2006eclipse occasional update 3

It all kicked off with a beautiful 6-pointed star on 24th April, the pattern being formed by Ceres (in Aries), Venus (in Gemini), Saturn (in Leo), Juno (in Libra), Vesta and Jupiter (in Sagittarius) and Chiron and Neptune (in Aquarius), whilst the Moon whizzed around triggering (by conjunction or opposition) all these planets in this perfectly-formed Star, from 24th - 30th April.

Ceres is aligning everyone into a new relationship with the Earth, as a living Being (Ceres, Gaia, Demeter, Cybele, Pacha Mama - she has gone by many different names in many different traditions), which is essential for our individual and collective survival on Her, in the coming years. It is not enough just to "do our bit for the environment", as the opposition between Ceres and Juno is challenging us all to come into a new spiritual relationship of truly honouring the Spirit of the Earth, not just her body, and not just for the sake of our own survival and the survival of our precious (and largely misguided) materialistic institutions, sciences and political agendas - which are mostly responsible for getting us all into this predicament in the first place, through centuries of sometimes innocently forgetting, and sometimes blatantly ignoring the need to honour the hand that has, and will always feed us with all our needs; be that food, shelter, security, or the wherewithal to pursue our creativity and ambitions, to achieve great things, or to manifest great dreams - it all ultimately has to come from the living Being that is the Earth.

As a part of this process, Venus is asking us all to come into a new relationship with each other, to remember how to truly honour and respect each other...in our hearts, and not just because we have to get along for our individual and collective survival. Venus is in opposition to Vesta and Jupiter. Vesta represents our innermost heart-essence, the "still small voice within" at the very core of our being. The challenge from Venus is to honour that in ourselves, and to honour it in others in every situation in our day-to-day lives (Gemini); what happens when we do that is that Jupiter kicks in big time, expanding our hearts, expanding the possibilities that are open to us and expanding our ability to give and receive of the unlimited abundance of the Universe, as it flows between our hearts.

Saturn in Leo is in opposition to Chiron and Neptune in Aquarius - showing us all the futility of self-interest. The more that Saturn (limitations) in Leo (the ego-self) expresses itself as lack, limitation and pure self interest, the more it perpetuates our spiritual wounding (Chiron) - the belief that we are in some way separate from one another and the Universe, whereas, when we embrace our Oneness with each other and with the whole of life (Neptune), then it quite effortlessly heals us, and returns us to our state of Oneness and Wholeness - this is an ongoing process that will reach its peak in February 2010, when Chiron exactly conjuncts Neptune. Chiron is beginning its healing of the centuries-old split within consciousness, which has taught and perpetuated the myth that Spirit (Neptune) and Matter (Saturn) are in conflict or are incompatible with each other - we are seeing this acted out in the educations systems of the UK and the USA - Evolution vs. Intelligent Design, Faith Schools vs. Science-based Academies, and so on - it's the old duality of the Age of Pisces having one last fling, before it wakes up to the fact that a chap called Albert had some quite profound insights into the relationship between Light and Matter, and that Matter is just solidified Light.

Meanwhile, as we move into an Age where our technologies rely more and more on the principles of Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and Light-based technologies, the Dinosaur-brain within us (and particularly within our leaders) keeps on bashing away with the blunt instrument of trying to structure the world on the Newtonian dualism of we're right, you're wrong, and everything must be scientifically provable before we'll believe it - a posture that has delayed the awareness of Global Warming, for example by over 30 years.

Perhaps one of the most challenging stumbling blocks for us to overcome at present is how the collective awareness of Golbal Warming is feeding into our centuries-old sense of lack of abundance: "the oil is running out" -no bad thing ultimately; "the eco-system (Ceres) is damaged" - it will repair itself and survive, with or without our co-operation - it has survived far greater catastrophes in the past, admittedly wiping out entire species in the process, so we had better stop behaving like dinosaurs; "Time (Saturn) is running out" - this one of course is true! We can choose to spend our lives chasing our tails and trying to catch up with the ever decreasing amount of clock-time left in our 3D 24-hour day, or we can simply accept, remain centred and slip effortlessly into an awareness of Eternity, which is all there ever was in the first place - the Mayans knew this - they even told us when our awarenss of linear Time will stop - 2012. Only 5 and a bit years to go folks...Time is running out before we will have to learn to live in the Eternal Present, and that will heal us all (Chiron and Neptune). One might sum up the message of the Saturn/Neptune opposition as "Resistance is Futile", so why don't we just stop resisting the Unconditional Love of the Universal/Divine Heart-Mind and let it overwhelm our separate ego-consciousness. "Relationships and social order (Venus and Juno) are breaking down" - they are inasmuch as they do not express mutual love and respect for each other as spiritually evolving souls - when we learn to feel in our hearts* that everyone on this planet (and any other planet for that matter) is our brother and sister, then we will step into a totally new paradigm of relationship. *This is very different from just thinking about it, which can give rise to all sorts of politically correct madnesses and travesties of right human relations.

So, it is all a question of where we are putting our focus - do we focus on what is, or appears to be lacking, or do we focus on the Unlimited Abundance that is becoming more and more available to us all, as the old restrictions and limitations are stripped away - hey, we are passing through the changing of an Age, from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius - "yawn, this is old hat" you might say - yes it is, but we must all learn how to wear the new hat...with style! This is not just some whacky New Age Fantasy Concept from La-La Land - it is based on the Astronomical Fact (Precession) of how our planet changes its relationship to the stars, which transmit light and therefore carry information, which in some mysterious way (yet to be fully understood) affects the archetypes within our human consciousness - in the past this has always been expressed through the changing of mythologies and spiritual beliefs.

The Age of Pisces had quite a bumpy start too, starting with the framing and murder of the first Avatar of the Age by the Establishment, and then the subsequent collapse of the Roman Empire! - one might easily have got caught in a negative viewpoint with all that going on. So, hang on in there, we can't possibly really begin to comprehend just what the positive outcome of all these changes will be, because we are still to some extent working, thinking and feeling from the perspective of the old paradigms and archetypes, and can easily get caught within the turmoil of the backlash as they dissolve and release their negative energies.

However, the 6-pointed star is saying that everything is now poised for us to step into a Positive, Spiritually Balanced Vision of the Future, and we all know that Energy follows Thought (in theory at least), and we all are getting glimpses of how we do in fact Create our own Reality, not just by how we think, but more fundamentally by how we resonate at the core of our being - so we can choose to resonate (and think) in a way that creates a negative, fearful reality of lack and decay, or we can choose to create a positive loving reality of abundance, joy and bliss - I know which I prefer, how about you?

The outcome for the planet will depend upon the balance of where we focus our collective thinking and being - remembering that a positive thought and resonance goes a lot further than a negative one. So, it is up to us - the bottom line with Pluto and the Galactic Centre is that we are each responsible for the outcome through how we express our spiritual will in the world (or not), and we can no longer say that it is someone else's responsibility or fault. It is not just about how we think or act, but about how we choose To BE, or Not To Be - to Expand (Neptune) or to Contract (Saturn), to live from self-interest, or for the interest of the whole, or to get the perfect balance between these (Chiron), so that we can understand how to Be And NotTo Be, at the same Time (which does not exist, of course)...does your head in doesn't it, which is why we need to live from the heart.

Beltaine occurs (as do the other cross-quarter days) when the Sun is in the strongest degrees of its zodiac sign (according to the energetic laws of the Golden Mean), in other words, between 11.5 and 18.5 degrees of Taurus, or between the 2nd - 9th May. It is a natural, energetic event that rises, peaks and falls, and does not conform neatly to the Gregorian calendar's May 1st, so it is perfectly valid to celebrate it at any time during or throughout these dates (2nd-9th).

On the other "wing" are Vesta, Jupiter, the Moon and Pluto! If we stay in our hearts (Vesta), we will expand (Jupiter) and strengthen our emotional/astral and energy/etheric bodies (Moon), so that we can integrate and express our spiritual will (Pluto) in an empowered and balanced way...simple! This does however mean we have to let go of the need or desire to control others (which includes judging) in any way (which includes everyone, from the politicians to the terrorists, whom we perceive as taking away our power)...not quite so simple, then! Whenever we catch ourselves judging "them" for the mess "they" are making, and so on, we can turn that energy around by asking, "how can I take responsibility here for my part in this?" We cannot leave it up to "them" to solve the problems any more, no matter how disempowered we may feel by "them" and the systems that have been created by "them" - we voted "them" in (or we allowed them in by not voting), after all. Positive Responsibility is our ability to respond positively!

In this Kite, which does not last as long as the first Kite, Ceres is at the Tail, while Juno and the Vertex are at the Head: Our connection with the Earth (Ceres) lies at the root of our being able to manifest soul-centred relationships (Juno), which is the goal and the destiny of this time (Vertex) In other words, this is a time where we may meet people or encounter circumstances that can touch us very deeply and have a profound and life-changing effect on us. (Techincal note: The Vertex is where the Ecliptic intersects with the Prime Vertical, the east-west Meridian circle)

Vesta, Jupiter, Moon and Pluto (in Sagittarius) are all in square (90 deg.) aspect to Pallas, Moon's north Node, Uranus and Mars (which are all conjunct each other in Pisces) - Our spiritual purpose (Moon's Node) at this time is to embrace the power and sensitivity of our inner warrior of the heart (Pallas) in order to break free (Uranus) of the old paradigm of the warrior of the body/will (Mars) that has held sway for the last 2,000 years...and then some! This conjunction is about waking up to the fact that perceiving others or the natural world as something to be conquered simply will not work any more...if it ever did. If we are to survive this, we need to learn the intuitive wisdom of the heart, and how to act creatively with it (Pallas), and let go of all our attachments to wars and conflict and having "power over", which will require a massive change in our collective thinking and being.

The message of Uranus is that there is nothing like a crisis, in order to get us to wake up and change, and that we are releasing the emotional, mental, psychological and spiritual patterns of the last 2,000 years (and then some), so we need to be compassionate towards ourselves and others whilst we allow this process, as it will not happen overnight, but once we really get it, it can shift in the "twinkling of an eye"....since Time does not really exist (and many people will know it for sure after 2012). Aaah Paradox - don't you just love it and hate it!

We are collectively poised, at the moment between the 3rd (Physical/Material), 4th (Quantum/Space/Time) and 5th (Heart/Light-Centred Awareness) Dimensions. Some of us are more poised in the 3D, some more in the 4D and some more in the 5D - whichever one we are poised in, we need to remember to keep in touch with the other ones, or else we will get bogged down (3D), spaced out (4D), or believe that we have already ascended and have nothing to do with the rest of unenlightened humanity (5D) - big mistake...we are alll One, so we can't split off and separate ourselves into some sort of spiritual elite and remain One. This is more of Neptune and Saturn: Neptune will dissolve our attachments and raise us up if we get too caught in the 3D, whereas Saturn will remind us of our clay feet if we get too carried away into the higher dimensions, and neglect the "realities" of the 3D. They key is to get that even paying the bills is a spiritual discipline - it is all Light and energy-management anyway.

The true Spiritual empowerment of Pluto and the Galactic Centre comes when we realise that we cannot control it at any level, except through being true and centred in our hearts, open and accepting in our minds, connected deeply and lovingly to the Earth, and surrendered unconditionally to the Divine within us. This does not all have to happen for us between 2nd - 9th May (phew!), just so we can beat ourselves up when we don't attain it, but this is an energy-seed that can be planted in our consciousness at this time, so we can tend it and nurture it and allow it to grow into fulfilment, each of us in our own time and at our own speed...with a few occasional 'prods' from the outer planets, just to check on our progress and help us make a few leaps of faith when it is necessary.