“Freedom from the norm” has always been my mantra for Aquarius season. Freedom. What a loaded word really. I think we would all collectively cite that we love, want more and cherish our freedom. And, most likely we all define freedom slightly differently for ourselves For me freedom is being untethered from an identity, forms of expression, people’s expectations and needs and anything other than my direct choosing in the moment. Freedom is being in that blank state where we know and witness our power to choose from our knowing. Even if we use our freedom of choice to choose something that we do not really want or desire, we atleast understood that we have the autonomy to choose. Wow, that is really fucking scary and life altering when we understand the real meaning of that Truth.

I’ve believed many times that I wasn’t free to choose, especially in circumstances when maybe I didn’t really enjoy my current work or I felt stuck in a relationship, or I was doing adulting tasks I don’t enjoy (taxes to name one on the mind). I would say to myself “I don’t have a choice. I have to pay the bills!” or something similar. In all honestly, that is not a true statement. Yes, bills do need paying but I can also choose not to pay them (yes consequences follow). I can choose not to do that work and find other work and yes that may not be convenient, logical or easy but I truly can make that choice. Within the noise of the world’s voices of shoulds and should nots, the unconscious entanglements we find ourselves within, we truly are guiding our own path with each action, decision and thought. The distinction is are we doing so from the power and direct knowing or from routine, habits and external drivers. Aquarius opens us to the freedom of bucking the status quo and into spaciousness of our freedom.

There is nothing innately wrong with status quo if you feel fulfilled, happy and like you are living your best life. But what happens when all those long hours in pursuit of ______ just are not sustainable because they are draining the life out of you? Sustainment becomes impossiible if you want to continue. What happens when those dreams and deep desires of what could be get so loud that you can’t push them down or away and the restlessness pervades you. Sustainment becomes harder and harder.

With owning our freedom comes change and dancing in the unknown. When we dance with what we could be and how we could live we realize that what we are doing now won’t get us there. It will simply yield more of the same. We must innovate and shift what we do, how we think and who we interact with. I return to “freedom from the norm”. Doing new things is scary but if you feel into it more consciously it can be many other emotional states too…exciting, stirring, surprising. And it is amazing that when we change, the things around us change!

So, on Friday, February 9th the new moon in Aquarius wants to invite you into the powerful creative spaces of your freedom frontier…what lies beyond your beyond? What is stirring you to shake up?

Here are some ideas to work with this energy this month:

• Take a block of time each day to invite in quiet space. Create “No thing” space (no phones, music, people, activity). See what is there when you quiet the noise. Even 5 minutes counts!

• Record a time study of all your daily activities and how long you spend on them. What do you learn about where your energy is going? Does it align with your values? Will it get you where you want to go?

• Make a list of activities, people, tasks that you say “Yes” to that you need to say “No” to that are energy sucks, drains and don’t feel like they are moving you towards what counts. Try saying no to one of them this month.

• Make a list of what you need to say “yes” to because it will allow you to take a step in a positive direction. Try one of them this month.

• Look at an area in your life you feel you are not “free”. Try to discover choices you do have and can make. Rewrite the script around this issue. Even if you change nothing. Decide that you are choosing this for right now.

• Start a “think tank” for ideas and dreams. I use the notes on my iphone. I drop in ideas from time to time and just capture them. Then I look at them from time to time and just let my creative mind play with them.

• Do one new thing each day. Drive somewhere using an alternative route. Try a new exercise activity. Meet a new person. Read a new book.

I love the work of Benjamin Hardy, and he says that in order to reach your future self-your most expanded version, you have to change or eliminate 80% of what you are currently doing and find the 20% really impactful actions that will get you there. Because the majority of what we are doing is only sustaining what and who we are. Wow!

Remember creativity needs space so if you are ready for innovation…make some space for it to come in!

Cheers to greater freedom from the norm in Aquarius season!

If this Gemini season isn’t so, well Gemini like with so much going on and ever so much stimulation. Who can keep up? It is like a constant wind blowing in more and more shifts and changes by the moment. We can find ourselves overwhelmed and mentally fried or caught up in all the energy that we are left scattered about and disconnected from our intuition and truth. This is a potent time full of deeper revelations and clearing if we can hold our attention and focus it skillfully into a inward curiousity. We may find that instead of answers to old questions we may find new questions that beg new explorations into deeper aspects of ourselves. Let’s break it down into manageable pieces first.

Let’s first take a look at Gemini season and it’s aim for us:

With Gemini we want to get curious and we want to flex our capacity to be adaptable and roll with life. Change is your friend as it brings in new perspectives, new people and new choices. This season I feel Gemini is asking us to ask new questions. Why? So that we can be inspired by causes that invoke changes in our actions. Some times it isn’t that the answer isn’t within in us it is that the question doesn’t allow the truth to be revealed. Instead of asking “Why can’t I be happy in my job” a more inspiring question may be “what type of work makes me feel inspired and happy?”. Perhaps this question invites you to explore new aspects of yourself that are arising. This season for me has sparked many new questions for myself to explore around what makes me feel joyful, inspired, and aligned. I am journaling daily about “What am I opening to” and the answers are quite different than I expected. What questions will inspire you to do some inner exploration? Where can you freshen your ideas about how life is unfolding? What are you calling forth? Take a look around you.

On Wednesday, we have a full moon in Sagittarius and a lunar eclipse on the south node of the moon. Translation: This is a time of releasing and the heightened energy can allow some illuminations of some truths that may have been literally eclipsed by the clutter around you. Maybe the clutter is too much stimulation, too much information or opinions from others, old baggage from the past. With a Sagittarius super full moon, we want to sense the vision and the the greater meaning to life’s bigger questions. We want to find our north star and feel like we are moving through life guided from a greater calling. These times are asking us to be guided from within from the source of our greatest truth, our own wisdom and intuition. With Gemini we get an outward to expand our field of awareness, with Sagittarius we go inward to expand outward. We cannot answer our life’s questions from another’s truth or wisdom. We must learn to hear that voice of our soul and we do this by learning and growing within the presence within us. For me this time has been rich with self-study and a lot of meditation and reflection. I have been trying to cultivate a more inward attention to truly listen to my soul. I find when I declutter myself from the noise of life and the surplus of stimulants around me I have an easier time navigating. On this eclipse, how do you connect to your north star, your soul, your deepest wisdom? What practices allow you to find that inner compass. What gets in the way? Do you have some old stories to dismantle? Dependency on others to tell you “the right way”? What has life been teaching you? When the veils get cleared away, the Truth remains.

Saturday Mercury, planet of all things communication goes retrograde. Translation: If we have not gotten the message thus far, Mercury will try again to get our attention. Literally! Slow down, turn inward, get present and be aware of what is within you, around you and transpiring. This is a time to hit pause and not rush into anything be it commitments, plans..you name it. Take your time and explore your relationship with time. If you feel like you going from thing to thing to thing, what of those things can be deleted, delegated or dropped? Do we need it all? How do we be open and curious to what can be when we take more inventory fo how we are moving about life and with what amount of presence we carry with us? My tip for this cycle is to break each segment/interaction/activity of your day into pieces and before ask “What do I want or desire from this?” After take inventory in the experience. “How was that for me?” I call these presence time outs. You will be amazed what those simple questions reveal.

My favorite practice for Gemini times is breath work. It is the absolute best way to snap into the present moment. Try 5 counts in and 5 counts out for 5 deep breaths, 5 times a day. Set an alarm on your phone! I also like aromatherapy to help snap me into my body. My “Zen” spray is perfect for this season if need more Zen and less stress. If you want support navigating the questions that are arising or even learning what new questions to ask, try out an astrology reading.

Cheers to those new questions..and to the discovery that they inspire! Blessings to you all!

The hustle and bustle of Aries season has crescendoed and we can now slow down and settle as Taurus season began on April 19th. We may welcome this earth sign to bring us more into more peace, stillness, and pleasure and to deepen and solidify what has been ignited this spring. For me Aries season was like an explosion of activity and I felt myself easily caught up in the current with hardly a chance to really consciously reflect and respond to what was occurring each moment. Standing still and allowing it all to settle a bit feels like a chance to catch my breath and to do deeper into what is unfurling this spring. When I do I feel the voice of Venus, the ruler of Taurus quietly whispering for me to “Treat myself”..she continues on.

“Treat yourself like you are just as important as any task on your list, any person you cherish, and any goal you fervently pursue. Treat yourself with that much care, attention and respect and notice what that attention feels like. Treat yourself in the way of attuning to the being part of you rather than the doing part of yourself which is often so over represented by your attention. And when you do offer yourself the curiosity of how your body feels, how your spirit feels and how is your overall being is operating. Then, treat yourself with the activities and environments that soothe you, rejuvenate you and replenish you. This can be a walk in nature, taking time and care to create something with your hands like bread, a poem or a garden for your pleasure, taking nap, read a book and do this not for any external motive but to sensualize your ‘beingness’ through your senses. When you do this, you get in touch with what is at your core, what truly is important and valuable and you rekindle the belonging that pleasure has in your life. You find your joy, your delight and your roots. It is from your roots that you draw in the nourishment you need to grow, to evolve and to bloom.”

This advice seems to counter current to the busyness of life which can keep us tasking, planning, and in constant momentum. I have noticed at times that life can feel so full that I am in a state of just trying to get through the the next thing and then the next without really noticing each experience, each interaction and my own enjoyment or indifference to the whole unfolding. Taurus season can be like pressing the reset switch to become more aware of our own energy and where we place it. Our energy, our time, our attention are precious assets we carry and the source of our vitality. How many things do we unnecessarily do each day? What gets our attention that doesn’t deserve it? Where are we spending our time? Is it worth it? When we are not conscious of our energy we miss the opportunity to direct our energy at that with truly satisfies and delights us. It is like choosing a food we are indifferent and getting that nominal experience of delight. Save the calories for something delightful and savor!

Here are some catch points that can help you identify when we may be caught up in the trance of doing without alignment to your values and your roots:

-Rushing: When ever I find myself rushing I know I am packing in too much and not being a good steward of my energy. It is a good time to really ask, is all of this needed in my day? Am I being reasonable with what i can really do and do well and attentively?

-Multi-tasking- This for me is a tell tale sign of not being centered and focused. Research shows we are less effective when we multi task and we split our awareness and thereby split the potential we have to take pleasure in what we are doing. We can’t be present in 3 different places at a time and therefore we are not present at all.

-Needing distractions- I know I am out of sync with myself when I need to distract myself from the moment. What am I fearing about this moment? Why do I want to waste this moment? What am I missing by not allowing myself to be here now?

Practices to get back to center: When you find yourself in disarray, caught up in the momentum and devoid of that calming presence, take a pause and find yourself!

-Take 10 deep breaths and exhale for 1-2 counts longer than you inhale

-Go into nature and use your sense to experience the moment (what to do you hear? What do you see? How is the temperature feel? What do you smell? Take your shoes off and walk in the grass!

-Move your body in a repetitive or rhythmic way like your heart beat. Chop some vegetables, go for a steady walk, do some yoga sun salutations, fold clothes, tap your chest to your heart beat.

The full moon on the night of Monday, April 26th is in Scorpio. Scorpio is a deep water sign that broods introspection, inquiry into our fears to excavate truth. Scorpio is intense and complicated as it represents the transformation we undergo to reside in our self-mastery and power.. Scorpio is the polarity sign of Taurus so in essence they balance each other. On this full moon, our Scorpio moon goddess may ask you, where is life overly complicated, complex and entangled that you are separated from the power you have to root your choices and action from the seat of your values? Where must you direct your attention with intention? What is your relationship to pleasure and how often do you take breaks to “treat yourself” and regain connection to the well of your vitality? This may be a good night to cut cords with some activities and commitments that are stealing your energy and leaving you empty or unsatisfied.

Our energy is precious.How can we be good stewards of this precious resource? Life is a gift and we get to choose in each moment how to relate to this gift. May we all choose to savor each moment. May we allow more pleasure and delight into our days. May we slow down to actually sensualize the segments that make up our days, our weeks, our years and our lives. Treat yourself this month and see what blooms….

Happy Equinox and entry into the spring season of Aries. As we enter the season of more light, blossoming flowers, and new growth all around we too enter a period for a fresh start. Aries season is the beginning of the astrological new year (different than the Chinese new year and our calendar new year). What is unfurling had to make it through the darkness, the cold and the dead of winter. That old energy is ready to yield into new growth and opportunity. What was germinating under the surface is now ready to come to the light. Intense desire, strong will power, and a courageous spirit is activated to super cede the inertia before to awaken our inner warriors to action. Like a spark to a match, we must be ready to act, to cut away what holds us down and into the ground and follow our luminous passions in our belly into the unknown. Although the details often not yet fully unveiled, if we can tend to our light it will reveal the path into discovery of what lies on the leading edge of our lives.

How do we ‘tend our light’?

In astrology our “fire” is our passion, our creative expression, our impulse to act, what we are willing to “fight for”, the zest for living that pushes us forward. We connect to fire through the Aries archetype through fighting those battles worth fighting for because it is who we are and what we desire on the deepest levels. Aries is called the “warrior” for just that reason. What are the battles worth fighting for? Well, what within you stirs your interest, your drive, and your willpower to look fear and the eyes and act anyway? For some of us this is a drive to create change in our communities and world and we are willing to promote causes, organizations and platforms that we feel embody what we want to create. We march for these causes, we volunteer, we teach & serve others, we do our part and that feeds a hunger that we cannot explain. Perhaps your battles are more internal like being willing to fight the programming of “fitting in” or “doing it like everyone else” to be yourself. Maybe it is standing up for your needs in a relationship or starting a new job to follow your heart. These battles don’t have to be bloody or on a battlefield but they do require us to muster courage and action together at the same time.

Tips to connect to your light

• Be in touch with desires-strong impulses to do something (like hunger calls us to eat)

• Be in touch with what stirs your anger (this usually touches on a value that we want to protect and must defend)

• Who inspires you? Why? How does this apply to you?

• Actions that take courage-repeat-find your warrior spirit

• Cutting away people, situations, choices that make you feel “dim” inside or that compromise who you are

• Maintaining good boundaries so that we can honor our needs and desires-reducing a tendency to compromise at our expense too costly to our soul

Watch-outs for Aries season

With every archetype there is a shadow zone, where we ride the energy into zones that are less than productive. For Aries this shadow zone is aggression, addiction, unproductive or misplaced anger, and selfishness action that is at the expense of others wellbeing. Often we when cannot connect to our true desires or if we can’t face our fears then we end up taking that same energy and acting aggressively (being a bully to feel powerful at the expense of another) or forming an addiction to satiate the hunger that stirs us. Anger is not a negative emotion. Angers shows us where boundaries have been crossed and that something valuable is at stake. When we are disconnected to our values then the anger turns into blame, vitriole and gets displaced into the wrong forms. We can even turn on ourselves much less others. We can get so hyper focused on our needs and wants that we think that we have to use and abuse others to get our way instead of finding creative pathways. Watch your anger and learn a bit from it. If you tend to be tunnel vision with roadblocks then use another perspective to see where you might be your own roadblock and where a creative way through exists.

One other side effect of too much fire is adrenal fatigue or stress. Action is Aries tool but not all actions are created equal and too much stress is not the same as productive stress that forces a decision or action. Take care of yourself during Aries season and don’t forget even warriors need sleep, some peace and quiet and to chillax. You may watch out for too much adrenaline and anything that keeps your nervous system activated for extended periods of time. Like maybe not that 5th cup of coffee…water instead?

Support for Aries Season

My blend “Courage” will connect you to that inner warrior spirit. Spray this with intention and use it when you are dancing with those old fears that rear their heads when we get ready to act. I also have an oil blend “Agni” to stoke not only your digestive fire but your zest and creativity. If you are feeling that stress and fatigue then “Sattva” will balance you out!

Purchase these on my “shop”.

Get an astrology reading to learn about what is on the horizon for your life. What desires must be fed and how can you take that next step. Book a free consult on my website to learn more.

Spring Equinox Ceremony

Do this outside if you can! Create sacred space by lighting a candle, some incense or using some aromatherapy. Take a couple deep breaths and center yourself. Imagine a flame inside your belly. Imagine it growing in size and warmth so that it fills up your whole center region. Allow the fire to illuminate your heart and the pathway all the way to your head. Feel the luminosity extending all around you filling the space around you. Ask the light to reveal anything that wants to come to the light. See what comes. What stirs you into action? What is one step you can take to honor your light? Give yourself few minutes to listen. Then stretch your arms overhead and take a deep breath and circle your arms out to the side on your outbreath and imagine that light inspiring your path. Spend some time in nature if you can and write down anything that comes to you..even small nudges.

Sending love and light to all!

Can you feel the energy shifting and the emergence of the levity? Quite a contrast from the heaviness and the waves of chaos that came before. We may not have the sense of clarity that we aspire towards but if we can tune in perhaps a sense of hope and faith may be on the horizon. Pisces season asks us to “lighten up”. Loosen your belt a notch, take a longer walk in nature, sleep 5 minutes later and give yourself some space to let your mind lift into the clouds of your dreams. For when we allow ourselves to tune into the timeless space, into the quiet of the ethers we may find that this is just the space we need to let the more complicated questions become simpler, the impractical a place to begin and the disheveled to alchemize into a new dream of what we want to bring into our reality. As the astrological new year is coming in a couple weeks we will need one foot on the earth and one in the clouds to access the new spark of energy that wants to birth its way into being in spring.

How to work with Pisces Season:

Relax, Allow, Let go…of anything that feels hard, complicated, stressful and not yours! This is a great time for good boundaries with others (perhaps negative influences or people that invoke a lot of stress) and with what we say “yes” to..protect your space by staying aligned with your own alignment. If you find yourself in a ball of stress, take a break and relax. Take a walk, breathe deeply, take a break from it and lighten up before returning! I like organizing and clearing during this time as a way of making space for the new. It also is a way of simplifying and that can feel invigorating! Pisces season can bring endings but if we stay in trust in ourself and the unfolding many of these endings are timely and necessary to create the space for what we truly want. The more we invite in a sense of wonder and dreaming the more we open our minds to what could be.

The shift in the energy has been palpable since the Aquarian surge arrived on January 19th. The heaviness of earthy Capricorn presence has been replaced with a more energized and even hopeful energy of the air sign Aquarius. The “rebel" with a cause” energy sure has had help this year in shaking us up out of a slumber with our current pandemic and political unrest. This energy vies for individuality within diversity so that we can express our unique selves within our truest expressions in order to make a difference in the world. This energy may confirm the saying that “there is only one of each of us so fearlessly be yourself”. No one else is going to do you! This pandemic has quite possibly had you asking the question..how do I show up in this changed world now? Perhaps your job has shifted or been eliminated or the environment you work in has changed, or maybe you feel a social calling but are unsure of how to answer. Lots of questions have arrived this year to inspire new growth and the Aquarian cycle is the perfect archetype to guide us into the disruption and at times chaos in order to free us from the norms and invite us towards liberation, reinvention, and some unexplored spaces to within our future. The theme for 2021 from my view is “Innovation”.

So how do we lean into these times without feeling so fearful, confused and disoriented? These times can certainly leave us feeling like the rug has been pulled out from under us. Change although highly uncomfortable at times brings in new energy, creativity, and new ways of “seeing”. We often don’t know what we are looking for until we embrace the uncertainty of trying something different. For me teaching virtually was less than appealing but after trying it out I found it has opened up a lot of space and potential. I have re-connected with friends out of state, I can teach on vacation, and I can learn new skills that help me to be better equipped for the emerging needs of my community. “Try it before you knock it” really was good advice in my situation. Life most likely has been revealing places that you may feel stuck or desire for some new direction and expansion. We can work with this by trying some new things..implore your curiosity. Learning new skills, talking to people facing similar hurdles, seeking input from those that have taken a leap before us and giving yourself some extra space to engage with odd urges and impulses are all ways in which we can innovate our way of showing up to meet with what is transpiring.

Other than daring to do things differently another tip for this season is get more comfortable saying and practicing the “I don’t have to know” mentality. With Mercury going retrograde on January 30th, not all t’s will be crossed and i’s dotted as we begin this change cycle. Sometimes we will try things and not get definitive results. We may experiment without conclusions and that is ok and in fact at times even better. Try not to label “the answer” as the goal but more of what is the experience is revealing about you and your place as it exists currently. Be in the moment and take it as it day by day. I know this is such hard advice to follow but it will help us stay open and curious which is what we need to stay attuned to the creative forces at work. There is so much space in not knowing..and pure creativity emanates from this exact space.

If you still feel uncertain as to where to begin your own personal innovation, the heart is a great place to start. The polarity of the Aquarian archetype is Leo energy. Without it we serve the world pretending to be who the world needs us to be or without the spark and passion it takes to do our work day after day. On Thursday our moon in full in Leo calling back to that which illuminates our passion, invigorates us, and brings a smile to our face and encourages us to radiate this intrinsic joy into our communities by being true to ourselves. Follow this energy and it will light your way. Your sun sign tells you about this solar energy found within each of us..our creative potential. Do what you love, what you enjoy and be with those that allow you to be on stage as yourself. The more we are in this vibration of love the closest we are to our truest expression of ourselves. If you don’t know what you love, then this is the perfect place to start exploring. Who do you love to be around? Who inspires you? Joseph Campbell advises us to “follow your bliss” and the rest takes care of itself. He may be into something…

Below are some additional tips for the season. Join me during the month for virtual live yoga practices to cultivate this Aquarian energy within our physical and energetic bodies. See my schedule at here. An astrology reading can also provide guidance for how to individually navigate these times staying in touch with your true essence. Book a free consultation on my website to see how astrology can support you. My aromatherapy collection can help you catalyze your intentions scentually. This season I recommend “Gather” to connect us in community to our truth and our collective reformation. It takes a village… Or “Soulshine” to bring your heart forward. You can purchase my collection on here.

I am holding this mantra close this season “Lokah Somastah Sukhino Bhavantu”..May all beings be happy and free and may my words, thoughts and actions contribute to the happiness and freedom of myself and all other beings.” Let it be so friends!

Tuesday, December 29th at 7:28 pm PST is our last full moon of 2020 and what better way to exit this intensely emotional year than with a Cancer full moon! All our “feels” from old surface to be felt and experienced deeply. With Capricorn energy (our current solar cycle), we are often able to hide our tenderness and put on the tough face but tonight offers us a chance for healing and rejuvenation if we can let some of our vulnerability out. The Capricorn cycle is often associated with accomplishments and goals and the perseverance required to “climb” to the top of the mountain. We often short side this “mountain” by only associating it with work or the external world’s definition of recognition. Some look at our work (job) as our dharma (or our soul’s duty or calling in this life). So we spend lots of our energy searching for the right job, or approval with our actions, and we may even go so far as to define ourselves through the world’s eyes. It is true that the evolutionary function of this energy (Capricorn) for all of us to put in the necessary dedication, commitment and effort we need to in this life to rise above the obstacles we encounter in order to find the inner steadiness and resolve within us we reach the peaks that we are destined to climb but the key to our ascent is found in Cancer (the polar sign of Capricorn). We are not meant to summit mountains devoid of emotional attunement. For it is exactly the rich experience of engaging with all the emotions that we find along the route that help us carve out our backbone and depth of our inner resilience. Truly showing up to feel and relate to whatever arises in life is our dharma. So that can mean our dharma is a challenging relationship, a pandemic, loss, battles we never expected and even blessings offered to us freely without request. Our dharma can at times be intense and hardly bearable and other times boring and uninteresting. The only way to honestly and truly show up is with our emotional, tender and vulnerable aspects of ourselves and feel each octave of every single experience with as much awareness and interest as we do the thrills that we seek. For when we relate to our life with this amount of honesty we find true shelter in the deepest presence, our true self. Not the self society tells us we are, not the story our failures and accomplishes tell of us, and not the mirrored response of others but the realness of each moment in how we are alive in our life.

So on this Cancer moon, tend to your soft parts. Let it be ok to feel exactly what you feel. Move with it, let the tears flow, write about it, offer it to the sky, caress it in your heart, be as you are. Honor these feelings as part of the journey and let the the deep presence you create for yourself be a testament to the real work that you are doing to live out your dharma by showing up to life just as it as just as you are.

Happy full moon friends

Happy Winter Solstice! What an extraordinary time to be alive! Not only does this day mark the longest night and the emergence into greater light, but today as we move into the Capricorn solar cycle we have a Saturn and Jupiter conjunction in the sign of Aquarius witnessed in the night sky! This conjunction happens every 20 years but the last time these planets were this close was 1623! They appear like a super star illuminating their radiant light for all to see. What a perfect symbol of the collective wake up call this last year has been from a long period of darkness and what an inspiring way to invite us into a new cycle of greater consciousness and awakening. The entry of these powerful planets into the air sign of Aquarius represents shifts from predictable, conditioned and structured Capricorn earth energy into unpredictable, revolutionary and freedom seeking energy to reset our whole way of perceiving ourselves and our world.

I feel the motto of this new paradigm that begins today is “Show up. Shake it up. Step it up. Open up!”

This time is calling us to break free of past limitations and our smaller mind’s perception of “ who I am, what is and what can be” and to expand, dream, and to expect the unfathomable. Old norms have been disrupted in a way that will never allow us to “go backwards”. Hooray!

May we all “Show up” by being present and aware in our lives in new ways. Open our eyes, ears, minds and hearts to interact with what life is presenting to us with curiosity and wonder. Apply the skillfulness life has taught us to each moment be it mundane or profound. Hold fiercely in our hearts our aspirations that move us to connect to our deepest authenticity and live it out courageously. When opportunity calls, show up in the ways our capacities allow without hesitation or doubt.

May we “Step it up” by continuing our own inner work to realize the Truth of who we are so that we can be accountable for the thoughts and actions that emanate from us. The work we do to uncover our unconsciousness gives us the power to consciously create from greater truth and to direct our life force with greater alignment. We don’t need to change the world or each other but we provide the greatest impact when we become one with our highest self which guides our own actions towards that which increases the light. Our only requirement then is to be truthful in each moment. Seeing and honoring the divinity within ourselves allows us to see and honor the divinity in each other.

May we be willing to “shake it up” and try new things, investigate new concepts and live differently than before. Trust the changes are for our own growth and sustainment. Nature is change and we are part of nature and thus we must also change to stay alive. We can learn, adapt and stay present when change is at play. What new opportunities may present themselves when we remain internally steady and resilient even when our world is flipped all around?

May we “open up” to unknown possibilities that our truths lead us towards that allow for our continued expansion, growth and potentiality. If our hearts and minds remain open and we are aligned in our deepest realization that “My true nature is Love and Truth” then we can move from self-realization ( I know who I truly am) to self-actualization (I act as I am…from truth, from light!). We don’t have to “know” how it all will work out as we cultivate a trust in the mysteries of the universe and the guiding light within.

These are magnificent times friends and we have each other to walk towards the light together heart and heart. From my heart to yours, I send you the love and blessings that these times illuminate from the darkness.

Join me tonight for a Solstice celebration. Light a candle, turn off the lights, and honor the emerging light in community! Find the link here www.jillcasepdx.com/schedule

“I release my past perceptions, stories and beliefs and free myself to expand into the Truth aligned with my soul”.

On this new moon in Sagittarius and Solar Eclipse on the south node of the moon we are called to surrender all that distorts the Truth, of who we are as a whole, divine and infinite being full of potential and possibilities. In our humanness, our mind constantly is taking in observations and experiences and cataloguing them as “good” and “bad”, “painful” and “pleasurable”, “right and “wrong” and all the boxes in between. Over time we form stories around these experiences and perceptions. We weave them together to form beliefs about how the world works and even who we are and what meaning our life has or does not have in the world. This inevitably blinds us to the true and unadulterated experiences of the moment and our truest self. It is like liken to the analogy of looking at our appearance through a dirty, broken and distorted mirror. We are not perceiving clearly. And therefore everything in which we interact with is either in alignment or misalignment with what we have taken as true. But what elements of truth might these beliefs be filtering? How has these “truths” formed the basis for the foundation of your life through your assumptions of how life works, the degree to which you hope and aspire, and the fears that you confirm? We must examine very carefully our reality or what we seek to be “real and pure” in order to know where the mirror may need to be cleaned and refined and thus what may need to be shed to give us a more accurate perception.

“Everything begins in the mind. If you want to see clearly, you need clear vision” Sri Swami Satchidananda

This may seem like a simple ask of the planets but we know that any endeavor to expose and purge something that we have reinforced into our operating system takes a great deal of effort, enthusiasm and dedication as it can be quite challenging to be made aware to the ways in which we have hidden from truth in order to “stay safe and comfortable” or to avoid the discomfort of facing the mountain of self discovery that looms before us. Jupiter in Capricorn is the ruler of this eclipse and full moon and in this placement, he confirms that the path up the mountain to discover the potential that lies within us may not be simple and easy but most certainly it is meaningful and worth the blood, sweat and tears. Jupiter wants to expand us by going deeper into wrestling with those questions “Who am I really?”, “What is the meaning of my life”, “Where do I really want to go to feel aligned with my higher calling?”..and he motivates us with faith that any effort we pour into this quest moves us forward with new depths into our soul wisdom and vision for this life even if the process shakes and rocks our very foundations. The only way to know truth is to feel and experience the freedom to explore what else lies beyond what we perceive and have believed to be true about ourselves and our world. This is how we develop clear vision..we break free of what binds us.

So where to begin? Yoga can be defined as “skiil in action” and part of yoga teachings point us not only to move our bodies so that they are more adaptable and stable, to learn to awaken the power of our breath as life force and a tool to regulate and reset our responses to life, but also to hone our minds to be able to focus on our experiences with more open awareness..learning to see again like a small child with wonder and excitement. Along this process we cultivate a practice of self-study..we learn about ourself, our perceptions, our habituated responses, beliefs and activities of our ego. Once we see and witness what is going on we have the power to make changes and to direct our energy (time, attention, resources) with awareness and intention so that life happens through us and not to us. So, I encourage us all to initiate ourselves into a daily practice of mindfulness (being present with the moment with your full experience) on this new moon. Spend time with yourself connecting to your body, your thoughts and feelings and the deeper desires. Witness and reflect on the beliefs that make up your reality. When troubling situations arise go a layer deeper and ask what do I believe about this situation, my power, my choices, this person, the outer world..and open yourself to free yourself of anything that may not be true. What else could be true if what you believed was not? What if you didn’t hold tight to that belief? My astrology teacher always says “if we don’t work on our shit, our shit works on us.” What better commitment can we make then to knowing so deeply who we really are friends? When we truly realize how powerful we are and how expansive we can really be when we open up..then a whole new world opens before us.

I will share with you my new moon commitment. I have realized recently that I feel “I never have time for what I want to do.” So I am conducting a time study this month. I will write down everything that I do and how much time it takes and also how much I enjoy it. Perhaps I need to shed some activities that truly are not working for me any longer. Maybe I need to change up my priorities. Maybe the truth is that I am not being a good steward of my resources? I blame “my busy days” but I am the creator and the conductor of these days!

Join me today for a special new moon/eclipse class at 4:30pm PST on Zoom. We will do some energetic practices to clear away the past and to open ourselves to clear and expansive vision! Details here: www.jillcasepdx.com/schedule

I recommend my “Release” spray to support letting go of the old. “Moon Magic” is my new and full moon spray to catalyze your intentions. “Guiding Light” helps awaken your inner alignment with soul. Check these out here: www.earthskyaromatherapy.com

Sat Nam friends! “I am truth. Truth is my true identity.” May we all awaken to the TRUTH within that we are infinite beings capable of greater and greater capacities of joy, freedom and peace within each moment.

The Sun entered the sign of the Archer on November 21st and we transition from water to fire. With Sagittarius, we aim to expand in mind, in heart, and in our vision of what could be. We search for deeper truths and deeper meanings. With Scorpio we want inward and deep and with Sagittarius we go upward and outward to a larger horizon..which is why travel and especially foreign travel can be expected during Sag times. When we travel we get outside of what we know and we learn, we grow and we encounter new dimensions of our world and of ourselves. With travel restrictions due to Covid, perhaps where we may find ourselves expanding and traveling towards are within new tiers of our inner resilience. Resilience can be defined as the capacity to prepare for, recover from and adapt in the face of adversity, stress and change. I would say this may come in handy these days. Resilience is something that we build over time..it can be considered incremental. The work we do to build this capacity lays the foundation for how it can support us in the future. Jupiter is the ruler of this sign and flavors this time with some added optimism, faith and zest. We can feel more optimistic of a future when we feel we have the ability to withstand what is before us now and a way to harness some grit of what we have overcome before. There is no question these are challenging times. There is no doubt we are all struggling in one way or another. How we respond to these times is what determines who builds resilience and who builds greater resistance as we look towards our future. This is the season to build on that “grit” that has taken you this far. . What have you overcome before to be standing where you are now? What did you do to get through your previous challenges? Where is life asking you to grow again? What are your current tools that will serve you now?

There are many ways to build resilience. It takes resolve, persistence and patience . The ways I like to build resolve are through my yoga practice. Learning how to breathe through challenges and not spiral into fight or flight and panic. Being able to focus on my mind on what I want to create and not let it ruminate on worry, fears or what ifs that I cannot control. Giving myself a safe space to feel and relate compassionately with my body. Moving my body and taking good care of my body through what I eat, my rest and attuning to the tolls that stress can take on me. No matter what you do, we all need practices, rituals and tools that help us deal with the trials of life eyes wide open. This season, sharpen your arrows to aim for the practices that will take you into 2021 grounded, steady and adaptable to whatever 2021 has in store for us.

Just as we round out our last week of Scorpio season where we are “transforming fear into power” we begin a new lunar cycle with a new moon in Scorpio on Saturday evening… just after Friday the 13th! This new moon is trine Neptune in Pisces for perhaps a dreamy, foggy, yet mystical vibe to blend with an emotionally intense moon that calls us deep within to explore the spooky waters of our fears. Scorpio is no stranger with deep and intense and there has been no shortage of these circumstances of late. With so much big energy shifting around us it can feel like walking around in the dark. Where is the light? Where is the doorway out of “this”? Well, this new moon will ask us to avoid being paralyzed by the fog of not knowing. Rather the scorpio moon will call us inward to explore the emotional landscape that we find ourselves in for clues of truth. When we don’t run away from the emotions our experiences are confronting us with, what do we find? It is in these moments that we have the power to break free from the trap of fear and emerge the eagle transformed and free to move beyond false perception and into greater depths of our truth and self-mastery. A place where we aren’t scared of the darkness of our fears and what is painful because we know how to feel through them to the other side. When we perceive what we are hiding from we don’t need to fear it because we know what it is, snake in the corner or coiled piece of rope masked as a snake.

Transformation is not a game for thrill yet forces beyond our control will lure us into this process to reveal places that have decayed and are no longer living. This is why themes of death, destruction and the past show up during these times. We are not a culture that takes to the death cycle with much comfort and grace, yet it is natural process in the cycle of life. So at times we deny or avoid the timely ending of anything be it a relationship, a job, a person or even a pattern. Yet this letting go allows for necessary rebirth and renewal. Loss begets growth. We can withhold a lot of our power in resistance and avoidance of the truth of these cycles within ourselves. Scorpio tears down our barriers to what is necessary for us to gain access to our power to create and thus continue to grow. When this happens deep emotions arise as we are met with the growing pains of this process. The choice becomes to bury them and continue to let the fear of knowing what is there control us or dive in and let the process of feeling free us from the tether to our fears.

So on this new moon, take inventory where fear to change is surfacing or where/when deep emotions surface that make you want to stuff them down to avoid them. Can you instead lean into these feelings and like walking around a dark room try to find the edges and contours of the experience. Name the fear and what it tells you. What is true and what is fear’s projections? Where is there an opportunity for growth by walking through the fear into the unknown? Don’t be afraid of the dark..magic lies in places where we cannot see… only perceive.

NEW MOON RITUAL:

In a dark room, set up an alter with a candle, incense/sage stick/aromatherapy spray (Recommend my “Moon Magic”), a bowl of water, flower/crystal/item from nature (highly recommend black obsidian, black tourmaline). Take a few moments to tune inward with deep breaths and open mouth sigh exhales. Imagine an “emotional probe” reaching deep within to attune to your emotions. Ask yourself where is fear arising? Where have strong emotions shown up? Where do you feel it in your body? What does the fear want you to do or stop you from doing? Place a hand on your heart and imagine a light in your heart perceiving the truth of this situation. In your power what do you desire? What would you create? Make an intention to make one step out of the fear. Drink your bowl of water and ask that it cleanse the past and renew you to see past the fear and into the the truth.

You can purchase my “Moon Magick Kit” or my “Moon Magic” aromatherapy spray here.

Join me for a new moon virtual yoga class Saturday at 9am on Zoom. Link here.

I wanted to take some time to share some reflections of the current astrological transits that may be impacting your life. They are certainly having a presence in mine. I hope by  sharing some of this information that we can all work with the energy in order to catalyze some positive changes in our lives that will leave us feeling more connected to our internal sense of power rather than powerless in a world of disarray.

I am observing the following interplays of emotions present consistently in these times. Issues of  internal and external safety, yearning for security, feeling powerless, issues of fairness, wanting to find, change or solidify work or our means to make a living. These may be showing up in relationships where for example trust issues are surfacing where you feel there is inequality,  or where power struggles are present. These can also be witnessed in the collective events where we literally feel unsafe with our health due to Covid or we see such injustice or polarity within our political structure. You may notice these issues internally by feelings of impermanence or that nothing can be trusted or counted on. You may feel anger or outrage at how unfair life is or how certain people are being treated. You may feel that you are powerless in making change or that our current situation is hopeless. Maybe you have no idea what to do for work or how your job will fair in the long run. These themes can show up all over the place in every nook and cranny. So perhaps we can all start by acknowledging that we are all feeling an assortment of strong, uncomfortable and erratic emotions. You cry one day and scream the next. We can also acknowledge that we all respond to these emotions and situations quite differently depending on our own lens and experience. 

Let me give some brief insights into the astrology of these times which helps us understand perhaps why these themes are surfacing and how we can respond to them mindfully rather than unconsciously. Pluto, Saturn and Jupiter in Capricorn have been renovating (or better said demolishing structures of safety, power and security that were not sustainable because they keep us distanced from our internal source  of power and fulfillment. Checking the boxes won’t work for us long term so the forces of evolution are waking us up to where we have given our power away and where we need to reclaim our sovereignty to create and to be an active part of our lives and the effects they have on the whole. These transits are big planets that are aspecting for longer periods of time so they tend to hit the big topics like work, home, foundations of structure and stability! The recent Libra and now Scorpio solar cycles are highlighting relationships and how we need to up level our power within relationships so that we manage ourselves and not each other..think power strategy versus control tactics. Currently, Mercury and Mars (planets of communication, transportation and action/willpower) are asking us to slow down and  re-evaluate what we do and why. Your choices and what you believe about them have impact.Ensure that they support what you want to reinforce and where you want to go. 

So, how can we work with the energy of these times from a place of power and resourcefulness. I think the energy of the times would offer these suggestions:

1.  Be clear with what you want. Now more than ever we need to be intentional with our actions. Connecting that intention to what we do day in and day out will connect us to our internal source of creative power and it helps us focus on what is most important so we can let go of what we cannot control. If you want a new job then state this and connect to this desire. If you want to feel more peaceful, honor this intention. Starting small may help. Break your day into small increments of intention. I want to have a  healthy breakfast. I want to workout to allow my body to move and feel good. I want to connect with friends...you get the idea. I also like to add, how do I want to feel? Imagine it  first!

2. Take small steps that support your intentions in whatever way you can.  Small steps matter and they allow us to feel empowered rather than stagnant.  What can you do right now with what you have that gets you even an inch closer to what you desire? Control what you can and that is your actions and responses. Make choices that align with what you want. 

3. Don’t let your mind get caught up in the drama and the web of chaos. These times call for  a great deal of mental fitness. If watching hours of the news only leads to more stress and anger then ask yourself if this is a productive use of your time. Where the mind goes the energy flows so feed what you want to grow with your awareness. Try to eliminate feeding worries by closing in your circle of what you are taking on mentally. Take inventory of your mental health and act in ways that support positive thinking and confidence. Ask yourself “is this helpful”?  Remember negative thinking does not prepare you any better for undesirable events and outcomes than positive and empowering thoughts. The difference is that you can feel better with the latter instead of suffering the entire time. 

4. Admit there are things you cannot control at the same time that you admit there are things you can control like your attitude, your actions and responses and what you give your attention to. Take the pressure off taking on the world and make your world smaller by  attending to what is in your sphere. 

5. Have a tool belt for stress management. This falls into the sphere of influence you can control. Things like meditation, yoga, exercise, healthy eating, getting enough sleep, breaks from stressful news/media/social media, being in nature, being around supportive people, learning new skills, getting support from therapists, body workers, healers and counseling as you need it. These are actions that arm you with skills to navigate life. 

6. Deal with yourself first before you resort to blame, judgment, or attack. How are you feeling inside? What do you need? What does this situation bring up for you that is familiar?  Remember these times are triggering old wounds so often we play these out with others. Not that others are blameless but we all have wounds and once again we cannot control others but we can attend to our own pain and heal. Our individual healing contributes more than you think to the collective healing. Blaming, judging and attacking only shifts responsibility. Let’s take responsibility for ourselves. 

7. Try to reframe situations that keep you polarized or in battle and conflict. We must all be open to creative work arounds to old patterns. When we meet polarity we are at an impasse and we must find a new path through, above or below or around.  The more curious and open minded we are, the more creative solutions can present themselves. Remember it's not  about winning. That is the old way. It is about moving forward and bringing resolution to issues that are breaking us down internally and collectively so that we can all be sustainable. How would another view this situation differently? Where is there a crossover of values or intentions? Where is their agreement? Where is their wiggle room in your view? What can you be misperceiving an issue or narrow minded?

8. Uncover your contribution to society and be courageous enough to live it out. Hint, this lies in being absolutely truthful and honest about who you are and fearless enough to show the world despite what “they” think. What lights you up? What opens your heart?  Where do your passions lie? If you don’t know, the time is now to figure this out. We need you, and no one else is going to do you but yourself. Where is the world asking you to show up and serve? Usually  it is right  in front of us! Sometimes just in small or simple ways. “Follow your bliss” is truly always good advice by Joseph Cambell.

9. Practice emotional hygiene and intimacy for yourself. We certainly don’t always get models for this but it is vital for our self-empowerment. When you are emotionally triggered, instead of looking for a person or situation to blame, turn inward. How do you feel? What do you need? I made a list of emotional regulation practices such as: drinking some water, movement (jumping jacks, a walk, a shake out), EFT tapping, taking 10 deep breaths, using aromatherapy (a special scent that I have tied to calming down and safety). I  try my best to practice these before I react or respond. I may need to take a time out away from the situation or person so that I can gain back emotional control before I try to resolve the situation. This allows us to develop trust that we can handle strong emotions internally and prevent projecting them onto another. Hint: that never works long term. 

10. Don’t believe everything you feel. One of my CARE (compassion-accept how you feel- release the story-ease your body) steps for dealing with strong emotions is to R-release the story.We tend to build stories around emotions as our reptilian brain stores them so that we can avoid them in the future. So when we feel a certain emotion it can be loaded with old data in effect. If you can allow the emotion to process separate from the mental drama and stories then you can upload a new relationship to the emotion. I tell myself that it is true that I feel a certain way but not necessarily true as to why. After I calm down, normally more clarity presents itself that is absent during the heat of the moment.

Hope this helps you find some serenity and direction in these times of change. We have way more power than we know..it’s time to reclaim it!

Halloween season is here as the Sun moves into Scorpio on October 22. This season we can “transform our fear into power”. Our emotional and mental fortitude will be challenged as the old and decaying aspects of ourselves meet with the evolutionary inner forces that want to liberate us from anything that keeps us from the truth. Fear is one large culprit. It sneaks in and tells us the lies that we all too often believe that keep us distanced from the truth as inconvenient as some truths can be. The truth always sets us free. Staying in fear keeps us in bondage to whatever we feel “may” or “may not” be and this ends up directing our actions and thoughts. Whenever we garnish the courage to face what is, we can deal with reality as it is and not as we may perceive it to be. We either sink or swim but atleast we are no longer hiding and delaying the inevitable. This is the season to up level your skillfulness for your emotional and mental self-mastery so when those strong emotions and thoughts surface your deeper wisdom and truth prevail as witness and director of your next steps.

Mercury and Mars are still in retrograde as we start Scorpio season so this time is a deep call towards inward reflection and probing into the deeper reasons why we do what we do, and the way we are perceiving our reality. Take another look and ask deeper questions before moving forward. Often we need to pause and take a step back before we can move ahead.

The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little we can do to change; until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds. - R. D. Laing

WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO NOTICE

We create ourselves by what we choose to notice. Once this work of self-authorship has begun, we inhabit the world we've created. We self-seal. We don't notice anything except those things that confirm what we already think about who we already are. Meditative traditions refer to the observer self. When we succeed in moving outside our normal processes of self-reference and can look upon ourselves with self-awareness, then we have a chance at changing. We break the seal. We notice something new. —Margaret Wheatley

See below for some information about how to work with the energy of the times.

All month in my classes we focus our asana on postures that seek to liberate fear and unleash creativity. We will focus on the deep core and the hips (the psoas especially). I will also be teaching practices that you can use off the mat to support your emotional and mental health and stability. Join me for class. Check out my schedule here.

Aromatherapy can be powerful allies to support emotional and mental health. My blends are formulated to work with intention and desire so that when you smell my blends you remember the power you have to create. Check below to see what seasonal recommendations will support you this season and how.Purchase my blends here.

It is that time again…Mercury retrograde! Don’t panic though as truthfully we spend half of the year getting into and our of Mercury retrograde. Instead of letting it stir unnecessary anxiety, this is a time to just give yourself some extra space to reflect and be more aware of where communication, your choices and plans could benefit from a second look. Often when we slow anything down and give it greater attention we find that some revelations that were right in front of our nose.

So where might these communication glitches show up? Well with Mercury in Scorpio and Libra..relationships will be a on center stage. We may find ourselves more easily triggered, more reactive and sensitive as emotions may run a bit more intense. So what is the best advice through this time? Stay in you own lane when you notice when you are triggered. Explore what is happening internally and respond to yourself before you point the finger. Don’t take anything anyone says or does too personally during this time. As we are all meeting up with some uncomfortable feelings and possibly some old baggage to weed through, extending some compassion to others can’t hurt. We need to develop strategies to stay in our personal power with others so we don’t have to resort to control tactics for others. How do we do this? We learn how to empower ourselves through self-care with triggers. Like, go take a walk instead of dive into an argument when we are triggered.

Another piece of wisdom during this time is to allow your emotions and mind to work as allies. When overly emotional, how can your mind help you see what you CAN do for yourself and get the wider view. When over thinking or being too focused on right or wrong, how can you return to your emotions to check in with how you are feeling and to attend to your emotions instead of getting lost in rabbit holes of thought that isolate yourself. This retrograde season wants us to find our power when we free ourselves of binding emotions or thoughts that keep us in fear. We need our mind and emotions in partnership to do this so see if you can bridge these two intelligences for more clarity and peace.

“Move, but don’t move the way fear moves” ~Rumi

Fear is no stranger to us in these times. The global events that have been transpiring have certainly rattled our sense of security to our cores. The upcoming election breeds even more fear and uncertainty. I am sure many of us would like to crawl in a hole and wait for the dust to settle and the coast to be clear. We may find ourselves wanting to blame and point fingers, irritable, in hyper vigilant mode, trouble sleeping, feeling an overall doom and gloom or powerlessness or on the opposite spectrum we may be looking for any chance to escape and distract. Well this powerful full moon in Aries is a call to action and movement onward and forward but but not from fear rather from courageous conviction that directs us from an inward steadiness and grounded strength.

Last week we started a new solar cycle in Libra calling us to “listen to new perspectives” so that we may be in better balance and harmony internally and with each other.  In a polarized world, we must learn how to build bridges into the new world we are creating and not more fences of separation and hate. This will require us to skillfully negotiate and be open to understanding the other sides of the story in order to find intersections of mutual desires. We started the new moon in Virgo encouraging us to take the steps to integrate into our daily lives the practices and work required to build our desires into reality. What causes are you devoted to serving for yourselves and your community? What holds you back or keeps you from daily progress? Fear can be a powerful motivator or de-motivator. It can cause a “fight, flight or freeze” response. But often none of those options really serve any of us. Being in constant stress mode drains your energy and diminishes your ability to think creativity and strategically on how to act.

But what else does fear do for us? Well it can help you stake awake and alert to what is going on. It gets our attention! But when we flip fear on its other side  (employ a little Libra action) we can use fear to show us what is truly important to us and what we may have to risk to protect it. Aries often calls us to the tough choices we must face when great things are at stake. Mars (our will and motivation to  act) is retrograde right now so we need a second look at our motivations and also how we are dealing with our stress levels. Are we feeling paralyzed by stress? If so what can we do about this? What practices do we have for stress management? We are not meant to stay in fear we are meant to move. Not from the fear as Rumi advises but we are meant to weigh the options, discern the best course, and know what matters and take constructive action. Recently, for me it is the choice to deal with the stress by managing and taking action. Taking action towards being as healthy as I can by caring for my mental and emotional health. Instead of propagating fear, we can propagate inspiration for us to do all do our part by serving in the ways you can make impact whether it’s being a voice and model of change at work, at home or within yourself.

Pluto and Saturn are leaving retrograde this week and these planets have been supporting the collective destruction of our foundations and structures that cannot stand because let’s say they were built on fear and intentions that were not sustainable. These planets are now helping us build within ourselves internal means for stability that lets us weather these times with confidence and perseverance. We can’t check out or simply just panic. We must be part of the change process that promotes the world that is being created one action at a time towards greater peace, equanimity and innovation. Time to move friends…I hope you will find the ways you can move that keep you connected to your inner trust, wisdom and resilience. It matters!

Week of September 7th:  “Redirecting”

Holy moly..is there a lot of buzzing energy to work through. I have felt like my plate never seems to empty. Like one of my friends recently said “My mind can’t hold it all!”. It is interesting what a shift in energy Virgo has brought with it. Our pace has certainly quickened which brings with it the tendency to get into the trance of doing from the old habituated ways (fast & furious). I have noticed that it has been all too easy to take “the joy out of it” and just get caught up in the stress and overwhelm of how to get it all done. Then I interrupt myself and think “What is the point of doing all this if it is making me stressed out?” What did these last 6 months teach me?..that how I do it is just as important as that I do it.” This week we will be practicing “redirecting”. We will experience some energetic shifts with Mars going retrograde and Jupiter going out of retrograde. We also have two personal planets changing signs:  Venus in Leo and Mercury in Libra, which brings more heart to what we do and a more balanced perspective to all this mental Virgo energy. Pro-style redirecting will have us move our attention from trying to take it all on towards dealing with things one at a time with intention and heart. How do you eat a full plate of food?  One bite at a time. How do you add some heart (AKA passion) to your meal? Add intention (choose mindfully) and taste each dish. Let the experience tell you if you are on the right track. Allow some “no thank you” bites if you find the dish is void of flavor or lacking nutrients. It’s not that this time isn’t about putting forth the effort, it is allowing ourselves to ensure that the effort is worth it and yielding favorable returns. We cannot get lost in the details and we must be able to continue to pivot and be adaptable with the hows. Remember we are creating some life upgrades and we are still learning this new software platform! 

Integration Tips for the week:

Use the meal as an analogy. Ideally, we eat when we are hungry. (We act from desire). We choose our food from what calls to us and by what will yield us nutrients.Taste matters as does nutrition-think balance. As we fill our plate, we don’t need more than we can eat or we will feel lethargic and sick. Before we eat, we say a little “grace” that allows us to connect once again to the why and to flavor our experience. Then we eat bite by bite, never rushing because then we cannot evaluate if we are enjoying the dish. Rushing can also prevent us from evaluating fullness. 

>Take on one thing at a time! Pace yourself!

>Try setting intention before everything you do. What is your motivation?

>Act from your heart from a sense of genuineness. 

>Perceive how each action and interaction make you feel? Lifts you up. Brings you down? Satisfaction? Are you enjoying yourself?

Digestion tip of the week:

Invoke a blessing before you eat. This can interrupt the momentum of eating in a rush and eating while distracted. Intention can flavor the energy of everything we do..even our food. Here are some examples:

“Thank you for the food before us, the family and friends beside us, and the love among us.”

“This food is a gift from the universe,  the earth, the sky and much hard work. May we live in a way that makes us worthy to receive it. May we transform our states of mind. May we only take food that nourish and prevent illness. We accept this food so that we may realize the path of our practice.”

“I honor all living things who gave their lives, and all beings whose efforts brought this food before me. May the strength and vitality acquired by eating this meal be used for the benefit of all living beings”

Energy Practice:

Use the hakini mudra each morning as you breathe into your intention for the day. Visualize your intention and see yourself living out your intention. Take deep breaths into your belly, heart and then mind. I recommend my “Clarity” oil with this practice or my “Forest Walk” aromatherapy spray. Both of these blends support your mind!

We enter Virgo Season on Saturday, August 22nd. Virgo is an earth sign so we are drawn back from the fun and playful fire energy of Leo towards a more practical and grounded energy. Right in time for school to start and the shorter days urging us to prioritize what work needs to get done! This cycle pre-ceded a new moon is Leo calling us to our hearts, our most authentic expression of who we are and a call towards a greater vibrance of being! It is time to get focused on worthy efforts near and dear to our heart that allow us to to embody the best version of ourself we can be..because it feels good!

Virgo Basics 101

The archetype of Virgo centers around themes of improvement and perfecting by processing like analyzing & sorting. 

Virgo rules our digestive system and so think of this on many levels..how we digest our food to how we digest our experiences, we must break it down and assimilate the nutrients in order to receive the benefits. The more nutrient dense the food (experience), the more beneficial it is for our body. Virgo energy prioritizes those practices and rituals that allow us to enhance the quality of our experiences and may reveal what needs to be weeded out as it provides no value. . Bottom line, Virgo wants to achieve the ideal..be it in health, in state of being, or in apprenticeship to its dutiful efforts with work or service to humanity. 

What does this take? Mindfulness and dedication of our efforts to that which serves us. Mercury is the planetary ruler to expect to feel the mind churning this month with analyzing the facts and prioritizing what is necessary and unnecessary. But the earth aspect of Virgo will require us to put in the effort to experience the results. This sign tends to be a diligent worker often associated with service work or healing work!

The dark side

Every archetype has a shadow or dark side and with Virgo, the addiction to perfectionism is no stranger. “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.” (Voltaire) and “Better a diamond with a flaw then a pebble without.” (Confucius).   Many things worth doing and worth doing badly.  Don’t let the aim of perfection stop you from doing something with a worthy aim. Another shadow side of this hard working sign, is the service offered being made at the expense of the giver. Have you ever known someone in their act of  service to humanity lose sight of their own health or wellbeing? I know personally I can dish out advice at times that I fail to personally utilize. The elixir for the shadow is to put on your own oxygen mask before putting one on another. Especially with this new moon in Leo, it is important that the work that we aspire to offer the world is given from a place of inner joy and delight. A cheerful giver vs the resentful martyr..nothing beats doing what we love while and realizing that it services society too!

How to work with this cycle?

This Virgo cycle is conjunct Mercury in Virgo so we get some extra umph to the mercurial aspect of focusing our mind on what is going to move us towards a better place of being. Merge this energy with the new moon is Leo adding a more personal and heartfelt flair and you have an aim for “efforts that enhance your vitality and allow you to show us as your best self”. I liken this to a new IOS. For me I want to show up as the new Jill ios 13.0 . Full of new enhancements and new tricks. 

>Where in your life do you feel like you are settling? Holding yourself back? 

>What does your ideal self look, feel and act like?

>So what practice can you add or remove from your life that will help you be the best you? 

>What daily commitments can you make towards an effort in the right direction of your success?

Take some hints from Marie Condo in “ The Magical Art of Tidying Up” and start with sorting. Needed versus Not Needed in your life. Then choose what you keep or discard based on joy. Does it  bring you joy? If not, discard it! Make space to bring in the people, experiences and things that delight you! 

Then take small steps towards that ideal. Keep it simple, silly  or other known as the KISS)method. Better to take one step or start with a small commitment than to bite off more than you can and end up not doing it. So, be it in the area of your  health and wellness, or in pursuit of your personal life, relationships or even a  work project, this is the month for bringing awareness to why you do what you do and its effect! Does it bring you closer to your most vibrant self? 

 Mind/Body Integration

If you want to work with this concept through movement and enhance your health, join me for Yoga this month. We are each choosing a pose, practice or area of the body to improve this month. We will also work on improving our digestion (which also improves your immunity). I will be teaching lots of simple practices that you can infuse into your daily routine to enhance your health and vitality. 

Aromatherapy is a powerful tool to use in ritual to support your intentions as well as to support your mental and emotional wellbeing. For Virgo, my seasonal spray is “Worthy Focus” designed to support you staying true to your priorities! “Clarity” is my roll on blend to help ease too much mental activity and leave you with a clear mind. I also recommend “ Sattva” and “Forest Walk” to ground you yet keep your mind calm. You can purchase my blends here. Use them with intention!!

We start the week with a Monday morning full moon in Aquarius! This full moon is square its Aquarian ruler Uranus in Taurus..feels like like an electric shock start to our week where anything can happen and turn on a dime! Aquarian energy is often associated with disruptions, sudden pivots and liberation from the known through some uninvited chaos and disorder. We are amidst the Leo cycle of energy calling us home to our hearts so that we can show up soulfully to be seen for who we really are. Not the kind of appearance in which we put on a good show for whatever the audience is looking for..aka. entertainment..but to feature ourselves in our most creative and authentic skin. We want to feel it from the inside ; like when we witness an actor or actress really draw from their human experience to portray a scene full of heart and we know they are fully acting..it’s real.

So what stops us from doing this? I mean who disagrees with wanting to show up as the real you? Let’s agree it takes a lot of effort to hide and feign to be someone you are not and not to mention to end result is less than satisfying. But society at times is a strong teacher of what is acceptable and social norms are real. No one really wants to be the lone ranger..to be called a freak and to feel alone after been “seen”. I mean I can surely recall times when I let myself be seen in a new way and was shutdown with judgment or criticism or unwelcome comments that taught my heart to hide and cover up. That kind of pain is real and over time we accept our role as others would want us and not how we want to be. Maybe we even got lots of applause for being the way others wanted us, or compensated really well or maybe we achieved “the dream” or an accomplishment that is supposed to mean “we made it” only to find our heart empty and unrecognizable. I remember being 26 having a wildly “successful career”, lots of money, the house, the car, the husband and I felt completely empty and like I didn’t know who I was. Everyone else told me, “Good job"! What changed? Disruption and a divergence from the trajectory I was on. Did I plan this? Well maybe from an unconscious soul level but nothing in my awareness wanted what was to come. Chaos. Confusion. Starting over. New frontiers. Change. And what came next I could have never imagined but somehow it aligned with the deepest part of me in a very strange and usual way. I lost myself and in the process found the freedom and space to find my true self.

These times feel very similar. Many of us have lost jobs or our jobs have taken a 180 from the path we thought we were on. Home life has completely taken on a new focus and meaning. Travel is a thing of the past and going to a restaurant is a spa day. Things that we easily dismissed now carry weight and some things that felt essential now seem inconsequential. Life has been turned upside down. And what is happening? Invitations for us to course correct, change paths. re-evaluate our sustainability, re-examine our values again and reacquaint ourselves with the most fundamental parts of life. It is certainly disruptive, confusing, liberating and yet scary as hell. There is not a lot of comfort in the unknown but boy is there space for the new to come in, for inventions, for ingenuity and for out of the blue new paths to be made available. For me, I am considering taking on a 6th grade school pod for my daughter. I never saw that coming, but is there a need? Can I step up and do it? Well, I am damn scared and feel unprepared but I can. Did I have dreams of being a world renowned astrologer, yoga teacher and healer..maybe. Is there another way to skin the cat (no offense cats-love you guys)..possibly? I know I want to make a difference. I know I want to offer something deep and rich to the world..maybe what needs to change is my perception of what and how that transpires. This aquarian full moon illuminates that possibility. Is there a divergent opportunity for you to reinvent who you are and what you do to be more fully you? Can disruption be your ally towards a more sustainable future for you to align more you than you have even been with your essence? Now is the time to sit, breathe, listen and let your higher mind download the update… new options available.

Leo season is here! We are in “heart” season..the Lion..ruled by the Sun and the element of fire. The Sun is a great analogy of what this season is about…boldness, heat, being “on fire”, being the brightest star and the joys and recreation of summer activities. This season the lion is asking us to “soulfully show up”..or so fully show up..as who you truly are. No reservations or holding back. This isn’t about living a life to survive but living a life fully alive and ready to thrive! With Leo the motivation is to be vulnerable enough to let yourself be seen and applauded for who you are at your core. When we let our hearts be open to connect to ourselves and life in this way we open to the joy of being alive.

Physical ways to work with this energy:

Leo rules the heart, spine and upper back so exercise that heart. to connect to it. Get your blood pumping! If you practice yoga, explore backbends and strengthen the upper back! Practice standing tall and connecting to your spine!

My classes will be sequenced to work with this energy all month. Check out my virtual classes here.

Energetic Ways to work with this energy:

Sun breath meditation: Close your eyes and imagine that with each inhale you are breathing the sun’s rays into your heart. As you exhale you are sending courage, creativity, warmth, and love to every cell in your body. Repeat.

Aromatherapy: My Fire blends ( Soulshine, Liquid Sunshine, Guiding Light and Agni roll on) will help cultivate the fire inside you. Read more about them here. Use them with intention. Hold an intention in your mind and heart and then spray. Do this throughout your day to remind you of what you are cultivating. You can use my Agni roll on blend to place over your abdomen or heart.

Here are some tips this month to let yourself shine…

Week of July 20th 

The week starts” fresh” with a new moon in Cancer on Monday and then midweek we begin the Leo solar cycle. New moons are times to plant seeds of intention and to align with new cycles of energy. During the Cancer solar cycle we have been doing some “personal rebooting” deep within ourselves. Perhaps during this last cycle (that started June 19) old wounds surfaced for you to heal and release old stories about yourself, new longings emerged to nurture into your future , or simply being more in touch with how you felt became a more normalized occurrence.  With Cancer season we work emotionally with life and our experience so that we rejuvenate the water (emotions) within us so that we are not stagnant or depleted of the wisdom our emotions bring to us..our intuition. Before we close this season, we get our 2nd new moon in Cancer. The first we experienced on the Summer Solstice with an eclipse. Since this time perhaps lots of shifts have been taking place under the surface or right in front of your eyes to accelerate moving you towards your potential.  This new moon is no less powerful than its predecessor  as it opposes retrograde Saturn in Capricorn adding a sense of seriousness and reflection and square Eris in Aries adding a dash of drama, reactivity and a proclivity to shake things up. Not to mention comet Neowise shining in the night sky illuminating the great change that is occurring in our world and the deep impact this change will have on all of us for a significant period of time.  I feel this new moon to be supporting us with a renewed sense of  power and purpose so that we can do the critical work of “showing up”. We are emerging in new ways that we need to reach what our soul desires in this life. We are tired of hiding parts of who we truly are or being inauthentic, from living a passionless life, from aiming low and holding back out of fear. We want to be free! Free to show up unencumbered, with a renewed perspective of ourselves and what can be. Instead of standing “naked & afraid” life wants us to be “naturally naked” and on stage and in the spotlight appearing exactly as we truly are. How vulnerable! How courageous! How joyful! How liberating!

This new moon and Leo cycle will ask you to answer the sentence “I will…….” and go for it. I will say how I feel. I will take a stand for what I believe in. I will vouch for myself. I will claim what I want. I will be honest with myself. You name it..call in the lioness/lion this month and claim your role in the jungle. This work will ask us to dance in the fire of being in our hearts. We must relate to life with a felt presence. Joy is not an idea..it is a felt sense of openly participating with life. We find our hearts and our joy by feeling our way in. So this next cycle, we can build upon the Cancer season’s invitation to keep close to how we feel.  

The world needs you to  show up as you are..everyone else is taken. Do this and brace for impact as dramatic shifts will be felt in our lives as we honor our sovereignty. Living in the heart space is not for the faint of heart but we cannot truly live if we are not willing to give over our fear of hiding our essence. 

New Moon Ritual: 

Fill a glass of water. Light a candle. Have an item or image that cultivates courage or inspiration. Spritz some aromatherapy (Moon Magic is my suggestion). 

Make an intention for how you want to “Show up” this month. Complete the statement “I will… and make a vow to follow your intuition, heart and commitment to your intention this month. 

What part of your life do you want to cultivate more authenticity? More freedom to be unapologetically in your own skin? Where is life calling for you to exhibit more courage to own you? Where can you follow your heart and open to more joy?

Stand up. Visualize yourself in your life confident, joyful and full awakened to your own essence. 

**My moon magick boxes have all you need for your monthly moon cycle rituals. 

Join me at 4:30p Monday July 20th for a new moon in Cancer Yoga class!

What has been going on?

We begin this week with some noticeable forward momentum as mercury is direct in cancer. Although Mercury will not be back to where it began its retrograde cycle(14 degrees Cancer) until July 27th we can give more credence to the ideas and plans that arise. The last few weeks have been a lot of emotional clearing and “deleting of old programming”. You may have felt a lot of old wounds resurface for you to release in order to move forward.  Or, maybe the baggage was mental and you had to create some space to rethink intentions and plans that you previously had made as they didn’t feel like they resonated with the deeper parts of you any longer. Sometimes we can feel lost and dumbfounded when nothing feels right.  The old feels outdated and a thing of the past and the new feels all too unfamiliar to get a read on. I laugh at how much I say I seek freedom and then when I get it I feel at odds with what to do with it! I have noticed a strong desire to make some big changes and yet no ideas for what or how to do that. I feel this last mercury retrograde cycle was not really about understanding or managing the hows but surrendering into this process of “rebooting” and letting ourselves get more comfortable not knowing and trusting none the less. Sometimes we have to get to the end of our knowing in order to open to what wants to be learned. Freedom is truly derived from the space from what we habitually do

What to expect this week?

 No matter what your experience, this month of “personal rebooting” is starting to turn a corner. Like when we get a new phone or computer, we often feel a little awkward and slow as we get to know the new operations. But, after the clearing process, we are ready to begin “playing” with these new downloads in our life through experimentation and trial and error. We will be asked to hold some space for two polarities to exist. With 4 planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto, Neptune) still in retrograde helping us restructure and rebuild our foundations and systems the Sun opposing 3 of these planets this week will ask that we continue to work with this restructuring as it is not over. These new ways are not yet integrated and like new sod, will take some time to fully anchor in. These ways have been around for a while and so as fast and efficient as we wish change and total overhauls to be, they often take longer than we think. That does not mean that we will not see palpable evidence of progress and be able to get a taste of some new freedoms being born from liberating ourselves from that which has been holding us back for so long. It just means that patience and holding fast to our dreams of what could be will be tested at times when we feel the weight of what is being demolished and the chaos that ensues. Remember this is happening on a global scale and so while you may feel the speed and progress of your efforts more rapidly, the rest of the world will be slower to respond and may at times panic in this organized chaos. This week with Mars and Chiron colliding in Aries our actions can come from our wounds and fear or from the courage to try out the new that is calling us forward.  Not everyone will choose courage, but we can!

So what do we do to work with all this? 

We take small movements in the direction that feels like it is anchored in what feels true for us now in this moment. We listen and follow those new instincts and intuitive directions that feel like they give us time and space to try things out. Since we take micro actions, we let ourselves go in new directions and learn from where these actions take us. We can mess up, we can “ not know” how it will work out but we move forward with one tiny step at a time. The moon this week will be aspecting Uranus, Venus, the North Node and Mercury..all providing some energy to just “play with life”. Notice how these actions make you feel. Instead of focusing on the long term results and the old ways of measuring progress, the new measure is how does it affect my joy factor, my pleasure of doing it, my sense of freedom to explore, my body, my values? ...those internal measures of success. Remember we are still in Cancer season and these times are more personal and internal! The Mars and Chiron energy can overly excite the nervous system, so this is a time to keep anchored in your daily practices that help you manage your stress. For me daily movement, quiet time in reflection, meditation and breathwork are life savers and often in this order!  Being in nature can also calm your spirit. We don’t have to “do” as a means to an end but we can allow our actions to satiate a greater hunger...who we are ready to become! Think less about roles and titles but traits and behaviors..this is a great time to envision how the “emerging you” wants to live their life in each moment and how that will feel!

By the end of this week you will have a chance to get more clear on what intentional seeds you are ready to plant for the 2nd new moon in Cancer on July 20th!

Support Practices for the week:

Join me for weekly Zoom yoga classes! Check out my schedule here.

I think a regular movement ritual is so important right now to dissipate some of the stress and nervous energy that comes with trying new things while witnessing the old stuff being released. So if you can't get to class or you want some additional practices I recommend these from my youtube channel:

Yoga for "Bringing in the new" (previous Spring Equinox class)

Yoga for the Shoulders

Get "free" with Shoulder Binds

Energy Technique/Tip for the week:

I want to share a technique I learned a few years ago that I loved from my friend Robin. In this short video you will learn how to "tap". You can use this for any emotions you feel or for any state you find yourself in. You can do it in the car or in the shower..anywhere. This would be a great practice this week!!

https://youtu.be/Bl62IM3Ou5Q

Aromatherapy Tip for the week: You can purchase my aromatherapy here.

"Courage"-this is my aromatherapy blend that is great for cultivating the courage to go after what you desire with confidence and connection to your truth. Think about the "warrior spirit" in bottle. Spray with intention.

"Agni"-my roll on oil blend can help do the same but it can also support digestive health. Place on your solar plexus with intention. 

If you enjoy single use oils..go for peppermint this week. It helps us download new programming in our brain. :)

At last the final of the three eclipses for this 6 month cycle. Eclipses mark release & entry points in the plot of our life. Nature is but a mirror of the constant cycles of creation, death and regeneration that we too experience in the threads of our lives. This lunar eclipse occurs at the south node of the moon that deals with themes of “letting go”.  With the Sun in Cancer pulling us inward towards our self-care and personal rebooting, this full moon/eclipse asks that we take our SELF seriously. Self being our entire self and our impact to our worlds both inner and outer!

We have come to a staircase in the road along our collective journey. It's time to ascend! The time has come to leave behind the old stories we tell ourselves of times of past. The time has come to stop speaking of our failures, limitations or of the difficulties we have faced in learning to honor who we are becoming. We pay respects to all the teachers disguised in these circumstances meant only to remind us of skills we embody, and strength we have forgotten, and persistence and dedication to our Truth that we must carry with us as we move up the staircase to greater freedom. All teachers must apply enough pressure so that we learn and integrate what is being taught in a way that will serve us going forward. Some information we will find helpful going forward and some was never meant to be retained. Before we  commence  up the staircase, it is important to be in honest reflection on what in the past was not working to support our continued growth and evolution. Humans are adaptable and often that is not to our favor as we learn to tolerate environments, belief systems and situations that truly need not be tolerated. We know these things as they make us feel asleep, deadened, separate and they lack the fire and zest that will keep us thriving not simply surviving.  We know these things too as they dim our hearts. All that which has pulled us away from ourselves and our deep desires and needs as individuals and collectives must be released. These may be jobs, work or life routines, health and well-being practices or absences, relationships. and group ideology and social norms. The heart can help us sort what we must personally surrender and nature and life will also remove when necessary what is no longer needed in the natural unfolding of life. With every exhalation we must let the past be in the past. We have mastered and learned what we needed.

The time is now to wipe our eyes clean and blink open to what is now present before us. We must keep our minds fresh and our eyes and ears widened to allow in new perspectives to take shape. What we need we hold within us. The way it takes shape and application will be different and new. New teachers will arrive for us and we can accept them graciously as they will help us develop new knowledge and skills to continue our growth. We need not barter our needs and desires on this new path we must simply find the creativity that exists in the co-creation into reality in sustainable forms. We need not hold power over others to gain success. No one can ever possess the keys to our success unless we give them away.  This is a time of remembering our power, not in the form of dominance but in the form of internal strength, integrity,  and magnetism. We are much more powerful to create this new path as we traverse it than we ever believed we were capable of before. We are not mere followers of the road “they” made before us but we are inventors and collaborators of the new way.  Embrace your role! We may ask ourselves, how do we do this? What do we do? We trust ourselves and what is within us and stay present. What we need is always before us right when we need it. If we cannot find what we need then we pause and collect ourselves. We clear our minds, ears and eyes and expand our view. We listen to our hearts for guidance. Its voice is soft but it always knows the way. We must spend quiet time in nature to learn to hear its voice more clearly. We nurture ourselves and tend to our personal wellbeing so that we are well equipped for this next phase. No longer do we need to push through in a depleted state. There is always plenty of time for what is necessary. When we are ready we show up and offer what we have to those around us and trust the synergy is a creative process. We are enough simply as we show up as we are... open to receive and relate to what the moment brings.  The more we embody this truth the faster we expand into our potential.  There is enough for everyone and when we act in this way we create more for our world to share. With every inhale, we breath into the new way of becoming and inhabiting the new world we rebirth together where all beings are happy and free. Love will always illuminate the way forward. Take yourself seriously as you and your wellbeing matter to the collective forces of change and liberation.