 6:09pm GMT. It is another Super-Moon, so the energy will be high and the Moon will look BIG! Why? The August Moon becomes full not only on the same day as perigee (when it's nearest the Earth), but also in the same hour. As a result, the Moon will be as much as 14 percent closer and 30 percent brighter than other full Moons this year. Go out and drink in the Moonlight!

Leo is the sign of our Self-awareness, Self-expression and Self-confidence. Jung, a Leo himself, called it the sign of Individuation. This year as Jupiter travels through Leo we will have many opportunities to 'show our stuff'! Leo calls up our inner Queen or King, our performer and our inner child. The Sun's energy wants to create Life, and so does Leo! Leo's generous heart wants you to know you are loved. So go create!

Aquarius is the sign of Collaboration, Community and Equality. Aquarius is more rational and objective than dramatic Leo, and when the Aquarian Moon takes in Leo's fiery light, it will cool it off in the clear moonlight of reflection on the best use of that light. What will we do with our passion? How can it benefit everyone? How can we collaborate on new ventures and new discoveries? How can we band together to bring a new vision to the world?

Answering those questions is the gift of this potent Leo/Aquarius Full Moon.

This Full Moon makes us aware of the different ways we can bring our unique creativity to the group. If we really learn how to work in partnership, we can certainly learn how to work in a group. Are you interested in opening a business co-op? Or do you have a creative project that would benefit from others' expertise? Why re-invent the wheel when we can find ways for our talents to work together. Is there a ritual you want to create that you need another's input on? Find your partners who share your vision.

The Sabian symbol for the Sun at 19* Leo is: Revelers on a houseboat dance to the sounds of a swing band. Here is an image of Leo's joy in life! These people know how to party! A party of one is not as much fun as a big community party. Perhaps if we concentrate on the real joys of life--family, love, peace, nature, beauty--we'll decide to do something about a society that really doesn't value those things. Western capitalism's concern with money takes us away from these real joys and replaces them with things, stress and a raped environment.

The Sabian symbol for the Moon at 19* Aquarius is: Amidst smoke and drizzle, jubilant fire fighters dig the final trench around a mountaintop blaze. This symbolizes our ability to work together to control the destructive passions of our human nature and channel them into works of peace and safety. But this isn't about control over nature as much as it's about stopping the destruction in nature. It's time humans evolve out of our need for war and violence and work together to contain the natural disasters that face us and build for the future. Steven Eardley says that this symbol means, "doing the groundwork to actualize a powerful vision of the future; alchemy; working with the powerful collective energies of the outer planets--Uranus, Neptune & Pluto." (The Revised Sabian Symbols). We can do more together than we can do by ourselves. Find your group!

This Full Moon makes a square to Saturn in Scorpio. Saturn just turned direct on July 20^th. Now it's time to heal our emotional wounds with others and get on with life. The three planets form a T-Square, a pattern of planets that has two squares and one opposition. Saturn squares the Sun in Leo and the Moon in Aquarius.

When a T-Square occurs in fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius), it's time to breakdown old behavior patterns that no longer serve our life. Saturn in Scorpio has been teaching us the lesson of letting go of fear of betrayal, jealousy, emotional pain and fear of intimacy. These old emotional wounds can only be let go of if we understand what we learned from them. If you learned the lesson, you can let go of the pain and the pattern. Hopefully you've learned compassion--the ability to understand and feel others' pain. When you feel the pain of the world deeply enough, you want to give your creativity for the sake of the world. So dive in and find some people to partner with.

If you haven't learned the lesson, you won't feel comfortable sharing your vision and gifts with others (Leo/Aquarius Full Moon). How could you? You expect betrayal and hurt. You'll only attract others with the same fears.

It's time to become our own authority, our own judge and jury, especially concerning our creative projects. If you love it, share it. Someone will love it too. And you'll find your group! Saturn can help you focus on your project with the integrity, discipline and dedication you need to get it done. Start now and see where you are at Samhain (October 31^st).

The Sabian symbol for Saturn at 17* Scorpio is: St. George approaches the Dragon's Cave: close by a pregnant woman looks calmly towards the City. St. George is the archetypal dragon slayer, along with St. Michael, the Archangel. What is a dragon slayer? Someone who isn't afraid to confront his/her own fears. The dragon is our unconscious as well as the riches of the Collective Unconscious. To find our destiny, we have to get over our fears and open ourselves to the fullness of being human so we can access the Wisdom of the Collective Unconscious. When we do this, our inner Goddess, pregnant with new life, can transform the culture/the City. Like the image of the Woman Clothed with the Sun, this woman is associated with the dragon, the source of her inner Wisdom.

Unconscious Scorpio is the dragon we must face. The Woman is the positive outcome of facing our feelings.

Because both Saturn and Uranus just changed direction, they are in an inconjunct (150*) angle to each other. This inconjunct continually rebalances the energy between freedom and responsibility. It can push us to make changes in our lives and in our society.

The Sabian symbol for Uranus at 17* Aries is: Prim and silent giantess seated in a chair flanked by two stone lions. This image reminds me of both the Sphinx and the Lion-headed Goddess Sekhmet. There is a mystery that has to be contemplated. The mystery of life. Why are we here? What is our purpose? Just Who Are We? Find your vision and hold to it.

Walk in the Light,

Cathy

The Big Heart

"Too many things are occurring for even a big heart to hold." --

From an essay by W. B. Yeats

Big heart,
wide as a watermelon,
but wise as birth,
there is so much abundance
in the people I have:
(Name your own family, your own community)
and all in their short lives
give to me repeatedly,
in the way the sea
places its many fingers on the shore,
again and again
and they know me,
they help me unravel,
they listen with ears made of conch shells,
they speak back with the wine of the best region.
They are my staff.
They comfort me.

They hear how
the artery of my soul has been severed
and soul is spurting out upon them,
bleeding on them,
messing up their clothes,
dirtying their shoes.
And God is filling me,
though there are times of doubt
as hollow as the Grand Canyon,
still God is filling me.
He is giving me the thoughts of dogs,
the spider in its intricate web,
the sun
in all its amazement,
and a slain ram
that is the glory,
the mystery of great cost,
and my heart,
which is very big,
I promise it is very large,
a monster of sorts,
takes it all in--
all in comes the fury of love.

~ Anne Sexton ~

(The Complete Poems: Anne Sexton)

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.