Mercury in Virgo – Keeping Your Eyes on the Prize

Mercury enters Virgo this evening, August 31st, 2012 at 7:33p PDT.  With it comes a shift in our mental and communicative focus – away from the attention we draw to ourselves and what we reveal ourselves to be, and toward the implementation of the plans we have been creating to align our lives with the Truth of who we are.

Virgo is about organizing, systematizing, and practical implementation.  It is also about healing and wellness, clearing out what is toxic to us and bringing things back into integrity and good health.  Its practical and purposeful nature often associates Virgo with your works, service, and daily routine.

Mercury joins the Sun in the sign of Virgo for an amplification of this practical and purposeful energy.  With our minds and communications now shifting into this realm, you are likely to see a stark contrast between the theatrical drama of Leo we’ve been experiencing over the last few weeks and the nuts and bolts approach of Virgo.  Things will almost suddenly become pretty simple and straight-forward, and there will be a more cut-and-dried approach to getting things started and/or done.  There won’t be much tolerance for drama or excess over the next few weeks.  If it isn’t effective or efficient, it’ll probably be discarded or ignored. The intention in the next couple of weeks is to “keep your eyes on the prize”.

That said, Mercury’s journey through Virgo this time around will be a quick and useful one – it will be in direct motion its entire time in Virgo, moving into Libra on September 16^th.  Ideas and thoughts and our communications of them will likely be clear, concise and very deliberate.  They will also serve the dual purpose of 1)  helping us implement plans and intentions, and 2) healing the wounds that may surface as we start letting go of all that no longer serves us well.

This Virgo 5 Sun-Mercury cycle is a time of clearing away who and what distracts, discourages, or otherwise detriments us in the pursuit of our goals and dreams.  We clear away the negatives to create space for all that is practical, tangible and positive to come into our live to assist us with the manifestation of our plans and intentions.  Though there will be some tangible and physical actions taken, the majority of this work done during Mercury in Virgo will be done through words more than any other means.

Some questions to consider over the next 16 days:

• Who and what supports you in “winning the prize(s)” in your life…and who and what seems to distract you or take you away from it?
• What do you need to get what will support or encourage you in manifesting your goals and dreams? What and/or who stands in the way of getting what you need?
• Is it really someone or something else, or it is your own beliefs and behaviors and thoughts that need to change?

We aren’t done with Leo entirely.  Venus enters Leo on September 6^th, and will bring a little drama back into our lives as others begin to respond and react to the communications we make.  We are likely to have our ‘drama moments’ as well – after all, we aren’t the only ones who are making changes.

Everyone in our lives is under the influence of this Virgo 5 Sun-Mercury combination.  So we’ll need to deal with our feelings and thoughts about being on both the giving and receiving end of the changes we are all undergoing.  For some of us who are already well-aligned with our inner Truths, the changes we are called to make may be small and barely noticeable.  But for some of us who have found ourselves to be more out of alignment with our inner Truths than we may like, we may find ourselves called upon to make some pretty major life changes in these next few weeks.  And of course, as we make these changes, they inevitably have an effect on not only us but those closest to us.  Our relationships will be affected, and the relationship effect will only be more pronounced once Mercury moves into Libra on the 16^th.

But for now, we focus on implementing the details of our plans.  We focus on getting ourselves and our lives cleaned, cleared and organized for the new and wonderful people and things we are bringing into our lives – all of whom will help us “keep our eyes on the prize” so we may manifest and fulfill our goals and dreams.

Thanks for reading and sharing.  Until next post…

~ Light, Love and blessings,

Grace

Full Moon in Pisces – Head in the Sky, Feet on the Ground, Peace Within

This morning at 6:58a PDT, the Moon went Full in Pisces opposite the Virgo Sun.  Being the second Full Moon in the month of August 2012, this is known in folk lore as a “blue moon”.

Of course, this sparks all kinds of wonderful, dreamy wish-come-true fantasy, perfect for a Full Moon in Pisces.  Pisces is known for its dreamy and idealistic qualities.  In fact, Pisces’ imaginative presence can have us coming up with all kinds of fantastic notions about what could happen “once in a blue moon”.

However, as much as you may want to go completely into dreamland, you may find that today (and the next couple of days) is more about keeping your feet on the ground while your head is a bit more in the sky than usual.  Being at the end of the Virgo 4 cycle we’ve been in for the last 9 days, there is an awareness that today is the last day for really planning the plans you’ve been planning in order to bring the dreams you’ve been dreaming into tangible and practical forms.  As we move into Virgo 5 energy tomorrow, the changes we’ve been planning to make are likely to begin taking root.

Pisces energy is not only about idealism and fantasy.  It is about compassion, unconditional love, forgiveness and alignment with our spiritual Truth.  It is the giving of our attention and service to others as expression of those qualities through charity and philanthropy, growing and expanding our loving natures beyond ourselves as outwardly as possible.   Pisces represents that which inspires us with a vision of an ideal world in which we all recognize our interconnection and have compassion for each other.  It represents our Oneness with All-That-Is.

The Pisces Full Moon tries to bring us into greater awareness of this Oneness.  It calls upon us to take a moment from our detailed planning and plotting to check in with ourselves emotionally, spiritually, and collectively.  The following questions are at hand:

• How do the details of your plans look and especially feel in the Light of the Oneness?  Do they feel good (as in loving and positive)?  Do they help you feel peaceful and secure within yourself, or anxious and unsettled within yourself?
• In the face of All-That-Is and all that possibly can be, you may realize just how many options there are to manifest your dreams and intentions.  Are your plans and intentions specific enough?  Are they even big enough?
• Big plans and intentions require great faith. However, are your plans and intentions so far removed from the reality you are currently in that they might be considered rather delusional, unrealistic or “wishful thinking”?  If so, what are more practical and realistic perceptions of your goals and intentions that will help you see the possibilities or steps available to you here and now to help you move toward actual manifestation of your goals?
• Are your plans and intentions compassionate, loving, and/or aligned with your inner spiritual Truth?  Do you believe that you can fulfill your plans by taking actions that are also in alignment with your emotional and spiritual inner Truth?

Intuitively, you know the best course of action and intention for your plans to be implemented and your dreams to come true.  The Full Moon in Pisces encourages you to TRUST YOURSELF!  Trust your intuitions.  Trust your insights.  Trust your gut when it has you feeling a certain way (tense or relaxed) when you are thinking a thought or when an idea passes through your head.  Tension is a ‘no’.  Relaxed and peaceful is a ‘yes’.

And it is very possible that relaxed and peaceful feeling may surprise you or scare you if it doesn’t align with what you are thinking about the situation or circumstance.  TRUST IT ANYWAY!  If peace and ease come first, then that first answer is the correct answer. When it arises first, that inner peace and ease is your indicator that it’s the right choice – it’s the right path for you.  Use your awareness of this energy to fine-tune your plans and intentions before you start implementing them over the next few weeks.

Who knows.  By following those feelings of peace and ease as they first arise, you may find that “once in a blue moon” isn’t so far-fetched after all.

Keep your feet on the ground, your head to the sky, trust the peace and ease of your inner Truth…and enjoy the day!

~ Light, Love and blessings,

Grace

New Moon in Leo – You Shine It, You Own It

With the Sun in Leo these last few weeks, there has been a lot of focus on yourself and who you are choosing to be in and for the world, and who have around you who supports or detriments your ability to shine your unique expression of Light into the world.  The Sun, of course, is still in Leo for another few days, and Mercury is continuing its presence in the sign in direct motion for a couple more weeks.

So by now, you know you have an unique expression of Light inside you that is shining outwardly to the world, whether you are aware of it or not.  And unless you have chosen to hide out in a cave somewhere, with both Sun and Mercury in Leo right now, everyone sees what you have to offer from the inside out.

Now the Moon joins the Sun and Mercury in Leo, and the Moon conjuncts the Sun at 8:55a PDT on Friday, August 17^th, 2012.  This conjunction is also known as New Moon in Leo.

The questions at hand are:

• Do you see yourself completely?
• Do you fully realize who you are and what you have to share with others?
• And do you own your complete self-expression from the inside out?

With the New Moon in Leo, there is an opportunity to not only know your Light but to own your Light.  When I say ‘own’, I mean to claim it and be responsible and accountable for it from the inside out.  Owning the expression of Light you shine – owning your unique identity – means to be able to say “Yeah, this is me. What about it?”  to anyone who questions your outward self-expression.  It also means that you are willing to own up to who you are being in your life (for better and worse) because you feel the truth of your self-expression in and from your inner being.

This inward talk of feelings and emotions is heart language, and for those of you who aren’t comfortable with your emotions or with expressing your emotions, this may be a challenging time for you as you are being called upon to be aware of and own your inner feelings as much as you are being aware of and owning your outward expression at this time.  True ownership is being able to inwardly and outwardly express yourself.  Feeling a certain way on the inside and expressing yourself outwardly in alignment with that inner Truth is the ultimate of ownership for who you are being in and for the world.

As stated in the previous blog post and earlier in this one, with the Sun and Mercury both in Leo right now, who you truly are and how you truly feel is probably no secret…to you or anyone else.  Not much can be hidden in the glow of the Leo Sun, and especially with Mercury in Leo, it’s not as if people aren’t already seeing you or talking about what they see.  The question under this New Moon in Leo is whether or not you choose to take 100% ownership for who you are being in your outward expression.

If taking conscious ownership of your self-expression is a challenge for you, it may be because you are not outwardly expressing yourself in full alignment with your inner Truth.  You may find yourself saying things that defend or justify your actions and behaviors – things like, “That’s not really me” or “That’s not what I meant”.  Those types of statements are clues that your emotions and actions are not in alignment with each other, and there is something you get to examine about yourself as to why they aren’t reflecting the Truth of who you know yourself to be and what you meant to express.

New Moons are great times to start something new – it brings an emotional awareness of your self-expression energy, which allows for an emotional renewal of energy.  This Leo New Moon is a perfect opportunity to align how you choose to express yourself on the outside with who you really are on the inside.  It’s a chance to show the world your True colors and to feel comfortable and confident in revealing them to others.

It’s also a chance to remember – if you’re the one who put it out there, it’s yours.  You shine it, you own it.

Thanks for reading and sharing.  Until next post…

~ Light, Love and Blessings,

Grace

Mercury in Leo Direct – It’s No Secret

Mercury ends its latest retrograde motion cycle and goes direct in Leo at 10:40p PDT on Tuesday, August 7^th, 2012.

While in retrograde motion, Mercury in Leo has given us the chance to introspectively look at ourselves and how we do or don’t shine out into the world.  We’ve had some time to think about whom we want to declare ourselves to be in the world and how we want to create and/or establish the details and circumstances of our lives so that they reflect and support our unique expressions of Light in the world.

These last few weeks have also presented us with an opportunity to retrospectively set the record straight and to retrospectively ask for what we need in order to get our unique expressions of Light out into the world for others to see.

Now, with Mercury going direct, now is the time to outwardly start letting others know exactly who we are, what we are up to, and what we are committed to creating in and for our lives now and moving forward.  We now get to ask for what we need in order to be supported in expressing our unique expressions of Light in this moment and for the future we are building for ourselves.

Leo can be rather dramatic in its expression, especially when Mercury in Leo goes direct while the Sun is also in Leo.  The light of the Sun exposes the Truth of just about everything, and Mercury is quick to share what the Sun exposes.  So when something comes to light, it can do so quickly and in big way under this double Leo influence.  What you say and share may either come out in dramatic fashion, or it may create a lot of drama around you for better or worse.  If ever there is a time when the Light of your unique expression could come off as a blinding glare rather than a warm glow, now through August 22^nd is the time.

It is very important for you to be aware of the potential impact of what you are saying or sharing may have on your environment or on others in your environment.  There is very little if anything hidden during Sun in Leo, so with both the Sun and Mercury Direct in Leo, it is very unlikely that any secrets shared in confidence will be kept.

This is not to say that no one can be trusted.  It is to say that what you think is private or secret communication during this time may not be as private or secret as you think it is or should be.  You may be surprised to find out that more people already know or are aware of what you have to say than you are aware of.  In fact, any communication surprises are more likely to be on you than on anyone else as Mercury goes direct in Leo.

However, the surprises may be to your advantage.  You may be surprised, for example, that someone you share with may have a contact they share your communication with who is able to get you what you need to move your plans and intentions along.  You may be surprised that you are sought after or acknowledged for your unique self-expression as result of your initial communication or expression of your True self to someone(s) else.

Once the Sun moves into Virgo on August 22^nd, the energy will shift from getting attention for how you are shining your unique expression of Light into the world, and will shift to how you are practically attending to your unique expression in the everyday living of your life.

Virgo is about attending to the details of day-to-day life – maintaining your health, your overall well-being, and the things that make your life work on any given day.  It’s still about you, but it’s more about you on practical terms rather than in idealistic or creative terms.  When Mercury in Leo combines with Sun in Virgo, it will become a matter of taking the ideas and expression you’ve created for yourself during Sun in Leo and establishing a plan for implementation or fulfillment of them, giving yourself something(s) you can do everyday to make sure your Light continues to shine and expand its reach out into the world.

But for the next two weeks, it’s still all about you and your Light.  There is no secret about what you have to offer the world now.  All there is for you to do is to choose to shine it brightly for all to see and to ask for the support you need to shine it.  You may find yourself pleasantly surprised by what you have the opportunity to receive.  Be open and allow it all to come into your life.

Thanks for reading and sharing.  Until next post…

~ Light, Love and Blessings,

Grace

Venus in Cancer – Watering Your Relationships

Venus moves out of the “perpetual student” energy of Gemini and into the “nurturing mother” energy of Cancer at 6:43a PDT on Tuesday, August 7^th, 2012.

Venus is the planetary representative of one-on-one relationships of all kinds.  It is the ambassador of partnership, which is why it is also usually associated with the ideals of love and beauty.  However, Venus is considered the ruler of Libra – an air sign.  Air is mental energy – intellect, detachment, objectivity.  It is an important distinction to make as beauty and love are often in the eye of the beholder.  Therefore, love is often what we make it, and what we make it is often what we think it should be rather than how it may actually show up or what it actually is.

Sometimes, our perceptions of love and beauty aren’t really even our own, but rather are someone else’s ideals of love and beauty that we have adopted as our own. It is very important for us to get in touch with what is real and True for us as individuals so we can find our true partners in all areas of our lives.  In knowing what genuinely resonates as lovely and beautiful to us as individuals, we can then seek out the company of others with truly like minds and hearts.

When we remind ourselves that love is objective and unconditional, then we can embrace our relationships for what they are, and we can embrace the people we are in relationship with for who they are instead of trying to change them or make them into something they are not.  It is when we accept others as they are that we are open to the Truth and actuality of Love, we are open to beauty in all its forms, and we allow ourselves to receive and embrace the expressions of love and beauty which come into our lives.

That said, with Venus entering the sign of Cancer, we revisit Cancer’s nurturing, caring and protective energy.  With Venus in this sign, we may find ourselves being called upon to nurture and protect the relationships and partnerships that are important to us and which bring a healthy and balanced exchange of love and beauty into our lives.

Venus in Cancer is much like caring for plants.

If you don’t water a plant, it dies.  If you over-water a plant, it dies.  So it is important to water the plant, yet also important not to water it too much.

Water is often associated with emotional energy in the Zodiac and Tarot.  Therefore, if we think of the water in the plant analogy as the emotions in our relationships:

• If we nurture and care for our relationships – if we give them just enough of the emotional attention (“water”) they need – then they can thrive.
• However, if we don’t give them enough emotional attention we may find that those relationships dry up and disappear from our lives, or sometimes, if we give them too much emotional attention, we can overwhelm them with so much care or protection that it’s too much and they feel the need to escape from our lives.

In this Leo 4 period, the energy is such where we are being called upon to establish and/or define the foundations or structures that support us in shining our unique expressions of Light into the world.  When we bring Venus in Cancer in to that mix, it is important for us to notice the relationships that we are “watering” in our lives.

• Which ones do we say are important to us, yet we don’t nurture and protect?
• Which ones do we say are not important to us, yet we find ourselves giving plenty of emotional attention to?
• Which ones do we find ourselves nurturing and protecting even though they may be non-supportive, detrimental or destructive to our unique expression?
• And which ones do we find we are trying to kill off even though they may be encouraging and supporting us to shine our individual Light brightly out into the world?

Recognize the roles that others are playing for you in your life.  Distinguish if they are a positive, healthy and genuinely supportive influence in your life, or if they are a negative or unhealthy influence for you, detracting from what you are committed to creating in your life.

Also notice if you have any resistance to people who want to support, nurture, and/or protect you and your expression of your True self out into the world.  If you are resisting, ask yourself why.

• What are your fears or aversions to receiving this support from others?
• What are you afraid of giving up or letting go of in your life in order to receive the support you really need to grow and succeed in your expression of your unique and individual self?
• Is what you say you are committed to creating really in alignment with who you truly are, or are you resisting because you are adopting someone else’s ideals of love and beauty as your own and deep down you know it is not true to who you are or want to be?

There is a lot to consider as you move forward through the remainder of this Venus in Cancer cycle which continues through September 6^th.   It’s a quick trip through a very important period of 2012.  I hope awareness of the energy available to you helps you make the most of this precious opportunity to establish a solid support structure for the next steps of your life’s journey.

Water the “plants” that are important to you.  Help them grow…and know that you’re helping yourself grow in the process.

Until next post…

~ Light, Love and Blessings,

Grace

Full Moon in Aquarius – See How You Are (Uniquely You)

The Moon goes into its Full phase in Aquarius this evening, August 1^st 2012, at 8:28p.

With Full Moon in Aquarius, we are now given the opportunity to have the Light we shine out into the world reflected back to us.  We now get to see who we are for others in our lives, and we get to see and know what makes us original and unique and special among others and for/to others in the next 24-48 hours.

With the Sun in Leo since July 22^nd, you may be clearly recognizing the people in your life who are (and aren’t) supporting and encouraging you in shining your unique and individual Light out into the world.  Now, with the Full Moon in Aquarius energy for about 36-48 hours, these same people are also letting you know who you are for them.  They may not be saying it outright, but it will be very apparent in how they act with you, toward you and around you.  Pay attention to others’ behaviors and communications with you to understand how your Light is being received by the groups, associations, and social circles you are involved with during this Full Moon phase.  This is a wonderful time to see how you are showing up in and for the world.

Aquarius is also known for being a rather rebellious sign.  “The Rebel” comes out when we either aren’t aware of how our uniqueness is already being expressed or because we feel trapped or held back in our unique expression.  During this Full Moon, be aware of your need to be acknowledged as special or original as an individual part of a greater whole…and be even more aware of how that desire is being expressed by you.

• Are you becoming angry because you are not getting the acknowledgment you need or want?
• Are you becoming withdrawn because you don’t feel special or acknowledged, hoping others will come find you?
• Are you being dramatic or melodramatic to get attention or acknowledgment from others or to make yourself stand out from the group or others?

If you find yourself seeking more attention or acknowledgment for your individuality, remember that each one of us is wholly original.  We each bring something unique to the world.  There is no one else like you.  There is no one else like me.  Each of us has a being and a purpose in being here, now, wherever and however we are at this moment.

That said, if you find that you are feeling under-appreciated and are wanting others to shine their Light upon you, the best way to get the attention and acknowledgment you need is to be who you truly are and do what you are here to do in this very moment in time, no matter how significant or insignificant it may seem.  It is important to honor the Truth within you as you make choices in the day-to-day of your life to manifest the expression of your inner Light outwardly in your life.

As you do that, you may also find that you feel stronger, more confident and better about yourself, and your need for others to acknowledge or attend to you lessens because you are attending and acknowledging yourself and your personal truths.  When you honor the Light within you, you don’t need to seek it or get it from others – you find you have it in abundance within yourself.

During this Full Moon in Aquarius, do your best to express and celebrate what is uniquely you.  Shine your Light and see what comes back to you through others.

Until next post…

~ Light, Love and Blessings,

Grace