Month: October 2015

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Supermoon 27th October 2015

MOON UNCOVERING

Quick check-in – Today (27th October) we have the third Supermoon in a row, and a powerful one at that. Even though we in Durban are unlikely to see it, due to the rainy weather, we can still feel it.

The sun is now firmly ensconsed in Scorpio, the plumber of the zodiac, and he is down in the trenches shining his torchlight into those dark shadowy corners, determined to uncover and root out anything which is blocking us or standing in the way of us living our best lives.

The moon is opposite him in earthy, sensual Taurus, which represents the relationships we have with our bodies, our value systems and with Mother Earth.

Take a few moments today to sit quietly, close your eyes and run through your body. Connect with and become aware of any areas of tension, discomfort or pain. Imagine walking into that area and feeling what it feels like. What’s the colour… whats the texture… whats the shape? Is there an emotion there? How is your body telling you where you aren’t valuing yourself? Whereabouts is the discomfort and how could it perhaps relate to your life situation?  Is your neck stiff or sore – maybe you need to put some burdens down. Is your throat uncomfortable? Perhaps you need to communicate something to somebody.  Play with this and use that brilliant intuition of yours! 

The planetary alignments are really helping us to be our own investigators right now… to find out exactly where we are under-valuing or just flat-out abusing ourselves and to start clearing up the crime scene.

The investigations continue in my November Metapmorphosis workshops…join us!  See below for details

Blessings

Michelle

Metamorphosis in 7 Steps
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Metamorphosis in 7 Steps

tree butterfly mandala

There’s some butterflyingly beautiful, transformational energy around for the next month folks. Right now, we have Venus, Mars and Jupiter (all in Virgo), in a gorgeous free flowing trine to Pluto (the planet of Transformation and ruler of Scorpio)…and then on the 23rd, the Sun  enters Scorpio, further assisting us in transmuting whatever we choose to, in our lives.

I’ve been fascinated by the concept of metamorphosis ever since I was a small child, when I spent my days poking holes into  shoe- box lids and  collecting mulberry leaves for my silkworms.   The process by which the caterpillar or worm turns into the butterfly or moth, has long been  used as a human metaphor for transforming states of consciousness, from one dimension to another.  With all this Scorpio Energy around,  I’m dedicating the next month’s writings, Facebook postings and Workshops to the Butterfly and the incredible process of Transformation.

The glorious, gorgeous butterfly, which not only lifts our spirits, but also serves the planet by pollinating our plants, starts off it’s life as a  caterpillar … doing it’s thing, eating and crawling and hanging out with other caterpillars, not for a minute envisaging life as anything other than a caterpillar.  And then one day, our little friend  decides he just doesn’t feel like doing the same old thing everyday, so he starts to shed his skin, stops eating and hangs upside down on a twig. It is here that he starts to spin himself a cocoon, and that’s as much as most of us know. He goes into the chyrsalis as a caterpillar and comes out as a butterfly… right?

Yep, but what happens in between?

Well, he starts to let go of his caterpillarness entirely. He actually starts to release enzymes which dissolve all his tissues, until there’s seemingly nothing left of him… just caterpillar soup! You can imagine that for the caterpillar, this probably feels a little confusing and disorientating to say the least! But it is there, in the midst of the apparent dissolution, that the magic starts to happen. A group of cells, known as imaginal discs survive the dissolution and using the protein rich soup around them, start to form the features of a butterfly.

There was order in the chaos after all!

Out of this imaginal place, emerges the possibility of the caterpillar transforming into something completely different.  It takes some time, but eventually, the wings start to form and he starts to push his way out of the cocoon.  But, its not over yet… our newly designed butterfly now needs to  struggle out of his cocoon all on his own.   The restriction of the cocoon and the difficulty required to get through the opening, forces fluid to flow from the body into the wings, so that they will be strong enough for him to fly. If he is helped out by anyone, he will literally never get off the ground.

For me, this  describes the energy of Scorpio and the theme of transformation so perfectly. We’ll explore the concept in more depth over the next month, as the full moon and new moon in November continue this theme.

In the meantime, consider the caterpillar’s story,  how you have experienced the different phases of metamorphisis in your own life and how you have emerged, time and time again. Its a good idea to journal or visual journal it.

Consider too, where you feel you might be in this process right now, bearing in mind that different parts of your life might be at different phases of transformation. i.e. your business might be in the cocoon stage, your relationship might be emerging!

Are you or is a part of your life:

  • Crawling around, tired of the same old, same old
  • Feeling the need to hang upside down (change your perspective)
  • In the cocoon/ withdrawn – feeling like things are dissolving and changing
  • Starting to imagine a new life
  • Getting ready to emerge
  • Struggling to emerge
  • Emerging as a butterfly

I am very excited to announce a brand new one-day workshop “Metamorphosis – Me as a Butterfly”  where we’ll  play with these themes in the Magical Imaginal Realm of meditation, movement and art.  I will be running the same workshop on Saturday 14th November and Saturday 28th November, so as to accommodate end of the year busy-ness . See below for details.

metamorphosis

Blessings

Michelle

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Lifelight Astrology New Moon 13th October

new moon libra

On Tuesday 13th October, we have the start of a brand spanking new lunar cycle with a New Moon in Libra – which sets the scene for the next two weeks. When we think Libra, we think relationship, co-operation, peace, love, beauty and harmony… “Imagine” by John Lennon says it best, being a Libran himself.

But …here’s the rub… this usually lovely sun/moon peace party is being directly opposed by radical, revolutionary, Uranus, who is residing in fiery, impulsive Aries. You might say it’s just a tad more complex and contradictory than normal. You may be feeling a  little on the edgy side,  irritated, angry or perhaps  a bit stuck or sick and tired of playing it safe and trying to please everybody?

Lets have some fun and see if we can get to know the archetypal characters in this scene (which are mirrored in each of us)  a bit better, so we can work out what to do with them.

Imagine if you will, a wrestling ring – Enter on the left, to the swell of orchestral music, the gorgeous, the honed, the immaculately turned out… Mr Libra – let’s call him Fancy Pants Phillipe … charming, graceful, smooth of skin, silken cape swirling around perfectly tailored shorts. More than happy to be in the limelight, he glides around the ring, waving and flashing his Hollywood smile for all to see.  After all, you’ve paid for your ticket and he aims to please.

And then…Suddenly… the music shifts, there’s a rumble and a roar and a flash of lightening, as a blur of  black and red silk explodes like a whirling dervish into the ring. Seemingly out of thin air, appears the Great, the mighty …Rebel the Ram, muscles pumped for action, presence looming, teeth bared, pure primal energy shooting from every pore, his body glistening with the sweat of unadulterated excitement and unbridled energy. Not a second is wasted as Rebel the Ram virtually flies across the ring and pounces on  Fancy Pants, who doesn’t even see it coming,  absorbed as he is in doing the pleaser strut.  Pandemonium breaks out – I mean the match hasn’t event started yet. The refs manage to restrain the Rebel and he laughingly prances away, waving a dismissive hand at Fancy Pants, who is now lying in a daze on the floor, a little bloodied and very embarrassed indeed. The Ram moves swiftly  around the ring, arms in the air, brimming with the unabashed  confidence of a winner.  His speciality is the rattling of cages and he has successfully unbalanced and psyched his opponent out. Had Fancy pants not been so obsessed with pleasing everybody, he may have seen it coming.

Uranus is the rebel, the awakener and he’s just doing his job, bringing us out of any slumber we might be in.

This new moon, as much as we want the beauty, balance, peace thing, we are being hoofed out of our comfort zones by unexpected and possibly surprising events or people. If you’ve been stuck in a rut, this lunation should be just the medicine you need, to bounce you out of it! Uranus is ready to leap into the ring of our lives and show us exactly where we’re being inauthentic or where our lives are out of balance.

Libra generally has little or no interest in rocking the boat, whereas  Uranus in Aries says “burn the boat down if needs be”. Libra wants to co-operate, avoid confrontation and keep the peace at all costs, where Uranus demands that we be honest,  assert ourselves, stand up for what’s right, change the way we do things and even maybe take a risk or two.

Obviously with the main theme still being balance, we’re being urged to find the middle ground, regardless of which side of the pendulum we happen to be hanging out on.

Here are some questions to ask this new moon:

  • Where in my life, do I feel stuck?
  • Where am I telling the same story and how can I change it?
  • What part of my life needs the Rebel Ram treatment and what form could that take?.
  • What can I do that is out of the norm and would get me out of the rut?
  • Where in my life am I putting on a pleasing face and over co-operating, possibly to my detriment – a good clue here is to ask yourself what or who you resent and why.
  • Or – where am I being blustery, imposing, tactless, confrontational and self obsessed?
  • Am I pushing too hard or are taking the path of least resistance?
  • Am I going to war with people, when peace would be the better option?.
  • What are my judgements about others?  They are what I need to address in myself.

Mercury has thankfully just turned direct and joined the Libran party, so he’s there to help us to find the balance within ourselves and in our communications with others.

“Be the change you want to see”. Ghandi

 

Blessings

Michelle