LIFECYCLE
FORECAST 2012
THE YEAR OF THE MIDDLE WAY:
Practicing Heartfelt Honest Communication
"In
such a period of growth,
emergence is often experienced by the individual
as emergency with all its attendant stress."
Rollo May
Welcome
to 2012 and all that will emerge. Communication is the golden ticket
and our 'tools for change' are: Review, Change, Peace. Jump right
in and embrace expansion. It's time to be honest and communicate all
that you've learned about living from your heart over the past twelve
months.
We
have arrived at the mid-point in our nine year pattern. This is an
unsettling and tricky zone to traverse. It's years that carry this
energy field that help us to learn, again and again, that arrogance
will not be tolerated... we're all in school. The twelve months/moons
before us are going to be teaching us the next steps so that by September
we'll recognize more about the deep meaning of the Middle Way. There's
a good deal of peace to be found within this space yet we have to be
willing to move through inner chaos and outer clamor to reach it. Fifth
level energy is not for sissies. This is bound to be a year of huge
adjustment so decide now to make change a joyful adventure within...
then notice with enthusiasm what emerges from your choice.
As
we are well aware... 2012 has been anticipated by some and dreaded by
others. Let's not subscribe to either polarity. In fact we could be
so bold as to suggest that the best place to be, this entire year,
is somewhere between black and white... good and bad... up and down...
rigid and limp. In Buddhism we're taught to integrate perspectives
applying wisdom and compassion to cultivate relative Bodhicitta, in
storytelling Goldilocks visits the Three Bears... and experiences "just
right". Jacquelyn
Small equates this level of energy to "hanging in the dangle,
suspended by the hand of God".
As
an assist, the year will prompt you to be in sync with your throat chakra.
Open the ears, nose and throat allowing them to act as your 2012 personal
GPS, setting your direction and keeping you on course:
Ears:
What do you hear that soothes?
Nose: What aromas comfort you?
Throat: What do you swallow that nourishes?
Conversely:
What
sounds discordant?
What stinks?
What can't you swallow?
Start
with the way that you speak to yourself, notice what you're communicating
that sucks energy out of your Art/Life. Get more honest about what it
is that reeks in your personal world and what you can no longer stomach.
There's a need for courage when we move toward deeper levels of the
honesty that the fifth level requires. Caroline Myss in her Energy Anatomy
work equates the fifth chakra with the sacrament of confession and she
reminds you need to be confessing to yourself not something outside
of you. Stay honest.
This
halfway point in the nine-year pattern is about learning your next level
of balance. Balance is a powerful commodity; when we lose it we can't
function. There's no denying that a majority of humans are out of balance
and as a result the scales are tipped dangerously and in a minute we
may slide over the edge.
The
following wise words are from Carl Sagan. Enjoy the video. Sagan
communicates a wisdom that inspires change. Since time began we have
journeyed to the stars in our imaginations. We're compelled to adventure
by our creative connection to the bigger wider world and yet it's only
within the recent history of our travels that Wayshowers such as Sagan
and Steven Hawking have helped us to recognize what's at stake if we
don't broaden perspective... "we float like a moat of dust in the
morning sky" serves as potent frame for this walk around the wheel.
Listen.
There are twelve months before you to devote to the creative task of
your emerging Art/Life. 2011 held difficulty and challenge. For many
of us it was just plain hard. We were learning to engage in the work
of the heart and clearly that is a job that requires vision and focus.
Let's imagine that you accomplished the task. Bravo. Now it's time to
listen to the Inner Directive of 'what now? what next? what matters?'
Hear.
Whatever transpired in your life this past year provided friction. Friction
is necessary. Friction is the dynamic that tempers and hones a deeper
awareness of what you're here for. Take a moment right now and honor
whatever has transpired for you throughout the last twelve months. Review
the past year through the practice of Inner Listening. Once you've completed
a brief appraisal turn and face the coming 13 moons.
Speak.
Connect with the Change that you sense is approaching. Take a deep breath.
The Mystery will magnetize your growing edge. The direction in which
you Art/Life is growing indicates what you are here to share.
"The
words we need will come of themselves.
When the words we want to use shoot up of themselves,
we get a new song."
Orpin Galiz
Communicate.
In 2012 you are being asked to find your Middle Way. Listening to the
Middle Way requires that you negate negativity wherever it arises. As
you begin the New Roman Calendar Year remember that bouncing back and
forth, jumping the track, doesn't help you. It doesn't help the world
or anyone or anything here at this time. Balance is required for the
future to unfold in a way that allows all living beings to experience
the freedom to simply be. Stay the course. Don't bounce about.
Share
your genuineness. This year you have the opportunity to align with
the peace of deep inner space and to then articulate with integrity
what you find there.
In
2012 the energy is set, on the global stage, to assist each of us to
create small changes and to witness small wonders as we walk onto the
Art/Life stage willing to COMMUNICATE who we are in our deepest most
inspired truth. Deep truth is not negotiable. You and I each birthed
ourselves in, baggage and all, so that we could have our say and play
our role in the unfolding story of love and service.
"...the
Middle Way is a life lived between the extremes of self-denial and
self-indulgence..."
For,
as the Buddha so wisely taught all those centuries ago, it is in the
walking of this Middle Way that one discovers Nirvana, releasing the
pain and anguish of the ego into the serenity of our Buddha-nature.
Stay
on course with what you have invested in over the last four years (2008
- 2011). It's time to be communicating deeply. Pay particular
attention to what you were up to in 2009. With this conscious connection
you can advance more smoothly into the areas that the fifth year in
a nine year cycle offers.
2012
let's you review what you've visualized, created, expressed and developed
over the past four years. The Tarot
offers a richly creative way to explore life's journey. The Hierophant:
Key #5 is our primary archetypal guide this year.
The Hierophant symbolizes the law of life-mastery. Through a
Buddha-like meditative awareness and philosophy that views every
experience as a lesson-learning opportunity for growth, the
Hierophant passes the steps or tests of life.
Life is your teacher...
As the Buddha-Hierophant, transmute your earth faults into
the philosopher's stone... a solid understanding that rifts
and conflicts are openings for new life to take seed.
The Hierophant is represented by the number five, which stands
for Humankind. Five symbolizes the human state of consciousness
that is higher than the animal realm but lower and less perfect
than the gods. Your opportunity is to use the human situation
of evolved qualities in order to transcend your unevolved aspects.
2012
will highlight the challenge to 'being peace'. In 2011 'the way in'
was to create the work of the heart. The physical spotlight this year
is on the throat chakra, the fifth of the seven major power centers
in the body. In the chakra
system this fifth level area is referred to as the "Heart's
Accelerated Path".
Now
we're building off of the preceding 48 months (2008-2011). It's wise
to recognize that no matter what you've been through, no matter what
the world at large has weathered during that time, you are still here
and the 12 months ahead are favored as a period of change and communication.
Make your throat zone a center of attention... visualize your words
as gorgeous perennial flowers blossoming forth from your mouth.
2003
was the last Level Five year. You might find it of significance to take
a look back, like a pendulum swinging, to reconnect with your Art/Life
journey from that point in time.
2003.
Where were you? What were you doing? Review allows for Inner Listening
and deeper communication with the self helping us to welcome and remember
that the personal journey is an integral part of the collective journey.
2003 was a different world. Any one of us could have gotten stuck in
the politics and terror of that time. Where were you? What were your
experiences? What did you want? This is a good time to quietly look
back to your own journal before you reflect upon 2003
in review... this time in list fashion.
Reading
the works of Wisdom Teachers and contemplating their gifts can give
us a view point that expands the ability to stand in the Midpoint and
teaches us to communicate compassionately.
Here
is William Martin's poetic contemporary translation of the fifth verse
of the Tao Te Ching from his book, The
Sage's Tao Te Ching:
OUR HEART HAS EXPANDED WITH COMPASSION
As we grow in age
we grow in acceptance.
We see shades of gray
instead of black and white.
We become slow to condemn
and quick to forgive.
We do not rant and rave.
We do not complain and gripe.
Our heart has expanded with compassion
and is open to all people.
Bitterness and cynicism abound
but you do not have to partake.
Think of an individual or organization
whose actions have upset you.
Write them a letter thanking them
for the benefits they provide
and encouraging them
in the difficult work they do.
Tell them you understand
how difficult it is to satisfy everyone.
Notice how such an action
will make you feel.
Take
a deep breath. Now take a moment and review the touchstones that have
occurred in this precious experience called your life over the
last 48 months. Within this time-line notice how trials and challenges
have helped you grow in your ability to express the Art/Life that you
choose.
During
2012 strengthen your ability to see life as an adventure. Adventure
means: To take a risk; dare... to go in search of. To go in search of
what? The next phase of your Art/Life experience... take a risk. Dare
to powerfully express.
"The
emotions are not always subject to reason,
but they are always subject to action!"
W. Clement Stone
A
NEW WAY TO SHARE
The
work this year is freeing and non dualistic. That means: review your
emotional experiences for the past four years and make a commitment
to free up emotional energies that have been taking you in a direction
that does not serve you. You know when you're emotionally balanced and
when you're not. Listen to your internal guidance system. To be non-dual
means don't be jumping about. Calm down. Learn about polar opposites
such as the traditional Buddhist 'Eight Worldly Dharmas'.
In
her pithy and profound book When Things fall Apart, Pema Chodron writes:
The irony is that we make up the eight worldly dharmas.
We make them up in reaction to what happens to us in this world.
They are nothing concrete in themselves…
In meditation, we can notice how emotions and moods are connected
with having lost or gained something, having been praised or
blamed, and so forth. Gradually our practice evolves. We start
understanding that, just like us, other people also keep getting
hooked by hope and fear.
Everywhere we go, we see the misery that comes from buying
into the eight worldly dharmas. … [This is] the beginning
of growing up…
When we begin just to try to accept ourselves, the ancient
burden of self-importance lightens up considerably…Having
compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all [the]
unwanted parts of ourselves, all those imperfections that we
don't even want to look at.
Compassion isn't some kind of self-improvement project or ideal
that we're trying to live up to.
There's a slogan in the Mahayana teachings that says, 'Drive
all blames into oneself.' The essence of this slogan is, 'When
it hurts so bad, it's because I am hanging on so tight.' What
it implies is that pain comes from holding on so tightly to
having it our own way and that one of the main exits we take
when we find ourselves in an unwanted situation or an unwanted
place, is to blame.
Express
your true voice using an adventurous, dynamic, and unexpected approach.
Think zip lines. Mountains to climb. This is a sky's the limit, possibility
year. Convey that.
Listen:
for clarity
Listen: for wisdom
Listen: for 'light'
Listen for growth.
Listen: for trust
Listen: for love
Listen: for experience
Listen: for death and Listen for rebirth
Listen: for strength
Listen: for purification
Listen: for renewal
Listen: for integrity
The Universal Year (UY) for the previous twelve months (2011) brought
the energy of Level Four. It was about the heartfelt process of building
a foundation. If you gained a true sense of your heart's work bringing
it into form for the world… then welcome in 2012! It's a communication
year …and this ever changing and newly developing world needs you!
In
addition to reviewing the past four years and recharging your balance,
this 2012/5-level of energy also provides the opportunity for you to
promote your ventures... it's a very good year to sell your ideas.
Without
judging the means by which some have and some have not,
you can simply imagine how you might enjoy living so as to enhance the
environment in which you dwell. Experiment all year with being on a
grand adventure to create the Art called your Life.
In
2012 you will continue to learn much about the need to balance the forces
of light and dark. This past year most certainly helped you to endure
challenges regarding the heart work you wish to express. These challenges
presented you with additional 'power tools'.
Gaze
out at the blank slate of the 12 months/13 moons before you, and ask,
'Am
I ready to take a risk?'
'Do I own my own emotions?'
'Do I listen to Inner Guidance?'
'Am I capable of expressing my vision?'
'Do I meditate?'
Most importantly this year:
'Do I see life as an adventure in making peace?'
Maybe.
Maybe not. And certainly no one is at 100%. Yet in asking these questions
you can calm down, moon by moon. You can look toward a deeper spirit
of 'we're all in this together'. You can open your mind to the present
moment.
This
practice of reviewing and risking is admirable, provided that while
on this adventure you don't ignore or deny the shadowy parts of yourself
ever calling to be illuminated. During this past year many discovered
or uncovered aspects of the fear-filled dark-side. All people have monsters,
dragons and strange beliefs that are found lurking and hidden in the
physical/mental, emotional or spiritual zones. These collective shadows
and forces of nature continue to escalate in their dance on the world
stage. In truth the world is reeling in a dance of terror. Political,
financial, climatic terror visit the planet as we continue to move deeper
into this new millennium.
The
twelve months before us will offer people globally the greatest chance
within the context of this current nine-year cycle, to communicate a
peaceful world view. In fact, this is a perfect year to also notice
if your best traits sometimes get buried in the basement covered over
and out of sight... invite them to come to live openly as you give them
voice.
The
Lifecycle Forecast is representative of the Universal Energy system
that acts like an umbrella over the globe. Realize that whatever you
were learning to accept nine years ago is energetically matured now.
It really is time to evolve. Learn what that means for you.
2011
was the year to practice getting the hang of living from your heart.
It is from this place that we can truly learn the secret of creating
a world that supports all living beings with compassion and care.
I value
the adventure that unfolds year to year. I have tested this work with
true discipline for more than three decades and ask that you do likewise...
keep notes.
I thank
my many amazing friends, teachers and tools for helping me to hone my
communication skills. I'm deeply indebted to the exchange of ideas handed
down by the Master Artists and Teachers whose words have buoyed my interaction
with life.
For
a delightful 2012 change you can imagine that your Higher Self is singing
you a beautiful love song... here's one...
Listen:
You can emancipate yourself. You can hear a better way this year.
You can listen, hear and speak to the heart of it all. You can be the
peacemaker in your Art/Life. Whatever you choose to share this year
realize that the subtitle for 2012 is 'Honest Communication'. As a gift
to yourself listen to everything that comes your way as though it's
the soundtrack of your Art/Life adventure.
IT'S
ALL IN THE NUMBERS
By
reading the vibration of energy fields, for the year ahead we find 2012
to be Universal Year # 5. The universal quality of any given
year points in the direction of how best to align with the role of being
a conscious Planetary Citizen. The UY also lets us see, sense and feel
when we miss the mark.
In
the Fifth year of a cycle you are asked to practice moderation and notice
the peace that results from the freedom of that choice.
All
over the globe this will be an action packed year. We will collectively
create, travel, change, express, adventure, and promote in whatever
fashion our collective goals requires. As we move into the Fifth Year
the momentum of the Nine Year pattern has hit its mid point. As Planetary
Citizens we can discover new ways to exchange ideas. We can consciously
generate healthy outgoing achievement.
Here
we go:
ARE
YOU WILLING TO LISTEN?
This
is a year to pay attention and expand. Benefit will come by being adventurous.
Listen for opportunity. A fitting mantra: 'detach from negativity'.
2012
has the capacity to set us on a decisive course of action. The first
action is to review where you've been physically, emotionally and spiritually
since 2008. Make a list of what has come and what has gone. Reconnect
to what you're intention is for your Art/Life. Think change. Think exploration.
Think escapade.
Some
keywords/phrases that encourage throughout 2012: acceptance, adventure,
calm, change, choices, enthusiasm, ecstasy, encouragement, expansive,
freedom, guidance, happiness, healing, individualism, intuitive, imagination,
journey, navigate, promote, respect, surrender personal will to Divine
Will, syntax, visionary.
Take
any of these words or phrases and look them up in the dictionary or
thesaurus. Do the same with the words listed in the individual monthly
moon listings below. Don't judge the word, rather learn how it's being
experienced by you and whether it brings balance or discord within.
Ask for insight and guidance to tell you about the way in which each
quality lives through you. Journal, draw, paint, dance, sculpt or craft
your responses. Gain awareness as to how to move forward being peaceful,
being balanced and stable. Listen for clear guidance in relation to
your goal.
"Keep
your eye on your inner world
and keep away from ads, idiots and movie stars."
Dorothea Tanning, Artist
LISTEN,
HEAR, SPEAK
Homework
for the year ahead:
review the last four years (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
make change happen
meditate
decide what your adventure will be
engage
people who express balance
hang
out with adventurous, creative people
cultivate
your voice
walk
in the direction of your emotional freedom
be
willing to surrender to something Greater than yourself
take
note/express/make a statement
grow
from the experience of the last four years
trust your 'central', your deepest stillpoint
These
can be intuitive/active indicators that may also inspire those whose
lives you touch. You could teach a class on any one of these. You could
begin to design a community outreach today.
THE
UNIVERSAL YEAR: 2012 MOON-BY-MOON
Throughout
this Year
of the Dragon, at the beginning of each monthly post, I'll insert
inspirations and insights from a collection of varied Wisdom Teachers.
The Fifth Year is meant to be filled with healthy risk and exciting
adventure. Keep anger directed toward constructive action and let your
soft spot hold compassion for all living beings.
In
the book Emotionally
Free, Dr. David Viscott, addresses the topic of blind spots. He
writes:
True
strength of character depends on understanding the weaknesses
that are potential spoilers of your talents. Believing in yourself
enough to get your weaknesses out of the way of your strengths
is often enough to carry the day. Our blind spots reflect a
lack of awareness of our weaknesses...
Blind
spots can keep us from seeing either the bad or the good in
a situation. We can believe all is well or all is lost just
as easily (and unrealistically). Their purpose is to weight
the scales so the conclusion we draw is slanted to give us comfort,
to make us appear right, good, or smart. This prejudiced point
of view also causes us pain because it delays our dealing with
reality.
To
assist you on your journey look at how you might align your self-expression
through each progression of the moon as she cycles through the Universal
Year # 5. Keep in mind that the descriptions offered here are referring
to the umbrella-like energetic qualities that affect us all. Additionally
there are Personal Year Energy fields that are unique to each of us.
If
you've read this far... thank you! I send you all best wishes for a
grand adventure in 2012. My gift to you at any time this year is your
2012 Personal Year Energy descriptor.
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I wish
you a year of emotional freedom. Moon by Moon let's hone our communication
skills so that we're realistic and balanced helping to transform the
suffering where we see it.
I
look forward to seeing you December 24, January 23, February 21 as we
walk the Natural Wheel through the Winter Quadrant of the Mystery.
First
Lunation: The Cleansing Moon
December 24, 2011 - January 22, 2012
A
Prayer for the New Millennium
May
All beings everywhere
be awakened, healed,
peaceful and free;
May there be peace in this world,
and an end to war, poverty,
violence and oppression;
And may we all together
complete the spiritual journey.
Welcome
to the first moon of the Winter Quadrant, the Moon/Months of January,
February and March take us through the Mystery. Now is the time to set
intentions and goals for the 90 days of this quadrant. The Mystery Quadrant
brings you into contact with the secret, ambiguous, and hidden aspects
of your creative nature. We're intrigued by the unknown and the obscure,
aren't we? We're magnetically drawn toward the concealed and disguised.
Now we can take advantage of delving into this area of our own deep
within. Set an intention to mine the gold of the year. In this Mystery
Quadrant we can discover the treasure that's unfolded since last Spring
Equinox.
One
of my teachers talks about the importance of being an "existential
detective". Look at how life and others are presenting data. Existential
detective is a fitting way to frame a relationship with yourself during
this time. Mystery is aligned with uncertainty. There's a requisite
trust during this 90 days that carries us deeper and deeper inward.
We continue to move toward the hidden veins of gold that have been revealed
since internal exploration began on September 23 at the Autumnal Equinox.
Each year at Fall Equinox we circle back toward death to the material
world so that we can begin to calm down and turn Within.
Calming
down is not an easy thing to do. Six months annually for travel to the
underworld delving into the subconscious is infinitely useful. No hurry.
Every year we enter a never before visited realm. Being a detective
and studying the Mystery of our mining process is an exhilarating uplift.
Four weeks from now we're going to be feeling a strong pull toward 'getting
on with it'. For now... relax a bit deeper. Sense into ideas and
inspirations. Begin to set an intention for the gold coming up to
the surface in spring.
December
24 through January 22, cleanse the emotional body. The reason why this
is important is so that you free your feeling nature and begin to release
toxic build-up. Once this is accomplished, you'll be able to devote
the twelve months ahead to on-going review, change and peacemaking.
This
year's energy is bringing an exhilarating adventure. Consider what you
need to cleanse away so that you feel balanced. Change that which feels
defended and brittle.
January
2012 is for addressing the masculine/feminine relationships in your
life. Imagine this cycle as a time of first connecting to the male and
female balance within. Be creative. Meet each of these parts. Give them
names. Know when you're being active/masculine and receptive/feminine.
Feminine relates to the left side of the body, ancestry and the past.
Masculine relates to the right side of the body, moving into the world
and the future.
How
terrific that the first step onto the yearly calendar provides room
for each of us to make a commitment to nest, turn inward, make a home
for our balanced self. This deepening relationship with self then makes
it possible to connect with others by creating a sense of stability.
We'll be learning all year long the default of inner balance between
the active and receptive parts as they relate to change and to our ability
to communicate the Middle Way.
KEYWORDS
for attuning to this cycle: accommodating, artist, balance, be a
true friend, cheerful, discriminating, equilibrium, feng shui, harmonize
the home, intuition, love of nature, new, poise, stability, steadiness,
trust, truth, understanding.
KEYWORDS that take energy away: arrogant, bossy, distrusting, eco-phobia,
emotionally unbalanced, sad, under nourished, war, wobble.
HOMEWORK: Communicate with your inner masculine and feminine
each day during this cycle. Journal their conversations. Make a home
for these 'doing' and 'being' parts. The year's emphasis is on knowing
how to bring yourself back to center. Spend time getting to know you.
Second
Lunation: The Renewal Moon
January 23 - February 20
The
World is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful.
e.e. cummings
Welcome
to the Year
of the Black Water Dragon and to the second moon of the Winter Quadrant.
The Moon/Months of February and March remain as we traverse the Mystery.
February is the time to renew your relationship with the breathtaking
and succulent. On February 2 the ancient cross quarter day of celebration
reminds us of the Mother and the maternal ancestry that allows us to
be here in our one precious human life. It is also the place on the
Natural Calendar where we can begin to feel the Earth stir as she prepares
to wake us up.
The
Renewal zone of the Mystery Quadrant brings you into contact with confidence.
You are born and a dream is stirring... soon it will be time to wake
up from winter's sleep. Yet we are still drowsy and often uncertain.
February's moon cycle is then the opportune time, while it's yet so
quiet, to engage in the mystifying facets of your imaginative and resourceful
nature.
As
creative beings we're fascinated by the new and the unseen. This is
a fabulous time to delve into the ways in which you are like Dragon.
"The
Dragon Personality
The Dragon is a creature of myth and legend. A symbol of good fortune
and sign of intense power, the Oriental Dragon is regarded as a divine
beast - the reverse of the malicious monster that Westerners felt
necessary to find and slay. In Eastern philosophy, the Dragon is said
to be a deliverer of good fortune and a master of authority. Therefore,
those people born in Dragon years are to be honored and respected."
Now
you can take advantage of delving into your Dragon nature renewing your
awareness of the good fortune and intense power that is waiting to assist
you. In the Renewal cycle reconnect to the dreamy yet strengthening
characteristics that may be resting deep within. Your energy is stirring,
can you feel it? Time soon to bring the fresh new you out into the increasing
light.
Candlemas,
the midpoint between Solstice and Equinox, falls on February 2 and aligns
us with awakening:
"The
promises of the return of the light and the renewal of life which
were made at the winter solstice are now becoming manifest. It's the
dawn of the year... It's time to creep out of the hibernation of winter,
cautiously, like the Ground Hog who supposedly emerges on this day
to check his shadow. It's the time of germination. This is a traditional
time for new beginnings."
As
you move through this time of renewal and rekindling of your creative
potency, it's beautifully regenerative to take some deep time for yourself.
The particular quality of February 2012 is excellent for making time
to step away from any confusion and clutter in your Art/Life.
You
have a space, a place within you, the seat of your power and possibility.
It is found deep in your gut. This area is referred to by many names.
I love the Lakota term of Orenda. This word points to the creative universe
within.
Go
inward this Moon/Month. Not to rest and recalibrate but to Renew your
willingness to bring forth what is yours to share. Sink in this Moon/Month.
Be pregnant with the miracle of coming birth. What does this new, yet
unseen child of your imagination, look like in your deepest vision?
Can you feel the stir? Was that a kick? It's time now to Renew a commitment
to showing up and being the good mother to the ideas and inspirations
that have been gathering since Solstice.
One
of my teachers talks about the importance of being "ferocious".
I was startled and resistant to letting this view in. Then I began to
open my heart/mind to the reality behind the word when applied to the
willingness that a healthy mother has regarding the safety and well
being of her child. I began to research the beneficial and wholesome
way in which nature provides this quality. I specifically choose this
vigorous descriptor for our current Renewal Moon/Month. Ferocious is
a fitting way to frame the opportunity available now for protecting
that on which nest. You must protect that which you anticipate giving
birth to. You must be alert. The Renewal of your creative gifts is coming
closer to their birth during this time...vigilance is useful.
Mystery
is aligned with uncertainty just as Renewal is aligned with deep Trust.
Trust lives half way round the Natural Calendar in August. Imagine that
what you are ferociously willing to Renew now is going to be well worth
trusting in by mid August. There is, as you may now see with clarity,
a requisite trust required during this 90 days that has continued to
carries us deeper and deeper inward. Something stirs now. Tend to that.
Continue to tend to the treasure coming up to birth at Equinox.
Were
you able to cleanse your emotional body during this last Moon/Month?
Can you feel the balance point between your ability to BE and to DO?
Great. With this accomplished, you'll be to able to clear away energy
spills that will inevitably occur as you're moving forward. With a recognition
of your balance point you'll be free to devote the eleven Moon/Months
ahead to the Natural Calendar's assignment for 2012 which is on-going,
Moon by Moon review and change leading to peace.
2012
is bringing an exhilarating adventure. Consider what you need to Renew
so that you feel ferociously balanced. Nest and tend and Renew your
commitment to bring your Art/Life out to meet the returning light at
Equinox.
February
2012 is for addressing the higher relationship with your life. Imagine
this cycle as a time of vision questing. Be creative. Set aside the
space to nest and listen to Inner prompts and intuitions.
How
sobering that the second step onto the Natural Calendar provides room
for each of us to make a commitment to be responsible for ferociously
tending to that which is coming closer to being born. In the January
cycle you took care of making space for stability. Now we'll be remembering,
all year long, the default of inner balance between the active and receptive
parts as they relate to change and to our ability to communicate the
Middle Way. This Moon/Month be the fierce mother tending to her yet
unborn.
KEYWORDS
for attuning to this cycle: boldness, deep thinking, dignity, independent
action, initiative, intuition, intense, meditation, natural, persistence,
powerful imagination, problem solving, reflect, regenerate, renew, self
examination, studious, wild.
KEYWORDS
that take energy away: aloof, bored, depression, deprivation, dread,
dull, fearful, mild, secretive, suspicious, tamed, tepid, unapproachable.
HOMEWORK: Be on your vision quest. The year's emphasis is on
knowing how to renew your balance and stay connected to your Orenda,
your creative center. Spend time tending to your Art/Life dream being
passionately Renewed and readied for rebirth.
I
look forward to seeing you, Monday, February 20 for the Purity Moon.
Third
Lunation: Purity Moon
February 21 - March 21
Rest in
Natural Great Peace this exhausted mind,
beaten helplessly by karma and neurotic thoughts,
like the relentless fury of the pounding waves
in the infinite ocean of samsara.
This
year the Third Lunation spans the last nine days of February and the
first three weeks of March. This is the last Moon/Month for the Winter
Quadrant.
How
will you traverse this last piece of the Mystery? In each Natural Year
we receive ninety days (three Moon/Months), between the December Solstice
and the Equinox of March. This is ample time to meet the secret, ambiguous,
unknown of the Great Mystery of the Art/Life. The Purity Moon, the last
of the three moon quadrant, provides time to purify.
Consider
the ways in which you can liberate your physical, emotional and spiritual
relationships of any toxic build-up accumulated over the last eleven
months. Review the experiences, expressions, creations and contributions
that you've been involved with since the Equinox in 2011... eleven months
ago. You are now at an edge place, you can expand your dream and you
can step into the next level of your power.
In
our last Moon/Month we embraced the Natural Renewal of this time of
year. Now the Natural Purity of the Mystery Quadrant brings you into
contact with release of impurities that might hamper the birth of
the Art/Life vision that you have been dreaming.
You've
been pushing your seed/dream into the deep loam of your roots for a
time now. In the Northern Hemisphere we can look back to last Equinox
in fall, the beginning of the quieting time, the gentle Natural Pattern
of turning within. We've now moved through the six Moon/Months naturally
designed for rest and replenishing our reserves of creative life force.
This
Third Lunation of 2012 is the opportune time to consider your innocence
and wholesomeness. You have gifts and talents to share and here you
come to the place of sending out the best of what you have. It's a powerful
time to also explore the concept of bewilderment. You don't want
to close down this Natural Year feeling panic, disorientation, bafflement.
Invest
in and purify these muddles. Pay close attention to your gut and 'what
you can and cannot stomach'.
be·wil·der·ment
(bih-wil-der-muhnt) noun
1. The condition of being confused or disoriented.
2. A situation of perplexity or confusion; a tangle: a bewilderment
of lies and half-truths.
In Buddhist
teaching there is the awareness that 'confusion is the cause of all
suffering'. It then makes real sense to devote a bit of time now to becoming honest about where in the Art/Life you
are feeling any type of disorientation or embarrassment regarding your
direction.
Be
the artist that you are and write/journal/draw/dance/release the confused
aspects NOW.
At
the next New Moon we begin the New Natural Year. The keyword will be
Clarity.
Clarity
is the polar opposite of bewilderment. Take note of how one focus point
leads to the next through the application of the keywords (and their
opposites). Let's walk around the Natural Calendar looking at the keywords
(and the one that sits half way around the circle) which provide focus
for each cycle. Look at your birth Moon/Month and its keyword as your
Art/Life Gift. Look to the opposite point to connect with your Art/Life
Challenge. For example...being born in February my Art/Life Gift is
Renewal and my Art/Life Challenge is Trust. I can weave these personal
keywords through the Natural Year in conjunction with my Seed/Vision
and thereby gain insight year after year as to ways in which to balance
my Gift and Challenge.
THE NATURAL CALENDAR KEYWORDS
MOON BY MOON
The Moon of Aries/April = Clarity
The Moon of Taurus/May = Wisdom
The Moon of Gemini/June = Illumination
The Moon of Cancer/July = Growth
The Moon of Leo/August = Trust
The Moon of Virgo/September = Love
The Moon of Libra/October = Experience
The Moon of Scorpio/November = Introspection
The Moon of Sagittarius/December = Strength
The Moon of Capricorn/January = Cleansing
The Moon of Aquarius/February = Renewal
The Moon of Pisces/March = Purity
In this,
our last Moon/Month of the Natural Year, we receive ample opportunity
to purify any toxins within the physical, emotional and spiritual experiences
of the past eleven Moon/Months. We have the opportunity to address,
in turn, the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of the Art/Life
that cause confusion.
In
the Purity cycle you can reconnect to the Seed/Vision, now strengthened
after all these Moon/Months, that's resting deep within you. In four
weeks at the Equinox you'll birth the fresh new you into the increasing
light.
As
you move through this time it's regenerative to continue taking meditative
time for yourself stepping away from any confusion and clutter in your
Art/Life...resting in Natural Great Peace as often as possible.
Continue
to turn inward this Moon/Month. Purify your willingness to bring forth
what is yours to share. Be pregnant with the miracle of coming birth.
What does this new, yet unseen child of your imagination, look like
in your deepest vision? Can you feel the stir? Was that a kick? It's
time to consider the environment into which you will birth this new
part of your Art/Life. Make a pure commitment to showing up and be the
empowered mother to the inspiration and motivations that have been gathering
since Solstice.
My
teachers speak of the magnitude of being self-assured and unassuming
simultaneously. I have gained such depth of awareness by welcoming this
notion into my heart. I feel my Muse open my heart/mind to confident
humility. I research the valuable and nourishing ways in which nature
provides me with opportunities these past eleven Moon/Months to gain
conscious connection to these qualities.
Confident
and humble is a fitting way to frame the opportunity available now.
Be alert. The Purity of your creative gifts is coming closer.
Were
you able to Renew your emotional balance during this last Moon/Month?
Great. With this accomplished, you'll be able to moving forward.
Imagine this cycle as a time of being your most authentic. Be bold.
KEYWORDS
for attuning to this cycle: ambitious, antidote, attain, balance,
become, constructive, discipline, expansion, faith, finances, good judgment,
inner strength, shamanic, stability, successful, trust.
KEYWORDS
that take energy away: abuse, careless, dilemma, lack of vision,
manipulation, pushy, under earning, wheeler dealer.
HOMEWORK: focus on the Inner Guidance of your Inner Genius. Be
aware. Trust the unseen, intangible, spiritual side of things. Rise
up to meet your potential. Lead those around you to the path of harmony.
I
look forward to seeing you, Thursday, March 22 for the Clarity Moon....
and the start of the Natural Year!
Fourth
Lunation: The Clarity Moon
March 22 - April 21
Although
the world is very full of suffering,
it is also full of the over-coming of it.
This
is our first Moon/Month of the Natural Year, the Aries cycle. I send
all best for a personal sense of beginning within your beautiful Art/Life.
Kicking off this Spring segment of the Natural Calendar is the focus
point of 'ME'. The word ME in the context of the Spring Quadrant refers
to the ancient alchemical code word for the Divine Feminine. Allow your
Muse
to guide you as you move through this first 90 days of the Natural year.
The wonderful Angeles
Arrien offers a way in with The
Nine Muses.
I'm
a fan Dr.
Lilan Laishley... her images and information are beautiful and hot
off the press today. Subscribe to her free Full Moon e-newsletter here.
In
the Aries cycle there is ample opportunity to cultivate clear seeing.
Focus upon the Seed/Dream that you carried through the Renewal and Purity
cycles of February and March. Clarity can be applied to the physical,
emotional and spiritual experiences of the coming twelve Moon/Months.
Just
as a quick reminder so that we keep our personal experience in balance
with the overall global energy of the calendar year... all through
2012 we want to be placing an emphasis on 'negating negativity'... and
making peace... one viable way to accomplish this task is to, act
like a duck... when upset... 'shake it off' and let as much oddness
as possible roll off your back.
And
speaking of oddness... here's my little story: at the New Moon, with
Mercury and Mars both retrograde, I made the attempt to post this newsletter.
Instead of the post going through I had the opportunity to clearly see
that technology and I were destined to take a wee break from one another...
maybe it can be chalked up to the conditions in the sky. For whatever
reason just before I went to publish the monthly 'Luna See' newsletter
I inadvertently lost all of my content... into the void of cyberspace.
Gone.
My
eyes widened as I stared at the screen in disbelief... content gone.
Now, of course, I work from a saved document... however this time I
was trying something different... and let's just say... it wasn't a
technique that I'll try a second time. Instead of getting upset with
myself, or the situation, I took a second and then... I shut down the
computer and walked outdoors...thus began a nicely stretched out computer
break. The phone's landline is in the same bundled system as the computer
and it was out of the loop too.
During
that time my dear old car collapsed and went for an extended stay in
the shop. These events provided more time for riding my bike, walking,
starting to clean up the garden and being outdoors in the magnificent
air of the New Natural Year.
How
have you been having to rework and repair with both Mercury and Mars
retrograde?
Now
is the time to be taking the Seed/Dreams that came to meet you during
February and March crafting them into your intention.
Spring
is for 'Clear-seeing.' Take these 29.6 days and find time to visualize
and bring Clarity regarding the direction for your Art/Life during this
90-day Spring Quadrant.
Here's
mine: I began, 18 months ago, working with a global group of several
hundred creative women. It's a thrilling learning community and each
of us is being mentored to design a project that is an inspired stretch
and a collaboration with others.
Over
the past few Moon/Months I've been reaching well beyond my comfort zone
and setting my Seed/Dream: partnering with several nonprofit organizations
and my poet/educator friend, Toni. I've designed, and presented to them,
a public art project called 'Life in Transit'.
My
goal is set... as it emanates from a place of Seed/Dream... and will
evolve throughout the Natural Year. Even if it turns out very differently
than I'm visualizing I know it will be an adventure like nothing I've
ever experienced.
In
a focus statement my project looks like this:
'Life
in transit' asks the question: Can a small group of marginalized and
culturally invisible women express their inner strengths and inspire
courage through personal art made public?
'Life
in Transit' is a 'think global, act local' venture. It honors and
respects the strength and vitality of women around the world who have
taken action to be liberated from domestic violence and poverty.
I'll
share the project with you as it unfolds and I challenge you to also
share your unfolding Art/Life motivations and goals.
In
the Clarity cycle you can observe your Seed/Dream (of March) morph into
your Seed/Vision (of the Spring Quadrant). The Aries Moon cycle is the
time to visualize yourself anchoring into the deepest, most fertile
ground, of your changing Art/Life.
Feed
your Art/Life Seed through images. This keeps your vision for the Natural
Year strong from the start and rooted within you.
In
the time between the Equinox (of March 20) and the Solstice (of June
20) you have 90 days to cultivate the 'New Natural You' as you are growing
into the increasing light. Now's the time to place yourself onto
a track that provides the natural unfolding of your personal energy
as an art form in itself.
My
visits to Clarity are soothing now. He never tells me what
to think or feel or do but shows me how to find out what I
need to know.
It
was not always like this. I used to visit other people who
visited him. Finally, I summoned the courage to call on him
myself. I still remember the first time I went to see him.
Was I surprised.
He
lives on a hill in a little house surrounded by wild roses.
I went in the living room and sat down in a comfortable chair
by the fireplace. There were topographical maps on the walls,
and the room was full of stuff, musical instruments and telescopes
and globes, geodes and crystals and old Italian tarot decks,
two small cats.
When
I left, he presented me with a sketchbook and told me to draw
the same thing every day until the drawing started to speak
to me.
In
this the Global Fifth Level Year (read the 2012 article) it's smart
to expect the unexpected. The Fifth Year in the cycle brings
up unsettledness, addictiveness and tests our ability to review where
we've been in order to direct our attention to where we intend to go.
Following the past three moon cycles it's time now to be rekindle
your creative potency. Commit to your seed/dream. Commit to this
being a year of true adventure. Commit to an adventure of the most healthy
kind.
KEYWORDS
that bring Clarity this Moon: agape, broad outlook, brotherhood,
compassionate, cultivation, evolve, fine arts, generosity, healing arts,
mercy, selfless service.
KEYWORDS
that take Clarity: aimless, conflicts, doubt, disappointment, disillusionment,
frustrated, unfulfilled.
Homework for Clarity: Where, with whom, how and when do you
feel most alive in your Art/Life? Notice and set intentions to open
to those places and opportunities. Write your ideas down and share them
with someone that you trust.
In
the Northeast Ohio area? I invite you to join me on April 21 at Lorain
County Community College for the Spring
Creativity Salon. Bring a friend and set your focus together.
I
look forward to seeing you, Saturday, April 21 for the Wisdom Moon....
and the second Moon/Month of the Natural Year!
Fifth
Lunation: The Clarity/Wisdom Moon
April 21 - May 20
Welcome
to 'Luna See' for the Fifth Lunation of 2012!
Here
at Luna See we're walking through the cycles of the seasons as a way
to find the natural flow of our Art/Life. This is a great Moon/Month
to push yourself forward and notice how capable you are. Practice your
meditation... and then engage with your Art/Life vision!
As of the last new moon (March 22) we've entered the beginning of the
Natural Year. That makes this the second Moon/Month of the Spring Quadrant:
the Taurus cycle. There remain 10 days in April... a great time to continue
to fit into place where you choose to find Clarity... followed by 19
days of May when Wisdom comes to call. Taurus, our home on the Natural
Calendar for Wisdom, loves resource, supply, possessions and all things
material. The archetype for this Moon is The Empress. She is social,
expressive and realizes that nature is truly the source of all material
supply. Her qualities include talents and abilities combined with confidence.
John Price calls this energy 'The Angel of Abundance'... a creative
force that provides an "abundance of wholeness".
Equations
to consider:
vision + talent + motivation = absorption in the mission of the year.
courage + leaping at opportunity + willingness to go the distance
= brilliance and radical creativity
The
Spring segment of the Natural Year has a focus point of 'ME'. The word
ME, in the context of the Spring Quadrant, refers to an ancient alchemical
code-word for the Divine Feminine. The Divine Feminine is the relationship
that we come in with at birth that guides us so that we receive the
beauty of life. Each year during this Spring Quadrant we can consciously
engage this aspect of the self as a rebirth and a new beginning. Divine
Feminine is receptive. Connecting to your Muse provides a 'whole brain'
bond. This is the time of year to allow your Intuition to guide you
outward in the direction of your vision.
From
May 1-31 the keyword is 'Wisdom'. There's an understanding that comes
with wisdom. An individual insight. It's as if we can get up underneath
the quandary or puzzle that we're working out and see it from a point
of clarity. As we join intuition with fresh clear awareness we naturally
want to take an action. This Moon/Month: take action that creates connection.
From
April 21-May 20 make a great effort in conjunction with your Seed/Vision.
Imagine that your idea is setting a root deep into your soul. Become
acclimated to what that feels like. In your meditations see and sense
and feel into this way of anchoring and rooting your vision for this
year. Stake your actions into the overall concept of 2012 being a year
for adventure.
The
Spring Quadrant is 90 days beautifully opened to the creative adventure
of 'Clear-seeing leading to expanding wisdom through 'intuitive insight.'
Invest the current 29.6 days of this quarter of the year to bringing
Wisdom into your senses. Breathe it in through the soles of your feet.
Anchor into the Wisdom of your Art/Life during this slice of the Natural
Calendar.
Provide
for your Art/Life Seed through your instinctive body... taste, touch,
pull in the aromas, be receptive to inspirations and insights. This
keeps signs, signals and synchronicities alive.
Here's
one Art/Life story to inspire... Taurus connects to the earth, to
resource and to material manifestation. Taurus, as the Empress archetype,
recognizes both harmony and discord in the natural world. You may be
inspired by doing your own research on this powerfully stabilizing Muse.
In
the Wisdom cycle you can observe your Seed/Vision morph into intuitive
action. In the Taurus Moon cycle feel and sense deep into the lush landscape
of your changing Art/Life... what's growing there?
Wisdom
wears an indigo jacket. She takes long walks in the purple
hills at twilight, pausing to meditate at an old temple near
the crossroads. She was sick as a child so she learned to
be alone with herself at an early age.
Wisdom
has a quiet mind. She likes to think about the edges where
things spill into each other and become their opposites. She
knows how to look at things inside out. Sometimes her eyes
go out to the thing she is looking at, and sometimes the thing
she is looking at enters through her eyes. She is not looking
for answers.
Throughout
the Global Fifth Level Year (read the 2012
article) it's wise to anticipate the unanticipated. The Fifth
Year in the cycle brings out blatant weirdness. There can be wisdom
in remembering that everything that the brain is conjuring is an illusion.
Notice your own oddness. Monitor your tenseness, obsessing and the ordeals
that you create. All year you have the capacity to do an assessment
of where you've been since 2007. Best action for this Moon: get grounded.
Meditate and listen to your intuition and resourcefulness.
KEYWORDS
that provide Wisdom this Moon: action, Aha!, assert, astute, begin,
confidence, compassion, create, expansion, leadership, new thought,
pioneer, planning, roots, touch, vision, vitality, worthy.
KEYWORDS
that take Wisdom away: addicted, aggressive, anxious, avoidance,
denial, discouraged, erratic, foolish, impulsive, lazy, obsessive, timid,
unstable, violent.
Homework for the Wisdom: Where, with whom, how and when do you
feel most intuitive in your Art/Life? Where, with whom, how and when
do you feel most insane?
Notice
and set intentions to open to those places and opportunities that stabilize
and balance you. Write your ideas down and share them with someone that
you love.
I look forward to seeing you, Sunday, May 20 for the 'Illumination'
Moon... the third Moon/Month of the Natural Year!
Next
installment:
May 20, 2012 - Sixth Lunation: Illumination Moon
Visit my blog each Monday (Moon day) for weekly posts
on 'Following
the Moon'
Donna
is an accomplished artist, author, teacher and the creator
of LifeCycles,
combining numerology, graphology and intuition to create
a picture of you. She has worked with moon phases and medicine
wheels since 1989.
Curious
about your personal cycles through the year and month by month?
