YOUR TOTAL GUIDE TO THE AUGUST 2017 ECLIPSE SEASON

Eclipses, Mercury retro, AND Saturn direct … oh my! Let Numi resident astro babes Danielle Paige, Sandra Sitron, Frederick Steinmann, Jennifer Racioppi, and Bess Matassa help you navigate the August 2017 eclipse season.  Artwork: Various artists at Behance.net

August 2017 eclipse season The Numinous Lion moon
Art: Ari Weiss

August 7, 2017 :: Full Moon Lunar Eclipse :: 15 degrees Aquarius 
August 21, 2017 :: New Moon Solar Eclipse :: 28 degrees Leo 
August 25, 2017 :: Saturn stations direct 
August 12- September 5th, 2017 :: Mercury Retrograde 

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Jennifer Racioppi 
“Move forward fearlessly …”

The only constant is change—and during the August 2017 cosmic craziness, massive change is upon us.

Mercury retro will only sweeten the Eclipse Season pot. While this retrograde often gets a bad name, it’s actually a critical time to slow down, and connect deeply with the internal, intuitive voice that supports our soul’s growth. It’s potent medicine for those of us who live in the frenzy of go-go-go!

Thankfully, the August 7 Full Moon Eclipse positively aspects Jupiter—the planet of good luck, fortune, and abundance. This combo suggests that while this period is unpredictable in nature, benevolence still abounds.

The August 21 New Moon Eclipse trines Uranus, and will be responsible for MAJOR breakthroughs and a shift in power. At the end of the month, we’ll find ourselves in very different circumstances on a personal, and maybe even political, level. Given how close the Sun will be traveling to Mars, things will move fast regardless of Mercury in retrograde.

So move forward fearlessly, but do so with a deep connection to your WHY, and your key personal values. Keep on open mind, and understand that the only constant is change.

Now’s not the time to hold the reins too tight or overreact to anything. Mind your thoughts, words, and actions. Stay centered and focused on what matters most. Let the rest go!

For more Moon wisdom or to book a coaching session with from Jennifer visit Jenniferracioppi.com

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Sandra Sitron
“What’s your spiritual birthright?”

Eclipses are like turning off the internet router and then restarting it. Few people understand why this makes the wifi work again—but it always does!

The focus of the August 2017 eclipse season “reset” is on your inner King or Queen archetype. Leo, king of the jungle, is on the hunt within you—helping you flush out your confidence, worth, and purpose. It’s time to refocus on the core principles that keep you balanced.

Begin with an in-depth review of the last 6 months. Look for the moments when you felt as if you gave your authority away. Notice the King’s shadow archetypes of the Tyrant and Weakling, and be very gentle with yourself if you notice fear, aggression, and insecurity coming up within you.

This review period will be supported by a number of other astrological events. Starting August 3rd, Uranus takes a review period to help you make changes internally. On August 12th, Mercury retrograde asks you to remember what you forgot. Saturn lurches forward again and inspires you to get to work on August 25th.

The king doesn’t have to prove himself. He’s born into it. What are you born into? What is your spiritual birthright? Where can you turn up the volume on confidence, worth, and purpose in your life? How can you survey your kingdom and shine brilliantly out into the world?

Want more wisdom? Check out Sandra’s SATURN RETURN WORKSHOP, a 7-week course for navigating your Saturn Return that’s available through midnight August 4 2017. You can also book a reading with Sandra here or follow her on Instagram.

August 2017 eclipse season The Numinous Lion moon
Art: Dane Nicol

Frederick Steinmann 
“Redirect your lust towards strength …”

With all the fire in the sky this month, it’s important to consider the two extreme expressions of Leo energy: as symbolized by the Thoth Tarot card “Lust,” and the Rider-Waite Tarot card “Strength.”

Both rule Leo, but one card has our passions so inflamed that we are naked with lust, riding a lion, not paying attention to where we are going. The strength card has us taming the same lion, and he’s calm and cool but ready to strike if needed.

To help contain the fire, we need the rich mineral soil of earth; Saturn direct helps us learn that we only have so much time and energy. The August 2017 eclipse season helps us harness this energy to break our own hearts open, burn off what’s no longer useful, and create space to feel deeper layers of authenticity and true innovation—using the rational, Aquarian energy that balances Leo season.

Working with both Saturn and Uranus during the August 2017 eclipse season time allows us to tap into a more holistic and effortlessly creative existence, so we can truly write our own story—and transform from selfish savage to selfless hero. The more we can create from this place, whether through art, business, or our communities, the more we can empower both ourselves and those around us …

Discover more about Frederick Steinmann’s practice HERE, check out his Youtube channel, and be sure to register for his Eclipse Season Workshop on August 7th in NYC. 

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Danielle Paige 
“There is no good or bad. There is no fluff. You’ve signed up for these fated events …”

So, what’s an eclipse anyway? Eclipses mark a major shift in the electromagnetic field. And because we are all energetic beings, we will all feel … something. Whether it’s up, down, hyper, sad, emotional, ungrounded … these feelings will be accompanied by an urgency for change.

How can you tell if the major August 21st eclipse will affect your chart? Calculate your chart for free HERE and look to any planets or points within 3-4 degrees of 28 degrees of Leo, or in aspect to that degree (especially squares, oppositions, conjunctions, and trines). Thankfully, eclipses don’t directly aspect everyone’s charts because if they did, we’d be completely overwhelmed by major changes every 6 months! However, we all have Leo somewhere in our charts, so some kind of shift WILL occur …

Look at which house is ruled by Leo, for an indication as to the area of life most affected by the August 21 eclipse.

If there is a direct aspect to this eclipse in my chart, what’s going to happen to me? Whatever planet is involved with 28 degrees of Leo is getting “eclipsed,” which means it’s time to change how that planet’s energy is used. Sometimes it’s an obvious change like the end of a relationship or a work shift, but sometimes it’s less obvious inner work. Regardless, it’s your chance to move up the spiritual ladder.

The August 2017 eclipse season reminds us there is no good or bad. You’ve simply signed up for these fated events in order to move you along your spiritual path (a.k.a. your life!)

How long will this take? Is it just happening on the day of the eclipse? Give it time. There may have been a build-up to a decision made on this date, and / or events may unfold over the following 6 months. Sometimes it takes a year or more for the impact of an eclipse to be fully realized. Combined with Mercury retro, some of the events will likely be delayed until the end of September/beginning of October.

One thing is for sure: the August 2017 eclipse season is a big turning point for us all, individually and as a collective. Stay open to the excitement and know that there’s nothing to fear! 

To find out more about how Danielle can use your personal birth chart to help you discover and heal your inner blocks, and find your purpose, follow her on Instagram, join her private Facebook Group, and book a reading HERE!

August 2017 eclipse season The Numinous Lion moon
Art: Paul Tuccillo

Bess Matassa 
“Grit, glory, and the gamble of experience …”

Fire up your muscles, slip into your most aerodynamic leotard, and get ready to take your passion and make it happen.

With Mercury retro in earthy Virgo and Saturn stationing direct, the smoking hot Flashdance sensations of August’s celestial landscape are a very particular brand of Rust Belt fire. Think welding, forging, and sweating it out for the sweet steel work of finally birthing our dreams into physical form.

As our wildest visions incarnate into brick and mortar, it can feel like both a loss and a find. The hot tar of our individualistic Leonine souls has to adjust to the shape of the collective’s Aquarian road. We are asked to rise early woken by our individual will, pack our lunchboxes well, sharpen our tools, and step into the Olympic training gyms again, and again.

So sidle up to the starting block in your neon leg warmers and sparkling new sweat bands and flex muscles that have been lifetimes in the making. Feel deeply into the storehouse of your blood and your bones. And then crank up your silver-studded boombox, step into the floodlights, give it up, and turn it loose. All bets are off. And in a world made of equal parts steel and rhinestone, you’ve got nothing to lose.

August 2017 Eclipse Season Mantra: My heart is a muscle and it’s time to get to work.
Theme Song: Irene Cara’s What a Feeling
Style: Jazzercise meets boardroom bizness. Bodysuits paired with high-waisted pants, high ponytails, studded earrings, metallic statement pieces, and steely blue eye makeup.
Flavors: Stripped down fortifiers that build good bones; tall glasses of coconut milk, dark leafy greens, and piping hot spicy stir-fry cooked in cast iron woks.

Want more juicy cosmic insights and sensory explorations? Arrange an astrology reading or private event with Bess here or follow her on Instagram

A TAROT PRACTICE TO HELP YOU NAVIGATE AUGUST 2017

Got a serious case of the Eclipse Season crazies? Fear not, says Melinda Lee Holm. This simple tarot practice will help you navigate August 2017 and pave the way for a brand new era …

melinda lee holm tarot cards explain august 2017 ruby warrington the numinous

With two eclipses sandwiching the start of yet another Mercury retrograde period, August could feel like a bit of a roller coaster month.

But fear not! Leaning into the completion of the lunar eclipse and taking advantage of the slow down of Mercury can ease emotional turmoil and pave the way for the opening of a glorious new era … 

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:: 8/7  Full Moon Lunar Eclipse—10 of Swords ::

Lunar eclipses bring completion, end emotional cycles, and can give us an opportunity for an emotional reset. While endings are not always comfortable, if we focus on acceptance and release, we can integrate the lessons of the challenge, and move forward with love and hope.

The 10 of Swords illustrates this acceptance beautifully. At first, the image appears frightening and brutal—a figure with 10 swords piercing its body. But what we see is the turning point, the moment the figure chooses to see this strife as a blessing (see the formation of the fingers of the right hand), and to integrate the experience to move forward.

At this moment, the dark clouds finally lift and a bright new day appears on the horizon, full of light and promise.

Calling in the 10 of Swords:

  • Carry or wear Black Tourmaline to release energetic sludge and negativity
  • Clean out your closet – the symbolic release of possessions will lead the way for emotional release
  • Burn palo santo
  • Sprinkle bee pollen on yogurt or cereal for a boost of optimism

melinda lee holm tarot cards explain august 2017 ruby warrington the numinous rider waite 10 of swords

:: 8/12  Mercury Retrograde—The Hermit :: 

Just 5 days after the big completion of the Lunar Eclipse, Mercury stations retrograde, turning our sights back for new insights into what has occurred since the last retrograde cycle. Many subtle (and not so subtle) messages can come through during this time. In order to best take advantage of the wisdom these messages can offer, it’s time to slow down, open up, and let it all sink in.

The Hermit is the perfect guide for this inner exploration. He goes into solitude by choice, on a mission to gather knowledge and synthesize this knowledge into wisdom he can bring back out into the world for the benefit of others. Let The Hermit teach you how your personal insights and revelations can benefit you as well as those around you.

Calling in The Hermit:

  • Carry or wear Iolite, the stone of shamanic journeying
  • Drink Licorice tea—the root offers powerful protection to keep your insights clear
  • Take a long bath in silence
  • Limit screen time to get in tune with your natural rhythms and intuition

melinda lee holm tarot cards explain august 2017 ruby warrington the numinous rider waite the hermit

:: 8/21 Total Solar Eclipse—3 of Wands :: 

While we’re still lingering in the psychic cave of The Hermit, we get a major breakthrough with the Total Solar Eclipse. This is the first total solar eclipse to grace the United States in 99 years. Solar eclipses bring new beginnings. Even if you are not in the path of totality (meaning you only see a partial eclipse), this energetic reset is sure to signal a powerful change in direction, particularly following the clearing and reflection of the lunar eclipse and Mercury retrograde.

For inspiration in moving into uncharted territory, we take the wise and gentle hand of the 3 of Wands. The figure in the illustration appears well traveled, standing in loose robes with a headband, looking out over a barren landscape. There is no fear or hesitation here, but rather the considered pause of experience. The past has all been preparation for this moment. The true journey is about to begin … 

Calling in the 3 of Wands:

  • Carry or wear Moss Agate, the stone of new beginnings
  • Wear clothes that are easy to move in
  • Stretch your body to encourage your mind to follow
  • Add flax seeds to your smoothie to heal any old wounds preventing you from braving a new path

melinda lee holm tarot cards explain august 2017 ruby warrington the numinous rider waite 3 of wands

:: 8/26  Women’s Equality Day—Strength :: 

Women’s Equality Day commemorates both the signing of the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote, and the Women’s Strike for Equality, held on the 50th anniversary of the 19th Amendment in 1970. As we face continuing threats to our autonomy, safety, and equal rights, it is important that we build on the work of our sisters and mothers and ensure that our efforts include and protect all women, especially the most vulnerable among us.

To keep our hearts pure and in the fight, we call on Strength. The Strength card is a perfect portrait of feminine force. The figure is not dressed in armor or bearing any weapons. Her strength lies in her innate ability to co-create with the natural world. When we recognize that we are all one with the world, we can truly change the world for the better.

Calling in Strength:

  • Keep Orange Calcite in your workspace to stimulate playful, co-creative energy
  • Wear animal prints
  • Eat fennel to boost and fortify inner strength
  • Burn Amber incense to invoke the stability and longevity of the fossilized tree sap

melinda lee holm tarot cards explain august 2017 ruby warrington the numinous rider waite strength

Want more tarot magic? Book a session with Melinda here, and make sure to follow her on Instagram and Facebook. 

WHY THESE ARE THE PERFECT TAROT CARDS FOR MAY 2017

Stressing out about scheduling the month ahead? Put your planner aside & lay out the perfect tarot cards for May 2017, says Melinda Lee Holm.

rider-waite rider waite melinda lee holm ruby warrington the numinous tarot cards for may 2017

May is a fertile season for embracing your power and exploring duality! Throughout this month, we will be asked to examine what kind of power we value, how we can expand our vision of our own power, and how to embrace, honor, and cherish aspects of ourselves that seem in opposition to one another.

Meet this month’s guides for creating, manifesting, and coming into balanced relationship with all that is …  

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:: 5/01  International Workers Day—7 of Pentacles :: 

The month kicks off with May Day or Beltane- a traditional northern European holiday celebrating the coming of Spring with rituals of fertility, abundance, and heaps of flowers and foliage. In 1904, it was also designated as a day to demonstrate for laborers’ rights.

The Rider-Waite image of a worker tending the vines is a perfect guide for honoring both the abundance of nature and the beauty of labor. Pentacles are the suit of Earth- that wonderful grounding element that connects us to the physical world and our animal natures. In the 7, the work has been done, the soil turned, the vines tended, and the result is a healthy crop of pentacles. Clad in marigold and sky blue, the figure revels in his power of creation in partnership with the Earth and the intuition that led his hand.

Calling in the 7 of Pentacles: 

  • Get your hands dirty! Gardening connects us to the fecundity of the Earth and to labor. 
  • Work hard, but don’t overdo it – end your work day at a reasonable time. 
  • Light a candle in an earthy scent like tomato vine or moss. 
  • Eat fresh, locally-grown fruits and vegetables. 

melinda lee holm ruby warrington the numinous tarot cards for may 2017 7 of pentacles seven of pentacles rider waite rider-waits

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:: 5/03  Mercury Stations Direct- The Magician :: 

Rejoice! Mercury stations direct on the 3rd, bringing to a close 3.5 weeks of (often unexpected) insights about the recent past (and a lot of panic about glitches in technology). Now, armed with all of the new information we’ve dredged up, we can get start pressing forward with newly laid plans by calling on the Tarot’s great manifestor- The Magician.

In Golden Dawn teachings, The Magician is associated with the planet Mercury, so there is a natural alignment here that can really help push things along if we listen closely to the messages received during retrograde. Drawing on the power of the Earth and the Heavens, The Magician taps into his natural attunement with the Universe to vibrate his vision into existence, opening infinite possibilities. With a little guidance, you can step into his enchanted shoes!

Calling in The Magician: 

  • Use your magic words! Write down goals in the present tense as if they have already been achieved.  
  • Wear Pyrite jewelry – the stone is a master of manifestation. 
  • Dress for your dream life.
  • Eat foods seasoned with cinnamon – the spice accelerates mastery and magical abilities. 
rider waite rider-waite melinda lee holm ruby warrington the numinous the magician tarot cards for may 2017
Check out Melinda’s custom pieces of Tarot-inspired jewelry ! Pictured above: The Initiate in Pyrite.

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:: 5/14  Mother’s Day- 6 of Cups :: 

Whether you are a mom or share a connection with a biological or chosen maternal figure, this is a day for honoring and appreciating the feminine nurturers around and within us. We can often get stuck in a role of mothering or being mothered, and have trouble balancing our giving and receiving. This Mother’s Day, we call on the 6 of Cups to remind us to care for our care givers, and to take in the love we need to replenish ourselves as caregivers.

The 6 of Cups carries the energy of emotional harmony and balance. The figures in the card are out of balance proportionally, but the larger figure seeks to restore harmony by giving a flower-filled cup to the smaller figure. All of the cups bear a single white flower, which strongly resembles an enlarged jasmine blossom- the flower of purity and sensuality. The lesson here is that true and pure beauty is found through actively balancing the relationships in our lives.

Calling in the 6 of Cups: 

  • Perform random acts of kindness – and receive them gracefully from others!
  • Carry a Chrysocolla, the Goddess stone, to replenish the energy of the Divine Feminine. 
  • Wear jasmine perfume. 
  • Care for your mom or moms, biological, legal, or chosen. 

rider waite rider-waite melinda lee holm ruby warrington the numinous 6 of cups six of cups tarot cards for may 2017

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:: 5/21  Sun Enters Gemini- The Lovers :: 

Twin season! The Sun’s entry into Gemini brings openness and flexibility to any stale routines, and teaches us to see all sides of an issue and not to press too hard for a solution that isn’t working.

The myth of Gemini follows a pair of twins with the same mother, but different fathers. Since one has been fathered by the god Zeus, he is immortal. When his mortal brother dies, he begs his father to keep them together and Zeus obliges, making both twins immortal, living together for eternity in the constellation Gemini, separate but perfectly paired. In our mortal lives, Gemini teaches us to allow conflicting sides of ourselves to co-exist in harmony. We can be a business mogul AND a dreamy poet, a driven creator AND a grounded homemaker. To find how to live in this duality, we look to The Lovers.

The Lovers shows two figures standing beneath a bright angel. Early interpretations positioned this card as indicative of romantic love, but modern Tarot scholars view the card’s energy as one of perfect pairing and ideal relationship- whether romantic, professional, or creative.  The core of the wisdom here is to see that excellence – in relationship or in ourselves – can only be achieved when each part is celebrated for its individuality and not consumed by the whole.

Calling in The Lovers:

  • Wear contrasting colors. 
  • Make an exquisite corpse drawing or poem with a friend.  
  • Explore foods with savory/sweet combinations. You can start with cayenne spiced chocolate or prosciutto wrapped melon and go wild from there! 
  • Include others in activities you would normally do alone like reading with a friend, or walking with a group … 

rider waite rider-waite melinda lee holm ruby warrington the numinous tarot cards for may 2017 the magician

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Want more tarot magic? Book a session with Melinda here, and make sure to follow her on Instagram and Facebook. 

NUMINOUS WEEKLY TAROTSCOPE: APRIL 21—27

The Eight of Wands suggests something is in transit energetically. Now it’s time to move with the shifts as they show up, says Lindsay Mack in her Numinous weekly tarotscope…

WHY THESE ARE THE PERFECT TAROT CARDS FOR APRIL 2017

Want to map out a magical month? Swap your iCal for a tarot deck. Melinda Lee Holm helps us navigate the wild ride ahead with the key tarot cards for April 2017…

melinda lee holm key tarot cards for april the numinous ruby warrington

This April, it’s all about letting go of control and riding the emotional waves to abundant new shores. With Mercury going retro just before Venus stations direct, April has some wildly shifting energies in store for us. Fortunately, the Tarot is here to help us navigate the vibes!

Meet this month’s guides for cultivating presence, serenity, self-love, and nurturing …

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:: 04/01  April Fool’s Day – The Fool :: 
As adults, we’re expected to be experts in our work and pragmatic in our personal lives. The lack of control that comes with April Fool’s day tricks is not something we’re always comfortable experiencing. Yet embracing this carefree energy can be exactly what we need to reinvigorate our beings.

The Fool is the zero point of the Major Arcana. Having no experience, he moves freely through life with a pure and open heart until he builds enough wisdom to know that wandering through life with a pure and open heart is the soul’s highest aspiration! With all of the turmoil in the world, we can allow him to guide us to moments of grace and love that are suspended in the present moment—and to learn to laugh at ourselves!

Calling in The Fool: 

  • Take a class where you’re a complete beginner.
  • Practice conscious breathing to stay in the present moment.
  • Drink Earl Grey tea—the bergamot in it promotes joy and soothes stress.
  • Wear that wild dress you got for a special occasion that hasn’t yet come.

the fool rider waite key tarot cards for april melinda lee holm ruby warrington the numinous

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:: 04/09  Mercury Retrograde – The King of Cups :: 
Mercury retrograde periods have a bad reputation for causing trouble with communication and travel. But there is another level to thi energy that can allow us to sink deeply into emotional and intellectual reflection, and the King of Cups is a great ally in both cases.

In the Smith-Waite deck, the King of Cups is seen seated on a throne made of stone, floating on the waves of the sea. The King is undisturbed by the waves of emotion passing beneath him. He remains calm and alert, gazing out over the open sea. During Mercury Retrograde, call on the King of Cups to help you to stay calm, flexible, and aware.

Calling in the King of Cups: 

  • Practice loving communication in all interactions.
  • Maintain a sharp awareness of the external world, even when internal reflection gets deep.
  • Wear lavender oil—the smell can calm and soothe you and those around you.
  • Carry a relic of the sea with you—a small shell, a pebble—to remind you of your ability to ride the waves with grace.

king of cups rider waite melinda lee holm key tarot cards for april ruby warrington the numinous

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:: 04/15  Venus Direct in Pisces – 8 of Cups :: 
The past 6 weeks of Venus retrograde have been ripe for insights into our old romantic patterns. Now with Venus resuming direct motion in her exalted sign, we’re pushed to realign with our hearts and dream big for the future. The 8 of Cups is the perfect guide for us as we review info gathered during the retro period, get clear about our passions, and adjust our emotional patterns.

The card shows a figure dressed in red walking into the wilderness away from a set of carefully stacked cups. This movement away from an established, known emotional pattern into the wild unknown—by a figure clad in the color of passion—is a wonderful inspiration for our realignment. Let go of attachments based on habit and forge a new path forward.

Calling in the 8 of Cups: 

  • Wear comfortable clothing made of soft fabrics like silk or bamboo—in red whenever possible!
  • Take a walk alone in the wilderness to reflect on your true passion.
  • Carry Rhodochrosite for self-love and Black Obsidian for letting go.
  • Eat foods made with basil—the heart shaped leaves will emit gentle love energy from within.

eight of cups rider waite key tarot cards for april melinda lee holm ruby warrington the numinous

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:: 04/22  Earth Day – The Empress :: 
With the EPA and our environment under great threat from the current administration, celebrating this day is more important than ever. The Empress is the perfect patron saint to keep you sane and tapped into the earth’s power.

The Empress corresponds to the Goddess Demeter, the Great Mother of the Greek pantheon. She is loving and nurturing, creating abundance all around her through the force of her glorious heart. And like most mothers, she is also fiercely protective. Even if you can’t attend a march or other Earth Day event, you can call on The Empress to empower you to care for our planet with love, and to protect her with a ferocious heart.

Calling in The Empress: 

  • Plant a tree.
  • Bring a trash bag on a walk through nature, cleaning up what others have left behind.
  • Carry Rose Quartz or Aventurine, stones of love and abundance.
  • Wear bright floral print or jewel tones to celebrate the glory of the natural world.

the empress rider waite key tarot cards for april melinda lee holm ruby warrington the numinous

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Want more tarot magic? Book a session with Melinda here, and make sure to follow her on Instagram and Facebook. 

STOP & LISTEN: READING FOR THE VIRGO WANING QUARTER MOON

The Virgo waning quarter moon brings a time for honest and compassionate self-reflection, says Jennifer Racioppi

Bethany Harper Walsh collage Virgo waning quarter moon Jennifer Racioppi The Numinous

Virgo Waning Quarter Moon :: Tuesday December 20th :: 8:56 pm ET

As the moon wanes, losing light each day between the last Full Moon and the upcoming New Moon, we find ourselves in a space of letting go. The Virgo waning quarter moon invites us to release what we can identify that we no longer need, so we can fully step into what is meant to be ours.

With the upcoming new year, and the next New Moon in Capricorn happening on the 28th/29th (depending on where you are in the world!) as well the current Mercury retrograde cycle, we find ourselves at a crucial moment to pivot. And all of this occurs just one day before the sun shifts from hopeful Sag into business-oriented Capricorn—also the Winter Solstice.

It’s time to discard what’s not working and let go of all we want to leave behind from 2016.

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:: THE SUN::
As the sun moves through the final degree of Sag, and we live the last days of 2016, the encouraging influence of big picture Sagittarius abounds. However, in the northern hemisphere, the dwindling sunlight and the focus on the end of the year may feel more chaotic than calm, with tones of sadness. This is particularly the case as the upbeat light of Sagittarius shifts into the firm focus of Capricorn. The Winter Solstice, happening concurrently to the sun moving from 29 degrees Sag into 0 degrees Capricorn, invites us to reflect. On top of this, as the sun shifts signs, she makes a hard angle to the Moon, further emphasizing a transition, not only in seasons but in our emotional focus as well.

:: THE MOON ::
The moon in the last degree of Virgo has perfectionistic overtones, as well as an emphasis on making a substantial contribution of service to the world. The moon in Virgo pushes us to examine the details and find the flaw, so that we can improve our circumstances and contributions to the world beyond our self. Yet, under a Virgo moon we may fall victim of thinking we aren’t enough, we haven’t done enough, or that we aren’t deserving. Since this is the Virgo waning quarter Moon, rather than scrutinize yourself for what you haven’t done right, or well, take a step back and look at what you have accomplished, and let the disappointment go. Focus on where you feel guided to serve others and release the need to be perfect.

:: THE SQUARE ::
The Sun in bold Sag squares the moon in purist Virgo, possibly blurring sight of the big picture. With Mercury, the ruler of the Virgo moon, retrograde, it’s so important to embrace the vantage of reflection, yet, refrain from self-condemnation. Stay focused on your high-level accomplishments. Tune into the qualities of Virgo that represent being of service. Allow yourself to feel divinely guided rather than held back by your inner saboteur. Ask for clear direction on how to serve the world with more focus and less ego!

:: THE MESSAGE ::
With Mercury retrograde and the Winter Solstice upon us at the time of the Virgo waning quarter moon, our need for reflection heightens. As we look back over 2016 and process the year, be careful not to be too hard on yourself. Try not to get too hung up on the details of what did or didn’t happen this year, and instead, assess your growth. How did you change this year? What did you learn? How are you better? Then take some time to connect with the truth of who you are: a spiritual, mystical, being. Forget about the details, stay true to you.

For more Moon wisdom or to book a coaching session with from Jennifer visit Jenniferracioppi.com

5 WAYS TO MAKE MERCURY RETROGRADE WORK FOR YOU

Imagine if Mercury retrograde was actually here to help? Here are 5 ways to make Mercury retrograde work for you.

Mercury Was in Fucking Retrograde slogan print by Baron Von Fancy. Click to read more!
Image: Baron Von Fancy

Mercury retrograde gets a lot of bad press. In fact it’s kind of become like the “gluten” of the Cosmic calendar—we’ve been taught we’re all allergic and that the symptoms, as my friend Michael puts it, are basically a total “cluster flux.”

But what if Mercury retrograde was actually here to help?

I mean, how often to do you get things perfect first time around? How many people do you have “unfinished business” with? And how many situations have you pretty much given up on, assuming they’ll never get resolved?

Instead of counting down the days to the messenger planet’s next retro phase in a state of alternating panic and dread—how about you make Mercury retrograde work for you, and use it to shine a light on the areas of my life that are due for a do-over.

Okay, maybe it’s not the best idea to go hunting down the ex who totally sapped you of your self-esteem and left you feeling like an empty shell—some things definitely are best left in the past. The trick is to trust that anything it’s in your best interest to revisit will present itself to you.

As the brilliant Astro Twins always put it; “Think of the prefix “re-” as a guide for a smoother Mercury retrograde: rethink, redecorate, revise, research, reunite…and so on.”

Read on for five ways to take their advice and make Mercury retrograde work for you…

The Last Romance fashion illustration by Kelly Smith. Click to read more!
Illustration: Kelly Smith

Revise a passion project
Got a blog idea, or half-finished novel sitting in a folder on your overcrowded desktop? Now’s the time to dust that puppy off and make the necessary tweaks to fine-tune your vision. Just hold off on launching your project until the retro phase has passed.

Revisit a favorite workout
If you’re stuck in a workout rut (THIS spin class because it’s convenient, that particular run on autopilot) and feeling unmotivated as a result, cast your mind back to the last time you felt really inspired by your exercise regime. Revisiting a favorite instructor or YouTube workout could re-inspire you to get your sweat on.

Reconnect with the people you love
Life gets busy, and it’s oh-so-easy for weeks (hell, months) to go by without so much as a text exchange with the people you actually hold most dear. Take the Mercury retro phase as your cue to write those email and make those calls. Your heart will be so happy you made the effort.

Realize you can’t just erase your past
That niggling health issue you kinda just put a “band-aid” on hoping it would clear up by itself? That friendship you let fall by the wayside rather than have the “honest talk” you need to clear the air? The emotional trauma you stuffed in the closet, but that’s haunting your dreams at night? Now is the time to do the deeper work to address these once and for all, and emerge from the Mercury retro phase feeling lighter and god-to-go.

Revamp your actual closet
No shopping (and especially not online, as Mercury retro will probably mean techno fails and “RE”funds), but rather a re-evaluation of the contents of your closet. Use this post on the art of the psychic closet clear out for some tips, and once you’ve got rid of what’s not working you’ll be able to see what’s missing and THEN hit the stores to re-stock.

So there you have it—five ways to make Mercury retrograde work for you, and come out the other side a shinier, happier person to boot!

Was this article useful? Moon Club is a new monthly mentoring program from The Numinous and Alexandra Roxo that combines astrology with real time coaching on love, sex, work, wellness, and spiritual activism. Read more and sign-up here

NUMINOUS TAROTSCOPES: NOVEMBER 2016

The Numinous Tarotscopes. Cast by Lindsay Mack, using The Starchild Tarot.

 

SCORPIO :: SCORPIO RISING – Eight of Swords, reversed

Happy birthday, sweet Scorpio! You are in your most shining element this month: rebirth. Novembcer leads us into the gate between autumn and winter; a sacred death cycle. For you, this time will be less about a death and more about the life that comes after it. You have been diligently moving through a soul shedding as of late—letting go, re-centering, and mastering your truth. It may not have felt that way to you, however. It may have felt like you were lost, a mess, or self-sabotaging. It has been something so much deeper than that, and now it is time to unfurl into what lies beyond—renewed, awake and aware.

Eight of Swords reversed holds the frequency of liberation from mental and emotional prisons, allowing you to walk through your life with a different world view. In other words, Scorpio: you’ve realized that the proverbial “prison door” has been unlocked the entire time. You’ve never been trapped, you’ve never had to plan an escape—you were free to leave at any time. This epiphany is what comes of being in Eight of Swords when not reversed. The reversal (which you are in this month) is the life after death. November’s invitation will be to rebirth yourself, like a phoenix from the ashes, into a more expanded, courageous life. It is a deeply empowering time, full of possibility, freedom and growth. The key will be for you to trust it—to step forward, leaving behind your smaller self.

Learning to trust the potential beyond olds pattern of feeling deeply stuck and small is a process that happens gently, over time. It is so important to practice compassionate self-acceptance as you expand this month. Most importantly, it is vital to have support. Be willing to speak up when those old fears and internal voices pop up; bring some light to the darkness, call in your council, and help yourself out. Remember: the unspoken patterning, thoughts and habits are the things that put us in jail in the first place. They rev up cycles of unintentional sabotage, secrets, and self-entrapment, leaving us confused, lost and stuck. You can rewire this by choosing to be seen in your vulnerability, Scorpio. Doing so will liberate you again and again, helping you to see clearly, allowing you to take proactive steps in the direction of your vision and dreams. You just have to take the first step.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

SAGITTARIUS :: SAGITTARIUS RISING – Six of Crystals

Your cup runneth over this month, Sagittarius. What a sweet frequency to be moving through! In Six of Crystals, or Pentacles, we actually achieve a new level of balance by giving. This card heralds a time of personal blessings, gifts and energy; we have so much that we are able and happy to give some away. November is not only about enjoying the newly abundant energy that will be available to you, but about learning to give, listen and serve only when there is an overflow in your life. This is not selfish—this is wisdom. Showing up from this place of overflow assures that both you and the other person will be nourished by the exchange. The more you give, the more you will be filled up. It is a gorgeous circle of sacred replenishment.

The two keys to Six of Pentacles are balance and trust. In the Smith-Rider-Waite imagery of this card, a rich man is seen giving gold coins to two happy and grateful beggars. We see that the rich man’s brass scales are balanced—only after having given his money away to the other men. In this giveaway dance, both sides are made even, the duality is made whole. The beggars get to practice trust in receiving, the rich man gets to practice trust in giving—both sides get to master the idea that there is enough Universal abundance for all, that their needs will always be met. This is a deep healing for all parties.

There are times in life when we are the ones giving, and times when we are the ones receiving. It is deeply important to check in, to make sure we are at a point of overflow before holding space, and to resist giving our energy away when we need to be nourishing ourselves. In honoring that place of integrity, we commit to the highest frequency and energetic balance on the planet. Specifically, you are being asked to step up as a beacon of abundance and true generosity, Sagittarius, showing others how to practice sacred balance, trust, and receiving. You are learning from this, too! The more you honor this process of checking in and serving from a place of Universal flow, the more abundance there will be for you—expect a gorgeous overflow of love, earthly gifts and energetic upgrades this month. Be a living example of honoring the self and you will never want for a thing.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

CAPRICORN :: CAPRICORN RISING – Starseed

November is going to be challenging for you, Capricorn, but in the best and most rewarding ways. Whenever we are in the energy of Starseed, or The Fool, it can be exhilarating and exciting—but also a little scary. This energy is tearing the house down in your sign this month, and I recommend you welcome it in with open arms. It is time to leap into the next phase of your life with abandon: there is nothing to do but jump. If you wait until you feel ready (as I know you love to, Capricorn), you will never do it. Trust that in the energy of The Fool, you’re more ready than you think you are. Get the support you need, prepare yourself as best as you can, and then commit. Doing this, even if you fall short of your mark, will kick off a powerful, exciting and expansive journey of the soul. Wherever you feel most unprepared and vulnerable is the place to begin.

The Fool is going to show up in wildly different ways for all of you: saying yes to being present, telling that person that you have feelings for them, quitting your job to pursue your passion. Don’t be surprised if your brain works on you a bit this month, Capricorn, telling you a story that you aren’t ready or might fail. There is no such thing as being ready—now is a perfect time. And, of course, there is no such thing as failure. I’ll remind you, Capricorn, The Fool isn’t necessarily about getting what you want. It could be that what you want is not what you need, but you won’t know that unless you try.

You have to try. You have to shift the energy of your life and shake things up. Even if it’s not what you were originally leaping for, there will be a treasure to come from surrendering to The Fool. If you HAVE been working hard to say yes to the unknown and live from the frequency of The Fool, this month will be amazing for you, truly showing you the proof of your hard work through expansive growth and new opportunities. If you’ve felt more stuck and stagnant in your life, November will be transformative, but challenging. It’ll be intense, but worth every moment. Just remember: you cannot be more ready than you are in this moment. Trust yourself and try something new.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

AQUARIUS :: AQUARIS RISING – Queen of Cups, reversed

November will be a month of deep contemplation and psychic centering for you, Aquarius. Queen of Cups is double water; she is fully in touch with her intuition, and knows how to balance her humanness with her empathy. She feels deeply for others, and because of her depth, can hold space for loved ones and clients around her with ease. This is a beautiful, expansive card—a lovely one for healers and humans alike.

When she shows up reversed, it is important to make sure that your energetic boundaries are well maintained. Pay attention to where you may be prone to escapism in your daily life, as well as where you might be taking on negative or heavy emotions that don’t belong to you; the veil between you and other people might be a bit thinner this month. No need to worry or panic if you find yourself ungrounded and laden with other people’s vibes: just keep gently checking in and noticing if you are fully present in your energy. If not, take a bath, work with selenite, pink Himalayan salt, black tourmaline or malachite. Bring yourself back down. Take breaks from people in your life who are a bit more difficult; take ample time and space to clear your energy and home. Doing so will set you up beautifully to do exactly what Queen of Cups reversed was here for to begin with: to invite you into deep internal work around trusting your intuitive and empathic gifts.

In order to be really available for this kind of work, you have to pay very close attention to your energy. The more we tune in to our soul path, and start honoring our gifts, the more the brain tends to freak out and the more “thin-skinned” we can feel, empathically. If there has been a recent source of negativity or an energetic presence in your life that feels vampiric, this is the month to clear it out. Speak your truth, tell people how you feel or say goodbye to them. Extra self-care, self-inquiry and spiritual tools are going to be such wonderful allies for the expansion that is unfolding on the other side of the contraction. Ground regularly, drink lots of water, and do things that make you feel refreshed and rooted in your body. All of this is taking you to a new level of evolution on your soul path; be willing to shed all that doesn’t serve, including self doubt.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

PISCES :: PISCES – The Emperor, reversed

The next 30 days will be an immensely transformative and powerful cycle for you, Pisces. To start, I would like to gently encourage you to shelve everything you think you know about The Emperor for a moment, and adopt a beginner’s mindset with it. The Emperor is The Empress’ duality; the divine masculine counterpart to the divine feminine. Strategy, authority and ruling (the qualities generally associated with The Emperor) are not really divinely masculine, but are masculinity out of balance—out of touch with feelings, emotions and intuition, operating from of a place of fear. To understand the teaching and the potential of this card, we have to start there, from a place of compassion and with a fresh perspective on its energy.

When The Emperor is right side up, it is a powerful invitation to practice standing tall; not being afraid to take up space. In The Emperor, we know our worth, and are able to speak our truth without apology or overpowering others. Everyone is deeply nourished from such an energy. The reversal of The Emperor, which is how it has shown up for you this month, Pisces, is bringing an equally important teaching. When The Emperor is reversed, it can show up as extremes in belief or behavior about one’s self. One moment, we might feel crippled by a lack of confidence, feeling deeply discouraged and like no one wants to listen to us. The next moment, we might feel totally narcissistic or domineering. It might show up as trying to make everything about us, feeling competitive, or attempting to control aspects of our lives from a false confidence.

Both of these are divine masculine out of balance, and are halves of the same whole. Feeling either of these extremes is NOT a problem: both are opportunities, and wonderful ones at that. Both are giving you the amazing chance to build your confidence and self-worth. This confidence can’t come from a write-up, a job, a new lover, your partner, or your clients. It comes from a reconnection to your place in the Universe as a worthy and beautiful being, healing any imbalance in the Solar Plexus and letting your light shine again. It comes from knowing that YOU need to give you the love, attention and validation that you crave. If you shift your focus and attention to those things, you will blossom and transform this month.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

ARIES :: ARIES RISING – Five of Wands

Get ready for a wild month, Aries! Five of Wands is a tough energy, but has shown up in November with great tidings for you. It is inviting you into a kind of mastery of your ego, helping you learn to embody softness in the face of any combative beliefs, such as competition and jealousy. It feels like a walkabout, going on a journey through the shadow side of Aries to come out clean and wiser on the other side. I promise you: moving through the contraction of this card will only bring goodness. There is a big expansion for every contraction, so as you move your egoic labor this month, trust that it is happening not because you fell behind, but because you’re meant to move forward into new, evolved territory. The Universe is basically squeezing out any mental or behavioral splinters that are not going to serve you in your forward momentum.

Now, getting splinters removed is HARD! It hurts and can be a little scary, but it hurts more to leave the splinter in. That is the gift of this time, and why it is here: to free you from the old, painful shadows that keep you locked in self-judgment and the delusion of fear. Be willing to allow whatever is ready to come up to do so, allowing you to process and release it. Also: it is very important to practice pausing this month. This card can show up as fighting, believing that other people are out to get you, a sense of competition or that you need to fight for your place on top. None of that is true, of course: it is all a kind of fear based illusion.

It might be hard in moments to remember that your feelings are not facts, but this is why pausing and non-engagement will be very helpful for you. Take deep breaths, and wait an hour or two before you send that email or dispute that contract. If you are pissed at someone, resist the desire to engage in conflict until you’re a little calmer. Even the desire to call someone out is an invitation into mastery, Aries. Pause with it before moving forward. You get to hang out with the deepest parts of your shadow this month, and if you can believe it, nothing but goodness and growth will come from embracing it. Say yes to Five of Wands. It is here to transform your life.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

TAURUS :: TAURUS RISING – Queen of Wands

What a magical month you have ahead, Taurus! You will be feeling yourself in a brand new way this November, all thanks to the Queen of Wands. The energy of this cycle will be elevating aspects of your personal allure, power and sensuality, all of which will propel you into a new and expanded frequency of your life. This could show up across the board for you, or in a concentrated area, be it personal, professional, love life, etc. Her aim this month is to help you to step forward, unafraid and balanced, into an area of your life where you previously lacked confidence. The energy of this gesture will bring all kinds of new, exciting and evolved opportunities into your life as a result. You just have to be willing to work with her, Taurus, to invite her in to do some deep work on your spirit.

The Queen of Wands is helping you to truly, truly know who you are; how gifted, glorious and magical you are. She’s going to help heal any doubt you have in yourself. All of the beauty, power and potency are already in you, Taurus; she is going to help bring it all forward. Queen of Wands is the “witch” of the deck; she is an intuitive and alchemical energy. Her elements are fire and water, and she walks with them and on her path in total balance. Alchemy, synchronicity and confidence is what the Queen of Wands emanates. When we are in this card, we are encouraged to drop into those frequencies, too: our beauty, our magic, our fire and our connection to the world around us. How are we walking through the world?

For you, Taurus, this is the big question, because Queen of Wands is a light that shines from within, one that helps draw all kinds of amazing opportunities, people and experiences to us. This month, you have a chance to change your life on an energetic level, stepping up into a new level of your personal confidence and power. The other added benefit of being in Queen of Wands this month is getting to receive an extra dose of energetic badassery. This card doesn’t play games, doesn’t play small, and is not going to lessen its power for anyone’s discomfort. I encourage you to adopt this mindset for yourself. Let November be the month that you step into your power and release the fear of shining too brightly.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

GEMINI :: GEMINI RISING – Eight of Cups, reversed

November is looking to be an extremely significant month for you, Gemini. Eight of Cups is a card of very courageous transformation, inviting us into the willingness to walk away from some aspect of our lives that we may have worked hard for, but is no longer serving us. This is where you are this month, my loves. You are ready to release something—a person, a relationship, a home, a job, or even a mental pattern or habit. Doing so will be difficult, but freeing in a way you can’t even imagine. The biggest contraction that can come with this card is, of course, the terror that if we give this familiar but unsatisfying thing up, we won’t ever get anything else.

That contraction is exactly why this card is so unbelievably transformative—any time that we take a chance in life because we know it is right for our heart and soul, we will never be left in the lurch. Even if this thing is extremely risky, scary, or we have worked hard for it for years, if it’s time to let go of it, we can only receive better in it’s place. Really receive this truth, Gemini—by walking away, you can only get something more expanded and exciting in the place of what you left behind. It’ll take all your courage and all of your trust, but if you do it, there will be a big shift in your life. A kind of journey of the spirit will commence, and you will be on track to receive some very big upgrades.

The first way to approach this card is by taking a gentle and objective inventory of your life. What parts of your life are not serving you anymore? These can be tough questions, but you can’t begin to walk forward without having a sense of what you are walking away from. From there, you then have to ask yourself how you desire your life to be different from what it is. If your brain tells you it’s impossible, tell it to buzz off. You do not need to know the how about any of it—the leaving or the receiving on the other side. You just need the willingness to be free, to consider that your life could be more satisfying and full than you ever imagined, just by believing that you deserve better. If you’ve got that, Gemini, you’ve got everything.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

CANCER :: CANCER RISING – Two of Wands, reversed

There has been a kind of ripening taking place within you the last few months, Cancer. Now it is almost time to pluck the fruit from the tree—this month will be devoted to helping you to prepare for your next move in life with all the wisdom you have gained. It is the last important act before picking what you’ve grown and sharing it with the world. The Two of Wands is a kind of mature ambition, knowing where you want to go in your life, and taking the last steps forward before moving into achieving that. Specifically, these steps are around planning, preparing and readying yourself for a big launch forward. November will be about turning ideas into action, dreams into reality.

First, you need to create the space to expand into—doing so will yield beautiful and generous results in your life. You are ready, Cancer, just take the month to get all your energetic ducks in a row. The Fool worked its magic on you so potently last month, Cancer—now you get to take all of the light, potential and ephemera of The Fool and turn it into results, actionable steps forward. The energy this month will be pointing you, again, toward more action through the lens of preparation, asking yourself where you want to go in your life and what you can do to make that possible for yourself. Two of Wands turns dreams into reality. The way to get there, Cancer, is to deeply focus on these next steps. If you drift too much into distraction, or over planning, you will miss the mark a bit.

It’s not a disaster if you do; just re-center and come back to your focus, allowing your dreams and the present moment to be your compass. Doing so will help you to stay tethered to your courage, and you will need a strong bond to it for the coming months ahead. Understand, Cancer: you are being prepared for a lot of expansion. You’ve been getting invitations since the summer that have asked you to open up, to practice being seen and to shine your light in the direction of where you want to go. You’re closer than you’ve ever been before in Two of Wands, so get excited. You’re about to be opened to a whole new world of discovery as you take these soul centered steps forward.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

LEO :: LEO RISING – Ace of Swords, reversed

Let November be a month of soul-centered goal-setting for you, Leo. Allow yourself to get totally clear on what you want, where you are going, and what you need in order to get there. It is really important to honor this time for that purpose—doing so will open you up to new doors in a profound way. It is not necessarily the time to act or to take steps forward—although if that’s on the horizon for you as a Leo, great! Just make sure your ducks are in a row as you expand. What you DO want to focus on is cultivating the confidence to move forward with a brilliant new idea, and/or building the foundation to support your next big leap forward. Think the plumbing, wiring, structural integrity of the “house”—save the curtains, candles, and painting for next month.

Doing this will greatly increase your chances of being able to step forward in your life with the kind of preparation that will take you very far. It’s not the sexiest of months, but it will be the most fruitful. Ace of Swords is a very, very powerful energy. It’s very raw, and full of psychic and mental clarity; a true zone of genius. It represents an inspirational sweet spot, where we are open and aligned to receive amazing new ideas. You are really synched up to this place, Leo, even if you don’t necessarily feel that way. The key this month is hitching the brilliance of Ace of Swords to a structured plan. If you want to become bicoastal, don’t just sit at your altar setting intentions. Start actually crunching numbers, joining a frequent flyer miles program, figuring out where you could live on both coasts and how it would be financially nourishing for you.

If you want to teach, to write a book, to create something new—prepare for the creation, for the event. Cleanse your home, plan to carve out several hours a day to work on it, plan an outline. Then move forward with it. Nothing is impossible for you. You just need to create the space and the structure in which these dreams and visions can flourish. Doing so will not only enable you to put your intentions into action, it will build the confidence in you to move forward with it. You’ve got the vision and inspiration covered, Leo. Now build the foundation for it to stand on.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

VIRGO :: VIRGO RISING – Page of Swords, reversed

Page of Swords reversed is going to be energetically helping you to take it nice and easy this month, Virgo, especially around areas of ambition and career. Slow and steady truly wins the race here. You may be taking on too much at once, may be biting off a bit more than you can chew—you might just be severely doubting yourself in an area of your life. No matter what, there is a deep wisdom to be gained from going slowly, being thoughtful, pausing and considering before you take on a new project. There is much to be attained by releasing commitments in your life that do not bring you joy, ones that you may be doing only out of obligation, or in the hopes that some kind of bigger opportunity will arise from it. You want to take this month to re-center in integrity, making sure there is time in your life for everything you want to do—that includes taking care of yourself.

Page of Swords is such a lovely card, an energy ruled by earth and air. This card represents powerful and enthusiastic ambition, someone who is so excited and ready to share their projects and visions with the world. It comes from a very pure place, and has been hard won; the Page of Swords has worked hard to balance the mind in order to use it for the highest good. He or she is healthy, balanced and ready to take on the world, manifesting their visions. When reversed, the same excited energy is present, with a little twist: there may be some really massive inner doubt and insecurity going on.

This is crucially important to understand about the reversal of this card, because if the insecurity is left unchecked, we run the risk of agreeing to things out of a frantic need to make ourselves feel better, or more secure with where we are going in our lives. We want to, ideally, hang out in the general discomfort of the reversal of this card, trusting and knowing that we do not have to take on more than we can chew in order to “be on top.” We can move through this time with ease and grace, perhaps taking a wise pause to work on our overall vision, or to meditate on the idea that everything happens as and when it is meant to. Drop your sword and come back into trust. Just hang out this month; there is no need to rush.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

LIBRA :: LIBRA RISING – Seven of Wands

You have been fighting an invisible army, Libra—and now it’s time to drop the fight and go home. Move back into the present moment, out of the head and back into the body. You cannot get where you want to go by fighting, by energetically muscling through your life. I know that this effort is coming from the most well intentioned place—you want to move forward, to evolve in your life. The most sensical thing is to work hard for it, right? Not exactly. A lot of what you are working so hard for, Libra, are things that are your birthright: abundance, career expansions, artistic freedom, living in your truth, and relationships that make you feel alive. If you want to receive that, you have to shift the way in which you are working for it. Ease, grace, willingness to receive, focusing on self.

You will be much more likely to receive these gifts and dreams by creating a centered inner life, rather than an external life ruled by effort and struggle. I’m not saying, by the way, that all Libras are fighting wildly and off the mark in their lives. Far from it! What I am saying is that Libra, as a sign on the whole, is moving through a huge collective upgrade. You are ALREADY on track to receive all that you desire—you have to create balance in your inner life for it to come in. Take a courageous forward this month: totally and completely drop the fight and the war. You don’t have to work so hard, loves. For some of you, this might mean that you quit a job, go on medication, start a meditation practice, or even move from where you live. If you want change, start radically. Try something different; something that will bring ease into your life. Nothing can come from the effort you’re putting forth but more effort.

We create the future we desire with the quality of our attention. What kind of energy are you moving through the world with? Are you so busy in your head that you are not offering yourself the attention you deserve? Seven of Wands is an internal fight that seems external. “If I only got this or that, I would stop trying so hard,” or so the belief goes. Stop trying, period. Start allowing. You’ll actually create space for everything you deserve in your life to come forth.

Want more wisdom? Book a reading with Lindsay here and follow her on Instagram.

STRONG EYE ASTROLOGY OCTOBER 31—NOVEMBER 6

A weekly horoscope for your sign, direct from the third eye of Sandra Sitron—a.k.a. Strong Eye Astrology

beach ball sand palm tree strong eye astrology the numinous

Scorpio :: Scorpio Rising
Watching a beachball blow across the sand. You have an opportunity this week to uplift yourself. Follow your heart. Don’t despair. Don’t overthink. Don’t get caught up in the stress of daily details. Lift yourself up. Do it consciously. As you put yourself in a consciously higher mindset, you will find that the momentum does the rest. This week is a reprieve. Use the energy to heal yourself. Turn your attention toward fun and creativity. Remember that you are here to play and enjoy.

Sagittarius :: Sagittarius Rising
The tadpole waits. You are in a holding pen. Waiting for your next big move. But at the moment there is stillness. Take this time s a chance to go deep into your old stories and forgotten emotions. Find stillness within yourself as you prepare for transformation. Remember the little child version of you who needs just a tad more love. Time doesn’t really exist, so go ahead and smother your inner child with love and attention. Give her everything she missed. This is how you heal on deep levels.

Capricorn :: Capricorn Rising
A fire in the field. You’re starting a movement. It’s rich and it’s ripe and the time is now. Feel the surging in your heart. The ideas that are whirling around you are pointing you in the right direction. The ideas that you have can catch on like wildfire. Focus on the support that you need from your community. Believe that you can be supported. Believe that your ideas are good enough. Start a fire.

Aquarius :: Aquarius Rising
Hand marks in the soil. Put your hands in the ground and prepare for handstand. Prepare to connect with the earth that supports you. Prepare to support yourself in a new way and reach a new height. Right now is a time for you to feel really grounded. And as you open up in this way, you will find that it has a positive effect on your career. This week, focus on stability. Remember that it does come from within. It comes from your sense of self-worth. Look yourself in the mirror and remind yourself that you are worth it. You are worth getting paid what you deserve. You are worth the achievements that you value. Know this. And then use that sturdy base to reach for great heights.

Pisces :: Pisces Rising
Balancing on the edge of the diving board. If you’re feeling antsy it’s because you’re primed to make some changes. Ready yourself for new inspirations to come your way. Your work right now is to connect with what’s really important to you. Have you ever defined your top five values? Find a list of values and delineate the ones that you hold closest to your heart. Make these values your north star. Moving forward, you’ll want to keep these priorities in mind while making decisions.

Aries :: Aries Rising
A trail cuts through the meadow. Find your quiet center. This is the peaceful state of being that reveals itself when you get very still. This point of attention will lead you through a maze of thoughts and fears. It will lead you to the truth of your being. Carve out space for yourself to get very still. See what comes up. All the answers that you seek are already within you.

Taurus :: Taurus Rising
Picking petals off a daisy. The urge to merge is rising up. Anything that comes up around relationships right now is a reminder to love yourself. Relationships are a mirror. Make sure the reflection shows your self-love. So whisper sweet-nothings in your own ear. Build yourself up. So much support and inspiration comes from your friends this week. Ask them to remind you how wonderful you are.

Gemini :: Gemini Rising
The earthworm cruises through underground tunnels. Find your stride. You are poised to heighten your productivity this week. Let your intuition inform you of what you need to do to propel your career forward. Meanwhile, make sure that you lay the groundwork of an efficient and productive schedule. Get your eating and sleeping schedules on track. Say yes to self-care.

Cancer :: Cancer Rising
The Moon is made of cheese. Lay your emotions out on the table. Feel into your heart center and remember what drives you, what brings you joy, what sparks your creativity. Remember what you are doing all of this for! But don’t forget that this ride called life is supposed to be fun. So make a light joke out of your deepest desires to succeed. Have fun with your dreams. Be playful.

Leo :: Leo Rising
Dipping a chalice into a well. You are seeking an emotional base of security. Pay extra attention to your root chakra this week. Know that what feels vital, is vital. Don’t deny your emotional needs. Allow yourself to feel all of your feelings. Hold space. This is an excellent time to peel back the layers of your psyche. If your intuition pulls you to examine an old emotion more closely or to reach out to a friend or healer for support, follow it.

Virgo :: Virgo Rising
Prismatic colors across the sky. Read love poems out loud, with or without an audience. Let the words lift your spirits. Lean into inspiration. You have the potential to open up and become just a little bit more vulnerable. Slow down to take this opportunity. Do sweet things for yourself. Get out of the news cycle and let go of ideas that are causing you stress. Protect the boundaries of your mind by focusing on positive thoughts and words. Speak these positive words out loud, regularly.

Libra :: Libra Rising
The alligator’s mouth. Rows of sharp teeth are like the bullet points of your plan for security. Get detailed. The alligator reminds you to get low to the ground and feel financially stable. The symbol says- you are tough. You can’t be shaken easily. Take stock of your strengths. Get focused on your plans for abundance. Organize yourself. You are ready to tenaciously push through and manifest the stability that you crave.

STRONG EYE ASTROLOGY OCTOBER 24—OCTOBER 30

A weekly horoscope for your sign, direct from the third eye of Sandra Sitron—a.k.a. Strong Eye Astrology

wolf in snow the numinous

Scorpio :: Scorpio Rising
A flurry of snowflakes blocking your sight. Fresh, new, bright snow obliterates your view. You can’t see. Time stops. There is a spaciousness. A vulnerability. Allow the feeling of helplessness that comes with not knowing. Allow yourself to pause. Then press on. Move forward even though you can’t see. Use your intuition to guide you. If your vision is blocked, tune into your inner sight. What would you like to see? How would you like to feel? Turn these wishes into statements of intention. Using powerful intentions, craft your year ahead, even if you aren’t clear on things now. In the space of not knowing, you can still be the powerful creator that you are.

Sagittarius :: Sagittarius Rising
You dream of an arrow being launched. Vivid dreams. You’re coming into your time of action, but not quite yet. As of now, you are still in a state of waiting. Your current work is in the sphere of intangibles— dreams, subconscious, intuition, spirituality. You’re creating your life out of the primordial mud of your subconscious. Go deep into your memories. Every time you feel challenged this week, root down into yourself and scan your history for clues about what is really going on. This is not surface level stuff. Nothing is as it seems. Tip-toe quietly into the corners of your psyche. Launch arrows of inquiry into your depths and see what truth is ready to be flushed out of the undergrowth.

Capricorn :: Capricorn Rising
Reading an ancient scroll. Gathering wisdom from antiquity. What you need most right now is to be supported in your ideas. To feel connected. Circulate. Find the groups and belief-systems that reflect your back to you who you are. You are seeking unity. It’s not serving you to go it alone. There is wisdom out there for you. There are people who have already figured out what you are working on. Find them. This will help you solidify your direction, your dreams, and your aspirations.

Aquarius :: Aquarius Rising
A tower of legos. Are you ready to step into the spotlight that was designed just for you? It is there. It is yours. Build yourself up, up, up, so that you can step fully into the light that shines at the top of your chart. The top of the chart is the career sector and that is where your focus is. You are starting fresh, with new goals and desires in this department. Put your focus on courage, contribution and receiving. Courage- take yourself out of your comfort zone. Contribution- stretch yourself to assist and collaborate. Receive- the grace of allowing others to help you. Push yourself all week to activate each of these three building blocks.

Pisces :: Pisces Rising
Lichen on rocky cliffs. Have you fully explored your surroundings? Have you looked into every nook and cranny, every craggy cliff of your environment? This is not a time for standing still. This is a time to climb. Explore. Investigate. You need some new philosophies and you need them now. But you have to go looking for them! This is not the time for complacency. This is not the time to fester in an old status quo. Find your higher truth. Breathe the fresh mountain air of your philosophical ascension. Do away with any belief system that is stale and tired. You are the authority on your own life and the ability to triumph comes from within you. Delineate your path up the mountain.

Aries :: Aries Rising
A geyser. They are all fine. They don’t need you to do it for them. Let it go. Just let it wash away. This moment is your chance to release the emotions that you have been carrying for other people. Where have you been taking all of the emotional responsibility? Can you release it? Can you trust that other people can take care of themselves? There may be logical reasons why they can’t do it, but it’s probably not your job to help them. It’s probably not your work. If you really aren’t sure, ask yourself, “Is this my work?” If it is, you’ll know immediately. And if not, let it go.

Taurus :: Taurus Rising
A tiny plant sprouting above the soil. So new. So delicate. So fragile. Your fragility is your greatest power at the moment. It’s the power of vulnerability. Open your heart and lean in. Press into the void. The void is “trust.” Trust is a void because it because it’s an unknown. It’s not a sure thing. There is nothing sure about relationship. There is nothing predetermined. There is no stasis. All at once, we want relationship to be sure and stable and static. The only way to have all of these things in relationship is to have trust. But to get to trust, you have to get really, really vulnerable. Now is your time to open yourself up. Allow yourself to be a fragile sprout.

Gemini :: Gemini Rising
A Rubik’s cube. You only have to learn some algorithms to solve this puzzle. You need a set of rules to follow. Your current focus is on putting together working structures for your life. Your psychology, physiology, productivity and environment are all coming under the microscope for you now. Take some time this week to redefine how you want to orient yourself. What can you do take better care of your body? What can you do to harness your attitude and your mindset? Are you determining your schedule or is it determining you? How is your environment affecting you? This week offers you a chance to solve some of these questions and set new habits in motion.

Cancer :: Cancer Rising
Eating lasagne. Nourishment. Food symbols usually allude to nurturance. There’s something more to this symbol— at the same time elaborate and homespun. Nourish your basic right to joy. Joy is regular. It’s everyday. It should be expected and commonplace. But we don’t always allow much space for it. We can put it off, under the guise that it’s too decadent. Sometimes we even tell ourselves that we can’t celebrate because we aren’t done yet. We haven’t made it all the way to “success.” This is your chance to infuse your life with joy and celebration. Fill your life with fun. Nourish yourself with the gift of happiness. There is always more room for the basic emotion of joy.

Leo :: Leo Rising
Snorkeling through coral reefs. Home. Safety. Security. Your family. These arenas are where you creating new patterns and new expectations. You are deep in the sea of your emotions, deep in a coral cave. A home. A nest. Make it the nest of your dreams. Whether they are challenging or easy, let your emotions guide you to a deeper understanding of what you need from your home and your family right now. Be guided to a deeper emotional truth. You are ready for it.

Virgo :: Virgo Rising
A game of darts. Precision. Determination. Focus. Your mind is alight with a swirl of ideas. Some are invigorating, Some are overwhelming. You need to get clear. Do all of the self-care things that you can think of to slow down your thoughts. There is no precision in chaos. Right now you are looking for a clear and focused path to follow. Meditation is a good way to quiet down your thinking. The reason you need a high level of clarity right now is that you are trying to solve a problem. Calmly gather information that will help you with your decision. Set yourself up well so that you can aim true when the time is right.

Libra :: Libra Rising
Mining. Mining deep in the caves of your psyche to find your inner gold. The truth of your worth. The geniuses that devised the Astrological chart placed self-worth and financial worth in the same house. This is where your focus is this week. Take the cue to dig deep into your money stories and find some answers. Your relationship with money is a direct reflection of your historical love for yourself. You will find the root of any issues you have with money in the moments of your past when you felt unloved or ignored. Dig into these memories and release old hurts. Find your new truth. Plant seeds of prosperity in these ancient cavities of pain. Make your mantra, “I am worthy.”

A SENSORY EXPLORATION OF SCORPIO SEASON

Scorpio season invites us to embrace the power of personal transformation, say Cara George & Bess Matassa of Mojave Rising

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Hillary (Sun in Scorpio), Vintage Photo

Scorpio season tempts us to descend into our own trenches with curious headlamps as we mine the rough and ready diamonds of our most intensely intimate desires. It’s a month for reckoning with past patterning, for cleaning out our basements, and, through this fearless process, discovering the immutable essence that can never be stripped from us.

The zodiac’s ferocious femme fatale challenges us to celebrate every damn part of ourselves and to learn to withstand the endless cycles of desiring, having, and losing, in all their messy, primal glory. So take a deep breath, step into your sharpest stilettos, and get ready to get raw. You are light and darkness and mind and spirit and guts. You are smoke and ash and ripe tropical flowers and everything that dies and everything that comes back. Can you handle the seasons of your life? Hell yes, says the Phoenix.

The keyword: Reckoning.  

The song lyrics: “This is the part of me/That you’re never gonna ever take away from me, no!/Throw your sticks and stones, throw your bombs and your blows/But you’re not gonna break my soul”—Katy Perry, “Part of Me”

Check out our Scorpio season playlist, complete with stripped-down songstresses, exposed anthems, and hardcore feels.   

Harpar's Bazaar 2014
Harper’s Bazaar 2014

The color palette: Macabre boudoir shades fit for a Cleopatra queen. Think oxblood and burgundy, oxidized metallics, burnt gold, black glitter, and classic kohl.  

Grace Jones in A View to a Kill
Grace Jones in A View to a Kill

The style: Bulletproof Bond girl meets Alexander McQueen in the 1970s underworld. Think bodysuits, plunging zippers, louche loungewear, see-through lace, daring cutouts, and garter belts mixed with vinyl and leather.  

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The scents and flavors: Heady, nocturnal, and powerfully primitive. Think tuberose, oud, un-pitted olives, black cherries, raw meats, and after-dinner liquors.

The healing: Full-throttle archeological excursions and no-holds-barred carnality. Everything from closet-cleaning and oceanfront metal detecting, to sex-positive parties, pole-dancing classes, mixed martial arts, and mud wrestling.

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Sensuous Invitation of the Month: Time Travel (by sign below).

With Scorpio and Capricorn planets coming into conversation with Sagittarius and Aquarius energies, and Neptune stationing direct, Scorpio season 2016 has a back-to-the-future vibe that urges us to time travel into our own past lives. As we sift through our emotional archives, we can re-envision habitual grooves with tough tenderness, look passionately at all that it has taken to bring us here, and launch ourselves forward with both seasoned maturity and daring wildness.  

ARIES
Scorpio season invites you to go deep or go home, as you sink your hands and teeth into your life with both your characteristic vigor and a recommitment to endurance. 
Cosmic Era: The Middle Ages—chainmail, ferocious fencing, and burning the candle at both ends.

TAURUS
Scorpio season invites you to notice where you hold back from transformation in the name of security, and to experiment with overturning and renewing. Cosmic Era: The Industrial Revolution—rapid expansion, innovative optimism, and earthy pragmatism.  

GEMINI
Scorpio season invites you to temporarily fold your butterfly wings and practice digging in the dirt as you go far beyond the surface to investigate the inner workings. Cosmic Era: Ancient Egypt—sarcophagi, the River Styx, and intricate pyramid building.

CANCER
Scorpio season invites you to collide with another person’s feeling landscape as you practice stepping outside your own emotional core and honoring the inner world of another being. Cosmic Era: The Renaissance—humanism, artistic perspective, and emotional rebirth.

LEO
Scorpio season invites you to fuse your passion for pleasurable exposure with a more risky self-revealing that brings absolutely all of you into the light, even the not so glittery pieces. Cosmic Era: 50s Vegas—dice rolling, nuclear testing, and the casino-floor courage to bare it all.  

VIRGO
Scorpio season invites you to play with power dynamics as you mix your capacity for cautious humility with a long-overdue seizure of the throne. Cosmic Era: The Tudor dynasty—crown jewels, divine rule, and the occasional beheading.  

LIBRA
Scorpio season invites you to plunge headfirst into the messier aspects of partnership as you take your penchant for relating into more radical territory. Cosmic Era: The Roaring 20s—voting women, speakeasies, and romantic revolution.  

SCORPIO
Scorpio season invites you to recognize where your capacity to understand the more primal parts of the human experience leads you to clam up, shut down, or withhold, and to practice not holding back one bit of your intensity and reveling in the full range of your feelings. Cosmic Era: 70s New York—the birth of disco and hip-hop, explosive street life, and graffitied expressions.  

SAGITTARIUS
Scorpio season invites you to repurpose past pain and use your high-spirited, free-wheeling levity to adventure into your own darkness. Cosmic Era: The Enlightenment—individual liberty, scientific discovery, and open debate.

CAPRICORN
Scorpio season invites you to loosen your grip on your usual emotional control centers and discover the strength in what you may consider weakness. Cosmic Era: Southern Cali in the 60s—surf, sea breeze, and rose-colored love-ins.  

AQUARIUS
Scorpio season invites you to turn up the heat on your cool, analytical approach as you experiment with the beauty in blood, sweat, and tears. Cosmic Era: Ancient Rome—sumptuous feasts, gladiator clashes, and exploratory sexuality.  

PISCES
Scorpio season invites you to notice when your need for retreat becomes unnecessarily reclusive, and to practice becoming intimate with everything that surrounds you as you fall deeply in love with the world again. Cosmic Era: 90s Seattle—world beats, emo crooning, and slacker idealism.   

WHO AM I? READING FOR THE 2016 ARIES FULL MOON

Allow opposition to bring awareness this Aries Full Moon, says Sandra SitronArtwork: Sara Shakeel

free aries full moon ritual 2016 The Numinous
Click here to sign up!

 

Full Moon at 23 degrees Aries :: October 16 2016 :: 12:23 am EDT

The Aries Full Moon is a time to break out into a fresh field of experience. To leave fear behind. To explore a higher octave of expansion. But to do so we will need to be open to new perspectives. We are being asked to boldly consider our relationships, our identity, and our openness to change.

Any Full Moon is a flowering. It’s a time to reap what you sowed at the New Moon two weeks ago. It’s also a time of all-out energy, and emotionally driven actions. The flower opens. The bees buzz. The allure is high. Action is high. Reaction is also high.

The Full Moon occurs when the Moon and Sun face-off. In Astrology, this aspect is called an Opposition. The Moon is in Aries and opposite the Sun in Libra.

Any Opposition bring our awareness to two sides of the same story. The Libra-Aries axis is the story of Relationship. Aries is relationship to oneself (identity). And Libra is relationship to another (partnership). Aries is “me” and Libra is “me and you.” Aries speaks to identity and individuality. The drive to push the ego identity forward into the world. The desire to be alive. Libra is balance and partnerships. Libra wants to objectively understand the self AND the perspective of the other person.

This Aries Full Moon offers a chance to step into a new relationship pattern. It is a time to upgrade your perspective through greater understanding of yourself and the people around you.

What is the lesson of the Aries-Libra axis? It teaches us to know ourselves well, but try to objectively understand the other person too. It teaches us to hold our boundaries. It reminds us that when we concede to another person habitually, we experience a build-up of resentment and self-victimization. It shows that when we lash out in anger, without awareness of how we influence those around us, we create pain and discord.

This axis can help us learn that anger (a trait ruled by Aries) is a powerful emotion for self-protection, and that it is productive as long as it is expressed responsibly. Ask, can you communicate your anger while still staying open to love? Or does your anger cause you to shut down? Alternatively, have you become so distanced from your anger, that it has been bottled up and transformed into resentment? (A good way to discover if you are denying your own anger is if you find yourself habitually surrounded by “angry” people).

Aries-Libra teaches how to say “Yes” to your own identity, while simultaneously acknowledging the other person’s “Yes.” To acknowledge what you need and what someone else needs. In conflict, know what you need and how you feel. Then ask the other person what they need and how they feel. Find solutions that enliven both of you. This is Aries-Libra at it’s best.

Join our FREE Aries Full Moon Ritual, Sunday Oct 16 at 5pm PST / 8pm EST. Sign up here!

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ARIES FULL MOON
Stepping onto a field of fresh, new daisies.

Sunday’s Aries Full Moon will open up the path to new understanding of self and other. Yet there is another dimension to this lunation that we haven’t discussed yet—the dimension of change. There is a major opportunity to change at play, because “The Great Awakener” Uranus is conjunct the Aries Full Moon.

Depending on how you orient yourself, this Moon can be shocking, or it can be fun. Where you are open, you will learn and grow. Where you are closed, you will find yourself in the same old shadow of your fears. The fresh field of daisies is there. It’s waiting for you to explore. It’s dewy. It’s alive. You planted the seeds at the last New Moon and they grew. They are beautiful. The field invites you to come out and play. As long as you are open, lively and flexible you will work well with this awakening energy. And wherever you are attached to a certain outcome, or operating from a fearful habit, you may encounter volatility.

Put yourself in a mindset that opens you up to be refreshed. Let yourself step into a new perspective. Certainly, there may be arguments and disagreements. Refine your approach to conflict so that it broadens your perspective instead of leaving you shut down. There is usually something to be learned from a disagreement. A shift in perspective can feel easy—if you are flexible and open to change. Or it can feel hard—if you remain attachment to a certain outcome.

You can use the energy of this lunation as an opportunity for some self-study in this area. During the 24 hours before or after the Full Moon, carve out some space and time for reflection. Journal freely or ask yourself the following questions. Remember that whatever arises is exactly what you are ready for:

– Have I been making time for the projects and activities that are truly important to me?
– What would I do today if I wasn’t worried about what anyone else thought?
– In what relationship(s) in my life do I feel stuck?
– How would I like it to feel instead?
– What do I need to do, feel, or think to make this shift happen?

***

ARIES FULL MOON CONJUNCT URANUS
A ray of light cutting through clouds.

The Full Moon is conjunct Uranus. Uranus awakens us, shocks us, changes us. Uranus is the Magician, Inventor, and Rebel. He helps us break free from tradition and defy the establishment. He shows us a completely new idea. He opens us up to a new dimension.
However you experience this lunation will give you big clues about how you experience change in general. Notice this weekend when you tighten up with resistance. Keep pushing yourself to innovate. The sunlight cutting through the clouds symbolizes your true identity cutting through fear. Fear is just a story. Tell yourself a new story in which you are strong.
Your recipe for strength during this lunation is one part flexibility, one part self-understanding, and one part diplomatic grace.

***

ARIES FULL MOON :: SELF-INQUIRY BY SIGN

This lunation challenges you to adapt. Whatever area of your chart the Moon falls in is where your adaptation will be most apparent. If you know what house of your chart 23 degrees Aries is in, read for that house. Otherwise, read for your sign.

Aries or 1st House
Am I open to change with my identity? What happens emotionally when my identity is challenged?

Taurus or 12th House
Am I open to change with my spirituality? What happens emotionally when my spirituality is challenged?

Gemini or 11th House
Am I open to change with my hopes and dreams? What happens emotionally when my dreams are challenged?

Cancer or 10th House
Am I open to change with my career? What happens emotionally when my career is challenged?

Leo or 9th House
Am I open to change with my philosophical views? What happens emotionally when my core philosophies are challenged?

Virgo or 8th House
Am I open to change with my sexuality? What happens emotionally when my sexuality is challenged?

Libra or 7th House
Am I open to change with my relationships? What happens emotionally when my relationships are challenged?

Scorpio or 6th House
Am I open to change with my health and habits? What happens emotionally when my health and habits are challenged?

Sagittarius or 5th House
Am I open to change with my self-expression? What happens emotionally when my self-expression is challenged?

Capricorn or 4th House
Am I open to change with my home or family? What happens emotionally when my home or family relationships are challenged?

Aquarius or 3rd House
Am I open to change with my ideas? What happens emotionally when my ideas are challenged?

Pisces or 2nd House
Am I open to change with my money? What happens emotionally when my finances are challenged?

Join our FREE Aries Full Moon Ritual, Sunday Oct 16 at 5pm PST / 8pm EST. Sign up here!

STRONG EYE ASTROLOGY OCTOBER 10—16

A weekly horoscope for your sign, direct from the third eye of Sandra Sitron—a.k.a. Strong Eye Astrology

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Libra :: Libra Rising
A jigsaw puzzle. Interlocking. Interconnected. Intertwined. Your mission this week is to feel supported. Can you lean in, but maintain the integrity of your own stance? Can you speak your truth to another person? Can you say the thing that you have avoided? Do you know what you need? Can you ask for what you need? This week, the Universe offers you a cosmic trust fall. Take it. Feel the fall, the unknowing, the surrender. Feel yourself being caught and held. You may have to imagine it before you can do it. You may have to make room for it. You may have to know yourself well, by knowing all of your feelings, your desires, and your needs. Know yourself so that when you allow yourself to fall, you have no fear of losing your direction.

Scorpio :: Scorpio Rising
Drifting on a raft. Held afloat, moving in the ebb and flow. Allowing. This week you are creating space in your mind. Quiet your mind. Can you allow your subconscious thoughts to rise into your conscious mind? You can’t do this if you are running. Have you been slowing down enough lately? Can you take the time out that you need to process your feelings? To process what is not obvious? By making space in your life for contemplation and meditation, you can expand your consciousness. By making subconscious thoughts conscious, you can finally let them go. You must allow this process to happen. It won’t happen by force. It won’t happen by control. It must happen through spaciousness. Let yourself float and drift.

Sagittarius :: Sagittarius Rising
Peering through a telescope. Look! Push yourself into a new perspective. The old one is not working. Have you been dreaming big enough? This is your time to dream up your future. Don’t miss this opportunity to set into motion your future life. Set it into motion by intending it to be true and by believing that it is possible. Faith. Follow what you love to arrive at this vision. Can you imagine a life in which you are doing what you love? In which you are creative, joyful, and in love? A rich life? Look closely for your blocks. Peer through the telescope to see which part of your personality is afraid of being fulfilled. Is there a part of you that is holding onto the idea that “life is hard?” Investigate this part of you. Ask for her name. Talk to her. Find out if she is ready to be loved. Find out if she is ready to be taken care of. Convince her that she has better work to do. Let go of the burdens you don’t need to carry. Live the life of your dreams. Start by planning for them now. Plan for your joy.

Capricorn :: Capricorn Rising
Out of fertile soil a tall tree grows. Reaching your greatest heights. This week you find career expansion. You get to investigate your drive. What do you love? What are your greatest ambitions? What have you been putting off? Do you know what projects you are working on right now? Do you have a simple plan to see them through? At the same time that you grow your career, you can create awareness about your soil. Your “soil” is your emotional stability. In order to succeed in your career, you need to feel emotionally stable. You need to be nurtured, supported, loved and loving. Shine a light of awareness on your fertile soil. Is it nourishing enough to sustain you? It is your right to be loved. It is your right to be loving. Remind yourself over and over again that you are safe and supported all the way to your core.

Aquarius :: Aquarius Rising
Sunlight on water. The sunlight is representative of your intellect and your awareness of what is going on with you. This week you get clear about yourself and your own ideas. How do you think? What environmental and internal factors have contributed to your beliefs about life? How curious are you in your daily life? What part of your life are you refusing to question—your health? Your sexuality? Your emotions? Your relationship with money? Your relationships? Your fire this week falls in the realm of your philosophies. Shine a light here. This will help you formulate your path. A philosophy can be changed and adapted. What’s up for review? What is up for expansion? Most of all, where are you uncomfortable now? What framework are you holding on to that is keeping you stuck? So many questions, but this week is a chance for you to question. Do it boldly. You deserve to risk your comfort for the sake of your growth.

Pisces :: Pisces Rising
A shout through the darkness. Forgiveness. Holding on to old hurts can create an energy drain. It can stump you. Bind you. Keep you in one place longer than you want to be. But forgiveness is a long process. You can make a decision to set it in motion. Shout out through the darkness of the unexplored pains of your psyche. Take an inventory of your hurts. Bring them forward to be weighed objectively. Decide what you are ready to start forgiving– in yourself or in someone else. It won’t happen all at once. It might take decades. But right now you can decide if you are ready to begin. It’s time for you to flourish. It’s time for you to expand. It’s time for you move on to a greater purpose. Let go. Later in the week expect to build awareness around your self-worth. This is an opportunity to develop strength and confidence. The security that comes from this will help you find yourself in the darkness.

Aries :: Aries Rising
A game of poker. The focus is on relationship. The wisdom that is unfolding for you is that through partnership, you have a real opportunity to expand yourself. Can you bet on partnership? Can you put your chips all in for love? Can you trust the idea of togetherness so much that you lean in, even when it hurts? The message of the week is, if you know yourself, you won’t lose yourself. You are safe enough to merge.
During childhood, we all develop an idea of what the dance of partnership looks like. It’s usually based on what we see around us. This week offers a chance to decide what love looks like to you. And to ask yourself if that idea needs to be updated. If your relationship story doesn’t feel grand enough for you right now, this week offers you a chance to expand your beliefs. If the relationship area of your life is going good, it’s time to expand and refine. Come at this from a place of vision. What is your best vision of partnership? It’s time to speak this vision into life. Communicate. Ask. Show your cards. Don’t hold back. Share your desires with another person.

Taurus :: Taurus Rising
A beetle in a garden. The beetle represents hard work and clear planning, both of which are accented for you early in the week. The garden represents expression of your true feelings. Emotional flowering is what you are headed toward at week’s end. Hard work and emotions can feel disconnected from each other. Your task this week is to find out where they connect. Are you working hard in ways that don’t bring you emotional reward? Step back and asses how you’re spending your time during the day. Are you scurrying around and not feeling a sense of accomplishment, or are you building toward your dreams? Your tasks must be tied to an emotional necessity, or else you are living an empty life. Link every project you are working on to a deep and emotional desire that you have. Understand the value of what you are doing with your time. You may need to reprioritize. This week is your chance to zoom out of the daily grind and gain awareness of the bigger picture. Be the beetle, but know the garden.

Gemini :: Gemini Rising
A frog that wears pants and dances. Playfulness, joy and camaraderie. True playfulness is unburdened by self-consciousness. It is pure pleasure and lightness. It helps us adapt and learn. Playfulness communicates to others that we are safe to be around. It is unique to humans. This week, your focus is on lightness and love, for yourself and for your world. Think about your approach? Are you playful? Have you been making enough time for play? Do negative emotions about play keep you from letting go? Does your playtime feel truly playful? Don’t let these questions feel like more work! Let them open you up to unabashed, open-hearted, expansive, joy. Share your playful spirit. Let play help you adapt. Let play help you connect. Let play heal you. This is your birthright and you are meant to step into it now. But you must do it fully and by design.

Cancer :: Cancer Rising
Heart shapes falling from the sky. An imaginary symbol that speaks to your emotional wealth and abundance. You are unlocking your heart. You are opening. This week you flow deep down into your emotional truth. Honor your of feelings. They are your truth. You can always mother yourself more and this week is the time to give yourself the gift of high-level nurturance. You are really, really good at it this week. You are the most tender, the most thoughtful, the most kind. Empathize with yourself. Cradle and cosset yourself. Be the embodiment of warmth. And then, from this place of self-understanding, fly into the sky of your dreams like a heart-shaped rocket. Build up awareness of your ambitions. As you empathize with yourself, you gain emotional understanding of your priorities in life. And you can better define and structure them. This is alignment. This is what crafting a legacy looks like. First finding your emotional truth, then deciding how to build your desires into reality. This week you nurture and build.

Leo :: Leo Rising
Horses galloping across a field. You are expanding your mindset. Are you flexible enough to embrace a growth mindset? It’s a philosophy that holds that your abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. This week, your focus is on learning. Developing. Engaging. Your mind is clear and your outlook is expanding. Gallop forth. You are here to adapt and improve. You are here to move. Make sure that your most basic attitude– your mindset– allows for that kind of growth. What kind of energy are you showing up with? Are you dampening your surroundings with your mood? Or are you engaged? At the end of the week, you may feel an emotional need for heightened freedom. The awareness you will want to develop then is, where are you creating your own cage? Is it a cage of ideas? Can you set yourself free by letting go of attachment to an outcome? Adaptation and being free in the present moment are the places to focus your attention. Maintain a light touch. This approach is energizing and will provide you with plenty of horse-power.

Virgo :: Virgo Rising
A game of chess. The next move. How far into the future can you strategize? Your symbol and your astrology this week speak to strategy. Logistical and emotional strategy. First on your awareness will be expansion of logistical strategy. What are you building? Are you building a strong financial house? Any thoughts that come to mind that have to do with your “worth” (both financial and inherent, aka self-worth) need to be grabbed onto and examined. What do you really think about your worth? Whatever it is, it’s time to expand it. The Universe is whispering in your ear, “You deserve to have financial control over your life. You are worthy. You are safe.” At the weekend, your emotional strategies come under the microscope. Awareness is being called for around how you control and let go of your emotions. At every turn, you are asked to surrender. Your strategy is surrender.

WTF IS UP WITH NASA AND THE 13th ZODIAC SIGN?!

That whole drama about NASA and the 13th zodiac sign explained. PLUS what astrology will forever tell me about you and your sign, says Danielle PaigeArtwork: Kate Philipson

aries 13th zodiac sign the Numinous

 

I don’t know what’s worse. Waking up in the morning without your coffee…or waking up and finding out yesterday you were one zodiac sign, and today you’re another!

Yesterday Libra, today a Scorpio; one day a Gemini, and next a Cancer. Which is kind of what’s been going on since an article surfaced a few days days ago claiming that NASA had done some calculations and “changed” astrology by adding a 13th zodiac sign—Ophiuchus—somewhere between Scorpio and Sag.

Cue identity crisis #949349

But you can breathe easy, dear ones, for nothing has changed (except the fact that…everything is always changing, lol).

Before I explain in detail let me assure you that your Sun sign (aka what you know as your zodiac sign) has not changed—you’re still very much identified with the Sun sign you were born under. Which is good, since most of us are pretty comfortable with our sign and would much rather change the color of our hair!

So allow me to explain what’s really up with NASA and the 13th zodiac sign…

Every so often, an article comes out and the media jumps on this. Editors love to “shock!” You’d think they’d be focused on the violence in the world, and that little thing called the Presidential debate. But, lo and behold, like a moth to a flame we’ve all jumped on the hysteria band wagon.

I know, I know, it’s addicting. We crave drama. But this one almost had people removing tattoos. “Ummmm hi, mom, you’re right. I should have gotten a tattoo that said I love you instead of the Pisces symbol I got backpacking through Thailand in my 20’s…”

And yes, there is a wobble on the earth’s axis due to the moon’s gravitational pull. And it’s true that this has created a shift which means the sun doesn’t align exactly with the constellations as it did when astrology, as we know it, was discovered/defined. Turns out our universe expands, just like we do.

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However, the type of astrology that we use (as in the majority of the Western world, and what you find in most mainstream magazines and articles) refers to what’s called the “tropical zodiac.”

This zodiac “system” does not take the minute shifts in the earth’s axis into consideration, since it is more symbolic and archetypal in nature, and it is also linked to the seasons (equinoxes and solstices) as a measure of time.

The articles that you’ve been reading which tell you about a change in your zodiac sign are referring to “sidereal zodiac”—a different system that does take into account the wobble/shift of the earth’s axis, since it’s measured against the fixed stars and constellations (vs. the seasons).

The sidereal zodiac is more often used by astronomers (not astrologers) who, if you ask any of them, will adamantly tell you that astrology is not a science. My response to this is that “science” is just a word, a label. It doesn’t even really matter. After all, the beauty of being a human equipped with free will, is that there’s always more than one way to see things…

As a professional astrologer, I use the tropical zodiac since over the years I’ve seen how accurate it is to help understand someone on an emotional level. It is also strongly based on cycles, patterns, archetypes, energy, and vibration. When we have dreams or get information from spirit it often comes through in archetypes, patterns, symbols etc. This is the language of the Universe.

I believe that since we have free will, astrology was never meant to be used as a tool for prediction. And so it’s the meanings implied by the aspects described by an individual birth chart that I focus on—for it’s this information that can be used to track cycles and phases that your soul is evolving under.

gemini illustration 13th zodiac sign the numinous

 

All of that was a fancy way for saying, you don’t have to worry, nothing has changed…yet, everything has changed! I know, it’s ironic, but such is the magick of life.

So for now, let’s have some fun. Here’s a reminder of what the tropical zodiac will always and forever tell me about you…

:: ARIES :: You still have no patience and already skipping to the end of this post to save time. Don’t worry; no one beat you to it but we thank you for being the bravest one around!

:: TAURUS :: You’re still stubborn, (but ohhhh so freakin’ loyal which is overkill at times!) and bounce between being a workaholic and lazy AF while your cabana boy feeds you good food, wine, and surrounds you with expensive shit (hi!)

:: GEMINI :: You’re still wanting to know the answers to EVVVVVVERYTHING and then sharing the info with all of us. (Social media was created for you Gemini’s!). Say hi to the twins for me, if they’re not too busy bickering about their opinion on something right now! You know how that goes.

:: CANCER :: You’re still very much an empath and self-protective because of it. Did I mention emotional? Don’t get mad. We see your soft heart underneath your tough shell. Thank you for taking care of all of us, we need you mama/papa bear!

:: LEO :: You’re still the life of the party and the best looking. Did I mention your mane is fab?! Okay for reals though, you’re super creative and a great leader…just need to get over that ego of yours and you can move mountains. (Did someone say ego? cough cough)

:: VIRGO :: You’re still analyzing the F out of this entire post and seeing if the data is accurate. You’ll get back to us on this after you think it through some more. Gotta make sure it all fits into some kind of compartment in your life…like the container store in your brain! Ty for your service…with everything!

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:: LIBRA  :: You’re still dreaming about your perfect, balanced, harmonious, romantic relationship and yes still going back and forth trying to make a decision. Make it already! Newsflash…You can’t always be so “pc” but the Aries energy in me appreciates you trying.

:: SCORPIO :: You’re still seductive, mysterious, and obsessed with sex. (Drops mic…and pants!). And your poker face, yeah it’s a good one. We will never know what is brewing underneath but I can tell it’s a lot. Sorry for outing you but we can’t see you from behind the tinted windows so my Venus in Gemini had to relay the message.

:: SAGITTARIUS :: You’re still a freedom loving, travel/adventure junkie and definitely always right (I’ll let you have it this time…not gonna fight you right now, dear son of a preacher man). Btw do you know the point’s guy? He may just be your spirit animal.

:: CAPRICORN :: You’re still concerned with your reputation and rising to the top in business. Glass ceilings? Nah, there are none because you’ll take your sweet ass time but will devise a grand master plan to manage everyone from the ground up. Btw: how’s your new designer suit? Make sure we see the label.

:: AQUARIUS :: You’re still genius and eclectic AF (thank you for that!) Can you slow down though? Your time machine is a little too advanced for us mere mortals.

:: PISCES :: Well….you’re still zoning out somewhere dreaming of being anywhere but here. But don’t worry, we’ll rub your feet and allow you to cry a little. But seriously, thank you for having more compassion in your little finger than most do in their entire body! We heart you!

To learn more about your soul and make energetic changes in your life…this time I mean REAL changes, click here. To find out more about Danielle and her particular brand of astrology click here.

READING FOR THE 2016 LIBRA NEW MOON

The Libra New Moon is an invitation to seek balance, by fully embracing the needs of yourself and others, says Sandra Sitron

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New Moon :: Friday September 30, 2016 :: 8.11 PM EDT :: 8 degrees 15 minutes Libra

The New Moon is a time to set intentions—and the Libra New Moon wants you to initiate balance. Libra represents connecting people and ideas. Take this moon as a reminder to listen and share, to give and receive. To breathe peace. Within this balancing act, acknowledging what you need is so important. This Moon is a reminder that you deserve to get your needs met.

But you also have a responsibility to expand your thinking to include the other person’s position. To become an expert at walking with one foot in your own shoes, and one in someone else’s. So be humble. But don’t deny yourself in your humility. Seek to be satisfied with yourself too. The Libra New Moon offers big bright bold expansive rays of love and joy. This moon wants to help you fill your heart with joy. And from that place of joy, do the kind thing for someone else.

Stretch yourself to be generous with your words. Look for ways to balance out injustice. This moment is a reminder to find joyful and exuberant balance. Just remember: balance requires discipline. Requires us to be steady. Through disciplined actions now, you can create a sense of balance that will help you to expand.

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New Moon In-conjunct Neptune
The dart falls in the sand. 

So close to target, but getting lost in confusion. This aspect is important because it reminds us that we have spent the last year being prodded by the uncomfortable intersection between reality and illusion. The Libra New Moon reminds us that we are still coming to terms with our collective denial. The ills and unbalance that we have been denying in our society are being seen—and it is very, very necessary. This Moon reminds us that illusion is uncomfortable and we must demand truth. The scales of justice must be balanced. Denial is unacceptable.

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New Moon Conjunct Jupiter
A frog’s bellowing love-song.

The Libra New Moon is so big and expansive, our hearts can grow three sizes now. We can use this energy to fill us up with so much love that we are truly able to see things with a new perspective. This aspect is about growth. Higher truth. Inclusiveness. Adventure. Generosity. Set your mind to your greater purpose. Use this lunation as a reminder that you are unlimited. This moment asks you to define your most inclusive and just philosophies on life. How can you show up as your best self?

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New Moon Sextile Saturn
A pyramid glows in bright sunlight.

The Libra New Moon is a moment to seek stability. To judiciously create balance in your life. If there is a area where you seek moderation, this will feel like a practice of self-love, opposed to a denial. Discipline is your friend. Planning is your friend. Systems are your friends. There is real security to be found in this moment. This is wonderful time to get your goals figured out. To plan out your projects and start mapping the steps that you need to succeed.

In Summary

The Libra New Moon feels secure. You can allow yourself feel secure enough to simple be yourself. To connect to the part of you that is untamed. To defend who you are, and defend the rights of others to be themselves too. By knowing yourself you will be reminded to trust in the goodness of all humanity.

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SELF-INQUIRY BY SIGN FOR THE LIBRA NEW MOON

ARIES :: ARIES RISING
What can I do to be more emotionally open in my partnerships? Am I challenging my assumptions about what it means to be in a relationship?

TAURUS :: TAURUS RISING
What is one thing taking up my time and energy that is not a priority? How can I change it to become more efficient?

GEMINI :: GEMINI RISING
How can I make more space for fun in my life? Am I prioritizing this enough? Am I celebrating my success?

CANCER :: CANCER RISING
Am I naming my feelings as they come? How can I allow myself more space for all of my feelings?

LEO :: LEO RISING
How am I engaging mentally with the world? When was the last time I was playful? When was the last time I was curious?

VIRGO :: VIRGO RISING
Do I believe that life is about the journey or the destination? If it is about the journey, then how can I allow myself to feel rewarded in the moment?

LIBRA :: LIBRA RISING
How am I showing up as a leader in my life? Am I truly saying Yes to what I want and No to what I don’t want?

SCORPIO :: SCORPIO RISING
Can I give myself some more free time? Am I prioritizing time for meditation? How easy is it for me to do nothing?

SAGITTARIUS :: SAGITTARIUS RISING
How can I make more space for my hopes, dreams and aspirations? What is my brightest future vision for the collective?

CAPRICORN :: CAPRICORN RISING
Have I defined my goals and the steps necessary to achieve my goals? How can I link the steps of each project to a desired emotional outcome?

AQUARIUS :: AQUARIUS RISING
What enticing new philosophies am I being exposed to? Do I trust myself to speak my truth?
Or is ti time to re-evaluate some of my beliefs?

PISCES :: PISCES RISING
Am I feeling all my feelings? How can allow myself to surrender emotionally? What makes it safe for me to let go of control?