10 Ways for Makers to Balance Work and Family During the Holidays

The holidays can be a very stressful time for makers. We have to make the money while the money is there to be made kaching!

(see my post from last year's Team Eco Etsy blog on 16 Ways to Sell More on Etsy this Holiday Season)
and we want need to have an actual holiday with our families.  

The memories, like the money, don't get a do-over in January.

Before I was a maker I had a mall cart business and before that I was a bank manager.

When I was a bank manager the winter holidays were easy-peasy. We had three holidays in November and I always used a personal day or two in December for a long shopping weekend. Clients weren't so focused on their money and upper management took a lot of time off, making my job much easier.

I was still busy but had time to do all the family and school holiday stuff. Cookies were baked, stockings were hung, presents were wrapped, carols were sung

(yes, I'm channeling Seuss this morning).

When I started my mall cart business my holidays did a complete 180. I would open every year on Halloween, work every day until Thanksgiving (which I would COOK - what was wrong with me?!), re-open on Black Friday at the crack of dawn and come up for air at 3pm on Christmas Eve.

We'd put our tree up that night and the gifts I gave my family were purchased during slow times within 50 feet of my mall cart.

My daughter was a teenager then and I'm still convinced, although I have never been able to convince her, this was not a totally terrible way to do the holidays. Some years she was lucky and I was near Pac Sun and Claire's. Other years she would spend Christmas morning moaning over Yankee Candles and Mrs Fields Cookies. She still grumbles about it - I think it was character building.

Selling online is kind of the middle ground. We go totally nuts, if we're lucky and prepared, and then things slow down when it becomes too late to ship and we get a few days of holiday time with our families. Hanukkah falls into that last week this year, too, so if we celebrate that one, we just need to close a couple days earlier.

Here are some tips I think will make the next few weeks easier:

1. Let's get our own holiday shopping done NOW. Our days of casually strolling the mall and local shops during December ended when we decided to open a business and sell the things we make. Also it goes without saying if we want people to buy our handmade whoseewhatsee we should be supporting other makers by buying theirs. If we want people to be shopping local we should be shopping local. If we want people to be shopping online we should be shopping online.

2. Focus on what works. If our Etsy shop is outselling our website this isn't the time to re-vamp our website. Focus on our Etsy shop. If we sell better at craft shows, put our focus there. If our best selling product is our floral lime green belt focus on selling that in other places or other sizes or other colors. Don't waste time thinking about how to sell that thing that never sells. Our time is limited - do what works.

3. Say No. We can't do everything. "No" is hugely empowering and yes, we may have to live with the stomach upset afterwards. That's what ginger is for. Really, it works, buy some this week.

4a. Stick to a strict schedule. Let's determine the dates for our last supply orders, last discount sale, last shipping, etc - now. These kind of things need to be pretty much written in stone. We know how long it takes to make our whoseewhatsee, set a work schedule that works. I have a giant calender and like to write things down. Technology tools are available. As soon as we have the dates for the kid's play and concerts and any holiday parties we want to attend, add them in.

4b. Don't stick to a strict schedule. There are no absolutes. The days of someone telling us how to do all this ended with our final paycheck. If our schedule can't be a little flexible there is no point in being self employed. It's usually the only perk.

5. Eliminate distractions. We don't have time to be checking Facebook or Instagram or answering emails all day long (I  do this stuff while my tea heats and my kettle whistle puts a stop to it). A TV on in the background makes me nuts and I doubt makes anyone more productive. I could be wrong though. I get a few Audible books to listen to while I work, although on really crazy days I need silence. And yes, I can hear my racing heart as the clock ticks toward 5pm when my post office closes.

6. Get help. Delegate. It's all hands on deck time. It's not really illegal to use child labor if they are related to you and paid in gingerbread cookies. Any time saved on one activity adds time for another activity. You can't just triple the amount of things you normally do and expect to function. Hire or beg for help.

7. Let stuff go. The housekeeping police will not be at our house checking for dust bunnies this holiday season. Something has to give.

8. Respect other people's holidays, too. Let's not have some poor woman in Peoria overnighting us supplies on December 15th we should have ordered in November. Expect that the mail will be slow. We don't want to freak out at the post office and create a scene that will be the talk of the town for years to come, trust me on this one ....

9. Everything that can wait until after the holidays waits until after the holidays starting today.

10. Family comes first. They have to because we have to live with them plus of course we love them and all that jazz. Prioritize accordingly. We really don't have to be shipping until the very last minute. December isn't the end of the money train. Next year and new opportunities will be here soon enough. xo all

New Moon in Sagittarius, November 22nd - FRESH START & LEAP OF FAITH

my sagittarius aromatherapy locket

On Saturday, the Sun moves into firey, fun loving Sagittarius and the Moon follows a few hours later. This gives us another zero degree New Moon.

(if the New Moon was 5 days after the Sun, we would have a 5 degree New Moon, etc)

Once again we won't have the preparation we usually get with the Sun clearing the way ahead of the Moon and easing us into new territory - it will just be BAM 

welcome to the the bright, new world of Sagittarius!

This will feel much better than last month's headfirst dive into the murky waters of Scorpio. This one will feel like we are pulled out of the deep ocean and tossed onto the sand and into the LIGHT!

(there could still be alligators patrolling the shores though, so don't lose a leg coming aground eyes closed and blinded by the sun - take a little time to get your bearings but don't take too long)

Sagittarius is a fun-loving sign that rules travel, freedom, adventure, legal stuff, higher education, good luck, faith, religion, prayer, optimism, problem solving, truth seekers, boldly going where no man has gone before, the quest  -

it also rules carelessness, taking shortcuts, thinking we are right, making assumptions, throwing pink paint on problems and hoping they will go away, overconfidence, impatience and superficial fluff.

Sagittarius is a mutable sign. The mutable signs prepare us for the change into the next season.

Mutable signs are service signs and Sagittarius is in service through the exploration of Truth - this could be legal truth or political truth but its most especially spiritual truth - its highest purpose is enlightenment and expanding what is known. The lower level energies rule religious wars, legal battles and political bullshit.

Sagittarius is a fire sign like Aries and Leo.

Fire signs like action - their reasons for taking action are different though. Aries energy wants to climb the mountain, first because it's there and second because there is a competition going to see who can get there first.

Leo energy wants to climb the mountain because they have heard there is a film crew waiting at the summit and they have a new GoPro themselves and will be broadcasting daily to their fans through Facebook.

Sagittarius energy wants to climb the mountain to see what the hell it feels like to climb a mountain and how it feels to reach the top. They want the adventure; they want the quest.

(they could be unprepared and throw their back out 100 yards from the summit, too, then they will turn their convalescence into a party for the sherpas and make THAT the adventure)

This is the energy we are all stepping into now. What part of your life can use a little adventure? That's the space to use this energy most effectively.

For makers during the holiday season there are a couple things to think about:

First, fire signs are great initiator energy (see my post here about using astrology to determine the best dates to launch). So, if you have something new to get out there - the two weeks after this New Moon - don't use the zero degree Saturday - are prime time for a universal kick start! Most especially when focused on Sagittarian ideals.

Second, this is great energy to over commit and take on too much. Then we will under-deliver and disappoint. Better to under promise, over deliver and come out on top. Set up your deadlines right after this New Moon and give yourself some cushioning. Keep plans do-able for now. It is easy to get carried away when we come into this much light this quickly.

The real gift of Sagittarius is the freedom to be who we really are - how are we going to use this gift?

As always, write your New Moon affirmations down - I sometimes use strips on paper and bowls of rice, so I could jiggle them around now and then - but again this month I am feeling the urge to burn them and just know they are done. You don't have to make stuff happen with this, you just have to see what comes up and then take the action that feels right on that.

Trust the process. We have cast our spell.

People always say that affirmations "only work if you take action". And this is true, but not in the way most people think because the affirmation is action.

It sets the energy in motion. Words are not just words. If done properly, in the right frame of mind, it lines us up energetically with the thing we are seeking. The new moon is a time of darkness but there is lots of hidden action in the dark.

(yes, even that kind, all creation starts in the dark after all)

Look at what kind of experiences have been coming your way lately. How have you called them into your life?

There is often a wave of resistance that arrives when we begin stepping into our power. This resistance can manifest as physical health problems, relationships that mirror our shadows, self-sabotaging "mistakes" or when it seems like “fate” intervenes and creates road blocks or sends us  back to “feeling and playing small” - back to square one.

This "upper limit" thing, set by familial programming and energy patterns (although I believe we came on to this planet vibrating at exactly the frequency that drew us to our family) that is so common when we are in the process of shifting our self-definitions and expanding our influence and responsibility. Something gets in the way, often something that appears to be outside our control - this is all illusion of course, but how do we work through this? How do we move outside our energy patterns?

A thing we can do right now and it sounds like a small thing but there are no small things - is to set a few affirmations within the energy of this New Moon - it will just take you a few minutes of concentrated effort. Do it SATURDAY MORNING or afternoon if possible. xo all

just because she's beautiful doesn't mean you aren't - part V - repairing our comparing gene

See Parts I, II, III, IV

So, I have been re-languaging my verbal life and finding it actually is re-languaging my inner life. We are either congruent or we fall apart after all.

Positive language (positive meaning certain) is a nemesis of scarcity thinking. Scarcity thinking results in comparison. Comparison is the thief of joy (to quote Teddy Roosevelt). Nobody gets to steal our joy and we certainly don't want to be tossing it away ourselves. Let's not do that.

If it means we have to step away from Facebook or Pinterest or the cafeteria at work or whatever space triggers the 'compare' gene for us, just step away for awhile. Maybe a long while.

Another way to keep from comparing ourselves to others is by pursuing things that cannot be measured. This isn't some kind of cop-out, this is the actual stuff we are here for. Love, happiness, generosity, empathy, compassion, beauty, humility - how can we measure any of this? The more we remove ourselves from society's definitions of success the less negative impact these representations have on us.

Aging is a perfect example. There is simply no way for women to grow older and stay sane without letting go of modern society's definition of beauty. And, of course, the same can be said for men and women of all ages and photo-shopped images and surgically corrected people.

Aging is particularly powerful because we either hold on to something that is definitely leaving or we let go, trusting something better is on the other side. And it is. Anytime we let go of our need to "compare", we win, because the spaces we think we are coming up short have no power over us anymore.

We can also literally change what we are looking at. Anytime we find ourselves comparing our inside to someone else's outside - and this applies whether we come out on top or bottom of this no-win head game - we can take a walk. Go outdoors. We can allow the change in our surroundings to create the change we need in our thinking. This always works. And if the feeling comes back we can just take another walk - not only will we have calves of steel, we will have made friends with all the dogs in our neighborhood and maybe even an actual person aka neighbor.

(of course if this change in scenery takes us to our neighbors gorgeous flower gardens let's not compare them with our own wilting begonias - remember if the grass is greener over there, it's probably because they water it)

I used to be envious of a neighbor's beautiful roses until I started growing my own. They are a lot of work. Mine will probably never be up to her standards of remarkableness. I am perfectly happy with them though. And now, knowing how much work she puts into hers I am grateful I get to enjoy them without having to actually maintain them! I moved my desk this summer for a better view.

Which brings us to gratitude - another way to stop this comparing syndrome is to be grateful for what we have (which always attracts more).

Look for chronic patterns. Some moms get tense when other moms are bragging about their kids. So, if we do this - we recognize it. We don't bury it. We don't judge it. We just look at it. We ask ourselves what this tension is really about. It is never about the other person - the one who is annoying us with her story about Janie's latest win on the soccer field. They are just mirroring an issue for us.

The Sun is in Scorpio until November 21st - this is the time to look deep at what is really going on with our triggers. There is great energetic support to release the stuff that isn't working for us now.

Something I have found that really helps with the 'compare gene' is Bach's Flower Therapy treatments. I took a course about them and have a couple books. I am not an expert though so do your own research and trust your heart.

(I would say trust our gut but if we have been filling it with junk food, it's not much good to us)

I like Oak, White Chestnut, Willow, Chicory, Impatiens. I am going to do a post about them next week. Until then enjoy this amazing Autumn weather - although it felt more like July than late October here in New Jersey today! xo all

New Moon Solar Eclipse in Scorpio, October 23rd - let's go for the NEW

prestige by iNeedChemicalX

We have a magical New Moon in Scorpio on Thursday. This is happening at 0 degrees so its ability to start something potent is extra powerful! First the Sun will move into Scorpio, followed by Venus (our values, love, money), then the Moon joins the party.

We had this same degree solar eclipse in October 1995 - so think back to what "new" was created for you then and what has happened since. The New Moon energy boost lasts about two weeks (so take some new action within this time frame). The stuff put into motion now can last for years.

Scorpio is powerful so be prepared to commit to what you start now.  Actually commit as if your life depends on it ... because it does.

There are multiple beneficial aspects to this one for all of us. This New Moon is conjunct magnetic Venus which adds up to a major new beginning around love, money, values or self-esteem. Neptune in Pisces removes our rational upper limits and encourages us to dream big. Mercury stations direct two days later and we get the answer we need to move us forward. On Monday, Mars moves into Capricorn and we have the energy and drive to make this thing happen.

If you have any planets 0-4 degrees in a fixed sign (Scorpio, Aquarius, Taurus and Leo) you will feel this eclipse energy the strongest.

Scorpio is the sign of elimination so old desires will end now - the void left behind will attract new stuff that lines up with who we are becoming.

This is the time to jump on to a more beneficial train track - why head to Camden when there is a train to Maui leaving, too!

The void we might feel now does not need to leave us with shaky legs - we can know the right stuff will find us. Shaky isn't always a bad thing. We can be shaky with fear or shaky with excitement. In its highest incarnation Scorpio is the Phoenix who rises from the ashes. There is no more powerful sign in the zodiac.

With a Scorpio what you see is what you get - and what you don't see is hidden on purpose. Keep that in mind now. This eclipse, as the energies play out over the next couple weeks, will create focus. I wrote an earlier post about how Scorpio allows focus that might make this point clearer.

A New Moon is always an opening - let's trust in our ability to make an amazing life in this wild, wonderful world!

my scorpio aromatherapy locket

As always New Moons are excellent times to plant seeds with our intentions - everything starts life in the dark after all.

Setting intentions for Scorpio stuff during a Scorpio new moon is very powerful.

These intentions can include (list courtesy of astrologer Jan Spiller) - empowerment, change, crisis skills, self-mastery, sex, soul mates, financial partnerships, avoiding power struggles, secrets, psychology, charisma, restoration, forgiveness, obsessions, compulsions, strength, loans, debts, taxes, inheritances, contracts, revenge, jealousy and guilt.

I usually list my affirmations here but this month mine are words I need to write just once and burn - here is a link to an example of affirmations and tips from another month. xo all

just because she's beautiful doesn't mean you aren't - part IV - the I should be doing "more" syndrome & women who wear purple

she's probably in here somewhere

See Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

(yes, if you are reading this in one sitting, you will need a cup of coffee ... and a muffin ... and maybe probably an aspirin)

I thought I was doing pretty good re-languaging my life when we went out to dinner for my daughter's birthday last week and half way through the meal my daughter said I was driving her crazy (in the way only a mother can do) by repeatedly saying "that's not bad" every time I ate something new.

You might remember from my last post this was exactly the kind of language I have been trying to avoid! Ugh!

I thought ditching the "n'ts" when I was saying something positive would fix this - I did keep myself from saying "this isn't bad".

I said the exact same thing in a different way though.

I guess it's a challenge for me to say, "this is good", or great or delicious without consciously pushing my tongue to use positive language. When I stay unconscious with my language I just naturally want to go the other way. I can see my rules need to be expanded and I am an Aquarian with a Scorpio rising (plus an oldest child and tone deaf singer). I really hate rules.

(and now that I have written this I can see clearly how my rule making is negative, too - always about what not to do - see how this stuff works? - it is deep and tricky - it's like I have swallowed a whining David Blayne.)

This series is not about negative language and this is all subconscious stuff although I do think this way of going through life makes us more prone to a scarcity mindset. It doesn't matter which comes first or what creates what with this stuff - I do know we can often change something by changing something else.

I attended an astrology class years ago and one of the other students was always complaining about work. She loved her job but her relationship with her co-workers was a mess. I can't remember the specifics. I do remember this woman always wore purple. Maybe just this one thing was enough to annoy the hell out of people. I don't know. Totally possible.

One day the teacher turned to her and said, "Enough already about your co-workers. Get a dog". Now this teacher was a master astrologer and enough of a guru to this woman for her to immediately head to the nearest shelter and pick herself out a beautiful blue eyed Akita mix.

Within days her relationship with her co-workers had greatly improved (pets and work are both 6th house in astrology - as well as health, routine, etc -  so a problem with one often can be fixed with attention on another). She even started to join her office mates on their long Wednesday lunches, something she always griped about before. She thanked the teacher for his wisdom.

We noticed over the next few weeks she never complained about work anymore. She complained about her dog all the time though. This woman had Aries in the 6th house and Aries needs an adversary. I am not sure if an adversary who pees on the carpet is better than one who sits next to you in a cubicle, maybe she could have just joined a gym and fought with the treadmill .... changing something by changing something else works though.

I don't think negative feelings that come up after seeing someone else's bright shiny new thing is about jealousy. I don't want anyone else's life. My life is pretty freaking amazing. I just know after seeing some of this stuff I don't feel so great.

For me, it creates the "I should be doing more" syndrome. For example my Facebook friend who is always on vacation has me thinking "why haven't I created a business that can run without me so I can be laying on the beach somewhere warm and tropical while lockets and cork continue to fly across the country and into my customer's waiting hands and mailboxes." I feel like what I am doing isn't enough because I actually have to do it. What kind of ridiculous thinking is this? We can't win this game.

I will tell you my next two steps in my final post next week. The pie really does have an infinite number of slices - there really is enough for all of us.

xo and happy weekend all

NOTE - We have a New Moon in Scorpio next week (I will post about it then) - it's an eclipse and at 0 degrees Scorpio - a 0 degree eclipse in the complex sign of Scorpio is a true new beginning. Stuff we have been trying for could now line up for us. Mercury will move direct two days later and we will know what to do. Get ready.

We are heading into Scorpio season - shop for a Scorpio locket necklace for your favorite Scorpio and get a FREE extra lid set now.

FULL MOON Lunar Eclipse in Aries October 8th - relating to other people without losing ourselves

you at last by meluseena

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth and Full Moon form a nearly straight line and the Moon passes through the Earth's shadow. We don't need any special gizmos to view it and it won't hurt our eyes like a solar eclipse, so we can feel free to go outside and get a really good look! The lunar eclipse is from about 6:30-7:30 AM EST tomorrow morning.

An eclipse is powerful stuff. It will eclipse something out of our life or out of our way.

Some people may have felt the effects of this around September 8th-10th or will feel it around November 8th-10th; most people will feel it within 5 days of the actual eclipse.

This Full Moon is in Aries and is the culmination of that monster New Moon we had in April with that bad-ass Grand Cardinal Cross. Aries is the sign of the warrier (and the worrier) so there is no sitting this one out.

Just before the Full Moon, the Moon will square Pluto and conjunct Uranus setting off a Uranus/Pluto square. This is the energy that creates big changes.

Pluto in Capricorn will be squaring Venus in Libra. This feels very possessive - we want what we want with this one. What will we do to get it? What if we finally get clear that what we want is not what we thought we wanted at all .... well, I guess we are going to find out.

This eclipse energy is about opportunity. 

This is the Aries/Libra polarity (which is more than a locket - warning shameless plug ahead - but the locket is pretty awesome, too) of independence vs. interdependence, how we give, how we take, how we relate to other people without losing ourselves, what flock we are flying with these days and of course our closest relationships.

We've got Mars in Sagittarius wanting us to move into new territory and take action with something foreign to us (maybe spirituality or travel or higher education or people from another country or distant relatives or grandchildren) and we have Jupiter in Leo aspecting the Sun and highlighting something expansive that gives us purpose and is something we can be proud of.

These may be the means we use to move through this - "me vs. us", "assertion vs. compromise" stuff - everything we see played out in the larger world is happening in our own lives and heads, too. We probably won't be able to sit on our feelings right now (try to keep a cool head though) or the sidelines either. And we won't want to!

If something in our life is doing the opposite of this - that could be the stuff that will make way now.

If it seems like really good and important stuff is being eclipsed out - relook (Mercury is retrograde the "re's" rule now) at the situation - we may be able to see the honor in the timing of this passing away and the gift left in its wake.

Here's to clear skies and long walks in the moonlight tonight and tomorrow night everyone! xo

just because she's beautiful doesn't mean you aren't - part III - re-learning clear speech & Mercury Retrograde

 

Mercury is retrograde. We are in the season of "re" now.

(redo, reconnect, rethink, repeat, revise, redesign, recuperate, repair - you get the idea)

It is the perfect time for big universal energetic support to re-language our thoughts and conversations to dismantle our negative talk and limiting beliefs which I am convinced are at the root of the scarcity mentality that creates so much pain in the world (at least my world!).

See Part I HERE
See Part II HERE

Limiting beliefs are the thoughts, stories and 'spells' (more on spells a bit later in these posts) that we invite, through our own words, into the deepest spaces inside us and sometimes expel out into the world as conversation that inhibit our potential and limit the choices we make in our life.

For most of us, there is less question about whether or not our words are powerful as there is about how to best use this power to improve our world.

I have always loved anagrams and cryto-quotes and similar kinds of word puzzles. I had a bit of an obsession with them as a kid actually - also mythology, astrology and Rumi.

(And yes, all these things will work there way into this series. I was also obsessed with my metal wheeled roller skates, Ellen O'Neal and Tiger Beat magazine - luckily for you, dear reader, I will leave them out of this one.)

Words are powerful.

I love how "word" and "lord" can be combined to create "world". And "uni" meaning one and "verse" meaning word or poem or song makes "universe". And a spell is a s-p-e-l-l.

And dog is God spelled backwards (maybe especially that one).

You might be familiar with the Bible story of the Tower of Babel - which is the story of God's displeasure at humankind's progress after the great flood. Everyone speaking the same language and working together meant soon nothing would be out of humankind's reach. This worried God so much that he scattered everyone all over the planet and changed their one language into many as a way to dis-empower everyone.

One nugget to take from this story is that Babel babble = dis-empowerment. This is the same story we work through every Mercury Retrograde. Mercury is the God of communication. We honor Mercury when we speak our truth, when we think through our thoughts before we say our words, when we say more and talk less.We dishonor Mercury when we babble. We also dis-empower ourselves.

So, the first step in my "Mercury Retrograde re-languaging, limiting belief busting, scarcity thinking mindset dismantling practice" is to eliminate the word "want" from my vocabulary, yes in all situations.

Want isn't the step before have. 

Want is the opposite of have. 

This is important. 

And I don't mean this in a "The Secret" kind of way. I mean this in a mindful language - say what we mean because what we say matters - kind of way.

We have heard this all before - how saying want keeps us in a state of wanting, but what it actually does is keep us in a state of not having.

I started this last week. I would never have believed how often I use the word 'want' - just changing this one thing has my head spinning.

I am also eliminating the 'nts when I mean yes. For example by saying things like "doesn't it taste good? isn't it great? didn't you love it? wouldn't you like one?" - I don't use negatives often in this way. I have caught myself a couple times though. These sentences should be "does it taste good? is it great? did you love it? would you like one?". Also eliminating the word "but" which we all know negates everything that comes before it.

So, the first step in our re-languaging this Mercury Retrograde season (which lasts for 3 weeks and is just enough time to establish this practice as habit)- eliminate the word "want" in all forms - substitute "desire" or "choose" or change the sentence around entirely to make it more powerful and eliminate babble.

For example - I just caught myself saying - "I want to be alive to dance at Sully's wedding." I did a quick mental CANCEL (gently imagined myself hitting the keyboard delete key) and then said "I will love to be alive to dance at Sully's wedding!".

I also said, "I want the tiramisu" and then re-languaged it to, "I'll have the tiramisu."

step 2 - eliminate "but" in all forms. Use "and" or form a new sentence.
step 3 - eliminate the shortened version of not "n't" when we are not saying not. (got it?!)

Up Next in Part III - just because she's beautiful doesn't mean you aren't - speaking our reality, why this stuff matters

just because she's beautiful doesn't mean you aren't - part II - scarcity thinking

Part I is HERE.

We live in a world where everyone's "bright shiny new thing" that is happening to them is visible to us. We have always sort of lived in this world, our world is just a whole lot bigger now (or smaller depending on how you look at it), so there are a lot more bright, shiny new things to see.

When we were kids and the neighbors got a new car, everyone probably hopped in for a ride and then we walked home with parents wondering aloud if the Browns could really afford that. Or maybe, if we were lucky, we walked home with parents excited for their friends' good fortune.

I want to be the person excited for everyone else's good fortune.

(and yes, I know as soon as I write this, life will offer me the opportunity to learn how to do this through practice by providing some really great fortune to someone I know - I hope it is YOU - please buy a lottery ticket and ... remember your friend Cat from Jersey)

I don't want to be the person grumbling to myself about how someone could be on vacation again. But I am. The grumbler, I mean. I want need to stop.

And yes, I know that everything isn't as wonderful as it seems in Facebook land and other public places. I realize I cannot be comparing my inside to someone else's outside unless I am determined to come up short (my inside is probably a rather messy place after all).

But there is some kind of scarcity mindset at play here.

I truly know we either live in a world of lack or a world of abundance and we get to live in the world we believe we live in. Yup, it's as simple as that.

I know this. It doesn't always stop the grumbles though.

(although a slice of pizza might - giving up dairy is making me batshit crazy folks)

The topic of scarcity interests me because I never feel as if I have enough time.

I know this is just something I believe. I also know this is not an absolute truth. It is just something that I have made true for me. I am determined to un-make it.

I'm busy, You're busy. We're all busy. Some people though are still creating time for hobbies and vacations and to get their car registered online before it's too late and they have to waste half a day at the DMV and they find the time to pay their credit card before the $35 late fee kicks in and to get to a freakin' dentist.

Psychological research has shown that when we experience emotional deprivation in childhood, this feeling of not being important or lovable enough can persist into adulthood as a “deprivation mindset.”

(since I am a student of evolutionary astrology I am not so quick to blame our childhood, since I believe we pretty much magnetized ourselves into exactly the situation we not only needed to be in, but that we were already a match for)

We may never feel as if we have enough of the things we need.

And actually this post is starting to feel like the leaky cup stuff  I wrote about almost 2 years ago (see time really is flying!), and the timing of this makes perfect sense to me actually (more on that later).

This "not having enough of the things we need" can show up as money stuff (I know from my days in banking that almost no one ever thinks they have enough money, no matter how much they actually have) and relationship issues, but any perception of lack can have its roots here.

This scarcity way of looking at things; this thinking that someone else having something means there is less for us is an unconscious thing. 

(it's not like I think someone has actually taken my seat on that airplane to Mexico after all)

But it affects what we notice, how we weigh our choices, what we decide and how we behave.

It's a bit like negative thinking - negative thinkers can reach the finish line just like positive thinkers can (I don't actually believe in finish lines, but I think you know what I mean here).

Positive thinkers see the opportunities and are able to act on them, negative thinkers see the problems and are able to avoid them. Both ways of thinking can get us from A to B - one of them is just a hell of a lot more fun and is nicer for others to be around. I think my own life could be a hell of a lot more fun and less frantic with some mindset tweaks. Next post I will tell you what I am doing and you can see if anything resonates with you and might be helpful..

UP NEXT - just because she's beautiful .... part III - how to know there is enough for us

New Moon in Libra September 23 - 24, 2014 - bringing us into relationship

my Libra Polarity Locket - 20% off thru 10/23!

Remember to check my daily forecast on the Armchair Astrologer today!

We have a New Moon in Libra late Tuesday night (either very late Tuesday or Wednesday morning is the best time to set New Moon intentions). Libra is ruled by Venus; Goddess of Passion. She is the ethereal force of love, attraction, kindred spirits, beauty and our aesthetic sensitivity.

(the opposite of aesthetic is anesthetic - there's a reason all our senses spring to life in autumn!)

She brings things and us into relationship.

(it was during the Libra Sun that our ancestors, finished with Virgo's harvest, settled back into their homes and local communities - back into balance with each other)

She entices us out and away from our tedious work on a cloudy afternoon just before the skies open up. We take refuge in a book shop where we trip over a lazy man's wet umbrella, knocking exactly the book we need to finish our job off the shelf and into our lap. Or into a coffee shop where we will meet our Mr. Darcy - or this is the way I like to imagine things anyway.

(she may just hang around the Match.com company's headquarters these days)

Venus attracts. The stuff we are attracted to are vital clues to our job here on planet Earth.

Libra rules marriage, negotiations, teamwork, harmony, sociability and diplomacy. It is an excellent time to have the best energetic support for new beginnings in these areas.

MONTHLY AFFIRMATION TIPS:

Get grounded - we have moved from an earth sign into air so this is important - always make affirmations from a  positive place (positive meaning certain) - write your affirmations down by hand in cursive, we want the letters all connecting and flowing together, speak them out loud. 

I used to write my affirmations on strips of paper and put them into a bowl of rice so I can mix them around every now and then with my fingers if things got stagnant, now I burn them and release the ashes into running water - then - and this is the important part - release your attention from them knowing that your intention is known.  

Some affirmations I am working with today are:

1. I effectively negotiate my situation with ____ creating a win-win for both of us. 

2. I feel internally balanced and peaceful.

3. I easily attract, recognize and begin working with the right people for my highest happiness.

4. I am easily at ease in social situations.

5. I have total clarity and am able to take action to make my relationships more satisfying.

6. I easily make decisions.

7. The habit of wanting 'peace at any price' is easily lifted from me.

8. I easily take actions that successfully restore perfect health to my adrenal glands.

Jan Spiller recommends ten, so I will come up with two more! The New Moon gives us a full two weeks to make something happen, but it really culminates 6 months from now with the Libra full moon. This particular New Moon has no major aspects to any planets - so it is very peaceful and powerful. Stuff started now will be around for a while. The Part of Fortune on the Ascendent and Jupiter's position encourages us to move toward what we are attracted to! xo all

(if what you are attracted to is one of my Polarity Lockets use coupon code NEW MOON until Friday for a 20% discount)

just because she's beautiful doesn't mean you aren't - part I

When my daughter started high school she tried out for the school soccer team. She was going from a very small elementary school

(and the only school in the district that was K-8th and didn't funnel students to the same middle school)

into a very large high school. A lot of talented girls took the field on try out day. I could see my daughter was nervous. I was nervous, too - in that way mothers get when they know their children really, really want something that is outside their control.

I said - "I'm so glad there are so many good players here today."

she said - "Huh?" 

she thought - (my mother has lost her freaking mind - where do I get a new mother)

I said - "You're a good player, too. You'll fit in with these girls."

she said - "What if they're too good?" 
I heard - ("what if I'm not good enough?")

I said - "Just because they're good doesn't mean you aren't."

she said - "There's only so many spots mom." 

As she ran onto the field I could hear the other parents yelling after their girls, "GO THERESA!", "YOU CAN DO IT!","GO SALLY!"

I started thinking my advice was kind of lame. What had I been thinking?!

My daughter needed warrior energy now, not advice from Dr. Phil!

I channeled Athena and managed to screech out something like "GET 'EM!" at exactly the moment the other parents got silent.

(my daughter's memory is that it was something like "KILL 'EM")

Last night at dinner I found myself saying something similar (they're good and you are, too) to hubs about another business down the street and him replying something like, "there's only so much work though."

(I did manage to restrain myself from screaming "GET KILL 'EM" this time)

Hubs isn't on Facebook. If he was he could see this guy announcing his new location and his new equipment and his relaxing vacation to Bermuda with his gorgeous wife and 2.5 smiling, towheaded children. George would never sleep again.

It has me thinking about the tools we need to live in a world where everyone's bright, shiny new "great thing that has happened to them" is visible to us. Also everyone's pain.

So, I'm starting a business series about this next week. We'll see where it leads.

We have a Balsamic Moon now - get some rest today!

this time for sure, I think

OK, so I really am moving the daily astrology forecasts on to my other blog this time. Check today's post HERE - it's right under that scary picture of me my daughter took, that's been strategically lightened in photoshop to blow out all my wrinkles. She likes it, so it stays for now. After today if you forget to bookmark the new blog just hit the link on the top right of this one. xo all

keep moving by latte design

the enemy of my enemy is my friend

insects by the amazing gollybard

We need wasps.

You may or may not remember the family visit in July that had me running around like a maniac, quickly followed by lying on the ground in a sweaty puddle of overwhelm quickly followed by me running around like a maniac.

One of the things I did to get ready for their visit that was totally unnecessary and pretty much just designed to make myself crazy was - paint the shutters. My shutters have been - black, lilac, mint green and now lemon yellow. Taking them down is precarious business with a two story house especially since we know from previous paintings that wasps (paper wasps) have built elaborate condos and townhouses behind them.

Plus I had been attacked by yellow jackets a few day earlier and was am still suffering from PTSD.

(I am serious as a heart attack and if you do not believe me just buzz in my ear or have your phone set to vibrate go off in my presence and see what I do - I will totally embarrass myself plus I might break your phone or ... nose.)

The back of every shutter (12 total) housed 6-10 wasps. And they were quite pissed. Of course being a law-abiding landlord I had sent them all the legal notifications and was totally clear they could return home and would even have a spiffy new lemon yellow exterior for their trouble. They didn't care.

Paper moths are not usually dangerous - but if you mess with their nests, it's a whole other story. They even send out pheromones that other wasps can pick up for miles that signal "HELP, our house is on fire" and the other wasps will rush over to keep their neighbors from being evicted, probably so they don't have to move in with them.

It was not a good day - for us or the wasps. There were a few casualties, but most of us survived. To cut to the chase (and yes, my friends it was a chase) - we hung some pretend paper bag nests on the lower porch to try and discourage them from building new nests behind the freshly painted first floor shutters, but we thought they would return to the second floor shutters.

They didn't; maybe because rainy weather kept us shutter-less for over a week. I don't know where they went, but it is obvious now, they have moved on. We used to see them all the time around the yard, but we have been pretty wasp-less since mid-summer.

At first this seemed like a good thing. I didn't have to worry about them stinging Olive if she trampled one or dodging them while watering my hanging baskets - but we soon discovered a major drawback to our wasp-less state - MOSQUITOES - we are over-run! And caterpillars and spiders.

On the plus side my shutters look very bright and cheery, just don't stand outside admiring them for more than 30 seconds or you won't be.

There is a business lesson in this, too - the enemy (well, in business I guess we would say rival) - the rival of my rival in my friend. Also eco-systems are fragile (I hope Etsy is listening).  xo all

BIZ Astrology for Tuesday, September 16th - manifesting mud pies

A few things going on today - the Moon moves into mothering, nurturing Cancer late this morning - Gemini's chitchat will go away and we can have some nice emotional grounding. We will want to pull into our shell and go quiet. That's OK (return calls though- today is a great day to make contact with someone important!). The Moon forms a nice trine with Neptune tonight that can make even uncomfortable conversations go well - do the Cancer nurture thing and make the other person all comfy cozy and welcome first. 

Lots of fire with Jupiter in Leo and Mars in Sagittarius, lots of exhilarating energy now and we also have Saturn making us focus. We can see the truth now.

The Virgo Sun's earth coupled with the Cancer Moon's water (think about your own magical mud pies today) makes this a wonderful day for manifesting.

Mercury crosses the North Node of the Moon which can bring people from our past (and past lives if you resonate with that way of thinking) back into our lives - you may not recognize them, but you will recognize them, if you know what I mean.

There are destiny aspects here. We could meet the love of our life now (and yes, maybe that guy from ancient Persia who we cheated out of a camel and now he is back to steal our car). Romantic risks can pay off. We could also meet someone younger who inspires us. We could sign a contract. Our new tribe is starting to form (more about this next month) - the wires keeping us in our chicken coop are all in our head - we can fly right out of there. Lots of clean slates now.

OK back to this manifesting energy today - listen up!

FIRST - with Mercury (and Venus) hitting the North Nodes today we may get some clues about our life direction. Our North Node is the direction our growth lies in this lifetime (our south node is the space we push off from). The house our north node is in is very important. Check your natal chart! This we need to memorize (if I have done your chart email me and I can tell you the house or email me your birthdate, place and time!).

Let's say we have a north node in the first house (or in Aries) - the house of self. Well, in this lifetime we need to focus on developing our own unique identity. Our south node will be in the 7th house (polarity) of partnership (Libra) - this is where we kick off. But if we try to gain our identity from partnership we will feel like we have been thrown into the ocean with anchors on our legs.

If something opens up now (or someone enters our life) connected to that North Node house - consider that a big old GREEN light.

SECOND - In a Tarot deck Mercury is the Magician card - an archetype many makers are familiar with even if they have never heard of him.

The Magician is the alchemist - the great conjurer; the maker of something out of nothing - we channel this energy all the time. I have a post on Mercury HERE that would be good to read now. This is an excellent day for ritual, for lighting a candle and setting the intention for what is truly ours to find us. This is a day where our words will matter.

BIZ Astrology for Monday, September 15th - a logical approach now

Action Mars entered fiery Sagittarius on Saturday - this is a great transit for a fresh, energized new start. If you are normally a risk-taker you may have to dial it back a bit so you don't run off a cliff somewhere, but for the rest of us this energy will get us moving. Doors are opening.

With both today's sun (Virgo) and moon (Gemini) ruled by Mercury - a logical approach is supported now. Do your homework. Stuff comes to light today.

Decisive strategies are favored now. 

The stuff that came up for us in the last few days is in some way the stuff we will be dealing with next summer - how was your weekend anyway?

(the world news was all about Isis - maybe the media shouldn't nickname a group they do not want to be powerful after a powerful female Goddess at a time of rising female energy unless of course, somebody wants a powerful enemy for a never-ending war - Hilary in Iowa, Scotland's bid for independence - this one is in the shadow of Mercury retrograde so will no doubt be back if it fails.)

Mercury squares the North Node in Libra - many have cleared a lot of relationship and personal power gunk over the last few years - the Aries/Libra polarity (what house is Libra in your natal chart?). We are stepping into new waters now. Our story might look the same on the outside (although it probably doesn't), we might be doing something we have done before, but we are not the same people - we can do it differently this time.

Tomorrow Venus meets the Nodes (more on this tomorrow) and we could attract someone from our new tribe (especially someone younger than us or with newer ideas), hear some important news or get a significant contract - this could happen next week, too. We need to be clear on what we value now. What is it time for us to contribute? What have we learned? Where do we really want to go? Mars in Sagittarius (the archer) will get us to our target.

No going backwards to repair stuff right now - don't focus on what isn't working - see what is working and focus on that.

The positive spaces this new energy will focus - ARIES: education, legal matters, long distance travel, publishing, religion, encounters with the exotic TAURUS: loans, taxes, debts, inheritance, fertility, partner's money, sex, GEMINI: partnerships, marriage, intimacy, equality, CANCER: health, work, co-workers, routines, skills of value to others, LEO: children, creative projects, romance, the spotlight, play, VIRGO: home business, renovation, moving, leaving something behind, family, LIBRA: meetings, communications, siblings, open talks, clarity, speaking, teaching, writing, SCORPIO: money that is earned, security, what you value, management of resources SAGITTARIUS: personal identity, goals, your physical energy level, ambition, authority over your own life, CAPRICORN: secrets, stuff that isn't developed yet, stuff that is hidden or forgotten, meditation, spirituality, AQUARIUS: friendships, tribes, public life and image, concrete direction PISCES: career, what you are here to give, authority, destiny

BIZ Astrology for Friday, September 12th - establishing priorities and standing tall in our story

brene brown quote

Today, our practical Virgo Sun meets our practical Taurus Moon and makes a great day for establishing priorities and putting down roots - a solid, practical day. I like things simple, we just need to be sure we are not settling for easy today because it might come back to bite us later. Get stuff done. There is money to be made later from the work we do now.

This is a great day to venture into something creative. Celebrate any victories now - this will attract more and bigger reasons to celebrate. This is the space in our story where we stand tall and breathe a little; the place where the hero takes a hot bath and looks at how far he has come (and freaking amazes himself). Every story is hard. Every story is unique. Appreciate ourselves for the strength we have shown so far. We can do this.

The moon makes a square to Jupiter so it is important to stay positive. Mercury has been in this intense cardinal cross and this weekend Mercury opposes Uranus so something unpredictable and exciting could happen. This kind of pushes us to find a new way to handle something; see a new perspective. We can meet new people or a special person now.

When the Moon moves into Gemini this weekend, the winds will pick up. Youthful enthusiasm rules.

(now it is good to be prepared, but if we are the kind of person who has to prepare for every eventuality- well, things may not ever go terribly wrong for us, but they may not ever go terribly right either)

On Saturday night Mars (action) moves into optimistic, expansive Sagittarius thru October 26th and it's been almost a year since we have had Mars in fire. This is mostly a good great thing because this will make everyone a little more optimistic, a little more adventurous, a little more curious about the world.

This will be the push many people need to get moving, make a decision or do something else. Stuck stuff will get unstuck during this transit.

Now the downside (yes this is a planet of contrast, there is always a polarity and it's not always my adorable little locket - warning shameless plug ahead - check out some new necklaces here) is our impulse control might go bye-bye now. We can leap before we look (which sounds nice on a poster - leap and the net will appear, should say 'leap and the adventures will appear', I think). We can be overly trusting.

That smart executive on vacation who wandered into that cave at 3:45 and drowned when the tide came in 10 minutes later because the guide - a distracted and overworked 20 year old scuba instructor with a bad haircut; someone the executive would not have normally trusted his life to, of course - told the executive to leave the cave by 4:00 and hell, it was only 3:55; that trusting guy on an adventure, um, that trusting dead guy on an adventure (and this story is totally made up) was probably a Sagittarius.

Leaping is good during this transit, but there definitely needs to be some looking first - fortune favors the bold, but not the reckless now -

because Saturn is going to join this little Sagittarius party and he will see to it the stuff we put into motion now will stick.

(yes, first we get unstuck then we get stuck again - this is why we need to be following our passion and living from our heart, so if we fall on our asses at least we will have a craft room filled with yarn and pillow inserts to cushion our fall)

It will not be so easy to extricate ourselves from this stuff quickly - we could set something into play that reverberates until Saturn vacates the premises in 2016.

The house Sagittarius sits in our natal chart (print out your natal chart!) will be where this all plays out - this is where we can expand our awareness through the gathering of unfamiliar experience.

We need to be conscious of anything we are creating and signing up for now through the end of October because come December and for the next couple years we will have to live with this.

BIZ Astrology for Thursday, September 11th - ambitious activity

We have a grounded Sun/Saturn sextile today and an action Aries Moon that goes void. Not a great day to start something brand new, but an excellent day for ambitious activity - let's get some $hit done today (and tomorrow) folks!

We might get the feeling that it is now or never; that stuff has to happen NOW. This isn't really true, but we can use this AGITATION to make stuff happen. This is an excellent day to get our creative efforts out there. Concrete stuff is happening. Take a deep breath. Details are wrapping up. Decisions are being made.

This is passionate energy so the stuff that calls to our heart will be easy to NOTICE now. If we don't feel like doing it today, we probably never will ....

(yes, I am feeling the need to CAPITALIZE - don't hate me)

We might over focus now- so let's keep our eye on the big picture. We have Mars moving into Sagittarius in a couple days and that is going to be AMAZINGLY GOOD!

The fly in the ointment -

(why is there always a fly in the damn ointment - why can't we ever remember to put the cap on the damn ointment before the fly gets in there)

Mercury has an inconjunct aspect to Chiron for the next couple days - so even though we are trying to say the right thing we might say the wrong thing or maybe there will just not be a right thing to say - someone is not going to be happy with what we say or maybe we are the one getting upset.

This is the space between the rock and the hard place. We might feel forced to respond before we are ready to answer. There will be some kind of wrap up to this thing next Tuesday, but for now with Mercury in Libra it is best to communicate with collaboration, diplomacy, tact and hospitality.

On Sunday, Mercury will enter his shadow (he will be retrograde most of October) and start asking us "Are you sure? Is this what you really want? Is this where you really fit? Do you still fly with this flock?". Mercury is in Libra - so this will be about our partnerships and relationships. Saturn will make us commit to these partnerships and tribes during the eclipses in October.

Today is a great day to step things up and cement something solid - this will be in the area of our work, health, small pets, organization and routine.

And we have that Virgo Sun shining a light on all the ways we are not organized. Stuffing it in the closet just doesn't work now.

Tonight the Moon moves into Taurus - so it's a great night to ... well, I'll just leave it at that. This is a business blog after all (if you squint and stand at twenty paces). xo all

BIZ Astrology for Wednesday, September 10th - creative action

collage by spiresburn

We have an independent and dynamic Aries Moon pushing us forward today (with Aries we always have to take a second look and make sure we are not pushing into a wall - the Aries ram's gotta ram after all) and in a big old T-Square. Uranus is creating excitement. Opposing Mercury in Libra is creating indecision. Mercury squaring Pluto is asking us to embrace new ideas. 

Things could still look better than they actually are. Mistakes can happen. Attractive Venus opposing kindhearted Neptune today may draw sob stories - we want to be practicing high levels of compassion now, but not be foolish or self-sacrificing.

Since Venus rules the 2nd house of everything money can buy and everything money can't - hold onto our wallet and our values today (that smooth talking guy at the bar needs to go home alone, that broke-ass girlfriend can get a job, those boots you can't afford anyway will not fit right).

This is a good day for solid forward motion - an Aries moon makes us brave, a Virgo sun makes us detail oriented. If we are building our life on the solid ground of what we really want (this can be tricky, so take this part seriously), we cannot lose. We can always fail, but we cannot lose.

We have the grounded Virgo Sun sextiling Saturn in Scorpio (this won't happen again for decades) so our passions are really growing legs now. Creative people are thinking bigger and taking action. This is manifesting energy. That same Neptune / Venus opposition can create real beauty in the world now.

Some people may feel next month's eclipse this week with something important eclipsing out of our life. It's time (this doesn't make it any easier or hurt any less, I know). xo all

BIZ Astrology for Tuesday, September 9th - after the storm

after the storm print by elly mckay

That Pisces full Moon continues until tonight - emotions could be and have been intense. Today is like the fog after a big rainstorm.

Pisces is a water sign so anything that makes us cry now is something to look at. The full moon always shows us what we are holding onto. There is a gift in letting go. Know that any emotional endings now are perfectly timed.

The Hindu Goddess Kali is the Goddess of Autumn and rules endings and beginnings. She represents Mother Nature and is an archetype of Scorpio - she helps things that are ready to die. Call on her if we need strength - she is an ass-kicker and gets things done.

The Moon moves into Aries tonight and things get back on track. If your natal Moon is in Aries (moon's position when you were born) this is a perfect night for some fun play - a sporting event, a bike ride with your stopwatch, a poker game, any kind of competitive play that has no meaning.

If you know someone with an Aries Moon who never gets to play aggressively it is safe to assume he (or she) is very, very angry.

This is more true for men than women. By being born a woman the elements of water and earth are in our physical bodies although this is not always automatic and can require an action to activate it - something like raising a child, tending a garden or growing a business.

Venus in Virgo opposes Neptune today so our projects and relationships are fluid and malleable. We have to balance the fantasy and reality here. Let's not get sidetracked. Things might not be fully developed - we may have a feeling that something has to be done right now that isn't quite ripe. Sit on it until at least tomorrow.

Mercury in Libra forms a challenging position to Pluto that could make us obsess a bit, sending us into an insecure space when it comes time to say what we need to say. Pluto wants us to get to the bottom line. Mercury wants accuracy. Libra wants diplomacy. There's also some secrecy aspects to this placement. Uranus opposing Mercury could upset even the best intended plans.

There's a cosmic adrenal exhaustion warning now - we need to get enough sleep, we need to eat whole healthy foods, we need to move our bodies away from the computer or work bench - we can't stay motivated when we are struggling with burnout and depression. If we have to step back, we can always step back, no one is keeping score - we can be human-kind or the human-race now, I guess - it's up to us.

Full Moon in Pisces - Monday, September 8th - radical compassion with ourselves and others

chalk wall pattern

We have a full moon tonight at 9:38 EST. This is a sensitive, powerful full moon and our 3rd super Moon of the summer! This full moon conjuncts Chiron (wounded healer), trines Saturn and trines Juno.

We could have life changing moments today and tomorrow.

This isn't about setting intentions for what we want (like new moon energy affirmations). This is release energy. So we take that thing we want and release what is blocking us from having it. For example we want excellent health so we release our attention from junk food. We want a strong, focused mind so we release our attention from distractions. Then we have this wonderful Virgo Sun to take the actions that set up the systems to support us to do this. The release is the big huge first step that supports all the baby steps that follow.

It feels like a good time to step out of development issues. This is the time to release any energies that are wounding us. With Mercury squaring Pluto some deep fears can be released. Mercury is in Libra so other people are involved here.

These fears are the self-sabotaging stuff that keeps us stuck and makes us more comfortable playing small.

With Venus opposite Neptune this will highlight projects, money and relationships. There are excellent aspects for physical healing now (releasing the emotional component of an illness).

Pisces and Virgo are opposite signs, but really the opposite sides of the same coin. The balance of these two signs is where we bring God (life, the universe or whatever word you feel most comfortable using here) to earth through our actions of service.

Virgo/Pisces service is about the highest levels of service and compassion - it doesn't take on the burdens of others - compassion holds a higher vibration. It's not about removing the pain or suffering of another person which we literally can't do because the karma (ie energy attraction, cause and effect, our perfectly pre-planned, but not predestined life experiences) - that created it in the first place will just recreate it in another form.

Pisces is the last and final sign - the place where the buck stops - Pisces energy knows this.

Pisces compassion shows patience, lends an ear or a shoulder without the need for recognition - without the need for thanks - knowing the service is its own reward; the work is often invisible. 

It holds open doors and the spaces for others to be strong and courageous and confident. This is the power we hold now - we can see "who is doing without" and know what needs to be said or done. 

There are magical spaces for simple hospitality to create real change now. A stranger isn't really a stranger.

For more about the Full Moon the Mystic Mamas blog has a great post HERE
 
In my own life this healing is working through a long Saturn transit and since about 1 in 5 people have a difficult Saturn complex (although almost every human being born in patriarchy is subject to this feeling to some degree) on their natal chart, the healing energy now makes me think there is value in writing about it.

The smartest way to handle a Saturn transit (and my natal Saturn squaring my Sun makes me somewhat of an expert on this since my entire life is one long Saturn transit - imagine a stern father looking over your shoulder all the time!) is to know that often limitation has value.

A Saturn complex creates a feeling of things not being OK just as they are - this can give us high standards, drive and ambition, but also the feeling we have something to prove. In a natal chart these will simply be qualities of who we are - like having green eye and blond hair. Saturn's little inside joke is that we better enjoy what we are doing because there are no additional rewards for getting it right or being perfect.

The process is an end in itself and not a means to an end. Ultimately Saturn teaches us to love and value ourselves and not look for validation from outside sources. I think I will have to write a post about this.

For today - stay centered - let's choose our words carefully - they are powerful now and the less we speak today the stronger our words will be tonight when we need them. Get into water. Take a bath. Walk barefoot in that full moon tonight, even if you have cloudy skies, I can assure you the moon is still just as powerful. 

Set your intention to release what isn't working - be advised this is a very strong moon and this 'stuff that isn't working' will release. This may or may not feel good. If there are big things in our lives not working, a release intention at the full moon, can change everything. Let's be brave. Let's do what we came for.

BIZ Astrology for Friday, September 5th - changing where we are by loving what we do (not necessarily doing what we love)

We start the day with the Moon in steady, get the job done, Capricorn. Then she goes void just before lunch (EST) giving us a few hours to work through stuff already in motion. A void moon is a time to hold off on actions where we have high expectations - stuff tends to be unrealistic, stuff tends to be more fluid and hard to nail down.

There is a quincunx (150 degree aspect) this morning between Jupiter and Pluto. A quincunx requires us to make adjustments, which is maybe why the word sounds like a chiropractic term to me.

Maybe our chosen path (and yes, whatever path we are on was chosen by us, maybe consciously, maybe subconsciously or intuitively from the gazillions of little choices we have made over time) is not compatible with our best avenue for growth; maybe it doesn't best create the space for us to give what we are here to give.

The energies that are influencing us now allow us to feel the parts of ourselves that are out of alignment. People did not used to be made so uncomfortable by their lives. It used to be a person sitting in an unsatisfactory space, like a bad job or a bad relationship, was not caused the same amount of pain by that condition that we feel today.  

We have this agitation now - this major potential teasing us forward. 

The last time we had the current Pluto/Uranus square cycle (2012-2015) was during the great depression

(and the Gold Rush, which feels exactly like the internet to me - lots of money to be made, but not everyone will make money. How many people actually made money from mining gold vs selling mining equipment to people mining gold? I will have to research this. This feels like the internet to me, too - of course everyone had an ambitious adventure to tell their grandchildren).

When Pluto and Uranus were conjunct during the 1960's we set off a revolution. That revolution seeded much of what is happening now. The problem then was we were all still oriented toward pushing against what we didn't want which only empowers what we don't want!

Now by creating what we do want and pushing for that - real change can happen. This is not a linear journey though and we have Saturn in the mix making us work for it.

Work doesn't have to look like it used to though. When we work with our heart, work changes.

We've had Jupiter adjusting to Neptune (for the first time in our lives) since mid August and today we have Jupiter in Leo adjusting to Pluto. This creates some shifting sand with our creative work, children and relationships. There is money, authority figures and power involved. In the outer world this could show up as child abuse or child sex slavery in the news over the days and weeks ahead.

The immediate news for today is Venus enters Virgo - we have 25 days to get our asses organized! Venus is considered in 'her fall' in Virgo. She doesn't like it here. Venus wants the high heels that make her legs look long and beautiful, not the practical flats that Virgo knows won't make her feet hurt at the end of the day. It takes collaboration now. We can have form and function, but we need to work for it.

If we can not nitpick our way through the month and make ourselves and everyone else nuts, we can get a hell of a lot done now. Focus on organization and production this month.

This is the time when our ancestors brought in the harvest - we need to work now, too.

The Moon drops into Aquarius tonight and hangs out for much of the weekend. This will give us the chance to see things in new and unusual ways. Do something different this weekend! Make our body form new connections to what is familiar. This is a weekend to see where the magic can take us and where we are blocking that. This Aquarius Moon will make some hard squares this weekend - so don't get too critical. When Virgo is not critical, no one is more compassionate - let's use that energy now. Our new tribe is coming - hang on. xo all

BIZ Astrology for Thursday, September 4th - structure creates freedom

Our serious Capricorn Moon conjuncts Pluto and the Sun making a perfect trine - our calling is calling. This can sometimes feel like a scavenger hunt though and often we only get one clue at a time. We have to go through that one thing to get to the next thing and this stuff only makes sense in hindsight and even then only if we are paying attention.  

Pay attention.

Capricorn urges us to resist change and this tactic might produce a better short term outcome (maybe not the best day to quit our day job - of course, I can't see your personal chart!), but our long range plans still need to be about our passion.

Our calling is still calling. This is our programming. This urge isn't going away.

Today's skies are serious and maybe a little depressing - a Capricorn Moon can remind us of our limitations. She likes realistic goals. She's pragmatic. She is also strong and ambitious. This stuff can make us nuts without clear boundaries.

When I have some direction I want to take and I don't commit to a specific action I am never free of it.

The part of me that wants it - the part that doesn't want to "stay where I am" will be nagging me all the time. "Well, are you going to work on it now? How about now? What do you mean it's 10:00 and you are going to bed? You can't go to bed - you need to work on that thing we want!"  

But when I set up some boundaries for the leap - "I am going to work on this thing I want every Monday from 8 to noon" for example - then I am free and don't have to think about it the rest of the time.

Structure creates freedom.

We have Uranus (rebellion) in Aries (initiating action) from  May 2010 until March 2019. Uranus is like our operating system's back up plan. Since change can feel threatening and scary, especially the radical change needed when we have drifted off course, Uranus is set up to come in and get us going in a new direction when we need it. This seldom feels good unless we focus on feeling good - we need to focus on feeling good.

The I Ching Book of Changes speaks of the "arousing shock". Our tendency is to rely on strategies of our ego - we desire, we plot, we plan. This gets us through the day, but when we do this our spiritual development stops and the Universe must use shocking events to bring us back onto our path.

Sometimes when people suddenly appear to "lose it all" or life takes a total turn, often you can find in that person's chart a kind of integrated life - it's as if they decided OK when I am done with this (ie learned or experienced what I came into that experience to learn) move me right on to that.

Of course, the person living this thinks their life has just fallen apart.

Uranus in Aries (2010 to 2019) while Pluto (transformation) is in Capricorn (old solid structures) 2008 to 2023 - can make the entire world feel like it is falling apart. Because it is.

This is the collective "us" deciding we are done with this now move us on to that. What that looks like for the planet depends on our individual courage. We need to be living from our hearts now.

The tendency of human beings is to rely on the strategies of the ego:
to desire, plot and strive.
When we do this, our spiritual development stops,
and the Universe must use shocking events to move us back onto the Path. - See more at: http://www.astrologyoflight.com/currentastrology-info/articles/uranus-in-aries/#sthash.ji0kbfWb.dpuf

The tendency of human beings is to rely on the strategies of the ego:
to desire, plot and strive.
When we do this, our spiritual development stops,
and the Universe must use shocking events to move us back onto the Path.
~ I Ching-Book of Changes, #51 Chen: The Arousing (Shock) - See more at: http://www.astrologyoflight.com/currentastrology-info/articles/uranus-in-aries/#sthash.JgmRpI6U.dpuf

The tendency of human beings is to rely on the strategies of the ego:
to desire, plot and strive.
When we do this, our spiritual development stops,
and the Universe must use shocking events to move us back onto the Path.
~ I Ching-Book of Changes, #51 Chen: The Arousing (Shock) - See more at: http://www.astrologyoflight.com/currentastrology-info/articles/uranus-in-aries/#sthash.JgmRpI6U.dpuf

The Virgo Sun is about to make an opposition to Chiron highlighting our wounds and creating confusion. Mercury is in a hard aspect to Saturn which could create some additional mental pressures today. Possible arguments with authority figures. Let's give ourselves permission to not be so burdened by responsibility. Know we are doing the best we can. xo all