“Whatever we are waiting for –
peace of mind, contentment, grace,
the inner awareness of simple abundance –
it will surely come to us,
but only when we are ready to receive it
with an open and grateful heart.”
Happy Birthday Libra! Here are some highlights for the month ahead:
Lunations: There will be a New Moon on October 5th at 11° Libra. The Full Moon Lunar Eclipse will take place on October 18th at 25° Aries.
The New Moon completes an almost partile t-square between the Sun/Moon, Pluto and Uranus. This aspect is most pronounced between October 3rd and October 5th.
Retrogrades: Mercury goes retrograde on October 21st at 18° Scorpio. Chiron, Neptune and Uranus are all retrograde for the entire month.
Ingresses: Venus enters Sagittarius on October 7th; Mars enters Virgo on October 15th and the Sun enters Scorpio on October 23rd.
“What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
What do you do when you come to the end of as arduous journey and find yourself facing a very painful reality?
Perhaps a relationship has run its course, and you’re forced now to finally put it to rest. Or maybe a dream you held onto for far too long is proving itself to be impossible to achieve.
You know that you’ve given it your all — you’ve fought a worthy battle — but you realize it’s time to let it go: once and for all. You just don’t have any more “fight” left in you.
So what do you do? Do you lay down and die, or do you surrender to the knowledge that the Universe has something entirely different in store for you?
Most renditions of this card are somewhat harrowing to look at.
The imagery is often full of scenes of danger, fear, bloodshed and defeat.
A man is beaten down to within an inch of his life, 10 sharp daggers plunged into his back. Or a Christ-figure hangs limp from a war-ravaged cross, a pool of blood collecting at its base.
Today we’re going to be looking at the Five of Cups: arguably one of the most challenging cards in the Tarot. Challenging in the sense that it’s not easy to find much ‘positive’ about this card — which is precisely the point.
The Five of Cups — this version from Timothy Lantz’ wonderful Archeon Tarot — speaks of sadness, disillusionment and discontent, even at times when things are not as bad as they seem.
As someone who speaks every single day with clients who are unhappy in their relationships, it came as no surprise when I pulled this card.
I even wondered if it wasn’t such a good idea to start with something so “negative” right out of the gate. But there are positive aspects to this card too, and important messages—even if they’re not readily apparent. We’ll start with the not so good:
I remember telling someone once that everyone I knew was either in a relationship and trying to get out, or not in a relationship and trying to get in. And while this may have been a slight exaggeration, the 5 of Cups turns out to be an appropriate representation of that sentiment.
It describes a sense of unhappiness or disillusionment in your current state of affairs, whether you’re involved in a relationship or not.
We hear so much about men being “from Mars” — and in a lot of ways this is true, at least astrologically.
In general, they tend to relate more to their natal Mars positions and project their Venuses out onto the women (or male partners, if gay) in their lives.
This is in line with the Jungian concept of anima/animus (inner woman or inner man) projections that each of us embody. But this also tells us a great deal about what men are looking for in a mate.
A man’s natal Venus sign placement describes not only what he’s attracted to, but how he’s likely to conduct himself in relationship. It tells us how he expresses love and affection, how he receives love and affection from others, and how he relates to his partner in a one-on-one relationship.It tells what he’s looking for in a soulmate and how capable he is of investing himself emotionally in soulmate relationships.
Let’s face it: there are a lot of bad psychics out there. Or more accurately, a lot of bad people masquerading as psychics.
There are those who prey on the most vulnerable members of our society by either failing to tell them the truth (after all, they make a lot more money feeding into people’s fantasies), or telling them outright lies for the exact same reason.
The word “Psychic” comes from the Greek work psychikos and means “of the mind” or “of the psyche.” It does not refer to mind-reading or fortune telling or similar mind-blowing parlor tricks.
Unfortunately these are popular misconceptions, based on media mockery and the unscrupulous practices of some who use them to make a quick buck.
Psychic readings can be tremendously valuable, provided that you approach them with both an open mind and a healthy sense of logic.
Your session should involve some give and take, and will suffer when either of these falls out of balance. If your psychic asks too many questions, you’re likely to question whether the information you’re provided is “real” or is just a natural assumption based on what you’ve already revealed.
ARIES: The Seven of Swords — like all sevens — speaks of difficult choices and moral dilemmas. There are temptations disguised as opportunities, which could turn out to be more than you bargained for in the end.
In this rendition, we see a raven perched before the light of a full moon, a glowing sun time-piece dangling from his beak. A legend is told in Native American traditions of a snow white bird who steals the sun and moon and places them in the night sky. The sun is so hot that it chars his white feathers, rendering them permanently black.
There are four swords piercing the moon and three penetrating the earth below it. As the moon represents mystery, illusion and the depths of the human psyche, we can see this as a need to penetrate the veil that obscures our motivations. We’re reminded that all that glitters is not gold, that there are consequences for our actions. The concept of time is also relevant here, as in keeping track of time, not wasting time, and making time for things that are most important.
There are elements of mischief, trickery and even thievery in this card, You may be tempted to engage in practices that are not aligned with your principles. Or you may be the recipient of someone else’s duplicity. But these same elements can be used to your benefit. The seven of swords represents skill and ingenuity as well. You must have a sharp mind and a vigilant approach if you’re to navigate through some of the obstacles before you. Opportunities come your way, but there’s always a catch. Just like the raven whose cunning and prowess has rewarded him with the fiery sun, but whose feathers have become permanently charred in the process.
How do you deal with the on-going agony of wondering what went wrong when a relationship ends? Is there hope for reconciliation? Or is it time to move on? This is the question posted by Erica*, in reference to a break up that she’s still struggling to get over.
Dear Melodie: I am submitting a question for advice. My boyfriend broke up with me in June; it was a blindside. I’m wondering if he ever really cared about me, if he was just running scared, and if there will be a chance for reconcil-iation. My birth info is: (edited). Thank you so much for your time and consideration. I really appreciate your advice and expertise. ~ Erica
Happy Birthday Leo! Here are some highlights for the month ahead:
Lunations: The New Moon this month is on August 6th at 14° Leo.
The Full Moon takes place on August 20th at 28° Aquarius.
Retrogrades: Chiron, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are all retrograde for the entire month of August.
Ingresses: Mercury moves into Leo on August 8th and Venus enters Libra on August 16th.
The Sun enters Virgo on August 22nd and Mercury enters Virgo on August 23rd.
Mars enters Leo on August 27th.
Astrologically speaking, most people know their Sun signs. You’ll hear people say “I’m a Leo” or “I’m a water sign (referring to Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces Sun signs),” or “I was born on the Virgo/Libra cusp.”
And many believe that that’s all there is to it. Nothing could be further from the truth!
The Moon sign is not only just as important as the Sun sign, sometimes it’s even more important.
Eastern astrologers, for example, are more interested in Moon signs than Sun signs, and in many areas almost everyone knows their own Moon sign from an early age.
Sun sign astrology (horoscopes) became popular because the Sun’s zodiacal position is the only one that can be determined by birth date alone. The Sun occupies the same relative position in the zodiac on the same day every year. That makes it easy for laypeople to know their own Sun signs, without having to consult an astrologer or navigate the complicated waters of in-depth astrology.
Even though the Sun is over 400 times the size of the Moon (another reason some place more importance on it), it’s also over 400 times further away. This is why they appear to be relatively the same size from our vantage point. It’s also why we have Solar and Lunar eclipses.
ARIES: The Moon
This month you may feel like you’re navigating through murky waters.
The Moon card has a lot to do with that which is hidden, beneath the surface, unconscious or undiscovered.
There is a strong emotional element inherent in this card. And while emotions are not something easily digested by Aries — particularly the “darker” emotions, such as fear, anxiety and insecurity — it’s necessary to explore them if you’re going to resolve the issues that have been hounding you.
But don’t let your imagination run away with you: there’s also some danger of reading too much into things, making mountains out of mole hills or even becoming suspicious or paranoid.
Use this time to get in touch with your emotions and to resolve whatever fears and uncertainties you have that have been holding you back.
Most of us have heard about “Mercury Retrograde,” and mostly in an unfavorable light. In general it’s said to relate to delays, challenges and missteps in Mercury-ruled areas.
These include plans, contracts, agreements, communications — both verbal and written — as well as communications devices (phones, televisions, radios, computers, fax machines, etc.). In addition, cars, trains, bikes and motorcycles — anything related to short-distance or local travel — are all also under the Mercury umbrella and likely to be affected.
Mercury retrograde carries with it so many negative connotations — probably because most of us don’t handle sudden upsets or unexpected changes to our carefully-made plans. But people win lotteries under Mercury retrograde. They fall in love. They get married. They have babies. They launch successful businesses.