This is a time of transformation, great challenge and opportunity. It can be a difficult time as all within us that needs transforming comes to the fore. Everyone tends to look through the glass more darkly now so we need to support each other and let it be known that the Light is returning and it will shine brighter than ever before. Everything changes for the better very soon, how soon and how much so depends a lot on what we do.
Through celebrations in their seasons are the deeper powers of human nature realized. ~ Rudolph Steiner
The Sun in Cancer Full Moon (exact 11:32 am gmt June 23) augments the magic of this Mid-Summer’s Eve. Each Full Moon is a time of revelation and an opportunity for healing body, mind and soul. The Full Moon is a great pitcher that pours out a healing elixir we raise our cups (psychic vessels) to receive. Meditation, music (drumming) and dancing help bring in the new Light. The Full Moon is most powerful in the hour of its rising (the Sunset hour) and at True Midnight when the Moon is on high. Cosmic energies flow freely for 3 days following Full Moon (June 24-26). Revelations come in dreams, chance encounters and flashes of inspiration. Stay tuned.
Time is fractal, the year is like a day; the 24 hours of a day correspond to the 24 horae (15 degree/15 day periods) in the zodiacal year. The 8 canonical hours of the day are reflected in the 8 canonical horae of the year beginning at the Equinoxes, Solstices and the Cross-Quarter days. Every 3rd hour is a canonical hour, every 3rd hora is a canonical hora. Before they were called canonical hours (or horae) these were known as the witching hours.
The canonical hours begin at Sunrise, Sunset, True Noon and Midnight plus the Cross-Quarter Hours of the day. Canonical hours and canonical horae are fortunate times for prayer, for meditation, for rituals, for meeting new people and generally for all new beginnings. What we begin in a canonical hour or hora is more apt to succeed. During these times we have more free will to create and re-create our world. More sacred synchronicities are likely to happen now and those we meet are more likely to be true.
Sunrise, True Noon and Sunset hours are particularly important during the Midsummer Solstice. The rising Sun on Summer Solstice (June 21-23) illuminates the ‘heel stone’ at Stonehenge and the heart of the Grange, the largest stone circle in Ireland. The rising Summer Solstice Sun also shines directly down Maryland Avenue to illuminate the US Capitol Dome. Streets in Washington DC are astronomically aligned because many of this nation's founders were educated in the ancient wisdom tradition spoken of in Thomas Paine’s memorable tract "The Druid Roots of Freemasonry."
Canonical hours are more powerful when they overlap with a canonical hora (June 21 - July 4) and/or canonical Moon period (June 23-24). But whenever, wherever, we're here to enjoy, be present in the now, have fun; this is the key to the magic of the hours.
This Summer Solstice Hora June 21 - July 4 is the most transformative period in Renaissance year 2013. It is now in this Saturn ruled year that we transform the shadow of the passing age. Saturn is known as the Lord of Karma and this is particularly in evidence while Saturn is retrograde (in shadow or Sauron or Dark Lord mode) as it is until July 8. Wonderfully though (good news for us), Saturn enters its stationary degree 5 scorpio on Mid-Summer's Eve. Now we begin to receive more the light side of Saturn and understand more consciously how to transform our life and world. Now psychic shadow, past karma, comes to our awareness to be transformed. The ancient wisdom tells us how.
The Summer Solstice practices are simple and fun. These include: Sunrise/Sunset Sun gazing (lift palms and tone Hu to connect with Sol), full body water immersion and open air dance (clockwise ring dance 3 times round first to clear the dance circle) with fire leaping. This fire can be as simple as a candle, a single flame has a huge aura. Fire leaping 3 times is traditional, preferably jumping toward cardinal points in a figure 8. First water then fire: Leap the fire going west, the water direction, then curve right and back to leap the fire going south, the direction of fire. What needs to be let go may be brought to mind or just let Nature and spirit take their course to release all the soul will know to let go. This can be done singly or in group. The effect is to clear patterns of addiction and old life ways that hold us back from realizing our divine purpose on Earth.
All these practices work especially well during this "going out of the signs" time when the lunar wave is moving down through parts of the body that don't include vital organs (from June 21 to 28). It will be easy to let go now. These Summer Solstice celebrations help us shed psychic skin and set our souls free to realize our destiny. As we shed past life shadows we increase our good luck. This is a time when karma is cleared and dharma can be realized. The old ways tell us how. Time and place and the 4 elements are key.
2013 begins the culminating 4-year phase or 9th wave of the Renaissance Sun period that began in 1981 and concludes in 2016. 2013 is a Saturn Year and it is the year of Cetus the Sea Dragon on the 36-spoked "world wheel of fortune." Saturn retrograde now (since Feb 18 and until July 8) has been conjuring out all old world shadow - personal and global - to be transformed. All patterns of belief and being that impede the new world awakening are up for elimination now. As old patterns break, energy is set free for the new creation to be. This is the key story of our time.
What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly. ~ Richard Bach
The dance of the planets is the dance of the gods, there are many gods and there is one God, "E Pluribus Unum." Individual divine purpose and the will of the one are written in the heavens for us to see and be.
The pattern in the heavens at Summer Solstice sets the course of what will unfold over the next 3 months. Most prominent in this chart is a Grand Trine in water signs with the Sun just entering Cancer trine Neptune in home sign Pisces (everybody becomes more psychic, more spiritually aware) and trine Saturn in the Ophiuchus/Asclepius decan of Scorpio. Now the world is healed as all wounds are revealed and all patterns of belief and behavior that cause harm are exposed to be eliminated from the psychic world. This Grand Trine releases its great magic through a tri-octile aspect (red line) to the auspicious conjunction of Venus, Mercury and Vesta in Argo the Ship decan Cancer. Argo is the ship of the Argonauts, it is also the Ship of Solomon traveling the astral waters and it is Noah's Ark. This is the time when we choose what is worthy to be saved for the new world to be and what is to be let go to the flood.
As the Evening Star, Venus is empowered to restore natural order, harmony and love to the world. Mercury is the Hierophant leading the way while Ceres/Demeter/Liberty shining from on high (Out of Bounds North) illuminates our way forward into the new age. Along with sacred ritual, Vesta rules investments,she shares temple with Moneta the goddess of money. Now while Mercury, Venus and Vesta align a great light is being shined on the world's financial institutions and the concept of economic democracy is highlighted. These effects are felt globally and more especially in cardinal sign zones Aries (west coast U.S.), Cancer (Brazil), Libra (Mideast) and Capricorn (Japan/Australia). Brazil is particularly effected as this conjunction occurs in this part of the world.
Also notable in this Solstice chart is the bunching of the Sun and planets in the 24th parallel where the Pleiades are located. At Summer Solstice the Sun goes as high as it can go - 23N26 - and this marks the northern boundary of the zodiacal band. When a planet goes beyond this boundary it is Out of Bounds North, more transcendent or in the higher world like Olympus of Asgard. When a planet is Out of Bounds North we have greater perspective and more opportunity to reshape our world in that planet's area of expression. Slow moving Ceres/Demeter Out of Bounds North (Nov 20 2012 - Jul 19 2013) is revealing Nature's mysteries and leading the world to soul freedom. It is Ceres / Lady Liberty the patron goddess of France who liberated Mali earlier this year.
The great planet Jupiter (in its 12 year return) is now riding the zodiacal boundary 24 North just leaving Gemini (10 of Swords) and entering Cancer (20 of Cups) on June 25 where the king of the planets will be exalted (raised to higher purpose) in the coming 12 months. Jupiter parallels the Pleiades along with the Sun, Vesta, Venus and Mars. The god of war becomes the spiritual warrior and initiator as Mars goes Out of Bounds North June 28; this is when the new man, new heroes begin to come forth. Mars enters Cancer July 14 to join Jupiter in the water sign Grand Trine.
Mars will be Out of Bounds North from June 28 to August 3 when a new dimension of the spiritual warrior will enter our world. Through the transforming dance of the planets and through our celebrations Woman is liberated and Man is redeemed, The culminating event is July 22 in the early morning hours when Jupiter and Mars rise together just before the Sun while the Full Moon shines brightly in the western sky. Then Jupiter aligns with Mars and the a brilliant first degree Aquarius Full Moon shines through the 7th House...
The Summer Solstice Gemini/Cancer cusp is the place of ascension according to Greeks, the area of the zodiac where Kore ascends to the higher world in the arms of her lover Dionysus. Here too the planets and sometimes the Moon ascend to the higher world that lies beyond the zodiacal bounds. Here new ideas and Earth changing discoveries are more easily and successfully shared.
Solstice means "still standing Sun." Summer Solstice lasts 5 days while the Sun rises at about the same point on the horizon. Summer Solstice culminates on June 24th when the Sun begins to move southward again. This quickening of solar motion was celebrated in the ancient tradition because it is now that a new story begins to unfold. All that will be in any cycle is present at its beginning. A year is a combination of yin and yang. New yang enters at Winter Solstice, the new yin enters on Midsummer's Eve, the most magical night of the year in the Celtic calendar.
Water (yin) purifies the emotions, fire (yang) clears the mind. Full body immersion erases emotional memory clearing subconscious imprinting from the past. The goddess Juno emerges from her sacred pool with her youthfulness and her (psychic) virginity restored. Spiritual conversion through water immersion is common to many religious traditions including the Cherokee who practice self-immersion at Sunrise the morning after each New Moon appears. The Cherokee also self-immerse at the time of every eclipse as do the Hindu and other indigenous peoples of the world. All new beginnings need this dip in the sacred pool.
Midsummer's Day June 24th (beginning at Sunset June 23rd) was considered the most important date of the calendar year by the Celts, the Druids and many other indigenous peoples. Midsummer's Day June 24th is also called St John's Day and it was known more anciently as the Festival of Isis. In ancient Egypt the fires of Midsummer were called the Lamps of Isis, later these fires came to be known as the fires of St. John. In the Christian story St. John the Baptist was the wild man of the wilderness born 6 months before Jesus. A medieval painting, Piero de Cosimo's 'St John with chalice and dragon' shows John holding a chalice over which floats a small dragon. This dragon symbolizes our primal nature which - when trained to purpose - can realize any dream. Our primal energy is more easily raised to soul purpose at Midsummer as illustrated in the painting by Piero de Cosimo.
The Celtic and Druid Summer Solstice practices might be more easily understood in terms of Wilhelm Reich's bioenergetics. In Reich's perspective, chronic muscle tension or 'body armor' is the source of all our anxieties and psychic disturbances. Pagan rituals at the turn of the seasons were designed for bioenergetic release. There may be nothing more effective for releasing inhibiting muscle tension than dancing nude around fire. As body armor dissolves, tensions melt away, windows of perception clear; then we can see can more clearly and 'fairies become visible' to us. In the Theosophical view, fairies are elemental life forces present in all living things. At Midsummer these 'elementals' more readily leave their parent bodies and may become visible - as we release tension and remove our psychic blinders through celebration.
The beginning of Summer is the also the time of the Native American Vision Quest when each person goes out into Nature seeking signs that reveal his/her true purpose in their tribe. The Vision Quest and the Sundance (done by moving clockwise facing a center Sun pole), originally were timed with the Full Moon following the Summer Solstice, this is Sunday June 23 in 2013. Happy Solstice / Happy Midsummer's E
No comments:
Post a Comment