Uncategorized

by

New Moon September 9th – Bringing in the New

flowers

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day; 
And give us not to think so far away 
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here 
All simply in the springing of the year.
Robert Frost

 I recently spent some special time in the Cape and had the incredible opportunity of hanging out with the wild flowers on the West Coast, something that’s been on my bucket list forever. I felt as if I had been dropped onto a magic carpet of  diverse new life, joy and abundance! Mother  Nature really does teach us everything we need to know, if we take time to immerse ourselves in her bounty.

 SPRINGING INTO LIFE

Saturn finally moves direct on the 6th September, after a long and rather arduous retrograde period, which, along with all the other retrograde energy of late,  has been challenging for  many of us. Here’s hoping that from the New Moon on 9th September, things  will start to move forward in a positive way,  as we officially welcome spring, the bringer of new beginnings.

The season of flowers always coincides with the Sun’s annual journey  through Virgo (in the Southern Hemisphere) the sign  associated with separating the wheat from the chaff.   No other sign is stronger when it comes to differentiating and discerning – between what is healthy and unhealthy; useful and pointless; valuable and damaging. It’s this sign that focuses on protecting and preserving our individual bodies and planet earth and on analyzing, strategising and putting in place, systems and routines to serve them.

 NEW MOON  SEPTEMBER 9 IN VIRGO

This new moon in Virgo is in an exact opposition to the planet Neptune in gentle Pisces, which creates somewhat of a paradox.  On one hand we feel the need to put systems in place, make order out of chaos, analyse, strategise and perfect –  an on the other, we feel led to surrender, trust and flow.

Virgo and Pisces are both signs concerned with healing and completion, perfection and improvement, so it’s about finding a balance between our physical world and our spiritual connection – how we can bring spirit into matter and matter into spirit.

With 6 planets in earth signs right now, we’re being provided with a strong feminine flourish of healing and feeling – with a dollop of earthy Virgo practicality stirred into the mix.

 CLEARING THE WAY

One of the best ways of working with the energy of a Virgo New Moon is to take some time to discern what you want to let go of and what you’d like to keep in your life;  what’s healthy and what’s not; what’s useful and what’s done it’s time; what is serving you and what is not.

It’s an excellent time to detox, purge or de-clutter your physical word –  home, work space and body,  to make space for the  new.  With Virgo ruling Mercury the planet of the mind, this time is also about becoming more aware of the mind/ body /soul connection.  This is a month where we can more easily observe how are thought patterns, emotions and  habitual reactions are connected and practically start to shift those that aren’t serving us.

 BRINGING IN THE NEW

As the moon waxes between the 9th and 23rd, it’s an excellent time to put  new physical, mental, spiritual habits and routines into place. With all the earth energy around, this is a really good time to introduce practical change in our lives.

Habits are sets of automatic unconscious thoughts, emotions and behaviours that are acquired through repetition . Do something (positive or negative)  for long enough and it becomes hard wired.

So, making one small change in our routine or replacing one negative thought with a positive one, really can and does shift everything.  Simply starting your day with some quiet time and a few positive affirmations can work wonders to shift old patterns.

This is an excellent video by Joe Dispenso, who is an expert on this subject.

Ask yourself this new moon:

  •  What can you clear out, to make room for the new  body/physical spaces/ mind?
  • What in your life is ready to spring into being?
  • What new physical, mental, spiritual habits and routines  can you put into place and commit to for 21 days?

ASTROLOGY CONSULTATIONS

As a qualified Counselling Astrologer, Creative Therapist and NLP Practitioner, I use a multi-faceted approach to help people understand themselves, navigate their lives and develop their true potential.  I consult over Skype globally or face-to-face in Durban, Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa

Please email me to set up a session. 

SATURDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER – SPRINGING TO LIFE WORKSHOP

9 to 5pm – Rest and Digest – Gillitts, Kwa Zulu Natal

What, in your life is ready to be brought to life? What needs to be cleared, in order to make space for the New. In this one day Art & Soul Workshop we will explore these themes, using the flower as our guide.

Email me for more details

 

In Life and Light

Michelle

Advertisements
We’re in Retro Season – 6 Retrograde Planets
by

We’re in Retro Season – 6 Retrograde Planets

Have any of you been feeling as though you’re performing the lead role in Ground Hog Day?  Same thing – different day?

Well, you’re certainly not alone and it’s not really surprising, seeing as we have 6 planets AND Chiron, all Retrograde right now.  This means that from our perspective here on earth, they all appear to be moving backwards! Although it’s an optical illusion, the energy certainly isn’t!

RETROGRADE PLANETS

In a heavy retrograde period like this, we often feel as if our lives (or areas of our lives) have come to a standstill.  We know that things need to change, but are unsure of exactly what to do next.

It really can feel as though we are taking one step forward and three backwards, as if our progress is being blocked, or that we’re being physically stopped or slowed down.

Some of us might even feel hopeless, listless, confused, unwell, unable to “see” the future” and perhaps fearful of even contemplating what lies ahead.

When there is this much retrograde activity around, we’re urged to go back… reflect on, review, reassess, reconsider different areas of our lives, so that we can learn from them and re-envision a future more aligned with our true potential.

Without going into too much astrological detail, we are quite accustomed to the outer planets (Pluto, Neptune and Uranus) going retrograde every year and Mercury every few months. However, this time it’s a bit different as they’re all retrograde together and are joined by the other hefties (Mars and Saturn).

The good news is that Mercury will turn direct on the 20th August and Mars  on 29th August, followed by Saturn on 6th September, so things should start to  turn around in the next couple of weeks… , but first, let’s grab this retro season by the tail and see what its teaching us.

 MARS

The one many of us are feeling most acutely right now (particularly if it’s triggering your personal chart)  is Mars  Retrograde (from June 26 to Aug 27th) The fiery one only  retrogrades once every 1.5 years, so it’s not as common as the others. To intensify it even more, he’s been moving in and out of a square with Uranus, the planet of change!

The way I’m feeling the energy is – “I want / need this situation to change, before I can shoot my arrows in the direction of my goals and dreams”  – “Oh.. but hang on… I’m not exactly sure what those are… and before I move forward, there’s this to take care of… so not yet!”

Mars, the planet of action really doesn’t enjoy being… well… inactive. The fiery one wants to shoot his arrows towards his goals, dammit!  Move FORWARD… not backwards!  He’s impulsive, impatient and wants to get on with it.  Obviously, when this isn’t possible, it can lead to irritability, nervous anxiety, anger, accidents or clashes with others.  This has all been elevated by the Eclipse season, by the way.

PULL BACK!

Mars Retrograde is asking us to really reassess/ review our goals/ desires to see if they are still valid or if they need to be adjusted a bit.  He also asks us to look at how we are using or abusing our energy.  Are we sending it on missions that are helping or hindering us?That little arrow on the mars symbol is itching to be set free, but first, as any good archer would tell you, he has to PULL IT BACK, reassess the target, make sure his feet are planted on solid ground and that neither the target or the ground beneath his feet are moving. Then when the time is right, take aim and fire!… but not yet!

Hopefully, when he turns direct on 29th/30th August,  the pressure should ease a little. Until then, pull back, if you can. Reflect. Reassess. Review.

AND THEN THERE’S GOOD OL SATURN

Saturn, the Lord of Karma, Father Time, the stern parent teacher planet, has been retrograde since  April and will stay that way until 6th September.  On his journey through Capricorn (where he will remain until 2020), he is, more or less, grabbing us by the scruffs of our necks and making us confront reality, face up to our responsibilities and do what needs to be done.  He is  also insisting that we take responsibility for everything in our lives – the good, the bad and the ugly. Even the stuff that seemingly isn’t “our problem” or “our fault”  – Everything. All our actions. All our thoughts. All our words.

The tendency is to want to run and hide, but that’s not the way it works, because it will just come around again – cue Ground Hog Day – scene Ten!

Saturn is also a past master at revealing our old, deeply imbedded fears, core beliefs and old conditioning (sometimes karmic).  He will tell us exactly why the things that we say we don’t want, continue to repeat themselves, provided we take the time to reflect and review.

If you find yourself in the same situation AGAIN – in a particular area of your life, it could be a clue that there is something that needs to be worked with, a lesson that needs to be learnt, a karmic debt that needs to be paid or a thought pattern, person, place or situation that needs to be released.

WHERE IS IT HAPPENING FOR YOU PERSONALLY?

Your Personal Birth Chart will tell you in which areas of your life this is playing out and give you real insight into how to work with the energy, so as to prevent the same thing happening again… and again!!

Mars, Saturn and Pluto are all retrograding in Capricorn, so that’s the area of your chart that you will be working with this energy.

You are most welcome to schedule a session to work with me on this, to optimize the learning, before the planets turn direct.

In the meantime…

REFLECT

Without getting caught up in the full emotion of it, reflect on how you are feeling right now. Then, as if you are looking though a rear view mirror, think back to what was happening around January-February of this year and how it might be linked to how or where you find yourself now.  Where were you energetically? What was coming up for you? What were some of your major concerns and fears?  What has happened since then?

Then, if you like, go back even further to where this might have happened before in your life. Journal it, talk with somebody about it and try to trace the threads.

REVIEW

Review where you have been and might still be sending your energy.

Remember that when you focus on anything (positive or negative) for  17 seconds or more, it starts to change energetically.   So… if you’re sending your energy down the same muddy roads again and again, you’re just going to be faced with more potholes.

WATCH WHAT YOU’RE SAYING / MUMBLING,  UNDER YOUR BREATH, TO YOURSELF OR OTHERS.

  • Really get real with yourself and what you truly believe and are saying about your life, your future and the situation/s at hand.
  • A few prompts –
    • ………. keeps on happening to me
    • I can’t trust………………….
    • I hate……………………
    • I can’t …………………….
    • I feel limited by…………………..
    • I believe………………………..
    • I’m so sick of……………………….
    • I’m never going to be able to……………………
    • I fear…………………………..
  • Just know this… WHATEVER you’re saying over and over, is GOING to repeat itself!
  • Breathe in… Breathe out… and affirm the opposite

RE-ENVISION

One way to work out what needs to change is (for a few moments) to focus on what you DON’T want and how that feels to you.  You don’t need to STAY there – just visit briefly. Notice how it feels in your body. Give it a colour, a texture, a word and/or and/or an image.

Then come up with something that you do  want or a way that you would like to feel more often.  You are wanting to access a positive resource state. Make this as vivid as possible, using all your senses. This needs to be a situation or vision where you feel light, expanded, free, happy, joyful.  Consciously spend more time focusing your energy there.

Start and end your day by visualizing it as vividly as you can, until you can feel it pulsing in your body. A vision board, created with images that activate this state, also helps to connect with it. Gratitude journals work too, as do affirmations, particularly when done whilst in the “resource” state.

Heads up – if your patterns run very deep, you might need the help of a qualified therapist, Hypnosis practitioner, Life Coach or good Energy worker to help to clear and release them.

WORKSHOPS

I had two amazing workshops recently in Durban at the beautiful Rest and Digest in Gillitts. Watch this space for more to come.

I’m delighted to be running another retreat in Grotto Bay (Western Cape) in September. Called The Flowering of You, it has been created to coincide with the arrival of the exquisite wild flowers that appear here at this time of the year.

Thanks for reading. Please send comments as to how you feel this retrograde energy, if you feel led to.

In life and light

 

Michelle

 

by

Solar Eclipse 13 July- Riding the Wave

raging sea

 

Have any of you been feeling some rather intense energy over the last few days …particularly around family, security, home, mothering, roots?  Well…  its not really surprising, as we prepare for the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Cancer in the early hours of Friday morning 13 July (in South Africa).

It’s always emotionally intense  when both the sun and the moon are in the watery, sensitive  sign of the crab, but this one takes it up a good few notches.

When we have a solar eclipse, the sun is overwhelmed by the moon.  In other words the feminine vanquishes the masculine. The light disappears and we are pulled into the darkness for a while.

This can feel scary at first, but when we stay there for a while, our eyes start to readjust and we start to see things differently. When the obvious colours and details are not available, we start to look at things in a deeper way. That is what is asked of us now.

DEEP SEA DIVING

This New Moon eclipse forms an exact opposition to Pluto, the king of the underworld, modern ruler of Scorpio.  Pluto is the plumber of the zodiac, beckoning us beneath the surface, so that we might process any debris that might be sitting there, or, to be blunt,  clear out the sewer. Not a particularly pleasant thing to do, but quite necessary every now and then to avoid even more, serious blockages in the future.

Suffice to say, emotions that are coming up right now might not be comfortable at all, especially for those who have a lot of fire/ air in their charts, who prefer to keep things light and positive!

Amongst myself and my closest friends, here are some examples of what is and has been arising over the past week. Issues around home/security/ finances/;    illness to do with fluids (pneumonia);  flooding of houses; old emotional issues coming to the surface;  leaking roofs,  a feeling of general down-ness or off-ness for no seeming reason; big emotions around parenting/  family issues and responsibilities; feeling sick to the stomach; feeling lost at sea, having lost sight of the shore; vivid disturbing dreams.

So – what do we do?

Well, those troublesome, irritating feelings or general dis-ease,  “off-ness” or “not-so-goodness”, are just the tip of the iceberg. Underneath, if we do some deep sea diving, we may discover beauties like anger, sadness, grief, rage or fear, which are desperately trying to get our attention. And… as usual, we have the choice to feel them or to beat them into submission… guess which one works better?

HONOUR YOUR FEELINGS

The good news is that if we are prepared to honour the feelings that come up, we have a very supportive, very powerful Grand Water Trine, formed by Sun/Moon, Jupiter and Neptune, which can help us to bring understanding to or clear some debris, so that we can move forward, lighter and less encumbered. Jupiter in Scorpio (more water)  has just moved direct after 4 months of being retrograde. With Jupiter being a beneficial planet, this can be seen as a positive thing – much like a giant pressure hose, coming in to clear away all the sticky stuff, if we choose to allow it to do so.

If however, we elect to repress or medicate or numb the emotions that are coming up, they will simply join the others  lurking in the sewer,  until the next time.

If  there was ever a time to ride the wave of emotion, this is it. Many of us are feeling the angst and suffering of Mother Earth and humanity right now, in addition to our own.  Consider this… what if, each time we  feel a feeling, without  censorship or guilt, we help to transmute it, perhaps not only for ourselves, but for mankind and Mother Earth too?

RADICAL SELF CARE

I see this as a time of radical self care. If you feel insecure, needy, inadequate, sad or full of rage, sit with it for a few moments and breathe into it…  or express it in some way… dance it, sing it, paint it, write a poem about it, journal it –   if it’s anger, hitting a pillow really helps.  Then ask yourself how best you can show up, nourish and nurture yourself.  Maybe that means  cooking yourself a warm nourishing meal, sitting next to a fire, or perhaps connecting with the people who love you, taking a nap, or having a hot bath.  What would you advise your best friend, lover or child to do if they were in distress?

…Do that for yourself!

Every single time we abandon or berate ourselves, we deplete our energetic  and emotional tanks. Every time we value and love ourselves, we fill them up. All our tanks need regular cleaning and refilling and this is the time to do it. The fuller our individual tanks are, the more love we have to give.

SOME TOOLS TO HELP YOU RIDE THE WAVE

You might want to try Emotional Freedom Technique. Try it – it’s really simple and sure  does work. Whilst tapping certain points, you acknowledge what you are feeling (out loud preferably EG “Even though I am feeling …. X, Y Z, I deeply love and approve of myself”

Other tools that could help would be grounding – spending time outside with no shoes,  walking, spending time in nature, meditating, deep breathing, or visiting a hypnotherapist, trusted energy worker or psychologist. Just as we feed ourselves nutritional food,  and exercise our physical bodies, our emotional bodies and energetic bodies also need regular nourishment and tune ups!

 

Eclipses always happen in sets and have much longer lasting effects than normal new and full moons. This one marks the start of the Cancer/ Capricorn eclipse season, which will last until 2020, so there’s lots of time to work with these themes . The last time we had an eclipse at the same degree was 11 July 2010, so you might find that there are similar themes that are coming up.

SET THOSE NEW INTENTIONS

This solar eclipse is also an excellent time to set new intentions. Wherever 20 degrees of Cancer/ Capricorn lies in your chart will usually be where this is most pressing.

If you’d like to plumb further into this, you might consider setting up an Eclipse Reading, where we can explore how and where this is going to be working with you personally over the next few years.

AUGUST WORKSHOP AND RETREAT

My next Art & Soul workshop, CELEBRATING WOMEN will be in Durban on Women’s Day, 9th August, followed by COME HOME TO YOU,  a retreat on 10th to 12th August, where I will be collaborating with Deborah Prosser of Rest & Digest.

CAPE TOWN WORKSHOPS

Stay tuned for exciting new workshops and retreats in the Cape Area.

With  you in the Ocean

Michelle

 

by

A Call to Re-awaken the Sacred Feminine

Hi All

There have been a whole lot of shifts and a changes in my life over the last month or two, which is why I haven’t done a lot of communicating with you all.  At the moment, I am taking a bit of time out to re-connect with myself, just “be” and to set the groundwork for some ideas that have been wanting expression for a long time.

As usual, this strongly coincides with the planetary energy of the moment, so although I wasn’t intending to write anything right now, there is so much heavenly stuff happening, I just had to share it with you.

We have a few pretty major happenings this week in particular – which are sending us very clear messages from the Universe.

NEW MOON IN TAURUS AND URANUS MOVES INTO TAURUS

On the 15th May, we have a NEW MOON in the sign of TAURUS, coinciding with URANUS, the planet of change, revolution and awakening, moving into Taurus, the sign of stability and sustainability, for the first time in 84 years!  We always feel a shift when one of the outer, slower moving planets moves into a different sign! When Uranus is involved, it is almost always a wake-up call of sorts, for us personally, as well as globally.

To give you some idea of the potential power of these alignments, 7 Years ago, when Uranus (the one who shakes things up)  moved from Pisces (the ocean) into Aries (fire))  there was an earthquake at sea, followed by a Tsunami and resulting in the Fukushima Nuclear disaster.  A move like this does not always depict crisis, but it does demand that we wake up.

The combination of Taurus and Uranus this week is particularly interesting, as they are energetically so completely different. Taurus represents the planet earth, our bodies, stability, security, the five senses, money, food and what we truly value. A New Moon in Taurus ushers in a month of listening to and nourishing our bodies, connecting with nature, slowing down and finding our inner sense of stability and security.

On the other hand, Uranus energy is electrified…like thunder and lightening… laser cutting it’s way through the dross and bringing the truth to the surface.

It’s impossible to predict what will happen over the next 7 years (nor would I want to), but we can almost guarantee that there will be more sweeping changes to our monetary/ banking  systems, Mother Earth, our food supplies, what and who we really value and our relationship  to the Feminine.

RE-AWAKENING THE SACRED FEMININE

For me, this alignment, together with Jupiter moving into Scorpio last October,   is about reawakening and honouring the Sacred Feminine within ourselves and simultaneously bringing healing to our planet.

For so long, the feminine was pushed into the background, diminished, even reviled. For so long, the focus has been on the masculine, on achieving, doing, driving forward, that many of us have forgotten our human “beingness”.

For some of us, we might experience this as a time of exciting change and breakthroughs, but  for others it can feel more like a break down.  The more out of balance we are, the more challenging the energy may be to integrate.  Some of us might be feeling super charged, at odds with others, aggressive, nervous, angry or feeling a heightened need to break free from limitations.

Whatever in our lives is unsustainable, is coming up for review and possible change, in order to bring us back into harmony and balance.

10 WAYS TO WORK WITH THIS ENERGY

  • Take frequent pauses during the day. Just one conscious breath can bring you into the moment and quieten your nervous system. IF you feel explosive or agitated, take your attention to your breath and soften your body.
  • If you feel your mind running away into the past or the future, bring it back, over and over to the breath or to your 5 senses.
  • Ground yourself every day, as often as you can, by walking barefoot on the earth.
  • Spend time in nature – just being – Sit in one spot and gaze upon something natural, be it a butterfly, a plant, the sea or a little patch of grass.
  • Connect with your body through dance, stretching, walking, yoga etc.
  • As you feel emotions arising, stop and connect with where they are registering in your body. Really connect with what your body is telling you at any moment, because it never stops communicating with you.
  • Gently breathe into those areas of your body
  • As you consistengly put yourself into a state of “beingness”, allow insights, visions and ideas to simply drift in and out of your consciousness.
  • With care and intention, pick a flower or find something from nature, light a candle, put on some beautiful music, run a beautiful bubble bath or essential oils and soak, allowing what wants to arise, to arise. Make this a sacred activity.
  • After your bath, slowly, sensually, rub some beautiful cream into your body. Check in with your body before and after your bath and notice any difference.

ASTROLOGY APPOINTMENTS AND WORKSHOPS

I’m currently booking astrology appointments and updates for June, so pop me an email if you’d like to book. Watch this space for new workshops and retreats.

 

In Life and light

 

Michelle

by

New Moon March 17th in Pisces

trust image.jpg

BY MICHELLE MCCLUNAN

Hi Everybody

Well we’re in the final stages of the moon’s waning (releasing) cycle and preparing for the New Moon March 17th in Pisces. This is a really important one, as it heralds not only the end of a month’s cycle, but also the beginning of the end of our Astrological year. The New Year starts on 20th /21st March, when the Sun moves in Aries.

Due to the New Moon being in close proximity to Chiron, the wounded healer, this is also a very unique  opportunity to gain understanding and bring healing to our deepest and most painful struggles or hurts. More about that further on. This is greatly expanded and possibly assisted by a trine to Jupiter in Scorpio. We also have 3 planets in Aries, adding a fiery element to the mix.

NEW MOON IN PISCES

A new moon in Pisces is always a time of letting go, releasing and planting new seeds for the year ahead.  As a mutable water sign. Pisces strengthens our connection to all that is/ Source/ the Divine; as well as activating and deepening our imagination, intuition and creativity. At this time of the year, we are able to refine our perceptions and raise our consciousness, by aligning with and flowing with the energy of the moment. It is a time to release and surrender the year.

The symbol for Pisces is two fish swimming in opposite directions and there are most definitely two sides to the sign, as there are with all the signs of the zodiac.

THE FLIP SIDE

The flip side of Pisces energy is that it is can also be a time when we feel the suffering of everything more acutely, when we are more sensitive or when our grief, sadness, fears, or victimhood can come to the surface. We can also feel lethargic, tired, confused,  all at sea, in a fog, hopeless, invaded, frustrated, victimised, or ill. It’s the end of a cycle after all!  It’s often a time when people who have been struggling to release an age or illness-ravaged body are able to finally let it go. If you haven’t heard, Stephen Hawkins passed yesterday. My uncle passed peacefully on Tuesday too. He was very old and it was time! Whilst visiting him last week, he certainly seemed to be connecting with and drifting between different dimensions, starting the process of completing his journey here and moving on.

FALLOW FIELDS AND THE VOID

So – this is the time of the year when the fields of our lives need to be cleared, and the soil left to stand fallow for a bit to recover,  before a new crop is planted.

The problem is, most of us homo sapiens are more human doings than human beings, and a lot of us aren’t too crazy about stopping the noise, possible because when it does, we are pulled into a quiet place where all that remains is us and “all that is”.  We generally aren’t too happy to be in a void for long, so we tend to fill it up as quickly as we can and that is where the exhaustion sets in.  We just don’t give ourselves time to catch our breaths and recover, before carrying on with the next thing!

Nevertheless, it’s very clear that this is what we’re being called up upon to do, even it its uncomfortable at first. Bite sized pieces of the void are better than no void at all 😊That’s why meditation or stillness are so important, because they give us mini vacations in our overflowing lives.

CHIRON – THE WOUNDED HEALER

The reason this new moon is SO important is because of Chiron, who is sailing along right next to the sun and the moon and is about to leave the sign of Pisces where he has been since 2011.  Due to having a 51 year orbit, this marks the end of a much longer cycle as well!.

Chiron, the Wounded Healer (we all have one) can be seen as the wound that make us wise;  the pain and struggles that are actually designed to help to grow and raise our consciousness, even though it really doesn’t feel like that sometimes!  When Chiron moves through Pisces, we are asked to investigate how much we trust  – not other people –  but rather how much we trust the flow of life; how much we are able to surrender to the ebb and flow cycles; how much we are able to understand that we are connected and supported by something much bigger and more mysterious than our the physical world.

If you were born between the years of around 1961 to 1969, you probably have your natal Chiron in Pisces, like me, which means that this is part of your core wound anyway, If so, you  might feel as if you’re being tested now more than other people, as Chiron makes his last freestyle dash though the deep waters of Pisces, making sure you get the message and the healing. There is help at hand!

TRUST, SURRENDER AND RELEASE

Whether or not you fall into this category, we are ALL  being urged to trust, surrender and release something or somebody at this time.

IF YOU HAVE HAD YOUR CHART DONE:

The area that Chiron is moving through your chart will give you clues as to where you need to trust, surrender and release. If for example, Chiron has been travelling through your 4th house, it might suggest that something to do with your home or your home itself or your family needs to be released. If he’s travelling through your 10th house, then the focus would be on on your career/vocation; in the 6th house your health and so on. The area in which Chiron was in when you were born will also be brought into the mix.

Wherever Chiron is now and wherever it was when you were born, you would have had many opportunities to work with  trust.  faith, surrender and deepening your connection over the past 7 years or so.

You’re welcome to book a short session with me to investigate how this is playing out in your chart, and what you need to release  before Chiron moves into Aries in April. Heads up – This might be contrary to your personal preference!

IF YOU HAVEN’T HAD YOUR CHART DONE

If you  haven’t had your chart done or aren’t keen to have it done, then just just intuitively connect with what you feel you need to release right now in your life.

HOW TO WORK WITH THIS ENERGY

  • Please make some time before or on the New Moon to jot down the main things that have happened in the last astrological year in all aspects of your life. The wins, the losses, new arrivals, departures, health, work, finances, home, family etc.
  • If possible, do some kind of clearing or detoxing of mind, spirit, body before the New Moon as well. This is arguably the best time of the year to do this.
  • Then preferably on the day of the new moon, connect with the energy of water in some way – the sea, a river, a dam, a stream or if none of those a swimming pool, bath or bowl of water.
  •  One idea is to write  down what you want to release, on a leaf or a stone and set it down / throw it into the water… or come up with something even more imaginative!  Watch as it drifts down the river or gets washed out to sea. As you do so, repeat to yourself

I cleanse and release all the dead weight from the year gone by. I release………………………. (be specific)

I calm and centre my mind, body, and spirit, so I may hear the calling of my soul guiding me in the right direction

I replenish my energy and welcome in a new vision for my life (describe it) – you could send something into the water course to represent this too, if you like.

We’ll be  working with this in my  EBB & FlOW Workshop on Saturday 17th March. I still have a bit of space, so join us if you are able to. Email me for details

MERCURY RETROGRADE

Mercury will be retrograde from 23rd March to 16th April,  so make sure you back up all your data and double check travel arrangements before then.

Thanks for reading!

In Life and Light

 

Michelle

 

Copyright Michelle McClunan – please share with links to this post

by

FULL MOON MARCH – The End of a Cycle

full moon virgo

Hi everybody

I almost didn’t write a newsletter this week, due to what feels a bit like a tidal wave moving through my life. Without going into the details, on deep reflection, I’ve realised that this often happens at this time of the year for me and when I look at my personal astrology chart, I can clearly see the cycles and areas that need to shift.. so watch this space!

On my retreat in Cape town this coming weekend and in my March Art & Soul  workshops,  we’ll be working with the theme Ebb and Flow, and exploring the cycles of our lives, how to understand them and move through them with grace (not always so easy for us human doings – and I speak for myself here!).

I used to be married to a surfer, who spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours on and in the ocean.  One of the most valuable things he ever shared with me, was his take on the sea’s rhythms, which are echoed in some way throughout the natural world, which includes us!

At any point a surfer is:

  • Hanging out, waiting for a wave (in the trough) – surfers spend a lot of time doing this!
  • Paddling like crazy to catch the wave (climbing) – a test of strength, courage and determination
  • Riding the wave (enjoying) – a time of exhilaration, when all the waiting, effort and hard-earned skill finally pays off.
  • And I’m going to add a fourth one… being dumped by a wave and feeling as if you’re in a washing machine, not knowing which way is up.

He also said that if you feel yourself being washed out to sea, the best thing you can do is to stay afloat and surrender to the current, because eventually it will bring you back to the shore again, probably in a different place, but back to solid ground nevertheless.

And of course his final pearl of wisdom was that “This too shall pass”. Whether you’re waiting, struggling, being tumbled or blissfully riding the wave, it will  change. “Good”  or “bad”, the cycle you’re in has to end and a new one has to begin! It’s a natural law!

Even though we know this innately, we often tend to forget this important fact and spend a lot of our time and energy attempting to ride the crest of the wave all the time, doing our utmost to avoid the waiting, efforting or heaven forbid, the tumbling.

We favour the light above the dark, prefer the highs to the lows and avoid anything resembling a void, at all costs.

And then, if we do go through a time of struggle, we tend to think that we’ve done something wrong, that we’re being punished, that  it shouldn’t be happening. This is where the resistance starts and due to what we resist persisting, the struggle cycle continues… and around we go again.

Even when we know in our heart of hearts that something needs to be changed or released, we  often tend to hang on to it for dear life and then wonder why we’re depressed, stuck, sick, angry or resentful.

Imagine if a tree were to hang onto its leaves in autumn, or if a bear refused to hibernate, or a snake raged against shedding its skin, or a worm tried to prevent itself from dissolving in the cocoon and eventually becoming a butterfly!

 Sounds crazy right?  But we humans are masters at trying to fight natural cycles. We even fight aging, trying desperately to hang on to our youth. Is a red/orange/yellow, mottled leaf uglier than a green one?  Could it be, dare I say, more interesting…. ?

Are age spots and wrinkles REALLY so ugly that we have to erase them or smooth them out?

Much of our society has no value for the elderly whatsoever, actually looking down on them with disdain. How very sad this  is. This  clearly shows our abhorrence of life’s cycles.

When the sun moves through Pisces every year, it’s a cyclical message from the Universe to clear the fields of our souls, so as to prepare for the planting of new seeds when our Solar Power enters Aries and a brand new astrological year begins. Full Moon March Virgo

The tail end of our annual cycle can be accompanied by lethargy, exhaustion, hopelessness, feelings of overwhelm, extreme sensitivity or confusion. It is also a time when we are more open, more intuitive, more fertile and more ready to receive insights and signs from unexpected places!

Right now, we have FIVE planetary bodies in Pisces–( that’s a whole lot of oceanic energy right there), so we’re really being encouraged to release and surrender in no uncertain terms.

FULL MOON IN VIRGO

To help us to do this, in the early hours of Friday 2nd March, we have a Full Moon in Virgo, providing us with a very welcome dose of earthy pragmatism. The role of Virgo is to discern what’s working and what’s not, to separate the wheat from the chaff, to bring pragmatism, practicality and some strategic thinking to our lives.

It might help to think of this full moon as a sturdy, well-crafted  life raft, which we can hop onto and see what’s going on, before adjusting our course for the year ahead.

On the day of the full moon, use her Virgo energy to discern what needs to be released, and set active steps to set this in motion over the next two weeks.

Here are some prompts to assist you with this:

  • Where, who or what are you holding on to that is robbing you of your life force, restricting you, preventing your light from shining?
  • Where might you be resisting change, to the detriment of your heath and well-being?
  • What areas of your life feel chaotic, messy and confusing and what might this be telling you?
  • Where in your life are you ebbing, waiting, flowing or being tumbled and what is this telling you?

After the moon has reached her fullness, she will enter her waning cycle until the New Moon on 17th March, giving us  two weeks to release what needs to be released, before the new annual cycle begins.

See this process over the next two weeks as weeding the fields,  so that you can start planting seeds for  a new crop, starting on the new moon.

Clear the fields well, plant new seeds on the 17th March and they will start sprouting at the Autumn Solstice on 20th  March when the sun enters Aries (more about that in my next blog)

ART & SOUL WORKSHOPS

You might like to consider joining us on Saturday 17th  March for the Ebb and Flow Workshop (or on each Wednesday morning in March) . This is an  opportunity to bring understanding to the cycles you are experiencing, to release what needs to be released and to dream in the new! Email me for details. 

 ASTROLOGY UPDATE

If you’d like to explore what needs to be released and where new seeds need to be planted, book an update session with me and we’ll look at where this energy plays out in your personal chart.

 

In light and life cycles

 

Michelle

I’ll be sharing some insights on this theme on FACEBOOK over the next month. Please join in the conversation

Copyright Michelle McClunan – please share with links to this post

by

Solar Eclipse/ New Moon 15th February

spiral fb eclipseCHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE

Hi everybody

We’re preparing for the partial Solar Eclipse on 15th February (New Moon in Aquarius), following the Lunar Eclipse on 31st January.

The period between the two is often referred to as an eclipse gateway.   Due to eclipses always representing points of growth, awakening and change – this can be a very powerful time, albeit not always entirely comfortable.

At a partial Solar Eclipse, the Moon is positioned in between the Earth and the Sun, partially blocking out it’s light.

We experience the effect of Eclipses for at least six months and as discussed in my last video, this pair  link back to February and August 2017, as well as further back to 19/20 years ago (1998/1999).

This does NOT mean that the same things are going to happen again, but if you look back, its very likely that you’ll find some common threads and themes, particularly if points are being triggered in your personal birth chart. It’s likely to particularly apparent if you have your Sun, Moon, Ascendant or other personal planets that fall in Aquarius or Leo.

When we’re in between a Lunar and a Solar Eclipse, as we are now, it means that we are in a waning moon cycle, which is a time of letting go of the old, so as to make space for the new.

During this eclipse gateway and on the day of the eclipse, it can seem as though everything that is buried deep down inside us is being pulled up to the surface. We might feel anywhere between a bit lethargic or lazy, to flat out depressed and confused. It’s often a time of endings and is always an excellent time to detox and clear out the clutter!

These particular eclipse pairs are encouraging us to look at our lives from a higher perspective and potentially make some rather massive paradigm shifts.

The Aquarius / Leo axis is concerned with how we give and receive love (including love for ourselves);  whether we’re on course and are shining our light into the world the way we would like to; whether we are acting or reacting from our small selves (ego) or  from our big selves and how our actions and reactions are contributing to the collective.

Whenever there is a lot of energy in Aquarius, which there is at the moment, we tend to get shaken out of any ruts that we might be in.

When the same old knee jerk reactions, hurts, fears and insecurities come up over and over again, it can often feel as if we’re just going around in never ending circles.

Even though it seems that way, nature (and astrology 😊) continually show us that this just  isn’t the case!.

In my workshops this month, we’re working with the symbol of the Spiral, which appears EVERYwhere in nature, showing us that there is an incredible, awe-inspiring Divine order and symmetry, which we often  can’t rationally comprehend.

I find it more  helpful to see our cycles as spirals, rather than  endless circles. This way, whenever it seems that we’re  experiencing the same old thing, we can consciously make the choice of seeing it and responding to it  in a different way.

Compare yourself now, to yourself 19 or 20 years ago. With a great deal of gentleness and compassion, notice your patterns, where you seem to say or do the same things over and over again, or where the same situations seem to be repeating  themselves.

As soon as you feel yourself in what feels like familiar similar situation, or find yourself about to react in the same way, about to utter the same words, take a moment. Breathe. Centre yourself. Get some distance. Breathe more.  And then make the choice to  consciously respond differently.

If somebody is pushing your buttons – that taxi driver, that colleague, friend,  family member – that person who always seems to say or do just the thing that makes you want to run and hide or scream or shut down or cry … ask what they are showing you, about you. Perhaps they could be enacting your shadow side – the part of you that you disown out of hand? You might not be able to change them, but they could be teaching you something valuable.

Aquarius asks that we BE the change that we want to see in the world and big change starts with small change. For the next month, why not change it up.  Instead of sitting in the same place, sit somewhere else, use a different tea mug, drive a different way to work, move your furniture around, introduce one new thing into your life and stick with it for 21 days. Find new thoughts and affirmations to replace old self-sabotaging ones.

There’s a strong Neptunian flavour to this eclipse passage too, with Venus moving into Pisces on the 11th February and Neptune (the ruler of Pisces)  squaring Mars.  One one hand, this can bring confusion, slipperiness, lethargy,  or delusion  AND/OR  it can be beautifully creative and romantic and can  lead to deep insights and healing.

HOW IS THE ECLIPSE SEASON PLAYING OUT IN YOUR CHART?

Consider booking a reading with me to explore where and how this eclipse season is playing out in your chart and how you can best work with it’s energy.  In July/August we will have the last two eclipses on this axis (for the next 19 years), so there’s still time to bring understanding and integration to what they are trying to show us.

ART & SOUL WORKSHOPS

I still have some space on my SPIRAL OF LIFE workshop on Saturday 17th February, as well as two places on the EBB AND FLOW RETREAT in Grotto bay from 1st to 4th March.

In my March Durban  workshops – Wednesday Mornings and Saturday 17th  March (new Moon)  we will also  be working with the Ebb and Flow theme as the Sun makes its way through Pisces. Please email me for more details.

 

In Life and Light

 

Michelle

Copyright Michelle McClunan – please share with links to this post