Trusting Your Body's Wisdom - New Moon in Taurus

Emily Trinkaus is currently my special guest speaker in the Creative Soul Circle. She will be participating in our Q & A Group so if you want to talk with her personally please sign up below. General membership to the Circle is free, but access to the private Q&A Group is $19 a month or $144 annually, which includes my Q&A Group, a Moon Musing Group and the Awaken Your Divine Feminine Soul eClass plus TONS of other goodies! Join the Creative Soul Circle.

*Every month in our Circle I will be featuring a new guest; in June I’ll be featuring Susan Rodio, Mystical Artist. You can view the entire year's line up of special guests here.

Trusting Your Body's Wisdom - New Moon in Taurus by Guest Astrologer, Emily Trinkaus May 2, 2011 11:51 pdt

"Suppose... the body is a God in its own right, a teacher, a mentor, a certified guide? Then what? .... Are we strong enough to refute the party line and listen deep, listen true to the body as a powerful and holy being?" - Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run with the Wolves

On April 20th, the Sun moved into earthy Taurus, initiating the season of the Bull -- a time to slow down, appreciate simple pleasures, and nurture your body and the planet. The Taurus Sun energizes sensory awareness, reconnecting you with your body's wisdom and guidance, with the beauty and magic of the natural world, with the miracle of life on Earth in every moment.

Taurus is the sign of stewardship, cultivation and building, and tonight's New Moon (11:51 PDT) asks you to prioritize and get practical. How you can best support the new growth that sprouted during the Aries season? What's worth sustaining, and what's in your way? What really matters?

While Mercury was Retrograde (March 30-April 23), the desires, ideas and intentions that got stirred up at the Spring Equinox weren't quite ready to come into form. This felt like a particularly obvious Retrograde -- not surprising since Mercury was in Aries (a sign not known for its subtlety). The purpose of this Mercury Retro was to realign with your passions, restore your vitality, and re-inspire you to create what you really want.

Now that Mercury is moving forward again and getting back up to speed, and especially after the New Moon, it'll be easier to bring your plans into reality. The Taurus New Moon has a lot of traction, and carries a kind of "be careful what you wish for" energy. While the Sun and Moon unite in Taurus, five planets -- including Venus, Taurus's ruler -- are still in fiery, passionate, risk-taking Aries. As astro-blogger Elsa P writes, "this is just not the kind of fire you want to play with" (New Moon in Taurus).

The line-up of Aries planets inspires honesty and authenticity and can help cut through an over-attachment to security -- Taurus's shadow. Are you going after what you really want, trusting your body's wisdom and guidance, or are you playing it safe and following your fears?

In the context of escalating global crises (see Earth Day), you might as well go for it. And between now and June 4th -- while Jupiter is still in Aries (see Jupiter Enters Aries) -- you have an ideal window for taking the initiative and acting on your passions.

On a practical, astro-technical note, if you want to set New Moon intentions, it's best to wait until after 10:09 am PDT on Wednesday. The Moon will turn "void-of-course" just after the New Moon and all day Tuesday, which, according to Jan Spiller (author of New Moon Astrology) is an inauspicious time to make wishes.

Patience, patience. Taurus is all about slowing down enough to be able to tune into the intelligence of your body and of the Earth. Today and tomorrow are perfect for spending time in nature, cultivating your garden, sending gratitude to the planet, and indulging your need for pleasure, affection and beauty.

More About Emily Trinkaus

I fell in love with astrology when I was 13 and read Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs. Suddenly the world made sense! I’ve been a passionate student of the cosmic science ever since. The more I learn, the more I’m humbled by its elegance, power and profound mystery. I started giving readings professionally in 1999.

I also have a background in creative arts – writing, painting and movement – and founded Portland Women Writers. I love working with other artists and writers to offer support for breaking through blocks and increasing access to the creative flow.

http://virgomagic.com http://virgomagic.wordpress.com/

Balance, Essence and Kinship – Full Moon in Libra

Next month (May, 2011) in the Creative Soul Circle I have Astrologer, Emily Trinkaus as my special guest. She will be participating in our Q & A Group so if you want to talk with her personally please sign up below. Sign up is free for the Circle, but access to the private Q&A Group is $19 a month or $144 annually, which includes my Q&A Group, a Moon Musing Group and the Awaken Your Divine Feminine Soul eClass plus lots of other goodies! Join the Creative Soul Circle.

*Every month in our Circle I will be featuring a new guest; in June I’ll be featuring Susan Rodio, Mystical Artist. You can view the entire year's line up of special guests here. Full Moon in Libra by Emily Trinkaus

Essence is what is left after all defenses are stripped away; it is who we are when we are undefended. This unshakable center of being — a place where we feel loved, loving, whole, connected, and joyful — is the end to all experiences of emotional homelessness. – Jett Psaris & Marlena S. Lyons, Undefended Love

Sunday’s Full Moon (7:44pm PDT) animates the Aries-Libra polarity, highlighting the balance between self and other, independence and connection, assertion and receptivity, passion and objectivity. The Libra Full Moon asks: What is being reflected back to you by the significant others in your life? Where do you need to restore balance? Are you giving more than you’re receiving (or vice versa)? Are you pushing too hard to get what you want, or afraid to take the risk of acting on your desires? How can you cultivate inner peace in a chaotic world?

This lunation offers a great opportunity for working through projections by taking responsibility for what you see “out there.” As the saying goes, If you spot it, you got it. (Byron Katie’s Judge Your Neighbor Worksheet is helpful.) Working through projections breaks down the ego, helping to reconnect with your true, infinite, source self and to see the god/goddess in yourself and everyone around you.

Venus, ruler of Libra, is now in Pisces, flavoring this Full Moon with extra dreaminess, sensitivity, imagination, romance, and the potential for escapism and delusion. Venus in Pisces dissolves boundaries between self and other, merging the separate self into the ocean of consciousness. Venus in Pisces is the Divine Feminine, the Ocean Goddess, the nurturing source reality from which we all emerged and to which we all return. “God dwells within me, as me.”

Alongside the dreaminess, some frustration is possible. Action planet Mars, ruler of Aries — is moving into an opposition with Saturn — restriction and responsibility. Described as “driving with the brakes on,” Mars-Saturn slows down the action, to ensure that passions and urges are aligned with long-term goals.

Your commitment to your desires is being tested. Obstacles signal that you’re either on the wrong track, or need to reconsider your strategy about how to move forward. Patience, persistence and negotiation may be required.

Adding to the slow-down are three planets now traveling Retrograde, all in Cardinal signs — Mercury in Aries, Saturn in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn. Commenting on the “Cardinal Retrograde,” Robert Phoenix writes:

“We are asked on a symbolic level to really explore how we’re spending our energies and life force…. Pulling back or even out of certain activities, especially, if they have become routinely habitual is favored now. Unplugging creates space for new and different thoughts.” (… The Cardinal Retrograde)

The days following the Full Moon are typically best for releasing from your life whatever is no longer working for you — in this case, whatever keeps you out of balance, and disconnected from the truth of your divine self.

More About Emily

http://virgomagic.com http://virgomagic.wordpress.com/

I fell in love with astrology when I was 13 and read Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs. Suddenly the world made sense! I’ve been a passionate student of the cosmic science ever since. The more I learn, the more I’m humbled by its elegance, power and profound mystery. I started giving readings professionally in 1999.

I also have a background in creative arts – writing, painting and movement – and founded Portland Women Writers. I love working with other artists and writers to offer support for breaking through blocks and increasing access to the creative flow.

Interview with Astrologer, Emily Trinkaus

Next month (May, 2011) in the Creative Soul Circle I have Astrologer, Emily Trinkaus as my special guest. She will be participating in our Q & A Group so if you want to talk with her personally please sign up below. Sign up is free for the Circle, but access to the private Q&A Group is $19 a month or $144 annually, which includes my Q&A Group, a Moon Musing Group and the Awaken Your Divine Feminine Soul eClass plus lots of other goodies! Join the Creative Soul Circle.

*Every month in our Circle I will be featuring a new guest; in June I’ll be featuring Susan Rodio, Mystical Artist. You can view the entire year's line up of special guests here.

An Interview with Emily Trinkaus, Astrologer

How did you originally become interested in astrology?

When I was 13, a friend gave me a copy of Linda Goodman's Sun Signs and I was hooked! It just immediately made sense to me, and gave me a helpful perspective on myself and the people in my life, some order to the chaos. I come from an entirely non-woo-woo background, and didn't really get the spiritual dimensions of astrology until much later, but it just seemed very practical, which appealed to my Virgoness.

How can astrology help people?

Astrology can help people by revealing a higher, cosmic perspective to what's happening in their lives. Astrology can also help people by validating what they already know, but may be afraid to trust - that is, the most common response to an astrology reading is relief. It's not like I'm telling the client something they don't already know, but more like I'm giving them permission to be who they are and to trust their intuition in going after what they want.

I also think astrology helps people by connecting them with something bigger, with the mysterious Multiverse. When a complete stranger looks at a page with a bunch of symbols and then gives you an accurate, detailed description of what you're experiencing internally, you know that there's more to this world than what you experience with your five senses.

What is the best way to begin the study of astrology?

The best way to start is to get an astrology reading with a professional astrologer, because then you can get a real sense of what's possible with astrology and how mind-blowing it is. You can study your own chart for years and continue to get new insights and understandings. Study charts of friends and family - you can learn the most through observation, and asking questions. There are many entries into astrology, and it's a very individual journey. Follow what excites you.

Are there any downsides to astrology?

Astrology is a tool, and, like any tool, whether it is good or bad depends on how it's used. When astrology is used for predictive "fortune telling" or to give a static description of "who you are," it's disempowering and not useful. This is the mainstream understanding of astrology - Sun Signs and horoscopes - which is an outrageous reduction and misrepresentation of a very complex art and science. When people say they "don't believe in astrology," I say, "I don't believe in the same astrology that you don't believe in."

Can one make a good living as a full time astrologer in today's world?

I believe you can make a living doing whatever you want. And I think it's a great time to be an astrologer - more and more people are ready for this perspective, and are looking for answers to the big questions in life.

What astrological gem of wisdom do you feel is most essential for us to know about right now?

There's so much happening right now - read my blog!

More About Emily

http://virgomagic.com

http://virgomagic.wordpress.com/

I fell in love with astrology when I was 13 and read Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs. Suddenly the world made sense! I’ve been a passionate student of the cosmic science ever since. The more I learn, the more I’m humbled by its elegance, power and profound mystery. I started giving readings professionally in 1999.

I also have a background in creative arts – writing, painting and movement – and founded Portland Women Writers. I love working with other artists and writers to offer support for breaking through blocks and increasing access to the creative flow.

Spring Intention Setting

Equinox Musings ~ March 20, 2011 ~ 4:21 pm pdt ~ Sun enters Aries

"The New Year is not January 1st! The new year is the Spring Equinox which occurs on March 20 (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere) when the Sun enters 0 degrees Aries by geocentric astrology.

The Spring Equinox is the time to identify the intentions we wish to fulfill during the four seasons. Ideas correctly seeded at the Spring Equinox manifest for a year. During the Summer Solstice, the time has arrived to birth these ideas into recognizable form, like a forming fetus. The Fall Equinox is the time to flesh out, balance, and assess these creations and to weed things out that just are not working. Then the Winter Solstice is the time to enter into deep contemplation to imagine how our personal creations assist others and the planet."

~ Barbara Hand Clow

To stay up-to-date with the seasons and moons, subscribe to my bi-monthly Creative Soul Museletter, plus receive a free gift: a Creative Soul Blessing!

Leo Full Moon - Fueling the Heart's Fire

Leo Full Moon - Fueling the Heart's Fire by Guest Astrologer, Emily Trinkaus

The Full Moon in fiery Leo on February 18th (12:36am PST, to be exact) calls for reconnecting with your heart, expressing your individuality, and celebrating the Light.

At the Aquarius New Moon on February 2nd, you planted seeds for your future vision. Aquarius is the sign of community and the collective, and the New Moon initiated a new beginning in sharing your gifts with the world.

Now, the Leo Full Moon brings you back to this present moment, illuminating your heart's true desires. This Full Moon asks: What really makes you happy? Are you devoting so much energy to others that you're neglecting your personal happiness and creative expression? Are you taking time to celebrate, or are you living in the future?

At the time of the Full Moon, the Sun is straddled by Neptune -- the planet that rules our inherent interconnectedness with all life -- and Chiron the Wounded Healer. The Full Moon's interaction with these slow-moving planets amplifies our felt connection with the suffering of the collective, possibly putting a damper on the festive Leo energy.

If we can open to the feelings that arise, rather than closing our hearts to the pain, we have the opportunity to heal and release old wounds, and increase compassion for others. From this heart-centered place, we can see with innocent eyes, opening new possibilities for inspired action. What is the most creative response to the current crises? What is the unique gift you have to offer? How can we as individuals bring more Light to the planet in these dark times?

Emily’s Bio http://virgomagic.com

I fell in love with astrology when I was 13 and read Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs. Suddenly the world made sense! I’ve been a passionate student of the cosmic science ever since. The more I learn, the more I’m humbled by its elegance, power and profound mystery. I started giving readings professionally in 1999.

I also have a background in creative arts – writing, painting and movement – and founded Portland Women Writers. I love working with other artists and writers to offer support for breaking through blocks and increasing access to the creative flow.