Metaphysical Musings

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Archive for August, 2010

Moving Toward 2012 – And Beyond

August 15, 2010 at 2:27 pm by Laura Lenhard

As both a mother and home/shop owner I have watched as over the past two years dramatic and frightening changes have taken place globally in the economic, political and environmental arenas. Like most small businesses, my little gift shop “Talisman” located in Monroe is service-oriented and I meet with many people on a daily basis. The spiritual nature of the shop fosters a very personal relationship with my patrons, craftspeople and wholesalers (from all over the world) making me privvy to their concerns, problems and fears as well. And Talisman casts a wide net – drawing in a customer base from Westchester NY up through Vermont and New Hampshire, and a mailing list of over 1,000 patrons with a newsletter being sent all over the world - so I do feel their experiences reflect a wider-group mindset. These people are neither religous zealots nor conspiracy theory enthusiasts. However, the fear and anger reflected in the personal stories I hear, coupled with a stated distrust for our government, are troubling. People do not care to watch or read the news because they do not believe the truth is being reported. This stated lack of trust has influenced a ripple effect through big business, finance organizations, food industry and more. For example, the process of weaning one’s self off prescription medications has been described to me many times at length, especially those prescribed by psychiatrists who appear more interested in medicating than working with their patients in real sessions geared to problem resolution. It’s unbelievable how many individuals go into an office, pick up a prescription and leave – but insurance companies are billed for a “visit”. The rise in autism has brought a spotlight to childhood vaccinations - and let’s face it, the pharmaceutical industry has a lot more to gain by keeping individuals medicated than getting them well.

The nation’s food industry has also come under glaring scrutiny. From the brutal treatment of animals, to Monsanto’s quest for crop domination via engineered seeds and plants, to the questionable safety of the preservatives and additives in the processed foods sold not only in fast-food restaurants but school cafeterias as well. And as economic downturns lead to sports being phased out or relegated to “pay to play” we can only assume childhood obesity and diabetes rates will increase too. Last month, a report came out linking pesticides and household chemicals to ADD/ADHD – and these, along with the influx of autistic and spectrum disorder children, are creating a need for education changes which will eventually rock America’s public education system to its core.

Frivolous lawsuits and lack of legal fair-play between the have and have-nots is nauseating. We have learned that the predatory dealings of the credit card companies extend into the colleges and universities, where they pay to have the “right” to solicit students. Rocketing interest rates mean repayment plans are ridiculously long and outrageously expensive. And how many individuals do you know of who have gotten “bail out” money to reduce their mortgages? Out of several dozen applicants I know personally, only two have gotten relief. On Route 25 in Monroe, where my shop is located, you see For Rent/For Lease signs adorning empty storefronts and offices everywhere. So where, exactly, is this “relief” we hear of?

Spiritually speaking, churches of all denominations are closing all over the country, particularly in the midwest. People are disgusted with sex and money scandals that seem to plague many organized religions. And without the financial support of its parishoniers, most places of worship cannot afford to keep their doors open.

But from all this bad news comes exciting and revolutionary change. From the popularity of self-sufficiency books and websites, rise in bartering of goods and services, family unification as economic realities cause many to move back in together – the ways we live, work, eat and consume goods and services is being transformed. Voters are ushering in change as well – did you hear about the homeless veteran who beat out an incumbant senator in the recent North Carolina primary? Political upheaval which is certainly not “business as usual”.

I am clear that no ONE person, idea, school, spiritual path or teaching/healing modality will be able to stand alone. We have to be able to bend and work together, referring and deferring back and forth as we all search for solutions – because these problems (challenges) coming our way are not ending anytime soon! And that’s fitting, because we are indeed entering the new age (standing on the threshold of many changes, globally and personally) whether we like and welcome it, or not. The teaching and healing realms are under increased scrutiny as more and more people search for new ways to heal physically, mentally and spiritually. Teachers and practitioners have to step up their game in ways they have probably never imagined. Because really, four months ago could you or I have imagined a entire ocean grapping with a catastrophic oil leak? Five years ago, if someone told you that a hurricane would devastate New Orleans, would you have imagined it would remain in a state of disrepair all these many years later? That terrorists would fly two jet airplanes into the Twin Towers?

I reflect and pray hard on these things. The intuitive readers at my shop have often heard me say “You know, we’re not curing cancer here. No “reader” has solved world hunger, no one has gotten a reading and it brought about world peace”. And the fact is, those major devastating events occurred and, as noted author/medium Sylvia Brown points out, neither she nor any other of the leading psychics in the world today came forward in the weeks, days or even hours beforehand to say to the world “Hey! Don’t go into New York City today, avoid the Twin Towers, a terrible event is going to occur!” That’s one reason that while I have a variety of readers available at Talisman, I don’t take a “cut” of their earnings nor do I allow patrons to engage in “psychaholic” behavior and get reading after reading after reading. Validating an experience (which is what a “reading” actually does) then work toward resolution - perhaps something as simple as recommending a naturopathic doctor, or an introduction to new friends with similar interests at a drum circle or meditation session. And I do see acute loneliness as one of the principle concerns facing us as a people – we are connected electronically as never before, but lack of face to face personal interaction is as detrimental to human beings as any virus could ever be. In response, people of all socio-economic backgrounds are setting out on spiritual quests to seek their higher purpose as never before, driven by an urgent sense of time running out - of the “other shoe” getting ready to drop.

I do believe we are looking at upcoming cataclysmic events which will require an extraordinary “clean up crew” to repair, rebuild and heal both ourselves and the world around us. And we are it. Does 2012 cast a shadow of doom as we reckon with the end of life? Certainly not. But it may be heralding the end of a way of life, a way that really only worked for a select priviledged few anyway. So now, perhaps it’s time to open our minds and hearts to ideas and methodologies that the government, corporate america and the mainstream media doesn’t appear interested in promoting or encouraging. The Hopi Indians thought the world’s religions each contained one spiritual thread, and that these threads are always seeking each other, wanting to join. When all the threads are finally woven together they will form a rope that will pull us out of this dark cycle of history and into the next realm. Personal accountability, the fact that we are all healers and intuitive (to varying degrees) and simply learning to “trust your gut” and look for signs from Divinity/Nature to guide and lead each of us personally — these are the lessons for the new millenium. All that, plus learning how to trust, work and live together in a civil and equitable manner – lessons I believe we can and will learn from the world’s indigenous peoples.

Laura Lenhard

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The Cardinal T-Square is Here – and wow, is it ROUGH!

August 7, 2010 at 2:52 am by Laura Lenhard

We are in the midst of a planetary alignment which began in May and whose effects will last until the end of September … and then some. While every one of the twelve signs of the zodiac is being affected, the cardinal signs of Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn are feeling it the most. And sorry, Librans, but you are certainly being hardest hit! So what exactly IS the Cardinal T-Square and how does it manage to affect ALL of us so profoundly? In the words of Blogger “Astrogirl 7″ we learn that:

Trying to understand and write about this ongoing t square is difficult given all of its astrological complexity, but in a nutshell, this cardinal t square seeks to instill radical, total and complete change in our lives. It asks that we purge our old ways of doing things…business as usual dies. It wants us to build new structures in our lives, based on higher spiritual truths. The t square is bringing us more into alignment with our authentic selves, so we can take off the mask we have been wearing for some time. This is an intensified process of soul evolution. It certainly has been rough for many…it feels like we are being torn apart and re-structured, from the inside out.”

Hey, sounds like fun right? I mean, who DOESN’T like to feel torn apart as we completely rethink our entire life and install radical, total and complete change???

Talisman’s own store astrolger Alethea has her own take on the process:

I’m happy to add some more of my perspective on this to help others understand this very significant aspect, as it is something we’ll all continue to deal with through 2010 and some of 2011. The reason this has been a long-running aspect is because the planets involved – Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto – are all very slow moving planets as they are farther out in the solar system. Add to this the fact that the apparent motion of these slow-moving planets will cyclically go retrograde (backwards) through the zodiac for months at a time and we have a very long-running aspect indeed! Though the T-square has been considered a traditionally “difficult” aspect to deal with, I was taught early on in my studies (and through personal experience) that a T-square actually does us a favor in revealing clearly to us the things that are not working or have become unbalanced. Having said this, the last time we saw Sa turn, Uranus, and Pluto involved in a cardinal T-square like this was during the Great Depression!

I’m not at all surprised by this current global economic downturn since Pluto moved into Capricorn, which has been a long time coming if we paid attention to the way the world tended to excess (a Sagittarian theme) during Pluto’s movement through Sagittarius in prior years. With Pluto’s ingress into Capricorn, the bills come due and we’re forced to deal with reality and our own responsibility in how we may have wantonly disregarded the concept of “living within our means”. Pluto in Capricorn teaches us about transforming our lives in order to “get back to basics” and for me this has meant counseling my clients on how to simplify their lives, which can involve recognizing that downsizing may be a very real necessity.

I am also not surprised by some of the major geological issues we’ve been dealing with – i.e. the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, not to mention the volcanic eruption in Iceland. If Saturn represents terra firma, then Pluto represents deep, underground workings that can collapse the structure that Saturn provides. Uranus provides just such an impetus, as whenever it locks horns with planets in an aspect we can always expect an unexpected shakeup. The conflicting nature of the energies involved in this T-square can also blow the lid of calm, cool, collected, and controlled Saturn with a powerful eruption of raw, subconscious, Plutonian emotion that had been lurking beneath the surface the whole time. How much more literal a manifestation can we get of this energy than a freak volcanic eruption taking place in an area well-known for its snow, ice, and cold? I think we’ll continue to see more of these kinds of issues cropping up while this current T-square involving Pluto plays itself out.

On a more personal level, this cardinal T-square signifies awareness of a crisis point in life. This isn’t meant to instill fear as it is certainly no harbinger of impending doom, rather a universal calling for change and action that we are ALL facing on a global level. We can be facing issues with finances, our families, our jobs, our relationships, etc. or in several areas simultaneously depending upon what this configuration is touching in our own natal charts. In my opinion, I attribute a sense of foreboding/imploding to one of two things. First off, some of us are quite sensitive to this cosmic energy. Being that this is a major planetary aspect it’s no wonder why some of us have this persistent feeling that something is “wrong” – even if we aren’t feeling its effects firsthand. Secondly, this feeling can also occur when we have been directly impacted by this energy . If things seem to be falling apart in one or multiple areas of our lives we may be subconsciously resisting the call to change and restructure how we live. We may know on one level that things have to change – that something has to give – but at the same time hesitate to pull the trigger and do what needs to be done. This internal struggle can cause this ominous feeling, as many of us aren’t comfortable with the idea of change.

My advice to many of my clients has been to take a step back and try and recognize where we need to make our own adjustments. Chances are that we may have ignored the little signs along the way that may have said “wrong way”. We may have continued to build something up upon a sinking foundation without recognizing that a swamp lay all around us. The key is WE have to be the one to initiate the change, because things will most likely continue to deteriorate until we take some level of personal responsibility for how we got to where we are. Then we must take ACTION – whether that means we change our behavior, our state of mind, or both.

This aspect gives us an invaluable opportunity to see the reality of what isn’t working in our lives and to grow from it. Maybe we built a sense of safety and security at work, doing a job that “paid the bills” for years but didn’t allow us to express our need for individuality. If this situation came to an end during the current T-square perhaps we can try to view it as an opportunity to put ourselves in alignment with what we do. Sitting behind a computer in a dull, grey cubicle with an unfulfilling “mission” simply to eek out a living can be extremely detrimental for the soul, as it inherently KNOWS it has a different purpose in life even if the conscious mind isn’t yet aware of what that is. We should attempt to look at a situation like this as an opportunity to try something different and new, allowing us the potential to come into alignment with who we really are. Also , as big businesses are failing left and right due to Pluto in Capricorn, look to see that many people will be pursuing an entrepreneurial route. If you have a fledgling idea and have always wanted to try it but were too afraid, now may be the time when you can let go of your fear and take that big leap. Uranus in Aries likes us to step WAY outside our comfort zones, and although it may seem a little risky, this placement says “Take a chance on me”.

As mentioned earlier, Pluto in Capricorn can also highlight financial difficulties. Frequently this can coincide with a job loss, though there are many other reasons people are finding themselves find themselves “in over their heads”. Regardless of the cause, now is a time when we must get back to basics in a financial sense. We must look at what we truly NEED, not at what we WANT. If we’re paying for a mortgage on house that is too big for our needs maybe we need to look at downsizing. Do we need to have a $500/month car payment just so we can have the prestige of saying we have something “nice” and “new”? Maybe we need to start looking around at some of the material objects we have accumulated and think about having a yard sell or look into selling them at a consignment shop if we need to come up with extra cash to pay off creditors. Let’s try and use this as an opportunity to uncomplicate our lives and rediscover what really matters. As long as we have food, clothing, shelter, and the love of our families isn’t that all any of us really need?

Perhaps instead the problem we face at this time is one of relationship. With Saturn in Libra we can fairly expect that partnerships will be put through their paces. This is a testing process demanding that there be fairness, equality, and seriousness about how we handle our commitments to others. If the relationship has become seriously lopsided where one party gives continuously while the other takes it’s no wonder why problems would crop up. Saturn in Libra also forces us to ask ourselves “How well is this relationship meeting my needs?” as Saturn is a planet of necessity. If the answer we give is “Not well.” we must either work together to make it so or recognize the other party’s limitation in being unwilling/unable to meet our needs and move on. In either case we must be prepared to make changes and take action ourselves and not rely on the other party to do it.

Please remember that each person’s experience of this T-square will be unique, however I felt it important to speak about the implications of this aspect on broader terms so that you can get an idea of the potential “flavors” this major planetary configuration can have. Because the keynote of the cardinal signs is “activity” I am urging people not to be paralyzed by feelings of fear or doubt that may crop up during this time. We need to remember that there is always a lesson to be learned during difficult times, and that we can take ACTION to change our attitudes and/or circumstances if we are dealt a hand that is not to our liking!