Dear Kendra, Sept 5th

Dear Kendra~

I just found this poem I wrote for Alistair and I, years before our separation, and it made me cry. I wrote it after we returned from a trip to France, and I believe there was a wonderful Neptune/Venus aspect happening at the time.



Neptune rules nostalgia, film and photographs, yearning, illusions, and combined with Venus it nurtures romantic idealism at its best. I remember thinking Alistair and I would be together always…such a sense of severance I feel now…



I called the Poem “Old Photographs” as I was imagining us looking together at photographs in years to come—and now it has been over two years that we’ve been apart. I don’t know how we will ever come around to finalizing the separation into a divorce; I certainly can’t do it. It all makes me sad. This must be part of Saturn conjuncting my Sun in the 7th house of marriage. Since Saturn takes over 2 years to travel through each section of the chart, each house, I wonder how it will play out for us? I suppose Saturn here is also capable of re-uniting us, but I haven’t seen signs of it…



Old Photographs

"I was in the café, sitting in front of the potted geraniums

wearing the straw hat I just bought.

I was writing a postcard to my mother

when I looked up to see the shadows

of the early autumn evening

dancing on the stucco walls.



Then you walked by—you were taking pictures of the light.

I watched you… trying to imagine what you were seeing there.

And then you turned your gaze on me

and shot this one here—

a little out of focus—but it was then that I saw them—

the tenderest eyes I’d ever seen.



Look. This is where we found ourselves standing later

by the edge of the river—the one Van Gogh painted.

We walked for hours feeling Van Gogh.

You talked apertures, lens and focus.



This was the hotel, Le D’Arlatan…

Do you remember wandering the back streets—

lost in the cobbled labyrinths—

till we found ourselves here?



The oversized antique bed held expectations. I felt shy.

You said—“Pull the curtains,” and I pulled the heavy curtains back.

I read you a poem by candlelight.

You smiled right into my soul—then served us farmer’s wine

in the opalescent glasses we’d bought that day.



I put the photographs down.

“It was so good,” you say.

“Like the wisp of a dream I can barely remember.”

I lean into your eyes; those milky apertures

transparent with the film of a lifetime.



Now, I offer you wine and pull the curtains open

catching the last dance of light on the peach colored walls.

You put on the old songs…

We sit in chairs by the window,

admiring the blue hydrangeas

our knees will touch, and we will speak about how

the quality of light makes everything different

and everything the same." ~



With love,

Isabelle

Private Journal, August 26

Private Journal, August 26, 2010


It was only in 1920, on this day, that women got the right to vote in the United States! Ah~ how those women struggled “to have a voice” and how we still struggle to find our true voice, our authentic Self and express it…every one of us.



This language of astrology has become a voice for me. But it’s strange how ambivalent I feel about it! I hate cocktail-talk astrology, and just don’t do it. And when I called Kendra after the last letter about her miscarriage, I certainly didn’t want to “talk astrology” but the language of the heart.



But there’s more to my reluctance. When I told her that I feel like a “reluctant astrologer” she asked me what I meant--and I couldn’t find the words! So now as I sit here writing in this journal I’m going to try to “think it out” and find my voice that is so often reluctant and ambivalent about astrology….

First there’s the good: this language has given me a voice so that I can speak and counsel others without pathologizing, blaming or shaming. It’s short term therapy—and all therapies—seem to me to me to be the same at the core. Different techniques, yes, and some better at different times, but doesn’t it all come down to: LOVE heals & INSIGHT heals. That’s the heart of it: understanding, catharsis/crying, and love. Love heals.



When astrology “normalizes” experience, as in “yes, that’s one of the ways that a Saturn Return will play out in your life” there’s comfort there, as one can feel connected to a larger sense of meaning and patterns—even a God—something that is not all about random chaos, and luck or the lack of it—or will power and the lack of it.



And when an astrologer listens well—there can be a sense of loving connection between them as well as this connection to a larger pattern of things—even if it’s only to sacred wounds we all carry.



There are times when astrology is “eerily” on target—when what I say and the details of the story of their life synchronize strangely. How could I know those things if astrology wasn’t at least partially true? How could I know that the key to a Pluto transit is about letting go and surrender, whereas the key to a Jupiter transit is “be careful what you wish for, as you may get it?” Hmm… Jupiter transits sound like a coaching session---“do you know what you really want?” whereas a Neptune focused session might be more like: “No, you’re not losing your mind or getting Alzheimer’s, but you just need to let it be OK to “not know” right now…and don’t sign on the dotted line either till this transit passes…!”



So….what’s the problem then….with astrology? With me? Bottom line: there is no way I or anyone else can say how a particular sign or aspect or transit will be played out. Too much variation; no tight foretelling or “signatures” for events. So when a planet, like Saturn, crosses the 4th house cusp, I can say to a person-- you’re going to start thinking about moving, or at the least, about radical re-modeling your home—because you’re wanting your inner sense of home and your outer physical home to be aligned, and there’s a change coming. But I have no idea if this will be played with joy or despair or just how the person will "rework" this foundation area of their chart...their home.



I wonder if it doesn’t all come down to the fact that we have free will and we’re separate Souls making choices? And so astrology is more like a weather forecast than a fortune teller’s prediction. I think if a fortune teller or psychic is right, it’s more likely that a person is in their default habitual pattern of doing things, and not aware of all their possibilities. I guess that’s what astrology should do….make us aware of these opportunities and challenges so that we make the best choices.



But still…I remain reluctant. What happens when we see multiple aspects that are challenging all at the same time? Like what I am facing in the next few years…I wonder if it plants a seed of anxiety? But maybe that’s not bad? I get to sense my mortality, so my decisions might be better. The Buddhists seem to think that meditating upon impermanence is a good idea. I’m not sure….think I'll go up to the art studio and get out of my head for awhile and into my paints....

Letter #9: Astro-Jargon and the Language of the Heart

Dear Kendra~


Last night I was sitting at dinner between two astrologers who were talking voraciously about their techniques--the rightness of the Placidus or Koch house systems, their views on declinations, mid-points, and orbs, and the disparity between Vedic and Western astrology. I found myself in a strangely quiet mood. They seemed like two jewelers exclaiming the beauty of their gems, the profundity of their skills—and their suspicious interplay left me hungry. I listened to their astro-jargon, thinking all the while that they were like bees gathering no nectar. By the time we got to the dessert, I finally found space in the conversation—and was aggravated enough to offer a different opinion.



"What about going deeper into the richness of this mythological language— what about the art of translating astro-jargon into soulful English--! What about bringing it into useful, practical insights drawn from simple techniques?" I challenged them--asking them what they would say to seeing Neptune squaring Mars in a chart and explaining that to a client. I wondered if they knew the simple “rule of three” where one looks to see if a psychological pattern is repeated three times in order to gage its importance. And finally I asked them if they knew that the Nodes have a way of pulling the whole chart together—they didn’t know that.



Perhaps I was not in a good mood for "parroting about" with the astro-jargon because I was thinking about your heartfelt letter. How could I reply to that? There wasn’t going to be any simple astrological insight that would make it better—only perhaps the knowing that I was hearing and feeling you..call it .love, friendship, caring...whatever.... and I was loving  the reflection you gave about the Moon and Pluto, and how the resonance between what happened and the astrological symbolism made you feel that you were part of a larger whole--you have been through a sacred wounding known to many women. It was a wise letter.



So now, instead of talking Saturn Returns and astrological aspects, I’d rather share with you these feelings that came up as I was having my morning coffee—this is what I wrote in my journal:



“When someone deeply listens to you, the fist-muscle of the heart relaxes and opens, in sweet surprise. When someone deeply listens to you, you begin to breathe. The heart extends itself like a child’s up-reaching hand and is held. It’s as if a cup that was half-empty now fills with waters of unexpected grace, and the touch of their eyes on your Soul opens the floodgates to healing tears. When someone holds you in their heart, listening deeply with words both said and unsaid, the heart rejoices… and you come to know yourself for the first time as worthy, whole and holy. In this sacred moment of time, there is love.”

I hope I have listened to you this way. I hold you in my heart….and this is what I send to you this morning, Kendra~

Isabelle

Private Papers of a Reluctant Astrologer: Fifth Letter

Dear Isabelle~


I was reading your book last night about the North and South Nodes, and when I read what you wrote in it about my Nodes, my boyfriend, Carl, said it was all “magical thinking.” Well, you know what? I don’t care, because what you wrote about the Nodes, destiny, fate, and especially my North Node in Leo really touched something deep inside me and it felt right…very right. I also haven’t told you something. Not just about the fortune-tellers prediction…


OK—this is what happened: I was re-reading about my Nodes—my life direction and soul purpose as you say—and it was so synchronistic that you used Joni Mitchell as an example of this North Node Leo pattern! You said it was “time to come in from the cold.” Did you know that’s a line from one of her songs? And—I was listening to that song at the exact moment of reading your words about North Node Leo to Carl --talk about synchronicity!


You said: “ The soul purpose here is to create loving connections with others in order to heal a sense of being the outsider or the persecuted one. By leaving behind harsh judgments of myself or others, the idea now in this life is to ‘come in from the cold’ and become one of us. Your need is to open your heart, and make your presence felt—dare to shine and step forward…be effective and compelling rather than being concerned about being right.”


Then you said that the “shadow with these Nodes is an entrenched fear that entices one to be controlling, inflexible or stubborn…but that having a sense of humor shows that one knows or can contain the pain of life, and can accept the drama of it all as well.”


OK, well here it is. I’m pregnant. And that astrologer was predicting that my relationship was going to break up when transiting Saturn reached my “Seventh House” next winter—and he was also saying that unless I change something in me, I’ll never have a relationship! And then he started saying Scorpio Sun and Leo North Node was too controlling, that we’re drama queens, and yet I feel like an exile, not a queen! I feel “out of the circle” as it is, different and alienated, and that’s my fear…that I don’t know how to love and be loved. That’s the South Node Aquarius that I coming from and can’t seem to leave behind.


Well, as I was reading this to Carl he just acted bored and like I was out of my mind, and I got really angry at him. I told him if he didn’t care for me and how I feel inside, then what were we about? I tried to point to his Nodes in your book, but he didn’t even want to look at his own patterns.


It got worse—I showed him the letter between us about my Moon in Cancer and we came to talking about children, and he said he didn’t want children. Period. And I said, guess what? I’m pregnant! Yes, it’s true. I cried, and apologized, and said it was all a big mistake, and he said—get an abortion. Nothing about how it was his “mistake” too. Nothing about feelings or possibilities. Then my rage turned black, and I said yes I would—I’d get an abortion right now! I’m aborting you right now! I screamed. And I threw him out the door.


OK, some drama, I know. But with my back against the door, I started crying and then the tears stopped, and I felt and a certain coolness came over me. I’m angry at my own stupidity for choosing such a cold man, and that it had to come to this. Maybe I do need to dare (with my Aries rising) and to be open-hearted (Leo) and to stop holding it all inside and being secretive (my planets in Scorpio.) You once told me that “the exiled heretic must take a stand and make a Presence in the world”—do something big—well I made a big mistake with him. And now I have to decide what I really will do.


So this is the Saturn Return. So tell me what you think, and send me a copy of your chart too, if you don’t mind. Somehow studying astrology and spirituality while I’m dealing with all this feels like the only good thing happening right now.
Sadly,
Kendra

The Private Papers of a Reluctant Astrologer: Fourth Letter (not sent)/ Private Journal

The Private Papers of a Reluctant Astrologer: Fourth Letter (not sent)/ Private Journal: "Dear Kendra~ I'm writing this in my journal first because I'm trying to think how to talk to you about your chart before I write yo..."

The Private Papers of A Reluctant Astrologer

To Readers of North Node Astrology~
I've started a new astrological "book in a blog" set up as letters between an older astrologer, Isabelle, who is mentoring a younger women, Kendra. Isabelle has taken on Kendra as a student and she will be privately teaching her through these letters. We'll also see Isabelle's private journal and personal struggles around her own issues of fate and destiny. Both women are experiencing their Saturn Returns, one at 29 years old, and one at 59 years old.


Their email/letter correspondence has deep meaning and synchronicity for both of them--and what is the prediction that seems to be coming true? Why does Isabelle call herself a "reluctant astrologer"? Oscar Wilde said: "The final mystery is oneself" but these women want to delve deeper into understanding their unconscious motivations and karma through astrology--as well as deciphering what is really happening in these years of
"2012" which have already begun.


If you sign in/subscribe as a reader you will be sent an automatic email as each new chapter is written. Hope to see some of you there! Leave your comments and questions as well.....the direct link is on the sidebar here, or you can cut and paste this: http://PrivatePapersof-a-ReluctantAstrologer.blogspot.com

Mark Twain's Astrological Chart: Haley's Comet

Haley's comet passed across the November skies in 1835, the same month Mark Twain was born--and it was his greatest wish--and proclaimed vow--that he would "go out" with the passing of that comet some 75 years later. And he did. Twain died on April 21, 1910 as Haley passed across the heavens once again. Twain had another wish too--that his autobiography would come out exactly 100 years after his death--as per his instructions--on this November 2010. And so Twain, like Carl Jung and the publication of Jung's Red Book, will be in the news again and we'll be able to read the inner thoughts of another man of integrity.

After watching Ken Burn's poignant documentary on the life of Mark Twain, I was astounded at the depth of Twain's character. Here was an author, satirist, humorist, and great humanitarian who suffered such tragedy in his life--a massive bankruptcy, public shame, and the early death of his daughter--and yet who vowed not only to pay back every penny of his his debt in bankruptcy by doing ten years of grueling hard work, but who also had the audacity to tell "the gods" that his greatest wish was to die with the passing of Haley's comet, and "the gods" obliged.

I don't intend to tell his story here, but just to point out some points of astrologiucal significance. Born with his Sun in Sagittarius, he had the natural story telling ability, ego strength and optimism that is characteristic of that sign. His Moon, in Aries, reflects his emotional courage, passionate and entrepenurial character. Yet that Moon was conjunct Pluto, God of the Underworld, and Twain suffered not only personal deaths and rebirths, but the early deaths of those closest to him. He expressed the suffering of slavery, of humanity's cruelty to each other, and he dared to rage against "God himself." And yet he did it as one of us--not with a finger of blame, but instead by "smiling through the sorrow" with his characteristic good will towards all.

How did he do it? With grit and force of character--astrologers see this in his chart with Scorpio rising as well as his South Node in Scorpio in the first house--and his great summons to his live into his North Node in Taurus in the Seventh house of marriage, and intimate one on one relationships---all of which grounded him in a reality that allowed him to endure and be creative. In the polarity between these Nodes we see the balance and challenge of the Scorpio and Taurus Nodes--the tension between the Scorpionic drama of life with its capacity to overwhelm and the Taurus rootedness in loyalty, steadfastness, and the good things of this earth.

Of course, he overdid it all--as a a Sag with an Aries Moon might do, but he lived to tell about it, and now with Ken Burn's documentary and his upcoming autobiography, we get to see the story of death and rebirth profoundly expressed in the life of a man with so much integrity that even "God himself" honored him with his last wish. (c) Elizabeth Spring http://www.elizabethspring.com/

"Purpose is the Place Where Your Deep Gladness Meets the World's Needs"

“Purpose is the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s needs.”
Frederick Buechner

Writing “North Node Astrology”, a book about how to find one’s life direction and soul purpose, sounds a little arrogant or naïve depending on whether or not you believe astrology has anything truly worthwhile to say at all. One’s life direction seems to evolve through some mysterious equation of fate, character and destiny. How far does our free will take us? How random is fate? Metaphysical questions abound, yet it is in the making of character through the depth of our insight that intrigues me. My hope is that this book gives you, dear reader, a rather “special and curious tool” to dig deeper into the whys and wherefores of character and destiny. And as for soul purpose, I share a common yet sacred bias here, in saying that it is ultimately bound up with our growing ability to love and be loved.

Similarly, as a counselor I’m inclined to say that one’s life direction and soul purpose is about the movement towards healing and wholeness—for who among us is not wounded and less than whole? Our life direction sometimes seems to evolve as much by default as it does by purpose, and yet we sense that it’s more than the “visible hat” we wear in the world. It is about our healing, wholeness and deep happiness, and this is different for each of us.

Can you remember when you first heard the words of the poet, William Wordsworth, when he said “our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting, the Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star, hath had elsewhere its setting, and cometh from afar: not in entire forgetfulness, and not in utter nakedness, but trailing clouds of glory…”? Maybe it’s true that life existed before this birth, perhaps not. However, embracing the theory of reincarnation is not necessary to get something out of this book—what I might see as the reincarnational story, you the reader, might understand as the effect of early childhood experiences and parental DNA. Either theory works.

As you might rightly assume, my point of view is that I like the theory of reincarnation, because although not provable, it’s a way to look at the world that holds the promise of fairness and justice. It’s a hopeful bias—because we all know that life is often not “fair” to a person in one life, but it may prove to be somehow mysteriously “fair” over many lifetimes. The law of cause and effect, of karma, operates silently with its twin sisters, fate and destiny, in ways we don’t fully understand from our perspective. Yet we may be able to discern an order and an invisible pattern when you look closely—such as when you look at the backside of a tapestry or when you see the “lay of the land” from the top of the mountain. The closer I look and the farther I look, the more interesting the patterns become.

What are these invisible patterns we might not see? A friend once said, “Be kinder than necessary because everyone we meet is fighting some kind of battle.” What is that invisible battle we don’t see in our friend? What are the invisible patterns in our life? What happens when we detect patterns using theories such as astrology and reincarnation? Perhaps they must simply be felt and experienced rather than proven, and then decided whether they are useful or not. It is in these realms I seek to probe.

So I accept reincarnation and astrology as a “kind theory” that challenges chaos and randomness. It gives me faith that there is “meaningfulness” to existence even if it can’t be proven or discerned in one life. Looking at things this way, life feels too cruel—yet we all go to the movies to watch a good story. We accept the drama and tragedy in a story.

In the Eastern tradition of Vedantic Hinduism we were once all part of the One story that created this great pattern. Their theory of reincarnation postulates that we live through lifetime after lifetime of lila and maya, of play and illusion, till we arrive back at the place where we started at the beginning. According to this philosophy there is an evolutionary story evolving—that there are synchronistic correlations and resonances between things, and that an evolutionary drama is being enacted. Like the legendary “magus” Hermes Trigmegestus once said: “As it is above, so it is below, as it is in the inner, so it is in the outer.” Man is the microcosm, the universe the macrocosm, and in some metaphysical sense they are One. I like to entertain these possibilities as being true.

So if you can suspend your skepticism about reincarnation and entertain the idea that astrological symbolism is a language best used to explore psychological and spiritual terrains—well then, I invite you to consider that there may be something in your birth chart that speaks of your specific life direction and soul purpose.

If you approach this book with an open and curious mind, you come to the question—why do I have this particular astrological chart? Why was I born at this particular time and place? Did I come here to learn or experience something unique to me? This kind of thinking challenges you to question everything you think you know about yourself and to look beneath the obvious.

And for those of you who have already seen the value of astrology in describing who you are and what you’re experiencing, then you’re ready to begin excavating the “soul’s code” embedded in the ancient astrological points of the North and South Node—known in India as Rahu and Ketu. These nodes aren’t planets, but astronomical points that have been overlooked in the recent past by astrologers preoccupied with prediction, rather than purpose. I believe they are true astrological gold. Astrological gold? Yes, like the alchemist’s philosopher’s stone, these esoteric points in the birth chart give us a base to turn the Saturnian “lead” of mundane reality into philosophic gold. An astrologer might say they offer a mercurial secret knowledge.

This process of looking to an oracle—or more accurately, looking for an oracular sign for direction, is like asking to make what is unconscious, conscious. It’s like unraveling a good mystery novel, and lends us a small but useful measure of control over our life. As Carl Jung once said, “When an inner situation is not made conscious, it happens outside as fate.” How exciting it is to ponder the idea that we might have some say in our fate! Is it an interesting theory, or a gift of grace from the gods? You decide.
© Elizabeth Spring

***

Pandora's Box

The mythical Pandora and the Biblical Eve both had a curiosity to know the truth, and were willing to go outside limits and look inside hidden and forbidden places to find deeper truths. Do you know what was in the bottom of Pandora's box? It was hope.

Their curiosity was a symbol of the human search for wisdom and consciousness. They chose to know what was real and true rather than to live a childlike fantasy. Because they sought to know what was beyond the obvious, they began the journey of consciousness, knowledge and wisdom.

I find the stories of Pandora and Eve to be poignant and courageous. The struggle to achieve consciousness is tied to duality--there is suffering in the journey as well as freedom from ignorance. I respect the fact that Pandora, like Eve, was told not to disobey orders from the gods--and that they chose consciousness over naivete. I like that "Hope" was there in the bottom of Pandora's box. ~

I'm working now to balance time between writing and do readings/counseling again, and I apologize for not being able to personally answer questions from readers. I hope that my book, "North Node Astrology: Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose" available only on www.amazon.com will answer some of those questions for readers interested in the Nodes and the life transitions that they are experiencing now. I believe their is much hope and wisdom in our personal and collective journeys. I am an eternal optimist, and for those of you who would like to have a phone session, the details are on the homepage of www.elizabethspring.com

And why the thoughts on Pandora? Simply because our journey is filled with all manner of dualities and it's the symbolism under the literal interpretation of our lives that is so important to look at--what's the lesson here? What's the truth? And...isn't it sometimes quite beautiful, just like Waterhouse's painting of Pandora? I think it is....

The Reluctant Astrologer, Part 2

"Once upon a time there was a woman, who wasn’t as young as she used to be, who sat at her table to write. It was very early morning, and she had just awoken from a night full of terrible dreams. In every dream she was lost and no one could hear or help her. After each dream she awoke, and thought it was over. But it wasn't: there was yet another bad dream, and then another.


She wasn’t totally unprepared for this to happen, for she was a wise woman and had seen signs of it coming. The flood last week, with the waters rising in the basement, had permeated her psyche like the mold that was beginning to grow, and the soggy destruction of her old books and keepsakes was not a good sign. She found she could no longer hold back the slow undertow of tears that she had forced back in her waking life. Kendra had indeed “entered a dark wood” and although the sun was out and all appeared well, she knew she had lost her way.


As Kendra sat at her table to write, she stared at the page and didn’t know where to begin. She, who taught and counseled others, now knew she was the one needing guidance. She knew what she knew, for she was wise in some ways, but she also knew that she couldn’t carry the burden of the rising waters alone.


As she began to write she thought about how she had spoken to others about the importance of containing water—the emotions—within the metaphorical banks of the river. But when the storm rains come to her house, and the Neptunian waters inundated everything Kendra and her husband had spoken sharp words to each other on how to solve this basement “dankness’—their words were filled with exasperation and frustration—and before they knew what had happened, they had wounded each other and felt more alone than before. It seemed as if the dankness of the water had invaded their psyches. And so separately they took turns slogging their tired hearts around the wet basement, trying to rescue what was salvageable.


But this wasn’t the whole story. The words were slow to come on this particular morning although she knew that feeling lost was often the beginning of any journey. New beginnings were often heralded by a Pluto-phoenix experience: destruction came before reconstruction, and Pluto signifies a metaphorical death and rebirth. She wanted that new beginning, and an ending of something, though she wasn’t clear about what that would look like. She did know however, that it was time to discern more clearly what it was in her life she needed to keep, and what she needed to release. She loved her husband, and despite their differences, she hoped with all her heart that the cracks in the relationship were simply the natural cracks of the tension of a long marriage.


But something else was gnawing at her as well. Something was summoning her to change. It was a yearning in her Soul and “a knowing" that she was being moved by the Universe outside of her own Will. Others had come to her with this same problem: some had spoken of feeling stuck, or of being torn between opposing desires, and some had the feeling that an unwelcome change was coming. They all needed reassurance that eventually all would be well. And Kendra believed this to be true: all things pass.


Kendra paused, sighed, and stared out the window at the naivete of the spring morning. She thought how each new day and each new birth feels fateful. It’s as if the lover or God or Muse is “doing unto me” something that will change my life forever. Will it be allowed space to enter? Will it find expression? Or will I resist?


She picked up her pen again and wrote: 'A wise woman takes care of herself, and yet seeks help from another. She asks for help but most of all, she asks her Self: What do I do now? And then she takes the time to listen. Kendra remembered being pregnant and how she had a way of waiting and attending to herself, going slowly and patiently. She endured being sick and feeling not quite right, because there was new life stirring within. There was fear and there was hope. As she grew larger each month, she learned to trust the process of change, and the sick feeling of being lost or being taken over by something else began to pass. In time the birth came, and all was well.'" Kendra hoped it would be the same now, but was not so naive that she didn't know the dangers. She put down her pen and walked outside. The air smelled fresh and good and clean. ~ Elizabeth Spring
www.elizabethspring.com

What Breaks the Heart? What Gladdens the Heart? What Happens When You Mix the Passion of the Poet, Rumi, wtih the Alchemy of Carl Jung?

The book: “North Node Astrology” starts out with the quote:

“Purpose is the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s needs.” Frederick Buechner spoke those words years ago, which I now juxtapose with a quote by author/mystic, Andrew Harvey: “Be thankful that you live in a time so terrible, it will lead you to your authentic Self.”



The holding of this kind of terrible opposition is the “tension of opposites” that Carl Jung spoke about when he spoke of God, or the “transcendent function.” He once said that God is beyond ideas of good and evil, and is more than the “coincidentia oppositorum”—he felt that it was in the holding of such oppositions as great despair and great hope that we create the spaciousness for the alchemy of our transformation. In the holding of the opposites, we make room for God or the transcendent function in the Soul, the psyche.



It is here in the holding of such opposites, such as where your heart breaks and where your heart finds joy—here is where “the numinous third” can arise – the midpoint between the two opposing positions. Jung tended to counsel “waiting” and a patient holding of the opposites in the crucible of our psyche. When we hold our love and pain together, what can arise is a gift of grace: the point which is the center of the mandala. This is what Jung saw as the third unseen possibility/option which is unfelt at first. Like a gift of grace, it arises of its own accord.



And yet does this create a“passivity” within us? I suspect it could, except in these days when our culture leans towards acting out. Perhaps the “third” that arises is a summons towards compassionate action. We hear that expressed in the Sufi poet, Rumi—as Andrew Harvey expresses it so well: “Rumi is a lion of passion trying to teach a humanity of depressed sheep how to roar…to roar with divine love.” Rumi would have us crawl out from under the dirty blanket of denial to ignite the passion—a passion that has the intensity to birth something truly new.


So isn’t Rumi really asking us to rise to another level of intensity—of radical commitment to ourselves and to our values? Reading his poetry he begs and cajoles us to act on our beliefs and loves—but eventually the only respite that came to him from his painful yearning for his beloved, was to become the Beloved. He held the tension of the opposites within himself, until like Jung believed, the opposites yielded a third: he eventually found within himself the union of opposites. ~ Elizabeth Spring http://www.elizabethspring.com/

Astrology Readings

A note to Readers and those who have asked about "readings"~I am still in retreat-writing mode and am not doing readings at the moment. However if you are interested in having me save your name and email address to contact you when I do start again, I can do that.

Also--if you are interested in this material, I suggest buying the book now and using it for yourself. It contains a lot of what I do in a reading and might be all you need! Because the book is not just about the Nodes, but is about the karmic placement of all the planets, it makes good reading and reference for "rediscovering your life direction and soul purpose" as well as insights on how to handle Pluto, Neptune and Saturn transits....meanwhile, consider walking through the "open doors" in your life--I hear spring is approaching!~Elizabeth

Workshop on Neptune--Boston Jung Institute, March 13th

"Neptune: Planetary Archetype of Mirage, Mysticism, and Madness"

When Jung wrote to Bill W. about “Spiritus Contra Spiritum” he was writing, in part, about the archetype of Neptune. Oceanic Neptune reflects the yearning for Spirit, inspires great art and the religious impulse, but is also filled with the flotsam and jetsam of illusion and discontent. Neptune touches all of our lives and can be uniquely understood by its placement in our astrological birth chart. In this workshop you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how this illusory planet operates in your life, as well as in the life and chart of Carl Jung. We’ll also explore what other planetary archetypes are obscuring or influencing the expression of Neptune in your particular chart. When registering, please include your birth day, place, year, and time if you have it (not essential.) Each participant will receive their birth chart and previous knowledge of astrology not required, although recommended books are: Steven Forrest’s book “The Inner Sky” and Elizabeth’s book: “North Node Astrology: Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose.” Both are available on http://www.amazon.com/

Elizabeth Spring, MA, is an astrologer, writer, and therapist in private practice in Wickford, Rhode Island. Her astrology could best be described as “archetypal astrology” in that she specializes in exploring the hidden dynamics and symbolic meanings of the planetary archetypes. She is the author of “North Node Astrology; Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose.” Her second book, not yet published, is “Astrological Neptune: A Jungian-Buddhist 'Re-memebering’ of Your Compassionate Self.”

Astrological Neptune: Planet of Illusion and Disillusion, Spirituality and Dissipation

It could be said that we are all “ordinary people” except where and when Neptune touches our lives. When we think of Neptune in myths, such as embodied in the mythological “Poseidon,” we remember the mixed power, force and beauty of water in all its inspiring yet destructive traits. What is more beautiful than the ocean? What is more destructive than a Tsunami? What is so gentle and refreshing and yet so insidiously destructive when it rises in your basement? Water: and so it is with Neptune.


Feel like you’re losing your mind? Forgetting things? Could it be early onset dementia? Or are you in that altered state of consciousness called “being in love?” Your right brain has all circuits firing at once, and your left brain has gone to sleep. You’re not losing your mind, you’re “just” being distracted and obsessed by Neptune.


So you may have a strong Neptune in your chart or you may be having a strong Neptune transit. Do you feel an urge to walk the shores of the ocean again and feel that sense of wonder and awe? Or have you been thinking about just how much you are looking forward to that glass of wine at the end of the day? These are not bad things, but they hint that you may be yearning to perceive the world through the miraculous lens of Neptune. At the base of this might be a tension between the ideal and the real, between glamour and gritty reality—states of being that are at odds with each other.


Wherever Neptune is in your astrology charts is where you have a blind spot—it’s the place where you cannot easily discern between reality and illusion. It’s those times when you are vulnerable and can be swept away by the illusion of love, or the disillusion of betrayal. Neptune has been called the planet of spirituality, the “No-Ego” planet, but it also holds within it the worlds of glamour and ego-inflation.


Each planetary archetype contains within it all the opposites associated with its mythology and metaphor, and with Neptune the range is very long indeed! Neptune spans the distance from spiritual yearning and devotion to God or “the beloved” to the co-dependant excesses of alcoholism and hypocrisy.


The antidote to the downside of Neptune is the upside of Saturn. Neptunian “inspiration” combined with Saturnian “perspiration” creates the balance. You have an idea? An inspiration? You saw the “look of love?” Now make it a reality. Find where Neptune and Saturn are in your astrological chart, role up your sleeves, and make the dream a reality. Even the look of love will not last without work; love is a verb that calls you to action. Dare to move beyond the glamour and illusion, and go for the high Neptune—for here within the emotional/spiritual waters of Neptune you will find the inspiration that brings deep peace.
http://www.elizabethspring.com/ Artwork: Elizabeth Spring

Have a story about Neptune? Consider leaving a comment here for others, or email me. Or if you’d like to look at it in your chart, I’ll be doing a day-long workshop on Neptune at the Boston Jung Institute on this March 13. Come join us! I’ll be creating a chart for each participant, and we’ll also look at the role of Neptune in Carl Jung’s astrological chart as well.

Neptune: Yearning, Lost, or Waking from the Dream of Separation?

When we awake from the dream of separateness and the addiction to the drama of the story-line of our lives, we awake to the idea that we’re all mystics living in a dream-world we create. Our perceived story—our ego, that small self with all its ambitions, aspirations, victories and defeats, is living a drama that sucks us in. It seduces us into believing that our daily rituals in the “marketplace of life” are all there is.


At the mountaintop level of observation, “liberation” is found by unsnarling this small ego from its sticky co-dependent relationship to others, self, and work. Beyond the Ten Commandments, “opinions” get confused with ego righteousness…so perhaps it is in the recognition of our addiction to drama that we become free—for isn’t it here that we accept our powerlessness, our limitations, and the messiness of the human condition?


We know that the Soul wants to grow and deepen, and accepts all situations as rich spiritual lessons, or gifts in disguise. Yet the ego doesn’t easily accept that we live in a meaningful universe where accidents and coincidences are actually synchronistic lessons---situations through which we are stimulated to greater awakening. When things become too painful the ego often dismisses difficulties as being random or evil events, ie = other people’s faults. It’s then that we risk missing the underlying message or meaning an event may have for us. It may be as deceptively simple as increasing our compassion.


Neptune is the planet of divine love and compassion, and also the planet of illusion and disillusion. We can get lost in it, just as we can drown in the ocean. Neptune is the trickster or magician as well, as it seems to require from us that we release and let go even those things, people and situations that we hold dear. Eventually we must release our own lives.


In releasing attachments to our personal stories and by reframing the story of our life from the point of view of the Self rather than the ego, we liberate ourselves from pettiness. It seems like a good idea. And as Andy Rooney might say: “I think I’ll give it a try.”


Elizabeth Spring http://www.elizabethspring.com/

Neptune: Mirage, Mysticism, and Madness

Neptune Workshop: Planetary Archetype of Mirage, Mysticism, and Madness.

Where? Boston Jung Institute

When? Saturday March 13 (full day)

Contact: www.cgjungboston.com

1-617-796-0108

When Jung wrote to Bill W. about “Spiritus Contra Spiritum” he was writing, in part, about the archetype of Neptune. Oceanic Neptune reflects the yearning for Spirit, inspires great art and the religious impulse, but is also filled with the flotsam and jetsam of illusion and discontent. Neptune touches all of our lives and can be uniquely understood by its placement in our astrological birth chart. In this workshop you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how this illusory planet operates in your life, as well as in the life and chart of Carl Jung. We’ll also explore what other planetary archetypes are obscuring or influencing the expression of Neptune in your particular chart.

When registering, please include your birth day, place, year, and time if you have it (not essential.) Each participant will receive their birth chart and previous knowledge of astrology not required.

Elizabeth Spring, MA, is an astrologer, writer, and therapist in private practice in Wickford, Rhode Island. Her astrology could best be described as “archetypal astrology” in that she specializes in exploring the hidden dynamics and symbolic meanings of the planetary archetypes. She is the author of “North Node Astrology; Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose.”
This is recommended reading for the class, and can be bought through www.amazon.com or directly through www.elizabethspring.com

The Chiron Return

The Chiron Return is an astrological turning point that happens to each of us between the ages of 48-52. Women think of this transitional time as the time of menopause, but men also experience a significant and life-altering change at this time.


In my book: “North Node Astrology; Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose” I wrote not just about the Nodes but quite a few chapters about these other major “passages”—mainly the Saturn Returns, the Uranus Opposition, and dealing with the challenges of both Pluto and Neptune transits. But, except for the chapter on the astrology of menopause, I didn’t really address the Chiron Return, and so I want to share some of what I know about it here; and as always, I welcome your comments.


The symbol of Chiron in your birth chart looks like a key: a circle with a k on top of it. Chiron has a sign and a house position in your chart and should be considered a significant factor when having an astrological reading. Chiron was a mythological character: a centaur who was both physically wounded and a profound teacher and mentor to others. Classically he is thought of as the archetype of the “Wounded Healer.” Looking at the sign and house of Chiron in your chart will help you understand how this archetypal planet operates in your life.


The Chiron Return life passage, around the age of fifty, is a time when our world can expand or shut down. It’s not an easy passage. We all create “fictions” about our life story and those of others close to us, and it’s at this point that we are challenged to enlarge the story of our lives—the story we tell ourselves about “how we each are and how it all is.” Those of us who aren’t flexible enough to adjust our “story lines” at this point, might find that our lives can change radically—Michael Jackson for instance, died at his Chiron Return. He was preparing for a world tour, a great expansion, but his old habits didn’t change.


Most of us have an urge at this time to expand our lives in some way, and we may feel tested in our faith and in our belief systems. It’s a good time to ask ourselves: what do I turn my back to? And—what am I bringing into my relationships—how can I create more harmony and more relatedness in my life? Chiron was wounded and in pain, yet he chose to relate to others by teaching everything he knew.


It is said that the “Chi energy” in the body begins to diminish at this age, but it’s also a time of summoning up a new perspective. Essentially we are called to enlarge the story of our lives at this point. Carl Jung, at his Chiron Return, enlarged the story of how he felt about other cultures by going to Africa and New Mexico in these years. He stepped out of the cultural limitations of a European White Man and looked at the world through different eyes. He expanded his world, and enlarged his understanding.



No transits happen before their time. When we are in our Chiron Return transit, new opportunities tend to open for us—and it’s a good time to say “yes” to whatever we are being summoned towards. Like the mythological Chiron, we have the choice to carry our own wounds and gifts with dignity and generosity or to project our problems and confusion outward. And the Chironic opportunity at this age is to open up to new visions of who we are and how it can all be, without becoming cynical or complaining. It ‘s a time that calls for courage. Sounds good to me!
www.elizabethspring.com

Sub-personalities, the Self, and Transiting Planets

Dear Readers~

My sense is that most of you who come to this blog are looking to find out more about your North and South Nodes. Hopefully, you’ve been able to look below at the column on the right to find your North Node sign and house position. From your personal emails and comments it seems that you are getting what you need…and for those of you who want more, there is the new North Node Astrology book, and the possibility of a personal reading done by phone in the spring.


As many of you know, I don’t try to tackle your particular Nodal story in an email or comment, as it would be un-ethical to try to do that much without considerable time spent on your chart…and that is what I do in a reading. As helpful as the Nodes are in understanding the larger map of your psyche, they have to be taken in context with the whole natal chart. The Nodes are arguably the most important point in the astrological chart, yet I believe we make our way in life in good part by honoring the demands of our particular transits and progressions.


That said, I’m still open for any thoughts or questions that you have on the Nodes, or other astrological topics, and I welcome your suggestions. I’m not a believer in the “gloom and doom” theories of other astrologers in these times….despite the square between Saturn and Pluto in the heavens, I would ask you to look at what Jupiter and Neptune are doing in your transiting chart as well. In fact, every single planet has a divine purpose and our lives can so often be seen as the “best of times, and the worst of times.”


Which is to say, that no matter what planetary influence you’re operating under now, you have a choice on how to “play it out.” No aspect is either all good or bad; and I’d ask you to reconsider how you’re thinking about your Nodes and your transits now—can you re-imagine new possibilities and permutations? Can you envision the highest possible expression of these energies? What planet might you have overlooked?


Planets are like sub-personalities, and we all have times of dissociating with parts of ourselves. Carl Jung wrote about the core “Self” as the integrating center of our lives. I like to picture this as the center of a circular mandala, and this Self is like the committee chairperson, who gives equal time to all the planets/personalities/archetypes as they raise their hands to speak. The transits to these planets in the natal chart are the times when these “sub-selves” or planet/voices have raised their hand to speak. And when they do, it is the time to listen.


We can be thankful that no transit ever comes before its time! The Nodes point to the long range directional journey, but the transits point to the particular curve in the road at the moment. They are the specific challenges and opportunities that we are meant to engage with at the moment. So read your “maps” well, and don’t overlook the hidden blessings in the moment that are quietly asking to be attended to…..some of them have had there hands raised for a very long time.
http://www.elizabethspring.com/

Mountain Astrologer Book Review: "North Node Astrology"

"Mountain Astrologer" Magazine
Book Review, Feb/March, 2010
www.mountainastrologer.com
Mary Plumb

"Elizabeth Spring is a graceful writer. Her counseling voice is evident as she gently guides readers into a deeper inquiry into themselves. The book was completed from the vantage point of Spring's second Saturn Return. She writes: "My sense is that the call to reconnect with a guiding vision, or deep wellspring grows more subtly intense as we age." Her book is a sweet companion to that endeavor.


Her book: "North Node Astrology" may be of particular use for therapists who are curious about astrology, since Spring has a relaxed way of drawing readers into the magic of astrology. She writes: "Good astrology seeks to confirm, to comfort, and to subtly guide....in this book, you are the astrologer and the client. You are the mystery and the problem to be explored."


More in this month's issue, Mountain Astrologer. Thank you, Mary!
www.elizabethspring.com

The Reluctant Astrologer

The Reluctant Astrologer

"The prediction was coming true—of course, astrologers don’t like to call it a prediction, but it was a prediction nevertheless. And it was worse in this case because Kendra herself was the astrologer; the predictor. She certainly wasn’t a fortune teller, and she certainly believed that free will could overcome any karmic challenge that might arise, but it was shocking to see how her life seemed to be dissolving in front of her.

She had to admit that it was a liability of her profession to sometimes see too much. Signs and synchronicities had a way of seeping into her psyche like water slowly rising in the basement. She didn’t use the words like good or bad, but instead she believed in “fierce grace.” Anything could be turned around, and often what felt like a terrible fate could turn into grace. Sometimes the change occurred because of what we did, sometimes it was because of what we didn’t do; our patience. At this point, all she knew was that she desperately needed some of that “fierce grace.”

Kendra had been an astrological counselor for over twenty years, and it felt good to be on the helping side of things, to be on the “knowing” side, of this profession. How easy it had been to encourage her clients in “foul weather or fair” or suggest ideas as to how to handle the moment of crisis or opportunity. But no matter how many ways she looked at her chart now, she saw only the slipping away of certainty and the call of an unknown summons –a prediction that she could not evade or barely understand.

Kendra liked to muse on possibility and probability. But her rambling thoughts now were a liability rather than an asset. Her hands clenched and gripped the steering wheel in an effort to keep the car from careening out of control. The windshield wipers fought fast against the icy rain, as her eyes tried to adjust to the kaleidoscopic white swirls of snow coming at her. She kept her frozen foot on the accelerator at a steady 50 MPH. She was going to make it to the city before dark; she was going to make it to Boston before she lost her courage.

Courage. People would call Kendra when they needed to summon their courage. She loved that word, because in French it meant to “take heart” and she was good at helping others do this. She believed in the power of a generous heart and a beginners mind. But before this, she had always been on the giving end of the encouragement and the receiving end of the numbers—the birth dates, times, and credit card numbers. It had been an honor to be invited into the private lives of others, and to get paid for it.

Kendra needed to concentrate on the road, but the wipers were mesmerizing as they thrashed across the windshield. Kendra turned off the old “Enya” CD and turned on the car radio station. Country music, static, hard rock and roll, or the oldies station playing the Eagles version of “Desperado”. She switched it all off. Maybe she should think about this plan to defuse the energies of Saturn, Pluto and Uranus. It was an old story for sure, of death, reinvention and rebirth. But if astrology was about anything, it was about trusting what she had always called “Divine Right Timing.”

***

This is the beginning of a new book I'm working on right now--a novel about 2 women--one in her first Saturn Return at age 29, and one in her second Saturn Return at age 59. It's a novel about reinventing one's life, and is interwoven with astrological lore/wisdom.

I imagine that YOU might be a reader-- although I must admit I don't know how it would get published. If any of you readers have ideas about birthing a book like this, or if you'd like me to post the book while writing, I'd be willing...maybe I need to hear from YOU....are you there?

The Holy Spirit; Hagia Sophia~Sacred Wisdom

"This is a powerful time; scary, uncertain, sacred, and necessary. Stay centered in the present, knowing that what you're experiencing is a process of deep alchemy. It takes courage to be able to exist in a place of unknowing, for “even a coward can endure tragedy but only the brave can endure suspense.” Release old behaviors where you're stale or playing small; trust that which you love and which loves you."

This is a message I received today, and it's timing was perfect as I'm living with a situation that is "suspense-full" in that there is no clear answer. Not yet. When we live in a state of waiting, of having to be patient, or having to endure without knowing answers or even the best thing to do, we have to trust our inner knowing. Not easy. When one is seriously endangered, such as when one is in the hospital, what happens? We wait. We try to be patient. We are a patient. A very hard place to be in psychologically.

A client of mine requested a reading for today which I cannot do. I needed to carve out some space for now to care for some pressing needs in my family and hopefully to find the time to do some of the inner work of writing. I've not been too successful in that yet! Always priorities.....

However, to those people who follow astrology, and to this client of mine, I want to remind her to trust her "inner shaman", her intuitive wisdom, her inner Beloved...her inner astrologer. We have to follow our own way, our own Tao, and I do believe the deepest answers are found in our own hearts. When we cannot connect with others, we can instead create a private ritual of going inside ourselves and asking our questions and listening to the answers that will arise. We can pull a Rune or check our transits or open at random our favorite inspiring book and "listen" for the words we need to hear.

I truly believe that the Holy Spirit (Hagia Sophia; wisdom herself) will arise in some words or form of synchronicity. We will find some answer or wisdom or balm for our Souls if we can make ourselves receptive.

www.elizabethspring.com

Saturn in Libra, with Neptune and Jupiter in Aquarius!

Priorities!

If I were to imagine one word to sum up the work of Saturn in Libra I might say: "Priorities." And perhaps it's prioritizing the relative importance and feelings in all " one on one relationships" in our life that Saturn in Libra speaks to... and so I try....


I try to prioritize and make an effort. For the last 2 months it's been a high priority for me to get to NYC to see Jung's Red Book and to reconnect with old friends there, and twice(!) I've been laid low by sickness that has kept me away.


I sadly gave up on that priority until a few days ago. And then the synchronistic happening occurred that could be seen as part of the "signature" of Jupiter and Neptune in Aquarius--because I let go of my efforting and the need to have something occur the way I wanted it to occur, the Universe arranged--serendipitously (?) through friends (Aquarius) that I should still get my hearts delight to see the Jung exhibit, and so I will be going there, all plans arranged, with little effort on my part.


The point? It's simply to remember the grace of what we used to call "leaving room for the Holy Spirit" which to me is often seen dressed in Uranian fashion with a touch of Jupiter and Neptune. So, we do the intention, we make the effort, we prioritize...all Saturn. And then Jupiter and Neptune in Aquarius say...."leave a little room for us, leave a moment for us to do our magic...it won't come as you expect." And that's a very sweet thing indeed.

Elizabeth Spring www.elizabethspring.com

Venus square Pluto, Venus opposite Pluto, Venus Conjunct Pluto in the Underworld

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What is Venus’ revenge for the suppression of beauty and joyful eroticism? What happens when sexuality gets twisted into pornography? This is when Venus goes down into the underworld with Pluto and erupts with a vengeance for our blatant disregard of pleasure and true relationship. She feels abused and she rebels, with perversion and pornography resulting—with all its emphasis on “power over another,” control issues, and disempowerment. Both men and women get caught in the illusions of control and pseudo-glamour, and unhappiness is often the outcome.

In astrology, we usually see this usually as the negative manifestation of Pluto, Scorpio and Neptune, often with 8^th house undertones. It can also be a lower expression of Mars and Neptune in square or opposition as well. When Venus and Pluto in the birth chart are conjunct, in square, or opposition it doesn’t have to play out as “unrequited love” or unhappiness in relationship, or frustrated sexuality, or a tendency for triangular love affairs with impossible people—but it often plays out that way. Venus Pluto in conjunction, square and opposition challenges a person to explore the deepest dimensions of love, intimacy, and even beauty. Naivete is not welcome here, and relationships cannot be all about the honeymoon stage anymore. Venus/Pluto is truly capable of making true relationships work, when they are willing to do the hard work of relationship--when they have their eyes open.

The intimacy of a high expression of Venus/Pluto is based on love, and a delicate balance of two people as equal supporters of each other. There is often such hope and idealism in this combination mixed with a history of tragedy. It doesn’t have to be this way. Both men and women have Venus in their charts, and Venus doesn't have to be "tormented."

Often a person with the difficult aspects of these planets in their birth chart has had some history of emotional abuse, either early in this life or in their past life. And because they know the territory, they can be the ones who can heal it for themselves as well as others. However, when relationship dynamics remain unconscious, the territory is often played out in the underworld or as an addiction.

So the downside of Venus and Pluto’s expression can be seen as a product of our consumer society, and a symptom of a “loss of soul.” Whether it be an individual or the culture, there’s a loss here—or a fear—of the positive Venus—the Venus that thrives on relationship, equality, and beauty. This is what happens when one cannot "feel" anymore. And of course, like an alcoholic or an addict, one drink or one drug is never enough. Venus/Pluto is not bad; but it has a special mission—it’s a call to take passion and make it real…and good. It can be done! (c) elizabeth spring www.elizabethspring.com

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Oprah's promoting of pornography; internet porn is cited as the number one reason for divorce in America today

Dear Oprah~
If I had been a young woman instead of an older therapist, I would now view the sex industry as a lucrative and exciting career option. Instead, as a therapist who has to deal with the heartbreak and family wreckage that pornography leaves in its wake, I kept waiting, Oprah, for you to balance your Nov 17th show by bringing up "the other side" of pornography--of how porn images effect a wife or young mother or teenager who has just discovered what their father does at night on the internet.



As a psychotherapist, I deal with the young women who feel betrayed when they find internet porn that includes "just click here" options for child porn as well. Mothers look at their children and back to the children on the internet screen. First they call the lawyer, then they call me. Then I try to find them a support group for the disheartened wives of porn watchers.




I kept waiting for you, Oprah to bring in a therapist who would discuss this addiction that pornography creates, and its crushing effects on families, because, according to the mainstream therapists magazine, "Psychotherapy Networker" it is internet porn that is the leading cause for divorce in America today. Or maybe simply someone on your show could have said that the money gained from choosing this career has a downside that is as psychologically damaging to soul as HIV is to the body.

Libra South Node, Libra Moon

In Evolutionary astrology we look at the South Node with eyes that are biased to see what unfinished business, what blockage, what challenge was not met—either earlier in this life or in a former life. So, we read the South Node negatively. To read the “Venus ruled” Libra negatively can be hard, because there is so much charm and personality there. It’s similar to saying “that nice person at the party/the job/the meeting wasn’t really so nice after all.” Too much niceness, too much ‘trying to make the peace at any price’, too much caring what the other person thinks and feels, can make a person appear like a chameleon. Why is there such a desire to please? What woundedness is under that need?

Enmeshment, co-dependence, and a subtle kind of opportunism and neediness are the worse traits of Libra; no matter if it be the Sun, Moon or South Node. In the South Node position or as the Moon, the emotional nature “remembers” on a cellular level an original closeness and unity that is hoped for now, if not expected. Venus wants good relationships, harmony and beauty. Nothing wrong with that. Justice too, and credit for doing a good job. He/she wants to come up smelling like roses, and sometimes Venus bends the truth or takes radical risks to make their dreams come true.

So what is needed here? A healthy dose of its opposite: Mars. Venus needs the independent, assertiveness of its North Node of Aries to create the balance. And whether you have the South Node or Moon in Libra, there’s too much of a default pattern here of the illusive or manipulative feminine—whether you are male or female, we all have our counter-sexual parts within us, and with Libra, you are going to have to assert, fight, survive, and carry the weight of the paradoxes of life on your shoulders. You need to get assertive. Your soul survival may depend on you not depending too much on other people.

As always there’s a delicate crucial balance needed between the opposites. This is the Libra/Aries, “I-Thou axis”-- the relationship balancing “see-saw” between me and you. There’s great gold or goodness embedded in the South Node Libra, or Libra Moon, but if you’re going to learn from this, take a look at how you “act-out” your relationships in your life, and how you respond to beauty. Are you nourishing yourself with “random acts of beauty” and loving kindness? Good, that’s high Libra. Are you finding new ways to nourish your need for true relationships, or are you distracting or deceiving yourself and others? Libra likes the illusions and beauty of Neptunian fantasies, which are fine, but remember to honor the need for confrontation and assertion in your life. Venus needs Mars. The female and male parts of you are all there inside of you, just asking permission to express itself. “Androgyny” can be seen as a kind of wholeness.
© Elizabeth Spring www.elizabethspring.com

South Node Taurus, Moon in Taurus

The South Node represents what we’ve come into this life with---the gifts, the wounds, the challenges. On the most basic level, the South Node is where we are comfortable because we are familiar with the territory, and with the South Node in Taurus, or with the Moon in Taurus, we know the delights of being comfortable, being sensual and sexual, having a sense of financial and emotional security, and enjoying the things in life that make it worth living. Venus rules Taurus, and this is the part of us that values the ground we stand on, our relationships, beauty, good food and drink, and loyal friends. Nothing wrong with that! And we fear not having enough of those things.


Venus is exalted in Taurus, meaning that the planetary archetype of Venus naturally and comfortably expresses itself through the lens of Taurus, and that “she” expresses a type of “life philosophy” that is rooted in a pragmatic and sensual understanding of life.
That is unless you’ve taken it too far. And this may be the case if your South Node is in Taurus. The South Node always represents the area that we didn’t get quite right in a former life, or earlier in this one, so we are called now to release the down side of these habits and traits. Too much emphasis on Venusian security, sensuality and relationships can hint of a touch of laziness or materiality that doesn’t leave room for the depth, painful truth, or edginess that Soul Work sometimes requires.


Have you been living in a world of denial or attempting a false security that isn’t rooted in deep truth? The South Node in Taurus speaks to the need to move away from the over-dependence on personal resources (“He who dies with the most money wins”) or continual security seeking (“This is my house and I don’t ever want to consider moving for any reason.”)


Too great a concern for the comfortable desires of Venus tends towards materialism, if not laziness, and the antidote is to move towards your Scorpio North Node. This is about a willingness to risk one’s present level of security for a deeper, truer level of security and integrity. This is where the balance is brought in by the Scorpio North Node, which continually wants to know “what’s the emotional bottom line truth here? And what do I need to do about it?”


The Moon in Taurus reflects a “blessed” placement because the Moon relates to not only our emotional style but also our way of nurturing ourselves and others. It reflects something of the positive archetype of the Mother. Taurus nurturing is sweet, as long as mothering doesn’t become “smothering.” The Moon in Taurus has less of the downside of the South Node here, but we still need to be continually mindful of balance!
Elizabeth Spring www.elizabethspring.com