Mercury Retrograde in Pisces *•.¸(*•.¸♥¸.•*´)¸.•*´ Feb-March 2013

Mercury, planet of communication and information is currently in oceanic Pisces, the sign that delves into spirit’s unchartered realms to stir the imagination to think in poetic visuals and phantasmagorical dreams. Mercury is now already slowing down to go retrograde next week on the 24^th February at 19 Pisces.  Mercury will go backwards for three weeks, join our Heart-Star, Sun, on March 4^th at 14Pisces, and go forward March 18^th at 5Pisces.

Pisces is also the sign of forgiveness and compassion, sacrifice and renunciation, as well as deep emotions and spirituality, sensing and tuning into unseen collective undercurrent that can engulf and even overwhelm a sensitive psyche, especially in situations in which we have no personal control.
During this three/four week period no less than six other planets will join Mercury in Pisces, including Sun and Moon. Such a rare configuration has the potential to give rise to deep and powerful feelings, in addition to dreams and visions that are capable of connecting us to the sacred Oneness of life.  Take note of subtle sensitivities in meditation and/or current dreams containing incredible symbology, for they may be clairvoyant and /or pertinent to profound spiritual healing. 

Activities which encourage a positive Divine union include yoga, tai-chi, chi-gung, dance, music, prayer, mantra and meditation, trance, hypnotism – and all endeavours that dissolve ego so that merging with the great Oneness is possible. Alcohol and drugs, even prescription ones, are substances that can also take you out of this world, but best avoided as toxins confuse and convolute subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) psychic body energy, as well as disturb the pineal gland, which is ruled by Neptune, the planet linked to Pisces.  

Looking after our pineal gland, a major component of the all-seeing, visionary third eye chakra is paramount to our emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing, especially nowadays with the constant exposure to electromagnetic fields which disrupt the mind-body-spirit pathways. So my advice during this mega Pisces time is (for practitioners of dream yoga) to make sure that we get enough healthy sleep. And while planet of communication, Mercury, is retrograde it could well be wise to steer clear of wi-fi (yes, be brave, and switch off at night) and disconnect from unseen frequencies and resonance that negatively affect the Pineal gland, which secrets all-important healing Melatonin during the night. Melatonin is also ruled by Neptune, ruler of sleep, which is now conjunct the wounded healer Chiron. Since 2011 Neptune and Chiron have been coursing the heavens together in watery Pisces suggesting that we need to heal our connection to unseen and previously known phenomena (such as electromagnetism and the structure of water). In 2012 British scientists suggested switching off phones and other electronic communication devices at least an hour before bedtime, so not to disrupt the Melatonin so vital for night-time repair to the body; doing so also protects the delicate and subtle hormonal system which is key to Kundalini. 

In Tibetan Buddhism we use the technique of Neptunian visualisationin meditation for many reasons. One of the most important is that by focusing upon the visualisation (with the third eye) we can transform our understanding of duality, to see that life is all Maya, an illusion, a dream that has relative joy and beauty but no need of attachment to the chains of ego, and thereby release karmic bonds to the wild Samsaric Ocean, associated astrologically with Pisces, Neptune and the 12^th house.

Healing Field of Consciousness ☼ Pisces Sun*Mercury*Chiron*Mars*Neptune conjunction

In true watery Piscean fashion, we’re flowing through a series of potentially challenging alignments in Samsara’s choppy sea. Several planets currently working together, Sun ~ Mercury ~ Mars ~ Chiron ~ Neptune in cosmic Pisces/Aquarius conjunction, potentially bringing untold healing and awareness of the heart-mind through unseen means, such as unshaken faith in the face of uncertainty.  At the same time, great swathes of emotional undercurrents pulsate through ‘the field’ of consciousness, emitting a deep vibration that is wonderful for meditation and spiritual Lightwork; but personal psychic boundaries could be very porous, allowing access for the feelings of others to purvade, influence and sway in a non-spoken kind of way (and it is particularly easy to be lost in distraction when keeping apace with the constantly breaking news). When the radiant Solar Light of the life-giving Sun is in Pisces, however, unconditional LOVE is the only solace, as one can absorb the almost unbearable isolation of suffering and pain, which love, and love alone can heal.  

You might think keeping an open heart is a tall order, especially in light of what is happening now across the globe, as Jupiter speeds through Aries to soon oppose Saturn (March 28); all kinds of regimes are in transition. But in the theory of Piscean ‘Oneness’, the heavens only reflect our own capacity, and with so many planets in Pisces, Aquarius and Capricorn, we apparently do have the means and potential to raise the vibration from heart up to anja and the crown chakra, and meet the Hierarchy of souls that lift the rapidly drowning faithful from pounding waters, and place them safely upon the metaphoric mountain, from where they are able to watch the tide recess. In esoteric astrology, Pisces elevates consiousness. Now the Shambhalla Warrior overcomes the hold the material world has on the soul and, instead, Spirit Sun and soul blend together to shine ‘The Light of The World’, which forever ends the darkness of matter.

Finding forgiveness in Chiron, the wounded healer, and illuminating Mercury – healing brother cum-trickster, who both join Spirit Sun, we encounter the mysterious realms of magical unicorns, wounded shamans, victims and martyrs. Mars in this position endangers the sacred – particularly as Grand Duke, Jupiter, swashbuckles through Aries, the sign that rules Mars. Yet it is through the ‘Right Action’ of Mars in Pisces, which enables one to activate the third eye, anja through mindful meditation.

From the Tibetan point of view we are coming to the end of the end of the year.  On March 4/5^th, the Tibetan New Year, Losar, we discover how there’s nearly always an element of chaos and complexity amidst any kind of radical transformation, as the old year passes and the new begins. The key to navigating change at this moment in time is to develop inner-strength and the faith to show unconditional compassion in private, as well as public - to self and to others.  It takes the commitment of a Spiritual Warrior of the highest order to honour the heart and be continually kind to others, especially to the confused or duped, angry or hysterical – because strong but formless Pisces emotions can permiate the atmosphere, to creep in and destabilise our own psyche by polluting the mind, swaying the ego, and from somewhere in the back of our materialistic head tempting offers to the iron grip ego to dominate and take control. Bare in mind that holding onto an idea, thing, or person, through playful love, kindness and beauty is the road to bliss; when we hold too tight to that obsession or addiction, there’s a high probability of squeezing out the last breath of the very thing one desires. So do be extra careful when tempted to play power games – with or without self, especially this Friday, the 25^th, when there is a call for transformation through action and to raise Bodhicitta.

With spring on its way breathing new life into heart and soul, inner-strength gathers momentum and dramatically new planetary energies quickly abound: Munificent Jupiter has sped into Aries, to fast-track and set the tone for growth and expansion with new ideas and new paradigms at the helm. Activist Uranus joins adventurous Aries on March 11, stirring up the need for personal volition in the midst of sudden evolution. This can be a particularly explosive combination. Aries is a hot and fiery sign, and Jupiter magnifies everything, including danger and drama - I will look more closely at this ingress of Uranus later, as it instigates the beginning of seven squares to Pluto in Capricorn, and, as we know, seven is an important number for any initiation (Note: Pluto esoterically rules Pisces.).  

Turning up the immediate heat, risk-taking Jupiter is currently in a tense square aspect to secretive Pluto to be exact on Friday the 25^th: it may be a struggle trying to keep certain matters hidden, which might affect one’s position. In order to get the most out of this particular window of potential insight and perspective, however, it might be helpful to look back to December 2007. Please check this date, and see if there were issues of freedom and oppression back then. If so, while new experiences beckon, it is also worth advocating self-control en route to process, progress and growth, so that we don’t rush headlong into any kind of chasm. For now is the time to embrace the dark-side and find the radiant light of love from within, to dissolves the demons' power; for that very love is the only salvation.  

If all this sounds nothing short of the parting of the Red Sea… Hey, it’s been done before - So raise your hand, tune into the healing field, and hold back the waves! An bring on the light.... 


Om Shanti 


Blessings and thanks as always to Bill Brouard, for 'thinking at the shore' and other unknown artists :) _/\_♥ ૐ

Sowing the seeds of compassion ~ New Moon in Pisces 2010

“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.” Buddha

Every great spiritual teacher, from His Holiness the Dalai Lama to beloved Osho and Ram Dass, tell us “to be here now”. The past has already been, and the future is a mysterious mix of present circumstance and karma; so the most important time in our lives is NOW! True, the monkey mind can turn around and around and swing back and forth, but with practiced effort it becomes easier to train this mind of ours to focus and remain centred in a continued mindful presence.

An awakened state of awareness helps us to note how all life is inter-connected, and events, ideas, and even the other beings we encounter are a mirror of our own emotions, thoughts and actions. This almost supernatural connection to everything around us is where science and spirituality now meet, through the noosphere – a quantum field of unseen electromagnetic energy that resonates with Global consciousness, as well as (how we direct) our psycho-anatomical- spiritual subtle body. Thus, we humans are actually much more magical than we give ourselves credit for. Each instant a sacred blessing – thoughts with wings fly through the biosphere, generating a vibration that interacts with the collective consciousness and, at the same time, extend into an evolutionary sphere of resonance that can heal and elevate.

Astrologically speaking, there are times when it’s easier for individuals to consciously to tune into the wave of collective energies, and unite with the spiritual soul group to become ‘one’. The New Moon at 25 degrees Pisces, on Monday the 15th at 21:01 GMT, is one of these magical moments. This is a New Moon to activate the space-time connection between Divine cosmos and the sacred light that lies within each of us. Meditating upon the space in between the eyebrows, the wisdom eye – the Third Eye - can open the all-seeing pineal gland, a stargate already stimulated by increasing sunlight (in the northern hemisphere). Buddhists can envisage a spiritual awakening in the Dharmadhatu. In the Hindu tradition, the Third eye is associated with magical all-seeing powers; in the West we link it to clairvoyance or clairsentience. Third eye meditations are not to be taken lightly, as Kundalini can awaken; unless you know what you are doing, I advise you to practice with others who do. Having said that, through meditation and prayer, yoga and dance, poetry and music (all Piscean activities), ego can step aside for Spirit to progress and generate a higher frequency of light that can be used to initiate unconditional love and compassion.

With astrology we learn more about our relative dualist realm: As well as being symbolic of deep spirituality, Pisces is also the sign of phantasmagoria, with the accumulated energy of all previous zodiacal signs, Pisces can indicate self-undoing, where toxic negativity can fester, self-destruct, and fuel Samsara’s illusion. Hence a game of victim and martyr is often played by those with an emphasis upon end-sign influences: Pisces, Neptune, 12th House. Being seduced by glamour, with a spirit held to ransom by addiction and desire is a tough place to be (believe me, I know about these things). I don’t want to come across as holier than thou, but it is possible to confront the cycle of delusion, break nasty habits, and turn corners. (I did.) The cosmic key to release is to heed self’s plea for forgiveness and surrender to the collective’s call for universal service.

A transformation of the heart-mind can be invoked with this Pisces Sun and Moon, currently conjoined to Mercury, the celestial courier, and Uranus, planet of dramatic reform and modernisation: To send out into the world a powerful and positive altruistic intention that has greater effect. As the light of the moon increases, by the Spring Equinox, next Saturday, the 20th at 17:32 GMT, any intention we set into motion now, like a seed just sown, will begin to take root – all we then need to do then is add blessed Piscean water, and watch our seed grow. (Note World Water Day 22nd March).

This Vernal equinox sees the cardinal points are activated as 2010’s very powerful alignments begin to shape into place. It’s not an easy configuration by any means. We can take heart from esoteric astrologer, Alice A. Bailey, who says the Cardinal Cross accents the Spiritual Sun, i.e. our own light within the greater unity - with individual Uranus as the agent of awakening 'the whole' to the awareness of cosmic consciousness.

Pic credit to Tim Buckley for the beautiful third eye http://www.redbubble.com/people/bodhiimages/art/3052824-5-first-up

Unknown seedwoman and tatoo man and grid, most appreciated, whoever you are X