Category: Uncategorized

Thanks for the Cancer scare

The question arose – what is going on in my own chart. There is no harder animal to interpret than my own chart! Right now I have transiting Juno in conjunction with transiting Uranus (both in my 6th house – the house of health as well as day to day work) opposing my natal Vesta which is in the 12th house in Virgo. Uranus and Juno are now in Pisces, the ruler of the 12th house (the keeper of the keys to the secrets of the universe) – – so this seems pretty significant.
To make matters more interesting, my natal Saturn/Juno conjunction in my 2nd house (the house of self worth and self possessions) is making a flowing aspect to the charming duo of transiting Uranus/Juno (I know that is a lot to picture but go with me here – Vesta on one side – Uranus/Juno in exact opposition and Saturn and natal Juno in between them.)

I was having a tough time with this until the universe handed me a very unique gift. Last Friday, I received a letter from the Virginia Hospital center which what I thought would be the mundane results of my yearly mammography…basically; everything is fine see you next year. This year the letter was longer and started off with, “We need you to come back for further analysis…..” Oh dear not what I was looking for! Hey thanks Uranus – you love to shake things up don’t you and there you are in my house of health. Isn’t it good enough for you that I fell flat on my face two darn times this past month???

Ok so now the mind goes in 1000 directions. Somewhere between, oh this happens to everyone occasionally and Lordie I am dead – my mind suddenly clicked on this question. How would I live my life if I knew I had cancer? What would I change? How would Cancer give me the license to be more authentic? Suddenly, I understood my planetary conundrum… Vesta is the burning heart’s desire –what we want to dedicate ourselves to. Mine is natally in the 12th house so my search for my universal truth is very important to me in this life. However, with Juno, the asteroid that shows where we dedicate ourselves to something else – where we stick to “other” sitting next to Uranus, that trickster in the 6th – the question was now clear. What parts of my life am I still too worried about what others think or how I can fit in with other people’s wishes and desires – to the neglect of my own search?

A cancer diagnoses would give me a license to be more authentic. But why did I have to lean on such a crutch? Why couldn’t I be more authentic just for the heck of it – on my own strength and willpower?

I was comforted in the few days before my follow up tests by the fact that the Uranus/Juno transit was making a harmonious relationship to my natal Saturn/Juno in the 2nd house. This is just a good lesson I said – and this will help me rely more on myself image and stop trying to see reflections in others. I kept repeating that as I waited yesterday first for the results of a second mammography and then when the technician said the Doctor wanted to take an ultrasound. I waited and repeated —. This is just a lesson to say live more authentically – live for self and say that is how you will build your self worth.

After three “lovely “ hours I heard the Doctor say that the ultrasound showed that there was nothing there – just some anomaly of the way mammography’s read certain tissue. As I thanked him for being so diligent (a sharp-eyed radiologist caught my sister’s cancer in very early stages years ago) and then melted off the table – I thanked the universe for the outcome and the lesson. Just one thing – hey Uranus can you move the heck out of my sixth house? You made your point OK?

Time Goes By So…………..quickly

A friend called me today all upset about the speed of time. “I know time speeds up when you get older but this is crazy. Thing are flying by way too fast. What is going on?

What is going on is Pluto has moved into Capricorn. Last week I mentioned how that change is and will continue to effect the structures of society. That is just one sphere of influence for Capricorn, the sign I affectionately refer to as the “Old Goat.” (Capricorn’s symbol is the goat.)
Capricorn also rules time. Makes sense, right? Capricorn rules form and structure. What structures us more than the clock, the sun rising and setting – time?

So for the next few decades as Pluto grinds through the Capricorn constellation – time is going to go a bit hay-wire. No, we aren’t going to all vanish onto another realm on Jan. 1, 2012 – I don’t care what the Mayan’s did or didn’t write. However, be prepared to see the speed of time increase and the effects of time on our bodies change.

Time stepping up its pace a bit actually started when Uranus was discovered in 1781. Uranus is the only planet that spins on its side and is associated with sudden changes and advances that move mankind relentless into the future. After it showed itself to us, the industrial and then scientific revolutions began. In the past, generations would live almost exactly like those which came before – suddenly massive changes started in the way we live and one generation would not recognize the life style of the one before. That is all thanks to Uranus.

Now that Pluto will be forcing changes to the way we see time, the “good old days” will be anything that happened last week!

Pluto – Dark and Light

As I mentioned in an earlier entry, Pluto moved into Capricorn late last year. Pluto, that cold, distant – sort-of planet, makes a huge impact on society. Because it is so far away from the Sun, it takes a long, long time to transit the solar system and stays in each sign for a good, long while. Pluto rules change and transformation and as it grinds through the solar system it makes deep changes in the areas of our lives influenced by that sign.

For example, when we baby boomers were born, Pluto was in Leo. Ruled by the Sun, Leo people want the spot light on them – they want everyone to see them shine. What better sign to birth a generation of self absorbed whiners (remember “30 Something”?) than Leo? In the early ’60’s Pluto moved into Virgo and we saw the rise of the environmental movement and huge changes in the workplace. Its recent foray into Sagittarius saw the rise of spiritualism – as well as its shadow, fundamentalism.

Capricorn rules the very structures that hold society together – our government, our banking system. The last time Pluto was in Capricorn was 1762 – 1777 – a time of great revolution here in America and abroad. The most obvious sign of Pluto Capricorn this time around was the election of our first African American President. However, for every positive there is a shadow. Right now we see that play out in the tea-baggers and those people who wish to blame our current economic woes and “government take over” of business not on the guy they supported who created this mess, but on said first African American President.

A more frightening development was the death of the 51 year old census worker who was found with “FED” on his chest. That is anger at it’s worst, most irrational and tragic. Anger among people short on facts and shorter on judgement – fueled by vested interests who are out to keep their piece of the pie safe – can create situations where vigilantism and domestic terrorism reigns.

Pluto will remain in Capricorn for another 10 years – that is a long time to stir up anger. With a wise leader, we will come out the other side with great reforms to make these “big guys” more amenable to the needs of those they are to serve. With fools in charge all bets are off and uncontrolled anger can lead to many tragic circumstances like the death of the census worker, Bill Sparkman, or worse.

Let’s hope that we remain as smart as we were at the polls as we were in November 2008.

Wherefore Art Thou Mercury?

“My computer is crashing and I am losing my work!”
“I can’t complete a phone call – it keeps cutting out.”
“Everything I say is coming out garbled – my thoughts are all loopy.”

I have been hearing a lot of that lately and lay the “blame” for these little life events at the quick little feet of Mercury. It happens to be in retrograde right now – meaning that is appears to us Earthlings as we peer out into the universe to be going backwards in the sky. Of course, it isn’t going backwards but sometimes – because of how planets are spinning around the Sun – they appear to be retrograding back. It is that motion – that makes the area influenced by that planet to go a bit goofy. Retrogrades make us find a new and different path for our work.

When Mercury, which influences communications and the thought process, spins backwards a bit – we find ourselves not getting our words out the way we want, or misunderstanding others, or losing our written words. Instead of getting aggravated try to find a different way to express yourself — back up your computer and then take time to go for a walk.

Mercury will right itself on September 29 and move from airy Libra into Virgo. Libra, the sign of the Scales, adds to our mental confusion – “should I shouldn’t I, will I won’t I” but solid Virgo with its feet on the ground will make it all clear to us again.

http://soulsign.com/tools/practitioners/joan-porte

A New Year’s Eve Blue Moon

I just wanted to give you a little heads up. On this New Year’s Eve there will be a blue moon. While there are several definitions of a blue moon, the most common is the second full Moon in one calendar month. What does this mean astrologically? Well, not much – other than the implications of any full Moon on your chart. If the full Moon is sitting on top of one of your personal planets (Sun, Moon, Venus, Mercury, Mars) then you are going to feel it emotionally whether it is blue, green or chartreuse. If BOTH full Moons in December (the first being Dec. 2, 2009) impact your personal planets, well it will be a wild holiday season for you for sure!

The reason I bring this up is twofold. One, can you imagine what a full Moon will do to already crazed New Year’s revelers? Two, I might suggest a more meaningful way to ring in 2010; instead of joining them in drunken revelry why not sit outside and look up at the beautiful Moon and see what messages it has to tell you for the future.

Ted Kennedy – Capricorn Tenacity

When I heard of the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy I did what I always do – I ran to my computer and looked up his chart. While it may seem odd to some, death times in karmic astrology are as important as birth times. (More on that issue later, I promise.)

What struck me so much about Sen. Kennedy’s chart was the high concentration of Saturn in his first house (the house which dictates how we present ourselves to the world.) The ancient Sumerians, who are credited with being the first known astrologers, didn’t deal much with a Sun sign because when the Sun was up they couldn’t see the rest of the stars. It was your first house – your ascendant – that was key to them.

Sen. Kennedy had Capricorn on the cusp of his first house and its ruler, Saturn, in the first house. That is a lot of Capricorn! At first it seemed bizarre. Capricorn is known to giving form and structure and being very much “within the lines” while Senator Kennedy had been known for – how shall I say this – living outside the lines for a long period of his life. I “credit “that to his heavy Piscean influence – the escapist. However, it was that strong Capricorn which gave him the courage to go on when things felt hopeless and which allowed him to prevail even over his fatal illness when he mustered the strength to speak at the 2008 Democratic Convention.

If it weren’t for that Capricornian tenacity (symbolized by the sure-footed mountain goat) he never would have been able to face and ultimately triumph over life’s traumas and his own self inflicted wounds.

Gemini South Node Shadow – Gemini South Node Shadow

Yes, I repeated that twice. Why? Simple – Gemini is all about duality – it is symbolized by the twins. Gemini is also about speed – ruled by Mercury that speedy little planet that zips around the sun at quite a good clip. At home in the third house – the house of communications and the processing of information – I often think of Gemini as the computer of the Zodiac – quickly moving information from one point to the other — IF it is working! When Gemini goes awry – when we are stuck in the shadow of a Gemini South Node, we exhibit nervousness, gossipyness (information gone a muck is gossip, isn’t it?), multitasking to the detriment of concentration on any one thing and learning problems.
Those of us who are Gemini South Node (yup I am one – Gemini 9th House South Node – more on what karmic identity that brings later) need to focus and allow ourselves to get into life instead of skating across the surface. In a phrase we need to “stop and smell the roses” instead of just stomping on them or racing past them thinking, “Did I just see a rose? oh well i will look at it later.”

Me and My Shadow – Taurus

You got me JF! I was showing the shadow of my Gemini South Node — jumping around too much. Your comment was correct – I SHOULD go to the opposite of the Scorpio North Node now – not jump to another nodal axis. Ah ha – I tossed in another word – Nodal Access. You know one thing I hate about astrology is when people try to make it totally confusing and inaccessible. The zodiac is a circle – go look at a chart – it is round – right? So, if you have a North Node on one side of the circle – the South Node has to be on the opposite site – that whole north and south thing. Therefore, that is a Nodal Axis. See? Easy.

So the opposite of Scorpio is Taurus. The last post dealt with a Scorpio South Node…so now we will like at Taurus. Taurus is the Bull, to me the ultimate Earth sign – content to laze in the pasture – feeling the wonderful Earth beneath it. They can stay in the pasture all day and look at the pretty colors of the fields. How wonderful. Well, to an extent.

If you have a Taurus South Node, some of the traits you may become too reliant on are stubbornness, materiality and just be stuck in stuff. Come on, you know someone like this – they hoard materials either actually like having a hoarding illness, or they are people stuck on collecting possessions. “See my toys – I have all of these possessions so I must be good – see what I just bought. You must think me valuable now because I have all of these valuables.”

Taureans also have a hard time turning away from the table. People who eat and eat despite having to reinforce the bed, the car and the house frame – are stuck in a gluttonous past. As are people who can’t change their situations no matter how miserable they feel.

Think of the bull, eating in the pasture all day, enjoying all that surrounds him -never moving – taken to extreme that is a person stuck in a Taurus past.

Remember, our South Node is comfortable to us – no matter how detrimental it is to our soul development in this lifetime. We have lived in that existence for so long that we subconsciously crave to go back there. However, the longer we reside there the more shadow aspects develop as the soul development stalls.

So all you Taurus South Node people – get out of your pasture – and into the drama of the world… embrace your Scorpio North Node passion!

Me and My Shadow – Scorpio

I have a friend into whom I have tried to pound the basics of astrology for months. Being born with a Scorpio South Node, she constantly gets lost in the minutia of each astrological concept despite my urgings to see the big picture. Scorpios are the detectives of the Zodiac – they love to root out the secrets – all of the details. (The South Node, remember, is where our soul has come from in previous lives and from which we need to evolve.)

So this Scorpio South Node, Moon Child rising friend is regaling me in the many projects in which she is immersed right now – providing food for friends, shelter for people coming in from out of town for a political campaign and battling bureaucrats over the building of a new church. Does it surprise you that Moon Child are the mothers of the zodiac? At the end of the list she said with exasperation, “I wish I weren’t addicted to the rush of doing all this stuff.”

“That’s it! That is Scorpio South Node – addicted to the thrill, addicted to the drama and the passion – that is what I have been trying to explain to you!” I think she got it.

All signs have their flowing and shadow aspects — Scorpios have a tremendous talent for connecting with nether worlds – they are physic antennae beaming out to all of those frequencies and worlds others can’t even imagine. They are also passionate warriors for justice especially for the underdog. However, the shadow of Scorpio is a lust for, often inappropriate, passion and an unnatural pull to the unusual and dramatic — the passionate fight.

This particular friend is addicted to fighting for her church and being the uber mother (remember, she is Moon Child rising) on all political campaigns. I have another Scorpio South Node friend who married twice –both times to difficult men with whom she battled for years. One husband was foreign – feeding her attraction to the unusual. Recently, she has met another man whom she describes as unusual and bizarre and the warning signal went off in my head again.

We tend to live in the shadow of our South Node because that type of existence worked for us in the past and in this lifetime we want to go back to it. However, like old shoes, our South Node identity no longer fits us in this lifetime. We need to evolve.

Scorpio South Node people have Taurus as a North Node. So instead of seeking other worlds and passionate fights, they need to ground themselves on this planet and find their creative heart.

Next time – a South node that I know so well – my own….Gemini.

Meditation Retreat at Homestead

A Special Invitation from Mimi Malfitano,
Master Healer and Gifted Meditation Teacher . . .
RECHARGE & REJUVENATE YOUR LIFE
at The Homestead, a Premier Mountain Resort
October 9-12, 2009

In the spirit of the Homestead and
Hot Springs, Mimi is offering a
special 3-day healing experience
that might even change your life. This
retreat is for everyone—novice, beginner,
or experienced meditator. If you
are looking to . . .
• Reduce stress and re-establish
balance and clarity in your life OR
• Jump start a meditation practice OR
• Reenergize an existing practice OR
• Give yourself a meditative tune up
. . .this Meditation Retreat is
for YOU!
The program is group taught with each
participant leaving with an individualized
meditative practice that fits their needs.
Your Weekend Includes:
• 5 Meditation teaching & practice
sessions
• 3 Nights–Deluxe Accommodations
• Friday evening welcome reception
• Saturday & Sunday dinner
• Breakfast every morning
• Snacks during day sessions
Private Reiki Healing sessions with
Mimi available upon request.
$100 per hour.
Your Weekend Investment
Bring a Companion to enjoy Virginia’s
premier mountain resort while you destress
with meditation. Meals with the
group are included as well as a $75
credit to help your companion jump
start their adventure. While you
meditate they can enjoy golfing on
one of three championship golf courses
or hiking the gorge or pampered spa
treatments. And of course, the Homestead’s
sought after southern
hospitality is included.
$767.00 per person/double occupancy
Share a Room. If you are attending the
retreat solo and want to share a room,
we will try to pair up meditators–
though we can make no guarantees.
$767.00* per person/double occupancy
*Call for single occupancy rate.
For more information or to book your
reservation, call Joan at Joan’s Travel
703-533-2210.
Or email: joanstravel@verizon.net