The Wisdom of Buddha

Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.

Your Charm for Today

Today’s Meaning:
This aspect of your life will be strongly influenced by a person who is generous, warm-hearted, creative, enthusiastic, broad-minded, expansive, faithful and loving. This person is most likely a relative.

General Description:
Fifth sign of the Zodiac, July 23rd to Aug. 23rd. Ruled by the Sun; correct metal, Gold. Those born under the influence of Leo were believed to be enthusiastic, high spirited, affable, generous, strong, quick tempered, artistic, inventive, generally successful and proverbially lucky. The Leo stones are the Peridot and Onyx, also Amber. The Peridot was in former times valued more than the Diamond. In Rome it was worn as a charm to drive away evil spirits, despondency and illusions. Peridot amulets enjoyed a great reputation in the Middle Ages for inspiring wisdom and eloquence. Many medicinal properties were attributed to Amber, and its supposed virtues are still relied on in the East.

Your Monthly Domino for April

Allow your feelings and passions to steer you toward the proper path for you. Do not allow your emotions to take a back seat to your intellect. Explore your deepest feelings about every aspect of your life and act to ease any negative feelings you have.

Your Monthly MahJong Tile for April 

Bamboo 4
Symbol: Carp
The Carp tile indicates the attainment of inner-peace, tranquility, and freedom from the pressures of everyday life. Contentment will be realized. The Carp’s vibrant colors suggest a rich life. This may mean the coming of material and/or spiritual wealth.

Psychic Tip of the Day

Tarot.com is Part of the Daily Insight Group ©2018

By Isha Lerner

Tarot Cards, Tarot, Moon, 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.

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. Learn 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.

Last 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.

Tarot.com is Part of the Daily Insight Group ©2018

By Tarot.com Staff

The Emperor, Tarot, Astrology, Aries

Every zodiac sign is ruled by a Tarot card from the Major Arcana! The zodiac sign of Aries is ruled by The Emperor card. Here we take a look at the symbolic connections between fiery Aries and The Emperor…

The Feisty Ram: Aries

Ruled by action planet Mars, Aries is represented by the Ram. A born leader, this determined Fire sign has a tendency to act first and think later. Aries LOVES taking on new things, but due to their short attention span, they don’t always finish them. And while their bold nature usually gets results, their self-centered attitude can often create problems in relationships.

Aries and The Emperor

The Emperor card features a wise, authoritative man sitting on a stone throne embellished with Rams! His white beard represents experience, while his armor is a sign of the inevitable battle to come. Like Aries, the Emperor reminds us that, “Anything worth having is worth fighting for!”

The ball in the Emperor’s right hand represents the world, or more specifically his role as the ruler of people. The red robe and vibrant sunrise support the theme of Fire. Aries is also ruled by Mars, the red planet. The color red inspires initiative and taking action! And last but not least, the powerful mountains in the background remind us of the unyielding nature of Aries.

Tarot.com is Part of the Daily Insight Group ©2018

Make this Mercury Retrograde Work for You!

Embrace the positive benefits of Mercury Retrograde in Aries

By Tarot.com Staff

Mercury Retrograde, Mercury, Astrology, Aries

Brace yourself … another Mercury Retrograde is on its way! From March 22 to April 15, 2018, Mercury will be retrograde in the fiery sign of Aries, the first sign of the zodiac. No matter what your sign, you will feel the effects as Mercury moves backward through the cosmos!

Mercury is the planet of thoughts, details, communication, and short-distance travel, and it influences what happens in our immediate environment. When retrograde, these things that Mercury rules can go haywire, causing more confusion, miscommunication, and mishaps than usual. Because of this, Mercury Retrograde is a time that’s dreaded by many — but it doesn’t have to be! After all, Mercury goes retrograde 3-4 times every year, so we might as well find a way to make it work for us!

Get straight answers to the questions you have during Mercury Retrograde with advice from a Yes or No Tarot Reading!

The truth is, there are a lot of positive benefits to Mercury Retrograde. While Mercury moves backward, we have a chance to revisit things that we left behind or that were never really resolved. And because this retrograde is happening in Aries, the sign of the self, the things that resurface could affect us on a very personal level!

Yes, there’s a lot of room for error during Mercury Retrograde, but so much potential, too. Keep reading for 5 ways to not just survive this time, but to truly thrive…

Top 5 benefits of Mercury Retrograde in Aries

1. Get happier about love and relationships
When Mercury turns retrograde on March 22, it will conjunct Venus, the planet of love, which makes current and past relationships a key theme of this entire retrograde. Feelings, conversations, and experiences from your romantic past may resurface now, giving you the opportunity to find solutions to these long-standing issues and finally overcome the things that brought you pain.

Is there a problem between you and your lover that was swept under the rug instead of being fixed? This problem may come up again now, giving you a chance to solve it for good. Is there a lover in your past that you regret letting go? This person may reappear in your life during this retrograde, allowing you to either find the closure you need, or revisit this relationship to see if things have changed for the better.

Still, this retrograde is happening in Aries, the sign of the individual, making this a very important time to consider YOUR role in love and relationships too. Have you sacrificed too much of yourself in order to please someone else? Are you responsible for your own future, or do you expect another person to complete you and make you happy? Or, maybe you’re so focused on the needs of others that you regularly neglect yourself. Ask yourself the tough questions now: there are solutions available to you that weren’t available before, and they could totally turn around your perspectives about love if you open yourself to them.

2. Reclaim your personal power
There is no sign more focused on the self than Aries, and this Mercury Retrograde in Aries gives you the chance to rethink and rework yourself at your very core. You as an individual hold so much power, but you may not be using it to your advantage. Maybe you don’t feel confident in a certain role in your life, or you have a hard time speaking up or defending yourself. While Mercury retrogrades through Aries, you have the opportunity to reflect on who you are and identify the reasons you may not be living up to your full potential. Once you connect with your feelings of struggle and pinpoint the real cause of them, you can find solutions that will help you embrace your courage and find where your strengths DO lie.

3. Fix broken friendships
Mercury in Aries makes our thoughts and communications very direct, urgent, and sometimes selfish. Mercury has been in Aries since March 6, and during this time you may have ruffled a few feathers by coming across as harsh or uncaring. Thankfully, Mercury Retrograde in Aries gives you a chance to go back and fix things. Over the past few weeks it may have been difficult for you to understand why or even care that someone else was turned off by what you said or how you said it. Now, though, you can rethink these situations and realize the impact of your words. When you understand where things went wrong, you can readdress the issue and smooth out the wrinkles in your friendship. For the best results, wait until Mercury turns direct on April 15 to have a make-up conversation, otherwise your attempts to fix things could backfire.

4. Recommit to your personal goals
By March many of us have derailed from our New Year’s resolutions … but now you get a second chance! Mercury Retrograde is a great time to revisit goals you had in the past. And with the self-focused influence of Aries in this retrograde, the personal changes you wanted to make have a real chance for success now — especially goals related to activity and fitness. What’s more, the Sun is also in Aries and Mars is in Capricorn during this retrograde period, giving you a level of energy and ambition you may not have had before.

5. Put more power into your work
Revisit, rethink, and rework! Mercury Retrograde is a prime time to polish or finish projects that are already in progress. Ideas and tasks that got put on the back burner can be revived now and carried forward. People you’ve worked with or for in the past may resurface now too, opening new opportunities for your professional life. Though you shouldn’t start a brand-new job or long-term project during Mercury Retrograde, you can absolutely make progress on something you’ve already started!

Tarot.com is Part of the Daily Insight Group ©2018

By Tarot.com Staff

Mercury Retrograde, Astrology

Communication planet Mercury may be small, but it’s capable of causing big problems! Have you heard about Mercury Retrograde? It’s happening soon!Starting March 22, 2018, Mercury will turn retrograde in Aries, and will continue backpedaling until April 15, 2018. During this time mischievous Mercury takes a backward turn — and so do our daily lives!

Mercury goes retrograde about three or four times each year, for a period of about three weeks each time. But of course Mercury isn’t really moving backward — it just appears that way from Earth.

Don’t let this retrograde period get the best of you! Take back control now.

Mercury Retrograde is really an optical illusion, but the effect it has on our lives is very real. This is because when Mercury is so close to the Sun its powers are magnified in the areas it rules.

Slow down and reflect

Planet Mercury rules communication, travel and technology, so all of these things are often disrupted during Mercury Retrograde. People get stressed out and have misunderstandings and arguments. And technology and machinery breaks down, including everything from cars to computers.

Life slows down during Mercury Retrograde — it has no choice but to slow down because the universe is blocking our forward momentum. We start reflecting and looking back instead of moving forward, and that’s why Astrology dictates Mercury Retrograde is a bad time to start new projects, go on first dates, get married, travel, sign important papers or legal documents, or make big purchases.

That said, there is plenty you can do during Mercury Retrograde. It can be a very useful  time to rest and think and plan for the future.

Tarot.com is Part of the Daily Insight Group ©2018

If You Were Born Today, March 29

You work on inspiration and instinct, and you’re immovable if your heart isn’t truly into something. You can be moody, fascinating, and very changeable, while always maintaining an independent and feisty spirit. Your emotions can be very up and down and extreme at times, but you tend to right yourself quickly. You hold others enthralled. Famous people born today: Jennifer Capriati, Elle Macpherson, Lucy Lawless, Pearl Bailey, Scott Wilson, Brendan Gleeson.

Your Birthday Year Forecast:

Connecting with like-minded people is likely but also with people who have new perspectives to share. It’s a particularly powerful year for friendships that are often sudden or exciting, social affairs, and artistic work. Whirlwind changes in your love life and/or financial state are possible. It may be that you experience sudden changes or breakups with a friend or lover. However, the chance of a sudden new friendship is just as likely. At the root of this is a stronger taste for the unusual. What is familiar is less exciting to you than what is new and different. If a relationship seems to threaten your sense of freedom, you may have an easy time separating from it. Some fireworks in both your social and financial lives are expected.

Saturn transits square to your Sun until December 2018, and this can encourage you to straighten out neglected areas of your life, however. You’ll be working hard at disciplining yourself. You are likely to have new or increased responsibilities, and it might take some time to get adjusted to them. The need to re-structure and re-organize your life will be apparent at some point during this period. Much can be accomplished. Although you may not always see immediate results for your efforts, important groundwork can be laid for the future.

The year ahead can be an ambitious time and a supportive period for reaching your goals. You might solve a long-standing problem, or capitalize upon a resource that was previously hidden.

This is an excellent year in which to advance projects revolving around communications – writing, speaking, selling, and so forth. Your reputation may be enhanced through word of mouth. Making new contacts through learning and mental pursuits figures strongly as well.

With Mars conjunct Saturn in your Solar Return chart, you are more determined and hard-working than usual. This is an excellent time to get organized and to stick with projects through to the end. When you face obstacles to your goals, which is a likely scenario this year, you are likely to just keep on pushing. Progress may be slow, but it’s steady and solid. What you accomplish now will benefit you for years to come. You may be called to task for a responsibility that you’ve avoided in the past.

Jupiter forms a trine to your Sun in December, and you have a stronger than usual desire to improve, grow, and learn. This is a fortunate aspect that helps boost optimism and confidence, and you are able to attract fortunate circumstances into your life as a result. Problems are easier to resolve. Matters related to universities, higher education, religion, publishing, legal affairs, and/or foreign interests can be especially strong. It’s an excellent time to further your education. You are likely to enjoy a larger perspective on matters that keeps you from getting lost in details or overly frustrated by everyday stresses during the course of the month.

This is a year for solving problems and getting your life in order in significant ways. You receive plenty of cosmic support for making big improvements or lifestyle changes, although hard work is necessary. This can be a wonderful time for meeting new people or more thoroughly enjoying your current friendships.

2018 is a Number Seven year for you. Ruled by Neptune. This is a year of preparation, chance, and refinement. It is not a time of dramatic changes. Instead, it’s a year when reflection on the past is helpful, and when refinements to your life path should be made. It’s a good year to study and analyze. Unexpected twists to your life story and “chance” meetings are probable. Advice – take stock of your life in order to prepare for more exciting years to come, examine the past and plan for the future, get in touch with your deepest needs and uncover your personal power, don’t strain yourself or actively try to expand.

2019 will be a Number Eight year for you. Ruled by Saturn. This is a year of power and accomplishment. Actively seeking to expand, taking educated risks, and moving forward are highlighted. This is a year of opportunity, particularly in the material and business world, and opportunities need to be seized. It’s generally not a year to find a new love partner, simply because the focus is on the material world and your place in the world. This is a problem-solving year in which you can expect real, tangible results. Advice – take action, plan ahead, seize opportunities.

The Balance of the Signs and Astrology for March 29th

ARIES STRONG
Initiating, pioneering energy. Independent, bold, courageous, assertive, fiery, inspirational, direct, decisive. Can be egotistical, impulsive, impatient, aggressive, lacking subtlety.
VIRGO STRONG
Meticulous, discriminating, pure, practical, health conscious, hard working. Can be hyper-critical, petty and perfectionistic.
CAPRICORN STRONG
Disciplined, responsible, reliable, industrious, conscientious, practical, achieving. Can be pessimistic, overly conventional, rigid, materialistic, callous.

Today’s Elemental Balance

FIRE STRONG
Fire is enthusiastic, dynamic, and spontaneous, but lacks reflection. We are more courageous and adventurous now, with a tendency to act before thinking. There is little concern about what happened in the past. We are competitive and possibly impatient or bored easily.
EARTH STRONG
We are especially in touch with the physical world. We consider what we’ve learned and experienced in the past in order to make the most of the present. We can be cautious, practical, and possibly unimaginative. We are deliberate and can pace ourselves well. We need hands-on experience and are not impressed with theory as much as we are with results. Routines are tolerable and comforting.
AIR WEAK
We may have a difficult time being objective or detached. We may not be especially communicative.
WATER WEAK
There may be some insensitivity or lack of empathy now. We may be out of touch with what we’re feeling or with our emotional needs. We may be tougher than usual now, and more inclined to follow mental or practical considerations than we are to listen to our intuition.

Today’s Modal Balance

CARDINAL STRONG
We are ready to take action and to take on challenges, and you can become frustrated with stagnant conditions.
FIXED WEAK
We may be open to change but may not have much follow-through.