"Astrology for the Third Act of Life" Review by astrologer Steven Forrest

Astrologer Steven Forrest's review of my new book:

"Astrology for the Third Act of Life" on Amazon: "Elizabeth's given those of us who past mid-life a lovely, poetic -- and ultimately encouraging -- road map for the years ahead. What I like best is that she's done it honestly too, without taking cheap refuge in any happy-face platitudes. I am always delighted to see astrology presented in such an intelligent way instead of being saddled with the usual market-place trivialities."  (Available on Amazon.com in paperback, Kindle, and Audible: direct link:http://www.amazon.com/dp/1727202198 )

                                                            

Excerpt from "Astrology for the Third Act of Life": Ages forty-two-forty-five: The Mindfulness of the Tight Rope Walker

Excerpt from "Astrology for the Third Act of Life".   AGES 42-45: THE MINDFULNESS OF THE TIGHT-ROPE WALKER; THE NEPTUNE SQUARE AND SATURN OPPOSITION These are the years of working with the changes you created at the Uranus Opposition. Now with Neptune square itself, and Saturn opposing itself you are working hard to embody the change you’ve initiated at the Uranus Opposition. You’ve moved across country? Now you have to make roots and friends. You’ve just had a baby? Now you’re experiencing the first few years of keeping that baby alive—a good example of Saturn in action here. And there are the inspiring Neptunian moments too when you look in your baby’s eyes and see how it has all been worthwhile. Is that God in there?

This is the first time we’ve mentioned Neptune; god of the ocean. Every transit has what I call an upper octaveand a lower octave of expression, and Neptune is a good example of this. In a transit we usually experience both the higher octave and the lower octave of its expression. With Neptune we can see the archetype of the highest forms of spirituality: transcendence, compassion, creativity, and self-less love. And yet its lack of bound- aries can bring confusion and every kind of addiction imaginable. Neptune wants to find a sense of transcen- dence; of ease and relief from the mundane—is it having a drink? And then another one and another? Or will you take a walk on the beach at dawn to catch a glimpse of the swans in flight? Neptune transits run the full range between great inspiration and hope, to despair; a higher octave expression and a lower octave. Usually we get a little mix of both, but often the strongest effect can be one of unclarity. You may feel like the fog is rolling in and you can’t see clearly; nothing is clear as the left-brain linear clarity gives way to the right brain imaginative intuitiveness.

You are not losing your mind or developing a case of early Alzheimer’s! Your brain is simply processing things differently. If you lean away from fear during Neptune transits you can access the beauty and imaginative gifts of this time. Allow yourself to linger in nature, take photographs, do paintings, write songs and poetry and generally feed yourself as much inspiration as possible. Go to the music concert. This is “feeding the higher octave” of Neptune and you’ll feel the enchantment that comes with it. So often we have a choice between love and fear in our lives and we always benefit when we choose love. Yet because we usually get all that Neptune offers us, undercurrents of anxiety may still occur as we deal with these transits. What is calling to be done now? How is this going to play out? Sometimes with Neptune it can feel like the bottom falls out of a very organized life. In that case, a careful Saturnian re-evaluation needs to happen because with the lower octave of the Neptune transit there can be a temporary discouragement; a loss of ideals, dreams and spiritual direction. It will return in time, after the Neptune transit has passed.

This is also the time of life when death and separation is not uncommon; sometimes parents may be dying or children leaving home for school. Or possibly the self- reinvention you did at the Uranus Opposition at age 41 may have been so radical that it’s taking time for you to find your ground again. This is a transitional liminal period. It’s like being in the hallway between 2 rooms...you’re neither here nor there yet. Your next big life stage will be at the Chiron Return at age 51 when you turn your life experi- ence and your “wounding” into a gift. That is an anchoring time. But you’re not there yet. For women this is often a perimenopausal time. It’s hard to rest comfortably in this place; these years often have that in-between liminal quality to them, that only patience can cure. Liminal, or in-between times, are like times of reaching for a poetic state of mind. This is the Neptunian element that relates to pure consciousness itself.

The Saturn opposite Saturn aspect now combined with Neptune is like a tight-rope between two fixed anchors, and you are the tight-rope walker. As you walk between them you see where you are going and what needs to be done; you strive for balance--patience and mindfulness are called for now; and Neptune will gladly give us that if we make that our intention. As astrologer, Caroline Casey, once said: “The invisible world would like to help, but spiritual etiquette requires that we ask.” Whether we call this prayer or making an intention, the essential point is that it’s a process of asking, receiving and commitment. It’s about making an intention to ourselves and to whatever we might call our higher power, and not assuming that “God” knows what you want and need. Spiritual etiquette says we must ask for what we want. Caroline’s book: Making the Gods Work For You is a helpful book for under- standing the astrological language of the psyche. More Ponderings from my Journal:

I forget the words she said that day as we were having coffee together. But they were similar to the Eliot quote I was familiar with: "It is never too late to be who you might have been." I've loved the idea of that quote all my life, but today it had a hollow ring to it, and I remember saying I liked Rilke's quote better: "And then the knowledge comes to me that I have space within me for a second timeless larger life.        We both grinned at each other, nodding our heads, as I quietly wondered how this might play out in my life-- because I was not making a career change or getting married or divorced. This felt to be more about a different kind of change—but maybe an important change—of making space within me for that larger life. What would that look like? (Continued in book....direct link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1727202198 )

Excerpt from "Astrology for the Third Act of Life". Age 66

AGE 66: HOLDING THE TENSION OF THE OPPOSITES; SATURN SQUARE SATURN "You are an alchemist: Make Gold of that." --William Shakespeare At age 66 Saturn moves into a waning Square to itself. This isn’t classically a tough transit but it can be a testy time when we are called to finish, complete or change what had its beginning around the Second Saturn Return. It can also be the time when you become an alchemist; but we’re coming to that...

But first, we know that Saturn always responds well to WORK and CONTEMPLATION, and if you’re willing to do it, this transit need not be too difficult. In Saturnian times sometimes illness emerges, and although it’s not specified for this age, it can happen at any time in the Third Act of Life, and it’s worth mentioning now...here is a journal/blog entry of mine that speaks to this issue: March 20 Each day I take 14 pills. I take them 4 times a day spread out from 8:00 am to 3:00 am—yes, I wake up at 3:00 am! Without these pills I wouldn’t be alive—I have to take a blood thinning pill, a blood pressure pill, a statin for heart issues and a post-herpetic pill for nerve pain. (Yes, I had shingles 5 years ago.) And then there are more, including the supplemental vitamins...you don’t need to know the list. Why do I mention this? Because I don’t want my readers to think I’m unfamiliar with illness and the necessary requirements to stay ‘healthy.’

Just after my Second Saturn Return at age 59, I began writing books. I willingly lived with a schedule that got me up and at my writing desk at seven am most days. I gladly pushed myself for 6 or 7 hours a day....I fought back tiredness and moderation as the adrenaline was flowing, and--many cups of coffee later over several years—I ended up with four published books and in the emergency room. When I turned sixty-six, and too many cups of coffee later, I began three years of dealing with the ‘demons’ brought about by the too muchness of my writing life—I was afflicted with issues with the heart, the GI, and anxiety and insomnia aggravated by 3 visits to the ER due to uncontrolled blood pressure and atrial fibrilla- tion. It was made worse by a cardiologist who gave me even more potent dangerous pills than I needed. Grate- fully, my new cardiologist found the right combination of medicines—and I’m now maintaining “healthy” most of the time. What was I not conscious of before I became ill? What did I not want to admit? Was I pushing up against tired- ness or a deeper unwillingness to slow down?  Was I afraid that if I stopped writing intensely every day I would lose my passion and energy for the project?

So, does this qualify me to write about aging? Does seventy years and fourteen pills help me to qualify? Many of you know the story of the spiritual teacher, Ram Dass, and author of the book: “Be Here Now”. He was writing a new book on aging when he was in these years. One day, as he was laying down resting, the phone rang. It was his publisher saying that his book was good; but not good enough; it lacked depth and conviction. Puzzled, he laid down again and proceeded to have a major life-threatening stroke. For the next 5 years Ram Dass fought for his life and his ability to move and speak again. Finally, he emerged with a best-selling book called “Still Here” which spoke to his experience of aging and illness. Now, he had no lack of conviction.

Most of us don’t need to have a stroke of enormous “bad luck” like that. But sometimes that is what it takesto do the humbling things that age demands. In my case it was years of illness and fourteen pills. For Ram Dass it was a phoenix like recovery; a near death experience that took enormous courage and work. Interesting though, he admitted that before the stroke he knew he had high blood pressure and simply didn’t take the pills. Sometimes it takes a lot to acquire the humility that age demands. Sometimes, especially if you’ve been ill, you may find that you have the initial passion to do something, but you’re afraid that you might not have the energy to sustain it. That was my case; I feared if I slowed down I would lose steam, lose the momentum and then fall prey to procrastination. How hard it can be to find your- self at the peak of inspiration only to realize that you fear losing the endurance to express what you love! Sometimes it’s a matter of waiting, healing, and strengthening our body and spirit so that we are strong enough to do what we want to do. And then pacing ourselves. (Ram Dass and I were both impatient with our book writing process and didn’t honor the needs of the body.)

In the creative process, we don’t want to think: I’ll never do this again! No, instead “doing the Saturn work” can be about waiting as much as by doing, and holding the flame of the alchemical fire at a steady even temperature instead of burning ourselves out. This is the nature of “Alchemy” where we’re holding the flame constant while “holding the tension of the opposites until the third emerges.” Except from New Book: Astrology for the Third Act of Life. Direct link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1727202198