Total Solar Eclipse and Equinox: March 20: A hui hou

"The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say."

Bilbo's Poem by Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

We arrive at the total solar eclipse of the Pisces New Moon occurring just 13 hours before the Vernal Equinox.  Quite rare to have a total solar eclipse coincide with the March change of seasons. Only 4 more times will this event occur in this Century.

By contrast, and to underscore the rarity of this cycle, the last series occurred in the 1600 's. Yes...rare indeed. But not as rare as one other facet of this eclipse cycle. This eclipse will end at the North Pole, where the Moon's umbral shadow will be followed by the rising Sun in Aries!  You literally have to go back or forward thousands of years to find a solar eclipse  ending at the North Pole at the Vernal Equinox. Such magical times we live in...magical times!

Adding more energy to the mix, this New Moon is the 3rd of 3 Super New Moons in 2015. Perigee Moons are symbolic of a higher or stronger vibration driving the lunation's theme. So all in one day, we have a Super New Moon eclipse, the start of a new season, the start of the astrological year, and another saros 18 year eclipse cycle beginning. That's a lot of new energy to arrive on your doorstep. Hence, the energetic field is very ripe for starting something new, or enhancing your creativity.

For the eclipse, the Sun/Moon positions at the very end degree of Pisces. In part, Pisces signifies the ending of the Zodiac. It's where the energy from the 11 other astrological vibrations comes together to become one. Hence, see this time symbolically as one of unifying and completing a huge cycle of the past 2,000+ years. This points energetically towards humanity slowly leaving the Piscean Age, moving towards a much more Aquarian futuristic vibration of social equality, justice and technological breakthroughs.

AstroActivators© 2002 by Kathryn Andren

The most important component of this lunation is the recent last square of Uranus and Pluto, which occurred just 4 days ago. This coincided with massive solar flares directed towards Earth, disrupting communications in parts of the Earth  Uranus vibe is the shock to the senses for something new...Pluto is the force that melts down what no longer works. While the effect of these 2 transformative archetypes initiated in 2011 continues into 2018, an opportunity exists NOW to use this dynamic fuel by embracing a new way of expressing and sharing your gifts in the world.

More so, this potent transformative rocket fuel further energizes this solar eclipse vibration taking its imagery, symbolic nature, and potential into a much bigger arena embracing all cultures in the world.

Lastly, Solar eclipse periods take you inward to explore new avenues wanting to be fueled or expressed and activated. This is a powerful time to visualize new beginnings and initiatives while letting go of that which no longer serves your highest intentions for being on this planet NOW!

Conclusion:

Self-Portrait, Kyoto Japan May 2014

As I shared almost a month ago, the Pisces New Moon marks the completion or ending of my Astrological Updates, as well as my actively seeking new work in the astrological realm. I love astrology. It comes so easy to me. And I have felt so grateful to be able to share its magic with others, as well as use its guidance for making choices in my life. And yet, I realize stronger inner voices call me to embrace a new style of creativity. While at least for the foreseeable future I'll continue to offer astrological consultations for anyone who asks, I will no longer advertise or promote my astrological services. Also, I'll continue to talk about the astrological cycles (how can I not???) to groups, but only in concert with other pursuits of mine such as photography and bodywork.

I first started writing Astrology Updates back in 2002. It's been a good run. Over the next few months I will reorganize my life to match my new direction. Possibly, I'll return to this type of forum to share my photographic perspectives of the natural world and their underlying spiritual connection. That's one of a number of possibilities I'm now considering. In all respects "and wither than I cannot say" certainly applies here.

At this moment, I'm in Denver to attend an amazing weekend healing and growth event called AWE through the magical work of Donald Epstein DC. Then, one day after the weekend event, I'm off to the Cape area of South Africa and Zimbabwe to see the massive Mosi-oa-Tunya waterfalls...translated "the smoke that thunders" (also known as Victoria Falls). I'll return to the United States in mid-April, where I'll spend a week in California. There, Stephanie Bridwell, an amazing chiropractor, and I will lead a "Gateway to the Soul Healing Day". It's a powerful time and opportunity to receive bodywork through the feminine and masculine touch in a group setting. If interested, contact Magnolia Wellness Center for more details.

I feel so excited about the opening of these new doors. May the same Aries surge bring you new opportunities, insights and renewed passion on whatever path you walk. I wish you all the best life has to offer in this time of massive transformation and significant global shifts.

As we say out here in Hawaii, "a hui hou" (a-hoo-eee hoe). Until we meet again.

Sat Nam

Aloha from Denver Colorado
Starman, Joseph Mina
March 19, 2015
©Gemini Awakening 2015 all rights reserved

Aries New Moon March 30: Are You Ready???

"Re-examine all you have been told in school or church or in any book, and dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem, and have the richest fluency, not only in words, but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes, and in every motion and joint of your body." - Walt Whitman, Preface to Leaves of Grass

"Let the beauty we love be what we do...there are hundreds of ways to knell and kiss the ground". Rumi

AstroActivators© 2002 Kathryn Andren

We arrive at the Aries New Moon. A gong sounds...loudly. We begin anew...yet this time the ground is highly fertile and ripe for significant shifts in your individuated expression, how you relate to others, what fuels your persona in the world, and what nurtures you to the core.  Yes...cardinal sign energies are building for the Cardinal Cross of late April...this fiery Aries New Moon opens a significant door for that vibration, rippling its vibration through early June. Wow O Wow!

Archetypal Aries is raw, primal, highly creative, in the moment, passionate about their inner dance and ready to set the world on fire. Abraham Hicks might have been considering Aries-types when this came through "people will love you...people will hate you...and none of it will have anything to do with you." And I'll add "your life won't be boring"!

Pure Aries is entirely self-focused on individuated growth and experiences. To others it may seem narcissistic or self-absorbed. Yet, someone has to take the lead...someone has to get the ball rolling in a particular direction or trend. Oh yes...Aries types are rarely around to see things completed, especially anyone with Ascendant, Venus or Mars in this individuated vibration. "On to the next greatest thing" is their fuel and passion, and sometimes their greatest challenge. As such, following impulsive urges can prove to be a 2 edged sword. Learning the art/balance between discernment and action is very helpful for the Aries mojo.

This New Moon invites you to conjure new ways of expressing your passion in the world. How do

Pisces New Moon and Equinox, March 11: Endings and Beginnings

“You and I are all as much continuous with the physical universe as a wave is continuous with the ocean.”   Alan Wilson Watts, Philospher (1915-73)

"Refuge Light" photography by Joseph Mina

The past month we have been awash in the murky and endless dreaminess of Pisces. This cosmic soup of feelings, sensitivity, dreams, ethereal art and music,

Aries Full Moon Sept 29 2012: The Door Opens

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don't go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don't go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds meet.
The door is round and open.
Don't go back to sleep. 
Rumi

AstroActivator©2001 by Kathryn Andren Mina

Aries Full Moon arrives on the 29th setting the stage for a potent October and November. Aries is the most "now" focused sign of the zodiac. Neither past nor future are of concern. This Full Moon occurs at 5:18 pm in Hawaii, 8:18 on the West Coast, and on the 30th in Canada's Eastern Maritime east to the International Date Line,

This particular lunation includes a very intense connection with the Uranus Pluto square as the Moon positions almost exact to Uranus in Aries. The last time the Full Moon conjunct Uranus was in September 2008 in the sign of Pisces.

As a theme builder, the Moon adds a potent emotional content to this transgenerational duo, raising their energy to palpable levels over the next 2 weeks. I expect events and weather on the world stage, which have been intense over the past few months, to continue at the same level or higher.

Equinox and Aries New Moon March 2012: A New Balance

"Tension is the great integrity."  R. Buckminster Fuller

"The fibers of all things have their tension and are strained like the strings of an instrument." Henry David Thoreau

"Know how to live the time that is given you." Dario Fo, Playwright (1926 - )

Aries Astroactivator© by Kathryn Andren Mina

Time is accelerating. Hard to imagine 2/3 of March has past, or almost 1/4 of 2012. Has time's recent passage felt faster to you?

And here we are again...at a significant astrological turning point. One season departs as a new season arrives. Thousands of years ago, tribes in England and Northern Scotland marked the Sun or Moon's arrival at specific points in the sky. Usually, this pause denoted the Equinox, Solstice or other special planetary alignment. Erected were massive stone structures such as Stonehenge, or stone circles, such as Callanish, serving as time keepers of this seemingly "endless journey" around our day Star.

If I may digress for a moment....This endless journey of Planet Earth around the Sun, which spans over 4 Billion years, is literally an incomprehensible passage of time. However, some context may help you appreciate its enormity.

Consider this: according to anthropologist, the human experiment on planet Earth began with Homo Sapien approximately 4 to 5 million years ago, somewhere in Africa. While that may seem like a very long span of time, it's insanely insignificant compared to the age of our solar system. To be more precise, humans have been on this planetary ride less then .1% (that's .0001) of the Earth's epic journey.

Virgo Full Moon March 2012: Mercury Retrograde arrives

"The great successful people of the world have used their imaginations, they think ahead and create their mental picture, and then go to work materializing that picture in all its details, filling in here, adding a little there, altering this a bit and that bit, but steadily building, steadily building."

Robert Collier, Author (1885-1950)

“Our whole life is an attempt to discover when our spontaneity is whimsical, sentimental irresponsibility and when it is a valid expression of our deepest desires and values.”  

Helen Merrell Lynd, Sociologist and Philosopher (1896–1982).

We reach the culmination of the current lunation as the Moon reaches its fullness at 11:40 pm on the 7th in Hawaii, and on the 8th for the rest of the world. Virgo Full Moon focuses on life's details, your health and how you choose to be of service in the world.

Behind this focused intent lies tremendous spontaneity, uncertainty, and infinite possibilities...and therein lies the conundrum of this current lunation.

Taurus New Moon: Creating Heaven on Earth

“Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons. It is to grow in the open air and eat and sleep with the earth.”

Walt Whitman, Poet (1819-1892)

“Ask yourself whether the dream of heaven and greatness should be waiting for us in our graves, or whether it should be ours here and now on this Earth.”
Ayn Rand American Writer and Novelist (1905-1982)

“My view of our planet was a glimpse of divinity."
—  Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut...returning from the Moon (1930- )

©AstroActivator by Kathryn Mi

New Moon arrives on May 2nd, a day after “May Day”, and coincides with the Celtic spring feast of Beltane. This Celtic cross-quarter day marks the midway point in the spring season between the Vernal Equinox and the Summer Solstice. Beltane is a fire ritual that focuses on purification and transformation; necessary rites to ensure a prolific harvest later in the Summer season. This is a poignant reminder to prepare (nurture/strengthen) your body for what is to come later this year. Also, a very productive time for gardeners out there to connect with the Earth in new, imaginative ways.

New Moon arrives at 8:51 in the evening in Hawaii, shortly before midnight on the West Coast, and on the 3rd in the Mountain States east to the International Date Line.

Of particular focus this New Moon is the continued presence of very strong Aries energy in the field: cardinal...raw...primal...uncensored...courageous.  Since the Vernal Equinox, this highly

Libra Full Moon: A Question of Balance

"I believe that uncertainty is really my spirit's way of whispering "I'm in flux; I can't decide for you; something is off-balance here". Oprah Winfrey

"The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced, if the nation doesn't want to go bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance." Cicero, Philosopher (106 BC - 43 BC)

"We pray to God when our foundation is shaking only to discover God is shaking the foundation." Donald Epstein, DC, Wise World Seminars

Pacific Expanse by Joseph Mina

I write this at 35,000 feet flying over the might blue Pacific, en route to Hawaii after a 3 week inner healing journey with Kathryn in eastern Colorado (yes, we were traveling during a Mercury Retrograde, and grace, serendipity and spontaneity were definitely our guides!!!).

As I look out over the seemingly endless expanse of ocean and clouds below, I'm struck by the enormity and beauty of Planet Earth.

From this lofty, serene perspective, I find it hard to fathom an intense societal struggle now rages in various areas of the globe for something new...something different. Yet, the current planetary aspects continue to point distinctly in that direction, creating more and more fuel for evolutionary shift...radical change...passion...and freedom. Can you feel it?

Look back over the past 3 years and reflect how change has impacted your life and those close to you. Does this “look back” fuel a desire for returning to something familiar, tested and seemingly reliable, or add impetus for something new, uncertain, and exciting? Therein lies the polarity of choice now vividly expressed and amplified world-wide.

Aries...first zodiac sign, currently provides the high octane fuel driving this shift. This unusually strong preponderance of raw, cardinal energy, spawned in March, continues unabated through the next Full Moon in May.

Today, the Moon reaches its opposition with the Sun in Aries at 28 degrees at 4:44 pm in Hawaii. Other times for the Full Moon are 7:44 p (PDT) on the US West Coast, 10:44 p, East Coast US and after midnight on the 18th in western South America, east to the International Dateline (2:44 am GMT).

This is last of 3 consecutive super Full Moons for 2011. A super Full Moon occurs when the

Aries Engine Revs Up - Mercury, Mars & New Moon activations

"You are not here merely to make a living. You are here to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, and with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world. You impoverish yourself if you forget this errand." Woodrow Wilson, 28th US President, (1856-1924) 

"A hundred years ago, the electric telegraph made possible - indeed, inevitable - the United States of America. The communications satellite will make equally inevitable a United Nations of Earth; let us hope that the transition period will not be equally bloody."
Arthur C. Clarke, Author (1917 - )

Three items of note:
Kathryn and I are in Colorado, near Boulder, attending the first of two back-to-back healing weekends with 50 amazing souls. We consider the current astrological cycles as a "prime time" moment to deepen our healing path, enhance our body strategies, and expand our ability to assist others through service in times of great transition.

Secondly, on the day-to-day level, a very busy Retreat schedule in Hawaii, travel to Colorado a week later, and current windy weather in the Rockies have conspired to create unfavorable conditions for creating a video for this Blog - alas, Mercury Retrograde at work. ;) Our astrological video to these blogs returns later in April.

Lastly, this blog is longer than usual (Kathryn rolls her eyes ;) ). The confluence of many concurrent astrological factors requires a more in-depth look at what is going on. If the blog seems "too long", then the short message is "buckle your seat belts". You are in for a surprising, creative and somewhat unpredictable, unsettling ride over the next 40 days. For the longer version detailing the current cycles...read on.

Aquarius New Moon 2011: The Freedom Express

"Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom." Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." Nelson Mandela (1918 - )

New Moon cycle begins on Wednesday, February 2nd in Hawaii at 4:41 pm (6:41 PST, 9:41 EST, Feb 3, 2:41 am GMT, 11:41 am JST). The Moon conjoins the Sun at 14 degrees Aquarius signaling an intense two week Aquarian journey into the realms of freedom, social justice and activism, and revolutionary fervor. Aquarius says "think big", which in the current vibration translates into "intensely big".

This New Moon also signals the beginning of the Chinese Year of the Metal Rabbit, and

The Coming Full Moons of Mastery and Advanced Learning

"The happiness of a person in this life does not consist in the absence, but in the mastery of their passions." Alfred Lord Tennyson, English poet (1809-92)

"Gather in your resources, rally all your faculties, marshal all your energies, focus all your capacities upon mastery of at least one field of endeavor." John Haggai, Filmmaker (1917-2006)

The recent Full Moon on the Equinox positioned at the very beginning degree of Aries. The next Full Moon (Aries again) on October 22nd, and the 5 subsequent Full Moons, each position at the very end degree of an astrological sign. The second Aries Full Moon signals a return to a more familiar lunar astrological cycle where the New Moon in an astrological sign occurs before the Full Moon in the opposite sign.

The late 20 degree placements are indicators of mastery and advanced learning. This 6 month run of Full Moons in high degree placements offers you the opportunity to explore the depths of your core knowingness and talents. More on the video.

Note: older computer systems process video more slowly. This can create a start/stop effect when viewing the video. Same is true for slow internet connections. If you are experiencing a slowdown, allow the video to fully load before playing.

Aloha from Big Island, Hawaii

Kathryn and Joseph

September 29, 2010

©Gemini Awakening, all rights reserved.

Gemini Awakening

"Celebrating 10 years together in healing service"

Autumn Equinox: Resetting the Balance of Power

"Good ideas alter the power balance in relationships, that is why good ideas are always initially resisted...." Hugh Macleod, Consultant

Equal day, equal night. Equinox is a time of balance as the Sun now moves into the Zodiac sign of Libra on September 22 at 5:09 pm HST, 8:09 pm on the West Coast, 3:09 AM on the 23rd, Universal Time. 6 hours later at 11:17 pm HST, the harvest Full Moon occurs. Here's the Equinox chart:

Libra is a Cardinal sign and the first sign of Fall in the northern hemisphere.  The cardinal Zodiac signs each mark the beginning of a new season, Aries Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. As the Sun first enters the cardinal signs during equinox and solstice season it adds extra fuel to the cosmic collective. Because Pluto is now in early degrees Capricorn squaring serious Saturn in early Libra, the Sun provides extra fuel to this intense duo for empowering and restructuring relationships of all kinds.    

Saturn and Pluto: The Dance of Death and Transformation

"It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers" James Thurber

Introduction: Saturn and Pluto and the 2010 Cardinal Climax

On January 31st, Saturn and Pluto trigger the 2nd of 3 very intense squares. This blog examines the dynamics of this potent combo, and their role as part of this summer's potent Cardinal Climax.

What is the Cardinal Climax?? Astrologically, "Cardinal" refers to the 1st signs of the 4 seasons (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn). "Climax" is the pinnacle, crest, culmination or apex of critical tension generated by a powerful phenomena. Visualize a building wave ready to break.

The Cardinal Climax aka the "Twenty-Ten Turning Point" is comprised of the simultaneous interactions between the planetary energies of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto during June and July 2010 in Cardinal signs of Capricorn, Aries and Libra. Five distinct critical tension points make up this very rare super cycle. They are: