🐓 New Year of the Fire Bird 🐓 Aquarius New Moon 2017

🐓 Shake a tail feather and now wave goodbye to the crazy year of the Yang Fire Monkey – not to be seen again for another sixty years! And hail a hearty welcome to the year of the Yin Red Fire Bird, which begins to crow with the Aquarian New Moon on the 27-28th January at 00:07gmt, 19:07est.
A Fire Bird year can be a controversial and colorful one with over dramatic scenarios, where the ordinary is given rank of the extraordinary – and vice versa, depending upon the power of the pecking order in the proverbial chicken coup (i.e. one’s own mind). 

The Red Rooster’s organizational abilities are generally stubbornly applied, although compromise and cooperation would create a greater sense of union - and harmony, as well create the adulation they desire and/or deserve for their perfectionism. The challenge in the year of the loyal and punctual Rooster is to see competition and comparison as futile and counterproductive to positive personal development, particularly when partaking and celebrating differences create the unified whole. 

A natural born confident Fire Rooster knows how to strut one’s glorious every-day stuff with regal style and strength, without having to prove one’s authority. Those born in 1957 will truly resonate with this year’s fiery element. It is, however, a time for everyone to wake-up and cultivate mindfulness with noble intentions in all spheres of life, honing skills with precision and awareness, which others may benefit from. 

From a spiritual point of view, this year of the Fire Bird is one of a phoenix in transformation, possessing the courage to root out any negative minutiae the ego tenaciously holds onto, in order to fly up to higher sights. In the astrology of the Tibetan Kalachakra Tantra, it is the mighty and mythic Garuda Bird who is akin to the zodiac sign Aquarius, the group-oriented sign in which this Chinese New Year starts – which is also the sign of surprises and amazement. (Please note Tibetan New Year, Losar, begins with the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Pisces on the 26th of February). 

The soaring Red Garuda is also a King of outrageousness; he emerged from his cracked egg fully grown, already perfect in his warrior ways, having overcome hope and fear in order to experience freedom and spaciousness.
This is year is auspicious for Snake; successful for Ox; happy for Dragon; entertaining for Goat; and good for Tiger, Monkey and Boar; a fair one for the Horse; and moderate for the Rooster; while Rabbit and Rat may be happier in a less provocative role, a Dog’s relation to the Rooster will depend upon how fiery elements dominate his or her horoscope. 

With love & prayers _/|\_ & even though we don't really need wings to fly to a higher perspective and get our clearer view (meditation and dharma will do!), best wishes to one & all!
Kung Hei Fat Choi!
Happy Chinese New Year of the Fire Bird!
🎆 🐓   🌟 🐓 🌟 <3 🐓 🌟 🐓 🌟

☽ ☉ ✫ Sun Capricorn ♑/♋ Full Moon Cancer Jan 12th ✫ ☽ ☉

Strength & Stability ~ Solidarity & Success

Like a Mother looks after her child, the Moon at home in Cancer provides a place of protection, a sanctuary from the chaos of fast-changing times, and an anchor in rough emotional seas. Take comfort with this first full Moon of 2017, the Full Cancer Moon, as it stimulates our ability to awaken the Divine Mother (within each of us), to show care and consideration in love, unconditional and pure, for all beings, at home, at work, in partnership and with friends.

At home in Cancer, and exact Thursday 12th January, at 11:34am GMT, this Full Moon is not just any old reassuring the kids with mom’s apple pie kind-of-moon, as Luna moves into an extremely rare formation as she culminates, to revisit historic and astrologically exciting moments of 2010 – reminding us of the burgeoning stages of this currently spiritual era. For those who cynically question the validity of the transcendent and mystic, only giving weight to the plutonic overbearing forces of evil or chaos at work, be aware that when a light begins to shine, darkness often mobilises and many obstacles and difficulties come creeping out of the shadows – as indicated by the Sun currently conjunct Pluto, all of which is now given the Full Moon spotlight treatment. For a few short days little can remain hidden, however hard it tries.

Events or situations around this exceptional Full Moon offer an astral opportunity to bring light and karma, self and others, into focus; to create safer boundaries that enable one to work within a sacred space within a configuration called a ‘Grand Cross’. To give you an idea of the rarity of any Cross formation, these only happen around four percent of the time. This Full Moon is therefore rather special, even if such potency is fleeting, lasting only for the three Full Moon days – and nights, then the planetary pattern reverts to a tense T-square. Although, it might be helpful to note here how my teacher, the late great Howard Sasportas, taught that we extend a T-square into the empty leg when looking to stabilise, or for ways out of any difficult circumstance. Its good, therefore, to bear in mind how this Moon position, at 22°Cancer, while sensitive to aggression also brims with courage and militant tenacity, so that confronting challenging issues can be made easy with a bolthole to retreat into.

It’s also worth knowing how every Cross has one of three different characteristics, representing the various qualities of the signs of the Zodiac: Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable. A cross occurs when two sets of planets are in opposition; the four planets therefore form a perfect square in the heavens, which is then called a ‘Grand Cross’. This particular Cross is no ordinary Cross either. In Esoteric Astrology, this particular set of oppositions carries the glorious title: the ‘Grand Cardinal Cross of the Central Spiritual Sun’, because four planets are in the four Cardinal signs: Uranus in Aries, Moon in Cancer, Jupiter in Libra, and Sun with Pluto in Capricorn. In a Grand Cardinal Cross, revolutionary Uranus is THE agent of change in self-directed Aries, at 20°; all the while it is Jupiter at 22°, in harmonious Libra, that offers a compromising synthesis. This is, without doubt, a dynamic Cross of action, of making things happen, by oneself, with others, colleagues and loved ones, and of allowing the power of the Divine within to rise and make itself known (Need I say not in an egotistical manner? This Cross accents a spiritual Sun, not an identity driven one). Remember that when you see the Divine in everything, everything becomes Divine. You see, the heavens are now asking us to work with greater devotion to the sacred and care for everything around us, with greater cooperation with others as we co-create with the universe, noting now how we have moved away from negative habits and developed more helpful ways of being these past seven years, since twenty-ten.

Admittedly, a ‘Cardinal Cross of the Central Spiritual Sun’ is intense – all Crosses are. This one is about getting to core issues – subjects that affect your very spirit, the work you are doing and your purpose. And when the Sun and the Moon are major players within a Grand Cross, most everyone gets to feel the rising tension of some sort or another, a momentum that peaks with the Full Moon. But just as soon as Luna culminates the effects will also begin to diminish as the Moon begins to wane.

The Capricorn Sun with Pluto also highlights the need for personal and professional transformation: to be reborn. Rising like a Phoenix from the ashes may well be the theme for the coming year of the Fire Rooster, as this Full Moon sets the initial tone for 2017. This, then, is no ordinary Full Moon: it’s a Full Moon with the potential to awaken personal wisdom, and to illuminate the (collective) subconscious, which can then empower one to transform, including innovative ideas into accomplished action. ✫

Image is the Kalachakra Mandala, the 'Time Wheel' Mandala for World Peace, which His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, is conferring over this Full Moon in Bodhgaya, India, the place of the Buddha's enlightenment.
May all beings be enlightened, finding inner peace, outer peace and peace of mind _/\_ Full Moon blessings to One and all! 

from Laura https://www.facebook.com/DharmaStars https://www.facebook.com/DharmaStarsAstrology/

Medicine Buddha ~> 4-5-6th July & HHDL's birthday!

First quarter Medicine Buddha/Tara Moon in Libra: Now is the time to listen to the heart and find happiness and harmony within the core of the family – be it global family or kith and friendly kindred spirits – and prepare for the Full SuperMoon in a week's time, July 12th, when there’s a sense of destiny at work within certain, loving relationships. _/♥\_
 

This particular Moon cycle also carries the dynamic ‘Cardinal Cross of the Central Spiritual Sun’, activating deeply felt spiritual awareness in relation to one’s individual souls' journey; and how we connect with others makes all the difference to our own wellbeing. The personal blessings from developing the Libran impartial kindness and Cancerian care towards all we meet have the potential to now produce a profound karmic healing, and pacify or even heal heart and mind, body and soul. 

And if you are lucky to have clear evening skies (in the northern hemisphere), look up to see the waxing first quarter moon in the beautiful lapis lazuli blue night sky, and imbibe the blue healing vibration our cosmos gives so freely. Over the next few days one may also witness electric blue ripples in the evening sky, with a setting sun and rare noctilucent ‘night shining’ clouds. _/♥\_

__/❤\__ ☼✶•*¨*•.¸¸❤✶

On Sunday, on his 79th birthday, His Holiness Dalai Lama is preparing the Mandala for World Peace, the Kalachakra Mandala.
Happy Birthday Holiness! _/♥\_

Kala means time and Chakra means wheel. Kalachakra is the most complex mandala representing the cosmos as a whole. Yours truly has had the supreme good fortune (when good karma ripened ) to have done this with him twice before (and also 2x with other masters), and I know how concentrated one must be in order to follow the whole 11-day process from start to finish (when sand mandala is erased and offered to water). In this photo HH is laying the first line in the Eastern Gate of the Great Bliss Mind Mandala.

~> May all beings in all realms be happy, and at peace _/\_

Have a beautiful weekend!

With ℒℴѵℯ_/✿\_ & many thanks to Dechen Ling Press for image of Medicine Buddha & to Olivier Adams for the wonderful photo of His Holiness and the initial stages of the sand mandala _/♥\_

☼ Seeding World Peace ~> Spring Equinox 20th March 2014 @ 16:57gmt

Spirit Sun in fiery Aries
☼ ♈ Nought degrees Aries is the beginning of the zodiac, with equal day and equal night both sides of the globe. This balance of light and dark, yin and yang, male and female is revered, so much so that today is not only the start of the astrological calendar, but it is also the astrological beginning of the Kalachakra mandala of ‘World Peace’. This is a complex mandala that requires years of training and retreat to fully understand/experience the subtleties of the cosmic-anatomical interaction.

Due to the internet’s interconnection (and aided by a natural evolutionary wave from the ‘Big Bang’), we lay people are also now beginning to really comprehend that what goes on in the cosmos is but a reflection of our own heart-mind-body – ‘as without, so within’. For the most part we have yet to harmoniously and skilfully ride our own surges in thought, action and emotion, let alone collective energies that undulate according to planetary configuration. But this is what the Kalachakra master does: He/she aligns with the cosmos and senses exactly what is going on by tuning into the heart-mind-body and knowing the way celestial energies are moving; and can thus emanate pure wisdom from the heart-mind of the cosmos.

On this special first day of Spring (or Autumn in the South) Aries represents fresh new starts, and is where the radiant, life-giving Sun is exalted. As such, it is an optimum time to have confidence and plant the 'Seed of World Peace' in our heart, with the potent Kalachakra seed syllable. The Kalachakra (Kala = time & chakra = wheel) is a tantra that can be taken as a blessing, seeding at the heart its syllable known as the ‘One with Ten Powers’ (representing elements, lights, and realms), so that one can experience harmony in all spheres. _/♥\_

Happy Spring Equinox everyone! May all beings, in all realms, enjoy the illuminating Light _/\_

Spring Equinox 2013

☼ Rise & Shine! °◌•˚◎◦⊚°◌•˚◎◦⊚ Today is the Vernal Equinox, when the radiant light of the Sun enters Aries, its sign of exaltation @11:02gmt, to energise the northern hemisphere with the Spring Equinox, a time of equal day and equal night (in the southern hemisphere it is, of course Autumn). Wherever we are, this is a time of change.

☼ Spirit Sun represents one’s identity and in the sign of the Ram, a symbol of courage, daring and enterprise. The Sun is also in hard aspect to the on-going Uranus-Pluto square AND the Cancerian Moon; transformation and radical renewal can be now achieved with caution, by showing the care a mother would her child.

☼ In the Tibetan system, at Spring Equinox we honour Kalachakra ~> Kala = Time, Chakra = Wheel, the mandala which encapsulates cosmology, astrology, and the energy systems of the body _/♥\_

The Kalachakra Mandala is also the mandala for World Peace:

“A good motivation is what is needed: compassion without dogmatism, without complicated philosophy; just understanding that others are human brothers and sisters and respecting their human rights and dignities. That we humans can help each other is one of our unique human capacities.” ~ His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama ~ _/♥\_

Happy Spring Equinox!
Illustration is of the Kalachakra Mantra monogram _/♥\_

If you would like an astrology reading to know how this Spring Equinox constellates your horoscope, please see here for rates. _/♥\_

Kalachakra Peace Mandala ~> Full Cancer Moon 2012

His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, currently finishing his 32nd KALACHAKRA (time-wheel) for WORLD PEACE. _(♥)_ This time the beautifully complex Kalachakra mandala, depticting the cosmos in relation to mind & body, is built in Bodhgaya (the place where Buddha achieved enlightenment) to culminate over this full Cancerian Moon on the 8/9th January.

From the astrological point of view this is an insightful Moon, at home in 18 degrees of Cancer, indicating an emotional family affair balancing karmic conditions. Dealing with the past over this full moon can build stronger foundations for both, career and home; with boundaries defined one is freer one to move ahead.

While reflecting the winter light of the consolidating Capricorn Sun, our evocative Cancer Moon makes her most helpful aspect to dynamic Mars, in purifying Virgo (who is slowing down to go retrograde on the 24th, just as the elegant & energetic, inscrutable Water Dragon makes HER entrance with a new Aquarian Moon on the 23rd (water element is feminine:))! NOW is the time to take care of heart-mind and body and detox after Yule’s excess.

♥ ~> am still on a meditation retreat and will be back online with the Dragon!

Wesak Buddha Purnima --> Full Moon in Scorpio 2011

While the Full Moon in Scorpio is widely recognised and celebrated as the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and mahanirvana, and this upcoming Full Moon, in Fixed sign Scorpio opposite Sun in Taurus, is known all over Asia as either ‘Wesak’ or ‘Buddha Purnima’; the Tibetans have another quite complicated calendar system, which will celebrate the thrice-blessed moon known as ‘SakaDawa’ on June the 15th (when there is a solar eclipse – making the Summer Solstice Full Moon one of the year’s mega moons).

To clarify: this upcoming Full Moon, 27 degrees Taurus, at 12:09 (British Summertime) on the 17th May, is ‘Buddha Purnima’, honoured generally in the Hindu faith with Shakyamuni Buddha as an emanation of Vishnu, ‘The Preserver’; and, at the same time the three sacred events are venerated by Theravada Buddhist tradition with ‘Wesak’.

In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, during this Full Moon we connect to the ‘Wheel of Time’, Kalachakra, with the Mandala for World Peace. 

☾★☼❤☼★★☼❤☼★★☼❤☼★★☼❤☼★★☼❤☼★★☼❤☾★☼

Symbolic of feelings, needs and desires, the emotive Moon in the zodiac sign Scorpio – sign of intimacy, depth and death, signals we now intuitively know when enough is enough. It’s an optimum time to root out and rid oneself of destructive habits. While the illuminating Sun in materialistic Taurus, together with the personal planets, Mecury, Venus AND Mars, shine light upon the limited satisfaction of continually chasing desire nature, this Full Moon, 26-27-28 degrees of Scorpio, highlights the spirit-soul makeover, so necessary en route to enlightenment.

Wherever this fixed axis of Taurus and Scorpio lies across an individual’s horoscope, it accents secret desires, previously hidden painful attachment and/or obsessions about power and control. Its also the alignement of fruitful Earth & perceptive Water, appreciating insight to yield results. These soulful moonbeams also illuminate a natural sixth sense, leading to the psychological, emotional, or spiritual resources which help to ease a transformation from drama to stability, fear to love, conflict to peace.

Moon & Sun now form a challenging ‘T Square’ to the Neptune-Chiron conjunction in Pisces; our understanding of Maya and dream-like illusion heals not only our own wounds, but others’ too. This configuration suggests a potenitally powerful collective spiritual healing, personal emotional renewal, and a balancing of the subtle body through ‘holding’ with positive focus and heartfelt vibration, allowing the magic of unconditional love to flow and restore faith.  (Read restructuring water/emotions).

Thanks to Visual Alchemist for Buddha Love Mind :)

☾★☼❤☼★★☼❤☼★★☼❤☼★★☼❤☼★★☼❤☼★★☼❤☾★☼