Full Moon in Taurus-11/2/09
the next full moon falls in the sign of taurus on monday november 2nd at 11:14am PST. this full moon is called the beaver full moon in colonial american terminology, the snow moon in english medieval, and my favorite- the dark moon in celtic 
it follows on the heels of the pagan holiday samhain- which is celebrated from october 31st-november 1st and is the largest of the pagan holidays and is affiliated with the celtic tradition. this holiday is the time when the veil between the worlds is thinnest- and also marks the time when the lighter half of the year ends and the darker half commences (in the northern hemisphere that is, in the southern it is reversed). this full moon falls right around this potent time and we can see the potency in the full moon chart for sure! this full moon is powerfully activated and likely is being felt by sensitive souls around the world as it moves to exactness on monday morning. Read more
5 Ways to Go Green(er)
Composting may seem a bit extreme to the everyday person, but with today’s technology, you can’t go wrong. Many of the bins are extremely easy to use and don’t require much maintenance. Plus the reward–ultra rich soil–is such a great benefit!
Many major cities are subsidizing the cost of composting bins and they are now available for a fraction of what you’d find at the hardware store. Check your city’s website to see if your neighborhood qualifies.
2) Watch how you Wash
The key to going green is maximizing efficiency, and this is especially true when we do dishes or laundry. How many times have we started the dishwasher when it wasn’t totally full? Probably too many!
Make sure that the machines are full every time you do laundry or run the dishwasher. Also, try to run the cycles at off-peak hours, such as before 9 a.m. and after 9 p.m. It’s a lot cheaper that way.
3) Unplug your Appliances
Did you know that when an appliance is plugged in it still pulls energy, regardless of whether the appliance is on or not? It’s true!
The toaster you use twice a week or the cell phone charger that isn’t charging is using energy and costing you money. Unplug every appliance that you aren’t using right this second and you’ll instantly be greener (and a little richer!).
4) Go with Microfiber
You know those amazing towels and dishcloths you see advertised on TV that clean up just about any spill or mess? They actually work!
Home Office Feng Shui
If you are at all familiar with Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese practice of balancing your surroundings, you may have heard that one should never sit with their back to a door. This simple, general truth is based on the theory that you will feel uncomfortable and unable to focus well if you have your back to the opening of a room. This is also just plain common sense and most people can relate to this general premise. We all feel most stable with a view in front of us and a solid wall behind us. But for the home office, this edict may not be as relevant or important to adhere to.
What goes on in a commercial environment, with fellow co-workers literally barging in on you in your office, is completely different than the often serene and quiet atmosphere of working at home.
If a room is windowless, it is nice to have scenic art work that gives an optical illusion of depth to counter balance the confinement often felt with all solid walls. Having full spectrum lighting in the room will be less draining than fluorescent lighting. For a room that is small, mounting pictures a little high on the wall will draw the eyes upward and make the room feel bigger.
Kartar Diamond is the founder of Feng Shui Solutions and Four Pillars Publishing. She is the author of The Feng Shui Continuum - A Blueprint for Balanced Living and The Feng Shui Matrix: Another Way to Inherit the Earth.
Stress Release is Fun!
Stress release actually is fun. Our bodies get to say WHOOSH.
The body knows how to release stress. It does it every day. These tools – meditation, yoga, breathing, are just ways of accessing the built-in skills your body has.
Check out this info from my website:
Yoga & Meditation is as American as Apple Pie, Almost
The CDC - The Centers for Disease Control - conducted a nationwide survey and found that 7.5% of Americans have done Yoga (7.1% in the last month) and 10.2% have meditated, 7.6% in the last month. Here is a link to the research, in PDF form. The CDC was interested also in what Americans do, who do they call, if they have an ache, or headache, or feel stressed out. Half of Americans interviewed said they thought an alternative approach, such as yoga or meditation, would be interesting to try out.
A new bit of research was just published on how meditation affects cellular metabolism, and how meditating every day helps prevent cellular damage resulting from too much stress. And here is a US News article on meditation as a way to simplify your life.
How to Take a Belly Breath
Stressed out? It’s time to stop and take a deep belly breath. Here’s how:
Place one or both hands on your belly. Rest your hands there lightly and notice the motion of your belly as you breathe. Again, think of your favorite smells, or loves, and notice what happens in your abdomen as you breathe. Continue this way for a dozen breaths or so–don’t count them, just go for a minute.
Then place one hand on your belly and the other on your heart area, between your nipples. Rest your hands and notice what a comfort it is. There may be a very small, delicate good feeling in just having your hands in touch with these centers of breath. Do this for at least three minutes either sitting comfortably or lying down.
Exploring Turning Motions
Your body knows how to adapt to change, and it practices this every six seconds. It’s called breathing.
But the breath does not just flow in and out. It also must transition from flowing out to flowing in and vice versa. These transitions can reveal to us the nature of change.
Here’s how to explore turning motions for yourself:
Pick a spot where you can pace back and forth. Walk one direction, turn, then walk back in the other direction, turn, then repeat. Do this for at least a few minutes, and as you do so, focus on the turning motion.
Now sit down and move the hands away from the mouth area or the heart area as you exhale, and then in toward your body as you inhale. Pay special attention to the moment of transition, when the hands go from moving away from you to moving toward you, and again from moving toward you to moving away. Be aware of your palms, the sensations.
Move the palms in toward your chest, as if drawing in air. Move the palms outward, as if pushing out the old air. Continue this motion for five minutes.
Then rest your hands in your lap and pay attention to the flow of breath in the same way.
As the air flows in and out, pay attention to the rhythm: in, turn, out, turn, in, turn, out, turn. The turning point is neither stillness nor motion. It is stillness in motion, or sometimes motion in stillness.
Pecan Squares
This delicious recipe is just the thing to get you in the mood to celebrate autumn. It was given to us by Anna Smith, founder of the New School for Cooking. Enjoy!
Makes 36 squares
Crust:
2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 12 inch baking pan.
Sift sugar and flour together and stir in salt. Cut in butter, using two knives or your fingers, until fine crumbs form. Pat crust into the prepared baking pan. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven.
Topping:
5 1/2 ounces (2/3 cup) melted butter
1/2 cup honey
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 1/2 cups shelled pecans, coarsely chopped
Mix melted butter, honey, cream and brown sugar together. Stir in pecans, coating them thoroughly. Spread over crust.
Return to oven and bake for 25 minutes more. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
lunar eclipse in cancer 12/31/09
lunar eclipse in cancer- 12/31/09 at 11:13am PST
we are in the eclipse portal yet again. the last set of eclipses happened over the summer in july and august. these were the first eclipses in the signs of cancer and capricorn. the eclipses happen in pairs and move through the signs backwards. so we just finished the leo/aquarius eclipses and in 2009 entered the cancer/capricorn ones. the archetypes represented by cancer and capricorn are that of the Divine Feminine/Mother and the Divine Masculine/Father. having eclipses in these signs brings the themes of the feminine and masculine, yin and yang, into play. eclipses are times of massive change. lunar eclipses often bring endings, culminations and climaxes, while solar eclipses bring new beginnings. what ever ends or begins at this time is for your highest good, no matter how difficult it may seem to be from the outset. having a lunar eclipse on the last day of 2009 is potent symbolism as it supports us all in releasing the past and saying goodbye to what no longer serves our highest good so that we can enter into the new year with open arms and an open heart. Read more
New Moon in Libra Conjunct Arcturus
it’s that time of the month again! the next moon cycle commences on saturday october 17th at 10:33pm PDT with the new moon in libra. new moons are the symbolic seed time of the moon cycle. it’s time to plant new seeds, initiate new endeavors, and begin new projects related to the house the new moon falls in (read your horoscopes for more info). this new moon is in libra so the focus is on relationships, harmony, balance, and inner and outer Union. the new moon occurs when the sun and moon are at the same degree in the zodiac. consciousness (the sun) and the unconscious (the moon) are aligned but there is not light just yet. the seed is planted now and the harvest occurs at the full moon when the sun and moon are opposite one another and the light of consciousness fulling illuminates the unconscious. right now it is a time to commence what you want to harvest in 2 weeks time.
so this new moon is quite potent as it is conjunct a powerful fixed star named arcturus. arcturus is considered very fortunate and it symbolizes a different approach taken that is supported by the Universe in powerful ways. this new moon conjunct arcturus brings celestial assistance to anything new undertaken right now- particularly relating to Sacred Union with our inner Other (which can be experienced in the mirror of the outer Other). taking a different approach to that which you’ve always done a certain way can lead to powerful new beginnings. if you stay centered in yourSelf what begins now can be spiritually significant in ways you cannot even begin to fathom.
supporting this spiritual significance is the triple conjunction of jupiter, neptune and chiron in trine aspect to the new moon, aligning the powerful opportunity for spiritual healing, awareness and enlightenment with whatever is begun at the start of this new moon cycle. having this trine in air signs focuses the energy on the level of the mind, communication and social connection and relationship with others.
in addition, the new moon is in quincunx aspect to uranus and juno in pisces. uranus is the great awakener and activator. he is all about change and the influx of new energy which necessitates releasing the old and the past. uranus conjunct juno has been bringing a radical awakening to a new way of being in partnership and commitment. juno is all about relationship/marriage needs and in pisces there is a need for deep soul connection that goes beyond the superficial and the 3d realms. with uranus on juno though there is also a need for freedom, individuality, space and independence. juno in pisces’ yearning to merge with her soulmate is tempered by uranus’ need to be separate in togetherness. these two are creating unrest in relationships that are stuck in old patterns and paradigms and are waking up single people to a new way of being together. this new moon in the sign of relationship (libra) in tough aspect to uranus and juno brings this paradigm shift of partnership into the mix in potent ways. arcturus’ support of us taking a different approach is eminently felt when applied to partnership and relationship. initiating new relationships or starting new chapters in old relationships by going a completely different route than before is a great way to channel the energy and celestial support that is available now.
and last, but certainly not least, the nodes of destiny and karma are significantly placed in this new moon chart. the north node in capricorn and the south node in cancer are square to the new moon in libra. our path of growth and destiny requires that we take responsibility for ourselves, provide for our own needs, and release codependency and the need for someone else to mother or father us/nurture us/take care of us. we must first and foremost mother/nurture/take care of ourselves. when balanced in our own Divine Mother and Divine Father energy we can create relationships on a very different foundation that is based on equality and psychological/emotional/spiritual health. this aspect creates a t-square with the missing point being aries. aries and mars are key to the balancing and integration of the future and the past, the inner and the outer. aries is the opposite point to the new moon so balancing Self with Other, masculine with feminine, assertiveness with receptivity, and conquering with surrendering is key.
this new moon is a potent one, activating the cardinal signs of enterprise and initiation. this new moon can be very supportive of new endeavors at this time, so choose carefully and invest your energy wisely. and watch your path unfold
xo
~divine harmony
Divine Harmony - “My one wish for humanity is to open the heart chakras of everyone on the planet. I hope to assist as many people as I can in healing their bodies, minds and souls as I journey on this same path of healing for myself. I believe that astrology can be a powerful tool for self-knowledge and healing and I hope to share that with the world.” To schedule private readings and consultations you can reach Divine Harmony at divineharmony.org
Caring For Your Creativity
I once had a big, life-changing idea that was as bright as a butterfly.
Within days, I felt its wings sag, the momentum drop. What happened?
Negative feedback.
I am finding it important to match the feedback I need with the right
person. There are well meaning people everywhere that can crush a delicate,
new thought without realizing the damage they are doing. If you are like me,
at the beginning phases of creativity it’s best to seek out only the
gentlest witnesses.
About my bright idea? I’m back on track starting this month, I promise.
Do you treat your good ideas like the fragile and beautiful creatures they
are?
This Bliss Tip provided by Jean Franzblau
