Astro Insights Guide 1

insights guide An inspirational immersion Insights for relationships with self and other The blueprint for your soul is in the stars

by Jessi Simpson

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From the author

W

e are the whole universe, experiencing ourselves in human form. What happens within us is also unfolding somewhere in the vibrational field of awareness. It is through placing a microscope upon the vibration of the universe existing within us that we can discover all that plays out within our most intimate relationships with ourselves, others and the world. The planets within our solar system were once revered as Gods, vibrating within their own unique frequencies. These frequencies are what we can feel and sense through our felt experiences as human beings.

This heartfelt edition offers an insightful and poetic course in Evolutionary Astrology in order to recognise and develop your most authentic Self.

It is a soulful journey in understanding, liberating and freeing yourself on the level of the Soul. It acts as a sacred doorway into your Soul essence, a meditation that only you uniquely share with the Cosmos. Through this course, may you discover a truly authentic sense of Self-worth and emotional security from within, through the embodied language of the stars.

Timeless in its nature, may this course be a consistent reference point and companion as you journey through life. It is a place to retreat to when feeling stuck. A friend and a confidant.

It is a process of embodiment, of reacquainting yourself with yourself, and that sweet feeling of relief when you know you are truly supported always. And may supporting yourself through this course ripple out, deeply moving those closest to you and your relational life at large.

This course in Astrology is as practical as it is soulful and poetic. You do not have to know anything about Astrology or even spirituality or

Yoga. Know that showing up as you are in all of your bright fullness and shadowy edginess is a gift. Allow what is — how beautiful. May you stumble upon and feel drawn into these pages at the perfect time. As you take the courageous journey inward, may the words here set you free through the permission to remember the essence of who you truly came here to be.

If you get stuck at any point in your journey, remember that the out-breath (the letting go) always presents the next step forward. Or perhaps you’ve already taken the first step, and haven’t even noticed it yet. Allow the noticing, and the constant listening. There is no rush forward, we are simply right here. It simply is, right now. And that is perfect.

“Enter the space inside your head, See it as already infinite, Extending forever in all directions.

This spaciousness that you are Is permeated by luminosity.

Know this radiance As the Soul of the world” — Lorin Roche, The Radiance Sutras.

With grace, ease and devotion, Jessi Simpson, Author

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Contents 6 Introduction The foundations of Evolutionary Astrology 9 Chapter 1 Zodiac Archetypes and the Cycle of Consciousness An energetic exploration of the signs and their life lessons 53 Chapter 2 Reconnection to the Creative Self (the Sun) Realise the core of who you are 61 Chapter 3 The Emotional Self (the Moon) Unlock your subconscious programming and deepen your connection to your feeling landscape

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68 Integration Journey Working with Your Moon Initiation into your own emotional nature through guided meditation and journal prompts 73 Chapter 4 Developing Presence and Magnetism Through Your Ascendant The rising sign and the qualities you have chosen to embody 79 Chapter 5 The Intellectual Mind (Mercury) Know how to harness the power of your mind for your most authentic expansion

85 Chapter 6 Exploring Polarity with Venus and Mars The sacred dance of relationships 91 Integration Journey An Exploration of Mind Workshop on working with the power of your mind 97 Chapter 7 The Planets as Teachers The lessons of the planets for your highest Soul evolution

121 Chapter 9 Integrating the Shadow Transforming your wounds into your greatest gifts and lighting up the invisible path of your Soul 139 Chapter 10 Embodiment Mantra, meditation and mindfulness practices to connect with the sacred doorways into the Cosmic Soul 151 Gratitudes My offering back to creation

109 Chapter 8 Energetic Terrain A journey through the energy of the houses

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Introduction “Evolution simply comes down to, and means, the changing of form, the changing of structure, the changing of energy and the change of anything.

Through universal human experience, we know that we are in a continuous state of becoming” — Jeffrey Wolf Green, Father of Evolutionary Astrology.

Evolutionary Astrology is the study of the interaction between the celestial bodies and how they affect our lives here on the Earth plane. Everything that exists in the universe is made up of vibration — we are vibrational beings. Everything in the universe is wholesomely interconnected, therefore whatever is experienced in the celestial sphere is also experienced somewhere within the collective consciousness.

We have direct access to vibration of the Cosmos through even the smallest cell in our bodies. It is beyond the conceptual mind and lives deep in the felt sense, through the gateway of our breath. The solar system is a circulating, rhythmic field within the greater universe, emitting frequencies at different pitches, subtleties and speeds.

Where Evolutionary Astrology stands alone from other practices of Astrology is that it honours the divine law of free will. The blank canvas where you and the universe meet is the space where Evolutionary Astrology lives and thrives. The universe is constantly expanding, vibrating, unfolding and it is up to us whether we want to float downstream or resist this natural rhythm. An Evolutionary Astrologer can only tell you the possible manifestations of your birth chart but, ultimately, it is up to you. It is your existence and incarnation, it is your canvas. And how beautiful is that, that it’s up to no one else.

“The evolution of the Soul is simply based on a progressive elimination of all desires to separate ourselves from that which is the Origin Of All Things, until only one desire can remain: to return to the Origin

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Of All Things” — Jeffrey Wolf Green.

Understanding the Self on the level of the Soul is a full embodiment of truth in any given moment, the source of truth always being whatever is unfolding deep within the heart. We have been raised in a time where the perceptual, logical mind is placed at the top of the hierarchy of the validation of information, and the silent wisdom of the body and heart are drowned out.

As children, we just are, and we don’t apologise for it. We have a natural connection to the heart space, to our feelings. Western societal norms scream of not being able to deal with any feeling that is big and overwhelming.

Parents are meant to be our safe place to bring our explosive feelings to. Everything we are feeling is real and true, we just need some nervous system regulation so that we can move forward with our heart remaining open and to learn how to be whole and healthy in our relationships.

We can only be with the intensity in others to the capacity that we can be with the intensity in ourselves.

For many, parents lacked the emotional grounding to stand upon to hold the unconditional space for feelings to surface. This is a patterning that we carry within ourselves through our ancestral lines and often the tools were not passed onto our parents, either. And so the false narrative that we pick up on through our felt sense, our embodiment and within our intuition goes a little something like this:

“The world is not a safe place for me to simply feel what I feel, love what I love and be who I am in all of my colours. I am too much, or too little.” Here, coping mechanisms that go against the flow of life begin. The river is simply flowing. The rains are simply falling. The storm is simply happening. The Sun is simply shining.

And we are constantly in attachment or aversion, going

against the present moment, what is and, therefore, where and what we are.

When we know our emotional and Soul edges, we can trust in what we feel, and tell the truth in love no matter what. This is a very new concept to grasp, and is still a very courageous unknown path to tread. With the integration of the concepts that Evolutionary Astrology offers, we can come to know that the falling apart or away of anything — the letting go — is beautiful. That’s because it’s real, especially when we allow ourselves to go there and feel what we feel. The tears that come are tears that can move us back to our true place.

Why do we hold on as human beings? Why do we resist the ending or the letting go? Patanjali, thought founder of Yoga as we know it, writes in the Yoga Sutras verse 2.9 that all fear stems from the fear of death. Not only a physical death but the ending of all things.

Jeffrey Wolf Green writes that evolution is always preceded by a natural law called involution. This is the letting-go phase, the shedding and destruction must take place — of pre-existing roles, structures, energy patterning and any old dynamics — for the authentic evolution of the Soul to occur.

The letting go of needing to know, anything at all, is a courageous first step. To understand the manifestation of anything — the qualities of the “personality” — one must utilise the brilliance of the mind. We do this best as human beings through the utilisation of archetypes, symbols and stories that all point in the direction of the Soul. Stories and narratives are how we traditionally come together with each other to return to the things in our heart to share, heal, learn and move through into the next phase, together. Evolutionary Astrology functions in this way, of using archetypes and stories as a starting and returning place. When we zoom out further, we can then realise what it points us towards in a felt sense.

Any intensity, sharp edge or shadow manifestation is simply truth bubbling up to the surface, normally in an unacknowledged way. These are the signposts that show us where a letting-go process may need to happen for

our highest evolution. This is also how we can use story and build narratives that perpetuate suffering through attaching experiences that have not been truthful to our deepest evolution to who we are as an identification.

As we grow up, we start to take on the unprocessed feelings of the world through our parents, communities and immediate emotional experiences and mistake it for our own Soul essence. The purpose of the shadow is so that we can have a felt sense of what is not in integrity with us at any given moment at the highest level, of what is not sitting right. We can then catch the narrative behind the shadow manifestation of the archetype and feel it for what it is, and thank it for the pathway it presented us to allow us to come back to our true place. We must feel the opposite to know what our edge of capacity is. To know what is what and what sits where. To know what is ours from our own Soul essence vibration, and what is the others’ — the vibration emanating from the outside. This is the paradoxical beauty of the universe and of true embodiment.

When we do not know how to accept or hold space for these sharper edges of ourselves, we have simply closed our eyes or turned away, therefore, also turning away from our highest evolution. It hasn’t actually gone anywhere, we just don’t want to know or see it. We then tend to layer it more through creating unbeneficial stories about any emotion that bears a shaper edge than culturally acceptable. We often do not realise that sharp edges pierce us into powerful new places, through acceptance of what is and in deep listening to what these “darker” qualities and feelings are telling us.

“The shadow is neither within nor without” — Thomas Cleary, The Secret of the Golden Flower.

Light work is shadow work. As within, so without.

If you understand nothing else, understand that everything that happens inside of you can be felt, seen and understood within the universe. All understanding starts within you. This is cosmic, magic and perfect.

Of course, it goes both ways, but discovering the true nature despite and within changing forms is a starting place.

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Hold yourself, sit, be, Lean into it, fall away, Unfold when the light Finds a way through.

And when Moon shadow drops Into your silent spaces, Dancing all sweet sorrows To their never-ending places.

For your heart Longs to bloom, The magic to come,

Photography: Getty Images

Needs room.

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Chapter 1

Illustration: Tahnee Kelland

Zodiac archetypes and the cycle of consciousness

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

If you can operate yin and yang, turning them suitably, then naturally all at once clouds will form and rain will fall, the plants and trees refreshed, the mountain rivers flowing freely. Even if there is something offensive, it still melts away all at once when you notice it. This is the great cycle.

Thomas Cleary translation, The Secret of the Golden Flower.

M

uch emphasis has been placed upon the Sun in “popular” Astrology. Perhaps you are familiar with your star sign, the sign the Sun is circulating in at the month of your birth. It could also be so that the knowledge you hold of your own birth chart and Astrology at large runs much deeper. No matter where you find yourself on this spectrum, I want to encourage a deep breath back into your heart, into the place inside of you beyond the knowing and thinking mind.

May you find a home beyond the concepts alone.

The natal chart The natal chart is the ignition spark of awareness within this incarnation that occurs at the exact moment where we make the transition into the world of form again. It is a snapshot of the solar system from the Earth’s perspective at the time we take our first breath. The natal chart presents us with the microscope upon our own microcosm, our own energetic make-up. Understanding the energetics of our own natal chart on the most fundamental level can empower us with a set of keys to the metaphysical lock to our own Soul and inherent gifts within this incarnation. What also comes with this “unlocking” is the understanding and debunking of the shadow qualities of any given patterning.

Through the chart, we are beginning to remember who we are and why our Soul chose to incarnate in this way, in this form, in this lifetime. We can truly

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only learn this through felt experience, however the chart can be thought of as a way to clear the stagnation of doubt and light the way of the Soul’s truth and potential. We are presented with a clear flowing stream of consciousness. If we learn to surrender into it, we can come to know a sort of action that rises out of that truthful place. We can feel as if life is naturally flowing because we are constantly in an intimate relationship with a wisdom that is so much bigger than ourselves.

The natural cycle of consciousness The ending is the beginning. The nature of existence is cyclical, just as the solar system spins and is constantly expanding within the greater universe. Therefore, our authentic evolution as human beings does not happen in a straight line, it is not linear. The path of the heart requires a constant willingness to feel what we feel and love what we love. It is allowing what is to be within ourselves and to take the sort of action that is inspired by a natural ignition spark that comes after a really hearty letting-go cry or when we finally come to deeply accept something really painful.

The truth is that even when we are truly through with something and feel we are done with the gritty work to overcome a particular patterning or way of being in the world — be it anxiety, low self-worth or a heartbreak over someone we were deeply attached to — there is always a greater chance that we will

Illustration: Tahnee Kelland

A B R I E F H I S TO RY O F A S T R O LO GY Western Astrology dates back to the Sumerians around 4000 BCE, but came to the forefront by the Babylonians around 1650 BC, where planets were revered as Gods. In time, Egypt, Greece and, eventually, Rome began taking Astrology very seriously. Egypt created the first effective time-keeping calendar and Claudius Ptolemy, during the first century AD, wrote the earliest concise astrological texts.

Astrology flourished throughout the Middle Ages and medieval Europe as a means of “fortune telling”. Astrologers were respected as wise mathematicians who could predict one’s fate, and was only accessible to the royal and elite. The way we use Astrology is from the Earth’s perspective, as this is where we live and it’s from this place where we can understand, through our own lived experiences.

The rise of psychology and theosophical studies in the late 19th century pulled Astrology into the spotlight. Carl Jung used Astrology as a means of distinguishing psychological archetypes and spiritualist Alan Leo began to use Astrology on the level of the Soul’s journey.

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

moment that sparks the old feeling anew. When we can see these moments as doorways, the whole galaxy can bloom and magnetise towards us.

In Indian Yogic philosophy, the Sanskrit word samsara refers to this cyclical nature as the cycle of death and rebirth to which life in the material world is bound. Additionally, the word samskara refers to mental impressions, recollections or psychological imprints. This forms the basis of karma theory, where the mind and the patterning that we play out as human beings into the manifest realm is what creates more karma, or “stuff” to work through.

All experience and vibration creates a mental impression within the mind. There is a theory here that when the impression or patterning is reinforced or continued with identification with the thought form, it will remain unresolved and we continue this patterning until an awakening can happen, whether in this life or the next.

We were through, at that previous level of consciousness. The gift is what happens when we can circle back to past events — beckoning us through the Cosmos — in a way that instills gentleness, compassion, patience and surrender. It is that Cosmic laugh, that reminder to let go again just as quickly as we felt we “figured it out” or “grasped it”. The planets slow in their motion, or retrograde.

The rains fall again. Something unfolds in this

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The natal chart you have is perfect. There is no “good” or “bad”. The divine law of free will ensures that you are a sovereign being and you have the power to choose how you play your existence.

Evolutionary Astrology functions in the belief that we are not “blank tapes” when we come into this life. When we zoom out, we can see the cycle of consciousness as something we carry with us on a Soul level. This existence is a continuum and not the full picture. Whether or not you personally believe in reincarnation, this concept is enough alone to set one free.

Illustration: Tahnee Kelland

have the opportunity to circle back to re-integrate this patterning again and again. Meaning that as we evolve in our truthfulness and authenticity, our level of consciousness will have grown to match where we are at in this very moment. When the time comes, you’ll always know when existence presents you with what appears to be a “step back” when we suddenly wake up feeling that old feeling, or missing that person again when we thought we were through.

This is a doorway to letting go. The tears that fall present in the next step of our authentic journey.

The most wonderful thing about any of this is that we have been given the choice with what frequency we would like to play within this lifetime. We incarnated here with a strong urge to enjoy and expand within the realm of form. Listening to the silent whispers of the heart and what we naturally gravitate towards or enjoy as human beings is necessary and intentional, through the need for a full embodiment through the felt experience.

CHAPTER 1: THE 12 ARCHETYPES

Energetic exploration of the 12 archetypes Until I looked inside my aching heart, and saw a hive of honey bees. Making honey from my darkness, gold from my disease.

Nick Mulvey

14 Aries

26 Leo

38 Sagittarius

17 Taurus

29 Virgo

41 Capricorn

20 Gemini

32 Libra

44 Aquarius

23 Cancer

35 Scorpio

47 Pisces

The 12 archetypes (signs) within Evolutionary Astrology are a beautiful symbol of this natural cycle of existence. They operate as a continuum and one whole cycle, with the end of the cycle giving birth to the beginning of the next. The signs are not endings in and of themselves and horoscope culture must be dropped from the mind in order to learn the depths of the Soul, swiftly and gently. The truth is that we are all of the signs, we are the whole cycle. We are just dominant energetically within certain parts of the cycle.

We naturally lean towards the expression of some parts on a deeper level. We choose a particular blend of vibration to play with as we incarnate. My hope is that you will remember your unique “why”, and that the darkest hour of night becomes just as exciting as the break of day.

Be mindful as to not jump ahead within the mind to work out where you sit within this spectrum, as even the signs you do not “have” still have a vibrational place within you. One sign’s shadow qualities are overcome by the light qualities of the next. We cannot skip ahead of this important part of the process, it is the way back to the heart always. As human beings, we manifest this cycle of consciousness throughout our entire lives. The natal chart is a snapshot of the sky at the moment of birth but we must also realise our evolving snapshot in this moment. And right now. And now. We will feel out and learn the qualities we “lack” through experience of attachment and aversion to these qualities.

Let the cycle begin. I encourage you to highlight and make notes with what resonates as you read.

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CHAPTER 1: ARIES

Aries The Ram – Yang – Fire Ruled by Mars “I will” The horns of a ram. The ram charges head on without fear.

Aries is the pioneer, the activist, and beholds great passion and willpower. Aries is the fiery rebellion, spontaneous to each moment. In the highest form, this energy is deeply connected to the truth of desire and will. Aries wants things and does not apologise for that. Ultimately, Aries wants to kickstart projects, ideas, movements, romance and anything that gets excitement pulsing through the veins. Channeled in a healthy way, the feeling of being in this vibration would be one of great liberation and relief, allowing ourselves to charge forward towards what we desire and long for without guilt. Nothing can get in the way of what an Aries wants to have, it cries clearly with no repression to the Cosmos and there is no doubt in the Aries mind about attaining what it wants. This can lead to the healthy development of leadership and independence.

It’s the primal initiator energy, wanting to express itself in the most uninhibited way possible. A core drive is to pioneer and truly fight for something. This is the feeling we all long for and have when beginning something new that excites us, normally after the dissolution or letting go of the season before.

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Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

The cycle begins with the ignition spark of consciousness at birth into form. This is Aries. That first breath. That awareness of the Self. There is an awareness of “I exist”. As a baby, we are vulnerable and, therefore, existence in this timeline is very much about us and having our needs met through the cry. We are the closest we can get to consciousness itself at this stage in our life, the next stage being close to death at the end of this form.

Therefore, it can be felt that our desire is strong to be here, there is a sense of willpower and strength that it took to reincarnate into form to learn lessons through the spectrum of human joy and suffering.

CHAPTER 1: ARIES

Aries life lessons/mantras The things I truly long for can take the time necessary I don’t have to do it all on my own The universe is here to support me in my desires, the present moment is the portal I follow my urges and inspiration uninhibitedly, they are a doorway into trust I have the capacity to hold space for passion and presence all in one The integration of these mantras above are found within the higher qualities of Taurus. It is only through the intensity of experience of the above, and therefore the illusion of separation, that we can find the doorway into the life lessons.

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Shadow Often, Aries energy incarnated can hold a lot of anger, impatience, resentment and resistance. The impatience comes from holding onto outcomes and perhaps needing to know how long it will take for it to have what it wants in this life. The fire of excitement often builds quickly and can burn out just as fast. The key for Aries is to learn how to constantly alchemise this fire into a constructive fire that burns away all it does not need without apology, so that charging forward may continue. However, this fire somewhere along the line can conjure up the flames of destruction, and burning bridges is not uncommon when first learning this energy. In extreme cases, with a lack of proper space holding for this energy, it can result in an existence primarily fixated

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on the Self in an unconstructive way. Manifestations such as not truly considering others out of a lack of trust in the necessary process in life can unfold and resentment about things not happening as quickly as expected can build a wall. This also results in the inability to finish things, perpetuating a constant cycle of doubt and back-pedaling.

This energy can often get a little stuck in the story of “I have to fight for it all on my own”, missing opportunities to be graciously supported by others and the universe, and therefore building more trust in the process. This coping mechanism can begin very early for most of us in the cycle, therefore cutting us off from the integration of these shadow qualities and from letting others and the world in.

Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

CHAPTER 1: ARIES

CHAPTER 1: TAURUS

Taurus The Bull – Yin – Earth Ruled by Venus “I have” The horns of the bull. The bull is strong, practical and virile.

With all of that burning passion comes a time where dreams need to find some stable fertile soil to plant themselves within for a little while. A time where we must rediscover the beauty, pleasure and joy of the present moment. A time for letting the necessary time pass while dreams bloom.

Taurus holds the vibration and stage of evolution necessary to find embodiment and presence for all of that striving and excitement through the senses. Taurus is the first awareness of the physical plane as a toddler, learning the form of the environment. Taurus when embodied knows it is of the potent wisdom through our physical body that the true connection to spirit and cosmic consciousness is found. Taurus represents a refinement of the senses, connection to taste, touch, sound, sight and feeling through motion and stillness, essentially what the toddler is doing — experiencing different vibrations and states of awareness through the senses. This creates presence and embodiment. We have no other choice but to be in our bodies when we are first re-learning them as a toddler.

Further, Taurus is the initial awareness of ownership and identification with the material plane. The toddler is soothed through particular attachment to the material such as a dummy or toy. The main objective for this stage in the cycle of consciousness is to find and maintain security and safety in what it has. Awareness of safety in the environment is a very necessary stage of the cycle in any timeline, whether it’s in feeling out a new relationship or project, or assessing safety (the ability to be relaxed and embodied in the present moment) with others in the home environment.

In the utmost highest, Taurus leans savouringly into the enjoyment of the Earth plane, languishing the senses. There is an access to the present moment in this that the Aries part of the Astrology Insights guide | 17

CHAPTER 1: TAURUS

Going through change is a natural process and I am safe within that process My sense of security stems from a deep inward place and not from externalities My senses are a sacred doorway, joy and pleasure of the body is my teaching to the world I have the capacity to hold space for creativity and sensuality, which results in my inner stability I have what it takes to cultivate what I long for 18 | Astrology Insights guide

Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

Taurus life lessons/mantras

CHAPTER 1: TAURUS

cycle can often fight with. Taurus can be very artistic, working with anything to do with the senses, whether through art, building, music or as an embodiment facilitator. The sense of contentment and playfulness that comes from this is felt. There is also a sense of deep sustaining energy and commitment, which can be a very healing quality.

Shadow There comes a natural time when the fixation on physical and financial security within this cultural paradigm can feel like a bottomless pit. The Taurus stage in the cycle of consciousness heralds a shadow of complacency, immovability and stubbornness. The manifestation of these qualities normally presents through physical inertia and inability to confidently move through uncertainty and change. It can be

easy to forget that the body or any form is a doorway rather than an end in itself. With the deep intention to maintain security in what it already has, there can be a natural resistance to change.

For this stage, the intention of finding security within oneself must go through a metamorphosis process into something rooted in the Soul essence, rather than the world of forever-changing forms. It is a paradox that we learn to fixate and attach our security into ever-changing externalities, over getting to know and fine-tuning the Soul essence — the unchanging, eternal part of us. There is a fine line between enjoyment of the senses and the sacred doorway into our true place, and complete fixation on external enjoyment only. The inertia that results can often lead to low confidence and self-worth.

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CHAPTER 1: GEMINI

Gemini The Twins – Yang – Air Ruled by Mercury “I think” The roman number two, expressing the dual nature of all things, one expression being the twins.

There comes the stage that we grow into the initial awareness of the mind, of thought forms and of ideas and stories. We are children learning to grasp how to listen, talk, think and mentally label things within our immediate environment. The innocent thirst to understand is born and the child constantly asks why? What is that? Why is that there? How does that work? Are we nearly there? I need to know!

This energy is adaptable, changeable and deeply curious in the highest form. It finds its place in the understanding of anything.

This level of consciousness also accepts and lives in the nature of duality as a natural expression of the Cosmos. Gemini craves variety constantly, with communication on all levels as a prominent source.

It is the social butterfly, it is the gathering of ideas, it is a constantly expanding vision. Gemini continually teaches others the nature of change and polarity through its ability to show up in any situation and meet the unfolding. As soon as we try to grasp this energy, it is already onto the next thing, unable to be pinned down. We can attach the label of “two-faced” to this quality in our current cultural landscape. This is true, Gemini does show the two faces of yin and yang. But it’s not inherently bad, it’s natural.

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Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

The deepest intention for Gemini is to understand as much as it possibly can through immediate mind forms and information. As a continuum of this natural process, the mind also goes into story and cultivates its own meaning. It’s the process of “this happened and, therefore, it means this”. Another thing we love to do as children is dress up and identify the stories of our favourite fairy-tale characters through impersonation of them. This is a beautiful process of the magic in an expanding imagination, of learning a different level of consciousness where what happens in the mind is just as real as what physically happens in the environment. The mind form creates a felt sense and changes the state of the body.

CHAPTER 1: GEMINI

Gemini life lessons/mantras My imagination is a truly powerful doorway I trust in my visions to guide me towards my full potential I practise deep listening in order to integrate my mind with my heart I am so much more than what I think It’s okay if I cannot fully understand everything, in fact it is a necessary part of my journey Astrology Insights guide | 21

CHAPTER 1: GEMINI

The shadow quality of the Gemini stage of the cycle manifests itself in many ways, given the changeability of this energy. I clearly recall my yoga teacher in Mysore, India, teaching that our problem as human beings that leads to all present-moment suffering is not that we don’t want to be anywhere, it’s that we want to be everywhere all at once — in the mind that is. Gemini’s love of change and light-hearted activities can lead to a tipping of the scales into a need to constantly be everywhere in the mind. A lack of grounding can cause the mind of the Gemini to scatter and lack true substance.

This energy has a real risk of being far too caught up in the identification of thought forms only, leading to all sorts of rabbit holes away from the truth that lies deep within the heart. The heart gives the mind

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its clarity and direction. Remembering the quality of true listening, not only to others as Gemini loves to do, but to the Self, is one elixir for this scattered and flighty energy.

We must learn in this stage, through the resistance and suffering that naturally arises through an over-emphasis on the mind alone, that the heart is always the first point of reference. The way of the heart can offer a deep clarity and direction that the thought forms can fall synchronistically and naturally within into a bigger picture and more purposeful direction. This is where the mind learns of its own true power, in syncing up with the heart. It’s important to know that the mind is not bad in the slightest. It is a vessel beholding great power and beauty. The friction created through the shadow of this stage is necessary to discover a higher mind later in the evolutionary process.

Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

Shadow

CHAPTER 1: CANCER

Cancer The Crab – Yin – Water Ruled by the Moon “I feel”

The claws of the crab are used for holding onto things and finding a place for them in their home.

Cancer presents the tender stage of the evolutionary process of learning (or remembering) to be in the world through the sensitivity of the heart. It is the awareness of the emotional body within us all. The child begins to extend out from the identity and learns its own emotional landscape through the lens of the mother image, the family and the home. The highest manifestation of this energy is nurturing in allowing ourselves to feel what we feel, and love what we love. It is in knowing that in the simple feeling or natural raising of an emotion, we are validated within ourselves. In feeling it, it is real and valid.

A lot of us tend to bring into the emotional process, the mind identification and storytelling that builds this invisible wall around the heart space. We bring with us the unprocessed parts of the phases before, holding on as we move through our presentmoment experience. As a child within this modern Western landscape, we are normally taught that our mothers, fathers or close communities who are older than us do know better than we do about our own emotion and feeling landscape.

Cancer’s strategy is in giving and receiving with tenderness and integration through the heart. The highest manifestation of this is in knowing that feeling our feelings — no matter how ugly, intense or uncomfortable on one side of the spectrum, or expansively joyful, big or playful on the other — lights the way of our true place within the world, our culture and within our communities. It places us in the nature of things, without looking to the outside world to complete our own process of validation of our emotions. Being emotionally sovereign makes this energy fiercely strong in its willingness to be vulnerable in showing its true process. There is nothing to hide, we simply feel as we feel.

In this safe feeling, we can find our true belonging. We connect to our primal nurturing and protective instincts, particularly with children and animals in our communities. Cancer’s feelings are extremely personalised and run so very deep. Cancer also beholds an important emphasis and connection to past Astrology Insights guide | 23

CHAPTER 1: CANCER

My tears of acceptance and letting go present a new way forward Allowing myself to feel leads to a greater sense of my place in the world, beyond roles The more I feel, the more beautiful my emotional landscape becomes The more I grow my emotional landscape through feeling, the more I also feel supported I feel it all and move from love 24 | Astrology Insights guide

Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

Cancer life lessons/mantras

CHAPTER 1: CANCER

ancestral lines, all leading to its secure emotional place. It is a deeply sensitive, reflective and nurturing energy. This is a necessary stage of any cycle, where we are asked to circle back to the past, to re-sensitise through the heart and learn to mother ourselves in all that we feel.

Shadow The shadow in this phase runs deep, not only within the emotional landscape of the Self but in the lineages that we carry within our bloodlines and the inherent emotional trauma passed down through the generations. Trauma is in effect created in multiple ways in our early life and lives into the present moment as a memory stored deep within our embodiment, which creates stagnation and a pull back towards the past, causing continuous suffering.

In a Western cultural landscape, that manifests as very harsh and against the natural way of things — where feelings can naturally surface to be processed in safety with others and within heart-centred communities — so it makes sense that this energy naturally moves towards suppression, and a push back of the emotions that behold any sharp edge or perceived ugliness.

The moodiness, insecurity and Self-protectiveness and -possessiveness can naturally result with suppression occurring in the undercurrents of any emotional exchange.

It is natural that our parents may not have been given the tools themselves to create an emotional landscape that supports our greatest emotional evolution. They are often stuck in patterning created from their own past and, therefore, it still lives and thrives into the presentmoment experience and the burden of this unprocessed feeling is handed over to us and we mistake it for our own.

This part of our healing and in meeting our greatest potential is an essential stage that we will revisit again and again at varying intensities throughout our life. Ruled by the Moon, Cancer also rules the subconscious landscape created from our earliest childhood programming. Unprocessed feelings continue to create circumstances that manifest to awaken us to this past “stuff” that is still carried within the body as a very real felt sense. This is where circling back to feel these things and find emotional healing becomes necessary. The past is necessary to revisit in the context of healing the emotional trauma passed down through ancestral lines. In this stage, we tend to short-circuit ourselves and want to skip over this, not realising we are entrapped in past thought forms and emotions every day. The past lives on through our emotional reactions.

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CHAPTER 1: LEO

Leo The Lion – Yang – Fire Ruled by the Sun “I am”

The mane of a lion, the king of the beast.

Ruled by the Sun, this part of the cycle heralds our connection and awareness of our life-force energy. Leo is the initial awareness of the personality. The child now becomes aware of the energetic qualities, the feeling they have when they dance, paint, play and make people laugh. Leo learns the feeling of truly shining from the inside out, a true constructive use of our life force. As children, we are connected to our bodies’ way of expressing our energy and do not question it, and we naturally gravitate towards what we love.

Consequently, we also learn how to “be” to make others accept us or appear happy with us.

The Leo energy genuinely wants to make others happy through its own direct transmission of life-giving energy. This is through any creative expression or outlet. The most important part of our healing can come from a deep reciprocity with others, and Leo deeply knows of this magical key. In our culture, we constantly hear the toxic positivity of the affirmation: “We don’t need the validation of anyone else!” Of course, on one level, this is true but it needs context.

What is true to the expression of the heart and the life-force energy is that in having a place for it to land, to be received and reciprocated, healing and integration can take place. Self-worth can be raised in receiving joyful, empowering and constructive feedback from others. It is a natural and important part of the cycle.

This supports the notion that we all truly do need each other. This also says something about us on the individual level of growing our

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Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

The core intention of this stage of the cycle is to celebrate the personality, to celebrate life, to experience the life-force energy through vitality, connectedness, playfulness and creative union.

Being in constant creative motion and in the dance with life is Leo’s core way forward. When we think of the Sun and what it does to our mood, our energy and how it brings life, we can sense that the Leo stage of the cycle is all about our relationship to being centre stage and shining. Within this natural stage of the evolutionary cycle of consciousness, it is normally our time to shine. We feel most lit up when we can share this inward beaming with others, and see that others are enjoying the life-force energy we have to share with them. The deepest joy comes from finding an unapologetic expression of who we are. Because these higher qualities are found after moving through the shadow of the emotions of the heart in the stage of Cancer, at the core of this energy, we can find a deep generosity of spirit.

CHAPTER 1: LEO

Leo life lessons/mantras I am a manifestation of pure life-force energy My creative process is perfect for me, regardless of others’ opinions I let go of outcomes and dissolve into the beauty of the process The ending is also the portal into a new beginning I release control and surrender to the flow of love Astrology Insights guide | 27

CHAPTER 1: LEO

to leave its personal stamp of recognition always. The image of royalty and of the performer is synonymous with Leo. Growing up as a dancer, I can truly identify with being stuck in the role of performer and feeling like I had to constantly be a particular way to be loved by others. The need for validation can become strong, and there is also the risk of losing the Self and sense of “I am” in the search for particular feedback and validation.

Shadow

Because of this need for validation, Leo energy can often leave projects unfinished. Other possible manifestations of this energy can be entitlement, grandiosity and arrogance in the inability to take on any feedback that doesn’t match up with the kind of approval we feel we need. We can look to the higher qualities of Virgo when this patterning plays out for a sense of grounded guidance and humbling life lessons. Leo also represents the last stage of the cycle where the life-force energy is mainly focused on the Self.

It is also true that the Leo energy often requires a positive response in our need to stand out and be recognised for our gifts and talents. Leo wants

Suppressed, not knowing how to shine or fearing shining as the true nature.

There is a pure sense of loyalty that comes with the Leo process, as part of our respect and relationships with the communities in which we feel a deep belonging and reciprocity. This is because of Leo’s direct need to express who we are, giving us somewhere to land and integrate, growing in confidence of our gifts and talents in the process.

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Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

capacity to hold space for others to also shine. This is a magical dance of knowing when to bask in another’s light and when it is time to shine ourselves.

In this, we can lose the beauty of the process, the natural and necessary unfolding. The end result and deep reciprocity with others can only come in a place of deep contentment, when the process has been pure and grounded in a place beyond role playing. When we can show up as “I am” without the need to attach any roles on the end of that mantra, we can find equilibrium within the process once again.

CHAPTER 1: VIRGO

Virgo The Virgin – Yin – Earth Ruled by Mercury “I serve”

The virgin, symbolising growth and production from the earth.

This presents the first part of the cycle where we start to become aware of the service of other people in different stages of consciousness. The core intention is to learn how to let go of our perception of Self in order to serve and become one with the process of our work. The work itself for Virgo is anything that helps the consciousness begin to travel outside of the Self, extending further from the identity. This is the initial awareness of being of use in the world, and how we feel when we can transcend our own circumstances in order to help another.

We begin to hone into our skills and talents and cultivate the discipline necessary to best develop them.

Virgo, like Taurus, plays with the material through the body. It is through the purification of the mind and body that leads to the most efficient and effective “perfecting” in what Virgo does. The word Yoga means to yoke, or to be in union, to become one.

Virgo practises this through becoming one with what it does and how it serves. The Virgo archetype can best be described as the “medicine woman”, transcending the Self in order to stay in oneness and purity with her own body and life force, in order to selflessly serve others. The energy and satisfaction gained at this level when we can truly show up in discipline for our gifts and path in the world is immense and we feel we want to continue.

Virgo works in and through the body and, therefore, through the Earth plane we call home. The process here is all about knowing the importance of attention to detail and acquiring the discipline necessary to continue on the path of keeping the body in a state of harmony in order to continue its service to the world.

We all need to go through this process through every cycle we encounter. The part where we cannot escape the physical need to get in there and do the hard stuff, which requires the strength and focus of the mind, despite discomfort. The Virgo stage is not easy, but it is very necessary. Even when we float downstream and let go in life, we can still be taken into some bumps and rocks. We need to know what to do when this happens.

Normally, it requires grit and sustained effort. The path of least resistance is not necessarily easy and Virgo knows and embodies this in the highest form.

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CHAPTER 1: VIRGO

Virgo life lessons/mantras To continue being of service, I lovingly call in the support I need and know it’s all okay I release expectation of myself and trust I am in the perfect place for my highest evolution I am not defined by my body or what I do, I am so much greater than any form When I forget my way, it is through the body and my breath that I return to balance 30 | Astrology Insights guide

Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

I am enough, just as I am

CHAPTER 1: VIRGO

Shadow Needing to be perfect and constantly in a process of purification can be a fine line between humbleness and downright Self-obliteration. Virgo beholds a great paradoxical shadow in that normally to awaken this shadow, the body may surface with ailments and impurities, despite walking the path of service and cleanliness. It is a great skill to know when to get down to business and do the disciplined work without hesitation, and to know when to let go and when we have done all we could.

It is very important to know when to let go in the process and not unnecessarily pressure ourselves or to take responsibility for what is outside of our realm of control and awareness. This is a dance that not many of us master, but in knowing when to be in momentum and when to be at rest, we can find the point of release. Virgo can quickly build everything

up within the mind in needing to be perfect for the Self and others, which can manifest as internalised control, judgement and perfectionism. The bar is ridiculously high for ourselves, as it remains for others in our lives.

Learning where the realm of what we can control begins and ends is the elixir here and may require constant work and refinement, which, of course, this energy isn’t afraid of. Once Virgo can release judgement of the Self and can find the necessary release points for the pent-up expectations, a wonderful alchemy can occur within constant acceptance and forgiveness. It is often true that we learn to love our bodies first through sickness and ailments that slow us down, inherently showing us its true powers. Remembering that it’s in and through the body first is another release point for the Virgo’s pent-up mind and expectations.

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CHAPTER 1: LIBRA

Libra The Scales – Yang – Air Ruled by Venus “I harmonise”

The scales of balance and contrast, of being able to objectify and find justice.

Libra is the awareness of duality within the Universe as it manifests within our relational lives, with others and the world around us. At this stage of consciousness, we begin to notice ourselves in relation to others in the personal and social sense.

We become drawn to the space between us and someone else, that beautiful canvas that we can dance within to constantly rediscover ourselves. This is a wonderful part of incarnating here as a human being, the discovery of beauty, love and harmony with others.

Libra has a natural intimate need to understand others on the level of the mind and in the social setting. Here, Libra beholds the gift of being able to truly harmonise with anyone, softening the edges of any situation through helping others feel heard and understood. The strength in this stage of the evolutionary journey lies in bringing two minds together in a peaceful union. Libra knows of the truth that we inherently are relational beings who long to share our experiences and thoughts with others through words and story.

We went through the shadow of Virgo needing to do it all on its own in order to surrender into this need for sharing the load and for harmony in relationships. This is where we begin to dance in the world of form, placing flowers and our own peaceful touch on things. We learn the value of what we make of things over the things themselves. In the highest form, Libra qualities are fair, co-operative, calm, balancing and graceful.

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Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

Libra beholds the gift of seeing both sides of a situation, even complete opposites and finding the balance between. The sole intention is harmony and mental balance, and Libra wants to achieve and maintain peace and, therefore, a middle ground in all circumstances. At this stage of the cycle, we have been able to dissolve perfectionism and come back into balance. We begin to cultivate the ability to see and create beauty as we walk our true path, and within this dance we have the synergising ability to harmonise opposites. Libra understands the importance of polarity in order to learn our own edges. It is through discovering the whole range of potentialities within ourselves that we can feel out where we sit and what resonates within.

CHAPTER 1: LIBRA

Libra life lessons/mantras My heart is full of love It is possible for me to speak my mind and also feel peace My ability to see both sides of any situation Through relaxing into who I already am, others feel safe and heard in my presence I am strong in allowing my gentleness Astrology Insights guide | 33

Shadow Having the ability to see all sides of a situation and relate to anyone, there is the very real tendency to forget the Self on the most fundamental and vital level. Of course, this shadow stage is a perfect part of the process and the dance of duality in which Libra thrives. Libra energy tends to dissolve, forgetting to feel into where it stands within any given situation. This can go even further, manifesting itself as the need to be on the right side of everyone.

Living in this way leads to a sense of flakiness and insincerity towards those with the most value. When spending too much time validating everyone else, we can forget to come from our own sense of direction and integrity with where we stand.

It’s okay and, in fact, a necessary part of the evolutionary process, to come from a different perspective lovingly. This is paradoxical in and of itself as this is what Libra energy inherently craves,

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the coming together of two minds. In its process, though, it is easy to forget that the two minds don’t have to think or value the exact things. Libra can very easily turn against itself or not consider its own truthful standing in any given circumstance, leading others to feel a little manipulated as a result. This, of course, isn’t Libra’s intention, but sometimes it can want harmony and peace so badly that it short circuits the necessary process of discomfort.

But we must all lose our Self at pivotal times in our journey in order to be initiated into a process of rediscovery. Mostly, our intentions in this phase of the cycle are sincere and integral in wanting to relate. The nature of this energy in its quality is one of thinking of the other and relating to the other socially. So much so that we forget we can have our own mind on something. The higher manifested qualities of Scorpio are what we look towards to transcend and heal the shadow superficiality of Libra.

Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

CHAPTER 1: LIBRA

CHAPTER 1: SCORPIO

Scorpio The Scorpion – Yin – Water The sting in the tail of the scorpion, the penetrator.

Ruled by Pluto There comes a time where we have to start questioning the “I transform”

social norms and the two sides themselves. Scorpio energy is nothing short of intense and transformative in the way it plunges to the depths of all things in order to get to their true source.

The deepest urge for Scorpio is the urge to merge with others and existence itself, and in the process obtaining ultimate trust and safety. Scorpio represents the first time we have sex in our human evolution. Scorpio in the highest realises that it can seek deeper than the polarity of right and wrong, good and bad, plunging itself into a place that the cultural norm would consider taboo. To obtain this, the ego as it is must die, so that a more powerful expression can be birthed into reality.

Mostly, it wants to explore itself physically, emotionally, sexually and spiritually in the context of deep intimacy and connection with another person, creating an energetic container of power, trust and profound passion. For Scorpio, there is always more to be discovered of the same person, circumstance, or thing. The thriving place is deep within the shadows, hidden in normally unexplored terrain. Scorpio is a process where we have to become okay with death and the endings of all things. In order to gain inner power and transformation in a constructive and healthy way, we must not let the world intimidate and fear monger us anymore.

When Scorpio can become just as okay with the ending of all things, as it is with the beginning of the process of merging with another, a profound vulnerability can be found in becoming okay with allowing yourself to be seen truly by another without attaching to the outcome. Scorpio’s work is always transformative and always involves other people. The intention is to live with emotional intensity and to be able to penetrate to the depths of the Soul and psyche. This phase of the cycle of consciousness presents a constant dance into the taboo and into a discovery of our own edges with another. The gift in Scorpionic intensity is that there is an extremely huge capacity to hold space for the intensity of others and allow for extreme metamorphosis to take place.

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CHAPTER 1: SCORPIO

Scorpio life lessons/mantras My intensity is a gift into deep places of the Soul I allow myself to be fully seen and, in turn, give others the chance to step forward to support me I have the power to transform anything in my life To truly merge with another, I must be okay with being fully seen 36 | Astrology Insights guide

Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

I love myself in all of my intensity

CHAPTER 1: SCORPIO

Shadow When Scorpio cannot learn how to accept inevitable endings and to no longer allow the world to be an intimidating place, this can manifest as a very controlling, vengeful and destructive energy. We can think about this in the context of a time in our lives where we have felt extreme amounts of fear, projection and pressure from a particular circumstance or person and we cannot distinguish between what is coming from us and what is coming from them. We entangle ourselves up in the experience, losing our edges in the intensity of it. If we stay in fear, we tend to do or say very hurtful things to protect ourselves from inevitable hurt or vulnerability. When Scorpio energy tries to put a lid on being fully seen in its intensity, or refuses to accept its own shadowy nature as truth, the projection can be so very extreme, hence the sting of a scorpion’s tail is the glyph for this sign.

When we let the world fearmonger us, we, in turn,

can fearmonger outwardly and unconsciously need to control how things play out. The Scorpio intensity is profound and has the power to raise a whole village up and empower it, as well as to destroy it in the flames of destruction. Transmuting this deep energy can come from embracing the lightness and expansive qualities of the sign in the next stage of the journey — Sagittarius.

The most profound transmutation is the shift that can occur when we simply accept and take ourselves for all of that we are, rather than just what is digestible to society, our communities and those close to us.

In fact, the more we feel judged and shamed by the outside world, the more we hold back and attempt to control how others perceive us. The moment we can let go and show up unapologetically in all of our own truthful intensity, knowing that it’s okay to be intense about the things we love, we liberate ourselves and give others the chance to step up and show us that it was our fear all along.

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CHAPTER 1: SAGITTARIUS

Sagittarius The Archer – Yang – Fire Ruled by Jupiter “I believe”

The arrow of the archer/centaur aspiring to new territory beyond the horizon.

The Sagittarius initiation into the cycle happens when Scorpio has dug itself as deep as it can possibly go into something and is finding it difficult to know where to go next. Sagittarius scoops up this deep, dark energy and hits it with a breath of fresh air and adventure. Sagittarius wants to believe in something much bigger than itself, it’s the time where we learn the power of having faith in something bigger. As profound and powerful as Scorpio can be in utilising its powers, there can be pressure to have to do it all and harness it all on its own.

Where Scorpio went inside itself to seek the truth, Sagittarius goes out into the world to integrate through broadening the mind to new experiences, thought forms and cultures. If the Sagittarius stage of the cycle can stay with the unfolding process, rather than the end result of needing to know the ultimate truth, great sovereignty within can be felt. To find something to believe in, to truly know something, Sagittarius will go to any length to seek it. Sagittarius wants a strong opinion on something, gained from its own exploration and not from what anyone else familiar has given it. When played well, this part of the cycle is an adventurous exploration of the outer world where a new higher Self and our deep Soul potential can be discovered. Sagittarius teaches the ability to have faith, to see the bigger picture and beholds a wisdom that only worldly experience over time can cultivate.

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Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

The deepest urge here is the need for understanding, outside of the Self. We circle back at this point to previous ideals and thought forms we once may have held (Gemini) and explore them through outward adventure, higher education and belief systems and philosophies. Here, we want to find a place to land, to find an ultimate truth and the meaning of life itself. This is a huge intention to hold, but this search is a necessary part of the evolutionary process as we first begin to move out into the world.

CHAPTER 1: SAGITTARIUS

Sagittarius life lessons/mantras I am okay with not knowing Through allowing uninhibited exploration, I always discover my true potential in the process My true blooming can be found within the unfolding, not the end result I am enough, even if I don’t know as much as I would like to I trust in the greater plan for me and my incarnation Astrology Insights guide | 39

CHAPTER 1: SAGITTARIUS

With any part of the cycle, we must remember the impermanent nature of all things. Sometimes a season of discovery and adventure must end and we cannot spend forever in this outward exploration phase.

There is also something to be said for when our belief systems become painfully strong and we stop opening our mind and horizons to the potentialities in different ways of being. We can become set in our way of doing things, becoming lost in dogma and forgetting to consider our loved ones and to listen to where others come from. This is especially the case if we raise to a prominent positioning within the societal structure in our field of knowledge and get stuck in the role that we play rather than stay with our being and our Soul essence. We have forgotten the process here, which is where this archetype thrives and lives

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in the highest manifestation. We have gone out with our thirst to seek and we have returned and created a new set identity from it, forgetting the beauty of not knowing and faith in the universe doing its part.

There is a necessary shadow we must feel when we’ve just undertaken exponential growth and exploration and returned back home, in all the meanings of the word. We can forget to truly be present with others, to listen, to stay open. There is a potential for living in blind faith, in not coming back to our own integration of a belief, and how it applies to us personally. This shadow manifests as an inability to feel where others come from and a need to make others see, feel and believe what we do.

This process takes us out of our embodiment and our own felt experience.

Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

Shadow

CHAPTER 1: CAPRICORN

Capricorn The Goat – Yin – Earth Ruled by Saturn “I master”

The head and horns of a goat, steadfastly climbing the mountains step by step.

Here comes the necessary part of the process where we have gathered, explored our beliefs and gone to the edges of the Earth — in whatever way we know how in this particular season of life — all to find our own truth and the meaning of life itself.

We have gathered the knowledge and completed the study and concept memorising. The Capricorn phase is nothing short of humbling, disciplined and integral to the complete process of moving towards the end of the greater cycle of consciousness at large. We have learnt, grown and experienced in the previous phase, and the shadow of that phase is others not taking us seriously for what we have gathered, or us not feeling seen and not seeing others the same way.

We have evolved far outside the ego and we are ready to contribute to the world at large. The Capricorn part of the cycle has a greater awareness of responsibility, working within the Earth plane of structure and form. It is time to move back through the Earth timeline in order to create the tools, the business structure, the form of what our offering to the world will be. When I feel Capricorn energy in the highest manifestation, I see a human being silently and humbly working away on their project and offering to the world. They are diligently showing up every single day without fail to do so, with the knowledge that the world needs the work it is showing up to complete. The greatest feeling in this part of the cycle is knowing it is time for the cultivation of a greater trust and patience in the journey, while doing the gritty work necessary. It is the next layer of the Virgo Earth energy of getting the refinement of the body right in day-to-day routines and rhythms, so that we can start to go beyond the Self and serve others in the personal realm.

Capricorn takes this and brings it into the world at large, as the builder and the achiever.

Sagittarius gathers the knowledge and Capricorn silently gets to work on mastering the knowledge and birthing it into form.

This phase of the cycle generates the sort of Self-trust and respect that comes from great patience, endurance and Selfdiscipline. We start to cultivate real ambitions for ourselves Astrology Insights guide | 41

CHAPTER 1: CAPRICORN

Capricorn life lessons/mantras

It’s okay to ask for help and to share the load of responsibility I let go of others’ perceptions of me and continuously absorb into the beauty of my process I am clear about my boundaries with others and express my truth with integrity I share what I truly think and feel, rather than what I think the world wants to hear 42 | Astrology Insights guide

Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

I am only responsible for my own felt experience and how I show up in the world, nothing else

CHAPTER 1: CAPRICORN

and our existence, and we begin to learn integrity, doing what we said we would do — whereby, Sagittarius tends to say a lot of things and not always follow through. There is a solidity, a reliability and maturity to this part of the cycle. It represents the sort of refinement and strengthening that creates a particular depth in a person when working towards big feats.

Shadow The shadow here is perhaps one of the most intense to experience, as it is the initiation of the process that we all must go through to move from caring too much to not caring at all about how others perceive us. With the Capricorn shadow phases of the cycle of consciousness comes a very heavy sense of responsibility to be everything to everyone, to continue on the path that was set out and achieved even if it no longer serves on the deep level of the Soul, to take oneself too seriously.

The lessons of the shadow can come through the archetypal manifestations of caution, control and seriousness. There comes a necessary tipping point where we can only care about so much at one given time, and certainly we cannot continue to care for controlling others’ perceptions of us. There is also a tendency to forget why we began in the first place in

this shadow part, with the Self image becoming the only focal point within what we are doing.

This goes without saying that this is a very real and painful experience for all of us that reach this part of the cycle, as it initiates perhaps the biggest surrender and letting-go phase within the whole cyclical journey.

Going through the pain and pressure of intense worldly responsibility in whatever form we personally experience is necessary in order to initiate a deeper connection with our truth. It is really a courageous act to surrender one’s role in the world for a deeper felt truth. Most of us struggle in this point of the cycle and become blocked from the completion point. The nature of our culture is in resistance to endings and change. So we get blocked and resist letting go of our responsibilities and roles in the world that keep us away from our true cosmic Soul.

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CHAPTER 1: AQUARIUS

Aquarius The Water Bearer – Yang – Air The water bearer, actually referring to the Ruled by Uranus waters of higher consciousness, like the “I reform”

waves of electricity, it is the mental energy that permeates and connects everything.

Aquarius is the awareness of freedom and this awareness of true freedom is initiated and birthed through the full shadow process of the phase before. There comes a time where we simply cannot hold the weight of the world anymore through what we know, and we go through a process of unknowing and unlearning what we thought we knew. We realise the burden of worldly knowledge and we give ourselves the permission to throw up our arms and stop giving so many cares away.

Aquarius energy has a futuristic, alien quality, meaning those who incarnate with Aquarius-dominant natal charts normally bring into this timeline a sense of rebellion, disruption and newness in order to shake others up. In the most unapologetic way, Aquarian energy has the ability to channel futuristic visions and use what they see to pave the way forward for the collective.

The deepest intention in this phase is to evolve far past one’s ego and to push the boundaries of the societal norm to create change. This is when we truly surrender and become a part of the group in the joining of higher minds, beyond judgement, fear and control. We have completely let go of how others perceive us. We no longer fear judgement because we are no longer judging ourselves. We have dropped our armour and

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Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

As the Tao Te Ching says: “The farther you go, the less you know.” Capricorn no longer wants to do it all on its own and realises the importance of communities joining minds for a common higher cause. In the highest, we realise that letting the right people into our mind and our evolutionary ideas is a necessary part of feeling free and sovereign as a Soul in this incarnation. In the phase before, it was necessary for us to learn discernment the hard way in the world and we now realise that we have the power to tap into a collective consciousness, or higher power, and call in our communities and bigger support systems.

CHAPTER 1: AQUARIUS

Aquarius life lessons/mantras I let go of needing to make others understand me I have patience with those I love as they learn to hear me and reciprocate in their own timing I give myself the permission to stay with my higher mind and allow others to think what they think I stay with the bigger picture, this is my greatest gift I create a connection with the Cosmos and higher-realm beings in order to feel more connected to my truth Astrology Insights guide | 45

CHAPTER 1: AQUARIUS

we are realising we cannot do it all on our own. We need each other and that is the most beautiful thing to come into remembrance with. This energy in the highest is quick, innovative, quirky and unique.

Shadow There is a shadow to absolutely everything within this existence, just as there is light. As the Aquarian energy is so fast moving and often very disruptive and unpredictable, there can be a natural phase of unreliability and eccentricity that the communities can feel alienated by. There is a sense of almost needing to become okay with this fact as we integrate our higher mind, a sort of mind that does not conform to societal norms. Balancing the time spent with our own higher mind and that spent being in service of the higher or bigger cause within the collective is what we need to learn here. As Aquarius cannot be attuned to everyone’s personal issues, it

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This coldness and detachment manifestation often does not happen intentionally. Or the truth may be that they do actually care, but cannot be caught up in the heavy emotionality of absolutely everything and fulfil this current point in the cycle. They feel things through the higher mind, holding a higher thought or vibration, while not getting caught in the back-pedalling of every emotion.

Because of this, at this point in the cycle, we have to become okay with not being fully understood in the personal sense. It’s okay if others from our family of origin or friends don’t understand us at this stage, in fact it’s necessary. We cannot go around trying to make everyone else understand. We may feel a little unreliable, disruptive and inconsistent in this shadow stage as we find a way to be with this energy, until we can dissolve into the final letting-go phase of Pisces completely.

Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

is not possible to be effective across all of that and what feels best for the group all in one, and so others can often find a coldness or detachment in Aquarius. It can be hard to understand something that hasn’t happened yet from the outside perspective, whereby Aquarius is channeling the future.

CHAPTER 1: PISCES

Pisces

Two fish bound together swimming in opposite directions, the material and the spiritual dissolving back into the infinite The Two Fish – Yin – Water waters of life. Yin and yang, finite and infinite, all simultaneously dissolves back to Ruled by Neptune nothing and everything.

“I dissolve”

Pisces is the completion point of any cycle we go through within our existence. Here presents a release point for the form of all things to dissolve into. It is that beautiful meeting place where form meets formlessness, where the complete death of “the Self” happens. The work has been done, we have fought, worked, gathered in the world of form and it is time for the manifestation to dissolve back into the source of all things. This is the necessary process of letting go and diffusion. We have experienced this in small increments within each stage of the cycle, where the shadow quality has beckoned us into a deeper meeting place of the truth that lies deep in the heart. This is where we have cried, screamed or come to a complete boiling point whereby we cannot go on the same any longer.

For Pisces, there is no division, no boundaries between what is real and what is a dream. All is blurred and everything becomes one. Pisces sees where we are the same or similar to all beings, rather than alienating us to what is different. As we let go of attachment to form or how we are experienced or viewed by the external, we come into a place of learning to love everything that exists within our greater spiritual awareness. Pisces is the point where we meet Spirit, and the deepest intention here is to find and maintain spiritual peace. The truth is that we are all the same and that there is nothing to truly seek in the outside that is not already unfolding within.

The strategy is through a constant process of letting go of ego control, sensing into the journey of the Soul beyond the Earth plane alone. This is our connection point to Spirit, God, the creator of all things, or the Universe. I invite you to call in here whatever your belief may be, it’s all welcome. I regularly reference all of these words and I invite you to call in what is true for you.

Pisces is highly sensitised in the energetic and spirit bodies and its feeling gifts are deep and intuitive, leaving this part of the cycle very vulnerable to all vibration. This is a beautiful thing, but Astrology Insights guide | 47

CHAPTER 1: PISCES

My sensitivity is a gift Remaining gentle and soft in a world of harshness is possible I give myself the transition time necessary to let go and end things I remember my breath and my body as I navigate the world I embrace my psychic and visioning gifts 48 | Astrology Insights guide

Illustrations: Vasya Kobelev from creativemarket.com

Pisces life lessons/mantras

CHAPTER 1: PISCES

also can hold challenges for the Pisces dominant as we are inevitably dancing in the world of form. Pisces is a dreamer, open to fantasy, imagination and dreams. It links great works of art and heralds breakthroughs in healing through its release. The dissolving energy of Pisces normally takes on the stronger, more dominant energies within the chart to create its identity in the world of form.

Shadow The truth is that we are dancing in the world of form as long as we hold a human body. There can be a tendency for this stage of the cycle to be resisted, skipped over or forgotten too soon — the necessary letting go of what was. In the same place that lies the gift of energetic sensitivity also lies the shadow of boundarylessness, where boundaries may be necessary within the world of form. The biggest lesson here for those who wish to truly honour their cosmic Soul beneath what lies within the truth of the physical plane is to remember that we can use the power of our intention and imagination to create energetic containers and boundaries, protecting ourselves from the ill-intentioned and from taking on the energy of everything and everyone we come into contact with. We can do this through visualising white light all around us, that which is unbreakable, through remembering our breath and the felt sense of our physical form as we navigate outer situations and circumstances. We can also honour the sensitivity of the shadow through honouring the need for more gentle time alone or with those who we feel most safe with during huge period letting go and dissolving points in our journey.

There is a real risk for delusion, confusion and paranoia with unchannelled Pisces sensitivities.

As we surrender into the release of this stage, we may find ourselves easily thrashed around with the shadow qualities of anyone or anything. Pisces can

struggle to choose a direction because inherently there’s the awareness of all things being one and impermanent. Because of the extreme closeness to death this energy holds, the powerful imagination of a gentle Pisces phase can also go the other way, building up imaginations of situations and circumstances in the mind that aren’t truly real in the physical. We must remember that as long as we are here in our human body vessels, we are in a constant dance with form. This is where Spirit speaks to us, through our body. We have access to other planes of existence through deep meditation, yogic practice and refinement of the senses and mind.

Meditation is essentially merging with what we love and allowing all forms to be there without resistance.

When we can find that meeting place where Spirit meets form, we can start to evolve rapidly in the physical without being so personally hurt or affected.

There is a deeper trust and knowing.

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CHAPTER 1: CONCLUSION

Full circle With this complete Pisces dissolving, these sweet letting-go tears–present the next step forward. We naturally awaken before we know it. We often do not know where the letting go ends as we are going through the process. How long we need to grieve.

How long we need to come to full acceptance. How long it will take to love everything we are aware of.

But one day, we will awaken with a new Aries ignition spark, with the will or fight to charge forward again in our new direction.

Because as long as we are here, we have things to do. This is the remembering of our physical incarnation, bringing with it a new spiritual depth from the full completion of the cycle of consciousness.

This full cycle happens within each and every breath. Between birth and death. Within multiple timelines in multiple ways.

The archetypal exploration here is the foundation of all Evolutionary Astrology. The number next to each sign represents the natural house number, or energetic terrain, that it falls within.

The ruling planets are also mentioned as an initiation into the journey we are about to take through the lessons and teachings of the 10 planets we work with in our solar system.

Now that you have made it to this point, I would like to invite you back into union with your breath and body. Feel into its physical needs, what it is calling out for. This has been quite the deep exploration and with intensity comes the need for release.

Before entering the realm of the next chapter, sit in the Sun, move your body and reconnect to your place in nature beyond roles.

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CHAPTER 1: CONCLUSION

Illustrations: Getty Images

Polarities – Yin/Yang These alternate around the chart, starting with Aries being yang and ending with Pisces being yin. A yang sign has a more outward and masculine expression. They are either Fire or Air and tend to direct their own affairs.

A yin sign has a more inward or feminine expression. These signs are more receptive, allowing life to happen to them. They are either Earth or Water.

We hold both polarities within us at varying expressions and areas of life, just as we all sit uniquely within the cycle of consciousness.

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CHAPTER 1: CONCLUSION

RI

U

CORN

SAG I T

TA R I

US

S

SC

O

IO

AQ

A

PRI

RP

U

CA

ES

1

PISC

9

LIBR

10

8

1

12

6

GO

VIR

2

5

ARI

ES

1

A

7

3

R

O

4

U TA

U

LE

S

GEM

INI

CANC

ER

Axis of Opposites Every sign has an exact opposite sign, therefore an opposing view about an issue. In the wheel that is the natal chart, the opposite sign is always directly across in the opposite house. There is an incredible “bridge” that can come from these two opposite components, whereby we can undergo a full process of ownership and embodiment while simultaneously knowing an opposite truth can be held without losing our own embodiment.

ARIES – LIBRA

G E M I N I – S A G I T TA R I U S

LEO – AQUARIUS

The dance between Me-Us The bridge of Self Yang

The dance between Facts-Ideals The bridge of Understanding Yang

The dance between Personal Expression-The Collective Mind The bridge of Individuation Yang

TA U R U S – S C O R P I O

CANCER – CAPRICORN

VIRGO – PISCES

The dance between Mine-Ours The bridge of Security Yin

The dance between SubjectiveObjective, Home & World The bridge of Foundation Yin

The dance between DiscriminationDilation (Earth/Spirit) The bridge of Ego Detachment Yin

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Chapter 2

Illustration: Tahnee Kelland

Reconnection to the creative self (sun)

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The vibration of existence Within the open heart, a sacred fire burns.

There is a rippling undercurrent — a subtle pulse — constantly at play within us, without the need for mental thought for this subtle vibration to continue circulating through our bones. All life forms on Earth are filled with this natural energy to continue living out this incarnation. Our emotions mirror the expression of nature — tears and rainfall, sunshine and feelings of joy, heavy winds and churned-up worry over any change. It is a natural rising and falling away.

Isn’t it incredible that when we are so relaxed and accepting within our body that we can catch ourselves in the middle of laughter or a letting-go cry? We realise how at home we feel, after we naturally got there. It is here as a human being that the natural tendency can be to want to make the feeling last, to keep it going, to not want to let it go. But then as soon as we let go, we find it again.

Have you ever noticed how quickly natural lightness and laughter finds us after we generously allow ourselves to let go through our tears, from the centre of our being? Allowing the body to shake, vibrate, move in the natural process, we let go, we laugh.

We laugh hysterically until our stomach hurts. Suddenly we feel like crying. The more uninhibitedly we do either, the more intensely the latter occurs. We are close to existence. We are close to our own Soul essence. We are home. And that is a beautiful thing to find ourselves within naturally.

It’s truly paradoxical even writing about this feeling now, as I am trying to make it last through doing so. But may this also be a signpost, a clue back into the place of letting go.

There are 10 planets that we work with in the realm of Evolutionary Astrology, as well as the energies circulating within the asteroid belt. Within this course, we will primarily focus on the planets and Chiron, now classified as a “centaur”, orbiting between Saturn and Uranus to create a bridge to fulfil its energetic function of healing a deep wound. Leaning into Chiron and unlocking it within us can be truly transformational.

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Illustrations: Backyard Rose from creativemarket.com

Until we catch ourselves and want to bottle it up, make it last and keep it the way it is. Or perhaps we want to push it down or away if it’s an intensity we haven’t yet learned to be with inside.

CHAPTER 2

Introduction to the planets

THE LUMINARIES – CORE OF WHO WE ARE

The Sun and Moon

T H E G R E AT T E A C H E R S – E X PA N S I O N I N T O O U R P O T E N T I A L T H R O U G H F E LT E X P E R I E N C E

Jupiter and Saturn

THE PERSONAL PLANETS Illustrations: Backyard Rose from creativemarket.com and Getty Images

– T H E D E V E LO P M E N T O F F E E L I N G T H R O U G H T H E R E L AT I O N A L

Mercury, Venus and Mars

THE TRANSPERSONAL PLANETS – FREEDOM OF SPIRIT THROUGH E X PA N D I N G C O N S C I O U S N E S S

Uranus, Neptune and Pluto

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Once we feel and know these energies through the mind and into our felt experience, we can know that they represent “what” is playing out. We all have our own Soul essence and quality that we feel this out from. Keep aware of your own feeling of the lessons, not just the lessons themselves. Stay in your body, the body knows the way. Finally, the archetype gives the personalised “how” and “why” — how the energy is played by the natal chart, by our incarnation. We could call this the personality or individualism, but I feel it runs much deeper, in that we have chosen the perfect mix of energy for our highest evolution.

The Luminaries – the Sun and the Moon

I believe that these planetary frequencies transmute into our realm of incarnation into teachers, constantly guiding us home through their lightness, intensity and challenges. As human beings, we can get caught in the constant crossfire of attachment and aversion, not often finding the synergistic middle ground, the higher plane, from which we can operate our life force without over- or underexerting. Integrating the stories, energetics and lessons of the planets, we can come to see that it is inherently us that gives it personality and name because that is how we are. We must remember that these energies (planets) within our solar system and, therefore, field of awareness just are. The concepts and labelling — the necessary Gemini phase of the natural evolutionary process — are not ends in and of themselves. Can you exist within it and take in the concepts, without turning away from or attaching to the labels of what things are?

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We realise both the Sun and the Moon are not planets, yet we use this term figuratively for the purpose of the teachings. Both the Sun and Moon make up essential functions within the human experience. The Sun makes up the core of who we are, our life-force energy and the way we direct it.

The Moon is purely reflective of the Sun’s light and bears no light of its own. Energetically, it is the same, in that it is the feeling landscape, purely reflective and responsible, bearing huge gravitational pull.

The Sun (and the Breath) The Sun is a star, expressing its energy, giving birth to life on Earth. Without the Sun’s energy, life would not be possible here on the Earth plane. It is the giver and the creator of life and this energy is reflected within us all. It functions the same on an energetic level within Evolutionary Astrology as the core of who we are. It is the “‘I am”, the awareness of our own consciousness, energy and existence in the physical. It gives rise to our own edges — and our ego — helping us to distinguish ourselves from others, physically and energetically. We can also know through the life-force energy the field of awareness around us, where our physical edges end.

We have a realm of experience through which we perceive what is ours and what is not ours. The more in our “I am” nature we can be, the more natural we can flow with our life, the background noise can fall away and we can be with our own existence flowing downstream.

When we live our Sun to its full potential, we can

Illustrations: Backyard Rose from creativemarket.com

The planets within our solar system undulate within their own rotations, rhythms and vibrations. The nature of their existence is cyclical. They do not have the conceptual thought of what point they are at, they are in a completely surrendered state of being within their place in the universe. Their energies emit frequencies and information that intertwines with all the planes that we exist within as human beings: psychological, physical, emotional, energetic and spiritual.

sense of direction in life. We all inherently lose our life-force energy to outer situations and through the circumstances we are born into. This is also perfect as, in order to know what we are, we must also feel out the opposite.

The Sun is the ruler of Leo. It is our natural birthright to shine, just as the Sun does in our skies, without apology.

The Sun is the constant source of light, always shining despite cloud cover and rain. It doesn’t stop expressing itself, even when it is covered by circumstances. The process for us as human beings to do this starts with the willingness to accept what is and to own all of our experiences as a human being.

experience the full embodiment of who we are. We can be in our felt experience — which, in essence, is a very heart- or gut-centred place — in the centre of our being. The Sun is also the centre of our solar system, everything circulating around it. Its expression of energy is continuous, it is always there, just as our identity, our edges, our ego is always there as long as we are dancing in the world of form on the Earth plane. The Sun is very attached to our creative expression, thriving in the here and now.

Internally affirming the mantra “I am” as we exhale out the breath, without attempting to attach anything to the end of the mantra, is a wonderful way to come home to our essence. When we uninhibitedly express our life-force energy as it naturally flows and unfolds, we have the potent experience of feeling the fullness and richness of who we truly are here and now. Our spirit feels vitalised when we move through the world in a way that is central to the effective circulation of our life-force energy, feeling compelled to speak our truth and to walk the path of seeking our true individual and conscious potential in this lifetime.

When we neglect our Sun — constantly in attachment or aversion to what is or what we truly are — we can feel depressed and deflated. We lose our vitality and

We all have a natural urge to be, to give life and to create. The highest form we can do this in this lifetime is through creating life through the right of passage into motherhood or parenthood. We all have an inherent need for recognition and true reciprocity, this is not something to be ashamed of. The Sun doesn’t Selfanalyse, it just shines and we all have our reactions and stories around it.

When we live our Sun to its full potential, we can experience the full embodiment of who we are. We can be in our felt experience — which, in essence, is a very heart- or gut-centred place — in the centre of our being.

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CHAPTER 2

How we shine through our Sun sign

ARIES

TA U R U S

GEMINI

Shining through pioneering, initiating and passion

Shining through embodiment of the senses and pleasure

Shining through the mind and Self-expression

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

Shining through feeling safe at home and through nurturance

Shining through confidence and through the offerings of the heart

Shining through service and commitment to health of the body

SCORPIO

S A G I T TA R I U S

Shining through depth, intensity and transformation

Shining through adventure and outward exploration of truth

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Shining through commitment and dedication to mastery

Shining through radically Self-sovereignty and futuristic vision

Shining through letting go and connection to spirit

LIBRA

Shining through relationship and connection to beauty

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Illustrations: Pixejoo from creativemarket.com

Shining and distributing your life force through your Sun sign

The signs — higher manifestation keywords ARIES

Initiating, primal, driven, courageous, child-like, spontaneous and pioneering TA U R U S

Embodied, present, sensual, practical, simple and sustaining GEMINI

Changeable, sociable, adaptable, curious, expressive and quick-moving CANCER

Sensitive, deep-feeling, thoughtful, compassionate and sentimental LEO

Creative, open-hearted, grand, playful and generous

Photography: Getty Images

VIRGO

Disciplined, discerning, embodied, structured, hardworking and healing

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LIBRA

Balancing, harmonious, polite, diplomatic and graceful SCORPIO

Deep, transformative, deep-seeking, intuitive, powerful and passionate S A G I T TA R I U S

Optimistic, adventurous, confident, courageous and forthright CAPRICORN

Mature, reliable, solid, real and beholding great integrity AQUARIUS

Eclectic, radical, unique, futuristic in mind, intelligent and free-spirited Psychic, intuitive, dreamy, empathetic and illusionary

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Photography: Getty Images

PISCES

Chapter 3

Illustration: Tahnee Kelland

The Emotional Self

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The Moon, she moves the tides within in a way that is felt through allowing ourselves to fully take up space in our emotional body. Our natural intuitive nature and monthly rhythms are governed by her wise knowing. She is a manifestation of the natural cycle of consciousness, reflecting back the constant changing nature of existence. One month in our calendar approximately correlates to one whole cycle of the dance between light (Sun) and dark (Moon).

The Moon is the ruler of the mothering, intuitive and homely Cancer, to show us through her expression that we, too, have a purely reflective and feeling Self connected not only to our family of lineage, but to all past experiences through the generations. We can resensitise into our hearts through being willing to listen to what we feel without over-analysing ourselves or judging what we feel. The letting-go tears can then come from, or lead us to, a place of inner acceptance of what is. On the other end of this spectrum, the allowing of feelings of deep joy and happiness also comes from the same place of deep acceptance within. We are then more open to life through enriching our feeling landscape.

The culture often doesn’t know how to hold space for the colourful spectrum of feeling that we move

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through as human beings. It’s mind-blowing how “taboo” it can be to answer honestly when asked how we are feeling. Most of the time, the part of the Moon that is habitual can surface in our relations as we protect the tenderness in what we feel.

The lessons of the Moon are a never-ending continuum. We all feel in our own way, but we somehow learn that we shouldn’t share honestly as to not burden others. This can result in a build up and suppression, perpetuating unhealthy attachments and cycles of behaviour that cause more emotional suffering. When did it become so taboo to embrace the truth in what we are feeling?

Most of us even struggle to Self-validate. It is in the simple feeling of something that we can validate our own emotions. Being planted within such a closedoff cultural landscape, we tend to unconsciously seek validation from that same outward place.

Even then, we censor ourselves. Underneath, we are all feeling beings who need connection, understanding and reciprocity. When this truth can emerge more readily, we can begin to heal our false sense of separation and, in turn, form an emotionally secure relationship with ourselves and others.

Illustration: Getty Images

CHAPTER 3

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The natal Moon Our Moon sign can point us towards how we can feel most nourished, safe and emotionally heard. It can also help us to realise, or remember, our own feeling nature and how to best harness and accept the truth of what we feel at any given moment.

It is through the experience of deep emotional security that we can open up to the Soul, its only source of light being the Sun, the Moon is entirely responsive. Yet its gravitational pull is nothing short of profound. It is an essential part of our existence here on Earth as it moves the tides and sets the seas.

The Moon makes our home planet more livable through equalising any wobble on our axis, leading to a more stable climate. In fulfilling her function, she allows us stability.

This is also how the Moon functions energetically in Astrology. It’s in working through the reflective emotional landscape we all have and honouring our feelings that we can find a grounded stability and embodiment within ourselves. Within her shift on the tides — setting the daily rhythm — she has also created a rhythm for us. The vibrational pull in our lives manifests into our field of awareness as the instinctive urge we call emotion. The biggest teaching from the Moon in guiding us through our own emotional landscape — and becoming more effective at being supported and supportive within our relationships — is that she receives before she responds.

If we translate this into our relational life at large and how we go about communicating the tenderness of our hearts with those we love and hold space for, we can come to better understand others and any external unfolding as a reflection of what is happening within. The world is our mirror to the level of consciousness we find ourselves in at any given moment. In order to truly understand, we must first truly listen, to ourselves and others. And as human beings in this mind-dominated and identified world, we perhaps forget this — or have to circle back to learn this.

The Moon is driven by our need for emotional

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security and her energy exists and thrives in a place far beyond logic or mental labelling. For the heart to truly step forward, we must receive the feelings and respond to ourselves with tenderness and compassion. This energy manifests itself in habit, gut feeling, instinct and through changing moods.

The Moon is feminine and represents the mother archetype. Our mother nurtures us, dedicates her life force to us to ensure that we are comforted, protected and cared for. We are completely vulnerable and dependent on our mother or mother figure. This energy also translates into how we become this for ourselves — how to comfort, mother and nurture our innermost feelings.

The Moon is the only planet circulating and gravitating around the Earth, making her vibration subjective and personal. It’s about personally owning our feelings, separate from action and ego. The natal Moon carries soul memories and identifies with the past, both in this lifetime and in lifetimes before. This taken a little deeper can point towards working with our Moon as a key to unlocking our subconscious-limiting beliefs about ourselves, carried or inherited through the generations. Unlocking our natal Moon is the first powerful liberation into our greatest freedom.

When we nurture our Moon, we feel safe and comforted. We are at home in our bodies, our relationships and our life through the ability to reflect, listen to and own our feeling nature. When our Moon is neglected and we struggle to accept our feelings and reflections, we can feel threatened, defensive and scared.

We all have the natural urge to protect what we feel or hide it out of fear of how it may be received and reflected back, and in the process we do not speak up and take ownership of what we feel. We all walk around with different emotional wounding and we all have different survival strategies to protect ourselves from that wounding being repeated.

I hope that you feel nurtured and at home in rediscovering your feeling nature.

Illustration: Getty Images

CHAPTER 3

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Energetics of the transiting Moon — aligning to the monthly rhythm As long as history dates back, so does our instinctual connection to the wild ways of nature, the constant coming together (waxing) and falling apart (waning) of life. For too long, we as a collective have subscribed to a way of showing up and creating in the world driven by externalities, striving and force.

The 29.5-day Lunar cycle is a sacred dance between the Sun, Moon and the Earth. The Moon spends 2.5 days in each sign and 3.6 days within each Lunar phase every month. The complete cycle of the Moon through the archetypes takes 27.3 days.

The Full Moon presents in fullness what was initiated at the beginning of the cycle with the New Moon. The story of the transiting Moon tells us of birth, growth, flourishing and fullness, as well as fading, dissolving, disappearance and rebirth. With the presence of artificial light against the backdrop of night, we have lost the connection to the light and dark of the cycling Moon. Women can suffer from a lack of initiation into their menstrual cycle, which on average is the same length as the transiting Moon. How would it feel to be told that starting our menstrual cycle is an open door into the cycles of nature and the power of this Earth within us?

The following is a cosmic map on the phases of the Lunar cycle in relation to the menstrual cycle. May it strengthen your connection to the natural receding and renewing process of the Moon. The biggest key to unlocking the cycle of the Moon within our own emotional landscape is in allowing the proper days of deep rest and inward silence on the New Moon and through the first days of menstruation. In ancient cultures, women would gather to bleed and help each other through this time. The necessary space for them to be introspective was enough for them to be able to emerge connected back into their truth, more vital and with more to offer themselves and the wider community.

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NEW MOON PHASE

(0–45 degrees past the Sun) + menstruation A new beginning — darkness, retreat, regaining the strength to begin again.

CRESCENT MOON PHASE

(45–90 degrees) + follicular phase Intentions, hopes and planting seeds for the new cycle.

FIRST QUARTER MOON PHASE

(90–135 degrees) Challenges, decisions and action.

GIBBOUS MOON PHASE

(90–135 degrees) Fruits, re-evaluation and perfecting the details.

FULL MOON PHASE

(90–135 degrees) + ovulation phase Manifestations coming into form, receiving, fullness.

D I S S E M I N AT I N G M O O N PHASE

(90–135 degrees) + luteal phase Sharing in fullness, gratitude and enthusiasm within the community.

LAST QUARTER MOON PHASE

(90–135 degrees) Release, purging, forgiveness.

BALSAMIC MOON PHASE

(90–135 degrees) Letting go, withdrawal from ideas and introspection.

CHAPTER 3

FULL MOON PHASE

D I S S E M I N AT I N G

GIBBOUS

MOON PHASE

MOON PHASE

Phases of the moon LAST QUARTER

FIRST QUARTER

MOON PHASE

MOON PHASE

BALSAMIC

MOON PHASE

MOON PHASE

Illustrations: Getty Images

CRESCENT

NEW MOON PHASE

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Experiential 1 Working with your moon I warmly welcome you to the first practical component of this course, which presents the first integration point. Here, I guide you through an embodied experience to help give the information somewhere to land within. I am so happy you made it here in the perfect timing for your Soul’s authentic blooming.

I invite you to stay with this part of the course, as long as it takes, wether one day or weeks, and avoid skipping ahead. This is to ensure full integration of your emotional landscape before moving onto feeling out other parts of yourself.

Finding your natal Moon sign To discover your natal Moon sign, you’ll need to utilise a free birth-chart generator such as one found on astro-charts.com.

You will be prompted to enter your birth details, including the exact time of your birth. As the Moon changes sign once every 2.5 days, it can be important to know your time of birth. If you do not know your exact birth time, you can play around with entering the earliest possible time of day (12am) and the latest possible time (11.59pm) and see if the Moon sign remains the same throughout the entire day.

Once you generate your birth chart, you can then find the Moon sign glyph (the crescent Moon). It will fall underneath the sign your Moon falls within. If unsure, you can scroll and find the entire list of all of the planets within your natal chart.

Be sure to save your chart using the save feature or bookmark the browser page to return back to it as we explore planets and houses in chapters to come.

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Illustrations: Getty Images

CHAPTER 3

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Integration activities READING

Re-familiarise yourself with the archetype that your Moon falls within in chapter one. As you read the section, begin to feel into the sign in the emotional feeling context, as a part of the way you emotionally fulfil your needs in

JOURNAL PROMPTS

Grab your most treasured journal and allow your Soul to explore through the below prompts, with your Moon sign energy in mind.

1. I feel most seen by others when …

2. I feel safe within myself when …

3. I feel fulfilled emotionally when/through …

4. I most long for …

5. My Moon sign highlights the way I feel, process and embody my emotional body, which then translates into my relationships and life at large.

the world. For example, as a Scorpio Moon, I must learn to embody the intensity and depth of what I feel and to channel that energy into constructive pursuits, rather than letting it bubble up and explode.

MANTRAS

From your above free-journaling, I want to gently invite you to write yourself some mantras.

These can act as a sacred doorway back into a meditation with your true Soul essence whenever you feel far from home. This is a powerful exercise when those around you make observations about the way you relate such as “you’re so intense”, or “you’re so detached”, you can accept it knowing it is completely a part of you, and for good reason.

We can become stronger within ourselves through knowing that one trait can be viewed on both ends of the spectrum.

EXAMPLE: S C O R P I O M O O N A F F I R M AT I O N S

Journal about ways you can learn and listen to your feelings daily and honour your Moon sign.

For Gemini, it could be honouring the need for change through doing something new every day. For Cancer, it could mean that having a solid place to call home is really important for belonging and making sure every day that you connect with your loved ones and express your feelings. For Virgo or Capricorn Moons, it could be honouring the need for routine and rhythm and giving yourself what you need to feel fulfilled in the practical sense every day.

You can extend upon this through writing further about your relationship to your feeling Self, embarking on the journey of emotional discovery.

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My depth is the key to my true power.

My emotions are a doorway into understanding and acceptance.

I honour my need for intensity and my natural edginess that others may find intense. This is okay and I love this part of myself.

I honour that in partnership, I need full intensity and commitment with my deep urge to merge and to unite with others.

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Illustrations: Getty Images

C R E AT I V I T Y A N D A R T P R A C T I C E

Once you have your mantras, I invite you to choose your favourite and create a writing piece, poem or some art around this mantra.

With creative practice, there is no right or wrong. All this is doing is connecting your feelings to intentions and then into making

feelings manifest — a powerful process to connect to. Perhaps you would like to get out your watercolours or to do something to honour this mantra. This can be something you frame and put up in your room to keep close.

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M E D I TAT I O N P R A C T I C E I N S T R U C T I O N S

1. Find yourself in a comfortable seat, in a place that makes you feel at home. Play music that you feel will serve your Moon sign intention and energy.

2. Begin to focus on the natural rhythm of your breath, flowing in and out of the nose.

Continue this way, feeling the quality of your breath. Notice any feelings and sensations, be with them completely. Notice them all as sacred doorways to your Soul essence.

3. Take a journey through the senses, feeling what you feel through touch, seeing what you see through the eyes, hearing noises far and near, noticing what you can smell and taste. Spend a generous amount of time with each sense.

5. Come back to your breathing. Slow your inhale and hold the breath up the top, feel yourself in full expansion. Hold until you long to exhale out slowly. Once you reach the bottom, hold your breath there in emptiness until you are ready to inhale again. Go through this process about 10 times. Perhaps you would like to do this as you journey through your chosen sense as well. The point isn’t to do exactly as I say but to use the doorway that this presents into your own exploration and discovery.

6. Afterwards, allow yourself to do as you please and be as you need. Journal on your experiences, if it feels right for you, and continue this embodiment of your own senses and field of awareness throughout the rest of your day.

Illustrations: Getty Images

4. If you feel any urge to explore deeper into a sense such as feeling through the Sun on your skin, or through seeing trickles of light across floorboards, abandon all else and move with

that urge. Allow the sensations you feel through your awareness to be your dissolving point, your surrender point.

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Chapter 4

Illustration: Tahnee Kelland

Developing presence and magnetism through your ascendant

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The way we dance with, co-create with and listen to this part of us forms our identity and defines our acceptance of — or resistance to — what is unfolding in any given moment. This is a part of us heavily concerned with our human incarnation and what comes with having an ego, playing in the world of form. The truth is that no matter how spiritual we feel we are, as long as we are here, we are playing within form. We cannot transcend form, we are form. And we must learn through the yin and yang of the identity what we are, and inherently what we are not. The knowing of who we are leads to forgetting. The forgetting leads to a deep knowing.

In Evolutionary Astrology, this is the part of us that we energetically call the ascendant, or Rising Sign. Physically, the way we discover this part of the natal chart is through the exact point on Earth the Sun was hitting at the time of our incarnation on this Earth plane. From our experience of the Sun, it moves through the sky in a consistent cycle every single day.

The ascendant encompasses how we take action in the world, or begin any new project. It has also been said to express our personal style and our appearance. It is our Soul’s vehicle of expression, a doorway

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back constantly to the Self. The planet that rules our ascendant — which you can find within chapter one — is our natal chart ruler. Where that planet is discovered in your chart — by sign and house — can unlock how and where the personality’s needs can be satisfied for the deeper remembering of our Soul’s essence and purpose.

Angles of the birth chart The angles are four major points in the birth chart cuƫng the circle into quarters horizontally, the horizon, and verƟcally, the meridian. The way I remember where the ascendant sign is drawn from is through remembering the Sun rising over the horizon. The ascendant is the leŌ-hand side of the horizontal line — the Sun rising in the east. The descendant is the right-hand side — the Sun seƫng in the west. The descendant is the part of the chart that sets the energeƟc container for what we bring into our relaƟonal life at large, specifically within our most inƟmate relaƟonships. This is any relaƟonship that holds weight and bearing on the level of learning the Soul’s greatest karma.

The point at the very top of the chart is called the midheaven or MC (medium coeli). This part of us is our access to our highest Self and paves a way into our highest life path in the world, or the highest feeling of ourselves. This also corresponds to the area of the sky directly above the exact locaƟon of our birth. The point at the base of the chart is called the nadir or IC (imum coeli) and corresponds to the lineage of our ancestral lines, our family and sense of belonging, and where we have come from.

Illustration: Getty Images

There is a part of us constantly radiating out into manifestation. This deep, residing place that is met by, danced upon, and in creative communion with the world. This is the part of us that we bring into the meeting place with the other or any unfolding relationship or situation. It is also the part of us we consciously choose to present to the world.

Enter the space inside your head, See it as already infinite, Expanding forever in all directions.

This spaciousness that you are Is permeated by luminosity.

Know this radiance As the soul of the world.

— Lorin Roche, The Radiance Sutras.

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Honouring all of these parts A way to remember, integrate and constantly honour the signs on these four points in our Soul’s blueprint is by calling upon the ancient and sacred practice of honouring the four directions — the north, south, east and west. This is best practised in a ceremonial or meditative setting with ourselves or with others that can hold space for our true essence.

THE NORTH

Our highest self, the sign on the midheaven or MC

THE WEST

THE EAST

Our descendant, our deep learnings from our most intimate relationships (within the natal chart, this will be on the opposite side).

Our ascendant, our identity meeting the world (within the natal chart, this will be on the opposite side).

THE SOUTH

The north and south will always be exact opposites by sign, as will the east and west. So if your midheaven is in Libra, then your IC will be Aries. If your rising is Sagittarius, then your descendant will always be Gemini. What this means on a Soul level is that there may always be a pull between the two sides of the axis of opposites. You can move back to the end of chapter one, where you will find what the dance is for these polarities, and what their dominant quality is (yin or yang). All angles of the birth chart will either be yin or yang.

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Illustrations: Getty Images

Our ancestral lineages, the land in which we live, our place within communities. The sign on the IC

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Ceremonial four-directions prayer Here, we’ll integrate the above archetypes on the level of the Soul. To write your own prayer, pull out your journal and find yourself back in the pages of chapter one and the evolutionary journey we took through the signs. If you would like a more condensed version of the archetypes, you can find this on the next page. We will call in the higher manifestations of these signs only in the name of pure embodiment and empowerment.

I call in the wisdom of the north. I hold the highest intentions to support my highest Self. This is the part of me that is: harmonising, loving and peaceful in partnerships (this is the Libra example. You can add your own sign qualities here).

This part of me chose to come here to teach others how to embody the same. I call in any spirit guides that are here to assist me in fulfilling my Soul essence within the world as my passion and purpose.

I call in the lessons and knowledge of the south, my lineage and ancestral lines — where I come from. I invite in the qualities of: autonomy, independence and courage (this is the Aries IC example. You can add your own sign qualities here) to heal any karma and old patterning within my family lines.

I call in the east, the part of me that meets the world, my identity. I invite in the qualities of: faith, adventure and openness of mind (this is the Sagittarius ascendant example. Add in the qualities of your ascendant here) to honour this part of me that is constantly in a dance of the Self.

I call in the west, the part of me that shows up within my most intimate relationships. Here, I call in the qualities of: curiosity, openness to varying viewpoints and changeability of the mind (this is the Gemini example, you can add your descendant sign here) in order to access my most authentic Self within relationships.

Thank you. It is done, it is done, it is done.

An alternate way of integrating the ascendant energy for our greatest magnetism It’s very easy for others to project our rising sign onto us, through attaching themselves to the qualities of the archetype. Your ascendant is often the perception others have of you upon first meeting you or as an acquaintance. I like to explain close friends as those who know you far beyond your ascendant qualities and what you present to the world.

I always have my Capricorn ascendant fed back to me through others who don’t deeply know me saying things such as “you are always doing something” or “you are working too hard” or “you’re so organised as you get so much done”.

This is not the deeper truth but I can understand why people sense this from the outside, looking in. I tend to favour fluidity over structure. My partner can confirm this to be true. But what appears to the greater world at large is that perhaps I have it all figured out. In part, this used to trigger me as I tend to carry a lot of the Capricorn shadow within my ascendant, having been overly fixated on my tangible path in the world, feeling a high sense of responsibility towards others and the world around me. Of course, I am much deeper than these qualities, however I have chosen to work with this through this lifetime to learn true integrity and tangibility as a key to my deepest sovereignty.

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Integration Locate your natal chart once more and at the very left side of the chart, you will see the abbreviation “ASC”. There, you will see the sign that it falls within for yourself.

The parts we do not resonate with in others’ feedback are truly the parts of us we are also most here to develop on the internal level of the Self in this lifetime.

So the higher Capricorn attributes of Self-discipline, integrity and contributing to the world at large are what I am here to learn. Once I own the lessons in the shadow manifestation of Capricorn, I can then, in turn, allow myself to be more fully seen by others.

When others don’t see us below the level of our ascendant, it can alienate us on the level of the Soul. But was our Soul’s deepest intention to integrate into the highest possible manifestation of our ascendant sign to navigate through our deepest lessons on the Earth plane. It is up to us to realise that we only show the world a part of ourselves, and, ordinarily, before we own the shadow, we are afraid of being fully seen. Once we can accept all of what comes with this, we can relax into ourselves beyond roles and simply show up as we are. As within, so without.

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JOURNAL PROMPTS T O E X P L O R E T H E A S C E N D A N T:

Where do I feel most misunderstood by others?

What is something that I would like others to know about me that I have a hard time expressing?

Where do I feel most alienated, by myself and by others?

What is the quality of the way I naturally move through/meet the world?

How can I consciously call in and accept my ascendant qualities? What is my honest relationship to these qualities?

You may feel a block or tension around some of the qualities, but know deep down that you are here to learn to work with them.

Illustrations: Getty Images

human beings, we must ultimately feel out where the feedback is coming from and how “seen” we truly feel by those giving us the feedback. The ascendant offers us the key into the ways we may feel very misunderstood — or not seen as a whole person, and just one part — by others.

Once you have your sign, ground into your body and take five deep breaths. Begin to feel the higher qualities of the sign on your ascendant.

You are welcome to flick back to chapter one to find more in-depth qualities of your ascendant.

You can also use the sign higher manifestation keywords on the next page as a guide.

Chapter 5

Illustration: Tahnee Kelland

The intellectual mind (mercury)

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The personal planets

Mercury

The Sun and Moon together with the Ascendant are what we call the Primal Triad in Evolutionary Astrology, making up the internal core of who we are through all planes of existence. The personal planets permeate into our lives in the way we perceive and communicate through Mercury, to experience balance, security and harmony through Venus, and to learn to passionately assert ourselves and pioneer forward through Mars. These three planets, like the Sun and Moon, cycle through the solar system in a steady rhythm, so they can dramatically change depending on when throughout the year we are born. These planets form the steady foundation from which we navigate the greater transformative lessons of the outer planets.

As we go about our daily life, the processing of information through the consciousness and within the brain is constant. As long as we exist within the realm of form, we are dancing in a world of information.

This part of us, the level of consciousness associated with the logical and intellectual mind, is truly emphasised, researched and harnessed within our modern-day, technology-driven and fast-paced world.

As they are in such close proximity to the Sun (ego), the personal planets flavour what we bring into our most intimate relationships. They are like a mirror, reflecting back information about ourselves for our highest evolution, whether the mind considers it good or bad. It starts with the inside, our integration with Self and our place, before we can be of service to others and the collective in the greater sense.

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Mercury is the longing to understand something, to process something intellectually and to then have the information. Western schooling systems emphasise the memorisation of facts and information through the brain, over felt and integrated learning experiences through the senses. We must first understand, grasp and know, but then we must also know when to let go of the mind and embody the information on the deepest level for it to become a true part of us. This is why we call it “knowing it by heart”.

Mercury is the ruler of Gemini on the level of the mind and Virgo on the level of everyday structure and rhythm. It is the closest planet to the Sun within

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Illustrations: Getty Images

Mercury

“The man who thinks that he is receiving a response to his prayers does not know that the fulfilment comes from his own nature, that he has succeeded by the mental attitude of prayer in waking up a bit of his infinite power which is coiled up within himself” — Swami Vivekananda, Raja Yoga.

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our solar system, therefore making its rotation the fastest and its emphasis within our lives a constant.

No matter what, we must first learn and understand new conceptual knowledge and skill through the mind. The part we most often skip in current times is the embodiment and mastery of the information on the level of the Soul.

By myth, Mercury was the “Messenger of the Gods”.

He would travel from one God to the next and pass on information. He was quite the trickster, delighting in delivering twisted messages for his own enjoyment and fun, showing the chatty, fickle and mischievous energy of Mercury. With Mercury, we are dealing with our logical mind and the way we perceive, gather and process information. The full integration happens when we also express the information back out again.

It is the unique way we take in any information through learning, talking, teaching, writing, comprehending, networking, transporting and exchanging. We are currently living in a very Mercurial age of the constant processing of information at accelerated speeds.

It acts as the constant witness, processing through unfiltered and raw perception and, therefore, can be felt as quite mechanical by design. Often within our culture, the past is what filters our perception as long

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as we are living in stress and, in turn, closing off from the heart.

Embodiment Staying in complete awareness of our own perception in a balanced way can occur when we learn to process information in a mind-bodycoherent way. A simple practice to bring into your everyday life is a breathwork technique of slowing and elongating the breath in and out of the nose, while stilling the physical body. We can speed up our vibration through concentrating all attention within and, in turn, become more magnetic to the universe.

When we are clear on what it is we deeply want, the mind can work in assistance rather than in the driver’s seat.

While listening to others, going about your daily routine, or sitting at home with a cup of tea, stay with your breath. This will start to bring more awareness to other centres in the body for processing, not only the mind. When we can realise that not every thought is a thought to be true, we are freed from the potential of being enslaved to the fluctuating mind. Through remaining aware of the rhythm of the breath and how it feels within the body, we can slow thoughts, processing and expressing in a more embodied way.

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By sign Mercury by sign flavours our learning style, basic perception of life, what we tend to pick up on in the immediate environment and what kinds of concerns may occupy the mind. In air signs, Mercury may express as flighty or objective, quick to share what is on the mind. In water signs, there may be a deeper and more mysterious quality where not everything that is running through the mind is shared.

Your Mercury sign will either be the same as the sign before or after your Sun sign, because of the close proximity of its transit to the Sun. Once you discover your Mercury sign, I invite you to flick back to chapter one and immerse yourself in that archetype, keeping in mind the flavour of Mercury as the way you communicate with the world around you.

Illustrations: Getty Images

Thinking and communication style by Mercury sign:

MERCURY IN ARIES

M E R C U R Y I N TA U R U S

Light — high energy, edgy and to the point.

Shadow — tendency to be blunt, abrasive and impatient.

Light — embodied through the senses, practical and deliberate.

Shadow — slow moving, stubborn and complacent.

MERCURY IN GEMINI

MERCURY IN CANCER

Light — creative, versatile in mind and unique.

Shadow — flighty, superficial and too intellectual.

Light — gentle, intuitive and sentimental.

Shadow — moody, overly sensitive and avoidant (non-confrontational).

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MERCURY IN LEO

MERCURY IN VIRGO

Light — confident, creative and heart-centred.

Shadow — overly idealistic, dramatic and approval seeking.

Light — thorough, reliable and embodied in their sense of direction and rhythm.

Shadow — highly strung, Self-critical and perfectionistic toward Self and/or others.

MERCURY IN LIBRA

MERCURY IN SCORPIO

Light — kind, harmonising and diplomatic.

Shadow — indecisive, fickle and lacking in follow-through with relationships.

Light — deep, observant and passionate.

Shadow — judgemental, jealous and suspicious.

M E R C U R Y I N S A G I T TA R I U S

MERCURY IN CAPRICORN

Light — optimistic, forward thinking and visionary.

Shadow — restless, impatient and painfully strong in beliefs.

Light — resourceful, dedicated and concise (no frills).

Shadow — skeptical, authoritarian and overly inflexible.

MERCURY IN AQUARIUS

MERCURY IN PISCES

Light — quick, quirky and radical in mind.

Shadow — argumentative, detached and misunderstood.

Light — gentle in communication, poetic and imaginative.

Shadow — overly unrealistic, impractical and non-confrontational.

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Illustrations: Getty Images

CHAPTER 5

Chapter 6

Illustration: Tahnee Kelland

Exploring polarity with venus and mars

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“True meditation is an integration of the opposites, not obliteration or mere transcendence of them. It is an alchemical union in which each polarity exists in its fullness and in a relationship of complementarity with the other” — Lorin Roche, The Radiance Sutras.

On one side, there will always be the curious longing for the other. We can tend to think of masculine and feminine as polar opposites within our culture, where they are inherently two essential parts of the same whole. We have our own balance and spectrum of these energies inside of us, whether we are male or female.

However, females tend to naturally hold more feminine energy, and males more masculine energy, due to the nature of our hormonal make-up. We can see the masculine as the Sun, constantly shining in the sky no matter what — its presence always unwavering whether or not we see it shining. The female hormones are symbolic of the purely reflective and constantly

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cycling nature of the Moon. Nature also has it that the average female menstrual cycle is a similar length to the complete monthly dance between the Moon and Sun. Venus, the feminine, rules the emotional aspects of relationships and indicates how we relate to and draw value from our connection with others and the world. This unfolds naturally within our evolution through two very distinct doorways — mind (Libra) and matter (Taurus). When we can learn to listen to and be in constant communion with our own unique Venus energy, we are empowered to truly live with our mind and heart open, and physical boundaries clear.

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Mars, the masculine, represents action, desire and willpower (Aries), and indicates the level of passion, grit and energy we draw upon to move forward into our goals. It also represents consciousness and the presence of all existence through the stage of the cycle that is Aries — incarnation, the initiation spark, the beginning of our existence in this form. When we can learn to harness our own unique Mars energy, we can access the kind of constant sustenance and authentic support systems needed in order to fulfil what we desire within this lifetime.

Photography: Getty Images

The two together create a synergistic union, a meeting of two opposite parts. It is that very felt sense of attraction towards another. It is the deep longing for our lover and the very distinct feeling we have when we are met with the opposite energy that creates a charge and polarity. This charge and polarity creates the need to understand what we do not yet know, the longing to merge with something outside of ourselves and to fulfil the mystery of our own creativity. We can really feel through these examples how Mars and Venus work throughout our everyday relational lives.

In energetic terms, the feminine encompasses surrender, release and the ever-changing dance of creative flow and of life within our human incarnation. She is the “Shakti”, meaning “power” and “divine feminine”, and when working in harmony with the universe, we feel a sense of her luminosity, radiance, creativity and deep surrender to the flow of the universe. She listens and is open to receiving guidance from the unchanging, the masculine.

He is referred to in Sanskrit as “Shiva”, representing the absolute reality or consciousness. He is also known as the Lord of Yoga. The divine feminine’s nature is one of constant curiosity and relativity (Venus), and so, as the ancient yogic text the Bhairava Tantra conveys, she goes to the divine masculine for direction, support and guidance.

The healthy masculine (Mars) guides her unconditionally without the need for praise, and with peaceful decisiveness. He helps her feel safe and supported, on all levels of human consciousness. He simply takes appropriate action. In order for her to be willing to ask in the first place, the divine feminine must feel emotionally secure and balanced physically enough to ask. When she is in her centre, she knows whether the feedback is accurate as she has already felt it within herself, which is how she knows she can trust it.

“The Goddess and the One who holds Her, Are one and the same.

We are inseparable.

The way to me is through Her.” — Lorin Roche, The Radiance Sutras (Bhairava Tantra translation).

What Evolutionary Astrology can do is point us towards our own unique blend of these energies, beyond our physical form alone, further towards the Soul essence. Therefore, it doesn’t go beyond nature but it can transcend gender itself and contain something purely energetic. We can feel this unique blend within our Mars and Venus placements.

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Venus energy and mythology It is through form and our relating to beauty and structures that we draw value and meaning to our experiences here on the Earth plane. We are beings that thrive through heart-to-heart reciprocity and connection, however within our cultural climate, we are also prone to tapping out of the heart, out of a need to protect ourselves from danger, through the illusion of separation.

Venus rules all forms of blending, harmony and attraction. Through the mind, Venus is connected to the balancing and equilibrium through relationships and aesthetics.

This can be felt through the archetype of Libra, and anywhere we have Libra within our natal chart. We develop our worth and harmony through the mind to form a connection of any sort. Venus also develops a sense of security and safety through physical resources, both internally and externally, as in self worth and tangible worth. This can be felt through the archetype of Taurus and anywhere we have Taurus in our natal chart.

Inherently, Venus is a powerful part of our natal chart, which can unlock our deepest Self-acceptance and acknowledgement of our true worth. Through her, we find cosmic magnetism. This sense of worth and how we draw value offers us a sense of unshakeable value regardless of circumstances. Venus is a harmoniser working as the middle place between two opposite opinions or ways of being. In myth, she is the Goddess of Love, not so much in the spiritual sense, but in a very personalised way. She is the doorway into the gradual formation of our individual values, which feeds into the continuous evolution of our personality.

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Venus is a wonderful tool for any subconscious reprogramming in order to transform our deepest core values and sense of Self-worth. Through Venus, we discover ourselves through projection, which reflects back to us through our experience of the external world. Venus is the mirror, the doorway back to ourselves.

It is synonymous with the love we seek and find in a partner — their eyes and how they see, feel and hear ourselves being the portal for this love.

The highest manifestation of this energy is one of continuously strengthening and deepening one’s own felt sense of Self-security and worth in a sustainable and continuous way. When we lose our connection to Venus, our experiences lead to a state of low Self-worth. In this space, we can tend to find ourselves staying on the fence and undercutting our truth. Our capacity to love is limited to how we truly value and love ourselves. Our culture can get this very backwards and this lack of base valuing of ourselves — or being told what to value — can lead to the need for physical things, or the need for particular outward circumstances to fill the void.

Your Venus sign is a doorway into your core feminine energy. It’s an indication of the kinds of qualities that you love and value, keep you secure, find attractive, or that truly matter to you on the deepest level.

Developing the qualities of your Venus sign leads to a deep sense of inner security and wholeness that cannot be found anywhere outside of yourself, but which is reflected back through your relational life at large.

It is also the lens through which you see harmony and beauty, and the way you experience the vibration of love.

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Photography & Illustration: Getty Images

CHAPTER 6

Mars energy and mythology Mars gives birth to our desire to get what we truly long for and to be clear about it. It does this through direct willpower when faced with any challenge. In mythology, Mars is the God of War. This is a war that requires true courage and bravery to run into the fire of your truth. In manifested reality, it is speaking your truth wholeheartedly and not doubting your own experience, despite intense circumstances or challenges. The Mars energy is masculine in quality — active, initiating, independent, autonomous, courageous and fiery. It is the ignition spark of consciousness, the will to survive and do what it takes.

Mars by sign says a lot about how we assert (or avoid asserting) ourselves and the ways in which we go about attaining what we truly desire on the deepest of levels. Mars honours that as long as we are human, we will be faced with desires and wants.

This is also manifested into sexuality and intimacy and how we express and assert our sexual energy. Your Mars sign unlocks the way you approach life’s inevitable pains and challenges.

When we get hurt, it is the process we undertake in order to heal and the stories we tell ourselves in the process. Mars also flavours our relationships with fear and competition. It is a very primal, driven and fire-starting energy. The uninhibited expression of this is simply wanting what you want, and not questioning it or apologising for it. I am speaking of wanting something in the most genuine sense, from a truthful place.

Unlocking Mars is an essential part of learning to assert and choose ourselves, as well as express our individuality, potency and true power. It can also show us our blocks in honouring and attaining what we desire, through the shadow manifestation of the sign our Mars falls within. Mars is also a powerful placement to unlock our sexuality through primal nature. This is also an energy that is misplaced and misunderstood within society and culture through so many conflicting ideologies. For the sake of this work and the exploration of Mars, I would like to open Mars up as a sexual energy as I believe that unlocking this uninhibitedly is a fundamental part of no longer allowing the world to fearmonger us. It is through the synchronisation of our sexuality and creativity that we can unlock our true cosmic Soul and the drive to be in life.

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Integration Before you move on in the course, I would like to invite you to find your unique Venus and Mars energy within your natal chart. You can simply look for the glyphs above.

You can also find the list of your placements below, however I would like to really encourage you to find the actual placements within your chart. Knowing where they are will point you towards where they sit within the bigger picture of your chart as a whole.

In chapters to come, we will give more life to these placements through the exploration of the houses, which I call energetic terrain. This is where the planet energy manifests into the material.

So starting to look at your chart is a great first step. You do not have to understand anything else right now. Remember to take deep breaths and come back to your own felt experience of the information.

Once you have found your placements, I invite you to move back to chapter one to refamiliarise yourself with this archetypal energy.

You will find the rulerships to the energies (the planets) listed, too.

When I take you through the remaining planets that we work with in Evolutionary Astrology to come, you can start to feel and understand more context to these energies through the planets.

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Photography & Illustration: Getty Images

CHAPTER 6

Experiential 2 An exploration of mind

Welcome back to your integration point, where you get to experience the knowledge in an embodied sense. We possibly live in the most “Mercurial” time known in history, driven by excess thought, media and technology, cultivating the attachments and stories of the mind that keep us stuck in the fear response. I have chosen a practical focus on the mind and our communication as, in our current reality, we are faced with an extreme level of information that is not coming from our own mind each day.

The truth of our own embodied existence begins within the mind, the body having no real way of knowing what is real or what is not. So when we feel into the technology-driven age we live in, we not only have our own perceptions and mind clutter to filter through, but we are layered up with the narratives fed to us by society and culture. Our nervous system has no idea whether we are running from a bear or sitting in front of a screen watching someone else run from a bear.

As long as we are faced with endless stimuli — endless externalities — we cannot focus on the less tangible planes of existence: the unmanifest. This is the space that we can all access and create freely from. But we are normally kept in stress, in habituated patterning: waking up, mindlessly going through the motions, going home, too stressed to do anything but be in freeze mode. We adopt behaviours that perpetuate the stories of the past and what is “familiar”. The stresses of adult life can seem endless: bills to pay, a job that we don’t like and a general fear of change. This is all a story and, normally, we perpetuate the pain of the past as we do not know what else to look for or any other reality.

Most of us are in the fight or flight response at all times — putting our foot on the pedal and the brake all in one. Through this, our heart functions incoherently and energetically closes. We stop trusting ourselves and we are in a state of disease and imbalance. Science shows that initiating feel-good hormones such as joy, love, gratitude and peace increases our immune defence by up to 50 per cent. That is, just through these thoughts that initiate these feelings alone, we are changing our reality and opening our heart and, in effect, expanding our field of awareness.

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“If you think the same thoughts every day, everything down to gene expression is equal to this. Everything stays the same in the body if you stay the same. New thoughts lead to new choices, to new behaviours, to new experiences, to new emotions and feelings that begin to change your biology”

Photography: Getty Images

— Dr Joe Dispenza

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We can see how learning how to take a step back from our Mercury — our mind and the way we label and communicate with the world of matter — can’t help, but what can is changing the way we draw value (Venus) and move through our own existence (Mars). Therefore, unlocking our Mercury sign and learning to work with our mind isn’t key, but unlocking our Venus and Mars signs in the highest way.

Yoga Sutra 1.2 explains Yoga as the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind. Put simply, it calms the mind chatter that draws our awareness away from our present-moment experience and that which keeps us in the stress response. So the very feeling and purpose of Mercury in Evolutionary Astrology is to honour the fact that we have a mind and that we think. Our mind is a powerful vessel not to be made the enemy. But through a lack of awareness and discipline, it can create a very limited and feardriven existence. Our energetic field remains small and within form alone when we have a narrow, logic-driven focus on our incarnation. We can feel victim to our circumstances.

Discovering your natal Mercury sign Within this experiential, we explore how to access your own natural Mercurial energy, the quality of your mind, in order to then move through the journal and meditation practices below. I truly encourage you to take your time and pause at this point in the course to take this exploration with a generosity of heart (towards yourself). You deserve to take as much time as needed to sit with your Mercury energy and then, through the meditation, go beyond it and find a new embodied perspective.

To discover your natal Mercury sign, you’ll need to come back to your birth chart generated within the first practical. You can then find the Mercury sign glyph (above). It will fall underneath the sign your Mercury falls within. The three personal planets together function to create the personality and the personality creates personal reality. While you are there, you can also find and explore your Venus and Mars signs, taking them through the prompts below. Eventually, the aim is to be able to drop personally on the level of the roles we think we have to play, therefore dropping into a deeper state of being — finding our true home within the Soul essence.

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Integration activities READING

Once you’ve discovered your Mercury sign, move back to chapter five, where the light and shadow qualities of your Mercury expression are explored.

Remember that we are just talking about manifestations, the way something comes into physicality. Feel into these words on the level of vibration. How do they sit with you? Keep in mind, Mercury is how we communicate through our rational or logical mind, as well as how we take in information. It is how we express ourselves through our perceptions, through skill and speech. It is also how we establish connections with others through the need to relate and learn.

With the above in mind, move back to chapter one and the journey we took through the archetypes to feel into your Mercury sign on the deeper level and stage of consciousness it sits within.

JOURNAL PROMPTS

Grab your most treasured journal and allow your Soul to explore through the below prompts, with your Mercury sign energy in mind.

1. “I am the creator of my own existence and reality”.

Free-journal using this statement as your prompt, allowing your mind to release and flow. Feel into anything that keeps you blocked from knowing this to be true, and be gentle with yourself. Let go of any conceptual thought of understanding your Mercury sign for now and allow the qualities to naturally surface through your free expression.

Photography: Getty Images

2. When stressed, the quality of my mind is …

3. When in a place of heart-mind coherence, the quality of my mind is …

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B R E AT H W O R K P R A C T I C E — B H R A M A R I B R E AT H

1. Find yourself in a comfortable seat, in a place that makes you feel at home.

2. Begin to notice your natural breathing rhythm. Notice the quality of your breath, flowing in and out of the nose. Stay with this motion of the breath for a few minutes, until you feel yourself going beyond the thinking mind, feeling into a deeper essence or quality of mind. Begin to pause for a couple of moments at the bottom and the top of the breath, once you feel an effortless rhythm begin step three.

5. Afterwards, release the hands and come back to the natural breath. Stay here in contemplation, watching the thoughts without attachment, for as long as you need.

6. Free-journal on your experience. Keep this breathwork in your tool kit whenever you feel yourself going into the stress response and becoming incoherent or closed off in the heart. May you hum yourself back into your highest potential, feeling a new experience of time and space through the expansiveness of this moment.

7. For deeper integration, you may write down the mantra “I am the co-creator of my highest reality” and create some art or process around it that will keep affirming this new mantra. The other part of the “co” is the universe, or the creator of all that is. Feel yourself as creator energy.

What does it feel like? The key is through feelings of joy, ease, love, expansion and empathy, to start to create mind-body coherence.

Photography: Getty Images

3. Begin to make a gentle humming sound where you would normally exhale. So you will inhale and then hum on the exhale, feeling the vibration of the throat. Dissolve all of your awareness into the vibration, the feeling and the sound.

4. After about 10 rounds of this, we will bring the hands towards the face. The thumbs will cover the ears and the first and second fingers will come to close the eyes. The remaining fingers will rest over the sinuses either side of the nose. Blocking the senses of sound and sight, we go within and practise the same. Feel yourself as vibration and allow the mind to dissolve into the feeling and sensation.

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Chapter 7 The planets as teachers

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Welcome to the divine dance between your Soul essence and the Cosmos. Up until now, we have looked at the “what” (the planetary function) and “how” (the sign, the how it is expressed) of the personal planets, which deal with the Self and the personality. This chapter is the sacred place where you get to look into planets much bigger than ourselves on the personal level. In chapters to follow, we give the wisdom held within this chapter somewhere to land, within the houses or what I like to call “energetic terrain”. For now, prepare for this deep dive into the great teacher planets.

The planets as our teachers The great teacher and transpersonal planets move us through their wisdom in the form of challenges and transformative initiations. In order for our most authentic evolution to unfold — although change is a constant truth — we can work with these planets to bring a sense of faith, integrity, originality, spirituality and depth to all that we move through. As stated in the introduction, evolution comes down to and means the change of all things.

As human beings, we are always in a constant state of becoming. The culture sets us up with a linear scope through ticking clocks that make us experience time in a very limiting way and through enforcing the false belief that we physically have to go against the flow of life to survive. This is the messaging that most of us receive as children, that life will hurt so we must protect ourselves through choosing the safest and most “known” path. It isn’t untrue that life can feel painful within our human experience, but what is wrong with that? It is a part of nature to hold and let go, sustain and release. Where we trip up is in thinking we know better than the Universe does about when and why things should happen.

The planets are very much alive, emitting their own pitch or frequency. We feel this through our own Soul essence and vibration as human beings, and

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where they are calling us to move. It can be called many things, as the feeling essence is the same — connection to Spirit, God, Cosmos or Universe. It is the awareness of something greater than ourselves and how that can either encourage us to let go or hold on tight. When we try to grip, we suffer.

When we let go and allow, we are presented with the flowing stream of our own potential in that very moment.

The more we are attuned to our Soul frequency — to our own consciousness beyond form alone — the more we can accept the at times disruptive, challenging and confronting energies the great teacher planets can throw our way. This is simply how we tend to feel them vibrationally as human beings. Their deepest intention is to truly shake us up and help us to remember — over and over again — why we came here at this time. They initiate us to move into our fullest potential, shake things to the ground at the perfect time to pull us into a place of surrender. Through them, we get to humbly remember — or resist — our true place over and over again. We are reminded through their vibrational wisdom of our true birthright — to shine while floating downstream. It is the sacred dance between us and the Cosmos that we all have the gift of participating in. What if you didn’t actually have to do this all alone? What would this knowing open up for you?

The following breakdowns are the closest wording I could muster for the energy of these incredible planets. I will start with a recap of the personal planets for your reflection and deep integration.

You will also learn the signs that these planets rule, so that you can find more context to some of your personal planets. For example, if you have Mars in Virgo, you can also look to the ruler of Virgo (Mercury) as an extension of your Sun energy. When we explore the houses in the next chapter, you will have somewhere to land all of this.

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“Do you think you can take over the universe and improve it?

I do not believe it can be done.

The universe is sacred.

You cannot improve it.

If you try to change it, you will ruin it.

If you try to hold it, you will lose it.

So sometimes things are ahead and sometimes they are behind; Sometimes breathing is hard, sometimes it comes easily; Sometimes there is strength and sometimes weakness; Sometimes one is up and sometimes down.

Therefore, the sage avoids extremes, excesses, and complacency.”

Illustration: Getty Images

— Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching (Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation).

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The personal planets — keywords

SUN — RULER OF LEO

MOON — RULER OF CANCER

Vitality, sense of individuality, creative energy, life force and the conscious Self. The centre of our being. The instinctive urge to give life and to create, the feeling of being alive. The need for reciprocity and to truly shine and feel seen.

Emotional nature and needs, lineage and Mother, instinctual and unconscious Self, Soul. Urge Desire to nurture and be nurtured, domestic and emotional security urges. The need for belonging within the community.

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MERCURY — RULER OF

VENUS — RULER OF

MARS — RULER OF ARIES

GEMINI (MIND) AND

TA U R U S ( P H Y S I C A L ) A N D

VIRGO (PRACTICAL

L I B R A ( R E L AT I O N A L A N D

SYSTEMS)

SOCIAL)

Communication style, conscious mind (logical and rational).

Expression of one’s perceptions and intelligence through skill or speech. Need to establish connections with others, to learn, to communicate on the level of the mind.

Values, Self-worth and the feminine principle. Giving and receiving balance, sharing, equilibrium and harmony. The urge to love, attract possessions and people and to be social.

Creativity, aesthetics and beauty.

Artistic and peaceful.

Desire, willpower and primal drive. The masculine principle.

Physical energy to face fear and move through adversity.

The will towards action, to assert ourselves and pioneer forward in the direction of our desires. Sexual urge and survival. Courage and bravery.

Decisiveness and assertion.

Illustrations: Getty Images

Eventually, the aim is to be able to drop our attachment to our personality on the level of the roles we think we have to play, therefore descending into a deeper state of being, finding our true home within the Soul essence.

To do this, we learn through the interpersonal and teacher planets.

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The great teachers — energy and teachings When we begin to believe in and seek something bigger than ourselves, we set the solid foundation for mastery. The work on the level of refining the Soul truly begins with Jupiter (faith and expansion) and Saturn (hard work, responsibility and mastery).

We often first experience these energies in a way that shakes us up or constricts us through misinterpretation. This can be felt through the way we deeply avoid where life wants to take us, and in the process taking on all that is inherently not ours or of our own essence.

J U P I T E R — R U L E R O F S A G I T TA R I U S

Jupiter is the awareness of faith and what the vibration of faith can do to highlight the path to our own expansion. It is the expansion of mind through the longing for experiences that shows us existence outside of ourselves. Jupiter vibrates in truth and abundance, with the intention to expand our horizons and light the unpaved path. The way we are called to do this is through outward exploration, beyond the known. We can think of our first real

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Jupiter initiation as the first time we go away from home on our own and we are out in the big wide world. This is the first time we start to truly feel our own experiences of the physical world beyond the dynamics and roles played within the familiar.

To expand, Jupiter must learn on a grander scale, hungry for concepts, theories, ideals and any experience which heightens consciousness and knowledge.

Jupiter’s energy is that of exploration through travel, higher education and belief systems that point towards something greater than ourselves. There is a deep sense of optimism and confidence that comes with this vibration, as it constantly seeks something to believe in. This energy works wonderfully as a teacher, where what has been learnt through experience and exploration can now be passed on, speaking its higher truth out into the world.

Jupiter relies on a foundation base of ethics and solid principles that constantly form the lens through which we experience its vibration. Without the planting of deep Self-worth and a trust in our own authentic evolution, Jupiter can be projected as entitled or judgemental. When we can learn to play Jupiter (our own expansion) without the need for others to believe the same as us — appreciating the natural time and timing of others’ evolution — we can find ourselves magnetic within the deep flow of life and with the power to truly lead from that place.

Jupiter rules Sagittarius, and you can further understand this energy through referring back to chapter one.

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Saturn speaks a lot for the necessary time it takes to go through our very real and transformative human initiations. We cannot physically rush ourselves ahead of the evolutionary, pre-set timing of our life. Saturn understands that with wisdom and age comes maturity and development. Of course, we are all at different stages of consciousness and this is one level and way of seeing evolution. Nonetheless being human and within the physical incarnation are concerned with form, and it is through learning our form that we can learn to work with it and take full ownership of all that we do and create.

S AT U R N — R U L E R O F C A P R I C O R N

Saturn is the planet of maturity, Self-discipline, mastery and sense of responsibility. True sovereignty is the intention of this vibration within the thriving and ever-changing human experience. It is through learning, hard work, discipline and a sense of the parameters of physical reality that we can learn to become our own authority over our incarnation.

Illustrations: Getty Images

Jupiter almost feels the opposite to Saturn in energy.

Where Jupiter feels expansive and light, Saturn feels a little more contractive and bound to the physical world. This may sound low vibrational, however Saturn is a necessary planet to learn from as long as we have a human body. Learning true foundation and structure is the origin of all sustainable and life-changing creation. Saturn has a reputation for feeling restrictive, however its lessons are sobering and very real. When we resist Saturn, we can tend to take on responsibility in all the wrong ways, avoiding the deeper truth of the situation we are in, where the true responsibility lies.

Saturn with time and the right awareness is the pillar of claiming back our true sovereignty, through being fully willing to take responsibility for all of our actions, thoughts, intentions and choices within our day-to-day life. Saturn’s lessons are often a tough pill to swallow, as they beckon us to do the right thing, not only by ourselves but by others. It is truly doing our part with the right intention and timing.

Jupiter would not be felt as expansively if it weren’t for the necessary contraction of Saturn and vice versa. Saturn has a strong need for solitude and does not need anyone else to do what must be done. Learning this is key and the foundation for journeying into the higher planes of existence. We must always start with attuning the physical through deep listening and compassion.

Saturn in the natal chart signifies how and where we will mature and learn to grasp. Saturn is a very hard energy and it can be expressed either way.

Where Saturn lies in the chart can also point us towards where we can be overly critical of ourselves and our process with life, security focused or overly responsible. It can feel like we are carrying a backpack with stones before we learn to work side by side with Saturn. When we learn the hard lessons of giving back what is not ours and truly owning what is, life opens up like never before.

Saturn returns to its original birth place between the ages of 27–29 , which is something widely spoken about within Astrology. The Saturn return is a sacred window where it beckons us to look at our lives and to be willing to let go of anything that we no longer want for ourselves. I am talking about things that we have wanted for a long time and have steadily worked towards. Perhaps the ending or revival of long-standing relationships, structures and ways of living. When we resist our Saturn, we carry more difficulty than necessary into the next phase of our Astrology Insights guide | 103

life. We try to bring with us roles, structures and beliefs that once served us but no longer do, and life becomes very hard. When we can let go of being the person we thought we would be at 27–29, the initiation into sovereignty awaits us.

Saturn rules Capricorn, and you can further understand this energy through referring back to chapter one.

The transpersonal planets — energy and teachings The three outer planets — Uranus, Neptune and Pluto — have been collectively termed the “transpersonal planets”. The vibration of these planets affects the collective as they stay in one sign for long periods of time. Because of this, they hold the frequency of a particular generation, and inherently the collective consciousness of this generation. Their energies require more profound levels of change than the personal planets, connecting deeply within the evolutionary process of all of life.

These planets are the furthest away from the Sun within our solar system, beckoning us on the deepest levels. They energetically ask us the big questions that we can tend to avoid asking about the truth of our lives and the unfolding of our human path.

They remind us that no matter how far along or prominent we are within our journey — perhaps we are a master at what we do, or are in a deep journey with conscious parenting, or in complete connection with our travels — we cannot truly know what is around the corner. Change and evolution is our natural evolving state but as human beings, we can cling without even realising it. When we fail to honour a very real change that must take place on the personal level (through the personal planets), the outer planets move in and vibrate out to make us a part of the whole. We are shown where we are at vibrationally through these planets as they initiate us to let go and constantly become a part of the whole again and again and again. We move outside of the personality and we start to think and belong outside of ourselves and within the community consciousness.

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URANUS — RULER OF AQUARIUS

Discovered during the French Revolution, American War of Independence and the Industrial Revolution in 1781, Uranus vibrates in the frequency of evolution and change at the highest levels. The intention is to reform, to realise that things can always be revolutionised and refined. Uranus cycles back to the place of our birth 84 years later, staying in one sign for seven years.

Wherever Uranus is within the natal chart, we can see the sorts of lessons and challenges that may come to us through its oftentimes confronting vibration.

Uranus, ruler of Aquarius, almost always brings us to that boiling point inside where it doesn’t matter whether we cling or not, the change is happening already! We are on the cliff’s edge and it is very hard to back out now, as it will just be easier to jump after the whole process of moving ourselves to that courageous point.

Uranus is the pure awareness of freedom of thought and for the individual. Aquarius takes it another step from its opposite, Leo. Where we can shine and be fully held within the community for our gifts. The location of Uranus or Aquarius within our cosmic blueprint can show us where we have been judged, misunderstood and had feelings of alienation within groups and communities. The themes of these feelings of early life continue to surface again and again, until we choose to revolutionise, reform and change the script running the old painful story.

Uranus shakes up the norm and wants to rebel forward, showing truly that things can be enjoyed and mastered.

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We can truly start to feel Uranus working through our lives after we have first mastered our gifts through Saturn and taken back our full sovereignty. This is around the time Saturn begins to come back to its place of our birth.

I am guessing that by the time you pick up this course, you have perhaps been initiated through the first Jupiter expansion out into the world, felt the pull and contraction of Saturn to claim your true gifts and take responsibility, and perhaps now you are feeling that it doesn’t have to be so hard after all.

Illustrations: Getty Images

Welcome to your daily revolution where it becomes possible to change the script leading the show of your life. It is in this time in our evolution that we can begin to realise that if we don’t feel good and lit up while doing what we are doing, then what is the point? What does that bring anyone? The time where we start to truly feel Uranus within the physical plane of our human existence is where we start to feel ideas as a collective that births the future. The Uranus and Aquarius vibration is unpredictable by nature because it is here to truly shake things up!

You will have the same Uranus sign as your generation — within seven years. The house that your Uranus falls within — as well as the ruler of the sign it’s in and any other planets in close proximity — truly flavours what must be unlocked and discovered within you as your unique way of showing up and being within the community. This energy is confrontational to us if we stay in our old inherited shame, which is what the culture breeds to keep us in survival. This energy is the container of the group and it cannot be concerned with every single personal worry or upset if it is to do its job.

This is because it is not personal. Love and connection is a higher vibration that we can all have access to and expand into as a community, but it doesn’t personally select who can feel it and who cannot. When we can come out of the personal, or out of taking everything so personally, we can start to truly access deeper levels of revolution inside of ourselves and, in turn, shake up those around us. It is a radical presence within the quantum.

Uranus rules Aquarius, and you can further understand this energy through referring back to chapter one.

NEPTUNE — RULER OF PISCES

We come to the final dissolving point when we meet the vibrational teachings of Neptune, the complete letting go of needing to control the direction of our lives and the way we “think” things should play out. Where we had something to pioneer towards with Uranus, we now learn again where to let go and come into contact with the timeless nature of Spirit and the universe. All things must eventually go back to the origin of all things, for the completion of each cycle of our life. Neptune is Spirit, dealing with what we may call unreal, yet this terrain is as real as anything we can physically touch.

Through the personal, Neptune plays out through dreams, inspiration, imagination, vibration and sensitivity. As well as through the vehicles of creativity, artistic expression, intuition and connection to the mystical. Before we learn to heal through Neptune, it can manifest itself as delusion, helplessness, escapism and victimhood. Neptune confronts us with the feeling of who we are without all of the human “stuff”. Who are we really beyond the roles we play and the things we do? Through deep meditation and dreamlike states, we can begin to learn how to access this eternal part of ourselves. The more we align our vibration to the vibration of the Cosmos, we can start to feel ourselves as existence itself — a part of it all and in connection with everything. Through learning Neptune, we can begin to go beyond the physical body and start to live from a much more expanded space within our vibrational field.

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expands our energetic field and we magnetise more through us as we clear out the dense attachments that come with our human suit. Neptune is vibration, without boundary, connecting with us through gut feeling, intuition and mantra or meditation practice. As soon as we try to understand or control the present moment, we become confused and lost, gripping again for the known. But if we allow the present moment to be our inner guide, we find ourselves always in ultimate safety.

The location of Neptune within the natal chart shows where in life we may receive our insight and intuition throughout our life, that deeper connection to Spirit or vibration that we all have access to. The way to Spirit is through the body and so truly anything in the world of form is inherently made spiritual with deep and true intention. It highlights for us the area of life that we may go through the potent doorway of pain and suffering in order to reach a state of ultimate joy and bliss.

Connecting with Neptune within our chart connects us to a deep acceptance of the unknown flow of existence.

It may also highlight any deep sensitivities we may carry, and the ways in which we may cut off or numb.

It can also be a place where we feel an overwhelming sense of emptiness through anything physical, a deep non-motivation to be in the world of form, roles and structures once Neptune is realised.

PLUTO — RULER OF SCORPIO

Pluto is the God of the Underworld, here to show us the way towards true wholeness. It is the full, uninhibited integration of the shadow, circling back again and again to the unconscious patterning we are here to work through. And it is the ownership of what we are constantly working through because this process never ends. Once we stop resisting the necessary metamorphosis of our life’s authentic evolution, we can fully integrate as a whole being and not just in the parts we are comfortable with.

When we are fully in ownership and integration, when people or circumstances trigger or point out our shadow, we are not afraid to say “it’s all there and it’s all me”. We own all of what comes with the path of our evolution.

The key with unlocking Neptune within the natal chart is in knowing it is nature to go through fluctuations, cycles and seasons. When we can learn, experience and trust that there is a natural time for being ahead, and a natural time for being behind, a time for being in motion, and a time for being at rest, we sync into a universal rhythm that is eternal and become a part of our landscape in a way that societal roles can never match up with. We are in such a deep trust for life and in what we feel — turning nothing away — that we never lack the energy to be in the world, we just no longer try to do things that are not in our highest alignment on the Soul level.

The mission to free ourselves from the chains in which we bind ourselves within is not separate from the shadow. In fact, light-work is inherently shadowwork, where we are shining a light on what we were once not willing to see, were not ready to see at that time or couldn’t see yet. When we are willing to see it all without judgement, we start to come into a deeper place of purpose. As long as the Sun shines upon the world of form, the shadow will remain.

As long as we are here, no matter how progressed on the path we feel we are, we will always evolve through human lessons.

Neptune rules Pisces, and you can further understand this energy through referring back to chapter one.

Pluto is the power that arises from parts of us dying and being reborn. It is change at the deepest of

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levels that can only come through facing our deepest fears and shadows. We must learn to run into the fire through Pluto to obliterate all the ways the world tries to intimidate and fearmonger us. The metamorphosis of this process then reinforces the feeling of deep trust and inner power in that you could truly do anything. To accomplish this through Pluto, we must let go of needing to be seen by others as powerful, or in any particular way, and allow the true vulnerability of truly showing ourselves to another. We must realise that we cannot control anyone else’s perception of us, and to truly do Pluto in a constructive way, we must direct the urge to transform only towards ourselves and our own consciousness.

The urge to transform consciously should be directed always towards ourselves and not to control others to satisfy our own lack of power. Negative Pluto behaviour of manipulation and control can mask the inability to admit our own vulnerability which must be transmuted before a transformation can occur.

Pluto rules Scorpio, and you can further understand this energy through referring back to chapter one.

Illustrations: Getty Images

Within the natal chart, Pluto corresponds to the deepest emotional security patterns in us all. Often these security patterns are unconscious but are brought into light through Pluto’s position in the birth chart. As the Soul desires to grow, challenges will occur to shake up our insecurities and unearth any fears surrounding our engrained patterning. Pluto penetrates deep beneath the surface to locate the source of its power, primarily focusing on how much of it we have been giving away to serve our old fearful patterning.

Pluto knows that in order to dissolve our fears, we must also dissolve and lean into them, being willing to see ourselves for all of who we are. Transmuting Pluto so that it does not go down the path of power, control, money, greed and manipulation over others, we must seek out the yin, creative or intuitive power that naturally resides within, without needing to prove it to be so. Plutonian types can hold the modern-day expression of the shaman or the healer as they can delve into the mysteries of life and play in the realm between form and formlessness.

Anything that involves delving into the depths and underworkings of things is Plutonian in nature and can encompass anything from psychologist to miner.

Pluto is also attracted to the underworld, anything taboo, which can feed on drugs, sex, prostitution and anything that dabbles in fear, pain and often death.

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Integration Before moving on, be sure to write down your own signs within these planets. You can move back into chapter one for a deeper exploration of the signs these planets fall within for you. Once you have explored your own planetary placements, I encourage you to pause and take a walk with these energies, feeling your body and breath. Reflect upon your most expansive adventures, your deepest experienced sadness and low points within your life, and where you have felt truly challenged by the Universe, through external circumstances and shake ups, to truly and authentically grow.

Illustration: Getty Images

It’s all perfect and beautiful, no part a mistake. Allow it all to sit with you. And be gentle with yourself through this exploration, as I am aware there is a lot to take in. This course is lifelong and will be something you can have with you always. You do not need to mentally grasp it all now.

Simply take one step, and then the next and the next, all in the direction your breath naturally takes you.

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Illustration: Tahnee Kelland

Energetic terrain

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We have delved into the depths of the planets and their sacred messages, journeyed through the cycle of the archetypes, and now it is finally the time to give it all somewhere to land through the houses. Lands hold with them their own vibration and history, which can be felt through our own access to presence and embodiment.

They give us somewhere for feet to land and flowers to bloom. We come from and go back to the Earth. This is how the houses work energetically within Evolutionary Astrology. The lessons and themes of what we are moving through within our natural evolutionary process lands within a part of our life.

What, How and Where The vibration of the planets are the ‘what’ – pointing to the quality of vibration. The sign gives this a unique expression, the ‘how’ and even the ‘why’. The house asks the question ‘where?’ Or in what area of life? Where does this most play out for me? Like the signs, the houses run in a natural cycle from birth to death, and correspond to the energies of the cycle of the signs. For example Aries, the first sign in the cycle, is the ignition spark of birth and is all Self-action. The first house is the same energetically, but rather than being the expression of energy itself it acts as a place for the energy to land in and release from.

The lower part of the chart–made up of houses 1–6 form the foundation and development of Self. Developing this part of the Natal Chart is essential in navigating our own truth, gifts and contribution within relationships, work and the world. Knowing the edges of what energetic qualities are our own — both the light and dark — helps us to understand what is not coming from us within our relational life, and inherently where the middle way is between us and the world. Of course, we are constantly in a process of evolution. And so showing up for daily practices that reconnect us to our own Soul essence — truly getting to know ourselves and what it is we truly want — can create the fertile ground for true contentment. We can remember what qualities we chose to come in with, and what we in turn need to learn and seek from others and the world around us in order to live in flow with all things.

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A Journey through the Houses The first house begins on the very left-hand side of the Natal Chart, and we look at our own snapshot of the Cosmos in an anticlockwise direction. The planets and signs within the houses can help us to remember the natural energy we incarnated with in that particular energetic terrain (area of life), and in effect what our biggest challenges, lessons and breakthroughs we may dance with most in this lifetime n order to open up to our most authentic selves.

There are 12 houses within Astrology and like the signs, they move through the very same cycle of consciousness, beginning with the 1st house; the ignition spark of Self, and ending with the 12th house; letting go and transcendence. If we remember the in-depth journey we took through the signs within chapter one, we can apply the exact same journey and qualities to the houses.

Except where we spoke of the expression or manifestation of consciousness — the ‘how — with the Signs, we now speak of where these qualities are manifested with the houses. This gives all of our energy somewhere to truly land, through form.

As we take the journey through the houses below, I have also written the sign that the house energy corresponds to. They do not stay together within the chart as the planets cycle at varying speeds within varying signs, but this is simply a tool for the grasping of this potent knowledge. So when you are trying to remember what the 10th house energy is all about, you can also remember the 10th sign in the cycle, Capricorn. You will also find the planetary rulerships for your learning and connection.

Illustration: Getty Images

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2

FIRST HOUSE

SECOND HOUSE

SELF-ACTION

S E L F -V A L U E

– ARIES – MARS

– TA U R U S – V E N U S

Energetic Terrain of identity in action The way we move through the world, assert and direct the Self The Ascendant house How we explore the identity and face the world Defines us as an independent functioning human being Everything to do with our incarnated form, personality and style — the manifest The 1st house dictates how we move through the world, with our own sense of identity and energy.

Looking at the archetype on the very left side of the chart (our Ascendant) and any within the 1st house can show how we naturally move through the world.

It can also show us what we have incarnated to learn to embody in the physical form.

Energetic Terrain of values, worth and resources External resources, particularly money, and the way we resource ourselves Any worth or tangible security such as income, personal earning, possessions Survival instincts and the need for physical safety and security Self worth, self esteem and our inner resources– what we have to offer and what makes us valuable The development of skills, talents and attributes The 2nd house dictates the way in which we work with resources, both physical and energetic.

It is our inherent sense of Self-worth and the way that we can draw upon our natural gifts in order to create material safety and security. This is a deeply foundational part of the chart, where its development acts as the trunks of the tree of the chart. Any issues related to our own relationship to money and our worth on any level are worked through here. When the 2nd house energy can be transmuted and embodied, the potential is truly limitless. When we have our Self-worth firmly planted, and know what we can offer and the value of that, we can truly do anything.

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3

4

FOURTH HOUSE

– S E L F - C O M M U N I C AT I O N

– T H E F O U N D AT I O N O F T H E S E L F

– GEMINI – MERCURY

– CANCER – MOON

Energetic Terrain of communication and perception in the immediate environment Learning environments and communication style Information transmission and our mental perception of life Learning style and the way we share through the mind Schooling, writing, teaching, journalism and media are some examples Transport, commerce, retail as well as siblings and extended family The quality of our mind

Energetic Terrain of roots in the past, family, ancestral lineages and early emotional environment Foundational selves, earliest home life experiences Parent energy and its emotional influence on us It is the deepest, most vulnerable place of our personal selves How we nurture from our emotional foundation How and where we seek love and emotional fulfilment The past through ancestral lines Carries many unhealed issues to work through Our feeling landscape and emotional nature

Illustrations: Getty Images

THIRD HOUSE

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5

6

FIFTH HOUSE

SIXTH HOUSE

– THE EXPRESSION OF SELF

– THE WORK OF THE SELF

– LEO – SUN

Energetic Terrain of creativity and the love of life Creation and giving life through Self-expression Anything that we give life to is a 5th house manifestation — be it a creative project, a smile to a stranger or a baby.

Thrives on feelings of joy and reciprocity with others, having someone to delight in what it creates The current personality is reflected through its creations Complete presence and love — anything that comes from this place Wherever the pleasure of life resides, this is the 5th house.

Connection to pleasure, playfulness, joy, lovemaking, hobbies Creative exploration and gifts

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– VIRGO – MERCURY

Energetic Terrain of giving from a place of service The giving of Self through what we do Our skill, talent or trade that has been learned and honed, and now we can serve The need to feel of help and assistance This is work on a routine level and can encompass daily rituals, routine and schedule Voluntary or service work for a personal cause The workings of the physical body, health consciousness Healing, diet, nutrition and embodiment

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Illustrations: Getty Images

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SEVENTH HOUSE

EIGHTH HOUSE

– B L E N D I N G T H R O U G H R E L AT I O N S H I P

– T R A N S F O R M AT I O N T H R O U G H

– LIBRA – VENUS

PURGING – SCORPIO – PLUTO

Energetic Terrain of equilibrium and balance within partnership Compromise, harmony and cooperation The descendant house, dealing with intimate relationships The deepest manifestation of this is marriage or deep romantic union This house is the mirror of relationships, showing us parts of ourselves that we find tough to integrate These are the qualities that we normally also project out onto our partners; and so we learn the lesson through them The lesson in the 7th house is that whatever we feel our partners are doing to us, we are also doing to them.

All one-on-one interaction including close friends, business partners, clients and even those who most challenge us What we look for in a partner and our needs within relationships Any form of compromise and middle ground is a manifestation of the 7th house.

Energetic Terrain of transformation through merging Profound emotional, psychological and material change and merging with a partner On an emotional and sexual level, it is the deep bonding of intimate partnerships On the psychological level, it’s by integrating the concepts of anything taboo, such as sex and death On a material level it’s the joining of finances and possessions For the above, we have a need for deep trust within ourselves to allow ourselves to be so fully seen by others in all of our layers, as well as the ability to release control This house is also the way we can allow the world or others to intimidate us, and the way we can go about overcoming that in order to truly come into trust in the process This house is where we fuse at such a deep level with another that the fear with personal ego must face a metaphorical death Any financial manifestation as well as the shadow parts of ourselves and the occult are apart of the 8th house manifestation

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10

NINTH HOUSE

TENTH HOUSE

– M I N D E X PA N S I O N T H R O U G H

– POSITION IN THE CONCRETE WORLD

Q U E S T I N G – S A G I T TA R I U S – J U P I T E R

– C A P R I C O R N – S AT U R N

Energetic Terrain of mind expansion through outward exploration Broadening the mind’s horizons through interacting with life Quest for knowledge, faith, laws and ultimate truth through a belief system Finding where we fit within the bigger picture of existence Concepts, theories and thoughtforms The seeking of knowledge through higher education and travel The adventurous search for meaning and truth It is the thirst for knowledge through different cultures, religions and philosophies Experiencing rather than just being told about something Teachers, gurus of movements and new age masters The judgemental side of life through the court and legal proceedings and the way we share information through publishing and broadcasting

Energetic Terrain of the position in the concrete world Contributing to the world at large and constructing our position, the path we walk The MC house, representing life achievements and career as well as our highest life path This is also our sense of responsibility for our roles in the world How the public sees us through our roles and positions in the world Our reputation and titles Ambition, status and accomplishments How we take charge in our lives as well as our approach to career Where contribution to the world becomes more important than personal needs

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ELEVENTH HOUSE

12TH HOUSE

– GROUP CONSCIOUSNESS AND

– TRANSCENDENCE

FUTURE DIRECTION

– PISCES – NEPTUNE

– AQUARIUS – URANUS

Energetic Terrain of transcendence and letting go Dissolving ego and merging with universal consciousness The spirit realm, without form or reality It is the awareness of the oneness of all things The process of letting go, surrender and release Connection to the Universe and vibration Discovering the quality of our own spirit Completely outside ego, with the potential to cause escapism and confusion if the ego tries to control Any spiritual healing work that can connect us to the timeless nature of the Universe is that of the 12th house What needs to be most transcended and healed within this lifetime can be found within the 12th house All things beyond form such as dreams, imagination, meditation, prayer and psychic phenomena We can understand life on a bigger scale than through our ego through connecting in with the 12th house Learning the delicate dance between form and formlessness, and resolving karma through resonating with our Soul’s highest intention

Energetic Terrain of collective consciousness and the future Plans, projects, invention and future vision Mental energy to bring goals to life Intellectual house of unique ideas and innovation The power of joining like-minded people together for a common higher purpose Communities that gather together such as friends and organisations The sense of belonging within community and with our contribution The visionary, humanitarian and the revolutionary Concerned with progress, change and invention, moving the world toward a better future Illustrations: Getty Images

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House Cusps The dividing line between two houses can cut through a sign in the middle of a Zodiacal degree. If you do not have a planet within a particular house, it does not mean that the house, or area of life, is unimportant or dormant. Every house has a sign on the cusp, which gives a particular energetic flavour to the house.

For example if Libra is on the 10th house cusp (MC) then Libra energy of needing to balance, harmonise and draw value from relationships will play out in the 10th house Energetic Terrain — what this person brings through their life path and higher direction within the world. With Libra on the 10th house cusp, the shadow of Libra could play out as struggling to choose a direction or to assert oneself. The higher vibration of this energy is one of being a great mediator and facilitator, even a leader, as there is the Libra gift of bringing two sides together and understanding both equally. Even if there are other strong placements within the 10th house this will still flavour — and sometimes even soften — the energy within the house.

HOUSE CUSP RULERS

The house ruler is the planet that rules the sign on the cusp, which you can find listed above. The placement of the ruler of the sign on the cusp now becomes an extension of this energy. For example the ruler of Libra is Venus. Venus within this person’s chart is also in the 10th house but in Scorpio. This flavours this area of life even more, in that they may be more willing to go to the depths and the undercurrents of things rather than only staying on the social surface keeping the peace. Venus in Scorpio may call out the shadows and not be as afraid to choose a side or rock the boat for the most valued outcome. This can flavour this person’s energy through their life path with greater power and intensity — with the potential to manifest in either the light or the dark.

The Ascendant Ruler The planet that rules the sign on the Ascendant — the cusp between the 12th and 1st house — is the whole Natal Chart ruler. This is the energy that we can deepen into and learn to transmute through our incarnation as a key to working with our human

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incarnation in a deep state of flow and acceptance. The ruler of the Ascendant sign also extends this energy out further into the ruling planet within the Natal Chart. This can help us to remember and embody the qualities we chose to come in with for our greatest evolution.

For example if a person has a Sagittarius Ascendant, and its ruler Jupiter is in the 12th house also in Sagittarius, this reinforces the explorative and expansive energy of Jupiter and brings it into a spiritual and metaphysical context with the 12th house. This will greatly flavour the personality of this person within this incarnation to maintain an adventurous mind, and through it gaining spiritual depth and transmutation.

Integration Exercise F O R O W N I N G YO U R O W N E S S E N C E W I T H I N I N T I M AT E R E L AT I O N S H I P S

I know there has been so much information to take in, so now comes the perfect time to pause and come back into the breath and find your own integration once more. Below is a five-minute meditation practice, followed by a simple integration exercise as a way to find your own authenticity within relationships.

M E D I TAT I O N P R A C T I C E

Find yourself in a comfortable place laying on your back, with a clear view of the daytime sky or the starfilled night. Gaze at the all-pervading spaciousness and with your awareness enter the vastness of the outer space. Reach out to the sky with your awareness, letting the physical body go completely.

Feel the quality of your own vibration, your own essence, whilst allowing yourself to completely absorb into the sky. Enter the vastness of the Cosmos and know it as your home. This is physical reality — your molecules come from space, from the exhalation of the Sun. Stay in this experience as long as you feel called to, feeling into yourself as the Cosmos, a part of it all. Notice your own quality and the quality of the Universe. And if you feel called to do so after coming out, journal on your experience with the sky, focusing on what you felt like within it.

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presence and deep listening with others. But in learning our own relational qualities, we can become clear around what it feels to be whole within ourselves. How we show up within our own heart and embodiment, is what we also magnetise in. Our emotional coping mechanisms and our judgements about ourselves — explored through our Moon sign — can also come through our relationships. When we come into a more wholesome view of ourselves, we experience more wholesome relationships.

READING

Integration Exercise I now invite you to pull out your natal chart once more to delve deeper into the self-discovery process.

Below I will guide you through a process of finding your very own quality within the Energetic Terrain of relationships.

Illustrations: Getty Images

I invite you to the space between the 7th and 8th houses, this is your 7th house cusp. What is the sign on the cusp? This is the house of your most intimate relationships, meaning the relationships that feel the most profound and momentous throughout your life — in both the light and the shadow. This archetype highly filters through and flavours the way that you show up within this area of your life. These are the relationships where we learn the most about ourselves, the other being the reflection point. Relationships are the mirrors into our own Soul.

Everyone and everything is simply a reflection of the quality of the love vibration that we hold within. We can fixate on the other as being our access point to this love, however it is something that comes from within us always. When we can learn to honour and cherish our own capacity for love and connection within ourselves, we can then show up as a whole person — not placing pressure on others to highlight what is already within us.

This does not take away from the gift of being fully and truly seen for all of our parts, and for truly being in

I invite you to move back into chapter one to refamiliarise yourself with this sign and feel its qualities for yourself. This is the quality of relationships that you look for and also bring in.

NOTES

Write some notes on the sign on the 7th house cusp as it relates to what your needs may be within intimate relationships, and what your natural qualities are.

What is the ruler of the sign? You can refer to the rulers listed in the journey through the houses above.

Where is the ruler by sign and house within your chart? This will act as an extension to this energy.

For example: Gemini on the 7th house cusp (the line between 7th and 8th house) may mean the need to understand and relate on the level of the mind, to keep variety and change fresh within the relationship. A strong need for spontaneity and the freedom to instantly change and evolve without judgement from a partner. With its ruler, Mercury in Virgo in the 8th House, it deepens the energy. With the 8th house this consists of merging, depth, intensity and transformation. This person may deeply crave intimate partnerships that not only stimulate the mind, but deeply turn on the body (through Virgo and the Earth plane). This person seeks structure, ritual and routine to share with a partner to strengthen the connection. Internal stability and acceptance from their partner, no matter how much they feel they need to change moment to moment, will be transformative. A partner that can take them to the depths.

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JOURNAL PROMPTS FOR ROMANTIC R E L AT I O N S H I P S

If you are calling in a partner: What energetic qualities do I crave in another?

How do I feel within my relationship? Do I allow myself to be fully seen? What holds me back from showing up in my wholeness?

What is my intention for being in this relationship?

How do I want to feel within myself around them?

I encourage you to sit with this for a little while, allowing the prompt to resonate within the breath and into the body.

How do I want them to feel around me?

Journal on some ways you can feel into your own authentic wholeness and love as the experience you have called in above.

If already in a relationship: What do I most crave in my relationship?

Do I feel fully seen by my partner? Do I allow myself to be fully present?

Feel into the energies of your 7th house and their extension. List some qualities that come to you through this and journal on the ways that you can maintain your own true essence within your relationship. You may choose to hold these close as a tool to communicate your own essence and needs.

What challenges me most about the relationship?

What shadow parts of me are called forward to be transmuted?

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Illustrations: Getty Images

What sets my soul alight about my partner?

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Illustration: Tahnee Kelland

Integrating the shadow

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“The opposite of connection is trauma. We all suffer somewhat in the journey deep within our bodies to a system that is unequal, covertly and subtly oppressive. How do we ‘do’ our vulnerabilities in a society that promotes shame? Shame is the fundamental part of trauma, with embodiment and connection being the opposite of the spiral of shame. We mirror-neuron each other’s nervous systems and need heartfelt connection to feel okay within our bodies, and can heal individually and within relationships.”

— Kate Schubert, Embodiment Psychotherapist

As long as the Sun shines, there will always be shadow.

We can continue to perpetuate our own suffering as we remain caught up within the painful stories and patterning of our past. The suffering of our past inherently lives deep within the body, closing down and barricading off the heart and access to our deepest sensitivities and gifts. As human beings we are wonderfully paradoxical, in the same way that the Universe exists as yin and yang all in the one. Our nature can tend to want to avoid pain and discomfort from the most basic to the deepest of levels, but in our avoidance we are inherently resisting what is unfolding within the present moment. This is a part of our nature, and it is through the shadow itself that we learn acceptance and letting go again and again.

The most tender and vulnerable expression of our emotions as children — or at some point within our journey — somehow has not been held, seen or supported. And so we learn false stories about ourselves through the capacity of our parents to hold space for that particular feeling. These stories begin to layer on top of our true essence. The irony is that this very process of forgetting the truth of who we are — and why we came here — is a necessary part of the remembering. We must learn what we are not in order to then know who we truly are. This process is never ending.

Within this chapter, we work with the Nodes of the Moon and Chiron within the chart to uncover the

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deepest challenges your soul chose in order to remember who you came here to be. I want to be clear that there is nothing that we could ever do to deserve the level of inflicted pain that some do endure within their lifetime. This part of Evolutionary Astrology is not to dismiss the experience of very real pain and suffering inflicted upon some. It is instead a wonderful tool and offering in order to feel into harder qualities brought in with us — or acquired through our earliest life experiences — this lifetime to work through and overcome, and to light the unknown path of our own highest truth.

Any intensity, sharp edge, or shadow manifestation is simply truth bubbling up to the surface, normally in an unacknowledged way. These are the signposts that show us where a letting go process may need to happen for our highest evolution. This is also how we can use story and build narratives that perpetuate suffering through attaching experiences that have not been truthful to our deepest evolution to who we are as an identification.

I hope you enjoy this tender and expansive journey into shadowy terrain. May you find the same love and compassion that you feel toward the parts of yourself that you love, here within the grittier, messier and most intense parts of your human experience. Our wounds are truly magic and hold the key to our deepest gifts. Our wounds have the potential to deepen our connection and compassion for others, through moving through and being shaped by our own very real felt experience of our own wounds.

Illustration:Getty Images

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MOON

THE SOUTH NODE

The Nodes of the Moon (symbols here of the nodes) The Nodes of the Moon are energetic points in the cosmos formed by the Moon’s (soul, past and subconscious) orbit around the Earth, which intersects with the Earth’s path around the Sun (ego, identity and lifeforce). The intersecting points are called the North and South Node of the Moon. They are always exactly opposite to each other, and hence your Nodes will always be in opposite signs. This part of your Natal Chart depicts where the Soul’s past meets the present incarnation.

The Nodes are an extension of the Moon energy, and in turn the deep subconscious programming received within our earliest life experiences and in our past life incarnations. It is the timeless karmic lessons carried

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THE NORTH NODE

within the Soul, chosen for this lifetime for our greatest evolution. They offer us our greatest path to ascension through holding the information carried from times before this, on an energetic and cellular level.

If we feel the Moon’s energy and its effect on the ocean’s tides, we can also feel the vibrations of the past carried within the Moon through our emotional and energetic bodies — given our bodies are made up of a large percentage of water. Vibrationally the Moon rules our deepest emotional Self and the old patternings carried through into the present moment from the past.

The Nodes of the Moon take this further, through the South Node giving us the energetic quality of what is familiar and known to us from past experiences and incarnations. Entering this lifetime, we may have no conscious memory of times before and yet we hold unresolved issues within us.

Illustrations: Getty Images

CHIRON

SUN

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We are drawn back into these patterns within this lifetime as they can feel deeply recognisable and safe, as they are familiar. It is the comfort zone, where we can tend to re-live negative experiences and circumstances that lack deep soul liberation and freedom. The South Node could be said to be the unconscious limiting beliefs we have inherited and have indirectly run our lives without our conscious awareness.

as the house positioning to give the past a little more context. The sign links us to our prior personality, and the house links us to the outward circumstances we may have found ourselves in. We can understand our South Node energy further through looking toward the planetary ruler of the South Node sign. This uncovers another extension to the past issues and circumstances, as we have been uncovering within the rest of the chart.

The North Node is like the unpaved yellow brick road to our Soul. We chose the energy of our North Node in order to move into the unfamiliar; the territory of our greatest truth and expansion. It is through the development of conscious presence and awareness of our own patterning that we can begin to uncover and work through the old limiting story of pain carried within our South Node.

We look to the higher manifestation of the sign which our North Node falls within to begin to understand and remember why we incarnated within the human form. The way out of the South Node is through feeling and understanding the North Node energy, as well as the house it falls within and the placement of the ruler of the North Node sign. The sign describes our deepest intention and energy to be experienced within this lifetime to experience our deepest liberation and sovereignty. The house describes the energetic terrain; where the unfolding of our North Node may play out the most. And the placement of the ruler acts as a deep support in our expansion into the North Node energy.

It can feel very uncomfortable and new to us, through only ever knowing a particular story of way of being before. There is a deep longing and persistent urge toward our North Node, where our Soul wants to take us. We may face a great level of discomfort and shadow through building our North Node energy, and integrating it within our lives. In yogic terms the North Node is our Dharma or deepest Soul’s purpose in this lifetime.

The Soul’s purpose is not a job or a role within the societal structures. It is something much deeper; a sense of belonging, deep fulfilment, and knowing that comes with being on purpose and knowing the path of our own truth. Where the South Node is an extension of the Moon, the North Node is an extension of our Sun energy, our true essence. When we begin to work consciously toward our deepest purpose, we may have the feeling of being supported by something greater as we take big leaps into unknown territory. We start to feel as if we are co-creating our lives, that we do not have to bear the heavy load of the old story of our existence any longer. We no longer feel alone and stuck to the physical plane alone. We can realise we are much more than that.

When we look at our South Node, we consider the shadow side of the sign energy it falls within, as well

One we understand our own North Node through the sign, house and the sign’s ruler, we can begin to deepen our relationship with the Universe, calling in the particular people, circumstances and experiences that we must have in order to start to embody the quality of the energy as the elixir for all that has been deeply wounded in us in the past. Overcoming the South Node can be a lifelong process for many of us, no matter how conscious we are as human beings. But it truly does help to know our own nodal axis as an expansion point, and somewhere to constantly refer back to and reflect upon. We have incarnated into human bodies, and therefore we experience the tenderness in being human.

We have come back to something left unfinished and have taken on the mission to transmute this. We must be gentle on the path in order to truly liberate ourselves through the North Node.

I hope that exploring and understanding your own Nodal Axis empowers you in the deepest of ways, to realise that you are a part of something bigger than yourself and that you are supported in ways that we cannot ever conceptually understand.

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and is the key to our greatest gifts. If you would like to delve further into your Chiron, you can move back to Chapter 1 and read through the archetype and stage of consciousness that your core wound is within.

Chiron – The Wounded Healer Chiron was first discovered in 1977, and is believed to have entered the solar system at a later time than most other cosmic bodies, trapped by gravity. It represents the feeling of the outcast who doesn’t feel they truly belong, and Chiron may indeed leave again one day from our solar system. Chiron is classified as a ‘centaur’, neither comet nor asteroid, orbiting between Saturn and Uranus. This creates an energetic bridge between these two planets from the constriction of Saturn into the realms of higher consciousness with Uranus and the transpersonals.

Energetically, Chiron is a wound in which we bring into this lifetime on a deep soul level. This wound can create rocking and stirring circumstances which set us on the journey of healing. Chiron’s symbol within Astrology is a key, showing us that our wounds are the key to our greatest Earthly gifts. Realising our wound often takes experiences confronting enough to initiate the journey to liberation.

Chiron offers us all a wonderful opportunity to soften into our own humanness, with the reminder that we are all working through our own stuff within our existence — it is a constant and necessary process of unfolding. Our own shadow and wounding is the part of our incarnation that, when we learn to work with it with gentleness and compassion, can lead to the most profound transformation. When you look at the Sign your Chiron is within, can you feel into the ways that those traits and ways of being may be wounded? For example for Chiron in initiating Aries, there may be wounding around putting yourself first and a lack of confidence to take your own path in the world. The house that your Chiron falls within can show the area of life where the wounding may have come from. You may like to get out your journal and write about your relationship with that archetypal energy. Note if you have anyone close in your life with the Sun in that sign, and perhaps project out some of the wounded traits of the sign. Go gentle, this is a magical process to be uncovered in the vibration of tenderness.

THE

Our Chiron archetype shows us where we have deep wounding. Its energy has often been linked into the body and we can often experience Chiron uniquely through ailments and disease. When we can work with the archetype our Chiron falls within, we can learn to overcome our own unique wounding and align our thoughts to our higher path. It can also show us our own gifts and strengths through the body, and where we can meet the world and others with deep compassion and understanding in the wounds of life we have endured and overcome.

I N T E G R AT I O N – C H I R O N

It is time to pull up your Natal Chart once more. I encourage you to find Chiron within your birth chart too. This is a core wound for us all within this lifetime,

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NORTH NODE

THE SOUTH NODE

Integration – Discovering your nodal axis Locate your North Node within your chart. If you are using astro-charts.com, you will be able to find it listed.

You may use the symbol of the North Node to locate its house. After you find the house that your North Node is within, locate the ruler of the North Node. For example, if your North Node is in Scorpio, you will be looking for Pluto and its sign and house as an extension of highlighting the path toward your Dharma.

Illustrations: Getty Images

C H I R O N I N T H E N ATA L C H A R T

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Within the direct opposite house will be your South Node, in the opposite sign. If you are unsure what the opposite of your North Node sign is, you can move back to Chapter 1. For the purpose of keeping it as simple as possible, you can locate and feel into your own Nodal Axis below as a starting point. The houses are very strong, especially with the Nodes of the Moon, in that they give us the context of where things may have played out in the past and where we can look toward in order to overcome the patterning and karma and expand into our deeper purpose.

For extra context and a deeper understanding, you may also like to find the signs which correspond to the houses and read below as if reading for the houses. For example if your South Node is in Taurus, you can also read for the South Node in the 2nd house as it corresponds to the energy and qualities of Taurus. This is because the houses — the area of life that circumstances unfold within — can often be just as strong as the signs, if not stronger.

To feel more into your unique past life energy, you can locate the ruler of the South Node, as well as the sign and house it is within. This doesn’t apply as much to if you are reading for the houses rather than the signs.

Welcome to the deep dive that will light the path of truth, empowering you to remember on the deepest of levels why you came here. If you do not believe in past lives you can read for your earliest life experiences and your childhood.

South Node in Aries – North Node in Libra Or South Node in the 1st House – North Node in the 7th House You have incarnated with the soul memory of having to compete, fight and assert yourself in order to get by. There is a feeling of having potentially endured war-like circumstances and of having to embody the Warrior archetype — the need to fight to simply survive. Your understanding of the world may be inherently around the Self, because there may have been many reasons to protect yourself in past lives and to fight to survive. Through this deep learning of the personal, there is a feeling of the huge feat required of you to develop courage, passion and willfulness, in order to defend your right to be here.

You likely came in with strong will and deep courage, and it may feel hard to be vulnerable and let down your guard. There may be a natural inclination to feel as if you have to go through life alone and to look out for yourself with hypervigilance. You may be unable to think outside of yourself and consider others through past life experiences where you relied deeply on self-sufficiency and not having anyone.

You have incarnated here with a deep longing to understand others and to learn how to be in support to, and supported by others. The particular growth required for this may be highlighted through wherever Venus is, the North Node ruler, within your Natal Chart. It is great that you can take care of yourself, but you are here to embody an existence that considers the dance between the yin and the yang, yourself and the other. This will take the willingness to let go of any selfishness, stress and anger held from past experiences.

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happen. A deep feeling of loneliness, or of being misunderstood — of the accumulated layers that were your saving grace and protection — begins to initiate you toward your North Node in Libra. A huge part of this experience is a humbling and softening in what you may not yet know about yourself and the world around you, and a willingness to be shown other perspectives and new ways of being and thinking.

the sensual aspect of life may have been a soul requirement in the past, as well as the reliance of the self within the physical world. We are speaking of very different times than our present reality and there is the possibility of the past life incarnations being flavoured by the emphasis on survival and fulfilling your existence through the senses, rather than the deeper callings of the Soul.

Love is the deepest intention for the Libra North Node, and the qualities you have incarnated to develop are soft, open, peaceful and joyful. It is through each new experience with another human being — where you are shown new perspectives — that brings a feeling of deep fulfilment through cooperation and the middle way. The tender feeling that you have to do everything on your own to survive must begin to dissolve, and a deeper trust in others and in circumstances will develop.

Awakening the North Node requires a deep trust and a willingness to listen to the deeper feelings coming from the soul rather than the known experiences of the past.

There is a feeling of coming in with a heavy sense of responsibility to the deeper callings of the Soul with the Scorpio North Node, after lifetimes spent out of the shadows and in the realm of materialism.

Perhaps in a past life there wasn’t the choice to pursue your deeper power and passions, or your — or your family’s — tendencies and need for comfort outshone everything else. There is a deep need to reconnect with the inner emotional depths within this incarnation, and to take back your true power that was surrendered up for a security-focused existence within the past life.

South Node in Taurus – North Node in Scorpio Or South Node in the 2nd House – North Node in the 8th House You have come into this life with deep wounding around security and in past life experiences you were perhaps wound up in circumstances that kept you in control and in the material plane. This could have been something projected upon you through the intensity of your circumstances, or a deep fear of not having enough or being enough within yourself. There is a feeling that seeking comfort and

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When the Soul is ready to move toward growth through the North Node in Scorpio, there is the deep realisation that you must go beyond your own perspective and physical barriers. The urge to merge and go deep into existence with another is strong, and with this to learn true power through vulnerability and the willingness to be fully seen by another. This is a big incarnation of surrendering what you think the best way is into being open to being shown by the right people. The embodiment

Illustrations: Getty Images

To integrate into your North Node, it could help to meditate around the vibration of love, joy and fulfilment.

Going toward the ruler of the North Node, Pluto, and the sign and house that it falls within will give even more context on how to light the unknown path of the soul’s deeper purpose. There may be a big sense of guilt or burden for having had to rely so heavily on others within past lifetimes. This can lead to coming into this life with a heavy sense of needing to figure it all out on your own, and to rely on physical things rather than asking others for help.

The need to prove and show others that you are selfsufficient may be so strong that the quest to achieve overturns true vulnerability. This can be a really painful place to be and I really honour that.

CHAPTER 9 of the Scorpio North Node comes through learning true connection and a willingness to be seen as a whole person, shadows and all. There is a true depth that comes with moving toward this transformative archetype.

The deepest challenges may come through your most intimate relationships, where the lesson is to draw your own sense of stability and power from within.

From this place of inner stability, and not needing to draw stability from outward circumstances, you can learn to stay in connection with your own experience and truth whilst merging with others on the deepest of levels. In the past perhaps you learnt to override your own feelings to keep a sense of material safety. You have chosen an incarnation where the longing to be deeply vulnerable and to feel deeply seen by others is immense.

To integrate into your North Node, it could help to meditate around the vibration of empowerment, vulnerability and connection. True power comes from being willing to be truthful and real with yourself and others in any particular moment.

South Node in Gemini – North Node in Sagittarius Or South Node in the 3rd House – North Node in the 9th House You have incarnated in this life with a very busy mind and many different ways of being and moving through the world. You have the natural gift of being able to see and agree with multiple sides of the same challenge or situation, which deeply served you before. Because of this draw to understanding everything on the conceptual level, there may be a tendency to try to discover what is true about your own Self through social and outward circumstances.

There is a tendency to be very overactive in the mind through the hypervigilance that perhaps developed through having to be open to so many different

ideas and perspectives in past life experiences.

Your natural openness through the mind can create an oversensitivity to others’ responses and new information, which can very quickly overwhelm you before you have considered your own viewpoint. You can begin to awaken your North Node in Sagittarius through beginning to think outside of the day-to-day circumstances and thoughts, and acknowledge your deeper drive to seek the deeper meaning of life, and your own value and ethics system that you feel connected to on the Soul level. You have incarnated here to truly go on worldly adventures into other cultures and belief systems to connect with a deeper faith in the unfolding of it all.

What it is that you have chosen within this lifetime is to give the mind something meaningful to truly focus on, and to do this it has to be much bigger than yourself. You have the deeper drive to discover the truth of everything, but you must be willing to let go and be open to not knowing for a little while in order to go on this journey. Dropping what you know and being open to new possibilities beyond logic begins to connect you to a deeper purpose in life.

A courageous inward shift needs to happen, from emphasis on changing outward ideas to the deeper inner voice. Placing more emphasis on faith and trust over logic is an expansive elixir to overcoming the South Node in Gemini for you. It can be far too easy to dismiss life-changing adventures through it being illogical.

Being naturally so open through the mind you may tend to miss your own inner visions. Working through the old familiar patterning from the past largely consists of trusting before things make any sense. This can save you an immense amount of stress and build up of mental pressure and keep you focused on your own truth. You can look toward your ruler of the North Node in Sagittarius, Jupiter, and its sign and house placement for more of a way out of the old mechanisms of overriding inner awareness with logic and hypervigilance to outward ideas and circumstances. Learning to work with your own intuition is the starting point of opening up to your expansion.

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This will assist you in the development of confidence and trust in yourself and your beliefs, and to continue on the path of discovery through education, travel and outward exploration. The journey of the nodes is a continuation of similar recurring themes throughout your life, so allow yourself to sit with this information but also know it is a process. In simply becoming aware of where you may have come from and why you came here, you are already liberating yourself on the deepest level.

struggle than anything else. You have incarnated here to learn how to be in charge and to take full responsibility over your own feelings and emotions.

There may be a tendency to lean on the past and on family, far past the point of it being constructive and more for comfort. And so the North Node in Capricorn can begin to open up to you once you start taking the courageous steps to move forward into the world without the constant falling back into who and what feels comfortable.

To integrate into your North Node, it could help to meditate around the vibration of intuition, faith and confidence. True power comes from listening to your intuition and moving in the unknown direction of your inward visions beyond logic or needing to make sense to others.

There is a sense of taking full ownership over your own emotional landscape and finding a way to work with this in a heart-centred way, within the world at large. You have chosen a lifetime to be out in the world, feeling into your gifts on the level of life path and career. This can feel very unknown and uncomfortable, and so moving into your true expansion comes when you realise that your own sense of place and stability in your life path can only come from yourself. Nobody else can give that to you.

Or South Node in the 4th House – North Node in the 10th House You have come here from past life experiences with a deep need for emotional security within family or close-knit groups. There is a feeling of deep emotional sensitivity which before realised can manifest as a sense of codependency and neediness of others. With this patterning it may be naturally very difficult to honour and acknowledge your unique emotions and feelings without reverting back to old habits and roles played within the family that do not deeply serve you.

Perhaps in a past life, family was so deeply important to you and you did not separate out from it. Within this incarnation it may be very difficult to accept a life without a deep closeness to a family of origin for emotional safety and security. Not getting along with your family members and not feeling heard by them can feel like a bigger emotional blow and

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Beginning to understand the difference between sensitivity and responsibility is a huge part of evolving for you. Moving outside of your comfort zone means not relying on your moment-to-moment feeling only, and being able to develop a scope on the bigger picture and feeling over time. There is a true feeling of needing to let go and transmute any codependency in the past and through childhood in order to fully come into the full potential of your gifts. This is a big ask and takes huge courage and surrender. You have chosen this path in order to feel emotionally free as well as finding a more meaningful position within the world.

You can look to the Ruler of the North Node, Saturn, and its sign and house to gather more insight into your unique path to your greatest expansion.

Pay particular attention to the way you end things and avoid closure emotionally, as this will come into play within the career sphere. You are called upon to create true discipline and to grasp what true sovereignty means when it comes to taking ownership over your own feelings and emotions.

Illustrations: Getty Images

South Node in Cancer – North Node in Capricorn

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There may be a lot to overcome through the problems experienced within childhood, and so I want to give you the tender permission that it is okay to choose yourself. Claim back your power and your true path.

On the path to the North Node in Capricorn, it can be common to lose balance with friends and within your personal life. This is a part of it all and there will come a time when you will be ready to open up emotionally again at your new level of perspective and consciousness. Attracting friends that see you for who you really are on the level of the heart and not for your success is a key to your deepest contentment.

To integrate into your North Node, it could help to meditate around the vibration of emotional ownership, creativity and integrity. True power comes from gathering the courage to move on your own path separate from where you come from, and to give yourself the opportunity to deeply discover and explore your own creative gifts and abilities.

South Node in Leo – North Node in Aquarius Or South Node in the 5th House – North Node in the 11th House You have come here in this life with a natural ability to create joy and creativity around you and in the lives of others. In a past life the ability to perform and share your gifts to help and entertain others was a necessity. Because of this natural vibrance and energy that you had as a child, those around you may have praised you and expected that out of you in order to fulfil them personally. You perhaps were admired or looked up to through being the fun, cheeky or clever one and become accustomed to it being the only way to feeling special and being liked. Perhaps it became an expectation that you continued to behave in this way in order to please those around you.

You have the natural gift of vibrant energy which brings people together and creates a sense of joy. But

what happens when you need someone to lean on when you are feeling down or sad? There may be an overwhelming sense that you cannot be sad or show any other emotion around those you love and on the personal level with the South Node in Leo. There is a sense of the fun and happy version of you being called out from other people as you perhaps learnt that was the fastest way to love.

You have incarnated with the deep Soul mission to go from the need to personally please others and give others what they want, and into a more collective focus — finding who you really are within groups and missions that are bigger than yourself. In some way in the past, your talents served to protect you and keep you safe. Constantly being the performer and the artist can tend to create a sense of separation between you and others, which can leave you feeling alienated and alone on the inside. The way into your North Node begins when you can start to become okay with moving into ways of being and acting for the purpose of what is truthful for you, rather than what will make others love and accept you. The deep realisation that you are enough just as you are, without all the extra natural abilities, is an important part of the process of coming into contact with the more radical and revolutionary part of you.

Once you can drop into this deeper place of your own authenticity and uniqueness, despite what others think, you can begin to feel yourself thinking beyond the personal and going into the bigger picture. Your natural gifts will eventually find their intended place within the group, moving the collective into the future.

Becoming okay with rejection and not being liked by everyone is a big part of this growth process. In order to be able to think on the collective scale about greater change, you must start to let go of the smaller stuff. You can’t be worried about everyone’s thoughts and feelings, whilst also remaining aware of the collective energies. This can also help drop the sense of drama that can come with personal issues.

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To integrate into your North Node, it could help to meditate around the vibration of authenticity, freedom and evolution. True power comes from being able to drop the emphasis on what everyone else thinks, and to come into a deeper understanding of what feels best for you. We can be gifted at things and not necessarily enjoy them ourselves. You are called to get real with yourself for the good of the collective.

South Node in Virgo – North Node in Pisces Or South Node in the 6th House – North Node in the 12th House You have come into this lifetime with a deep sense of stress, worry and anxiety, particularly around not feeling good enough or living up to unrealistic standards.

There may be a lot of internalised guilt and shame around duty and responsibility, and feeling like you can never get things quite right. There is a feeling of perhaps having spent past life experiences in roles of service that hold a heavy sense of self-responsibility and perfectionism. Perhaps there was a lot of responsibility upon you in a past life incarnation to remain of service and so you have come in with this same sense of Selfjudgement and negative Self-talk. The archetype of Virgo also heralds anything to do with health and the body, and so this may give some context around the kind of work involved with in the past.

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Because of this, you may have come in here with a fixation on health and the body, which can perpetuate stress of perfectionism or lack of perfectionism. There may be an overwhelming feeling that you will never know enough or you will never ‘get there’ with the South Node, and so the tendency to be overly mean and hard on yourself is immense.

You may find that you over-analyse all aspects of your life to the point where it may cripple you. Tread gently through this now that you know it is something that is beyond this lifetime alone. There is a feeling here that can come with this, through perhaps feeling you have to do it all alone or figure it all out yourself. You can look toward where Mercury is, the ruler of the South Node, as well as its house as your own unique extension of this energy.

Moving into your own expansion through the North Node in Pisces will start to unfold as you begin to emphasise the imagination and the less tangible aspects of existence. The background fear of never getting anywhere in life is being called upon to release through deepening your connection with the spiritual planes of consciousness. You have chosen an incarnation where you learn to work with spirit and to learn to trust in something bigger than yourself.

Through this, you can begin to heal the old tendencies of being over-critical of yourself. Creating ritual and routine around a spiritual practice, or anything that deepens your connection to existence itself will help you create a sense of being more at ease within your place in all things.

You can look toward the ruler of your North Node, Neptune, and its sign and house for more guidance around how to personally expand into your Soul purpose. Releasing all of the pressure off yourself to have to constantly be perfect and instead allowing a realisation of our co-creation with the Universe will allow a sense of being in support from the deepest place within.

To integrate into your North Node, it could help to meditate around the vibration of surrender, receptivity and release. True power comes from being able to

Illustrations: Getty Images

honest friendships, outside of drama and the need for approval from others. Coming into the knowing that the Universe owes us nothing can empower you to take back your sense of authenticity and freedom, and to step into your true purpose of leadership beyond the personal. Looking to the ruler of the North Node, Uranus, and its sign and house can light your own way down the unknown path. You no longer have to make everyone feel good, and in effect can come into a much more integral place of truth.

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South Node in Libra – North Node in Aries Or South Node in the 7th House – North Node in the 1st House You have brought in a deep emotional memory within this lifetime around relationships, and being defined by this relationship. Perhaps for many lifetimes you have co-existed and thought of yourself as part of a duo.

There is a heavy sense of wanting to be liked by those around you, as your sense of life may have been highly filtered through the eyes of others. You have brought in this quality as your gift as well, through a kindness and consideration of those around you. However in past life experiences it may have become normality or even an expectation to be overly self-compromising and to give yourself away to make others happy.

You have a deeply loving nature and heart, however through the filter of your Soul’s past experiences, you may lack the natural discernment to be able to feel out who has good intentions. There are not many people as overly considerate as you are toward others. You have an immense ability to completely understand other people you are close to, and you have the gift of fully seeing and appreciating others. However there is the wound here of losing out of your own embodiment and needs through the other.

This is the wounding you have come into this life to transcend through the North Node in Aries, through learning to self-initiate and choose yourself. This is your lifetime to go on the journey of the Self, and to give yourself that space of discovering who you really are beyond externalities and relationships. The point isn’t

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to not be in relationships altogether, but to go through the journey of staying connected to your own true wants and needs — not losing yourself through the other. In past lives where you may have opted for your partner to be in the limelight, it is now your turn. As it is a natural tendency to overly support others, you may find yourself choosing the sidelines as a comfort mechanism.

Calling in your North Node means becoming okay with being direct, independent and courageous. This lifetime it is your time to learn to find yourself, on your own.

Finding your own way without the assistance of anyone else is a transformational turning point. Integrating all of the higher qualities of Aries — willfulness, fearlessness and the Warrior archetype — can start to plant you into a sense of being able to initiate any path, in any direction you choose. Your own unique path to this can be further discovered through the ruler of the North Node, Mars, and its house.

To integrate into your North Node, it could help to meditate around the vibration of willpower, courage and autonomy. True power comes from knowing you do not have to lose yourself in order to be in a relationship, and that the circumstances in your life will support you once you begin to acknowledge yourself and your own path in the world.

South Node in Scorpio – North Node in Taurus Or South Node in the 8th House – North Node in the 2nd House You have incarnated within this lifetime of having been pushed to the very edge within yourself. The South Node in Scorpio carries a deep intensity, and when we go back in history we can see that there was no shortage of those who were fighting for their lives within traumatic circumstances. There is a sense of coming into this life with a sense of knowing the depths of trauma that come with life’s much darker side of

Illustrations: Getty Images

drop the need to constantly be the one to do everything or to perfect things and to come into a space of allowing yourself to receive, release and be supported by the Universe.

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existence. This can be played out in many unique ways, but the undercurrent of energy with the South Node in Scorpio has a feeling of a lack of power and control.

You may have deep Soul memory of the power and control of your own existence being pulled out from under you, and there is a feeling of coming in with the feeling of needing to constantly emotionally fight for ourselves. There is a feeling of you having possessed some sort of power or gift that society may have shunned as taboo or evil, when really it was something that they perhaps wouldn’t understand.

In the past there was a feeling of being deeply misunderstood through others’ projections of fear and intimidation onto you. We can feel into the times that women were called witches for simply being connected to intuition and the healing arts, and were burned at the stake.

There is a deep feeling of intensity that comes with this energy, which is where you can start to look toward your North Node in Taurus and the house it is within. This energy holds with it a sense of grounding, peacefulness and simplicity. Following callings into nature and working with the body and your senses can begin to create the sense of inner safety and security that was taken from you in a past life. Taurus is sensual, embodied and the North Node is here to call you toward re-connecting to your pleasure body and your enjoyment.

There is a feeling of coming in here for you with a sense of being really judged for your natural powers, and so the loss of your ability to enjoy and let go into the simplicity of life may be strong in you. You can gently begin to overcome the intensity of your South Node through beginning to reconnect with the vibration of the Earth and of nature, through coming back to the tangible and the sensual. Realising it is your birthright to feel joy and to feel safe to be yourself and in your body is a powerful elixir to the internalised sense of guilt you may hold.

Through looking to the ruler of the North Node, Pluto, and the sign and house that it falls within, you can start to understand your own unique

invisible trail into your Soul’s greatest potential and expansion. For you, it is in and through the body.

To integrate into your North Node, it could help to meditate around the vibration of sensuality, pleasure and embodiment. True power comes from taking up space and residence in your physical body and remembering that it is your birthright to enjoy your life and to feel safe as you are.

South Node in Sagittarius – North Node in Gemini Or South Node in the 9th House – North Node in the 3rd House You have come into this lifetime with a Soul memory of being surrounded by people who were painfully strong in their dogma and belief systems. Perhaps you even came into this lifetime surrounded by this same dynamic energy, around what your parents or family believe in.

The internalised fear that can come with being born into religions that you may have not deeply resonated with can be intense with the South Node in Sagittarius.

There is a feeling of blind faith that can come with the shadowy terrain of Sagittarius energy. As children we can tend to place our faith into those supposedly more dominant and higher up than us within our close networks. And so with the sort of situations that your Soul has a memory of, you may not yet have had the awareness to question what was going on and the belief systems of your family.

There is a deep feeling of fear that can come with this energy and the past life experiences that come with it, as the dark side of it can relate to the elite or those supposedly up the top of the belief or education system taking advantage of those who have been made to believe in their version of a higher power. Of course, seeking out our own ethics and belief systems is a huge part of our authentic path and evolution here on the Earth plane, but this South Node comes with some deep shame around needing to now choose a different Astrology Insights guide | 135

The North Node in Gemini is beckoning you to your higher path of truth within this lifetime to learn to ask questions and open up your mind. There comes a point where you are ready to choose your own way, and to find your own facts. For your deepest Soul fulfilment, awaken the higher qualities of Gemini through being open to varying viewpoints and perspectives and to learn to make up your own mind. The deepest opening comes when you begin to realise that it is okay to have your own mind about things and that there is nothing wrong with you if a dogma or belief system held by your family of origin or those around you doesn’t feel right on a deeper level.

Looking toward the ruler of the North Node, Mercury, and its sign and house can further highlight your own understanding of the unique path to liberation. To integrate into your North Node, it could help to meditate around the vibration of open mindedness, variety and flexibility. True power comes from giving yourself the deep permission to ask the right questions and to make up your own mind, trusting that the people who love you wholeheartedly will come into your life from this authentic place.

South Node in Capricorn – North Node in Cancer Or South Node in the 10th House – North Node in the 4th House You have come into this lifetime with a heavy emotional memory of having a heavy load, burden or responsibility on your shoulders. There was perhaps a deeply rooted feeling in you as a child of being in a position of being highly accountable for others. With the South Node in Capricorn, the energy carried through from past experiences comes from a sense of being regarded as someone very

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important to the world, to the community or within a clan or family. There is a feeling of others feeling safe around you, that you are so reliable and that they can lean on you to carry the weight of all of their stuff.

Perhaps from this you have come in here with the sense of needing to be responsible for the safety, security and wellbeing of others around you, often beyond what is humanly possible. The biggest weight that you may feel is the sense of constantly worrying about or being hypervigilant to the needs of others and so you carry more weight than necessary.

This truly may have served you in a past life as a necessity to survival, as others truly looked to you for guidance, comfort and direction. Whatever it was that you were doing or fulfilling in the past was a very important and fundamental part of your community, and there is a feeling of it not even being an option to drop the ball or have a break.

In this life there is a feeling of being constantly scared of not living up to worldly standards and expectations. It is a very restrictive and contractive feeling, which is what made you so depended on by others before. There was probably not very much room for the tenderness and softness of your emotions, or perhaps for much of a personal life.

Opening up to your Soul’s true expansion means for you to realise the importance of tenderness and emotional vulnerability. You have come back in here to walk the unknown path of finding what home and emotional security feels like for you. Looking toward the ruler of the North Node, Saturn, and the Sign and planet that it falls within will highlight your own unique way of opening yourself up to the North Node energy, and heal the South Node heaviness.

In this lifetime, you no longer just have to look after yourself. You are here to learn to soften into the sensitivity of the heart and live that path of feeling through your emotional landscape. The starting place for this could be practices and experiences that give you the permission to be supported by others, in order to have the companionship you deeply long for but perhaps don’t know how to soften toward

Illustrations: Getty Images

path and to risk the possibility of being outed by loved ones or the system because of that.

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it. In this lifetime you are here to return home to the feeling of yourself as love, as softness and as vulnerability. Go tender with yourself as you learn how to be supported, and take off the heaviness on your back.

It is time now to drop the need to strive and be overly responsible for others, which could have been your earliest life experiences in the world as it is what you knew before. It is time to learn to let go and expand out into the vibration of connection. To integrate into your North Node, it could help to meditate around the vibration of trust, surrender and emotional safety.

True power comes from giving yourself the deep permission to ask the right questions and to make up your own mind, trusting that the people who love you wholeheartedly will come into your life from this authentic place.

South Node in Aquarius – North Node in Leo Or South Node in the 11th House – North Node in the 5th House You have come here with a deep sense of being an outcast, and in some way not being accepted for exactly who you are. There is a feeling for you of bringing in the qualities of the rebel and the outcast through past emotional memory. The feelings that perhaps came in with this for you were deep frustration around not being truly heard or seen for your gifts and the sadness and stress that can come with that. With the South Node in Aquarius, there is more chance that you were shamed for qualities that were futuristic and actually really incredible and radical. You were cast out for going up against the status quo, the elite and the governments that go against the true intuitive ways of nature and the Universe.

You may have been deeply intelligent and smart, as if connected to the waters of higher consciousness. And there is a feeling of being so deeply stripped bare, shunned and scrutinised for having your gifts. It was not because your gifts were wrong, it was because people could not understand them yet. This is unfortunately what so often happens when we experience being unique or different from the group and so this lifetime the path to your truest expansion unlocks when you begin to open up into who you truly are on a personal level. You came in to heal the intense amount of alienation and pain experienced within the past and to feel truly seen for your gifts and generosity of heart.

Looking to the ruler of the North Node, the Sun, and the sign and house it falls within can unlock your own unique way of opening up to this expansion. You have come in with a big task to learn to trust again, and to be able to drop the holding back and repression that has perhaps become a suit from the past for protection. It can all begin with the gentle offering of permission toward yourself to do exactly what it is that lights you up without the initial expectation of people needing to get or understand you. Eventually, when on the path of your own truth, you will start to feel the quality of the feeling of being truly appreciated and adored for who you are. And who that is in your essence is a deeply generous and loving being with so much to offer.

Coming into this life early on it may have felt difficult to feel whole or loved for who you are. There is a deep feeling of insignificance to overcome through opening up to your own creative gifts and exploration of life force energy.

You are here to remember just how valuable, loved and worthy you are in your revolutionary and unique gifts. It is your time to bring in your ideas through a creative process and lens. Your originality is to be celebrated and without any apology. Finding areas of life you feel lit up by will be the way to healing and overcoming the South Node.

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South Node in Pisces – North Node in Virgo Or South Node in the 12th House – North Node in the 6th House There is a feeling that you came into this lifetime bringing in an emotional memory of an extreme sensitivity to life, almost to the point of being energetically overwhelmed through anything unfolding within the realm of form. In a past life it is possible you lived a life which lacked boundaries. This could have gone one of two ways. One way is that you perhaps found yourself down some quite extreme roads, questioning existence itself through a darker lens due to your openness to all energy. This could have been through living a life on edges of disconnection with identity, through addictions and a numbness to what is going on around you.

This could have been due to your extreme energetic sensitivity to other realms of consciousness, and a lack of awareness around how to attune to it, protect yourself from the darker vibrations and work with it as a gift. The other way is that you may have renounced the world through living as a monk or a nun in monasteries or as a mystic or psychic. There is just the feeling that in a past life you chose to disconnect from the human experience and live in other, more formless realms of consciousness through imagination, escapism or choosing

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an existence as a healer or monk that had a schedule set.

So as a child your sensitivity may have been really felt and there is something to be said for how early life circumstances can put you into a state of denial or victimhood through the vulnerability of whatever played out upon your gentle innocence. You have come here to learn how to love and be in touch with your body on the most grounded level through the North Node in Virgo. You have come to channel all of your intuitive and psychic gifts into a tangible, boundaried and rhythmic form. It all starts with going down the path of coming back into residence inside of your body. You may have found that for different reasons and due to your natural sensitivity, that you vacated your body as perhaps the story through the environment that it wasn’t safe to be in your body.

You are here to learn how to protect yourself from the darker energies that use and abuse, and to create ritual and routine to create a sense of safety within the physical. You are called to the body through honouring and learning to work with your sensitivities, and your more gentle way of being in the world whilst also becoming more detailed and decisive. In the past you may have been victim to your circumstances and experiences, and there is a tendency for this to continue to play out until you make the empowered choice to take responsibility for your body and your energetic field.

Moving toward your authentic path of expansion can begin when you are ready to see things as they truly are in form, taking ownership over all of your thoughts, and to begin to listen to the wisdom that comes through the body. It may almost feel like a process of energetic purification, of pulling out all of the darker hooks of the past and calling in your protection and discernment. You can look toward the ruler of your North Node, Mercury, and its sign and house for your own unique path into your Soul’s truth. To integrate into your North Node, it could help to meditate around the vibration of discernment, purity and embodiment.

Illustrations: Getty Images

To integrate into your North Node, it could help to meditate around the vibration of celebration, self love and originality. True power comes from giving yourself the deep permission to surrender into being fully seen and appreciated, and through learning the power of knowing that those who do not accept you are simply not meant to be a part of your life for significant periods of time.

Chapter 10

Illustration: Tahnee Kelland

Embodiment

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The One Who Is at Play Everywhere says,

Enter the bowl of vastness that is the heart.

Listen to the song that is always resonating.

Give yourself to it with total abandon.

Quiet ecstasy is here, And a steady, regal sense Of resting in a perfect spot.

You who are the embodiment of blessing, Once you know the way, The nature of attention will call you to return.

Again and again, answer that call, And be saturated with knowing, “I belong here, I am home.”

– Lorin Roche, The Radiance Sutras

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Illustration: Tahnee Kelland

There is a space in the heart where everything meets.

Come here if you want to find me.

Mind, senses, soul, eternity — are all here.

Are you here?

Illustration: Tahnee Kelland

CHAPTER 10

Our existence is vast and expansive, as that is the ever expanding nature of the Universe. Within this course we have explored the sacred dance of the masculine and feminine, yin and yang, and the cosmic vibration of the planets that circulate within our solar system.

You have taken the courageous journey of tuning into the cosmic vibration within you, and from that deep resounding place I hope you have found home. I hope

this work stays with you as a constant companion as you move through the natural dance of forgetting and remembering who you truly are beyond roles.

By the time you find yourself reading these words for the first time, I hope you have felt as if you have been danced with in your darkest and lightest hours by something so much greater than yourself. I hope you Astrology Insights guide | 141

There are thousands of doorways into meditative states of consciousness, and I am not talking about sitting still with closed eyes only. I am speaking to the delight that comes through all of our senses — tasting delicious food, listening to our favourite music, being alone with nature hearing the birds and inhaling the dewy air. I am speaking to noticing the breath in every situation, and staying with our embodiment. I am speaking of the way the gentle sunshine feels on our skin, or the feeling of a wave crashing against us. I am speaking of

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the entire dance of our human existence, and calling in the deepest acceptance and savouring of it all while we are here.

Many modern meditation techniques are drawn from an ancient way of living that no longer resounds with the times we are here to live. In my own experience I have found that meditation practice can far too easily become a process of internalising our shame and judgements about ourselves, through following methods originally meant for those who chose to renounce the world. We do not have to ever push away the flow of thought. The flow of our mind is genius. Through the sensation of allowing and welcoming all parts of ourselves and our human experience, we can fall into deeper waters of consciousness and truly come home.

To bring this sacred course to a close, here I offer just 12 doorways or practices in which I have been initiated into through my yoga lineages or have naturally discovered myself as a human being, that remind me of the essence of each archetypal energy. The hope is for you to start to understand your own doorways and feel into your own experience and what it is that you love. May you explore these practices with gentleness and patience, and perhaps even find yourself creating a meeting place for this dance in the form of a sacred altar or meditation space at home. Remember, there is no right or wrong. As a starting place it can be so helpful to keep the container of your meditation practice within a space where you know you feel safe and at home. May you feel safe to turn within and to listen deeply to the gentle whispers of the heart. May you begin the journey of getting to know yourself as the essence of your Soul. What does it feel like to be you as vibration? May you practise for the highest and best for yourself, and for all of existence. And may you come to find that everywhere you are, you are always home.

May you feel your existence as the exquisite, unique and magnificent work of art that it truly is.

Illustration: Tahnee Kelland

have found an avalanche of liberation to be exactly who you are and nothing and nobody else. May you find the qualities and vibrations within you that you came here to embody, and may you feel safe to come home to the body you chose to walk you through this tender and complex lifetime. May you feel the readiness to take back your full sense of sovereignty through an unapologetic ownership of your true essence.

This course is here with you always, to help you remember the stories and feelings that you came here to live. The dance of our humanness is truly sacred and I believe that what deeply connects us is so much more profound than what makes us feel separate from others. Within the most open of hearts, a sacred fire burns. Within this final chapter, we begin to open up the doorways into meditation. In all of my years of practising and teaching yoga and meditation, I have gone through the sacred journey of remembering to forget, and forgetting to remember. And I now remember that meditation is simply allowing ourselves to uninhibitedly love what we love. Meditation is the middle way between us and spirit. It is the place where we come back to through all, the residing place of the quality of our own Soul. Inside of all that we deeply long for, all that annoys us, our heartaches and deepest impulses. It is the urge that we have to merge with the soul, and our embodiment practices are simply giving into that natural urge.

CHAPTER 10

TA U R U S IMMERSION OF THE SENSES

Find yourself out in nature, completely immersed or even just in a place that makes you feel at home. It could even be your own backyard, a particular tree that you feel connected to, or the beach. As you walk, sit or swim, gently scan through your senses. Inhale your surroundings through sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing.

Pause to savour each sense for as long as it takes before moving onto the next one. Allow yourself to dissolve completely into each moment and exploration.

When you are ready, go uninhibitedly into one sense and stay with it throughout your time in nature. Feeling through the senses can expand natural feelings of contentment and joy, opening us up to the raw portal of presence.

ARIES

Illustration: TLisa’s Balcony from creativemarket.com

LETTING GO

Lie down in a nap-like position, or shavasana, on your mat, floor, bed or couch. Perhaps you would even like to be in nature or outside, this can truly be practised wherever you are. Scan through the body, just noticing.

Now let gravity completely take your body, letting go of each and every part as you scan. Notice any habitual holding patterns and gently let them go upon each exhale. Feel all the parts of the body in touch with the surface below, until you begin to feel a part of it all.

Now imagine that gravity completely disappears and you are now suspended in space. Allow yourself to envision the expansive cosmos you are completely immersed in. Feel yourself as weightless. Celebrate that you got here, to complete lightness through letting go. Take note of the quality of this feeling — yourself as pure light. And know you can cultivate this feeling at any time.

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Find yourself in a comfortable seat and gently close your eyes. Begin to scan through your spine as you notice your natural breathing rhythm in and out of the nose. Draw your awareness to the end of your nostrils, noticing the flow of breath hitting your top lip. Stay here for a little while, just noticing.

Begin to gently lengthen the breath through your nose, taking a gentle pause between the inhale and exhale. Stay with this simple breath until you

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feel the mind begin to settle. As you next breathe in, imagine yourself breathing in the most purifying white light, and as you breathe it gathers up any density, any stuckness and agitation. Retain the breath up the top as you feel the white light swirling within you, gathering.

As you exhale out of the nose, imagine grey smoke moving out of the nose and letting go of anything that is creating stagnation or imbalance within the body.

Illustrations: TLisa’s Balcony from creativemarket.com

G E M I N I W H I T E L I G H T B R E AT H

CHAPTER 10

CANCER 3 PA R T B R E AT H

Find yourself in a comfortable seat and gently close your eyes. Come home into the body through the gateway of the breath. Notice your natural breathing rhythm, flowing and out of the nose or the mouth.

Begin to pay attention to the natural, calming rhythm created by the breath within the stomach and chest.

Dissolve into these motions, feeling yourself as the natural rhythm and motion — as nature.

Now as you next inhale we will feel the breath f lowing through the body in three parts.

First you will feel the belly, followed by the navel and the chest expand.

And as you exhale, feel the chest

dropping down, followed by the navel and the stomach. There is no need to force the breath into these energy centres, but more so feeling the attention intimately on these three parts of the body and how they dance with the breath. Perhaps you would like to relax the spine and enter into intuitive motion, assisting the wave-like flow of the breath. Feel yourself as form dancing with formlessness.

LEO I AM

Throughout your day, begin to notice the sounds you make when you are resonating or agreeing with what is going on around you — this is when your Soul sings yes to its own expansion. Create more intention and gusto around the sounds of enjoyment and reciprocity.

The sounds ‘ahhhhhh’ or ‘oooooo’ or the gentle humming ‘mmhmm’ sounds we make when we are in deep acceptance, listening or agreeance are sounds that make up the mantra ‘aham’ meaning ‘I am’ in Sanskrit. So in effect when we make these sounds we are saying ‘I am’. Soak into your body the feeling of yes. Listen to its vibration and quality.

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E N J O Y M E N T T H R O U G H TA S T E

A deep exploration of enjoyment through taste — the next time you deeply crave to eat something, bring it into your meditation practice. Create the doorway through taste. Notice every motion, every sensation, every texture and more than anything else, notice the feelings that arise within the body. Expand upon the feelings and feel into the vibration and energy of what you are experiencing and tasting.

Draw in the experience of pleasure and embodiment, watch what rises and falls away within the mind —accepting all that comes.

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Illustrations: TLisa’s Balcony from creativemarket.com

VIRGO

CHAPTER 10 LIBRA B A L A N C I N G B R E AT H

Find yourself in a comfortable seat, with your spine straight.

Gently close down the eyes and bring your awareness to the natural rising and falling of the breath. Find home here within the breath, noticing its quality. Gently lengthen — begin to lengthen through your in and out breaths, gently pausing between.

Raise your right hand toward your nose. Your right thumb will come to cover the right nostril, the pointer and middle fingers will gently touch the forehead, and the remaining fingers will come to cover the left nostril. Close the right nostril and inhale through the left nostril. Cover the left nostril and exhale through the right. Inhale through the right, exhale through the left. Inhale through the left, exhale through the right. Continue with this balancing breath, feeling both sides and the middle way between the two sides. Accept all that comes within your experience. As you come out of the breath, allow the right hand to fall back down, returning to the natural breath once more.

SCORPIO M E R G I N G W I T H W H AT Y O U L O V E

Merge with your favourite music. Blast your song so loud that you feel that it is permeating through your being.

Before you shake and move your body, feeling the music come to you, you might like to set the space and create an intention around your practice. It could be anything such as remembering your breath, letting go or feeling the divine inside of you.

Drop into the body, into the breath and allow the body to move you. Let go into the music, feel your hips and body swaying, rocking, undulating back and forth and circulating around. Allow the process to naturally flow, as if you only have to do 50 per cent and the music does the other 50 per cent. Feel the waves of energy rippling up and down the spine, imagining yourself as cosmic unfolding.

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S A G I T TA R I U S MANTRA

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu is a Sanskrit mantra which radiates the vibration of love, radiance and happiness out into the Universe and all beings within it. This mantra is beautiful as a chanting practice, its vibration truthful, peaceful and joyful.

Chant this mantra, or call this mantra into your life, in order to call in more trust on your path toward your deepest purpose.

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Illustrations: TLisa’s Balcony from creativemarket.com

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 10 CAPRICORN G R O U N D I N G M E D I TAT I O N

Gently come to a relaxed standing position, in a safe place at home or in nature. Close your eyes and begin to feel the quality of your breath. From the crown of your head, slowly scan down the centre of the body and feel into each energy centre — the crown, the third eye, the throat, heart, solar plexus, sacral and root. Continue the scanning down the legs and into the feet.

Bring your attention, vibration and energy of the Earth in contact with the soles of your feet. Feel the space between. Now, begin to imagine unbreakable cords of light or roots shooting out from the feet into the Earth. Allow all of your attention to dissolve into this part of you. The roots continue and continue grounding you down into your place here on the Earth. And as you ground, feel a lightening sensation within your body. Trust in the body to let go more and more as your cords reach deeper and deeper into the Earth. Let go as if you are a tree, swaying in the wind.

AQUARIUS WAVES OF HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS

Gently find yourself in a comfortable position, seated or standing. Settle through the breath and the body. Gently inhale through the nose and as you exhale, make a steady ‘shhhhh’ or ‘shooshing’ sound out of the mouth as your body relaxes and folds forward to the Earth. Continue until you have fully emptied the breath. As you inhale, split the inhale into parts as you sip the breath in through your nose and lift, sip and lift, sip and lift — consecutively. As you reach the top, retain the breath and relax the jaw, feeling the waves of higher consciousness permeate through you in this space between. As you release the breath, let it fall out of the mouth. Pause between rounds of this breath to feel your experience and connection to cosmic energy.

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CHAPTER 10

PISCES I M A G I N AT I V E P R A C T I C E

Come into a space that makes you feel at home.

Perhaps in a room with soft candlelight where the mind can go to rest and dream. Gently close your eyes and huddle your body in comfort and tenderness. Begin to imagine a place between Heaven and Earth made of

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pure light consciousness. This is a place with plenty of rainbows, within a realm containing the highest, most purest of energies and consciousnesses. Allow yourself to flow free into this realm, create your own reality of cosmic unfolding and feel it electrifying through your body. Allow the gift of your imagination to run wild, in this realm between matter and spirit.

Gratitudes

his work was birthed out of the generosity of many human hearts who have truly shown up for me–just as I am–within my creative journey. You have shown me the patience, grace and love a soul can only long and hope to experience within a lifetime.

I have found myself in a deep transformative metamorphosis, wrapped up within a collective one. What I have learned in this time is that struggle is not as necessary as I once thought it to be.

T

deepest parts of myself first, and to be willing to let go of how I thought myself to be within an instant. I have started celebrating the ability to drop it all for a midday swim or nap, to not make anything more important than the callings of my own heart. Directioning my heart in this way has seen much unraveling, tears and newfound joys.

It’s almost as if I am finding myself in a new body, in a completely new reality from a sense of truly lightening up toward myself. Whatever happens within, cannot help but also happen without.

Through a gathering of the kind of unconditional support from women I have never truly known until this point, I have found my way home. But not without the willingness to ‘go there’ to the

I have realised my fear of true deep connection is my own, this fear being the only thing that repeats the narrative and patterning of not feeling truly seen or heard by others. It is the time

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for us all to step up into the wild callings of the heart and to call in the cushioning support of our community.

Thank you to you, the reader, the deep seeker and revolutionary. I have heard that grief occurs when love has no place to go. You give me the landing place for my love to flow, and for that I can never be more thankful. We are never alone in this journey, and I hope that the content within this course has spoken to parts of your soul, held

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space for your wounds and helped mend the most tender parts of you. I can never thank you enough for picking up this work and finding a place for it within your heart and home.

To my growing little family, Matt and our lovefilled fur children Sadie and Dallas, thank you for holding so much space for all of my 6x Scorpio depth, intensity and wild passion. It was a true jackpot, finding you–so unwaveringly loving as I constantly shed skin and soften into new

ways of being. You have taught me the healing power in true reciprocity, of having my deepest most uninhibited expression reflected back and accepted graciously.

inside of you. You are powerful beyond measure.

You do not need to be scared of what you truly are anymore.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

To the women who walk alongside me, teaching me again and again to trust in the bigness of my own heart. Kate, Phoebe, Emma, Keelin, Sophie, Jane and so many others. I love to think that you know who you are. Thank you.

I dare you to discover the magic that is already

–this is my offering back to creation, and back to you.

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Astrology insights guide Author Jessi Simpson Art Director Kate Podger Sub-editor Anastasia Casey Publisher Janice Williams Cover Artist Tahnee Kelland

Chairman/CEO Prema Perera Publisher Janice Williams Chief Financial Officer Vicky Mahadeva Associate Publisher Emma Perera Circulation Business Development Manager Mark McTaggart Creative Director Kate Podger

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A heartfelt exploration of astrological archetypes that goes beyond the thinking mind, into the depths of the soul.

Astro Insights Guide gives you the energetic keys to open the door and explore your own consciousness. Why are you experiencing life in this form? How will you proceed? What is your way of being in the world?

Enjoy this emotional exploration of self, soul and purpose.

Issue 01 2021

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