Many of you may know how my life has been consumed by my new book-- beginning last year with my blog: 'Ponderings On Turning Seventy.' After a year of work, (whew!)the new book is coming out this Saturday! It is a blend of memoir from my journal, astrology, and Jungian psychology. You can read articles and learn more here:  www.astrologyforthethirdactoflife.com

NEW BOOK: "ASTROLOGY FOR THE THIRD ACT OF LIFE : TO BE RELEASED NOVEMBER 10TH ON AMAZON.COM (SOON ON AUDIBLE AS WELL!)

Here's a little about it:

Midlife gives us a chance to deepen and connect with our Soul. But when are the best times to make changes? When is the time to pare down, turn inward and draw the threads of your life into a tapestry? When do we have new beginnings in mid-life? You may be forty or you may be sixty but it's time to become re-enthused about your next chapter of life. 

Jungian astrologer, Elizabeth Spring MA, has written a book that describes the life passages we all experience in aging. Starting with the Uranus Opposition at age 41, to the Chiron Return at age 51, the Second Saturn Return at age 59, to the Uranus Square at 63 and the Uranus Return at 84. Each age-each transit-embodies wisdom that can help us navigate these potentially rich time.

The gift of aging is that we can look at the canvas of our lives and know how connected we are...

Elizabeth has a Master's degree in psychology with an emphasis in the work of Carl Jung. She's been a professional astrologer since 1992 and has written 3 astrology books and a memoir. At the age of 71 she became passionate about learning how to age well, and how to use this time to ponder the Mystery that is us. 

She has found the metaphors and symbolism of astrology to offer profound clues as to how to age with grace and wisdom.

Come visit my new website! http://AstrologyfortheThirdActofLife.com  This site will connect to the new book I'm writing on Astrology for the Third Act of Life which I hope will be published and available in January on amazon.com  I'm excited to be exploring how midlife gives us a chance to deepen and connect with our truest Self.  I'll also be giving a workshop on this Saturday morning Oct 6th in Newport, R.I. Contact me at 401-297-5066 if interested with your birth info as well. Preregistration required as birth charts will be made for all participants.

Seven Planets Retrograde this Summer!

Yes, starting with Mercury Retro on July 26th 7 planets will be retrograde this summer! Right now, there are 5 retros: Mars, Neptune, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto. What does this mean? As I've written about before with retrogrades, think of all the words that start with RE and do those activities: reflect, reorganize, repair, redo, repeat, review, redefine...etc.  Turning inward is the key and sometimes retreating from action. Think again about your current course of action and let it brew a little. Is it truly right for you? Ponder and plan but don't jump ahead yet. And, this isn't the best times for risky new ventures, such as financial investments when Mars is retrograde. (JP Morgan always consulted his astrologer about this!)  Remember too that the word recreate counts here...as in recreation! Enjoy the process...www.elizabethspring.com. Beautiful mandala art by Tamarah Alister Rose Antares at www.mysticalartofpeace.com  

Astrological Weather Patterns

What is happening to me now? Why am I feeling this way? These are questions we ask ourselves or our astrologer or our Tarot reader. I often remind myself how much my feelings are like a passing mood---like the clouds or changing weather patterns—they come and go. As an astrologer, I should be keenly aware of this as I observe the patterns of the Moon and planets continually moving through the heavens and our lives. But it’s not so easy to always remember that ‘this too shall pass.’

Late yesterday afternoon I fell into a low energy vortex and ended up on the couch unable to do anything but question the aching in my spine and the complaining of my psyche. I’ve been diagnosed with low iron anemia…and I’d forgotten to take my pills for weeks. And then there was ole Saturn and Mars squaring my Sun exactly. Saturn rules the bones, and squares bring out the tension or underlying problem…so there was the arthritis in my back and the pain. I reminded myself that I’m like a 1947 model car…what can I expect?

 I wasn’t happy despite coming up with multiple reasons for my sudden “downfall.” I lay down and forced myself to rest for 20 minutes then made myself get up and walk to the drugstore to buy iron supplements. On the walk home I popped one along with a chocolate Cadbury egg…and slowly I began to open like a frozen daffodil just cut and put into warm water. It was Easter, so one can indulge a bit, I told myself. Tomorrow I will start losing weight. Sigh…

Just as I walked in the shop at home a FaceBook friend dropped by, and in the course of our conversation she mentioned she hadn’t seen a blog post for me in quite a while. Yes! Someone had noticed. That felt good.

Someone had missed hearing from me! Here was more warmth, like sunshine, flowing in...even better than the chocolate egg.

Spring is slow in coming this year. Snow is forecast for tomorrow. My spine aches so intensely I must lie down again, and plan on calling the doctor tomorrow.  But I’m going to return to the drugstore and buy sunglasses that will change the color of the world from mundane gray to warm amber hues. Simple solutions! Followed by the hard phone call…

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference”…and God bless friends who remember us…and notice when we are missing.

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Aries North Node; The Quest for Courage

Aries North Node; The Quest for Courage

With your Aries North Node you are called to bring forth the independent and courageous side of you…even if it means putting yourself in situation that stress you out! Courage is the high road for Aries, and each time you step up to the plate and accept a challenge you are on the high road. Aries North Node people are meant to be the one who goes first—the pioneer, the entrepreneur and the sacred warrior of the zodiac.

You may not feel like the fearless one but in the past—either earlier in this life or in  a former life you were likely to have been enmeshed in another person’s life and you gave away the unique Self that you truly are. You may have heeded too closely to rules of justice, reason and skillfully getting along but it came at the price of compromising parts of yourself in a deadening attempt to please and accommodate.

Now you are called to give way to a more exciting, truthful, and passionate nature. Inter-dependence rather than co-dependence is called for now. With your Aries North Node you understand the paradoxical nature of people and life, and you have a keen intelligence and humor that often surprises people. When you dare to act and speak outside the norm you can delve surprisingly deep.

In a nutshell, your soul purpose has to do with depending on your own resources and skills rather than enmeshment with others. It doesn’t mean you can’t marry or partner with someone else but you must be careful not to lose yourself in the relationship. And you may often need to take “the road less traveled.”

“Going along with things” is not the route for you, as it leads you into the shadows. Rather show others a new way to do and act and do that with your natural enthusiasm and good taste.

Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung both had North Node in Aries. It was very important for each of them to break away from the norms and conventions of their time and bring forth a new psychology into the world. Jung’s break with Freud was necessary for both of them to come to their full potential.

elizabethspring@aol.com                             www.elizabethspring.com

 

The House As Mirror of the Soul

One of my astrology clients just wrote to me about a book called: The House As Mirror of the Self. I knew immediately that I loved this idea because I’ve been living it, and perhaps you have too

 Have you ever walked into a house and felt it right away? Has a house told you about the unspoken life of the person who lived within it?

Have you ever thought of all the different places you’ve lived in your life and how each space reflected something that reflected your inner life as well? Think of the progression from your childhood room to the dorm room, to the first apartment to the first house…can you see what has endured and what has changed in each move?

Have you noticed how your living space reflects you? Do you need to be spacious with an “open floor plan” or are you like me, going for an older house of character that has “cozy rooms.” No place is perfect: we must sacrifice something in every choice we make with a house, but we also make conscious and unconscious decisions along the way: I want this color in the living room,  I want this comfy chair, or I must knock down this wall…who knows all the reasons why?

The author of this book says that what is most revealing about ourselves—and the inner/outer metaphor—is less about the building itself and more about what we choose to put in our space, and how we arrange things. How do we feather our nest? How will we paint the walls? And what cherished objects will we choose to have around us that we’ve carried from house to house?

Although our house reflects something about who we are, it never seems to be quite perfect. Perhaps that makes room for growth to happen, both within our psyches and within our rooms For me, as much as I love the little rooms in this old house, I often feel the need to stretch those walls out! But I can’t. However, I see myself in the objects on the mantel over the fireplace: the old clock, my astrolabe, the zither, and that photograph.  I see myself in the cozy kitchen with the sturdy red chairs I’ve carried with me from house to house. Some things I need.

Interesting too how the rooms in this house feel so different from each other—is it true too for the rooms in my psyche? For me there are public rooms and private rooms. Rooms that are dressed and rooms that are simply meant for work; rooms for comfort and rooms for utility. Like me, the house “needs work still.”

The Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, had the resources and time to play out this idea of house as mirror for the Self. In his later life he built a separate house for himself away from his family house—a  stone house on the shores of a lake. In this cherished house he cooked without electricity in a primitive kitchen and painted oversized murals on the stucco walls. What started out as a one room tower grew larger every year…and he wrote that each addition to his house was a growth in consciousness. He saw himself as being less of a Swiss gentleman and more of a “natural man” so his creation reflected that part of himself. Ah…we should all be so lucky to be able to do that!

But I love my home, and I’ll continue to live within this space that holds me so well now. Yes, this house holds me, and I feel blessed to live in a place that has sheltered people for almost 200 years. I am grateful too for the chance to have rescued this house in foreclosure and bring it back to life. A house that was unwanted for so many years.

 Hm…what in me was rescued? Meanwhile I’ll continue to bless these sturdy wide floorboards and these sturdy colonial walls that have kept the fury of winter away…

elizabethspring@aol.com                                                  www.elizabethspring.com

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Using Your Astrology Chart to Find Your Career and the Case of Donald Trump

    Hi, I’m Elizabeth Spring, professional astrologer, and author of “North Node Astrology; Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose” and “Lifting the Veil; Becoming Your Own Best Astrologer” You can also find information about readings with me at www.elizabethspring.com  

Today I want to talk about how you can find hints about your career or career change by using your astrology chart. If you don’t have your chart you can get a free one at www.ASTRO.com by typing in your birth information.

There are not just 1 or 2 things in the chart which will tell you your best career path. There are many things, which is why it’s best to have a professional reading done—but there are a few things that astrologers always look at when a client asks about career.

The first thing is--- are there any planets in career and work houses --the 10^th or 6^th houses? What are they…what do they say? And where is the North Node? The North Node glyph in your chart looks like head phones---and it’s the direction your Soul wants to go towards in this life. The 10^th, 6^th house and North Node are the first things an astrologer will look at….but not the only things.

Now you could look at your chart and see no planets in the 10^th and 6th houses. Does that mean no career? No…it means you have more freedom to decide, and fate weighs in a little less. So it’s not bad or good if you have planets there, but if you do, it’s easier to follow the trail of hints.

With no planets in those houses you look at the sign on the cusps of the 10^th and 6^th houses and see what they say. Let’s use an example right away before you get confused.

Let’s say this man came to see me with a career question: and I see he has his Sun sign Gemini right in the 10^th house of career….so choosing a career where he can use his Gemini traits would be the right thing for him to do. Gemini is a communicator, a sales person, someone who likes to gather facts and information, and to connect people. Gemini is ruled by Mercury and is likely to know a little about many things, and not as much in depth on any one thing.  In his chart I also see that he has his North Node and Uranus there in the 10^th too…so his career house is strong. With Uranus being there we know that whatever he does he’ll do it uniquely his way and not listen to other authorities too much. He may be impulsive or shocking in some way as well.

 His North Node is also there in Gemini, which implies that his Soul—not his personality--wants to grow by learning to listen to other people, not being a ‘know it all’, and being open up to life’s complexities…seeing things from different points of view. He may or may not do this in his life but it is his higher calling. He is also likely to be in public view with 2 planets and the North Node in his 10^th.

 If he had no planets there, or if you have no planets there, you look at the sign on the cusp of that house –see what it hints it and look where the ruler of that sign is in the chart…in his case Taurus is on the cusp of the 10^th or the MC. This implies that having money and security is important to him. He loves beautiful things and the ruler of Taurus is Venus, and we see Venus is in the 11^th house which is associated with groups of people, alliances, and goal making. The 10^th and 11^th houses are outer directed, extroverted houses. He has other planets in 11^th so he’d be happy as a public personality.  

What about the 6^th house for him? No planets there, so we look at the sign on the cusp of the 6^th and look to where its ruling planet is located. The 6^th house is about our daily activities and for him it’s ruled by Aquarius, whose ruler is Uranus. And where is Uranus? We see that Uranus is in the 10^th so it’s strong. Uranus rules new technologies, so he might like to use computers, the internet and social media in his career. He enjoys being different.

So there anything else in this chart that jumps out? Sitting right on his rising sign, the ascendant, is the planet Mars in Leo….he has lots of energy, pride, and probably has a Leo or Lion like appearance….you guessed it, the man is Donald Trump.

There’s one other big thing to consider in thinking about your career. What are your transits urging you to do now in your life? You might have done one career for half your life and you’re ready now for another. If you have transiting Uranus strong in your chart, like around the age of forty at your Uranus opposition, you’ll probably want to do something quite different, like picking up on a forgotten dream you put aside earlier in life, and now you’re ready to do it. Or if it’s a Saturn transit such as the Saturn Return at age 29 and 59 you may be in for some hard work, serious changes, such as committing to a marriage, a child, going back to school or being on a new learning curve where you acquire what some people call gravitas; weight or seriousness. In Donald Trump’s case he has transiting Saturn aspecting both his Sun and Moon in 2017 so it’s going to be a sobering, ‘gravitas’ making year for him.

This is just a quick look; if you’re curious for more, check out my books on amazon: “North Node Astrology; Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose” and “Lifting the Veil; Becoming Your Own Best Astrologer.”

 

What is the most important thing to know in astrology? Part Two.

What is the most important thing to know in astrology? Part Two.

In the previous post the North Node was said to be the most important thing to know. Besides the reasons mentioned there, it’s so important because it’s so useful! Like the quality of the food we put in our body, the quality and type of “experiences” we have will affect how our life feels and if we are nourishing our Self.

For example, if you have the North Node in Taurus it’s a suggestion that you bring Taurus-like qualities into our life. Think about Taurus for a moment: what do they like to do? How do they act? That is what you need to bring into your life to compensate for the excesses of the South Node—the place you are moving away from. The South Node is always in the sign exactly opposite the North Node and in this case it would be in Scorpio.

Taurus is a sensual earth sign that likes to feel comfortable and secure—emotionally, physically, financially, spiritually. Trust is a big issue for Taurus and they enjoy loyal friends—you’ll often hear a Taurus saying ‘come over for dinner!’ Both nature and music are healing for them--many Taurus people can sing, or at least enjoy having music around them.  They tend to take life slow and deliberately, savoring the good things in life.

Now one of my clients has this North Node, and her biggest complaint was that she was always rushing around and felt too much anxiety. It was as if she was running away from the drama, trauma and intensity of her Scorpio South Node. She was missing the point of her life journey—which was to find the sacred in the ordinary/commonplace things of this world. Instead she was living out the emotional memory of her Scorpio South Node by running away from and towards things she thought were more important or necessary. She created the intensity and anxiety she needed to release. She needed to know that in this life, she could be safe. She could go slow. She could enjoy the simple sensual delights around her, and honor a commitment to her life, her work, and her family. Security is never solid, but more of a process, and that was something she could still move towards more mindfully—that Taurus North Node.

We went on to talk about what area of life (the house placement) the North Node was in, and she left feeling that she had a real guide now for prioritizing her life. Even if you don’t have your chart, and don’t know the house placement of your North Node, the sign is the most important piece. You can find the astrological sign of your North Node in an Ephemeris or in the chart in my book: North Node Astrology.  An astrologer can also help you look at aspects to your Nodes as well, giving you hints of how best to live out your Nodal journey. Good luck, and enjoy finding this fascinating clue to living a better life!  ~Elizabeth Spring~ www.elizabethspring.com