Month: May 2014

The Daily Motivator for May 12th – Start doing it

Start doing it

The way out of doubt is to do. The way to get beyond discouragement is with action.

Thoughts have a powerful influence on the way you feel and the way you are. Yet deeds have an even more powerful influence.

When you’re doing something positive, effective and meaningful, it’s difficult to be negative. When you’re actively making a difference in life, there’s no energy left for discouragement or despair.

When you want to get your spirits up, get yourself up and get going. Your actions can change life for the better, and that will most certainly change you for the better.

Think of how truly amazing it is that you can make things happen. Then go beyond thinking, and start doing it.

Don’t just wish or dream or complain or worry. Step decisively away from the negative, limiting thoughts with positive, purposeful action.

— Ralph Marston
Source:
The Daily Motivator

The Daily OM for May 12th – Steps to Freedom

Steps to Freedom
Change What Isn’t Working

by Madisyn Taylor

If we don’t change what isn’t working in our lives, we will continually have the same day over and over again.

We have all had the experience of realizing that something in our lives is not working. This knowledge can come as a sudden realization or a nagging feeling of doubt that grows stronger, waking us up to the fact that something needs to change. Some people have a tendency to act rashly and make sweeping changes before even understanding what the problem is. Other people fear change, so they live with the uncomfortable awareness that something needs to shift but won’t do anything about it. Between these two extreme responses lies a middle way that can help us powerfully and gracefully change what isn’t working in our lives.

The first step is remembering that your life is made up of parts that belong to an interconnected whole. Changing one thing can change everything. Because of this, small changes often have a big effect. Sometimes much bigger changes are necessary, but the only way to know for sure is to take the time to really understand the problem. Examine your life as an entirety—your work, your relationships, where you live—and determine what specifically is not functioning the way you would like. Once you have figured out the problem, write it down on a piece of paper. For example, “I am not happy with my relationship” or “I don’t like my apartment.” The next step is to figure out the adjustment you would like to make and how you can go about making this change. If you are unhappy with your relationship because you spend too much or not enough time with your partner, you may want to discuss this problem with them and come up with a compromise. On the other hand, if you realize your relationship is not working to such a degree that it needs to end, begin working through that process. Writing down the truth can be a powerful catalyst for change.

The key to making changes that work is to accept the necessity of change as part of life. As we change, we may find it necessary to fine-tune our relationships, work, and living situations. Our lives are living, breathing entities that reflect our dynamic selves.

Source:

Daily OM

What is Your Karma Number

What is Your Karma Number

by Jenni Kosarin

 

Your karma number is a “feel good” number that will bring you luck and take you on the right path. Calculate your karma number by using the letters in your everyday name (not necessarily the name you received at birth). If, for example, the name on your birth certificate is Winifred Alice Lee but everyone calls you Freddy Stanton, use the latter one.

As an example, let’s take the name Freddy Lee. To figure out this name’s karmic number, write out the letters of the name and give each letter a numerical value (refer to TABLE 11-1 to get the numerical values of letters): F = 6, R = 9, E = 5, D = 4, D = 4, Y = 7, L = 3, E = 5, E = 5. Add up these values: 6 + 9 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 7 + 3 + 5 + 5 = 48. Keep adding up the digits until you get a single-digit number: 4 + 8 = 12; 1 + 2 = 3. So Freddy Lee’s karmic number is 3.

TABLE 11-1 NUMERICAL VALUES OF LETTERS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z –

Here is what each karma number means:

  • Have you ever been drawn to this number? Try it out while playing the lottery or for doing simple things in everyday life. This number is connected with you.
  • You very much want to bond with certain people in your life but, sometimes, you have difficulty doing so. The key is to stop trying to imagine and guess what the other person wants. You need to do and say what comes from the heart. The person who recognizes your sincerity will be more drawn to you.
  • How did you get so lucky? Things work out for you, don’t they? This is a very powerful karma number, though it doesn’t always work in romance. You like to shake things up a little and let people see the provocative side of you, which is fine, as long as you remain grounded.
  • Luck sometimes doesn’t fall your way because you analyze things to death. Instead of being so practical all of the time, why not try following your instinct once in a while? It will do you good. On the other hand, you’ve survived some scams that others have fallen victim to because of your solid-based nature. The key is to find a balance between going with your heart and going with your head.
  • Your luck is especially strong when you’re in foreign countries or strange situations. You also have a good sense of direction and you have good luck with cars, airplanes, and other modes of transportation.
  • You have good family karma. Though you may have had problems in your childhood, your family supports you now. Consequently, you have to work less to prove yourself to them.
  • Luck is on your side when it comes to contacts for work or for romance. Most of your relationships will come out of introductions from others you know.
  • Your luck lies in work, finance, and money matters. If you aren’t seeing any positive results, you’re doing something wrong. Try solving your problems at home first. Soon after, your work issues will fall easily into place.
  • Your luck is scattered. Spiritually, you’re high on the totem pole, so to speak, but it’s difficult for you to focus your karma. Depending on the day, though, you can be equally lucky in love, career, family, and work.

Is your past-life karma spoiling your love life?

Is your past-life karma spoiling your love life?

What is love karma?

By Stephen Petulli

 

Live a happier love life without expensive therapy, stress, or more heartache. Why do some people always seem to be happy in love and others attract one negative love life experience after another? Is it just a coincidence? From the perspective of reincarnation and karma, there is no such thing as a coincidence; everything happens for a reason. We experience heart break or heart bliss because of our love karma.

What is love karma?

It is the result of one’s actions in the past, both in this life and past lives, whether or not the current personality remembers or believes in past lives. Someone with good love karma may have acted in past-life relationships more often with integrity, love, and compassion. Someone with bad love karma may have acted in past-life relationships with dishonesty, selfishness, jealousy, or greed. But before you feel guilty for any bad love karma, it is important to realize that we have all been good and bad in past lives. Furthermore, because of guilt or resentment, it is possible to have bad love karma without having done anything wrong.

Is it possible to overcome bad love karma?

Yes, by discovering and releasing the root cause, whether it happened last week or 2000 years ago. This will help you gain awareness and understanding, which will lead to forgiveness; the key to letting go of the past.

Turn your bad love luck into a happier love life (and reach other personal goals) with the following three steps:

  • Discover and release the blocks.
      One of the most effective ways to discover and release the root cause of any bad luck is through meditation and/or past-life regression. This can work even for those who don’t believe in reincarnation. Simply gaining awareness, whether it’s real or symbolic, about the long forgotten karmic reasons for any negative love or life experiences can be enough to break the pattern for good.

     

  • Forgive yourself and anyone else involved with the root cause.
      Forgiving someone is for you; it doesn’t let anyone off the hook because of the law of karma. Guilt or resentment, which we are not always conscious of, sabotages our love lives.

     

  • Take the appropriate action at the appropriate time.
      Learn how to track your personal love cycles. All our love lives follow predictable cycles that can be accurately outlined by the metaphysical science of numeric analysis, which does not cause the cycles but is simply symbolic of them. This awareness can help you be prepared and ride the waves of opportunity rather than be submersed by them. With more awareness of yourself and your relationships, you’ll be able to live and react with less fear and more love, make better choices in love and life, organize your efforts toward a happy and harmonious love life, and eventually live the love life that you may have only hoped for up until now.

Most of us concentrate on the physical, mental, and emotional sides of relationships, but few of us know how to investigate or repair the spiritual side. This lack of awareness and balance leads to expectations which create heartache and disharmony. You can improve your love life on your own and all your answers really are inside of you. Past-life regression and meditation will allow you to gain the awareness and balance you need to let go of what isn’t serving you any more and welcome a new beginning.

 

Changing Destiny and Karma

Changing Destiny and Karma

by Jenni Kosarin

 

The key to living with your destiny is to avoid excessive worrying and not try to control it. Controlling and manipulating your destiny is the surest way to land flat on your face. You’ll still have to learn your lessons. And it might just be more difficult for you. Be kind to yourself. Search for help when you need it. And don’t try to stifle your suffering—feel it and live it so you can continue on, learn, and live a happier life. If you constantly avoid it, it will eventually find you anyway. This is what we sometimes call “karma.”

In Buddhism, karma is the idea that “what goes around comes around”—that your fate and your future are determined by your past. If you lived your past life by the rules of the universe and were kind and helpful to others, you are rewarded in your next life. If you did not, your next life is more difficult.

Karma Chrome

The Buddhist view of karma assumes that our present positions in life are the result of justice and retribution. Some Western philosophers say that the Eastern view of karma helps those in power, who can pat themselves on the back for having good karma. In Western teachings, karma is more about cause and effect within a particular lifetime and does not require belief in reincarnation. It is the energy around you, at this moment or period in time. If you spread the good energy through good deeds, it will come back to you—it’s like catching a good wave if you’re surfing. It works for the little things in life, like having the instinct to pick a winning number, meeting and connecting with a person who might help you in the future, performing a presentation well on a certain day, and so on. Of course, karma is not foolproof—anyone can have a bad day. Sometimes, it has more to do with your destiny than with the details of everyday life.

The best thing you can do to make your destiny work for you is to be good to yourself and to the people around you, and to pace yourself—indulge sometimes and cut back other times. Search for friendships, work, and play that bring out the best in you. Your karmic lessons will find you in this lifetime and teach you the things you need to know.

Karma and Rebirth

Karma and Rebirth

by Arnie Kozak, Ph.D.

 

In the traditional Buddhist view, moving between this life and rebirth is not a random act, but is determined by the actions in your current life. In this manner, you would be the heir to your own actions. As Peter Harvey says in An Introduction to Buddhism, if you commit acts of hatred — violent acts, such as murder, rape, incest, or bodily harm — you will be reborn into a life in hell. Here again the question arises whether this hell is meant literally or metaphorically. Unskillful or unwholesome actions of hatred and aggression leave one in a state that is very much like hell. You are trapped in a hot place of emotion with no hope for escape. You are blinded by rage, and out of control. That sounds like hell.

On the night of the Buddha’s enlightenment he is said to have remembered 100,000 past lives. How is such a statement to be interpreted? How critical is a belief in rebirth to the early teachings of the Buddha? The cultural milieu of ancient India during the Buddha’s time involved a vast and colorful universe of gods and goddesses. The Buddha speaks of gods and devas in his sermons, but he did not see them as godlike in the common sense of gods. These gods were trapped in samsara just as humans.

Rebirth is a fertile metaphor. It is not necessary to believe in rebirth to be a Western Buddhist or to derive benefit from the Buddha’s teachings. On the one hand, as a metaphor, rebirth is a potent concept about the cycles of experience that occur right here and now. On the other hand, Tibetan Buddhists take the concept of rebirth literally and base much of the culture, beliefs, and rituals on this possibility.

Whether metaphor or actual, “rebirth” occurs in every moment during this lifetime. When you breathe, your breath goes through a cycle of birth and death. As you move through life, you go through cycles of thought and emotion; everything is constantly changing. This is the cycle of becoming and when characterized by greed, hatred, and delusion, leads to neverending cycles of suffering. The goal of Buddhist practice is to become liberated from these cycles of becoming that infiltrate every moment of life.

You may be wondering, if there is no self and no soul, what is it that takes rebirth? How can karmic fruits be carried into a next life? The personality of “me” and “mine” does not persist, but the mental energy or samskaras are what Buddhists would say persist in the form of impersonal consciousness. That energy is what, for instance, the Tibetan Buddhists believe takes rebirth.

However, if human birth is considered be “precious” and rare, you might be wondering what the universe was doing for billions of years before human beings evolved? The idea that human life is precious seems a bit humanocentric, given the vast expanse of geological time where humanity is but a blink, unless this notion of linear time is dispensed. Again, the issue is whether you can derive benefit from the Buddha’s teaching without having to take these ideas literally. The answer is a resounding yes.

However, the notion of rebirth may be congenial to you. The Buddhist notion of rebirth is different than other concepts of reincarnation that you may be familiar with. Since there is no personal essence, “you” cannot experience rebirth. Something carries forward but it is not your personality or “soul.” You can think of it like a candle flame. One candle flame can light another candle. The flame “passes” to the next but has a unique identity. Within the system of birth and rebirth, there were considered to be many worlds and many ways in which one could be reborn — endless worlds and endless ways to be reborn.

Whether conceived of actual rebirths or rebirth into the next moment, these cycles involved not only human births. A person was not necessarily born as a human in every lifetime. There are also animals, spirits, gods, titans, and the inhabitants of hell. The early Buddhists rejected the Hindu caste system, so in rebirth it was possible to move from a god to a human, an animal to a god. There was no safety in reaching a higher life form. Every life form was subject to death and therefore rebirth. Most Buddhists in the Western world would take these realms and forms as being metaphorical or mythical.

Popular Misconceptions of Karma

Popular Misconceptions of Karma

by Arnie Kozak, Ph.D.

 

Karma means “deed” or “action” in Sanskrit. However, action is not substituted for karma, as karma carries much more weight than the simple understanding found in action. Karma is one of the most popular and perhaps least understood concepts in Buddhism. Karmic actions can be behaviors as well as thoughts and emotions.

There are multiple ways to consider karma. One way is “local” karma; actions in the present (including mental actions) have an impact on future experiences. Another is “remote” karma; actions performed in this lifetime have an impact on future rebirths. Remote karma, of course, depends on the idea of rebirth, which may be an alien idea to many people in the Western world. From a scientific perspective, there is no evidence for rebirth. However, your own direct experience can reveal the working of local karma. What you think now will affect how you feel later. What you do now will bear fruit at some future point in time. This is different from a universal balance, that is, “you reap what you sow,” which is a common misconception of karma.

Consider local karma like this: You can’t kill someone in the morning and then have a peaceful meditation in the afternoon. Here are some of the most common misconceptions about karma.

Misconception: Karma Is Retaliation from an Outside

Force How many times have you heard someone say, “She has bad karma,” referring to someone who has had a run of bad luck. In the West, karma has often been interpreted as equal to the principle of “an eye for an eye” — the retaliatory principle that you are punished with the same punishment you inflict on another. However, this is a misconception and misunderstanding of the Buddhist meaning of karma. According to the Buddha’s teaching, you are not made to pay for past mistakes, nor are you rewarded for your past good deeds — but you are, in fact, what you do or intend to do. More to the point, karma is the process by which your actions shape your life.

Since the Buddha did not acknowledge the presence of a theistic power, karma would not be associated with an external, objective judge. In the words of Shantideva (an eighth-century Buddhist teacher), “Suffering is a consequence of one’s own action, not a retribution inflicted by an external power…We are the authors of our own destiny; and being the authors, we are ultimately…free.”

Misconception: Karma Involves All Actions

Karma only involves intentional actions. Therefore, if you were to step accidentally on a spider, you would not invoke karma. You unintentionally stepped on the spider. There was no intent to hurt the spider.

However, if you decide beforehand that you are going to kill the damn spider that is living in the garage and stomp on him with malice aforethought, you will experience the karmic ramification of an action that is laced with hatred and aversion (remember, one of Three Poisons). If you understand karma as one moment conditioning future moments, you can see the interdependent chain of cause and effect. When your mind is clouded by aggression, this will generate particular effects. When your mind is occupied by peace, this will generate its own particular effects. This effect will be on your own mind moments and on your behavior that, in turn, affects others.

It might be helpful to set aside notions of “good” and “bad” karma because this distinction just creates confusion and reinforces misconceptions. Instead, think of skillful and unskillful actions. When remembering that actions include behavior and also mental actions (thoughts, feelings, and images that you intentionally engage with and nurture), you will discover that certain actions lead to beneficial results, that is, you feel good and others around you feel good.

If you walk down the street smiling, you will feel good and others around you will feel good. This is acting skillfully (“good karma”). You will also discover that certain other actions lead to harmful results, that is, you feel bad and others around you feel bad. If you yell and criticize and kick the dog, you will be lost in feeling bad, later experience regret, and adversely impact those around you. This is acting unskillfully (“bad karma”). Acting from the Three Poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion is unskillful, while acting from their opposites — generosity, kindness, and wisdom — is skillful.

Karma as the Ethical Center

Karma as the Ethical Center

by Arnie Kozak, Ph.D.

In Buddhism, actions matter. And therefore karma serves as an ethical compass for your life. Karma is not a complicated concept. It is as simple as this: What you do, what you say, and what you feel will have an effect.

Effects of Actions

You can taste the effects of some types of karma right away, but other karmic actions will bear fruit at some point in the future. Karma points to the realization that everything is interconnected in some way.

But your actions have much greater effect than one day’s span. Karma is a process of constant change. If you do skillful acts now you can change your later karma. For Buddhists, the belief in karma is a guiding moral compass. However, do not worry or obsess on past actions. Take care of your life today. Live in the moment and change the present. Thereby you can change the future as well.

Traditionally, Buddhists would undertake their lives in a way to maximize their skillful karma by generating merit. They do this by donating food to begging Buddhist monks, donating money to the monastery, and doing good deeds. If you live your life in accordance with the Buddhist teachings and moral principles, you will automatically be on the way towards generating merit and limiting unskillful or destructive karma.

Whatever the ultimate truth of karma and rebirth, it can’t hurt to live a good life that seeks to limit harming others and seeks to be less selfish and more generous (in fact, research suggests generous people are happier). Another important consideration about karma is that not all suffering is the result of karma. Local conditions such as temperature and internal conditions such as a virus have nothing to do with your karma. It is only through deep wisdom (prajna) that you would be able to know which bits of suffering are due to past karma and which are due to local conditions. Uncertainty winds up being the order of the day.

Mother, Maiden, Crone

Goddess Comments & Graphics
Mother, Maiden, Crone

Mother Maiden, Crone
I am just a Witch alone,
honoring your many phases
as my own....
Changes come and go,
tides rise and flow
as your light continues to grow,
peeking through the window as I sleep,
my dreams you safely keep,
Goddess of the Moon,
your magick fills my room,
with blessings of the womb,
moonbeams dance upon these walls,
like golden threads, spun on a loom,
Stars circle round,
like a silvery crown,
as I draw your energy down..
Many Blessings you continuously bestow
with your magickal glow,
as above... so below....
Mother, Maiden, Crone
I am just a Witch Alone....

 

- by Mor`inanna~EagleSon

Source:

Blessed Be

Online Wiccan Resource Center

 

 

A Little Humor for Your Day – ‘Redneck Tips, lmao!’

Redneck Tips

 

1. Never take a beer to a job interview.

2. Always identify people in your yard before shooting at them.

3. It’s considered tacky to take a cooler to church.

4. If you have to vacuum the bed, it is time to change the sheets.

5. Even if you’re certain that you are included in the will, it is still considered tacky to drive a U-Haul to the funeral home.

DINING OUT

1. When decanting wine, make sure that you tilt the paper cup, and pour slowly so as not to “bruise” the fruit of the vine.

2. If drinking directly from the bottle, always hold it with your fingers covering the label.

ENTERTAINING IN YOUR HOME

1. A centerpiece for the table should never be anything prepared by a taxidermist.

2. Do not allow the dog to eat from the table…no matter how good his manners are.

PERSONAL HYGIENE

1. While ears need to be cleaned regularly, this is a job that should be done in private using one’s OWN truck keys.

2. Proper use of toiletries can forestall bathing for several days. However, if you live alone, deodorant is a waste of good money.

3. Dirt and grease under the fingernails is a social no-no, as they tend to detract from a woman’s jewelry and alter the taste of finger foods.

DATING (Outside the Family)

1. Always offer to bait your date’s hook, especially on the first date.

2. Be aggressive. Let her know you’re interested: “I’ve been wanting to go out with you since I read that stuff on the bathroom wall two years ago.”

3. Establish with her parents what time she is expected back. Some will say 10:00 PM; others might say “Monday.” If the latter is the answer, it is the man’s responsibility to get her to school on time.

THEATER ETIQUETTE

1. Crying babies should be taken to the lobby and picked up immediately after the movie has ended.

2. Refrain from talking to characters on the screen. Tests have proven they can’t hear you.

WEDDINGS

1. Livestock is usually a poor choice for a wedding gift.

2. Kissing the bride for more than 5 seconds may get you shot.

3. For the groom, at least, rent a tux. A leisure suit with a cummerbund and clean bowling shirt can create a tacky appearance.

4. Though uncomfortable, say “yes” to socks and shoes for this special occasion.

DRIVING ETIQUETTE

1. Dim your headlights for approaching vehicles; even if the gun is loaded and the deer is in sight.

2. When approaching a four-way stop, the vehicle with the largest tires always has the right of way.

3. Never tow another car using panty hose and duct tape.

4. When sending your wife down the road with a gas can, it is impolite to ask her to bring back beer too.

5. Do not burn rubber while traveling in a funeral procession.

Source:

JokesWarehouse.com

Your Daily Feng Shui News for May 12th – Isn’t it ironic that ‘Fatigue Syndrome Day’

Isn’t it ironic that ‘Fatigue Syndrome Day’ immediately follows a day honoring mothers? If you or someone you know suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome then you’re probably already taking medications to alleviate symptoms of this disease. Holistic treatments include taking ginseng, an Asian herb known to increase energy and combat persistent fatigue, as well as supplemental L-carnitine, found in nearly all body cells, especially those that produce energy. Coenzyme Q-10, DHEA and essential fatty acids, like those found in avocado or fish oil, are all considered critical to the treatment of this condition. Of course, you should always check with your physician before beginning any alternative forms of treatment, but if you’re always low on energy, you might just want to put that appointment high on your priority list.

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Your Charm for Monday, May 12th is The Menat

Your Charm for Today

The Menat

Today’s Meaning:
A few prayers to your deity of choice would serve you well when dealing with this aspect. Your questions or requests stand a better chance of being answered in the next few days if you do so.

General Description:
This elaborately ornamental charm, worn by Egyptian women, was supposed to bestow upon them all the blessings of their powerful Hathor, goddess of the sunrise, whose worship was universal in Egypt. Health, strength, happiness – all these were the gifts of this their goddess of love. She was regarded as a loving, protecting mother, both of the living and of the dead; was the deity who filled both heaven and earth with her beneficence, and the dispenser of all the blessings of life.

Your Animal Spirit for Monday, May 12th is the Coyote

Your Animal Spirit for Today

 

Coyote

Taking yourself too seriously? If you are, Coyote will throw a banana peel in your tracks just to see you take a silly spill. Coyote medicine is Trickster medicine—the practical joker, the chaos maker. If Coyote appeared in your reading today, be ready for a curveball thrown in your direction. Remember, though, Coyote uses the bizarre to help us learn lessons we just can’t seem to get any other way.

Your Ancient Symbol Card for Monday, May 12th is The Sword

Your Ancient Symbol Card for Today

The Sword

The Sword is a a call to action. It indicates challenges are before you and to attain your goals you will have to address them. The Sword does not suggest rash or underhanded behavior on your part. Indeed, while actions indicated by The Sword are decisive, they are based on the power of your wisdom and ethics. The strength of The Sword lies in the moral purity of your actions.

As a daily card, The Sword suggest a time in which you will face external challenges to attaining your goals. These trials are likely to come from a person or persons who stand to gain from your loss or delays in you moving forward. You can expect underhanded play and surprises. Fortunately your position is far stronger than those who scheme to usurp you. Address challenges as they arise and all will be well.

Tarot Cards and Moon Phases

Tarot Cards and Moon Phases

The Tarot archetypes sync up with the eight phases of the Moon

Isha LernerIsha Lerner on the topics of tarot, moon, insight, blogs, astrology

The days following a New Moon phase are auspicious. The actual day of the New Moon, the balsamic or dark Moon period, marks the beginning point when the heavens shift from dark to light. On the following days magic is in the air and the inner life is awakened.

This is a perfect time to tap into your inner wisdom with a Celtic Cross Tarot reading and prepare for a new beginning in your life. Imagine the first crack of an egg. It takes work and diligence to crack that egg open and expand toward new dimensions, but the effort is always worth it in the end.

This metaphor illustrates the potential available to each of us the day after a New Moon approaches. The following quote expresses the essence of the New Moon’s potential.

“A New Moon teaches gradualness and deliberation and how one gives birth to oneself slowly. Patience with small details makes perfect a large work, like the universe.” –Rumi

The New Moon: The Fool

“Behold, a sacred voice is calling you. All over the sky a sacred voice is calling you.” –Black Elk

Do something different for a change. Dare to be lighthearted. Change what you wear. Surprise yourself with a new attitude. Shine the light of magic and wonder in all that you do and see. Watch the birds take flight from tree to tree. Free yourself from old routines that tie you down and exhaust your immune system. Allow the vibrations of the New Moon to awaken your inner life with fresh perspectives and promptings.

Suggested flower essence: Shooting Star … discover yourself again and embody the genius of your soul!

Crescent Moon: The High Priestess

When each day is sacred, when each hour is sacred, when each instant is sacred, Earth and you, space and you, bearing and sacred through time, you’ll reach the fields of light. –Guillevic

The crescent Moon has been associated with Isis, the Egyptian Goddess known as She Who Makes Right Use of the Heart, or the Mother of Heaven. Isis’s headdress is often depicted with the horns of a cow on her head, and the solar disc between them. These horns are a symbol of the crescent Moon and are representations of immanent fertility and prosperity.

An intuitive spark of heart and mind have been lit. You now bear the torch. Be still while you listen and visualize. Take note of the seeds that have been planted within your garden of life and do everything you can to bring nutrients to the foundation of your life. Moisten and deepen your attunement to inner truth. The crescent Moon offers a force of light pushing forward within you.

Suggested flower essence: Cat’s Ear … attune to the magic of your intuition and act accordingly.

First Quarter: The Magician

“You must become the change you want to see in the world.” –Gandhi

The Magician is one who has become seasoned and attuned to the conscious aspects of life ready to manifest. The Magician leads the whimsical wandering of The Fool into a clearer stream of consciousness that can actualize miracle upon miracle. You must now understand the world of matter and turn that which has been unseen into visible creations. Be productive, active, goal-oriented and joyous in every endeavor. Nothing can remain stagnant at this stage of the Moon’s phase. The theme of creative movement is evident in the flow of life.

Suggested flower essence: Iris … the creative paintbrush of the soul. Paint your dreams into manifested joy and deliberation.

Gibbous Moon: The Wheel of Fortune

“How shall I begin my song in the blue night that is setting? In the great night my heart will go out. Toward me the light comes, rattling. In the great night sky my heart will go out.” –Medicine Woman Chant

The gibbous Moon phase can be called the womb of potential. Life is a constant process of transformation and movement involving integration, disintegration, generation and degeneration. Having recently experienced a rebirth cycle, you are now ready to embrace all that is expanding and growing in your life. Confront your opportunities and challenges in order that a permeable reality may evolve. Love new things, stretch your imagination, seek new experiences and take in an interesting movie or documentary and study. Fill your life with interests and activities.

Suggested flower essence: Mountain Pride … the great warrior of the heart moves forward, actualizing dreams and goals. Perseverance is the key.

Full Moon: The Sun and Moon

“Each night Lady Moon gathers unto herself all the discarded memories and forgotten dreams of mankind. These she stores in her silver cup till dawn. Then, at first light, all these forgotten dreams and neglected memories are returned to Earth as Moon-sap, or dew. Mingled with lacrimae lunae, ‘the tears of the Moon,’ this dew nourishes and refreshes all life on Earth. Through compassionate care of the Goddess, nothing of value is lost to man.” –from the Legend of the Moon by Sallie Nichols

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” –John Wesley

The force of the Sun and Moon are illumined and the pure potential of both lights are fully active. The chalice cup is full, life is brimming over with expectation, and the cornucopia horn of plenty has been placed at the center table of life. Wisdom shines outward. Share your gifts, talents, joys and manifested creations through teaching, writing, dancing and community sharing. This is the peak of light and you are filled with its radiant glow.

Suggested flower essence: Lotus … flower of water and air bringing the unconscious forces into conscious knowing and insight.

Disseminating Moon: The Star

“You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.” –Mary Oliver

This is the time to pour forward all that you have accumulated by networking, sharing news, offering service and find the joy to be the light of the world. You know the mystery of life and you live according to the secret wisdom found in the Full Moon phase. Share in the mystery and walk in the beauty of your true self. This is a time to reach for the stars as they become more visible with the decreasing light of the Full Moon. You may ask yourself, “How may I serve the world?”

Suggested flower essence: The Rose … deeply rooted in the Earth, the rose blossoms into the beauty of love. The rose opens the heart chakra so that we may do our very best work on Earth.

Third Quarter Moon: Judgment

“From joy I came, for joy I live, and in Thy sacred joy, I shall melt again.” –Yogananda

Look deeply now to assess all that you have become responsible for. We have countless opportunities to weigh our pros and cons in life. Seek to negate all polarities and opposition within and roll them back into the deep soil of the past. Now is the time for a renewed self-reflection and once again you are prompted to spend some quality time alone, read a good book, get a haircut, clean out closets, move things around. It will beneficial to fast for a day or eat lightly so that your body may purge and cleanse. You are preparing for another turn of the Moon … and darkness in the sky brings bright wisdom within.

Suggested flower essence: Sagebrush … cutting through all illusion and confusion, sagebrush cleanses the aura and the field of light around the heart chakra.

Balsamic Moon: The Hermit

“Yet it is in this loneliness that the deepest activities begin. It is here that you discover act without motion, labor that is profound repose, vision in obscurity and beyond all desire, a fulfillment whose limits extend to infinity.” –Thomas Merton

When the dark Moon resides within the heavens, a sweet quiet is pervasive. Meditate, contemplate, pray, chant and rest. There are many ways to experience the descent into the unconscious successfully, and the more attentive you become of this inner need, the greater balance and immune health an individual will attain. Strengthen your connection to the invisible worlds, seek the cave and find the light within.

Suggested flower essence: Queen of the Night … desert cactus flower that blooms in the night offering the inner light of the unconscious.

The Moon phases are the magical wheel that we dance upon each month. In your own birth chart you have your own progressed Moon phases that coincide with the eight phases that I have written about in this post. Each progressed Moon phase lasts approximately 2 1/2 years. You might like to find out which house your progressed Moon is passing through and what sign it is in. It’s great to understand the mapping of your own inner sky.