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By Simone Butler My father, a sensitive child, hid behind his mother's skirts. With his creative Sun in Leo conjunct dreamy Neptune, he preferred painting with watercolors to roughhousing with the boys in rural Texas where he grew up. Plagued with asthma that kept him out of school and bullied by his older sister, he learned to live by his Mercury-in-Virgo wits. Yet his life was out of control. His strongest childhood memory is the time he and his sister were hustled into the back of his mother's car late at night, to escape one of her abusive husbands. Early experiences taught Dad that the world is dangerous. So he chose realistic Saturn over magical Neptune. He abandoned his love for painting and became a plastering contractor, then a real estate broker. Now, at 85, he is still a decent man who always does his best. Yet, in his continuing quest for safety and control, he is prone to bouts of rage, trusts no one and believes in nothing beyond what his eyes can see. Dad is dying of prostate cancer. His carefully constructed Saturnine world is falling apart. In whatever time remains to him, my father must learn to surrender, trust and let go. And I must forgive the past and support him the best I can. My dad and I are not the only ones facing the compelling need to give up control and surrender to Spirit. This is true for all of us, as chaotic Uranus in mystical Pisces (Neptune's sign) opposes Saturn in pragmatic Virgo on Sept 15. The Sun triggers both planets on the 17th, just prior to the Sept. 18 New Moon in Virgo (11:44 a.m. Pacific time). Out-of-control feelings or situations are likely. To complicate matters, retrograde Mercury in Virgo joins the Sun and Saturn on the 20th and 21st. Unsettling change is afoot during the period from the 15th-21st. Yet it is absolutely necessary to sweep away stagnant conditions and make way for new growth. This New Moon offers a crash course in balancing the left and right hemispheres of our brains. In this process, we can draw inspiration from the experience of scientist Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD. who, at 37, lost access to part of her brain after a devastating stroke. In My Stroke of Insight, Taylor says, "I shifted from the doing-consciousness of my left brain to the being-consciousness of my right brain. I morphed from feeling small and isolated to feeling enormous and expansive. I stopped thinking in language and shifted to taking new pictures of what was going on in the present moment. I was not capable of deliberating about past or future-related ideas because those cells were incapacitated. All I could perceive was right here, right now, and it was beautiful." Through her breakdown and the painstaking process of relearning to think and speak, Taylor experienced a profound transformation. And, the ecstatic experience of fully accessing her right brain has stayed with her. Now, she says, "I view the garden in my mind as a sacred patch of cosmic real estate that the universe has entrusted me to tend over the years of my lifetime. I choose to nurture those circuits that I want to grow, and consciously prune back those circuits I prefer to live without." So, how do we cultivate our gardens and harvest the fruits of our labors at this New Moon in Virgo--despite being buffeted by the winds of change? First, remember to breathe, relax and stay connected to your body. Then, observe your situation and feelings as neutrally as possible. Cultivate an open and curious attitude, and pay attention to what's happening without judging it--or yourself. Ask your intuition to guide you to any solutions you may need to discover. Surrender to what is and move through it without tensing up or resisting too much. Realize that you are not in control, and that's okay. The Saturn/Uranus opposition that is activated at this New Moon began on Election Day of 2008, repeats on April 26 and concludes on July 26 of 2010. During this period, we are breaking free of and reforming old economic and health care systems, as well as limiting beliefs, habits and situations--anything that blocks our connection to Spirit. Mercury retrograde all of Sept. demands that we cultivate our intuitive knowing and take extra good care of ourselves, despite any stress or confusion. Then, once Mercury begins moving forward at month's end and Jupiter, planet of wisdom and truth, does the same on Oct. 12, we should have a better sense of where we're headed. The Sun, Mercury and Venus shifting into Libra from late Sept. to mid-Oct. will shift our focus to relationships, creative projects and, hopefully, more light-hearted pursuits. Meanwhile, say a prayer for folks like my father whose Saturnine safety nets are failing them. And, give thanks for the spiritual resources you possess to help you make it through this period of awakening, and emerge renewed and strengthened.
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October
Theme: Tend Your Garden