Full Moon / Lunar Exclipse in Aries on Friday - hold onto your integrity everyone

solar system magnetic necklace by polarity

I promise to finish up Captain Sully tomorrow.

(notice I didn't say finish off Captain Sully, but you never know what will happen since I am channeling Stephen King right now)

I want to get this post that I wrote a couple weeks ago up tonight for tomorrow's full moon.

Yes, we have a full moon - YIKES

(this one may or may not talk to us like Captain Sully's moon - it's in Aries, so I'm thinking if it is talking, it won't be holding anything back and we may have no choice but to listen and may not like what we hear)

and a lunar eclipse in Aries (remember the full moon is always in the opposite sign of the sun, so we have sun in Libra now so Aries full moon) - we had the Aries new moon last spring so something from that time is finishing up.

We also have Mars (Aries ruler) recently entering Virgo so it's a great time to put that energy (Mars) into Virgo stuff like organizing things, cleaning up, healing ventures, helping others. Virgo gets alot of heat as a fuss budget type of energy but that is far from the truth of it. This is where Mars landed last November so you may have a sense of deva ju right now depending on where this all lands in your own chart.

Virgo is ruled by Mercury so the retrograde coming up in a couple days (that energy is already with us) will ease some of the nastier Mars stuff with this - but we may be finding people saying unkind things, stuff we say being taken out of context, we'll be taking things too personally, saying things we immediately wish we could take back, etc. I have found some of this in my own life for the last couple weeks - mostly communication stuff, even crazy family nonsense with Facebook postings that have created some mini, short-lived feuds. Mars will be sitting here until December when it moves into Libra and we probably will be wishing he was back in Virgo!

So this full moon is lighting up the Aries/Libra polarity stuff in our own lives and the eclipse will help us more easily eclipse out what isn't working.

Think of Aries as the self and Libra as the other - we have "me vs. us", "assertion vs. compromise" here - all the stuff we have seen played out in our government is happening in our own lives and heads, too. We probably won't be able to sit on our feelings right now or the sidelines either. There is also this Uranus Pluto square that has a similar vibe and is causing a conflict between independence and connectedness then we have Jupiter kind of hanging around the fringes like the great cosmic cheerleader she is, in this case making things even more dramatic.

An interesting side note to this, not many astrologers talk about fixed stars much but my old astrology teacher was obsessed with them and it was contagious for me and maybe will be for you, too - anyway an interesting side note that relates back to my boat captain series for anyone who could figure out what the hell I was talking about with that one - is that the fixed star Fomalhaut which is the artist, magician, innovator Aquarius/Pisces energy is currently doing battle with the star Regulus which is the Leo kingly, royal, "one in charge" energy. This is a battle for the hearts and minds and has a sobriety aspect to this for many - maybe a wake up call that all is not as it seems.

Anyhoo, this eclipse will certainly dissolve anything in our life that is being held together with threads.

That was a long ramble. I hope something in here is helpful to someone. I am thinking of moving this stuff onto another site where maybe we can check the transits together and people can see how it fits into their own lives so this stuff will be more personal and useful. It can be very helpful to have a little peek around the corner at times.

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

Manufactured Goods and the Fishing Boat Captain - part lll (a fable in 3, now 4 parts)

skilled sailor cork ring

Captain Sully and his fishing boat captain friends, feeling the weight of a thousand other fishing boat captains on their shoulders, stumbled into their local pub.

The bartender who was used to people stumbling out and not so much used to them stumbling in, stood speechless.

Outside, a storm was kicking up. The wind howled. The sliver of a waxing moon filled the sky.

Sad Irish music (this) wafted from the jukebox although no one had put in any coins and hey, the bartender thought to himself, when the hell did that thing start working again?

At first the other patrons didn't notice the sudden storm and the determined and slightly vacant look of the fishing boat captains slowly filling the pub.

All at once they stopped their conversations mid-sentence and cocked their heads.

They looked at their watches. The guy in the john dropped his cellphone down the toilet and flushed it away. He was late - there was no time to lose.

The words pounded in his head. The word pounded in all their heads. LATE.

Most couldn't remember what they were late for - although some had vague memories of kid's soccer games missed years ago, papers not turned in on time, deadlines missed at work and then the promotion going to that jackass who always threw his empty water bottle in the trash can instead of the recycling bin.

One became haunted by her father's funeral, which she had missed 5 years before when a freak storm just like tonight's now that she thought about it - had delayed her trip home. LATE filled their heads until they thought their heads would explode if they didn't get GOING.

Outside as they stumbled onto the sidewalk, each head turned toward the moon in unison. The moon which had been only a sliver just minutes before now filled the sky over the Etsy Marina sign. The moon mouthed "YOU'RE LATE".

(cue the scary music here)

The bartender may have thought for a moment how strange it was that everyone was leaving at once but recovered quickly, filled frosty mugs with Guinness and handed each fishing boat captain a drink in turn as they stumbled past him on their way to the corner booth.

These were not folks taken to complaining. They were women and men of the sea after all and they had learned long ago that a smooth sea did not make a skilled sailor.

Tonight they sipped their pints slowly and nervously. Many didn't speak. A few grumbled about customers who wouldn't know a hands-on captain from a hands-off captain until the ship they were fishing on capsized. At least there would be no captain to go down with the ship, they muttered.

Captain Sully, a man of few words, looked each fishing boat captain in the eye (all at once, yes, all at once) and pulled out a ... treasure map.

(I guess this is a fable in 4 parts now - laughs mischievously and looks at the moon)

Manufactured Goods and the Fishing Boat Captain - part ll (a fable in 3 parts)

amos trout studio print

The marina had only one rule (see part 1 here) - the captain of the fishing boat must actually captain the boat - hands on the wheel, that sort of thing. The captain could have help of course, but the captain still needed to be the captain after all.

(the marina hoped not the kind of captain who went down with her ship, but that part was up to the captain as it should be)

Over time, more and more fishing boat captains were parking their boats at this marina.

The marina got bigger and bigger and hired more people. The marina took down the signs that said this marina was a great place to be a fishing boat captain and put up signs that said this marina was a great place to make money.

People who had never even thought about being a fishing boat captain decided this fishing boat captain stuff sounded like a good idea and joined in, too.

Over time there wasn't room for everyone's boats to be viewed by the vacationers who could choose which boat they would charter for their fishing trip. The marina solved this problem by making different boats visible to different vacationers at different times based on stuff that even the smartest and most cunning fishing boat captains were unable to totally figure out.

There came a morning -

(a storm out of a clear blue sky will probably be the way the story is told later, although any fisherman worth his salt could tell you there had been storm clouds brewing for years)

when the fishing boat captains reached their docks and noticed the marina's one and only rule - the rule that said the captain's hands must be the hands on the ship's wheel - the one rule that fishing boat captains had lived by for as long as there had been fishing boats to captain - well, that one rule had been erased from the marina's welcome sign.

The marina called a meeting to explain the changes. They assured the fishing boat captains that this was really a good thing. The fishing boat captains could grow their hands-on businesses now that their hands didn't have to be holding on to the ship's steering wheel.

Most captains were upset. Some were scared. Many were angry. A few were relieved that they could stop pretending to be fishing boat captains, expand their fleets publicly and hire other hands for that pesky "hands on" part.

Captain Sully (yes, I decided the fishing boat captain from hub's trip was named Captain Sully; the most trustworthy name for a captain after all) who had been a fishing boat captain for so long he measured his time at sea in decades and the other equally crusty fishing boat captains had their own meeting at the pub that afternoon.

Now this is where my tale grows darker I'm afraid dear reader - this blog can't be cork and car parts all the time folks, I'm sorry - sometimes life is ... treacherous.

back tomorrow with part III (you may want to make like a lighthouse or a red roof inn and leave the light on)

Manufactured Goods and the Fishing Boat Captain - part I (a fable in 3 parts)

fishing locket - artwork by the amazing rbwatercolors

When hubs and I went on vacation last spring, George joined a boat charter for a 3 hour fishing trip. On the boat were hubs, the boat captain, one hired hand and 3 other vacationers.

One of the other vacationers (why do I want to type vacationeers, maybe because this took place in Florida), a guy who quickly let everyone know he was a "very successful" entrepreneur, was going on and on about what a great opportunity the boat captain had here and how he could be making a lot more money with his business.

The boat captain, a salty dog from way back, just kind of smiled indulgently at the businessman and asked him "why would I want to do that?" and the businessman was totally flabbergasted.

(this may be the first time I get to use the word flabbergasted in a blog post - I have been trying to work this word into my daily conversation for years, I just love it, you have to overlook the fact it kind of sounds like flatulence though)

Anyhoo, the businessman was getting himself all worked up. "You could have more boats! You could sit back and watch the money roll in! You wouldn't have to do so much work!"

The boat captain looking up at the sky and out at the sea, taking a long breath of clean ocean air and waving to the captain of another charter boat that passed them, his friend Jim who he would be having a pint with later on that afternoon, calmly replied, "I don't work now".

Now because I am that boat captain, but more importantly because I used to be that businessman, I understand both sides of this drama from my gut and my heart and 

I also understand how a boat captain (the artist in this little parable, in case I haven't been clear enough) who's never been a businessman (or at least not a "very successful" entrepreneur type businessman)

and a businessman who's never been a boat captain (the artist), can both shake their heads at the other guy's way of thinking about "success".

"Well," said the "very successful" entrepreneur, a man who prided himself on getting in the last word in any type of business negotiation, "If you don't do it, someone else will. Someone else will come in here and put all you guys out of business."

Now, here's where hub's fishing tale turns into a Stephen King novel

(yes, this is about to get gory readers, hang on to your breakfasts and don't get all squeamish on me later and claim I didn't warn you) -

the boat captain chuckled a little at the "very successful" entrepreneur who got to do for 3 hours what the fishing boat captain got to do every single day of his life.

He steered his boat back to the dock and parked in his designated spot in the marina, the marina he and his other fishing boat captain friends were so happy to call home - a marina called Etsy.

part II tomorrow - the marina gets bigger

blog break ...

... back soon - xo all

New Moon in Libra - time to think about what we are committing our energy to plus can Etsy really call an apple an orange and make us see an orange

with brave wings she flies

Back to this new moon because the ritual of having a new moon intentions process is very powerful.

Moving into Libra from Virgo takes us from an earth sign into an air sign so those of us already living in our heads tend to get more ungrounded (and also catch head and chest colds), have less energy and be less able to finish things.

Some tips on grounding here.

Of course, new moons tend to be low-energy times anyway, so just go with it right now.

Think of the new moon a little like a blank page - this one in balancing Libra is focused on finding peace and equilibrium and an excellent time to set intentions for what we need to have more balance and harmony in our lives.

Setting intentions and making affirmations are one of the first steps to making something happen

(after releasing resistance to it and creating the space for it) - 

people sometimes think of the intention as separate from the action, but intention, particularly when part of a ritual, is an action itself. 

It welcomes the thing we are focused on into our energy. 

Now is a great time to focus our intentions on Libra stuff : relationships, marriage, negotiation, harmony, teamwork, social activity, beauty, Libra health stuff : adrenals, sugar imbalance, kidneys

Some examples of stuff I am working with:

1. I easily see and follow the path to create a happy marriage
2. I feel internally balanced and peaceful
3. I easily cooperate with others in healthy, happy and tactful ways
4. I make decisions easily
5. I easily attract, absorb and implement the information that leads to a total healing of my low blood sugar

then I add my 5 most important intentions, more specific stuff, worded with a Libra focus (astrologer Jan Spiller always suggests 10 intentions - she calls then wishes - and 10 is a nice number to work with so I try to go with that).

AFFIRMATION TIPS: get into a happy frame of mind - always make affirmations from a  positive place (positive meaning both happy and certain) - write your affirmations down by hand, speak them out loud - I always 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 get stagnant - then release your attention from them knowing that your intention is known. Know these things are already yours.

A couple words about Etsy's announcement this week since it will affect different sellers in different ways and celestially speaking couldn't be better timed. Etsy's solution to the factory stuff that litters it's pages now, is to find a way to make that stuff fit even if it means redefining handmade to include factory made.

 

They can decide what is allowed on their platform - but they can't just call an apple an orange and have it become an orange. 

 

(unless, of course they have some kind of Monsanto genetically modified fruit seed patent we don't know about in the works to do exactly this ...)

 

If your Etsy business feels like it has been built on shifting sand it is only because everything is shifting now - you would be feeling this stuff no matter where you had planted yourself.

 

This new moon in Libra, the part of our hero's journey that is all about balance and other people, is the perfect time to step into our authentic power - which is always sourced by spirit - to co-create better relationships and more harmony in our lives. It's also a great time to sacrifice whatever it is that causes us to sit on that fence!

(which reminds me that I recently sat on a white fence without realizing it was vinyl and bent it - my neighbor's brand new fence now has a forever impression of my left buttock which must be heavier than my right buttock now that I think about it unless I slouch leftie and I can't say the word buttock without hearing Forrest talking about his battle injury ... xo and have a nice weekend all!)

 

 

New Moon in Libra - a grand cross call to action this month

Sullivan is rocking his Libra mommy's world right now

I have been AWOL planning and throwing a baby shower (yes, I threw the shower and not the actual baby) and hosting family in from Oregon!

Anyone who reads astrologer Susan Miller knows she has been predicting a bumpy October for most people.

This is not your typical New Moon because it is going to not only activate the Uranus/Pluto square but form what is called a Grand Cross.

This Grand Cross is where the action amps up big time and it plays out with the New Moon and Sun together in Libra on one corner of the Cross - Uranus opposite in the sign of Aries on another point of the Cross - Pluto squaring up in Capricorn on the third point of the Cross - and Jupiter in Cancer sitting the fourth point of the Cross.

Grand Cross configurations want something to change, move forward, rev up, and with New Moon energy behind the cross we are in for a real call to action

(we can see this all being played out in Washington right now with healthcare and Etsy with Chad's announcement this week and in our own lives).

If it feels like some kind of stability is ending for you, remember that stability is not the experience we are here for (we still want to be grounded though). The ego seeks to keep us safe (that's the ego's main job after all) which doesn't sound like a bad thing until you think of the toddler who would never take her first step if the ego had its way. On the one side of the coin, there is no inherent safety now for any of us (there never has been, the danger was just hidden from our view before) - on the other hand, nothing real can be threatened, so anything that looks like it is being threatened isn't real anyway.

Pluto (Capricorn, the authority) seeks power, Uranus (Aries, the warrior) seeks freedom - both are stubborn, tenacious cardinal signs that stand their ground and make things happen. When Pluto moved into Capricorn in 2008, our financial system crashed - when Uranus entered Aries in 2010, and then moved to within a few degrees of its square to Pluto revolutionary movements began to spread throughout the world.

Personally right now we may be reacting to something new happening or steering our ship into new waters ourselves (always better to grab the wheel - not to try and turn the boat around but to best avoid the rocky shore).

The New Moon gives us a full 2 weeks to make something happen or deal with what happens and it really culminates 6 months from now with the Libra full moon.

We also have mercury about to go retrograde so it's a good time to follow this new moon to its completion this month and wrap stuff up before the 21st. For most people, even though this is a new moon, it might be better to hold off and start new things in November when the new moon isn't followed by a retrograde (especially if you are a fixed sign person - I'm talking to you: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius).

I'll get back to all of this tomorrow (our new moon affirmation stuff as we makers journey through Libra and some stuff on Etsy's announcement), but just wanted to post this now.

Happy Thursday all - baby shower pics are coming! xo

working in our business and not on our business - just doing the work (part lV - the mystical part)

fabric, mirrored locket by polarity

I wanted to wrap us this series before the sun moved into Libra so we will just pretend you are reading this yesterday.

(never under-estimate the power of our imagination, the nonexistence of time as a constant - ask Einstein - and for me personally, my ability to be continually one day late with most things)

This Virgo energy that is about work and service and dedication; about doing the stuff that we have to do without our Leo (prior sign) need for attention, without getting credit, without any applause now cedes our path to balance seeking Libra (the next sign) bringing other people into the mix - asking us what we have really created if no one else ever gets to see it or be affected by it - asking us to step out with what we've got - asking us to share.

As Virgo moves into Libra we get autumn; the time of harvest. 

To tie this all back in (rather hastily, I'm sorry) with what happens with maker businesses is we will only grow so much before we need to take a quantum leap. That step by step way we have been growing will eventually hit something, usually a standstill; something that requires a greater expenditure of energy or a decision to let go.  

We have to put more of ourselves into it.

We need the momentum that comes from some kind of full out sweaty run.

If we don't because maybe we don't have the energy - maybe we want the harvest but we don't want to do the planting and the tilling or maybe we don't want to do the planting and tilling ... again. 

This is exactly the time we need to really get to work (the times that separate the women from the girls - call on Athena energy for this) or sometimes exactly the time we need to let go and move on. 

There is no right or wrong answer here.

Everything isn't meant to be some great huge thing. Sometimes it's just the thing we had to grow through and now have to let go of so we have both hands free when that other thing comes along.

But, always remember, everything that is a great huge thing always made this leap.

The next steps will be easier to figure out if we are grounded (we are also moving from an earth sign into an air sign right now so grounding is doubly important). Grounding brings our energy into the current moment which is always the place we line up with ourselves; the place we line up with our answer. And I didn't say 'correct answer' because maybe there is no correct answer. Maybe every answer will lead us where we have intended to go as long as we keep moving. 

Removing the excess electrical charge from an object is called grounding - removing the excess emotional charge, that is the result of over thinking and looking backwards, is also called grounding. 

Pulling our focus back to our physical self and the current moment is especially beneficial for anyone who doesn't feel safe (raises both hands) and we will know this is us if we continually make decisions based on safety.

(these decisions are always ego based because our safety is the ego's job, which is a good thing until it isn't anymore - it's the crutch that helped us to walk while our foot healed but then becomes the reason we can't walk when we hold on to it too long). 

When we find ourselves valuing our safety over our happiness, grounding can help us make better decisions or I should probably say grounding will help make our decision making easier.

And this stuff is a practice so we have to practice it. It's like exercise, it can't not work for us, but we have to actually do it. Some ways to ground:

1. Walk outdoors in bare feet (this works so well, that even just walking across my front yard on a Sunday morning to get the newspaper in my bare feet totally changes my entire mood for the day)

2. Lie on the ground (palms on the ground or forehead on the ground works best)

3. Gardening

4. Bring our attention to the present moment - sit comfortably and scan your body from your toes to your head feeling each part - is it hot, is it heavy - observe how your body feels. Walk around the room and see how it feels to touch things. Run cold water over your hands. List your current moment - so I would say - keyboard keys clicking, the sound of crickets, cold air from the open door - attention to the present moment is very grounding.

5. Eat root vegetables (some people think eating meat is grounding, but I had a teacher 20 years ago who said this wasn't true - that eating meat actually lowers our frequency so that's why it might feel momentarily grounding - I think she was right about this)

6. Stones are grounding. The stuff in our environment always lines up with us energetically. Rocks and minerals hold such old and solid vibrations that it is much more likely for us to have to raise our vibration to match their vibration than for the reverse to happen. Hematite is great for this.

6. Scents have vibrations and can be grounding. Scents force us to either incorporate their energy or move out of their space. Yes, scents are bad-ass.

7. Sounds are grounding. The teacher who taught me grounding had an exercise where you make a sound with your throat and then lower and lower the sound until it is the lowest sound your body can make - that is your root chakra sound and you can make that sound when you need to ground yourself - great for stressful driving situations. 

8. Red, brown and black are very grounding - probably why so many teens are drawn to wearing the color black while their vibration seeks balance.

9. Grounding meditations - visualizing yourself with roots reaching down into the earth, etc.

10. Exercise (preferably outdoors)

So, a daily grounding practice, getting to work (the stuff we do because we have the need to bring forth the work not because of what the outcome can do for us) - we are at the harvest now of our 9 month yearly birthing cycle and like the new mother we know that even our most original work (and really only our most original work) isn't really our work anyway - we don't create the new life - we are just the vehicle birthing it.

It came through us (and on the one hand it could have come through anyone and on the other hand it could only have come through us) because we were the ones who settled down and did the work.

working in our business and not on our business - just doing the work (part lll - giving what we got)

giddyup bracelet

There is some kind of magic that happens when we just keep going.

When we just do the thing we are supposed to do.

It's a cop out to say we would do the thing we were supposed to be doing, if only we knew what that thing we were supposed to be doing is ...

because we do know.

It's that thing that is right in front of us.

It's that thing we have been putting off doing.

It's that thing we don't want to do. It's not some big, huge, change the world thing - it's that other thing.

(and yes, maybe that thing right now is the sink filled with dirty dishes - just do that and don't do a half-assed job with it either, do it well and finish it, that's the work that gets the magic started)

We have lots of universal support for this 'doing the work" part. We have Goddess energy and angels and fairies to help us.

(and fairies may sound nuts to you, although maybe not - what I have found with fairies is that they are more about the nuts and bolts of things, the material stuff and when you have a business in a 3D world, fairy energy can come in very handy)

We have to ask for help though - life is like Star Trek, after all.

This energy is outside our reach until we actually reach for it.

Kabbalists believe that beside every blade of grass is an angel whispering, "Grow!". This same energy supports us. We have angels whispering and crying and cajoling us, too. We grow through change and through experience and these changes and experiences happen through doing the work.

Life supports us when we do the work - when we don't get too distracted by our own nonsense.

(on the one hand everything is always available to everyone, on the other hand what is available to us is only the stuff we energetically line up with)

The universe slips ideas to the people who can make them happen - the ones who are doing.

The idea for how to make free energy is probably not going to slip into my head because what the hell would I be able to do with it - it will slip into the head of the girl who has put her 10000 hours into the work of free energy. She is the one who will know what to do with it.

(this doesn't mean she is the one who will make a gazillion dollars with it - maybe no one will, that is kind of the point of free energy after all - she will definitely though, be rewarded through the work)

For this mystical energy to work for us we have to give up the need to define ourselves hierarchically - we need to let go of the pecking order.

(I'm sure heaven celebrates every time a chicken escapes the hen house)

We cannot look to others to validate our calling or our efforts or our results. We cannot compare ourselves to other people because we are all here for different things. The work must become its own reward and if we are not in a space where we feel that is happening - then that is our work - to release that space within ourselves. If we can let the work be all about the work and release our attachment to the results we will find this mystical energy everywhere.

part IV next - getting in touch with the mystical energy

ryan schain photo

full moon in Pisces this week .....

If you have been watching the night sky you have noticed the moon appearing larger and fuller over the last few days leading us to the September 19th full moon.

(make sure you get outside at night now and go for some walks - barefoot is even better)

The full moon occurs when the moon is on the opposite side of the earth as the sun. So, when the sun is in Virgo (as it is now) the moon (during the full moon) will be in the opposite sign of Pisces.

Since the Pisces new moon happened in March, the Pisces full moon this week will bring culminations to stuff started at that time. It also brings us the energy for peak activity in the current month's cycle.

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 (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.

We have some challenging astrological aspects (cardinal cross, transiting Saturn conjunct Venus transiting the north node, Star of David) right now, that I'm not going to get into here, and also a grand water trine that has many of us thinking about our roots and the past and making it a very good time to be mindful of what we have worked for and created and be grateful for the process (Virgo). It's a time to recognize our ability to make a difference (Pisces) - to be a difference in the well-being and evolution of us all.

We are on this rock to rock this thing and most likely your world is rocking right now.

working in our business and not on our business - just doing the work (part ll - the invisible stuff)

please don't take me for "granite" locket by polarity

Our businesses are work.

You don't quit your day job (or dream about this), so you don't have to work. If you do, you better have a rich uncle who really, really likes you ... alot.

(and not in any kind of creepy way, I hope)

Lots of people give us advice about working on our business - telling us "you need to be working on your business and not in your business - you don't want to build yourself a job".

Some advisers will say this as if it is absolute truth, which it absolutely isn't (not much is).

It's not that this isn't a valid conversation to have. It is. It just isn't the whole conversation.

First of all, there is nothing wrong with creating yourself a job - no one else is creating them, so we pretty much have to now.

2nd, the more we work in our business, the invisible stuff, the stuff that no one will ever see us do, the stuff of late nights and callouses - the more we build our skill set, the more we refine our story, the more time we spend making the stuff that matters - the less working on our business we have to do at all.

It may look like the visible work is what has garnered us our rewards but we know it is the work we have done in our business that has allowed it to happen at all.

Working on our business will never get us those rabid customers who tell two friends and then they tell two friends and so on and so on ....

(what is that from, it's driving me nuts?)

it's the invisible work we do that earns us that, not the Facebook posts and Pinterest pins.

There are really no shortcuts. And if it looks like someone has found a shortcut -

(I believe that we are not born with unlimited choices, we can't be anything we want to be, we were all born for different things and someone who has found their thing may look like they have found a shortcut)

it is only because they have not cluttered up their own path with crap and it is easier for them to see where they need to go and to get about the business of getting there. The shortcut almost always leads people to wanting to take the longer road, with its twists and turns, next time though.

There is a certain amount of resistance that comes with really caring about something. Sometimes it is the part of our work that we are most resistant to that serves as an indicator of our real work. The counterfeit creator is wildly self confident - the real one is scared to death that things will not work out and she does the work anyway.

Hubs business has been busy for 12 years.

He has a service business so his work cannot be outsourced (thank goodness), but he isn't doing anything someone else isn't doing, too (there are 5 other shops in our very small town doing the same thing) - he is just doing it better and maybe 'better' is the wrong word here, but he is truly passionate about what he is doing. This doesn't mean he doesn't have resistance to the work at times - he just gets up and does the work anyway.

He almost never works on his business and he almost always thinks he should be. He shouldn't. The work he does in his business makes working on his business almost unnecessary. The people who need him, find him. He doesn't think about all the things he needs to be before he can get to work. He just gets to work.

We just do it or we don't do it.

If we were meant to write a book or make a family or cure cancer and we don't do it - we don't only hurt ourselves -we hurt our ancestors, we hurt our children, we hurt our planet. We shame the Goddess energy whose sole purpose is to nudge us and support us and push us along our path. We can't cheat the world of our contribution. We have to give the world what we've got.

part III what do we got?

(yes, I realize this is grammatically incorrect - it's Friday, weekends laugh at grammar, grammar's for Mondays)

sacred and profane print

happy weekend all! xo

knock, knock ....

nobody, Cat, is who they are based on one decision, one day, one path, one chance, one relationship or one anything else.

every day is brand new and opportunity never stops knocking.

who's there?
The Universe

(back later with that new series distracted by an 8 lb angel - happy thursday all)

kella and chris with new baby sully - doors flying open everywhere right now

doing the work ... why working IN our business and not on our business is what really matters - intro

pillaging and plundering is so 10th century - cork bracelet

The world used to operate within some sort of pecking order - top dog / underdog space - where we ran in packs, sat in cliques and without even thinking about it instinctively knew our place.

That is the world that is falling apart.

The numbers have just gotten too big and the whole thing is collapsing.

A pecking order can only hold so many chickens.

The hens who didn't get the memo are still thrashing around trying to get someone to pay attention to them while the rest of the brood are busy forming smaller tribes based on their common passions and some are even ignoring what everyone else is doing altogether.

The sun in Virgo is the perfect time to talk about what this means to us - this new world that is too large for pecking orders - the space for chickens who have outgrown their coops.

This new world that is about the work; the kind of work that doesn't wait for someone to notice it. It doesn't wait for permission or attention or things to be just right or perfect. It doesn't wait for inspiration. It isn't done for applause. It's never seen on Facebook.

(and of course there is really nothing new about it)

Let's talk about that. (part 1 next - the invisible)

pencils by thebigharumph

New Moon in Virgo today - separating the wheat from the chaff ....

butterfly ring - uncorked

The astrology wheel is the hero's journey
(just like the fool's journey in tarot) of self discovery.

When the sun moves into Virgo in late August, it is the hero's first encounters with service.

Although Virgo is the loner sign (along with Aries although Aries doesn't choose it, Aries just embodies it) - she is the conscientious loner.

The hero is learning when to help and when helping isn't really helping. Virgo is the modest healer with the critical eye that takes care of the details.

Every sign has something to learn from the sign that follows it. Leo learns from Virgo (and we all have Leo in our charts somewhere - its placement will affect how this activates in your own journey) - to do the work. Virgo teaches Leo to let go of the need for the spotlight and recognition and to just focus on the work.

(next the hero moves into Libra and learns that those carefully attended details she has manifested into physical form in Virgo need balance)

It is no coincidence that Virgo comes in autumn; the time of the harvest - the time to separate the wheat from the chaff. What is needed to be nurtured and what needs to be discarded is more easily seen and felt now. Mercury is not connected to any other planet for the next 9 days so we can be really objective about what we want right now (then Mercury moves into connection with Jupiter, Pluto and Uranus allowing us to see the bigger picture).

Our soul's purpose, which has been built through many lifetimes, is exactly what is needed to meet the challenges of these times. Our previous lives fit together within us like a puzzle and each of us forms a bigger puzzle (which is really the same puzzle) together. 

We each have it in us to do what we are called to do and we are the only one who can do it. When our belief becomes that we are here to serve the world, that is exactly the space that will open up for us.

A Virgo new moon is the perfect time to focus on Virgo areas such as : health (diet and exercise; the maintenance of our health), work/job, creating order, relaxing perfectionism and helping others.

Examples of some affirmations:

1. I am easily attracted to foods that are healthy for my body. I establish routines that create total health for me. I easily swallow vitamins (ugh).

2. I easily complete tasks with minimal stress and maximum efficiency. I create routines that give me time to relax. All tendencies to postpone necessary tasks and errands are totally lifted from me. I create financial abundance for myself while adding value to the lives of others.

3. I restore my work space to order on a daily basis. Any resistance to 'cleaning up the mess' is lifted from me. I create order in my home.

4. I am free of critical judgements of myself and others. The compulsion to 'be right' is easily lifted from me. I use positive language.

5. I consciously feel satisfaction from being of service to others in my work.

AFFIRMATION TIPS: get into a happy frame of mind - always make affirmations from a  positive place - write your affirmations down by hand, speak them out loud - I always 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 get stagnant - then release your attention from them knowing that your intention is known. Know these things are already yours. xo

5 questions to ask ourselves when launching a new thingamajig

lori portka's bracelet by polarity

You may have noticed by now I love the word thingamajig.

I especially love that it covers just about every thing makers could possibly make and I love that Google and Websters think it's a real word, too.

(maybe it actually is)

Anyhoo, I am about to launch a new thingamajig and thought I would share a little bit of my thinking that went into this process.

5 questions to ask ourselves:

1. why are we making this?

"Why" is a really important question. I truly, truly believe that it is the passion in people that draws us to them and draws us to the things they have created - our energy seeking out energy that makes us feel good - that makes us feel more alive.

The answer to why we do what we do will never be about the money because there are many things we can do to make money, many more sure-fire things, like those that involve paychecks and 401Ks - why are we making this and why should anyone care? Artists can't make art for the money - we will lose our hearts and not make any money that sticks anyway.

2. who is this for and why will they want it?

Our market is much more important than our marketing. It is no fun to make something we really love making and then have to spend all our time trying to figure out how to sell it. Take the time to think about who is going to buy and why they would want to first. Stand in our customer's shoes -

(luckily for me my customers are not so much into 5 inch spikes and if yours are, then yes, you will have some sore arches, but you will have to do this anyway)

who will buy our thingamajig and how will buying our thingamajig make them feel? Is this how they want to feel?

3. what are other makers doing? how is our thingamajig better and different?

When I started fabricating magnetic jewelry I googled and searched to make sure no one was doing anything similar (they weren't ... ah, the good old days) - since we are looking for a need to be filled, it is important to take a look around and make sure there actually is a need.

We are not competing with who it looks like we are competing with. I do not compete with other cork jewelry makers with my cork jewelry because it is not like people are waking up and saying to themselves "I must have some cork jewelry!" - I still can't understand why this doesn't happen, but cork jewelry is not a vanilla latte folks - sniffle. 

I do not compete with jewelry makers with my magnetic jewelry because no one has my story and my passion and my originality - no one can do what I do. No one can do what you do either. 

What we are really competing with are the gazillions of distractions that vie for our customer's attention. 

We have to be worth their time.

I once developed a whole line of plexiglass jewelry and, right before I launched, an artist wrote a new book called Plexi is Sexy (which I can't find now in a google search, wth) - with such similar and such better stuff, I shelved my launch and gave the stuff away for Xmas. Now, I google and search first. Don't create the same old, same old. And don't do something someone else is already doing better than you are.

(and by 'don't do what someone else is doing better' I am talking about your thingamajig here not your skill set, obviously there will always be someone with a better skill set which is probably ok, because different is better than better anyway)

4. how will we sell it? I do not believe that we have to make art that we intend to sell, but here we are talking about a thingamajig we intend to sell.

If we want to make money with our thingamajig we need to put some thought into strategy - where is our customer looking? How will we be where they are looking? How will what they see when they look at us make them feel? How can we make what they see reflect our 'why' so they connect with us?

Let's say we create a very popular thingamajig and people become rabid, loyal fans (yes, we want them foaming at the mouth and drooling - an ugly customer is a happy customer folks).

What will those rabid, loyal fans tell themselves about themselves by being our loyal, rabid fans?

5. what is our goal with this thing? This is different for everyone. And it is perfectly ok to update this from time to time, but we need little end zones so we can pivot when things go wrong and when things go well we can make time for happy dances around the studio, high fives with our peeps (in my case Olive, whose high fives are more like 'give me your paw', but I know what she is thinking with this) and chances to haul out the good liquor.

(please send me your corks)

happy labor day weekend all ...

enjoy your Labor Day - and remember not to labor

 

I guess this was before some genius invented beach towels

Changes to Etsy Feedback or sellers are seeing stars

I have never been a fan of feedback.

(mostly because it scares the hell out of me)

Like thousands/millions of other people who sell on Etsy - I make stuff. I take pictures of it. I sell it. I ship it. Most of the time I do this really, really well. And sometimes I screw up.

There are a whole lot of "I's" in this process so this whole thing has always felt way too personal to me to be healthy - like I am walking through life naked and hoping someone will offer me an umbrella or some sunblock or a nice hand knit sweater and at the very least not throw darts or rotten tomatoes at me.

A connected economy is a feedback economy. Our businesses rise (or fall) by the connections we make. With a gazillion bits of information clamoring for our potential customer's attention word of mouth marketing is the only thing that works.

I get it.

Really.

It still scares the hell out of me.

Before two days ago I hadn't looked at my Etsy feedback in over a year because I like to sleep at night and because I am afraid of darts and rotten tomatoes and because my big girl pants have been at the cleaners ... yes, for a year - my cleaners are very slow. I don't give them bad feedback about this either.

Etsy changed from a kind of pass/fail system to a 5 star system.

A few other things changed, too.

1. Buyers don't get feedback anymore which sounds like a good idea because why does a buyer need feedback. When I leave the grocery store there isn't some guy standing there with a pad and paper rating my performance as a customer. Sellers have used this buyer feedback thing as a way to thank buyers, but sellers have likely thanked them two or three times by this point so it's not really needed for that..

There are sellers on Etsy who make time consuming and sometimes expensive custom items for buyers and kind of like to see who they are dealing with before they get started. They would like to know if the buyer has a history of being unhappy with things they have ordered, so maybe they can avoid the pitfalls of dealing with someone who might be unhappy with them, too.

I get this. It's the same reason I hadn't checked my feedback in a year.

It isn't the way life works though.

Life supports us putting in the energy first - great jobs require unpaid internships, great skills require 10,000 hours of practice, great rewards require sweat. Sellers of time consuming custom work will have to figure out a way to make this work for them.

Maybe someone could offer a place they could privately list problem situations, I don't know. I think few problem situations were ever avoided with buyer feedback though.

2. The stars have little labels that because Etsy is the place for hip, read things like "not a fan" and offer suggestions to customers of what they should write about (customers are required to write at least 5 words now) - suggestions like "what did you like about it?", "what did you dislike?"

Ouch.

(maybe a little disrespectful for handmade Etsy? whatcha think? some of us are still making the things we sell on Etsy with our own two hands and the handmade experience is an imperfect experience, which is the wabi sabi beauty of it - we aren't all resellers Etsy)

3. Sellers overall rankings (1-5 stars) are calculated from the last 12 months of feedback received but listed next to the total of all feedback ever received and so are a little misleading. Maybe a lot misleading.

This seller who posted in the forums yesterday should have a 4.75 overall star rating, but because she has only had 1 buyer in the last 12 months who left feedback (most buyers don't leave any) and that buyer was not happy, she has a 1 star rating which is going to be very slow to improve.

My gut tells me that Etsy will revise this 12 month thing, and if they don't, I think we should all contact this seller and ask her to sell us something cheap which we will all rave about until we pull her rating up to the 4.75 she deserves. I am serious.

4. Buyers can revise their feedback for up to 60 days. They used to have much longer to leave feedback and this replaces kiss and make-up which drove sellers crazy.  It has some potential pitfalls because buyers could revise their star ranking down if something breaks, shrinks or falls apart. I think most likely these buyers would go back to the seller and talk to them before revising their feedback. It's still a little nerve-wracking

There are other changes, but my brain hurts from thinking about them

We'll have to see how this all pans out, maybe some things will be revised over the next couple weeks.

The one good thing that came out of this for me is that with buyer feedback disappearing some purchase feedback I had missed leaving popped into view for me to give out.

I noticed when I left feedback something called Shop Note showed up under my comment area - it looked like the Message to Buyers info, but I couldn't be certain.

We need to figure where this Shop Note gets entered. Before my buyers leave feedback I want them to see something like this:

I love stars. Falling stars and shooting stars and movie stars - since Miss Rehak's first grade class when I went home every day with little gold stars stuck to my forehead (well, maybe not EVERY day) - I just LOVE them. You have been a 5 star customer and I hope I have given you a 5 star experience. Thank you for buying handmade and recycled!

or maybe something like this:

HOLD ON there buddy. If you were about to give me any rating other than the 5 STAR rating we both know I deserve let me just tell you this - I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE. I've seen your Facebook profile and I know where you work. I know you are a little too fond of (I'll pop some custom info related to their purchase in here) OCTOPUSES. Let's just leave it at that.

the reason people love jane's product is not because of how awesome it is, it's because of how awesome it makes THEM

Jane ni Dhulchaointigh is the adorable founder of Sugru. She gave this talk at 99U talk at this year’s conference.

Talk about a woman stepping into her responsibility ... you will love her.

the problem with looking too far ahead ....

she sells seashells metal cuff

I want to know what's going to happen.

(even though I know that thoughts are things and currents of infinite possibility run deep through my bones)

I want to know that everyone is going to have a happy ending and that things are going to all work out.

(even though I know that nothing real can be threatened and nothing unreal exists)

I want to know if what I am doing is going to work before I do it.

(even though ... well, because I'm kind of lazy)

I want a guarantee and yes, I want it signed in permanent ink and notarized.

The problem with this way of going through life is when I look too far ahead:

1. I miss all the stuff I don't do now because it looks like it might be a bad idea later

(if I skipped everything in life that looked like a loser, I surely would have missed the sidesteps that took me to the winners)

2. I miss the cracks in the sidewalk that are right at my feet awaiting my tiniest misstep

(and I am clumsy enough with feet firmly planted on the ground - you know that twitchy/jerky thing that happens sometimes just before we fall asleep - well, I have been known to do that wide awake)

3. I miss the excitement of life surprising me

(since I cannot count on hubs to do this - we both forgot our anniversary last week)

The problem is even knowing these things with an absolute certainty:

I still want to know what's going to happen.

and so she posted this ....

I have a new series ready to go about lining up with what we want while we make stuff and save the world and all that jazz ... but it feels too heavy for a Friday in the summer.

The waning weeks of summer I should add ... sniffle.

So I'm just going to post this (for you, for me, for Olive) ... you're welcome.

happy hump day from the universe ...

You could always send a golden thought balloon Cat, to the most rocking possible version of your future self

to thank you for reaching back with inspiration, hunches, instincts, and impulses to help you bridge all gaps, connect all dots, and leap tall buildings ...

Happy Hump Day,
The Universe

once in a blue moon ... a second full moon in Aquarius

laura peyton print

Although my memory of a blue moon (from classes years ago) isn't the definition being used by most astrologers today - we will just go with today's astrologers and call tonight's 2nd full moon in Aquarius a Blue Moon.

Every 2 or 3 years we have a 2nd full moon in the same Astrology sign which creates a little bookend for the first one - you may be putting to bed a project started between the new moon of July 8th and the full moon of July 22.

(of course most projects are put to bed about as easily as 3 year olds)

When the full moon is in Aquarius the sun is in Leo - so the more we love and value ourselves (Leo) - the more we have to offer the world (Aquarius). We also have all the polarizing themes that go along with that.

It only looks like there are 12 astrological signs - there are really only 6 polarities (or 326 if you are looking here) . Every sign's opposite isn't really it's opposite. They are more like the 2 sides of a coin; they may appear different, but they are still the same coin.

Ultimately (after that hero's journey stuff we all came for) with the Leo/Aquarius polarity we learn that the group is dependent on the individual, and the individual is dependent on the group.

As always during full moons stuff will bump up against our stuck emotional points - in an effort to help us release them -

going through life with sharp edges is not very practical after all. 

Although it may feel like a sumo wrestler has settled onto our solar plexus at times - there is the energy for some real creative stuff to be happening now.

Anyhoo, even if the skies are cloudy tonight, get out and walk in it for a while - it's a wonderful time (although there's never a bad time) to practice gratitude.

Carving out a Niche Without Paper Cuts .....

'cause girls don't wanna grow up either

We don’t have to worry about the millions of people out there who will not like or want or need our makings,

we just have to focus on reaching the people who will love us.

Popular doesn’t mean what it used to mean.

Everyone can be popular now. Yes, everyone. The cool kids may still be sitting at the best table, but guess what – we don’t have to look at them anymore.

(with their perfect skin and their perfect clothes and their perfectly straight teeth - wait, actually I have perfectly straight teeth, don't hate me)

We have our own table. We have always had our own table. But now thanks to this amazing thing called the internet there are a whole lot more people sitting with us and we only have to see each other.

The days of everyone seeing the same TV shows on a Friday night are gone; now everyone sees different things – the things we want to see. 

(yes, the world is like Facebook now)

Those different things are niches.

(pronounced neeshe rhymes with quiche or like geese with a lisp, although here in New Jersey most people rhyme it with fish or itch)

Your niche is what separates you from the pack. It is also what helps the right people find you.

Forget the internet and Etsy for a minute and think of it like this – you are a chiropractor in a small town. If you focus exclusively on golf injuries you will probably be out of business, your small town will not support this type of specializing – you probably need to be more general.

But let’s say you move your practice to the big city – suddenly your general practice is getting lost in the shuffle. There are gazillions of clients for you now, but they can’t find you because there are gazillions of other chiropractors, too – suddenly a golf injury specialty becomes a good thing. In the big city you need a niche.

As cuddly and down home local as it looks, Etsy is the big city folks, yes, we need a niche. But there are some tricks to this niche thing.

Pop over to the  TEAM ECOETSY BLOG for my niche tricks.

(and then say that five times fast and come sit at my table and check out my teeth)

a note from the universe and a magical weekend wish for you ....

Remember, Cat , you're always granted lots of leeway, wiggle room, and tolerance when engaging life's magic.

You pretty much just need to have a dream and show up, then wands start waving all over the place.

Have a magical weekend everyone .....
the Universe

so, in between the new and the full moon what's a maker to do ....

I think that I post about new moons and full moons and then skip all the time in between which is when all the action happens.

So, let's talk about that.

unicorns tell me they enjoy waxing gibbon moons best

We had a new moon 9 days ago - the new moon is the time when the moon is hidden.

In the night sky - when the moon is hidden - think THINK.

This is the beginning part which only feels like the beginning part if we are paying attention.

This is the time when we set intentions, we rest, we dream, we gather together our thoughts and our peeps and our resources. This is the tilling the soil part.

This is the part we skip at our own peril - because when we skip this part the stuff we manifest isn't always the stuff we really want. And actually even when I don't skip this step I sometimes manifest stuff I don't really want; ie the stuff that will make me happy.

But this is a planet of contrast and sometimes we have to manifest what we don't want to figure out what we do want - that's how this stuff works.

After the new moon the moon starts waxing.

(the kind of waxing that does not involve anything hot and painful ... usually)

In the night sky - the moon starts to form a D. When the moon forms a D - think DO.

Our energy will be rising - this is the time to get to work; the action is on accumulating.

The waxing moon moves through its crescent, half-moon and gibbons stages over the next two weeks. To work with this energy, we just have to work. We plant the seeds, we water the seeds, we weed the garden.

We build toward the full moon which is not an ending time - it is a peak energy time. This is the point where we give it our all - this is the point the waxing moon is building us toward.

If we have to work all night on our project - this is the time we will have the energy to do just that.

In the night sky- when you see the full moon - think PEAK.

After the full moon the moon starts waning.

Our energy will be receding. This is the time to start wrapping things up and letting go of things. This is the best time to declutter - this is still an action time but the action is on releasing. This is the time to transition from the peak energy of the full moon to the low energy of the new moon.

In the night sky - the moon starts to form a C. When the moon forms a C - think CLEAR.
 
The waning moon moves through its own crescent, half-moon and gibbons phases over the next two weeks until we reach the new moon again.

Right now we are in a waxing gibbons moon - a big fat D up there. We should be doing.

The more we work with the moon - the more we will find we have the energy to do what we need to do, things will run more smoothly for us with less complications and roadblocks.

It's always better to manage our energy than our time. xo all

fieldguided moon prints

why you may be creating a job and not a business and why that may be ok actually ...

grow something - polarity locket

Before I worked in a bank I did taxes.

I had just been through my first tax season with very demanding clients and an office manager from hell, my daughter was two years old and I really wanted something ... ok I'll just say it ... I wanted something easier.

I applied to a bank for a bank teller job - I could have regular hours and unless I was counting money in my sleep I would not be taking any work home with me.

At the time the bank had a management trainee program where candidates started as bank tellers and progressed to branch managers in a couple years.

The person who interviewed me, seeing my tax background, thought I might be a good fit for this program. I just wanted to be a bank teller.

So, (while the interviewer asked me again if I didn't want a couple days to think about it), I politely declined the management trainee program and became a bank teller.

I loved it.

I loved everything about it. I loved my co-workers. I loved my manager. I loved my customers (mostly). I loved the hours and the holidays (we had A LOT of them).

But maybe most of all I loved leaving that branch and never thinking about it again until I pulled into the parking lot the next morning.

I didn't want a career. I wanted a job.

Now that job lasted about a year before I found out that I was actually more cut out for a career than a job (I  became a manager around the same time the management trainees did, but I think I had a lot more fun getting there). When I think about my 10 year banking career, that very first year holds a lot of great memories for me.

There is nothing wrong with just having a job. Sometimes it's a better place for us. It works until it doesn't.

When I started my first business, people were always giving me the advice - "make sure you are not just creating yourself a job." The 3 letter word would come out of people's mouths all puckery and sour and ... small.

I am not a good advice-taker. So, of course paid no attention.

So, I created a business, but what I really did was build a job for myself.

At that time my mother was very ill and had moved in with us; my uncle who was like a second father to us had just died. My daughter, a latchkey pre-teen, was running amok -

(she denies this and to this day declares me totally nuts for thinking she ever gave us a moment's trouble - "you were lucky to raise me", she says and we were actually, but the truth is she was still running amok .. and her south node Aquarius was clashing with my south node Capricorn BIG TIME)

a business would have been a totally unsustainable thing for me to be building.

I built myself a job.

I had mall carts during the holidays and the mother's day/father's day season and during much of the rest of the year I forgot I even had a business.

Now, another decade or so down the road, I really am building a business. But it's because my life supports it now, not because there is a one way fits all way to do this thing.

You can totally build a job. You can totally build a business.

(and you will most likely need to do both these things at some point because the kind of jobs that other people are building are going other places or disappearing entirely - Kodak had 60,000 employees in its hay-day, Instagram has 13 - annoyingly, it took me a long time to pull up this information because all anyone writes about is how much money a company loses. not so much about how many people lose their jobs)

You can totally do what works best for you and you can totally change that thing you are doing when it isn't working anymore.

We don't need to be doing it as big or as small as anybody else is doing it. We really don't.

why not? print by conilab